The Overnight Guest
By: tidia
Beta: Ridley C. James with all other mistakes mine
Notes: This is a Brotherhood story featuring Sam as a dad that took me very long to write. I blame the show. It is difficult to watch a show when the character that we write is completely different. Anyway, this was promised a long time ago to those who wanted to see Mary. All the girls dialogue is true.
Sam was confident he could manage the situation. He had faced countless spirits, wendigos, and werewolves. So when his daughter asked if her best friend in the world could sleepover, even though they saw each other almost every day, he agreed.
Twenty minutes ago Joshua and Carolyn dropped their daughter with Sam. The Sawyers were thrilled at having a date night. Max was with JT at the coven, since at 18 Max was able to drive, and truly be independent.
"You can always call us. We're going to dinner at Gino's, then a movie." Joshua was holding the door open for Carolyn, who seemed hesitant to leave her daughter with Sam.
Sam rolled his eyes. He was the Scholar. "Carolyn, I think I can handle this."
The girls were whispering to each other, heads close together. Carolyn made eye contact with Joshua before focusing on Sam once more. "It's your first time, and they can be a handful."
Joshua shook his head, placed a hand on Carolyn's back. "They are eight years old, and Sam said he would be fine. We have reservations."
"Bye Mom, bye Dad!" Josie jumped up and down.
"Be good, Jocelyn," Joshua warned his daughter as he walked to his side of the car.
They watched the car pull out of the drive with Sam holding the princess backpack that held everything that Josie would need for an overnight stay. Josie had already eaten at home. Sam and Mary had just finished, but the kitchen needed to be cleaned. The girls followed him into the kitchen with Josie peppering him with questions.
"What did you eat? How long did it take you to cook that? What are we having for breakfast?"
His daughter seemed to get revved up by her best friend. Where she was usually quiet with Sam, she was completely different with Josie. She was suddenly equally as chatty, and asking him lots of questions so much so that he wasn't concentrating on the dishes. He added soap and water, too much because suddenly he had too many bubbles that were threatening to spillover as he moved the pot out of the way to the shrieking delight of the girls. He shut the water off, loaded the dishwasher with the pots and pans, which usually he didn't do because it ruined the pans, but it seemed necessary to immediately occupy the girls.
Five minutes later they were on the road. They were going to get ice cream.
"I'm in gymnastics Wednesdays and Fridays. My new place has new carpeting. It doesn't smell like feet," Mary commented.
"My mom said I am going to try out for your gym so I can do ballet on Mondays, but they said there is a waitlist. If I don't do gymnastics, then I will do something else," Josie said from her perch on the booster seat.
Sam and Carolyn tried to have the girls separate with their activities, since they saw each other at school and on most weekends. They did request that they be placed in separate classes at school. However, the girls maneuvered their situation.
"What about music like an instrument?" Sam suggested.
"Like the drums?" Josie replied, picking the worse possible instrument for a parent.
He thought about Mac suggesting to James that he play the piano as a calming instrument. "I was thinking more like the clarinet or flute."
"Old Linda says that the clarinet will give you buck teeth." Josie nodded.
Mary leaned forward to warn her father, "and Old Linda says that the flute will give you a fat lip."
Sam frowned. "That's not nice calling somebody old."
"That's her name. She is older than Grandma Esme and Grandpa Mac," Mary explained.
"Ask my mom." Josie backed up her friend.
Sam decided to keep quiet until Mary brought up her sudden moment of brilliance.
"You can totally sing-like choir."
No, Sam had to speak up. The kids sang along to the latest boy band, and Josie sang off-key and flat. It was torture. "The violin or piano. I bet your dad would really like those."
There was noncommittal silence from the backseat. Thankfully, they had arrived at their destination. Sam pulled into the parking lot noticing a few cars. There was a line at Duncan's-its artisanal ice cream was famous in the area.
The girls bounced on their toes, taking in the other people in line along with the brightness of the location. Sam kept them corralled in an area within arm's length. As much as he wanted to hold his daughter's hand, which she gave willingly when it was just the two of them, he did not infringe on their friendship. "What flavor are you thinking you want?"
Josie answered first, "I want mint explosion."
Mary nodded. "Me too."
"Why don't you get a different flavor? You don't have to get the same one all the time." They had worked themselves up to next in line.
"But I want mint explosion," Mary replied.
Sam cringed at the whining tone. "You can try a flavor first. Any of these. I bet you would like PB Fudge."
