Standing on the side of the road, looking at a boy who could very well be his son and trying to come up with an answer to a question asked, was not how John Winchester saw this vacation going. 'What will it take for you people to leave me alone?' Johnny had asked, and now that he was faced with coming up with something that both of them could live with, he was at a loss. Taking a deep breath he said the first thing that popped into his head and out of his mouth, "One night."
Stunned, Johnny looked at the man in front of him and couldn't believe what he was hearing. "Ok, that's just sick man, seriously… leave me alone!" he said as he quickly walked around the man who kept insisting was his father, and started the trek down the road, wondering how he was going to stop them if all three were armed.
Dean choked on his Mountain Dew when he heard his dad and could tell that his mom wasn't fairing much better. Neither could believe what had come out of the eldest Winchester's mouth, much less how clueless he appeared at Johnny's reaction. Watching the one possible lead to his brother walk away, Dean scrambled out of the car and jogged up alongside him. "Ok, I get that that sounded totally wrong, and believe me when I say… ewww! So how about from now on you let either me or mom do the talking, alright?"
Johnny stopped and looked at Dean with disbelief, "Man, you don't know me and you keep following me, just how sick does that make you?" he asked, trying to remember exactly which pocket he put his knife in this morning.
"Look, I get that we haven't made the best impression, but you need to understand that this means a lot to us. It's not as if we walked up to you out of the blue and asked for a DNA test, right?" Dean was trying his damnedest to get through, but he couldn't tell if he was succeeding. 'I thought I had a poker face.' He thought as he watched Johnny's eyes flicker, but not give anything away. "So what do you say, we find a motel, we grab a couple of rooms, and you spend one night out of the rest of your life listening to why we think you're our Sammy."
Looking between Dean and the other Winchester's behind them Johnny knew that they weren't going to let this go. "No calling foul when you realize I'm not him, no funny business, I get a separate room, I leave right after breakfast by myself, and I never see any of you again."
Surprised only for a moment, Dean looked at his parents to see if they heard and weren't disappointed when they both nodded their agreement. "Great! Let's get back to the car and find a place to stay, hey, anyone in the mood for pie?"
SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN
Mary sat there watching the young man in front of her drink his iced tea and pick at his pie while they had told him exactly why they believed he was Sammy, and how long they had been looking for him. It wasn't until after John had managed to tell him about how he still felt guilty for not getting to the door in time to stop the intruder from taking him. Now though, Johnny looked as if he was pondering something but was still determined to keep it close to the vest. She had to hand it to him; he definitely had the Winchester stubborn streak. As she sat back, she watched the other patrons of the motel diner get up from their tables and leave to head back to their rooms for a night of rest, she wasn't sure if she was going to be so lucky.
"Well, it's been nice meeting you, but I can't be your Sammy. The first of many reasons is, my birthday is Christmas 1983 and I was born in Maine." Johnny said gently, not wanting to hurt the woman across from him, but he had been more than patient, and it hadn't been his idea to drag this out. Looking at the Winchester's he couldn't help but feel bad for the waste of their time, even if it wasn't his doing, he could feel their disappointment.
Not to be dissuaded, Mary held firm in her belief and simply asked, "What if that's what the kidnapper told you? What if you're really ours but any proof to who you think you are, are just lies given to you to throw us off?"
John wasn't sure what to think, his Mary was usually the most level headed person he knew, and right now she was starting to sound a little unhinged. Looking between Dean and Johnny he could tell that they were thinking the same thing, and he had no idea how to fix this. If Johnny wouldn't even stop to consider the possibility, then what choice did they have but to let him go? "Mary, we tried, we need to let him go."
Not even looking at her husband, Mary continued to watch the young man in front of her, "I know that this is a lot to take in, but please, at least think about it. We've looked so long, and I'm sorry, but I can't just let you go because you don't want to see what's in front of you."
