Disclaimer: At this point, should know who I own by now. But if you don't, it's the people you've never heard of before and the idea behind the story.
John and me stood in the middle of two rows of piled cars far enough away from my house. I had so many questions that I wanted to ask him. So many things that I want to tell him. I just didn't know where to start. "Is there something that you have to say to me, Bobby?" he asked.
He must've seen something in my eyes. But my guess was he thought that I was going to lecture him. And I was going to, especially after what I heard from Sam and the demons. A good enough place to start. "Why did you leave him?" I asked. "He was missing, and you just left. That's not like you, John."
Being the military man that he was, John never left a soldier behind. But even more importantly, he would never leave his son behind unless there was really good reason to do so. And I couldn't think of any reason why John would just leave his son. "I didn't want to," he replied.
"Well, you did, John," I scolded. "Why would your leave your son?"
"Gabe told me to. He said he had everything covered and all that I had to worry about was those seven demons." John paused, and I knew not to interrupt. "I looked everywhere for him, Bobby. Everywhere I could possibly think of, but there were no clues. I wasn't going to find him until they wanted me to find him."
And John was right. The demons weren't going to make it easy for John. Not now that he knew.
One topic down, and it felt like there were hundreds more to go. We both had our secrets when it came to Dean. "Yeah, right. Secrets," I said, the words slipping out of my mouth unconsciously and so quickly that I couldn't stop them if I tried. I must have sounded like a total nitwit.
"What did you say?" John asked.
"Nothing," I replied quickly trying to cover my ass.
"You know something," John said. Actually, it was more of an accusation.
"Now isn't the time, John," I replied.
"Then when? Look, if it has to do with Dean, then you have to tell me," John said.
"You mean like how you knew what the demon was talking about. You knew the reason why they went after him." I could've yelled, but my voice sounded more dangerous when I spoke calmly. "And you didn't tell me." He didn't trust me with his son's life. And knowing that hurt.
"That's different."
"How?" I asked. "Because he's your son? And you don't think that I consider him a son." That didn't seem like a good enough reason for him to keep this vital information from me.
"I know you do," John replied. "But I didn't know what to do with that information."
"You tell someone. You tell me," I said adamantly. I wasn't giving him a choice for the next time something like this came along. "They almost broke your son because of this information that you decided to keep from us."
"What?" John asked.
"The first night he was here, he had a fever dream. He said he wanted to die."
"No," John said in disbelief. "Not Dean. He isn't that weak."
"Obviously, he can be sometimes. He's only human." John looked as if he were about to throw up. "Now, since I've disclosed some important information about your son, it's your turn." John looked up to me, his eyes full of pain. "John, you better choose the next words coming out of your mouth wisely, because the wrong ones you could end up with a chest full of rocksalt."
He looked away from me, unable to seem vulnerable around me. "I couldn't tell you, Bobby."
"Wrong answer, John!" I yelled and John flinched. John was lucky that I didn't have a shotgun within reach. "What are you hiding from me!" He turned to face me again.
"Nothing," he replied calmly. And something was wrong when John was the calmer of the two of us.
"Liar." I grabbed his shirt and slammed him up against the wall of rusty cars. Forget the shotgun. I could've just strangled him right there.
"Bobby, I swear to you," he whispered. "This is my son. You know that I never lie when it comes to my sons."
I let go of John and stepped away from him. "John, just tell me," I said reassuringly. "Whatever it is."
"Bobby, what do I do?" he continued as if he didn't hear a word I just said.
Instead of continuing with where I wanted the conversation to go, I froze. John never asked for help or advice when it came to taking care of his sons. He felt he was doing a decent enough job without us interfering. "What do you mean?"
"You heard those demons. They want Dean dead." John scratched the back of his head and looked away from me. He let out a nervous laugh. "I'll tell you one thing."
"What?" I asked.
"Dean's never going hunting on his own. Never. Not if I have anything to say about it. Even if I have to handcuff Caleb and him together." He sighed. "I guess that it's a good thing I didn't come home for Christmas all those years ago," John whispered.
