Disclaimer: I do not own "supernatural" or any of its characters
The house was quiet and serene, as the sun rose on another warm late-August morning. Golden rays pierced thru the naked double windows, illuminating the bed and its single slumbering occupant. The gentle kiss of the sun on sleep-warmed skin slowly beckoned him to awaken. Opening his eyes, he glanced over at the clock on the bedside table. It glared back at him that it was 6:30a.m. Friday August 28th. This was the one day out of the whole entire year that he both dreaded and hated the most. It was 17 years ago today that his whole world drastically changed for a second time, in his young life. Seventeen years ago today, his grief-stricken father took his one-year old brother and vanished, leaving him behind with a close family friend. Their family friend had desperately tried to track down his father, to no avail. The grief-stricken father had become a hardened,skilled and obsessed paranormal hunter. If he didn't want to be found, he wouldn't be. After 5 months of no leads on his dad or baby brother, their family friend had decided to adopt the abandoned and heartbroken 5 year old boy. So, on what was his 6th birthday, Dean Winchester legally and officially became Dean Singer. Their family friend, Bobby Singer, had come to love and think of Dean as his own had also come to love and think of Bobby as his second knew that Dean's biological father, John Winchester,would always remain in Dean's heart as his daddy, no matter how badly he had hurt Dean. Bobby also knew that young Dean ached to see his baby brother again. So, being one of the best and most respected paranormal hunters himself, Bobby sent word thru the hunter's network to keep their eyes open for any sign of John or his young son. He asked that if either was spotted, to keep tabs on them and contact Bobby immediately. Eventually, Bobby was contacted by a friend and fellow hunter, who was also a man of the cloth, Reverand Jim. He told Bobby that John had gone off on a hunt and left his little boy in his care. Bobby quickly filled the Reverand in on what John had done to his older son. Since Jim lived close by, he eagerly agreed to bring Dean's little brother over to Bobby's for a surprise surprise visit led to many more and frequent brotherly visits. Thanks to both men, Dean and his little brother sam, developed a very strong and seemingly unbreakable bond. Both boys looked forward to their visits and spoke often on the phone, without John knowing. Then all of a sudden, Sam started visiting and calling less and less. The last time Dean spoke to his brother, Sam had told him that he wanted a normal life. He said that he had applied to and been accepted to Stanford University. He told Dean that he wanted to start fresh, so he was cutting off all ties to their dad and the world of hunting. Dean asked if that meant that sam was cutting him off too. Sam replied that he needed some time away from Dean, just until he got his new life organized. He said he would call Dean once he felt that he was settled enough in his new life. That phone call was four years ago.
Dean shifted himself on the bed into a more comfortable position. It never failed, every year on this day, those memories would come flooding back to him. While the pain of rejection by both his father and brother had receded, it never went away. It was with him every single day. He supposed that it went hand in hand with his never truly giving up hope that,one day, one of them would want him back in their lives. He truly hoped that the one that came back would be Sam. While John was still in his heart, Bobby had become the father Dean was denied. He could get over losing John, if he had to. Since the age of 6, Bobby stopped being Bobby and became "dad". Sam, tho. Sam had been more than his little brother, he had been his best friend. Just the thought of Sam possibly not being in his life anymore tore at Dean's heart. He missed his little brother something fierce. Everytime the phone rang, Dean's heart raced with the hopes that it would be him. He knew he should try reigning in some of that hope to shield himself from the disappointment that inevitably followed. He decided to give it one more day. Maybe today would be the day that Sam finally called. Maybe there would finally be a silver lining to the black cloud that was August 28th. Yeah, and maybe he'd find oceanfront property in the middle of South Dakota. Dean sighed, rubbed at his suddenly watery green eyes and pulled the covers tighter around himself. He still wasn't quite ready to face this day.