thank you all once again for the great reviews, they really do mean alot to me. sorry this took so long, but work has finally calmed down so i should have more time.

i changed this up a bit. this isnt going to be the same scene from a different point of view as the other were. so basically, this is going to turn into a bunch of one-shots told from different POVs.

i hope you all enjoy, let me know what you think. :)

MEETING THE MOUNTAIN

Chapter 3

Dean laid in the small bed, his little brother held tightly in his arms. They had tried to give him his own room, but the six year old wouldn't have it, running to Sammy's room as soon as the adults had turned their backs. They just didn't understand. Sammy could disappear if he wasn't there to watch him, could be gone in the morning just like his mommy was. After all, that's what happened when people died. You went to bed happy, but then when you woke up, they were just gone forever. And he wouldn't let that happen to Sam.

No, his mommy told him that angels were watching over them all, so it must have been those angels that took her. They were up there, waiting till he went to bed, waiting till he fell asleep and then they were going to swoop down and take someone else away from him. He used to think that the angels were the good guys, but now he wasn't so sure. Because good guys didn't make you cry, good guys didn't take away the people you loved, the people who read you stories at night. Good guys were supposed to keep you happy and safe, and the angels definitely didn't do that. And, if they were still watching and waiting, then he had to be sharp, because he didn't want them to take Sammy next.

He pulled Sam closer to him when he heard soft footfalls just beyond his door. His little brother squirmed around in his arms, but much to Dean's relief he didn't wake up. The little boy knew that he was not supposed to be in there, that he was supposed to sleep in his own bed and not his brother's crib. But he just couldn't stand to be away from him, couldn't stand to be alone in the big, cold bed. When he was alone he could feel the shadows creeping in all around him, feel them pulling at him, digging into his dreams. No, when he was forced to be alone at night he never slept, never even closed his eyes, because he was afraid of what he would see when he opened them again.

The darkness was where the bad things lived, his daddy had told him that over and over again. It was dangerous, it was where the monsters were, there in the darkness that surrounded him every night. His daddy would tell him to have 'sweet dreams' but how could he, knowing what was waiting for him at the edge of his bed, knowing what was going to take him away if he let his guard down, even for a moment. No, he had to be alert, had to be ready, had to hang on until the darkness went away.

His heart beat fast when he heard the already open door creak open just a little further. He didn't know what could be in that large house in the middle of the night and he didn't ever want to find out. He wrapped his little arms around Sammy, holding onto him tighter still as he buried his face in the soft fabric of his brother's pajamas. He didn't like that house, didn't like the solitude, the size. It was far too big, and way to far from the town, and all that scared him even more.

Yes, his dad had told him that there were other children there, but that didn't really matter to him. The only child that mattered to him was his little brother, end of story. Other kids would come and they would go, but he would always have Sammy, always have his baby brother. Because brothers never left, family never left, they were only stolen, and he was never going to let the angels come and take his brother. If he watched over him, if he kept Sam safe, then Dean knew that he would have him forever, that he would never have to be alone.

That was all that he could think about, all that he could understand. Everything about his life was so wrong, so different than it should have been and keeping his little brother safe was the only thing that kept him grounded, the only thing that kept him from giving into the darkness that had been pulling at him ever since the night the angels stole his mommy away. He wouldn't let anything else take the people he loved away from him. No, those angels would have to take him first, would have to get past him to get to everyone else, because he would never let go of what he had left.

"Dean?"

Dean opened his eyes slowly when he heard the soft voice, a shadowed figure standing by the crib, peering through the bars. He could barely see her in the dark, but he knew who it was, knew who it had to be. But he didn't want her to get him in trouble, didn't want her to tell his daddy where he was, why he had disobeyed an order yet again.

He didn't really know this girl, couldn't really get a handle on her. Other kids were always so easy to read, so game to tell anyone that would listen their life story. But not her. She was quiet and still, two things he had never before seen in another child. Kids were always running around, always smiling, always playing, but not her. She would just sit in the window, staring out over the empty fields as though she was waiting for something. And that was something that Dean just couldn't understand.

