A/N: This is my first attempt at writing a Daley fic I hope you guys enjoy it.
I'll Be Home
Two Days Before Christmas Eve
Dean Winchester took off his sunglasses and blinked his eyes. The yellow lines on the highway were starting to blur and he needed to clear his vision. He turned his head momentarily to look at the man sitting in the passenger seat of his '67 Impala. His emerald eyes glistened with mischief as a smirk came to his face. He just couldn't resist doing something to his younger brother.
Dean rifled around the center consol until he came up with a tape the he put in the tape deck. He took care to make sure that the radio was off before the tape started to play. He waited until just the right moment and he turned the radio on as loud as it would go.
Sam Winchester sat up so fast that he banged his knees on the dashboard. Waking up to the sounds of the hard rock that his brother was so found of was not one of his favorite things in the world. "Seriously, Dean?" he asked glaring at his brother with his green eyes blazing.
Dean pursed his lips and put his sunglasses back on. He started beating his hands on the steering wheel to the beat of the song. "I can't hear you Sammy, you're going to have to talk louder. Something is wrong with the radio." He yelled out fighting with all his might not to laugh just yet. He was quite satisfied with the way that that prank had worked out.
Sam reached out and shut the radio off. He ran his hands through his medium length brown hair before crossing his arms over his chest. "You really want to start this again Dean?" he asked.
Dean gave his little brother a charming smile. "I don't know what you're talking about Sammy." He knew damn well what his brother was talking about but he was going to pretend like he didn't.
"You don't want to start this war with me Dean, I'm warning you right now. And for the love of Christ keep your eyes on the road I promised Haley that I would get you home in one piece." Sam stressed to his older brother.
Dean absent-mindedly twirled his simple silver wedding band on his finger at the mention of his wife. "I think that you're more than a little scared of Hales. And I'll tell you like I told her when she gave that order, I'm the older brother it's my job to look out for you not the other way around." Since before he could remember it had been his job to take care of Sam and he was always going to take that job seriously.
Sam scoffed and rolled his eyes at his brother. "Dude, I take on demons for a living there is no way that Hales scares me." he protested a little too vehemently and he didn't realize that until he saw his brother's face light up with another smirk.
"You are scared of Hales, there is a good reason for that my girl is a badass." Dean said nodding his head and his upper lip curling into a mischievous smirk of sorts.
Sam threw his hands up in the air there was no use in arguing with his brother when he thought that he was right. He was thankful when he heard his cell buzz alerting him to a message. He read it and saw that it was from one of their friends and fellow hunter Jake Jagielski. "Dean, do we have time to make a stop?" he asked.
Dean quirked a dark blonde eyebrow at his brother and gave him a look like he was nuts. "I promised Hales that we would be home for Christmas and I really don't want to see what happens if we're not." He could face down demons who wanted nothing more than to spill his blood but when it came to facing his wife after he hadn't kept his word he would rather face a hundred blood thirsty demons.
"Now who is scared of Haley?" Sam asked he was enjoying watching his brother squirm now that the shoe was on the other foot.
"I'm well within my rights to be scared of Haley. She controls my sex life and papa gets a little lonely when momma ain't givin' him no lovin'." Dean said an almost imperceptible pout came to his face just thinking about it.
"That is way more than I needed to know about your sex life Dean, thank you for that." Sam spit back sarcastically. "So can we stop to help Jake or not?" he asked.
"What kind of case is it?" Dean asked he really wanted to keep his promise to Haley but he couldn't just leave a fellow hunter out in the cold.
"It's just a simple haunting we get in we kill the ghost we get out." Sam answered knowing that it wouldn't take much talking to get his older brother to say yes.
"Does your sudden interest in hunting this ghost have anything to do with Brooke being mad at you?" Dean said he normally wasn't one to pry but he liked seeing his little brother squirm.
"Are we going or not?" Sam asked just wanting an answer to his question.
"Where is he?" Dean asked he had just about resigned himself to the fact that he was going to have to go help out.
"Nashville, and we're in Denver now so that's about eleven hundred miles. That comes out to about ten more hours of driving. It's noon now, that should give us plenty of time to get there take care of business and get home with time to spare." Sam said answering the next question that his brother was likely to ask.
"Alright, we'll go if it gets you to shut up bitch." Dean relented.
