We Ain't Ever Getting Older

Dean was focused on the food in front of him, only looking up through his lashes when he felt Rae's feet on his knees. He cocked his head, raising an eyebrow but didn't bother to comment. He was comfortable with her, she with him and there was no reason to start a scene in the middle of a diner. They'd all learned that a long time ago.

"I always make good calls when it comes to food," Dean commented through bites of food. What kind of statement was that? Ridiculous! Of course he made a good decision.

Dean was happily finishing up his fries, only looking up when Rae spoke. "No but you are the only one that can play that role, sweetheart."

Lifting out of his seat, Dean pulled out his wallet and produced a credit card to pay for the meal with. Once it was all said and done, Dean lifted out of the booth and let out a groan as he stretched his arms above his head. His shirt lifted, exposing a bit of his groin. "Alright, let's get this show on the road."

Raelynn slip out of the booth regretfully, pattering after Dean. She heard Sam’s footsteps coming up close behind her. She turned around and gave him a wicked smirk and then called out, “Shot gun!”
The whine the was produced from the younger Winchester was laughable. And that is exactly what Raelynn did, “Sam, you always sit in front. I am always stuck in back. And Dean say’s I am not allowed to drive anymore. Give me a damn change of scenery for once, will ya?”

Once they were piled into the car, she slipped her shoes off again. She looked over at Dean, and when she was sure that he wasn’t paying attention, she snuck her socked feet up to rest on the dashboard. Sam and Dean were deep in conversation and Raelynn was sure that they had well over an hour drive ahead of them. She pulled the hood of the sweatshirt up over her head, and rested it gently against the side of the window.

"Yeah because last time you drove my baby, you almost scratched it to Hell and back parking it!" Dean exclaimed, his eyes widening as he shuddered at the mere thought. There weren't a whole lot of things that scared him but damage to the car he and his father had put so much work into, it scared him right down to his core.

Dean didn't really care who sat beside him and who was behind him because there was so much space in the car that there really was enough space for them all to lay out comfortably. There had been a few times where they had needed to sleep in it and those times had proven just how spacious it was.

"Pull off on that road," Sam spoke, leaning between the two seats, motioning to a road to the left. "We should be able to sit and wait it out there for an hour and let's see what pops up."

After a while of no activities, the boys motioned for Raelynn to go ahead and make her move. She walked through the brush where they had parked the car. Sheepishly, she shoved her hands in her pockets as she made her way up the front steps. She knocked on the door and in mere seconds it was opened.

“Hey,” She started with a nervous laugh. “My car broke down and I was just wondering if I could use your phone to call a tow? I’m not getting much service.”

The younger man stared down at her, a leery look on his face. She immediately felt uncomfortable as she watched the boy smile. There was something off. Something very, very off. She wasn’t sure if she was going to be able to get out an SOS text to one of the boys before something happened. He looked her up and down for a moment, his eyes glinting. “Sure, come on in.”

Dean found himself more nervous than he would have really preferred once Raelynn was out of his sight. He let out an inaudible groan and reached up to run a hand through his hair.

"Shut up," Dean all but hissed between gritted when Sam chanced a look at his brother. "Don't say a thing."

His self control lasted about as long as he did in the bedroom before he was rushing through the forest, toward the home that Raelynn had disappeared into. He gripped a container of holy watere in one hand and a copy of the bible in his opposite hand.

As soon as Raelynn entered the house, her heart started pounding. The man immediately showed her where the phone was, keeping less than a step behind her the entire way. She picked up the phone off the hook and the lights in the house flickered. She held the phone to her ear but there wasn't any dial tone. Her eyes met his, the same wicked smile on his face. "So what should I call you, beautiful."

She cleared her throat and lied immediately. "Shelby."

"Well, Shelby, looks like there's a storm rolling in. Probably why the phones not working. Why don't you have a seat with me?" he offered.

She shook her head, "No, that's okay. I think I'll walk back and try to find my boyfriend."

---

The next thing Raelynn knew she was waking up tied to a chair. Her eyes snapped open. She went to speak, but no sound would make it passed the duct tape that was placed against her mouth. Her eyes met the mans, seeing them glint again.

He smiled at her and walked towards her, brushing a hand against her face. "So when do you think your boyfriend will show up?"

"Right about now, I'd say, you son of a bitch!" Dean exclaimed from behind the pair. He reached forward, his fingers grasping at the demon's shirt so that he could yank on it, tossing the creature back behind him. Twisting around, Dean placed himself between Raelynn and Thomas, a small smirk settling onto his features.

Dodging the first thrown fist, Dean stepped forward, yanking out a bottle of holy water from his pocket. "Drown, shithead," he hissed through gritted teeth as he began to toss the water in its' direction.

