New chapter! Yay! This took ages to write. I'm sorry if it's not very good. Please drop me a review and check out my Sam stories: A Part of Him (oneshot), The Price To Pay For Family (oneshot) and Ghosts Of Our Past (multichapter and sequel to The Price To Pay For Family). Also if anyone likes Castle I just started a new fic called Jessie's Girl. Anyways, enjoy the chapter, it's nice and long.

Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural.

Chapter 6:

It was months before the Winchesters saw Vivian again.

Dean supposed he shouldn't have been surprised. Bobby had fallen into a coma and Dean had been called as his emergency contact. The boys packed up as soon as possible and left immediately, driving all night to get to the hospital. It shouldn't have been a great shock to the boys to see Vivian standing over Bobby's bed. After all, she did live with him. Even so, it hadn't so much as crossed Dean's mind that she would be there.

"What are you doing here?" He had asked, pushing past the doctor upon seeing her.

Vivian turned to look at him, causing him to stop dead in his tracks. She seemed completely different from the last time he'd seen her; another person.

Physically, of course, she was incredibly changed. Her previously chin length blonde hair now fell to her shoulders in soft, loose waves and she was wearing rectangular glasses (which Dean later discovered were fake). Instead of the dark pants and long red shirt that Dean was used to seeing her in for the short time he'd known her, she was now dressed in a sharp white blouse and pencil skirt, paired with a black blazer, heels and bright red lipstick; all of which made it hard for Dean not to stare, especially at her legs.

It wasn't just her look that was different though. There was something about her expression too, carefully blank and stern; devoid of all emotion.

"Vivian," Sam said with a smile, entering the room and pulling the girl into a tight embrace, much to Dean's surprise. Vivian hugged him back briefly, her expression becoming less robotic and cold. She pulled away with a grin on her face and warmth in her eyes.

"Hey Sam," she replied softly, her blue eyes catching the light in ways that Dean couldn't understand. "How are you?"

"Not bad, considering," Sam said, touching her arm lightly. Dean's eyes narrowed. "Yourself?"

Vivian shrugged, "could be worse."

Dean cleared his throat and Vivian turned to him once more, her expression becoming blank again.

"Dean," she greeted.

He nodded at her and turned back to the doctor but not before Sam gave him a curious look. The doctor was looking back and forth between all of them.

"You know each other?" He asked, seeming rather confused
Vivian stepped in, giving the man a quick, but not warm, smile.

"I owe him a favour," she said, gesturing to Sam. "That's why I took this case."

The doctor nodded, his confusion disappearing for the time being.

"So what's the diagnosis?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows.

"We've tested everything we can think of," the doctor told him. "He seems to be perfectly healthy."

"Except that he's comatose," Dean commented. The doctor nodded.

"Mr. Snyderson, you're his emergency contact." The doctor stated. "Anything we should know? Any illnesses?"

"No, he never gets sick," Dean shook his head in what almost seemed to be disbelief. "I mean, he doesn't even catch cold."

Sam took a step towards the other man. "Doctor, is there anything you can do?"

The doctor shook his head.

"Look, I'm sorry," he said. "But we don't know what's causing it, so we don't know how to treat it. He just went to sleep and didn't wake up."

The ride back to the motel had been silent. Sam and Vivian both knew it wasn't wise to try to defuse the tension and give Dean an excuse to let out his barely controlled rage. No, talking in the car would only cause anger on Dean's part. He was already beginning to suspect something between the other two and neither of them wanted to give him more cause to.

They'd been talking over the phone in secret. At first Vivian had simply been calling to ask some questions that she didn't want to bother Bobby with but before they knew it, they had become close, friends even. She had asked Sam not to include Dean in the calls and he'd agreed, knowing that it was hard for the girl to even think about his brother.

"What did you think you were doing?" Dean all but shouted at Vivian once they'd reached the motel.

"What do you mean?" Vivian was calm and collected when she answered, completely different from the embarrassed, meek girl Dean had met a few months ago.

"Working a case on your own!" Dean responded, his fury creeping into his tone.

"So what?" Vivian asked, seeming genuinely confused as to why he was acting like this.

