Thank You for Being a Friend
Chapter 1
Summary: When John decides that Dean is old enough to start hunting, Sam is left behind for the summer.
AN: Another one for Robbie.
Disclaimer: I still don't own anything...sigh or anyone.
Enjoy...
Sam stood in the living room at Jim's house, he recognized the room immediately.
Where were Dad and Dean though?
Sam looked around the large room, laying on a mat in front of the blazing fire place was Tiny, Jim's 190 pound Great Dane and just outside the entrance to the kitchen, stood Jim.
Jim held a phone to his ear and was listening intently, he had a deep frown on his face and his eyebrows were drawn together with an intense combination of concentration, worry, and melancholy.
Sam's heart sank when Jim's eyes meet his. The pastor's expression described the situation more than words possibly could. Jim's eyes held compassion and sympathy, along with his own sadness and grief.
The thing that worried Sam the most was that Jim didn't even try to smile or reassure him in any way, as if to say that the situation was utterly hopeless. Jim's eye never left Sam's face, Sam was sure the pastor had not blinked in nearly five minutes.
Sam tore his eyes away, he couldn't stand the hopelessness and dome that Jim's steady gaze filled him with, Jim was a man of God he could find hope under the mostbleak of circumstances. Sam was shaking, he could feel his breath coming in shorter gasps, and tears welled up in his eyes.
Jim nodded, clearly, as a response to something said on the other end of the line, then in almost a whisper he replied. "I'll tell him."
He hung up and set the phone down on it's hanger, he then proceed towards Sam, who was unknowingly trying to make himself invisible, he had slowly drifted towards the far corner of the room and made himself as small as he possibly could.
Jim came to stood right in front of Sam, he felt like he was towering over the boy who was doing his best to shrink into himself, he laid his hand on the boy's shoulder.
"Sam..." He started slowly and gently, messaging Sam's shoulder as he spoke. "He doesn't have much time and he wants to see you."
Sam shook his head frantically, unable to form words—No, please not my brother! Take me instead, please!
Jim spoke again still softly, but with an unmistakable firmness. "He's dying Sam."
Sam's eyes shot open and he gasped sharply, he felt hot tears on his cheeks, but didn't bother to wipe them away.
"He's dying Sam." Echoed through his head.
His eyes scanned the room...it was just another dumpy hotel room, not Jim's living room. He glanced over to the other side of the bed when he felt something bump his arm—
"Dean." He breathed a sigh of relief, his brother looked fine, not a hair out of place.
It was just a dream. He whispered a prayer of thanks to the Almighty.
Sam snuggled closer to his brother and even in his sleep Dean through his arm around Sam. Sam breathed in Dean's scent and took a moment to appreciate his brother before he let himself focus on the other activities go on in the room.
He could hear a quiet voice droning in the background and he could make out the words quite clearly.
"Dean is old enough to be out hunting with me now, especially for the summer, it's time that he got some hands on experience." John spoke into his cell phone, the boys were supposed to be asleep, but there was no way that Sam was going to fall back to sleep now.
He was lying with his back towards John, beside Dean in the lumpy motel bed, and he was trying to keep from panicking as he eavesdropped on John's conversation with Pastor Jim.
He could just barely hear Jim's voice answer. "What about Sam?"
Sam and Dean always stayed with Pastor Jim during the summer while John went off hunting by himself or with Caleb or Bobby, or who ever else needed an extra man.
John was quiet for a while he was listening to Pastor Jim, and then he spoke softly. "Sam will still stay with you, but Dean is 14 now and it's time he learns how to put all his training to use."
"You're going to have Dean hunt with you!"
He replied more loudly this time. "No, of course not, Dean will just be watching, he's not ready yet. Maybe once he's sat in on a few hunts I'll let him help me on an easy one."
"And you're just going to leave Sam here all by himself while you and Dean wander around the country?"
"He won't be by himself, he'll be with you. It's not like I'm just dumping Sam, he and Dean always stay with you in the summer."
"Don't play dumb John; you know exactly what I mean he's not going to have anyone to play with. If I were a ten year old I wouldn't want to spend the whole summer with me."
