Sorry for the long wait since the last chapter. It has been an extraordinarily busy week at work - I'm definitively looking forward to the weekend and some vacation time next week! Just a note from me to my readers - I know that this story has slowed down a lot. It is set over 6 days (Wednesday when Sam was arrested to where I end the story on Monday.) As a result of this timeline, we spend a lot of time at the MacCallum Family reunion and getting to know this large extended family. I try to keep the focus on Sam and Dean, their relationship and emotions as much as possible, but I appreciate the last few chapters have been fairly fluffy. Don't worry there is more angst to come. As always, special thanks to my reviewers SilentDragon02, Kathy, OldGirl_NoraArlani, shadowhuntingdauntlessdemigod, and sjwmaw whose lovely review seems to have disappeared. Hope it wasn't something I said!
"And 'den I poured the water and it made a spoosh" Jonathan demonstrated by waving his hands and making sound effects more suited to an explosion than the creation of a sand castle moat. Sam didn't care, watching Johnny's eyes sparkle. The glee in his little face was enthralling. He could gladly spend the rest of the afternoon with his son tucked up beside him nattering away. Fleetingly he wondered how he could love this little guy so much, so suddenly. It was almost overwhelming, it made his chest ache in a good way and warmed him to his very core.
"Are you listening to me?," Jonathan asked, scowling adorably with his head tilted to one side and a little fist on his hip. Sam nodded at his son but heard a familiar chuckle behind him. Glancing up he saw Dean leaning against the post nearby.
"You used to ask me that about 3 million times a day." Dean's smile hid a touch of sadness and Sam swore to himself that he'd find a way to share this wonderful new experience with his brother. Dean crouched down to get closer to Johnny's level. "You should ask Sam about Bumper." The little guy looked puzzled and tugged on Sam's shirt.
"Whose dat?" Sam had a visceral memory of a beloved stuffed dog that he'd had as a little boy. Bobby had given him the floppy stuffy at some point, and he vaguely remembered carrying it around for years, until it got left behind in some motel. He hadn't thought about the toy for ages. He was about to explain to Jonathan when they were loudly interrupted.
"Ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls!" Colin's voice was amplified by the megaphone into a booming squawk that brought all other conversation to a halt. Judging by the looks on the faces around him, Sam figured this was something of a tradition. The children were excited, but some of the adults were rolling their eyes, albeit good naturedly. Declan was standing next to his brother on the lawn with a large box and a clipboard.
"It's time for the 7th annual MacCallum Family Olympics!" There were a lot of cheers and a few groans from the group on the porch. Looking down, Sam could see the enthusiasm on Jonathan's face. Colin continued with an exaggerated flourish.
"When I call your name, please come get your team colours. Then you'll have a few minutes to finish your drinks, slather on some more sunscreen or what have you. The games proper will start in 15 minutes in the area behind the barn."
Apparently there were five teams represented with different coloured bandannas; red, blue, green, yellow and purple. Declan handed out the fabric squares from the box as Colin called each name and Sam was amused by the groaning from some of the adults as they went to collect their kerchief. He was surprised when he heard his own name called.
"Okay, Sam...where's Sam?," Colin called. Sam reluctantly got to his feet and went out onto the lawn.
"Didn't think you were getting out of this one did you?" Declan asked with a grin as he handed him a blue bandanna. "Don't worry, we rigged it so that Jonathan is on your team," he whispered, emphasizing his words with a wink. Sam stuffed the square of cloth into a pocket and returned to the stairs. He was curious what they meant by "olympics" but figured time spent with his son was worth whatever embarrassment was forthcoming.
As he retook his seat he heard Colin call Dean's name. Honestly, it made him happy to think that the family had gone out of their way to include them both considering he and Dean had only been invited at the last minute. His brother looked surprised but as enthusiastic as his nephew. Dean thrived with a little competition, always had. It was one of the things that made him so good at poker and pool. Of course it wouldn't do for him to be too competitive, they were guests here. As Dean walked by him to pick up his own bandana Sam stopped him.
