AS OF 6/28/2017 - I just want to let everyone know that I am slowly editing my old supernatural stories. Mostly it will be just grammar and punctuation stuff that I've noticed and want to fix, but with a few stories I've also found minor plot points that make no sense, so those will be fixed as well. I will post this message at the beginning of every story I edit as well, just in case people don't read this, haha. :) With this particular story, I am pretty much re-writing it. Same story, just better. :)

Sam was no idiot. He knew he was obsessing, he knew that it was the whole point but still...it was going to drive him absolutely, completely, and utterly insane. "Jess, are you sure that puzzle was unsolvable?"

His lovely girlfriend gave him a startled look, then began to laugh, especially as his frown turned into more a pout. "Sam, honey, are you still thinking about that? It was a joke, it's unsolvable." Her laughter rang down the sidewalk, drawing the attention of several guys, leaning against a few picnic tables nearby.

Sam wouldn't have thought much of it – after all Jess was beautiful and vibrant, she often attracted attention of all sorts wherever they went – except that there was something about their expressions that seemed almost hostile and it put the former hunter on edge. Still, he refused to let his dad's paranoia rub off on him. It was Stanford – he was as safe as it was possible to be. Almost in an act of rebellion against his own instincts, Sam kept a gentle smile on his face, letting his amusement overrule his nerves. "I was so close!" he lamented, mostly attempting to get a rise out of Jess.

She shook her head, gasping out breathless giggles. "I'm sorry, Sam. I would have done that ages ago if I'd known you would obsess over it like this!"

Sam rolled his eyes at that, but his smile never left his face. "Well, if this is how you react every time, I'll have to remember to obsess more often." He pulled Jess closer, pausing a moment in their walk to give her a kiss. Jess responded immediately, coming up to meet him, relying on his solid hand at her back to keep her on her tippy-toes so she could actually reach his lips. She wasn't all that short, but everyone was short compared to her boyfriend.

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Dean tapped his fingers against the steering wheel of the Impala, in time to the music that he was playing, softly for once as he didn't want to attract attention anymore than a beautiful classic would naturally. He wasn't really listening to it anyway, his thoughts on the young man in front of him. Sam had never looked happier or more content. Clearly, his younger brother loved it up here. Dean was content that Sam was safe as well, which made his absence a slightly less bitter pill to swallow.

However, Sam being kicked out (thanks to their dad) and in college didn't automatically remove all of Dean's big brother instincts. He was a frequent visitor to Palo Alto, one student in particular, even if Sam had yet to know about his visitor. Besides all that, Dean missed his brother. A lot. Granted, he would barely admit it to himself, much less anyone else. The company, no matter how distant, was needed. He wanted to be sure that he had lost Sam to something that was worth it and...from the look on his baby brother's face, it was.

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Despite his intentions to remain relaxed, Sam couldn't help but notice when the group of guys broke away from their table and started to move towards them. Their whole demeanor screamed trouble and he couldn't help the familiar rush of adrenaline, tensing of muscles, all preparing for confrontation. Apparently, I can find trouble no matter where I go. That just figures.

Jess pulled away from him as she felt his attention divert away from her and she watched with confusion and slight trepidation as the guys approached.

"Jess." Sam's soft whisper reached her ears and she tuned in to him with an ease that seemed to come naturally to her. "I may just be paranoid, but I have a feeling this isn't a social call." he looked down at her, offering her a small, tense smile. "I ever mention to you that I used to wrestle with my brother?"

Jess nodded. "Yeah. You said it got pretty violent sometimes."

Sam glanced back up, seeing that the guys had nearly reached them, and finished his thought, "Well, we didn't just wrestle. We trained – a lot. So if this gets ugly, I want you to run and trust me to handle it. These guys aren't going to be any tougher than Dean was. If they are...well, I suppose you could always call Dean. He seems to have a sixth sense about how much trouble I'm in at any given time."

Jess huffed a laugh at that. "He must already be going gray from the stress then. You're always in trouble." Sam sent another pout her way at that, but had no time to respond.

