Warnings: Language, violence, character death

Present

"Tell me more about Jessica Moore." Victor said, wiping the grease off his hands from the pizza.

"What about her?" Sam asked, throwing a piece of pepperoni in his mouth.

"Well, she was your girlfriend, right?" Victor asked. Sam shook his head. "You were listed on her "in case of emergency" contacts."

"Doesn't mean we were dating." Sam said. "Jess was like a sister to me. She was dating my best friend."

"Right. Right." Victor said.

2004

"Strike out again?" Sam asked Brady as he flopped down at the lunch table with him. A few days a week, Sam stayed on campus most of the day, instead of wasting time going home for an hour or two. He was only a few minutes from the house, but once he got there, he didn't really want to leave.

"Unfortunately." Brady sighed. "Is it me? Am I coming on too strong?"

"Maybe it's the cologne." Sam said, waving a hand under his nose. Brady was about to say something with a blonde girl approached the table.

"Hey Sam. Can I sit here?" She asked. Sam smiled.

"Of course Jess. Take a seat." Sam pushed out a chair for her. "Jess, have you ever met Brady?" Sam asked. Jessica looked at Brady and smiled.

"Hi. I think you're in my Advanced Chemistry class." Brady smiled at her.

"Yeah, I think so. Nursing, right?" He asked. She nodded and Sam sat back as the two made small talk. They didn't even seem to notice when he slipped out to go to his last class for the week. He couldn't help but smile at his two friends getting along.

"De? You home?" Sam asked as he came in, dropping his backpack on the couch and making his way to the kitchen for a bottle of water. He could hear Led Zeppelin playing in the garage. Making his way out, he found Dean in the garage, doing some tune ups to Baby. "Hey honey."

"Hi baby boy." Dean said, grabbing a shop rag and wiping his hands. Sam knew he was stressed by something. This was the third tune up Baby had gotten in two weeks.

They made small talk for awhile before Sam suggested going to San Jose for the night. Dean knew what Sam was doing, and fuck, he appreciated it so much. He hadn't killed in months. And even those were of a supernatural nature. People around here were pretty good about not hitting on a married man, so Dean really didn't have a need to do anything.

But they went to San Jose, and Dean unwound by killing a couple that were out for a date night. Sam waited in the car and when Dean came back, Sam kissed him deeply. Dean loved the reactions he got from Sam after a kill well done.

2005

Jessica and Brady had been dating over over a year. After Sam had introduced them, they started talking, and talking turned into dinner, and a year later, they were moved in together and talking about marriage. It was a couple days after Halloween and the campus was abuzz with the thought of a long weekend coming up in the form of Thanksgiving. Sam and Dean hadn't really done a big Thanksgiving with family or anything. They did have a small one with some friends the evening before, but that was about it.

"I'm going over to Jess and Brady's." Sam told Dean. "It's movie night."

"Ah, that's right." Dean laughed. "Jess and Brady and their third wheel."

"Am not." Sam said. "Plus, Brady was our third wheel for like three years."

"Yeah, don't remind me." Dean said, rolling his eyes. "So glad he has Jessica to annoy now."

"Well, I'm going to head over there. It's nice out." Sam told Dean, giving him a kiss. "I'll give you a call when I'm ready to head back."

"Okay baby boy. Be safe." Sam smiled and headed out the door.

Brady and Jess had gotten themselves a place in Old Palo Alto, which was catercorner for Midtown. Dean and Sam had been over quite a few times for movies, usually Sam since Dean had to work but he was always invited. Or Brady and Jess would come over to their place for beer and barbecue. Dean couldn't believe how their lives had changed; from hunting witches and ghouls to having couples dates and a job and house. It was all a little surreal and Dean was just waiting for the rug to be pulled out from under them.

Sam made the walk over towards their place in Old Palo Alto. Sam had a key to their place, and most of the time, unless he was given notice, Sam was invited to come right on in. They had a system of placing something in their wreath on the door if Sam needed to knock before entering. But there was nothing on the wreath, so Sam made his way right in.

"Brady? Jess?" Sam called out as he walked in. The lights were dimmed in the living room, but most of the room was lit up by the blue screen from the TV. There was a stack of Blockbuster movies laying on the table by the couch; Anchorman, Dodgeball, White Chicks, and Friday Night Lights. Sam could smell popcorn in the kitchen, and sure enough, a bowl was sitting on the counter. Sam snagged a few pieces.

