December 21, 2006

**Trigger Warning: Potential trigger for sexual abuse/rape**

"Now, remind me again: why exactly would they want to meet me?" Dean hefted his suitcase into the overhead bin as Sam ducked to avoid his brother's arms from colliding with his head.

Jess sighed, "When I told them about you and Sam and everything that you guys did for me they insisted on meeting you to thank you in person."

"Honestly Sam did most of the work, all I did was stick around a few nights-I wasn't even there to help when he showed up again…" Dean muttered as he sat down.

"In any case, enjoy my parent's good graces and them offering to let us stay with them during the holidays."

"Well, it will be neat to see the ocean again." Dean contemplated as he sat down.

"Yeah, Kansas isn't exactly a coastal paradise." Sam quipped, "Unless you count the vast oceans of corn between the patches of nothingness…"

**SPN**

The plane arrived in San Francisco shortly before eleven, with the trio disembarking alongside a few dozen tourists and many more travelers visiting family for the holidays. As they left the gate and headed for the terminal entrance Jess nudged the brothers and pointed at the small cluster of people near the foot of the escalator. There were a few grown men as well as an older couple holding up a sign, "Welcome Home Jessica! Hello Berettas!"

"I'm going to guess that's your family?" Dean nodded at the group.

"Yup. It looks like everyone's here." Jess stated, smiling widely as she stepped off the escalator and was quickly bombarded with a bear-hug courtesy of the man Sam and Dean assumed was her father.

"Jessy! We've missed you so much!" He set her down and turned to face Sam and Dean. "And you two must be the Berettas. Now which one of you is Sam?"

Sam hesitantly raised his hand as the large man smiled and scooped him up in a hug. Despite being a good six inches shorter than him, he still managed to lift Sam off the ground. "Thank you so much for everything you did!"

"You're welcome…" Sam choked, surprised by the surprisingly strong grip.

"Which means you must be Dean." The woman smiled, "I suppose I should introduce us all. I'm Jen, the man who nearly crushed your brother is my husband Jake, and these are our three boys-Jason, Jared, and James."The three men nodded as they were introduced. "I hope you boys packed swimsuits, we're spending the afternoon at the beach after lunch!" Jen continued.

"That sounds great." Dean smiled as he looked at Sam and Jess-I think this is going to be a good day.

**SPN**

The afternoon was fantastic-aside from the inevitable sunburn that Sam got as consequence of his pale complexion being out in the warm sun for longer than a few minutes. That evening as Jess applied another liberal layer of aloe vera lotion Dean smirked at his brother's wincing. "I knew you were pale, but I figured you could handle one afternoon in the sun…"

"Well sorry not all of us spend every waking minute at the gym or tanning. Some of us have to pursue more mentally stimulating activities." Sam quipped, having discovered Dean's secret tanning salon membership after he spilled his wallet trying to tip a waitress.

Dean was about to retort when Jess interrupted, "Alright boys, that's enough." She smirked, "I think we've had enough fun for one day. Sam and I are going to turn in."

"At nine? What are you, eighty?"

"No, we're responsible adults." Sam smirked.

"Well, this adult is going to enjoy his night off. I'm going to see what the night life is like around here."

"Alright. Call if you need us." Sam commented, "Stay safe."

"I will." Dean smiled as he sauntered off to change.

**SPN**

After sneaking out of the Moore's back door (because as it turned out Jake and Jen also liked to go to bed early) Dean walked a few blocks into downtown. There was considerably more nightlife here than in Lawrence-both due to the higher population and the more active atmosphere-and it seemed like the kind of place that Dean could get used to. After walking past a few sports bars and restaurants Dean spied a club on the end of the block. The building was a fairly non-descript brick building (much like the others lining the main drag), but it boasted a fairly large pride flag hanging from the second floor. This coupled with the establishment's name-Dickie's Bulge-gave Dean a good indication of what kind of place it was.

He paused a half block away, looking at the neon sign before looking back at the lights of a few of the other restaurants. What the hell am I doing? I can't go in there. If anyone found out they'd kill me. Being gay is one thing, but acting like it is something altogether different. Dean exhaled as he stuffed his hands in his pockets, besides, it isn't like I'd meet anyone. And even if I did I'm not just looking for a fucking hookup… Dean turned around to walk back toward one of the other bars when he heard someone call out.

"Hey, you coming in or what?"

Dean turned around to see a man wearing a black 'Security' t-shirt standing outside the bar. Shit. He saw me. "Uh…"

"We don't bite." He chuckled, "Well, unless you want us to…"

Dean immediately turned bright red. "Um, I, er, uh…" He stammered, desperately trying to think of something to say.

"I'm guessing you're kinda new to the whole 'gay bar' thing?" He tilted his head. "Am I right?"

"Well, yeah…" Dean admitted.

"Just stay out of the middle of the dance-floor and don't get any of the specialty shots. You'll be fine." He lifted the rope in front of the door and ushered Dean in.

One hour and forty-two minutes later Dean stepped out of Dickie's Bulge and into the night air. He had discovered two things that night. One, being an out-of-towner in a place like this instantly made you attractive. And two, he really hated tequila. As he slowly trudged back up the street-a headache already forming-toward the Moore's he heard a set of footsteps closely behind his. Dean pricked his ears up and started to speed up a bit, the following pair matched his pace. Okay, what's going on here?

Dean turned around and the sidewalk was empty. Most of the other bars were still full of patrons enjoying the holiday atmosphere, and only occasionally did someone step outside-usually to puke or smoke-hmm… Dean walked quicker as he turned the corner off the main street back toward the residential section of town where the Moore's neighborhood was. Dean coughed as he started walking up the hill, his head feeling light as he became winded with the incline. Before he knew it he was on the ground, everything slowly fading to black.

**SPN**

Dean woke up at 11:18 in an alley way behind a bunch of row homes about a block from where he had passed out. His pants were loose and when he began to become more aware, he discovered that his wallet and underwear were both missing. As he stood up and re-buttoned his fly he felt a pain in his lower torso-one which was familiar, but in this case was anything but pleasant. That, coupled with the warm feeling in the same region, caused Dean to vomit as he doubled over.