Hedgehog Predators

By PaBurke

Summary/Challenge: Dean went to Hell and was hauled out of Perdition only to be turned into a 4/5-year-old version of himself.

Reminder: Sam. Is. An. Addict.

Disclaimer: So not mine

Rating: teen-ish

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Sam Winchester burned with anger. He didn't fight it because his anger made him powerful. How dare Bobby judge him? How dare Bobby withhold Dean from his real family? How dare Bobby dismiss all of Sam's work? Sam had been working non-stop to get his brother and Bobby had been hoarding Dean because Bobby had judged Sam as unfit. Bobby didn't understand the good that Sam was accomplishing. Ruby had been more forthright than Bobby had been and she never judged Sam's actions. Ruby followed Sam's lead. Bobby acted like Sam opinion, and vouching for Ruby and all of his hard work, none of it mattered. He still treated Sam like a stupid kid. Bobby had judged Sam's actions months ago and had decided that Sam lifestyle and companions were too dangerous for Dean, without giving Sam a chance to state his case. Hell, Bobby didn't let Sam know that he was being judged, he had just ushered Dean out of Sam's motel room and never returned. He hadn't checked in again. He hadn't given Sam a second chance to be close to Dean. If Sam hadn't stopped by and connected Bobby's over protectiveness of his property with Dean, Bobby would have let Sam fruitlessly try to figure a way into hell forever.

This was about Dean, Sam's own brother. Sam deserved to know everything about Dean. Everything! Now, Bobby wouldn't even let Dean talk to Sam. It should be Dean's choice. Bobby was just a controlling bastard like John Winchester had been.

"So," Ruby finally broke Sam's fuming silence. "How are we going to get Dean?"

Sam might have been furious, but he was still plotting. "If Bobby is Dean's legal guardian, there're conditions. He'll have to bring Dean out of the junkyard eventually for socialization. I wonder if Dean has any friends?" Sam doubted it. At least, none of the friends would be hard to leave behind. At Ruby's look, Sam explained, "Dean was always pretty much a loner. All he had was me." And now Bobby and that Cas-witch liar were keeping Dean from his best friend with the dubious excuse that Sam was a threat to Dean.

"So we should scope out the community and find out what the townies know about Dean," Ruby suggested.

Sam nodded. "I'll check out the library. Bobby uses it for research and he would consider it a safe place for Dean."

"I'll check the school," offered the woman.

"Call if you learn anything," Sam ordered.

She nodded and raised a bandaged wrist. "You want a little for the road?"

Yes. Sam wanted some blood. It tasted better than anything else on earth. He was smarter, stronger with it in his system, but… "Better not. The Cas-creature said that the wards were designed to keep anyone with demon blood at bay. I might need to get into Bobby's house at some point. I better back off for now."

Ruby shrugged. "Your call."

Yes, it was. Sam was in control of this blood thing. He wasn't addicted. There was no reason to quit. Bobby was just throwing everything out of proportion based on the word of the Cas-creature. He didn't get what was truly going on.

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With a few lies and a couple practiced smiles, Sam learned all about Bobby and Dean's schedule. The two of them would come to the library whenever Bobby needed some extra research and he would often pick up one or two groceries after, whatever they were short on at home. The librarian chalked it up to a bachelor not used to a child's appetite. Sam knew better: Bobby was more than ready for a siege if it came to it, but if Dean was bored with the food at home, Bobby would indulge him. Who knew what garbage Bobby was letting Dean eat. Sam was looking forward to indulging his brother, but not too much. Dean would be healthy and not hungry with him.

Right now, Sam was hungry. He was looking forward to a bit of Ruby's blood. He deserved a little pick-me-up and he had a solid plan for getting his brother that didn't involve Bobby's warded house. There was nothing in that house that Dean couldn't live without. Now that the plan was made, Sam didn't want to wait any longer for some blood. He called Ruby to have her come back to the rented room.

"I've got bump-kis on their schedule might I might have something for getting legal custody away from Singer," she said as she answered her phone.

"Oh?"

"So Singer is homeschooling him. When he went to the school to get the principal to sign off on it, she and a couple other teachers did an informal test to see how much education Dean already had. They were trying to find the limit to his education. It seems that he's had a lot of instruction for his age group. A lot. The teacher decided that Dean needed to be challenged or he would regress. She only knew of Bobby from his weekly trips for liquid nourishment and from his holds at the library. She added everything together and figured that a good way to keep Bobby sober and Dean challenged was to have Bobby teach Dean Japanese."

Sam was first almost impressed that Bobby knew Japanese and then he was proud of his brother for wow-ing the teachers. Either way, "It won't take much to renew the rumor that Bobby's an alcoholic. He'd lose custody over that. And I've got DNA on my side." They probably wouldn't go the legal route because it took too much time, but Sam wanted to make sure that Dean could never return –could never be returned to Bobby. Bobby had burned that bridge. Sam was just making sure that Dean was on his side of the chasm before cutting all ties.

"Exactly."

"Come back to the room," Sam told her. "I'm hungry."

"Oh?" Ruby sounded flirty, but she never denied him. "I thought you were getting into abstinence."

