Chapter 12

Sam slowly came awake the next morning and felt eyes on him. He opened his eyes to see Dean sitting on the bed staring at him, waiting for him to wake.

"Hey Buddy," Sam yawned only to have Dean throw himself at Sam and hug him tightly. "Okay, what's this about?" Sam questioned mildly surprised.

"I missed you," Dean mumbled into Sam's shirt as he pinned him to the bed.

"I missed you too," Sam told him hugging him back. He let Dean lay on him for a few minutes, enjoying the moment before speaking again. "Guess we should get up, Uncle Bobby and I have to unload the truck and get it back to the rental place. You want to let me up?"

"Okay, I can help," Dean told him as he sat back up beside Sam.

"Most of the things are too heavy for you to carry, but I'll find something for you to do," Sam told him. "Have you been to the bathroom yet?"

"Yes."

"Why don't you change clothes while I use it and when I get dressed, we'll go have some breakfast."

"Okay." Dean slid off the bed and went to the dresser to pull out the drawer that had his clothes in it. He pulled out clean clothes and got dressed for the day. He put his pajamas under his pillow and did his best at making the bed.

"Good job Dean," Sam praised him when stepped back into the room and saw what he was doing. "It won't take me but a minute to get changed and we'll head downstairs."

"Okay. I can make your bed too," Dean told him before moving to the other bed and worked on getting the covers pulled up and straightened.

After Sam got dressed, they went downstairs to have breakfast. Dean grabbed Sam's hand and pulled him in front of the couch.

"Look what I made," Dean showed him pointing to the structure that was still there. "I left it so you could see it."

"Wow, that's great Dean. You did an excellent job with building it." Sam squatted down to examine the structure more closely, looking at how Dean had used the colors in it.

"Jody brought the blocks for me to play with."

"Yeah, she told me, and she was leaving them and the games so you could continue to play with them."

"Yeah! Will you play games with me?"

"I will but I don't think I'll have time today. Come on, what do you want for breakfast?"

"Can I have Cheerio's?"

"Yeah, that's fine."

They found Bobby sitting at the table drinking coffee and looking at the paper.

"Uncle Bobby, I'm having Cheerio's for breakfast."

"That's good son," Bobby replied.

"Have you eaten Bobby?" Sam asked him as he got two bowls out along with the cereal, milk, and a banana.

"I have. I figured we'd need to get an early start today on unloading the truck."

"Yeah, my thoughts exactly." Sam poured cereal into two bowls and put milk on it. "Dean do you want some banana on your cereal?"

"Yes, please," Dean replied.

Sam cut the banana over both bowls before pushing a bowl in front of Dean. "Eat up Buddy."

"Alright," Dean relied picking up a spoon to start eating, stuffing his mouth and chomping on it.

Sam shook his head as milk dripped down his chin. It seemed his brother's table manners were not any better as a kid than as an adult. He took a bite of his own cereal and chewed slowly.

When they were done eating, Bobby went to move the truck to the storage building and Sam took Dean out the backdoor and led him around that way to the building. They stood back as Bobby pulled up and got the back of the truck even with the door of the building to make it easier to unload.

"Dean, you need to stay out of the way while we unload the truck. Why don't you play with Rufus and keep him out of the way?"

"Okay," Dean replied when Rufus came trotting over and began to sniff the truck and snort at it. "Rufus, c'mon," Dean called to him, patting his leg to get his attention. "Let's play, boy." Dean jogged down the road with Rufus on his heels.

"Don't go far," Sam called to Dean as he watched him find a stick to throw for Rufus.

"Alright, let's sweep out the right side of the building and we can put all your Daddy's stuff in there."

"Great. If there's anything you can use, we'll set the stuff aside," Sam offered.

"I did see a couple of things that I could use," Bobby replied as he opened the building door and propped it open.

They went inside and started cleaning the side that they were going to use. Once that was done, Sam opened the truck back and pulled out the ramp to allow them access. He grabbed the hand truck and stacked four boxes on it before wheeling them out and into the building.

"We should check the curse boxes against Dad's list to see if any are missing and what they are," Sam suggested.

"Good idea and we can find out what is missing from that empty box we found."

"Bobby, can we destroy any of these things safely? Or do they have to be stored forever?"

"I have a friend in town who works at a crematorium that I helped out a while back with some ghosts, who will burn them for me. That's really the only way to be sure they are safely disposed of. The furnace burns hot enough to eliminate all traces of cursed objects."

