May The Circle... chp 4
Dean made his way slowly to the 24 hour store they passed on the way into town. Tommy's sudden appearance after 8 years was playing more havoc with his emotions than he was willing to let either of his brothers see. While he hadn't really protected Tommy for a few years before their dad forced him away, he always saw Tommy's leaving as a failure on his part. It was part of what made losing Sammy to college all that harder to deal with. To him, it was as if both of his brothers had been tossed from his life by their dad and he felt that if he didn't stay with their father, he would lose him as well. That was part of the reason Sam had once called him the perfect little soldier. Dean couldn't force himself to tell his baby brother that the only reason he was like that was because he was afraid that their dad would toss him aside, too. He shook his head and forced himself to concentrate on picking out stuff for the three of them once he entered the store.
Sam kept casting glances at his older brother while he was researching telepathy. A few of the things he'd read so far explained a lot of the reactions Tommy had had before their dad forced him away. He grinned at that thought. It would have been nice to have actually seen that fight first hand because out of all of them, only Tommy had ever really given their dad a run for his money when it came to hunting skills. And if Pastor Jim had shown him how to use his telepathy to help out in that, Sam had no doubt that his older brother had surpassed the rest of them in those regards. A small groan from the bed had him up and moving to take a seat beside the figure stretched out there.
"I wouldn't try moving too quick if I were you." He kept his voice soft, but refused to hide the hint of amusement that it held.
Tommy snorted. "Not that crazy, despite what people say." Opening his eyes slowly, he looked up and met his youngest brother's eyes. "I'm okay Sam. Sore, tired and hurting a bit, but I'm okay."
He shook his head. "You know you're the only one that listened when I said that I didn't want to be called Sammy anymore."
"I always listened to you Sam and it seemed to make you feel better if I didn't call you Sammy, so I stopped like you asked us to." He let Sam help him sit up a bit. "Besides, it ticked dad off that one of us was actually doing something you asked." A small grin lit his face at that.
Sam laughed softly. "Yeah, you were always good at that. Seems I picked up some of that and took over for you after dad tossed you to Pastor Jim." He sighed. "I wish you had actually let me see you over the past few years, no matter what dad said."
"It wasn't a chance I was willing to take Sam. Seeing you ache over watching me and dad fight was never something I enjoyed. I know it tore Dean up inside as well, but he was better at hiding it. As long as I could see you every once in a while and know that you were doing okay, I was okay. Can't say that I was happy, but I was okay."
A sigh escaped the youngest brother's lips. "Still, I would have liked you to meet Jess."
The hand that landed on top of Sam's was warm. "I did Sam, not as your brother, but I did meet her. She made you happy and it was easy to see."
Dean groaned as he came back into the room. "Man, I thought we were done with the chick-flick moments." He set the bags down on the table.
Tommy snorted. "Yeah right. Do you know how many times Oprah plays during the day?" He quirked an eyebrow at his oldest brother when he noticed the bruise forming on his jaw. "Guess I haven't lost my touch after all."
The chuckle that left the youngest had both of his older brothers turning to him. He stopped and looked at them both. "What?"
It was the only word he got out as the 'tickle monster' was unleashed by his two 'protector's.