Sam burst into the room and rushed toward Raelynn, kneeling so that he could undo her ties. He grinned as he pulled her to her feet, giving her a light shove toward the front door. "Go back to the car. We'll meet you back there in a minute."

Raelynn's eyes lingered on the scene that was unfolding in front of her. A second light tap from Sam, she nodded and made her way out of the home. She scuffled towards the car, grumbling to herself nonchalantly, "I never get to stay for the action."

For the most part, she was grateful they did that for her. They were sure to keep her out of harms way, only using her to fight when absolutely necessary. One measly demon wasn't the most intimidating thing to the Winchester brothers, any how. With the Impala in sight, she slowed her pace. When she reached the car, she opened the passenger side door and climbed in the back. She figured Sam would appreciate the gesture.

When the pair of them returned to the vehicle, she smiled. She watched them as the climbed in. Raelynn knew Dean's body language all too well. She could tell he was irritated. She bit her lip as his eyes met hers in the rear view mirror. "So," she drawled out. "Are we ready to go an knock a few back?"

The moment that the doors shut on the Impala, Dean was all too ready to speed away from where they were. He glared forward, his knuckles turning white around the steering wheel as he sped forward. He wanted nothing more than to get away from here, get away from the feelings that had settled deep in his gut. The feelings of inadequacy. He hadn't protected Raelynn, what was he here for? There was the obvious answer, sure, but then there was the growing feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't quite place.

"Yeah," Dean answered through gritted teeth, pressing on the gas. "Next town over that we hit, we'll stop." That was all that needed to be said and he was beyond relieved when neither decided to speak again until they reached said town.

Dean pulled into the first bar that he reached and happily threw his door open, "let's get this show on the road!" He exclaimed, shoving his seat forward to help Raelynn out of the car.

Raelynn could tell by the look on Dean’s face, there wasn’t anything she should be saying at the moment. She knew anything that would come out of her mouth would just sound sarcastic and annoying to Dean. And the last thing she needed was an annoyed Dean. Rae decided on just slumping down in the back seat and burying herself back into the hoodie, allowing her eyes to close. When they opened again, it was because she had been startled awake by Dean’s shouting. She rubbed her eyes, grumbling to herself about the oldest Winchester.

As she went to get out of the car, her foot caught on the lip of the floorboard, sending her flying forward. She reached out, grasping on to Dean’s forearm to keep herself from making contact with the concrete. Her face flushed as her eyes made contact with his. “Sorry,” she huffed out. “Still half asleep.” She removed her hand from Dean’s arm, wrapping her own arms around herself as she turned to walk towards the bar. Why couldn’t they just be normal again? She was so sick and fucking tired of side stepping around her feelings all the time. But then again, this was the new normal. And she was used to it.

Out of instinct, Dean's arm shot forward to help steady Raelynn. It wouldn't do if she busted her head open and they had to spend the evening in the hospital instead of the bar. There would be no drinking and no forgetting his feelings and that would just do no good at all. He only gave a stiff nod when she stood back up, whirling around on his heel to lead the way inside of the bar. Sliding into a booth in the corner, Dean was all too quick to order himself a beer when the server walked over. He also opted for an order of buffalo wings, offering the woman a lopsided grin once he had finished ordering.

Dean leaned back in his side of the booth, trying to ease the tension from his muscles. As much as he enjoyed the idea of getting completely and utterly trashed, he knew they still needed to make it to a motel and he wasn't about to trust either of the other two driving his vehicle.

Raelynn raised her eyebrow at Sam when Dean all but jumped all over the waitress. Sam shrugged his shoulders in response. There was nothing much they could say about a tired, hungry, buzz-seeking Dean. Raelynn slid out of the booth and stretched her limbs. She gave the two brothers a sly grin, “I’m gonna head over to the bar and get a couple shots. They will come faster that way. I’m not in the mood to wait for the waitress to bring everything back.” She shed the hooded and tossed it over at Sam, “Let’s see if I can get us some free drinks.”

She smirked at the pair of them before turning on her heal and heading her way over towards the bar. She took a seat and waited for the bartender to get to her. He gave her a flirty smile as he walked over and noticed the way she was leaning on the bar. She flashed him her teeth in a brief smile, “Hey pal, can I get a shot if Jameson?” She lingered at the bar for a while, conversing back and forth with the bartender as he poured her a few shots. She knew she was close to getting the tab comped.

Dean didn't look up from where hi eyes had focused on the table between them, his attention focused on the way his hands flexed. Open and closed, open and closed. It seemed to be the only thing that was keeping him together. He could feel that a breakdown was right around the corner and he was doing his best to backtrack. Raelynn had very nearly gotten hurt and it was all because they had hoped to use her as bait. And that was wrong, so wrong. They never should have. And yet they did and now, he was left to sit beside her, wanting nothing more than to be anywhere else.

