Hello everybody.
I see fanfic writers as fandom's Sam Becketts. You know from Quantum Leap? "... striving to put right what once went wrong..." Or in the case of Jeremy Carver, "fixing canon that he fudged up".
A/N1: Bad Boys could have been a classic SPN episode. BUT instead we got Ret-Con City.
A/N2: The main problem with that episode was the idea that Dean could be apart from his brother and father for TWO MONTHS. That idea led to the OOC of all three Winchester males. Why was John okay with Dean being away from him for two months? How was Sam able to be so calm with Dean being lost on a hunt for two months? How was Dean okay being away from his baby brother for two months?
A/N3: I am here to fix the episode. I am restoring Dean to his original age of 14. I am getting rid of Dean's girl friend, because this story is all about the Winchesters. The MOTW will be mentioned in passing. But most of all, I am cutting the time apart to a couple of days.
A/N4: Since this story is an AU, I see it happening after the events in Dean Takes Care of Sammy (which I will eventually get back to), therefore no Ezekiel (Gadreel). Reading DTCoS is not necessary, but if you have read it, there are callbacks to it.
A/N5: All recognizable characters belong to Kripke, because Carver doesn't deserve them.
A/N6: When it comes to the time it takes the Impala to get from point A (in this case, The Bunker in Lebanon, KS) to point B (Sonny's Home for Boys in Hurleyville, NY) I want it more realistic than what happened in the show. In the show it took a commercial break for them to drive to NY. When in reality, it takes 22 hours. YES, my darlings, TWENTY TWO FREAKING HOURS. But I like a challenge and hopefully you like the result. :D
A/N7: As always, big thanks to Superwiki (canon, oh sweet canon), Google (did I mention a 22 hour car trip?) and YOU, my dear reader.
Enjoy :D
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As Sam walks into the library, he can hear a phone ringing.
He walks to the cabinet where all of his and Dean's old cellphones are kept in a box. He brings the box to the table and empties it. Sam grabs the ringing phone. It is one of Dean's.
Sam flips it open, hits 'send', and says "Hello."
An unfamiliar voice asks, "Dean?"
Sam asks, "Who is this?"
The man says, "Sonny. I need to speak to Dean."
Sam says, "We don't know any 'Sonny', who are you?"
The phone is snatched out of Sam's hand. Dean says, "Hey, Sonny, how are you doing?", as he walks away from Sam.
Sam glares at Dean, even though a chill went down his back, when Dean said 'Sonny'.
Sam follows Dean out of the library, not because of a need to know what is going on, but on a instinctual need to keep his eyes on Dean.
Dean flips the phone closed, turns around and is surprised to see Sam right behind him.
Sam coldly says, "Who's Sonny?"
Dean sighs and says, "Remember when we stayed at the bungalow colony in upstate New York, while Dad was on a hunt with Caleb?"
Sam's eyes narrow, "That was when you went to the store and got grabbed by the cop?"
Dean sighs, "Yep."
Sam looks coldly at the phone in Dean's hand, "Sonny's the cop?"
Dean looks at Sam, confused, "No. Sonny's the guy in charge of the boy's home where the cop stuck me."
Sam relaxes and in a calmer voice asks, "So, what did Sonny want?"
Dean says, "He thinks that the boy's home may have 'our' kind of problem and he wanted to know if we could come and take a look. I told him 'sure'. Is that okay with you, Sammy?"
Sam nods, "Yeah, that's okay."
Dean smiles, "Good, let's go."
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Fourteen year old Dean was going through the supermarket, basket in hand, grabbing things off the shelf and marking them off his mental list. When he had everything on his 'list', he walked up to the register. Dean put his groceries up on the conveyor belt.
A cop, who had been standing by the door, slowly made his way to the register. He glanced at the cashier and nodded.
Dean watched as the cashier walked away. He looked at the cop.
The cop said, "Why ain't you in school?"
Dean said calmly, "Doctor's appointment."
The cop nodded and asked, "What doctor?"
Dean snorted, "The one on Prince Street."
The cop asked, "What's his name, boy?"
Dean said, "Don't remember his name. Listen, I just want to get this stuff and get back to my brother."
The cop sneered, "Don't believe you about the doctor, don't believe you about a brother." He grabbed Dean's arm and pulled him out of the store.
Dean took out his phone, "At least, let me call my brother."
The cop grabbed the phone out of Dean's hand and put it in his back pocket.
He opened the backdoor of his car and pushed Dean inside. He closed the door and got in the driver's side. He drove away from the store.
Dean silently cursed the cop out. He needed to think of a way out of his current situation and back to Sammy.