"Hello? Guys?" Sam asked as he made his way towards their bedroom. He could hear the radio playing. Jess always kept a radio playing on low in the bathroom. He knocked on their bedroom door and it opened, like it wasn't latched. Sam peered in, expecting to be scarred for life, but saw nothing. He carefully stepped in and scanned the room. Everything seemed in place.

Until he felt something drip on him. Once, twice…

Sam looked up, expecting to see water damage or something. But instead, he saw Jessica, suspended to the ceiling with blood on her stomach.

"No!" Sam screamed. "No! Jess!"

That's that's when the apartment caught on fire.

Dean was out in the garage, changing Baby's oil and making sure her fluids were all kept up. A couple Christmas's ago, Sam had gotten Dean the ultimate stereo. It didn't have a place for CD's, but it did have a turntable, a cassette deck, and even a spot for 8 tracks, as well as the radio. He was currently listening to ELO on vinyl, humming along to Mr. Blue Sky. That's when the the police scanner that Dean kept (old habits die hard), chirped to life.

"Fire and EMT requested to the Old Palo Alto neighborhood." He heard. His head looked up at the scanner. And when he heard the address that was listed off, he was up and getting into Baby before he even realized it. He didn't care that the house was unlocked or anything like that. All he cared was that the address of Jess and Brady's place had just come across the scanner.

He didn't really remember much of the drive from their house to Old Palo Alto. He pulled his car to a stop by a crowd of people who were watching as the firefighters worked to put out the blaze. He jumped out of his car and ran towards the house.

"Sammy!" Dean screamed. "Sammy!"

"Sir, you can't go in there." A police woman said, stopping Dean from crossing the barricade.

"My husband was there with friends!" Dean said, ready to just push his way through.

"Sir, I think he's over there." She said gently, pointing to an ambulance. Dean couldn't see anything but a body bag laying on a gurney.

"N-no." Dean said, feeling the tears filling up in his eyes. He slowly made his way over to the gurney, his whole body feeling like Jello. That's when he saw Sam sitting in the back of the ambulance, with a blanket wrapped around him and an oxygen mask over his face. "Sammy!"

"De?" Sam asked, looking over at Dean. There was soot on him, and he reeked of smoke. Dean pulled himself into the ambulance and wrapped his arms around Sam, holding him close.

"What happened?" Dean asked.

"I walked in and suddenly, it was on fire." Sam said, tears falling down his face. Dean could tell there was something Sam wasn't saying, probably due to the young EMT sitting there, watching his vitals.

"Can I take him home?" Dean asked. "Or does he have to go to the hospital?"

"We can't make him go to the hospital, but we strongly encourage it." The EMT explained. "Smoke inhalation."

"I feel fine." Sam said. "I just want to go home." Dean nodded and kissed the top of his head. He didn't smell like his shampoo. He smelled highly of smoke.

"I want to go home." Sam said, his voice so small. Dean nodded and got him up. Sam took the oxygen mask off and handed it to the EMT. He had already given his statement to police about what had happened. He wasn't sure if they believed him, but it was the truth. He walked in, there was fire. Of course, he failed to mention that Jessica had been suspended to the ceiling. Dena led Sam back to the car, getting him safe and sound. He got them home in record time, hitting every light just right and such. Sam didn't talk the whole way.

"Come on baby boy. I got ya." Dean said, leading him to the bathroom and carefully undressing him. "Let's get you in the shower. I'll even join you." Sam just nodded. Dean quickly stripped out of his clothes and got Sam into the shower. Over their four years in the house, they had remodeled, painted, and done various other things to the house. Including the bathroom. It was a relaxing spot, and the shower was amazing. After years of crappy motel showers and baths, they needed this for themselves.

"I'm going to wash your hair, okay?" Dean asked. Sam nodded. Dean grabbed the shampoo that Sam always liked and started to work some of it into his hair, hoping that it would help get rid of the smoke smell. Sam closed his eyes as Dean massaged his scalp, enjoying the relaxing feeling. He led him under the spray and washed the soap off before grabbing his body wash to work on cleaning the signs of the fire off his body.

Dean was gentle, like he always was with Sam. This was a side he reserved only for him. No one else really got to see it, unless they saw Dean interacting with his Sammy. And Sam really appreciated it. Growing up, there was so much bad stuff in their lives; monsters around every corner. He needed this to calm him down.

