Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

"I still think we should've stayed in Missouri," Frankie said, and Sam rolled his eyes.

"Now where's the fun in that?" he retorted. "Come on, we've seen every square inch of the Midwest. I'm telling you, Nevada, California, that's where all the fun happens. Right, Jamal?"

Jamal looked back and forth between the two of them. Then he said, "I mean, it does sound like a kinda nice place, man."

"Thank you!" Sam called, slamming the steering wheel.

"Lots of alphas though..."

He rolled his eyes. "So? You're not gonna let some alphas scare you away from a place like Vegas, are you?"

"Yeah, you're right," Jamal agreed, now grinning at the idea of the ultimate con city. If there was one place they could make it at...

Sam threw Frankie another look in the rearview mirror. "See? Everything will be just fine."

"You're a beta, that's easy for you to say," his friend huffed.

Technically he wasn't wrong but Sam still thought he was overreacting. There were asshole alphas everywhere, and they had always managed to escape too much trouble.

Jamal started a game of I Spy and they drove on for a little more than an hour. Sam guessed they were getting close to Colorado now. The plan was to reach Denver today but he suddenly really had to go to the bathroom, and he didn't feel like waiting that long. He was starting to regret ignoring the sign pointing toward a town called Jericho that they had passed a little while ago. He wondered if it was worth the trouble driving back. Probably not.

He sighed and pulled over. Bushes it was.

"You still got a couple of those napkins?" he asked Frankie.

The other man raised his eyebrows. "Yeah, why?"

"Okay, give me a couple."

"Why?" Frankie asked again.

"Because I gotta take a shit, okay?" Sam snapped.

"Fine, fine," Frankie sighed, fishing some of the napkins out of his pocket and handing them to Sam.

"Thanks," he mumbled before getting out of the car.

Since this was still Kansas, neither side of the road provided any coverage at all but Sam had spotted a small group of trees not even half a mile into the prairie. Those would do just fine. He'd had to be... creative before after all.

He jogged up the slight slope. The trees turned out to be pretty dead, probably in their own best interest seeing what he was about to do to them. Sam took his time, enjoying the quietude for a moment but also very excited that they were finally going to get away from it. Ah, the big cities. There really wasn't anything like places like Vegas and L.A. This was gonna be the one, he could feel it.

Too absorbed in his own thoughts, it took him a couple of seconds to register the sudden faraway yell. When he did, his brow furrowed though. He shot a look around the tree, back at the road where he'd left Jamal and Frankie in the car. They seemed fine. Hadn't really sounded like one of them either actually, now that he thought about it.

Sam finished his business and glanced toward his friends another time. Then he turned away from the highway and walked up the hill a little further, just out of curiosity. It was only a couple hundred yards more to the top.

He honestly wasn't really expecting to see anything special, maybe a farmer or even an animal or something. It was only when he heard a second yell, more distinct this time, that Sam slowed down and frowned. He hadn't been able to make out what the man - because the voice was definitely male - had said but it didn't sound very friendly. That in itself should have been enough of a warning but any doubt Sam had left was swept away by the sudden breeze coming in his direction. He breathed in deeply and froze in his steps. The scent that met him was a heavy mixture of fragrances but still dominated by one overall quality: omega.

But there was more to it than that, Sam quickly realized. There was without doubt a large group of omegas at the other side but also a couple of alphas, and the proportion between both was something that really worried him. He went on carefully, an unsettled feeling starting to manifest in his stomach. Once he could finally watch over the top of the small hill, he gasped for air at what he saw. Half a mile away on the other side, two tents were set up. Three vans were parked on the side and a couple of men were walking back and forth all across.

The rest of the site was filled with iron cages. And even from this distance Sam could see there were humans inside of them.

Omega traffickers.

He cursed under his breath and turned around, hastily making his way back to the car. Hanging around close by a group of traffickers was just begging for trouble.

The alarm must have been clear on his face because as soon as he approached the car, the guys were looking just as worried.

"What's wrong?" Frankie asked, and Sam could smell a pinch of fear on him.

"Nothing," he said as he jumped in. "Let's just get to Denver."

He turned the key. And had to turn it again. And another time. His car was trying but it didn't look like he was going to get more than a desperate stutter from it.

Really? Now of all times?

"Goddammit!" he yelled and slammed his hands against the steering wheel, this time in frustration.

"Uhm Sam, what's going on?" Frankie asked, a bit of hesitation in his voice.

"I think we're out of gas," Sam grumbled.

"Yeah, we kinda got that much. Real question is why you're being so jumpy," Jamal added.

For a moment he considered not telling them but he had a feeling that wouldn't do anyone any good. "Well," he started, stretching the L. "There's a group of kinda omega traffickers on the other side of that slope."

"What?" Jamal called out in a voice considerably higher than before, Frankie just said, "Oh god," and Sam wished he hadn't opened his mouth. If the alphas had been any closer, they now would have probably picked up the panic in their scents. Apparently this was what he got for having two omegas for best friends.

"Calm down," he urged them. "They're over a mile away and they can't see us, it'll be fine. We just gotta get some gas and then we're out of here right away, no big deal."

"And where are we going to get that gas, huh?" Jamal said.

Sam hated it when Jamal had a point. Sometimes he really regretted one of them being the mouthiest omega in the whole country.

"Alright, here's the plan," he announced while checking his phone. "We only had about ten, twelve more miles left till we hit the next town. You two go and get gas while I stay with the car. Easy."

"What?" Jamal repeated, voice going back up. "Oh yeah right, sure. And then we'll be walking all nice and easy down the road and suddenly run into a couple of those alphas. Real good plan, Sam."

"You have a better one?" Sam shot back.

Frankie quickly tried, "Maybe you should go on and we watch the car."

"Oh right, and then the first thing those alphas will see when they hit the road again is an abandoned car with two omegas in it. You're right, that's a great idea," Sam mocked. He also kind of didn't want to walk thirteen miles by himself, but that was just an aside.

He sighed. "You know what? No one's going anywhere. It's better if we stick together, just like always."

His friends easily agreed. That still didn't buy them any gas though.

"Somebody's gotta drive by at some point, right?" Frankie said hopefully.

Sam would have agreed with him if they'd still been on the interstate. But no, they had taken a smaller road a couple of hours ago because he was convinced that it would save them time if he just drove fast enough. Yeah, that had been a fantastic decision.

"Sure, some point," he mumbled. It was the only option after all. It wasn't like there was a place to get gas any closer by than the next town.

Unless...

Sam raised his eyebrows. Well, that was an interesting thought.

"Okay, guys," he said, clapping his hands. "Let's get this baby to the side of the road and settle in for the rest of the day then. And if we still haven't seen anyone by tonight, I'm thinking I might just go pay those alphas a visit."

That certainly got their attention.

"Are you crazy?" Jamal protested. "We shouldn't be getting anywhere near those psychos, and you wanna go and steal their gas?"

Sam huffed. "Oh please, it can't be that hard. They'll be asleep, I'll be in and out of there in no time."

"I agree with Jamal, this is a bad idea. We should just wait for someone else to come by," Frankie said.

"Yeah, what if they catch you?" Jamal argued.

Frankie hastily nodded. "Or smell you and come after us?"

"They won't," Sam stopped them. "Because I'll be wearing you guys' clothes and there's plenty of omegas there to cover whatever's left of my scent. They'll have no idea it was us."

Jamal shook his head. "I don't know, man. I still don't like it."

"Yeah well, you don't have to," Sam sighed. "All you gotta do is wait in the car. Speaking of, let's get it out of the way already."

After another half hour, the car was mostly off of the road. Sam decided that would do and told his buddies they could stop pushing. (Steering really was the most difficult part.) They got back in and took a well-deserved break. And there also really wasn't anything else for them to do until somebody would hopefully pass by.

They played some more road games and at a certain point, Frankie got out a deck of cards. Another hour or two later, he dug up the box of donuts they had bought that morning. Sam was now grateful he kept the no-eating-in-the-car rule, otherwise they would have been long gone. It took another couple hours but then the sun finally started to set. And there still hadn't been any signs of another car.

Sam put up the car's soft top when it started to get cold and they all got their things out of the trunk. It was a bit of a hassle but eventually he managed to get together a dark outfit out of Frankie and Jamal's clothes. Most of them were a bit too big but Sam would make do.

"Do we have binoculars?" he asked as he was pulling on a pair of Frankie's pants in the front seat. His friends were watching him desperately in the back.

Frankie dug into his bag and pulled out a pair of binoculars for sure. That guy really did have everything.

"Thanks," Sam said, taking them and hanging them around his neck.

"This really is the stupidest idea you've ever had, man. And that's saying something," Jamal commented.

He rolled his eyes. "Don't be so dramatic. Can't hurt to try, right? And if it doesn't work out, I'll just come right back."

"If you come back," Frankie mumbled.

It would probably be in everyone's best interest if Sam just ignored that. Instead he spread his arms and said, "Alright. How do I smell?"

Frankie took a sniff. "Like a beta wearing the clothes of two different omegas," he dryly answered, and Jamal snickered. Sam just glared at them both.

"Yeah, you laugh now but you boys wait till I come back with a full can of gas and we skyrocket away from this place."

And with that he stepped out of the car. It was time for action.

Chapter Text

Twenty minutes later, Sam was lying on his stomach on the top of the hill, peering at the trafficking camp below. Because that's how they would do it in the movies.

Not that there really was much to see. It was dark, which complicated things of course, even with binoculars. Besides, it looked like now that the sun had set, the alphas were starting to close up. Lights in the tents were on, and the traffickers were walking in and out but mostly in. Some lingered around a campfire for a little while longer, but apparently it was late enough for most of them to call it a night.

Sam watched them and waited. Unless they were all asleep, he wasn't really sure what to do if he was being honest. The idea of walking in while some of these alphas were still up was very much not appealing to him. He wasn't risking his life for a can of gas.

He got bored quickly and started playing with some pieces of grass. After making five braids, he got tired of that too though. How did military people do this? He rested his chin on his hands and looked at the distant fire. The warm glow was kind of soothing actually.

At some point he must have dozed off because the next time he looked at the fire, it had diminished to little more than a smolder. He grabbed the binoculars and searched for a sign of the alphas. The lights in the tents had been turned off too, which made it even more difficult to make out what was going on. There was one man left sitting at the fire but he was still, and Sam crossed his fingers that he was maybe taking a little nap too. If he wasn't, and Sam just walked right past him, that would probably mean a lot of trouble though.

He glanced at the vans to the left. If he could approach from that side... It was probably where they kept extra gas anyway. Stupid, but what else were they going to do? For some reason Sam had trouble imagining these guys pulling up into a gas station with a dozen captured omegas in the back.

He sighed. It was now or never.

A little downhill and a couple yards to his left he had spotted a small group of bushes. He was hoping that could be a good intermediate. Begging every part of his body to not make any unexpected sounds, he crawled forward a bit before getting up. He almost ran to the bushes, still keeping low enough so that he hopefully wasn't seen. Nobody started shooting at him, and Sam decided that that was a good sign. Which didn't mean that by the time he reached the bushes, his heart wasn't racing like crazy.

Now for the hard part.

He took a deep breath and wished he had a beer to help calm his nerves. Then again, nerves or not, there was no point in stalling. He would just have to get it over with.

He checked the camp another time. Nothing had moved, and now that he was closer, Sam felt a bit more confident that the man at the fire really was the only one left outside. Good thing too, because if there suddenly had been a second one, he was pretty sure that he just would have turned around and gone back to the car.

Instead Sam dashed from his hiding place and again tried to combine speed and silence in a desperate jog. This distance was much longer and with every yard, Sam was praying to the universe that no one would hear or see or smell or whatever him a little bit louder.

He passed the cages about five yards to his right but the omegas were the least of his problems. Even if some of them weren't asleep, Sam thought (or hoped) that they wouldn't sell him out. In a way, he was helping them too after all. Kind of.

When he finally reached the safety of the cover that the vans provided, Sam dropped down and had trouble suppressing a relieved sigh. The vans were far enough from the fire that he didn't think the alpha would hear but he didn't dare take the risk. Holy crap, he had actually made it. Well, he was about halfway, but he was honestly surprised he had managed to get this far in the first place. He gave himself a satisfied pat on the back.

Confidence strengthened, he got back up and turned to the back door of one of the vans.

"I wouldn't do that if I were you."

If it wasn't the fact that Sam only just managed to stop himself from jumping and giving a yelp that would have woken up the entire camp, it would certainly be the speaker that was going to kill him. Or a heart attack. In any case, in that moment Sam was convinced he was a dead man walking, and it cost him the strength of every fiber in his body to remain still.

It took several seconds before he found the courage to try and see where the voice had come from, and even then he moved slowly, ready to turn away again if necessary. As if standing with his back to the enemy would somehow save his life.

What he had expected to see was an alpha pointing a gun at him or something. So he was kind of surprised when he didn't immediately really see anything. His eyes traveled back and forth nervously, ready to run away like crazy at the first sign of danger. Everything remained suspiciously quiet, and Sam started to wonder if he maybe had just imagined it. He had to know though, otherwise he wouldn't be able to relax for... probably ever.

As softly as possible, he let out a hesitant, "Hello?"

In the quietude of the prairie, even that sounded way too loud, and he cursed himself for opening his mouth. This way he would surely get himself killed.

"They're not stupid," the voice said, and again Sam thought he nearly died. "They lock those vans. The alarm will go off if you try to force them."

Only now he realized that the other man, whoever he was, was also whispering. In addition, he had more or less managed to locate where the voice was coming from. Sam put a careful foot forward, making sure he stayed out of the campfire man's sight. He thought he saw movement in the cage closest by and he finally released the breath he didn't know he was holding.

It was one of the omegas. And he hadn't given Sam away. Yet.

That was when the meaning of the stranger's words started to sink in. Apparently he had almost triggered the van's alarm. Good going, Sam.

"Th-thanks," he whispered back, and he couldn't help but glance in the direction where the alphas were.

"He's asleep, don't worry," the omega answered.

Sam softly huffed, not convinced. "Yeah well, let's keep it that way."

For a second, the night was silent, and Sam wondered what he was going to do now. Not that he had much of a choice. If the vans were locked, that was it. He was just going to have to return to the car.

"What are you looking for anyway?"

Although maybe...

Sam continued to near the cage, until he could make out the rough shape of the man inside. "My car broke down. I just need some gas." Hopefully that would be innocent enough to gain the omega's sympathies.

"And you really thought stealing it from a bunch of traffickers would be a good idea?" He heard omega sniff the air for a moment. "What are you anyway? You smell like omega but also beta."

"I've got some omega buddies waiting in my car. Didn't want these alphas to notice them," Sam said, avoiding the question.

Again there was a moment of silence. Then, "Maybe I can help."

His eyebrows jumped up but a grin started to form around his lips nonetheless. Inwardly, he did a little victory dance. Some inside help would definitely make this a lot less stressful. Sam crossed the remaining distance between them and squatted down in front of the cage, squinting to get a better look.

Aside from the general slight smells of sweat, urine and fear that lingered around the place, the omega inside smelled kind of like elderberry. His hair was light brown (maybe more like a dark blond, it was hard to tell), greasy and just long enough to curl at the back of his neck, much like Sam's. He seemed to be about his age and height too, although definitely thinner. Like all of the omegas here, he was completely naked, which made it easy enough to notice that he had been underfed, despite him having pulled up his legs against his chest, arms wrapped around them protectively. And even in the dark, he actually seemed kind of cute.

"I could definitely use some help," Sam confessed. "But why would you do that?"

The omega looked Sam in the eyes, and the little light there was reflected in his. "Look at us," he said with a shrug, his voice drained of all emotion. "If I can do something to sabotage these people even the slightest bit, why wouldn't I?"

That suddenly made Sam realize that the guy was probably freezing. It might have been summer but the nights could still get chilly. He quickly took off Jamal's jacket. The cage bars were just far enough apart to get it through, he thought. Luckily it wasn't a thick jacket.

"Here," he said, sticking a sleeve through one of the openings. "Might as well get you warmed up a bit while we talk strategy."

The other man looked at him with a mixture of disbelief and gratitude. "Thanks," he softly said as he pulled the jacket in. He quickly put it on, wrapping the fabric tightly around himself.

"What's your name?" Sam asked, getting comfortable too.

"Dean," the omega answered. "Dean Ellis."

"I'm Sam," Sam introduced himself.

"You're a beta, right?"

He shrugged. "Yep."

That seemed to make Dean relax a little. Sam wondered if he had secretly still been afraid that he was talking to another alpha, even though his smell expressed everything but.

"Can I ask you something really personal?" Sam said on an impulse.

Dean looked up. "Maybe?"

He'd take that as a yes. "You don't sound Midwestern. How did you end up here?"

When Dean didn't immediately answer, he added, "You don't have to tell me if you don't want to of course."

Again Dean didn't respond, and Sam was just debating changing the subject when he started talking after all.

"I'm from L.A.," he said without looking at Sam. "That's where they got me. I don't know about the others though. I also can't tell you how we got here because I don't even know where 'here' is."

"Kansas," Sam told him, and Dean looked back up. "Northwest, not too far away from Denver."

Dean nodded. "I figured Midwest with the prairie and all of that but I wasn't sure which state. Thought maybe they'd be taking us through Nebraska."

"Nah. Can't see Chimney Rock from here, can you?" It was only when he didn't get a reply to that that Sam realized Dean had probably no idea what he was talking about. He decided he really had spent too much time in this part of the country.

"I can't do much to help," Dean said, and it took Sam a second to realize he was talking about the gas again, "but if you plan on trying a second time, I'll know if they forget to lock the vans. Maybe I can even try to distract them to make sure they do."

Sam contemplated the idea for a second. It wasn't much, that was true, but it was a nice thought that someone had his back. Or would even just prevent him from triggering car alarm systems.

"Happy to take everything I can get," he said with a smile. "Thanks."

Dean just gave him another small nod. He really wasn't the most talkative guy but Sam didn't mind. In fact, it kind of made him curious.

"So what's L.A. like?" he asked.

The omega looked at him weirdly, as if he was trying to decide why Sam would possibly care. Then his eyes turned sort of empty again. "I already said I'd help, you can just go back to your omega friends if you want."

Going back to the at least a little bit warmer car and getting some sleep did seem like a very tempting offer. But... he didn't really want to leave Dean if he was being honest. So, Sam shrugged. "Might as well stay a little longer. I'm thinking you can use that jacket more than I can."

Again Dean gave him that look, like he couldn't believe Sam would do that. Sam wondered if he was shocked by someone being nice to him, or if he just hadn't expected Sam to be a nice person. Maybe both, it wouldn't be the first time. Sam had a tendency of... not always thinking of other people's feelings. Apparently some people picked up on that. Sometimes Sam even wondered if it was in his smell.

"So, L.A.?" he tried again.

Dean stared at him for a little while longer. Then he said, "Big. Lots of people too. I don't know, it never really suited me, I guess."

"Why not?"

He sighed and fiddled with the hem of the jacket a little. "Doesn't matter. I doubt I'll ever get a chance to go back anyway."

Shit. Sam had not been thinking of it that way. The thought alone sucked big time, but there wasn't really anything he could do about it, could he?

"You don't know that," he tried, and probably failed, to comfort Dean a little. Yeah okay, he was terrible at this, but what else was he supposed to say?

Apparently not that because Dean just huffed, and Sam decided to just do what he was best at and talk for both of them.

"You know, I've never been to the West Coast," he started. "Or any coast for that matter. Actually, me and the guys, that's where we were going when the car broke down. Well, we were gonna go to Vegas first but we were thinking about moving on to L.A. after that. Depended on how Vegas went, I guess. You see, Vegas is gonna be our place. We could make some real good money there. That's kinda what we do, you know, seizing an opportunity when it presents itself. So I thought, why not try to win the jackpot over there and then find ourselves a nice place on the beach in L.A.? Sounds good like that, right? I mean, you're probably used to it, but it did to us. All of us were born and raised in the south of Illinois, children of the Midwest. The only decent cities I've ever gotten to are Chicago, and Indianapolis, and... Kansas City, and Nashville. Never made it further west than Kansas or Nebraska. And now my car breaks down about fifty miles from Colorado. How sad is that?"

Sam sighed. "But hey, I'm not giving up now. Gotta be honest, I'm sick of this place, of all these small towns with their people who think they know everything about everything." He started imitating an old lady's voice. "Ain't right, a beta driving around with two unmated omegas at that age. Those boys would be far better off with some good alphas. Back in my day... blah blah blah, all that kind of crap. No, I need... something, Dean. Something different, you know? I just need to find it."

"Yeah, I get that," Dean said to his surprise, eyes staring off into the night.

"And you didn't find it in L.A., huh?" Sam asked, trying not to think too much about what that could mean for his dreams.

Dean shook his head. "Those small town people aren't just small town unfortunately. In a place like L.A., image is pretty important. At least in my experience."

Groaning inwardly, Sam dropped forward his head. And here he had been thinking that California was going to give him all the freedom he liked. Maybe it just depended on where you lived or what you did or something. He'd come this far, no point in turning back now anyway. And hey, they could always stay in Vegas if they liked it.

He looked back at Dean and wondered what his image had been like in the city. "You're not mated, right?"

"No," Dean simply said.

"Why not?"

The omega slightly shrugged a shoulder. "I've just never really been that fond of alphas."

"Yeah, me neither," Sam grumbled. "So, is it just an attraction thing or something else?"

For a couple of seconds, Dean remained quiet, a hesitant look in his eyes. "It wasn't really about attraction, no," he eventually said in a soft voice. Then his gaze darted away from Sam, taking in the rest of the camp and the cages full of omegas. "Although now I'm not so sure about that anymore."

Sam nodded in understanding. He really didn't want to know what else these alphas did to Dean and the others. "I get that. But if it wasn't a lack of attraction yet, what stopped you before?"

"Just bad experience. And maybe peer pressure, I guess," Dean told him. "I never really minded because..." He fell silent for a second, and Sam could have sworn he was blushing. He wished there was more light so he could make sure.

"Because I was kinda into betas too anyway," Dean finished in a careful voice.

"Keeping your options open, huh?" Sam teased him with a grin.

The surprise on Dean's face made it well worth it. "I mean... I guess?"

"Don't worry about it," Sam reassured him. "I know what you mean. I'm kinda pansexual myself."

Dean's eyes grew big. "Is that why you decided to leave?"

"Not directly, no," Sam said. "Although I've definitely gotten some disapproving looks when people saw me dating an omega."

"Well, if that's what you're worried about, L.A. does have less of that, I guess. Although it depends what circles you live in, and if it's just a casual thing or something more serious."

Sam hummed in agreement. "Stupid alphas are the only ones allowed all the fun."

"Yeah," was all Dean said.

"So what bad expe-" Sam suddenly stopped himself at a sound coming from the tents at the other side of the camp.

Dean had obviously heard it too, and the two of them froze, eyes focused on what little they could see of the small fire and what was happening around it. Sam honestly couldn't see much. He thought maybe there was some movement at one of the tents but he had no idea what exactly was going on. At a certain point he also heard someone talking but they were so far away that it was nothing more than a murmur to him.

"You should probably leave," Dean said, voice back to a whisper.

Sam couldn't disagree with that. The idea of being caught here by one of those alphas sent shivers up his spine.

"Yeah, you're probably right." Then he quickly added, "But I'll come back tomorrow, okay?"

Dean looked at him, and Sam couldn't tell exactly what it was that he saw in the omega's eyes. He did know that it made him want to stay longer, no matter how bad of an idea that would be. He felt like he needed to say something else, but he didn't know what.

Before he could come up with something, Dean started taking off Jamal's jacket again and handed it back to him. Sam tried to pull it through the bars as quietly as possible, although he doubted anyone would be able to hear it either way. He put it back on and was taken aback by how much it had started to smell like Dean. It was oddly comforting.

Sam shot another glance toward the fire and then slowly started to stand up. The idea of making his way out of here was just as unappealing as trying to get in.

He exchanged a final look with Dean. "I'll be back," he said again, and with that he started to sneak back to the car.

Chapter Text

When Sam woke up the next morning, the first thing he noticed was the slight smell of elderberry surrounding him. It took him a couple of seconds but then he remembered he was still wearing Jamal's jacket.

Right. Dean.

He sat up instantly and turned to the backseat, where Jamal and Frankie were still sound asleep, half on top of each other. Unbelievable, Sam was the one who had been on a mission half of the night, and he was still up before them. He shook his head in disbelief.

He poked at Frankie's shoulder. "Guys. Hey guys, wake up."

Frankie grumbled something incomprehensible but didn't bulge, and Sam rolled his eyes. Looked like he was going to have to do this the hard way.

"ALPHAS!" he yelled at the top of his lungs.

Jamal hit his head against the roof and Frankie rolled off of the seat instantly. Sam just watched them struggle with a smile on his face.

"Sam," Frankie groaned. "Was that really necessary? Jesus."

Sam shrugged. "Couldn't let you two enjoy your beauty sleep forever. We got more important stuff to handle."

"That still doesn't mean you gotta start screaming like that, man," Jamal complained.

"Wait, did you get that gas?" Frankie suddenly asked, hope in his eyes.

Pouting his lips in thought, Sam wondered what would be the best way to say this. "Not exactly... But," he quickly added, "it's possible that we'll have a much better chance tonight."

Jamal shook his head. "What? What do you mean, what happened?"

Sam quickly told them about the alphas, the locked vans and Dean. Frankie softly cursed when Sam mentioned some of the alphas having woken up.

"So I told Dean I'd come back tonight, and then I got out," he finished the story.

"You seriously thinking about doing that again?" Jamal asked him like he thought Sam was crazy.

"Sure," Sam answered casually. "Why not, it wasn't that hard."

Jamal stared at him. "Wasn't that- Are you out of your mind? It was dangerous and stupid the first time but you got lucky, and now you wanna do it again?"

"Why not?" Sam asked. He really wasn't seeing the problem here; he had been fine last night too.

"You know what," Jamal sighed. "If you wanna be stupid, go ahead. But don't you expect us to come and save your ass."

Sam huffed but he didn't respond. It wasn't his fault that Jamal was too scared to take a little risk. All Sam was going to have to do was wait until the alphas were asleep again, and head in carefully. No big deal. Plus, this time he would have Dean.

"Why don't we just call AAA?" Frankie suddenly broke the silence.

Sam and Jamal exchanged a look. Now, that was a very good question. The three of them quickly took out their phones.

"Battery's dead," Frankie sighed.

Sam knew it from the moment his phone didn't light up right away, and he cursed. "Mine too."

"Mine isn't!" Jamal called out, and the two others jumped to look at his screen.

Then he said, "Wait, never mind. No signal."

"Dammit!" Sam cursed. "Why didn't we think about this yesterday?"

"Doesn't really matter if we don't have any signal anyway," Jamal retorted.

"Yeah well, that's because you're with Sprint," Sam snapped at him.

They all fell quiet again after that, staring ahead desperately. AAA really would have been nice. Or maybe even just the cops. They could have dealt with those traffickers too while they were here.

"I'm hungry," Frankie noted, and Sam couldn't disagree.

"We're out of donuts," Jamal said.

Sam opened the door. "There's still some candy bars in the trunk, maybe a pack of crackers too."

"We're gonna have to watch what we still have, man," Jamal sighed. "We might die out here."

"Don't be so dramatic," Sam told him, rolling his eyes.

"Do we have Snickers?" Frankie asked when Sam opened the car's trunk.

Jamal began rummaging through his bag. "We also probably should change."

"Oh, I'd kill for a shower now."

Sam watched them go about it. If they still couldn't get any gas by tomorrow, he knew they would have a serious problem. They couldn't live on his candy stash forever. He would be lucky if Frankie didn't eat it all today in all honesty. Maybe he was going to have to walk to the next town after all.

"Hey, Sam, you mind giving back our clothes?" Jamal interrupted his thoughts while munching on a Mars bar.

"Yeah, sure," Sam said. If he was going to wear them again tonight, it would be better if they smelled more like Frankie and Jamal. He kind of wanted to keep the jacket a little longer though.

They put on some fresh clothes, ate more candy bars and drank from the couple of water bottles that were also in the trunk. (Sam almost begged them to be careful with how much water they drank. According to National Geographic Channel, you died from dehydration before starvation and Sam really didn't feel like drinking his own pee.)

Hours, and candy bars, later, they were playing cards inside of the car again.

"I still can't believe you chose such a small road," Frankie commented for the umpteenth time, but Sam ignored him. After so long of giving each other crap, he couldn't be bothered anymore. He almost felt excited when night finally started to fall.

"Alright, you kids know the drill," Sam joked as he put on Jamal's jacket again. It barely smelled of Dean anymore. "Don't bother staying up, and if I'm not back in the morning, I'm probably dead."

Both of his friends glared at him but Sam looked at it from the bright side. At least they cared enough about him to not want to joke about his impending death. That had to count for something.

Just like the day before, Sam walked up the slope and made himself comfortable on top, where he could see the alphas. The sight didn't differ much from yesterday's, which he thought was a good sign. If they had somehow found out that there had been a beta in their camp, surely they would have upped the security or something.

Instead the alphas were still out, even more of them than yesterday, but they seemed calm, most of them sitting around the fire to finish their dinner. Sam's stomach grumbled at the idea of decent food.

He waited, although he didn't fall asleep this time. He tried to get a glimpse of Dean but from this distance he was just a shape in a cage like all of the other omegas. It was an unpleasant thought.

Maybe it was him but it seemed to take even longer before the alphas were all off to sleep than last night, and it made him nervous. After what seemed like an eternity, only one alpha remained, supposedly on guard like yesterday. Sam hoped this one would fall asleep too. Of course he could never be completely sure of that though, so after another hour, he decided to screw it and take the chance.

His heart pounded rapidly as he snuck down to the vans, but to his great relief, he made it in one piece. Once he spotted Dean, he directly went for him, ignoring the cars for now.

The omega must have seen him coming from afar because he was waiting for him. There was a glimmer in his eyes and Sam thought he could almost see a smile around his lips. He couldn't help but grin himself.

"You came back," Dean whispered, a curious look in his eyes.

"Of course I did. Told you I would," Sam answered while he sat down in front of the cage again. He immediately pulled off the jacket, then took two candy bars out of one of the pockets. He had smuggled those out of their stash right before he left.

"Here," he said, handing over first the jacket, and then the chocolate. "Thought you could use something to eat."

It took a couple of seconds before Dean mumbled a thanks and put on the jacket, and even then he was still looking at Sam with that incredulous look on his face. Sam had been wondering about that look. It was like he was missing something here, except he had no idea what that could be.

"Okay, why do you keep looking at me like that?" he blurted out.

Dean's eyebrows rose a little. "Like what?"

"Like I turn into an angel sent from the holy heavens everytime I'm being sorta nice to you."

This time he was sure Dean was blushing. "Sorry, I just... I can't seem to really figure you out, you know? Not that I don't appreciate it," he quickly added. "It's just... I'm not... really used to people being nice to me. It just catches me off guard a bit because you also..." He took a deep breath. "You don't treat me like a victim. You're just here for your gas, and I know that, which kinda makes it... I just don't know what to think of you. You're not trying to be the hero, you're just being... nice."

Well, he hadn't seen that coming. Hadn't even thought about the way he treated Dean actually. "Should I treat you like a victim?" he questioned hesitantly.

From the look in Dean's eyes he gathered that he still wasn't making sense of Sam. He let out a little huff though and started unwrapping a Snickers before saying, "No, I think I like it better this way actually."

Sam nodded. He didn't really know how he would have done that anyway. Dean was just a guy. A nice, kind of cute guy, but still just a normal guy. And so was Sam after all.

This was the moment he could ask about the vans and the gas, so that he could get out of here once and for all, but Sam didn't really feel like it yet. If it had worked, he would probably never see Dean again once he left, and he wanted to postpone that a little longer if he could. Plus, they never got a chance to finish their conversation from last night.

"Hey, so what bad experience were you talking about yesterday?" he decided to ask.

Dean shot him that look again but apparently acknowledged the idea that he never would be able to figure Sam out. "You mean with alphas?"

Sam nodded, and he could see Dean hesitate to answer. He wondered if that kind of question was a little bit too personal for someone as quiet as Dean.

The omega eventually sighed and shrugged. "My dad was an alpha. The type you'd imagine living in L.A., wealthy with a successful business. It actually wasn't that bad; Dad had to work a lot, but we did share a passion for airplanes and stuff like that. It's what his business was about too, producing rocket engines, and we always thought I would eventually take over to keep the family legacy alive. But then I grew up and as if it wasn't bad enough that when I was finally old enough to fly with him, it turned out I was afraid of heights, I also had to present as an omega. So much for the family legacy."

Sam made a face. "Let me guess, he didn't think leading a company was a job fit for an omega?"

Dean nodded. "He almost tried to set me up with an appropriate alpha the second he found out. Then he could at least maybe leave the business to whoever was going to be my mate."

"You're still unmated though," Sam noted.

"I made clear that I wasn't just going to mate anyone," Dean said. "We didn't really talk much more after that. I got a crappy job at the company but that was it. Then he died about five months ago. My mom died when I was about twenty-five, and I grew up as an only child, so then it was just me."

"Sorry to hear that," Sam said. The man sounded like an absolute jerk but he was still Dean's dad.

Dean just shrugged a shoulder while taking a bite from the candy. While Sam watched him, a realization kicked in. Dean didn't have a mate. His parents were dead and he also didn't have any siblings. Was there anyone left for him in L.A., family or friends? Anyone who would even just be looking for him? Sam's life had been crap sometimes but he had always had Frankie and Jamal.

"Anyway, that's why I never really wanted to mate an alpha," Dean interrupted his thoughts. Then he took a careful glance at Sam. "What about you?"

Now it was Sam's turn to shrug. "Like I told you yesterday, I don't care much about gender. Male, female, alpha, beta, omega, it doesn't really matter. I'm not a picky guy," he said with a grin. "But basically every alpha I've ever known turned out to be a jerk, so that does kinda limit the options. Plus, I generally hang out more with omegas anyway."

"Like the friends you're traveling with?"

He smiled at the thought of two of the three people that he had ever truly loved. "Yeah, Jamal and Frankie. Probably the best thing that ever happened to me."

"So which one is this jacket from?" Dean asked.

"That would be Jamal," Sam told him. "Trust me, if you ever met Frankie, you'd know. His smell is almost like a barbecue."

Dean tilted his head. "Now that you mention it, I do smell something like that on you too."

"Yeah, we probably spend too much time together," Sam sighed dramatically.

When he had finished the Snickers, Dean started on the Twix. Sam suddenly wished he had taken more than two. Dean probably needed them more than they did.

"Stepping into real personal territory again but what are these alphas gonna do to you?" he softly asked. He didn't really want to know but he figured he should.

Dean's eyes didn't meet Sam's and his voice sounded empty when he spoke. "Sell us to the highest bidder, I suppose. These people have contacts; no doubt they can find plenty of alphas needing a mate. They'll probably keep some of us around through the winter though, for... well, prostitution."

Sam's stomach turned at the idea. He knew he wasn't always exactly a saint, but this? How could people do this to each other?

"But... they can't just force you to mate some random alpha, right?"

"Not usually, no," Dean said. "That's why they keep us on heat suppressants. Well, that and the extra trouble, I guess. Anyway, once they find a client or whatever you want to call it, all they have to do is take us off and within a week or two we'll probably be eager enough to do the rest ourselves."

Swallowing back a lump in his throat, Sam decided that that was probably the most disgusting thing he had ever heard. "They're using your own body against you."

