Dean lazily flipped though the television channels waiting for Sam to come back from math tournament practice. He really didn't understand Sam's obsession with school, but decided if it made the kid happy, he wouldn't complain. Dean loved this little town because he didn't need to worry about Sam all the time. Usually, he would be sitting outside of the high school waiting for his brother to finish up, but here their dad allowed Sam to come and go without Dean's constant supervision. The only requirement was Sam had to tell them where he was going. Sam was really enjoying his freedom and to be honest so was Dean.
John walked in and smiled at his eldest. It was always nice to see Dean just sitting and relaxing. He was happy that the town allowed Dean to have a little slack, it was going to be a shame to leave it, but duty called and they were moving on in a couple of weeks. He wanted Sam to finish out the school year and knew Sam wanted to compete in the math triathlon or something like that on the last day of school. John felt he owed the kid that much.
John decided he would use this time to visit Adam. It had been about two months since he saw the kid and it was time to check in. More days than not John wanted to tell the boys about Adam, but felt it wasn't fair to any of them. Adam couldn't be a regular part of their lives because Adam was never going to know about the supernatural. John promised himself that he would keep the harsh reality of the supernatural away from Adam at all costs. John wished he could go back in time and do the same for his two eldest, but he couldn't. The supernatural were part of Sam and Dean's reality and there was nothing he could do about it except make sure he didn't make the same mistake with Adam.
"Do anything fun today?" John asked.
"Had lunch with Shelby," Dean said smiling wickedly.
"Hope you covered it up."
"Seriously?"
"Seriously, not ready to be a grandpa yet," John teased sitting down next to his eldest hip checking him in the process.
"So what's next?" Dean asked hoping they wouldn't move before the end of the school year, Sammy really wanted to stay.
"I'm heading over to Minnesota for about a week and once the school year ends we're moving."
"What's in Minnesota?"
"An angry spirit," John said quickly.
"Need help?"
"Nope, stay with your brother."
"You know he's old enough to stay on his own."
"I know, but I'll feel better if you stay with him."
"Yes, sir," Dean said trying to hide his disappointment, but failing miserably.
Sam came home a few hours later and groaned when he saw his father's truck. He hoped they weren't moving again. He had a genealogy project to complete in social studies that he was really excited about and he was part of a math competition that would look great on his college applications especially if they won.
"I'm home," Sam announced the minute he walked into the house.
"Good, you and Dean have some training to do before I leave. Dean said you're finally getting the hang of the crossbow."
"We're not moving?" Sam asked, trying not to sound too hopeful.
"I want you to finish out the rest of the year, so nope."
"Really?"
"Why do you want to move?" John asked the fourteen year old.
"No, I just thought we had to."
"Nope, I'm heading up to Minnesota for about a week. Come on I want to see if your brother is exaggerating or if you've aced the crossbow. I think you've aced it, but I would love to kick your brother's ass if not," John teased.
"Yes, sir and Dad."
"Yeah, kiddo."
"Thanks for letting me stay," Sam said smiling.
"You're welcome. Let's get going," John said throwing his arm around his youngest.
Sam sat down at the computer in the library, to start his genealogy report. He didn't know much about his family so he was really excited about this project. For three hours Sam focused on his mom's family, before moving on to his dad's side. It was cool to see what people did and where they were from. His father had given him the names and birthdates for Sam's immediate family and told him the name of his grandparent's parents so all he had to do was look at a census reports to find out where they lived and what they did for a living. The fact that he could hack most computer systems and knew how to research old records made the job even easier. Being extremely through, Sam did a records search on both of his parents. One document that popped up made shocked Sam beyond belief. There was no way it could be true and if it was, his father had a lot of explaining to do.
Sam slammed his books shut and threw them into his backpack. He needed to talk to Dean. If Dean knew about this, it would be even worse. He couldn't bear it if Dean had lied about this. How could his father lie about something so important? He knew the man was secretive but this was absolutely ridiculous.
"Dean!" Sam yelled the moment he walked in the door.
Dean woke up from a dead sleep, gun in hand.
"What's wrong, Sammy?" Dean asked the minute he was sure Sammy was safe.
"Look at this," Sam said shoving a piece of paper into Dean's hands.
"What's this?" Dean said glancing at the piece of paper.
"Just read it," Sam snapped.
Dean read the piece of paper and tried to keep his emotions under control. He quickly did the math and remembered in the winter of 1990 his dad was hurt somewhere in Minnesota. They were staying with Bobby at the time, so Sam probably didn't remember. Could this be true? Did his dad have another kid? The more Dean thought about it the more he thought it might be the truth. John always spent a lot of time in Minnesota and the only time he let them come was when they were visiting Pastor Jim.
"So?" Sam asked.
