Title: Reader's Special: Fourth Edition - One Shot Reward Fic Collection

Author: Disasteriffic Kaz

Info: A collection of 1 Shot Reward Fics for Prompters of my Reader's Special: Fourth Edition. Features many seasons, hurt/limp/awesome/caring!Sam/Dean/John/Bobby See each chapter for specific info for each 1 shot reward fic.

Author's Note: The Reader's Special: Fourth Edition was a smashing success! Prompters of the story were offered a One Shot Reward story of their choice. These are they. None of the chapters contained in this collection are connected. Each one is a stand-alone one shot per the Prompters request. Thank you to all of you who prompted the Reader's Special! You were fantastic as always!

Chapter Info: For NiDubhchair - would it be possible to do a Teen!chester fic? In my head Dean is about 19 and Sam about 15,. I just like them when they're young & innocent ;-) my eye was caught by a news story about a father in Missouri who was tackled and tasered by police to keep him from running back into a burning building to save his toddler. The awfulness of the scenario tripped my hurt!guilty!Dean trigger, of course *evil laugh* So, I'd like to see a story where the brothers run afoul of some mean cops in a small town. Maybe they beat on Sam a little and Dean stands up to them and embarasses them. Later, the boys are on a ghost hunt or something and the building they're in catches fire. Sam is trapped inside and Dean is violently prevented from running in to save him by the same cops that harassed them earlier

A/N: Pre-series. Sam 15/Dean 19 as requested. I abridged the prompt here a little. It was much longer. Lol :D Oh, I think I can definitely have some with this one. :P Heh heh heh Oh, Dean. I do love you. Just remember that.

Do please Review once you've read. :D Every comment and vote of support helps keep me writing. Not to mention if I've pooched anything, someone can always tell me. :P

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Sam grumbled when Dean hip-checked him for a third time as they walked. "Knock it off, jerk!"

Dean chuckled. "Bitch." He slung an arm over Sam's shoulders and tried not to be concerned that in the last year, his once too-short little brother had shot up and was only four or five inches shorter than he was now, and he still had a couple years of growing to do. "So, what do you say you go do research in the library while I check out that little bar next door. Could be someone worth talkin' to."

Sam rolled his eyes fondly. "Dad said for us both to do the research, dumbass."

"Hey, Dad knows you're the research genius around here." Dean grinned down at him and ruffled his hair. "Unless you want me irritatin' your short ass for two or three hours."

"No thanks!" Sam gave his brother a push when they reached the library and hitched his backpack higher on his shoulder.

"You can fill me in when you're done." Dean's smile faded slightly and he fixed Sam with a serious look. "You need to go anywhere else before I get back, you call me. Don't talk to nobody you don't have to…"

"Geez, Dean. I know. I'm fifteen, not five." Sam rolled his eyes again, this time in exasperation, and ducked away from the hand Dean reached toward his hair. "See you in a couple hours."

Dean dug a wallet out of his jacket and smiled. "Agent Conway's gonna go have a beer and see if the locals know anything."

Sam laughed and headed into the library. "You don't look old enough to be an agent, you know!" he called over his shoulder and looked back to see Dean flip him off with a grin. He snorted a laugh and went inside, out of the cold with a grateful shiver as the library's warm air brushed his face.

Dean watched his brother duck under a low-hanging sign before he moved out of sight and shook his head. "Kid's gonna turn into a damn sasquatch or somethin' at this rate." He strode around the side of the library and smiled at the little bar tucked back beside it, straightened his jacket, and crossed the lot. Dean pushed through the doors and nodded when the bartender looked over and quirked a brow at him.

"Too young to be in here, son." The bartender called and moved down the bar toward him.

Dean chuckled and pulled out his fake badge. "I'm older than I look… son." He let the bartender have a look and then flipped it closed as he perched on the nearest barstool.

"Huh." The bartender eyed the badge distrustfully, looking back and forth and finally shrugged. "What'll it be, agent?"

"Whatever's on tap." Dean smiled and slid a ten across the bar when the bartender set a beer in front of him, foam sloshing from the top of the glass to roll down the side. "So, we've been askin' around about the fires. Know anything that might help us?"

