"So where'd you say this job was, Sam?" Dean asked, glancing up at his brother from his plate of food. Dean and Sam had found a small diner about a mile down the road from their motel.
It was mostly empty apart from the staff and a handful of patrons. It was late at night, so it had been one of the few places still open.
Of course, Dean had all but begged Sam to stop for a bite. They had just finished a pretty simple salt and burn to take out a ghost haunting their ex-wife, and Dean was starving.
So, Sam pulled into the barely lit parking lot and they had gotten a booth towards the back. Mostly so Dean could keep an eye on the door they'd entered through.
"Potential job, and it's in Washington D.C..." Sam answered not taking his attention from his laptop, not even to take a fry off his plate and stick it in his mouth.
"That's not far from here, about a day's drive?" Dean took another fork full of pie, mmm'ing as he swallowed it down.
"Yeah, just about... Wanna check it out?" Sam continued, finally looking at his brother across their table.
"Dead body torn to shreds, supposedly by a wild animal?" Dean questioned as he finished the last bite of his burger. Sam nodded in response.
"Yeah, why not? If anything, we can check out the Capitol... Pick up a souvenir for Bobby," Dean shrugged, finishing the last bite of pie.
-_-
"Ready to roll, Sammy?" Dean called out, throwing his duffel bag into the backseat of the Impala.
"Yeah, coming!" Sam rushed out of the motel, backpack over his shoulder with his laptop bag tucked under his right arm. He made sure to close the door behind him.
"Let's go," Dean got in behind the steering wheel, turning the key in the ignition as Baby rumbled to life. Sam quickly shut his door as he set his bags onto the backseat.
"I managed to get some more info on this supposed case this morning," Sam started once Dean tore out of motel parking lot, getting them onto the road.
"The body was found inside the camp grounds of some national park..."
"But apparently it's not the first one they've discovered out there..." Sam continued, looking at Dean as he drove.
"Less than a month ago, a couple of hikers were found dead on some trail, pretty mutilated and they had to bring in some forensic team to identify them,"
Dean glanced sideways at his brother, taking in everything he was saying.
"Are the deaths related?" Dean questioned, turning his attention back on the road ahead of them.
"Locals think it might just be random animal attacks, but others think it's something else..." Sam gave his brother a knowing look.
"Could it just be some whack job killing people for the hell of it?" Dean wondered aloud, he knew people were usually more dangerous than half the things they hunted.
"Maybe? I mean, the feds are involved because of where the bodies have been found..." Sam answered with a shrug.
-_-
It was nightfall by the time they were pulling into the parking lot of the first motel they'd seen since crossing the state line.
Dean was exhausted from driving all day, only stopping to take bathroom breaks and hitting up a fast food joint around dinner time.
In the passenger seat, Sam was passed out slumped against the window. Dean turned off the engine, the sudden quiet and lack of movement was enough to wake Sam.
"Come on Sammy, I'll get us a room," Dean announced as he and Sam got out of the Impala.
They made their way into the motel lobby, signing in and getting a room key from the night clerk behind the desk.
Dean returned to the Impala and gathered up their belongings before following Sam up to the second floor and inside their room.
"Goodnight Sammy," Dean grumbled sleepily as he stumbled over to the bed by the window, dropping down onto it without bothering removing his clothes.
Sam followed suit, collapsing onto the bed beside Dean's. The both of them passing out from the long drive.
-_-
The following morning, Dean woke up to the smell of freshly brewed motel coffee and breakfast that Sam had ran out to get before he was up.
Without saying a word, Dean got out of bed and marched over to the table where Sam was sitting with his laptop propped open, accepting the way-too-small cup of coffee Sam offered him.
Dean took a few sips, letting the bitter taste wake him up before gesturing towards Sam, who seemed eager to talk about the case.
"I was doing some digging, the forensic team that's been identifying the bodies is one of the best in the state..." Sam began, turning his laptop to show Dean.
There was a group photo of people in blue lab coats, in the center a woman with auburn hair tied into a neat ponytail. Dean squinted to read the tag pinned to her breast pocket. It read: Temperance Brennan.
"Who's this Dr. Brennan?" Dean questioned turning his attention back onto Sam as he pushed the laptop away from him, sipping more coffee.
"Only one of the best forensic anthropologists around, she's solved the identity of hundreds of people just by looking at their bones!" Sam exclaimed a little too excitedly.
"Your geek is showing, Sam..." Dean rolled his eyes at his brother, shaking his head in mock annoyance. Sam stuck his tongue out at him.
"So what about the other people in that photo?"
"There's a Dr. Hodgins, entomologist, Angela Montenegro, forensic facial reconstruction..."
"A Dr. Camille Saroyan, forensic pathologist and head of the forensic division, and Agent Seeley Booth, FBI," Sam named off the list of everyone in the photo he'd shown Dean.
"Sounds like a top tier bunch of scientists and their FBI sidekick... Wonder how they'll react when their lead suspect turns out to be a werewolf?" Dean laughed giving Sam a knowing look.