"What are you talking about?" I asked. To me it seemed like a random thought that popped into John's head.
"When Dean got the amulet you gave to Sam. The one that was meant for me."
That amulet. "I was wondering how he ended up with that," I replied. I let out a loud sigh. "I guess he needs it more than you do now." John needed the protection back then. He was starting to go after the really nasty stuff and I wasn't able to watch his back every time he went on a hunt. It must've been fate for the amulet to fall into Dean's hands. He needed it now. It could keep him safe in ways that me or his father wouldn't be able to.
"He needs all the protection we can give him. Those demons won't get a chance to go after my son. I don't care if all of Hell wants him dead."
"I know that they want him dead, but I don't know why."
"Dean's a good kid."
I resisted the urge to slap my forehead. "I know he's a good kid," I replied, irritated. We all knew that there wasn't a bad bone in Dean's body. "But why do they want him dead?"
"Dean is a good kid," John said again.
"I know that, John," I repeated in the same tone and pressed for a real answer. I didn't want this conversation to just leave us going in circles.
"No, Bobby. He's a good kid. He's an instrument of good. At least, that's what the messages have told me."
"What kind of messages?" I asked cautiously.
"Messages a sage sent me," he replied in the same tone.
"A sage?" I asked. I wasn't sure what I heard so I had to repeat it.
"Sapere."
"A real sage," I repeated, not quite believing what John had said. That is what a sapere was. A messenger and a wise one.
"Yeah."
"Came to you and told you that Dean is an instrument of good?"
He hesitated for a second. "Yes."
The hesitation told me that he was telling me the truth. But like John said, he was always serious when it came to his sons. "So, they actually told you that Dean is important to this fight."
"Like you didn't know that already."
I did know. As soon as the kid looked into my eyes when I first met him I felt it and I knew there was something special about the kid. And there had to be something in the world to balance out Sam and the evil that he is supposed to become. I just didn't think that it would come from the same family, brothers nonetheless. "How long have you been getting these messages?"
"Since Dean's sixteenth birthday."
That was over a year ago, and John hadn't mentioned it once. "And you're only telling me this now?" I asked, angry and frustrated.
"I was ignoring them at first. And when I finally started to listen, Gabe said that when it needed to come out, it would."
"Who the hell is Gabe?" Gabe. It was the third time that I've heard that name today. I guess that name has become more common than I remembered it.
"The sapere," John replied as if the answer was obvious.
"That's who gave you the information about the football players, isn't it?" When John didn't reply, I knew it was the truth. "So, this Gabe is the one who got Dean out of wherever the football players were keeping him."
"Most likely. He said that he was going to make sure Dean was safe. He got him out of danger." John paused and paced in front of me. "Doesn't it feel a little better that we have some higher power on our side, for once?"
It was a relief. Until that point, I thought that we were fighting on our own. That the high and mighties up in the skies were just watching us deal with everything ourselves. But at the moment, it didn't matter. The help would be there tomorrow, and we didn't need it at that exact moment. I needed to get into John's head. That was more important. "So, what are we going to do?" I asked. "What are you going to do?"
"What are you talking about, Bobby?" He had no idea what I was asking.
"If you have to make the choice, which son are you going to protect? Because at the end of all of this, you're most likely going to have to make a decision."
And I couldn't believe that I had asked that question, but it had been nagging me since the demon asked and I didn't hear an answer. And being in the middle of nowhere without any distractions, the words just escaped. I knew that John would've rather died than chose between his two sons. I didn't expect him to answer. "Help me protect Dean," he whispered.
He said it so softly that I almost didn't hear him. But I caught the words, and if he had to repeat himself, he probably would've taken back whatever answer he gave. He was choosing Dean. John actually made a choice. "Are you sure?"
"Yes," John whispered. "Dean can protect Sam. He can protect him much better than I can. He's been doing it since he was four years old. I can't let them get my son."
