It was the sound of his brother screaming that had Dean bolting upright out of bed without actually opening his eyes first. He hadn't heard that sound in over four years, and he had prayed that he never would again. Practically running into the rest of the brothers at Sammy's door, they quickly burst in with weapons in hand ready to take on whoever was hurting their little brother. After turning on the light they saw Sammy sitting there on his bed drenched in sweat and not able to catch his breath while his eyes stayed completely unfocused.
Knowing the effects of a nightmare when he saw one, Dean started talking to Sammy before he even reached him. It took a few minutes, but Sammy finally turned to them puzzled and asked, "Guys, what's wrong?" leaving them all limp with relief that he was back with them. Smiling, Dean gently pushed Sammy back down onto the bed then looked back at the others, "I'll stay here, you guys go on back to sleep." Which brought out protests from Sam that he wasn't three, and chuckles from the others that he sounded like it.
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Dean woke to a stiff neck and the morning sun shining in his eyes. Looking over, he noticed that Sammy had already gotten up and had even covered him with a blanket. Smiling, he had to wonder about his brother, how he was a constant walking contradiction, but that he wouldn't have him any other way. Stretching his stiff muscles, he continued to put his thoughts in order when he heard Amber start to scream and what sounded like his little brother yelling for her to get into the house. Taking only a moment to look out the window his concern turned to anger when he saw Sammy get tossed into the trash cans by a man that he had never seen before. Running out of the room he was met by the others, but didn't pause to fill them in as he raced down the stairs hoping that he could reach his little brother in time.
Sam had been talking to Amber about Legolas when he was approached, not too nicely, by a man claiming to be friends with his dad. Not remembering the man, he quickly made to move back into the apartment when the man grabbed his arm and swung him around giving him no other option but to defend himself. He had managed to get a solid hit in before the guy tazered him and threw him into the trash cans causing more pain and confusion. He could barely register what the guy was yelling at him, something about having a key, and knowing where it was, or needing to know where it was. Nothing was making much sense and all he wanted was to lie there on the cold concrete and not think about anything. Feeling the ground vibrate, he couldn't help but think that it almost tickled his ear as it got more pronounced as the vibration was accompanied by the sound of running feet. More noise and then he was being lifted up into strong arms and moving quickly away from home.
'Carrying little bro this easily shouldn't be happening', Stephen thought as he was practically running to the Suburban, Dean already behind the wheel and Taylor keeping pace then helping get Sammy inside the SUV. Sunday morning traffic was light which made it a lot easier as they bypassed the base hospital and went to Celia at the clinic, praying that they weren't making a mistake.
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"Yes, I'm sure Dean. He has a concussion, and with the combined effect of the tazer, he's going to be out of it for awhile. When he wakes up fully, you can take him home, there's no need to worry." Celia said, feeling as if she was talking to a small child.
Not believing what he was hearing, Dean could only exclaim, "You're kidding right? C'mon Celia, you know better than that, especially with his condition. I mean what if…"
"Dean, calm down. Look I'm glad that he told you, he was more worried about your reaction than anything else, but as you guys have already figured out, he's responding very well to treatment, in fact his viral loads are on the lower end of the scale telling me that he can stay symptom free for a very long time."
"How long really Celia?" Taylor asked; concerned about the conversation they had the previous night.
"Taylor I've had patients who have had it for ten years and are still going strong, with every indication that they will go another ten more. On the other side, I've lost patients with only two years under their belts, but those are the ones that we couldn't get leveled out in the early stages. Sam is young, strong, and besides his HIV status, healthy. So, you big babies, quit worrying so much." She said, seeing how seriously they were taking it, and although a good thing, Sam needed their support, not their suffocation.
Taking a deep breath, Dean was starting to feel a little better about the situation, but one thing bothered him about what she said. "Celia, you said he was worried about how I'd take it, did he say why?"
