Purpose - Dean Winchester ¹

Phantom Traveler

~ THEN ~

Dean came back to Riley, who was waiting at the Impala by the bags. "Just one more room, with one bed," he said, holding up the key. Riley shrugged. "Keep your hands to yourself and we'll be fine, Winchester." Dean just grinned.

Dean woke up to an anxious whimper. He knew immediately that it was coming from Riley. She was tossing and turning, mumbling unintelligibly to herself. Tears ran down her cheeks. It broke his heart to see her like that. Worst of all, her nightmares were never the same. Sometimes she dreamed of the death of her adoptive parents, sometimes of Tom's death, and sometimes she dreamed of a life she could never have. Dean sighed and shook her gently by the shoulder. Riley's sleep was never deep enough, so she immediately jumped in fear. "Hey, it's okay, Ri." She looked at him tiredly, her eyes still filled with tears. "Can we forget about the whole 'keep your hands to yourself' thing?" asked Riley. Dean saw the fear, the vulnerability in her eyes. "Come over here." He took her hand and pulled her towards him. Immediately, she snuggled against him. "You're not alone, Ri, I'm here. Always."

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Riley woke up just as it was getting light outside. She looked around; they were staying in a motel, as usual. Dean was lying on the other bed, his blanket at the foot of it, himself snuggled against a pillow. He was wearing only his boxers and a t-shirt. Riley's heart was pounding and her stomach was butterflies. She sighed. She had to get rid of these feelings. It wasn't good to develop feelings as a hunter, even if Dean was one. Feelings meant danger, and danger usually meant death.When Sam opened the door, Dean's eyes opened and he immediately had a hand under his pillow. Riley knew that he had a knife there, just in case. She also had her gun under her pillow. "Good morning, sunshine," Sam said, coffee in hand. "What time is it?" asked Dean sleepily. "It's about 5:45." Dean laid his head back on the pillow and murmured, "In the morning?" "Yep." Riley sighed tiredly and threw off the covers. "Where's the day going?" asked Dean, his eyes half closed. He turned to Sam who was standing in front of Dean's bed. "Did you get any sleep last night?" "Yeah, I got a few hours." "Liar," Dean muttered as he sat up. "I was up at 3am and you were watching the George Foreman infomercial." "Hey, what can I say? It's television," Sam said, raising his arms apologetically. Dean didn't react to his joke. "When was the last time you slept?" "I don't know. A while, I guess." He seemed to think for a moment. "It's not a big deal." "It is, Sammy. Not sleeping isn't exactly healthy," Riley said, her voice still sleepy. "I appreciate your concern --" Sam started, but Dean cut him off. "I'm not worried about you. It's your job to keep my ass alive. So I need you sharp." "Riley's still here, too." "Only she doesn't sleep much more than you do, Sam."

Riley glared at him, but Dean ignored it. "Seriously, are you still having nightmares about Jess?" Sam sighed, walked over to Riley's bed and looked at her questioningly. Riley nodded and made room for him before sitting down. "Yeah." He handed a coffee to Dean and Riley. Riley sighed contentedly and took a sip. "But it's not just her, it's everything. I just forgot, you know, this job..." he paused for a moment. "Man, it gets to you." "You can't let it. You can't bring it home." Riley rolled her eyes. What great advice. It might have worked for Dean, although she knew that some cases wouldn't let him go either. "So, what, all this never keeps you up at night?" asked Sam glumly. Dean shook his head. "Never? You're never scared?" "No, not really." Sam laughed briefly, then reached under Dean's pillow and pulled out the knife. Dean took it sheepishly from his hand. "That's not fear. That's precaution." "All right, whatever. I'm too tired to argue." Riley sighed and took Sam's hand. "You should try to get some sleep." Sam looked at Riley when Dean's cell phone rang. "You too," Dean said as he grabbed the phone. Dean answered the call. "Hello?" Sam and Riley looked at him and waited. "Oh, right, yeah. Up in Kittanning, Pennsylvania. The poltergeist thing." Riley vaguely remembered that case. "It's not back, is it?" Dean listened intently. "What is it?" "Sure. We're on our way," Dean said and hung up. "New case." He got out of bed and went to the bathroom. Sam looked at Riley, confused, but she just shrugged.