Watch Out For Sammy

Chapter 51

Of Fathers and Sons


When Dean woke up the next morning, he was exhausted. His night had been interrupted by dream after dream and he woke up feeling shaky and nauseous.

Sam was already awake, sitting at the small table, eating a pop tart. Dean couldn't help but smile at the strawberry filling that covered his bottom lip. Climbing out of bed, he looked around the room, surprised to see that his dad wasn't there.

"Hey, Sammy. Where's Dad?"

"He's not here," Sam answered, crumbs falling out of his mouth.

Dean rolled his eyes. "I know, Sammy. Where is he?"

Sam shrugged his shoulders and took another bite of his breakfast. Dean made his way over to the counter and picked up the empty box of pop tarts. "Did you eat the last one?"

"I don't know. Daddy gave it to me."

Dean looked around the counter and in the small refrigerator, but wasn't surprised when he didn't see anything else to eat. Luckily, there were a few swallows left in the orange juice container. He was just about to drain the container when Sam interrupted him.

"Can I have some more orange juice, Dean?"

Dean started to protest, but when he saw the look on his brother's face, he gave it up. Without another thought, he stepped over and poured the rest of the orange juice into Sam's glass.

Not having anything else to do, Dean grabbed his clothes and stepped into the bathroom to get dressed. They had almost thirty more minutes before they needed to leave for school and he knew he still needed to get Sam ready, too.

He had just finished brushing his teeth when he heard the motel room door open. The sound of his dad's voice echoed in the small room.

"Dean!"

Dean scrambled to open the bathroom door, even though facing his father was the last thing on earth he wanted to do.

John looked Dean over closely. "Did you eat breakfast yet?"

"No, sir…" Dean started to try to explain that there wasn't anything left to eat, but his dad interrupted him before he could get anything else out.

"Why the hell not? You know you're supposed to eat breakfast when you get up."

Dean shuffled his feet nervously and willed his voice not to crack. "There isn't anything left to eat, Dad," he finally mumbled. He was looking in the general direction of the man's face, but missed the look that crossed his face.

John turned to Sam, who had just taken the last bite of his breakfast. "Sam, go brush your teeth." Sam jumped down from the table and nearly ran to the bathroom. He was used to Dean helping him with that particular task, but he somehow knew not to expect it that morning.

John sat down at the small table and turned to look at his oldest son. "I'll pick you up some breakfast when I take Sam to school," he finally said, wearily.

Dean didn't know what to make of that statement, though. When he took Sam to school? Did that mean that he wasn't going to school that day? He waited for his dad to clarify his statement, but the man didn't. "Dad? I'm not going to school today?" he finally asked when it was obvious the man wasn't going to say anything else on the matter.

John brought his eyes over to rest on Dean. "No. You and I have some things to discuss, remember?"

Dean felt his stomach drop at those words. As much as he hated the school they were attending at the moment, he really, really wished that he was going that day. Facing his father was definitely the last thing on earth he wanted to do.


At John's direction, Dean cleaned up the motel room while he took Sam to school and picked up some food. It didn't take long for Dean to put everything away, so when John returned, he was sitting on the bed, watching some gameshow.

John had his hands full of several bags and as soon as he walked through the door, he ordered Dean to the table. Dean watched as he pulled out several Styrofoam containers and placed them in front of him. The smell of bacon and eggs wafted up from the containers and Dean felt his stomach turning.

"Eat," John ordered.

Dean picked up the plastic silverware and started picking at the food. He knew his dad wasn't going to be happy with him if he didn't eat, but he thought the man might be even less happy if he suddenly threw up all over the table. To his relief, John didn't say anything about the way he was picking at the food. Instead, he sat down and started sharpening one of his hunting knives.

Almost twenty minutes later, John put the knife down and cleared his throat. Dean's eyes immediately flew up to meet his dad's. "We have a lot to discuss," John said simply.

"Yes, sir."

John looked at his son closely, trying to figure out where to start. He knew that he shouldered just as much blame in the overall mess they were currently in, and though he was willing to accept his part in all of it, he wasn't quite ready to admit to it yet. In his mind, Dean needed to face the consequences of his actions, first and foremost. The boy had to learn.

"You've made some pretty big mistakes recently, Dean."

"Yes, sir."

John didn't miss the way Dean's face paled or the way his hands had started to shake a little. "I can sit here and lay them all out for you, but I think it might be better if you tell me what mistakes you made. Maybe that will get you to thinking about it all a little more clearly."

Dean wanted to argue, because he knew that all he'd been thinking about recently was how much he'd screwed up. He knew he'd made huge mistakes. He didn't really want to think about it anymore, actually. Instead, he just wanted his dad to punish him and get it all over with.

"Dean? Do you need a little motivation to get you going?"

"No, sir," Dean nearly whispered.