The bartender's brows rose in surprise. "You came in here looking for information?"

"Bartenders know everything," Dean said and winked. "You guys hear it all. So, come on. What do you know?"

"Well," The bartender chuckled because the man was right. "Can't say I've heard much, really, apart from the usual gossip." He leaned on the bar and shrugged. "Folks are scared, of course. Houses just bursting into flames? Cops don't give a crap, but that ain't new."

Dean nodded and sipped his beer. "They never do. What else?"

"Well, Barry. He's one of the local firefighters. He was in here a few nights ago." The bartender looked around to make sure the few other patrons in the bar weren't listening before he spoke again. "He said they can't find a cause for the fires, but they keep smelling something weird at all the crime scenes."

Dean straightened. "Define 'weird'."

"Well, he said they smell like… rotten eggs or something, which apparently don't make a lick of sense." The bartender shrugged again. "He says all the places that've gone up had electric. No gas. So that smell shouldn't have been there. He can't figure it out." He sighed sadly. "Folks are still trying to get over that fire three days ago. The Johnson family. Whole damn family."

"I know." Dean drank down more of his beer and felt for the dead family. He didn't have to imagine what that horror had looked like; he'd seen it himself fifteen years ago. He shook the memory off and picked up his beer again. "Anything else?"

Dean had spoken to everyone in the bar, though that amounted to six people, when he looked at his watch and realized it'd been over two hours. "Crap." He drained the rest of his beer and set the empty glass on the bar. "Hey, thanks man." Dean gave the bartender a wave and headed out the door, the beers he'd drank giving him only the slightest buzz. The cold air that hit his face when he stepped outside took care of that, and he pulled his leather jacket more tightly around him as he broke into a brisk walk up the side of the library toward the front and his brother.

The sound of raised voices carried around the building as Dean neared the corner, and he picked up his pace. They sounded angry and he broke into a run when he realized one of them was his brother's. "Sam?" Dean called and slid to a stop at the sight before him. Four officers surrounded his brother who was, as Dean watched, picking himself up off the ground only to be knocked down again when the tallest of the four kicked one of his feet out from under him. "HEY!"

The officers turned in surprise and the two nearest backed away out of instinct when the tall man in the leather coat ran for them. "Back off, kid. This ain't none of your business."

"Like hell it's not! That's my brother you're screwin' with!" Dean put his hands on the chest of the officer who had kicked Sam and shoved him hard enough that the man staggered back and landed on his ass. "Sammy?" He took his brother's hand and pulled Sam to his feet. "You alright? What the hell's goin' on?"

"Your brother, huh?" The officer Dean had knocked down got back to his feet and moved to stand with the others. "You better teach that little shit not to talk to people he's got no business talkin' to. My daughter ain't gonna put up with some trashy drifter makin' eyes at her."

"I didn't… I just said hi." Sam moved in against his brother and held onto his coat. "She was just… she dropped her books and I picked them up for her. That's all."

"Bullshit."

Dean pushed Sam behind him when the cop swore and stalked toward them. "You better back the hell off now," Dean warned. It hurt to hear his brother sound that scared, and it pissed him off.

"We're cops, you little shit." The officer Dean had shoved stuck his chest out. "What do you think you're gonna do about it?"

Dean pushed Sam further back and rolled out his shoulders. "I think if you're stupid enough to touch me, I'm gonna knock all four of you on your asses and you're gonna watch me walk away with my little brother when I'm done."

One of the cops snorted derisively. "What makes you think that's gonna happen?"

Dean grinned dangerously. "The cameras on the door of the library that face right. Out. Here. I don't think anyone's gonna have a problem seeing that you were assaulting a little kid in front of a library. That'll look great in court. Go on. Try it."

"Dean," Sam said softly, but his big brother flicked his fingers in the sign that meant back up. Sam sighed, still frightened, but did what he was told. He backed away and gave Dean the space he was going to need if one of the cops got stupid. Sam couldn't help rolling his eyes when the father of the girl he'd talked to reached out and fisted a hand in his brother's jacket. "Idiot."

