I know I'm keeping you all waiting on Lil' Sammy so I figured I could at least more some more about Rae's family, since I've been neglecting them too much lately. Thanks to Brigid Tanner for proofing and, btw, she approved of my rendition of Sarah here and even made the supreme sacrifice of watching Provenance before reading this to prepare for it. Please bear in mind that it has been at least 7 years since she and Sam met and they have not spoken in all that time. I hope it meets with your approval as well!

Chapter 14

Sam fidgeted, watching the door. Sarah said seven and it was now ten after. He wondered if maybe she set him up to just sit here waiting. He raked a hand through his hair, trying to tell himself that Sarah would not do that. He was just nervous. Sam checked his watch again.

"Hey, stranger," a bright voice said.

Sam's head snapped up. "Hi, Sarah." He grinned, relieved at the sight of her long dark hair and laughing eyes. Sam jumped up to hold out her chair.

"Still the gentleman," she said, sitting. "Even in a coffee shop."

Sam sat opposite, unable to suppress the stupid smile he knew was plastered across his face. "Good to see you, Sarah."

She smiled, cocking her head to one side. "You too, Sam."

"Uh, coffee?" he asked, motioning to the large board displaying the varieties of coffee. "What can I get you?" Within moments, Sam was standing in line to place their order. He returned with two steaming cups, the goofy smile still firmly in place.

"Tell me, Sam," Sarah smiled brightly at him, "how long are you here for?" She leaned forward to whisper, "And what are you after?"

"Actually, we're here for the school year," he said with a shrug. "And," his voice dropped to a whisper, "the worst thing we've come across so far is a junior high library that may or may not be haunted."

"The school year?" Sarah's coffee stopped halfway to her mouth. "Why would you be here for the school year?"

Sam cleared his throat. "My, uh, niece. She's in school this year."

"Your niece?" Sarah set down her cup. "I didn't know you had a niece. Your brother, um…"

"Dean. Yeah. He adopted her a few years ago." Sam sipped his coffee.

"Adopted?" Sarah stared at him. "Sorry, but your brother just doesn't seem the type."

Sam grinned. "He's not. Not really. He, uh…" Sam bit his lip. "I can't really explain right now. But, do you want to see a picture?" He reached for his wallet.

"Uh, sure." Sarah held her hand out. Sam passed over two pictures from his wallet. One was a candid shot of Rae staring off into the horizon, his favorite picture. The other was his recent acquisition, Dean and Rae cuddling. Thanks to the photo shop conveniently located next to the hour pharmacy, he now had plenty of wallet sized copies. Sarah giggled over the second one. "Cute, huh?"

She held up the one of Dean and Rae. "He has no idea you have this, does he?"

"Nope." Sam stuffed it back in his wallet. "He'd kill me."

She smiled at him. "Now that I would believe." Sarah lifted her coffee, taking a sip. "So, why didn't you ever call?"

Sam's stomach clenched. That was the question he had been dreading. He shrugged. "Phones work both ways."

She nodded over her coffee. "I know." Sarah stared at him. "I guess I wanted you to call first."

"Sorry." Sam shifted his cup between his hands. He cleared his throat. "A lot has happened."

"So I see."

Sam shook his head. "Not exactly what I meant."

"I know." He looked into her clear eyes. She smiled at him. "So, who were you having dinner with? Girlfriend?"

"Rae's best friend's mother. We're taking the girls bowling this weekend," Sam told her. "As friends," he added hurriedly. "You were out with one of your many boyfriends, right?" he asked, only half-joking. Sarah was so gorgeous, she could easily have a dozen men chasing after her.

"John is a nice guy, usually." Sarah said with a shrug.

"Usually?" Sam nearly dropped his coffee. What the hell was that supposed to mean?

"He's just a little, um, self-involved sometimes." Her eyes darted away and Sam knew she was lying. He decided not to press. Not yet, anyway.

"So what are you doing here? It's a little far from your father's business." Sam asked, changing the subject. He knew he had to stay in the 'safe' zone in order to find out what was really up with this guy.

"I decided to finally finish graduate school," she said, the determination in her voice making him smile again.

"Good for you," Sam raised his coffee in a toast. She laughed at him as she raised her Styrofoam cup to touch his.

"Thank you," Sarah laughed. "School is going well."

