Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 24
Author's Note: Sorry to keep you waiting. What I though was a bad case of allergies ended up being severe bronchitis complicated by a slight case of pneumonia. The meds they gave me have me kind of loopy right now so I hope this chapter make sense.
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Previously: Tomorrow, I'll have dad or Bobby run into town and pick up some more blocks so we can challenge them to see who can build the best fort." Dean said as he began to gently massage the pain out of his baby brother's hand. He knew the best way to keep Sam involved with the therapy was to make a game or challenge out of it, thereby making it more interesting to do.
By the time that Dean had finished massaging Sam's hands, he looked over to see his little brother's head slumped to his chest as he struggled to stay awake. "You've had a rough evening tiger, it's time to get some sleep." Dean encouraged as he helped Sam to lay down and then pulled a blanket up over him. He sat on the edge of bed and gently carded his fingers through Sam's hair until the sound of soft, even breathing could be heard. Easing himself up off the bed, he walked over towards the door and then glanced back at his baby brother. "Sweet dreams kiddo." He whispered before walking out the door, making sure to leave it slightly ajar so he could hear if Sam needed him for any reason.
Traipsing down the steps, he entered the kitchen to see his dad and Bobby sitting at the table engrossed in conversation as they sipped on cups of coffee. Getting a mug of his own and pouring some of the scalding hot brew, he pulled out a chair and sat down directly opposite of his dad.
"Sammy okay?" John questioned with a sincere look on his face needing to know if Dean had been able to make things right.
"Yes sir, he's fine. He's sleeping now." Dean answered before sipping on the strong black coffee. Gazing towards his father, he saw a perplexed look on his face.
"Sam's sleeping, but it's not even ten o'clock yet." John announced surprised as he looked at his watch.
"He was exhausted after his hand therapy." Dean stated with a smile letting his dad know the mission he had set out to do had been accomplished.
"Well I'll be a monkey's uncle. How did you get him to do it?" Bobby
questioned remembering just how upset the kid had been when he raced up the stairs earlier complaining about being treated like a baby.
"Simple, you just gotta know how to work the kid." Dean answered with a shrug. "I started building a fort with the blocks and Sammy soon joined in and helped. He had a rough time doing it and was sweating bullets by the time we we're finished thirty minutes later."
"That's fantastic Dean." John voiced happy to know that Sam finally started therapy on his hand.
"Yeah, well you might not think so after what I'm getting ready to say. I told Sammy that I was going to have you go into town tomorrow and get some more blocks so we could challenge you and Bobby to a fort building contest." Dean retorted as he glanced at his dad with a sheepish look on his face.
"Sounds like a plan to me." Bobby stated not giving John the chance to negate the idea. "We'll be glad to take that challenge."
"Awesome, but I think I'll go to town and get them myself if you guys don't mind." Dean offered with a devious thought in mind about stopping at the local diner.
"You ain't fooling me boy, I know exactly what you're planning." John smirked seeing the far away look in Dean's eyes and then laughed as his oldest shot him a "What, I'm innocent." look causing everybody to laugh. The moment didn't last long however as they heard a terrified scream coming from above.
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"Hello Sammy, I've missed you. Are you ready to play again?" Hank questioned as he stood over Sam holding a pair of pliers, a most sadistic look of glee on his face.
In the blink of an eye, Sam found himself handcuffed to the chair in the basement once again. "Noooo, this can't be happening, not again. You're de-dead." Sam stated as he began to shiver uncontrollably. Where was his dad? Where was Dean?
"Did you honestly think something as insignificant as death could keep somebody like me down?" Hank questioned as he grabbed hold of Sam's hand, forcing him to hold out his index finger.
"But they sa-salted and burned you, you ca-can't come back." Sam answered as tears flooded his eyes, "You can't hu-hurt me anymore.
"Well, let's jut see about that you little piece of shit." Hank answered as he placed the pliers to Sam's fingernail and slowly began to pull it off with a look of pure evil in his eyes.
"Noooo" Sam screamed aloud as he felt the pain of his fingernail being ripped off before Hank started in on another finger, taking them all off in quick succession.
"Deannnn" Sam screamed out in terror for his brother as he started thrashing around trying to get away from the psychotic maniac that had him in his grips once again. Suddenly, he felt hands grasp him, trying to hold him still and he lashed out with everything he had in him. "Noooo, leave me alone you bastard, don't touch me."
"Sammy shh, it's okay, you're safe little brother. It's me, calm down" Dean voiced as he tried to break through the nightmare that had Sam held firmly in it's clutches as Sam fought him. He knew he would have bruises in the morning from the hits he was taking but he could care less.
"Dean, Dad, somebody please." Sam pleaded as he continued his frantic struggle to get free wondering how he had ended up back in the basement of torture when he last remembered being at Bobby's place.
"Sammy, come on tiger, I've got you, just please wake up." Dean prodded as he scooted in behind his trembling brother and pulled him to his chest before gently carding his fingers through his baby brother's hair. Glancing towards his dad and Bobby, he could see the worry on their faces as his own eyes began to mist over with tears.
Hearing the sound of his brother's voice, Sam clung to the wonderful sound and was finally able to pull himself out of the deep, dark place that he was in. "De'n?" He questioned tremulously afraid to believe it was true, that Dean was there with him.
"Yeah, it's me kiddo, you're safe now." Dean answered as he placed his forehead onto Sammy's hair and sighed in relief at finally having awoken his baby brother.
