Disclaimer: The characters of Supernatural do not belong to me.

A/N: It's been a while, guys. How is everyone?

I have been fighting a hellatious cold and ear infection for the last couple weeks. It's seriously put a damper in my enjoyment of, well…anything. I have been working on this story, though, and couldn't quite get it like I wanted it until tonight.

Let me explain the concept behind this story, because I think it could be a bit confusing. I was reading quite a few stories where Sam and John get into arguments about how school isn't as important as hunting. I wondered if they would have that kind of fight living an "apple pie" type of life.

And this story was born.

It's an AU where Mary is alive. Sam is twelve and a gifted student. Dean is seventeen (yes, I know the boys are four years apart, but they are four years and four MONTHS apart, so there are four months of the year where their ages are five years different). Dean and his girlfriend have a child, and everyone lives in the Winchester home. Sam feels that, to his parents, how well he does in school or what he wants for his life isn't as important as taking care of Dean and helping Dean and his girlfriend get on their feet.

Warning-Sam may come across as a brat in this first chapter. He's supposed to. He's twelve and reacts to things in a very preteenish way. But this is not the end of this story. I'm thinking there will be at least three chapters to it, maybe five, and I'm hoping they'll all be as fleshed out as this chapter is. That takes time, so please be patient with me.

Anyways, hope everyone is well and I hope to update soon.

Sam's focus was entirely on the project in front of him.

The planets were all in the right position around the sun. The little slips of paper which Sam had marked with numbers corresponding to the poster that would be sitting behind him were all in place. He had checked and double checked and triple checked all the information, and everything seemed to be perfect. The project was a great mix of research and creativity, just like his science teacher had asked for. Sam was certain he'd win the science fair the next day.

Anyone who won the science fair won the chance at a scholarship to the gifted high school in town. Anyone who attended that high school had a much better chance of earning a scholarship to an Ivy League school.

Yes, even though he was only twelve, Sam already had his eye on college.

As long as he could remember, Sam had wanted to do something great. He wanted to be able to do something that would get him noticed, something that would make him great. What exactly that was, he didn't know right then, but he knew that he had to go to a great school in order to achieve it.

Sam put the finishing touches on his project and stepped back to look at it. Finally, after two weeks of constant work on it, he was satisfied. It was done. There was nothing else he could add or take away from it to make it better. Sam knew he had to move the project to the kitchen table, but first things first, he had to go to the bathroom.

What could happen in two minutes, Sam thought?

As Sam passed the kitchen on his way to the bathroom, he heard his mother babbling to the baby. Again. Since he was by himself, Sam simply rolled his eyes and went to the bathroom. Gracie was the newest addition to the Winchester family, the daughter of Sam's older brother Dean and Dean's soon to be wife Michelle. While Michelle was nice enough to Sam, Sam couldn't help but wonder sometimes if his mother cared more for Michelle and Gracie than she did for her two boys.

As he washed his hands and came out, he checked to make sure that the dinner table was empty and that he had plenty of room to put his project there. To keep it safe.

What he found in the living room when he came back caused Sam to freeze.

Two of the planets from his model were now on the floor in pieces. Little hands had a third in her mouth, sucking on it as if to taste it, before throwing it on the floor in front of her and reaching for another planet. When she spotted Sam standing in the doorway, Gracie simply smiled and babbled.

Sam made no conscious decision to yell. He simply did. He ran to the coffee table, snatching the ruined planet models off the floor and moving them out of Gracie's reach. The newly nine-month-old scrunched her face and let out a wail, bringing her grandmother running to her rescue.

"What in the world is going on?"

A livid Sam turned to his mother. "She ruined my science project!"

"Sam, whatever happened, you need to stop yelling. She's just a baby."

"I worked on this for weeks, Mom!"

"SAMUEL!"

Another booming voice joined the three of them. John had come inside from mowing the lawn. Due to an abnormal Kansas heat wave, John had taken to mowing the lawn after dinner once a week. It was cooler, easier to finish the job, and it was easier to sleep that night because it tired him out. John wiped his forehead and scowled.

"I could hear you all the way on the other side of the lawn. What are you screeching about?"

"Dad, she ruined my science project. Look."

