Thank You for Being a Friend
Chapter 4
Summary: When John decides that Dean is old enough to start hunting, Sam is left behind for the summer.
Summer 1994
John and Dean were leaving again, Sam hated being dropped off and having to watch them drive away without him. They were leaving him behind.
Dean was fifteen now and he and Sam had grown slightly apart that year. John said it was because Dean was growing up and he was interested in different things now—like girls and hunting.
That is all Dean ever talked about, Sam couldn't relate to him...girls were gross and Sam still wasn't old enough to hunt.
Sam and Dean had never fought as much as they had this last year. Dean had changed and Sam was having a hard time excepting it, even now. As mad, as he was at Dean for changing he was still sad when his brother left.
He couldn't stop the tears from streaming down his face, just as they had the year before and as much as he wanted to pull away, he felt better when Dean embraced him and told him that they would be back to visit.
Sam laid around the house for the rest of the day after John and Dean left.
"Where are you off to?" Jim asked. Sam came flying down the stairs and ran through the kitchen, where Jim was sitting nursing a cup of coffee and reading a newspaper.
"I'm going out to woods to play for a while, is that okay?" Sam hopped from one foot to the other in excitement.
"Yup, have fun out there and make sure you take your inhaler this time."
"Yes Sir, I have it. See ya later!" Sam ran out the door.
Sam hurried through the woods to the tree where he had promised to meet Brian, before he got there; he felt something hit him in the arm. He looked around, trying to see what it was, when something hit him in the head.
He search the ground to find what had hit him, just as a picked up a skittle out of the dirt, he heard laughing. He looked up in the tree, there was Brian, hanging upside down on a branch, throwing skittles in the air and trying to catch them in his mouth.
"Hey Sam."
"Hi."
"I thought you weren't gonna show up."
"Well, I thought you weren't gonna show up."
"Naw, I couldn't stand my sisters for another second."
"I never had a sister, are they that bad?"
"Yeah, before I left they wanted me to play 'tea party', so I ran."
Sam shuddered. "Eww!"
"I know." Brian said. "So what'd are we gonna do?"
"I dunno."
Brian got back to the ground. "We could go into town and get some ice cream, wanna?"
"Sure."
It was a fairly long walk into town, but with company, it went by quickly. The boys went into the ice cream parlor looking over their options before ordering.
Sam had decided on a chocolate ice cream with gummy bears mixed in and Brian got vanilla with crumbled Butterfinger on top.
They were about to sit down at one of the small tables in the parlor when two shrill, perfectly in sync voice called. "Brian!"
Brian stiffened and slowly turned in the direction that the voice had from. There were two girl dressed almost exactly alike except that one had purple shoes and the other had pink shoes. "Molly, Mindy." He greeted coldly. "Sam these are my sisters, Molly and Mindy."
"Nice to meet ya."
Mindy and Molly looked at Sam and then started whispering to each other and giggling. "Hi Sam."
"Don't you two have something to do?" Brian asked.
"No." Molly replied.
"We wanna play with you and Sam." Mindy said.
"No way!" Brian shouted. "Besides, Sam and I aren't playing. We got some important stuff to do."
"Like what?" Mindy and Molly asked
"Just stuff." Brian huffed.
"We could help." Molly pleaded.
Brian scoffed. "We have a strict 'no girls' policy."
"You're mean! We're telling Mom!" Molly cried.
Mindy looked over at Sam, who was quite uncomfortable with the situation. "You don't have to go with Brian, he's stupid and mean. You can come play house with us."
Sam looked frightened and shot a desperate look at Brian.
"Sam is not going to play house with you—he's a boy and boys don't play house!"
"So what? He could be my husband." Molly suggested.
Mindy glared at her. "You mean he could be my husband, don't you?"
"No. He's my husband." Molly insisted grabbing Sam's hand.
"He's my husband!" Mindy growled. She fought with her sister for Sam's hand.
As the twins continued to bicker, they seemed to forget about Sam all together and Brian managed untangle Sam from his sisters. The boys were able to make a quick escape without Molly and Mindy noticing.
Sam and Brian went running down the street hoping to get a way before Molly and Mindy realized they were gone.
"Sorry about them." Brian said.
Sam shrugged. "That's okay, I'm jus' glad I don't have any sisters."
"You're lucky, Dean seems cool."
"He's the best brother ever, but all he talks about now is girls and h—." Sam stopped himself before he spilled the family secret.
