Chapter Ten

Okay, this is one of two chapters up right now. Enjoy!

The Winchesters spent the Thanksgiving weekend just taking it easy and having a good time. They stayed in all day on Friday; mostly sleeping in, but then just watching TV and sharing stories. Saturday, they headed to the movie theatre. It was a smaller dollar theatre that played movie that had been out of major theatres for a while. They watched Batman Begins. Halfway through the movie, they ran out of popcorn.

"I'll go get some," Sam whispered, heading out of his seat towards the small lobby.

Sam waited for the guy behind the counter to fill up the buckets. A little girl walked up to the counter with her mother.

"One popcorn and a bottle of water, please," said the woman.

"Sure thing," said the guy behind the counter. "Just a second."

"You're tall," said the little girl, staring up at Sam.

"Lizzie…" said the mother.

Sam smiled at them. "It's okay. She's cute."

The mother smiled. "Thanks."

"Why is he so tall, Mommy?" asked Lizzie.

Sam laughed and knelt down in front of the girl. "I just grew up that way. My dad is tall, too. Maybe you'll be as tall as me someday."

Lizzie giggled, coughing a little.

"Lizzie, cover your mouth," said the mother.

Sam smiled as he stood up.

"Here's your popcorn, sir," said the guy behind the counter.

"Thanks," said Sam. He looked at the girl and her mother. "Have a nice day."

"You, too," said the mother.

Sam turned and went back to the theatre.

That afternoon, Sam got ready to put his plan in motion. It had started Friday night. Sam had sat down in the living room with John as Dean did the dishes. Sam had offered to do them instead, but Dean insisted.

"I think I know what we can do Sunday," Sam told John. "Something Dean never got to do as a kid, and probably hasn't since."

"What?" asked John.

"There's a theme park two towns over," said Sam.

John hesitated with a quick, nervous glance at Dean. "Sam…it's a nice thought, but…are you sure that's such a great idea?" He gave a pointed head-tilt towards Dean. "Theme park means crowds."

Sam looked down at his hands, knowing what John meant by it. He looked back up at John with a sober expression.

"Dad…" began Sam, "we can't keep him sheltered in like that. If we don't trust him enough to let him heal on his own…" He glanced over at Dean, who was rinsing dishes and singing some song under his breath, "I don't know what will happen to him."

There was silence for a minute.

"Sam, I understand you want to give him a chance…" said John. "But do you really think Dean is ready for a big crowd like that?"

"We'll leave it up to him," said Sam. "We'll tell him the plan, and he can decide if he wants to go let him decide if he's ready."

John shrugged. "I don't know. Dean doesn't seem like the theme park type."

"You kidding?" said Sam with a smile. "He'll love it."

"Who'll love it?" asked Dean from the doorway.

"Oh…" said Sam. "Nothing. It's nothing."

Dean's easygoing, carefree expression instantly grew hurt and betrayed at Sam's dismissive brush-off. Sam could've kicked himself. After all the secrets over the weeks—the years—Sam had just basically lied to his face.

"It's just…It's a surprise," said Sam.

Dean frowned, still a little skeptical. "Surprise?"

"Yeah, a secret," Sam told him. "You just kinda walked in on us talking about it."

Dean's eyes brightened as he nodded, understanding. "Oh, okay. Surprise for what?"

"Like I'm gonna tell you," smiled Sam. "That ruins the whole idea."

Dean laughed. "Alright, alright. Don't let me interrupt the awesome plans."

He walked out of the living room, heading upstairs. John and Sam looked at each other and laughed.

"Okay, you're right," said John. "We'll ask him tomorrow."

Later that night, Dean was roused from his sleep by something. He lay awake for all of three seconds before he heard commotion from across the hall.

"No!" came Sam's voice from his room.

Dean threw the blankets off of him.

"Dean!" Sam yelled in his room.

Dean jumped off the bed and ran into Sam's room to see him writhing on the bed, in the grip of a nightmare. Dean rushed over to him, shaking him.

"Sam!" Dean yelled. "Sammy!"

Sam's eyes snapped open as he jolted up in bed, staring wide-eyed at Dean.

"Dean…" whispered Sam. He latched onto Dean's hand, squeezing it tight.

Dean recognized the fear in Sam's eyes; it was the same fear he'd seen last night.

"Same one as last night?" asked Dean.

Sam nodded shakily, breathing heavily. He'd had another nightmare of Dean being tortured and killed. Dean knew the nightmares would haunt Sam for a while; the kid felt so guilty about what had happened to Dean.

Dean climbed into Sam's bed, holding him close. "It's okay. I'm here."

Dean chased away Sam's nightmares that night. And after taking away his nightmares and…everything…giving something back was the least he could do.