"So what?!" Dean repeated, his temper flaring. "So you're not ready for this! You didn't even know these creatures existed 3 months ago and now you're suddenly ready to go hunt one yourself?!"

"Dean," Sam interrupted. "I think you might be overreacting-"

"Why is that Sammy?" Dean turned to his brother. "Because the man who's like a father to us is in the hospital?! Or maybe the woman who's designed to kill me is the one who decided to take this into her own hands?! Or it could even be that I'll be going to Hell in a few months and nothing can stop it?!" He took a deep breath and let out a humourless laugh. "Oh yeah Sam, I'm definitely overreacting!"

There was a moment of silence as Dean glared at the other two before Vivian broke it.

"This isn't my first case," she said softly.

Dean turned to her, mouth open. Whatever he'd been expecting her to say, that wasn't it. "What?"

"This isn't my first case," Vivian repeated slowly. Instead of replying Dean just looked at his brother accusingly.

"And I suppose you knew about this?" It sounded like a question but the other two both knew it was a statement. "You two being all chummy and all."

"Dean," Sam began, stepping towards his brother, his hands raised as if he were surrendering. "I swear, this is the first I've heard of it."

Dean laughed humourlessly again. "Sure," he said before grabbing his jacket and heading for the door.

"Where are you going?" Sam called after him.

"Out!"

Vivian found him in a bar.

They had given Dean a few hours to cool off, Vivian letting Sam know what she had learned so far. They'd spent the afternoon researching and catching up but neither of them was really into it. Both were too worried about Dean to really focus and finally Sam volunteered to get dinner. Vivian had nodded, saying that she was going to find the green-eyed brother and Sam had agreed that they'd given him enough time.

"Meet back here in an hour?" Sam said.

Vivian nodded in agreement and left, walking to the nearest bar.

"Hey," she greeted Dean softly, sitting down next to him but being careful not to touch him.

Dean just grunted back, drowning what seemed like his fourth glass of whiskey.

"Sam's really worried," Vivian tried again.

Dean didn't reply.

"Can I get another one?" He asked the bartender, holding out his glass. Vivian watched as he poured Dean another whiskey, her heart aching a little in her chest.

"Dean, please," she said once the bartender had went off to make someone else a drink and there was a sort of brokenness in her voice that made Dean look at her.

She had changed out of what Dean would call her monkey suit and glasses and into more casual clothing. Dean still wasn't used to her though, not like this. She looked like a hunter with her plaid shirt and combat boots, not like Vivian. He supposed that this was how Vivian was now and he hadn't ever known her enough to mourn the loss of whoever she'd been before. He didn't have the right to anyway.

Her blue eyes captivated him once more, the familiar sadness creeping back into her expression. Dean looked away, knowing that he had made her the way she was and hating it.

Vivian sighed and called the bartender over.

"The same as him please," she said, gesturing to Dean.

They sat for a moment, both sipping their drinks in silence. Dean would've given anything to touch her. He wasn't actually angry with her, not really. He was just scared. He didn't want her to get hurt but hurting her was all he seemed to be able to do.

"So you and Sam seem pretty close," Dean tried after a while. He cringed at the way that sounded and immediately wanted to take it back. First he ignored her and then he brought up something that he had made clear was a sore subject. Nice going Dean, he thought.

"Dean," Vivian's voice held a hint of warning, "please don't start."

Dean nodded, still not looking at her. They didn't talk for a few more minutes, each wallowing in their own sort of sadness.

"I figured out why Bobby's here," Vivian finally said.

Dean looked at her in surprise.

"What? When?"

Vivian adverted her eyes as if embarrassed. "I was hunting with him."

Dean all but gaped at her.

"You what?"

"We were hunting together." Vivian repeated. "He was looking into someone who was killed, a Dr. Gregg."

"And?" Dean prompted, deciding it would be better not to freak out at her again.

"He just died in his sleep, went to bed and didn't wake up."

"Huh," Dean said. "Sounds familiar."

"Before you two showed up we were able to figure out that the guy was experimenting on people using African Dream Root." Vivian waited for a response but Dean just shrugged. Sighing, she said: "The legends say that the plant is used for dream walking. You can poke around in other people's heads, turn bad dreams good and good dreams bad and, with enough practice, even kill someone."

