Timeline- This is a tag to Chapter 17. John's thoughts on Adam's expulsion from school. Adam is 13 years old and has been with the Winchesters for a little over a year. This would take place the fall before Sam ends up leaving for college.
John was glad that Adam was excited at the prospect of tagging along to witness interviews with him. To tell the truth he was relieved as well. He remembered all to clearly young Sam's reaction to the offer several years ago.
He was also grateful that Adam had momentarily forgotten his expulsion and the idea that it might prevent him from getting into medical school. John was well aware of Adam's desire to go to college and medical school to honor his mother's wishes that he become a doctor. Although he hadn't come right out and squashed the kid's dreams, he'd been trying for the past few months to subtly inform him that medical school was not in the cards.
"You don't have to go to medical school to help people, Adam," he'd said.
John didn't wanna burst the kid's bubble, not yet anyway. He'd learn medicine. He'd help people. But never in the way his 13-year-old mind was picturing now. If John had his way, Adam would spend the next few summers studying with Tom Helford, a former doctor who had been pulled into hunting when his family was killed by a Skinwalker.
John had met Tom several years ago and had liked the man right away. They'd bonded over loss and heartbreak and although Tom was more sensitive then he'd like, John figured that'd probably be good for Adam. The kid needed a soft touch. Growing up with only his mom, he seemed to struggle with the rough and gruff way the Winchester men related to each other.
Spending time learning from Dr. Helford, Adam could study medicine without having to waste nearly ten years on the process of medical school. The 'CliffsNotes' version of a medical degree wouldn't make him a perfect physician, but he'd be able to treat hunters and their strange types of injuries with precision and discretion, making him an unbelievable asset to the family. John knew enough about combat medicine to have taught all the boys the basics: how to set broken bones or stop a big bleed, but field medicine is more often about stabilizing a patient then actually treating them. It's one thing to be able to put in a few stitches with a penknife and dental floss, but to be able to safely and effectively treat an injury without having to go to a hospital and explain to civilians the werewolf claw marks in his chest? The thought made John giddy.
John would never disregard the importance of Kate's wishes for her son and Adam's own desire to fulfill her dream. He understood that becoming a doctor was one of the last parts of his mother that Adam held on to. In his mind, learning from Dr. Helford, Adam could fulfill his mother's wishes and still be part of the hunting world, safe under the eye of the other Winchesters.
Between the three boys, John could see that he had the opportunity to develop a near perfect hunting team. Dean was a born leader and a natural hunter. He had every bit of Mary's grace and physical prowess. The kid was also becoming a tactical genius, able to quickly spot the holes in a plan and create resourceful strategies in the heat of battle, without a second thought. Dean was a hell of a soldier, ready to work hard without question and ready to fight for the greater good.
And Sam? If Sam could get over his ridiculous desire for a "normal" life, he'd likely be the best hunter in the world. The boy had all the fire and intensity that John himself tried to keep bottled up inside, but he was smarter then his father could ever hope to be. John wasn't sure if Sam had a photographic memory, but the boy seemed to remember everything he'd ever read and was always able to call upon the knowledge at a moment's notice.
With Adam balancing out the hot and cold of his brothers, they would all stand stronger and fight better. Adam could bring the natural wisdom he had inherited from Kate as well as the revenge-fueled passion he had developed since her death. He was young, but John could see that Adam had the potential to become a force to be reckoned with just like his brothers.
They'd be the perfect team.
Even after his death, the boys could go on to fight the good fight and keep each other safe. It was all John could hope for and he was going to do everything in his power to make it happen.