A friend recently introduced me to the wonderful world of Supernatural. Although I have written fan fiction before this is my first attempt at a Supernatural story. It is set early in Season 1. For reasons which will become clear later it must be before the events of "Skin". I hope you enjoy this first chapter.

Breakdown

Chapter 1

For the last hour the rain had been pounding on the roof of the car and bouncing up from the roadway. The wipers were fighting a losing battle and Dean's eyes were aching with the strain of peering through the windshield. Now, just to make his evening perfect, thunder was crashing overhead with deafening persistence.

He glanced to his right. "How the hell are you sleeping through this, Sammy?"

There was no answer and he had to admit that he was happy about that. In the month since Jess had been murdered, Sam hadn't slept for more than an hour at a time. Sam's head rested against the window and, every few minutes, a soft snore would reassure Dean that his brother was a long way from waking up.

He gripped the steering wheel tighter and concentrated on the road ahead. If this weather didn't ease up soon they'd have to try and find a place to spend the night. Stopping hadn't been part of their plan right now. They had a slender lead on the whereabouts of their father and were prepared to drive all night if necessary to reach their intended destination.

The thunder stopped. "About time," Dean muttered, pressing his foot harder on the gas pedal. As the car picked up speed again he was almost blinded by a flash of lightening. "Crap!" His foot hit the brake and Sam's head smacked against the window.

"What?" Sam looked over, bleary-eyed and confused.

"Sorry," Dean said. "Start looking for a motel. We're going to kill ourselves if we keep going."

"Where are we?"

"In the middle of nowhere."

"That's not helpful." Sam reached down to retrieve the map which had slipped off his knee.

"What can I say, Sammy? You're the one who's supposed to be navigating."

"Have you seen any signs recently?"

"Take a good look outside. I haven't even seen the road recently."

Sam pulled out his flashlight. "How long was I asleep?"

"A couple of hours."

"And how much over the speed limit were you driving?"

"God, Sam, you're worse than Dad." Dean couldn't believe he'd said that. He didn't need to look at his brother to know what expression he'd see. Although he wanted to find their father, for Sam it was an obsession.

"According to the map there should be a town up ahead. We can stop there until this weather eases off."

Dean cursed silently. The flat formal tone told him that Sam was closing back in on himself. Every time he thought he'd finally built a bridge between them, something would happen and they'd become like strangers again. This wasn't how he wanted it to be, but he was running out of ideas.

They drove in silence for another fifteen minutes. Dean was almost relieved to see a flickering neon sign and the lights from an adjoining gas station. He eased the Impala into the parking lot and killed the engine.

"Why don't you go and check us in while I get a few things out of the trunk?" he said.

Sam climbed out of the car, hunching his shoulders against the driving rain. He strode quickly toward the office leaving Dean alone in the car. Dean leaned back against the head rest and closed his eyes. Maybe he should have left Sam in peace. His brother could have gone to law school, married his girl and had a normal life. He laughed bitterly. When had the Winchester's ever had a normal life? Besides, he liked hunting with his brother and he was looking forward to the day when they could all be a family again. He pushed the niggling little feeling of guilt to the back of his mind where it belonged. In this business there was no time for regrets.

By the time Sam came out with their key, Dean had the essentials stashed in his backpack. Their father's book was safely hidden inside his leather jacket and he had a gun tucked into the back of his trousers. The motel room had seen better days, but at least it looked clean. Out of habit he checked every corner of the room before sitting on one of the beds to pull off his boots.

"The desk clerk told me that this kind of weather is unusual," Sam said as he stripped off his wet jacket. "He said this storm just blew up out of nothing this afternoon."

Dean took out the gun and put it on the nightstand. Then he pulled a knife out of the bag and hid it under the pillow. Satisfied, he settled back on the bed. "Just our rotten luck to be caught in the middle of it."

"Is it?" Sam was unpacking his laptop.

"What're you talking about?" Dean was tired and he wasn't in the mood for Sam's cryptic comments.

"Nothing. Get some sleep."

"What about you?"

"I'm not tired."

Dean didn't believe him, but his eyes were refusing to stay open. Hell, Sam wasn't a kid any more. It was up to him if he wanted to stay awake all night. "Sure," he mumbled before turning over to lie on his stomach. It took no effort at all to fall asleep.

SSSSS

It was daylight when Sam opened his eyes. He'd fallen asleep in a chair – again. As his neck and back muscles protested, he reminded himself that he had to stop doing that. He checked his watch and found that it was past seven o'clock. "Damn!" They should have been back on the road hours ago.

Dean wasn't in bed and there were no sounds coming from the bathroom. Sam hurried to the front door and pulled it open. The dark clouds from the previous night had disappeared. The pale blue sky held the promise of a bright sunny day. His mood began to improve. They only had another couple of hundred miles to cover. By tonight...He tried to rein in his excitement, reminding himself that they'd been close before and had lost the trail.

He slowly realized that he was looking at the spot where the car had been parked the night before. Only now it wasn't there. He was scrabbling in his pocket for his cell when he looked over at the gas station. Dean's distinctive car was parked at one of the pumps. Sam shook his head. He was getting far too paranoid. Like that ridiculous thought last night about the storm. He'd spent hours researching weather patterns, convinced that something unearthly had called up that storm just to slow them down. He was glad now that he hadn't said anything to Dean because he could just imagine his brother's laughter.

He headed for the shower. The hot water washed away the grime and he felt himself relax for the first time in days. When he was finished he wrapped a towel around his hips and went in search of clean clothes. It was only after he'd finished dressing that it struck him as odd that Dean hadn't returned. He stepped outside again and his heart thumped in his chest when he saw that the Impala hadn't moved. Before he had time to consider what that meant his phone rang. He looked at the number. It wasn't Dean so who was calling him.

"Yes?"

"Sam?"

"Dean? Where are you?"

There was an uncomfortable pause. "I've been arrested and I need a lawyer."

Tbc

Caroline

April 08