As he drives towards Hurleyville, Dean remembers the sense of helplessness he felt while sitting in the backseat of the police car. As he drives past the Welcome to Iowa sign, he can't help but wonder what Sam had thought when Dean didn't return from the store that day.
When Dad and Sam showed up, Dad was too pissed at the cop to ask for details and Sammy was too happy to see him again to care about the details.
But seeing Sam's reaction to Sonny's phone call, Dean wonders if it is finally time to talk about it.
He glances at Sam in the passenger seat and asks, "You need to stop?"
Sam shakes his head, "No, I'm good."
Dean nods, "Okay." He drives through Iowa.
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Ten year old Sam dialed his brother's number again. And again listened to Dean's voice mail message. Tired of leaving messages, he just hung up.
Sam paced the living room of the bungalow.
The supermarket was a ten minute walk.
Sam had been sick, for the last four days, with stomach flu. He spent most of that time in bed, with Dean at his side. Sam had finally slept through the night, and woke up hungry.
Dean made him toast with the last three slices of bread and had dry cereal himself. Dean should have gone grocery shopping at least two days ago, but wasn't leaving a sick Sam by himself.
But with Sam's reassurance that he was okay, Dean went to the supermarket at just after 12 pm this afternoon.
Sam had still felt weak and had crawled into bed.
When he woke up, it was dark outside and what scared Sam even more, dark in the bedroom. He switched on the light in between his and Dean's beds and looked at his watch. 7:08 pm.
He got out of bed and ran into the living room, which was also dark. He switched on lights and could only stare at the door.
Now, after an hour of calling Dean's phone and getting only his voice mail, Sam hoped John was on his way back.
Sam called John's phone, and tried not to panic as it just kept ringing. He hung up.
Sam called Uncle Bobby and when a rough "Hello" answered, Sam screamed, "Dean's gone".
Bobby said calmly, "Sam, what's going on?"
Sam took a deep breath, and said in a calmer voice, "Dean went to the store. He isn't back yet and he isn't answering his phone."
Bobby asked, "How long has he been gone?"
Sam whispered, "Since noon."
Bobby said, "Damn, and your Dad?"
Sam whispered, "His phone just rings."
Bobby said, "Balls. Let me try Caleb. I'll call you back."
Sam whispered, "'Ok," and they hung up.
He sat on the sofa and waited.
When he turned ten, Sam considered himself a big boy.
A big boy, didn't hold his brother's hand when they crossed the street. A big boy, didn't hug his brother 'goodbye', when they parted at school in the morning. A big boy, didn't hug 'hello, I missed you', when they got back together at the end of the school day.
But sometimes, even a big boy needed his big brother. Like waking up in the middle of the night from a nightmare.
Or right now.
When Sam's phone rang, he answered it without looking at the caller ID, "Dean?"
But it wasn't his big brother's voice he heard answer, "No, Sammy, it's Dad. I left my phone in the car, tell me what's going on."
Taking a deep breath, Sam told John what had happened, since John spoke to Dean earlier this morning.
John said, "Ok, we just finished up here. Let me drop off Caleb and I'll be on my way."
Sam whispered, "Okay, Dad," and they hung up.
It was just after 9 pm.
Sam got off the sofa and ran into the bedroom that he shared with Dean. He grabbed his and Dean's duffels out of the closet and threw them on his bed. He opened drawers and packed up the duffels. He wanted to be ready to leave, when John showed up.
Sam knew that John would want to start looking for Dean, as soon as he checked on Sam, and Sam wanted to make sure that he went with his father. Sam wanted to be there when John found Dean.
With the duffels packed, Sam took them, one by one, into the living room and left them near the door.
He went through the bungalow, to make sure there was nothing else of his or Dean's laying around.
With nothing else to do, but to wait until John showed up, Sam laid down on the sofa, staring at the front door.
Sam looks out the window and watches the scenery pass by. He can remember the fear of not knowing where Dean was. The fear that he and Dad wouldn't get to Dean in time. Out of all the nightmares that Sam had in his young life, the worst ones, were the ones involving Dean. Those were the ones that had him waking up screaming and only calming down in the safety of Dean's arms.
It was 6 am, when John finally got to the bungalow, Sam had been sleeping, but woke up instantly when he heard the Impala drive up. John walked into the bungalow and stopped when he saw the duffels by the door.
Sam climbed off the sofa and ran to his father. John picked him up and hugged him, "Don't worry, Sammy. We will find Dean."
He put Sam back on his feet and grabbed one of the duffels, Sam grabbed the other one and they left the bungalow.
John put the duffels in the trunk as Sam got into the passenger side.
John got into the car and drove away from the bungalow.
