Dean Winchester never pictures himself as a father. He was raised as a hunter and planned to continue hunting until the day he died. So, when he learned he was going to be a father he was scared, but excited. And when the boys mother died during childbirth, he knew he couldn't raise his son the way he was raised, he wanted the boy to have a normal childhood; at least as normal a childhood as you could have being a Winchester. When his brother Sam became a father less than a year later, the two brothers decided to raise their boys together and made hunting secondary to fatherhood. Most of the time he couldn't be happier staying home with his boys, but sometimes those boys could make him wish he were out hunting some ferocious monster.

THUMP!

Like right now.

"Stop fuckface! That's mine!" He heard his son yell from their shared bedroom.

"Keep it on your side of the room, you pig!" His nephew replied.

Dean secretly knew this was payback for all the trouble he and Sam had put their father through as teenagers. He decided to try to let the boys work this one out for themselves.

"OW STOP!"

"YOU STOP!"

Dean put his head in his hands. These boys were gonna be the death of him.

When he heard a crash like breaking glass, he decided it was time to intervene. He marched to their bedroom and threw the door open. He saw his nephew with a bloody arm and his son trying to wrap the wound in a clean towel. At least they knew when it was time to knock off the fighting.

"What's going on in here?" Dean asked as he glanced around and noticed the broken window.

"Uh, the window broke." Johnny shrugged.

"It just broke, huh?"

"HE pushed me into it!" Caden snapped.

"It's not my fault you're as clumsy as a turtle playing the piano."

Dean gave his son a confused look. "What's with the fighting?"

"He's a pig Uncle Dean! His crap is all over the room, he can't even manage to get his dirty clothes into the hamper!"

"It's not my fault you have a stick up your ass! Five men live in this house and you expect pristine cleanliness."

Dean held up his hand. "Okay, enough! Caden, come with me so I can check out that arm. Johnny, clean up this glass and then this mess." He started to leave the room with his nephew in tow.

"Dad! That's not fair! Why do I have to clean it alone?"

Dean looked back. "Because I said so!"

Oh god. Now he was really starting to sound like his father.

Dean and Caden walked into the kitchen where John was just coming in from working on the yard.

"What happened here?" John asked.

"Apparently he had a fight with a window." Dean sniggered. "The window won."

"Johnny pushed me into it." Caden answered with a sneer.

"You two were fighting again? What now?" John asked.

"Johnny's a pig."

"Oh, so the usual. Well, you two are gonna be fixing that window."

"Yes, sir."

Dean took the towel off of Caden's arm and examined the wound.

"Yeesh. That's gonna need a few stiches."

Dean heard a thump and a yell coming from his son's room.

"Dad, can you do this for me please?" Dean asked John. "I need to go check on… whatever that was."

"Shit!" Dean heard as he rounded the corner to his son's bedroom.

"What's going on in here, son?"

Dean saw Johnny wrapping a bloody finger in a band-aid.

"I just slipped and nicked my finger, it's fine. But I can't find all the glass pieces with all this crap on the floor."

"Well, maybe you shouldn't have all your crap on the floor then."

"Thanks, dad. That's super helpful."

"Alright, relax. Wrap up your finger then go into the shed and get a pair of gloves so you don't poke yourself again, okay? And while you're at it, lose the attitude, son."

"Is Caden gonna help me?"

"No. You made this mess; you clean it up. Caden is coming with me to the hardware store to get a new windowpane and then you two are going to fix this window… without fighting."

Johnny seethed. "Yes, sir."

Dean went back into the kitchen to check on his nephew. John was just finishing up the last stitch.

"How is it?"

"Well, he'll live." John replied.

"Great. Caden, c'mon. You're coming with me to pick up a new windowpane."

"Yes, sir."

On the way out Dean spotted a pair of gloves on the hall table and brought them to his son.

"Here, save ya a trip. Get this all picked up and we'll be back soon."

"Whatever." Dean heard Johnny say as he left the room. Man, that kid could really pack in the attitude.

When Johnny heard his dad's car pull out of the driveway he decided to take a break to sit on his bed and feel sorry for himself. Why was he always the one to get in trouble? They were both fighting, but he was the one stuck cleaning up the mess. When he got back up again, Johnny gave the wall three swift kicks in anger.

"What the hell are you doing, boy?"

Johnny jumped. "Geez, Grandpa, I didn't know you were here. Ever heard of knocking?"

"Excuse me? I don't need to knock when you're in here kicking walls. And the door was open, genius."

"Whatever. Just leave me alone."

"Where's this attitude coming from, son?"

Johnny turned and kicked the wall again. "I said leave me ALONE."

In two quick steps John was over at his grandson's side, turned him around and landed five quick swats.

"You done kicking the wall now, boy?"

"Yes, sir." Johnny squeaked.

"Good." John released his grip on the boy. "Now, what's your problem?"

"I just don't get why I have to clean this all up myself and Caden gets off scot free."

"He's not off scot free. I just put six stitches in the kids arm, and as soon as he gets back he's helping you fix the window. You're cleaning up the glass because you pushed him into it, is that right?" John growled.

Johnny pouted. "Yes, sir."

"Okay, so you do get it. You're just not happy about it. Well, I've got a newsflash for you, son. Cleaning up after your own messes, that's called responsibility, and you better get used to it. Now, clean up your shit, clean up the glass, and then you're gonna clean the scuff marks off the wall, and you're gonna do it all before your father gets back. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir."

Apparently satisfied, John left his grandson to take care of his responsibilities.