"Girls and what?"
"Girls and cars." Sam quickly amended.
"Oh yeah? I'd rather hear about girls and cars than ponies and Barbie any day."
Sam laughed. "Me too."
"Hey Sammy, did you have fun?" Jim asked when Sam came into the house.
"Yeah, Brian and I just went into town and got ice cream."
"I'm glad you had a good time. You're Dad called."
Sam looked sad. "While I was gone?"
"Yup."
"Do you think they'll call back later?" Sam asked. "I wanna talk to Dean."
"Oh, I don't know." Jim said teasingly. "They did tell me to give you a message though."
"What?"
"That they'd be here day after tomorrow and they'll be staying for a week."
Sam's sad frown turned to an excited smile. "Really? A whole week?"
"A whole week."
Sam was a bit worried now. "They're okay aren't they? Nothing happened to them, right?"
"They're fine, they just need sometime to research and get organized before the next hunt."
"But they're not hurt?"
"They are both fine Sam."
"And they're coming day after tomorrow?"
"That's right."
The next morning Sam ran into the forest with Tiny in tow. "Brian!" He called excitedly.
"Hey Sam." Brian said.
"Guess what." Sam said hopping for one foot to the other with excitement.
"You have to pee?" Brian teased.
"Huh?—No." Sam laughed slapping Brian lightly on the arm and he forced himself to stand still. "Guess!"
"What?"
"Dean's coming to visit tomorrow!"
"Really? That's great Sam. What are you two gonna do while he's here?"
"I thought that maybe you and Dean and I could go swimming day after tomorrow." Sam suggested.
"Okay, that sounds fun, as long as Dean doesn't mind me comin'."
"Naw, he likes you. He told me so." Sam said.
"Dean!" Sam called running towards his older brother and attacking him with a bear hug, before he could even get inside the house.
Dean returned the hug. "Hey Sammy." He held Sam at arms length and looked him over. "I think you've grown since I last saw you...how old are you now? Thirteen?"
Sam giggled at his brother. "You know how old I am Jerk!"
"Oh right, seven."
"I'm eleven!" Sam pouted.
"Oh that's right. I remember now." Dean nodded. "I'm going inside...it's freakin' hot out here and I'm hungry."
Sam followed Dean inside like a puppy. Dean sat down at the dining room table where John and Jim were talking and there as a plate of sandwiches in the middle of the table and Sam sat in the chair beside him.
"Hey Dean?"
"Huh?" Dean replied as he ate a sandwich.
"Tomorrow me and Brian are going swimming...wanna come?"
"Sure." Dean agreed in a distracted tone.
Jim's house phone started to ring and Jim excused himself from the table to answer it. He came back a few minutes later.
"That was Caleb, he's passing through and he's going to be stopping by for a few days."
"You think he would help me with my training Dad?" Dean asked eagerly.
"You'll have to ask him." John said. He was so proud; Dean had taken to hunting like a fish to water.
"When's he coming?"
"He said he'd probably be in late tonight." Jim answered.
"Maybe we can go shooting tomorrow." Dean thought aloud.
"But Dean!" Sam cried. "You said you'd—"
"Caleb'll only be here for a couple days. We can hang out after that." Dean assured Sam. "Okay?"
Sam was about to protest, but instead nodded sadly. He didn't say so, but he was hurt that Dean would rather send time that Caleb than with him.
When Sam got to the river the next day, Brian was already pulling his shirt off and stripping down to his boxers.
"This sure was a good idea Sam, it's real hot today." Brian said.
"Yeah." Sam replied dully, he stayed quiet as he also took his clothes off until he was only clad in a pair of boxers.
"What's the matter Sam?"
"Nothin'."
"Hey, where's Dean?"
"He didn't wanna come. He went out with our dad's friend instead." Sam looked down at his feet so Brian wouldn't see the tears in his eyes.
"Oh...ya ain't gonna cry are ya?" Brian asked gently.
"No!" Sam replied defensively wiping his eyes with his forearm.
"It's okay if you do. My sisters cry sometimes when I'm mean to them."
"I'm not gonna cry! And besides Dean wasn't mean to me, he just..."
"Whatever you say."
Sam gave Brian a playful shove sending him into the water, when Brian surfaced he spit some water out of his mouth.
"Hey! What was that for?" Brian asked, but instead of waiting for an answer, he grabbed Sam's ankle, causing Sam to fall into the water also.
