A/N: This idea came to me and I don't think I've read a story with this plot so I decided to give it a try. In this universe Mary didn't say yes to the YED's deal and John didn't survive. There is some Canon but I have changed it up so you're not reading the same thing again. Mary survives to find she's alone. This starts 22 years after that deadly day and there will be flashbacks to explain what happened and how Sam came into the picture. I hope you enjoy and will want to read more. Please leave me a review and let me know what you think. I do to know your thoughts. NC

Chapter 1

He fell back on the bed exhausted, but happy to be home. He could hear the shower running in the other room and just lay there until something wet hit his face. Sam jerked slightly, but didn't think anything of it until it happened again. He opened his eyes and looked at the ceiling to see his girlfriend, Jess, pinned to the ceiling, bleeding from a large gash across her abdomen. Sam cried out in shock and shot up from the bed breathing hard. He looked to his side to see Jess still sleeping curled in a ball not affected by his reaction to his nightmare. He looked around and saw it was still dark outside and tried to calm his racing heart. He had no idea why he would dream something like that about her. He wasn't a hunter like his brother and adopted mother was, but he had done it for awhile when he was younger. A noise from the other room caught his attention and he easily slipped back into full hunter mode, sliding from the bed and picking up a baseball bat he had leaning in the corner. With quiet steps, Sam eased from the room and to the corner to see a shadow pass by heading for the living room. Sam moved quickly and started to swing the bat when it was suddenly caught in mid-swing and found himself flat on his back on the floor.

"Easy there tiger, you're getting rusty," a male voice told him, laughter in his voice.

"Dean?" Sam questioned knowing that voice.

"Told ya should've paid more attention with training," he smirked to suddenly find the tables turned and he was pinned to the floor.

"Sam? What's going on?" a soft female voice asked from the hallway.

"Get off me dude," Dean complained pushing his brother from his body to stand. He blinked rapidly when the lights were turned on and took in the girl standing there dressed in sleep shorts and a Smurf tee shirt looking very sexy. "I like the Smurfs," he said grinning broadly.

"Dean, this is Jess, my girlfriend," Sam said going to her side as he introduced them.

"Dean, as in your brother Dean?" Jess asked looking excitedly at Dean.

"The one and only. I gotta say you're way outta of my brother's league."

"What are you doing breaking in here in the middle of the night?"

"I was looking for a cold one, but I need to borrow your boyfriend here, family business."

"Look whatever you have to say, you can say it in front of Jess," Sam stated draping an arm over Jess's shoulders.

"Mom's went on a job and she hasn't come home yet," Dean stated all humor erased from his voice as he stared at Sam hard getting his message across.

"Jess why don't you go on back to bed? I need to talk to my brother," Sam said when he saw the seriousness in his face.

"Alright, nice to meet you Dean. Hope you'll be around later, I'd love to talk to you," she said kissing Sam's cheek before leaving the room.

Once Sam knew she was out of hearing distance, he turned back to his brother before speaking, "What's going on?"

"Mom when on a hunt and that was three weeks ago and I can't reach her. It's not like her to be gone this long without checking in."

"Do you know what she was hunting?"

"No, but I've got the notes on it in the car," he said heading for the door not checking to see if Sam was following. "How long has this been going on?"

"What?" Sam asked as they went down the back steps of the apartment building.

"The girl, dumb ass. Jess wasn't it?"

"We've been seeing each other for several months and just recently moved in together."

"Good for you. You know we both miss you, but Mom's right if your heart isn't into hunting, you shouldn't be doing it," Dean said looking over at his brother's profile. He saw him stiffen slightly and knew he was remembering the last hunt they went on as a team. Sam was superb at doing research and tracking down the monsters, but what he couldn't do was kill them. He was too kind hearted, compassionate, empathic and couldn't control his feelings when it came to hurting anyone or anything even when he knew it had to be done. The way Dean saw it, Sam's soul was too pure and gentle for this line of work. If it hadn't been for Dean's quick reflexes, they would have both been badly hurt or even killed. After the incident, Dean talked to their Mom and it was decided that Sam wouldn't do the actual hunts anymore. He could do the research and interview witnesses since he had a knack to getting people to open up to him and make them feel at ease, but the killing of the monsters would be left up to Dean and Mary.

At first Sam was completely against it, but the more their Mom talked to him and Dean agreed with her, he finally gave in knowing they were right. He could still help and do whatever else he could, but the dirty work he'd leave up to them. That worked for several years until Sam applied to colleges and got accepted at Stanford on a full scholarship. Mary couldn't have been more proud of him and Dean was too, but he was also upset that Sam would be leaving them and was afraid he would forget them or something would come for him and he wouldn't be there to stop it. Deep down inside of Dean, he had always wanted Sam to have more than what he had. Hunting was in his blood, it was something he excelled at and was becoming one of the best, right alone with his Mom. Mary had a reputation in the hunting community as being a hardnosed, formable, skilled hunter who wouldn't back down from a fight. She could be your best friend, but you damn sure didn't want her to be your enemy. Sam wasn't like him, he was super smart and creative and logical and a thinker. The worse day in Dean's life was when they dropped Sam off at Stanford to start the school year, but he hid it well and never let anyone see how he really felt.