He was relieved when she pulled herself out of the booth and headed over to the bar. His shoulders relaxed ever so slightly and he looked up, thanking the server when she returned with beers for them. "Thank you," he muttered, taking a large swig right off the bat.

Raelynn lingered at the bar a while longer at the bar, taking a shot or two while she sat there as she continued to speak with the bar tender and the woman who was sat next to her. She looked over at Sam who was eyeing her warily. She shrugged her shoulders and raised an eyebrow in response. The liquor had begun too buzz in her veins, so she really wasn’t too concerned with what her actions were at the moment. She just wanted to be someone else for a moment.

“So, Amber.” The bartender come over as he called her by her falsely given name. He sat another shot down in front of her. He pointed over towards the brothers, “One of them your boyfriend?”

She laughed awkwardly and then tossed the shot back, “No… No. Well, I mean, not at the moment.”

Dean turned away from the bar, focused intently on his beer. He didn't want to watch Raelynn flirt with someone else because despite being out of earshot, he was sure that was exactly what she was doing. It was one of the reasons he liked her so much - because she knew how to play with emotions. It wasn't always a bad thing but here he was, stewing in a rage that only continued to build with her sitting at the bar. It was the complete opposite of what he expected but then, his entire relationship with the girl was the complete opposite of what one with any other girl ahd been.

"If you're going to be so damned jealous, why don't you grow a pair?" Sam all but demanded, causing Dean's attention to shoot toward his brother.

"Nope. Absolutely not. On the other hand.." he trailed off, turning toward the bar. His eyes roamed over the room, looking for anyone that would catch his eye but there was only one and she was sitting at the bar, flirting away with the bartender.

After Raelynn had accomplished her goal in scoring a few free drinks, she decided to give the bar tender a playful wink, promising him she would be back—even though she knew she couldn’t. She hated herself for that fact. In essence, she wished she could be more like Dean. She wanted to go out, have fun, wake up in his someone else’s bed. But at the end of the day, Dean Winchester had a hold on her. And she hated it.

She made her way back to the table, sliding the drinks towards the boys. She scooted in next to Sam, feeling Dean’s eyes on her. She knew what she had done. She knew she could still get under the man’s skin. At times, it was fun for her. But at times like these, where Dean was already more than irritated, it wasn’t fun. She raised an eyebrow at him, “Is there a problem?”

Dean's eyes narrowed as Raelynn spoke, reaching for the offered drink despite himself. He gave a roll of his eyes, taking a large swig before slamming the drink down on the table between them. "You shouldn't go flirting with the bartenders for free stuff. Especially after what we just dealt with," Dean scolded with a shake of his head. He knew he was being irrational - it wasn't the first and probably wouldn't be the last time that she did either.

Dragging in a deep breath, Dean reached a hand to run through his hair. "I think I'm just going to retire to the motel. You guys can call me when you need to be picked up," he grumbled, turning to move out of the booth.

“Dean,” Raelynn sighed in an attempt to keep the man from sulking off. She turned to look at Sam, who was eyeing her warily. She shook her head in confusion, raising her eyebrows at him. “What?”

“You shouldn’t have done that,” Same laughed as he brought his beer to his lips. “You know how he is, Rae. It never changes.”

Raelynn turned and watches as Dean slinked out of the bar doors and then turned her attention back towards Sam. She narrowed her eyes, huffing out a sharp breath. “It’s not okay for me to score us all free drinks but it is perfectly fine for Dean to do what Dean does?” She laughed, reaching over and taking the shot that was sitting in front of Sam. “I don’t think so.”

Dean had nearly been hopeful that Raelynn would follow after him. Maybe catch his arm and make him look at her. She would apologize and they would make up... Sammie would have to stay at the bar for awhile but that would be okay. Right? He sighed as he left the building, heading straight for his car. It would have probably been the smarter option to head to the motel but he opted to simplyy toss himself into the back seat of the Impala.

Tugging his outer shirt off, he balled it up and used it as a pillow. Dean rolled onto his side and closed his eyes, willing himself to fall asleep. Anything to get away from the thoughts raging inside his mind.

Over the next few minutes the alcohol began to play with Raelynn’s emotions. The bar was quite enough for her to realize she hadn’t heard Dean leave the parking lot. She looked over at Sam, her eyes half way glazed over. She ran a hand through her hair and mumbled, “I’m going to go check on him.”

Sam reached his hand out, grasping on to her forearm in an attempt to get her to stay seated. He knew this could end up bad. But Rae didn’t car. She wiggled her arm out of Sam’s grasp, “I can handle it, Sam.”

Raelynn walked out of the bar, the night air tingling her skin. She looked around for the Impala, finding it parked away. She made her way to hit, pressing her forehead to the glass of the passenger side window. “Dean,” She sighed. She pulled the door open and climbed in after him, making him sit up and scoot over. “Dean… What are you doing out here?”