Chapter 29

Still half asleep, Dean trudged into kitchen the next morning heading for the fridge to pour a glass of juice. He snagged a couple slices of bread and popped them in the toaster as he shook his body awake. He noticed Bobby sitting at the table sipping coffee and reading the paper. Once the bread was ready, he took a seat across from him and picked up some jam for his toast.

"Morning Bobby." he greeted the older man.

"Morning son, how ya feeling today?"

"I'm fine." he replied concentrating hard on putting jam on his bread. "Bobby what did my Dad want when he came by here?"

Bobby folded the paper and laid it on the table before answering him.

"Well, if memory serves me right he wanted to check some of my books, said he was doing research. Seems like he asked me some vague questions about the supernatural and tracking creatures. He asked about other hunters and who were the best and I gave him a few names; that's about it. He left the same day."

"So my Dad was hunting something, Bobby was he becoming a hunter?"

"Well, I guess he was. I do remember one other thing, he was very intense, determined, strong minded man." he told him. "Wish I could tell ya more."

"Thanks Bobby." Dean answered. "After all this time, do you think he's alive out there somewhere?"

"Son, I wish I could tell ya what happened to yer Dad, but I don't know. Being a hunter is a dangerous business and most don't live to a ripe old age. I do think if he was alive, he'd be looking for his boys." he said softly watching Dean worry with his toast before finally taking a bite. He wasn't going to lie to the boy or sugar coat the facts; it was highly unlikely that his father was still alive.

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The months that followed had Dean working diligently on the Impala to get her back to running again. Bobby was true to his word, he let Dean do the work only helping when needed. He guided him through some of the more technical things and was impressed at how much he had already picked up with his teaching. Bobby had taken him to the DMV and he had got his learner's permit. Dean had been driving for over a year and he was proud that he could actually be legal to drive on the road now.

Bobby had taken Dean on a number of hunts during this time and Dean had proved himself a worthy hunter. His knowledge of the creatures and his skill at problem solving were quickly becoming impressive. It still didn't stop Dean from getting injured in a hunt. Thankfully the worse was only a mild concussion and a broken arm. He could interpret the different scenarios and choose which one would be the best choice for the job. Bobby had Dean helping other hunters with planning out their hunts if help was needed. Only a few trusted ones had ever met Dean since he tried to stay out of the limelight and in the shadows.

Dean liked Pastor Jim and had stayed with him a few times when Bobby when on dangerous hunts and would not take him no matter had much Dean begged. Bobby still could not get Dean to talk about what had happened to him growing up so he didn't push him for fear of losing him. Dean had become the son he never had and he loved the boy dearly. He hoped one day Dean would trust him enough to tell him about his life before Hank. He asked if he wanted to use his real name for his license and he told him he was proud to have Bobby's last name. So Dean decided to use the fake birth certificate Bobby had made up last year when he went for his license.

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"Are ya ready?" Bobby asked as Dean sat behind the wheel of the Impala ready to crank it for the first time.

Dean looked up at the man in expectation as he turned the key and listened to the engine turn over but not crank. He waited a few seconds and tried it again to have it catch and roar to life. Sheer joy shone from his face as he looked up at Bobby letting the car idle in the garage.

"Sounds good there son."

"Get in, let's go down the road." he told Bobby as he shut the door and waited for Bobby to get in on the other side.

"Just go easy on her; she's not been on the road in a long time."

"I will." he said pulling from the garage and heading out of the salvage yard. He stopped at the end of the drive and reached down to pull an eight track from the box and insert it into the opening waiting for it to play. After adjusting the volume, he pulled onto the road and headed for town. The Impala purred under his touch as he gave it more gas. Old memories came back to him of riding in the back seat with his little brother and he bit his lip to keep his emotions in check. He looked away for a moment to wipe a tear from his eye so Bobby wouldn't see it.

"Why don't ya stop and fill her up. I figure you'll wanna take her to drive when you get your license next week." Bobby suggested the sadness not getting past him. He guessed he was thinking about his father and possibly memories of riding in the car when he was young.

"Yeah, Baby could do with a fill up." he agreed heading for the gas station.

"Baby uh, suits her."

Dean stopped at the gas station and got out to fill up the Impala and Bobby went in to pay. He looked around the area assessing it for any danger as he waited. He never let his guard down anymore now that he had started hunting. A threat could come from anywhere, at anytime and he always tried to be prepared. He didn't go anywhere without being armed with a handgun and knife. He pulled the nozzle from the car and put the cap back on looking up when Bobby strolled back out with a bottle of water and cup of coffee in his hands.

"Here, thought you could use something to drink." he told him holding the water out to him.

"Thanks." Dean said accepting the water. He cranked Baby back up and let her settle into a loud growl before pulling away from the pump.

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"You ready?" Bobby asked him when Dean strolled into the kitchen.

"Yep." Dean said trying to control his nerves about going to get his license. Today was the big day. He had been practicing all week with his Baby to be prepared for the road test.

"You'll be fine, you can do this in yer sleep." Bobby assured him. "I figure afterwards we could celebrate by eating dinner out."

"Sounds good, I'd like that." Dean agreed pulling out of the yard and heading for the DMV. He tried to control his breathing to calm his nerves as he wiped his sweaty palms on his shirt sleeves before gripping the wheel again.

