03: Fly Like An Eagle

Fandom: Supernatural

Category/Rated: Gen

Year/Length: 2007/~10,650 words

Pairing: Sam and Dean, Sam/OFC

Disclaimer: No profit was made off this. The characters belong the originators of Supernatural. Was all in pure fun.

Summary: "The boys go sight seeing, but can't somehow seem to get away from the job!"

Series: Supernatural Virtual Slash Season 3

Beta: ailurophile6 for which much thanks.

The sun was high, and the glow of the Gulf water made the sky down here seem brighter, more reflective. Even the fluffy white clouds that littered the sky didn't seem to break up the luminescence in the air. Instead, they caused a glare off the hood of the black Impala, and had both brothers wearing sunglasses. Dean loved driving his car and on I-10, which seemed to stretch across the nation, he was able to open her up for a change and let her fly. However, it wasn't long before Dean found himself in traffic. He hated traffic, especially when he saw nothing but tail lights.

Reaching over, Dean punched the tape out of the deck and tried to dial in a radio station that would have the traffic report. A girl with a tinny voice was squeaking, "And traffic is backed up on Baytown East Freeway due to an accident in the right lane. Only one lane is getting through. Expect an hour back up..." He rolled his eyes. Thank god he was in the left lane, but damn...

Dean started searching the stations for some tunes. "Oh, god, why isn't there a decent station?" Shutting the radio off only to hear Sam snicker, Dean glared over at him. "C'mon, will you move already? How hard is it to just let every other car go?" Dean yelled out the window. "So how do we get off I-10?"

Sam looked up, smiling. "You could take the toll-way."

"You got any money?" Dean asked.

Sam nodded. "Get to the left."

"LEFT?" Dean asked, looking over at the other lanes.

He started trying to inch over, mumbling under his breath. Finally he made it to the exit, and soon they were sailing around the big city of Houston. "It was really named after Sam Houston?" Dean asked Sam.

"Uhuh." Sam nodded smiling. "And if you take exit 256, I think you can see the monument. The San Jacinto Monument."

"Really?" Dean pulled up to the first toll and shook his head at the price. "How far is NASA?"

"Around the Loop and down I-45." Sam grinned at his brother, "I would say about 45 minutes away, but we should get a room for the night, because it's probably a bit late in the day to be heading in to see NASA. There must be a motel close by we can stay in."

"Awesome," Dean grinned as they passed through the toll and headed off around to pay a few more before turning south on I-45 to find NASA Road 1. To Sam's astonishment, Dean seemed to be heading for the Hilton.

Pulling into the hotel parking lot, Dean stopped the car, and Sam clutched at his arm, somewhat agitated. "Dude, the Hilton?" His tip-tilted eyes were almost perfectly round in astonishment. "What are you doing? Do you know how much it's gonna cost to get a room here for the night? We can't afford it." He spread his hands, raised his brows, confusion on his face. "It'd be so nice to sleep on a really good bed," he murmured, his voice turning wistful. "But I think we'd better pass."

"Dude, for once, let's stay in a nice place. We can park in back, so no one will see the car. Besides, Hendricksen won't expect us to stay in a place like this, and it's not far from NASA!" He climbed out of the car as he was speaking, eager to get things moving. "I've also got this brand, spanking new card," he held up a fresh new Visa. "So let's break it in and burn the bad boy up." He walked around to grab his pack from the back and locked the car.

Once inside, it didn't take Dean long to acquire a room for them, and they were soon inside, dumping their bags down and jumping on the beds to test them out. "Sweet, in fact better than sweet, awesome! And we can get room service if we want it. Dude, want a burger? Or how about a nice, juicy steak?" Dean was reaching for the phone even as he spoke..

Sam was still shaking his head at his brother, but he too bounced onto the bed, moaning in delight at the comfort of it. "Man, I'm gonna milk the heck out of this stay," he murmured. "I'd love a steak." He rose to his feet and strolled over to the TV to grab the remote. Clicking the set on, he began to scroll through the shows. "Ghost Whisperer," he read out. "Dude, you wanna see Jennifer Love Hewitt getting personal with the dearly departed?"

Dean was reaching for the phone as he looked at the menu next to the bed. "Dude, I only want to see her naked, getting personal with me. I hear she doesn't wear a bra... like ever! Those perfect, perky..." Dean gave a shiver of pleasure and picked up the phone, calling in two surf n'turf meals, a six pack of beer and two desserts.

He turned back to Sam, "Any porn on?"

"Not unless you count the nipples," said Sam, indicating the screen where the Ghost Whisperer was still doing her thing. "No doubt there's some if you wanna pay, but I''m not real desperate for porn." He tossed the remote to his brother and went to boot up his laptop. "Anyway, I can get it for free online, and it costs money if you buy the hotel sanctioned stuff." He turned to Dean as a thought occurred. "Dude, do you want me to leave the room, so you can shake hands with your best friend?"

Dean quirked his eyebrow, "Sammy, I was only thinking of you." He grinned at his brother. "Besides like you said, free porn is much better than paying for it. He reached over, turning Sam's computer just a bit. "Let me see, you hog."

"Hey! Who said I was going to watch porn?" Sam smacked at Dean's fingers and laughed. "I was gonna pull up the NASA site and find out about opening times and shit. You wanna go round the complex tomorrow? I know that they do tours."

Dean rolled off his bed and jumped onto Sam's to sit beside him. He lay back, studying the monitor from behind Sam. "So what does it say? 'Cos I don't think we can just sneak in after hours and take our own tour, more's the pity." He waved his hand dismissively. "Though it would be fun if we could swing it. We should make up some IDs, although I bet they have those scanner reader things in their security system."

"We could always turn up like a couple of rubes and take the guided tour, just to say we did." Sam raised his eyebrows. "My suspicion is that we'd be charged with breaching national security and wheeled off to face Hendricksen and the feds if we tried to break in and go that route. That prospect doesn't actually excite me too much."

"Okay, tour it is," Dean moved, sitting up beside Sam so he could read as well. "Hey, look, we can also go into the Space Center! Sweet! I wanna go inside the simulated shuttle. Dude, that would rock." Of course, he was thinking that he wished they could have done this when they were still kids. Instead they'd been locked up in one hotel room after another, with roaches, lumpy bedsprings, dripping taps and threadbare carpets, while their dad traipsed around the country on his mission of search and destroy all things that go bump in the night.

