"Shit," Sam breathed as he took in Sara's company.
"Sam, what's wrong, Sam. Answer me," Dean's voice demanded.
"Everything's fine, Dean. I'm coming up," Sam whispered just before he hit the off on his cell. Knowing Judy, Sam had a good idea who the man that now reached out to warmly hug Sara was. Tall, probably close to Sam's own six foot four inches, the stranger looked to be a bit older than Sara, probably in his early forties. He had an athletic build and his chiseled face was well tanned. The man's bearing screamed of confidence and his bright white smile flashed often.
Though he knew he shouldn't be surprised, Sam couldn't help it. Ever since Sara's husband had died, Judy had been pressing her to re-marry. In pursuit of that goal, the tiny little woman had been pushing men at Sara for years regardless of what she might want. Sara had always laughed at her mother-in-laws somewhat dubious efforts. At least, Sam thought with a grimace, until now.
As Sara stood conversing with the man, Sam felt anger rip through him. He knew it wasn't fair but, he'd stood by and watched his brother suffer for the last six months and here Sara had been entertaining prospective husbands. The worst was when the man bent over and swept Jessie into his arms. Even from outside the window Sam could see Jess's smile and hear her laugh.
Unable to watch any longer Sam began to back away from the window as the man and Judy walked out of the kitchen. As the kids followed them out only Sara was left in the room. Sam wasn't sure what made him stop but suddenly he wanted one last look at the woman who had given him a family.
Safely ensconced in the shadows, Sam watched as Sara approached the sink. For the first time since he'd looked in the window he could see her every feature highlighted by the warm glow of the kitchen lights.
As Sam watched, the smile she'd worn earlier seemed to slip from her face and her eyes became awash with tears. She was thinner than Sam remembered, her normally softly rounded face was more defined, her cheek bones more pronounced. Her normally flashing green eyes seemed dull, and the shadows beneath them rivaled Dean's. As she stood her hunched shoulders hitched once and Sam could have sworn he heard her give a muffled sob. She stood there for only a moment before she swiped at her cheeks and pulled back her shoulders. With an obviously forced smile she turned to follow her guests.
Sam silently watched the house for another moment before coming to a decision. Despite of what he'd seen, or in spite of it, he was here not to judge Sara but to make sure she was safe. Whether or not she'd moved on, neither Sam nor Dean would want anything to befall her small family. They'd already been through so much, they deserved to be as safe as Sam could make them. With that in mind, he began to check the perimeter of the house.
888
At long last, Sam found himself at the side door to the garage. He took a careful glance around and reached into his pocket. Sara had given both him and Dean a set of house keys and Sam had kept his in the off chance they came back. Now, he found himself glad as he entered the garage. He'd double checked the perimeter of the house to ensure it was as safe as could be. He only needed to check the garage and the basement and he'd be done. The garage offered access to the house in two different entries, one to the first floor and one to the basement. Six months ago Gordon had entered the house this way. Despite the fact that he was human and therefore protection symbols and salt would have done nothing to stop him, Sam still wanted to be sure that nothing else could enter that way.
Sam carefully checked over the garage and then headed for the basement entrance. Even though Sara rarely used the stairs leading to cellar, Sam still wanted to check it over. Dean would expect nothing less, and Sam couldn't bear it if something was wrong and he missed it. Easing down the stairs, he paused before the basement entrance and tried to open the door. Thankfully, it was locked which proved to Sam that Sara was at least being cautious. Using the same key as the back door, Sam eased the door open.
His only warning was a low growl that barely registered. Then something large, solid, and relatively stinky hit him head on, knocking him to the ground with a bone jarring thud. The next thing he knew he was being treated to a tongue bath by Sara's Saint Bernard.
It took all of Sam's strength to get the dog to back off, at least enough for him to sit-up. "Gerrof, 'ack," Sam sputtered as he began to struggle in earnest to avoid getting more tongue than he'd had in a while. The animal's breath was stifling and his low cries were gaining in intensity. Sam, afraid the dog would give away his presence, finally gave in and wrapped his arms around the smelly beast, locking him in a bear hug. Jack stilled immediately, his big head dropping pathetically to Sam's shoulder, his giant body growing still.
There, in the dim glow from the exposed light bulb overhead, the cold of the concrete floor chilling him, Sam sat. His arms wrapped tightly around the shoulders of the one hundred and sixty pound slobbering mass of fur. It was the first time he'd felt at home in the last six months. In fact, the dog's absolute joy at seeing him again caused his eyes to dampen. "At least you haven't forgotten us, have you boy?" Sam said as he reached up to gently scratch at Jack's silky brown ears. At the touch the dog dropped completely to his belly his upper half sprawled on Sam's legs, his big head pushing against Sam's stomach.
Despite his protesting legs, Sam continued to stroke Jack, while he quietly praised the Power's family protector. Though, with strings of drool hanging from his jowls, and his droopy brown eyes, the big dog in no way looked the part of a hero. In this case, looks were deceiving. Jack had, more than once, thrown himself in the path of danger to save the people he loved so loyally.
"What are you doing down here, Boy?" Sam couldn't help but wonder what Jack had done to end up banished to the basement. Normally, he could be found only a step or two behind whichever member of the Power's family that happened to be holding food. Otherwise, he spent his time with Michael, Sara's second child. The boy and the dog had a strong bond that had only gained in strength with time.
