just say you won't let go

Dean stayed silent as he stayed deep in thought. "We should probably get a motel in Illinois." He spoke up finally, watching as the sun descended into the earth. Everything that had happened in the past 48 hours had been surreal, and Dean had never really given God a second thought, but he couldn't help but wonder if Alice was shown to him as a nudge in the path he was destined to. He daren't speak these thoughts to Sam, knowing he would relentlessly hold it against him in good fun. "Sammy, get on your phone and find us a place to sleep." He smiled as he passed the state line into Illinois, knowing that he wasn't far from where Alice - this Alice - was.

Sam nodded slightly and focused his attention on his phone to start looking through the different options. Eventually, he got them a room and looked to Dean. "Alright, it's set up," he told him before giving his brother directions on how to get to the motel from where they were. Part of him hoped that things between Dean and Alice went by quickly so that Sam could get to see Rosie sooner, rather than later.

Parking up in the motel's parking lot, Dean exited Baby, waiting for Sam to get out of the car before locking her. He smiled at the memories that had been made in that car, owned by John and Mary Winchester before Dean and Sam were even thought of. Checking in, Dean accepted the keys to their room. "So, we're just outside Carbondale, and I don't know where to start." He walked alongside Sam. "I'll look creepy if we just hop from school to school."

Sam chuckled gently in response and shrugged as he climbed out of the car and followed his brother. "I'm not sure you have much of a choice in that," he told his brother jokingly, "I mean, what are the odds of you just randomly running into her otherwise?" He arched a brow but smiled as he led the way to their room, coming to a stop outside it, since Dean had the keys.

"Well, hopefully the odds will be in my favour." Dean unlocked the motel door. It had been a long while since Dean had stayed in a motel. He couldn't imagine hopping from place to place, living out of bags and dirty rooms. Pushing open the door, he cringed as it creaked on it's hinges. "Man, what a dump." He murmured, picking the bed furthest away from the door. "What am I meant to say - I'm picking up my nephew? I'll get arrested." Dean sat on the bed, pulling a face as the mattress beneath him groaned in protest. "Great."

Sam made a face at the sight of the room, listening to each of the noises, and sighed, partially certain it'd be difficult to get any rest tonight. Still, he moved to the closest bed and sat down and, for a moment, he thought he might fall through. "I don't know, Dean," he told him carefully, looking over at his brother, "Maybe pretend you're applying for a job or something?"

"That's..." Dean paused. "Not a bad idea." He laughed, laying down. "Aw man, I miss Hamburger." He grouched, his head against a pillow which felt like concrete. "So, I'll go in, say I'm interested in a job, and go through a damn fake interview." Laughing suddenly, Dean turned his head. "Imagine if I got it. I don't think Mom would be so happy about me uprooting." He snorted at the thought of Mary disapproving of her son being more than 5 miles away.

Sam paused with realization. "Aw, man, who's going to take care of Hamburger and Herman while we're gone?" he asked, looking over at his brother in shock. In the excitement of the possibility that the Rosie meant for him was out there somewhere, he'd completely forgotten that they had two very great dogs to take care of. He snorted, though, to his brother's later words. "Yeah, good luck with that one." Laughing, he rested down on the bed, staring up at the ceiling. "Mom would probably drag you back home herself."

"We can call Mom." Dean reassured. "She'd be more than happy to take them, and probably not give them back." Dean snorted with laughter. "Mom is not a lady to be messed with." Dean smiled up at the ceiling. "But uh, I give Hamburger so much food, little dude's getting chubby." Dean said matter of factly. "I'll drop Mom a text message in the morning, she knows where your spare key is, right?" Dean raised his eyebrows. His heart was pounding within his ribs; knowing that somewhere, not too far from where he currently lay, Alice was there, unaware of him.

