No words were spoken for the rest of the ride.

The only interaction that occurred before entering the house was Sonny looping an arm around the boy's shoulder's and pulling him close, in a side hug like gesture. Sonny felt the boy's trembling, and loosened his grip, but the arm stayed there.

Things like this would take time, but not only did Dean have to learn that not all contact hurt, he also had to learn that some was positive as well. Sonny released him as they walked through the door.

"Why don't ya go take a shower and get warmed up, before you go to bed?" Sonny suggested, "It'll help ya sleep better."

Dean didn't really nod, just subconsciously processed the command, then did it.

Gosh, that boy scared Sonny at times.

Dean felt his body temperature slowly rising, and with it his semi-conscious thought, gradually turning to conscious, more rational thought.

Sonny was... good. Maybe. Seemed to be good... Acted good... Hm...

Dean shook himself back to reality when he realized he was fading off into the realm of thought again. Huh, something wasn't quite right. Wasn't usually this hard to stay on track... Huh. Dean couldn't bring himself to worry about it. He was more worried about what he was going to tell Sonny when he asked more questions. And he would.

Dean relished the warm water, but quickly shut the water off as soon as he realized he was doing so.

What am I thinking?

Dean dried himself off. The sting of his scrapes came to his attention once again as he put clothes on. He didn't really think anything more about it than acknowledging that they existed. Just a simple " Hm. " of thought.

Without a specific destination in mind, he left the bathroom. His feet led him to the comfortable confines of an old sea green armchair, the back of which extended well above his head. It was a strange chair, not adhering to the decor of the rest of the house. Still, it held a familiarity to the boy, despite the lack of reasoning.

His body sank into the chair, his feet curling up beneath him. He felt small in this chair. If he scooted himself all the way to the back, you could only see a sliver of him from the kitchen. He was nearly invisible.

The silence was only broken by quietest of coughs occasionally elicited from his throat, sounding almost as thought he were just clearing his throat.

Sonny entered the room a few minutes later, sitting in the chair across from him, and sliding a warm mug across the coffee table.

"Figured you'd still be up." Sonny said, his face partially covered by the steaming cup of tea, just before he took a slow sip.

Dean snagged his mug from the table, and held it. He didn't speak.

The adrenaline from the run had been slowly leaking out of him ever since he'd stop running, leaving him utterly exhausted. Still, his eyes were alert, though maybe a little slower than usual. Not that he'd ever admit that to himself. It was undeniable however, that his blinks were increasing in length.

"All this been coming at you pretty fast, huh?" Sonny said, "Seems like it's been hitting you pretty hard."

Dean didn't speak, but his stomach rolled uncomfortably at the thought of school again, and he shifted positions in the chair, now curling up more than he had before. It was a more vulnerable position, Dean knew, but he was fairly certain that even if Sonny was some sort of monster out to get him, he wasn't going to do it now.

Dean was tired. He didn't want to fight, he didn't want to argue. He just wanted to be done. To just sleep, not because he was tired, but because he simply couldn't handle the reality he lived in.

So he stayed silent.

He cast his eyes down at the cup, letting them slide shut slowly.

"You alright?" Sonny asked.

"Always."

Dean answered almost before Sonny had finished speaking, his head immediately straightening to look Sonny in the eyes. But the eyes were dead. The prompt response was preconditioned.

"It's alright to not be, you know."

Dean shook his head, his posture slouching a little, as conscious thought returned to him.

"No, not for me."

Sonny debated his words long enough that the time to speak had passed, and the conversation had died. Dean remained seated, and silent, occasionally sipping his tea.

"Why?"

Dean looked up, the slightest hint of an amused smile on his face.

"Because I have to be ready." He answered.

"For what?"

"Anything."

"Why?"

Dean paused at the last question, but wasn't debating his words.

"So Sammy won't have to be."

Sonny didn't know how to answer that, so he gave only a gentle "Hmm." in response.

A few seconds of silence passed, before Sonny spoke.

"I spoke to the school counselors." Sonny said. He hated to bring the subject up so soon after all that had happened, but the boy needed to be aware of the timeline he had.

Dean looked up at Sonny but didn't respond.

"The only slot they have open is tomorrow morning." Sonny said, "You probably ought to get some sleep."

Dean walked into the bedroom and took his shoes off, setting them near the edge of the bed. He flattened himself out on the mattress, rolling over. He almost jumped when he saw Sam's awake and questioning eyes staring back at him.

"Why did you leave me?" Sam asked.

"Just had to think, Sammy."

"Sam."

Dean felt his breath catch in his throat, "What?"

"You left me and didn't tell me where you were going. And you didn't come back until Sonny made you. You're being a jerk." Sam declared, "Until you stop being mean, you have to call me Sam."

"Listen, Samm- Sam," Dean corrected himself after a pointed look from Sam, "It's just- I've kind of been-" Dean felt his frustrations seeping back into him.

"Doesn't matter." Dean sighed. "It's my fault, I'm sorry."

Sam nodded, a look of 'I guess that's good enough' on his face, in acceptance of his apology.

Dean closed his eyes to sleep, but it wasn't long before he felt the bed shift beneath him. A warm lump wormed its way down through the covers next to him.

"You still have to call me Sam." Sammy mumbled, as he snuggled into Dean's side.

Dean smirked, and wrapped an arm around his little brother.

He's getting too big for his own good, Dean thought.

A/N: Sorry for the long wait; I've been ultra busy, as usual. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! I'd love to hear back from you guys on how realistic to the characters their actions are. I just want to make sure I stay true to their characters.