Chapter 9

It was the early morning hours when Sam jerked awake and froze trying to sense what had woke him. He looked over to his sleeping brother and strained to hear anything that wasn't supposed to be there. He couldn't dispel this nagging notion that there was something he was missing. He quietly sat up on the edge of his bed and felt around with his foot for his socks. Once he had them on, Sam got up and crept to Dean's duffle to dig out their father's journal.

The house was silent except of the normal creaking and settling as he made his way down the stairs and moved into the living room. He settled on the couch beside a lamp Missouri had left on, and opened the journal, slowly thumbing through the contents. There was something in here that he remembered reading. Sam flipped to the front of the book and turned to the first page and there it was, the first sentence, 'Went to Missouri and learned the truth'. They had always thought it meant John went to the state of Missouri, but now he knew differently. He was talking about Missouri. John had come to her after their Mom was killed and she told him about was behind the curtain. Sam sat back for a moment and thought about their father and the life he had led.

He felt the metal that was pinned to the inside cover and turned the page to look at. He pulled it loose to hold in his palm as he rubbed his fingers over it wondering how his Dad had gotten it. Sam's mind suddenly blanked as he froze in place when a scene started to play out around him. There were soldiers everywhere, running, shooting, diving for cover, as explosions rained dirt and debris all around them. Sam could hear returned fire but couldn't see the enemy. A soldier ran by him and fell to the ground nearby. He rolled onto his back for a moment and Sam saw the name Winchester on his uniform. He sucked in a sharp breath as he watched a younger version of his Dad, yelling orders and returning gunfire.

Sam looked down at his hand and saw he could almost see through it and knew he wasn't really here, he was seeing maybe a vision, but couldn't understand why he would be seeing this. He watched his father run toward a downed, injured soldier and drag him back to safety so he could slap field dressings on his wounds, leaving him there to try and save another one. Sam was scared and horrified as he watched soldiers being blow apart and other soldiers falling from a barrage of bullets that made them dance for a moment before slumping to the ground. He couldn't breathe, he couldn't move, he couldn't turn it off. The scenes were like they were on a loop and he had to watch them again and again. John was almost unrecognizable as the air filled with particles of dust and dirt, coating the soldiers, making it hard to tell one from another. The soldiers were being slaughtered and there was nothing he could do to stop it. It was overwhelming, heartbreaking, troubling, and stressful. The bullets whined by his ears that were ringing from the explosions going off around him.

"Dean," Sam whispered, begging for his brother to save him as he sent out a distress call.

spn

Dean snorted as he rolled over when he though he heard his name being called. He glanced at the clock and saw it was still early. He looked to the other bed and saw it was empty.

"S'mmy?" Dean called looking around before getting up and checking the bathroom. He frowned and headed for the stairs to see where Sam had gone. When he stepped into the living room and saw Sam sitting, stiff on the couch, with a blank look on his face, he knew there was something wrong with him. He was pale and tears were streaming down his face. His hands were clutched tightly to his chest as his body trembled uncontrollably. Sam didn't acknowledge him as Dean sat on the coffee table in front of him so he would be eye level with him.

Missouri appeared from the other direction tying her bathrobe around her waist. She looked to Sam and hurried to his side.

"Sam, honey, what's wrong?" Missouri asked as she laid a hand on his cold arm. "Dean, you need to try and reach him. He's trapped in his mind and whatever he's seeing he can't break free."

Dean straddled Sam's legs and pushed them together so he could lean closer. He took his hands and placed them on either side of Sam's head, digging his fingers into his long hair to touch his scalp. Dean pulled Sam's head toward his and let their foreheads butt together as he closed his eyes to concentrate on reaching Sam.

"Sammy, I'm here," Dean whispered as reached out worming his way into Sam's mind. He knew Sam was in here somewhere and he had to find him. Dean began searching thought the mist, looking for some sign of his brother. He didn't know how long he looked until a shape started taking form ahead of him that slowly turned into Sam's tall form. "Sammy," Dean whispered as he approached his brother.

Sam didn't speak or move or look his way, like he was in a trance. He couldn't hear Dean speaking to him as all he saw was the war scene with their father in it, playing out again and again. Blood, death, injury, and hopelessness was all he could see. He never felt Dean grab his arms and give his body a small shake to get his attention.

"C'mon Sammy, you've got to wake up. Listen to me, you've got to break the connection," Dean insisted. He caught his face and made him look at him with his vacant eyes. "Don't do this to me. You're strong, you can do this, you've got to hear me. Let me help, connect with me."

Time passed and Dean never moved as he gave Sam all he could and finally Sam's fingers began to uncurl, and the metal dropped from his hand. He brought his trembling, cold hands up and clasped them over Dean's warm ones. Dean flinched for a second before opening his eyes and leaning his head back enough to look into Sam's pain filled hazel eyes that were brimming with tears as they spilled down his cheeks.

"There you are bro," Dean whispered as he wiped a finger over Sam's wet face to wipe away his tears. He moved to sit beside him and turned where he could pull him into his embrace. He pulled Sam's head into the nap of his neck with his hand and reached for a blanket that was on the back of the couch.

