I'm seriously loving all the reviews, alerts and favorites, thanks so much. Here's the next chapter. I hope you'll like it, because I found it very difficult to write this one.
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Both Dean and James looked up when John came in. John's eyes scanned the room, went from Dean to the little boy and back to rest on his oldest son, not a word was said but the question was evident on his face.
'Dad' Dean started, not really sure how to break the news. The best way would be nice and easy. Beside him James made the link. If this was his father's father, than that meant they were getting ice cream
'We go for ice cream now daddy?' So much for nice and easy. John's eyes grew much wider and Dean feared if they'd get any wider they'd pop out of their socket.
'Dean?' Was all John managed to bring out.
'Not now buddy. Daddy has to talk to your grandfather for a while. You're just going to watch a cartoon now and then after we go for ice cream.' Dean said, ignoring his father's question, but his eyes never once leaving his father's.
'But mommy says…'
'Daddy says it's okay' Dean interrupted before James could finish the sentence. Averting his eyes for the first time since John had entered, Dean turned the tv on and skipped through the channels until he found a cartoon and faced his father again.
'Can we do this in the kitchen?' Without waiting for an answer he turned and headed for the kitchen. Before going in he looked back to make sure John had followed him and James was watching tv.
'Daddy? Dean?' John started when they were both in the kitchen and Dean had closed the door behind them. He didn't want the kid to hear them.
'Uh yeah, it's sort of a long story'
'I have all the time in the world' John stated and went to sit down. Dean didn't miss the pained look that crossed his face saying that his broken ribs still bothered him.
'Right' Dean said, took a deep breath and told his father all about Chloe's visit, about how she announced James was his and that he had to take care of him and how she disappeared before he had had a chance to object. John's face grew more and more serious during his explanation.
When Dean finished he waited for the lecture he knew was going to come, but it never came. Instead John let out a deep sigh and shook his head.
'And this Chloe, you have no idea how to find her?' He asked and Dean shook his head.
'I suppose we could start looking where I first met her, if I can remember where that was. But with the way she disappeared I doubt she's still there.'
'Well, than I suppose the next house I'm renting has three bedrooms. You can't continue to share with your brother with the kid there as well.' John said and Dean stared at him in disbelief. He fought the urge to yell christo, or throw some holy water at the person sitting in front of him.
'You didn't think I was going to let you deal with this alone, now did you?' John smiled
'Yes…well…no…I wasn't sure what to think exactly' Dean stuttered. For a while the two oldest Winchesters sat facing each other.
'I've got a son dad' Dean said his lips curling in a smile. The term was growing on him. He had a son, he was a father and he liked the sound of it.
'I feel old all of a sudden' John joked, pulling his son in a hug. It was a very rare occurrence and they both would never admit it ever happened even after rounds of torture.
'You should grandpa' And they just sat laughing for a second
'So, how's James taking it?'
'He's already accepted me as his father, Chloe probably prepared him for that, but I don't think the kid realizes his mom is not coming back'
'He'll be alright Dean, it might be hard at first, but he'll be alright. I've seen you with Sammy, you'll be a great father. Speaking of Sam, how is he?'
'He's sleeping upstairs, nurse said it's probably just the flu. I should go check on him' Dean answered and went to get up, but was stopped by his father
'No, let me do that, you go see what your son is up to' John offered.
'Why would he be up to something?' Dean questioned
'Because he's your kid, that's why'
'Oh, come on, I wasn't that bad' Dean objected he was fairly sure that the mischief didn't start until he was older and had Sammy to pull pranks on.
'Yes you were, I'm sure you didn't mean to, but you got up to all sorts of stuff' Dean huffed and followed his dad out to the living room, where James was still watching tv, everything exactly as they had left it. Dean looked at his father, a cheeky grin spreading across his face.
'I suppose he takes after his mother' John commented and went upstairs to check on his youngest son.
'Oh and while you're up there, go to bed, take a nap grandpa, you look bad' Dean called after him, but only got a huff in return. Everything that had happened between them that morning had been forgiven and forgotten.
'So, what do you say I take you to play in the park and afterwards we finally get you that ice cream I promised you' Dean suggested. James got off the sofa and started jumping up and down. Dean's grin widened ever further as he went in search of the kid's coat and shoes that were still in a heap on the floor where they had left them. When he had helped James into them, his father hadn't come back down so Dean took it he had taken his advice.
