"Dean, all these texts and books say the same thing about the inner child. You just gotta let him out of that cage that you've built for him. Let him be free. He just wants you to stop ignoring him; to accept his existence."

The next time D showed up, Dean was fast asleep and even Sam, who was awake, didn't notice the kid at first. What made him aware of the kid's presence was the fact that Dean's breathing pattern changed and it sounded like he was having difficulty breathing; that was followed by low, guttural moans of pain and distress coming from the still sleeping man. Hearing that, Sam knew either Dean was back in the dungeon with the child or D was back with them and it turned out to be the latter, as he surveyed the room. The child was sitting in a corner, looking burdened and dejected, but he didn't appear mad and he sure wasn't trying to catch their attention. He wasn't even looking at them; with his arms around his knees and his chin on them, his gaze was on the floor and Sam could bet that the kid wasn't even aware of his surroundings.

"Dean!" Sam gently shook his brother awake. "He's here."

Groaning in pain, Dean took a couple of seconds to wake up properly and then turned on his back and sat up gingerly. "Where?" He croaked when he didn't see the child at first glance.

"Behind the table."

Clenching his jaw, Dean mentally prepared himself for doing what Sam thought would solve their problem. "So, just embrace him?"

"Yeah and be a little less awkward." Sam smiled slightly.

"Can't help it. It's weird. And we don't really know that it'll work. For all we know he might just kill me if I touch him." Dean whispered, hoping the child wouldn't hear his words and take that as an invitation.

"He's you." Sam stated, like it'd be enough of explanation and reassurance. He was worried, though; Dean was paler than before and it was clear the heart pain was bothering him more than a few hours ago; it was affecting the older brother so much that it had started to remind Sam of the time that Dean had been electrocuted and had his heart completely damaged.

"Umm, hey kid." Dean said tentatively as he knelt in front of the small child.

The boy didn't do the slightest thing to indicate that he'd heard Dean.

"I... I owe you an apology." Dean said, deciding to start small. "Can you look at me?" He asked; hoping to see a reaction.

The boy's bottom lip started to tremble and a lonely tear fell out of his left eye. Dean's heart clenched in his chest and this time, he wasn't sure if it was the supernatural impact of the upset inner child that had caused the tightness or seeing the profound sadness on the boy's face. Reaching a hand out, he tried to touch the boy, but he shrank back and screamed a loud 'No'.

"Hey. Hey! It's alright. Calm down." Dean said through clenched teeth, the level of pain in his chest had suddenly skyrocketed as the boy screamed at him. "I'm sorry." He murmured quietly in order not to spook the kid again. "I'm really really sorry for everything."

The boy's head finally turned towards him and he stared at him while fat tears fell from his eyes at a faster pace. Dean's own face had again traces of blood on it as with each tear that left the boy's eyes, drops of blood would leave the corner of Dean's eyes.

"I never meant to hurt you or imprison you." Dean continued soothingly and thought that Sam had been right, this wasn't much different than dealing with any other kid; the only difference was that now, he had to deal with his own painful memories and disappointments which were deeply buried and had never been touched by him. In a way, facing them was the actual hard part and maybe that was the key to fix that whole mess; maybe if he finally acknowledged those painful memories, even a little, then the kid would let go of the festering anger and they could all go on their merry way.

"But you did. I just wanna play." The kid sobbed quietly. "I don't wanna be alone."

"I know. I know. But it wasn't my intention. I had to grow up fast. I didn't have a choice." He muttered painfully, and then tried to touch the boy again.

The boy recoiled from his touch and looked at him angrily.

Against his will, Dean moaned in pain and doubled over.

Sam couldn't take it anymore; he had to do something; so, quietly sitting by his brother's side, he rubbed his back. "Dean?"

"'M OK." Dean gritted out unconvincingly.

"D." Sam turned his gaze to the child. "It really wasn't his fault. You can't be mad at him. If anything, it was my fault."

"Shut up, Sam." Dean growled; he didn't want to risk it in case the child was more powerful that he's shown so far; who knew what he could do to Sam if he decided that Sam was to blame for all his misery.

"What?" Sam asked defiantly. "It was. If it hadn't been for me, you wouldn't have been forced to push back your own needs and desires as a kid."

"That had nothing to do with you."

