Fic, A New Direction, Part One
The last time that Adam sees his Dad, he shouts at him, tells him to leave and then leaves himself when his Dad refuses. He’s so angry. Angry at him for not being there. Angry at him for turning up and expecting everything to be fine and Adam just wants to make him see that it isn’t okay, that he isn’t going to be the kid who comes running when his Dad finally visits anymore.
His Dad shouts after him and his Mom shouts after him but Adam keeps on walking away and doesn’t go back until it’s too late and his Dad is gone again.
Adam hates himself for walking away for the next three years.
~~
Adam liked his job but he was glad when, at the end of a very long Friday, he waved at his boss and started to walk back to his dorms, away from the bar he worked at. An exam earlier in the day coupled with an even busier than usual Friday night had left him tired -feeling much older than twenty-two - and all he wanted to do was eat and fall into bed. His place wasn’t far from the bar -there was a benefit to working on the college campus - but he still wished it was closer as he made his way back there. Sometimes he felt guilty for even being in Wisconsin in the first place, thinking he should have stayed local, living with his Mom but she’d made it clear that he shouldn’t stay in his hometown just for her and she seemed happy enough with how things were. Things were going okay for him too; he had friends he could grab a beer with, enough money to live on and he liked Wisconsin, felt comfortable there.
The night was cold and he quickened his pace, pulling his jacket a little tighter around himself; the last thing he needed to do in the middle of exam season was make himself ill. Someone from one of his classes walked past - the only person he’d seen so far on his journey- and they nodded at each other; Adam thought maybe they’d talked once but he couldn’t remember the guy’s name. Maybe his room-mate was right; he needed to go to more of the socials, get to know a few more people.
Twenty seconds, maybe thirty, had passed when he heard the scream.
Adam span around, expecting to see some sort of prank occurring. Instead, he saw the guy he’d just nodded at on the ground, knife sticking through his neck. The classmate lying dead just a short distance away from Adam was still the only other person in sight.
He pulled out his cell as he ran back the way he came, called for an ambulance. He knelt down beside the guy, wishing he could remember his name, and checked for a pulse even though there was no way he could still be alive. His hands came away covered in blood. There was nothing he could do so he stood up, looking around for anything he might have missed; whoever had done this wasn’t afraid of killing and Adam wanted to be sure that the area really was as deserted as he’d initially thought.
Sirens wailed in the distance and Adam was vaguely reassured knowing that there’d be other people around soon. Even so, his hands shook as he wiped the blood on his jeans, trying to look anywhere but at the corpse that was still warm. If he’d looked around earlier, if he’d stopped to talk to the guy instead of just walking past, things might have been different. The guy might not be dead or, maybe, Adam realised with a jolt, there’d have been two corpses instead of one.
Jerking to the side, Adam threw up until there was nothing left in his stomach. He didn’t register the sound of feet running towards him until someone was crouching down beside him, hand gripping his shoulder and he tried to twist away, didn’t want to die.
“Kid.” The hand on his shoulder squeezed. “Kid, I’m not going to hurt you. I’m a police officer. What’s your name?”
He forced himself to look away from the ground and instead focused his gaze somewhere above the man’s head. “Adam.”
“Okay, Adam. I know it’s hard but I need you to try and relax. You study here?”
Nodding, he accepted the man’s hand and allowed himself to be pulled to his feet, swayed for a moment before he managed to steady himself.
“Can you tell me what happened, Adam?”
“Someone stabbed him.” It was stating the obvious, he knew, but he couldn’t seem to say anything else.
“Who?”
He shook his head. “I didn’t see. I just heard - heard him scream and then I turned around and he was…there and I couldn’t see anyone else. I’m sorry.”
“It’s okay, it’s dark, hard to see.” The police officer turned to speak to one of the paramedics that had just arrived. “He’s a witness, potential suspect. In shock, but I need to stay with him when you look at him.”
Suspect. Adam shook his head as he felt himself being wrapped in a blanket, looked back and forth between the faces of the people who had found him alone next to a body. God, he hoped they’d believe him. And wasn’t that selfish, already thinking of himself even when there was someone lying dead feet away from him.
“Adam, we’re going to need to talk to you in a minute. Is that okay?”
“Yeah.” He met the officer’s eyes. “Yes, anything I can do to help. I don’t - hell, I don’t even know his name. If it - I don’t know whether it’s useful but I was over near the fountain. Whoever it was must have come from the other way.”
