I dedicate this story to my little great nephew Blake who will turn 5 this Friday. He and I have spent many nights reading the three stories mention below and I too have them now memorized. All credit goes to the great Dr. Seuss and PD Eastman for their magical stories. The Winchesters themselves I am temporarily borrowing as well. Read and enjoy the awwwww moments.
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As they pulled into the parking lot, the boys could tell right away this was no ordinary no tell motel. Right away they could see the monkey bars and the swing set pushed far back in the corner of the motels property. John no sooner had the car stopped when 9 year old Dean scampered out of the car with his 4 year old brother right behind him and made a beeline to the playground equipment. John thought about attempting to stop his two sons but then realized he'd sooner be able to stop a hurricane than two young boys bursting with pent up energy. Smiling, he walked to the into the office to get them a room and minutes later he trudged all their stuff into a small room with two double beds. Looking out the window he had a clear shot of the playground and Sammy screaming with glee as Dean pushed him higher and higher. He watched them play for another couple of minutes and then started to unpack their stuff.
Exhausted the boys tumbled into the room they had seen their father enter and flopped down on the bed farthest away from the door. It was getting late and Dean went about getting a bath ready for Sammy so he could go to bed. Once Sammy was bathed and in his pj's Dean took his turn in the shower. John had already unpacked their stuff and was sitting at the table flipping back and forth between two books of witchcraft. Once clean himself, Dean came back into the room and flopped down on the bed he and his brother were sharing.
"I wanna watch TV." Sammy said yawning, trying to cover it up. Amused at his little brother, Dean looked around for the remote that went to the TV across the room. Not finding it on the TV stand he went over to the night stand and opened the drawer. Looking into the drawer he was stunned to see what was inside. Without closing the drawer Dean backed away and quickly headed back into the bathroom. Right away John could tell something was wrong. He got up and moved over to the nightstand expecting to find the worst and was shocked to find the drawer only contained three books…..three children's books, Dr Seuss to be exact.
John recognized them right away. They were pieces of Dean's childhood that went up in smoke the same night his mother died. A link to a happier time, when red dogs sat on blue trees and little boys counted one fish two fish while telling their moms they would never eat green eggs and ham. John felt his heart break for a moment as he looked to the closed bathroom door and heard the quiet sobs behind it.
Of course it was at that moment when Sammy chose to look into the drawer himself. Not realizing anything was wrong with his brother he grabbed the books and plopped them down on the bed in front of him.
"Daddy read me a story." He said holding one of them up to his father. John looked down at his youngest son, so full of wide eyed innocence, and took the book from his little hands. John sat down on the bed next to Sammy, taking a quick glance once again at the bathroom door, before opening the long forgotten book and reading it his youngest son.
The first book was Green Eggs and Ham and Sammy laughed at the idea of anyone eating anything on a boat with a goat or a in box with a fox. Once finished, John set it down intending to go back to his research but Sammy pickup the next book and handed it to his father wanting more. Of course Go Dog Go was even more entertaining, with different dogs riding in cars, racing about. At some point Dean opened the door and stood listening as his father pointed out the various dogs having a party in the tree and watched as his little brother giggled over dogs playing jump rope, wearing party hats eating birthday cake. He was all the way back to the bed when John stopped reading and started to get up.
"No Dad, read the next one, Sammy will love it." Dean said quietly climbing onto the bed and sitting next to his little brother. John gave Dean a questioning look but continued when Dean nodded back to him. Sitting back down he opened the next book and started reading. Soon One fish Two fish was quickly devoured as well much to the delight of the youngest Winchester.
"That's it tiger, no more for tonight." John announced closing the little yellow book.
"Aw Dad…" Sammy complained but then let out another big yawn. Dean gave his brother a quick tickle which soon turned into a full out tickle war complete with flying pillows and Dean landing in a heap on the floor.
"All right boys that's enough, Dean you alright?" John asked picking up the pillow that had just narrowly missed his head.
"Yeah Dad I'm cool." Dean answered rubbing his knee where it had hit the floor.
"Lights out then boys." John announced reaching up to the wall lamp that was over their bed and turned it off. Both Dean and Sammy dived under the covers while John watched. A minor tickle skirmished threatened to start all over again but one look from John stopped that as soon as it started. Finally settled Dean rolled over to his side and snuggled into his pillow.
"Tomorrow Dean will you read me a story?" little Sammy asked from his side of the bed.
"Sure thing squirt." Dean answered and true to his word he read all three books the next day, and the next day, and the next day. Sammy never seemed to get tired of them. Dean started improvising creating different voices for the different characters much to his little brother's delight. Even John was amused to hear Dean act as the annoyed female dog with an ugly hat trying to catch her beau's eye. Little Sammy got into the act as well pretending his feet were too big for the bed, while wishing for fish, and boxing a Gox.
For a few days they had a childhood again.
John finished his hunt and the time came for them to pack up and leave. Unbeknownst to the boys, John packed up the books along with their other belongings leaving Sammy to find them with the rest of his stuff. Over the next few months books would be added or left behind but the three original books always made it back into the Impala with the rest of their stuff.
Eventually the boys got older and interests turned to other more important things. The books now long forgotten got lost somewhere between hunts and were never replaced. At first John was saddened to discover their absence. It meant his two boys were no longer susceptible to the musings of Dr Seuss and that their childhood had officially ended much too soon.
One night after a particularly frightening hunt, they all made it back to the motel room scraped and bruised. 10 year old Sammy particularly had taken a nasty bump on the head and Dean was doing all he could to keep his little brother's spirits up. After making sure they both were no worse for wear, John started back to the kitchenette and listened as the two boys talked amongst themselves from the two beds across the room
"Dean read me a story." Sammy asked with a slightly scared voice regressing to a time when all it took to make him feel safe was the sound of his brother's voice.
"C'mon Sammy you're too old for that stuff." Dean answered from this bed. "Besides we don't have the books anymore."
"Please…" Sammy answered as he got up and moved over to his brother's bed. Dean could see how frightened his brother was. He rolled his eyes and patted the mattress next to him giving his brother permission to hop up. Once they were both settled against the headboard Dean folded his arms and searched his memory for how the books started.
"I can't believe you're making me do this Sammy, you soooo owe me." Dean said before smiling to himself and starting speak in a low voice. "One fish, two fish, Red fish, Blue fish…."
"I'm glad you're with me Dean." Sammy interrupted, leaning against his brother.
"I'm glad you're with me too kiddo." Dean answered before continuing.
Smiling to himself, John sat down at the kitchenette table and listened as Dean recited from memory all three books. Maybe his sons had a little bit of their childhood left after all. The new question now was how much longer it would last. John could only hope forever.
The end
Authors note: The awwwww moment at the end of the story actually happened. One night while I was lying on my bed watching TV, Blake came into my room and got up on my bed. He was getting ready to go to bed and had come in to get his good night kiss from his Coco (my family nickname). Rolling onto his stomach, his little chin set in his hands, he looked over at me and told me "I'm glad you're with me Coco." Of course my answer was the same as Dean's. For his birthday I made sure I got him some more books and one of them is another Dr. Seuss, the infamous Fox in Sox. Wish me luck. Thanks for reading.