A/N: I'm so sorry this came out really late. I had not planned on waiting this long to get the chapter out, but March proved to be one of the worst months of my life. It took me a long time before I got motivated to write again. Oh, and don't forget that this story is an AU of the last three episodes of season 4. That's all. Hope you enjoy the chapter. I'll try to get the next one out sooner.
Chapter 2: Telling the Truth and Keeping Secrets
Dean was getting frustrated with Sam, still not buying that the town had a supernatural problem, and the fact that the police already had a search out for murder suspect was not helping. Here they were at the fourth house, which would be their last since the last victim was visiting from Florida.
"Mrs. Duncan, can you tell us what happened the day your husband went missing?" Sam asked the middle aged, dark-haired woman sitting on the couch across from him.
Meanwhile, Dean was checking out the house, looking for anything that would explain why Gary Duncan disappeared three days ago. Dean was searching Gary's desk in his office for anything that would be helpful. There were all sorts of work related papers scattered everywhere. The top of the desk wasn't much help, so Dean moved on to the drawers. He pushed aside a calculator, some sticky notes, and empty envelopes. Finding nothing unusual or helpful, he closed the drawer and searched the next one underneath it. This drawer was filled with more papers and folders in a filing system. Dean breathed in a heavy sigh and began checking through the different folders.
After checking over half of the folders Dean came up with one word to describe this guy: Workaholic. But just when Dean thought he has this guy pegged as a man who loved work more than his wife, the next folder proved him wrong… Well, half wrong. Inside the folder there was a hotel reservation, a confirmation for a rental car, and a rather long hand written letter by a woman named Amy.
*~*~*~*SPN*~*~*~*
"So then we went back to the motel, got changed and checked out the park," Sam finishes. He looks up at Dean who was just sitting there with his arms folded, looking at him expectantly. "What?"
"That's it? That's all you remember?"
"No..."
"Then spill it out already," Dean snaps. "Come on, why'd you stop?"
Ignoring his brother's question, Sam looks at Dean confused, seeing the irritation in his brother's eyes. "Why are you mad at me? I'm telling you what you wanted to know."
"Yeah, but you keep stopping. Sam, this is important. I NEED to know what you remember, and the more you keep stopping, the more you're wasting my time to get you back to normal," Dean tells him very sternly. "So, unless you had something else to tell me that is more important, I'd prefer it if you would continue on with the story."
Dean watches as Sam looks down at the wooden table-top of the nightstand and sighs. His tiny brother walks over to the clock radio and hops up on top to have a seat. "Fine," he hears Sam mumble before he continues on with the story.
*~*~*~*SPN*~*~*~*
The sun was low in the sky, shining through the tree branches of the park. Walking next to his brother along the hiking trail, Sam kept glancing in the woods for anything out of the ordinary. As they walk, the sound of their boots stepping on loose pebbles and the muffled clanking of their weapons in Dean's duffle bag are the only noises they hear for quite a while. After walking up another hill and turning another corner, they finally heard something else. Or rather, someone else. The voices get closer as they made out two teens walking along the same path.
"Where is he?" the girl complained as she kept looking around the trees and bushes. "I swear he does this on purpose."
"He's just a kid, leave him alone," the guy told her in a rather calm manner.
"He ran after a rabbit! He could get lost in these woods. It'll take us forever to find him."
The guy looked at the blond suspiciously. "Do you have a date tonight or something? Is that what this is all about?"
Now the girl stopped and turned towards the slightly taller guy. "I promised I wouldn't be late. So sue me for trying to be a good girlfriend."
"Yeah, well, you're failing as a sister." The guy pushed passed her, continuing his search for his brother.
"Sorry," the girl muttered, catching up with her brother. "It's just Bret said he had something important he wanted to tell me."
"Shay," he groaned. "Why are you still going out with him? I thought you said he was a jerk?"
"He made up for it," she shrugged.
Her brother stopped walking and gaped at his sister. "I don't even want to know what you mean by that."
