Warnings: Language and war violence
Dean was in a chair on the front porch, feet up on the railing, enjoying the sunlight. He had a magazine open across his lap, but he wasn't paying much attention to it. He was too busy listening to the birds chirp and the bits of conversation from neighbors as they settled themselves outside. He knew that John was busy and had to hold down the fort at other places. But it made Dean a little mad that he would've just left Sam to deal with this by himself. Yeah, Sam was older now and more than capable of lighting some candles and eating cookies out of the bag, but he was still a kid. Dean was just glad that he was home.
Dean had gotten an alert on his phone from the local news, saying school were being dismissed early to a state wide power outage. Dean was on high alert as he waited for Sam to get home. It was well past the time that he should've been, and he didn't get off the bus with the others on the block when it went by. That's when a Mustang pulled up in front of the house.
"Is that your brother?" Jo asked from the backseat. She had been walking from the school when Jessica and Sam drove by, so of course Jessica picked her up. Jo was her best friend after all, and the guys had Rufus's Pinto they could ride in, no matter how crowded it was.
"Yeah…" Sam said, moving to get out of the car.
"He's cute." Jo giggled. Jessica rolled her eyes.
"Do you ever think with your brain and not your pussy?" Jessica asked. Jo just shrugged. Sam walked around the car to Jessica's window and smiled at her.
"See you tomorrow?" HE asked. She giggled some.
"You know it." She leaned up and kissed him. She took off then, Jo craning her neck to stare at Dean. Sam shook his head when a horn sounded. He looked to see the Pinto pull up to the curb. Caleb, Jimmy, Bobby, and Cas all climbed out, stretching and popping their backs. They all lived around here, that's why they were all so close.
"Thanks for nothing." Caleb grumbled. Crowley popped out of the trunk then.
"Did they stuff you in the trunk?" Sam asked. Crowley shrugged.
"It's cold, dark, and smells like Rufus's gym shorts. Its home." Crowley laughed. Sam rolled his eyes and looked up at the porch. Dean was watching them, but trying to not be super obvious about it. Sam sighed.
"I'll see you guys later, alright?" Sam asked. The guys nodded and split up, heading to their homes while Rufus drove off. Sam turned and made his way up to the porch.
"Glad to see the gang is still together." Dean commented. "Who are the chicks?"
"The one eyeing you like a piece of meat. She harmless, most of the time." Sam explained, heading inside. "And the other one is Jessica." Dean smirked and followed his brother inside the house, watching as Sam tossed his backpack on the couch and made his way into the kitchen to find some food.
"So that's the famous Jessica." Dean said. "Damn Sam, how'd you manage that one?"
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, opening the fridge and staring inside. Dean watched him.
"What are you doing?" Dean asked, ignoring the question Sam had asked. Sam had been standing with the door open for a little too long.
"Looking for something to eat." Sam said. "And I want some milk."
"Well, that's all good and shit, but we're in the middle of a power outage. I think you should keep the door closed as much as possible." Dean commented. Sam rolled his eyes and slammed the door shut, taking the milk with him. Dean sighed. Sam was a grumpy teenager, that was for sure. "So, dad has some things to do tonight, so it'll just be you and me." Sam sighed.
"What's different than any other night?" He asked. Dean raised an eyebrow. Just how often was Sam left alone? He knew that John was doing the best he could, but this was ridiculous. "Well, I guess I'll sit in my room and read or something."
"Don't you wanna catch up or something?" Dean asked. "It's been months since we last talked."
"And nothing's changed." Sam said, taking his glass of milk and heading towards the stairs.
"Come on. You got a girl. Tell me all about her." Dean said. He and Sam had been so close all these years and suddenly, nothing. Sam had grown up and Dean had went away. Sam had relied on his friends for support while Dean relied on his brothers in arms.
"You don't really care." Sam said, heading upstairs to his bedroom. Dean sighed and flopped down on the couch. He really wished he knew what was going through Sam's head, why he was so…this. He remembered from the letters he got from John that Sam had a bit of a rebellious streak. He was a sweet kid and would help out anyone that needed help, but he wanted to do things his way and a lot of times, that didn't match up with how John wanted to do things. John loved his youngest, but sometimes he just needed away from him. Hence all the work he had done since the boys could be trusted alone by themselves.
A couple hours later, Sam came downstairs and flopped into the chair across from Dean, who was dozing on the couch. Dean opened one eye and looked over at his brother. He needed a damn haircut.
"What happened to reading?" Dean asked. Sam sighed.
"Bored." He groaned. "And hungry."
"Well, we can't really cook anything." Dean said. "But dad still has the barbecue out back, right?" Sam nodded. Dean jumped up and went out back, firing up the grill and cooking them up some steaks and potatoes. Might as well eat things up. They weren't sure when the power was going to come back. They set outside at an old picnic table where they had had many meals during the summer, usually with more friends and a little more beer.
