They call me the Anti-Christ

It had started at the playground. Sam was getting into the habit now that springtime had come of taking baby Michael to the park. He would lather the baby up in sunscreen - no skin cancer on his son - and then sit on a blanket in the grass.

Michael was starting to learn to sit up, so Sam would stretch out on his side, reading a book while he son was propped up against his legs and playing with a swinging toy that Sam had straddling them both.

A few feet away, two mothers were playing with their infants, teaching them a word and then showing them the sign for it. After a moment, Sam put down his book and watched them.

"What are you guys doing?" he asked, curiosity getting the better of him.

"Sign language." One of the mothers looked at him. "Since Cynthia can't speak yet, it's a good way for her to communicate her needs to me."

"You mean crying isn't enough?" Sam joked... he learned that wasn't something to joke about real quickly.

( . . . )

"Dean?"

"Not now, Sammy."

"... Deeeean."

"NOT. NOW."

"DEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAANNNNN!"

Dean sighed and stuck his head in the back window, looking at his brother. He couldn't pump gas and look in at the same time because his arms weren't long enough yet. "What do you want?"

"I gotta goooo!" Sam was wiggling in his booster seat, looking at his brother with pitiful eyes.

"Can't you hold it just a few more minutes? I need to finish this."

"I need to go NOW!"

"But Dad's inside and we can't..."

"I GOTTA GO NOW!"

"Fine!" Dean growled and took the pump out of the car, hanging it back up and closing the cap before opening the door and starting to unbuckle the seat belt. Sam jumped out a second later, crawling out of the seat and starting to do a wiggle dance as Dean grabbed the car keys from the ignition and locked the door.

"You're such a baby," he muttered, walking Sam towards the gas station. Their father was coming out just as Dean was walking around the back, and he tossed the keys to him. "Potty emergency. I'll finish pumping when I get back."

Dean then saw that Sammy had stopped walking. "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry Dean." Sam turned and was pouting as the front of his jeans was now wet. "I couldn't hold it any longer."

ooc: takes place during the season 2 ender. Thanks to iluvroadrunner6 and gusthemoose for bits of research help.

C'mere, c'mere -- lemme look atcha. Hey, look at me. It's not even that bad. It's not even that bad, alright? Sammy? SAM! Hey, we're gonna patch ya up, alright? You'll be good as new. I'm gonna take care of you. I gotcha. That's my job, right? Watch out for my pain in the ass little brother. Sam? Sam...


"Sam?"

His eyes drifted open, having fallen asleep when he felt his brother's arms around him and the soft, white light wrapping around the fuzz in his head, laying him to rest gently. He wasn't expecting the soft voice calling his name, and it took him a moment to adjust to the bright light before his eyes focused.

"There you are. Time to wake up, sleepyhead."

Sam blinked, then sat up and rubbed at his eyes. Then he just looked at the woman kneeling next to him. "... Jess?"

Her bright smile welcomed him as her hand come to rest against his cheek. "Yeah, it's me, Sam. It's really me."

"I don't understand. How..." he brows moved in in confusion, then he looked at her in fear. "Dean?"

"He's fine. Well, not fine, but he's alive. Other than that, I don't know." She stood up, holding her hand out to help Sam stand up.

"Alive... then I'm..."

Jess nodded, squeezing his hands as Sam stood up. "I'm sorry, Sam." She pulled him into a tight hug, holding him close. Sam was hesitant, and then he hugged her back gently at first, then tightly.

( . . . )

ooc: Based off this picture prompt. From John's POV.

John Winchester was learning rather quickly that his youngest son had a wild imagination. Also, that leaving him alone with Bobby was sometimes not such a good idea after all.

Sam was six now, sitting at the kitchen table when John got back from a hunt. Bobby was out working in the yard, and John would bet that Dean was following behind him, trying to learn and help with the cars. The mechanic blood ran strong in Dean, and he always wanted to know how things worked.