Celia had turned away to get some brochures for the guys and paused, no she didn't know exactly, but she was starting to suspect something. "No, he didn't talk about it, but I have a feeling that if you really thought about, you'd figure it out." She said while handing them pamphlets on HIV and treatment options. When she saw he wasn't appeased, she looked at him and leaned back in her chair. "Dean, when you left, was everything ok between you and Sam?" she asked, not sure if it was personal or professional curiosity that had won out.
Shocked by the question, it took him a moment to respond, "Things were fine, I mean not perfect, he was upset I was leaving, but I told him that it was for the best and that things would be better. Guess I got that wrong, didn't I?" he was still in his own thoughts when he saw that she was wanting him to continue "Sammy got hurt really bad and was in the hospital for a couple of days, that's when I saw that John acted more like a dad to him when I wasn't around, I honestly thought it was the right thing."
"So, you left while he was in the hospital?" she asked, not sure that she was hearing correctly.
"What! No! I waited until he was out and resting at the motel we were staying in before I went and talked to a recruiter. I swear that kid…" as he heard what he said, it suddenly kicked in why his little brother didn't trust him enough to tell him about his condition; he'd left before when Sammy was sick, what was so different now? "Ah, damn it!"
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Joseph had stayed behind to keep the guy in check while the cops made their appearance, and he was glad that it was him babysitting the creep instead of Dean; the guy would have been dead by now, not that he wasn't too far from it, but that was besides the point.
It hadn't taken too long for the guy to wake up after the guys had rushed Sammy to the clinic, and it didn't take too long for the guy to thoroughly piss him off.
'You think you know him? He's a coward, and he'd been dead a long time ago if it wasn't for his daddy. In fact, if it wasn't for the fact that he's the only one who knows where the Key is, he'd be dead by now and everything would be right with the world.'
Joseph looked at the man in disbelief, 'Are you insane, Sammy's alive in spite of his father.'
The man laughed and shook his head, 'The kid's crazy, everyone knows it. Although, I hear that some people have a taste for crazy… is that you're preference? Do you and your pals keep little Sammyboy around to help satisfy some urges that wouldn't be fitting…'
Staring down at the unconscious man, he could only account for the first two bruises on his face, the rest had come after the veil of rage had descended, leaving some extra explanations to be made after the police officers finally arrived.
After filling out his report to the officers, he waited anxiously for a phone call, but when none came after a couple of hours and he couldn't get through to anyone, he was about to rush out and find them himself. Opening the door in full stride, he ran into someone getting ready to knock and after seeing who it was, he could only stand there a moment in shock. "Darla."
"Hello Joseph, I left a few things here and was hoping I could get them. I'm about to go on a trip and won't be back for a couple of weeks." She said coolly as if she was waiting for him to make a fool out of himself.
Clearly distracted, it took him a moment to realize what she said, "Actually, it's a really bad time Darla. Can you catch me after you get back?"
She couldn't believe what she heard, and it showed on her face. "What, no, I can't wait. I need that small jewelry box, I take it with me when I travel – you know that!" She yelled as she pushed past him.
"Darla, you can't… damn… DARLA, this is so not the right time!" he said following her into the bedroom. As she starts to search for her missing jewelry box, he heard the front door open making the damage being done to his room inconsequential. Leaving her alone, he rushed to the living room to see everyone getting settled in the living room. "Sammy! Oh little bro you don't know how good it is to see you! Are you ok? Celia give you a clean bill of health? Come on guys, spill!"
Laughing the guys could only stare at Joseph. "Dude, we would if you'd shut up; jeez, you're worse than an old woman." Dean teased, watching his friend turn bright red before he alleviated his fears. "Sammy, tell him."
"She says that I'll be groggy for awhile, mainly because of the concussion, but I'll be ok as long as I rest for awhile." He said, smiling at Joseph's antics. He couldn't believe he got this lucky.
Joseph felt as if a huge weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he was about to call for a celebration when Darla came into the living room. "Joseph, may I speak with you please?" she asked softly, making the others in the room wonder what had happened while they were gone.
