No Ordinary Boys ~ Chapter 2
Chapter Two
"Dean? Dean, can you hear me?" John gently shook the teen in his arms, trying to get a reaction but Dean remained unconscious. He shot Mary a concerned look. "Phone Dr. Saunders. Tell him it's an emergency."
Mary nodded, her features pale, as she rushed off to summon help.
"Dean?" He tried petting the boys face but there was still no response. "Dean? C'mon kid, wake up. Dean?" That's when John noticed that his hands weren't the only ones touching Dean. Sam had grasped both of his brother's upper arms, and at first John thought that he was trying to shake Dean awake but after a few moments he realised Sam wasn't trying to shake Dean, he was trying to lift him. He was trying to take him from John's arms and into his own.
"Sam, it's okay." John placed one of his hands gently on Sam's arm to stop his movement. "It's alright, buddy. I got him. He's gonna be okay."
Sam's insistent tugging didn't stop and John frowned when Sam let out a distressed whimper. "Sam?" The kid didn't answer him. His whole body was visibly trembling and he had broken out in a sheen of sweat, but that didn't stop his frantic attempts to get Dean away from John.
"Please," Sam begged, his voice small and desperate. "Don't hurt him, don't hurt him."
John cursed under his breath. Damn. He'd been shaking Dean and tapping his face, trying to wake him up, but all Sam could see was John was hurting Dean. "It's alright, Sam. I wasn't trying to hurt him; I was just trying to wake him up. I'm not gonna hurt him, I promise."
Sam didn't seem to hear him. "Dean!" Sam sobbed. "Dean, wake up. Dean, please wake up. Dean."
"Doctor's on his way." Mary reappeared in the doorway, phone still clutched in her hand. "How is he?"
"Still unconscious." John turned to the sobbing child beside him. "Sam. Sam, listen to me, okay? Dean's gonna be alright. He's just passed out, that's all. He's gonna wake up real soon, okay buddy?"
Sam didn't verbally acknowledge him but his cries did die down slightly.
"Okay," John sighed and shifted Dean gently in his arms. "I'm going take Dean somewhere more comfortable. Mary, why don't you and Sam go downstairs and wait for the doc?"
Mary nodded and helped Sam to his feet. "Come on, sweetie."
As Mary led Sam away, John carried Dean into the boys bedroom and carefully placed him down on one of the two beds in the room. He looked down sadly at the unconscious form in front of him. The poor boy's body was covered in various injuries and from the looks of it none of them had been treated. God, he must have been in so much pain. How could someone do this to an innocent child? John could still clearly see the utter terror on Dean's face during the panic attack, and it's not a look he would want to see on anyone, let alone a child.
A soft murmur snapped John's attention back to Dean's face. "Dean?" he called, placing his hand on his forehead. "Dean? You back with me, kid?"
Dean came back to consciousness with a start. His eyes flew open and he gasped out loud, struggling to sit up.
"Whoa, whoa. Easy, Dean, easy." John quickly reached out to keep Dean from falling off the bed. "Its okay, Dean. You're safe. Just take it easy." John kept his voice low and his touches light, the last thing he wanted was for Dean to have another panic attack.
Dean's eyes flew wildly around the room before settling on John. He didn't relax completely but some of the panic cleared from his gaze.
"Sam?" he called suddenly.
"He's fine," John quickly assured. "He's downstairs with Mary."
Dean immediately tried to get up and head for the door.
"Whoa there, kiddo," John said, pressing him back down on the bed. "You need to stay put until the doctor gets here, okay?"
"Get off me," Dean snapped, trying to shrug John's hands off him. "I'm going to find Sam."
John didn't let go but he tried to keep his grip as gentle as he could. "Dean, you just woke up. You need to stay here. Sam's fine, I promise."
Dean increased his struggles and he looked John straight in the eyes. "Let me go." The venom in his voice and the pure fury that flashed across his face startled John. It was so different from the terrified, hopeless look he'd seen on Dean earlier in the bathroom.
"Dean, stop. You need to relax or you're gonna end up hurting yourself."
Dean bucked violently in his hold, hissing at the pain it caused him. "Let go of me"
"Damn," John cursed, not liking how worked up Dean was getting. "Dean? Dean, listen to me. If I bring Sam up here, will you stop fighting me and stay in bed?"
