Chapter 1: New Beginnings
John shook his head, looking around at all the stuff there suddenly was. Boxes were spread out all around the living room, furniture swimming amongst them and he was still flabbergasted at how going to his father's house to exorcise a demon had turned into ithis:/iHis father traveling with them on the road to finally settling all of them in a home in the suburbs.
'A home base' his father had called it, but Sam had seized on the word home and wouldn't let go and Dean, as comfortable as he'd seemed with the constant traveling they'd always done, didn't seem adverse to the idea either, so John, feeling triple-teamed, had agreed.
"Johnny!" his father thundered "Get your behind out here and help with these boxes!" And John Winchester, whose mere name was only just beginning to make evil things shudder; John Winchester who just last week had gone up against a werewolf and won; John Winchester, hunter extraordinaire, actually startled and rushed to answer to a man nearly twice his age.
--
"I'll be back in an hour" John said to Sammy and his father, who were sitting at the kitchen table putting together a puzzle. Dean was in the other room watching television.
His father looked up at John in consternation. "Did you clean your room Johnny? You know your mother and I told you you couldn't go out until you cleaned your room."
"Pop-" John started and then sighed. "Pop I'm grown now, remember? That was a rule when I was a kid?"
"You just wait till your Momma gets home. She'll inspect your room and see if it's clean enough. Until then you aren't going anywhere" and with that he snapped a piece into place on the board like he was being completely reasonable.
John sighed again.
"Pop, I'm just going to get some supplies in the next town over. Why don't you take a nap?" he said gently.
"Don't you patronize me, young man. You're never too old for me to put you over my knee" his father said sternly.
"I kinda am Pop" John said and when his father's face settled into those familiar lines he recognized from childhood he said plaintively "Pop."
His father just stared back impassively.
"Fine" John grunted and sat heavily in a chair at the table, arms crossed . . . Then flinched a second later when he heard Sammy muffle laughter behind his hand, then behind both hands as chuckles spilt out around his fingers . . . Then he heard Dean giggle, actually giggle from the doorway and his face creased a moment later in a smile, a moment of his kids being kids for once was almost worth being put on punishment by his Dad at the whopping age of 37.
Then Sammy fell out of his chair laughing and he said sternly to both his sons "Shut it!"
"Oh, don't yell at the children Johnny. It's not their fault you didn't clean your room."
"But I-" John stopped mid-complaint, marveling at a world where his father's Alzheimer's allowed him to simultaneously put his adult son on punishment like he was still thirteen and yet acknowledge his son's two children at the same time.
He heard Dean collapse a moment later from laughter and just gave up any hope of dignity for the night.