Disclaimer: I own nothing, am making no money from this and am doing it purely for enjoyment.

Chapter Nine

Sam's Friday classes went by in a blur of inattention. It had been late last night when they got back from the police station, but instead of falling right to sleep, all he could think about was Buffy and how soft her lips had been for that split second before the phone rang. Those few moments in the kitchen replayed in his head over and over. Sometimes with commentary about how great it been, how he'd like to do that again, wondering what would have happened if the phone hadn't rung. But sometimes those thoughts and questions turned more pessimistic - what was he doing? Why had he done that? What if things were weird between them now?

Then there was Dawn. She was quiet as they left the house together that morning. Too quiet. Sam hadn't know her to be "quiet" at all since they'd met. At first he thought maybe it was that Elliot kids fault and he'd have to pay him another visit - he may not "like" Dawn per se, but she kind of grew on you after a while and he felt the urge to look out for her. But after he'd asked if she was alright, the withering look she sent him made it clear that it wasn't Elliot she had an issue with - it was Sam himself. He hadn't understood why and hadn't wanted to sound like a little kid asking "are you mad at me", so he kept quiet and wondered. Was it because he'd threatened Elliot? It wasn't that bad. Yeah, he'd made some inventive promises of what would happen to him if he pressed charges but mostly he was just big and scary looking to the beat down, drugged up, freshman. And shouldn't she be glad he did what he did? Not only would the little bastard think twice before treating another girl like that, but he'd gotten Dawn out of jail. But she'd just sat there, sullen and silent on the drive over, then disappeared without a word when they arrived on campus.

And if all that wasn't bad enough, as he was leaving his last class of the day, Jessica rushed by and gave him a smile and a wave while saying something about looking forward to tomorrow before she hurried off. He gave a confused "uh…yeah" at her back. That's when it hit him. He had a date. With Jessica. He had a date with Jessica tomorrow. After he'd kind of kissed Buffy last night. And was sort of planning to kiss her again in the future.

Girl troubles weren't something Sam was used to dealing with. He had no idea what to do next. Should he cancel with Jessica or tell her in person that he had feelings for someone else? Should he just ignore those feelings for Buffy and go out with Jessica? Forget what went on last night and go on like nothing happened?

And just like that, he suddenly wished that his brother was there. Dean would know what to do. Okay, so he'd tease him unmercifully first, but in the end he'd have the answers Sam needed, just like he always had. All the excuses and the reasons he gave for not calling were suddenly watered down and weak sounding and he felt ashamed of himself. How had he let it get like this? His brother hadn't been a wall holding him back, he'd been a limb, supporting him.

He'd fix this, he decided, pulling out his phone and sitting down on a retaining wall away from the traffic of the end of the day rush. He'd screwed up, but damn it, he was going to "have his cake and eat it too", like Buffy had said. He'd have his family and his life at school. Scrolling down to the name he'd stared at for two years but hadn't called, Sam took a deep breath and pressed the button with a slightly shaking finger.

With each ring his heart beat a little harder and when the voicemail picked up, he was both relieved and disappointed. The sound of his brother's voice asking him to leave a message hit him like a battering ram. That deep, rough voice that he'd always associated with home and comfort echoed in his ears, reinforcing what a fool he'd been.

Forcing his voice to be steady he left his message, "Dean. It's Sam. I, uh, I'm sorry I haven't called in a while. I was hoping we could talk. Give me a call when you get a chance."

He hung up feeling like a weight had been lifted. There was still the issue of the date with Jessica tomorrow, but now that he'd made the call to Dean, it didn't seem like such a big deal anymore. He'd either figure it out on his own, or Dean would call back in time to help him.

It was Friday, so Dawn should have had custody of her car for the weekend, but he still had the keys from the ride in this morning. Not really in the mood for Dawn's bizarrely placed anger at him, he decided he'd just drive it home and she could come get it - hopefully after she'd gotten over whatever was eating at her.

When he got back to the house, Buffy was gone. There was note on the fridge saying she'd had to go to San Francisco and might not be back until tomorrow. The familiar feeling of worry coiled in him before he forced himself to let it go - worrying about Buffy was a full time job and was a fast track to insanity. Instead, he pulled out a can of Pepsi and settled at the counter with some school work.