John's first stop, the supermarket
Sam watches the Welcome to Ohio sign get closer. They should stop soon. They left the bunker almost eleven hours ago. It's almost 9:00 pm and even with them switching back and forth with the driving, they are both exhausted.
Sam had no idea what John found out in the supermarket, but when John got back in the Impala, he was pissed.
Sam takes a deep breath and squeezes Dean's arm.
Dean glances over Sam, "You okay, Sammy?"
Sam nods and relaxes against the car door.
Dean smiles, "We'll find a motel in Fremont to crash for the night, okay?"
Sam nods again.
Dean laughs, as he returns his attention to the road.
John's second stop, the police station.
Sam sat in the Impala and waited, as he did when they stopped at the supermarket. But this time, he was terrified as to what Dad would find out. Sam jumped when John got back in the car.
He handed something to Sam, "Here, hold this."
Sam looked down and saw Dean's phone. He held it in both hands and looked at John, fear in his eyes.
John smiled, even though Sam could see that he was even more pissed than when they left the supermarket. He squeezed Sam's arm, as he said "Dean's fine."
Sam held Dean's phone tight, "Where is he?"
John coldly said, "Sonny's Home for Boys," as he started the Impala and drove out of the police station's parking lot.
Sam nodded and held Dean's phone.
Sam sits in the car, and watches as Dean walks to the office of the Fremont Motor Lodge. When Dean goes inside and the door closes behind him, Sam gets out of the car. His need to see Dean as strong as it was this morning. He is halfway to the office, when Dean comes out and gives Sam a questioning look.
Sam weakly smiles, "I needed to stretch my legs."
Dean nods. He walks to the Impala, with Sam at his side, and opens the trunk. They grab their duffels and go to their room.
They both shower and prepare for bed.
Sam picks up the alarm clock and asks, "7 am start tomorrow?"
Dean looks at his watch, 12:23 am, and groans, "Yeah, I guess."
Sam laughs as he sets the alarm. He gets in his bed.
Dean turns off the light, "Night Sammy."
Sam smiles, "Night Dean."
They fall asleep.
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The alarm goes off.
Sam smiles at Dean's protests. He wants to remind Dean, that it's all because of him, that they are making this trip, but he doesn't want to travel with a pissed off Dean, so he keeps quiet.
They get dressed, grab their duffels and leave the room.
Sam takes the key back to the office, while Dean puts their duffels in the trunk of the Impala.
Sam gets in the Impala, and after breakfast in a nearby diner, Dean gets back on I-80.
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Sonny's Home for Boys, Dean groaned as he saw the sign. This was not good.
He kept track of where they were going, but this was too far from the bungalow colony to walk back and there was probably not a car around for him to hotwire. He needed his phone to call Sam.
The cop drove up to the house, parked on the side and got out. He walked into the house.
Dean sighed. He was stuck in the car until the cop came back. He had noticed a lack of door handles as soon as he was placed in the backseat.
The cop came out and opened the door. He grabbed Dean's arm and pulled him into the house.
A man was standing there. He glared at the cop and said, "You don't need to be so rough with him."
The cop glared at the man, but let go of Dean's arm, "He's trouble and he has a big mouth."
Dean rolled his eyes, and looked around the house. He was about to ask for his phone back, when he noticed that the cop was gone. Dean ran out the house, only to see the cop car speed away, he muttered, "Son of a bitch."
The man came out, "Yeah, he doesn't stick around longer than he has to."
Dean said, "The ass has my phone."
The man shrugged, "Sorry, I can't call him, we are having problems with OUR phone lines. The telephone company is dragging their feet on fixing it."
Dean glared at the man, "This is just frigging great."
The man put out his hand, "I'm Sonny."
Dean shook Sonny's hand and sighed, "Dean."
Sonny smiled, "Well, Dean, I heard the deputy's side of the story, how about we go inside and you tell me yours?"
Dean sighed, "Sure."
They went back into the house.
Dean sighs. If Sonny hadn't been so friendly and understanding, Dean would have found a way back to the bungalow colony right away, but Sonny promised that if the deputy didn't return the next day, than Sonny would walk to a nearby gas station and call him.
Dean looked at his watch. 8:10 am. He didn't get any sleep last night, worrying about Sam being by himself. He didn't even get under the covers. He just laid there and stared up at the ceiling. He had the room to himself, even though there were five other beds. Sonny understood that Dean needed his space.
When Dean spoke to John yesterday morning, John had said that they were almost finished and that they should be on their way back that night. Dean should have insisted that Sonny walk down to the gas station yesterday and call the cop. But Sonny told him that the cop would probably have refused and that it was better to wait.
