Summary:  A family tragedy during a hunt redirects the lives of the Winchester's in a way they could have never predicted.
Warning:  AU.  WARNING MAJOR CHARACTER DEATH(S) IN LATE CHAPTER(S).
A/N:  I hope you enjoy this newest story. This story may different than what you’re used to reading from me. It’s not laden with tons and tons of angst, although there is angst for a few chapters here and there, especially the beginning. I just had an idea I wanted to run with and get out of my system, so here it is. Also, I already have several new stories begging to be written and when I can I will write them.
Happy reading, I hope!
Disclaimer:  The characters of Supernatural were created by Eric Kripke and are owned by the CW Network. No profit is being made.

One Year Later, June 1999, Blue Earth, Minnesota

“Sam be careful with the fish hook,” John’s brow furrowed as he watched his son bait the hook. “Here let me,” he attempted to take the hook from his son and Sam jerked away.

“I do it,” he answered in a frustrated tone. In the last year Sam had grown and now was at his father’s eye level when they stood, but for the moment was seated in a boat.

“You’re going to hurt yourself,” John hissed under his breath.

“Patience John,” Jim chided quietly next to his friend. They had taken Sam to the city lake for the day and Jim had borrowed a boat from a parishioner.

“See,” Sam replied suddenly as he held the hook by the fishing line attached to it. “I put the worm on like you show me. I do it.” John relented and smiled at his son. His youngest had made more improvements with his social skills over the past year and his cognitive and decision making skills although below his sixteen years had improved. Sam had recently tested a bit higher at a 68 to 69 IQ level. John had been told that Sam would most likely plateau at this point, but the various rehabs and his life skill classes were helping him to mature in certain ways and handle more things as he became older, but John knew and accepted that his child would always need some form of help. He hated the phrase mental retardation and never used it around his son, although it was terminology he was intimately acquainted with when it came to getting services from the state and city for his son. He worked at the auto garage thirty-two hours a week and made sure when he wasn’t at work he was spending time with Sam or taking his child to various extra curricular activities.

Sam’s school had started multiple after school activities: soccer, T-ball, and reading clubs, etc. The children were all disabled in some way, cognitively and physically, some were in wheelchairs, or used walkers and crutches, some had no mobility problems at all while others were like Sam and had some form of motor control and delay affecting them. Sam loved T-ball for the boys in his age group and he had taken to the reading club with fervor. He still had problems with reading, but John was pleased when his reading skills were tested and gauged to be at a fifth or sixth grade level, although his math skills had only improved slightly and hovered around fourth grade abilities.

However, Sam had begun to exert some of his young adulthood lately and despite his cognitive and emotional state being that of a grade school child of nine or ten he had begun to rebel against his father and much to John’s chagrin his son had discovered yelling ‘no’ was a very effective method in making his father angry. John was excited that in a couple weeks Dean would be home for the summer. His visits weren’t as frequent as he would like, but his eldest child was doing well and thriving in school and life and Sam loved having his big brother around. He still couldn’t believe sometimes that he was the father of sixteen and twenty year old sons. Sam was fidgeting with his life jacket and John frowned as he watched his son unzip the jacket and make a move to start removing it. “No you don’t kiddo. You keep that jacket on while we’re in this boat. You know the rules.” He started to reach for the jacket to draw it together and zip it for his son.

“No! I sixteen,” Sam shouted. “I big boy now. I no need jacket. You and Uncle Jim not wear any,” Sam’s voice was defiant and John took a steadying breath, but wasn’t sure how long he’d be able to remain calm. The boy could try his last nerve these days. He reached up again saying nothing. Sam jerked. “I said No!” John snapped.

“Dammit Sammy!” he bellowed.

“John…” Jim spoke softly. John turned blazing eyes toward him and he relented allowing John to handle the situation.

“Stop moving around in this damn boat. Now here,” he grabbed the jacket and pulled more abruptly than he should have and jerked Sam toward him, but he was worried and angry. “You can’t swim Sam,” John hissed. “This jacket will keep you safe if you fall in,” he chided. Sam stared at his father as he continued his tirade. He made a move to lean away from his father and John yanked him back. “Stop it! I can’t zip it up if you keep moving. Why is it so damn hard for you to follow orders? I’m not saying this stuff to hear myself talk. Dammit, just sit still and leave the jacket alone. Do you understand if you fall in without one you could drown? Drown!” John yelled. Sam stared at his father wide-eyed now in fear. He didn’t understand that word drown. His father never yelled at him like this. John zipped the jacket up angrily … he was mostly upset with himself for having just screamed at his child who was acting just like he should … the petulant mind a nine or ten year old with the raging hormones of a teenager. Sam’s bottom lip began to quiver and his eyes welled up. John looked up into his son’s face and saw large tears running unchecked down his boy’s face and his heart broke.

“Oh, Sammy, I’m sorry kiddo, Dad didn’t mean to yell. You did a good job with that worm,” he tried to make amends. “I’m sorry I scared you okay. It’s just that I want you to be safe, okay? The jacket will keep you safe.” Sam’s breath hitched in his chest and John made a tentative move to embrace his son. He went halfway and waited to see if Sam would allow it. Sam eyed his father and scooted closer and allowed his father to envelop him in his strong arms. “I’m sorry kiddo, I really am. Dad’s going to try real hard not to ever yell like that again, okay?” He felt Sam nod against his chest.

Sam’s voice hiccupped as he spoke quietly into his father’s shirt. “Daddy?”

“Yeah sport?”

“What drown mean?” John’s chest tightened at his child’s question. “You say I no swim and could drown … what drown?” Sam continued on when his father’s silence followed his initial question. Sam tilted his head back from his father’s chest and looked into his father’s now anguished eyes as memories flooded John’s mind.

Later that Night

“Daddy?” Sam began as he climbed into his bed and let his father pull up the sheet and light summer blanket.

“Yeah, kiddo?” John spoke warmly as he tucked his child into bed. Sam dropped onto his back and looked up at his father as he sat on the side of his bed.

“So, water hurt my head?”

“Sammy,” John sighed. He had never explained to his son that he’d been in an accident. Sam had always just gone along with the status quo and John never felt compelled to tell his son of the horrific accident at the lake all that had mattered to John back when the accident happened was that his child survive and hopefully remember his family. He did remember, but it was obvious that he couldn’t remember the person he was before. “No, Sammy, the water didn’t hurt your head, but you couldn’t breathe and your brain,” John pointed to his head. “Your brain inside your head gets hurt when it doesn’t get air … when you can’t breathe.”

“So, I didn’t breathe?”

