Updated (Nomi)

PK: If you're certain, I'll switch over to Books. Argh, heck, I'll post on both sides and email Nomi as to what she wants.

The One That Got Away

By Nomi

CHAPTER 1

Welcome to Bayport

"We're here," twenty-four year old Dean Winchester announced with forced cheerfulness after reading the huge welcoming billboard as he skillfully swerved his beloved '67 Chevy Impala seemingly carelessly off the highway and onto the road leading into the little hamlet of Bayport.

"Population of 8,000… That's what I call a mini-city… you got all the addresses, Sam?"

"Yeah," Sam replied a little stiffly, his eyes still glued to his little trusty Sony Viao.

Dean threw his brother a swift, sad glance before returning his attention back to the road. His kid brother had not forgiven him for cutting that deal with the roadside demon. But he knew how lil' Sammy felt; it would be similar to what he felt when he learnt his father made another similar deal for his life just a few months back. The question was: would that experiences enable him to help Sam live on with his selfish actions?

He knew he was selfish. He could not live with the knowledge that he failed to protect his own brother. Yet he expected Sam to live with that same knowledge.

His fingers tightened on the steering wheel, his eyes took in the scenery flashing pass him without really seeing. His mind flashed back to his past when he trained under his dad to hunt … evil. Yeah, his family hunted unspeakable beings that were invisible to the rest of the world because they do not believe in the existence of such creatures. Yet those creatures impacted on many a normal life, destroying it with a casual touch as if it was worthless. He admitted that a major part of his decision to become a hunter and learn all he could about the Supernatural world was because of the fact that his mother was murdered by one of those creatures. He was four when it happened. He remembered his mom. One day she was there, caring for him and loving him, and the next she was gone, leaving behind an infant brother for him to look after, and a father obsessed with avenging the death of his beloved wife. As far as he was concerned, those creatures took not only his mom, but also his dad. And they stole his childhood to boot. He grew up in the shadows of the Supernatural world, fear and terror his constant companion as he tried his best to be both father and brother to his little Sammy. His little Sammy who inherited his mother's hair and eyes; who was the only inheritance he had from his mother.

That was why he did what he did. Keeping Sam alive was like keeping a part of his mom alive. He could not protect his mom all those years ago. So saving Sam was to him, saving both his brother and mother. One life for two was a good deal as far as he was concerned. If only Sam would see things his way…

"Hey little brother, I've less than a year left. Let's not waste it, huh?" he appealed in a light tone a short while later.

"That's why we should be figuring out a way to get you out of that deal," Sam snapped back, his hand gesticulating rather wildly at everything and nothing. "And not wasting time on… on…"

His voice tapered off as Dean suddenly applied the brakes and pulled the car to an abrupt stop at the side of the road. There was a moment of silence that was only broken by the occasional car whizzing by. He looked out of the window and noted the clear blue sky above. The road was fairly empty for what looked like a lovely day and Sam wondered at it. Then he heard his brother's quiet voice.

"I can't, Sammy."

Sammy; a childhood endearment that had not been used in years - And for Dean to use it now… Sam felt something heavy land in his guts.

"What aren't you telling me, Dean?" he asked trepidation growing.

"The Deal – If I make any attempt to get out of it, you dropped dead," Dean finally answered in a flat tone.

Sam gasped, shocked. How could his brother make such a deal? Then his eyes hardened. He was a lawyer in training after all. "But I can…"

"Let it be, Sammy!" Dean cut in before adding in a softer casual tone. "And I should be down there to keep Dad company – he shouldn't be down there alone. And you, when you get to heaven eventually, tell mom I love her."

With that, Dean gunned his engines and moved off. He did not want to think about what would happen to him in Hell. He had no doubt that he, like his Dad, would be one of the more popular guy there in the extreme negative way.

"Dean…"

"That's why we have to figure out what the heck is happening here in Bayport. So that we can be sure you're OK," Dean interrupted Sam abruptly. "Azazel's dead and his plan supposedly fell through according to the demon that possessed Casey. So why those six women were killed the same way mom was killed over the last three weeks?"

