Chapter 11: An Understanding

AN1: It's MONDAY! Just like promised, here it is. Because of the fact that the last chapter was pretty long, and this one came out only two days after, this chapter is pretty short. But I decided that I wanted to end it where I did. I hope that you guys enjoy this chapter! Also, don't forget to R&R!

-GNS-

Dean has some abandonment issues. If there was anything you could say about my brother it is that he is afraid of being alone. That same fear is what motivated some of the most pivotal events in our very lives. It is what made him come and get me from Stanford, it's what made him turn the car around the night Jess died, hell it's what brought me back to life. When I think about it, maybe that's why he was so upset that I didn't look for him while he was in Purgatory. Maybe he was always just upset that he couldn't stand the thought of being without someone, and he just couldn't understand how I didn't go to the ends of the Earth to find him, when he so obviously would have needed to do the same for me.

That's the thing, though, is that he also could never seem to see that I didn't just not look for him because I didn't care, I didn't look because I thought he would be better off without me. Years and years worth of self-hate always on clear display, always right there in front of his face, and he had always been blind to it. He always would just see what he wanted to.

So Dean has some abandonment issues. Ask any psychologist and they'd spew out some crap about how it was rooted in deep childhood trauma. Hell, I could have told him that one. His mother died when he was four, old enough to remember her. After an event like that a kid would need stability, what he got was the rug pulled out from under him. Having his own room quickly morphed into seedy hotel beds, home cooked meals faded into distant memory as fast food and crappy diners became more and more frequent. The kid was the poster child for a messed up childhood. All of this coupled by his father frequently leaving him to fend for himself, and his baby brother.

I wasn't surprised when he seemed overly relieved at our return, I was more surprised he was relieved about my return.

I mean, who was I to him? Some guy who had shown up when his brother disappeared. And sure, I might be his only current hope to getting him back, but there were other ways besides some stranger he just met.

And unless he had super stealthy observation skills like my father, well, he didn't know who I was. Dad and I had seemed to come to some silent agreement: My identity was to remain a secret, and when I chose to reveal it to Dean, if I chose to reveal it to Dean, it would be me who told him. With the way things have been going lately, the chances of that happening were slim. Why in Hell would someone tell their fourteen year old brother that this—shell of a man in front of him was what his own little brother was soon to become.

For the moment though, I hid my confusion behind my mask of—indifference. I only nodded slightly to my brother before I let my small smile slip from my lips. I walked a little farther into the room to clear the doorway.

Dad slid into the room behind me. He slipped a folded up sheet of paper into his back pocket before acknowledging Dean and I. He stopped next to me.

"I thought you were sleeping, Dean. Thought I told you not to wait up." John's words were casual but my brother still snapped to attention. Daddy's little soldier sing-songed in the back of my mind.

"Sorry Sir," Dean says, eyes locked with his father's, "I just woke up and saw you were gone too and… I thought maybe something had happened."

"Nothing happened," Dad amends, then with a calmer, softer tone, "We're fine, Dean. Me and Sam Wesson here just went out and had a chat is all." His emphasis on my second name was not easily missed.

"Just a couple of things we had to clear up," I agree, Dean's gaze now turning back onto me. His mouth is in a little 'o' shape. He's so young, God he's so young.

"Alright," He sighs, after a moment, shifting where he sat on his bed, "guess I'll just—sleep then." He fell back onto the bed, eyes closed. He was exhausted, I could see that now.

Later, after Dean's breaths finally evened out into sleep, I approached my father.

"What's the paper say?" I ask, resting against the wall near him.

"The one I got from the car?" He confirms, looking up from the entry he was reading in his journal. I nod. "It's just a list of all the things I've got stocked up in the trunk. I figured, you were always a smart kid, and sooner or later you were going to find out what did this and how to fix it. I just wanted to make sure we had everything you needed when you did." John explains. "So did you? Figure it out that is. You were gone an awfully long while."

I pushed off of the wall. "It's a God. Greek Goddess to be exact. In mythology she's usually referred to as Hebe."

"A God?" My father huffs in disbelief, "What has happened in all those years to make you be able to say that with a straight face? Never mind, don't answer that." John swirls his hand in the air for a moment, as if collecting his thoughts. "So what does she have to do with this?"

"She's the goddess of youth," I clarify, "and, get this—forgiveness."

"So what? You think because some fight with your brother she switched the two of you? Little Sammy and the Hulk here? But why? What would she get out of it?" John wonders.

"That's exactly what I've been trying to figure out myself. I mean, it could just be a game."

"A game?" Dad repeats, dumbfounded.

"A lot of things like playing games with me, it seems." I chuckle bitterly in remembrance of Gabriel's idea of fun.

"So tell me you have something to go on. Anything." John's tone is almost pleading when he says it.

"I have a lot more than something." I tell him, "I know how to summon her."

-GNS-

AN2: So that was that! I know, I know, you wanted it to be longer, I had hoped it would be longer too. But I got to where I wanted it to end, and decided that this was okay. I hope you guys enjoyed it. Again, I love hearing from you after posting a chapter, and I always eagerly await your reviews. A special thanks goes out to catlover2976, Ezaki, Ryla, shianne,billing, Sari Dark, Aziza Maye, and Eruthiawen Luin for commenting on the last chapter!