It was the beginning of September and John and the boys had just moved to a new town. School was about to start and John new that now that Dean was six, it was time for him to attend kindergarten.
Ever since Mary died, John had been nervous about letting either boy out of his sight. He now knew what was out there and the thought of his boys by themselves unprotected scared him. However, he knew that school would do Dean good, getting him away from the house and having some consistency in his life.
John had started talking to Dean about kindergarten a month earlier, explaining that now that he was a big boy, it was time for him to go and learn like the rest of the kids. At first, Dean had liked the idea. His dad had talked about meeting friends and playing outside and reading stories. But that all changed when Dean arrived.
On the first day of school, John had walked Dean to his class, introduced him to the teacher and started on his way to the door. That is until he was stopped.
As John had reached the door with little Sammy in his arms, he felt a small hand grasp the back of his shirt. As he looked around, he saw Dean, wide eyed and shaking.
"Where are you going Daddy?" He asked with a whimper.
"I gotta go home with Sammy Buddy," John responded softly.
"You're not staying!?" Dean questioned, tears forming in his eyes.
"No Buddy," John started, "remember we talked about you going to school and learning new things and meeting friends?"
" Yeah, but don't you wanna learn and make friends too?" Dean asked with childlike innocence.
John let out a small chuckle.
"Dean, I can't come to school, I already went when I was six," John informed his now sniffling son.
"No Daddy! You can't go!" Dean cried out loudly.
John looked around at the now dozens of eyes staring at the small scene. He quickly ushered Dean out into the hallway and hugged him tight.
"C'mon Dean," John soothed, "you're a big boy now and big boys go to school."
"But what if something happens to Sammy while I'm gone?" Dean asked through sobs.
John sighed internally. So that's what this was all about.
Ever since John had pushed Sam into Dean's arms on that terrible night almost two years ago, Dean had been extremely clingy and protective of his baby brother. He almost never let the kid out of his sight and he never let anyone touch his Sammy unless he trusted them one hundred percent.
John remembered one night only a week after the fire that Dean had come running down the stairs crying and shaking, describing a dream in which Sammy got stuck in the nursery along with his mommy and he never saw him again. It had taken John a good hour to calm him down.
Everything from that heartbreaking night had terrified Dean to no end, but even at four, Dean knew how close he had been to losing his brother.
Of course Dean would be like this about leaving his brother for six whole hours.
"Dean-o, it's ok, Sammy will be ok," John reassured, "I'm going to be with him the whole time while you're at school and then we'll be here to pick you up at the end of the day."
"Why can't Sammy stay with me?" Dean asked, tears still streaming down his face.
"Dean, Sammy's still just a baby, he won't be going to school for a long while yet," John pointed out.
"Not baby!" The two year old said stubbornly.
John ignored his youngest and continued.
"Besides Dean, when you come home, you get to teach Sammy everything you learned, then when he goes to school he will be the smartest one there."
Dean pondered this for a moment. He did want Sammy to be smart when he grew up and really, kindergarten didn't look all that bad.
"You promise you'll take care of Sammy and watch him and make sure he doesn't stick legos in his mouth?" Dean asked concerned.
"I'll try my best," John laughed.
Dean took one last glimpse into the classroom before looking down at Sammy.
"Sammy?" Dean asked, getting the toddlers attention, "If I go to kindergarten, do you think you will be okay to stay with Daddy until I get back?"
Sammy nodded excitedly, glad to have his brother's attention.
"Alright," Dean finally gave in, "maybe I can try it for one day."
"That's my big boy," John praised.
"And we'll be waiting right here when schools over."
Dean nodded, said his goodbyes to his dad and hugged Sammy before entering the classroom, only looking back once he was inside.
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Dean was pleased to see that Sammy and his Daddy were indeed at the kindergarten door when the final school bell rang.
He ran up and hugged his Sammy tightly, before looking at John and proceeding to describe his first day of kindergarten with excitement.
That night, John laughed as he watched his boys from out of sight.
"No Sammy you gotta hold your pencil like this," Dean explained as he showed Sammy the proper way.
Dean proceeded to move Sammy's hand along the paper, helping him spell his name with much difficulty.
"Don't worry Sammy, when I'm done with you you're gonna be the smartest kid in kindergarten!"
A/N- Small little one-shot I wrote out of boredom. I always thought leaving Sammy would be Dean's main concern about attending kindergarten, and he'd do anything to make sure Sammy was taken care of. Anyway, hope you enjoyed and reviews are appreciated!