A/N: Thanks to all that have read and reviewed. I am an inconsiderate jerk for not responding but I have loved reading each and every one. Thanks again for reading and reviewing.

Chapter 4

"Sam Winchester? Is that you?" She asked in as inquisitive a voice as she could possibly express and smiled wide through her furrowed brow when she saw his face take on a look of utter confusion. He was obviously in a state of panic that was bordering on sheer hysterics until she'd asked him the question and she sensed his mind immediately go blank for a moment at the sound of his own name from the unfamiliar lips before jump starting itself again in an effort to figure out who the woman standing before him that had not only amazingly avoided becoming road kill was but that somehow remarkably knew his name as well.

"Have we met?" He finally asked her after a few very long, very awkward minutes of staring and contemplating without coming up with an answer that made any sense.

She looked to be about his age, maybe just a little older, but not much. She had long, beautiful chestnut hair that cascaded over her shoulders in soft curls to the middle of her back and the most fascinating blue-gray eyes Sam was sure he'd ever seen that were surrounded by the creamiest-smooth ivory skin he had probably ever laid eyes on, next to Jessica's. The longer he stared into those soft, gentle eyes, the more transfixed he became. They were so hauntingly familiar to him he couldn't turn his own gaze away and for the moment, there were no other thoughts in his mind but those eyes that stared back at him. 'Where do I know those eyes from?'

"Oh yes, we've met," she told him with another grin that made the corners of those eyes that had him already so spellbound curl up just a little and his attention was now totally hers. "I can't believe you'd forget. Professor Angellini's Ancient Mythology course…Stanford…remember?"

Sam remembered the course, he remembered it well. It had been a sure fire A+ for him his freshman year, considering the subject matter. It had actually been one of the few classes that he had taken that he probably knew more than the professor did, thanks to his father's relentless pursuit of all things evil and supernatural, but as the recollections of the classroom experience all those years ago came back to him, he still could not place the face that stood before him, as hard as he tried and as much as he really wanted to, until one small memory crept into his head. 'No way, it can't be,' he thought to himself, but figured 'What the hell, if I'm wrong, I'm wrong…but I have to be right…but how can that be?'

"Penny? Penny Wiser? Is that you?" He finally said with a small amount of realization in his voice as the name rolled effortlessly off his tongue. He hadn't seen her in nearly three years, and if she said yes, he was in for one hell of a shock.

"You do remember Sam," she nearly screamed as she jumped up and threw her arms around his neck, squeezing him so hard she nearly suffocated him. She hated the feel of him, but it had to be part of the show, so on with it. "It's so good to see you! How have you been?"

Sam was in shock, total and complete shock, so much so that he didn't even know what to say as he wrapped his arms around her and returned her embrace almost as hard as it had been given. The warmth of her touch and the feel of her body as it shuddered against him started a cascade of memories from those days not so long ago yet seemingly gone forever, those brief, happy days that seemed to be nothing more than a dream at times, like someone else had lived them for him and left him with nothing but mental snapshots and fuzzy recollections. He felt like he could just stand there and hold on to her forever, he was that lost in his thoughts of the not so distant past that had felt like a lifetime ago. She didn't know how much she had meant to him, but she had changed the course of his life forever when she had introduced him to her roommate Jessica when he came to tutor her in the subject matter, and for that she would always hold a special place in his heart, no matter how pained it may be. Fate had arranged them alphabetically together and somehow made all three fast friends, friends and more.

"Sam…your crushing me…" she whispered into his ear with a single breath and Sam instantly relaxed his grip on her and let her back down, totally unaware he had even lifted her off the ground in the first place. He held her at arm's length and gawked, marveling at what he saw. She was definitely not the same girl he had seen on graduation day of 2003.

"Penny…I can't believe it's you…wow…you look great!" He stammered as he stared, remembering the amply chubby girl that had been seated behind him in a classroom long ago that was now an incredibly attractive, voluptuous woman with curves Sam couldn't seem to take his eyes off of. He stared at her for what seemed like forever until he suddenly remembered why they were standing there in the first place and could barely keep hold of his emotions. "Oh my god, did I hit you? Are you hurt?"

"I'm fine Sam, just a little dusty and dirty is all. I don't think you even hit me, I think you hit my bag instead and it kind of knocked me over," she laughed, kicking the heavy pack that sat at her feet with the toe of her hiking booted.

"Thank god, I thought I killed someone," he stated as he breathed a heavily audible sigh of relief before shifting back to the original conversation, "It's been nearly three years Penny, what the hell happened to you after you left? Man, I can't believe how great you look, I didn't even recognize you."

"Thanks Sam," she graciously replied. "It's amazing what a couple years in an African village with barely any food or water will do for you."

"What?" Sam exclaimed, confused yet again. He and Jessica both had lost contact with her not long after she had graduated with rest of the class, but he hadn't really known why. All he could really remember was that she had pretty much just dropped off the face of the planet. "What were you doing in Africa?"