"Okay, then…. Sit up straight, look me in the eye, and do what I told you."

Dean adjusted his position, sitting up straighter in the chair and putting his hands underneath his thighs to keep them from shaking. Then he raised his head back up to meet his father's eyes. "I'm sorry, Dad," he started, but John quickly cut him off.

"I don't want to hear apologies, Dean. I want you to tell me what mistakes you made."

Dean knew better than to keep his dad waiting when he was expecting answers, so he shored himself up and started talking. "I took Sammy to the park without permission," he started slowly.

"Were you supposed to take Sammy to the park? What are the rules when you're home alone, Dean?"

"Stay inside except for school. Lock the doors and windows. And lay down the salt lines," Dean answered automatically.

"So what made you think you could take Sam to the park?"

"He was bored, Dad. And the park is a lot closer than school, so I didn't think it would matter."

John studied his son for a few seconds. "Would you have ever told me about taking Sam to the park if things hadn't played out the way they had?"

"No, sir," Dean admitted. "I'm sorry, Dad. I know I screwed up and I know that it's my fault that we were there when the shooting thing happened. Sam was just really, really bored and it was a nice day. I thought it would be okay."

"Well, you obviously thought wrong, didn't you? Because not only did you put you and your brother at risk by being there in the park, but you also put yourself at the mercy of the Child Protective Services. You're really lucky that you and Sam weren't split up, Dean. Or that you weren't sent to some home that wasn't a nice place. Did you even think of that? Did you take the time to stop and think about how scared Sam would have been if that had happened? If he'd been taken away from you?"

Dean's eyes burned with tears at his father's words. He couldn't seem to form any words, so he just shook his head no instead. Surprisingly, his dad let it go.

"What else?"

Dean tried to think through the events of the last several days. "I told Jake and Sarah about what we do. I told them that ghosts and monsters were real and that we hunted them."

"And are you supposed to tell people about that?"

"No, sir. But, Dad, there was a ghost in their house. I had to warn them and I had to figure out a way to get rid of the ghost."

"Oh, so you're okay to hunt on your own now? Is that it?"

"No, sir."

"What else?"

Dean really didn't want to talk about what happened next because he knew that his dad was the maddest at that. He also knew he didn't have a choice in the matter. "I left school yesterday," he said so quietly that John had to strain to hear.

"You ran away from school yesterday, Dean. Call it what it is." John wasn't about to let Dean gloss over the fact that he'd ran away from whatever problem he was facing. "Why did you run away?"

Dean took a deep breath and started explaining what had happened. The bad start to his morning. Falling asleep in class because he hadn't slept well the night before. The fear he'd felt when Sam wasn't in the cafeteria at first. The relief he felt when he finally found Sam, followed by the anger he'd felt when the cafeteria aid accused him of bullying Sam and wouldn't listen to anything he was saying. And finally the anger he'd felt when she called him a punk and the fear he'd felt when she grabbed his arm. Taking another deep breath, his head dropped and he stared at the floor, too ashamed to look his father in the eye. "I'm sorry, Dad. I know I shouldn't have ran away. I know I was supposed to be there to watch out for Sammy. I'm sorry."

"Dean, I said I don't want to hear apologies right now. I just want to make sure that you understand the mistakes you made. I looked for you for over eight hours. Eight hours, Dean! Your brother was terrified when we couldn't find you. The poor kid was exhausted from being hauled all over town like that. And from all the crying he did."

"I shouldn't have ran away," Dean repeated, not knowing what else he could say on the matter.

"No, you shouldn't have. You're a Winchester, Dean. Winchesters don't run away from their problems. They stay and face them head on."

"Yes, sir."

John took another few seconds to study his son again. "What made you decide to go to Jake Fuller's house? And how did you get there? That's clear across town."

"I didn't know where else to go. Jake and Sarah told us that if we ever needed anything, they'd be there for us. I just…. I remembered them saying that and I didn't know what else to do."

"You walked there?"

"Yes, sir."

"How did you remember how to get there?"

Dean shrugged his shoulders, but quickly realized that his dad expected a verbal answer. "I don't know. I guess I just knew how to get there. I remember watching from the back seat when the police officer took us there that night."

John knew that his son had a keen sense of direction, but he still found it rather remarkable for an eleven-year old to be able to do what his son had.

"What else?"

"I don't know, Dad," Dean answered after thinking for almost a full minute.

"No? Are you sure? Something else you need to confess?"

"No, sir."

"Okay. I want you to list every rule you broke, Dean. One by one."

Dean was barely able to contain the groan that threatened to make its way out of his mouth. "I disobeyed your order to stay inside. I didn't make sure that we laid low like we're supposed to. I didn't keep my mouth shut about hunting. And I left school….. I mean, I ran away from school and I didn't watch out for Sammy."