"Uh-oh," Sam sipped his coffee, "I sense a 'but' coming."

She shook her head. "No, Sam. We haven't seen each other in what? Five years? I'm not going to just pour all my troubles out to you after being alone with you for ten minutes."

Sam gave her the smile that made older women bake him cakes and fancy pastries. "Then let's go to dinner. I'll bet by dessert, we're both pouring."

She glanced at the door. "I should probably go."

"More like seven years," he said, leaning forward. "And I thought of you a lot."

"Seven years? Really?" Sam noticed she ignored his other comment. "You sure about that?"

Sam nodded. "Rae is thirteen. Dean adopted her when she was six. So that's at least seven years."

"At least," she agreed. "And now you're in one place? For the school year?"

"I was thinking of calling you, but I figured you were probably married by now." Sam ducked his head, trying to catch her eye.

"No, not married. John would like to, but," she chewed her lower lip.

"I know a great little Italian place where the beer is on tap," Sam tried again. "Come on. They'll even let us bring in the coffee. Dean has the waitstaff wrapped around his little finger."

"Dean does, huh?" She smiled at him again. "Maybe I should be going with him."

"Nah," Sam smiled back. "He's a lousy conversationalist. But I can promise it'll be the best service you've ever had in your life. And we can really catch up." He stood, holding out a hand for her. "Let's go."

Sarah hesitated before taking his hand, but once she was on her feet that dazzling smile he remembered returned. "The service better be good."

---------------------

Sam tried to unlock the apartment door as quietly as possible. He opened the door slowly, figuring at least Rae would be asleep. As Sam crept into the den, he saw the couch was full. Rae was sound asleep, her head in Dean's lap. Dean waved as he came in.

"Give me a hand?" Dean whispered.

"How?" Sam whispered back, pocketing his keys.

"Door."

Sam nodded, heading to Rae's room. He pushed the door open, pulled back the covers on her bed. Dean appeared a minute later carrying Rae. He laid her in the bed, covering her up to her chin with the sheet and comforter.

"Think she'll be warm enough?" he asked as he stepped back, his voice barely a whisper.

"Want the blanket from the closet?" Sam whispered back.

Dean looked thoughtful before shaking his head, heading out the door and back to the den. Sam followed in his brother's wake. Dean leaned against the back of the couch. "How'd it go?" His eyes sparkled.

"Stop it, Dean. We just met for coffee." Sam rolled his eyes.

"Uh-huh." Dean checked his watched. "That was five hours ago." He grinned, his eyebrows dancing all over the place.

"Well, I did talk her into dinner, too," Sam said, leaning on the couch next to his brother.

Dean nudged his shoulder wearing a broad grin. "That's my boy!"

"Oh, I almost forgot." Sam pulled a white paper bag out of his jacket. "Here you go."

Dean took it, frowning. "What's this? Your doggie bag?"

"Nope. Your prescription." Sam did not meet his brother's eyes, guessing how Dean might feel about it. After all, his brother did try to hide it from him in the first place. Good thing Doctor Schuller told him about it.

He heard Dean snort and the crumpling of paper. Sam looked at his brother out of the corner of his eye. The pill bottle went into Dean's pocket. Sam hoped it would take permanent residence in that position, right next to Dean's cell.

"Better than another trip to the ER," Sam said in what he hoped was a casual voice.

Dean cleared his throat. "So you and Sarah had a good time, huh?"

"Yeah, we did." Sam stood there for a moment, reveling in the wonderful evening. "I asked her out again this weekend. She said she'd call me."

"Well," Dean turned to look at him, "she called last time. You're probably in." Dean nudged him again, those eyebrows doing another little jig.

"Stop it, Dean!" Sam laughed. "It was just coffee and dinner."

"I don't know, man," Dean grinned at him. "I always thought she had a thing for you."

"She's seeing somebody." Sam thought the evening over. "But I don't think she really likes him."

"Good." Dean was still grinning. "Then you're definitely in."

"Maybe," Sam rubbed the back of his neck. Something about the way Sarah acted tonight was off. Most of the time she was the same person he remembered, but there were flashes of something else. Something that just did not seem right. He wished he could put his finger on it.

That reminded him, he needed to do some more research on Rae's school library. Amy's research was enough to make it a little suspicious. At least that was something where he knew he could do a little work and find an answer. People? Dean was right about that, there just was no telling about people.