Author's Note: Hey guys! Sorry for the lull, but has been having a lot of problems and for some reason, they didn't want to let me post. Seriously guys, an exorcism needs to be done on this site.

Anyway, I thank you for all of your reviews and I give you a new chapter...it's a little longer than my last chapter, but I figured I owed that much to you!

Let me know what you think!

A delightful mixture of smells woke Dean from his peaceful slumber. He groggily raised his head and saw Alicia taking a couple of large Styrofoam food packages out of a brown paper bag. She smiled at him when she saw he was watching her.

"I didn't mean to wake you," Alicia apologized.

"No, it's okay," Dean said as he rubbed his eyes.

"You looked like you were sleeping peacefully."

"I actually was," Dean admitted slightly surprised by that fact. He supposed that's what happened when you had your mother right beside you, telling you everything would be okay. He felt like he was four years old again, his mom soothing him with the sound of her voice and tucking him gently into bed. It actually made his heart ache, knowing what he missed growing up without a mother, but then again he knew he was lucky. At least he'd gotten four good years with Mary; Sam only had six months with her and it was six months he would never remember.

"You don't do that very often?" Alicia asked, pulling out a couple of drinks out of a small brown paper bag.

"Not really, not with what we do."

Alicia nodded and Dean was happy she didn't question it any further. "You hungry?"

"Starved."

"Well, help yourself. I didn't know what you liked, so I thought I would introduce you to a Southern Christmas dinner—turkey, dressing, sweet potatoes, green beans, and rolls."

Dean smiled as he walked over to the small table and took a seat. His stomach growled its approval and he quickly dug into the dressing. The instant the cornbread mixture hit his tongue, Dean thought he's died and gone to heaven. It had been a long time since the older hunter had a decent home-cooked meal and he had to admit it was one the best he'd ever had.

"God, this is incredible!" Dean said between bites. "Where did you get this?"

Alicia smiled. "Up the road at Rosie's Home Cooking. She never closes, not even for Christmas. She thinks everyone deserves a good meal, any day of the week."

"Thank God for that."

Alicia nodded and began to eat her meal. They ate in comfortable silence, enjoying the good meal and each other's company. Finally, Dean pushed away his plate and took a sip of his sweet tea, which turned out to be the best damned tea he's ever had.

"I have a question," Dean said as Alicia worked on her roll.

"Ask away."

"You were talking to me earlier about faith and asking if I believed."

"I did."

"Now, I'm not saying that I all of a sudden found the grace of God, but…what if I saw something?"

"Like what?"

Dean hesitated, wondering for a second if Alicia would even believe him. It wasn't everyday you had a lengthy conversation with your long-dead mother and Dean didn't want to scare the nurse off by thinking he belonged in a loony bin. He saw that she was looking at him expectantly, so he decided to trudge ahead.

"I saw my mom."

"You mean as in a dream?"

"I mean as in I'm not sure if it was a dream or not," Dean admitted.

"Oh." Alicia sat back in her chair and Dean thought he had finally managed to run her off. Instead, she surprised him by smiling and nodding. "What did she say?"

Dean could very well tell her what Mary said about Sam, what his brother was doing while he was lying in a slightly catatonic state. He could even tell her somehow he managed to go back in time and snag a front row seat to a flashback involving his brother. But, again, the threat of her very possibly calling the psych ward and having him carted away convinced him otherwise.

"She just told me everything was going to be okay, that she's watching over Sammy and me."

"Just because you saw your mother, Dean, doesn't mean you have to be a believer. Maybe she thought you could use a helping hand, to put your mind at ease about your brother."

"So, it's not weird?"

"Oh, no, it's weird," Alicia said quickly.

Dean ducked his head down, embarrassed.

Alicia chuckled. "I'm kidding, Dean. I don't think it's weird at all. If anything, I think it's a blessing."

"It felt nice, but weird at the same time, you know? This kind of stuff doesn't happen to me, it's more Sammy's thing."

"Maybe she thought you could use it more."

"Maybe…"

"It's best not to question it, Dean. You've been handed a wonderful gift, a gift many people would love to receive. You got a chance to speak to your mother. I would give anything to get the chance to speak to my grandmother one more time."

