Dean nudged Scarlett, who had inhabited the front seat with him, awake. She sat straight up and looked wildly around her. She'd forgotten where she was, undoubtedly. There was a tear that had fallen at some point in her slumber, but she quickly wiped it away before Dean could notice.

Dean looked her over for a moment, before he cleared his throat. "You were, uh, talking in your sleep," he muttered. He kept his eyes planted forward, as she woke fully.

Realizing just what she'd been dreaming about, she took her bottom lip between her teeth. She didn't mean to resurface the memory that had haunted her for years, but she was certain her conversation with Dean before they attempted to bring Sam back home was the trigger for it. "You need me to drive?" The words fell from her mouth quickly, hoping to avoid any discussion.

"I'm good," he nodded. When he didn't immediately speak after, Scarlett assumed she was in the clear...but you know what they say about assuming. "Does it still keep you up at night?"

Scarlett cleared her throat and sat up a little straighter, with her arms crossed in an unconsciously defensive manner over her chest. "No," she responded honestly. "But I think I have the medicine to thank for that one."

"SJ, when I left-,"

"Dean, don't," she warned him, trying to force back her tears, as well as the lump in her throat. "It was three years ago. You left because you couldn't handle it. You left. That was your prerogative." She couldn't stop the burning in her throat, nor the words that spilled out, causing her voice to raise gradually. "We were supposed to be a team, but you left and never looked back. Too wrapped up in your own self-loathing to stop a-and think that maybe I needed you."

Sam slowly started to sit up in the backseat, brought to life by the less-than-quiet conversation being held in the front seat. "What's going on?" His voice was raspy.

Dean ignored him, looking directly at Scarlett. "You think I left for the hell of it?" His tone was a mix of anger and offense.

"It's hard to know someone's intentions when they don't leave so much as a note," she scoffed her response.

Dean's jaw twitched as he wired it together, forbidding anything he might regret later to spew out of his mouth.

Sam cleared his throat awkwardly, awaiting a response of any kind. "We're about an hour out," Dean barked back at his brother. "Stopping at a motel right outside of town."

None of them spoke for much of the rest of the night. A few grunts of acknowledgment here and there, but nothing more. Scarlett was captivated in her own thoughts, as was Dean, while Sam tried to piece together the parts of the conversation that he'd managed to catch.

Scarlett didn't get much sleep-not that she'd tried, anyway. She cleaned her gun, using the dim light the bathroom provided. Sam woke up twice with what Scarlett assumed to be nightmares from Jessica. He played it off like he just needed to use the bathroom, but when the light hit his face Scarlett could see beads of sweat forming on his forehead. "You don't have to pretend," she murmured, moving over to give him space to sit on the couch. "I think we've all got things that give us nightmares."

"Is that why you haven't slept?"

Scarlett managed a small smile, not surprised that he'd come to that conclusion. "It might be." Sam obliged her offer and sat next to her. "So, what's rattling your brain?"

"No way," he smiled for the first time in two days. "You already know what's haunting me. You first."

Scarlett's face fell and her head shifted immediately over to where Dean was sleeping. A scowl was ever present on his face and one hand was under his pillow gripping his pistol. She wasn't sure what Sam knew, but he projected to know nothing. She bit her cheek, slowly dragging her gaze back to Sam. "Getting to be awfully close to four years ago, I found out I was pregnant." Sam kept his expression composed, but she could see the surprise in his eyes. His demeanor only darkened when she continued on about the loss. "Then he just...left." She looked down at her hands that were locked into each other, begging them to stay steady. "The first time I'd heard from him was when he tried breaking into my apartment."

Sam took a deep breath, registering all of the information. "Scar, I-I'm so sorry. I had no idea."

Scarlett's eyes darted back to meet his. "No, I know," she forced a smile, putting her hands on his. She was trying her best not to cry, but with it being the first time that she'd ever spoken the words out loud. It wasn't in the form of a dream-or nightmare. It felt even more raw and real. She tried to take a deep breath in, but it caught in her throat. "I'm sorry," she choked out.

Sam leaned forwards and pulled her to his chest. "You don't have to apologize for hurting. It's pretty much the only thing that separates us from the monsters."

"Sometimes I wonder if I ended up with the wrong Winchester," she managed to laugh, but no sooner than the words came out of her mouth, did she regret them. They tasted vile on her tongue, especially knowing how Sam used to feel about her. She sat up straight, removing herself from his grasp. "I shouldn't have said that."

Instead of harboring the resentment he may have once had, Sam countered her expectations with a smile. "It's fine, I'm not going to go and write in my diary about how sad I am," he joked. "The older we got, the more I realized you and Dean just...made sense. Then I met Jess and..." he trailed off, frowning. "Jess was the most amazing person I've ever met."

The pair talked for the next hour until the sun started to seep in through the sheer curtains, causing Dean to stir. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes and looked between the two of them on the couch for half a second, before throwing his feet off the side of the bed and stalking off into the bathroom without a word. Scarlett frowned after him. 

"So, why do you think our dads are sending us to Middle-of-Nowhere-Colorado?" Sam forced her attention back his way, stifling a yawn.