“That does help, son. Now just take a minute or two to breathe.”
Usually, if someone had called him son, he’d have gotten angry, shrugged away and been in a bad mood for the rest of the day. But nothing about the last fifteen minutes had been like usual and it seemed stupid, worrying about his own issues when, somewhere, there were parents who’d just lost a son and didn’t even know it yet.
He wondered what the guy’s name had been.
~~
Four hours later, Adam walked into his dorm-room and, even though he knew it was stupid, was surprised to see that nothing there had changed. He felt as though something should be different, like everything should look older or something, but it all looked the same.
Sitting down on the edge of his bed, he wondered how long it’d be before news spread around the campus that it was him who’d found James’ - they’d told Adam his name at the police station - body. He was still a suspect, he knew; even though he had no motive, there hadn’t been anyone else around by his own admission. If it didn’t make any sense to himself, it was going to be even worse trying to explain it to other people.
Adam yawned and, even though he was aware that he hadn’t had any sleep for too long, he stood up and walked over to where he kept the coffee. He didn’t want to sleep yet, could still see James and the blood in his mind without seeing it all again in his dreams. And he’d been the only witness. What if whoever had killed James wanted to kill him, too, make sure there was no evidence? Yeah, there was no way he was ready to try sleeping yet.
Heading back towards his bed with the coffee, he sat down and reached for his cell. He needed to do the one thing he always did in a crisis. He called his Mom.
It took a few minutes for her to answer and Adam felt guilty, knowing he was waking her up, knowing she’d panic as soon as she heard the phone ringing at that time and knowing that what he had to tell her was not reassuring at all.
“Hello? Adam?”
“Yeah, Mom, it’s me.” He sighed. “Sorry for waking you up.”
“It’s okay, honey. What’s wrong? Have you been hurt?”
“No. No, I’m fine. It’s not me.”
“What, then?”
Running a hand through his hair, he pulled his feet up onto the bed. “There was - someone from one of my classes was killed.” There was a pause at the other end of the line and Adam closed his eyes.
“One of your friends?”
“No. I didn’t know him.” He cleared his throat. “I found him. I just got back from the police station.”
“Adam, I’ll come and stay with you if you want.”
“No.” He shook his head even though the gesture was useless. “I’ll be fine. I just - can you just talk to me for a while?”
“Of course, honey.”
Settling back against his pillows, he sat and listened to the voice that always managed to soothe him.
~~
Adam kept his eyes on the ground as he walked towards his last class of the day; he’d considered just skipping it but he’d already stayed in his room all of yesterday and he didn’t want to let his marks slip. Although maybe it’d be worth it if it meant he could go more than ten minutes without someone staring at him or asking him what it had been like to see James die or asking him if he was a murderer.
This wasn’t what he’d imagined when he’d come to college; he’d thought the worst thing he’d be known for was being a bit of a lightweight when it came to drinking. Now, even if the cops caught the person who had done this, there’d always be someone who wondered whether they’d caught the right guy or whether Adam Milligan was a guilty person walking around free. His Mom had said to call at any time but he wasn’t going to; he’d already worried her enough lately without making her think he wasn’t coping. Maybe, if his Dad had been around, he’d have called him. John had seemed like the kind of guy who’d know how to deal with something like this. But his Dad wasn’t around; he was either dead or, more likely, he’d decided that his son wasn’t worth it, and Adam had known that for too long now to kid himself into thinking anything different.
Reaching the building where his lecture was, Adam went to walk up the steps but found his way blocked by a couple of guys from his class. He nodded and went to move around them but they moved with him, scowling.
“Excuse me.” He didn’t want a scene; people were staring at him enough already.
“No.” One of the guys - Adam thought his name was Pete - widened his stance, making it clear he wasn’t moving. “We don’t want you here.”
“I haven’t done anything wrong.”
“If you didn’t kill James, then who did?”
He glanced at the other students who were milling around; none of them looked like they were even thinking about stepping in and helping him. “I don’t know.”
“That’s because it was you. Stay away. Do the decent thing and turn yourself in.”
“I didn’t kill James. I had no reason to and I’m not like that.” Shaking his head, he took a step back. “I’ll go today because I’m not going to make this into a big deal, not when people are grieving. But I’m coming to this class tomorrow and if anyone tries to stop me I’ll make a fuss; I’ve got nothing to hide.”
