"His name's Dean, but everyone calls him 'Dee,'" Sister Theresa said. "He really is the most obedient little boy who's ever passed through these doors if you can believe it. Sad story though. I pray for that child."

The man next to her was shocked at her choice of words. The boy seemed healthy enough. Six years old with the cutest—his wife could not keep from saying—freckles peppering his nose. He was small and quiet enough that they hadn't noticed him right away, but once they had… well. He could be sure his wife was already picking a color scheme for his bedroom. He couldn't help but chuckle at her enthusiasm even though he was just as excited. It was like they'd just found the one member to complete their family. It wasn't in his looks, though no one would be able to tell right away that he was adopted, but more so in his actions. Right now, he was leaning over a crying little girl offering her a crayon. She batted it away, but he just shrugged and moved on, not perturbed in the least at her reaction. Dee was giving, sweet, and, according to the Sister, obedient. For Sister Theresa to make such a comment, something had to have happened that had her worried.

His wife also seemed to be thinking along the same lines as him. "What happened?" she asked, mimicking his thoughts.

"About two years ago, he watched his mother perish in a house fire," the sister stated. "After that, well, we're not so sure. He was abandoned in a hospital a couple of months after along with his infant brother and hasn't spoken a word since they found him. The father left a note with them, but it didn't say much but for their names and the concern that Dee might have a few behavioral problems."

"Behavioral problems?" the man wondered.

The Sister smiled. "He sees a counselor every two weeks, but we haven't had a problem with him. He listens when you talk to him and he'll respond when prompted, though he still doesn't speak. It's easy enough to understand him once you spend enough time to get to know him. The biggest concern I have is that he's too independent. He has trouble relying on others for help."

Both the man and his wife were confused at that statement. Dee couldn't be more than six years old.

The sister picked up on their skepticism and explained. "About three weeks ago, I had to find a way to get him down from the top of the fridge at two in the morning. Dee was trying to unlock the upper cabinet where we keep the medicine because his brother was sick and it was time for another dose.

"He's smart and resourceful," she continued, "and, despite his age, he knows how to take care of himself and his brother. I don't have any doubts in my mind that, if I hadn't come down for the same reason as him, Dee would have found the bottle and given Sammy the correct dose of medicine at the right time. As I said, it's something we've had to work on. He's slowly learning to ask for help instead of taking it upon himself, but it's been a slow process."

He could see how that might be a problem, though it wasn't anything they couldn't handle.

"He has a brother here?" his wife asked. He'd heard also, but somehow hadn't managed to realize how that might be a problem.

"Yes. Sammy is two, going on three. He walks and talks and is nearly potty trained. If you really are interested in taking Dee," Sister Theresa cautioned, "I want you to be aware that they are both a packaged deal. The last time we tried to separate Dee from his brother… it didn't go smoothly."

Seeing as Sister Theresa probably wasn't supposed to be going this in depth about Dee's history, the man was surprised that she was hesitant to explain exactly what had happened.

"What happened?" he asked. If they were going to take Dee without his brother, he wanted to be well informed as to what they should expect.

"He threw a tantrum," the Sister started. "The first we'd ever seen and he'd been with us for a year and a half by this point. We'd never heard a peep from him before, thought he was a mute, but he screamed at the top of his lungs for hours, bit, hit, kicked anyone who came near him. When he began hitting his head against the floor, we had to restrain him. It wasn't our first rodeo, but no one was as shocked as I was that he'd be so forceful. It took three days, and a promise that we wouldn't take him away, to separate him from his brother."

"But you said there were no behavioral problems," his wife intoned.

"None. He's a very well behaved boy. We've separated them for doctors appointments and Dee is in school now—first grade. He's perfectly alright with that. He's smart enough to understand, though, that adoption is permanent and that he'd be separated from his brother indefinitely. That, he won't tolerate. Despite his obedience, he is rather stubborn." The Sister chuckled, instantly relieving the tension that had built during their conversation. "He's very protective of Sammy."

Just then a loud yell from another room had Dee up and running.

"As a matter of fact…" Sister Theresa said, following the boy out of the room.

The man and his wife followed, curious as to what was happening. Dee had looked panicked when he'd heard the yell and he was much faster than they thought he'd be.

The Sister led them two doors down the hall, into the kitchen, where they heard another Sister speaking quietly to Dee.

"He just won't eat it. I've been trying for nearly ten minutes now, but I keep telling him that he isn't getting down to play until he finishes his broccoli."

They walked in to see Dee nodding at the Sister, urging her to continue.

"He's only yelling because he's being stubborn."

Dee held up two fingers.

"Nope," she said, shaking her head. "All of it."

Dee seemed to think about it for a moment before nodding.

"Thank you."

Dee's mouth quirked into a smile for a moment, but when he turned toward the child in the high chair who had to be his brother—Sammy, Sister Theresa had called him—his expression was stern.

Sammy paid strict attention to his brother, everyone else in the room forgotten.