"In that case, we'll do it, man." Sam laughed softly. "We'll take a break, go see the space shuttle and eat popcorn or whatever. You and me are gonna do the good stuff together, and it'll be fun. Maybe we'll be able to see some really cool stuff. There's one thing for sure, there won't be ghosts!"

Dean moved to lay himself out on the bed again, crossing his ankles, "Damn straight, and I hear there is a shuttle launch tomorrow as well! Wouldn't that just rock." Just then, Dean heard the discreet tap on the door, and he pushed Sam off the bed. "Go get our food."

Sam shot an exasperated smile at his brother but rose to his feet and went to do his bidding. Tipping the waiter seemed to be expected, and Sam fished in his pocket for his last five dollars, smiling as he received the cart. The food smelled delicious, and he soon forgot his irritation as he sat down to eat. "You're for sure not gonna stow away on the space shuttle, dude. I don't care if you did get a Captain America badge out of the Lucky Charms when we were kids."

Shooting a hurt look at Sam, Dean got to his feet to go to the table. "I had to get something from that box, since you ate all the cereal!" He helped Sam lay out the plates and then sat down, looking over the food, making sure everything was there. "Mmm, this is awesome. And wow, I’m starving! Let's eat. And then we can watch some TV, relax, or maybe go to the pool? Might find some chicks."

"Dude, are you gonna wear swim trunks? I wanna see that." Sam paused, a large piece of steak on the end of his fork, looking at Dean in disbelief. "I'm not in the market for a chick right now, though, thank you. You can go grab yourself a girl if you want, but I'm fine for now." He paused, looking down rather than at Dean, his face intense as he thought back to Ashley, and what he'd had to do. "You suppose she'll be all right? I feel like I killed her rather than saving her. Why does this shit happen to me?"

"Dude, you had sex with a virgin to save her life. Something she won't forget. Something you shouldn't either. She was a dying breed as it was. You know how many virgins are left in this world? Not many by the time I'm finished." Dean smirked. "You did the right thing. Stop beating yourself up over nothing. Jeez, at least you didn't shoot her or kill her. You rescued her, and now that demon isn't gonna bother her."

Sam's grin at Dean's words was fleeting. The thought of his brother cutting a swath through the virgins of this world suddenly sent a pang of some undefined emotion through him, and he slumped back against the chair, idly poking the remainder of his fries with his fork. "I guess," he said, softly. "Didn't put you down as being the type to chase virgins. I kinda had you figured for going after the good time gals that have been around the block a few times."

"I was just kidding, jeez! Chill out. Don't take things so literal." Dean stabbed his fork into some more steak. "And yeah, I like a girl who has been around a while; makes for good times. Fun times." Dean stuffed the bite into his mouth. "We'll have fun for a change. Consider it like a mini vacation."

"Long overdue," said Sam, relaxing a little as he finished the last of his steak and started on the fries. "And dude, I want to see you in a Speedo. It'll give me a hell of a laugh. You're gonna have a long line of girls with their tongues hanging out all waiting their turn. I'll have to carry you to NASA in the morning."

"Dude, I am sooo not wearing a Speedo. No way in hell am I getting in one of those. I don't want to damage the girls vision with my greatness anyway." Dean pushed his plate away, got up and went to lie down on his bed, his hand upon his stomach, "Right now though, I just want to digest. Damn, these Texans can make some killer steaks."

Sam watched him go, his eyes soft, the affection showing on his face as he studied his supine brother. "Good call, dude. You shouldn't swim within an hour of eating anyway. Your digestion comes first." He grinned and sat sipping the coffee he still had. "So then, NASA tomorrow, and then where? You wanna carry on seeing the sights of Houston, or shall we move on?" Instinctively, his hand stole down to cover the pocket where he'd put the paper Ashley had given him. He drew a deep breath and said, hoping that he sounded as if it didn't really matter whether they went or not. "If you still want to take a break, I still want to go check out the Alamo, and San Antonio isn't that far from here, you know."

Dean closed his eyes, "Yeah, whatever, to all of it. We can go to NASA then Alamo. Be kind of neat to see the place, since Samuel Colt made the gun we used that night." Dean let out a burp and smirked in Sam's direction. "Man, I could take a nap! Come tuck me in."

"You're kidding me, dude." Sam laughed, but he rose to his feet and went over to where Dean lay spreadeagled. "Take your friggin' boots off, man," he murmured, dragging at one of Dean's feet. "This is civilization. That's not how the upper crust behave."

Dean groaned as he sat up, untying the laces and taking his other boot off, then shedding his outer shirt and tossing it to the floor. He flopped back down, head upon the pillow, sighing happily. "This is nice. Wish we'd stayed in places like this more often." There were reasons for the way they'd lived. When they were kids, their father had kept them to small towns, frequenting the kinds of small motels where no one would look for them, and some of them had been barely up to code. Dean knew that with a hotel like this, their brand new credit card would have to be ditched after their stay, but that was okay; he had more in his duffel, just waiting to be activated.

Sam sat still in his chair, watching his brother, studying the lean, taut lines of his body. Dean's T'shirt had ridden up, and Sam could see the tail end of a scar that he knew curled around Dean's side, courtesy of a black dog that had almost disemboweled him at age 20, until Dad had come to his rescue with a well placed silver bullet. He remembered the sick feeling in the pit of his stomach as he'd stitched his brother's wound, and he felt a new wave of tenderness for Dean. He wondered what Dean would say if he crossed over and stretched out next to his brother, put his arms around him and hugged him, and he smiled ruefully.

Dean began to snore lightly, exhausted from the drive and the big meal. For once, Dean didn't have bad dreams of people burning up on ceilings, and his father's voice telling him how disappointed he was with him. Instead, as Sam studied him, there were no dreams. He rolled over, hand under the pillow, and lay on his stomach as he usually did, one leg bent and cocked up as he snuggled down, happily out for the count.