"Yeah," Dean sighed.

"That is..." Sam started but he didn't know how to finish. The idea of Dean being sold to one of these creeps in the middle of a heat... It made him feel physically ill.

"Sam," Dean interrupted his thoughts. "There's something else I need to tell you."

That captured his attention. "What is it?"

Dean gestured toward the vans. "I couldn't find a way to get them to leave the cars unlocked."

"Oh," Sam said. Not really what he was expecting but not a problem either. He was just about to tell Dean that it didn't matter, that he'd just come back tomorrow again, but he didn't get a chance to.

"There's more," Dean continued. "They're gonna leave."

Sam's head snapped up. "Wait, what?"

Dean nodded. "Apparently tomorrow evening we're packing up and moving on. I heard the alphas talking about it earlier. You can't let them find you; you and your friends should get away from here as fast as possible, car or no car. I'm thinking they'll wait till nightfall so you should have plenty of time but still. You ever heard of a town called Jericho?"

"Y-yeah, we passed it on our way here," Sam managed to get out, his brain still trying to process what Dean had just said.

"Okay, good. Apparently it's got a competent sheriff's department, so they're gonna go around it, but if you were headed the other way anyway, it shouldn't matter," Dean explained.

"Shouldn't matter? Dean..." Sam shook his head. This couldn't be happening. Before, he had been thinking that he would just notify the authorities once Jamal, Frankie and him hit the next town, but now? How could he let those traffickers go, literally turn his back on Dean, now that he knew what they were going to do to him? Once the alphas were gone, there was a good chance that not a single law enforcement unit would be able to find them again.

Unless they knew where the traffickers were going.

He looked back at Dean. "You said they're planning on going around Jericho. You know what way?"

Dean shrugged. "South. Why?"

"I've got an idea," Sam announced, the final pieces falling together in his head. "Me and the guys don't go to the next town, we go straight back to Jericho. I don't remember how far it is from here but it shouldn't be much worse than the other place. We tell law enforcement what's going on, and they can block off the roads around town to capture these assholes."

He thought it was pretty brilliant himself but all he got from Dean was a worried look. "Sam, why would you do that? You've got enough problems as it is. If these people run into you..."

"They won't," Sam interrupted him. "They'll be going south, and we will get to Jericho long before nightfall. No way they'll find us."

"Still, you shouldn't be taking the risk," Dean said, shaking his head. "If they do catch you, they'll kill you, and they'll just put your friends with the rest of us."

"Well, I gotta do something."

Dean looked at him for a long second. "You've done enough, Sam. I don't want you to put yourself in danger."

"I won't," Sam assured him. "I told you, we'll be fine. It's a flawless plan." He shrugged with a proud smile.

"I still don't like it."

"You don't have to," he retorted.

They sat in silence for a little while, Sam's mind already on how he would tell Frankie and Jamal about the new plan. That's why it took him a couple of seconds to see that Dean was still looking at him. "What?"

The omega quickly looked away. "Nothing, just... You don't have to stay, you know. I mean, if you're really planning on doing this, you'll probably need all the time you can get."

Sam shrugged. "Not like we can go right now anyway. We'll just leave in the morning. Wandering these roads at night really would be asking for trouble."

"But walking into a camp full of criminal alphas isn't?" Dean huffed.

"Still alive, aren't I?" Sam replied, raising an eyebrow. "Anyhow, I might as well stay a little longer. Gives you the chance to keep the jacket a little longer." And I like you.

Dean nodded in thanks, and Sam decided he might as well get comfortable. He shifted a little and turned so that he could lean a shoulder against the cage, right opposite of Dean's.

"You should get some sleep," Dean noted.

"I can take a nap like this."

"If the alphas wake up, you're dead."

Sam grinned. "That's why I've got you on look-out." All jokes aside, Dean was right about needing sleep though, so he rested his head against the bars and closed his eyes.

Admittedly he didn't get much of a good night's rest. He trusted Dean enough to warn him if anything happened, but that didn't mean he was completely comfortable so close to a bunch of omega traffickers. He did manage to doze off a little, every so often. There was something soothing about Dean's smell, and it had been two long nights as it was. The result was a constant fading in and out of consciousness that made him feel more at ease than he had dared to hope for. Maybe he should have been more worried, about the alphas, about his trip tomorrow, about his car, but the smell of elderberries made it all disappear into the backgrounds of his mind.

Sam had no idea how much time had passed before he heard Dean whispering his name but it didn't seem like enough. His eyes still shut, he just hummed in response.

"You should go, the sky is starting to brighten. They won't wake up until later but you need the cover to get back in case someone is up already," Dean said.

It was a good point, but that didn't mean Sam liked it. He slowly opened his eyes and glanced around. Maybe the sky really was a bit lighter, it was hard to tell. He peered at his watch. Just after 4 AM. It seemed likely that the sun would start to rise in an hour or so. How long had he been here? He had no idea when the alphas had gone to sleep.

"Yeah, alright," he mumbled as he sat up and stretched out. His head hurt from lying against the cage bars.

Dean started to pull off Jamal's jacket. "I put the candy wrappers in the pockets. Can't leave any traces behind."

"Right," Sam said with a nod, and he took the jacket back. It was still warm, and smelled even more like Dean than it had the night before.

He looked at the omega in front of him and tried to memorize what he could see of his features. His plan would work, he knew it would, but in the meantime he wanted to keep the idea of Dean as close as possible.

"I'll be back before nightfall," he promised.

He was just about to stand up when Dean's voice held him back.

"Sam," Dean said, and he put a hand against the bars, fingers curling around the iron as in a silent gesture of desperation. "Please be careful."

In an impulse, Sam reached out to the omega's hand and placed his fingers around Dean's. They were cool but smooth, and Sam wished he could hold them in his hands to warm them up again. Instead he just gently rubbed them in what he hoped was a comforting gesture. He was so focused on the touch that he barely noticed Dean closing his eyes, and he wondered how long it had been since the other man had had someone touching him in a kind way.

"I'll come back for you," Sam repeated, and after a final squeeze he stood up and left Dean for the second time.

Chapter Text

Sam couldn't have slept in the car even if he wanted to. He was too nervous, too ready to do something. He only barely refrained from waking up Frankie and Jamal so they could leave right away, even if he knew walking in the dark was a bad idea, and they would need all the rest they could get, and they would probably do well to eat and drink before they left and take what they could with them.

So instead, Sam changed into the most comfortable clothes he had, although he kept Jamal's jacket, and started preparing whatever he could. They wouldn't need much, most importantly water and food. Or the closest to food they had, which was five leftover chocolate bars. Yeah, they really wouldn't have made it out here another day anyway.

He threw it all into a relatively small bag, and then started waiting. Sam hated waiting.

From the second the sun peeped over the horizon, he decided that it would have to do.

He opened the car door and started shaking Jamal's shoulder over the front seat. "Jamal! Frankie! Wake up!"

"What now again?" Frankie complained in a drowsy voice.

"We gotta go. Now," Sam urged, still not leaving Jamal's shoulder alone.

His friend tried to swat away his hand. "Stop it, Sam, dammit."

"Then get up!"

"Why?" Frankie sighed.

Why did they always have to have so many questions? "Because we're walking back to Jericho."

"WHAT?" his friends yelled in a beautiful unison.

"Yup," Sam casually answered. "Those traffickers? They're leaving this evening so we gotta get away from here before they see us."

"But back to that Jericho place?" Jamal asked. "Why don't we just move on to the next town? Isn't that closer?"

Sam pouted his lips in consideration. "Maybe a bit. But the alphas are scared of Jericho's law enforcement, so it's probably a good place to recover and keep those alphas away from us." And he needed their help saving Dean of course.

"I hate you and your ideas," Frankie groaned.

"Yeah, whatever. I already packed food and drinks, so get up, get dressed, and let's get out of here," Sam said before he jumped back out of the car.

After fifteen minutes and some more encouragements from Sam, they were finally ready to go. Even though it hurt to leave his precious convertible behind, he knew he'd see her again soon, and he made sure to lock her carefully before they started walking.

Sam had to be honest with himself; he had no idea how far Jericho was, so he tried to keep a steady pace. The sooner they got there, the better.

They walked, and they walked, and they walked, and they walked. And then they walked a little more. Once in a while, Sam would turn around to check if he could still see his car. It took a really long time before he no longer could.

"How long have we been going?" Frankie asked at one point.

Sam checked his watch. "About an hour."

"Oh god..."

They started playing car games after that, which weren't half as much fun without any cars on the road. Sam swore to himself he would never leave the highway again.

So then the blaming game started, and the next hour was spent trying to decide who was most responsible for their current situation. It was definitely Sam's fault that they were even in Kansas, with his big talk about Vegas and L.A. and leaving Missouri. It was also definitely Sam's fault that they were on a deserted road. It was Jamal's fault that they ran out of gas though. Riding shotgun came with the responsibility of keeping track on when to fill the tank. It was Sam's fault that they had run out of gas right by the camping site of omega traffickers, because he had chosen that moment to stop to pee. It was Frankie's fault that their food supply had gone down so fast, and Jamal's that they were almost out of water, even though Jamal himself claimed he hadn't had more than the other two. And it was Frankie and Jamal's fault that Sam hadn't been able to just walk up to the alphas and politely ask if he could borrow some gas. His friends thought that was a shitty argument too.

Anyway, once they had all pissed each other off enough, silence fell again. After that, the singing started, initiated by Jamal and including songs like "Walking On Sunshine," "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)," and "Walks Like Rihanna."

"... And your feet are achin' and you wanna stop, but you walk it off..." they called out the lyrics of the last song they could think of.

"You know, I still don't get why the Singing Concierges didn't stick," Jamal commented afterwards.

"One day the world will see our genius, gentlemen," Sam said. "One day..."

Since there really wasn't much else to do, Jamal started the singing again, and the other two joined right away. After another half hour, Sam didn't think he'd ever get these songs out of his head again, but it did keep their spirits high.

"Hey guys, can we take a break for a while?" Frankie eventually asked.

Sam looked at his watch again. It was half past nine now, so they should have plenty of time left but still... He'd prefer to get this over with as fast as possible.

"I don't know..." he muttered.

"Oh come on, Sam," Jamal complained. "We need some rest, man."

"Yeah, then we'll have more energy to get going again," Frankie added.

With a sigh and an eye-roll, Sam decided to give in. The three of them sat down and drank some water while watching the prairie. Sam ignored all attempts to get a candy bar though. He had decided to save those for lunch.

It turned out Frankie was wrong. When Sam announced they should get going again, none of them felt like getting up. Sam glanced at his watch again. Maybe just a bit longer... But then he thought of Dean, and he instantly felt guilty. Great.

So, Sam pulled himself together and got up. A simple threat to leave them behind was enough to make Jamal and Frankie follow eventually.

As noon approached, the sun seemed to get hotter with each passing minute. Sam was quick to pull off Jamal's jacket and knot it around his waist instead, but even so he soon started to sweat. The warmth reflecting on the concrete road and the lack of even the tiniest bits of shadow in the Midwestern prairie quickly reduced him and his friends to three hot messes. Why was it August again?

They considerably slowed their pace and stopped to rest a couple more times (each of which was followed by a lot of complaints when they had to get back up), but still the keeping on moving without an end in sight started to feel unbearable. Sitting in the car with the windows open in this weather had been like enjoying a nice summer's day; walking around in it was just torture.

At noon, they decided a long recovery break was in order. They drank all the water except one bottle and ate the rest of the chocolate. It took a long time to decide who was going to get the remaining two bars. Sam argued that, as a beta, he needed the energy more. Frankie claimed that was bullshit, and if anything, it should be the other way around. In the end, Sam begrudgingly broke both candy bars into three more or less even pieces.

"We should be close by now," he said when they were done eating.

"Close or not, when we get there, I'm still gonna kill you," Jamal noted.

Ignoring that comment, Sam gave them another fifteen minutes and then pressured his friends to get going again.

After another half hour, they reached the exit that led directly to Jericho. Frankie went so far to hug the sign that said there were only five miles left, and Sam was honestly close to doing the same.

"What are we gonna do when we get there?" Frankie asked once they had started walking again.

Jamal rubbed his hands together. "I say we go to the first motel we can find, order some McDonald's, and don't come out till tomorrow morning at least."

"Actually," Sam carefully started, "there's something we're gonna have to do first."

Jamal and Frankie exchanged a look. "What?"

Sam shrugged. "Oh you know, just a little visit to the authorities, tell the sheriff about those traffickers, get together a team to go catch those bastards." He basically mumbled the last part.

"What?!"

"Oh, I really hate you," Frankie muttered.

"What, we can't just let them go ahead, right?" Sam retorted.

"I don't know, man," Jamal sighed. "I mean, it ain't really any of our business."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Oh yeah? What would you like us to do if it were you they were holding?"

"This is about that Dean guy, isn't it?" Frankie said.

"Maybe," Sam admitted, and his friends groaned in response. "Hey now, Dean doesn't deserve this, alright?"

"And those other omegas do?" Frankie questioned.

"No, of course not. But this way we're saving all of them, aren't we?"

Jamal rolled his eyes. "Oh come on, Sam! We've been dealing with you long enough to know when your pheromones start going crazy, so don't go around pretending like you're doing this out of the goodness of your heart."

"Okay, fine, I'll admit it, I wanna do this because of Dean," Sam snapped. "Does that mean I shouldn't?"

"You know what," Jamal sighed, "we'll go to the sheriff's department, and you do whatever the hell you want, but I ain't leaving this place again before I get some decent food and a good night's rest, alright?"

Sam glared at him but gave in. "Fine. I'll go back by myself then."

"Not like we could do much anyway," Frankie tried to reconcile them. "I mean, we just gotta tell them what happened and where to find those people, and they'll take care of the rest, right? We're not exactly trained for fighting a bunch of criminals."

Although he would never admit it, Sam knew Frankie was right, and he couldn't blame them for wanting to recover a little from the last couple of days. The only reason he wanted to go back himself was to make sure Dean was okay.

"All right, we'll find a place to stay first."

They continued while Sam let his mind wander to what he was going to tell the people in Jericho. He didn't know the exact location of the traffickers itself but he knew how to get there, and the right spot was pretty clearly marked by his car.

They would believe him, right? Sure, it was an unlikely story, but there's no way anyone would come up with something like that. How else to explain three strangers walking into town with almost nothing on them besides a slight sunburn? Checking never hurt, it wasn't even that far out by car, so they had to at least give it a shot, right?

He hoped Jericho wasn't one of those conservative Midwestern towns full of crazy people. The last thing he needed now was the judgement of a couple of lunatics who thought he was stealing his friends away from a beautiful domestic life with an alpha. By the way, why did nobody ever think it was Jamal and Frankie who were stealing him away from a beautiful domestic life with another beta? Sexist assholes.

Dean had said these people were supposed to be good though, and Sam prayed it was true because he was starting to imagine his chances shrinking before his eyes.

"Hey, fellas?" Frankie interrupted his thoughts. "Is that a farm over there?"

Sam's head snapped up. He had to scan the horizon for a second but then he saw it: a distant, tiny shape that looked suspiciously like a house.

"Oh my god, we made it."

"About time," Jamal called out.

Sam couldn't agree more. They made it. He was actually going to save Dean. The finish line was finally within reach.

It was with that thought in mind that he started running. He simply didn't want to waste another second.

"Has he lost his mind?" Frankie asked Jamal as they watched him go.

"You're only realizing that now?" the other omega retorted.

It took less than half a mile before Sam had to stop because he thought he was going to pass out if he didn't. God, that farm was a lot further away than he had thought. He was also in much crappier shape than he had thought.

By the time he managed to catch his breath again, Jamal and Frankie had almost caught up with him. He just told them to keep up a steady pace, and they all walked on together. That didn't mean Sam wasn't excited to get there anymore though.

The farm was a pretty big house, the wooden walls painted yellow and surrounded by a nice, wide porch. When they really got close, Sam couldn't help himself anymore and ran up to it again. The idea of actual civilization was just too damn appealing.

When I wake up, well, I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you... Oh god, he really wasn't ever going to get rid of that song again. In a little bit, he would definitely be falling down at someone's door though.

He was only a couple of yards away from the porch when the front door opened. A tall man walked out, and Sam came to a stop, putting his hands on his knees, out of breath. Again. He really was going to have to work on that.

The man seemed to be in his mid-thirties, pretty well-built and with blond, casually styled hair. At first sight, Sam would have guessed he was an alpha, but then he took a deep breath and caught the man's scent. Beta, corn (no big surprise there considering their surroundings), and a hint of what he guessed was yeast. Thank god, he really wasn't in the mood to deal with some countryside alpha now.

"Hey!" Sam breathed out. "Need help... Traffickers... Down the road... Omegas... Gotta talk... to your sheriff... or something... Now..."

"Woah woah woah," the beta said as he came down the porch steps. "Slow it down a bit. Who are you even?"

Sam took a deep breath. "Sam," he introduced himself. Then he pointed over his shoulder, where he hoped the guys were still approaching. "Those are my friends, Frankie and Jamal."

"I'm Stanley," the man said, holding out a hand for Sam to shake. "Now, what was that you were saying about talking to the sheriff?"

"Listen," Sam sighed. "It's a really long story, and this is kinda urgent. There are people who really need your town's help, so we'd be incredibly grateful if you could take us to whoever is in charge here so we can talk to them about it. I'll explain all of it over there, promise. Oh, and... you maybe happen to have a glass of water?"

Stanley was frowning but started to nod nevertheless. "Okay, uhm... Yeah, sure. I'll go get you some. Let me just quickly let my sister and mate know what's happening, and I'll take you guys to the sheriff's department in my truck." He was halfway back up the stairs when he stopped and turned. "Wait, did you just say something about omegas?"

"Stanley, what's going..." a woman's voice started from the door opening, and now both men turned. She was a pretty brunette, and also a beta. She had barely set foot on the porch when yet another beta followed after her, a girl Sam guessed was in her late teens.

"Sam, this is Mimi and my sister Bonnie. Mimi, Bonnie, Sam and his friends need our help," Stanley introduced them.

"Hi," the girl, Bonnie, said. Then before Sam got a chance to reply, she started signing to Stanley, and Sam lost every clue what was being talked about.

"They gotta talk to Jake, so I'm gonna take them to the city hall," Stanley answered aloud. Then he turned to Sam. "Actually, you might also wanna talk to the mayor. If this really is so urgent, I'm pretty sure he'll want to know about it too, and it's the same building. Hey Bonnie, could you maybe get these guys some water?"

The girl nodded and disappeared into the house right away.

Mimi looked from Sam to her mate and back. "What's this about? Did I hear you say something about omegas?"

"Uhm yeah, that's what Sam said..." Stanley made some vague gesture and shot a questioning look at him.

While Jamal and Frankie finally joined him, Bonnie came back out with three full glasses. They all made sure to thank her elaborately for them.

Even though the cool water was an absolute blessing, Sam had to suppress a sigh of impatience. Could they please just get going already? "Look, it's about omega traffickers, alright? Which is why we don't have any time to lose."

"Omega... Oh shit," Stanley mumbled. "Okay, I'll go grab my keys. You guys get in my car." He motioned towards a golden pick-up truck before running back to the front door.

Sam, Jamal, and Frankie went for the car right away, and surprisingly, so did the two women.

"Wait, what are you doing?" Stanley asked when he saw where they were going.

"If people are in danger, maybe we can help," Bonnie answered without as much as slowing down the slightest bit.

She and Mimi got into the cabin while the guys took a seat in the back. Sam let out a relieved sigh at the prospect of catching a little break, and he could hear his friends do the same. After the day they had gone through, he figured they had earned it. Within a minute, Stanley came back and they hit the road once again, although this time luckily in a car.

Chapter Text

In a town where everyone knew everyone, it was to be expected that three sweaty strangers would attract some attention. Sam was actually pretty used to it, which made it easier to just ignore the looks that practically everyone they saw gave them when he walked around town with Frankie, Jamal, Stanley, Bonnie, and Mimi. It wasn't hard to imagine that they must be quite the strange image.

Stanley occasionally gave someone a friendly nod, a smile, or a little wave, but he didn't waste any time leading them to the city hall. They walked in, and he quickly told a secretary that there was an emergency, and that they had to talk to the mayor right away. Sam guessed she knew him relatively well, because she let them pass without much trouble. Stanley motioned for them to follow him to an office on the second floor and knocked on the door before walking in.

Behind the wooden desk was an older alpha man. He had the appearance of a hunter rather than a politician; the expression on his face was stern and what was left of his white hair was kept neat but he hadn't bothered with any fancy clothes. He seemed like a man of action rather than words. Yet, his eyes were friendly, which slightly eased the nerves Sam had been building up all day.

"Mayor Green, sorry to bother you but it's urgent. I've got some folks that need to talk to you. This is Sam, Jamal, and Frankie. Guys, this is Mayor Johnston Green," Stanley introduced them.

Mayor Green stood up and reached over the desk to shake their hands. "Nice to meet you, gentlemen. Welcome to Jericho. Please, have a seat."

There were only two chairs, so Sam and Jamal sat down while Frankie leaned against Sam's seat. Stanley, Mimi, and Bonnie stayed by the door.

"Now, what can I do for you?" Mayor Green asked.

Sam took a deep breath and started talking. He told the man the whole story, about how he'd noticed the group of traffickers, about his car breaking down, trying to get some gas, meeting Dean and what the omega had told him, everything. Admittedly he did leave out the more personal details he'd talked about with Dean, but nothing that could be of any importance. He made sure to emphasize that the traffickers would be leaving by nightfall, so that they'd have to act fast.

The mayor listened attentively and without interrupting, just nodding once in a while. When Sam was done, it took a couple of seconds before he started talking. "Okay. You did well coming here, boys. Let me make a few calls, and then we'll get started on a plan on how we're gonna do this."

"Thank you, sir," Sam said with a nod.

Mayor Green picked up his phone and speed-dialed a number. "Jake, it's me. I need you to come up to my office right away, we've got an emergency on our hands. Work-related. No, it's about a bunch of omega traffickers. I'll explain when you get here. How many deputies do you have available now? Alright, call in as many as you can, we're gonna need them."

Without paying any attention to Sam's expectant looks, he started calling the next number. "Hey, honey. Listen, we've got a situation going on and we might need medical assistance. Can you call April and come over with her? Yes, everyone is fine, don't worry. Okay." He smiled. "I love you too. I'll see you soon."

He hung up and looked back at Sam. "The sheriff will be here in a second, and my mate and my daughter-in-law are on their way too. April is a doctor, and it sounds like we might need her."

Sam slowly nodded. That explained the "honey" part. "Alright, sounds good."

They didn't have to wait long. Within the minute, there was a knock on the door, and a second male alpha walked in, although a lot younger than Mayor Green.

Once again introductions were made, this time to Jake Green, not only the mayor's oldest son but also the town's sheriff. Jake greeted them quickly before turning to his father. "Alright, what are we dealing with?"

The mayor held up a hand. "I also called your mother and April for medical help. Let's wait for them to get here first before we explain what's going on."

Jake nodded but still seemed impatient, an emotion Sam understood all too well after the day he'd had. It was quite a different reaction from Mayor Green's reassuring calmness. Either way, alphas or not, so far it looked like he was actually going to be able to work with these people. He took that as a good sign.

"While we wait, would you boys like something to eat?" the mayor pulled Sam out of his thoughts. "From what you told me, you've had quite the journey coming here. I'd be pretty hungry if I were you."

"That would be amazing, sir," Frankie said, and Sam and Jamal nodded in agreement excitedly. As if on cue, Jamal's stomach even performed a small concert for them.

Sam clacked his tongue in pretend dismay. "Jamal, please. Keep it together, would you? We can't have the fine people of Jericho thinking we're a bunch of pigs without manners now."

Jamal raised his eyebrows at him. Oh, it was on. "Do you really need me to remind you of what happened in that bar in Kansas City?"

"Hey, I just had a lot of green bean casserole!"

"I still feel bad for that waitress," Frankie chimed in, making a face.

"Oh man, I felt bad for her long before that. Sam was trying to flirt with her, after all."

"Okay," Sam announced in a loud voice. He made sure to glare at his two friends intently as he continued, "That's enough of that, thank you very much."

Frankie shrugged. "You started it."

Sam decided to ignore both that comment and the snicker from Jamal that followed, and he looked back at the mayor. The alpha was watching them in obvious amusement. Now that the show was over, though, his gaze shifted to where Stanley and the others were still standing.

"I'll go see if I can find something for them to eat," Mimi acknowledged the silent request.

Only a few seconds after she left, Jake asked, "Would you guys mind showing me your IDs while we're here?"

They handed over their ID without objection, although Sam did hope the sheriff wasn't going to actually run them. Things could be getting awkward real quick otherwise.

After a short while, Mimi returned with a bunch of sandwiches and handed them out to the three of them. Sam completely forgot about his previous comment on manners and dove in without holding back even the slightest bit. Frankie and Jamal were already doing the same. Sam thought nobody could blame them, because these must be the best sandwiches he had eaten in years. And if he wasn't entirely fit to judge fairly at the moment, that was just too bad.

He'd had two by the time he decided maybe that was enough for now. There would be plenty of time for food later. Jamal seemed to be contemplating starting a third when there was a knock on the door again.

This time two women walked in, the older one an omega, the younger a beta. Sam wasn't surprised; of course the mayor's mate was an omega, and most doctors were betas. What did confuse him was that the beta was supposedly Mayor Green's daughter-in-law, although from the way they greeted each other, he suspected she wasn't the sheriff's mate. The Greens probably had multiple children. Sam would have bet half his savings (which admittedly wasn't much) that at least one of them was also a beta. People in a place like this, especially important people, didn't mate outside of the "natural" order.

"Gail, April, meet Jamal, Frankie, and Sam. They got stranded out of town and had quite the story to share with us," Mayor Green started. He went on to summarize what Sam had told him earlier, and managed to include everything that he had said about the traffickers themselves in detail.

The three other members of the Green family listened attentively, although with different reactions to what they were hearing. While April was looking mostly worried, Gail and Jake seemed to become more determined with each passing minute. Good, Sam thought. They were going to need that.

When the mayor finished, silence fell in the room for a moment, everyone seemingly deep in thought. Eventually, it was Jake who turned to Sam first.

"How many alphas were there?" he asked.

Sam's eyebrows shot up while he tried to remember. He had never bothered to actually count the alphas; he'd just waited until there was only one left.

"Less than ten," he said after a couple of seconds. "I'd guess about six or seven."

Jake nodded. "And the omegas?"

Oh boy... "Uhm... A lot. Maybe thirty? Forty? Hell, I don't know."

Stanley let out a surprised whistle, and Sam could basically feel Jamal and Frankie's eyes burning in the back of his head. He was suddenly reminded that they had never actually seen the camp with their own eyes.

"That is a lot," Jake agreed, running a hand through his hair. "Weapons?"

Sam shook his head. "Probably but I never saw any."

"Cars?"

That he did remember. "Three black vans."

"Good, that shouldn't be hard to spot," the sheriff concluded.

"What about the omegas?" April intervened. "You said they keep them in cages?"

"Yeah," Sam answered. "Barely big enough for a person when seated. No clothes, and very little food as far as I could tell."

Jake was just about to start talking again when Sam recalled one more thing Dean had told him last night. "And they keep them on suppressants. Makes it possible for them to choose when the omegas do have heats."

"So basically whenever it suits them," Jake said in a disgusted voice, and Sam was pretty sure Jake was thinking the same thing he was.

Gail turned toward her mate. "I think April and I know enough to get the medical supplies we need. We can go to the medical center to pick everything up while you and Jake discuss tactics, and then we'll meet back here."

Mayor Green nodded, and Sam could see in his eyes that he was proud. "That's a good idea. When you're done, come to the sheriff's department. We still need to fill in the other guys."

"Alright," Gail said before turning to Sam and his friends. "It was nice meeting you boys. I'm glad you came to Jericho with this."

"Yes, ma'am," Jamal said, and Sam and Frankie nodded in acknowledgement as she left with April.

Mayor Green stood up too and looked at them. "Do you think you'd be able to point us to where exactly your car broke down?"

Frankie gave him a quick rundown of the route they had taken to get here, which was easy enough to follow. "The car should still be at the side of the road."

"Okay, we can work with that," the mayor decided. "Stanley, would you mind showing our guests a place where they can stay the night?"

"Sir." Sam was on his feet at once. "Actually, if it's no problem, I would like to come along too."

Mayor Green's eyebrows shot up. "You sure you'd rather not get some good rest instead, son? It's an unusual situation, but we can handle this."

"I know," Sam quickly said. "But I promised Dean. I should be there for him, and I just really need to know he's okay."

There, he'd said it. One of those sentences that in the majority of the country would trigger reactions like "What makes you think he would settle for a beta?", or "You shouldn't even try to be with an omega," or "Haven't you taken away the chance at a decent life from two omegas already?" He knew the drill. He had heard it all before.

He could feel all eyes on him when, after a second, Mayor Green nodded. "Of course."

Sam let out his breath, relieved at the alpha's response. Whatever he thought about Sam, at least he had the decency not to mention it. "Thank you, Mayor Green."

"Please, call me Johnston," the man told him with a friendly expression on his face. Then he turned to Jamal and Frankie. "What about you?"

His friends both gave Sam a questioning look, and he softly nodded with a grateful smile. It was a comforting thought to have two people like them in his life.

"We'll turn in for the day, sir," Jamal answered.

"Alright." Johnston looked back at Stanley. "Can you take them?"

Stanley had barely opened his mouth when Bonnie interfered. "We can help too!"

Sam decided he liked that girl. She had spunk.

"What I was about to say," Stanley said, glaring at his little sister, "is that I'd be happy to come along too if you need any extra hands."

The older man gave him a nod. "Thank you, Stanley, we can use all the help we can get."

"What about me?" Bonnie pressed on.

"Bonnie..." Stanley started, but he didn't stand a chance.

"I can handle a gun too!"

"It might be dangerous," he protested.

"Then I'll help Gail and April," Bonnie retorted. "I can take care of myself, Stanley. I'm not a child anymore."

Stanley looked around the room desperately, and his eyes landed on Jake.

The alpha was grinning though. "We'll keep an eye on her, don't worry."

"You're useless," Stanley grumbled, but Bonnie was smiling smugly.

"I can help Frankie and Jamal find a place to stay at," Mimi offered.

Her mate looked back at her. "It's just for the night, right? Can't they stay with us?"

Mimi nodded. "Sure, that works." Then she quickly turned to the two omegas. "If that's alright with you of course."

Frankie and Jamal exchanged a look, and both happily agreed. Sam wasn't surprised. He knew exactly how much his friends liked to be comfy.

"Alright, Sam, guess that means we'll see you later then," Jamal said as he stood from his chair.

"Thank you, sir," Frankie added to the mayor. "See you later, Sam."

Jamal raised an eyebrow. "Try not to get yourself killed."

"When have I ever gotten myself killed?" Sam argued.

"That's because we always save your ass," Frankie said with a shrug.

"I mean, if we're being honest, last time it was your ass we had to save," Jamal admitted.

Frankie frowned. "Only because Sam got us in trouble again."

"Yes, I will miss you too," Sam mocked, but that didn't mean he wasn't smiling.

Then the guys left with Mimi, and Jake suggested the rest of them go downstairs to the Sheriff's Department to talk strategy with the other deputies. Apparently, Jake had a large handful of deputies, two of which he needed to stay in town just in case. The other four were already in the office, two alphas, two other betas.

"Sam, these are Deputies Taylor, Salem, Koehler, and my little brother Eric," Jake introduced them. "Guys, this is Sam. He's the one who brought us our emergency."

"Thanks for that," one of the alpha deputies - Koehler if he remembered correctly - commented.

Of course, there had to at least be one alpha in town who fit the stereotype. Sam guessed he had just been lucky meeting only nice ones so far.

Before Jake could continue, another alpha man walked into the room, although not wearing a uniform. The office certainly was getting crowded quickly.

"Hawkins, glad you could make it," Jake said, shaking the man's hand.

"Of course, happy to help," Robert Hawkins answered in a professional voice.

Once more, Sam's story was told, although this time by Jake. As soon as everyone was up to date, he started planning their approach, along with Hawkins and Johnston. It wasn't too difficult. They had more than enough hours left until sunset, so the traffickers should still be at their camping site. Of course they were first going to check if everything was as Sam had described. If it was, they would block the road in both directions, just out of sight of where the black vans would probably be hitting the road again. In the unlikely scenario something had in fact changed, or they saw an opportunity, they still had the time to change tactics on the spot. Since the traffickers were now officially outnumbered, nobody expected too much trouble.

"Okay, we're gonna need as many cars as possible to bring all of these omegas back with us," Johnston noted.

"Good point," Jake agreed. "I say we pair up volunteers with those who have been trained to use a gun properly. I got a text from Mom saying she's bringing Emily and Heather along too. That means, I drive with Emily, Dad, you take Mom, Eric and April, Stanley and Bonnie..."

"Hey, I know how to use a gun properly," Bonnie objected.

Jake gave her a broad smile right away. "I know. That's why I'm pairing you up with Stanley."

Bonnie beamed at him while her brother glared at the alpha some more.

"Anyway," Jake continued. "Jimmy, you're with Heather, and Bill, you can take Sam."

Sam had no idea who of these people Bill was until he caught Deputy Koehler frowning at him. Oh, that was just great.

"Mimi did use my truck to take the other guys home," Stanley pointed out.

Jake just shrugged. "You can use my mom's car once she gets here. Any other questions?"

Sam raised his hand. "You guys happen to have a bathroom in here?"

Jake laughed and pointed him to the men's room. Sam was glad to have a moment for himself. This had been one hell of a day, and he was ready to finally get it over and done with. Once he had finished his business, he washed his hands and splashed some water in his face. God, he needed a shower. And a fresh pair of clothes. Probably some deodorant.

He shot a glance at his watch and started pulling off his shirt. He was also still wearing Jamal's jacket around his waist. When he had loosened the knot in it, he buried his nose in the fabric for a moment. All traces of Jamal were gone and it mostly smelled like him now, but he could still distinguish small bits of Dean's scent too. He closed his eyes and imagined the omega sitting in the cage, Sam's fingers around his. Dean was going to be okay. He was making sure of that.

He placed first the jacket and then his shirt on the sink and went on to quickly rinse off his arms and neck. He also ran his wet hands through his hair a couple of times. Hardly a shower but it was better than nothing. When he was done, he got into his shirt again and redid his sleeves so they were rolled up a bit more decently. With a final self-assured look at himself in the mirror, he grabbed the jacket and put it back on as he walked out of the bathroom.

Most of the people had disappeared from the sheriff's office. Jake approached him right away though.

"The girls got back with supplies. They're loading them into the cars right now, and then we're leaving," he explained.

Sam nodded and followed suit as Jake gestured for him and the others to move outside too. Bill came to walk just behind him, but he didn't say anything.

Outside, the rest of them were helping Gail, April, and two women he didn't know with moving supplies from the backseat of one car to the trunks of the deputies'. Sam would have offered to help, but it looked like they were about done anyway.

"Alright," Jake announced. "Everybody get in and let's go. I'll lead."

Everybody obeyed right away. Sam had to hand it to him; Jake was a good leader. No wonder they had chosen him to be their sheriff.

Sam followed Bill to one of the deputy cars parked up front. He really hoped this wasn't going to be an awkward drive but he feared the worst. So far, Deputy Koehler didn't seem that fond of him for whatever reason, and if that was the case, Sam wasn't afraid to return the favor.