"Yes it did. You did it because you had to take care of me. You had to act as my father because our real father suddenly couldn't be bothered with his duties as one." Sam spat angrily. "You know what, it's Dad's fault. It's all his fault. He made you stop being a child. You had to take care of me and Dad when you were a little kid yourself and needed someone to take care of you."

"Sam!" Dean called with a warning; "I saw what happened to Mom. Even if Dad hadn't made me do the things that he did and even if I didn't have you to take care of, I still would've become this; I lost my innocence in that fire."

"Many kids experience traumatic incidents in their childhood, Dean, but most of them recover. They don't have to bury their inner child and become a man at 4."

A sob left the child's mouth and the grown-ups realized that they had forgotten about him. Dean's own chest flared with pain and he felt dizzy.

Sam saw it and quickly turned to the boy. "Please. You need to forgive him. It wasn't his fault."

D just stared at him with trembling chin, and then his gaze went to Dean.

Sam nudged his brother to make him try touching D again and biting his lip, Dean pushed himself forward.

"I really am sorry, kid." He said quietly and cautiously touched the boy's shoulder. This time the boy didn't back off, so Dean moved closer. "I know it's too little, too late. But I am and..." He swallowed, "I don't know how I can help you really. I just know that I don't want to see you sad."

"Don't put me in that dungeon again." The boy said in a small voice. "It's scary... and dark." he added with a shudder.

"I promise." Dean replied without missing a beat. "I'm sorry for the past." He muttered as the painful moments of his childhood flashed through his mind; memories that he'd ignored for ages and had even convinced himself that he'd forgotten about them; but they were all there and deep down he'd always known it was impossible to forget those fearful nights, painful days, hurtful words and lonely years. The touch had broken the dam and it was like Dean could feel the pain and burden on the boy's little heart and shoulders; the pain which was way too familiar and he knew only too well what had caused it and how after the fire and since his father got obsessed with the supernatural world the pain got worse and the loneliness grew inside him; he was bombarded with the memories of long days and longer nights when he'd felt terrified and lonely but had put a strong face on, hiding his fears to make sure his brother felt safe and as years went by he stopped acknowledging his fears and needs because he found it easier to fool even himself than waiting for someone to help him; and at that moment he realized what the kid in his arm really meant when he said he'd imprisoned him.

The boy's eyes were filled with tears, but when Dean pulled him into a hug, he didn't protest and he didn't sob. He just let go; his small frame was lost in Dean's arms and once his face touched Dean's chest, Dean felt like he'd been electrocuted again. As pain flared up in his chest, a sudden light flashed in the room and engulfed Dean as the boy disappeared in Dean's embrace. Moments later, Dean's boneless body collapsed to the floor.

"Dean." Sam called worriedly as he grabbed his brother's shoulders, shaking him frantically. "Come on, Man. Open your eyes." He felt frozen and scared, what if he had been wrong? What if this led Dean to his death? But then he noticed Dean's wheezing as he breathed in and out and finally the younger man sighed with relief. Dean was alive and the child was gone. At least for now. He had to wait for Dean to wake up and see if he felt any different.

Meanwhile, he took the talisman that they'd found in Jonathon Crane's box and put it in the sink, pouring salt and gas on it and then set fire to it.

Both brothers had decided to keep the talisman safe until they had resolved the problem with the child, because while in some texts it was mentioned that burning the object solved the problem and got rid of the inner child and no other child would show up around the place where the talisman existed, it was also mentioned that the current victim always died along with their inner child.

Once the magical object caught fire, Dean gasped loudly and opened his eyes.

"Whoa. Dean? You OK?" Once again, Sam rushed to his brother's side and helped him to sit up.

Grimacing, Dean nodded. "Is he gone?"

"Yes, it's over." Sam smiled. "I just burned the charm and you're alive. It's really over."

"Good. Good." Dean sighed and pushed himself up. "This was one creepy case." He said and tried not to show he was still affected by the memories that had rushed through his head before losing consciousness.

"Tell me about it." Sam said sympathetically. "What do we say to the sheriff and Crane's friends?"

Dean, who was still not fully recovered, shook his head tiredly. "Don't know. Just tell them we got a lead in another town and let's get the hell outta here."

That sounded perfect to Sam. "Yeah, OK."

