Disclaimer: I still don't own Supernatural or its characters. I and am not making any money on this…I'm just having fun!
Summary: Teen-chester Fic. Sam becomes lost after and argument with John. While his father & Dean go on a hunt—the hunt finds him instead…
Raven 524: This story was written for and is dedicated to SendintheClowns who graciously donated money to the writer's auction. I would like to thank her personally for her generosity in helping to support a fellow writer who was in need. It's times like this that we find out how generous the fanfic community can be. I'm proud to be counted as part of it. Now on with the story.
Thief of the Night
Chapter 1 – Coming Storm
The house shook as a fifteen year old Sam Winchester slammed the door on the room he shared with his nineteen year old brother. As he stormed towards his bed, he kicked aside the pile of dirty clothes his brother had strewn on the floor. Tears of anger gathered but refused to fall as he sat on his bed, long legs pulled to his chest as he tried to disappear.
He could hear his brother's laughter through the thin walls followed by his father's low graveled voice. For a moment jealousy surged through him as he realized how easily his big brother got along with his Dad. Once again he was shut out of club Winchester. Unlike Dean, what he wanted or had to say never seemed to carry any weight with his father. He'd once thought it did with his big brother but recent events had caused him to realize where his brother's feelings truly lay.
Sam's recent bout of trouble with his family had begun last week with Caleb's visit and ended with earlier tonight. His father returned from his latest research excursion and announced he had another hunt lined up in the small town of Radford Virginia. The small college town was located some where in the Appalachian Mountains where his Dad had rented a small cabin for them. "Great isolated and probably run down too" thought Sam as he sighed heavily into the empty room. Another summer without friends and only his older brother to keep him company. Which of course meant rigorous training exercises as dictated by John Winchester his drill sergeant of a father.
Of course, all Dean had to hear was the word hunt and he was ready to move. Ever since his older brother had graduated, he'd become his father's constant partner. He helped research, plan and would even join his father on the hunts more often now. He'd been fully indoctrinated into the family business and it was clear Dean loved it.
Sam couldn't begrudge Dean his happiness. After all, he'd give up so much to be a surrogate father to him ever since his mother's death. His brother was born to be a hunter. His skills were honed to the point he could be downright scary. There was never any doubt that his big brother had found his life's work. He also knew Dean hated being left behind to watch over him when the hunt would take his Dad farther from home or if it would take more than a day or two. Apparently Sam wasn't able to be left on his own for more than a night. Which was another area of contention with his father; he didn't trust Sam.
At fifteen Sam was able to take care of himself better than any other kid his age. He'd trained beside Dean and could handle a wide range of weapons. The young teenager had been trained to fight and had shown on more than one occasion that he could keep up his end of the hunt. And yet, his father made it clear that Dean was still responsible for his little brother and that Sam was not to be left alone for extended periods. He was treated like the baby of the family and he was tired of it.
Sam recognized the rift that was growing between him and his older brother but he had no idea how to bridge the gap. Dean wanted to join the hunt full time and chaffed against being left behind. Sam didn't want to hunt, he wanted more—he wanted a normal life with a family, a house and money to buy the necessities. As he grew older, his brother had developed less patience in dealing with his mutiny against the family business. For him it was simple. If your name was Winchester, you were a hunter.
Sam chewed on his bottom lip as he closed his eyes and remembered the conversation he'd overheard when Caleb had arrived last week to help their father with a hunt. Dean hadn't liked his Dad calling in another hunter to help when he was perfectly capable. It didn't help that his father was hunting a werewolf, one of the monsters that ranked number one on the Dean Winchester best thing to kill list. His big brother had been angry when Dad had told him he had to stay behind to watch out for Sam while Caleb took his place.
"I'm always stuck watching the squirt. Why can't Dad relocate us to Pastor Jim's? I'm sure he wouldn't mind lookin' after Sam. Besides the kid loves to hang out with the Pastor; they speak the same language—Geek. How much safer can he be than if he was on holy ground I ask you?" Dean paced as he tried to work out his frustration.
"Your Dad has his reasons Dean. Besides it'll only be a few more years and then you'll both join him on the hunt full time. What's the big deal, I'm sure there are plenty of werewolves left to hunt—you'll get your chance I'm sure." Caleb worked on cleaning his gun as he watched the frustrated young hunter.
"Sure, and pigs will fly Caleb. You don't understand. Sam hates hunting. All he talks about is school. It's more important to him than anything else. I'm telling you I'm getting tired of being the referee between him and Dad. All they do now is fight."
"What does Sam think he's goin' to do once he graduates?" Caleb asked curiously.
"I don't know. The little geek probably could go to college if he put his mind to it. But there are two problems…" Dean sat next to the older hunter and picked up a gun to clean.
"What?"
"First, there's no money for it…" Dean began as he expertly pulled the gun apart in front of him.
"There are ways to get around that Dean—scholarships…" Caleb began before Dean interrupted.
"Yeah, but Dad will never go for it. He wants Sammy by our side. How are we gonna protect him while he attends college? Somehow I don't think we will be able to blend in…" Dean looked down at his blood stained jeans before he continued to clean the weapon in his hand. "The little geek needs to stop being so selfish and realize it's not about what we want—but what's important. Saving people and killing as many evil sons of btches as we can."
Caleb sighed. "I know Dean, but if he doesn't want to hunt—he's a liability to both you and your Dad. You'd be better lettin' him go…"
"Never gonna happen and the sooner Sam realizes it and gets with the program, the better it will be. He wants to be treated like a man—he's gotta act like one." Dean pronounced as he began to put the weapon back together.
"Spoken by one who's still not old enough to enter a bar under his own name…" Caleb laughed as he clapped a hand on Dean's shoulder.