Turning away from them, Adam began to walk back across the campus, hands at his side shaking slightly. He’d known some people might wonder whether he’d had anything to do with it but he’d not been expecting to be accused like that in front of everyone. He didn’t deserve it.
God, he hoped they found out who’d really done it soon. He wasn’t sure how long he could put up with taking the blame.
With nowhere else to go, he headed for his dorm, just wanting to get inside and away from the gazes now. As much as he wanted to get the walk over with, though, he took the long route back, avoiding the place where everything had changed just two days earlier. He’d made the mistake of walking that way to get to his first class that morning and had had to turn back to take another route at the first glimpse of the pile of flowers that had been placed there in memorial.
As he reached his door, he saw that there was a note pinned to it. Unsure whether it was going to be full of abuse or something random like a note from the maintenance guys. He knew he couldn’t put it off forever, though, so he reached and pulled it off the door. When he saw the familiar scrawl of his roommate, he relaxed. Maybe not everyone thought he was guilty. Maybe once people got past the initial shock, they’d realised that he was a good guy.
Hoping that would happen sooner rather than later, he pushed down the handle to open the door and stepped inside. He’d expected his room to still be in darkness - he hadn’t pulled the blinds before he’d left that morning - but instead it was light. That fact alone drew his gaze to the window first rather than to anywhere else but then he saw who was sitting on his bed and he froze.
“Dad?”
John Winchester stood up, nodding. “Hello, son.”
Adam pulled the door closed behind him then wished he’d left it open. Needing something to support his weight, he leaned back against it and held up a hand as his Dad walked towards him. “Wait. Just wait a minute. You’re not - why are you here?”
“I heard what happened. Wanted to check you were okay.”
“I haven’t seen you in three years. I thought you were dead or that-” he trailed off, not voicing his insecurities.
“I’m not. I’ve just been - I thought you didn’t want me around, Adam.”
He snorted, shaking his head. “No. Don’t put this on me. You just vanished, didn’t get in touch for three years. Why?”
“It’s a long story.” John sighed. “One I’m going to have to tell you. But can you just come in and sit down first?”
Watching his Dad move back over to the bed, Adam thought about turning right back around and leaving. It’d be easy to do, no-one standing in his way to stop him. But he’d done that once before and not seen his Dad for three years. He wasn’t going to make the same mistake again. Taking a deep breath, he let it out again and then followed, dropping down next to John on the bed.
“The police have any more leads yet?”
“No, and I don’t think they’re going to, either. There was no-one around.”
“No-one but you.”
His head snapped up from where he’d been staring at the floor. “I didn’t do it.”
“I know.” John reached out and gripped Adam’s shoulder, warmth seeping through his t-shirt, the first contact they’d had in years. “I know you didn’t, don’t worry.”
“Other people think I did. The cops, some of the other students. They think I killed the guy when all I did was try and help him.”
“You did the right thing, son. I’m proud of you.”
“It was too late.” His voice broke as he spoke the next words. “He was already dead.”
Stubborn as he was, Adam didn’t resist when his Dad wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close in an embrace he hadn’t allowed since he was thirteen years of age. As much as he’d told his Mom not to come be with him, this was what he’d needed, someone older than him to reassure him, to take some of the stress and make it better.
“Adam, there’s a lot we need to talk about.”
Pulling back, he swiped at his eyes and looked away from his father’s gaze. “Like what? How everyone hates me? Why you showed up now after three years of no contact?”
“Yes. Those things.” John stood up and walked over to the window; Adam had a feeling his Dad was trying to let him regain his composure. “And other things too; about me, about you, about James.”
“What do you know about James?”
“Later, Adam. First you need to eat something - did you have lunch?”
He hadn’t, but that wasn’t the point; he hated it when his Dad did this, acted like it was him who should decide what he was allowed to know.
John sighed.
“Look, I promise I’m going to tell you everything I can. But after you’ve had something to eat. Let’s go for a burger or something.”
“Can we not just-”
“You haven’t done anything wrong, Adam. You don’t need to hide away.”
“I just don’t want to make a scene.” He sighed but stood up and moved towards the door.
Pulling out his wallet and checking inside it, John nodded. “And we won’t. We’ll just go and eat, keep to ourselves and talk, okay?”