He had barely put on his seat belt when Bill pulled something out of the pocket of his jacket. Before Sam knew it, the alpha was holding out a gun to him. Sam stared at it with big eyes.

"You know how to shoot?" Bill asked when he didn't get any other reaction.

Sam shifted his incredulous look to him. "Are you insane? You can kill someone with that."

Bill raised an eyebrow. "That's kinda the point." He put the gun away again and grumbled, "I thought you were from Illinois. Who doesn't learn to shoot a gun in Illinois?"

Mouth already open to defend himself, Sam suddenly realized what the other man had said. "How did you know I'm from Illinois?"

"I ran your ID," Bill answered matter-of-factly.

"What?" Sam called out. "When?"

Bill shrugged and started the car. "While you were still up in the mayor's office. Jake sent me the info."

Sam was dumbfounded. They had every right to check of course, but he had thought somebody would have at least told him.

"Apparently he didn't think it was a problem to take a professional fraud with us though," Bill continued without as much as sparing him a glance.

Great. So that was why Bill already hated him. Yeah, this ride was going to be horrible.

Chapter Text

The patrol car smelled strongly of Bill, like some sort of grain, maybe wheat or something. The prairie was... well, the prairie. After an entire day of walking through it, Sam didn't have a single other thing to say about it anymore. He managed to keep up a stubborn silence for a good five minutes. Then he decided to screw it because he hated awkward silences.

"Look, I'm not a 'professional fraud' like you put it, okay?" he told Bill. "I just... keep an eye out for opportunities."

Bill barked out a laugh. "Yeah, sure. Whatever you wanna call it."

"It's not my fault people are stupid enough to buy what I say," Sam objected.

"It is if you're taking advantage of them."

Sam sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine. Whatever, man."

Now the alpha looked at him. "Wow. You don't even care."

"Well, what do you want me to say?" Sam shot back. "It happened. Can't take it back, so what more is there for me to do?"

Bill shook his head. "If you care about other people's feelings so little, what are you even doing here? You might as well have gone back to Stanley's with your buddies. At least they had the brains to realize that we'll have enough on our hands already without having to look after a bunch of betas who don't even know how to use a gun."

"They're omegas," Sam automatically corrected him, and instantly regretted it.

"Huh," Bill huffed, disapproval clear on his face. "Isn't that typical."

Sam frowned. "What?"

Eyes still on the road, Bill shrugged. "Wasn't enough that you're deceiving people, you just had to drag two poor omegas down with you, didn't you?"

Okay, Sam had dealt with many assholes in his life and ignored all of them, but this was going too far. He didn't even know Bill! The guy had taken one look at his record, and now he thought that he had the right to call Sam out for all of this crap?

"Are you out of your mind? Frankie and Jamal are my friends, who, by the way, I've basically known all my life. You don't know them, and you don't know me, so what the hell makes you think that anything about us is 'typical'?"

"So you're gonna tell me," Bill retorted, "that the three of you have this beautiful, equal friendship in which they don't do everything you say?"

"What, are you saying I boss my friends around now?" Sam said in an offended voice.

Bill grumbled, "They're omegas, you're a beta. Wouldn't be the first time."

For a few seconds, Sam could only stare at him. "Man, I don't know what the hell your problem is," he eventually said, "but trust me when I say Frankie and Jamal are hardly the type to just shut up and listen to anyone."

"Okay, so you're not acting as their leader then?" Bill shot back.

"No! I mean, well, I guess, not really, it's just... It's my car, that's all!" Sam managed to ramble. Oh god, was he bossing Jamal and Frankie around? But every group needed some sort of leader figure, right? And he listened to their opinions, even if he didn't always take them into account. He certainly never forced them to do anything they didn't want. They were friends, for god's sake.

Bill didn't seem to be following that train of thought though. "See? Knew it. But of course you'd be too focused on yourself to realize it."

"Okay, that's it!" Sam snapped. "Seriously, what did I ever do to you?"

"I just don't like people who disturb the regular order whenever it fits them, no matter who they hurt in the process, and who are criminals on top of that," Bill answered calmly.

"I'm not a criminal!"

"I had to scroll through your parking and speeding tickets," Bill replied.

Sam huffed in disbelief. "Oh come on, you're treating me like I'm one of those traffickers we're going to catch."

He only just managed to hear Bill's answer. "Might as well be. Bet you're using this as an opportunity to tempt another omega into your little gang."

Looking at the alpha, Sam tried to decide if he'd actually heard that right. Then he tried to decide if he could get away with punching an officer of the law in the face. Unfortunately, he doubted it and turned to stare out of the window instead.

He tried to think of Dean, who had probably been waiting for Sam to come back the entire day. Damn Bill. Damn that asshole alpha for jumping to some ridiculous conclusion out of pure prejudice. Sam knew there was no point in even trying to tell him that he'd actually grown to care about Dean. The guy wouldn't believe him anyway.

All he could say was, "You're wrong."

Bill gave him a doubtful look. "You actually believe that, don't you?"

"What, you think I've just been lying my ass off this whole time?" Sam asked, then shook his head. "Never mind. Of course you do. I'm a beta driving around the country with two unmated omegas. What else could my intentions be than wreaking havoc and disturbing the natural order."

With a sigh, Bill answered, "Next you're gonna try to convince me that you're not even sleeping with them."

"What?!" Sam jumped. "Are you actually serious?"

"So you're not sleeping with them?" Bill asked him dryly.

Sam gawked at him. "God, no! They're my friends, Jesus! Well, I mean, the three of us did try it once at the end of high school, but no!"

"Then why aren't they mated?" Bill questioned.

"Why should I know?" Sam retorted. "Their decision, not mine."

"Maybe," Bill admitted. "But you're the one dragging them across the country."

Rolling his eyes, Sam sighed. "I'm not dragging them anywhere. I guess they just... haven't found the right person yet. None of us have."

Bill gave a little snort. "Wonder why that is."

"You're not mated," Sam shot back.

The alpha shrugged. "My work keeps me busy."

Sure. It probably didn't have anything to do with the fact that Bill was an impossible jerk. No, that couldn't be it at all.

"That's hardly an excuse," he noted.

"Better than chasing after omegas who apparently aren't even interested."

Sam gritted his teeth. "I told you, Jamal and Frankie are my friends. I'm not interested in them that way."

Bill raised an eyebrow at him. "Sounded like you were at one point."

That made him roll his eyes. "Come on, man, it was high school! We were experimenting!"

"So you're not interested in omegas?"

Crap. "None of your business."

Bill nodded. "Of course you are."

"Okay, not that it's any of your business at all, but I happen to be interested in all genders equally!" He had barely spoken the words before he silently cursed himself.

"Oh right, you're one of those people," Bill commented.

Stupid Midwesterners.

"That's why you're coming along, isn't it?" Bill went on. "Because of that one omega you think you can hit on."

"His name is Dean, and I just want to know he's okay," Sam said, getting desperate. "Doesn't matter if I like him or not."

The other man actually let out a laugh at that. "Like him? You hardly know him. Just leave the guy alone, not like he hasn't gone through enough already."

Sam decided he'd had enough of this conversation. Deep down, he had to admit Bill actually had a point; the last thing Dean needed right now was having to deal with his romantic advances, and Sam knew that. He wasn't planning on trying any of the things Bill was accusing him of. He really just wanted to help Dean. And yes, if he got the chance, he would be happy to get to know the omega a little better, but that didn't take away the fact that he couldn't even start to imagine what Dean had gone through. The idea that he wouldn't take that into consideration pissed him off. Who was Bill to claim he knew what Sam's intentions were?

Luckily it seemed like his drive with Bill was over, because after a few minutes, Jake flashed his lights and Sam leaned forward to see what was going on. When that wouldn't do, he wound down the car window and stuck out his head. It didn't take him long to spot the faraway shape of his car.

"We made it!" he told Bill excitedly, the alpha's rudeness completely forgotten.

Bill didn't say anything, but Sam could tell he focused on the road ahead a bit more. When Jake's car pulled up right behind the convertible, Bill and their other companions followed suit and parked along the road. Sam's heart started beating faster as he looked up to the couple of trees after which the traffickers' camp lay. Dean was right there.

A bleep from Bill's radio pulled him out of his thoughts.

"Yes, Jake?" Bill answered the signal.

"Hawkins and I are going to see what we're dealing with. I'd like you and Sam to join us to make sure nothing's changed," Jake said.

The deputy didn't look very happy about it but didn't object. "Copy that," he said before opening the door and stepping out. Sam hastily followed him.

Jake was already standing next to his own patrol car, and Robert Hawkins just got out of his truck. They all gathered at Sam's car. He took a moment to look her over, but she seemed just fine.

"Hey, Sam!" Stanley suddenly called, and Sam turned to see him leaning out of his window. "Want me to fill her up while we wait?"

Sam opened his mouth to answer but Jake beat him to it. "Thanks, Stanley, but I'd rather see what we're up against before we get too comfortable."

Stanley gave a nod, and Sam guessed it wasn't his place to object either. Jake seemed like a good sheriff, and Sam trusted his judgement. Not like he had much of a choice, but still.

Jake turned to their little group again. "Alright, we're going up. If everything still is like Sam last saw it, there shouldn't be any problems but I don't want to take any risks here. Watch out for any sudden movements and keep your weapons ready. Sam, I want you to stay close to Bill at all times, got it?"

Sam nodded, and so did Bill and Hawkins. Seemingly satisfied, Jake turned and walked into the prairie, taking his gun out of its holster. Bill did the same before starting after him, and Sam took his position at the deputy's side.

They went up the slight slope in silence, the three alphas completely focused on their surroundings and Sam too nervous to talk. He was sure what they would find on the other side but part of him was already thinking about what would happen afterwards. How did you arrest half a dozen armed alphas without them shooting you? Maybe he hadn't thought this through...

When they neared the top, Jake motioned for them to slow down and keep low. Sam obligingly bent through his knees and kept his eyes on Jake as they crept further. Since the sheriff was up front and Sam had no idea what to look out for himself, he decided Jake's reactions would give him a good idea when to run for his life if necessary.

The closer they got to seeing the other side, the slower and lower they moved, and Sam got a little more anxious with every little step. Then Jake froze, and his eyes grew big. Along with the other two alphas, Sam crossed the tiny distance that blocked a complete view of the other side and looked at where the camp had been.

There was nothing there.

Sam barely noticed the confused looks that the alphas to his left were exchanging. All he could do was stare at the empty prairie and search for a sign of black vans, or tents, or campfires, or cages with omegas, or anything at all. He couldn't find a single one of those things.

He jumped up and dashed forward. Part of him heard Bill call his name and felt the other man desperately grab his ankle, but Sam kicked his hand away. He ran all the way down to where the vans used to be. Dean's cage had been right beside them, Sam knew exactly where; he'd found it twice in the middle of the night, and his nose effortlessly picked up on Dean's scent. It was right there, right in front of his feet. How could he be gone?

Sam dropped down to his knees and buried his hands in the grass. There were clear marks where the cage had stood but every other physical trace of Dean had vanished.

"Sam!" Bill yelled again while he, Jake, and Hawkins ran up to him, guns still in hand.

That managed to bring him back to reality, and Sam quickly looked around. Now that he was down here, he could see a blackened spot that indicated the campfire, and tire tracks where the cars had been parked. Other than that, the plains were deserted.

"What the hell, man, I told you to stay with Bill," Jake said sternly when they reached him.

"They're gone," was all Sam could say.

"No kidding," Bill grumbled in between breaths.

Sam shook his head. "But... they were gonna leave at night." He couldn't believe it. What had happened? Where was Dean?

"Looks like they changed their minds," Hawkins said. "Maybe they received a message from someone, maybe they saw the car and didn't want to take the chance of running into someone. Either way, they're gone, and they have been for at least half an hour, otherwise we would have passed them."

Jake cursed under his breath and grabbed his radio. "Connor, I need a roadblock on the interstate. Don't let a single black van through. Riley, get in touch with the sheriff of New Bern right away and tell him to block all major roads in and around town. We're dealing with fugitives driving black vans, probably three of them. Eric, take everybody back right now, the traffickers are gone. Split up and find them. They should be south of town." Then he turned to Sam. "You're sure they were going to leave at nightfall?"

"Y-yes, that's what Dean told me," Sam stuttered.

Hawkins took a deep breath. "Hasn't been too long since they were here either. Maybe an hour, hour and a half?"

Jake nodded and the two of them started discussing possible scenarios. Sam didn't listen; he was still focused on the grass in front of him. He barely even noticed Bill came to stand next to him.

"Elderberries. That him?" the alpha asked.

Sam gave a nod. "I can't believe it, they... they were supposed to be here."

He still didn't understand what could have happened. God, what would Dean have thought? He probably had been just as surprised as Sam was. But still... Sam should have been here.

"I promised him I'd come back," he said almost without realizing it.

"You did," Bill noted but Sam was already shaking his head.

"Not in time."

Bill sighed. "Yeah well, nothing we could do about that. There's still over two hours left till nightfall. No one was expecting this to happen."

"We need to find them," he decided for himself and stood back up. Not bothering to wait for a response, he started walking back to the cars.

"Sam!" Bill called after him, but Sam wasn't about to waste another second just standing there. He'd screwed up once, he wasn't going to do it again.

By the time he got to his car, Bill had almost caught up with him, and Jake and Hawkins weren't far behind, still busy talking. Without thinking, Sam took his keys out of his pocket and unlocked the car.

"What the hell are you doing?" Bill questioned as Sam stepped in and turned the key in the ignition. Just like last time, the car sputtered a little but that was all.

Sam didn't know what else he'd been expecting but that didn't mean it didn't frustrate him. "Come on!" he yelled, and tried again and again, each time without result.

"Sam, don't be ridiculous," Bill said while leaning against the door that Sam hadn't even bothered to close.

"You shut up!" Sam snapped at him, but he did let go of the key and dropped back against his seat.

"What's going on?" a woman's voice asked, and the blonde beta woman joined them. Since the rest of the cars had gone back and she'd been driving with Jake, she was the only other person left with them. Sam thought her name was Emily but he wasn't sure if he'd remembered it right.

"I need to find Dean," Sam answered without thought, trying to figure out how the hell he was supposed to track down the traffickers.

Bill sighed and leaned forward to unlock the car's hood. When Sam just stared at him in confusion, he said, "That's not an out-of-gas sound. Turn the ignition when I tell you to." Then he walked to the front of the car and opened her up.

Sam still didn't get it. Was Bill really trying to help him here?

"Now," Bill said, and it took him a couple of seconds to gather his wits and turn the key.

The alpha repeated the order two more times, then announced it was the battery. As much as he loved his car, Sam knew jack squat about mechanics, so he'd just have to take Bill's word for it. He watched Bill walk back to his own car, and only now noticed Hawkins got into his truck again.

"Where do you want me?" he asked Jake.

"Interstate," the sheriff answered. "We're probably too late but it's our best bet." As the car pulled away, he walked up to Sam.

Bill drove his patrol car past them at the same moment, turned, and came to a stop right in front of the convertible. He left the car running before opening the hood. Sam would have asked what he was doing if it weren't for Jake.

"Okay, Sam, you can take your car back to town. We'll take it from here," he announced.

"No way," Sam answered immediately. "I'm coming with you."

Jake sighed and ran a hand through his hair. "Look, you've had a long day, man. I appreciate you wanting to help but there's nothing you can do now. The traffickers aren't here anymore. I'm hoping we can still catch them with road blocks but that's it. Besides, somebody's gotta drive your car back."

Sam didn't have an answer to that. Deep down, he knew Jake had a point but he needed to do something, anything, to help Dean. Even if it was waiting on the side of the road in a car with Bill Koehler.

"I can take his car," Emily interrupted his thoughts, and his head snapped up. He hadn't noticed before, but she was looking at him with understanding in her eyes.

"Emily..." Jake started but she didn't give him a chance to continue.

"No, Sam wants to come and he won't be of any less use than I am. He can stay and I'll go back to Jericho."

Jake seemed to think about it for a second, and then his shoulders dropped. "Fine. I guess you're right."

She smiled and quickly kissed him on the cheek. It was only at that moment that Sam's nose decided to catch the connection in their scents, and the discovery took him by surprise. He'd noticed that Jake was mated earlier, but he hadn't expected it to be to a beta. Okay, admittedly it was the third-most common kind of paring, but still not a standard one.

Emily motioned for him to get out of the car, and Sam obliged with a grateful look and a nod. Once she was comfortably seated, she threw him a conspiratorial smile, whispered, "Go get him," and closed the car door.

After that, they got on the move again. Bill apparently convinced the convertible to start and Emily drove off with it. Jake quickly gave Bill pointers on where to patrol, and then the three of them got in their cars too. Jake was already speeding away when Sam closed his door. Once again, it was just him and Bill.

"Tell me we'll find them," Sam said. He just wanted to hear the words, even if they came from a conservative alpha.

"We'll try," Bill answered.

Chapter Text

Sam and Bill ended up patrolling the roads on the southwest side of town. Unfortunately, patrolling turned out not to be an exciting activity at all.

At first, Sam had been perfectly alert, checking their surroundings with every turn they took and scanning the horizons for even the slightest hint of a black van. He would have preferred to follow the same route the alphas had probably taken but decided to make the best out of what they got. He trusted Jake to do his job right, and if that meant driving the smaller roads, then that was what he would do.

After about an hour and a half, he didn't feel as confident anymore. They still hadn't spotted a single suspicious activity, or heard from any of the other deputies for that matter. It didn't sit well with Sam. Who knew how far the traffickers would have gotten by now? He knew Jake had sent word ahead to the neighboring towns, but it had been hours. What if they were too late? Dammit, they knew how the alphas would probably be driving, they should be going after them! The sun was already starting to set when he couldn't help himself anymore and shared exactly that thought with Bill.

The alpha sighed. "That's what the roadblocks are for."

"But what if you put them up too late?" Sam retorted.

"You do realize they might not even be where we think they are, right?" Bill said, clearly getting frustrated.

Well, Sam was becoming quite frustrated himself. "Dean said they would."

"He also said they'd be leaving at nightfall," Bill shot back. "Obviously they had a change of plans. For all we know, they could be anywhere right now."

Sam shook his head. "They were going east and they didn't want to run into you guys. That doesn't exactly leave many options, which we've all got covered. And yet, we still haven't caught them."

"Have you ever considered why they might have decided to leave earlier?" Bill snapped at him. "You said yourself that you stayed with that omega longer the second night. How long?"

He hadn't seen that one coming. He also didn't see why it mattered. "Uh, most of the night," he hesitantly answered. "Why?"

The deputy shook his head in disbelief. "And it never occurred to you that staying in one place for that long would leave your scent behind? Even with your supposed omega camouflage clothes? I'd be surprised if they didn't smell you the second they walked past that spot."

Sam stared at him as he let the words sink in. Oh god, how could he possibly have been that stupid? He'd sat in that same spot the entire night, of course they would smell that! All of this was his fault then, they had noticed his scent, probably spotted the car and made a run for it right away. Sam guessed he was lucky that it had to have happened after Frankie, Jamal, and him left, otherwise they would most likely be dead.

"Exactly," Bill said as if he'd read Sam's mind. Or his facial expressions. "Now, do you really think they'd still be sticking to their schedule if they found out someone knew about it?"

A shiver ran down Sam's spine. That was it then. He'd fucked up, and now they were never going to find Dean. Wait... If they found his scent right next to Dean's cage... Had they asked him about Sam? Had Dean told them the truth? And how much would the omega have been punished for what he had done? For what Sam had done?

"I-" he started, but he didn't even know what he wanted to say. There wasn't really anything left to say. Bill was right, it was as easy as that.

So instead he turned to look out of the window again, because he had no idea what else he could do. He just couldn't believe it. From the corner of his eye, he saw the alpha shooting him a look, but Sam made a point of not responding to the gesture. He didn't feel like talking to anyone right now, and especially not to Bill.

They drove for a while longer, but Sam now knew that it was all pointless anyway. He occasionally heard Bill talking to Jake over his radio but didn't bother to listen to what was being said. He was too caught up in his own thoughts. When the sky really started to turn dark, Bill suddenly sighed.

"Okay, look," he announced. "I'm sorry, okay? I shouldn't have said it like that."

Sam shrugged. "No, you were right. If I were them, I'd have turned straight west again. There's no way we'll catch them." He silently hoped the alpha would disagree with him, but he knew Bill wasn't that kind of guy.

"Well, Jake said we could call it quits when we wanted to," he said instead. "He's keeping a couple of guys out and said they'd hold the roadblocks up a little while longer just in case, but other than that, it's hoping the other towns find something."

Did Sam want to call it quits? It might be hopeless, but if he stopped their search, he was officially giving up on Dean. He didn't know if he was ready for that.

"Your friends are staying with the Richmonds, right?" Bill asked him. Then he shot a glance at the dashboard. "Jake sent them home a while ago. It's probably too late to barge in, so you can stay at my place for the night."

Sam sighed. He wanted to curse and scream and do something, not go home with Bill! He shook his head. "There's gotta be something, man, something that we're missing here... Even if they didn't go east now, they can't just disappear. They had to go somewhere, and they had to get to the east."

He had expected the usual annoyed comment, but when he looked back at Bill, the alpha actually seemed to be thinking. "If you were caught while doing something illegal, what would you do?"

He decided not to consider the implication of that question an insult for once. "Get the hell out as fast as possible."

Bill slowly shook his head. "No, these guys are bigger than that... Easiest is to eliminate the risk but since you're still alive, obviously they thought that was too much trouble."

Sam swallowed at the thought of the traffickers having come after them. He really should have been more careful.

"That means you probably were gone too long already," Bill continued. "We also have to assume that omega told them everything he knew, which means they'd know we'd be looking for them..."

"So they're gone," Sam concluded again.

Bill looked at him. "And do what? You said it yourself, their destination is east of here. They'd have to make a huge detour since they have no idea who we've notified. And we notified a lot of people, up to the nearest counties in Nebraska and Colorado, just to be safe. Maybe not in time, but they didn't know that. There was no way they could know which directions were still safe to go. Sure, they could guess but it'd be a huge risk. And all of the close towns did do a good job cutting them off, so if they did guess, why haven't we caught them yet?"

Processing the words, Sam frowned. Was Bill really saying what he thought he was saying? "We can't catch them on their way out if they never really left."

For the first time since Sam had met him, Bill actually smiled. "What if they were afraid to take the risk? Three black vans don't exactly go unnoticed. What if they found a place to hide, somewhere to wait until this blew over? Hell, if they kept close to town, they could just walk in and see for themselves when we gave up. They could use the time to stock up on supplies, and it would save them the gas of driving around."

If Bill hadn't been such a pain in the ass up until that moment, Sam might have kissed him. "Maybe we're not too late."

"Maybe not," Bill agreed, then took his radio. He quickly explained their theory to Jake and went on to suggest places the traffickers might be at. Sam didn't recognize any of them of course, so he just waited for Bill to finish and Jake to hopefully not say they were crazy.

When Bill was done, the line remained silent for a while, and Sam exchanged a look with the alpha in anticipation. Eventually the radio started to grate again.

"Okay. If we still haven't heard from any other towns, we'll start a search tomorrow. If you're right, the traffickers won't be expecting us to drop our guards at least for another day, so I doubt they'll move before then. I'm gonna leave up the roadblocks and keep some of the guys out on the roads just in case, but you should go home and get some rest. If they're still around, we'll need the manpower we can get tomorrow."

Part of Sam wanted to object, but Bill had already agreed. Guess he was going to have to stay with the alpha after all.

"Good. I'll call you back in tomorrow morning," Jake said. "Good work, guys."

"Thanks, Jake," Bill answered, and then ended the conversation. "Not bad for a professional fraud."

