(Chapter 9.
Thank you so much to EmilyAnnMcGarrett-Winchester, ArtistKurai and LilyBolt for your wonderful reviews.
I don't own Supernatural.
Unbeated so all mistakes are mine and mine alone.
I hope you like it.)
OoO
Dean ran down the hall looking for his younger brother asking kids if they had seen Sam all of them shook their heads no. Dean finally ran back to the office and asked Trudy if she could call him over the PA system. She made the call and they waited but Sam did not appear.
"Are you sure you didn't miss him coming out of the school?" She asked as she stepped away from the microphone after she called a second time.
"I'm sure I didn't miss him. He comes running right up to me most days." Dean said pacing back and forth biting a hang-nail.
"Well, maybe he went with some friends in the gym or library?" Suggested another office worker named Amanda "I'll go and see if he's down there." And she hurried away down the hall.
"If he was in the library or gym why didn't he come when he got called over the PA?" Dean questioned.
"The PA system is getting re-wired this year so we're shutting down different parts of the system at different times and for the next week the library and gym will not have the PA system." Trudy said
"Oh." Dean said nodding to show that he heard and sunk into a chair by the door.
"Is there anyone we should inform in the city just in case of the worst like a parent?" Trudy asked sitting down next to him.
"No, not that I know of…Sam and I are living-" Dean started to say then a thought struck him.
"Can I make a phone call?" He asked jumping up.
"Yes of course." Trudy said as she got up and went around and handed him the school phone.
"Thanks." Dean said and dialed their home phone number.
"Come on, pick up, pick up." Dean whispered under his breath as the phone rang once, twice three times. It was on the forth ring when someone picked up the phone.
"Hello, Winchester residents Sam speaking." Sam's voice said and Dean almost passed out with relief.
"You my younger brother are so dead when I get home." Dean said in a low voice, over the phone Sam gulped.
"Go to your room, and stay in there until I get home then we'll have a talk." Dean then hung up the phone. "I found him he's at home." Dean said running a hand through his hair.
"Oh, thank God." Trudy exclaimed sitting down on a chair "I don't know what we would of done if a child was kidnapped."
"Yeah, well, I don't think it would have been your fault, now I need to go home and punish a brother." Dean said as he walked out of the office door and down the hall and out onto the bustling sidewalk.
When he got home all the lights where off except a thin line of light coming from under the door of Sam's room.
"Sam." Dean called out flipping on the kitchen light "Can you come out here please, I need to talk to you." He sat down at the kitchen table and crossed his leg and jiggled his foot "Sam, I will not ask a thired time get out here now!" Slowly the door opened and Sam emerged.
"Hey Dean." He said a flicker of a smile on his face.
"Sit." Dean said pointing to the chair opposite him. Sam walked over and sat down.
"We need to talk Sam, do you know what you did today?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, I walked by myself home from school." Sam said.
"Yes, you did, but you also made me have a mini heart attack. I thought you were kidnapped, I thought John got you!" Dean said raising his voice a little bit. "Why Sam? Why did you do that? Do you know how worried I was?"
"I wanted you to quit treating me like a kid Dean. I'm going to be fifteen in May but you still treat me like I'm five." Sam said "You walk me to school, you walk me home from school, you still make my lunch and cut the sandwiches into different shapes sometimes, you still read to me before bed or sing to me until I fall asleep. You know why I never mention any friends at school? It's because I don't have any. No one wants to talk to the kid whos brother still drops him off and picks him up from school." Sam said. "You don't let me walk around the city by myself, you won't let me get a job, hell you don't let me do anything with-out your say so." Sam tossed his hands up into the air breathing heavily. Dean didn't know what to say so he said nothing just looked at his younger brother. Finally after a few minutes Dean spoke.
"Ok first don't swear." Dean chided "And maybe I do treat you like a little bit of a kid but I do that because I'm worried." Dean sighed and ran a hand through his hair "I'm worried because we don't know where John is and New York is a pretty big city and you could get kidnapped and then I may never see you alive again."
"But Dean-" Sam started to say but Dean interrupted.
"Sam, I know you want freedom ok, so maybe we can come up with a compromised or something." Dean said.
"Like what?" Sam asked arching his eyebrow.
"Like, I don't know, maybe if you tell me you want to walk home or to school you can, just tell me so I'm not panicking and if we need a gallon of milk or something I can send you to that little store that's a few blocks away to get it sound good?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, that sounds good I guess." Sam grumbled "Can you not cut my sandwich into different shapes, please Dean, it was fun in elementary school but I'm in high school now and it's just embarrassing to open up my lunch bag and find a star shaped sandwich." Dean laughed.
