May The Circle...
Disclaimer: They do not belong to me and I get no money from this. Supernatural, Sam, Dean, and such belong to the WB.
This is an AU story. Dean and Sam have another brother. He's in the middle when it comes to age, but might just beat them when it comes to hunting skills.
He watched in silence as the black Impala pulled into the hotel parking lot. It wasn't a big leap to figure out where his current subjects would hole up for the night. The town was small and had only one hotel to its name, so it wasn't hard to pull in and wait for them to arrive. After almost 8 years, he was going to see two people who were the only thing that kept him going anymore. Or at least, the thought of them did. With a sigh, he exited the truck and made his way to the Impala, leaning against the driver's side door before either occupant could react.
"Thought dad taught you better than that?"
Dean Winchester was tired. They'd been traveling for almost 3 days straight to get to their next gig. It didn't help that neither Sam nor him were in the best shape to be doing much of anything after their last job. So when he finally pulled into the parking space in front of their motel room, he was moving a little slower than he normally did. If it hadn't been for that, then the figure that suddenly appeared at the side of the car would have been spotted before hand. As it was, Dean jumped like he'd been shot and instinctively reached for the gun at his side before the voice registered in his head. He frowned at the speaker.
"Tommy?"
Sam's head snapped over to the driver's side at what Dean said and frowned. "Where the hell have you been?"
Tommy Winchester, or TJ as he was known to some, rolled his eyes and opened the door for his oldest brother. "Sheesh, you'd think you two hadn't seen me in years." He caught the fist that Dean threw at him without even blinking. "I'll explain Dean, I promise, but let's go inside first." After releasing Dean's hand, he stepped back to let his brother shut the door to the car.
The youngest of the three Winchester boys shook his head. "Come on you two." It never ceased to amaze him how Tommy and Dean could go after each other without saying hardly anything to one another. Sam opened the door to the motel room and stepped inside, tossing his bag onto the far bed.
Dean followed his youngest brother inside. He might be pissed at his middle brother, but he still trusted Tommy to watch their backs. He tossed his bag onto the bed nearest the door before shutting the door after Tommy entered the room and took a seat in one of the chairs.
Silence in the room lasted for almost a full five minutes, each brother looking the missing over until new scars had been cataloged with questions being formed to ask later. Sam broke the silence first.
"So where have you been Tommy?"
"Around." He removed his boots and jacket, forcing himself to not show just how bad it hurt to move anything above his waist.
Sam snorted. "Around? You've been gone for eight years, and all you can say is that you've been around." A shake of his head preceded him getting up and grabbing a towel. "I'm going to take a shower."
Dean watched him go, then turned back to look at his other brother again. "How bad are you hurt?" He'd been watching Tommy since they'd sat down and it was obvious to someone who knew what to look for that his brother was hurt. Suddenly, it didn't matter that he'd been gone from their lives for 8 years, he was here now and that was all that matter.
Tommy sighed. "Did something to my left shoulder, think I got a few of my ribs and I'm seeing three of you." He didn't even want to think about what else could be wrong. Since he'd finished the job and gotten the message from Caleb that Sam and Dean were on their way here to do the job he'd just finished, he'd forced himself to get through things minute by minute.
"You already took care of it, didn't you?" It wasn't a question, so much as a statement.
"Yeah, it was a poltergeist." He smirked, a trait they'd all seemingly inherited from their father. "Wasn't too happy about being banished."
Shaking his head, Dean grabbed the first aid kit from his bag and walked over to his younger brother. "Can you get your shirt off by yourself?"
"I'd say yes, but if I actually tried it, you and Sam would be picking me up off the floor."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Dude, between you and Sam, I don't know whose the biggest 'baddie' magnet. And you'd think with all the training we've had." He paused to nail his brother's hazel eyes with his own, "Especially you, that you'd be a bit quicker in picking up on the intentions of some stupid poltergeist."
"What can I say, it takes a lot for some things to --" He stopped as the breath was sucked from his body when Dean started removing his shirt. That simple action let him know that he was hurt a bit worse than he first thought.
"Sweet Jesus." Dean hissed when he got a look at Tommy's chest. It wasn't only the eight years of new scars that had the curse coming forth without thought. Nope, the black and blue marks that covered almost every inch of his chest helped out with the impression of a mistreated chew toy. Slowly, with moves born of long practice, he started feeling along the ribs, wincing when he felt a slight give in several of them.