Johnny couldn't have felt more out of place if he had tried. Here he was in a car with a family who obviously cared about each other, and they were looking at him as if he was the greatest puzzle since the discovery of Egyptian Hieroglyphs, now the woman wanted to know his age and somehow it felt more than idle curiosity. "Sixteen ma'am." He told her while looking into her face to gauge her reaction, and wasn't disappointed when he saw the questions flashing across her face. What did surprise him was that she refrained from asking whatever it was she wanted to know, but then again, he was pretty sure he already knew what she wondered.
He hadn't had much luck in the family department, and knew more about taking care of himself than some adults he'd met along the way. He had received his Emancipation papers nine days after his last birthday; he would have been able to get them sooner except the courthouse was closed for the holidays. He had been impatient that whole week, seeing as he didn't celebrate anything; there was no real reason to. It took another two weeks before he could take the GED test then another week and a half before he got the results and the Certificate of Diploma, only because he bribed a clerk at the testing facility to put a rush on it. His reasoning had been 'the sooner I get it, the sooner I'm free', having been dragged in front of a judge more than once for not being in school, as well as being 'unsupervised'. Now though, he was an adult, he didn't have to answer to anyone, and the rest of the world could finally kiss his ass; that is if he could stay hidden long enough to be forgotten. That was the worst part of being in the system; he wasn't too hard to find if someone was looking.
Dean watched as the kid to his left had retreated somewhere into his own thoughts, and he had to wonder where he went. He had been as surprised as his parents to hear that Johnny was sixteen; he also felt a sense of disappointment. Sammy was seventeen now and was hopefully living a good life, although he was secretly wishing that this stranger next to him was really his brother; no matter how irrational it seemed. He had hoped that he could get some investigating done before he started the Academy later in the month, but then his parents wanted to go on a 'family vacation', now he couldn't help but feel that if Johnny wasn't really Sammy, he'd never find his brother. He had spent years helping his dad at the shop, going to school because that's what was expected, even dated girls he was sure would make his mom happy, but he finally realized that it just wasn't him. He had been expecting a big blowout when he sat down at dinner one Sunday and broke the news that he had quit school and was joining the fire department, instead they smiled and said that they knew he'd be a lot happier, then dropped a bomb on him 'Let's celebrate! How about the Grand Canyon?' He knew that they secretly thought he was just letting off some steam and would be back in school in the fall. They had no idea how long he had really thought about it, and knew that if being good and doing what was expected didn't bring his brother back, then he might as well be happy with what he was doing.
John couldn't help but wonder what type of a life a sixteen year old boy would have to have in order to be in the middle of nowhere being grateful for a ride. Looking in the rear view mirror, he saw Dean looking at the younger man in fascination and had to wonder about what had captivated his son's attention. He felt a nudge on his arm and looked at Mary, who was trying hard to convey something, but he was definitely not getting it; making her frustrated, which made the faint lines on her forehead more pronounced. Looking back at the boy in the backseat, something hit him and it took everything in him not to run them off the road. 'What the hell?' he thought, not believing where his brain was taking him, 'It can't be!'
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Toby Norris could not believe what he just found out, in fact if it had come from anyone else he would have thought the person drunk; Johnny was no longer in the system and had seemingly fell off the planet. Sighing loudly, he dismissed the informant and turned back to his computer to pull up the very large file of a certain Baby Boy "Johnny" Doe, and started combing through the megabytes of information that he had been given from the last caseworker until he found what he was looking for:
Johnny Doe granted Emancipation by the courts on Jan. 3rd, 2000. Notified of Mr. Doe's passing status of GED on Jan. 26th, 2000. Current location unknown. Client Status: Closed
It was now June and he was just now getting this information. How the hell was he supposed to protect the kid and others around him if he didn't know where the kid was? Now he was going to have to bring in others to help round up Johnny and bring him back into the fold, and some of the better hunters in his group of people would rather put a bullet in the boy's head than risk again what happened to the others. He wished it was different, however since they had no idea how far the demon got that night, there was no way to know how Johnny would be affected later.
