Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW.
Previously on Supernatural- Sitting down he wrapped the tarp around Sammy and himself and settled in for the long wait.
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Chief Haynes jumped out of the fire truck before it came to a full stop and surveyed the scene. He took in the smoke rolling from the windows at the top and middle of the building and began shouting orders to his men. He watched his men scramble from the truck and quickly pull out and set up their equipment. Turning he spotted a small group of people gathered in front of the burning building and gazing up at the apartments in disbelief. Needing information he swiftly walked over to the group and asked, "Who's in charge here?"
A tall older man stepped out of the crowd. "I guess I am." The man stated. "Name's Bill. I'm the building manager."
"Good. I need some information. First, is everyone accounted for?" the chief questioned.
"Yes, everyone made it out safely." Bill said. "I've checked my…"
"What about the family in 3C? I don't see them out here." an elderly voice called out.
"It's alright Mrs. Cobb. They left early yesterday morning. Said something about going away for Christmas." Bill informed the group.
"Not possible" Mrs. Cobb replied as she slowly approached Bill and the fire chief. "I saw those two boys just this afternoon."
Chief Haynes glanced over at the petite lady who was clutching her cane tightly as she struggled to walk through the snow. Walking over to her he gently took her free arm and asked, "Are you sure Mrs. Cobb?"
The elderly woman glared at the chief and removed her arm from his grip. Shaking her finger at the stunned man she replied, "Look a here sonny. I may have been around the same time as the dinosaurs but that doesn't mean I'm some old feeble minded fool! My mind still works perfectly fine. Those two precious boys were definitely here today. They left this afternoon and came back a few hours later carrying some grocery bags and talking about seeing Santa. The little one even said hello and gave me a candy cane out of his goody bag."
Frowning Chief Haynes turned back to the manager. "Did you actually see the family leave or did you just talk with the father?" he questioned.
"I was out trying to shovel the snow off the sidewalk when I saw the dad that morning. He said he was going to start the car so it could warm up before the kids got in. I finished and put the shovel back in the shed. When I came back to go inside, the car was pulling off." Bill explained.
"So you never saw the children?" the chief asked.
"No, just the dad. I just assumed…" The color suddenly drained from Bill's face as the reality of the situation sunk in. "Oh God! You don't think he left them here! Please, you have to find them! They're just little boys!"
"Bill! Bill, calm down! We'll find them." Chief Haynes assured the distraught man. "Just stay here and try to keep everyone calm. We'll take care of everything." Chief Haynes turned and headed back to the truck. The situation had just gotten a whole lot worse.
At the shed
Dean peered out the shed door and stared up at the burning building that had been their home. Seeing the orange glow coming from their bedroom he muttered a few choice words before kicking at the ground. Knowing they wouldn't be staying at the apartments tonight he closed the door and trudged back over and sat down next to Sammy.
Sammy fidgeted beneath the tarp attempting to find a more comfortable and warmer spot. He shivered as Dean slightly opened the covering and climbed inside wrapping his freezing arms around his little brother. Sammy tried to distract himself by naming all Bobby's dogs and then picturing a warm fire in Pastor Jim's fireplace but nothing worked. Tired and cold he glanced up at his big brother and asked, "Can we go back to our room now, Dean? I'm cold."
"Sorry Sammy. Afraid we can't go back to our room. The fire's there. We'll have to find somewhere else to stay for a while." Dean told him.
"But how will daddy find us?" Sammy asked.
"Don't worry kiddo. I'll make sure he knows where to come get us." Dean confidently said. Seeing his little brother nod his head Dean leaned back and searched his memory for a place to go. Bobby's place was only an hour away but Bobby wasn't there and even though Dean knew how to hot wire and drive a car, he couldn't risk driving on these slippery roads. So he needed to find somewhere around here to hold up. "Only one problem with that." Dean thought. "We haven't been here long enough to know the town or the people very well yet. Our neighbors are out. They lost their place too. Besides they'd probably call CPS on us for being here alone. Hmmm, the only other people we know our Matt and his parents. Wait! That's it! His folks were really nice to Sammy in the hospital. Bet they'd let us stay with them for a few days. Just need a good cover story." Decision made Dean turned to Sammy with a smile. "Hey, Sammy. How would you like to stay at your friend Matt's house?" he asked.
