A Hard Road Ch. 3
Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story.
Author's Note: Dani, I hope this was quick enough for you.
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Previously: "Thanks Jim, for all …" John stopped mid sentence as he heard a terrifying scream coming from the boys room. His face immediately lost all color as he bolted out of the chair he was sitting in causing it to crash loudly to the floor. He raced up the stairs with Jim following right behind him. As he opened the door, his heart broke at the sight that met his eyes.
As he opened the door, the first thing John saw was the way his oldest was looking around the room with terrified eyes as huge tears trailed down his extremely pale face. His little body was shaking intensely from the tremors that assaulted him. John knew right away that Dean had another one of his terrifying nightmares. He assumed they were about what happened to Mary, but he didn't know for sure since Dean had yet to speak about them. He often wondered if Dean had somehow seen his mother burning on the ceiling. Dean wasn't the only one crying he realized as heard the loud, ear piercing wails coming from Sammy's crib. His baby's little face was a bright shade of pink as his little arms and feet flailed about in the air. It tore him apart to see both boys so unhappy. He was torn as to which one to go to first until Jim took that heavy responsibility from his shoulders.
As Jim took in the scene before him, he could feel the angst coming off of both boys as well as their father. He could tell how much it was shattering the man in front of him seeing both boys so distressed. Remembering how the oldest had shied away from him when they first met, Jim quickly walked over to the crib and picked up the screaming infant, cuddling him to his chest. He figured that the baby was probably scared from being awoken by his brothers screams. "Shh, don't cry little one, it's alright. Shhh, your brother will be okay." Jim said as he gently bounced Sammy in his arms to comfort him while he watched John trying to console the other child.
John was extremely grateful to the pastor as he watched him pick up Sammy. Knowing that his baby was being taken care of, he could focus on Dean and his needs. He quickly rushed over to the bed and pulled his shivering four year old into his embrace. "It's okay champ, Daddy's right here" he said as he ran his hand soothingly up and down Dean's back. It tore his heart out to hear the way Dean was gasping for air as he continued to tremble in fear. He gently took Dean's freckled little face into his hands as he tried to get Dean to focus on him. "Dean, look at me son. You're safe. Daddy's got you and I'm not going to let anything happen to you. Please calm down son."
John's worry increased as he looked into Dean's eyes and saw the glassy distant look in them. He had to get him to focus or his son would slip into shock. Not knowing what else to do, John picked his oldest child up and held him tightly to his chest as he rocked Dean back and forth while singing Hush Little Baby. It was something that Mary used to do when he was just a toddler and it usually calmed him down within minutes when he was upset.
Dean was traumatized as ghastly scenes of the fire played over and over in his mind. Only this time instead of losing just his mommy, his daddy and Sammy were burned up in the fire too. He screamed out in horror as he watched the fire consuming his baby brother. He tried to pull Sammy from the crib but the fire was just too hot and it snaked out at his hands every time he tried to pick Sammy up. He pleaded for help but nobody ever came. He was left standing all alone in the burned out shell of the house that used to be his home. He took in shuddering breaths as he felt a cold chill consume him, he was all alone, ALL ALONE!!
As his trembles began to increase and he struggled to breathe, he suddenly felt a safe feeling starting to envelop him. He thought he could hear the soft sound of a voice that was recognizable, but it was so far away, why couldn't he understand what the voice was saying? He started running towards that voice to get away from the sheer terror of being all alone. Just when he thought he couldn't run anymore, he felt himself lifted up by comforting arms and a comforting tune sung softly near his ear. He knew that tune. That tune was the tune of love. His fears started to ebb away as he continued to listen. He could feel the tension fleeing and he started to relax as the love grew stronger. Exhaustion soon took over and he faded off to sleep safe in the arms of love.
Tears of relief started trailing down John's face as he felt the tension starting to leave Dean's body. It shattered his soul just a little bit more each time his child suffered from the night terrors that refused to leave him alone. He wondered if the fire would ever become a distant memory allowing Dean to totally come back to him. He really missed the energetic child that always kept him on his toes.
John could feel it the minute that Dean relaxed into sleep once again as his breathing evened out. He rocked and sung to Dean a few more minutes before laying him down gently on the bed. He knew he would be spending the night in the boy's bed since he didn't have the heart to leave him alone tonight. He looked over to where Jim was standing to see that the Pastor had also calmed his baby who was now sleeping with his thumb tucked securely into his mouth.
"Jim, I wanna thank you for taking care of my youngest while I was trying to take care of Dean. He's been having a problem with nightmares and I, well, I just don't know what I would have done tonight without your help."
"You don't have to thank me John, I'm glad I was able to help, that's what I'm here for" said Jim as he smiled at the frazzled father.
