AN: Ok... I think the problem with the site has thrown me off... so please forgive me if it sucks... I'll do better, I'm sure!!!

The sound of Hank Williams floated across the yard into the house from a small transistor radio that Sam had dug out of his bag and dared anyone to turn the station. Having no idea what to think about that, the others had given him the space he'd silently demanded although John and Dean both wondered how long it would take before the youngest member of their family admitted he had no idea what he was doing.

"Don't sell the kid short, from what I've seen so far, he's doing a decent enough job." Bobby said as he tipped his beer bottle back to take another drink. He'd been wondering how long it would take before the two in front of him finally showed their lack of faith in Sammy. "Just because you knew him as a klutz around cars doesn't mean someone out there didn't show him a bit of an interest. Let him be for once, that goes for you too Dean. Hell, if he screws up, I'll fix it, no harm done. But I'm willing to bet that he'll have the damn thing running like it should before the hours up."

Snorting, John shook his head before heading towards the kitchen to grab another beer to help his wait along. He didn't know what Bobby was thinking letting Sammy get within ten feet of a paying customer's vehicle, but he was more than willing to watch as the man had to fix whatever his boy broke; and he had no doubt Sammy would break something else while trying to 'fix' it.

Dean watched Bobby's relaxed features and was about to head to the door to give his brother a hand when he saw the stern look on the older man's face warning him not to do it. Puzzled by the determination he saw there he was about to go anyway when he heard an engine turn over and although it sounded a bit rough, he saw Bobby's nod and slight grin, making him stop and wait a moment. It didn't take long before he heard the idle smooth out, leaving him stunned that his little brother knew what to do. "How…?"

"I asked the kid if he could do it, he said that he could, that simple. The problem you two keep having with him is that you forget he's led a whole other life without you. I suggest you both start remembering that." Bobby said before standing and making his way to the door. "Since he's done already, I think I'm going to try and give him something a bit harder… I think it's about time the Chevelle's up and running again."

Both John and Dean stood and watched as Bobby walked towards his workshop yelling for Sammy along the way.

"Huh… I never thought I'd say this son, but maybe we've judged the situation wrong." John said sadly while placing his bottle on the table, not surprised by the answer he received.

"Right Dad… like it was all of us who put us in this situation. I need to talk to my brother and somehow I don't think you're going to be too welcome at the moment."

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Bobby had called out to Sam and smiled when he saw the greasy face peering around the hood at him. He didn't bother telling the kid to turn down the radio, something told him it wasn't going to happen, so he got closer and watched as the final adjustments were made and finally the car turned off.

"What's up Bobby?" Sam asked as he began to wipe down the wrench he'd used to replace the starter. He might not know a lot about tools, but he did know that once you were done you cleaned them up so they lasted longer.

"Just wanted to see if you and your buddy there are ready to take on another project." Bobby said amused as he watched understanding finally form on Sam's face. "What's with the Classic Country station anyway?"

Shrugging, Sam turned and turned it down before he confessed, "Maude liked it. Every Saturday night she and I would sit and listen to it before she went to bed. She knew I would take off at night and she thought that if she could keep me around a few extra hours then she was accomplishing something."

Nodding, Bobby watched as Sam turned away and respected the boy enough to give him the privacy he wanted to grieve for a moment. Seeing that Sam was ready to resume the conversation he grinned a moment before motioning toward the side of the yard. "I'm hoping you'd be willing to help me with a little project of mine. The Chevelle over there needs an overhaul and honestly, it holds a few too many memories in her for me to do it myself. If you're willing to help me get her going again I'd appreciate it."

Sam stood and looked at Bobby wondering if the older man was serious or maybe completely out of his mind. "Look Bobby, I appreciate you letting me stay out here and do this for your friend, but I really have no clue what I'm doing unless someone actually tells me what needs to be done. You could probably have a monkey do a better job and…"

"…and I'm asking you to help me do it… not do it by yourself you idgit. Jeez boy, you'd think I just told you to fly to the moon. I figure it'll give you a chance to stay away from John and maybe we can even get Dean to hand over some tools every now and again." Bobby said with a smirk when he realized the eldest brother was close by. "Come on, you can't tell me that you're not itching for some payback."

Laughing, Sam could only shake his head at the memory of trying to chase down nonexistent tools for his brother and father. "Yeah, ok. Just… don't expect too much from me, ok… I'm still learning."

Bobby laughed and patted Sam on the back, "Aren't we all. Don't worry; I won't have you boring out any holes until the second day."

Dean stood back and watched Bobby joke with his little brother and admitted that it looked like the most natural thing in the world. Feeling jealous, he was about to make his way back to the house when he heard Sammy call his name. Turning, he came face to face with the one person he wasn't sure needed him anymore.

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John watched as Bobby and Sammy joked around and couldn't help but wonder at the resentment he felt building up inside. It should be him out there making his son feel welcome, but he couldn't bring his feet to move towards the door. It wasn't until he heard Joshua speak that he realized that he wasn't being subtle about his feelings.