Spotting his dad and Bobby walking towards them, Sam reached up and wiped the tears from his face as he hung his head in embarrassment at having the hunters seeing him in his moment of weakness.
Reaching out to grasp Sam by the chin, John gently lifted his head so they could see eye to eye. "Sammy, there's nothing to be embarrassed about son. You went through hell, so it's not a bit surprising that night terrors are invading your dreams kiddo." He stated as he pulled Sam into his shoulder and rubbed a hand up and down his back to offer what little comfort he could.
"Kay" Sam whispered as he closed his eyes and lay his head on his dad's shoulder and close his eyes in exhaustion.
Feeling the tension ease from Sam's body, John gently glided him back to lay down on the bed. "Get some sleep tiger, we'll be right here." He said as he sat on the edge of the bed and rubbed his thumb along Sam's cheek until his breathing evened out in sleep.
"S'okay dad, you and Bobby can go. I've got him." Dean said as he lay down behind Sammy and wrapped an arm over him in protection. He knew Sammy needed the contact if he was going to be able to sleep through the night without another nightmare waking him.
"See you in the morning then." John intoned as he ruffled Sam's hair one more time before standing up and walking towards the door. He took one last glance at Sam to make sure he was okay before turning off the light and shutting the door, secure in the knowledge that his youngest would be safe with Dean at his side.
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Early the next morning, Sam and Dean walked down the stairs to find Bobby in the kitchen cooking breakfast while the sound of the shower running in the bathroom informed them of their dad's whereabouts. "Morning Bobby." Dean called out as he and Sammy entered the kitchen to see what Bobby was cooking. Dean had been hoping for pancakes with a side of sausage but instead found Bobby making a pot of Cream of Wheat for breakfast. Pouring himself a cup of coffee, he shivered at the thought of having to eat what basically amounted to porridge for breakfast.
"Aw Bobby, did you have to make that stuff? After dinner last night I was hoping for something more edible this morning." Dean intoned as he sat down to drink his coffee, Sam taking the seat beside him.
"Relax Dean, I think you'll find out you like this stuff once I add some cinnamon to it to give it a better taste." Bobby retorted as he added the cinnamon flavoring and then tasted the mix. Adding a little more, he stirred the hot cereal mix and then removed it from the stove just as John arrived for breakfast. Putting the mix into a bowl and placing it on the table, he removed some strawberries from the refrigerator and placed them on the table as well. "Eat up boys." Bobby encouraged as he scooped some of the porridge into a bowl and placed it in front of the boys whom he considered to be like his own children.
"Gee thanks." Dean voiced as he dipped his spoon into the food and hesitantly took a small bite, surprised to find that it actually did taste pretty good with the cinnamon flavoring that Bobby had added. Reaching out for the diced strawberries, he placed a few into the hot cereal and then proceeded to eat with gusto.
"See, I told ya, you'd like it." Bobby stated with a grin as he surreptitiously looked over at Sammy to make sure he was eating too. The kid wasn't eating as much as he hoped, but at least he was making an attempt at it. He was getting ready to fix his own bowl of Cream of Wheat when the phone rang.
"Singer here." He stated as he listened to the caller from the other side. Once he had finished with the caller, he hung up the phone and said, "That was Mike. The parts I ordered for the Chevelle have arrived and he needs me to pick them up later this morning."
"I can do that for you Bobby. I was planning on going to town anyway to pick up a few things." Dean offered quickly knowing it would give him the perfect excuse to pick up that juicy burger he had thought about earlier.
"That would be great Dean thanks. You can take Sammy with you and that'll give both you boys a chance to get out of the house for a while." Bobby stated knowing it would be good for the youngest Winchester to get out and get a little fresh air.
"No, that's alright. I'd rather stay here." Sam answered as he fiddled with the hole in the knee of his jeans, not yet ready to be around a crowd of people.
"You sure Sammy? It might do you some good to get out for a little while." John said with concern.
"Yeah, I'm sure. I'm just gonna go back up to my room if that's okay." Sam said before pushing away from the table, leaving only half of his breakfast eaten. He slowly trudged back up the steps and took refuge in the room that he and Dean shared. A few minutes later, he heard the sound of the Impala driving off and he sighed as he lay down on the bed and faced the wall just before he heard the squeaking sound of the door being opened.
"Sammy? You okay?" Dean questioned as he walked into the room and sat on the edge of the bed, worry evident in his voice.
"Dean, I thought you left." Sam said with surprise as he roll over to face his brother.
"Nah, didn't want to go without my pain in the as little brother to drive me crazy so dad and Bobby went instead." Dean answered softly. "What's wrong kiddo, and don't you dare tell me you're fine. I know when you've got something bothering you so spill."
"I just, I'm not ready to be around a bunch of strangers yet and I didn't want everybody to think I was weak because of it." Sam answered honestly feeling embarrassed once again.
"Sam, nobody is going to think you're weak, we all know what you've been through. Hell kiddo, we know it's going to take some time to adjust and we'll be right there behind you when you're ready to tackle things head on once again. Until then, stop beating yourself up about things or I'm going to have to knock some sense into that thick skull of yours." Dean touted as he lightly slugged Sam in the shoulder before ruffling his hair. "Now, what do you say you get your lazy ass out of this bed and we start making plans on how to outsmart dad and Bobby once we challenge them to see who can build the best fort."
"Jerk" Sam replied with a smile as he brushed Dean's hand away with his arm and climbed from the bed.
"Bitch" Dean retorted with a grin, happy to at least see his brother smiling again.
TBC