Defenders of the Night

04. Phantom Traveler

As the door opened, Dean awoke and slipped a hand under his pillow for a weapon. He glanced at Lana and Rose to see them fast asleep, and angled his body in front of theirs.

He turned to see Sam entering, carrying coffee and pastries.

"Morning, sunshine," Sam greeted, kicking at Lana's bed, causing her to wake with a groan.

"What time is it?" Dean asked groggily. "Be nice to my wife."

"Uh, it's about 4:45."

"In the morning?"

"Yep."

Lana yawned and sat up as she rubbed her eyes and asked, "Sammy, you get any sleep?"

Sam nodded. "Yeah, I grabbed a couple hours."

"Liar," Dean said. "'Cause I was up at three, and you were watching a George Foreman informercial."

"Hey, what can I say? It's riveting TV."

"When was the last time you got a good night's sleep?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know, a little while, I guess. It's not a big deal."

"Yeah, it is."

"Look, I appreciate your concern-"

"Oh, I'm not concerned about you. It's your job to keep my ass and my girls' alive, so we need you sharp."

Lana stared at Sam. "Be honest, are you still having nightmares about Jess?"

Sam crossed the room, sat on the other bed, handed a coffee to Dean and Lana. "Yeah. But it's not just her. It's everything. I just forgot, you know? This job. Man, it gets to you."

"You can't let it," Dean told him. "You can't bring it home like that."

"So, what? All this it... never keeps you two up at night?"

"Never? You're never afraid?"

"No, not really."

Sam reached under Dean's pillow to pull out a large hunting knife and held it up as evidence.

Dean took the knife back. "That's not fear. That is precaution."

"All right, whatever. I'm too tired to argue."

Dean's phone rang and he answered. "Hello?"

"Dean, it's uh, it's Jerry Panowski. You and your dad helped me out a couple years back."

"Oh, right, yeah. Up in Kittanning, Pennsylvania, the poltergeist thing. It's not back, is it?"

"No. No. Thank God, no. But it's something else, and... uh, I think it could be a lot worse."

"What is it?"

"Can we talk in person?"

Dean eyed Sam and Lana and they eyed him back.

Lana gently shook Rose and said, "Sweetie, we gotta go."

Rose continued sleeping and Dean picked her up as she mumbled, "Jammies day, Daddy?"

Dean glanced at his wife who shrugged and he nodded before saying, "Sure, sweet pea, jammies day."

Rose smiled as she closed her eyes again.

---

The Impala drove down the road and eventually, they reached the hangar.

Jerry greeted the four. "Thanks for making the trip so quick. I ought to be doing you guys a favor, not the other way around. Dean and your dad really helped me out. It's nice to meet you and Rose, Lana. Dean's had a lot to say about the two of you."