Sam stood in the semi-damp grass just outside the living room and watched. If he hadn't already known the truth, he'd never have believed his eyes. Sadie sat in the room, a large, oversized rocking chair moving slowly back and forth as she pushed against the floor with her socked foot. The child that lay curled up on the chair beside her was a spitting image of Dean. Even when the small boy moved slightly and made this slight little "o" shape with his mouth, his dimples came through plain as day. If Sam hadn't known better, he would have thought for a moment that he'd stepped into a time warp somehow and found himself at home 20 years ago.
Ruby stood by the door and had to nearly hiss at Sam to get his attention. "Come on!" She motioned quickly for him to get over beside her so they could do what needed to be done. Sam glanced back inside, feeling a pang of guilt for what he was about to do to this child's life. He nodded at Ruby and she reached out a finger to ring the doorbell.
A look of alarm shot across Sadie's face as the boy beside her stirred at the sound of the bell. Sam could tell just by the expression on her face that she wasn't expecting a visitor, and that knowledge alone had her senses on high alert. She looked for a minute like she might scoop up the child and run, but finally, she moved slowly in the direction of the door.
Sam moved quickly from his spot under the window to the doorway. He needed his face to be the first one that Sadie saw. He took a deep breath as he heard he coming closer to the door and then could see movement behind the frosted glass embedded in the wooden door. There was a slight hesitation before the door was finally pulled open and Sadie appeared in the doorway. She froze when she saw Sam's face and the look that crossed her features was a mixture of about 20 different emotions all rolled into one. Sam knew that expression well, and he hated the fact that he'd ben the one to put on her face.
"Hi Sadie," he said quietly.
"Mom?" A young, scratchy voice rang out from the room Sadie had just vacated and Sadie glanced over her shoulder, obviously unsure of what to do next. "Go back to sleep, Baby. It's okay." Sadie looked back at Sam and let out a defeated sigh. "So I'm guessing that because Ruby is standing behind you, that she's the one that tracked me down?"
Sam glanced over his shoulder at Ruby. She'd been hiding in the shadows, but it was apparent she hadn't been doing a very good job of it. Ruby stepped out into the circle of light being cast down from the porch light. "You were a hard woman to find."
"Mom? Who's that?" The voice, pitchy and rough from a cold or at the very least, a sore throat, was much closer and it was only then that Sam and Sadie realized that the boy that had moments ago been curled up in the warmth of his mother's lap had joined them at the door.
Sadie bent down and scooped up the boy in her arms before she reached out and unlocked the handle to the screen door that had separated her from Sam. "Come on in. Close the door behind you." Sadie turned and headed back into the living room with the boy.
Sam didn't hesitate to reach out and reach for the handle, pulling the door open and stepping aside as Ruby entered the home first. Sam was careful to lock the screen and flip the deadbolt of the wooden door into place before walking into the living room where Sadie was wrapping a blanket around the boy and setting him on the couch.
"This is Sam. Sam and I were friends when I met your daddy. Sam, this is John."
Sam looked at Sadie with surprise on his face. "John?" he asked, wondering the obvious.
Sadie shrugged her shoulders as she looked at Sam. "I wasn't about to name him after my father."
Sam gave her a lopsided, unsure grin as he walked over and reached out a hand to the boy. "Hi John. It's nice to meet you."
The boy glanced at Sadie first, as if asking permission before he pulled his arm out of the blanket she'd wrapped around him. He reached out and shook Sam's hand. "It's nice to meet you, too, Sam," his scratchy voice squeaked out. As soon as the words were totally out, a series of rib-rattling coughs came from the small child.
Sadie turned away from Sam, dismissing both him and Ruby for the moment. She ran to the kitchen and came back a minute later with a cup and a bottle of what was obviously a child's medicine. The pink liquid was unmistakable to Sam, and immediately brought back memories of a time when he'd been sick as a boy and the lady who owned the hotel they were staying at had taken him to the doctor. Sam watched as Sadie quickly gave John a drink and once the coughs died down, gave him a dose of the pink liquid. Once the medicine had been taken, Sadie forced him to lay down on the couch as she pulled the blanket tighter around him.