Watch Out For Sammy

Chapter 49

Into the Fire

Dean wondered, not for the first time, what the hell he'd been thinking. Running out of the school like that had been a terrible idea and if he could take it back, he would. But it was too late for that. As Bobby would say, in for a penny, in for a pound. Dean wasn't really sure what Bobby really meant by that, but he knew that it had something to do with finishing what you started.

He ran off school grounds as fast as he could, heading in the direction of their motel. Halfway there, though, he stopped. What was he going to do? He couldn't just walk into the motel like nothing had happened, right? And what about Sammy? Dean suddenly realized that he'd left his little brother alone at school. Unprotected. Where anything could get him.

Without another thought, Dean turned around and headed back to school, eager to at least keep a watch out for Sammy, if it was the last thing he ever did in his poor, pathetic life.

John arrived at the school within fifteen minutes of the phone call. He stormed into the office with a combined look of anger, worry, and irritation on his rugged face. He knew he looked intimidating and maybe even a little scary, but he didn't care. All he cared about was whether or not his sons were safe.

The secretary in the front office greeted John with a smile, but her smile quickly vanished when she really looked at the man. "Can I help you?" she asked nervously.

"I need to see Principal Nichols."

"Of course. Do you have an appointment?"

"No, I don't have an appointment. Do I need an appointment to talk to her about how she let my eleven-year-old son just walk out of her school?"

"Oh. Mr. Winchester."

"Where is she?" John demanded.

"Just a minute, Mr. Winchester." The secretary picked up the phone and John listened as she spoke urgently and quietly. A few seconds later, she stood up and led him over to a closed door. John wasted no time in opening the door and barging in.

"Mr. Winchester….."

"What happened? How the hell did you allow my son to just walk out of your school?!"

"Mr. Winchester, please have a seat."

"I don't want to have a seat, Miss Nichols. I want to find my son."

"We're doing what we can."

"Well, it's obviously not enough because you haven't found him yet. Now, what happened?"

"Well, from what I understand, there was a misunderstanding in the cafeteria at lunchtime. One of our aides thought that Dean was picking on a younger student and was bringing him here. Apparently, Dean wasn't cooperating and he ran out of the building."

John wasn't really understanding what the woman was saying because he knew that Dean wasn't the kind of kid to run away from trouble, unless something else was going on. Dean had been raised to face his troubles head on, so running away wasn't in his playbook.

Regardless of why the kid ran away, though, John knew he needed to find Dean before he got himself into even more trouble. And he wasn't going to find him by sitting in the principal's office, staring down a young woman who was obviously intimidated by him.

"Miss Nichols, I'll be taking Sam with me as I go find Dean. Where can I find his classroom?"

"I'll have him brought to the office, Mr. Winchester. And if there's anything else I can do, please let me know."

"I'd say you've done enough." With that, John turned and walked out the door.

Dean, who was watching the school from a nearby business, watched as his father showed up at the school, storming through the doors like a man on a mission. Of course, he was on a mission, though, right? A mission to find his screw-up of a son who never did anything right.

Dean was feeling particularly sorry for himself. He knew he'd done something stupid and impulsive, and he regretted his choices, especially since he knew just how much his father hated impulsivity. They'd had way too many conversations on that particular subject.

While he was waiting, Dean thought about what he was going to do. He knew he should walk back into the school and face his dad, face up to his impulsivity, and sure, he would probably be in a lot of trouble, but he knew it was the right thing to do. Still, he just couldn't bring himself to do it. After everything that had happened over the last few days, Dean wasn't ready to own up to it all. Especially when he still felt like it wasn't all his fault. Being Dean Winchester came with a lot of unfairness and he was tired of it.

So, knowing that he wasn't going to man up and face his father, he needed a new plan. He knew he couldn't just hang around some random building and he didn't have any money to help him out. He had very few options, to be honest. As he thought about it, he realized that there was only one place he could go, so he waited until he saw his dad come back out of the school, Sam trailing closely behind, before he took off again.

It was almost dark when Dean found himself standing outside of the Fuller house. He knew it wasn't a great idea, showing up at their door like he did, but he really didn't have a lot of choices. And he knew they wouldn't turn him away. At least, he didn't think they would.

He was trying to work up the courage to ring the doorbell when the door opened. Jake stepped out on the front porch, bending down to grab the newspaper on the front step. As he straightened back up, Dean stepped forward into his line of vision. Dean could tell by the look on the man's face just how surprised he was to see him.

"Dean? What are you doing here?" Jake looked around, obviously looking for someone else. When he didn't see anyone, he looked back at Dean, who still hadn't answered. "Dean?"

"Um….. I, uh…. I just wanted to check on you. Make sure everything was okay…"

"You wanted to check on us? Really?" Dean could tell that Jake wasn't buying it.

"Yeah. You know, with everything that happened? The ghost?"

Jake's shoulders dropped a little as some of the tension he'd been holding left him. "Oh. Well, Bobby and another young man left here about an hour ago. They said that everything was taken care of and that we shouldn't have any more problems."

