They'd been playing poker with their little brother for several hours, and had hoped it would be a way to bring him out of the shell he'd been slowly folding himself into since they got word that Dean's plane had gone down. Now though Sammy looked as if someone had not only roughed him up, but kicked his pet cat too. Looking at each other they knew not to suggest that he lay down since they knew the kid would most likely be tossed into a nightmare quicker than the rest of them could blink.

"I fold." Sam said quietly, not looking at his brothers. He knew they'd been trying to cheer him up, but he couldn't seem to dig himself out of the pit he felt he was in. He knew about the party tomorrow, Vic had let a few things slip and it hadn't taken too much to figure out the rest, but he wondered just who would be showing up and if there was any chance of calling the whole thing off. Noticing the worried looks he gave a small smile and showed his hand. "See, I got nothin'."

The Musketeers knew that something was going on, and they all started to wonder if they had confused things; maybe they weren't distracting little bro, but he was distracting them.

Smiling, Taylor shook his head and stood from the table. "All right, I think I'm done for a little while. Who's going to help me find an excuse to tell Mandy why we haven't touched her tofu turkey salad surprise?" he asked; glad to hear Sammy laugh in sympathy for his plight. "No, really… if she shows up and we haven't eaten it she'll think she did something wrong and we all know how she reacts to that!"

They all groaned at the knowledge that although Mandy had a heart of gold, her cooking skills sucked but no one could stand to see her cry; hence the unofficial Operation Make Mandy Happy! So far it had gone pretty good. She felt she was helping Sammy stay healthy, while they all choked down whatever concoction she'd come up with, but there were times that even the Dean, the human food disposal, would look at what she brought over and turn it down.

Any response that was about to be made was cut off by the ringing of the kitchen phone. Taylor rolled his eyes knowing the others felt like they'd been saved by the bell. Playfully grumbling about traitorous friends, he reached over and answered the phone, almost dropping it when he heard the news. Hanging up he ran back into the living room.

"They found them! Dean should be home tomorrow!"

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

If he thought he could have gotten away with it, he would have gladly strangled Congresswoman Marcia Tolliver. By the time they all had been rescued, she had not only come back around to the land of the living, but had immediately told her whacked out version about what happened. Now everyone had to stay and make statements as to what had actually transpired, delaying every capable person's departure until the matter was settled. Most of those on the plane couldn't understand what was so important until Mrs. Sanchez explained that the 'screeching monkey' was making trouble for him; then not only did they understand, but were more than willing to make their statements as quickly as possible.

Normally he wouldn't have had a problem with waiting, but he had a little brother who really needed him and this delay could really put a damper on the kid's birthday. Having already spoken to the Colonel, he had immediately called the apartment only to find out that Sammy had locked himself in his room and no one could figure out why or get him to open up. Now he felt helpless and frustrated at not being able to finish his mission and get home.

"I am sure everything will be fine." Mrs. Sanchez said kindly as she walked up to him.

Turning, Dean knew that the older woman was doing her best to keep everyone calm, and for her to take a moment to talk to him made him wonder if he was more transparent than what he thought. Nodding, he motioned to an empty chair and helped her sit down before joining her in the one next to her. "Has Maria and her brother been seen yet?" he asked, knowing that the sooner a doctor saw the little girl, the better the chance was they could help her.

Smiling, the woman nodded. "Yes, they have already taken them to a hospital with strict orders not to separate them. Now, how are you?" she asked, seeing the young man before her try to mask his pain. "You will soon be with your family?"

Groaning, Dean wasn't sure what to say to that. Sure he'd be with his family, just not quite sure about the soon part. He was about to comment when he was called in for another statement. Wishing the old woman luck in getting home, he took off down the hall hoping to get everything straightened out soon. Something was going on back home, and he needed to be there to find out what it was.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Sam heard his brothers at his door, heard and even felt their concern, but this was something that he needed to deal with on his own; they wouldn't understand and even he felt foolish about what was racing through his brain.

Lying back on his bed he continued to pet Legolas while trying to sort out his thoughts. Technically it was his birthday now; his brothers had been trying to get him to open the door for most of the night. How was he supposed to explain what he worried about the most? He was sixteen now, Dean had left home shortly after his sixteenth birthday, their dad had left his home around that time too. Now, with all the hints of being more independent, he was starting to wonder if maybe he'd gotten the signals wrong after all, maybe his brother just wanted to make sure he was strong enough to make it out on his own. He knew he could do it, that wasn't the issue; he just didn't want to have to leave. He'd actually started thinking that he and his brothers would stay close together, but that was stupid since he knew that they'd eventually marry and slowly leave too.

So now he had to figure out what to do, and what the purpose of the vision he had earlier served. Was it a warning that he was holding his brothers back, or was it something else all together? He could still see the images in his mind and he had to admit that it wasn't like any other vision he had, more like he was watching a movie of his family and how they'd grown. Dean and Katie with their little baby girl, Stephen and Celia and their little boy, Joseph hugging a beautiful blonde who couldn't keep her eyes off him, and then Taylor and Mandy with a set of twins about two years old a boy and girl. Nowhere did he see himself, it was as if they had forgotten him, and were happy to do so.

Sighing, he tried hard not to let the thought get him down, after all his brothers would be happy and that's what he wanted, right? Nuzzling close to Legolas, he drifted into a restless sleep and didn't wake until the sun was shining in his eyes and a hard pounding was heard at his door.

"Sam! Sammy! Open the damn door!" Dean yelled, wanting to kick it in so badly he could almost taste it. He had been allowed to come straight home after the statements were taken and he hadn't wasted any time doing so. He had asked the Colonel to help him get a ticket on an overnight flight and had just got home, but there was no way he was doing anything else until he saw his little brother. "Ok, you asked for it!" he said as he aimed his foot and kicked the door open ignoring the protests coming from the other Musketeers. What happened next though shocked him and the others into stunned silence. As the door flew open, Sammy bolted straight up in the bed yelling "NO!" and the door immediately slammed shut again. After a moment Dean looked at the others and simply said, "Well…that's new."