Then and Now

Life is harsh pt. 1

October 24th, 2011
Somewhere in Ohio

The brothers had been skipping from town to town ever since the incident in Nebraska. Dean had resolved that as long as Sammy was still in danger, they would keep moving. It wasn't an easy life, he would give almost anything to be able to just... stop. To settle down, go to school and make friends. To have a life.

That was just a dream though. Instead they kept travelling, always looking over their shoulders, never trusting anyone. Dean had managed to learn a thing of two about mechanics and cars from the man that had fixed the Impala up, and picked up work whenever they decided to stop somewhere for a couple of weeks. They were both taking their school classes online now, no point enrolling in a school when you where planning on only being in town two weeks?

Sam hadn't brought up what had happened in May, and Dean certainly wasn't going to breach that topic. Hell, he still had nightmares where one minute he was watching his mum fall to the ground, and the next it was him with the gun in his hand, and the man dead in front of him. 

He just wanted to keep running, but he had the feeling that no matter where they went, he would never escape that. He also spent long nights tossing and turning in bed, his mind haunted by the man's words. 'Random psycho? Kid, this ain't no random psycho, you just wait until you found out exactly who you're dealing with.'

Who was chasing them? Dean had the horrible feeling that the day would soon come where he would face the killer once more. He also had the feeling that maybe they wouldn't be so lucky to escape a third time.

May 2nd, 2012
Lawrence, Kansas

Sam was 13 today, and Dean was just honestly relieved that he had managed to keep the two of them alive long enough to see this day. He felt bad that Sammy wasn't getting to start his last year in middle school in September like all the other awkward new teens. Hopefully he would at least get to start high school next year. 

He knew it was risky to take Sam back to Kansas, but he thought that the kid deserved to at least see their parent's graves. They both did. 

They spent hours in the graveyard that day. Dean just sat between the two weather worn headstones that held his parent's names and cried for a good hour. The pain never really left, but he had gotten good at hiding it. Now that he was actually here, sitting six feet above them... it was too much.

"I love you guys," Dean whispers, running a hand over the grass. Sam just sat there silently, tears running down his cheeks as he stared at their mother's headstone.

"I hope that you're... you're safe and... happy and..." Dean swallows, wiping away the tears that burned into his cheeks. "And I hope that we are able to make you guys p-proud because... I have no idea what... what I'm do... doing and I really... really wish you..." Dean hadn't realized just how painful it would be to actually see their graves but now that they were here, all the pain that had been building up over the last 10 years finally came free. 

Happy 13th birthday Sam, Dean just hoped that they would live to see his next.

July 4th, 2012
The Grand Canyon

Sam was grinning up at the night sky, which was so amazingly clear from where they had parked the Impala up near the top of the Gran Canyon. The milky way stretched across the sky, a million stars twinkling like brilliant gems... Dean had to admit, it was one hell of a sight. Especially after the hellish year they had had. 

The cops in Kansas had been alerted to the fact that the two missing kids from the system had come home (Dean knew taking Sam to the graveyard had been a risk), and thus had given chase to them until Dean had finally lost them crossing the state line into Missouri. Not leaving anything to chance, they had kept moving throughout the states until finally coming here.