Author's Note: Thanks for the lovely comments and happy holidays, one and all! Leave me a review and let me know what you think!

Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize.

Chapter 2

"I dunno, man," Dean said as he shut the door behind them.

Sam dropped his duffel on the far bed and turned to look at his brother. "What?"

Dean dropped the bags he was carrying on the floor and raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean what? That whole freak show back there is what. You just wanna go along with it?"

Sam sighed and ran a weary hand through his hair. His head had been aching all night—practically since crossing the city limits into Mystic Falls it seemed—and he hadn't had a chance to take anything, especially out from under Dean's prying eyes. He was not in the mood to have this argument right now even though Dean seemed dead set on it—no pun intended.

"Look, we can't just ignore that innocent people might be getting hurt because of us."

Dean gave him a disbelieving look. "Considering the source, you really believe it?"

Sam shook his head. "I know I'm the last one to preach here, but don't we at least have to check it out? Alaric's a hunter, after all."

"A hunter who conveniently forgot to mention that he was BFFs with vampires." Dean brushed past Sam and flopped down in a chair, propping his feet up on the table. "I'd consider that a red flag."

"We called him in the first place, remember? And Bobby seems to think he's alright." Dean shrugged and Sam went on. "And I know you don't like that Damon guy—" Dean snorted. "But he's right. If they wanted to hurt us, they could have done it a hundred times over today."

"Sneaky bastard spying on us in the bar. I hate sneaks," Dean grumbled.

"So either they're telling the truth and we stop the vamps in the town looking for us, then put Mystic Falls in our rear view or they're lying and we deal with it like we always do."

"Poorly?"

Sam groaned and sunk down onto the edge of his bed, rubbing his face in his hands. "Dean."

Dean crossed his arms. "There's no talking you out of this, is there?"

Sam looked back up and shrugged. "I'm sure soulless me would have ganked them all just out of principle, but that's not me with a soul."

Dean straightened at that. "Sam…"

But Sam shook his head, ignoring the intensified ache at the movement. He knew Dean was worried about him going down that road, but that wasn't the point he was trying to make. "Just a gut feeling, okay? Let's at least look more into the town and what they've told us. If nothing else, maybe we can find out something more about Eve."

Dean looked like he wanted to argue further, but he backed off after glancing at Sam. Dean'd had hawk-like eyes on him since he'd gotten his soul back so wasn't likely to miss even the smallest irritation.

"Hey man…"

"I'm fine, Dean."

Dean rolled his eyes and dropped his feet to the carpeted floor with a muted thud and leaned forward. "Yeah, that was real believable." He pushed himself to his feet. "Still have a headache?"

Sam sighed. There was no point in hiding it—not when Dean had that look on his face that meant he was going to get his way no matter what when it came to looking after his brother. "Yeah."

Dean nodded and headed for his bed. He grabbed the med kit from where he'd dropped it on the floor. He opened it up and started rummaging through it. "You take anything?" he asked, glancing briefly over his shoulder.

"No. Haven't had the chance. Just kinda hit me back there."

Of course, Dean thought back there meant the Salvatore house and Sam wasn't going to correct his assumption. Even though it had been a few months since he'd gotten his soul back and, outside of the one seizure in Rhode Island, he was doing alright, Dean was still looking for excuses to coddle him.

Dean made a triumphant sound and turned to toss a pill bottle at Sam. Sam caught it out of reflex and checked the label to make sure it wasn't the stuff from Dean's personal stash that he'd been trying to push since Sam's Hell-seizure. Sam had made a point to stop self-medicating after setting Lucifer free, considering how that form of self-medication had worked; anything stronger than over-the-counter was coming from nothing short of a hospital trip. Satisfied that it was just Tylenol, he unscrewed the lid, grabbed a couple pills, and dry swallowed them.

He tossed the bottle back to Dean, who snagged it mid-air. Suddenly exhausted, Sam toed off his boots and shoved himself back against the headboard. He shut his eyes for a moment, but opened them again as Dean made to put the bottle back in the med bag but changed his mind and put it on the bedside table. Sam raised an eyebrow at him and Dean just shrugged.

