A/N
Omg, I can't believe we're already at the end of another story. Brothers Found will continue in the future, but for now, thank you to everyone that commented and left reviews! You give us the inspiration we need to keep going no matter how much work and life tries to bog us down! Thanks to Geek-Girl0416, Christine, sammygirl1963, Wunjo, stargazer100, Kathy, Spicy Boi, No1butjoe, NewUser, Happyritas, Zoneperson, mckydstarlight, Icy Icee, maddietoes and mckenna4! You're all wonderful!
Once the fire died down, Dean let Sam back down by his duffel bag. The flashlight was put next to him, pointing towards the gravesite. With clouds moving in, it was growing tough to see their surroundings.
Dean started to pile the dirt back into the hole. A smile hid at the corner of his mouth. It had been a long day of research and hunting, but it had all been worth it. After all, he had his brother back. Sam had never died, and Dean could keep him safe. The way he was meant to. The way a big brother should.
Jacob helped Dean refill the grave, finding the task a lot easier than emptying it. Salting it and burning it hadn't come as easily either, as evidenced by the bruises forming on his middle from getting smacked. He supposed, being a ghost, it didn't matter how petite the woman had appeared. She was pissed and he was there.
It was just a little poetic justice for Jacob that he was collecting bruises here and there. He was still getting off pretty light compared to the terror and pain Sam had had to endure to get here. It was no small relief that both brothers seemed to have forgiven him.
"So, am I indoctrinated now, or do I have to take a pledge before I can say I'm a hunter?" Jacob quipped, sending a sizeable pile of dirt into the grave. It made a quiet thump as it reached the bottom and forced air to move aside. Jacob couldn't see much but he could see the sparse light illuminating the puffs of dust from their work.
Dean smirked at Jacob as the grave was quickly filled in by the two humans. The extra help was certainly making the case finish up faster, by far. "Nah, no pledges. Maybe next time you'll be a little more prepared and ready to take them on. Can't be slacking when a werewolf's in town, after all." He straightened once it was filled in, stretching out his own arms. "This case was calmer than normal. I didn't even butt heads with the law enforcement around town."
Jacob chuckled, inwardly amazed that he'd actually heard next time come out of Dean's mouth. So he might actually get to learn more about this side of the world, which Jacob couldn't help but think was completely badass. Dangerous, he knew, thanks to the ghost kindly showing up and demonstrating for him. And things would continue to amaze him just by existing when they weren't supposed to. But someone else might have been killed by that spirit if they hadn't done this. Jacob could join in helping people.
"This town probably only has one cop," Jacob mused, judging by the size of it. One town cop, most likely getting his badge by being the only guy willing to do the job. The rest would be state troopers. "The grave might not even get anyone's attention. You could hit Vegas before they realized what happened."
Dean shrugged as he stepped back. "We'll be gone first thing in the morning." He surveyed the grave, packing the last of the dirt on top. Another case, another town behind him. Only this time, he'd have someone to come with him.
Because of Jacob.
Even with the mistakes Jacob had made, there was no denying that without him, Sam wouldn't be standing down by Dean's duffel, waiting for the others. He might never know if his brother was alive. And Jacob had been so concerned over Sam that the spirit had caught him off guard.
If Dean had a second chance with Sam, Jacob deserved a second chance of his own.
Kneeling down next to Sam, Dean offered a hand once more. This time he wasn't surprised to have his brother scale right up to his shoulder like there was nowhere else he belonged. If Sam decided to claim a shoulder as his own, Dean didn't mind. Grabbing the duffel, Dean turned towards Jacob while Sam put himself close to his neck to sit. "So, you gonna stay the night? We've got the room."
Jacob raised his eyebrows. The offer was very generous, coming from a man he'd only met that day. Even if he had brought the guy's lost little brother back to him. Jacob was still basically a stranger to them and had never expected that kind of offer, regardless of the help he'd offered himself. Somehow he'd snagged room and board for himself despite his mistakes.
He grinned appreciatively, taking on flashlight duty since Dean had Sam and the duffel bag. While they made their way back, avoiding tripping on the smaller grave markers, he answered "Well, hey, I wouldn't want to take up all your space or anything, but I appreciate it if you really don't mind." Otherwise, Jacob would either have to check into his own room (an interesting venture this late at night when he was so young and yet so big for his age), or sleep in his car.
Dean snorted. "I doubt Sam needs the leg room over here, so you don't need to worry about taking up all the space." He ignored an elbow in the neck at his statement, smirking internally at the thought of how brash Sam was for his size. His Winchester roots remained strong. "You came all this way and gave up your motel room to bring Sam here. It's the least we could do."
