Chapter One

Fifteen Years Later

A black car pulls to a stop in front of a small white house. A speckled blonde kills the ignition. He sighs silently, shaking his head lightly. He was in no mood to be out today, but his brother had insisted, even begged, him to come. He looks in the sun visor, seeing his emerald eyes through the mirror. His eyes looked tired, almost sad. He groans after seeing himself, opening the car door and slamming it shut.

The white door from the small house opens and out comes a brunette with brown eyes. Upon seeing his brother, a huge, goofy grin forms on his face. He opens his arms as he comes in contact with the other, embracing him.

"Dean, how have you been?" he asks, looking over at his brother.

Dean smiles at Sam faintly before he shakes his head. "Well, you know how it is at the company," he murmurs, running a hand through his hair.

Sam's smile wavers as he stares at Dean. "Relax, things will get better soon," he says, trying to console his brother.

"Gee, thanks," Dean mutters.

Before Sam could answer, a woman with light blonde hair comes out of the house. She grins as she notices Dean. She approaches the other, stopping before him. She has her hands crossed.

"Well, are you going to hug me or not?" Dean asks.

"Depends," she says jokingly.

"On what?"

"If I remember correctly, last time I hugged you, you copped a feel," she replies.

Sam's eyes widen as he looks at his brother. "You what?"

"What? I don't -"

"I'm joking, you big idiot," she says before she wraps an arm around Dean, hugging him.

"How have you been, Jess?" he asks. "I hope Sam hasn't been boring you with his studies."

Jess laughs before she shakes her head. "He hasn't...yet -"

"Hey!" Sam chimes in, wrapping an arm around Jess's waist.

Jess laughs, pecking Sam's cheek. "But I'm fine. We actually have an announcement," she says.

"Jess," Sam warns.

Dean's expression falters upon hearing Jess. He quirks a brow, turning to Sam for answers. "Announcement?" he repeats. "What do you mean?"

"Dean, go in there, celebrate, and have a good time. We'll make the announcement during the party," Sam replies.

Dean represses the urge to roll his eyes at his brother, but he does glare at him. He pushes past Sam, making his way inside the house. No one was inside, so Dean guessed everyone was back yard. Dean slides open the door, hearing the chatters.

"Dean, boy, come over here, ya idjit!" exclaims a voice.

Dean haunches over as he hears the man's voice. His eyes flicker towards the voice and he smiles. "Bobby," he says, approaching the man.

"Don't Bobby me. Not one phone call, boy? Not one single call? I'm damn worried about you, son," he scolds.

Dean nods slowly. "I'm sorry, Bobby. It's just...I'm busy. You know how it is at the company. It's much more busy now that winter's coming," he explains.

Bobby sighs. "That's not what I'm worried about. Dean, no one's seen you in weeks. Weeks! What have you been doing? We're all sick and worried about you," he explains.

"You don't have to be worried about me, Bobby. I'm fine, really," he answers.

Bobby shakes his head, deciding to drop the matter. He slaps the back of Dean's head as if telling him the discussion wasn't over. "You better start calling, or I swear -"

"I got it, I got it, Bobby," Dean interrupts.

"Dean?" a voice interrupts.

Dean turns to face the voice, receiving a smack across the face. He winces as he rubs at the red printed stains on his face. "Nice seeing you too, Ellen," he murmurs.

"Not one phone call -"

"Ellen, we already had this conversation," Bobby chimes in.

Ellen glares at Dean before shaking her head. She points at him menacingly. "Call sometime, Dean."

After thirty minutes of slaps and accusations, Dean's had about enough. He was beyond pissed and had drained another beer bottle. He gets up to leave when he sees Sam ask for everyone to be quiet. The crowd goes silent, watching as Sam pulls Jess next to him, wrapping an arm around her waist.

"You're all probably wondering why I asked you all to come today," he began, looking around the crowd before continuing. "Well, Jess and I would like you all to know that..."

"I'm pregnant!" she exclaims.

An cheer of uproar bursts through the crowd, congratulating the two. Dean sat back in his seat, unbelieving what he had just heard. His expression falters while his chest aches in pain. He breathes for a moment before he rises once more from his seat.

He walks towards his brother and hugs him saying, "Congrats, Sam."

Before Sam could reply, he noticed Dean's expression. His face softened and was replaced with that of concern. "Dean...are you alright?" he asks.

Dean looks at Sam before shaking his head. "I should go home. I have some paperwork to finish," he answers.

Sam furrows his brows as he looks at Dean. Before he could protest, Dean was already walking off the property. Dean slips inside his Impala, driving off.

Dean closes the door to his condo, resting against it for a moment. He sighs silently, shaking his head. He nearly stumbled over his briefcase. He glares at it before he picks it up and throws it across the room, yelling angrily. When that wasn't enough, he punches the wall repeatedly until he feels a crunching sound. He curses angrily before he pulls away, seeing blood forming on his knuckles.

He walks towards the kitchen, wrapping his hand around with a towel. Dean slumps lazily on the couch, adding pressure on his hand. His heart was racing from adrenaline. Even though his hand ached in pain, Dean felt numb.

He thinks of the events from earlier, a small smile forming. He was glad that Sam was going to be a father. He was glad he had someone to go home to after work. Dean bites his bottom lip before he pays attention to his arm. He slowly twists his bleeding hand, seeing the watch. The watch read: 0:12:2:7. He sighs silently, almost as if he had been afraid to see what it would say. Twelve more days, he repeated over and over again.

