A Father Lost, A Father Gained Ch. 7
Warning: Cursing as usual--they are hunter's after all.
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Previously: "I wi-wish I could remember what happened to me Doc." John answered as he gazed at the man. He couldn't help but think of the two young faces that had flashed through his mind earlier. Was he a father? Did he have children out there somewhere who were waiting on him to come back home? He had no way of knowing that only a few states away, the quiet sounds of the night were being shattered by an ear piercing scream emanating from his youngest!
"Doc, what's wrong with me? Why can't I remember anything?" John queried anxiously as he chewed on his bottom lip. He didn't like this feeling of being an empty slate, especially if there could be two little boys out there depending on him somewhere.
"This isn't unusual with a severe head injury like yours John. You suffered some brain swelling as well as a lot of stress and it's affected your long term memory. Once the swelling subsides, chances are that your memories will start returning." The doctor informed John as he read over his chart.
"But how long will that take doc?" John questioned as his hands fiddled with the blanket that was covering him.
"I wish I could say John, but there is no set answer to that. With some people, their memory returns relatively quick and with others, it takes months to return." Dr. Pierce answered as he reached out to lay a comforting hand on his patient's shoulder.
"Is it possible that my memory could ne-never return?" John asked biting on his bottom lip almost hard enough to draw blood.
"Yes, I'm sorry to say there is that chance." Nathan answered honestly as he watched the many faceted emotions crossing his patient's face. "But let's not even be thinking along those lines John. You just woke up. Give us a chance to get you better and let's see what happens along the way. We'll do everything we can to make you comfortable and to help prod those memories along."
"Okay, thanks doc." John voiced not entirely pleased with the information he had been given. He could feel his eyes starting to droop as exhaustion began to overtake him. He really wanted to ask the doctor more, but his body was rebelling against his wishes.
"Get some sleep John, you body is letting you know what it needs to heal." The doctor stated with a smile. He was surprised that his patient had been able to stay conscious for so long after having been in a coma for as long as he had been. Picking up John's chart, he wrote down the latest vital signs his patient had shown before quietly leaving the room.
Once the doctor left the room, Sarah busied herself by tucking in her patient as he lay sleeping on the bed. It had nearly broken her heart when he admitted that he couldn't remember who he was or anything that had happened to him. She couldn't even begin to imagine what it must be like for him to feel so lost and all alone. Brushing her hand through his hair, she softly whispered, "I'll be here for you John. You won't have to suffer through this alone."
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Hiding in the bathroom, he could hear the sounds a man screaming to let him in as Dean held him in his arms. "Shh Sammy, we can't let him hear us" He heard Dean whisper as he snuggled as far into Dean's lap as he could get. Suddenly, he heard the door crash open with a monstrous bang.
"Where are you, you little bastards? I know you're in here." He heard the man shout with he same kind of slur that daddy used when he had drank to much of that stuff from the brown bottle.
"Deanie's he's coming." Sammy whispered as tears began to roll down his face. He had no sooner said the words when the bathroom door crashed to the floor and he was suddenly yanked out of Dean's arms with a vicious pull before the man kicked Dean in the stomach.
"Nooooo" Sammy screamed as the man threw him over his shoulder and he started walking away from Dean. Sammy began to fight with all he could to try and get away until the man's big meaty hand cracked down on his bottom with three hard blows.
"Deanie help me, nooooooooo!" Sam screamed out in horror as he began to fight once again in his sleep, while emitting big, heaving sobs.
"Sammy stop! it's me, I've got you. Sammy, please wake up." Dean pleaded as he pulled Sammy into his arms, trying to awaken and calm the terrified youngster. He had been abruptly awakened by the sound of his baby brother screaming out in terror and knew instantly that Sammy was held within the grips of another nightmare. Out of the corner of his eye, he watched Bobby shoot up in bed, a gun held firmly in his hands.
"What the hell?" Bobby grumbled as he scanned for danger, his heart beating a mile a minute after being awakened by the sounds of a terrified scream. Looking over at the boys bed, he saw Dean who had Sammy pulled to his chest as he tried to hold the struggling little boy still. Obviously, Sammy had had a nightmare. Placing his gun back under his pillow, he climbed out of the bed and started walking towards the boys to offer what comfort he could.
"No, it's alright, leave us alone, I've got him." Dean stated as he gave Bobby a wary look upon seeing the grizzled hunter coming their way. He wasn't sure what the man had planned and he didn't want him to scare Sammy anymore than he already was. Focusing his attention on his brother once again, he could feel Sammy trembling in his arms. Rocking his baby brother in his arms, he lightly patted his cheek and spoke once more. "Come on tiger, wake up, it's me, Deanie." He encouraged and watched as Sammy slowly opened his eyes and became alert to his surroundings.
"Deanie!" Sammy gasped as he threw his arms around Dean's neck and clung to him for dear life. He began to sob tears of relief as he felt his big brother rubbing a comforting hand up and down his back.
"Shh, it's okay Sammy, I've got you. As long as I'm around, ain't nothing bad gonna happen to you." Dean cooed into his brother's ear as he rocked him back and forth. He felt the bed beside them lower and looked up to see Bobby sitting beside them with concern shining in his eyes. Relaxing slightly, he allowed the man to reach out and offer his little brother comfort.
"Sammy, what happened kiddo?" Bobby questioned as he sat down beside the boys and began to lightly card his fingers through Sammy's hair. He knew Dean was wary of his help, but he couldn't just stand back and watch the terrified child from afar.
