Room 438, Wednesday

[saltandammo]

The room was looking pretty bare as Dean worked on finishing up the last of his packing. There were two piles: the duffles he was taking with him, and the last load of stuff in boxes he was leaving down at the house in town.

He was trying to avoid looking around himself too much; it was really weird to see this place which had come to feel like

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[wantstocheer]

Claire made her way up to the fourth floor and stood in the doorway, frowning.

"I don't like this part."

[saltandammo]

"Yeah, gotta say it's never been my favorite either," Dean said wryly, stopping what he was doing to turn and face her. "Being the one that's leaving doesn't seem to make it appreciably easier either."

[wantstocheer]

"Where are you headed?" Claire asked. "Anywhere exciting?"

[saltandammo]

"Sioux Falls, South Dakota," Dean replied with a grin. "Which is probably as exciting as it sounds. I'm picking up my best friend who's been getting some hunting specific training and then we'll be hitting the road. That will be the exciting part."

[wantstocheer]

"Sounds like exciting equals dangerous," Claire pointed out. "But you'll be careful."

It wasn't a question.

[saltandammo]

"Always," Dean promised. "Besides, I'll have Alec to watch my back. I'm not going it alone."

[wantstocheer]

"Good. You're not allowed to get yourself hurt," Claire said.

Or worse. But she didn't feel the need to add that part.

"You'll be back to visit, though, right?"

[saltandammo]

"Of course," Dean said, seeming surprised at the question. "My family's still here, so if I want to keep an eye on them, I'm going to have to make pretty frequent visits."

[wantstocheer]

"Good," Claire said. "I figured as much, but I had to make sure. It's gonna be weird with you and Peter both leaving."

[saltandammo]

"Yeah, especially for Sammy." Dean paused and then added, "Can you do me a favor? Keep an eye out for my brother. Try not to let him get into too much of an emo funk."

[wantstocheer]

"Don't worry, I was already planning to do that," Claire assured him.

[saltandammo]

"Good," Dean said, sounding relieved. "That's like the worst part of leaving -- knowing Sammy's going to be all emo alone here."

[wantstocheer]

"He's definitely not alone," Claire said. "And I'll try to keep him from emoing too much."

She paused. "I'm not even sure if emoing is a word."

[saltandammo]

Dean thought about that then shrugged. "If it's not, it should be. Can't think of a better way of describing it."

[wantstocheer]

"Me either," Clarie admitted. "Anyway, I know you probably have a lot of last minute things to do and people to say goodbye to, so I'll get out of your hair."

[saltandammo]

"You can be in my hair any time you want," Dean told her. "I mean that. And just because I'm not here, doesn't mean I don't want to have my friends' backs. If there's trouble and you think I can help, I hope you'll give me a call."