If Dean didn't know any better, he would say that she looked like she was waiting for her mommy, waiting for her old life to come strolling back up the long drive. But the angels didn't give people back, no matter how many times you asked them to, and he just didn't know why she was still waiting for something that would never come.

"Please don't tell." He whispered back, not wanting to wake his brother. Because, when Sammy woke up, no matter what time of the night or day it was, he woke up with the energy of about four toddlers.

"I won't. Are you ok?"

"Yeah." He whispered sullenly, wondering again about the girl before him. She had seemed so detached when he first met her, so closed off from everyone and everything. But now she was coming to check on him, coming to find him in the darkness, and he just didn't know how to take it.

No one had really looked out for him since his mommy was taken. His daddy tried, everyday he tried, but it was just never the same. His daddy always used to be so happy, always used to smile, but he had stopped all that the night of the fire. It was like he had been stolen too, like the angels had taken away the inside of him, while leaving his body whole. And Dean didn't know what to make of it. All he knew was that his daddy could no longer take care of him and Sammy the way his mommy had, that it was his job to make sure Sam ate right, his job to make sure that his little brother grew up big and strong.

"Why are you in here?" Kerri whispered softly, the accusatory tone that her voice had held earlier now completely gone.

"I have to keep Sammy safe."

"From what?"

"The angels. They took my mommy."

"I don't think they're gonna take, Sam."

"But, what if they do, and I'm not here?"

"We put salt and stuff all around our house, bad stuff can't get in."

"Yeah, my daddy said that, but still."

"You know, you don't have to worry about him all the time."

"He's my responsibility."

"He's your daddy's responsibility, too."

"No, he has trouble without mommy. He can't do it anymore. That's why I have to."

"Do you always sleep in the crib?"

"No, usually Sammy sleeps in the big bed with me. Please don't tell."

"I already told you that I wouldn't. Listen, my daddy always wakes up real early and checks on us. I'll come back and let you know when he's coming. I'll also ask him if he can put the crib in your room."

"Thank you."

"You're welcome. And Dean."

"Yeah?"

"It's gonna be the perfect day for sledding tomorrow."

"Ok, cool." Dean answered, smiling despite himself. He learned two year ago never to hope for anything, never to show just how much he cared. Because he knew, that it was what you cared about, the things you loved that were taken away. So maybe, just maybe, if it didn't look like he cared, if he pretended that nothing mattered, then nothing else would ever be taken from him.

"Good night."

"Night." Dean whispered, watching as Kerri pulled the door closed once more.

Maybe she wasn't so bad, Dean thought as he laid there with his little brother, listening to the two year old's even breathing. After all, she had lost her mommy to the angels, too. And she also had a little sister to watch out for. Maybe that was why she didn't tell. Because she knew what it was like to have to keep the darkness away, knew what it was like to have to take care of someone too small to do it themselves.

The young boy fell asleep to the steady sound of his brother's breathing, thinking about what Kerri has just said. They were safe there, the darkness that had been plaguing him ever since the night of the fire now seemed further away than it ever had. Her soft and steady voice gave him strength, gave him peace, comfort. He still wouldn't let go of Sam, still wouldn't fully embrace the idea that he could be safe, that he could rest, but he could feel his heart beat slowing as he laid there, watching the shadows.

They weren't creeping in on him like they normally did, weren't looking back at him from darkened corners. No, the shadows were right were they should have been, laid out on the walls, cast out behind familiar objects as they were illuminated by pale moonlight. There weren't monsters there, weren't ghosts and banshees and everything else that plagued his dreams. No, in that room there was only the innocent darkness, only the soothing hush of night. And, despite himself, Dean fell into the comfort of it, his breathing slowing to match his brother's as he fell into a deep sleep.

