A Father Lost, A Father Gained

Disclaimer: I do not own the Winchesters or anything else recognizable in this story. I am only playing with them for a little while. Not making any money either from this endeavor either!

Author's Note: Okay, you can thank Criminally Charmed for this story. She put a thought into my head about what would happen if John disappeared or died and I couldn't get it out. This story is the result. BTW for this story, Dean is nine and Sammy is five.

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"Dean, I'm hungry, when are we going to eat?" Sammy asked as he looked up at his brother with pleading eyes, his stomach grumbling loudly. They hadn't had anything for breakfast since the cereal was gone and the peanut butter sandwich he had eaten earlier didn't sustain him for long.

Looking into the cupboard, Dean saw the lone can of Spaghettio's sitting on the shelf. It was the last of their food and he didn't have the money to buy more since he only had seventy five cents left to his name. Pulling the can from the pantry shelf, he wondered just where in the hell their dad was. He was four days overdue now and hadn't bothered to even call. Getting the can opener, he quickly opened the can and emptied it's contents into the small pan and sat it on the stove. Turning the burner on low, he stirred the noodles until they seemed warm enough and poured most of the noodles into a bowl for Sammy leaving a small amount for himself. He didn't need to eat as badly as Sammy did even though he hadn't eaten anything else in two days. It was more important that Sammy was fed. "Here ya go Sammy." Dean said as he placed the bowl in front of his brother before handing him a spoon.

"Thanks De, you're the best" stated Sammy with a mile wide grin that showcased the dimples in his cheeks as he quickly spooned some into his mouth.

"Yeah I am, ain't I?" Dean said with a smile even though he was worried beyond belief on the inside. There was nothing else left for them to eat and once he poured the last of the juice to go with their Spaghettio's, that would be gone too. He hated to think about waking up tomorrow and telling Sammy there was nothing to eat when he woke up hungry in the morning. "Where the hell are you dad?" he thought to himself as he did his best to hide his nervousness. He didn't want Sammy to be worried, he was already worried enough for the two of them.

Once they had eaten, Dean turned on the small television in the living room of the house they were currently renting and had Sammy sit on the couch. "You stay right there Sammy and watch G.I Joe while I go clean up the kitchen and wash the dishes." He waited for just a moment until Sammy was engrossed by the cartoon and then left to clean up the kitchen.

As he stood by the sink washing the dishes, Dean wondered what he would do in the morning. He really needed to go out and get them some food, but he couldn't chance leaving Sammy in the motel room by himself after that incident with the Shtriga approximately six months back. His little brother had almost died then because he had been selfish and wanted some time to himself, well that damned sure was never going to happen again. Knowing that he couldn't leave Sammy to starve, he decided he would take him down to that corner market in the morning and he would have to do a little shoplifting, nothing big…just enough to get them through a day or two maybe. He knew he would have to be extremely careful. If they got caught, CPS would be called in for sure and dad would kill him when he got back home.

Finishing up with the dishes, Dean dried his hands off with the towel and went into the living room to join Sammy, he kinda liked G.I Joe himself. Sitting on the couch, he watched as Sammy slid over next to him and leaned into him. Wrapping an arm around his baby brother, he pulled Sammy close as they talked about how awesome the soldiers were as they took out Cobra's army. They had been watching cartoons for a little over an hour, when Sammy decided to lay down and put his head in Dean's lap with a yawn.

"Sammy, time for bed kiddo." Dean informed his little brother as he patted him on the shoulder.

"Not yet De, the Thundercats are coming on next and I want to watch them first." Sammy begged as he looked up at Dean with those puppy dog eyes of his.

"Okay Sammy, but after the Thundercats go off, it's off to bed for you. I don't want to hear any arguments."

"I promise Dean, no arguments." Sammy stated with a smile as he snuggled into his brother's lap. He sure had the best big brother in the world. Closing his eyes for just a minute to rest while the commercials played, Sammy missed the opening scene of the Thundercats as he slipped off into sleep.

"So you wanted to watch the Thundercats huh?" Dean questioned with a smirk as he rolled his eyes. "Looks like your watching the back of your eyelids instead to me." Gently shifting out from under his Sammy's head to stand, he picked his baby brother up and carried him to their room. Placing Sammy on the bed that was furthest from the door, he pulled off his shoes and socks and then his jeans so that the kid could sleep more comfortably "Night tiger." He whispered as he ruffled Sammy's curly brown locks before stripping out of his own jeans and climbing into bed. It wouldn't hurt to miss one night of brushing their teeth.

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Dean groaned as he was awakened early the next morning by Sammy jumping on his bed. He didn't know how his baby brother could be so chipper in the morning when all he wanted to do was roll over and go back to sleep. Sitting up and running a hand through his sleep mussed hair, he felt the pangs of hunger in his stomach. Honestly, he was beginning to feel a little sick at this stomach from not having much to eat the past few days, but he could live the feeling knowing that at least Sammy hadn't went hungry.