“No, Sammy, you didn’t. The water wouldn’t let you when you were under the ice and you went to sleep down there,” John wasn’t sure how to explain the accident in a way his son would comprehend. “But, there were men that pulled you out from under the ice and flew you in a helicopter to a big hospital where they made you better.”

“I flew in the sky,” Sam’s voice suddenly sounded so young and held the excitement of a young child.

“Yes, Sammy you flew in the sky,” John replied. Sam studied his father for a long moment as he pulled at the edges of the soft blanket in his hands.

“Daddy?”

“Yes?”

“What re…re…rrr...” Sam took a frustrated breath and tried again. “What retarded mean? John’s eyes snapped toward his son with intensity.

“Where did you hear that word Samuel?” Sam frowned at his father’s reaction.

“It a bad word like the ones I not allowed to say?” Sam asked with a worried face fearing he’d said a cuss word.

“No, Sammy,” John reassured. “It’s just … where did you hear that word?”

“At Fff…Fulmer’s,” he forced out.

“The grocery? When?”

“Other day with Uncle Jim. He let me look at books while he get his pills.”

“And?” John pressed.

“I sit and read Dr. Seuss and two boys come over and look at stuff,” Sam continued on as he tried to figure out why his father seemed so bothered by this mystery word. “They laugh at my book and said I must be rrr…retarded to be rrr…reading it. They go away laughing. What that word mean?” John smiled softly at his child.

“Nothing Sammy, but don’t say it anymore, okay. Did they say anything else?”

“Yes, they say big word when they walk away, hhh…handi,” Sam frowned. “They say I rrr…retarded handicap.” Daddy, want to know,” Sam looked earnestly at his father. “Why they laugh at me?”

“They must have thought Dr. Seuss was funny Sammy that’s all, now go to sleep,” John urged. He leaned in and kissed the top of his son’s head and inhaled the vanilla scent that was his baby boy.

“Yeah,” Sam giggled. “They laugh cause Dr. Seuss funny … he is funny Daddy.” John smiled at his son.

“Yeah, he is,” he agreed.

“Daddy will you read me a story?” John was pleased at Sam’s complete sentence. They happened occasionally and were always blessed little sparks of hope.

“Why don’t we do it together Sammy?” John suggested. “You start, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Which one?” John picked up two books that Sam had on his side table. Sam pointed. John chuckled at the choice; it was Sam’s current all time favorite, Green Eggs and Ham. “Okay Sammy start here,” John opened the page as he repositioned himself against his child’s headboard as he sat next to Sam. It was during moments like this that John forgot his boy was sixteen.

“I am Sam,” he began hesitantly. “I am Sam,” he giggled. “That my name, too, Daddy.” John chuckled.

“Yes, it is Sammy, now read it again.”

“I am Sam. Sam I am …”

Later the Next Day, Jim’s Church

“Uncle Jim why no school today?” Sam sat fiddling with a hymnal in the back of a wooden pew.

“Remember your Dad said the school had a water main break and wouldn’t be fixed until tomorrow, so you’re with good old Uncle Jim for the day.”

“What a water main?”

“What is a water main, Sammy?” Jim encouraged the revised sentence from the boy. “Try again Sammy.”

“What is a water main?”

“Good boy,” Jim smiled and ruffled Sam’s hair playfully. “Well, it’s complicated Sammy, but basically your school doesn’t have any water to drink and the bathrooms aren’t working because there is no water. You’ll be back tomorrow. What you don’t like spending the day with your Uncle Jim?”

Sam smiled. “Yes, but why can’t I see Daddy at work?” Jim looked at Sam for a second and smiled at his perfect sentence.

“Well, Sammy, your Dad works around cars and it isn’t safe for you to be there. So, you’re stuck with me for the day.”

“Not stuck. I have fun. I help you.”

“Yes, you do.”

“Uncle Jim,” Sam began tentatively.

“Yes?”

“How you …” he stopped and began again. “How do you find what a word means when you not know?”

“You ask someone or you look it up in a dictionary. Why do you ask? Is there a word you don’t understand?”

“Yeah,” Sam looked down at his hands. “I hear two and ask Daddy last night, but he not answer me. He just say not to say it. What a dic…dictionary?”

Sam went on to tell Jim about the boys in the grocery store and Jim knew why John had avoided answering his boy, but it was obvious that Sam wasn’t going to drop it. “Uncle Jim?” Sam urged with wide-eyes.

“Okay, Sammy,” Jim knew he’d probably get the wrath of John Winchester later, but if he wasn’t going to answer his son he’d rather do it before Sam asks someone else. Here let’s go look in the dictionary and then I will explain it to you as best as I can, okay?” Sam smiled.

“Okay,” Sam jumped up from his seat. Jim took Sam to his office in the rectory and sat him down. He walked over to his bookshelf and pulled down a large dictionary. “Wow, that a big book.”

“Yes, Sammy,” Jim agreed. “It has lots of words and what they mean in it.”

A short while later Jim scooted the book between himself and Sam and pointed at a small entry. “We have to look them up separately Sammy because they are spelled differently. Here’s the first one … just read what I’m pointing to, okay?” Sam nodded and leaned forward.

“Hhh…handicap,” Sam began. “to hhh…have impppp…impediments or dd…disadvantage.” Sam looked up at his Uncle and frowned. “What these mean?” Sam pointed to impediments and disadvantage.

“Sammy what it means is that if you have a handicap you just have to work harder at doing things than some people that’s all. It doesn’t mean you can’t do it,” Jim asserted. “It just might take longer that’s all.” Sam looked at him confused. “Okay, you know how Dean can zip his jacket faster than you, but it takes you longer, but you can still do it?” Sam nodded.

“My fingers don’t always be nice,” Sam lamented. “Hard. They not always do good with little things.”

“It’s called small motor problems Sammy … but for you … you just need to know that means you have trouble doing little things with your fingers sometimes, but that’s getting better with therapy, right?” Sam seemed to understand.

“Other stuff harder too,” Sammy spoke softly, as if understanding for the first time that he was different from his brother, his father and Uncle Jim.

“I know kiddo,” Jim supplied softly. “But, you keep trying and you never give up and that makes you special. You make us all proud.”

“But, hh…handicap mean I different … Dean always do better than me?” Sam raised an eyebrow in concern. “But I big boy now. I not need Santa or Easter bunny anymore. Daddy even take sss…sleeping bars off bed now. I big boy and go to big boy school soon, right?”

“You don’t like your school?” Jim looked at Sam. The academy was designed to provide a full education to special needs children, although the local middle school and high school did have mainstream special education programs for children who wanted to attend public school. The academy seemed better suited for Sam’s needs and well-being for right now.