John sighed in relief when finally Dean nodded and went still, relaxing back down onto the bed.
"Thank you. Now stay put and I'll go get your brother."
Dean watched John leave and took a few deep breaths to try and clear the foggy feeling from his head. The first thing he became aware of when he woke was the pain, the next was the feeling of someone's hands on him, but none of that mattered when he realised he couldn't see Sam. He remembered being in shower, then his whole body had felt like it was on fire and the next thing he knew, he was on the floor in John's arms. He wasn't sure exactly what had happened, but he knew that his brother wasn't here and he needed him here. He needed to know Sam was safe.
Dean stared at the bedroom door and scowled. If John wasn't back with Sam in the next few minutes then Dean was going to find him himself.
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Mary crouched down in front of Sam, who was sat curled up as far as possible in one corner of the couch. "Sam, honey, I need to ask you an important question, okay?"
Sam's shaking suddenly increased.
"It's okay." Mary reached out and took one of his trembling hands into hers, she rubbed the skin soothingly. "It's okay, you don't have be afraid, Sam. Nothing bad is going happen, alright? But I need you to answer the question honestly, okay?"
"Yes, M'am."
Mary gave him a reassuring smile. "Are you hurt anywhere, sweetie? Are you in any pain?" She had seen the sickening abuse littering Dean's body and she knew there was high chance that Sam was probably hiding injuries too.
Sam didn't know what to say. He wasn't hurt. Not like Dean was hurt. Yes, he still had a few bruises from where his uncle had deliberately pushed him down the front steps of the house but they barely even hurt anymore, well his shoulder still throbbed sometimes.
"Sam, there's no need to be frightened or ashamed. I'm not going to get mad and I'm not going to hurt you, but if you're hurt then you need to tell me."
"Just my shoulder," Sam answered, quietly.
"Can I take a look?"
Sam's head shot up at that. "Dean already looked at it. He said it wasn't broken just bruised and he helped me ice it. It's doesn't even really hurt that much anymore."
"I'm sure Dean did a really good job taking care of you, but I'd still like to have a look if that's okay with you?"
"I want Dean." Sam wasn't used to this. He wasn't used to adults being kind to him or caring if he was hurt. Dean was the only one who had ever looked after or helped him.
Mary felt her heart break for the poor boy when she realised her kindness was that unfamiliar to Sam that it was actually scaring him. She squeezed his hand gently. "I know you're frightened but all I want to do is have a quick look to check you're okay, that's it."
After a few more moments, Sam finally nodded and slowly moved his top down to reveal his shoulder. Mary carefully examined the bruised skin, smiling in relief when she saw that it wasn't too swollen and didn't look broken or fractured. It still looked sore though. "That's a nasty knock you've got there." She smiled softly him. "Can you tell me what happened?"
"I fell," Sam mummbled.
Mary knew that there was much more to it than that but now wasn't the time to push things, so she just nodded. "Okay, well I think Dean's right about it not being broken but how about we have the doctor take a look at it when he gets here? Just to be on the safe side."
Sam ignored the questioned. "Can I go see Dean now, please?"
"I think that's a good idea," John said as he walked into the living room. "Dean's awake and he's asking for you."
Mary nodded. "You two go on up and sit with Dean. I'll send the doctor up when he gets here."
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The doctor had shown up just a few minutes later and he'd been able to examine both Dean and Sam without too much trouble. As long as the boys remained within sight of one another they were both relatively calm, although neither boy seemed to like being touched and Dean's anxiety definitely shot up a notch whenever someone was touching Sam.
John had remained in the room with the boys during the doctor's examination, while Mary had stayed downstairs to call Sam and Dean's caseworker so she could inform them of what had happened.
Dr. Saunders had bathed, cleaned and dressed Dean various injuries and with John's help they had managed to dress Dean in a T-shirt and some sweat pants that had been leftover from one of John and Mary's previous foster kids. Dean had been given both painkillers and some antibiotics to help prevent any infection from setting in, and he was now resting in the bed as he watched the doctor finish his examination of Sam's shoulder.
"Okay, young man, all done." The doctor patted Sam kindly on his non injured shoulder. "Keep it iced and rested and it should heal up nicely."
