Title: Family Means Everything
Fandom: Supernatural
Summary: Completely AU. Set pre-pilot. Dean's got his hands full raising his two kids on his own, hunting, trying to please his father, and checking up on his baby brother Sammy. Is there anyway he and Sammy will ever be close again? Will the fact that Dean has kids help them mend their fractured relationship? Don't worry there will be hunting for both Sam and Dean. After all they still have to find John.
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any of it's characters, but I sure as hell wish I owned Dean and the Impala. A girl can dream can't she.
AN: So here is chapter four, I hope you enjoy. Thanks for all the reviews, they're very much appreciated.
Chapter 4: Oh Shit!
It had been three weeks since Dean and his kids had moved to Palo Alto. They were all settling in pretty well, they all loved the house and spending time with Rachel and her boyfriend Jake. The twins were getting used to Dean working daily, as was Dean himself. He loved his job, working at the Auto Dealership was great. Dean loved cars, had loved cars since before his mother had died, since he was born according to his father. His mother had given birth to him in the backseat of the Impala and he'd loved riding in that car ever since. John had been a mechanic before the fire and because Dean had been such a well behaved little guy he'd let Dean sit and watch him tune up the Impala starting at the tender age of two.
Dean's love of cars had only grown as he'd gotten older, when he was seven, John, Sammy, and him had moved into Bobby Singer's house. Bobby was a fellow hunter, John had needed training when it came to demons and Bobby was a demon expert. The best there was really, nobody knew demons like Bobby did, does. Bobby's property was huge, he owned a salvage yard and mechanic shop. Now Bobby wasn't one for kids, but he'd quickly taken a liking to the young Winchester boys, especially Dean. They were both respectful and well behaved children, Bobby had appreciated that. When he'd learned how much Dean loved cars, especially the Impala, Bobby had taken Dean out into the salvage yard and began teaching him everything he knew about cars.
Those were some of Dean's most treasured memories, he'd loved when they would stay at Bobby's place for months at a time. He'd spend time with Bobby in the salvage yard, under the baking sun, wearing worn clothes covered in dirt, oil, and sweat. Laying under cars that needed fixing, the feeling of accomplishment when he'd finish and head off to shower smelling of sweat, oil, and gasoline. Part of Dean wished he could go work for Bobby, but the other part of him knew he needed to stay here in Palo Alto, he really needed Rachel's help with Alec and Asha.
Plus it wasn't like the job he had was bad, he really liked his boss, Charlie was a good guy. Charlie being a single father himself had been extremely understanding about Dean's situation. He'd given Dean flexible hours so he could work around Rachel's schedule, and it was really helpful. Charlie wasn't regretting his choice to help Dean out either, just the day before he'd told Dean that he was the best worker Charlie had ever had. Dean had responded with a polite and sincere, "Thank you, sir.", while thinking that it was just the way he was. When Dean Winchester did something he threw all of himself and everything he had into it. The way he saw it, it was all of it or none of it, there was absolutley no sense in doing things half-assed.
Now about Rachel, she'd been a great help. She watched the kids from 5:30 in the morning into the early afternoon. She'd have his lunch on the table as well as Alec and Asha down for a nap by the time he got home from work. Then she'd head off to afternoon and evening classes, but she always came by in between two of them to help him put the munchkins to bed. He appreciated everything Rachel did for them, and he made sure to tell her that. She had to be some kind of angel, he could see why Ryssa loved her so much. She was a great friend to him despite the fact that she certainly didn't have to be. She'd made it abundantly clear that she was there for him, and not just in the context of helping out with Alec and Asha. She'd told him that if he needed to talk about anything, whether it be Marissa, or Sam, or the kids, that he could come to her. Admittedly it was nice to know that she cared about him, and not just the kids.
