SUMMARY: Aly doesn't understand why Sam is acting so...funny when Dean picks him up from a party. John is away on a hunt, and Dean has to step into the parent role with his little brother. Humor and fluff from the Aly-verse. CONTENT WARNING: mention of drug use, implied spanking of teen. Same AU as 'The Adventures of Alyson Winchester'.
Aly: 6 years old, Sam: 14 years old, Dean: 18 years old
AUTHOR'S NOTE: Hello Dear Readers! If this is your first time reading one of my fanfics, please check out my profile for more stories with Alyson Winchester. The main story is called 'The Adventures of Alyson Winchester', and there is now a sequel called 'Winchester Interrupted: The Further Adventures of Alyson Winchester'. There are also several one-shots about Aly at different ages. I hope you enjoy them- please leave me a review and let me know what you like!
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Aly loved her family. She loved being with her Daddy, even though he could be stern sometimes, but she loved sitting in his lap and snuggling into his broad chest and how his soft flannels always smelled like a campfire. He always made her feel safe.
She loved Sam, he read to her and taught her lots of things and showed her how to catch lizards and fireflies and potato bugs. He took time to explain things to her and was patient.
And she loved Dean. He was kindof like Daddy, he took care of her too, when Daddy was away. He made her food and put the toothpaste on her toothbrush and helped her get dressed and kissed her owies when she fell on the playground. But he also tickled her and played with her sometimes, letting her crawl all over him, or giving her a piggy-back ride, and when he read to her he made all the characters in the story talk in funny voices, which made her laugh.
Dean had dropped out of school last year, which meant that he didn't go anymore. But now he was old enough that it didn't matter, he wouldn't be in school anymore anyways. Daddy had started to go away on longer and longer hunting trips and leaving Dean to watch her and Sam. Daddy had also given Dean his shiny black car and gotten a giant truck.
Aly liked the way the car's engine rumbled and she liked how shiny and smooth the paint was. She liked how Dean would always play music, and sometimes he would let her pick what to listen to, and they would sing along. Sometimes she and Dean sang together loudly just to annoy Sam, who would sit in the front seat with a book on his lap and his fingers plugged in his ears.
Right now, though, there was no music playing, because Dean was worried and tense. His forehead had those little lines in it that he got when he was worried, last year when she had gotten sick and kept throwing up he had had those lines on his forehead the whole time he'd been taking care of her.
Dean muttered under his breath as he drove the car, his hands gripping the steering wheel tightly instead of drumming his fingers like he usually did.
He pulled the car up to a curb outside of a two-story house in a neighborhood with lots of big houses. The yard of this house was large and long and the house was set back from the street.
Dean unbuckled his seat belt and turned towards Aly in the back seat. "All right, I need you to stay put, kiddo," he said, "I'll only be gone a minute, I'm just gonna go and get Sammy, okay?"
"But- but I'll be 'lone!" Aly protested.
"No you won't, you've got your puppy, right?"
Aly glanced down at the stuffed dog in her arms. Dean had won it for her at a carnival they had gone to over the summer, and she carried it around with her all the time. It was cheaply made, and one of the ears had come off, and the seam on its belly was starting to come undone, but Aly loved it because Dean had won it, just for her.
"Yeah," she whispered.
"All right, you and Puppy be brave for me, huh? I'll be right back," Dean gave her a smile, but only his mouth smiled, not his eyes. He turned and got out of the car, locking the door and glancing around. Aly watched him walk up the long sidewalk and then up the porch steps.
Her eyes filled with tears and she bit her lip and rubbed her eyes with her fists. Daddy and Dean were always telling her to 'be brave' about things. Be brave about walking into a new school by herself, be brave about sleeping in a new bed in a new house or hotel room that had lots of scary shadows and new and different noises, be brave about walking onto a playground where she didn't know anybody. Daddy said she was a big girl now who was going to school, so she had to be more brave and less scared. She knew that only babies were scared of everything. Last year a boy on the playground had called her a baby when she had been scared of going down the big slide.
