420/Reunion

Reunion
Date of Scene:	14 May 2017
Location:	Manhattan, New York City
Synopsis:	Summary needed
Cast of Characters:	251, Sam Winchester, Dean Winchester

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Aspen (251) has posed:
It was midday in Manhattan. A little on the warm sise with the sun shining as it is. The skies are filles with marshmallow fluff style clouds. Many who are on lunch break seem to want to take advantage of the 'beautiful weather' ans eat their lunches outside. Unfortunately for them, Big Belly Burger hasn't installed outdoor seating yet. Nor this one at least.

Insise the burger joint, it's mostly teens ditching school or college kids on lunch break. At one of the tables though is Dean's laptop. Perched on a chair in front of it is a woman dresses in a green sleeveless blouse and white slacks. She seems to be idly reasing whatever has veen on the mostly closed screen. It was mostly closed until she opened it anyhoe

At the front of the place... Standing in line and waiting for the food rhat was ordered... A brown haired man in black jeans, fades boots and a worn leather jacket...

Sam Winchester has posed:
There have been many instances during Sam's long and sometimes futile-seeming hunt for his brother in which he'd stopped to imagine what finding said brother would look like.

In his more triumphant, optimistic moments? Perhaps after saving someone's life or putting down something particularly gruesome? He imagined discovering his brother in some dire straits, and he himself leaping in to rescue him. In these daydreams, his brother was super proud of him and the hunter he'd become in the process, for Sam, for all that he wanted to reject The Life, nevertheless has his own doses of professional pride.

In his lowest moments, with three beers in his system and the low light of a television screen playing something random across a shitty hotel room bed in the middle of nowhere, USA, in places with names like Toadsuck, or Bucksnort, his more realistic side would take over, and he'd grimly play out what it would look like to finally open up the right morgue drawer. He'd find himself grieving his brother as if he was looking down at the corpse then and there. Sometimes those nightmare imaginings became even darker: he'd find his brother a vampire, or something still worse.

He never imagined a third possibility...that he'd find his brother in an iconic position: in a diner, seeking food, and in the company of a beautiful woman.

He pulls up in a blue Pontiac (no doubt stolen) and gets out. His lack of expectation for finding anything here but a bite to eat means that goes right to the 'Order Here' line without even looking around, placing him in the opposite line from Dean's own 'Pick Up Here' counter. He is quiet and polite as he brings out his wallet and says, "Uh, I'll have the chicken ceaser wrap and water, please."

Dean Winchester has posed:
Dean's stylish black impala is parked nearby, but when he got here, spots were full, so its not right out front. That would've been a key indication he was in the area, but fates aren't always that kind to throw up screaming red flags.

Dean's arms are crossed as he rather impatiently waits. He's had a long to thing about during his 'imprisonment'. About Dad, about Sam. Wanting to find them. Not fighting alone anymore. He has all kinds of reasons for setting right out on a hunt of his own, but when he tries to untangle the real reason in his head sometimes its hard.

Baseline? Family. And watching out for Sam.

"C'mon, have to slaughter the cow?" Dean gruffs after waiting a solid ... three minutes. No one ever gave him medals for patience. Rolling his eyes, he looks over at the familiar voice and his arms slowly uncross. "Holy shit."

Stepping right over, he lightly shoves the taller, younger brother in the arm, but not hard enough to knock him over. "Where the hell you been?"

No he's not ignoring that gorgeous woman sitting at his table- well. Not intentionally. He's a little distracted.

Aspen (251) has posed:
And a single glance at said woman will prove just how upset she is by being 'ignored'. Cerulean blue eyes are bright and dancing, and a bright smile has curved her lips upwards as she watches the reunion. See, Dean's movement had caught her attention out of the corner of her eyes and tracked him over to the younger Winchester she recognizes from the pictures.

Without a word, she stands and pulls another chair over to the table and then motions over one of the workers who was emptying a trash can nearby. A little whispering, a handshake, and said worker is soon approaching the brothers. "If you gentlemen would like to have a seat, I'll personally bring the food over to the table when it's ready. Everything's been arranged."

As for Aspen? She's since gone back to scrolling through the images on the laptop, her nose wrinkling occasionally as she reads. Wait... Is she's typing now?

Sam Winchester has posed:
Sam is shoved, and his first reaction is instinctive; he tenses, ready for a fight, reflexes back on point.