"Oh… that's good," Dean answered as he fidgeted uncomfortably.

"Yeah, it's definitely a relief. I'm still in a little bit of shock about the whole thing." Jake looked around the yard and driveway again, still trying to figure out how Dean had gotten there. "Dean? Who did you come with? Is your dad here somewhere?"

Dean wasn't really sure how to answer that question. "Can I…. can I come in?" he asked hesitantly.

"Of course," Jake answered as he motioned for Dean to step closer. Dean stepped up onto the porch and stopped directly in front of Jake. Jake opened the door and held it open for Dean. Once they were inside, he called for his wife. "Sarah?"

Dean was still standing by the door when Sarah walked into the living room, holding Charlotte on her hip. "Dean? What in the world are you doing here? Where's Sam?"

"Hi, Sarah." Dean looked over at Sarah, but kept his eyes on Charlotte for the most part. He still didn't answer either of them as to why he was there and when they both realized he wasn't going to answer any time soon, Sarah sat down on the couch and motioned for him to join her.

"Have a seat, Dean. Jake, can you get him something to drink? Are you hungry, Dean?"

Dean's stomach chose that moment to betray him by letting out a loud growl. He hadn't had anything to eat since the measly Poptart he'd had for breakfast and when Sarah heard the growl, she immediately stood up and handed Charlotte off to Jake. "Never mind, Jake. I'll just go fix him something to eat."

Once she left, Dean sat nervously on the edge of his seat, digging his finger into a hole in the knee of his jeans. Jake sat down across from him, eyeing him closely as he checked him out, head to toe.

"Are you okay, Dean? Are you hurt anywhere?"

"No, sir," Dean answered quietly. "I'm okay."

Jake studied him more. "Does your dad know where you are?"

Dean immediately stopped messing with the hole in his jeans, becoming perfectly still in the wake of that question. Not able to find his voice at the moment, he just shook his head no.

Jake stood up, rubbing his hands together as he paced the small room. "Okay…. Well, I think maybe we need to give him a call. He's probably really worried about you."

Dean wasn't convinced that his dad would actually be worried about him. In the next second, though, he realized how unfair that was to the man. "He's gonna be mad at me," he finally answered softly.

Jake stopped pacing and sat back down, this time sitting on the coffee table directly in front of Dean. His heart ached for the despair that was evident on the boy's face. "Dean, whatever happened, I'm sure your dad will just be happy that you're okay."

Dean didn't say anything in response to that.

"Think you can tell me what happened? It might make you feel better to talk it out."

Dean was trying to gather his courage, but before he could start, Sarah returned with a plate of food and a glass of juice. "Here you go, sweetie," she said as she grabbed a little tray table and placed it down in front of him. Dean eyed the plate of food, equal parts hungry and nauseous at the same time. "Take a few bites, okay? I think you'll feel better."

Dean picked up the fork and picked up a piece of the pot roast. He was a little embarrassed to have both of them watching him so closely, but the smell and taste of the pot roast was soon shifting his focus. After the first bite, he quickly started shoveling the food into his mouth.

"Slow down, Dean," Sarah laughed. "You're going to give yourself a stomach ache. Or choke."

Dean made himself slow down, figuring that if he ate slower, he'd also be able to put off the discussion they were about to have. It didn't put it off long enough for him, though, because once he was done, Jake immediately asked him again what had happened.

"Dad's mad at me," he said simply. "Really mad. And disappointed."

"Why do you think he's disappointed in you?"

Dean shrugged his shoulders. After a few seconds, he finally found the courage to talk. "He's still mad at me for everything that happened this weekend. I wasn't supposed to take Sam to the park. If I'd just followed his orders, everything would have been okay. And then I messed up at school today, too. I'm just a screw-up."

"No, you're not," Sarah instantly answered. "You're a kid, Dean. And kids are supposed to make mistakes. That's how they learn."

Jake leaned forward, placing his elbows on his knees so his face was level with Dean's. "Dean, I don't know your dad, but I'm guessing by the fact that you and Sam are amazing kids, that he loves you. And dads understand that their kids are going to mess up sometimes. Your dad may be mad at you and he may be a little disappointed in the choices you made, but he loves you. I'm sure of that."

Dean wasn't convinced. Jake and Sarah didn't know his dad. They didn't know the kind of man he was. They didn't know how he was raising his sons. How little room there was for mistakes in the Winchester family….

"Do you think you can tell us what happened in school today?" Jake asked gently. Dean was about to answer when Ryan walked into the living room.

"What's he doing here?"

"Ryan!" Sarah glared at her son. "That's enough."

"What? I thought they were gone for good, that's all."

Sarah stood up and took Charlotte from Jake before turning back to Ryan. "Let's go," she said as she grabbed Ryan's arm. "Dad and Dean need to talk."

Ryan threw one last glare at Dean before he was pulled down the hall towards the bedrooms. Dean watched them go without saying a word.

"Sorry about that," Jake said softly.

