A/N: This chapter explains what happened in the last one with Sam.

If You Dare Challenge - #911 (New truths)

Are You Crazy Enough To Do It Challenge - #621 (nurture)

Fanfiction Writing Month: October [1087]

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Sonny had never faced a situation as intense as the one he faced that day. Sam has completely broken down when they started to sing 'Happy Birthday' to a point where he was having a fully blown panic attack, crying and screaming and then shutting down like Dean usually did.

He had gone completely blank, humming 'Happy Birthday' under his breath until he made a small strangled noise. As it turned out, something in the meal had caused Sam's face and throat to swell. His allergy combined with the hyperventilation had ripped away his ability to breathe. When Sonny had moved towards Sam to help him, Dean had pulled out a knife, a knife that he recognized from his own kitchen. Sony had argued with him and gone towards Sam, and Dean had sliced open his arm with a strangely practiced flick of his wrist. Trying to clutch his wound and help Sam, Sonny pleaded with Dean as Sam lay lifeless on the ground. Finally, Dean gave in, his own breathing growing ragged and shallow, and Sonny plunged his epipen—always on hand for two of his current boys—into Sam's leg. The swelling had immediately gone down.

Currently, they were sitting in Sam's hospital room. He was fine, but they were keeping him overnight for observation. Dr. Gilmore drove in to check on them as well. Sam was allergic to salmon; he'd never had it before that day. Other than that, he was generally healthy.

At first, they wouldn't let Dean visit Sam, but once Dr. Gilmore spoke with them over the phone on her drive there, they reluctantly made an exception as long as Sonny was there to supervise. Sonny set Rosa in charge of the rest of the boys, although Castiel begged to come with them in the ambulance.

Dean had tried to climb into the bed with Sam; physical contact with his brother clearly comforted him, but Sam had a terrible reaction when touched. Dean seemed to understand, but was nevertheless disappointed. He curled up in the visitor's chair next to Sonny and watched Sam with vigorous intensity. However, even Dean Winchester had his limits; therefore, around two o'clock he collapsed from exhaustion, falling asleep. Sonny stayed awake and watched Sam, making sure his breathing stayed steady. Around four, Dean began to twist and writhe on his seat, whining in pain and sweating through his shirt. "No…" he murmured, gasping. "No… No, please…"

Sonny tried to comfort him, but he only startled him into waking. Dean nearly jumped out of his chair, placing his arms up to protect himself in a way he'd only seen practiced fighters do. "Dean, it's okay," he assured, raising his hands in the air. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Once Dean lowered his hands, they sat for a few minutes in silence. After a while, Dean muttered, "You saved Sam."

Sonny smiled. "Yeah."

"Why?"

He turned towards Dean. "Because I care about him. Just like I care about you."

Dean stopped. "You saved his life."

"Well...yes."

"Because...you care."

"Yes."

He stared at his hands, tracing the scars there with his fingertips. For a while, he didn't say anything at all. Finally, he whispered, "You're not… You're not like Sir at all."

Sonny frowned. "Who—"

"Dad, I mean," he corrected himself. "You're not like Dad. But… You're not…" He stopped himself again as though censoring his words. "I don't understand."

"What don't you understand?"

"You're… You're not like Dad… You're not like the others… You've never punished me or hurt me and I don't… I don't understand why. You saved Sam, you gave us a home without any catch… It doesn't make any sense. I just… I just want to know when the other shoe is going to drop."

"Dean, there is no other shoe," Sonny told him. "I'm not going to hurt you."

Dean's hands were shaking. "I've—I've had other people tell me that." He met Sonny's eyes. "They lied."

"What about your mom?"

Dean froze. His voice shook. "What?"

"Did she ever hurt you?" Sonny was taking a leap here. He had read Dean's files; he hoped this would work.

Dean began to shake, his fists clenching and unclenching. "No," he said quietly. "She's dead."

"I know," said Sonny. "I'm sorry."

Suddenly, Dean realized what he was saying. "You're like...her. You said… you care about me. You don't… punish me." He looked up at Sonny. "You're like Mommy."

After Dean's epiphany, he was more comfortable around Sonny. Once he even fell asleep in his arms while watching over Sam. However, he always woke up startled and scared.

The doctor released Sam in the morning, giving Sonny the prescription for an epipen solely for Sam. It took a few hours before Sam was mentally stable enough for human contact, but soon Dean was carrying him like he had when Sonny had first met them.

Because Dean now trusted Sonny, Sam trusted Sonny. Although they didn't treat him as a nurturing figure by any means, they did began to respect him, as well as believe they weren't going to be punished for everything they did. So their experiences at Sonny's place were now much calmer. Although it wasn't perfect, it was clear to everyone that their disposition towards Sonny and Sonny's home had drastically changed. Dean was eating much more; almost half his plate was gone before he gave the rest to Sam a couple of weeks later. Sometimes they slept in the bottom bunk instead of the top bunk. He only called Sonny 'sir' about half the time. He also started to trust Castiel more as well. Specifically, a couple of days ago Ethan had tried to bother Sam, push him around a little, and Castiel had protected him. After that incident, a couple of times Dean left Sam in the same room as Castiel or Sonny.

However, it still wasn't as good as Sonny had hoped. Sam sometimes woke up screaming, alerting the entire house. He'd never seen Dean wake up in a terrible state like Sam; whenever he entered the room, Dean was awake. However, a couple of weeks before school started, he was woken up at around two in the morning to someone shaking his shoulder roughly. "Sonny, wake up. Sonny!" Sonny opened his eyes, recognizing Ethan standing before him.

"Something wrong?" he asked, sitting up and rubbing his eyes. He'd never seen this boy so...scared.

"It—It's Dean," he stammered. "You have to come quick."

Sonny raced out of bed before Ethan could say any more.

A/N: Remember, Ethan's the one who tends to bully the other kids? Why is he concerned about Dean! AHHH CLIFFHANGER!