To all of you, who have been following, reviewing this story and putting it on alert, thank you, you are awesome. Here is the next chapter. As promised, it closes the book on little Sam and begins the story of big Sam. It's only the Prelude. Hope you like it.
Sam Winchester might have been small for his age and at times maybe even a little behind in his social skills, which could at least in part be blamed on the constant change in schools and neighborhoods, but he certainly wasn't lacking in intelligence. Being under strict orders from the doctor and even stricter ones from the two older members in his family to stay in bed, except for bathroom privileges and mealtimes, for at least a week, he had more than enough time to think about what happened. It scared him that he was walking in his sleep, but what bothered him even more was the distress it caused his family. So he decided that it was time to take things in his own hands.
Now that he knew what he was looking for, it didn't take him long to find the books about sleepwalking his brother and father kept hidden from him. Where most other kids his age would have taken one look at them and put them away again, mainly because they weren't about adventures or kid detectives and the language was way above their reading level, the youngest Winchester actually found them exciting and even understood what they were talking about.
He read through the first two books in record time, finding that they pretty much were identical. The third though went into some causes, which the others had labeled as rare and thus unimportant. After reading a particular chapter, he closed the book and laid it to the side, sliding down in the bed until he was flat on his back, he stared at the ceiling. That's how Dean found him two hours later, when he returned from school.
SN SN SN SN SN
When the older Winchester boy entered the room he shared with Sam, his big brother senses instantly went into overdrive. Looking at the way the kid was ogling the top of the room, like there was one of Michelangelo's masterpieces painted on it, was a clear indication that something was wrong. Pulling a can of root beer out from behind his back, he held it out to the younger boy.
"Here, got something for you. It's still cold; I bought it at the convenience store on the corner." He said.
For a moment he thought he was being ignored but then suddenly Sam's big hazel orbs looked straight at him, "Dean, have you ever kept a secret from someone, because you thought telling them about it would make them feel bad, but then it turned out, by not telling you actually made things worse?"
The question came out of the blue and caught the older brother off balance. For a moment he stood there with the soda can still held out, unsure what to say. After several seconds he let his arm fall to his side and sat down on the bed.
"Yeah, dad and I just did, remember?" He reminded his brother.
"But that was only to protect me. What I did was much worse!" Sam turned his head to the other side, suddenly feeling too ashamed to face the brother he idolized.
Dean's eyes filled with confusion, he couldn't imagine what Sammy could have done that was so bad. Knowing how tough the kid was on himself, he said, "Just tell me about it, it can be that bad."
"It's my fault that I'm sleepwalking." The younger boy said in a monotonous voice.
"What? How could that even be possible? You can't make yourself sleepwalk, unless you pretend and believe me, you are not good enough to fool dad."
"It's not that," the younger boy's voice was hardly above a whisper.
"So what is it? Please Sammy; you know you can tell me!" Dean tried to encourage him.
Although his face was still turned away from him, the firstborn Winchester could tell his brother was fighting with tears. Impulsively he reached out to stroke his hand through the kid's hair but at the last moment pulled back, realizing he needed to give him some space. After several minutes his patience paid off.
"I lied to you and dad, I pretended I liked hunting." A sob tore out of the little boy's throat, and his shoulders shook as he tried to regain enough composure to continue. At last he said with a still shaky voice, "I hate it, it totally scares me and now that I know what's going on, it scares me even more, when you and dad leave. What if you don't come back?"
Now Sam was openly crying, tears flowing down his face and Dean could no longer hold back. He carefully pulled his baby brother into his arm, holding him as tight as he dared without hurting him.
Waiting until the sobs subsided enough so Sammy could hear him, he said, "It's not gonna happen, we'll always come back." He soothingly pulled his fingers through the shaggy mob of hair, "Why didn't you tell us though? I mean there is nothing wrong with being scared."
The younger kid sniffed, "No, I couldn't, I didn't want dad to be disappointed in me."
"Dad wouldn't be disappointed. Just wait, I'll get him, he can tell you himself."
He tried to settle his brother back on the pillow, yet Sam hung on to him with his good arm, like he was hanging on for dear life, "No, please don't, please promise you won't tell dad, ever. Please Dean; I don't want him to know."
Again tears ran down the nine year old's cheeks, as he buried his face into the older boy's chest, his despair making Dean's eyes brim with moisture also. Holding on to him, he soothingly rubbed circle on Sammy's back, whispering reassuring words into his brother's ears.
"I promise Sammy, I won't tell dad. Please, just please settle own before your head starts hurting again."
After the smaller boy calmed, he continued, "I still don't understand, why you would think dad would be disappointed?" Seeing panic light up in Sam's expressive hazels, he hurried to add, "But I won't tell him. I just think we have to talk about this a little more.
Look, some of those dudes that dad ganks are pretty scary, I know that, but the ghost that brings down a Winchester hasn't been invented yet. You've got to believe that!"
"But sometimes dad comes home bleeding pretty bad and last month that spirit in Colorado threw you against a tree and you passed out for five minutes."
Dean could tell his little brother was still not convinced, so he said, "Kiddo that just comes with the job. I was fine though, right? And dad always healed too, didn't he? It's just with any other job, they all have their risks."
