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Chapter 23

The next morning, Dean awoke to a ray of sun peeking through an open spot in the curtains and shining in his eyes. He grunted and held up a hand to block it, cussing to himself. Slowly he rose into sitting position, stretching out his arms and arching his back. The aroma of freshly made coffee caught his attention and he pulled himself to his feet. When Dean entered the kitchen, two faces immediately turned to him acknowledging his arrival. The hunter was wearing a pair of worn out jeans with a long sleeve shirt and what appeared to be an equally beat up camping vest with an old trucker's cap that was green on the sides and bill and a not so white anymore front, reminding Dean of a truck driver. Meanwhile, his brother was still dressed in the same clothes as he had been yesterday, much like Dean himself.

"It's about time you stumbled in," Robert replied. Sam took a sip from his ceramic coffee mug that looked like it had been around for as long as its owner had if not longer.

"Wh't time is it?" Dean yawned.

"A quarter to eleven," the younger brother reported.

"A quarter to eleven?" The elder man repeated with an incredulous look.

"Yeah. I thought for sure you'd have been up hours ago, but when I came down here at eight, you were passed out and drooling on the couch."

Self consciously, Dean wiped at his mouth.

"I don't drool," he argued.

"Help yerself to some coffee there Garfield," the hunter nodded his head in the direction of the coffee pot sitting on his counter. "And there's some bread if you want some toast."

"Ok, Dean's awake now. What can we do?" Sam asked eagerly. Robert sighed, causing Sam to shift in his seat.

"I've already told ya what we can do."

"What? You said-"

"That I'd help you and I will. But I wasn't jokin' when I said it. And before you even start thinkin' about it, foolin' around with dark magic is outta the question." "Hey, Bobby. I think your Stone Age toaster's broken." Dean chimed in as he eyed the object.

"You just have to press down hard and hold it." He responded. He turned to address Sam. "I'm sorry, I know it's not what you wanna hear and I know how you feel."

"No you don't!" The younger sibling roared slamming his fist on the old wooden table he and the hunter were sitting at. The gesture brought both of the older men's eye to fall on him while his own began to mist. "You don't know what it feels like to look up into the woman you love's eyes and watch her burn! I'm so sick and tired of everyone saying that they're sorry or they know how I feel! How could you possibly know?!"

Dean's toast popped up and sat forgotten as he watched his sibling, tear streaks now visible as more tears rolled down Sam's face and fell into his lap.

"I'll tell ya how," Robert responded, his voice was stern and bit louder than normal. "You think you're the only guy to ever lose his wife? You'd be sorely mistakin' boy." The room fell silent as both brothers stared at the man. Neither knowing what to say. Dean bowed his head and returned to making his breakfast while Sam stared at the man. "Every day that goes by feels like an eternity, and you feel like you're made of stone, heavy and immobile. You try to fill that hole inside you with somethin' anythin' that can make it better. But there's nothin' that can. There's nothin' that can fill that Karen or Jessica shaped hole. It's bad enough not havin' her around, now imagine how it would have felt being the one that killed her." The knife that had been gliding across one of the pieces of toast, stopped and Dean stared with wide eyes at Robert once more.

"You what?" Sam asked.

"She'd been possessed and I hadn't known about the truth of what's out there. I didn't know how to stop it or what 'it' even was. Fortunately, I had a hunter step in. Unfortunately, the damage had already been done. Not knowing what was goin' on or what to do, I stabbed her in the chest outta self-defense." The man's face was full of sorrow as he recalled that night. Dean rejoined them with his own mug in his hands and slid over one of the pieces of toast towards his brother who ignored it.

"I'm-I'm so sorry," Sam replied sympathetically. "That must have been hard."

"Hardest thing I've ever done in my life, even to this day. And trust me, bein' a hunter, I've done plenty of things that ain't easy for anyone with a heart."

"Is that why you became a hunter?"

The man nodded. "I wanted to try and prevent others from going through what I went through. Worst part about it, I coulda saved her. Had I known it was a demon inside my wife, I coulda got rid of it and got my Karen back."

"Demon?" Dean piped up baffled.

"Yeah, tricky little bastards. They get inside a person and have full control over their body. Can't speak, can't move, the demon does it all for you. Worse part is, they're good at foolin' people."

