Disclaimer: I don't own anything Supernatural and I am not making any profits off of this story. It all belongs to the CW and Eric Kripke so, please don't sue and please don't be offended by the language or situations the characters find themselves in.

Chapter 10

Pastor Jim Murphy was just finishing up penning one of his new sermons for the coming Sunday service when the low, rumbling sound of a car engine caught his ear.

The Pastor immediately recognized the exact model of the car the engine sound belonged to.

Dropping the pen in his hand and getting up from his seat at his desk, Pastor Jim quickly made his way to the front door.

Pastor Jim threw the door open and stepped out onto the front porch in time to see a sleek black, 1967 Chevy Impala pulling up from the dusty road and slowly rumbling to a stop in front of his house.

The Winchesters.

" Well, this is a surprise." Thought Pastor Jim and indeed, this visit had come completely out of the blue. No phone call in advance, no there had been nothing except the signature Winchester vehicle pulling up a mere few seconds ago.

With mild confusion on his mind, Pastor Jim walked down the steps of the porch to greet his unexpected guests.

The Impala became inanimate with the turn of a key and then, John Winchester stiffly climbed out of the driver's seat with his two sons following in his wake.

As he came to stand before his guests, Pastor Jim could see that John and Dean were both looking a little worse for ware but, the Pastor was slightly taken aback when his gaze fell on the youngest of the three.

Where as his father and brother looked a little tired, Sam Winchester was almost ghostly in complexion. He stood tall and with his eyes glued to the ground it seemed, his face a neutral mask.

A far cry from the smiling, bright eyed, vibrant young man Pastor Jim had last seen several months ago.

With concern swirling with the confusion already there in his mind, Pastor Jim turned to John and held out a hand as he spoke.

" Well now, this is an unexpected visit, what brings you all here John?" He asked.

" Me and the boys are headed for a hunt not too far from here and at the last minute, I figured we'd stop by for a bit and see you." Said John simply as he glanced at his boys, his gaze lingering a moment on a silent Sam before returning to meet the Pastor's imploring eyes.

" And you didn't think it important to call ahead and give me some hint of a warning?" Asked Pastor Jim with a quirk of an eyebrow as he watched John give him a slightly sheepish look.

But deep down, Jim could sense that there was something else going on, that something else had happened. That this was more than just an unexpected drop in by the Winchesters.

Eager to know what was going on behind the facade of a friendly visit, Pastor Jim quickly turned to the two younger Winchesters.

" Hey Dean, how are you boy?" Asked Jim with a warm smile as he playfully ruffled the oldest Winchester boy's short hair.

" I'm good Pastor Jim, could use some lunch though." Smiled Dean, lightly swatting at the hand messing up his hair.

" That doesn't surprise me in the least. Don't worry, you'll get a chance to fill that black hole you call a stomach Dean." Muttered Jim with a small grin before he turned to the youngest of his three guests.

" How are you doing Sam?" Asked Jim.

" I'm fine." Came the dull, lifeless answer that was nothing like the answer Jim was accustomed to from the boy standing before him.

In all the time the Pastor had known the Winchester, Sam was always the most exuberant and happy. Always bouncing with innocent light.

The Sam standing before him now was a full 180 from that, pale and withdrawn with his eyes down cast, everything about him covered in dullness and what looked suspiciously like veiled despair.

The Pastor was just about to voice his concern over the very lack luster answer from Sam when the thirteen year old silently stepped forward and wrapped his arms around the older man, hugging the Pastor tightly around the middle.

" I'm just really tired Pastor Jim, but it's really good to see you." Said Sam hollowly against the Pastor's chest.

Pastor Jim thought confused, smiled at the gesture of affection he was receiving and instinctively wrapped his arms around Sam, one of his hands gently cupping the back of the boy's head, gently stroking the long, chocolate brown locks.

Pastor Jim blinked and then looked up to eye the two older Winchesters, subtle questions written across his face.

But as he gazed upon John and Dean, his questions multiplied.

