Falter Chapter 10

Sammy had lived with his brother all his life. He knew that people saw Dean as odd maybe even crazy. Sammy had never seen it that way. Dean was special.

Sure he wouldn't play ball with Sam and the other boys but Sam knew his brother was always watching his back. Whenever one of the other boys pestered Sam, his brother was always ready to step in and shield Sam.

Sure it was a little annoying when Dean ate lunch because he didn't use manners and offended the other children but Sam knew if he was hungry that Dean would give him everything he had.

And Sam knew that Dean didn't speak to anyone. But Dean wrote to Sam.

That was the way it had always been. Sammy liked it that way.

Today started no different than any other Dean followed Sam to school. When Sammy stopped to throw pebbles into puddles with Andy, Dean stopped too but he just stood back and sort of watched until Sam and Andy continued on their way to school.

Once inside the school house it was understood that when Sam sat down Dean would sit down. The only people who really spoke to Dean anymore were Mrs. Ellen and Sam. The other students really weren't interested in Dean anymore except to rib him occasionally for kicks.

This day Gordan had decided it was a good day to pick on Dean.

Dean was standing behind his younger brother as Sammy talked to Zachery and Rebecca about the book they were reading when Gordan came up behind him and knocked the books out from under Dean's arm.

The books fell to the floor with a thud. Gordan chuckled. Sammy turned around and looked back at his taller older brother. He saw something on Dean's face he really hadn't seen before. Not so openly, so expressively.

It was annoyance.

Dean's emotion didn't usually cross his face so blatantly. Sammy was a bit taken aback.

Dean bent down uncomfortably to retrieve his books off the floor.

"Sorry about that Winchester. That was my fault." Gordan said with a smirk as he bent down also. Sammy watched as Gordan nudged Dean over onto his bad knee as he pretended to be helpful.

Dean grimaced and then groaned.

Sammy nearly missed it, and then didn't believe his ears. No one else seemed to notice.

Gordan was continuing to talk being his obnoxious self. Sam didn't hear what he was saying he was focused on Dean.

He helped his brother stand and took the books without thanks from Gordan.

"You're welcome." Gordan hissed as the Winchester boys took their seats in the back of the classroom.

Sammy was distracted all day in fact Mrs. Ellen even called his name without him noticing he was so preoccupied with Dean.

There didn't seem to be anything outwardly different with his brother. He had the same far off look, the same disconnected air. Sam could have sworn that for a minute Dean had connected and it had had nothing to do with him. Usually when Dean took an active role in what was going on around him it was because of something that was happening to Sam but not this time.

Sam thought hard and decided that maybe he'd been mistaken the sound it had to have come from someone else.

Still he couldn't help but watch his brother, something wasn't the same and Sam wanted to know what.

For a week nothing new or out of the ordinary happened.

Then one day Mrs. Ellen's students all settled back into their seats after lunch. She stood in the front of the class and waited for everyone's attention except of course Dean Winchester's.

Try as she might she had yet to receive his complete attention. She'd given up calling him out and scolding him he didn't listen. She'd decided as long as he sat in the back and was quiet so as not to disturb the other children she would let him be.

"I would like the older children to take out their history books and write three sentences on Martha Washington, which we will..." Mrs. Ellen began to explaining when she was startled by the town's alarm bell sounding.

Voices outside the classroom started yelling about a fire.

As Ellen's attention shifted from them to outside most of the students got up and ran to the windows to see what was happening.

"Get back in your seats now." Mrs. Ellen commanded.

Sam excited like the rest of the students disappoint went back to his desk. Sam looked over at his brother. Dean hadn't gotten up in the commotion.

In fact Dean sat with his hands gripping the desk in front of him and his eyes squeezed tight. Sam leaned over and shook his brother by the shoulder.

"Dean, hey." Sam said in a hushed voice.

Some of the children began to cough as the smell of smoke drifted into the school house.

To Sam's horror Dean started shaking his head, and rocking in his chair. He'd never seen his brother do this before.

Sam got up and knelt by Dean's side. "Dean what are you doing?"

Then Sam heard it very faintly and he noticed his brother's mouth moving. He just couldn't quite make out what Dean was trying to say.

The alarm bell kept ringing. "Sam get back in your seat." Mrs. Ellen yelled over the noise.

"I can't Ma'ma, my brother..." Ellen looked at Dean, he seemed to be having a fit.

She didn't have time to address it one of the deputies came in to the classroom. "Mrs. Ellen we need you to get the children out of here. Old Mr. Murdoch's house is burning and the whole town is in danger."

