Where do we go from here? {Sam, Ruby}

[The Preceptor]

When Annali heard his protest, she froze, her finger poised over the button. A confused expression on her face, she sat up straighter in her chair, her attention focused solely on the phone call and on what the man on the line was saying to her. Was? This John guy was... dead? Great. She sighed softly, muttering an apology to the person... Dean? "I'm so sorry," she said honestly. She couldn't imagine losing either of her parents and she imagined having him brought up like this wasn't easy.

"I'm guessing if your's told you to call mine, then you've got some kind of problem you don't know how to deal with?"

Anjali grasped the edge of the desk with one hand and pushed so that her chair rolled backwards a bit. She stood and began to pace... this conversation was getting more awkward by the second.. but she had to remind herself that she had nowhere else to turn, and her father must have given her this number for a reason. "Like I said, I don't even know how they knew each other, but..." Another pause was followed by a slow sigh. "Alright... my father is an archaeologist. He goes on expeditions and collects rare treasures and historical artifacts. It's all very interesting and all, but over the past couple of months there have been some odd things happening at my parents' home... and now my sister... she's disappeared." There was a sudden tone of slight panic in her voice when she mentioned the disappearance, but she managed to calm herself. "I know it sounds crazy... and even crazier that I'm bothering some poor man that I don't even know, but... I just... I don't know what to do..."

[Deleted]

Ruby watched Sam as he finished up with her bandages. She glared at him as he chuckled, but took a deep breath and cotnrolled her anger, even mangaging half a smile as he pulled her shirt down. She watched his eyes, like his mind was fighting over whether to wait, or talk to Dean.

"OK,all done. Best I can do right now. Try to just get comfortable as possible. I know it's hard in the car."

She smiled up at him. Then, when he leaned back, despite what she knew were probably hatuful glares from Dean being passed, she leaned over and layed her head on his shoulder. The pain was still there, and she knew that the bandages where probably crimson red by now, but she could fight it, just for a second. Something was up, with Sam, and with Dean, and if she wanted to know, she wasn't going to have to play nice for the time being.

" Sam, we're gonna need to stop soon. You both need some rest, I need-" She pulled her shirt out a little, rolling her eyes at the blood soaking it. " I need a new shirt. And not only that, I'm hungry. I could go for some french fries, what do you say?"

She looked up at Dean, who had yet to tell them who was on the phone or what it was about. She sighed deeply, and decided to act nice, for once, and see where it got her. If it meant no more bumps, and some food, it was worth a shot.

" What do you say, Dean? A pit stop?" She rolled her eyes when she realized he was ignoring her, the phone conversation apparrently capturing all his attention. " Or not.."

[ZZZ - Dean - RETIRED]

Annali's sincere apology was thoughtful but didn't really do much to stop Dean from feeling like a little piece of his heart was still missing. While the wounds of losing his Dad were no longer raw and open anymore, it was still sad to think about the man being gone.

"It was a while ago, but thanks anyway." He muttered, feeling distinctly uncomfortable talking about it with a random stranger over the phone with Ruby also sat in the backseat. The return to the topic that had sparked the whole conversation off - Annali's father - was a welcome one and had Dean trawling his memory for any indication of who MacPherson was. Her comment about him being related to artifacts seemed to ring some kind of bell but nothing conclusive sprang to mind.

Once again, despite Ruby's protests about him not keeping his eye on the road, Dean leaned over, held the cell phone between his ear and his shoulder and fished out his father's journal from the glove box. He then handed it over his shoulder to Sam, waving it slightly until he took it from his grasp.

"See if you can find anything on a MacPherson in there would ya?" He said, still listening to Annali explain her situation. A sympathetic look fell onto his features when she also mentioned that her sister had gone missing. That was something he could relate to very well and his gaze flicked to Sam in the rearview mirror.

"I know it sounds crazy... and even crazier that I'm bothering some poor man that I don't even know, but... I just... I don't know what to do..."

"Crazy's kinda what I do." He offered, a half smile curling his lip for a brief second even though she couldn't see it.

"Where abouts are you?"

