CHAPTER 13

It was sometime around midnight when a loud screaming woke Sam and Dean. Dean jumped from the couch on which he was sleeping on with a gun in his hands , his eyes sweeping around the room looking for any immediate threat. He looked at his brother who was standing in an identical position as his but instead of the gun he had his knife in his hand. A whimpering sound brought both the Winchesters' attention to the kids. They realised that the screaming was not the result of any supernatural threat but a nightmare.

Ryan was having a nightmare. Despite Collin's desperate attempts to wake up his brother. Ryan still wasn't awake. He was flailing his arms wildly with tears rolling down his cheeks. He was also mumbling something but it was difficult to comprehend what with all the flailing and crying.

Sam looked at the little kid in front of him who was trapped in a nightmare. He had enough nightmares to know how upsetting they are. They seem real and vivid and cause anxiety , fear and great amount of distress. He looked at Dean who has now dropped his gun and was making his way slowly towards the kids. Sam also dropped his knife on the bed and followed his brother.

Collin was trying to wake up his brother by gently shaking his shoulder and calling his name. But Ryan wasn't waking up. He had flinched violently when he saw Dean and Sam after hearing Ryan's screaming jumping from their sleep with weapons in their hands.

"Hey kiddo, wake up. Its me, Collin. You are safe. They are not here. Come on, Rye." Collin tried once more and this time he shook Ryan's shoulder with a little more force than earlier when he noticed Dean and Sam standing just behind him. Sometimes he and Ryan have nightmares about their time with their dad and uncle.

They surely would get punished for making a chaos in the middle of the night. Collin thought. They had disturbed the men's sleep. This would not end well.

Ryan woke with a start when he heard his brother calling for him and felt someone shaking his shoulders. He looked around wildly not recognising where he was. But when his eyes fell on his brother , he relaxed slightly.

"Cole , its hurting. Please save me. Please..." Ryan was whimpering and rubbing his back. Collin realised that although Ryan had woken up but his mind wasn't completely here. A part of Ryan was still trapped in whatever horrible dream the kid had.

"Shhh... Its okay. You just had a dream, kiddo. Look around , they are not here. I promise." Collin said. He was feeling like he could cry at any moment too.

"Here Collin, it will help." Sam said handing Collin a glass of cold water. It would fully wake the kid up and bring his mind in the present.

Dean was watching the whole exchange with an aching heart. He remembered the times when Sam used to have nightmares and he would have to struggle to wake his brother up. He would have the pained expression on his face just like Collin. Dean shook his head to try to get rid of the memories and be in the present.

Collin took the glass from Sam and helped his brother to take a sip or two. His hands were shaking a little. And just when the glass was about to fall from his hands , he felt Dean wrapped his hands around him and after making Ryan drink some more water , Dean took the glass gently from him while Sam was rubbing his back. When Collin noticed that finally his brother has woken up he asked ,

"You okay , Rye ?"

"They w-were h-hurting me." Ryan replied in a small voice.

Collin didn't need to ask 'who were they ?' because he knew the answer to that. But Dean and Sam didn't.

"Who were 'they' kiddo ?" Dean asked sitting on the bed. He made sure to keep his voice as gentle as he could. They really needed to know about the kids' past now. If they want to help the kids.

Sam also sat on the bed. He made sure to maintain some distance between himself and Ryan so as not to spook the kid anymore. But he didn't stop rubbing Collin's back when he saw the kid leaning into his touch.

"My d-dad and u-uncle." Ryan said. He was really scared. He was holding Collin's hand in a death grip.

Sam looked at Dean. They had an idea that the boys had an abusive past for which their family must be responsible and it looks like they were right.

"What did you dream about , Ryan ?" Sam asked with his voice completely soft.

Ryan sucked in a breath and looked at his brother. Collin nodded at him. At some point , the Winchesters would have to know about their pasts. And Collin knew the way Ryan screamed , Dean and Sam would need some answers.

"Dad said I was a bad boy and bad boy gets punished. And then he slapped me. U-uncle grabbed my arm , it was hurting but he didn't let go. I promised to be a good boy. But he didn't listen and then dad tore my tshirt and hit me with a belt. My back was hurting real bad. I apologised but he just hit harder. I tried to m-move but uncle was holding me tight while dad was hitting my back with his belt. I called for Collin but he wasn't there. I screamed but they told me to shut up but it hurt and then when I screamed again dad started kicking me." Ryan described his nightmare while sobbing loudly.

Collin gathered his brother in his arms. He was whispering soothingly to Ryan while rocking him a little. It always helps to calm his brother ever since he was a baby.

After listening to Ryan Dean saw red. His nostrils were flaring and he was clenching his fists so tight that his knuckles were white too. He looked at Sam whose jaw was clenched with his back straight.