After only about an hour, his text books started to blur in front of his eyes as his focus jumped from topic to topic, none of them having anything to do with the books in front of him. Finally giving up on studying, he decided he'd put his time to good use and search for more hex bags. All he had left downstairs was the workout room and the garage. Upstairs he just had Buffy's bedroom, bathroom and office to check. A sense of decorum kept him from Buffy's bedroom. The idea of pawing through her things made him nervous and the thought of getting caught sent his mind spiraling toward panic. That was something he'd have to spend some time talking himself up to. The office on the other hand was more interesting than the garage and the workout room, but not as invasive as her bedroom. Decision made. He slammed his books closed and headed upstairs.

Standing in the doorway, Sam felt a swell of foreboding. He remember Dawn's serious look and flatly stated words - "Stay out of there". Unlike the other rooms in the house, there was nothing warm or cushy about Buffy's office. A big oak desk took up the wall by the window and the other walls were lined with locked wooden panels that matched the desk. Sam had assumed that book shelves were concealed behind them, but why would they need locks? For the first time it occurred to him that maybe weapons were hidden behind those doors. Bounty hunters must have weapons, right? Guns, mace, batons, stun guns, hand cuffs… rocket launchers…

Wandering slowly into the room, he took a leisurely lap around, tugging lightly on the panels and finding them all tightly locked. The desk was similarly cleared off of anything other than paperclips, pens and a couple of scraps of paper with random notes and numbers, everything else locked in the drawers, leaving Sam only one choice. Grabbing a paperclip, he popped the lock on the top drawer with ease.

Like riding a bike…

A stack of files sat on top in the drawer. Sam, determined to keep this professional and not just a roommate being nosey, pulled them out without looking at them and sat them on the desk. Underneath was nothing but a couple little notebooks, an address book, some pens, staples, and other assorted office supplies. No hex bags. Sighing, he grabbed the files to stick back in the drawer when some pages slid out of the top one.

So much for being professional, he berated himself as he picked up the papers to have a better look. He was worse than Mrs. Stanowski, at least she didn't break in to snoop. Well, that he knew of anyway… Hesitating only a second, Sam, scanned the pages quickly. They were bond files. The one he had in hand was on a Richard Marco, arrested in San Francisco for carrying a concealed weapon then released on bail. He hadn't show up for his court date and since then evidence had come to light that he may have been involved with a murder. 5'10" and 180 lbs., Marco reminded Sam of shorter, fatter version of Magnum PI with his giant 70's mustache.

Flipping through the stack, he skimmed each one - domestic violence, assault, robbery. He felt sick. It was one thing to think about what Buffy did, it was another to see it in black and white. Flipping the files shut, a note on the desk caught his eye. There in Buffy's curly yet scribbly handwriting were the words The Stinking Lizard - near Tenderloin. The Stinking Lizard… that sounded familiar… Flipping back to Marco's file, he saw why - it was listed as the club he was arrested at. But something was bothering Sam. He felt like he'd heard of that place before now. Putting the files away except Marco's, he left it laying on the desk and went downstairs to grab his laptop. Seated at the kitchen island again, he did a search on The Stinking Lizard.

The results were immediate and he knew right away why that place sounded familiar. It had been on the news a few days ago. The daughter of some congresswoman had been found dead in an alley a few blocks away. The article didn't say anything about cause of death or whether foul play was involved so Sam dug a little deeper by hacking into the coroner's office. It seemed that the girl in question, a Lesley Cransgrove, had died of blood loss. The results were inconclusive, but it seemed as if the wounds were caused by sharp pronged instrument being jabbed into the victims neck.

Dread washed over Sam and he snatched up Dawn's keys. He stopped just before going out the door and ran upstairs, pulling the lockbox out from under the bed and tucking its contents in the waistband of his pants before running full speed out the door.

Buffy was there at the Stinking Lizard looking for her skip. She'd be walking right into a vampire's hunting ground with no idea what she was getting into.


The bass in the club was giving her a headache and she was sure her organs would never settle properly back into place. God, she really was getting old… She'd been there for hours already with no sign of her now famous vamp. He shouldn't be hard to find, he'd been bragging about his kill getting on the news. The local vampires she'd already tracked down earlier had been more than willing to give him up. Not that that saved them. So with a description and a four block hunting radius that he seemed to stick to, Buffy had ended up here. The Stinking Lizard was right smack in the middle of the vampires territory, an all you can eat buffet of drunk and drugged out people wandering dark alleys after the bars closed. They were lucky Lesley Cransgrove's death drew such attention or they wouldn't have known about this. At least the poor girl's end would save the lives of others.