Content for the time being to just sit and pet Jack, Sam pushed everything else away for the moment. That is, until his pocket began to vibrate. Jack feeling the movement jumped up and back a foot and stared intently at Sam. Afraid the dog would begin to bark, Sam pulled out his phone and patted his lap once more. Jack didn't need a second invite to drop down next to Sam with a thump. Laying his head on Sam's lap, the dog wuffed gently and was silent.
Careful to keep his voice low, Sam didn't bother with hello. "I told you I'll be right there," he snapped. After all, if his brother was in such a rush he should be the one snooping around Sara's life, not him.
"What the hell, Sam. What's taking you so long?" Dean's tone betrayed his worry.
Sam automatically felt contrite. "I'm sorry, man. I wanted to make sure everything was okay and I stopped to check the basement. Jack kinda caught me by surprise."
"You okay?" Dean asked anxiously. Sam could understand why, Jack had been taught to protect his family and he alone decided which threats were real and which were not.
"Naw, it's like I never left," Sam said with an eye-roll as the dog tried to worm even closer.
"You're getting some lovin', huh?" Dean asked, a bit of humor now inflecting his words. "That must be nice, huh, Sam? Even with the dog breath, it's the most tongue you've gotten in a while."
Dean's echo of his own thoughts did nothing to improve Sam's humor. "Did you actually want something or were you just calling to give me shit?"
"Naw, I was just wondering what was taking so long? Everything okay?"
"Yeah," Sam said as he struggled to his feet. "Everything seems on the up and up. I'm headed back now." Sam didn't bother to wait for his brother's response. He'd risked too much already and there was a good chance that any minute now someone would come down here to get the dog.
Sam double checked the basement's safety and then headed for the door to the garage. As he moved to leave, he felt a tug on his pants leg. He looked back to find Jack had a mouthful of his jeans and was giving him the saddest set of eyes he'd ever seen. Saddened by the thought he might never see the dog again, Sam dropped to one knee and spoke softly.
"I gotta go, big guy. I want you to take good care of them, you understand?" Sam said as he rubbed the dog's velvety soft ears.
Patting Jack's head once more, he turned to make his way up the stairs. A low whine brought his attention back to Jack. The dog's attention seemed to be divided between Sam and the stairs leading up to the kitchen.
"You stay with them, Jack. Keep them safe." Sam turned and refused to look back despite another low whine. Up the stairs and out of the garage he went, careful to lock up and leave no trace that he'd been there. He knew Sara well enough to understand just how upset she'd be by the thought of someone in her house.
888
Dean stood at the top of the hill his gaze pinned on the house he could barely make out below. They'd left the Impala hidden on a back road about a half-mile away and had walked the rest of the way to Sara's. The sleek black Chevy stood out and if any mention of the car reached Sara's ears she would know he was in town. As he waited for his brother, he found himself re-living his most recent nightmare.
Easily the most hands down disturbing dream he'd had so far, he'd awoken with a scream building in his throat. Only years of practice had allowed him to slam the walls down on his emotions until he was able to slip into the bathroom of the motel. There he'd sank to the floor, his head resting back on the edge of the tub, his knees drawn to his chest as he tried to banish the images that burned his brain. It was no use.
The sight of Sara, his vibrant, beautiful Sara, sprawled across the forest floor a trickle of blood escaping her slightly blue lips was killing him. It was physically causing him pain. His heart ached at the memory of the deep purple shadows that ringed her vacant stare. He had no doubt she was dead. In the dream, he dropped to her side, the pain of her loss tearing him apart, his only wish to lie down beside her and die. As he'd reached out to touch her, he felt himself being ripped away. Sara and the familiarity of her property were gone from his sight, in their place was a dark tunnel. The low ceiling and hand-hewed walls were wet with condensation and the floor beneath him was a mire of mud and debris. Trapped in the tunnel, the dream always ended with him alone and unable to find her again.
That had been the dream that drove him to Haycock. It was only after he'd made the decision to return that he had been able to breathe again. Now, he was at a loss as to what more he could do. Upon arriving in town, he'd been thankful when Sam had collapsed into bed, a light snore almost immediately issuing from the younger man. Grateful for the privacy he'd begun researching the area looking for anything that would give him a direction to start in. Scouring the local newspapers and morgues had given him little to go by. At last, unable to find anything wrong, he'd decided they needed to physically check up on the Power's family. Losing the struggle to stay awake, Dean finally gave in to the urge. Lying down on his hard, narrow bed he'd quickly fallen asleep, only to awaken bathed in sweat with his heart pounding as if it would explode. It had taken every moment that Sam was in the shower for Dean to compose himself. He didn't want his brother, who was already hovering in worry to become even more concerned.
Now as he stood watching the only home he could ever remember having, he wondered what to do. Sam had indicated nothing was wrong at the house. So where did that leave him and his dreams? Did that mean Sam was right and the dreams were simply a manifestation of the guilt and pain he was feeling, or was it something else? Something he might have missed in his earlier study of the town.
At last, he saw Sam making his way back to him and he came to a decision. He needed to be sure. There was no way he could turn his back on Sara while there was still a doubt in his mind.
