John glanced at Dean and Sammy, swallowing the lump in his throat as he watched Dean rock the both of them back and forth on the bed.
They were still filthy and covered in soot and dust and John knew that they needed a bath. Taking a deep breath he forced himself to get up and knelt down in front of them. Dean looked up at him and then looked back down at Sammy.
"C'mon kiddos." John murmured. "Lets take a bath."
Dean looked like he was thinking about it for a moment before he nodded, holding Sammy a bit tighter. If Sammy had a thought about what he had said or anything else he kept it to himself.
John reached out and took the boys into his arms, going to the bathroom and setting them on the closed toilet for a moment as he filled the bathtub with water. He glanced at the bottle of shampoo and after a moment added it to the water as well to make some sort of bubbles.
Once the bathtub was a little more than half full he turned back to the boys and gently undressed them, putting their clothes on the edge of the sink. Picking them up he tested the water and then placed them in it.
Sammy looked around in some sort of interest, reaching out to swipe at the bubbles and staring at his hand for a moment before he reached up and wiped it on Deans cheek. Dean pressed more into Sammy and just held onto him, not saying anything.
"Its not the same stuff we used before." John told them, wanting to fill the silence with something. "Its what we have for now, I'll get some of your things later."
Dean didn't say anything, letting John move his head back and forth to wash his hair, leaning a bit to the side when John used the washcloth to wash him and Sammy gently.
"I got you boys." John murmured, rubbing at Deans back for a moment. "I got you, no matter what."
Looking them over John nodded in content, at the very least satisfied in this task for the time being. Grabbing a towel from the rack John took them out of the water and wrapped them in the towel, holding them close. He drained the bathtub and turned away, intent on cleaning it up later.
Going to the bag of donated clothes from their neighbors John rummaged through it for a moment before pulling out some pajamas for the boys to put them into. He looked them over and felt his heart once more, unable to stop the stone in his stomach.
John curled slightly, wrapping his arms around the boys. "I'm sorry." John whispered, clinging to the boys as hard as he dared. "I'm sorry."
He started when he felt something on his cheek, pulling back a bit and looking down to see Dean looking up at him, his hand on Johns cheek. He didn't say anything but just stared up at him before leaning in and curling against his chest, still holding onto Sammy who seemed to be almost asleep.
"I got you." John whispered once more, his voice choking slightly. "I got you. I've always got you boys, its going to be alright."
"Its going to be alright."
I do not own Supernatural.
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