Anne stared at Jess.

"Really?"

Jess looked back at her.

"Yeah, it's so weird… he looks familiar, I can't quite explain…"

"Do you think you met him during those five years you can't remember?"

Jess was quiet for a moment.

"I don't know… seems unlikely though, we didn't live here then…"

"You should ask him."

"Yeah… maybe I will."

Sam had finished his shift and was driving home when Dean called.

"Hey Dean, what's up?"

"Hey Sam, what are you doing tonight?"

Oh God.

"I told Sarah I'd come over, I'm not sure what we're doing yet... why?"

"Jess called and said that the guys who work with her at the diner decided to have a last minute barbecue and she told me to invite you guys! What do you say Sammy?"

He really didn't wanna go, he didn't wanna see Jessica… he hadn't seen her since Dean introduced them, and he was fine that way… but he knew he'd have to see her eventually, if he kept making excuses Dean would figure out something was up… but he could give it a try, at least.

"I don't know Dean, it's Wednesday… I have class tomorrow morning, and so does Sarah…"

"Come on Sam, you never go out on week days, it won't kill going to go to bed a little later… come on please, for me, I want you and Jo to spend more time with Jess!"

Oh yeah, that's exactly what I need. He took a deep breath. He was already damned anyway. And also, his brother was finally going out, having fun again, all thanks to Jessica. He had to be there for his brother.

"Fine Dean… I'll talk to Sarah and see if we can stop by…"

"That's my boy!"

Yeah, he was really damned.

Sam called Sarah and she had agreed to go to the barbecue, so he went home, took a shower, waited for Jo to get ready, and they went to Sarah's place to pick her up.

They arrived at the address Dean had gave him, it was the house of one of the waiters of the diner. Dean was at the door, waiting for them.

"Hey guys! Glad you came! Let's get inside, party's in the backyard, Jess and her sister are there."

Sam's eyes widened and he turned pale immediately. He was glad Dean wasn't looking. He looked at Jo and whispered "Sister?"

Jo immediately understood the problem and her mouth dropped. Sam didn't remember Jess talking about her sister, he was almost sure she wasn't there when they camped together… but what if she had been there, and Jess just didn't tell him she was her sister? And even if she wasn't there, Jess might have told her about him before losing her memory… but then, she probably wouldn't know how he looked like, she didn't have any pictures of him… man, all Sam wanted was turn around and disappear, but he would have to explain himself to Dean and Sarah too… all he could do was wait for a miracle.

They got to the backyard and Dean took them to where Jess and her sister were sitting. Sam took a look at the other girl, and didn't recognize her. She was kinda similar to Jess, except for the brown eyes and the shorter and darker hair. He felt relieved for a moment, he was pretty sure she wasn't at the camp. But he still had to worried about whether or not Jess had told her about him, if Jess had told her his name and how he looked like. She could do the math.

Before he could realize, Jess was up and wrapping her arms around him.

"Hey Sam, how are you?"

Sam had to make an inhuman effort not to collapse, he hugged her back briefly with only one arm, but in that moment they were close, he could see that her hair still smelled like roses, just like he remembered so vividly. It physically hurt being so close to her and not being able to hold on to her, to kiss those lips, to hold her hand and lever let go… and it hurt even more knowing that she didn't have a clue about everything they had spent together.

She finally let go of him and he took a second to recompose himself. He searched for Sarah, who was standing next to him, and put an arm on her back, gently pushing her a little forward.

"I'm fine, thanks… you remember Sarah?"

He wasn't even sure if they had met back in his party, he couldn't have cared less at that moment…

Jess gave her a quick hug.

"Sure, nice to see you again!" she then said hello to Jo, and finally called her sister.

"Guys, this is my sister Anne. Anne, these are Jo, Sarah and Sam."

Sam could swear they exchange a glance after Jess said his name, but it was so quick it could barely be noticed by the human eye. He was probably seeing things.

Sam shook her hand and was kinda relieved to see there was no signs of recognition on her face. One less thing to worry about. Maybe.

They all sat together and Dean got some stuff for them to eat and a few beers. Sam tried to act normally, to talk to everyone as if nothing was happening, but he was failing at it. Jo kept looking at him, half expecting him to break down at any moment. But then he couldn't do it anymore, he was suffocating. He knew he would have to get used to be around Jess, but he had to do it step by step, and right now, he was done. He excused himself, and said he needed to go to the bathroom. Sarah was entertained in a conversation with Dean, and he hoped they would stay that way and not realized he was gone for longer that he should be.

He crossed the house to the front door, and found the porch empty. He sat on the bench and held his beer bottle, occasionally taking a sip. He didn't know how long he had spent there with his thoughts, when he saw someone approaching him.

"Hey!"

He didn't even have to look up, he'd recognize that voice anywhere in the world, he had missed it so much…

"Hey… Jess."

"I went in to get more beers and saw you through the window…" she pointed at the bench he was sitting in. "Do you mind?"

Yes, I do mind, could you go away please, I can't stand looking at you…

But he answered, still not looking at her.

"Go ahead."

She sat next to him and opened her beer bottle.

