AN: Hey guys. Sorry for a long hiatus. I didn't mean it to be this long and I'm sorry. Life's getting busy and this story was kind of hard to be expressed into words. I've got a new beta here for this story. Thanks a lot iluvsprntrl. She must be the most patient person I ever knew in this virtual world. Well all my betas are really patient because my English is suck and I just found out that there were a looooooooooot of mistakes in this chapter. Hmmm... Just wonder how you guys could stand my previous 1st and 3rd chapter without being betaed. But thanks anyway. Really appreciate it.

Summary&Disclaimer: See Chapter 1.

.

Chapter IV

Rescued

-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-0-o-

.

January 24, 1984, Arkansas River, Kansas…

A man sat by the river with a bottle of beer in his hand. He didn't bother to find another comfortable place; he just lay down on the ground covered with small stones. His eyes were red from crying and his hair was a mess. There was a mending cut just below his hairline. And his unshaved face along with stinky clothes aggravated his look. Three bottles of empty beer lay motionless not far from him, ready to gain the tally.

Alan looked at the photo in his hand. Two smiling faces were looking at him, a beautiful woman hugging a small blond hair boy in her arms. They were beautiful, they were happy. Alan heaved a shaken breath. He was also happy back then but now he was alone. They were gone. His wife and son were gone, leaving him with regret as a burden to be carried unwillingly.

He could remember distinctly their faces, their laughs, their voices, singing along with him as he drove the Volvo out of the town. It was a dark cold Tuesday night. They were just celebrating his promotion as the new marketing manager in the insurance company and on their way back to their home. He was too happy, too glad with his life, causing him to become careless that night. As he speeding down the road, he was enjoying the felicitous moment too much and not aware of a big black truck running down the way when he turned into the corner of the junction.

He woke up the next day in the hospital just to find out that Laura and Harry couldn't be saved. They left him alone. And to worsen the guilt he felt, he just had a few cuts and a concussion when he should be the one who died in the accident because it was entirely his fault.

Alan wiped the tears before putting his elbow on his knee and ran his hand through his hair which was dark brown even in his late thirties. He looked up to the cloudy sky and shook with a sob. It was going to rain. The sky was dark with abrupt lightning emitted from cloud to cloud. He closed his eyes. Even the world was sick with him.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry." He whispered alone.

He looked back down to the photo before put it firmly into his pocket. He started to gather himself up, swaying a little but managed to stand up. Alan looked at the middle of the river; the water splashed along the riverside and flowed rapidly to his right. A few branches could be seen floating along with the water. He closed his eyes for a moment, trying to shut out all the voices around him, just to hear his own voice from his mind. Just do it. Just do it.

He fluttered his eyes open.

One step in front of the other, Alan brought his frame to the river bank. He had no desire to turn back anymore; he put his left foot into the cold water followed by the other. The water temperature didn't register in his mind for even a second. He just propelled into the deep water more and more until he could feel the water reached his chin. He stood up straight from his little crouched position so the water level went down to his shoulder. He looked at the sky once again but not like before, this time with a small smile plastered on his face. I'm coming Laura. Daddy's coming Harry Boy.

THUD!

A hard object almost knocked him forward. His dazed head that full with self-destruction mind pulled back into reality. Alan frowned. He stunned for a while before turned his head to look at the object that disturbed his action just now. His eyes widened in shocked. It was a floating piece of wood that halted against his back but that was not his main focus because gripping hard to the wood and lying face down on it was a little boy, who was soaking wet and looked a lot like Harry from the back!

"Harry?" He knew he was crazy when he uttered the name because deep down his heart he also knew that boy was not Harry.

Alan reached the floating boy from behind. The blue shirt with a short khaki he wore couldn't hide the bluish color from the boy's exposed skin. Alan even wondered if the boy was already dead. But a twitch of the small fingers snapped him from his thought. The boy was still alive. Alan pulled the still shoulder to face him but the limp form nearly fell down into the splashed water. He gathered the boy quickly into his arms. He could feel the small figure shivering hard against his chest. A few gashes appeared from the pale face. Within the wet blond hair, he could see a red wound that still bleeding slowly.

Do something Alan. This boy needs your help.

A voice in his mind moved his foot closer to the riverside and his pace faster and faster until he reached his truck not far from there. He snatched the blanket from the back and struggled to wrap the boy with the grey afghan before laying him carefully on the passenger's seat. He positioned himself behind the steering wheel, setting down the boy's head on his lap before geared the car up onto the road.

He just drove through the unknown place. He didn't even know where he was right now because he spent the previous night driving the car nowhere until he arrived to the river. But he thought he saw a clinic not far from there and he hoped he was right because the boy really needed help. He fingered the boy's neck; the pulse was weak but steady. His main concern was the hitched breathing. Only God knew how long the child was floating like that in the cold water. He was so relieved when he saw the emergency sign of the clinic. He pulled over the car in front of the entrance and carried the weight of the boy in his arms.

A man wearing a blue garment stepped out of the door walking to a parked car when he saw a man with an unconscious child rushing toward him.

"Oh God! What happened?" The man jogged closer to Alan and tried to take the boy from his arms. Alan looked at him in confusion.