"Oh, come on, Ryan. Give me a break. I'm not a kid anymore, you know?"
"No. But you are still my little sister. And technically, being only fifteen does make you a kid by legal standards." Ryan shook his head and looked back around the woods, but something up ahead in the path caught his eye. "Hey," he nudged his sister. "Maybe they can help."
Sam and Dean watched as the teens jogged up to them.
"Excuse me," the guy said as he approached them. "Have you seen a boy anywhere? He's about this tall," he motioned, holding his hand up to his chin. "He has brown hair, answers to the name of Timmy."
"He's a boy, not a dog," the girl said as she finally reached her brother's side.
The kid glared at his sister.
"Uh, no, sorry. But we can help you look for him," Sam offered.
"That'd be great." He smiled with relief. "Oh, um, I'm Ryan."
"Shayla," the girl added, giving a small wave.
"Hi. I'm Sam. And this is my brother, Dean," Sam said as Dean smiled back in return.
"So, where did you lose him?" Dean asked Ryan since he seemed to be the one in charge of their little search.
"By the lake, but he ran deep into the woods. He was chasing some rabbit he saw," Ryan explained.
"And now he's lost and I'm going to be late for my date," Shayla murmured, looking into the woods.
"Alright, well, I think it'll be best if we split up. I'll go with Ryan, Sam you can go with Shayla," Dean nodded for Sam to go with the girl and received an eye roll from Sam.
Sam knew perfectly well that Dean didn't feel like going with the girl who seemed to have a bit of an attitude.
Ryan nodded in agreement. "Okay. Shay, your phone is still charged, right?"
"Yes. I always make sure it is before I leave the house." She folded her arms in annoyance. Now Sam really wished he could go with Ryan.
"I was just making sure," Ryan explained in that same calm manner as before.
Then the two pairs split up down different paths of the trail, both leading up to the lake. Sam walked in silence for a while before he decided to break the ice with some light conversation. "So, how old is Timmy?"
"Seven."
"Does he always run off like this?" Sam tried to get the conversation to go somewhere.
"Sometimes," she shrugged. "He has a very active imagination. He'll probably still act like a kid when he's fifty."
Sam smiled. "Sounds like he's quite the handful. "
"You have no idea. But, to be honest, I would rather put up with Timmy than Ryan any day of the week."
Sam frowned and glanced at Shayla. "Why's that?"
"He's so bossy. He's always telling me what to do, acting like he's my parent, as if I don't know right from wrong. It's so annoying!" She then looked at Sam. "Do you have any idea what it's like to be looked down on by your brother?"
Sam let out a heavy sigh. "You have no idea." Before Shayla could respond, Sam spotted something in the woods. "Hey, you see that?"
Shayla squinted her eyes a little and then relaxed. "Finally."
"That's him I take it?" Sam guessed as they start heading off of the trail towards the little boy.
"Yep. That's the kid who is going to get grounded for the rest of the month."
As Sam and Shayla finally reach the boy, he turned around and put his finger over his mouth to get them to be quiet. "The rabbit's hiding in there," he said, pointing to a hole in the ground near a bush.
"So? Come on. It's getting darker out, and we need to go home," Shayla told the little boy, holding out her hand.
Sam was already on the phone with his brother, letting him know that they found Timmy. When Dean asked for their location, Sam looked over the edge of the hill they were standing on to see if he could spot his brother. The drop off was pretty steep, and he could see a pond at the bottom of the hill. Sam walked back over to the kids and described the area they were in. He told his brother how far they had walked down the trail to give him a good idea of their location.
While Sam had been on the phone the argument between Shayla and Timmy only got worse.
"Timmy, come on. Let's go," Shayla urged her brother.
"No! You can't tell me what to do! You're not Mom!"
That just made Shayla even angrier. "I know," she seethed. "But I am your SISTER, and I am OLDER, and you WILL do what I say!"