"Sammy, we don't know for sure."
"Really? What are the chances there are two John Winchesters that have the same birthdate and were born in same town?"
"Maybe it's some type of mistake," Dean tried seeing the temper tantrum brewing in his little brother.
"Where's Dad?"
"Minnesota," Dean groaned knowing that that one word just put fuel on the fire.
"Let's go," Sam said taking the keys to the Impala off the key rack and throwing them across the room. Dean caught them easily.
"Sammy, you have school tomorrow."
"No, we have recon to do tomorrow."
"Alright, let's get a good night's sleep and you need to make sure everything is taken care of at school."
"Ok, Dean."
John pulled up to Adam's school. He loved to surprise the kid and loved the fact that their relationship wasn't hindered by the supernatural.
"DAD!" Adam yelled when he saw his father standing by his truck in the school parking lot. The eight year old threw himself into his father's outstretched arms.
John hugged his youngest close and smiled,
"How ya doing, kiddo?"
"Good, did Mom tell you about the soccer tournament? Is that why you're here?" Adam asked excitedly.
"Nope, I guess the soccer tournament is just a bonus," John said smiling brightly.
As John and Adam drove back towards Kate and Adam's house Adam talked nonstop telling John about school, friends, and his soccer team.
"Take a breath, Adam. I'm staying all week," John laughed.
"All week?" Adam asked excitedly bouncing up and down on the passenger seat of the truck.
"Yep, now I won't be able to pick you up every day, but we'll have dinner every night and if your mom says it's ok, you can stay the night."
"Can we go to the arcade tonight?"
"Sure kiddo," John said smiling at his youngest.
They pulled up to the house a few minutes later. John wished Dean and Sam could live in a house like this. It was a white old Victorian, with blue trim. Once inside, the floors were hardwood and full of comfy furniture. Adam had his own room. Right now he was into dinosaurs, so his room was had dinosaur curtains, comforter, and sheets. He even had a dinosaur mural that Kate had painted on the wall. The house radiated warmth, something that Sam and Dean hadn't experienced dsince the night that Mary died.
John remembered the month and a half he lived here and smiled. Kate was not the love of his life, like Mary was but he still had strong feelings for the woman. He was comfortable with Kate, things were easy and familiar. The problem was his life didn't allow him to explore where the relationship could go, so while in town John focused on Adam.
"Hey, John," Kate said smiling brightly pulling the strong handsome man into a hug.
"Good to see ya, Kate. Thanks for letting me pick up Adam," John said hugging the beautiful woman back and fighting the urge to pull her into a deep kiss.
Right now everything was so hard and he really needed some warmth, but he was not breaking his vow. He would never spend another night in her bed, no matter how bad he wanted to or how wonderful he knew the night would be. During the past three years he ended up in her bed a handful of times, but he always worried that he would give her the wrong impression. Kate was an amazing woman who deserved a man who could love her properly and he was not that man.
"You know you can see him anytime you want. Are you staying at the same motel?"
"Yes."
"Adam you better pack so you can spend some time with your father," Kate said.
Adam ran out of the room and Kate focused her attention on John,
"How are the boys?"
"Sammy is going through the terrible teens and driving me nuts. Dean decided to drop out of school and get his GED. I kicked his ass hard the minute I found out. Besides that they're fine," John said smiling.
Kate rubbed his arm and said,
"I know you're doing the best you can for all of your boys. Are you any closer to finding him?"
"No, the leads only take me so far. He's a sneaky son of a bitch."
"Who is, Dad?" Adam asked bounding down the stairs carrying the duffle bag his mom had sitting on his bed.
"No one, kiddo," John said ruffling his youngest's hair, "Are you ready to go?"
"Yes, sir," Adam said bouncing with excitement.
"Well, give your mom a hug and we'll be on our way," John said smiling.
"Bye, Mom. See ya tomorrow after school," Adam said beaming.
"Have a good time."
"I will," Adam said skipping happily out to the truck.
John gave Kate another hug and followed his extremely happy eight year old out the door.
Dean and Sam drove into Windom Minnesota about an hour after John picked Adam up. Dean hoped they were wrong, but knew the chances were slim to none. Sammy was right there was no way there was another John Winchester who was born on the same day and in the same small town.
"Where are we starting?" Sam asked.
"Motels, I think we need to steal a car or Dad will figure out we're here pretty quick."
"Sounds good."
Dean checked them into a motel one town over and they hotwired an old Chevy Cutlass. The boys found their dad's truck at motel about a half an hour later. They sat in the parking lot for over two hours, before their dad walked out holding the hand of a kid who looked about eight years old hand.
"He is such a fucking liar. I mean this is huge, Dean! We have another brother! To make matters worse Dad's letting him live a normal life!"
