When Sam had arrived at Crowley's he found that he had been deceived. The house was empty—no cars in the driveway, no lights on inside, nothing. He had walked all the way there to get his fix and the bastard dealer couldn't even manage to be home? He was trying to make Sam miserable! He wanted Sam to suffer!

So Sam turned around and dialed the man's number as he took his first steps away from the disappointing house.

Ring… Ring… Ring…

"Crowley, you son of a bitch, you better answer."

Ring… Ring… "Moose, I'm busy."

"We had an appointment!"

There were a few unintelligible grunts on the other end. "I'm with another client. A house call."

Sam kicked a nearby piece of trash. He was about to scream something into the phone to show the Brit he made the wrong call in screwing him over. That was, until he heard another familiar voice in the background.

"Are you with… Ruby?"

"Very astute. Now, if you don't mind—"

"Put her on."

"I'm not—this is a work phone, not your lifeline to lost love!"

"Put. Her. On."

Crowley groaned but handed the phone over nonetheless. Sam's heart quickened in pace as he heard the shuffling and light breaths of his ex as she took over the call. "Sam?"

Dean went out for lunch to meet with Charlie and Bobby. The way Sam acted was concerning and unsettling. First he's fine, then he's a mess, then he's just numb. Charlie and Bobby had been good friends of both the Winchesters and could give Dean some insight from a friend and nearly-family point of view.

The restaurant was a small one close to Dean's work, allowing him and Bobby to carpool over and make the most of their break. Charlie was already seated and waiting for the men to arrive.

It was uncomfortable for Dean to talk about feelings and worries, but this was Sam. Sam was more important than his inability to speak like an adult about emotional problems.

There was an unspoken agreement to talk as much as they could before their food arrived to get the ball rolling. Fortunately for Dean, Charlie was the most open of the three and began the talk and lead it until Dean could handle talking just as openly.

"What's going on with Sam lately?" Charlie asked, tucking a stray lock of red hair behind her ear.

Dean hesitated for a moment and let his eyes wander to the nerdy Star Trek T-shirt Charlie wore. "I don't even know anymore. I thought I knew what was going on but he keeps surprising me."

Bobby leaned forward, taking his hat off to swipe sweat from his brow. "I've known the boy since he was in diapers. What's he doing that's so surprising?"

Dean leaned back in his seat. "He's just… not acting like himself, you know? I got a little… angry… the other night and Sam started freaking out."

Charlie rolled her eyes. "I wonder why."

Dean shot her a glare before replying, "It's surprising because just before that he was yelling at me for bringing him his stuff back from his ex-psycho's place! First he's mad I saw Ru-bitch and then he's panicking because I yelled at him like she probably did. He misses her, he doesn't miss her, he comes to me for help, he screams he never asked for it. What am I supposed to do with that?"

The table fell silent as the group tried to think around Sam's actions and why he was being so moody. None of the group had been abused themselves and struggled to enter the same mindset as their suffering friend.

Something lit up in Bobby's eyes and he leaned inward, bringing himself closer to Dean and Charlie, as if ready to whisper something scandalous. "What does Sam do during the day?"

Dean rubbed his neck. "I don't know. He's sleeping half the time when I come home. He barely even eats dinner, no idea if he bothers with breakfast or lunch."

"Didn't you say he snuck some weed into your house when you were at work one day?"

Charlie gasped lightly, more shocked at the idea of their innocent little Sam even considering smoking the devil's lettuce than by the actual drug itself. "Sam smokes pot?"

"No," Dean said sternly. "I made him get rid of it when he made my house reek of it."

Bobby groaned in irritation before bringing attention back to himself. "Listen to me, boy. You need to suck it up and go have an adult conversation with your brother. What you're telling us just sounds like he's reacting to everything like an abused man would. If your brother is resorting to smoking weed then he's probably in more pain than he lets on. This is Sam we're talking about."

"He's right, Dean," Charlie agreed. "I know Sam seems to be acting weird to you but it's common for people leaving abusive relationships to flip-flop and act out. Go home today and talk to him. Preferably without more yelling."

The room was spinning and Sam was struggling to keep his eyes open. He wasn't strong enough, he couldn't do what Dean demanded of him. He could hear Ruby and Crowley talking across the room but he didn't listen to the words, only the sounds and how every little noise was like clashing symphonies.

Something slapped his cheek and he stirred, opening his eyes, alerted more by the sound than the contact of skin-on-skin. Crowley was hovering over him with a smug face while Ruby appeared behind him.

"Having a good time there, Moose?"

Sam giggled. "Yeah," he slurred back.

Ruby was suddenly next to him, stroking his long hair and watching his face. She hadn't seen him since he left that night and had missed that big, carefree smile. There was something about his grins that lit up the room.

"Wanna go lay down, Sam?" she asked, her breath tickling his ear. He gulped and lazily moved his eyes across the room, noticing Crowley was on his way out.

He nodded and allowed her to help him to his clumsy feet. It felt like a journey walking back to the bedroom he had known so well, yet when he was sitting down on the mattress it was like only a second of time had passed.

Sam laid back, snuggling his face into the old pillows that smelled like Ruby's shampoo and perfumes. He felt like he finally found the lost piece of the puzzle being here again. Every smell, every touch, every little feeling sent innocent pleasures through his body and deep to the bones. When he opened his eyes he saw Ruby's, only inches away. They were lying together again and it felt amazing.