"Nah," Sam answered. "I got a lot more information than you did and I have a plan. I want to celebrate."

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The one true constant in Bobby's schedule was Dean's martial arts class. It wasn't hard to stake out the dojo. There were enough shops on the opposite side of the street with windows facing the right direction. Sam and Ruby had been walking all morning, since the Impala was so recognizable. Bobby and Dean were five minutes early. Bobby was hyper vigilant, looking for Sam. Dean was looking for Sam too and Sam deeply wanted to reveal himself, but now was not the time. Sam stayed put and waited for the most opportune time. After class was done, Dean and two kids ran out of the dojo, crossed the street and entered into the ice cream parlor.

Perfect.

Dean must have known that Sam was nearby and had dropped Bobby's surveillance. Now all Sam had to do was waltz into the parlor when Bobby's head was turned and invite Dean to a walk in the park. The Impala was there. Dean would climb into the car and the three of them would drive off into the sunset, leaving Bobby and his sanctimonious shit behind.

There.

Bobby turned his back on the street. Sam strode onto the sidewalk and entered into the ice cream parlor. Dean had a chocolate ice cream cone and each of his friends had a cone too.

"Dean," Sam smiled at the boy and was surprised when Dean stepped back, face white. It made Sam furious. "Don't be afraid," Sam told Dean.

"Not afraid," Dean muttered. "You left."

"I wouldn't leave without you," Sam told him.

"Are you going to take Bobby's deal?" Dean asked hopefully. "Get cleaned up?"

"Sure, sure," Sam said. "Let's go to the park to discuss it."

Dean took a step forward and then saw Ruby. He recognized her, which Sam hadn't counted on. His eyes shuttered. "You haven't dumped your dealer. You're not ready to kick the habit."

"There is no habit," Sam protested.

One Dean's friends, the boy stepped in front of Dean. "Bobby has a restraining order against you," the boy lied. "You're not allowed near Dean." He spoke very clearly and every adult in the place was suddenly paying attention to Sam and Dean's private conversation.

Sam could have cursed him. "It's not like that," he tried to reason with the kid. The African girl was pulling Dean out the back door and Dean was going along with her. Sam wasn't too worried. He had scouted the entire block and there was no where to hide that way and it was in the opposite direction as Bobby.

"You're not allowed near Dean," the boy repeated. Several of the mothers in the parlor were reaching for their phones and a grey-haired lady that reminded Sam of Ellen was standing and approaching the boy. Sam would have to push by the brat to get to Dean.

"Look. Kid. Bobby told Dean lies about me. Dean is my brother. He should be with me."

The boy would not be moved. "That's what my dad says too. You're both wrong."

"Whatever." Sam brushed past the boy and ran for the back door. The back end of the parlor connected to several shops on each side. All of the back doors were locked. It was about equidistant to get to a street to go around the shops. Dean and the girl would have had to run pretty far to go all the way around the strip mall to get back to the dojo. Sam hadn't given them that much time. The entire back side of the mall faced acres and acres of empty fields. Someone had cleared it years ago, but no further development had been made. It was just tall grass and scrub brush. Sam looked around and couldn't see his brother, the pint-sized version. Dean should be right here waiting. How did he disappear? Was the little girlfriend supernatural and needing to be killed?

"Son of a bitch," he muttered. Then he realized that he had ice cream on his jeans, presumably when he walked by the kid. The kid must have thrown his ice cream at Sam. "Son of a bitch," he repeated. Dean would be much better off once he left his two little friends behind. The boy was a liar and Dean didn't need that kind of influence.

"You made a whole ice cream shop full of enemies," Ruby said as she sauntered up to his side.

"I'll make a whole town full of enemies if it'll get me my brother," promised Sam.

"You know," Ruby mused. "It'd be next to nothing to put an accommodating demon in one of the brats. That way, Dean's friend would be helping you instead of hindering. It'd only need to be in there for a couple of hours. Twelve tops."

Sam considered it as he glared at the ice cream on his pants. "No," he finally said. "No demons in kids, not even for a couple hours." Not even if the little brats deserved some retribution. "We'll find another way."

Ruby pouted a bit. "Fine. But we should get out of here before Singer shows up. The boy ran back to the dojo. Singer probably could get you arrested, especially with all the busybodies inside hearing the story the brat told."

She was right. Getting arrested would put a crimp in Sam's plans.

Sam glanced over the grass lot again. Where had Dean disappeared to? He waved at Ruby, "You go that way and meet back at the car." Ruby nodded. The two of them jogged in opposite directions down the back alley and then headed towards the park. Both were trying to find signs of Dean, but neither saw anything. There would be another opportunity to grab Dean. Dean now knew that Sam wasn't going to give up. That would combat some of Bobby's lies.

Maybe Dean would find him.

Sam had that to look forward to. Dean would mess up Bobby's controlling plans. Sam slid into the driver's seat of the Impala and waited for Ruby to climb in.

"Blood?" she asked.

"Yes," Sam breathed. He needed a distraction right now and he needed a new plan. Blood would help with both.

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