He's got eyes that sing to me... remind me of childhood melodies...

[likely_evil]

Just for Bobby at the moment... others to join later...

They were in North Dakota according to the map that Alec and Dean had been looking at. There was something in the back of Sam's mind that found the town familiar. Little fireflies in his mind, wanting to guide him again.

Why were there fireflies in his mind? He always saw freflies, no matter where they went.

He had sat in the Impala after Dean and Alec went to bed because he was trying to figure this out when one big firefly came by the window, beckoning him to follow it. So he did, walking along the fields quickly as he tried to catch it.

When he was able to catch them, he remembered things. But the things he remembered with them would always fly away again. Out of his mind and into the wind. Not like the memories that Dean gave him.

He had a few now. Memory of a tape measure. Of a necklace. Small things and they were always of him as a kid. There were no adult memories. And Sam wondered why.

Soon, the firefly led him along the path to a junkyard. Sam could see all the magic here, trendils that wove a web in a white light. He was careful as he walked, not wanting to touch a single strand of it until he got to the door where the firefly had landed.

Sam tilted his head, reaching for the insect and wrapping his fingers around it roughly. Which on the other side of the door would sound like someone had knocked.

Comments

[maninflannel.livejournal.com]

Bobby had been sitting in his old, but comfortable chair as he read through a book. It was an hour he probably should have been sleeping, but...well, he was Bobby.

He licked his finger and turned the page, then picked up his beer to take a long sip. When he heard the knock on the door his eyes shot up. Who the hell...

He didn't trust late night visitors. Hell. He didn't trust visitors period. He got to his feet and dropped his book down into the chair, then stepped over to take his riffle down from the wall. He crept towards the door and carefully opened it. He blinked, then brought the riffle up, aiming it directly at Sam. Or Not-Sam in his opinion.

"Who the hell are you?"

[likely_evil]

The kid Sam had possessed didn't look completely like Sam, but the fun offshoot of Sam's uncontrolled psychich powers - that he didn't know he had - was that he could project himself to look more like Sam to those who didn't guard from that kind of thing.

The firefly in his hand disappeared as Sam tilted his head, his eyes confused as he searched for the memories that should be coming to him but didn't.

But there was a name in the back of his head. "Bobby?" he asked in that Sam Winchester I'm lost and need help way.

[maninflannel.livejournal.com]

Bobby's eyes narrowed. He got the sense he should know the kid, but he wasn't exactly listening to it in the moment.

"Yeah? What do you want?"

[likely_evil]

There was a small smile, like a child who had discovered something new. "It's me. Sam."

[maninflannel.livejournal.com]

Bobby stared more, really looking the boy over. Trying to see...

"Sam.." he said softly. The rifle slowly moved down to his side.

[likely_evil]

Now that he told Bobby who he was, he didn't know what else to say. He just looked around, trying to remember the place.

He looked down and saw the salt line. Then he looked back at Bobby. "Can I... come in?"

[maninflannel.livejournal.com]

Bobby still wasn't sure what was going on. He glanced around for Dean, but nodded and stepped back to welcome Sam in. He didn't quite understand yet what form Sam was there before him in.

[likely_evil]

Sam looked down at the salt line again, then at Bobby.

He didn't know. But he had to. Sam blinked, and his eyes went to black. "You have to let me in," Sam said, his voice still soft.

[maninflannel.livejournal.com]

"Oh, Sammy," he sighed. He considered it a moment longer, before moving his foot forward to open up the line to Sam. "Hurry the hell up and come in." His eyes shot around the outside of his house again.

[smart-alec494.livejournal.com]

Alec was pretty sure he's never slept past six am a day in his life. Once you exclude when he was a baby and the times he'd been to injured and well, okay when you looked at it like that there had been lots of times he hadn't gotten up by six. But that wasn't the point.

The point was that Sam was not snuggled up to his big brother when Alec got up. Which wasn't that weird. Sam was kinda squirrelly and sometimes wandered off to do his own thing at odd times. So Alec didn't think anything off it as he got dressed and went for a short run. And maybe a walk through town. The dinner with the best cinnamon rolls was a clear hour walk from their motel. It was one of those cute little down town places. Filled with other joggers an off shift cops. Alec was cool with that though. The Winchesters hadn't broken any laws here yet and they were all friendly enough.

The concern came when Alec got back to the room with a bag full of breakfast in hand. Sam usually showed up for breakfast. He seemed to enjoy eating and their company during it. But no Sam. No Sam's long thin body or Sam's swirling cloud of black.

There was a sulfur scent around the car, but nothing new enough to mean Sam was just waiting to literally materialize out of the shadows. Alec let himself back into the room and Sam few belongings were still in a neat pile in the corner by Dean's bed. It wasn't much. Just some clothes Alec and Dean had gotten for him. A blank book and a pocket dictionary that Alec had gotten him. He figured both could maybe help Sam sort out the thoughts and idea that he didn't have words for yet. So Sam hadn't meant to disappear. Alec hadn't thought so anyway. Sam wouldn't want to upset Dean.

Which is what Alec was about to do. He shook Dean's shoulder. "Dean. Wake up." Jostling a leg was a friendly wake up call with someone combat trained. Shoulder was an insistent command because it meant it was urgent enough to put yourself in danger.

