Graveyard Digger, Coffin Case Sinner

Drive Me Faster

It was a perfect day for a drive: the windows were down, music was up, as they barreled along Route 50, somewhere in Utah. The Impala was the only car on the highway as far as the eye could see, and Dean was taking advantage of it. He was tapping the steering wheel in time to the music as he sang along with Led Zeppelin on the radio. His eyes would shift to Sam every minute or so and he would sing whatever lyric out loud.

"You're such a rock star, Dean," Sam laughed at his brother as Dean shot him a grin, eyes flicking between him and the road. He laid his head back against the sun-warmed seat and closed his eyes, enjoying the feel of the air blowing in the window.

Sam was on the verge of dozing off half an hour later, when he felt the car slow a bit. He opened his eyes to glance at his brother - the nineteen-year-old's gaze was focused on the road ahead. He followed the man's gaze, to see a car in the distance. As they drew nearer, he saw that it was pulled over on the shoulder of the empty highway, and the hood was up. A lone figure stood next to the car, staring down at its engine.

Dean continued to decelerate as they drew closer. He guided the Impala off the highway, onto the shoulder behind the other vehicle, stopping a short distance from it. Sam saw the figure - a woman - look in their direction as the Impala rolled to a halt. His eyes shifted to Dean, to find his brother studying the car ahead, and its driver. Finally he opened his car door and moved to get out.

"Stay here, Sammy."

Sam sat up in the passenger seat, watching as his brother approached the car ahead. He half-turned to glance out the Impala's back window - the highway was empty for miles, behind and ahead - then his attention returned to his brother.

Through the open window, he could hear Dean greet the woman, his tone pleasant. Comments about car trouble, followed by an affirmation, followed by the man offering to take a look.

Sam fidgeted in the seat, glancing down the highway again. He was nervous, suddenly. He had recognized that look on his brother's face, the one he got when he was sizing up a potential target. If Dean decided she was suitable, would he do it out here? In the open? It wasn't like there was any other place out here: the highway stretched forever, with miles of desert-like landscape on either side.

His eyes flicked back to the car, and that's when he spotted the stuffed animal in the back windshield. It was only a little thing, really, just a purple stuffed animal, what appeared to be a puppy, but it had him focusing on other things. The plastic yellow 'baby on board' tag hanging on the inside of the rear passenger window; the 'every child matters' logo on the license plate; the top of the car seat he could see peeking over the back of the seat.

Sam got out of the car.

He moved around the broken down vehicle, shooting the woman a pleasant smile as her eyes shifted from her engine to him. His brother did the same, raising his head a bit to glance at him. "Hey," he greeted the woman as she returned his smile, "Hot day to have car trouble."

"It is," she agreed, wiping a hand across the back of her forehead, "Thank you guys so much for stopping! I haven't seen another car in the last hour, and the nearest tow truck is two hours away."

"Good thing your kids aren't stuck out here in this heat, huh?" he nodded toward the rear of the car and the car seat which could be seen through the window.

"You're telling me," she laughed a tired laugh, "I was heading home from a work conference and it -" she motioned toward the vehicle - "just went dead on me! No air conditioning, no radio, nothing. I don't know what happened. My kids would melt out here!"

"How old are they?"

"Three and seven," she smiled fondly, "a handful, but they're sweethearts, and they're so close to each other already."

"My brother's good with cars," Sam shot her a smile, "and if he can't fix it, we'll give you a lift or wait with you until the tow truck gets here."

"That's so kind of you," the woman brushed her hair away from her eyes, features grateful, "I really appreciate that, guys. Thank you."

His hazel gaze shifted to Dean, to find his brother still leaning over the engine, eyes on him. He leaned against the car's fender, arms resting on the metal, and met that green gaze.

"Fix her car, Dean."

The older Winchester was motionless for a second before nodding and turning his focus to the engine. He straightened several moments later and headed for the Impala's trunk; two minutes after that, he returned with a toolbox in hand.

Sam watched him as he worked, enthralled as always by his brother, by the talent he had with his hands (in more ways than one, he could fine tune a car and fine tune Sam just as skillfully).

Ten minutes later, Dean was closing the hood of the car. "Give her a try," he instructed, wiping his hands on a shop cloth he had stashed in the toolbox. The woman (Kate, she had introduced herself) climbed behind the car's wheel and turned the key. She shot them a grin through the windshield as the car started up immediately.

"Your alternator is going out," Dean told her as she got out of the car and joined them, "It's draining your battery. That should hold until you get home, but get it fixed before taking another trip."

"Thanks so much!" Sam was mildly surprised when Kate approached and threw her arms around Dean, and then him, in a hug, "I can't tell you how much I appreciate this. You're a real lifesaver!"

You have no idea, lady.

Five minutes later, they were watching her tail lights depart.

Sam felt his brother's gaze on him, and he glanced at the other. Dean was studying him, the look on his face curious.

"She had kids," he answered the unspoken question, his own voice low, "I'm not gonna leave two more kids without their mom."

Dean hummed, stepped closer to him and grasped his arm to tug him close. He moved into his brother's arms, head resting against Dean's chest.

"If we're going to do this, Dean, it can't be people like her. It can't."

His brother's voice was soft as he murmured against Sam's hair, "Okay, Sammy. Whatever you want."

When they climbed back in the Impala, Sam slid across the bench seat to press up against his brother's side. Dean shot him a fond smile and, slipping an arm around his shoulders, leaned in for a quick kiss. It was his turn to grin as the other started to pull away, but leaned back in to steal a second kiss. Dean winked at him before guiding the Impala back onto the highway.

Sam sighed in contentment. Dean and the Impala and blue skies and miles of empty highway.

Perfect day for a drive.