A/N: Okay, so all the feed back I received indicated everyone would be happier with a longer story, so I've decided to see just what Sam 2.0 is capable of. I haven't done my new outline just yet, as I'm still waiting for all you wonderful readers to go to my profile and vote on what episodes you want re-wrote and featured in this story. The poll has lots of fun options, and each of you can vote on up to five, SO GO VOTE : )
So, since I needed to re-vamp the story line a little, I decided to make life easier on myself and give the boys a home base for the next few months. May I introduce you to Caroline, Colorado, which I swear to god I made up, so if it really exists, don't tell me. I am not a Colorado native, and though I try desperately hard to avoid plotholes, I do not have a ton of time to research geography and such, so if I make any logistical errors, I apologize. Colorado suited my needs for the majority of the episodes I am likeley to be re-writing, so I created a town and plopped the Winchesters there.
I have some amazing readers and reviewers, and I'd like to thank all of you for your loyalty to this story, it means so much to me! This story has more reviews than any story I've ever written, that I know of anyway, and I am anxiously watching to see if I can hit the one hundred review mark, so I you have a moment, I will be endlessly grateful.
I hope you enjoy!
As Always,
EverReader
Disclaimer: Not my sandbox
Prisoner of War- Chapter Sixteen
"Born Under a Lucky Star"
Sam slammed the door shut on his locker, dodging the multitude of elbows and arms as teens wrestled themselves into jackets before heading out into the afternoon sun.
They'd been holed up in Caroline, Colorado for a little more than a week now, but Dean had insisted on keeping Sam home the first few days, so this was only Sam's second day at the high school.
Sam hadn't really wanted to stay cooped up in the house with his restless brother, but Dean;s frustration levels appeared to be reaching all new highs, thanks to John's most recent behavior, and Sam hadn't had the energy to battle Dean on it.
Adjusting his backpack on the shoulder that wasn't in the sling, he maneuvered as carefully as he could through the crowded hall way. Caroline was a town of only about fifteen-hundred people, but apparently practically every house in town had at least one teenager, as full as the high school seemed.
It wasn't actually all that surprisingly.
Caroline was gorgeous, near the mountains without being so far above sea level that the weather was always crappy. Lots of biking and hiking, and only a few hours from Boulder and Denver. It was a pretty ideal place for families, small enough to feel safe, big enough to have a stable economy. Low crime rate, low unemployment.
Sam had used to yearn to live in a town like this.
"Sam, man, how ya doin?" The dark haired guy came up to him with a friendly grin, and Sam racked his mind for his name quickly.
Trent.
"Pretty good, Trent, how's it hanging?" He asked as casually as he could, curious why the kid was even speaking to him. They had a couple of classes together, but Sam didn't think they'd actually managed to speak once even so far in the two days Sam had been there.
"Awesome, man. Hey, me and some of the guys were wondering, when's the sling come off?" Trent replied, shoving his hands in his jacket pockets and rocking back on his heels.
"Huh? Oh, another couple of days, I guess. My brother's idea, I wrenched it last week, and he didn't want me to make it worse by using it to much. It's just a precaution, really." Sam said in confusion, unsure of why Trent could possibly care about his bum shoulder.
"Awesome, man, totally awesome!" Trent crowed, high fiving another boy who'd walked up to join the conversation.
"Oh, hey, this is Derek." Trent said, gesturing to the new comer. Derek grinned, miles of too-white teeth in braces-perfect rows, neat and even.
"Look, I was asking cause basketball tryouts are next week, and face it, man, you are one tall dude. Hard to believe you're only a junior." Trent said good naturedly.
"Yeah...weird, huh?" Sam said, feeling like he had fallen into an episode of the twilight zone. He'd spent his whole life as the geeky kid holed up in the library, and now some jock was asking him to join their team? It was true that Sam was pretty tall for a junior, and despite his recent weight loss, he was in decent shape.
Still, Sam had spent years being the new kid on the fringe of things, desperate to fit in but never quite managing it.
"So what do you think?" Trent asked, grinning.
"Um... yeah. Uh, maybe. To be honest, we move around a lot, and my dad likes us to do family stuff on the weekends, you know, camping and stuff."
"No biggie, man, just think about it. My 'rents are all into the great outdoors too, but to be honest, camping blows. Hunting's okay, though, you ever go shooting?" Trent asked.
"You could say that. Dad's ex-military." Sam said with a laugh.
If they only knew, he thought wryly.
"Ouch." Trent said with a laugh. "Well, hey, just think about it, alright?"
"Sure." Sam agreed, simply to finish up the world's weirdest conversation.