“Okay. There’s a good burger joint just off campus, we can go there.” He led the way out of his room, hoping that lunch would go without a hitch. No confrontations, no glares, no arguments with his Dad. He really wasn’t sure he that could take it right now.
~~
The burger place was quiet, many of its usual customers still in lectures or wherever else they spent their days, but Adam still felt like everyone was watching as he slid into a booth in the corner of the room. His Dad sat down opposite him, watching for a moment or two before picking up a menu and surveying that instead. Adam didn’t bother; he knew he’d be having what he had every time he dined there.
“Stop hunching your shoulders.” John didn’t glance up as he spoke. “You don’t need to feel ashamed; you haven’t done anything wrong.”
Instinctively, he followed the instruction, sitting up straighter in his seat which made him scowl. “Doesn’t mean I like them staring at me.”
“So stare back.”
“That’s easy for you to say.” Ever since Adam could remember him visiting, his Dad had always been tough.
“No, it ain’t.” John’s expression softened into a smile. “I’m just better at hiding things than you are. Comes with age.”
“I’m not that young.”
“You’re not that old, either.” He smirked, falling back into the banter that had been a defence when his Dad used to visit him. “Old man.”
John laughed, and then turned serious again. “It must have been hard on you - finding the kid like that.”
Adam looked down at the table, fingers pulling at edge of the menu in front of him. “There was a lot of blood. And I couldn’t even remember his name.”
“That’s not your fault. You ran back there. You stuck around to try and help instead of running like a lot of people would have. You did good.”
“I guess.”
“Are you sure you didn’t see anyone? I mean, before, was there no-one around?”
“I’m sure - James was the only person I saw while I was walking. I don’t get it.”
“There’ll be an explanation.” John sat back as the waitress came over to their table. “You ready to order, kid?”
He bit back a retort about his age, realising it’d only make him seem more childish, and placed his order instead. When the waitress had gone, he shifted uncomfortably in his seat. It felt strange doing this, something so normal, after everything with James. It felt even stranger being with his Dad.
“How’s your Mom doing?”
“Fine. Not that you’d care even if she wasn’t.”
“That’s not fair.”
“Oh, yeah? You’ve never really been much help to her but the last three years, she didn’t even know whether you were alive. No money to help out now and again, nothing.”
“You didn’t want me around.”
Snorting, he gripped the side of the table to stop himself from standing up and walking out. He didn’t need to draw any more attention than their raised voices were already doing. “That’s bull. I was angry with you but I didn’t ask you to vanish.”
“I’m sorry.” John ran a hand through his hair, looking more flustered than Adam had ever seen him. “I’m sorry, okay? I didn’t want to - I thought it’d be better for you, safer. It was never about me not wanting to see you because I did, I do.”
He frowned. “What do you mean - safer?”
“Nothing. I’ll tell you later. It’s-” his Dad broke off as his cell began to ring. “Sorry, I need to take this.”
Adam nodded, wondering what was so important that it had to be dealt with in the middle of a discussion like the one they were having. When he was younger, seven or eight maybe, he’d thought his Dad might be a spy; when he’d told his Mom, she’d laughed and ruffled his hair and tucked him into bed. Now, older and wiser, he watched through the window as his Dad paced up and down outside, still in the dark about what he did for a living. It wasn’t fair.
Turning away from the window, he looked around the restaurant instead. Most people had stopped staring now, gone back to eating and talking now that they’d had their fill. At the other side of the room, though, two guys looked away hastily as his gaze reached them. Adam didn’t recognise them, didn’t even think they looked young enough to be at college, and he glanced back down at the table in front of him instead. If they were reporters or something, he didn’t want to give them a reason to come over. Or maybe they were cops, shadowing him to see if he was as innocent as he’d told them he was. Once again, he had to fight the urge to rise from his seat and leave, go back to hiding in his room again.
“Sorry about that.” John slid back into the seat opposite him. “It was work. Everything okay?”
He nodded. “Yeah. No. Those two guys over there keep staring; I think maybe they’re reporters or something.”
There was a pause as his Dad looked over to where he’d gestured. “Ignore them; they’re probably just curious locals with nothing better to do.”
“Yeah, maybe.” He hoped his Dad was right; the last thing he needed was his face splashed all over the front page.
~~
“Thanks for the burger.” Adam dropped down onto his bed, edging back to rest against the cushions. “You didn’t have to pay.”
