Thanks to everyone who's reviewed my other stories! I hope you enjoy this story and I want to thank southerngal8425 for giving me the idea to make this a series! Thanks so much! Please review!

"Your love's like the summer rain, washing my doubts away! Seven days and seven nights of thunder, the waters rising and I'm slipping under! I think I fell in love with the eighth world wonder…."

Dean glanced over at Jess, who was singing softly to herself as she made her way around the kitchen, cooking up Sam's favorite dinner, while they waited for him to return from a party one of his friend's was throwing. He couldn't help the grin that spread over his face. Sammy, you've really hit the jackpot with this girl. "So, why did he go to this party without you?" Dean asked. He had just arrived a few minutes before and Sam still didn't know he was in the area.

Jess smiled. "He didn't actually go to the party. His friends like to get really drunk, so whenever they plan a party, they tell him so he can drive them all home. Sam doesn't want them to kill themselves driving drunk, so he agreed to pick them up." She rolled her eyes. "He doesn't want me to go. 'Just in case' he always says. He's always afraid their antics while he drives will get them all killed." The smile disappeared from Jess' face and she looked more concerned than Dean really wanted to see.

"It's really bad?" he asked, softly, trying not to picture his little brother's broken body slumped over the wheel of a car that smelled strongly of alcohol.

Jess nodded without looking at him. "I've begged him over and over to make them get cabs or, better yet, to stop talking to them all together, but he….he says that if he doesn't drive them and they all get killed…."

"That he could never live with himself." At Jess' surprised look, Dean sighed. "Sam hasn't changed much apparently."

Jess' sudden laugh surprised Dean. "It's hard to be mad at him for acting like the man that I fell in love with in the first place."

Dean grinned at that, shaking his head in exasperation. "I suppose I can understand that."

Sam winced as one of the guys slammed into the back of his seat, causing him to jerk forward. Only months of practice and years of trained reflexes kept him from jerking the wheel. "Hold still!" Sam pleaded. Really don't want to die today.

"Sam, dude, you really need to relax!" one of his friends slurred, drunkenly.

"This is me. Relaxed." Sam bit out, struggling to contain his frustration. Maybe Jess was right. This wasn't a good idea and this wasn't really his crowd either. Perhaps he should get someone else to be their designated driver. Sam was yanked from his thoughts when headlights suddenly shined bright through the windshield and he had a sudden, horrible realization. They were coming straight at him. Samwrenched the wheel to the right, but it was too late. As he felt the incoming car crash into his own, the world tumbled and twisted around him, loud tearing noises, metal against metal grinding in his ears. Two faces sprang up in front of his eyes. Oh, Dean. Jess. I'm so sorry.

Dean's eyebrows furrowed as he saw Jess glance at her watch for the third time in two minutes. "Is something wrong?" he asked, his calm tone belaying the spike of fear in his chest. Jess frowned. "I…I don't know. Sam…Sam's just usually back by now. He tries to be back by seven…." Jess shrugged. "Maybe he's just running late. It could happen, it wouldn't be the first time. Those idiots are difficult to deal with and sometimes it takes a lot longer than it should to get them out of the car." Jess snickered. "He's had to carry them in more than once." Dean chuckled at the image that rose with that description, his worry being pushed to the back of his mind. Sam could take care of himself. He had no reason to go all big-brother-protective-mode on him. Right?

"Sam, if you think you're leaving to go to some fool college…….!" his father's voice seemed to pierce him, driving the stake further into his heart. Gosh, he hated this. "Please, dad. Try to understand. I'm not leaving forever, I'm just trying to give us all some more opportunity. If I go to school, we have a chance of someday getting out of this. And even if we never get out of it….I always have a degree to fall back on if we can't get money." Sam hoped that by appealing to his dad's practical side, maybe they could leave on better terms. He didn't want it to be like this. "Coward! Run away as soon as it gets difficult…." Sam felt his anger flare at this. "Coward? How dare you? It's always been difficult! It isn't just starting to difficult! I've been trapped in this world of yours for so long and I'm not even trying to permanently escape! I just really want to do this! Why can't you accept that? Or, heaven forbid, be happy for me? I'm just trying-" Sam cut off as his father pointed a finger in his face, still furious. "If you walk out that door, Sam, don't you ever come back."

When Sam woke, he was instantly aware of the blasting headache that seemed to be the cause of the drummer in his head. As he forced his eyes open, he realized that the world looked strange because he was hanging upside down, his seatbelt the only thing keeping him in his seat. Knowing better than to move before he was sure it was safe, Sam carefully took inventory of his body. With relief, he quickly concluded that he seemed to be pretty scraped up, but nothing seemed broken, though his head still pounded horribly. Probably from that impact with the steering wheel. Sam finally reached down and unbuckled, instantly falling to the car roof with a pained oof. "Guys? You okay?" Sam called. There were several responding moans and Sam was instantly grateful. At least there were some survivors. Sam jumped as one of the doors was suddenly wrenched upon.

"Oh my….hey, are you okay? Is anyone hurt?" A young male voice reached Sam's ears.