[Sam Winchester (NPC)]

Sam

Sam closed his eyes for a minute as he sat in the seat. Ruby leaned against him and he smiled a small smile. She was right they did need to rest and he was hungry too. Dean was on the phone still but Sam wanted to get his attention since he seemed to ignore Ruby.

"HEY!! Dean.Why don't you think about making a pit stop.Food would be good. A little rest and get Ruby a new shirt."

Dean handed by their father's journal and told him to try to find something on a MacPherson. Sam sighed and opened up the book and started flipping through the pages. Finally he saw something. Scrunching up his face as he read the entry.

"Alright, I found something on a MacPherson. Uh... It's a David MacPherson just says Archeologist and artifacts. Lists the city as Topeka and a phone number. That's it."

[The Preceptor]

Annali could distinctly hear two voices other than Dean's, and she wondered if there were others with him who were just... quieter. She wondered if these people would be coming along... from what she could overhear, they didn't seem as friendly as the voice on the phone. It made her a bit uncomfortable... but she decided to focus on Dean and what he was saying to her.

"Topeka, Kansas," she answered him. "Twelve twenty-three Bakerfield Street. It's a grey stone house with a blue door." She sighed softly. The guy could probably find the place on the address alone, but for some reason she felt the need to give him more information than necessary. Perhaps it was the desperate need to be sure that he was able to find her home. "Do you... know how soon you can be here?"

[ZZZ - Dean - RETIRED]

Kansas. Just perfect. If there was one state in America he would rather avoid, it was his home state of Kansas. Too many bad memories connected to it. The death of his mother and of his childhood being first and foremost. But this was a job in Topeka, not Lawrence. He could cope with that, or at least he thought so. After all, he'd been to Hell and back since he'd last set foot on home turf, returning would be a walk in the park now. Right?

All the information she was telling him seemed to match with what Sam had found in the journal, the genuine tone of her voice also telling him she was being honest. It was enough to at least go and hear what she had to say. They'd gone further for less. When she asked him how long they would be, he glanced at his watch and did a few mental calculations and figured that he could probably drive most of the way by nightfall.

"I'll be there first thing tomorrow." He replied decisively. "You can tell me everything then and we'll see if I can help you out or not." Whilst the connection between her father and his own appeared to hold up, that didn't mean her sister's disappearance was necessarily a job for them. There could have been any number of reason's she'd go missing but that didn't really matter to Dean. He'd been itching for something to take his mind off things and whatever this was, it was better than running off to investigate yet another prison. Something about being caged up just didn't sit as well with him anymore.

[The Preceptor]

"I'll see you then," she said, wondering just what his version of 'first thing' was. She was a teacher, though, so she doubted he would be there any earlier than she could manage. "And thanks, Dean," she added, before settling the phone back onto its base and letting out a long sigh.

Annali walked over to the window and gazed out, her eyes scanning the street as far as she could see. It had become a habit since Kelly Jo's disappearance... as though she imagined her sister would just come walking casually up the sidewalk as though nothing out of the ordinary had happened. The sun was just setting, which meant it was too early to go to bed, and her mind was so wired about this Dean fellow might have to offer that she didn't think she could sleep much anyway. But she was definitely ready to settle in for the evening.

She took a few minutes to lock up the house and make sure the lights were off before heading upstairs to her bedroom. After changing into her pajamas, she grabbed a tattered romance novel from the bookshelf, she climbed into bed and got herself settled, reading by lamp light until sleep overcame her.

[This ends my part. Thanks!]

[Deleted]

Ruby grumbled at being ignored. She figured Dean was doing it on purpose, which just pissed her off.

" Dean, you selfish-"

She started to say something, but when she noticed Dean handing back a leather journal, she stopped. What was it? Could it be...

"See if you can find anything on a MacPherson in there would ya?"

It was... It had to be. It was John's Journal. Sam had talked about it a few times when it had just been her and him, but she had never actually gotten to see it.

She watched Sam open, and watched each page as it was turned. She was amazed at what she saw. Page after page on demons, spirits, and dozens of supernatural creatures. Then, Sam stopped on a pretty much blank page.

"Alright, I found something on a MacPherson. Uh... It's a David MacPherson just says Archaeologist and artifacts. Lists the city as Topeka and a phone number. That's it."