"I joined the Peace Corp Sam, after my parents died two years ago…"

"I'm sorry, I didn't know," Sam interrupted; surprised at the fact that she had never shared that with Jess. They may have been polar opposites, but they had been the closest of friends during their time together, at least until she had left for destinations unknown.

"It's ok Sam, nobody did. I didn't exactly feel like sharing at the time and decided to just run away. I guess I just needed to find myself and I wasn't really looking in the right places. It's amazing how much strength you can get from helping other people that just can't help themselves sometimes. I think I'm finally in a good place in my life now. I actually just got back a couple months ago and decided to hitchhike across the country just for the sake of doing it before figuring out what to do next, so…two and half years and ninety pounds later, here I am. What about you, what are you doing out here in the middle of nowhere?"

"Just road tripping with Dean after…" Sam started, and his face went pale the second the name 'Dean' escaped his lips.

"Your brother Dean?" She asked him inquisitively as her eyes lit up and drifted towards the car. "Where is he? I'd love to see him again. The first time wasn't a very pleasant experience, if I remember correctly."

Her reminder to him of that particular weekend that Sam would rather forget had ever happened finally broke his intense concentration of every word she was saying, that and the fact that he saw the passenger side door of the Impala slowly drifting open out of the corner of his eye. He turned his full attention along with his head towards the car as his brother made a monumental effort to stumble out of it. His movements were slow and pained as he cut nearly half the distance between the car and himself as Sam stood there and watched transfixed. He was sure Dean would fall over with each step he tried to take as he staggered forward with one hand wrapped around his waist and another clutched firmly against his head.

"Oh shit…Dean," he bellowed into the cool night air as he turned from Penny and rushed to his brother's side.

Sam had been right in his assumptions of his brother's ability, or rather inability, to walk and as Dean started his inevitable fall forward, he caught him in his arms before he could land face first in the gravel of the road's shoulder and lowered him and himself to the ground. Sam grimaced when he felt the rising heat coming from Dean's body and knew it wasn't going to be long before the guns sounded and horses took off from their gates. He was twice as hot and twice as sweaty as he had been when he was lying on the ground not all that long ago as his body shook while he retched hard in Sam's arms five miles back. He'd also gotten 'that' look in his eyes; that lost, vacant stare that told him Dean wasn't really up there anymore. Judging by that look, time had pretty much run out now.

"Sammy…" he mumbled as he tried to focus on his brother's face through his glassy eyes now that the two of them were planted hard on the cold ground together again, "What the hell happened?"

"It's alright Dean, everything's alright. What are you doing out of the car?" Sam demanded through a worrisome tone. He could see Dean was in no condition to do or say much of anything anymore and knew they needed to get somewhere soon, really soon.

"I got worried when you didn't come back," he whispered, his deteriorating physical and mental condition removing any inhibitions he may have had about expressing his inner feelings as he reached up and rested a shaky hand on Sam's shoulder after brushing it against his cheek and made a small effort to sit up. "Are you ok?"

"Yes Dean, I said everything's alright," Sam tried to remain calm as that sickening feeling started to return to his stomach now that one crisis had passed and he could focus on the other, more pressing situation at hand. "You're not alright though and we need to get to a motel now before you start…"

"Ohhh…too late…" Dean nearly screamed when the stabbing pains struck him in the stomach first, then seemed to take a path directly to his head and he didn't really know which one to grab at first. With only two hands, he just took hold of his head and curled into a ball before rolling onto his side while his sweat soaked upper body rested in Sam's lap.

"Good god Sam, what's wrong?" Penny frantically asked as she dropped down to her knees next to the brothers and reached for Dean, who had not been able to shut himself off entirely just yet and tried to look at the strange, yet somewhat familiar voice coming from out of nowhere. From out of nowhere now that he could barely see anything but blinding white light anymore.

"Do I know you?" He barely got out in a whisper as he unconsciously extended a hand to her, and to Sam's surprise, his brother stilled somewhat when she took it in her own. Sam looked at her questioningly when he felt Dean relax just a little and she just shrugged her shoulders as she answered the agonized man.

"We've met once, but I doubt you remember," she softly and gently stated and paused to let him listen before continuing. "I think you were just as sick then too," she then finished as she gave his a hand another comforting squeeze.

Dean didn't know why her touch felt so good to him and he really didn't care. The instant she had taken his hand in hers and started stroking it with her thumb, the blinding agony in his head had reduced itself to only an intense but almost bearable pain, nearly leaving him with the ability to see again. The shooting pains that had started in his stomach and had shot out in just about every direction possible that caused him to pull his knees up to his chest in his own defense against the invisible enemy invading him had settled into just his gut now and he could actually breathe just about normally. Sam immediately saw the change in Dean and planned on using it to his advantage, if an advantage is what you could call it.

"Dean, this is Penny. She's a friend of mine from school. She's going to sit here with you while I run to the car and get the bag, ok?" He told his brother and waited for him to either say or shake his head yes before he left him.