But Dean's voice catches up to him seconds after that. His mouth falls open in disbelief. He freezes, and then his lips curve into a bright, happy smile. "//Dean//."

And then, he sputters. "Where the Hell have //I// been? Where the Hell have //you// been? I've been looking for you for like a year!"

He suddenly flings his arms around his brother. And...in so doing palms a silver butter knife, just a dull thing. Dean might feel Sam suspiciously pressing the flat of silver against the back of his neck even as he embraces him, because as much as he wants to believe, as much as he wants to fall into the sheer joy of this chance encounter...he doesn't. Not yet, not entirely. His first thought is shapeshifter.

This is not the Sam who insulated himself in a Stanford dorm room, not the Sam who tried to forget everything.

Of course, this is no shapeshifter, and soon this baffling thing with a worker telling them all has been arranged his happening. Sam blinks a few times at the woman in confusion, even as he steps back from his brother, butterknife disappearing back up his sleeve as he grips his brother's shoulders, trying to get one good, wide-eyed look at him.

Dean Winchester has posed:
"Yeah, well, thats a long story, dude. Maybe tell you over a beer later."

He generally isn't the touchy feely kind of guy, especially in public, but... its Sam. F-It. The Teens at the table that were making fun of the 'old guy' with the 'hot chick' start to go 'Ooooooh' like kids do when Dean hugs his brother back.

Feeling the flat of the knife on his neck, he lets Sam go, smirking. "Well. Welcome back, but do I want to know what changed your mind?"

His expression falls a little more serious, about to say something when the worker interrupts. He gives the guy a flat smile before looking back to Sam, gripping shoulders in return before breaking to pat him on the arm. "I'm in one piece. And..."

Glancing over at Aspen, he smirks: "You should meet my uh,.." Damn, so much has changed. He for some reason has a sudden hard time being able to spit out the word in front of his brother- knowing just what kind of shit he'll get for it: "I'm kinda seeing someone. And... that would be her." Dean gestures to Aspen. "And before she says anything- yes she saved my ass once. Long story. Later. Anyway. C'mon."

With a gesture, he breaks away from Sam to head toward the indicated table, sitting on one side of Aspen as he peers at his laptop and whatever she's writing. Not really worried but wanting to make sure she isn't like... overwriting his notes or something.

Aspen (251) has posed:
Not overwriting. At all. Just... expanding on. "You know, is mumbled thoughtfully as they arrive. "If you really want to get a feel for what's going on around here for stuff like this... You should consider visiting Afterlife..."

Sitting back, Aspen lifts her eyes from the screen and looks over at Sam. A warm smile and her hand is offered. "It's nice to finally meet you."

And then she's looking back and forth between the two and arching a brow. "You boys need time to catch up? I can make myself scarce for a bit if needed... Go, powder my nose or some shit.."

Sam Winchester has posed:
'What changed your mind?'

Sam's expression is what happens when someone covers a pained wince with a quick smile. "It's-- a long story," he says, echoing his brother's own words a third time before allowing himself to be brought over to the woman who apparently saved Dean's ass-- and more than that, got him to //admit// to that, and more than //that//? Is apparently special enough to keep Dean interested for more than 24 hours.

There is a lot of curiosity in those hazel eyes as he studies Aspen. She offers to get up and get moving, to let them catch up and he gives a quick-shake of his head, offering out a hand. "No, please, by all means. Don't let me run you off. It's a pleasure to meet you, um, Miss-- ?"

He lets the question hang in the air, even as he slowly folds his long body into the chair across from the both of them. If he's a bit poleaxed and stunned still, he at least finds his manners quickly.

Dean Winchester has posed:
She hit the guy like a trainwreck, thats for sure.

When Sam asks for her name, Dean clears his throat: "Aspen." He supplies, leaning back in his chair as he settles in. Immediately a little more comfortable now having his brother back.

"What is Afterlife?" Dean questions aside to the woman. "Generally- I try to avoid that. Bad for one's health."

Sam's own bit of pained somberness, hidden behind small talk and pleasantries echoes in a darkness in the corners of Dean's eyes. He has his own baggage. "Sam... I gotta tell you..."

He frowns a little. "Dad's missing. He was gone for a couple months before... I kind of went missing myself. Been over a year since I've heard from him." But 'Missing' also implies he's not answering any of the general ways of contact, either. Something's up.