When he'd taken her up on her offer, he'd thought being around her might make him sad, that she'd remind him of Marissa and then he'd miss her more. Most of the time Rachel didn't remind him of Ryssa at all, he had a hard time believing they were sisters, but then he supposed that's what people felt like when they found out he and Sam were brothers. Her hair was a rich brown and not as wavy as Ryssa's, her facial features were in no way similar, and her skin was a shade darker. She had the same sparkle in her eyes though, and a lot of the same quirks. She twirled a strand of her hair when she was nervous, she made the same face Marissa did when she thought something was weird or when she found something to be unbelievable. She always rolled her eyes when she was exasperated and she always smiled when she was happy. She also enjoyed the same music her big sister did, and they both shared a love of horses. But other than those things they didn't have much in common. Rachel wasn't as cynical and untrusting as Ryssa and even though she knew Jujitsu she didn't use it unless she really had to. She wasn't the type of person that enjoyed kicking ass just for the fun of it, Marissa was. She was just a sweetheart and she wasn't going to hurt anybody if she could deal with the problem in a more peaceful manner.
Dean was currently waiting for her on Stanford's campus. There had been a situation at work that had him running late so he'd told her to meet him here, so that she wouldn't be late for class. Just then he spotted her boyfriend Jake walking a little ways away. Jake was a great guy, he treated Rachel really well, and he was great with Alec and Asha. He'd also become a good friend to Dean, they'd gone out for beer a few times. While they were drinking they'd talked about sports and played pool, Dean had a really good time. It had made him feel for the first time in a long time like a normal guy. When he was with Jake he could chill out and just have a good time, it was a nice feeling.
Jake also happened to be a good friend of Sam's and he'd told Dean right off the bat, as to avoid future complications. Oh Shit! Sam was with him right now, and he'd already spotted Dean. 'Oh well there isn't much I can do about it now.', Dean thought to himself as he listened to his baby brother's bewildered voice calling out, "Dean?"
He watched the blonde girl, his brother's girlfriend Jessica, as her head whipped around to look at him and then look back at Sam. He could see her saying something to Sam with a smile on her face, he said something back before jogging in Dean's direction. Jessica jogged after him and Jake followed resignedly at a more sedate pace. Sam stopped in front of him, smiling slightly, "Dean what're you doing here?"
"Hey Sammy, um… I'm not here to bug you. I live here now.", Dean spoke softly, eyeing Sam warily.
"You live here and you haven't been to see me?", Sam asked softly, head cocking to the side, unruly bangs shielding his moss colored eyes.
"Uh… I didn't know if you'd want to see me. You haven't exactly returned my phone calls.", Dean answered somewhat bitterly, hazel-green eyes staring warily into Sam's mossy-green ones.
Sam reached up, pushing his bangs out of his face, eyes shining imploringly as he spoke, softly, "I'm sorry Dean, it wasn't about you. I just… I just didn't trust myself not to come back home if I heard your voice. I didn't want to get sucked back into that life, but that doesn't mean I haven't missed you like crazy. I didn't mean to hurt you, I'm sorry that I did."
Dean could see that Sam was telling him the truth, but it didn't mean that Sam had hurt him any less. Not that he wasn't going to forgive Sam, he could forgive his brother for anything. He guesses he's taking too long to answer because he can see Sam's eyes filling up with tears and the puppy dog look on his face. 'God damn it Sammy, you know I hate it when you cry. I've never been able to handle your tears.', Dean thought to himself, sighing heavily. "Aww Sammy don't pull that shit, you know I hate it.", Dean spoke, his tone carrying something akin to exasperation.
Sam's mouth quirked up in a smile and he implored, softly, "But it always works, right?"
Dean sighed heavily, running a hand through his soft dark blonde hair, his mouth quirking up in a soft smile. He spoke warmly, "Yeah kiddo, it always works."
A brilliant smile graced Sam's face and before Dean could do anything about it he had an armful of Sammy. Dean let himself enjoy the closeness to his baby brother for about thirty seconds, who could blame him he hadn't seen the kid this close up in four years, before struggling and huffing in full on exasperation, "Sammy let go of me, I don't do chick flick moments!"
Sam pulled back, smiling, and Dean smiled back, saying, "It's good to see you Sammy."
Sam spoke happily, "It's good to see you, too."
After a pause, "Dean?"
"Yeah?", Dean asked, eyebrow raised in question.
"It's Sam, Sammy was a chubby twelve year old.", Sam spoke softly, with a short role of his eyes.