"Hey!" Sam cried in protest.
"Hey Sam, I bet I can hold my breath longer than you."
"In your dreams."
"I'll count to three and then we'll go under. Are you ready?—One, two, three." Brian and Sam both ducked under the water. Sam came up first. "Ha! I told ya."
"Yeah, yeah. It was probably just a fluke."
"You wanna redo?"
"Naw. Ya think the water's deep enough to dive in?" Sam asked.
"Hold on, I'll check." Brian sucked in a deep breath and swam to the bottom of the river. After awhile he popped back up. "Yup, looks deep enough."
The boys dove into the water a few times and they played and swam. They spent a long time in the water, when Brian got out and sit down against a near by rock.
"I'm taking a break." He announced.
"Okay." Sam replied. He also got out of the water and sat beside Brian. "Once we're done taking a break, I want a rematch—I know I can hold my breath longer than you."
"You're on!" After only a few minutes Brian jumped up and ran to the river. "Last one in is a girl!" He shouted.
Brian dove into the water and Sam followed. Brian resurfaced and waited for Sam to do the same so he could call him a girl. He waited, but Sam didn't come up.
"Sam?" He called looking in all directions. "Come out, this isn't funny..." There was no reply. "Okay, you win. You can hold your breath longer." Brian was getting frantic. "Sam! Please."
He went under the water and looked around; he did not see Sam anywhere. He went back to the surface to get air. He went back under, this time he swam deeper. He got to the bottom of the river and found Sam lying there, his eyes were closed. Not far from Sam was a rock.
He quickly grabbed Sam, swam to the surface, and pulled Sam's limp body out of the water. He slapped Sam's cheek. "Sam! Come on wake up!"
Brian didn't know what to do, he was sure Sam was dead. Brian didn't know if Sam was breathing, he also didn't know CPR. He tried the only other thing he could think of, he turned Sam onto his side and patted his back as hard as he could. He knew it probably wouldn't work, but it was worth a try.
"Please Sam breath."
He was shocked and amazed when Sam started to cough up the water.
"Thank God!" Brian cried. As labored as it was, Sam was breathing.
Brian looked for injuries; there was a large, bloody bump on the side of Sam's head where he had hit the rock.
"Sam?" Brian shook his friend. "Wake up."
Sam didn't stir at all. Brian tried to decide what he should do. Leaving Sam wasn't an option, but it could be hours before anyone got worried and came looking for them.
He shook Sam again. "Sam."
This time he was rewarded with a soft groan. Sam's eyes slowly flickered open. "Bri?"
"Oh thank God! Sam are you okay?"
"My head hurts, I don't wanna swim anymore. Where's Dean?" Sam slurred, he looking around clumsily.
"His not here Sam...'member? You said he was with your Dad's friend."
"Yeah he didn't wanna hang out with me." Sam said sadly.
"Aw, Sam that's not true."
"Yes it is!" Sam snapped, and then quickly became docile again. "I didn't wanna swim anymore...can we so somethin' else?"
"We're gonna go back to Pastor Jim's."
Sam started to pull himself in to the sitting position, only to sway dizzily; Brian leaned Sam back against a bolder and wrapped his arms around Sam's shoulders to keep him still.
"How come?"
"Cuz your head's bleeding and you're actin' funny."
"Am I?" Sam touched his forehead with his fingers, but he quickly pulled them away when he felt something warm and sticky. He looked down at his hand for a long time then without even glancing up at Brian he announced, "I'm bleeding."
"I just told you that."
"Huh." Sam grunted dropping his hand into his lap and closed his eyes. He curled up against Brian, laying his head on Brian's shoulder. "I'm tired Dean."
"I'm not Dean, I'm Brian."
"Okay." He slurred drowsily. "Night Dean."
"No!" Brian shouted in alarm, Sam barely stirred at the noise. Brian shook Sam. "Sam, you can't go to sleep. Open your eyes come on Sam talk to me."
"Go 'way De." Sam turned away from Brian and laid his head on the ground.
"Sam!" Brian shook him, he didn't respond at all this time. "Sam, please. Sam? I'm Dean! Yeah, it's me Dean...I'll be anyone you want me to be, just, please, wake up."
Dean came wondering through the woods, with his hands in his pockets, looking down at his feet. He was supposed to be at the shooting range with Caleb, but at the last minute Caleb decided that he would rather stay with John and Jim and have a beer. Dean would never admit it, but it had hurt his feelings.
