AN: Sorry for the wait. My g'ma passed and it through me for a loop... then a girl in our neighborhood disappeared (we still haven't found her and it's been two weeks). So, here we are, with a new chapter and I hope you enjoy it. OH... before I forget... for those of you who don't know, my book The Rain Song is available on for immediate purchase/delivery. Take care!!!

Dean woke and looked around the room, feeling both relieved and peeved that Sammy wasn't there next to him. Sure, he's the one who sent the kid home, but that didn't mean that he didn't want the kid close by so he could watch over him… too much had happened over the last couple of years for that. What was worse, he knew his little brother cried himself to sleep in big brother's bed – now if that didn't break your heart…

"How are you, Dean?" Jim asked quietly, trying not to startle the younger man, but hoping to catch any pain or discomfort early.

"Ok, I guess. So they say I've been here about a week… how about you?"Dean asked, trying to determine if they had been tracked down even after all their efforts to stay hidden.

Smiling, Jim took a chair next to Dean sat, "Not as long as you, my boy. Don't worry, you weren't ferreted out if that's what you're worried about," Jim stated with a smile. "When we got here there was quite the argument going on about where Sammy should be."

Not quite following what the priest was talking about, Dean looked around for some clue. "What do you mean? He belongs with me… who would…" and then full understanding crashed into him, his worst fear staring him in the face. "You didn't let them…"

Jim held up one hand while stilling Dean's arm with the other. "No Dean, Sammy's with Caleb and Joshua right now, you know that – you're the one who sent him home, remember?" Seeing an argument brewing, he leaned back and sighed. "Dean, your brother was terrified that they were going to put him in foster care and called Bobby, which was a good thing since we'd just seen video footage about what had happened. We got here just in time to witness that nurse of yours face off with two CPS and one Sherriff – I have no doubt she would have done them some serious harm if we hadn't shown up."

Dean lay there trying to figure out who the hell Pastor Jim was talking about since the only nurse he'd really seen was a tiny woman who looked like she'd be blown away in a heavy wind.

"Don't let appearances deceive you son. From what we can tell, she did what we should have this whole time – kept you both together and safe.

Dean was just about to respond when another voice joined in, causing him to wonder what else he'd missed.

"'Bout damn time you woke up you stubborn idjit. We need to talk and I have a feeling we've waited too long as it is."

Joshua and Caleb watched with concern as the kid before them picked at his food. It didn't take a genius to figure out that Sammy was more worried about his brother than himself.

"You can stop staring, I'm not going to disappear," Sam said as he forced another bite full into his mouth and tried to convince himself that swallowing wasn't a bad thing.

"Normally we'd agree with you kiddo, but with that disappearing act you and your brother did… I'm sure you can guess why we would think you might," Joshua said as he stood and walked towards the coffee pot. "I have the feeling you haven't been in Miami this whole time."

Sam shook his head while looking down at his plate, "No, we've only been here a couple months or so. I think we've managed to see most of the country though. Denver, L.A., San Antonio, St. Louis… we even stayed in Connecticut a few weeks…"

"Let me guess… until you found a wraith in your backyard, right?" Caleb asked, shaking his head and how they could have been so stupid. "You weren't going to the hunts, but getting the hell away from them as fast as you could, right?"

Hearing the question, Sam suddenly felt ashamed. Their dad had trained them to be hunters, warriors against the darkness and now he saw what the others saw – cowards. "I'm sorry… it was my idea. I… I… didn't want to…"

"Hey… hey kiddo… no, we're not judging you! In fact, now we feel a bit better. We thought you and that gung-ho brother of yours were trying to take on the baddies by yourselves. No kid, you did the right thing. We don't think any less of you for taking off… quite the opposite actually."

"Thanks, Caleb… but you don't have to lie to me… I know how it looks and your right," Sam said sadly as he stood and made his way to his room, leaving two very worried hunters in his wake.

"Ok, so… what just happened?" Caleb asked, getting the distinct feeling that things had just gone from bad… to worse.

Bobby walked to Dean's bedside and shook his head sadly. "Dean, I owe you and your brother an apology," he said sadly, and shook his head to still the question he knew was brewing, "I let you two think that you were by yourselves, and that was wrong. While all of us were trying to figure out a way to hold off the wolves after your daddy passed, I was trying to gain guardianship of you and Sammy but didn't say anything in case it didn't happen. By the time I got the okay, you'd already taken off and we had no idea where to start looking. Now I know that these yahoos would like to take some of the blame, but it's all on me, and I wish I could do it over again so I could make it right, but I can't. So all I can ask now is… do you think that you and that little brother of yours might like to officially become a part of my family… to be my sons?"

Dean stared at the older man in shock, unable to process what he'd just heard. If he was right, then he'd just managed to drag Sammy all over hell's half acre for nothing; the kid could have been in a decent home with tons of books to keep him happy. Then again, they'd have been right back where they started… in the middle of a supernatural feud that began before they were even born, and that was something that he didn't want to think of. Before he had a chance to finish his thought process, the door opened, allowing Annie to walk in with a tray.

"Good, you're still awake. I need you to eat before the doctor comes in and begins his exam," she said as she placed the tray on the bedside desk and began to uncover the dishes. "I know you probably won't finish it, but at least put a better dent in it than your brother, ok?"

Watching the nurse prepare his food for him, Dean couldn't help but wonder if he'd fallen down a rabbit hole. "Uh… you do know I just woke up, right?" he asked, almost positive that patient's just waking up doesn't normally begin eating semi-solid foods for at least a couple of days.

Smiling, Annie nodded, "Yeah, but if you're anything like my brother, you'd have gone through the liquids in record time and demanded something besides air. Besides, when the doc sees that you're able to handle regular food, it'll speed up the process of getting you out of here and back home with Sam."

With the magic word being said, Dean immediately agreed and began eating until he began feeling tired, even then he allowed the nurse to feed him a few more bites before drifting back to sleep, the thought of getting back to Sammy foremost on his mind.