"Shut up jerk." Sam shot back at his brother.
"I'm doing this for you so that means you have to get Jamie something really nice for Christmas while we're there." Dean bargained.
Sam shook his head. "This is something, you're blackmailing me with my nephew." He would have been shocked but nothing Dean did shocked him anymore. Well Dean had shocked him when he decided to settle down with Haley after he had got her pregnant but there was nothing else he could do to shock him.
One Day Before Christmas Eve
Haley James Winchester was sitting at the kitchen table of her home feeding her six-month-old son James Lucas Winchester a bottle. She let out a sigh as her little boy looked up at her with those bright eyes of his that reminded her so much of his father. Actually everything about little Jamie reminded Haley of Dean. He had the same sandy colored hair and he looked exactly like him. She swore that he even had the same smirk that Dean had.
"Jamie, mommy wonders where your daddy and Uncle Sam are I haven't heard from them in a couple of days." Haley told her baby.
"Don't worry Tutor Mom, Broody Winchester and his sidekick Dumb Ass Winchester will be back." Brooke Davis said in a huff as she sat down next to her best friend.
"Jamie, tell Auntie Brooke not to use those kind of words in front of you. I have a hard enough time getting your daddy to edit himself." Haley said looking pointedly at her friend.
"I'm sorry I won't tell the truth about his daddy being broody anymore." Brooke huffed crossing her arms over her chest.
Haley could tell that the brunette was in one hell of a mood and that mood almost certainly had to do with her brother-in-law and Brooke's kind of sorta boyfriend Sam. She just wasn't sure that she wanted to know what was going on with the two of them. "I wasn't talking about you calling Dean, broody. I was talking about what you called his Uncle Sam." She corrected her and then she looked at her concerned. "Did you want to talk about it?"
"There is nothing to talk about he decided that he rather go out hunting than talk about where we stand so now he can come to me." Brooke maintained stubbornly.
Haley knew exactly where Brooke was coming from. She had had the same problems with Dean, and that was the reason that she had hesitated for a second before saying yes when he asked her to marry him. She knew that Dean was a nomad and he would never be content with being stuck in one place. She also knew that he was hers for as long as he could stand to sit still and he would always come home to her. But she had still been livid with him when he had taken a job that close to Christmas. She had made him promise her that he would be home to celebrate their son's first Christmas though. She had also threatened him with a dire number of things if he broke that promise and she meant it. She was sure that he would rather face the devil himself than face her if he didn't make it home in time. "It's who they are Brooke, it's in their blood. If you think that's going to change then you're setting yourself up for a whole lot of heartache. I don't like it when he goes traipsing off across the country but I think of it as him making the world a safer place for Jamie to grow up in. As much as it pains me to say it I know that one day Jamie will follow in his dad's footsteps whether I like it or not."
Brooke banged her head lightly on the kitchen table and fixed a pout on her face. "I know that, and that really isn't the problem. The problem is he had just said something about he couldn't do this anymore if we couldn't be serious and I wanted to talk about why he wants us to be serious and then he gets a call and he up and leaves like we weren't having a serious conversation."
Haley scoffed at that. "At least he wants to have a serious conversation everything is a joke with Dean. When I was pregnant with Jamie I told him I was afraid he was going to come out with three heads or something and Dean told me that it'd be ok he'd seen worse. You have the romantic brother I have the one who has never met a punch line that he didn't like."
Brooke rubbed the downy fuzz on her nephew's head. "Jamie would have been three times as cute if he had come out with three heads."
Haley shot her a dry look. "I think Dean would have freaked out less in the delivery room if he had come out with three heads, that he could have handled. He screamed louder than I did and he wasn't even the one doing the work. But I do have to admit that he is great with him. Just last week he let me sleep in when Jamie woke crying at five in the morning. I woke up at ten and Dean was sleeping on the couch with him on his chest. It was so cute that I didn't have the heart to wake them. However, I did take a picture and I sent it to all his hunter friends."
"You're lucky that he loves you Tutor Girl, or he would have flipped his lid." Brooke laughed.
"He doesn't know because he hasn't talked to Lucas, Nathan, or Bobby yet. I'll catch hell for it later but he can consider it his punishment for taking off on this hunt." Haley said with an evil smirk.
Brooke smirked back. "You know if we really wanted to be evil we could blame it on Sam." She suggested.