John shrugged, taking a seat at Adam’s desk. “I wanted to. Least I could do.”
“Are you going to tell me things now?”
“What?”
“You said you would once I’d eaten lunch.”
“Yeah.” John sighed. “I did. Okay, but there’s going to be a lot to take in and I want you to promise to hear me out until the end.”
“Fine, whatever.”
“I never wanted to have to tell you this.”
He raised his eyebrows at the delay tactic. “Dad.”
“Right, sorry. Here it is; the reason I haven’t been around over the last three years is that I wanted to keep you safe.”
“Safe. You said that earlier as well but I don’t get it. How does seeing you put me in danger?”
“There are things out there - dangerous things that people think don’t exist but they do. Demons, spirits, other things you see in horror movies.”
He snorted. “What, you’re trying to tell me Caspar’s real? Come on, Dad, I’m twenty-two, not ten. It’s not funny.”
Looking like that’s what he’d expected to hear, John shook his head. “It’s real, Adam. I don’t joke about this type of thing. I had - someone I loved very much was killed by one of these things, it’s how I got into this life.”
Adam stopped smirking at the seriousness in his Dad’s expression and fought the urge to back away; his back was already pressed up against the headboard, he had nowhere else to go. “Oh, man, you actually believe what you’re saying. You’re crazy.”
“No, I’m not. Think about it for a minute; you know you didn’t kill James, right?”
“Yeah, but-”
“And you also know there was no-one else around, no one you could see.”
“Yeah, but-”
“So we think something else - something not human - must have done it.”
Realisation hit like a cold, hard slap and even after three years of getting used to it just being him and his Mom, it hurt to know that his Dad had only come back because of some delusion. “That’s why you’re here.”
“Adam-”
Clenching his fists, he jumped up off the bed. “No. That’s why you’re here - it’s not because you wanted to see me or make sure I’m okay or be here for me. It’s because you’ve got this crazy idea that James was killed by the monster in his closet.”
“Adam, it’s true. Just wait a minute-”
He shook his head and pulled open the door. “No. No, I’m going and you need to be gone when I get back because this is crazy. I don’t need this and-” he broke off as he turned to leave and almost bumped into a man standing in the doorway. “What?”
“You’re Adam Winchester?”
“Milligan. I’m Adam Milligan.”
“Adam, back away right now.” His Dad’s voice had a hard edge to it, one he’d never heard before. “Now.”
“Why should I?” He went to push past the stranger - he didn’t need to talk to a reporter or whatever else he was right now - but the guy pushed him back.
“Adam, Adam, Adam. Did no-one ever tell you to listen to your Daddy?” The man smirked and his eyes flashed back.
Before he could move of his own accord, Adam felt himself being tugged back and he stumbled, his bed the only thing breaking his fall and he tried to see what was happening but black smoke was filling the room, clouding his vision and, god, either this was real or he was as crazy as his Dad.
And then the smoke was gone and the man was lying out in the corridor unconscious.
“What did you do to him?”
Stepping back inside the room, John shut the door, leaving the man alone on the other side. “That wasn’t me - that was the demon that was inside him. Damn thing’s gone now.”
Adam’s eyes widened when he saw the gun in his Dad’s hand. Aware that his hands were shaking, he pushed himself back on the bed, gripping the covers as his Dad pulled out his cell and made a call. He heard words, fast and urgent, but wasn’t thinking clearly enough to really take notice of what John was saying. Two days ago he’d seen someone die and now he’d just seen whatever that had been outside. A demon, that’s what his Dad had called it.
“Are you okay?”
“Okay?” He could hardly believe what he’d just been asked. “After that? Sure, of course I am.”
Walking over to the bed, John reached out to squeeze his shoulder. “That shouldn’t have happened.” He sighed. “You weren’t ever meant to get exposed to any of this.”
“How did you? I mean, you said you lost someone, right? But that doesn’t explain how you knew about James or what that thing was.”
“It’s what I do now. It’s my job.” John walked over the window, looking through the blinds as though looking for any threats. “I hunt these things.”
“Why?”
“At first, revenge. It took a long time, but the thing that killed Mary - she was my wife - is dead. And now, well, someone has to do it. But I meant what I said - right from the start, I tried to keep you out of this.”
“So why tell me this now?”
“That demon you saw. We’ve had run-ins with it before and now it’s threatened you. That’s why I’m here - I needed to keep you safe.”
