Well, I have to say...it's so good to be back! I've been pleasantly surprised by the response and am so happy that I didn't seem to lose any readers in my long absense! Thank you all for reading and taking the time to comment on the story. And now...onto chapter 2!

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May 24, 2003 – Palo Alto, California

The sleek, black car rumbled loudly as it came to a stop at the curb in front of a three story building. The two occupants swung the doors open with a squeaky flourish and dragged themselves from the front seat. The driver, tall and slender with medium brown hair glanced over the roof of the car at the passenger as the shorter young man stood and stretched his arms above his head. The driver smirked as the other man groaned as he stretched.

"You're getting old, Deano!" the driver called with a chuckle.

The other man turned and gave the driver a one finger salute, his green eyes narrowed as he glared across the car. "You'll always be older than me, Danny…don't ever forget that," he groused as he turned and stepped up onto the sidewalk.

Daniel laughed out loud then made his way around the car to join his brother. Both young men turned their gazes to glass doors on the front of the building before them. "Where is the little shit?" Dean asked as his eyes moved up the side of the building.

Daniel patted Dean's shoulder before leaning back against the Impala and crossing his arms over his chest. "He'll be down in a minute. Quit being so impatient, old man," he said with a grin.

"I'm 24, dude," Dean said, a scowl marring his handsome face as he turned to face his brother.

"Yeah? Well, you act like you're 84 sometimes. Too much partying, if you ask me," Daniel retorted, his eyes suddenly moving past his brother to the building. He smiled wide as the door pushed open and a tall, shaggy haired young man stepped out into the sunlight.

Dean turned and followed his brother's gaze, his scowl turning into a smile as he spotted his baby brother strolling toward them. "Sammy! Bout damn time you decided to come down!" he called as he watched the young man approach.

"Well, if you guys had given me a bit more notice that you were coming, I'd have been ready," Sam responded as he grabbed his brother in a tight hug.

Dean hugged back, patting the younger man on the back, before he pulled away and allowed his older brother access to the youngest. He waited for Daniel to pull away from Sam before he stepped forward and slapped Sam on the shoulder. "What's the big deal anyway, princess? Your classes ended last week. We'd have come then if you hadn't blown us off," he said with a cock of his head.

"I told you, Dean. I had an extra class I had to finish up with," Sam said as he pulled the back door of the Impala open and tossed his duffel bag onto the seat.

Dean shook his head as he glanced over at Daniel, who merely shrugged and smiled as he turned his gaze upon his baby brother. "Only you would take on extra classes and stay later into your break, Sammy," Dean said with mock disgust.

"Dean, you know why I took that class. I…"

"You wanted to be close to that pretty little blonde…I know," Dean interrupted. He grinned when he looked over and saw his older brother scowling at him.

"No…I didn't even know she was in the class when I signed up for it. I took it because it counts toward my requirements and this way I won't have as many classes this fall, when the classes I do have to take will be harder," Sam explained.

"Yeah, yeah, yeah…I've heard it all before. It has nothing to do with Jennifer, or Jeannie…or whatever her name is."

"Jessica, Dean…her name is Jessica, and no, it has nothing to do with her," Sam said with a shake of his head.

"Where is the little hottie anyway?" Dean asked, his green eyes sweeping over the nearly deserted campus.

Sam rolled his eyes as he turned toward his brother. "She left three days ago…went home for the summer," he answered.

"Oh, so like everyone else, she went home, but you…you wanted to stick around a little longer huh? You're such a geek," Dean said.

"Dean, quit teasing Sam," Daniel said with a grin.

Sam smiled over at his eldest brother then turned back to Dean. "I had some things I wanted to get taken care of so I wouldn't have to worry about them over the break. That's…"

"That's why we didn't call you until we were nearly here. This way, you had to pack up and get your ass out of here," Dean said.

"Well, I finished up what I wanted to last night anyway…just didn't expect a call at 7 in the morning telling me to 'get your crap packed…we'll be there in 15'," Sam quoted as he smacked Dean on the back.

"Only way to get you moving, bitch. We have places to go, people to see, sins to commit."

Sam shook his head then turned and met Daniel's gaze. "So, where are we going? Are we meeting up with Dad?" he asked.

Daniel moved around to the driver's door and rested his arms on the roof of the car. "Dad's on a hunt with Bobby over in Virginia. We probably won't see him for a few weeks at least. We thought since we missed your birthday, we'd take you up to San Francisco for a few days then start heading their way," Daniel answered.

At the mention of San Francisco, Sam felt a sudden feeling of dread wash over him. He liked San Francisco, had actually gone up there with his friends the weekend of his birthday, but ever since that weekend, whenever he heard mention of the city, he felt dread, maybe even a little fear. Nothing out of the ordinary had happened when he was there and the weekend had passed without incident, but still the feeling of dread was there. Sam was pulled from his thoughts by a nudge on his arm. He glanced over into the concerned eyes of his brother.

"What? Did you say something?" Sam asked softly.

"Where'd you go there, Sammy? You had this blank stare on your face," Dean replied as he took a small step toward his brother.

"Oh…uh…I guess I was just thinking…um…why San Francisco? Why don't we just head toward Virginia now?" Sam answered.

"Um, why not San Francisco?" Dean asked.

"No reason…just…I don't know…seems a bit out of the way if we're going to meet up with Dad in a few weeks."

"It'll be fine, kiddo," Daniel called from across the car. "We'll spend a few days there then head east. It'll be fun."

