A/n: Alright everyone this is the last chapter where we will be going from then till now. The boys finally get to interact in now time.

Thank you everyone who reads, reviews, follows, and/or favorites this story. A special thank you to bookgirl18, SparksFlyAngel LilyBolt, soulless666, and Guest for all of your recent reviews and interest.

Chapter 9

November 2nd

The first thing Sam noticed when he entered his home, was that all the lights were off. It wasn't exactly unusual being that it was a quarter to twelve, but with Jessica having known he was out, he had figured she would have left at least a table lamp on for him. Maybe she hadn't been able to go back to sleep so she went out or maybe she was just visiting Julie next door.

As he started off to their bedroom, something caught his eye. A plate of chocolate chip cookies was sitting on the dinning table with a note resting on top of them. He recognized the handwriting immediately, picking up the note, and reading inside. MISS YOU, LOVE YOU. A smile touched the corners of his lips and he helped himself before continuing on into the bedroom. As he drew closer he could hear the muffled sound of running water. "Jess? You home?"

He lightly nudged the door open and found the bed was empty and she was nowhere to be found, however their master bathroom's door was slightly ajar and there was a sliver of light along with the sound of their shower running. For a split second he contemplated joining her. He could use a tension releaser. Sam decided against it and instead he threw himself onto their bed and sighed heavily.

It felt good to be home. He knew his mom would be upset if she heard about what happened, but she didn't seem to understand. His older brother was always sticking his nose in his business. That is until a couple years when Dean had taken it too far and caused Sam to snap.

Pushing the thoughts from his mind, Sam placed his hands behind his head and closed his eyes with complacency. He wasn't laying there for long before something wet dripped onto his face. He flinched at first, unsure if he had just fallen asleep and was still in a dream state or in the process of dozing off. Another drop hit him on the forehead. He slowly opened his eyes, thinking maybe he would find Jessica hovering over him, her hair still dripping wet. Sam's eyes grew wide in fear and disbelief and he gasped as he propped himself up onto his elbows.

"No!"

He couldn't tear his gaze from the gruesome yet familiar sight before him. Jessica was laying on the ceiling with her right arm bent at the elbow and her right leg twisted in an unnatural direction. Her stomach was drenched in scarlet red which was still dripping down onto Sam below. Her own eyes shone with fear and pain and her mouth was open as though she was surprised.

"NO! Jess!"

Jessica's body was suddenly engulfed by a burst of flames that quickly started to spread throughout the room. Unable to will himself to move, Sam continued to stare up at his wife. He had been so lost and disoriented in the horror before him, that he didn't even realize someone else had entered the room. He could make out the sound of his name being called, but he didn't make any acknowledgement that he had heard them. A pair of arms grabbed a hold of Sam and began forcing him out and away from the burning woman.

"No! No!"

As he continued to be evacuated from the apartment, he tried to push away his help and run back into the building. Once they were both safely on the sidewalk, Sam completely tuned out everything. His hazel stare was glued to the engulfed complex and the only sound he could hear, was a high pitch ringing in his ear.

"Sam. Sam! Hey!" A stinging sensation on Sam's right side of his face brought the young man back to his senses and he made a move towards the building. However, he was stopped once more. "Stop!"

"She's still in there. Let me go, she's still in there!" He roared trying to push past his brother again.

"She's gone!" He yelled back. He felt the younger man's strength falter and he repeated calmly, "Sammy she's gone."

"No," Sam sobbed. His body began to shake and his vision blurred. He no longer was fighting the arms that had forced him from his home. It was as though his bones had turned to mush and no longer could support him. Sam tumbled to the floor and landed in a heap on his knees. The sound of sirens blaring could be heard rapidly approaching.

All of it was gone. His wife, his life, their dreams, their apartment, gone. Everything they had worked so hard for, in ruins.

Sam eventually found the strength to push himself up to his feet as two fire engines, two ambulances, and three cop cars pulled up to the curb where the boys were. The firemen quickly got to work extinguishing the fire, while the police made their way over to the brothers.

"What happened?" One of the officers asked as he approached them. His expression showed only interests for the facts and was vacant of any sympathy.

"A fire obviously," Dean snapped.

"Obviously. How did the fire start?" The officer tried again giving Dean an unamused glare.

"I don't know. I just dropped him off at home a couple of minutes ago."

"Anyone in the apartment?"

"Jessica," Sam breathed. Now the cop's eyes fell on him.

"And where is she?"

"Inside."

"And you are?"

"Sam Winchester."

"And you?" He asked turning back to Dean.

"His brother," he answered shortly.

A second cop made eye contact with the first and he excused himself. Sam's eyes drifted back to the building, which the firefighters were still working on dousing, while Dean kept his own on the officers. He watched as the first one nodded and together they made their way back towards the brothers.

"I'm afraid I'm going to have to ask you boys to come down to the station for further questioning," he announced.

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Dean exclaimed.

"You don't honestly think I did this?" Sam's voice cracked with anger.

"It's a routine procedure," he explained. "Now we can do this the easy way, you get into the back of the cop car and we take you to the station, or we can do it the not so easy way and handcuff you both, throw you in a cop car, and take you to the station. Your call."

