Witching Hour | Winchester

Ten

Roxanne stretches her legs, thankful that Sam had let her take the passenger seat. It's December 14th, and they had been driving for hours. She could only marvel at Dean's patience and ability to drive for so long. How he hadn't yet run off the road and crashed, she'd never know.

"Any news on Dad?"

Roxanne sighs. "No... I'm sorry. These things, they can take-"

"I know."

She risks a glance at him, and he gives her a fleeting smile.

"So... How are your ribs?" Dean asks as he parks the car.

Roxanne shrugs. "Pretty good, all things considered."

He nods. "That's good..."

Roxanne holds a hand to her chest. "Don't tell me you were actually worried about me," she smiles sarcastically.

"No," Dean scoffs. "Broken ribs slow you down, and I'm not picking up your slack."

She hums, giving him a knowing glance. Sam stirs in the backseat, and Roxanne turns to look at him. His nose is scrunched, and he groans.

"Sam?"

Dean follows her gaze and reaches back to smack his chest.

"Sam, wake up!"

Sam sits up, looking around in an attempt to get his bearings. Roxanne gives him a small wave before resting her chin on her seat.

"I take it I was having a nightmare," he frowns, glancing to Dean.

"Yeah, another one."

"Hey, at least I got some sleep."

"You know, sooner or later we're gonna have to talk about this."

"Are we here?" Sam reaches for the newspaper that sits between Roxanne and Dean.

"Welcome to Toledo, Ohio," Roxanne grins.

"So what do you think really happened to this guy?" Sam frowns

"That's what we're gonna find out... Let's go."

Dean gets out of the Impala, and Sam and Roxanne quickly follow. The three make their way into the morgue. Roxanne's eyes drift across the two desks, pausing on the nameplate of the empty one. Her eyebrows raise, and she glances at Dean to find him reading the name with a grimace. A morgue technician looks up at the three.

"Hey," the tech greets.

"Hey."

"Can I help you?"

"Yeah," Roxanne gives him a smile. "We're the med students."

"Sorry?"

Dean smiles. "Oh, Doctor, uh... Figlavitch didn't tell you?" He asks, stumbling over the name.

Roxanne squeezes her eyes shut as the tech's expression changes. If he keeps messing up names and stumbling over case information, she may have to try taking the lead more. She doubts he'll let her do much of anything, but maybe they wouldn't draw so much attention. After all, she's used to gathering information and entering cases well-prepared.

"We talked to him on the phone. He, uh, we're from Ohio State. He's supposed to show us the Shoemaker corpse. It's for our paper."

The morgue tech gives the hunters a false smile. "Well, I'm sorry. He's at lunch."

"Oh," Dean says as the brothers share a glance. "Well he said, uh... Oh, well, you know, it doesn't matter. You don't mind just showing us the body, do you?"