"Sammy, calm down. We don't know anything for sure."
"Fine, let's go in," Sam said opening the door of the stolen car.
"No, we don't have enough information."
"What more do you need?"
"Let's follow them for a while."
"Alright."
Each place their dad and the kid stopped made both of the boys angry. Sure their dad had taken them to the arcade and sure he had taken them out for dinner numerous times, but this felt different. It was like their dad was cheating on them. He didn't need to hide the kid from them, why couldn't they do this as a family? That is if Adam was truly their bother. Once they followed their father and the kid back to the motel, Dean said,
"I think we need to talk to the kid."
"Why?"
"I think Dad will still deny all of this. There has to be some reason why he doesn't want us…"
"Why in the hell are you protecting him?" Sam raged.
"Trust me I'm not. I'm just as angry as you are, but I also know Dad does things for a reason. Sure we don't always agree with that reason, but that doesn't matter to him. He does what he feels is right."
"Ok, so how are we going to talk to the kid?"
"Pick him up from school tomorrow," Dean said smiling brightly.
Adam ran out of the school and saw the Impala sitting there waiting for him. He was surprised, because his dad told him to take the bus home and he would come and get him before dinner. He ran straight towards the car with a huge smile on his face.
"You used to look like that when Dad picked you up," Dean said.
"Right," Sam mumbled.
"Quit scowling or you'll scare the kid," Dean said as Adam ran up to the car.
"Dad! I thought…Oh," Adam stopped when he realized that the two guys sitting in the car were not his father. "Sorry, my dad has a car that looks like this."
"Adam?" Sam asked, remembering the name of the birth certificate.
"Yeah," Adam said biting the left hand side of his bottom lip.
"John asked us to pick you up," Dean lied.
"Um, I can't get into cars with strangers," Adam said backing up.
"John and your mom gave you a password in case of emergencies, right?" Sam asked.
"Are they ok?" Adam asked running back towards the car and almost bursting into tears.
"Don't worry, kiddo they're just fine. Your mom had to go work and John's still doing research," Dean said quickly seeing the tears in the eight year old's eyes.
"Don't scare me like that," Adam snapped.
"Sorry, so did they give you a password?" Sam asked.
"Yeah."
"It's pies rule and cakes drool," Dean said smiling. He came up with the password after one of the stranger danger lectures at his school when he was about Adam's age. The minute Dean got home told John that four year old Sammy had to have one. John agreed and told Dean to come up with it.
"How'd you know that?" Adam said astonished.
"Because John sent us to get you," Sam said smiling. "I'm Sam and this is Dean."
"Hi, Sam and Dean," Adam said and got into the backseat of the car.
"Don't let him fool ya Adam, his name is Sammy," Dean teased.
"It's Sam dickhead," Sam said.
"Make sure you call him Sammy, Adam. He loves it."
"Dean, I swear to go you are such an asshole."
"Hey there's a kid in the car, don't use that language around him," Dean snapped.
"I've heard that word before," Adam said not wanting the older boy to be angry at the younger one.
"I bet he's even used that word before," Sam said.
Adam blushed and hoped these guys wouldn't tell his dad that he swore.
"Don't worry, Adam your secret safe with us," Dean said knowingly before he turned his attention back towards the younger man sitting next to him.
Adam laughed as the two men teased one another relentlessly. He really liked these guys and hoped his Dad would let them come around more often. It was like that until the pulled into the motel.
"Um guys, Dad's staying at another motel," Adam said getting a little worried. Sure they knew the password, but he thought they were taking him home or to his dad's motel room.
"We know, don't worry, we're meeting up with John in a couple of hours," Dean said.
Adam felt a little better, but he wondered if he should call his mom. No, his dad would have told her that his friends were picking him up.
They walked into the hotel and Adam didn't know what to do.
"Take a seat, kiddo," Dean said indicated the bed.
"So, how long have you known, John?" Sam asked casually.
"Since I was five, Mom was in a car accident and they needed to call someone to take care of me. Mom, had Dad's number on her phone and he came," Adam said.
"How often do you see John?" Dean asked.
"About once a month if I'm lucky," Adam pouted.
"That sucks," Dean said.
"What do you guys do together?" Sam asked.
"Well, this weekend he's coming to my soccer tournament. We go to baseball games and every time he's here, we go to the arcade. Last time he was here he took me to the zoo. It was so cool," the eight year old said beaming.
"Sound like a lot of fun," Sam said trying not to sound as angry as he felt right now.
"Do you have any brothers and sisters?" Dean asked.
"No, Mom doesn't want to have any more kids and Dad travels too much. I really wish my Mom and Dad would get back together, but my Mom said Dad's job won't allow it. She seems sad sometimes, because I think she misses him."
