Living on a Prayer
Disclaimer: I don't anything recognizable in this story, nor am I making any profit from it.
Author's Note: This story is a LATE birthday present for Criminally Charmed. I hope you enjoy it my friend.
Trudging behind his father and older brother as they made their way along the forested trails of the Whitehill Mountains that surrounded Lake Winnipesaukee in the scenic state of New Hampshire, Sam couldn't believe how unbelievably cold it was considering it was still early October. Sure he knew that with night falling that the temperatures would drop some, but he never thought they would drop to below freezing. Shivering as the wind seemed to blow right through him and chill him to the bone, he wished, not for the first time, that he hadn't hit such a freaking huge growth spurt over the past month or so. Sure, he still had his heavy jacket, but the damn thing no longer fit him now and they hadn't yet had the chance to stop at a thrift store and pick him up a new one yet.
Wrapping his arms around himself in an effort to preserve what little heat he could, he wondered how long it would be before his Dad finally stopped to set up camp. At least then he could relish in the warmth of a campfire as his Dad and Dean put up the small tent they brought along with them to sleep in incase it rained. So lost in his thoughts was he, he failed to notice that his father approached him until he felt the warmth of a heavy coat being placed over his shoulders and tugged tightly around him.
"Dad. No. You need this," Sam refuted immediately as he attempted to shrug his father's Marine issued olive drab jacket from his shoulders to give it back.
"Stop right there Tiger," John ordered as he motioned for Sam to put the jacket back on. "Your teeth are chattering so hard it's a wonder they don't break.
"But then you'll be cold," Sam stated guiltily as he looked his father in the eyes. At least he had a jacket on, even if the damn thing was worthless in the night chill.
"I'm fine for now. You just do as you're told," John voiced with a smile as he waited for Sam to put his arms through the sleeves before zipping the jacket up. "Besides, you ought to know by now that your old man is made of steel, Kiddo. A little night air isn't going to hurt me."
"Damn, Dad, I never knew you had a Superman complex," Dean smirked, dodging the hand that John playfully swung his way in an attempt to "knock" a little sense into his eldest son's head, before once again hoisting the backpack that held their gear over his shoulders.
"Keep it up Ace and you'll be the one who is washing dishes in Lake Winnipesaukee tomorrow," John warned, surreptitiously gracing his youngest with a wink.
"Lake Winni...what?" Dean questioned, shooting Sam a bewildered look as he tried to figure out what in the heck his dad had just said.
"Never mind Sport, let's just get our asses moving so we can find a campsite somewhere off of the beaten path tonight," John voiced, starting to feel the nip in the air himself since they were no longer moving. But hey, it was better for him to be the one who was cold than his baby boy.
"Yes Sir," Dean agreed, reaching out to tug the zipper up as high as it would go on his younger sibling's jacket before pulling his backpack back on also. No way was the kid catching pneumonia on his watch.
Leaving the hiking trail that led to a nearby campsite, John led his boys through some dense undergrowth making sure to point out areas which could ensnare their feet if they weren't careful. The last thing he needed was for one of them to trip and fall and sustain a head injury from hidden objects such as rocks or fallen logs.
"Hey Dad, how long before we can set up camp?" Dean inquired after an hour or so of trekking through the thick forest foliage behind his father. He was getting tired and knew Sammy had to be more than exhausted by now.
Just another couple miles or so and we should be able to stop for the night," John answered, as he glanced back for just a moment to check on his boys.
"Awesome," Dean replied, as he reached up to wipe some sweat from his brow. Who knew a person could sweat with the temperature at or below freezing?
Finally reaching an area John deemed far enough away that they would be hidden from any hikers or other campers, John scouted out the perfect area to pitch their tent; one where they could defend it easily and one that was also a short walking distance from water. "Dean, go gather some firewood while Sammy and I get things ready here."
"Yes Sir," Dean answered as he placed his pack beside a tree and walked off to the east where he could see a lot of fallen twigs lying on the ground, even though they were partially hidden by the vegetation there.
Quickly loading his arms with twigs, he returned to camp to find Sammy had cleared an area for their fire while his Dad was in the midst of setting up the four person puptent.