"I guess we better get ready to go find out."

The three of them got dressed and gathered their bags and filed into the Impala, but not after Dean had a beer that he'd managed to convince himself was imperative to the mission. It didn't take much 'convincing'. 

Leaving no room for conversation, Dean blared It's My Life by Bon Jovi through the speakers. He sped down the highway, only slowing when they came upon a ranger station in the Lost Creek National Forest. It was just outside of Blackwater Ridge, so there was sure to be a bit of information about the place before heading in.

"Looks pretty remote," Sam announced, looking at the scaled 3D map. "It's cut off by the canyons here. Rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place."

"Pretty big bears, too," Dean commented from the side of them, looking at a framed photograph.

"A dozen or more grizzlies in the area," Scarlett finished off Sam's bout of research. "No nature hike, that's for sure."

"You three aren't planning to go out near Blackwater Ridge, by any chance?" A ranger's voice came from behind them, nearly making Scarlett jump out of her skin.

Sam cleared his throat, putting on his best teacher's pet face. "No, sir. We're environmental-study majors from U.C. Boulder. Just working on a paper."

"Bull," the ranger, who's badge read Ranger Wilkinson, debunked. The trio visibly tensed. "You're friends with that Haley girl, right?"

Scarlett relaxed, briefly, before quickly nodding. "Yes we are, sir," she lied.

The older man shook his head. "Well, I will tell you exactly what I told her," he started. "Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn't be back until the twenty-forth. So it's not exactly a missing persons now, is it? Tell that girl to quit worrying. I'm sure her brother is just fine."

"We will," Sam promised.

Just as the ranger turned to leave the room, Scarlett spotted a picture, a much younger version of the ranger, with another guy who looked very similar to him, yet a few years younger. "Sir, do you have a younger brother?" He turned on his heels with narrowed eyes, unsure of where she was headed with the question. "Did he ever do something that you just thought was a terrible idea, but you knew he was going to do it anyway?" She gauged his reaction closely, noticing his guard fall slightly. "That's how Haley feels right now. Maybe if we could get a copy of that backcountry permit to show her, seeing it on paper would help her."

Ranger Wilkinson hesitated slightly, but caved under the captivation of her warm smile. He disappeared into the secretary's office for a few minutes, only to return with a slip of paper.

Scarlett left him with one more smile, before leading the brothers out of the building. "You sure do know how to get your way with men, huh?" Dean scoffed, starting for the driver's door.

"Excuse me?" Scarlett turned on her heels to look at him.

"Why are we even bothering talking to this girl," Sam interrupted an incoming argument, sounding antsy. "Why don't we head right to the coordinates Dad left us?"

Dean welcomed the diversion. "Maybe we should know what we're walking into before we actually walk into it."

"Understatement of the decade." Scarlett rolled her eyes and ducked into the backseat of the car.

Dean threw his head back, fighting the urge to yell out in frustration. "Since when are you all 'shoot first, ask questions later'?" He returned his attention to his brother. If his hastiness weren't so much Dean's style, he would've been more concerned.

"Since now." Sam joined Scarlett, as he sat down in the passenger seat and mere seconds later, Dean followed suit.

Scarlett wordlessly passed the slip of paper forward that held the address they were headed. They parked out front of a house in a suburban-style neighborhood and started for the front door. Dean knocked three times and stepped back, giving the door room enough to open. 

Moments later, a woman an inch or two shorter that Scarlett with wavy brown hair opened the door. Scarlett stood in such a way that she could see the way Dean's eyebrows peaked upwards in interest, making her clench her jaw. "You must be Haley Collins," Dean spoke. "I'm Dean, this is Sam and Scarlett. We're rangers with the park service. Ranger Wilkinson sent us over. We wanted to ask you some questions about your brother, Tommy."

Haley gave each of them a quick once over, not convinced. "Let me see some ID," she spoke through the screen door.

Dean reached into his pocket and pulled out his wallet, sifting through and quickly finding his faux ranger ID.

Haley looked between him and the card, still not entirely convinced, but she didn't know much about rangers at all. "Come on in," she murmured, swinging open the screen door. When they stepped aside, she caught a glimpse of the Impala sitting down the drive. "That yours?" She cocked an eyebrow up.

A surge of pride radiated off of Dean's crooked grin. "Yeah."

"Nice car," she smiled slightly up at him before sauntering through the house.

Scarlett's eyes narrowed at Dean before shoving past him and following after Haley. Dean threw his hands up in confusion, making Sam shake his head as he ducked slightly under the doorway and followed the two girls inside.

Haley was bringing dinner to the table for herself and her other brother when they joined them. Scarlett was standing in a corner alone, forcing her mouth closed, but she didn't bother hiding the glare she sent Dean's way.

"So, if Tommy's not set to be back for awhile, why do you think something is wrong?" Sam broke through the tension in the room.

"He checks in everyday by cell," she answered, setting a bowl of spaghetti noodles in the center of the table. "He e-mails photos, stupid little videos. But we haven't heard anything in over three days now."

"No cell service?" Scarlett suggested curtly.