The teenager ice cream scooper must have overheard the conversation and offered a spoonful of PB Fudge to each girl.
"It was good, but I still want mint explosion," Josie announced.
Sam was confident he had at least swayed his daughter. "One mint explosion with hot fudge and what do you think, the PB Fudge?"
"Mint explosion." Mary shrugged her shoulders.
"Are you sure? It looked like you really liked the PB Fudge."
Mary cocked her head. It was a look that said she would give in to keep the peace, but would rather not.
"Make that two in cups, please." Sam felt defeated. He wanted to raise Mary to be independent, a leader, not a follower. He was failing as a parent.
The ice cream was ready fast and he handed a cup to each girl, pointing to an empty booth. He poured himself a cup of water, and grabbed some napkins before sitting down. "Slow down girls. You're going to get brain freeze."
"Once when I was a baby I got brain freeze and cried," Josie said.
"You do eat ice cream very fast," Mary admonished and began to eat her ice cream with slow purpose to make it last as long as possible and avoid the dreaded brain freeze.
Sam took in the ice cream shop. There was still a line with the decibel level going up as people talked while waiting. The teenagers behind the counter were keeping up with a good attitude as their college tip jar filled. As Sam scanned the line, he did not notice any students from his class. He was taking on teaching along with his law practice.
"Done!" Josie said as she reached for more napkins to wipe her face. She had at least used 10 to wipe her face, then cleaned the drips on the table.
Mary hurried her last two bites, using only the napkins that Sam had given her to clean up.
As they left, each girl made sure they were holding his hand. Caleb had instilled the fear of God into them about being near an adult. They never made a fuss about it, at least for now.
"Are we going home now?" Mary asked after Josie had whispered the prompt to her.
"I thought so." Sam was out of ideas. He could take them to the farm, but that would be surrender, admitting that he wasn't capable of handling the girls overnight. He was an adult, a Scholar, a hunter and could guarantee a somewhat good time or at least that the girls would be safe.
He unlocked the car; the girls hopped in and put on their seatbelts. They bounced against the restraining strap to see how far they could stretch them. "What are we going to do? Do you have a craft?"
Sam focused on the road ahead. He remembered how Carolyn always had a craft project. Mary was always bringing macaroni necklaces or clothespin statutes home. "How about a movie?"
They spoke at the same time, calling out different movies.
"Can I talk? I'm the guest, I should pick." Josie crossed her arms.
"It's my house. I want to pick. You always pick the movie," Mary whined in defiance.
Sam had seen with Dean's boys most arguments ended in violence. He wanted to head that off with the girls. "How about you each choose one? We can watch one before you go to bed, and one in the morning with breakfast."
"That's smart, Dad."
"That's me, smart. A Scholar," he mumbled the last part. The girls had a habit of discussing The Brotherhood and The Triad openly.
When they got home, Sam unlocked the door and announced to the girls that they should get ready for bed while he ordered the movie, Frozen, Mary's pick. Josie came downstairs first dressed in her pink pajamas emblazoned with a girl power motto.
"Uncle Sam, I can't brush my teeth until my hair is braided. Please. Mom said to ask you." Josie stood in front of him.
"Did you bring an elastic?" He learned how to braid, make ponytails, and pigtails. Dean and Caleb teased him about his adeptness. He found curlers in the most unexpected places- his car, briefcase at his morning coffee stop. He deftly maneuvered his way through Josie's hair when he heard a roar.
"That's my daddy!" Mary came stomping down the stairs. "Stop!" She began to pull at Sam. "Stay away!"
Both Josie and Sam were shocked, taking a moment just to stare at the blonde girl. He was tempted to get holy water and test his daughter for possession, but both girls wore their silver necklaces, which provided them protection. "Mary, what's wrong?"
"I want Josie to leave!" She stamped her foot. "We're not friends."
Josie screwed up her face. "I want to call my mom!" She yelled back.
"Girls, calm down," Sam bent down and placed his arms out to keep them separated.
"I'm only friends with you because our dads are best friends!" Mary commented, crossing her arms.
"Me too!" Josie retorted.
"That's not true. You've been friends forever, since you were born," he said in a quiet voice, trying to change the tone in the room.
Mary grabbed Sam's hand that was still out to keep space between them. "I think I need some time for myself."
Sam stood up and took Mary into his arms. "Honey, you invited Josie to sleepover. You always sleepover her house and have a good time. Why don't you both sit down and watch the movie. I'll make some popcorn."
