Soul To Steal: Sam Winchester

Chapter 5: I Get By With a Little Help From my Friends

I pulled into KC a little after 9 PM and hit highway 152. I was anxious to take a break from driving and stretch my legs but mostly I was looking forward to seeing Garth. It had actually been a few years since we'd crossed paths. Despite his quirky and unusual demeanor, I knew I could count on him to cheer me up and help me clear my head.
I finally pulled into the hotel parking lot and grabbed my bag as I exited the driver's seat. Approaching the entrance to the hotel I spotted him. Garth produced a big welcoming grin and cocked his head to the side. One hand in his pocket and the other waving me down. I smiled and broke out in a jog to get to him. With open arms he quickly embraced me in a friendly hug. As I lay there for a minute against his chest I felt a tear roll down my cheek. I needed this meeting more then I realized. Garth looked down upon me with concern in his eyes, "Let's get you upstairs so we can talk."

I plopped down in a chair and flung my bag to the floor the moment we entered his hotel room. Garth wondered over to the mini fridge and pulled out two beers. Cracking both open and handing one to me. After taking a swig he spoke, "What's bothering you Alex?" I quickly downed a quarter of the bottle in my hand and cleared my throat. "When is the last time you spoke to Sam Winchester, or Dean for that matter?" "Dean and I actually speak on the regular these days. You see, both of us 'quit hunting' to settle down after Sam left but we couldn't quite shake the habit you might say. We've worked a few cases together over the last couple of years here and there. Just enough to take the edge off and head home to our prospective families. Isn't it something how life turns out sometimes?" He trailed off with a chuckle for a moment before continuing. "Dean actually just finished up this last case with me but he may have headed back home already. Not seen him since this afternoon. I've heard from regular hunters that Sam is back from the cage but nothing confirmed. Dean and I have all but chalked it up to rumors." My heart lept into my throat as I fought back more tears. I didn't think I could handle seeing Dean right now without completely spilling the beans. I chugged another quarter of my beer and contemplated how I might approach this.

"Ya see Garth.. I'm working this case and I know I'm just too close to it. I'm too emotionally invested and I've seemed to forgotten how to do my job," I chuckled half-heartedly. "Well Alex I think you might of just answered your own question there. You've gotta separate your emotions and remember that it is a case and you are a very capable hunter. Alex.. does this have anything to do with Sam or Dean?" I immediately dropped my gaze to the floor, avoiding his questioning eyes. Before I could come up with some sort of BS excuse to evade answering his question the hotel room door swung open and a familiar pair of boots entered the room. My eyes shot up to see none other then Dean walk in. He had a large slice of half eaten pie in his hands, crumbs trailing down his mouth. The smile in his eyes immediately dropped as he looked upon me with shock and confusion written across his face. "Alex?" Dean set his half eaten pie down on the table and wiped his hands off down the legs of his jeans. When he moved closer to me I automatically stood to greet him. I gave him an awkward smile seconds before he wrapped me in the tightest hug. I choked back a sob, struggling with everything in me not to completely lose my shit.

Dean pulled back and clasped me on the shoulders firmly. He searched my face for a moment before speaking, "What's wrong Alex?" I wanted more then anything to tell him the truth. I wanted to share it all but then Ellen's eyes bore into my minds eye, cutting off my ability to speak. I picked up my beer and gulped the rest down before I said another word. "I think.." I momentarily made eyes contact with Garth then looked back to Dean. "I think I just might need a break from hunting." While this wasn't the issue at hand, I didn't feel too guilty as this also wasn't a lie. I plastered a smile on my face and quickly changed the subject. "Speaking of taking a break, you are semi retired. Never thought I'd see the day, Dean Winchester. Really though, how the hell are you doing?" Dean returned my smile, shooting a knowing look Garth's direction. He resigned to dropping the issue.. for now. If I knew anything about him, he wouldn't let it go long.

"I'm honestly doing really good, Alex. I did quit hunting for a couple years but talking to Garth here I realised I couldn't completely stay away." He laughed half-heartedly with a guilty look in his eyes. "Hey, don't feel bad about it Dean. If you can manage to have both and it works for you. Hell, that's the perfect scenario in my opinion. It's honestly what I've always pictured for myself anyway. That is until.." I trailed off. I couldn't bring myself to even say his name. I had tried in the past to find a guy of my own but I could never get Sam out of my head. It just didn't feel right with anyone. Even now I wondered where he was at and what he was doing. "It's okay Alex." Dean stated, patting me gently on the shoulder. "We all miss him." I nodded in agreement and moved to set back down at the chair I'd been in before he entered the room.

Dean grabbed a beer out of the fridge himself and sat across from me at the hotel room table. "Well..I was gonna head on home tonight but something told me to hang back just one more night. Garth, you gonna stick around? We could all just spend the night catching up. It'llbe fun." Garth looked like he was going to interject and disagree but one look from Dean caused him to stop short. He looked at me sympathetically. "Yeah.. sounds like fun. Just three old friend's hanging out." Dean turned sharply to me, his piercing green eyes cutting right through me. I already knew he wasn't just going to let me cut it short and head out. He was headstrong and damn bossy when he felt justified in his actions. I answered almost in a whisper, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt to stick around a little bit longer." Dean smiled triumphantly and grabbed me another beer.

We sat for a couple hours reminiscing over good times in the past. It was nice to get my mind off current issues. Around 11 PM Garth quickly passed out on one of the beds. The man never really could hold his liquor. I looked at the clock and considered making a hasty exit before he could grill me and the look on his face told me he knew exactly what I was doing. Dean stood abruptly, "I need some air. Will you take a walk with me?" I reluctantly agreed and finished off my third beer. We headed outside towards a park across the street. It was warmer out tonight. A cool breeze gently lifted the hair off the back of my neck as we walked in silence on a path that wrapped around a large pond. The only noise for about 5 minutes was the sound of our shoes hitting the cement. Halfway around the water was a bench and Dean moved to sit down. He leaned back, stretching one arm over the back of the wood and looked up to the stars with a sigh. I hesitantly sat on the opposite side of the bench, watching him look into the sky.

His eyes seemed tired and hurt in some way. He continued to look up and began to speak. "I'm gonna be honest Alex. I'm not as happy as I seem to be with my new life. I've got a damn fine woman that treats me right and she's got one hell of a kid but.. I miss hunting. I can't shake this feeling that Sam is somehow out there somewhere.. alone. Crazy right?" Dean finally looked at me, searching my eyes for reassurance. Every nerve in my body lit up.. I began to shake as I struggled to hold it together. "Alex, what's going on with you? I've never seen you this way." Dean placed a concerned hand on my shoulder. My voice cracked, "I've really been struggling the past couple of months. Working a case that's just too damn close to home, ya know.." He looked at me with a sudden determined resolve. "What can I do to help. Lay it all out for me."

"I appreciate it, ya know I do Dean. I think.. I think it really helped to see you guys tonight but I have a feeling I need to do this on my own." I stood at that point to shut down the conversation. Dean stood with me, "Let's head back to the room. Get a good night's sleep before you hit the road again." We walked back to the hotel in silence. I crawled up under the covers in the other bed and Dean laid next to me on his back, taking care to stay on top of the covers. "See you in the morning Alex." I looked into his eyes one last time and turned over to go to sleep.