Dean thought about it—he didn't want to come off as if he was questioning what happened. He guessed it was reassurance he was looking for. He wanted reassurance that what he saw was real. He'd had faith tested and tossed aside too many times and he wasn't willing to allow it to happen again.

"I'm sorry…I didn't mean to preach to you," Alicia said, cheeks turning red.

"You didn't," Dean said quickly.

Alicia smiled but Dean wasn't sure if she believed him or not. She started to reach for her jacket on the back of her chair and Dean was sure he'd finally succeeded in running her off. She caught him by complete surprise when she pulled out a deck of cards and shot him a challenging look.

"So, tell me, Dean…do you know anything about poker?"

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

The lonely stretch of road spread for miles ahead of Sam. After Jess left, he found himself walking, wandering around aimlessly. He didn't know or care where he was going, he just had to walk. He always found it cleared his head and at that moment, he head definitely needed clearing.

He was still reeling from his encounter with Jess—he had to admit, seeing her again really did a number on him emotionally, his thoughts conflicting and in a constant battle with his psyche. He was trilled to be given the chance to see her, to speak to her just one more time. He would have given anything and everything to get that chance and it turned out all he had to do was have a fight with Dean and get hit by a car. He'd have to keep that in mind for future reference…

Chuckling softly, Sam amused himself with that thought as it ran through his mind. He was more than sure Dean wouldn't approve if he did that again. He didn't like putting his brother through all this grief, he never liked hurting Dean. But he'd had to find the answers he was searching for and if that meant getting a few good hours of sleep and Dean freaking out, then that was how it had to be.

Sam inhaled deeply, taking in the fresh outdoor scent of the Minnesota woods. It was calming to him, even though he walked in complete silence. Not one single car had passed, but Sam was sure it wouldn't matter anyway, since he was invisible to everything and everyone. That was why the voice behind him caught him by complete surprise.

"You look lost, Sam."

Sam stopped walking and whirled around, instantly recognizing the woman speaking to him. But how was that possible? How could she be dead? He hadn't heard she'd passed, then again, he didn't really get a chance to keep up with everyone and all the news when he and Dean were constantly on the move.

"Layla?"

Layla Rourke smiled at him. "You seem surprised to see me."

"Yeah," Sam admitted. "Actually, I am."

"I can understand that. I'm still getting used to it myself."

"Getting used to what?"

"Being dead."

Sam laughed, but instantly cringed. Why the hell was he laughing at her? She was dead for God's sakes and here he was laughing as if she had told the funniest joke he'd ever heard. But given what he'd witnessed in the last few hours, he was beginning to wonder if he was on the verge of cracking. Still, that didn't give him an excuse to laugh. Real smooth, Sam, a real class act.

But Layla just shook her head and smiled at his stricken face. "It's okay, Sam. It was a joke."

Sam let out a sigh of relief as he looked at the young woman standing before him. Even though it had been almost a year since he and Dean had left Layla and Nebraska far behind in their rearview mirror, she still looked as she did the day he met her. The only difference this time being she looked full of life, with rosy cheeks, bright brown eyes, and glowing blonde hair.

"When did you—"

"Die? A couple of months after you and Dean left."

"I'm sorry," Sam offered lamely.

"Don't be. I'm in a better place now, where I'm not hurting. I feel whole again, which is something I haven't felt in a long time."

"It really is good to see you again, Layla."

"You too, Sam." Layla paused. "How's Dean?"

"Dean is…Dean," Sam said as if that explained everything.

Layla surprised him by nodding, as if that was all she needed to hear. "I'm glad to hear that."

"So…I guess you're here to show me the future."

"I am."

"How did you get stuck with this gig?"

"I wanted to do it," Layla answered.

"Really?"

Layla shrugged. "Maybe I needed to take on one more pity case before I could earn my wings."

Sam smiled. "You mean you don't already have them?"

"Have you heard any bells ringing?"

Sam chuckled, appreciating Layla's sense of humor. It was breaking up the seriousness of the situation and Sam welcomed the distraction.

"Are you ready to get started?" Layla asked softly.

"I guess now's a good as time as any."

Layla smiled. "I'm going to show you three things, Sam. I'll show you what will become of you and Dean together if you decide to stick with him; I'll show you how Dean would fare if he didn't have you and I'll show you how Dean would be if you chose not to continue with him."

