Clean Slate (2/7)
Title: Clean Slate (2/7)
Author: irishka1205
Character: Sam, Dean, Bobby, Ruby, Castiel, Uriel, Anna, Lilith
Spoilers: through 4.14
Disclaimer: I don't own anybody or anything. They all belong to the evil genius that is Eric Kripke.
Rating: PG
Summary: When Dean is attacked by demons, Sam must do whatever it takes to keep his brother safe.
Author’s Note: Huge, gigantic thank you to muses_circle for being my beta and personal cheerleader when it comes to writing.
"You know I've been keeping an eye out for anything strange going on around the area where Dean's at," Bobby began to explain.
Sam felt his chest tighten all of a sudden. Somehow he knew what was coming next. "What did you find?" he asked slowly.
"Signs, Sam. Big, gigantic, demonic signs."
Sam closed his eyes, trying to push back the panic that was rising in his chest.
"How far away are you?" Bobby asked.
"About eight hours," Sam answered as he got behind the wheel of the Impala.
"I'll meet you there."
With that, Sam hung up and turned the key in the ignition.
There'll be no sleep tonight.
***
Sam met Bobby just outside of town. When he got to the agreed upon meeting place, Bobby was already there, map spread over the hood of the car.
“Any idea how many?” Sam asked as soon as he was out of the Impala.
“Hello to you too.” When Sam didn’t bother to respond, Bobby continued. “I can’t really tell.”
“Any activity?” Sam inquired.
“Not as far as I can tell. No reports of any incidents on the police scanner either,” the older hunter replied. “If they’re here, they’re waiting for something.”
“Or someone,” Sam added.
"They could be here for a lot of reasons that have nothing to do with Dean."
"Is that what you really think?" Sam asked. When Bobby just sighed in response, Sam nodded. "That's what I thought. Ok, we gotta find them before they find him."
Sam and Bobby spent the rest of the day driving around, walking the streets, going into buildings and restaurants, anything and everything to find the demons. But nothing came of it. So, the two of them had to settle for sitting in the car across the street from the auto shop where Dean worked, hoping that if the demons were after him, they could stop them in time.
It was already dark and the street in front of the shop was nearly empty. Sam took yet another sip from his coffee cup. He lost count of how much coffee he already consumed today.
“Maybe we should just go inside,” Bobby suggested once again.
“No,” Sam replied without taking his eyes off the shop. “I don’t want him to see us, not if he doesn’t have to.”
“It will be easier if he knows,” Bobby tried to argue.
“No,” Sam responded, more forcefully. “If he remembers, the hallucinations, everything…it will start up again. And all of this was for nothing.”
“You don’t know that. Enough time passed since…”
“No,” Sam said again, finally looking at Bobby.
Silence fell between them once again, but it didn’t last long. Before Sam could take another sip from his coffee cup, they heard crashing sounds coming from the auto shop. Without so much as a glance at each other, the two hunters got out of the car and sprinted across the street. Sam was the first one to get to the shop, running inside, the door swinging with a screech behind him.
Two demons were on both sides of the room. Dean was on the floor in the corner with the third demon advancing toward him. Without a second thought, Sam raised his hand and focused on the demon closest to his brother. Within seconds a black cloud spilled out of the human host’s body and floated down and disappeared into the floor. Then, before the other two had a chance to so much as blink, Sam raised his arms to both sides and a moment later both of them were gone as well.
Letting out a loud breath, Sam lowered his arms and turned around when he heard the door close behind him. He knew what he’d find there - a look of complete shock on Bobby’s face. Up until this point, the other hunter only knew about Sam’s premonitions. He had no clue about Sam being able to exorcise demons with his abilities. Not until now.
Sam knew there’ll be a lot of questions later, but right now he had more important things to deal with. Turning away from the Bobby, Sam crossed the room, coming to a stop in front of a man crouching in the corner.
“Are you ok?” Sam asked, kneeling down.