Sam decided to give him the benefit of the doubt and consider it a good-humored joke for once.

~~~

Bill was glad to finally be going home. Sure, it was unfortunate that they hadn't managed to find the traffickers, but it had been a long day and the night had officially set in. He'd had an early shift, and if it hadn't been for Sam and his omegas showing up, he would have been long off duty by now. Besides, Jake was right; they would need the rest if they were going to comb the entire town tomorrow. Bill was honestly stunned that Sam was still walking after the two days he presumably had. That beta really had too much energy.

Speaking of, Bill had been surprised at the guy's reaction to his comment about the traffickers. Of course he hadn't expected that Sam had thought his actions through, let alone realize that he hadn't. In fact, Bill was starting to wonder how Sam had managed to get out of all the crimes he had committed. No, what had really caught him off guard was the emotional response. All of a sudden, Sam's almost overly sweet honey scent had diminished and the slight hint of ginger had grown stronger, although not in a pleasant way. The fact that Sam had turned away from him and actually kept his mouth shut for a moment had also been a huge giveaway.

If he was being honest with himself, Bill had to admit it was more than he had given Sam credit for. He hadn't meant to upset the beta or anything, so it kind of came as a shock when he realized he might have. It bothered him because the only reason for it that he could think of didn't fit the impression he had gotten of Sam so far.

After Jake had sent them home and Bill turned back to town, he still hadn't been able to let go of the thought. He shot a glance at Sam, whose behavior and scent had both gone back to normal once they had established a new plan. "You actually care about him, don't you?"

Sam looked up with a hint of surprise in his eyes. "Of course I do."

Well, Bill guessed that explained his reaction. Apparently, he had misjudged Sam a little. It also made him frown though. "You talked to him what, twice?"

"So?" Sam said with a surprisingly soft voice. "We got along."

Bill tried to suppress a sigh. God, was he really going to have to point out to Sam what he was doing? "Why are you making it so hard on yourself?"

"What do you mean?"

"Your whole..." He made a face, he just couldn't help it. "... all-genders thing. If you claim you don't care anyway, why go through all the trouble of trying something with an omega?"

For a few seconds, Sam just stared at him, and Bill wondered what he'd said wrong this time. Why did everything about Sam have to confuse him?

"People don't really choose who they fall in love with, you know," the beta eventually said.

"They do choose to act on it," Bill retorted.

Sam huffed. "And why should I let something like gender hold me back from that?"

"Because..." Wow, Bill really couldn't believe he was having this conversation. "Okay, let me put it this way. What's the point for omegas of alphas existing if they're just gonna mate betas? Why do you try with someone who was physically made to fit someone else better?"

"Okay," Sam said in a decisive voice. "I'm just gonna try to ignore all of that... heteronormative judgement for now. Can I tell you something without getting a big 'I told you so' for an answer?"

Bill didn't really see the point if it only was going to prove his point, but he shrugged. He had to admit that he was a bit curious now.

"My first big love was an omega," Sam started, and Bill's eyebrows shot up. He kept quiet though. "She was gonna be the love of my life. We had been together for two years, we were happy, and we were gonna get mated. And then she left me and mated some alpha instead."

Despite it being the exact outcome Bill would have expected, he couldn't help but feel a little bad for Sam. Being dumped wasn't fun for anyone. "Sorry to hear that."

"I'm not just some insensitive asshole who kidnapped the neighborhood omegas and turned to a life of crime or something," Sam went on. "I had my life all planned out, with her. And maybe it was stupid of me to think that she'd stay with me, but I loved her, I really did, okay? And yeah, in the end, I lost her. But that doesn't mean I wouldn't do it all over again. I guess that's why I do it, why I 'make it hard on myself.' Because it's worth it, you know? You never know how it'll turn out if you don't at least try."

Bill didn't really know how to respond to that. To say he was surprised would be an understatement. If there was one thing he hadn't expected from Sam, it was for him to be looking for someone to settle down with. Jake had said they'd been on their way to Vegas, for crying out loud.

"No offense, but you don't really strike me as the family guy type," he noted.

Sam seemed to think about that for a moment. "I mean, it's not like I'm really looking for something like that again. Sometimes things just happen."

"So you're actually serious about being with... Dean, right?" Bill hesitantly asked. The idea still felt strange to him. It probably always would, but he was trying to keep his opinion to himself.

"I'm not about to try anything right away, not after what he's been through. But when and if he'd be up for it..." Sam shrugged. "Yeah, I'd maybe like to see where it goes. No harm in that."

Actually, Bill could come up with multiple reasons why that was a bad idea, but he decided to bite his tongue. It was late, and he'd fought with Sam enough for one day.

On second thought, make that an entire week.

Besides, people like Sam didn't change. Nothing Bill told him was going to make any difference, and it wasn't really his business anyway. Tomorrow they would hopefully find those poor omegas, and then Sam and his friends could take off to the west coast, Bill was never going to see him again, and peace would return to Jericho, just the way he liked it.

He nodded to himself. If he could keep that in mind, he might actually make it through tomorrow without kicking the beta out of his car.

Bill turned into his street and soon pulled up in front of the small two-story house that he called home. From the moment he turned down the engine, he felt himself relax. From now on, all the obligations he had left were sitting in front of the TV and sleeping.

"Nice place," Sam commented as they got out of the car.

Shrugging a shoulder, Bill unlocked the front door. "It's not much."

Inside, he started taking off his gear right away. It was well after 9 pm and he couldn't wait to put on something more comfortable.

"Can you take your shoes off? I'm gonna change," he told Sam, who was looking around the living room from next to the doorway. "Go ahead and take a seat. I'll be right back, and then I'll show you the bathroom and the guest room."

Bill quickly put all of his work equipment back where it belonged and threw his clothes into the laundry basket. He gladly exchanged his uniform for a pair of sweats and a T-shirt. For a moment, he stopped in front of his closet. Sam would probably need something to sleep in too. Bill guessed he was lucky they were similarly built.

By the time he went back to his living room, Sam was seated on the couch, still seemingly inspecting his surroundings. At least he wasn't going through Bill's stuff.

He motioned for the beta to follow him back up the stairs and down the hallway. "Guest room is the second to the left and this is the bathroom," he said as he motioned to the door on their right. "I left you something to wear for the night since you don't have your stuff with you."

"Thanks, I appreciate it," Sam told him with a quick smile. Bill suddenly realized Sam had never smiled at him before.

"I'll be in the living room," he said as he turned to the stairwell again. At the last second, he turned around again. "My room is the one right across if you ever need anything tonight. Oh, and I was gonna have a piece of leftover chicken, you want some too?" They had stopped to grab sandwiches earlier that evening, but Bill just really wanted some roasted chicken.

From the look on Sam's face he gathered he wasn't the only one. "Sure, that sounds great."

With a nod, Bill headed back downstairs and into the kitchen. After heating up the chicken and putting it on separate plates, he also grabbed two bottles of beer. He didn't know if Sam wanted one but he should at least offer. Since the beta was still upstairs, he just carried everything to the living room and settled down in front of the TV. He wondered what game would be on tonight.

About five minutes into an exhibition that Bill honestly didn't care about that much, Sam came down again. As Bill had expected, his sweatpants and shirt fit the other man just as well.

"Got you a beer but there's other stuff in the fridge too if you want," Bill told him through a bite of chicken.

"Beer's perfect," Sam said as he took his plate and dropped down next to Bill.

They spent the rest of the evening that way, with chicken, beer, and football. Bill thought to himself that if only Sam would always behave this way, it would be a lot easier to put up with him.

Chapter Text

Sam wasn't surprised to wake up in a strange bed. When you didn't have your own and just hopped from one to the next, every bed was a strange bed. What did take him a couple of seconds to place was the distinct scent of alpha surrounding him. It wasn't fresh or nearby, just there, and the interior of a patrol car flashed before his eyelids.

Oh yeah. Bill.

He turned over and pressed his face into the cleanly washed pillow. It was a soft pillow. Sam thought he could lie on this pillow forever.

Why did he feel like he was forgetting something?

Refusing to as much as open his eyes, he pushed the thought away and focused on the song that was playing in his mind instead. When I wake up, well, I know I'm gonna be, I'm gonna be the man who wakes up next to you... It was a good song, and he smiled. He hadn't had a decent night's sleep in forever, and he was still tired from everything that had happened the day before, so this was nice. It wasn't often that you escaped a bunch of omega traffickers and lived to tell the tale.

His eyes snapped open. Bill. Omega traffickers. Dean.

Sam threw off the blankets as he stumbled out of the bed. He was still wearing the T-shirt and boxers that Bill had lent him last night. The sweatpants he had dropped on a chair before going to sleep, but he was already out the door by the time he remembered them. Speaking of time, what time was it? Shouldn't they have been out looking for the traffickers already?

He ran down the stairs and straight into the kitchen, where he came to a stop in the doorway. Bill was seated at the kitchen table, coffee in one hand, newspaper in the other. There was a plate sitting in front of him with a bit of leftover egg, and Sam could smell bacon. The alpha was already dressed in his uniform, hair combed, meticulously put together. Sam wondered why he hadn't noticed how perfect Bill looked in that uniform the day before.

Bill shot him a quick glance as he entered, but then turned back to his newspaper. "Good. Was gonna have to come get you in ten minutes if you weren't up by then. I put your stuff in the laundry but there's a towel and clothes in the bathroom. You might want to put on some pants before we leave."

Suddenly a little self-conscious, Sam looked down at his naked legs. At least he was wearing underwear. "Uh... What time is it?"

"6.30," Bill answered, taking a sip from his coffee. "We're meeting the others at the department at 7. You want bacon and eggs?"

"Yeah, sure," Sam said before pointing a thumb backwards. "I'm gonna go take a shower."

He hurried back upstairs and into the bathroom. After quickly washing up - Bill's shampoo smelled really nice, by the way - he threw on the pair of jeans and shirt that the alpha had left him and ran back down. The smell of breakfast was waiting for him and his mouth basically started to water when he entered the kitchen. Which had nothing whatsoever to do with how nice Bill's ass looked in those pants and everything with the food he was cooking. Yeah, Sam really should have gotten more sleep.

"Coffee's on the counter," Bill said without turning around.

With a quick thanks, Sam poured himself a cup and went to sit at the table. The hot fluid did wonders to clear up the leftover fog in his mind, and by the time Bill handed him his plate, he had a clear recollection of what exactly had gone down the day before again. Today was the day they were going to save Dean, and the thought gave him the same amount of energy it had before.

He shoved down his bacon and eggs and closed his eyes for a moment to appreciate them properly. They were just eggs, but Sam had survived two days on donuts and candy bars dammit. Bill cleaned up the kitchen while he ate, and then started to gather his things. Sam tried to finish his meal a little faster when he noticed.

By the time he was done, the alpha already had his shoes put on and was waiting by the front door. Sam practically jumped into his own shoes, grabbed Jamal's jacket from one of the hooks and followed Bill outside.

"You know that's way too hot for this weather, right?" the deputy commented as he got into his car.

"Doesn't matter," Sam simply said. He was getting the feeling that their ability to talk like normal people from last night had disappeared again. It was too bad because Bill had actually been relatively nice when he wasn't judging. Not that he was really judging now, but he was acting more distant again, and Sam didn't know why.

With a mental sigh, Sam put the idea out of his mind. It didn't matter anyway; all he had to do was get through the day and find Dean.

Jake was already at the sheriff's department, as were the other Greens and Robert Hawkins. Sam couldn't help but be a little disappointed that Stanley and Mimi weren't there. With running from one place to another and his phone being dead, he hadn't heard from Frankie and Jamal since they had parted ways in the mayor's office.

"Connor and Riley are already out with Emily and April," Jake told them as they entered the room. "I've got the Richmonds on standby to help in case we find something, and Jimmy should be here any second. He's bringing Margaret too."

"Want me and your mom to go ahead and check around the mine?" Johnston asked.

Jake nodded. "Sure, go ahead. Be careful."

The mayor smiled at him. "I've got your mom at my side. Nothing scares me anymore."

Gail Green shook her head, but she was also smiling. The pair left just as one of the other deputies walked in with a woman. Sam had seen Jimmy the day before - he was the second alpha deputy that had come with them - but hadn't remembered his name. The woman that was with him was an omega and, Sam noticed right away, Jimmy's mate.

"Hey, guys," Jimmy greeted them. "Sorry, had to drop the pups off at my mom's first."

"Glad you're joining us, Margaret," Bill said with a broad smile. Sam had to actually double-check if he'd seen that right. "Jimmy could use the back-up."

Margaret laughed and Jimmy rolled his eyes. Instead of replying to the comment, he gestured towards Sam. "Honey, this is Sam. He's the beta who told us about the traffickers."

Sam gave her a charming smile and they quickly exchanged pleasantries before Jake took over again and started giving out instructions. He was sending them all to different parts of the town, mostly places at the edge where there wasn't much activity. Apparently there were a couple of empty barns that would definitely be worth investigating.

Within minutes they were once again in the patrol car. Sam thought to himself that he probably didn't want to know how many hours he'd spent in it already. Bill took off and Sam tried to decide for himself how he wanted to spend this drive. On the one hand, it seemed like he'd already pissed off the alpha next to him once today, but on the other, they had gotten along better after talking last night. And in the end, wasn't that how you solved problems anyway?

"So it really is me, huh?" he asked against better judgement.

Bill frowned but kept his eyes on the road. "Is what?"

"You know, you not liking me," Sam casually said.

"You already knew I'm not a fan of your general behavior," Bill admitted, and Sam raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah, but I figured maybe you were a bit like that with everyone." Sam shrugged. "Looks like it really is just me."

Now Bill did look at him. "I drove you around for hours yesterday, I fixed your car, I let you stay in my home and wear my clothes and eat my food, and you are complaining about my behavior?"

"Hey, I never said anything about complaining, and I thanked you for the rest last night!" Sam argued.

"You just basically called me an asshole, how else should I take that?" Bill snapped.

God, this was impossible. "Okay, why am I suddenly getting the blame when you're the one acting different around me?"

"Well, how am I supposed to treat you?" Bill said. "You basically represent everything I disapprove of-"

"Oh, and that's my fault, that you happen to disapprove of everything that doesn't fit into your perfect little view of the world?" Sam interrupted.

Apparently, that was the wrong thing to say. Bill's scent went bitter and his knuckles turned white around the steering wheel. "It definitely isn't mine that you have no respect for literally anything at all."

Sam shook his head in frustration. He still didn't get it; they had been fine last night! "I've got plenty of respect, and you know it."

"Right, you stupidly fall in love with omegas instead of using them for sex, congratulations."

Oh of course, that was what it was about. "Alright, you know what?" Sam said, fingernails biting in the palms of his hands. "Now I'm complaining. Because you are an asshole, and it's not my fault that you can't stand it that some people don't follow your precious rules, and it certainly doesn't give you the right to act like you're some kind of saint while I'm the dirt of the world!"

Bill slammed the brakes so hard that even with his seat belt on, Sam basically flew against the dashboard. "Get out."

"What?" Sam huffed. "No, are you-"

Before he could finish his sentence, Bill had thrown open his own door and stepped out of the car. Yeah no, Sam decided that that was not how this was going to go. He opened the passenger door, remembered too late that he still had his seat belt on, then tried again when he had unbuckled it. By the time he got out, Bill was pacing in front of the car.

Sam spread his arms. "What are you doing? Come on, man, get back in, we gotta go!"

Bill's head snapped towards him and he raised an accusing finger. "Just because you can boss your omega buddies around doesn't mean you get to tell me what to do, beta!"

Rolling his eyes, Sam let out a groan. "And there we go again. What is it with you alphas that makes you think you've got the right to be in charge, huh?"

"Have you ever considered the possibility that maybe it's just you who has a problem with authority?" Bill called out.

"I don't have a problem with authority!"

The alpha barked out a sarcastic laugh and came up to him a little bit. "Seriously? You're just one of those people who always has to have it their way, Sam! You want to date an omega, so the world has to just accept that you're dating omegas now. You want to drive ninety miles an hour, so you do. You take, and you take, and you take and just do whatever the hell suits you, and it doesn't matter what people say about it because you will just continue to go on your merry way! And you've gotten away with all of that so far but I'm sick of it! I am done with you just being so used to getting whatever you want that you can't stand it when for once people aren't letting you!"

"I need to always get what I want?" Sam yelled back. "Have you listened to yourself? From the second I met you, you have done nothing but act like a patronizing jerk and tell me what I'm doing wrong! Well, guess what, Bill? Just because you're an alpha doesn't mean you're always right! And it definitely doesn't mean you get to tell me when I'm not! You people have it so easy with your so-called superiority. Yeah sure, maybe I like doing things my way, but every time I do, I've got people like you on my ass for it, while you are just free to do those very same things! You can fuck omegas, and betas, and even alphas, and maybe you'll get some weird looks for it, but nobody would ever say you're wrong. Because you've got a knot and somehow that's supposed to make you better than the rest of us. But I've got news for you, Bill. Contrary to you, I have never had things going my way!"

"Oh really?! Right, I bet it's so hard being a beta!" Bill fired back.

Ignoring the sarcasm, Sam put a step forward. "You wanna know why? Because my mom left before I was even born and my dad was a lousy one! That's right, my alpha mother bailed on us, and she got away with it, and while everyone is sad about it, it's much less of a drama than it would have been if it were my dad. Because omegas aren't supposed to abandon their pups, just as they're not supposed to date betas or, god forbid, other omegas. So don't you dare tell me that I'm the one used to getting everything I want!"

"Oh god, why do you always-" Bill let out a frustrated sigh. "Fine, you've had a hard life, your mom left you, your omega dumped you, I get it, okay? But tell you what, shit like that happens to everyone, Sam! It doesn't give you an excuse to just ignore the rest of the world! You have zero respect for order, whether it's the natural, the public, or the legal one. You-"

"I have respe-"

"For god's sake, stop interrupting me!" Bill screamed out, and for a second Sam actually thought he might fly at his throat. "This is exactly what I'm talking about! You don't listen, you talk way too much, you're annoying-"

"I'm annoying?! I'm not the one who has been an asshole this entire morning for no reason-"

"You know perfectly well that I-"

"Oh yeah, trust me, I got that you don't like-"

"Would you just let me-"

"That doesn't mean you can't act like a normal, human-"

"Shut up! Just shut up!"

"And it really doesn't mean-"

Before he saw it coming, Bill grabbed him by the collar of his jacket, and within that small fraction of a second, Sam was one hundred percent sure that this was the moment when the deputy was going to beat the living crap out of him. Bill pulled him in hard enough to almost make him lose his balance, and then... against his lips.

Sam's eyebrows shot up in surprise. This probably wasn't a good idea. He probably should take a moment to think about this. But the adrenaline was still running through his veins, and as he almost fell against Bill, he could tell the alpha was already a little hard, and it had been so damn long since he'd had a proper fuck.

Oh, what the hell.

He closed his eyes, brought his hands up to the alpha's face and pulled him as close as he possibly could. Bill kissed him so hard it almost hurt, and Sam put in everything he had to return the favor.

His lips parted automatically along with Bill's, and the alpha pushed his tongue in, meeting Sam's and running across the roof of his mouth in a way that made his toes curl. Then Bill bit his bottom lip, and Sam was so occupied by the sensation that he barely noticed the other man finally letting go of his collar and putting both hands on his waist instead. That was until Bill pulled their bodies together, when suddenly all Sam could think about was how big and hard the guy was against his own crotch. He moaned into Bill's mouth as he ran his hands into that neat hair of his, and the only thing left in the world was the scent of oats and, surprisingly, lemon. Earthy and yet fresh, it was like coming home in a strange way.

"Pants off," Bill ordered without breaking their kiss, and Sam hummed in agreement, hands already going to unbutton his jeans.

He had barely started when Bill walked them back to the front of the car, only coming to a stop when Sam bumped into the side. He just kept from landing his ass on the hood and hurried with his pants a little more. When he finally managed to push the now tight fabric off and his cock sprang free, he let out a relieved sigh. For a moment, Bill pulled back and looked down.

"Not bad for a beta," he commented with raised eyebrows.

Sam huffed. "You're not the only ones allowed to have big dicks, you know."

Bill just pulled him into another rough kiss in response, and he didn't complain. The friction of the deputy's clothes against his now bare head only made him want more, but when he moved his hands to Bill's hips to press them closer, the alpha swatted him away. Then, before Sam knew what was going on, Bill spun him around, and this time he had to put his hands on the hood of the car to prevent himself from falling over. Now, that was why he was attracted to alphas; very few betas, even guys, would ever throw him around like that, and Sam loved it. He could only imagine how his ass now lay ready for Bill, and he had to swallow back a moan at the idea.

Then he heard Bill mumble a curse, and Sam looked over his shoulder just as the other man went to reach into the glove compartment. When he pulled out a bottle of lube, Sam couldn't help but grin, and he took his wallet out of his jacket's pocket. There were a couple of condoms in it and he handed Bill one of them.

The alpha's eyes were dark with lust as he took it. "Why am I not surprised you carry these with you?"

"Why do you need lube on your patrols?" Sam retorted.

"Shut up," Bill grumbled, and with a hand he pushed Sam down on the hood.

Sam leaned his elbows on the car and eagerly spread his legs a little further for that commanding voice. He listened to Bill loosening his belt, unzipping his pants, popping open the bottle... He quickly reached back a hand, and that jerk squirted a small bit of lube in it. From the moment he could finally properly touch himself, the amount of lube didn't seem to matter anymore though. He hummed in relief, so distracted that he gasped for air when not one but two fingers touched his entrance.

He tried to relax and continued to slowly stroke himself as Bill worked a finger in, the other remaining only just outside. Sam had to refrain from clenching his ass at how fast the alpha went in, but he played with himself often enough to take it, and he couldn't wait to feel Bill inside of him for real. Good thing too, because a second finger now joined the first, and Sam didn't even try to hold back a moan at the stretch. That apparently encouraged Bill to hurry up, and he started using his fingers to spread Sam open further and make room for a third. The burn was exhilarating.

"Bill," Sam almost begged, his own hand speeding up considerably.

The alpha obliged by pushing in his pinkie, and Sam let out a high-pitched yelp. He'd never had... But if it was any indication of Bill... Oh god, if he wasn't careful, he was going to come before they'd even properly gotten started.

"Move, goddammit!" he managed through gritted teeth.

The low growl that came from behind him only made him more desperate, so when Bill suddenly pulled all of his fingers out, Sam whimpered and dropped his head on the hood at the loss. There was no doubt in his mind that the deputy was torturing him on purpose, even though Bill's strong alpha scent told him that he was just as eager as Sam was.

He hadn't even heard Bill putting on the condom, but then his tip was suddenly pressing in between Sam's cheeks, and his breath hitched in his throat. A slightly callous hand took a hold of his hip and held him in place while Bill pushed forward until the head of his cock reached the first ring of muscle. Then he stopped.

Sam took the moment to brace himself and rested his forehead on his arm, his other hand still jerking off at a fast speed. "What are you waiting for?"

In reply, Bill's hand stroked up to his waist and back down again, and Sam unconsciously leaned into the touch. "That."

The alpha slammed into him so hard that his legs hit the car, and Sam let out a cry of surprise. Holy fuck, Bill was big, and his knees buckled for a second at the sensation of being so utterly filled. He didn't even have time to recover before Bill pulled out almost all the way again and thrust back in a second time, now hitting Sam's prostate and basically making him see stars.

As Bill upped his pace, Sam started a mixture of appreciative sounds and pleas to go even faster, trying to keep his strokes in sync with the steady rhythm. All sense of time and space seemed to disappear, Sam soon felt his orgasm build, and each time Bill managed to hit his sweet spot, it brought him a little closer to finding relief. He could hear the alpha's heavy breathing with every move, so he shut his eyes and let the sensations engulf his mind.

After a few more thrusts in exactly the right place, Sam came with a final loud moan, and his legs probably would have given way if it weren't for the patrol car. As he guided himself through the aftershocks, Bill grabbed a hold of his shoulder and within a few more seconds reached his own orgasm with a cry that sent another tremble down Sam's spine. He had just enough wits left to realize that that firm grip would probably leave a bruise. Not to mention the state his ass was in.

Once they'd both managed to recover their breath, Bill pulled out of him, and Sam had to admit he was disappointed to see him go. He couldn't remember the last time he had sex like that, if ever. Certainly not in this position, that was for sure.

"I came on your car," he confessed, looking down at the mess he'd made.

"There's tissues in the glove compartment," Bill simply answered. He still sounded a little out of breath.

Sam couldn't blame him. He should probably get back up but he wasn't entirely sure if his legs would be able to carry him yet. It was only when he heard Bill fasten his belt again that he considered his time for recovery to be over. With a groan, he pushed himself up from the hood, and he winced at how raw his poor hole felt. As he looked around, he suddenly realized what state he was in. Here he was, on the side of the road, surrounded by the prairie just outside of some Midwestern town, pants around his ankles, and just having been fucked into a patrol car by a local deputy alpha. He guessed they were lucky nobody had passed by. Not that Sam thought he would have cared.

He pulled his pants almost all the way back up while Bill was already searching for the tissues. A joke about him keeping those in the same place as the lube passed through Sam's mind, but he was too blissed out to bother with it. Instead he just took a couple from Bill and started wiping first himself off and then the car.

When they were both presentable again, they got back into their seats. Sam wondered if he should say something, but decided to let Bill take the lead. If he was being honest with himself, he had no idea what mood the deputy was in right now. His scent was definitely pleasant and he didn't seem angry anymore, but Sam felt like there was just no way of knowing with Bill. He shot the alpha a look as he fastened his seat belt again.

To his surprise, there was actually a small smile playing around Bill's lips. "At least I know how to shut you up now."

It was so unlike everything Sam was expecting that he had to laugh. "Hey, it was a new one for me too. Never done that before."

"Yeah, me neither," Bill answered, and Sam smirked while he started the car again. "Come on. Let's go find those traffickers of yours."

Chapter Text

Apparently sex wasn't just a way to keep Sam quiet but also something that put Bill in a considerably better mood. Or at least that was Sam's theory. He couldn't think of another reason why the alpha had suddenly decided he didn't hate Sam anymore.

Anyway, Bill put on some music, kept on that little smile, and his scent had become... warmer somehow as well. It got Sam curious to the point where he wondered if Bill would ever treat him the same way he did his friends. They just had sex, that had to count for something, right? Not that Sam was fooling himself into believing that had meant anything, but he liked to think that they could talk like normal people again, like they had the night before.

He pouted his lips for a second, then decided to just go for it. "I thought betas were supposed to only be with other betas," he noted with a playful smile that hopefully made clear he was only joking. He didn't think he'd still be able to walk if he got on Bill's bad side again so soon.

To his pleasant surprise, the corner of the deputy's mouth turned up, and he raised an eyebrow as he retorted, "I thought alphas could be with whoever they wanted."

"Touché," Sam admitted. "I just didn't think you were the type."

Bill shrugged. "I'm not really. I mean, there have been a few betas, but I'd never mate one or something."

Ah, there was the Bill he knew. "Why not?"

"Because I want a family one day," the alpha simply said. "And I'm only into guys, so..."

Well, that explained why he had known his way around Sam's ass so well. The answer made sense too; Bill seemed exactly like the kind of guy to come home from the department to a big family every night. "I'm guessing you never considered adoption?"

The expression on Bill's face already made clear what the answer would be. He seemed so taken aback that Sam almost thought he had never even heard the word. "No, actually. Why would I if I don't have to? Besides, it's not really the same, is it?"

"I don't know," Sam said honestly. He didn't think about having pups very often. Sure, he was all right with them when they were someone else's, but to be responsible for one 24/7? He already got tired thinking about it. Add his personal experience to that and... "Hell, I've got no idea, man. Kinda wish somebody would have adopted me, but..."

Bill looked at him, and suddenly he felt incredibly self-conscious, which was ironic considering how shamelessly they had both been acting maybe ten minutes ago. But Sam hadn't told many people what he'd blurted out earlier about his family. Usually the memories were pushed back into a deep, far corner of his mind, so it was a little weird talking about it with someone he  barely even knew.

"I'm sorry," Bill pulled him out of his musings. "About your parents. That can't have been easy."

Sam gave a little shrug and looked back ahead. "I've got the guys. They're all I ever needed."

"Don't take this the wrong way, but I still can't believe you're such good friends with two omegas," Bill said in a curious voice, which Sam thought was a great improvement from the disapproval he'd mostly gotten so far.

"Well, we already were before presenting, so it wasn't exactly like we knew," he said, then thought better of it. "Although actually, Frankie and I were pretty much a done deal for as long as I can remember. But I did always think Jamal could also have been a beta."

Bill frowned. "Really? When I was a kid, I think we picked the omega guys out pretty easily. They just kinda ran in different circles."

Shaking his head, Sam thought to himself that Bill probably wouldn't mind if people were born with labels. "Come on, you can't seriously tell me that you already had an alphas-only club before presenting, right?"

The deputy seemed to be thinking about it for a moment. Eventually he said, "I don't know. I mean, I actually have been friends with Stanley since forever, so there's that. But with Jake too, and then Jimmy a little later on..."

"Stanley, farmer guy Stanley?" Sam asked, a little surprised. He hadn't realized Bill knew the guy so well. He hadn't seen much of Stanley, but he came off so relaxed. Then again, so did Bill around other people.

"Oh yeah, we go way back," Bill told him. "In a town like this, you all kinda grow up together."

"Especially alphas?"

He pulled up an eyebrow at Sam. "Yes, especially alphas, smartass."

Snickering, Sam shook his head. "Takes one to know one."

"Don't make me shut you up again," Bill said dryly, and Sam burst out in laughter for real.

After a few seconds, the deputy went on, "Seriously though, I gotta ask. Do you always just... bottom for alphas, and then what, top the omegas?"

Sam pouted his lips. "Usually, yeah. Although I've bottomed for a few omega guys too." When he saw the look of shock on Bill's face, he grinned and added, "What can I say? I like to switch it up."

"Why am I not surprised?" Bill sighed.

"Your face said something different."

Bill apparently decided to ignore that statement. "What about other betas then?"

"Depends," Sam said with a shrug. "Whatever I'm in the mood for, or what they want. Told you, I'm a man of all trades."

The alpha was frowning now. "So, have you... No, never mind."

Well, now he had Sam's attention for sure. "Have I what?"

"Nothing, doesn't matter."

Sam had to suppress a smirk when he realized what Bill was probably failing to ask. "Have I ever topped an alpha?"

"No, I don't wanna know," Bill said, determinedly shaking his head.

"No."

Bill gave him a skeptic look. "No?"

"No," Sam repeated. "Never met one that would let me."

He could tell that Bill wasn't entirely reassured by his answer, but the deputy dropped it nevertheless. Sam decided to take that as a sign it was his turn to ask questions again.

"So, if you want to mate an omega that badly, why haven't you yet? And don't give me that work excuse."

Bill sighed. "Look, in a town like this, you just don't meet new people very often, okay? I already know-"

He came to an abrupt stop when his radio cracked to life. Sam's gaze dropped to the thing immediately as Jake's voice came through.

"Three black vans spotted on Farm Road 160, heading east. I want all units on that road ASAP, we're going after them."

Eyes widened, Sam exchanged a look with Bill. Apparently they finally did it. They had actually found the traffickers, found Dean.

"Holy-" Sam started, but Bill took his radio and interrupted him.

"Got it. We're still on 25th. Want me to see if we can intercept them?"

"They were seen just east of the river," Jake said. "Think you can make that?"

Bill slightly furrowed his brow as he pressed the gas a little harder. "Maybe... Depends on how fast I can get to Jackson and Surrey's. I'll hurry and keep you posted."

"Good. Hawkins is at the intersection of 122 and Route 7, so he's gonna try to block them off too. We'll see if you can come up with something together once you get there. Me and Riley are south of town, so it might take us a little longer, but Jimmy isn't too far behind them. As long as we don't give them a reason to speed up, we should be able to make it."

"No sirens," Bill concluded with a nod.

"Not at the moment. If anything changes, I'll let you know," Jake agreed.

With a final confirmation, Bill ended their talk, and he remained quiet after that, completely focused on the road. His jaw was clenched, but for once Sam knew it had nothing to do with him. He understood quite well how Bill must be feeling at the moment. Now that they actually had a prospect of catching the traffickers, he was starting to feel a little nervous himself. Sam didn't usually do the whole "doomsday" thinking thing, but Bill had gone so serious all of a sudden, and what if something did go wrong? What if he got hurt? Or if Dean got hurt? Or somebody died?

Yep, now he was definitely nervous.

And Sam was not one to brood in silence at all. "So, uhm... how do things like this usually go?"

"Sam?" Bill simply answered, his voice as neutral as could be. He didn't sound angry, just... professional. Which didn't exactly help with Sam's nerves.

"Yeah?" he asked, a little hesitant.

"Not now."

Right. Message received. Bill was only taking his job seriously of course, and that was in fact the best Sam could hope for in that moment, but it didn't mean he liked this side of the alpha very much. It only got him on edge too, so he looked out of the window and tried to think of something else instead.

What would Frankie and Jamal be doing right now? They were probably still at Stanley's, hanging around, watching TV or something like that. Having fun, perfectly calm. Not nervous at all. Not worrying about getting into a big arrest that might have people shooting at each other. Not afraid of how Dean would be doing and whether or not he would get through it safely. For a moment, he imagined them making the arrest and everything working out, except for Dean getting caught in the crossfire and dying before Sam could even get to him, after everything he had done to save the omega. That would be so dramatic. Too dramatic to actually happen, right?

"Bill?" he said, drumming his fingers on his leg. "Drive faster."

"I already am," the deputy said without taking his eyes off of the road.

"You call this fast?" Sam commented.

Now Bill glared at him. "Seriously, I'm trying to focus here, cut it out."

"Well, if I can't talk, I'm gonna think myself straight off a cliff, okay?" Sam sighed. "Your call."

He didn't even care that he was obviously becoming the center of Bill's frustration again. "Sam, I need to do my job. You want me to do it right, or not?"

That question got to him though. "Right," he admitted begrudgingly. After about a minute, he carefully added, "Can I just ask one more thing?"

The alpha seemed to think about it for a moment. Then he took a deep breath and said, "Sure."

"How long till we get there?"

"Shouldn't be more than ten minutes," Bill answered. "I'll have to see how far ahead they are and then try to get to the next intersection before they do."

Sam would be surprised if they managed that at this speed, but he wasn't planning on mentioning it. Ten minutes wasn't too bad. He could do that without freaking out.

He lasted three before he started squirming in his seat, just to have literally anything to do. If Bill was annoyed, he didn't mention it, which made it even worse. About now he would kill for the deputy to start a fight with him.

"Sam, stop tapping your foot."

"Sorry."

Well, it was better than nothing he guessed.

Another five minutes had passed by the time Jake reached out to them again. "Bill, what's your position?"

"Just turned onto Old Goat Drive," Bill told him. "Hawkins?"

"He just got to Lincoln Road. How long do we have, Jimmy?"

Jimmy's voice immediately joined the conversation. "Three minutes, maybe five. I backed off a little because I was afraid they'd see me, but Mayor Green's got an eye on them now."

"Shit," Bill mumbled and pressed the accelerator. "That's gonna be tight, Jake."

"Try. We're not too far behind, we can take them."

He took a deep breath, and then a decisive look appeared on Bill's face as he hit the gas. "Okay. We'll see you there."

A rush of adrenaline shot through Sam's veins as the patrol car finally sped through the prairie. Now, that was what he called fast. This side of Bill, the side that gave up on his precious rules, that had kissed Sam breathlessly and bent him over the hood of his car, that was the side of Bill he liked best. And it was also just really hot when he got like that.

He knew this wasn't the time to fantasize about Bill's cock up his ass though. "When we get there, what do we do?"

"You do what I tell you to do at all times," the alpha instructed him.

He slowly nodded at that very vague information. "I can do that."

Bill shot him a look. "I'm serious, Sam. This stuff can get bad real fast. I can't afford to have to worry about you doing something stupid. No heroic actions. If I tell you to stay put, you stay put. You can't just run off like you did at the campsite, okay?"

"There was no one there!" Sam objected.

"I don't care!" Bill snapped back. "We're here to save those omegas' asses, not yours. And I can't do that unless I know you're safe, so that means you not taking any risks."

He knew it was literally Bill's job to keep people safe, but when he put it like that, it did make Sam feel a little special. Which was probably not the way the deputy had intended it to sound at all. "Okay."

"Okay," Bill agreed, then nodded ahead. "We're here."

Sam looked back at the road and spotted the car at the next intersection. He almost immediately recognized it as Hawkins's. The alpha had already parked it straight across the road that the traffickers would be on, about ten yards before the crossroads. Bill took the turn and maneuvered his patrol car in a similar position, efficiently blocking off the left lane. Hawkins stepped out of his truck, gun already drawn, while Bill grabbed his radio.

"Jake? We're in position."

The sheriff replied immediately. "Good. They saw Jimmy, they'll be coming your way fast."

He had barely spoken the words when Sam discerned a black spot in the far distance to their left, and his eyes grew big. "Eh, Bill?"

Bill followed his gaze and cursed. "Out of the car, now!"

He didn't need to tell Sam twice. Without question, he threw open the door, jumped out and crouched down behind the vehicle. Bill could have saved himself the speech from earlier; Sam's survival instincts were pretty set on finding cover at the moment and keeping it that way. The deputy was right behind him, shutting the door and standing up to look over the roof, which Sam wasn't sure was a good idea.

"They're still out of shooting range," Bill said, as if he'd read Sam's mind. "Won't be for much longer though."

He drew his gun and moved into position. Sam noticed that Hawkins must have seen the vans too, because he had done the same, seeking cover behind the cabin of his own vehicle and looking out over the hood. In the distance Sam thought he could hear sirens now too, which must be Jimmy chasing the vans. At least they weren't tackling this alone.

"There's a megaphone in the back, take it," Bill ordered him, and Sam didn't think he had obeyed someone this often and easily in... well, ever.

Careful not to raise his head above the roof - shooting range or not, he wasn't taking that risk, thank you very much - Sam dug into the back of the car and handed Bill the megaphone. The alpha took it without looking away from the approaching vehicles.

"Hawkins," he called out. "I'll warn them, but I doubt they'll listen. Be ready to take them out, alright?"

"I've got the first one covered. If they don't slow down, I'm aiming for the rim. If we're lucky, that might stop the others too," Hawkins answered.

Bill sighed and grumbled something about having time for a spike strip. For a moment he turned back to Sam. "Stay where you are. Don't get up." Then he put the megaphone to his mouth. "Jericho Sheriff Department, stop your vehicles right now! I repeat, stop your vehicles right now!"

They waited for one second, two seconds... Then a shot was fired, and Sam jumped, heart racing in his chest. Weren't they supposed to be out of shooting range? Oh god, he didn't like this, he didn't like this at all...

"Shit!" Bill ducked and threw the megaphone back to Sam, who caught it out of instinct. Slowly, the alpha peered back across the roof and raised his gun again.

Another shot almost gave Sam a heart attack, but since Bill didn't so much as flinch, he suspected it had been Hawkins this time. He absolutely wasn't planning on disregarding the deputy's order, but he decided that he did need to know what was going on if his blood pressure wanted to make it out of this alive. As carefully as possible, he raised his head the slightest bit, just enough to be able to see through the window.

The vans had gotten considerably closer, which almost made him immediately drop down again. To make things worse, the passenger of the first van was leaning out of her window and had a gun pointed towards them. Sam swallowed just as she fired again, and he ducked fast enough to stretch a muscle. Three more shots resonated across the prairie, then two from their side. He peeked through the glass again, ready to draw back at all times. To his surprise he was right on time to see the first van starting to sway and slow down considerably. Sam had only just started smiling at their victory when the second van passed by its companion and rushed forward. Right towards the patrol car.

Before Sam's brain had even registered that he should probably do something, Bill already grabbed his upper arm and dragged him to the front of the car. He basically threw Sam in front of the bumper, still protected by the cover of Hawkins's car, and crouched down beside him, gun pointed to the side of the road. Sam stared in shock at how the van steered onto the bank and flew right by their blockade. Bill fired two shots at its tires but missed, and the black vehicle sped away. The traffickers inside hadn't even tried to shoot at them. If they had... All that had stood between a bullet of theirs and Sam was the hood of the car and Bill. He let out a shaky breath as he tried not to think about what that meant.

"Let them go, Bill. Eric and Riley will follow them, and we've got New Bern ready too," Jake's voice pulled him out of his head. He hadn't even noticed, but Bill had indeed already opened the car door as if he was planning on chasing after the van. Sam was grateful that Jake seemed to know exactly how out of his mind his deputy was.

"Get back behind the car!" Bill yelled at him, and Sam hastily got back to his earlier spot.

One down, one escaped... It couldn't be long now before this craziness ended. Then, as even more guns were fired, something dawned on Sam. What if Dean was in the van that had gotten away, and they wouldn't be able to find it anymore? Oh no, no, no, he was so not going there.

Through the window he saw that the traffickers in the first van had gotten out and were making a run for it, still shooting without aim at Sam, Bill, and Hawkins. The third van seemed to be heading for the same way out that the second had taken, but another patrol car - Jimmy? - wasn't having any of that and flanked it on the left bank. Before it could make an attempt at the other side of the road, Mayor Green's truck passed the first van on that bank too and blocked every way out. A third patrol car was right behind it, and now the traffickers were officially stuck.

They came to a screeching stop, and the three passengers jumped out to follow after their buddies while firing their guns around in the hopes they might hit someone. Now the deputies had plenty of opportunity to strike back though. The man from the first van went down, Bill shot one of the guys from the third, and another one fell to his knees with his hands up in surrender. Hawkins went after the woman who had been shooting at them earlier and tackled her onto the prairie. Now that he was the only one left standing and Jimmy was pointing a gun at him, the last remaining trafficker dropped his weapon and raised his hands too. All of a sudden, the road was quiet again, apart from the wild pounding of Sam's heartbeat.

Despite the heat, a shiver ran down his spine as he watched their team come into action. Bill and Jimmy ran forward to restrain the two men that had surrendered. Hawkins had done the same to the woman and brought her back to the road. Jake, who had been in the last patrol car, was ordering them around. At some point April Green had already opened the back of the first vehicle, and now Margaret took over from her as she ran to check on the traffickers that had been shot, which was in Sam's opinion more than they deserved. Gail stepped out of her mate's truck with a bag of supplies and he followed her to the other van. That other deputy - Sam thought his name was Riley if he remembered it right - joined Margaret in helping the first omegas out.

That's when Sam's brain apparently decided to do its job again.

"Dean." He ran from behind the patrol car as he repeated, louder now, "Dean!"

He rushed to the back of the third van, the closest one, and ran his eyes over the people that were getting out of it. "Dean?!"

When he came up empty, he turned and made a run for the other one. "DEAN!"

He wasn't even halfway when a voice answered, "Sam!"

Sam thought that he could have died out of joy as a familiar figure stepped out of the back. Dean's eyes met his, and the next thing he knew they practically jumped into each other's arms and he found himself engulfed in the scent of elderberries, salt, and dirt, not that Sam cared.

"You're okay," he mumbled as he pressed the other man as close as humanly possible. "You're actually okay."

"You came back," Dean said in a voice that conveyed the same disbelief Sam was still feeling too.

"I promised, didn't I?"

Then he realized Dean still wasn't wearing anything and let go of him. He quickly took off Jamal's jacket and wrapped it around Dean's shoulders before he pulled him back into his arms. It was only when his own heart rate had gone back to a more normal pace that he noticed how much the omega was shaking as he clamped onto Sam.

"It's okay," Sam whispered to him while he carefully ran a hand through Dean's hair. "You're okay. We got you. Everything's gonna be okay. I'm here. I got you. It's okay."

He didn't know exactly how long he kept repeating reassurances like that while the shoulder of his T-shirt gradually became more and more stained with tears. In fact he didn't even notice the little tickle in his neck until Dean suddenly froze. Only then he realized that the omega's nose was pressed against his scent gland and that he actually had been rubbing his face over it a little.

Dean immediately pulled back, although he still didn't let go of Sam. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"

"No, hey, it's okay," Sam quickly interrupted him. This was hardly how he had imagined scent-marking Dean, if ever, but he wasn't going to deny the guy anything at the moment. His thumb moved up to wipe away a tear on the other man's cheek. This being the first time they had seen each other during daylight, Sam hadn't known what a beautiful caramel color his eyes were until now. "Don't worry about it."

He was also suddenly reminded of one of the fights he had with Bill the day before though. "My god, are you okay? Did they ask you about me? Did they hurt you? I'm so sorry, Dean, I can't believe I've been so stupid..."

"What do you mean?" the omega asked with a worried frown.

Sam stared at him in confusion. "Th-the spot! The place I'd been sitting all night, they must have smelled me the second they walked past it. That's why they left early!"

To his even greater surprise, Dean actually blushed a little. "They didn't smell you, Sam. I uhm... After you left, I..." His voice dropped till even Sam could barely hear him. "I peed on that spot."

For a moment, Sam didn't know if he wanted to laugh or cry with relief. He settled for pulling Dean into another hug. "You've got to be the smartest man I've ever met."

Then his brain caught up with what Dean had said, and Sam leaned back again to look at him. "But then what happened? Why did they leave early?"

Dean sighed and opened his mouth to answer, but Sam beat him to it. "You know what? Never mind. We can talk about that stuff later. Let's get you out of here first."

Chapter Text

Once Sam had led Dean back to Margaret to get him some pants and a bottle of water, he took a moment to gather himself. Around them the omegas were starting to get into the other patrol cars. As he was watching the scene, he noticed Bill standing a little way off. Once the deputy met his eye, he motioned him over, so after mouthing a quick right back at Dean, Sam walked up to him.

"I'm glad you found him," Bill said with a nod towards the group of omegas.

Sam couldn't help but smile a little. "Yeah, you and me both."

"Listen," Bill went on. "Hawkins is gonna use one of those vans to drive the traffickers to the department, and Jake and the mayor are staying here with the two that got shot. One of them's dead, but the other was only lightly injured. April fixed him up for now, but someone's still gotta wait for the ambulance to get here. The rest of us are bringing all the victims back to the medical center. Obviously, they're not gonna be excited to be around an alpha, so can you try and reassure the ones we're taking if necessary?"

"Sure, no problem," Sam agreed with a shrug. Talking was kind of his strong suit, after all.

The alpha nodded. "Good. I'll be right over."

He walked back to Jake, and Sam returned to the van where Dean was still standing with a bunch of the other omegas. Riley was just taking some of them to his car. As soon as Sam was next to him, Dean closed the distance between them and pressed their shoulders together, as if he needed the physical reassurance that Sam was there. That was all the encouragement the beta needed to wrap an arm around him and pull him a little tighter to his side. It felt right, holding Dean. The unease that had driven him forward from the moment he had left the trafficker's camp finally settled down. Had that really only been a little more than a day ago?

April Green's voice pulled him from his thoughts. "Isabel, Karen, Tyler, you can go with Margaret. Sam, can you take Dean and Lola here?" She motioned to a young woman that now looked at him with big eyes.

He gave her a hopefully comforting smile. "Come on, I'll get you two to a car."

Lola slowly walked over to him and Dean while Margaret led her three omegas away. Without letting go of Dean, Sam started walking back to the patrol car. Lola stayed close to him as well, although she kept her eyes on where Bill, Jake and Jimmy were still grouped together, away from the vans. It was probably just as well; Sam would not be proud of being an alpha in this situation either.