Another loser bumped into her as she walked around the perimeter of the dance floor. Her lip curled up as he leaned in close, leering at her. Jeez, look at that mustache... Looked like something out of a cheesy 70's porn flick. Turning away in disgust, she'd gone back to scanning the crowd when she suddenly she felt Pornstache's hand on her ass. She spun around and grabbed his arm, bending it back until she could feel the bones creaking. He screeched like a little girl and hit his knees. She released him with an eye roll. She really didn't have time for regular run of the mill perverts.

"You bitch, you don't know who you're messing with," he said, his small dark eyes narrowed as he scrambled back to his feet.

"Sure I do - the guy that's going to get his ass kicked by a girl in front of a whole club full of people if he doesn't beat it," Buffy said, with an raised eyebrow - daring him to make a move. He looked like he was going to for a second, but then he started backing away into the crowd. Once he disappeared into the throng of people she immediately put him out of her mind. She had bigger fish to fry.

It was almost an hour later when she finally spotted him. A button down shirt that's pattern would give you a seizure if you looked at it too long, black chin length hair and a thin scar that carved its way up through his eyebrow, reminding her of Spike. This was her guy. The thought of Spike immediately sent her mood into dangerous territory and her thoughts drifted to him as she prowled around the room watching the vampire and waiting for it to leave.

After Sunnydale had fallen, she been so upset over his sacrifice. Her thoughts swirled in loops of "I should have told him" and "did he know how much he meant" and "all my fault". Then Andrew had come back from a little jaunt to LA a few months ago with news that Spike was there - resurrected and just hanging out at Wolfram and Hart. Immediately all her warm and fuzzy feelings and guilt had tumbled to record lows. Yes, she was still grateful for what he'd done, yes, she still cared about him, but… He hadn't even called! He still hadn't called!

At this point she had worked up a good amount of steam and when her vamp walked out a side exit with a little blond under his arm she wasted no time going after him. By the time she got through the throng and out the door, he was already in vamp face and she was already screaming.

Buffy marched up and pulled him back by his shoulder, punching him squarely in the face as soon as she saw that stupid eyebrow scar.

"I didn't want him to call anyway!" She yelled.

Both the vampire and the girl looked at her like she was crazy and she blushed a little.

"You can run now," she said to the girl irritably, making a shooing motion. Snapping back to attention, the girl took her advice and took off at impressive pace considering she was wearing six inch heals. Buffy knew from recent experience how hard it was to navigate in those things.

The vampire came at her while she was watching the girl leave and she spun to meet him head on. The fight was far too short in her opinion. She was just starting to really work out her aggression after the thoughts of Spike when he gave her a full chest opening and her Slayer instincts plunged the stake in. He managed to get in one last shove just before he dusted, sending her stumbling over a bag of garbage and sprawling on the filthy alley floor.

And this was her life. Dirty alleys, vamp dust and being upset because yet another guy had disappointed her. It really wasn't so much Spike she was bothered about. It was herself. Why did guys always leave her? What was it about her that sent them for the hills? Angel, Riley, Spike - all of them just walked away (well, technically Riley flew away, and Spike blew away, but whatever). Why couldn't she find a good forever kinda guy? And why was she thinking about his anyway? Hadn't she decided she didn't want a guy?

Buffy was still laying on the ground in the smelly alley, blinking up at the sky and wondering about her life when Sam suddenly appeared in her view.

"Shit, are you okay?" He said, eyes raking over her in concern as his shaggy hair fell forward.

"Huh?" Buffy grunted out articulately. What the- Was he really there? Why was he-

"How many fingers am I holding up?"

"Huh?"

"That's it, you're going to a hospital," he mumbled, grabbing her arms and pulling her into a sitting position.

"What are you doing here?" She finally got out, yanking her arms out of his grip and shoving him away as she stayed seated on the ground. Okay, so maybe she was still a little miffed with the male species in general. Then a more important question occurred to her. "How long have you been standing there? What did you see?"

"I just got out here," Sam said looking around the alley. "I'm guessing the guy got away?"

"Just disappeared," Buffy answered somewhat truthfully with no idea who Sam was actually talking about. She accepted his hand up and stood there trying in vain to brush the nasty alley scum off her clothes. "And you were doing what here?"

