I Remember You
Warning- a bit of violence in this chapter.
Chapter 8
Dean had awakened before Sam and decided to use the time to contact Bobby. It wasn't a call he we looking forward too, because he knew Bobby would be furious at him for not letting the older hunter know that he had Sam back.
Dean went out the front motel door to keep from disturbing Sam. He left it cracked so he could keep an eye on the kid.
"Bobby?"
"Dean, have you found Sam?" Bobby's voice was full of concern.
"Yeah, Ruby helped me locate Sam. We freed him last night…"
Dean was interrupted by one grumpy voice. "And you didn't think to call, boy? I've been worried sick."
"Sorry Bobby, but there were complications that I had to deal with."
"Is Sam okay?" Bobby's voice softened.
"Not exactly. The demons that had him, drugged him and performed some sort of ritual that took his memory. He's still weak from the drugs and pretty scared."
"Damn, I bet he is. Why were they messing with his mind?"
Dean cleared his throat, fighting the emotion that was threatening to choke him. "I think they thought if Sam forgot me, then they'd have a chance at converting him to their side. It was pretty awful Bobby. Poor kid woke up in a hospital with no memory. He was told he was in a car accident, and that he survived and me and Dad died. They told him that he had brain trauma and had been in a coma. The damn demons even had a look-a-like of his girlfriend, Jess there pretending to love and care about him."
"Man that's a hell of a head trip."
"Yeah, poor kid had a concussion from the kidnapping and then was drugged to the gills, so he's still a bit loopy. They had released him from the hospital when we found him. Ruby and I had to bust in and exorcise the demon from his look-a-like girlfriend. That was pretty rough."
"Ruby helped huh? Can't figure her out. So did the girl survive the exorcism?"
Dean glanced in the room at Sam and continued. "Yeah the girl survived which is good cause I think Sam would have fallen apart if she hadn't. To be honest, he's taken the whole demon thing pretty well. I'm just glad that I'm rid of Ruby. She split to take out the rest of this demon group, so I don't have the pleasure of her company anymore. God I hate her, but she did come in handy."
"So have you explained much to Sam?" Bobby's voice had a curious note to it.
"Had too. Damn demons planted false memories that attack the kid when he sleeps. He recognized me when I burst in on him last night because they had planted a memory of the car crash and mine and Dad's death. And then, last night he starts thrashing around in the throes of a bad dream and when I go to wake him he has this major break down. The demons had planted memories of me and Dad verbally and physically abusing him. I was able to calm him down, but damn…" Dean swallowed hard trying to keep the emotions at bay.
"Poor kid. Damn, you've had your hands full, boy."
"Yeah, so after I got him calmed down, I gave him the condensed version of our lives. Which he seemed to take okay. I will say that Sam is tough, and good thing too with all the shit life has thrown him."
"He's a Winchester, and that family bond is what gets the boy through all this crap. So what are your plans? I'd hope to hear you're heading my way."
Dean smiled. Bobby was such a support. "Yeah, I wanted to if that's cool…"
"Boy, like you even have to ask." Bobby huffed out.
"Thanks Bobby, we'll be heading your way. Uh, I didn't tell Sam about him dying or the deal. It seemed like a lot to mention all at once." Dean added, cringing as he waited for the older man's reaction.
Bobby sighed. "Yeah I suppose it would be a lot to handle. But you gotta tell him sometime."
"I know. Hey look I appreciate everything but Sam's stirring so I'd better go." Dean watched as Sam started moving, happy to have a reason to get off the phone.
"Keep in touch." And with that the phone clicked off.
-0-
Dean entered the room just as Sam was wiping the sleep from his eyes.
"Morning Sleeping Beauty!" Dean's morning greeting sputtered to a sudden halt as he watched his brother jump, at the verbal intrusion.
"Sorry Sam, I didn't mean to scare you. I'm just used to being loud and annoying in the morning, it's our normal brotherly banter." Dean said as he slunk down on the bed opposite Sam.
Sam gave him a tentative smile and yawned. "It's fine. You're adjusting to me and I'm adjusting to you. We'll find our rhythm I'm sure. It's just I didn't see you in the doorway."
Dean smirked. "And I was loud, and it caught you off guard."
"Yeah, something like that. So what were you doing outside?" Sam asked as he stretched his arms out.
"I called Bobby, and I didn't want to disturb you." Dean said as he put his cell phone down on the bed.
"Is he okay with us coming to visit?" Sam said as he shifted uneasily on the bed.
"Oh yeah he's fine, just pissed at me for not calling him the minute I found you. He was worried about you." Dean gave Sam a reassuring smile.
"So I'm close to Bobby?" Sam's face showed his curiosity.