“I like,” Sam answered. “Uncle Jim?”

“Yes?”

“My school … all kid’s hhh…handicap?” Sam looked at Jim with pleading eyes.

“Yes, but remember that just means they all have a little extra trouble doing something that’s all.”

“Like Rrr…Ryan,” Sam started. “He no walk on his legs, but he still play at recess just harder cause he no run?” Sam looked questioningly at Jim.

“That’s right Sammy, but he’s still you’re friend right even though he can’t walk like you?”

“Yes, he nice.” Sam pointed to the book not about to let the second word go. “What rrr…retarded mean? Show me.”

“Here Sammy,” Jim pointed at a short line of text. “Now, Sam some words have lots of different meanings depending on how they are used, but this is what you want to know.” He pointed. “Read it to me and we’ll talk about it.”

“Rrr…retard … to be delayed,” Sam read slowly.

“Do you understand the word delayed?” Sam shook his head.

“It just means slower … to be slower.”

“Cause it takes me longer to do things,” Sam’s speech was suddenly succinct. “Cause I don’t think fast … that makes me rrr…retarded … I’m rrr…retarded?”

“No, Sammy,” Jim rushed his response. “Listen to me kiddo,” he turned and faced Sam looking him in the eye. “You’re smart, kind, and you’re a good boy. These words don’t mean anything. People, who don’t have to work as hard as you or like the other children at your school … they don’t understand the differences and they can say mean things or treat you differently,” Jim ran his hand through Sam’s unruly bangs. “But, they are the ones that have the real handicap Sammy, okay? Not you. Never let words hurt you Sammy or make you feel bad about yourself, okay? The people who really care for you see just Sammy and love you for being you, got it?” Sam looked at Jim for a long moment and nodded, but there was a clear welling of tears in his young eyes, but the tears weren’t falling. Jim pulled the boy into a hug and held him tightly.

“So,” Sam said quietly into Jim’s shirt. “I never go to big boy school like Dean?” Jim pulled back and looked into Sam’s large innocent dark eyes.

“Listen here kiddo, the word never isn’t a word I want you to say, okay? You can do anything you set your mind to, alright? Or at the least you never give up trying.” Sam nodded. “Sammy you like your school and your friends, right?”

“Yes, I love school. It fun. My friend’s are lots of fun, too.” Jim smiled.

“And, you like your teachers?”

“I love Miss Penny, she tells me I smart and we do cool stuff in class.” Jim’s eyes lit up at Sam’s happiness.

“Well, you know your friend’s some may go to another school, but a lot of them will stay and your teachers won’t go to another school with you.” Sam frowned.

“I no leave school. I stay, but…”

“But, if you change your mind you can talk to your dad and see about going to a different school, okay?” Sam smiled and nodded.

“Uncle Jim?”

“Yes?”

“I hungry. It lunch time.” He pointed to the clock and Jim followed his finger.

“Where’d you learn that?” Jim asked.

“School, Miss Penny say when both hands on the number 12 … it lunch time.”

“She’s right kiddo. Well, how about some Dairy Queen, Sammy?”

“Yeah! Ccc…can I hhh…have a Bbb…Buster Bar for ‘sert?”

“Sert? Let’s try that again sport,” Jim encouraged.

“Ddd…dessert,” Sam replied.

“Sure, sounds good. Hey, why don’t we swing by your Dad’s work and see if he’s had lunch yet, maybe he can come, too.” Sam clapped.

Sam never mentioned his conversation with Jim to his father and he never asked his father what those words meant again. He knew they made his father sad.

One Month Later, July 1999 – The Summer Festival and Carnival, Blue Earth

Dean rubbed gentle circles on Sam’s back as he continued to heave into a trashcan he had bent over. “See, Sammy, I told you that ride was going to make you sick. It spun too much and you’d just had lunch.” Sam grumbled from the trashcan.

“Shut up,” he groused. In the last month Sam had become a little more proficient in his speech, although it still had deficits and he was picking up on new phrases he heard around him or perhaps he was recalling them from his own damaged mental files from the life before the drowning. But, he had fallen into an old routine with Dean that caused the older sibling to sometimes confuse this Sam with the one he’d lost under the ice. “I’m fff…fine.” He stood and looked his brother in the face. They stood eye to eye now.

“Sure you are,” Dean surveyed his siblings green around the gills complexion. “Here,” he started to lift a paper towel to Sam’s chin to clean him up and he was surprised when Sam batted the hand away.

“I’m not baby,” he hissed and snatched at the paper towel. “I take care of self.” Dean raised an eyebrow and put his hands in the air in mock surrender.

“Okay, kiddo,” he said in a placating tone. “What bug crawled up your butt?” he mumbled under his breath. Sam finished wiping his face and cleaning up. He balled the towel up and tossed it into the trash can as he glared at his big brother.

“You,” Sam hissed.

“Me? Me what?” Dean reached out and stopped Sam from walking off.

“You the bug that ccc…crawled up mmm…my ass,” he turned on his heel and started to walk away from his older brother. Dean stood dumbfounded for a full second or two and then smiled from ear to ear. Sam had for the first time understood a slang phrase without interpreting it literally and not only that he’d turned it around on his brother.

“Sam! Sammy, wait!” he called after his brother as he jogged to catch up. Sam turned and looked at his brother, but the one thing he was not expecting was his brother’s huge smile. He frowned in confusion.

“You happy? Not mad?”

“Nah, Sammy, it’s just …” Dean reconsidered pointing out the huge feat to his brother and decided not to, after all, his goal was to always treat Sammy the same no matter what he achieved. Sure he’d say he was proud of him and congratulate him on a job well done when he either tried or succeeded at something. “Nothing, kiddo, it’s just you put your big brother in his place back there … good for you.” Dean smiled. “Sorry, if I treat you like a kid Sammy. I know you’re sixteen now … it’s just when I’m away at school I feel like I’m missing out on so much of your life. Plus, look at you, you’re as tall as me now,” he said with a glint in his eye.

“I know,” Sam said with pride. “Uncle Jim says I’ll bbb…be ttt…taller than you and Daddy, probably.” Dean rolled his eyes at the thought. Sam laughed. “Come on,” he reached out and pulled Dean by an elbow. “I want to go in fun house.”

“Sure thing Sammy. Oh, and kiddo,” Dean hedged. Sam looked at him. “You better not let Dad hear you say ass or he’ll yell at both of us.” Sam smiled and nodded.

They reached the fun house and were in line, “Sam,” a small voice spoke and Sam turned his head and smiled.