"I'm sorry I left," he managed to say. "I was scared."

Ruby leaned in closer and kissed his nose.

"I didn't want to be gone."

She raked her fingers through his hair.

"I love you."

When Sam regained consciousness he was hit with the smells of pot and faded perfumes. He opened his eyes and saw he had come down from the intense high of earlier. His state of undress and modesty hidden by bedsheets alone was his hint that everything he remembered was real.

Dean would be so pissed if he knew Sam had sex with Ruby.

Clothes were strewn across the room and Sam reached down to the floor for his abandoned boxers. Once he had more than a sheet to hide his shame, he retrieved each piece of clothing and put it all back on. It was surreal to be back here and so calm.

He left the bedroom to find Ruby sitting on the couch with assorted drugs littering the coffee table. Sam raised a brow before slowly approaching and stopping just a few feet short.

"You're selling now?"

Ruby didn't look up when she replied, "Yeah."

"Guess that explains why Crowley made a house call."

Ruby shook loose hair from her face. "What's happening, Sam?"

The question struck him as both obvious and terrifying. He had been dying to see her again since he left and he had missed her dearly… but now he felt the anxiety trickle back in, the fear she would get mad and yell or break something. He wanted her so bad but didn't know if she would even want him back. Did he want to be back?

"I don't know." Sam took a seat beside the intimidating woman and watched as she weighed and stored grams of marijuana or count baggies of assorted pills.

"You know, Sammy," Ruby batted her long eyelashes and leaned back to come much too close to Sam's body. "Dealers get a cut of the money… and the goods."

He leaned in, feeling a craving for something more. "Yeah?"

"We can feel real good all the time."

"I'd like that."

Their lips collided and they fell back onto the couch as hands worked up and down each other's' bodies. A heat within them began to grow and grow until Ruby pulled back and left Sam feeling suddenly cold and needy.

"All is forgiven but I need you to do just one thing for me, baby."

He took a shaky breath and nodded quickly. "Yeah, sure, anything. What do you need?"

A bottle was placed into Sam's hand but the pills didn't look like the ones he had come to know.
"I just need someone to sample the goods. If Crowley is trying to screw me I need to know now."

Sam's eyes were glued to the bottle in his hand and the different pills inside. Warm fear bloomed in his chest at the thought of doing more drugs, drugs he didn't even know the names of, drugs that could be literally anything.

The lid fell to the floor as he shook a random pill to his palm. "Anything for you."

The plan was set for an intervention of sorts. Charlie was off work and waited at the shop until Dean and Bobby finished up their work. Together they drove off to Dean's house, fully ready to confront Sam in every way they could think of. They were going to be firm, kind, understanding, everything!

They pulled into the driveway and Dean cut the engine. They each left the Impala and marched up the steps of the porch and to the door.

"Sammy!" Dean called into the house, hoping Sam was awake. "Sammy, come out here!" There was no sign of movement anywhere in the house. Dean sighed and turned to Bobby and Charlie. "What'd I say? Asleep half the time."

The guests followed as Dean approached the bedroom door and knocked loudly on it to rouse his brother. There was still no sound. When he opened the door and saw the room to be just as empty as the rest of the house, his heart dropped.

Where was Sam? Why wasn't he home?

Dean frantically ran into the room, checking for Sam's phone, a note, or some kind of reason for his brother to be gone. The bed was unmade and Sam's box and backpack were still inside the room and against the wall.

"Sam knows not to just leave," Dean said more to himself than his company. "He's—he'd at least leave a friggin' note! He had his phone, he could have texted me!"

The growing terror in Dean's voice didn't go unnoticed.

"He doesn't have a car to go anywhere! Where the hell…" Dean ran his hands through his hair in frustration. He paced a minute, trying to figure out where his brother had run to or if Sam had mentioned plans for the day.

Sam never leaves the house! Why was he gone now? Did he call someone? Is he just out taking a walk? Why does he choose now to give his big brother a heart attack?

The frustration kept building alongside the worry and Dean blew up and kicked the nightstand by the bed as hard as he could. Charlie flinched at the violence but Bobby just rolled his eyes.

"Get it together, Dean. Sam's probably just out and—"

"What's that?" Charlie's voice cut through the tension-filled room and cut off Bobby. The men stopped, about to ask what she was talking about when they saw it.

An orange bottle had rolled out from under the bed, the sudden movement of the furniture knocking it loose from its hiding place. Dean bent down and grabbed the foreign object, noting the way the label was torn off and unreadable.

"Sam's not on anything," he said numbly.

Bobby placed a hand on Dean's shoulder. "Apparently he is."

A/N: Sam had a big day!

I can't wait to see how many people I just pissed off with this chapter. Sammy needs his fix.

If anyone's wondering what drugs Sam did with Ruby, just assume Oxy and maybe pot. The mystery pill is forever a mystery. Maybe Percocet. Use your imagination.

Also: I haven't described Ruby's appearance other than general stuff. That's because I want you to imagine whichever version you prefer (which mostly means I just won't refer to eye or hair color for her).

Pick your poison, all Ruby's work just fine.