Sam entered his billable hours into the firm’s database. He didn’t have any difficulty in meeting his quota each month. At this rate, he could make partner within four years. His office phone rang with a sound that alerted him it was a direct call, and not routed through the receptionist.

“Sammy? How are you?”

“Dean!” Sam immediately recognized his brother’s voice. He closed out of the database to concentrate on talking to the elder Winchester. “I thought you were in Dubai?”

“Yeah, I just got back.”

Sam chuckled. “Man, having ‘Dean’ and ‘world traveler’ in the same thought…that’s an oxymoron.”

“You’re a moron,” came Dean’s quick reply. “What are you doing this weekend?

Sam had seen his brother just before he left for the Middle East. The younger Winchester wanted to keep his promise to his brother and see him frequently. But, he also had a job. “Preparing for a case.”

There was a long pause, and Sam knew it was filled with disappointment. “When does it start?”

“Tuesday,” Sam replied. The case was a complicated one, involving multiple business organizations. He didn’t think getting together with his brother would be possible.

“I’ll have you back on Monday.”

“Dean,” Sam tried to explain. “I can’t. . .”

“Sammy, there are some people in New Mexico that need some help.”

Sam rested the palm of his hand on his desk to ground himself. His brother was asking him to return to hunting. He had walked away from hunting after the constant violence, anguish, destruction and despair left him as the person he never wanted to be. Walking away had allowed him to have a life. He decided to dissuade his brother. “Don’t you have work?”

“Work hard, and hunt hard,” was the flippant reply. “Daniel knows what I do.”

Sam let his head rest against the phone. “Dean. . .” In his brother’s name he wanted to convey the fear he felt. He didn’t want his brother to push him into having to make a decision-at least not this decision.

Sam heard the long sigh. “Sammy, you can’t tell me you don’t miss it.”

“I don’t miss it.” Sam blurted immediately, feeling his heart clench.

“Look, this family- The Wallises” Dean explained. Sam knew that when it came to saving people, especially a family, Dean would always respond. He wanted to preserve the family unit so that people didn’t lose what was important – didn’t lose what he and Sam had lost. Then Sam heard the words that made him decide to step back into his old life. “I need help.”

Sam did a mental calculation in his head-if he put in a fourteen hour day on Monday then he could make a salient argument at the court. “Back by Monday?”

“Dude, not a problem. Plus, I gotta head to Texas.” The rumbling of the Impala’s engine had stopped. “Come downstairs when you are ready.”

Sam was on the sixteenth floor, and couldn’t look down to see Dean parked in front of the building, but he knew his brother was there. “What if I said no?”

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