"How do you mean?" Sam asked with a frown.

"I mean they can impersonate the person they're ridin' and you'd be none the wiser. Not unless they wanted you to, or..."

"Or what?"

"It's too late."

"So if there's such things as demons," the younger brother started hopefully, "are there such things as angels?"

The man shook his head. "If there are, I haven't seen any."

"Sam when mom says 'angels are looking over us', it's just a saying," Dean reassured his sibling.

"I know, but that doesn't mean there aren't," he countered.

"I'm sorry about your wife Bobby, that's gotta be rough."

"Dean, stop calling him that. It's Robert," Sam corrected his brother giving him a glare before looking apologetically back at the hunter. "I'm really sorry. I know I'm not the only guy to lose his wife I just..."

"Don't worry kid, I know the feelin'. Just maybe watch who you're snappin' at first." The twenty two year old nodded. "As for yer wife, if you want my help, my offer still stands. I'm really sorry. I know it's not what you want to hear and it's not what you want to do, but it's the only thing we can do. What you're lookin' at doin', that's just not an option. I've seen what happens and it ain't pretty. Trust me. Best thing you can do is let'er go."

Dean wanted to comment on those words. He'd already said them himself to his brother, but he figured now wasn't the time to say "I told you so." Sam began to rub at his temples and squeeze his eyes shut. Dean placed his coffee cup on the table freeing up his hands and keeping a watchful eye on him.

"You alright, Sam?" Robert asked cautiously.

"I just-" Sam gritted his teeth. The elder Winchester immediately placed a hand on the younger man's shoulder.

"Sammy? What is it?" Dean asked, his voice full of worry. Sam jerked forward yelling, his hands pressing hard to his head as the pain intensified. "Sam!" A few moments later, the young man's eyes opened and he removed his now shaking hands from his scalp. His breaths were short and heavy as he stared straight ahead of him. "Sam?" He turned toward the voice and saw a pair of green eyes staring back at him. They were large and filled with a mix of shock and fear. "You ok? What the hell was that?"

"Migraine," Sam answered.

"That's some migraine. Never seen one come' n go so quickly before," the hunter replied not entirely sure he believed that that was what it had actually been. "Get headaches like that often?"

"Uh, yeah. Well I mean lately. They started this year," he explained.

"Before or after your wife's death?" Robert asked. Sam remained quiet as he chewed on his bottom lip and his eyes found a spot that wasn't anywhere near either of the other men. Dean instantly recognized the gesture.

"Before or after, Sam?" He echoed.

The young man sighed, "before," he mumbled.

"So that migraine at the diner, that's happened before?" The elder Winchester asked.

"No, not that intense. Before It was just a bad headache, like a stress headache. But what happened at the diner,and just now...that was...different."

Dean's eyes moved over from his brother to look at Robert. The man's gaze wasn't one that comforted the elder sibling and he quickly went back to peering down at Sam.

"Does Mom know about this?" He asked. Another pause as the twenty two year old licked his lips nervously.

"No."

Dean shook his head. "Did Jessica know?"

"No."

"Well it's nice to finally not be excluded from something," the elder Winchester remarked into his coffee mug before taking a sip. Sam rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright. One problem at a time here," Robert replied looking from one brother to the other. "Sam, do you have any idea as to what may be keepin' Jessica here?" He asked.

Sam thought for a moment, then slowly he shook his head.

"You mean other than maybe wanting revenge on who killed her?" Dean commented.

"I thought you didn't believe she was murdered?" Sam retorted.

"That was before I heard you say you looked up at her. What does that even mean?"

"You didn't see her?" Sam questioned skeptically.

"I was a bit focused on getting you out of the burning building," the elder Winchester shot back.

"Ghosts that don't move on usually are tied to a purpose," Robert explained, cutting off the brothers from yet more bickering. "If the reason Jessica can't move on is because her killer is still alive...we may have some trouble. Any ideas who it could have been?"

Sam began to shake his head again, but stopped. The motion didn't go unnoticed by either of the elder men.

"What?"

"That night at the motel," Sam started as he turned to face Dean, "when all the lights blew and all that?" Dean nodded to show his brother he followed him. "She was fine, until I got a phone call."

"Who called?" The twenty six year old asked.

"Brady," Sam admitted.

"Well your wife sounds like she was on the same page as me."