Aspen (251) has posed:
Aspen's head tilts. "You sure? I don't mind and if there's things you guys need to talk about..." Her eyes cut over to Dean. "I get it."

She's about to answer when the food arrives and she sighs happily. "Mm. Fris and a shake.." And then she's smirking. "No, cowboy... Afterlife is a business run by... well.. She's someone to go to if you have questions and or need information." There's a pause, fry half way to the shake. "She's one of the good ones with a bad rep." And then she's shrugging.

Her eyes flit back to Sam, free hand running back through the blue-black hair to push it from her face. "No Miss... Just.. Aspen." And for as professionally as she's dressed, her attention is right back on the shake and fry. It's like it's the most interesting thing in the world.

Sam Winchester has posed:
Dean gives Sam the heads-up, but he's already nodding grimly. "I know. I've been looking for him, too. All year. Him being gone a few months before you were explains why his trail was always colder, but yeah. I didn't realize he was gone till I realized you were."

He does pause to favor Aspen with a quick smile. "It's nice to meet you, Aspen. I'm sorry, I know this must be terribly awkward for you." The two of them are clearly on a hunt, together, and as such he finally hits on a way to gracefully include her in the conversation, he hopes, without allowing her to continue to feel like the awkward third wheel at the family reunion.

"Is this thing you're working on related to Dad's disappearance, or is it separate? What are you guys after?" In many ways, business is easier than everything else anyway; there's a whole freight train of emotions to process, and the truth is Sam isn't even sure he's ready for those long stories yet, from either of them. It's not like there are not, also, some hidden rocks and pitfalls churning between the waters of the relationship with his brother...plenty of long years where they just didn't speak before everyone started dropping off the face of the earth. Putting them off for a little while longer actually suits the younger Winchester fine, for the moment.

Dean Winchester has posed:
Sometimes hunts are a great way to clear the mind. Put things into perspective. Blow off steam. Vent. Dean's always handled hunts better than emotional 'chick flick' moments, as it were, anyway.

"Stay." Dean offers lightly to Aspen, running a hand over his face with a sigh. Yeah. Happiness. Dark... rainy cloud of poison toads or something. Welcome to typical family reunions in the Winchester family.

"I was trying to track him when I went missing." He still uses that term to avoid outright what really happened. "He left his Journal, Sam. Coordinates for the bustling pain in the ass of NYC." Quiet towns? Small suburbs? Easy. Busy ass city that never sleeps? Makes their job ten times harder.

A hand had moved to rest on Aspen's thigh under the table, but considering there is food in front of him, it is withdrawn. Straightening up in his seat, he grins a little at Aspen and the milkshake before taking a big bite out of his burger. "I've been looking into anything... trying to work my way out from the point he gave me hoping it'll give some clue and kick whatever's ass gets in my way."

Aspen (251) has posed:
"This? Awkward? No... Awkward would be something along the lines of needing to apologize for a group of sadistic, homicidal water people..." Aspen shrugs slightly, giving Sam a friendly grin. "This is me trying to give you space to freely talk to your brother without feeling like you need to censor around me since you don't know me." Well... At least she's honest.

Another fry is dipped into the mocha shake and popped into her mouth. Chewed and swallowed, she wipes her mouth and fingers. "I'm not a Hunter so I try to stay out of the way. I can research, supply information, cash, phones, a place to crash... whatever y'all need but... It's probably best if I don't get in the middle of it." Even if she is damn near impossible to kill.

The fries are held out to Sam in offer, a brow arched. "Best when dipped in a milkshake." As if this is something everyone should be made aware of and agree to. "Like I told Dean... If you guys are trying to track Supernatural baddies in NYC... Well, I hope you have a few years. Between, metas, mutants, aliens, gods, demigods and... everything else..." She shrugs.

Sam Winchester has posed:
"Yeah, I got some sort of copy of it," Sam says, bringing out a much newer book that looks equally thick. "That's what drove me out this way too, it was the best lead I had."

Sadistic...homicidal...water people? Sam's head cocks and his brow quirks at that one. Long stories. Right. She says she's not a Hunter and a skeptical look crosses his face. He simply says, "There's more than one way to hunt."

Support is as important as kicking the ass of whatever is in their way, so to speak.

Sam takes a couple of fries, and gives another one of those fast, boyish smiles when she tells him exactly how they should be eaten. In general he prefers healthier food, but he won't turn down an offer of kindness. He dips them, sort of toasts her with them, and puts them into his mouth. He spends a moment noshing on them as she lays out the scope of the problem.

