A/N: Happy Wednesday everyone. As a treat I am posting this chapter early. NC

Chapter 11

Sam woke the next morning when he heard Bobby moving around the room and sat up on the side of the bed to let his mind catch up with his body. He was still tired from the manual work they had done the day before with cleaning out the storage unit.

"Hey Bobby," Sam nodded to him as Bobby packed his bag.

"Didn't mean to wake you son," Bobby replied.

"That's okay. I want to get started on the rest of the stuff in the unit. The sooner we can get it packed, the sooner we can head home."

"They've got a continental breakfast at the office. I figured we'd hit that before checking out."

"Yeah, that sounds good." Sam stretched when he stood and rolled his shoulders before grabbing clothes from his bag and heading to the bathroom. When he was finished, Sam stepped out and packed his bag so they could go eat and then head back to the storage unit.

Bobby and Sam dropped their bags in the truck and headed for the office to partake in the continental breakfast available. Once they were done, they headed back to the storage facility and to the unit to finish emptying it. Sam parked by the unit and got out to open the doors to the unit and truck.

"Alright, make sure you put on your gloves Sam, don't need you regressing to a kid too," Bobby warned him as he pulled on his own gloves.

"I will Bobby," Sam assured him. He looked in the cab of the trunk and got them out before going back into the storage unit. "Okay, Dean was over here at this shelf when he tripped a trap Dad set, but luckily it didn't go off and Dean disarmed it."

"Then we check the things on the shelves as we pack them. You just be careful how you handle them."

"Alright, I'll get the boxes and packing blankets." Sam picked up the collapsed boxes and took them into the unit.

"Here's the tape for the boxes," Bobby said. "You make the box up and I'll start taking the curse boxes down."

"Okay, should we cushion each one or are they okay to stack in the boxes?"

"I'll look at them and decide." Bobby took down the first box and checked it out being sure it was securely fastened and handed it to Sam for the box. He went to the next one doing the same and continued along the first shelf, letting Sam know if he needed to wrap the box or not.

Bobby was on the second shelf and halfway through it when he found a box that had the lock snapped from it. He opened it to find it empty.

"Sam, does this look familiar?" Bobby asked him holding out the small box.

"Nope, why?"

"The lock's broken and whatever was in it is gone."

"Can you tell what's missing?"

"Well, from the foam lining, it's something small, round, and thin."

"I didn't see Dean with anything, but that doesn't mean he didn't pick whatever it was up. He probably didn't know it came from a curse box. Dean maybe thought it was just dropped. I bet he stuck it in his pocket and never thought anything else about it."

"Let's get the rest of these things loaded and these other boxes so we can head home. I'll keep looking for the object, but I think you may be right and that's what did this to him."

"Okay, but if you don't find it, hopefully it's at the salvage yard." Sam made up two more boxes for the remaining curse boxes glad to get them packed and put in the truck. He knew Bobby had some in a building at the salvage yard and wondered if they could destroy the contents.

"Well, look at this," Bobby commented an hour later.

"What did you find?"

"John kept a record of the cursed objects he found and stored here," Bobby told him holding up a binder.

"Great! Hopefully that will tell us what was in the box and then we can figure out how to get Dean back," Sam replied looking over his shoulder at the book.

"If we can't figure this out, we can contact Missouri and see if she can help us."

"Good idea. How is she doing? We've not seen her in a while."

"She was okay last time I talked to her. She gave me an ear full about not staying in touch with her," Bobby chuckled to himself. "She's one feisty woman."

"That she is. Missouri knows her stuff when it comes to supernatural things. If anyone can help us, it's her."

"Let's get back at it. I figure we should be done after lunch."

"Alright." Sam sighed as he wiped his sweaty face. He would be glad to get home and get a shower. This was a back breaking job and then he thought about having to unload the truck the next day and groaned in misery. He was going to need a week to recuperate from this. He was just glad Bobby had a building they could store all this stuff so they could take their time going through it.

Bobby and Sam worked steadily for the next several hours until the storage unit was empty. Sam stood in the middle of the room and slowly turned three-sixty circle to be sure nothing was left behind. He stretched his tired back and stepped out pulling the door down after him. They had not stopped for lunch this time and he was getting hungry.

"That's it Bobby, we're done with this part of it," Sam told him as he climbed into the cab of the truck. "Stop at the office and I'll go in and turn the unit in."

"Alright. Be sure they give you part of your money back since you didn't use it all month," Bobby instructed him.

"Yeah, got it." Sam waited until Bobby stopped at the office and went inside. He did the paperwork and got a partial refund of the money they had paid. Sam came back out and settled in the passenger seat. "My treat for a late lunch," Sam offered holding up the money.

"Sounds good to me. We can get it to go and eat on the road."

"Fine with me and I need to make a phone call." Sam pulled his cell out and pulled up Jody's number to call. He listened to it ring several times before it was finally answered.

"Hello," Jody greeted him.

"Hey Jody, It's Sam, how are thing going? Has Dean been good?" Sam asked her.

"Fine worry wart, just like I said it would be. I have a wiggly brother who wants to talk to you."

"Are you coming home?" Dean asked quickly.

"Do I not even get a hello?" Sam laughed. "And yes, we are on our way home as soon as we stop for some food."

"I've missed you, but I had fun with Jody. We blew bubbles and Rufus ate them," Dean giggled.

