WARNING: Graphic(ish) imaginary

Sam's heart stopped beating, he scrambled back, his breath caught in his throat, pain ripped through his heart as he processed what he was seeing. He tried to scream but he couldn't because his voice was lost in the roar of fire. It was happening again, he was loosing her over again.

Jess's beautiful face was torn with a ghastly scream, her hair fanned out around her face, consumed by greedy fire, ripping and tearing at her naked body. There was a slit in her abdomen, dripping red-hot blood onto the bed below her. Sam felt bile rise in his throat, tears in his eyes, he wanted to run, to scream, but he was bound with some invisible chains to the bed.

"Jess!" he tried screaming, "no!" But smoke poured down his throat, scalding him, ripping at his insides, he coughed so hard he thought he'd die.

Then the fire consumed Jess completely and, just like that, she was gone. But it wasn't over yet. The fire parted and a new figure, in the same spot, was pinned to the ceiling.

"Mom!" Sam screamed, blood rising from the torn skin in his throat to bubble at his lips.

Mary's young, stunning face was twisted with a scream that Sam heard, terrible and drawn out and beastly. She was wearing a white nightdress that seemed untouched by flames, unlike her skin which was flaking and peeling from bones, burnt. Sam could smell it had he gagged, his brain struggling to comprehend this horror. His heart was screaming, his lungs burning. He closed his eyes, half wanting the fire to consume him, end it.

Then he heard a terrible cry and his eyes flew open. Instead of Mary there was Cas, his blue eyes were open and glazed, reflecting the fire. To Sam's upmost horror his wings had not yet seared through the fire, branding the ceiling a place of the death of an Angel. He was burning alive. "Sam," Cas begged through the screaming fire, voiced pained and heartfelt. "Sam help me!"

Sam turned away, feeling his heart shatter as Cas screamed again. When he glanced back up at the ceiling, the Angel was gone, leaving behind the imprint of two large wings seared into the ceiling. Sam felt tears overflow his eyes, he loved Cas, he was family. And now he was dead. Again. It would destroy Dean.

The next scream made Sam's heart stop point blank. He couldn't breathe, couldn't move, his eyes were frozen to the man burning in front of him.

"Dean!" Sam screamed, feeling tears run down his face. "DEAN! NO!"

Dean's face was pained, so tortured Sam wanted to look away but he couldn't. His eyes were drawn to his brother as the fire started eating away at his face, leaving behind raw redness. Sam could smell the burning flesh and hair, gagging when a piece of charred skin landed on his cheek. Bile rose in his stomach and Sam barely had time to turn away before he spewed sick everywhere.

"Sammy!" Dean screamed as the fire and more and more of his body. "Sam! This is your fault! Your fault!"

Sam's eyes widened, stinging from heartbreak and smoke. "How?"

"Demon blood!" Dean howled. "I should have killed you!"

Sam was full out sobbing by this point. "I know!" he sobbed. "You should have killed me, you should have!" He tried to get more out but a snake made of fire threw itself down his throat, like a demon possessing a person, the fire mangled his vocal cords but left everything else untouched.

Dean screamed again.

Sam buried his face in his hands and sobbed, rocking back and forth, listening to his brother's screams fade until all that was heard was the fire. Then a thud. Sam looked up, scrambled off the bed.

Dean's charred, blackened body was lying on the floor, his eyes were open, he was sucking in harsh, dying, breaths and when Sam felt for a pulse in his sickening body, it was spastic, harsh, fading. "S'mmy," Dean croaked.

"I'm here," Sam said, suddenly able to speak. "God, Dean."

"Didn't mean what I said," he rasped. "Glad I didn't kill you..."

"You should have," Sam whispered, heart breaking. He didn't touch his brother, not wanting to cause more pain than necessary.

"I shouldn't have said that...goodbye Sammy..."

Sam let out a sob. "Goodbye Dean."

Dean reached a hand and brushed Sam's cheek. Then the shallow, faded eyes closed and his breath stopped, his hand went slack and dropped. He died there, Sam's hand hovering above his body. And Sam closed his eyes, opened them, stood up and came back with a gun, lay down next to his brother's body, took his hand, placed the gun at his head and pulled the trigger.

Blackness

"Sam!"

Sam heard a voice. It sounded like he was underwater and whoever was trying to talk to him was above.

"Sam!"

It was a feminine voice, gentle but firm. Slightly familiar.

"Goddamn it Samuel Winchester, wake up!"

