Coming Home Ch. 2

Disclaimer: See chapter one

AN: Thanks to my anonymous reviewers who I could not directly respond to. Liza, I promise you, it won't be long (just a few more chapters) before the names Dean and Sammy are used to refer to the boys.

Previously: Giving Mary's hand a quick squeeze in an effort to give her a moment to pull herself together John knelt down in front of the children and gazed into their eyes. "It's so nice to meet you boys," he said as he reached out to palm their cheeks, his heart clenching with sadness when both boys backed away from him warily as his own mind tried to reconcile what he was seeing with his brain. Could these boys actually be the ones that were stolen from him and Mary so long ago or was it just wishful thinking on their part?

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to scare you," John voiced sadly as he withdrew his hands and lowered them by his side. In his eagerness to connect with the boys that may or may not be his, he had inadvertently pushed then away instead.

"S'okay, just warn a person the next time you plan to lay your mitts on them," David warned, as he looked the man and his wife over. They looked slightly familiar, but he just couldn't place where he had seen their faces before. Maybe it was when he had been sifting through the files of potential foster parents on Mrs. Whitworth's desk without her knowledge. Yeah, that had to be it.

"I'll do my best to remember that," John affirmed as he glanced from the elder boy to the younger. "Hey there sport."

"H-hi," Joey, or could it be Sammy, voiced shyly before stepping back behind his big brother and peeking around to look at the two unfamiliar adults in the room. He wasn't sure what to make of them, but he knew enough to respond to the man when he talked directly to him for fear of reprisal.

"I'm not going to hurt you, Tiger. You don't have to hide from me," John informed the youngster who seemed a bit small for his age.

"That's right you know. He's just a big teddy bear at heart," Mary supplied lovingly, having pulled herself together enough to enter into the conversation. She desperately wanted to pull the boys into her arms, but knew that her touch would be shunned for now also after witnessing the way the two children reacted to John's touch.

"Yeah, well we'll be the judge of that," David declared as he wrapped a protective arm around his sibling and drew him to his side. He wasn't going to believe anything the adults had to say until they proved themselves truthful over time. It didn't take him and his baby brother long to learn that adults lied and would willingly hurt you every chance they got.

"That works for us," John acquiesced as he looked at Mary who readily agreed with her husband's statement. It was obvious that they were going to have to gain the boys trust, before the two would ever accept them as their family. And to do that, they had to let the boys take the lead. He knew it would be a long road ahead, but they would stay the course as long as it took, whether or not these boys turned out to be truly theirs or not.

"Fantastic, then if you will please excuse us Mr. And Mrs. Winchester, I will take the boys back to their room so they can start packing their belongings for the trip to your house tomorrow," Mrs. Whitworth stated as she placed an arm around each boy who had become so near and dear to her heart during the short amount of time they had been with her.

"Yes Ma'am, we'll be looking forward to their arrival tomorrow," John replied as he wrapped an arm around Mary's shoulder in support, too afraid to hope, but yet also afraid not to.

"John, do you think…I mean, could it be…" Mary stuttered as she tried to form a coherent question about whether or not John though the boys could actually be their own children.

"I wish to God I knew Mary, but we can't say anything, not to anybody until we find out for sure," John answered as he grasped his wife's hand and started leading her towards the front door of the group home. He wanted to believe so badly, but was also afraid to leave himself wide open for a big letdown.

"I know. It's just; I can't stand the thought of walking out of here and not taking the boys with us. It's like I am losing them all over again," Mary sobbed, as John pulled her into his chest and hugged her tight. She couldn't explain it, but she knew deep in heart that those boys were Dean and Sammy.

"It'll be okay Darling, just wait and see. The boys will be with us tomorrow morning and then you'll never have to let them out of your sight again," John asserted as he led his sobbing wife out the front door and down to the sidewalk where the Impala was parked by the curb.

Upstairs at the group home

Watching through the upstairs window as the married couple traversed down the sidewalk and to a black car, the elder brother couldn't help but wonder what would happen tomorrow when he and his baby brother were left in the couple's care. He so wanted to believe the man when he said he wouldn't hurt them, but it was too ingrained in his mind that most people lied and that he and that no one could be trusted. Hell, he was sure that after a few days of being with those people that he and his sibling would be hiding in closets yet again, trying to escape the pain and mental anguish that always came their way.

"David, do you need me to help you start packing?" Mrs. Whitworth questioned as she helped little Joey fold his jeans and place them in a carry all. She couldn't help but notice how tense the young man seemed to be as he stood at the window watching the events down below.

"No ma'am, I can do it," the young man answered as he turned around and gifted her with a true smile. Mrs. Whitworth was the only person who had ever been nice to him and his baby brother and he knew that at least with her, they were safe. But now, now their world was about to be turned upside down again and he just didn't know if they could survive the upheaval with their sanity and bodies intact.

"Okay, you might want to start packing then. It will be bedtime soon and you want to be ready to go to your new home tomorrow without delay, don't you?" Amelia queried as she sat down on the bed and pulled young Joey into her lap

"I guess so."

"David, you don't have to worry sweetie. I promise you these are good people. We have done a very thorough background check on them and they are good people. We would have never let them near you and this little one here is they weren't," Amelia informed the worried pre-teen.

Acknowledging the statement with a nod of his head, David left the window once the car pulled away and set about packing his clothes.

Later that night

"Honey, you need to try and get some sleep," John voiced as he carded his fingers through Mary's golden blonde locks as she snuggled up to his chest in their king sized bed.

"I know, but I'm just too wired to sleep right now," Mary responded as she used glided her fingers through the hairs on her husband's muscular chest. "I'm worried that I might have forgotten something and I want everything to be perfect for the boys when they arrive tomorrow."

"Baby, I don't think there is a snowball's chance in hell of that happening. I mean, you've totally redone Sammy's nursery into a room a seven year old would be proud to have and Dean's room would make any teen boy jealous with the way you've decorated it with sports stuff and rock band posters," John informed his wife with a smile. "Joey and David will be elated when they see the rooms."

Mary had been working on redecorating the rooms from the moment they had been contacted about fostering the abused brothers a couple of weeks ago. At first, she had had a rough time, putting away baby Sammy's things and Dean's toys after so long of making sure the rooms were left undisturbed, but now, now she was filled with joy knowing that her boys, because that's who they were and no one could tell her different, were coming back home and her house would be filled with love once again.

"Do you really think so sweetie"?" Mary asked as she placed her head on John's bare chest so she could listen to the beating of his heart. "I just want them to be happy."

"Mar, you know it's going to take some time right? I mean, the boys have been mentally abused for years and sometimes physically also according the Department of Family and Children's Services. It's going to take them some time to adjust. Everything isn't going to be perfect right from the start." John intoned; wanting to make sure Mary fully understood the ramifications.

"I know that Sweetheart, I do. But I also know that with the love we're going to shower them with, those boys will overcome everything they have been through and be the sweet loving boys we both know they can be," Mary replied as she wrapped an arm around her husband as best she could and then close her eyes to go to sleep, held in the arms of the one she loved most.

"I sure hope so," John murmured as he watched his wife slowly fade off to sleep. It scared him to death to think something could go wrong and he and Mary would be left devastated, never to recover from losing the boys again, if indeed, Joey and David turned out to be Dean and Sammy.

TBC