Dean sighed and continued looking at the ceiling. His stomach growled, but he couldn't care. He barely ate dinner yesterday, knowing that there was no food for Sam to eat.
He hoped that Sam hadn't worried too much about him.
Dean sighed. He would give the cop until 10 am to show up. If Sonny said that it was still too early, then Dean would walk to the gas station himself and make the call. He needed to get back to Sam.
Dean sighed and then smiled. He was so sleep deprived that he thought he heard Sam call him.
Dean continued to smile and stare at the ceiling, then he heard Sam scream his name. Sam was HERE.
Dean jumped off the bed and ran out of the room. He looked to the right and saw Sam, past the center stairway, walking away from him. He yelled, "Sammy", as he walked towards his brother.
Sam stopped and turned around.
Dean smiled as Sam squealed and ran towards him. Dean missed Sammy's 'Dean is home' squeal.
Sam got to Dean and put his arms around Dean's waist. Dean picked him up and chuckled as Sam wrapped his arms and legs around Dean, and buried his face in Dean's neck. Dean also missed Octopus Sammy.
Dean whispered, "Missed you too, Sammy."
He looked up and saw John and Sonny walking towards them. John smiled at Dean, as he ruffled Sam's hair and gave Dean's shoulder a squeeze.
Dean held Sam tight and smiled at his Dad.
Dean smiles, as he remembers Octopus Sammy. Good thing, Sam outgrew THAT.
After leaving Sonny's, they had stopped at a diner for breakfast and then got a room in a nearby motel. Dean fell asleep, with Sam against his side, holding him tight.
Dean smiles, Sam will probably never outgrow his clinginess, not that Dean was complaining.
He glances over at Sam and chuckles. Sam is fast asleep.
Dean continues driving.
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Sam looked down at Dean's phone and opened it. 64 missed calls, all from Sam's phone.
Sam deleted them all, he didn't need Dean to know how worried he was. Sam was a big boy and big boys didn't panic when their brothers didn't answer their phones.
John pulled into the driveway of Sonny's Home for Boys. No sooner did he stop the car and Sam was getting out. He closed the door and ran to the house. Dean was here and Sam wanted him back. He heard Dad call his name but he didn't care.
Sam ran into the house. He looked around and saw bedrooms upstairs. He yelled his brother's name. Getting no response, he ran to the center stairway and ran up upstairs. Catching his breath, he yelled his brother's name again and started walking to the left of the stairs. He paid no attention to the strange faces that looked at him from the bedrooms.
Sam heard his name. He stopped and turned around.
A tired but unharmed Dean was standing at the other side of the floor.
Sam forgot about being a big boy and squealed in happiness. He ran towards Dean.
He got to Dean and put his arms around Dean's waist. Dean picked him up and Sam buried his face in Dean's neck as he wrapped his arms and legs around his big brother. Being a big boy was nice, but right now, Sam just wanted to be a little brother.
He heard Dean whisper, "Missed you too, Sammy", and held him tighter.
Sam felt somebody stroke his hair and couldn't be bothered to see who it was. He had Dean back and nothing else mattered.
Sam smiles as he sees the Welcome to Pennsylvania sign, almost there.
He glances over at Dean, "How about getting something to eat before we deal with Sonny's 'problem'?"
Dean nods, "Good idea."
They find a diner and Dean pulls into the parking lot. After stretching out the kinks from sitting for so long, they walk inside.
After placing their orders, Sam takes a deep breath, and says, "Dean, I know...", just as Dean says, "Sammy, maybe...".
They stop and smile at each other. Dean sits back and says, "I don't know why the cop was there, but it bothered him that I was in the store and not at 'school'."
Sam snorts, "Asshole".
Dean laughs, "Pretty much."
Their food arrives and as they eat, Sam finally learns the details of Dean's disappearance.
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They pull into the driveway of Sonny's Home for Boys at 6:12pm.
Dean parks and they get out of the Impala.
Sonny walks out of the house, and walks over to them.
He smiles at Dean as they shake hands.
Dean says, "Sonny, you were never introduced, this is Sam."
Sonny shakes Sam's hand and laughs, "All I saw was a streak going up my stairs."
Sam smiles, "Dean was in this house and I was going to find him."
Sonny nods, "I got that. Come into my office, so we can talk."
Sam and Dean walk with Sonny to his office, time to get to work.
The end.
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A/N8: Like I said, the MOTW wasn't my main concern for this story. I wanted to fix the wrongs that Carver did to John, Sam and Dean. Hopefully, you will agree that I accomplished that.
A/N9: Too many flashbacks? LOL, not enough?
Guess that is all I have to say, as always I am thankful to all of YOU, my dear readers.
Deanna saying good night and be well. xoxo