Hope.

Summary. . . . . . . . . . . He's alone, scared and frightened, taken from his family and left with a man he fears. Beatings and threats keep him here, where all he can do is hope. But is hope enough?

Disclaimer. . . . . . . . . . I own Nothing, Nil, Nada. They belong to Kripke.

A.N. . . . . . . . . . I'm so sorry for the long wait for an update, real life has not been kind to me this month and as a result my motivation to write has dwindled. Today I decided enough was enough and opened up the notebook for the first time, and found it's amazing how much stress you can release by doing this. Seeing as though I'm not allowed to work at the moment, updates should start getting back on track. As always thanks for reading, and I hope that you enjoy, Peanut x

John felt that he had made the right decision to come here as the big car left the shade of the trees, and for the first time saw the cabin that was to be their home, for how ever long it took to get the boys back to health. Nestled against the start of a dense forest the single storey log cabin seemed to him to radiate safety from it's thick wooden walls, whilst he knew that no expense would have been spared inside to offer the boys the comfort they now required. A porch ran the length of two sides, a gabled roof offering shade and protection, chairs dotted here and there so that the view could be admired. And what a view it was, the trees that had been used to make the building had been cut down from in front of it to offer an unobstructed line of sight straight down to the lake front, where a dock stretched it's way into the water.

He looked over at his eldest son, glad to see that he too seemed to like the idea of living here, yet saddened also as he noticed that the small smile he was wearing didn't come anywhere near to reaching his guilt riddled and world weary eyes. Reaching over he pulled his boy close and whispered softly into his ear. "It wasn't your fault Dean. We're going to beat this and become a family once again, but you have to let this guilt go son, it wasn't your fault." The words though, did little to ease Dean's conscience and John berated himself for even speaking them as he watched the smile his son had been wearing fall from his features, and felt him stiffen in his arms before pulling away from the comfort John was offering.

Without saying a word Dean pushed open the car's door, before reaching for his brother, taking the compliant boy from his Father's arms, resuming the rank placed upon him all those years ago, leaving John feeling cold and at a loss as he felt his babies turning away from him, yet knowing he had no one to blame but himself. He had made the brother's rely on each other, comfort each other, fix each other even when he had relinquished responsibility of his youngest to his eldest, now he had no idea of how to break into that close circle they had created, and help with the healing they both so desperately needed. Tears fell unabated as he watched his boys disappear from sight as they entered the cabin.

Dean had picked up his brother with ease from his Fathers arms, yet more guilt crushing his heart as he realized how frail Sam had become in the moths they had been separated from their Father. As he walked up the cabin steps to the door that Caleb held open for them, he knew he had hurt his Dad with his actions, yet couldn't find the heart to really care; he himself had caused Sammy this amount of pain, and he was gonna be the one to bring him back, he had to be, maybe then this pain he was feeling would start to mend also.

He ignored the living room and went straight to the bedroom, and the small bathroom that led off of it. Placing his non responsive brother on one of the two beds where he could still see him through the bathroom door, he set about preparing a bath aiming to fix one of his brother's problems straight away. After turning on the taps, and placing copious amounts of bubble bath into the water, Sammy had always like bubbles, he returned to his brother's side and started to undress him. The tears that had been drying, returning as he pulled off his brother's shirt and witnessed the destruction beneath.

John jumped as Caleb's knuckles rapped hard against the window he was leaning against. He sent a scowling glare the hunter's way, whilst at the same time admonishing himself for being sloppy and caught unawares. How the hell was he to fix his boys if he spent all his time drifting off? He pushed open the door and climbed out, stretching his back to release the knots that had accumulated there. Caleb watched and waited for him to straighten before speaking.

"You okay Johnny? You seemed to be miles away there?"

John considered lying and giving his standard answer of "I'm fine" something he had drilled into his son's also, but things needed to change if they were ever to come back from this, so instead he ducked his head, hiding his eyes from sight and replied. "I was miles away. I was thinking about how I let things get so bad. How I put the hunt before my sons. How I caused all this hurt and pain they are going through. How I don't know if I can fix this."

"We'll fix this John. Remember you're not alone in this, you know how much I love them boys, I aint leaving you to deal with this alone. We'll fix this."

"But what do we do? How do we fix this? I just tried talking to Dean, but it seemed to make things worse. How do I respond to that?"

"Keep trying, he'll come round. He has issues he's dealing with too, just keep telling him it wasn't his fault. Now come on, those boys have been alone too long, let's go see what they're up to."

Following the younger man into the cabin, John could hear the running water coming from the bathroom and made his way towards the sound. As they entered the room, both men were shocked to see water and bubbles overflowing the tub, Caleb running to turn off the taps, whilst John turned to see what had distracted Dean, his heart tearing as he witnessed his sobbing eldest sat next to his passive youngest, Sam's worn, torn and filthy tee in his hands, his eyes firmly fixed on his broken brother's form. Taking a look at that form, John realized what had caused Dean so much more pain. Sam's young, fragile skin was a mass of bruises, the colors varying from vivid blacks to sickening yellow, a testament to how much suffering his baby had been subjected to, and also to how long it had been going on. The rips in the flesh he had previously seen on his son's arms were multiplied on his torso. Deep. inflamed and vicious slashes cut there way through his son's tender skin. But it was the shape of his shoulder that caused John so much worry, the joint bulbous and irregularly positioned.

"He didn't utter a sound." Dean's small voice spoke out.

John tore his eyes away from his broken youngest and turned them Dean's way, after missing what he had said. "What was that son?"

"He didn't utter a word. He didn't cry out in pain, not even a whimper. I jostled him about getting the damn shirt of, and he just sat there and never flinched. How do we help him Dad? I don't know how to help him."

John's shattered heart broke even more as he listened to his son's tearful confession, and watched as his hopeful eyes turned his way. Both his son's were in need of his help, were in need of his love, but he too was at a loss of how to fix this. His son didn't need to see his dilemma though, his son needed to see him strong. Choking back his own emotions he fixed a smile upon his face and turned into the soldier he had once been, knowing that to get over this first hurdle he needed to be that way.

"We start by getting your brother's injuries treated. Go to the car and grab the kit son."

He watched as hesitation flittered across Dean's face, he didn't want to leave his brother even for a minute, but he was happy also to have a job to do. He watched as Dean took one last look his brother's way before fleeing the room.

"You did the right thing John." He heard Caleb say but didn't turn round, his eyes staying on his youngest, his lips whispering words he knew Sam didn't hear.

To Be Continued. . . . . . . . . . .

A.N. . . . . . . . . Thanks for stopping by and for sticking with me, catch you soon, Peanut x