Sam managed to convince his brother, father and uncle that he was capable of cooking without permanently harming himself, and sent them off with different tasks. Once dinner was ready, Sam asked if one of them wouldn't mind going upstairs to get Leah. Since Dean was helping set the table and John was getting the impala, this job fell upon Bobby, who straightened his cap and began walking up the stairs towards the little girl's room. It was clearly signed with a small wooden block engraved with 'Leah's room'. He gently eased open the door to reveal a room painted the colour of the sky on a cloudless day. it made the room feel lighter even though the sun was beginning to descend towards the horizon. A small desk sat beneath the window where Leah had begun another drawing with much enthusiasm. Booby couldn't help but smile at the butterfly duvet cover, neatly made. In fact the whole room was tidied up.
"Well she's definitely Sam's daughter." Bobby thought with a smile.
"Dinner's ready."
The girl bounced out of her chair with glee at the prospect of a meal and ran downstairs, only stopping to wash her hands on the way.
Bobby followed the little ball of energy towards the kitchen, in which John was waiting, having just returned with the classic black car.
"You can all sit down if you want." Sam placed the pot in the middle of the table.
Dean paused before asking "Where do you usually sit Sam?" He didn't want to disturb his brother's routine, the guy was blind after all.
"I sit on Leah's left." Came the reply as Sam's hands grasped the handle of the serving spoon. Dean sat in the seat next to Sam while John and Bobby took the remaining seats.
Sam served Leah and himself before saying that it might be better if the hunters served themselves. The food was warm and a home cooked meal was always welcomed by the hunters but Dean's face opened into a wide grin at the taste.
"This is great Sam." said John.
"It's just pasta bolognaise," Sam shrugged as he poked at his food. "I can still cook even though I'm blind."
"I didn't mean it like that…"
"I know… but you were thinking it." Sam paused and put his fork down. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be rude dad."
"It's ok son."
Suddenly, Dean grabbed Sam's left hand, staring in wonder at the golden band that encircled his forth finger. "Who's the lucky girl Sam?" he asked with a huge grin. "Sammy's found someone. He's gotten married and had a kid. My Sammy did that by himself."
But his grin soon fell as they all gazed at Sam's rapidly paling face. He shook his head and looked away.
"She wasn't lucky."
And with that he pushed his chair back, the legs scraping the floor sounding loud against the silence. Sam patted Leah's head before making his way towards the stairs. Bobby couldn't but help notice the way in which his tall frame bent over itself, as if bearing a heavy burden.
The silence persisted until, having heard the shutting of Sam's bedroom door, Dean turned to Leah. The little girl didn't seem at all fazed by her father's behaviour and had continued eating her meal.
Leah, what's wrong with your dad?"
"He's sad." She replied before attempting to shove a rather large forkful of pasta into her mouth.
"Why?"
Leah stopped her fork mid-air. "He misses mummy."
"And what happened to your mum?" John asked, his eyes filling with fear.
"She's in heaven."
Hearing those words, Dean started getting up, his brotherly instincts taking hold. But he was stopped by a small hand grabbing his. "Don't go up." she pleaded.
"Why?" he asked, kneeling in front of her so that their eyes were on the same level. They were a bright hazel, mixed with flecks of green. Sam's eyes. Well at least his old ones.
"Because he'll just cry." Dean felt his chest tightening at the little girl's words. At his nieces words. "He'll come back." she said decisively.
Once she had finished her dinner she walked up the stairs and walked into Sam's room. The hardened hunters watched from the stairs as she walked up to the man staring blankly into nowhere and hugged him. With this contact, Sam flinched as if waking up, but his daughters arms stopped his panic. He lifted her into his lap so that her curled up body rested entirely against his, drawing comfort from her heat.
"I'm sorry." he whispered.
"It's ok. I miss her too."
And so Sam began to rock back and forth, gently humming. John and Dean gasped as they heard the quiet melody that came from Sam's lips?
"What is it?" asked Bobby.
"Mary used to sing that every night to the boys." Whispered John , his eyes wide and glistening slightly. "And now…"
"He's singing it to his kid." finished Dean as he gazed at his newly found niece and brother. "Well now I'm the odd one out."
Bobby lifted an eyebrow towards his hair line. "And why's that boy?"
Dean swallowed. "I'm the only one who hasn't lost his wife."
And with those words, a thick silence settled upon the three hunters only ruined by Sam's quiet humming.
Eventually Sam fell silent, stood up with his child in his arms and headed out of the doorway and entered into the sky blue room. He put on her pyjamas before allowing her to brush her teeth half-awake before tucking her in with a kiss.
He exited his daughter's bedroom, his face haggard and clearly tiered. He returned downstairs where he was met with the sounds of plates clinking and water running from the tap.
"You guys didn't have to tidy up."
"Well to late little brother."
"Everything is already clean now so don't worry about it son." said the eldest Winchester. "By the way, why are there small white tags everywhere?"
"You guys didn't touch those did you?" Sam's eyes were wide with panic.
"Wow, calm down Sam. There all where they were. We didn't touch them."
Sam heaved a sigh of relief. "They're Braille tags. It's so I know what is in the cupboard or drawer it labels, because being blind essentially equates to the need to have as many things as possible in the same places so they're easier to find. That is especially important when it comes to kitchen knives and my razor."
John nodded as he and the others processed the information. "Makes sense."
"Always knew your freaky tidy habits would be useful someday, huh Sam?" said Dean, cheerfully slinging his arm around his brother's higher-up shoulder.
"Well since everything is tidied up, I'm going to bed. I'm going to be up early so don't worry. You also might hear Leah running around a bit but you can sleep in as much as you want." His milky gaze fleeted over the kitchen as if acknowledging all of its other occupants. "Goodnight. If you need anything don't hesitate to ask."
And with that the youngest Winchester headed off to bed, closely followed by his elders.