A/N: Thanks guys for all the reviews and alerts and faves - seriously. As for Dean being a priest in the last chapter, that's actually cannon in my opinion. See, all it takes to make Holy Water is for a priest to bless the water and we have seen the Winchesters and Bobby all make their own Holy Water (Jus en Bello (the toilet), Devil's Trap (the water tank), No Rest for the Wicked (the sprinklers)...) so it stands to reason that all the Winchester men and Bobby are actually ordained priests. I'm guessing they would have gone the online route because no archbishop in his right mind would ordain them if he met them *lol*
Just thought I'd point that out :)
CHAPTER 29
Sam made good time in picking Roar and Dean up despite stopping for an out-of-breath Paul who ran onto the road in front of him, flagging him down madly. Luckily, that particular stretch of road was very quiet, one of the reasons the gang had located their bar there, and no other cars came by with civilians that would surely have reported the burning Fiero.
Sam dropped Dean off at the bar and the Impala before taking Roar to the closest emergency room with Paul. Dean insisted they keep driving around looking for the brown Crown Vic until they found another lead on Diego and Sam didn't have the heart to point out that if the Crown Vic was still in the city, they would have found it by now. Hell, he didn't really want to admit it himself. Bobby had been left at the motel after supper to grab a couple of hours' sleep and promised he would then keep making calls to see if he could dig up anything on a vampire witch. So far, he had called just about everyone and had nothing to show for it.
Sam decided to try the south side of town again, in some of the slummier neighborhoods. Somehow he couldn't see a vamp hiding out in the swanky or even the middle class areas of the northern part of the city. He was just pulling off the East Jensen Bypass when his phone rang. He glanced at the display and snapped it open quickly when he recognized the number.
"Ruby!" he yelled into the phone. "Where have you been? Why don't you answer me when I call?"
"Hello to you too, Sam," was the snide reply. "You told me to keep my distance 'coz your little squeeze was back in town, remember?"
"She's Dean's squeeze, not mine," he snapped impatiently.
"It wasn't Dean doing the squeezing in Illinois now, was it?"
"Ruby, shut up." Sam was in no mood for the demon's smart-ass attitude today. "Listen, I've been trying to get a hold of you for a reason. I questioned a vampire and he told us Diego was a witch as well as a vamp."
"Diego? The one who's after Tasha?"
"Yes. You know witches, have you ever heard of him?"
There was a long pause. "He's a witch? A two-thousand year old witch?"
"Yes."
"I wonder..." Another pause.
"What?" Sam pressed, his heart skipping a beat. Maybe Ruby knew something, anything that could give them a solid lead so they could do something other than drive around looking for a friggin' brown car.
"He's Spanish, right?"
"Yes." Was she being deliberately exasperating? "What are you thinking? Do you know something?"
"No. Well, maybe. It's just that there's this secretive religion based on ancient Spanish Black Magic."
"And...?"
"Well, I don't know much about it but the High-Priest is supposedly like twenty-five hundred years old. He was known as Dago, which is the old form of Diego. The religion's based on the premise that drinking human blood along with some other hoodoo crap can give a person great power and eternal life."
Sam let the information sink in. "Are you thinking Diego could be this high priest?"
"Fits the bill."
"Drinking blood to gain eternal life...that's just vampirism. So his religion's a sham," Sam surmised. "He's a vampire pretending to be a high priest of a bogus religion."
"I wouldn't jump to that conclusion so quick, Sam," Ruby answered. "His followers are human and they've been known to live for centuries. The magic's real. If it is him, I don't think it's common knowledge he's a vampire also. He could have all sorts of powers if he's been mixing his black magic with drinking human blood for twenty-five centuries." She paused again. "There's a lot of power in blood, Sam. You of all people know that."
Sam chose to ignore her last comment, not wanting to discuss his shameful secret but rather concentrate on this possible new lead to finding Tasha. "He seems to be able to throw people with his mind, like demons do," he told her, remembering the video footage of when Tasha was taken.
"Like I said, the magic's real," Ruby replied. "Some powerful shit. So what, now that Dean's back with Tasha you two decided to go after Diego?" she asked.
"I wish that was all that was going on," Sam said with a sigh, his voice softening and betraying his feelings of worry and fear of Tasha's fate. "Diego showed up and took her."
