John had to admit that when he had seen Johnny standing there when the door opened earlier in the day, he had felt relieved. He had known that Mike had been right, Mary would wait for about five minutes before she'd start calling wanting to know if Johnny was there yet. Sure enough the phone had rung and being as idiotically happy that he had been he had looked over and told Johnny, "It's Mary, why don't you answer it with something to really blow her mind." He had expected something subtle to make her come around slowly to the realization that he was there, but after a moment of giving him a puzzled look, Johnny shrugged and answered with, "Winchester and Sons, this is Johnny" making Mary scream in excitement so loud that Mike had heard her across the garage and made Johnny temporarily deaf in one ear.
Now though, he watched as the boy was helping Mike tear down a head after he had already done the oil changes, replaced an alternator belt, and took one car out for a test drive before coming back saying that the only thing wrong with it was the guy didn't know how to drive a stick, making everyone laugh at the bluntness of the statement. He could tell that Johnny knew how to do a few things, that was obvious, but he still had a lot to learn. He could only hope that the boy would have reason to stick around so his earlier statement about Winchester and Sons would be true.
Looking at the clock, he knew it was time to go. Mary had called and made arrangements for the test to be done at three and they both still needed to get cleaned up. "Hey Johnny, how about we head to the house for a few minutes before we get up to the hospital?" he said, not thinking anything about it until he noticed a few people stop and stare. Not sure how to handle the situation he was actually relieved when Johnny nodded, shook Mike's hand saying that he'd see him later, then walked out the door towards the Impala. 'Maybe things will work out after all.' He thought, enjoying the break in the day.
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Johnny hated hospital more than anything else in the world. Ok, not more than anything, he still hated jails cells worse, not by much, but still more. So now he had to wonder how he got himself talked into sitting in a hallway with three lunatics waiting to have someone do who knows what just to find out something he already knew. 'Damn Cade was right, the alcohol has finally caught up with me.' He thought wondering where that stray thought came from but quickly passed it off as nerves, after all, sick and dying people went to hospitals willingly, crazy people went not so willingly, so either he was sick and didn't know it, or he was crazy and… wait, he already knew that one. He'd been called crazy more than once, and even believed it himself half the time with all the things his brain comes up with, so why should he be surprised to find himself in a hospital now?
Hearing his name, he looked up to see Dean looking at him worried, "Dude, you ok? Maybe after we're done here, I can get dad to take you home. Hey, have you found a place yet? There's an opening in my apartment building, if you want we can head over and I'll talk to the landlord with you…"
Dean's voice faded out as they walked into a room with a doctor and a nurse waiting. He could tell they were explaining something, but he really had no idea what. All he knew was that the room didn't have a window and it was getting smaller. The nurse motioned him to open his mouth, then a swab was brushed around, but all he could think about was 'how could they all fit into this little room that kept shrinking?' He was only faintly aware of a hand on his shoulder and the doctor looking at him, talking to him but he couldn't hear anything and he had to wonder if it was because the room had crushed all the air out and that's why he couldn't hear – he read that sound only carried because of air, so that made sense, right? Right? Ri…
"OH MY GOD… JOHNNY!" Mary screamed as she watched his eyes roll back and he collapsed at their feet. She had known he was agitated, but didn't dream that it was this bad.
"Mr. and Mrs. Winchester, please calm down, I'm sure it's only a panic attack. Do you have any idea if he's claustrophobic? Sometimes we don't think about coming into these smaller rooms, but to someone who suffers from that affliction it could be quite terrifying."
Dean stood there watching in horror as Johnny collapsed without any sign at all of what was about to happen. Now the doctor was talking about claustrophobia and small rooms, and why did they bring them in here if they thought it was a possibility? Now all they could do was wait until the kid opened his eyes and get him the hell out of there, maybe where there was sky, yeah, that would be good… no small rooms, ever. 'Might make finding a cheap apartment hard to find, but hey what the hell…'
Johnny knew that he should know what happened, it should have been easy to figure out, but as soon as he opened his eyes and looked around, the only question that would come out was, "What happened?" Being helped off the floor wasn't a new experience, but for some reason this time made him feel more than a little uneasy.
"Mr. Doe, I assure you that it's a normal reaction; however I should caution you to let hospital personnel know of your condition when you undergo any procedure. Now if you'll excuse me, I'll go send these by courier right away."
"Condition?" Johnny asked, sure that maybe his first assumption was right, he was sick and didn't know it. "Courier?" He was feeling really confused and wondered if he hit his head on the way down.
