Okay, finally some Winchesters! This chapter will be from Sam's POV, and will cover what he was doing during the first two chapters and provide a bridge to the fourth chapter, which I've already written from Jess' POV. I haven't totally decided how often I'm going to swap POV's, but I'm kinda thinking about a two-one thing, with two Jess chapters and then a Sam chapter. We'll see.

Um, nothing new, I guess. Still not mine, still PG, still (mostly) canon-compliant. Enjoy!

The closer they got to Palo Alto, the more edgy Sam got.

He didn't know why exactly, but he would bet it had something to do with the freaky dreams he'd been having lately. Watching Jess burn on the ceiling was not the highlight of his nighttime reel, but he had had awful dreams about Dean, and even Dad, dying horrible deaths. This one seemed…different though. He just couldn't put his finger on why, and it was making him anxious to see Jess again and have himself between her and all the supernatural baddies of a world she could never know about.

"Dude. You've been staring out the window for the last 20 minutes. The scenery isn't that exciting."

Sam turned at the sound of Dean's voice. His brother was sprawled in the driver's seat of the Impala, guiding them down a practically empty road with one hand on the wheel and the other resting on the gear shift. The streetlights cast his face in stark lines, shadows shifting from left to right and then back again as he looked over. Sam was suddenly struck by how normal this was, the two of them, on the road in Dean's car. He wondered if this would have been his life, if he hadn't chosen Stanford. He suspected the answer was yes.

But he had chosen Stanford, and he had to live with that decision. Even when it meant giving up Dean, again. Besides, Jess was waiting, and he had an interview tomorrow, and it was his future, and he shut up because now he was trying to think of reasons not to just stay here, with Dean, forever.

"Sorry, Dean. I'm just tired." He lied.

"Yeah." Dean said. He faced forward again, an awkward silence falling as they both tried to come up with something to say, and when had this gotten so hard. They had always been so close, able to read each other, but it was like two years had built up a solid wall between them, and neither of them could find a way around it.

All too soon, they were driving the familiar streets of Palo Alto, and Sam's apartment came into view. Sam looked at the clock, noticing with surprise that they had arrived earlier than he had thought they would.

Dean stopped the car, and Sam unfolded himself quickly, knowing if he lingered too long he would never leave. He leaned back down to meet Dean's gaze. "I'll call you, okay? Maybe I can come help you out later, or something."

"Yeah, Sammy." Dean agreed, though Sam could tell he didn't really believe it either. Hunting and normal life didn't mix, and Sam had chosen his path. "I'll see you around."

Sam nodded, grabbed his duffle, and left his brother sitting in the car that both of them considered home.

He entered the apartment to find the smell of cookies in the air. Cookies, and fear. He was instantly on alert. The feeling of wrongness washed over him, and he pulled out the gun he had slipped into his bag.

The door to the bedroom he shared with Jess was open just a crack, and he could see shadows moving beyond it. He was moving forward, gun ready, when he heard a small noise. Someone who was not hunter-trained might have missed it, but his ears caught a muffled sound of distress and fear, and suddenly he was moving, because it was Jess and his nightmare was coming true.

He shoved the door open and met Jess' wide eyes. She stood against the wall, her mouth open in a cry. He didn't have time to say anything before an invisible force yanked the gun out of his hands and threw him into the wall. Jess made another sound of fear, and Sam watching in horror as Brady, his eyes black and smile malicious, lifted a hand. Then Jessica was moving up towards the ceiling, and Sam couldn't do anything at all.

Well, intense! And a bit longer, too. Yay! Anyway, read and review, please, I'd love to hear your thoughts!