"That's just it, she and Brady were friends. I met her because of him."

Dean frowned.

"Well being murdered and wantin' revenge is one possibility," the hunter explained. "Could be she's tryin' to warn you about somethin'."

"Warn him? By blowing out all the lights and scratching up his face?"

"I told you, she didn't mean to," Sam said defensively. "Doesn't stop the fact that she still did it," Dean countered.

"Yer brother's lucky all he got was a scratch," Robert said, his voice serious. "Most of the time their wrath becomes so uncontrollable that even those they loved in life, end up gettin' hurt. Or worse. Now it seems to me Jessica's already on her way to becomin' a danger to those around her."

"But she would never-"

"Becomin' a vengeful spirit changes a person. She coulda been as sweet as an old lady takin' in kittens with rainbows shooting out of her ass in life, doesn't mean she is in death."

"Well that was an image I could have done without," Dean replied shaking his head and blinking as if to erase it from his mind.

"Point is, Jessica isn't Jessica anymore. Now, this Brady fella shouldn't be thrown to the wind. If you talkin' to him is what got her goin', It's highly possible he had somethin' to do with it."

"But she and Brady were friends," Sam repeated.

"That guy Brady is a snake in the grass," Dean countered.

"Jess and I helped him, he wouldn't kill her."

"Smiling faces, Sam."

"Stop."

"I hate to say it, but he may not be who you thought he was," Robert replied gravely. "Unless there's anythin' else you can think of. Object maybe? Somethin' of hers that you still have on you."

"No, nothing. Everything I had of hers was lost in the-" Sam looked up at the hunter.

"What?"

The young man lowered his head as he dug around in his pocket, pulling out the same object Dean had seen him fidgeting with multiple times in the car. Robert nodded, understanding exactly what it was the young man was holding.

"Could be she's tied to that." He paused as he looked down at it, then over at its owner.

"Can't you just ask her?" Dean inquired. "Do you talk with her?"

"More like to her," Sam sighed.

"So, ghosts can't talk?"

"Some of 'em can. Not sure why that is though. I've come across shriekers, talkers, and mutes."

"Well, at least she's not a shrieker," Dean replied. "But still, it'd be so much easier if we could just talk to her."

"Well, burnin' that ain't gonna be easy. I think I might have a crucible somewhere in this place."

"It's the only thing I have left of hers," Sam replied sadly.

"I'm sorry Sam. But it's all we've got that we can actually work with," the hunter informed.

"So...this is it?" He asked in an unsteady voice. Robert placed his hand on the younger Winchester's shoulder.

"'Fraid so, son."

New tears leaked from Sam's eyes as he stared back down at the ring in his fingers.

"You're sure there's no other way?"

"I'm sure."

The younger brother took a deep breath and gulped. "Ok then. What do we need to do?"

A/n: Alright everyone, the next episode starts to pick up and its going to start rolling from there. Sorry if it's been kinda slow so far, but I hope you've still been enjoying it.

Guest: Yeah Sam may not have the best relationship with Dean in this AU, but that doesn't mean he doesn't have his moments. Writing about the distrust feels funny to me as much as reading does to you I'm sure. It's hard at times lol I'm just so use to them trusting each other and not being strangers. Or now acquaintances. I'm glad they're there too, now things are going to start heating up. Oh and yeah, I've got plans for Brady. You're welcome, and thank you so much for all of your support, time, and reviews. I love them and really do appreciate them.

Also, if that was you who reviewed Bittersweet Symphony, THANK YOU! I'm sorry if I made you cry and know that you made me get all dewy eyed reading your review. Your words were so kind and really needed. I don't always feel like my writing is that great, so I apperciate your kind words and you! I truly am grateful for what you do as well. Thank you so so much!

SparksFlyAngel: Woohoo! That was how I felt too! Finally at Bobby's! Haha he does, how could you not? Yeah, probably trust a hunter on the whole 'not safe' thing. The couch move was indeed a big brother move, I'm glad you liked it. I had contemplated Sam being the one that did it, but I decided it's more of a Dean thing, even though he really should have had the bed. I'm so glad you enjoyed that chapter! Hopefully you liked this one too. I'm excited for the next one and the one after that. I've got some action going on finally! Thank you for your constant support, time, and, and reviews!