Pieces of the Puzzle (Dean/Sam/Zee/Adam)

[Sam Winchester]

[sam]It had taken a bit of negotiation, but Sam was determined to keep Bobby’s car until he returned it, at the very least, so Adam was forced to rotate between riding with Zee or with Sam. Generally, it was whoever needed sleep more and Sam usually insisted on Zee getting more sleep. When she argued, and she did, he glanced at her stomach pointedly. Sam was pushing a week without sleep – and trying to hide it from Adam and Zee – when Dean called. It was unexpected, at least for Sam, but it was achingly nice to hear his older brother’s voice. While he would never admit it, a part of him (a part he’d tried to bury very deeply) still trusted in Dean completely to make things better. It was a long-held childhood belief that had only been strengthened when he’d returned to traveling with Dean in adulthood.

Sam was aware of the childishness of the belief and so kept it to himself. He was a little loopy with exhaustion when Dean called, but when his brother mentioned their father and not being able to find him, Sam perked up. They conversation was short and to the point, probably because they were both lacking sleep at the time, it involved Cas’s name and a quick debate on a meeting place. Dean was in Nevada and Sam in Missouri, so they agreed to meet in Colorado as soon as possible.

One day later, Sam was sprawled out on a mattress in a random motel room in Gunnison, Colorado. He’d texted the name of the motel Zee had found to Dean before finding the nearest soft surface and letting sleep claim him. At some point, someone had rid him of his boots and his shirt, although Sam wasn’t sure how either Zee or Adam could have accomplished such a feat alone.

But when he woke up, he could hear voices talking in Adam’s room and there was a message from Dean saying he was close. Rather than go back to sleep, Sam took a quick, but thorough, shower and – after pulling on some pants – popped over to Adam’s room. “Good….what is it? Afternoon? Is there any way I can get food before Dean shows up?”[/sam]

[Zee Kerrick]

[zee]"In the fridge," Zee pointed to the mini-fridge but didn't bother getting up from where she was sitting sprawled out on the second bed in Adam's room. Theoretically she was supposed to be checking and filing the silver slugs they'd cast last week while Adam manned the reloader, but in practice they were mostly just bullshitting and watching a Top Gear marathon on the History Channel.

The fridge would prove to contain, along with the Red Bull that kept Adam functional and the bottled veggie juices that Zee was attempting to convince herself were just as good as sodas, coffee, and bourbon, a BLT Cobb salad from Wendy's and a bottled iced coffee.

"It's about time you woke up," Zee grinned at Sam while Adam just rolled his eyes and started packing down the reloading supplies. Once she started in on Sam no other work was getting done anyway, and besides they were expecting Dean. Yay. "I was starting to think you would sleep through until tomorrow. Not that you don't need it." The three of them were all rampant insomniacs, there was no way to hide it when you don't sleep if everybody you're hiding it from doesn't sleep either. Zee napped best in the car, Adam grabbed a couple of hours a night at best, nobody was in good shape these days. Occupational hazard.

Adam was still working at breaking down the reloader as he said, "Not that we would have hesitated to pour a bucket of ice water over you if Dean had gotten here before you woke up. We were discussing it just a little while ago." Neither of them were prepared to face the oldest Winchester brother without the buffer of Sam in place.[/zee]

[Sam Winchester]

[sam]Obediently, Sam went to the mini-fridge and found it was holding a salad and a coffee. Happy, he pulled out his little meal and found a seat on the bed Zee was sprawled on. While they trio had been traveling together, they had started learning and adjusting for one another’s quirks as much as possible. Zee had a few extra quirks because she was trying to change habits. Sam didn’t hover, tried not to press or say anything, but encouraged her in whatever direction she chose to go for herself and the child. He was fully supportive of her and Adam’s eating habits and was glad they didn’t heckle him too much over his.

In hindsight, trying to hide one’s sleeping patterns from two other insomniacs was probably a stupid idea. But Sam really didn’t want either of them to think he wasn’t strong enough for them to depend on him. So, if they happened to look the other way when he politely refused the offer of sleep, he wasn’t going to bitch. He was just happy to see them sleep when they could.

“Can’t sleep that long. I’d have to start petitioning for rights to the name ‘Sleeping Beauty’, not sure you two could handle a fairy tale princess in your midst.” Casually, he mixed his salad while he spoke, and promptly shoved some in his mouth, moaning in utter pleasure.

He shivered automatically at the thought of ice water. “That would have been just cruel. But if you’d thrown in some soap, I might kept my revenge short and sweet.” Sam was actually loathe to think about a pranking war with a group. If things got bad between him and Dean, he was actually afraid to think how much worse things could get with three. He either didn’t realize why Adam might be serious or didn’t bring it up. “Luckily for me, I recharge quickly.”