"Hey, Dean," said Sam on Saturday afternoon as they sat at the table having a snack—John stood at the counter, cleaning (really, John Winchester cleaning; Dean couldn't get over that idea). "I got an idea of how we can ring out the holiday weekend."

"Oh, really?" asked Dean, his feet propped up on the table. "How's that?"

John turned to watch how the conversation would go.

"Yeah, there's a theme park a couple towns over," Sam told Dean, watching him closely for his reaction.

Dean stared at him, not exactly scared, yet not exactly thrilled at the conversation. So Sam pressed on.

"So, I was thinking we all could go there tomorrow," said Sam. "What do you think?"

Dean looked at the table, thinking for a moment. "Well…"

"I mean, it's completely up to you," Sam quickly added. "It's a park; there'll be people there…probably lots of people. It's your choice."

Dean looked up at him and smiled at his stammering. He shrugged. "Sure, sounds like fun."

Sam frowned. "Really?"

"Yeah, a theme park," said Dean. "Should be fun, right?"

Sam and John exchanged slightly befuddled glances. They hadn't expected Dean to react with such enthusiasm.

"Am I missing something?" asked Dean. "Have they changed theme parks from what they used to be?"

"No, no," said John. "We're just glad you're looking forward to it."

"Alright, get some rest," said Sam. "We leave first thing in the morning."

"Dude…" said Dean.

Sam looked at him.

"It's four o'clock," said Dean.

Sam glanced down at his watch. "Oh…right."

Dean laughed, looking at John. "Aw, look at this. Little Sammy can't wait to get to the park."

Sam shoved Dean's feet off of the table. "Shut up."

Dean laughed, climbing to his feet. "Aw, I'm just messing with ya, Sammy." He ruffled Sam's hair as he walked past him. "Gotta live up to my annoying big brother reputation." He headed towards his room to read a little.

Sam and John looked at each other and laughed. The three of them took it easy to rest of the day, looking forward to a good night's rest.

Okay, so John's sleep was restful. Dean was once again woken by Sam dazedly shaking him awake again. And, like the previous two nights, Dean let Sam sleep in his bed to keep his horrible nightmare at bay. The next morning, they grabbed what they thought they would need: money, sunglasses, and jackets. They piled into the Impala and drove half an hour to the theme park. It wasn't Six Flags big, but it also wasn't some rinky-dink carnival.

The Winchesters headed towards the park entrance, getting in line to buy tickets. As they waited, more people got in line behind them. Sam watched as Dean's frame tensed more and more, little by little as more people surrounded them in the line. Dean was watching everyone around him, his eyes darting back and forth. He was unconsciously edging towards Sam and John, seeking refuge in this smothering environment. Sam didn't want this day out to turn into a horror movie.

Knowing the reaction he would get, Sam leaned over towards Dean. "Need to hold my hand?"

Dean's head snapped over towards Sam, a wide, incredulous look on his face. "I'm not a kid, Sam. I don't need you to hold my hand. Come on, dude."

He straightened up, losing his tension and crossing his arms as he waited. Sam smiled. He knew teasing his brother would give Dean the distraction and confidence he would need.

They spent the first three or four hours riding roller coasters. They found a little burger joint in the middle of the park and sat down to eat. Two booths down from them sat a couple in their late twenties. They were arguing with each other. The Winchesters tried to ignore them.

"Dude, the look on your face on that last one," laughed Dean.

"I don't like spinning rides," skulked Sam. "They're too…spinny."

Dean burst out laughing, and Sam and John smiled at the look on Dean's face. It had been a long time since they'd seen him that happy.

"You're such a girl," said Dean.

"Uh, excuse me," said Sam. "Who was the one gripping my hand like a vice and screaming on the Death Rider?"

Dean's jovial smile morphed into a glare. "It went really high, Sam!"

It was Sam's turn to laugh at the look on Dean's face.

"Don't argue with me!"

The Winchesters looked over at the arguing couple. The man had a death grip o his girlfriend's wrist.

"I know you've been seeing him!" said the guy.

Sam and John stared down at the table. Sam looked up to see Dean staring at the couple, his jaw clenched.

"That's not true, Mark," said the woman.

Mark pulled the girl's wrist towards him. "Don't lie to me."

Dean recognized the look in Mark's eyes…a dangerous look he'd seen many times.

"Mark…" said the woman, twisting her wrist in Mark's grasp.

Dean got to his feet as Sam and John watched in shock. John himself had been about to do something, but they watched in disbelief as Dean did it for them. The last conflict Dean had been in, he hadn't been able to fight back. Now, he was standing up for someone else.

Dean marched over to the couple's table. "Hey, pal." Mark looked slowly up at him. "Leave the girl alone."

Mark glared at him. "Why don't you mind your own business."