"Really? Cool!" Sammy squealed bouncing up and down. Sammy's grin suddenly disappeared and he froze. "I forgot. Matt's not home, Dean. The doctors let him make a wish at the hospital. He wished to go to Disneyland and his wish came true. They left yesterday." He said sadly. Peeking up at his brother through his bangs he hesitantly asked, "How come he got to make a wish, Dean?"
Dean's heart broke at the thought of Matt's wish and the reason behind it. Deciding to spare Sammy the grief that answer would cause Dean carefully schooled his expression and said the first thing that came to mind. "Well, there was this coloring contest at the hospital before you got there and Matt won. The wish was his prize, Sammy."
"Oh" Sammy replied. "Maybe I'll get to be in the contest next time. I can color really good. I bet I could win."
"I hope not." Dean thought as he smiled and ruffled Sammy's hair. "Yeah squirt, you would." He said crossing his fingers. He never wanted Sammy to have to endure what Matt had been through. Remembering their predicament Dean refocused his attention on getting them somewhere warm and Matt's house was now looking better than ever. They lived a little ways out of town, and the neighbors' homes weren't close. They also didn't have a security system which would make getting inside a breeze. The only big problems that Dean could see were getting out of the shed without being noticed and getting to Matt's place. It was too far out for Sammy to walk especially with the kid still recovering from that URI. And he couldn't risk driving. He needed something that was quiet and unnoticeable to get them out of town. But what? He glanced at the old lawnmower in front of them before shaking his head. He didn't think that would make it through the snow. He needed something that could easily slide through the snow without drawing a lot of attention. "Let's see" Dean thought. "Lee next door has a golf cart. Nah, it'd never make it. Not enough horse power. Horse power? That it! Mark and David down the street have a pony! Sammy can make it that far and then we'll ride out to Matt's." Smiling Dean got up and began gathering their things as he worked out the details of their escape in his head.
In front of the apartments
Mrs. Cobb watched as chief talked with several firemen who had just exited the blaze. She stood and waited for them to finish and go their separate ways before walking over to the chief. "Well? Did you find them?" she demanded.
Chief Haynes looked over at the woman and shook his head. "Nothing yet ma'am. But don't worry. If the boys are in there, my men will find them."
"I hope so." Mrs. Cobb said. "I can't believe anyone would…" The rest of her statement was cut off as a shout was heard from the back of the building.
At the shed
"Alright Sammy." Dean whispered as he peered out the slit in the door. "Now remember what I told you. We have to be very quiet so the bad guys won't get us, understand?"
"I guess." Sammy hesitantly said. "But I thought firemen were our friends, Dean. The ones that came to my classroom were nice. They even gave us candy and a coloring book."
Dean rolled his eyes at his little brother's statement. Sammy thought anyone was nice as long as they gave him candy. Dean made a mental note to sit the kid down when all this was over and have a serious talk with him about strangers. Feeling a strong urge to flee the scene he decided to tell his brother the truth. They didn't have time for a round of twenty questions. "Look Sammy, if the firemen or anybody else catches us here without dad, they'll take us away and give us to some other families. We'll never see dad or each other again." He explained. Seeing the terrified look in Sammy's eyes he began to quickly reassure his brother. "But don't worry. I'm not gonna let that happen, okay?"
"Okay, Dean" Sammy quietly replied as he clutched his big brother's hand.
"Smiling Dean placed his brother's hat back on his head and led the way out of the shed.
With the grownups
"Chief! Over here!" one of the firemen called. "I found something!"
Chief Haynes raced around the corner of the building stopping beneath the fire escape. "What is it, Jones?" he asked.
"Sir, the fire escape ladder's down and one of the windows on the third floor is open." Jones informed his boss.
"What else?" the chief asked.
"I found this beside that big indentation in the snow." Jones replied holding up a small bag of goodies. "And there are two small sets of footprints that go from here to the shed. I already looked in the shed. They were definitely there at some point but they're gone now. There's more tracks that head north behind the building."