[jstliketherifle.livejournal.com]

"Hmmm?" Dean frowned. He was having this great dream about two blonds that they'd met a few towns back, and it had been working out pretty well -- even had started to smell like cinnamon a bit. But that was before he felt the hand on his shoulder and heard Alec's voice shaking him away, making the blonds (sadly) fade to black and the horrible decor of this particular motel room come into focus.

"What?" he sighed as he sat up, running a hand over his face, and glanced around as the room started to come into focus. "Where's Sam?"

[smart-alec494.livejournal.com]

Alec had crouched down to be at eye level with the man and stayed easily balance on the balls of his feet, hands hanging loose between his knees. "That is the twenty three million dollar question."

[jstliketherifle.livejournal.com]

At that Dean shot up a little bit more, feeling more awake than he was before he heard that statement, a panicked look on his face. "He's gone?"

This wasn't good. This wasn't good in any sense of the word, and he started to push to his feet quickly, glancing around as he did and trying his best not to panic anymore than he already was. Sam being out there on his own just wasn't a good sign. Any number of things could happen to him.

He could wind up getting hunted be someone.

"Do you know how long he's been gone?"

[smart-alec494.livejournal.com]

"Hard to say. Maybe a couple of hours." He was calm because panic wouldn't help. "He wasn't anywhere I could see when I went out around six." He held a hand out to stop what ever was going to fall out of Dean's mouth. "But that's not weird. He often does his own thing in the mornings and will sometimes be gone before I'm up."

"It wasn't strange until he didn't show up for breakfast. Which is why I got you up. His stuff is still here and there's not sign of a strugle."

[jstliketherifle.livejournal.com]

This was bringing up memories he honestly didn't want to relive. Not that he hadn't relived them every day for a year when Sam wasn't around as a demon, but now that he was just starting to get his brother back, he didn't want to lose him all over again.

"Could be any number of things," Dean said with a frown, getting to his feet and starting to pull his clothes on. "This is bad. We have to find him before someone else does." Unless someone else had already, and Sam's already halfway back to Hell again, because Dean couldn't do his damn job and keep an eye on his damn brother.

[smart-alec494.livejournal.com]

"It might not be that bad. I'm all for searching for his skinny ass, but he isn't stupid, or defensless." Alec got up and put a cinnamon roll in Dean's hand, because the man needed food and soon coffee.

"And it isn't like he's wearing a sign that says 'Hi, I'm a demon.' He's wearing one that says 'I'm a little squirrelly. Can you help me find my big brother?'" Alec had moved on to Dean's bag to fish out clean clothes for the man. He brought the clothes over and looked Dean dead in the eye. "We'll find him."

[jstliketherifle.livejournal.com]

"He may not be stupid or defenseless but that's the problem. He gets caught by hunters, what sign he's wearing isn't going to matter. They'll trap him and they'll send him back to hell. They won't care."

He went through the motions of whatever Alec was giving to him, getting dressed and then taking a bite out of the cinnamon roll. "He probably wouldn't have gone far -- it's not like he has anywhere else to go."

[jstliketherifle.livejournal.com]

When Dean reached the top of the hill, and saw what his brother was doing, his first instinct was to stop him outright. But considering the way his brother had reacted earlier, he knew that Sam was already upset, and he didn't want to make things worse like he usually did. So, for once, the gentle approach was in order.

He moved closer, gently placing his hands on his brother's shoulders to stop him, and gave him a confused look. "What're you doin', Sammy?" His voice was gentle, not reprimanding, just -- curious.

[likely_evil]

"I want to go back in my body." It was a very simple thought. And he didn't know.

He sat back a bit though with Dean's touch, but his hand kept playing in the dirt, trying to move it aside.

[jstliketherifle.livejournal.com]

Dean sighed slightly, before running a hand over his face. "You can't, Sammy. There's -- there's no body there."

Dean had cremated him, on Bobby's insistance. He knew it was the right thing to do, but that didn't mean he'd liked it. That got rid of a whole lot of options that he'd previously had before. Dean reached forward, pushing the rest of the dirt that Sam hadn't moved to the side, and pulling up the urn that they had put the ashes in before they buried him.

"See? It's -- it's just ashes."

[likely_evil]

Sam just looked at the urn a moment, then deflated a bit as he sat on the ground. "Oh."

He looked up at Dean. "You were upset at me. I thought if I was in my body, it would be better."

[jstliketherifle.livejournal.com]

Dean closed his eyes slightly, before shaking his head. "I wasn't upset at you. I was -- I was worried about you. I didn't know where you were."

Because Dean was never upset with his brother. It always found it's way to wind it's way back to Dean -- something Dean did, something Dean said. It usually was Dean's fault, and he wasn't about to deny that in any way.

[likely_evil]

"I'm sorry I walked off. But there was a firefly and it brought me here."

Because really, the fireflies made so much sense to Sam, even if it sounded like crazy talk to everyone else.

[jstliketherifle.livejournal.com]

"I know, Sammy, I know. And I don't mind if you go out on your own for a little bit. But you gotta let me know where you're going, okay? Just in case something happens."

He was dismissing the fireflies for right now. They'd figure out what exactly they were later.

[likely_evil]

Sam nodded. "I know." He reached over to touch the urn. "Ashes to ashes... dust to dust..."