Dee shook his head slowly and pointed to the broccoli.

Sammy frowned.

The man worried that the youngest wouldn't speak either, but the thought flitted away when the youngest opened his mouth.

"Don't wanna," Sammy complained.

Dee crossed his arms and stared straight at him, unflinching. He looked meaningfully at the food and back to Sammy.

"It's funny. Don't like it."

He shrugged his shoulders, pointed at Sammy's mouth then the food, and crossed his arms again.

Sammy started crying and kicking his legs, throwing a fit, but it didn't seem to phase Dee. He just turned back to the Sister and pointed to the top of the fridge. The Sister seemed confused for a moment before realizing what he meant. She grabbed the candy jar from the top and opened it.

Sammy stopped crying, immediately interested in the candy the Sister was offering Dee. Dee chose a red lollipop and opened it. He turned back to Sammy, not eating it., just keeping it in sight.

"Wan it," Sammy said.

He reached for the candy but Dee pulled it away and shook his head. He pointed to his mouth and to the broccoli on the plate, then ate the lollipop.

Sammy seemed to get on board with that. The broccoli was gone in under a minute. When he finished, Sammy wiped his mouth on his arm and asked, "Canny please?"

Dee shook his head, still sucking in his lollipop.

"You said." Sammy pouted.

Dee touched his eye, shook his head, and pointed to the candy jar which sat on the fridge. The man could decipher it easily. Criers don't get candy.

"No fair!"

Dee just shrugged and pointed to the door.

Sammy seemed to perk up at that, the candy situation nearly forgotten. The Sister let him down from his high chair and the two year old ran—waddled really—down the hall and into the room they'd come from. Dee turned back to the Sister and pointed alternatively to the high chair and the candy.

"You know how it works, Dee. He doesn't have enough stars for a candy."

Dee nodded. He took the lollipop out of his mouth and handed it back to the Sister.

"What's this?"

Dee pointed to the high chair and the candy again, but it meant something different than the last time somehow. Dee shook his head and shrugged. The Sister seemed to understand.

"Take it," she said, holding it out to him. "You've earned it."

Dee thought about it, but when he held out his hand, it wasn't to take the lollipop. The man could read the next motions easily. Keep it. None for Sammy, none for me. Can I play now?

"Go ahead. I'll put this in the fridge and you and Sammy can share it after dinner, okay?"

Dee smiled at her again and raced back down the hall to find his brother.

"So sweet," his wife said and he had to agree.

"As I said," Sister Theresa said, "the boys are a package deal. You were only looking to adopt the one, though. Correct?"

He looked at his wife and found the same thought he had projected on his face as well. "Actually," he said. "We may just have room for two."

Her blinding smile was enough that he knew he'd said just the right thing. They could give these boys a good home. Dee may have a few problems, especially considering what he'd been through—and despite all they'd heard, he was sure there was much more to the story—but he knew they could deal with it. Family didn't come without its problems and they would take the time to work through them.

"Give it a little bit of time," Sister Theresa said. "Make sure this is what you want. There's no need to be hasty here, especially as I said: this is meant to be permanent. You will be their parents once the adoption goes through, for better or for worse."

The thought gave the man reservations about the adoption, but it was far from enough to have him backing out.

"If you'd like, I can schedule an interview with the boys, have you all get to know each other better?"

The man smiled, relieved. "That would be… just great."

His wife nodded. "And in the meantime, we'll think about it. They seem like good boys, especially Dee. I can already see him as part of the family."

"Both of them," he added. "Sammy's a little rascal, but he looks playful. Should get along perfectly well with my sister's kids." He chuckled fondly.

"Good," Sister Theresa said. "My office is this way. I can give you some paperwork regarding the process and what to expect, as well as schedule the interview."

Inside, Sister Theresa was beaming. They weren't the first couple to spot Dee and express an interest, but they were the first to seriously consider taking the Winchester brothers. After hearing about Dee's brother or his inability to speak or his history, they all seemed to gravitate toward the more well adjusted children. Everyone wanted a child, but no one wanted to start off with a broken one.

This couple, though. They seemed like genuinely good people. They hadn't had much success on the baby front and adoption had seemed like the next best option. They said they didn't care about gender or age—"We'll just know," the wife said—and had asked if they could see all of the children.

Yes, they seemed like a good family and if anyone deserved two good parents who were willing to help them through the tough times, it was Dee. What that boy had been through, was still going through, would have been enough to break even an adult. Sister Theresa was sure she wouldn't have been able to handle it had she been put in his shoes, not that he wasn't without his scars. Still… a good family would do well for him. The Winchester boys deserved it. She just prayed her instincts were right and the couple would come back, ready to welcome Dee and Sammy into their family.

Three chapters and counting. I'm interested in seeing how the Winchesters grow up. I'm missing the middle chunk right now so the next 2-3 chapters haven't been written yet. When they're done, I'll put them up. Think three days or so before they're finished. Happy holidays, Readers! Read on!