A/N: l am back my wonderful readers with a sequel to I Never Forgot You. I hope you are ready for another journey with the brothers as they come into their own. There will be old characters and new ones popping up in the story. So buckle in and get ready for the ride. I hope I can entertain and keep you guessing. Please review. NC

Disclaimer: Don't own SPN and this is of my own creation.

Prologue

It has been almost five years now since Dean and Sam found each other and their lives as brothers began again. It was a learning process for them to feel each other out and to learn what it was like to be brothers again. Even being brothers didn't stop the disagreements and arguments they had once and a while. But nothing could break the bond that had strengthened over the years and made them that much more formable. The boys had worked with other hunters who Bobby trusted; Pastor Jim, Caleb, Bill and Marcus. He didn't trust his boys with just any hunters and never let them work with ones he didn't know. He wasn't about to endanger the lives of his boys with inexperienced or hot headed hunters. He prepared the boys as best he could to face the dangers of hunting and prayed every time they went out that they would come back alive and in one piece. He knew he couldn't stop them from hunting; it was in their blood, but he could do everything in his power to keep them safe.

Chapter 1

The bright, blue sky suddenly came into full view as Dean landed hard on his back on the ground, the breath knocked out of him in a big whoosh. He tried to drag oxygen into his lungs when a shadow loomed over him, blocking the sun and a face came into view staring down at him curiously.

"You okay?" Sam asked trying to suppress the grin that wanted to break out on his face. It wasn't often that he got the best of his brother but when he did; he chalked it up to training hard and pure luck.

Dean was a force to be reckoned with when he was in hunter mode and an even bigger one in big brother mode. No one messed with his little brother and got away with it. Sam had worked hard over the years to become as good a hunter, just like his big brother because he knew no one could protect his brother's back like he could. Dean had tried to get him to go to college, but he had declined knowing they needed to stay together; they were much stronger as one than apart. Both of the brothers did take online college courses to continue their education. Sam had become a pro with Latin and had read many of the books Bobby had in his collection and was working on learning a couple of other forgotten ones. He never got tired of learning and absorbed everything he could. He kept Bobby up to date with his computer and laptop and had started a data base on Monsters 101, storing information on all the creatures they knew about and constantly updating any new information they came across. It helped with the research for other hunters that Bobby was still doing and gave the boys a slight advantage on their hunts. Sam reasoned the more they knew about their target, the better off they would be and so far it was working to their advantage.

"Yeah." Dean finally managed to wheeze out once he got his breath back. "Stop gloating." he snarled at his not so little brother. It was kind of hard to call him that anymore since he towered over Dean by a good three inches and had bulked out as he got older and since they had started training together all those years ago.

"Not." Sam smirked biting his bottom lip as he offered a hand to his brother to help him up.

"You are, an' don't get comfortable doin' it."

"I told ya one day I was gonna be bigger than you an' beat ya."

"Dinner's on the table!" an older male voice called to them. "Wash up and git in here while it's hot."

"Comin' Bobby." Sam called to him. "Man I'm starved." he noted heading for the back porch.

"You're always hungry."

"Hey, I'm still a growing boy." he shrugged laughing at his own joke as he jogged toward the back door.

"Gonna start rationin' your food, maybe ya'll stop growin'." Dean muttered as he strolled along after him.

He half smiled at Sam's remark remembering how small he seemed when they first met nearly five years ago and then one day it seemed like he sprouted up there almost overnight. He still couldn't believe they had found each other after all that time apart. He still woke up at night and had to get out of bed and check to see if Sam was sleeping beside him in the other bed. Maybe one day that panic urge would go away, but for now he needs to still be sure he's there.

"C'mon slow poke." Sam called to him from the doorway. "Bobby'll throw it out if we don't hustle."

"Comin'." he answered walking a little faster knowing what Sam said was true.

Bobby taught them very quickly that if you wanted to eat, you didn't mess around and come to the table when you were ready; if you did, you'd find no food on the table and you went hungry. Bobby deemed if he was going to be cooking, you made a very strong effort to come when called. It only took once and they made sure to be there ready to eat. Bobby was tough on the boys, but he was fair and they knew he loved them like his own and would do whatever it took to keep them safe. He had no problem knocking some sense into either of them if it was needed and they respected him for all that he had taught them and the number of times he had saved their asses. He was a father that Dean never got to have and a second father for Sam.

