Sam looked around the neighborhood with pride and couldn't help but admire his brother's set up. It took him a year to find the older hunter but Sam finally managed to track down Dean Winchester. He had to admit that Dean led him on a wild goose chase for a while. In fact, he only found his brother because he stumbled upon a clue in a newspaper local to Lawrence, Kansas. When he figured it out, he hit himself for his stupidity; their hometown should have been the first place he looked. Apparently there was a local hero firefighter who managed to save a pregnant woman from inside a burning building named Dean James. Sam was sure that his brother was hiding behind the name Dean James and Sam had to admit the alias was right up his brother's alley. James Dean was the famous actor who starred in "Rebel without a Cause" and that image fit in with Dean's. The fact that the man in the paper was a fireman only served to sweeten the deal. Dean's secret ambition was to become a firefighter, not to mention that after years of doing nothing but, it would be impossible to abandon helping people. Sam was the only person who knew that about Dean; even their father had no clue.
Checking the address on his phone, Sam navigated his way through the streets until he found a small blue cottage with a huge garage that screamed hunter with a car obsession. What baffled Sam was the swing set in the backyard and the basketball ball net hanging over the garage. He made his way up the driveway, absently noting the presence of a red pickup truck, and knocked on the door. He heard AC/DC blaring from upstairs and when no one came he knocked harder during a quieter part of a song. Finally someone heard him, and he could hear them coming to the door. He heard them pause by the door, and they didn't open it until a minute or two later. The person on the other side was not who Sam had been expecting…at all.
He was a kid, about seven or eight years old. He had longer black hair and luminescent emerald eyes. He was slim, but Sam could tell the child was athletic. He was a beautiful kid, but seemed familiar in a way. The kid looked at Sam with a gleam of knowing in his eyes. It was as if the kid recognized him even though Sam was one hundred percent sure he had never met him before.
"May I help you?" the child asked with a very light touch of British accent.
Sam suddenly didn't seem so sure about his hypothesis but persisted. "Is there an adult I can talk to?" he asked, after clearing his throat.
The kid rolled his eyes, looking much like a young Dean, not that Sam remembered what Dean looked like at age 8. He closed the door and Sam heard him calling for his dad. Only a few minutes later did the door open once more, this time revealing Dean, himself. Sam took a good look at his brother and couldn't help but be surprised. Dean had changed just enough not to be recognized from a distance. Much of him was the same but he grew out dark stubble on his face. In fact the most difference was in how he held himself. No longer did Dean look like he was holding the fate of the world on his shoulders. He seemed less cocky but still quite confident. His build grew more muscular in different areas, and Sam knew that he would not be able to hold his own in a spar between them. Dean radiated a new attitude which almost intimidated the younger Winchester brother, and he seemed wiser, worldlier. He had never resembled Jonathon Winchester, their father, more.
"Hey Sam," Dean said, a crooked grin on his face, "What took you so long?"
There was the Dean he knew. Sam just scowled at his brother, letting him know how much he disliked chasing false leads causing Dean to snicker. He invited Sam in, and led him to the living room where the young boy already brought out two bottles of water and a plate full of fruit. Sam was even more confused, especially when Dean started chomping down on an apple. What happened to his pie-loving, hamburger eating big brother? The youngest in the house sat next to his father, and it was only then when Sam drew the connections between their appearances and the fact that the boy called Dean his dad.
"He's your son!" Sam exclaimed, pointing awkwardly at said son.
Dean smiled proudly and ruffled Harry's already messy hair. The younger boy mock scowled and batted his dad's hand away muttering something about getting it half-way tamed. Sam couldn't help but stare at the child, making Harry very nervous.
"Yeah," Dean replied sardonically, "This is Harry, my baby boy."
Harry rolled his eyes at his father's teasing, and playfully elbowed him. He then leaned into his dad, settling into Dean's familiar embrace which soothed him like none other. Sam could help but feel awed at the display. John never acted like that with them, and it made him feel nostalgic.
"Why didn't you tell me about him? You must have been 19 or 20 when he was born." Sam asked, allowing the hurt he felt show in his voice.
Harry shifted, and looked down at the reminder that his dad had a different life before him. Dean looked at Sam with slight annoyance. Harry felt very guilty about his dad abandoning his old life and always tried to make up for it. He tried to tell the kid that he would do anything for him, but the fact that he felt himself to be a burden was ingrained in Harry's psyche. Dean didn't want his son to feel responsible for the choices he had to make for Harry's well-being. His son had become a very sensitive boy after 3 long years in an abusive environment. He couldn't stand bullies, or anyone sacrificing anything for him, and he never took what he had for granted. Dean knocked out most of his learned habits, but Harry's kindness, selflessness, and empathy was his nature. Dean assumed that his nature came from his mother, vaguely remembering her as a kind-hearted individual. He fled for his old life with Harry because truthfully he couldn't stand the tension and frustrations any more. Harry's arrival was a gift in more than one way.