"Make me." Timmy grinned a little bratty face at his sister and turned to run away from her.
"Timmy, get back here," she yelled, chasing after him right as Sam hung up his cell phone.
Seeing the two kids take off towards the small cliff, Sam spotted the sudden danger and charged after them, dropping his cell phone in the process. "HEY!" Sam caught up with the kids, but it was too late. Timmy went tumbling down first, followed by Sam who had wrapped his arms around Shayla to try and stop her from going over, only to fall down with her. All three of them roll down the incline, hitting a small rock here and there, getting scratched by broken branches, and getting covered in dirt. They all finally landed with a loud splash inside the pond at the bottom of the hill. Despite the pond being only a few feet deep, they all gasped for air after spitting water out of their mouths.
"Gross. Now I smell like fish," Shayla complained as she wiped mud off her arms.
"That shouldn't be any different from how you normally smell."
Shayla glared at Timmy, who stuck his tongue out at her again.
Yep, Dean definitely got off easy this time around, Sam thought as he crawled out of the pond covered in a mixture of mud and blood. He turned around and helped Timmy out of the mess as Shayla made her way out on her own.
"SAM," a voice rang out in the distance.
"Down here!" Sam called up to the top of the hill. A few seconds later he saw his brother with Ryan at his side, standing at the top of the hill.
"Hang on. We'll be down in a minute." Dean looked around, spotted a location not as steep a little further away from them and tugged on Ryan's arm to follow him.
"Are you alright?" Sam asked Timmy as he looks him over. The kid had a small cut on his lip, but other than that he seemed to be fine.
"I'm okay," Timmy said, and then looked up at the top of the hill. His eyes went wide when he realized how far they fallen and he looked at Sam. "That was AWESOME! Can we do it again?" Timmy full-on grinned, only to get hit in the side of the head with a splat of mud. "Hey!"
"Forget it," Shayla told him before looking at her left arm.
"Hey, are you okay?" Sam asked, noticing the blood trickling from her nose and the way she cradled her arm.
Shayla shook her head. "I don't know. I think I sprained it." She let out a hiss when she cautiously felt around for any damage.
"Let me take a look." Sam crawled over to her side and noticed that Shayla was staring at his forehead. "What?"
"That's bleeding pretty badly." Shayla pointed to Sam's head.
Sam reached up and felt water on his forehead, but when he brought his hand down to look at it he realized it was blood. "Great," Sam groaned. A twig snapping caught his attention. He looked up and saw his brother making his way over to them.
*~*~*~*SPN*~*~*~*
"You took us to the hospital and then we went back to the motel after that," Sam explains.
Dean nods and then looks at his brother. His face is still tense. "Is that all?"
"Yes. That is all I can remember."
"Are you sure?"
"Positive."
Dean nods once and looks at the blank TV in front of him, but doesn't do or say anything.
"So, shouldn't you be doing something?" Sam asks, waiting for his brother to get up and go over to the laptop or get on the phone with Bobby.
Dean turns his head and glares down at his little brother. "I've been doing something for the past seven days. I know how to do my job, Sam!"
Sam looks confused for a moment and realizes that Dean didn't get it. So he sighs and explains, "I know you do. I just meant, you wanted me to hurry up and tell you everything. So, I did."
Now Dean sighs and looks away. "Sorry. It's just been a long week, and the sooner we figure this thing out, the better." Dean waits for Sam to say something or start arguing, but all he gets in response is silence. He turns his attention back to his tiny brother and sees that Sam's holding a hand to his forehead with his head down. "Hey, are you alright?"
"I'm fine," Sam mutters.
"Sammy?"
"It's nothing."
Dean unfolds his arms and leans forward to get a better look at his brother. "Are you sure? Is your head okay?"
"Dean-"
"Sam."
Sam finally drops his hand and looks up at his brother. "I'm a little light-headed."
"From the height?" Dean guesses, glancing down to the floor from Sam's perch.