"That's true," Sam said with amusement, shaking his head. "We'd probably never get to drag those two pups back home." He laughed, though, unable to help it. "You spoil Hamburger." Not that he didn't do the same for Herman; he just wouldn't openly admit it. He nodded, though. "Yeah, she knows. The spot hasn't changed since I moved out of our parents' house, after all." He smiled with amusement but let his thoughts wander back to Rosie.

"I do not!" Dean protested with a laugh. "You spoil Herman, dude practically has the spare bedroom to himself!" Dean chortled. "I can't help the fact I love my pup." Dean grinned, thinking back to Alice - trying not to linger for too long, knowing if he was to overthink the situation, he wouldn't sleep. He just felt so happy, knowing she wasn't too far, hoping he would connect with this Alice like he did the other Alice. "Drive's worn me out." He murmured, his eyes getting heavier.

"You totally do!" Sam said with amusement, though he shrugged, "At least I'm not going to deny it." He smiled, though, relaxing, and stared up at the ceiling, thinking back to Rosie again. After seeing how happy the other Sam was with Rosie, all he could think about was the possibility that he'd get to be that happy, too. "Right, let's get some sleep." Nodding, he tried to get comfortable and closed his eyes to get some rest.

Dean awoke early the next afternoon, glancing at the clock and cursing loudly. “Sammy,” his voice was heavy with sleep. “C’mon man, it’s two, gotta get back on the road.” Dean sat up in bed, moving a hand through his hair to smooth it out. He had tossed and turned all night, his heart focused on finding Alice, to the point where he just couldn’t get comfortable enough to sleep through. “Soulmates to find, love to fall in.” He teased as his brother groaned in protest.

Sam gave a noise of protest with the thought of having to wake up, having been enjoying his dreams, which, admittedly, Rosie had become a part of. Still, he groaned as he began to stir, sitting up as he ran a hand through his hair tiredly. "Right, right, okay, you're right," he said with a small nod, "I mean, the sooner you find and woo this Alice, the sooner we can go find Rosie." He grinned with the thought but moved to climb to his feet eventually. "Though... What are we going to do after we get them to fall for us? I mean, they live in different states than each other and different states than us..."

“We’ll just have to play it by ear.” Dean shrugged his shoulders, trying not to get negative at the thought. Typical of Sam to be the voice of reason. “I mean, if Rosie and Alice are right, and they fell in love with their version of us really fast, I don’t see it being much of a problem.” Dean admitted, going to the bathroom to freshen up.

"And what about work?" Sam asked, though he wasn't necessarily worried about work at this point. If it came between choosing work or choosing Rosie, he'd choose Rosie a thousand times over. He nodded, though, to his brother's words. "And we fell for them hard and fast, too."

“Man, I’m already in love. I know this Alice is going to be just as amazing as the other Alice.” Dean smiled as he exited the bathroom. “I’m a little nervous. I want to spend the rest of my life with her, so I gotta make a good impression.” Dean thought of work and thanked his lucky stars his job wasn’t as important as Sam’s. “I can just get Garth to look after the garage.”

Sam listened to Dean, blinking as he stared at his brother, almost wondering if this was a completely different person. "Wow, Dean. I can't say I ever expected words like that to come from you," he admitted, though he understood what his brother meant; he was looking forward to a future with Rosie already, too. He hoped they'd get the chance at a future together, that he wouldn't completely screw things up. Hearing Dean's later words, though, he nodded in understanding.

“Shut up,” Dean teased his little brother, although his smile was etched onto his face. “I just... Alice made a big impact on me, man. And I just gotta find her.” Getting his shoes on, Dean waited for Sam eagerly, clearly just wanting to get on the road. He just wanted everything to fall into place, and he had a feeling luck was on his side.

Sam nodded in understanding and he moved into the bathroom to get ready himself. "No, I get it, man," he assured once he'd finished and he came back out to tug on his own shoes. Once he was ready, he looked to his brother. "I genuinely feel like Rosie's the one for me, like she's my one, so I completely get it." He smiled to himself before nodded. "Alright, I'm ready when you are."