"Uh, well, I was in your office," Sam said, cringing slightly as she looked at him sharply. "And I saw the file on Marco. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."

Buffy just blinked at him blankly. First of all, he'd been in her office? He must not have seen any of the weapons or demonology texts because she was sure he'd be asking about those right now if he had. What was he doing in there anyway? And then there were the files. Buffy knew exactly which ones he was talking about, Dawn had brought them by to make her seem more like a "real" bounty hunter. She'd shoved them in her desk and forgotten about them. That's what brought him here?

They started walking toward the exit, Sam going on about how he was just looking for a stapler and Buffy still reeling over him being there. Devine intervention, a little part of her whispered. She almost snorted out loud. Right, because the PTB were really concerned about her love life, she was sure. Feeling his eyes on her, she turned to see him studying her quietly.

"What?"

"Make-up is amazing. If I didn't know better, I'd swear you didn't have two black eyes just twenty-four hours ago."

Buffy laughed uneasily, "Yeah, amazing. It wasn't actually that bad this morning. Lots better. Easy to cover."

Sam was giving her and her rambling a curious look when a car rolled past the mouth of the alley they were walking out of followed by the squeal of brakes. Then the car came zipping back, blocking the exit. The passenger side window rolled down revealing Pornstache.

"Come back for more?" She called out with a smirk, ready and willing to kick a little pervert ass.

"Sure did, sweet thing," he said with a dark smile.

The street light had barely had time to glint off the metal of the gun before Sam was shoving her behind a dumpster, diving behind her as the bullets started flying. The both sat with their backs pressed to the cold metal breathing hard, Sam near the corner.

"You okay?" He asked looking over at her, his jaw tight.

"He's shooting at us!" Buffy said, completely shocked and offended.

Sam's jaw loosened and he smirked a little at her outrage. "Yeah, criminals tend to get testy when you try and drag them back to jail," he said, peeking back around the corner before Buffy gripped the back of his shirt and tugged him back roughly. "Man, Marco's mustache is even worse than in the mug shot. It's like it could jump off his face and run away any second."

Once again Buffy felt like she was missing piece of the puzzle. She knew Pornstache was shooting because he was pissed about the incident in the club. Was he seriously the guy from the file Sam saw? Marco? But that thought was washed away when Sam pulled something out from the small of his back.

"Why do you have a gun?" Buffy asked, mouth wide open.

"Why don't you have one," Sam shot back, with a raised eyebrow.

"I don't use guns."

"You do this kind of thing all the time and you don't have a gun?"

He looked at her incredulously for a second before shaking his head and returning fire on the car. At first Buffy was shocked at the ease and the surety of his movements. Then she was incredibly turned on. Sam, sweet, floppy haired, kind of awkward, dimply Sam was suddenly a predator and it was totally hot. His long, lean body was coiled like a spring. The sleeves of his shirt where pushed up to his elbows, revealing deliciously tensed forearms. And when he turned to look at her, the intense look in those hazel eyes took her breath away.

And just like that, she couldn't stand it anymore. She wanted him and she wanted him right now. He felt it too, she could tell, the way his eyes swept over her and the stilted breath he let out through his nose - as if he were holding onto his restraint by a hair. She didn't remember moving, but suddenly she was on her knees, pressed up against him, mouth devouring his. He was like an inferno against her. Maybe it was just because she was so used to men that lacked a comfortable body temperature, but she never remembered Riley feeling like this. His free arm snaked around her waist and yanked her on top of him so she was straddling his hips as he still sat pressed against the dumpster. His hand danced up her spine and wrapped in her hair and tugging her head back as her own hands ran over his chest and curled in the material at his stomach, rock hard abs contracting under her fingers. The whimpering sound she made when his tongue slid against hers would have horrified her any other time but right then it just seemed to egg Sam on, so she was perfectly fine with it.

The sound of car doors slamming at the end of the alley was like having a bucket of cold water dumped on them. Both of them pulled back and stared at each other with wide unblinking eyes.

"I think I got 'em," the familiar voice of the guy from the club said.

"Then lets fuckin' go man, the cops'll be here soon."

"Wanna make sure. Stupid bitch had it coming."

"I'm leaving. You comin' or not, Dick?"

"Then go, ya fuckin' pussy."

The sound of a car starting and disappearing was followed by the sound of footsteps coming toward them on the gravely alley floor.