Sam watched, alert for any change in his brother's state. He moved his dishes off the table and onto the cart, clearing away the debris from their meal, then set out his laptop, researching the Alamo to see if there would be any clues to add to the things that Ashley had told him. After a while, he sighed and began to surf, checking out the porn sites he'd bookmarked. He was starting to feel really irritable when at last his brother stirred. Nothing was capturing his attention. All he could think about was Dean, which was so not helpful for getting off.

Rolling over again, Dean grabbed his pillow and hugged it. He curled up, shivering from the cold of the room and groping half asleep for a blanket or something to keep him warm. Jeez, these Texans kept things really cold, though compared to the heat outside...

Sam rose to his feet and moved over to the bed, looking down at his brother. Dean lay on his belly, his hand tucked up under the pillow as usual, and it seemed as if he wasn't comfortable. Unsure what the problem was, Sam sat down beside him and touched his shoulder. "Dean? You okay there, dude?" He could feel gooseflesh on Dean's arm, and suddenly realizing the problem, he rose to go and find a spare blanket from the closet, returning to cover Dean.

Dean blinked when he felt the bed move, and he felt the warmth as Sam lowered the blanket over him. He looked up at his brother, the innocence of sleep fresh on his face, and blinked a few times, "Thanks, Sammy," he mumbled and fell instantly back to sleep. Sam turned away, heading back to his bed to watch TV quietly, without waking him.

As the sun and time pulled across the sky, Dean finally woke, stretching and yawning. "Dude." Sam was drowsing over on the other bed. He'd been dreaming about the time he'd been hunting a white lady, and Dean had saved his ass by blasting her with rock salt through the window of the Impala, and when Dean suddenly spoke, he sat bolt upright, suddenly disoriented. "Dean?" He shook his head, trying to wake up. "Oh, man, I was dreaming, and it wasn't good."

Dean looked at Sam then frowned, "You okay?" He asked. He got and moved over to sit next to Sam and placed his hand on Sam's back, "You haven't had nightmares in a while."

"It wasn't the kind I used to have," murmured Sam. "It was strange - it was about you and me going after that first woman in white when we were looking for Dad, but she was trying to tell me something about you, dude. I wish I could remember what it was, 'cos it seemed really important at the time."

Dean shook his head, "Okay, that's strange. Don't know why you would be dreaming about her. And no idea why she would talk to you about me." He got up, "Maybe it was something you ate." He smiled.

"You mean real food is poisonous to me now? Oh, dude, I don't know if life is worth living if that's so." Sam was grinning now, an easy grin that showed he was relaxing here in the flashy surroundings. "You know, I could get used to this, living like this, with comfortable beds and room service. Sometimes I wish we could have it, don't you?"

Dean pushed Sam back onto his bed and ruffled his hair despite Sam's protests. "What do you say we hit the bar and the pool?" Getting up, Dean went to his bag to dig around for a decent pair of jeans. He didn't have any shorts, but who needed them when it was getting dark outside and there were drinks and chicks to be had.

"Sure." Watching Dean as he found and put on a pair of jeans that fit him like a second skin, Sam found himself feeling wistful for no good reason. He swung his legs back down onto the floor and reached for his own duffel. "Wife beater time, I guess," he murmured, hauling out a plain white one and standing up to pull off his T-shirt. "It's hot out there. Time to flash the skin a little."

Dean pulled out his own wifebeater, pulling it over his head. "Okay, lets go, bro. Drinks and chicks are waiting."

Following Dean out of the room, Sam took in the freckled skin and rippling muscles on Dean's back and shoulders. He felt that strange, dark twist to his insides again, fighting the urge to lick a line up over his brother's traps to the nape of his neck. "Don't know if I'm ready for the chicks yet. I... I don't just do... what you do, dude."

Dean looked back at Sam and shook his head. "Doesn't mean you can't talk to them. Stop worrying about it; let's just go and relax. Have some fun." Together, they made their way downstairs and went to the bar outside. Sam ordered up the beers, and Dean made for one of the loungers and took a seat, relaxing back as Sam brought the drinks across.

Ever restless, Sam prowled around the pool looking for diversion and finally found a local newspaper. Carrying it back to a table beside Dean's lounger, he started to leaf through it, looking, as usual, for their sort of case.

He was, for some reason, incredibly aware of his brother sprawling back into the chaise lounge, bottle tilted to his lips, graceful neck arched back so that his swallows were visible. Watching him, Sam wanted to lick along the length of that throat, and he bit his lip as he tried to make his mind go elsewhere.

Resolutely turning his back on Dean, he perused the paper, scowling fiercely and sipping at his beer, wondering how long it would be before Dean found some bosomy blonde to take the edge off.

Dean was soaking up the setting sun. He could do without the heat, God it was hot! But the beer was good. Shiner Boch... he would have to remember this brand. Next to the Del Sol he usually drank it wasn't half bad.

A couple of hours passed in this way. Dean had already been prowling, talking to some of the women there, getting them giggling as he flirted it up, getting numbers. He picked his way around the pool, calling back to a pretty brunette who was blowing him a kiss.

"Hey, Samm..." Dean never finished what he was about to say. Instead, he stepped on a wet spot, his foot came out from under him, and the next moment he was falling into the pool.

"Oh, jeez!" Sam threw the newspaper aside as he saw Dean hit the water. He rose to his feet so fast that his chair flew backwards. "Dean!" He kicked off his flip-flops and threw himself into the pool after his brother. "Jesus, dude," he whispered, pulling Dean to the side of the pool with him. "You okay? You didn't hit your head or anything?"

Dean coughed and then laughed, happily buzzed. "Dude!" He pushed Sam under the water then pulled him back up. "I fell." He climbed out of the pool, his jeans clinging as he reached a hand down to help Sam out as well. "We should go swimming more often." He blinked the water from his eyes and then ran his hands through his hair.

The water ran down over Dean's chest, turning the thin wife-beater transparent where it clung to the thick muscles of his chest. The well-worn denim clung to hips and legs, and Sam suddenly felt his mouth turn dry. "I... you... We need to go get dry, I guess," he stammered. "Don't want you to... uh... get a cold."

Far from feeling cold, Sam was sweating, and the wet clothes he wore were in fact refreshing. "You look... uh... wet," he finished, feeling vaguely stupid.