His brother’s eyes stared back at him, but there was absolutely no recognition of who he was in them. “I…think so.” He looked around the room at the three bodies lying unconscious on the floor. “Who are these people?”
“It’s a long story,” Sam responded, not entirely sure what story he was going to come up with to explain this. He stood up and offered the other man a hand.
Dean took his hand and Sam heaved him to his feet.
“For now, we need to get you out of here.”
Dean shifted his gaze from Sam to Bobby, who still remained standing near the entrance. “Who are you, people? Cops?”
“Something like that,” Sam responded, unable to meet his brother’s eyes. He hadn’t so much as spoken a word to Dean in over five months. The fact that Dean had no idea who he was made this that much harder. “Look,” he tried. “These people are after you. They want to…hurt you. We’re going to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
That was as much of a truth as Sam could share without spilling everything, but of course it only made Dean even more confused. “What the hell would they want with me? I’m just a mechanic.”
Sam took a deep breath in. This was even harder than he thought it would be.
“Look, son, we’re trying to save your life here,” Bobby finally spoke up, moving further into the room. “So, how about you cool it with the questions until we can get you to safety.”
Dean was visibly taken aback by what Bobby said, but it did the trick and shut him up. He just nodded in response. Sam made a mental note to thank Bobby later.
“What’s your name?” Bobby asked, moving closer.
“Kyle,” Dean responded. “Johnson.”
Bobby nodded and extended his hand to shake Dean’s. “I’m Bobby. This here is Sam.”
Sam held his breath as he raised his eyes to meet his brother’s. But there was still no recognition there, not even a hint of remembrance hearing their names could have sparked. Nothing.
Sam cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the lump that was rising up in his throat. “We gotta go,” he simply said. Without another look back, he walked toward the door.
They crosses the street in silence, Sam leading the way and looking around to make sure no more demons came after them.
“Are we going to the police department?” Dean asked when they reached the car.
Sam found himself unable to respond and was once again grateful when Bobby spoke up.
“No, a safe house,” the older hunter responded as he opened the passenger door of the Impala for Dean while Sam walked over to the driver‘s side. “Get in.”
“This your car?” Dean asked as all three of them were inside.
Sam’s hand froze midway to the ignition box and he swallowed hard, then finally started the car. “Yeah,” he replied quietly without so much as a glance at his brother.
“It’s awesome,” Dean exclaimed as Sam pulled out of the parking spot. “They sure don’t make them like this anymore.”
Sam didn’t respond, instead focusing all of his attention on getting them to the motel safely.
The moment they got inside the motel room, Sam got to work to make the room safe from demons while Bobby checked out the area around the motel.
Of course, seeing Sam pour salt on the windowsill raised questions from the man they were trying to keep safe. “What is that for?”
“To keep you safe,” Sam responded without looking up from his task.
“Salt?” Dean’s was as incredulous as any other civilian Sam had ever had to deal with on hunts.
Sam put down the canister with salt and turned to face the other man. The man who taught him all about salt and iron and how to protect yourself from demons and ghosts. Who taught him almost everything he knew today. And it was nearly impossible to keep his emotions from betraying him.
“It’s kinda hard to explain,” he tried, his voice shaking.
“You guys are not cops, are you?” Dean asked.
Sam let out a loud sigh. “No.”
“Who are you?”
Sam could hear the fear creeping up in his brother’s voice. “Someone who’s trying to keep you safe,” he answered honestly.
“From whom?” Dean demanded.
“Somebody really…bad,” Sam tried to find the right words where he could answer honestly but also not reveal too much. The less he said, the better the chance was that Dean wouldn’t remember anything and when this was all over, his brother could go back to the hunting-free life he’d been leading for the past five months.
“Why are they after me?”
Sam stayed quiet for a while, trying to find the right words to explain. He finally settled on, “They think you’re somebody else.”
“Who?”
Sam swallowed hard again, his eyes stinging as well. This was so much harder than he had ever imagined. He studied the other man’s face, trying to see if Dean was remembering anything. But there was still nothing there. “Someone you’re not,“ he finally said, each word causing him physical pain to utter.