"Thank you, doc," John said and Dr. Saunders nodded, packing up his medical supplies.
"No problem. Now you boys rest up and I'll see you again soon." He smiled at them both before turning back to John. "Could I have a quick word with you outside?"
John nodded. "Sure. I won't be long boys."
After John and the doctor had left, Dean turned his full attention back on Sam. His brother had been sat silent and still on the other bed the whole time the doctor had been examining Dean, but Dean knew that he would have been watching and listening to everything that had been done and said. He knew his brother was terrified and he also knew that Sam was desperately trying to hold back from taking comfort in Dean's arms in case that caused Dean more pain. "Sam, C'mere here. It's okay. I'm fine."
Dean extended his arms out in invitation and he soon had his arms full of anxious little brother. "You really scared me, De." Sam exhaled shakily. "You wouldn't wake up and I thought you were gonna die."
"Shhh Sammy." Dean ran his fingers soothingly through his brother's hair. "I'm gonna be fine. I'm not going anywhere. I promise."
Sam sniffed, clearly trying to fight back tears. "Why didn't you tell me you were this badly hurt?" Four days ago his Uncle Mick had dragged Dean out of the house and into the car. Sam remembered the bone deep terror as he watched the car drive away. Dean's punishments were always so much worse when he was taken out of the house. Once Dean was gone, Sam's aunt had locked him in his bedroom and there Sam had sat, chewing his nails bloody as he waited for Dean to come home. That finally happened five hours later and Sam had instantly been at his brother side in a rush of questions. What happened? Are you hurt? Are you in pain? Let me see? Dean had just lowered himself down onto their filthy mattress and pulled Sam down with him, wrapping him up in his arms and telling him that he was okay. That it was just a few bruises, nothing to worry about. Dean had lied.
"Honestly, Sam, I'm gonna be okay. It was nothing I couldn't handle, alright?"
"You should have told me. You should have let me help."
"C'mon Sam. Let's not argue about this, kay?" Dean rested his chin on top of Sam's head and pulled his little brother closer to him, rubbing comforting circles across his back. "I'm sorry I scared you, kiddo."
"Just don't ever do that again," Sam huffed, burrowing further into his brother's embrace but still mindful of his injuries.
"Dean?" Sam asked after a few moments silence.
"Yeah kiddo?"
"Are you wearing a Spiderman top?"
Dean let out a disgruntled grunt at the smirk on his baby brother's face. "Shut up. It's not my fault the last kid the Winchesters fostered in my size had some seriously bad fashion tastes. And here I was thinking we had issues."
Sam giggled softly and Dean ruffled his hair affectionately.
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Dr. Saunders had spoken to both John and Mary about Dean's injuries and treatment. He assured them that while painful, his wounds were mostly superficial and should heal fine as long as they were kept clean. He was of course concerned about both Dean and Sam's emotional states due the abuse they had both clearly suffered. "I'm certain they are both going to need extensive counselling, but I am assuming that is something that will be sorted out with social services?"
Mary nodded. "Thank you so much for coming out Dr. Saunders. We really appreciate it."
"Not a problem. I'll make sure to send a full report of my examination to social services. I'll also be recommending that both boys should be taken to a hospital as soon as it can be arranged to receive a full health check up." Dr. Saunders then handed John and Mary some more painkillers and antibiotics for Dean, before saying his goodbyes and telling them to call him if they have any more concerns about either boy.
Mary saw the doctor out then turned her attention back to John."I spoke to Becca on the phone and let her know that there is definitely evidence that the boys have suffered pyshical abuse as well as neglect. She seemed surprised and promised she'd be over tomorrow morning to investigate further."
"I can't believe they didn't think to check if the boys were hurt? I mean, Christ, Mary, did you see the state Dean was in? How the hell did they miss something like that?" John sighed, running a hand over his face. "Is it just me or does something just not seem right about all this? First the aunt and uncle somehow fall through the cracks and aren't checked like should be, then when the boys are finally taken no one notices that they're hurt."
Mary shook her head. "I don't know how it was missed either, but right now we need to focus on helping those two boys upstairs. We can figure everything else out later."