“Hi Chloe,” his cheeks turned slightly pink. Dean grinned at the implication of the blush.

“Hi Sam, my mommy bring me.” Chloe’s mother stepped up and smiled at Dean.

“Hi Dean, I haven’t seen you since Sam’s birthday party last year. Jim says you’re doing wonderfully at MIT.”

“Hi Mrs. Kline, yeah it keeps me busy.”

“Call me Margaret, Dean, no need for formalities.” Sam reached up and tapped his brother’s elbow.

“Yeah, Sammy?”

“Can me and Chloe go in?” Dean shared a glance with her mother Margaret Kline.

“Mommy, please,” Chloe begged. “Me and Sammy can go.”

“I suppose but only if Dean says it’s okay for Sam to go in alone,” she replied. Both youths turned to Dean with hopeful eyes.

“Okay, Sammy, we’ll be right here when you come out, okay. Remember it’s all make believe,” he urged as a feared his little brother could become scared in there.

“I know,” Sam admonished. “I be okay. Come on Chloe.” Dean and Margaret both watched as Sam extended his hand to Chloe as they went into the funhouse together and she took it with a smile.

Chloe clung to Sam’s arm as they walked through the funhouse and she jumped at things popping up from the shadows. “It okay Chloe,” Sam spoke softly. A fake skeleton popped up suddenly and Chloe let out a small yelp and buried her face in Sam’s t-shirt. Sam pulled them near a wall and stared at the dangling skeleton. “See,” he urged. “It not real.” She looked up from his shirt and looked at the fake bones dancing on a string. She turned and smiled at Sam. Sam felt his face flush and his stomach flip flopped. He didn’t understand what he was feeling. Chloe looked at him intensely for a moment.

“You okay, Sammy?” Sam nodded and smiled.

“Tummy feels wiggly,” Sam said with a dimpled smile. “You pretty,” he said suddenly. She blushed. They both understood the context of pretty. She reached up and poked her finger in one of Sam’s dimples.

“You cute, Sammy, Mommy says girls are pretty but boys are cute, so you cute.”

“Cute?”

“Mommy says cute like pretty but for boys.” Sam nodded. They looked at each other their faces drawing closer together. “I see mommy and daddy kiss a lot, you been kissed?”

“No, but I see Dean kiss a girl once when I was little … thought it was yucky looking, but…” They stood looking at each other and without preamble they leaned in bumping noses. They both laughed and rubbed their noses.

“I think mommy always turns her face, so her and daddy’s noses don’t mush …” She turned her head slightly and Sam leaned in as their lips touched tentatively. It was an innocent kiss; two young hearts exploring this right of passage. Sam reached up and felt her face with a hand and she leaned into it. “I see mommy and daddy do things with their tongues once, they not know I see, it gross though,” she said quietly as they separated slightly.

Dean looked at his watch, “man, how long does it take to get through there?”

“Well, they couldn’t have gone anywhere; we’ll give them another five minutes.” Dean nodded.

Sam and Chloe tried a tentative second kiss. “Warm,” Chloe said as they separated and touched her mouth.

“Wet,” Sam rubbed a finger over his lips. “Feel nice,” he said as an afterthought. Chloe smiled.

“I like too.” Chloe responded with a grin. “Mommy says she loves daddy whenever they kiss,” Chloe started. “She always says it to me when she hugs or kisses me, too.” Chloe was trying to reason out her feelings for Sam. “You still have a wiggly tummy?” Chloe asked suddenly. Sam nodded. She smiled in return. “My tummy feel wiggly, too,” she replied. “I think the wiggly means I love you.” Sam understood the meaning of ‘I love you’ he heard it all the time from his father, uncle Jim even Dean … love was a good thing and it made him feel happy. He felt happy now.

“I love you, too,” Sam took her hand squeezing gently and they finished the rest of the trip through the funhouse.

“Finally,” Dean chided as Sam came out with Chloe. Both youths were smiling from ear to ear.

“Did you have fun sweetie,” Mrs. Kline asked her daughter. “You weren’t scared?”

“It fun and I not scared Sammy ppp…protect me.”

“Well, thank you for looking after her Sam. We better be going honey. We’re picking your father up at the airport in a couple hours.”

“Bye, Sammy,” Chloe gave Sam a knowing grin.

“Bye, Chloe,” Sam flashed a broad smile. Dean watched the exchange with curious eyes. They waved at the departing figures.

Later that Night

Dean stared at the ceiling trying to fall asleep. Sam had gone to bed a couple hours before him and he was startled when Sam’s voice pierced the quiet. “Dean?”

“Sammy? What are you doing awake?” Dean turned his head and looked at his brother’s bed. “You okay?”

“I fine,” Sam answered. “I …” Sam stopped and tried again. “Me and …” Dean turned on his side and looked at his brother.

“What is it Sammy?”

“I love Chloe,” Sam said quietly. Dean looked at his brother.

“Well, you’re good friends Sammy,” he offered. “You’ve been good friends ever since you started school. It’s okay to love friends.” Sam stared at his big brother. He was confused by his feelings but he knew enough to understand it was different than Dean was implying.

“No, she make my tummy feel wiggly and we kiss today.” Now, that made Dean sit up and swing his legs over the edge of his bed.

“You kissed?” Dean asked to clarify. “Sammy do you even know what kissing is?”

“I not stupid Dean,” Sam retorted. “I see you kiss Maggie long time ago by pond … you not know I see.” Dean thought back to his high school girlfriend for a moment. “We kiss.”

“Where? In the funhouse?” His mind putting two and two together about his brother’s and Chloe’s extended trip in the funhouse. He rubbed a hand over his face. This was one talk he had mistakenly thought he’d be able to avoid. He was certain his brother was still in the ‘girls were kooties stage, but maybe biology and hormones were dictating a change.

“We kiss twice and I like it,” Sam spoke proudly, now more sure of himself.

“You’re too young Sammy,” Dean countered as he tried to figure out how to handle this.

“Not either,” Sam refuted. “I sixteen.” Dean sighed.

“Kissing is for adults Sammy.” He could tell by the look his brother was giving him that he wasn’t buying that argument. He wanted to congratulate his brother on his first kiss, after all, it was a milestone that Dean had assumed his brother would never have, and man, was he wrong. He felt out of his element. “Go to sleep Sammy, we’ll talk in the morning and maybe Dad will have something to say.”

“I not do anything wrong,” Sam asserted. “I not bad boy.”

“No, no, Sammy,” Dean consoled. “You’re right,” he agreed. “You didn’t do anything wrong. It’s just you need to understand something’s that’s all. You’re a good boy,” he assured.