"So…" Dean said after a little bit. "Dad told me there were scouts one of your games."
"Yeah." Sam said through a mouthful of food. He swallowed the steak and took a drink of the water. "I was offered a scholarship to play for Stanford. And I want to study law. So it's perfect." Dean nodded.
"Need me to move out there so you have a place to live?" Dean asked. He was sure that Sam thought he was joking, but it was a serious offer, if need be.
"Well, I think I'm going to live in a dorm my first year." Sam explained. "But Jessica is going to go there too, and if she hasn't gotten tired of me by then, we're going to get a place together."
"Any of the guys going?" Dean asked, knowing how close knit the group was.
"Jimmy's going to be a preacher or something." Sam told Dean. "Bobby wants to work on cars. Rufus said that his calling is owning a brewery. Jo will probably inherit a bar or something from the guy she convinces to marry her and then kills him." Sam laughed some at the joke. "Caleb is going to Colorado State to study computer engineering. Cas wants to head out to LA and try his hand at acting. And Crowley will probably end up in prison or something."
"Sounds like you guys have everything planned out." Dean said, finishing off his food.
"Yeah, for the most part." Sam said. He didn't feel like talking to Dean about this, but he had mentioned once to Cas and Crowley while they were over at Jimmy's drinking his dad's beer, that he wanted to ask Jessica to marry him. He knew if he told Dean, his brother would tell him he was too young.
They got up to carry their dishes inside when there was a loud boom that shook the house, knocking things off the shelf and pictures off the walls and the fridge. Sam bent down and picked up the picture of him, Dean, and John sitting on the Impala when it happened again.
"What the hell?" Sam asked, looking over at his brother. Sam kept the picture in his hand as he grabbed his letter jacket and wallet from the living room and made his way outside. He looked up at the sky as another boomed shook the earth.
Above him were a large line of airplanes. Big, black ones that definitely didn't have US Air Force markings on them. White parachutes dotted the sky like clouds, the men on the end of them targeting the ground below. Sam stood there, planted in the front lawn staring at the display above him. He couldn't quite make sense of what he was seeing. This wasn't some war movie. This was real life.
That's when one of the planes was hit with a missile. The plane exploded then, breaking into several pieces and falling to the ground, hitting his neighbor's houses with loud explosions. Sam's eyes were wide with fear and panic as he watched the scene. Dean came marching out of the house then with his own jacket, his wallet, and keys in hand.
"Sammy! We have to find dad!" Dean called out to his brother. Sam nodded and followed Dean toward the Impala, sliding into the passenger seat while Dean started it. Sam tried to get the radio to turn on, to figure out something, but there was nothing but static. Dean sped along the street, looking around for any sign of John while checking the sky.
"What is this?" Sam asked, fear in his voice. Dean wished he had all the answers, to make his little brother know it was okay.
"I don't know." Dean said, hands gripping the steering wheel. There was a large fire in the middle of the street and Dean wasn't having it. "Shit! Hold on Sammy!" He called out as he sped through it, making Sam's eyes go wide with fear.
"Dad!" Sam said, pointing towards his dad's truck speeding towards them. Dean nodded and pulled up by the truck.
"Stay behind me!" John barked at his son. Dean nodded and gunned it, following John's truck down the street, smoke making everything harder to see. Paratroopers were hitting the ground left and right, one managing to shoot out John's tires, causing him to swerve off the road and hit a lamp post.
"Dad!" Sam screamed out the window. John waved his boys off.
"Get out of here! Go! Go!" He screamed at them. Sam looked over at Dean.
"We can't just leave him Dean!" Sam yelled at his brother.
"I have to keep you safe Sammy!" Dean shot back. They drove off, away from John as paratroopers advanced on his truck.
"Dean! There's Cas!" Sam called out. Dean hit the locks on the car and Sam threw open the passenger door, letting Cas jump into the car.
"What the fuck?!" Cas screamed. Before he had time to answer, the back doors opened and Jimmy, Caleb, and Crowley were shoving themselves into the backseat. Dean looked into the rearview mirror to see Rufus's crappy old Pinto behind him. He wasn't sure who was in the car with him, but he knew he had to get all of them out of there. Sam looked out the window then to see Jessica and Jo being dragged out of Jessica's house. Jo had probably went over there since her mom wasn't home yet and she left her keys at home.
"Jessica!" Sam screamed, trying to get to the door to let her in, but one of the men that had her and Jo fired at the car, making Dean speed off. "No! Go back! Jessica!"
"We can't Sam! It's too dangerous!" Cas told him. Sam turned in his seat and watched as the girls were pushed into a car. Jo was fighting, that much he could see, but he couldn't see Jessica anymore.
"Dean, head toward my dad's gas station. Heading out toward the mountains." Caleb directed. Dean nodded as he left the neighborhood. Sam set between him and Cas in silence, staring straight ahead as Dean got them out of Calumet.