Author's notes: This is the last part of this part of the story for the series 'Chosen'. It is still an on-going series on my ao3 account which you can find on my profile here. I might cross-post some more fics here. Thank you for all the reviews! :)

Part Fourteen

Sam listened intently as Dean regaled the entire story to Bobby. He went through everything, including the premonitions and the demon possession, stuff that Sam vaguely remembered and stuff that he had no clue about, like how Dean had been getting visions of Sam and Jess for almost a week straight before deciding to call Bobby and hightailing it to California.

"I'd been getting them in spurts, ya know? Like a car here and a sign there, an apartment window the next day. Then a couple nights ago I get hit with the big one and well yeah," he said with a shrug, looking down at his hands. "I go down to the floor and all I can see suddenly is Sam. First time I've seen my brother in, heh, four years."

Sam winced, realizing just how true that statement was.

God.

They really hadn't seen each other since he'd walked away. He tried not to think back to that awful night. He's suddenly overcome with the need to hug his brother, to tell him how sorry he was about not even thinking to call him, not even once, since he made a life in California. He remembered thinking how he had been free from the life, how he'd never have to worry about hunting monsters ever again.

He felt sick to his stomach just thinking about how Dean had chased him all the way to California out of his mind with worry and all Sam had shown him thus far was skepticism and maybe a little gratitude when he had been cornered.

Bobby's quiet for a while after Dean caught him up. Sam felt his hand squeezed and looked up, slightly startled to see Jess looking at him. He forced a smile and tried to relax. He'd momentarily forgotten Jess was still here. He felt terrible as he thought of how she probably missed her old life back in California. He knew it wasn't safe just yet, even after Dean exorcized the demon out of her.

Demons were a new territory for him.

From the books he had read on exorcisms, it was just a temporary measure to send the demon back to hell. It could always come back.

"So what do we do now?" Jess asked into the silent room.

Sam squeezed her hand back, wishing he had more of an answer.

Silence fell again.

"Now we lay low for a couple more days and I make a few more calls," Dean finally said.

"Sounds like a plan," Sam mumbled before standing up on shaky legs. He glanced down at the empty cans, then at everyone else. "Want some more beer?" He got a nod from his brother and a grunt that sounded suspiciously like a 'yeah' from Bobby. He turned to Jess who stood up as well.

"I'll come with you," she said, already collecting the empty drinks.

Sam shot her a grateful little smile and gathered up his own glass and led them to the kitchen.

"So this is really your life," she said once they were alone. She looked tired, which he couldn't blame her for. It had been hell the last few days and they had been awkward since she had been possessed. Sam still blamed himself for her position. It really was his fault. If he hadn't decided to talk to Jess that day, she could still be back living her dream at college, getting drunk with their friends, none the wiser of the evils of the world.

"Uh, yeah," he said quietly, looking through Bobby's fridge for more drinks. He got out a couple more beers as Jess leaned against the counter and watched him. He hoped she wasn't judging him too hard. He shut the fridge and leaned against it, looking up at her finally. "So on a scale of one to ten, how pissed are you?"

Jess stared at him for a moment, seemingly not able to comprehend what he just said. "Did you just ask me how pissed off I am?"

Sam winced. "Yeah but you don't have to answer. I mean if it's too personal or something-"

"Seriously, Sam? Stop talking right now," Jess interrupted. Sam did as he was told, swallowing down the urge to run up and hug her. God what he would do to take back that night and just be straight with her. "I'm not pissed, okay? I just," she took a breath and blew it out, looking equally frustrated. Jess sighed and shook her head. "You want the truth? Well, I don't really know how I feel right now."

The answer had been more than Sam could hope for.

If he was honest with himself, he was just as confused as Jess and to ask the woman he was thinking of settling down with eventually how she felt after the last few days of hell, well, Sam was kind of an idiot if he had hoped for a straightforward answer right away.

She'd just been possessed, he chastised himself.