Dean was also staring at his brother, taking in the way Sam's clothing clung. Sammy was so much more well built than he was; he was so much more defined. Dean felt the urge to lick, and he swallowed hard. "We both need to, yeah." He grabbed his brother and pushed him ahead, turning back to pluck up the flip-flops Sam had discarded before following. Damn, but Dean wanted the ass that moved inside those jeans. Shit! Now he had to think of monsters to keep from getting hard. Damn his fucking brother for doing this to him.

Walking ahead of Dean, Sam kept thinking of the way his brother had looked with the droplets of water thickening and spiking his eyelashes, and the sodden fabric pulling taut over abs and pectorals. He shuddered. Dean was so into girls that he would never consider a same sex relationship, even if they hadn't been brothers. He snorted with self deprecating laughter as he pushed away the thought that he and Dean might ever get together and tried to think about Ashley.

"We better get some swim trunks if we're gonna hit the pool again, dude," was all he said, but he couldn't help watching as Dean changed his clothes once more.

Dean peeled his jeans off, and then his underwear. "Dude, we so have to hit the local Wal-mart. I think I saw one along the highway. We need some new shirts too. I think I tore one getting it out of Ashley's washer. Speaking of, have you called her?" He knew they'd only left her the day before, but he would be very surprised if Sam said no, because Sammy was thoughtful that way. Dean was prepared to bet that he'd already called to see if she was okay.

"I... didn't yet." Sam looked stricken. "I should, shouldn't I?" He looked around for his phone and frowned, then his face cleared as he fumbled in the pocket of his hoodie. "For a minute there, I thought that it was in my jeans, and then it'd be all wet."

Shucking his pants, he grabbed a fresh pair of underwear and pulled them on, then sat back on his bed and dialed.

"No phone sex," Dean shouted to him from the bathroom. He finished dressing while Sam was talking on the phone.

"Fuck you," called Sam. "I was thinking of beating off right here in front of you!" He snickered and then fell quiet as Ashley picked up the phone at her end. "Hey, baby, this is your roaming reporter, just calling to report that we're in Houston, and Dean fell into the pool at the hotel fully clothed. News at eleven."

"You do, and it will be on YouTube tomorrow," Dean shouted out.

Ashley, on the other end of the phone, laughed softly, "Well, I guess I'll just have to tune in then. Hello, Sam. I'm glad you're safe."

"Yeah, we're both safe, but wet," said Sam, smiling as wide and bright as a sunrise. If he couldn't have Dean, then Ashley wasn't a bad consolation prize. "How are you doing? Any bad dreams or weird happenings?"

Ashley giggled, "I'm doing very well, Sam. No bad dreams, nothing strange happening. In fact, I feel really good. Though I miss you," she whispered at the end.

"I miss you too, baby." Sam lay back, let his hand fall loose onto his stomach and closed his eyes as he chatted to her. "I'd rather be looking at you than at Dean's hairy ass." He chuckled. "You think that I could maybe trade him for ya?"

"You can try, but you might have to throw in a couple of beers too," She giggled. "Did you guys go to NASA yet?"

"HEY, no trading, and my ass is not that hairy!" Dean shouted out.

"My God! The peanut gallery is pretty vocal tonight." Sam was smirking as he spoke loud enough for his brother to overhear. "Not yet, love. We're going to go tomorrow and take the tour. They show you around the whole site. Dean wants to break in after dark, but I can't see that being very sensible. We'd be more likely to be picked up by the feds than anything."

"You two better not. I better not hear on the news there was a break-in or something. Just enjoy the tour. You'll like it for sure. And play the games there too, Dean will love them," she said, giggling.

"I got your nuts right here," Dean pointed to his crotch and shook his head.

Sam flipped his brother off and rolled his eyes. "Can you hear him? I think he's entering his second childhood, dude." He smiled again. "Miss you. Take care of yourself for me, okay?"

Ashley giggled again, "Yes, I can hear him. You two are adorable. But, Sam, let Dean have these moments. They are memories for you both. The weight of the world is off his shoulders for once, so let him have these times. But take care of him, and especially yourself. I'll miss you each and every day 'til I see you again."

"You take care of yourself too, baby. I'll call you soon." Sam let his phone fall as he turned it off and rolled to look over at his brother. "Okay, dude, you going back down, or we gonna go look for that Walmart first and buy some swim trunks in case you decide you need another bath?"

"Dude, I don't plan on doing that again tonight. I'm staying where it's safe." He ran a tender hand over his shoulders. "I think I got sun burn," he said. He already had a light tan, but now his shoulders were red. Emerging from the bathroom, he stood and looked down at Sam's shoulders. "So have you," he murmured, touching Sam's traps. The sunburn wasn't incredibly bad but it was definitely red, and it would sting later. "Let's order some room service and watch a movie. We can have an early night. If we get there early enough tomorrow, we'll beat the little kids."

So there would be no busty bimbo in Dean's bed for at least another night, and idly, Sam wondered why that was. Nodding, he sat up, lean body shining in the pale light from the lamps. He smiled at his brother and nodded, absently scratching his bare chest. "Guess I don't have to get dressed again then," he murmured. "Suppose that my stuff'll be dry again by morning. What movie do you want to see?"

"I don't know, whatever is on TV," Dean flopped down upon his bed, grabbing the menu off the center table. He looked though it and then sat up, waving it. "Dude, I want this double bacon cheeseburger and this milkshake." He tossed the menu to Sam. "And at least put some pants on. The waiter is gonna look funny at us as it is." Though Dean rather liked seeing Sam half naked the way he was. Those lean powerful muscles, that well formed chest and his strong arms made him want to go over and touch. Feel. Taste. He wanted to run his hands through his brother's hair and to kiss those lips. He wanted to ram...

Dean looked away, realizing what he was doing, and grabbed the remote, hoping there would be some mindless bad b-flick on TV to get his mind off what he wanted so badly in the next bed.

Snickering, Sam rose to his feet and went to find a pair of sweats, bending to pull them on and posing for Dean. "There. I guess that the waiter won't get any ideas now, the booty is all covered up."