"Sam, that's why I do it." Dean smiled.
"Oh, well quit please." Sam begged.
"No, I'm not going to stop doing that, it's too much fun." Dean said and laughed again as Sam groaned and banged his head on the table.
Dean reached out and squeezed his brothers' hand "Are we good?" he asked looking into Sam's hazel eyes.
"Yeah, we're good, and Dean, I'm sorry about last night, when I told you that you weren't my dad. You may not be a dad in a traditional since of the word but you where the one who raised me." Sam said smiling.
"Come on we better start in on our homework and clean this place up before the county comes to look." Dean said standing up and blinking rapidly. While Sam left to grab his books Dean wiped his eyes on the back of his hand quickly.
"So how was your day?" Sam asked when he came out with books in hand.
"Apart from the mini panic attack you caused me?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, apart from that." Sam said opening up his English book.
"It was good, did a little more digging on Maggie Jones and found out she died in the tunnel, but nothing else. I may go and see if I can talk to a relative of hers and find out some info." Dean said opening up his own books.
"Dean what would you go as for your cover? You're too young to be a police officer or a detective." Sam said. "Not only that but Bobby told you not to be going on a hunt."
"I'm not, I'm just doing research on it." Dean argued back.
"No Dean, you're going on a hunt. I know you are." Sam said "I'll call Bobby and tell him, honestly I will."
"Look, I gave Bobby my word I would not go hunting ghost and I'm not going to." Dean said "Now, work on your homework ok?"
"Ok ok." Sam sighed and pulled his book closer and continued to read.
As Sam went into his room that night to get ready for bed Dean stopped by his door.
"Knock knock, Sam can I come in?" Dean asked knocking on the door.
"Yeah." Sam called out and Dean entered Sam's room.
"You need to clean in here, it's a mess." Dean said looking at the socks and other odds and ends lying around the room.
"I'll do it tomorrow." Sam said setting the book he was reading a side.
"Okay I'll hold you to that." Dean said looking right at Sam.
"I assume you didn't come in here to talk about the state of my room." Sam said.
"No," Dean said "I have a question to ask you, do you really not want me singing to you anymore at night?"
"I don't know, I like the songs but sometimes I feel like a baby when you sing to me." Sam admitted playing with the corner of his blanket.
"Do you know why I sing to you sometimes?" Dean asked. Sam shook his head no. Dean smiled sadly and licked his lips.
"It's because mom used to sing to me until I fell asleep. So me singing to you in away is kind of a way to keep moms spirit alive." Dean explained his eyes wondering over to the window. "I remember the last song she sang to me it was 'Hey Jude.'" Dean laughed "It was her favourite."
"Really, did John sing?" Sam asked yawning.
"I don't remember him singing as often as mom but sometimes he'd sing. After mom died dad didn't sing with the exception of when he got drunk and he'd be thinking about mom, then he'd sing 'The wind cried Mary.'"
"Really?" Sam asked through a yawn.
"Really." Dean said getting off the bed and pulling the covers over Sam. "Good night Sam." He said and gave Sam a brief kiss on the forehead.
"Good night Dean." Sam yawned again as Dean turned to go into his own room.
"Wait, Dean?" Sam said looking at his older brother.
"Yes Sam?" Dean asked his hand hovering over the light switch.
"You called John dad. Why?" Sam asked cocking his head.
"Did I? I don't know maybe because I was just talking about mom, anyway enough questions for tonight. Night." And Dean clicked off the light shut the door and went into his own room and fell asleep without even changing out of his clothing.
Sam and Dean spent the weekend in a cleaning frenzy and Monday morning the apartment was spick and span and smelled great because Dean had found a blueberry muffin recipe and baked muffins so the whole apartment smelled like a bakery.
"Are we going to go to school this morning?" Sam asked as he ate snagged a muffin.
"No, we don't know when the person is going to be coming so we're going to be staying here." Dean said as he took a muffin himself and split it to put butter between it.
"Wouldn't it reflect bad on your part if I'm not in school and you're not at work?" Sam asked washing the muffin down with some milk.
"It's badly Sam and no, I don't think so. I mean they said were coming sometime today so." Dean said letting the sentence hang.
"If we're not here then how will they get an idea of your parenting skills?" Sam asked.
"Yep." Dean nodded and washed his muffin down with some milk then poured himself a cup of coffee.
"Alright, what do we do then?" Sam asked.
"Just act normal I guess." Dean said shrugging "Answer any questions they ask you honestly and just act like you." He got up and took the plates to the sink and ran water to wash them while Sam went into the living room to watch TV. After the dishes where washed Dean joined Sam in the living room.
"What show are you watching?" Dean asked sitting on the floor with his back up against the couch.