"Thanks for that. If you don't mind, I think I'll just stay here with my boys tonight" John said as he reached out for his baby. He really needed both of his boys close to him tonight. Jim lay Sammy in John's waiting arms before quietly leaving the room and closing the door behind him. He knew tonight had been really hard on the young father and the small family needed some time alone together.
John cuddled his youngest close to him for a few minutes before laying him down beside Dean. He knew Dean would take comfort in having the baby close beside him and hoped it would help him to sleep through the rest of the night. John grabbed Sammy's bottle from the crib and placed it on the desk beside him before stripping off his jeans and climbing into bed with his boys. He slung his arm protectively over both boys while he watched them sleep.
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John was awoken the next morning to the soft sounds of his baby cooing. He could feel the bed moving and slowly opened his eyes just a little to see Dean reaching over him to get Sammy's bottle. He marveled at the way Dean had supported Sammy with a couple of pillows so that he could feed his baby brother. As Dean held the bottle for the baby, there was obvious adoration and love in his eyes for little Sammy. John held his breathe as he watched Dean open his mouth to say something, only to change his mind. God how he wished Dean would start talking again. John swallowed his disappointment and opened his eyes fully as he plastered a smile on his face. "Good morning boys" John said as he reached over to kiss each child gently on the forehead. "I don't know what I would do without you champ. Thanks for taking care of feeding Sammy so daddy could get a little more sleep."
Dean beamed at hearing the compliment from his father. He loved it when his dad showed pride in the things he did, but he would do it anyway. He loved his baby brother more than anything in the world and mommy always said that he was so supposed to watch out for Sammy since he was a big brother now.
"Hey sport, you want to help daddy even more than you already have?" John asked his oldest as he watched the puzzled look that sprang to Dean's face wondering what his daddy was up to. "How about changing Sammy's diaper for me?" John immediately started laughing at the way Dean scrunched his face up in disgust as he shook his head back and forth letting his dad know his feelings on the subject. Reaching over to the diaper bag, John pulled out a diaper and wipes and quickly changed his youngest, putting some clean clothing on him afterwards. From the smell of sausage creeping up the stairs, John knew that Jim was preparing breakfast and didn't want to keep the man waiting.
After both boys were dressed, John took them downstairs where Jim had made scrambled eggs for Sammy, and pancakes and sausage for the rest of them, though there was enough eggs for Dean also if he preferred them. Everybody sat down to eat a hearty breakfast, though Sammy ended up getting more on the floor than he did in his mouth. When everyone had finally finished, Jim and John cleaned up the mess while Dean kept Sammy occupied in the living room.
As the boys played, John turned to Jim and asked about the kinds of things he would have to learn if he were to become a hunter of supernatural beings.
"There is so much more than I could ever hope to teach you myself John. Sure, I will be able to help you with learning things such as Latin, but I will have to introduce you to hunters such as Daniel Elkins and Bobby Singer to teach you the finer aspects of hunting. They are the experts when it comes to weapons, sigils, and knowing what kind of weapon is needed to dispose of evil.
"What, wait a minute…Latin?" John inquired as his interest was piqued. How in the world would learning an obscure language help him to bring down evil.
"Yes Latin, you will have to learn Latin to banish different spirits as well as to perform exorcisms. I'm afraid to say that there are demons out there who really do possess people. They lock innocent souls within their own minds and use their bodies to do horrible deeds. These people are forced to watch as their bodies are used to rape, maim, and kill, The demons take delight in feeling the terror inside their minds. They feed off of it and become stronger for it. Some people have been possessed for years and once exorcised succumb to death because their bodies cannot handle being exorcised."
It pained Jim to have to tell John that possessions actually did exist and that it wasn't just something that occurred in the movies. He prayed that John would never have to suffer the fate of being locked inside his own mind someday, but he knew the enormous risks that one faced in the life of hunting. John would actively be seeking out evil, so chances were that evil would be looking for him too, especially since he had already been touched by it once.
John glanced over at his boys as Jim explained the horrors of being locked inside yourself and to not be able to assert your own free will. Once again he wondered if he was doing the right thing in subjecting his kids to this life. How would their lives be affected if they witnessed such evil. Knowing that he couldn't back down, that he had to continue in his wife's memory, he swore to protect them from the life of hunting as much as possible. He would sequester them away so that only a chosen few would know about them. He prayed that his boys would remain innocent about the hunting life as long as possible. Sure Dean had already witnessed his mother's death, but he would never again have to witness such terror if he had anything to do about it.
"So when do we start?" John asked with resolve in his voice. The only way his boys would remain safe was if he learned how to protect them. He would never again let evil walk into his life and take another from him without a fight.
TBC