At first, John and Dean's faces were slack with astonishment, clearly they had been taken off guard by their youngest one's show of affection.

But their faces tightened within seconds, father and oldest son's mouths identical unhappily thin, horizontal lines.

Jim watched as John and Dean's eyes hardened and narrowed just slightly, the surprise leaving their depths and filling with a myriad of emotions.

From where he stood, Pastor Jim stared back at these two pairs of eyes and found himself feeling very troubled as he could just barely make out one of the emotions within the myriad swirling around in the eyes of John and Dean.

Jealousy.

In that moment, Pastor Jim was now sure that something was indeed very wrong. But he was broken from his troubled thoughts when Sam finally pulled away from the embrace they had been sharing. Sam looked at Pastor Jim with blank eyes before he turned away and went back to standing beside Dean, ignoring the looks said brother and John gave him.

After a beat and without his eyes leaving his youngest, John spoke.

" Boys, get your stuff from the trunk and head inside." He ordered quietly.

" Yes Sir." Came the two expected synchronized responses, though Dean's voice was it's normal if a little quieter, Sam's voice remained dull and unfeeling.

Sam was the first to reach the trunk, easily opening it. He swiftly pulled up his duffel bag and slung it over his shoulder in one graceful movement.

Then, he was up the front steps and vanishing into Pastor Jim's house not so much as pausing a moment for Dean, who hadn't even gotten to the Impala's trunk to get his own duffel.

Dean let a small sigh escape his as he stared at the open front door his little brother had disappeared through without so much as a glance his way.

Pastor Jim found his heart clenching a little as he eyed the almost longing and slightly hurt look that passed across Dean's face before the seventeen year old schooled his features and turned his attention back to carrying out his father's earlier orders.

Jim turned his gaze to John and felt his unease grow when he saw that the oldest Winchester also had a sad look on his face, quiet similar to that of the oldest son he was eying.

Then, the Pastor turned his gaze back to stare at Dean, he and John watching as the older Winchester brother disappeared into the house, a picture of quiet dejection and loneliness.

Once he was sure that Dean was inside his house and well past hearing range, Pastor Jim turned to John and spoke.

" Alright John Winchester, even a blind man could see that something's just not right. What's going on?" Jim asked urgently.

John nodded his head before he met his friends gaze and spoke.

" Jim, I think we should get inside first, it's a long story, and even I don't really know what's really goin' on." Sighed John deeply.

Jim nodded and waited for John to retrieve his duffel bag from the Impala's trunk before the two adults headed inside.

However, the very second the two men had stepped over the threshold and into the foyer, Dean's voice rang out from upstairs, loud and laced with exasperation.

" SAM GET BACK HERE!!!"

A second later, Sam Winchester came barreling down the stairs as fast as his legs could carry him. He hurtled past his father and Pastor Jim, uttering a curt " I'll be outside." before he disappeared out the front door and into the early afternoon sun.

John and Pastor Jim only had a moment to stare in Sam's wake before the sound of feet once again pounding down the stairs made them turn back around and behold a stone faced and determined Dean Winchester thundering down the stairs in his younger brother's wake, in obvious pursuit.

He too was about to blow right past his father and the Pastor when John deftly hooked two fingers into the back of his son's shirt collar, effectively bringing the teenager to a complete halt.

" Hold up Dean, let your brother go. I think he made it quiet clear that he wants to be left alone." Sighed John.

For a moment, Dean looked defiantly at his father with every intention of ignoring John's words and continuing his pursuit. But then with a small sigh, he deflated and let John lightly pull him away from the front door by his collar. The two Winchesters followed Pastor Jim into his living room. There, the Pastor took a seat on one of his cushioned chairs while John and Dean parked themselves side by side on the large, lump sofa.

The unofficial Family Counselor and two of his three patients.

" Alright John, enough with the stalling. Out with it, what's going on with Sam? I'd have to be an idiot to not see that that boy just isn't himself! " Said Pastor Jim.

He was met with silence but then with a steadying breath, John spoke.

