"Dean! Wake up!"
He shot awake, and freaking a little he reached for his gun, which was safely on his hip. He had recently gotten his permit to carry a concealed weapon...Bobby's idea.
"What the hell Bobby?"
He heard Stevenson laughing and Bobby chuckling so he growled loudly before trying to listen to his surroundings, "Where are we?"
His door opened and Bobby was next to him in seconds. Stevenson was on his other side, he wouldn't really need his walking stick right now, but later when everyone was visiting he would need it to navigate.
Dean was actually really fond of the stick Bobby had gotten him for his birthday. It was all black, and a very sharp knife was hidden inside of the end of it. He had grinned at it for three days straight before Bobby had made fun of him.
He heard so many people that it actually hurt; there had to be hundreds. He winced and felt Stevenson and Bobby shifting closer. They started forward and Dean could feel the people moving out of his way, "I'm like Moses."
He heard the two men chuckle, and he relaxed, trusting them to steer him in the right direction.
One of the perks of being blind was that they got good seats...well good seats according to his standards. Bobby had asked for a seat in the back, at the exit and Dean felt better just knowing he had a quick get away. He felt less caged then if he had been in the middle.
He was trying to think of excuses to not see Sam, but he knew it was useless. He was a selfish bastard, and he wanted to be near Sam.
The ceremony seemed to take forever, but he had to remind himself again, that time worked differently for him, "How long's it been?"
Stevenson chuckled, "Dean, calm down; it's been about an hour. They should be giving out degrees now."
He let out a sigh and fiddled with the end of his stick, waiting as the two boring monotone men started to list off names, and he wanted to scream! Curse his last name for being in the W's!
It took longer than the first hour, which he knew was probably because he was nervous, but soon it was there, "Samuel Winchester."
Dean's breath caught in his throat, because suddenly despite all the people being there he could feel his brother. He could sense him. But the craziest part was a picture so bright flashed in his mind, his brother walking across the stage, holding up his degree, a huge grin on his face. It was a like a picture or a movie...he could see his brother!
He barely registered a loud group cheering for his brother because it was too much. Sam was too close and he freaked, "Stevenson...I have to get out...now!"
Dean practically ran from his seat, ignoring a woman with a nice rich voice asking him if he was okay. He got away and felt for something to lean against. He managed to find a wall and he sank down, trying to breathe.
"Dean! Are you okay?"
He couldn't help himself, and he reached for Bobby's shoulder, gripping it tightly, just to ground himself, "Too much...just...too much."
Dean could feel Bobby nodding, and he slowly whispered what happened to him, trying to smile at Stevenson, "I know this sounds crazy but...I could fell him...I knew exactly where he was...I could see him walking across the stage! He had his degree in his hand and that dopey grin on his face!"
Stevenson was touching his cheek but Dean couldn't seem to care, "Maybe your sights coming back?"
Dean could feel the tears trailing down his face, "No...It's dark now...but it was so much. So many colors, clear as day..."
It took him half an hour to calm down. By then he heard people exiting, and they stood up following the crowd to where they were supposed to wait. He could feel Bobby looking around, and then it hit him again. No picture this time, but he could sense him, "He's close...near the doors I think, not too far away."
Without the picture he was less sure. He could have walked to him perfectly fine but he was nervous and, something that he hated to admit, scared.
He felt Bobby walk away towards Sam, as the comfort of his presence left, he felt even more uncomfortable.
"Stevenson...what if...what..."
He felt the man nudge him and in a low voice he muttered, "It's going to be all right. When we get back I'll take you to the doctor. All you need to worry about is making up with your brother."
He shot the man a smile and then straightened, feeling Sam coming his way.
SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN
Sam was happy, talking to his friends, but he was searching for his brother or Bobby. He kept waiting to see his brother's swagger or Bobby's trucker hat.
"So this mysterious brother...where is he?"
He smiled at his friends' curiosity, which he supposed was his fault because he had talked about Dean very little and then informed everyone he was coming, with his stepdad, Bobby.
He had met everyone else's families, and his was the only one that was surrounded in so much mystery.
"Sam."
Sam relaxed as soon as he heard Bobby's gruff voice and he turned. His grin slipped only for a second when he noticed Dean wasn't with him, but his heart was sinking to the floor.
"Bobby!"
He yanked the man to him and crushed him into a hug. "Bobby this is Jess, Andrew, Morgan, and Chris, guys this is my stepfather Bobby Singer."
He could see the slight smile in Bobby's eyes when he said stepfather, and he grinned, "So Dean..."
Bobby instantly looked nervous, "You...there's something you should now about Dean, Sam. He-he's here but he's not himself."
Sam immediately thought possession, but he just knew Bobby wasn't a demon; nor was Dean, "What's wrong with him?"
He couldn't ignore Bobby's sad look, and he felt his heart tightening in his chest. His friends were watching intently and Bobby smiled at them, "Could you guys maybe...umm give us a few minutes?"
They all smiled and nodded, watching Sam's frightened features before splitting up to see their families, "We'll meet you at the pub Sam."
"What's wrong Bobby?" Bobby just sighed and signaled for him to follow. Sam maneuvered around people and searched for Dean. He relaxed when he saw Dean's leather jacket...at least he looked to be in one piece.
"Dean!"
His heart was hammering in his chest, and he stopped a few feet away from Dean, waiting for his big brother to turn around. He saw Dean hesitate and then turn.
Sam thought his heart might have stopped beating because nothing could have prepared him for this...