He strolled across to the desk on which lay all the pamphlets and information provided by the hotel. "Dude, they've got a gym in this place as well as a pool. I may hit that later; you interested?" Glancing over, he could see that Dean had turned on the TV set and was flipping through the channels, looking for something to watch. Grinning at his brother, he swiftly called down for room service and ordered them both the double bacon cheeseburger and the milkshake Dean had requested. "All set for a nice, homey evening," he murmured as he returned to his bed and stretched out.

After dinner was brought up and consumed, Dean was happy to lounge, sipping at his milkshake, watching a Godzilla movie. It grew late, and soon, after the milkshake was emptied and put aside, he crawled into bed, feeling full. Snuggling down, he couldn't wait to fall asleep, so he could get up and see history.

Sam had gotten far more fun out of watching his brother than he had out of the movie. He'd come to the conclusion that Dean had somehow managed to shed all the fear and pain he'd carried around with him since the fateful day that he had come to Sam for help finding their Dad. He smiled, thinking that this was all Dean had ever wanted or needed - a bed for the night, food in his belly and family. If he could give his brother nothing else, he could certainly give him that. Sam knew that no matter what might happen down the road, he was with Dean, and they'd stand or fall together.

When it was finally time to sleep, he lay awake for a long time remembering his brother throughout the years of their childhood. He fell asleep at last to the sound of Dean's soft snores and knew that he was home.

Dean was up early. He had showered, changed into a short sleeved shirt and jeans and gone down to the lobby for the free breakfast. He returned with his haul, humming a happy tune. He'd found donuts, made some waffles and collected some fruit and coffee before coming back with his bounty and bursting into the room.

"SAMMY! Get up! I got breakfast, and we need to get going! Lets go. Get your ass up!" He had set the breakfast down as he spoke and was even now bouncing on Sam's bed.

Rudely awakened, Sam resisted the urge to swear and merely groped for the coffee Dean had brought him. Revived by the fragrant scent, he pushed himself up to sitting and then finally out of the bed. "That was an awesome night's sleep," he murmured. "Can we take the bed with us when we leave?"

"I think they'll notice a mattress missing and a classic car driving away with it," grinned Dean. "Especially if we go through the lobby." Dean walked over and held out the coffee he'd brought to Sam. "I brought you waffles and fruit." He passed over the plate and then started eating his donuts.

"Thanks, dude. " Sam beamed a grateful smile at his brother as he took it. "So you gonna be good and let the nice man show you round the Space Center?" he asked Dean, smiling. "Too bad there aren't any launches planned from here around now. Would've been so cool to watch that. Guess we have to make do with the big screen." He bit into a peach, the juice running down over his chin as he ate. "Dude, this hotel rocks like a rocking thing."

"Sammy! The shuttle launches today!" Dean threw a newspaper at him. The Houston Chronicle. "So who cares if it goes from Florida? We get to see that. And yes, I'll behave for the nice man. And if it's a hot woman, I'll be extra nice." He grinned at Sam and took another bite from his donut.

Washed and dressed, Sam was soon ready to go, and secretly as excited as his older brother. They checked out of the hotel and piled their stuff back into the Impala's roomy trunk, then clambered into the car and headed for the space center. There were only a few people there as the ticket booth opened, and they had soon paid for their entry and were on their way inside the building. "You wanna do the tour first, or go look at the exhibits?"

"Tour!" Dean said excitedly. "Especially before the kids start showing up." Dean had grabbed Sam's arm as he spoke and was pulling him toward the doors that led to where the tour started. He showed their tickets to the guy and then stepped through, bubbling with excitement. "Shit, they want to take our pictures. Oh well, how about this." He grabbed Sam around the shoulders and jumped up into his arms just as the woman was about to snap their photograph.

Completely immune to his brother's foolishness, Sam stood holding Dean as the girl took their photo. "Wonder if they'll let me get a copy of that," he smirked, setting Dean back on his feet and following him down towards where the carts were waiting. Together, they filed through to take a seat in the cart indicated.

It was a another ten minutes before they pulled away and actually headed into the complex. The morning was hot and humid, and both men were glad when the cart began to move and the breeze cooled them off a little. Sam watched Dean with a grin, relishing his brother's excitement as they headed towards the gate of the complex and inside to move towards their first stop.

Dean was twisting in his seat, looking around himself like a little kid. He hit Sam on the chest, "Look at those Longhorns. And that rocket." He frowned when the cart didn't stop but settled again when they announced that they would stop later. At the first stop, Dean was nearly pushing Sam out onto the pavement. "Dude, we get to go into Mission Control!" He bounced on his heels with sheer excitement.

The building was a blessed relief after the heat of the morning. The air conditioning kicked in as they entered the hall and were faced with the glass cases full of exquisitely detailed miniatures. They didn't have long to admire them before they were climbing stairs, eighty six of them, and entering a theater where a man was waiting to tell them about the original moon landing.

"Dude, there it is," whispered Sam. "Look at the consoles. They don't have any monitors or anything."

Dean was watching the screens that hung on the wall, showing the shuttle that was even then in Florida awaiting launch, and his eyes wandered the room. He leaned into his brother to hear what he was saying over the guy explaining how it had taken two huge rooms of computers with very little RAM to get the men to the moon. "Dude, wish we could see the other one - the real one." He almost added that he wished their dad was there with them, but that would wreck their hard won mood, so he pushed the thought back to be forgotten.

"Yeah," whispered Sam. He was fascinated, and when the tour continued he felt reluctant, rising to his feet to head back to the stairs slowly and hanging back to look down into the display below. "We weren't even born," he murmured. "It's mindblowing to think about it. They got to the moon on less processing power than my laptop."

"Your phone has more power," Dean whispered back. They'd made it down the stairs and were now leaving the building to get back on the cart for more of the tour. "People watched all this on black and white screens, and it's just... I don't think people really appreciate things like this any more." He felt the cart jerk as it pulled away, and then they were off again as buildings were pointed out and statistics confided.

As they reached the next building, they were very excited to find that this was the training area for astronauts, with mock-ups of everything from the shuttle itself to the device that enabled astronauts to simulate zero gravity. Dean looked at Sam with a big grin, "I wish we could go play in that stuff. Like that big part right there." He pointed to the replica of the shuttle.