"I think you also forgot about the little mess of trouble you got into at school last week. The fighting and the cursing at a teacher? Remember that?"

"Yes, sir."

"You've racked up quite a list of mistakes, son. I expect better from you. We've had this discussion too many times for you to still be making the same mistakes. Dean, I give you orders and I expect you to follow them. For your safety and for Sam's safety. My rules are meant to be followed. And what happens if you don't follow the rules?"

"I get in trouble," Dean answered quietly. He knew they were getting to the part where he had to face the consequences of his actions, but he was surprised when his dad suddenly veered off subject. He was also surprised by the weird change in his dad's voice.

"Why did you go to Jake's house? Why didn't you just come home, Dean?"

"You were already mad at me and I knew you were going to be even madder when you found out that I ran away."

"Were you scared? To face me?"

Dean took a deep breath, trying desperately to keep himself under control. His eyes were burning with unshed tears and he desperately wanted to rub them. "I don't know," he finally answered. "I guess so."

"But you weren't scared to go all the way across town and face Jake? You had to know that he wasn't going to be okay with you being out on your own like that, right?"

"He said he'd be there if I ever needed him," Dean answered simply.

John ran his hands over his face and through his hair. "Dean, I get it. I remember what it felt like to face my dad when I'd messed up. I hated it. No one likes to be punished, but running away like that isn't the answer. I appreciate the fact that Jake said he'd be there if you needed him, but you didn't need him last night. All you needed was a way to avoid the mess you'd gotten yourself into. And that's not acceptable. I raised you to take responsibility for your actions. I raised you to stand up and face your troubles head on. You're going to be a man someday and I want you to be the kind of man that holds himself accountable for his actions and choices, no matter how much it might suck. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

By this time, tears were streaming down Dean's face. He suddenly felt completely ashamed of himself and didn't really know what to do about it. Before he could think any more about it all, his dad surprised him by standing up and walking over to where he was sitting. Reaching down, he pulled Dean up from his chair and pulled him into his chest.

"Dean, it's okay. You messed up and we're going to deal with that right now. You're going to be punished and then it's all over. All I ask is that you really think about everything that led us up to this moment, okay? Think about it and learn from it."

"Yes, sir."

"Okay, then….." John stepped backwards a few steps- pulling Dean with him- and sat down in his chair. Without another word, he pulled Dean down across his knees, allowing the boy to settle as best he could, before raising his hand high into the air and letting it fall with a resounding smack.


After John was done spanking his son, he helped him to his feet. Dean's face was covered in tears and his hair was messy and sweaty. He was a little unsteady on his feet, so John kept a firm grip on his arm. Usually, Dean wasn't one for post-punishment cuddling, so John was completely surprised when the boy buried his face in his stomach.

Dean's shoulders were shaking, too, but they quit once his dad's arms completely surrounded him.

"You're okay, Dean. It's all over," John soothed.

"I-I'm sorry, Dad."

"I know. I know you are, son. It's okay."

After a few minutes, Dean had calmed down enough for them to move over to the small sofa. John sat down and pulled Dean in to sit next to him. He smiled at the quiet hiss Dean let out when he sat down. He knew he'd spanked the kid a little harder than normal, but he also knew that Dean was a tough kid and that it wasn't any more than he deserved.

As they sat there, John thought about everything that had happened. He suddenly remembered something that Bobby had told him about that day in the park. "Dean? I know I said that once your punishment was done, it would all be over, but I need to say one more thing, okay?"

Dean shifted nervously in his seat, obviously wondering if he was about to get in trouble for something else. John nearly laughed at the look on the boy's face, knowing exactly what he was thinking.

"You're not in any more trouble, son. I just wanted you to know that I'm proud of you. Bobby told me everything he'd learned from the police about that day in the park. He told me that there were witnesses that told the cops how you protected your brother when the shooting was happening. They said that you threw your body across Sammy's and stayed that way long after the shooting had stopped." John pulled Dean into his side and kissed the top of his head. "You're a great big brother, Dean. Sam is damn lucky to have you watching out for him."

Dean looked like he couldn't quite believe the words that were coming out of his dad's mouth.

"I mean it, son. You're the best big brother any kid could ever have. And the best son any father could ever wish for. I just want you to know that."


Author's note: Once again, I apologize for the long wait for this chapter. No excuses. Just my humble apologies.

I'm thinking that we've come to the end of this little (not so little) story and I have to admit that I'm a little sad. I started this story in December of 2017, so it's been a true labor of love for over two years. I've been blown away by the response to it and I sincerely want to say thanks to everyone who has taken the time to read, review, follow, or favorite the story. You guys are all so awesome and amazing and I truly appreciate each and every one of you.

With all of that being said, I will be doing at least one more chapter, just to tie everything up. I'll try my best not to make you wait too long for that.