I had to edit this chapter after I realized there were a few spelling errors I didn't catch before posting. Sorry for the trouble and thanks for reading! :)
22 years ago (Lawrence, Kansas)
Two figures stood outside the apartment door, glancing up and down the abandoned street. Satisfied they were alone, the one closest to the door crouched down and began picking the lock. After a few seconds, there was a soft click. They paused, making sure they were unheard before they carefully entered the apartment.
No lights were on inside, which wasn't surprising given the late hour, but the streetlights through the window gave off enough light for them to see their path to the bedroom. There they found the father passed out on the bed, which wasn't surprising since they'd follow him here from the bar where he'd been drinking for most of the night. It was the same bar he'd gone to almost every night that week, stumbling home late and drunk. Which was why they were here; no man who drank that much deserved what this man had.
Beside the bed was a crib and laying inside was what they'd come here for, or rather who.
A young boy with messy blonde hair had his baby brother wrapped securely in his arms, both fast asleep and completely oblivious to the figures standing over them.
"Are you sure we can't take both?" asked the smaller figure, the one who had picked the lock.
"You know we can't," sighed the second. They'd already had this discussion, but he continued anyway. "He's too old. We could get caught and so would whoever takes him. The baby is safer."
His companion nodded unhappily and reached forward to carefully extract the child from his brother. The boy whimpered in his sleep, tightening his hold on the baby.
"It's okay," crooned the taller man. He stroked his fingers through the boy's hair to soothe him as his partner carefully moved the boy's arms and picked up the baby. They knew he wasn't going to wake up; they'd paid the babysitter handsomely to make sure of that before she left. That didn't mean they were happy with leaving him behind.
"I wish we could take you with us, buddy," he continued. Behind him, his partner wrapped the baby snugly in a blanket to protect him against the night chill. "We'll keep an eye on you, make sure you're safe. Don't worry about Sammy; he'll be taken care of."
With one last stroke of the blonde locks, he turned and followed his partner out, locking the door behind them. The street was still empty save for the Impala that belonged to the father and their own car across the street. They settled Sammy in the waiting car seat, tucking him in before the smaller man took up the seat beside him.
The taller man closed the door, turning to look back at the apartment. His gut again twisted at the thought of separating these brothers, but he had a job to do. Besides, he knew that this was the best for young Sammy. The way his father was going, the child didn't have much of a chance for normalcy. Neither did Dean, but he hoped this loss would shock the father out of his current path.
If it didn't, he thought as he drove away, he would be back for that kid, consequences be damned.
For now, he had to get Sammy to his new parents.
"Dude," Andy called, elbowing his brother to grab his attention, "are you always going to react like that to every guy named Sam?"
Dean glared at his brother as he was pulled out of his sudden musings of Sammy's disappearance. He'd been taken from their home just a few weeks after the fire that claimed their mom. John had gone a little crazy trying to figure out how his baby boy had been taken. He hadn't regained control until CPS showed up on their doorstep and threatened to take Dean away if he didn't clean up his act. Then had come Aunt Missouri and hunting and Uncle Bobby. John would leave Dean with one of them whenever he was on a hunt, much to Dean's protests. He'd already lost his mom and his brother; he didn't want to lose his dad too. John had finally started taking him on hunts when he was nine, but would still leave him with Aunt Missouri or Uncle Bobby when he went on more dangerous hunts.
It was during one of these hunts that he'd found Andy. Just like Mary, his mom had been killed in a nursery fire when he was just six months old. The Demon had returned when the boy was six, killing his father and trying to take the boy for himself. John had arrived in time to save Andy, but not the father. He'd returned to Bobby and Dean, clutching the scared boy to his chest and asking about ways to prevent the Demon from finding them. Which was how they came to have the same tattoo on their chests. Of course, Bobby hadn't been happy with the thought of tattooing a six and a ten-year-old, but Dean had eagerly consented. Tattoos were cool!
Andy had started out with the charm on his necklace, too afraid of needles to even consider it. He had eventually come around when he was fourteen, mostly because his big brother had one and he would be damned if he was beat out by his brother in anything.
"You okay?" Andy asked, his brow furrowed in concern.
"Yeah, just thinking," Dean sighed.
"So that's a yes then."
"Maybe." Dean huffed. "I dunno."
"Gee, that's helpful," Andy muttered, earning a glare. "Care to share your thoughts?"
"It's nothing groundbreaking. I was just thinking about Sammy. About you and all the shit that led us here."
"Deep thoughts," Andy deadpanned. "This because of dad or because of this Sam guy?"
"Bit of both," Dean admitted as Sam returned.
"Two burgers on the grill. Medium okay?"
"Yeah, thanks," Andy replied.
Sam smiled. "No problem. Shouldn't be too long before my dad gets in."
A group of guys came in then, heading for the bar. Sam instantly moved to get them drinks and set them down before a couple of stools on the other side of the bar. Clearly, they were regulars.
"Sammy!" greeted one of the guys in the lead, a muscular man with a buzzcut and a scruffy brown beard. "How goes the Navy Yard?"
"Nothing particularly interesting this week, Gerard." Sam grinned as he gripped the man's hand in greeting. "How about the precinct? Any unique cases?"
"Thought so a few days ago. Called your old man in to take a look; seemed like a werewolf to me," the newly dubbed Gerard answered. Andy and Dean perked at the open mention of monsters, glancing around the bar at the patrons. Gerard and Sam hadn't been very subtle in their exchange, but no one seemed confused by their talk or concerned. What exactly was this place?
"Yeah, he had me take that one," Sam explained. "Didn't know it came from you."
"Was I right?"
