Field of Deans – chpt 3
by: sifi
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"Dude the best way I can help you is by staying out of your way...or watching the little guy... just hang tight my uncle'll be here in just a few minutes..." Tommy Daykin assured the growling, pacing man who seemed to be growing with his level of frustration.
"And you're SURE?" John nearly demanded for the umteenth time, "We should just go... you can stay here with Sam..."
"Okay first off..." Tommy rose to his feet, a scowl marring his young face, "You need to calm down..."
"HE's MY SON!" he bellowed into the teen's face, his hands clasping his shoulders in a death grip that more than adequately communicated his sense of helplessness.
"I know," Tommy nodded, trembling just a bit at the sight of a man coming so close to flipping his hinges, but it wasn't his first time talking down a freaked out hunter, "But first off you've been drinking... whiskey... you're not driving... second off, in case you haven't figured it out, the cops are looking at YOU... they ALWAYS look close to home first no matter what the evidence says... and third losing your freaking mind ain't gonna do the little guy a damned bit of good! Especially not if you do something stupid that's gonna get him taken away from you!" his voice had risen in pitch and volume, startling John with its vehemence and the infallible logic he presented. Slowly, John nodded.
"You're right..." John nodded as a whine stole out of the bedroom.
John moved into the room, gathering his boy into his arms, "T'sokay Sammy... s'okay..."
"Dean! ... want Dean...I bad made Dean bye bye?... wan' Dean daddy..." he sniffled rubbing his face against John's soft warm flannel.
"No sweetheart no! You didn't do anything wrong, Dean would never leave you! Somethi...somebody..." some THING, "...took...Oh God," he choked, his thickened voice tried to assure his youngest while inside he screamed, I WANT MY SON! He rocked Sam back and forth, his eyes catching sight of mist over the teen's cornflower blues, "I know baby I know, I want him back too..." he sighed as a knock sounded on the door.
Tommy peered through the curtains then tossed open the door admitting a man just a few years older than John Winchester, but could easily stand eye to eye with his six feet three inches and not even bother to think about flinching.
"John Winchester... this is my uncle, Shepard McGregor. Shep, this is John Winchester, he's new to the game..." he turned to John, "If anyone can help you find Dean... it's my uncle."
"Dean?" Sam yawned looking at the blonde haired boy that showed him his big brother again.
"That's right kiddo..." Tommy smiled as Sam reached for him.
John's brown eyes met Shep's greenish gold ones and he felt himself break into a hopeful but genuine smile as he handed his youngest over to the boy and extended his hand to this new potential ally.
"Nice to meet you... thanks for coming out..." John nodded.
"Sorry 'bout your son, but hey we do our best work at night... how long've you been in it?" he asked, his voice creamy in the ears, as he entered the room and shut the door.
"Just a couple years..." John shook his head, "...some times I feel... a little..."
"Out of your element?" Shep finished for him.
"Yeah..."
"So..." he looked at his nephew, "Tommy go get the kid something to eat and fill me in on what he misses..."
Tommy Daykin nodded sifting through the small fridge, pointing at things, each one Sam shook his head except for a bottle of plain water.
"He's on a banana kick... there should be a mushy one in there somewhere..." John called.
"Nana! nana nana..." Sam clapped and grinned hugely.
"Alllrighty then... smushy nana it is!" Tommy laughed squeezing it out of its skin and onto a paper plate.
"Kid's had a tough time of it..." Shep sighed watching his nephew with the little boy, "He's a good kid..."
"I can see that... mind if I ask...?" John started.
"It's not my story to tell... let's get back to yours huh?" the older man redirected the conversation, "Tell me exactly what happened."
No matter how antsy John was to get going and find his boy, feeling the clock ticking, maybe not so loudly yet, but he knew soon that each tick or tock would ring like a canon shot in his head, still he knew this man Shep needed all the information he could get if they were going to find Dean before the two remaining days were up.
Two days... less than that... and the carnival started setting up this morning... by the time they pack up Sunday night... NO! He'll be home before then... he'd never stay away of his own accord... NEVER... John worked hard to steady his nerves while Shep rewound and watched the tape his nephew had given Sam.
"Rolled in from the right direction too... I just can't believe we actually have proof!" Shep breathed then looked at Tommy, "...and it's only from THAT angle?"
"Yeah... you see the pump tapes... not a hint of anything... and the cops..." he looked at John as well, bringing him back to the present, out of his own head and the obvious sense of helplessness that had drained his color after watching his son disappear again and again and again on the tape, "Their tech guys were still there when I got off shift... they went through a dozen tapes, and even mimicked the sun with spotlights to see if they could make the quote-unquote 'glare' happen again..." he smirked, "I KNOW the guy who set up that system... it wasn't a technical glitch..."
"Ryan?" Shep asked.
"Yeah, Cal's brother..." Tommy nodded.
"Cal's a part time hunter... he just goes after what gets too close to what's his," Shep explained.
John shook his head and scrubbed his face with his hands noting his little boy sleeping soundly in Tommy's arms, content with a full-of-banana belly and his fist as always in his mouth, I swear he musta been suckin' on that thing even in Mary's womb... he shook his head smiling faintly with the far too brief memory of his beloved Mary waddling out to the car as they left the house to deliver Sam into the world.
