Oh my gosh I'm so sorry about the delay in updating all my stories!! It was my birthday last week and I was very busy. Not only because of that but because the internet still doesn't work in my dorm room and there is a lot of crap going on in my college. I have to decide if I want to go to a new college and I have been so stressed out about all of it!! I'm so so sorry!! I hope you guys are still reading and enjoying they story! I will probably still be busy this week because I have to make a lot of decisions and do a lot of work but I will really try to update my other two stories! I promise everything will be finished! Oh yeah, the Cassie from this story is the same one from the show if you didn't know. She's the one girl Dean truly loved. Enjoy the next chapter!

Dean was left in total shock of his brother's words. Even though they had moved far away from Stanford after Sam's Jess vision, they still kept in touch with Sandy. She had still been Dean's friend. He had actually just e-mailed her the other day….

He didn't realize Sam was pulling him out of the diner until they got outside. Sam was walking very quickly and because Dean's limp was so bad; Sam was practically dragging him along.

"Sammy, please slow down." Dean practically begged his brother

Sam stopped and let go of Dean's jacket sleeve he'd been holding. He watched Dean limp the remainder of the distance toward him and silently cursed for being so stupid. Even when Dean ran, which he hardly ever did, his bad leg got in the way and he'd end up tripping over something or simply look like a drunk because his balance would be so off. He should get Dean something to help out with his leg, like a brace or something. God, why hadn't he thought about that earlier??

Sam was pulled out of his thoughts by the sound of his big brother's voice. "Sammy, I know we need to get home. I know how upset Jess probably is, but I'm still in shock here man. I mean, how in the world did she…..die? I was just talking to her through e-mail yesterday…." His voice hitched at the end and Sam saw his brother fighting back tears as Sam himself was doing the same.

"Jess told me she was murdered. She was murdered walking home. And not only was she murdered, but her head was cut clean off! God, she was decapitated Dean!" Sam cried as he let a few tears fall. Dean came up to his brother's side and put an arm around him, he needed to be the strong big brother.

"She didn't deserve that!! She wasn't causing anyone harm why would anyone do that to her?? It doesn't make sense!" Sam continued on

"I know Sammy; she was a good girl, a good friend. She never deserved that, ugh it's just so wrong! These things sick people will do to innocent people are so horrible." Dean told his younger brother

"It's like that with you too! What dad did to you for no apparent reason! Oh god….what if he did this! It sounds like something he would probably do….." Sam gasped

"Yeah, it does Sammy, but he's still in jail, remember?" Dean reminded him

It was then Sam realized that he had never told Dean that their father had escaped in order to protect him. Maybe he'd made the wrong decision. "Dean…he's escaped."

"What?! Since when??" Dean asked startled

"He's been for a few weeks now…Jess and I decided not to tell you because we didn't want to worry you."

"Sammy, how could you not tell me something as important as this?? What if he was lurking around here??" Dean was stunned

"We figured there would be no point in telling you because he might be caught soon. Then you'd get all worried for nothing. Plus, he doesn't know where we live. There'd be no way he could find us." Sam tried to explain to his brother

Dean sighed and rubbed his eyes behind his glasses with his fist. "Sam, in case you haven't realized, I've changed over the last encounter with dad."

"Yeah, I know Dean." Sam said completely confused

"That first time I was horrified of him Sam. I was terrified of what he might do to me. I didn't think of myself as worth fighting for so I hid. I didn't see the point in standing up to him because I thought of myself as a pile of worthless junk. But you know that I don't see myself like that anymore Sammy. If he were to come now to kill me I would stand up for myself. Not saying that I would win, but I would put up one helluva fight. Yeah, I wouldn't enjoy the fact that he'd escaped obviously, but I wouldn't worry myself out about it like you thought I would. You should have told me Sammy."

Sam stared at the ground as he let his brother's words sink in. Dean was absolutely right. He knew Dean had gotten stronger, but he hadn't taken in the fact that he'd gotten a lot stronger and would have been able to handle the information. He should have told Dean straight away.

"I'm so sorry Dean. You're right, I should have told you. I'm sorry that I thought you wouldn't be able to handle him escaping. I just wanted to protect you." He sadly sighed

By looking at Sam so upset, Dean couldn't find it in his heart to be mad at his little brother any longer. He placed a gentle hand on Sam's shoulder.

"It's okay Sammy. You did it for the best. Just next time when something happens please let me know, no matter how you think I will react to it. And plus, it's my job to do the protecting, especially now that I'm back in full big brother mode, so don't you worry about that anymore." He smiled

"Thanks Dean." Sam told him

"No problem Sammy." Dean replied but then his face was filled with sadness once again. "We should head home to comfort Jess." He added

Sam nodded in agreement and they slowly walked on.

That night was one of the longest and hardest nights in Dean's book. Jess had just lost her best friend and was sobbing until three in the morning. Sandy's death was already hard enough for Sam and Dean, and then seeing Jess like that had broken them even more.