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An hour later and they were all sat down to dinner. The boys were sat side by side, their chairs scooted as close together as possible. Sam was now also dressed in some spare clothes that Mary had found for him after he'd taken a bath, which compared to Dean's shower ordeal had gone a lot more smoothly. It was made clear by Dean that John and Mary were definitely not welcome in the bathroom while Sam was bathing but Dean had allowed Mary to bring him in some fresh towels. She'd been relieved when she saw that even though Sam had evidence of older scars and marks, his body seemed relatively free of any recent injuries.
"I've just made a simple cheese pasta for tonight. I hope that's okay with you both?" Mary smiled as she set the dishes down on the table.
Dean felt his stomach clench up at the sight of the food in front of him. He was starving but he knew he wasn't going to be eating anything. He couldn't risk it. He still wasn't sure about the Winchesters, especially John. And if John decided he wanted to take things out on Dean later then Dean didn't want to have any food in his stomach. Getting the crap beat out of you after eating usually led to vomiting and it always hurt so much more when Dean threw up. He felt Sam tapping his leg repeatedly and when he looked down, his brother was looking up at him, his eyes hopeful and Dean nodded letting Sam know it was okay for him to eat. His brother also had issues with food but for a whole different reason than Dean.
Mary frowned when she noticed that while Sam was practically inhaling his food, Dean was just ignoring his. He was just sat there, staring blankly ahead. "Dean, you okay? Don't you like pasta? I can make you something else if you want."
"I'm not hungry," Dean mumbled.
Sam stopped eating and looked up at his brother worriedly. "Dean?" Why wasn't Dean eating? Sam knew the food must be okay otherwise Dean wouldn't have given him the go ahead to eat it. So, why wasn't he eating anything?
Dean's expression softened when he turned to Sam. "It's fine, Sammy. The painkillers the doc gave me have just dulled my appetite, that's all." It was a lie but one he hoped his brother and the Winchesters would buy.
Thankfully they did and even though Mary kept shooting him concerned glances, the rest of dinner passed quickly and Dean and Sam were allowed back to their room to settle down for the night.
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Despite there being two beds in the room, Dean knew they would be only sleeping in one. There was no way Dean was leaving his brother unprotected and vulnerable in a bed on his own. Even though the Winchesters had been all nice and caring so far, that didn't mean it couldn't all change at any moment, and if that moment happened to be tonight, Dean was going to make sure he was the one in line of fire first not Sammy.
Selecting the bed closet to the wall and further away from the door, Dean ushered Sam in first before climbing in beside him. The soft mattress beneath him and the clean, warm blankets covering him took some getting used to. At his uncle's, the mattress was bumpy with broken springs digging in your back whenever you moved and the sheet they had had for a blanket was stained, smelling of mould and damp. The bed he was in now was of course the better of the two but somehow it just didn't feel right, and judging from the squirming around Sam was doing his brother agreed.
"You alright, Sammy?"
Sam nodded, finally stilling as he snuggled closer to Dean. "Just trying to get comfortable."
"I know everything's really different right now but it's all gonna be okay." Dean tucked the covers more snugly around them. "And the Winchesters don't seem so bad, who knows maybe things might work out here." Even though he didn't believe the words he was saying, he said them anyway because Sammy needed to hear them. He wanted Sam to have hope. He wanted him to feel safe even if it was just for a little while.
"Dean?"
"Yeah buddy?"
"What if...what...if..."
Dean was instantly alert at the sound of Sammy's stammering, and he reached out, gently cupping his cheek. "Hey, what is it? What's wrong?"
Sam lowered his head, his bangs falling in front of his eyes as he whispered, "What if they find about me? About what I am."
"They won't, Sam."
"But Dad did." Sam's voice was small and frightened. "And Uncle Mick and Aunt Janice did too. They found out and that's when thing's got really bad, and if John and Mary find out then...then it..."
"Hey, hey," Dean hooked his fingers under Sam's chin, raising his head to look in his eyes. "They won't find out, Sammy." He ran his thumb softly under his brother's eyelid, wiping away the tear that had fallen. "And even if they do find out, it doesn't matter because I won't let them hurt you, alright? I promise."
Sam nodded, sniffling lightly before once more settling in his brother's arms. "I love you, Dean."
"I love you too, kiddo. Now get some sleep, okay?"
"Dean?"
"Yeah?"