The other two guys headed the other way, and Sam finished walking out the doors, heading towards the parking lot. Dean had insisted on picking him up, at least until Sam's shoulder was better, though Sam wasn't really sure what walking had to do with his shoulder.
Dean was outside, leaning against his Impala, surrounded by a flock of girls, and Sam didn't even spare the effort to be surprised.
He did wonder why Dean didn't look more pleased with himself, though.
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Dean grinned charmingly at the gaggle of girls that had predictably gathered around Baby almost as soon as he pulled up.
"So, you're obviously not a student." The girl, a pretty brunette, barely managed to say the words without giggling.
"Nah. I'm just picking up my brother, Sam." Dean said easily, flashing the charm smile one more time for good measure.
"Ooohhh!" The girls nearly chorused as one, looking at each other and giggling some more.
"Are you Sam Winchester's brother?" Another asked, pushing wavy blonde hair out of her face. Pretty green eyes stared up at him widely.
Caught a little off guard, Dean laughed awkwardly. "Well, I like to think of Sam as my brother."
"He is sooo tall!" The first one squealed, and Dean pulled a face.
He'd known the kid getting taller than him was going to pose problems for him.
Sam walked up just then, giving Dean a bemused look as the girls suddenly shoved off, a giggling unit in bootleg jeans and rainbow layered t-shirts.
"Bye, Sam!" The blonde called, and Sam waved, confusion evident on his face.
Looking at his brother, he asked "What just happened?"
"I have no idea." Dean replied in honest confusion.
Getting into the car, he reached out a took Sam's pack from him, tossing it in the backseat.
"How's the shoulder?" Dean asked, searching Sam's face for any indication he was in pain.
Sam shrugged. "It's fine." He replied.
Dean barely resisted beating his head into the steering wheel.
"Fine." He muttered, pulling out onto the road that led from the high school.
He took the turn that would lead them to the quaint, downtown neighborhood that housed the diner Dean had already staked a claim on as his own, possibly because they featured a different kind of pie on special every night of the week.
"We're not going home?" Sam asked, one brow lifted.
Dean's lips tightened. "Dad had company." He said shortly.
Sam didn't say anything else, though for once, Dean almost wished he would.
John had set up a base of sorts here in Caroline, renting out an old Victorian house that looked like they should be exorcising it instead of living in it. Dean had been confused by the size of John's choice, before he realized just how many people were coming in and out, sometimes crashing for a night, other times leaving after only an hour or two.
John's newest hunt hadn't wrapped up, quite the contrary, it appeared to have grown in size, with new hunters showing up and leaving again all the time, as well as some familiar faces. Caleb had shown up and then left again yesterday, and Rufus, who had used to partner with Bobby, had come through the day before.
Whatever John was hunting, it was massive, and Dean was gnashing his teeth in quiet, seething frustration, because John refused to tell them anything about it.
Instead, he'd already sent Dean on a podunk salt and burn a few hours south. None of the other hunters would tell them anything, and as hard as Dean wanted to be obedient, he couldn't help but chafe at the thought that John didn't think he was ready to hunt whatever he and the other, older hunters were tracking.
Sam remained silent, and Dean determined that if Sam could handle the insult with grace, than he damn well could too.
For now, anyway.
They entered the diner and managed to get seated right away, as they were somewhat ahead of the dinner rush.
"Seriously, though. How is your arm? And your cough?" Dean asked again, as he flipped through the menu.
"It's really fine, Dean. I probably don't even need the sling." Sam said with a sigh.
"The sling stays." Dean said firmly. "And your cough?"
Sam barely managed to avoid rolling his eyes. "Almost gone. I'm fine, Dean. I really am."
The waitress came up then, and they both placed their orders, Dean making it a point to add an order of fries to Sam's order, still worried about how much weight Sam had lost recently.
"So, Dad find a new hunt for us yet?" Sam asked, near the end of their meal, as he picked at his salad.
Dean frowned. "What, you bored already? Figured you'd be thrilled for a couple of days to get settled into your new school. Don't they have all those advanced placement classes you're always talking about?"
Sam shrugged. "Yeah, but we're not gonna be here long, so why get attached?" He said casually.
Dean sent him a sharp, measuring look. "Well, about that. I was talking to Dad, and he mentioned wintering here. You've been sick, and the location here is central to a lot of his contacts. I applied for some part time work at an auto shop just a couple blocks from here. The guy took one look at Baby and added a dollar an hour to my starting pay."
Sam looked at him, wide eyed. "Wait, so...we're staying? And you got a job? A real, honest to god job?"
Dean shrugged, uncomfortable. "Well, a real, honest to god part time job, anyway. We need need to be free to take hunts, Dad just wants this to be base camp for the next few months."
"Whatever he's working on, it must be big." Sam said musingly.
