Sequel to You Can Finally Meet My Mom and would probably make more sense if you read that first.
A special thanks to my best friend, El, would gave me the idea for this story
It had been 10 years since his uncle died. At first, John didn't understand what happened, being only five at the time he didn't comprehend what it meant for someone to die. But now he knew, he understood, he could see how much it hurt his dad every January 24th.
The question seemed to come out of nowhere. John and Mary Grace had been helping their younger brother Dean pick up his birthday presents from his party that ended less than an hour before. Mary Grace stopped listing which present came from which person and looked up from her notebook. John turned around and kept himself from dropping a box he was carrying.
The older siblings shared a doleful glance.
"Will somebody answer me? What was Uncle Dean like?"
Mary Grace got up from the couch and sat in front of her younger brother.
"I don't really know. I was too little to remember much of him."
John looked to the doorway that leads to the kitchen, hearing his mother's soft laugher and his father's muffled voice. For a split second he thought that they would be better at explaining, but they sounded so happy. John placed the box on the floor and sat on the carpet next to his sister.
"But I do remember how much he loved all of us," Mary continued. "Mom and Dad, John and I, and you too, even though you weren't even born yet. I also remembered how much he loved Uncle Cas. Though I always thought it was weird that every time Uncle Dean came over Uncle Cas just seemed to appear out of nowhere."
Mary gave a small smile and laughed "I liked to think Cas was an angel."
It was John's turn to laugh. When he was a little older John snuck into his father's study and found an old journal that had apparently belonged to Grandpa Winchester and then got passed to Dean and Sam. His father caught John trying to decipher a page of the journal dedicated to Wendigos. His dad scolded him but then told John that he would understand when he was older. The day of his 15th birthday his dad sat him down at the kitchen island and explained the complicated Winchester family, even told John about Demons, Angels-more specifically who Uncle Cas really was, Hunters, and the supernatural. It was just a mild over view though.
He also found out his mom had known about everything, she grew up with Hunters for parents like his dad and uncle, but her story wasn't nearly as tragic. John wasn't allowed to tell anyone about what he knew, but he didn't mind keeping the family secret. John was given a choice to receive the full story when he turned 16, or pretend that he didn't know his family was anything but normal. In a few months, John planned to take his father up on their deal.
"Yeah, I liked to think he was an angel too. Oh, I think he was planning to stop by later to say happy birthday."
Dean smiled and gave a little fist pump. "Awesome!"
Cas visited him sometimes, mostly during the holidays or on birthdays. A lot of conversations between his uncle and parents made more sense now that he knew that Cas was an angel that lived in Heaven with Uncle Dean and other deceased Winchesters.
John looked between his brother and sister. "I remember Uncle Dean being the coolest person ever. His Impala seemed to be as big as a rocket ship. And he always wore a leather jacket."
Dean hung on every word he said.
Mary Grace spoke up. "Uncle Dean would always give the best high-fives, but sometimes almost tickled us to death."
They both smiled at the fond memories.
"He sounds really cool."
John and Mary Grace both nod.
"Uncle Dean was the best, well, after Daddy."
"Don't you think it's weird that we have the same name and the same birthday?"
Sharing the same name wasn't weird; everyone knew-except apparently his brother- that their mom and dad named their second son after Sam's brother. It was kinda like how he was named after his grandfather and great-grandfather on his dad's side. But the birthdays were strange, because according to their mother, Dean was born almost two weeks earlier than planned and just so happen to be to share his namesake's birthday.
"I guess. Maybe the Fate's planned it that way." John stood up. "Come on. Let's get this cleaned up before Uncle Cas gets here."
Knowing what he now knows, the Fates could have planned it.
Cas had come and gone, leaving behind a mountain of gifts- dubbed as early birthday presents for everyone but Dean- and a promise to visit again as soon as he could.
The house was quite. His mom had dragged his father to bed before he could touch the alcohol and the three siblings had spilt off doing separate things. John left Dean in his room, playing with the bracelet Cas gave him- a braided, black leather cord with a small, metal plate engraved with a few strange symbols attached to the center. John had a feeling it was for protection. Mary Grace was somewhere, doing whatever 13 year old girls do in their free time. John was trying to finish his latest book in order to start another book that he had wanted to read before it's movie came out. When his uncle was alive he had always told John that he was the smartest person in the entire world.
Just as John felt his eyes drooping, his door opened. Dean entered and sat on the edge of his bed.
"Sorry if I woke you up."
"No, you're fine. I was just reading. Is everything OK?"
"I didn't want to wake Mom or Dad up." Dean paused. "I had another nightmare."
For the past couple of years his younger brother had been having unexplained nightmare. Dean could never remember them when he woke up, but he was always pretty shaken up. And because he hadn't had one in months everyone assumed they had stopped.
"Come on. Let's go back to bed."
John grabbed his iPod and docking station from his nightstand and followed his younger brother out of the room. When his little brother got settled John sat down at the foot of the bed. He could see the bracelet tied around Dean's wrist.
"How about I tell you more about Uncle Dean?"
As soon as his brother nodded, John spent the next hour telling him everything he knew about their uncle. The younger boy already knew some of the stories, but never told him to stop. When Dean was right on the verge of falling asleep, John got up and placed docking station with his iPod hooked up on his brother's small bedside table. He found the song he was looking for, Hey Jude by the Beatles, and made sure it would play softly on repeat.
Hey Jude and tomato and rice soup. Two things that would always be associated with their uncle.
"Goodnight. And remember Angels, and Uncle Dean, are always watching over you."
John turned off the light, shut the door, and made his way back to his own room. He fell asleep with Hey Jude slowly drifting through his dreams.
Maybe Dean was watching over them.
Title is from the song I'll Know You by Sons of Sylvia
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