a short trip to hell } { she lived, she loved, she laughed and she cried, and it was all for me
[hasperkynipples and all_thecavalry are mine to use and abuse. feltalone and fromthetap are not mine but used with lots of love. Set during S3 of Supernatural and S7 of Smallville.]
Sam had long since given up on trying to predict where Dean’s farewell tour was going to take them. They had already hit the great burger joints and one night stands of Dean’s short yet eventful life, and none of them had seemed to convince Dean that fighting to get out of this deal was worth doing. Sam kept hoping that one of them would smack some sense into him, make him see that there was something worth living for, but so far, none of them have seemed to work. Each stop only proved to make Sam more and more frustrated, but as the days were counting down, the stops seemed to get more and more poignant. There had to be something along the way that would snap Dean out of it, so Sam had to just keep hoping and keep digging.
The last stop was the one stop that he hadn’t expected.
They were driving straight down Route 56, when Sam’s head had to practically whip around as they passed the sign informing them what state they were entering. “Kansas?” he frowned. Dean tended to avoid Kansas like the plague, but his brother didn’t glance at him to acknowledge the question.
“Smallville.”
It was enough to confirm, no, they were not going to Lawrence, but still not enough to give Sam any idea as to what was going on. “Okay,” he said softly, turning his eyes back to the road, and trying to figure out what his brother could have possibly left behind in Smallville.
By the time they actually hit town the next day, Sam was still no closer to having an explanation. They had stopped over for the night the night before, and Sam had used the time while his brother was in the shower to do some quick research, but other than a high penchant for the unexplained, though nothing that seemed to be up their alley, he had no idea what would draw his brother to that particular small Kansas town. But he had given up trying to ask about it, and figured that this would be revealed to him as Dean felt like revealing it.
Their first stop upon arrival was a small coffee shop in what probably used to be a movie theater. Dean barely said a word as they got out of the car and made their way inside, and once they were, Sam couldn’t mistake the way his brother’s eyes went right to the front counter. Dean was clearly looking for someone, and there was no missing his brother’s disappointment when he didn’t find what he was looking for. It didn’t seem to deter him any. He just weaved his way through the crowd, up to the front counter, where he rapped on it lightly before speaking.
“And here I thought I had seen the hottest barista around.”
The girl behind the counter spun around, surprise written all over her face. Sam was starting to think he’d been dragged along to visit another one of Dean’s one night stands, but the smile on the girl’s face didn’t match the one of a woman who was remembering a long night of inequity.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Jason Teague. And here I thought you’d dropped off the face of the planet.” The girl looked him over for a moment, before glancing to Sam. “Who’s Gigantor?”
“This is my brother, Sam. Sam-Lois Lane.”
“Nice to meet you,” Sam said with a nod, trying not to look too surprised at the alias.
“Didn’t know you had a brother,” Lois commented dryly, before glancing back to Dean. “Good to know one of you is actually good looking.”
Dean smirked. “You never let up, do you Lane?”
“Not while I’m breathing.” She placed the rag she was using down on the counter, her eyes still focused on Dean like a hawk. “What are you doing here, Jason?”
“Looking for Lana,” he replied quickly. Too quickly, like that was the point he was trying to get at the entire time. “She around?”
The woman hesitated. Dean might not have been paying attention, but Sam saw it. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to bring it to Dean’s attention or not, but for right now he was just going to let the conversation play out. She was quiet for a long time, before exhaling slowly and replying. “She’s over at the Kent Farm. She’s been staying there ever since she-” There was a deliberate pause, almost as though she was trying to figure out whether or not she wanted to say something. “-she got back into town.”
Dean rapped his knuckles gently against the counter before nodding, and stepping back. “Thanks. Nice seeing you, Lois.”
“Yeah. You too, Jason.”
Sam followed his brother out of the Talon, just staring at him as they went. “Jason?”
“Not now, Sammy.”
Sam sighed and nodded, just letting it go for now. He figured he would get an explanation eventually, it was just a matter of waiting for it. They piled back into the Impala, and Dean started driving again, following the roads as though he knew them like the back of his hand. This trip was just getting even more weirder as they went, but when they finally came to a stop in front of a farmhouse outside of town, his brother’s face was even more eager than it had been when they arrived at the coffee shop. He leaned forward against the wheel, watching as a lithe girl with brown hair leaned against one of the porch posts, watching out into the early evening, but away from them. Sam wasn’t watching her, though.
Sam was watching Dean.
His fingers tightened against the steering wheel, a gesture that was usually made when Dean was trying to decide whether or not he should make a move. There was something hopeful in the way he was looking, like this might have been the missing piece Sam was searching for, but then he watched as the hope faded almost as soon as it had appeared. The look of rejection across his brother’s face was unmistakable, and when he turned back to look at the girl, he found her wrapped in the arms of someone else, and they looked closer than what would indicate someone just being friends. Dean visibly deflated, before reaching for the ignition and starting the car again.
“Not going to see her?”
Dean shook his head. “Not a good idea.”
Sam nodded, soaking in the silence for a moment, before giving his brother a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Dean.” He wasn’t sure what he was apologizing for, but this girl had obviously meant something to Dean. And now, he was losing her again.
Dean just shrugged. He sat in that silence for a moment, waiting until they had gotten back to the highway, before glancing over at his brother with a smirk. “Whadaya say, Sammy? How ‘bout seein’ the world’s largest ball of twine?”