Another pause. "When?" she asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
"Just over two days ago."
"Oh. Uh, I hate to be the one to say it, but do you really think she's still..."
"Alive?" Sam sighed again, his shoulders slumping in defeat. "You never know," he said quietly. "If we can find her soon..."
"I'll dig up what I can," Ruby said quickly. "I swear, if he's in town, I'll do what I can to help find her."
"Thanks Ruby." It was Sam's turn to pause. "Why?"
"Why what?"
"Why would you help us save Tasha?"
The demon's tone turned snippy. "The real question is why am I still having to prove myself to you?" she barked. "After all I've done for you why do you still constantly question my motives? I went to Hell for you. I betrayed Lilith for you. I'm wanted dead or alive and every demon on the planet wants to cash in on me. I've risked my neck for you over and over and still you doubt me."
"I'm sorry," Sam apologized, almost convinced. "You're right," he said grudgingly. "I would be dead ten times over if it weren't for you."
"Try and remember that, would ya?" Ruby said, clearly trying to sound lighthearted after her little rant. "I'll do what I can to find Tasha," she added solemnly. "I actually liked the girl." She chuckled. "Gave even you a run for your money in the kissing department."
"Ruby!" Sam chided, not wanting to be reminded of that night in Illinois now that Dean was back and was angry and hurt about it.
"Yeah yeah, I'll call you when I find something."
With that she hung up. Sam dialed Dean's number as he turned the van around to head back to the motel. It wasn't much of a lead but it was something. Maybe Bobby could dig something up on this High Priest Dago, a.k.a. Diego.
/\\/\\/\\-/\\/\\/\\-/\\/\\/\\-/\\/\\/\\-/\\/\\/\\
It was Sam who found her, tied up in some abandoned warehouse. Dean pulled up outside just as the younger Winchester was carrying her out of the building wrapped in a blanket. His heart leapt to see she was alive, awake even, and she had her arms wrapped around Sam's neck with her face buried in his chest.
Dean got out of the car, his heart now pounding with relief and excitement at seeing her safe after three days of searching. He could hear his brother speaking soothingly into her ear as the tall hunter placed her gently on the hood of the Impala a few yards away. Neither of them had noticed Dean yet as he walked towards them. Sam stood in front of Tash, performing the standard Winchester pat-down to check for injuries.
Only it wasn't the standard one. Dean froze when he noticed the fast hands running down the length of her arms to check for broken bones were actually slow and seemed to rub or caress more than pat. Sam certainly didn't rest his forehead against Dean's when he checked him out like he was doing with Tasha now.
"You're okay now, Tash," he heard Sam say softly into the brunette's ear. "I've got you. You're safe now."
"You saved me," she whispered back, her arms moving back up to his neck. "I knew you would." Sam's hands moved to cup her face and he leaned down, tilting his head and planting his lips on hers.
A mixture of anger, hurt, and even relief swept over the elder hunter as he watched, shocked into silence. He was angry his brother saw fit to take the one thing he had ever had to himself away from him. He was hurt they would both betray him like this and he was relieved he could stop feeling so unworthy of Tasha's love because it obviously wasn't his anymore anyway.
They were kissing passionately now and Sam's hands glided up her arms to slide the blanket off her shoulders. It dropped to the Impala's hood to reveal her naked body beneath it, arching longingly towards Sam who obliged by dipping his head down to take a nipple in his mouth while his hand caressed the other breast.
Dean just stood there. This was what he deserved. He should have expected this.
Her legs wrapped around Sam's hips, whose large hands moved to run the length of her thighs. Dean could hear her moan his brother's name and he tried to force himself to turn away and leave as he noticed her hands fumbling at Sam's belt buckle.
"I feel guilty about Dean," he heard Sam mumble between wet kisses to her neck.
"Mmm...he doesn't...want me..." she replied with heavy breaths of lust as she unzipped Sam's pants. "He...he can't even...tell me he loves me..."
"But I have demon blood in me," Sam rasped out, his fingers disappearing between her legs.
"Oh!" She arched her chest upwards and her head tipped back as her heels dug into the backs of Sam's thighs. "I don't care," she panted. "You're a good person, Sam. Unhhh... You're saving people. Dean tortured thousands of souls...Fuck! That feels so good! ... The angels never should have saved him, Sam. He didn't deserve to be saved. He's not the decent person he pretends to be."