It seemed like she was in the car by herself for a long long time. The wind blew outside the car and made the leaves in the trees scrape together. It was Autumn and starting to get cold and there were lots of dried leaves on the ground. She loved scuffling through them and the crunchy sound they made. Last year the house they had lived in had had a couple of big trees in the front yard and her brothers had had to rake the leaves a couple of times. They had raked them into a huge pile and let her run and jump into them, and it had been really fun. Aly didn't like the sound of the wind in the trees, though, for some reason she thought it sounded lonely and sad.
She saw light on the front porch of the house and realized it was the front door opening. She saw her brothers walking towards her, Dean had Sam's arm draped around his neck, and his arm around Sam's waist.
Dean unlocked the front door and deposited Sam on the front seat.
"-was soooo funny, I couldn't stop laughing, it was great!" Sam was laughing, "and then they passed it around again-"
"All right, Cheech, cool it," Dean told him, and closed the door.
He walked around and got in, turning back to Aly. "You okay, kiddo?" he asked.
She nodded. Sam had been slumped in the seat, but he sat up and turned towards her.
"Heeey, Aly," he said. She noticed that his eyes were red and glassy. "Whassup, Alybug?"
And then Sam began to hiss with laughter. "Aly—bug! Bug! Bug! Why is bug such a funny word?" he guffawed, slapping his thigh. "Aly-BUG!"
Aly felt worried. Why was Sam acting this way? He was never silly like this and she'd never heard him laugh like that either.
"Sam," Dean interrupted loudly, "What the hell, dude?" he glanced over at Sam, frowning.
"Aw man, come on, I was jus'—just tryin' it, ya know?" Sam said with exaggerated casualness.
"All I got to say is, you are damn lucky Dad's not here, he'd kick your ass six ways from Sunday and you know it," Dean shook his head.
Sam sat up and wiped his eyes. "Dean, you aren't gonna tell him, huh? Please?"
"Course not, ya big nerd," Dean shoved Sam's shoulder, "I'm gonna be the one to kick your ass later, when you're sober."
"You—you can't do that, I'm- I'm 14 now, dude!" Sam protested.
"Little brother, as long as Dad can hand out ass-whippings, so can I."
"Deeeeeeeean-"
Aly was shocked to hear Sam whine like that, she had never heard him whine. She stifled a giggle. Both Sam and Dean turned back to her.
"What's so funny?" Dean asked, frowning slightly.
"Sam—I never heard him whine like that 'afore-" Aly said.
Dean grinned, "Aw, that's nothing, Aly, you should've heard him when he was little, Sammy here was the king of whining-"
"Shut up, Dean!" Sam tried to punch Dean's arm, but there was no strength behind the blow and his fist glanced off of Dean's arm. He sank down in the seat, shoving his hands in his coat pockets and lowering his head.
The ride was silent for the next couple of minutes. Then Sam raised his head.
"Dean."
"What."
"Dean, oh my God, I'm hungry. I'm starving. Dude, please, I gotta eat. I want- I want- pizza, pepperoni and sausage, and, and, a cheese steak sub just like you always get with the onions and extra cheese, and some french fries, and Funyuns, and Cocoa Puffs, and-"
"All right, slow down!" Dean said, and then he chuckled, "I guess the munchies have hit."
Sam frowned. "Is this part of it?"
"Yeah, dude, the munchies hit about halfway through."
"Halfway through what?" Aly asked, "Can I have some french fries too?"
Dean sighed. "All right," he said, glancing back at her, "You want anything else?"
"Can I—can I get a chocolate shake?" she asked hesitantly. Dean didn't like drinks in the car, he was worried about things being spilled on the leather seats.
Dean looked back at her again, and he was grinning. "That's my girl," he said, "Of course you can."
It was already well known that Aly's favorite thing was anything chocolate, and Dean loved to bring her chocolate bars, especially when she was feeling sad or upset.
Dean pulled into a small strip mall. There was a Gas-N-Sip on the corner, and next to it was an all-night Italian restaurant, Vesuvio's, that sold foods like pizzas and subs. Dean had introduced Aly to a new kind of dessert from Vesuvio's called a cannoli, which was a crunchy pastry tube with sweet filling in it.
