"Holy shit."
"Dean!" Jo gave the elder Winchester a smack on the arm, warning him to watch his language.
"What? I can't help it; that's a lot of freaking people!" He gestured incredulously to the scene in front of them.
Four white picnic tables were set up in the spacious backyard, two on each side of the back steps. At the end of the makeshift aisle was an expensive-looking grill, which was manned by Dylan and an older man with graying hair. More people, at least two dozen, were seated at the tables. Or they were, until the two of them stepped out onto the porch.
As soon as Jo and Dean were joined by Erin and Sam, everyone in the vicinity of the porch fell silent. And then, almost as a group, they stood. Dean heard an impatient sigh from behind him.
"Great. They're treating you like freaking royalty. Like Dean's head needs a reason to be any bigger."
He started to protest, but was cut off by the sound of someone clearing their throat to the right of him.
"You shouldn't talk to guests like that, Erin. Especially handsome boys like these."
An older woman stood by the railing of the porch with her arms folded, a cigarette in her left hand. She was dressed in a blue flowered sundress with a faded pink apron over it.
She was about Erin's height or a little taller, and around the same size. Her hair, probably once a dirty blonde, was now almost platinum. It was cropped in a pixy-cut usually seen on younger women. The look, however, suited her however. She seemed dignified and at the same time, warm.
Erin flushed a little and gave the woman a deferring look. She looked embarrassed.
"Sorry, Vivi."
For a moment, the woman did nothing. Taking another drag off the cigarette in her hand, she carelessly tossed it into the yard. Slowly she crossed the distance between them and stopped in front of the small group. Yet, instead of looking at the two men, she focused on the brunette woman. She regarded the girl seriously for a moment, before suddenly reaching out to grab her ear.
"What the hell is wrong with you? Just because John's boys are here does NOT mean you can be informal with me, young lady! Don't you dare let me hear you call me 'Vivi' as long as I live. Do you understand me, Erin Meredith Foster? Be respectful of your elders, damn it!"
"Ow, Ow, Ow, let go of my ear!"
"Not until you promise!"
"OKAY! I PROMISE! NOW, LET GO OF MY EAR!"
With a final tug, the older woman let go of the girl's ear. Erin, having been released, stood back up straight and clapped her left hand over her throbbing her. She glared obstinately at the woman.
"Damn it; Mom, that hurt!"
Viviane just gave her daughter a cool look.
"I raised you for almost 10 years. I fed you, gave you clothes, and made sure you were safe. You bet your ass its 'Mom'. And you better not let me hear anything else come out of your mouth. Do you understand me, young lady?"
"I understand. Just don't pull my damn ear."
"Keeping cussing me at me, and I'll give the other side of your head a reason to hurt."
If Erin had a smart comeback, she didn't share it. Instead, she folded her arms and sulked off to the side while Viviane observed the two men in front of her. Far from warm, she now looked like a hawk observing her prey. Although his brother was probably used to this type of look from a girl's mother, Sam was not. He willed himself to not step back from the woman.
"…So, you're John Winchester's boys."
It wasn't a question, but a statement. In the back of his mind, Sam realized that none of the women in Jo's family had ever asked if they were John's kids; they just kind of stated it. He had to wonder if they both looked that much like their father, or if these women had some kind of strange sixth sense about things like that.
Even if it wasn't a question, he felt compelled to answer her anyway, out of respect. It would probably elicit some smart ass remark from Dean about being a kiss-ass, but he really didn't care.
"Yes ma'am."
There it was: the little sideways smirk on his brother's face. Damn it, couldn't he be a little more mature about things every once in a while? Inside his head, Sam sighed.
Having gotten a response, Viviane focused on Sam -much to his chagrin. Earlier, he had wondered why Erin hadn't snapped back at her mother. Not that he expected Erin to be disrespectful, but he knew the girl's temper. Now, with her full attention solely on him, Sam knew why the brunette hadn't said anything to Mrs. Viviane Arlington.
She was scary.
This was worse than the 'Ellen' look, to be sure. Sam couldn't tell if she was just studying him, or trying to somehow make his head explode through some weird Jedi-mind trick. Either way, it was unnerving.
"You must be Sam."
Again, not a question. Instead of answering, Sam chose to stay silent this time. Hopefully, she'd become bored with him and move on. Her stare was really starting to make him nervous. Thankfully, his brother stepped in.
"Hi, I'm Dean. Thanks for asking." He waved his left hand through the air between his younger brother and the woman, apparently miffed that Sam was getting all the attention.
Immediately, Viviane switched gears and swung her gaze onto the older man. She gave him a roving once-over, from the bottom of his boots all the way to the top of his head. Finally, she focused on his face. Dean smirked good-naturedly at her.
"Wait your turn, smart ass." She leaned slightly to the left to look around Dean at the blonde on his far left.
"Jo honey, you're right. That ass doesn't make up for that mouth."
Jo cracked up; Dean, meanwhile, turned a strange shade of pink. Even Sam choked back laughter at his brother.
"Mother, leave Dean alone."
Erin had apparently recovered from her earlier embarrassment. She moved closer to the group and gave Viviane a reproving look.
"He was just saying hello. You didn't have to say that to him. Even if it is true."