Sam turned and saw a young guy, probably about his own age, looking at him from outside the car, worriedly.

"I've already called 911. They should be here any second." He added.

Sam nodded, instantly regretting the movement as his head reminded him that was a very bad idea. With a small groan, Sam closed his eyes. "Well, beyond a blasting headache, I'm okay. I don't know about everyone else. I haven't had a chance to check on them yet."

The guy reached in and helped Sam out of the car.

"We probably shouldn't move anyone else, yet. We don't know how bad the injuries are." Sam said. He slowly lowered himself to the grass.

"Do you have anyone to call?" the guy asked.

Sam's eyes flew open at that. "Yeah. Yeah, that's a good idea. I can tell her to meet me at the hospital." Sam pulled out his phone, which had luckily survived the crash even less damaged than him. Dialing Jess' number, he watched idly as the guy walked over to the car to begin checking on the others.

"Sam? Where are you? I've been so worried!" Jess' frantic voice came through his phone and Sam winced as he pictured what he was going to have to tell her. Maybe it was a good thing Dean wasn't here right now. He'd be ticked.

Dean looked up as Jess answered her ringing phone with a frantic, "Sam? Where are you? I've been so worried!" he stood as she cocked her head, listening intently. Her eyes widened and instantly Dean knew it was bad. "WHAT? Are you okay? How badly are you hurt? How bad was it?" Dean's fists clenched at that, his mind instantly painting scenarios that he would rather not picture. Oh, crap. Please be okay, Sammy. Please be okay. He's calling, so he can't be that bad right?

"Oh my gosh. Hey! Hey, I need your help! He's not breathing!"

Sam's head jerked up at that. "What? Who? Who's not breathing?" His phone forgotten, Sam forced himself to his feet, staggering over to where the guy had pulled one of his friends out of the car. The prone, bloody body there was one of the guys he didn't know as well, but pain still flared. Derek Mullnow. Sam dropped to his knees, dropping his forgotten phone in the grass. "CPR." Sam barked, already putting his hands over Derek's heart. "One, two, three." He breathed heavily. The guy leaned over and breathed for Derek, then leaned back as Sam began again. Over and over, till Sam had lost count of how many times he had pumped Derek's chest. Finally, with a defeated sigh, Sam leaned back, shaking his head at the other guy. "He's gone." The defeat, the pain, the guilt was clear in his tone. The sound of sirens had Sam looking up. The ambulances had finally arrived. Sam, with a flash of guilt, remembered his phone. Scooping it up, he leaned back against the totaled car, putting the phone to his ear.

"Sam? SAM! ANSWER ME!"

Sam wondered how long Jess had been screaming so frantically. "Jess? Jess! Jess, I'm right here, I'm sorry, I'm right here." Sam croaked. I can't believe he's dead. My fault. He's dead because of me. I was driving. It was my fault.

"Sam."

Jess' relieved tone caused Sam to go limp against the car, glad she didn't seem mad at him.

"Who wasn't breathing?" Jess asked gently and Sam felt his heart constrict painfully.

"Derek. Derek Mullnow is dead."

Dean hurried into the hospital, Jess right beside him. Scanning the room, Dean stopped in surprise as he saw Sam sitting in one of the waiting room chairs. His brother's shoulders were slumped, he was leaning forward, elbows on his knees, hands covering his face. "Sammy!" Dean turned and ran over, quickly sitting down beside him. Sam looked up at him in surprise and Dean noted the bandage on his head with worry.

"Dean? What are you doing here?"

Dean feigned a hurt look. "Can't a big brother drop in on his little pain in the butt brother every once in a while?" he teased gently.

Sam smiled a little, but it was quickly gone. "One of the guys died. The others are all doing pretty well, but a couple are staying for a few days at least." Sam reported, his tone not hard to read.

Dean rolled his eyes. Sam would blame himself for anything bad that had ever happened to anyone anywhere if Dean would let him. "Sam, this is not your fault." Dean said firmly.

Jess knelt in front of her boyfriend, her face soft with relief and compassion. "He's right, Sam." She agreed, putting a comforting hand on his knee.

Sam couldn't look either one of them in the face. "The car that hit us….it came out of nowhere. I didn't see it coming until it was coming right for us. I….I don't understand how Derek….I mean, it was heading for a head-on collision. I should have been the one…..I was the only one in the front." Sam sounded so confused, so upset, Dean felt his brother's pain like it was his own.

"Sammy, just be glad you're alive. I'm sorry about Derek, but I'm not sorry you were the one who survived." Dean said, firmly.

Sam gave him a long look, then nodded slowly.

Seeing this, Jess wrapped him in a warm hug, tears streaking down her cheeks. "Oh, Sam, I'm so glad you're okay." She cried softly.

Sam wrapped her up in his arms tightly. "You see why I don't let you come along?" he suddenly asked, pulling back to give her a small grin.

Jess rolled her eyes. "Heh! Forget that! Next time, I'm driving!"

Sam's eyes widened at the thought of his girlfriend behind the wheel in a car full of drunk college guys. "Oh, that's SO not happening."