Basements, Wings and Little 'Ratty' Things

Dean sighed in boredom as he looked out the window sniveling and wiping his nose. Damn the fact that he had a really nasty cold and couldn't do much. He couldn't go out and play since it was rainy and cold. The upside was that school was out and he didn't have to waste time with old biddies who thought they knew everything about school safety.

Nope he was staying at Pastor Jim's with Sam to recuperate from the cold Sammy gave him while Dad was out on another hunt. Dean gave a shake of his head at the thought that five year old Sammy, who gave him everything tangible when he was generous, had managed to give him a cold. Maybe in a twisted way it was a sign of Sammy's affection for him though Dean wouldn't have it any other way.

Dean sighed again as he looked out the window. It was boring to watch the rain fall down but he didn't feel much like doing anything else. He failed to notice that Sam had come into the room carrying that toy car Dean had given him for his fifth birthday until Sam asked, "Wanna play Dean?"

Dean looked at his little brother who still had a red nose from the cold he had just gotten over. He was bored and wasn't sure if playing another round of making Sammy's car go would do any good. Still it was Sammy. "Sure Rudolph. You want me to make your car go again?"

Sam made a blowing sound and stuck his tongue out at Dean for the name he called him. Ever since he came down with a cold, Dean made fun of his nose. "Forget it." He turned to walk away.

Dean sighed. "Wait. Sammy."

Sam stopped and looked at his brother, "Stop calling me that."

"Hey Sammy it's a compliment. Out of the two of us you can play the cute factor big time. Haven't you notice all the moms that say you're cute when we go out with Dad?"

Sam scowled at that. Dean always exploited his 'cute' factor in order to get things or score with the girls in his class. It had been fun at first but now it was downright annoying. Still Dean had a point and the single moms seemed to like Dad with his two little boys. "Hard not to though they seem to like your flirting."

"It's an art form Sam," Dean replied before he started coughing and hacking up some phlegm.

"You want me to get Pastor Jim?"

"Nah," Dean replied as he wiped his nose and threw the lot into the wastebasket. "I'm cool. So what did you want to play?"

Sam studied his brother. He thought that playing would cheer Dean up since he was moping about not even going outside for a walk. "You sure you want to?"

"You came in here bugging me now. Come on Sammy what do you want to do?"

Sam still looked at Dean and made that head movement that made him look like a puppy. Dean hid the smirk and his brother wondered why people called him a cute adorable puppy. Finally Sam said, "Maybe explore the basement. We haven't done that yet."

It was a game sort of. Pastor Jim gave them the run of the place just as long as they didn't get into anything that could break or the things that their Dad did for work. Dean knew those places already and was able to steer Sam away from them. They explored quite a bit though they spent two stays exploring the choir and belfry areas. The basement of the actual house seemed like a good idea. Dean replied, "Awesome. Sure thing Sammy."

Sam smiled big as he waited while Dean pulled on his jacket and grabbed the flashlight. It was more fun to leave the lights off and turn it into a big treasure discovery. It was a testament to how glad his brother was to get out of the room by the way Dean grabbed his hand and led the way to the basement.

They paused by Pastor Jim's office where he was talking to someone sitting in a chair. Dean thought it was just another one of those devout ladies that wanted to do something for the church. Still he was supposed to be in his room though so they had to sneak past the open door of the office. It was a daring escape as first Sam and then he went. As soon as they were in the clear, they bolted towards the basement door. They paused outside the door while Dean pulled out his flashlight and grinned when Sam did the same and together they slowly descended into the darkness.

~0~0~

"Sam, check this out."

Sam toddled forward to where his brother was looking into an old trunk filled with clothing and cloth of every kind. Some looked like costumes and some looked really old. In fact when he was close enough, Dean shook out a cloth and whole bunch of little bug things started flying out.

Sam batted at them to get them away. Dean was doing the same thing and when they finally left, Sam muttered, "Jerk."

"Man up Sammy. They were just some moth things," Dean replied. He peered into the contents of the trunk. "Man these are really old. Some look like they belong in a different universe." He pulled out an outdated styled wig and with a sly look he plunked it down on Sam's head. "Now you really look like Samantha."

Sam scowled and found another wig and somehow managed to tackle his brother and jam it on his head. "There… Deanna."

That ended up with the two of them laughing since the wigs were too big and they fell off their heads. They put them back and went looking into other boxes and crates. Sam found something that could be considered a toy even though it was bronze and Dean decided to look more where the door led to the outside of the house. Both didn't notice the cat that was sleeping near the window.

Sam bumped the crate that the cat was on, startling it awake. Along with that came the flutter of wings of a bird. That made the cat feral and it jumped onto Sam's back. Sam reacted trying to bat the thing away and ended up falling into a pile of boxes full of puppets and marionettes. His limbs got tangled in the strings as he came face to face with the thing that he hated the most. The face was smiling at him, but to Sam's little hazel greens, it looked mean and that painted face… "Dean! Help!"

Dean heard the crash and immediately started towards his brother. He tripped over the cat that screamed and jumped through a hole in the window and he fell into a pile of stuff. Dean could see wings flapping of those little nasty bugs but a little squeak had him stop. He felt something big and hairy on his lap. Luckily he had his flashlight but he wasn't sure if he wanted to look.

"Dean, get this thing away from me!"

The cry from his brother spurred him into action. Dean tried to move but his leg was stuck under a pile of boxes. The squeaking got louder. Dean hesitantly pointed his flashlight at the source and found that there were maybe two or three rats running around. He felt one brush his hand and it felt icky. They started roaming his little body and he tried to get them off while trying to get free to help Sam with whatever mess he was in.

Dean could feel the little claws of their feet touching him and he felt like he had been thrown in a dumpster. He didn't like this and for the first time around Sam, he screamed for help. "Help me!"