"They gave you the heavy workload," Sam commented.

Layla's smile widened. "It's okay to be nervous, Sam. By all means, you should be. The future is a scary thing to see, to think about. It's frightening to know what your life will become before you have the chance to live it."

Sam nodded. He had to admit, this part of the "journey" scared him the most. With the past and present, he knew what happened as far as he and Dean were concerned, he could brace himself for what he was going to witness then. But the future? It wasn't something he could control, anticipate. That fact alone scared him shitless.

He took a deep calming breath and glanced up at Layla. "I'm ready."

"What the hell…"

The scene before the two Winchester brothers was one of complete chaos. A path of destruction could be seen for miles—trees twisted at odd angles, cars flipped on top of each other, decimated homes and businesses, and downed power lines were just the beginning of it. It almost appeared as if a nuclear explosion hit the small town of Collins, Oklahoma, but the brothers knew better. The destruction wasn't caused by man or any supernatural creature they hunted; this was Mother Nature at her worst, the truest of all evils.

Looking out the window of his brother's Impala, Sam could only stare in awe and shock at the commotion going on around him. He and Dean had managed to get to Collins just after the tornado hit, but listening to the radio, he found out the roads were now closed off. People were hugging each other in the streets, sobbing and covered in blood, walking around as if in a daze. The young psychic's heart bled for these people, they appeared as if they still hadn't fully comprehended what had just conspired here and he was sure they wouldn't for a while yet.

"Dean…" he said softly.

Dean nodded, eyes roaming over everything. "Yeah…"

Sam looked over to see Dean wearing the same awed expression he was. It was no wonder why—everyday, they went after the things that went bump in the night, things people were too afraid to admit actually existed. They fought the good fight everyday, but dealing with Mother Nature was a different story—she wasn't something that could easily be defeated. She was a bitch and she struck relentlessly each and every day, in every corner of the world.

"We have to do something, Dean."

"What?" his older brother asked. "Sam, these people are having a rough enough time as it is dealing with this. The last thing they need is two complete strangers butting there noses in and possibly making it worse."

"Dean, look at this place. There could be people trapped in those buildings. We have nothing to rush to, we could help."

Dean glanced at his brother and was about to argue even more when a disheveled woman with mussed, short brown hair and blood running down her face, ran in front of the Impala. Even though Dean was only coasting along, he slammed on his brakes to avoid hitting her.

"Please! Can you help us?"

Dean and Sam exchanged glances, then Sam rolled down his window which the woman promptly ran to.

"What do you need?" Sam asked in a gentle voice.

"The school…kids…trapped," the woman answered, breathlessly.

"You have kids trapped in the school?" Sam asked feeling his mouth go dry, trying to make sense of what the hysterical woman was telling them.

"Yes!"

Sam didn't even check with Dean before answering—his mind was made up and nothing his older brother could say would change it. "We'll help. Just calm down and tell us where the school is."

"It's over there." The woman pointed shakily behind her. Sam followed her finger to see a red brick building, half of it in ruins. Windows were shattered along the left wall and the roof was caved in along the wall as well.

"Okay," Sam answered.

The woman nodded and rushed over to a cluster of women who were bleeding and sobbing. He watched as she spoke to them and gestured wildly towards the brothers.

"Are you kidding, Sam? We can't go in that building, it's too dangerous."

"I'm not leaving those kids trapped in there, Dean."

"We're not exactly prepared to go in there, ourselves."

"Dean we have to help them…please." Sam watched as Dean cringed when he said the magic word. It was a low-blow on his part and he knew it. Dean never could deny him when he said it. It had helped Sam get Dean to do a lot of things he wouldn't normally do when they were growing up. But Sam also knew there was no way Dean was going to let those kids stay in that building, he wouldn't be able to.

"Dammit, Sammy," Dean muttered as he pushed his door open. Sam bit back a grin as he followed his brother to the trunk of the car. Dean opened it and started pulling out flashlights and an ax. Sam reached in and grabbed the first aid kit and trailed after Dean as the older man made his way to the group of women.

"Where are the emergency crews?" he asked.