"De, what are we going to have for breakfast?" Sammy asked as he plopped down beside his brother huffing and puffing in exhaustion from jumping on he bed

"Well kiddo, I was thinking that once we get dressed, we could go to the store and buy a candy bar for breakfast. What do you think, would you like that?" Dean asked knowing he would be secretively shoplifting some other supplies too.

"Ooohhhh, Daddy won't like that." Sammy giggled as he placed his hands to his mouth in excitement. Daddy never let them have candy for breakfast and he didn't like them eating it much at other times either. Candy was supposed to be a treat for special times only.

"Well dad's not here and what he doesn't know won't hurt him." Dean said a little bitterly. If their dad had been home, he wouldn't have been forced to take Sammy to the store to buy a candy bar while he heisted some other items too. Quickly going through their morning routine of getting their teeth brushed and getting Sammy and himself dressed, Dean put Sammy's jacket on and then grabbed his own, the one that had pockets sewn on the inside. Taking Sammy by the hand, he opened the door and led him out onto the porch, making sure to lock the door behind them.

Starting their walk down to the corner market, Dean said, "Sammy I need to do something while we are at the store. I want you to keep the old man at the counter busy by trying to decide which candy bar you want okay. When I get beside you, then you can tell the man which one you want."

"Okay De." Sammy replied as he thought about all the different kinds that he could look at. The walk to the store took almost ten minutes and Sammy was feeling a little tired by the time they finally got there. Smiling at the store owner as they walked inside, Dean said, "My brother wants to look at the candy bars, can you show him which kinds you have?"

"Sure son, I'd be happy too." The kindly old gentleman said as he started pointing out the different types. He was so engrossed by Sammy's excitement that he didn't notice Dean walking away and picking up a few items and placing them into the pockets of his jacket. Knowing that he risked getting caught if he tried to take too much, Dean silently approached to the side and said, "Okay Sammy, you have to choose one now kiddo. I know it's hard, but we got to go since we're not supposed to be gone too long."

"Can I have the Hershey candy bar Dean? I know you like the M&M's better, but I really want the Hershey bar please."

"Okay Sammy, what ever you want tiger." Dean replied as he reached into the pocket of his jeans and pulled out the money.

The store owner's heart melted at the sight of the big brother caving in to the little brother's wishes. He had a big brother also, but his older brother had never did something so sweet for him. "Ya know, you can buy both if you want." He said as he smiled down at the two angelic boys in front of him.

"No sir I can't, I only have seventy five cents so I don't have enough money to buy two candy bars." Dean informed him with a wistful smile asking how much he owed.

"Well, you're in luck then son. Just so happens that the candy bars are on sale today, two for seventy five cents tax included." The old man stated with a grin. He would be losing a few cents on the sale, but it was more than worth it to him to see the boys eyes sparkling with happiness.

"Yay Dean, you gets to have one too." Sammy said as he reached over and got Dean a bag of his favorite chocolate candy.

"Thank you sir." Dean said with a smile knowing the candy really wasn't on sale. "I really appreciate it."

"You're welcome son, you two boys have fun now." The store owner said as he watched the two children walking away hand in hand. It gave him a good feeling inside knowing that he had done something nice for the two of them.

"Dean, can I have my candy now?" Sammy questioned as he held the candy bar in his hand. He really wanted to open it, but Dean had a firm grasp of his other hand so he wasn't able to do so.

"Not yet Sammy, you can eat it when we get home." Dean informed him as he held his brother's hand tight, hoping against hope that maybe their dad would be there when they got home.

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"How is he doing doctor?" The nurse questioned as she looked down at the dark haired man lying on the hospital bed with the ventilator tube protruding from his mouth who looked to be around thirty with a muscular build. She felt so sorry for the man who had been gravely injured and was brought in two days ago barely breathing. He had been found out in the woods by some men who were hiking and been medivac'ed to their location. He was suffering from an extremely severe head injury, broken ribs, and claw marks that encompassed most of his chest and stomach. They had almost lost him a few times, but he had held on.

Grasping his wrist to take his pulse, she wondered if he had any family and if they were missing him. Surely someone would have been calling hospitals or reported him as a missing person by now. Palming his cheek, she wondered when he would awaken from the coma he had slipped into without ever regaining consciousness. "We're here for you John, you're not alone." She whispered. They had taken to calling him John because he had been found without any type of identification papers on him making him a John Doe in the eyes of the police. Pulling up a chair, she sat down and read to him knowing that coma patients were thought to be able to hear, even though they were in such a deep state of sleep. She hoped that he was at least a little comforted by the fact that he was not alone.

TBC FYI, 1Pagan3 is doing a story with the boys as teenagers and a different scenario where John disappears or dies!. It is freaking awesome.