Sam was being abandoned for the summer. He enjoyed going to stay with Pastor Jim, but he always had Dean to play with and they kept each other entertained, he couldn't imagine how boring it would be to stay there all by himself.
"You make it sound like Dean and I are headed off on a pleasure cruise and we're leaving Sam behind as some sort of punishment."
"That's probably how it will feel for him. Think of it from Sam's prospective...he'll hardly get to see either of you all summer."
"This isn't about having fun, Dean needs to learn things that can only be taught by experience, I'd take Sam too if I could, but he's still too little. Dean is learning how to save lives. Sam will just have to except it. Maybe you can help him brush up on his Latin."
"He's ten years old and he already knows his Latin better than most hunters that I've come across, yourself included." Jim said he heard John scoff on the other end. "I'm just saying that if I had to choose between you and him to perform an exorcism..."
"Shut up." John growled.
"If anyone needs to 'brush up' on their Latin it's you." Jim teased. "But seriously what is he going to do out here all summer?"
"I'm sure he'll find something to keep himself entertained, you have enough books to keep him busy for a lifetime."
"He can't read all summer even if he wanted to, and I'm sure he doesn't, it's not healthy."
"He can play with dog of yours, Sammy loves him."
"Sam needs to socialize with people he's too closed off as it is—weren't you just telling me that his teacher set up a conference because she was concerned that he refused to talk to the other kids in his class. What is a summer without any real human contacted or socialization going to do to him?"
"Look Jim I can see why you're concerned, but this is nonnegotiable, Dean can't stay and you know as while as I do that Sam can't come with us."
Jim was quiet for a long time, but after a sad sigh, he spoke again. "What about his nightmares John? I won't be able to hear him if he has one, he'll be all alone."
"It's time he learns to deal with them by himself, he's too old for to be crawling into Dean's bed every time something scares him."
"That's not fair John, he's just a little boy and you don't know what goes on in those dreams."
Suddenly a thought struck Sam; he had never been away from Dean for that long before—a whole summer! Dad and Dean might stop by for a night or so in-between hunts, but it wouldn't be the same. Dean was always with him, Dean was the one constant in Sam's life and they were being torn apart for a whole summer!
When he woke up in the dark after a nightmare, which seemed to haunt him more nights than not these days, he would be by himself. Dean wouldn't there to tell him that it was just a dream...it wasn't real.
He started to panic his breathing started coming out is gasps and hot tears streamed down his face he didn't even realize that he had started to wheeze.
"Sammy?" Dean's soft drowsy voice called. "Are you okay Kiddo?"
Sam didn't reply he couldn't get enough air to speak.
"Shh Sammy, I'll get your inhaler, take deep breathes clam down..." Dean crooned soothingly, as he leaning over the side of the bed into Sam's duffle bag to retrieve the inhaler. Once he got it, he helped Sam take a hit. "Do you need another puff?"
Sam shook head and waited impatiently to regain his breath.
"What was that all about? I thought I heard you crying."
"Just a nightmare." Sam replied it was a nightmare, spending the entire summer away from his brother.
"Boys." John called. "Is everything okay over there?"
"Yeah Dad we're fine, Sam just had another nightmare."
"Are you alright Sam? Do you need to talk about it?"
"I'm okay Dad."
"Okay then you boys get back to sleep we have a long day tomorrow, we're driving to Pastor Jim's place."
"Yes Sir." The brothers replied in unison.
Dean turned back to Sam and asked in a whisper. "Are you sure you don't wanna tell me about it?"
Sam nodded. "I don't remember anything, I just woke up scared."
"It's okay Sammy; you don't need to be afraid, I'm right here...I'll always be here when you wake up."
Thanks for reading. Do you think so far?
A/N: No Winchesters are going to be killed in the making of this story, however I make no promises about injuries.
Oh and Sam has asthma in all my stories.
This story has been nagging me for a while; I should warn you that once you read the next chapter you might find that this story just isn't your cup of tea. If it is any consolation, there will be limp Sam later:).
And a thanks to my buddy Shawn for bring your laptop to Disneyland so I could type this up.
I apologize to all you 'Thin Line' readers if I would have known my friend was bring his laptop I could have finished the next chapter, but it will be up as soon as I get back.