"You said you have a cousin his age?" John asked.
"Yeah," Tommy nodded stroking Sam's mop gently off his face.
"You must spend a lot of time with him..."
Tommy nodded, peering out at John with eyes heavy with mist, he bit his lower lip and felt Shep's warm hand on his shoulder, "My son would've been almost two now... I was fifteen, she was sixteen. We were in love and stupid, but I saw that little guy and I never wanted anything so much in my whole life as I wanted that boy..." he rushed softly, once more looking at the distraught father before him.
"I'm sorry," John gasped, shocked by the boy's loss. It was clear he'd been devastated by it.
"Thanks..." he nodded, "We named him Tyler... kinda after Kim's dad..." he smiled.
"What happened?" John asked gently.
"Black ice and a patch of fog... took both of 'em, guard rail gave out..." he sniffed drawing in a shaky breath before clearing his head, smiling brightly at John, "Yeah... so... the carnival... they're set up, they tear down Sunday night... when they go, if we haven't got him back in our hands..."
John nodded clapping the young man on the shoulder, "...so if there's never been any... then how...?" he shook his head.
Tommy motioned to Shep who dropped his head smiling, "Buck you think Tom?"
"Probably," Tom nodded, "Almost every crazy story, legend, UFO yarn, ghost story, or bigfoot sighting in this area, are thanks to one Buck Forester...crazy old coot... but man..."
"Sharp as a flint-knife..." Shep nodded, "Damned genius when it comes to conspiracies, cover-ups, and finding a way to make the weirdest damned puzzle pieces fit together! Got a knack for patterns."
John and Shep met eyes, then looked at Tommy, "Yeah... why do you think I"m still here? Go..." he nodded shaking his head, watching them grab their jackets and dash out the door.
"Alright kiddo... just you and me then..." Tommy said softly, turning on Son of Svengoolie, turning off the light and stretching out on the couch with Sam sleeping soundly on his chest.
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"Lemme see son... you get all those potatoes out of your ears?" Ray bent the boys' ears forward one at a time then peered into them giving him just enough of a tickle to make him squirm laughing and tucking his head.
"C'mon dad you'll wake up..." he started then stopped, his brows furrowing tightly while his mouth bowed down. He looked up into Ray's eyes watching the smile darken just a bit as he wondered why the man's eyes weren't coffee colored. "Huh..." he huffed frowning harder and scratching his head under his very own 'Crows' ball cap.
"Justin?" Ray asked.
"Yeah... just... though I lost something for a second there... so can we go?" he asked, his eyes shining brightly.
It's just out there in the field... I need to find it... that small shivering gray voice whispered.
"Just gotta put my shoes on, I'll be right there..." Missy called from up the stairs.
It's out there! I gotta find it! oooh WHAT? What is it? he stood with his face between the sunny yellow shears that covered the window in the back door, he watched the wheat waving in the breeze and just at the far edge of the barn could see a flattened patch where earlier in the day the combine had done what it was supposed to, cutting the crop and separating the stalks from the chaff.
I learned new things today... I think they were new... he felt the corners of his mouth start to tilt upward as the faint sound of a pleading whine touched his ears making him jump back from the door, his eyes searching the room for something that seemed to lay just out of reach.
"Justin?" Ray asked noting the boys' behavior.
"Yeh...yeah?" he cleared his throat forcing his eyes to stop peering into the far corners looking for things that weren't there, and instead focus on the soft gray eyes in front of him.
"Did you take your medicine with dinner?" he asked.
"Yeah... sure did... ma put it on my plate and I ate it with the smashed potatoes," he smiled tightly, "I thought I heard something though... something whining...it sounded like..." he shook his head clearly disturbed.
"Maybe one of the kittens from the barn?... Tabby did have a litter early this summer..." Ray offered.
The boy nodded, "Maybe... it sounded like a baby though..." he wrapped his arms around himself and shivered at the sense of cold that washed over him.
"Probably one of those kittens, they do sound so human sometimes when they squall," Ray frowned while cupping the boys' face.
"I... I... need? You said you'd help me find it..." he looked up not particularly liking the hot heavy feeling deep in his guts, the one that said something so very important was missing, the one that left him with a feeling of dread whenever he tried to turn his mind toward something else.
"Sure I will... I said I would didn't I?... Do you know what IT is though?" Ray asked, noting Missy standing stock still halfway down the stairs, listening to the conversation.
Their newest addition shook his head, his lips pressed to thin white lines while he shook his head, "I think I had a baby?"
On the stairs Missy gasped softly, pressing her hand to her mouth, while Ray frowned, "A baby?"
Justin nodded, "He's mine... I'm supposed to take care of him... I'm always supposed to save the baby... he's always mine..." he sat heavily down on the floor, his knees to his chest, his arms locked tightly around them, "... Pa I'm cold..." he shivered despite the waxy sheen of perspiration on his forehead, "I need to find my baby..." he grunted, his face crumpled in pain before he fell into unconsciousness.
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tbc.
Please R&R.
Thanks
sifi.