Take Out The Gunman

3

When Dean returned to the station, he was approached by Garth. "The Assistant DA is in there with Sam," his partner relayed, "The kid's kind of freaking out."

"Damnit, I told her to wait," Dean huffed, quickening his pace.

He reached the office and entered, pausing a moment to take in the scene. The assistant district attorney was standing in the middle of the room, and Sam wasn't in sight.
"I'm not going to hurt you," the woman was saying, "I just want to talk."

Dean shook his head and handed the bag of food and his coffee to Garth before crossing to the middle of the room. The ADA shot him an exasperated look as he told her, "I told you to wait, that he needs a little time."

"I had questions," the woman retorted. She nodded toward the back of the room and the desk sitting there and informed, "He's behind the desk."

"He hasn't seen anyone but that maniac in years," Dean's voice was low, almost a growl, so that only the ADA could hear him, "You can't rush in here and demand that he answer questions when he's afraid of everyone he encounters." Before she could respond, he crossed to the desk.

"Hey Sammy," Dean leaned over the desk slightly, to get an idea of where the young man was hiding. He saw Sam's legs sticking out from beneath the desk, and he moved cautiously around it so that he was in the boy's line of sight. He removed his suit jacket and laid it on the desk, and then he seated himself on the floor, cross-legged. "You don't have to talk," he told the kid as Sam cowered further beneath the piece of furniture, "You don't even have to come out of there. I just want to make sure you're okay."

The boy was silent, and he continued, voice gentle, "That's our assistant district attorney over there. She's not as scary as she seems, but you don't have to talk to her right now. I brought some food if you're hungry. I don't know what you like to eat so I brought a couple of different things. You can eat all of it, or you don't have to eat any of it. It's your choice."

He saw the young man peering out at him, and he shot him a small smile. "I told you I wouldn't hurt you. I'm not going to let anyone else hurt you, either. I know it probably doesn't seem like it right now, but you're safe here."

He raised his eyes and peered over the desk at the ADA, who was standing in the middle of the room, watching him. He motioned toward the door and, though he didn't say the words, the meaning was clear. She shot him a momentary frown before nodding and leaving the room. Garth placed the food and coffee he was still holding on the sofa and followed her out of the room, closing the door softly behind him.

"Just you and me now, kiddo," Dean's eyes shifted to Sam, to find that the boy was watching him still. "Hang tight a sec."

He pushed himself to his feet and crossed to sofa, on which rested the bag of food and his coffee. He picked them and returned to his spot in front of the desk. He seated himself, placing the bag on the floor next to him, and sipped at his coffee for a moment. "You can stay under there if you want," he told the young man, "but if you want to come out, that's okay, too." He sat his coffee on the floor and opened the bag to peer inside. "Got some sandwiches in here," he told the other, "Some chips. Some Cokes and some muffins."

The boy shifted beneath the desk before asking, his voice almost a whisper, "Just you and me?"

"Yeah," Dean promised, giving him what he hoped was a reassuring smile, "Just you and me."

His smile widened a bit, showing teeth, as Sam crawled out from beneath the desk. The boy seated himself just in front of it – he could slide back beneath it quite easily if anyone else entered the room.

"Hungry?" Dean gently shoved the bag over to him, "Help your self. It's all for you."
There was a moment of hesitation: Sam glanced at Dean and reached into the bag.