A/N: Happy Friday everyone. I thought I'd post this chapter early for your reading pleasure. Enjoy... NC

Chapter 4

Sam flipped a grilled cheese sandwich and finished putting the other one together. He pulled carrot sticks and fruit cup from the fridge to add some to each plate sitting by the stove. He was going to feed Dean healthy food and hoped he would eat it. Sam took one sandwich up and added the other to the frying pan to cook.

"Hey Dean, are you hungry?" Sam asked him when he wandered into the kitchen and stood by the table watching Sam.

"Yes," Dean mumbled, his voice dull and sad.

"It's almost ready, would you like juice or chocolate milk to drink?"

"Chocolate milk."

"Alright, I'll get that fixed and we'll eat." Sam got out the milk and poured some in a glass and got the chocolate syrup from the cabinet. He added some syrup and stirred it before sitting it on the table for Dean, alone with a straw. "Let's get you settled, and I'll get our plates." Sam lifted Dean onto the pillow still in the chair and made sure he was stable before reaching to get their plates. "I hope you like grilled cheese."

Dean looked at his plate and then over at Sam's to see he had the same thing, except for a fruit cup. He had a sliced apple instead. The aroma of the food had Dean's mouthwatering, so he picked up half of his sandwich and took a bite. He let the flavors explode in his mouth and chewed quickly so he could take another bite. Dean sipped the milk between bites and picked up a carrot stick to nibble on. He looked up to see Sam watching him with a pleasing look on his face and slowed his eating wondering why he was staring at him.

"How about we go outside after we eat and play?" Sam asked him sensing his demur change when he saw him watching him. He needed to be careful and not confuse or scare him. "I don't think the storm is going to start until late evening. I've got a Frisbee and Rufus might be interesting in playing with you."

Dean perked up wondering who Rufus was and if he would play with him. He looked down at his plate to see how much was left to eat and went back to eating. When he was finished, Sam took their plates to the sink before taking Dean upstairs to use the bathroom and had him brush his teeth.

"Alright, you stand here and let me call Rufus," Sam told him making Dean stop at the edge of the deck. He took a couple of steps in front of Dean and summoned Rufus. "Hey Rufus!" Sam yelled. "You around? Come on boy!"

It wasn't long before a large Mastiff dog lumbered toward him, his tongue hanging out as he panted. He barked at Sam and then noticed Dean who was standing perfectly still. Rufus growled softly at first as he got closer, until Sam spoke to him.

"Easy boy, this is Dean, he's a friend," Sam told the dog, grabbing his collar and petting him. "You remember him don't you? I know he's a little smaller than the last time you saw him." He led him to Dean who was backing away unsure if the dog wanted to be friends. "It's okay, let him smell you hand. This is Rufus, Dean."

Dean looked up at Sam for a moment and back at the huge dog, not sure he wanted to get any closer. He slowly raised his arm and felt the warm breath of Rufus on his skin and then slobbers as he licked his hand. Dean smiled when he pushed on his hand for him to scratch his head. He petted him and scratched behind his ears making Rufus yip and rub on him, and nearly knock him down. Rufus suddenly dropped to the ground and rolled over onto his back like he was dead. Dean looked up at Sam with a questioning look.

"He wants you to scratch his stomach. That means he likes you," Sam explained smiling as Dean fell to his knees beside the dog and began to scratch him with both hands, giggling at the dog's antics as his back leg began to jerk. "Bobby's got a couple of balls around here somewhere. I'm not sure if Rufus wants to play or not, but we can see." Sam stepped back onto the deck and looked around until he found a plastic bucket with several balls and tug ropes inside. "Here you go, try tossing this ball, and see if he'll bring it back."

Dean took the ball and showed it to Rufus so he could sniff it. He tossed it a short distance away and looked to Rufus who watched him throw the ball but just sat there not offering to get it.

"Go on Rufus, get the ball," Sam encouraged the dog, pointing to where the ball had gone. Rufus looked sideways at Sam like he was telling him if he wanted the ball to get it himself. "Don't make me look dumb in front of the kid," Sam huffed.

"Ball," Dean told Rufus in his child like voice.

Rufus barked at him and trotted off to fetch the ball for Dean. He brought it back to him and dropped it at his feet.

"Show off," Sam chuckled seeing how happy Dean seemed right now. He was happy to see Dean acting like a normal kid and sat down on the steps while Dean played with Rufus. Rufus ran around the yard with the ball in his mouth and Dean chased after him, laughing and calling his name. Since Dean wasn't paying attention to him, Sam snuck and took more pictures of him wanting to remember him like this when he was young and innocent. When Sam thought Dean had run around enough, he headed inside to get him a juice box and was going to have him sit down and rest.

A cry of pain from outside had Sam rushing back into the yard and found Dean on the ground near the crushed vehicles. Rufus was bouncing around him and yipping at him as Dean sobbed out loud.

"Hey, hey, what happened?" Sam asked him as he knelt beside Dean and started checking him for injury. He found blood on one knee and saw the patch of gravel thinking Dean must have fallen on it. "You scrapped your knee. It's not that bad buddy. It'll be okay, why don't we go inside, and I'll clean it and put a band aid on it?"

"Okay," Dean sniffed and hickuped. He let Sam help him up and limped toward the deck and backdoor, not allowing Sam to pick him up.

"Go guard Rufus," Sam told the dog as he followed them toward the house. "Go on now." Rufus barked and lumbered off to patrol the salvage yard.

Sam walked beside Dean and rested a hand on his head, surprised at how mature Dean was being. His tears didn't last long, and he was acting very independent.

