A/N: I love this chapter. It's partially from Sonny's perspective.
If You Dare Challenge - #303 (Road Trips)
Are You Crazy Enough To Do It Challenge - #396 (can't use female characters)
Disclaimer: SPN writers own Supernatural, not me.
Dean and Sam clung to each other, terrified, in the back of the police car. Dean's arms were cuffed behind him, causing him terror-induced shallowness of breath, but other than that he was generally unharmed. Sam gripped his brother's jacket, white-knuckled and frightened. Dean kissed the top of his brother's head.
They pulled onto a long country road, and Dean willed himself to stay awake although he was exhausted. He couldn't leave Sam alone with the two men. Hours passed until finally the vehicle arrived at an off-white, three-story building surrounded by a huge field. Near the corner of the field was a large, red barn.
The policeman abruptly stopped the car and got out before yanking the door open from Sam's side. He grabbed the younger Winchester by the upper arm and began to pull him away from Dean. "No!" Sam cried, and his fists clenched tightly around Dean's jacket.
"No! Don't touch him! No!" His brother would have grabbed him, but his hands were cuffed behind him, so there was no way he could reach him. "Get your hands off him!" Sam's arms locked around Dean's, but the policeman was obviously much stronger than the seven-year-old, so he broke Sam's grip and took him, kicking and screaming, from the backseat. "Sammy!"
Dean, red with anger and breathlessness, slid over, trying to reach Sam. The handcuffs made his situation much more complicated. When the other policeman reached for him, pulling him out from the other side by his jacket, he struggled against him. However, the man was in no mood, and tossed him out of the car onto the dirt driveway. He could hear Sam crying, and he got a mouthful of dirt before reaching his feet and launching himself at the policeman. He was shoved backwards; with his hands restrained behind him, he lost his balance and fell back to the ground.
"Hey! Hey!" From his position on the ground, Dean could see a man rushing towards them. "Officers!" He was followed by three or four boys around Dean's age.
"Sonny," the larger policeman growled. "We've got your boys." The other pulled Sam up by the scruff of his shirt while the other tossed the boys' things out of the police car.
"I've said it before," Sonny said, "and I'll say it again." Dean sat up, trying to slide over to his little brother, but the officer closest to him yanked him up. "Don't manhandle my kids."
"Just doing my job," he replied, ignoring Sonny's statement and tossing Dean forward. "You got 'em from here?"
Sonny hesitated, wanting to give them a piece of his mind, but he didn't want to argue further with the policemen. They were already doing him a favor by giving him the Winchester boys, after all. He didn't want the boys separated; his friend Dr. Gilmore had warned him severely against it. "Yes. Thank you."
The larger policeman nodded and turned away. Both got into their car and left with the sound of squealing tires and the smell of burnt rubber, leaving a cloud of dirt in their wake. Once it cleared, Dean and Sam were together again, the younger one gripping the elder tightly in fear. "Hey," Sonny said, smiling. "Welcome to Sonny's Home for Boys."
Jimmy Novak had been right; Sonny had never met anyone like the Winchesters. The older boy was of average height but was far too skinny for a kid his age. His arm and leg were encased in thick braces, and he hunched over as though he was in pain. His face and most of his exposed skin was littered with scars, some old and some new. Most of his left side was covered in dirt. He wore a tattered gray T-shirt and as well as a torn, thin jacket. His pants were too large, but were cinched around his waist with a thick brown belt and torn off just above the ankles. His hands were cuffed behind him, and it was obviously uncomfortable, so Sonny reached forward. "Here, let me—"
Dean jerked back so harshly that he nearly knocked into Sam. It took Sonny a moment to realize that Dean had moved in front of Sam as if to protect him. The younger boy was hidden behind Dean, both arms wrapped around the older boy's uninjured leg. He was half the size of the older boy - unusually small for his age - and so frightened that he was trembling. Dean was shaking as well, but Sonny wasn't sure if it was due to his injuries or his fear.
Sonny didn't dare move; he didn't want to scare them. Gently, he tried to reassure them. "I'm not going to hurt you," he said. "I'm just trying to—"
"Don't," Dean snapped.
Sonny raised his hands in surrender. "I just thought you'd want the handcuffs off, that's all," he explained. "I just want to help."
Dean bared his teeth like a dog and pushed Sam further behind him, putting himself between Sonny and the little boy. "Don't come any closer."
The other boys peered curiously at the new arrivals; Sonny quickly sent them inside to get ready for dinner. "Listen, Dean—it's Dean, right?" Dean had no reaction to his words. "And Sammy?" The little boy cowered, burying his face into Dean's pant leg.
"Sam," Dean said sharply. "His name is Sam."
"Sam. Right. I'm sorry. Sam, Dean...do you know why you're here?" Again, neither boy answered. "I'm going to take care of you until...someone comes to get you. There are eleven other boys here—you've seen a couple of them. They all live here right now, and they are all perfectly safe." Sonny smiled. "Do you want to come inside?"
No response.
"Here." Sonny fished into the inside of his jacket, and immediately both boys staggered backwards, suspicious and afraid. "No, no… Look, it's just a paperclip. See?" He raised the offensive object. "I'm going to unlock your handcuffs. You don't want to stay like that forever, do you?"
Dean stared at the ground, and then looked to his little brother. "Sammy," he said softly, "go stand over there."
Sam shook his head and held Dean tighter.
"Sam," the older brother warned, and finally, the little one let go, shuffling away from Dean to stand a few feet away. Then Dean turned around, head hanging, and clenched his fists. Sonny was uneasy with the way the boys treated him and each other; it was as if Dean was putting Sam out of danger at all costs. Sonny kneeled behind the boy and unwound the paperclip, unlocking the handcuffs relatively quickly.
"There," said Sonny, pulling the cuffs from Dean's wrists. He tried to ignore the welts that had formed there. "You're free."
Sam ran back to Dean and jumped into his arms, clasping his arms around his neck. Dean stumbled a little, unused to his brother's weight with the brace on his arm and leg, but held him nonetheless, carrying him as though Sam was much younger and Dean was much older. Dean whispered something to the younger boy, reassuring him and closing his eyes for a moment.
Sonny didn't know how to approach them. He'd dealt with boys from bad backgrounds before, of course, but never anything like this… "Listen, you might as well come inside. We're having dinner—you want something to eat?"
Dean only stared at him.
"I'm hungry," he heard the little boy whimper. "Can we?"
Dean looked from his skinny brother to the man in front of him and nodded cautiously.
A/N: Thanks for reading! I'll get the next chapter up soon.