"So Lola, where are you from?" he decided to try to distract her. She actually looked back at him, and he realized she couldn't be older than twenty. Sick bastards.

"You're the guy who saved us?" she asked in return.

When Sam turned to his right to look at Dean and raised his eyebrows, the other man shrugged. "I told a couple of people about you."

Sam tried not to smile too hard at that. "Well, I just delivered the message. The people of Jericho did most of the work. You were right, they're good folks. I never would have gotten anywhere without them."

He opened the car's back door and let both omegas get in before he joined them on the backseat. It was tight, but he wanted to stay as close to Dean as he could. Once he had shut the door, Dean let out a slow breath and Lola seemed to be relaxing a bit too. Sam took a moment to look at how the rest of their team was doing. Riley seemed to have already taken off, April was putting another group of omegas in Hawkins's car, which Sam suspected she would now be driving, Jimmy just walked back to his patrol car, and Gail led the remainder of the omegas to her mate's truck. Soon Jimmy and Margaret drove away too, just as Bill came walking back to them.

When he opened the car door, Lola visibly froze, Dean slightly tightened his hold on Sam's arm, and there was just a little bit more fear hanging in the air. Looked like it was time for him to play his part.

"Hey," he casually greeted the alpha. "We ready to go?"

Bill exchanged a look with him through the rearview mirror. "Yeah, just about. As soon as April and Gail are." Then he turned his head to look at the other two passengers and softly smiled. "I'm Bill, by the way."

"Well, I already told you about Dean, and that's Lola," Sam introduced the two people next to him.

"Hi," Dean said, to his surprise. From the look on his face, Bill hadn't been expecting a response either.

Before any of them could say something else, Gail approached them with another female omega. They walked around to the passenger side, and Bill leaned over to open the door for them.

"April said you had room for one more," Gail said as she let the woman step in, who still seemed a little hesitant, but less jumpy than Lola. "This is Sandy. Sweetheart, this is Bill and Sam. Are you gonna be okay here?"

Sandy nodded. "Thanks, Gail."

"All right, I'll see you at the clinic then. Go ahead, Bill." Gail gave them all a warm smile before she closed the door and went back to her own vehicle.

Bill started the engine and followed April in steering the car back into the right lane. As they drove by the vans, Sam shot a final look at the side of the road, where Hawkins and Mayor Green had put the traffickers while they waited for the omegas to clear out. He took a deep breath, putting an arm around Dean's shoulders. They made it. That was what he needed to focus on, not those assholes.

They spent the drive back to the center of Jericho in silence. With Sam's arm now around him, Dean had taken hold of the beta's other hand instead. Even in their current situation, it was kind of nice. It reminded Sam of when he had wrapped his fingers around Dean's back at the camp, right before he left. Lola had curled up against Dean's other side, and Sandy was looking out of the window, although Sam could tell by her scent that she wasn't entirely at ease yet, even if she was trying. They all seemed tired, not in a mood for conversation, and Sam couldn't blame them. Now that the adrenaline had worn off, even he didn't mind recovering a little in quietude.

When they arrived at Jericho Medical Center, there were already nurses and doctors helping in the omegas that had arrived with the others. Bill pulled up behind April, and when they had all gotten out, he nodded for Sam to go ahead before he walked over to where Jimmy was standing.

After one look at the unfamiliar building, Sam told the three omegas, "Come on, let's just follow April and the others."

Inside, there was even more of the staff running around to accommodate all of their new patients. One of the doctors, another male beta, spotted them and came over.

"Hello," he greeted them in a friendly voice. "My name is Dr. Dhuwalia. Let's go and get you settled in, okay?"

He went on to explain that unfortunately, they were running out of rooms for two people because many of the omegas didn't want to be alone yet, which was perfectly understandable. As long as there were any available, they were free to choose any type of room they wanted, but he doubted the center would have enough for everyone.

"I can take a single one," Sandy offered almost immediately. "I don't mind."

Dr. Dhuwalia looked at her in surprise. "Are you sure? We know you've all been through a lot."

She seemed a little insecure but nodded nevertheless. "I'll be okay. Really. I haven't been with them as long as most of the others."

Sam couldn't help but think he probably never would have made that call himself, and he had to admire Sandy for it.

"Thank you," the doctor told her with a smile. He was about to turn around to probably show them their rooms when Dean stopped him.

"Can Sam stay with me?" he asked, nodding to the beta in question.

After looking back and forth at the both of them, Dr. Dhuwalia shrugged. "If you prefer that, I don't see why not."

Dean visibly relaxed at that. "Okay. Then I don't mind a single room either."

The doctor offered him a grateful nod before showing them the way. They dropped Lola off at a room where another omega woman was already seated, and then Sandy and Dean were each assigned one of their own.

"There will be a nurse coming to check on you shortly," Dr. Dhuwalia promised them before he had to get back to the other patients, leaving the door ajar behind him.

Letting out a sigh, Sam dropped down onto the chair next to the bed, on which Dean took a seat. The omega pulled up his legs and threw his arms around his knees, and Sam wondered if the position had become a kind of second nature to him. He didn't like that thought, so he got up again and joined Dean on the bed, sitting cross-legged right in front of him. Then he took the man's hands in his. Dean just watched him go at it with a surprised look in his eyes.

"I don't know if you need to hear this right now," Sam told him with a little squeeze, "but I'll be happy to remind you anytime you do. You got out, man."

"I know," Dean sighed before shaking his head. "It's just all so surreal, like... I don't know, I guess part of me is still waiting for me to wake up in that van again."

Sam made a face. "Well, if that were true, this would be the longest dream I've ever had. Pretty sure I would have woken up to go to the bathroom at least once."

A tiny hint of a smile appeared at the corner of Dean's mouth, and Sam wished he could see him smile for real once. Maybe even laugh. What a sight that would be.

They just sat in silence like that, holding hands, until the door opened behind Sam. He turned to see Gail Green walk in with a clipboard and a small cart with supplies.

"Sam, there you are. Bill's been looking for you," she said with a smile. "And you must be Dean. It's nice to meet you. I'm Gail, and officially speaking, I'm retired as a nurse but thought I'd step in to help for the day."

While Dean greeted her with a "hi" and a quick nod, Sam returned to his chair to give her some room to work. She left everything on the cart where it was for now and came to sit on the side of the bed.

"How are you holding up, honey?" she asked Dean in a sympathetic voice.

He shrugged. "I'm okay, everything considered. Although I still can't believe this is actually happening."

Gail smiled at him. "It's been a rough morning, give it some time." Then she held up the clipboard. "Why don't we start with the paperwork?"

Sam watched as Dean gave her his full name, place of residence, and all of that other stuff. When she asked if there was anyone they could call for him, Dean politely declined the offer, and Sam decided that, if nothing else, he would at the very least get himself on that list.

When she was done noting it all down, Gail moved on to take his vitals. Everything seemed to be all right for now, but one of the doctors would still come by later for a more profound examination. Since most of the omegas were quite severely dehydrated, she did hook him up to a saline solution though.

"If you need anything at all, just call and we'll do whatever we can to help," she reassured Dean.

He gave her a small nod. "Thanks, Gail."

She smiled at him warmly, said a quick goodbye to Sam, and then left them alone again. Now that she'd brought it up, Sam realized he was actually pretty thirsty too, but he didn't want to leave Dean alone, not even to go find a vending machine.

So instead, he started to look for something to distract himself with. If only they kept a deck of cards in hospital rooms...

"You know how to play President?" he asked out of curiosity.

Dean looked a little confused at that. "Uhm... I don't know?"

"The card game," Sam clarified. "Me and the guys love doing that kind of stuff."

"Honestly, I barely know any card games," Dean admitted. "Never really saw an opportunity to learn."

That wouldn't last very long if he was going to keep hanging out with Sam. "I can teach you a couple at some point. Hearts and blitz are fun and not too hard. I also like bridge and whist, which would be perfect for you to join because there's usually only three of us and you need four people for those. We actually know a special version of whist that we learned from a German tourist or something, but Jamal's the only one who remembers how to calculate the scores."

He could have sworn he was this close to getting a smile out of Dean. "That sounds fun, I'd like to give it a try sometime."

"Problem is that that one is hard to win money with because you're constantly switching partnerships, so one moment you'll be doing great, but then your new partner has the most awful cards or something."

The omega shrugged, fidgeting a bit with the band-aid that was keeping his IV in place. "I don't really care about the money anyway."

Sam's brain jumped to what Dean had told him about his father. "Wasn't your dad's business pretty rich?"

"Way too rich," Dean simply commented.

Huh, he hadn't ever thought of there being something as "too much money." Sam only knew "enough," and "a nice, little extra," and "it really is time we go hustle some pool, guys." Anything more than that had always just been a far-off dream, in which he was usually lying on a flamingo float in an infinity pool at a California beach house with a cocktail in his hand and about five exquisite lovers swimming around him. Of course he knew that wasn't realistic, but he'd at least thought it would be fun.

A knock on the door interrupted his thoughts, and then Jamal and Frankie barged in. Sam's jaw dropped before he jumped up from the chair.

"Look at that, he's still in one piece too," Jamal joked while Sam greeted them both with a hug and a big grin on his face.

"What the hell are you guys doing here?" he asked incredulously. He hadn't expected to see them for the rest of the day.

Frankie shrugged. "The Richmonds came to help out, so we thought we'd join them."

Sam raised an eyebrow at them. "What, in case you had to identify my corpse?"

"Maybe."

He shook his head. "But how did you even find me?"

"There was two loud omegas I had never seen before roaming the hallways; it wasn't hard to do the math," Bill's voice answered from the doorway.

Too busy with his friends, Sam hadn't even noticed he was there. Which reminded him...

"Guys, this is Dean. Dean, meet Frankie and Jamal," he quickly introduced them to each other.

"Hey, man," Frankie said while stealing Sam's chair and turning it around so he could lean on the back. "How are you doing?"

Dean looked a little overwhelmed by the whole situation, which Sam thought was more than fair. "Uhm... I'm okay."

He watched Jamal jump on the foot of the bed. "Glad they got you out. You have no idea about the whining Sam put us through."

"Hey!" Sam objected, but he went completely ignored as his friends started to provide overly dramatic examples of the things he supposedly said. So, he decided to ignore them too and turned back to Bill. "Help me out here."

The deputy gave him a half smile but stayed in the doorway. "No can do. But," he raised a paper bag, "I figured you and Dean would probably be hungry by now, so I grabbed you something to eat from the coffee shop. Since I didn't really know what to get, I just went with plain bagels and cream cheese."

If they were alone, Sam might have kissed him again. "Oh god, I promise you I will never commit another crime again," he said as he took the bag, pulled out a bagel, and stuffed it into his mouth.

"Yeah, I don't believe that for a minute," Bill stated dryly. "Anyway, I'm gonna leave you guys to it."

Sam would have told him to stay but remembered just in time that that probably wasn't the best idea for Dean. He swallowed a big bite. "Right. I'll see you later then."

The alpha nodded and motioned at the bag. "Don't eat those all by yourself."

Rolling his eyes at him, Sam turned back to Dean and the guys. They seemed to be in the middle of an exaggeration of their walk to Jericho, which admittedly deserved some exaggerating, considering how awful it had been.

"Give me back my chair," he told Frankie while munching on another bite.

"Are those bagels?"

He held the bag out of reach. "They're not yours. Bill bought them for me and Dean."

"Oh, is there also cream cheese?" Jamal asked.

"Did you or did you not already have lunch at Stanley's place?" Sam retorted, glaring at the both of them.

The room remained suspiciously quiet. "Exactly. Now give me back my chair, and I might let you have a piece."

Frankie begrudgingly got up and went to sit on the windowsill instead. Satisfied, Sam dropped onto his seat again before he put the bag next to Dean on the bed. Then he quickly went back to grab some cream cheese from it. Dean took a bagel and a cup of his own, along with a plastic knife Sam hadn't even noticed. He wondered if the omega seemed a little hesitant because he still thought it was weird people were being nice to him, or because he didn't know whether or not to trust an alpha bringing him food.

"Okay, you gotta tell us everything that happened now," Jamal said, still eyeing Sam's bagel. "Where were you last night?"

Sam shrugged. "Bill thought it was too late to go bother Stanley, so he let me stay at his place."

"He frowns a lot," Frankie noted.

"Yeah, that's my fault."

"Dude, you gotta come over to Stanley's for dinner, he makes the best roasted-" Frankie was interrupted by a knock on the door, and their entire group turned to look.

"Wow, it's crowded in here," April said with a smile. As she picked up the chart Gail had left, she motioned to Sam and his friends. "Guys, could you wait outside for a minute?"

Jamal and Frankie immediately got up, but Sam had caught the slight change in Dean's scent. "Can Sam stay?"

April seemed a little taken aback by that before she started to nod. "If you'd like that, sure. But I have to warn you, there's some really personal questions I need to ask."

Dean looked from her to Sam, doubt in his eyes. "Would you?"

Even though he had the feeling he was missing something huge here, Sam knew what the answer was. "Of course."

"Okay then," April said. "Let me know when you change your mind."

As the two other omegas left the room, she asked Dean to take off his jacket so she could examine him further. Sam tried not to look too much, he really did, but once he noticed about a dozen bruises scattered across Dean's body, he was having trouble tearing his eyes away. They came in all shapes and sizes, some close to completely faded while others were much more recent. The idea of someone doing that to Dean made his heart ache, and he felt the sudden need to pull him against his chest again.

According to April, there wasn't any severe damage though. The bruises were all superficial and there was no sign of internal damage, but she did say he had to make sure to eat well to regain his strength.

While he put on his jacket again, April came to sit on the side of the bed. "Look, there's no easy way to say this. Some of the others already told us about the kind of things they did to you all, and our sheriff could really use statements on that to get those traffickers behind bars for a very long time. Nobody's forcing you to do anything you don't want to, but I figured I'd ask so that you at least won't have to tell it twice."

Dean paled, and Sam felt his stomach lurch. Considering what he already knew about the suppressants, he didn't have a good feeling about such a conversation.

"Would it help?" Dean asked in a small voice.

April nodded. "Jake wants to get as much as he can to be sure they're punished properly for what they did. He's a good guy too, the best sheriff Jericho has had in a long time."

When Dean looked at him, Sam shrugged a shoulder. "I can confirm that part. I mean, he coordinated the whole operation and did a great job with it. But it's your call, man."

After seeming to have thought about it for a few seconds, the omega gave a short nod. "Okay. I'll do it."

With a smile, April quickly squeezed his hand before standing up and walking out into the hallway. Sam took advantage of the moment to raise his own hand, palm up. With that hint of surprise in his eyes again, Dean stared at him for a long second before he took it, and Sam smiled as he intertwined their fingers. He would have told the other man not to worry, but the door had already opened again.

"Hey, Sam," Jake greeted him, although while April resumed her spot next to the bed, he remained close to the doorway. Sam guessed he didn't want to risk intimidating Dean, who he turned to next. "And you've gotta be Dean. Sam's told us a lot about you. Name's Jake Green. It's good to finally meet you."

"Thank you," Dean said surprisingly, although he was holding Sam's hand a little tighter now. "For everything."

Jake smiled at him. "Happy we could help. And hey, we never would have even known about it without you and Sam."

Sam shot Dean a playful look in an attempt to keep the conversation light as long as he could. "Hear that? We're heroes."

"Damn right you are," Jake said with a grin. "That reminds me, I've got some good news. The sheriff of New Bern and his people caught the van that got away from us."

"That's great!" Sam called out. Admittedly, he hadn't thought much about that anymore after he found Dean, but he was glad for it all the same.

After a quick agreement, Jake's expression turned serious as he looked at Dean though. "April said you were fine with talking about what happened with the traffickers. You sure you wanna do this?"

Dean took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, let's just get it over with."

"All right." Jake pulled a notebook and a voice recorder out of his pocket. "Okay if I record this? I promise no one else will get to hear it without your permission."

"Go ahead."

He pressed a button on the recorder and put it on the little table at the side of the room. "Can you state your name, please?"

"Dean Ellis," Dean said, and Sam could tell he was getting more tense.

Jake started to pen something down while he asked, "Can you tell me about what happened with the human traffickers that abducted you and the other omegas?"

"I... I don't really know where to start, to be honest," Dean admitted.

"What about the beginning?" Jake suggested patiently. "Maybe when they took you?"

"Uhm..." Dean swallowed, and Sam gave his hand a reassuring squeeze. "It was June 18th. I was in L.A., at a bar. It's called The Three Oaks, if that matters."

The sheriff nodded. "Had you been there before?"

"Yeah, plenty of times. Never ran into any trouble," Dean answered.

"So what happened?"

"I was... well, not drunk, but not exactly sober either. Alone. I was waiting outside for an Uber. It was already late, so they caught me by surprise." He took a shaky breath. "There was three of them, they covered my mouth, and they used pheromones to keep me calm."

Sam didn't know whether he was feeling angry or sick or both. Those traffickers just kept getting worse and worse, and he could only hope they wouldn't set a foot outside of prison for the rest of their lives.

"Did they take anything from you?" Jake asked. "Wallet, keys, phone... Anything we can look for?"

Dean shook his head. "They would have but I got rid of all of it first chance I got. The last thing I needed was for them to know who I was."

Jake pulled up his eyebrows. "Why's that?"

"My dad was a famous astronaut," Dean said with a shrug. "When he died, he left me with a big pile of cash."

"Wow." The alpha blinked a few times, seemingly processing the information. "Sounds pretty impressive. And you don't think that might have been why they targeted you?"

"No, they never showed any sign they knew my name. And I didn't really feel like giving them extra means to continue what they were doing, so I tossed my phone and wallet through a drain grid. They weren't very happy with that. Beat me till I passed out," Dean explained. His voice remained steady, but Sam could feel his hand starting to tremble.

Apparently Jake could tell he was getting to the sensitive subjects too, because he continued in a softer voice. "Did they do that often? Hit you guys?"

Sam had to bite back a sarcastic comment about the marks he'd just seen on Dean's body. Of course he knew this conversation was necessary but he hated it, hated what it did to Dean.

"Whenever they wanted to. Usually if we didn't obey them, or didn't do so fast enough."

"Did they ever use any weapons, like guns or maybe knives, to hurt or threaten you with?" Jake tried.

"No, they never did anything to us that could leave a permanent mark." Dean sighed. "They were very careful about that. Not damaging the goods."

When he was done with his notes or whatever, Jake looked at him hesitantly. "Some of the others, they also mentioned sexual abuse. Obviously you don't have to, but can you tell me anything about that?"

Dean's eyes told Sam everything he needed to know. "I..." He took a deep breath, but he was now clenching Sam's hand like his life depended on it and there was something in the air, something salty that the beta hadn't realized was part of his scent before. "O- Once," he managed to get out in a soft voice.

Jake didn't say anything, just waited for him to continue, so Dean tried. "After I woke up. They- That's how they... broke you. They took everything they could." His voice wavered on the words, and Sam couldn't stand it anymore.

He crawled onto the bed next to Dean, took him in his arms and held him as close as he could, hoping that the proximity would somehow push what had happened out of his mind. All Sam wanted was for him to stop hurting as he took Dean's trembling hand again and leaned his head against the other man's.

"I'm really sorry, Dean," Jake told him genuinely. "Can you tell me how many of them participated in that?"

Still shaking, Dean nodded. "They were all there, but only one of them-" He cut himself off, but it wasn't hard to imagine the ending of that sentence. "But I never saw which one. They held me down the whole time."

"Do you know if it was like that for the other omegas too? The traffickers taking advantage of them after they'd just captured them?"

"As far as I know," he agreed. "But some of the others they'd take with them more often. If they felt like it."

"But not you," Jake concluded.

It wasn't a question, but Dean answered nevertheless. "They knew they already had me."

Jake took a deep breath and closed his notebook. "Okay, that should do it. Thank you." He took back his recorder and was already halfway out the door when he turned back. "Actually, there's one more thing. You thought the traffickers were gonna leave their campsite at nightfall, right?"

"That was the original plan, yes," Dean replied.

"You know what made them change their mind?"

The omega's eyes suddenly turned to Sam with a guilty look. "They saw the car. I'm sorry, I couldn't stop them without making them suspicious."

Sam was trying to understand why Dean had just apologized to him while he continued. "They didn't seem very worried about it, but then one of them made a few phone calls and they started packing up."

"Any idea where you stayed during the night?" Jake asked.

Dean shook his head again. "They kept us in the vans the whole time. I don't have a clue where we were, or for how long we were there."

"Don't worry about it," Jake told him with a smile. "Just thought I'd ask. Thanks again, and take care, man."

One alpha was barely gone before there was a knock on the door and another opened it. "Hi," Bill said, then hesitated for a second when he saw the position Sam and Dean were in. "Uhm, sorry, I don't want to disturb, but I noticed Jake leaving and wanted to check with Sam what the plan is?"

Right. Bill probably didn't have a reason to stay at the medical center anymore. "Eh..." He looked at April, who had listened to the whole conversation in silence.

After a second, she said, "Well, Dean, we can make arrangements for you to get back to L.A. if you want. We're already planning to drive some of the others to Denver so they can go back home."

"Can't I stay here?" Dean asked with a look in his eyes that made Sam's heart melt.

April quickly nodded. "For now, sure."

"Can I stay too?" Sam immediately followed.

Now her expression grew apologetic though. "Not through the night if that's what you mean. Visitors aren't allowed to and we're already short on beds in this situation."

"I could sleep in a chair?" he tried.

"I'm sorry, Sam," she said with a small smile. "I wish it was different, but we can't start making exceptions."

Sam could feel Dean starting to panic against him and desperately tried to think of a solution.

"They could stay with me."

The both of them turned to look at Bill in unison.

"I mean, if Dean's okay with that, of course," the deputy hastily added. "I just figured, if the two of you wanna stay together. I'm assuming Sam was gonna stay with me anyway, since it looks like Stanley's already got his hands full with your friends."

So basically Dean could stay at the hospital alone, or stay with him in an alpha's house. Sam could see why this was going to be a problematic decision. Caramel eyes found his in a silent question, and he didn't know what to say aside from the simple truth.

Eventually, he took a deep breath, shrugged, and went with that. "I trust him. And I'll be there. But it's your choice."

It took a few seconds, but then Dean nodded. "Okay."

"Well, there's one more thing we should talk about actually," April said. "We know what suppressants the traffickers have been giving you. They are way too strong, especially to be taken for such a long time without pause. What I'd suggest now is that you stop taking any for a while and give your body the time to restore its natural cycle. Then I can prescribe you some good ones if you'd like."

"So I'd be going through a heat," Dean concluded in a neutral voice.

April slowly nodded. "Normally in about two weeks. I know it's hard but that's what I would recommend doing."

Sam turned his gaze back to Bill. Living with someone in heat would send him straight into a rut; they all knew that.

"I'll be fine," Bill said calmly. "Worst case scenario I can stay somewhere else in the meantime."

Dean gave him that very same look Sam had gotten the first time he offered him Jamal's jacket. "Thank you."

Bill softly smiled at him while April went on. "It's probably gonna be a rough one too. Can someone keep an eye on you during it?"

"I will," Sam immediately offered. "I've looked after Jamal and Frankie plenty of times while they were in heat, trust me."

"Sounds like a plan," April approved with a smile of her own. "I'm going to check on more patients, but let me know when you're ready to leave or if there's anything else you need."

When she left, Jamal and Frankie rushed back in, the first one this time carrying a very familiar sports bag.

"Are those my clothes?" Sam called out.

"Yep," Frankie confirmed. "Stanley called Emily about bringing our stuff by this morning, and we thought you'd probably like to have yours too. We just went to grab them from Stanley's truck."

"Although now we know you found your own, we're giving them to Dean," Jamal was quick to add.

Sam couldn't agree more with that as he grinned at his best friends.

Chapter Text

Leaving the medical center wasn't as quick as getting in. After the whole lot of them had cleared out the room to give Dean some privacy to change, they still had to wait for the IV to finish. Bill decided to take that time to go check in with Jake, since he was still technically on duty. Meanwhile, Sam and Dean finished the rest of their bagels. Or, Dean finished the rest of his bagels, and Sam ended up donating his last one to his friends.

Jamal and Frankie talked with him about anything and everything as usual, while Dean observed the three of them in silence. Of course they quickly got bored of that, so Frankie pulled a deck of cards out of his pocket and they all gathered around the bed to teach Dean how to play whist. When he kept winning tricks, Jamal realized he had forgotten to mention a pretty important rule about when exactly you're allowed to play trump cards.

Sam was delighted to see that Dean seemed to be feeling a little better during the game. When his friends started arguing over how stupid it was of Jamal to play a certain card, he actually thought he spotted a smile playing at the corner of the other omega's mouth as he watched the discussion.

It was taking Bill a long ass time to come back, which had Sam joke that maybe Dean could get another bag of saline solution while he was at it. At around 5, Frankie and Jamal went so far as to go down to the coffee shop just to see what food they offered aside from bagels. They even returned with the entire menu memorized just so Sam and Dean could pick what they wanted before they actually went to place their order.

"Your friends are really great people," Dean remarked once they had left again.

"I know," Sam sighed melodramatically. "Just don't tell them. They might get arrogant."

He could easily imagine how Bill would have responded to that. Great, now the deputy didn't even have to be in the same room anymore to lecture him.

Dean shifted so he was turned a little more to Sam's chair. "How long have you guys known each other?"

"Oh boy," Sam answered, thinking back to all the childhood memories they had shared. "We really became friends early in elementary school I think. The three of us were kinda the misfits of our year. I had problems at home, Frankie was being bullied, and Jamal talked too much for his own good. After a while, we just ended up sticking together."

"Wow. That's a long time," Dean noted. "I can't imagine being friends with someone for so many years."

Sam shrugged. "We got lucky." Actually, although it was partly true, he knew there was also more to it than that. His friends were the best thing that had ever happened to him; he wasn't going to lose them if he could help it, not ever.

"They like you, you know," he pointed out. "I can tell. You definitely won't be able to get rid of us anymore now."

The corner of Dean's mouth turned up, and Sam thought he could feel butterflies in his stomach. "Thank you. For sharing them with me."

With a huff, Sam corrected him. "Trust me, I'll be having to share you with them before you know it."

It took them a while, but eventually Jamal and Frankie came back with their sandwiches. Sam took his turkey one and handed Dean something with mozzarella and tomatoes. The omega looked at it like he might just be in love with it.

"I can't remember the last time I saw a vegetable," he said.

"Is that a bad thing?" Jamal joked through a bite of his own sandwich.

Dean still seemed captivated by the food. "I like most of them. Being a vegetarian helps."

"Seriously?" Sam asked, taken by surprise a bit. "How does that happen?"

He could tell Dean was feeling a little embarrassed now, and he suddenly really wished he knew when to shut up. "Trying to piss off my dad. Then it kinda just stuck."

After a few seconds, Sam tried, "I like falafel."

"You like putting meat into your mouth more," Frankie deadpanned, which earned him a glare.

"You are so inappropriate."

Jamal snorted at that way too obviously to be spontaneous, and Sam was glad they hadn't heard the nice things he had said about them earlier.

They were mostly done with their sandwiches by the time Bill finally returned. He looked more tired than when he had left, and slowly raised his eyebrows at the sight of the four of them eating.

"Well, there goes the last bit of my motivation to cook tonight," he commented.

"Where have you been?" Sam asked as he looked at his watch. "It's been hours, man."

Bill waved off the question with a gesture of his hand. "Just getting everything back in order. Has April been back to discharge Dean?"

"Not yet."

"All right," he sighed. "Can you take care of that now? I'm gonna get something to eat, and then we'll go home." And with that, he left.

Frankie finished licking off his fingers and said, "We should probably go find Stanley too. You want us to look for April along the way and send her back here?"

"Oh, that'd be great," Sam agreed as he stretched. God, he really was ready to get home and into Bill's comfy bed. Okay, that came out wrong.

"You keep an eye on him for us," Jamal said with a pat on Dean's leg before he stood up.

"And charge your phone, man," Frankie told Sam.

Jokingly saluting him, the beta answered, "Will do. Thanks, guys."

After a "Don't die," from Jamal, the both of them left, and Sam only now realized how much he had missed them in the not even twenty-four hours they had been apart. Oh well, they would probably be back on the road together soon enough. Maybe with Dean too if he was lucky.

April got there pretty quickly. After she had removed his IV, she also gave Dean a series of phone numbers from doctors around Jericho, including a psychologist's, omegalogist's, and her own, stressing that he could always call or come by the clinic if there was anything he needed. She was only gone for a few minutes when Bill came back in, this time chewing on a sandwich of his own.

"You guys ready?" he asked after swallowing the bite.

Sam jumped up from the chair. "Yep." He picked up his bag of clothes, and with a smile, he held out a hand to Dean. "Let's get out of here."

The omega took a deep breath before he accepted it and stood from the bed. Sam gave his hand a reassuring squeeze and intertwined their fingers as they followed Bill out of the room, and then out of the medical center. It had calmed down considerably, with only one patrol car left in front of the building. When neither Dean nor Bill said anything during the drive, Sam started to sing along to a Taylor Swift song on the radio. He got two surprised looks for it, one a little more skeptical than the other, but Bill didn't turn it off.

From the moment they walked into the deputy's home, Sam could feel Dean tense at his side. He stroked the back of the other man's hand with his thumb in response, remembering the scent of the traffickers' camp, with dozens of scared omega's and the alpha's that kept them under control. And now that Sam knew how...

"Alright," Bill thankfully interrupted his thoughts, rubbing his cheek. "It's probably best if Sam sleeps in my room so you can have the guest room, Dean, and I'll take the couch."

Sam usually wasn't one to refuse a comfortable bed, but even he couldn't let that pass. "Come on, man, that's ridiculous. It's your house, you should get to sleep in your own bed."

Dean looked between the two of them. "I could stay on the couch."

"No," they answered in unison, and Sam added, "Look, I've slept in plenty of weird places in my lifetime. The couch will be fine." A part of him also wanted to suggest just sharing a bed, but this probably wasn't the time for that.

Bill gave him a nod. "Thank you. Dean, the bathroom is upstairs, first door to the right, if you wanna get cleaned up. Use anything you want. Towels are in the second drawer."

"Thanks," Dean told him. Then his eyes darted to Sam, as if on instinct.

"I'll be right here," Sam reassured him, giving his hand a final squeeze before letting go.

Nodding, Dean accepted the bag he held out for him before going up the stairs. It was only when they heard the door shut that Bill started to talk.

"He's clinging to you."

He didn't sound necessarily judgemental, but Sam was starting to know him pretty well and prepared for the worst. "I know."

"And you understand why?" the alpha questioned.

Sam glared at him. "I'm not stupid, Bill. He needs someone to feel safe with, and I'm just the first beta he happened to run into. I get it."

With a sigh, Bill clenched his jaw. "I'm just saying. Be careful with him. He isn't thinking straight right now."

"He's not a kid," Sam retorted. He really didn't see the problem here. Then again, when did he ever with Bill? "He knows what he needs. And hey, I'll be the first to back off if he asks me to, but as long as he wants me there? I'm not just gonna abandon him."

"He may not be a kid, but he is vulnerable. He's a victim of some pretty messed up people," Bill stressed.

"Yeah well, he doesn't like to be treated that way," Sam told him with a shrug.

Bill crossed his arms. "Maybe you like to think that you know him, but you realize you don't, right? You met him three days ago, Sam. And under probably the least ideal circumstances."

That admittedly stung a little. "You were sure you knew me after three minutes," he shot back.

It was pretty satisfying to see the surprise on Bill's face at the comment. It took him a couple of seconds before he said, "I guess you're right. Sorry about that. But you did come walking into my town with a full criminal record and a pile of problems."

"Not the best apology I've gotten, but I'll take it," Sam answered, smiling. "And in the spirit of not fighting each other, I should probably thank you for everything you've done today. For me and Dean."

"Glad I could help," Bill said with a nod. Then he went into the kitchen to pour himself a glass of water. After offering Sam one too, he leaned against the table, taking slow sips and seemingly deep in thought. "I'm gonna have to go grocery shopping after work tomorrow. Anything specific you want?"

Sam shrugged a shoulder in reply. "I'll eat anything." That did remind him of something though. "Oh, but it turns out Dean's a vegetarian."

For a few seconds, Bill just stared at him blankly. "I don't know how to cook vegetarian."

"Me neither," Sam said. "But then again, I also don't know how to cook normal."

"I mean, sure, there's salads, soup, pizza..." Bill listed the options out on his fingers. "Maybe a few pastas... But what about the rest? Can you just... leave the meat out?"

"I don't know," Sam admitted.

"Does he eat fish? 'Cause I could replace it with that, I guess," Bill pointed out.

"Uhm..."

He seemed to think about it for a bit. "Or do you have to get those real replacements? I can't imagine anyone wanting to eat that."

"I don't know," Sam repeated.

"It can't just be vegetables, right? Maybe beans?"

Sam made a face. "Okay, please tell me why you're asking me all of this?"

"Right," Bill sighed, drumming his fingers on the table for a moment. "Never mind, I'll figure it out."

It took a couple of seconds before Sam realized something. "You're not gonna cook vegetarian food for all of us, right?"

"Oh God, no."

Good, because he definitely didn't know if he was ready for that. On the other hand, would Dean like it if he at least tried? Maybe he should think about that later...

Bill started cleaning out the dishwasher while Sam just basically hung around, waiting for Dean to come back. Once he was done, the alpha went to grab a blanket and a pillow for him, and Sam put them neatly onto the couch. It was ridiculously early, but he was already looking forward to curling up on it and leaving today behind.

His gaze shot in the direction of the stairs when he heard Dean come back down. To say the omega looked a little different would be like calling a Nebraska sunset all right. He was wearing Sam's light blue T-shirt and navy pajama shorts, fresh out of the shower, clean-shaven, his hair still a little damp but shiny and looking so soft that Sam felt the desperate need to run a hand through it. Only his eyes remained the same, beautiful but without a spark.

Sam suddenly realized that he was staring and looked away, right in time to see Bill raise an eyebrow at him. Ignoring the gesture, he turned back to Dean. "Hey."

He grinned when the corner of Dean's mouth slightly curled up and he came to stand closer to Sam. "Hi."

"Well, I got a really early shift tomorrow morning, so I'm gonna get changed and go to bed," Bill announced. "If you guys wanna stay up a little longer, go ahead. Just keep it quiet, okay?"

"Yes, sir," Sam told him jokingly.

With a shake of his head, Bill headed for the stairs. "Goodnight, you two."

"Goodnight," Dean answered, and Sam waved a quick goodbye.

Then he looked at the man at his side. "What do you wanna do?"

Dean shrugged. "I didn't get much sleep last night. Maybe trying in an actual bed isn't a bad idea."

"No disagreeing with that," Sam said. "I think I'll wait for Bill to finish in the bathroom and then get settled on the couch too. Might watch some TV first." He motioned back to the stairs. "Want me to show you the guest room?"

There admittedly wasn't much to show in the guest room. Sam didn't even know where to find extra blankets. He did spot his phone on the nightstand though. Frankie was right; he should definitely charge it. Also, where was his car? He really was going to have to take care of all of that stuff tomorrow.

"Sam?"

He looked up at Dean, who suddenly seemed a little uncomfortable. "Yeah?"

"About earlier..." He squeezed his eyes shut for a moment. "On the road. I'm sorry again about the whole scenting thing. I never should have done that, I don't even know what I was thinking..."

"Dean," Sam stopped him. "I told you, it's fine. You needed someone; I get it."

"Well, I promise it won't happen again," Dean said, clearly still feeling guilty.

Sam wished he could tell him that he gladly would have let it happen again, that a part of him wanted to bury his nose in Dean's neck and leave a trail of kisses on his glands that tickled enough to make him laugh. Instead, he gave the other man a smile and hoped that maybe one day he would get the chance.

"Forgiven and forgotten?" he offered.

Dean answered with the smallest of smiles and a nod. "Thank you. For coming back. For everything today."

"Anytime," Sam promised, and then Dean closed the distance between them and hugged him. Despite himself, he thought his heart skipped a beat when he wrapped his arms around the omega, and he had to admit his fingers took advantage of the position to stroke Dean's hair for a second.

Once he had finally pulled away again, he gave Dean's shoulder a little squeeze before letting go completely. "I'm right downstairs if you need anything."

"Thanks. Goodnight, Sam."

"Night," Sam replied with a final smile, and then he left Dean to it.

The light in the bathroom was off, so he went to change before he headed back downstairs. He turned on the TV and lay down on the couch. For a while he flipped through the channels, occasionally stopping to watch something, but nothing really captured his attention for long. After maybe an hour, he had enough of it and tried to go to sleep.

He was just in that blissful state in between when his nose caught something. "Dean?" he mumbled, wondering if he might be dreaming. That would be just great, his crush following him into his subconsciousness.

"Sorry, I didn't want to wake you," the omega's familiar voice sounded.

Sam forced his eyes open and blinked a few times, trying to get the room into focus. Dean was standing at the end of the couch. "What's going on?"

There was a sigh. "It doesn't matter. I'm sorry, I'll let you get back to sleep."

"What?" Sam asked, confused. "No, c'mere. What's wrong?"

Dean slowly walked up to him and sat down next to the couch. "I just couldn't sleep, that's all. It sounds stupid but I guess I just don't want to be alone yet."

"You could've watched some TV with me if you wanted," Sam said, which he then realized was some pretty late advice.

"I know. I'd just hoped sleeping would help a bit with everything," Dean explained. He sounded tired.

"You wanna stay here for a bit?" Sam offered.

"If that's okay."

That wouldn't make him sleep though. Sam thought about it for a slow second, then decided he might as well try. "You think me being close will help you sleep?"

"It's just kind of comforting, I think," Dean admitted.

Sam took a deep breath. "Okay, don't take this the wrong way but what if I came with you? It's up to you of course, but it's a big bed and I promise I'll keep my distance."

The other man looked up at him in surprise. "You'd do that?"

"I don't see why not," he said with a shrug.

Dean seemed to think about it for a moment. Then he slowly started to nod. "I think I'd like that. Thank you."

Waving the comment away, Sam sat up and threw off the blanket. "Stop thanking me. I'm totally taking advantage of you having an actual bed."

He led them back upstairs and into the guest room. Dean immediately went for the other side of the bed. When Sam crawled underneath the sheets, he made sure to stay clear of the middle.

They lay there in silence for a while, and Sam was already starting to drift off when he heard Dean move. He didn't pay attention to it first, not until he noticed that the omega's scent was a tiny bit stronger, his breathing a little louder.

"If you want me to move, no matter in what direction, just ask," he said without even bothering to open his eyes.

For a few seconds, the room remained silent. Then, "Move to the middle?"

Sam did as he was told, till his shoulder bumped into Dean's and he turned his head to look at him. They were basically lying against each other now, and he did think Dean seemed a little more at ease, if not entirely yet. Too sleepy to give it much thought, Sam moved his arm up to give him the room to draw even closer if he wanted to. He was surprised when Dean almost immediately curled up against his side, and from the moment Sam wrapped his arm around him, he could feel the man relax against his chest. He couldn't help but smile as he rested his head against Dean's, and it didn't take long before the both of them fell asleep after that.

Chapter Text

Dean woke up with a jolt, sneering voices echoing in his ears. For a moment, he had no idea where he was. Everything around him was warm and soft and comfortable, but also strange. He took a deep breath, trying to chase away the images haunting his mind, and found himself engulfed in a familiar scent. Honey. Beta. Sam.

He tried to let the other man's presence calm him like it had before, to tell himself that Sam wouldn't let anything happen to him, but it didn't work. His heart kept hammering in his chest. The room was too hot, and he could feel himself starting to break into a sweat, and he didn't know what to do about it. He didn't want to wake up Sam, not again, but it seemed almost impossible to breathe like this. Maybe if he went to drink a glass of water. Just some cool water. He could do that.

Careful not to jostle Sam, he moved the sheets aside and crawled out of the bed. His hands were shaking, but Dean ignored it and forced himself to stand up and find his way to the door. As he walked down the hall and the stairs, his breathing became heavier, no matter how hard he tried to stop it.

They kicked the air right out of him, and his stomach was on fire. He wanted to scream, scream out the pain, scream for help, for them to stop, but nothing came out.

He had to put a hand against the wall to steady himself, his legs suddenly becoming wobbly. It was just a memory; Dean knew it wasn't real, so why couldn't he catch his breath? He forced himself to take the last steps to the kitchen, where he could lean against the counter. He even managed to find the light switch along the way. The sudden brightness made him squeeze his eyes shut for a moment, but none of it mattered. His entire body was shaking now, and his limbs were starting to feel numb and tingly as he continued to gasp for air.

"Why don't you come with us for the night, baby?"

Dean desperately tried to shut out the voice but couldn't stop a choking sound from leaving his throat. He let himself slide down to the floor and rested his head on his knees. He had no idea if the wetness he only now noticed on his face was sweat or tears or maybe both, and he couldn't care.

A rough hand pressed his face to the ground. He tried to kick at them, but at the same time, all he wanted to do was relax at the comforting scent surrounding him. It didn't matter anyway; they easily kept him down...

No. He couldn't think about that. His stomach churned and if he closed his eyes, it felt like the world was spinning. Why couldn't they leave him alone? Had they decided to kill him? Was that what this was? Dean had considered himself basically dead from the moment they took him. It hadn't mattered much what they did to him from there on. Had they realized that there was no use for him after all? Just now that he was starting to think that just maybe there was hope he could come back to life again?

But he was alive. He was alive.

He was in Jericho, and he was free. You got out, man, Sam's voice sounded in his head.

He tried to take a deep breath, long and slow. It wasn't easy, with every part of his body seeming to clench together, but he tried. Breathing out the same way was worse. You got out. You got out. You got out. In and out.

His breath hitched a few more times, but he kept trying. At one point, it started to become a little easier. You got out. The floor felt cold against his feet. The room slowly came into focus again. He tried to push away the memories, focusing on that one sentence instead. You got out.

"Sam?"

Immediately, Dean stopped breathing altogether. He now heard footsteps coming down the stairs. Bill. He must have seen the light downstairs was on.

It was okay; he knew it was. Bill was a good man. He had done nothing but help him. He was letting them stay here. He had let Sam stay here the night before. He had helped find them.

Dean took a shaky breath and quickly wiped his face dry. God, he must look like a mess right now. Again. "No, it's Dean."

Bill walked into the kitchen, his eyes roaming around until they finally landed on Dean. Then he frowned. "Are you okay?"

Although the truth was probably pretty obvious, Dean shrugged. "I'll be fine. Just came to get a glass of water."

It took Bill one look around the kitchen to determine that he had never found that glass. As he walked over to one of the cupboards, Dean noticed that he made sure to move slowly and stay as far away from him as he could. He appreciated that. He had no idea how he would have reacted if the alpha had tried to come close to him.

He watched in silence at how Bill took a glass and filled it with water. Then he put it on the table and slid it over to Dean before he stepped back to the other side of the kitchen.

"Thanks," Dean told him. His hands were still shaking terribly when he leaned forward to take the glass. The cold of the water was a relief though.

"Where is Sam?" Bill asked after a glance back into the living room.

"He's still asleep upstairs," Dean answered. "I asked him to stay with me."

"You want me to get him?"

He had to take another breath and shook his head. "I don't want to wake him."

Bill nodded, but he still looked worried. "Anything else I can do?"

To be honest, Dean didn't have a clue what anyone could do. There wasn't exactly a way to fix what had happened. Probably not ever. "That's okay, thanks," he managed to say.

For a moment, the other man seemed to think about it. Dean would have expected him to leave and go back to bed - he didn't even know what time it was, or long he had been sitting here - so it came as a surprise when Bill leaned a hand against the fridge instead. "Is it all right if we just talk for a bit?"

Dean didn't know what to say to that. What could Bill even want to talk about with him? He doubted he would already have answers to any practical questions about his stay, but he guessed the deputy deserved to ask, considering the fact that it was his house. "Yeah, sure."

"I thought I should probably get to know you a little bit," Bill said. "So I was wondering, what kind of stuff do you like to do and all of that?"

He had expected that even less. "I..." he started, then stopped to close his eyes and slowly breathe out before he answered. "I fly model airplanes."

Bill's eyebrows shot up at that. "Really? Wow. That's cool. Are those like, military planes?"

"Some are," Dean answered, still wondering why the alpha cared about any of this. Very few people did.

"So what do you fly?" Bill went on casually.

"I've got a bit of everything. My favorite at the moment is a DHC-6 Twin Otter," Dean told him. He had missed his planes and only now started to realize that he might actually be able to fly them again pretty soon. The idea warmed something inside him that he had forgotten about.

"Did you want to be a pilot or something?"

In another life, he might have laughed at that. "No, that's probably the last thing I want to do."

Raising an eyebrow again, Bill questioned, "Why's that?"

"I'm afraid of heights," Dean explained. "But I kinda grew up around planes and I've always loved them. Not even just the flying part, but also the mechanics. I like cars too, but with any aircraft there's just something interesting about the power and the design that you need to keep them up."

Bill slowly nodded. "I guess that is pretty next level if you look at it that way. But hey, if you're into cars, you should see Sam's."

Right. He had never actually seen the beta's car yet, the vehicle that had made all of this happen. "Do you know what model it is?"

"I've got an idea," Bill carefully said. "But I'm thinking he'll be pretty eager to show you, so I don't want to ruin the surprise. What car do you drive?"

"A '72 Buick Riviera," Dean said. Part of him was getting curious about Sam's car now.

"You know how to take care of it?"

That was one way to put it. "I know just as much about that car as I do about my planes."

"Well, then you're doing a better job than Sam," Bill said with a smile. "Did he tell you he was never out of gas? His battery just needs replacing."

Dean looked up at that. In other words, if Sam had known a tiny bit more about his own car, neither of them would probably be here. The idea felt unreal.

"Maybe you can teach him a thing or two," Bill continued.

"Maybe," Dean agreed. He guessed that would be nice.

"But I'd be careful with the planes, he's bound to hit someone in the face with them." Bill motioned at the glass he was still holding. "Better?"

When Dean turned his eyes down, his hands were barely trembling anymore. His heart rate and breathing had slowed down too, and the tingling feeling was almost completely gone.

He looked at Bill, and the deputy gave him a little smile. "I don't know an awful lot of things, but in my field of work, people tend to panic sometimes. Distraction usually helps."

"Thank you," Dean told him genuinely. He felt like he needed to say more but didn't know what.

"Anyway, I was gonna make breakfast before I left for work. Sausages and eggs if you want," Bill offered, then paused. "Or just eggs, I guess. Sam told me about that. But I could also make some toast."

Right, because he wasn't giving Bill enough trouble as it was. Although he really liked eggs, Dean wasn't feeling hungry yet, and he also didn't know how he would feel about having breakfast with the alpha, as ridiculous as that sounded.

"That's okay, I'll eat something later," he answered. That reminded him of something though. "What time is it?"

Bill opened the fridge and started taking out what he needed. "About 3 a.m. I asked Jake to put me on early so you and Sam wouldn't be stuck here alone all day."

Dean had no idea how late he had fallen asleep, but 3 a.m. seemed too early to be up in any scenario. "I should probably go back to bed," he said, wondering if Sam had already noticed he was gone.

"All right, I'll see you... well, later today," Bill joked as he put a couple of eggs, a package of sausages and the butter on the counter before opening a drawer for a frying pan.

With a quick nod, Dean got up and set his glass back on the table. He shot a final look at Bill and then made his way out of the room and back upstairs. He stopped by the bathroom to throw some water in his face and wash off the salt. He had already spent an awful lot of time in there earlier. He had showered, shaved, brushed his teeth, twice, trimmed his nails, basically used everything he could find to make himself feel like a person again. The result was that he looked like himself again, aside from the bruises and scratches that he couldn't do anything about. It had helped a little bit, but not enough. As he returned to the guest room, he doubted anything would ever be enough.

Sam was snoring a little. He hadn't noticed that before, but the steady rhythm was kind of reassuring. Dean resumed his position at the other man's side and tried to focus on that.

