I can't keep you in suspense any longer. Enjoy! ;)

~Christianne

Nikki POV

I never really liked the woods. Aside for a few places in Janesville where I liked to take pictures, I stayed away from them.

That's why I was so confused when I woke up staring at the sky through tree branches.

I sat up slowly and pressed a hand to my temple; my head was pounding.

I looked down at myself and frowned. When Dani and I had gone to the reunion, she insisted I dress up a little. I'd been in a pair of nicer jeans and a green sweater with some ruffles along the sleeves. That was gone and replaced by a plain pair of jeans, a heather gray t-shirt and a black hoodie about two sizes too big. Thankfully, I still had my Converse.

I managed to get to my feet and started to stumble in some direction, using the trees to keep me upright.

I heard some voices after not too long, and after I took a few deep breaths, I walked out of the woods and onto a cement path. On the other side of the path was the green grass of a park. I could see a little street off to one side, a children's playground in front of me, and, by the grace of God, a payphone.

I made my way over to it, and felt around my pockets for some change. Once I got under the little awning, checked the coin return and found a quarter. I considered kissing it, but since was in a dirty payphone, I decided against it.

I picked up the phone, put the coin in the slot, and started to dial. The quarter was spat back into the coin return. I frowned, and tried it again.

"It doesn't work."

I looked over my shoulder at the man who had spoken. Across the path, there was a guy in his 30s on a bench. He had dark hair, a kind face, and was wearing a cheap slate gray suit with a green tie. There was a brief case at his feet and a beige coat slung over the back of the bench. He had a hamburger in his hands, and a fast food bag and cup next to him.

I sighed slammed the phone back on the hook. Then I grabbed it and slammed it down again. And again. And again. And again.

The guy chuckled. "I'm pretty sure that's not how you fix a payphone."

I looked over my shoulder and glared at the guy. He stopped smiling, and put his burger on the paper bag next to him. "Here, you can use my phone." He dug a cell phone out of the pocket and held it out to me.

I frowned suspiciously and didn't move.

The guy gave me a kind smile. "C'mon, it'll be my good deed for the day." He shook the hand the cell phone was in, and I slowly walked over to him.

I flipped it open and dialed Dean's number.

"This is Dean, leave your nightmare after the beep."

I frowned and tried Sam.

"It's Sam. Leave a message."

I shot a glance at the man on the bench. He'd taken the burger again, smiled at me again (with his mouthful) and nodded towards the phone, gesturing for me to call someone else.

I sat down next to him on the bench, his fast food between us, and called Dean's other cell.

"This is Dean's other cell, you should not have this number, Leave your nightmare after the beep."

I let out a frustrated huff and tried again.

"This is Dean's other, other, cell. You should know what to do by now."

I frowned and snapped the phone shut. I leaned back, and shielded my eyes from the sun.

"Ruff night?"

I sent the guy a sidelong look. "…You could say that." I said after a second.

"Yeah," he sighed, nodding a little. "I had a few of those when I was in college." He said the last part with a little grin. "I'm not too proud of it, but those nights are some of the best of my life."

"Hm." I said simply, resting my head on the back of the bench and shut my eyes.

"I'm Jimmy, by the way," I opened my eyes when he spoke again. I saw him look around briefly, then wipe his hands on the beige coat over the back of the bench. He held it out for me to shake.

I looked at his hand, then back at his face, before I shut my eyes again. "Nikki." I said simply.

Jimmy frowned a little, and put his hand down.

I flipped his phone open again, and tried Dean again.

"What the hell do you want?" Dean growled after the first ring.

"Well jee," I said, laughing once. "It's nice to hear you too Dean."

There was silence on the other line before he hung up. I frowned and called him back.

"I swear to God, if you call me again-"

"Hey Dean, think you can shut up for a second so I can actually speak?" I cut him off. There was silence, but he didn't hang up this time.

"You died in that fire." Dean said eventually. "You-You're dead Nik."

"No, I'm pretty sure I'm not." I said, looking around the park for a sign. "I don't really know what happened, just woke up in the woods of some park."

"Where?" Dean demanded. "Where are you? What park?"

"Uh…" I trailed off, looking around. I looked at Jimmy. "Where am I?"

"Harlow Park," he said before taking a bit of his cheeseburger.

"Yeah, I'm gonna need more than that Jimmy." I sighed.

"It's the park two blocks south from Pontiac's Main Street." He added on, looking for a napkin.

"Pontiac?" I asked.

"Mm-hm," Jimmy said, nodding as he chewed quickly. After he swallowed, he spoke again. "Pontiac, Illinois."

"You hear that?" I asked Dean.

"Pontiac Illinois." Dean repeated. "Don't move." With that, he hung up.

I shut the cell phone and handed it back to Jimmy. "Thanks."

"No problem," he said, putting the phone back in his pocket. "So are your friends gonna pick you up?"