"You know, you can't keep treating the kid like a pariah and then get mad at him when he responds to someone else." Joshua said as he too watched as Bobby and Sammy looked to have come to some sort of understanding. "The kid would have followed you to Hell if you'd asked him to, but you kept shoving him to the side… guess we know why now, you wanted to believe that everything's his fault, you wanted an excuse to hold onto that his not following you was his doing and not yours."

"Damn it, stay out of this Joshua or so help me…"

"What John? You're going to hit me?" Joshua paused, seeing the startled look on the other man's face. "Yeah, I know about it. It actually amazes me that Dean hasn't figured it out yet, but then again he was more than tolerant of your behavior than Sammy was. My question is, what the hell did the kid say to you to make you clock him one? The kid was twelve man, surly you could have found a way to avoid that outcome."

Deflated, John shook his head sadly and sat heavily in the chair. "I won't ask how you know, I can guess that one pretty well. You know what sickens me about the whole thing? For once he wasn't giving me a hard time about missing school, or even a normal life. No, he was questioning my love for Dean. The kid had just seen me chase after the damn thing that had chucked his brother down a ravine and instead of calming down and seeing the question for what it was I hit the kid for expressing his fear for his brother."

"You did what?" the question growled low and seemed to echo through the room making the other occupants turn to the source, causing John to groan slightly as he realized that they weren't alone, that Dean had somehow managed to enter the house unnoticed.

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Turning, Dean saw his not so little brother smiling at him and he couldn't help but wonder why the kid looked so damn happy… couldn't he tell that his world was crashing down around his ears?

"Hey Dean, look you know we were just kidding around, we're not going to make you play go-fer or anything, right?" Sam asked, sure that that had to be the reason why Dean looked so out of character. "Besides, I'm going to need you around to make sure Bobby's not trying to pull a fast one himself, you know?"

Dean laughed slightly and nodded his head. "Yeah, knowing him he'd have you believing that the oil cap and distributor cap were one and the same."

"Dean… I'm not that deficient. The oil cap goes under the engine to keep the oil in." Sam deadpanned and nearly choked on his breath at the shocked look on his brother's face. "Kidding… just kidding! Jeez man, you really need to lighten up. Hey, how about just you and me head over to the bar in town and kick back for awhile. I have a feeling that these guys are going to be real downers for awhile."

Looking at his brother Dean took the time to make sure that he was really seeing what was there and not what he wanted. Satisfied that Sammy really did want to just hang out for awhile, he nodded. "Yeah man, give me a minute to get the keys, alright?"

Heading back inside Dean was aware of a conversation going on but chose to ignore it until something perked his interest and then he began to see red. Hearing his father talk about hitting his brother was bad enough, but the worst part was… he remembered that hunt, remembered seeing Sammy's bruised face upon waking up in the motel room and assuming that it had been the damn water sprite that had got him. It had never occurred to him that it was their dad, that their own father would have belted the kid for sharing a concern that he himself had wondered over and over more times than he wanted to count. Not able to let it go, not able to resist confronting the same man who had instilled in them that family was everything, he walked into the kitchen.

"You did what?" he asked, the anger simmered just below the surface and it was taking what self control he had not to lunge at the man, especially when that same man looked at him as if he'd just been caught doing something completely heinous. "You have got to be kidding me. You hit him because he asked you if you still cared about me after you ran off and left me there? Is that what I'm hearing? My God Dad, do you know how many times that I had to tell Sammy that you'd never hit us, that you loved us too much for that, and you what… get pissy one day and prove me wrong? He was scared and you proved him right. Damn it! Was this before or after your started hearing your little paranoid delusions about something being after him? Well?"

"What the hell is going on in here?" Bobby yelled as he slammed into the house. "Damn fool Winchesters. I swear I'm about to take my buckshot to the lot of you. Every damn time I think we're going to have some peace and quiet and you idgits have to show your asses. Now what the hell's all the yelling about?"

Dean motioned at John and clenched his fists in the effort not to attack. "Him. He hit my brother when he was twelve, after leaving both of us to the hands of a crazed water sprite with me unconscious and Sammy having to take care of us. You want to know why? Because the kid was scared and asked a question that's why!"

"Dean," Sam said quietly as he made his way into the house. "It's over and done man, come on… I promise it doesn't even hurt anymore. Let's get a few beers, play some pool and cool off."

"How the hell can you say that Sammy? He hit you! Hell, as far as I know it was more than once. You're going to stand there and defend him now?" Dean demanded, wanting to hear it from his brother's mouth that he was standing by their father.

Shaking his head Sam stood and held up his hands. "Nope, not going to touch that one with a ten foot pole. You want to be mad, fine, be mad. When you calm down a bit let me know and we can head out, or I'll go by myself. Either way I'm heading toward the bar, the question is… am I walking or are you driving."

The room full of men watched as Sam turned and exited the house, making them all wonder what the hell that was all about.