Mary could see the questions piling up and she rubbed Johnny's arm for assurance. "Claustrophobia, apparently that's why you passed out. Why didn't you tell us, we would have understood."
Looking around the room, and allowing himself to be guided out, he admitted, "Uh, I didn't know?" When he saw their expressions he shook his head, "I never really thought about it, sorry. I really didn't mean to uh, well…"
Knowing what Johnny wanted to say, Dean could only imagine at what the kid had to be feeling, not that he was showing it. No, Johnny was a little confused about what was going on which made Dean think that he had been in full blown panic attack the whole time the doctor had explained everything. "Hey Johnny, don't worry about it. Oh, and the courier is because they don't have to facilities to do it here, so they're sending it into Kansas City. We should get the results in about two week, right Dad?"
John had been so concerned about what had just happened that it took him a second to figure out that Dean was talking to him, "Oh, yeah, a couple of weeks. They'll let us know, then we'll come back in and get the results." It sounded so easy when it's being discussed in a non- consequential way, but it felt anything but that to him. In a couple of weeks things could change drastically, and what if they found out they were wrong, Mary was already attached to Johnny, and he hadn't missed how Dean would get defensive for the kid either. He didn't know how they would handle it if Johnny left now; probably as well as he would.
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It didn't take long for the news to spread that John and Mary may have found Sammy, which brought its own set of problems right along with it. They knew that Johnny hated being in the spotlight, and it seemed that he couldn't go anywhere without being told that everyone was glad to see him back where he needed to be, driving Johnny further into himself, making the Winchester's more concerned about his nocturnal habits. Another problem with everyone knowing what was going on with their life was the inescapable fact that everyone was interested in letting John and Mary know everything that their 'youngest son' was doing at any given moment in time. Dean had thought it was hilarious at first, until his name had gotten dragged through a few conversations making it sound as if the couple of nights the boys had been playing pool, had just been a cover so they could get acquainted with a certain set of twins known not to be too discriminate. After that, Dean had taken better care in listening to what was being said and setting the record straight; he knew what Johnny did while he was out all night, but he also knew that if the roles were reversed he'd probably have dove into a bottle and not surfaced at all, so give the kid a break.
Both John and Mary had their concerns about Johnny's health, but each night he'd sit down for dinner as if nothing was wrong; engage in conversation about the day, the weather, even the softball team that John was on; then as soon as dessert was ate and the dishes done and put away he was off again until the next morning when the routine would start all over again. Mary would make sure to send an extra lunch with John, and John would do his best to get the boy to eat it but usually would go home with it still untouched. John would try to coax him to at least take over the couch at the house, but would be disappointed every night when he would head out the door again. Dean had followed Johnny a couple of times, but after he saw that he was doing his best to not get himself killed, he decided to leave him alone; asking a few friends to call if there was trouble.
Johnny couldn't help but count down the days. He didn't have much, but he did have his word, and he had promised the Winchester's he'd stick around until the results came back. Now though they seemed to expect him to spend more time with them, and had even made a point to try and get him to go out with them when they went out to eat on the weekends. He could tell that they already had their minds made up, but it was really starting to get old. He tried to keep his activities to a point that wouldn't upset Mary, and he'd done a pretty good job so far, staying mostly in areas of town that certain 'good folk' had only heard rumors of, and he normally didn't have a problem finding a place to finish out the night, which made him able to grab a couple hours of sleep and a shower if he felt up to it. Now though he really wished that doctor what's his name would call already and give everyone the news so he could get out of everyone's life and start leading his own.
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The phone wouldn't stop ringing which normally wouldn't have been such a nuisance except that it was only John and Johnny in the shop due to some emergency in Mike's family, and both of them were trying to get a stubborn starter in a very small foreign made car so there were no arms to spare for the annoying phone.
"Finally!" John said under his breath when the caller finally gave up. He looked up to see how Johnny was doing trying from the top to keep things from moving back in the way, and it looked like it might actually work this time, except the phone started ringing again. Cussing at how some people could be inconsiderate and that it had better not be a sales call, John slid out from underneath the car. Letting Johnny know that it was time for a break, he was almost to the phone when it stopped again making John more aggravated than ever.