Dean sat down on the other bed. He couldn't believe their dad had lied to all of them like this. Dean and Sam looked at each other and made a silent decision.
"What if I told you that you have two brothers?" Dean asked.
"Mom and Dad would have told me if I did," Adam said adamantly.
"They didn't, because you do have two older brothers," Sam said.
"Really?"
"Yep and you're looking at them," Dean said.
X
Kate watched the bus pass the house, but Adam didn't get off. Kate quickly picked up the phone.
"Winchester," John growled, not appreciating the interruption. He wanted to finish some research so he could spend more time with Adam.
"Did you pick Adam up from school?"
"No, I told him to take the bus home," John said starting to pack up his stuff.
"He didn't get off the bus, John."
"I'm on my way," John said starting up his truck.
"How long until you get here?"
"I'll be at the school in ten minutes. Call Adam's friends and see if he went to one of their houses without permission."
"He wouldn't do that, John because he knows he would get a spanking with the spoon and he'd be grounded for a week. What if something happened to him," Kate said starting to cry.
"Don't worry we'll find him. I bet he was so excited that he forgot to get on the bus."
"Ok," Kate said not believing John for one second.
John arrived at the school ten minutes later. He walked inside the building and straight into the front office.
"Can I help you, sir?" A plump woman with black hair asked.
"My son didn't get off the bus today and I was wondering if anyone heard or saw anything."
"What's your son's name?"
"Adam Milligan."
The secretary paged everyone in the building asking if anyone saw Adam. A little boy who looked the same age as Adam walked into the office.
"Thomas, do you know something about Adam?"
"Yes, he got into a really cool old black car with two guys."
John didn't know if he should be relieved, pissed, or worried, knowing exactly who picked up his son. At the same time a ton of questions ran through John's mind,
'How did they find out? Why didn't they call him? What should he do? Why would they take the kid without permission? What were they planning to do? They sure as hell better answer their phones. How was he going to explain this? Fuck, this was not how he wanted to spend his week off.'
"I know who picked him up. Thanks for your help," John said walking out of the office.
The first call John made was to Kate. She was sobbing hard and he couldn't understand a word she was saying.
"Kate, calm down. I know who has Adam."
"Who?" Kate said between sobs.
"Dean and Sammy."
"How did they find out about him and why would they take him?"
"No idea, but I intend to find out," John growled. Listening to Kate cry was almost more than he could take. He was ridged with fear the moment Kate told him Adam was missing and couldn't even imagine what Kate was going through right now. What in the hell were his boys thinking? John called Dean's phone the minute he hung up.
"Are you going to answer it?" Sam asked, knowing he had to be their father.
"No. I was thinking we should take Adam to an amusement park tomorrow," Dean said looking at the bathroom door. He didn't want Adam to know what was going on.
"Why?"
"He kept Adam away from us and didn't consider our feelings, so he's getting the same treatment," Dean said angrily.
"Sounds good to me," Sam said smiling. He loved sticking it to their dad.
"We'll leave a message at the motel saying we have Adam and are going to have a brother bonding day. I don't want Adam's mom to worry because Dad's an ass."
"You realize he's going to kick our asses when we get back."
"I'm too pissed to care."
Adam came out of the bathroom and saw his brothers with their heads together.
"Hey, we talked to Dad and he said we could take you to Valley Fair Amusement Park tomorrow," Dean said.
"Really?" Adam asked excitedly. "What about school? Mom usually doesn't let me skip."
"They said you could skip one day to get to know your brothers," Dean said smiling. "Sammy's skipping school too. Come on, let's get out of here. "
Adam just smiled brightly and followed his new found brothers out the door.
X
John was pissed. Dean wasn't answering his phone and he couldn't figure out where the boys were staying. He walked into the motel and saw the message light blinking on his phone. The message made his blood boil. He couldn't believe his eldest was being this defiant and thoughtless. No matter how angry Dean and Sam were about this whole thing, they had no right to kidnap their little brother and take him somewhere without permission. Hell, they weren't allowed to go places without permission. To make matters worse they didn't even tell him where they were heading. They knew better and he was going to make sure they never did anything like this again. John picked up the phone and called Kate,
"Did you find them?" Kate asked still in a panic.
"No, but they left me a message saying Adam was fine and they were going to have a brother bonding day."
"Did they tell you where they were going or what they were going to do?"
"No, Kate I'm sorry."
"John, they have no right to take Adam without my permission."
"I know and trust me they will never do it again when I'm through with them."
"They're not going to tell Adam about the supernatural, are they?"
"No, I left a message telling Dean that Adam doesn't know about it and I don't want him to know."
"John, if they aren't answering the phone, you don't know if they're going to listen to you about this either," Kate snapped. She was beyond pissed at John's kids right now.