He went back to eating, keeping an ear out for the rumble of the Impala and a tiny portion of his attention on the television. “Top Gear?”[/sam]

[Adam Milligan]

[adam]Zee grinned at Sam, sort of affectionate even though she said, "Aww, sweetie, we already consider you the fairy tale princess of our little crew." She was tapping a meaningless tattoo with her fingertips against the sides of her combat boots as she sat on the bed. She was fully dressed and armed despite that they were just hanging around the motel room, partly paranoia but mostly a need for the psychological armor of full clothing when Dean arrived. It wasn't fair, the nerves she was feeling about meeting with Sam's older brother. But her parents had dealt so spectacularly badly with meeting with her again, with the notion of the pregnancy, that it added extra weight to her defensiveness about Dean.

Adam, on the other hand, had perfectly good reasons for why he was stressed out about meeting with Dean, and he and Sam had already had a long conversation about whether Adam was going to end up just taking off rather than deal with his oldest half-brother. In fact, Adam had the keys to Bobby's car in the pocket of his jeans so that if this all went to shit he could take off and meet back up with Sam at the salvage yard. He just wasn't sure he was going to be able to cope with this, no matter how many Xanaxes he took.

"Top Gear is funny," he said mildly. "And you can ignore it for twenty minutes and then look back at it and you haven't lost track of anything."[/adam]

[Sam Winchester]

[sam]A slow smirk. “I proudly carry the title of princess. No shame to be found here.” Almost absently, he tugged her across the bed and tucked her against his side while he continued to munch away on his salad. He sought only to offer her comfort and if she pulled away, he wasn’t going to freak out about it. If he could get away with it with Adam, he would do it all the time. And sometimes he could get away with it, and he took advantage of that. Sam was grateful to be able to support them in any way he could, in any fashion they let him.

A large hand trailed up and down Zee’s spine gently. “How’s your back?” She was so very small and already her baby bump showed and, really, wasn’t it only a matter of time before her back started to ache? Being altogether unfamiliar with pregnant women, Sam wasn’t entirely sure. But he wanted to make sure she wasn’t in a great deal of discomfort. He couldn’t carry the baby, but he could make it easier on her.

God but he loved his salad, probably because it felt like he hadn’t eaten in days. He had, they all made sure they took regular pit stops. He knew how they could all get, so he’d continually, unnecessarily remind himself to pull over every now and then for food. Lack of sleep was one thing, lack of food was entirely different. Honestly, if he didn’t remember, Adam or Zee did, so he worried over nothing. Really, he mentally chided himself, if he didn’t pull it in, he was going to turn into a mother hen. And nobody wanted that.

“Dean should be here soon, he texted about an hour ago, I believe. Said he was close.” Sam glanced at the screen. “You weren’t kidding Adam. I could grow to like this. It’s better than Dean’s Dr. Sexy obsession. And easier to follow.” Not that he actively followed Dean’s precious soap opera, but it was hard not to notice how convoluted and confusing the storylines were. He finished his salad and sighed sadly.[/sam]

[Zee Kerrick]

[zee]Zee leaned comfortably into Sam, paying only vague attention to the TV. "Dr. Sexy, MD is hot as hell. Though anybody who can wear cowboy boots all day in a surgery is probably some form of supernatural creature."

She straightened up and reached for her current bottle of tomato/carrot juice (seriously, this shit was going to kill her) and added, "I like the British Top Gear guys best. They've been playing both today, and I think Jeremy Clarkson is--"

The sound of Dean's cop-knock on Sam's door had her breaking off, and later Zee would be angry at herself for the way she grabbed at the sleeve of Sam's shirt. She made herself let go pretty much immediately. "You answer," she ordered Sam. "We'll hang in here while you two do your meet and greet."[/zee]

[Sam Winchester]

[sam]Sam was about to retort that Dr. Sexy was not, in fact, that hot. However, the knock on the door immediately had his attention, because he knew who was on the other side. He knew, but he paused only for Zee and Adam’s benefit. With the go ahead, at least he was going to take it as such, he got up and crossed the room in two strides. Opening the door, he slid outside and smoothly shut the door behind him. He wanted a moment of privacy with Dean before all hell broke loose.

“Dean,” he smiled, almost, relief and worry, happiness and uncertainty all mixed into the expression. “How’ve you been?” He had probably a million questions, wanted to ask about Castiel and their father and what Dean had been up to. But he kept his silence.[/sam]

[Dean Winchester]

[dean]He had to look him over, make sure he wasn't harmed in any physical way, was okay, at least by appearance, and then look closer see if there were the more subtle signs of mental wear and tear. He couldn't keep himself from it if he tried, which he thought about doing because he was still that pissed. But he couldn't manage it. He'd been away longer than he'd wanted to and just did not trust Sam to be able to take care of himself. Hell, he'd let him out of his sight and look what had happened.