"It's okay," Dean answered. "It's his house. I can't blame him for not wanting to share it or his parents with other kids. I get it."

Jake leaned forward again. "You're always welcome here, Dean. You and Sam both. And speaking of Sam, how is he? Is he okay?"

"Sam is Sam. He's always okay." Dean smiled at the thought of his little brother and a sudden rush of sadness washed over him. He knew his dad was right to be mad at him, because if he'd done what he was supposed to do, Sam wouldn't have ever been in that park when some idiot started firing a gun. He wouldn't have been in a position where Child Services could have separated them. He wouldn't have been staying in a house with a ghost. Dean knew that his actions put his little brother in danger and he hated himself for that.

A cloud of awkwardness filled the small room and Dean had been around enough good-intentioned adults to know that Jake was about to ask him something he probably didn't want to answer. He prepared himself for whatever the question was and waited while Jake cleared his throat.

"Dean, are you….. are you scared of your dad?"

Dean didn't answer right away, mostly because he didn't really know how to answer that. He wasn't really scared of his dad, but he had a healthy fear of the man. Did that make sense? He didn't really know how to explain the enigma that was John Winchester and his sense of discipline and responsibility. Dean knew that he was held to a much higher standard than almost any other kid in the world, and while he understood the reasoning behind that, he didn't always agree with it. He didn't always let himself go down the road of thinking about what life would be like if his mom was still alive or if his dad was a man more like Bobby or Pastor Jim. Or Jake. He knew better than to dream about something that would or could never happen.

Knowing that Jake was still waiting for an answer, he gave the most honest one he could think of. "No, sir. I'm not scared of him."

"Are you sure? Are you afraid to face him right now? Is that why you ran away from school?"

"I'm not scared to face him, really," Dean admitted. "I just….don't want to."

"That's understandable," Jake said with a small smile. "No one ever really wants to have to face up to their mistakes, I guess. I just want to make sure that you're going to be safe with your dad."

Dean started poking at the hole in his jeans again, but stopped when Jake reached out and gently grabbed his hand. "Dean…. are you safe with your dad?"

"Yes, sir. He, um…. he'll punish me, but it'll be okay."

Jake watched the boy for a few more long seconds. "I'm glad you came here, Dean. I want this to feel like a safe place for you and like I said earlier, you're always welcome here. But, maybe we should call your dad and let him know you're here?"

Dean slowly nodded his head, knowing that he'd have to face him eventually. After giving Jake his dad's number, he sat back against the couch and closed his eyes, exhaustion finally overwhelming him.

Jake called the number Dean had given him, but no one answered. When he went back into the living room to see if there was any other number the man could be reached at, Jake found Dean sound asleep on the couch. He looked down at the small form and his eyes suddenly started burning with tears. Of all the kids they'd helped out over the years, Dean was the one that broke his heart the most. He had never known a kid that needed approval and validation so desperately. And he was sure that approval and validation was a rare occurrence in the boy's young life.

There was a part of him that was worried that he'd do something stupid if he ever came face to face with the elder Winchester. While he really did think that the man loved his sons, he still felt like the man was doing a huge disservice to his sons. Especially to Dean. And Jake wanted nothing more than to make the man realize just how lucky he was to have the sons that he had.

Jake grabbed a blanket and laid it over Dean, tucking him in the best that he could without waking the boy up. Once Dean looked warm and comfortable, Jake sat down next to him and waited for John to call him back.

It was almost ten o'clock at night when John finally returned to the motel room, dragging an exhausted Sam behind him. Sam's face was tear-stained and John flinched at the memory of the near breakdown the poor boy had had when he was told that his brother was gone. It had been so bad, and John had already been so on edge, that the breakdown ultimately concluded with John grabbing Sam and landing several hard smacks to his backside. Sam had been so surprised by the immediacy and the harshness of his dad's actions that his tears immediately stopped.

John was ashamed of himself for losing it like that, knowing that Sam was just worried about his brother. He didn't outright apologize to the boy, but he forced himself to be patient with Sam the rest of the evening. And what a hard task that turned out to be because the boy was nearly inconsolable when they returned to the motel room without having found Dean.

Once they were back in the room, John spent a few minutes getting Sam into bed. Once Sam was curled up on the bed, crying quietly into his pillow, he turned his attention to the phone. For the last hour, he'd been contemplating calling a few of his hunter friends, thinking that maybe they'd be able to help him look for Dean. He wasn't usually one to ask for help, but he was desperate to find his son. And desperate times called for desperate measures.

It only took him a few minutes to notice the light blinking on the motel room, indicating that there was a message waiting for him. His heart jumped at the thought that maybe it was Dean leaving him a message. Rushing over to the phone, he listened to the message, his breath held the entire time. Once the message was done, John was starting to see red again. What the hell was Dean thinking by going to the Fuller's? Didn't he realize how dangerous it was to get them involved again?

Author's note: Whew! I'm so sorry for the long wait, but I really hope you enjoy this chapter. I kind of like it a lot, lol.

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. And Merry Christmas to those who celebrate it!