"So why don't we just get some of the stuff?" Dean asked.

Vivian leaned closer. "See that's what we were thinking," she said, reminding Dean that Sam and Vivian had been alone together for several hours. Dean pushed down his jealousy. He had been the cause of their time together anyways. He didn't get to be jealous. "But I don't know anyone who has any. Sam was hoping you would have an idea."

Dean started to shake his head when a thought entered his mind.

"Oh crap," he said.

"What?"

"Bela."

Sam was acting weird.

Bela had come by and dropped off the root, saying something about how she owed Bobby a favour or whatever and Sam had practically fallen on his face trying to get her attention.

Vivian didn't like Bela. She was certainly pretty enough with her caramel coloured hair and high cheekbones, and there was no doubt in Vivian's mind that she was a smart, independent woman who could hold her own. Vivian didn't even dislike her because she was clearly manipulative. She didn't know her well enough to get angry at her for that and usually Vivian would've admired someone with those traits, even if it was a bit twisted.

No, Vivian didn't like Bela because of how she looked at the boys. It was almost as if they were pieces of meat and she was starving. She supposed she could understand why. Dean was drop dead gorgeous and Sam was the most adorable dork she had ever seen (not to mention quite attractive when he got serious). Still, Vivian didn't think those qualities warranted the looks Bela gave them.

She supposed it could just be a part of her manipulation scheme and if it was, it was working, considering Sam looked like a lovesick puppy.

"Why are you so happy?" She asked, raising an eyebrow.

Sam cleared his throat and looked away.

"No reason; just excited to see Bobby."

"Well which one is it?" Vivian asked with a smile, knowing full well what was going on. "Nothing or seeing Bobby?"

"Seeing Bobby," Sam decided.

Vivian grinned at him and leaned close, whispering in his ear. "Oh you're excited alright but I don't think it's about Bobby."

Sam jumped, hitting his knees on the table and causing Vivian to give him a smug look and Dean to laugh.

The younger Winchester cleared his throat.

"Let's just get this show on the road, alright?" He said, swallowing.

Vivian just shook her head, trying to hide her smile.

"Boys," she said under her breath.

Vivian was fuming.

The boys hadn't let her go into Dreamland with them, spitting out some excuse about how she needed to be awake so she could shake them if it came to that. They had failed to acknowledge the fact that she couldn't even touch Dean, much less shake him if it came down to it.

"I'm going to kill them," Vivian seethed as she watched the brothers sleep. "I am going to kill them!"

Sam twitched unexpectedly, causing her to jump.

"Sam?" she asked tentatively, her anger forgotten, but she received no response in return.

Vivian watched him carefully, waiting for any sign of movement. After a moment, she got impatient and a little worried. She stood, moving over to Sam's bed with the intention of shaking him when he jerked upright, banging their foreheads together.

"Sam!" Vivian gasped in pain, clutching her head as she stumbled back.

"Sorry!" replied a rather dazed looking Sam.

"Idiots," Dean muttered under his breath, receiving him a death glare from Vivian.

"If I could touch you," she said in a voice much too sweet for Dean's liking. "I would strangle you."

Bobby was awake and itching to get out of bed by the time they arrived at the hospital.

"Hey," Vivian said, going over to hug the older man, much to his embarrassment. "I was worried."

Bobby cleared his throat, obviously feeling awkward as he patted her back.

"No need to be, everything's fine."

Dean rolled his eyes at the hunter's response as Vivian pulled away, beaming. It was odd how a smile could change her features so drastically. Without it she was pretty to be sure but cold. She hadn't used to be that way, Dean thought. She had shown a lot more expression when they'd first met; embarrassment, meekness, fear, confusion. Now she was either sad, angry or carefully blank. Dean hated himself for doing this to her.

"Bobby," Vivian began, her expression turning into one of concern and tenderness that Dean wasn't used to. "Is all that stuff about your wife true?"

Bobby cleared his throat, avoiding her eyes.

"Everyone has to get into hunting somehow," was all he said. Vivian gave him such a pitying look, it was no wonder Bobby avoided her gaze.