"Yeah," Sam was glued to the window through which he could see a mock up of the International Space Station. "I'd love to train to go into space. Bet I could do it, too. You could as well, dude. All you gotta do is get some degree and stay as fit as you are. They'd snap us up." He moved along the walkway a little, peering down at the different areas of the training building. "We should apply."

"No! You apply. I ain't going up. Remember, flying." Walking along, they could hear the guide talking about the huge floor that was like an air hockey table. "I'd still like to play in there, though." Dean was lost in contemplation of the facility below, and he jumped when he saw a guy in a space suit in the reflection of the glass. Turning quickly, he looked over his shoulder in disbelief.

"Looks like a lot of fun, doesn't it? The zero gravity practice is what I'd like to do. It sounds so cool." Sam was gazing through the glass, watching the activity going on down in the simulations, and at first he didn't really notice that Dean had pulled away backwards. Suddenly realizing that he wasn't where he had been, Sam turned to look at his brother and blinked. "Dean?" he murmured. "What?"

Dean waited until the rest of the other tourists had passed. "Dude, I thought I saw... an astronaut."

"You're over-excited, man." Sam smiled and punched Dean on his shoulder. "There aren't any astronauts right here. They're all locked up ready to take the shuttle later on today."

"No, I mean like... an old astronaut. Ghost kind," Dean whispered, with a seriousness that couldn't be mistaken.

"You're kidding!" Sam shot his brother a horrified look. "We can't be digging up astronauts to salt and burn 'em. We'd be tarred and feathered. Those guys are heroes."

"You think I like this any more than you do?" Dean hissed, his voice hushed. "And keep your voice down." He grabbed Sam's arm and started walking. "Look, maybe it's nothing. Just harmless. Harmless ones are okay, aren't they? Some just look after things, you know. Like you said, we hunt Evil. Those that kill. Maybe this will be nothing." He went down the stairs, arguing with himself.

Nodding, Sam followed him down the stairs, catching up to the girl who was guiding them around the complex. "Hey," he murmured, smiling at her with all the Winchester charm he could drum up. "This is really cool. Me an' my brother here were wondering... do you ever get any rumors of haunting? I mean, is there a NASA ghost? Think how interesting that would be."

The girl looked at Sam disdainfully. "There are a lot of stories about this place, but I haven't heard of any hauntings. Listen, if you're looking for that kind of tour, they have one downtown." She turned away to answer a question from a spotty teenager, leaving Sam to fume in silence.

Dean gave him a commiserating glance. "I think we need to find someone who works here," he whispered, pulling Sam back towards the cart. "When it makes the next stop, let's get off, work our way back, and maybe we can talk to the employees."

Nodding, Sam slowed his pace a little. "I can't see us hiding 'til midnight and holding a séance or anything. We'll get ourselves into so much trouble. Like you said, maybe the astronaut is just here to protect the place, and hasn't caused any sort of trouble. We can't kill all the ghosts in the world." He stopped speaking, looking at Dean's imploring face, and his heart melted. "But I guess we can 'miss' the bus and see who there is to talk to."

A few short minutes later, the two of them could be seen lurking back near the building that housed Mission Control. "Just ask around, see if some of these people who work inside can tell us anything," growled Dean, pulling Sam behind a bush and dropping down to hide from another of the tourist trains that was towing carts like the one they'd been riding earlier. He saw that Sam was still standing, and he grabbed him by the collar to jerk him down.

"This is a mistake," muttered Sam, sending his best bitchfaced look towards his brother. "They'll put us in jail for a thousand years, and let's not forget that Texas has the death penalty, too. I don't like to think what'll happen when we're caught, and they make us." He frowned. "And they will make us; you know that. This is NASA, Houston, not Bumfuck, Alabama!"

"Don't give me that look," Dean hissed at him. "We're just gonna walk around and ask a few questions." As soon as the carts pulled away, Dean looked around and popped up. "Besides, if I die in Texas, at least I'll have my boots on." He smiled at Sam and slapped his back and then started walking. "And remember, the shuttle launches today; everyone will be too busy with preparations for that to even notice us." He turned to Sam, putting one hand on his back, one on his chest, and slapped his back while rubbing his chest. "Relax."

"Easier said than done," frowned Sam, feeling jittery, as if somehow his skin were too small for him. "I have a bad feeling about this. You got good ID on you?" He followed Dean, knowing that there was absolutely no use trying to change his brother's mind, once he'd made it up. "Where are we going, anyway?"

Dean grinned. He reached into his pocket and pulled out two scan cards he'd lifted from the tour guides. "I think I got our way in." Handing a card to Sam, he bowed and gestured towards the door. "Now just act normal. Or be your geeky self, you know, like a rocket scientist." He smirked. "Let's go to Mission Control first. That should be a good place to look. We can talk to some people there. Can't get any emf readings - too much interference."

Nodding, Sam pinned on the badge and followed his brother back towards the building that housed Mission Control. Ducking through the door marked 'Authorized Personnel Only', they found themselves in a long corridor that led through the building. There were doors to each side, but all of them were closed, and they didn't try them at all, merely sought the flight of stairs that would lead them to the area they sought. "That dude who talked to us said that it was 80 feet over on the other side of the building, so I guess we need to go up."

Dean nodded as they started climbing the stairs. "Yeah, look for a big room with lots of computers." Leaning against a door at the top of the stairs, they listened; they could hear voices, and Sam nodded as Dean motioned him over. "I think this is it," said Dean as he looked up and down the hall. Taking the card, he swiped it in the reader and then opened the door. Stepping through the door was like stepping into another universe. People were moving about Mission Control, talking, pointing at monitors, typing furiously and calling out to each other. Far away on the back wall were images of the shuttle on the launch pad, and the orbit it would take once in space. There were lines indicating the space station as well.

Eyes round, Sam gazed at the activity going on all around him. He couldn't believe that he was here, couldn't believe just how cheeky his brother was, and he bit his lip, sure that this would all end badly. Dean, on the other hand, looked like a little boy, virtually quivering with excitement. "Dean," he hissed, poking his brother's back. "Tone it down or they'll know you're an imposter. Go for the world-weary look." He fell silent as a white-haired gentleman wearing a white shirt with a pocket protector bore down on them.