The children all got looks of horror on their faces, some of the girls started crying. Nothing was helped by the fact that Dean Winchester sat in the back of the classroom rocking, and murmuring with his hands now over his ears like a lunatic.

"Alright Children line up, now." Ellen called. Sam was starting to panic. Dean didn't seem to be hearing anything anyone was saying.

"Dean we have to go." Sam tried tugging on his brother's arm.

"Dean, Dean come on." Dean didn't budge. Sam was getting mad. "Dean we have to leave now. Come on Dean! Dean you're scaring me."

Dean stopped and looked in Sam's eyes. "Come on Dean."

Sam kept hold of Dean's arm as he hurried him out of the building and after the rest of the class. Mrs. Ellen led them out of town away from the fire as men rushed around with buckets of water and axes.

Dean tried to keep up with his brother Sammy was dragging him hard to kept up with the rest of the children. His eyes were watering and his lungs burned. He stumbled and tripped unable to run like his brother wanted to.

The class joined the other town's people who had evacuated in a field just out of harm's way. Some of the children clung to their mothers. Some of them watched the men trying to put out the fire like it was a sporting event.

The Winchester boys sat down in the grass, Dean was red faced and blurry eyed. He was trying hard not to cry. Sam didn't know what was happening to Dean but he wasn't happy about it. So Sam just sat beside him, their shoulders touching, not talking.

Dean watched the flames and the smoke as they rose. They terrified him. He kept repeating in his head over and over…keep Sammy safe.

He trembled and felt Sam's shoulder next to his.

It seemed like forever before the fire was out but eventually it was and people started returning to their homes. Mrs. Ellen dismissed the class, and started to head home with her own daughter Josephine.

In all the commotion she nearly forgot the Winchester boys. She told Josephine to wait and she turned around.

They were sitting together not paying much attention to anyone else. Sam stared at the town and seemed to be thinking very hard. Dean was focused on something no one else could see. Ellen went and got them.

"Come on boys lets go back." Sam nodded and stood up.

Dean didn't move until Sam took his arm and pulled him up. Ellen walked them back into town.

That night Pastor Jim sat at dinner with the boys and knew something had definitely wrong. Ellen had brought the boys to him and explained the episode that Dean had had in a very hushed manor.

Jim understood that it was very serious but the boy seemed better so Jim was obliged to regard it as a onetime occurrence. Some sort of waking nightmare triggered by the fire.

Now though as the boys sat across from each other at the table Samuel glared in Dean's direction.

"Dean, go get ready for bed." Jim instructed the boy putting in his tone the sense of an order that the boy responded best to.

Dean did as he was told getting up from the table, clearing his dishes and heading up stairs. He looked exhausted after the days ordeal.

Sam sat at the table looking mad at the world.

"Samuel what's the matter?" Jim prompted.

Sam sat up straight as he was addressed. "Nothing Sir."

Jim didn't believe him for a minute. "Are you mad at Dean?"

"What?" Sam turned to Jim with a look of innocent confusion.

"You've been glaring in his general direction all evening."

"I'm not mad…" Sam started slowly as if trying to figure something out in his head. "Dean just, I don't know, scared me today. I didn't like it."

"That's understandable being scared for your brother. But that's no reason to glare at him."

"Yes well he didn't just scare me he scared the other children. It was embarrassing. Now they'll never leave him alone. They'll pick on us without mercy. How am I suppose to deal with that?"

"I'm sure they won't" Jim tried to reassure Sam even though he wasn't sure himself.

"They will." Sam corrected the older man. "And you know what else."

Jim shook his head. "No what?"

"He can talk, I heard him today he kept saying my name over and over again." Sammy folded his arms and looked cross. Jim was astonished.

"You heard him?"

"He was whispering, but I knew what he said. Why would he lie about being able to talk Pastor Jim, doesn't he know that lying is a sin."

Jim didn't know how to answer that. Had Dean really spoken?

"Samuel if your brother spoke it was surely a miracle not a sin."

The next day the boys came home from school. Sammy stomped into the house and ran upstairs. Dean stood in the doorway and looked crestfallen.

Jim looked at the young man "Did something happen at school today?" Jim had a feeling the other children weren't going to make things easy for the boys just as Sam had predicted.

Dean nodded.

"Is Sammy upset with you?"

Dean looked more dejected if that was possible. Jim changed the subject.

"Did he ask you if you could talk?" Jim asked seriously and Dean nodded solemnly.

"And can you?"

Dean nodded "yes sir."

Jim smiled. "That's wonderful Dean."

Dean nodded.

TBC…

Thank you too all the reviews, double thanks to those who have review more than once. I really appreciate it and I'm glad people are enjoying the story I'm enjoying writing it.