"You know where are your father and uncle , now ?" Dean asked with a deep growl. He had a trouble identifying the voice that came out of his mouth. He was beyond angry.

Sam looked at Dean. His brother's voice has a dangerous tone in it. He had witnessed his brother using that same voice only a few times in his life. And each time it didn't end well for the person responsible for making Dean this angry. He was furious too. And any other time he would calm his brother down. But not this time. The people who hurt little kids were nothing but monsters and it was their jobs to kill the monsters as hunters , ain't it ? So Sam remained silent. He would give his piece of mind to the bastards too.

Collin looked at Dean in fear. Dean's face was red with anger. There was a small nerve on side of Dean's forehead that looked like it could burst any moment. He swallowed nervously and held his brother a little more tightly. He looked at Sam and was surprised to find that Sam who was usually calm was looking pissed too. He had never seen that look on Sam's face. It increased his heartbeat a little.

"N-no sir. They went to kill a pack of w-werewolves and didn't r-return. We assumed they were dead and s-since then w-we are living on our o-own." Collin replied with his voice shaking badly. No matter how hard he tried to keep it steady.

Sam sighed. He hoped the bastards had died. He didn't think that bad about people but sometimes there are people in the world who don't deserve to live. Those men were lucky if they died due to werewolves. Because if Dean had gotten the hold of them , he couldn't think about what his brother would have done. And he wouldn't have stopped his brother infact he would have asked Dean to spare them enough only so he could go round two on them too.

Dean rubbed his face. He wanted to teach those sons of bitches a lesson himself. He could now put the pieces together in his head. The kids being scared about little things and always looking like they were waiting for punch or a kick from him or Sam. They were being abused by their own family. 'Who does that to his own son or nephew ?' Dean stood up from the bed and made his way to get a beer from the fridge. He really wished he had something strong like whiskey at the moment. But beer would have to do.

Ryan was watching Dean and Sam. He had woken these men in the middle of the night. Now he would get punished because he was a bad boy. Dean was looking really angry. And this time Sam was looking angry too. He flinched when Dean suddenly got up. He looked in fear when he saw Dean drinking. Whenever his father gets drunk , the beatings would start.

"P-please don't hurt me. I didn't mean to wake you up." Ryan said trembling in fear.

"Hey nobody's gonna hurt you. I promise. It wasn't your fault , kiddo. Sometimes me and Dean have nightmares too. Its okay , buddy." Sam said looking at Ryan. Dean would have calmed the kid too but he was so angry at the moment that he couldn't make his mouth work.

"You will not lock me in the dark ?" Ryan asked in a small voice that made him look even younger than his age. If it wasn't the beatings then he ended being locked in dark closets or outside in his father's truck in cold because his father knew he was afraid of dark. Collin also looked at Dean and Sam pleadingly.

"P-please sir. We didn't want to disturb you." Collin said clutching his brother tightly.

Sam's heart broke for the hundredth time ever since they had taken these kids in. And when Dean heard this he wanted to smash the empty beer bottle in his hand but he restrained himself knowing this would definitely not end well. He needed to kill some fuglies to let out some of his anger. He was itching to go on a hunt.

"Nope , kiddo. Nobody is getting locked up either. As long as me and Dean are around , I promise nobody will hurt you and your brother ever." Sam said and this time he looked at Collin too. Ryan had a nightmare so he was pretty scared but Collin wasn't doing much better either.

A knock at the door caught everyone's attention. Dean looked at Sam and Sam nodded. Dean picked up his gun and slowly made his way towards the door. Sam stood with his knife in his hand standing in front of the kids protectively.

Dean looked at Sam and then opened the door only an inch with hiding his gun behind his back ready to attack at any moment. There was a man standing with his arms crossed with an angry frown on his face. Dean recognised the man as the manager of the motel. He knew that this must be about Ryan's screaming. Someone must have heard it and then complained about it. He hid his gun in his waistband. It was Sam's cue to hide his weapon too.

"Some people complained about hearing a scream coming from your room." The man said. Dean could see that the man was getting impatient.

"It was nothing. My kid here had a nightmare." Dean lied easily. It was some skill that comes with hunting. But he couldn't help when he sounded a little pissed off because he was.

The man tried to look behind Dean and Dean rolled his eyes but he did open the door a little wider. Sam came to stand next to his brother.

"Your kid had disturbed not just mine sleep but managed to disturb others' sleep too." The man spat angrily.

Dean took a step forward towards the man or well he tried to but Sam stopped him by grabbing his arm.

"Look man , we're sorry. The kids didn't listen earlier and watched a horror movie and then they had a nightmare." Sam said calmly to placate the man.

