Chapter 3
Jody sat a drink within Sam's reach and Dean noticed the tremble of his hand as he reached for it, though he did try to hide it. His lips were pinched together, he seemed jumpy and tense as he opened the drink and took a long swallow before stopping. Sam began to thumb back through the contract again, stopping here and there to re-read some sections again.
Dean remained silent as he let all that was happening to Sam sink in before finally breaking the silence in the room.
"Do you have further questions for us or about the program?"
"Ummm…Give me a minute," Sam finally got out, clearing his throat when his voice sounded raspy.
"Look, I know this is overwhelming, but it will get better. Once you get settled into your new place and start working it'll be better."
"So, I can't work in the medical field anymore. What am I supposed to do?" Sam asked in a bleak voice. "All those years of college wasted now." Sam huffed sadly as he stared off into space. "If I don't do this, agree to this…"
"I would give you less than a week before someone from the gang or cartel kills you," Dean told him, being blunt and to the point. He watched Sam pale and swallow hard as he looked away from him. "I'm just telling you the truth dude. If you don't do this, your life is worthless."
"He's right Sam. Those lunatics won't stop until you're dead so you can't testify. It's still your choice, we can't make it for you," she explained.
"Fine," Sam sighed softly. "I don't see where I have much choice if I want to stay alive." Sam picked the pen up and turned to the first page and signed at the bottom. He flipped to the other marked pages and initialed in the right places and signed one more spot. When he was done, he ran a hand over his face and up over his hair, pushing it out of his face.
"Okay, now that that is taken care of, shall we go see your new place?" Dean asked him gathering the contracts to drop off at his desk. "Let's go Sam." Dean got up and waited to be sure Sam was going to follow before leaving the conference room. "You wanna come Jody?"
"Nope, it's all you this time. I've got a couple of home visits to make today."
"Suit yourself. Have fun." Dean headed out the glass doors, holding them open for Sam. He gave him an interesting look when he saw just how tall he was, even compared to him.
"Will I get another car?" Sam asked as he settled in the passenger seat of the SUV after dropping his two duffels in the back seat.
"Yes, it's in the works. It'll be comparable to the one you had," Dean replied pulling from the lot. "You'll like the place they found. It's a nice neighborhood and the house has a small backyard. There's even a community pool you can use."
"Sounds better than what I had before," Sam offered as he looked out the window at Austin. At least it wasn't smoggy and not quite as crowded.
"If you look in the glove box there's a map of Austin," Dean told him. "I give one to all my new witnesses that come here. It'll help you find things until you're familiar with the city."
"Thanks," Sam mumbled opening the glove box and finding the map. He slipped it into his pocket to look at it later. He noticed they were driving out of the business district and into residential areas. Dean turned into a housing development and after a couple of other turns pulled into a driveway.
Sam looked at the one-story house that had a car port and was clapboard on the outside with a small porch on the front. There were empty flowerpots sitting on the porch and a stone walkway leading to the porch. He got out when Dean did and followed him to the front door.
"Okay, let's see what we've got inside," Dean told him pulling some keys from his pocket and unlocking the door pushing it open. He stepped inside and gave it a curious glance and waited for Sam to follow.
Sam moved into the foyer and looked around. To the left was a living room that had furniture in it. On the right through an archway was the kitchen/dining room. He wandered deeper into the house and down a small hall finding two nice-sized bedrooms and a bathroom in between them. He sat his duffels in the hall until he decided which bedroom he wanted to use.
"The kitchen isn't bad, if there's some appliance you want or something doesn't work, let me know and we'll replace it," Dean told him as he looked over the kitchen.
"Alright," Sam replied.
"There's a laundry room through there and this leads to the deck and backyard," Dean told him. He opened the door and stepped outside onto the deck.
Sam followed him outside and looked around seeing a fence in the backyard. It was a decent size and better than he expected. It was like a castle compared to the studio that he rented in Los Angeles.
"The television will be delivered tomorrow, and the cable should be on by then too. Look, why don't you relax and look around and I'll run to the store and get you some groceries?" Dean offered. "Anything you don't like?"
"I try to eat healthy, fresh fruit and vegetables, lean meats, fat free milk, yogurts," Sam listed.
"Alright, I'll get you enough to get you started and then you can do your own shopping. Stay inside until I get back or on the deck."
"Okay." Sam sighed looking around as Dean headed back out. He gave the backyard another look before going back inside to check the house out. He looked in the laundry room finding a suitable washer and dryer which was a plus and some shelves he could use as a pantry.
There was a coat closet in the foyer that even had some coats hangers in it. The living room had a couch, recliner, overstuffed chair, couple of end tables, empty entertainment center, and bookcase. Sam sat on the couch and then in the recliner to test them before looking at the other things. The floors were hardwood throughout the house. He reached up to turn on the ceiling fan to circulate the air that smelled a little stale.