"No. I'm just hungry, that's all," Sam explains, only to hear Dean curse under his breath. "What?"
"I should have known you would be hungry when you woke up this morning. You didn't eat anything last night because you weren't feeling well." Now Dean knows why Sam kept breaking in the middle of the story. The little guy wanted to ask for food, but Dean kept pushing to talk instead. Way to go, genius. Dean mentally kicks himself. Not like you've been taking care of him for the past week and know that he can't eat on his own. No wonder he's lying to you all the time. He can't depend on you.
Dean stands up and makes a beeline for the kitchenette in the room. A moment later he returns to the nightstand with a bottle cap filled with coffee. "Here. Drink that. I'll see what I can do about getting you something to eat."
"Uh, thanks," Sam says as he's not really sure how to hold the plastic bottle cap.
"You're going to need two hands for that," Dean says as he digs through the fridge for something his brother can eat, but the fridge is filled with leftover take-out food from the night before and some pizza. Dean decides to try the vending machine at the end of the hallway instead. "I'll be right back," he tells his brother as he grabs his wallet from his duffle bag. "Hide if somebody tries to break in," he orders Sam right before leaving the room.
Sam stops drinking, suddenly aware of how helpless he would be if a demon came after them. Not even his "mojo", as Dean called it, could help him now.
Dean had walked down the hallway and was already standing in front of the vending machine. He holds the dollar bill in his hands as he stares at the granola bar that he plans on buying for Sam, as he gets a sense of déjà vu. Dean tries to forget about it and push the memory aside, but as he finally let the machine take his dollar his mind gets the best of him.
*~*~*~*SPN*~*~*~*
Two days ago…
After eight hours of doing nothing but research and making phone calls, Dean decided to take a break and get a late-night snack. He glanced over at Sam, who was sleeping on his pillow. Normally, he would have taken the little guy with him, for fear of something happening to him while Sam was alone. But Dean figured a few minutes alone wouldn't hurt Sam. And it's not like he was going that far anyways.
So, Dean left the room and bought himself a sufficient amount of candy that would keep him awake for the rest of the night. As he was walked back to their room, he already had a candy bar ripped open and was chewing on the chocolatey goodness. He grinned in self-satisfaction. This little pick-me-up was exactly what he needed.
Once he approached their door, he pulled out his key. But as he did, he heard the faint sound of his brother talking to somebody. It sounded like he was on the phone, but Dean could barely understand him, so he slowly opened the door. Now he could hear his brother much better.
"Where the hell are you, Ruby? This isn't funny anymore." Sam swallowed hard, his voice is shaky as he tried to keep his composure. "I'm all out. Stop whatever you are doing. Call me. I need more."
He needs more of what? Dean wonders. What's that demon bitch giving him? Dean watched as Sam pressed on the button to end the all, and decided to make his presence known. With a light shove, he closed the door with a thud, startling his tiny brother.
"Something wrong?" Dean asked as he walked over to the nightstand, taking another bite of his candy bar.
Sam quickly shook his head. "Nothing. I just didn't know where you were, so I was going to call you."
"Why? Did you need something?" Dean asked after swallowing. He knew that Sam wouldn't tell him what he wanted from Ruby, but that didn't keep Dean from asking.
"No," Sam shook his head. "I was just curious where you went."
Dean studied him for a minute after he heard Sam lie straight to his face. He finally held up his candy bars and explained, "I got a snack."
"From where? Dean, you shouldn't be running around. What if somebody sees you?"
Dean sighed. He was too tired to tell Sam the truth for the hundredth time that week, so he played along. "Nobody saw me, Sam. I was careful. I hid behind some… buildings." Dean walked over to the kitchenette and grabbed a beer from the fridge. So, this is how it's going to be from now on? Dean wondered. Sam lying and I pretend to be a giant? After using his ring to pop open the bottle cap, Dean took a big gulp of the refreshing beverage. Great.