When Dean and Caden got back from the hardware store Dean was pleased to see that Johnny has obeyed and cleaned up the bedroom.

"Dad, I don't know how to fix this!" Johnny complained.

"Well, lucky for you we have these things called books that you read and learn how to d things!" Dean replied sarcastically.

"I know what a book is dad." Johnny sneared.

"Oh, well your grades from school beg to differ. The first thing you need to do is remove the rest of the broken glass from the frame; and use the gloves. I'll find the book you need."

Dean headed towards the study leaving the two boys to begin their project. After looking through many shelves of books he finally found what he was looking for and brought it to the boys. When he walked in their room he saw both boys sprawled out on their bed.

"What the hell are you doing? I told you to get the glass out of the window."

"We did!" said Caden.

Dean walked over to the now practically bare window. "Well, you did a terrible job. There are still little glass pieces in here. If you're gonna do a job you need to do it right, we don't half-ass work around here. You can't put the new glass in until the old glass is completely gone." He tossed the book to Johnny on his bed. "Finish this, read the book, tools and equipment are in the shed. Now get going! If I come back in here and you aren't working you're gonna be sorry."

"Yes, sir." Came the unison replies.

Dean had had enough of their fighting and disobedience for one day and it was only, he checked his watch, 2pm. It was gonna be a long day. He went into the kitchen to get the vegetables cut up for dinner. There was something soothing to him about cutting food up for a meal, he couldn't explain it. Maybe it was just the use of the knife, he didn't get to hunt too often anymore, and though he practiced with his weapons regularly to keep sharp, there was something so satisfying about using your knife on something with flesh.

He could hear the boys bickering from the bedroom while he chopped, but at least they were working while they bickered. Having finished his dinner prep Dean decided to head out to the garden to tend to his plants, and just get some fresh air. The fresh Kansas air always felt so welcoming in the spring. The smell of plants beginning to bloom, the sound of new life as baby animals are born in and around the pasture, and the cool breeze of the warming wind were like medicine to him. On his way to the garden, he wandered around the pasture and just took it all in. Being out in nature, in the quiet, made him think of simpler times. Living on the road, hunting with his brother and dad, not a care in the world. He loved his boys so much, so much it hurt sometimes, but kids can make life so complicated and hectic, so he was thankful for these peaceful moments he found to take time to reflect.

After a few more minutes of just breathing in the air he made to the garden and tended his crop before heading back inside to check on the boys. Immediately when he walked in the door he heard it.

"STOP! You're doing it wrong! Let me do it!" He heard his son yell.

"I'm the one who read the book, I know what I'm doing! STOP!" He heard his nephew reply.

He put his head in his hands. Nothing was ever easy with these boys. As he headed toward the bedroom, he heard it, glass breaking. His heart sank. They didn't.

"Fuck!" came his sons voice as he rounded the corner from the hallway.

He entered the room and saw the new windowpane shattered on the ground. Both boys were standing over it looking terrified.

"What the hell happened?" Dean tried not to yell but his volume definitely wasn't quiet.

"He did it!" "He wouldn't let go!" "I knew what to do!" "He wouldn't let me!"

Both boys were just yelling over each other and Dean couldn't make sense of anything. He had had enough, this fighting was going to stop.

"ENOUGH!" This time he was yelling. "Johnny, over the bed. NOW!"

Johnny reluctantly bent over the bed as Dean pulled his belt from its loops. He stood behind his son and folded the belt in half. "I have had it with your fighting! Not to mention the two broken windows and mess of broken glass! You're getting 14."

He didn't give Johnny a chance to reply before he brought the belt down hard. A loud yell instantly escaped Johnny's lips as he tried to not reach back and cover his ass, he knew that would earn him more licks. WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! WHACK! He brought the belt down hard and fast and Johnny could barely catch his breath in between lashes. When it was over Johnny lay crying over his bed. Dean turned to Caden.

"Over your bed Caden, you're getting 13."

Having just witnessed Johnny's thrashing, Caden was already tearing up as he bent over the bed. Dean again went in hard and fast. Caden's yells reverberated through the room as the thick, heavy belt fell on his sore ass again and again.

"Please!" Caden started to beg after the fifth lash, but the pain was so strong that he couldn't get out more than that. When it was done Caden was a mirrored image of his cousin, he lay limp over the bed, sobbing.

Dean threaded his belt back through the loops.

"Alright boys. Collect yourselves, then get up and clean this mess up! I hope you don't mind a chill because apparently you're sleeping without a window tonight, we'll pick up a new one tomorrow, and you two are paying for it."

"Yes, sir." Both boys replied weakly.

"I'm going to finish dinner, it'll be ready around 6. If I hear one more word of fighting, I'm coming back in and we're going for round two. Is that clear?"

"Yes, sir." The boys replied as they finally started getting up from their beds.

Dean gave them a nod, then turned and headed back into the kitchen. He got the stove warmed up and started throwing in the ingredients for his famous pasta sauce. He didn't like being so hard on his boys, but he knew they needed to learn the values of hard work and responsibility. His dad had taught him and Sam the same way, and they turned out ok. Teenage boys were hard work, but he knew he was up for the challenge, because he'd been taught by the best. At that thought, he turned as he heard a truck pull into the drive, it was Sam. He knew the boys were in for more discipline when Sam found out what went on that day, but with Sam it was more likely to be extra chores and a firm talking to. He and Sam were a good team because their differences complimented each other, just like their boys. Dean smiled. They were going to be fine.

THE END