Dean waited until he heard Sam fall back asleep and went back to staring at the ceiling. His mind too busy to sleep.

Two Days Later, Jim’s House

“So, you’re going to help Caleb and Joshua?” Dean asked as he leaned against the kitchen counter facing his father.

“Well, the job is nearby and it sounds like a textbook haunting, so I should be in and out, but they need the extra help. It looks like it might be a negative entity and not a poltergeist, so they may have their hands full pretty quick, plus it’s a pretty big turn of the century farmhouse … a lot of ground to cover.

“I’ll be staying behind Dean,” Jim added his voice to the conversation. “No need for me to go.”

“But, Dad,” Dean began. “I thought you were done with hunting, ya know?”

“Dean I haven’t gone on another hunt since Sammy was hurt. It’s been four years,” John looked at his son earnestly. “No hunting the demon, no hunting anything.”

“It won’t be four years until December,” Dean corrected.

“Okay, a few months, but it’s just a quick hunt.”

“What if you get hurt Dad? You said it yourself why you couldn’t hunt anymore … you have to think about Sammy.”

“I do think about your brother. Every day, and every hour of the day, but he’s older now and he’s doing great in his rehab and special classes. I’ll be back tomorrow night.”

Sam stood in the hallway listening to the conversation. He no longer was followed to the bathroom. He was trusted to do what he had to and if he ever needed help he’d just call out, but he hadn’t needed help for a long while. His mind was trying to process what he was hearing. There were vague memories that filtered into his mind about the life before Uncle Jim’s and then he remembered what his family once did.

“Dad,” Dean started again, but stopped himself as Sam entered the kitchen.

“Hey kiddo,” John said as Sam came into view. Sam smiled at his father.

“Dad,” Sam tried out the shortened version. After all, Dean never called their father Daddy, so maybe if he really was a big boy, he thought to himself then he should use ‘Dad’ like his big brother. The occupants of the kitchen looked at Sam with wide-eyes.

“Yeah, Sam?” John asked. “Everything okay?”

“You sss…should go,” Sam said matter of fact.

“Go where?” John looked from his youngest to his oldest trying to figure out where this was going.

“The hunt,” Sam replied simply. “Go kill boogieman.”

“Sammy?” Dean pushed himself off the counter and approached. “What’d you just say?”

“Sam,” John and Jim both said in unison. “You remember?” John’s eyes misted at the importance of his son’s simple statement. “You remember about hunting?” Sam nodded.

“I see pictures in my head,” Sam answered honestly.

“Memories Sammy,” John answered softly. “Those pictures in your head are called memories.”

“I hear you talk to Dean and Uncle Jim about hhh…haunting and I rrr…remember.”

John felt his throat tighten. “What pictures do you see in your head Sammy?” John decided his son’s vocabulary was easier for him to handle and if memories were pictures then he’d called them pictures for now.

“Lot’s of them … very fast,” Sam’s eyes looked distant as he tried to recall. “Put ugly creature on fire … it made a loud noise when it die, but it bad and had to die. I rrr…remember a green room with two beds,” Sam scrunched his face. “Water in bbb…bathroom stink,” Sam looked from his father to his brother.

Dean and John looked at each other and both instantly remembered where Sam was talking about. It had been a horrible excuse for a motel in some hole in the wall town in Idaho. The water had smelled like rotten eggs – they’d all hated it, but especially Sammy. “Idaho,” John and Dean said at the same time.

“We were in Idaho Sammy,” Dean spoke. “You remember that? You were only nine or ten.”

“Rrr…remember,” Sam answered. “I know it a sss…secret,” Sam said quietly as if he expected the walls of the large old house to tell his family’s secret of hunting. “I not ttt…tell any of my friends … promise.” John stepped forward and placed both of his broad hands on each side of his youngest son’s face.

“I know Sammy,” he encouraged. “You were always very good with keeping secrets.”

“What else Sammy?” Dean was eager to find out what else his little brother remembered of his life … their life before the drowning.

“Dean, give him time,” Jim spoke evenly. “Let’s not push.”

“I…” Sam started as more memories flashed through his young mind. He felt panic rise up in his chest at the sensation of choking, his lungs fighting for air that wouldn’t come and the encroaching water as it filled his throat. Memories assaulted him of a lake and the cold water. He remembered hitting the ice from below and the way the daylight looked through the thick ice … muted and soft … comforting in some odd way and then blackness swallowed him whole and his next memory was simply faces, his father and brother looking down at him worry in their eyes qith tentative smiles on their faces. The sounds of beeping and an irritating click and whoosh entered his head, but the faces faded and things were patchy after that. His breath hitched in his chest at the onslaught. John cast a concerned glance at his oldest and Jim before he stepped forward and placed his hands on his son’s shoulders.

“Shh,” he comforted. “It’s okay Sammy. Take it easy.” He pulled his son against himself and felt the tremor in his young body. Sam clutched at his father’s shirt and buried his face in his shoulder.

“I…I … rrr…remember water … trapped …” John pulled his son closer and felt his own body shake at the thought. His baby boy remembered drowning … or at least the moment’s right before.

“You’re okay Sam,” John soothed as one hand now rubbed circles on his son’s back while the other gently stroked the fringe of his son’s hair.

The kitchen was silent except for Sam’s gentle sniffles as the recollection of memories and sensations abated.

One Month Later, Late August 1999

“We’re going to miss you around here son,” John looked at his eldest with warm eyes.

“Yeah, me too,” Dean agreed.

“I’m glad Jim said he’d pick up Sammy from his day camp today and take him out for ice cream,” John commented idly. “It gives us a chance to spend some time together.”

“Yeah,” Dean answered with a sincere smile. “So, did you talk to Chloe’s mom concerning the day camp stuff?”

“Yeah, she thinks it’s fine that Sammy and Chloe are at the camp together during the day. They’re supervised and anyway, it’s a crush ya know. It’s harmless but I’m keeping my eyes open. It’s puppy love.” John assured.

“Yeah, Sammy deserves this. He’s been great this summer ya know? I’ll miss him when I leave.”

“Thanks for spending so much time with Sammy this summer Dean. He’s made some great progress with his rehab and you’ve helped him a lot.”

“Dad, you and Jim do all the work. I almost feel like I’m a day late and a dollar short.”

“Dean,” John admonished. “Your brother looks forward to seeing you and you do help him a lot, more than you know. Hey, he calls me Dad now and I think that’s because he finally picked up on the fact you always say it and not Daddy.”

