AN: Sorry for the delay y'all, but this one was a real bitch to hammer out and 15 or so rewrites later, I'm still not sure about it. However, the conversation that follows is absolutely necessary for anything else down the line to make any kind of sense. That being said, I hope this chapter engages you to stay on for more. ;P Super thanks go to my gal pal, Joyce for her grammar catchin' ways and Thanks for catchin' that tense boo boo, AyJay!!

Chapter 3

Dean was still sitting in the chair with feet propped on the coffee table a half hour later, listening to the wind as it picked up and rushed around the house with an angry wail and the sky darkened with the coming storm. He listened to the click click of keys as his brother typed away on his laptop surfing the net. A small pang in his stomach reminded him he hadn't eaten all day and that he'd forgotten their food in the car. He didn't really feel like eating but knew that if he didn't Sam wouldn't either. And considering he'd been studiously ignoring Dean for the past half hour, he wouldn't put it past Sam to go so far as to forget to eat himself. So he got out of the chair in one swift motion then headed for the door.

"Where are you going?" Sam asked, the chair scrapping against the floor as he stood.

"I forgot the food in the car," Dean replied not bothering to glance back. He heard Sam's foot steps approach and knew that Sam would probably watch him as he made his way to the car and back. At least he's not ignoring me, he thought. Dean paused at the door and turned his head to the side, not quite looking back as he addressed his brother. "Why? You want to hold my hand?"

"Dean..."

"Sam…," Dean replied, imitating his brother's tone of annoyance perfectly. Then, affecting his best big brother voice, "Do we really need have a discussion about your girly moments of worry?"

Sam cocked an eyebrow at the older Winchester but didn't say anything further. He did stop where he was though and watched as Dean dipped his chin with an exaggerated sigh before turning to open the door. A strong wind yanked it from his hand and the door struck the wall as the quick moving gust of air whistled by and invaded the house, blowing the papers off the coffee table. Dean spared the door a single glance and decided to leave it be 'til he returned. He felt a chill run up and down his spine as he crossed the threshold and a cold gust of wind pushed its way through the opening of his jacket. Shaking off the chill, Dean took the final step out and headed for the car.

It was Sam's turn to sigh. He ignored the scatter of papers fluttering off the coffee table onto the floor and watched his big brother walk out the door. Shaking his head, Sam returned to his seat and started the process of closing the browser windows and shutting his laptop down.

"Let it never be said," Sam smiled, "that he was never a consistent pain in my ass."

He closed the laptop then picked up his notepad. Losing all feeling for the small bit of levity that Dean tried to instill in him, he reread the notes he'd been taking. There wasn't much but then he hadn't really expected there to be. He'd really hoped that Dean had been rattled by some local occurrence but he knew his brother was made of sterner stuff than that.

Something happened today that freaked Dean out enough that he'd had a panic attack and Sam knew Dean's current state of mind well enough to know of only one thing that could do that. The future. More specifically…Sam's own.

Sam leaned on his elbows and rubbed his face. He then pushed his hands through his hair, the silky brown strands gliding through his fingers before dropping his forearms onto the table. Frustration didn't even begin to describe what he felt.

Another gust of chilled wind burst through the door rattling the heavy object on its hinges. Sam glanced down and noticed the salt line had broken and got up to fix it. He was about to bend down and shift the salt back into place when he was momentarily startled by a shadow appearing in front of him.

Dean couldn't help the smirk that crossed his face as Sam quickly recovered and glowered at him. "Thinking too hard, geek boy, will get you into trouble."

Sam was still irritated with Dean so he tried not to return the grin. "Stop being an ass and fix the salt line, ya jerk." Taking the bag of food from his brother he walked away, the customary "Bitch" response following him as he headed toward the table.

Still grinning, Dean bent down and reached for the displaced rock salt. His grin quickly disappearing as another gust of wind blows through the entrance way, nearly knocking him down in the process.

"Watch yourself, princess."

Dean hid his own chuckle and let the remark slide, simply happy for the momentary reprieve that his brother was allowing him. He knew their conversation wasn't over by a long shot but both understood that, nowadays, they couldn't afford to waste a lot of time on anger the way they used to.

Smile sliding from his lips, Dean takes a moment to glance up into the darkening sky; he looks on as the storm clouds roil forward like an approaching army ready for battle.

"Looks like we're in for a big one tonight," he mutters as he finally pushes the salt back into place, never noticing the shadow speeding overhead just before the barrier is sealed.

Dean sat at the head of the table, Sam at his right. They'd just sat down to eat and Sam was halfway through his first bite when Dean decided to talk.

"Ruby paid me a visit in the park today."