"Here let me do that," Missouri finally spoke as she took the blanket and wrapped it around Sam's body. She saw something in the floor at his feet and bent down to pick it up.

"That was Dad's service medal," Dean told her as he settled back on the couch trying to comfort Sam. "What happened to him?"

"I think another ability surfaced without Sam even realizing it," she told him looking at the metal.

"What?"

"Sam, honey, can you look at me for a moment?" Missouri cooed to him laying a hand on his arm. She watched as Sam turned his head just enough to see her. Dean wiped his hair from his face so he could see. "Sam, did you by chance see your Daddy?"

Sam's body shook but he was able to nod yes before turning away to hide again. He fisted Dean's T-shirt tightly in his hands as if he was afraid, he would leave. Soft, muffled sobs could barely be heard coming from Sam, so Dean didn't try to talk to him yet. He knew Sam wasn't ready for that and it could wait however long Sam needed.

"Sam was able to see his Daddy by touching this metal. It's like a vision but is linked to an object. It's called psychoscopy. I'm not sure what he saw, but it was not good from his reactions."

"It's okay Sammy, I got ya," Dean mumbled into his hair as he rubbed his back to sooth him. "Go on back to bed Missouri. I'll take care of him."

"Are you sure, I can start some coffee if you like?"

"Naw, it's too early. We'll just sit here until he calms down. No need for all of us being up."

"Alright, I'll check on you later then." Missouri turned to leave, pausing to look back at the brothers as Dean comforted his brother. She had felt Dean's powers come out as he tried to reach Sam and thought that was interesting. She had never met anyone quite like Dean before and was curious to what else might lie beneath his gruff exterior.

Dean began to hum softly to Sam as his trembling slowly subsided and he began to warm. He felt Sam relax into him and tried to decide what to do. He didn't want to leave him and didn't think he could get upstairs with him. Dean scooted around on the couch as he pushed Sam up enough to stretch out on his side with his back against the back of the couch. "Help me out here Sammy, lift your legs," Dean cooed to him as he pulled Sam down beside him. He was happy Sam did as he said and glad Missouri still had an older sofa that was larger than the current fashion ones. They barely fit and Dean pressed as tightly as he could to the back of the couch making room. He pulled Sam's back into his chest and threw a leg over his legs and an arm around his body so he wouldn't fall off the couch. Sam grunted and huffed about being disturbed but settled back down with his head under Dean's chin and his hands clutched to his chest. It wasn't the best solution but would do for now.

spn

Several hours later, Dean jerked awake trying to figure out what was pressed tightly into his chest and down his body and what was tickling his face. He looked down onto the head of his not so little brother and everything came back to him. Dean glanced at the clock on the mantle and saw he needed to get up if he was going to make it to Mama Edeline's by nine am. Being very careful, he slipped his body over Sam's and used the coffee table to balance himself. Once he was standing, Dean gently rolled Sam toward the back of the couch and froze when Sam mumbled something and swatted at his hand as he finished rolling over and curled down into the blanket against the back of the couch.

Aromas of coffee drifted in from the kitchen and Dean headed that way figuring Missouri was up. He stepped into the kitchen to see her flipping several eggs in a frying pan.

"I'm fixing you an egg sandwich to eat and coffee's ready," Missouri told him.

"Thanks, I'll need to hurry and grab a shower if I'm going to get to Mama Edeline by nine," Dean replied pouring coffee and sipping on it. "Will you see if you can get Sammy to talk to you about what he saw and take care of him until I get back?"

"Of course, I had planned on that. I will see if he is ready to talk."

"If you need me to come back early, call me. Sammy comes first before anything else."

"Dean, both of you are important in different ways, don't forget that. I'm sure he will be fine, but if I need to, I will call. Go on and get your shower and I'll have your sandwich ready and a travel cup of coffee."

"Thanks Missouri. I won't be long." Dean hurried out of the room and up the stairs to their bedroom. He dug out clean clothes, making a note they needed to do laundry. He moved to the bathroom and started the water, knowing he couldn't linger this time. Dean quickly washed his body and shampooed his hair before shutting the water off and grabbing a towel to dry with. He dressed and ran a comb through his damp hair before heading back downstairs. Missouri was at the bottom of the steps with a travel mug and wrapped egg sandwich.

"Don't worry about your brother, I'll take good care of him for you," Missouri offered.

"I know you will. I'll be back as soon as I can," Dean nodded taking the offered items.

"Drive carefully Dean and you still remember the way?"

"I do and I will." Dean opened the front door and let himself out, closing the door behind him. He wasn't sure how focused he could be today with him worrying about Sam. Every cell in his body was wanting him to stay and be there for Sam, but he didn't want to upset Mama Edeline since she had agreed to help him.

A/N: Another power has come out in Sam, but it was one he couldn't control. Dean heads to his first training session with Mama Edeline. Thank you for joining me on this journey. Reviews would be great. NC