“Yeah, I guess,” Dean agreed. “I still miss you guys when I’m gone.”

“I know. We miss you too, but I couldn’t be more proud of you son and what you’re doing. So, you never really mention Cambridge or Boston that much you still like the cities?”

“Yeah, I mean Cambridge where campus is located is pretty close to Boston and I go over on the weekends and we see the sights.”

“We meaning?” John asked with a glint in his eye. Dean blushed.

“Julie and me,” Dean answered sheepishly.

“So, last time we spoke about her was in May when you came for Sammy’s birthday,” John started. “You claimed you weren’t serious then, hmm…”

“Okay, so maybe we’re a little more involved now,” Dean admitted.

“Well, just so were on the same page, I’m not ready to be a grandpa yet, okay,” John said with a knowing smile.

“Dad,” Dean lamented with a smile the betrayed his tone. “We’re careful, okay,” Dean admitted. “And, anyway, kids aren’t on our minds right now.”

“Good,” John replied. “So, you never tell me anything, so spill. You meet her at MIT?”

“Well, sort of,” Dean began. “We share a common friend at MIT and we met at a party and hit it off. She lives in Boston and is going to law school.”

“So, she’s a smart cookie, eh?”

“Yeah, and hot,” Dean allowed his maleness to sneak out for a second. “But, you’d like her dad,” Dean started. “She’s got a great personality.” John smiled.

“Maybe bring her to Thanksgiving or something,” John suggested.

“Yeah, I know she asked me to meet her family over one of our holiday breaks and she knows that I come home for breaks, so yeah, maybe we can work something out because I told her I had to be home for the holidays.”

“Where does her family live?”

“Believe it or not Minneapolis,” Dean said with an amused grin.

“Well, there ya go,” John said with a smile.

“It’s about six hours driving from here to there, you can commute no problem.”

“Yeah, I could.” Dean agreed. “You wouldn’t mind if I stayed a day or two there?”

“Dean, whether we eat turkey on Thanksgiving or the day after makes no difference. As long as I am with both my boys at some point then all’s good.” John dropped a hand onto his son’s shoulder as they stopped to look out at the pond on Jim’s property. Dean leaned into his father’s touch.

One Year Later, Interstate outside Minneapolis, August 2000

“So,” Julie glanced over to Dean as the Impala rumbled down the highway. “You really going to do the whole ‘ask my dad for permission thing’? I mean I already said ‘yes’ sweetie and my parents love you. They love your family, too. And, speaking of family, you tell them about the engagement yet?” Dean turned his eyes briefly from the road and met Julie’s eyes quickly and looked back to his driving with a smile.

“No, not yet. I want to do it in person, so I’ll tell them when I drive down from your parents.”

“It’s not like there’s a hurry,” Julie replied. “After all, we decided it would be better to wait until after graduation and we get jobs.”

“Yeah, well, you finish up sooner than me,” Dean replied.

“Two months,” Julie countered. “And, I’ll be studying for the BAR exam anyway, but it’s not until next year anyway.”

“You decide which ones you were going to set for?”

“Well, I’m thinking I’m going to focus first on Minnesota since you want to be close to your family and Sam.”

“You sure you’re okay with me wanting to be within commuting distance once we graduate? I want you to be happy Jules, but I have to be around my family.”

“Dean, I love your family. My family loves your family, too. I was so happy they were able to meet during the holidays last year. My mom went absolutely crazy at that Christmas festival in Blue Earth and all of the antiquing she was able to do. My Dad likes your Dad a lot and Jim and my Dad could talk politics until the end of time.” Dean rolled his eyes. “If I didn’t want to move back to Minnesota after graduation for the wedding then I wouldn’t. Anyway, have you ever seen me do anything I didn’t want to do?”

“Nah, you have a point.”

Two Days Later, Blue Earth, Jim’s House

Dean pulled up the familiar driveway and smiled at all of the flowers lining the driveway and the trees in full bloom that shaded the driveway. Dean spotted his father outside with his head under the hood of his truck. John leaned out when he heard the sound of an engine he’d know anywhere. Dean got out of the car and waved at his father. “Hey Dad,” he said with a smile. He looked around, but saw no sight of his brother or Jim.

“Hey son, how was the drive?” John hugged his firstborn.

“Traffic was good.”

“And, how’s Julie?”

“At her mom and dad’s.”

“You have a good visit with them?”

“Yeah, real good,” Dean said with a glint in his eye. John didn’t miss it.

“What’s up?”

“Huh?” Dean feigned ignorance.

“Don’t huh, me,” John commented. “You look like the cat that ate the canary.” John smiled.

“Where’s Sammy and Jim?”

“You’re changing the subject and rather poorly I might add,” John countered. He sighed. “Jim had an errand to run in town and had to stop by the church for a little bit. Sammy wanted to go, so he took him. Now spill.”

“I … I, uh…” Dean suddenly felt at a loss for words. John studied his son’s face. He could tell that Dean was happy and nothing was wrong. Dean took a calming breath. “I asked Jules to marry me and she said yes.” John stood dumbfounded as he looked at his twenty-one year old son.

“Engaged? You’re engaged?” John looked at his son.

“We haven’t set a date yet, but we know it’ll be after graduation sometime.” John smiled and pulled his son into a hug.

“I’m happy for you son. She’s a good egg. I like her.”

“I know you’re probably thinking we’re a little young Dad, but I love her and we’ve together almost two years.”

“Dean, you don’t have to sell me on her. I know you two kids have good head’s on your shoulders. I think it’s great. Was her family happy?”

“Yeah, her parents both gave us their blessing.”

Dean and John sat on the porch talking when Jim’s ever familiar Subaru turned into the long driveway. Jim parked and Dean could see Sam waving excitedly from his seat as he undid his seat belt. He opened the door and folded out of the passenger seat and stood at his current height of 6’1”. “Are you kidding me?” Dean said under his breath to his Dad as he waved at his brother. John chuckled.

“Yeah, he’s turned into a bit of a bean stalk the last couple months or so while you’ve been at school and that partial summer internship.

“A bit?” Dean turned wide-eyes to his father. “What is he now?”

“His last medical exam a couple weeks ago said 6’1” and I’m pretty sure he isn’t done yet. Dr. Odden thinks he’ll get at least another two to four inches before he stops.”

“Dean!” Sam yelled in excitement.

“Hey Sammy,” Dean said with a smile. His little brother stepped up onto the porch and his eyes were only slightly above his older brothers now. Sam wrapped his arms around his sibling.

“Where Jjj…Julie,” Sam said as he stepped back from his brother.

“She’s visiting with her parents Sammy and doing some work up where her family lives.”