"Dean won't disobey me."
"Then tell him to get his ass back here right now."
"Kate…"
"John, I don't think you want to talk to me right now. I'm ten seconds from calling the police, the only thing stopping me is I know they won't hurt Adam and Adam is probably having the time of his life."
X O
Kate was absolutely correct. Adam was having a great time with his brothers. They stopped at a diner and Dean let him get whatever he wanted. His mom would never allow him to get soda heck his dad never let him have soda either. Dean also let him get dessert. They drove for a few hours finally stopping near the amusement park. From the motel, Adam could see the rollercoasters.
"Are we going to ride all of them, Dean?" Adam asked in awe.
"Yep, as long as you're tall enough," Dean said ruffling his hair.
Sam laughed at his little brother's enthusiasm. To be honest he was barely keeping his enthusiasm under control, he didn't want Dean to pick on him so he did. This was the first time he'd ever gone to an amusement park too.
Sam shook Adam awake the next morning.
"Hi," Adam said wiping the sleep from his eyes and stretching.
"Wanna help me with something?" Sam asked evilly.
"Sure," Adam said smiling brightly as he sat up.
"Dean sucks at getting up. Think you can wake him up for me?"
Adam matched Sam's wicked smile, got out of bed and jumped directly onto Dean.
"What the," Dean said and realized it was Adam. He flipped the little boy over and started tickling him relentlessly.
"I'm gonna pee," Adam screamed making Dean get off him immediately. The little boy jumped off the bed and ran into the bathroom.
"He's a lot of fun," Sam said.
"Little brother can be, when they're not being a pain in the ass."
The boys had a great day at the park. Adam had never laughed so much in his life. He loved hanging out with his older brothers. They didn't tell him what to do or what to eat. They let him go on all of the rides and kept him entertained as they stood in line. Dean even helped him line jump a couple of times. Sam complained saying they could get kicked out of the park but Dean just told him to shut his pie hole.
"Can we go back to the park tomorrow?" Adam asked with pleading eyes when Dean tucked him into bed. Dean was happy Adam didn't have Sammy's puppy dog eyes or he would have caved.
"No, Dad is expecting us back and I don't want to worry your mom," Dean said.
"You could call them."
"Sorry, Adam no can do."
"Ok," Adam said but couldn't hide his disappointment.
"Come on, kiddo this won't be the last time we're together," Sam said giving his little brother a hug.
Adam smiled at the news. Maybe his dad would bring his brothers every time he came to see him.
They drove the six hours back and about ten miles from Adam's home, Dean made a decision,
"I think we should drop Adam off at home."
"Why can't I go with you to see Dad?" Adam asked trying not to whine.
"Because, Sammy and I are in big trouble. We didn't really ask if we could take you to the amusement park," Dean confessed.
"Mom didn't know where I was?" Adam asked.
"They knew you with us, but not exactly where you were," Sam said looking at the little boy in the backseat.
"Mom's going to spank me and ground me for forever. Dad might spank me too and his spankings hurt more than mom's," Adam whined with tears in his eyes. He hated it when his Dad or Mom were mad at him and worrying his mom was even worse.
"No, this is on us, Adam. One of the perks of having older brothers is that they can keep you out of trouble," Dean said.
"Why did you lie to me?" Adam asked sounding hurt.
"We didn't think you would go and we knew we would have a lot of fun," Sam said.
"Are you sure my mom isn't going to spank me?"
"Yeah," Dean said.
"How about Dad?"
"Nope, he's going to be too busy with us," Sam said.
"Dad still spanks you?" Adam asked in awe.
"Unfortunately," Dean said.
"But you're a grownup."
"Dad really doesn't care about that, kiddo," Dean said smiling.
"So he'll spank me when I'm a grownup?" Adam shuddered. He'd only gotten one spanking from his father and that one was more than enough.
"If you deserve it," Sam said as they pulled into the driveway.
Adam bounced out of the car and ran into the house,
"MOM! I'm home!"
Kate ran out of the kitchen and pulled her youngest into a hug. She rounded on John's eldest and said,
"If you ever take my son without permission again, I will make whatever John's punishment is giving you tonight feel like a walk in the park."
"Mom, don't be mad at Dean and Sammy. We went to an amusement park and I got to ride all of the rides. Sorry, that you were worried but Dean and Sammy didn't tell me they forgot to tell you where we were going until we were almost home."
"Why did you get in the car with them in the first place? You know better," Kate said angrily landing a hard swat on Adam's butt.
"They were driving Dad's car and knew the password. You said I should go with someone if they knew the password," Adam said earnestly rubbing his butt.
"You're right, sorry baby, Mommy was just really worried," Kate said pulling her son into a hug.