Gazing at the distance between where the tent was being set up and the area that Sammy had cleaned for the fire, Dean nodded in satisfaction seeing that Sammy had made sure to remove anything flammable within a ten foot area. The kid was a boy scout at heart!
Using his gloved hand to smooth out the area for the fire a little better than what Sammy already had made it, Dean quickly set about to putting the twigs in a teepee style formation. "Hey Sammy, see if you can find some rocks lying nearby,' he requested as he worked, making sure to allow enough space between the twigs for air to feed the fire once they got it started.
Once the logs were in perfect teepee formation, Dean grabbed some nearby foliage and pine straw to make the fire catch a little easier, then helped Sam to find enough rocks to surround their campfire.
Putting the finishing touches on the tent, John was pleased to turn around and find that his boys had finished putting the rocks in a circular fashion around the pyramid formation twigs and Dean was in the process of getting a fire started.
"Good job boys," he praised as he walked over and observed their handiwork. He really could use a hot cup of coffee right to warm his insides since the air was becoming more crisp with each passing hour.
Grasping his backpack from the ground, John routed around in it until he found the old porcelain coffee pot he had bought from a survival store for the occasion and filled it with water from one of their canteens and then sat down by his boys who were currently warming their hands by the building fire . Waiting until the fire had caught well, he placed the coffee pot directly on top of the fire for the water to heat.
"Hey Dad, did you happen to by any hot chocolate?" Sammy asked hopefully as he watched his Dad pull out a small jar of instant coffee from a side pocket of his backpack.
"Hot chocolate?" Dean questioned incredulously as he gave his little brother a disbelieving look. "Are you five?"
"Leave him alone Dean. Hot chocolate actually sounds pretty good" John stated as he reached back into his pack and pulled out a small box of the coveted item.
"Fantastic! Thanks Dad," Sam voiced gratefully as he reached out for the box so he could open it and grab one of the small packets out. He liked coffee, but not nearly as much as his Dad and Dean.
"Anytime, Tiger," John replied as he reached out and ruffled the too long chestnut colored hair of his youngest. It felt good to do something right in his youngest child's eyes, especially since Sam seemed more rebellious as of late.
"Don't suppose you would have a couple of juicy steaks in there?" Dean asked as he rubbed his tummy which had just growled in hunger.
"Afraid not, Ace," John answered as he then reached into his pack for the one skillet he had brought along for the hunt. "Tonight's menu calls for, beans, beans, and oh yeah…beans."
"Great, just what I was hoping to have for dinner tonight, NOT!" Dean stated, as he mock shivered. He hated beans.
"Sorry Ace, but that's all we've got to we can do some fishing in the morning," John informed his eldest son as he used his hunting knife to pry open the can of beans he had pulled out of his pack with the skillet.
"Remind me to buy the food if we ever have to camp again," Dean groused, knowing he would be eating the dreaded food item tonight. "You do know that once he has ate his share, Sammy will be stinking us out tonight in the tent, right?"
"Shuddup, I will not," Sam refuted as he glared at his big brother. "You're the gassy one in this family."
"You wish," Dean returned as he dodged the hit Sammy attempted to land.
"Okay boys, that's enough," John ordered, knowing that if he let the boys continue that things would get out of hand.
"Yes Sir," both boys responded, knowing they wouldn't like the consequences if they chose to disobey. The last thing they wanted was a five mile hike through the woods at night, or whatever punishment their dad came up with.
Serving up the beans, John encouraged his boys to eat them while they were still relatively hot. He wanted to get an early start on the hunt in the morning which meant that he would be up at the crack of dawn catching their breakfast.
Once they had finished their meager supper, John encouraged his boys to get ready for bed while he carried the dishes to the small stream not too far away so that they could be washed.
Returning to their small tent approximately twenty minutes later, John couldn't help but smile at seeing his two sons already fast asleep, Dean having arranged their sleeping bags so that Sammy would be sheltered from any danger between the two of them.
"G'night boys," he whispered as he climbed into his own sleeping bag where it was sure to be warmer.
"Night Dad," Dean replied, fully relaxing and fading off to sleep now that he knew his Dad was back.
'Should have known he wouldn't fully go to sleep until I was back," John thought to himself before fading off to sleep himself. Dean was very protective when it came to family.
TBC. So what's the verdict? Do you want to read more?