"You're right," Sam agreed, pulling his fingers from her and shoving his jeans down to his thighs. "You could never love someone like that." With that he thrust his hips forward, sinking his full length into the naked girl on the hood, who screamed in pleasure at the move.
Dean closed his eyes, still unable to make himself move, but they shot open again when a familiar voice sounded next to him.
"He's right, you know," it said with sinister calmness. "She could never love someone like you."
Dean turned sideways and immediately reached for Ruby's knife at the small of his back at the sight of the demon standing next to him. "Alistair!" he hissed.
The demon, appearing in the true form that Dean had come to know in the pit complete with horns and leatherlike wrinkled skin, simply waved his hand and the knife flew out of Dean's hand.
He gave the hunter a disapproving cluck. "Hi Deano," he smirked. He looked over at Sam and Tasha, who were now rocking together with a fast and heavy rhythm, moaning and groaning with every powerful thrust of Sam's hips, Tasha's hands curled into fists in the blanket beneath her. Dean swallowed hard at the familiar sounds of her lovemaking. He had often wondered if he would get to hear those sounds again but had never thought it would be like this.
"Now that's a slap in the face," Alistair chuckled. "Want me to put them on the rack for you Deano?"
"No!" Dean yelled, a stab of fear bolting through him at the thought. "You can't be here!"
"Come on," Alistair coaxed in a sing song voice. "I'll let you have first go at them," he offered with a teasing smile.
"No!" Dean repeated, moving in between the demon and the oblivious pair still panting and moaning on the hood of the rocking Impala.
Alistair shook his head, his yellow eyes narrowing at his former pupil. "Two weeks back upstairs and you're already going soft," he chided. "I like you, Dean. I'm gonna do you a favor and kill the Jezebel and your traitorous little brother."
He waved his hand and Dean went flying sideways, slamming into the side of a parked car. The hunter staggered to his feet just as Alistair was raising his arms towards Sam and Tasha and the brunette's screams of pleasure turned into an ear-piercing scream of pain.
He awoke with a start, jerking his elbow and slamming it into the passenger door handle of the Impala as a hoarse cry of "Sam!" escaped his lips. He was breathing heavily and ran a hand down over his face as he sat up and looked around.
"Get it together, Dean," he hissed at himself under his breath. He was alone in the car and saw it was pulled over under a highway overpass. He must have fallen asleep while Sam was driving, he figured, feeling guilty for not holding out until they found Tasha. Granted, it was the first sleep he had succumbed to since the brunette went missing, but every second counted, especially this late in the game. Bobby's van was parked in front of the Impala and the older hunter stood by its side with Sam, the two in deep conversation with burgers held forgotten in their hands.
Dean pulled the handle and pushed the door open with a creak. He staggered stiffly out of the car, rotating his shoulders in an effort to loosen up as he made his way over to the others. Bobby and Sam stopped talking and Sam wordlessly handed him a burger. He nodded his thanks and ripped the silver paper open, taking a big bite.
As he ate, he noticed the silence of the other two and the studious looks they were giving him. He stopped chewing and gave them a questioning look. "Vhat?" he mumbled past the food in his mouth. "I got someving in my teeff?"
He knew right away from Sam's uncomfortable shuffle and the way Bobby averted his eyes that something was up.
"Uh…" Sam started, his voice taking on that 'sensitive Sammy' tone he used with grieving relatives on their hunts. "Dean, it's just that it's been three days now. I, uh, I hate to bring it up but…"
Dean didn't answer. He concentrated on chewing and swallowing the food in his mouth without gagging. He knew where this was going.
Sam took his silence as a cue to continue. "He only took two days with her aunt and her mom."
The crime scene photos from Tasha's aunt's murder flashed through Dean's mind - the blood and the endless mass of wounds covering the woman's body. "We keep looking," he said simply.
Sam wrinkled his nose in discomfort at having to push the issue. "We've got no more leads," he pointed out. "Bobby's tried everything on the Dago witch front and we've still got nothing. We're just driving around." He paused but kept going when he again got no response from his brother. "Us and almost fifty bikers. Three days now and nobody's found anything. If the Crown Vic was in Fresno, surely we would have seen it by now."
"We keep looking." Dean wasn't ready to give up.
"He probably left town right after he grabbed her," Sam pressed, seriously looking like he was almost ready to cry himself.
