I'm so glad everyone is enjoying this so much. Thanks for the awesome reviews.

Chapter 25

I finished all my pre-med stuff in the one year. It was really hard because I kept thinking about Laura, but I knew she wanted me to finish. I had the choice of going to any med school in the country. I decided to go to UC San Francisco. I chose there because it was close to home, but not.

I'd promised Dean that I wouldn't go hunting on my own, so I hooked up with Steve Wandell, for the first month anyway. I figured it'd be a good idea to work with different hunters to see what else they could teach me. Caleb thought that was a good idea so he started sending the others out too. I just didn't wanna go back home. Everything reminded me of Laura and I just couldn't handle it.

I told Dean I was working at the garage in Lawrence. I hated lying to him, but I knew he would have been upset about me hunting at all. I didn't want him to send dad after me. I wouldn't talk to the man when he called Missouri's. I had started blaming him for Laura's death, even though I knew there was nothing he could have done to stop it.

In August I went to California. Talk about a culture shock. It was almost like I'd gone to another planet. The people were a little weird, but fun too. After I got used to it, I loved it.

Since the first 2 years of med school was all book work, I finished it in 1. The 3rd and 4th years I had to do hospital rotations so I couldn't do my usual work load. It was nice to actually relax and have a little fun with it. I got to hang out with the other students more and that's how I met James.

James was a Photo Journalism student minoring in American Folklore. He had the most amazing blue eyes. I met him during a party his fraternity was having. I had just barely turned 18 a few days before and went to the party with a couple other meds students to celebrate.

I saw him as we walked in the door and couldn't take my eyes off him the whole night. He kept staring at me too. It took a few tequila shots, but I finally got the nerve to go talk to him. As the party was winding down, he took me up to his room. We stayed up talking until the sun came up, then he walked me back to my dorm.

We were practically inseparable after that. I fell completely in love with him. After a few months he told me about his family. They were hunters too. I couldn't believe it, not only did I have this great guy, but I didn't have to lie to him about anything.

I was in the middle of telling him about growing up at Caleb's when my phone rang. It was Dean, he was in town and he wanted to see me. What he really wanted was to meet my boyfriend. Give him the whole "big brother" speech. I asked James if he wanted to meet my older brother and he said of course.

We met Dean at a small coffee shop on campus. It was the first time I'd seen him in nearly 3 years. I knew there was something off the second I saw him. He looked completely exhausted, but I seemed to be the only one that noticed.. I didn't really get the chance to ask him what was wrong until later because he immediately pounced on James.

We hung out at the coffee shop for a couple hours then went to dinner. James and Dean talked for hours while I just sat and listened to them. They were acting like they'd known each other for years. The fact that James could handle my brother so easily just made me love him more. It was the one thing I was truly worried about.

The 3 of us hung out for a few more hours and then I'd decided it was time to find out what was wrong with Dean. I asked James if he minded me not going to the party that night cause I wanted to catch up with my big brother. He gave me a kiss and said he'd see me the next day. Dean started to protest, but I said no. I wanted him all to myself for the rest of the night.

I took him back to my dorm room. I didn't have a roommate so we were completely alone. He started to make some joke about my room and I cut him off. I asked him what was wrong and he tried to tell me he was ok. I told him I could see he was exhausted and that he knew better than to try that with me.

I took a little more coaxing, but he finally told me what was going on. Dad and Sam were at each others throats almost everyday. They were always arguing over some petty thing or another and putting Dean right in the middle of it. He couldn't take any more of it, so he just stole a car from the last motel they were saying at and took off. He just needed a break from them for a few days and he wanted to see me.

I knew things were bad, but I'd had no idea they were putting so much on him. He told me about everything. He said that Sam hated hunting and only wanted a normal life. He just went on and on until he had nothing else to say. I asked him if he wanted to stay with me for a couple weeks and he jumped at the chance.

I had an extra bed in my room, so he just crashed with me. In the middle of the night his phone rang. He didn't wake up, so I answered it. I knew who it was and what he wanted.

I just listened to dad yelling over the phone. He was pissed that Dean had taken off and left Sam alone in the motel. I let him go on for a few more minutes and then told him to shut up. Dad said my name and then asked where Dean was. I could tell by the tone of his voice that he instantly went from mad to worried.

I told him Dean was asleep and completely ok. He asked me how long Dean had been with me and I told him that he got to San Francisco earlier that afternoon. He started to say something else, but I stopped him. I told him that the reason Dean was here was because of him and Sam. When the only response I got from dad was silence, I kept going.

I told dad that he had a few days to work things out with Sam. I told him all the stupid petty crap was wearing Dean out and he took off to get a break from it. I also told dad that he was lucky Dean came to me when he took off. He could have disappeared completely and never looked back.

Dad was silent for a few minutes, then he asked me to have Dean call him in a few days. I told him I would as long as he promised to lay off Sam and get things straightened out before Dean came home. He said he would try to do exactly that. He started to ask how I was doing but I just hung up the phone. I sat there watching my brother for a few minutes, then went back to sleep.