"Hey, take it easy, okay?"
"Who me?," Dean asked with a faked look of offense. "You just better hope I go easy on you, kiddo," he said with a not so subtle nudge as he pushed past. There was a twinkle in Dean's eye that made Sam breathe a bit easier. Maybe some wholesome family fun was just what they both needed right now. Dean was assigned to the purple team and a few minutes later Jonathan went to go get his blue bandanna.
"Look, I'm on your team," the little guy shouted as he ran back to where Sam was sitting. Fiona appeared and held out her hand to Johnny.
"That will be fun, huh Bug? But right now, let's go find your hat, okay. We'll see Sam in a few minutes." Over their son's head, Fiona gave him a serious look. "Look out for him, please?" Sam nodded.
"Of course." After a moment, she took him at his word and with a hand on the back of Jonathan's head, ushered him into the house. Sam could only watch as they left, slightly hurt that she assumed that he would do anything less, but Dean slapped his arm before he could let it bother him too much.
"C'mon, let's go see what they have set up."
xxxxxxx
There were a number of stations set up across the wide expanse of grass. Some in the shadow of the barn, where the temperature was a bit cooler, and some out in the sun. At one spot, Aunt Kathy was sitting in a lawn chair under an umbrella. She had a makeshift "Start" sign next to her and a bucket full of colorful balloons filled with water at her feet. Sam tied his blue bandanna around his head karate style, and went to join his group. Each team consisted of four adults and three kids. Sam's blue team was made up of Jonathan, Logan and Glen and the adults were Maureen, Matt, and Brian. The sheriff was out of uniform, his kerchief was tied onto a belt loop of his shorts but he still carried an air of authority about him that made Sam a little uncomfortable. Standing next to the law man, he tried to stay relaxed as he watched the other groups gather, tying on bandannas and chatting excitedly.
"So, how are you doing?," the sheriff asked. The last person Sam expected small talk from was Brian, but he answered the question.
"Uh, okay, I guess." Sam rubbed his hands on his thighs. "This seems like a pretty big deal," he said, gesturing towards the teams and Declan and Colin who were moving between them, clipboards in hand.
"Yeah, Colin and Declan spend months organizing these games. When we all get together, we can be a little, uh overpowering." Brian sounded hesitant, and Sam wasn't sure how to respond. Finally he decided to take the gesture as an olive branch.
"A little, but everyone has been so nice. And it's really been a lot of fun so far." Brian nodded, then jammed his hands in his pockets and concentrated on kicking at a small rock with his toe. Sam watched their sons as Glen helped Jonathan fold and tie his bandanna around his neck. Finally Brian cleared his throat softly, his voice pitched for Sam's ears only.
"Look, I just want you to know that I'm sorry about everything that happened." Even as the sheriff spoke, Sam realized he didn't need an apology. Brian was only trying to protect his sister. The truth was out now, and Sam just wanted to move on, so he interrupted before Brian could continue.
"No, no I get it. It's your family. I understand. I'd do anything for Dean, and if anyone hurt him, well…." He didn't finish. People had hurt Dean, in many different ways and too many times to count. Including Sam himself. But, he'd always done his level best to make them pay. How could he judge Brian when he'd done so much worse to avenge Dean? The two men lapsed into silence, but Sam could feel a new ease between him and the sheriff.
"How's Deputy Shaw?," Sam thought to ask.
"Better. He's stable for now and last night when I spoke with his wife, he was having some tests. He'll have to have bypass surgery but…," Brian met Sam's eyes, "It looks like he'll pull through, and that's thanks to you." It was Sam's turn to stare at his feet. Brian touched his arm and Sam looked up again. "Seriously Sam. Thank you." There was a deep sincerity in the sheriff's voice, so even though he felt like he hadn't done anything to deserve the thanks, Sam nodded.
