Theme: Supernatural, Dean Winchester, extra character - Sonny, Family, Samulet

Disclaimer: Still not mine, sigh

Tags: to 9.07 Bad Boys

Words: 1056

Summary: Aside from having done a lot of growing up, Sonny noticed something important had changed... Dean wasn't wearing that amulet any more.

"So, Dean, gotta ask," Sonny began as he and Dean looked through the files on Timmy in the centre office.

Sam had gone to take another glance around the shed where the first victim had died, and Dean was slightly preoccupied thinking about that, but Sam was a fully trained hunter and was quite hard to take down, so Dean tried not to worry too much. Tried.

Consequently, he wasn't exactly concentrating. Therefore Sonny's comment surprised him a little.

"Uh, yeah?" Dean replied, wondering what he was going to be asked now.

Sonny straightened up and looked the hunter in the eye. "That amulet, necklace thing, that you always wore... where is it?" he asked gently.

Realising his throat was currently too tight to reply, Dean swallowed, flicking his eyes away from Sonny's intense gaze.

"You said it was very special, and that you would never lose it," Sonny added quietly. "I know you've been through a lot since then, but I was just wondering. Unless you don't want to tell me, of course."

Taking a deep breath, Dean nodded. In response to what, he didn't know, but Sonny took it as he didn't want to talk about it.

Nodding back in acceptance of privacy, the farm owner bent down again, going back to looking for any other information on Timmy.

"I never lost it," Dean said quietly. Sonny stilled and slowly straightened up again, watching the boy think.

Dean sighed, hating himself all over again for that night, and tried to think of how to phrase it in such a way that he wouldn't sound like a complete dick.

Well, there was no way around that. Even if Sonny didn't think that, Dean did of himself, and that was what mattered.

Sighing again, Dean looked up to talk to his early father figure eye to eye.

"Sam gave it to me; it was meant to be for dad. But he gave it to me at Christmas, when we were still kids. It was... the morning after he found out monsters were real." Dean gave a humorless chuckle. "Don't know what we woulda done if he hadn't done that sooner or later. Smart kid."

Sonny nodded in agreement. Sam did come across as a very intelligent man, both in general and in his area of work.

"You say you didn't lose it...?" Sonny prompted, not wanted to rush the boy, but feeling that he'd rather say this without his brother present. Clearly it hurt him bad, whatever had happened. Perhaps the amulet had been taken from him.

Dean took a breath and shrugged. "Well, no. Sam kept it when I was, uh, away," his lip twitched as he substituted hell for being away for the sake of this conversation. No need to overwhelm the civilian.

"And... never gave it back?" Sonny suggested.

Shaking his head immediately, Dean replied, "Yeah, he gave it me back when I got back, as soon as I got back. It was just right."

Sonny frowned slightly. "So, when did it go missing in action?"

Attempting an empty smile, the hunter looked one of the best father figures he had ever had in the eye.

"I dropped it in the trash the day I lost faith in Sam, in God, and all of the above," he stated, and looked away, tears in his eyes.

Realising that Dean realised a thousand times over how goddamn stupid he had been to throw the special amulet away, Sonny exhaled and looked away too.

"And now, every single freaking day from then, I regret that moment." Dean blinked, pretending that there wasn't tears in his eyes.

Sonny nodded, still looking away, allowing his boy the illusion of privacy.

"Because of course I believe in Sammy. I always do, whatever happens. But since I threw that... it... away, it's like something's broken between us. Sam doesn't think I believe in him, or trust him, sometimes any more. I see it in his eyes. A thousand apologies." Dean sniffed and subtly rubbed one eye. "I should be the one apologising, and I would, if I thought it would change anything," he mumbled, looking down.

Feeling tears of his own threaten to cloud his vision, Sonny moved around the desk to Dean, to stand in front of the boy who had come so far and was still fighting simply for his little brother.

"Dean. I don't know about you and Sam's relationship at the moment, or, hell, since your childhood, but I can promise you this: do you know what I can see in Sam's eyes every time he looks at you?" Sonny watched Dean shrug and not look up, refusing to admit weakness. "All I see is complete and utter faith in his big brother," Sonny stated.

The older Winchester looked up on impulse, searching Sonny's face for a trace of a lie. Finding none - and he was good at looking for lies in people - he nodded, sniffed, and looked down again.

Sonny looked down at his once farm boy that had come so far with nothing but truth in his eyes, and smiled slightly, for whatever the Winchesters were going through, they would get through it, together.

The two stood like that for a minute, just lost in their own thoughts.

And outside the room, the younger brother stood, having arrived at the start of their conversation. Sam smiled too, tears in his eyes. Sonny spoke nothing but the truth, as he had throughout young Dean's respite at the farm, and as he had never stopped doing since.

This didn't really turn out as thought, but then again not much does. I hope it was okay though. Maybe a little too sappy, buut other people showing Sam and Dean how much they mean to each other is an amazing theme that loves to be explored. Thank you for reading and please leave a review if you have time. -Rayne