Finally!!!! i think the document manager hates me, it took forever to upload this. sorry about that, i really did want it up earlier. thank you again for all the reviews, i hope you enjoy this chapter. the mystery deepens.

SOMETHING LOST

Chapter 3

Sam sat in uncomfortable silence as the impala raced down the road, the younger Winchester pushing hard on the accelerator, his mind anywhere but in the car. He felt guilty, there was no other way to describe it. What was that story again, Sam thought, oh yeah, the Ticking Heart. Yes, that described the way he was feeling as the still air around him continued to bear down on his senses. He had lied to his brother, told him there was no trace left by their mysterious helper, that he didn't really know what town they were in. But then, he didn't know why he felt so bad about it. It wasn't like it was the first time he had purposefully withheld information from the older man, he had done it plenty of times. He had kept his acceptance letters hidden for an entire summer, and he had managed to skirt around his visions for longer.

But something was telling him that this time was different, this time he should tell the truth. And Sam decided then and there that he was going to ignore all the wisdom his inner mind was trying to impart on him and keep his mouth shut. He needed to find out who could do what he could not, he needed to know how to be better, so that next time, he would be able to help his brother on his own. Dean never needed help saving him, so why should he be unable to return the favor. Yes, Sam knew his pride was getting the better of him, but at that moment, he really didn't care.

His brother had been sitting sideways in the passenger seat, his long body stretched out the best he could as he leaned his back against the car door, his feet mere inches from Sam's. It couldn't be comfortable, that much Sam knew, and he had tried to explain that to his injured brother, but no, Dean Winchester did not sit in the back of his own car. Or at least, that was what 'Dean Winchester' stubbornly told his little brother when it became clear that Sam wasn't going to let him drive. Sam smiled, if there was one thing his brother was, it was a stubborn ass.

Sam's attention was stolen from the road when his brother began to squirm and mumble beside him, his eye lids fluttering quickly, as his breathing grew shallow. Sam pulled the car off to the shoulder of the deserted road as quickly as he could before turning his full attention to the man sitting beside him, Dean's tired body beginning to tremble as he fought of the nightmare that had overtaken him. Sam could hear him fighting, is mumbling was growing quicker, as was his breathing, his small voice barely breaking through the struggle for air.

"No... Stop... Help me, please."

"Dean." Sam spoke as firmly as he could, his own hand trembling as he placed in on his brother's shoulder, shaking him gently. He hated hearing his older brother in pain, hated hearing him calling out for help, struggling alone with no one to help. He knew it was just a nightmare, but at that moment it was real to Dean. And that made it real to Sam too. He knew how devastating dreams could be, he had experienced that first hand, and he would do anything to keep Dean from having to suffer through them as well. "Come on, Dean, wake up. It's ok."

"Leave me alone... I'm sorry... Please."

"Dean!" Sam stated louder, his body tensing as his brother continued to call out for help, the older man's voice quiet and weak. And suddenly Sam knew how Dean must feel, the torment is brother must go through every time he had his visions. Sam was sure that he had never felt more helpless in all his life, his brother trapped in the throws of his internal torture and Sam left with nothing to do but watch and wait. It was awful.

"Sammy!" Dean sprang up with a start, his eyes open wide, searching the small space for any sign of his brother.

"I'm right here, Dean." Sam answered smoothly, resting a hand on his brother's still shaking shoulder, turning the older man's head towards him, his green eyes still searching wildly. Dean relaxed slightly as his searching gaze finally found his brother, his sweat covered body falling back weakly into the seat, as his breathing evened out slowly.

"Where are we?"

"In the car. We're on our way back to Jeremy Swan's grave."

"Why?"

"Why? Because you thought it would be a good place to pick up the trail."

"What trail?"

"Dean, are you messing with me?"

"No, Sam, I'm serious, what trail?"

"The trail of the person who found you." Sam began completely at a loss, his brother's face staring back in confusion.

"You didn't find me?"

"We've been over this. You got pulled away when we were at the grave."

"Yeah, I remember that."

"And then I found you bandaged up in a motel room."

"You didn't bandage me?"

"No, I didn't."

"The mystery person left soup, too. Didn't they?"

"Yeah, they did."

"I thought I was dreaming."

"No, that was all real."

"Dude, a strange person touched me."

"Get over it. What else were you dreaming about?"