"I like the way you think Brooke Davis." Haley agreed with a knowing grin. She was well aware of what kind of prank war would ensue between the Winchester brothers.
"We can't let those boys have all the fun now can we?" Brooke asked seriously but she was trying her best to keep from laughing.
"Oh, it's just a simple little haunting Dean, we can take care of it and be home with time to spare. This is the last time I listen to you about something like this Sammy, the absolute last time. My death is on your hands Haley is going to kill me when I miss Jamie's first Christmas." Dean bitched at his little brother as they wandered through a cemetery.
"That was a simple little haunting and we did take care of it in no time. How was I to know that if we stopped we were going to run right into the middle of demon central?" Sam asked really he was innocent in this.
Jake had accompanied his two friends since they were headed back to Tree Hill and he needed to get home. Now he shook his head at them and rolled his eyes. "Let's just kill these demons and get home as fast as we can." He suggested. It certainly made sense to him.
Dean pursed his lips and glared in Jake's general direction. "This is your fault too Jake, I hope your pie was worth it. Hales is seriously going to kill you both too that is if the demons don't do the job for her." His eyes skillfully scanned the darkness for any signs of movement.
"I'll explain to her that it was my fault. The nest should be around here somewhere." Sam said.
"Are we even sure that this is the right place?" Jake asked them it was entirely possible that they had come to the wrong cemetery.
Dean stopped dead in his tracks and pulled his shotgun. "You know what? Enough is enough." He said firing a couple of shots up in the air. "Come on out bitches, who wants to fuck with Batman? You better take your shot now because this may be your last chance." He yelled out into the darkness.
Sam slapped himself in the middle of the forehead. "This is wonderful he has lost his mind. I'm sure of it this time."
Christmas Eve
"Hello Darlin'," Bobby Singer greeted Haley when she opened the door to him with Jamie in her arms.
"Hi Bobby," Haley said hugging the older man with her free arm. "Say hi to Grandpa Bobby, Jamie." She told her son.
"Heya kid, you've gotten pretty big since the last time I saw you." Bobby said tickling his stomach causing him to giggle.
"Tell me you brought Lucas and Nathan back with you." Haley begged him.
"Of course they came with me they are just getting stuff out of the car." Bobby replied just as the two men in question came into the house. "Speak of the devils there they are now."
"You talkin' bad about us again Bobby?" Nathan asked the father figure of their makeshift family. He was tall with black hair that he had cropped close to his skull at the moment.
"I'm talkin' about you ain't I?" Bobby asked him in reply.
"Both you two move out of the way I want to see my nephew." Lucas was a little bit shorter than Nathan and he had sandy hair that was also close cropped. He took Jamie from Haley who didn't even put up a fight. "Hey, Jay Luke you get more and more handsome all the time. That's because you take after your Uncle Luke. I brought you presents and they are so cool that they are going to make your daddy jealous yes they are." He cooed at him. It was funny seeing a big bad hunter talking baby talk.
"Stop hogging the kid Luke, I want to see him too." Nathan said taking the baby from his brother. "Hi there Jamie, you look just like your old man you poor thing."
"Nathan, be nice," Haley chided him.
"Tutor Girl, I don't know when you're going to figure out that the Scott brothers and the Winchester brothers are almost exactly the same. They are all small children in the bodies of grown men." Brooke said rolling her eyes.
"It's nice to see you too Brooke, I was actually hoping that Peyton would be here." Lucas replied giving her a playful shove.
"She'll be back in just a little bit she ran out to the store to get some last minute stuff." Haley explained before he and Brooke had a chance to get into an argument.
"You wouldn't happen to know where Dean and Sam would you? I only ask because Haley threatened them both with death if they didn't make it home on time." Brooke asked trying to sound casual about it. She didn't want it to seem like she was worried about Sam or anything like that.
"They were in Nashville two days ago helping Jake. They were the closest and they said that they would help him out. I think they headed out early yesterday afternoon but I can't be sure about that." Nathan answered as he continued to play with Jamie.
A frown came to Haley's face and her normally warm brown eyes blazed with fury. "You ok Hales?" Lucas asked he saw the change that came over her.
