SHOUTOUTS\ANSWERS

KatieMalfoy19: Okay, calm down. I have the next chapter right here. Sorry this isn't soon enough.

Charmedsupernaturalfan: Thanks.

PrincessNothing3: New reviewer. Yay! Here's more. If I told you now, you wouldn't read.

Happybear 2005: Hey, good to see ya again. Thanks for the suggestion. I had thought I was makin' em long enough, but apparently not. Here's the next update. Sorry it's not soon enough.

A-blackwinged-bird: Hey! Good to see ya. That was due to surprise. Oh, they will eventually.

Windyfontaine: Thanks. Well, Dean's lack of reaction was due to surprise. I guess I shoulda explained that. Oh, well. Coulda, shoulda, woulda. Thanks. Here's the next chap, sorry it's not soon enough.

JadeAlmasy: Yeah, he will. I'm sure you did.

Trangenic-Girl: Yeah, I would be too. Read and find out.

FLOAT-ON-CLOUD-9: I take it you liked that chapter.

Amalia-Fear (ch 4, 5): Drat it all. I think I forgot you when I posted. Thanks. Here's the chap. Sorry it's not soon enough. Thanks. I will.

Spuffyshipper: Thanks. No. I've been toyin' with somethin', but we'll have to see how the semester goes.

December.morning: Glad I have your attention. Here's the next part.

Norah: New reviewer, yay. Cool way to spell your handle. Yes, I am. And proud of it.

DISCLAIMER

Supernatural belongs to the WB. Takes place after "Scarecrow". Evansville, Kentucky is a real place. Anyone or anything you don't recognize is mine.

"Come again?" Dean asked.

"I know how they feel. That fear," Sam repeated.

"Sammy, you're not saying that Dad---" Dean faltered. He couldn't believe what he was even asking. It was their dad for crying out loud.

"What? No! Of course not. He never laid a hand on me," Sam responded. Yeah, their father was a hard and strict son of a gun, but he was anything but abusive.

"Then, who?" Dean wondered.

"You remember when I was fourteen the three weeks I stayed in a group home 'cuz one of the teachers reported Dad to social services?" Sam reminded him.

"Yeah. Dad was ticked," Dean said, not understanding at first. Then it clicked. No. They wouldn't. They're supposed to protect kids, his mind denied. However, the look on his brother's face was all the truth he needed. Sam's throat muscles tightened and he let out a soft grunt.

"I got beat...all the time. And there was this one guy..." it was Sam's turn to trail off.

"What?" Dean asked. "Sammy, what is it?" he queried. Sam closed his eyes, trying to will away the coming memory. However, his mind didn't obey his silent wish.

"You stupid little punk!" the man yelled. He grabbed Sam and threw him across the room. As he approached, he raised an arm. The whip loomed---

"Sammy, what'd he do to you?" Dean's gentle but firm question broke through Sam's reverie.

"I---I---" Sam's voice cracked.

"Okay. It's okay, Sammy. You don't have to tell me," Dean assured, drawing his brother into a hug. Yeah, he hated having chick-flick moments, but his big brother training told him that this was a time where Sam needed to be comforted. And above all else, that's what Dean was. Sam let out a shaky breath. Then, he leaned towards his brother's ear as if telling a secret.

"He---he whipped me," he confessed. Dean inhaled sharply.

"Dad ever know?" came the question.

"I never told," was the answer. Dean's throat constricted, and behind Sam's back, his hands made fists. Someone---some creep---had abused his baby brother. Somone had scared him so bad that he couldn't even get up the courage to tell their father. Someone had hurt Sammy so bad that they had scared him into silence.

"Didn't you ever try to fight back?" Dean wondered.

"Got it worse," Sam answered. "Dean, this guy---he---he got off on it. He liked it," he continued. Dean's Adam's Apple wobbled. Aw, dang it, Sammy. You shoulda told us, he thought to himself.

"You should've told us," Dean stated out loud.

"Are you crazy? He said he'd kill me," Sam protested. Feeling a lump in his throat, Sam choked down a sob.

"Was that all he threatened to do?" Dean queried. Sam froze. "Sammy? What else did he threaten to do?" the older man continued. Sam remained quiet. "Sammy, come on. What else did he say he'd do?" came the prompt. Sam's silence freaked Dean out. Please. Please don't say you were molested, please don't say you were molested, he thought frantically.

"He said that---that---" Sam struggled within himself.

"He said that---what?" Dean prompted again.

"That he'd kill you and Dad, and that I'd always have to stay there," Sam admitted. Dean almost sobbed relief. Sammy hadn't been molested, thank God.

"Is that all? We woulda dropped him before he even had a chance to touch us," he stated.

"I---I wasn't sure. I---" Sam had to choke back a sob.

"Ssssshhhhhh, sssssshhhhh, sssssshhhhh," Dean shushed. "It's okay, Sammy. You're not gonna get hurt again. And we'll figure out what to do about the kids. I promise," he continued. Sam sniffled. Dean pulled away.

"Look, why don't you go take a nap, and I'll do some more research on the 'Net?" he gently suggested. Sam silently nodded and went to the bed. As he did so, Dean pulled the laptop from Sam's bag and booted it up. As his fingers flew over the keys, Dean's dark eyes raged thunderously. He now had a new purpose for taking these freaks down. He had seen how scared those kids had been, and Sammy's frightened face during his confession had freaked him out. He wasn't going to let anybody else be that scared anymore.