"Sorry, Mom," Adam said returning the hug. Kate glared at John's boys and said,
"Dean, Sam your dad is waiting for you. I suggest you go straight to the motel."
Adam ran over to his big brothers and hugged them.
"Thanks for taking me. I had a lot of fun," Adam said smiling.
"No problem squirt," Dean said ruffling his hair.
"Be good, Adam," Sam said.
"I will. I hope Dad isn't too hard on you."
"I hope the opposite," Kate snapped.
"Mom, I had a lot of fun and I got to meet my brothers," Adam whined.
"Sorry, we worried you Ms. Milligan," Dean said looking down.
"Yes, ma'am we're really sorry. We just wanted to get to know Adam," Sam said.
Kate walked up to the boys and landed a hard swat on both of their backsides before pulling them into a hug.
"It's nice to finally meet you, but I meant what I said if you ever take Adam again without permission, I will take a spoon to you and I promise you won't want to sit down for a month."
"Yes, ma'am," the boys said uncomfortably. They knew by the sound of her voice the lady wasn't making idle threats.
X O
John sat in the motel waiting for his sons to arrive. Kate just called to tell him that the boys had dropped Adam off. He knew they were going to fight about his keeping Adam a secret. Dean might take it a little better than Sam, but no matter what John was steeling himself for a knock down drag out fight.
The minute they walked in the door, John realized how angry they both were.
"What in the hell is the matter with you, Dad?" Sam yelled the minute he saw his father.
"Samuel, I don't care how angry you are or how wrong you think I am, if you don't want to end up over my knee during the first part of this conversation you need to watch your attitude. Sit down."
The boys sat down on the opposite bed. John took a deep breath and began,
"I know you're pissed that I didn't tell you about Adam, but I had my reasons."
"There isn't a reason that's good enough, Dad," Dean said.
"Yes there is, I don't want Adam to know about the supernatural."
"We're not five, Dad we can keep a secret," Sam said rolling his eyes, knowing that it absolutely drove his father insane when he did, but really didn't care at the moment.
"The supernatural was only one of many reasons. I also didn't want you to think I was dishonoring your mother by having a relationship with another woman."
"Dad, we know you're not a monk. No hot-blooded Winchester man can live without sex," Dean said.
"Dean! That's gross," Sam snapped.
"I am surprised that you forgot to cover up your little soldier."
"I swear to god, Dean you're making me sick."
Dean felt a bit of satisfaction at the embarrassed look on his father's face. The man was crimson and not at ease with this conversation what so ever.
"So were you ever going to tell us about Adam?" Dean asked deciding to take pity on his dad.
"Probably not," John answered honestly.
"Why?" Dean asked angrily.
"Adam's going to live a normal life…"
"Yeah, he gets to live a normal life, while you don't fucking care what we want," Sam spat.
"My choices concerning Adam are mine and his mother's. I don't want him part of our lifestyle. He deserves a normal childhood, the one I wasn't able to give the both of you."
"The one you still aren't giving me," Sam said harshly.
"Sammy…"
"No Dad it's not fucking fair and you know it!"
"You're right, it isn't fair. Life isn't fair, Sammy. I know how important a normal life is to you and I don't want you to take your anger and jealousy out on Adam, because he gets to have one, while you don't."
"I would never do that! He's just a little kid!"
"Ok, I don't want you to take your anger out on me. Knowing I'm letting Adam live a normal life and not allowing you to is a hard sell. We have enough problems in our relationship."
"What relationship?" Sam asked getting up and walking towards the motel door. John grabbed his arm and said,
"Sammy, I can't give you the life you want. Adam has his mom and I don't need his help tracking down the thing that killed your mom."
"You don't need my help either! You're hunter extraordinaire and junior hunter extraordinaire is sitting right beside me!" Sam yelled.
"I need you, Sammy and I'm not willing to give you up. It's hard enough to leave Adam every time I visit, but at least I know his mom is here for him, no matter what. You…"
"Yeah, I get it. You get to have your cake and eat it too. You get your little soldiers to help you with your need for revenge and a normal kid to boot," Sam snapped.
"Sammy, listen to me…"
"Leave me the hell alone," Sam said trying to pull his arm away.
"Samuel, sit down," John ordered and waited for Sam to comply before adding, "You're pissed, I get it and understand it but I stand by my decision."
"Why?" Dean asked getting into the conversation before his little brother totally flipped out.
"Look boys, it wasn't like I never thought about telling you boys about Adam. I just didn't think it was fair for any of you. Your relationship would be built on a lie."
"Isn't yours?" Dean asked.
"Yes and that's bad enough. Kate and I agreed that seeing Adam was the best thing to do after he met me, because we didn't want him to feel that his dad abandoned him."