"Let's go upstairs and get your knee doctored," Sam told Dean steering him toward the stairs and into the bathroom. "Why don't you sit on the edge of the tub, and I'll wash your knee off and clean it?"

Sam took the shower hose down and turned the water on allowing it to warm, while Dean took off his sneakers and socks. He sat on the edge of the tub and put his legs into it. Sam let the water wash over his thigh and run down his knee and heard Dean hiss in pain. He gave Dean his juice box to drink to distract him while he doctored his knee.

"Sorry buddy, but I need to be sure the scrap is cleaned so it doesn't get infected." Sam took a washcloth and after wetting it, wiped Dean's knee and looked at it to be sure there was no dirt trapped in the scrapes. "Okay, all done. I'll put some cream on it and then a band aid and we'll be done." Sam got the first aid kit from under the sink and took a towel to dry Dean's leg and finished up by putting two band aids over the creamed covered scrapes to protect it. "There, all done. You were very brave. How does it feel?"

"Okay," Dean replied looking down at his knee and bent it carefully before standing up.

"Do you want to lay down and take a nap?" Sam asked thinking he might be tired after playing outside.

Dean turned to frown at him and give him a sour look like he was asking a dumb question.

"Oh, right, you're too old to take naps," Sam surmised. "How about we go downstairs and read a couple of books or see what's on the tube?"

Dean nodded to that and walked slowly down the hall, favoring his hurt leg, but trying not to show it. He took the stairs one at a time, holding onto the banister as he descended them. Sam walked beside him to be sure he didn't trip and let out the breath he was holding when he made it to the bottom without any mishap.

"You wanna pick a book to read?" Sam asked him as he sat down on the couch. He watched Dean look at the books and brought two over to him and sat down beside him, handing him the books. "Okay, you picked a couple of good ones." Sam began to read to Dean, trying to act out the story like Dean used to do when he did the same thing for Sam when they were young.

He was almost through the second book and looked down to see Dean was leaning against him asleep. He put the books aside and eased Dean forward so he could stretch out on the couch and moved Dean to lay him on his chest. Dean grunted and wiggled around, until he settled on Sam's chest with his head snuggled into the nape of his neck and his hands tucked under his chin like he was praying. Sam reached and pulled a light blanket down to cover them before relaxing and listening to Dean's steady, even breathing. He could feel his soft breath on his skin and gently rubbed his back. It wasn't long before Sam was dozing too.

spn

Sam felt something moving on his chest and jerked awake ready to fight until he looked down and saw Dean looking at him with sleepy green eyes.

"Hey sleepy head, you ready to get up?" Sam asked him as Dean rubbed his eyes and yawned. He looked at the time and saw they had slept about an hour. He was glad they hadn't slept any longer thinking they wouldn't sleep tonight. He sat up and slid Dean down beside him as he stretched and rolled his shoulders.

It wasn't time to start dinner and Sam was wondering what to do with Dean now. He was discovering it was harder to entertain a five-year-old than he thought. "Why don't we see what's on television? Maybe we can find some cartoons or a western movie to watch." Sam got up and turned on the old television Bobby had. He flipped through the channels until finding something that might interest Dean and left it there. Bobby's phone in his office started ringing and Sam looked that way. "You stay here and watch television while I go see who that is."

Sam hurried into the office and grabbed the phone as he sat down in Bobby's chair.

"Singer Salvage," Sam answered the phone. "No Bobby's not here right now…Sure what have you got?...Okay and what else did you find?...Give me your number to call you back and I'll research this for you…No problem…Bye…" Sam hung up as he scribbled on a scrap of paper. He looked around at the books on the shelves trying to find the ones he needed. He pulled several from the shelves and started looking through them to do some research for another hunter. He saw Dean get up and watched thinking he was going to the bathroom when he headed toward the half bath down the hall. Sam continued to do his research while he watched seeing Dean come back and settle on the couch to watch the television.

It took Sam a couple of hours to finish the research and get it back to the hunter. He made the call to relay what he had found so the hunter could finish his case. With that done, Sam went back into the living room to find Dean rolling around the matchbox cars while he watched television. Sam looked out the window to see it had started raining outside and had gotten darker outside. A loud clap of thunder echoed around outside, and a streak of lightening brightened the outside world for a moment. Dean jumped and looked toward the window wide eyed.

"It's okay Dean, it's just a storm coming through," Sam assured him when he saw Dean hunch over and tremble when another loud clap of thunder shook the house.

"Rufus?" Dean's shaky voice asked.

"Rufus is fine. Bobby built him a nice weatherproof doghouse beside one of the buildings, so he's staying dry." He stepped to the couch and sat down beside him so he could put an arm around Dean and hold him close. "I'm right here, it'll pass soon. The storm's not going to hurt you. That's just Mother Nature showing her power."

Dean leaned into his side, wanting to get closer as he closed his eyes when the next streak of lightening hit nearby, throwing a blinding light into the living room for a moment.

"Man, that was close," Sam noted as the television signal was lost. "So much for tv." He leaned back and pulled Dean into his lap to cuddle with him as the storm raged outside. This brought back memories of when Dean would let him sleep with him if there was a bad storm outside the shabby, cheap motel rooms their Dad had left them when he hunted or would sit with him and read to take his mind off what was happening outside.

Dean trembled every time the thunder rattled and shook the house. He buried his face into Sam's shirt and fisted the material tightly in his hands. He felt safe and protected in Sam's strong arms, accepting the comfort he was being given. He just knew Sam would keep him safe from any harm.

A/N: Sam is enjoying his time with Dean and is seeing he seems to have accepted him. I hope you are enjoying the read. I do like reviews/comments. NC