"You gonna take a shower tonight?" he asked, turning back to his bag.

Sam glanced toward the bathroom, thought about how nice the hot water would feel on his tense muscles after the day's vampire-filled events, but the distance from his bed to the bathroom seemed longer than it was worth. At this point, all he wanted to do was crawl under the covers, shut his eyes, and let the pain killers take effect. He shook his head and slumped slightly against the pillows.

"Nah, in the morning. All yours."

Dean frowned a moment but nodded. He grabbed a few things from his duffel and headed for the bathroom. He grabbed the remote off the TV and tossed it to Sam on his way past. Sam nodded at him and set to channel surfing. He eventually settled on some B-horror flick—the kind that he and Dean always enjoyed watching late into the night and laughing at. He slid further down on the bed, resting his hands across his stomach. The familiar sounds of Dean moving around in the bathroom and the running water mixed with the humming of the television had Sam's eyes drooping in no time.

He yawned and managed to put the remote on the bedside table before he fell asleep.

That night, Sam's dreams were filled with fire and ice, pain and violation, fear and hopelessness.

With whispers of "Sammy" that sounded so wrong.

And with laughter.

Laughter was ringing in Sam's ears as consciousness slowly returned, as if his dream refused to let him go. He groaned and opened his eyes but shut them immediately against the light. It felt like that split second had opened the door to his headache all over again. After a long moment, he slowly opened his eyes again and stared up at the ceiling, trying to ignore the throbbing in his skull.

He felt shaky with some lingering fear, but couldn't quite grasp what he'd been dreaming about. All he knew was that it had been a nightmare. That had been happening more and more often since Rhode Island, but Sam made a point to ignore the constant itching in the back of his mind whenever he woke up. He didn't need to go through that again. Sam swallowed and pushed the thought away. He wasn't going there, not now.

Looking for any distraction, he realized in surprise that he'd been covered by his blanket. He didn't actually remember getting ready for bed the night before. Dean had gone to take a shower and Sam had settled in with some werewolf flick…

"Obviously you fell asleep, moron," Sam muttered to himself.

But he couldn't help smile slightly when he realized Dean must have covered him up. He'd been so sure what only seemed like a few months before to him that he'd never see Dean—or anything, really—ever again. And he'd been okay with that; scared, but okay. He'd made peace with his choice to jump into the pit. But being able to experience moments like this again despite everything—despite Hell, despite the wall in his head, despite everything he'd done, and everything he and Dean had been through—meant more than he could put into words. And it wasn't like Dean would ever let him say it anyway; Winchesters were more about showing rather than telling, after all.

Speaking of his brother… Sam glanced around the room. Dean's bed was empty and there was no sound coming from the bathroom. With a sigh, he rolled over and saw the pill bottle and a glass of water with a piece of paper wedged between them. He snatched the paper and glanced over the brief note.

Sam—

Was starving so went to get food since your lazy ass decided to sleep in today.

Take something if your head's still killing you. Back soon with caffeine and grub.

Dean

Sam snorted to himself and shut his eyes again, folding the note up. Figured Dean would go from obnoxious older brother to mother hen in the space of one line in a note. But Dean was fine and Sam was bone-tired. He hadn't slept well at all. And going on the job exhausted was a liability. And since vampires were nocturnal… Sam started drifting back to sleep.

Wait, 'sleep in'? Sam's eyes flew open again when the thought hit him and he looked at the clock. 10:24. Huh. Sam rarely slept later than eight or eight-thirty unless they'd been hunting the night before.

Or he was sick.

Ah. Dean's note and the pill bottle were making a lot more sense now. He really wished he hadn't given Dean cause to worry, but at least his brother was willing to leave long enough to get food.

When his head gave a throb, Sam sighed tiredly and grabbed the pill bottle. He shook out a couple and took them with a long gulp of water. After a moment, he managed to pull himself out of bed and throw on a pair of clean jeans and a t-shirt. He had brushed his teeth and was splashing some water in his face when there was a knock on the door.

Sam turned from the sink with a frown. They always put out Do Not Disturb signs so housekeeping wouldn't get in. Dean wouldn't knock if he'd lost his keys. But who else would it be in the middle of the day like this? He checked the salt lines and protection sigils on his way to the door and peered through the peephole.