"Right," he said awkwardly. He held up the drinks and added, "Well, I got the drinks. We should probably head back." He turned to head back into the living room where Dean and Bobby were waiting for them.

"Wait! Sam!" Jess called out.

Sam turned around to see his girlfriend still watching him. Her expression was anxious. He blinked. "Yeah?"

Jess didn't say anything. She looked at him thoughtfully for a moment, before finally shaking her head, as if thinking better of it. Sam's stomach coiled in knots. "Nothing. Never mind. Let's go," she said, then walked on past him with a full can of coke.

Sam wordlessly followed after her.

Dean had made a short call to Pastor Jim, a man Sam vaguely remembered who would babysit them from time to time when dad was out on a particularly long hunt and Bobby hadn't been available. He remembered the pastor being nice and talking to Sam about his future. Sam had been fourteen when he first met the pastor.

"Hello, Sam," Pastor Jim said as he sat on the porch right next to the teen.

Sam looked up and said, "Oh hey, father."

Pastor Jim handed Sam a warm mug of cocoa, "Your brother told me you liked hot chocolate."

"Thanks," Sam mumbled as he took the mug gratefully. It had been chilly out, even bundled in his oversized jacket and scarf. Dean had bought them last winter when he realized they were running out of warm clothes that fit. It was a little worse for wear but Sam liked the jacket just fine. He shivered and hugged the jacket a little tighter.

He blinked when the pastor pulled out a warm looking beanie and put it on Sam. Sam set his hot chocolate down to fiddle with the hat, pulling it over his ears to warm them. "You didn't have to get this for me," he said.

"I know," the pastor told him with a smile. "But it's a cold night and winter's just around the corner, you know."

Pastor Jim had been like another father to the Winchesters.

Dean made another call to a hunter named Caleb afterwards and then a final call to dad. He looked up when he saw Sam leaning against the door watching as he finished recording his message.

"Dad didn't pick up, did he?" Sam asked, already knowing the answer.

Dean shrugged as he shoved his phone back into his pocket. "Nah, he's busy."

"Right," Sam said, going to sit on the couch just opposite Dean. "So what's the plan now? It's been a few days and we've gone through all the lore we could find on demons," he pointed out as Dean stretched.

Dean raised an eyebrow. "No we haven't."

Sam stared back at his brother. "Come on, Sammy. You think Bobby's place is the only place that has lore on demons?"

"You want us to visit the library, Dean?" Sam asked, not believing what his brother was suggesting. His brother who hated the thought of researching. "Seriously?"

Dean shrugged. "Why not? And no actually, I wasn't suggesting that we go visit the library. We've got bigger fish to fry."

Sam squinted at his brother suspiciously before realizing they weren't alone in the room anymore. Dean glanced over at Bobby and Jess and Sam followed his gaze. He swallowed. He stood up slowly. "What's going on here?"

Jess stepped forward, looking anxiously around the room. At Dean's nod, she said, "Look, your brother came to me yesterday with a proposal."

Sam didn't like where this was going. "What kind of proposal?"

Jess sighed and looked at him. "Well, he told me I could try and go back to my old life but if I did that, he couldn't guarantee that I'd be safe there." Sam opened his mouth to argue. What right did Dean have to go behind his back and say that kind of shit to Jess? Jess cut him off before he could say anything however, "Look, before you say anything, Dean's got a point, Sam. None of us knows why the demon would choose to possess me-"

"Jess! The demon possessed you because of me," Sam blurted out before he could stop himself. Jess froze, her eyes widening at his sudden outburst. Sam felt a little dizzy and stumbled back a step. It was one thing to think all this was his fault but he just admitted it out loud.

This was real now.

His fear at not just Jess's rejection but his own inability to protect his girlfriend were all coming out to the forefront. He never wanted any of this for Jess. If he could take it all back, he would in a heartbeat.

"If you really wanted to go back home, you could. The demon won't come after you," he said. Though he didn't know for sure, it just felt like the right kind of assurance.

He waited for the shock to wear off and once it did, Jess surprised him by chuckling. She shook her head before taking a step forward and said, "You don't know that, Sam."