Dean was looking slightly to the left of him, his green eyes looking scared and worried. He was gripping his walking stick like a lifeline, "Sammy..."
SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN
Dean could feel Sam's eyes on him, and he could feel Stevenson shifting closer to him. He cleared his throat ready to try again, but he was smashed into a hug before he could react. He could feel Sam shaking, and he snapped back to reality, wrapped his arms around his younger brother and squeezed him tight. "It's okay Sammy. It's okay."
Dean knew he was mumbling so low not even Stevenson could hear him, but he knew Sam could and that was all that mattered.
They sat like that for a good five minutes before Sam pulled back and sniffled, "Damn it Dean...what...what happened?"
He chuckled a little nervously and rubbed the back of his head, "Can we...can we go and meet your friends..."
Bobby cut in before Sam could protest, "Sam this is Stevenson. He works with Dean at the garage."
Dean could hear Stevenson shift forward and shake Sam's hand, before returning to his side. He had to smile at that; he knew that man was worried about him.
They met Sam's friends, and he learned all of Sam's friends names and characterized them how he did everyone else, Morgan had a very high voice, and it squeaked sometimes when she talked; Andrew had a slight dip at the end of his words; Chris had a small British accent and Jess had a deeper voice that always seemed a bit hesitant.
He could tell they were all a little freaked out by him, and he tried very hard to be sociable, but his head was starting to hurt and he was exhausted from all that had happened earlier.
"Sam, could you show us back to your apartment? Dean got a little overwhelmed by all the people and the sounds, and I think he might be tired."
Dean could almost kiss Stevenson, "Stevenson's making me sound all girly but he's right...I feel like shit."
"Sure that's fine! I'll call you guys later!"
Sam hugged them all for a bit, and Dean resisted the urge to run his hands over his eyes, he had a horrible migraine.
He barely remembered the trip, besides Sam cooing over Baby and asking to drive. Before he knew it he was handed some aspirin and then he passed out.
When he woke up he was panting, and he fought back the panic of being in the dark again. He felt a hand on his head and jumped before realizing it was Sam, "Sammy? What time is it?"
He could hear the smile in Sam's voice, and he felt all of his muscles relax, "Morning."
Dean scrunched his brows together and then groaned, "Oh shit Sammy, I'm sorry. You still went and saw your friends, right?"
"Nah. We already said good bye and they understood. I was really worried about you; you slept like the dead."
Dean wanted to protest but then he paused, "Where are Bobby and Stevenson?"
"Getting coffee."
Suddenly he was too close to Sam, and it was like his body was awake. He could feel himself wanting to lean into Sam and pull him close, so instead he cleared his throat and stood up, "Bathroom?"
Before he could stop it, Sam wrapped an arm around his waist and led him to the bathroom. Dean could feel his face heating up, and he tried to ignore Sam's arm.
Making it to the bathroom almost felt like an impossible task.
"There's a sink on the left, toilet in that same corner and a shower on the opposite wall."
He nodded, slamming the door to put space between them. It took Dean a while to take a shower, find a towel, and calm down.
Being this close to Sam made his chest feel better, but it also made old scars flame. It made another part of him, that he knew was sick and he partly hated, feel all giddy.
He needed to focus on what was important. Being there for Sam, spending time with him while he was around, and just enjoying him...even though he wasn't a hundred percent sure he could.
When Bobby got back Dean was able to put distance between himself and Sam. It made things easier because now he got to listen to Sam's life without having to discuss the things bothering him.
They had to keep it G-rated for Stevenson but as far as Dean could tell Sam's life was normal...he had achieved his goal.
There where a lot of different emotions running through him.
Anger- he was mad that Sam left…
Jealousy- because he sometimes wished that he could be normal...
Hurt- Sam had a new life and there was no room for him in it, especially now…
Happiness- he cared about Sam more than anything in the entire world. Sam
was his life even when Sam left and forgot him at college…
Love- brotherly and horribly "in love..."
Sam told stories about the funny things that he and his friends did and in turn Bobby told him about some of the things he had been up too. Stevenson told Sam about the garage. Dean tried to stay silent; he didn't trust his voice, body, or mind.
"Well we best be going Sam. You got your stuff packed?"
Stevenson helped him down to the car as Bobby and Sam went to gather his things, "You're being really quiet Dean."
Dean shrugged, "Not much to say to him."
He could feel Stevenson staring at him, "You could tell him about your new life."
Dean shrugged, "It's nothing compared to this. He's wanted normal since he was ten; I'm far from normal."
Dean liked Stevenson because the man seemed to know when Dean needed things to end. Dean could handle some things, but at times things would get to be too much or too big for him, and he would just need to stop.
He climbed in the passenger seat because he hated being in the back seat. He hadn't been back there since he was a kid, and he hated the feeling.
"Can I drive?"
He heard Sam yell from the stair's leading outside, "Hell no."
Dean could imagine the puppy dog look that Sam was giving him, and he even heard Stevenson chuckle, "Oh come on Dean! You let Bobby drive."
Bobby was laughing as he threw some things in the trunk, "Come on Dean I've been cramped up driving the whole time."
He rolled his eyes and he motioned in Stevenson's direction, "You got anything to throw in?"
Dean could hear the smile in Stevenson's voice, "Well, he hasn't driven it in, what, almost four years?"
He could feel Sam standing next to his window and he sighed, "Fine. But if you put one scratch on my Baby."
Sam let out a loud whoop, and Dean shook his head rubbing his eyes because this was going to be a long ride.