Haley looked up at her, looking a little surprised at the hostility in her tone. Scarlett decided to take it down a notch. "Uh..." Hailey looked as though she'd lost her train of thought for a moment. "He's got a satellite phone, too."

"Could it be he's just having fun and forgot to check in?" Dean asked.

Ben, the youngest brother, dropped his fork. "He wouldn't do that," he countered, closely matching Scarlett's hostility. However, when he met Dean's gaze, he let his own fall back down onto his food.

"Our parents are gone," Haley continued for him. "It's just my two brothers and me. We all keep pretty close tabs on each other."

Sam brought his hands together, pressing both his pointer fingers to his chin. "Can we see the pictures he sent you?"

Haley nodded and led them over to a desktop computer. She loaded up the pictures, smiling as she did so. "This is Tommy." She started clicking through the line of photos. "This was his last message." She clicked play and the video started.

"Hey, Haley. Day six. We're still out near Blackwater Ridge. We're fine, keeping safe, so don't worry, okay? Talk to you tomorrow."

Scarlett's brows knitted together as she studied the video. Something didn't sit right with her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

"We'll find your brother," Dean assured her. "We're heading out to Blackwater Ridge tomorrow."

"Then maybe I'll see you out there," Haley said quietly, turning and walking back towards her brother. "Look, I can't sit around here anymore doing nothing."

Dean's eyes rested on Scarlett, who was watching the video of Tommy over again. "I think I know how you feel."

Scarlett finally looked up, unaware of Dean's comment. "Hey, you mind forwarding these to me?" It was a total flip from her approach earlier. She left her email and the three were on their way.

Back at the motel, the hunters starting shoving guns from the trunk in their duffel bags that they would be bringing up the mountain the next morning. Sam finished first, throwing his bag over his shoulder and standing back for Dean and Scarlett to finish. "We cannot let that Haley chick go out there," Scarlett muttered, adding a shotgun to her mix.

Dean avoided eye contact with her, adding assorted salt shells and iron bullets to his bag. "And what do we tell her? She can't go into the woods because of a big, scary monster? She's scared. She's not just gonna sit it out. No, we go with her, we protect her, and we keep our eyes peeled for our fuzzy predator friend." He stood up and threw his bag over his shoulder.

Scarlett's throat ran dry, but she didn't dare let her voice betray her. Instead, she slammed the trunk and retreated back into their room.

Dean stared after her, standing next to Sam. "It's like no matter what I say..." he sighed, shaking his head. 

"You need to talk to her, man." Sam put a hand on his brothers shoulder, before turning to walk inside himself.

Scarlett pulled a set of pajamas out of her bag, as well as an outfit for the next morning. Busy work to keep from making eye contact with Dean, was all it was.

Sam dashed into the bathroom before either of the other two could object. Scarlett sat on the edge of one of the beds with a sigh. Behind her, she could hear Dean shuffling around for clothes, but otherwise there was silence.

Until there wasn't.

"Tell me what I need to do, Scarlett." Dean's closeness sent chills down her spine. He was standing right behind her. The bed dipped, signaling him joining her in sitting on the bed, but she still didn't dare look up. "I thought we were moving forward, but it feels like everything I say or do is the wrong thing."

"Moving forward?" Scarlett gaped. "You left me! Right after the death of our daughter, you left me in the middle of the night without so much as a note!" She paid no attention to the level of her voice.

"You said we were kids, what happened to that?"

Scarlett finally turned to face him, eyes blazing yet brimming with tears. "We were kids, Dean. But that doesn't mean that it hurt any less. A-and now," she continued, allowing the tears to stream down her face. "Now you feel some obligation to protect some girl you just met, but you weren't even there for me?"

"You don't think I regret not beating that son of a bitch back to you? I've regret it every day of my life since!"

"I'm talking about every day after, Dean! I needed you more after we lost our daughter than I needed you that night. And where were you? You skipped town. Running is what you do best, I guess."

"I skipped town?" He repeated, dumbfounded. "I hunted down the son of a bitch that hurt you for a year and a half. I had nothing to show for it. How could I show my face to you after that? I was so ashamed of the fact that I chose revenge over my family, over you." He looked down at his hands as if there was something on them she couldn't see. "Leaving you was my biggest regret, SJ." His voice barely came out a whisper. "I was going to come back. I did come back." Scarlett's eyes widened at the revelation. "A Matt opened the door. Said you'd just left for your run, probably wouldn't be back for awhile. I just assumed...you'd gotten your life back. And it seemed like an opportunity for you to have a real life."

Scarlett's heart sank at the influx of information and she felt like her head might explode. "You could've waited. You should have. Three years later and I was left wondering if I was too broken for anyone."

Dean narrowed his eyes. "It was never you." He raised his hand to her face and used his thumb to wipe away a stray tear. When their eyes locked, Scarlett's breath almost ceased entirely. For a split second, she thought he was going to kiss her. That was, until she heard the shower cut off. 

She pulled back gently, freeing her eyes from tears. "I guess I'm up next," she whispered. She nearly ran Sam down as the bathroom door opened, desperate to breathe again. "Damn it," she exhaled, looking at herself in the mirror. She was one small misstep away from falling down the rabbit hole that was Dean Winchester.