"John, we can protect both of your sons. Between you, me, Caleb, Jim and every other one of the hunters in our circle, we can keep Dean and Sam safe."
"No!" he yelled. "They can't know."
"So, you're protecting Dean while Dean is protecting Sammy." Chain of command. Like talking to a real military man.
"Dean will protect Sammy. He's the only one who can." There was no one in the world who could protect Sam the way that Dean could. "Only I can protect Dean." And I finally realized the burden that John had been carrying since Dean's sixteenth birthday. I couldn't be mad at him for wanting to protect his son. For needing to protect an instrument of good. "I don't trust anyone else with their lives. With Dean's life."
"And what about Caleb, and Jim?" I asked. "Me."
"I'm not going to burden you three with this."
"What?" I yelled. "Your kids are never a burden. And I've been watching over those two since you brought them to my house all those years ago. You won't be keeping me from protecting those kids." I was adamant about what I said.
"So will you help me keep an eye on my kids. On Dean?" He looked at me, hoping I would say yes.
Like he even had to ask. It was Dean we were talking about. He was already a son to me and I'd protect him as if he were my own child. I nodded to answer wordlessly. But so he knew, I whispered, "Yeah."
John breathed a sigh of relief and looked like a few pounds were lifted off however many pounds were on his shoulders. But the weigh was understandable. Both of his sons were wanted by demons. One alive and one dead. But now, they would have to go through me to get to them.
With my answer, I thought that the conversation had ended, but there was one more thing that John needed to say to me. "Bobby," he started. I looked at him and he knew that he had my full attention. "if something were to happen to me…"
"I'll watch your sons," I finished for him. He didn't need to ask. "I'll make sure that nothing gets to Dean."
"Thank you."
"Don't even mention it," I said. I walked over to John, put my hand on his shoulder, and gave it a reassuring squeeze. "Now we better head back inside before they think that I killed you."
John let out a laugh that didn't sound forced or nervous. I committed it to memory because it was probably going be the last time I'd hear him laugh. From the moment my hand dropped from John's shoulder, protecting the boys became my number one priority.
LRLRLRLRLRLRLRLR
Since that day, Dean has come to me more often. Not just to heal his cuts and bruises, but for help. He is still just as, if not more, stubborn since that day, and his savior, sacrificial complex has only gotten worse. Shed a little of his own blood to keep his family safe. But he does it for his family, like I would do for mine. Family that since the incident included a classmate of Dean's named Seth.
But Sam and Dean are my family. In every sense of the word beside biological.
But…
Family don't end with blood.
And so the story ends. Amazing. I've actually finished a multichapter story. This is EPIC!! This day needs to be commemorated. Haha…
Thanks to the readers who had this story on alert and a special thanks to all my reviewers:
Aimed mischief, AllieMcD, alwaysateen, Angela, anjali23sk, anonymous., BeccaWestlifeAddict, bexh1, brooki winchester, C.M.S. Cipriano, DeanBeanWinchester, eacwicked, elemental2181, Enkidu07, FiveForFighting09, HappyChaos913, heather03nmg, indusgirl1313, Lost-Rememberance, Marvin is my Muse, Maz101, Megan Casady, PADavis, parisindy, PurpleSpinx, Relativity1953, Rivana, Sahara'swildeyes, shywalk, staceycj, Sushi Chi, thevigilante15, timetowaste247, Vee-sama, warrior of the shadow, WettX, witchy78, xJasminex, xxdevil9xx, Yammy1983, zuimar
If I forgot you, you have permission to leave me a message with all letters in caps lock. Just don't make it too mean, please. I guess this was my prelude to the show. I love creating the backstory to relationships. I hope I didn't disappoint. This is a link to my other story and an idea in my head of how I'm going to save Dean. Yes, I have a way to save Dean. Doesn't everyone? Thanks to everyone for reading. Now I'm on to writing the next one. Please review. Lil-Rock