"Yeah that wouldn't have been ok to do to the kid," Dean agreed.
"So then I had to take everyone's feelings into account. I knew you would want to be a big part your youngest brother's life, which couldn't happen. Sammy would be pissed about the normal life thing and Adam would be jealous because I let you live with me but never let him visit. Adam's lucky if he gets to see me once a month."
"Like you tell me all the time, life isn't fair," Sam spat.
"You were eleven when I found out about Adam and he was five. There was no way I was going to tell a five year old who almost lost his mother, that life wasn't fair and he wasn't going to see me again."
"Dad, Sammy wasn't saying that. He was saying that you didn't have to keep this a secret for three years."
"Yeah, well like I said I made a decision and I still feel like it was the right one. If you don't agree, I understand. What I don't understand is how you could worry that boy's mother like that. What the hell were you thinking?"
"We wanted to meet our brother," Dean said nonchalantly.
"There were better ways to go about it."
"Well we sure as hell weren't going to meet him with your blessing," Sam said.
"Samuel, I've been pretty lenient with your swearing tonight, but I've reached my limit."
"I really don't give a shit," Sam snapped, making John get up and land three hard swats on his stubborn son's butt.
"Sammy, knock it off," Dean snapped.
Sam just glared at his brother before sitting down.
"So why did you kidnap your little brother and go off the radar for over thirty-six hours?" John asked angrily.
"Dad, kidnap is a pretty strong word," Dean reasoned.
"And you've gone off the radar for longer periods of time," Sam added trying to keep his temper in check.
"It was kidnapping, Dean. You took that boy without asking his mother or me. As for me going off the radar, I'm the parent and you're the kids so my rules are different than yours."
"Yeah, you get to have a secret family while leaving us in crappy motel rooms," Sam mumbled.
"Sammy, I can't change the past, so you complaining about it isn't going to do anything but piss me off," John growled.
"And that matters to me why?" Sam asked.
John grabbed Sam's arm landed a hard swat,
"Go stand in the corner until you can speak to me with some respect and you can keep your temper under control."
Sam looked at Dean who nodded. John was pissed that his youngest was only doing what he said because Dean told him too, but understood. When Sam felt betrayed he really took it to heart. John looked at Dean and saw betrayal too. For fifteen minutes the motel room was full of awkward silence.
"Sammy, are you calm yet?"
"Yes, sir," Sam said wanting to get out of the corner.
"Come on and sit down," John said pointing to the spot next to Dean. "I'm sorry if you think I betrayed you. I understand your feelings and I'm sorry I made you feel that way, but it doesn't excuse your behavior. First you came to Minnesota without permission in doing so Sammy has now missed three days of school. Second, you stole a car. Don't deny it because there is no way you would have been able to complete your recon without it, sure you had Adam's name off some document but you had no idea what he looked like. Wait how did you find out in the first place?"
"My genealogy report. It was a simple public record search," Sam said.
"At least you came about that honestly," John saw that Sam was going to come back with a sharp reply, but Dean stopped him with a slight nudge. "So you followed Adam and I around in a stolen car. Was it a Cutlass?"
"Yes, sir," Dean said knowing that his father was going to say something about their recon abilities
"Your recon skills need some work. I almost walked up to the car twice to find out why it was following us. Third you kidnapped a little kid. I don't care that he's your little brother and I don't care that you're angry with me. It was wrong to make Kate and I worry like that. Fourth, you didn't answer your phone which you know is against the rules. Finally, you went off the radar for almost two days. Did I miss anything?" John asked.
"No, sir," the boys said.
"Alright, let's get this over with, Dean find a corner. Sammy, come here."
Sam walked over to his father still angry. He started to unsnap his jeans but John stopped him by pulling the boy onto his lap and into a strong hug. John wanted to get something off his chest before he blistered the kid's ass.
"I love you with all my heart and I'm sorry I can't give you the life you want. I'm a selfish son of a bitch who couldn't give you up and put you in foster care. I also can't stop doing what I feel is right and fighting the supernatural feels right. I know you're angry and feel that I betrayed you and I'm sorry about that. But as your father I can't let everything you've done in the last few days go. Too many things could have gone terribly wrong and I could have lost all of my boys. I couldn't live if I lost any one of you, you're too important to me. But I am going to take into account your feelings and forgo the paddle. I do need you to take down you jeans and boxers though."
Sam's anger fell away during his dad's speech. He hated his life, but really didn't want to live with strangers either. He wished his dad would change his mind about the supernatural, but knew he never would even after his dad killed the demon that killed his mother.
