The Password

By: Tidia

Disclaimer: Thank you to Ridley for allowing me to play in The Brotherhood. Thank you for Kripke for creating Supernatural

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Chapter 2/3

Dean stayed up Sunday night waiting for his father's return. But, Monday morning their alarm clock rang and John was not there. Dean woke Sammy, made them breakfast and packed lunch. They had to go to school, and Dean didn’t worry because by the time they got home their father would be back.

Sam waited for Dean to come by his classroom and then they walked home together at the end of the school day.

Dean reviewed the day with his brother. It was important he knew what was going on in Sammy's life. "What did you do in school today, Sammy?"

"We talked about the circus. I got to train a lion." Sam answered as he proudly held the straps of his Chip and Dale Rescue Rangers backpack.

"A lion? And he didn’t eat you?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "It was pretend, Dean."

"What other animals are at the circus?" Dean asked, knowing the answer would take long and make the walk go by faster.

They raced to the motel parking lot when it came into sight, Dean letting Sam win by a few steps. The office manager through his window waved them over. The jingle of the overhead bell announced their arrival inside. The clerk flicked his eyes away from the television.

"Tell your dad the rent is due."

Dean nodded. Rent was paid the Monday of each week. The older Winchester brother looked around the parking lot, but did not spot the Impala. However, his father may have gone to work when he got home. Dean opened the door, ushered Sam inside, then locked the door again. He looked around the motel room. His dad hadn’t been home.

The nine-year-old smiled to cover the growing panic he was feeling. He went to the coffee can kept under the sink, hidden behind some cleaning products. It was emergency money. He took out the cash inside. It totaled to twenty five dollars. Dean went into his room, finding his bag and the little zippered compartment. He had another fifteen dollars himself; won the last time he had played poker with Caleb. "Sam, can you share your sock money?" Sam kept his extra money in a sock.

"What for?" The five year old asked. "Are we going to buy a present?"

"Something more important. I promise I will give it pack." Dean didn’t want to give his brother too much information.

Sam ran into the bedroom and brought out his jingling sock, which added another ten dollars. They had enough for this week's rent. Dean ran down to deliver the money, and made sure to get a receipt like he had seen his father do on previous occasions. The boy knew they would have to avoid using the front entrance to the motel until their father returned. He didn’t want the office manager to grow suspicious.

Dean ran back to the room, not wanting to risk leaving Sam alone for five minutes even though he left his brother watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. When Dean returned his brother was still watching Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles. The older Winchester brother went to the refrigerator. He looked at the food inside, then opened the cabinets. There wasn’t a lot, but with no money he could make it work out.

He took down the Kraft Macaroni and Cheese box. There would be enough for two days. By then their father would be home and go grocery shopping. Dean looked at the phone. He had promised not to call Pastor Jim. They weren't bleeding, and therefore there was no emergency. Like Dad would say, he needed to suck it up and make his father proud.

Every day for six days Dean looked at the phone. When he scraped the peanut butter jar to make one last sandwich for Sammy's lunch, he neared the phone, ready to dial Pastor Jim's number. When he added water to the milk so that it would last a few more days, he thought about again. Then he noticed that there were still some eggs, and a can of Spam, so maybe they could last a little longer.

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Mackland found the motel easily. He kept reminding himself not to judge John. By luck Mac had been born into a wealthy family, which allowed him to provide the best for his son and be a hunter.

Not wanting to cause trouble, Mackland decided to check the first room on the right with an exit to the parking lot. John was predictable, and ready for a quick get away. He felt the door knob before knocking on the door.

He smiled Dean and Sam were inside. Ames knocked on the door. "Dean? Sam? It's me, Mac."

Ames heard the scurrying behind the door. Then a familiar voice, "Mac?"

"Yes, Dean." He didn’t want to worry the boy, but needed for them to let him in so they could leave. "Your Dad had an accident. He's fine, but he wants me to bring you to him."

"Dad's hurt?" Dean was close to the door, the concern making his voice higher.

"He's going to be fine." Mac reiterated again. Ames heard something being pushed against the door. Then saw the peep hole. He backed up a little so Dean could see him clearly.

"What's the password?" The nine-year-old asked.

"Password?" Ames frowned. He didn’t know about a password.

"Yeah, Dad says we can't let anyone in unless they give us the password." Dean explained.

"Can you give me a hint?" The doctor had no idea what the password would be, didn’t even know where to start.

"I don’t think so." Dean replied with a sigh.

Mackland knew John Winchester and his two boys. This could not be that difficult. "Hunting."

"No," Dean replied.

"Ghosts."

"No."

Ames stepped away from the door for some privacy. He pulled out his cell phone and called the hospital. The phone was answered by Bobby after two rings. "Can you ask John what the password is?"

"Password? For what?" Singer said gruffly.

Mac was getting tired of having to explain everything. There always seemed to be a middleman involved. "To get his children to open the door."

"That isn’t a bad idea."

Ames looked skyward; he had just run out of patience. "Wonderful, you can compliment him after you ask him."

"About that. . ." Bobby cleared his throat.

"Can I speak to John?" Mackland snapped.

"They took him back up to surgery. Found a bleeder."

Ames rubbed his mouth with his hand. "Call me back as soon as he wakes up."

He shut his phone. Jim would have called if he needed Mac's medical opinion. Ames wanted to stay focused on the Winchester boys. He still had another person to try.

"Reaves," Caleb barked into the phone.

Mac frowned. "Actually, Son, it's the Ames residence."

"Yeah, sorry, Dad." Caleb replied as he recognized the voice. "How's John? Because I can still meet you. . ."