And blinked in surprise.

"Hey," Elena said with a small wave when Sam opened the door. "Glad you were here." She glanced around the parking lot for a second before turning back to the door. "When I didn't see your car, I thought you guys might be out or something."

"Dean's getting food." Sam paused. "Shouldn't you be at school or something?"

Elena gave him a sheepish smile. "I bailed. I should be in history right now, but Alaric teaches it. He'll understand."

"And cover for you?" Sam asked, leaning against the doorframe.

"And cover for me," Elena confirmed.

And then the rest of the sentence registered. "Wait, Alaric's a teacher?"

Elena laughed. "What, is that weird?"

Sam shrugged. "I guess not. Just… hunting is usually a full-time commitment. Most hunters are on the road a lot. And doing not so legal things. Regular doesn't tend to mesh well with the life."

Elena's hand fidgeted slightly with her purse strap. "He's pretty much settled in Mystic Falls, I think."

Sam shrugged, not knowing what else to say to that, and stepped aside. "I assume you didn't just drop by to ditch history class. You want to come in?"

She nodded and stepped in. "Thanks." She turned to look at him as he shut the door behind her, fixing the salt lines in the doorway with his bare foot. "Though you should be careful about inviting people into your room. Damon says motels are gray areas on ownership."

Sam frowned. "What?"

"You know, vampire town," Elena said, sitting down on the chair Dean had occupied the night before.

Sam sat down on the edge of Dean's unmade bed. "Huh. Your vampires have to be invited in?"

Elena looked nonplussed at that. "You mean yours don't?" She shook her head. "Sorry, still processing that there are different kinds of vampires, I guess."

Sam shrugged. "Most of the vampire lore out there doesn't much apply to the vampires Dean and I've hunted. Garlic, wooden stakes, holy water, invitations... All crap. The sun burns their skin enough to make going out in the day uncomfortable but not unbearable."

Elena crossed her legs. "Weird. You said stakes don't work?"

"Yeah."

"Then how do you kill them?"

"Decapitation." Sam smiled grimly at that. "That tends to work on just about anything."

"No kidding." Elena shrugged. "Stakes kill our vampires. Decapitation works too. And fire. Oh, and werewolf bites are fatal as well." She broke off, flushing and laughed breathlessly. "Sorry, word vomit there for a second."

Sam waved off her embarrassment. "So what did you need, Elena? Dean's gone on a food run so it could be hours if he found pie."

Elena shook her head, her long ponytail swinging behind her. "It's fine. I just wanted to apologize for last night. For Damon, mostly," she added. "He's an ass but he's not a bad guy. Not now, anyway. He and Stefan have a… complicated history. And he's gone through some stuff lately. But I trust him. And so does Ric—Alaric" she clarified at Sam's blank look.

"Right."

"Damon just… he doesn't trust easily. And he hates asking for help."

"Sounds familiar," Sam said, thinking back to the pissing content between his brother and the dark-haired vampire.

"I got the impression your brother might be the same," Elena said with a thoughtful nod.

Sam shrugged. "It's been just me and Dean for as long as I can remember. Our dad raised us in the life. We moved around all the time as kids, a new school every time he took a new job. Dean's been the only constant. We've been working together all our lives. We know each other better than anyone, so working with other people…"

Sam scratched the back of his neck as he searched for the words. He wasn't sure why he was telling this teenage girl that he'd only met the night before about this, but she seemed interested. And understanding—which only people somehow involved in this strange life really could be. "It's hard to break pattern when that's what you're used to."

"And Stefan and Damon are vampires…"

Sam frowned. "Yeah, that's also a big part of it."

"You said something about not having a good track record trusting the supernatural?"

Memories of Ruby threatened to rise and Sam stamped down on them as quickly as he could. Time might have passed for Dean, but with his Death-induced amnesia, those memories still felt very present. His head gave another throb and he sighed.

"A few years ago, I was in a bad place and I trusted someone I shouldn't have." Sam rolled his shoulders uncomfortably. "Let's just say the consequences were… dire." Though sometimes Sam wasn't sure whether it was Dean's loss of trust in him or his apocalyptic screw up that hurt worse.