“I don’t understand.”
John turned back around and met his eyes. “Adam, I think that demon killed James. And I think it did it as a warning, to show me that if it wanted to, it could hurt you.”
“Oh.”
“But it’s okay. We’ve come up against nastier demons than this and survived. The gun, it’s a Colt - it kills these things. We’ll take it out and then you’ll be safe again.”
He nodded even though he wasn’t really feeling any better about the situation. Half an hour ago, he’d thought things like demons were just folklore, had been reminiscing about the days when he’d thought his Dad was a spy. Now he’d found out he had a target on his back and his Dad hunted monsters as a way of life. It was kind of a lot to take in.
“It’s all a shock, I know. I’m sorry.”
“You keep saying ‘we’.” Adam gestured around the room; it had been bugging him for a while, the way his Dad kept acting like he wasn’t alone.
“Yeah.” John crossed back over to the bed and sat down beside him. “That’s the other thing I have to tell you - I promise it’s better than the whole demon thing.”
“What?”
“I was married to Mary - lost Mary - before I ever knew your Mom.”
“What’s that got to do with-”
His Dad held up a hand. “Just let me finish, kid. Before - before I lost Mary, we had two sons together.”
“Sons?”
“Yes. Sons. Adam, you’ve got two older brothers.”
“Fuck.” He didn’t know what else to say. Logically, he’d always known that his Dad could have some other family somewhere but, somehow, he’d always imagined him as more of a lone ranger, married to his work. John had always been secretive but for some reason Adam had always thought his Dad would tell him if he ever got any younger siblings. He’d never imagined that older siblings already existed.
“Surprised, huh?”
Adam snorted. “That’s an understatement.”
“They’re called Dean and Sam. They’re, uh, in Wisconsin too but I thought it’d be best if I warned you first before they just turned up on your doorstep. It’s a hell of a lot to take in in one day.”
“I can’t believe I have brothers. Why - how come you didn’t tell me earlier?”
“Because they know about hunting and telling you about them, or them about you, would have meant explaining a lot of things I didn’t want you to know about.”
Somewhere, in the logical part of his mind, Adam knew that that made some sense but he still had to fight not to glare. “So they kill these things too?”
“Yeah.” John shrugged. “Could say it’s a family business.”
A family he hadn’t been allowed to be a part of. “Can I meet them?”
For the first time since John had begun to tell Adam the truth, he smiled. “Sure you can - they want to meet you.” He snorted. “So much so that they followed us to that restaurant today.”
“The two guys who were staring?”
“Yeah, that’s them. Sammy’s the tallest, Dean’s the oldest.”
“Cool.”
“But, look, there’s a serious danger, here. Until we can kill the demon you’re at risk so don’t expect too much, yeah?”
Nodding, Adam looked his Dad right in his eyes as he replied. “Don’t worry; I learnt not to do that a long time ago.”
~~
On the walk to the motel where his brothers were staying, Adam had been preoccupied with not getting angry, not giving in to the hum of disappointment that threatened to boil over whenever he thought about how much his Dad had lied to him in the past or the fact that monsters were real. It was only when the place came into view that the nerves started to kick in.
What if they didn’t like him? Adam wasn’t sure what that would mean. In the grand scheme of things, it wasn’t the end of the world; it wasn’t like he’d known he had brothers. Nothing would change if they decided they didn’t want him in their lives. Except that maybe things would change, maybe his Dad would walk away again, too. Choose them over him instead of choosing them all. Kill the demon - because Adam knew his Dad wasn’t the type to walk away from a fight, even if he hadn’t known what the fights were up until now - and then leave him on his own to deal with the fallout from James.
“You okay?” Hand on the door, John turned to look at him.
He nodded and, when his Dad raised his eyebrows, forced a smile. “I’m fine.”
“They don’t know what to expect either, you know? I can guarantee they’re just as nervous about meeting you.” With that, John pushed the door open and walked inside.
Adam hesitated for a moment, wiping his palms on his jeans, and then followed him. Standing in the doorway to the motel room, with three pairs of eyes looking at him and the awkwardness of the moment almost suffocating, it took every bit of Adam’s willpower to pull the door closed behind him instead of turning around and running.
Clearing his throat, John gestured between them. “Boys, this is Adam. Adam, Sam and Dean.”