"I'm going to kill him. He promised me Luke, he looked me in the eyes and he swore to me that he would be here for his son's first Christmas. I barely said anything when he said he had a case I just asked him to promise me he would make it back in time." Haley fumed she was going to kill her husband when she got her hands on him. Well she wasn't going to kill him there were worse things that she could do to Dean.
"Hales, they're Winchesters the best damn hunters out there. They will get here on time. Dean might talk a big game but this boy has changed him, he wouldn't miss his first Christmas for anything in the world." Nathan assured the girl he thought of as his little sister.
"If he knows what's good for him he will get here in a hurry," Haley said her temper hardly abated.
Dean kicked the tire of his beloved Impala. The muscles in his neck were so tight that they looked like they were going to burst out of his skin. Thick black smoke curled out from underneath the hood of his car. "You've got to be fucking kidding me. This can't be happening, not now. Any other time I'd be pissed but I could live with it, but right now has to be the worst fucking timing possible." He yelled out.
"Calm down Dean, you've got this man you're a first rate mechanic. If anyone can fix this car and get us home in time to keep Haley from killing all of us it's you." Sam said trying to calm his brother.
"Shut it bitch, I don't what to hear it right now." Dean replied threading his fingers through his hair.
"You shut it jerk, I'm only trying to help you out here." Sam yelled right back.
Dean kicked the tire again before he took a deep breath to calm himself. "Let's pop the trunk and get the tools out. I won't let it be said that I didn't try my damnedest to get home to my wife and son."
It was early morning by the time Sam and Dean pulled up in the front of the home they shared with their women and fellow hunters. Dean didn't want to wake Haley just yet so he climbed in the shower after quietly sneaking in their room to grab the pajamas she had bought him to wear on Christmas morning. His pajama pants had festive looking ornaments on them and his t-shirt had a Christmas tree. No sooner had Dean gotten out of the shower than he heard his son crying. He quickly slipped into the nursery before Jamie could wake Haley with his crying.
He scooped up his son and held him close to him so he would feel safe. "Hi little man, did you miss daddy? Daddy sure missed you." Jamie made some gurgling and cooing noises. Dean cocked his head to the side and raised his eyebrow. "I know those noises those are your hungry noises. Come on buddy let's get you a bottle." He said as he carried his son down to the kitchen. He adeptly made a bottle with one hand never once putting his son down.
Dean walked the floor with Jamie the whole time he was eating. He went to the tree and turned it on. He watched with what could only be described as pure joy as his son's eyes widened at the sight of the lights. "You're wide awake now it looks like it's time to do that thing that daddy doesn't do lightly." He told him. He wasn't one for chick flick moments but he thought they he could make an exception just this once. "Momma liked the roses she grew them in the yard but winter always came around and made the growing way too hard. Oh, momma liked the roses and when she had the time she'd decorate the living room for all us kids to see. When I hear the Sunday bells ringing in the morning. I remember crying when she used to sing." He didn't fall to singing lightly and he damn sure didn't sing sappy songs like this but one look at his son and he turned into a total softy.
"Jamie, you would have loved your grandma and she sure would have loved you too." Dean told his son who was close to sleep as he laid down on the couch with him on his chest. He placed a kiss on the top of his head. "I promised that I'd be home for Christmas. I might have cut it a little close but I think that your mommy will forgive me." he said before they both drifted out to sleep.
I am dreamin' tonight of a place I love
Even more than I usually do
And although I know it's a long road back
I promise you
I'll be home for Christmas
You can count on me
Please have snow and mistletoe
And presents under the tree
Sam hadn't been very successful at stealth when it came to slipping into the bed without Brooke noticing that he was there. He had thought he was home free when he slipped his arm around her and she didn't move but that proved to be a false assumption.
"Where have you been Winchester?" Brooke demanded of him and she felt all the muscles in his body go rigid.
Sam sighed deeply so that his muscles would go slack again. "We would have been home sooner but we had car trouble and Dean had a minor melt down." He admitted. He had long ago learned that it was better to tell the truth than have her catch him in a lie.
Brooke nodded and snuggled against him seeming to accept that. "You walked out on a pretty big conversation the other night Sam." She said broaching the subject.
"Can we not do this right now Brooke? I just got home and I'm tired." Sam asked sounding a little whiny.
