A short chapter, so let me start by saying a few things, and then I'll let you get to it.

1) Of all the chapters I've written for this story, I think this is my favorite by far. I actually wrote it a while back, at least half a year, after rewatching clips of some of the older episodes. It was one of the few I've been able to write in one sitting, because I knew exactly where I wanted it to start and where I wanted it to end. That's part of what makes it so succinct.

2) Have you ever noticed how all the Black characters on SPN are either miraculously short-lived, or crazy? I started watching the show when I was about fifteen, the same year it first aired, but I was in high school then, and up to my eyeballs in extra curricular stuff, so it fell off my radar real quick, until about three years ago, when I watched four consecutive seasons in one summer, and I just remember noticing all these minor Black characters...getting killed off or left behind. Other hunters, or Cassie...all the 'evil' angels. Bobby's friend. Even in the first episode, Sam's college buddy, who was around for a minute. I still love the show...I'm just saying, give us a chance!

3) Which brings me to Jake Talley, central character in this short chapter. Could we possibly hate anyone more? I mean [[SPOILER ALERT]], John was one of the first characters to die in the show, aside from Jess and Mary, but at least they were killed by demons, and not one surly jerk, amirite? But to kill Sam? I'll admit it-I was a Sam-girl for a LOOOONG time. Still might be, though I feel like as of the end of season five, I rest comfortably between the two. Anyway, what kind of dark-hearted person do you have to be to kill SAM? Jake set off a chain of...what, four, five seasons? Which is great for fans, but awful for the boys.

4) Buuuuut he was just human. Literally. One of the Special Children, and ultimately, the YED's chosen, but initially, he was just human. I remember watching AHBL, part 2, and thinking he really was gonna turn on YED and take him out for killing all the others...until Azazel threatened his family. I remember thinking, "What would I do?" I have a little brother (who, okay, at 19 is now enormous, but it's the thought that counts!), and if someone threatened him...Well.

This is my attempt to shine a little new light on Jake Tulley. He's still a jerk. We still hate him. But we should also remember he had a tough decision to make.

Hope my preaching hasn't scared you off. Enjoy! New chapters in the works. =)

Hearts,

CA

He was running.

That much, he still knew, and for a moment, the knowledge was a blessed relief.

Running—physical work—made sense to him. Always had, even before he joined the army. The real army, that was. The good army.

He barked out a laugh. Figures. Figures that he'd go from one army to the next. Figures that his freaky-ass super power would be freaky-ass super strength. Figures…figures that he'd be the last one standing. Running.

His laughter filled the sudden eerie stillness of the night. Haha. The tree branches grabbed at his face and clothes and feet, trying to blind him, trying to trip him, trying to punish him for what he'd done.

Figures. Haha.

And then his laughing was coughing, and then vomiting, and he was doubled over, gasping, and retching, and trying not to sob. He hadn't meant it. None of it. How had this all happened? One minute, he was with his buddies in Afghanistan…and then…demons, ghosts, super heroes. Or…super villains.

He vomited again, and looked up.

There was a girl.

She stood silent as the dark, bathed in a silver-white ring of light.

He stumbled back. He'd seen too much in the last few days to trust her. Even if she was young. Even if she did look like—

Then she spoke.

"Jake. Right?" It wasn't a question. She knew. He knew she knew.

Who are you? he wanted to say. But the words stuck in his throat behind a lump of fear and self-loathing. It was them or me. I had to.

Instead, he brandished the knife, still slick with blood. His stomach lurched. When had the knife become instinct?

But the girl only eyed the knife neutrally. "You won't kill me."

Jake swallowed and held the knife out between them. The moonlight shone red in the streak of blood. "How do you know?"

The girl nodded calmly at his fatigues. Her hair was dark, and too straight, and her eyes were green instead of honey-brown, but he could see it, in the way she stood, in her expressions and gestures. She looked just like her…

"You're a soldier," she said, and for a moment, Jake even heard it in her voice. "A real one. A good one. Because you want to serve and protect civilians like me. Because the man you stabbed back there is dying. And because I remind you of your sister. Maya."

He heard her name like an icicle to the gut, and now he could say it: "Who are you? How do you know Maya?" A horrible thought seized him. "Is she—?"

"She's fine," the girl responded levelly. "Your sibling is fine." Jake wasn't sure whether he imagined the inflection behind 'your', but it was gone before he could examine it any closer.

"My name," she went on, "is Lily. Lily Winchester. And Sam is—was my brother."

Yes. He could see it the moment Sam's name left her lips. She was so like Maya in size and posture, but she looked like her brother. The same nose, the same dark hair…What have I done?

The girl—Lily—canted her head to one side. It was the only way he knew her next words were a question. Her voice lacked any sort of inflection.

"You didn't know Sam had a little sister, did you? Just like you. And Andy, he had a twin brother. And Lily—the other Lily, the one you left dead back in town—she was going to propose to her girlfriend. Her name was Maya, too. Did you know that?"

"Stop it." The words were strangled. Jake wouldn't have known the voice was his if he hadn't been thinking the same words over and over in his head: Stop. Stop it. I didn't know. How was I supposed to know? It was them or me. I'm sorry. I'm sorry. I'm sorry.

The girl stopped, but she wouldn't take her eyes off him. If there was anger or sadness there, he couldn't see it.

"What are you going to do to me?" he said finally, after seconds and years.

"Are you afraid of me?" It was the first he'd heard anything definite in her voice: curiosity. Amusement, maybe. "You, the murderous soldier with a knife and superhuman strength? You just killed my brother."

He fought the urge to vomit again. His head suddenly felt too heavy. The ground shifted beneath his feet. His ears buzzed. "I had to," he tried, and the words sounded fake even to him. "I had no choice."

"There's always a choice." She paused and squinted up at the moon through the trees. "If I stay here, my friend will find you. If he doesn't kill you, my other brother will."

"How do you know that?" Because, again, she knew. And again, he knew she knew.

"I've Seen it," she replied simply.

He blinked. "You're one of Us."

The corner of her mouth twitched in the beginnings of a grimace or a grin. "I'm nothing like you. I am…special," she said the word as though it physically sickened her, "but I'm not like you. I'm not a killer. So. I'm going to let you go."

"Why would you do that?" Jake asked. He couldn't help it. The words leapt out of his mouth of their own accord. "Why would you let me live, after…"

Lily smiled serenely, and it was completely void of humor. Jake shuddered.

"Because tonight I learned that I can cause more damage if I'm not around than if I am," she said.

And then Jake was gone, running again, and when he turned around to check, Lily was gone, too.

Okay, one more thing.

I know this is a little out of order, but I avoided Sam's death scene for several very specific reasons, the greatest of which being that my devotion is to the original show, and within that, the relationship between the boys. Long story short, I don't why to try to recreate such an emotional scene, at least not this soon in the story.

You WILL see Dean's reaction, and the aftermath, and a little bit of what Sam went through, but for the most part, I wanted to walk around Sam's death itself.

Questions? Comments? Concerns? You know what to do!

Lurve,

CA (again)