Several hours later, Sam was still sitting by his brother's bedside. Oshea had finally fallen asleep in the recliner in the corner of the room and Ella was out finding them a nearby hotel to stay in while Dean was in the hospital. He could not believe that this had happened. His brother had always seemed so strong and indestructible. He had always been the one to save Sam, to protect him and keep him in line. "You can't go, Dean. I need you." He whispered, rubbing his tired eyes and giving a little sigh. "Dean… wake up… please?" He looked up at his brother and leaned forward, resting his arms on the edge of the bed. "Okay… um… can you hear me? Dean… come on, you've survived more than this before. Remember that time… the doctors said you were going to die because of your heart? We fixed that… I mean… in a non-conventional way of course, but still we made it through it." He sighed and ran his fingers through his hair again, falling quiet for a moment. "You have to be okay, Dean. I hate to pull the dad card on you, but you promise him that you'd stay with me. That you'd take care of me… you're not going to go against dad's orders are you?" He gave a little weak smile that faded almost immediately. He stared down at the white sheets. "Remember… that time when I was seven? You were eleven. And um…. I had that teacher… Ms. Lyle…? I think it was…?"

xx

ALBUQUERQUE, NEW MEXICO, 1991

xx

Dean Winchester grabbed the box of Froot Loops off the counter, pouring some into two separate bowls that were sitting on the small, square shaped table in the middle of the room.. "Sammy, breakfast! Get your lazy butt up or you're going to be late," The twelve year old yelled, pulling, the half empty milk carton out of the mini fridge in the small kitchen of the motel room and pouring it in with the cereal. "Fine," He said, a little louder, glancing over at the bed where Sam was laying. "I guess you're just going to miss the Dork Fair, which is too bad, because I'd bet you'd win."

The little boy groaned softly, squirming beneath the covers before he poked his head out from beneath the covers at the foot of the bed. "Where's dad?" He asked, his voice groggy. He rubbed his eyes with the heel of his hand and crawled out from the bed, his brows furrowing. "I wanted to show him my project." He shuffled over toward the table, his dark hair messy from sleep. His eyelids were drooping over his hazel eyes. His pajama pants were dragging the floor.

Dean shook his head. "Out," was all he said as he pulled two spoons out of the silverware drawer and stuck one in Sam's bowl, sliding it across the table in front of where Sam had sat down. "Hurry up and eat so we can get ready to leave. Ms. Lyle said you're supposed to be there early so that she can take you to the fair and you can start setting up your project," He said, and then sat down across from him at the table, starting in on his cereal.

Sam climbed into the seat, kicking his little legs out as he scrambled up into it. Sitting down, he stared at the cereal. Leaning one elbow against the table, he held his cheek in his palm and idly stirred the cereal around the bowl with the tip of his spoon. "Dean?" He whispered, not looking up at him. "Do you think dad will be able to come see it?" He already knew the answer, but he had to ask anyway. There was always the chance that this time would be different.

He sighed impatiently. "I donno, Sammy," His brother replied, a hint of annoyance in his voice. Sam asked a lot of questions… but in a way, he couldn't really blame him for that. "He's real busy with work, you know that."

Sam sighed and nodded, his expression falling. "I know." His shoulders slumped slightly and he stopped stirring the cereal. Without touching it, he stretched out his legs and dropped down to the floor, going over to their bags and pulling out his clothes. He tugged his pajama shirt over his head, struggling a bit to get it off.

Dean rolled his eyes a bit, standing up from the table. He walked over and helped Sam with the shirt, and then returned to his own cereal. "Get dressed, and then finish your food… I'm not gonna have dad mad at me for not feeding you."

"What would he care? He's never here anyway," He grumpily complained, rubbing at his eyes again as he pulled on a t-shirt then wriggled out of his pants and replaced them with jeans.

Dean held his tongue; arguing with Sam was not how he wanted to start this day. Instead, he focused on finishing his cereal. Already in the clothes he planned to wear for the day, he plopped down on the end of one of the queen sized beds and flipped through the channels on the television as he waited for Sam to finish getting ready. Sam finished putting on his clothes then watched Dean a moment before he slipped back over to the table and ate a few bites. He didn't want to get his brother in trouble.

"Okay," he said, swallowing a mouthful of his breakfast. "I'm ready."