Dean tossed the uneaten half of his burger down the grassy banking, his stomach churning at Sam's words. "We keep looking." He couldn't think of anything else to say; his own brain was screaming that it was too late and Tasha was already dead but his gut was refusing to believe it.
"Look, Dean, I care about her too," Sam said, his voice softening. "I care about her a lot, but…"
"I'm well aware of that fact," Dean snapped, his unpleasant dream still fresh in his mind.
Sam sighed in frustration and threw his arms in the air. "That again?" he demanded. "You really want it to end with that? Dean, you gotta let that go."
"Let it go?" Dean fired back. "Oh you mean like our search, huh? Let's just give up. Forget and move on."
Sam didn't answer; he just took a deep breath and gritted his teeth. He didn't want to hurt Dean but at some point his brother was going to have to face the facts.
Bobby stood in silence looking back and forth between the brothers, his brow furrowed as he studied them.
"Okay, what's going on between you two?" he demanded finally.
Dean waved a dismissive hand in the air as he turned away from Sam to head towards the Impala's driver's door. "It's complicated," he grumbled.
The gruff mechanic let out a loud snort. "It ain't complicated," he said in his fatherly-scolding voice. He turned to face Dean. "Bottom line is … you were dead. Nobody betrayed nobody." He paused for effect and Dean was a little taken aback at the directness of the rebuke.
Did Bobby know what had happened? Dean had always known the older man was shrewd but had he really figured that out?
Bobby ignored the surprised look on both Winchesters' faces and kept talking. "Besides," he went on, still talking to Dean. "He's still your brother ain't he? That ain't never gonna change so you may as well get over it."
Dean started to argue back but was cut off before a single sound escaped his lips. "It was bound to happen sooner or later," the older man said with a shrug. "It was just a matter of time."
"What do you mean?" It was Sam who got the question out first.
"I mean you two numnuts huntin' together, travelin' together, livin' together. You don't leave no room for a female and one was sure to come round sooner or later that meant more to you than yesterday's breakfast. What did you think would happen?"
He looked back to Dean, his shoulders slumping a little and his voice softening. "Son, you were dead. You left all of us in a bad way. Try not to be so damn righteous." He frowned at the elder Winchester who remained silent, leaning against the side of the Impala's hood. "Besides," Bobby added, turning towards his van. "I keep tellin' you boys, family ain't supposed to be easy. Obviously you both care about the girl so let's just keep looking."
With that he climbed into his van and drove off, leaving the brothers standing under the overpass in heavy silence. Dean was still leaning against the Impala, his eyes downcast while Sam shuffled on his feet in front of the car, hating the sight of his brother in pain.
It was Sam who swallowed and spoke first.
"Look, I'm really sorry about what happened between Tasha and me," he said honestly. "But I can only say it so many times."
Dean looked up at him, his green eyes tired and sad and laced with defeat. "I'm not even mad anymore," he said with a sigh. "It's just easier to be angry than... it's just easier, you know?"
His voice was thick and for the first time in three days, Sam heard no hint of determination in it. The defiance was gone and, he realized, the hope was gone.
"You know what the last thing I said to her was?" Dean asked quietly, eyes cast downward again. "I pretty much told her there was nothing between us."
Sam had learned to recognize the rare moments when Dean was being honest about his feelings and knew enough to try and stay silent to let his brother talk.
Dean did just that. "I had just seen you two practically pawing at each other at her car," he said bluntly though with no malice.
"Wait, what?" Sam couldn't help but interrupt, trying to think of when this had occurred. "You don't mean after she found out about Ruby?"
Dean just nodded, barely catching Sam's eye.
"Dean, do you want to know what that conversation was about?" Sam couldn't believe his brother had thought the worst. "She was telling me how much she loves you. She was pissed about Ruby, yes, but mostly because she was worried about you. Dude, you seriously thought I'd make a move on her after you were back? Give me some credit!" Sam couldn't help being a bit annoyed at this point, though he wasn't sure if it was at Dean's low opinion of him or that of himself. "She's in love with you, you jerk!"
Dean remained silent, his arms folded across his chest and his head down. When he did look up, Sam felt a renewed pang of sympathy when he noticed his brother's eyes were reddening and glistening with unshed tears. None fell, but his jaw was tight and his muscles strained to keep his composure.