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Two and a half hours later Dean walked from the DMV with his license in hand. He sighed with relief that it was over with and he passed the first time. He realized how hungry he was and couldn't wait to eat dinner.

"You did good son, I'm proud of ya." Bobby said carefully placing a hand on his shoulder waiting to see if he would accept his touch.

"Thanks Bobby." Dean said letting Bobby's hand rest on his shoulder for a few seconds before stepping out from under it. "I'm starved let's go eat."

"Alright." he said getting in the passenger seat while Dean slid behind the wheel.

"I got 'em Baby." he whispered as he ran his hand gently around the steering wheel. "We're all legal now."

Bobby watched in amusement as Dean talked to the car like it was alive. He saw how attached he had become to the car as he worked to get her running. He knew this was the only link he had to his father now. Bobby had put out feelers to see if he could find out what had happened to him but had not gotten any news from his contacts.

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Trevor was in his Dad's office looking for some index cards. He was searching through a desk drawer not paying attention to the filing cabinet beside him. The angel unlocked the drawer of the filing cabinet and carefully pulled it open enough to grab one file and pull it up so it would be noticed. He moved something on the cabinet to draw the boy's attention that way before stepping back out of the way.

A noise caught Trevor's attention and he looked over at the filing cabinet to see a drawer slightly open and a file sticking up. Curiosity made him pull the folder from the drawer and read the label, 'Adoption' printed in bold black ink. He sat back slowly and placed the folder on the desk before opening it up. Inside he found a picture of a baby that looked about a year old and a birth certificate for a Samuel Winchester, born in Lawrence, Kansas to a Mary and John Winchester. It was like time stopped as he looked at adoption papers with his parent's names on them. He thumbed through the file and read paperwork from an orphanage in Lawrence telling about how he and his brother, Dean, became wards of the state when their father abandoned them and there had been a fire that killed their mother. He hade a brother, now he knew who the boy was in his dreams. They went on to tell how he was adopted but his brother remained at the orphanage. Sam sat back and let all this sink in as his mind began to process it all.

"Sam." he said out loud realizing how right that sounded. "Sam, my name is Sam Winchester."

He took the birth certificate and the page that gave the name and address for the orphanage with him before replacing the file back in the drawer. Sam went to his room and opened his laptop to start researching the papers in Lawrence, Kansas to see if there were any articles about a fire. It took him nearly thirty minutes to find the right one. There was even a picture of a man holding a baby and a boy sitting on a car attached to the article. He gazed at the picture for a long time memorizing the faces of his father and brother. He read through the article several times learning that the fire started in his bedroom and his mother had died in there. The fire was written up as being started by an electrical short in the wiring. He couldn't find any other write ups after the fire and started a search on his brother.

It took him less time to find the article that had his brother's name in it and read over it looking at the date of the article. Sam thought back to that time and now knew why he had that nightmare of the boy, his brother was being hurt. From what the article reported, Sam was sure he knew what the horrible experience his brother had to endure at the hands of his foster father. The authorities could not find a trace of Dean anywhere after the fire. They put out a Missing Person's Report but never got any leads and the case went cold. Sam decided his brother ran and disappeared instead of taking the chance of another bad foster family. This was going to make finding him all that harder, but for some reason he knew the starting place was Lawrence, Kansas. A plan began to form in his mind as he quickly began typing. He found a train that would take him to Grand Island and there he could catch another one on to Lawrence. He bought the tickets in his real name and printed them out.

After getting his pack out, Sam packed all the clothes he thought he would need and retrieved his stash of cash he had been saving up. His adopted parents were going to take Danny to the zoo tomorrow and he was sure he could convince them to leave him at home alone. That would give him nearly a day's head start and he would leave a note too for them not to worry he knew the truth and was going to find his brother. There was no doubt in his mind that he needed to find Dean and the best place to start was where it began. He had the same problem as Dean trying to access the records from the orphanage since they had never been put on a computer. He went over in his mind all that he had packed to determine if he forgot anything. Before closing his pack, Sam decided to throw some crackers and granola bars in his pack to have something to munch on. Now all he needed was to get his adopted parents to agree to leave him behind.

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Sam watched his adopted parents and brother pull out of the driveway and waited for them to get out of the neighborhood. He still felt like Danny was his brother, even thought he really wasn't. He took the note he wrote and laid it on the kitchen table pinning it down with a salt shaker. Sam took one more look around the house before shouldering his pack and computer bag and heading out to the bus stop to catch it to the train station to begin his journey to his brother.

He was lucky the weather was mild for April and Sam was glad as he walked the mile to the bus stop. He took a seat and waited for the next one that was to arrive in fifteen minutes. The bus would get him to the station to catch the eight am train to Grand Island. He was going to have a four hour lay over there until he could catch the next train to Lawrence. Sam walked with a spring in his step and lightness to his soul. He now knew why things didn't seem right to him and why his name seemed so wrong. He didn't hate his adopted parents; they had been good to him and loved him, but he couldn't understand why he was adopted and not his brother too. That was a question for another time; right now all that mattered was getting to the train station.


A/N: So Sam now knows he's adopted and has a brother and has started his own search. Hope you enjoyed. Thank you for all the continued support. It's getting near, the boys will find each other. Please review. NC