When the other man’s confusion deepened, Sam added, “Look, it doesn’t matter who. The point is, they want you dead. But Bobby and I, we can protect you. We will protect you. But you have to do what we tell you.”
Sam wasn’t sure how much of what he was saying the other man was buying, but Dean remained quiet and Sam returned to demon proofing the room.
Bobby arrived not long after.
“Anything?” Sam inquired as soon as Bobby closed the door.
“Not that I can tell. Not yet anyway.”
Sam nodded as he leaned against the windowsill. He wasn’t naïve enough to think that the attack on Dean earlier that evening was a one time deal. Lilith would know soon enough that Dean was still alive and would send more demons after him.
“We can’t stay here,” Sam voiced the obvious.
“You definitely got that right,” Bobby responded.
“Your place?” That was the only thing that Sam could think of. Lilith would find them no matter where they went. At least at Bobby’s they had a fighting chance.
“He’ll definitely be safe in the panic room,” Bobby motioned to the third man currently sitting on the edge of the bed, listening with anxiety written all over his face.
“Wait, hold on a second,” the man stood up. “I let you drag me here instead of the cops because you saved my life back there, but if you think I’m going anywhere else with you, you’re crazy.”
Sam knew this was not going to be easy, so he moved slowly as not to scare Dean any more than he already was. “Look, we’re just trying to keep you safe, that’s all,” Sam tried, keeping his voice steady and calm. “Trust me, we won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Trust you? I don’t even know you.”
Sam felt as if he was sucker punched. He felt dazed and a moment passed before he realized that the other man was moving toward the door, with obvious intention of leaving.
Sam leapt across the room, reaching the door before his brother. He put his hands on the man’s chest, stopping his advance, but fake memories or not, his brother was not going down without a fight. Sam finally grabbed the front of Dean’s shirt, swung him around and pushed him against the door, getting right into his face. “Stop it,” he yelled. “We’re killing ourselves here trying to keep you alive, to keep you safe. So stop acting like a jackass, Dean. Just stop it!”
It took Sam a moment to realize that the other man stopped struggling against his hold and was simply staring at him with an astonishment on his face.
“What did you just call me?” Dean asked.
Breathing hard, Sam let go of his shirt and took a step back. “I…” He didn’t know what to say, so he just stared back at his brother’s face.
“He said, stop acting like a damn fool,” Bobby stepped in front of him and Sam couldn’t remember ever being more grateful to the old hunter than he was at this moment. “We’re trying to save your life here, not kidnap you for our own personal pleasure.”
Sam couldn’t listen anymore. He needed to get out of the room and clear his head. He didn’t think that being around Dean, Dean who had absolutely no idea who Sam was, would be this difficult, this heart wrenching. It took every fiber in his being to stop himself from screaming at the pain he was feeling inside.
“I’ll take the bags to the car,” he finally managed to speak up.
Not waiting for an answer from either of the men, Sam picked up the two duffel bags that he brought in less than an hour ago and carried them outside. Tossing them onto the back seat, Sam leaned against the car and dug inside the pocket of his jacket for the cell phone. Phone firmly in hand, Sam hit the speed dial..
She answered on the second beep. “Sam?”
“Hi,” he said. “I need your help.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Where?” was all she asked.
“Bobby’s place. You remember how to get there?”
“Yes,” she quickly responded. “See you there.” She hung up before Sam had a chance to say another word.
Sam closed the phone and put it back in his pocket.
“He’s calmed back down.” Bobby said as he came up behind him. “I think I made him see reason.”
“Good,” was all Sam could manage in response. “Thanks.”
“He said he just wants to make a stop and tell his girlfriend that he’ll be gone for a while. Doesn’t want her to worry and all that.”
Sam simply nodded.
“You knew he had a girlfriend?”
Once again Sam nodded.