Dean still had an incredulous look on his face and for second he contemplated fighting them on this, but Sam was the first to respond. He didn't do it in words, but rather sadly made his way over to one of the cars. The second cop joined him and opened up the back door as the younger brother climbed in.

"Well? What'll it be? Easy like you're brother? Or...?" With an eye roll and a scoff, Dean marched over to one that Sam had gotten into but was redirected to the first cop's car. "Nice try, but you're coming with me." Dean stared at him, then ducked down into the back seat as directed.

As the cars rolled out, Sam sat with his head resting against the window staring out at the destroyed apartment that only minutes ago had been his home. Fresh tears rolled off his chin, down his cheeks, and dripped onto his hands. The feeling startled him at first, reminding him of the blood that had dropped from Jessica onto his face not long ago. He didn't wipe them away, just continued to stare out the window as the car carried him away from the ruins of his life and off to the station.

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Now

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Dean was standing leaned up against the brick wall of the station when Sam exited the building. He stopped short noticing his brother's shoulders were looking unusually pensive and his lips were twisted in a frown. His arms were crossed over his chest and his expression showed no usual signs of smugness.

"What?" Sam asked.

"Sorry about your girlfriend. Sorry, wife." The younger man's eyes grew wide as he stared at his brother. "I guess my invitation got lost in the mail."

"Dean listen, I-"

"Don't," he stopped him. His voice was low, almost small and when he said it, he shook his head. "I get it. You didn't want your big brother coming along and fucking up your perfect day." The unmistakable sound of disappointment and hurt were laced in his bitter words. He pushed himself off of the wall, "when did you tie the knot?"

Sam didn't respond right away. This was what he was hoping to avoid. But then how could he? Dean wasn't an idiot, Sam knew that. In fact he felt like the fool for having thought he could sweep it under the rug unnoticed.

"November 1st."

"Missed it by a day. And that out of state trip mom just got back from, that was your wedding?"

Sam battled internally with whether it would be better to lie, or just come clean. He found himself unable to answer with words, so instead he nodded. The elder brother replicated the gesture himself then rolled his eyes and scoffed.

"Great that's just...that's great. Glad someone from our family could be apart of your life."

"Dean-"

"I can't believe Mom didn't tell me. I mean you I get, but Mom?"

"She wanted me to, she begged me to. She really did, but I just-"

"Yeah, I get it Sam." The younger brother opened his mouth but it was the elder sibling who spoke."It's a long drive back home and I still have to get back to my car. I should probably get rolling." The younger brother had been so invested in his conversation with his sibling, that he hadn't noticed a taxi pull up.

"You can't leave the city. If you go, they'll think you're involved."

"Like they don't already? What's the difference? I never should've come here in the first fucking place," Dean snapped starting for the taxi.

"Why did you?"

"See you around Sam, or not, whatever works best for you." The ice in the elder brother's voice pulled a discontent sigh from the younger.

"Dean, I'm sorry."

The elder Winchester boy matched his stare with his brother's. "No you're not," he said staring Sam straight in the eye. "The only thing you're sorry about, is that you got caught." Dean turned from his sibling and with one final head shake, he climbed into the back of the taxi. The younger brother watched the car until it turned completely out of sight in the direction they had been brought a day ago.

With Jessica gone, his brother leaving, and his mother back at home, Sam was unsure of where to go. They had warned him, and Dean too, to stay within the city until they were absolutely certain that neither brother was responsible for Jessica's death. Although Dean had already tossed that recommendation to the curb, Sam wouldn't. He pulled his phone from his pocket and began to scroll through the names and numbers, until he found the only other person within the city he knew he could count on and activated the number.

A/n: I just would like to wish everyone luck on the season finale as well as wish you all well for the Hellatus we are about to endure. Just remember that even though we won't have the boys for a few months we will have each other to help fill that void and many times Hellatus is when a lot of truly creative ideas happen within the fandom (though overall it's a very creative and amazing bunch of people). Also there's always that breath of fresh air just knowing we will be seeing them for another season! We can do this!

SparksFlyAngel: He is important yes, or at least, he has a role to play. I'm glad you're happy with this story so far! And it made me happy to hear that even though it's quite different from the Sam and Dean we have grown to know and love, it still feels like it's them! That's what I've been hoping to convey so thank you so much for saying so. Also, yes, the Impala is like another Winchester in my eyes, she's part of the family so she has to be a part of this too. And of course Dean still loves her. Oh and the brothers fighting, I'm really glad that seemed so real to you too. Thank you so much for your fantastic review and interest and letting me know what's worked for you, I always enjoy the feedback.

Guest: That's awesome that you're the same Guest! Thank you so so much again for your interest in many of my stories and for your review! I'm so glad you like how I've been writing the brothers' relationship struggle. I'll admit, I've had to write and rewrite a few of these moments because I'm so use to them having a better relationship than they have in this. So hearing that makes me feel so much better. I think I've gotten the hang of it a bit more now that I've written up to CH12. Thank you so so much for all your time, interest, and reviews!