Chapter 1

I would've stayed up with you all night

10 days ago

"Promise?" Jess said, batting her eyelashes at him as she protruded her lower lip in to a cute pout.

Sam grinned and leaned in, resting his forehead against hers. "I'll be there at nine, I promise. When am I ever late anyway?"

He pulled away ever so slightly, his lips brushing against her cheek for a moment before they found her lips. He pressed his soft lips against hers, smiling in to the kiss as he tasted the sweet flavour of her strawberry lip gloss.

As their lips parted, she looked up at him with her soft blue eyes, a small strand of her blonde locks slipping out from behind her ear. "There's a first time for everything, Winchester and you know how that part of town creeps me out." She replied as Sam brushed her hair out of her eyes.

"I'll be there, trust me. I don't s'pose you'll tell me what the surprise is now, will you?"

"Nu-uh." She said, shaking her head. "It'll ruin it otherwise."

Sam rolled his eyes but couldn't help but smile at her. God, he loved her so much. He had no idea what he'd do without her. It was strange to think that they'd only been together for two years, it felt like an eternity and he'd give anything to be with her an eternity more.

Just then, the Impala pulled up behind them. Sam sighed and turned around slightly, giving his brother a small wave in acknowledgement before turning to face Jess again.

"Okay, nine it is. I'll see you then."

Jess stood up on her tiptoes and planted another small kiss on his lips, her arms wrapping around his neck before she let go and smiled up at him.

"See you." She replied, giving him a wave, making sure to give Dean one as well as she walked up the path leading to her house.

Sam watched her leave, a big smile plastered on his face.

Jess' hand hovered over the door handle before she turned around and gave Sam a wink before she disappeared inside.

As the door clicked shut, Sam spun on his heel and yanked open the passenger side door before slouching down in the warm leather seat. "Hey."

"Hey yourself." Dean replied as he ruffled his kid brother's hair.

"Quit it!" Sam growled, swatting his brother's hand away.

"How was Jess?" he asked as he began to drive back home.

"Good. She wants me to meet her at nine though."

"How come?".

"I dunno, she said it was a surprise."

"Very mysterious."

"Yeah."

"You'll have to walk there though, Sammy 'cause I'm havin' a drink with Gabriel and Jo at 8:30."

"It's Sam. S'cool, s'not that far away anyway."

Dean grinned at his younger brother, turning the volume up. Sam gave Dean one of his infamous bitchfaces as You aint seen nothing yet by Bachman Turner Overdrive blared through the speakers.

When they arrived, Sam clambered out of the car then knocked on the front door. He waited for a few minutes before Ellen finally opened the door. "Look's like someone's in a good mood." She commented, noticing his big smile.

Sam walked inside, Dean following behind. The youngest Winchester dumped his rucksack by the door and looked at Ellen. "I've just had a really good day." He said, hearing the loud footsteps of his brother walking up to his bedroom.

"It ain't over yet, son. You might wanna go hav'a look at what yer brother got ya." He heard Bobby call out from the living room where he was probably reading.

"Dean got me somethin'?"

"'Course he did ya idjit."

"He didn't say." Sam answered, furrowing his brow. He left the room and trudged upstairs. He paused before knocking on his brother's bedroom door. When he did, Dean flung it open.

His older brother flopped himself down on to the edge of the bed and beckoned Sam over. He obeyed and watched as Dean grabbed a gift covered in glossy green wrapping paper. He passed it over to Sam, a small smile playing on his lips. "Happy 17th birthday, Sammy."

Sam looked down at it, stunned. Dean hardly ever bought him something this big. Wow, just wow. He sat himself down beside his brother and carefully unwrapped the present. As soon as his eyes lay on what was inside, he gasped and stared at it wide eyed.

"You didn't…this isn't…" he said, his voice trailing off.

"Go on, say it, I'm an awesome brother."

Sam ignored him and said "Thanks, Dean. Seriously, thank you."

He couldn't believe it. Dean had actually bought him a laptop. He'd been wanting one since forever. Sam put down the box and wrapped his arms around Dean, pulling him in to a tight hug. Dean was stunned to say the least.

"Dude, no chick flick moments." He said, refusing to admit that he was pleased with Sam's reaction. Dean couldn't help but smile at his Sam. He hadn't seen a grin that big on Sammy since, well, since before his parents died. At that thought though, his smile faltered for a moment.

Sam checked his watch and noticed that there was one hour left until he had to leave. "I've gotta go get ready."