Dean nodded and tucked his hunting knife in the back pocket of his jeans, pulling on his jacket to cover it. He grabbed the motel key, sticking it in his other pocket. They were halfway out the door when Dean rolled his eyes and stopped. "Sam. Your project."

Sam gave a little noise of surprise and whirled, scampering back into the hotel room. He dug around the room a few moments before he returned with a poster board under his arm and a little Styrofoam robot. "Do you really think I have a chance to win, Dean?" he asked as he scurried after his brother, his disappointment at the thought of his dad not being there gone as he began to grow excited about the fair.

"Of course, Sam," Dean said, closing the door behind them as they started down the sidewalk. "You're the biggest dork in your class… and I mean that in the nicest way possible."

Sam made a face. "Thanks, Dean." He grumbled, pouting slightly. He had to walk fast to keep up with Dean's longer strides. "Do you think…," He was panting a little. "Do you think that if I win dad will be proud of me?"

"Duh, Sam, why wouldn't he be?"

"I don't know," Sam said, pausing to kick at a rock on the sidewalk. "He just… he doesn't seem to care when I try to talk to him about school stuff. And he's always busy. He didn't come to Parent's Day… or the play I was in… I got to be the sunbeam and everything." He jogged a little to catch up to his brother. "Sometimes… sometimes I think that he doesn't like me. Or maybe," His brows furrowed. "I did something… maybe he's ashamed of me…?"

"That's ridiculous… Dad's always been proud of you," Dean said, shaking his head. They passed by a gas station, so Dean knew the school was only a couple blocks away. Sam glanced up at him then looked back down at his feet.

"I guess so." He said without sounding convinced. As the school came into view, he smiled and sped up, scurrying toward the building.

Dean rolled his eyes as he jogged a bit to catch up. When they reached the school, they saw a couple of cars in the nearly vacant parking lot. It was a Saturday, and school was out. Dean couldn't wait to drop by the gas station on the way back, stock up on junk food for the evening, and then sit back at the motel watching movies. When they got closer, they saw a woman leaning against one of the cars. When she saw them, she straightened, and smiled. "Hello, Sam."

Sam was panting as he reached the car. He smiled brightly. "Hi, Ms Lyle!" He said cheerfully. "Thank you for taking me!"

"It's no problem at all, Sam, anything for my best student," She glanced at Dean, arching a brow before she looked back to Sam. "So, is this your project?"

Sam nodded, showing the Styrofoam robot to her proudly. "This is it! It's a Nanorover!" He said with a smile.

"Wow… impressive," She nodded, raising her eyebrows a little. "Well, we better head over to the community center, everyone is already setting up their projects now," She opened the passenger side door to the two door Chrysler Sebring, and stepped aside. "You can put your… Nanorover in the backseat."

Sam leaned into the vehicle and placed the project in the backseat carefully before looking to Dean. "Bye, Dean." He gave a little wave before he pulled himself up into the car and sat down in the seat. He pulled the seatbelt on and clicked it into place, kicking his legs a little.

Dean nodded and stepped back from the car, waving at Sam a little. Ms. Lyle closed the passenger side door and glanced back at Dean as she walked around the side of the car. She blinked, her eyes turning black for only a second before they returned to normal and she got into the car, speeding off, leaving Dean standing alone in the parking lot.

Dean ran back to the motel as fast as his short twelve year old legs would take him. He grabbed the motel's phone, dialing his dad's cell phone number from memory. As it rang, all he could think about was the woman with the black eyes, and how much trouble he was going to get into for letting her take off with his little brother. After several rings, a male voice finally answered the phone. "Hello?"

"Dad, it's Dean," He said quickly, "I took Sammy to meet Ms. Lyle, just like you told me to. I walked him to the school, he got into her car.. And her eyes turned black and she drove away. She took Sam! And on the way back here I stopped by fair, and they weren't there either, I… don't know what to do."

"You let Sam be taken? Dean, you're supposed to protect him, you should have realized that something was wrong before he got into the car." The voice said a bit roughly into the phone. There was a sigh. "Calm down, Dean. You're not going to be of any use if you panic. Which way did they go and how long has it been since they left?"

"They turned left on that road next to the school… I tried to run after them, but… I couldn't. They've been gone for about ten minutes… maybe fifteen."

"Alright. Stay where you are. I'll go after him." He said gruffly as he rushed to the car and climbed inside, peeling out of the place where he had parked and tearing down the road.

