Raising Winchesters

Chapter 15

John didn't return to the small cabin until the next night. By that time, Dean was physically and emotionally exhausted, still feverish, and had very little energy left in his small body. Sam seemed to understand that his brother was really sick and had done his best to not be too demanding. And he did everything he could to take care of his big brother.

Sam walked with Dean through the small cabin, checking the salt lines at the windows and doors. He covered Dean with a worn blanket when he fell asleep on the old couch. He even made lunch for himself when Dean fell asleep and slept for hours.

Dean was surprised when he woke up to find Sam sitting at the end of the small couch, munching on a very messy peanut butter and jelly sandwich while he played with some of his toy cars. The kid had globs of jelly dripping down his chin and some resting on the front of his shirt. Dean wondered just how long he had been asleep.

Looking out the window, he thought it looked like it was probably late afternoon. He had no idea how long he'd been asleep, but he knew it had been at least a few hours. Unfortunately, he still felt exhausted. And sick.

But, looking at Sammy made him laugh. "Sam, what are you doing?" he asked with a laugh.

"Nothin'," Sam answered with his mouth full. Dean noticed several clumps of bread falling out of his mouth. "I'm just playin'."

"Did you make your own sandwich?" he asked.

"Yeah, and I made one for you, too, Dean. Do you want it?"

Dean still wasn't very hungry, but he knew that Sam really wanted him to eat the sandwich he'd made. Figuring that he could at least take a few bites, he told Sam that he did indeed want the sandwich. Seconds later, he was pulling himself up into a sitting position and settling into the corner of the couch. Sam brought the sandwich to him and Dean couldn't help but laugh again. "That thing's huge, Sam. Did you use up all the peanut butter?"

"You like peanut butter!" Sam said. "So I gave you a lot!"

"Thanks, Sammy." Dean took a small bite out of the sandwich, nearly choking on it when he tried to swallow it through his swollen throat.

"Do you like it?" Sammy asked, watching closely as Dean took another bite.

"It's great, Sammy. Thanks."

"Do you wanna play a game, Dean? Or we could go outside and play."

Dean was surprised that Sam had already forgotten about the creatures that had been lurking outside. "We can't go outside, remember? Dad wants us to stay inside."

"But it's boring inside," Sam whined.

"We have to stay inside, okay? But maybe we can find something fun to do in here."

"There's nothin' fun to do in here. There's not even a TV, Dean."

"We don't need a TV to have fun. I've got lots of ideas."

"Really? Like what?"

"How about I Spy?" Dean asked.

"We always play that," Sam moaned. "And there's nothin' around here to spy anyway."

"Okay, how about Hide and Seek?"

"There aren't any good places to hide, Dean."

"Well, what if we play Lava Monster? Remember that game?"

"Yeah! That was fun!" Sam jumped up and down in excitement, sending the globs of jelly on his shirt cascading to the floor. Dean was surprised when his face fell, though. "But, we can't play that, Dean. Remember what happened last time we played Lava Monster? Dad said he'd smack us harder than ever if he ever caught us playing it again!"

Dean shuddered at the memory of the spankings their dad had given them that day. It had been mostly Sam's fault, because Dean had tried to get his little brother to calm down a little bit while they were playing. Instead, the kid had just jumped from couch to sofa even faster as he tried to avoid the lava monster. Eventually, one of his jumps caused him to come crashing down on a table, which knocked over a burning candle. Dean could remember rushing to try to put out the flames that had started the second the toppled candle landed on the living room drapes. But, he wasn't fast enough and within seconds the flames had moved up the oily walls of the apartment. Dean remembered rushing to get Sam out of the apartment before the whole place went up in flames. Luckily, their nearest neighbor, an older woman who was keeping an eye on them while John was at work, happened to be unlocking the door to her apartment when Dean opened their door. He immediately started yelling at her to call the fire department, which she did.

The fire department was quick to respond, so their apartment was the only one that sustained any real damage. Mrs. Nolan kept the boys at her side while she tried to call their father and John showed up almost six hours later, utterly relieved to see both of his boys safe and sound. Mere minutes later, though, he was exploding in anger when he found out what had caused the fire.

Dean knew they weren't supposed to light the candles unless the electricity was out, but he had thought the flickering candle light would add some excitement to the Lava Monster game. He didn't think about the fact that they could start a fire. He didn't think about how dangerous it was to have an open flame so close to furniture and drapes.

John didn't waste any time at all in making sure his boys wouldn't ever do something so stupid again. Dean, of course, got the worst of it, since he was the oldest and was the one in charge. John lectured him for what seemed like hours and hours before taking him over his knee for a sound spanking. Sam was next and Dean cried even more as he listened to his little brother being punished. All in all, it was an awful day and John had made it perfectly clear that they were never to play Lava Monster again.

Of course, Dean knew now that his dad's anger had been more about the candles than the actual game itself, but he wasn't sure if he wanted to tempt fate.

"Okay, no Lava Monster, either. I can't really think of anything else to do, Sam," he finally admitted.