Dean grabbed the man's wrist, twisted his fingers free from his jacket and kicked one of his knees out from under him. He spun landed a back-handed fist on the next cop who came for him that sent that man to his knees with a grunt. Dean took a firmer hold on the first cop's arm and put all his weight into throwing the man into the two remaining officers, sending all three tumbling to the ground in a heap. Dean brushed his hands off and walked back to his brother. "Don't you screw with my family again or I'll be back for those surveillance tapes. Come on, Sammy."

Sam didn't argue when Dean threw an arm around his shoulders and pulled him in. He slipped his arm around his brother's waist and let himself be held. They'd scared him. "Sorry, Dean."

"For what, midget?" Dean glanced down at him and then back to be sure the cops weren't following. They weren't, but the girl's father was glaring daggers at their backs. Dean grinned and turned away. "You didn't do anything wrong, alright? Except maybe leavin' the library without callin' me."

"I didn't!" Sam looked up with big, sad eyes. "I swear, I didn't, Dean! That cop, her dad? He pulled me out when he saw me giving her her books and talkin', and he just…"

"Hey! Hey. Calm down, kiddo. I'm not mad at you. Come on." Dean pulled him in tighter as they walked. "You know that, right?"

Sam nodded and tried to calm down. "Those cops are assholes."

Dean laughed and nodded. "Yeah, they usually are. Hey, how about we not tell Dad, huh?"

"Oh, hell no," Sam said quickly. "He'd lose it!"

"Seriously." Dean pulled his brother around the corner and spotted the Impala where he'd left her just as the meter beside her dinged and went red. "Perfect timing! Go on, get in. We'll pick up some pizza and go over your research before Dad gets back. Plan?"

"Plan." Sam agreed happily and ran around the car to open the door and slide into the passenger seat. He exhaled noisily with relief when the doors were closed and the engine rumbled to life and smiled a little sheepishly when Dean chuckled and patted his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it, Sammy." Dean smiled and pulled out, putting idiot police officers out of his mind.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

Dean pulled up and parked down the street from their intended house. He looked at it through the windshield and shook his head. "You sure about this?" The house was four stories and big, meant to house multiple families. Their dad had made a call a few hours earlier warning all the residents of electrical problems and ordering them to vacate, and, from the darkened windows, it looked like they had. Whatever happened tonight, if they were lucky, there wouldn't be any civilian casualties.

Sam nodded. "Yep. All the fires follow a pattern. Time, type of building, and locations spiraling out from the first, so it's either gonna be this house…"

"Or the one over on Main where Dad went. Ok." Dean shut off the engine and opened his door. "Let's go kick some ass, little brother."

Sam smiled, climbed out, and went to the trunk. "I could be wrong, you know," he said suddenly. "About it not being a demon. What if I am, Dean? What if it IS the thing that killed… killed Mom."

"Hey." Dean put the trunk up and clapped a hand to his little brother's shoulder. "Dad says you're right, you're right. I trust ya, kiddo."

Sam beamed with the praise and took the gun his brother handed him. He tucked it into the back of his pants and then grabbed the straps of the backpack. "I'm still not sure I like this plan."

Dean smirked, put the heavy duffel over his shoulder and closed the trunk. "Only plan we got." He gave his brother's shoulder a push down the sidewalk. "I'll keep Sparky the Fire Elemental busy while you pour the circle, and then we'll hose him." He patted his duffel and the two fire extinguishers inside it.

"Unless it turns up at Dad's house instead." Sam shrugged and worried about their father facing the thing alone.

"Don't jinx us, dude!" Dean chuckled. "Never seen an elemental before, and we're gonna bag this bitch, not Dad."

Sam gave a soft laugh as they neared the house and shook his head. "You like doin' this stuff way too much, dude."

"A happy man is a man who loves his work, Sammy." Dean grinned and took a careful look up and down the street to make sure it was clear before turning them up the walk to the large house.

Sam sighed and didn't answer. Unlike his brother, he couldn't see spending the rest of his life doing this, travelling from motel to job to motel and butting heads with his dad every time he wanted a little slice of normal. He watched Dean try the knob on the front door and then step back, raising a brow at Sam. "Right." Sam smirked and pulled his lockpicks from his back pocket.