"You better wait on me!" he yelled through the back door.

spn

The vehicle rolled slowly by the entrance to the long ago forgotten closed orphanage. The driver surveyed the surrounding area carefully checking for any one that might be hanging around. There weren't very many people who drove out this way since the orphanage had shut down. It was on the outskirts of town and sat back off the road in a grove of oak trees. The vehicle drove on down the road and turned around coming back to the entrance again but turned up the driveway this time following it to a parking lot off to the side of the abandoned building where he stopped as far back from view as possible.

The structure was rundown and boarded up after years of nonuse. Graffiti decorated the sides of the building; the few remaining windows intact were caked with dirt and chains kept the front doors locked, hoping to keep unwanted visitors out. The lock was child's play and didn't stop him from gaining entrance to the inside of the building. He paused for a moment and took in the inside of the building before strolling toward what looked like the administration part of the place. It didn't take him long to find the medical records room and frowned when he saw the locks for the filing cabinets tossed on the floor out of the way. This concerned him wondering if what he was looking for might already be gone. It looked like someone else had been through the files before him. He began working his way through the drawers searching for a file. He was meticulous in his search not leaving a file untouched. He wanted to get this done, this place made the hairs on the back of your neck stand up with the feeling of being watched. He knew this had been a mental health hospital at one time and was sure there were spirits still tied to the place, roaming the halls, not able to move on from this plane of existence.

Hours later, he was going through the last drawer when something caught his eyes and he broke the lock on the personnel files. It didn't take him long to find what he needed and folded the papers up to stuff them in his pocket before retracing his steps to the front door. He chained the door back and headed for his truck deciding to get a motel room until he could see if this person still worked around here. He winced in pain and pulled a bottle of pills from his pocket and dry swallowed two as the pain increased behind his eyes. He would give almost anything to go more than three days without these damn headaches blinding him. He glanced one more time at the building before driving away rubbing his temple to help ease the pain so he could focus on driving. He was going to have to crash for a few hours until this passed before he could check out the information he had gathered.

spn

"Here." Bobby said pushing papers toward Dean as they finished up their meal.

"You found us a case?" Dean asked grabbing up the papers quickly and skimming them.

"Maybe, it's worth checking out and it's not but a little over three hours away."

"Great! We can head out tonight and grab a motel room, start on the case first thing in the morning." Dean said taking his last bite of food before gathering up his dishes and taking them to the sink.

"Whadda ya think it is?" Sam asked following Dean's example with his dishes.

Dean had already started running water to wash the dishes and Sam finished clearing the table. Their deal was whoever cooked, the others cleaned up and it worked out well. Dean always washed and Sam dried and put away the dishes. Sam asked why one day and Dean shrugged and told him he was the tallest; he could reach the top shelves of the cabinets easier. Sam had mulled it over and accepted his reasoning without further questioning. Dean was street smart and had learned to be an outstanding con man when the situation required it. He quickly learned how to steer Sammy toward his way of thinking without him ever being the wiser. But what Dean didn't know was Sam had figured out what Dean was doing and played along with it not wanting to hurt his feelings. Both boys had become so in tune with the other that it was like they were one person but that didn't mean they didn't have their disagreements from time to time. Bobby just stood on the sidelines letting them work out their differences and only stepped in if it became too physical and blood was shed.

"Not sure, may be nothing, but the deaths seem off. Check it out and get back to me." he told them. The boys had been going on hunts on their own for the past year. They had gone out on cases together for nearly a year after he was sure both boys were capable of defending themselves and able to watch each others backs. He made Sam wait until he was nearly sixteen before letting him really back his brother up without interfering. He wanted to be sure he had the physical and mental strength in place so he could protect himself and his brother. Both the boys were natural born hunters. They were so in tune with each other that they worked like one when on a hunt. Words were not needed between the two to know what the other was thinking. Bobby had watched them train and saw how quickly they caught on and learned moves and both were dead shots with very little training. He was proud of them, but he still was cautious as to what cases he gave them. Hunting was a dangerous life and many a hunter had a short life because of it. Dean was the action taker and Sam was the thinker and together they made a hell of a team.