"Okay, you think we could maybe do that to some of these boxes. The fewer cursed objects out there, the less likely them falling into the wrong hands."

"We can do that. You wanna set the boxes that have them to one side to go through after getting the truck unloaded? Remember Sam, it doesn't all have to be done in one day."

"I know, I guess I'm just anxious to help Dean. I put the empty box to the side over there so we wouldn't have to search for it. At least maybe we can figure out what was in there."

"Well, we're burning daylight, let's get this done."

"Right," Sam nodded rolling the hand truck back up the ramp. He moved quickly and efficiently pulled stacked boxes from the truck while Bobby sorted them in the building. "Dean!" Sam yelled when he realized he hadn't seen his brother in the past hour. "Dean!" he yelled again walking down the road.

"What?" Dean asked as his head popped up from behind a crushed vehicle.

"Hey, don't play in there, you could hurt yourself," Dean chastised him in a stern voice. "Why don't you stay out here where I can see you?"

"Can I get Rufus' ball so we can play?"

"Yes, but go around through there," Sam told him pointing to the path by the crushed vehicles that led to the backyard.

"Okay," Dean shrugged loping to the path and disappearing down it. It wasn't long before he reappeared with the ball and called to Rufus so they could play.

"Don't get into anything," Sam called to him as he watched the two play for a moment before heading back into the building to help Bobby sort what had been unloaded so far. He wanted to get it in some sort of order to make it easier to go through later.

spn

"Sam," Dean called from the doorway of the building as he looked around inside.

"What Dean?" Sam asked looking up from his task to see what he wanted.

"I'm hungry and thirsty," he told him in a huff. "Can we eat?"

Sam looked at his watch and didn't realize how late it was and that it was after lunchtime.

"Sorry about that, Dean," Sam apologized. "Bobby, let's take a break and get some lunch."

"Sounds good to me son, I could use a short break," Bobby agreed stretching his back and grunting.

"We're over halfway done, I figure it won't take us too much longer to get the rest unloaded and then we can return the truck to the rental agency."

"Sam…!" Dean whined thinking he was being ignored. "Hungry!"

"I hear you Dean, let's go feed that tummy of yours."

"Can I have a hamburger?" Dean asked as he grabbed Sam's hand and hopped along with him.

"Sure, and I'm sure you want cheese on top of it."

"Yep, and mustard and pickles."

"You got it Buddy. Hamburgers Bobby, does that sound okay to you?"

"That's fine Sam. While you get lunch, I'm going to check my answering machine and emails."

"Alright. Dean, go wash up really good after playing with Rufus," Sam told Dean giving him a quick once over. "You might better change your shirt too," he told him seeing how dirty it was.

"Okay," Dean replied going into the living room and heading for the stairs to go change and wash up.

"How does he get so dirty?" Sam asked Bobby as he washed his hands and moved so he could do the same.

"He's a kid, Sam. That's what kids do. I remember you liked to play in the mud when you were little, and you couldn't stand it when your hands got dirty. You didn't care about your clothes, but your hands, that was another story. You'd pitch a fit until they were washed."

"Really?" Sam asked. He tried to think about his childhood and those times, but the memories weren't there.

"Yes, really. I'll be in the office if you need me."

"I'll get the hamburgers made and on cooking and put some fries in the oven to bake."

Sam went to the fridge to get the meat and the other things he needed to fix lunch. He busied himself with making the meal and scooted around Dean as he went to the fridge for a juice box. When the food was ready, he called to Bobby to come and eat and got Dean settled in his chair. They ate and rested before heading back out to finish unloading the truck.

Sam and Bobby moved the shelves, workbenches, filing cabinets, desk, and miscellaneous items into the building finally emptying the truck. Sam did a quick look inside to be sure nothing was left before stowing the hand truck and closing the back.

"Come on Dean, you get to come with us to return the truck and pick Bobby's car up," Sam told him as he ran by the truck being chased by Rufus.

"Yea! I get to go!" Dean cried out hurrying to Sam so he could help him into the cab of the truck.

"I'll go get my wallet and give Jody a call that we're heading her way," Bobby told him.

"Alright, I'll pull the truck to the front of the house and wait on you."

"I won't be long."

"Okay Dean, let's get a seat belt on you and we'll go pick Bobby up." Sam helped Dean fasten his seat belt and cranked the truck so he could move it to the front of the house. He left the truck idling as they waited. Sam tickled Dean since he was trapped and smiled with his uncontrollable laughter. Dean squealed with delight and smacked at Sam to try and get him to stop.