"Good work Jones!" Chief Haynes praised. "I'll inform the police. They can handle things from here."
The boys
Dean slowly approached the pony whispering soothingly as he got close to the animal. Raising one hand he gently stroked the pony's mane grinning when the animal tossed his head back in response. Taking the bridle off a hook by the door Dean carefully placed it on the pony just as he had been taught by Caleb. Thinking about the two show offs he smirked. He wished he could see their faces in the morning when they found out their prize possession was gone. The two were always riding by the apartments taunting the kids. If there was one thing Dean couldn't stand, it was bullies. He would have loved to teach those two creeps a thing or two. Maybe this would be a good wake up call for them. And if not, Dean could always come back later and settle the score for all those kids at the apartments. Feeling a nudge Dean shook his head to clear his thoughts and turned back to the task at hand. Throwing the reins over the pony's back he quickly led the animal out of the small barn and over to the fence where Sammy was waiting. Dean opened the gate and then carefully lifted Sammy up on the pony's back. He handed Sammy their duffles before climbing on behind his brother and throwing an arm around Sammy's waist. Taking his duffle and the reins from Sam Dean gently kicked the pony and the held on as the pony set off through the back yards at a trot.
Back at the apartments
Chief Haynes walked over to the police car as his men finished packing up their equipment. Stepping up next to the car he waited for the burly officer to get out and then asked, "Any news on those boys, Henry?"
"No" Henry replied. "We managed to follow their tracks to an old barn behind the Chapman's home. Appears they took a pony and rode off. We lost their trail right after that. Tracks end right beside a road. Officer Bellows sent me to get a description of the two."
"Good. Think you need to talk to that old lady over there. Her name's Mrs. Cobb. Smart old bird. She'll tell you what you need." The chief said as he pointed the older woman out.
"Thanks! I'll keep you informed on the search." Henry called over his shoulder as he walked toward Mrs. Cobb.
Matt's house
Dean slid off the pony and then helped Sammy down. Walking up to the back door he glanced around before quickly picking the lock and opening the door. Smiling at the warmth he took Sammy's hand and guided him to the nearby table. "Okay Sammy. Now I want you to wait right here while I go send the pony home. Don't turn on the lights and don't touch anything, alright?"
"Okay Dean" Sammy replied pulling off his mittens and hat. He clutched the offered flashlight taking comfort in the small amount of light it gave off.
Dean rushed out the door and shooed the pony away. He stayed outside watching until the pony disappeared into the night. Once it was gone he walked back into the house and led Sammy up the stairs to Matt's room. They dropped their bags on the floor and quickly changed before climbing into bed and falling asleep.
The next morning
Dean arranged bowls, spoons, and cups on the table and then walked back to the kitchen for the cereal and milk. Coming back to the table he poured the cereal and milk and sat down to enjoy his breakfast. He dug into his cereal munching happily. "Eat, Sammy." He ordered as his little brother continued to stare at the television.
"I'm not hungry." Sammy said pushing his bowl away and propping his elbows on the table.
Sighing Dean pushed the bowl right back in front of his brother. "Sammy, you have to eat. You've gotta take your meds." He told his brother."
"I know but…" Sammy began.
"But nothing squirt. Eat." Dean repeated.
Sammy slowly lifted the spoon and took a small bite. Returning the spoon to the bowl he stirred the cereal around a little before asking the question that was on his mind. "Dean, will daddy find us here?"
"Sure he will Sammy." Dean assured his brother. "I'm gonna call Pastor Jim and Bobby this morning and let them know where we are. They'll tell dad. Don't worry. I have everything under control."
"Dean! Look!" Sammy shouted pointing to the television.
Dean turned up the volume on the remote listening as the newscaster reported on the apartment fire. He was just about to turn it off when sketches of two boys flashed on the screen. Frowning he watched as the reporter told about search for two missing boys named Dean and Sammy who had been abandoned by their father. He swore as the picture changed to show Mark and David's barn and then the pony. Seeing the hotline number he clicked off the television and slammed the remote down. Things had just gone to hell in a hand basket.