"No, Dad, I want to come with you. I want to make sure he's okay," Dean urged.

"Fine." He said gruffly. "Be ready. I'll come by the hotel and get you. But you stay out of the way. I don't need the extra worry. You're going to have to be more careful, Dean. Sammy could be hurt or worse. I gave you one job while I was away… one job: protect Sammy. If you can't do that, how am I supposed to trust you to take up my mantle some day?"

Dean sighed. "Fine, just hurry." And then he hung up. While waiting, he walked over to his dad's bed, reaching his hand over the mattress and pulling out a thick, leather bound journal. He stared at it for a few minutes, and then hid it inside the jacket he was wearing as he stepped outside and waited outside for his father.

xx

Ms. Lyle parked the car on the side of the road, stepping out of the vehicle and walking around it. She jerked the door handle open, and then pulled Sam out of the passenger's seat roughly, holding onto his wrist tightly as she dragged him along. Up ahead there was a four way intersection, a crossroads. The gravel made noises under her feet as they walked towards the center. Sam's brows furrowed as they stopped on the side of the road. "Ms. Lyle… where are we?" His eyes widened as she jerked him from the seat and began to pull him along toward the crossroads. "Where are we going?"

"Don't worry your pretty little head about that now, little Sammy Winchester," She said, shaking her head. "You'll learn soon enough…"

Sam frowned a bit, glancing over his shoulder toward the car. He looked around and shook his head, stopping and digging his heels into the ground. He tugged at his wrist. "I think…. I need to go back home…"

"You mean back to that dump of a motel?" She clicked her tongue. "That isn't your home, Sam. You are special, you are meant for greater things than science projects and school, boy."

The young boy bit his lower lip and shook his head. "I just want to go back to my brother, Dean. Please, Ms. Lyle…"

"Sorry, no can do," She shook her head. "Your brother does not understand how special you are… not really. And when it comes down to it, he won't be there for you."

"Let me go! Please!" Sam said, growing fearful. He paused as he heard the squealing of tires. The Impala tore over the gravel road, kicking up dust and pieces of gravel. Sam gave a sigh of relief, pulling even harder against his supposed teacher. "Dad!"

John flung open the door of the Impala, cocking his shotgun. "Stay in the car, Dean." He said, slamming the door behind himself as he walked forward. "Renee, what on earth are you doing?"

Ms. Lyle grinned. "Well hello Johnny boy."

Sam squirmed. "Dad, I want to go home!"

John narrowed his eyes faintly. "Renee, let my son go." He said firmly.

"Now why would I do that? Sammy here is special… he's one of us," She said, a wide grin spreading across her face. "Leave, John… before you get yourself hurt."

"I'm not leaving without Sam," John said, raising the shotgun. Sam jerked and pulled again Ms. Lyle, trying his best to get away from her.

"Dad! Dean!"

The shotgun flew out of John's hands and landed in Ms. Lyle's. "I said…" She said slowly, raising her hand and flinging him backwards several yards. "…You're going to get yourself hurt."

John gasped as he was thrown back against the Impala. He dropped down onto the ground, grunting. He placed a hand on the hood of the car and pulled himself up. While Renee was distracted by John, Sam leaned back with all of his weight and his wrist slipped through the woman's grasp. He staggered back, dropping to the dusty road then pushed himself to his feet clumsily. Breathing hard, he started to move away from Ms. Lyle toward the Impala.

"No you don't!" She said quickly, starting to go after Sam, but she was stopped right in her tracks.

"Exorcizo te, omnis spiritus immunde, in nomine Dei…" The twelve year old Dean had ran out of the Impala, against orders. He had stolen his dad's journal, flipped right to the exorcism, and started reading. He couldn't just sit around and let this thing kill his dad, and take his brother God knows where. His dad told him to protect Sammy, and that's exactly what he was going to do.

Ms. Lyle glared at Dean. "An exorcism? You're kidding m-"

"Patris omnipotentis, et in nomine Jesu Christi Filii ejus, Domini et Judicis nostri et in virtute…" Dean continued to read the Latin aloud, and black smoke started to slowly pour from her mouth. As he finished, the smoke jerked violently from her mouth with a scream and she fell to the gravel.

Dean sighed, closing the book at looking down at Sam. "You okay, Sammy?"

You okay, Sam?