Sam plopped back down on the couch in frustration. Dean nearly laughed out loud at the sight of the kid sitting with his arms crossed over his chest, hair falling into his eyes, and mouth turned downward into an impressive pout. He felt bad for Sam, though, knowing how bored he really was.

"Hey, I know," Dean finally said. "How about we play the story game? Remember that one, Sammy? I start the story with a sentence and then you add another sentence? And we just keep on going, remember?" He was relieved to see Sam's face light up with that idea.

"Yeah! Can I start it, Dean? Please?"

"Sure, Sammy."

He watched as Sam thought for several long minutes, his face scrunched up and his forehead furrowed. Eventually, Sam looked up at his brother in defeat.

"I can't think of anything, Dean."

"It's okay, Sam. How about if I start?" Sam didn't look completely happy with that, but he didn't argue. Instead, he sat back against the couch and pulled his knees to his chest. Dean thought for a few seconds before starting his story. "Once upon a time, there were two sisters named Pam and Jean….."

Sam giggled at the start of the story, but then his face turned serious as he thought about what came next. "They lived in a big mansion with their mommy and daddy," he finally said.

Dean paused again, not missing the wistfulness in his brother's voice. "Yes, they lived in a big mansion with their mom and dad. On the pinkest beach you could ever imagine."

"A pink beach? How can a beach be pink, Dean?"

"A beach can be any color you want it to be when you're telling a story, Sammy." Dean's voice cracked halfway through his sentence and by the end he was coughing harshly.

Sam waited for him to stop coughing before he took his turn with the story. "The big mansion had a hundred bedrooms, two hundred bathrooms, and a giant swimming pool right in the middle."

"Well, they had to have a giant swimming pool for their pet whale, right?" Dean added with a laugh.

"Yeah," Sam yelled as he jumped off the couch in excitement. "They had a pet whale named Norton! And Norton was afraid of water."

"Norton the whale was afraid of water?"

"Yeah, he didn't know how to swim and he needed help. He wasn't brave like you, Dean."

"So, how did Pam and Jean help Norton?"

Dean laughed at the serious look on Sam's face as he tried to figure out how to help Norton.

"Maybe they just took him out of the water?" Sam said uncertainly.

"But Norton's a whale, Sam. He has to have water to live, remember?"

"But I don't know how to save him, Dean," Sam said.

Dean could hear the sadness in his little brother's voice and knew he needed to steer the story in a happier direction. "Good thing big sister Jean had an idea, right? She knew that Norton was afraid of the water and couldn't swim, so she made big, huge fin floaties to put on him. Like the ones Uncle Bobby gave you last year, remember?"

Sam smiled at the memory. "Those were so cool," he said excitedly. "Remember how I swam all the way across the pool with those, Dean?"

Dean started coughing before he could answer. After almost a full minute of coughing, he finally stopped. "Yeah, Sammy, you almost beat me."

Sam frowned at that. "I never beat you in anything, Dean."

"Sure you do. Remember when we had a race to see who could eat the crackers the fastest? You beat me good at that. And remember when Dad timed us on that obstacle course he made at Uncle Bobby's? You beat me on that, too."

"Only because you fell off the log and had to start over again."

"It doesn't matter, Sam. You still beat me."

Sam smiled at Dean's words. "You were so mad about that, remember? Because Dad said whoever lost had to do the other person's chores for two weeks."

"That sucked," Dean laughed just before going into another coughing fit.

"Is it time for your medicine, Dean? I can get it for you."

"Thanks, Sam. That would be great," he answered, in between coughs. Once he stopped coughing, he settled back into the arm of the couch as Sam went into the kitchen and grabbed his medicine. Once he had taken it, he leaned back and closed his eyes.

"Dean, you can't go to sleep. We're not done with our story yet."

Dean opened his eyes and looked at his brother. "C'mon, Sammy. I just need to rest for a little while, okay? We'll finish the story later."

"But, what am I gonna do while you're sleeping? It's boring here."

"Play with your cars, okay? Just for a while. When I wake up, I'll do whatever you want." Dean could feel sleep pulling at him and he wondered if maybe he'd taken too much of the medication. He knew Sam was upset, but he just needed to sleep for a short time. When Sam didn't argue with him, he allowed his eyes to close again and just seconds later he was asleep.

Dean woke up to a feeling of complete confusion. His eyes seemed to be glued shut, so as he tried to pry them open, he tried to remember what was going on. Where was he? Where was Sam and Dad? What time was it?

It took almost thirty seconds before his eyes finally opened and stayed open. In that time, he remembered that they were in a cabin in the middle of nowhere and that their dad was off hunting some strange creature. He felt relieved to know what was going on, but seconds later, that relief turned to terror when he realized that his brother wasn't in the room.

Pulling himself to his feet, he looked around frantically as he called out for Sam. "Sammy! Sam! Where are you?!"

When he didn't get a response, he felt like he was going to throw up. He ran through the hallway, checking both bedrooms and the bathroom for his brother, but Sam was nowhere to be found. With a pit in his stomach and a sinking heart, he ran back out to the living room and checked the door. The pit in his stomach grew massive when he realized that the salt lines had been disturbed and the door was no longer locked.

