A/n: Thank you everyone who reads, reviews, follows, and/or favorites this story. A special thank you to 14fox, miXiZ, LilyBolt, Souless666, Guest, SparksFlyAngel, and jojospn for your recent reviews.

Chapter 12

The next morning, Dean entered Sam's room and found him with his right arm resting on the toliet seat and his forehead pressed against his arm. A muffled moan sounded as the twenty six year old closed the door behind him and went to lean in the doorway of the restroom. He peered down at his little brother and shook his head. Upon hearing him, Sam slowly rotated his head so that he was squinting up at Dean.

"How'd you get in here?" He mumbled. Dean scoffed.

"A little slow this morning huh? The room comes with two keys, genius. You didn't honestly think I was going to get you your own room and not have a key to it did you? What kind of big brother would I be if I left you shitfaced and had no way to actually get to you if the occasion called for it?" The younger man closed his eyes and moved his head back so that he was facing the inside of the toilet bowl.

"G'away."

"You know there's a really good cure for a hangover." Dean replied,not moving from his spot. "It's a greasy pork sandwich served up on a dirty ashtray."

"Oh, I hate you," Sam groaned before the room erupted into the sound of him vomiting.

"I know you do. Hey so, you should probably give Mom a call, you know, whenever your done puking up your guts."

The younger sibling finished up then turned his head towards his brother once again.

"Have you talked with her?"

"Yeah."

"Did you tell her?"

"Just the basics, like let her know about the fire and that you weren't dead. I figured the rest is for you to tell...or not tell," Dean grabbed a towel that was folded neatly on a rack above the toilet and handed it to his brother. Sam accepted it, wiping his mouth and then flushing. Slowly he got up from his knees, using the toilet as way to help him up. Once he was more or less on his feet, he held out his hand in his sibling's direction.

"What?" The eldest inquired quirking an eyebrow.

"Gimme," the younger man demanded pulling his fingers in and pushing them out rapidly in a "hand it over" manner.

"Give you what? You want me to hold your hand?"

"The phone," he clarified.

"I don't have your phone." Sam repeated the gesture. Dean's eyebrows went up as he finally caught on to what his brother was trying to convey. "Dude, no. Get your own." The young man rolled his eyes and muttered an insult under his breath, shuffling his way back into the bedroom. He swept one long arm around on the bed until he felt something hard in the sheets, pulling them back, he revealed his phone. Sam dialed their mother's number and put the cell to his ear.

"See now was that so hard?"

Without looking at his brother, the younger man raised his middle finger in Dean's direction.

"Hello?" Mary's voice sounded after a few rings.

"Hey Mom."

"Sammy, you sound awful. What happened? Dean told me there was a fire."

"Yeah, there was," he started, already he was getting tired of having to talk about it. It was like he was reopening a wound every time he had to explain. "I couldn't save Jess." Even the short version was like a bad taste in his mouth.

"Oh Love, I'm so sorry. Jessica was such a lovely young woman and I know she meant the world to you."

"Yeah she did," Sam choked out.

"I'm so glad you're alive, I don't know what I'd do if I'd lost you." Sam nodded sadly. Mary still hadn't completely gotten over her husband's death from a few years ago and the thought of losing her son so soon, or at all, was devastating. "And Dean's alright? He says he is but I know your brother, there's something wrong."

The younger Winchester stole a glance at his sibling who was trying to look uninterested.

"Seems fine to me."

"Does he know? Did you finally tell him?" She asked hopefully.

"Yeah," Sam sighed, "he knows."

"So he's not alright."

"He's upset."

"As he should be. I am too...but I'll chew you out later, for now I just want you to be ok." Her voice grew soft.

"Did you know Dean was going to be coming to California?"

"Of course I did. Your brother wouldn't just pack his bags and leave the State without saying something to me."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"Oh Love, he wanted to surprise you. Besides, do you honestly think it'd be fair for me to do that to him after I agreed to keep my mouth shut for you about your wedding? Your wedding, Sammy. It's a big deal, a big important step. He just wants to be a part of your life."

"I know Mom," Sam sighed far from comfortable or interested in having that talk with his brother standing in the same room as him. Or at all really.

"I wish I could get you two to come home, but Dean told me about you both being told to stay in town. The nerve of them, thinking my boys are capable of something like murder. I should go down there to you."

"No, it's fine."

"It isn't."

"Mom you can't afford it, please just... look, I have Dean here, I'm fine. Ok?" There was a pause on the other end of the phone accompanied by a defeated sigh.

"Fine. But I will be checking in on you two."

"Of course."

"Let me know if you need to talk. Or want to. Please take care of yourself Sam."

"I will."

"And I know you two have your differences or whatever, but be nice to your brother."

"Goodbye Mom."

"Bye Love. I love you both."

"Love you too." He disconnected the call then turned back to look at Dean.

"So how's Mom?" The elder brother asked.