“You ok,” Bobby asked, not even trying to hide the concern in his voice.
Letting out a sigh, Sam turned to face the older man. “I’m fine. It’s just…hard.”
Now it was Bobby’s turn to nod in response. “When was the last time you slept?”
Sam was a little taken aback by the question. “I’m fine,” he repeated.
“That’s not what I asked,” Bobby insisted.
“Bobby, I’m…” But just then they heard the door of the motel room open and close and Dean walked toward them.
“Get in,” Bobby told him. Then grabbed the keys that Sam took out of his pocket a second earlier. “I’m driving. And you get some sleep.” Sam knew better than to argue.
It was strange, riding in the Impala in the passenger seat again. Especially with Bobby being the one behind the wheel and Dean in the back seat. Sam tried to shake the feeling though, tried to focus on the task at hand, the only important thing which was getting Dean safely to Bobby’s house. But before they could do that, they had to make a stop.
“The house on the left,” Dean provided directions from the back.
Bobby pulled the car into the driveway for a small ranch at the end of the street. “Don’t take too long,” he instructed as Dean began to get out of the car. “And Kyle…”
The other man paused.
“She can’t know what’s happening. For her own safety.”
There was no verbal response from the back seat, but Sam assumed there was an acknowledgement of what Bobby told him. The two hunters stayed in the car, watching as Dean walked up the driveway to the porch, then rang the doorbell.
A few seconds later a redhead opened the door. Sam watched as Dean smiled at her, gave her a quick kiss and then began to talk. From where they were sitting, Bobby and Sam couldn’t hear a word he was saying.
“You just told him to lie to his girlfriend,” Sam stated. He never imagined that thought would bother him so much.
Obviously Bobby was just as surprised by that thought as Sam himself was. “Wouldn’t be the first time Dean’s had to lie to a pretty girl.”
“He’s not Dean,” Sam said quietly.
“And who is he, Sam? This Kyle Johnson guy you and that angel of yours invented together?”
“Bobby,” he tried to defend himself. But really, this wasn’t the first argument they had about this and Sam really had nothing new to add. “Come on.”
“Don’t ‘come on’ me, boy. I told you then and I’ll tell you now, this was a bad idea.”
“What choice did I have?” Sam raised his voice. “Let him lose his mind completely? Toss him in some loony bin? Because you know that’s where he was headed.”
“Well, he’s not headed there now. So, we should tell him. Tell him the truth.”
“No,” Sam responded without a second thought. Telling Dean the truth about who he really was was out of the question. “Anna said…”
“Anna don‘t have a clue,” Bobby grumbled.
“It’s too dangerous, Bobby. What if he starts having hallucinations again?”
“And what if he doesn’t?” Bobby argued.
Sam shook his head. This wasn’t a chance he was willing to take. Besides, there were other reasons why Sam wanted to keep Dean oblivious to who he really was. Sam turned and looked out the window, staring at the couple wrapped in an embrace on the porch of the house. “He can have this, Bobby,” Sam said quietly. “This life. No demons, no hunting. What he always wanted.”
“Dean never wanted this.”
“Yes, he did. He always wanted this. Especially after dad died,” Sam explained. “I know he did. And this is his chance.” He turned to face the older hunter again, pleading with the man.
Bobby stared at him in silence for a few seconds, the expression on his face changing to that of sorrow, almost pity. Except, Sam realized, it wasn’t for Dean. This one was meant for him. “And what about you?”
Sam looked away, trying to hide from the gaze of his older friend. “I’m…”
“Fine,” Bobby finished for him. “Yeah, I know.”
Before either man had a chance to say anything else, Dean bid good bye to the girl and hurried back to the car.
“What did you tell her?” Bobby asked as they pulled out of the driveway.
“That you were an old friend of my parents. You and your son just passing by and invited me to go fishing.”
“That’s pretty impressive,” Sam noted. “How’d you come up with that?”
“Just came to me,” his brother’s reply came from the back.