"I feel like we have to do this now Sam, this might be the only time we have without getting interrupted." Brooke replied honestly. If she had had a choice in the matter she would have never fallen for a hunter but she didn't have a choice one look at Sam Winchester and she was in love even if she wouldn't admit it. Sam sighed as he rolled over and turned on the light that was on the bedside table. "What are you doing?" she asked.
Sam got out of bed and took something out of his discarded pants' pocket before he answered her. "You insist on doing this now so we're going to do this right. So you're going to have to sit on the edge of the bed." He answered. She gave him a questioning look with her big brown eyes. "Don't argue with me just do it Brooke." He said.
Brooke swung her legs out of the bed and sat on the edge of it just like he had asked her to. "Ok now what?" she asked.
Sam stood in front of her and then he got down on one knee. "I love you Brooke Davis, will you marry me?" he asked producing a ring.
Brooke felt unsure for about a split second but she knew what the answer should be. "Yes, of course I'll marry you Sam." She said a few tears falling from her eyes as he slipped the ring on her finger. It was a princess cut diamond she had no idea that he knew how to pick out an engagement ring.
"I love you so much." Sam said wrapping his arms around her waist.
"And I love you, Sam Winchester." Brooke replied before she leaned down and kissed him. The kiss was unlike any other she had ever experienced. For the first time ever she could swear that she saw fireworks.
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
Haley woke up with conflicting emotions on one hand she was beyond elated that it was her son's first Christmas. But she was also felt angry and upset that space in the bed next to her was empty. "Damn you Dean, you promised me," she whispered to herself. Part of her just wanted to lie there in bed and not get up but she couldn't do that to Jamie so she got up and put on the pajamas she had bought especially for this day and went down the hall to get her son.
A small smile graced Dean's normally brooding lips when he heard his wife's voice coming down the stairs. She sounded panicked and he had a pretty good idea of why she sounded that way. "Looks like mommy just noticed that you weren't in your crib." He told Jamie.
"Luke, Nate, Bobby one of you better have my baby." Haley said frantically as she came down the stairs only to find that no one else was up.
"Relax Hales, he's right here." Dean said causing his wife to stop dead in her tracks.
Haley felt a surge of electricity pass through her body when she heard her husband's voice. Slowly she turned and saw her husband standing in front of the tree, which he had already taken the time to light up, with their son in his arms. She also noticed that the volume of presents under the tree had grown significantly from the night before. "Dean?" she asked her voice barely above a whisper.
Dean gave her a genuine smile that showed all of his teeth, not one of those smirks that he reserved for when he was being a smart ass or trying to mask his feelings. "I promised you that I'd be home for Christmas Hales, I never intended on breaking that promise. You and the kid, you're my happy."
Haley went to him and pulled him into a passionate kiss. "I was so mad at you when I woke up. I thought you weren't going to make it. But seeing you here now I couldn't ask for a better present." She gushed when she pulled away from him.
As usual it took Dean a minute to be capable of rational thought after Haley kissed him like that. "That's good I'm glad that I topped myself without trying. I should have known that this fine body would have been enough for you."
Haley wanted to roll her eyes but she couldn't his snarky comments were part of what she loved about him. "Dean Winchester, I sometimes think that it would kill you to be serious for a second." She lightly scolded him.
Dean ignored her and instead turned his attention on his son. "Let's give momma her present Jamie." He told him. It was then that Haley noticed a silver chain in her son's little fist.
"What did you do Dean?" Haley asked him.
"Go on give it to momma." Dean said helping his son hand the chain to Haley.
Haley took the chain from her boys and she gasped at how beautiful it was before putting it around her neck. There was a heart shaped locket on the chain. She opened it and she found a picture of Jamie on one side and Dean on the other. "Oh, Dean I love it."
"I'm glad, I just figured you know you could always have a piece of me and Jamie and it's silver so it might come in handy as a weapon or something." Dean said trying to play off how thoughtful he had been.
Haley laughed at his poor attempt at showing affection but she loved him anyway. "I love you Dean,"
"I love you too Hales," Dean replied and then he got a devilish grin on his face. "Now it's time to give Jamie one of his Christmas presents."
"I'm scared to see what you got our son without me knowing." Haley said she was pretty much resigned to it being something that she wasn't going to like.
"Alright Squirt, this present is from me and Uncle Sammy, so we've got to get him in here." Dean spoke very gently to his son it was a shocker to those who knew him. "Sammy, Jamie wants his Christmas present and he said for you to hurry up." He called to his younger brother.