"We have," he says at last, solemnly, "as long as it takes." He shares a significant look with Dean then, one he hopes his brother will correctly interpret.

Yes. He's in this. With him.

Dean Winchester has posed:
Awkward? Trying to tell his brother that the 'womanizer' of the pair found someone to be interested in for a much longer time. Or.. y'know... that she's not human, but lets not get to that part.

He does give that look of 'yeah, long story' to the homicidal water people, though he's gone a little quiet as she speaks. Though part of him is rather pleased that Sam is so... accepting.

"As long as it takes." Dean agrees, nodding to the more serious look in acceptance.

Clearing his throat, trying to levitate the conversation, he flashes one of those playful, impish smiles. "So. Sam. I suppose we should go clubbing and see what we can scope out of this Afterlife?" The name still sits ill at ease with him, but ... whatever. "Or grab a drink and compare notes. You done many jobs around here? How long you been in the area anyway?"

Aspen (251) has posed:
That skeptical look makes her smirk. She opens her mouth to correct... to reiterate... and ends up closing it just to chuckle. "I suppose so."

The boyish grin causes her to laugh warmly. There's no doubt in her mind they've broken more than a few hearts with those smiles of theirs. "You two are a dangerous pair, ya know that?" And she seems so thoroughly amused by it.

"Best. Food. Ever!" Aspen beams brightly at Sam as he noms the fries while shifting so she's got her back leaning against Dean. "So... Did you guys get more specific directions than 'go to NYC' because... That's, not really helpful."

Her head tilts back to look at Dean. "Afterlife isn't a club. It's... Well, from what I understand, something you have to see for yourself." And then she's pulling the milkshake to her and falling silent to let the boys talk.

Sam Winchester has posed:
"Since this morning. I put down a restless spirit in Bludhaven a few days ago and kept moving," Sam says, in answer to Dean's question. "Basic salt-it-and-burn-it, nothing major. I just got //here// this morning. As for specific," here, he snorts in irritation. "No. We got military coordinates, assuming Dean got what I got, because that's...that's just how Dad does things. So...checking out Afterlife sounds smart to me. I'd like a few more details on how it links up to anything so I can ask halfway intelligent questions when we go."

For this, he looks squarely at Aspen, since she is the one who dug up the link in the first place...and since she's now dropping this fascinating tidbit about how it has to be //experienced//.His mien is serious in comparison to Dean's far more impish and ready-to-go one, but not in any deep, heavy way. It's more like he's simply focusing, giving them both his empathetic and intense attention. It is the same attention that has allowed frightened witnesses to give him answers across dozens of states as he's made his slow trek literally from coast-to-coast, and if that demeanor isn't precisely //necessary// here, it's one he falls into using without even really thinking about it.

Even so, there's something in him that is relaxed and pleased all the same. //Dean's here//, and alive, and not disappointed in him for not being the one to rescue him, and with this woman and...

The suspicion comes round again. He coughs a little. The word 'Christo' might slip out.

You know. Just in case. No demons at this table. Right?

Dean Winchester has posed:
As Aspen settles against him, his arm rests around her waist, hand settled on her stomach. He leans back, the rest of his foot forgotten for the moment. "Dad is a former marine." He adds lightly for Aspen's understanding. "The coordinates I got were where I was taken down, near the coast." Though by his tone of 'down'... Long story. Later.

The coughed word, Dean gives Sam a silent, glaring look of 'Seriously, dude?!'. He shakes his head, though a faint concern crosses his features as he looks down to his chest for a moment. He has the tattoo. No one ver explained if it still works if it was.. broken or damaged.

"Its some kind of place for people... not human, to go and hang out. We got our clubs and bars and.. well... As far as I heard anyway- if its the same place I'm thinking of."

Aspen (251) has posed:
All at once, Aspen snaps up. "Down where you were... Fuck, Dean! Why didn't you tell me? Any on of the Blue or Black could have taken them deeper than they took you. I haven't been looking down there.. That area of the ocean is littered with caves like the one they kept you in..."

The bag on the floor is being dug into for her cell phone which she seems to have forgotten she shoved in a pocket. "I need to call work and let them know I'll be gone a few days... Humans can go there to as long as they don't mind the others... It's a no fight zone from what I understand... Where the hell is my phone??"

