"Do you think he's alright?"

"He looks terrible…"

"What happened?"

"No one knows…we found him like this."

"Here? What on earth was he doing, he looks like death warmed over!"

"We need to wake him, he's already alarming the other customers."

"Sir? Sir, can you hear me?"

"Someone call an ambulance."

"Sir? Are you alright?"

"What kind of stupid question is that, dumb ass? Of course he's not alright!"

Sam groaned as he finally began to hear the voices around him. His head felt like it was spinning, and his mind was completely blank. What was going on?

"He's finally coming around."

"Sir? Can you open your eyes for me?"

Sam's mind raced faster. Where was he? How did he get here?

He slowly opened his eyes and peered through half open lids. He was lying on the floor of a toy store, surrounded by several employees that were gaping at him with concern. "W-what's going on?" he muttered, and then let out a string of heavy coughs.

An older, balding man looked at him critically. "We were hoping that you could tell us that, actually."

Sam's brow furrowed as he desperately tried to remember. "I—I don't—"

"What's the last thing you remember?" a younger man asked kindly.

Sam's mind raced, trying to recall. "I was with my brother, Dean…we were getting gas—" he froze, and everything he had been through in the past several hours came racing back to him. The monsters—blood—fog—fire—Leandra—

"Leandra!" Sam gasped, struggling to sit up, "Where is she?!"

"Who?"

"Was anyone here with me? A young woman with blond hair?" he questioned frantically.

"Uh…no, you were all alone when we found you here."

"She was with me! And the fire—oh God, the fire! I need to find her!" he said loudly, climbing quickly to his feet. He swayed instantly and would have fallen if the older man hadn't reached out and steadied him.

"Now wait just a second, young man," he scolded, "You're in no shape to go running off."

"But I—"

"I called an ambulance, it'll be here any minute."

"I'm not going to the hospital!"

"Yes you are. You're not thinking straight, and you're injured. You need help—"

"You don't understand!" Sam shouted, shaking the man's arm off and stepping back away from them. "I have to find her!" without another word he turned and ran, adrenaline pumping through his system. He heard the employees cry out for him to stop, but he ignored them. His head was still spinning as he darted out into the middle section of the mall looking for an exit, bumping into everyone in his path.

Finally he spotted an exit and ran towards it as fast as he could. He pushed open the door, dashed outside, and—

WHAM

He slammed full speed into someone on the sidewalk, the force of the impact knocking him backwards. He landed hard on his back and cried out in pain as the crash jarred some of his recent injuries.

"Sammy?"

Sam looked up at the person he had run into, the person standing over him—

"Dean." He breathed, his head spinning. He had so much to tell his brother—so many words—but he could make his mind slow down enough to say anything.

Dean stared down at his brother in shock. He had stayed in the area, hoping that he would be able to find his brother when he came back, but he hadn't expected him to come sprinting out of the mall like he was running a marathon. He crouched beside his brother and put his hand on his shoulder. "Sam, you need to calm down."

Sam looked right through him, his eyes wild and unfocused.

Dean saw the look in his brother's eyes and it scared him. "Sam—Sammy, listen to me. It's okay. It's okay You're back, I've got you. Just breathe."

Sam nodded slightly and shut his eyes, allowing his head to gently fall back and rest on the pavement he was lying on. Dean moved closer to his brother, keeping his hand firmly on his shoulder, watching as his breathing became more regular as he began calming down.

A couple of people walked over towards them as though they wanted to help, but Dean shot them a glare and they walked away quickly. He sat there patiently, waiting for Sam to speak.

"Dean…" Sam finally said, opening his eyes to look for his brother.

"Still here, Sammy." Dean said quickly, noticing his brother instantly relax. "Can you walk? I need to get you to the Impala, people are going to start asking questions we can't answer and I'm pretty sure that the ambulance I hear is meant for you."

Sam nodded, and allowed Dean to gently help him up. He swayed on his feet, and Dean hooked one arm around his waist and helped him to slowly walk to the car. Sam slid in to his leather seat, staring blankly into space.

"Sam…" Dean said softly. "I need you to tell me what happened."

Sam nodded and looked down at his sooty, blood stained hands, and a tear trickled down his cheek. "I think…I think Leandra's dead…" he began sadly, and then told his brother a detailed account of everything that had happened since they had been separated at the gas station.

When he finished, Dean sat there silently, horrified at the terrors his brother had witnessed. He opened his mouth to try to give him some words of comfort but couldn't think of anything. "You don't know that she's dead, Sammy…" he said softly, the words sounding empty even as he said them.

Sam shook his head, tears in his eyes. "Yes she is. If she had made it out she would have called us by now, I gave her your number…she would have called."

Dean looked away. "I'm so sorry Sam."

Sam nodded. "Yeah…me too."

They sat in silence for a few long minutes before Dean spoke again. "You need to rest, Sam…there's a motel down the road—"

"No." Sam said firmly.

"Sammy—"

"Dean, I get it, okay? You're worried about me. I know—hell, I'm worried too. But you know what? I don't have time to worry, Dean! I don't have time to rest, I don't have time to relax…I just don't have time." He said angrily. "At any second I could be sucked back there, and this time it'll be me not coming back."

Dean's head snapped up and he stared at his brother. "Don't say that."

Sam shrugged. "Why not? It's true. Leandra's dead…why not me, huh? How did I manage to get out when she couldn't?"

Dean ran a hand over his face. "I don't know." He admitted.

Sam glared angrily out the window. "I feel like I left her there—like I abandoned her."

Dean shook his head, "You didn't, Sam. You already said you can't control when you get out. She knew that."

Sam leaned against the window and shut his eyes. "She shouldn't have died."

Dean sighed deeply, reached over and gave his brother's shoulder a squeeze. "We'll figure this out, Sammy." He said. "I already called Bobby and a couple other hunters he trusts, and they've been researching this other world situation for a while now, they're bound to find something soon."

Sam slowly opened his eyes and sat up in his seat. "No need…I already know where to look next."

Dean's brow furrowed in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Mom told me that the hospital was the key, remember?"

Dean nodded. "Yeah, but Sam, even if that really was Mom and not some kind of demonic apparition sent to kill you, there are hospitals everywhere. It's not as if she specifically told you which one she meant."

"Yeah she did." Sam said, looking at his brother. "She kept saying she was sorry—and she was pregnant, remember? She wanted me to see that she was pregnant."

"So what?" Dean asked, "What does that have to do with anything?"

"Dean…do you remember which hospital I was born in?"

"Yeah…same place as I was." Dean replied, catching on.

Sam nodded and then looked back out the window. "Start driving, we may not have much time."

Well, it seems the guys are back together...for now, anyway! Review and tell me what you think so far.