"If it wasn't Christmas and I wasn't doing this for my nephew then I would cuss you out Dean." Sam called back but a second later he came into the room with an older man. He had a beard with some patches of gray in it and a mop of black hair.
Haley knew who the man was instantly. She put her hand over her mouth in surprise. "John," she couldn't remember the last time she had saw her father-in-law.
Dean really had a face splitting smile now. "Say hi to your grandpa Jamie." He told his son.
"Dean, I'm sorry that I missed this. Do you mind?" John Winchester asked pointing to his grandson. Dean put his son in his father's arms and marveled at how for the first time in a long time they felt like a real family.
Christmas Eve will find me
Where the love light gleams
I'll be home for Christmas
If only in my dreams
If only in my dreams
Five Years Later
"Tell us another story dad." Jamie begged Dean as he sat on his knee.
"Nother story daddy." The little girl sitting on his other knee copied her big brother.
"I don't know if I have any other stories to tell you guys that won't give you nightmares." Dean said thoughtfully knowing full well he could tell his kids stories all night and not get tired of it.
"Sammie is about to fall asleep right now I don't think she could make it through another story. Besides that Jamie you have to get in bed so that Santa can come see you." Haley said sticking her head to her son's room. She loved hearing Dean go through his bedtime routine with their kids and sometimes she would stand outside the door and listen.
"Please," both children begged Dean at the same time.
"Nope, mom is right guys I promise you that we have plenty of other nights. Besides that Grandpa Bobby and Uncle Sam have got it coming to them. Each one of you has a job early in the morning. Jamie, you've got Uncle Sammy, jump on him pour water on his head. I don't care how you do it just wake him up and don't let him know I put you up to it. That keep's you safe from the wrath of Aunt Brooke. Got it?" Dean asked.
"I've got it dad, I won't let you down." Jamie replied taking his duties seriously. He took anything that Dean told him as holy writ though.
Dean's lips creased into one of his trademark smirks. "That's my little soldier." And then he turned to Sammie. "And you my little princess have Grandpa Bobby, he is a tough nut to crack but you're only one who has any hope of pulling this off."
"Ok daddy," Sammie agreed saluting her father.
"Dean, Brooke and Bobby are both going to kill you." Haley said laughing at her husband.
"No, they won't because if either one of my little soldiers get captured they know that Uncle Lucas put them up to this." Dean said and they both nodded their heads in agreement.
Haley just smiled at them. "Now that you have your orders it's bedtime. Jamie, crawl in bed so daddy and I can tuck you in."
Dean stood up and handed Sammie to Haley so he could get Jamie fixed in bed. The little boy flew under the covers. He kissed his son on the top of head. "Good night, sleep tight," he began going through their nightly ritual.
"Don't let the bed bugs bite," Jamie took up the next line.
"But if they do let my aim be true and right." Dean and Jamie finished in unison.
"I love you Jimmy Dean." Dean said using his nickname for his son.
"I love you too Quick Draw." Jamie replied using his nickname for his dad.
The scene as always touched Haley only a hunter could show affection in that manner. She handed Sammie off to Dean so she could say goodnight to Jamie. "Night buddy, mommy loves you," she said as she rubbed her nose against his.
"I love you too mommy." Jamie replied.
After they put Sammie to bed Haley and Dean we're sitting out in the living room putting together toys for the kids. Dean being Dean of course got pissed off and threw a wrench across the room.
"Damn it I don't understand why they make these toys so much more difficult to put together than cars." He growled.
"Santa is a little grumpy tonight." Haley commented dryly.
"Santa spent fifty years in hell he is entitled to be a little grumpy." Dean shot back.
"Dean, we're going to get through this I promise." Haley said sitting by his side on the floor.
"I told you Hales, you and the kids are my happy. I'm nothing without you three. But as long as I have you I can face anything that comes my way" Dean said for once in his life being serious.
"I love you Dean." Haley said.
"And I love you too Hales." Dean replied before he pulled her into a kiss.
-END-
A/N: I hope you guys liked it I wanted to get a Christmas fic out and I figured what better way to do it than with my new obsession Daley. I liked writing this it was a lot of fun I hope you enjoyed it half as much.