“You staying?” Sam’s voice was tentative. “You not here a lot of summer like before.”

“I know kiddo,” Dean lamented. “But, remember I told you I was able to do some work near school that I really wanted to do and it was in June and July. I’m here now.”

“I’m glad.” Sam smiled. “Dad, look!” Sam bubbled as he opened a bag. “Uncle Jim bought me a comic book. Sam displayed Superman in front of his father. “Uncle Jim says he flies and is faster than a bbb…bullet.”

“We’ll read it tonight Sammy before you go to bed, okay?” John smiled.

“I read myself,” Sam’s voice determined.

“Okay, Sammy,” John spoke softly. “If you change your mind let me know.”

“Hi Dean,” Jim stepped up and embraced Dean in a warm hug. “It’s good to see you young man. How are things?”

“Good, real good,” Dean smiled. Jim shifted from Dean to John and knew there was some pleasant secret yet to be told.

“You going to fill me in on those Cheshire cat grins on both your faces?”

“What that mean?” Sam scrunched his face at Jim.

“What does that mean Samuel,” Jim restated. “Try that again.”

“What does that mean?” Sam spoke slowly.

“It just means your brother and father are keeping some kind of news to themselves, a secret, but it looks like good news.”

“What secret? Tell,” Sam looked at his family with a frown.

“Julie and I are engaged Sammy … that means we plan on getting married.”

“Married? Like Mommy and Dad were? Like Julie’s ppp…parents?”

“Yeah, Sammy like that.” Dean agreed. Jim smiled.

“That’s fantastic Dean,” Jim congratulated. “You set the date yet?”

“Nah, it’ll be after graduation though.” Sam was quiet.

“Sammy you okay?” Dean asked as he noticed his sibling’s sudden quietness.

“I not see you anymore,” Sammy lamented. “You marry and go away. Not come back.”

“No way Sammy!” Dean answered quickly trying to assure his younger sibling he wasn’t being abandoned or forgotten. “I’m going to live nearby, I promise. It’ll just be a quick drive.”

“Ppp…promise?”

“I promise kiddo. You’re not getting rid of your big brother that easily.”

Sam smiled. “Good.”

Ten Months Later, MIT Campus, Graduation Day, May 10, 2001

“I’m proud of you son,” John hugged his eldest child. “What you’ve accomplished is amazing. I wouldn’t give this experience up for the world watching you accept your degree and the award of academic merit.”

“Thanks Dad.” Father and son had taken a walk by themselves while Jim, Sam and Julie visited across campus. Julie had graduated from her university two months prior and was almost ready for the BAR exam she intended to take for Minnesota.

“So, I know you mentioned you’d already received three job offers with engineering firms, decide on anything yet?” Dean grinned. “What?”

“I only told you about three Dad there were a hell of a lot more than that, but I didn’t want them because they weren’t in Minnesota. I accepted one with BioTech they have a satellite office in Mankato it’s about a thirty mile commute from Blue Earth. Their major branch is in Minneapolis and they are flying me into the city on Mondays and Thursdays for branch meetings and some other technical work that can only happen in Minneapolis. I don’t have to start for three months though.”

“BioTech is a great company son,” John clapped him on the back. “I was just reading a piece on them in the business section of last week’s paper. They payin’ you what you’re worth?” Dean chuckled.

“It’s pretty decent change Dad,” Dean commented lightly. Dean could see his father’s expectant eyes. “Well, aside from an awesome fringe benefit package and health benefits,” Dean laughed to himself. “Who would have ever thought I’d be talking about fringe benefits and health insurance?”

John saw the irony in what his son was saying and thinking back to before Sam’s accident and the way Dean was it was ironic. “And?” John urged.

“$80,000 to start dad, but after a year it’s likely to go up another ten grand maybe more.” John blanched at the money figure his son just quoted him.

“Man, it must be embarrassing admitting your old Dad is a mechanic, huh?” John dropped his son’s gaze for a moment. Dean frowned.

“Are you kiddin’ me?” Dean admonished. “Dad, you’ve been awesome and I’m lucky to have you … I mean it,” Dean asserted making sure his father believed him because it was true. John’s eyes misted.

“I love you son,” John said quietly and gruffly as he pulled his child into another hug. “Now, all that’s left is for you marry that girl of yours.”

“We’re workin’ on it Dad. She wants to take the BAR first and then do the whole wedding planning thing.”

“So, you’re staying in Massachusetts for a while?”

“Yeah, we co-opted a lease from a guy in my class, so we’re finishing off his end of the lease. It’s a nice little place. A one-bedroom furnished apartment with a small den, and I mean small, it’s more like a closet, but the place is quiet and will be fine for the two months she needs to do paperwork and take the BAR. She’ll fly into in Minneapolis to sit for that one, but we both were able to pick up some summer jobs. I’m actually doing a summer institute gig at MIT for the ‘Young Engineers of America’ there high school students who are taking engineering career classes at their schools and one spots for a summer internship. It’s pretty competitive and I’m actually doing a class on Thermal Dynamics.” John just shook his head and smiled.

“How long?”

“Four weeks and they get to live in the residential halls that are empty of summer term and then I’m going to get to kick back and relax. I’m sure I’ll fly in for a visit or two because Jules and I want to find a place in Blue Earth to live.”

“Dean you can live near your work you know,” John offered.

“I know, but even Julie wants to live in Blue Earth. She says it homey and a good place to raise a family.” Dean saw his father’s inquisitive look. “I know,” Dean resigned. “But, don’t say it.”

“I’m not saying a word kiddo,” John said with a knowing smile. “Well, we better go track down that brood of ours. It’s hard telling what Sammy’s gotten himself into.”

“He’s a lot better Dad. I mean he seems to listen better now ya know?”

“I know, but he gets bored pretty quick sometimes and Jim is a patient as the day is long, but even that man has his limits and with all the new activities going on and new people and sights Sam is probably jumping around like a ping pong ball.” Dean grinned.

“Yeah, you may have a point, but I bet Jules has him under control he’s like putty in her hands and she loves the kid.”

“I know,” John agreed. “They do get along well don’t they,” he asserted. “Come on,” John dropped an arm across his son’s shoulders and they began to walk back toward the graduation crowds and went to locate their wayward family members.

One Month Later, June 2001, Blue Earth

“Sammy,” John started as he drove his truck through Blue Earth. “How bout we order pizza from Mama Mia’s tonight?”

“Yeah,” he answered with excitement.

“So, how was school today?”