"All right, I'll go get some stuff," he said, "No, you stay here," he said as Sam put his hand on the door handle. "Stay right here," he said sternly to Sam.
Dean came back with his arms laden with bags and a flat pizza box. He had gone into the Gas-n-Sip first. He set everything on the front seat between them, and Sam eagerly started to dig through the plastic bag.
"Wait," Dean grabbed his arm, "No pizza or greasy stuff in the car, Sammy, I mean it. Wait until we get home. Eat the Funyuns."
Sam sighed. "Oh-kaaay," he said, and Aly giggled. He sounded just like her when she was upset.
Dean passed a cardboard container of french fries to her. "Think you can wait for the shake?" he asked.
"Yeah," she said, and she picked up a fry. It was very hot, and she blew on it.
Sam was eating the Funyuns and the Cocoa Puffs, dipping his hand into the cereal box and bringing out a handful, cramming them into his mouth, and then with the other hand, popping a couple of Funyuns in afterwards.
Dean watched him with an expression of disgust. "Man, Sammy, I never thought I'd say this, but you are gross," he said.
"What?" Sam said, chewing rapidly, "Actually they taste kinda good together."
Dean shuddered. "Oh my God, dude..." he said, and started the car.
"OH- MY- GOD, this is GOOD," Sam said, rolling his eyes upwards. They had made it home and were in the living room eating. Sam had a slice of pizza in one hand and the sub in the other. The sub was dripping grease and melted cheese onto his knee. He brought his knee up and licked the cheese off of the denim.
"Ewwww, Sammy," Aly said, wrinkling her nose.
"What, I want to savor everything," Sam said defensively.
"Dude, you are never, and I mean never, doin' this again, you hear me?" Dean said sternly, "This is way outta- I mean I don't know if it's because this is your first time, or what, but-"
"Aw c'mon, Dean, it's not that bad," Sam chuckled, "It's been fuuuun!"
"For you maybe," Dean said, shaking his head, "If I ever catch you doing this again I'm kicking your ass first thing, I won't wait 'til you're sober."
Sam's forehead creased in worried lines. "Aw man, c'mon!" he protested, "It's not that bad—"
Dean leaned forward. "Dude. Remember last year, when I got caught with that dime bag in my pocket? That wasn't even mine- I was holding it my for buddy Josh. I didn't even get to smoke any because Dad flushed it, and I had to pay Josh back for it. And man, after Dad got done with me I couldn't sit comfortably for the rest of the week. So yeah, you've got an ass-kicking coming your way."
Sam frowned at him. "Way to be a supportive big brother, I thought you'd be proud of me."
"Hah," Dean said, "Not when I've got to take care of you like this," he gestured at the table, laden with junk food, "And your ass is grounded, too. I'm picking you up from school for the next two weeks and I'll take you where-ever you need to go."
"What about the library? My Chem study group meets there a couple times a week," Sam challenged, his eyes flashing
"Then I'll go too," Dean said firmly, "I'm not letting you outta my sight, little brother, until you prove yourself trustworthy again."
"Dean, no, geez, having you hang around is gonna be a draaag!" Sam complained.
"It's your own damn fault," Dean said, picking up another slice of pizza, "Finish up and go to bed. No, first, change your clothes and take a shower, wash the smoke outta your hair."
"Why, Dad's not s'posed to be back for another few days."
"Well, you never know. Just do what I tell ya, nerd-o," Dean shoved Sam, who wasn't expecting it, and fell over, hitting his head on the arm of the sofa with a thunk. Aly laughed at his surprised expression.
Dean looked at Aly. "Time for you to get back in bed, kiddo," he told her.
"But Dean, can't I stay up with you guys?" she whined.
He shook his head. "Nope, it's waaaay past your bedtime, and I gotta keep an eye on dork-face here," he stood up, "Give Sam a hug and I'll tuck you in."
Aly leaned over and hugged Sam. She noticed that he smelled—smoky-but it was different, not like the way that Daddy smelled like a campfire. Sam smelled muskier, somehow.