'Dad, Sammy okay?' He called upstairs, clapping a hand in front of his mouth when James shushed him and he realized what he had done.
'Yeah, he was sleeping you idiot' His father called back when a groan from Sam indicated he had indeed been woken up
'Sorry! Anyway, I'm taking James out, I did promise him ice cream once his grandfather was home' Dean answered, not waiting for his father to agree and walking out the door.
Taking James to the park proved to be a much more of a challenge than Dean had thought it would be. For as well behaved the boy had been back in their living room, as out of order he seemed now. Dean thought he'd seen overexcitement when he took his little brother to the park, but three year old Sam was nothing compared to James. The way he was acting Dean thought he'd never been to a park before.
'James!' He called after the boy when he tried to run off. James halted in his steps and turned to look at him, the smile on his face so big that Dean almost didn't have the heart to call him back, but he did anyway.
'Okay, listen carefully. In a minute you may go play. Daddy is gonna sit right over there' Dean said, pointing at a bench located near the playground where parents could keep watch over their offspring.
'I want you to stay in sight at all times' He continued. 'Do you understand? Make sure you can always see me' When the boy nodded he quickly added 'Have fun' and watched his son run off.
He sat down next to a woman, who appeared to be only a couple of years older than he was. She had long, dark hair that curled around her ears. She waved at a little girl, not much older than James, who immediately turned back to play.
The woman faced Dean and he took the time to study her face. She had big blue eyes that really stood out, the freckles on her nose gave her a somewhat younger appearance.
'You here with your little brother?' She tried, making conversation.
'My son actually' He replied
'Oh wow, and I thought I was a young parent. I had Amy when I was about as old as you are now. That didn't go down too well at home, hadn't finished college yet, didn't have a job either but I suppose you know all about that.'
Dean nodded, not bothering to tell her he hadn't even known he had a son until that very morning.
'My dad was really good about it though, better than I had expected him to be' He admitted, but of course the last thing his father would think about was him not able to go to college because of his son.
'I'm Esther by the way' She held her hand out and Dean shook it.
'Dean, and the little one's James, he's three' He had no idea why he added that piece of information.
'Nice to meet you. Amy's three as well, four next month' She stated and Dean realized he had no idea when James' birthday was. He would have to find a way to figure that out.
'James!' He let out all of a sudden when he saw the boy wandering off to a part of the park that he couldn't see properly from his current position. James didn't seem to notice, because he didn't stop or even look around.
'James!' Dean tried again, a little louder this time, still he received no reaction
'Sorry, gotta go get my boy' He said to Esther, whilst getting up and sprinting after his son. She yelled something after him, but he was too focused on the brown jacket that slowly disappeared between some trees, to catch what it was.
His father had always made them aware of all the possible dangers, human and not human and all of them were going through his head right now. He reached the trees that separated two different playgrounds and between which he had seen James go. For a second he was afraid that he wasn't there anymore, that he had lost his son before ever really having one, but then he heard soft sniffing coming from not very far away from him. He took several more steps in the direction the sound was coming from and found James sitting on the floor with big tears rolling down his cheeks. Dean had planned to get angry, to let James know he wasn´t supposed to go off on his own. He had really wanted to threaten not to go get ice cream, just so the kid knew he was serious about the danger, but the second he saw his son there all that was forgotten.
´Daddy´ James cried, holding his arms out to be picked up. James lifted the boy in his arms and held him close to his chest, carding his fingers through his hair.
'It's okay buddy, daddy is here' He whispered in the boy's ear. The boy sniffed some more, but soon enough his tears dried and Dean put him down on the ground again, kneeling so that he was still facing him.
'Are you okay buddy? Are you hurt?' He asked, he didn't think that James was injured, but he needed to be sure
'I falled daddy' James said quietly. Dean nodded
'I know you did buddy' Dean answered, wiping away the lone tear that was making its way down his boy's cheek with his thumb. Even now Dean knew he should say something about him wandering off, but he just couldn't.
'Come on, we'll get you some ice cream' Getting James some ice cream now to comfort him, when he had failed to listen to his father, would surely not put him in the top 10 of most responsible dads but Dean didn't care all that much. He only wanted to see the little boy smile again. He had promised his child some ice cream, and they were going to get some ice cream. He took his son by the hand and led him back to the playground
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So, John came home and had a conversation with Dean, did you like what I did with it?