Not really sure what to say, he settled for nodding at the strangers who were his brothers. They’d decided meeting at the motel room would be safer but now Adam wished he’d insisted on meeting at his place, somewhere familiar. Here, everything was new.
“Tough week, huh?” The shorter of the two - Dean, Adam remembered - held out his hand and Adam took it, tried not to show his surprise at how strong the grip was, at how Dean held on for a just a little longer than would be normal.
He laughed, short and harsh-sounding. “You could say that.”
“It’s going to be better from now on.” Sam stepped forwards, taking his turn to shake Adam’s hand. “We’re here to look out for you.”
“This wouldn’t be happening if it wasn’t-” he broke off, feeling himself flush. “Sorry, I didn’t mean-”
“No, it’s okay. You’re being targeted because we’re hunters. It’s us who should be apologising.” Sam glanced towards John.
Adam shrugged. “It’s not like you thought ‘hey, let’s put a target on Adam’s back.’ I mean, you didn’t even know I existed.”
“We didn’t.” This time, it was Dean who glared at their father. “And, believe me; if we had we would’ve been there for you before now.”
“Would you?” Adam didn’t really see how, not when his Dad had been able to ignore him for three years.
“Yeah. Family is important and we’re your big brothers, you know? So if there’s anyone you need beating up or whatever, let us know.”
“Right.” Pulling at one of the threads on his jacket, he snorted. “How about you settle for sorting out that demon?”
Dean smirked. “Don’t worry - we’re going to.”
John lifted a duffel bag up off one of the beds. “In the meantime, one of us is going to be with you at all times, just in case.”
Adam scowled; his Dad had obviously meant it when he said they were going to have to get over just meeting each other quickly. “I don’t need a babysitter.”
“No.” Sam agreed. “You don’t. You’re an adult and capable of looking after yourself, I’m sure. What you do need is someone who knows how to deal with a demon, just in case it shows up to attack you again.”
He wondered whether the reason in Sam’s tone came from a natural need to play mediator or whether it was due to a lifetime of thinking he was the youngest and hating being made to feel like a kid. Realising that what Sam had said sounded logical - and safer - Adam nodded. “Okay. But it’d be really helpful if we could do that at my place; I have work to do for school.”
“That seems fair enough.” John waited until all of his sons had approved before continuing. “Sam, you want to go first while your brother and I go talk to the cops?”
Sam grinned, still looking at Adam. “Sure. I want to get to know my little brother.”
Suddenly nervous at the thought of being along with one of his brothers without his Dad being there too, Adam stuck his hands into his pockets to stop himself from pulling at his jacket again. His brothers probably thought he was weak already, with the way they must have been raised, without giving them more reason to think so. He watched as all three of the Winchesters walked around the room, collecting things that they probably thought they’d need. A gun, a book in Sam’s case and, for some bizarre reason, salt.
“You ready to head back then, Adam?” Pulling his duffel bag up onto his shoulder, Sam looked pretty undeterred by the fact he was about to be along with the little brother he’d never met. Adam decided to try and follow suit.
“Yeah, whenever.” He crossed over to the door behind Sam and turned back to say goodbye.
John grinned and then turned serious. “You boys be careful, okay?”
“We will, Dad. Meet at Adam’s when you’re done?”
“We’ll bring food.”
With that, Sam pushed open the door and stepped outside. Adam shot one last look at his Dad before leaving, but John was already examining a chart up on the wall, in conversation with Dean. Out in the fresh air, he fell into step with Sam, hoping that things weren’t going to be too awkward. Sam had seemed reasonable in the motel room but now that they were alone together, Adam was hoping that it hadn’t just been a fluke.
“This is all a bit strange, right?”
He glanced to the side to see Sam watching him as they walked, his expression curious. “Yeah. It is. It’s like, we’re blood, right, but we don’t know each other at all.”
“It sucks. That we don’t know each other, I mean.” Sam sighed. “I get why Dad did it - he thought it’d keep you safe and that’s important - but it sucks. I’m sorry.”
“What for?”
“Not being there for you growing up. And I know Dean is too; he’s - Dean’s pretty protective, takes being an older brother very seriously. It’s killing him to meet you and not have a connection yet. Upsetting both of us.”
Adam didn’t answer for a moment and then, as they reached the campus, he spoke, making sure not to look at Sam as he did so. “At least you had each other.”
They travelled in silence for the rest of the walk.
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