AUTHOR'S NOTE: I've been extremely busy with school, hence the delay. I couldn't upload the last part of this fic, so I'll give you this for now. My warmest thanks for those who gave encouragement and praise. I really appreciate it.
DISCLAIMER: I wish I did, but I don't. Hence the sadness.
NEARLY LOST YOU
by Tari Palantir
John Winchester held himself back and mentally cursed as he waited for the stoplight to change hue. The last thing he needed was for the cops to delay him further for over speeding and ignoring traffic signs. Getting into a car accident is not a nice scenario either.
But he needed to get to Sammy, and traffic rules should not be a hindrance to that.
He had smacked his forehead upon receiving a phone call from Sammy's teacher, telling him that his youngest was the only child left in her class. Now that same forehead was furrowed as he drove to Sammy's school.
"Damn that poltergeist," he muttered, pushing the gas pedal just shy of the limit. Last night's hunt turned out nasty and tiring, he barely remembered coming home and sending the boys off to school this morning. He could almost see Mary shaking her head at him in disappointment How could he have forgotten their baby boy? What if something bad happens to their little Sammy?
He sighed sadly, rubbing the sleep off his eyes as he parked in front of Sammy's kindergarten school. I'm sorry Mary. I'm trying, believe me…
John hoped that his youngest wasn't too upset about his tardiness. He didn't think he could handle Sammy's teary face or his little pout right now. It was, as Dean pointed out, one of his few weaknesses. Not that his sandy blond eldest was immune from the, far from it. But Sammy seemed to forgive Dean a little faster than his father when he messed up. In a way, he wasn't so surprised by the bond his boys shared. Dean had done so many things for Sam when he couldn't.
But today Dean was still in school, so he couldn't expect the boy to clean his mess, like he always seemed to do in taking care of Sam. He smiled ruefully, thinking of how things might have been different, so different…
His smile faded a little when he didn't see Sammy waiting for him expectantly on the front steps. The smile vanished and turned into a frown as he detected a hint of ozone in the air.
"Dean!"
Dean Winchester jerked in surprise from his math-induced stupor at the sudden call. He gave a nasty glare to his snorting seatmate, deftly avoiding falling from his chair and causing a major embarrassment for himself. He glanced about, looking for the source of his sudden wake-up call. He frowned as he scanned the room. Sorry Houston, no sign of life here…
Indeed, Mr. Skinner was still droning on about something only geeks would care about, oblivious to the absent-minded nods and faraway glazed looks of his students.
"Dean…"
The sound made him frantically search again. It sounded familiar – oddly and frighteningly familiar.
And just as he thought it, he saw puppy-dog eyes peeking from behind their classroom door, strands of messy brown hair poking out from its edge.
"I'm scared."
The sight was enough to make him stand up and call out, feet already moving towards the door. He knew that voice more than anybody. "Sammy?!" he called out.
But there was no sign of his little brother anywhere. And as Dean's mind reasoned that it was just plain ridiculous to even think so, he heard the voice again, this time behind him. "Help me!"
Looking back quickly, all he saw were his teacher and classmates looking at him weirdly for his sudden outburst. The cloud of boredom had lifted the moment he shouted his brother's name.
Instinctively, heart hammering, he quipped, "Well Houston, I guess there's life here after all."
Then he bolted out, searching for the nearest exit. He didn't know how or why, but he knew that his baby brother needed him. Hang on, Sammy. I'm coming.
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