He hugged her back and ruffled her hair. "Night, Alybug," he said, and then started laughing again.
Dean pulled her covers up and smoothed them over her and Puppy, who was tucked in her elbow.
"Night, short stuff," he said, leaning down and kissing her forehead.
"Night, Dean," she said. She listened to her brothers talking for a while- well, it sounded like Sam talked and laughed a lot and Dean mostly listened.
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Sam took another drink of coffee. "I don't want anymore," he grumbled, "My stomach is- is-" he groaned and let out a loud burp.
Aly giggled as she finished her bowl of Cocoa Puffs.
"All right then, I guess it's time to face the music," Dean said, standing up from the tiny kitchen table, "Aly, I want you to go play in the back yard for a little while."
"Why?" she asked.
"Because- because I gotta take care of some business with Sam," Dean took her bowl and set it in the sink.
"Can he come play with me?" Aly stood up and tucked Puppy under her arm.
"Uh, no, he and I have to have a-a private talk," Dean said, "Go on out, and I'll be out in a little while."
As she left through the kitchen door, she heard Dean ask, "Where do you want to do this, living room or bedroom?"
The kid's bedrooms faced the back yard, which was small. She found Sam's soccer ball by the fence and tried to kick it around like he did, but she couldn't do it very well. It was breezy and her hair kept blowing in her face. There was one smallish tree in the corner, and she scuffed through the leaves scattered in the yard and tried to kick some into a pile. Maybe Dean would rake some up for her to jump in later.
She thought she heard a wail drifting out from inside the house, but she shook her head. It was probably the neighbor's t.v. Their neighbor was an old man who was hard of hearing and he watched his t.v. loud. When they had moved in right before school started, it had been hot that week and everyone had had their windows open, and they could hear every single t.v. show he watched. He favored shows about all the different wars that had happened, with lots of gun fire and explosions. Daddy had grumbled about it when he'd been here.
The kitchen door opened and Dean came out, buckling his belt. He came over and lifted her up in the air above his head. Aly shrieked and giggled, kicking her feet. Dean pulled her into him for a hug and kissed her cheek. She wrapped her arms and legs around his middle.
"Did you take care of Sam's business?" she asked him.
"Yeah, I did. He kinda hates me right now, I think."
Aly looked at him, horrified. "What?"
Dean chuckled lightly. "Not really. Just- sometimes when you're a big brother you gotta do stuff that your siblings don't like, y' know?"
"Like when you tell me to go to bed and I don't wanna?"
"Exactly. Sammy doesn't like it when I lay down the law with him."
"I could never hate you, Dean," Aly hugged him again.
"That's good to know, short stuff," Dean hugged her back.
Sam's eyes were red again but this time it looked like he'd been crying. He spent the rest of the day sulking in his room, laying on his bed on his stomach, reading a book. He snapped at Aly when she tried to talk to him, so she left him alone. She helped Dean do the laundry, folding the socks that he gave her and carrying the small stack of her clothes to her tiny bedroom.
That night Aly woke up feeling scared. She didn't like this house, or her tiny room at the end of the hall, even though they'd been here for almost a month. Daddy has said sometimes it took a while to like a new place you had moved into, but she felt like she'd never like this house.
She slid out of bed and padded up the hall to her brother's room. She stood by Dean's bed and shook his shoulder. "Dean," she whispered, "Dean, can I sleep with you?"
Dean snorted lightly and his head jerked, then his eyes blinked. "Whaa, Aly?" he squinted at her with one eye open.
"I—I'm scared, I don't like this house," she whined quietly. She hoped he didn't try to give her one of his "pep talks" where he told her to 'keep her chin up' and 'be a brave big girl like he knew she could be'. This house gave her the creeps, there were lots of creaks at night and the wind blew in through the cracks around the windows.
"Yeah, all right, c'mon," he sat up half-way and beckoned to her, "Oh, you and Puppy?" he said, noticing the stuffed animal tucked under her arm. She got into the small twin bed next to him, and he pulled her against his warm chest.