Johnny had been thinking about a lot of things while he was sitting in front of the Winchester's, and he was sure that if he actually shared his thoughts, they wouldn't have a problem with him leaving and never coming back. Then again, wasn't that what he wanted? "How many children do you have?" he asked, watching their reactions change from surprise to worry. He knew where he was going with this, but he also knew that they didn't.
"Two, both boys. Johnny we explained…"
"How many vacations have you taken since your children were born?" he asked, taking another sip of his tea. He was really going to hate himself for this in the morning.
Puzzled by the question, John answered, "This is the first one since…"
"What sports did your son play? Did you make it to every game? How about summer camp? How many times did he get to go? How many times have you redecorated Dean's room?" he asked, then paused before he continued. "How many times have you done the same to Sammy's?" Seeing the shocked look on each of their faces, he stood from the table. "You have two sons, Mr. and Mrs. Winchester, but all I've heard is your focus to find the one you lost, you've hardly mentioned the one who's been right there by your side." Pulling out his wallet, he took enough to cover the tip then walked out of the diner to go back to his room; he really didn't want to see the shattered look on her face anymore.
SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN
Dean couldn't believe what he just heard, even more, he couldn't believe what he just felt. He had never thought about the times that he didn't go to camp, or that his parents insisted on being at every game to the point of obsession, or that when he redid his room he was actually leaving a part of Sammy behind. It never occurred to him to feel like he had missed out on anything except his little brother. When he did play football the few seasons his parents said yes, he would wonder what Sammy would think seeing his big brother on the field. He had always thought they were fine, he never saw the smoke screen that Johnny revealed. He never saw his life as being on hold or put to the side. Now though as he watched the expressions on his parents' faces, he understood that they hadn't done it on purpose, they just couldn't move on like everyone included themselves thought they should. Getting up from the table, he mumbled something about going for a walk then slipped out the diner not paying attention to where he was going.
It wasn't until he looked up and saw a door that he realized where he wound up. Reaching out to knock, he paused wondering what he was supposed to say. Finally he managed a light knock and stood there waiting for some sign that someone was there. When the door swung open though, he wasn't prepared for what he saw. Johnny was in a towel with water streaming off his hair. That wasn't what grabbed Dean's attention though, the woman putting her clothes on behind him was definitely a surprise. "Uh, I'll come back…"
"Come in, she was just leaving." Johnny said, as he gave the girl a kiss and whispered in her ear, leaving the girl blushing as she practically skipped out the door.
Looking around the room while Johnny said bye to his friend, Dean saw that he had been wandering around for the past two hours. 'Great, now Mom's going to be freaked.' He thought wondering how his life had got so screwed up. Feeling someone watching him, he looked over and saw Johnny leaned back against the door staring at him. "Look, I …"
Johnny smiled and waved any explanation off. "Don't worry about it, like I said, she was just leaving. So, I take it things didn't go well after I left." It wasn't a question, more like a statement of fact, as if he knew what was going to happen all along. "Grab a beer and sit down. You look like someone kicked your dog."
Dean watched as Johnny shut the bathroom door after grabbing a set of dry clothes. Walking over to the small fridge, Dean grabbed a beer and sat down on the bed and looked at it puzzled. "Uh, you know you shouldn't be drinking." 'What the hell? When did I ever give a crap about that?' he thought as he remembered the times he and his buddies had snuck out and had their own beer bashes on the weekends. He heard the laughter coming from the bathroom and knew how he felt, it had sounded ridiculous to his own ears too.
"So, things didn't go according to plan, and you're wandering around a motel off an Albuquerque highway in the middle of night? You know, I have to hand it to you, you're a braver man than I." Johnny said with a smirk. Sitting down across from Dean he saw the raw pain and felt something unfamiliar jump out at him. "Need a place to crash for what remains of the night?" he asked, not really certain if he wanted the man before him to say yes or not.