He swallowed once, jaw clenching. Someone else probably would have taken a step back, thought about how to answer that question without being totally offensive, but Dean just was not that guy.

"How've I been? Seriously?" he asked, now that he was reasonably sure Sam wasn't broken in any ostensible way, "I found out dad's out of the pit and it's my job to track him down, Adam's out of the cage and you're fertile. And oh, yeah, we all tie into some new big thing that's probably gonna be ten kinds of horrible. How do you think I'm doing, Sammy?"[/dean]

[Sam Winchester]

[sam]Clenching his jaw, Sam reminded himself to remain calm. Now was not the time to get into an argument with his brother. "On that note, where is dad?"

Mentally, he was cataloging Dean's appearance in the same way he did Zee and Adam's. And, honestly, he looked worse for wear than he had when they'd separated. Sam felt like he had a grip, tenuous as it might be, on his life and the situation he'd found himself in. Dean looked like he might be unraveling. "When are we not tied into something horrible?"[/sam]

[Dean Winchester]

[dean]A bitter laugh as he looked away and then back at his brother. "Yeah, I keep waiting to get more than a summer break."

He looked back at the door then, knowing Adam was in there and that seeing him was going to be far, far worse than seeing Zee. Zee he could dislike, but Adam had every right to hate him, if he knew what had happened and, since Dean's life was never easy, he probably did. "I missed him by two days in Sewanee," he told Sam, "And then I had to come here. You know if he doesn't want us finding him, it's just a wild fucking goose chase."[/dean]

[Sam Winchester]

[sam]He didn't comment, didn't even blink despite the immediate pang of guilt he felt. If Dean had left him dead. If Dean had stayed with Ben and Lisa. Maybe he could have gotten out. In either scenario Sam would have been dead and gone and that was fine. His biggest regret was the life Dean had had to lead. The life he didn't want his own child to lead.

"I remember. Come in." Figuring that delaying the inevitable any longer would simply be stalling, he pushed the door open and gestured his brother inside where the rest of Sam's family waited. Quietly he followed.[/sam]

[Dean Winchester]

[dean]To his credit, as he preceeded Sam into the room Dean didn't avoid eye contact. Though it was far harder with Adam than with Zee. In fact, he greeted them both.

A nod to Zee as he said, "Awkward," followed by one to Adam, "Awkwarder."

And then he went in search of beer or, if there really was a God somewhere, missing or not, whiskey.[/dean]

[Adam Milligan]

[adam]Zee narrowed her eyes at Dean but didn't comment. If only because she thought Adam should get first shot.

And he didn't miss his chance. "Hey, Dean, good to see you too. Oh, been doing great. Those centuries in Hell were fine, thanks for asking. I waited for you for a while, but eventually I figured out you weren't showing."

He glared at his oldest half-brother, furious all over again and having no outlet for it. In the end he just muttered, "There's scotch in the green suitcase," and reached for his shaving kit, pulling out a bottle of low-dose quetiapine and popping three of them.[/adam]

[Sam Winchester]

[sam]Sam was torn between defending Dean and wanting to silently support Adam in his pain. Not wanting to take sides, but needing to be a part of this to keep an eye on everything, he pulled out the scotch and tossed it to his older brother while his attention focused itself on his younger brother.

He ended up moving to stand behind Zee. Why? Because while Adam's predicament was in large part his fault, Zee was kind of having his kid. He may have to let Adam and Dean work it out, with some heavy mediation when things got too bad, but Zee didn't need to be pit against Dean as well.

He laid a hand on Adam's arm, supporting him because his sense of reality was still so frail, but trying very hard to not also make the whole thing seem like three against one when it really wasn't.[/sam]

[Dean Winchester]

[dean]Regardless of intent, it looked to Dean like that was exactly what was happening. He gave a curt nod in understanding and said, "Right."

He went and got the scotch Adam had mentioned after his whiny fit. It wasn't that he didn't care, he did and, in point of fact, nothing Adam said could make Dean feel worse than he already did. He didn't need the help, not even a little. But, at the same time, he wasn't the only one in the room who'd done a stint in Hell and while apparently, his was the longest (Dean wasn't thinking about centuries, he just wasn't), he was just going to have to pull on his big boy pants and deal, just like the rest of them.

"See you're already learning to self medicate," he said instead of acknowledging the snottiness, toasting his half brother with the bottle and taking a swig. Sam and Zee he just ignored.

He'd saved Sam from that same cage, but what did that matter when Adam was suffering? Clearly Sam felt that the most important thing.

Whatever, fuck 'em all.[/dean]