Turn The Page

The Winchester boys have stopped for the night, parking the Impala in the middle of a field somewhere in Ohio. They had just finished a quick and easy vampire hunt in a few towns over and planned on taking a few days to themselves. There's a Led Zeppelin tribute band coming to a few states over, and Dean thinks it would be cool to see them and tip back a few beers. Though tonight as they sit on the hood of the Impala, watching the stars in the open field, the brothers can't help but feel some sort of guilt fill the space between them.

See, before they killed the last vamp of the local nest, the vamp reminded the brothers of Adam, how Adam is still locked in the cage with Lucifer and Michael. After the vamp blurted out this fact, Sam dropped the blade he was about to decapitate the vamp with. He was sent back, trapped inside the cage in his mind, blanked to what's happening around him. Dean had to jump in and kill the vamp before slapping Sam out of his daze, literally, slapping him across the face.

Now, the boys are both thinking about Adam non-stop, but neither of them say a word to the other. Dean glances at Sam every once in awhile, hesitates to say something, but he never does. He seems to do this quite often, ever since the night Azazel corrupted Sam, Dean has felt as if Sam is his responsibility. They spend the night here, silently consumed in their shared thoughts until morning. Dean had fallen asleep at some point in the early morning, leaning back on the windshield of the Impala. Sam didn't sleep, afraid to close his eyes for fear of nightmares from the cage.

Before he wakes Dean up, Sam looks down at his palm. He still has an extremely faint scar from when he fell because of his projection of Lucifer. He presses his thumb into it, just to be sure. When nothing changes, he roughs Dean's arm, shaking him awake. "Come on, if you wanna make it to Wisconsin by noon tomorrow we should leave now." Sam yawns, getting into the passenger's seat. Dean stretches his back out before taking the driver's side and starting her up. Dean scans the radio for some classic rock station, settling on one and driving off.

They make a pit stop at a small family diner for breakfast. Dean chuckles realizing the day of the week. "Happy Tuesday, Sammy!" He says after they place their orders. Sam flashes a small smile, but he can't shake the feeling of guilt about Adam. "Y'know you're allowed to talk to me." Dean says to his brother, fixing his coffee to his liking. Sam does the same, watching the dark brew spin in a mini whirlpool around the mug.

He sighs. "It's just that. We've been reminded of Adam many times before, countless times, so why do I feel like such a dick about it this time?" He says, all in one go.

Dean sets down his mug and looks Sam in the eyes. Sam holds the eye contact for a moment before dropping it and shifting his gaze awkwardly around the table. "Sammy you have to let him go at one point. You know our family's cursed. Everyone dies, blood or liquor, everyone in our family dies. He's probably long gone by now. You know how you were after a year of the cage, you were barely surviving. Imagine what his mind is like now, after years in the cage. We're lucky if he still exists anymore. There's nothing we can do about it."

"I know that Dean." Sam blurts out, almost angrily. He sighs and clams down. "I just want to know why I have this crap feeling in my mind this time. I've realized all of that before, but not once has it made me feel like an ass." They both take a breath and sip their coffees in sync. Silence consumes them as they eat their food and leave the diner. As Dean gets in the car, Sam hesitates for a moment, turning to look at the diner before following suit with Dean. They continue on their way to Wisconsin for the concert, classic rock filling the car, turning to static, and tuning into the station again.

"We'll be back to the tunes after the news, so stick with us." A few commercials play, the reporter rambles on about sports, monotone voices creating a gray blur in the brothers's minds. Until one thing sparks their interest. "Meteorologists in the area are still at a loss with the localized temperature drop and dry lightning storms over Battle Creek, Michigan." Dean freezes. He knows that town from somewhere in his memory.