"They haven't been able to get here, yet," the woman who stopped them said. "The roads are blocked and until they can get the cleared, we're on our own."

"Why are there kids still in the building? Don't you have an evacuation plan, a basement, or something to take cover?"

"We have a basement, but a few of the kids must have gone back for Rufus."

"Who the hell is Rufus?" Dean didn't mean to snap at the woman, but he couldn't for the life of him begin to understand why they would let a group of kids go unsupervised to get a "Rufus."

"Rufus is our class hamster. The kids didn't want to leave him alone."

"Why didn't someone go with them? Why didn't a teacher go get the damn hamster?"

"They must have snuck off. We never realized they were gone until the tornado was over and they weren't with the rest of the students."

"All right, my brother and I are going to go in and see if we can get the kids out. I don't want anyone else in that building, you understand?"

"But we could help," a middle aged man spoke up walking towards the group.

"No, you could get yourself killed. We can't worry about keeping you safe while we're trying to help the kids. You just stay out here and wait for us to get them out." Dean turned to his baby brother. "Come on, Sam."

Sam followed Dean wordlessly to the school. He couldn't fault his brother for how he spoke to the crowd—Dean was worried and though he wouldn't admit it, afraid. He was afraid of what they would find in there, what could happen to them. Sam knew that because he feared the same thing, as well.

They cautiously made their way around the building where they found a door propped open. Giving Sam a flashlight, Dean turned his on and led the way into the building.

The inside of the building didn't look any better than the outside did. Florescent lighting hung from the ceiling by their wires and papers, books, and glass littered the floors. Every now and then, electrical sparks rained down on their heads, but the hunters ignored it and trudged forward.

"Hello?" Dean called out into the darkness.

"Anyone in here?" Sam added.

The brothers walked in silence, listening for any sounds. Finally after a few tense minutes, Sam heard a couple of faint cries off to his left.

"Dean, you hear that?"

Dean concentrated and finally heard what his brother did. He looked down the hallway and pointed to the left. "It came from down there."

Sam nodded and followed Dean, being careful of the debris that seemed to get thicker as they progressed down the hall.

"Hey!" Dean yelled.

"Somebody, help us!" a young girl's voice cried out.

Sam and Dean glanced at each other and took off quickly down the hall, being careful of the debris. They came to a classroom, where the door was barely cracked open.

"Are you in there?" Dean asked.

"Yes, we can't get out," said the same little girl. She started to sob and Dean looked over at Sam, nodding and then turning his attention to the door, trying to figure out how to safely open it.

"Hey. What's your name?" Sam asked through the crack in the door.

"Emma."

"Emma, my name is Sam. Can you tell me how old you are, Emma?"

"Nine."

"What grade are you in?"

"Fourth."

Dean swore softly and Sam glanced back at him. "I'm going to have to kick it open. You need to get those kids back."

"Emma, I need you to listen to me, okay?"

"Okay."

"My brother, Dean, is going to get the door open but we need you to move away from it."

"Okay," came the small reply.

"Tell us when you're ready," Sam said.

There was silence except for the scurry of little feet behind the door. Finally, after a minute, Emma called out they were ready.

Sam nodded to Dean, who handed the younger man in his flashlight. Dean stepped back and brought his foot up, firmly kicking it against the door. It budged a little so Dean repeated the process until the door was opened wide enough for Sam to fit his lanky body through. Not wasting any time, Sam returned Dean's flashlight to him and entered the room. He searched the room, his eyes finally landing on the far corner where a group of kids were huddled together, sobbing.

"It's okay," he said soothingly. "We're going to get you out of here."

The kids looked up at him and nodded, though Sam could see the evident fear in their eyes. "You guys are doing a great job, okay? I need to know if everyone is okay, are any of you hurt?"

"Jake is," Emma, a small framed brunette answered.

"Where is he?" Sam moved closer to the kids and they scattered away so he could see Jake, a tall boy with shaggy blonde hair. He was lying on the ground, clutching his leg tightly with one hand, and the other was wrapped firmly around a small white cage. Moving some small debris, Sam knelt next to the kid, shining his flashlight on the wound, which was bleeding.

"What happened, Jake?"

"One of the lights fell on my leg," the child answered. "It cut it open."

