AN: Hey everyone... hope you like this one, not alot of action, but that'll happen soon enough! See you soon!
Sam had no idea when things changed, but he had too much other things going on to worry about it too much. His classes were taking a lot of him not just because they were condensed, but they were intense; too bad Dr. Malloy hadn't mentioned he was in honors classes. Now though, he had a report in English due in two days, a lab in his Biology class that had to be done by the end of the week, and he was still trying to figure out how he had managed to stay on top of his math homework. His normal day anymore consisted of getting Ellie ready, consulting his planner (of all things) to see what day it was and what class he was supposed to be in, then he had to look at the calendar set up on the fridge to see if Dean was home, then he could figure out when he had to leave and when he might be back. It was taking a lot out of him, but he was hoping that with the Thanksgiving break he could figure out if he was coming or going.
Sighing, he looked back over his notes and suddenly realized that his mind was elsewhere. He had a life at one time that didn't have anything to do with books, teachers, school in general. His life had been solely about taking care of Ellie, and even though that part of his life hadn't changed, now he had a lot more to consider and he wasn't adjusting to it as well as he knew he should.
After looking at his watch, then at the picture of Ellie on his phone, Sam took a deep breath and walked into the room, prepared to hurry through the test so he could get back home to his little girl.
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Bobby and Caleb didn't like what they were hearing. There had been no sign of Jason for almost a month and that idea was making them edgy. They hadn't shared their feelings with the Winchester's yet, as far as they knew the guy left town, but the hunters knew better; Jason was laying low. They knew that they were running out of excuses of why they were still there, but until they knew that the crazy kid was gone, neither of them felt comfortable about leaving the boy they were just starting to call Sam.
Since they were renting out a room in the elder Winchester's home, they knew first hand how worried John, Mary and Dean were about Sam. Apparently the kid had taken it in his head that he had to do everything, and do it all well. They'd seen nights where the kid's kitchen light wouldn't go off at all, and they could see the strain it was putting on him. It had been bad enough that he'd missed a week into the mini semester, and he pushed himself not only to catch up but advance further in his studies than what seemed to be required, but then he still insisted on doing his normal household duties including tutoring and caring for Ellie. Everyone was concerned that Sam was going to collapse, and was more than thankful that Thanksgiving was coming and there would be no classes that week; anything to keep the kid from killing himself.
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On her way to Allison's house, Mary couldn't help but muse about how life had changed. It used to be that she was envious that her friend had her daughter while she was still missing her Sammy. Now though, after the sever setbacks that her friend had been overcoming lately, she felt blessed in her life and it helped her to put the rest of her thoughts in perspective.
Dean was home for three days and was watching their little princess while Sammy was at school. Sam had been worrying everyone with the way he'd been burning the candle at both ends. Her husband had been losing sleep as it was, concerned that both boys would end up getting hurt by their choices. Dean, always running headlong into danger, and Sammy who was determined to do everything to perfection; both determined to do it with no regards to their health.
Pulling in front of Allison's house she was surprised to see Holly leaving with her boyfriend. From what she had her from Allison, this young man was an entrepreneur who had taken an instant liking to her daughter; not that Mary could blame him, Holly was a sweet, intelligent girl. Waving towards the girl, she was even more surprised when Holly called her over.
"Mrs. Winchester, do you have a minute? We were hoping you could help us find some distressed properties for Jay to renovate!" Holly said, excited that her mom's best friend would actually meet the man who was changing her life.
Surprised, Mary thought a moment before she answered honestly. "Well, not off the top of my head. I'm sure you've already checked in the older areas, but if you'd like I could make a few calls on the zoning and planning committee, they should know what's going on in town."
"Thank you, Mrs. Winchester, you just confirmed my next course of action." The young man said before turning to Holly. "Sweetheart, we need to go."
Holly pulled herself out of her thoughts with a smile. "Oh right! Jay and I are heading towards the homeless shelter to get a feel for how many people in need we have in town."
As Mary watched the couple go, she couldn't get rid of the awful feeling that she had missed something. Shaking herself out of her gloomy mood, she made her way into the house only to face a very concerned Allison.
"Did you see him? He's a liar, Mary, but my Holly won't listen! Please help my little girl, she'll listen to you if you tell her that boy Jason is no good." Allison insisted from her wheelchair, pleading with her friend but not noticing the horrified look on Mary's face.
'No… it can't be!' Mary thought all the while the feeling in her stomach was getting worse.