Sam stared at him for a moment, before shaking his head with a bit of a laugh. “Sure, Dean. Wherever you wanna go.”
1190 words
Sam had long since given up on trying to predict where Dean’s farewell tour was going to take them. They had already hit the great burger joints and one night stands of Dean’s short yet eventful life, and none of them had seemed to convince Dean that fighting to get out of this deal was worth doing. Sam kept hoping that one of them would smack some sense into him, make him see that there was something worth living for, but so far, none of them have seemed to work. Each stop only proved to make Sam more and more frustrated, but as the days were counting down, the stops seemed to get more and more poignant. There had to be something along the way that would snap Dean out of it, so Sam had to just keep hoping and keep digging.
The last stop was the one stop that he hadn’t expected.
They were driving straight down Route 56, when Sam’s head had to practically whip around as they passed the sign informing them what state they were entering. “Kansas?” he frowned. Dean tended to avoid Kansas like the plague, but his brother didn’t glance at him to acknowledge the question.
“Smallville.”
It was enough to confirm, no, they were not going to Lawrence, but still not enough to give Sam any idea as to what was going on. “Okay,” he said softly, turning his eyes back to the road, and trying to figure out what his brother could have possibly left behind in Smallville.
By the time they actually hit town the next day, Sam was still no closer to having an explanation. They had stopped over for the night the night before, and Sam had used the time while his brother was in the shower to do some quick research, but other than a high penchant for the unexplained, though nothing that seemed to be up their alley, he had no idea what would draw his brother to that particular small Kansas town. But he had given up trying to ask about it, and figured that this would be revealed to him as Dean felt like revealing it.
Their first stop upon arrival was a small coffee shop in what probably used to be a movie theater. Dean barely said a word as they got out of the car and made their way inside, and once they were, Sam couldn’t mistake the way his brother’s eyes went right to the front counter. Dean was clearly looking for someone, and there was no missing his brother’s disappointment when he didn’t find what he was looking for. It didn’t seem to deter him any. He just weaved his way through the crowd, up to the front counter, where he rapped on it lightly before speaking.
“And here I thought I had seen the hottest barista around.”
The girl behind the counter spun around, surprise written all over her face. Sam was starting to think he’d been dragged along to visit another one of Dean’s one night stands, but the smile on the girl’s face didn’t match the one of a woman who was remembering a long night of inequity.
“Well, well, well, if it isn’t Jason Teague. And here I thought you’d dropped off the face of the planet.” The girl looked him over for a moment, before glancing to Sam. “Who’s Gigantor?”
“This is my brother, Sam. Sam-Lois Lane.”
“Nice to meet you,” Sam said with a nod, trying not to look too surprised at the alias.
“Didn’t know you had a brother,” Lois commented dryly, before glancing back to Dean. “Good to know one of you is actually good looking.”
Dean smirked. “You never let up, do you Lane?”
“Not while I’m breathing.” She placed the rag she was using down on the counter, her eyes still focused on Dean like a hawk. “What are you doing here, Jason?”
“Looking for Lana,” he replied quickly. Too quickly, like that was the point he was trying to get at the entire time. “She around?”
The woman hesitated. Dean might not have been paying attention, but Sam saw it. He wasn’t sure if he wanted to bring it to Dean’s attention or not, but for right now he was just going to let the conversation play out. She was quiet for a long time, before exhaling slowly and replying. “She’s over at the Kent Farm. She’s been staying there ever since she-” There was a deliberate pause, almost as though she was trying to figure out whether or not she wanted to say something. “-she got back into town.”
Dean rapped his knuckles gently against the counter before nodding, and stepping back. “Thanks. Nice seeing you, Lois.”
“Yeah. You too, Jason.”
Sam followed his brother out of the Talon, just staring at him as they went. “Jason?”
“Not now, Sammy.”
Sam sighed and nodded, just letting it go for now. He figured he would get an explanation eventually, it was just a matter of waiting for it. They piled back into the Impala, and Dean started driving again, following the roads as though he knew them like the back of his hand. This trip was just getting even more weirder as they went, but when they finally came to a stop in front of a farmhouse outside of town, his brother’s face was even more eager than it had been when they arrived at the coffee shop. He leaned forward against the wheel, watching as a lithe girl with brown hair leaned against one of the porch posts, watching out into the early evening, but away from them. Sam wasn’t watching her, though.
Sam was watching Dean.
His fingers tightened against the steering wheel, a gesture that was usually made when Dean was trying to decide whether or not he should make a move. There was something hopeful in the way he was looking, like this might have been the missing piece Sam was searching for, but then he watched as the hope faded almost as soon as it had appeared. The look of rejection across his brother’s face was unmistakable, and when he turned back to look at the girl, he found her wrapped in the arms of someone else, and they looked closer than what would indicate someone just being friends. Dean visibly deflated, before reaching for the ignition and starting the car again.
“Not going to see her?”
Dean shook his head. “Not a good idea.”
Sam nodded, soaking in the silence for a moment, before giving his brother a sympathetic look. “I’m sorry, Dean.” He wasn’t sure what he was apologizing for, but this girl had obviously meant something to Dean. And now, he was losing her again.
Dean just shrugged. He sat in that silence for a moment, waiting until they had gotten back to the highway, before glancing over at his brother with a smirk. “Whadaya say, Sammy? How ‘bout seein’ the world’s largest ball of twine?”
Sam stared at him for a moment, before shaking his head with a bit of a laugh. “Sure, Dean. Wherever you wanna go.”
1190 words