"Mind sharing some of that?" The guy in front sneered, crudely, his meaning clear as he looked Jess up and down thoroughly. He looked vaguely familiar to Sam, though it was proving difficulty to place him. "There's plenty of her to go around, after all."

Sam felt Jess tense against his side and he unconsciously moved to shield her almost entirely from their view. He bit back the swell of rage, knowing that he had to keep his cool if he wanted any chance of this ending peacefully. "Leave now." His voice was soft, but there was a dangerous undertone to it that had their harassers tensing and Jess pressing that much closer against him.

"See, that's just plain unfriendly. I don't think the geek here should be allowed to talk to us like that. Maybe you need to be taught some respect." They all seemed to agree with that, spreading out a little till they surrounded the couple in a half circle.

Sam scoffed. "If anyone here needs to learn respect, it's not me." The leader's face suddenly clicked for Sam and he rolled his eyes, fighting back another wave of anger. "This isn't about Jess, is it? No, you're bitter that I came in as a guest to your class and kicked your butt in front of your coach, your team, and the recruiter." He had felt about about it at the time, had apologized even. It wasn't his fault that no one told him so much had ridden on the fact, nor was it his fault that the recruiter couldn't recognize the skill the other student had displayed, no matter that he had lost. However, after several weeks of cold hostility, Sam was having a hard time feeling sorry. "I apologized for that, dude, you need to let it go. You'll get another opportunity, you fought well." Sam still tried to placate him, though it was for Jess's sake and not his own.

The leader's face twisted murderously. "My whole future was riding on that fight! I was lined up to get everything I wanted and you came striding in and stole it all!" His voice was shaking with his fury, his hands clenched into fists at his side.

Sam couldn't help himself. "If you're going to let one bad turn of events ruin your entire life, you're even more pitiful than I thought." he snapped. He instantly regretted it, knew that it was just going to fan the flames. He was right.

The guy swung and Sam jerked back, trying not to step on Jess as he moved backwards. "Jess, go!" he managed, before he was ducking another swing and entangled in a fight that he was severely outnumbered in. Even as he threw a punch at the lead to force him back a pace, his mind was racing with what he needed to know about the situation and environment to have a chance to win. Sam felt a hand close around his arm and he quickly grabbed the wrist, twisting it nearly to the point of breaking it, then shoved the guy back with considerable strength.

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Jess had stumbled back away from the fight upon hearing Sam's barked command, but instead of running she pulled out her cell, hoping to call the cops. Before she could dial, however, she was distracted by the sound of a car door slamming nearby. She glanced up and saw a face that looked vaguely familiar to her. The young blonde's face was twisted in anger and worry, long legs eating up the pavement as he rushed towards them. It hit her suddenly where she'd seen that face before – the picture in Sam's wallet and the other one on his dresser. This was Dean! Where in the world had he come from?!

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Without meaning to sound arrogant, Sam knew he was a good fighter. He was tall and strong, trained and confident – he had faced much worse than these losers. However, training and strength only meant so much when he was outnumbered so badly and his opponents were trained too – maybe not as much as he had been, but enough that they were beginning to score hits on him. His ribs were aching from a couple of rough hits he had taken, his jaw throbbing as well. While they would be twice as sore as he was when this was all over, that didn't change the fact that without someone to watch his back and even the odds a little, he was going to lose.

The fact made him angry and his next punch had a little more power to it, striking one of his attackers straight in the head. He went down hard and didn't get up again. There was a flash of movement in his peripheral and Sam turned just in time to get a large fist in the jaw that sent him stumbling back, trying to see through the stars. Temporarily disoriented, it was pure instinct that had him swinging around to face the next flash of movement, but he froze at the familiar voice that reached him.

"Don't go swinging at me, Sammy, I'm on your team."

Dean?!