~~~

When Sam woke up, it was the nicest morning he had had in a long time. And that despite the fact that his ass was still feeling very sensitive. Damn Bill and his amazing dick. But the bed was cozy and he was curled up against the omega that he was pretty sure he was hopelessly in love with. Dean still had a long way to go for sure, but that was okay. Sam would just do anything he could to help him in the meantime.

Now to decide whether or not he wanted to get up already.

He slowly opened an eye to see how Dean was doing and immediately caught the other man's gaze. "G'morning," he mumbled.

"Hi," Dean answered in a soft voice.

"You sleep all right?"

"Better than in a long time," Dean said with a little nod, mirroring his own thoughts.

Sam hummed in agreement. "Wanna get up yet?" He hoped the answer would be no.

"Yeah, okay."

Dammit. "Fine," he grumbled. "I need coffee anyway."

With a groan, Sam dragged himself out of the bed. He already missed Dean's warmth as they left the room and went downstairs.

There was a note from Bill on the kitchen table, announcing that he would be back around 1. It also had instructions on where to find coffee and stuff for breakfast and said that there were sandwiches for lunch in the fridge, bless him. His phone number was at the bottom in case they needed it, and next to the note lay a charger.

"Looks like we're all set," he told Dean, then yawned. "Do you know how to make eggs?"

Dean gave him a questioning look. "You don't know how to make eggs?"

Well, now Sam felt like an idiot. "I mean, I do. I just... don't have a lot of experience doing it," he said with a shrug. "Basically I can, but they wouldn't be particularly good eggs."

The corner of Dean's mouth moved up ever so slightly. "How do you like them?"

"Bacon and cheese omelette?" he tried.

"Above my usual skill level but I'll try," Dean said while opening the fridge and getting the supplies.

Sam gave him a broad grin. "I'll get started on the coffee."

Breakfast with Dean was actually really nice. The food definitely met Sam's standards, which admittedly wasn't that hard. He was also happy that Dean seemed to be doing a little better. Or maybe it was just because Sam was finally seeing him in a normal setting.

"What do you wanna do today?" he asked in between bites.

"Don't know if there's much we can do," Dean admitted.

After putting some toast in his mouth, Sam waved off that answer. "Course there is. I can call the guys to come over, or we could go ahead and explore Jericho a bit on our own. Or raid this place to see if Bill has anything interesting lying around."

He looked at Dean expectantly, but the omega didn't seem so sure. "Maybe."

Suddenly, Sam wondered if it was possible to forget what it felt like to have free will. "How about this," he started. "We go out, take a walk around the neighborhood, and you just say the word if you wanna head back or go a little further."

Dean hesitated for a moment before he slowly started to nod. "Yeah okay, we can do that."

"Perfect," Sam said with a grin. Maybe they would run into an opportunity to go shopping or something; that would be fun.

He told Dean to take the bathroom first while he finally plugged in his phone. As expected, there were a few missed calls from Jamal and Frankie from yesterday and the evening before. He decided he should probably shoot them a message before they left.

'Phone alive, D n me are goin out, cu2 later ;),' he sent to their group chat.

Oh, and he might as well give Bill his number while he was at it. 'Out w D, will be back b4 1'

He got a reply from the deputy pretty soon. 'Would it kill you to use grammar? Or your name?'

Yep, classic Bill. 'Knew it was me, didnt u?'

Sam wasn't surprised when he didn't get an answer to that anymore.

When Dean returned, he was wearing jeans and a purple shirt from Sam's stuff, one of the few plain ones he owned. He immediately decided that Dean could keep it; it looked much better on him, and Sam didn't say that about his clothes easily.

"I'll go get dressed," he announced before his eyes fell out of his head. God, he was a disaster.

It turned out that there wasn't much to Bill's neighborhood, and eventually Dean agreed to see if they could find their way to the center. If only Sam had any sense of orientation, then maybe he would have remembered the drive from Bill's place to the town hall. As it was though, they were basically turning random streets.

Sam could tell Dean was getting more at ease the longer they walked. Especially at first, he basically tensed at the sight of everyone they came across. The first time Sam realized, he had subtly taken his hand out of his pocket for Dean to reach for if he wanted. Just in case.

He wasn't even sure Dean had noticed until they spotted a random alpha and he actually took it. Sam knew it wasn't only a comforting gesture but also a pretty obvious signal to anyone they met: mine. As expected, they got some funny looks for it from the few people in the street, but Sam couldn't care less, and he liked that Dean seemed to feel the same way.

Somewhere along the way, he started whistling the first song that came to him, which happened to be "Bohemian Rhapsody." It only took him till the second verse to switch to singing. It sounded better when he did it with Jamal and Frankie, but it got a little smile out of Dean, especially the bridge, and that was all he needed.

"You do that a lot?" the omega asked when he was done. "The singing?"

"Sometimes," Sam said with a shrug. "Just one of those things me and the guys like to do to keep ourselves entertained. Jamal is the real musical one out of the three of us though."

Dean nodded. "So you don't do performances or anything like that?"

"Only if people pay us. But I'm flattered you think they would," Sam joked.

"Then how do you get by?" Dean asked. "You told me you look for opportunities, but what do you mean by that?"

That was a good question. "Well," he started, "basically we drive around, land ourselves in a town, and see if there's anything we can do to earn some money with. Not necessarily... legal. Or we try to launch one of our own ideas, which actually never works out. When we get tired of the place, we move on."

"So you live in your car?"

He laughed at the surprise in Dean's voice. "From time to time. Kinda depends. Sometimes a job includes an apartment; those are always a bonus. Or we work for bed and board if we can. Rent something small. Take advantage of people like Bill. But yeah, permanent place of residence is the car."

"Sounds adventurous," Dean noted. He looked like he was trying very hard to imagine such a life.

"You have no idea," Sam agreed. "You should've seen some of the stuff we did. Left a couple big disasters behind."

"So don't you ever want to..." Dean shrugged. "I don't know, stay somewhere?"

For a moment, Sam thought about it. "I mean, someday. Just gotta find the right spot, I guess." He smiled. "Or the right people."

Judging by his face, Dean was having trouble deciding whether or not Sam could really be talking about him with that. Well, one day Sam would show him.

At the next intersection, there still was no sign of a store, or anything else that wasn't a house. "All right, I give up. This town is useless. Do you have any idea how we get back?"

The omega gave him a questioning look. "Yeah?" he hesitantly said.

"Okay, good, because I totally didn't pay any attention to the road," Sam admitted.

Dean seemed only more confused by that. "Then how were you planning on getting back if I didn't remember?"

"Ask someone," Sam said with a shrug.

"For directions to Bill's house?"

"Town like this, everyone knows everyone, Dean," he pointed out, the corner of his mouth turning up into a smile. "And even if they didn't, we could have asked about the town hall and begged Bill to take us back home with him."

That finally got him a small nod. "I'd hope it wasn't too far from here then, but I guess it works."

"Not like we have anything better to do anyway," Sam noted. Maybe he should see if he could find a job in Jericho. He wasn't low on cash yet, but as long as they were staying, he might as well take advantage of the situation to get some extra together. "How long do you wanna stay here anyway?"

The way Dean's eyebrows shot up made him quickly add, "I mean, not that there's a rush or anything. I'd be happy to stay with you as long as you want, and I'm pretty sure Bill's not kicking us out anytime soon. But I would've thought you'd be more eager to get home."

For a while Dean seemed to just think about it, and Sam patiently watched him, furrowed brow and eyes cast downwards. He didn't even look up when he eventually answered. "Honestly? I don't know what to do. I can't just... go back and move on, pretending like nothing ever happened. Besides, there isn't really anything left for me in L.A. other than my stuff. Everyone I knew is gone. I probably had more friends while I was stuck in those cages than in the months before that. And I can't be alone right now, Sam."

It was hard to tell, but Sam was pretty sure there were tears welling up in his eyes as he spoke those last sentences. "Hey," he softly said, turning to Dean and raising their still intertwined hands. His other moved up to close around them, capturing Dean's in a cocoon of warmth. "You're not alone. You got yourself three new friends just yesterday. And they're really great ones too if I might add."

The corner of Dean's mouth twitched just the slightest bit at the joke, which was all Sam had wanted. "I'm not going anywhere," he continued in a more serious voice. "I'll stay in Jericho as long as you want. And when you're ready to go back to L.A., I could even come with you. Just say the word and we'll go together."

"You'd do that?" Dean hesitantly asked, looking up ever so slightly.

Sam shrugged. "Of course. I was heading there anyway, after all. You wouldn't even have to get a plane ticket."

Dean remained silent for a couple of seconds as he finally met Sam's eyes. Then he just said, "Thank you."

"I told you to stop doing that," Sam teased him. After a final squeeze, he dropped their hands to their sides again. "Come on, let's try and find our way back home. It would be embarrassing if we had to tell Bill we got lost after only being awake for what, two hours?"

Chapter Text

If Bill's sandwiches said anything about his cooking in general, then Sam was glad he had been paired up with the deputy after all. He could barely focus on the adventures that he was telling Dean about over lunch, and when they were done, he was already wondering what they would have for dinner.

They were just putting their plates into the dishwasher when Bill came home. Sam looked up to see him walk into the kitchen, and once again he had to take a moment to appreciate that uniform of his. He really wanted to have sex with that uniform. Last time didn't really count since he had been facing the hood of the car.

"Hi, honey. How was work?" he joked instead.

Bill raised a questioning eyebrow as he leaned against the fridge, but Dean was smiling a little at his other side.

With a slight shake of his head, Bill answered, "It was a quiet day, luckily." He moved to grab a glass and pour himself a soda. "What have you guys been up to this morning?"

"Not much," Sam said with a shrug. "Eating, took a walk around the block, just kinda hung out."

"I was gonna go to Gracie's for groceries but then I figured maybe you wanted to come along and see what you like," Bill continued.

Sam looked over to Dean for a response. After a moment of hesitation, the other man nodded. "Yeah, I'll come."

"All right then," Bill said. "In that case, I'm gonna get changed, and we'll leave in fifteen minutes."

The idea of driving somewhere suddenly reminded Sam of his own car. He really should find out when he could go get her back from Emily's place, wherever that was. It would make it a lot easier for him and Dean to get around town and actually do something when Bill wasn't home.

Speaking of the alpha, when he came back downstairs, Sam realized that this was the first time he had actually seen Bill in his regular clothes, and it turned out that it wasn't just the uniform that made him look hot. If he was staring for a second, no one could blame him since that dark green T-shirt framed Bill's shoulders way too well. Not to mention those arms...

Okay, Sam, pull yourself together before you get a boner in the kitchen.

"Ready to go?" Bill asked as he went to put his shoes back on.

"Yep," Sam was quick to say, following his lead.

The three of them got into Bill's car, with Sam and Dean in the back as usual. They ended up in the street with the town hall again, but of course by the time Sam realized, he didn't have a clue how they had gotten there. Bill pulled up in front of a building with the sign 'Gracie Leigh's Supermarket' above the door.

It was a fairly small store, especially compared to all the Walmarts that Sam usually stopped at when they were on the road. Of course the real question was how big their collection of Oreo flavors would be.

"So I've got a little list of things I need," Bill started, "but, Dean, you're gonna have to help me with what you want to eat because Google only confused me more."

Dean quickly looked up. "Oh. Yeah, okay." His eyes roamed over what they could see of the store, but it didn't seem to clear anything up. "Uhm..."

"We could just go around and scream if we see anything vegetarian, and in the meantime, you go get the rest," Sam suggested to Bill. He had very little hope that this place would have everything Dean usually ate at home, so there was no point in starting a search for it.

"All right," Bill sighed. "Divide and conquer it is."

The dividing part was easy; Bill set out with the cart while Sam and Dean strolled through the aisles, looking out for... well, vegetables, as far as Sam knew. It was finding and conquering that was a different matter. Maybe precisely because he didn't know what to keep an eye out for. Dean eventually led him to the freezers to look for meat replacements since they couldn't find any fresh ones (which Sam didn't know was a thing until then).

After a whole lot of rummaging, he came across a package that got his attention. "Oh, I think I found one!" he called out excitedly, holding up a box with something that resembled chicken burgers on it.

While Dean came over and took the box from him, he dove back into the freezer. If there was one, there had to be more...

"Yeah, these look good," Dean agreed.

Sam grabbed another one. "What about these?"

"That's tofu," the other man said after a quick look. "I think I'll pass for now."

"What's wrong with tofu?" Sam asked curiously. People on TV seemed to eat it.

Dean gave him a little smile. "If you have to ask, you obviously never tasted it."

"Hey, look at you making jokes. These?" He held out a box with stuff that looked like regular burgers.

Nodding in approval, Dean took it from him.

"Good, 'cause that's it," Sam said, shutting the freezer again. "Please tell me you don't survive on just that."

"Well, there's admittedly more different ones in the stores at home," Dean noted, "but I usually change it up with other stuff anyway."

Sam made a face. "More vegetables?"

It was nice to see the omega smile a bit at his reaction. "Sometimes, yeah. Or more potatoes. More eggs. Chickpeas, corn, some grains."

He was just about to point out that that was weird when a familiar voice behind him said, "Well, we definitely got plenty of corn in this town."

He turned to see Bill leaning on the cart, which now carried a variety of foods. "You found something?"

"Yup, for now at least," Sam announced as Dean put the two boxes in the cart.

"Good enough for today," Bill agreed, before eyeing Dean. "Do you have any, I don't know, recipes or requests to make?"

Dean hesitantly shrugged. "I'm not much of a cook to be honest. I know how to do basic stuff, but no recipes or anything."

"Hey, you made great eggs this morning," Sam pointed out.

Bill raised an eyebrow at him. "What, you couldn't even make your own eggs?"

"I just don't have a lot of experience!" he tried to defend himself, but the other man was already shaking his head as he led them further through the store.

After having been refused a variety of snacks, Sam agreed to just coming back in a couple of days, when Bill had a better idea of what to make them. He shot a final longing look at all of the flavors of chips and reluctantly followed the alpha to the checkout. There was an older beta woman behind the counter who smiled at Bill when she spotted him.

"Hi there, Bill," she greeted while he started unloading the cart. Then her gaze shifted to Sam and Dean. "Who are your friends?"

"Hey, Gracie. Sam and Dean here are staying at my place for a while," Bill told her.

While she scanned their groceries, Gracie gave him an inquiring look. "So I heard you boys had a pretty big hit yesterday. Something to do with omegas?"

Sam saw Dean freeze in place and pale a little out of the corner of his eye. He immediately decided that if this woman was going to keep pushing, he would just add Dean to his group of friends in his version of the story. The last thing he wanted was for nosy locals to try to get the dirt on what exactly had happened. And Bill had better not have a problem with that.

"Really? Who'd you hear that from?" Bill asked without looking up from his stuff.

"Oh, you know what it's like, people come in telling all kinds of stories," Gracie said. "Couldn't help overhearing Connor talk to one of his friends about all the patrolling you did two days ago. Must have been really important."

"Important enough for me to kick Connor's ass for going around and telling everyone," Bill answered, but he did it with such a charming smile that it was impossible to take offense at it. "Anyway, how's things down here? Everything still nice and quiet?"

Gracie slowly shook her head as she looked at him. "Don't think I don't know what you're doing. But since you're asking, it's mostly business as usual. A couple of difficult teenagers come by every so often and I've had some of that scum of Jonah walk in the other day, but nothing I can't handle."

Bill hummed in agreement. "Just let me know if they're causing any trouble for you. We're right down the street and would be happy to help."

"That's very sweet of you, Bill. See, don't tell your colleagues, but that's why you're my favorite," the woman told him with a smile, and Bill laughed.

"Don't worry, I'll keep that between us. Don't want to have to deal with their jealous asses," he answered, then held up his credit card. "How much do I owe you?"

She put the last of their groceries in another bag, and Dean took a couple of them while Bill paid. Sam guessed he should probably follow his example and picked up two as well. After a quick goodbye to Gracie, the three of them finally left the store.

"Well, that lady was definitely something," Sam commented.

"Look who's talking," Bill huffed, then shook his head. "She's a good person. You just gotta know how to talk to her. And don't ever tell her anything personal."

"Good to know."

When they got home, Bill started putting away all the food, and Sam wondered to himself if there would be anything on TV at this hour of the day. He was just about to ask Dean if they should go to the living room and find out when the omega turned to him first.

"Hey, I was wondering if I could maybe borrow your phone?" he asked Sam. "I should probably start calling those numbers April gave me. And my bank at home."

"Sure, go ahead," Sam said, pulling it out of his pocket and handing it over. "Code's 8008."

Dean gave him a very questioning look. "Seriously?"

"What, I've been using it for years," Sam argued with a grin.

That earned him a smile. "Thanks. I'll be upstairs," Dean told him before leaving the room.

Which left him with Bill. "So what are we having for dinner?"

"I was thinking chicken-fried steak, mashed potatoes and mushrooms," the alpha answered, opening a cupboard to put a box of rice in. "Sticking to the basics until I figure out how to make a decent vegetarian lasagna."

Great, now he wanted lasagna. "Hey, I was wondering, can we go pick up my car?"

"Right," Bill nodded. "Jake offered this morning to take her to the garage for you, so I told him I'd ask. Though I'd understand if you'd rather do it yourself."

"That's nice of him," Sam said, trying to decide what he wanted to do. How much of a hassle would it be to go find a good mechanic and take her himself?

"If you want, I could come with you," Bill added, as if he had read Sam's mind.

The beta would be lying if he said he wasn't a bit relieved. "Oh, that would be great," he quickly agreed. "Thanks."

Bill shrugged. "Sure. We can leave when I'm done with this if that's okay."

"All right." Sam motioned in the direction of the stairs. "I'll go let Dean know."

The door to the guest room was closed, so he knocked before sticking his head in. Dean's eyes darted to his, and he told the person he was on the phone with to hold on for a second.

"Me and Bill are gonna pick up my car and drive her to a mechanic," Sam explained.

"You're leaving?" Dean asked, worry appearing on his face.

"We'll be right back, I promise," Sam tried to reassure him. "Bill's number's in my phone, so just call him if you need anything. And feel free to text Jamal and Frankie if you get bored."

Dean nodded, even though he didn't seem convinced, and Sam couldn't help but feel a little bad. "I'll see you in a bit," he said before leaving Dean to his calls again.

Downstairs, Bill had finished with his groceries. "Ready?"

Ten minutes later, Sam couldn't help but grin at the sight of his most beloved possession. She looked just as good as when he had left her in Emily's hands. Weird that that was only two days ago.

Bill went to ring the doorbell while he was walking around his car, and soon enough Emily appeared with his keys. Sam gave her a little wave but stayed where he was, further inspecting the convertible and trusting Bill to do the talking with his fellow Jericho residents.

It didn't take long for the alpha to join him though, holding out the keys. "Let's see if she'll start on her own or if she needs the cables again."

Sam immediately got in, put his hands on the steering wheel and took a moment to enjoy the familiar feeling. Then he turned the key. His first attempt was a fail, but he could tell she was trying. At the second one, after some rumbling, the engine roared to life after all.

"That's my girl," he muttered, then gestured to Bill to go ahead. On their drive here, they had agreed that the deputy would lead him to the best mechanic in town, some alpha named Ronny.

It felt a little strange though, sitting in his car alone, especially since he hadn't seen his friends yet today. A lot of people would probably say that it was weird how much time they spent together, but they were Sam's family, and over all the years of living together, he had gotten used to having them around. Too bad Bill didn't have a second guest room.

Ronny turned out to be a good guy. After complimenting Sam on his good taste in cars, he confirmed that something was wrong with the battery and told Sam it would be best to get a new one. Since he wouldn't know what else to do anyway, Sam agreed to let the man order it.

When Ronny went into his office to set up the paperwork, he turned to Bill. "Looks like you officially know more about cars than me."

He had been expecting the usual sarcastic remark, but instead Bill gave him a tentative look, like he was trying to figure something out. Sam didn't like it; made him feel like he was missing something.

"What?" he questioned.

Bill seemed to think about it for a moment before he asked, "How did you sleep last night?"

Oh, great. This was probably about Dean. Again. "Like a peach, why?"

"What about Dean?"

And there it was, jackpot. Sam didn't even know why he was surprised. He had basically been waiting for this conversation ever since Bill got home, realizing that it was only a matter of time before the deputy caught him alone.

"Look, I know what you think, but Dean wanted me to stay with him, all right?" he argued. "He came to me. And not that it's any of your business, but of course nothing happened. We just slept in the same bed is all."

When Bill's eyebrows shot up, Sam didn't know whether it was a good sign or not. Then the alpha just said, "Okay."

Sam looked at him for a long moment. "Okay?"

"Yeah, okay," Bill agreed. "What, did you think I wasn't going to believe you?"

Right, because that would have been the first time. Luckily, Ronny returned before Bill could confuse him any more.

It would take a few days to get the battery, but apart from that, it was an easy job. Sam gave the guy his phone number, and Ronny promised to call before the end of the week. After they finished up the last bits of administration, the mechanic and he shook hands on it, and then he left again with Bill.

When they got home, Dean was waiting for them in the living room. He seemed incredibly relieved to see Sam, who smiled at him in response before dropping down next to him on the couch.

"Got everything settled?" he asked when Dean handed him back his phone.

After a nod, the omega hesitantly looked at Bill, who sat down in the armchair. "Uhm... I was wondering, if it's no trouble, could you maybe... take me to the clinic tomorrow afternoon?"

Bill looked surprised for a second, but he quickly recovered. "Yeah, of course. What time?"

"Four?"

"Sure, that works. I've got a morning shift anyway," he agreed.

Dean briefly nodded again. "Thanks."

For a moment, Sam wondered if he should ask more about the appointment, or if that would be invading Dean's privacy. On second thought, the omega would probably tell him about it tomorrow anyway, so better to let it rest for now. Instead, he turned on the TV and settled in for an afternoon of watching Comedy Central, because he really didn't have anything better to do.

After following along for a short while, Bill announced that he had stuff around the house to get back to and left the room. At some point, Sam started texting his friends to tell them about the car.

"Hey, what do you think about asking the guys to come over tomorrow morning?" he asked Dean just as he was responding to Jamal calling him an idiot.

"Ehm... Sure," Dean said after a second. "Shouldn't you maybe ask Bill too?"

That was a good point, even if the deputy would be working anyway. "Bill!"

"What?" came the answer from somewhere around the laundry room.

"Can Jamal and Frankie come over tomorrow morning?!" Sam yelled back.

"Fine!"

"Well, there we go," he mumbled while sending them a message to suggest the idea. Dean was watching him with the slightest hint of amusement in his eyes, a look that Sam particularly liked on him.

