Dean's face stayed cemented in a scowl, his pedal almost to the floor. He sped around a corner, almost wrapping them around a tree.

"Whoa. Dean." Sam barked from the passenger seat, arms rigid where they were braced against the dashboard, trying to keep his body somewhat in place. "You need to slow down." He advised.

Dean scowled harder if that was even possible. "We need to get there as quickly as we can."

"Well, we'll never get there at all if we're dead." Sam reasoned. He saw the indecision flicker in his brother's eyes before he let off the gas just a bit.

Sam let out the breath he didn't know he'd been holding and allowed himself to settle comfortably back in his seat again. "Why is this job so important to you anyway?" He ventured cautiously.

Dean's eyes flicked over to him before going back to the road. He finally let his scowl drop as he sighed. "It was a bad one. I was on a call by myself."

Sam knew what that meant. It was when he and Dean had gone their separate ways, but he didn't say anything, just waited for Dean to continue. If he interrupted, his brother might shut down and not tell him anything at all.

"I was on the trail of a demon. I was supposed to meet up with the local hunter. But I screwed up. I followed some bad information. The damn thing had me on a wild goose chase while it went after a poor family." Dean's knuckles were white as his grip tightened on the steering wheel. He paused for several moments, not looking at Sam, not looking at anything really. He was remembering that night. Remembering the promise he made to a little girl.

Sam gulped. "What-what happened to the family?" He whispered. Any louder and he was afraid he would startle his brother into silence.

Dean's head shook almost imperceptibly. "The demon possessed the older brother. Called himself Salem." Dean let out a shaky breath before continuing. "He took the biggest knife they had and stabbed the mother six times. Almost killed the little sister but he started fighting for control. Just before he could force Salem out, he stabbed him straight through the heart. He was dead before he hit the ground."

Dean's voice had lowered to a whisper and Sam found himself leaning toward him with wide eyes.

"And the sister?" Sam asked, his voice sounding hoarse from his mouth being dropped open. "What happened to her?"

"She lived. I found her sitting on the kitchen floor, she was covered in blood." Dean rubbed a hand over his tired eyes. "She had seen the whole thing. She watched her brother kill her mom, try to kill her, and then kill himself. They ruled it as a murder-suicide. No one knew who the father was, so she was sent to live with her aunt and uncle. She was ten years old."

Sam sat back, stunned. "Dean, this isn't your fault." He said gently.

"Yes it is." Dean whispered.

"No, it-"

"Damnit Sam!" Dean exploded suddenly. "I should've been there! I was supposed to be there! I could've helped. Maybe they would be alive right now. Maybe that little girl wouldn't be left without her family."

"Or you could've died with them." Sam pointed out, keeping a calm quality to his tone. "And all the people you did save, would be gone."

"So what are you saying? That they don't matter?" Dean's voice still had a hard edge but he wasn't yelling anymore.

"No of course not. But Dean, you can't save them all."

Dean didn't say anything more.

"Did something happen to her? Is that why we're going to-" Sam paused to look at the address Dean had scribbled down. "Beacon Hills?"

Dean nodded. "I promised her that I would be there if anything happened. I owe her that much."

"Why? Just because it was the demon you were hunting?"

"No. I mean yes, but that's not the only reason." Dean sighed, running a hand through his hair, his jaw clenched. "Her mother was the hunter I was supposed to be meeting. I was supposed to be at that house."

"Dean-"

"Sam, just drop it, please." Dean whispered.

Sam wanted to keep talking, to reassure Dean that this wasn't his fault, but he didn't. Because his brother asked him to.

"So what happened to her?" Sam started, dreading what he was about to ask, but knowing he had to. "Is she dead?"

Surprisingly, Dean shook his head. "No, she's the one who called. A demon possessed one of her friends and almost made him stab himself. Sound familiar?"

"That means-"

"Yeah Sammy. Salem is back. And he's trying to finish what he started." Dean's eyes were stormy as the gas pedal hit the floor.