"Oh I'm sorry, sir. I'm Dr. Parker, the owner of the clinic." At the honest answer, Alan let the boy drop into the doctor's arms. Dr. Parker rushed into the clinic, mouthed an urgent order to his nurse to prep the room while Alan just trailing behind. When the doctor rushed himself into a room, Alan hesitated for a moment, he didn't know if he could be in there with them.

Screw that. This is not a hospital. Then, he strode into the room.

But that was his mistake, he couldn't help being shocked at the scene. His anxiousness was back. All he could see was his Harry, not moving while a doctor tried to rouse him back to life. The same blond hair really wrapped his vision. But when he saw the face, his mind snapped back. He was not Harry, stop it. Then he felt the dizziness start to rush into him.

"Sir, why don't you sit down for a while? Don't worry about your son he's going to be okay." He flinched a little at the word 'son'. The nurse led him to a chair outside of the room and gave him a blanket which he accepted gladly. He covered himself up a little more when he felt himself shivering so much. Alan leaned against the chair. The warmth he got from the blanket and the heater started to help him clear his mind. It was then when he realized about what really happened back there at the river.

Oh my God. I was just going to kill myself. Alan gasped because he had never thought that one day he was going to do that. He knew Laura and Harry might never accept that kind of action even if he did it for them. He fixed his eyes to the room's door before him. And that boy just saved my life.

"Don't worry about your son he is going to be okay." The nurse's words were clamped in his ear, echoed in his head. "…your son is going to be okay." Alan straightened up his form. A crazy idea just burst into his mind.

His gaze never left the door until it cracked open and Dr. Parker walked straight to him. Alan stood up, towering an inch more than the doctor. He removed the blanket from his shoulder and put it aside on the chair. The sincere concern etched on his face. The doctor looked into his eyes with a small smile.

"Mr…"

"Smith. I'm Alan Smith."

"Mr. Smith, he's your son right?" That was one. But Alan didn't answer so the doctor just continued. "He is suffering from pneumonia and a fever. But we have enough equipment to treat the illness. Besides that, he also has a few cuts but nothing to worry about that."

"I saw the blood." Alan stated his voice abruptly.

"Yes, your son…" Two. "…knocked his head on something hard but apart from a slight concussion, there is nothing to worry about." When no words uttered from the taller man again, Dr. Parker proceeded. "He's not awake yet but I think we just need to wait and see. This is a small town so I bet you're not from here. We prepared a room for your son." Three. And that was enough to make him certain about his crazy mind.

"So, can I see-" His lips were trembling along with his heart. "…my son?"

------

Alan walked slowly into the room. There was a little teddy bear clasped in his hand. It was already three days after he found that kid. And he hated himself and felt ashamed when he realized that the boy really distracted his mind from the tragedy happened to his family. It didn't mean that he didn't care anymore but there was something about this boy. He should tell the police. Somebody lost their child but for his own selfish reasons, he didn't want to. It was not fair to them or to the kid. This kid shouldn't be a replacement for his lost son. But he couldn't help it, he just couldn't.

Alan sighed. He strolled closer to the still figure that lay on his side, facing his back to him. The boy woke from his long deep sleep this morning when he was out to get some breakfast and the teddy bear. When he came back and the nurse told him that he couldn't see his son for a while because the doctor wanted to check him first, he got so nervous and afraid. He was afraid if they would find out about the boy that his name was not Harris Joseph Smith like in the registration form and Alan was not his real father.

But to load more onto his sins list, the boy had amnesia. He didn't remember anything about himself. Poor boy.

Alan pulled a chair beside the bed and sat himself down. To his surprise, when the boy was aware of his presence, he rolled on his back, pushed himself up slowly and sitting on the bed, fixed his gaze down. Alan could feel a warm feeling in his heart of the welcome gesture. But at one good look, he could see the uneasiness on the face and the green hazel eyes clearly showed fear and confusion. Guilt pitched his heart. He was so young but he was already shouldering a big problem by himself, alone.

"Hey." Alan said slowly. He waited for a reaction but there was none. Like Dr. Parker said, this boy was in shock; he just looked down on his lap and didn't say anything since he woke up.

"I brought this for you." He handed the teddy bear in view but the beautiful eyes stayed on the lap, unwilling to compromise. A small nasal cannula still hooked to the cute nose. Alan studied him for a while. In his eyes, this little child didn't look like Harry anymore. He was bigger than Harry, maybe five years old, a year older than his own son. Harry had blue eyes, nothing like his clear green hazel eyes. And this kid had beautiful long eyelashes.

"You know when I was a little boy like you, I didn't want a teddy bear like this too because it was just for girls. But my mom said it was okay to have it when I was sick." Alan said. His right hand put the teddy bear on the boy's lap but the boy just sat in silent. He took the advantage to touch the boy's hand. He could feel the trembling hand in his. At first the boy tried to pull his hand away but when Alan didn't try to pull back, the boy stopped, letting this stranger rubbed his hand slowly.

The boy looked to the stranger from the corner of his eyes. The doctor and nurse had said that this man was his father. So he shouldn't be afraid of his own father, right? But still he felt his head was empty, he didn't know what to think. He didn't know this man.