They'd just made out in the middle of a gun fight. And now the dangerous, mustachioed criminal named Dick was coming toward them.

Buffy quickly clamped a hand over her mouth to stop the wild burst of laughter that fought to get free. Sam looked at her like she was crazy, which just made her laugh all the harder, a soft snort coming from her nose as she tried to breath in and laugh at the same time. Sam shook his head and removed her from his lap, getting silently into a crouched position.

The seriousness of the situation finally came back to Buffy then. Just in time for Pornstache/Marco/Dick to round the corner. Moving quickly, she ducked around Sam and shoved his gun to the side so he wouldn't accidentally shoot her, then grabbed Dick's gun hand and yanked down at the same time she brought her elbow up into his face. There was a nasty crunching sound and he stumbled backwards, his grip on the gun releasing and sending it clattering on the ground. Buffy booted it towards Sam as she spun around and kicked the now bleeding and dazed man in the chest. He crashed against the opposite alley wall, cracking his head and falling into an unconscious heap on the ground.

"See, no guns needed," Buffy said, brushing some hair out of her face and sending a grin at Sam.

"That was almost as hot as the whip thing," Sam said, looking down at the unconscious man with raised eyebrows. Shaking his head and coming back to himself, Sam gave her a wide smile and tucked his gun back in his pants (wow, and did her mind ever go to all kinds of dirty places with that phrase). Walking over he grabbed the guys arms and pulled him up, slinging him over his shoulder in a fireman's carry.

"Lets drop this guy off and get home."

Home.

He'd said home. They were going home. Something warm fluttered in her chest and she almost smiled. Then the rest of his sentence repeated itself in her mind.

"Drop him off?"

"Yeah, I took Dawn's car, it's just around the corner. We'll take him to the station and then come back for your car," Sam said distractedly as he hauled the guy out of the alley.

Buffy panicked inside. She had no idea what to do with this guy! She was suddenly very grateful for how insanely thorough Dawn had been with this bounty hunter thing. At least she had all the proper documentation. She'd put in the new car's glove compartment under Dawn's watchful eyes just a few days ago.

"The paperwork's all in my car, we'll need to stop by to get it."

Sam nodded as they rounded the corner. There was Dawn's little silver Civic, parked just a few spots down from the club.

"How'd you get that spot? I had to park way over on a side street," Buffy grumped.

"Just lucky I guess," he said, shooting her a grin as he stuffed the skip in the backseat.

"Dawn's going to freak when she finds out we put some dirty criminal in her car," Buffy said with a snicker as she hopped into the passenger seat.

Sam groaned, "You can't tell her, she's already mad at me for some reason."

"I won't have to, she'll sniff it out. And why's she mad at you?"

"No clue," Sam said, following Buffy's pointed directions down the back streets around the club.

"Well, I wouldn't worry on it too much. She's not one to just silently stew. You'll know soon enough how mad she is and why, whether you want to or not."

Sam sighed in resignation and pulled up behind Buffy's little Nissan SUV. Looking around he turned his skeptical gaze on her. "Why don't you just follow me in your car? This isn't the best neighborhood to leave it sitting in."

"It'll be fine," Buffy said with a wave of her hand. No way was leaving Dick here alone with Sam. She couldn't have him finding out the only way they knew each other was from some ass grabbage inside the club. Hopping out, she gathered up all the crap Dawn had insisted she take from of the glove box and hurried back to the car. Sam programmed the police station into the GPS and they were there within five minutes. Sam parked right next to the door and Buffy hopped out.

"Uh, you wait here," she said, tugging the guy our of the back. "I'll be right back."

"Are you sure you-"

"Got a reputation to uphold," Buffy said with a wink while silently praying to the PTB that he'd stay in the damn car. "Can't let them think I let college boys do all the work for me."

Sam gave her a half smile and agreed, to Buffy's great relief. She put her acting skills to the test as she tried to find a balance between looking like she was struggling a little with the guy's weight but also doing well enough not to have Sam insist on helping.

"Got an FTA here," she said as she approached the front desk, trying to sound knowledgeable. The guy at the desk looked up and took in the picture in front of him - her, tiny and covered with alley-ick, and at Marco, bloody nosed and unconscious beside her. He shook his head with a laugh and called a few other cops to see them. The rest was surprisingly easy. They took the guy away, looked at her papers and gave her something called a "body receipt" and that was that.