But not Sam. Sam was happy with the books and his gummi bears on the table. He had learned how to read by the time he was four, and some of the words that Sam knew now - but couldn't spell - made John feel like he had no education at all.

So seeing one of Bobby's research books open in front of Sam wasn't that big of a shock. However, it was turned to an especially graphic page with a human decapitating a vampire. "What you reading, Sammy?" John asked, putting his bag down on the counter.

"Uncle Bobby said it was a horror picture book. I can't read it because it's in pig latin, but the pictures are really gross." Sam looked up at his father and smiled, his fingers playing with the gummi bears. There was also a half eaten strawberry Jell-O cup beside his elbow.

"Well, I'll have to talk to Uncle Bobby about letting you read these things. It'll give you nightmares..." John went to pick up the book, then stopped as he saw exactly what Sam was doing with his gummi bears. "... Sam?"

"Yeah Dad?"

"Why don't you go out and play with Bobby's dog for awhile... get some fresh air."

"But orange bear still needs to set the vampire bear's head on fire." He pointed to the picture, then grabbed the box of matches. "I'm almost ready!"

John closed his eyes, then took the matches. "I don't think Bobby would appreciate you setting the kitchen on fire, Sam."

"But Daaaaaad..."

"Outside now, Sammy."

Sam just pouted, pushing his chair back and getting up. "You never let me have any fun," he stated, then grabbed Cheney by the collar and led the dog outside. John watched him go, then sat down at the table and shook his head.

He wasn't sure if he should be amused by this, or sad in knowing that eventually, Sam would be doing the same thing he was having his bears act out. Right now, he just wanted Sam to be a real kid and run around outside with the dog and play.

The monsters would come soon enough.

“We are able to find everything in our memory, which is like a dispensary or chemical laboratory in which chance steers our hand sometimes to a soothing drug and sometimes to a dangerous poison.“ --Marcel Proust


There was a tree limb that Sam enjoyed sitting on. It was a nice, thick limb that he could lay on his stomach and watch the world around him. There was a park and a playground and the kids showed up at 3:23pm every day when it wasn't raining.

They had been in town for two weeks now on this hunt and Dean had told him to go out and explore because he and Alec had to sleep during the day for this hunt and Saw was bored just sitting in the room. So he went to the park every day and sat in his tree and waited to see what the kids would do.

When the kids got to the park, they all wanted to play on the swings first. Little kids went to one set, and the big kids went to the other set. Someone was always there to push the little kids I want Dad to push me Dean! Dad won't be back until after dark, Sammy... Higher Dean! Higher!!! and then they would go to the slide I'm scared Dean, it's too high! I'll be at the bottom to catch you, Sammy when it was someone else's turn.

There was a sandbox Don't eat that Sammy and a baseball field Good catch, Sammy and then some kids kicking around a white ball that Sam felt he should know how to play.

Sometimes the kids were not there, and Sam would lay on his back and look at the clouds. They would dance for him in the blue sky and sometimes make shapes Look Dean, a bunny! Look Sammy, my T-Rex is eating your stupid rabbit and sometimes they would follow behind the airplanes that flew in the air in lines that would spread out and then disappear.

And there was the one day that the clouds had been black and Sam had gone back to the motel really wet and Dean had been worried.

But the thing Sam liked the most at the park was seeing the ghosts of him and Dean walking around when they were kids. Because then he knew he was remembering things on his own, and they were happy memories and they made him smile. He liked to smile, so he came back day after day.

Maybe if he stayed there long enough, he could remember everything again. Then he and Dean would be very happy. He should ask Dean if they could stay then...

Oh look, the ice cream truck! Please Dean, I want a snow cone!!! Alright, but we're sharing it so don't slobber all over it Sammy...

Once the shakes had stopped and Sam wasn't going through major symptoms of withdrawal, he planned on keeping his word to Lana. He missed her, and having spent the last month as far from her as he possibly could - sometimes not by his own choice - he just needed to have her there for him.

The world was on it's way to ending, after all. And he wasn't going to waste time.