"I'm sorry," Dean offered and Bobby nodded, leaving it at that.

At that moment Sam entered, completely oblivious to what had been said just seconds before.

"So stoner boy wasn't in his dorm," he told them.

"Probably long gone by now," Dean agreed.

"Not much of a stoner," Bobby added.

Vivian nodded, "that Jeremy Frost of yours is a genius, which is amazing considering his dad took a baseball bat to his head."

Dean winced, "ouch."

"Yeah," Vivian agreed. "Asshole died before Jeremy turned 10 though. Still, the injury gave him Charcot-Wilbrand. He hadn't dreamt until he started going on the magical mystery tour via the dream root."

Dean nodded.

"So all we got to do is find him. Piece of cake."

Finding Jeremy was hard. For four days they looked and for four days they came up with absolutely nothing. It was only due to pure chance that they found him.

Vivian had been out with Sam in a nearby town for a drink. Dean had fought with her once more, this time about Dean's recklessness in looking for Jeremy.

"Don't you even care about your own life?" Vivian had shouted.

"No!" Dean had yelled back in a moment of frustration. "I don't!"

Vivian left with tears in her eyes, pulling Sam along with her. She refused to cry, even if Sam said he didn't mind. She wouldn't let herself cry over Dean Winchester's own stupid decisions.

So instead she drank...and drank…and drank.

"Vivian," Sam said, looking rather alarmed. "I think that's enough."

"Nope," Vivian slurred, drowning another glass and falling against Sam. She looked up at him, blue eyes bloodshot and tired. "Your brother," she bopped Sam in the nose, "is the dumbest guy," she hiccupped, "I've ever met."

Sam nodded, "I know."

Vivian shook her head sluggishly, trying to pull herself up into sitting position so she could look at Sam properly. "No you don't," she was visibly swaying. "He's your hero."

"I think we need to get you back," Sam interrupted, grabbing her arm and pulling her up.

"Noooooo," Vivian moaned, trying, and failing, to grab the bar counter.

"You're coming with me," Sam said, putting an arm around her shoulders for support. "Let's go."

Vivian pouted and blew her hair out of her eyes.

"Meanie."

And with that she passed out.

Sam shook his head and sighed, lifting her up bridal style as her head lolled from side to side. He wasn't too worried about her. Yes, she would have a major hangover the next day but he doubted that she had alcohol poisoning or anything like that. It was best to just let her sleep it off.

It was only when Sam realized that he didn't remember where he parked that things got interesting.

He looked around, noticing an alleyway that seemed vaguely familiar. He shrugged and walked down it, determined to find the Impala. If he couldn't, Dean would kill him.

And as luck would have it, right at the end of the alley was the black Chevy and parked right in front was Jeremy's car. Sam didn't recognize it at first, instead focusing on laying Vivian down in the backseat. It was only once he had straightened up that he realized that the car was registered to the person they were looking for.

He walked towards it cautiously, checking the insides. Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, Jeremy appeared, hitting Sam squarely on the back with a baseball bat.

"How did you find me?"He yelled, hitting Sam again.

The Winchester fell to his knees as Jeremy hit him once more. He rolled over with a groan, looking at the small, angry man standing above him.

"Answer me!" Jeremy shouted, landing another blow. "I saw you outside my dorm! Who are you?!"

Sam didn't respond, causing Jeremy to hit him again, this time knocking the wind out of him.

"You know what?" Jeremy said, his voice becoming low and menacing. "It doesn't matter. I'm going to kill you anyways."

He raised his bat, ready to deliver the final blow before his expression became one of surprise. He looked down at the knife that had bloomed from his chest in what seemed to be confusion. Sam struggled to regain his breath as he watched the other man fall to his knees and then on his face. He looked up at the figure standing over him in alarm as he managed to sit up, finally able to breathe regularly again.

"Vivian?" he asked, squinting at the swaying woman in front of him.

"He was going to hurt you," she mumbled. "No one hurts my Samsquatch."

And with that, she collapsed.

Love it? Hate it? PLEASE REVIEW! It would mean a lot to me and mean more chapters for you. I took a really long time to write this so please, please tell me what you think and check out my other fics.

Thanks!

~Liliana