It was his job to protect Sammy, always had been
It was his job to protect Sammy, always had been. He had thought he protected him from everything out there, but now he was wondering just how he had missed it. He had failed Sam, and worse now. It was at least a decade later. He couldn't fix it now.
Sam had always had the worst luck when it came to the supernatural, so it was no shock when he stumbled upon a 'Fountain of Youth' for lack of a better description. Now, Dean was dealing with a ten year old Sammy and finding out exactly how badly he'd failed at protecting his brother.
Dean had made sure nothing supernatural touched Sammy he had never expected the true problem to be so close to home.
Sam and his dad had always fought. Dean had always been the mediator, at least that's what he remembered.
Dean had been shocked at first when twelve year old Sammy kept asking where dad went. Dean remembered Sam always taking what he said at face value. There was something in Sam's face when he asked about dad though, fear.
It wasn't until later that night that Dean caught sight of the bruises. They'd been looking for a shirt for Sam to wear that didn't swallow him whole. He would've thought they were something Sam had gotten from a hunt, had they not been hand-shaped in places.
Dean started playing referee between Sam and his dad when he was sixteen. Before then, there hadn't been as much arguing between the two. He had always wondered what changed to make those two bull-headed men go at each other like they did.
Sam had even told him before he left for Stanford, "I just can't handle the fights with dad anymore Dean. I'm going to snap if I don't go now."
Those words had been the only reason Dean had let Sammy go to college. Even we he was in college, not picking up his phone, a world away, Dean checked up on him every two weeks like clockwork.
The "Fountain of Youth" effect wore off in a week, and Dean asked Sam straight up if his suspicions were right. Had his dad really hurt Sam?
"Yes." Sam said, before walking into Bobby's house.
Somewhere in the back of Dean's mind he wondered why Sam had always kept this from him.
Dean decided Sam probably thought he was protecting Dean. How twisted is that? He was supposed to take care of Sam. He was the older brother. His dad had ordered him to protect Sammy, and like a good little soldier he protected him.
He didn't do it out of some misguided need to be the 'good little soldier' though. It was ingrained in him. Every since the day he ran out of the fire with Sam in his arms. He promised he would always be there to protect him.
He failed.
Dean understood demons. They are evil. They kill. Humans were different. His dad loved him and Sammy. He knew it. He'd seen his father protect both of them with an iron fist.
Why? Was he drunk? Did he blame Sam for what happened to mom? Had he been possessed?
Everything in him wanted to say possessed, but the bruising he had seen weeks ago on his then twelve year old brother had some fresh and some older.
Then, his head swam.
How in the world did Dean miss this? How had he not known that he needed protect Sam from both the supernatural and the natural worlds?
How had missed the signs?
Why the hell couldn't he go back in time to fix this? Maybe even to find out why.
Dean couldn't though, and he wasn't about to push Sam into an uncomfortable conversation.
Instead he did the only thing he could, "Come on Sam, I want hit the next town in time to hit the bar and get you laid."
JUST A NOTE:
I have nothing against John. This just kind of popped into my head and I had to get it out. This is my first true attempt at Supernatural fanfiction, so do me a favor. Let me know if I should just stick with Charmed.