Author: irishka1205
Character: Sam, Dean, Bobby, Ruby, Castiel, Uriel, Anna, Lilith
Spoilers: through 4.14
Disclaimer: I don't own anybody or anything. They all belong to the evil genius that is Eric Kripke.
Rating: PG
Summary: When Dean is attacked by demons, Sam must do whatever it takes to keep his brother safe.
Author’s Note: Huge, gigantic thank you to muses_circle for being my beta and personal cheerleader when it comes to writing.
"You know I've been keeping an eye out for anything strange going on around the area where Dean's at," Bobby began to explain.
Sam felt his chest tighten all of a sudden. Somehow he knew what was coming next. "What did you find?" he asked slowly.
"Signs, Sam. Big, gigantic, demonic signs."
Sam closed his eyes, trying to push back the panic that was rising in his chest.
"How far away are you?" Bobby asked.
"About eight hours," Sam answered as he got behind the wheel of the Impala.
"I'll meet you there."
With that, Sam hung up and turned the key in the ignition.
There'll be no sleep tonight.
***
Sam met Bobby just outside of town. When he got to the agreed upon meeting place, Bobby was already there, map spread over the hood of the car.
“Any idea how many?” Sam asked as soon as he was out of the Impala.
“Hello to you too.” When Sam didn’t bother to respond, Bobby continued. “I can’t really tell.”
“Any activity?” Sam inquired.
“Not as far as I can tell. No reports of any incidents on the police scanner either,” the older hunter replied. “If they’re here, they’re waiting for something.”
“Or someone,” Sam added.
"They could be here for a lot of reasons that have nothing to do with Dean."
"Is that what you really think?" Sam asked. When Bobby just sighed in response, Sam nodded. "That's what I thought. Ok, we gotta find them before they find him."
Sam and Bobby spent the rest of the day driving around, walking the streets, going into buildings and restaurants, anything and everything to find the demons. But nothing came of it. So, the two of them had to settle for sitting in the car across the street from the auto shop where Dean worked, hoping that if the demons were after him, they could stop them in time.
It was already dark and the street in front of the shop was nearly empty. Sam took yet another sip from his coffee cup. He lost count of how much coffee he already consumed today.
“Maybe we should just go inside,” Bobby suggested once again.
“No,” Sam replied without taking his eyes off the shop. “I don’t want him to see us, not if he doesn’t have to.”
“It will be easier if he knows,” Bobby tried to argue.
“No,” Sam responded, more forcefully. “If he remembers, the hallucinations, everything…it will start up again. And all of this was for nothing.”
“You don’t know that. Enough time passed since…”
“No,” Sam said again, finally looking at Bobby.
Silence fell between them once again, but it didn’t last long. Before Sam could take another sip from his coffee cup, they heard crashing sounds coming from the auto shop. Without so much as a glance at each other, the two hunters got out of the car and sprinted across the street. Sam was the first one to get to the shop, running inside, the door swinging with a screech behind him.
Two demons were on both sides of the room. Dean was on the floor in the corner with the third demon advancing toward him. Without a second thought, Sam raised his hand and focused on the demon closest to his brother. Within seconds a black cloud spilled out of the human host’s body and floated down and disappeared into the floor. Then, before the other two had a chance to so much as blink, Sam raised his arms to both sides and a moment later both of them were gone as well.
Letting out a loud breath, Sam lowered his arms and turned around when he heard the door close behind him. He knew what he’d find there - a look of complete shock on Bobby’s face. Up until this point, the other hunter only knew about Sam’s premonitions. He had no clue about Sam being able to exorcise demons with his abilities. Not until now.
Sam knew there’ll be a lot of questions later, but right now he had more important things to deal with. Turning away from the Bobby, Sam crossed the room, coming to a stop in front of a man crouching in the corner.
“Are you ok?” Sam asked, kneeling down.
His brother’s eyes stared back at him, but there was absolutely no recognition of who he was in them. “I…think so.” He looked around the room at the three bodies lying unconscious on the floor. “Who are these people?”