"I'm sorry, I shouldn't have pried. That's was incredibly rude of me," Elena said, throwing her hands up in front of her and looking embarrassed again.

Sam gave her a wan smile. "It's alright. Just understand there's good reason for us to be hesitant."

"Got it," Elena agreed. "And we really wouldn't have called you guys if it wasn't something we thought we could deal with on our own. Normally Stefan, Damon, and Ric would be enough. Damon getting to the point of trusting Ric enough to ask for help was enough of a stretch."

"Something about there being enough on your plate already?" Sam asked.

Elena smiled weakly and nodded. "You could say that."

She sounded so sad, so tired that Sam felt his heart aching for her. Though she was young, Sam recognized the look and sound of someone who had seen too much too soon. This girl was older than her years; Sam knew how that was. He would never wish that on anyone.

"Anything we can do?" he asked.

"Have you ever heard of a vampire named Klaus?"

"Klaus?"

"He's one of the Original vampires."

Sam considered, but his mind was full of obscure monster facts and anything he's been able to track down about Purgatory. If he'd heard the name, it wasn't ringing any bells. "Can't say that I have."

How about the Sun and Moon Curse? It's Aztec."

Sam racked his brain once more, but his knowledge of ancient supernatural lore wasn't as sharp as it could be. "Sorry, no."

"Then I think getting rid of these vampires will be enough."

Sam nodded and ran a hand through his hair. "We'll do what we can."

Elena nodded. "Damon and Stefan agreed to meet again after school's out at their place. Ric will meet us there."

"During the day?"

"Well, Stefan and Damon have a wa—"

Whatever Elena was about to say was cut off when the door burst open. Sam and Elena both jumped to their feet. Sam whirled around to cover Elena but barely had time to register a blur before a hand gripped his throat. It squeezed and Sam felt his feet leave the floor right as he was tossed into the wall.

Sam's head slammed back and his vision went white. He thought he might have heard a female scream as he crumpled to the ground. As color returned, the room was still spinning. He shut his eyes and reopened them, trying to orient himself. After a long moment, Sam could finally see straight again.

His stomach dropped at the sight.

A man in a leather jacket stood behind Elena with a thick arm across her throat. Elena was looking frantically at him but she couldn't seem to get a strong enough breath to say anything. If Sam had to guess, he'd put his money on it being that guy who threw him into the wall. Two other Hell's Angels rejects stood flanking the door.

"Vampires?" Elena mouthed.

Sam nodded and his vision went white again. It took a moment for him to catch his breath and see straight again. Likely concussion, duly noted, Sam thought wryly to himself.

When he looked up, a woman was standing in the doorway, smiling. She also had on a leather jacket and tall heels. Her hair was pulled back but otherwise looked the same as the last time Sam had seen her what felt like lifetimes ago.

"Sam Winchester," she said, stepping across the salt line without a second thought. "It's been a long time. You've changed."

Sam slowly shoved himself up to sit straighter against the wall. "Kate. You haven't changed at all."

In a blur, she was kneeling right in front of him and Sam suppressed a flinch at the invasion of his space. It was a little too close to sparking something in the back of his mind…

"Perks of being immortal," she said, putting a hand flat against the wall next to Sam's ear. "I've been looking for you and your brother for a very long time."

Sam glanced toward Elena then back at Kate. "Well you found us—well, me, anyway." He gave her his best Dean smirk. He'd always taken comfort in channeling his brother's attitude when he was in deep shit. "Dean's not here, obviously. So why don't you let the girl go and we can talk. She has nothing to do with this."

"That's where you're wrong, Sammy." She smiled back at Elena. "That girl is insurance against the Salvatore brothers."

Elena made a noise of protest but was quickly silenced by the behemoth of a vampire holding her.

"And besides, Klaus would be very happy to have his doppelganger away from Elijah. Klaus gets the girl and I get my revenge."

Elena's face had gone pale at that, but before Sam had time to wonder at what the vampire meant, Kate grabbed him by the hair and slammed his head back into the wall. Everything went black.

tbc…