He could hear whispering, a soft laughter floating into his foggy mind. The last thing he remembered was the darkness, the shadows that had been creeping around the walls of his little brother's room. He had tried to stay awake, had tried to keep watch over his brother, but he had just been so tired. And now, now there were voices, whispers wrapping all around him. The instant everything clicked in his tired mind Dean shot up, his green eyes blinking owlishly around the room. Voices, he had heard voices in the room.

But, instead of seeing a monster hovering over the crib, instead of seeing the shadows falling in on him, he saw his little brother sitting up in the crib, Kerri smiling through the bars. Sam was wide awake, smiling brightly at him, his big eyes shinning in the pre-dawn light.

"What are you two doing?" He asked, rubbing his eyes.

"Dea, wake up." Sam cheered, throwing his blanket up over his face. "Wake up."

"My dad will be up soon." Kerri stated quietly, tickling Sam from behind.

"Nnnnoooooo." Sam squealed and Dean couldn't help but smile as he and Kerri continued to play with the squirming little boy.

"Dea, stop! Dea, no ticka."

"What, Sammy, I don't think I can hear you."

"No, no ticka. K tell Dea no ticka."

Dean couldn't help but look up at Kerri when Sammy called out to her, laughing as he tried to push his big brother's hands away.

Sammy loved to play, loved to learn different things, to try different things. And he was always so trusting of others. His mommy used to tell Dean that he had been such a good baby, so easy to take care of, but that Sammy was probably going to be a handful. And she had been right. There wasn't anything Sam wouldn't get into, wasn't anything he couldn't climb, any door that he couldn't get open. Which meant that he, Dean had to be even better, had to watch his baby brother even closer, because he never knew just what the precocious little boy would do.

The worst incident, by far, had to be the day Sammy pulled open the door of the car, while it was moving. Dean hadn't been paying attention to him, had thought that he was asleep in his seat, but he had been wrong. He didn't even know Sam was up to anything until he felt the wind on the back of his neck, until he felt the car swerve. He had been staring out the window, watching the endless fields drift past the speeding car, but the instant he heard his father yell, the instant he heard the breaks screech, he turned towards the other seat. His heart nearly stopped when he saw Sammy, the two year old was hanging off the side of his kiddie-seat, his little hands still holding the door handle tightly as it swung open. And he was laughing about it.

Because, to Sammy, it was all a game, everything was always a game. And that was both a blessing and a curse. Yes, he got into trouble, and tried the patients of both his father and big brother, but it was that same light-hearted laughter, that same trusting nature that helped keep their small and shattered family together. Life had been so dark in the months following the fire, and Sammy had been the one to finally pull them out of the sorrow they had fallen into.

Dean had just barely managed to grab hold of his brother's feet before the door swung open completely, his father jumping out as soon as the car had stopped. He was furious and he had every right to be. Dean had let his guard down, had taken his eyes off of Sam for only a moment and he had almost been killed. And it was that day that Dean learned that he could never let his brother out of his sight, that bad things happened no matter where you were.

He could still hear his father's angry voice in his head, could still hear the fury behind his words. It was the first time his daddy had ever really yelled at him and Dean was hoping that it would be the last. He had never seen him so mad before and he knew that it was all his fault. He had put Sam in danger, he had ignored him, knowing full well the trouble that the little boy could get into. It was his fault, he knew that, and he knew that he could never let it happen again.

Sammy's laughter pulled Dean back from the pit he was falling into, pulled him back from the fear and darkness that had laid hold on his mind over two years ago. Sammy was safe, Sammy was happy, and Dean was going to make sure that he stayed that way. He watched as Kerri played with his brother, her father showing up a few minutes later to check on them. It was all so right, all so normal, so safe, and Dean found himself falling into the comfort of it all. Later that day they would be sledding, he would be watching his brother rolling in the snow, laughing and playing with another child his age, and that was something Dean didn't want let go of. His brother deserved normal, needed normal, and Dean was determined to give him that for as long as he could. After all, that was what big brothers were for.