Dean felt even worse knowing that that is was exactly what he did to Sam the day before. He was ashamed and he thought he could make it up to his little brother by coming out to the river for a while.
When he finally made it the river, he was a bit surprised when he didn't see Sam and Brian splashing in the water.
"Maybe they went home." Dean muttered to himself. That didn't make any sense; Dean would have run into them on the way if they had left already. "Sammy!" He called.
He listened carefully for a response, but instead he heard a soft voice, he couldn't quite make out the words, but he looked around for the speaker.
The voice seemed to becoming clearer; he could now make out the words: "Sam come on, please wake up."
The words made Dean move faster. He finally he saw his brother slumped against a bolder with Brian standing over him, shaking him and begging him to wake up.
"What'd you do to him?" Dean asked accusingly as he pushed Brian away from his brother.
"N-nothing, I...he jumped into the water and hit his head on a rock. I thought it was deep enough for diving—"
"Well obviously it wasn't!" Dean said shortly as he knelt beside his brother.
Brian looked ashamed, but added. "He woke up for a little while, but—."
"Sammy? Wake up." Dean whispered firmly. He ran his hand through Sam's hair, looking for a bump. Sam winced when Dean touched it.
"De?" Sam mumbled.
"Yeah, Kiddo it's me." Dean said. "Do you think you can walk Sammy?"
Sam nodded briefly. Dean pulled him to his feet and kept a firm hold on him as he swayed dizzily.
"I gotcha Sam." Dean led Sam over to a large tree. "Hang on to this while I grab your clothes." When Sam didn't respond Dean shook him gently. "Sam?"
"Okay." Sam replied shortly grabbing hold of the tree.
Dean gathered Sam's clothes and helped Sam put them back on. It's wasn't easy with Sam so out of it.
"Dean?" Brian came over to see what he could do to help. "Can I help?"
Dean glared at him briefly before turning back to the task. "Haven't you done enough?" Dean snapped. "Why don't you just go home and leave us alone."
Brian looked hurt, but after one, more look at Sam he turned away and started walking home.
Dean half dragged and half carried his dazed brother back to Jim's house. It's clear that Sam was suffering from a concussion. They had dealt with concussions plenty of times and the best thing Dean could do was get Sam back to house so John and Jim could take care of him and stitch up the gash on his head.
A week later Sunday rolled around. John and Dean had left the night before and although Sam was sad, he and Dean had been able to spend a lot of time together. In fact, after Sam's unfortunate diving accident, Dean had all but refused to leave Sam's side.
Sam was well enough to go to church with Jim and he was excited to Brian again. They hadn't spoken since the accident and Sam wanted to thank Brian for saving his life. He didn't remember much about it, but he could kind of remember Brian staying with him until Dean got there.
Sam sat in the very last pew was, as he usually did and watched the door, waiting for Brian to come in.
At last, he saw Brian walk in the door behind his two sisters.
"Hey Brian!" Sam called.
Brian looked at Sam for a second then nodded at him briefly and continued to follow his sisters down the aisle.
Sam looked crestfallen. He wondered if he had done something to make Brian mad. Through out the service Sam tried to recall what he had done anything to upset Brian, but he couldn't think of anything.
He saw Brian got up toward the middle of the service and walk out, Sam decided to follow him.
Brian noticed Sam following him and started walking faster.
"Brian wait!" Sam pleaded. "Please, did I do something wrong?"
Brian stopped walking, but didn't face Sam.
"Brian?" Sam called.
Brian slowly turned around. "You didn't do anything wrong Sam."
"Then why won't you talk to me?"
"Cause it's my fault you got hurt in the first place!"
"You're fault? How?"
"I was the one who was supposed to make sure that the water was deep 'nuff for diving, but I messed up and you hit you're head."
"That wasn't your fault. We dived in there plenty of times and came up fine." Sam said. Brian thought about that for a while. "Really Brian, it was just a silly accident. I'm fine now, thanks to you."
Brian looked at Sam to make sure he was serious. "Are you sure?"
Sam nodded and tapped his head with his fist. "I got a hard head."
Brian laughed. "That's true."
Hey friends,
First, I want to apologize for the long wait. I have no excuse, I just got ahead of myself with this story and now I'm paying for it in the form of writer's block.
I hope it was worth the wait and thank you for reading!