He wandered back to the bedrooms, looking at each one before deciding which one he wanted to use. He opened a door and found a walk-in closet with some sheets, pillows, and blankets on a shelf that he grabbed to make the bed. Sam pulled the curtains back and opened the window to let in some fresh air. The bed was queen size and comfortable when Sam sat down on it and bounced a couple of times. He shook the fitted sheet out and made the bed, adding a blanket last.
Sam tried to stay busy with little things that wouldn't take much effort since he felt like he was walking around in a fog. He wasn't sure what had happened to him had sunk in yet. He was moving on autopilot, just going through the motions so he wouldn't have to think about what he had witnessed.
The bathroom had a double sink with a large shower/tub combo which was nice. It was big enough that he didn't feel like a giant and the shower head was almost tall enough he wouldn't have to squat to get his head wet. He looked behind a door and found a small linen closet filled with towels, hand towels, and washcloths.
Sam went back into the living room to wait on Dean thinking the house wasn't that bad at least. He slumped on the couch feeling like every bit of energy had been drained out of him. He had been through a lot in one day and his body was rebelling. He was having doubts about whether he should have come forward or just kept his mouth shut about what he saw, but his parents raised him to do the right thing and he didn't think he could live with himself if he hadn't done this. Sam couldn't keep his eyes open as his head fell to the side and he dozed off.
spn
Dean let himself back into the house carrying bags in both hands. He started to call out for Sam but saw him asleep on the couch. Deciding not to wake him he quietly went on into the kitchen and headed back outside for the other bags. Once he got everything inside, he put the items that needed to be refrigerated in the fridge and left the other things for Sam to put away where he wanted them. He took the laundry detergent, fabric softener, and cleaning supplies to the laundry room and the toilet paper and soap to the bathroom, leaving it on the counter.
"Hey, Sam, I'm back," Dean called to him giving his shoulder a shake. He quickly stepped back when Sam sprang from the couch in a fighter's stance ready to defend himself as he stared wildly around. "Easy there, dude. I just wanted to let you know I'm back."
"Sorry," Sam mumbled relaxing slightly as he let his shoulders slump and his hands fall to his side.
"I put part of the food away and figured you would want to put the rest away where you wanted," Dean explained. He was being patient and going slow with Sam since he knew the mental and emotional toil something like this did to a person. He had seen it many times before. "There's a sub for your dinner in the fridge. Here's a burner phone that already has my cell number programed in it. If you need anything or think something is wrong, call me any time day or night. I'm your handler and will be your contact for the program. And here's two sets of keys for the doors. I'm going to go and let you settle in. I'll check on you tomorrow and see where we are on getting you a car and on finding you a job."
"Okay, thanks," Sam replied taking the cell and keys and looking at them for a moment.
"Remember, no texting, emails, Instagram, Facebook to anyone from your past. All your old accounts are being closed so they can't be linked to you. You can't be in contact with any friends or family from your past. One small slip and you could be found, and your life put in danger. This is serious business not to be taken lightly."
"I understand," Sam replied in a monotone voice looking at the floor. He knew how serious this was, but his mind wasn't accepting it yet.
"Oh, and there's a couple of magazines in one of the bags and a couple of paperback books to give you something to do until you get your television." Dean paused and checked Sam over. "Are you going to be okay?"
"Yeah, thanks for everything." Sam followed Dean to the front door and once he left, double locked it, and leaned against it looking into the house. The silence of the place seemed overpowering to him. He drew in a long breath before heading to the kitchen to see what Dean had bought. It all looked like things he would eat at least.
After he put away the rest of the food, Sam got a beer and the deli sub from the fridge deciding he might as well eat. He sat at the table and unwrapped the sandwich to take a small bite. He didn't even look at what he was eating as he bit off bites and slowly chewed each one, sipping his beer as he ate. Deciding half the sub was plenty, Sam wrapped the rest up and put it back in the fridge for tomorrow.
Sam headed back to the bedroom he had picked and emptied his duffels to put away the clothes he was able to bring with him. There were two dressers in the room, but he only had enough clothes to barely fill one after hanging his jeans and shirts in the closet. He arranged the few pairs of shoes on a shelf and left the duffels on the floor of the closet. With that done, Sam went back to the living room to see what kinds of books and magazines Dean had gotten him.
He read for an hour and decided to take a shower and go on to bed even though it was early. He was exhausted and kept falling asleep trying to read the book. Once he got his shower and dressed in sleep clothes, Sam went through the entire house making sure all the windows and the doors were locked before going to bed.
The mattress conformed to his body as he lay there staring at the ceiling. Nothing was the same as his studio apartment and the noises were different. He lay awake listening to every creak, shift, squeak, the house made, straining to hear everything. The cell Dean had given him was on the nightstand within reach if he needed it. He tried not to think of someone breaking into the house to kill him. Sleep finally took over, sending Sam into the darkness as his mind shut down.
A/N: Sam settles into his new home and new life. He's a bit overwhelmed with it all. Thank you to any guests who left reviews. Thanks for coming along for the ride and I do like reviews/comments. NC
Side Note: I did a little rewrite on one of my older stories called A Hunter's Tale if anyone wanted to give it a read. It introduces a new character. NC
