A/N

Thank you Christine, Wunjo, Kathy, sammygirl1963 and NewUser for the reviews! :D

(And for NewUser's concerns about Sam leaving his adopted family so easily, that's mainly because he doesn't see this as a long term trip. He plans on returning after he finds Dean, and explaining where he was after the fact. And of course, if they don't find Dean, he'll return home regardless.)


Jacob was proud of himself for remembering Sam's knife. It was enough to avert the less favorable 'what ifs' that Sam was heading towards. Jacob wasn't sure he'd have been able to avoid thinking along those lines himself without the glow of hope that little knife offered. He was gladder than ever that he hadn't broken it or done any damage when he yanked it out of Sam's hand. If he had twisted the blade beyond Dean's recognition, it'd all be on Jacob.

Of course, he didn't expect to hear a hissed swear out of Sam, but he couldn't miss it happening right next to his ear. He almost turned his head to look, worried that Sam had slipped or something, but stopped himself and turned his gaze to the rearview mirror instead. His voice and his expression were full of concern when he asked "You okay? What's up? I didn't make you drop it, did I?" Jacob glanced at the road, ready to pull over the car if they needed to search for Sam's knife.

"No... no…" Sam hurried to reassure Jacob. "That's fine. I've got it in my jacket." He didn't bother to say that if the knife fell, he was more likely to dive after it than curse. That knife was his life. He would be down on the seat before Jacob even realized he was moving.

Sam tried to flatten down the threads, wishing he'd paid more attention to what he was doing. The conversation about Dean had distracted him completely. He knew it was easy to dethread clothing like that. He'd helped Mallory dethread fabric before, after all. It was simply a matter of working their small fingers between the frayed part of the fabric and taking it down to the smallest string they could find. She'd then use that to create the clothing that all three of them wore, including Sam's jacket and the jeans he was wearing at that very moment.

"I just…" Sam trailed off, trying to think of how to explain it. "I wasn't paying attention while we were talking about Dean and I might have pulled out the threads in your hoodie and I'm really sorry I'll fix it I swear…" By the end he was completely out of breath, the words and sentences running together until they formed one solid stream of words.

"Ah," Jacob said slowly, perplexed by how much worry he could hear in Sam's voice. It was like a gong right next to his ear. He realized with a frown that Sam was scared of what Jacob would do about the frayed threads on the hoodie. And Jacob couldn't exactly blame him.

Sam couldn't do anything to stop Jacob if he decided he was upset about the damage.

Sam must not have noticed the other wear and tear on the jacket. Jacob had owned it for a decent amount of time and he wore it a lot; hoodies were pretty much his thing. But even if it was brand new, he couldn't be angry with someone over something like that.

"Dude, don't worry about it at all," he said, a chuckle finally escaping him. Hopefully Sam would be reassured, but Jacob sent him an earnest glance in the mirror just in case before focusing on the road again. "I can't even tell, you don't have to fix it."

Sam tried to smooth the threads down one last time before throwing in the towel and giving up. "Ah, yeah," he tried to chuckle along with Jacob, but his voice was still unsteady from the bolt of fear. "Right. Forgot…" about how small it is to you, Sam's mind finished off for him. It was hard to remember that big things to him were inconsequential to humans.

In an effort to distract himself from his mistake, Sam threw his mind back. There was something Jacob had said before that had caught his attention. "You said you lost someone like I did…" he was hesitant to ask. It wasn't any of his business, but he was curious. It felt like that loss might be a big part of what had driven Jacob to such lengths to help Sam. Jacob was very focused on Sam being reunited with his family, more than he might have expected from someone he'd just met. That determination must be driven by something that had happened to Jacob in the past.

"You don't need to tell me anything if you don't want, but… what happened?" Sam's voice was soft in the air, almost hidden under the noise of the engine as it rumbled along.

"Oh, yeah," Jacob muttered, remembering that he had indeed mentioned it. "No worries, I don't mind you asking," he reassured Sam, knowing it could seem like a touchy subject. Indeed, in the few years directly after losing his dad, Jacob hadn't been okay with people asking about it. He'd since made peace with the loss, though the sigh he breathed showed that it still very much impacted him and who he was now.

"It's not exactly the same, but it was my dad. When I was seven, they found out he had cancer. They think it started in the lungs, but by the time they found out it was kind of all over the place. He held on for a long time, though, when it started he was bigger and stronger than I am now." Jacob couldn't help but grin, remembering how huge his father had seemed back then. Even as treatments wasted him away to almost half of his usual bulk, his dad was the biggest man he ever knew.

"We were pretty close, I guess. It definitely made me feel like I was in the twilight zone or something for so long. We started getting cards from relatives I didn't even know I had. Some of 'em all the way from Greece."

Jacob wondered how different it would be if it wasn't cancer that had taken his dad, but something he could actually fight. A monster, like whatever took Sam's mom. Jacob might be out there right now looking for it, just like John Winchester. But he couldn't really hunt and kill an illness.

Hoping to lift the mood back up a little and avoid letting gloom settle in the car, Jacob thought up an amusing story to tell. "When he was in the hospital, though, he played some of the funniest pranks on his nurses, I swear. Convinced one of them that he didn't speak any English at all and I was his interpreter."

Sam couldn't hide a snort at that. "Sounds like he'd get along with Dean. If my brother knew a different language like that, he'd totally try and pull that on people if it got him out of school. I'd have to back him up, of course… good thing he wasn't one for other languages."

