A/N: As per usual, I don't own Supernatural. The title for the story comes from the song Bad Company by Bad Company.

Let me know if you guys want me to continue this story or not!

"Sam?" A woman called as she peeked into the dimly lit room.

The voice startled Sam out of his thoughts and he glanced up, a soft, almost bittersweet smile forming on his face, though he tried to keep most of the 'bitter' to himself. As much as he'd always been one to share, this was his problem, not hers. "Hey, honey." He greeted her.

"What are you looking at?" She asked, taking a seat beside him and glancing at what he had in his hands. Pictures, pictures she had never seen before. That certainly sparked her curiosity.

Noticing what she was looking at, Sam shifted uncomfortably. There was no hiding it anymore, he couldn't lie to her if he wanted to. She'd seen them now, and even if he somehow managed to convincingly cover this up, she would look into it, and she might even find out more than he intended her to. It was time, time for him to start coming clean with her. "Look… I'm sorry I didn't tell you before, okay, Rebecca? It's just… Things are complicated." He started, wincing as he heard what his own words sounded like. It was a pathetic excuse for an apology, and he knew that very well.

"Yeah. Of course. Aren't they always?" She retorted in a tone Sam had a hard time deciphering. It sounded as though she was trying to be understanding, but he supposed she was assuming the worst. Perhaps the worst was too much to hope for.

Sam glanced down, his thumb brushing over the photographs. He had his digital copies, which he'd always insisted with Dean were a hundred times better than these paper-printed ones, but somehow, he'd grown more attached to the physical ones. Perhaps it was exactly because they reminded him of Dean. A quickly glance up from the pictures revealed that Rebecca was still waiting for him to speak, and he cleared his throat awkwardly, his eyes returning to the pictures, taking in the scenes. The first one was from a fishing trip Dean had somehow managed to talk him into going back in their first year back together. They'd hated every minute of it, and yet as he relived the moment, the two of them posing for a picture in front of the lake, the camera propped up on Baby's - no, the Impala's - hood, he couldn't help but think back to it fondly. It'd been a terrible, great trip. He supposed, as he thought back to it, that it'd gotten Dean what he wanted, though Sam had been too close to the situation to see it clearly back then - they'd started to reconnect, to become closer again.

"Sam?" Rebecca asked, a concerned tone in her voice.

Sam smiled slightly, shaking himself out of his memories. She was concerned, not mad. He did love that girl. "I'm sorry, it's just… I guess I got a little caught up on the memory. Um… This is my brother, Dean. We used to be really close, but now… Hell, I don't even know where he is now. We just… We wanted different things."

"Brother? You have a brother?" Rebecca asked, wide eyes staring up at Sam and sending a wave of guilt washing down him. He should have told her about Dean, but if he was perfectly honest with himself, he'd have to admit that he didn't want to think about his brother himself. "Sam, you've met my entire family. We've spent Christmas and Thanksgiving with them! If you have a brother, I want to meet him."

"Becca, he um… He moves around a lot. I don't know where he is now, and his phone is probably out of service by now. He's got a um… A thing with bills. We're really not in touch at all anymore. I'm sorry." She really didn't get it, did she? Sam couldn't blame her. His life was strange, and he wasn't even truly explaining it to her, he was circling around the issue, trying to get off with half-assed lies and excuses that he knew would only be a Band-Aid. If they did work out, if they did stay together, he'd need to tell her everything about himself - well, as much as he could without mentioning hunting. The cat couldn't stay in the bag forever.

Rebecca hesitated for a moment, then she shook her head vehemently. "No. No, Sam Winchester, you don't get to drop this bomb on me then just say 'but we don't talk anymore, so don't worry about it'! He's the only family you've got, or the only family I know you've got, and I want to know what I'm getting myself into. Call him, call the last number of his you have. If it's out of service, then I'll just… Live with it. But if it's not and he answers, then you will arrange a dinner or something. If you want to just cut him off your life after that, then fine, go ahead. But I will meet him."

For a moment, Sam considered fighting back, telling her that Dean was his family and she had nothing to do with it. He could almost hear his brother's voice in his head, guiding him down the path that kept him most distant from her, most distant from whatever he was trying to avoid. And then it hit him. Would seeing Dean again be really so terrible? Maybe they could talk, work out a way for them to at least talk to each other but live their own lives, became damn it, he missed Dean.