"What's going on in here?" Bobby asked when he opened the door of the truck.

"Help! Uncle Bobby," Dean cried as he tried to get away from Sam. "Make him stop…" he laughed loudly.

"Alright, I think that's enough Sam. Dean's a little unmatched here. You better hope he doesn't remember this," Bobby cautioned him.

"Okay Dean, truce," Sam sighed, laughing at him. "Let's get this truck returned."

Sam put the truck into gear and headed down the driveway toward the gate to pick up the main road into town. He smiled at Dean when he leaned into Bobby, like he was going to protect him. Dean gave him the evil eye and dared him to do anything with Bobby there.

It didn't take them long to drive to Jody's to get Bobby's car and Sam was surprised to see Jody waiting on them. He parked and helped Dean out of the cab.

"Jody!" Dean cried happily as he ran to hug her.

"Hello, little man," Jody cooed to him grabbing him up in a hug. She didn't see Sam sneak his cell out and snap some photos of them. "Did you find anything out?" she asked Bobby.

"Maybe, but we need to do a little more searching," Bobby told her not wanting to say anything more in front of Dean.

"I've missed you," Dean exclaimed hugging Jody's neck and then giving her a peck on the cheek.

"I've missed you too," Jody told him, cupping his cheek and kissing his forehead. She sat him down on his feet and looked up at Sam. "Guess you guys need to get going, but I wanted to see how things were going."

"We'll let you know how things progress," Bobby told her.

"Come on Dean, you can ride with Bobby to the rental place," Sam called to him. "Come over anytime Jody. You know Dean would love it."

"I just might do that. Bye Dean," Jody spoke to Dean before he ran to Bobby who helped him in the car.

"See ya Jody," Sam waved before going back to the truck and getting in.

"I'll be in touch," Bobby nodded.

"You do that Bobby. I'd like to spend a little more time with Dean before he returns to his adult self."

"I understand," Bobby nodded. "Bye Jody." Bobby got in his car and pulled out to follow Sam to the rental agency.

Sam went in and returned the truck and came out to get in the passenger seat of the car. He looked in the back at Dean as he looked around at everything.

"Bobby, how about we treat ourselves to a milkshake?" Sam asked giving Dean a mischief look.

"I want one too," Dean piped up. "Please…I've been good, honest." Dean gave Sam his best begging look and puppy dog eyes.

Sam choked back a laugh and now knew what Dean went through with him. He learned early on how to get Dean to do what he wanted with just a pathic look.

"Milkshakes it is," Sam announced. "Bobby, milkshake or a coffee maybe?"

"I wouldn't turn down a cup of coffee," Bobby commented. He left the rental agency and headed to a nearby fast-food place for their treats.

Sam got Dean a chocolate milkshake and he got a strawberry one, while Bobby settled for a cup of coffee. Dean sat happily in the backseat and began to drink his shake.

"Don't drink it too fast Buddy or you're get brain freeze," Sam told him.

"What's that?" Dean questioned.

"It gives you a headache. Just go slow with it."

"Okay," Dean replied going back to sucking on his straw in contentment.

Bobby drove back to the salvage yard and parked the car at the house so they could get out to go inside. Sam guided Dean up the steps and inside telling him to go sit on the couch to finish his shake. Sam went with Bobby into the kitchen to talk so Dean wouldn't hear them. They were going to call it quits for today since it was getting late, and they were both tired from spending the day unloading the truck. Sam was going to start back on the items from the storage unit in the morning and go through the curse boxes to compare it to his Dad's ledger.

Feeling dirty and grungy, Sam decided to get his shower and headed upstairs. He got clean clothes from the dresser and noticed the pile of items laying on top of it. Sam looked through his stack, wondering how he collected the stuff. He looked on Dean's dresser and saw items that had to have been in his clothes. He pushed the items around looking for anything that was odd that might be the object from the curse box but didn't find anything. He sighed thinking that would have been too easy and headed to the bathroom to shower.

Dean got Sam to play a couple of the games Jody left and then they started another book, Tom Sawyer. It didn't take long before Dean was asleep, and Sam was ready to call it a night too. He bid Bobby good night and picked Dean up to take him upstairs to bed. He got him settled in bed and went to his own, stretching out and sighing heavily, glad that the day was over.

A/N: They are one step closer to finding what was in the curse box and hopefully help Dean. Sam is enjoying his time with young Dean. Thank you for coming along on this journey. Thank you to any guests who have left reviews. I do appreciate them. I do like reviews/comments. NC