"Who says I was dreaming about something else?"

"Because you were thrashing around and asking for help. And don't tell me that was because some stranger took your shirt off."

"It was nothing."

"Bull."

"I just thought, I mean. I thought I was back in the cave again. Back with that thing."

"Do you remember anything else about it?" Sam asked smoothly, the fear in his brother's eyes unnerving him.

"Besides getting my ass kicked. No."

"And you still don't know what it looked like?"

"It was like a shadow, I never really saw it. But I sure as hell felt it."

"You kept saying 'leave me alone' and 'I'm sorry'. What did that thing do to you?"

"Nothing. It doesn't matter." Dean stated firmly, he really didn't want to talk about it.

"It sure as hell does. You don't say stuff like that when nothing is happening to you."

"I said it when I was dreaming, it's like a drunken telephone call, it doesn't count."

"Thing again. You can tell me, I can help."

"I'm fine, Sam. Let's just keep moving, I want to figure this all out as soon as possible."

"Whatever." Yes, his brother was a stubborn ass.

"How far away are we?" Dean asked as he rested his head back against the window, his tired body still trembling, the echoes of his nightmare still fresh in his mind. It had been horrible, but it wasn't something he needed to worry his brother over. 'I'm fine.' He told himself as his gaze drifted out the window to the empty landscape before him, the road ahead long and lonely. 'I'm always fine.'

"About another four hours. There's a town about twenty miles from here, maybe we should stop, get something to eat?"

"I'm not hungry, Sam." Dean answered absently still staring out the passenger window.

"Well, we're gonna need gas anyway."

"Fine."

"Dean, are you sure you're ok?"

"Yes, Sam, I'm fine. Just drive, do whatever you want."

Sam gave his brother one more long look before turning his attention completely to the road. He was frustrated and Dean wasn't helping. It was bad enough that he wasn't the one who found him in the first place, but now his brother, in typical 'Dean Winchester' style was cutting him off at every turn. Something was wrong with the older man, something was eating away at him, boring itself deep into his soul, and Sam wanted nothing more in the world then to help. But Dean wouldn't have it, so Sam was left to his own inner tirade, and the dusty road before him.

The town was a fairly good size for being in the middle of nowhere, or at least Sam thought so as he wandered through the small convenience store as the attendant gassed up the impala. He wandered through the rows of food, wondering what would entice his brother's taste buds. He knew Dean told him that he wasn't hungry, but well, Sam didn't care. His brother needed to eat, and he was going to eat, even if he had to hold him down and force him. He glanced once more out the large window, afraid to let his brother out of his sight, even if only for a moment.

Sam eyed the local paper as he dumped his purchases across the counter, the name of the city jumping out at him. Meeteetse. The younger man smiled to himself, paying the cashier for his items and gas, he really did hate cities with such awkward names. It wasn't anything against the city, or even the name, it was just the principle of the thing. Places should be easy to pronounce.

There had been a city they had visited often as children and Sam had never been able to say it right, no matter how old he got or how many times he tried. And Dean nearly hyperventilating from laughter never really helped. It was funny really, Sam had solidly proclaimed one day at the age of seven that he would learn the name and learn it right. And now, well, Sam couldn't even remember what the name of that town was or even where it was, but if he ever did, he would be determined to say it right.

Dean sat in the impale, the side of his head pressing against the cool glass, his eyes staring through the large shop window at his brother, though he was not really seeing him, his mind far from that place. Well, maybe not that place, but far from that time. Instead of seeing a twenty four year old Sammy in the window, Dean saw his father searching for something even remotely health for his two small children. He could even hear a little seven year old Sam in the back seat, trying with everything he had in him to say 'Meeteetse', though it came out sounding something like 'mitizzy' every time. And even now, all these year later, Dean still laughed.

In truth, there was much more going though the older man's mind then their search for answers. There always was when hunting brought him back to Wyoming. It reminded him of such a different time, such a different life, a life when the future was still wide open and clear. And it hurt him every time he came back, every time he remembered what could have been and instead saw what really was. He had been hoping he knew who helped him, who bandaged him and called his brother, but no, there would have been a note, something. It was wishful thinking really, he thought as he leaned further back into the seat, what were the chances that his mysterious savior would be the person he thought it might be. Life just didn't work that way. And besides, it had been so long ago, and things change.