“It’s a long story,” Sam responded, not entirely sure what story he was going to come up with to explain this. He stood up and offered the other man a hand.
Dean took his hand and Sam heaved him to his feet.
“For now, we need to get you out of here.”
Dean shifted his gaze from Sam to Bobby, who still remained standing near the entrance. “Who are you, people? Cops?”
“Something like that,” Sam responded, unable to meet his brother’s eyes. He hadn’t so much as spoken a word to Dean in over five months. The fact that Dean had no idea who he was made this that much harder. “Look,” he tried. “These people are after you. They want to…hurt you. We’re going to make sure that doesn’t happen.”
That was as much of a truth as Sam could share without spilling everything, but of course it only made Dean even more confused. “What the hell would they want with me? I’m just a mechanic.”
Sam took a deep breath in. This was even harder than he thought it would be.
“Look, son, we’re trying to save your life here,” Bobby finally spoke up, moving further into the room. “So, how about you cool it with the questions until we can get you to safety.”
Dean was visibly taken aback by what Bobby said, but it did the trick and shut him up. He just nodded in response. Sam made a mental note to thank Bobby later.
“What’s your name?” Bobby asked, moving closer.
“Kyle,” Dean responded. “Johnson.”
Bobby nodded and extended his hand to shake Dean’s. “I’m Bobby. This here is Sam.”
Sam held his breath as he raised his eyes to meet his brother’s. But there was still no recognition there, not even a hint of remembrance hearing their names could have sparked. Nothing.
Sam cleared his throat, trying to get rid of the lump that was rising up in his throat. “We gotta go,” he simply said. Without another look back, he walked toward the door.
They crosses the street in silence, Sam leading the way and looking around to make sure no more demons came after them.
“Are we going to the police department?” Dean asked when they reached the car.
Sam found himself unable to respond and was once again grateful when Bobby spoke up.
“No, a safe house,” the older hunter responded as he opened the passenger door of the Impala for Dean while Sam walked over to the driver‘s side. “Get in.”
“This your car?” Dean asked as all three of them were inside.
Sam’s hand froze midway to the ignition box and he swallowed hard, then finally started the car. “Yeah,” he replied quietly without so much as a glance at his brother.
“It’s awesome,” Dean exclaimed as Sam pulled out of the parking spot. “They sure don’t make them like this anymore.”
Sam didn’t respond, instead focusing all of his attention on getting them to the motel safely.
The moment they got inside the motel room, Sam got to work to make the room safe from demons while Bobby checked out the area around the motel.
Of course, seeing Sam pour salt on the windowsill raised questions from the man they were trying to keep safe. “What is that for?”
“To keep you safe,” Sam responded without looking up from his task.
“Salt?” Dean’s was as incredulous as any other civilian Sam had ever had to deal with on hunts.
Sam put down the canister with salt and turned to face the other man. The man who taught him all about salt and iron and how to protect yourself from demons and ghosts. Who taught him almost everything he knew today. And it was nearly impossible to keep his emotions from betraying him.
“It’s kinda hard to explain,” he tried, his voice shaking.
“You guys are not cops, are you?” Dean asked.
Sam let out a loud sigh. “No.”
“Who are you?”
Sam could hear the fear creeping up in his brother’s voice. “Someone who’s trying to keep you safe,” he answered honestly.
“From whom?” Dean demanded.
“Somebody really…bad,” Sam tried to find the right words where he could answer honestly but also not reveal too much. The less he said, the better the chance was that Dean wouldn’t remember anything and when this was all over, his brother could go back to the hunting-free life he’d been leading for the past five months.
“Why are they after me?”
Sam stayed quiet for a while, trying to find the right words to explain. He finally settled on, “They think you’re somebody else.”
“Who?”
Sam swallowed hard again, his eyes stinging as well. This was so much harder than he had ever imagined. He studied the other man’s face, trying to see if Dean was remembering anything. But there was still nothing there. “Someone you’re not,“ he finally said, each word causing him physical pain to utter.
