We turn into the parking lot of a cafe. The signage claims "Sunnyside Diner: The Best of the Best". Dean pulls up the the front and stops, shifting Baby into Park."Thank God!" I exclaim. "I'm starving. But let's get it to go so we can get back to Bobby's. I need a good shower and my bed."Both boys laugh and agree. Sam opens the door to get out."Hey, don't forget the extra onions this time, huh?" Dean says as he hands Sam some money."Dude, I'm the one whose gonna have to ride in the car with your extra onions," Sam says, grimacing. "Try kissing him," I mutter, causing Sam to laugh and Dean to throw a bitchface my way. I shrug, he knows it's true. I've complained about it before."Doesn't stop ya," Dean retorts. Sam shakes his head and exits the car. Before he can get the door shut, Dean and I both call out "Hey, see if they've got any pie." Sam glares at us and shuts the door. "Bring pie!" Dean shouts through the windshield. "I love me some pie."

"Mhm," I hum as I sit up and wrap my arms around his shoulders. "I know you do. I sometimes get jealous over it." Dean head jerks around and he stares at me. The look on his face is unreadable and I take it as maybe I crossed some imaginary boundary. "I'm kidding," I laugh and his face softens. Thank god." We watch as Sam goes into the café and begin talking to the waiter. Suddenly, the radio turns to static. I watch as Dean tries to fix it, but then it just turns off completely. When we looks back up, the inside of the café is empty. No waiter, no Sam.I unwrap my arms and grab the door handle. Dean is already out of the car and running into the café. I follow in and find a massacre. One customer at a booth is dead, face down in a puddle of blood.

Dean is walking through the diner with his gun drawn."Sam?" Dean calls out. Once he gets to the counter he looks to his right and stops. His face actually pales so I make my way over to see what he is looking lay the employees, dead with their throats steps to the back door and opens it, looking outside "Sam?!" He yells for his brother again with no answer. He looks at the door and runs his fingers across the window pane. He holds his fingers up and shows me. There is a yellow residue on them."Sulfur," we both wipes his hand off on his jeans and grabs mine, racing out the front door, back to the of getting into the Impala, Dean lets my hand go and walks to the end of the parking lot. "Sam! Sammy!"I join in, hoping if Sam hears my voice he'd answer but knowing better. "Sam? Sammy!" "SAAAAM!" I hear Dean's plea in his voice as he yells for his brother and it breaks my heart. We have to find Sam! Dean turns and looks at me and I can see the tears he is trying not to let fall.

"Call Bobby. See if there are any signs in this area," I tell him to get his mind off the fact that his brother disappeared practically right before out eyes.Five hours later"This is it. All demonic signs and omens over the past month," Bobby tells us, pointing to a map we have spread out on Baby's hood."Are you fucking joking? There's nothing here," Dean asks, desperation in his tone."Exactly," Bobby says looking at me and Dean. I can tell he is remorseful that he doesn't have better news."Well, come on, there's gotta be something. What about the, the, the normal, low-level stuff? You know, exorcisms, that kind of thing."

"That's what I'm telling you: there's nothing. It's completely quiet."

"Well, how the hell are we supposed to look for Sam? What, do we just close our eyes and point?"Dean's phone rings. I take a peek over his shoulder as he goes to answer. It's Ash, calling from the Roadhouse."Ash, what do you got?"Ash is telling him something but I can't hear over the noises behind us."Oh, come on, man! You've gotta give us something. We're looking at a three thousand-mile haystack here."

"Come on, I don't have time for this!" Dean hangs up his phone and says, "I guess we're going to the Roadhouse. Come on."I jump into the backseat as Dean and Bobby get into the front. We take off headed to the Roadhouse. I'm so worried about Sam that it doesn't even dawn on me that the Roadhouse is the one place I didn't want to ever see again. But when we get there, it is a sight that makes my stomach drop. Although I despise this place, I am disheartened to see what is left of the building. Most of the structure is in ashes and the rest is charred by flames."What the hell?" Dean asks as he get out of the car, Dean grabs my hand and we begin walking among the debris. Every single part of the Roadhouse has been destroyed."Nic, stay back? We don't know how stable any of this is," Dean warns me. I agree; with only have one good foot for support, it is best if I don't go in. Instead I keep to the outside, walking along the perimeter of the remains of the Roadhouse.

"Oh, my God," Bobby mumbles as he steps over pieces of scorched wall supports and beams."You see Ellen?" Dean asks him while he is combing through the ruins."No. No Ash, either."I see Dean bend down and look at something in the pile of rubble. He pulls on it and I can see it is still attached to something. Dean's face pales and I realize that it is Ash's very burnt corpse."Oh, Ash, damn it!" Dean drops the charred remains and lowers his head, in grief. I watch from afar, wishing I could get to him to comfort him. I knew Ash and Dean weren't exactly close but Dean always mourned for a minute for those he couldn't save."This is... "Bobby says, trailing off."What the hell did Ash know? We've got no way of knowing where Ellen is. Or if she's even alive. We've got no clue what Ash was gonna tell us. Now, how the hell are we gonna find Sam?" Dean says, despair and hopelessness evident in the tone of his voice.