A sharp, stinging pain lashed across his cheek. He opened his eyes to see the blurry outline of a blonde woman. She was naked. He blinked.

"Jess?"

Jess's face relaxed. "Sam, you were having a nightmare."

He blinked, relief filling his heart. "Oh God," he whispered. "You're alive!"

"Sam," she whispered tenderly, lovingly. "You were screaming. Do you want to talk about it?"

Sam felt his heart full with passion, then dread. "Where's my phone?" he asked.

"What?"

Sam shook his head to clear it. "I need to call Dean."

"Here," she said, handing him the phone from the nightstand. She was wearing the ring he had given her.

"Thanks," he said breathlessly. Only then did he realize tears were drying on his cheeks. He dialed Dean's number, only waiting a few moments before a sleepy voice answered.

"Sammy?"

"Dean?" he asked, relief in his voice.

"You okay?" he asked, suddenly sounding fifth percent more alert. "Something wrong?"

Sam closed his eyes, calmed by his brother's voice. "I'm fine," he whispered. "Nightmare. Uh, how's Cas?"

"I'm fine Sam," came the gravely voice, sleep ridden. "Sam, are you-"

"Just a nightmare," Sam whispered. "Just a nightmare."

Dean's voice sounded worried. "You sound like crap man, you need us to head back?"

"No," Sam swallowed. He run a hand over his eyes. "No, it's- yeah...just drop by, please."

"Of course," Dean said gently. "Cas can zap is there in ten, give you some time to get decent."

"Thank you," Sam breathed so quietly he wasn't sure Dean had heard it.

"Anytime Sammy."

He put the phone on the nightstand, glancing apologetically at Jess who looked worried. "Sam?" she asked, laying a gentle hand on his arm. "You know that whatever happened inside that dream, it wasn't real. This is real." She gently kissed him, running a hand through his hair.

Sam kissed back, letting his mind get lost in her. In the taste of her lips because she was here, not burning, she was here and alive. When she finally broke the kiss, she just watched him.

"Hey, um, Dean's coming in ten minutes, just to check in. I...I asked him to. We might want to clean up."

Jess nodded, understanding in her blue eyes. "Of course," she said softly, but not upset. "Let's go Sam."

Once the promised ten minutes were up, Sam heard the flap of wings and Dean's stumble and whisper of, "dammit."

Sam stood up, gently extracting his hand from Jess's. "Dean?" he called. "Cas?"

"Here Sammy," Dean said, pushing the door open. "Everything oka-?"

He was cut of by Sam slamming into him, hugging him tightly. "Okay," he whispered. "You're alive, just a nightmare."

Dean gently responded to the hug, confused and a little worried. "It's okay Sam, it's okay." He heard his brothers breath hitch and his body tremble. "Just let it out, it's okay, let it out."

Sam closed his eyes, letting tears fall down his face, into Dean's shirt. The memory of dream-Dean's burned flesh terrifyingly vivid. He let out a half whimper without meaning to and felt Dean hold him tighter. "You want to talk about it?" Dean asked softly. "Shh, it's okay Sammy. Whatever it was, it's not real. You know this."

"I know. It seemed so real."

"Tell me what it was about," Dean said quietly. "It'll help."

Cas stood behind them, glancing around the room. Both he and Jess, despite being the brother's lovers, knew better than to interfere. This was not something they should get involved it, no matter who they were.

Sam had calmed down enough to finally sit down beside Jess while both Cas and Dean pulled up chairs to listen as Sam, eyes pained, began to recount him dream.

"I woke up, or I thought I did, and...and Jess, you were..." He trailed off, tears filling his eyes.

Jess nodded, understanding dawning on her face. "I was burning." She said it not as a question, but a fact, a statement. She gripped Sam's hand. "It wasn't real."

"It seemed real," Sam whispered. "And you weren't the only one. Dean, I saw Mom, and Cas, and..." He shook his head, not wanting to continue.

"And me," Dean finished for him. He leaned into Cas, closing his mind against the image of the Angel burning. "Sammy," he started.

"I know it wasn't real," Sam cut him off. "Don't have to tell me."

"That's not what I was going to say," Dean said softly. "I was going to say that's it's okay, the nightmares are a part of life, you've been through worse than this. Hell, we've all been through worse. Get some rest, Cas and I are gonna head back."

"Okay," Sam said softly. "Thanks Dean."

Dean stood and rested a hand momentarily on Sam's shoulder. "Don't mention it. I'll always be there."