Sam looked over at his brother and smiled. "Yeah…it'll be fun," he said softly before ducking down and sliding into the back seat of the Impala. Daniel and Dean met each other's eyes and shrugged before they too got into the car. Three doors slammed shut then the roar of the engine filled the morning air. The car pulled away from the curb leaving the dorm to stand lonely sentinel over the deserted street.

sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn sn

Dean glanced over his shoulder into the back seat of the Impala and smiled at his baby brother sleeping, his head resting on his bunched up jacket against the window. His smile faded somewhat as he took in the slight dark smudges under Sam's eyes. The kid looked thinner than the last time they'd seen him too and suddenly, the older brother felt concern creep over him. He turned his attention to his older brother and sighed. Daniel cast a quick glance his way before returning his gaze to the highway before him.

"What?" Daniel asked curiously.

"I…I don't know. It's Sammy…he…does he seem thinner to you?" Dean responded before sparing another glance into the back seat.

Daniel looked up into the rearview mirror at his baby brother's reflection. He frowned slightly then brought his eyes forward again. "Yeah, I guess he looks a little thinner, but…"

"And tired…he looks pretty tired. He's got bags under his eyes," Dean interrupted, his green eyes filled with concern as he stared over at his older brother.

"Well, Dean…he has been hitting the books pretty hard to get that last class finished. He's probably just not been eating or sleeping as much. You know Sam and how he gets lost in his studies," Daniel said reassuringly, though deep inside he too felt concern for his baby brother.

"Yeah, I know, but…he's never let himself go like this before. Dad'll crap bricks if he sees him like this!"

"It's not that bad, Dean, and besides, we'll fatten him up before we see Dad. He'll get caught up on sleep and be good as new before you know it."

"I hope so or I'll have to kick the little bitch's ass!"

"The little bitch is bigger than you in case you haven't noticed," Daniel said with a slight chuckle.

Dean glanced over at Daniel and scoffed. "He may be taller, but he ain't bigger. He's scrawny as a scarecrow," he objected.

"He's not scrawny…he's…um…scrappy! Yep…our baby brother is scrappy," Daniel announced with a proud grin.

"Scrappy? Really? Like…Scrappy Doo? I don't think he'd like being compared to a cartoon puppy, Danny."

"Hey, you brought up how scrawny he's looking. I don't think he'd appreciate that either, little brother."

"'m not Scrappy Doo…and 'm not a scarecrow either," Sam's soft voice called from the back seat. Dean glanced back and grinned as Sam straightened himself and blinked the sleep from his eyes.

"Yeah, well…we think different. You've let yourself go a bit, kiddo," Dean said with a serious tone.

Sam shook his head and rolled his eyes. "I haven't let myself go. I'm a lean, mean fighting machine. Just because I don't have a few extra layers of fat on me doesn't mean I'm scrawny, chubbo," he responded with a light chuckle.

"Did you just call me chubbo?" Dean asked incredulously. He turned to look at Daniel as the young man began to laugh then smacked him on the arm. "Did he really just call me chubbo? And what the hell are you laughing at!? He was referring to you too, you big dummy!"

Daniel glanced over at his brother and grinned from ear to ear. "First of all, yes, he did call you chubbo and second…no, he was not referring to me. I have no extra fat on this fine body," he quipped.

"Fine body, my ass! I see you button your jeans in the morning! Gonna start calling you muffin top!" Dean retorted.

"Yeah, right! I dare you to pinch an inch…no, wait…I dare you to pinch half an inch! Come on…pinch me!" Daniel cried as he lifted his elbow, revealing his tee shirt covered side.

"I ain't pinching you, you big girly jerk!" Dean cried as he crammed himself up against the car door, as far away from his brother as he could. "Sheesh…next thing you know, you'll be wanting me to brush your hair and paint your nails!" he added with disgust. A soft laugh had him turning and scowling at the passenger in the back seat, his green eyes narrowed on the younger man. "What are you laughing at? You're more girly than he is!"

Sam smiled at him then patted him on the arm. "Will you brush my hair, chubbo? And don't forget, one hundred strokes," he said before he burst out laughing, joining his oldest brother who by this time had tears streaming down his face.

"Wh…I'm gonna beat your ass, you little bitch! Why don't you stroke this!" Dean hissed before turning around in his seat and crossing his arms dejectedly over his chest. "'m not a chubbo," he muttered under his breath while discreetly pinching his own side with his fingers.

The laughing continued for a few moments then died down to a few soft chuckles. Finally, after several minutes, Dean dared a sneak peek across the seat then back to his brother in the back seat. Sam was staring out the window, a slight smile on his face and in that moment all the teasing was forgotten. They were all three together again and they had the entire summer to hang out, maybe do a hunt or two, but mostly just enjoy being brothers. Though he was still concerned that Sam wasn't quite himself, Dean figured that after a few days of brotherly bonding, his kid brother would be back to his normal, irritating self and they could stop worrying about him. Then again, when did any of them really ever stop worrying about the youngest Winchester? If Dean only knew what the coming days would bring, he'd wrap his little brother in bubble wrap and head east to Virginia, never to lay feet in California again. But, he didn't know and neither did Daniel so the black car rumbled on North, all occupants oblivious to the danger that lie ahead.

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Dun, dun, dun! So, I know it was short, but hopefully sweet? Anyway, if you have the time please let me know what you think and I'll post the next chapter in a week or so. I'm working on chapter 4 now and am hoping that I can keep ahead of the game so I can post every week or two. Okay...bye for now :D

Cindy