"Maybe I should get out the stopwatch," Dean said and chuckled.

"Won't have time," Sam said distractedly as he slid the picks into the door. He gave a practiced twitch with his fingers while he saw Dean's hand go into his pocket and then pulled his picks out.

"Givin' up already, squirt?" Dean asked in surprise.

Sam gave the knob a turn and pushed the door open. "You were saying?"

"Ha. Ha. Don't get cocky, Sammy," Dean said and followed him in with a grin. He squeezed his little brother's shoulder to let him know he was proud of him and looked around the entry hall. "Where you wanna do this?"

Sam looked up the stairs and nodded. "Next floor up. There's a common area or something on the floor plan. That should give us plenty of room."

"Good idea. Let's go." Dean jogged up the stairs with Sam at his back. "Which way?"

Sam moved ahead of him and led the way down the dimly lit hall. "Should be back here, right… about…" Sam gave a set of double doors a push and smiled. "… here."

"Nice." Dean nodded as they walked into what looked like a day room. Couches and chairs lined the walls. There were a few small televisions, some bookshelves, and a row of windows along one wall. He went to a couple of low coffee tables in the middle of the room and gave them each a kick out of the way so they had a clear area to work.

"You know what to do?" Sam asked his brother and set his backpack down. He opened it and pulled out two cans of salt and a bag of cat's eye shells.

"Yep." Dean came over and thumped his duffel down next to his brother. He unzipped it and pulled the extinguishers out, setting them on the floor. He pulled a candle out of his pocket and set it down in the middle of the floor, then his lighter, and quickly lit it. "I get to stand out here with the open flame and look tasty for Sparky."

Sam smiled and shook his head. "Try not to get burned up, please?" He pulled the two incantations they'd need from his pocket and unfolded them. "Here." He handed one to his brother and then moved back to the door.

Dean sighed and rolled his shoulders. "How come this crap can't ever be written in English? Friggin' Latin."

Sam chuckled and picked up the two salt canisters. He knew he was going to have to be fast to trap the elemental before it could hurt his brother. "Ok, go."

Dean began the incantation and kept his eyes on the candle as he wrapped his tongue around the Latin. He was maybe halfway through when the candle began to gutter. The flame spurted up several inches and Dean took a step back. It shot a few feet into the air and he took another step, never breaking his rhythm with the spell.

Sam waited, trembling with nerves while Dean's steady voice filled the room. He bit his lip as the flame on the candle began to shoot higher while wax pooled around its base. His brother finished the spell, and Sam gasped as the little flame became an inferno, reaching up to the ceiling. Within the tightly coiled fire there was a dark figure and it turned toward his brother.

Dean waved a hand out to his brother and put his attention on the elemental. "How you doin', torch boy. Flame on, huh?" He grinned and dodged back from a spurt of fire. Dean chuckled. "Touchy."

Sam started pouring a heavy circle of salt, getting as close as he dared. Every so often he fumbled a cat's eye shell from his pocket and laid it atop the line to strengthen the ward, all while Dean continued to taunt the elemental and keep its attention focused on him.

Dean kept track of Sam's progress from the corner of his eye and dropped to his knees when the elemental sent another spurt of flame toward his head. "Hey! Not the hair, asshole!" He looked up and saw the ceiling tiles above them beginning to blacken and smoke and frowned. "Ok, that's not good." He watched the elemental turn suddenly to look at Sam who was close to finishing the circle and Dean snarled. "Nope." He pulled a flask of holy water from his pocket, twisted the cap off and splashed it into the flames. "Hey! Asshole! Eyes over here!" The elemental roared as the water struck it and turned back to Dean.

"Crap," Sam breathed and moved faster to cover the last few feet to his starting point. He closed the salt circle and set down another cat's eye shell and turned to his brother. "Dean! Get out of there!"

"Don't have to tell me twice!" Dean yelped as the flames rushed toward him again and dove over the salt line. He rolled to his feet and slapped out the sleeve of his jacket with a snarl.

"You alright?" Sam grabbed his brother's arm and looked, relieved to see the leather was just slightly singed.