"Fuck," Dean breathed as his eyes caught Sam's. "She can't be dead."
Sam shook his head, more pity swelling up inside him. "Maybe not," he said quickly. "We'll keep looking." He moved towards the passenger door. "She's tough, Dean. She'll hold on until we find her." He sounded more convincing than he felt but was rewarded by a nod of thanks from his brother, who climbed in behind the wheel.
As they pulled out onto the road in no particular direction, Dean glanced at his brother once again. "I can't not keep looking," he admitted. "Not until I know…"
Sam acknowledged his brother's sentiment with a nod. "What about Cas?" he changed the subject. "No sign of him yet? I'm sure he could find her if he'd just show himself."
"No word," Dean shook his head. "The dick just shows up when he needs something."
"Well," Sam defended, "He did show up when you needed him most." He wasn't the angel's biggest fan, but the guy had brought Dean back to him and he was an Angel of God, proof there was hope in stopping the Apocalypse after all. Somebody with some serious firepower on their side, for a change.
Dean shook his head. "Right now's when I need him the most," he mumbled quietly.
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It was a few hours later, just after dark, when Ruby called. Sam had returned to the motel with Bobby to focus on the research again, the pair of them reasoning that research stood a better chance than driving around looking for a dark-colored car after dark. Dean insisted on staying out on the streets and Roar, true to his word, had his bikers still searching the city.
Sam ignored the disapproving look Bobby gave him when he answered the phone with an eager "Ruby?"
"Hi Sam. Listen, I know it's probably too late and I'm sorry but I got something for you."
"What?" he demanded.
"I tracked down a demon in nearby Hanford. He's a witch demon, trading souls for black magic."
"Like Tammy," Sam clarified. "The power to a coven of witches."
"Yeah," Ruby acknowledged. "Only he's way older than her and a Hell of a lot more knowledgeable. So I asked him about this Dago. He didn't want to answer at first but I insisted…" she paused, clearly hoping for a comment from Sam. "Okay, I tortured and killed him and got even more heat on my ass," she reworded, stressing the implication that she had taken this risk for Sam.
Sam decided to play along, knowing he'd get the information out of the smart-ass demon more quickly if he acknowledged her sacrifice. "Thanks Ruby," he said. "I appreciate your help."
He could almost hear the smugness in her voice as she continued. "Anything for you, Sam. Anyway, this demon knew of Dago and knew that he has two human followers in the area. Safe bet he's hiding out at one of their places. He only has a few hundred followers on the continent but they literally do anything and everything he asks of them."
Sam's heart jumped in his chest. "Did you find out who they were?" he gushed.
"Of course," she practically purred into the phone. "I got two names. Got a pen?"
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Dean turned onto another street, still driving aimlessly around the city. Sam and Bobby had opted to try more research on the Dago witch theory from Ruby but Dean needed to be moving, needed to be doing something, even though he knew deep down his search was probably futile at this point. He didn't know how long he would keep looking; he just knew he couldn't stop. Not yet. He knew with every passing hour the very slim chance Tasha was still alive grew even slimmer.
He was more scared now than he ever remembered being before. More so than when his own date with the Hellhounds had been looming over his head. He loved her. After forty years in Hell and after finding out she had slept with Sam, he still loved her every bit as much as he had when he had asked her to leave all those months ago.
Besides his fear, his guilt was eating him about how he had left things. She had loved him as much as he'd loved her. For the first time in his life, he believed that someone truly loved him and more so, loved him for all that he was. He knew Sam and his Dad loved him, but never quite as much as he had loved them. It had never been an even trade. Yellow-Eyes had hit the nail on the head when he had said they didn't need Dean like Dean needed them. He knew that was true, had always known it, but had accepted it, not feeling worthy of an equal love anyway.
But with Tasha it had been different. Somehow he had never doubted the depth or the authenticity of the feelings she had for him, even though she had never said the L word. Whether he believed he was worthy of it or not, he knew she had loved him. He knew he was the only one she loved. And that knowledge was tearing up his insides right now because the time she needed him the most, he was failing her.
Why was he still using present tense? He had already failed her.
His dark thoughts were interrupted by Deep Purple. He cleared his throat before answering Sam's call.