“Ggg…good,” Sam answered. “It strange being on the big kid side of school.” John understood what his youngest was saying. The children at Minds in Motion were moved to another side of the academy when they turned eighteen. For the students that could manage special education school work were working toward what the state considered a high school diploma and Sam was in those classes although he had a lot of trouble and John guessed that Sam would transfer to the Drake Academy next fall in 2002 following his nineteenth birthday. Minds in Motion only taught up to age eighteen and then those students would matriculate to Drake. He had already started preparing Sam for that transition and the school was also preparing their students who would transfer to Drake.

Drake was another special education school that was designed for young adults to adults with special needs. Sam seemed to take the impending move in his strides since he knew some of his friends would be moving to that school. John knew it may be some time before Sam ever really qualified for a diploma maybe another couple years or longer, but the kid was always surprising him and he’d just take things as they came. Sam still couldn’t seem to move beyond a fourth or fifth grade level in math, but his reading skills were a little better and he was now reading at a seventh grade level although he still needed some words or concepts explained to him. His handwriting was getting better, but John still likened it to Egyptian hieroglyphics. He smiled to himself as that analogy crossed his mind.

“Dad when Dean going to come back?”

“The end of next month Sammy,” John answered. “But, Dean and Julie will be here for the fourth of July festival and they are going to find a place to rent.”

“What rent mean?”

“It just means that Dean and Julie are going to live in their own place Sammy, but they have to pay to live there … it’s called rent.” Sam looked at his father and John knew it wasn’t exactly getting through to his child. “You know how Dad and Uncle Jim gets bills in the mail and we have to pay them?” Sam smiled and nodded.

“The bbb…bloodsuckers? Cause they want money.” Sam replied innocently. John laughed out loud. He had forgotten that both he and Jim referred to bills as coming from the bloodsuckers.

“Yes, Sammy, the bloodsuckers. Anyway, rent is kinda like a bill that’s all. Okay?” Sam’s face dimpled and he nodded.

“Why they no live at home with us?”

“Because they need their privacy Sammy,” John answered. “You know what I mean … there own space. Like you have in the barn on Uncle Jim’s property and when you’re there you like to be by yourself or with Duncan.” Sam nodded. That had been another thing John had to get used to with his youngest. When Sam first started hiding out in the barn after a bad school day or when he was just upset about something his fractured mind couldn’t grasp he’d go to the barn and sit on old straw and watch the pond in the distance. Sam still wasn’t allowed to go to the pond by himself and still hadn’t learned to swim. The therapist had said Sam’s coordination was the problem. His mind wanted to move one side at times while the other was slow to respond. They would keep working on it, but for the time being whenever Sam was in water or on it he had to wear a jacket.

It was still an adjustment even after all this time. He looked at his son and saw an eighteen year old young man who now surpassed him in height and had finally seemed to level off at 6’4” but his son’s mind was a contradiction to his outward appearance and sometimes it still seemed hard to reconcile the two opposites.

“Dad I hear a joke at school today … wanna hear?”

“Sure Sammy,” John commented as he came to a stop a red light at the main intersection of town putting on his left turn signal headed toward Jim’s house off the major route.

“Why six afraid of seven?” John looked at the red light and then at his son.

“No idea? Why is six afraid of seven?” Sam had a big grin on his face as he looked at his father.

“Cause seven ate nine,” Sam giggled loudly. John smirked as the meaning went off like a joke grenade for him … ate as in eight … seven (eight) nine. John chuckled.

“Good one Sammy.”

“It funny.”

“Yeah, kiddo it was,” John smiled warmly at his child.

The light turned green and John went to make the turn still smiling about his son’s joke. The world inside John’s truck suddenly shattered in a rain of glass and the cacophonous sound of crushing metal and then all was silent.

Twenty Minutes Later

The intersection was a bevy of activity with flashing lights with ambulances and police cruisers. The fire department was putting away the Jaws of Life. John’s truck looked like a crushed Dixie cup. The left side was crushed inward and the front end was pushed against the dash. It resembled a piece of modern art and not an automobile. The large dump truck that had caused the accident had blown the red light from the oncoming traffic light. He had never slowed down as he struck at speeds the police were estimating at over fifty miles an hour. The dump truck was dripping oil and anti-freeze as the engine sent up white billows of radiator smoke. The driver was being taken to the hospital for mild injuries.

A group of paramedics worked on John and Sam at the scene. The hospital was only five minutes away by ambulance. “Mark, how’s yours?”

“Unresponsive, gonna intubate, right pupil is blown and the left is sluggish, significant signs of blunt force trauma to head and chest. Probably some fractures from what I can see. How about yours, Amanda?”

“Bad shape. Pupils are fixed and dilated. I already intubated. His blood pressure is bottoming out, we gotta roll now or he’s gonna code. Suspected significant head trauma.”

The paramedics with their respective partners had deftly back boarded both John and Sam and both Winchester’s heads were braced against the boards and neck braces protected their cervical spines. Both ambulances back doors were open as each set of medical workers rolled their patients into each ambulance. Their back doors faced each other. “Dammit! Lost his pulse. Start compressions. Come on let’s roll!” Mark heard Amanda shout to her partner across at the other ambulance. Mark turned his attention back to his patient and started another IV with fluids wide open nodding at his partner to close up the doors and start for the emergency room. Both ambulances pulled away with sirens blaring.

Blue Earth Medical Center had been alerted to the incoming trauma cases. “What we got comin’?” Dr. Odden asked.

“Hey Kirk, thanks for fillin’ in today,” Doctor Reyes spoke evenly. “Paramedics said it was a high speed impact. Dump truck versus pick-up. Two victims. Father and son. Both are in bad shape. Multiple traumatic injuries and suspected head traumas. You can run one trauma and I’ll take the other.”

“Yeah, no problem, Jerry.” Dr. Odden answered casually. “Father and son, huh?”

“Yeah, the police faxed over their ID’s. Ah,” he looked for the faxed paper work. “John Winchester, age 47 and state ID for Samuel Winchester, age 18.”

“Oh God,” Dr. Odden responded sharply.

“You know them?”

“I’m Sam’s doctor. He’s in my brain injury and rehab program.”

“Man, tough break. You okay to handle the case?”

“Yeah,” Kirk Odden replied honestly.

“Dr. Reyes,” a nurse monitoring the transmissions from the ambulances turned and spoke. “ETA three minutes”

“Okay, we’ll be ready. Any new reports?”

“Unclear which patient because the transmission is pretty fuzzy,” she answered. “But, CPR is in progress on one and the other is bottoming out fast and is in respiratory arrest.”

Both doctors looked at each other and the trauma teams stood at the ready.