"I have first dips on the shower." Sam told Dean as he dried the plates.

"Says who?"

"Well considering I won the last bout, I choose that as the reward."

"You bested yer brother?" Bobby questioned Sam as he poured himself a cup of coffee.

"Yep."

"I tripped." Dean snorted.

"Did not, I took ya down." Sam fussed flicking a dish towel his way.

"No horse play in the kitchen, need I remind you 'bout last time?" Bobby cautioned them.

"No sir." they both said together going back to washing the dishes, not wanting to be reminded of the mess they had made last time and the clean up they had to do.

"Are ya stocked up on everything?"

"Yes, I checked the trunk over yesterday." Dean replied putting the last clean dish in the rinse water for Sam to dry and put away.

"Call me when ya get settled so I know where you're at."

"Will do." Dean answered. "Ya got twenty minutes for a shower or I'm coming in and joining you." he barked at his brother.

"Hell no you're not!" Sam cried out racing for the stairs leaving a smirking Dean and puzzled Bobby standing in the kitchen.

"That wasn't very brotherly you know."

"I know, but it's so much fun." Dean beamed hearing the door slamming upstairs. "You know how long it takes him to shower, I'm just speeding him up some."

"One of these days that's gonna backfire and you're gonna be the one tricked."

"I doubt it."

"Let's get serious though Dean, you watch out for both of you out there, you know how quickly a hunt can go bad." Bobby told him. "You don't take any chances, if something don't seem right, you two get out of there. Understood?"

"Yeah I got ya. Don't worry I won't let anything happen to Sammy." he assured Bobby.

"I was talking 'bout you too dumb ass, not just yer brother." he growled at him.

"Right. I think its time to go upset my brother." Dean chuckled strolling for the stairs with a wave.

"You know paybacks a bitch." Bobby stated as he watched him climb the stairs to go torment his brother. He hated to tell him, but Bobby was pretty sure Sam was going to turn the tables on him before long. Dean was the trouble maker and spur of the moment one while Sam was the quiet schemer who plotted out his revenge. He swore those boys gave him more grey hairs than he needed, but he wouldn't trade the past years that they had been with him for the world. Those two boys had been his shining stars and gave him a chance to have the kids he never got to have.

spn

"Ya got two minutes and I'm coming in!" Dean yelled banging on the door of the bathroom.

"I'm almost done, stay out." Sam yelled back.

Dean snickered as he heard the shower turn off and his brother moving around in the bathroom. He headed for their bedroom and grabbed some clean clothes so he could use the bathroom next. He looked up as Sam shuffled into the room still trying to dry his dripping hair and jumped slightly when Dean cleared his throat.

"It's all yours you highness." Sam said heading for the closet to get his bag and pack.

"Great, we'll leave out in thirty." Dean told him heading for the bathroom.

Sam grunted and continued with his packing already scheming how to get even with his brother. They had an ongoing contest on who could prank the other one the best. So far it was pretty even, both brothers had gotten the other one a number of times over the last several months. Dean's bed was short changed and Sam got shaving cream in his toothpaste, while Bobby accidentally ate an Oreo with extra hot hot sauce in the middle of it. That put a stop to the pranks for a while as the boys tried to get on Bobby's good side again. Needless to say, there were a lot of extra chores for them after that one since Bobby decided they had too much free time on their hands.

"You packed?" Dean asked coming out of the bathroom fifteen minutes later.

"Yes, I'm ready when you are."

"Give me five and we'll head out." he said packing his bathroom bag.

"I'll be downstairs talking to Bobby." Sam replied throwing his pack over his shoulder and heading out. "Want a drink for the road?"

"Yeah and grab that bag of jerky out of the cabinet. Might want a snack."

"Got it." Sam said heading downstairs to ask Bobby a couple of questions before he left.

Dean watched his brother saunter from the room and smiled to himself. They had both grown so much over the past years and he thanked Bobby every day for all he had done for them. They would never be able to repay him for everything except by being the best at what they did and make him proud. But what the boys didn't realize was he couldn't of been more proud of them and what they accomplished than if they were his on flesh and blood.