Disclaimer: Anything you recognize belongs to the amazing Eric Kripke. The rest are figments of my imagination.
"Higher, Deanie!" cried Sam. "Push me higher!"
Dean complied and put a little more effort into his shoves so that Sam would swing higher. He'd do anything to hear the giggle of delight coming out of his baby brother's mouth.
It was summer time and John had dropped his boys off at Pastor Jim's. It was only supposed to be a couple of weeks, but that had stretched to near a month when his hunt took longer than expected. The boys didn't mind too much as they always had fun when they stayed with Pastor Jim.
There was a beautiful park just across the street from the rectory where Jim lived. It was like heaven to Sam. There was a huge sandbox where the five year old could dig to his heart's delight. Plus, there two big jungle gyms, three slides and several swings. The best part for Sam was that he was a big boy now and no longer had to sit in the baby swing.
On sunny days, it seemed like every kid in the neighborhood congregated in the park. Dean made fast friends with a small group of boys who lived in the neighborhood. They were a nice bunch and all of them were parishioners at Jim's church. During the afternoon, when Sam would have his nap, Dean would join them for some half-court basketball in the park.
Dean was still pushing Sam on the swings when he saw his friends approaching. There were five guys in the group, Luke, Tony, Mike, Chuck and Scott . They were all very nice if a little rambunctious. Dean was about to go over and say hello when Sam again asked for Deanie to push him higher.
"Hey, Deanie," said Scott with a laugh.
Dean gave a small groan. While it was one thing for his beloved brother to call him Deanie, it was another thing for someone who wasn't family to say it. "Cool it, Scott."
"Oh come on, Deanie don't be such a meanie," replied Scott.
"Hey, that rhymes," said a red-headed boy named Chuck. "Deanie's a meanie."
The other boys joined in and pretty soon the whole group was chanting Deanie's a meanie. Dean knew his friends were only joking and in a minute they would move onto something else as kids often had short attention spans, so it didn't really bother the young boy.
However, Sam was a different story. Seeing the boys teasing Dean had Sam jumping off the swings rather quickly. Hands firmly planted on his hips, Sam marched over to the boys ready to give them a piece of his mind. His eyes were ablaze with a fire not normally there. "Hey! You better stop saying that! My brother's not a meanie!"
Dean's eyes went wide with shock as he watched his brother reprimand his friends. Once the shock wore off, he had a hard time trying not to laugh at the sight Sam made, hands on his hips, nostril's flaring like a bull's and shaggy hair falling in his eyes.
"You're the big meanie for saying that! Now you take it back!" growled Sam.
"Calm down, little man," said Scott. "It was just a joke."
"It's not funny," said Sam.
Crouching down in front of his brother, Dean spoke "It's okay, Sammy, they were only kidding."
"But Dean, Daddy says it's not nice to make fun of others."
"I know, Sammy." And Dean did know as John said it to him often enough in regards to his teasing of Sam. "But they didn't really mean what they said, so it's okay."
Seeing how red his little brother's face still was and that his body was still tense, Dean knew it was time to head back to Pastor Jim's. Lunch and a nap was just what his brother needed. After promising to return after lunch, Dean said goodbye to his friends and started with Sam across the street.
"Sammy, what where you thinking, taking on five guys at once?" asked Dean.
"They were teasing you," replied Sam.
"I know, Sammy, but you have to remember to pick your battles," said Dean. "And you against five boys is not your battle."
Sam gave a small nod. "I'm sorry."
"For standing up for me? You don't have to apologize for that."
"No, for calling you Deanie. If I hadn't called you Deanie, they wouldn't have teased you."
"It's okay. I don't mind you calling me Deanie." Even if did you get it from a song about a girl, Dean silently added.
Recently, during a trip to the Salvation Army, Sam came across a Shaun Cassidy tape he just had to have because it had a song on it called Hey Deanie. And since Deanie was similar Dean, the little boy just had to spend his fifty cent allowance on it. Just once listen to the song was all it took for Sam to start calling his brother Deanie. The older boy didn't really mind because it was something special between he and Sam.
After a lunch of ham sandwiches and potato chips, Dean took his brother upstairs to get ready for his nap.
"Deanie, will you stay with me until I fall asleep?" asked Sam.
"Sure thing, little brother."
After climbing in to bed, Sam pulled his teddy bear close. "Okay, Deanie, I'm ready."
Dean gave a silent groan as he pulled the covers up around his brother. The nickname was one thing, but did Sam have to listen to that tape as he drifted off to sleep. Never able to refuse his brother anything, Dean popped the tape player open and pulled out his Blue Oyster Cult tape. After popping in the Shaun Cassidy tape, Dean pressed played. It would only be a few minutes and Sam would be in dreamland and then he could go join his friends.
Standing there watching his brother, Dean realized something. He knew that he'd always have Sam's back and today he learned that even though Sam was the little brother, he'd always have Dean's back. And that made Dean feel wonderful inside. As soon as Sam was asleep, Dean quietly slipped out of the room, a smile etched across his face as Sam's favorite song began.
Hey Deanie
Won't you come out tonight
The stars are dancin
Like diamonds in the moonlight
The End
Lyrics written by Eric Carmen
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