"Are you okay, Sam? You don't seem very well…"

Only if you knew…

"I am, I'm just tired, it was a long day, I needed some air…"

"I see… you know Sam, I think we should get to know each other, we barely talked since Dean introduced us… and that day you were a little… well… too excited…"

He groaned.

"Yeah… getting older isn't easy."

She smiled, and his heart hurt even more. He couldn't say anything, so they just sat in silence for a while, drinking their beers.

"Sam… can I ask you something? Maybe you'll find this a little weird."

Jesus Christ what now?

He gave her a half smile.

"Sure Jess, go ahead."

"Have we met before?"

Unfortunately, Sam had chosen that exact moment to take a sip of his beer and he almost choked. He had clearly heard wrong. He looked at her.

"What did you say?"

"Sorry, that must have come out weird… I don't know if you know, but I lost a part of my memory in an accident, a few years ago…"

"Yeah, I've been told… sorry to hear that, it must suck."

And how it sucks.

"It does sometimes, a part of my life is missing, it's weird not to remember anything… but anyway, as I was saying… I know it sounds weird Sam, but I have this strange feeling that I've seen you before, you look familiar somehow… I thought maybe we might have met during that period I can't remember?"

Sam had to breath down a few times, he could not give away his emotions, he couldn't believe what he had just heard. Jess remembers him. Not everything they lived together, not that she maybe loved him once, but in a subconscious way, she remembered him. He didn't know what to feel, if he was scared to death… or somehow, happy. All he wanted to do was tell her the truth, that they did meet before, that they fell in love and he had spent the last 6 years trying to find her. All he wanted was to take her by the hand and leave, and never look back. But he couldn't do that. Dean was in the middle and he always came first.

"I guess not… I would remember if we had met. Maybe it was someone who looked like me…"

"Yeah, I guess you're right… I didn't even live here before, it would be unlikely that we had met…"

That was something that was bothering Sam. How did Jess end up in Stanford anyway? They had met far away from here… he took the opportunity to find out.

"Really? Where did you live before?"

"I used to live in San Diego… but then my father was transferred to Stanford, so we moved here a year ago."

Sam almost laughed. If he didn't believe in destiny, he just started to. All the places of the country her dad could be transferred to, they ended up exactly where he lived. Actually it was more like an irony, because she had her so close now and yet she couldn't be further away.

He still wanted to find out more about her sister, so he decided to give it a try.

"So… this accident must have been awful, I mean, to your family too, it must have been hard for them as well…"

"Yeah, it was pretty hard for my parents… my sister was living in New York at the time, we were never much close… but she moved back when it happened, and we became good friends ever since… I just wish we were closer before, so she would know more about my life to tell me…"

Sam was thankful for that, it was one less thing to worry about, Anne didn't know about him. But he had one last question.

"So… there's no hope to get your memory back?"

"The doctors said it's very difficult… but who knows, maybe I just have to hit my head again!"

Sam tried to laugh with her. He would give the world for her to remember him. But he knew what problems that would bring.

"So… I guess we should go back there, if we stay here longer they'll send the police after us…"

"Yeah, you're probably right."

They went back to the backyard, and Sam was relieved that he survived spending some time alone with Jess. Maybe someday he could look at Jess without feeling a physical pain. But not yet.

Jess was on the bus when her phone rang.

"Hey Anne, what's up?"

"Are you coming home? Or do you have plans?"

Jess smiled.

"I do, in fact. I'm going to Dean's, he called me asking me to meet him there, so we can go out later, maybe go to the movies, I don't know…"

"I get it, I get it, you don't care about your sister now that you have a new boyfriend, that's okay, I understand, I'll watch some Gilmore Girls and eat chocolate ice cream on a Friday night… that's totally fine…"

Jess had to laugh.

"Don't be silly, you know I love you more than anything. See you later, bye."

Sam was cooking some dinner, Dean would be home soon and he would be starving, of course. Sarah was working a late shift and he wouldn't be seen her today, and Jo was going out with some friends, as usual. But he felt like cooking anyway, even if it was just for him and Dean.

He heard the doorbell ring, and wondered if Dean had forgotten his keys, again. But he was to distracted to notice he hadn't heard the Impala. When he opened the door, his heart stopped for a second.

"Jess?"

"Hey Sam…" she gave him a shy smile. "Sorry, Dean asked me to meet him here, but he called me like 5 minutes ago saying he'd have to be at work for a little longer, but I was almost here, so he told me to wait here for him… he said he'd let you know, but judging by the look on your face… he didn't."

She was blushing slightly and Sam knew his face should be red too.

"Yeah, I wasn't aware, but come in… maybe he texted me and I missed it."

He had left his cell in the living room, and when he got it, there was indeed a text from Dean, saying Jess was coming over, and that he would be late. God really really hated him. He took a very deep breath and turned to her. He was already screwed anyway.

"So, looks like we've got ourselves some time to kill… I was making dinner, have you eaten already?"

"No, I came straight from work, I'm kinda tired of the food there…"

"Would you like to join me, then?"

He pointed to the kitchen. She gave him the most genuine smile.

"I'd love to."

So, what do you guys think so far? You know I need reviews!