"Sure, I'll charge it for when you get back, dude.". It wouldn't take too long to set it up for him and then once he'd done that, he and Jo could go meet Gabriel at the bar. "By the way, tell Jo that if she comes in to my room again, she can kiss her phone goodbye."

Sam laughed lightly and shook his head as he left his brother's room. On the way to the bathroom, he spotted Jo playing with their dog, Bones. "You shouldn't go in to Dean's room y'know, he's actually gonna carry out his threats if you keep on doin' it."

"You can tell princess that if he stops comin' in to my room to use my TV, then I'll stop goin' in to his."

Sam rolled his eyes. He often felt like he was the eldest out of the three, not the youngest. Those two always acted like a bunch of two year olds on their good days.

"Whatever, I'm havin' a shower." He replied dismissively.

After he'd taken his lukewarm shower and his hair smelt of the watermelon shampoo that Jess loved but his brother teased him so much about, he pulled on the new shirt Jo had given for his birthday and a pair of jeans. The top was purple with a greyhound on it. It was a strange top but he liked it anyway.

When he left the bathroom, Dean and Jo had already left to go and meet Gabriel. He raked a hand through his towel dried hair and grabbed his jacket before saying bye to Ellen and Bobby. He left the house and cursed under his breath as a single rain drop hit the tip of his nose. Great, it was starting to rain and he still had a couple of blocks left.

When he started walking to the where they were going to meet up, he checked his watch which read five to nine. He'd have to walk fast if he was going to get there on time like he'd promised.

As he turned around the corner, he heard someone shout "Hey, kid. Little help here?"

Sam narrowed his eyes and scanned the area for the source of the noise. His gaze soon settled on a guy who was huddled in the shadows, his hands tied behind him with coarse rope. Little did he know that the guy was being held there while the man who'd tied him up in the first place was calling the cops.

"Oh my god…what happened?" he asked, taking a few tentative steps closer, eyeing his split lip and black eye.

"Some guy mugged me. You've gotta untie me, man."

"Uhh…okay, okay." He replied nervously as he knelt down beside him and started to untie him. When he was released, the guy patted him on the shoulder. "Thanks, kid." He replied, before running off down the street.

Sam frowned, wondering why the guy had decided to run. The mugger wasn't here anymore, so why the rush? He shrugged and checked his watch again which read two minutes past nine. "Shit…" he sprinted to where he was supposed to meet Jess and when he arrived at ten past nine, his breath caught in his throat.

The man from earlier was holding Jess up against a wall, a wicked grin plastered on his face. "Thanks, love." he said as he grabbed her phone and purse. He gave her a quick, peck on the lips before digging in to his pocket, taking out a sharp blade that glistened in the moonlight.

"Jess!" Sam yelled but it was no use, he was too far away. He was just too goddamn far away.

Jess' eyes were red rimmed with tears as she turned her head in time to see Sam running towards her but Sam's name was caught in her throat as the knife plunged in to her chest. When the youngest Winchester arrived, the man had already gone, taking her belongings with him.

Jess flopped forward, just in time for Sam to catch her in his arms. He dropped down to his knees and cradled her in his arms. "J-Jess? It's not that bad, right? You're okay, you're okay." He said but he wasn't sure whether he was trying to comfort her or himself.

"Sam." She breathed, her eyes locking on to his like an anchor, holding on to her last moments of life.

"It's fine, it's not even that deep." He said, choking back a sob as his hands fumbled for his phone. He dialled 911 and told them everything before hanging up.

"Please be okay, please."

"S'm. I'm…sorry."

"S-sorry? Why? This was my fault, all of it. I…I…shouldn't…I…" he said, not being able to finish his sentence as he burst in to tears.

"S'okay, baby. Shh…s'okay. I want…I want…" she said, a small tear rolling down her cheek.

"W-what? The ambulance is gonna be here any minute, okay? You'll be fine. Please be fine." He replied, wiping away her tear with his thumb.

"S'm listen. I wanted to say…I…love you. Always…have. Promise…promise me you won't blame yourself."

"I…" he began but before he could finish, her body went lax as she stared up at him, her eyes unseeing.

"J-Jess? JESS! NO! No, no, no. I love you, please, come back. Don't do this, please. Jess? Oh god, Jess?"

Her body slipped out of his hands as he saw the blood that had soaked through her shirt, covering his hands. If he wasn't so shocked, he was sure he'd have thrown up by now. All he could see was blood. It was everywhere, in her hair, in his new shirt…everywhere. His vision started to lose focus as he watched the stream of the dark red liquid wash away from the pelting rain. Soon, all he could see was black and it was a relief to not be able to see the red anymore as he slipped in to unconsciousness, slumping over her body.