"We'll find him," Bobby tells him, trying to stay optimistic. But even I am starting to feel the anguish of not being able to find , Dean clutches his head in pain."Dean!" I yell, wishing I could get to him, hating that I can't. "Dean?" Bobby turns to see Dean groaning and doubled over, holding his head in his hands."What was that?" Bobby asks, helping Dean out of the rubble. I rush to Baby and grab a couple of beers out of the cooler in the back."I don't know. A headache?"

"You get headaches like that a lot?"

"No. Must be the stress," Dean chuckles, accepting the beer I hand him as they make it back to the Impala. Bobby declines his so I decide to drink it myself. The fear and worry about what has happened to Sam taking its toll. "I could have sworn I saw something."

"What do you mean?" I ask, worried. "Like a vision? Like what Sam gets?""What? No!" Dean balks at that idea. I know he's always joked that Sam was a freak with his ability, but he's also afraid deep down that maybe he's a freak too. "She has a point," Bobby says after sipping his beer. Dean looks at him annoyed. "I'm just saying."

"Come on, I'm not some psychic," Dean declares and then falls against the car in pain. HIs eyes are squeezed shut and his breathing is erratic. I put my hand on his back and slowly rub it, hoping to alleviate whatever is happening."Dean? Dean! Are you with me?"

"Yeah, I think so," Dean says looking at me. "I saw Sam." Then looks over at Bobby, "I saw him, Bobby.""It was a vision," Bobby says."A vision? But Dean said-" I begin but Dean interrupts me."Yeah. I don't know how, but yeah. Whew. That was about as fun as getting kicked in the fucking jewels." I stop my hand on his shoulder and look at him, scrunching my nose slightly at his metaphor."What else did you see?" I inquire."Uh... there was a bell."

"What kind of bell?" Bobby asks."Like a big bell with some kind of engraving on it, I don't know."

"Engraving?"

"Yeah."

"Was it a tree? Like, an oak tree?" Bobby asks and both Dean and I look at him, puzzled."Yeah, exactly."

"I know where Sam is," Bobby proclaims."Well where the hell is he?" I ask the old man."Cold Oak, South Dakota."We make it to Cold Oak that night. It's rainy and the ground is muddy, making it hard to get a good foothold. Bobby and Dean run on ahead of me looking between buildings and Dean is yelling Sam's name. The town looks like one of those deserted old ones in the westerns Dean loves to watch. The buildings are all derelict and abandoned. I limp and hobble along following them as close as I can. I hear Sam's voice as I catch up with Dean. Sam is standing there in the rain, beaten and battered, holding his arm. Suddenly a man in army fatigues appears behind him and I catch the flash of the blade the army man is holding.

Dean shouts, "Sam, look out!" as the man attacks Sam from behind. Adrenaline kicks in and before I know it, I take off running as fast as I can in this stupid boot. I muster what strength I have, willing it to be enough since it has been so long since I've had to use my powers and collide with Sam's attacker, sending him flying. The knife falls from his hand as he hits the ground. Army man scrambles to get up, looks down at the knife and then back to me. "Nic!" I hear Dean yell. "Watch out!" I lunge for the knife at the same time that Army man does, thankfully getting to it first.

He looks at me as we both stand and says, "Y'all are crazy. He only wants one of us and it's going to be me. I will win!" He takes off into the woods and Bobby takes off after him. I turn to see Dean hugging Sam, careful of his shoulder and arm. I limp over, the straining and stretching having overworked my muscles that were atrophied. I smile at Sam as his brother lets him go. "What the hell was that Nic?" Dean says looking at me, irritation clear on his face."What?" I ask him, surprised at his outburst. "He was going to stab Sam, possibly kill him. I did what you should've done. I saved Sam!"

"Dammit, you could've gotten killed yourself!"

"But I didn't!" I yell back at him. "I saved your brother from potential death, you asshole!" My chest is heaving and I feel like I can't catch a decent breath and my foot and ankle are burning from the exertion. I look at Sam, "Ya think we could help each other back to the car. I need to get off my foot."

"Yea," Sam huffs a laugh. "Come on, gladiator!" I wrap my arm around Sam's waist, mindful of his injury and his arm comes around under my arm, accidentally grazing the side of my breast. "Oh, sorry," he apologizes, blushing. I laugh at his reaction. "It's okay, Sam" Sam and I make it back to the Impala and help each other get into the rear seat. "Thanks for saving my life, Nic.""Hey, it's what friends do, right?"Sam smiles at me and I return it. We look through the windshield to see Bobby and Dean returning, deep in conversation. Sam looks back over at me and says, "You know you're more than a friend to me."