Miss. Winchester ( volume one)

Chapter four

A week had passed since Eliana endured the loss of her first love, Patrick, and her close friend, Jess, who was like a sister to her. Additionally, she had revealed to her brothers that she was pregnant. In this solemn week, Eliana had not spoken a single word. Currently, she sat in the Impala, staring at the bunny Patrick had gifted her.

Sam abruptly jerked awake, most likely from a nightmare. Eliana shifted her gaze to Dean, who was looking at Sam with concern. "You okay?" Dean inquired.

"Yeah, I'm fine," Sam replied. He then glanced at Eliana, who managed to offer him a weak smile. Both Sam and Eliana knew each other well enough to recognize the feigned reassurance. Sam was hiding something, but Eliana had not spoken since revealing her pregnancy.

"Another nightmare?" Dean questioned. The twins looked at him. Sam cleared his throat, choosing not to answer. "You wanna drive for a while?" Dean asked, attempting to divert Sam's attention. Eliana appreciated the gesture; Dean had been trying to lift Sam's spirits, even getting Eliana a milkshake earlier in the week, with some success.

Sam chuckled and said, "Dean, your whole life, you never once asked me that."

"Just thought you might want to. Never mind," Dean responded.

"Look, man, you're worried about me. I get it, and thank you, but I'm perfectly okay," Sam insisted.

"Mm-hm," Dean replied, clearly not entirely convinced. Sam grabbed a map, unfolding it, and diverted the conversation. "All right, where are we?"

"We are just outside of Grand Junction," Dean stated. Eliana sat up a little, glancing at the map. Sam folded it down, revealing a large red X labeled 35-111.

"You know what?" Sam began. "Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon."

"Sam, we dug around there for a week. We came up with nothing. If you wanna find the thing that killed Jessica—" Dean started.

"We gotta find Dad first," Sam concluded. At this point, Eliana tuned out her brothers' conversation, staring out of the Impala's window. Her thoughts drifted between the world she knew before Patrick and the one she envisioned with him—a world of comfort, love, and a lifetime together.

The Winchesters found themselves at the Blackwater Ridge Forest Ranger station. Sam and Eliana scrutinized a 3D map of the national forest, paying close attention to Blackwater Ridge. Meanwhile, Dean inspected the decorations.

"Blackwater Ridge is pretty remote. It's cut off by canyons, rough terrain, dense forest, and abandoned silver and gold mines," Sam explained, gesturing towards the map. Eliana joined her brothers, running her finger over the map.

"Dude, check out the size of this freaking bear," Dean exclaimed. The twins turned their attention to a framed photo of a man standing behind a much larger bear. Sam approached, Eliana following suit.

"A dozen or more grizzlies in the area. It's no nature hike, that's for sure," Sam added. Eliana and Sam examined the impressive bear photo.

Ranger Wilkinson, a forest ranger, approached them, startling the trio. "You boys aren't planning on going out near Blackwater Ridge by any chance?" he asked.

"Oh, no, sir, we're environmental study majors from UC Boulder, just working on a paper," Sam quickly responded, adding a touch of laughter. Eliana grinned, appreciating the effort.

"Bull," Wilkinson stated, causing the three to freeze. He continued, "You're friends with that Haley girl, right?"

"Yes, yes, we are, Ranger—Wilkinson," Dean responded after checking the Ranger's name-tag.

"Well, I will tell you exactly what we told her. Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back from Blackwater until the twenty-fourth, so it's not exactly a missing persons now, is it?" Wilkinson explained. Dean nodded.

"You tell that girl to quit worrying; I'm sure her brother's just fine," Wilkinson concluded. "We will. Well, that Haley girl's quite a pistol, huh?" Dean remarked.

"That is putting it mildly," Wilkinson replied. "Actually, you know what would help is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit. You know, so she could see her brother's return date," Dean suggested, glancing at the Ranger.

Dean, Sam, and Eliana exited the ranger station. Dean held a piece of paper, laughing about something.

"What, are you cruising for a hookup or something?" Sam asked, and Eliana chuckled. He had read her mind.

"What do you mean?" Dean questioned.

"The coordinates point to Blackwater Ridge, so what are we waiting for? Let's just go find Dad. I mean, why even talk to this girl?" Sam proclaimed.

"I don't know. Maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it?" Dean suggested, giving Sam a meaningful look.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Since when are you all shoot first,ask questions later, anyway?" Dean inquired.

"Since now," Sam responded. He turned away to get into the Impala, and Eliana grabbed his arm, making him look at her. She then walked over to the nearby trash can, with Sam and Dean trailing behind.

Eliana reached the trash can and began to throw up. Sam held her hair, and Dean rubbed her back. "Are you sick?" Dean asked. Eliana shook her head.

"It's morning sickness," Sam explained. Eliana stood up straight, smiled, and returned to the Impala.

"You better not throw up in my car," Dean warned.

Eliana stood in front of the door, looked at Dean, and raised her middle finger before getting back into the car. Sam laughed and joined her, with Dean following suit.

"Really?" Dean remarked.