"Tell me about mom again?" Sam whispered, closing his eyes.
Dean couldn't help stiffening. He didn't like thinking about his mom. Apart from Sam, she had been the only good thing he'd ever had in his whole life. His world when she was in it had been safe and beautiful. There had been no pain or fear, just love and laughter. The day she had died, everything changed, and it hurt Dean to think back on those times when everything had been so different. Sam though, Sam loved hearing about mom. He was just a baby when she died and he seemed to take great comfort in the stories Dean would tell about her.
"Please, Dean."
And because Dean had never been able to deny his brother anything, he began to talk.
"Mom was beautiful. Her skin was so soft and she always smelt like vanilla. She was the kindest person you could ever meet and she loved everyone, but do you know who she loved the most?"
"Who?"
"You." Dean smiled. "She loved you so much, Sammy."
"And you. She loved you the most too."
Dean nodded. "Yeah, she loved us both more than anything. She even loved you when you were first born and you were all red, squiggly and alien looking."
"Hey," Sam protested. "You always said I was a cute baby."
"Nope," Dean teased. "You were the freakiest thing I'd ever seen, but then you kinda grew on me."
Sam hit Dean playfully on the shoulder. "I bet I was prettier looking baby than you."
Dean laughed. "Dude, I can assure you I was most adorable baby ever. Anyway despite the fact you were lacking in the looks department, Mom loved you from the first moment she saw you. She would spend hours in your nursery just playing with us and she would always tell me how lucky she felt, that she had the two most perfect boys in the whole world. If I was sick, she would snuggle with me on the couch and feed me chicken noodle soup, and when you would fuss and cry, she would rock you in her arms and sing you 'Hey Jude.' But you hardly ever cried." Dean ran his hand lovingly through Sam's hair. "You were such a good baby."
"Until I killed her," Sam whispered, tears once more slowly falling from his eyes.
"Hey, No," Dean said, firmly. "That's not true. You didn't kill anyone, Sam. Mom died protecting you. It wasn't your fault. You hear me? It wasn't your fault."
Sam let out a sob and Dean tightened his arms around him. "Shhh. Don't cry. It's okay. Shhh."
After a few more tears, Sam quietened and rested his head on Dean's shoulder. "She's an angel now right? She's watching over us?"
"Yeah, Sammy," Dean replied. "Mom's watching over us. She'll keep us safe, so close your eyes and get some sleep now, alright?"
Dean kept up his soothing stroking of Sam's hair until his brother's breathing finally evened out and he succumbed to sleep. Dean was lying of course. He didn't really believe their mom was watching over them. He had long since stopped believing in the possibilities of heaven and angels. There was no one watching over them. No one was protecting them. They were all alone.
Sighing, he placed a light kiss on Sam's forehead. "Don't worry, Sammy," he whispered. "As long as I'm around, nothing bad is going to happen to you."
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Mary turned over towards John when she felt him slide into bed beside her. "Everything okay, baby?"
"Yeah. Just checked on the boys."
"They asleep?"
He nodded. "They're in the same bed though and they're still clinging desperately to each other even in their sleep."
Mary sighed sadly. "They really don't seem to like being apart. Poor Sam was practically vibrating when Dean was taking a shower and he was separated from him."
"It's not healthy," John remarked.
Mary was a little taken aback by the abrupt statement. "The two of them have been living in a world of hell, and suffering things I can only imagine, it's no wonder they have formed such strong attachments to each other."
John smiled softly. "I know, and I said it wasn't healthy not that it wasn't understandable. Look, all I'm trying to say is that it's an issue that's going to need to be worked on. It's not good for them to be on the brink of a panic attack whenever they're apart, and Dean's protectiveness of Sam can be downright scary at times." John shook his head and chuckled softly. "I swear Dean looked liked he was two seconds away from clocking me one when he woke up and I wouldn't let him go to Sam. The boy seems to have no idea how to protect himself but when his brother's involved, he's like this whole other person."
"We're going to have to go very slowly in dealing with this. All they have had is each other for so long now and learning to be away from one another isn't going to be easy for them."
John nodded, pulling Mary into his arms as they settled down in the bed. "I know but they have us now." He placed a gentle kiss on Mary's head, "They're not alone anymore."
Chapter 3