A/N: The trio is back with another journey for your enjoyment. So sit back and lets get started.

NC

Chapter 1

The bar was dimly lit as Dean walked through the door. He paused just inside the doorway letting his eyes adjust to the change in light before taking a step in. What few patrons still there gave him a curious glance and went back to their drinking. He scanned it for any threats before continuing. He took a stool at the end of an old wooden bar giving him a clear view of the door and the rest of the room. This bar looked like all the other no name bars he had stepped into over the years and the patrons hadn't changed much over time either.

"What'd ya have?" a female voice asked as she wiped the spot in front of Dean.

"Beer and Jack." Dean answered looking up at a tall, dark haired, easy on the eyes, woman. He gave her a quick once over before returning her smile with a half smile of his own. Dean pulled his ringing cell out and looked at the display before sending the call to voicemail. His attention went back to the bartender as he watched her pour his order.

"Sure thing hon." she replied picking up a glass and drawing a draft. She sat a napkin down along with the beer, and then set a glass down pouring whiskey into it. "Let me know if you need anything else." she insinuated in a sultry voice arching an eye brow before walking away. It wasn't often she saw a hunk of a guy like this come through the doors and she wouldn't mind getting better acquainted.

Any other time Dean would have jumped at the offer, but not tonight; he had other things on his mind. He picked up the shot, looked deep into the glass before downing it in one swallow. He didn't notice that the bartender was watching him out of the corner of her eye. He winced as the whiskey hit the cut on his lip, burning for a moment until he licked his tongue over it. He sighed as his cell went off again and he sent it to voicemail once more.

Dean went over the events in his head again to see if there was any other recourse than what went down. He sipped his beer slowly letting it wash the burn of the liquor out of his throat. His thoughts were interrupted when his cell began to vibrate. Dean dug it out of his pocket and glanced at the display before answering.

"Yeah." he grunted.

"Where are you?" his brother's voice asked concern etched in it. "Oree has been trying to reach you."

"Around and I know."

"Dean, come on man, you need to let it go, it wasn't your fault."

"Leave it Sammy, I'll be back later."

"Where are..." Sam started, but Dean had hung up.

"Another." he nodded to the bartender pushing his glass forward for another shot.

"Bad day?" she asked trying to start a conservation.

"You could say that." he noted. He knew his sister was going to be royally pissed at him for not answering his phone, but he wasn't in the mood to talk to anyone.

Dean took the drink and swirled it gently in the glass as the image of the girl's face filled his mind. If he had only been five seconds faster she might still be alive. The only good thing was the vampire that killed her was toast. The vamp had ripped her throat out before Dean could take his head off. He tried to save the girl, but it was too late for her. She died in his arms with a look of such sadness in her eyes.

After dropping Sam at the motel, he had found this bar so he could be alone and drink. He knew Sam meant well, but he needed his space. He would head back to the motel after he got a little drunk. Dean had cut back drastically on his drinking since their half sister had come into their lives. Now it wasn't just Sammy and him, it was Sammy, Oree and him. Their family had grown and so did his responsibility. Oree was a good influence on both of them and they visited her when close. At least now she wasn't alone, since she told Castiel how she felt about him, he had been staying with her. He sipped his beer as his eyes wandered back to the bartender watching her draw several beers for a customer. He looked down before she saw him watching, not wanting to encourage any more of her attention.

spn

It was after midnight when Sam last looked at the clock and still no Dean. He knew his brother could be a pain, but losing that girl on their last hunt hit him hard. She was only sixteen and her life was taken in an instant. He would give Dean thirty more minutes before going looking for him. Sam knew Dean's habits, he shouldn't be hard to find, unless he decided to get lucky. If that were the case, he could always ping his cell to find him even if he would be pissed, he'd chance it.

Noises outside the room alerted Sam as he grabbed his gun and started for the door. He stopped short when a familiar slurred voice could be heard outside the door saying a few choice words about the key not fitting.

"Damnit." Dean grumbled as he tried to get the door open. When it opened from the inside, he stumbled in and would have fallen if Sam hadn't grabbed him.

"'bout time, I was heading out to look for you."

"S'mmy, h'm 're." Dean mumbled as he swayed in his brother's grasp.

"Come on, bed's over here." Sam sighed steering his brother toward the bed. "Easy now."

Sam got his brother onto the bed without dropping him and began to take his shoes and coat off before letting him fall back on it. This was the first time in a long time Dean had gotten this wasted and it wasn't a pretty site.

"S'op it S'mmy."

"What?"

"Roo' 'pinin'." Dean moaned as he squeezed his eyes shut and swallowed the bile slipping up his throat.

"No, no!" Sam cried looking around for the trash can before Dean threw up. "Here." he said rolling him to his side so his head hung over the side and holding the trash can for him.

Bitter bile made its way up his throat and out his mouth and into the waiting trash can. Sam grimaced when the smell assaulted him as he waited for his brother to finish trying not to throw up himself. This wasn't the first time he had done this and probably wouldn't be the last.

"Ok, let me get you some water and a wet cloth." Sam told Dean as he lay back on the bed moaning softly.

