Underlined in Red

04

[Phantom Traveler]

As the door opened, Dean awoke and slipped a hand under his pillow for a weapon. He glanced at Meri to see her fast asleep and angled his body in front of hers. He might not know her well, but he wasn't about to let her get shot or stabbed.

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

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

"What time is it?" Dean asked groggily.

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

"In the morning?"

"Yep."

Meri glared at Sam and asked, "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 Meri's alive, so we need you sharp."

Meri crossed her arms. "Be honest, are you still having nightmares about Jess?"

Sam crossed the room, sat on the other bed, handed a coffee to Dean and Meri. "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 Meri and they eyed him back.

---

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

Jerry greeted the trio. "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."

"Yeah, he told me," Sam said with a nod. "It was a poltergeist?"

"Poltergeist? Man, I loved that movie," a man stated.

Meri smirked faintly at the man's comment.

"Hey, nobody's talking to you. Keep walking," Jerry told him. "Damn right it was a poltergeist, practically tore our house apart. Tell you something. If it wasn't for you and your dad, I probably wouldn't be alive. Your dad said you were off at college. Is that right?"