Sam nodded at the cage. "Who's your little friend?"

Jake smiled a toothy smile. "This is Rufus. He's our class pet."

Sam gently moved Jake's hand and saw the deep three inch gash that ran along the boy's thigh. Opening up the first aid kit, Sam pulled out the roll of gauze and wrapped it tightly around the leg, staunching the blood flow.

"Is Jake going to be okay?" a boy asked quietly.

Sam turned and nodded at the chubby red head. "He's going to be fine."

"Good."

"Sam, is everyone okay in there?" Dean called from the hallway.

"Yeah, but we got an injured kid. We need to get them out of here, Dean."

"All right."

Sam focused his attention once more on the children. They were all looking at him fearfully and expectantly. He had to get these kids out of here before anything else happened. The creaking he'd been hearing worried him and he was afraid of any more debris coming down on the kids.

"You guys ready to get out of here?"

The children nodded.

"Okay, I'm going to help you out the door where my brother is waiting. I want you to listen to what he tells you because he's going to get you out of here."

"What about Jake? He can't walk," Emma said.

"Don't worry about Jake, I'll get him out." Sam ushered the children to the door where he handed them off to Dean one at a time. Dean grabbed them and helped them into the hallway. Finally, the only child who remained in the room was Jake.

"Dean, get them out of here. I'm going to grab Jake and we'll be right behind you."

"Hurry up, Sam. I'm not sure how much time you have left before things start falling."

"Yeah, I've been hearing a lot of creaking in here. I'm not sure how much longer the roof's going to last."

"Move it, then."

Sam just shook his head at his brother's bossy tone and made his way towards Jake, who was trying his best to fight off sleep. That's not good…he's about to go into shock. But before Sam could take three steps, a loud creaking sounded above his head. He glanced up just as the roof caved in and rained down on him in a hail of sheetrock and metal.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dean heard the commotion in the classroom as he ushered the group of children down the hall. He felt his heart plummet into his stomach as a single thought penetrated his mind—Sam, hurt! Torn between helping the children out of the school and his concern for his baby brother, Dean didn't know what to do. He knew he had to get these children out of here and fast. Sam would be pissed if Dean chose him over the kids. Damn conscience…

"Come on," he said through gritted teeth. He quickly whisked the children out of the school and watched as they ran as fast as they could to the group of adults.

"What's going on in there?" the woman from earlier asked.

"I'm not sure, but I think the roof just collapsed in the classroom," Dean said quickly. He didn't have time to sit out here and chit-chat, he had to get back to Sam.

The woman turned her attention to the children and began to count heads. "Where's Jake?" she asked, frowning.

"He's still inside—with my brother," Dean said tersely.

"What? Is he okay?"

Dean finally lost his patience with the woman. "Look, quit asking me questions. I need to get back in there and see what happened. Where the hell are the emergency crews?"

The woman flinched at his tone. "We just called…they said they were trying to get here as fast as they could."

"It's not fast enough," Dean growled. He didn't wait to hear a response as he rushed back into the school. He had to get to Sam, had to make sure he wasn't hurt. Nothing else mattered at that point except Sammy.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Sam groggily lifted his head from the floor as the dust settled around him. He coughed a bit as the dust assaulted his nostrils and instantly regretted it as pain wracked through his body. The last thing he remembered was the roof raining down on him and then he must have blacked out for a few minutes. He couldn't move the lower part of his body, and using the faint light from the cloudless sky, he saw that a portion of the roof was resting on his legs. But wait a minute—there was something else nagging at his cloudy mind…

Jake!

Feeling a slight movement underneath him, Sam realized he was on top of Jake. He must have shielded the boy with his body at the last possible moment. The small boy coughed and wriggled away from Sam, wincing in pain from his leg injury.

"Jake, are you okay?"

"Yeah, I think so," the little boy said quietly.

"Good." Sam smiled slightly as he saw the small white cage the boy was clutching. "How's Rufus?"

"He's okay." Jake smiled, but then frowned when he saw the section of roof lying on Sam. "Are you okay?"

Sam didn't want to scare the child so he said, "I'm fine." The truth was, the young hunter was hurting. He felt a dull throbbing pain in his right ankle and figured he'd managed to either severely sprain it or it was broken.

