Title: little boy found
Disclaimer: the boys aren't mine; just for fun.
Warnings: none
Pairings: none
Rating: PG
Wordcount: 250
Point of view: third
Sam waits a week to ask, letting Dean readjust. He watches carefully; Dean seems normal as he's ever been. He doesn't want to go out much and doesn't want Sam too far away, so Sam's finally comfortable asking.
"What was it like?"
He waits till after Dean's eaten, when Dean's stretched out on his bed and nearly asleep. He expects Dean to brush him off, to make some lame joke.
"Dark," he answers after a moment, voice soft and low. "Lonely. I was lost, trapped. But Kaitlyn… she's somethin', dude. She took care of me and I followed her out." Dean raises his head, looks over. "I remembered who I was, what I was. But it would'a been so easy, Sam. So easy to just stay."
That possibility frightens Sam. It was pure damned chance that led Sam to Dean. "Do you know how… why you changed?" Sam asks.
Dean flops back down. "Not a clue." A pause, then "I'm beat, man. Wanna sleep."
No more questions tonight. Sam just needs to research some more. He'll find out what happened and he'll make sure it never happens again.
For now, though, he still has more leads to follow about Dean's deal.
He watches Dean for a moment, shakes off the remembered terror of knowing Dean was somewhere, needing him, being unable to get there. Dean's safe. Unharmed. Back where Sam can look out for him.
For now.
And Sam swears, with everything in him, no matter the cost, that it'll stay that way.