Back in Black

Chapter 2

Sam didn't know what to think of Dean grabbing him in the middle of the night and taking them to a bar He knew that there was something weird about his brother, but Dean had always done everything in his power to insure that he was never exposed to hunting and keep him safe, so he didn't think about it. Dean loved him too much to want to hurt him.

After all, if he wanted Sam dead, he could have let one of the many monsters that their dad hunted in to do it a long time ago. And he put up with Sam's weird quirks without a hint of protest.

So no, Sam wasn't afraid of his brother.

The woman who owned the place, Ellen, had seemed unsurprised when she found out who they were. Apparently Bobby had warned her they might show up without their dad sometime in the near future.

Still, it was weird actually staying put in a single area for more than a month. At least Jo was nice to him.

Ellen didn't know why Dean had brought Sam to the Roadhouse, but considering the talk with Bobby two weeks prior, she had a fair guess. And after what happened when her husband went with John on a hunt, she wasn't very inclined to tell him where his sons had vanished off to.

Some might call it petty revenge for getting her husband killed, but she preferred to think of it as giving Jo two brothers.

Dean turned out to be a surprisingly good helper, busting tables and cleaning dishes without complaint. Which was odd, considering most boys his age would bitch and moan about having to do chores. Jo certainly didn't like it.

Still...Ellen had been very worried when Dean showed genuine surprise at being allowed to go see a movie with some of the other teenagers he had become acquaintances with at the high school Ellen had enrolled him in. They weren't friends, mostly because Dean was way too guarded for that thanks to John's insistence he keep his distance, but he did occasionally talk to them at lunch.

Because of what happened to her husband, John never went near the Roadhouse if he could help it. And Bobby was keeping his mouth shut as to where the boys were.

Dean was a stubborn kid, but he wouldn't have left if he didn't have a damn good reason to. And John wasn't talking about why there had always been such weird tension between him and his sons.

So the two settled down with Ellen and Jo, and for once in their life got to enjoy a semblance of normalcy that they had lost.

That is, until one day John Winchester stopped by to get information on a hunt...and saw Dean.

~

John stopped and stared.

"Dean?"

The sixteen-year-old froze in his tracks, before he turned his green eyes on his father in shock.

Ellen came out with more beer, and nearly dropped it when she saw the situation.

"Dean, go outside for a minute while I talk to him," she said.

He didn't say a word, but ran out the door. He had to make sure Sam wasn't found as well. There was no way they were going back to living with a drunk like John was when he was on a hunt.

"Why is my son here?" hissed John.

"I think you know the reason why, Winchester. Dean's sharper than you think and when I asked him if he wanted to go back to you he damn near bolted out the door. What in the hell did you do to your sons that they would treat you like some sort of demon that they needed to run from?" countered Ellen.

John was silent. How could he tell her about Dean's odd powers? About his fear that Sam had been tainted by the demon during the fire?

"Why did your son run away from you Winchester? And don't lie. I saw actual fear in Dean's eyes the minute he even heard you were in the same state as him and Sam," warned Ellen.