When the other man’s confusion deepened, Sam added, “Look, it doesn’t matter who. The point is, they want you dead. But Bobby and I, we can protect you. We will protect you. But you have to do what we tell you.”
Sam wasn’t sure how much of what he was saying the other man was buying, but Dean remained quiet and Sam returned to demon proofing the room.
Bobby arrived not long after.
“Anything?” Sam inquired as soon as Bobby closed the door.
“Not that I can tell. Not yet anyway.”
Sam nodded as he leaned against the windowsill. He wasn’t naïve enough to think that the attack on Dean earlier that evening was a one time deal. Lilith would know soon enough that Dean was still alive and would send more demons after him.
“We can’t stay here,” Sam voiced the obvious.
“You definitely got that right,” Bobby responded.
“Your place?” That was the only thing that Sam could think of. Lilith would find them no matter where they went. At least at Bobby’s they had a fighting chance.
“He’ll definitely be safe in the panic room,” Bobby motioned to the third man currently sitting on the edge of the bed, listening with anxiety written all over his face.
“Wait, hold on a second,” the man stood up. “I let you drag me here instead of the cops because you saved my life back there, but if you think I’m going anywhere else with you, you’re crazy.”
Sam knew this was not going to be easy, so he moved slowly as not to scare Dean any more than he already was. “Look, we’re just trying to keep you safe, that’s all,” Sam tried, keeping his voice steady and calm. “Trust me, we won’t let anything happen to you.”
“Trust you? I don’t even know you.”
Sam felt as if he was sucker punched. He felt dazed and a moment passed before he realized that the other man was moving toward the door, with obvious intention of leaving.
Sam leapt across the room, reaching the door before his brother. He put his hands on the man’s chest, stopping his advance, but fake memories or not, his brother was not going down without a fight. Sam finally grabbed the front of Dean’s shirt, swung him around and pushed him against the door, getting right into his face. “Stop it,” he yelled. “We’re killing ourselves here trying to keep you alive, to keep you safe. So stop acting like a jackass, Dean. Just stop it!”
It took Sam a moment to realize that the other man stopped struggling against his hold and was simply staring at him with an astonishment on his face.
“What did you just call me?” Dean asked.
Breathing hard, Sam let go of his shirt and took a step back. “I…” He didn’t know what to say, so he just stared back at his brother’s face.
“He said, stop acting like a damn fool,” Bobby stepped in front of him and Sam couldn’t remember ever being more grateful to the old hunter than he was at this moment. “We’re trying to save your life here, not kidnap you for our own personal pleasure.”
Sam couldn’t listen anymore. He needed to get out of the room and clear his head. He didn’t think that being around Dean, Dean who had absolutely no idea who Sam was, would be this difficult, this heart wrenching. It took every fiber in his being to stop himself from screaming at the pain he was feeling inside.
“I’ll take the bags to the car,” he finally managed to speak up.
Not waiting for an answer from either of the men, Sam picked up the two duffel bags that he brought in less than an hour ago and carried them outside. Tossing them onto the back seat, Sam leaned against the car and dug inside the pocket of his jacket for the cell phone. Phone firmly in hand, Sam hit the speed dial..
She answered on the second beep. “Sam?”
“Hi,” he said. “I need your help.”
There was a pause on the other end of the line. “Where?” was all she asked.
“Bobby’s place. You remember how to get there?”
“Yes,” she quickly responded. “See you there.” She hung up before Sam had a chance to say another word.
Sam closed the phone and put it back in his pocket.
“He’s calmed back down.” Bobby said as he came up behind him. “I think I made him see reason.”
“Good,” was all Sam could manage in response. “Thanks.”
“He said he just wants to make a stop and tell his girlfriend that he’ll be gone for a while. Doesn’t want her to worry and all that.”
Sam simply nodded.
“You knew he had a girlfriend?”
Once again Sam nodded.