What was so interesting about that? Some guy that digs up dusty pottery?

" Sam, he digs up broken jars, big flippin' deal!" She glared into his eyes. " We have much bigger fish to fry! Can't this wait?"

She noticed that Dean just kept on talking on the phone, and sighed angrily.

" Can it at least wait until after we stop? I'm hungry, bleeding, and sore. And Dean's horrible driving isn't helping!"

She looked away from Sam, her hate-filled glare landing on Dean.

[Sam Winchester (NPC)]

Sam

Sam slumped back in the seat next to Ruby rubbing his forehead. He was starting to get a headache. All the bickering between Dean and Ruby was getting to him. He just felt caught in the middle. Dean was his brother, he'd gone to Hell for him. There was a bond between them that no matter how hard it got, no matter how twisted things were it couldn't be broken. Then there was Ruby. What was she to him? It was hard to define. She was there when he needed her. She did save him really. He still felt... something... He needed her too still.

Sam sighed heavily as Ruby spoke again. She wasn't happy that they were going off on another case. Turning to look at her he saw her glare.

"We need to do this. Just deal with it. Please."

He wanted to tell her that Dean needed this. But he couldn't, not now. Not while they were in the car with him. Besides, she probably wouldn't care. When it came to Dean she was as stubborn as a mule. He was going to have to talk to her. Make her understand.

Dean finally had finished up the phone call. So Sam was curious. He leaned forward in the his seat and rested his arm on the top of the front seat.

"So, where are we headed? Something going on in Kansas? Care to share? And if you don't mind, could we at least stop to get something to eat?"

Sam was tired. It had been crazy. It was just a matter of hours ago his brother had confessed his deepest secret to him. He hadn't even gotten to process that really.

Letting himself fall backward against the seat he closed his eyes again. Waiting for Dean to respond. Hoping for a little bit of peace.

[ZZZ - Dean - RETIRED]

Dean hung up but kept hold of the phone for a few moments, just thinking things through. When Ruby made yet another comment about his driving, he dropped the phone into the passenger seat and hastily threw the car into a sharp U-turn, hitting the gas again when they were pointed in the direction they'd just come from. The direction Kansas lay.

"We might have a job in Topeka. Missing girl, strange occurances at a house." Dean answered Sam's question somewhat stoicly, willing himself not to rise to Ruby's snarky comments.

"There's a gas station back in town, we'll stop there if it'll keep you from whining." He shot Ruby a pointed look in the mirror before quickly turning his attention back to the road ahead.

Okay, so maybe his will power wasn't what it used to be....

[Deleted]

Ruby listened to Sam talk, and rolled her eyes. They made it so hard for her to be nice, running off after such minor things. Taking a deep breath, she looked at Sam, and her voice let him know she was pissed.

" Oh, I'll deal with it alright. While you two go play Prince Charmings for some random girl, I'll go find out what I can on the looming apocalypse..."

When Sam asked Dean what they were doing, she turned her attention back to the jackass in the driver seat. She watched him drop the phone in the passenger seat, but instead of just turning around ,he whipped into a sharp u-turn in the middle of the road, slamming her into Sam.

" You son of a bitch! Did you get your license off eBay?!?"

Sitting back up when the car was no long spinning around, she glared angrily at him, holding her stomach, which she figured was pouring blood. She'd be amazed if the body didn't just stop working from blood loss.

"We might have a job in Topeka. Missing girl, strange occurances at a house."

Ruby couldn't believe what dick he was being. Even for Dean, this was bad. After she had just risked oblivion for them, he still treated her like nothing more than a demon.

"There's a gas station back in town, we'll stop there if it'll keep you from whining."

He shot her a look in the mirror, and she was beyond pissed. She returned the look by letting her eyes flash their natural solid black, then returning to the normal human. He wanted a demon, she'd give him one.

Looking over at Sam, she sighed. He probably was getting tired of all the bickering and fighting, but she couldn't help it. Dean and her, they fought like cats and dogs. or more technically, angels and demons. As she looked at him, ignoring Dean's existence, she made a mental note to pop over and get the Mustang she had "acquired" for her use, if only to give Sam some peace, and get her away from Dean.