Which was why on a Friday morning, an Amazon.com box arrived at Lana's office. He had checked to make sure that she was in the office that day, then paid a delivery guy a few bucks to hand deliver it around noon.

In the box was a hex bag, meant to hide the bearer from both demons and angels. Ruby had taught Sam how to make them - her mistake, their gain - and they had a bunch of them made and in the Impala for protection. The one he had sent was strong enough to take her and a good mile in all directions off the radars.

With the bag was a typed note. Keep this on you. Don't open it. Leave work, pack a weekend bag, and follow the map. Reservation for Ms. Lewis. Wait in room. - S.W.


The Impala was waiting out of sight, planing on trailing Lana on her way to the meeting spot, just to make sure she wasn't followed by anyone but them. There was a motel just outside of Bazine, KS. Out of the way along the 96 where no one in their right mind would really go looking for them. And it should have only been a 2-3 hour drive for Lana at most if she did the speed limit.

ooc: next in the storyline after this.

"Two years, Ruby."

"Sam, I didn't promise you an overnight fix."

"Two. Fucken. Years."

Ruby rolled her eyes and ate another fry while she watched Sam flipping through the rough journal he always carried. It was something he had started to write in about the last time they had seen Dean Winchester - a fact that Sam was going back and checking by reading his old entries.

"And think of how far you've come in those two years, Sam. You've moved in leaps and bounds because you haven't had anything to hold you back. We're so close..."

"We've been close for over a year now, Ruby." Sam rolled his eyes up to look at her through his bangs. Time had taken it's toll on the younger Winchester, as well as his powers. His face was harder with deep shadows under his eyes. His hair was long and shaggy, long overdue for a trim. His jaw was set in a permanent frown, the smirk and fun in his personality hidden with the soft reservedness that Sam had shown for most of his life.

( . . . )

Yes my life is better left to chance.
I could have missed the pain, but I'd have had to miss the dance
-Garth Brooks "The Dance"

Sam took a deep breath, shifting in his sleep. His mind noticed that something was wrong and his eyes opened a bit to look around.

He was in his bedroom, a white sheet thrown over him to give him a bit of modesty with all the windows open in the summer heat in New Orleans. Next to him, the pillow was still dented from the head that had laid there for half the night. A moment of panic hit him as he started to look around the room.

"Don't you be worrying 'bout me, Sammy boy. I'm just watching da sun rise." Desiree smiled from her spot on the balcony in his bedroom.

He slid out of bed, wrapping the sheet around his waist as he walked into the doorway. She was sitting on the chaise, her knees up against her chest as she stared off at the east. "Tina had good mojo findin' dis place with da baby on da way. Always liked comin' here."

Sam smiled from his spot. "I like having you here."

"Johnny be likin' me here too." Desiree looked up at Sam, matching his smile. "Dat boy turning more and more inta his daddy each day."

"Yeah, I know. Sometimes I look at him and all I see is Dean."

"He'll do his daddy proud. I can see it."

Sam moved closer, moving to sit behind her on the chaise, arms slipping around Desiree's waist as they leaned back together. "You know, he's going to need a mother too at some point," he said into her ear softly.

Desiree was quiet a moment, then turned around in Sam's arms to look up at him. "Sammy boy, what you asking me?"

He bit his lip a moment, then looked down at her as he ran a hand along her cheek. "You pointed out to me a few months ago about how much time we wasted dancing around each other. I don't want to waste any more time."

"Sammy?"

"Desiree... I want you to be a part of my life. Forever."

She smiled and tilted her head up to kiss Sam's lips. "Thought you'd never ask."

Sam smiled, then settled back against the chaise and pulled Desiree down to lay on top of him as they kept kissing in the first rays of the rising sun. He was happier now than he had been in a long time, and knew that it could only get better.

He may still hurt from the pain that he had gone through to get to this point - and while he would love to have his brother back - he wouldn't trade the uncertainty of the hunter's life he had for what he had now. A father, in the arms of the woman he loved... life couldn't get better.