Rivers Deep | Sam Winchester

3. Damned If You Do, Damned If You Don't

"You're damned if you do, and you're damned if you don't, so you might as well just do whatever you want." - Kacey Musgraves

• • •

Staring at the road ahead of him, Noah sighed as he noticed a sign indicating a small town in the next twenty miles. They had driven all day for the most part outside of gas stops, bathroom breaks, and a stop for lunch. It was nearing seven o'clock and Noah was growing hungry.

Thankful he was ahead of the boys he pulled his phone out at the stop sign, quickly calling Dean. "Hey," Dean greeted from the driver's side of the Impala. "Hey, it's hitting nightfall, what do you guys say that we stop for dinner and maybe get a room for the night so we can do a little research to find the next case, we'll sleep and get started early tomorrow?" Noah suggested.

"That sounds good to me," Dean agreed, "Let me ask Sam." A few murmurs echoed through the phone, unintelligible to Noah before Dean came back, "Seems we're all on the same page, stop on the next town."

"Alright," Noah nodded before hanging up and turning his music back up, nodding his head to Bob Seger.

• • •

Pulling to a stop in the parking lot of a diner, Noah stepped out of the Jeep, leaving the door open for a sleeping Delta. Summer had grown closer and having stopped in Missouri, while it wasn't as hot as their last few cases along Georgia, Alabama, and Mississippi, it still wasn't a good idea to close the door of the car with Delta still inside, especially without the windows rolled down. Plus the factor of being extra nervous to leave her in the car after the trickster incident last year.

Dean and Sam stepped out of the Impala. Turning to him, Noah sighed, "I really don't wanna leave her in the car but she's sleeping for the first time in probably a hundred miles, can you guys order for me?"

"I actually need to make a call to Bobby to see if he found anything in the last few hours, why don't you go in, Sammy? You know what I want, " Dean stated.

Sam sighed before nodding and looking to Noah. "Cheeseburger with lettuce, onions, and ketchup, and a water," Noah told him. He nodded again, and turned to Dean, "It's your turn."

"Yeah, yeah," Dean muttered, pulling out the cash to pay. He handed the money to Sam, who turned and entered the diner.

Dean watched his brother walk through the door and while keeping a keen eye through the glass windows, he turned to face Noah. Noah sighed, shaking his head. He knew this was coming.

"You know..." Dean started, "The way you were talking about the deal a few days ago, that's been weighing on me a bit, especially," he laughed, but no amusement was present, "Because it sounded scarily similar to how you were talking when you threw up at the roadhouse, now at the time I could've chalked that up to stress and the knowledge of seeing how so many people were killed so brutally if it weren't for the blood that came up with it."

Noah rolled his eyes. "So..." Dean trailed, "You maybe wanna explain what the hell is going on?"

"No, Dean, I really don't!" Noah snapped, "Because it's really none of your damn business!"

"What? I don't get to be worried about you?" Dean raised an eyebrow. "No, you fucking don't!" Noah exclaimed, "So stop asking because I am sick and tired of people messing around my business when it's not theirs to sift through so just stop!"

Dean looked away, staring at the road full of passing cars. Neither of them were ready for a fight right now, both of them were mentally and physically exhausted so... with an exasperated sigh, he put a pin in it, knowing he would come back to this in the next few days.