If she caught the word, there's a chance she has no idea what it was all about. There's a better chance she just didn't hear it it.

While Aspen isn't human, really, she's not demonic. There's a good chance the boys will disagree given the way she's starting to fill the table with all kinds of things from her purse.

Sam Winchester has posed:
Sam Winchester looks mulishly unrepentant about his paranoia. It has been a rough year. He also just sort of pretends he didn't do it, even as he listens to the explanation about the club. It sounds like maybe the kind of place they're going to get roughly thrown out of, but that doesn't mean he doesn't want to go have a look. As it is, Aspen says, just a few moments later, that it's a no-fight zone...but...

By then? Dean's new love interest has dropped all these //other// tantalizing details. Blue? Black? The most important bit...

"You've been in a cave in the ocean?"

She also just says 'humans' like she's not one of them. He does a double take. So maybe not a monster, but...something. Another alien? Something else? His expressive face reflects a growing confusion which sort of transfers helplessly to the growing pile of items on the table.

"Uh," he says, and that's about all that makes it out of his mouth.

Dean Winchester has posed:
Dean sits up a little, clearing his throat as Aspen drops hints about where he's been. "Ah.. yeah. I was kind of taken, while on a job. I killed two of theirs, they won the fight, then proceeded to torture me for almost a year. Something like that." Dean shrugs it off like its nothing, but there is that haunted darkness that resides still in his eyes. Much harder to shake off.

"Aspen- don't. You already went ..." He pauses and looks to Sam. "Aspen... is..." Really? So much for 'waiting until the right moment'. Aspen is what? A mutant? A sea creature? --- God no, not that one... bad jokes. Bad jokes.

"There are different kinds of deep sea dwellers... the Blue and the Black... and uh... she's related."

Aspen (251) has posed:
Aspen pauses, lifting her head and shooting an amused look at Dean, a brow arching as he attempts to explain what she is. Finally, she turns her attention to Sam. "Aspen," because now it amuses her to talk about herself in the third person. "is not human. I'm a hybrid of two races of being that are older than the Atlanteans." They had to have heard of Atlantis... Amor... Aquaman...

She shrugs. "Both races powerful and half of each hate humans... Turns out, I'm their ultimate weapon. It sucks." A shift in her seat and. "Oh!" Her phone is pulled from her pocket.

"Look... Neither of you can go down there, Dean. You know that. I can. If they took you father... Especially if they took him deeper... Dean, I killed them."

Which means, if dear old dad /is/ down there...

Sam Winchester has posed:
Some people drown in oceans. Others drown in sudden revelations. For one moment it looks like Sam is doing just that. His first takeaway is that his brother was //tortured//, and for a //year//. A terrible look of concern and raw guilt rockets across his face. If he hadn't run off, if he hadn't been so selfish, if he'd been there...

Then maybe things would be different.

He knows better than to go there, not here, not now, not as Dean reveals that he's been helped by the weapon of the factions that kept him there, a woman who is some sort of deep sea dweller, one of three types: Blues, Blacks, and Atlanteans. He absorbs the information quickly. She says it sucks, he quietly clears his throat and says, "Sounds like."

He glances at Dean as his girlfriend tries to tell him he can't go down there. He braces for an explosion that he wisely decides to stay out of the middle of. Wisely-- or perhaps he's just falling back in the old patterns of letting Dean be in charge, call the shots, decide whether they're going to continue their search on land or...apparently...attempt some sort of ill-advised and barely concievable deep-sea dive in hostile territory in search of a father who might have gotten Shanghai'd by ocean-dwellers for inscrutable reasons.

Dean Winchester has posed:
Everyone is having their own relevations. If the network is as vast, more of them down there... if Dad *is* there... Talk about being between a rock and a hard place.

"Your not going without us. You got me out, why can't you get us both down there?" Telling him he -can't- go help look for his father? That strikes a harsh cord. Especially after everything he's been through and his expression darkens; a bit of steel to his eyes of trying to hold back that desparate rage wanting to spill forth. Something surely Sam's seen when he's fired up about something. .. Well, maybe an understatement.

"There has to be someway we can help. Some other way down on lighter levels... you can't expect us to let you do this alone." Any of Sam's guilt is ignored for the moment. That.... is not one argument he wants to have.