"You called him Uncle Bobby when we were kids. The man is one of the gruffest and toughest guys I know, but when you were a kid all you had to say was "please Uncle Bobby?" and the man melted into this kind gentle being. You and those damn puppy dog eyes." Dean snorted at the memories of how Bobby was just as manipulated by young Sammy as he was.
As he watched the grown Sammy, the kid started to blush. "Oh," was all his brother could muster before looking away in embarrassment.
Dean decided to let him off the hook. "So dude, do you want to shower first?"
Sam nodded. "If that's okay?"
It was weird to hear Sam ask permission to do things that normally were second nature to him. Dean reminded himself that this was a temporary development. He would fix his brother.
"Sure, just leave me some hot water."
"No problem." Sam smiled and got up grabbing clothes as he headed to the bathroom.
-0-
Sam was glad to enter the bathroom away from his brother. It was all still so much to take in and it didn't help having his brother watching his every move.
He knew that Dean was worried. Sam could see it in the man's face but it still was hard to literal have "big brother watching you."
Sam removed his clothes and stepped under the warm water, letting it wash away some of his aches and pains. The demons had really done a number on his body, his head was still a bit fuzzy and he felt weak. Due to the physical confrontation he had with that Ruby girl last night, he was definitely not feeling one hundred percent.
As Sam took stock of his body, he realized that his knees were a bit bruised. Probably from the lovely confrontation he had with Dean after his nightmare last night. Man, his life sucked.
At least he was able to sleep peacefully after his chat with Dean. Sam had worried that it would be hard to shut down all the thoughts running through his head after Dean had shared their life story with him, but exhaustion had luckily won out.
The good night's sleep had also helped his pounding head, Sam realized with relief. There was still a dull ache but he could deal with that.
Sam hated to end the shower and his moment of seclusion but he had promised to leave some hot water. Reluctantly he got out of the shower and toweled off, and dressed.
-0-
Once he left the bathroom, Sam found Dean sprawled out on his bed watching TV.
Dean looked up and smiled. "Feeling better?"
Sam returned the smile. "Yeah, I feel more human. Speaking of, I'm actually getting hungry."
"That's good. I'll hop in and get a shower real quick and we can head out for breakfast." Dean grabbed his toiletries and headed to the bathroom.
Sam lowered himself slowly on his bed. Happy to have a little more alone time. Time to reflect on his life and his brother.
It was true that Dean and his supposed life scared him, but for some reason he also felt safe with Dean. His brother did seem to care, and was a likeable guy.
Dean was just intense and Sam needed to get used to that.
Well, if he could get used to Dean and get past the horrible false memories the demons planted, then things would be okay. The problem was, those fake memories felt so real and Sam was afraid that there were more to come.
-0-
Breakfast was a quiet affair. Well somewhat quiet, as Sam watched in amazement as Dean wolfed down his food, emitting happy noises the whole meal.
Sam found himself smirking at Dean more than once. The boy sure was entertaining. Between watching him inhale his food and then putting on the charm for their overworked but cute waitress, Sam was amazed.
Even with the lack of table manners, Dean could charm the pants off the woman. Sam smiled at that thought, knowing that the man in front of him had probably charmed the pants off of many a waitress.
"Dude, what are you smiling at?" Dean commented as he pushed his empty plate away.
"You. You're funny to watch." Sam said as he took the last swallow of his coffee.
Dean smiled. "Well, that's a nice change. I usually gross you out, with my eating habits."
Sam smiled back. "This is all new to me, but I'm sure after awhile, watching you demolish every meal like that might get old. So do you always flirt with the waitresses?"
"Dude, of course I do. Even if they're not hot, flirting can lead to free food. Stick with me kid and you'll learn lots!" Dean said as he grabbed the check and stood up.
"I'm sure you are full of lots of big brother wisdom." Sam said as he followed his brother to the front.
"And maybe you'll listen this go around." Dean shot back as he reached the cash register.
-0-
As they got in the car, ready to hit the road, Dean was feeling better about his relationship with the new Sam.
Sam seemed more relaxed this morning and even engaged in some brotherly banter. In fact, it was the most relaxed he had seen Sam since the deal.
"Dean, how far is it to Bobby's house?" Sam asked as he settled in the passenger seat.
"Uh, we'll he lives in Nebraska, so we are in for a bit of a road trip." Dean noticed Sam tense at the news. So much for a relaxed Sam.
"Oh, well that's okay." Sam's voice was quiet.
"Sam, I know that you were looking forward to meeting Bobby and you probably hope that meeting him will jog your memory. But a road trip is a good thing really. It's what we usually do, and maybe time on the road will help. Just give it a chance." Dean gave his brother a reassuring smile.