"Thank you." Sam whispered when Dean had finished washing him off and gotten him out of the shower. He had dried Sam and sat him on the closed toilet to go grab him some clean clothes. He wasn't sure if Sam would ever want to wear his other ones again or not. Not that he blamed him.

"That's my job right?" Dean said with a smile, pushing Sam's wet hair out of his face. "Gotta watch out for my boy." The smallest smile was on Sam's face then. It didn't last long though. But Dean was glad for any progress.

"Let's get you to bed baby boy." Dean said after they got Sam dressed. He led him to their bedroom and laid him down on their bed, getting one of the fluffy throw blankets that Sam had bought on a whim at Khols. He wrapped it around Sam and sat beside him.

"She was on the ceiling." Sam said after a few moments of silence. Dean looked over at him. "Jess. She was on the ceiling. Just like…" Tears were falling down his face. Dean pulled him to him, holding him close.

"I'm going to find that fucking demon and I'm going to kill him." Dean told Sam. He knew it was a demon. That was what John had told them growing up. He wiped the tears from Sam's face. "I'm going to go grab some water and some other things so we have them right here with us. I'll be right back, okay?" Sam nodded, curling into the blanket. Dean left, heading to the kitchen.

"Hello Sam." A voice said. Sam's head popped up. He saw Brady standing there by the window.

"Brady?" Sam asked. "How did you get in here? Are you okay?"

"I'm perfectly fine." Brady laughed. "But you need to come with me?"

"What? Why?" Sam asked.

"You know why." Brady said. "Those dreams you had that you didn't tell Dean about. About Jessica burning on the ceiling. That vision you had of the test and you knew the answers before you went in. You're special Sam."

"I don't understand." Sam said, staring at Brady. Brady walked closer, a dark smile on his face.

"You were born special Sam. Your kind is a very rare kind. You're wanted. I am supposed to bring you to my boss." Brady laughed. Dean came in then, carrying some water and a box of Zebra cakes.

"Hey Sammy I… holy shit!" He dropped everything he was holding and grabbed his gun he kept close by the bed. The room had a hint of sulfur smell in it.

"Easy Dean. Guns aren't necessary." Brady said. "I'm just taking your husband here, or should I say brother." He laughed. "That's nasty, even by my standards." He blinked then, his eyes black. A smile curled on his face.

"Shit!" Sam said, jumping up and going to stand by Dean.

"Sam. Dean. The things you two have gotten up to." Brady laughed, watching them. "The people you have killed. You're no better than me it seems." Dean glared him down. "But Azazel, he doesn't want me to hurt Sam. Physically at least. But Dean is fair game. Just like Jessica was."

"You...you killed Jess?" Sam asked. Brady smiled.

"Brady here was really in love with her. Madly in love. But she walked in on things she wasn't supposed to see. So, of course she had to die. Just like your mommy." Dean had enough then and fired at Brady, hitting him a couple times in the chest. Brady just laughed.

"Apparently you didn't get to demons in your fighting the supernatural class. You boys have a lot to learn." He smiled at Sam. "I'll see you later Sammy." With that, black smoke shot out of Brady's mouth, going out the window. He fell to the ground, coughing and gasping.

"Brady!" Sam said, running to him. Tears were falling down Brady's face as Sam knelt by him.

"S-Sam." He cried out. "I...I killed…"

"You didn't. You didn't." Sam said. Brady grabbed Sam's hand with his shaking one.

"I don't want to die." He whispered before his eyes fell closed and his hand went lax in Sam's. Sam looked back at Dean, tears in his eyes. This wasn't supposed to happen. They were supposed to be safe here.

"Sammy," Dean said, getting Sam's attention. "Pack some stuff. Whatever we can comfortably fit into Baby. I'm going to take care of Brady's body."

"Dean…"

"We can't stay. It's not safe." Dean told him. "I'm so sorry Sam. I didn't want this for you baby boy." He brushed back Sam's hair. Life on the road, that's what they were doomed to it seemed. Sam nodded and left to get their old duffle bags. Dean took Brady's body out away from Palo Alto, to someplace with high crime, where it wouldn't surprise anyone that a murder had happened.

When he got home, he found Sam standing in the kitchen, staring out the window. They could stay, but that demon knew exactly where they were. And there was always the chance that the police would decide to pin the fire on Sam, and possibly Brady's murder. Dean wrapped his arms around Sam and rested his head on his shoulder.

"I will make this up to you." Dean whispered.

And just like that, the Winchester's disappeared into the night, leaving behind a house full of things that they couldn't take with them.