"She's worried. She says she loves you by the way."

"That all she said about me?"

"Alright well, I'm gonna go ahead and get in the shower so..." The elder brother nodded.

"So, we're just gonna pretend I didn't hear you get all pissy that she didn't give you a heads up I was on my way to see you?"

Sam shrugged. "We don't have to pretend anything."

"Right. Well, I'll get out of your hair then. Which could use a trim by the way," he said giving his brother's hair a disapproving look. Sam rolled his eyes. "I'm gonna see what this town has to offer for grub. See you in a bit." The younger man eyed his sibling then felt around his back pocket, pulling out his wallet and thumbing through it.

"Seriously dude?"

"Don't act all innocent," he countered as he tucked the leather back into his pants once he was satisfied nothing was missing. "It wouldn't be the first time I found my ATM card had been snaked from me unnoticed by you."

Dean rolled his eyes. "Let it go Sam."

With that he left, closing the motel door behind him. The younger man shook his head and closed the bathroom door before turning on the shower and undressing. Once inside he closed his eyes and let the water wash over him. He stood like that for awhile longer before he took up the little shampoo bottle, courtesy of the motel, and got to washing.

Twenty minutes later, he re-emerged with his towel wrapped around his waist which he quickly substituted for the outfit he had worn earlier. Sam made a mental note to go out and buy some new clothes sometime that day, no way was he going to be wearing the same thing all week long. As he grabbed his pants from the floor, something hit the tile with a small clinking sound. Sam frowned and squated down to retrieve the object. He collected the item and brought it up so that he could examine it better. Sam's eyes began to water as they fell on the tiny band that he held in his fingers.

That day came back in perfect clarity. That morning after the wedding, the look of amusement and appreciation on Jessica's beautiful youthful face when he had presented his attempt at cooking. The way her body seemed to fit and move perfectly with his when they made love. The baby blue cotton dress she had worn that made her blue eyes shine. Her laugh that brought on a smile even as he basked in the glow of her own. The way her fingers intertwined with his so that they had an embrace of their own. The aroma of Jasmine that floated from her from the perfume Sam had bought for her birthday that year. The way her hips swayed which he had pointed out only to have her deny it and turn red. The look of pure fear and saddness when she thought she had lost her ring followed by the look of relief once it had been returned. The taste of her lips when he had last kissed her, a hint of mint from her having just brushed her teeth only a couple hours before they had gone to bed. But his memories soon turned to remembrance of the previous night. The nightmare. Only now it wasn't only a matter of a bad dream, but a horrific reality. He remembered the image of Jessica laying dead on the ceiling, hearing her calling out to him, waking up, puking, the lights flickering, and..what had it been? A dream? A figment of his imagination? Alcohol and exhaustion working together to create a miraculous hallucination?

A knock at the door brought Sam back to the motel bathroom. He quickly wiped at his eyes, shoved the band back into his pocket, and called out, "what?"

"Got you some toast, thought it might help settle your stomach. They only had wheat, but I figured you wouldn't..." He stopped short when the door opened revealing his brother. "Mind."

"I'm not hungry," Sam replied averting his freshly shining eyes to the floor.

"I know you don't think you are, but trust me, you are. Or at least you need it." The elder brother replied, refraining from addressing the red watery gaze in front of him.

"I said I'm not hungry," he repeated sternly. "Besides, I've got somewhere I've gotta go." The younger man moved to exit the bathroom but was stopped by a hand held out in front of him.

"You aren't driving anywhere. Not with that hangover. Not to mention you don't have a car."

"So I'll take a cab," Sam shrugged moving and being stopped again. He huffed.

"Why spend money on a cab when you have a perfectly good not drunk brother with a perfectly good running car for free?"

The younger man raised his eyebrow at his sibling.

"You're gonna drive me around?"

"Sure, why not? It's not like I have anything better to do. It'll be like old times before you could drive and I was offered up as a chauffeur for you."

"Please, anytime you got a chance to drive the Impala, you took it gladly," Sam countered as a smirk touched his lips.

"Touché. Alright, so where to?"

A/n: SparksFlyAngel: You won't have to wait too long to find out what it was Sam saw, I promise. Yes, Dean cares about and worries for his little brother. Right now Sam's just really upset, not to mention they didn't grow up with that same bond as when Dean was raising and watching over him. As I said, it may be awhile, but I have high hopes that things will get better between them. Thank you again for your interest, time, enthusiasm, and dedication. XXOO

Guest: I believe that you are 100% right that Sam needs Dean more than he needs Brady. He always has. The boys may have nice normal lives (well, did), and they may have had their mom, but in with that, they never got that bond quite like in the show. But certainly Sam is in need of his brother, rather he agrees or not. I'm glad that Sam's encounter was unexpected for you! It's what I was aiming for and I'm super happy to hear you're excited! It will all be addressed shortly. Thank you so much for all of your time, interest, and all of your dedication. It means a lot to me.