"Did you bring the printout I asked for?" he asked, making impatient noises at them.

Dean looked frantically at Sam, then composed his features, guessing that he might be looking a little too wide eyed. But they were in MISSION CONTROL! The working one. It was so cool, and how many people these days could ever actually say they'd been able to get into it? Sweet! He tried for the 'who cares,' weary look and then got a little nervous as the white-haired man approached. He raised an eyebrow. "Print out?"

"Interns! Honestly!"

"Oh, print outs! Oh, us! Sparky here forgot where you told him they were at." He smacked Sam on the back of the head. "Where were they again? Maybe we can get the ghost to get them." Dean tried for his most charming smile.

"Ghost? Don't be an ass; I need you focused." The man was turning away even as he was snapping out his retort. "Down one flight, turn right and two doors along. Ask Cecilia; she's got them. Be back in two minutes or I'll trade you for a mangy dog and shoot the dog. " He was going back to his desk, when apparently he had an afterthought. "You!" He beckoned to Sam, who was about to follow Dean down the stairs. "You think you could make coffee? The machine is empty." He gestured over to a coffee machine in the corner, and Sam nodded, gulped and went to do his bidding.

"Hey, Something you're actually good at!" Dean slapped Sam on the back. "I'll be right back." He headed off in the direction the guy had indicated, down one flight, turn right, second door. A quick look around revealed Cecillia, sitting at a desk in the corner of the office. He asked for the print outs and told her about the mangy dog thing, which had her chuckling, saying he always threatened that. Dean tried his question on her, and she told him how some of the staff there believed that Virgil Grissom, or "Gus", was always in the building. Coffee cups moved; papers much like the ones he was looking for would vanish. She giggled as she gave them to him.

Dean thanked her and jogged up the stairs, bursting through the door in triumph. "Here you go. Did I beat the dog catcher?" he asked with a smile.

"Hmph!" The man was typing busily as Dean set the papers down on his desk and hovered. "Still time to go look for a dog." He looked up. "Make yourself useful. Set up the work station in the end cubicle. The computer's there already, but it needs to be set up, and find a camera for it. Get that long streak of nothing to help you, once he's finished with the important stuff."

Behind them, they could hear the noisy gurgles as the coffee machine began to drip black, fragrant liquid into the carafe, and when Dean beckoned, Sam went over to join him in getting the computer system set up.

Dean had made a face when the scientist told him to set up the computer. He felt as if he was gasping like a fish out of water, until he finally managed to get Sam to come over. "He wants us to set this up, and you know me and technology. Hell, I lock up your computer when I'm just looking at porn." He glanced over to where the man was sitting, and then back at Sam, pretending to work. "Look, I got something, but it might not be much. Cecilia told me that she thinks Virgil Grissom still haunts this place."

"Well, you can forget salting and burning him, dude. He died in that fire. There's no chance we can get rid of him that way." Sam was deftly hooking up the computer to the monitor and fitting up the keyboard and mouse as he spoke. He crouched down under the desk for a moment or two and then poked his head up. "Boot it up for me, dude, please?" he said, then frowned, nostrils flaring as he thought. "And besides, he hasn't killed anyone or anything."

"How do we know? There were two shuttles that went boom." Dean looked for the on button, then just pushed one, grinning when he managed to hit the right one. "Then there was that whacky shooting in building Nine that I read about in the paper a while ago. You remember? It happened just before the last shuttle launch." He crouched down to Sam's level. "You know as well as I do, the longer he's here, the more he might change. Spirits start to get frustrated after a while. They let it eat at them. We need to put him to rest once and for all."

"Well, all right." Sam was obviously reluctant. He rose to his feet and elbowed Dean out of the way so he could make some adjustments to the drivers and the monitor. Finally he stood up as well and nodded. "So how do we lay him to rest? His bones are burned already."

Dean scratched his head. "There has to be something of his still here. Remember the doll thing? Not saying he played with dolls but maybe... I don't know, something of his is still around. Maybe a medal or a patch that has his DNA on it. Maybe a suit or something." Dean shrugged. "We should go check out the displays, see if any of them tell us anything."

"Does that mean that we can get out of here?" Sam set the computer to screen saver and nodded over to the elderly scientist, who was now happily sucking back coffee as he perused his sheets of data. "Maybe he won't even notice we've gone."

Together they moved over to the door and through it, heaving a sigh of relief when it closed behind them. As they headed down the stairs, they passed a pair of young men who were wearing badges that stated, "Intern," on their shirts. "Maybe we ought to step it up a little," murmured Sam, once they'd passed them by. "I have a strange feeling that someone's going to notice that they aren't us." He quickened his pace a little as he spoke, and together they spilled out of the building just in time to get onto another train full of eager sight-seers.

Dean agreed and quickly rushed to the cart, hoping they were blending in. "Okay, we'll get back to the center and start asking around." Dean tried to look casual but his mind was working overtime. They seemed to be on a hunt. Who would have thought that going to visit NASA as tourists would result in a hunt. It seemed no matter where they went, something came up.

Climbing off the cart, Dean pulled Sam after him. They stopped and purchased the photo they'd had taken at the start and then moved into the space center. "Okay," he said, looking around. When he caught sight of the suits in the other room, he smacked Sam on the chest and pointed. "Let's go check those out."

The space-suits hung from the ceiling, and lit from below they looked very effective, as if there were spacemen flying through the air. "Do you want to look around the center first?" asked Sam, a little dubious. "Once we start ripping off their exhibits, you know we're gonna need to make a run for it. Perhaps it's best to check out the show before we go." He pointed to where the Space Shuttle exhibit stood. "Didn't you want to go check that out?"

Dean looked around, then nodded, "Yeah, best we wait till later." Eagerly, he made for the exhibit, turning to talk to Sam as the two of them mounted the stairs. "I think we should ask one of the workers about the suit. Maybe there is something of Gus's on it? You know? You can talk to the hot chick, if there is one. It's your turn." He beamed at Sam as he spoke and then plunged into the shuttle exhibit.