Dean didn't think he'd ever felt such fear before and he didn't know what to do. The last thing he wanted to do was go outside, but he knew he didn't have a choice. His brother was out there. Along with whatever it was that had been on the porch and the roof before. Without another thought, he grabbed the gun that had been sitting on the coffee table and stepped over to the door. He didn't even realize that he didn't have shoes on until he had already stepped out onto the porch. And by that time, he was too committed to his decision to go after Sam to even consider going back in for his shoes.

Once he was on the porch, he quickly realized that it was almost nighttime. He thought his dad called it dusk, but he wasn't really sure what that meant. Whatever it was called, the sun was already set and the area around the house was filled with shadows. He looked around the small yard and towards the trees that bordered the cabin, but he didn't see any sign of Sam.

What he did see, though, was the Impala. He was surprised to see it parked off to the side of the cabin and wondered if that meant his dad was somewhere close by. He knew the man would be furious at both of them for leaving the cabin, but Dean didn't care. He had to find Sammy.

Dean surveyed the shadows as much as he could and was relieved when he didn't see anything moving. Turning his eyes back to the Impala, he started to make his way there. He had only taken three steps, though, when he saw something move inside the car. He froze instantly in his tracks and focused his eyes on the back seat of the car where he thought he saw the movement. The car was particularly shadowed thanks to a large tree next to it, but Dean could still see something moving around.

Holding the gun out in front of him and willing his hands to stop shaking, Dean stepped closer to the car. He had taken another five or six steps and was halfway there when he heard a noise coming from behind him. Wishing that he'd grabbed a flashlight before leaving the cabin, he turned and inspected the porch and the other side of the yard. When he didn't see anything or hear anything else, he turned back to the car and took a few more steps. He was only about thirty feet away from the Impala when several things happened at once.

The motion in the backseat of the Impala drew his attention again and he was relieved to see the shadowed face of his brother looking at him. It took him a few seconds to realize that Sam had a panicked look on his face. It also took him a few seconds to realize that something was moving behind him, too. Without thinking, Dean turned back around, bringing the gun up in front of him in one fluid motion. At the same time, he was taking steps backwards, trying to make his way to the car without falling down. He was just two steps away from the car when he heard a loud growl and saw the shadow hurdling towards him.

Everything seemed to slow down and Dean was surprised to hear the crack of a gun going off. He was even more surprised to find that he was the one that actually shot the gun. Without taking the time to see if he had actually shot whatever it was that was coming at him, he took the last two steps to the car, pulled the door open, and threw himself into the back seat. As soon as the door was shut behind him, he locked it and peered out of the window.

"What was that?!" Sam cried as he grabbed onto the back of his brother's shirt.

Dean didn't answer right away. Instead, he checked all the doors to make sure they were locked and then turned back to look out the window again. He could see the shape of something laying in the shadow of the cabin's porch and he was relieved to see that it wasn't moving. He couldn't tell if it was breathing, though, no matter how hard he looked.

He looked around the cabin, searching for any other signs of movement, but he didn't see anything. Finally, he turned back to his brother. "Are you okay?" he asked Sam as he looked him over closely.

Sam was fully crying by that time and could barely answer his brother. Eventually, he was able to say that he was okay.

"What are you doing out here, Sam?" Dean finally asked.

Sam ducked his head before burying his face in Dean's shirt. "I-I wanted m-my coloring b-book and I remembered that I left it in here," he stuttered.

"Sammy, you weren't supposed to leave the cabin! You knew that!"

"I know," Sam cried. "I w-was b-bored, Dean. And you were sleeping."

Dean was still too freaked out to really deal with what Sam was saying, so he turned his attention back to the cabin and the area around it. He wondered if they should try to get back to the house, since they didn't have any salt lines to protect them, but then he realized what a crazy idea it would be to leave. At least they could lock themselves in inside the Impala.

Dean settled his back against the seat, but kept his head turned to look out the window. Sam was talking a mile a minute and the only thing Dean could make out was the repeated question of "what was that thing?" And he had no idea what it was. He really hadn't been able to get a good look at it.

He was making another sweep of the area with his eyes and praying at the same time that his dad would show up soon, when he saw it. In the deepest shadow by the far corner of the cabin, Dean saw an ink black shape start to coalesce. The clouds shifted just a little, allowing the moonlight to emerge slightly, and Dean was able to make out the shape of a large animal of some sort. He could feel the hair on his arms and neck stick up when the creature stopped next to the other creature that he'd shot, sniffed around it a few times, and then lifted his head to look directly at the car.

Dean didn't know how he knew, because it was still so dark, but he could tell that the creature was looking right at him. And it was really angry.

Author's note: I feel like maybe I should go hide somewhere after leaving you all with another cliffhanger. I'm just envisioning a mob of people coming for me with pitchforks and axes, lol.

Anyway, I don't mean to be cruel, but it's almost five in the morning and I need to go to bed. I really hope you enjoy this chapter and I'd really, really love to hear your thoughts on it.

Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. You all are amazing.