"S'okay Sammy, I'm ok," he mumbled. He could sit with her all night for all he cared if she kept the worst part of the pain away. "The pretty girl will take care of me while you're gone."

Sam caught Penny's stare in his own and was clearly asking her for her help with just his desperate look. She could see he was way beyond upset and had Dean not been in such a bad state as he laid on the ground before them both she would have enjoyed it. She did still have that axe to grind against him, but for now there was nothing she could do about it. But this wasn't about Sam, this was about Dean. She shook her head at him and extended her free hand in an inviting gesture and as Sam slid out from under his brother she took his place beneath him, supporting his head and shoulders as she stroked his brow. He'd briefly let out a pained moan then fell still as he lay against her, barely moving anymore at all.

Sam ran to the car, threw the trunk open, jerked his duffle out and turned around in a matter of seconds before sprinting the short distance back to his brother and dropping himself and his bag down on the ground next to him. He ripped the zipper open hard and tore through the bag desperately in search of something and let out a loud sigh when he finally found what he'd been in search of. She watched with a hidden smile as he pulled out the small glass bottle she'd given him back at the emergency room in Michigan, a needle, a bottle of water and a brown bottle of some kind of prescription drug. He tore open the needle, filled it with the fluid in the bottle and proceeded to shoot it into his brother's upper arm through his shirt and all. Sam was surprised at the response he got, considering he usually got none at all.

"Ow, what the hell was that for Sam?" He half slurred, half whined like a delirious child, and Sam was actually happy to hear him saying anything at all. 'Maybe this isn't going to be as bad as I thought it would be.'

"It's gonna stop you from throwing up anymore so I can get this Demerol and some water in you without you puking it right back up, and hopefully you won't end up in the hospital later."

"Water would be good, my mouth tastes like shit," he continued to grouse and Sam enjoyed hearing each and every complaint Dean made, totally ready and hoping for more.

Sam opened the water bottle and pressed it against his brother's lips, the action not getting the response Sam had expected. Even with shaking hands, Dean took the bottle from his brother and slowly drew in the somewhat warm liquid inside, determined to actually help himself. Sam just let him do it and silently took one of Dean's hands away and pressed two of the tablets from the brown bottle into it, which he forced down by himself as well. After drinking in half the bottle he'd had enough and as his eyes started drifting closed, the bottle started to tip. Sam caught it before it splashed to the ground and he recapped it before tossing it back into the bag, then gathered up the bag and tossed it back in the trunk along with Penny's. After seeing the calming effect she had on Dean, Sam didn't care what it took, she was coming with them.

The simple act of drinking water added to whatever pain he still had that he was doing his best to hide must have exhausted him, and Dean was nearly on the verge of sleep. Sam knew it, Penny knew it, and Sam wanted him back in the car before he was all dead weight and he'd have to move him entirely on his own.

"Dean, come on, we need to get out of here," Sam somewhat barked in the hopes of jolting him into some sort of consciousness before his lights went totally out and couldn't be turned back on until his body was ready to flip the switch itself. He grabbed his brother by the arm with one hand and hoisted him upright as gently as he possible could without a word of warning as he wrapped the other one around Dean's waist and held him in a standing position until he could get his feet underneath him.

He tried as hard as he could, but he just couldn't keep his feet firmly on the ground and Penny watched as he started going down, taking Sam with him. She jumped off the ground like a cat and caught the two of them before they could hit the ground together, holding Dean up as Sam quickly regained is balance.

She wrapped an arm tightly around Dean's waist as he unconsciously draped his own over her shoulder and it immediately hit her heightened senses how violently ill he had become just since leaving the last gas station she'd followed them from. The effects of her poison were still staunchly in control of him even after all these weeks and she knew it was bad when the scent of hot sweat and stale vomit assaulted her keen sense of smell. She knew that scent; she had burned it into her memory that long night so many months ago when she'd been hunting him in the dirty, old asylum, hell bent on eliminating him at all costs. This time though, she was hell bent on just the opposite. She would help him get well, get him through this, and make sure it never happened again.

She stroked the hot, wet flesh on the back of his hand as she held it in her own and supported half his weight as Sam had the other half and they slowly carried Dean back to the car. She lowered herself into the back seat first and surprisingly brought Dean down and drew him in with her with barely any assistance from Sam as she slid across the smooth leather to the other side, resting his limp head in her anxiously awaiting lap.

"Think you can give a girl a lift into town Sam?" She coyly smiled as she rested a hand on his brother's chest.

"I think it's the least I can do," he told her through his own scared smile. Taking hold of his brother's feet, he lifted them up and bent Dean's legs at the knees before gently rested them on the seat and closing the door behind him.

'That was entirely too easy,' she thought as she watched Sam climb in, start the engine and pull back out onto the road as she held Dean's sick and tortured body in her lap, enjoying the sound of every breath he took.