Title: Family Portrait

Author: BlazeorFade

Rating: T

Summary: Dean, Sam and Jack ruminate on each other. Told in the first person.

Disclaimer: I own Jack, but not the boys but y'all knew that already.

Jack Fontenot

Sam is a hard one to pin down. The boy broods more than anyone I ever met and I've met my fair share of people. He's stubborn and argumentative and a blast to tease. I can tell Sammy was a bit sheltered, as sheltered as someone raised in this line of work can be. He looks innocent and has an almost innocent belief that he's responsible for me now that I'm on the road with the boys. He doesn't say it, but I know. Some days I'll call him on it other times I don't even notice anymore. I can admit that I need someone to be there, never out loud though. Then I'd have to kill whoever heard it and the police just tend to frown on that sort of thing.

Sometimes I look at Sam and I see Chris. There are a lot of contrasts there, of course, in some ways they have barely anything in common. Chris smoked like a chimney, Black & Mild. Every time I smell vanilla its like I'm right back in our old apartment's or wherever we were staying. The rare times that Dean lights up Sam is on the laptop and pulling up pictures of cancerous lungs and Emphysema patients. Dean usually responds by blowing smoke in Sam's direction before taking it outside to pull another drag or two before stomping it out. Chris was a compulsive flirt(that's where I get it from alright) and a big kid sometimes. Sam doesn't ever hit on girls when we go out and its not for lack of attention from them either and when he takes a serious turn its hard to remember that he's barely twenty three.

In other ways they have a lot in common. The visions used to take Chris to breaking point. Sam hasn't gotten them that bad in comparison but he's got Dean and whether he knows it or not he's got me to, just like my uncle did. Sam has the 'baby of the family syndrome', a little selfish, prone to self-centeredness and my uncle had that too. He was daddy's younger brother, the youngest in the whole family until I came along, so he was allowed to run wild in his youth. He had less to be responsible for. I think the parallel there is pretty obvious. In those ways I see Chris when I look at Sam.

When I don't though…Sam is smart. Really smart. Probably smarter than most of the people I've known. He's good with being a sympathetic ear to the people we help. Maybe its the puppy dog look thing. Maybe its because when Sam asks you what's wrong or tells you one of those endearments of his, he means it. Makes you want to tell the truth. That's good when we need to know something and bad when he turns it around on Dean and I. The truth is a double edged blade, is it worth it if it means another layer of innocence pealed away? How should I know? I'm not the philosophical type.

Sam and John really are a lot alike in some ways. It didn't take me long to figure that out. That's why they fight so much. Put those two tempers and that brand of stubbornness on different sides of an argument and there's bound to be trouble. I wonder if John was a younger son too? I'll have to ask Dean one of these days.

Sam genuinely loved Jessica. She seemed cool too. Maybe we'll get to talk again, which is weird even by my standards, but whatever. He asked me so many questions about my conversation with her.

"She wasn't sad?" He asked looking stricken

"No" I said, watching in fascination as the emotions changed like rapid fire. How does he do that?

"Did she say anything about me?" He asked turning hopeful.

"Of course. She told me you were hers. That you would have gotten married." I told him. He blushed a little at that and his eyes filled.

"Jack…I…Thank you" Sam said looking at me so earnestly
"Hey, keep your eyes on the road." I said. Because your welcome is so over rated.

I know the hunt isn't what Sam wanted, you don't go to Stanford to end up fighting monsters. I ran from this for years, not on the same way or for the same reason. But I ran too. I know it'll never be over for me and I'm okay with that. I wonder if Sam had a moment where he realized this or if he'll run again someday.

The Winchester men have taken me in. Missouri told me that they'd never done something like this before. And I worry that the bulls eye on my back will bring more trouble than I'm worth. Sam fears the Deva killing the people close to him. We have that inherent guilt in common. That and our abilities, though different from each other. While we're all together(part of me can't wrap my head around not having to leave or being left yet) I want to teach him how to use them, help him not to be afraid of what he can do.

"Jack, hungry? Oh wait look who I'm asking." Sam is turning in the passenger seats to tell me. Dean snickers and doesn't manage to duck the pen cap I throw at him.

"Cherry Coke and slim jims. Breakfast of queens." I tell Sam.

"Its after twelve." Sam says.

"See, that's why you're the brains of this operation." I tell him with a smirk. Sam rolls his eyes and runs inside.

He hasn't had a vision in over two weeks and its obvious by his lighter mood. I hope it lasts.

-fin

AN: I might add another chapter for John's thoughts on the three as he watches from afar. haven't decided yet.