Dean couldn't remember ever feeling so uncomfortable, and it mostly had to do with the way he thought his life was, and how it was in real life. He had always known something was missing, but he had always known what it was; Sammy. Now though, he was starting to understand that even though he had a pretty good life, a lot of it was emptier than he thought, and he didn't know how to deal with that. "You know I didn't want to hurt anyone, I just wanted you to leave me alone." Johnny's voice broke the silence and made Dean's heart hurt more, to the point that he did what came naturally. "Well great job with that. You know, you don't have to worry about us bothering you anymore, because you're right; you're not Sammy. There's no way that Sammy would have ever turned into someone like you!"
How he managed to walk across the parking lot to his and his parents' room, Dean had no idea. He felt numb and all he wanted to do was sleep for a week and put this damn family vacation behind him.
SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN
Mary and John had watched both boys walk out, and neither one could blame them. They both had forced an issue that one boy didn't want to talk about and the other was so hopeful for that it was painful to watch. Now though their son was off somewhere by himself, and they had no idea how to find him. After searching some of the more obvious places, they had gone back to room to wait, hoping that after Dean let off some steam, he'd be back and they could piece everything back together again.
The door to the motel room opened and they were relieved to find Dean unharmed. At first they all looked at each other, but it wasn't until they heard him speak that they understood just how heartbroken their boy was. "I'm going home; you can finish the trip without me."
Not knowing where he had been, they wanted to ask, but the look he shot towards them pulled them up short. Neither wanted to push Dean further away, but they couldn't let him suffer in silence either. "Dean, you need to talk to us. Where did you go?" Mary asked, hoping that he hadn't done anything stupid, but more worried that he had.
"Don't worry Mom, I didn't go get laid if that's what your worried about; that privilege had already been taken. Would you like to know his preference? Although I wouldn't really know, I only saw one; it might have been a fluke." Dean said, watching as realization dawned on their faces. "Yep, that's right, Johnny found himself a little girlfriend, bet that didn't fall into your perfect view of him did it?" Dean smirked, he knew he wasn't being fair, but damn it, he suddenly felt old, and he wasn't ready for that yet.
SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN
After having a shower, three beers and four hours of sleep, Johnny grabbed his bag and left the key with the motel clerk who looked be really into the latest John Grisham novel and barely acknowledged the young man who was checking out before the first wake up call was going out. Not wanting to waste too much time, he pulled out a prepaid calling card and punched in the familiar numbers while leaning against the phone booth. He knew that it wouldn't take long for the call to be answered, and he wasn't surprised when it was picked up on the second ring.
"That better be you, damnit!" a gruff voice answered, obviously woken up, but more importantly wanting an answer.
"Yeah, it's me… sorry, got kinda tied up."
"Oh God, tell me that it was something easy like a biker gang or… hell kid, tell me it was a stampede of wild elephants, anything but…"
"Nope, sorry, no wild elephants and the biker gang was out to lunch." He felt tired, more than that, he felt like he needed to get to where he was going and quick.
Obviously not the answer the other party was looking for, Johnny heard a muffled curse before the voice came back. "Alright, that's it, where are you? Me and Ellie are on our way."
"Whoa, hold up cowboy. Don't worry about it, I took care of it. If they think I'm their son now, then they're crazier than I am." Johnny paused and smiled when he heard the smirk on the other end of the line. "I hate to ask though, but do…"
"Man, what are you still on the phone for? Either start walking or acquire some transportation. You know we're not going anywhere. What do I tell Ellie?"
"I don't know when I'll get there, so don't mention it." He said, knowing what would happen if he was late, which brought something else to mind. "How'd she take me not calling?"
"Just get here man, the quicker the better."
Pulling his duffle higher on his shoulder, Johnny started down the road, his new destination in mind.
SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN
The Winchester's were quiet during breakfast, the fiasco of the previous evening still burning brightly. John was on his third cup of coffee, while Mary was still nursing her first cup of tea of the day. Dean had been quiet since they all woke up, and neither John nor Mary knew if he still meant to go to the airport after breakfast. The startling revelation that Johnny showed them still sat wrong with the family and in the quiet morning there was no relief for their own thoughts.