"Yeah, it'll be a while though." I sighed, slouching down in the bench.

"Are they at the university a few miles East?"

"No…Small town in northern Wisconsin." I corrected him.

Jimmy choked on his burger and took a fast drink of his soda before he spoke. "You're just going to sit around here until your friends get her from Wisconsin?" He asked, seemingly completely shocked.

"I'm a big girl," I said sarcastically. I crossed my arms. "I can take care of myself."

Jimmy, after crumpling up his hamburger wrapper, held his hands in the 'unarmed' position. "I know, I know, I know," he said, smiling a little as he put the balled up wax paper in the paper bag. "It's just…I have a daughter."

"Hm." I said, only paying half-attention. I was staring at the sky.

"She's quite a bit younger than you," Jimmy continued, taking a few last sips of his soda. "But I know if she was your age, I wouldn't want her to be stuck without any money or phone."

"I've been in worse situations." I admitted.

"You're parents let you be in worse situations that stuck out of state with no money or phone." Jimmy stated flatly, like he didn't want to believe me.

My eyes had fallen shut, my face towards the sky. "I had foster parents." I sighed.

That threw Jimmy for a second. "Oh." He said simply.

"If you say 'I'm sorry,' I'm going to kick your ass." I said in the same tone, making him chuckle.

I opened my eyes a little when I heard him stand up. "Nice coat." I said flatly, eyeing the long beige coat he was putting on.

He rolled his eyes and fixed the collar. "You know, trench coat were first made in World War I." He said smartly, and a little defensive if you ask me. "First only officer wore them, but they were adapted for the trenches. It's where they got the name."

"Doesn't make it cool." I said, scoffing a little as I opened my eyes and sat up.

Jimmy rolled his eyes at me again, and started digging through his pockets. He pulled his wallet out, and seemed to go through it before handing me some cash. "Here." He said simply.

I looked from the cash to him and back again. "Uh…Why?" I asked simply.

He sighed and shook his head at me. "We're a few hours from the Wisconsin boarder alone, and I have no idea how long it will take your friends to get there. If you were mu daughter I'd want you to have some cash," Jimmy said, holding the cash out again. "It's about $43, it's all I got."

"Just a twenty would be fine." I laughed a little, cautiously taking the cash. "But, uh…Thanks."

"Hey, it's fine," Jimmy assured me. "Oh, let me give you one of these." He opened his brief case and went through it briefly before handing me a stiff paper rectangle.

"James Novak," I read off, then snorted. "You sell ad time on AM radio? Seriously?"

Jimmy just sighed at me again. "Just give me a call if you need anything, ok?"

I nodded, and pocketed the money and business card. "Yeah…I will. And, uh, thanks again."

Jimmy just smiled, gave me a slight wave and grabbed his fast food bag.

"Hey," I called to him, turning. He tossed the bag in the trash and looked at me. "What's your daughter's name?"

He was a little confused, but got over it quickly. "Claire," he said, smiling. I'll bet $42 that that smile was involuntary.

It was around 9:00 at night that I heard the roars of engines outside the café I was in. I looked out the window, threw a few dollars on the table for my waitress, and ran outside.

I didn't get a word out before Sam grabbed me in a hug so tight my ribs hurt. I was a little stunned in the beginning, but hugged him back.

It was nice to be hugged by Sam; he was big and warm and his arms wrapped all the way around my back to grab under my armpits. His forehead was resting on my shoulder, his face in my hair. I could feel the shaky, controlled breaths against my neck.

"Thank God you're ok." He breathed, one of his hands reaching up to hold the back of my head. I flinched a little; that wasn't something friends did when they hugged. It was an intimate gesture.

"What the hell were you thinking?" Dean bellowed at me in the empty parking lot.

I pushed Sam's chest lightly, signaling I wanted out. After a second, he let me go. He wiped his face, like he was checking for tears.

"What did I do?" I asked defensively.

"You had a backpack full of C4 in a room full of demons and you didn't light the thing and run?" Dean half-yelled at me, making me lean back a little. "What the hell is wrong with you?"

I just blinked at him. "Sorry?" I said weakly.

Dena glared at me for a second. "C'mere," he grunted, grabbing my arm. He pulled me towards him and gave me a tight hug. One arm around my neck, holding my face to his shoulder and neck, the other wrapped around my waist and held my lower back.

I froze for a second; Dean had been holding out on me in the hug department.

It was shorter than Sam's, and I didn't have to push him away.

I grinned at the boys, looking between them. I grinned even wider when I saw my car behind Sam.

I ran towards my car and laid my torso on the warm engine, my arms spread out gripping the hood. "I missed you," I sighed. I looked over my shoulder briefly, and saw Dean giving his brother the 'we need to talk' look.

"So," I said, leaning on the front end of my car. "You boys have a job?"