"Because of this nightmare of your kid, now I have to run from room to room to tell people there's nothing to worry about. Some stubborn kids watched horror movies and had a nightmare. Fucking stupid kids." The man said and though he had muttered the last part under his breath , it was enough loud that both Dean and Sam heard it.

Dean jerked his arm from Sam and within moments he was standing in front of the man with his hands fisted in the man's collar.

"You care to repeat yourself ?" Dean asked in a low threatening voice. He was just inches away from the man's face.

"Let me go or I will call the cops." The man said trying to free himself from Dean but failing miserably.

"Dean , comeon. Let him go , man." Sam said while trying to place himself between the man and Dean. He was also angry at the man. But the last thing they needed was the cops breathing down their necks. Because if that happened not only they will end behind bars but the kids would be in danger of being sent to foster home too.

Dean looked at the man for a moment and as much as the man tried to maintain eye contact with Dean's unwavering gaze he couldn't. After a few moments Dean finally let the man go. And not only the man but Sam and the kids also heaved a sigh of relief.

"I-I will call the c-cops saying you were attacking me." The man said stammering. He looked really afraid of Dean. Dean had a stern expression on his face with his lips drawn in a thin line.

Collin and Ryan were watching the whole exchange with a frightened expression on their faces. They were huddled together on the bed.

"Its my fault. Look how angry Dean is and Sam is also worried." Ryan whispered to his brother.

"Not your fault." Collin whispered back while dropping a kiss on his little brother's forehead.

"You don't have to, man. My brother just had a long day , you know." Sam said and finally he was able to place himself between his brother and the man.

"Your brother tried to attack me. Why wouldn't I ?" The man said. Sam knew he was presenting a fake bravado but in truth he was really scared of his brother. The expression on Dean's face could have scared monsters.

Sam looked at the man for a moment and then without thinking he went to his bed and picked up his wallet from the side table. He took some money out and handed it to the man. Dean glared at him but he ignored it. They could hustle some more but right now it is important.

"Now we're talking. Okay just make sure that you both leave my place in the morning." The man replied smirking. Dean wanted to punch that face but damn his brother was holding his arm and using his sasquatch power to hold him still.

"Sure , man." Sam replied and watched the man leave and then he closed the door. He knew these men's type. They don't give a damn about anyone as long as they are paid.

"That was a waste of money." Dean grumbled.

"Yeah and what if he had called the cops ?" Sam asked standing in front of his brother with his arms firmly crossed.

"I would have handled it if you would have let me." Dean said or well he half shouted.

"How, by punching the man ? You know if he had called the cops , we would be behind the bars and the kids would be in foster home." Sam said.

Dean didn't say anything because Sam was right and instead he made his way towards the couch.

Sam shook his head and went to lie down on the bed. He looked at the kids watching Dean and him.

"We would be out of here , the first thing in the morning. So just try to sleep. I don't think I would be able to now." Dean said lying on the couch.

"I am sorry. We didn't mean to cause you both any trouble. " Collin said looking at Sam and Dean.

"Please its not my brother's fault. Its mine I shouldn't have screamed. I am sorry." Ryan said with big tears flowing down his face.

"Nobody is blaming you both. It wasn't anyone's fault either. You can't control your dreams , kid." Sam said looking at the kids and Dean continued ,

"Sammy is right. Now why don't you both try to sleep because I would really like to be outta this place the first thing tomorrow. Okay ?" Dean said standing and making his way towards the kids.

"Yes sir." Both the kids replied.

Dean stood for a moment watching the kids and then slowly made his way towards them. Both the kids' breath hitched seeing Dean walking towards them.

Dean noticed the change in the kids breathing and he knew he was the reason but he ignored it. He gently laid his hand on Ryan's head pushing his sweaty hair away from his face.

Ryan flinched a little but he relaxed eventually at Dean's touch when he realised that Dean wasn't hurting him. It felt really good and relaxing.

Dean tucked the blanket around both the kids. And just like Ryan , he laid his hand gently on Collin's head too.

"Good night, kiddos." Dean said and with that he made his way again towards the couch. He was tired of sleeping on it. This motel didn't even have a cot. But he would be leaving this place tomorrow so thats good.

Sam smiled at the kids and his brother and closed his eyes after turning off the bedside lamp. Dean wasn't bad but he just needs to keep his temper in check. He gets really protective of his family. And like him , his brother had begun to consider the kids as a part of their little family.

Collin and Ryan were shocked at the sudden change in Dean's behaviour. He looked ready to kill the man but he behaved really gently with them. The Winchesters were far better than their real family ever was. And maybe they really care and love us. It was the last thought in the kid's minds before they fell asleep.

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It turned out to be a long chapter. I hope you like it. Please review to let me know your views about this story. Because reviews serves to motivate me to write more.

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