[Sam Winchester (NPC)]

Sam

Sam listened as Dean told him about the possible job. Topeka, well it sounded fine to him. Maybe something to get them back to feeling normal again. At least normal for them. After Dean explained the job Ruby chimed in and she wasn't happy. Sam ran his hands through his hair and tried to let go of the frustration but it wasn't working so well. He turned to look at her.

"What's with the Prince Charming thing? You think we're helping her because she's a girl? What are you jealous or something? It's what we do Ruby. You know that. As far as the apocalypse. At the moment we got nothin' on that. Maybe if Castiel would be a little more forthcoming with information we could do something with that. In the meantime, this is what were doing."

Sam slumped back in the seat again and tried to block out the bickering. He closed his eyes. Trying to just clear his mind. Too much had gone on lately and he felt overwhelmed.

[ZZZ - Dean - RETIRED]

"You son of a bitch! Did you get your license off eBay?!?"

Ebay? What the hell is ebay? Dean kept his ignorance quiet, choosing not to give Ruby more ammunition to fire back at him. She called him short bus too much as it was.

"No!" He snapped back indignantly, protesting perhaps a little too much to cover the fact he was clueless. If she wanted to rile him up, he could give as good as he got. Unfortunately, he seemed to forget that Sam was stuck in the middle of the arguement, probably wanting to take both sides and neither at the same time.

"If you think my driving's that bad, you can always walk back to town. I'd be real happy to pull over. You'd probably get a ride real quick out here, looks like the kinda place to pick up hookers..."

[Deleted]

Ruby looked at Sam, listening to him speak. He was annoyed, she could tell, but SO WAS SHE.

"What's with the Prince Charming thing? You think we're helping her because she's a girl? What are you jealous or something? It's what we do Ruby. You know that. As far as the apocalypse. At the moment we got nothin' on that. Maybe if Castiel would be a little more forthcoming with information we could do something with that. In the meantime, this is what were doing."

Ruby just stared at him, resisting the urge to roll her eyes at him. Finally, with a huff and a groan, she spoke.

" Yeah, I' totally jealous Sam. Jealous of some little girl who needs you to go save her." She finally gave in and rolled her eyes. " I know it's what you do, and I'm glad you help people or whatever, but honestly. the world is about to END. Ignore the angels and let's go find Lilith. With her gone, so is our problem."

She looked at Sam, waiting for a reply, but before they could actually speak, Dean spoke up, his foot going straight into his mouth.

"If you think my driving's that bad, you can always walk back to town. I'd be real happy to pull over. You'd probably get a ride real quick out here, looks like the kinda place to pick up hookers..."

As Dean spoke, Ruby clenched her fist tightly, her knuckles white as snow. She glared at him, for a second, then, through clenched teeth, spoke. She wasn't going to deal with his childish crap anymore.

" Stop the car..."

When her command wasn't headed, she screamed, loudly.

" STOP THE DAMN CAR!"

She was so pissed, she didn't even notice the black cloud her eyes, then settle, her demonic nature in full view.

[Sam Winchester (NPC)]

Sam

Sam rubbed his eyes with his fingers and clenched his jaw tight. He really couldn't take much more of this. Especially in the confined space of the car.

"Dean, just please friggin' stop at the next town, gas station whatever. We need to stop for a bit."

Sam felt like his head was going to explode. He put his elbows on his knees, leaned forward and held his head in his hands. Massaging his temples, trying to ward off the headache to no avail.

After a few minutes of more bickering Ruby was livid. Yelling at Dean to stop the car. Sam heaved a heavy sigh and sat up turning to look at her.

"Ruby, calm down. Please. He's gonna stop alright. Just please. I can't take this anymore. I know he's being a jerk right now just try not to let him get to you. Please, for me."

He spoke quietly and calmly to her. In contrast to the feeling of tension and anxiety rising inside him. But, he knew that flying off the handle at her would help. He reached out his hand and touched her face softly, rubbing his thumb lightly across her cheekbone. Hoping he could sooth her somewhat. He knew she was in pain.