A/N
Thank you sammygirl1963, Christine, Stargazer100, Spicy Boi and Wunjo for the great reviews :D It's definitely getting interesting with Jacob finding out more about Sam's old life. Never reveal Walt or Mallory, but Dean...
Jacob was practically frozen as the information struck him, though inside his mind was reeling a little. He glanced over Sam's small form once before his gaze slipped past him to the items on the nightstand that looked so big by comparison. Sam's latest revelation helped a few things click into place, even if it was still fascinating and almost beyond belief that someone so small could exist. At least Jacob had proof standing right in front of him for that much.
He sifted through what Sam had already told him or let slip by accident. We… got attacked. They must have thought I was dead. If Sam's brother was human like Jacob, their dad obviously must be, too. And Jacob was able to guess that Sam must have been human once, as well.
When he first came to Trails West.
Jacob couldn't find it in him to ask about the others that size, even though Sam had already implied their existence a few times. He had a feeling the little guy hadn't really meant to, and he didn't want to upset him more after the lecture about no grabbing. So, even though he had to wonder if they were attacked at some point like Sam, Jacob left them outside the realm of his curiosity for the moment.
"Sam ... did you get shrunk? " he asked, thinking of how ridiculous the question sounded. But Sam was standing right there, living proof that maybe some things that Jacob always thought were impossible really weren't. And if his family never found him, it made sense. Sam would be hard to find now, probably even more so when he was just a little kid. An extra little kid.
Sam's shoulders slumped, giving him a slouched appearance. Instead of crossing his arms, he stuck his hands in his pockets, pulling his arms against his side to make himself as small as possible as the memories hit him again. "Cursed, I think is what you'd call it. Me and Dean got attacked when we were in the room alone. I was only ten, Dean was fourteen. There was a witch that must have been after both of us. Why she wanted us, I never got to find out. She appeared in the room, and Dean jumped between her and me. She slammed Dean against the wall with some kind of weird telekinesis. It was terrifying."
Sam blinked at the memories. It was almost cathartic, to share with someone else. Like telling Jacob his past was helping to take a weight off his shoulders. "I got hit first by her spell, and that's it. That's all I remember. I've been told that our dad burst into the room seconds after she hit me, and knocked her away from Dean. They… never saw what happened to me. I was told the witch blocked Dean from seeing where I'd landed, and our dad was just trying to get Dean to safety. He had no idea I was on the ground."
Sam shrugged. "That's it, I guess. I didn't wake up for a week, so I never got to try and find them. They were long gone by the time I ever got back to that motel room. They left, and they're never coming back."
His gaze was distant as he remembered how he'd spent the last decade of his life. "But I still watch the parking lot to see if their car ever rolls back into town. Just in case, y'know? I never want to give up."
"Holy shit," Jacob muttered, unable to withhold the quiet, shocked phrase. Sam's story was like a knife in the side. For one thing, he was only a kid when all that happened. Something unexplainable and terrifying had befallen him and the result was waking up in a world scaled several times too large for him. And he'd never even found out what happened to his family. Sam was caught in a limbo of not knowing. He had to feel the loss every day without ever finding out, or even having a way of finding out, what had happened to his brother, Dean.
At least Jacob knew what had happened to his own lost family member. He still felt the effect of his loss, sometimes, but he didn't have to suffer the looming uncertainty of what had happened to him.
No one deserved to have to live like that.
"You ... you shouldn't give up," Jacob answered, believing his own words. If he was in that situation, he'd watch for his family, too. Even knowing in the back of his mind how unlikely it'd be, he wouldn't be able to give up. "Maybe they'll come back, or ... who knows, maybe you'll have a chance to find where they are."
Sam scoffed. He grabbed his satchel, slinging it over his shoulder. "Yeah?" he asked. "And how do you think I'll ever be able to do that?" He gestured around the room. "I can't even go outside. Never mind use a computer or try and track down where they've gone since then. Dad traveled everywhere with us. They could be anywhere in the country by now, and they never stay in one place for long." Just long enough to finish up a hunt, Sam thought.
"This is my life now, and I just need to accept that," Sam shot back up at the human. "I can't… do things like you can. I can't just order a pizza or call a cab. No, the only chance I have of ever seeing Dean again is hoping that he strolls right in that door," Sam jabbed a finger at the massive door that sealed the room off from the outside world, "and hope that I recognize him. But who knows. It's been over a decade, and people change. He could catch me just like you did, and there's no way to know if he'd even believe me if I realized it was him."
Sam took a step away from Jacob. Maybe it was time to go. The memories were too painful to face like this. The human wanted to give him false hope, and he wanted nothing to do with it. He couldn't hold on to the past if he wanted to survive. Walt had taught him that lesson, once upon a time when he'd almost gotten caught when he'd tried to find Dean and John.
Jacob leaned away from Sam, both surprised and not by the assertive tone of his voice. After the lecturing before, Jacob anticipated he'd be scolded at least once more. But he hadn't expected it to be over him suggesting that Sam might find his family again. Jacob still believed that he shouldn't have to give up. He heard the bitterness loud and clear like he was at a concert. There were a lot of things Sam couldn't do, but that didn't really mean he had to give up.
Jacob stared down at his hands again, his brown eyes lingering on the cut on his thumb. He'd really jumped into something well beyond anything he could have dreamed up on his own. Who knew that sparing a glance to the barest motion on the floor would have him thinking about what he was considering right now?