It was a relief that for once, nothing eventful happened for the rest of the day. They had earned some time to relax. Besides, Bill's cheese-filled mushrooms excited Sam enough for the entire evening.

"These are so good," he repeated once more while chewing on the last one, eyes closed to enjoy the flavor. Perfection.

"You really are a great cook," Dean added, to Sam's surprise. It was probably the first thing he had heard Dean say to Bill that wasn't out of necessity.

Across from him, Bill smiled and put down his glass of water. "Thanks. My mom always said that if you're gonna wait till you meet someone who can cook well, you might as well use the time to learn yourself."

"Well, I'm not waiting to meet someone," Sam retorted. "I just don't care."

Bill raised an eyebrow at him. "I'll remember that for the next time I plan on making those mushrooms."

Sam's eyes grew big. "Okay, fine, I take it back. I do care, but I'm just lazy. Please forgive me?"

With a satisfied grin, Bill said, "All right. If you do the dishes."

"You have a dishwasher; don't push it, Koehler."

That got a laugh out of the alpha, and Sam was glad to see Dean smiling a little at his side. Despite their differences, it looked like maybe staying with Bill for a little while longer wouldn't be as bad as he had expected.

Chapter Text

The next morning wasn't very different. At Dean's request, Sam had stayed with him again during the night, and by the time they got up, Bill had already left for work, although his note this time said he'd be home by three.

Sam and Dean had barely finished their breakfast by the time the doorbell rang though. Eager to see his friends again, Sam jumped to let them in.

"Man, we gotta get the car back," Jamal announced once he opened the door. "Feels like I'm being dropped off for a play date."

"I know, my friend," Sam agreed while leading them into the house. "I felt like a five-year-old when I asked Bill if you guys could come over yesterday."

"This is a nice place," Frankie commented.

"Right? Can you believe he lives here by himself?"

"Hey, man," Jamal greeted Dean when he walked into the living room. "You two sure got yourselves a good place to stay at."

"Oh please, the farm is definitely bigger," Sam pointed out. "Then again, wait till you taste Bill's cooking," he added as they all took a seat. "That'll get you jealous all right."

Now he had Frankie's attention. "Is it better than Stanley's roasted chicken?"

"How should I know when I haven't tried that?" Sam questioned.

"All right, we're switching guest houses this weekend," Jamal decided. "Don't get me wrong, the Richmonds are great, but man, am I glad we passed puberty. And I'm gonna have to try the food here now."

Sam slowly started shaking his head. "Yeah, I don't think so, fellas." He quite liked it here, even if he was sure Stanley and his family were good people. Without doubt easier to get along with than Bill too.

Jamal gave him a disapproving look. "You know, I don't even remember why I thought you'd share with us."

"Think we can maybe come over for dinner sometime then?" Frankie tried instead.

"Oh, we should totally do that," Sam agreed excitedly. He already missed their dinners together, and with the addition of Dean, it could only get better. "And then Stanley can cook for us next time around."

"Hey, how long we gonna stay in this town anyway?" Jamal asked. "I mean, they're gonna kick us out at some point."

That thought admittedly hadn't crossed Sam's mind yet, so he shrugged. "I don't know. We'll just see what happens, I guess."

Frankie nodded. "Would be kinda nice to get comfortable again somewhere for a while."

"Well sure, but what about Vegas?" Jamal asked, but Sam was already dismissing the comment with a wave of his hand.

"Don't worry, we'll get there at some point," he assured his friend. "But hey, why not enjoy the Jericho hospitality while we can?"

With a sigh, Jamal agreed. Then he turned to Dean. "What about you? Gonna head back to L.A. with us?"

A hint of surprise in his eyes at suddenly being addressed, Dean replied, "I mean, I think that'd be nice, if you're all okay with that of course."

"Oh yeah, man," Frankie said. "You're part of the group now, like it or not."

"After the things we went through together? Like hell, we wouldn't want you to stay with us," Jamal added.

"You barely went through anything," Sam corrected him.

"You seriously think worrying about you isn't stressful?" Frankie commented.

"And then we're not even talking about the car yet."

Sam was too busy looking at Dean to come up with a clever remark. The omega was smiling a little, and for the first time there was something close to happiness in his eyes.

See? Sam wanted to tell him. We could be your home. What could he do to prove it?

"Truth be told, I wouldn't know what else to do either, so thank you," Dean admitted, pulling Sam out of his mind. For a moment, it seemed he was going to say something else, but then apparently decided against it, and Jamal and Frankie being the friends they were immediately filled the silence with more banter.

The four of them just talked until lunch time and played some card games again after that. Dean was good with those, so good that Frankie offered to teach him how to count cards sometime. As well as his friend knew the theory, he sucked at putting it into practice, so Sam thought that would actually be really convenient. He also liked how Dean didn't seem to have any problems with their ambiguous morals, but then he kind of already knew that from all the stories the omega hadn't even blinked at when they told them.

Around two, Mimi came to pick the guys up again.

"I'm telling you, we might just as well be toddlers," Jamal commented a last time before they left.

Sam watched them go with a smile. Maybe it was weird how much he had missed them after just a day, but he didn't know what to do without them.

"Come on," he motioned Dean back in once they were gone. Once he sat down on the couch, he remembered something. "Hey, what were you thinking about earlier? When the guys said you can come with us?"

Dean's gaze turned downwards before he came to sit next to Sam again and leaned his elbows on his legs. "It's just... I think I'm starting to realize that I don't even know what I'm doing here. I mean, I took all the steps, and it's- it's going great, really. I got everything in order, everyone is being so nice and helpful and understanding, and the psychiatrist even suggested meeting at the clinic considering the circumstances, but... it just... doesn't matter. Nothing's changed. And I- I don't know what to do about that."

"I don't know if there's anything you can do about it," Sam admitted. Maybe it wasn't the most encouraging response, but he sucked at this kind of conversation and he wasn't going to lie about it either. "You're right, you're already doing everything you can. Well, except for one thing maybe."

When Dean looked at him in surprise, Sam gave him a little smile. "Giving it time."

"I know," Dean sighed. "I guess it's just that, what happened, I... I hadn't expected that to ever be over. But then you got me out, and it was actually supposed to be, but it's just... not. Not really. So then, when will it be?"

"You know... I think it was over for a moment today," Sam told him in truth. "And I'm not a doctor, but I also think those moments will happen more often. Especially if it's up to me and the guys."

"Maybe."

He put a hand on Dean's shoulder to drag the omega's eyes back to him. "I'm in either way. I wanna help, so just tell me if there's anything I can do at all. You don't have to do this alone, you know."

Dean gave a little shrug. "You're already doing everything, Sam."

"I'm not making my own eggs," Sam pointed out, which earned him a half smile and encouraged him to hold his arm out for Dean. The other man scooted closer until he could lean against Sam's side.

It was peaceful, sitting there with Dean like that. Sam kept wanting to run his fingers through his soft hair, but he kept himself at bay. They were fine the way it was.

Unfortunately, when Bill came home, Dean sat up straight again, although he didn't move away. Sam felt like glaring at the deputy for ruining their moment, but it wouldn't be worth the risk of another argument. As much as he liked to push Bill's buttons from time to time, he was more than done with all the negativity on whatever he and Dean had going.

"Hey," Bill greeted them, eyebrows slightly raised. "Jamal and Frankie already left?"

"Yeah, they headed back to Stanley's a little while ago," Sam answered.

"All right, I'm gonna change."

He watched Bill go upstairs before he looked at Dean again. "So a psychiatrist, huh?"

"It just seemed like a good idea for processing everything, you know?" Dean said, and Sam nodded.

"Sure, that makes sense." Then on impulse he asked, "Do you want me to come with you? I mean, not that you have to, but I just thought I'd offer in case you think it'll help or something."

There was a grateful look in Dean's eyes as he smiled at Sam. "That's really sweet, and thank you, but I think I need to do this on my own. Especially the first one. But maybe later?"

"Of course," Sam assured him.

After Bill had done some cleaning up in the kitchen, they were all ready to go, and the alpha drove them back to the medical center. Dean was staring at the building as they parked, which made Sam wonder if he was also thinking back to the one other time they arrived there.

"You ready?" he asked.

Dean took a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, I'll be okay."

"Here," Sam said, pulling his phone out of his pocket and handing it over. "In case you need anything."

"Thank you." With a final smile, Dean stepped out of the car and walked up to the building. As Sam watched him, he could feel a knot tightening in his stomach. It didn't feel right to let Dean leave.

Before he could dwell on it any longer, Bill drove off, and Sam realized he was going to need a distraction. Maybe there would be a good football game on TV for him and Bill to watch, or something like that. There had to be something stronger than beer in the alpha's house, right?

"He'll be okay."

Sam's eyes met Bill's in the rearview mirror. "I know," he sighed. "Just wish I could do more is all."

He didn't get a reply to that, and when they got to Bill's place, Sam wished his friends had stayed longer. Or that he had his car so he could go somewhere.

"Hey, do you wanna hang out until we gotta pick Dean up again?" he suggested as they walked up the porch.

Bill frowned, never a good sign. "I was thinking about vacuuming before I have to start dinner actually."

A very inappropriate picture of Bill dressed up as a maid appeared before Sam's mind's eye. He quickly pushed the thought away, but it did make him think about their little car adventure again. He wondered if Bill ever thought back to that, or about the possibility of a sequel. Probably not. But hey, at least their relationship had improved since then. And this way he knew there definitely weren't any strings attached. It had just been sex.

Right?

"Look, I just realized we never really talked about what happened-" How many days had it even been by now? "- between us, on the side of the road that day. That was just a casual thing, right?"

Raising an eyebrow, Bill threw him a questioning look. "Did me saying that I don't have time to hang out just somehow make you think that I was expecting anything more from an impulsive hook-up?"

Sam had to think about how to answer that for a moment. "No," was definitely a good start. "I guess I just wanted to make sure we're on the same page and you weren't thinking anything crazy or something."

"Oh yeah, don't worry about it," Bill huffed. He walked into the kitchen as he continued, "Trust me, I never would've had sex with you if it weren't for that fight."

Wow. Okay then. Thanks, Bill. Now it was Sam's turn to raise his eyebrows. "Oh, really?"

Bill came back to lean against the doorway and gave a shrug. "I mean, no offense, but let's face it, you and I are pretty different people."

"And?" Sam questioned, genuinely confused about why that was relevant to the laws of sexual attraction.

"What, I'm just saying that I usually wouldn't go for someone like you," Bill defended himself. "It was just the heat of the moment."

Yeah, Sam didn't buy that for a second. Nobody just slept without anyone because they were having a tantrum. "So you're saying that all of that only happened because we were fighting and you don't think I'm attractive at all."

"Well, I'm sorry, but yeah," Bill simply answered.

"So if I took off my clothes right now, you wouldn't find anything attractive about it?"

"What, no!" he said indignantly.

With a shrug, Sam started unbuttoning his shirt. "All right, then you won't mind if I do."

There immediately appeared an expression of shock on Bill's face. "Sam."

"What, if you don't find me attractive, surely this doesn't bother you," Sam casually replied, continuing with his buttons.

Bill didn't look like it didn't bother him, which amused Sam greatly. "Sam, stop it."

"Come on, don't be ridiculous, nothing you haven't seen yet." He just got to the last button when he realized something. "Oh wait, actually you really haven't seen this part yet. Sorry." And with that, he moved on to his pants and pushed them down, along with his underwear. "There, that's better."

"Jesus Christ, Sam, put your pants back on!"

"Why?" Sam smiled. "Is my unattractive body tempting you?"

For a long moment, Bill just stood there, jaw clenched, eyes uncomfortably avoiding Sam. Then he sighed.

This time when Bill came at him, Sam knew exactly what was going to happen next.

One of the alpha's hands found its way to the back of his head to pull him in and the other wrapped around his waist as their lips met. The action was just as demanding as last time, and it was all Sam needed to throw his arms around Bill's neck and lose himself in the sensation of their bodies touching. He opened his mouth to get a better taste, groaning when Bill's hand moved down, underneath his unbuttoned shirt, and set his skin on fire. Sam ran his fingers up through the other man's soft hair as he allowed Bill to press them together until all he felt was the fabric slightly rubbing against his naked body.

Eyes closed, he got carried away in the kisses, the touches, the way Bill would scrape his teeth over his bottom lip and let his hands slide over Sam's bare back and sides. They were both getting hard, and he loved this endless exploring, but at the same time he wanted more, faster, to feel the alpha inside him again and fuck him senseless.

"Bill," he breathed out, or maybe he was even just thinking it; who the hell knew?

When those strong hands moved up his sides to his shoulders, a shiver ran down his spine, and Sam intuitively lowered his arms for a moment to let Bill push off his shirt, all without breaking the kiss. He was completely naked now, and it didn't seem fair that Bill was still fully dressed when all he wanted was to run his hands over the chest he had only gotten to admire through a T-shirt so far. Maybe he would have moved on to the other man's clothes if he'd had the chance, but as it was, Bill dropped one of his hands in between them and stroked Sam's cock, making him gasp for air instead.

Oh god, that felt good. So much better than when he had to handle himself. He cupped the man's cheeks to kiss him even harder, wanting to drown in that scent of oats and a spark of lemon that he was very much starting to associate with sex.

He rocked his hips forward to get some friction and grabbed Bill's collar. "Take this off?" he mumbled through kisses.

One more deep kiss, and then Bill let go of him and took a step back, which was absolutely not what Sam had wanted. He opened his mouth to object but was lost for words when he noticed the way Bill's eyes were roaming over his body. Being watched like that, the complete exposure was much more arousing than he would have expected.

"Wait here," Bill told him, seemingly having some problems with speaking too. He palmed himself through his pants as he looked Sam over a last time before leaving the room to go upstairs.

Fuck. Suppressing a sigh, Sam stroked his cock while he waited for Bill to hopefully soon return. He'd better be getting lube. And a condom. Something fun to play with would probably be too much to ask for, but the thought did keep Sam hard.

When Bill did come running back in, he had a look of determination in his eyes that could have made Sam drop to his knees if asked. With the bottle of lube and condom in one hand, he only had his left to pull Sam in for another kiss. The beta forgot how to breathe in a matter of seconds.

His hands returned to Bill's neck, his fingers searching their way into the T-shirt's collar in an attempt to get more of a feel of the other man's warm skin. His cock was begging for more attention, but it wasn't his own touch Sam wanted.

"Get that... lube... out of... the way," he managed in between being devoured and trying to catch his breath.

"Yeah," Bill agreed in a shaky voice. He shoved the condom in his back pocket and opened the bottle.

Sam took it from him. "I got it. Prefer you up front."

He didn't need to ask twice; Bill immediately gripped his cock firm enough to draw a moan from him. In response, Sam attacked his lips again, which were now beautifully swollen. He coated his fingers in a luxurious amount of lube and finally tossed the bottle to the side. When he pushed his fingers past his entrance, he was so glad for Bill's slow strokes.

"Shirt. Off. Now," he demanded, to which Bill replied with a squeeze that made Sam hiss.

The alpha did let go of him to pull his shirt over his head though, revealing a gorgeous, muscular chest that Sam felt a need to explore with his mouth. Since they were already kissing again, he settled for running his free hand over it, teasing a nipple, down his side, to his shoulder blade, only to settle at his lower back and poke a few fingers into his waistband. Unable to restrain himself, Sam slipped one down Bill's butt crack with a cheeky grin.

"Do you enjoy pissing me off or something?" the other man grumbled.

Just to challenge him a little more, Sam pushed his hand further in and pinched his ass. "Oh yeah." Of course he knew that was the wrong answer, but that was what made it fun.

"Arrogant dick." Bill once more took his hand off of Sam's cock, which he probably deserved, but luckily used it to pull his pants off instead.

From the second all the clothes were finally gone, they were all over each other again and stumbling towards the couch while Sam tried to decide on where to leave his hands. Anywhere on Bill's hot, smooth skin was fine really.

He landed on the armrest and toppled back, pulling the alpha along with him. Bill tried to shuffle into a more comfortable position, and Sam had to move his leg up to the back cushion. It was a miracle they didn't pull a muscle or fall off the couch.

Sam went back to stroking himself since Bill was busy keeping his balance and putting the condom on. Then he spread Sam's legs apart and finally pushed in. The beta let out a moan and arched his back in response. Bill filled him up so goddamn well. His lips were kissing down Sam's neck now, taking advantage of the position. He started to move, slower than the other time at first but quickly picking up the pace. Each thrust had Sam gasping for air, and he wanted to taste Bill again. Capturing the man's lips was messy, since they kept trailing off. As Bill pounded into him harder each time, Sam clawed at his shoulder blade and drew a growl out of him. When Bill licked the sensitive spot of his scent gland, he knew he wasn't going to last much longer.

"God, Bill, please!"

It was all the encouragement the alpha needed. He sped up relentlessly. Sam's hand on his cock barely managed to keep up with the rough rhythm. That and the way Bill kept hitting his prostate every so often was driving him absolutely crazy.

Bill was the one to come first this time. And really, it was the sound he made, his eyes closed, the thin layer of sweat on his skin and his heavy breathing that pulled Sam over the edge with a few final tugs. It wasn't fair how gorgeous the other man looked when he fell apart. As they both came down from their high and Bill pulled out, Sam couldn't help but trace his fingers along his jawline. He was a little surprised to see him lean into the touch a bit, but it was nice. With a hum, Bill collapsed on top of him.

"Fuck."

Sam snorted, his cum sticky between their abdomens. "Again already?"

"You're hilarious," Bill grumbled without lifting his head.

"Wouldn't hear me complain. And I don't think you would either," Sam teased him a little more. "Still think I'm not attractive?"

With a sigh, Bill leaned on his elbows to look down on him. "You were standing in my living room naked."

"And what, one dick in sight and you can't say no? Please." Sam playfully pushed his shoulder. "Come on, man, just admit that that was fun."

"I never said it wasn't."

It was a pretty weak confession but he'd take it. "Fun enough to be up for repetition?"

Bill raised an eyebrow at that. "Seriously?"

"What, why not?" Sam objected. "This was, well, great, and it's basically the only time you don't get in my hair-"

"I get in your hair?"

"My point is we're enjoying ourselves, right? So why wouldn't we leave the door open to doing it a bit more often?"

From the expression on his face, Sam could tell Bill wasn't convinced yet. "You've been telling me from the moment we met that you like Dean."

Sam rolled his eyes. "And?"

"You'd think that being interested in someone would keep you from getting it on with someone else," Bill stated dryly.

Why did they always end up with this type of conversations? "Sex and a relationship are two very different things. Don't look at me like that," he quickly added when Bill's expression turned to one of disbelief. "Even you can't deny that we've obviously had sex without a relationship twice now, and I can't imagine Dean being ready for it anytime soon. Which isn't even relevant because me and him aren't together in the first place."

Bill was still frowning. "An accidental hook-up is pretty different from agreeing to have sex with someone whenever you like."

"Only because you can't call it a one-night-stand anymore. Would be more like friends with benefits."

"Sounds like a relationship to me," Bill retorted.

A cheeky grin appeared on Sam's face. "What? Are you afraid you'll fall in love with me?"

"Not a chance."

He winced. "Always straight to my feelings."

"So you're really telling me that you wouldn't feel bad about sleeping with me when you actually want to be with Dean?" Bill questioned. The look on his face almost made Sam think that he would feel bad.

"No," he truthfully answered. "I'm not cheating on him. I never would."

For a moment, Bill seemed to think about it. "Are you going to tell him?"

Sam made a face. "Now, that sounds like it would make things awkward. Besides, he's got enough on his mind already."

"But if the two of you were to get together-"

"Then I'd immediately tell him," he completed the sentence. "Jesus, of course I would."

"And then we'd stop doing whatever we're doing," Bill went on.

"Yes." If he wants us to. But God forbid he said that out loud.

The alpha slowly started to nod. "Well, I guess we could leave the option open then."

"Good, because I'm nowhere near done with that cock of yours."

Bill laughed at that, but unfortunately he sobered up when he looked at his watch. "Great. Looks like I'm replacing vacuuming with a shower."

"We do need a shower," Sam agreed. "But hooray for not spilling anything onto the couch."

From the look on his face, Sam gathered that Bill hadn't thought about where exactly they were anymore. "Still, I don't think I'll ever look at it the same again."

Sam hummed in agreement. "We're probably lucky no one decided to walk through the front door."

It was very obvious that Bill didn't want to think about that, and Sam laughed at the sight. Then the deputy got up and headed for the stairs. "I'm gonna shower."

"Want me to join you?" Sam joked.

"No."

Oh well... Couldn't have it all.

Chapter Text

After Bill's many complaints about losing time, he agreed to lend Sam his car while he cleaned the house and started cooking. He was a lot more reluctant to also give up his phone, but they both knew that Sam probably wouldn't make it home again without Google Maps.

So, after a quick but very necessary shower, the beta had rushed to the medical center. He even managed to get there a few minutes early and was now leaning against the car door while he waited for Dean. His little adventure with Bill might have distracted him for a while, but now that he was here again, Sam had to try his best not to worry about how Dean's session might have gone. He hated worrying. It made him think of things he would much rather forget.

The doors slid open, and Dean walked out. Sam thought he looked okay, considering. Not particularly good, but not bad either. (Well, he always looked good, great even, just not, you know- ah, words.) Then again, with Dean it was sometimes hard to tell how he felt at all.

"Hey," Sam greeted him as he approached, with a careful smile.

Dean stopped in front of him. He didn't smile back, or answer; his eyes just darted back and forth between Sam and literally everything else, like he was still trying to make up his mind about something.

For a hot second, Sam opened his mouth to say something, but he immediately stopped himself. He was learning when to shut up, and this felt like a good time. He did stand up straight though, waiting for whatever Dean was going to say.

He didn't say anything. He just put a step closer, hesitated, and then bridged the distance between them to wrap his arms around Sam.

Something inside of Sam crumbled as he hugged Dean back and felt the omega relax against him. He didn't know if it was good or bad, only that he was completely gone on the man that was holding him. Which wasn't helpful at all.

After a couple of seconds, Dean let go again. He offered Sam the tiniest of smiles before his eyes turned downwards.

"How was it?" Sam asked, not quite knowing what to expect now.

"Not terrible," Dean said. "I think she was going easy on me for now."

That was definitely a relief. Sam walked around the car to the driver's seat. "Well, you deserved some going easy."

With a huff, Dean got in too. Then he frowned. "Where's Bill?"

"Household stuff," Sam answered as he started driving home. "But look, he actually trusted me enough to let me borrow his car. I call that progress."

He didn't get a response to that, so he came up with something else. "You know what we should do? Go out for a night."

Dean threw him a skeptical glance. "Go out?"

"Yeah," he said, and shrugged. "You, me, maybe the guys or Bill. Just go to a bar sometime."

From the corner of his eye, Sam could see Dean nod a little. "Yeah, maybe."

Okay, maybe it was time for him to shut up again... He turned up the radio to listen to that instead.

When they came home, Bill was vacuuming. He stopped for a moment when they entered, though.

"Hey," he greeted Dean. "How did it go?"

"It was okay," the omega said, shrugging.

Bill gave him a smile and a nod. "Glad to hear it."

Before an awkward silence could ensue, Sam was already on his way to the couch to watch some TV. Dean followed two steps behind him, and they tuned in to a comedy show. At a certain point Dean asked if he could borrow Bill's computer to do some official stuff while they watched. They had made their way through a couple of episodes by the time Sam smelled food.

"What's for dinner?" he called in the general direction of the kitchen.

Almost immediately, Bill appeared in the doorway. "Lasagna," he answered, then checked his watch. "Shouldn't take too long anymore, so feel free to start setting the table."

Well played, Koehler. With an ostentatious sigh, he got up and went to grab the plates. He couldn't help stopping in front of the oven to admire the lasagna for a second though. The cheese was already starting to get a nice golden color, and Sam suddenly felt very hungry.

"Wait, did you make this without meat?" he asked when it dawned on him that there was only one dish.

"Actually, it seemed stupid to make two and then have a ton of leftovers, so I did two thirds with meat and put eggplant and zucchini in the other part instead," Bill explained as he came to stand next to Sam, looking rather proud of himself. "And I even put a wall of pasta in between so that they can't mix."

"Smart," Sam pointed out, inspecting the dish further. "Where is it?"

"Oh, it's on the inside. You can't see it like this."

"Then how do you know where to cut?" he asked.

He looked at Bill, who all of a sudden seemed a lot less pleased. They stared at each other for a moment, as if one of them might suddenly have an answer, but ended up just turning around to see Dean watching them with the tiniest hint of amusement in his eyes.

"I'll make it work," Bill grumbled, and he walked over to the cutlery drawer.

Sam snorted but went ignored, of course.

Eventually they only found the wall after a lot of probing and Sam taking bites out of random places until he came across a piece of zucchini. Despite the number of times Bill had slapped his hand away whenever his fork approached the food again, he was grateful for the whole situation. Their messing around kept the mood light, which seemed to do Dean some good. He still stayed quiet for the most part, but at least he was smiling a little.

Afterwards Sam thought he'd continue the vibe by suggesting they watch a good rom-com or something else that was ridiculous enough to be funny, but Bill made a face at the idea. Of course Mr. Cop wanted something with more action than that, and Sam rolled his eyes in turn. He could appreciate a little action just fine, but it wasn't exactly relaxing-TV-night material.

When it seemed like they were never going to work it out by themselves, he desperately turned to Dean. "What kind of things do you usually like to watch?"

Dean looked back and forth between the two of them. "Maybe something with a bit of a plot?"

"Ouch," Sam commented, and Bill laughed.

"Okay, I think I've got an idea," Sam said, grabbing the remote. He pointed it at Bill. "It's sort of a cop show," he started before looking at Dean, "with an original and interesting overarching plot," and then his finger turned to himself, "and a great sense of humor. Sound good?"

"Yeah, all right," Dean agreed.

Bill gestured towards the screen. "Fine. Go ahead."

Satisfied, Sam searched Netflix for the show Lucifer. He had already seen it, but it was so good he could easily watch it again.

"Is that seriously a show about the devil?" Bill questioned.

"Hey, if your religious ass can't handle it..."

He got a glare for that. "Who even says I'm religious?"

Sam raised his eyebrows. "If you're not religious, I will literally eat all of my toes, right here, right now."

"Just start the damn show."

It turned out to be a good choice; they binged episodes until Bill insisted he had to go to bed if he wanted to be able to get up at a decent hour. He made Sam swear not to continue without him, no matter how much longer they were going to stay up.

"What do you think?" Sam asked after he had left. "Wanna watch something else or turn in too?"

Dean shrugged. "Either way is all right with me. Although nothing is probably gonna top this."

Humming in agreement, Sam turned off the TV. He didn't exactly feel tired yet, but he was pretty much always up for sleeping.

Since Dean got the bathroom first, he was already sitting on the bed when Sam walked back into their room.

"Hey, can we talk about something for a second?" he asked, a bit of an anxious look in his eyes.

"Sure," Sam immediately said, flopping down on the bed and trying not to show the worry that shot through him. "I'm listening."

With a decisive nod, Dean lay down as well, although he kept his gaze fixed on the ceiling. "Uhm... So Dr. Gilbert suggested that I kinda discuss boundaries with the people that I'm close to."

Sam's brain immediately skedaddled off to inappropriate places, and he mentally slapped himself in the face. "Okay."

"Just so, you know, nothing happens that accidentally, well, triggers anything, I guess. Not that you've done anything like that," Dean hastily added, squeezing his eyes shut as he seemed to become more uncomfortable with every passing word. "On the contrary, you've been really great. It's just to make sure, so that neither of us has to worry about doing something like that."

"Right," Sam said while he tried to remember all of their interactions to determine if he had ever done anything without checking if it was okay. He was the most insensitive and impulsive person he knew, so there was bound to be something. God, why didn't he think of this sooner?

"And since you're basically the only one who I'm even comfortable touching at the moment..." Dean finally looked at him. "I thought maybe we could start?"

Shoving his insecurities aside, Sam told himself to focus. "Yeah, of course."

"All right," the other man agreed, and he looked determinedly at the ceiling again. "So... Like I said, everything we did up till now is fine. Hugging and sharing a bed, that's- I really appreciate you doing that. So aside from that..." He sighed. "Well, you know, nothing below the waist obviously."

"Obviously," Sam quickly confirmed.

Dean was blushing now, which was both absolutely adorable and really not helping with any awkwardness. "And uhm, as for all the rest, whatever you do, just... don't do it from behind?"

A joke about spooning was already on the tip of his tongue when Sam put two and two together and realized what he was saying and why. Even if he had never gotten the details of exactly what the traffickers had done to Dean, it wasn't hard to imagine. He hadn't really thought about the consequences of that until now, to be honest. The idea that Dean was probably constantly doing that, worrying that someone might touch him in the wrong place because of what those people had done to him... It was like someone had taken Sam's heart out and replaced it with a brick.

"O-Okay," he softly promised.

When Dean visibly relaxed at that and nodded, Sam lifted his arm to make room for him. He was glad that the omega immediately scooted over to lie against his side. It made Sam feel like he was protecting him at least a little bit while they slept, and he guessed that was the best that he could do.

"Thank you."