"Are you sure?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, Jake. I'm just a little stuck."

Sam heard a rush of footsteps he recognized instantly, outside the door. "Sam, you still in there? You okay?"

"Yeah, we're in here, Dean. The roof collapsed."

"Are you hurt?"

"My ankle—I think it may be broken."

"Dammit," he heard Dean mutter. "What about the kid? Is he okay?"

"Yeah, Dean, he's fine."

"Can you move around? Get out of there?"

"No, part of the roof fell on me. I can't move it."

"Son of a bitch!"

"Dean…" Sam looked at Jake, but the boy just shrugged and clutched the cage tighter to his chest.

"Sorry," Dean said. "All right, listen to me. I'm going to get you out of there, okay? I just need you to hold on."

"Can you get through the door?" Sam asked.

"No, it's blocked in again," Dean said, pounding against it in frustration. "Don't worry, Sammy. I'll figure out a way to get the two of you out."

"Be careful, Dean."

Sam heard the faint sounds of sirens approaching.

"Sammy, I'll be right back. Just hang on, okay?"

"Not like I can go anywhere."

It was soft, but Sam could have sworn he heard Dean mutter "bitch."

"Jerk!" Sam yelled out in response.

"Is he going to get us out of here?" Jake asked quietly.

"Yeah, Jake, just as soon as he can."

"Good." The boy remained quiet for a few minutes. "So…is he your big brother?"

"Yes, he is." My big brother, my protector, my guardian, my life.

"That's cool."

"Yeah, it is." Sam smiled. "Do you have any brothers or sisters, Jake?"

"I used to have a big brother," Jake said softly.

Sam heard the hurt and pain in the boy's small voice and his heart ached. He wanted to do something to comfort him, but he didn't know what to do. How do you comfort someone who lost his brother? It was impossible, though Sam never experienced it himself. He didn't know how the kid was feeling, he could only guess.

"Do you want to talk about it, Jake?"

"I—I guess so."

"Okay." Sam tried to shift his body do he could get a little more comfortable, but it was hard with the section of roof acting as deadweight on his legs. "What was your brother's name?"

"Colin."

"What happened to him, Jake?"

The boy sniffled ."He was killed in a car crash last year on his seventeenth birthday."

"I'm sorry to hear that, Jake."

"Yeah…" he sniffled again. "Colin was the best big brother ever. He used to do all kinds of things with me—he took me fishing, we went to baseball games, we did everything. He always watched out for me."

"He was your hero," Sam stated.

"Yeah…does your brother do that for you, Sam?"

Everyday of my life. "Yes, Jake, Dean always watches out for me."

"That's what big brothers are supposed to do," Jake explained.

"Yes, it is."

"Is your brother bossy?"

Sam laughed. Did this kid really know Dean or what? "Dean is always bossy."

"Big brothers are supposed to do that, too."

"Yes, they are, Jake." And really, Sam wouldn't have it any other way. Yes, Dean could be as bossy and stubborn with the best of them, but he did it for a reason—Sam. Sam knew at the end of the day, Dean was still going to be there for him, waiting for him. No matter what else went wrong in the world, Sam could depend on his brother always being there for him.

"Hey, Jake, I have an idea," Sam said. He felt he owed something to the kid, something Dean provided him with everyday—love and protection. Jake deserved to have the same thing he did—a brother to look up to.

"What is it?" Jake asked.

"How would you like for me to be your big brother?"

"Would you really do that for me?" Jake's excited voice asked.

"I wouldn't be able to stick around here, but you could always call me or email me anytime you needed to talk."

"I would like that."

"I would, too. I always wanted to be a big brother."

"I'll be the best little brother ever!" Jake said proudly.

"I know you will, Jake."

"Hey, Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Thanks for being here with me."

"I wouldn't want to be anywhere else."

"SAM!"

Sam's head jerked up when he heard his brother's voice once again.

"Help's here, Sammy. We're gonna get you and Jake out of there…"

As you can see, John is not the third guide. And I have a reason for that: Layla always left such a memorable impression on me and I wanted to bring her back. She seemed like such a logical choice for me. I didn't want John to be the guide, because I figured it would lead to a huge argument between he and Sam.