I don't own Sam or Dean or John or the Impala or Supernatural…..that's all the CW. So if they would be very kind to let me borrow it all for a bit, I promise to give it back….eventually…..well, maybe. Also, I lack an editor, so any mistakes are mine and please kindly overlook them (or let me know). Thanks.
Sam is 16 and Dean is 20.
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Sam was up and dressed and brushing his teeth when Dean paused in the bathroom doorway.
"You feel okay?"
He nodded and spit out the toothpaste.
"How's your head?"
"Fine." He pushed past Dean and went to the kitchen.
Dean sighed and wondered how much longer this new, moody Sam would be hanging around. Believe it or not, he missed the days of threatening the kid with duct tape just to shut up.
John sat with the newspaper open and looked up as Sam came into the room. He opened the cupboards in search of breakfast.
"Cereal is on the counter, bowls too. Hadn't put them away yet." John watched his son for signs of pain.
Sam poured himself a bowl of cereal and sat down across from John.
"How's your head?"
He sighed. "Fine. Really, so you don't have to ask a million times."
"Sam." A one word warning about an attitude John wasn't going to deal with.
Dean came in and sat down next to Sam. He looked from his father to his brother to judge what level the hostility was at.
"I was thinking of heading down to the park." Sam glanced up. "See if I can find anyone, since it's summer and I can't meet people at school." He stood and put his bowl in the sink. "I'll let you know what I find out. When do you want me home?"
John paused, that was the most Sam had said to him in nearly a month and almost none of it was laced with attitude.
"You sure you're okay?" Dean pressed his hand against Sam's head and smirked when he was pushed away.
"Jerk." Sam leaned against the counter. "Unless you have a better plan."
"The plan is fine. Stay in the park, don't go anywhere alone-"
"I know." He snapped.
"And be home by dinner." He took a slow breath. "Sam, be careful. Dean will swing by a couple times, but he'll stay out of sight."
Sam eyed his brother before he nodded. "Fine. Bye." He was out the door before Dean or John could say another word.
Sam grabbed a basketball that was tucked under the steps, it had probably been there for years, but there was air in it.
Dean poured himself a cup of coffee. "He's your son."
"Yeah, but he listens to you." John went back to the paper. "You were never this much trouble."
"Because I was hustling pool at his age." He snorted. "Yeah, I was a dream kid."
"Keep an eye on your brother. This thing is quick and I don't want to have Sam, or you, up against anything alone."
Dean nodded and headed out the door. He knew that if Sam saw him, he'd be as good as dead.
Sam headed down the quiet streets towards the middle of town. He knew there had to be a park somewhere. A town this small didn't offer much for high school kids to do, so a basketball court was the best bet.
It didn't take someone like John Winchester to see that there was something wrong in the town. It was a perfect summer day, and nobody was outside. Cars were parked in driveways, but there were no kids running through sprinklers or riding their bikes or playing in the yards. There were no dads mowing the lawn or moms working in gardens. Walking down the street, it was like Sam was the last person on earth.
He found the park and wasn't surprised that he was the only one. It didn't matter much, at least he was out of the house. He was all right at basketball, good enough to hold his own at least. He had been shooting baskets for about an hour when he finally saw someone.
The boy was about his age and stood on the opposite side of the court.
"Wanna play?" Sam rested his foot on the basketball.
"Sure." He walked over and Sam passed him the ball. "I've never seen you around before."
Sam blocked the boy's shot. "Just moved."
The two boys played for a while, not speaking. They were about even in skill, but they didn't keep score. It didn't matter.
The boy caught the ball. "I thought you might have been the family of someone. Seen a lot of family, because of all the funerals."
Sam turned to the boy. "Funerals?"
He took a breath and looked towards the street. "I don't know a lot, I go to a boarding school so I just got back, but a lot of kids have died." He turned to Sam. "Kids like our age."
"From what?"
"Dunno." He shrugged. "Nobody knows. Now nobody goes out. The CDC was here, but couldn't find anything. Nothing bad in the water or the air or the ground or the food. You picked a hell of a time to move here."
"I guess. So, nobody knows anything?"
The boy looked away again, the ball in his hands. "Well. There are some theories. Danny, my friend, said a group of them are getting together here tomorrow night. After curfew."
"Why?"
"I think we're gonna try and piece together what we know. See if we can figure out something, a way to protect ourselves at least." He looked up at Sam. "What's your name?"
"Sam."
"I'm Nick." He extended his hand. "Maybe come tomorrow night. Might give you a chance."
Sam shook Nick's hand. "Okay. I'll have to sneak out, my dad's pretty strict about rules."
"Up to you." He looked towards the houses. "I should go, I just had to get out of the house for a bit. Thanks for the game." He tossed Sam the ball.
Sam caught it and watched Nick walk away. He wasn't standing there long before he heard footsteps behind him.
"Hi, Dean." He didn't have to turn to figure who it was.
"So, made a new friend?"
Sam shrugged. "He said a bunch of kids are getting together tomorrow night, try and figure out what they know." He turned to his brother.
"I don't know, Sammy."
"You want to figure this thing out, or not?"
Dean nodded. "Dad wants us back, says we got some training to do. And he wants to know what you found out."
"Fine." Sam dropped the ball and headed back towards the house.
Dean jogged to catch up, but the two boys didn't talk. John was waiting for them on the back steps.
"I'm gonna change." Sam walked past John and went inside.
John sighed and waited a minute before he followed with Dean. Sam pulled on basketball shorts and a tee shirt. He stood for a moment in the middle of the room and listened to the low voices of his father and brother through the thin walls, he liked that sound, it had been his lullaby his entire life.
Sam came out to the living room and met John's eyes. "Dean tell you?"
"He did. I don't want you out there alone."
"I know." Sam glanced over at Dean. "Don't know if Dean's allowed though, he sorta looks like an adult now."
Dean grabbed Sam in a headlock. "That's because I am, dork."
Sam had himself out of the grab and Dean almost pinned in under three minutes. John was proud, the kid was coming along, but he was also hardly a kid any more.
"I stay in the shadows." Dean caught his reflection in the window to fix his hair. "Just to make sure Samantha doesn't get in his head."
John watched as Sam grabbed Dean from behind and managed to get him to the floor. "Take it outside, boys. Be back in an hour, be careful."
Dean got to his feet and pulled Sam outside. Despite Sam's newfound independence and silence, he and Dean were still thick as thieves. Once outside the boys started running, with everything going on, even they didn't want to be too far from home when it got dark. The sparring could wait, under the safety of the yard light and John's watchful eye. Dean had to admit, Sam was getting faster and stronger. He had already proven that he knew what he was doing in a hunt and even gained the rare John Winchester nod of approval.
Sam glanced back at Dean. "Slowing down in your old age?" He ran faster to stay out of Dean's grasp.
"It's not age, Samantha, it's experience." Dean sped up just to prove to Sam who was still the best.
The boys were back in the yard just as it was starting to get dark. John was waiting for them by the back door.
"Come in for dinner, you can work more later." He went into the house, certain that his boys would follow.
Sam sprinted up the stairs and pushed Dean out of the way at the last moment. He flashed a smile at his older brother and went to clean up. In all honesty, Dean was just happy to see Sam back to his usual mildly annoying self.
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Sorry about the eon it took me to update, I'll try to not let that happen again. I sort of lost the motivation to write this for a while, but the end of it kept coming to mind. So I will write to get there, but mostly I will write because it is your feedback that keeps me writing. I feel guilty if I wait too long to post another chapter, so, I'm sorry. Thanks for reading.