"It sounds like you are having a good time. You can tell me all about it tomorrow when we get home. Now go on to bed tonight 'cause it'll be late when we get in. It's going to take us a little longer since the truck is loaded."

"Okay," Dean pouted, disappointed. "We're almost finished with the book."

"Great, that means we can start another one. I'll see you soon, now let me talk to Jody again."

"Okay, bye. Here's Jody," Dean said.

"With the truck loaded, it's going to take longer getting back."

"That's fine Sam. We'll be okay.. Dean's taking good care of me."

"I'm sure he is," Sam laughed knowing how Dean could be. "We'll see you later tonight."

"Alright Sam, be careful out there. Bye."

"Sounds like Dean's anxious for us to get home," Bobby commented.

"Yes, he is, but he's also having a great time with Jody."

"Did you think it would be otherwise? Jody is good with kids."

"Yeah, she's good with big kids too."

"I'll let you go in and get our food since I don't think the truck will fit through the drive thru," Bobby told him as he signaled to turn into a fast-food parking lot.

"No problem. Do you want the usual?" Sam asked.

"That's fine with me."

"I'll be back in a few." Sam got out and headed for the front entrance, going in to order their food. The place wasn't busy since it was midafternoon, so he didn't have to wait long to get the food. Being careful not to drop anything, Sam made his way back to the truck and handed Bobby the drinks before getting in.

"Let me eat my sandwich before we get back on the road. The rest I can deal with while driving," Bobby told him as he pulled his sandwich out to start eating.

"Alright, fine with me," Sam nodded getting his own sandwich out to start on.

spn

Jody looked to the door when she heard noises outside before it opened, and Bobby and Sam walked in. She smiled and shushed them because Dean was asleep on the couch beside her. He refused to go to bed until Sam got home and Jody decided not to fight it. She knew the strong bond between the brothers and knew how stubborn both brothers were.

"Hey," Sam whispered looking down at his sleeping brother.

"He wouldn't go to bed, determined to be up when you got home," Jody spoke quietly as he brushed Dean's hair back.

"I'll take him," Sam nodded. He reached down and picked Dean up, cuddling him in his arms. "Hey Buddy, you're supposed to be in bed," Sam cooed to Dean as he grunted and opened his eyes in slits.

"Yo're home," Dean mumbled snuggling into Sam's neck.

"I am, and you need to go to bed."

"I saved you pie," Dean yawned before settling back down and closing his eyes.

"Thanks for making a huge sacrifice Buddy," Sam replied as he headed for the stairs to take him to bed. He carried Dean to their bedroom and pulled the covers back on the bed by the window, to tuck Dean under them. Once he settled back down, Sam went back downstairs to tell Jody goodbye.

"I was telling Bobby, anytime you need a sitter while Dean is like this, you call me," Jody told Sam as he stepped to her side.

"Thanks for doing this, Jody," Sam told her giving her a hug.

"I'll send you some photos I took of Dean. I think you'll love them. He loved chasing bubbles with Rufus."

"Do that, I'm trying to document all this for Dean to see when he's back to normal. I don't know how much he's going to remember, and I want to have photos to show him."

"Do you have any clues about what happened?"

"Yeah," Bobby said. "We found a curse box that was empty, but don't know what was in there."

"We think Dean may have picked it up and stuck it in his pocket."

"I washed your clothes and everything in your pockets are on the dressers upstairs," Jody informed them.

"Gee Jody, you didn't have to do that but thanks."

"It was no trouble, it gave me something to do, besides running after Dean. I gotta say he's a sly and sneaky one. He disappeared after lunch and about gave me a heart attack."

"Let me guess, Dean went to visit Rufus and was in his doghouse," Sam laughed.

"So, it happened to you too. Yep, he was in there playing with Rufus, happy as could be."

"That sounds like Dean."

"Well, guys, I'm going to head out. I've got an early day tomorrow. I'll be seeing you around."

"Thanks again Jody and come back anytime to see Dean."

"You let me know if I can do anything to help with this matter with Dean."

"We will Jody," Bobby assured her. "I'm hoping it's going to be something simple."

"Me too. I'm going to leave the games and building blocks for Dean to play with until he's back to normal. Good night, guys, I'll be seeing you around."

"Thanks Jody, that'll help keep him entertained," Sam told her.

"Let me walk you out," Bobby offered, leading her to the front door.

"Night Jody," Sam called before heading to the kitchen for a bottle of water. He had driven the last half of the trip back and was tired and stiff from sitting for so long. He saw the pie pan sitting on the counter with half the pie left. Taking a fork from the dish strainer, Sam pulled the plastic loose and took a bite, nodding when he liked the taste. Dean and Jody did do a good job making the pie. "I'm heading on to bed Bobby," Sam told him when he stepped into the living room.

"Me too son, it's been a long day and it's going to be a long one tomorrow," Bobby replied, taking his ball cap off and rubbing a hand through his hair.

"See you in the morning." Sam went back upstairs and used the bathroom first before walking across the hall to the bedroom. He stripped down to briefs and T-shirt before crawling into Dean's old bed by the bedroom door and settled down. It was still strange to sleep in this bed since Dean had always taken it to protect Sam, but now it was Sam's turn to protect Dean. Sam shut his mind down as he listened to his brother's soft snores in the bed across from him.

A/N: Sam and Bobby are back and found the empty curse box. Now to find what was in it. Jody had a great time with Dean. Thanks for coming on this journey with me. Reviews/Comments would be great. NC