Sam looked ready to take off after what Jacob said. Jacob didn't want to see him storm off without hearing him out, but it was hard to figure out what to say.
He finally managed it after a few awkward seconds, in which Sam's angry assurances hung in the air. "Sam," he began, using the smaller man's name in hopes that it'd cement his sincerity. "I know you said you didn't want help. And I know that even if you did, I'm the last person you'd want it from. But if I can do something, I will. If you want." He clasped his hands together, still keeping his eyes on where they sat in his lap. He didn't even know if Sam was still there.
"I lost someone important to me, too. I know how bad that hurts by itself, but I can't imagine what it's like not even knowingwhere they are. No one deserves that."
Sam paused, stuck on the edge of leaving and staying. Jacob's words hung in the air, offering hope in a hopeless situation. With the prickle gone from his neck, Sam didn't need to look up to know that Jacob's eyes were off of him. He could slip away and the human would never know where he'd gone. Back to safety, back to the dark walls where humans couldn't reach him, grab him,trap him…
But those words held him back. Jacob was offering him a light in the dark. The chance to see Dean, to know what had become of his brother and his father. Even if Sam only got to see them one more time, at least he'd know if they were dead or alive. He'dknow if Dean had become a hunter like their father, or if he'd escaped that life and gone on to college and a normal life. He could have closure, instead of remaining in limbo, unseen but also in his own darkness, always wishing he could know what happened to them.
"What could you possibly do?" Sam asked skeptically. "They don't have a street address, and they travel everywhere." The memory of the Impala flashed into his mind, John dropping both brothers off at school for the day and heading off to a hunt. There was never a way to know if John would ever return every time they saw that car screech away. Sam had never known that. Dean had protected him from the knowledge of what their dad did all the way up to that last year of Sam's life as a human.
Sam took another step back. "And how do I know I can trust you?"
Jacob raised his eyebrows and opened his mouth to answer. But, much to his dismay, he didn't have a reply. How could he prove he was trustworthy to someone he'd so recently hurt with a single finger? How could he look Sam in the eye and tell him that he was a good person and would help however he could? Jacob didn't feel like a very good person, and with the skepticism from Sam he was beginning to doubt his ability to do anything for him anyway.
It'd be hard to track someone without an address. There were ways, though, and Jacob had a few resources he could at least try. Even just a name got him somewhere, maybe something about the car Sam had spent so much time watching for. But none of those tenuous leads would mean a thing if Sam didn't trust Jacob enough to give them.
"I think ... I think the answer to that one is up to you, Sam," he answered quietly. He glanced over and saw that Sam had backed away. Shit. I'm still screwing this up. "I don't really have a great answer. Because I haven't really given you a good reason to believe me."
Sam's hand tightened on the strap of his satchel. He couldn't believe what he was considering. But out of all the choices he'd ever had in his life, this was the one that he'd never, ever forgive himself for passing up. If there was a chance of finding Dean again, he had to take it.
Sam took a deep breath, then let it out to steady his nerves. "No, you haven't. But you also haven't grabbed me again, and I was raised to believe that everyone should get a second chance. No one's perfect, and no one should expect to get things right the first time." Sam took a halting step forward, undoing the distance he'd put between them. "If you can help me find my brother, you've more than made up for what you've done," he said, offering forgiveness in his own roundabout way.
Sam arched an eyebrow. "But I'm not sure how you'll be able to track them down, especially after all this time. We don't even know if they're alive anymore."
Jacob was in awe as Sam stepped forward again. He had not expected to be given a second shot like that. He expected another scolding, maybe, or for Sam to get angry and storm away, never to be seen again. But Sam had stepped forward and told him that even he deserved a second chance. After the way Jacob had so casually hurt the little guy, he couldn't help but feel it was beyond generous of him.
Even with the obstacles that Sam pointed out, Jacob was happy to have a chance to help somehow. He sat up straighter and turned a little so he faced Sam better without actually leaning closer. "I think it would be really hard, you're totally right there," he conceded. "But even with a name there's something. My stepdad is a cop and I know all the guys at his station. I might be able to get a lead from one of them."
Sam drummed his fingers on his strap. A cop. That explained why Jacob thought he could help find them. To normal people living the simple life at a nine to five desk job, tracking down someone like John or Dean would almost be an impossibility. But if Jacob had an in at the police station, a wealth of possibilities opened up for them. Ways to track the names, track the car…
Though he doubted their father would appreciate having the cops put on his tail, Sam had to take this chance being offered to him. "I know their names, and I know the car's license plate." He gave an embarrassed shrug. "Dad would have me give it whenever we were checking in at a motel like this, so I remembered it after a while, and well, once I was shrunk…" Sam didn't finish the thought. I didn't have much else to think about, his mind taunted him. Just time to reflect on everything he'd lost. Time to remember all the inane details about his life. His social security number. The license plate of the Impala.
Another steadying breath. "My dad is John Winchester. We used to live in Lawrence, Kansas, at least until my mom died and the house went up in flame. He drives a 1967 Chevy Impala, all black and chrome. And my brother…" Sam paused, steeling himself.
"My brother's name is Dean Winchester."
A/N
The truth is out, and Jacob has made his choice... Helping someone in need find out about their lost family, a worthy cause.
Next: Coming July 28th, 2016 at 9pm est.
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