Alan smiled at the response. But he didn't want to startle the boy more, so he just sat there, chatted about everything that crossed his mind. And he was happy when he saw the boy relax a little more then before. For the whole day he didn't go anywhere, he didn't want to leave the boy alone. He wanted the child to know him, and accept him. This was like a new Harry for him.

------

That night it was a warm and the boy was already asleep. Alan read a book he borrowed from Nurse Abby. But he didn't heed the book's content. His mind was crawling far away from it. He looked at the sleeping boy. He knew he wanted to do this. But he still doubted his actions concerning taking this child as his own. He knew this was an illegal action, a big crime. He had a friend and money to settle this thing for him but his mind still debated whether to call his friend or not. In his head chanting a few more possibilities, he drifted into a deep sleep.

Until he woke up when he sensed that somebody was peeking silently at him. He opened his eyes slowly. Instead of who he expected, it was the boy who lay on the bed, facing him and gave a close looked at him. In the dim light, he could see that there was fear in the eyes. The boy was afraid of something.

"Hey, buddy. You okay there?" Before Alan could reach him, suddenly the boy rose up from his bed, trying to step down to the floor. And when he was successfully stood up, he looked at Alan.

The boy was holding a sob. A small hiccup freed from the shaken pinched lips. There was nothing else that could wrench the older guy's heart into pieces like that. So he offered his hand which was surprisingly welcomed by the boy who launched himself into Alan's chest, crying himself out.

"Shh…shhh… It's okay. It's okay." Alan rubbed the boy's back smoothly, hugging the curled figure who rocked into his chest, gripping his shirt hard. Trying to avoid the small tube that was hanging from the oxygen tank attached to the boy's nose, he cradled the child in his arms until the boy succumbed into a deep sleep again.

Alan wiped his tears which unconsciously emerged. He kissed the boy's blond hair lightly. He felt so sorry for the boy. Somehow he could understand how it felt to wake up not knowing what to think or what to do, or who to trust. It was a horrible nightmare.

"Don't you worry, kid. I promise you will never feel lonely again."

o0o0o0o

Present; California…

Alan wiped the photo frame before put it beside another stood photo on his big table. It was a picture of younger Dean and himself in front of the Eiffel Tower a few years back when he worked in France for a couple of years. And another one was the picture of his late wife and Harry. It was a busy first week and he couldn't even have time to arrange all the things from his box into the office. It was just now he managed to steal his break to get all the things settled.

Alan fixed his eyes to both photos. He could remember clearly the first conversation he had with Dean, and it was the first time ever the boy opened his mouth after they met. And it was the day when he took the boy home.

"Come on Harry. We are home." Alan said while standing next to the boy's door. He didn't mean to replace his Harry with this boy but he couldn't help it, he kept calling him as Harry.

'Harry' just fixed his eyes on his lap before a small voice uttered from the little lips. "Dean."

Alan widened his eyes and gasped both in shocked and excited. The boy said something. He was just talking to him. And it was just a lovely voice. "What?" Alan demanded a repetition but with a careful tone. And he couldn't hide his smile anymore when the kid looked up at him with trembling eyes but ready to talk more.

"My name is Dean."

Alan's smile faded. "You… remember?"

But the boy drew back his eyes on his lap. Alan could feel his hand shaking. He didn't want to lose this boy. He just started to love him. He didn't want to be alone again.

But like a magical spell, his worry was over just in a shake of head. "No. Just my name." Then the boy looked up again, but this time his eyes filled with confusion, and tears. "Why are you calling me Harry? You're… lying to me. You're not my dad." And then he started to sniff, holding his sobbed. He liked this guy but he was not his dad. And he was scared.

Alan looked at the boy for a long time. The tears wrenched his heart one more time. He couldn't stand it anymore. So he picked up the boy from the seat and hugged him so hard. The boy let out tears on his shoulder, wrapping his arms around the older guy's neck. "Hey I'm sorry… for calling you Harry. I'm sorry. You're Dean. My Dean. And I'm your dad. Don't you ever doubt that, baby. I'm your dad."

"Really?" the words mumbled on his shoulder with a sob. The arms wrapped his neck harder than before.

"Really. I promise."

After a few moments, Dean pulled his hug, wiping his teary eyes. "So, who's Harry?"

Alan smiled. He swallowed a little. "He…" Alan inhaled a deep breath before continued. "He's your brother." He didn't know where it came from but he just said it. "Hey, Dean. Why don't we get inside and I'll tell you a story about your brother… and your mother." The little guy nodded before once again landed his head on the broad shoulder.

Alan walked inside, holding the small child in his arms. He just got his son back. Not Harry but a new son. He just got a new son. His lips formed a smile.

Alan wiped his unshed tears. It was just one of the best moments in his life. Having a son like Dean, he would never turn back. He would never regret it because Dean was the best thing ever happened to him.

TBC

SM

How was that guys? Tell me please. But I wanna say that a lot more will come about the Dean-Winchesters relationship and Dean will start to be sick again after a few more chapters. Lets hope he gets what he wants before... you know... So REVIEW please.... :)