Passing a cold soda from the cooler, he motioned Johnny to sit down and got a good look at the kid. Half the time it looked like the boy didn't sleep, with the dark circles under his eyes getting darker by the day. He didn't smile anymore, instead the closest they could get was a non-committal nod, and that was for something that was good. Then there was the problem with the alcohol. He hadn't actually seen him drink while he'd been in Lawrence, but it hung on him at times like he had just put the bottle down a few hours before going into work, although it hadn't affected his work at all. Knowing that Johnny drank hadn't surprised him; it was seeing how it had increased since arriving that had John worried. Something was sending the boy into a tailspin, and he could only assume it was Ellie.
Feeling that now was as good of time as any to find out what was going on, he had just turned back to Johnny when he heard Mary yelling from the parking lot. "JOHN! Damn it, John! Come on, we have to go – now!" she yelled, motioning for both of them to hurry up. At their puzzled looks she started to get even more upset. "They lost them John. Somehow the hospital lost the samples and we have to do it again, only this time we need to go into Kansas City and have it done there to make sure nothing's lost."
"WHAT! It's been over two weeks, they're just now telling us? What happened?" John exclaimed as he started to lock up the garage. Suddenly he stopped and looked at Mary before he turned to Johnny. "Oh God Johnny" he said quietly looking at the young man in front of him. Knowing how he'd already declined since arriving, he really didn't think that Johnny had another two weeks left in him without completely losing himself. "Johnny, look, I know we promised not to pry, but if this is too much for you, say so. I'd much rather be able to have my suspicions unconfirmed and you healthy than find out for certain and you end up dead. Are you willing to try this again?"
Mary knew that something was going on, she wasn't blind. The young man in front of her was a shadow of what he had been and that much of a change in a little over two weeks time was just too painful to watch. She had to agree with John, if it was too much, then she'd rather not know for certain. Watching both men she waited to see what the verdict would be. Finally Johnny got in the backseat of the Impala and they were racing down the road to make their appointment. "Dean wanted to come too," she told Johnny, "but with him just starting the academy, he couldn't get out early."
Nodding, Johnny agreed, Dean needed to stick with his plan. "It's ok, he was there the first time." He said quietly, knowing that it was true. Dean had made a point of being there that first time when he didn't need to be, just like he'd been checking up on him for the past two weeks. Leaning back, he couldn't help but wonder about these people. They were taking a huge risk for a stranger, and he contemplated what they would do for each other.
Dean couldn't keep his mind on the topic at hand and it was driving him nuts. He had spent his break being told about the loss of the DNA samples and how they were going to have to get Johnny to agree to do it again. He wasn't an idiot, it had been increasingly hard to rein him in until the first results were supposed to be ready, not that he had actually been able to curb Johnny's natural tendencies, because that was far from the truth. He hadn't been prepared in finding out that between the two of them; they were making quite a reputation for themselves. Sighing, he thought about the night that he had practically walked in on Johnny and a girl he had just met; seeing the person who could be his brother making out with some random chick wasn't something he had wanted to see, but he had to admit that the kid had taste. Looking at the clock again, Dean wanted to fast forward the rest of the day so he and Johnny could get together and go shoot some hoops or get in a few games of pool, which had been their little tradition for the past week. Somehow he knew that tonight Johnny would need a major distraction, and he was planning on being there for as long as the kid needed.
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Mary had been worried about Johnny all week, and it had taken a very devious plan for her to get her way tonight. She knew about the girls and the drinking, she even knew about a few things that John probably didn't know; she was just happy that Johnny knew when and who to hustle, otherwise he would have been dead in the gutter by now. No, she knew how much he was just waiting for his obligation to be over so he could take off, and that's why he hadn't bothered to even look at apartments, choosing to stay in a run down motel if he couldn't find a place by the end of the night. She had a suspicion that if it hadn't been the thought of her, then he wouldn't have worried about a motel and would have slept in the streets instead. So she took her newfound and wonderful to know knowledge and used it to her advantage.
With Independence Day less than a week away, she was planning a big picnic with all the trimmings and an excursion to the city wide fireworks display that night. She had made a point of bringing it up to Johnny frequently until finally he had told her, as politely as he could, that it wasn't part of the agreement and as far as he was concerned it should be a family moment, not something for him to be a tag a long for. John seemed almost upset, and Dean looked like he was going to jump in but that's when her plan went into action. "I tell you what Johnny, you spend the night here and keep me company during the late night double feature and I won't say another word about you coming with us on the fourth. Deal?" she asked, giving him a look that challenged him to deny her request.
"Why don't you want John or Dean to watch them with you?" he asked, suspicious about her plan.
