Jess turned over in bed, feeling something wasn't right, and wondered if Sam was having another nightmare. That's when she realized he wasn't in bed at all. The sound of a scuffle and then muted voices echoed through from another part of the apartment. Wondering what was going on, she got up, rubbing at her eyes.
She made her way toward the living room, walking quietly down the familiar dark hallway. She recognized Sam's distinctive voice, but the other was a total stranger's. As she reached the entryway, she flipped on the light switch. "Sam?"
Her scholar was standing on the left, a shorter man in a dark maroon colored jacket on the right.
She stared, her mind comparing the two and finding them seemingly as different as night and day. Sam's hair and bangs were long, his hair dark, while the other man's hair was cropped close and of a much lighter shade. Sam's usual clothes gave him a casual relaxed air, while the dark coat, jeans, and utilitarian boots gave the newcomer more of a butch feel. He didn't look like someone her lover would know. Who could he be?
"Jess." Sam seemed out of breath. "Hey."
As far as she could tell Sam seemed to be all right. Though the stranger did look surprised to see her there, as if he didn't know about her.
"Dean, this is my girlfriend, Jessica."
The stranger started to smile. So did she. That's when it hit her. "Wait, you mean your brother Dean?"
Dean pointed at her, giving her a quick overall look. "I love the Smurfs." He strode over to her as if they hadn't just met. "You know, I gotta tell you. You are completely out of my brother's league."
She was amused. She couldn't help it. He was talking the talk, even giving her something of the eye, but she'd been through this many times before and startlingly realized his gaze never actually really swept her up and down, undressing her as so many of them did. Like Sam, when he looked at you, he did it in the face, acknowledging you existed. It was rather surprising and definitely strange, especially with the words coming from his mouth. When Sam told her his brother wasn't shy, this looked to have been somewhat of an understatement.
Behind all this though came the awareness that all she did have on was her cut grey Smurf t-shirt and red and white short shorts. Definitely not proper attire to meet your lover's brother in. "Just let me go put something on."
"Oh no, no, I wouldn't dream of it. Seriously."
Again the words coming from Dean's mouth didn't match his actual actions. His gaze never left hers. Was it some odd Winchester trait? And how could they spread it to others?
Jess threw a glance in Sam's direction and noticed he had a very serious look on his face. This gave her a small pang of worry. What time was it? Had Dean called before coming over?
"Anyway, I gotta borrow your boyfriend here to talk about some private family business." Dean stepped back toward Sam. "But nice meeting you!" He pointed at her again, giving her a truly goofy smile. And he was Sam's older brother? She tried to return the smile but wasn't quite sure what kind to give him.
Sam was looking tense. He stared toward her and suddenly said, "No." He came over to stand by her, looking displeased by Dean's obvious dismissal. "No. Whatever you've got to say, you can say it in front of her."
Sam put a protective arm across her shoulders.
She was happy he was defending her like this, but felt lost all the same. There were family dynamics here she knew nothing about and it seemed that she'd just been put in the middle of them.
"Okay." Dean turned to face them both. "Uhm, Dad hasn't been home in a few days."
Jess glanced at Sam to gage his reaction.
"So, he's working overtime on the Miller time shift. He'll stumble back sooner or later."
Sam's barely repressed anger and sarcasm were almost painful. It spoke of many nights of worrying and lack of calls. It brought home again how truly little she knew of her scholar's past.
Dean nodded as if having expected no less than this kind of reply, yet still seemed disappointed anyway. He tried again.
"Dad's on a hunting trip. And he hasn't been home in a few days." Though the words in themselves hadn't changed much, it was the way he said them and the serious look in his eyes, which made them more. But why?
She felt Sam stiffen beside her, a pall of anxiety suddenly radiating from him. His voice turned cold. "Jess, excuse us. We have to go outside."
She was stunned by the sudden turn. But she did nothing except watch them leave, sensing that both men were wound up and tense, but not at each other. She had no idea what to make of it.
Jess paced in the living for a while, waiting, then headed back to the bedroom. She hadn't been able to make any more sense of all of this than before.
She was in the bathroom when she finally heard Sam come back. Her mind worked fervently on how she might ask questions about what went on without seeming like she was prying, when she slipped out of the bathroom. Sam had grabbed a bag and looked to be packing to leave. "Wait. You're taking off?" This wasn't like him! "Is this about your dad? Is he all right?"
"Yeah. Just a little family drama."
She didn't know what to make of it. She'd never gotten these odd of vibes from Sam before. He made it sound like this was nothing, but her intuition said it was anything but. "Your brother said he's on some kind of hunting trip?" She sat down on the bed as Sam grabbed more stuff out of the dresser. Caressing the leather bag, she wondered if she should ask to go with him and if she did if he'd think she'd only get in the way.
"Ah, yeah, he's just deer hunting up at the cabin. Has probably got Jim, Jack, and Jose along with him. I'm just going to go bring him back."
She couldn't help but notice he didn't look at her as he said any of this. He was trying to act nonchalant though he was obviously coiled tight with tension. He was keeping things from her and it stung. "What about the interview?"
This finally got him to look at her, but only for a moment or two. "I'll make the interview." He laughed as if it were a no brainer. "This is only for a couple of days."
Jess got up and followed after him as he moved the bag. He couldn't seem to stay still. "Sam, ah… Please, stop for a second."
He did and for the first time looked at her fully.
"You're sure you're okay?"
He laughed a little. She was making him nervous, and not in a good way. "I'm fine."
She thought he was anything but. "It's just… you won't ever talk about your family, and now you're taking off to go spend the weekend with them? And with Monday coming up… Which is kind of a huge deal…"
He stared dead at her. "Everything's going to be okay. I will be back in time. I promise." He leaned forward and gave her a peck on the cheek.
Somehow this just made her feel that much worse about all this. "At least tell me where you're going."
She was forced to follow after him as he rushed out of the room.
"Jericho, north of the national park." He never slowed down, just throwing the information over his shoulder.
He was leaving her. Things weren't right. "Sam!"
He stopped, his hand already on the doorknob, and glanced back at her.
She wasn't sure what he saw in her face, but he abruptly dropped the bag and came over to her then took her in his arms.
"I'll be back, I promise."
She leaned against him, now that she had him not wanting to let him go.
"I just figured the sooner we got this over with, the sooner I could come home."
She hugged him hard, tempted not to let him go anyway, then released him and stepped back. He would be all right -- she had to believe that. And Dean was with him. Sam had spoken enough about his brother for her to know he'd watch over him. "Just be careful, all right?"
"Absolutely. We have our whole lives ahead of us." He bent forward and this time gave her a proper kiss. "I'll be back as soon as I can."
Then he was gone.
Jess hurried back to the bedroom and moved the curtains outside to look out into the street. She was just in time to see a black car pull away from the curve and drive off into the lonely night.