AN: This story is a bit of a departure for me. It contains some mild sexual content between the brothers while under the influence of an external force. But this is still a Gen story, as there is no romance between them and they have no continued interest in each other in a sexual way. Please keep this in mind when reading.

On a separate note, I want to thanks Bluefire986 for their fantastic art work. I wish I could embed the images, but please visit her LiveJournal at . or on AO3 at /works/57082075. Should you wish, you can read this story on AO3 at /works/57085936/

Like a Rock

The July sun had just been rising when Sam had left the bunker with Miracle at his side. By the time they'd reached the hidden entrance to the garage, the heat was already starting to build. As he usually did, he let the dog back into the bunker with a quick pet and continued his run. The morning was quiet as he ran and for over an hour, he simply let his legs carry him along the dirt roads, corn or sorghum waving softly as he passed.

Now that their lives had calmed down, Sam found he needed this daily exercise. Beyond the obvious cardiovascular benefits, there was something about it that soothed his soul. Maybe it was the feeling of ownership and control over his own body? The easy rhythm of his stride, the swell of his lungs, the pounding of his heart - it made him feel alive and whole, two things for which he never failed to be surprised and grateful. It was hard to believe that next year he would be 40. He had never imagined that he would live this long. Well, technically he hadn't. He'd died the first time a few days short of his 24th birthday. But despite everything he'd been through and all the mistakes he had made, he was still here.

Sam rounded the last bend of his route and his thoughts drifted to the pleasures of a cup of coffee and a shower. The entrance to the bunker was still out of sight, but that was something else to be grateful for. Home - he and Dean had made one, unconventional though it might be. If he was making a list of things to be thankful for, Dean would be at the top. By the time he got there, his brother would be up and puttering around in the kitchen making breakfast, most likely wearing that old, grey robe over some whimsically printed pajama pants. They would eat together and plan the day. It was ridiculously and wonderfully prosaic.

Picking up the pace, Sam pushed himself to sprint the last quarter mile to the bunker's door. Reaching the iron railing, he slowed and walked around in a lazy circle to cool down a bit before going inside. He felt good, his muscles loose from the exertion and his mind at ease. Sometimes, in moments like this, he marveled that he could feel this content. Tugging on his sweaty t-shirt, he pulled the damp fabric away from his torso as he walked in the door. The war room was cool compared to outside.

"I'm back," he shouted towards the archway that led to the kitchen. "I'm gonna grab a shower."

"Okay. Don't take all day!" Dean's shout drifted back.

xxxxxx

Dean sipped at his coffee as he listened to Sam's footsteps fade away down the hallway towards the bathroom. He'd never admit it out loud, but he admired his brother's dedication to fitness. It wasn't what he personally would call fun, especially at the crack of dawn, but it made Sammy happy. Generally, Dean reserved his running for when something was chasing him. It wasn't like he'd let himself go now that they weren't hunting regularly. He stayed fit in other ways despite how Sam teased him about getting old and fat. It wasn't true, but both of those states were a luxury he was happy to be ribbed about. Scratching Miracle's ears, he sat at the kitchen table and let the caffeine work its magic.

Getting up to pour himself another mug of joe, there was a buzz against his thigh. He fished his phone out of the pocket of his robe. It was an unfamiliar number.

"Hello," he said, not bothering to keep the irritation from his voice. It had better be important for someone to call before 8:00 in the morning.

"Uh Dean? It's Krissy…Krissy Chambers."

At the sound of her voice Dean's brain provided the image of the spunky brunette. God, he hadn't heard from her in years. If she was calling him out of the blue, it probably wasn't to chat.

"Hey Krissy. Are you okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm fine. Don't panic, old guy."

He smiled. He'd forgotten how sassy the girl could be.

"I'm too cool to panic." Her giggle was a pleasure to hear. "So how are you doing, kiddo?"

"Fine. Good, actually. I'm a teacher now – 5th grade."

"A teacher, huh? How respectable." In his mind's eye, Krissy was still the teenager she had been when he'd seen her last.

"Yup, that's what I tell my students. So, how are you and Sam?"

Dean tucked the phone between his ear and shoulder and poured himself his coffee.

"We're good too." How nice was it that he was telling the truth.

"Uh, that's great. I wondered if you guys were okay. Things got a little weird a couple of years back."

Dean assumed she meant when the world's population disappeared into puffs of dust. Thinking of that had him thinking of Cas' death and he tried not to do that, certainly not before he had caffeine in his system. Clearing his throat, he pushed the grief down and re-focused on the conversation.

"How are Aiden and…" he searched his memory for the name of the other girl. "Josephine."

"Actually, that's kind of why I called. Aiden thinks he found a hunt."

"You guys are still hunting?" That was a surprise, he'd believed Krissy when she promised to get out of the life, and he couldn't imagine how she could manage a teaching job with hunting.

"No. Well not really. Just the occasional ghost over summer break, I promise. Josephine moved to Boston to work for a tech company and Aiden lives in Pheonix with his girlfriend. And I'm not stupid enough to hunt alone. Besides, I've been too busy with work." She sounded a touch wistful, but he was glad she was being safe.

"So, what's this hunt Aiden found?" Casual chit chat was all well and good, but if there was a job to do, Dean preferred to cut to the chase.