"For all the good it'll do us." Dean said sourly.
Sam shrugged again. "He'll let us know when he needs us." He frowned. "I should get an after school job too, then, if we're gonna be here that long."
Dean scowled. "No need, Sammy. I got it covered. You're busy enough with school and hunting. You'll never get any sleep if you take a job on too."
He disliked the idea of Sam getting a job. Not because the kid couldn't handle it, he was sure Sam could handle just about anything he put his mind to it. But he'd been sick, really sick, and he'd missed a ton of school. It had been one thing for Dean to take his GED, but Sam was something else.
Not to mention, Dean took it as a point of pride to be able to provide for his family, to make sure Sam had shoes and a cell phone and food.
Sam shook his head. "It's cool man. Clothes and food and stuff, it all takes money. It's time I started carrying my weight anyway."
"No." Dean's voice rang with finality, and Sam pulled back a little from Dean's vehemence.
Softening his voice, Dean added, "I got this kiddo. You just focus on those AP classes you're always talking about, and make sure your ready whenever Dad needs us, okay."
Sam looked at him solemnly, then shrugged with one shoulder. "Sure, Dean. Whatever you say."
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Sam ambled out into the living room a few days later, stretching his shoulder out experimentally.
It was Saturday, and the house was quiet. It was too early for the older Winchesters to be up voluntarily, and for once they hadn't had any over night house guests. The rental was so big he and Dean each had their own room, though it seemed to freak out Dean a little, and he had a tendency to barge in Sam's room arbitrarily whenever he thought he needed to check on him.
Sam kept expecting John to assign him training on days when there wasn't a hunt, but so far John had been silent on the matter, and he wondered if Dean had something to do with it.
He walked out to the porch and finished stretching out, checking that he had his cell phone in his pocket before starting out at a slow jog up the street.
Caroline really was beautiful, picturesque and quiet, and it almost hurt Sam physically sometimes, looking at everything he had ever wanted now that he knew he never had a chance in hell of having it.
Slowly, he increased his pace, until he was going at a fairly fast clip, long legs eating up the pavement. His chest was burning, but really, it wasn't anything that would kill him, and he'd gone to long without running, so he pushed himself to make up for it.
He'd found he'd actually missed running, when he'd been too sick to do it. It was his time to clear his head, to get away from John and Dean and the watchful eyes and careful words, and Sam always having to work so hard to make sure he was fine-fine-fine.
He was determined to get his strength back. In Jericho, he'd finally managed to do something right, and he was determined that it wasn't going to be a one time experience. He'd taken a lot of chances. But it had worked out, and anyway, it wasn't like he was signed up for happily ever after anyway.
He slowed as he came to the downtown section near the diner Dean liked. Despite his best intentions, his chest was trying to seize up on him, and he was forced to sit down on a bench and wait it out.
He leaned forward, pulling in breath's as deep as he could manage, determined to get this nonsense under control. How the hell was he supposed to hunt if he couldn't even breathe?
Looking up, he spied a newspaper someone had left on the bench the day before.
Remembering his and Dean's conversation from a few days before, he picked it up, intending to look through the help wanted ads. Despite whatever Dean said, Sam was tired of being a burden. Dean and John paid for his food, his clothes, his shoes. The only time he had money of his own was when Dean or John gave it to him. Sure, he knew how to run a card scam as good as John by now, but he was to young to get away with using a credit card most of the time, and credit card fraud didn't really seem to fall into his "earn redemption or die trying" game plan.
If they were gonna be sticking around Caroline for a while, he ought to at least try and earn some of his own money, even if he was just washing dishes a few nights a week.
An article on the front page caught his eye.
"Third person in three weeks wins lottery in small town- Is Berryville, Colorado the luckiest place on earth?" The headline read, and Sam snorted.
More likely, it was the nation's gambling capital or something.
Lotto tickets were just statistics. The more you played, the bigger the possibility you would eventually win something. Whether or not your winnings made up for what you spent trying to win remained to be seen.
He turned the next page, scanning for the want adds.
Right next to the help wanted ads were the wedding announcements. Sam's eyebrows went up when he looked at the couple in the large black and white picture.
The woman was gorgeous, an easy "10" as Dean would say.
The man...not so much.
"Maybe it is the luckiest town on earth." Sam murmured, reading the couple's hometown.
Berryville.
Playing on a hunch now, he scanned through the rest of the paper, no longer interested in the help wanted ads.
He found what he was looking for on the very last page.
"Local man swears he was attacked by giant, talking bear." The caption read.
"Yeah. That's not normal." Sam said to himself, pushing to his feet and started the jog back to their house, newspaper tucked underneath one arm.
Looks like he'd found them a case.