"Let's do this." Dean smiled and went to the extinguishers. He gave one to Sam and brought the other one up, freeing the hose. The elemental raged inside the circle with flames bursting out and washing up against the salt line like an invisible wall. The ceiling above, however, was burning as Dean watched. "Quicker the better. I don't like the looks of that."

"Me either." Sam stepped up to the edge of the circle and moved around across from his brother. "Ready?"

"Let her rip!" Dean grinned and squeezed the handle on his extinguisher.

Sam propped the canister under one arm and started the nozzle spraying foam into the circle. He pulled the banishing spell out of his pocket with his other hand and started reading it.

Dean chuckled as the elemental roared flames around itself in a bid for escape while steam and smoke began to fill the room. "Suck foam, Sparky!" he called with a laugh.

Sam grinned as he continued the Latin. He neared the end of the spell and looked up to find the elemental had expanded to fill the salt circle in its rage. The ceiling above it was black, and he could see flickers of fire above the ceiling tiles through the steam. He spoke the last few words and staggered back to land on his backside when the elemental seemed to explode inside the circle.

Dean grunted as he thumped into the wall behind him. He blinked and grinned as the elemental began to collapse in on itself. "Nice. Sammy?" He shook his head and moved out from the wall. The steam and smoke cleared a little, and he saw his little brother climbing to his feet across from him. "Hey! You alright?"

"Yeah." Sam rubbed his butt with a rueful smile and started around the circle toward his brother. He was sure the elemental was dead or nearly, but he wasn't willing to risk breaking the circle just in case. "I'm goo…" he gasped and jerked himself backward as some of the ceiling above him crashed down in a hail of flames and cinders. "Dean?"

"Sammy!" Dean yelled and had to duck away as more of the ceiling collapsed. "Holy crap!" The elemental's flames had eaten into the ceiling above the circle and Dean could hear a fire roaring above them now. With the creature dead, the flames were no longer contained within the circle.

"Dean!" Sam stumbled through a haze of smoke and reached his brother. "This isn't good."

"No shit. We gotta get outta here. Come on!" Dean ducked low as he began to cough and headed for the door.

"Right behind you!" Sam shouted.

Dean glanced back and felt Sam's hand land on his back. He nodded and broke into a run for the stairs as the flames started creeping down from the ceiling to eat along the walls, and smoke started to fill the hall. He pounded down the stairs with his arms over his head as more flaming bits of ceiling tile fell and reached the street, gasping for breath. There was a small crowd of onlookers and a few police officers. Dean dismissed them and turned as he reached the sidewalk to check on his brother. The bottom fell out of Dean's world as the air punched out of his lungs. Sam wasn't behind him anymore. "SAM!" How had he not kept Sam behind him? Why didn't he make him go first? How had he let his little brother out of his sight in a burning building? Guilt sank into Dean's stomach like a weight along with the heart-stopping realization that his brother was probably dead and it was his fault. "No," Dean whispered in horror.

"Hey!"

Dean ignored the voice behind him and started back toward the building. He took only a step before someone tackled him from behind. He hit the ground hard and rolled, kicking the man off him. Dean realized with a spurt of surprise that it was the officer whose daughter Sam had spoken too. "Do not have TIME for you!" He kicked the officer's shoulder and surged back to his feet.

"No, you don't, kid."

Dean heard the threat and then shouted in pain as something sharp hooked into his chest and an electrical current roared through him. He hit the ground on his back, only distantly feeling it as the voltage from the taser continued to course. Dean sagged and gasped for breath when the current was finally cut. The only thought in his head was Sam and the fear was beginning to choke him.

"Wait! Wait!" Dean panted and held up a hand. "My brother!" He waved a shaky arm toward the now wildly burning house. "He's in there!"

"Probably shouldn't'a set it on fire then, huh?"

"Wha'?" Dean stared in shock and then grunted as the air was knocked out of him with the officer's boot in his stomach. He rolled his head up and saw two more of the officers he'd knocked down early and groaned. The sound was cut off as the taser was turned on and he jerked helplessly in its grip.