Sam leaned against Jacob's neck, growing a bit more comfortable in the stories they were sharing. "So, you speak more than one language?" he asked. "My dad had me learn Latin, but I never really got the chance to practice it off of the paper. I didn't even find out he had me learning it until I found out he was a hunter… apparently Latin's used in different exorcisms and spells. Dean never really caught on when we were kids. There isn't really anyone he could prank with that language, at least."

Sitting like that, Sam became aware of a gentle thrumming behind him. His pulse. It's his pulse. Something else he'd never notice if he was still a human. His life was startlingly different just because he was so small. Jacob probably had no idea he could feel it.

"Are you fluent?" Sam asked. Fluent, at least, was one thing he wasn't in Latin. He'd only been learning when the curse had struck. Perhaps one day he'd get the chance to finish his studies, especially if he had humans he could trust. Like Dean. Maybe even Jacob, since the guy was turning out to be a much better person than Sam's first impression.

Jacob snickered sheepishly. "Fluent might be kind of a strong word, since the only one I talk to in Greek anymore is grandma, but mostly I guess?" Once again Jacob was inclined to shrug, but he had to stop himself. At least this time he was better prepared for his own habit so he just glanced at the rearview and let his expression do it for him. "At the very least I'm kinda rusty."

Jacob paused in the conversation to change lanes and let someone speed past him, the engine of their sports car roaring as they ate up the highway with a speed at least fifteen over the limit. Jacob had to smirk, knowing he himself was going rather fast. It'd be better for that guy to get pulled over than him; at least the other driver probably didn't have a tiny person perched against his neck.

"Latin, though, that's pretty cool," Jacob started again, sounding properly awed. "Exorcisms and spells, holy shit, Sam. You've got stealth, climbing, that rad knife, and you could learn exorcisms. All you need is the hat and you're basically Indiana Jones."

"Really?" Sam asked in amazement. "I never thought about it that way." It was so weird to think a human like Jacob might thinkhe was cool. He couldn't even turn on a light in the motel rooms, after all! Or open a door, order himself pizza…

Find his way back to Dean.

"I just… humans always seem to be able to do so much more," Sam said. "I can't keep up with you if I'm walking. I mean, one step and you'll outdistance me. I'm too short to reach the lights, I can't talk to people like normal… it's just so different, y'know?" Sam stretched out a hand, staring at how small it looked in the surroundings of a simple car. A button would outsize it. "I needyour help to just find my brother. And, thanks for that, by the way. I never thought I'd get the chance."

Jacob grinned. "Of course, man. Don't worry about it. You've got stuff you can do, and for the things you can't ... it's okay to get help."


The easy conversation continued while Jacob's car continued to put miles behind it. Much to his relief, Sam seemed to be warming up to him a little after their rocky first meeting. Jacob was determined to help and to prove that he wasn't the monster he'd acted like at first. He found himself more and more hopeful with each passing road sign that said they were closer to the destination. Meeting Dean Winchester and bringing the news that his little brother was alive was definitely a goal worth the effort.

Near noon, Jacob had to stop to fill up the gas tank. There was a small restaurant nearby that offered cheap takeout. Jacob made sure Sam had dropped into hiding in his jacket hood before walking in. He could tell the little guy was nervous, so with a purposeful gait and vigilant eyes, Jacob made a quick order at the counter. He'd tried to figure out what Sam wanted to eat, but couldn't get much out of him. It was just like the night before where Sam had barely accepted the trail mix.

Jacob felt like he was carrying a sign that said Suspicious! on it. Sam's weight in his hood was so slight, and yet it was the heaviest thing in the world. While the clerk boxed up the sandwich he ordered, Jacob couldn't help but feel like anyone would look over and point out the secret he carried. He was ready to defend Sam if he had to, but he was silently praying it didn't come to that.

He couldn't let Sam's existence get out there. Jacob was responsible for anything that happened to him now. He'd pretty much taken on that mantle when he first grabbed the little guy. Jacob would be making up for that for as long as it took.

But he needn't have worried. He got back to his car and opened up his food without anyone noticing a thing about him. Being tall tended to help with that. People didn't notice that he was a bit younger than the average patron.

With the car fueled up and them both well-fed (especially Sam, who'd had more food available at lunch than he knew what to do with), they got back on the road. Western Nebraska unfolded before them, and it was mid afternoon when Jacob found the small town of Chadron. He cruised a little slower around town, wondering where they should convene and figure out the next step.

Sam's eyes were wide as he stared around the town. Dean was here. The Impala could be parked in any of the lots around them, just waiting for Sam to discover her. There was a rising hope in him that couldn't be dispelled by worry.

His brother was so close. Sam might be able to reach out and touch his goal in minutes. It felt like so many years of his life had been spent waiting for this opportunity.

He shaded his eyes, watching for a familiar vintage black car. Jacob didn't know her like Sam did. He didn't see her behind his eyes the way Sam did whenever he went to sleep. If anyone was likely to spot the car on the slow cruise through town, it would be Sam.

While Jacob was searching for a place to pull over to talk for a minute, light glinted at Sam from the side. He was drawn to stare towards what was an older, more rundown motel than the Trails West had ever been.

And sitting in that parking lot, right outside a motel room, was a vintage Impala, the sun winking off the slick black body.

Dean!

Before he realized what he was doing, Sam leapt to his feet. "That's her!" he blurted out, right as he slipped on the slope of Jacob's shoulder.

And tumbled off.


A/N

Sam and Jacob don't seem to have the best of luck between the two of them so far...

Next: Coming August 7th 2016 at 9pm est.

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