Not wanting to make the call, but knowing that it would only make things harder if he waited, he pulled out his cell phone talked briefly to the person who answered then packed up his laptop and left the small coffee shop in the middle of Anywhere, USA, knowing that he could have very well just signed Johnny's death warrant.
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The Winchester's were sitting in a small diner silently thinking about their experience with Johnnie Doe. None wanted to bring up the subject, even though they knew that the others were feeling the same. Mary couldn't stop herself, "John, we need to find him. We shouldn't have let him go off like that by himself." She looked between her husband and her son and had to wonder if she was the only one who felt that way. As soon as they had made it to Goodwell, Johnny asked for them to pull over, thanked them for the ride, and didn't look back as he walked into a gas station that looked to have had better days. Not knowing what else to do, they had agreed to find a place to eat and stretch their legs; each knowing that it was a lie, they wanted to figure out what was going on.
Sitting there with Mary and Dean, John couldn't get the kid's face out of his head. Dark hair, green eyes, and dimples from his side, added with thin frame, narrow nose, and Mary's smile made him wonder if he had been hallucinating in the heat. 'Maybe we should think about air conditioning in the Impala' he thought wryly, knowing that he wasn't imagining things, but then again what were the odds of finding their baby on the side of the road seventeen years later.
Dean couldn't believe that no one was saying anything even his mom was quiet and it made him edgy; she made them talk out everything, no matter what the issue. Now though it was as if someone had called a sudden game of The Quiet Game, and he hated to admit that he needed someone to say something. When his mom had spoke about Johnny, Dean was sure that it was a way to open the conversation, but the moment passed because no one had an idea of where the kid was heading. Sighing, he was about to put in his two cents, when someone came running into the diner yelling about a fight around the corner. Before anyone could say anything else, he found himself outside looking at a crowd that had gathered to watch two guys have it out in the graveled parking lot. It took him a few moments, but he managed to get to the front of the crowd and saw Johnny duck as the burly man he was fighting swung out his arm. He couldn't help but watch as the kid they had just picked up on the side of the road, fought against a man who looked to outweigh him by close to a hundred pounds, and by the look of it, was holding his own. It wasn't until another minute passed that things changed drastically.
John and Mary chased after Dean wondering what he was thinking. Finally finding their son at the front of the ring that had formed, they realized that one of the fighters was none other than Johnny, and although he looked a little bruised, he was doing pretty well for himself. John watched as the boy ducked and dodged until he could get an upper hand then struck back when the other man least expected it. So engrossed in watching the fight that he didn't see what was going on in the crowd across from them until he heard Mary shout, "SAMMY, LOOK OUT!" making the boy's concentration crumble as he turned toward her confused, giving the man the opportunity to hit him full force in the jaw sending Johnny to the ground unconscious.
Mary had seen a couple of men in the crowd across from them with what looked to be crowbars, and she was sure they were getting closer to Johnny. She hadn't intended to call out, but before she realized it the words were pushing out of her mouth as if they had a life of their own. To her horror though, she contributed to the young man's fate and that upset her as much as seeing the boy lying in the dirt totally oblivious to his surroundings. Before anyone else could do him anymore harm, she, John and Dean rushed to Johnny to make sure he was alright. It wasn't until a voice boomed through the crowd that things came crashing back down on them.
"What the hell is going on around here?" Sherriff Baylor yelled as he pushed his way to the middle of the crowd.
The man that Johnny had been fighting spoke up first, "Sheriff, this punk kid not only hustled a pool game, but stole my wallet."
The Sheriff rolled his eyes before producing the wallet in question. "You mean this wallet Bodie? Karen found it under the pool table, she said that you knocked it over when you were showing off those stupid concert tickets you won."
