Warnings: See the first chapter.
Disclaimer: Sadly, I don't own Supernatural. This was written purely for fun.
Author's Note: If you have sent me a review and not gotten a personal reply, it's because the alerts are down again and I had no idea you reviewed. With that said, I want to thank everyone who has read and reviewed this story. If the alerts remain down, I will try extra hard to reply to each one anyway.
The first thing Sam saw when he woke up was white all around him. He felt a momentary stab of panic as he realized he didn't know where he was. The last thing he remembered was his worst nightmare coming true. They are going to send him back to the Abbotts. Just the mere thought of returning to the existence he had before sent a cold chill down his back. Plus on top of the horror of the Abbotts, Dean would be alone, either in jail or out on the streets. A thought hit Sam – what if they made Dean go back to that hospital? He couldn't even finish the thought. There was no way he would even let his angel go back to that place. IF they sent him back to Jen and Derek, he would just have to run away and find Dean again.
Then another thought came to him. 'What if these social workers separated us and I never see Dean again?' That would be unbearable. Looking back on it, Sam realized how much of a miracle it was that the two of them had found each other. There would be an extremely slim chance that they would be offered such a phenomenon twice. Right then and there he decided that no one would ever separate him from his brother. Ever. But how? No one would listen to him. To them, he was just a kid and saw Dean as a lunatic. If he somehow managed to tell them about the abuse he had suffered and if they believed him, he would still be shipped off to a different foster home. They would still separate the brothers.
So what else could he do? Sam felt so powerless. Just then, the female social worker came into his room.
"Oh sweetie, you gave us quite a scare." she said, smiling at him. He just looked at her saying nothing. A moment of silence passed between them, her smile dimmed slightly but she continued on.
"Well, don't worry – your parents will be here soon."
With that, she left. Another cold chill ran down Sam's spine. '…be here soon' kept repeating over and over in his mind. He knew there would be no escaping once they arrived. Once again he was drawn from his thoughts by the opening of the door. Unknowingly, he tensed waiting for his life to end when Jen and Derek walked in. Relief swept over him as only a nurse walked in. She looked up from the chart she was carrying, greeting him with a warm smile who found himself smiling back.
"How are you feeling?" she asked as she put the blood pressure cuff on his arm. He tolerated her gentle touch. Make no mistake, he still didn't want anyone besides Dean to touch him. However, he knew couldn't try and avoid her touch without making a scene.
"Ok, I guess. What happened?" he asked.
"Well, I really should let the doctor tell you but we believe you had a panic attack which led you to faint. Pretty scary, huh?"
"Yeah. I thought I was dying."
"That's quite common." She replied, picking up the chart to write his blood pressure down. "Can you believe it's May already? It feels like Christmas was just a few weeks ago."
However, Sam stopped listening after the word 'May.' It couldn't be. If it was May, that would mean…
"What's the date?" he asked her, trying not that let his hope get the better of him. Everything rested on her reply.
"It's the 2nd."
Yes! He was free. No one could ever separate him from Dean again. No one could make him go back to the Abbotts. Legally, he was an adult, not a child. The social workers or any one else could ever make him do something against his will.
He had waited for this day ever since he had learned of its significance. He had longed for this day with every single fiber of his being. On the days when the beatings were especially bad, he would daydream of the day when he could finally be free. To think I had almost passed by without his notice. Not that this was anything new. In the past, he had never received a birthday present from Jen and Derek. Hell, most of the time he was lucky to get food on a regular bases. As the years passed, he had learned to ignore the day of his birth. What was the point?
The countdown to his eighteenth birthday had nothing to do with presents or birthday cake but what the day represented. May 2nd was his independence day; it was the day he could finally leave that hell hole behind and no one could ever make him go back. Which was why he had completely forgot about the countdown while with Dean. He was where he had wanted to be.
Sam felt as through a weight had been lifted off his shoulders. He had broken free from the chains that had held him. Never again would he have to worry about being forced to return to the Abbotts. He could stay with Dean forever. Finding their dad would make everything perfect. Until then, the two of them would stay together, doing what they had done before this stupid interference. He was still daydreaming about having a loving family and almost missed the sound of the door opening.
This time it was Jen and Derek along with both social workers. He couldn't help the small wave of fear that passed through him, 'Calm down. They can never hurt you again. Think of Dean.' he told himself.
"Oh baby." Jen said fake tears in her eyes. She moved forward as if to hug him. However, his words stopped her in her tracks.
"Don't touch me." he spat at her. Knowing she had an audience, she put on a confused face.
"What? Sam, it's me…Mom."
"Mary Winchester is my mom, not you. Don't touch me." If he had his way, they would never touch him again.
"Sam, your parents are here to take you home." the male social worker said, a hint of authority laced in his voice. Sam deduced this man was used to having his orders followed.