"No can do kiddo, you're always gonna be Sammy to me.", Dean said, reaching up and ruffling Sam's already unruly brown locks. "Sammy were you even listening to me when I sat you down and taught you what combs were used for?"
Sam rolled his eyes, answering, "Obviously not, because if I had been would you even be asking me? And it's Sam."
"Shut up you smart ass.", Dean griped, reaching over and roughly shoving Sam's shoulder.
After a beat, "Dude I was being serious, you'd think you'd of learned to use a comb by now. Especially with you being a college boy and all, but no your hair is as unruly as ever. When was the last time you got a hair cut Sammy?"
"Dean shut up, my girlfriend is right over there.", Sam hissed irritably, nodding his head in Jessica's general direction.
Dean's hazel-green eyes shot to the girl in question, her hand was covering her mouth and she was giggling hysterically, as was Jake. Dean smirked, he had a feeling he was going to like this girl. Turning to Sam he drawled, "Well, are you gonna introduce us, or what?"
Sam just gaped at him, Dean rolled his eyes, walking over to Jess who was giggling harder now. He offered her a hand and she reached out and shook it. "Hi I'm the…"
She cut him off, smiling brightly, "The big brother, yeah I gathered. I'm Jessica, but please call me Jess."
He smiled back, speaking charmingly, "I trust you've been taking good care of my baby brother, sweetheart."
"Dean don't hit on her.", Sam hissed walking over to the two of them.
Dean smirked, speaking innocently, "Sammy I'm just getting to know your girl Jess, here."
Jess joined in on the teasing, blue eyes sparkling, her voice just as innocent, "Yeah Sammy, we were just getting to know each other."
"Don't encourage him Jess.", Sam pleaded desperately, puppy dog eyes turned on full force.
Dean took matters into his own hands before she caved, because he knew nobody could resist those puppy dog eyes. "Don't listen to him Jess, please do encourage me. I'm sure you want stories, well I've got them.", he spoke, waggling his eyebrows at her.
Jess smiled brightly, answering, "Do tell." She looked over at Sam who was beginning to look like a kicked puppy. "Sorry baby."
Now he definitely looked like a kicked puppy, and Dean, despite years of trying to be, was not impervious to that face. God, he was such a sucker! "Aww Sammy I won't be too hard on you.", Dean reassured, gently thumping him on the back.
"Oh, please be hard on him.", Jess and Jake spoke simultaneously.
Now that Jake had caught Dean's attention again, Dean turned to him, bright jade eyes fastening on the other man, as it suddenly dawned on him that Jake had set this up. "Jake you conniving little shit! Rachel told you I was meeting her here didn't she, and you set this up? You little shit!", he roared, his voice conveying aggravation, with a hint of reluctant admiration.
Jake took a step backwards and answered hastily, "Yes I did, but look at the bright side, it turned out great. Sam is really happy to see you, just like I told you he'd be."
"I'm gonna kill you, you promised you weren't gonna tell him!", Dean said voice raised, he was only half serious.
"I kept my promise. I didn't tell him, I just led him to you.", Jake spoke matter of factly as he ran a hand through his shaggy brown locks.
Dean eyes were ablaze as he spoke sharply, "I'm gonna kick your ass, you smart ass! I didn't tell him, I just led him to you. What kinda bull shit is that?"
"Hold up, you two know each other?", Sam interrupted, stepping in between them.
Jake nodded, grumbling, "Yeah, and you would've known it sooner if Dean wasn't so goddamn stubborn."
"I told you why…", Dean began, but was interrupted by two tiny voices happily screaming, "Daddy!"
Dean turned to see Alec and Asha running to him, Rachel running behind them. When they reached him they began pulling at his legs, yelling, "Up Daddy!"
He leaned down picking them both up and smiling as the both rested their heads on his chest.
Sam's questioning voice drew Dean's attention back to his brother, "Daddy?"
Oh Shit!
He had a lot of explaining to do.
AN: So that was chapter four, I hope you enjoyed it. Just to let you know, I know exactly where this story is going now, and it's going to be relatively long. I hope you're interested. Please review, it's very much appreciated.
Thanks,
Alaina