"Dean... Dad's no longer down there… he escaped when Jake open those Hell's gates, remember?"

Sam watched quietly as his brother readjusted his grip on the steering wheel, flexed his fingers, and went through a series of meaningless motions.

"Maybe Dad's down there, and maybe he isn't. But I don't have much time left and there is one thing that I have to be absolutely certain: I need to know that you're safe. Can you understand and just accept that?"

It was that unidentifiable something in Dean's tone that silenced Sam for the moment. A part of him raged at his brother's selfish actions. Another part of him understood why Dean did it. Heck, he would have done the same thing for his brother when Dean was in a coma if he had known about making deals with demons. His Dad never told them about it. Or perhaps he missed that bit because he chose to walk away from the family vocation and selfishly choose to live a normal life have a girlfriend and go to college. Perhaps what happened today was the consequence of his selfish choice: He walked away from his family once, and now, they were being taken from him.

Then he would be alone. And dangerous…

Sam gave himself a hard mental shake to rid himself of certain unwelcome thoughts. His lips curled into a grim smile. He would find a way out for Dean. He would have to, or die trying. Dean's hands might be tied. But his certainly wasn't. It was all about legal technicality. A plan formed in his mind but he kept his thoughts to himself. There were certain things his elder brother did not have to know about.

"Take the next left turn, then the third right, head straight through the roundabout. Bayport Motel should be around there," Sam said instead after glancing at the road map on his lap. "And we should get ourselves some breakfast before starting work."

"Anymore dreams about that potential victim?" Dean asked.

'Dreams', Sam thought. Dean preferred to call those 'dreams' instead of 'visions'. Perhaps it helps in maintaining the illusion that Sam was the same little Sammy of their stolen childhood. Dean chose not to acknowledge the possibility of him turning evil. And he had hung on to his big brother's belief like a desperate sailor hanging on to a broken piece of wood in the midst of a hellish storm.

"Just the same one about this woman with wavy shoulder length blond hair and blue eyes in her forties living in Bayport screaming as she burnt to death… I can't even be certain she's the next one. But, whatever was killing those women was looking for her, I am certain of it." Sam responded with a regretful shake of his head. He wished he had more control over his psychic gifts.

"We'll find her before that monster," Dean replied reassuringly.

Sam smiled. That was Dean's way of telling him, it wasn't his fault each time they failed to prevent a death he saw in his dreams.

Then he frowned in his mind and wondered why he did not tell Dean about his second set of visions. It bothered him somewhat that he could not trust or could not talk to Dean on it. Just as quickly, that mild feeling of unease melted away, leaving him free to recall those visions and ponder over them curiously. The image of a blond-headed teenager with sparkling deep blue eyes on a smiling face formed in his mind. Sam had felt a certain… connection… from the first time he saw that youth in his visions. He would be seeing that youth soon, he knew. And that youth would be important to him in the near future, he also knew.

"Here we are. Why not you go get us a room? I'll go grab some munchies from 7-Eleven over there, huh?" Dean interrupted Sam's reverie and was a little unnerved as he thought he caught a glimpse of something in his brother's eyes before it vanished. Then it was the eyes of the brother he knew before him again.

"Don't worry Dean, I'll find a way out for you, or join you. I won't leave you down there alone," his younger brother suddenly spoke up.

"And no one would dare hurt you while I'm there," Sam added almost absent-mindedly as he opened the car door, grabbed his backpack and strode swiftly towards motel lobby.

Dean stared at his brother's retreating back as Azazel's words came back to taunt him with a vengeance.

'Are you sure what came back was 100 percent Sam?'

And;

'But thanks to you, Sammy's back in rotation. I wasn't counting on that, but I'm glad.'

His heart started to pound again.

"Bobby said demons lie all the time," Dean reminded himself.

But, why were they here? Because Sam happened to chance upon the news on those killings around Bayport, Dean recalled. Suddenly, he felt a chill ran through him and shivered involuntarily despite the brightness of the morning sun.

---xxxSUPERNATURALxxx---