Bodie looked at the wallet in the Sheriff's hand and cringed, suddenly remembering how he had taken it out to show the tickets to a couple of buddies after he had already made a bet with the kid. Cringing, he knew that this wasn't going to settle well with his wife beating on a kid, no matter the reason. Looking over at his buddies, he saw that they still had the damn crowbars in their hands and he knew that things had suddenly changed; he needed to see just how much though. "Pete, you said that the kid took the wallet. You lyin' about the rest?" Not getting a response, Bodie was ready to kick some ass and it had nothing to do with boy on the ground surrounded by what he could only hope was his family. Looking around, he made it known that there wasn't anything else to look at and helped to get rid of the onlookers before turning to the Sheriff. "Alright Cliff, you have a solid case against me, you might as well make the most of it."
Sheriff Baylor couldn't understand how some people lived by the seat of their pants and in full force too. Shaking his head in disbelief he had to wonder why Bodie didn't just walk away from the situation until everything could have been thought out. Now he either put a normally good man behind bars, or let these visitors believe that all small town politics were corrupt; not a good position to be in. He was just about to take Bodie into custody when a voice off to the side stopped him.
"Don't worry about it, Sheriff." Johnny groaned as he sat up trying to remember the license plate of the truck that ran him over. Looking around he saw the Winchester's looking at him with concern and worry. 'Odd.' He thought, trying to figure out why they'd worry about him. Picking himself off the ground he looked at the guy he had played pool with earlier and saw the wallet in his hand. Smirking, he motioned to it before asking, "I take it you found it?"
Staring at the young man in front of him, Bodie couldn't help but shake his head. "Sorry about that kid, some of my buddies thought it would be funny to…"
"FUNNY!?! Your buddies could have killed him for a wallet!" Dean yelled at the man, not liking that it looked that this bunch of morons were going to just walk away from this. He was about to say something else when a hand on his shoulder grabbed his attention. Turning, he saw Johnny look at him questioning.
They all stood in the parking lot in silence for a moment before Sheriff Baylor finally asked, "Are either one of you going to press charges?"
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Sitting in the diner nursing a headache, Johnnie had to wonder about what had happened outside as well as what was going on around him. The Winchester's had insisted that they buy him something to eat and make sure that he wasn't hurt, and at the moment the offer was made he didn't have the energy to refuse. Now though, he felt like a specimen in a Petri dish, and it was making him feel very uncomfortable. Seeing that Mr. and Mrs. Winchester as well as their son couldn't keep their eyes off him, he was wondering if maybe he had hit his head on the ground harder than he thought; after all, who would care if he got hurt.
Taking another drink of his iced tea, he was about to grab another couple of Tylenol's that he had in his bag when the guy Dean reached out and pulled the bottle out of the side pocket of his duffle for him. Looking at the guy in bewilderment, he had to wonder if maybe he had stepped into something weirder than what he had initially thought. Swallowing the pills, he closed his eyes and let his mind wander for a moment before looking at them and asking, "Who's Sammy?"
Mary's heart stopped when Johnny asked that question, how was she going to explain what they suspected; she'd sound like a complete lunatic. Looking between John and Dean she finally said truthfully, "He's our youngest son."
Knowing that there was an obvious story behind that statement, Johnny didn't say anything at first. All he wanted to do was get away from these people, and they were starting to make it a lot easier by trying to make him something that he wasn't. Nodding, he pulled out his wallet and pulled out a ten dollar bill to cover the bill and got up. "Look, I appreciate you sticking around, but I think this is where I go one way and you go another." Taking his duffle bag and slinging it onto his shoulder he was almost to the door when he heard Mrs. Winchester's voice choke out, "We think you're Sammy."
Not hesitating, he only nodded and replied, "I know" before walking out the door looking for his next ride.
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Having lucked into a ride with a truck driver who made him promise not to tell anyone he picked up another hitchhiker, Johnnie was now free to let his mind wander back over the events of the day and try to figure out what the hell the Winchester family was up to; what did they really have to gain by acting like he was their son and brother, it made no sense to him. Relying on his skills to read people, he knew that what they wanted to believe was that he was their Sammy, and he wasn't going to lead them on like that. Whatever happened though, he was sure they were good people, and he hoped that they would find their missing Sammy soon.