Sam was crying because every time he moved his limbs became more tangled and another one of those clown things fell on him. When he heard his brother scream, he cried out, "Dean!"

"Help me Sammy!"

Sam struggled but he couldn't. He moved the arm that had the light and he saw something fly at him. It was that stupid bird that scared the stupid cat. It flapped in his face and he flailed his arms to get it away from him. Suddenly one of the clown marionettes shifted and the face flew down into his thoroughly scaring him and he screamed.

Both boys continued to flail. Sam was crying too hard to notice that Pastor Jim was cutting him free and saying that everything was going to be fine. Dean on the other hand was too tired to fight anymore and his sick body passed out. He didn't see the 'church' lady free him while beating off the rats with a bare fist. He did hear a voice though murmuring in soothing tones. He recognized that voice but his body was too tired.

~0~0~

"I'm sorry Dean."

Dean frowned at his little brother who was sitting on his bed. "What do you have to be sorry for Sammy? You didn't know what was down there." Dean played a little with the Band-Aids on his arms. He shuddered as he touched them.

He didn't actually remember them ratty things biting him though there were some cuts from the fall. He did remember the voice telling him that he was okay. Still it was enough to make him think twice about going into places without checking for rat poison or something. He looked at his little brother who was still trembling from his experience with the clowns.

Dean remembered what happened and he knew Sammy did too. They never talked about it afterwards but Dean remembered when Dad came home and read the paper about the douche being arrested for trying to kidnap some kids from the local park. Of course Dean said nothing but made it seem like Sam had a good time at that park. He didn't explain why Sammy had nightmares for a while the next few nights and said it was probably something he saw on TV.

Dean was always watching out for Sam and protecting him. That was the promise he made when he was four years old and held his brother for the first time. Well it wasn't really a promise since what four year old understands that but he did remember thinking that Sammy was his and no one was going to hurt him. He felt he let his brother down by not getting to him and setting him free. He let out, "I'm sorry Sammy."

"For what Dean?"

"I didn't get to you when you needed it."

Sam didn't let Dean finish but instead pounced on his brother who started coughing at the same time. The coughing fit didn't last though and Sam squeezed tightly on his big brother. "You're the bestest big brother ever Dean. You're always there for me."

Dean was usually adverse to moments like these but hey it was private. He affectionately tousled Sam's hair. He replied, "And you're the best annoying little brother ever. And I am sorry. Don't ever think that I won't be there for you. Just as long as there are no rats around."

"And no clowns," Sam added.

Dean couldn't help but laugh as he remembered the lady that saved Sam. Funny thing was it was her voice he heard that told him he was okay. His laughter started Sam laughing and Dean decided it was the perfect moment to start a tickle fight. That had Sam shriek with laughter and Dean wrestled with him trying to get the upper hand until Sam touched his ticklish spots. It became all out war for a good twenty minutes until both collapsed from exhaustion.

Dean was staring up at the ceiling while Sam was cuddled next to him. He thought about the voice he had heard. She said that he would be all right. He remembered where he had heard it before and smiled. He closed his eyes to sleep and muttered, "Thanks Mom.

~0~0~

Pastor Jim watched the boys through the door to their room. They seemed to be no worse for the wear though it wouldn't surprise him if they had a couple of bad dreams every no and then. At least John would be back in a day or two and they would be off again. That was the life of a hunter and Jim felt bad that the boys were dragged into it.

Looking in on the boys, he heard Dean mutter something and fall back into a deep sleep. He closed the door quietly and went to his office where his visitor was waiting. He said, "They're asleep now."

"That's good."

"You want to see them before you go?"

"No thank you Pastor," she replied and his visitor stood up from her chair. She dusted her lap and stood looking at the priest. "They are in good hands. They always have been."

"It was fortunate that you were here. I would have never have heard the commotion. It could have been a lot worse." Pastor Jim looked at the ground. It was a harsh reality to realize that worse things could have happened to the boys that he had grown to care for. "How did you know?"

"You know the answer to that Pastor," the visitor replied. "Just remember to actually send that stuff to Goodwill or something. I think Muffin the cat won't be back anytime soon to take care of the rodent problem."

Pastor Jim couldn't help but smile slightly. Even though it had been dark, he could barely make out what she did when she freed Dean. "I think you took care of that on your own but I will take care of it. Thank you."

"Thank you Pastor." The visitor gave a slight handshake and left his office and headed out the door.

Pastor Jim stared in the direction she had taken. He knew her since she occasionally attended service over the years but never got involved with church functions. Her attendance was sporadic since she said she had a traveling job. Yet she always came back to say hello. Jim didn't know if it was luck, coincidence or even the will of God that had her there at the moment when the boys got into trouble. She had heard them crying and she bolted out of her seat and told him to follow. They made it to the basement door to find that it was stuck.

She barged in by pounding on it with one foot and clambered down the dark stairs. Jim searched for the switch only to find that the bulb had been burnt out. He followed her though and he found Sam crying and trying to push a bunch of marionettes away from him and he was hopelessly tangled. He could also hear Dean sobbing and the panicked squeals of rats as dull thuds came off the walls. He cut Sam free and carried him out and was followed by her carrying Dean who held onto her like he would have his mother if she were still alive.

He watched as she tended to the bites and cuts on Dean as tenderly as a mother would with her children. She smoothed out Sam's bangs and said comforting words to both of them. As he watched her, Jim could swear that he saw a halo around her head of light brown hair. It was up for debate but Jim knew at that moment that Sam and Dean Winchester had a guardian angel and he had known her for years. God truly did work in mysterious ways.

A/N: I know really traumatic for Sammy since it has been a year since... and now Dean's little phobia. At least someone has been paying attention though...