"What am I, a slab of meat?"
Jo ran around in front of Dean and placed both hands on his chest. Whether she was trying to placate him or hold him off of Viviane, Sam wasn't sure. Still trying to keep from giggling, she looked at her foster aunt over her shoulder.
"Aunt Viv, do you have to upset every man I bring to visit your house?"
"Hey! Just how many guys have you brought here?"
At least Dean was distracted from the ass comment. Sam shook his head at his brother's antics, but inside he felt comforted. If Dean could still be this relaxed -given his current situation- maybe there was still hope.
Meanwhile, Viviane had apparently gotten tired of giving them a scrutiny. Breezing past both brothers, she walked down the back steps into the yard and motioned for them to follow. Erin trailed her mother obediently -followed by Sam- and then, reluctantly, by Jo and Dean.
"Come on; let's introduce you to the rest of the family."
She stopped by the first table, which seemed to be full of kids. Not one of them looked older than 12, Sam absentmindedly calculated. Among them were the twins they had met at the front door.
"You boys already met Drake and Seth." She nodded to the two boys roughhousing at the end of the table. If they heard their names, they didn't acknowledge it. Viviane continued.
"I'd like you to meet the others."
Sam mentally made a note of the kids' names in his head; although he was pretty sure he'd forget them.
William: 7. A small tow-headed boy, named for Jo's father. He was also Vivi's biological son.
Meghan: 6. A chubby little redhead, a foster child.
Rudi: 5. A small but happy child that seemed more interested in gnawing his fist than anything else. He was adopted.
Finishing there, Viviane swept away to the next table. Sam noticed that it was also full of kids, although they were slightly older than the first set. Viviane began naming them off, and Sam tried to keep up.
Leslie: 13, dressed in a blue hoodie and denim shorts. Adopted.
Jesse & Andrew: 12, another set of twins -fraternal. Viviane's biological sons.
Mikayla: 12, at the moment wearing what appeared to be her older brother's shirt as a bathing suit cover-up. Adopted.
Next table: Now they were up to teenagers, thankfully.
Juno: 18. Small brunette with heavy eyeliner and an entire outfit made of black and grommets. Oldest biological daughter.
Sarah: 14. Biological daughter; way different than her older sister. She was dressed in a pink track suit and looked extremely bored.
Ellie: 17. A miniature version of Jo. Bright blonde, she was wearing a faded Metallica tee-shirt. Foster daughter.
"And finally-..." Viviane breezed over to the last table, which was right by the grill. At it sat two men: Dylan, who was apparently the eldest -adopted or otherwise- and another guy who looked to be around Erin's age. He had dark black hair and was currently engaged in struggle to keep Erin from sneaking food off his plate.
"You met Dylan earlier. But this is Erick, my second eldest son." She gave a small sigh at the man, who had managed to keep his sister away from his plate by holding it as far away as he could while restraining her with one hand.
"He's just home from college, so…..Erin quit tormenting your brother!"
"I'm hungry, damn it! I've been locked in that basement forever, and you guys didn't say anything about freaking BQQ!"
"Erin, honey, I already fixed you a plate."
The man who Sam had noticed earlier spoke up from the grill. Up close, Sam could see that he was a lot younger than he looked. The gray at his temples and the lines around his eyes and mouth made him seemed elderly. Still, he had to be older than Bobby.
Catching the younger Winchester's eye, the man smiled warmly. For a moment, it seemed like he resembled John, and Sam's chest hurt just a bit.
"Hey there. You must be Sam." He stepped forward and put his hand out congenially. Sam took it without hesitation.
"I'm Monroe Arlington. I got to say, it's good to finally meet you boys." Letting go of Sam's hand, he took Dean's and shook it as well. Dean returned the older man's smile with a grin of his own.
"Same here, Monroe."
Sam spoke up from beside his brother, not sure why he felt the need to say something.
"Erin's told us a lot about you. You're a preacher, right?"
Letting go of Dean's hand, Monroe turned his attention back to Sam to answer his question. He seemed pleased that Sam knew.
"Actually, I'm an ordained priest in the Roman Catholic church. Or, I was. Now, I just have a small congregation in town here." He smiled sadly for a moment before clapping Sam on the shoulder amiably.
"But enough about this old geezer. I'm just glad you boys have been able to survive these two harpies." He gave the brunette and blonde a teasing look.
Erin gave him a blank stare from her position by the grill. She aimlessly chewed on a toothpick stuck in her mouth.
"We're not as bad as Ellen and Mom, and you know it."
"Yeah, I know. But anyway, let me quit jawing so you boys can get something to eat." Rummaging around on the table beside the grill, he produced two paper plates. He presented them to the two, and stepped aside.
"Here ya go. Help yourselves; there's plenty there."
"Don't tell Dean that -there won't be any food left."
Erin stood up on the bench and perched on the edge of the table by her brother's plate, allowing Jo a place to sit. The others followed suit, after grabbing their respective plates. As Sam began to eat, he couldn't help feeling like this was the closest to home cooking they'd had in...forever. The thought made him smile. Home.
Author's Note: OMG, I updated! Does anybody even read this anymore? Oh crap, now I have to go watch like, two seasons of SN to even remember what the hell the storyline was...Sorry, guys!