Sam halted his movements in surprise. 'Ruby had visited Dean?' he thought 'Not good. Not good at all.' Sam moved the sandwich away from his mouth and set it on the wrapper before him. The bite he'd taken left incomplete and barely hanging on. He was almost afraid to say anything that could possibly stop Dean from talking, but after a few beats he went ahead and prompted his brother.

"What did she say?"

"She said that the demon used a piece of what makes up my life-force, or whatever, to jump start you and that she had searched…searched everywhere but because…because of the way you were brought back… There's no way out of this, Sammy." Dean clasped his hands on the table before him and stared down at the sandwich left untouched on the open wrapper it had come in. He was afraid to meet his brother's eyes and it was a bit easier to hide the fact that, depending on how you looked at it, the statement wasn't entirely true. Ruby never said for a fact that there was no way out but he'd be dead in the end either way so what difference would it make.

"She said for sure that there was no way to break it?" Sam asked and Dean nodded his affirmation. Sam gripped his beer and rolled the neck of it between his fingers. He watched the condensation roll down the sides and leave patterns in the wake of the twisting base. "And you were used to bring me back?"

"Yeah, that's what she said," Dean replied. "I bet Bobby never thought he'd have to worry about me getting' up in ya," Dean paused before a chuckle could escape, a stunned look came over his face instead as he thought on that one and tried to shake it off. "That's just disturbing on so many levels."

Sam met his brother's eyes at the end of that statement and reacted just as Dean did, then he shook his head so that he could stay focused on the topic at hand. He scrutinized his brother, watching every nuance of his expressions and body language. Trying to figure out what Dean was hiding.

"Huh… Why did she come to you when she's always come to me? There's more to it, isn't there?" Sam asked. Dean just returned his stare as he fidgeted with his ring, twisting it round and round his finger. Sam tried not to let his disquiet get the better of him. "Dean...you aggravate Ruby about as much as she aggravates you. What else did she say because this is not something I see you having a panic attack over? There's more to it and it involves me doesn't it? Because as much as it pisses me off, you don't care about what happens to you enough to get as bent out of shape as you did earlier today."

Dean looked back down at his hands and found his fingers leaving white trails turning to red as he twisted them about. He realized that this hadn't gone unnoticed by Sam and quickly released his grip and shook his hands before pushing his chair back and standing up. Changing his mind Dean sat back down again, slowly rubbing his hands up and down his thighs as if pushing hard enough would make his own agitation disappear. He stared at his restless hands as he thought carefully on what he would say next.

"There's still a demon out there that wants to get you, Sam." Determination setting in, Dean looked up at his brother. "He'll use every means he can to get to you. Even me, so you've got to prepare yourself. Ruby's already confirmed there's no way out of this and she's looked everywhere to find a way. If you keep looking for one…one that clearly doesn't exist, you're just going to leave yourself wide open for an attack. I've become a liability to you, Sammy, and I'm sorry. I'm sorry I did this to you."

"Don't say that, Dean," Sam replied trying to hold himself together as he watched his brother try to hide his own emotions. "Don't you ever say that because without you…"

"Hey, you're not going to get all chic flicky on me are you?" Dean grinned in a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes.

"Dean…"

"No, Sam," he shook his head. All humor left Dean's face as he affected a look of complete seriousness. "This time…there's just no way out of this one and you know it. No matter how hard you look…my fate is set in stone, Sammy. Now it's your turn to make me a promise."

"My turn?" Sam asked as a look of confusion joined the signs of worry that seemed to be a constant visage upon his face.

"You remember that time you got drunk and made me promise to…take care of you if you went all dark-side?" Sam nods his head. "Well, now it's your turn to make a promise. Promise me that you won't do anything that could even remotely lead you down that path. Promise to take care of yourself and not go all dark-side."

Sam's face became a mask of hurt and confusion. Dean had killed the yellow-eyed demon. So him turning evil shouldn't have even been an issue anymore. "Dean, I…"

"Do this for me, Sam," he pleaded. "Do this for me so when I'm down in hell I won't be worrying that I'll see my baby brother there. It's all I got going for me now, Sammy. I can't live what's left of my life knowing I may be sending you to hell too. I just can't do it."

Sam nodded his head as he watched Dean rub a tear from his eye. He leaned forward and gripped his brother's neck, resting his forehead on his shoulder in a rare moment of mutual comfort.

"Okay, enough of all this girly touchy feely crap." Dean edged away from his little brother and Sam took the hint and did the same. "Bitch."

Sam forced a small smile upon his lips as his customary response passed through them. "Jerk."

AN2: Hope y'all weren't bored out of your minds with this one but I had to get this part out there so that I could maintain some continuity and set up some up coming events I got goin'. I would so love the R&R cause y'all that have said something already have done wonders for my story dedication. wink wink wink