Chapter 3: Stranger Things
Disclaimer: Not mine, just playing with them.
AN1: Hey! Here I am again! I keep posting these things faster than I expected! This little bit takes place in 2012 (the year Sam is from) and is told from Dean's POV. It's just a little look into what he's dealing with… Enjoy, and don't forget to R&R!
-GNS-
To tell you the truth, when I got back to the room late that night it was not the silence that I found strange. No, the silence was normal. Me and Sam, well, we hadn't spoken outside of necessity in a little over two weeks. Not since the penny. No matter how many times I told him that I didn't know what I was saying and that I didn't remember a word of it, he would always insist that it didn't matter. What I said couldn't have even been that bad right? Sure I probably made some jibes about purgatory, maybe even Ruby, but nothing life altering, right? So no, it wasn't the silence that I found strange, it was the fact that the room was empty. Or so I thought.
Sam was a pretty big guy, so when I opened the door and he wasn't immediately visible I figured he just wasn't there at all. He not being there didn't really make sense to me considering he hadn't left the room since we checked in two days ago, and his cell phone and key were still sitting on the bedside table. I didn't see any kind of note in plain sight, but for some reason his disappearance didn't register on my "big brother radar".
"The kid can take care of himself," I muttered bitterly, "he doesn't need me, went so far as to leave me stranded to prove it to himself, right? Go ahead, stay out all night for all I care." So maybe I hadn't forgiven Sam as much as I'd like to think I did. Go ahead, sue me. In my defense I had a few, okay quite a few drinks in me, and my sense of judgment was extremely impaired. I should have noticed something was wrong right away, instead, I collapsed fully clothed onto my bed. It was later that night, no, more like an ungodly hour of the morning that I got my answer. I was woken by crying.
-GNS-
I cracked my eyes open enough to see toward my brother's bed. It was empty, and I couldn't tell where the quiet sobs were coming from. Slowly, I slipped out of the bed and padded toward the sound. What I found was a ten year old boy huddled between Sam's bed and the wall. There was one little problem though, it was Sam. I knew instantly by the messy mop of brown hair and by how God damned small the kid was. His little body was shaking from the force of the muffled sobs. My face softened.
"Sammy?" I breathed, dropping onto my knees in front of the boy. The tears stopped, and with a sniffle two green eyes peaked out from a forest of chocolate locks and looked curiously up at me.
"How do you know my name?" He whispered, face still mostly hidden from view. He looked heartbreaking and I wondered how anyone could ever say "no" to the kid.
"Sam, I know you're not going to believe me but—it's me, Dean," I insisted. I was kneeling in front of him, hands up, trying not to look threatening.
"Dean is fourteen," Sammy stated defiantly, "He's fourteen and you're old and you're not him you can't be." The words tumble out of his mouth and settle into the silence of the night. The kid was always so stubborn, I say to myself, still is.
"Sammy," I try, but he tucks his head back down between his knees and presses harder up against the wall. I try to reach out to him but he jerks away from my touch. "Okay," I say, "okay I get it if you don't believe me but at least get off the floor. You can use the second bed, please Sammy." He shakes his head and his hair swishes back and forth with the motion. "Fine, okay." I get up and strip the bed, pulling off blankets and pillows. I take a pillow and set it next to him, "For if you get tired," I explain. Then I cover him in one of the blankets, "In case you get cold," I tell him. His cat eyes are watching me with caution but he nods and burrows into it anyways. I walk back to my bed on the other side of the room. There I toe off my boots, take off my jacket and remove my jeans before getting back in the bed. Even though I lay down I don't fall asleep until much later on. I'm listening to his tiny breaths for what seems like hours, but is probably much shorter. I just lie there in the darkness and I don't even close my eyes until I hear them even out into sleep.
The next morning I roll out of bed to the light steaming in from the window. I find Sam where I left him last. He's curled up on the floor fast asleep in a nest of blankets and pillows. "What the Hell happened to you Sammy?" I sigh, dragging a hand down my face. "How'd this happen, huh?" I push the hair out of his eyes and press a kiss to his forehead. It's not the first time that I start to wonder what got between us, not just lately but for years, it seems.
"Wha—" Sam is bleary eyed from steep and he rubs at them with the palms of his hands.
"Shhh," I soothe, "go back to sleep tiger, I'll be back in a bit." He nods numbly as he slips back into dream land.
I snag my keys from the bedside table, eyes stopping on Sam's cell just a little longer, before stepping out into the morning air. I try not to think about if this Sam is my Sam, just younger, or if my Sam is somewhere else. I can't handle Sam's problems right now, I decide. There's a diner across the street, and when Sammy finally does wake up he'll probably want some breakfast. I'm thinking about chocolate chip pancakes and a dimpled grin as I start down the road.
-GNS-
AN2: I posted this one a little early because it's pretty short. I hope you guys liked it! Thanks to all of you who commented on Chapter 2 including: Sari Dark, scooby31415, fanfic1892, and the Guests Nicole, and Guest. I really love your input and it always makes me excited to write more! Thanks so much!