Smiling she said honestly, "These wimps? They see a little gore and they're hiding in the couch cushions." She laughed at he protests that were being tossed her way, but she ignored them, instead watching with renewed interest in the young man in front of her. "So, do we have a deal? I promise I won't even try to bribe you with that cake that you like." She said sweetly, noticing that his interest was getting piqued.
Rolling his eyes, Johnny finally agreed, "Fine, but don't expect me to go to church with you tomorrow." He said, putting his own arrangements into the mix.
They had just finished dinner and with Dean and Johnny doing the dishes, Mary knew that her plan was working better than she had hoped. As she looked at John she could tell that he saw through her deviousness and was about to call her on it when a shadow past in front of the window followed by the doorbell ringing. Thinking that it was one of the neighborhood kids trying to get newspaper subscriptions, John opened the door quickly to get a jump out of the kid. However they were unprepared for what they saw.
A man in a suit stood in their doorway holding out a card. "I was informed that you would know how to get in touch with Johnny Doe. I have a very urgent matter to discuss with him personally." The man said looking around the room.
Dean and Johnny had heard the doorbell about the time the last dish was done and put away. Looking at each other they had just walked into the living room to hear the stranger announce who he was looking for. Not wanting Johnny to be in the line of fire unnecessarily, Dean spoke up. "What do you want him for?"
The man fidgeted slightly before he asked, "Is he here, or do you know where he can be found? I assure you this is an extremely urgent matter."
"I'm Johnny, who are you and what do you want?" Johnny asked, suddenly not liking the feeling that he was getting especially not after seeing the person who followed the first man into the house. "Sherriff?" he asked, now really not liking the feeling that he was getting.
"Hey Johnny, I need you to sit down." Sherriff Harell said, when Johnny continued to stand he looked at the young man. "Please Johnny, you need to sit down."
John looked between the Sheriff and Johnny and knew that nothing was going to be accomplished at this rate. "How about you tell us what's going on, then we'll decide who sits and who doesn't." he said firmly. He didn't like anything about how this situation was being handled, and he didn't even know the situation yet.
Clearing his throat, the Sheriff nodded before saying, "Johnny, Cade's dead. There was some trouble at the house, and he managed to get a call through to dispatch, but by the time we got there, there wasn't anything we could do. I'm very sorry son; everyone knows how close you two were."
Feeling as if everything was closing into black, Johnny wasn't sure how he managed to get on the couch, but he was pretty sure Dean had done most of the work. "Ellie! Oh my God ELLIE!" he screamed, not hearing anything about her was enough for him to come to his own conclusions.
"I assure you that Mr. Hart's daughter is safe. Now there are a few things we need to go over Mr. Doe." The man said, pulling out papers from his briefcase. "Mr. Doe, you are the sole beneficiary of Mr. Hart's estate, as well as the sole guardian of his daughter Ellie Hart. Now I understand that she has some mental deficiency and…"
A numbness had enveloped Johnny and he had no idea most of what was said until he heard the small man talk about Ellie. "She's not deficient! You don't even know her, so kept your judgments to yourself!" he exclaimed, jumping off the couch before another thought finally jumped out at him, "Where is she? You brought her with you, right?" he asked, hoping and praying that she hadn't been left somewhere alone, but he could only see that she wasn't here which meant that she was there…
"Johnny, she's in Flagstaff at the Children's Hospital where they're taking good care of her until we can get you two together…"
"NO, you left her alone! She can't be alone, don't you get that? She gets scared and she wanders." Johnny was starting to shake, but he didn't notice, "I can get there by tomorrow afternoon if I drove, right? That's too long…I have to get there now!"
Mary watched as Johnny came unglued while she was on the phone with the airlines. She saw both John and Dean try and calm him down but his only thoughts were of Ellie. They had just managed to get him back with them when the man in the suit spoke up.
"Sir, I still need to inform you of all the necessary arrangements."
"Screw the arrangements! Can't you see that you're not helping?" Dean yelled, trying to keep Johnny from running out the door.
John was getting ready to usher the two men out the door when Johnny's voice broke through. "How did it happen?"
Not wanting to traumatize the young man any further the Sheriff only answered, "It's best you don't know Johnny, trust me. Hell, I saw it and wish I didn't." Seeing that Johnny wasn't going to let it go he nodded, "It's all in the report anyway. We're not sure, but we think that Ellie saw it." At the horrified look on the other faces he quickly assured them, "She wasn't hurt, but it took us awhile to find her. Johnny, someone strung him up from the front porch and cut him open like they were dressing a deer."
AN: Hope you all liked this one... hope to see you all soon!