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Dean threw himself into the fight with energy and enthusiasm – something his hunts had been missing lately. Without proper motivation, it was hard to find a reason to do anything and he hadn't realize just how much Sam motivated him until he was gone. Now that he had been at least temporarily reunited with his motivation, he could do this and enjoy every second of it.

As Dean leaped at the first loser he saw, he was unsuccessful in hiding his grin, marred slightly as it was by anger at these freaks who dared to touch his baby brother. Together, he and Sammy would teach them why messing with a Winchester was a bad idea.

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Sam forced himself to concentrate, despite the sudden appearance of his brother, ducking another swinging fist, countering the swing with one of his own that left his opponent bleeding profusely from his nose. He moved to his next attacker – the one who had started it all – and a fierce grin found its way on Sam's face as he grabbed the guy's arm and twisted it. It was the same move that Sam had won the last fight with.

However, his opponent had apparently learned his lesson, as he managed to jerk out of Sam's grip with a twist that had him suddenly right up close to Sam and grabbing the younger Winchester by the throat. Sam clawed at the hands around his throat, but couldn't get his attacker to release him and he was beginning to get lightheaded.

Suddenly, the guy jerked with a growl of pain as Dean kicked at the back of his knee hard. Sam was moving instantly at the opening his brother had given him, gasping air through the loosened grip on his throat, even as he slammed his elbow into the guy's face. He went down like a rock and Sam moved forward with his brother, falling into a painfully familiar rhythm. It was unlike anything else that Sam had ever experienced – knowing exactly where his brother was going to move and how to best help him and protect him, knowing Dean was doing the same for him.

They moved in sync, moving from opponent to opponent with ease. Sam shoved one of the two who came at him at Dean, who was already swinging, easily knocking the guy out and moving on to the guy who was trying to get close to Sam from behind while his younger brother was taking out the guy in front of him. It was a matter of minutes before the two Winchesters were the last ones standing.

Sam couldn't help the bright smile as Dean finally looked up at him, wearing a grin of his own. "Hey, little brother."

Before he could respond, Sam felt familiar arms wrap around his waist. "Are you okay?" Jess questioned, concern clear in his voice. She fought to sound as calm as she could, hard considering how frightening the last few minutes had been, but was rather proud of her efforts.

Sam wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "I'm fine. Are you?" His girlfriend simply nodded, relieved that bruises would be the worst result of the unexpected fight. She looked up at Dean and offered a smile. "So apparently Sam was right about you."

Dean smiled back, chuckling a little. "Don't believe a word that loser said about me."

"Oh, so you don't have a sixth sense about how much trouble Sam is in at any given moment?"

Dean laughed out loud at that, Sam joining him. "It's true, Dean. You do seem to always show up exactly when I need you. It's kinda weird, actually."

"You should know why, Sammy. I'm Batman – I know everything. Those dusty books are clearly getting to your head for you to have forgotten that." Dean grinned.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Ah. Of course, how could I forget?" Sam's gaze was gentle, however, as he lifted an eyebrow at Dean. "You were checking up on me."

Dean shifted, a little uncomfortable, but Sam was quick to soothe him. He owed his brother after all and after so long without contact, he didn't want to really make his brother squirm. "Thank you, Dean."

Determined to take the opportunity he was being given, Dean clapped his brother on the shoulder. "You know, while I'm here, you might as well show me where all of the good bars are. And, of course, introduce me to your lovely lady here."

Jess blushed at that, even as Sam felt a deep warmth building in his chest. He was beginning to hope that Dean wasn't going to stick to the 'no contact' rule that their dad had set up when Sam left. As Jess stuck her hand out to shake Dean's, Sam introduced them. "Dean, this is my girlfriend, Jess. Jess, this is my brother, Dean."

The youngest Winchester felt more complete now than he had for a long while. His father might still hate him, but Dean would never – after all, he was here, wasn't he? And Sam was determined that he would never push Dean away – he was going to do everything in his power to keep the bond between he and Dean strong. College or not, they were brothers and it was going to stay that way.

After all, even someplace as safe as Palo Alto, Sam couldn't seem to keep out of trouble.