"No clue." Sam said then flipped the TV off "Dean when will they get here?"
"I don't know Sam, just calm down it'll be ok." Dean said ruffling Sam's hair. Dean took out the Chevy Impala model kit Sam had gotten him for his birthday and began to work on that while Sam went into his room to play with his race track. At ten O' clock the speaker on the wall crackled to life.
"I got it!" Sam hollered as he shot out of his bedroom and to the speaker.
"Hello?" He asked pressing the talk button.
"Hi, is this the Winchester residents?" An unfamiliar female voice asked.
"Yes it is, who's asking?" Sam questioned.
"My name is Samantha Johnson, I'm with the county, I'm here to do the child safety assessment to see if the child you are raising is living in a safe environment." Samantha Johnson said.
"Oh, ok, here I'll buzz you in." Sam pressed the button and turned to face Dean. "She's coming."
"I know, Sammy, just calm down. We'll be fine, she'll find nothing wrong with the apartment ok." Dean said smiling. Sam nodded and both of them stiffened a little as they heard footsteps out in the hall and jumped when a knock came at the door. Dean gulped and went pale. But hurried to answer it.
"Hi, you must be Sam, right?" She asked smiling holding out a hand for him to shake.
"No, I'm Sammy's older brother Dean, this is Sammy." Dean said putting an arm around Sam's shoulders.
"Oh, I'm sorry hello Sam, how are you?" Samantha smiled.
"I'm doing fine I guess." Sam said.
"Ok, well let's get to work shall we?" Samantha asked and looked around the house. "I'll be talking to each of you in privet so let's start with Dean first." Dean looked at Samantha.
"Why can't we talk to you with the other one here?" he asked.
"Because that's the rules Mr. Winchester now is there a place where your brother can wait until it's his turn?" Samantha asked. Dean nodded.
"Sam, please go into your room." As soon as Sam's bedroom door shut Samantha sat down at the table and took out a tape recorder.
"For legal purposes I need to record this." She explained "If that's alright with you."
"Yeah, that's fine." Dean said nodding. "Ok, then." She pushed the record button on the tape and spoke in to it. "My name is Samantha Johnson. I'm at the home of Dean Winchester and his younger brother Samuel Winchester. The date is February 5. Dean, the older brother, has been notified he is being recorded. Now, Dean, as Sam's main care giver what does that mean you do? What is your roll?"
"Well, hmm." Dean said thinking.
"Can you speak up so the recorder and hear you." Samantha asked.
"Yeah, sorry. Well I make sure he's up in time for school, I make sure he has food to eat and a roof over his head." Dean said.
"Ok, how do you get the food that he eats and the clothing he has?"
"I'm on food support from the city of New York and I get the clothing from the Goodwill." Dean explained.
"Has there been any times when Sam has told you he has felt unsafe somewhere?" Samantha asked.
"Lots of times when we were with John, he told me that he was unsafe staying with him." Dean said.
"Can you expand on who John is?" Samantha asked.
'Oh, yeah, John Winchester our biological father." Dean answered.
"You say biological father do you have a step-father somewhere?"
"No, well, kinda, there is a guy in Sioux Falls, Robert Singer, who is pretty close to a father for me and Sam." Dean explained.
"I see." Samantha said the questioning went on and on. Samantha asked about how much Dean was making from work, who looked after Sam if he had to work late and a lot more. Then when she was done talking to Dean she asked Sam to go out and Dean went into his bedroom and waited while she questioned his brother, which Dean thought had to be illegal questioning a minor without parent there. Finally she was done and after poking around the apartment making sure it was fit to bring Sam up in she left telling them that they would get a court order to appear before a judge at some point. As soon as she left Dean looked at Sam and smiled.
"That wasn't so bad was it Sammy?" He asked.
"Not really, although she asked a lot of hard questions." Sam said.
"Like what, like how I liked having my older brother being my parent." Sam answered.
"Why was that hard?" Dean asked.
"Because I wasn't quite sure how to answer it." Sam said.
"Oh, well, how do you like it?" Dean questioned.
"It's nice, you have a good balance between a parent and older sibling." Sam smiled.
"Well, that's good to know." Dean put an arm around his sibling "We have the whole day off now, what do you want to do?" he asked.
"Do you think we can go to Central Park?" Sam asked hope in his voice.
"Not today Sam, that's way over on the other side of the city, I know, let's go see that new movie that is in the theater 'Ace Ventura: Pet Detective.' Dean said "What do you think?"
"Ok, sounds good I guess." Sam said as he went to pull on his winter boots.
"Ok, then let's get going." Dean smiled and went to get his own boots and jacket.