He knew she was right. He hesitated a moment before taking a step into her personal space, wanting to touch her, to reassure her that she was wrong, that he knew for a fact that the demon wouldn't go after her. Jess leaned forward as he brushed a finger against her cheek. Jess was warm and solid, like he always remembered. "I wish I did," he told her quietly. "The fact that I couldn't protect you eats me up at night."

"I know and I'm sorry," Jess said. She finally pulled away and her eyes met his. He could see a spark of something there, a fire, the kind that reminded him so much of Dean. "Look, Dean offered me something that I didn't know I would want, but I thought it over, and I don't know what I'm going to do with my life now. That's the god honest truth. That demon kind of turned my life upside down, ya know?" Sam flinched at the mention of it but Jess sighed. "Again it isn't your fault. You asked me the other night how I felt about you, about us. Well, you're right, I'm kind of pissed at you but not for the reasons you're thinking. Yeah, I'm mad that you didn't tell me the truth sooner but I also get it, okay? I get that you thought you couldn't, that you thought you'd lose all this, us. I probably would've thought you were crazy or something if you'd told me and even on the off chance that I believed all this, how could I stay in a life full of danger, right?" She ran her hand through her hair. "So yeah, I'm mad, but I get it, Sam. I really do. Your life's full of crazy and danger but it's also full of heroics. You and your brother, you guys are doing something good here and maybe even if I can't be in your life fully, I can do something good here too, at least until we know for sure that the coast is clear."

"What's the deal, Jess?" Sam asked softly, letting Jess cup the side of his face.

"I would stay here with Bobby and we'll try and find everything we can on the demon that possessed me and what it might have wanted," Jess said.

Sam sighed. Of course. He really should've known.

"You and Dean would go and try to find your dad in the meantime," Jess added.

Sam turned to look at his brother. "You think dad's in trouble?"

"Dad didn't pick up, Sammy," Dean said finally, having watched the two quietly. "When I made the call to Pastor Jim, he told me he hadn't seen or heard from dad in months. Called Caleb and same thing."

"Yeah? But that isn't unheard of for dad," Sam said, recalling how much of a lone wolf their dad was when it came to hunting. "He doesn't exactly hunt with a lot of people."

"Sure, except the thing he had been hunting before I came to get you was something similar to the demon that possessed Jess," Dean said.

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Dad was hunting a demon? Why?"

Dean shrugged, "He wouldn't exactly tell me. But he hasn't exactly returned my call since before I got that premonition and that was weeks ago. I know dad's a pretty capable hunter, but you have to realize there are some real powerful demons out there, Sam."

Sam felt his heart start to race, not liking where Dean was going with any of this. "So…"

"So we have to find dad. He's got all the answers right now," Dean said. He looked between the three of them. "Come on, Sammy." He left without another word.

Sam glanced at Jess and Bobby. He pulled Jess into a ferocious hug, realizing just how fucked up all of this was. Jess hugged him back just as tight. "You're in safe hands with Bobby," he murmured into her shoulder.

Jess chuckled softly, "I'm sure I am. You're going to be okay too, Sam."

Sam didn't say anything.

Once they let go of each other, Sam took a step over to Bobby. The man sighed and reached over to squeeze his shoulder reassuringly. "You take care of that brother of yours and don't be a damn stranger, ya hear me, boy?"

Sam had to laugh at the gruffness of their uncle. "Yeah, don't worry, Bobby. Take care of Jess."

"Don't worry, son. She's more than capable of taking care of herself," Bobby said before pulling him into a quick hug.

Sam found Dean leaned against the trunk of the Impala. He glanced up as Sam quickly headed over. He grinned and patted Sam on the shoulder. "You ready to go, Sam?"

"Yeah, guess so," Sam mumbled, still not quite believing they were going to head on the road just like that.

"Good, 'cos we've got work to do, little brother," he said before opening the trunk and tossing Sam's duffel in.

He closed the trunk back up and they both got into the Impala.