Suddenly remembering that she was there, Joseph turned to her and calmly shook his head. "I'm pretty sure we already said what needed to be said the other night, so if you've found your box, I think it's time for you to go."
Darla looked at him, and then at the others before demanding, "Is it because of him? Is he why you hid it, why you changed your mind?" At the confused looks on everyone's faces she held out the ring box. "I found it hidden, like you couldn't stand to look at it, and you're looking at me as if I've done something horrible?"
"Actually, I had it hidden to surprise you after the Jubilee. I had it all planned out, but you're the one who decided to attack my little brother here." Seeing where she was about to go, he stopped her. "Family isn't what you're born into Darla. If that was the case I'd still be on the damn farm doing what I hated just to make them happy. My family is here, and you couldn't accept that. So, no… you don't get to try and make me feel guilty about choosing these guys over you. It's not going to happen. So put the ring down and leave."
It took her a few seconds to realize that he was serious and looked longingly at the ring before looking at the other guys. Feeling as if she had made a huge mistake, she tossed the ring on the coffee table and left.
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Terrance hadn't slept all night, the occurrences of the previous day haunting him, all the while answering so many questions. Of course he hadn't been told, and there is no guarantee that his suspicions were correct, after all exposure to the disease did not guarantee contraction, but with everything else added into the mix, he was pretty confident that the young man he had come to admire has the same disease that his beloved wife was afflicted with. Turning away from the ocean view, he thought about what Sam had done for his daughter, and although he didn't agree, he still respected that he put Jenna first in front of his own wants. Now though, he needed to figure out a way to bring Jenna around to his way of thinking.
With the threat of death removed from Jenna, it was safe to say that Sam's services as bodyguard would no longer be needed. However, there were other agreements that needed clarification and he meant to see it taken care of before the issues got mangled. Grabbing his keys, he was about to head out the door when he saw Jenna's grandparents bring her home. 'Good, this could be better than I initially planned.' He thought as he watched her give them a kiss and wave goodbye.
"Hi Daddy! Did you miss me?" she asked, happy to be home instead of the fortress that her grandparents had created of their house.
Smiling, Terrance guided Jenna to the Tahoe, "You know I did. How about you keep your old man company while I run a couple of errands?" he asked, knowing that she wouldn't be able to resist going out without an entourage. When she looked at him questioningly, he smiled, "Sam broke the case sweetheart, no more body guards for you."
Jenna processed what she heard then looked at her dad, saying the only thing that came to mind, "Oh."
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"What do you mean you know you're not going to school tomorrow? We just came up with it five minutes ago." Dean asked as he looked over at his little brother. Sometimes he had no idea what was going on his head.
Sam looked completely confused, "Dean, Jenna doesn't need a body guard anymore, my job's done… why would I go to school tomorrow?"
Dean was just about to lose it when Taylor jumped in, "Sammy, just because you're job's done doesn't mean you stop going to school, I thought we had all this worked out? You'd stay at the Academy this year and we'd figure something out for next year."
"Yeah, but…"
"No Sammy, there's no way you're not going to school, that's final." Dean barked, wondering how his little brother could have thought they all agreed that he would drop out of school. College was one thing, but High School? No way, he wasn't going to follow in his footsteps.
Before the discussion could go any further, Stephen was letting the Colonel and Jenna into the apartment, leading them into the living room where everyone was crashed on the couch and recliner. Wondering if they had shown up at the wrong time, Terrance was about to suggest that they return later when he was stopped short by Dean.
"Colonel, talk some sense into him, he's talking crazy!"
While they were filling the Colonel in on the conversation, Jenna had asked for a drink and was pointed towards the kitchen with a quick, "The kitchen hasn't gone anywhere silly girl" then everyone was wrapped up with the argument about Sam's education again. It wasn't very long before Jenna walked back out into the living room with tears in her eyes holding a sample pack of Norvir and a pamphlet that Celia gave them.
"Which one of you macho men didn't listen to my mother?"