"I was not about to raise him like dad did us." Dean simply said, not wanting to air his son's dirty laundry.
Sam nodded in agreement. That was one of the sore points between himself and his father. Sam knew Dean was all about family, and he could tell that the choice between his son and hunting was not a difficult one.
"Anyway, I haven't introduced you two officially yet." Dean said, smiling at his son, "Sam, this is my son Harry. Hare-bear this is my brother Sam."
Harry bit his lip before sticking his hand out, "Nice to meet you, Sam."
Sam chuckled, and shook the offered appendage, "Likewise, Harry." He replied, and then looked at him, "It's almost uncanny how much you resemble Dean once you get past the hair and eyes."
"I know!" Dean exclaimed, "He's like my little clone."
Sam and Harry looked at Dean and rolled their eyes. Dean couldn't help but smile at the fact that the two most important people in his life were finally together. He then shook his head away from the sappy thought and concentrated on manly thoughts like fixing up his 1970 Ford Mustang. He was about to go off on that tangent when his phone's alarm went off. He frowned and checked it. Apparently soccer practice was in half an hour.
"Well kid, you know the drill." Dean said, poking the bundle in his arms, "Soccer practice time."
It was comical to watch Harry's facial expressions change as he remembered. The boy leapt off the sofa and practically flew upstairs to change out of his jeans and t-shirt, and into his practice outfit. Dean invited Sam to wait in the living room as Dean quickly went upstairs to shower and change. Luckily the field was right down the road because it took them the full time to get ready. Sam decided to tag along, unexplainably anxious about losing his brother and new-found nephew once more. Dean was wearing wind-breaker pants and a long sleeved shirt and his son was dressed similarly only in sweat pants instead of wind breaker pants. The young father had a mesh bag of soccer balls in one hand and a clipboard in the other. Sam had a feeling he knew where this was going.
The trio was the first group to arrive. Dean immediately went to work into making the normal field into a practice field. He gave Harry the orange cones, and the kid ran out to place them while Dean was setting up the nets. He ordered Sam to put one ball at every cone down the line and Sam did as asked. He was growing more bewildered by the minute. It was almost as if Dean was a little league coach, but Dean never played sports. Although, it didn't surprise Sam that Dean was the type of father to insert himself in his son's life. When people started to arrive, he saw Harry talking with some other kids his age, and Dean flirting with a woman his age.
She had short blond hair reaching just above her chin and exotic electric blue eyes. She was short and lean. Sam could see that she was a fierce woman who smiled quite easily. She was dressed in a pair of purple leggings and a man's white dress shirt. She also had a thick belt around her stomach and wore nothing on her perfectly manicured feet. She had quite the style.
When Harry saw who Dean was talking to, he broke into a sprint and gave her a flying hug. She immediately grabbed the child and swung him around despite the fact that he looked almost as big as her. Sam slowly made his way towards them.
"…gave us a really big ice cream party! She said that she never had a class memorize their multiplication table as good as us." Harry was rambling, and Dean absentmindedly corrected him. "Miss. Lopez thinks that we can start doing mixed timed tests next week!"
"That's awesome, mini man!" she exclaimed, giving Harry a high five.
Dean looked at his son in exasperation, feeling that the kid had more of a chance at scoring a date than he was. He looked up at her, noticed her mischievous grin and groaned.
"Don't do it Millie," he pleaded, "I'm begging you."
Millie just grinned and whispered something in Harry's ear. The younger smiled as well and ran off to whisper something to his team. Dean looked amused, but Sam could see Dean's nervousness. She just kissed his cheek and walked away.
"I hate that she has to go but I love watching her leave." Dean said, openly staring at Millie, grinning when she started to sway.
"Is she your girlfriend?" Sam asked.
Harry snuck up behind them and replied, "He wishes! Millie is my nanny. She watches me when dad's working."
Sam was amused, "Crushing on the nanny?" he teased, "Can you get any more cliché?"
"In my defense she is a really hot nanny." Dean said, "Now, Hare-bear, don't you have practice?"
Harry rolled his eyes and quickly went to join his teammates. They all started to run around the field without prompting, and once they did 3 laps they spread out. Watching Dean interacting with kids was a novel experience. Sam was astounded by how much his brother changed since he last saw him, and part of him was jealous that the older Winchester got an 'Apple Pie' life. When practice was over the entire team helped clean up, and three of the team played a prank on Dean, spraying him with their water bottles. The team roared with laughter, and Sam couldn't help but do the same, Dean looked like an idiot. Before long the Winchester men were back at the house. Harry excused himself so that he could take a shower leaving Dean and Sam truly alone for the first time. Dean busied himself with putting away the equipment, he knew Sam had questions.