“You ok,” Bobby asked, not even trying to hide the concern in his voice.
Letting out a sigh, Sam turned to face the older man. “I’m fine. It’s just…hard.”
Now it was Bobby’s turn to nod in response. “When was the last time you slept?”
Sam was a little taken aback by the question. “I’m fine,” he repeated.
“That’s not what I asked,” Bobby insisted.
“Bobby, I’m…” But just then they heard the door of the motel room open and close and Dean walked toward them.
“Get in,” Bobby told him. Then grabbed the keys that Sam took out of his pocket a second earlier. “I’m driving. And you get some sleep.” Sam knew better than to argue.
It was strange, riding in the Impala in the passenger seat again. Especially with Bobby being the one behind the wheel and Dean in the back seat. Sam tried to shake the feeling though, tried to focus on the task at hand, the only important thing which was getting Dean safely to Bobby’s house. But before they could do that, they had to make a stop.
“The house on the left,” Dean provided directions from the back.
Bobby pulled the car into the driveway for a small ranch at the end of the street. “Don’t take too long,” he instructed as Dean began to get out of the car. “And Kyle…”
The other man paused.
“She can’t know what’s happening. For her own safety.”
There was no verbal response from the back seat, but Sam assumed there was an acknowledgement of what Bobby told him. The two hunters stayed in the car, watching as Dean walked up the driveway to the porch, then rang the doorbell.
A few seconds later a redhead opened the door. Sam watched as Dean smiled at her, gave her a quick kiss and then began to talk. From where they were sitting, Bobby and Sam couldn’t hear a word he was saying.
“You just told him to lie to his girlfriend,” Sam stated. He never imagined that thought would bother him so much.
Obviously Bobby was just as surprised by that thought as Sam himself was. “Wouldn’t be the first time Dean’s had to lie to a pretty girl.”
“He’s not Dean,” Sam said quietly.
“And who is he, Sam? This Kyle Johnson guy you and that angel of yours invented together?”
“Bobby,” he tried to defend himself. But really, this wasn’t the first argument they had about this and Sam really had nothing new to add. “Come on.”
“Don’t ‘come on’ me, boy. I told you then and I’ll tell you now, this was a bad idea.”
“What choice did I have?” Sam raised his voice. “Let him lose his mind completely? Toss him in some loony bin? Because you know that’s where he was headed.”
“Well, he’s not headed there now. So, we should tell him. Tell him the truth.”
“No,” Sam responded without a second thought. Telling Dean the truth about who he really was was out of the question. “Anna said…”
“Anna don‘t have a clue,” Bobby grumbled.
“It’s too dangerous, Bobby. What if he starts having hallucinations again?”
“And what if he doesn’t?” Bobby argued.
Sam shook his head. This wasn’t a chance he was willing to take. Besides, there were other reasons why Sam wanted to keep Dean oblivious to who he really was. Sam turned and looked out the window, staring at the couple wrapped in an embrace on the porch of the house. “He can have this, Bobby,” Sam said quietly. “This life. No demons, no hunting. What he always wanted.”
“Dean never wanted this.”
“Yes, he did. He always wanted this. Especially after dad died,” Sam explained. “I know he did. And this is his chance.” He turned to face the older hunter again, pleading with the man.
Bobby stared at him in silence for a few seconds, the expression on his face changing to that of sorrow, almost pity. Except, Sam realized, it wasn’t for Dean. This one was meant for him. “And what about you?”
Sam looked away, trying to hide from the gaze of his older friend. “I’m…”
“Fine,” Bobby finished for him. “Yeah, I know.”
Before either man had a chance to say anything else, Dean bid good bye to the girl and hurried back to the car.
“What did you tell her?” Bobby asked as they pulled out of the driveway.
“That you were an old friend of my parents. You and your son just passing by and invited me to go fishing.”
“That’s pretty impressive,” Sam noted. “How’d you come up with that?”
“Just came to me,” his brother’s reply came from the back.