Roads Untraveled ~ Sam Winchester

Chapter Thirty-Four - Road Trip

A/N: Song above is what I like to call 'Dean and Elizabeth's song' after this chapter, so please listen and imagine them having an epic sing-off at each other in the Impala. I know that's what I picture; lots of pointing at each other, air grabs, air guitar, punching the air or their thighs to the drums. The full works. Total cheesy goofballs.

- Rayna xoxo

The car ride had been silent for five minutes.
Dean kept glancing over every now and again to check on Elizabeth, but also to see if that moment was a good time to bring up what he and Sam had spoken about. Elizabeth had her elbow rested on the door, her head in her hand, staring out of the window, watching the rain drip diagonally down the glass. The Winchester's inner monologue joked that she looked like she was about to start singing some sort of love ballad. He opted, instead of his conversation topic, to turn on some music, leaning over to grab a tape from the glove compartment.
He'd chosen a random mixtape, shoving it carelessly into the deck before adjusting the volume so that it wasn't too overpowering, but covered the silence nicely.

It was a further hour before the tape ran out and the silence took over once again.
Two minutes of that ensued until Elizabeth sighed.
"You have something to say. You've wanted to since we left. So out with it." She said, looking over at him with a blank expression.
"Okay, yeah." Dean nodded. "Sammy and I were talking about what happened during your argument - with the lights."
"And what's 'Sammy's' conclusion?" She replied.
Dean exhaled deeply through his nose, drumming an aimless pattern on the top of the steering wheel.
"He thinks your dreams aren't dreams and they're connected to all the weird crap that's been happening to you."
Elizabeth already suspected that. Dean knew that. But saying out loud made the Vampire feel... Odd.
She slumped down on the bench seat, putting her feet up on the edge. She sat staring at her knees for a few moments.
"Yeah, I've been thinking that too..." She mumbled, barely audible over the rumble of the V8 and the rain tapping incoherently on the roof. "Not that I want to... It would mean my whole life has been a lie and that I actually don't know anything about myself."
"Yeah..." Dean sighed, deciding the conversation was getting a little too deep for his expertise. "If you, uh, wanna change the tape, you can."
Elizabeth looked over, giving him a smile.
"You got it."

The rest of the trip mostly consisted of avoiding any sort of serious conversation by turning the music up way too loud and having some sort of sing off. It turned out to be exactly what they both needed. Half of the time, they could barely hear the music over each other's laughs and deliberately bad singing. They'd ended up making 'Anyway You Want It' by Journey, their 'best buddies' song.
Half way through the seven hour drive, it had gotten quiet. Whilst Elizabeth picked another tape, he'd decided to fake a yawn, concluding that maybe entrusting her to Baby's helm for a while would re-establish the bond they'd had in Purgatory.
"Man, I'm beat. You wanna take over?" He asked as the Vampire slipped a Led Zeppelin tape into the deck.
Her eyes lit up as she looked over at him.
"Sure." She smiled.
"We're not stopping, though. I'm trusting you to take over without killing me." He smirked.
"Shuffle over then, Blue Steel." She cocked a playful brow.
Dean laughed, moving forward in his seat so that he was still in control of the car as Elizabeth slipped into his spot from behind. Her legs wrapped around his and she gave a gentle squeeze to his middle as her own little 'thank you' hug from behind. The Winchester chuckled, lifting his ass over her leg as her feet replaced his on the pedals.
"You got it?" He asked.
"Yeah, I got it." She giggled, taking the wheel.
He shook his head in amusement as he planted himself in the passenger seat, looking over at her with something that could only be construed as admiration.

When they got to the garage in Hot Springs, there was a mist in the air of silent disappointment.
Neither could remember the last time they'd enjoyed a road trip that much.
But as soon as Elizabeth laid eyes on her Camaro, they lit up like a Christmas tree. She squealed, running over to it and hugging the hood.
"Baby, oh my God I missed you so much." She hummed.
"Hey, mine's Baby." Dean pouted.
Elizabeth got up, cocking an eyebrow.
"You're not the only person in the world named Dean, just like I'm not the only person in the world named Elizabeth. But if you really wanna go there, Ken Doll, mine was Baby before your dad even thought about having you." She smirked, knowing she'd silenced him well and truly as he walked off in a playful huff.
Dean led the drive to the motel, as per his request. What he hadn't told her, however, was that he had a surprise for her.