Dean closes his eyes, drifting off to sleep. He found himself dreaming that long, forgotten memory he had always tried to repress. But it all came flooding back to him now. It was ten years ago. Ten years ago, he thought his soul mate had died. Dean was eighteen at the time when his watch had flashed glaringly red. He was frightened. He knew what it meant, but he had refused to believe it.

He had looked at his wrist at the end of the day, watch still red. He came home, asking Bobby about it. But Bobby had stared at him with an apologetic expression. He shook his head. "I'm so sorry, Dean," he whispered somberly.

For two weeks, Dean's wrist was still flashing red. Bobby and Ellen had tried to convince him to get the chip removed, but Dean heavily refused. He was in denial. He didn't want to believe his mate of was dead. He had shut down. And just when Dean was ready to give up, his watch flashed blue. The numbers on his wrist had decreased by eighty days.

Dean jerks awake, feeling his cheeks wet. He grazes them slightly, rubbing away his tears. Twelve days, twelve more days, he repeated over and over again.

Today was the day. Dean's emotional state was utter chaos. He paces his room impatiently. He hears the door creak open, and he nearly jumps. Sam came inside, smiling.

"Here's the princess," he teases.

"Shut up, Sam. You were far worse than I was when it was your day!" Dean snaps back, glaring at his brother. "Need I remind you who was the one that led you to the correct soulmate? You almost married Ruby!"

Sam feels his cheeks flush in embarrassment, and he turns away. "Never tell Jess," he mumbles.

"I didn't then, why would I do it now?" he asks.

Sam shrugs before he looks back at Dean. "Nervous?" he asks, crossing his arms.

"Nervous is...an understatement," Dean replies. "I mean, what if they're not there? What if it hits zero, and I'm looking at the wall!"

Sam chuckles before he opens his mouth.

"Damn it, Sam. If you say I should marry the wall, I'm going to kill you," Dean warns.

Sam clamps his mouth shut once more, laughing. He raises both his hands in the air. "Dean, relax. I thought this as well. I thought of the worst possible things that could go wrong, and guess what? None of them happened. What's going to happen is that you're going to bump into the love of your life," he explains.

"You're the cheesiest person I've ever met, Sam," Dean replies.

"Shut up, jerk," Sam snaps back.

"Bitch," Dean answers, a small smile forming on his lips.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Sam asks.

Dean shakes his head. "No, I think...I'll make the right choice. I mean, I'm not the one that nearly called Ruby her soul mate," Dean answers.

"Dean, I mean it, you ever mention Ruby to Jess, and I'm -"

"I got it, I got it," Dean mumbles, waving his hand dismissively. "You'll kill me, my kids, and my grandchildren." Dean slips on his leather jacket, heading for the door.

"Dean!" Sam says, calling for him.

Dean halts, staring at his brother. "What is it now, Sam?" he asks.

"I hope you'll be happy with...whoever your soulmate winds up being," Sam answers.

Dean genuinely smiles. "You're such a bitch."

"Jerk!" Sam shouts before Dean closes the door.

Dean avoided going to the Soulmate Fountain, knowing there'd be a swarm of people there. He didn't understand it. If you all met in a general place, then you're bound to meet the wrong person. The watch guaranteed the day you'd see your soulmate, but it didn't guarantee you'd meet them. The watch also didn't have a beeping mechanism that'd tell you if the person, the watch hit zero with, was your soulmate, which is why it was a ninety-five percent guarantee.

Dean literally shakes his head, knowing the thoughts were going to cause him to be more nervous than he was. He hated this feeling. He hadn't felt like this since... He shakes his head once more, breathing deeply. He looks down at his wrist, seeing there was less than five minutes.

Shit! He really shouldn't have looked. Now, his mind was spinning with so many thoughts, all of which troubled him. He begins to speed walk before he starts to run. Time was running out. What if he did meet a wall? What if his soulmate is married? What if his soulmate was old? What if his soulmate was cruel to him? Wait! Why would it be his soulmate then? He didn't want a cruel soulmate. What if his soulmate was Ruby? A shudder ran down his spine as the thoughts hit Dean.

Dean turns a corner when he sees a wall and only a minute on his watch. He's met with a box and he comes crashing onto the ground. He rubs his head, glaring angrily before he notices the woman. She has dark hair and fair eyes. The box she was carrying clutters on the ground.

"I'm sorry! I wasn't looking," she exclaims, rushing to pick Dean up.

She reaches her arm to Dean, offering for him to take it. Dean notices her wrist, seeing the watch glow green before it disappears. He looks up at her, smiling. He takes her hand, standing. "Your watch..."

The woman quirks a brow before she looks down at her wrist. She notices the watch was gone and looks up at Dean. "You're my -?"

Before Dean could check his own wrist, someone had tapped his shoulder. He turns his attention to the stranger. Green flashed with blue as the two eyes met.

"You dropped this," the man mutters gruffly, extending his hand. "I felt compelled to give it to you since..."

Dean had been looking at the stranger's hand, seeing his necklace, unaware the man had trailed off. Dean looks down at himself, finding his necklace gone. He meets the stranger's gaze before he sees the stranger looking down at his hand. Dean quirks a brow and looks to see what the man was looking at.

Dean's eyes widen in surprise as the stranger's watch disappeared. The man looks at Dean, trying to look at his wrist. Dean remembers and looks at his own wrist. But that did nothing. The watch was already gone. He stares at the woman before he turns to the stranger. Who was it that his watch disappeared on?

"Shit," Dean cursed.