Damaged Goods

Wendigo

Though I had only seen John Winchester on TV, I could see him in the post-Sam.

He was not doing well. He had barely slept. If he ever did, he woke up muttering about fire. It seemed to set him back on the chase fresh as the night it happened. Most waking hours were spent getting any information on Azazel. It was awful to seem him falling apart.

Such as the morning a week after the funeral. He had barely slept the drive over. There was a silent agreement to not disturb Sam whenever he managed to close his eyes. Dean drove on smooth roads, when he could. If there was a plot hole he drove around it. I kept myself in the backseat, quiet as a church mouse. The map was given to me, so Sam didn't need to be the GPS. Any conversation was whispered.

Still, his nightmares woke him up. Our best efforts did nothing against Sam's own mind.

Sam shot up. There was a word caught in his throat, coming out as a pained choked gasp. He blinked hard, rubbing at his eyes. He'd slept for an hour that time.

"Sam?" I quietly asked.

He let out a quick huff. "Yeah?"

"Are you okay?"

Sam glanced away, pretending he had no idea what could be wrong. "Yeah, I'm fine."

"Another nightmare?" Dean noted, giving Sam a meaningful look.

Sam didn't say 'no'.

Dean and I exchanged a short look.

"You wanna drive for a while?" Dean offered, half awkward.

Sam stared at his brother, surprised. "Dean, your whole life you never once asked me that." He stated.

"Just thought you might want to." Dean huffed. "Never mind."

Sam looked between Dean and I. "Look, guys, you're worried about me. I get it, and thank you, but I'm perfectly okay."

"Mm-hm."

"Gotcha."

Sam wisely did not believe us.

"Alright, where are we?" He asked, reaching for the dashboard only to find the map was in my hands.

"We are just outside of Grand Junction." I reported gleefully. I showed off the giant red X Dean had left.

He shook his head at me. When he tried to take the map, I pulled it away. "You know what guys? Maybe we shouldn't have left Stanford so soon."

I rolled my eyes, falling back in my seat.

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

"We gotta find Dad first." Sam agreed.

"Dad disappearing and this thing showing up again after twenty years, it's no coincidence." Dean went on. "Dad will have answers. He'll know what to do."

I moved forward, holding the map up.

"It's weird, man. These coordinates he left you.This Blackwater Ridge..." I read off.

"What about it?" Dean asked.

"There's nothing there. It's just woods." I pointed at the patch of green on the map. "Why is your father sending us to the middle of nowhere?"

Neither brother answered.

==DG==