"Bet you don't feel so big now, huh, asshole?" The first officer asked with a grin and delivered another kick to the young man's back. "Still think you can knock us down? Teach you a little respect for the law, you punk! See if you can…" The officer grunted as something hard impacted his back and he was rolled across the ground along with another of his officers. He shook his head and looked up to watch as a man as tall as the one on the ground but scruffier and harder looking stalked toward him with eyes that screamed rage as they glared down at him.

"Three cops to beat up one kid?" John Winchester turned, spun and delivered a roundhouse kick to the last cop standing over his son and holding that damn taser. The officer's head snapped back and he fell to the ground, still. "You're gonna regret layin' a hand on my son. Dean?"

"Dad," Dean gasped. He reached down and yanked the taser's hooks out of his skin then scrambled shakily to his feet.

"Where's Sammy?" John frowned as he glanced quickly around and didn't see his youngest.

"No." Dean shook his head and took off at a run for the burning house.

"Dean!" John yelled after him and then it struck him. There was only one reason Dean would go running into a burning building. "Oh, God. Sammy." He shook himself when the two officers in front of him started to move again. He stomped on the hand of one of the men when he reached for his gun. John yanked the pistol free of its holster while the man shouted. He gave a hard kick to the head of the last man who bore the evidence on his face of having gone a round with his eldest at some point. John tossed the gun into the grass and watched his eldest vanish into the house.

Dean wrapped an arm around his aching ribs and put his other across his face as he rushed through the door and into the heavy smoke. "Sammy!" he shouted hoarsely and started up the stairs. Flaming debris fell and floated from the floor above. He felt his hair singing and had to duck away from the wall along the stairs as fire ate down the wallpaper. It was a growing inferno, and every moment that Sam wasn't in his sight made it hard to breathe, never mind the smoke. Dean's eyes watered furiously as he reached the top of the stairs and saw that most of the ceiling had caved in. "SAMMY!" He coughed and then he heard it, just under the roar of the fire, a thin voice calling his name. "SAM! I'm comin'!" Dean followed the sound of his brother's voice. He staggered around a pile of burning debris and saw another head. Flames licked at the top of the pile along what looked like a ceiling beam and under it, beneath the beam and a collection of tiles, Sam's head stuck out.

Sam coughed and gasped, trying to catch his breath. He lifted his head up and his already watering eyes streamed tears when he saw Dean's legs in front of him and then his brother's face was there. "Dean," he gasped on a cough and let his eyes close in relief when his brother's hands went into his hair.

"Sammy." Dean held on to his head for a moment and then smiled. "Gonna get you outta this, ok? Just hang on."

"Fell on me..." Sam gasped and coughed into the floor again. "…was followin' you."

Dean squeezed the back of Sam's neck for a second and then knelt up over him. He shoved his hands into the pile and braced a foot on the floor. He growled with effort as he pushed and put all his weight behind it, ignoring the licks of flame that crawled toward him. It didn't matter because Dean was either going to get Sammy out of there or die trying. Finally, the pile of debris and the ceiling beam moved and tumbled back into the hall. Dean staggered and then dropped next to his brother, slapping smoldering ceiling tiles off his back. "Sammy?"

Sam nodded wearily and rolled to his side. He held up an arm and let Dean haul him to his feet. His lungs were burning, and standing set him coughing hard enough to double him over and leave him gasping on his knees.

"Crap. Ok." Dean pulled Sam's arm over his shoulders and slid another under his knees. "Up we go." He staggered to his feet again with his brother coughing into his neck and turned to the stairs and the hail of sparks and flaming tiles falling. Dean swallowed hard and started down.

John Winchester stood on the sidewalk watching the house burn. The upper floors were engulfed with flames climbing into the night sky. He fought his instinct to run in himself, knowing it would be impossible to see anything and he had no idea in which direction his boys would have gone. He could hear the wail of sirens in the distance and the men at his feet were forgotten as his sons emerged from a door wreathed in fire. Dean staggered into view with his brother held in his arms and the scene was so close, so reminiscent of fifteen years ago, that John's knees went weak as he moved toward them. He grabbed hold of Dean's shoulders when they reached him and went to his knees along with his eldest in remembered pain and terror. "Dean. Is he…"

"He's alive," Dean gasped and coughed, hunching over his brother and let his head thump into his father's shoulder weakly. "S'alive."