"That ma-man was trying to ta-take me 'way and him hi-hitted me on my bo-bottom." Sammy answered with a cry just before he buried his face into Dean's neck.
"Shhh, it was just a bad dream kiddo." Dean soothed as he continued his gentle rocking motion. "Besides, Uncle Bobby won't let him anywhere near us will you Uncle Bobby?" Dean questioned knowing that Sammy needed to know he was protected.
"You're damn straight I won't." Bobby answered with a firm voice as he gave Sam's knee a slight squeeze. He was surprised to hear the youngster giggle slightly at his words. "What? What did I say?" He queried with a perplexed on his face.
"You said a bad word." Sammy giggled as he glanced at the older hunter though tears were still streaming down his face. "Daddy says them too."
Bobby smiled as he ruffled a hand through Sammy's hair. "Why don't you boys try and get some more sleep. We're going to hit the road first thing in the morning so we can get back to my place."
"Uncle Bobby?"
"Yeah Sammy?"
"How will daddy knows where we is? Wont's he be mad that we didn't stay where him left us?" Sammy asked innocently.
"Nah sprout, he won't be mad. I'll explain everything to him so you don't have to worry, okay tiger." Bobby replied praying that he got the chance to explain since they had no earthly idea where the man was or even what had happened to him.
"Okay, Uncle Bobby. Night" Sammy stated with a yawn, rubbing his eyes with his little fist as Dean lay him on the bed once again. Rolling over, he snuggled into Dean's side and grasped Dean's shirt in his little fist before fading off to sleep once again.
Once Dean heard the soft even breaths indicating that Sammy was indeed asleep, he looked over towards Bobby and hesitantly asked, "Uncle Bobby, do you think my dad is…" Dean trailed off as he chewed on his bottom lip, afraid to ask the question he really wanted an answer to.
"Do I think your dad is what, Dean?" Bobby queried as he spun around and gave his full attention to the nine year old. He was pretty sure what the kid was trying to ask and it ached him to know that Dean was thinking along the lines that he was.
"Do you think my dad is still alive?" Dean answered as tears began to moisten his eyes. His dad had never taken this long to call before or find some way of getting in touch with them.
"I'm sure he is Ace." Bobby answered right away trying to dispel Dean's fears. "I'm sure you're daddy has a very good reason for not getting in touch Dean and we'll find out what it is. Caleb and Joshua are out there right now trying to find him and Pastor Jim is looking into things too. You don't have to worry sport, we'll find him."
"Kay." Dean replied before lying down himself and closing his eyes. He wished he could be sure that Bobby was telling the truth. He would just have to accept what the man said and keep up a brave front for Sammy until they found out something one way or the other.
Sighing deeply, Bobby watched over the boys for approximately thirty more minutes before laying back down himself. It scared him to think about how badly the boys would be traumatized if, God forbid, John didn't survive his latest hunt. Whatever the outcome, he was prepared to raise the boys himself if he had to. There was no damn way he would allow them to become wards of the state. Pushing the negative thought of John's possible death from his head, he wondered if Caleb and Bobby had found out anything yet. The idgits were supposed to call when they knew something and he wished they would do so soon.
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As Joshua and Caleb arrived at the house the Winchester's had been renting on the outskirts of town in Warren, a small little town in Georgia, Joshua couldn't help but grimace in disgust at the looks of the place. The roof was in bad need of repair and the house looked as if a stiff wind could knock it down. It gave him the chills to think John had the boys staying in such a place by themselves while he was out on a hunt.
"Damn, I can't believe Johnny had his kids staying in this piece of shit." Caleb grumbled as he looked at the ramshackle house. "How in the hell did he expect the boys to protect themselves if some crazy assed lunatic came a calling? What in the world was he thinking?"
"That's the problem, he wasn't thinking." Joshua stated as he started walking towards the house. "One of these days. I'm going to knock some sense into that fool head of his. He can't raise his young ones this way."
Striding along beside his friend, Caleb grunted knowing just how stubborn John was and how pissed he would be if Joshua tried to tell him how to raise his boys. "Let's just get in there and see if we can't find something to give us a starting place on finding the hard headed son of a bitch."
Watching where they stepped, Caleb and Joshua climbed the steps and walked across the small porch where Joshua used his shoulder to nudge the door open. Walking inside, they glanced around to see how sparsely the place was decorated. The living room consisted of one ratty looking couch and a small television. Walking into the kitchen, they noticed how bare the cupboards were and that the table didn't seem to be too sturdy. They also happened to notice the newspaper that rested on the counter just under them. "Maybe that will give us a starting place to look." Joshua stated as he walked over and picked the newspaper up while Caleb decided to keep looking around.
Carrying it over to the table, Joshua began to look for anything that might have caught John's eye. As he scanned through the pages, he noticed that five different articles had been circled in ink. Each article looked as if it could have been a supernatural occurrence. Reading through each article, he noticed that the occurrences were all within a few state radius of the one they were in now. "Damn it, why can't things ever be easy for us?" He groaned knowing they would have to check out each one since John didn't leave any notes as to the one he was undertaking. Tearing out the articles, he stuffed them in his pockets just as Caleb finished checking out the rest of the house.
"I've got us some starting points." Joshua stated as explained to Caleb what he had found. They had just started walking toward the front door when it banged open.
"Who the hell are you and what the f*ck are you doing in my house?" The landlord questioned as he pointed a rifle at the two hunters.
TBC