Then again if Sam was going to insist on lying to him, maybe Dean shouldn't find a way to fix his brother. At least when Sam's tiny, Dean could keep an eye on him and make sure Ruby didn't get anywhere near Sam.
*~*~*~*SPN*~*~*~*
Dean watches as the granola bar falls down, and then he slams his hand hard into the machine, causing a loose chocolate bar to also fall. She's leading you on, Sammy. I told you never to trust a demon, and you did. Now look at the mess you've gotten yourself into. All because she manipulated you into thinking she could help you.
Dean stands there a moment longer, with his hand still on the plastic wall, leaning against the vending machine and staring at the floor. He takes a few deep breaths through his nose, and finally reaches down to snag his food.
When Dean comes back into the room, a little over half of Sam's coffee is gone. The coffee helped with his hunger, but his stomach was aching for some solid food. So he was more than happy to see Dean walk in with what looks like a granola bar.
As Dean walks over to Sam, he rips the plastic wrapper open and picks a small chunk off of the bar. He hands it over to Sam, who starts eating it right away. "Thanks," he says in between bites.
"Don't mention it," Dean says, waving it off. He picks up his own coffee mug from the nightstand and walks over to the coffee pot to get a refill.
Sam had been hoping that when Dean came back he would explain how Sam had shrunk. But at the moment it looks like he wasn't going to get an answer just yet.
They both sat in silence, drinking down their coffee, when Dean's cell phone began to ring. He crosses the room over to the table, where he left his phone. After picking up his cell phone, Dean flips it open and holds it up to his ear. "Ryan? What's going on?" Dean pauses, listening to the frantic guy on the other end of the line.
Sam watches in silence as Dean's face falls into one of worry.
"Well, how's Timmy doing?" There's another, shorter pause this time. "Sounds about right," Dean mumbles. "Well, can he help her out at all?" Now he nods in understanding at whatever he's hearing and sighs. "Of course not." Then he looks at Sam. "I've got an idea."
Sam can only stare in question at what Dean has to say next.
"Sam and I will be over in a little bit." Dean closes his phone and walks over to Sam.
"What's going on?"
"I need your help. You know those kids we helped out? Shayla and Ryan?"
"Yeah, what about them?" Sam asks as he set his coffee down and wipes his hands clean of any crumbs.
"I hate to jump ahead of the story here, but, like you, Shayla shrunk and just realized what's going on, and now she's freaking out."
Sam can only imagine what's running through the poor girl's mind. "So, what do you want me to do?"
Dean starts to walk away, looking for his jacket and keys. "Well, her brother, Ryan-"
"The one you were on the phone with," Sam guesses and Dean nods his head.
"Right. Well, Ryan said that after he came out of the bathroom she was gone. Turns out their other brother, Timmy, saw her run under one of the beds. Now she won't come out and so far she hasn't said anything." Dean finds his jacket with the Impala's keys in one of the pockets.
"Wait. Why didn't Timmy stop her?"
"He shrunk too, but apparently he's having too much fun jumping on the pillows…" Dean shakes his head and mutters something about how easy it is to get someone so small hyped up on sugar without even trying.
"So you want me to try and talk to her?"
"Exactly." After he puts on his coat, Dean looks at Sam. "So, you don't remember hanging out with them?"
"Sort of," Sam shrugs. "All of the memories from this week are a little fuzzy. I mean, I remember you being a giant and everything seemed normal to me, but other than that nothing really sticks out."
"Huh." Dean studies him for a minute and can clearly tell that Sam is telling the truth. "Alright, why don't you put on your boots, so we can get going?"
As Sam finishes up tying his boots, he looks around confused. "Where's my jacket?"
"You mean that one?" Dean asks, pointing to Sam's tan jacket, which is slung over the back of one of the chairs.
Sam's shoulders slump down. "Yeah, that one."
"You won't need it anyways," Dean states as he walks over to Sam again."Trust me, you'll be warm enough."
"Huh? Why?"
Dean pats his breast pocket, giving Sam a little smirk.
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