"All I'm saying is, take it easy on her," said Dean with a hard gaze. "Try talking to her instead of intimidating her."

Mark released the woman's hand and stood up in front of Dean. "How I deal with my girl is none of your business. I'll treat her how I want. If I want to bend her over the table and hammer her till she cries, you can't do a thing about it."

Dean brought his fist forward into the guy's nose. Mark toppled backwards against the table. Dean stood firm, staring him down. Mark stared in shock at Dean, but then snarled and brought his knee forward. Dean blocked the knee, ramming his elbow down on Mark's diaphragm. Mark gasped as he struggled to draw breath.

By now, the entire place was watching, frozen in place.

Mark stood, swinging an arm at Dean's head. Dean ducked, so Mark's momentum spun him around, his back facing Dean. Dean grabbed Mark's other arm, twisting it up behind his back. Dean slammed Mark face-first onto the table, twisting his arm.

"I said…leave the girl alone," Dean growled.

A man grabbed Dean's arms, holding him still. Another man—dressed in a park security uniform—walked towards Dean with handcuffs (the plastic zip-tie kind).

"Freeze!" said the officer holding Dean.

Sam and John jumped up from their seats.

"Wait, he didn't do anything!" said Sam. "It was the guy—"

"He attacked me," said the woman, standing.

"This man?" asked the officer, gesturing to Dean.

The woman shook her head. She pointed at Mark. "He hurt me, tried to attack me."

"And him?" asked the officer, tipping his head towards Dean.

"He saved me," said the woman.

The officers released Dean and grabbed the guy, taking him out of the building. The woman latched onto Dean, hugging him. Dean stood there, his eyes wide as the woman embraced him. He still wasn't really used to human contact. He'd been around his family long enough; he was comfortable around them, but this was a complete stranger. He was a little uneasy.

"Thank you," said the woman. She pulled away from him. "He was always a bastard. I just didn't know how to get away from him."

Dean nodded. "You're welcome."

The woman went with an employee to calm down and rest.

"Dean…" said Sam. He smiled. "That was amazing…"

Dean smiled. "Yeah?"

"Yeah," said John. "You did great."

"Thanks," said Dean. "I just…I couldn't let that guy do anything."

John and Sam smiled, very relieved at the way Dean had handled that guy. Not only had he saved that girl from what sounded like an abusive relationship, but he was learning to stick up for himself, to not run away from a fight because it happened to remind him of Carl.

"Come on," said Sam. "Let's get out of here."

They spent another two or three hours in the park. On the way home, Dean fell asleep in the backseat, worn out from their day of theme park fun. When they got home, they all went straight to bed.

*************************************************SPN*****************************************************

Sam jolted awake in the middle of the night, breathing heavily. He took a couple deep breaths before pulling his blankets off and heading into Dean's room. Without waking Dean up, he just climbed in next to Dean. Dean curled over towards Sam in his sleep, putting his arm around him. Sam fell restfully into sleep, his recurring nightmare disappearing.

Monday saw John back at work. After breakfast, Dean walked up to Sam.

"Let's go somewhere," said Dean.

Sam looked up at him. "What?"

"Come on," said Dean. "I can't stand another week day holed up in the house. Let's go somewhere."

Sam shrugged. "Okay. Where?"

"Uh…supposed to be an 'End of Thanksgiving' Festival in the park today," said Dean. "We could go hang out, drive around…What do you say?"

"Yeah, sounds great," said Sam.

They piled into Sam's car—a dark blue '98 Ford Taurus—and headed to the park. Sure enough, a festival was in full swing. Sam and Dean worked their way through the crowds, taking in the sights, booths and carnival food. After about three hours, they came to a rest on a park bench.

"Ooh, I think I see a pretzel guy," said Dean. "Wait here?"

Sam looked at him, hesitant. Sam had not let Dean out of his sight in a crowd since they got him back. But, like he himself had said, they needed to give Dean a chance.

"Sure, I'll be right here," said Sam.

Dean stalked off into the crowd towards the vendor. The whole time he sat there, Sam kept telling himself, "He's alright, he can handle himself." Sam sat for a couple minutes, finding his attention drawn to a small family across the way.

A father walked with his two boys towards a carousel. The eldest son looked about ten or twelve, and the youngest was maybe five. The eldest grabbed onto his little brother's hand, making sure he held on tight.

Sam smiled as he watched the family of three. In another life, that could've been them…normal, happy…carefree.

He looked down at his watch and frowned. Dean had been gone ten minutes. There's no way it would take him that long.

Sam got up and began heading in the direction Dean went. He found the pretzel vendor fifty feet away, but Dean wasn't in sight. Sam's heart began to pound as he flashed back to fifteen years ago…

Dean was missing.