Fellowship of the Nine 3/?
Chapter 3
The others crowded behind me to get a better look while I watched the doors of the car open like one. The passenger side was closest to the window and I've to admit I had forgotten just how tall Sam was. Or maybe he had grown since I had seen him last.
On the other side another man got out of the car and with one hand resting on the roof he looked me straight in the eye. Sam's brother. Dean.
I'd only seen him once or twice during that week after Jess' death and at the funeral of course but I recognized him immediately. Same old leather jacket, same ripped jeans, same bad guy image. This guy was hard to forget.
For a second I wanted to shy away from the window, getting out of sight, but then I steeled myself and hold his gaze. Dean said something to Sam who then turned around and a wide grin spread over his face. He waved and I waved back and then we all hurried to the door.
"Sam!" Brenda was the first outside and had Sam in a bear hug a second later. Her head reached only up to his chest but she seemed happy to rest it there for a moment.
Sam just stood there, arms spread in an uncertain way and he looked at his brother before he lowered his arms to return the hug.
"Brenda." He said. "Good to see you."
Then we were there too. We hugged and shook hands and Sam was grinning like an idiot. We were all grinning except for Dean who stood there in grim silence, the car between him and us like a wall and just watched the scene like he expected us to rip Sam apart.
After a quick glance in his direction I ignored him for the next minutes because there was Sam. The Sam we knew, the Sam we loved, the Sam who was part of our little Fellowship of the Nine which wasn't exactly nine anymore but after a year without Sam was finally up to seven again. It felt good.
"It's warmer inside." Andrea pointed out but it was Dean who took the hint and opened the trunk and got a battered duffel bag out. An old army thing which looked exactly like the one Sam had shown up with at Stanford. Moved in with that bag and a rucksack and nothing else. First I'd expected his family to show up and bring the rest of his stuff but his family never came, not even for a visit. Not until Dean took Sam on that trip right before the fire.
His life fits in the trunk of a car, Sam had joked once and I'd wondered if he came from a religious family, you know, only possess what you really need because more would lead to greed, envy and pride and probably the to the rest of the deadly sins. But Sam never came across as the religious type.
Later I figured out that he came to Stanford on a full ride and that he had to work beside his studies to get by because his family never sent a cent to help him out. When I saw Dean for the first time I knew why.
Dean slammed the lid of the trunk shut and carried the bag inside. I was the only one who even noticed him doing that, the others were fully focused on Sam, so I followed Dean into the cabin.
To show him where to put the bag, would have been my answer if anybody would have bothered to ask. But to be honest, I didn't want him around our stuff unobserved.
"You can drop it over there." I said and tried to sound helpful. He nodded and stepped around the puddle our boots had left on the floor.
"Nice place." He took a look around. "When Sammy said something about a weekend at the cabin I didn't picture a palace like this."
I nearly choked at the Sammy. Nobody called Sam that. At least not a second time and if they were smart not even a first time.
As if I wasn't even there Dean strolled around like he owned the place. This wasn't my cabin so it should be Cole's problem that this guy was eying everything, maybe looking for the silverware, but it raised my hackles.
I opened my mouth to call him on it when the door burst open and along with the snowy wind the others came in. Laughter and chatter filled the air and right in the middle of it I caught sight of Sam's face. His cheeks were flushed from the cold and he had this expression on like he wasn't sure if he was dreaming.
What to make out of Dean's expression when he saw his brother like that I didn't know. Unreadable.
"Hey, Sammy." Dean shouted and just like me before the others fell in shocked silence at that name. But Sam didn't seem to mind.
"You got everything you need?" Dean continued as if nothing had happened. He stood close to Sam and had lowered his voice but we all stood close enough to hear every word.
"Yes, Dean." Sam gave his brother a dramatic eye-roll.
"You got the …" Being aware of us listening he didn't finish that sentence but Sam nodded in understanding.
"I'll be fine." Sam reassured him.
"Okay. I should better get going." He looked around and felt clearly uncomfortable with us standing so close to him. "Gotta get into town before the frigging road is totally blocked. Frigging snow. We should have went to Florida." He muttered on his way out. Sam followed him and we stayed back to give them some privacy.
To be honest, I didn't like Dean but he was part of Sam's family, part of Sam. And he had given his brother a ride in this shitty weather.
"We have time to get to Florida." I heard Sam answer but the wind caught his words and I didn't quite get the rest. Something about the full moon?
They stood by the car for a minute or so and I half expected them to hug but Dean only slapped Sam's shoulder and jerked his head to mention that he should get inside. Then Dean got in the car and seconds later the red lights disappeared in the swirling snow.
Sam stood there, hands in his pockets, and watched his brother leave. A dark figure all alone in the cold winter.
But then he turned and his long legs ate up the distance between him and us.
"Get your ass in here." Cole called and Sam's gin was back and he had his arm around my shoulder for a moment.
"It's good to see you all again." Sam said and I think he really meant it.
continue to chapter 4
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