John waited patiently for his son to follow his instructions. The minute Sam had his pants and boxers down he pulled the boy over his knee. John looked at the white butt in front of him and proceeded to paint it a nice cherry red. Sam started wiggling by the fifth swat and was crying hard by the time John tilted him forward so he could attack the boy's sit spots and thighs. John finished up with five hard swats to the crown of Sam's already bright red butt before pulling his boxer's up gently and pulling the kid into a hug. John was extremely happy when Sam accepted it and felt maybe his speech beforehand made a little impact with the kid. The minute Sam was finished crying, John put him down and whipped tears off his cheeks using his thumbs.
"I love you, kiddo."
"Love you too."
"Go trade places with your brother," John said softly.
Dean walked over to his father and like Sam started to take down his jeans and like Sam John stopped his eldest. He knew better than to pull the eighteen year old onto his lap, the kid would die of embarrassment, but he still wanted to talk to his eldest.
"Take a seat," John said pointing to the bed. When Dean complied John continued, "Dean, I want you to understand something. I love you and I know you take on a lot of responsibility that most kids your age don't. I also expect a lot more out of you than normal parents, I always have and I probably always will. Keeping that in mind, I want you to answer one question for me."
"Yes, sir?"
"How would you feel if Sammy didn't get off the bus and you didn't know where he was?"
Dean's eyes glistened with tears. He would be in a complete panic if Sammy didn't get off the bus. How could he have done that to Adam's mom?
"Dad, I didn't think about it like that."
"You just wanted to stick it to me for keeping this a secret."
Dean squirmed and nodded his head.
"I get it Dean, but I don't condone it by any means."
"I'm really sorry," Dean said looking down.
"I know, but you're still getting five with the paddle for putting Kate and I through that. I know Sammy helped you make the decision, but you were the one in charge. You're getting five more with the paddle for stealing the car. You're eighteen, so if you were caught you'd be in jail right now. I only condone car theft when you're in danger and you know it. Finally you're getting five for not answering the phone."
"Yes, sir," Dean said hating that he was getting the paddle, but took solace in the fact that it was only fifteen swats and he wasn't getting the belt for what he did.
John got up and walked over to his duffle taking out the paddle. He walked back over and said,
"Let's get this over with."
Dean stood up and took down his jeans and boxers. He didn't want to bend over his dad's knee but knew he deserved this ass whipping. Sure when he was pissed off at his dad he felt righteous, but now looking back his choices were those of a little kid. He should have just confronted his dad. Hell, Sammy had wanted to do it, but no he decided to kidnap his baby brother and take off. He knew better.
All thought left his head the minute his dad's big ass, hard as shit hand landed on his bare butt. 'Shit, that hurt.' Dean decided he needed to man up and take this punishment. He deserved every swat and he was just going to take this spanking without crying or whining or …'fuck that really hurt.' Ok maybe, not.
John kept landing powerful blows to Dean's backside until he felt the fight leave his son. He knew Dean would feel guilty unless he ensured the kid let go of that guilt. He listened carefully and heard the 'ows and little sniffles' and knew it was almost time to bring in the paddle. First he needed to pay some attention to Dean's sit spots and thighs.
Dean felt his dad change position and knew he'd lost the battle. He was going to be crying outright within the next few swats and his dad did not disappoint. The man lite him up like a Christmas tree. He was sure his ass was glowing and he still had fifteen to face with the paddle. Just as that thought crossed his mind his dad changed positions again and paused. A second later, John brought the paddle down hard on the crown of Dean's butt then he moved over and delivered three on each butt cheek, before switching positions to expose Dean's bright red sit spots. Dean couldn't help it, he was sobbing hard as his father littered his sit spots with the remaining swats. John threw the paddle on the bed and rubbed calming circles on Dean's back.
The eighteen year old got himself under control a few minutes later. Dean got up and pulled his boxers up leaving the jeans next to Sam's on the floor. John stood up and pulled his eldest into a hug.
"I'm sorry, Dad."
"I know kiddo," John said holding him closer. Dean pulled away a few seconds later and said,
"I need to go and apologize to Miss Milligan again."
"Sounds good. Sammy, you ready to get out of the corner?"
"Yes, sir. Not ready for a car ride though," Sam mumbled making Dean laugh and say,
"Hell, my ass is probably twice as red as yours, wuss. OW, Dad!"
"Don't tease your brother," John said trying to keep from smiling and failing miserably.
"Just think, Sammy you have a little brother to tease now. I'll even give you pointers," Dean said ignoring his father completely.
"I think I've got it covered. You've been terrorizing me all of my life," Sam said smiling.
"Adam's only eight. Give the kid a break. He's not used to having brothers," John said.
"Dad, we can't give him a break we're eight years behind schedule. He's a Winchester and we need to toughen him up," Dean teased.
John just shook his head and smiled.
The End