"What's in a name?" Dean asked innocently as he joined in on the laughter.
Sam had felt betrayed when he'd heard what Dean really thought about him. He'd never told Sam to his face that he thought he was selfish and he'd always encouraged his educational pursuits. He thought Dean understood, hunting wasn't in his blood and he didn't want to spend the rest of his life doing something he hated.
"I can't be like you Dean—why can't I just be me?" Sam whispered to the empty room. The sound of his father's voice reminded him why he was sitting alone feeling sorry for himself.
Earlier tonight it all came to a head. Sam knew something was up the minute he dropped his book bag next to his father's duffle. They were moving—again. Before he could escape to his room, his Dad had called him into the kitchen.
"Sam, we need to leave this weekend, so tomorrow will be your last day at this school. I already notified the school. You just need to make sure you get all your stuff and be ready to leave. We'll pick you up on the way out of town."
"But Dad…" Sam started. There was only one more week left in the school year and he had spent the last week studying for his finals. If he quit now, his grades would suffer or even worse, he could be held back next year.
"No buts Sammy. There are people dying and I'm going to need Dean to help me with the hunt. I've found a nice cabin in the woods that we can use while we're there. You can help with the research." His father pulled out one of the weapons and began to clean it. Sam watched for a moment as he chewed on his bottom lip.
"Can't I just stay one more week? I can follow you there, I'm sure there's a bus…"
"Damn it Sam. This isn't open for debate. Now get upstairs and get your things packed. If you don't have it done before you leave for school, your stuff will stay behind. Do you understand me?" Sam should have known not to push it. But he was tired of not having his opinions count. His anger soon out ruled his common sense as he faced off against his father.
"Dad, finals are next week. If I don't attend, I won't make honors…" It was the wrong thing to say as his Dad dropped the gun he was cleaning and stood to face him. His eyes were hard as he took a step towards Sam. But the fifteen year old held his ground. He was tired of not being heard, this time he was going to take a stand.
"Let me get this straight. You want to put innocent lives at risk so that you can make honors?" His father accentuated each point with a jab of his finger towards him.
"No—I mean yes—Dad, it's important to me, I need good grades if I want to get into college…" Sam could have bit his tongue off. Especially after he'd overheard Dean's conversation just a few days before; but now at least his father knew what he wanted. He didn't want to hunt, he wanted to continue with school and maybe even get a real job.
His father's mouth formed a grim line as he stepped closer to the defiant teenager in front of him. "And just why do you think you're going to college? As soon as you graduate you'll join Dean and me. There's no money for you to go to college and we need you on the hunt. It's about time you stopped thinking about yourself and stopped being a burden to your brother. You need to start carrying your own weight around here—starting with getting your things packed and in the car before dinner."
Just as Sam was going to reply his big brother calmly walked into the room. He took one look and sighed before he sat down between the two feuding Winchesters. "Let me guess—we're moving on and Sam doesn't want to go…"
"No I…" Sam started to defend himself but his father jumped in.
"Stupid brat thinks being an honor student is more important than saving a few lives. He thinks he's going to college. Can you believe that?" His father clapped Dean on the shoulder before he sat down and picked up the gun he was cleaning. "Apparently what we do isn't important enough for him to spend his time on."
Dean looked at Sam and shook his head. "Sam, what we do is important. Why can't you accept it and get with the program?"
Sam felt like he'd been sucker punched. Even his brother was against what he wanted. All that mattered was the hunt. As the defeated teenager stepped back and turned to head up to his room, he never saw the look of concern that crossed his older brother's face.
"Sammy wait…" Dean called out but his father stopped him.
"Let him go. He has a lot of packing to do if he wants any of his stuff to follow him. I need you to help me pack up the rest of our stuff tonight." John said as he pulled out another gun to clean.
"Okay Dad, so what's this hunt…" Sam paused but realized his big brother wasn't going to stand up for him this time. He closed his ears to the rest of the conversation. It was obvious he didn't need to know anything about the hunt or why they had to relocate now instead of next week. He was on a need to know basis and his father didn't think he needed to know.
Which is why he was now sitting on his bed and wondering if it he even mattered to his Dad and brother. His father had called him a burden, Caleb thought he'd be a liability and Dean wanted him to grow up. In the end, it didn't matter what he wanted, he'd have to do what he was told and suck it up.
As he stood to look around his room, he noticed the books he'd brought home from school. He'd planned on spending the weekend studying for his final exam. It was clear he didn't need to worry about it any longer. He stood and picked up his school books and placed them in the back of the closet.
It didn't take long for him to pack his things. He didn't really have that much. Constant moving meant he rarely unpacked. The only thing he carried with him from place to place were his clothes, his books and a small album Dean had given him. Sam's life was contained within its clear plastic pages. Copies of the awards for excellence, the notices of him making the honors list and even his previous report cards that always contained comments on what a good student he was. As he gazed at the album he realized none of what was inside held any importance to anyone except him.
He looked at the box that contained the sum of his school years and achievements. It was pretty sad that his whole life could fit inside card board box. Shrugging, he dropped the album back in the box. He picked up the box and instead of taking it downstairs to the Impala, he placed it in the back of the closet with his current school books. "No sense bringing this stuff along anymore—hunters don't need these kind of books and my awards won't stop a werewolf or black dog." Sam muttered to himself as he closed the door on the closet and on his dreams.
Raven524: So, here is the first chapter. The story is almost done so I will be trying to post daily. Since sendintheclowns wanted limp Sam—she'll get plenty of limp Sam along with a dose of angsty Dean and clueless John…oh yeah, and I hear she likes stories that have the boys facing the elements, so we have a bit of that in there too! Hope you all enjoy the story as it progresses—now where did I leave that next chapter?