"Grandma Mary?" Adam asked as he colored at the kitchen table. Mary smiled. She enjoyed Friday nights. Kelly worked the late shift at the hospital and she left Adam over night. Mary liked having a child around the house, and lately, it made her feel closer to Dean.

"Yes baby?"

"When is Uncle Sammy coming back?"

"I don't know. Around Thanksgiving probably."

"When is that?"

"Another month. After Halloween."

"Oh." The boy sounded sad.

"Why?"

"I had fun with him when he was here."

"I'm glad you had fun spending time with him." She turned on the faucet and rinsed the dish she washed.

"Is it true that when boys grow up they are just like their daddies?" He asked as he continued to color.

"Not always. Why?"

"Kyle at school said that he was going to be just like his dad when he grew up, that boys were supposed to. And Uncle Sammy said that my daddy was a bad man. I don't want to grow up to be a bad man. You think I could grow up to be like Uncle Sammy? He's smart and big and strong. I want to be like that when I grow up. I don't want to be like my daddy. He's a looser. Uncle Sammy said so." Mary's heart sped up during the conversation, and she was so angry by the last utterance of her grandson that red colored her vision. Adam was looking at her expecting an answer. She swallowed hard and tried to compose herself and give the child an answer that didn't sound angry. She wasn't mad at Adam, he hadn't done anything, he was six years old, he didn't know his father, and he was only repeating what he heard. However, that didn't stop her from being royally pissed at her youngest son. He had no right to say those things about Dean. Sure, Dean had made plenty of mistakes, more than his fair share actually, but he was still family, and family was what was important. Helping those that love you through hard times was part of that deal.

She swallowed hard again and forced a smile. She came over to the boy, picked him up and sat in the chair that he had been occupying and hugged him close to her chest. "Your daddy is not a bad man. Your Uncle Sam shouldn't have said that to you. It isn't true."

"Then why did he say it? Mommy says lying is a bad thing."

"He said it because he is mad at your daddy. He's mad for a lot of reasons, and when people are angry, they say things that they don't really mean, they aren't lying exactly…" she tried to find the words. "Your daddy is a good person sweetie. He really is. He loves you very much."

"Then why don't I see him?"

"Because he has to get himself straightened out before he can see you."

"Is he all bent up and crooked?" Adam asked his expression tangled up and confused.

"Not exactly." She laughed. "But he went through a bad time and he is trying to get better."

"Is he sick?"

"He was very sick for a long time. He's getting better now."

"Is it like a cold? Like the one Tommy gave me this year. I wish he would have kept it. It was bad."

"Sort of. But your mommy wants your daddy to be completely okay before he comes and sees you."

"He doesn't want to get me sick?"

"No." He nodded. "Why don't you run upstairs and get your pjs on."

"But grandpa is coming back with ice cream."

"I know. But it is more fun to eat ice cream in your pajamas." The boy was barely up the stairs before Mary had the phone off of its cradle and dialing the Topeka number that would get Sam.

"Hello?"

"Samuel Winchester! I am so angry with you right now!"

"Whoah. Wait. Mom. What did I do?"

"How dare you say that your brother was a bad man to his son? How dare you?" Her voice was a growl by the time she reached the second question.

"Well," she could almost hear her youngest shrug. "Mom, he is a bad man. I just thought that Adam should be prepared for that."

"Sam. Your brother is not a bad man. Misguided and troubled yes. But he is not a bad man. And you have no business telling Adam that he is. That is his father."

"But…"

"I don't want to hear your reasoning Sam. I don't really care." She looked to see if she could see the young boy coming down the stairs. "I know your brother has made some very bad decisions, hurt you, hurt me, hurt your father, his family, and himself. I know that. No one knows that more than I do. But damnit Samuel. You do not poison Adam with that garbage. He will know Dean as he is now. And Dean is doing his best to be a good man. You have no right to take that opportunity away from him. I am so ashamed of you right now."

"Mom…I…"

"Don't you dare tell me you're sorry. You need to apologize to your nephew and your brother. I thought I raised you better than this." Sam was silent on the other end of the phone. "You WILL call your nephew this week and set this straight. You WILL call your brother and apologize for your abominable behavior while you were here. This is not going to be tolerated Sam."

"You always take his side you know."

"What?"

"Dean makes an ass out of himself, hurts himself, hurts us, hurts Kelly and Adam, and you are just like 'oh, Dean's working on it.' When will he not be working on it anymore Mom? When will he be a real man and own up to his mistakes? When do you think that will come?"

"If you actually spent time here Sam, you would know a lot of those answers. Your brother has been doing everything in the world possible to earn the trust of others again. He has apologized profusely to me and your father. He is paying your dad back for all of the stuff that your father had to pay because of him, he is paying his own child support, he and Kelly have reached some kind of agreement. All of those things have been done. But you wouldn't let him get a word in edgewise while you were here. I think he wanted to apologize to you the most. But you were so busy being perfect and treating him like an insect that you didn't get to hear the apology or even learn who your brother is now. I am so disappointed in you Sam. You will make those corrections. I will talk to you later. I love you. Good night." She hung up the phone just as Adam was coming down the stairs in his Batman pajamas.

"Well aren't those cute." She said and went to the little boy and hugged him she felt tears prick her eyes. Batman had always been Dean's favorite superhero. She pulled the little one back and pushed gold hair out of her grandson's green eyes that were so much like Dean's that it hurt her to look sometimes.

"Why are you crying grandma?"

"I just love you so much."

"You are so weird." Mary laughed and hugged him closer. The garage door opened, John was home with the ice cream. She took a deep breath and stood up.

"You ready for some ice cream?" The six year old took off running. He wanted his ice cream. Mary rubbed at her heart. Dean was sitting six houses down, not allowed to come over and see his child, and he was in pain, and sad. And here she was feeding his son ice cream, putting him in his pajamas, and watching him grow up. Dean deserved punishment for his actions, and Mary felt that he had finished paying the price long ago, but people like Sam, she was afraid, were going to make him pay for the rest of his life.