Aspen (251) has posed:
She's already got the phone to her ear when Dean starts speaking. Her eyes cut over to him. "Dean, they took you as deep as any human can go without needing special, very expensive equipment. You're likely you survived the pressure! Taking you back down would be stupid. Taking you both back down would be - No, Jenny, not you. Look, I'll be out of the office a few d.. No I will not .. Damnit -- it would be doubly stupid, Dean."

She frowns a looks back and forth between them. A hand is run over her face. "One of you has to see that trying to go down there is just an all around bad idea. He might not even -- I'll be out of the office a few days, Jenny. I'll call when I get back -- He might not even be down there."

The phone is hung up and dropped into her bag. "Look... I stay out of your way up here, don't I? So you don't have to watch? To worry? Do you have any idea how close to impossible it is for them to hurt me? But you... Either of you... you're both very human. You just found each other... Don't be reckless in this, please. Look up here where you have the experience I don't... Let me handle the Blue and the Black..."

Sam Winchester has posed:
Dean's reaction pretty much falls in line with Sam's predictions for them, made all the harsher by the level of hero-worship the elder Winchester holds for the man. Sam's own feelings on the matter are far more mixed, of course, but it wasn't as though he hadn't taken the search up himself.

Aspen pleads with them both, and he pat pats the air, looking for a compromise.

"We don't even know he's down there yet, Dean," he says, very quietly and carefully, seeking to be the voice of reason.

He then looks at Aspen, though, because compromises mean both. "But you can't keep us from looking for our father. It's not in our nature to stand on the sidelines when family is involved. If you don't go with us, help us, and guide us, we're just going to go down there ourselves if we find we have to, which means the best way you can help us is to work //with// us should the time come."

It's not in Dean's nature, anyway, and Sam is painfully aware of how he falls short of this Winchester ideal. But for this, it's important to show solidarity with his brother.

He looks between them both though, and says, "We just need more information. Dean, maybe you and I should go check out Afterlife. Maybe Aspen goes and gathers some intel under the water. We //all// agree to meet back at a pre-determined location within 72 hours and simply share what we've found. //Then// we make a plan of action."

Or argue about a plan of action, as the case may be. But it is what it is.

Dean Winchester has posed:
Closing his eyes a moment, pinching the bridge of his nose, he growls lightly. He sees and understands their logic, but... F*! Every other instinct in his body is screaming for something completely opposite and it makes him absolutely want to just flip the stupid table and have a complete bar-fight moment.

Ragemuch?

Sam's voice of reason at least offers some calm to his torn decision. "Fine. My place. And I swear it better be intel gathering only." With that tone of 'if she comes back hurt for looking for their father, he will go to hell if he has to for retribution.'. Not against her, of course.

But with that sharp consent, and not wanting to face the fact that he is facing a harsh fear just letting her go. Losing anyone close to him. Why he normally doesn't allow anyone to get close and now all of a sudden he does and BAM! Look what might happen.

Yes, he's pissed. But not really at them. Just the situation. Doesn't stop him from throwing the door to the joint open and stalking outside to go find his car. He needs a distraction. Blow off some steam.

Aspen (251) has posed:
As Aspen and Dean lock horns, there's a deep rumble in the walls and an employee starting to grumble about the water backing up into the sinks. And, like Dean, when Sam speaks up, she accepts the compromise. Except for her, that's enough to calm her. And once she's calm, the rumbling stops and the plumbing seems to return to normal.

"Intel only. I swear. And I'll get help." Granted, probably not the kind that they'd consider but...

When he walks out, she sighs. Her eyes flit to Sam and Dean's laptop is handed over to him with a small smile. "Try to keep him out of too much trouble? And, Sam... if I find anything... I'll get the equipment from work to take you guys down with me. I swear. Until then... Check Afterlife. You're looking for the owner."

Sam Winchester has posed:
Sam slooooow looks around the restaurant as the plumbing starts to shake. He looks back at Aspen, eyes a little bit wide.

But it all comes out okay, and his tension eases out of him. It is to her credit that she allows Dean's outbursts and fury to basically roll off of her; she doesn't seem hurt or threatened or anxious in the face of it, the way some significant others might. "I'll do my best," he promises her, with one of those fast little smiles that often flits across his face. "Looking for the owner. Got it. Thanks, Aspen. I'm glad Dean had you, that he wasn't alone." The words are spoken quietly, with unpretentious sincerity.

He takes the laptop, closing it gently, and pauses to scrawl down his phone number, pushing it across the table to her. More contact information is no bad thing, after all.