"Awesome, thanks!" Jacob replied, appropriately humbled by the generous gesture.
They reached the car without incident. Dean tossed the duffel in the trunk while Jacob settled in the passenger's seat. Sam slumped down a bit once they were on the open road, starting to fall asleep from exhaustion. The excitement and terror of the last two days left him more than ready for a good night's sleep. Already, he was comfortable around his brother to let his guard slip enough for his eyes to flutter closed. Not even the roar of the engine was enough to keep him awake.
The roar of the engine was, however, enough to keep Jacob's car envy alive. His old mercury was going to seem so tame after this, with its sputtering engine and a trunk that you could open with a well-placed kick. At least he and Sam had determined just that day that the brakes worked like a charm.
Hopefully Dean never found out about that little mishap. The bruise on Jacob's face twinged as if in agreement.
"So, you said you'd be heading out pretty quick. Does that mean there's already another case for you to hop to, or do you just kinda cruise around looking for them?" Jacob asked curiously. The whole job seemed so touch and go. It was probably worth a lot of excitement, having no idea where the monsters would act up next.
Instead of shrugging, Dean bobbed his head. "No case on the horizon, but there's always things that need to be done." He'd have to stop at a bar sometime soon, try and stock up on some fast cash with a few games of pool. "Another case should fall into my lap soon enough. Just gotta check the newspapers whenever I pass through the towns. If you know what you're looking for, they're easy to spot."
Werewolves mistaken as animal attacks. Demonic possession often covered up as a multiple homicide. Suicides by people that were well adjusted and had never exhibited signs of depression before their sudden death. It was all out there, underneath simple words of sympathy and mourning.
Dean would always be on the road, trying to keep people from dying. Gank a few more evil sons of bitches and try and make the world a better place.
Jacob was growing more and more intrigued the more he thought about it. Maybe it was simply because it lacked the structure of his own life. It was simple, and dangerous, but worthwhile. Sam was back in that fast-paced and exciting life, after thinking he'd dead-ended at that little motel in Kansas. And, regardless of what he went on to, Jacob would not be able to simply forget that things were out there.
"I wouldn't wanna get in your way or anything," Jacob began, glancing at a flickering streetlight as they passed under it. "But if you feel like calling in some extra hands on something, I wouldn't mind helping out. I like to think I'm a quick learner, if nothing else." He wasn't sure if either brother would actually want much to do with him after this, but Jacob was at least a little hopeful anyway.
Dean pursed his lips consideringly. Having a partner on a hunt, or two if he included Sam, wouldn't be a bad option. "If you're up for it. We're gonna have to work on those reflexes of yours, if you want to hang with me an' Sam, that's for sure."
He gave Jacob a smirk at a thought that popped into his head. "Of course, I don't think you'll be pulling off any FBI guises anytime soon," he pointed out. Jacob was tall, but he didn't look a day over 20 at the most.
Jacob grinned sheepishly. He'd definitely have a lot to learn if he was going to keep up with how quickly Dean had responded to that ghost. Like it was as simple and easy to him as breathing. And then FBI guises filtered into his brain and Jacob caught up to what that really meant. Holy shit. The bag of tricks was supplied with more than just guns and knives, apparently.
"Yeah, okay, that side of things wouldn't be my forte," he admitted gamely. "But if nothing else I want to be ready in case something shows up on my own doorstep. I can't be much help if I'm caught off guard as easy as I was here." Even though the fight had been a short one, one second off and Dean might have been too late to be of any help to Jacob.
When they got back to the motel, Dean paused before getting out of the car. Sam hadn't move a muscle since the drive started. Shifting slightly, he checked the rearview mirror to see how Sam was doing. Yup, out like a light. Sam's tiny body was curled up into the crook of Dean's neck, his arms tightly crossed over his chest and his legs drawn close for warmth.
Hesitant, Dean put a hand next to Sam, tilting his shoulder enough for the lightweight body to slide off and into his grasp. Amazingly, this shift didn't wake Sam up, making Dean realize all over again how important it was to him to keep that trust.
Dean cupped Sam next to his chest as Jacob left to run out to his car. It was unreal to look at his hand and see someone barely the length of a finger laying there. In fact, the second Sam was on his palm, he'd curled up into the curve of Dean's fingers like it was his bed.
