This uses the characters of Dean and Sam Winchester from the Supernatural TV series. I do not own these characters (damn, but I wish I did!)
*
She sighed as she lifted the hood, knowing what was wrong. The rocketing temperature gauge and alternator warning light were a dead giveaway. Thinking of the meagre tool roll in the trunk, she sighed again. She could almost feel his disappointment. He'd taught her better than this.
"I know, dad. I should've checked it over properly before I left on this hare-brained adventure," she muttered to the imagined reproach. "Or at least carried spares. I know."
She smiled sadly. He'd always drummed it into her to maintain her vehicle so she wouldn't get in a situation like this. Now he was gone, and she'd stuffed up.
"Oh, well," she continued her one-sided conversation. "No use crying over spilt milk, or overheated radiators. Guess I'll just have to sit here till she cools down enough to limp back into whatever the name of that place was and hope I can get a belt there."
It was only about 10 miles, but it was sure gonna take a while to get there - the radiator wasn't the only thing that was hot.
It was too hot to walk back, she'd risk heat stroke. And driving was going to be a sad, slow and stop-start affair. So undignified for her beautiful baby. Might be worth leaving it a couple of hours, until the air temperature cooled off a bit too.
Looking back down the road, she could see the heat shimmering off the tar. At least she'd had the sense to carry a water bottle. She thanked her stars the fan belt had let go here and not an hour further on down the road. Then she'd be in serious trouble. There was a mighty lot of empty space between that last town and the next and it didn't look like this was a road that suffered much from traffic congestion.
The car's interior was pretty damn warm too, so she settled down in the shade, leaning against the passenger's side rear wheel. Listening to the car ping and creak as it slowly cooled, she let her mind drift and her eyes close.
***
Something had woken her up -- a change in the surroundings. A sound. The sound of an approaching car. She stood, turning toward the sound and brushing the dust from the ass of her faded cut-offs. Definitely a car coming, V8 by the growl. Then she saw it, travelling the opposite way to her. That was one serious piece of car -- big, black and flying low to the ground -- an old Chevy, Impala by the look of it. She turned to her car and muttered, "That's what I want you to be when you grow up," then smiled and patted the red Mustang's tail. "Not really, baby, but you gotta admit: that is a
nice
car."
As she watched, the Impala slowed, its engine grumbling and muttering, finally pulling off the tarmac opposite her. Yeah, a really damned fine car.
"Do you need a hand?" The rich voice pulled her attention from the car to its driver. He was mid 20s, with stubble and spiky short light brown hair, a smirk and a set of piercing green eyes.
"Nice car," she said, returning the smirk as she watched his eyes glide up and down her body. Definitely a wolf in wolf's clothing, wonder if he bites as well as he barks. "It's a '67, isn't it?"
He blinked. "Yeah, she is. You know cars then?" The door let out that old car squeak as he opened it and climbed out.
She chuckled. "Don't sound so surprised. I would've thought the '65 Mustang'd be a giveaway." She patted her car again.
"Yeah, I guess it should. I'm Dean, by the way. What's the problem?"
"I'm Callie. Spat the fan belt and, stupidly, I'm not carrying a spare." She looked suitably chagrined. "And before you even ask: no, I don't have a pair of pantyhose. I hate the things, even if they do make useful emergency belts. I was gonna wait till it was cooler and limp back into town."
The smirk was back. "You looked more like a stockings girl to me." He turned back to the car and pointed under it. "Limping into town's a bit risky, looks like the belt took a chunk out of the bottom hose when it let go. You could cook the motor."
Her face fell as she noticed the pool of water under her beloved Mustang. "Oh, great."
That put any chance of moving under her own steam out of the picture.
"Town's only a few miles that way, isn't it?" Dean quirked a thumb. "We could drive in and get the parts, give you a hand to get her running again."
"We?" Callie looked over to the Impala, noticing for the first time there was someone in the passenger's seat.
"Yeah, that's my brother, Sam. He's the quiet one. Hey! Sam! This is Callie. She needs a hand. Get the trunk."
Sam raised his hand in greeting and reached over to get the keys from the ignition. To manage that without scooting, he had to be big. His door squeaked the old car squeak too.
His head disappeared into the trunk. "What am I getting?"
"Tool roll and ground sheet will do for now," Dean called back, his head still under the hood of the Mustang.
Callie was torn between putting these guys out in their own travel plans, and wanting to get on with her own.
After a short discussion it was agreed that Dean would stay with her, getting that old hose off, ready for the new one and Sam would drive into town to get the parts. Callie didn't put up much of a fight, Dean was definitely worth wasting a couple of hours on. Hell, she might even be able to get a look at what was hidden under that shirt if she worked it right.
***
They spread the ground sheet under the car, sliding it in as far as possible. "OK, darlin', here's where we get a little dirty." Dean's grin was crooked and his eyes sparkled with mischief. "You're smaller, you get to go underneath."
If he was expecting a complaint, he was disappointed. Callie quickly shuffled under the car with a screwdriver to undo the clamps holding the ruined hose in place.
"If you're just gonna stand there and look pretty, at least you could try and be useful," her voice was muffled by the motor above her. "Pass me a blade would you? This hose is jammed tight."
Sam drove off, chuckling at Dean's expression in the rear view mirror.
When he returned, about half an hour later, Callie was definitely dirty. Grease spots freckled her face, along with dirty smears where she had brushed her hair out of her eyes with blackened hands. Dean's hands were also less than clean, and they were both sweaty.
"Think I found a reasonable motel back there," Sam said, taking Dean aside as he handed over the new belt and hose, a jerry of water to refill the radiator and two bottles of water to refill Dean and Callie.
"I'll head back and get a room, check out a couple of things in Marathon while you're busy here. I think that newspaper report left out more than a few details."
Dean grunted an affirmative then spoke up to Callie. "Sam's found a motel. You want him to book you a room too? It'll be pretty close to dark by the time we get done here."
She thought briefly. Very briefly -- a motel, Dean in the next room... "Yeah, don't feel much like tackling that desert stretch tonight."
Dean grabbed his jacket out of the back of the Impala and threw it on the seat of the Mustang, then watched Sam pull away, before turning his attention back to Callie and the Mustang.
He took a drink. Sure was hot out here, and dusty. But he could think of worse ways to spend an afternoon than this. Callie was petite, cute and sassy as all hell. He found himself wondering how good that chest looked out of the shirt. Later, boy, later.
Dean set to replacing the fan belt while Callie slid back under the car and went back to cursing and hacking away at the old radiator hose.
They swapped tools, banter and offered each other unnecessary advice on how best to manage the job. All was going well till Dean's hand slipped and he dropped a spanner. It clattered down through the engine bay and fell through, neatly catching Callie on the bridge of the nose.
"Ah!" She rolled onto her face, hugging her nose.
"Shit! Are you all right? I'm sorry, it slipped." The concern in Dean's voice would've made her laugh if her nose didn't hurt so much.
"Crap, how about warning a girl?" She crawled from under the car, still clutching her face, her eyes streaming. Dean hovered. "I'm fine. Get off me." She staggered slightly, clutching the fender as she swiped her hand across her eyes, leaving a marvellous black smudge, and making her look a little like a raccoon.
Dean was now grinning, but still a bit worried. "Oh, babe, I like the new look! You sure you're OK, though?"
"Yeah, just give me a minute." She leaned against the car and rested her head on her arms, her eyes tight shut. Man but that hurt.
When she opened her eyes, Dean was under the car. "Hey, that's my job, remember?"
"My penance for being a clumsy jerk. I get squished as well as dirty."
She grinned. "OK. I can see that."