Nodding, Sam ascended the staircase after Dean, following him into the shuttle to look around with wide eyes. "Wow! You still think you wouldn't go up in one, Dean?" He studied the information behind the panels with fascination. "Check out the food. I can't see you lasting long if you had to live on this stuff. It looks even worse than those burgers you get from the 7-11."

"No kidding," Dean looked down, "Ewww. I would starve to death!" He looked out of the main window, "And can you imagine landing one of these things with a window that small?" Dean began to explore, climbing to the next level and stopping as he looked at one of the suits. "Dude... dude." He turned looked for Sam then grabbed him, excitement radiating from him. "Okay, I just had a realization. When we were looking at that suit up there..." he grabbed Sam, indicating the suit. "There was a patch on it..." he looked at Sam, holding the punchline. "That was slightly burned."

"You think...?" Sam turned to study the suit through the tiny window, but he couldn't see any detail, because it was way too far away. He nodded, thinking that Dean was likely right. He usually was, and he had an eye for this kind of thing. "And you know they don't land the shuttle by sight, anyway. It's done on instruments. Looking out the window is the last thing they need to do these days." Sam grinned as he looked around them. "I can't imagine being in space in something this small, though. I'd want the USS Enterprise before I went up there."

"They don't?" Dean looked at Sam with disbelief, then corrected himself. "Okay, I knew that." Frowning, he took a last look at the shuttle's interior and took a deep breath. "Okay, I guess this is it. "Let's go." He turned to walk through the door back to the staircase and suddenly found himself amongst a bunch of kids who were running around him, causing him to spin and lift up his arms. "Get them off!"

"Tsk, tsk," laughed Sam, watching his brother struggle against the tide of small humanity that was steadily forcing him backwards into the shuttle again. "You may be talking to the next Neil Armstrong there. Have a little respect, dude." He turned and went down the stairs again, trusting that Dean would be able to follow him. Walking slowly over to where the spacesuit was hanging, he began to wonder just how they would reach it. He supposed that if he had to he could lift Dean up on his shoulders to grab it, although that would for sure be noticed. They'd have to run like hell. Turning, he looked for exits.

Dean was looking around himself too, and he grinned and gave a thumbs up when he noticed the stairs. "Hey, up there. I can jump over and..." He stopped as Sam gave him one of his patented glares. "Okay, so its not so bright, but we do need a distraction." Dean pondered. "Go start a fire in the restroom."

"What?" Sam stepped back and gaped at him, total incredulity on his features. "You've got to be joking. They'll crucify us."

"Don't be dumb!" Dean grinned. "Dude, I can snatch the patch, and then we can get out of here and burn it, putting Gus to rest. If you start a fire, no one is gonna be paying attention to me."

Speechless, Sam threw up his hands and headed for the nearest restroom. There was a 'closed for maintenance' sign on the back of the door, and Sam took it, hanging it onto the front and waiting for the solitary man inside to finish his business and leave. Closing the door and locking it, he grabbed all the paper towels and toilet paper he could find, stacking them all up carefully. He pulled his Zippo lighter from his pocket and lit his bonfire, then backed away, watching as it took hold.

Pulling open the door, he quickly escaped back into the crowds, trusting to luck that there were no cameras recording his exit. Looking for Dean, he turned around, didn't see him and decided that the best thing to do was to go with the crowd as they were evacuated. Sure enough, the next minute brought a siren and an announcement that everyone should leave the building.

While Sam was heading for the restroom, Dean had ducked under the small chain to take the stairs alongside where the suit hung. He heard the alarm go off, and he made his move, jumping over to crawl up the suit, almost but not quite falling. He dug into his boot and pulled out his knife, flicking it open and leaning around to cut the patch off. He tucked it away, and he was about work his way down when he slipped and dropped down upon his back. Rolling over, he followed the crowd out.

Searching for Sam, he wondered if he'd ever spot him, but it wasn't long before he saw his freakishly tall brother and went running over to him. "Let's go."

Outside, the air was thick with moisture and there was a rainstorm brewing despite the steamy heat. They ran for the Impala and climbed in rapidly. Dean gunned the engine, sending small stones up with the force of their take-off, and Sam began to relax a little as they made it onto the main road. "Jesus wept," growled Sam, still pale and panicky. "Glad I don't have to do that every day."

Dean reached into his jacket and handed Sam the patch. "Dude, let's just get back to the hotel and burn this thing so we can get out of town."

"I knew it was too good to last," murmured Sam, grieving for the wonderful hotel they'd had for such a short amount of time. "Oh, well. Easy come, easy go," he said, wistfully watching the hotel as they drew closer to it. "It was fun while it lasted, and I guess that San Antonio will have nice places to stay."

"Let's just get our stuff." Dean parked the car and headed inside. They took the stairs and soon reached their room. "Okay, go burn that out on the balcony." he growled, gathering their stuff. "I'll go settle the bill." He slung the bags over his shoulder and headed down, to pay, then made for the Impala and settled in to wait for Sam. Checking the maps as he waited, he soon found that the best way out of town was to take the highway around the city, Beltway 8 then onto 59 until they hit the roads that would get them to San Antonio.

Sam, who now felt as though he might have a promising future as a pyromaniac, took the offending patch out onto the balcony, built a little fire and incinerated it, stamping out the flames afterwards and kicking the debris over the edge to fall into the garden below. He stood for a moment, gazing at the room they'd had such a good time in, before sighing and turning to follow his brother.

As the brothers drove out of Houston, Dean cast a sideways look over at Sam. "Hey, cheer up, we got to see NASA like no one else. We didn't get in trouble. Things went smoothly for a change, and we got to stay in a nice hotel instead of a sleazy one. That will throw Hendricksen for a loop," he chuckled.

"You'd better pray that we weren't caught on camera at any stage, dude," growled Sam, still fretting. "We're in trouble if we were. They'll add fucking with NASA to our crimes, and we'll be even more in the shit."

Dean smacked his hand on Sam's leg. "Hey, if they do, at least it's not porn!" He gave Sam a big grin as he put his foot down and turned the music up to drown out Sam's inevitable sigh. With AC/DC blaring, they headed towards San Antonio, leaving the Space Center behind them.

Back: Episode 02 –|– Next: Episode 04

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