-0-
Sam tried to smile back at Dean, but his hopes were crushed. Sam was looking forward to having a little space from his brother.
He had hoped that in a few hours he would be meeting their family friend and given a chance to process everything. Maybe he might even have a room to himself.
But now he was faced with hours in a car and motel rooms alone with Dean. He tried to grasp on to the hope that Dean had presented. Maybe Dean was right, spending time on the road might cause him to regain his memories.
He could sense that Dean was tense waiting for Sam to respond.
"You're right Dean, it'll be good to go back to my regular routine. That should help with the memories. Do you mind if I take a nap? Those drugs the demons gave me, still have me feeling a bit down." Sam could see Dean's eyes feel with concern.
"Sure thing Sammy, I'll turn the music down and I'll wake you when it's lunch time." Dean gave Sam a reassuring smile.
Sam was tired, and hoped that after resting he would be better able to face his brother.
-0-
Sam found himself watching a younger version of himself sitting on a bed in a motel room. In his hand he held a letter that he was reading intently. He could see the worry on his younger self's face.
The door to the motel room opened and John and Dean entered. Both were dirty and sweaty. They threw their gear down on the kitchen table.
"Sam, son where the hell is dinner? We let you sit this hunt out so you could study so the least you could do is have dinner ready." John's eyes were full of anger.
Sam wanted to turn away. This wasn't real, but it was so vivid. He shared his younger self's fear.
The younger Sam, stood face full of fear. "I'm sorry, but time got away from me."
Dean approached Sam. "What'cha got there Sammy a love letter? Been mooning over some girl? So we have to starve."
Sam shook his head no, and tried to step away but Dean was too quick and had the letter in his hands before Sam could stop him.
"Dean give it back. I need to talk to Dad about it first. Please." Tears filled Sam's eyes.
Sam wanted to step forward to protect himself but knew that wasn't possible, he was stuck here forced to watch the nightmare unfold.
"Dad, it's a letter from Stanford. The little twerp got accepted! Gonna leave us Sammy?" Dean pushed his brother stepping forward anger filling his face he raised his fist to hit Sam.
"Dean stop. I need to talk to Sam." Dean reluctantly backed away from his brother. "Sam, what did you need to tell me?" John's voice shook with anger.
"D-Dad, I've been studying hard, because I want to go to college. This has nothing to do with leaving the family. I want to leave the hunt not the family. Hunting is not what I want." Sam was giving his Dad eye contact but the eyes were full of unshed tears.
John moved quickly across the room grabbing Sam by the collar and slamming him into the wall. "You little shit. You're the whole reason this family is stuck hunting in the first place! Your mother died protecting you from some demon and you want to spit on her grave. Are you telling me, that her death isn't worth avenging? That she gave her life in vain for a no good ungrateful little snot!" John's body shook with anger.
Sam felt the fear radiating off his younger self and felt sick.
Sam looked up at John. "I hate what happened to Mom, but we've been looking for seventeen years and haven't found anything. I would be happy to leave college if you got close and needed my help."
It was then that John punched Sam in the head. "You are no longer a member of this family." John shoved Sam against the wall and left.
Sam sagged to the ground. "D-Dean…" The younger Sam whimpered out.
Dean approached and helped his brother up. "So you finally did it Sam. You finally succeeded in tearing this family apart. First you kill mom and now you split up what's left of our family. You make me sick."
"Dean I-It's not that way…" Before Sam could finish Dean punched his brother in the stomach.
"No!" Sam screamed.
Sam gasped and shot up in the seat. It was hard to catch his breath.
-0-
Dean noticed that Sam was getting restless in his sleep. Damn, another nightmare. He hoped it wasn't another memory plant from the demons.
Dean was easing over to the side of the road when his brother shot up in his seat.
"No!" Sam screamed and gasped for breath.
Dean wasn't sure what to do. He didn't want to spook his brother. Speaking in a calm quiet voice, Dean spoke to Sam.
"Shhh, Sammy, it's okay. You're fine. We're in the Impala heading to Bobby's house." Dean watched as Sam processed what was being said to him.
"B-Bad dream." Sam stammered out.
"Was it about me again? A demon planted memory?" Dean asked as Sam still continued to gasp for air.
"Y-Yeah." Sam was able to get out as he tried to calm himself.
It was hard for Dean not to offer physical comfort, but he knew that Sam wouldn't react well to that right now.
"Just catch your breath Sammy, and we can talk about it when you're ready. " Dean hated what the demons had done to his little brother.
It was bad enough they had taken his good memories, but to leave him with these horrible memories was the ultimate torture.
A/N: Thanks for reading! The reviews have been so wonderful- thank you! More soon! :0)