Ames shook his head at his son's one track mind-to help the Winchesters. "Caleb, we already had this conversation. I called because I was hoping you knew the password."

"What password?"

At least Mac was feeling less inadequate. It seemed as though no one knew about the password. "For Dean to open the door."

"I don’t know, Dad." Caleb gave out a loud exhale. "Try Thundercats or Power Rangers or Inspector Gadget."

Mackland repeated the words, at first quietly, but Dean asked him to speak up. He said it louder, feeling completely embarrassed.

"No."

"Next time I want to pick Power Rangers!" Sam exclaimed.

"Any other ideas?"

"Doesn’t John know?"

"He's still out of it from the effects of the anesthesia." Ames lied because the truth would cause his son to hope the next flight to Illinois. "I'll just wait it out." He would call the hospital and check on John, and then try to figure something out. "I expect that you are just leaving to go to your grandfather's?"

"Yeah, I'm outta here."

"Have a good time, Caleb." Mackland ended the conversation.

He quickly called the hospital. He barked at the nurse, bullying her to giving him John's current status in the OR. The doctor was closing and didn’t foresee any other problems.

Satisfied, he knocked on the door again. "Well, I'm going to stay out here. If that's okay with you?"

"Okay, sorry, Mac. If it's you that is. If it isn’t you then I'm not sorry." Dean replied.

Mackland had to grin. "Right." He took a seat outside the door on the cold concrete floor. "How are you boys?"

There was a pause. "I don’t know if we're supposed to talk to you."

Ames placed his hand against the door. He hated hearing the doubt in Dean's voice. "I think it's safe. I mean there is a door between us, and you have a gun?"

"Yes, sir."

Mackland smiled. Dean was incredibly rational for a nine-year-old. "So, I think we can talk."

"I wanna talk!"

He wondered how long it would take before the youngest Winchester would get into the conversation. "Hello, Samuel. How's school."

He heard Sam's voice very clearly. The boy must have placed himself directly near the door and was talking very loudly. "Dean made me the same lunch every day!"

"He did?" Mackland knew the youngest Winchester needed very little prompting. He would be able to find out what had happened over the course of the week.

"Peanut butter and jelly, and a quarter for milk."

"That sounds good." Ames was happy that they had enough food to get them through the week.

"He cut the crusts off. I don’t like crusts."

"He's a good big brother." The doctor smiled. Dean Winchester was a very devoted big brother. "Did you have breakfast?"

"Dean let me have the Lucky Charms, but there wasn’t enough milk to let them float."

Mackland frowned. Evidently, the boys had limited food reserves. He was thankful they were found before it was too late. Ames hated to think of these children going without food.

"Sammy, why don’t you go and watch some TV? We don’t know if that is Mac." Dean said, not liking that his brother was revealing too much information.

"Then who is it?" Sam sounded confused.

"Maybe someone pretending to be Mac." Dean explained with the patience of someone much older.

"Why would someone pretend to be Mac?"

"I don’t know, but he doesn’t know the password."

This was an acceptable answer to the five-year-old. The password was very important to their lives. "I can't talk to you now, because you don’t know the password."

"I understand." Mackland sighed. The boys continued to have a conversation about him.

"He sounds like Mac."

"I know." Dean said tiredly.

There had to be another way so these children would open the door. Mackland had already deduced they were low on food. Ames snapped his fingers as he thought of a way to prove himself. "Ask me questions only Mac would know the answer to."

It was Sam, not Dean who asked the first question. He hadn’t been banished to the television just yet. "What's 20 plus 35?"

"55," Mac answered, realizing the five-year-old didn’t comprehend the idea.

"Is that right?" Sam asked his brother.

"Yes, but I don’t think that's what he means." Dean stated. He then asked a more thoughtful question. "What kind of car do you drive?"

"A Land Rover. Your father hates that I drive a foreign car." Ames added, hearing constant digs about his choice in vehicles. Talking about cars was a banned topic among the two men.

Dean went on to the next question. "What kind of car does my dad drive?"

"An Impala." The doctor shook his head at the pride John had for that particular vehicle.

The nine-year-old moved onto more difficult questions. "How old is Caleb?"

"Seventeen going on twenty-five."

"What does he call me?"

"Deuce," Mackland said. There was a strong bond between Dean and Caleb. Caleb was truly devoted to Dean and the Winchester family. When they were together, Mac was always touched by his son's tenderness to the boys.

"I have one-what's your favorite color?" Sam chimed in.

"Red." Ames laughed. It was the color of power and control. It probably said too much about his personality.

"Mine too!" Sam answered with a laugh.

"What do you buy Sammy?" Dean asked.

"Books." Mackland knew John didn’t approve, especially when they had to pack a pile of books every time they went somewhere new. He felt he had passed the test. "Boys, I think you know it's me."

There was a whispered conversation between the two boys, which Mac was not privy too.

"I'd like to let you in, but you don’t know the password." Dean said, coming to a decision. "Dad won't like it."

Although Mackland did not like to circumvent another parent's orders, he felt this was an exceptional case. "I promise I won't tell your father."

Ames thought he would hear the door click open, but instead Dean asked him a final question.

"If you were me would you let you in?"

And that is when Mackland knew he had to be patient. This wasn't a test he could pass. He had a childhood, growing up oblivious to the things that go bump in the night. These boys had a different experience, and their safety was predominant. Dean wanted to keep Sam safe, and as a child trying to do an adult's job, a password provided security. "No. I wouldn’t." Ames rested his head against the door. "It's okay Dean-I can wait."

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