"Of course. I'm just glad he's going to be okay." Breaking up the moment, Jonathan tugged on Sam's pant leg.
"Up please" the little guy asked, arms wide. Sam picked up his son carefully and swung him onto his shoulders. Maureen smiled at him as she tied her own bandanna around her ponytail and Matt was on his knees talking with Logan. As he so often did, Sam sought out Dean who was with his purple team mates. Dean caught him looking and gave him an enormous grin, waggling his eyebrows. Sam had to laugh out loud at that. Sometimes it was hard to remember that his older brother, the lethal hunter, the Righteous Man who had been to Hell and Purgatory, the guy who so often carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, could still act like a big kid. After a few more minutes Colin called for everyone's attention and the games began.
Xxxxxxx
The MacCallum Family Olympics were really just a series of kid friendly games. They popped balloons by sitting on them, tossed water balloons across a series of increasing spaces, carried eggs in spoons, threw bean bags, and hula hooped. Sharing it all with Jonathan made everything seem special and Sam couldn't remember the last time he'd had so much simple fun. Maybe it had been when they had LARPed which was, - God, pushing three years ago now. Even then, he had been worried about Cas, and pissed at Dean for the stunt he'd pulled sending him to Amelia. It said something about their lives that having fun was such a rare commodity. Part of what made this time competing in goofy games so enjoyable was watching Dean get loose and relaxed.
The last game of the afternoon was a water relay. The objective was for each team to move water from one bucket to another across the grass playing field using nothing but a bunch of sponges. The cheers and jeers from everyone were loud in Sam's ears as he sprinted across the lawn towards his bucket. The Blue team was going to win, in part because Sam had big hands and a longer stride than anyone else. He squeezed the water into the blue bucket and tossed his sponge in the air in celebration. Matt and Brian slapped him on the back, Maureen hugged him, and the kids jumped up and down cheering.
Dean's Purple team was neck and neck with Yellow for second place. Fiona and Dean raced across the grass, trailing rivulets of water from their over-saturated sponges. Dean edged Fiona out, the water he had in his hands topped up the purple bucket to the required amount just seconds before Fiona. The purple team celebrated wildly with Sharron fist pumping in excitement.
"Yeah! Whooo hooo!" Dean whooped, high five-ing Dylan and Chloe and looking far too smug considering he had won second place in a kids game. Before Sam could poke a little fun at his brother, Fiona suddenly picked up the yellow bucket and heaved it at Dean, smacking him in the chest with a giant wave of water.
There was a fierce splash, and Dean went rigid, an almost comical look of surprise frozen on his face. There were droplets of water clinging to his lashes and hair, his t-shirt was plastered to him and it looked like he'd been swimming in his jeans. For a millisecond Dean looked down at his dripping torso then threw his head back and started laughing. He laughed so hard that he had to support himself on Sharron's shoulder. Sam couldn't help but laugh too. Seeing Dean let go and have a great time made him happy.
"Alright everyone, that's a wrap!" Colin had to use the megaphone to be heard over all the laughing and chatter. "Everyone go dry off, get cleaned up and we'll do the medal presentation after dinner." Slowly the crowd began to disperse. The kids were shooed back towards the barn and Dean strolled over toward Sam, water still dripping from his clothes.
"Dude, you'd be less wet if you took a shower," Sam sputtered while laughing at how ridiculous his brother looked. He had a few damp spots from the sponges, but compared to Dean he had been spared a soaking, the sun baking the moisture out of his clothes pretty quickly.
"Totally worth it," Dean said with a grin, ruffling his own soggy hair which made him look like a drenched hedgehog. He gave Sam an assessing look before spreading his arms wide. "You're looking a little dry there Sammy. C'mon give me a hug." Dean lunged at him, but Sam ducked, avoiding the wet embrace. If he giggled like a schoolgirl as Dean chased him around the lawn, well he'd chalk it up later to too much sun.