While Dean slowly gathered himself and his brother, Jacob grabbed his bag from where he'd left it in his car. He paused, considering fixing his parking job. But, it wasn't like the lot was all that packed. He was exhausted enough anyway. The exertion of digging a grave, not to mention the drive before that or the brief fight with the ghost, was beginning to catch up with him. The people of Chadron would survive his infraction.
He followed Dean into the motel room, releasing a sigh. He'd pent up a lot more tension than he realized, leaving that place.
Dean tossed the duffel onto the bed, grabbing a shirt out of it. Until he found something better, it was either a shirt or a pillow on the bed for Sam, and he didn't want to risk Sam on a bed so close to a giant. All it would take was a simple shift from either Jacob or Dean to hurt him. It wouldn't be worth the risk. Better to let Sam stay on the nightstand on his own. Give his fragile ribs some time to heal.
Setting up the shirt, Dean tried to figure out the best way to put Sam down without waking him. An act that was complicated by how Sam had managed to claim Dean's hand as his bed, going so far as to turn so one cheek was resting against the plush part of Dean's palm.
After setting his bag down in a corner by the unoccupied bed, Jacob took quiet steps towards where Dean sat by the nightstand. He glanced curiously over the setup while Dean dealt with his internal dilemma of how to get Sam to his makeshift bed without waking him. The nightstand itself was so familiar, and yet so different. Jacob had seen, on a different nightstand miles away, Sam sitting idly on an alarm clock a lot like the one sitting there now. He'd set down a tiny, bloodied knife there after taking it away from Sam.
Making him think he'd lose his only tie to his family. How far he'd come from that. Now, Sam's actual family was there, trying to figure out how to put him down gently.
"Since you're the fighting expert you'll have to teach him too. Get him trained with that knife. How badass would that be?!" Jacob murmured, keeping his voice down since Sam was clearly exhausted. After everything he'd gone through, the emotional rollercoaster of the last twenty four hours, he'd earned his rest.
Dean smiled. Compared to earlier that night, his expression was soft. The hardened lines put there by his brother's loss were starting to fade like they'd never existed. "Anyone who messes with him from now on will regret it," Dean swore as he carefully tilted Sam onto the shirt. It took a few cautiously well-placed nudges with a finger to get Sam to reluctantly surrender his comfortable position.
Once on the shirt, Sam automatically snuggled into the fabric, flopping facedown without ever waking up. He didn't even pay any mind to Dean when the hunter shifted part of the shirt over him, covering him up against any chill.
With Sam settled, Dean got up from the bed and went over to the room's mini-fridge. He grabbed a few beers, handing one over to Jacob. "To starting fresh," he toasted, nodding at Jacob a silent thanks.
Jacob took the beer gratefully. "To starting fresh," he mimicked the toast before taking a drink. There was nothing quite like a cold beer after a lot of hard work. Of course, Jacob had only ever figured that out under the radar. His stepdad, being a cop, wasn't about to have a beer with him while he was underage for it. Jacob would be hiding a lot more than underage drinking from the man now, if Dean really did intend to take him on as a sort of student.
"So there's actual ghosts, werewolves, shapeshifters, shrunken brothers ... is there anything out there that doesn't exist?" he mused, half serious in his curiosity.
"Bigfoot's a hoax," Dean said with a smirk. "And there ain't any little green men running around abducting people. But yeah. Pretty much everything else you hear about is lurking around, ready to sink their fangs into unsuspecting victims." He shook his head. "Yesterday I didn't even think shrinking was a possibility. Now I've got Sam back and he's barely four inches tall. No matter how long you hunt, there's always more out there to see."
After the beer, both of the humans got ready for bed. It had been a long day, and one that had paid off in more ways than one. Another spirit was put to rest, Sam was safely back with his family and Jacob had discovered an entire world he'd never known about before.
While Jacob was finishing up in the bathroom, Dean leaned over Sam, checking on the small form. Past curling the folds of the shirt closer to his body and bunching part of it up in a facsimile of a pillow, Sam hadn't shifted since being placed down. Dean let a rare, real smile appear on his face now that there was no one around to see it, brushing Sam's bangs out of his eyes with the pad of his thumb.
His brother had found his way home.
FIN
A/N
:D Sam's where he belongs and Jacob's offered a second chance of his own!
I can't believe another story has come to an end, but have no fear! The next story approaches, kicking off yet another AU!
***Family Ties has won the poll, so starting 8/23/16 that story will begin posting!***
THIS IS NOT THE END OF THE JOURNEY FOR THESE THREE! BROTHERS FOUND WILL CONTINUE IN THE FUTURE!
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