Thirty seconds later, he snapped his phone shut and skidded the Impala into a U-turn. Two names. Two addresses. He didn't care that the intel had come from that scheming bitch Ruby; it was the closest they had come to a real lead. He was in the south end of the city so he had been given the Huntington Avenue address to check out. He remembered the area, he had driven the entire city a dozen times over in the past three days. It was a rich neighborhood consisting mostly of old money, which made sense if the address belonged to a few-century-old black magic follower who had human blood flowing through their sick and twisted fountain of youth. Sam and Bobby were going to check out the address in the north end of town nearer the motel.
"Just call if it's the right place," Sam had warned into the phone. "Don't go in alone, Dean. Wait for backup."
He pulled in at the tree-lined curb just past the Dago-follower's house and grabbed a machete from the trunk before climbing over the six-foot high stone wall. He made his way stealthily towards the large house, though he knew if Diego was here then he'd smell the approaching hunter long before he saw him or heard him. He peered in the rectangular glass window of the triple car garage and gasped when he saw a brown Crown Vic sandwiched between a Porsche and an Audi.
He pulled out his phone and texted Sam, knowing it would just lead to an argument about waiting if he called him. Its here come quik was all he typed before hitting send, picking the lock on the side door, and slipping inside.
The house was huge. He started with the main floor but found no traces of Tasha or anything out of the norm. He dared not call out to her in case Diego was in fact here. He figured the basement would be the next logical place to search since vampires seemed to like dark and cold environments, but that turned up empty as well. He made his way back to the ornate main hall and started up the huge curved staircase, machete still in hand.
It was at the very end of the hallway, through the last of the solid mahogany doors that he found her. The room was somewhat dimly lit and was empty with hardwood floors and a full wall of mirrors down one side. Tasha was sitting on the floor next to a steel post near the far side of the room, her knees curled up and her head buried between them. She wasn't moving.
"Tash!" he rasped, the fear of reaching her only to find her cold and lifeless gripping his heart with agonizing tightness. As he strode across the room towards her, he noticed her legs were bare and covered in bloody wounds, as were her bare arms. He sank to his knees at her side and reached for her shoulder.
"Tash?" His voice was gentle but pleading.
She jumped at his touch, pulling her arm away with a desperate sounding whimper of "No. Please."
"Tash, it's me," he gushed, relief spilling out of him and temporarily drowning out the pity and the anger. "It's Dean." He reached again for her shoulder and she turned her face upwards. "You're safe," he added, seeing momentary confusion and disbelief as she struggled to focus her brown eyes on his green ones.
"Dean?" she said, her voice barely more than a whisper. She turned to face him and her right hand slid around the back of his neck, pulling him closer towards her. He acquiesced and leaned down, allowing his own arms to pull her into a gentle hug, his heart thumping loudly in his chest.
"You found me," she whispered into his ear. "I knew you would."
"Of course," he told her, attempting a cocky grin as he pulled back enough to peer at her face. "This is me we're talking about."
"I'm sorry," she croaked, her hand still clasping his shirt collar. "About Sam. Dean, I'm so sorry."
He cut her off. "Hey, babe, not now. That's water under the bridge. None of that matters, okay?" He gave her a smile and kissed her forehead as he pulled away with a hard swallow. "Right now we've gotta get you out of here."
She nodded weakly. "It's Diego," she told him. "He got me."
"I know," Dean nodded, pulling her shoulders gently upwards. She hissed in pain and he felt her tense up. Straightening up to get a better look at her injuries in the dim light he noticed her left hand was still behind her and leaned over to see it was shackled to the steel post with a thick iron cuff and chain. He saw the state of the hand, scraped raw, bleeding, deformed and swollen to twice its size and he inhaled sharply in sympathy. It didn't take a genius to figure out she had done that herself trying to get it through the tight shackle. He reached in his waistband to find the paperclip he had stashed there in case of police entanglements but before he could pull it out, Tasha gasped and tensed, suddenly looking past him.
"Dean, behi…" was all he heard her say before something hit him hard and everything went black.
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A/N: Sorry, a cliffie! That dream sequence was for Spelllesswonder, who wanted some more Sam-Tash action. Just a little taste but I hope you enjoyed anyway :-) BTW, the East Jensen Bypass is a real road in Fresno - I couldn't resist. As always, I'd love it if you reviewed and let me know what you thought of the chapter or even what you think is gonna happen :-)