"We sure something like this won't happen again?"

"The spell Crane had used was bound to the charm. Without it, everything is back to normal."

"Then let's hit the road."

"You sure you're ready? You still look kinda pale."

"My heart was being squeezed in my chest; I'd say it takes a while before my colors get back to normal after something like that." Dean pointed out with a scorn.

"Maybe we should see a doctor?" Sam sounded worried. "What if it'd caused lasting damage?"

"Sam, I just wanna leave this hell hole and go home. We'll think about it if my heart stops later."

"This is not a joke, Dean."

Shaking his head and rolling his eyes, Dean sighed, "My heart is not gonna stop, Sammy. I'm fine."

"But will you see a doctor if you don't feel better soon?" Sam asked, sounding like the worried little brother he was.

"Fine."

"OK."

"OK."

"So, back to the bunker?"

"You have anywhere else on mind?"

"We could always go to the playground. You've promised D, remember?"

"D is perfectly happy with the current status quo. Don't put what you long to do on him." Dean scoffed; feeling a stab of pain as he remembered the kid in his arms.

Sam laughed with delight. "I'm just saying."

"And if you don't stop, you're gonna find your own way back to the bunker."

Sam suddenly got serious and stopped his brother in the middle of packing his stuff. "It wasn't your fault, Dean. You believe that, now. Don't you?"

Dean clenched his fist and turned his gaze to his brother. "It kinda was." He smiled weakly.

"You said it yourself; you didn't have a choice."

"And as you said, many kids go through shit in their childhood but they don't all become like me."

"Nothing's wrong with you." Sam stated firmly. "And, none of those children I talked about go through what you did and they are never left with the responsibility of a family."

"It doesn't matter, anyway. The case is solved and it's not like anyone got hurt."

"You got hurt." Sam frowned.

"I'm better already."

"Not talking about now." Sam looked Dean straight in the eyes; despite Dean's effort he could see the sadness in his eyes. "You got hurt because of what Dad did and you sacrificed your desires and your childhood for us. You went through so much and you never let anyone see the pain. I... Thanks."

"It wasn't like that and you know it. Now stop." Dean looked away and busied himself with gathering his stuff from around the room; yes, he'd promised D not to send him back to that dungeon; he'd think about his past and he wouldn't try to pretend he'd had a normal childhood, anymore; heck, he'd curse his dad in his head and stay mad at him for what he'd done; because he might've thought it cool to hold a gun at age 10 when he'd been a kid, but even then he knew he'd needed something else and had only survived by focusing on everyone else's needs; but none of those meant he'd have chick flick moments with his brother now; he hadn't promised to talk about his feelings and pains out loud.

"No, Dean. I mean it. Thanks. And I'm sorry for being part of the reason you had to grow up so fast and for forgetting how hard things have been for you and for always complaining about what I have lost."

"OK, Sam. Seriously. That's enough."

"Thanks, Dean." Sam repeated stubbornly.

"Jesus, Sam. You're such a sap. Can we hit the road now?" Dean said gruffly; but the slight smile at the corner of his mouth and the affectionate look in his eyes told Sam that he'd heard him and was grateful for the heartfelt words.

Rolling his eyes with a smile of his own, Sam sighed, "One thing's clear. You're never gonna get better at emotional stuff."

"That's because I'm a man." Dean growled. "Unlike you. Samantha!"

It'd been years since Dean had called him that and strangely it made Sam laugh mirthfully. There was a day that despite everything, Dean still tried to be as carefree as possible and Sam missed those days, because at least then Dean still had the energy for that; nevertheless he was thankful that he still had his brother by his side and he was glad that Dean was still so strong. Dean really was his rock and Sam knew for sure that absolutely no one else'd be able to endure those kind of experiences and still stand straight like Dean could; Dean was the strongest man Sam knew and he also knew that he was his brother's only weak spot; so, the least he could do was to keep doing what he'd started a while back for good; be actually there for Dean and show he cared, too; show him that he, too, would be lost without his brother and that he depended on Dean way more than Dean depended on him. That way, Dean would always remain strong. They both would always remain strong. Nothing could get to them as long as they were truly together.

.

.

FINI!

.

A/N: Let me know what you think?

.

.

I don't own the show and its characters and all mistakes are mine.