"Anytime," Sam answered truthfully.

~~~

The next morning, there was a letter for Dean waiting on the kitchen table. Apparently his bank had sent him a new credit card with the highest priority, which immediately gave Sam an idea on how to spend their day.

"Now we can go shopping!"

Dean smiled only a little. "You really wanna go shopping?"

"Sure," Sam shrugged. "Get you some new clothes, see a little more of the town... Could be fun, right?"

After a few seconds, Dean nodded. "Yeah, I guess I do need some clothes of my own."

And now Sam was questioning his own wording. "I mean, not that you're not more than welcome to keep borrowing my stuff. But there's not much else to do in this place anyway."

"True," Dean simply agreed.

This time they ended up using Sam's phone to find their way around town. It was quite a walk to the center, but once they got there, Sam still had plenty of energy left to drag Dean from one store to another.

It turned out that they actually differed quite a bit in style. Dean seemed to prefer more basic, neutral pieces and avoid most bright colors while Sam tended to drift to things that just had that little extra. It meant that he quickly gave up on making suggestions, but he did insist on Dean showing off everything he tried on, if only for the fact that he seemed to feel a tiny bit better at every compliment Sam gave him.

When noon approached, Sam suggested they find a diner to eat something, but Dean didn't seem that convinced.

"If you don't mind, would it be okay if we maybe just grabbed a sandwich somewhere and found a place outside to eat?" he hesitantly asked.

"Yeah, of course," Sam agreed. It really didn't matter all that much to him. "Not feeling up for other people?"

With a shrug, Dean explained, "I could just do without all the questions for a bit, you know?"

Sam nodded. Some of the shopkeepers had tried to chat with them a little. Even though he had averted too many questions by saying that they were just staying with a friend for a while, he had been able to tell it made Dean uneasy.

So they got sandwiches and picked a bench to sit on while they ate. Afterwards, they also went to get shoes, a wallet and a phone. By the time they were done, both of them were loaded with bags, and Sam honestly had some doubts about whether he would make it back to Bill's place. In the end, they managed, but it took them even longer than in the morning.

When they finally got home, he immediately dropped the bags and went to sit on the couch. Oh, his poor feet. And hands. And everything in between.

Dean sat with him for a while until Sam felt like he could get up again and suggested they go put Dean's things upstairs. The question was where, though. His bag was hardly big enough for his own stuff.

He opened the closet in their room. "We can each take half," he suggested.

"Shouldn't we ask Bill if we can use it first?" Dean questioned.

Sam shrugged. "We can ask him later. We just use it for our clothes, it's not like we're taking a dump in it."

Judging by the look on Dean's face, he didn't have an answer to that.

While they unpacked their things, Sam came across the jacket that he had worn when he met Dean.

"Here," he said, handing it to the omega.

Dean looked at him in confusion. "Isn't that Jamal's?"

"He has too many clothes anyway," Sam answered. "It's yours. If you want it, of course."

After a second of hesitation, Dean took it and ran his fingers over the fabric. "Thank you."

With a grin, Sam corrected him. "Thank Jamal. After I've told him what for."

They were almost done when Bill came home, and Sam pointed out that they should probably go downstairs. He didn't want the deputy to start thinking anything crazy again.

"Oh, there you are," Bill said as they walked into the living room.

"We went shopping," Sam told him. "So I thought we'd take advantage of the closet in the guest room while we're staying here."

Bill's eyebrows shot up. "Okay..."

"Bill?" Dean suddenly asked. "I just wanted to say... Now that I've got a credit card, I'll pay you back for everything, all right? And I can find us another place to stay at, a hotel or something."

Once Bill seemed to get over his surprise, he offered Dean a kind smile. "No, don't worry about that. I really appreciate it but I've been more than happy to help, and you can stay here as long as you want."

"Thanks, but I really can't let you keep paying for everything," Dean retorted.

"From now on I'll let you tip in for the groceries, how about that?" Bill sighed, but still with that fond look.

Dean slowly nodded. "Yeah, okay."

Sam wondered if this was the moment when he was supposed to offer to contribute to his stay too. If he had a lot of money, he might have.

"Well, I'm gonna get changed," Bill luckily announced.

As he went upstairs, Sam and Dean retreated to their usual spot on the couch. The omega took out his new phone to properly set it up.

"It sounds stupid compared to everything else, but I kinda wish I could have saved my contacts, you know?" he pointed out as he unlocked it. "I just never saw the point of backing them up because I was convinced I wouldn't lose my phone anyway."

Sam gestured for the device. "C'mon, I'll make it a little less empty."

When Dean handed it over, Sam grabbed his own phone and started looking up numbers. "Here's mine... Jamal and Frankie's... Bill..." Wow, he had very few interesting numbers himself. "You should also really have the one of the best pizzeria in all of Missouri in case you ever pass through."

He glanced at the table, where Bill had left his phone, and went to take that one too. "Here we go. Stanley, Bonnie and Mimi... Don't worry, you'll meet them at some point. Jimmy and Margaret... Always good to have the mayor's number. And the sheriff's of course... Oh, and Gail, you already know her too." He scrolled through further. "You know, I'll just get the entire department. Oh, and here's Bill's mom! Never know when that might come in handy."

Dean smiled a little when Sam gave him back the phone. "Thanks."

That evening they definitely didn't have to argue about what to watch anymore.

"I have a late shift tomorrow in case you guys need me to drive you somewhere," Bill said in between two episodes.

"Is there anything worth driving to in this place?" Sam questioned. "The highlights of Jericho?"

The fact that Bill had to think about it didn't seem like a good sign. "We have a salt mine."

"Congratulations, that sounds impressively boring."

With a glare, the alpha added, "And there's a lake just out of town."

Now that would be worth keeping in mind. Maybe they could go out for a picnic sometime.

"I'm gonna put on my pj's," Dean said before going upstairs.

Bill watched him leave and then turned to Sam. "Has he been sleeping okay?"

Sam opened his mouth but then stopped to think. It was actually a good question, since Sam was always first asleep and last to wake up again. "As far as I know," he shrugged.

"Then why does he look like he hasn't slept in days?"

Did he? Sure, maybe he seemed a little tired, but Sam had blamed that on the circumstances. "Well, I mean, it's been a lot. And we did have a busy day."

The frown on Bill's face told Sam that he wasn't convinced. "Could you just ask him about it? He's gonna need his rest now more than ever."

"Yeah yeah, okay," Sam said. Dean had admittedly been very quiet all day, but he wasn't exactly a talkative guy in general, and maybe their conversation from last night had been a little awkward too. Then again, shouldn't he also be getting a bit better? Great, now that he knew Bill was worried, he was worried too.

After Dean returned, they watched two more episodes of Lucifer. Maybe Bill was right and he did look like he hadn't gotten enough sleep. He was sitting against Sam's side, eyes half closed and only occasionally smiling a tiny bit at the show. Blinking a lot.

Yeah, Sam was gonna have to talk to him. Dammit.

The bed was really becoming their spot for deep conversations.

"Hey," Sam started when Dean got in next to him. "Have you been sleeping all right since we got here?"

Dean didn't look at him as he shrugged. "Why?"

That was not the yes Sam had been hoping to hear. "Because it doesn't really look like it, man."

After a second of hesitation, Dean asked, "Did Bill say anything to you?"

"Yeah, that you look like you haven't slept in days," Sam said. Then it dawned on him. "Wait, what should Bill have said to me?"

With a sigh, the omega pulled up his legs and leaned his arms on his knees. "Our first night here, I... kinda had a bad nightmare, so I went downstairs for a bit. When Bill woke up for work, he talked to me a little to distract me from it."

Okay, not that Sam was jealous, but something about that did sting a little. "Why didn't you just tell me?"

"Because you were asleep and... I didn't want you to be worried," Dean admitted.

"Wait, so how often have you had these nightmares?" Sam asked. He couldn't believe he hadn't noticed; he might have been able to help.

The guilty look on Dean's face promised even worse. "Only that one night actually. Afterwards I was just scared that they might return so..."

"So what?" Sam pressed when he didn't continue.

"So I try to stay awake," Dean softly said.

Sam just stared at him. How many nights had it been? Two? Three? "You haven't slept at all?"

"I'll doze off from time to time."

"Dean, you can't do that," he said. "Seriously, this is gonna kill you."

"Well, what am I supposed to do?" Dean retorted, and the despair in his voice broke Sam's heart. "You don't know what it's like. Every time I close my eyes, it's there, and I can't keep reliving what happened, Sam, I just can't."

"You're right," Sam admitted. "I don't understand, and I'm never gonna. But I know that nightmares can be terrifying and suck and ruin your whole day, but Jesus, you can't let them ruin your life."

Dean looked at him, but his eyes seemed empty. "What's left to ruin?"

"Opportunities," Sam simply said. "Take it from the guy who lives off of them, you've got so many left, man. Choices, ideas, people to meet. You can still have everything you ever wanted. You just gotta learn to want it again."

"So how do I do that?" Dean asked.

If only Sam had the answer to that. "By having the energy to try for starters."

When Dean only hummed, he went on, "Have you talked to doctor what's-her-name about this?"

"No," the omega admitted, looking away again.

"Well, maybe you should," Sam suggested. "If this isn't what therapy is for, then I don't know what is."

"Yeah, I know."

"Oh and also, next time you might as well just tell me," he added. "'Cause right now I'm much more worried then I would have been if I'd known from the get-go."

The corner of Dean's mouth turned up a bit. "Okay."

Sam smiled and poked his knee. "Good. Now let's get you to sleep. And I'm not taking no for an answer, so don't even try to tell me you're not tired."

"Oh, I'm exhausted," Dean huffed. "And terrified. But... I'll try."

Trying was not what Sam was going to settle for but it was a start. He lay down and spread his arms. With a hint of a smile, Dean complied.

"Your feet are cold," Sam pointed out, and he got up to grab an extra blanket from the closet.

"What are you doing?"

He threw back the sheets and started wrapping up Dean's feet, to the omega's obvious surprise. "You fall asleep faster when your feet are warm. At least that's what Jamal says. You can kick it off if it gets too hot."

Before Dean could find any words to accompany the amazement on his face, Sam settled down next to him again. "Come lie on top of me. Like, half."

Dean only looked more confused at that. "Won't that be a little awkward?"

"We are so past awkward," Sam said. "Trust me?"

After another second of hesitation, Dean nodded and shifted onto Sam's shoulder, who wrapped his arms around him to pull him closer. Dean found that perfect spot for his head in the crook of Sam's neck. They had to maneuver their legs a bit to get comfortable, but it worked. Sam realized that there was no way this wasn't cuddling but he didn't care, even if they were and would always be just friends.

"I'm here in case you do have a bad dream," he told Dean. "I've got you, okay?"

"Okay," Dean agreed.

Sam turned off the light. "Oh, and I'm not sleeping until you are, so don't pretend."

"You really thought this through, huh?"

"I have my moments."

It didn't take long for Sam to accidentally almost fall asleep. "Dean?" he checked.

"Yeah."

It took two more attempts, but then he didn't get a reply anymore. Satisfied, he pressed a soft kiss to Dean's head and closed his eyes.

Chapter Text

When Sam woke up, Dean was still asleep, and he slowly bumped his fist at the ceiling in victory. Maybe it wasn't much on the long list of problems Dean had, but it was a step in the right direction, and Bill was right when he said rest was important. Sam owed him a blowjob or something.

Yeah, he did not want to be thinking about that with Dean's thigh so close to his crotch.

Trying not to wake up the other man, he reached for his phone to find a distraction. He decided to send the guys a text to ask if they wanted to do something that morning since Bill was home. Maybe they could all have breakfast together.

Frankie answered first, saying that he would wake up Jamal to ask. The part of Sam that loved to tease his friends grinned at the idea of Jamal taking a pillow in the face as a wake-up call. There was some more back and forth texting and in the end they were actually invited for brunch at the Richmonds'.

Satisfied, he put the phone back on the nightstand and eyed the omega on his shoulder again. Dean had slightly stirred a few times but still seemed sound asleep, so Sam took advantage of the situation to be a total creep and stare at him for a while. He remembered the last time he had done that, just taking the time to look at Dean, except then he had been locked up in a cage. Sam gently placed his hand on the one lying on his chest and smiled at its warmth.

Dean took a deep breath, making Sam quickly withdraw his hand, but it was at least ten more minutes before he really started to wake up.

"Morning," Sam said as soon as his eyes fluttered open.

"Hey," Dean mumbled, blinking slowly. "Wow."

He lifted his head a little to consider the situation. Sam thought he could follow his thoughts all the way from how weird this was to just complete acceptance. Then he lay down again and closed his eyes for a moment. "Thank you. I needed that."

"Does that mean no nightmares?" Sam asked him.

"Nope," Dean sighed in perfect contentment. "No nightmares."

A happy grin spread across Sam's face. "Good, 'cause we're going out for brunch."

"We are?"

"Yup. The Richmonds just invited us over," he explained.

Dean hummed in agreement. They just lay there for a couple more minutes before he slowly went to sit up. "I guess we should probably get ready then."

Suddenly a part of Sam regretted the arrangement he had made, but there would still be plenty of mornings they could just lie in bed together. "Go ahead," he said as he practically rolled himself out of bed. "I'm gonna get some coffee first."

While Dean got up and walked over to the closet, Sam made his way downstairs, the smell of coffee meeting him halfway. Of course Bill was already awake.

The alpha looked up when he walked into the kitchen. "Good morning. Coffee?"

"Yes, please," Sam said as he approached him. The moment Bill turned toward him, he placed his hand on the back of the other man's neck and closed the distance between them. Caught by surprise at the sudden kiss, Bill took a moment to respond, but when he did, their lips seemed to melt together for a delightful minute.

Once Sam pulled away, Bill's eyebrows shot up. "Uhm... Thank you?" he said, clearly still confused.

"That was for filling me in on Dean," Sam explained. "I talked to him, and you were right."

He half expected some joke about him admitting that, but instead Bill nodded as he handed Sam a cup of coffee. "I'm glad I could help. Did he get some sleep?"

"Straight from dusk to dawn," Sam answered before taking a sip of the hot liquid. God, he loved coffee. "He told me about the panic attack too by the way. Can't believe you kept that from me."

"It wasn't for me to tell," Bill shrugged, then turned to the fridge. "I was waiting for you guys to make breakfast. You want eggs? Bacon?"

Sam waved his hand. "Don't bother. Stanley invited us for brunch."

Immediately, Bill frowned at him. "When?"

"This morning. I was texting the guys."

"And you didn't think it'd be a good idea to discuss it first?" Bill questioned.

"It's brunch," Sam said with a shrug. "Were you going to say no?"

"That's not the-"

They were luckily interrupted by Sam's phone. He fished it out of his pajama shorts but didn't recognize the number. "Good morning, this is Sam speaking."

"Morning, Sam! It's Ronny," the mechanic's voice answered. "Just wanted to let you know I've got your car ready, so you can come and pick her up."

"That's great!" he called out, nearly sloshing coffee over the brim of his cup. Bill glared at him. "I'll stop by later today. Thanks, Ronny."

"The car ready?" Bill guessed after he had hung up.

"Yup. Can we go get it?"

"I'll drop you off there when I go to work. It's not much of a detour anyway. Or after brunch I suppose."

With a sip of coffee, Sam considered it. "Work is fine."

Bill sighed and grabbed his own phone from the counter. "Could you get ready? I'm gonna ask Stanley what we can bring, so we might have to get some things before we go there."

"Dean's still in the bathroom."

"Then get him to hurry too."

Sam rolled his eyes, emptied his cup and went back upstairs. The bathroom door opened just as he approached, and for a moment he was taken aback by the man who walked out.

Dean was wearing his new clothes, but it wasn't even really that. He just looked more... vibrant in a way than Sam had ever seen him. Almost happy. Like he was going to be okay.

"Oh good, you're done," he said, hopefully before it became obvious how entranced he was by the sight. "Bill's already complaining about time, so we better be ready fast."

"All right, I'll go and grab my shoes then," Dean smiled, and Sam automatically returned the gesture as he disappeared into the bathroom.

They went to the supermarket first, where Bill ordered Sam to get the cinnamon rolls. When the three of them met at the counter, Dean offered to get the check before carrying his load of croissants back to the car, much to the alpha's gratitude. Sam decided this was the life he wanted, with the perfect guy who paid for him on top of that.

When they got to Stanley's, the man was just carrying something to a long table on the porch. He went to lean against the railing as they got the food out of the car, a big grin on his face.

"I thought we'd sit outside with this weather!" he announced.

"And you're absolutely right," Bill agreed. "Thanks for the invite by the way."

Stanley shrugged. "It was a great idea." Then he looked at the others. "Good to see you again, Sam. And you must be Dean, right?"

"Nice to meet you," Dean said, shaking his hand.

"You holding up all right with these two?" Stanley asked, and although it was formulated as a joke, the tone in his voice was sincere.

Dean smiled at him. "Yeah, thanks."

"Come on in. You guys can help set up."

Frankie, Jamal and Mimi were in the kitchen, all of them a little too eager to leave whatever they were doing and greet the guests instead. Bill and Stanley ended up doing most of the work, with the rest of them bringing everything outside while they chatted a bit.

"Bonnie not home?" Bill asked as they finally sat down.

"Nah, she had better things to do than hang out with a bunch of old people," Stanley grinned.

"Harsh," Sam said around a piece of bacon.

Mimi shook her head. "She's great, but I'm actually glad to be among adults for once."

"Clearly you haven't been living with Sam," Bill said, and the beta threw up his hands indignantly.

"She's been living with Jamal; she's got an idea," Frankie retorted.

"Hey!"

Stanley raised an eyebrow at Sam. "Are they always like that?"

Jamal huffed. "Are you kidding me? Sam's the worst out of all of us."

"That is such a lie."

"So Dean," Mimi desperately tried to change the subject. "Where are you from?"

"Oh. L.A. actually," he told her.

Her eyes grew big. "Seriously? Oh my god, finally someone who understands what an uncultivated hole this place is!"

Bill and Stanley barely had the time to look offended before she went on.

"I mean, how hard is it to build a nice mall or import some good quinoa? All the Midwest seems to have is grass, and farms, and stupid little towns, and more grass."

"Got you to stay," Stanley mumbled.

"It's definitely different," Dean agreed. "But I actually kinda like the quiet for a change."

"What do people do in L.A. anyways, besides surfing and making movies?" Stanley asked, and Mimi rolled her eyes.

Dean didn't seem to mind though. "Well, I worked for a company that makes rocket engines."

The rest of the table looked at him in surprise, and Sam couldn't help but feel a little proud.

"Dude, that sounds so cool," Frankie said.

"Like, to go into space?" Stanley asked.

"I didn't have a high function or anything," Dean quickly added. "But yeah, some definitely went into space."

Jamal let out an appreciative whistle. "Sounds big. Don't tell me you work for Tesla now."

"No," Dean said, and suddenly there was a hint of sadness on his face. "It's called Ellis Propulsion."

"Wait-" Bill said, eyes growing big.

"Yup. It was my dad's," the other man confirmed.

"Wow," Mimi said. "Must be an impressive family. Who's your dad?"

The corner of Dean's mouth turned up but the gesture didn't reach his eyes. "My dad was William Ellis."

Although the name rang a bell, Sam couldn't really place it. Luckily he didn't have to.

"Holy shit, the William Ellis?" Stanley called out, and Bill and Mimi were staring at Dean in utter disbelief now. Frankie and Jamal merely exchanged an unknowing look.

"Remind me who William Ellis is?" Sam asked.

Bill looked at him like he was stupid, not really a new experience. "The astronaut?"

Oh, now that did maybe sound familiar.

"That's him," Dean simply said.

"Your dad's an astronaut? Nice," Frankie commented before returning to his cinnamon roll.

Something seemed to dawn on Mimi. "Wait, didn't he...?" she carefully asked.

"He died, yeah."

"Damn. I'm sorry, man," Stanley said.

Dean offered him a little smile. "It's okay. We weren't exactly close."

Sam decided the conversation was getting depressing, so he jumped in before the silence could get too uncomfortable. "Oh hey, guess what? My car's fixed."

That immediately got his friends' attention.

"All right, got some freedom again!" Jamal said excitedly.

"I hope my hot dog socks are still in there. Remembered yesterday I left them on the backseat," Frankie added.

"Frankie, first of all, no one wants to touch your dirty socks with a ten-foot pole," Sam pointed out. "And second, you left those stinking things to rot in my car for days?"

His friend raised his hands. "I forgot about them, all right?"

"If my car smells because of you, I am so leaving you behind when we go to California."

"Pretty sure they're always like that," Bill answered Stanley's question from earlier.

Normally Sam might have argued, but right now he was just glad that Dean seemed a little more relaxed again.

They talked a bit about anything and everything after that. The more he got to know him, the more Sam started to like Stanley. The guy was laid back and funny, and his roasted chicken really was amazing.

When he was telling a story about how Bill got Jake and him out of trouble in high school once, Sam raised an eyebrow at the deputy. "Oh, so it's okay when he pulls something?"

Bill rolled his eyes. "That was nothing. We were just having a drink and when sheriff Dawson passed by, I was the only one still capable of pretending like we weren't doing anything wrong."

"Jake and I just sat there, trying to keep quiet. One word from either of us and he immediately would have known," Stanley laughed.

"Bill Koehler, you drank in high school?" Sam asked in pretend astonishment. "And you dare lecture me about some parking tickets."

"If only that were all," Bill huffed.

Stanley looked at him curiously. "What did you do?"

"Well, we don't like to brag about it," Sam said, but he couldn't help but grin at the disapproval on Bill's face. "There just have been a few instances where people should not have taken our word for it."

Jamal snorted at the euphemism and Bill corrected him, "That's a very nice way of saying you're a bunch of frauds and thieves."

"I prefer to think of us as subtler versions of Robin Hood."

"Oh, really?" Bill questioned, not without humor. "Who are the poor you give the money to?"

Sam spread his hands. "We are, obviously."

He laughed as Bill just shook his head. "Oh come on, Stanley just admitted you weren't always this innocent either."

"We were young, and I wasn't a cop yet. Now I'm just trying to do my job well," Bill retorted.

"Doesn't mean you're not overreacting. The first day we met, you did nothing but glare at me the whole damn time for no reason whatsoever."

Bill had already opened his mouth, but Stanley beat him to it with a laugh. "Oh, that's Bill for sure. All fun and cool until you do something wrong while he's wearing that uniform."

"Hey, whose side are you on?" Bill asked desperately.

"It's okay, man," Stanley told him with a pat on the back. "You just like bossing people around, nothing wrong with that."

Sam burst out in laughter, as that was exactly what Bill had accused him of when they met. Judging by the look on the alpha's face, he remembered it too.

"You can laugh, but someone had to keep an eye on you," he pointed out.

A joke about what else Bill had kept on him was on the tip of Sam's tongue, but he should probably keep that one for himself.

Instead he asked the table, "Okay, raise your hand if you've never gotten in trouble with the police before."

Only Bill and Mimi reacted.

"Well, unless you count being pulled over for speeding as getting in trouble," she added.

"See?" Sam concluded. "You totally overreacted with me."

"Wait, what did you do?" Frankie asked Dean, distracting Sam from his discussion with Bill.

After a sip of orange juice, Dean said, "When I was working for my dad, I was in charge of getting rid of all the waste they produced - not a pretty job, by the way - and I figured I could still use some of it for other purposes. So I got a couple of co-workers involved in helping me to sneak out leftovers of rocket fuel."

While everyone else's jaw dropped, Sam fell head over heels in love with the tiny mischievous sparkle in Dean's eyes.

"You'd be amazed at what street racers will pay for that stuff," he continued. "We had a whole business set up, but when the LAPD started investigating my father's death, they found out and shut it down. Luckily they also thought I already had enough to deal with and since the stuff was now technically mine anyway, I got off with a fine."

"So you stole from your own father?" Bill questioned in disbelief.

Dean gave a nod and Sam couldn't help but grin at the shock on the deputy's face. "Oh, this is hilarious. You don't even know whether to be judgy to prove that it isn't just me, or not out of chivalry towards omegas."

Bill opened and closed his mouth a few times but nothing came out. Which of course only amused Sam more.

"Is it my fault that I was raised with manners?" was what he eventually managed.

"But not when it comes to betas? That's a little sexist," Sam teased.

"No," Bill corrected him, leaning forward. "Not when it comes to annoying, mouthy know-it-alls."

Sam would have liked nothing better in that moment than to show Bill what his mouth was capable of, but unfortunately they weren't alone.

"Well, that'll do it, man," Jamal told Dean. "Welcome to the team. Finally someone who knows what he's doing."

"I know what I'm doing," Sam objected.

"You think you know what you're doing. There's a difference," Frankie pointed out.

Raising his hands indignantly, Sam said, "Hey now, who comes up with all our ideas, huh?"

"Your ideas suck," Frankie said.

"So they might not have been very successful so far," Sam admitted. "But mark my words, gentlemen, there will come a day when we do something never seen before, and it will be so extraordinary and so ingenious that people will throw money at us."

His friends accepted that response with a shrug, but he was mainly paying attention to the absolute cutest little smile on Dean's face.

So of course Bill had to ruin the moment. "Sounds like selling rocket fuel was your best bet, but Dean beat you to that one."

Stanley snickered as Sam rolled his eyes. He supposed it was only fair that the alpha now took his turn at doing the mocking.

"Dean, you said you inherited your dad's company, right? Are they holding up okay without you there?" Mimi asked.

"I didn't keep it, actually. Dad was already planning on selling himself, and when he died..." He shrugged. "I just didn't want it anymore."

Maybe it was in his head, but Sam had a feeling there was more to it. He remembered what Dean told him about his father, about how the man hadn't thought his son was capable of running the company in the first place. Sam would have loved to see Dean prove him wrong, but apparently the omega didn't feel the same way. He would have to ask about that later, without the others around.

"Hey Mimi, if you're such a city person, what are you doing out here anyway?" he asked instead.

She ended up telling them the whole story of how they met because of her job, the extended stay, how her annoyance at Stanley had slowly developed into something else entirely. She went back home of course, but she couldn't get him out of her head and twice decided to visit to remind herself of how much she hated this place. That's when she told herself (and him) enough was enough. He stood in front of her door three weeks later, begging for her to come back with him.

"I wouldn't say begging," Stanley interrupted.

"It was definitely begging," Mimi assured them. "So, since Stanley couldn't leave the farm, I gave in and came here. We've been trying to make it work ever since."

Stanley sighed. "She wants us to move to Denver."

"Look, I can live with the Midwest if I have to, but I need something," Mimi argued. "I'm not working in one of Jericho's tiny banks for the rest of my life."

"And I'm not selling the farm."

She gave Sam a desperate look. "There's still some work to do."

"I get it," Bill shrugged. "I wouldn't leave Jericho either."

Sam raised an eyebrow at him. "What's even so great about this place?"

"It's home," Bill just said.

"Wow, Bill, what a deep answer."

"What would you know, you live in a car," he retorted.

Jamal whistled. "Burn."

It more or less went like that for the rest of the meal, everyone poking fun at each other whenever they could. When Mimi got tired of it, she went back to talking to Dean about the city life. It was nice, all of them just hanging out together. Even Bill was relaxed, laughing at jokes and making incredibly silly ones himself. Sam found himself smiling at it all. If they weren't leaving, this could have made a great group of friends.

It was almost noon when Mimi broke up the party because she had to go to work. She assured them they could stay, but Bill said he should probably get ready for his shift too.

"Next time's at my place, alright?" he said as they were carrying the dishes back in.

"I'll take you up on that," Stanley answered. "And hey, we should all go to Bailey's sometime too."

"Bailey's?" Jamal inquired.

"It's a bar, kind of our usual place," Bill explained.

Sam pulled up his eyebrows at that. "I do like a bar."

"It's great. Just let me know when you guys got a free night and we'll go," Stanley told them.

"We should invite Jake, Emily, Jimmy and Margaret too then," Mimi added. "Get the whole group together."

Bill hummed. "If Jimmy can find a babysitter at least."

"I'm sure Bonnie would do it," Stanley said as he put the last of the plates in the sink.

"Can we help?" Bill said, gesturing at all the dishes.

Stanley grinned and nodded towards Jamal and Frankie. "That's all right. I got volunteers."

From the look on their faces, Sam gathered his friends didn't agree with that choice of words.

They all said their goodbyes and left. Dean was looking content, which was all Sam needed.

"Sure you don't want to get the car now?" Bill asked as they headed back into town.

"Nope. Just drop me off when you go to work." He grinned at Dean. "It'll be a surprise when I bring her home."

Chapter Text

Sam honked the horn when he pulled up in front of Bill's house. His beauty was rolling just like she used to again, and the feeling of the wind in his hair had basically made him grin the whole way there. God, he had missed driving around his car, his home. With a satisfied smile, he turned off the engine but remained seated, casually leaning on the door. He couldn't wait to see Dean's reaction. This convertible was the most charming thing about him, after all.

When the front door opened, he was nearly jumping in his seat with excitement. Dean's eyes immediately grew big as they latched onto the car, and Sam proudly spread his arms. "What do you think?"

Still entirely focused on the vehicle, Dean walked down to the curb and started circling it. There was an eager glint in those caramel eyes that made Sam's heart skip a beat. He loved to get to see this other side of the omega, a glimpse into the person who was just Dean, without the trauma and the fear. A little closer to being happy.

"Plymouth Barracuda from '69?" Dean interrupted his thoughts once he had concluded his inspection. "'68?"

"Uhm... I can confirm the Barracuda part," Sam hesitantly answered.

Finally, Dean looked at him. "You don't know what year your own car was built?"

"If you want, I'm sure there's a paper in here somewhere that has it," he tried. Although finding that piece of paper would be a whole other challenge.

The corner of Dean's mouth flicked up before his attention shifted back to the convertible. "That's fine, it's a beautiful car either way. How long have you had it?"

Sam drummed on the steering wheel. "Phew, let's see... I think I got her... a few years after high school? Long."

"Wow. It still seems to be in great shape."

He grinned. "You sound surprised."

Dean raised an eyebrow at him. "Well, no offense but you thought this thing was out of gas when there was an issue with the battery."

"Dammit, Bill told you? That tattletale," Sam whined, drawing a chuckle from Dean, and oh, he loved the sound of that. Before his mind could get too preoccupied with it, he gestured towards the passenger seat. "Contrary to my car knowledge, my driver's skills are actually really great, so what do you think about going for a ride?"

There was no trace of doubt in Dean's reply. He ran back to the house to grab his phone and wallet and lock the door behind him. As soon as he was in the car, Sam turned the ignition and took off with a loud roar of the engine. From the corner of his eye, he could see the appreciation in the omega's eyes. Satisfied, he tuned into a radio station with cheery music and just enjoyed the drive. Occasionally, he would look over to Dean and see him do the same, leaning on the door and looking at the scenery. Sam loved the way the air played with his hair and tousled the usually neat wisps that he wasn't quite sure he wanted to put back in place or mess up further. Maybe both. But it was okay that he couldn't because the serenity on Dean's face he got for free, and he loved that much, much more.

"What?" the man asked when he caught him looking.

Sam smiled and dragged his eyes back to the road. "I'm just glad you like it."

They drove on for over an hour, Sam finding his way through the streets of Jericho, out of town and back in. When they passed by the lake Bill had mentioned, he pulled over to admire the view and ended up telling Dean the whole story of how he had gotten his car, back when Jamal, Frankie and him had been trying to find their way in the world. That led to the both of them talking about their childhoods, the complicated relationships with their fathers and the acts of rebellion that resulted from it. Sam thought it was funny how similar their stories were, except Dean's was the much fancier, L.A. version. He was even more delighted to hear that the omega had his own classic car, although he was clearly being judged for not knowing the model.

After Dean had described it, Sam was the astonished one though. "Wait, wait, wait, that's gotta be the stupidest thing I've ever heard. You live in L.A. of all places and you decided not to get a convertible?"

Luckily, Dean didn't take offense but just shook his head with a smile. "You don't even know what a great car it is."

"Were you not in the Barracuda with me just now?" Sam asked, pointing at the road behind them. "That feeling of the wind in your face, the freedom of cruising down a road in the open air? There's nothing that compares to that, and you can't tell me a pretty car is gonna make up for it."

"I'll admit that was kind of amazing," Dean told him. "And this is definitely a good car."

With a proud grin, Sam ran his hand over the steering wheel. "I'm glad you see your mistake," he joked.

"Although nothing about it is even close to being as original as a boattail rear," the other man quickly added.

"Okay, now you're just speaking a different language."

Dean laughed at that. It was soft and brief but made Sam's heart flutter in his chest nonetheless. He desperately wanted to dedicate the rest of his life to hearing that sound as often as possible.

"I'll show you one day," Dean promised.

Sam immediately latched onto that. "We could have a street race. Use some of that badass rocket fuel of yours."

Raising his eyebrows, Dean looked at him. "You do know that I don't have that stuff anymore, right?"

But Sam was already moving on. "Have I mentioned yet how cool it is that you did that, by the way?"

"Surprised?"

"Just impressed."

That earned him another smile.

He couldn't tell how long they sat and talked there before deciding they should hit the road again. With the radio back on, they left it to the music to fill the air. It was funny because Sam was rarely a quiet person, but this, simply being with Dean, was just great as it was. At some point, Dean placed both forearms on the door frame and rested his chin on them to better feel the wind, peaceful and free, looking absolutely perfect.

Even though he was pretty sure he could do this for the rest of his life, Sam eventually picked up his phone and opened Google Maps. "Do you wanna go anywhere specific before we head back?"

Dean shook his head. "That's okay. It's been nice just kinda... going. I get why you like living this way."

"Yeah," Sam smiled, knowing exactly what Dean meant. No worries or expectations, just the music, the breeze and the prairie flashing by. Making a mental note that they should do this more often, he tapped in Bill's address and drove on a few more miles before he followed the directions back.

When he pulled up in front of the house, Dean looked at him with an odd combination of satisfaction, surprise and careful hope in his eyes. "It's been a nice day."

"It's not over yet," Sam pointed out as they got out of the car.

"What, you have even more surprises after the brunch and the convertible?"

"No," he admitted. "But that doesn't mean we can't make it a fun evening, right?"

With Bill not being home in time for dinner, both Sam and Dean severely lacking in cooking skills and Sam deciding that kitchen work definitely didn't qualify as fun, they ended up ordering takeout. (That was easier said than done since Sam wasn't used to having to look at the vegetarian options and insisted that Dean didn't settle for a salad. No one should ever have to settle for a salad.) Sam even called Bill to ask what he wanted, so that he could just heat up the food when he got off from work. The deputy was both surprised at and grateful for the offer, which gave Sam a smug sense of satisfaction. Everything with Bill had somehow become about outmatching the other in any way possible, like their own secret little game.

Sam made sure to keep his word and make it a nice evening too, spent enjoying their food and chatting about anything that came to mind. Bill was pretty tired when he got home, so the three of them settled in for just the one episode of Lucifer, but it was good nevertheless. Peaceful. A kind of casually happy. All it took was one look between Sam and Bill to agree that this was definitely progress, and that they ought to keep it up.

Perhaps they could have if the day had ended there.

Sam wasn't quite sure what registered first that night, the hand shaking his arm or the soft sound that resembled his name. Either way, he immediately noticed that Dean wasn't in his arms anymore. Blinking himself awake, he felt his senses slowly return and heard the heavy breathing that was coming from his side. Even half asleep Sam knew right away that something was very, very wrong. He hurried to turn on the light on the nightstand and ignored the brightness stinging his eyes.

Next to him, Dean was sitting upright with his knees pulled against his chest. Sam's heart clenched when he noticed the tear traces on his cheeks.

"Hey," he softly said, pushing himself up but not daring to touch Dean just yet. He seemed so incredibly scared. "What happened?"

With a trembling hand, Dean wiped his eyes. "I'm sorry I woke you up."

"No no no, I'm glad you did," Sam rushed out. "Was it a nightmare again?"

Dean just nodded. He still didn't look at Sam and was shaking like a leaf.

God, Sam had absolutely no idea what to do. "Do you want to talk about it?" he carefully asked.

That only drew a whimper from Dean, so he changed tactics and slowly brought his hand up. After another moment of hesitation, he placed it on Dean's shoulder. "It's okay. I'm right here."

"I can't do this anymore," Dean uttered as more tears escaped. "I just can't."

"I know."

"I don't know what to do." His voice cracked and he drew a ragged breath.

Sam inched closer and put an arm around him. "Come here." Dean easily let himself be pulled against his side and broke into sobs against his shoulder while Sam wrapped him in a tight hug.

"It's gonna be okay," he whispered. "It's all over. Nobody's gonna hurt you anymore. I'll keep you safe and I'm not going anywhere, I promise." Tears welled up in his eyes at the pain he could smell in Dean's scent, hear in his crying and feel through every shiver of his body. Right about now, Sam almost wished he were an alpha, equipped with pheromones that could make all of the distress disappear. But then again, that was exactly what had gotten them here in the first place. "Everything's gonna be just fine."

He held Dean until he had calmed down a little again and eventually mumbled, "I'm sorry."

"Don't say that. You've got nothing to be sorry about," Sam assured him.

"I just thought..." He sighed. "After last night, I just hoped it would all be over."

"Yeah, me too."

Dean remained silent for a while. Then, he whispered, "What if they never go away?"

The horrible truth was that Sam had no idea if it was a possibility or what the answer to that question was. And he couldn't lie and pretend like he did, not to Dean. Not about this. "I don't know," he admitted. "All I know is I'll be there for you, if you'll let me."

"Why?"

Now, that he could lie about, or at least tell a partial truth. "I don't really know that either."

"Maybe you shouldn't bother," Dean softly said. Sam looked at him, but his eyes were trained on the sheets at their feet.

"Well, I want to."

They sat in silence for longer than Sam could remember. He waited for Dean to do something or say something, but the omega seemed to be miles away from him and Sam hated it.

"Dean, talk to me," he tried, not knowing what else to do.

When Dean turned to him, the look in his eyes was the exact same one that he had had when Sam found him locked in a cage: more empty than sad. "I can't."

It broke Sam's heart. He wanted to do something, anything, to make Dean feel better, but he had no idea what. Ideas flew through his mind and were discarded almost immediately. He didn't think he had ever felt this useless. If he could just lift Dean's spirits a tiny bit, that would be enough.

Then something popped up. It was ridiculously small but it was something nevertheless.

"Who's your favorite musician?" he asked as he reached back for his phone.

Dean looked at him blankly. "What?"

"Band, singer, artist, whatever," Sam elaborated. He opened Spotify before casting an expectant glance towards Dean.

"Uhm... I've never really thought about it, but... I guess Sleeping At Last is one of my favorites."

Sam started typing, found the artist and went to explore their albums. They had a couple of cover ones, so, figuring those were always a good starting point, he picked the first one. When his eyes dropped to the first song on it, they grew big. If this wasn't fate, Sam didn't know what was. He tapped "play" and listened to a gentle piano version of the familiar riff of "I'm Gonna Be (500 Miles)".

"Holy crap."

"What?" Dean asked, clearly not following.

"Remember what I told you about me and the guys walking to Jericho?" Sam said. "This is one of the songs we were singing. Or well, the original is."

"I love this version," Dean admitted.

"Yeah, it's nice," Sam agreed. He pulled Dean close again and put his phone down as they listened to the music play. It wasn't really his genre but it was sweet and calming, albeit a little sad. Dean seemed completely entranced by it, as if he was hearing it for the first time.

After they finished the album, Sam put on the next one. The soft tunes combined with the warmth of Dean's body made that he could have easily fallen asleep there and then. When he looked over to the omega, he saw that he had closed his eyes too. Sam loved seeing him so peacefully as "Make You Feel My Love" appropriately played for them.

Somewhere into the third album Dean must have felt him staring, because he opened his eyes again and met Sam's gaze. They were so close. Sam felt like he was breathing elderberries, something he never would have considered to be a pleasant experience before he found Dean.

It would be so easy to lean forward and taste them on his lips too.

But there was that little bit of reason left in his brain that knew he couldn't. The last thing he wanted was to pressure Dean into something he wasn't ready for. It would go against anything Sam felt for him. He would just have to wait for Dean to take the first step and hope that it was with him. Which might very well mean that he could be waiting forever.

"Thank you," Dean broke him out of his pining. "I actually forgot how much I liked this music, if you can believe it."

"Uh... Sure," Sam managed to say. Could it be possible that Dean hadn't noticed just what had been on his mind? It must have been plastered across his face how badly he wanted to kiss the guy. That was so typical of him; someone he deeply cared about was having a crisis and all Sam could think about was his penis.

Dean turned back to the phone, completely leaving him to his thoughts. They didn't say another thing until the piano on "Amazing Grace" faded away and the room turned quiet.

"I should probably try to sleep again," Dean said.

While Sam was anything but tired, he couldn't object to that. He put his phone away, lay down and turned off the light as Dean settled in next to him. It took forever before he finally heard Dean's breath even out and his own mind kept on racing long after that. He just wanted all of the bad to go away. Sam's childhood had been shit, but he never went through a low as deep as Dean's. Just being an eternal optimist had always been enough to keep him going. He had no idea what it was like not to have that but suspected he was starting to find out. Because no matter how often he told himself that Dean was going to be okay, he couldn't see how and he couldn't stop worrying about it. Everything they tried seemed to work for a little bit before they hit the next wall. It was incredibly frustrating. Sam preferred fast and easy solutions to his problems, like lying or running away. He didn't have any experience with third-degree trauma.

Maybe he should talk to Bill in the morning. The alpha was his complete opposite in so many ways that this might be right up his sleeve. Besides, he already loved telling Sam what to do. Usually, Sam found that either incredibly annoying or pretty hot, but right now it was actually just kind of comforting.

That thought finally made him capable of dozing off.