"Yeah, you were. It's gone."
"Good. The last thing we need is more insanity in this city."
Sam chuckled as he left them, heading back into the kitchen to check on his cooking.
"Are all these guys hunters?" Andy asked, turning to Dean.
"That or they know about monsters," Dean responded. "That Gerard guy didn't seem eager to go after his supposed werewolf."
"He's also a cop," Andy pointed out. "I thought they didn't know anything about the supernatural."
"They usually don't," Dean agreed. "Obviously he's an exception. My question is what the hell is this 'navy yard' and what does it have to do with Sam or his dad."
"We could always ask." Before Dean could argue, Sam returned with their burgers, and Andy did just that. "A lot of cops come through here?"
"Yeah, but usually just the ones who are hunters or know hunters," Sam explained. "If someone comes across a case that looks like a monster, they'll usually bring it here for a second opinion and someone to take it out."
"So everyone here knows about monsters and the supernatural?" Dean inquired, equal parts excited and wary of a place full of hunters. He moved a little closer to Andy, using the guise of grabbing a bite of his brother's burger to cover up his anxiety at the kid being surrounded by unknown hunters. Andy let out a protest as he stole his meal back, shoving Dean away but allowing him to fall back against the younger. Dean wasn't fooling him; he knew his brother was anxious.
"Pretty much. They wouldn't be here otherwise," Sam answered.
"What about the navy yard? What's that?" Andy asked.
Sam's eyes narrowed. "I don't think you need to know about that." His gaze fell on his watch. "My dad'll be in any minute now; I'll bring him to you when he does."
They watched curiously as Sam turned around and went back to serving and talking with other patrons.
"Wonder what that was all about," Andy mused. Dean shrugged, turning to his meal. If Sam didn't want to talk about it, Dean wasn't going to push him. It wasn't as if they were here to learn about the guy's life; they were here to meet with his dad.
Another ten minutes went by before the man they were waiting for finally came in. At least, Dean assumed he was as Sam seemed to instantly relax when the guy entered. The guy was about as tall as Dean, dressed in a pair of jeans and a white shirt beneath a dark blue, long sleeve one, and had short, silvery grey hair. Beside him walked a much younger woman, about the same height, with shoulder length bright blonde hair. Behind the two of them walked two men, the younger with a buzzcut of light brown hair while the other had slightly spiked hair of the same shade, and a woman with long dark brown hair.
While the others took seats at the bar, the blonde woman went behind it, reaching up to mess with Sam's ponytail. "Sammy, you can't seriously be keeping this."
Sam swiped her hand away. "Why not? Abby likes it."
"Does she?" the guy with spiked hair asked skeptically. "Sure, Abs is into some weird stuff, but guys with ponytails doesn't really fit the bill."
Sam shrugged, turning instead to the youngest of the group. "How you holding up, Probie?"
"I'm fine," 'Probie' answered.
"Liar," blondie argued, not unkindly. 'Probie' gave a fleeting smile, not denying it.
"You will be, Probie," spike hair stated, clasping a hand on the younger man's shoulder.
Sam nodded in agreement before turning to the oldest man, confirming Dean's suspicions with his next words. "There's two guys here to talk to you. Uncle John's kids."
Leroy followed his son's gesturing hand to where Dean and Andy sat. Blondie copied the action, her blue eyes narrowing as she seemed to assess them. They all watched as Leroy rose and moved over to join Dean and Andy, taking up a stool beside the elder Winchester.
"So you're Leroy," Dean began, somehow managing to keep a straight face at the name.
Leroy gave a short laugh and smiled. "Gibbs is fine. John tell you why he wanted you guys here?"
Andy scoffed, earning an elbow to the ribs from his brother who answered, "No, he didn't. He just gave us your name and the name of the bar." At this, he gestured to the sheet of metal hanging on the wall behind the bar with 'The Bunker' burned into it. "He didn't tell you?"
"I haven't talked to or seen John in several weeks," Gibbs replied. "He did mention that he might be sending you two our way."
"Maybe it's because of the demon," blondie suggested. Dean and Andy snapped their heads towards her. "You guys know about the kids, right?"
Dean tensed, his hand finding its way to his brother's knee and clutching it. "Yeah, we know a little."
Blondie waved her hand in a 'there you go' gesture.
"Probably best not to talk about that here, Kels," Sam pointed out. They shared a look, seeming to hold a silent conversation before the newly dubbed 'Kels' brushed shoulders with Sam, seeming to consent.
"We can talk back at our place," Kels proposed. "Get you guys some actual food."
"Rude," Sam muttered, earning him another ponytail yank.
"Settle down kiddies," spike hair teased. "You're gonna give dear old dad more grey hairs."
"That's possible?" Kels asked innocently. Gibbs narrowed his eyes at them all as Probie tried to smother his laughter. Brunette reached over and smacked spike hair upside the head.
He scowled and rubbed the spot. "I told you only Boss is allowed to do that."
"He is too far away," brunette stated simply, shrugging. Gibbs chuckled lightly.
"Um, can we maybe go now?" Andy asked. His hand found its way into Dean's, clutching it anxiously. Dean rubbed his thumb in a circle on the back of his brother's hand, looking pointedly at Gibbs as the man caught sight of the action.
"Sure," he said, standing. The other three followed his example and Kels came out from behind the bar.
Sam looked at his watch. "Jackson won't be in for another fifteen minutes or so. I'll meet you back at the house after he does."
Gibbs nodded in understanding and led the way out of the bar, Dean and Andy rising to follow the group out to the street.
If this was an actual episode, Kelly (Kels) would be played by Katherine Waterston