John pulled them both in and dropped his face into Sam's dark hair. All he could smell was smoke, but he heard Sam's wheezing, coughing breaths and it brought tears to his eyes with relief. "You're ok. You're both ok."

"Hey, you son'fa bitch!" The officer that had hassled both boys because of his daughter climbed to his feet and put a hand on his gun as he looked at the three people on the ground. He scowled when a group of people moved in between them. "Get the hell outta the way!" In response, the small crowd closed ranks, all of them looking at him with anger in their faces.

"You best move on now, son," One old man stepped forward and crossed his arms over his chest. "Saw whatch'a did to that boy there. We ain't lettin' you beat on that family no more."

"I'm a cop!"

"You're wearin' a badge. Don't make you one a the good guys." The old man nodded and stepped back with the others.

The officer stared and threw off the hand that took his arm, trying to pull him away. "You gotta be kiddin' me!"

"Come on!" One of the other officers pulled on his arm and dragged him back a few steps. "Man, we're gonna get nailed if they ask these folks what happened! We gotta get outta here!"

The old man watched the cops drag their fellow officer away and moved through the crowd to the family still kneeling on the grass. He knelt beside the father and touched his shoulder lightly. "I'm thinkin' you all oughta be getting' outta here before there's real trouble."

John nodded and smiled. "Thank you." He looked back at his sons and palmed the side of Dean's face, lifting his head. "Hey, Ace. You think you can walk? Just to the car, ok?"

Dean nodded wearily and fought back the urge to cough some more. "Can do it. Just help me get 'im up."

"No problem." John stood on weak legs, still dealing with the shock of what had nearly happened and brought Dean and Sam up with him. "Sammy?"

Sam blinked and nodded to his father. "Hey… hey, Dad."

John blinked suspiciously damp eyes and started them moving down the street toward the Impala. He'd come back for his truck later. Right now he wanted his boys safe. "Hey, Sammy. You're gonna be fine, son." He shepherded them back to the car and opened the back door, letting Dean climb in the backseat with his brother. Somehow, Dean managed to get both himself and Sam's lanky body inside like it was nothing, and John closed the door before jogging around to the driver's side. He looked back at the burning house and swallowed hard around the lump of fear still lodged in his throat. For a moment, all he could see was their little white house as it burned and took his Mary with it. John shook himself and climbed behind the wheel. He looked in the rearview mirror at his sons, huddled together in the back seat and closed his eyes for a moment to say a silent thanks.

"Ok, Sammy?" Dean tipped his brother's head back and got a tired nod.

"Yeah." Sam coughed again and didn't feel like making a stink about still being cradled in his brother's arms like a kid. He needed it. "I'm good."

"Yeah, you are." Dean pulled him in and held on to him as their dad drove them away and to safety. Sam could tease him later about being a clingy girl if he wanted to but the fear was still too fresh, the terror of having nearly lost him to fire still too painful. He needed to feel Sam's heart beating under his arm. "Sorry, tiger. Should'a made sure you were behind me."

Sam shook his head into his brother's neck and fisted a hand in his leather jacket. "Not your fault. I'm the idiot…" he stopped and coughed to clear his throat. "…the idiot who didn't look up while I was running."

Dean smiled and carded a hand back through Sam's hair. "Next time I'm puttin' you on a damn leash."

"Are not, jerk." Sam said and rolled his eyes.

"You watch me, bitch." Dean grinned.

"Boys." John gave a soft chuckle and glanced at them in the mirror again, meeting Dean's eyes in the mirror and saw the same need to protect reflected there.

"Little pink leash with rhinestone studs, Sammy," Dean promised with a laugh and knew he was only half-kidding. He sighed and smiled when Sam chuckled, settled in against his chest and went heavy with exhaustion. Dean tightened his arms around his little brother reflexively. "I gotcha, Sammy."

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

The End.

Next Up: Vanessa Sgroi

One Special note: This is officially the 200th story I've written for Supernatural. :D Pretty damn cool, huh? LOL Well I think so! Thanks for the awesome prompt NiDubhChair!