"Thanks, I miss you guys too," Sam mumbled to Dean. "Why weren't you with Mom anyway?"

"I was working a voodoo case down in New Orleans."

"Mom let you go out on your own?"

"Dude! I'm twenty-six; Mom knows I can handle myself."

"But she doesn't like you working alone, you know that."

"What she doesn't know won't hurt her," he shrugged. "Nice place."

"You need to stop by more often or at least call more. I do miss you Dean, you'll never stop being my big brother."

"I know, but sometimes things get wacky and I can't make the time. And I didn't wanna bring something dangerous to your doorstep. I was looking out for you, but you're right; I do need to stay in touch more, I'll try to do better. Okay, let's see...Where did I put that folder..." Dean mumbled moving around things in the trunk of the Impala until he found the folder. "There's a two lane blacktop just outside Jericho and 'bout a month ago they found this guy's car, but he couldn't be found, completely vanished, MIA and they found blood covering the inside of the car," Dean explained laying a picture of the victim out for Sam to see.

"Maybe he was kidnapped?"

"Here's one in April, December '04, '03, 98, 92; ten of them all over the past twenty years on this five mile stretch of road," he went on showing pictures of the others. "No one can explain it, nor has anyone ever found their bodies. Mom caught wind of it and went to check it out. And it gets worse, I got this call from her about a week ago," he says, pulling a small tape player out and pressing play.

"Dean, somethin' bad 's...'bout to happen. There's so...than I...going on. I need to find ou...Check on S'y...be careful...we're all in danger," Mary's voice said as static and strange noises almost drown out her voice and garbled part of the message.

"You know there's EVP on that right?"

"Bingo, so I played it back through the gold wave and cut the interference and this is what I got."

"You can never go home..." an eerie female voice whispered sending chills down Sam's back.

"Can you spare some time to go find Mom with me?"

"If we can be back by Monday, I have an interview."

"So reschedule."

"I can't this is my one shot in getting into law school here on full scholarship."

"Shooting for the big times, uummm...Sammy?"

"I guess, I don't know..." Sam says feeling uncomfortable under Dean's gaze. "I can do a three day weekend, would that help?"

"You know it bro. I'll get ya back by Monday. It's good you're going after your dream Sammy. I'm proud of you, don't forget that," he said clapping him on the shoulder.

"I just need to pack a bag and tell Jess I'm leaving."

"I'll be right here."

spn

"Are you sure about this Sam?" Jess questioned as she watched him pack a bag, not seeing the knife and gun he stowed in it. "How long has it been since you've seen Dean?"

"Over four months, but I am, if something's happened to Mom, I need to help him find her. Hopefully it won't take too long. Maybe she just lost track of time and forgot to call."

"What about Monday?"

"I'll be back. Even if we don't find her, I'll come back for the interview and get my tests out of the way before going back out."

"Will you promise me to be careful?"

"I will, Dean's pretty good at tracking people down, so we shouldn't have much trouble."

"I love you Sam," she said when he leaned down to kiss her.

"I love you too and I don't know what I would've done if I hadn't met you. You make it all worthwhile."

"Crashed and burned probably," she teased giving him a quick peck on each cheek and then his nose. She didn't know how she could love him any more than she already did, but her love seemed to grow with each passing day.

When they first met, he was so quiet and shy and could barely talk to her. She had to initiate their first date, but Sam made the move for the first kiss and that was it for both of them. It seemed like they both fell head over heels in love with each other. She found Sam to be more caring, gentle, selfless and compassionate than other guys she had dated over the years. He always asked her opinion on things and included her in everything he planned. He didn't talk much about growing up, but she knew he had a brother and mom.

She had yet to meet either of them until tonight since Sam said they were both really busy or on the road a lot. His Mom had stopped by a month before they started dating so she didn't get to meet her. Sam said she made time to come by every three to four months to check on him and see if he needed anything. He saw Dean less, so Sam tried to call him if he didn't hear from him. Most of the time he got voicemail, but eventually Dean would call him back. The bond between them may have weaken some, but it would never be broken.

"Jess..."

"Yes Sam."

"Don't let anyone in you don't know while I'm gone okay? And don't go out by yourself at night."

"Sure Sam, I won't," she said a puzzled look on her face. He had never been that protective of her before and she wondered what brought it on.