"That was fun," Buffy said without thinking as she hopped back in the car next to Sam. She felt a kind of accomplishment at getting a criminal in jail - being a bounty hunter was kinda cool. Then, glancing over at Sam with a smile, she saw his questioning gaze remembered she was supposed to be a pro at this. Stumbling to correct herself she said, "Having you there. It was fun." Then seeing Sam trying not to laugh, she blushed, and added, "I mean, us working together. Not like in the smoochie sense - not that that wasn't fun- shutting up now…"

Sam laughed quietly and reached over, grabbing her hand and twining their fingers together like it was the most natural thing in the world. The rest of the ride was quiet, both just enjoying each others company and Buffy enjoying the feel of Sam's hand in her own. His fingers were long and lightly calloused. And warm, really warm.

"Uh-oh," his soft sound of distress drew her out of her study of his hand and she looked up, taking in their surroundings quickly. It looked familiar, but-

"Where's my car?" She asked, recognizing her parking spot.

"Told you to move it," Sam said, shaking his head.

"Someone stole my car! Crap, Giles is going to freak when I tell him I need another new car."

"Could be worse, could've been Dawn's car that got stolen."

They both shuddered at the thought. Neither of them wanted to face the wrath of Dawn.


Dawn's thoughts in the meantime were far from her car. She had important business to take care of.

"Wolfram and Hart, how may I direct your call?"

"I need to speak to Angel."

"I'm sorry, but-"

"Listen lady, I know he's busy. I know he's the head honcho and all that," Dawn said with an eye roll as she sat back on her bed. "But do you know who I am? I'm Dawn Summers and if I don't get to talk to Angel right now, I'm going to come there to talk to him in person. And you know who's going to follow me? My sister. Do you know what will happen when my sister walks in that building? It'll be like letting loose a wolf in a hen house."

"…one moment please."

Angel's voice came over the line less than thirty seconds later.

"Dawn? What's wrong? Is Buffy-"

"She's falling in love!" Dawn exclaimed throwing her free hand in the air, still disgusted with that fact.

"Love?" Angel repeated tightly, then sighed and continued on trying to sound uncaring and failing miserably. "Dawn, isn't that a good thing? Why are you calling me about it?"

"You need to get your butt down here! Seeing your face will hopefully remind her what a disaster being in love is."

"Thanks, Dawn…"

"Oh don't give me that 'wah, you're hurting my feelings crap', we both know Buffy and love equal disaster. I'm just trying to keep her from getting hurt again."

"So you want her to be alone? Forever?"

"Well, no… but we don't know anything about this guy! He's just some student here that she agreed to let live with her a couple weeks ago!"

"She let some guy she doesn't know live with her?"

"Yes! She's crazy, right? Just asking to get hurt!" Even Dawn felt a twinge uncomfortable with that one, but she figured her justification of trying to save her sister from heartache allowed her to twist things a little.

"She's a grown woman, Dawn, and it's none of my business."

"Well, at least see what you can find on the guy. Please?" Dawn begged, trying to sound pathetic.

"Fine," Angel answered with a sigh. "What's his name?"

"Sam Winchester," Dawn answered with a grin. She knew he'd look into it, and she also figured there was about a 80/20 chance he'd show up here in person despite what he'd said. She didn't like the thought of reminding Buffy of her past relationship failures, but if it kept her from getting hurt again, it was worth it. Right?


Angel sat in his office, leaning back in his chair and tapping his fingers lightly on the desk while his sour thoughts ran amok in his head. Buffy was falling for some guy at Stanford? He should be happy for her, he told himself. But he wasn't. He wanted to be, he wanted to be the man he'd tried to be when he left her in Sunnydale all those years ago. The man that wanted a regular life for her, a regular guy, a real relationship. But he couldn't. As much as he wanted to be that man, a little selfish part of him always remained that wanted her to be his and only his. He'd loved Cordy, he cared about Nina, but Buffy was right there at the core of him. Always had been, always would be.

Sighing, he sat forward and ran a hand over his face. He'd had this conversation with himself over and over. Nothing ever changed. Things were the way they were and that was all there was to it. He'd just have to do what he could to assure that she was with someone that deserved her. And because of that, he was willing to go along with Dawn's meddling.

So, he'd look into this Sam Winchester and see what he could find. Just to keep her safe.

Sam Winchester... Why did that name sound so familiar…