"Ooh, why are you so cold?" he murmured, putting his arm around her, and in moments he was asleep again.
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"Dean, come on," Sam complained, glaring at him.
"Nope," Dean shook his head, "We all go in, or we all go home. I told you, man."
"How long I gotta do this?" Sam grumped.
"Two weeks, buddy. Hey, you do the crime, ya gotta do the time," Dean said in response to Sam's angry huff.
Sam sighed. "Well, let me remind you, this is a study group, where we actually study, and if she disrupts it-"
"Aly's not gonna bother you bunch of nerds, are ya, kiddo?" Dean turned to look back at her, "She's gonna be hanging out with the cool kids looking at car magazines."
Aly smiled at Dean. She wasn't sure why Sam was being so grumpy or why he was being mean to her. She hadn't done anything to him.
The three of them got out of the Impala and walked into the library. Dean followed Sam at a discreet distance, until they reached the area in the adult's section where there were several large tables. School kids often met here to study together, and Sam had a Chemistry study group that met twice a week.
He approached a table that was already full of kids. They all glanced up at him, and noticed Dean hanging off to the side. Aly stepped close to Dean as all of the kids turned to look at them.
"Is that your little sister?" a girl with long brown hair asked, "Oh my gosh, she's adorable!" she smiled at Aly and waved.
"Sam, we'll be-" Dean pointed at the area where there were several large armchairs scattered around.
Sam waved his hand at Dean in a dismissive gesture and turned away.
"C'mon, Aly, let's go find some stuff to look at," Dean said to her. She took his hand as they walked away.
Dean had found some car magazines for himself and some picture books for her, and Aly was sitting on Dean's lap in one of the large armchairs. They could see Sam's study group across the room, all of the kids with their heads bent over their books.
Dean's phone buzzed, and he shifted Aly on his lap and pulled it out of his pocket.
"Yeah, Dad," he said, "How have you bee—oh, we're at the library. Sammy's got a study group. I'm sorry, sir, I didn't know you were gonna be ho- oh. Okay. Sure, we can do that. Okay, see you in about 30."
He hung up and slid the phone back in his pocket. "Dad's home," he told Aly, "He wants to meet for dinner."
"Yay!" Aly said. She missed her Daddy when he went on his trips.
Dean stood up and walked over to the table. "Sam," he called, jerking his head when Sam turned and scowled at him.
Sam stood up and walked over. "What, Dean?" he asked with annoyance.
"Dad just got home, he was pissed that we're not there. We're gonna meet for dinner in about half an hour."
Sam sighed. "All right, lemme finish up." He walked back over to the table.
Dean took Aly back to their chair and gathered up the magazines and books they'd been reading and carried them back to their shelves.
On the way out to the car, Aly slipped her hand into Dean's and Sam's hands and walked between them.
Dean pulled into the familiar parking lot several minutes later. John Winchester's truck was already parked in a space. The Gas-n-Sip was on the corner, next to Vesuvio's Italian Eatery, and the smell of hot grease hung in the air from the restaurant.
"Oh God—Dean- I don't think I can-" Sam's face took on a greenish tinge, "Why'd he want to eat here?"
"I dunno, he said something about craving a good cheese steak," Dean shrugged.
Sam groaned, putting his hand on his stomach in memory of all the junk food he had consumed a couple of days ago.
"You'll get through it, Sammy. Just get a salad or something," Dean put his hand on Sam's shoulder.
He turned back to Aly, sitting in the back seat. "Not a word about last week, kiddo, okay?"
"Okay, Dean," she nodded.
He held out his hand to her. "Pinky swear," he said firmly, and Aly held her hand up.
Dean entwined his pinky with hers and they shook hands. Aly knew he was serious. A pinky swear was a secret you could never never tell ever. Dean had made her pinky swear with him last year when they'd been staying at Uncle Bobby's, and they had all snuck out one night and the boys had set off fireworks in a field.
"All right," Dean said when he had let go of her hand, "We ready?"
They got out of the car and Aly walked between her brothers across the parking lot. What had happened with Sam last week slipped out of her mind as she ran happily up to their father and jumped into his arms.