Sam knew he should be reporting Tracy's body or something, but as they started back towards Andy's van, the only thing he could process was how they were going to explain the circumstances to Dean without one or both of them ending up with a bullet to the brain. Okay, so Sam knew Dean wouldn't shoot his own brother, but it was still bound to end badly.

However, when they reached the van, Dean was nowhere in sight, and his phone lay crushed on the sidewalk. Sam exchanged a panicked glance with Andy, who inhaled deeply before going stark white. Sam shook him and asked what was wrong, and when Andy told him, his voice was low, haunted, and full of fear.

"I think my brother…has your brother."

Sam was in hunter mode the second Andy finished the sentence. He opened the trunk of the left behind Impala and raided the arsenal for anything and everything he might need, arming himself to the teeth. Andy stared at the hidden case of weapons slack jawed, looking between them and Sam.

"Dude, who are you?"

Sam loaded his pistol with a fresh magazine. "Well armed. Lead the way."

Andy still looked shocked at the mobile armory but followed the scent as quickly possible, Sam tailing him. Deep down Sam knew this was a trap, but he kept telling himself that he would find a way to protect both Dean and Andy. He hoped if he kept repeating it in his head, he might start believing it. Usually when he had an innocent to protect (Andy, in this case) he had his brother right there at his side, backing him up. But never before had he faced circumstances like these.

Turns out Asnem and Dean weren't far away, but the drop-off Dean was standing on the edge of did pose a problem. Sam yelled for Dean to step back, but the hunter explained through gritted teeth that he couldn't. A harsh, cold wind blew Sam's long locks into his eyes, the frigid air biting into him through his clothes. He didn't know if this day could possibly get any worse, but he really didn't want to jinx it.

"'Sup, little bro?" asked Asnem calmly, appearing out of the shadows.

"Let him go!" Andy cried.

The other werewolf smiled and walked over to stand in front of Andy, framing his twin's face between his hands. "He has to die, Andy. So does your little boyfriend. Don't you see that they're trying to tear us apart? So was Tracy, and our mother, and that doctor…they were trying to come between us, little brother."

Andy was sick to his stomach. "You killed those people because of me?"

"They had to die," Asnem explained. "But don't you see what we can have, you and I? When you open yourself up to your power…you can do things no one else can. We're special, Andy. We can control people's minds, for God's sake! We can have anything we want!" he exclaimed, a manic expression painted on his face.

"You're insane!" Andy yelled, shaking his twin's shoulders.

Sam was currently gridlocked. One wrong move and Asnem would send Dean hurtling over the edge of the drop-off, but on the other hand, he could barely stand just doing nothing while his brother stood on the edge of life and death, not to mention the psychotic werewolf that could turn on Andy in a split second. He'd never felt so helpless in his life. But regardless of how dire the stakes were, he couldn't just stand there.

Slowly, he began edging towards Dean while Asnem babbled on to Andy, desperately trying to think of some way to break the grip that Dean's mind was locked in. Dean turned his head to stare down at Sam, fear dancing in his jade green eyes under the ever present mask of calm. Sam was still trying to formulate a plan when Asnem suddenly turned in his direction.

"One more move and your brother dies, Sam Winchester," he said evenly.

"I thought you were gonna kill me anyway!" Dean spat.

Just then, Asnem's temper snapped. "Alright, fine. Dean, jump."

Sam lunged to grab his brother…

…Dean put one foot off the edge…

…crack.

The sound of a gunshot startled everyone present. Asnem's dead body dropped to the ground to reveal Andy, standing behind him, hands shaking as he maintained his white knuckled grip on the gun Sam had given him on the way there. Dean scrambled back, alone in his mind once more, falling onto blissfully solid ground. Sam knelt and asked if he was okay, only for Dean to tell him that yes, he was, but Sam wouldn't be if he didn't get the hell of out of Dean's personal space. The younger brother nodded in understanding and stood up, turning to the shaky brunette that let the gun drop to the ground with a metallic clang that seemed to echo long after the sound had faded from the air.

Sam started forwards, and Andy walked numbly into his arms, trembling. They said nothing…what could they possibly say at this point?

Andy later explained to the police that Asnem attacked them and Andy shot him in self defense, Sam tuned out the earful of bitching he was getting from Dean about his relationship with Andy (which had been made obvious when they'd held each other earlier in the morning after Andy shot his twin), managed by some miracle to convince Dean not to harm Andy in spite of his species, and finally Andy came over to stand in front of Sam. They stared at each other, wondering what to say. The two had shared so much in such a short time…but the time had come for letting go. It hurt more than Sam imagined possible.

"I'll uh, give you two a minute. Make it snappy," Dean said, walking over to the Impala.

Andy watched him go before turning to gaze up at Sam with large, sad eyes. "So I guess this is it." At Sam's nod, he added, "You never told me what it is you do."

Sam sighed. "Guess I owe you that much, at least. My brother and I hunt supernatural beings. If it's supernatural, we kill it. And when we got here…we planned on killing you." Andy's eyes were full of shock, but Sam plowed on. "But then I got to know you. Call it instinct, call it what you want, but I knew you weren't a killer. And crazy as this sounds…I fell in love." Tears were coming to Sam's eyes. "I love you, Andy Gallagher."

Andy blinked misty eyes and wrapped his arms around Sam's neck, getting up on his tiptoes as he did so. "I love you too Sam. Stay. Stay here, with me," he pleaded.

"I can't…" Sam whispered sadly. "We have to keep hunting. We have to find the demon that killed my dad and my girlfriend, Jess."

They leaned apart to look at each other, and their lips sealed in a kiss full of melancholy and bittersweet love. Sam held Andy close to him, the smaller man's hand burying itself in Sam's hair. Neither of them wanted to let go. Let go of each other psychically, let go of each other at all. Finding love is easy…the hard part is letting go of it. To Sam, leaving Andy felt like leaving a piece of himself behind, a piece required for fully being able to function. That's not to say they wouldn't see each other again, that Sam wouldn't someday find a way to come back and see Andy…but neither of them knew what the future held. All they knew was right then, at that moment, they wanted to freeze time and never leave each other's sides.

But this was the real world. And the time had come for goodbye.

Sam finally released his viselike grip on Andy and stepped back a little, his hands still framing the boy's face. "We may see each other again. This may not be the end."

"You don't know that. But for the sake of being able to sleep at night, for the sake of holding on to the smallest chance I may see you again…until next time, Sam Winchester."

"Until next time, Andy."

And those were the last words they spoke to each other, or at least the last words on that particular occasion. Tears were in their eyes as Sam turned and walked away, knowing if he looked back that he may never be able to leave. As the Impala pulled out, as Sam's heart broke when he looked in the rearview mirror and saw Andy crying, as they got further and further away from the first true happiness Sam had found since losing Jess…he still heard three words in his head, pulling him along, telling him that all hope wasn't lost quite yet.

Until next time.

The End

"Whether we see each other next weekend, or next month…never again. It doesn't matter. It's only time." -Brian Kinney