Sandy's funeral wasn't going to be until the weekend because her body was being investigated to see if there was any struggle before she died, or if she had got caught by surprise. They were also trying to figure out what weapon was used to kill her and is there was any DNA evidence from the murderer on her so they could track whoever it was down.

Today was Tuesday and Dean said he wouldn't go to class so he could comfort Jess but Sam and Jess both told him to go. He'd be missing enough classes when they flew out to California Thursday night.

Dean had his head down on his desk and was dozing off when Cassie walked in and loudly dropped her books onto her desk, startling Dean on purpose. Dean shot up and looked around wildly, his glasses slipping down his nose.

Cassie chuckled as Dean readjusted his glasses and yawned. She couldn't help but think of how cute Dean looked when he was confused.

"Since when do you fall asleep in class Mr. A Student?" She laughed

Dean looked up at her and smiled. She got butterflies in her stomach just like every time Dean smiled at her. But Dean didn't look too great today. He had bags under his eyes and his hair wasn't even gelled and it was messy which shocked Cassie. He also looked really sad and now Cassie was concerned. She sat down in her desk and faced Dean.

"Dean, what's going on? You don't look so good and it seems like something is wrong." She told him with concern

Dean sighed and looked down "I just found out yesterday that one of my good friends from California died. She was murdered."

Cassie was stunned by the news. After what Dean went through with the fire and getting burned now he had to go through this. She felt her heart go out to this man that she had gotten to know over the past few months.

But one thing she learned about Dean is that he was very strong. She had called him everyday that he was recovering from the fire and he never once complained. He seemed the type to take life as it came and felt that he could handle just about anything.

"Oh my God Dean….I'm so sorry…that's terrible.." She told him

"It's okay. Her boyfriend called Jess and told her about it. She's really having a hard time, that was her best friend. The funeral's on Saturday."

Dean and Cassie talked until class started and once it ended they walked out together.

"Do you want to come over to my place to do our homework?" Cassie suddenly blurted out; she couldn't control herself and instantly felt bad. "I'm so sorry Dean, you're going through a hard time, and I should have never suggested it."

"No, it's okay, really. I think that would actually be a good idea. Take my mind off of things." He smiled and Cassie nearly leapt with excitement.

Dean called Sam to let him know and Sam encouraged him to go. They went over to Cassie's place and really did try to do their homework but they kept getting distracted and ended up talking about the most random things.

"You're such a cool guy Dean." Cassie told him with a smile

"You're pretty cool yourself." Dean replied back. He liked Cassie a lot. She was sweet but she was also tough and wouldn't let anyone treat her wrongly. If she had something to say she would say it and let her opinion be known, Dean liked that in a woman, someone who was kind and caring, yet strong and independent.

They were sitting next to each other on Cassie's couch now. Looking at the TV but not really watching it. Cassie leaned into Dean, she didn't mean to, it was like he was a magnet pulling her in with such force and she didn't think she could resist the pull any longer.

Dean looked down at her when she leaned into him and Cassie looked up. Their faces were so close, Dean felt himself inching closer until they were just centimeters away from each other's faces.

And then they kissed.

It wasn't anything big and mushy; it was soft and gentle, yet so full of emotion. They slowly and reluctantly pulled away and Dean stared at Cassie in shock.

Cassie took his reaction the wrong way and began apologizing. "I'm so sorry Dean…. Just…I…."

"No, no, I'm just…surprised. You wanted to kiss me??" He asked it like he couldn't believe any girl would want to kiss him and Cassie couldn't think of any girl that wouldn't want to.

"Well, yes. Yes I did. A lot actually." She told him with confidence

"But I mean….it doesn't bother you that I have a limp?? And I do have all these scars on my back from the fire, and I do have a lot more scars too, they're not pretty…."

"I don't care." Cassie interrupted him in a strong voice. "Why would your limp or scars bother me?? Dean, you are the nicest guy I know. You're so funny, sweet, have such a great sense of humor and your scars or limp doesn't matter. In fact, I don't think they would ruin your appearance at all. You're adorable."

"Really??" Dean asked in disbelief.

"Yes really." Cassie replied

"So does this mean….you want to go out?"

Cassie laughed at Dean's cute awkward proposal. "I want to. Do you?"

Cassie saw Dean's eyes shine and saw him sit up straighter with newfound confidence "Hell yeah." He smirked and kissed her back.

It worried John when the cops started investigating on Sandy's death but he knew he wouldn't get caught. He was a skilled hunter after all.

He had spied on the girl's grieving boyfriend and heard him call Jess. John heard him say he'd meet them Thursday night. His plan was working out perfectly. Now all he had to do was grab Sam when he showed up, torture him a while for fun and kill him.

He didn't want to kill Dean and the girl but if they got in the way, he'd end them too. He was way past caring about who he'd kill, as long as he got the job done.

And he swore to himself that he would.