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Hanging up the phone, Dean reflected how not even six months ago if a hot chick like Chloe Madison had called him and asked to meet up, he'd been running out the door. Now though, he was knuckle deep in finger paints because a certain little girl likes the feel of them. How in the world his brother had figured out that Ellie was wanting to try something new, he'd never know, but it was working; Ellie was painting their house and yard in great detail, no small feat considering they only had blue, red, yellow and green to play around with.
"Hey Ellie, how about you and me get cleaned up and go to the store?" he asked, hoping that this wasn't going to be one of those days that it would take an act of congress to get her to change her plans. When he saw that she wasn't going to budge he decided to fight dirty. "Ok, no big deal, we can paint some more, I was just hoping to get something special for Johnny for dinner tonight since…"
Ellie stopped suddenly then turned to Dean as if looking through him. Finally though she got down from the table and walked toward the sink, allowing Dean to help her onto the step stool so she could wash her hands.
"Johnny" she said wistfully, making Dean realize that that was the missing puzzle piece of the day; she was missing her Johnny.
Dean sighed and agreed; he missed his brother too. He lost count how many times he'd caught Sammy napping on his books in the middle of the night, and it was starting to worry him. "Don't worry Ellie, he'll have a break in a couple of days and we'll help him get his head back on straight."
"Johnny!" she exclaimed with a smile, leaving Dean to assume that she was in agreement with him.
Laughing, Dean helped Ellie out the door and towards his car, ready to get out of the house for awhile even if it was to go to the grocery store. As they drove down the road, Dean understood what it really felt to have a full life, and he actually liked it. The guys at the station had ribbed him about being a babysitter on his time off, but after he responded with 'how can you babysit your own kids?' they started to leave him alone. It hadn't taken him and Sammy long to get into a routine that would make the most powerful CEO's impressed with the precision it ran. On the surface everything looked simple and peaceful, but with Sammy's physical therapy and school, Ellie's occasional doctor's appointment and playdates, and Dean's odd work schedule, it amazed him that they even saw each other much less stay as connected as they were.
As they put food into the cart Dean shook his head and was thankful that Sammy wasn't there; he'd be armed with a calculator, sale ads and coupons. He hadn't been able to get it in his little brother's thick head that they didn't have to be on a strict budget just because he wasn't working. Between Ellie's monthly checks which they kept mostly in her bank account, his checks from the fire department, and the small settlement that Sam had gotten from his worker's comp claim, they weren't hurting, but if it was up to Sammy they'd buy nothing but generic items and only on sale meat; it was enough to drive Dean crazy.
So caught up in his thoughts, he didn't realize at first that Ellie wasn't right next to him anymore. Feeling a sudden sense of panic, he was about to call out to her when a pair of small hands holding a package of chocolate chip cookies appeared from the side. Startled, Dean could only stare at the little girl for a moment before she insistently shoved the cookies at him again, this time saying 'please'. Nodding, Dean picked Ellie up and showered her with kisses until she squirmed too much, then he happily lead her towards the checkout lane.
'Definitely a good day!' he mused.
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Jason knew that his time was now short, he wasn't expecting to actually run into Mary Winchester so soon; he had planned to make sure their introductions were more to his advantage. Now though he was going to have to step up his plans, not that it would be difficult since he already had acquired another building to use after seeing how the LFD worked. Too bad they didn't know that the next time it was going to be so much worse.
He had met a guy who had a fetish for fire, believing that it was the most beautiful thing in the world. Normally he wouldn't hang around crazy people like that, but he had created a powdered substance that would burn so hot and long that no structure was safe. It was used in the Las Vegas warehouse fire that brought national media attention to the site, making the guy even happier that others could 'witness his pride and joy.' It hadn't taken much to convince the man to hand over the formula, and after his own tweaking of it, he found that he could actually control it with various other items that he made sure he had plenty of just in case.
As he half listened to Holly, he knew that this time he was taking too long, the freak should have been dead by now, but that would be rectified soon. How he had managed to weasel himself next to a decent family like the Winchester's he didn't know. Sure, he'd heard the story about how Johnny had been kidnapped from them as a baby and that he wasn't evil, but how could anyone know that? There was only one way to make sure that it never happened. He couldn't help think that Thanksgiving Day would be the perfect time to rid the world of the evil that was Johnny Doe, and he suddenly knew just how he was going to do it while getting some answers too.