Chapter One: February 14, 2010

Sam,

These past two years travelling with you and Dean have been amazing and fun, but I have to leave. I love you with everything I have, but our fight is the reason hunters and witches don't get involved with each other. So, I'm stopping this before either of us gets hurt. You're an amazing man and I know there's an equally amazing woman out there for you. Be safe, Sammy.

Love,

Zoey

He woke up on Valentine's Day, mind reeling with ways to propose to her, with the diamond ring in his bag; he wasn't worried about the weird absence of memories from the previous night. When he rolled over, the first thing he saw was the note on her side of the bed. Sam's heart stopped as he read it, his eyes finding the few damp circles where her tears landed on the paper. He bolted out of bed and ran to the door, yanking it open. Sure enough, her emerald green Corvette was gone. "Zoey!" He yelled, panicking. She couldn't be gone.

Dean emerged from his hotel room next door sleepily. "Dude, keep it dow-where's Z?"

Sam sank down in the doorway, pulling his knees to his chest, and didn't bother to attempt to block the tears. This was supposed to be a vacation. "What happened?" Dean asked quietly, sitting beside his brother.

"S-she's gone." The realization of that simple statement hit him as the words left his mouth. The one who helped him and Dean through their issues, helped heal his heart, cured his demon blood addiction, was gone. And he had no idea why.

"Yeah, I see that." Dean said impatiently. "What happened?"

"I don't know, man." Sam thought hard, trying to come up with something. "I don't remember anything after walking to the bar with you until I woke up this morning."

"Great. The last time you blacked out, you were freaking possessed and tried to kill me and Jo." Dean groaned. "Christo." He muttered under his breath, but Sam just stared ahead.

"Yeah, I know." He finally stood up. "Can we just go back to the bunker?"

Dean had never seen his brother so defeated looking. "Yeah, sure."

They packed and Sam joined Dean in the Impala, his phone in his hands. The long drive from Florida back to Lebanon, Kansas was silent except for Dean's music blaring. Dean didn't know what he could say to cheer Sam up and Sam didn't know how to find out what happened the previous night. When they walked in, it was to find the teenage prophet, Kevin, watching Lord of the Rings while John cooked dinner. Sam, wanting to avoid the talk with his dad, disappeared through the hallway to his room. Dean sighed, throwing his bag on the floor and sitting beside the prophet. "You two are back early."

"Yeah, well, didn't go too well." Dean remarked. Kevin kept looking toward the door, obviously expecting the red-haired witch to walk through. "She's gone."

"Why?" Kevin gasped.

Dean shrugged, picking his bag off the floor and taking it to his room. "We're back, Dad."

"Good timing. Food's almost ready." John took some rolls out of the oven. "Mind setting the table?"

While Dean helped his dad, Sam was trying to get Zoey to answer her phone. "Zoey, please, just talk to me. Please. I love you." He mumbled, hanging up for the fourth time.

"Guys, supper's ready!" John boomed, getting Sam's attention.

Sam threw his phone across the floor and trudged to the table. He wasn't hungry; he was heartbroken and nothing, save Zoey coming back to him, could fix that. Sam stared at his steak and mashed potatoes, willing himself to eat, hoping to avoid questions from John. "Where's Zoey?" John asked curiously. "You didn't leave her down in Florida, did you?" He chuckled at his joke.

"Not exactly." Dean answered for Sam.

"She left us." Sam spoke softly, fighting back the tears. "I'm not hungry, but thanks for supper, Dad."

He got up from the table and walked out, driving to the closest bar. Drinking away problems was usually Dean's thing, but Sam just wanted to numb the pain.

Back at the bunker, John cleared his throat. "Why'd she leave?"

"No idea. They left the bar before me, but-" Dean paused. "Something was off with Sam and when she left this morning, he said he didn't remember anything after going to the bar. He's not possessed; I checked."

"Why did you let him leave then?"

Dean looked down at his plate. "I was hitting on this chick pretty hard."

"Dean, he's your brother. You're supposed to keep an eye on him."

"I'm sorry, Dad. I just thought he was nervous because he was planning on proposing to her by the beach."

"If he's not back tomorrow morning, you go find him." John finally said.

"Yes sir."