"Well, it's kind of weird. Two people turned to stone in Silver City, New Mexico."

"To stone? Like actual granite or something?'

"I don't know. Maybe this is nothing, but Aiden is friends with a guy who works in the medical examiner's office in Albuquerque. Apparently even their top doctor doesn't know what to make of it. There's talk that it's a virus of some kind, but if it's a monster doing this to people…" She didn't have to finish her sentence. Krissy was right, they needed to investigate, see if it was their kind of thing. He put the phone on speaker and tapped out a text message.

"Don't worry, we'll look into it. I've sent you my email, send me what you know, okay?"

"Sure. Thanks Dean. I, uh, I'm sorry I haven't kept in touch, I don't know any other hunters and..." Dean cut her off.

"No, no. You were right to call me." Knowing that Krissy was living a mostly civilian life was a relief. Wasn't that really the point of everything he and Sam had sacrificed? So that girls like her could go to school, get a nice normal job, be happy?

"Thanks. I've got to go, my summer school students will be here soon, but I'll send you what info I have. Say hi to Sam for me?"

"Will do. Stay safe, Krissy."

"I try. Bye Dean."

He offered his own goodbye and then ended the call. The coffee he'd poured was cool enough now, that he drank it quickly and poured himself another mugful. Pulling his laptop over, he sat at the table and began to scan through the information Krissy had sent him. It was short on details, mostly just a few news articles about the strange deaths, but she wrote that Aiden's contact could arrange for them to see the bodies.

After a few minutes, he could hear Sam's footsteps in the hallway before his brother appeared in the kitchen doorway kitchen carrying the faint scent of shampoo and aftershave.

"Grab your coffee to go, dude. We've caught a case."

xxxxxx

In some ways it was like old times. Glancing over at Sam in the seat beside him, hunched over some papers and his phone, it was like being transported back into the past. It was familiar in a way that was rooted deep in his bones. His brother sitting shotgun, the rumble of his car, the blacktop humming under her tires. Dean had once tried to calculate a rough estimate of the number of times he and Sam had criss-crossed the country, but it made his head hurt and he gave it up as an exercise in futility. No matter how many journeys they had made, he was glad they were still here to take this one together.

Of course, some things had changed. They had to stop and stretch a little more often or else his knee would start to ache. And they almost never slept in the car anymore if they could help it. Dean didn't like to acknowledge it, but he was beginning to feel his age. Christ, if you counted his time downstairs, he was already an old man. He shifted uncomfortably. Even after all these years, he still didn't like to think about his tour in Hell.

Really though, the biggest change wasn't physical, it was the absence of a burden. The weight of the world didn't rest on their shoulders anymore. There was plenty of time between hunts to recharge, recover and relax. They had a routine now and he regularly looked forward to all sorts of stupidly mundane things like grocery shopping or his evening walk with Miracle, or just watching TV with Sammy. For his last birthday, Sam had given him a plastic model of the Impala and Dean was as surprised as anyone to find he enjoyed working on a project just for the fun of it. Who could have imagined he'd ever have a hobby.

Beside him Sam gave a huff of annoyance.

"Find anything?" he asked as he glanced over to see Sam shake his head.

"Nothing about what caused this. I hacked into the police database, but they don't have much to go on. The first victim died on a city bus. Emily Caswell, age 20. Nobody saw anything. The bus driver thought she was just sleeping, but when he tried to wake her up, she was – and I quote - 'like a statue made out of stone.' Second vic was found Friday morning, same way. Reverend Jonah Wilson, age 34. The church secretary found him dead, still kneeling at the altar rail."

"Any connection between the two?" Dean asked, subconsciously pressing the accelerator a little harder. They still had a good 5 hours or so until Albuquerque.

"Maybe. Emily went to Western New Mexico University. There's mention of the Reverend participating in some student para-church group on campus, but I can't be sure that he and Emily ever crossed paths."

"Para-church?"

"Yeah, some non-official faith group. From what I could tell, they do Bible study, volunteer for service projects – that kind of thing. There's no way to know if Emily was part of that group or not."

"Hmmm," Dean thought. Victimology wasn't a clue at this point, although with only two victims, they couldn't be sure until the talked to witnesses. He turned his thought to potential causes. It could be a witch, but turning people to stone was a pretty specific hex to cast. "Any chance it could be a gorgon or a variant? The last one we hunted was in New Mexico too."

Sam sighed. "Maybe. But both victims had their eyes intact and neither body had signs of being sliced up for dinner. Besides, other than the ancient Greek Medusa myth, there's no record I can find of gorgon's turning people to stone. The one Jack killed didn't. I've been through our database I can't find any known monster that fits." Frustration crept into Sam's voice.

"Well, hopefully things will be clearer once we check out the bodies. Aiden's friend Danny will sneak us in tonight so we can take a look."

"I guess," Sam shrugged. The kid always took it personally when he didn't have enough intel to figure things out. After a few minutes Sam shoved his phone into his pocket and shuffled his papers into a pile which he stowed in the backseat. "You need me to drive for a while?"

"Nah, I'm good, thanks." Driving was still one of Dean's greatest pleasures. The sun was shining, traffic was light, and they were making good time.

"Alright," Sam said, slouching down against the window. "Let me know if you change your mind."