"Not all, teachers don't have risks!" Sam protested.
For a moment Dean didn't have a comeback. Why in the world did his baby brother have to be so smart? Suddenly he smirked though, "Sure they do, they get sick a lot because they pick up all the germs from kid's snotty noses and many end up in the psych ward because the kid's drove them insane."
Sammy's eyes went wide, "No way!"
"Way, you should see those facilities, they are full of teachers. Why do you think you thing we get so many holidays and vacations? It's so the teachers can recover and get treatment."
"What about Ms. Whincup? She seems pretty normal."
The older boy knew how much Sam admired his teacher, so he said, "She is one of the few, who are doing pretty well, but I heard last year she took off several weeks during the school year and just disappeared for a while, so she could get better before she would go all ballistic."
"I guess I won't be a teacher then. What about doctors?"
"Die from weird diseases they get from their patients."
"Waiters?"
"Slip on stuff people spill."
"Mail men?"
"Dude, you have no idea how many get bit by dogs and get rabies."
"But dogs have to get vaccinated." The little boy argued.
"Yeah, but you don't really think there is a vet out there that is brave enough to give one of those really mean dogs a shot?"
Sam couldn't dispute that. He looked admiring at his big brother. Dean was so smart; he really knew a lot of stuff.
"Okay, so maybe hunting isn't that bad after all. I give it another chance then."
Dean smiled, he was glad Sammy was feeling this way, "Good, but you have to talk to me and let me know when you get scared. You know, there is nothing wrong with being scared, I'm scared sometimes and I think even dad is once in a while. So just let me know and we can get through it together, okay little dude?"
"Okay", the younger boy agreed, "you are really the most awesome big brother anyone could ever have." He added, snuggling a little closer against his brother with a sudden feeling of contentment.
Looking down in amazement at his baby brother, Dean had one of his famous one liners on the tip of his tongue, but at the last minute decided against it. Instead he said, "You're not so bad yourself, squirt!"
He still wasn't sure, if not confiding into their dad was really the right thing, but he just couldn't betray Sam's trust. In the end he decided he would just go with it for now. If his little brother wouldn't talk to him and the sleepwalking continued, he could always try again to convince him that talking to their father would be the right thing to do.
As he would find out it seemed like he made the right choice. Not only did Sam share his fears with him from then on, there were also no further incidences of sleepwalking for the little guy. And while John thought it had to do with the changes they made and maybe the talk they had after Sam returned home from the hospital, Dean knew better. Seemed like his geeky genius little brother had figured out the cause and cure for his own problem.
South Dakota, Fall 2006
Bobby Singer sat in his old rocker on the porch and looked out over his salvage yard. He enjoyed the view, because where most people would see only junk, he saw potential. There were parts to sell, parts to fix up other cars and even cars, which with a lot of work would shine in their original beauty again.
Today though he didn't see any of this, mainly because his thoughts were busy trying to work out the problem he was facing right now. Actually it wasn't just one problem, because there were two Winchesters. And that was the dilemma, there used to be three, but now there were only two of them. It seemed almost unbelievable, after being kidnapped by the yellow eyed demon, rescued by his sons, possessed by the YED, shot in the leg by Sam, who refused to kill his father and hurt in an accident that totaled the Impala, the elder Winchester died of what the doctors deemed a heart attack.
Bobby knew better than to believe it was that simple and so did the two younger Winchesters. It was too much of a coincidence that John had sent his youngest to him to get all the fixings for a demon summoning and that the next morning Dean came out of a coma, from which he wasn't supposed to wake up, shortly before his younger brother found their dead father on the floor in an empty hospital room.
"Coincident my butt", the grizzled hunter lifted his baseball cap and stroked his hair back before replacing it again. He was willing to eat dog food for a month, if he that yellow eyed bastard wasn't behind the whole thing.
"Dammit Johnny, you just had to bail out and leave me to pick up the pieces." He swore out loud.
Even several weeks after he brought the boys to his salvage yard, Bobby still had no idea how to put them back together. Dean was ready to explode with pinned up anger, but wouldn't even talk to him, no less to his baby brother. All he did, besides dragging Sammy from one hunt to another, was spent his time putting the Impala back together.
And Sam, well the older man was even less sure about what was going on with him. In the beginning the kid followed his brother like a chick did his mother, trying to get him to open up and talk. After Dean continuously rejected his efforts and even got mad at him, so now the younger man wouldn't talk at all. Well, that wasn't quite right, he did talk, but only when asked, which meant it was limited to a few words and only to Bobby, because Dean didn't asked his brother anything. He avoided him like he was a leper.
So here he was, a man, who'd chosen a solitary life on purpose, trying to deal with to young men, boys, who were severely traumatized. Not something he ever wanted or even was prepared to do and yet, he would be damned, if he wouldn't at least try. Those boys might not be of his flesh and blood, but they were as close to it as it would ever get.
TBC
So what do your think? Liked the ending, hated the beginning? Or maybe the other way around? Or maybe you hated or loved both? Let me know, please. Hugs, Vonnie
