Sorry I'm late! My muse was a little behind and then so was my life. It seems to have caught back up.

Dean sat in the chair staring at his brother. Sam hadn't been this drunk in a while, and how he managed it so fast and without Dean or Jen stopping him, Dean had no idea? Dean didn't know how he had missed this. Sam had seemed fine. He seemed to be handling things. Apparently, Dean was wrong.

"It's not fair, you know." Her voice floated quietly across the room and into Dean's ears. "You were right. You shouldn't have had to promise Sam that. You shouldn't have to be the one to deal with this."

Jen came over to Dean and put her hand on his shoulder. He brushed her off and stood up. "It's always been my job to take care of Sammy. It's what I do. This isn't any different."

Dean attempted to forget what just happened, and he hoped Sam would too. He knew he would never do it. Never.

Jen spoke again, not giving up. "Your Dad and Sam can't understand what they've put on you, but I can see it. You can't control Sam's destiny, no matter what way it goes. You have to think about yourself. You're important too, Dean. Remember that."

Dean was trying not listen to Jen, but he couldn't seem to block her words out. They continued to echo in his head even though she had finished speaking and sat in the chair beside Sam. Dean didn't know what to think or what to do. The sound of Jen's voice broke him out of the confusion once again.

"I'm sorry I wasn't here to stop him." She looked up at Dean. "You should go. Work on this case. There are people still to save."

Dean shook his head. How could he think about the case after what Sam said? How could he leave Sammy up here? As if reading his thoughts, Jen spoke just once more.

"I'll watch him, Dean. I'm not going anywhere. You don't need to be the one all the time."

She turned back toward Sam and sat in the chair beside him.

Dean stared at Jen for a moment. Still, he had nothing else to do but listen to her, so he left, hoping for something helpful in this case and for his brother.

"But you weren't, and you promised." Sam made it very clear to Dean that he remembered. Dean was hoping he wouldn't. Dean's eyes darted around for Jen, but she was still walking over slowly, out of earshot. Sam still didn't know that she had been there, that she had heard. Jen suddenly looked up and stared straight at Dean catching his eye. She tilted her head just slightly and raised her eyebrows at him. Even though she couldn't have heard Sam, her expression read "I'm sorry" as loud and clear to Dean as if she had said it. She made her way back over to the car and settled into the backseat just in time to take off.

Sam was quiet for most of the ride. Dean wasn't sure what was going on with his brother. Sam really had seemed fine before this case, well, maybe not fine, but certainly better than this. Now, it was almost like Dean had just told him John's words yesterday. Dean never could understand how things worked in Sam's brain.

Fortunately, Jen typically could. Dean glanced up in the rearview and caught Jen's eye. She was hard to read when it came to most things. When it came to Sam, though, it was almost like he could hear her thoughts. He knew that she was planning to talk to Sam, so he planned to do whatever he could to help. He just wasn't sure what that would mean yet.

The Impala sped down the road.

This was supposed to be the case that would make Sam feel like he could come out on top, that Dean and him could save people, and that even with what Dad had said Sam could make his own destiny.

Of course, that's not what happened. People died. Dean tried to make Sam feel better about it all by telling him that he did save people, but they didn't even actually take care of the spook, an old woman gave her life to save her granddaughter. This case still felt like a failure.

And Sam still felt hung over.

It was dark when they got to the motel, and Dean had been talking about cheeseburgers and jalapeno poppers while Sam's stomach just turned somersaults. Dean dropped his bag on the bed and turned to Sam and Jen.

"Okay, who's up for some Arby's?"

Sam grimaced.

Jen shook her head. "I have a counter offer. You go get Arby's, and those of us who care about our cholesterol can take a walk instead."

Sam wasn't sure he really wanted to take a walk, but he definitely didn't want to be back when Dean returned with greasy jalapeno poppers and that creepy jelly sauce, so he nodded.

Dean shrugged. "Fine. You're missing out though!" Then he was out the door.

Jen got up and grabbed her wrap. She looked at Sam expectantly. Oh well. Jen's company could typically make almost anything better. How much could this hurt, right?

Once they got outside, the cool air felt good on Sam's face and he took a deep breath. He let Jen take the lead and they began meandering off in some direction. After a few minutes of silent walking, Jen turned to Sam.

"Feeling better?"

Sam wasn't too surprised that she asked. Very little got past Jen, and Sam was sure she caught his nauseous glances at Dean's choices. He nodded. "Yeah. I think my stomach is remembering how it's supposed to work."

"Good. Maybe next time you'll remember to use a less painful method of coping."

Although her words were delivered simply, Sam still felt a bit guilty about what he had done. He knew drinking wasn't the best idea, but he didn't really want to talk to Jen about how he felt. He still didn't. He shrugged as they continued walking.

"Maybe."

"I don't believe in destiny, you know. Everything can change. No one is meant to be anything."

Jen spoke with her usual certainty, but Sam was still having trouble buying it.

"You don't know that."

"I know more than you think I do."

Sam pursed his lips. She was awfully annoying when she got like that, acting like she knew better. She didn't know what this was like, what Sam was dealing with. She couldn't know. Jen kept speaking.

"However, I can't tell you how to think or how to feel, just, consider the possibility that John was wrong and you're really a good person that bad things sometimes happen to, okay?"

Jen's tone softened, and her final word was almost a plea. Sam's anger slipped away to hear his best friend ask him that. Tears pushed at his eyes, but he blinked them back. He stopped walking and looked over to Jen who stopped when he did. He nodded at her.

"Okay."

Jen's face broke into a smile and she wrapped her arms around Sam in a hug. He was a little surprised, but quickly grabbed her in return. He knew this wasn't over, and that he didn't really believe what she said, but he did feel just a little better knowing Jen believed in him. Just a little. Maybe. Maybe it was enough for now.