KALEIDOSCOPE ─ SAM WINCHESTER

10. dead man's blood

"Well dude, not a decent lead in all of Nebraska. What've you got?" Dean set the newspaper he'd been skimming through down, his hands clasping together in front of him as he looked over at Sam expectantly.

"I've been scanning Wyoming, Colorado, and South Dakota," Sam replied, pausing to read, his eyes glued to his laptop's screen. "Here. A woman in Iowa fell 10,000 feet from an airplane and survived."

"Sounds more like 'That's Incredible' than 'Twilight Zone'," Char chimed in.

"Yeah," Sam sighed, running his fingers through his hair as he glanced over at her. He furrowed his eyebrows, taking a moment to look around the crowded diner. "Where'd Karolyn say she went?"

"Oh no," Char groaned. "Sam, don't tell me you're one of those clingy boyfriends who can't spend a second away from their girlfriend," Charlotte said with a look of pure disgust, clearly not a fan of that type.

"I was just wonderin'," Sam scoffed, raising his hands in defense.

"What? Gotta go hold her hand while she pees?" Dean teased, a cocky grin spreading across his face.

Sam glared, giving Dean his bitchface. Dean snickered, glancing at Charlotte for approval, but she remained completely straight-faced.

Dean's smirk faded as he cleared his throat.

"Did you guys find anything?" Karo asked as she returned, pulling out her chair to sit down.

Sam's expression softened at the sight of her, a smile breaking across his face. "Not yet," he stated, his tone dramatically different from moments before.

"Oh my God, you're sick!" Char fake gagged.

"Hey, you've been nagging at us to date for months," Karo replied, raising her eyebrows with an amused smile.

"Well, I take it back. I hadn't thought about all the things you two dating would entail," Char said with a sarcastic smile.

"Char—" Dean started, sliding an arm around her shoulders.

"How many times do I have to reject you?" she shot him a glance.

Karo laughed, enjoying the way Dean's face dropped into a look of annoyance.

"That's not what I was doing," Dean sighed, reluctantly removing his arm from around her, slumping back into his seat.

Sam refocused on his laptop, scrolling through articles and sites to try and find something for them to work on. The small clicks and the sound of Sam typing away could be heard under the loud noises of forks clanging and straws stirring.

"So what if we just go back to Texas, chill for a couple weeks..." Char trailed off, gauging the others' reactions.

"You've suggested this a million times," Dean shook his head, fed up with Char's constant attempts to find ways out of hunting.

"Yeah, and every time, I dream of the day you'll finally say yes," Char smiled at Dean, her voice playful and sarcastic.

"Yeah, yeah. It's never comin'..." Dean and Charlotte's voices gradually faded as Karo looked over at Sam, who was intent on finding something for them to work on.

She moved her chair closer to him, sliding her arm through his and resting her head on his shoulder. He glanced down at her. "You okay?"

"Tired," she mumbled, her eyes on Sam's screen, her cheek pressed against his arm, causing her words to be muffled.

He kissed the top of her head briefly before turning back to the article he'd been reading. "I'd suggest a nap, but you don't like 'em," Sam sighed, continuing to browse from website to website.