" Pastor Jim, me and Dean are just as baffled by this as you are. I don't know what's gotten into my boy. Sam's been acting off for weeks now, he hardly speaks and he won't let me or Dean anywhere near him. Hell today was the most we'd heard him say. It's like there's a wall between us and him and I just can't figure out why the hell it's there. " Sighed John feeling absolutely helpless and frustrated.

" So you all came here to see if I could be of help." Stated Pastor Jim as he sent them a knowing look.

" Yeah, just don't tell Sammy that." Said Dean with a weak smirk on his lips and a silent plea in his eyes while John bowed his head and nodded.

With a small nod, Jim rose to his feet and sighed.

" Alright, I'll see if I can get to the bottom of this. But I'm gonna need some more info out of the both of you. Can you think of anything that happened recently that could've caused Sam to act this way?" Asked Pastor Jim.

At this, Dean and John felt their minds falter for a moment as they both remembered a not so distant incident that had occurred in the woods of Wisconsin.

The two older Winchesters shared a quick look that Pastor Jim would have missed entirely had he blinked. It was John who broke the silence.

" Well, there was the hunt we finished up in Wisconsin about a month ago. It was a black Dog, damn thing nearly took us out but, we managed to nail it in the end." Said John, feeling like crap for not telling Pastor Jim the specifics of what had happened, but in the look he had shared with Dean, they'd both agreed not to go into the full details of what they had seen that blood drenched night and what Sam himself had recounted about what had happened after they'd both been knocked out cold.

" Maybe that's what's been buggin' Sammy, that hunt was a pretty scary one and he hasn't really talked about it. The geek always has to talk about stuff." Said Dean.

Both John and Pastor Jim nodded.

" Alright, now that I have some concrete facts, I best try and get to the bottom of this." Said Pastor Jim with a small huff as he rose from his seat and swiftly walked across the room and ducked into the kitchen.

Dean and John both stared in the Pastor's wake before quickly scrambling after the man into the kitchen.

Once they were in the kitchen, the two older Winchesters stood slightly perplexed as they watched the Pastor move back and forth around his kitchen accumulating several items with his motions.

Two slices of wheat bread.

A container of Bologna.

Two jars, one was mayo the other mustard.

A slice of white American cheese and a slice of crunchy lettuce.

Dean was about to voice the question of why Pastor Jim was in the midst of constructing a sandwich when the Pastor cut him off before he could even open his mouth to speak.

" It just so happens to be lunch time, figure I'd loosen the boy up with an offering before I try and wheedle some answers out of him." Said Pastor Jim simply as he piled a liberal amount of bologna over the slice of lettuce before he set about spread mayo and mustard. After that he cover it all with the slice of cheese.

" Good idea." Thought John as he nodded in agreement.

Jim added the final accents to the sandwich he finished it off by pressing the other slice of bread over the whole thing.

He then picked up the plated it was on and looked at Dean and John.

" Now I have a pretty good idea of where to find our young Samuel. I know that the both of you aren't gonna stay here in the house and sit idle so I suggest you stay quiet and out of sight. Use whatever stealth you can muster." Said Pastor Jim with a hint of sternness as he eyed the older two of his three guests.

John and Dean both blinked at the Pastor owlishly for a few moments before they both saw the practicality of the older man's words.

The two older Winchesters nodded, they would stay out of sight and stay quiet cause if Sam was aware of their presence then he'd close himself off and they would have gotten nothing out of him.

" Glad we are all in agreement." Said Pastor Jim before he walked passed John and Dean with the plate and sandwich in held firmly in his hands. The two older Winchesters followed in the Pastor's wake as they all headed for the front door.

Dean strode ahead to open the door for Pastor Jim and the three of them filed out of the house with Pastor Jim in the lead.

As Dean and John walked behind Pastor Jim, they instantly figured out where he was leading them.

The Chapel.

Of course, that would've been one of the places their Sam would go to whenever they visited here.

Sam was in sanctuary, and maybe in sanctuary his family could get some much needed answers.