Sam had just finished his conversation with Stephen when he heard two things that made him look out the window once again. The first was the sound of a car pulling up and the other was his neighbor Paul shouting at someone to get out of the car. Thinking that the off duty police officer had jumped the gun and was terrorizing the delivery guy, Sam walked out onto the small porch only to freeze at the sight that greeted him. His brother was being pulled out of the Suburban and looked to be in trouble. Ignoring the pizza that was slowly making its way up the sidewalk due to the deliverer's fascination with the goings on across the street, he rushed to where Paul was about to arrest Stephen for who knew what.
"PAUL! PAUL… DON'T!" Sam yelled as he rushed across the road not bothering to look for traffic.
"Damn it kid, look where you're going!" Paul yelled back but stopped from chastising the kid any further once he got a good look at Sam. "What's wrong kiddo, you look like someone just kicked your puppy."
"Paul, that's my brother Stephen! He's watching the house to make sure no one bother's me while I'm working; you remember I told you they get a little weird when I'm not in their line of sight." Sam explained while placing a hand on Stephen's shoulder to show he wasn't scared.
Seeing Sam's gesture and replaying the conversation about the kid's brothers in his head, Paul Lambert felt more than just a little ridiculous. After placing his gun in its holster he rubbed the back of his neck with his left hand while offering Stephen his right. "Yeah, yeah ok… sorry about that man, you just never know who's going to pop up and try to cause trouble. Really, I'm sorry for the mix up. I worked a double after working a stake out a couple nights ago and I swear the shadows are starting to stare back at me you know?"
Stephen cautiously looked between this guy 'Paul' and his little brother and wondered what the story was to cause the man to react that way. Then upon further consideration, he realized that he probably wouldn't want to know after all. Holding his hand out, he shook Paul's hand and they both relaxed before turning back towards Sam.
"Paul's a police officer. Apparently the realtor told him about me and that I'd come around to fix up the house before renting it so not to be surprised to see a kid in and out at times. The first time he saw me though he called it in and I had cops all over my lawn trying to figure out it I was who I said I was or just some punk kid trying to tag the house." Sam said while remembering the day clearly. It was one of those few days that the coach hadn't kept them for practice and he had decided that a last minute drive by to the house wouldn't be out of line before heading back home to his brothers' watchful eyes. It wasn't until he was surrounded that he realized his miscalculation of events.
"Yeah, the kid looked like a deer in headlights. It took a call into the realtor before we got it all straightened out, but afterwards he and I had a long talk about what the neighborhood was like and what the neighbors expected." Paul motioned them to his garage and pulled open a refrigerator and offered them something cold to drink, making sure Sam took on to Vic while he and Stephen talked some more. "You know your brother's a good kid, I like having him around here. It's a shame though that he'll be renting that house out to strangers instead of living there himself."
'Strange comment, but I'll see where it goes.' Stephen thought as he watched the other man pour his soda into a glass of ice. "Have you had trouble around here?" he asked, hoping to sound genuine but really wanting to know just how much danger little bro could be in around here.
"Hmmm? Oh… no, not really. I was just meaning that when renters move in you never really know who they are… its kind of unnerving if you know what I mean. With someone like Sam around then I know what's next door and don't have to worry about locking the windows and doors as much."
Understanding finally crept up making Stephen really wonder just what was on the officer's mind. So you and Sammy have gotten close." He stated plainly, trying to keep his tone neutral, but definitely needing to make sure that they hadn't been making a mistake in allowing Sammy to work on the house by himself.
Nodding, Paul smiled as he pulled a picture off his workbench. Turning he handed it to a very startled Stephen. "As you can imagine I thought I was seeing a ghost when I first met Sam, he looks so much like my brother Andrew. He died when he wandered into one of the cases I was working on." Seeing Stephen's confused look he smiled sadly. "Sam seemed nervous knowing that I was part of the police department, and I got the impression that if he knew I was actually a detective he'd have totally lost it. What's his deal with cops anyway?"
"It's a long story, and not really mine to tell." Stephen said as he stared at the picture of a skinny teenage boy with long wavy hair and dark eyes. It took a moment more for the chills to stop racing down his spine. When he finally handed the picture back he saw a flicker of something in the other man's eyes that he couldn't place. Before he had a chance to think more about it, he heard his name being called and knew that his little brother was hoping for some attention; a rarity that he wasn't willing to overlook. "Coming Sammy!"
Paul regarded the large man in front of him and was more than a little glad that he hadn't actually shot the man; he knew that would have put a strain on his and Sam's relationship.
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Dean had no idea what he'd find at the new house, and was more than a little nervous about the idea of talking to Sammy about the misunderstanding. It wasn't that he thought his brother had anything to hide; he just hated that people automatically jumped to conclusions without even knowing the kid. Sighing, he took another large gulp of the coffee he had quickly made before heading out from the apartment and wished that he had brought more than one thermos, he had a feeling it was going to be a long night.
Pulling in front of the house, he saw that Stephen wasn't in the Suburban and instantly started to think in worst case scenarios. Seeing a shadow move across the living room window he understood that the other man was inside and agitated about something. Gathering his things, he quickly locked up Taylor's car and made his way up the sidewalk noting that he didn't have a key. When the door opened suddenly, he knew that Stephen had been impatiently waiting for him and was about to call out to Sammy in raw panic when Stephen moved out of the way and motioned to the curled up ball in front of the fireplace where a fire was burning low enough not to be overwhelming but still able to give off the heat needed to ward off any chills.
"What's going on?" Dean asked, worried about what had his friend up in the middle of the night pacing like a deranged lunatic.
Stephen wasn't sure what he should say. 'I think the guy next door wants our brother for his own.' or maybe, 'I don't know how he does it but Sammy seems to be a magnet for the strange.' Neither sounded right, so he instead diverted the question with one of his own. "Why are you here? You're not supposed to be here for another hour."
"What? I can't come early and spend time with my little brother?" Dean asked, feeling more than a little insulted. He was about to say something more when he noticed the tense vibes he was getting from Stephen. "What's going on? You look like you're ready to rip something apart and I know it's not Sammy, so what has you tied up in knots?"
Sighing, Stephen told Dean everything that had transpired so far while watching over their little brother, including the feeling that he was missing something regarding the overprotective detective next door. He wasn't surprised to see Dean's eyes darken or his fists clench, but what came out of his mouth surprised Stephen to the point of silence.
"Damn it, why does Sammy always have to be a trouble magnet?"
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Sam knew when Dean pulled up since he was in that in between realm of sleep and wakefulness, not that he could have missed the screeching of Taylor's tires the way his brother had hard braked in front of the house. It was a good thing though that he'd been expecting his big brother otherwise he would have been worried that something had happened. As it was though, he allowed himself to stay drifting, enjoying the fact that the freaky vision thing had left him alone all afternoon as so far all night as well.
Hearing both of his brothers voices made Sam feel safe and he was more than willing to relish in it for awhile longer, until he heard Dean's reaction to something Stephen had told him, then all he wanted to do was crawl under the house and stay there for the rest of his miserable life.
"Damn it, why does Sammy always have to be a trouble magnet?"
'I don't know Dean, but you won't have to worry about it too much longer.' Sam thought as he tried to ignore the rest of the conversation. He had known that is was just a matter of time before things fell apart between him and his brother, he had just hoped he had a little bit more time though to figure out what he was going to do.
Looking over towards Vic, he saw his friend was still sound asleep. Feeling grateful for that small favor, Sam walked quietly through the house and out to the small backyard, hoping to get away from the words inside the house and his thoughts outside all the while knowing that there was no place to hide from the truth.