Mary hugged her father, resting her head in the crook of his neck like she would do when she was little. "Will you add sprinkles?"
Somehow colored sprinkles made everything taste better according to Carolyn when she purchased a large container for Sam. "Sure, I can do that. I think you and Josie need to make up." Sam set her down.
Josie had remained rooted, probably thrown by usually even keeled Mary's tantrum. She also looked like she was about to cry, biting her lip to control her emotions. "I want to call my mom."
Sam closed his eyes for a moment. If Josie called her mom, then Josh and Carolyn would come and pick up their daughter, ruining their night out alone along with never trusting Sam to manage the girls again. He had to make this right. "I think Mary has something to say."
"I'm sorry. You can stay. We can watch a movie and my dad said he would make popcorn with sprinkles just like your mom makes us." Mary gave Josie a hug, which Josie quickly reciprocated.
"Why don't you girls put all the pillows on the floor, and I will start the popcorn and the movie."
The girls fell asleep, leaving Sam with a conundrum. Did he carry them to bed? Who would he carry first and would Mary get offended? He might be able to manage them at the same time. Did he wake them up and march them to bed? Or leave them where they were, huddled together?
One night on the floor would be an adventure. He locked all the doors and windows, making sure the wards were in place, then went to his office. He was tempted to call his brother, but with JT with Max and James with Caleb, and no hunt, he also had a night to devote to Juliet. That was rare.
Sam had to talk to another adult and reached out to Caleb for his insight on the girls.
"How's it going?" Caleb answered the phone.
Sam leaned back in his office chair. "How do you deal with the both of them?"
"Bribery works," The Knight quipped. "Do you really think I like going to American Girl? Or buying cupcakes?"
"I've seen you horde those cupcakes," Sam commented.
"That Uncle Sam on the phone? He has the girls tonight. Did they break him yet?" James could be heard through the phone. He was staying with Caleb for the weekend to practice his psychic abilities.
"No, they did not break me." He was not about to tell the truth to his teenage nephew. "They are sleeping peacefully."
"Can you put him on speakerphone?" James said to Caleb.
"Do not put me on speakerphone." Sam ordered.
James's voice was no longer muffled, meaning that Caleb had used the speakerphone. "If you are going to talk about kids, then you should get the opinion of one."
"He's got you there, Runt," Caleb agreed.
Sam hated when logic was used against him. "What does Joshua do? He takes the girls. He never said anything about Josie having a meltdown."
"Josie had a meltdown or was it a tantrum because you didn't do what she wanted? I can see how an amateur wouldn't recognize the difference." Caleb asked.
"No, this wasn't a tantrum. Mary lost it after she saw me braiding Josie's hair." Sam revealed, still shaky from his daughter's reaction. She was normally a quiet, sweet-natured child who liked to spend time reading. She often would go into Sam's office with a book while he worked.
"I forget how you love using your styling skills." Caleb started laughing.
Sam expected a better answer from the adult, not the child. However, it was James that shed light on the situation.
"Mary is used to having Uncle Sam all to herself. He's basically her only parent, and she's never had to share him."
"Kid is right," Caleb agreed. "She's used to being the center of your universe, and just like her dad, has a problem with sharing those closest to her."
"I knew how to share." Sam was defending himself as he searched for examples of when he was a kid to help him with his case. None were forthcoming. He had been completely used to having Dean to himself. "Does James have any more advice?"
"Don't braid Josie's hair."
"That's a pearl of wisdom," Caleb quipped. "Let the adult try- I think you might want to send flowers to Carolyn to say thank you. Let her go back to keeping the girls, seems like she goes above and beyond the call of duty to be fair to both girls."
"Okay, you're right." He should sign Carolyn for flowers a month at least, although he would ask Joshua first. "Thanks for the help."
"No problem," It was his nephew who replied. "First consultation is free after that it's two hundred an hour."
Sam could imagine that Caleb had just slapped the back of James's head as a reprimand for the remark.
"The extortionist and I have work to do. Later."
Sam decided he would feel better if he concentrated on his work-legal and scholarly before calling it a night. It was something he felt completely confident about. After a couple of hours he checked in on the girls who in their sleep had turned towards each other. He didn't know if it was for protection, comfort, or companionship, but it made him hopeful that they would always be there for each other. He didn't want his daughter to miss out on having a best friend, especially considering she'd already missed out on the normal two-parent home, and after tonight, there was no way she would ever be getting a sibling.
The end