Disclaimer: Not mine, I'm just playing with Kripke's toys

Timeline: Second Season somewhere between FPB and AHBL

Author's note: This is the fourth part of my Victor 'verse and takes place immediately after the third part "The World You Thought You Live In". This can stand alone but there are references to the other parts. All you really need to know is given below.

Strangers in a Bar

Then

After Special Agent Victor Henriksen had a literally front row seat to the Winchester brothers working a case, he quit the FBI to become a hunter. The Winchesters took him in to teach him the basics and take him on a few hunts till he would be capable to survive on his own. He learned that evil was closer than he thought and not all ghost were bad even if they tried to kill you. And sometimes people ended in hospitals.

Now

After they had busted Dean out of the hospital, they settled him in the backseat and Sam just drove. As expected Dean had a few words with his brother about playing with ghosts alone. Victor tried not to be offended – in Winchester speak alone was translated as not with Dean, Victor knew that much – the lack of trust still stung. Finally Sam ended the discussion by turning the music up and gesturing towards his ear. "Can't hear you, music's too loud."

Victor thought they would head towards Bobby's again, it seemed like the Winchesters' place to go. Home. In a way Victor was thankful he hadn't known about that place as long as he had been the FBI agent on their tail. But the Winchesters surprised him once again. Bobby's place wasn't even mentioned. Instead Sam drove more or less in one direction till exhaustion took over and then they stopped at another crappy motel. And they repeated this the next day with the only difference that Dean insisted to take at least short terms in driving too. Victor wasn't fond of that idea but by then he knew Dean well enough to keep his mouth shut. He trusted Sam to force his brother back into the passenger seat after an hour or so of driving. By then the lines of pain in Dean's face were visible again and he took his medicine without arguing.

"He should be in a bed and not a rumbling car." Victor pointed out when Dean was sleeping in the back seat for once.

"One more day." Sam answered. His voice was back to normal again but the angry bruises on this throat would stay for a while. Victor shifted. Sitting for long hours in a car wasn't good for his leg and rips either. All three of them were battered and they needed time to rest and heal. Preferably not in a car.

"And then?" He asked when Sam didn't continue.

"We'll find a place to hole up for a while."

That sounded good but Victor wondered why they had to drive for days while none of them were in any condition to do so. When realization stroke he wanted to smack his own forehead. The Winchesters were fugitives – wanted by the FBI no less – of course they had to get as far away from their last known position as possible. Dean had been in an hospital, not under his own name but it was a trace somebody could follow. Not long ago he had been the one to follow such a trace. How could Victor forget that part he had no idea.

The place to hole up turned out to be a cabin in the woods. Out of season it was cheap and isolated, just the right place for vacation Winchester style. Designed for four persons – family with two kids – it had enough room so they wouldn't get literal cabin fever any time soon. Victor got the main bedroom with the king-size bed while the brothers shared the two queens room.

After Sam had unpacked – dropping the duffel bags somewhere close to their beds – he fed Dean his dose of antibiotics and painkillers and tucked him in. The lack of protest was a sure sign of how much he needed the rest.

"I'll drive into town to fetch a few things." Sam said after he had closed the door to give his brother some quiet time. "Wanna come along?"

"Sure. Why not?" After so much time in the car Victor wasn't looking forward to another trip but the least he could do was to help Sam with the groceries.

At the store Sam started to load their cart with convenience food; canned, for the microwave or the just-add-water-stuff, he wasn't picky. Even the salad he chose was pre-made but Victor gave him a point for trying.

"You know this stuff isn't good for you, right?" Judging by the amount of things in the cart Sam was planning on feeding them with this crap for the next weeks. Maybe with an occasional break with takeout burgers and what looked like a lifetime supply of M&Ms. "Ever heard of home-made food?"

Sam gave him a weak smile. "Dean can heat a can of tomato soup or add water to this Mac'n'Cheese." He hold up the package. "But I'm known to burn water. Unless you can cook, we'll have to live with these."

Victor tilted his head already running a list of thing he'd need in his mind. "Actually, I can. I'm not a genius in the kitchen but I can make a decent lasagne."

The longing look on Sam's face would have been comical if it wasn't so sad. Victor didn't dare to ask when the brothers had something home-made the last time. Maybe at Singer's but Victor wouldn't bet money on it. He liked the older man but he didn't consider him the cooking type. Silently Victor promised Sam the best lasagne ever. And maybe a little surprise for dessert.

"That smells good." It was nearly dinner time when Dean decided to join them again. After a few hours of sleep he looked more alive than the last few days.

"Ten minutes." Victor told him after a quick glance at the lasagne in the oven. "You can do something useful and set the table."

Victor couldn't deny it, he was a little nervous when he waited for the brothers to take their first bites. The lasagne should be okay, not master-chef like but okay. Or so he hoped.

"This is delicious." Was Dean's nearly pornographic comment after he'd the first bite. "We keep him." He pointed with his fork in Victor's direction.

Sam didn't answer but going by the blissful look on his face he agreed with his brother.

Victor smiled and they ate in silence for a while. When Dean reached out the third time to help himself Victor said: "You should leave room for dessert."

"What's for dessert?" Dean asked but loaded his plate nevertheless.

"Ice-cream." Victor answered. "Oh, and there is an apple pie in the oven."

Fork halfway to his mouth Dean stopped. For a second he just stared at Victor. "Man, I think I love you."

"My grandma's recipe. The highlight of every Thanksgiving. The whole family used to fight over the last slice." Victor was lost for a second in thoughts about his family. After his grandma had died it hadn't been the same.

It took him a moment to notice the change in the atmosphere. A bit confused he looked from one Winchester to the other.

"I had Thanksgiving with Jess' family once." Sam said and Dean suddenly was very interested in his food.

Crap, what a way to put his foot into his mouth. The brothers never really had a family beside their – now dead – father. He'd never met John but by what he knew about the man Victor couldn't picture him carving the turkey. And on top of that he just reminded Sam of his dead girlfriend. Really good job, Vic.

"It should be ready by now." Victor made an escape to the kitchen. When he returned with ice-cream and pie the brothers where already laughing again. Like it never happened and Victor would be damned if he brought the topic of family or holidays up again. Ever.

After dinner they turned in early, they all needed a good night's sleep to recover.

The first week they stayed mostly at the cabin. And Victor had to admit he missed his own bed. There wasn't much he missed about his old life but his bed was definitely one of those things. Maybe because he never had nightmares while sleeping in his own bed. In his dreams he found himself face to face with Donald Libbey. Ectoplasm oozing out of the dead man's eyes, nose and mouth and he tried to carve Victor's eyes out with his knife. If the Winchesters noticed that he didn't sleep that well the first nights they didn't mention it. It got better after a few nights, though.

Another thing Victor missed was to have things in the closet and not just in a bag. The Winchesters however seemed perfectly fine with living out of a bag. It never occurred to them to put things into a closet or a dresser. They didn't even let things laying around in the bathroom. If they had to they could pack and be on the road in under a minute, Victor guessed. A life on the run.

By the end of the week Victor could pick handcuffs with a paperclip – as long as his hands weren't on his back and he could take his time – and he knew how to make holy water along with some other useful things. And he'd lost a fortune of M&Ms at poker.

They all felt better. The bruises on Sam's throat had faded to a socially acceptable level, Dean got the stitches out and he had finished his antibiotics and Victor wasn't limping anymore.

That was when Victor had to face a new monster, scarier than anything he could have ever imagined in his worst nightmare: A bored Winchester.