Their waitress put down the check but spoke softly, "I hate to disturb you nice folks, but these some gentlemen who would like to talk to you."
John looked up at her, then in the direction she was pointing seeing two men wearing cheap suits that neither one looked comfortable in. "Any idea who they are?" he asked, trying to decide if they were trouble or just a nuisance.
"They have ID saying that they're agents of some sort looking for the guy you were with yesterday, they've been showing his photo around." She said as she refilled John's coffee. "If I were you, I'd go out the back door, whoever these guys are, they're not feds." Seeing Dean's questioning look she smiled. "I dated a fed for awhile, and believe me, you never forget the vibe."
Confused, they watched her saunter off as if she had just imparted the wisdom of the world. Looking at each other neither Winchester knew what to think when the two men walked up to their table and flashed their ID's.
"I'm Agent Barnes, and this is my partner Agent Noble. We were told that you had been in close proximity of a certain young man, please take a look at these pictures and tell us if this is him."
Dean looked at his Mom and could tell that she was as shocked as he was. He might not be a great literary critic, but even he knew that Barnes and Noble was a freakin' bookstore. Before he looked at the picture, he looked at the 'agents' and asked, "So, what are you looking for this guy for, he a mass murderer or something?"
It took the man posing as Noble to clear his throat and after glancing at Barnes answered, "Not exactly, he has a long list of cons, but his latest has been going to families and trying to convince them of being their long lost son, usually giving them a sob story about people chasing him and after they take him into their homes he robs them blind."
Mary gasped at the first photo, seeing a mugshot for the Juvenile Detention Center in Albany, New York. Johnny looked a couple of years younger than he did now, and as if he hadn't showered in days. The thing that broke her heart the most was the blackened bruise across the right side of his dirty face, as well as the hollow look in his eyes as he looked straight into the camera.
Dean saw the picture and he felt cold rage start to burn deep, making him want to take these men and make them tell the truth about why they wanted Johnny. Seeing his Dad out of the corner of his eye, he could tell that the eldest Winchester was struggling to keep his cool as well.
"You said you had more than one photo?" Mary asked, wondering why they would need to bring more than one. When they produced the second, she wasn't certain what would have warranted it being brought, it was a side view, this time it showed and exposed inner wrist where Johnny held up the placard, more importantly it showed what was on his exposed wrist; a tattoo of what looked like a Devil's Trap. Mary only recognized it because her church group had done a series of mythological symbols and it had come up when The Key of Solomon was mentioned. Looking at John she knew that he had some sort of plan, but she had no idea what it could be.
John looked at both photos again before he looked at the agents, "No, I can't say that we've seen him. What do you think Dean, anyone familiar?" he asked as he looked at Dean. He didn't know what was going on, but these two weren't anywhere close to federal agents, and until he knew what was really going on he wasn't going to be too cooperative.
Looking at both pictures closely, Dean shook his head as he gave the pictures back. "Nope, sorry, don't think we've been formally introduced."
Not to be dissuaded, Barnes looked at them as if trying to convey a very important message. "He might not look it, but he's extremely dangerous. He doesn't deserve any favors from good folks like you."
"Well, we appreciate the concern, but I'm sure we'll be just fine if we ever meet this person." John said as he stood from the table and gently pulled Mary's chair out for her. "Now if you'll excuse us, we were hoping to get back on the road and make the Grand Canyon today."
As they watched the family check out of the motel, the 'agents' watched from the shadows, "They know something." Noble commented, watching as the black Impala drove out of the parking lot.
"Yeah, the question is; what? Not to mention where's Johnny Doe now?" Barnes asked as they made their way to the back of the motel property and got into an old faded Blazer, and pulled out to follow the classic Chevy.
AN: I hope you all enjoyed it, I'm working on the next chapter right now.