A/N: See, I told you it was coming. Get buckled, kids. It's gonna be a bumpy ride.

Fanfiction Writing Month: December [1001]

Are You Crazy Enough To Do It Challenge - #198 (feeling) depressed

If You Dare Challenge - #171 (Gazing out into space)

Disclaimer: I own nothing.

He knew the only way they would be able to find Sam was if they got the boys' father arrested. So he went into Dean's room with Amina at his side as a translator, trying to get him to talk about his father. "Dean?" The boy had been silent for days now, only talking through sign and otherwise just gazing out into space. He barely responded to people's voices anymore either; to communicate, he needed sign language. "Hey, can we talk?"

TALK, SIR. Dean stared at Amina's hands.

At least Dean was forming coherent sentences. "I wanted to ask you a couple questions, that's all."

ASK, SIR.

Sonny rubbed his forehead. He didn't know how to start. "I wanted to ask you about your life before you came here."

ASK, SIR.

"Where did you live?"

STAY MOTEL, SIR. BLUE STAR.

"No, Dean, I mean, where did you live?"

Dean's chin jerked down, as it generally did when he felt he had disobeyed an order, accompanied by a flinch and occasionally a whimper. STAY MOTEL, SIR. BLUE. STAR. KENTUCKY, SIR.

"Dean… Where was your home?"

SAM AND ME LIVE MANY PLACE, SIR. MANY STATE. MANY CITY.

Sonny didn't know how to ask this. "Where were you born?"

K-A-N-Z-I-S. DON'T KNOW SPELL CITY.

"Try."

Dean flinched again, raising his arms and crying out once before pulling himself back into his mindless state. L-O-R-E-N-S-S, he signed.

"Lawrence," Amina clarified.

Sonny cleared his throat. "And you lived there with your dad and Sam?"

YES.

"What about your mom?"

Dean stopped moving for a whole minute before he answered him. IS DEAD MOMMY.

"I know, but do you remember her?"

REMEMBER MOMMY. REMEMBER-ME MOMMY BURN.

Sonny quickly changed the subject. "Did you like living there?"

YES. SIR NICE. MOMMY NICE.

"That's...good. Can I ask you about your father?"

There was an intense moment of hesitation before Dean replied, ASK, SIR.

"What was he like after that?"

Dean blinked. SIR TAKE CARE SAMMY. SIR TAKE CARE ME.

"Did he ever hurt you?"

Dean stopped, and his eyes moved so that he was staring at Sonny's chest. His hands hovered in the air, unsure. NO WANT HURT, he signed. NO WANT HURT NO WANT NO WANT HURT-GO HURT-GO WANT SAMMY WANT SAMMY WANT SAMMY NEED- He was rocking again, signing to himself until his signs turned to gibberish and his hands shuddered in fear.

He tried again the next week. And the next. But whenever Sonny talked about his father, Dean was unable to communicate clearly. Sometimes, he would get confused; sometimes, Sonny was sure that Dean was lying to protect his father. Once, Sonny got Dean to admit that John had not fed them properly, but it was vague and not enough. Another time he signed about being afraid of John and how John hurt him. Sonny pressed on, and then he mentioned something about pain and punishment and then began screaming at the top of his lungs. Not long after did Dean shut down completely for almost two weeks.

Afterwards, Dean didn't respond to anything, not even orders. They had to admit him to the hospital to give him a feeding tube and medication until he became lucid again. And when he came home again two weeks later, somehow everything got worse.

Sonny knew that his group of friends would not last long trying to fix Dean Winchester; it was an impossible task. Amina Ife, Rosa Tierrada, Kathy Gavinski, Jimmy Novak, Erin Gilmore… They were trying their best, but it was impossible. Everyone could see as well the toll it had taken on Cas. He hadn't been his normal, cheery self since Sam had left and Dean had broken; he'd turned cold and silent, depressed at Sam's absence and constantly worrying about Dean.

Sonny knew what he had to do.

"I don't know how to sign this," he told Amina, "so I need you to translate."

She smiled sadly. "Of course." She wasn't so sure his plan would work, but they would try, at least.

He cleared his throat, trying not to hit his head on the top of the bunk he was sitting on. "Dean, we want to help you. I want to get Sam back, but the police won't allow me to look into his whereabouts. The only person who can is Dr. Gilmore, because she has medical precedence over the situation. I want you, Cas, and Jaime to go find her, okay?"

Amina's hands flew, and suddenly Dean's head rose. His green eyes focused on his chest, not his eyes. He never looked anyone in the eye anymore.

"I'm going to tell the principal that you three are home sick with the flu. That'll give you a week, maybe a week and a half, got it? Any more and it starts to look suspicious. Amina'll drive you out as far as she can, and then you're on your own. Go to Dr. Gilmore at the West Hospital outside of El Paso de Vida; she'll give you as much information as she can. You find Sam, you understand? Don't go near your father, because I don't want you to get hurt. Once you find him, you call me, and I'll bring the police and everything." Sonny recognized the sign for POLICE.

Dean suddenly relaxed; his body lost the painful tension it had endured for a long time. "Sam?" he whispered. His voice was a dry croak because he hadn't used it often since Sam had left. Sonny could barely understand him.

"Yeah, Dean," Sonny said. "You're gonna find Sam."

The older Winchester stared at Sonny for a solid two minutes, not reacting at all. Then he began to cry, wrapping his arms around himself. But it wasn't the anguished wail of a grieving brother, the tortured scream of a victim, or the terrified shriek of a scared boy. It was a cry of relief: an exclamation of joy. Dean had been released from his cycle of suffering and had been given a way out.

A/N: Thanks for reading! Next chapter coming soon.