Sam wet a wash cloth and fished a bottle of water from the fridge. "Rinse first and then drink." he instructed Dean holding the bottle for him. Dean complied with his request rinsing his mouth, spitting and then sipping some of the water. Sam folded the wet cloth and placed it across his forehead as Dean closed his eyes out for the count. "Night bro." Sam said softly brushing his brother's hair back into place and pulling a blanket up over his body.

Tying up the garbage bag, Sam carried it outside and to the dumpster glad to be rid of the smell. He stood at the open door for a few minutes letting fresh air into the room before the chill made him shiver and he shut it. Sam made his way to his bed as the events of the day overtook him making him realize how exhausted he really was. He slipped under the covers and fell into an exhausted restless sleep.

spn

Dean watched the girl look at him helplessly, her eyes begging him to save her before her throat was torn out. He yelled madly as he lunged only to have his dream disappear and be replaced by a serene lake. Dean looked around slowly, puzzled about how he got here. This wasn't the lake he usually dreamed about, so he was confused as to why he would be dreaming of it.

"What did I tell you about not answering your phone? I told you I'd track you down." Oree huffed at him as she walked toward him from the forest.

"Sis, how'd you get here? Are you using dream root?"

"No, I've learned a few things since you guys have been gone. Angel's shown me some new tricks."

"Why are you in my dreams?"

"What's wrong and don't tell me nothing. I know you Dean Winchester, something is bothering you."

"An innocent girl died today because I wasn't fast enough." he finally got out.

"Dee, I know how hard you and Sam try, but you've got to be honest with yourself, you can't always save everyone no matter how hard you try. It's how life is, some you can save and some you can't. You've got to stop beating yourself up about it." she said softly wrapping her arms around his waist and hugging him.

Dean accepted her hug and wrapped his arms around her shoulders letting her comfort him. He let her pull him to a bench by the lake and they sat down. She kept a supporting hold on him giving him strength and lending an ear. They looked out across the serene lake watching a family of ducks swim slowly by casting ripples in their wake. A gently, warm, breeze blew through the trees and across the lake, ruffling their hair and bringing a scent of honeysuckle their way.

"Talk to me." she said softly taking his hand in hers.

Dean sighed and looked out across the lake letting his mind settle down. "We were hunting a vamp and had tracked him to..."

Oree listened patiently as Dean told his story about what happened. Dean let his walls down and his emotions out to his sister. She was the only one who could get through to him when he shut everyone else out. She held him when he cried for the girl he couldn't save. She showed him empathy and compassion and understanding. After Dean composed himself, Oree told him he needed to rest and he should call her tomorrow or else.

spn

Retching noises from the bathroom woke Sam early the next morning. He looked over at the empty bed and knew Dean was paying for his binge last night.

"You ok in there?" he called through the door to his brother.

"Yeah." a hoarse voice answered before gagging started again.

"Want me to go pick up some greasy sausage biscuits with a side of bacon grease?" Sam snickered as he heard more retching.

"You're so dead." Dean got out as his stomach rolled again just thinking about food. "Dead!" he gagged as dry heaves started.

"Goin' to get some food." Sam called changing into jeans and slipping on his shoes. He didn't wait for an answer as he snagged the car keys on his way out the door.

spn

Dean sat back against the cold tub letting his body calm down before deciding his next move. He definitely needed a shower from the smell of his clothes and body. He took several deep breaths before getting himself as far as sitting on the commode. He turned the hot water on and began to strip off his clothes. After adjusting the temperature of the water, Dean stepped under the hot spray letting it wash sweat and puke off him. He caught a mouth full and swished it around before spitting it out. The beating of the water began to force the ache and tiredness from his body. Not wanting to run out of hot water, Dean began to soap himself down being sure to clean the scraps that he had gotten on the hunt. Feeling more human again, he turned the water off and grabbed a towel to dry himself.

Sam looked up as his brother came out of the bathroom with a towel tightly around his waist. At least he was vertical again and didn't look to bad off.

"There's aspirin and water on the nightstand." he motioned as Dean grabbed his bag for clean clothes.

"Thanks."

"Got you some dry toast, figured your stomach wouldn't be in the mood for real food."

"Let me get dressed." he said picking up the pills and popping them in his mouth before drinking a good portion of the water. He found clean clothes and went back in the bathroom to dress.

Ten minutes later, Dean came out towel drying his hair before tossing the towel back in the bathroom. He made his way over to the table and dropped into the only other chair.

"Figured we'd stay another day here, do some laundry, check our supplies and weapons, rest before catching another hunt and I need to call Sis, it seems she's learned a few new tricks."

"You know what she said, we're to stay in touch or feel her wraith."

"Yeah, yeah. You good with staying?"

"Sounds good to me, I'm 'bout out of clean clothes anyway." Sam agreed finishing his food. "I'll get them together, I saw a laundry mat couple of blocks away."

"There's some money in my jacket." he nodded toward his jacket lying beside his bed. "I'll start looking for another case while you're gone."

"No porn, last time you locked the computer up, didn't think I'd ever get it fixed." Sam fussed as he gathered up the dirty clothes to wash.

Dean looked at him innocently as he stuffed the dirty clothes in a bag and headed for the door giving his brother one more warning look before leaving. Dean smirked and pulled up his favorite website and began to glance through it for a few minutes before sighing and brought up a search engine to look for a case.

Please leave me a review, I do enjoy hearing from you and what your thoughts are of the story. NC