Sam nodded. As soon as Rebecca was out of hearing range, he laughed. What a ridiculous idea, that he and Dean could find a way to be friends and not be on the road together. They'd fight, Dean would end up dragging Sam back into the family business if Sam himself didn't do it first. It just wouldn't work. But he'd call Dean anyway, because let's face it, after such a long time, after all the calls Sam didn't answer, after all the messages that went unheard, after all the messages Sam himself left telling Dean to stop calling in increasingly less polite ways, why the hell would Dean pick up?

His finger hovered over Dean's number for several seconds before finally tapping the screen. His hand was shaking as he brought it to his ear.

It rang once.

It rang twice.

It didn't ring three times.

Long seconds of suffocating silence followed, until finally… "Sam?"

He'd answered.

"Oh, um... Hi, Dean." It was all Sam could do not to fall into a mute panic at that moment. Why had Dean answered? He wasn't supposed to answer, that was just how things worked. He dodged his big brother for such a long time, Dean became pissed enough to give him the silent treatment. That was how it'd always been.

The reply didn't take long to come, and as he heard it, Sam couldn't help the small grin that formed on his lips. "Sammy? You alright? Are you hurt? I'm in Alabama, but I can make it there in a few hours." Dean hurriedly said, the concern in his voice as bare as ever.

"No, Dean, I'm fine. I just... Look, man, I'm sorry. I'm not saying we should - " Sam never got to finish his mini-speech.

"I'm just gonna stop you right there, Sam. You wanted a normal life, and that's fine. It's friggin' great, actually! I'm glad that one of us gets to have that. So you don't have anything to apologize for, alright? You were right, calling you, it was just dragging you back to hunting, and I... I should've just let you go." There was a long pause during which Sam desperately fished for something he could say to his brother. Before he could come up with anything, however, Dean continued. "Dude, you're not hunting again, are you?"

"What? No, no, Dean! I quit. For real." He replied before he could even give himself time to think about it. "The reason I called... You're not gonna like it, man, and if it's too much to ask after everything, then fine, but please at least consider it before turning it down. My girlfriend... She wants to meet you."

"Your… Girlfriend?" Sam couldn't see his brother, but he could hear the surprised and amused smile in Dean's face - he'd known him long enough for that. An eye roll ensued, but even Sam had to admit that he really didn't have the best luck in the relationship department. "Sam, I…" He was going to say that he didn't have time for that, or that they should keep their distance from each other lest Sam get dragged back into hunting, Sam was sure of that. "I'm working a case right now, just a quick salt and burn. I can be there in two days, three tops."

He'd accepted. Dean was coming. Oh, crap, Dean was coming. Dean was coming and Rebecca knew nothing about his hunting life. This wasn't going to be easy to manage, there'd be all kinds of questions about his past, and if Dean answered something wrong, she'd know that what little he'd told her was a lie. Maybe he could get Dean to keep quiet, Rebecca didn't know him well enough to find that to be strange… Who was he kidding? There was no way to get his brother to shut up.

"Yeah, uh, that's great, Dean. Thanks." He answered, all too aware of the fact that his voice sounded less than enthusiastic.

Dean noticed that, too. "Geez, Sammy, can't you be a little less happy about this?"

Running a hand over his head in an exasperated gesture, Sam let out a low humorless chuckle. "I'm sorry, Dean, it's just... You know what? It's nothing." Bringing it up with Dean at moment wouldn't do them any good. Sure, they weren't fighting... Yet. The fight was there, it was just waiting for the right spark to explode, and Sam didn't plan on being the one responsible for that spark.

"Yeah, sure, nothing." Dean retorted, and years upon years of training were the only things that allowed him to hear the sadness in Dean's voice, hidden behind the sarcasm and snark. He wanted to tell Dean that it had nothing to do with him, that he was really quite happy that he'd be seeing his big brother again, but would Dean even believe him? Sam doubted it. He'd just have to convince Dean once he was there. "I've gotta go, Sammy, but I'll be there in a couple of days, alright?"

A small smile formed on Sam's face again - he was going to see Dean again - and he nodded as he answered. "Yeah. Hey, Dean? It was good to hear your voice again." He meant it.

"Don't get all mushy on me. No chick-flick moments, remember?" Dean replied, and Sam could almost hear the smile on his voice, that telltale sign that he full-heartedly agreed with whatever 'mushy' thing had just been said, but he would never admit it. "I'll see you soon."

"Seeya." And with that, they hung up.