"See ya in a couple of days."

"Okay, take care and maybe Dean will hang around when you guys come back. I'd like to get to know him," she replied watching him gather his things and walk out the door. "I'm sure he has some juicy stories about the two of you growing up..." she teased.

"I'll tell him that, but I won't hold my breath," he shrugged, but maybe he'd be wrong and Dean would hang around a few days so they could catch up and visit. He wanted Dean to get to know Jess since Sam knew she was the one for him.

Jess lay back down as her mind whirled wondering what he wasn't telling her. She knew he had something on his mind and it was more than worry about his Mom. Sam hadn't told her much about his life, only that he was adopted when he was six months old and didn't know his real parents. She sighed softly already missing his warm body next to hers. She didn't know if Sam knew it yet, but she was going to marry him one of these days and that was a fact even if she had to ask him.

Nearly twenty-two years ago

Mary rushed into the house when she saw the woman at the window screaming for help. She could see flames back behind her as a fire began to build. The stairs were to the right and she took them two at a time hoping she wasn't going to be too late. Smoke was billowing from one of the open doors in the hallway and Mary headed for it, not thinking of her own safety. She heard a child crying out and moved faster. Flames were licking at the walls as they seemed to have a mind of their own as they danced around the room. Intense heat almost suffocated her as she covered her mouth and shielded her eyes. Mary looked for the woman, but didn't see her until she heard a soft cry from above. When she looked up she froze in shock for a moment because the woman was pinned to the ceiling and her blood soaked nightgown was beginning to catch fire. The pitiful cry coming from the crib broke her trance and she ran to it to see a small child, red faced and helpless, waving his arms around. She scooped him up, blankets and all and cuddled him to her chest as she cast one last glance to the ceiling as the mother was engulfed in flames. Mary ran from the room, hooking her arm in a diaper bag on a changing table at the door and fleeing the carnage before she was trapped in the room. She never slowed until she was at the Impala and quickly got in. Before she could drive away, the windows on the second floor blew outward with a loud blast and she looked back up at it, her eyes widening in fright as a figure of a man stood in the flames. He seemed familiar to her but she didn't take time to look closer. Knowing she needed to get out of there, she cranked the car and stomped on the gas sending it recklessly down the road and away from the nightmare.

Mary was exhausted when she pulled into the salvage yard. She had been staying with a tough old coot, named Bobby Singer who was helping her in her search for the demon who killed her fiancé, the father of her son and her parents. It had been over four years now since that tragic evening that John was taken from her. Had it not been for a young, green eyed stranger saving her, she probably wouldn't be alive today. He came out of nowhere and got her out of there and kept the demon from following them. He was a hunter, she knew that but he never told her his name and he disappeared as mysteriously as he appeared. She never really got to thank him before he left.

All she had left of John was the Impala he had bought and the engagement ring she still wore. Mary sought out family on her father's side, the Campbell's and had stayed with a distant cousin until she realized she was pregnant. She left and tried to get away from hunting. She changed her last name to Winchester, hoping to disappear, but the life always seemed to draw her back. Mary found a friend in the co-owner of The Road House, Ellen, and stayed with her until her son, Dean, was born. Ellen volunteered to keep Dean when Mary started hunting again until she moved in with Bobby Singer. She pulled to the side of the house and got out gathering up the bundle from the passenger seat and headed for the front door. She heard soft whimpers coming from the blanket and cooed to the small child.

"Bobby I'm home," she called letting herself into the house.

"Momma!" a young voice cried out as her four and half year old ran from the kitchen to throw his arms around her legs hugging her tight. "I missed you," he said looking up at her with his father's eyes.

"I missed you too sweetheart. Where's Uncle Bobby?"

"Kitchen," he said pulling her that way. "What's that?" he asked when he heard soft noise from the blankets she was carrying.

Mary let Dean lead her into the kitchen and sat down at the table. Bobby looked over at her from the stove where he was stirring something in a pot. He turned the burner off and moved the pot so he could see what was going on.

"Dean honey, this is Sammy, he's going to be staying with us. He's going to be your little brother and you have to help take care of him and protect him," Mary explained as she unwrapped the small baby where Dean could see him.

Dean leaned closer and looked at the baby as he started intently at him with huge hazel eyes. Sam suddenly gurgled and waved his arms trying to reach Dean as he did a raspberry. Dean held out a hand, letting Sam grab it tightly as he watched in wonder.

"Hi, I'm Dean. I'm your big brother and I'm gonna keep you safe," Dean whispered to Sam. From that day forward that is just what Dean did. He accepted this baby as his brother without any fuss or questions and until he went to college was his protector and guardian. He kept him safe and watched out for him just like his Mom wanted him to. A deep bond grew between the brothers as time passed, one that would be tested as years passed but would never be broken.