"No" was all he said as he began looking for his clothes. The knowledge that he was free from his so called parents made him bold in a way he had never been before. In the past, he had been scared of them and what they could do to him. Now they were nothing but stray ghosts left over from a nightmare. They had no more power over him.
"Sweetie, you have no choice." the female social worker said. He continued to dress, ignoring her.
"Sam…" one of them started but he interrupted, tired of dealing with them.
"Today is May 2nd."
The four older adults stood puzzled. Why would this boy throw out such a random comment? Surprisingly, it was Jen who figured it out first. Her eyes widened.
"No. It can't be."
Three pairs of eyes turned to look at her, questioning.
"What's wrong?" Derek demanded.
"He…he's eighteen." Jen whispered the disbelief heavy in her voice.
Sam didn't even attempt to hide the smile on his face. He loved that none of the adults had seen this coming. They had been so caught up in the satisfaction they had felt in locating him, that all of them had completely forgotten the date. Not that any of this mattered to him. 'It's time to end this.'
"I'm leaving, and Dean is going with me." he announced to the room. The female social worker opened her mouth to say something, but once again he cut her off.
"Look, I know you can't keep me here, and if I don't say that Dean kidnapped me, you can't keep him either."
For the first time in his life, he stood tall and sure, looking them straight in the eyes. "I'm leaving," he repeated "and I'm never going to think of you ever again. What you did to you will never truly leave, but I'm with my family now." With that, he turned and walked out of the room, never looking back once.
It taken Sam several more hours of talking to police officers and having the social workers provide his birth certificate to prove that he was really eighteen before Dean was released. Currently, he was engulfed in his angel's arms. After a few seconds, his brother pulled back.
"You ok, Sammy?" Dean asked, looking worried.
"Yeah."
"Good…good." Dean said warmly, gently stroking his Sammy's hair.
As they turned to go, the female social worker appeared before them. Immediately, Dean shoved Sam behind him, glaring at the woman as if daring her to try anything. Sam felt his heart swell. Once again, he felt utter amazement at his brother. Here was a man who had been through absolute hell, having every right to hate the world and everyone in it. Yet, he still had enough humanity left to want to protect his abused little brother. How could anyone look at this being and see a monster? Sam just couldn't understand it. Of the woman before them saw none of this. In fact, she completely ignored Dean as she addressed him.
"Sam, you don't have to do this. Even through you're not a child anymore, we can still help you."
He knew no matter what he said or did, she would still believe he was being forced to do things against his will. Why couldn't she understand that this is where he wanted and needed to be? She must have realized that she was getting no where because she signed and held out a piece of paper.
"Then here. This is the last known address of you father. I hope you find him before anything bad happens." She looked directly at Dean as she said the last part. Even now, she only saw his brother as a threat. He can't let this comment go.
Quickly grabbing the paper from her hand before she could change her mind, he said, "Nothing bad will happen. I'm with my family."
She responded to this with a look that translated into, 'Poor kid, He's completely brainwashed.' He no longer cared what these people thought. He had his brother back – that was all he needed.
"I hate that place." Dean said when they were a few miles away. "They asked me questions, and then looked at me like I was a freak when I couldn't remember the answers."
"Don't worry. We don't have to go back there."
"Why did they let us go in the first place?"
There it was. Sam had been waiting to share the news. "I'm eighteen today." he said proudly. He had thought that Dean would be as happy as he was. However, his angel looked horrified, tears shone in his eyes.
"What's wrong?" he asked, terrified that he had hurt his beloved brother. Tears came to his eyes as well. The last thing he had ever wanted to do was hurt Dean.
"I'm sorry…I'm sorry! I didn't mean to." he said over and over, willing his angel to believe him. 'What will I do if he doesn't believe me? What if he doesn't want me anymore?'
Dean pulled the car over to the side of the road, turning to face him.
"Sammy, I'm sorry." Dean said, looking just as heartbroken as the night in his bedroom.
"What? Why are you sorry?"
"I…I didn't remember. I'm so sorry."
Suddenly, it dawned on him what was wrong.
"Don't worry about that. It's not your fault. I forgot too." he said, wanting nothing more in the world than to make Dean feel better.
"Really?"
"Yeah. We can celebrate tomorrow."
"Ok." However, the look didn't leave Dean's eyes.
A few days later
"Are you sure this is the place?" Sam asked, looking around.
"Yeah, this is the address." Dean replied, also looking around. In contrast, he was looking for threats – anything that might harm his Sammy.
The pair was standing on a porch of an ordinary white house in Lawrence, Kansas. Before either brother could knock, the door opened. An African-American woman greeted them with a warm smile.
"Sam. Dean. It's nice to finally meet you boys."
One more chaper to go. So what are you waiting for? Push the button and tell me what you think.