John looked down and saw all the pieces of Sam's ruined project scattered on the floor. Though he understood Sam's frustration, he didn't like Sam's attitude towards Gracie. John had hoped that Sam would grow to be close to Gracie, that he would grow past the animosity he had towards her. Dean, who loved his little brother more than anything or anyone else, felt guilty about turning Sam's life upside down, making John grateful that Dean was out of the house at the moment.

"Sam, I get it. But she's a baby. You need to calm down."

A frustrated Sam let out a groan, shook his head, and turned around to start picking up the wrecked pieces of his project. He should've known better than to think that his parents would actually help him with this.

"What was that, Sam?"

Crap, Sam thought. I didn't mean to say that out loud. "Nothing, Dad."

"No, Sam. I want to know what you just said."

"John…" Mary said, exasperated. "Just let it go."

"No, Mary. I'm sick of letting his attitude lately go. We never let Dean get away with it, I won't do it for him."

It was in that moment that something inside of Sam snapped. He felt it. His heart seemed to snap like a twig inside him. His rage, which had slowly been building since Michelle had moved in with them, started to bubble.

"You won't let my attitude go? Really? That's your biggest problem with me?"

A stunned John stood staring at Sam, mouth gaped open.

"I have done nothing but be a good kid ever since Dean told you about Gracie. No, I'm not crazy about her. Her or Michelle for that matter. Because ever since the two of them got here, they're your top priority."

"Sammy, that's not true, baby…"

"Really, Mom?" Sam turned with equal viciousness towards his mother. "Dean got a girl pregnant. At sixteen. You and Dad didn't so much as yell at him. But I get upset because my work here's ruined? Nope, sorry Sam, that can't happen."

"Sam, you can be upset, but you can't scream at the baby…"

Sam shook his head again. "You'll never understand."

"Sam, we've talked about this. You have to put your things away so Gracie can't get to them." John said, in a voice that Sam could tell was trying to pass for patient but wasn't quite there.

"That's not the point."

"Enough, Sam. Go to your room." John said.

In disbelief, Sam pointed to the mess on the floor. "I have to pick up the mess that she made."

"Go, Sam. Now. You need a time-out."

"I'M ALMOST THIRTEEN!"

"And shouting at me and your mother. Keep it up and you won't like where this goes." John said gruffly. He pointed at the stairs, his face offering no room for argument. "You've got to the count of ten."

"Don't bother."

Sam threw down the ruined remains of Mercury and Mars he had in his hands and rushed to his room. He tried to stop the flow of steady tears leaking out but it was impossible. He found the flyer for the science fair on top of his desk. He'd taped it there when his teacher told him about it nearly half a year earlier. Sam had spent months wondering what he should do, what project he should create to impress the judges who would help propel the course he'd wanted to take for as long as he could remember. When he figured out what his project would be, he set to work, filling his spare time with work on his creation. He dreamed of the day when what he made would be displayed in front of the judges, basking in the recognition he would undoubtedly get.

And now all that meant nothing.

Back in the living room, John and Mary were silent. Mary still held a squirming Gracie, who held her arms out for her grandfather to take her. John obliged, offering Gracie a half smile as he looked around at the mess on the floor. John didn't blame Sam for being upset. He'd watched Sam work hard on this project for the last few weeks, and he knew that Sam had his heart set on the ultimate prize-a scholarship to the gifted private school across town. John had wanted to warn Sam not to get his hopes up, but he didn't have it in him. He'd offered to help Sam when he needed it, but Sam seemed to have his own vision for his creation and graciously turned down his father's offer.

"I feel terrible about this." Mary said, breaking the thick silence.

"Why do you feel bad?" John asked.

Mary sighed, the dish towel she'd had in the kitchen still in her hand. She threw it over the shoulder where Gracie wasn't, and the baby instantly wanted to grab it. Mary handed Gracie over to her grandfather, who gave her a half smile and kissed her cheek.

"I took Gracie off her high chair and set her down to clean the counter. I turned around for a few seconds and when I looked down she was gone."

"That's not your fault. You've said it yourself before, babies are like bars of soap. They're slippery."

"Yeah but she was my responsibility." Mary said.

"It's not your fault. Even if it was, Sam was way overreacting to this. He's got to learn to treat everyone in this family with respect."

"John, he's twelve…"

"And we have to teach him that when he's mad he can't scream like that." John explained. He sighed and turned back to the project, still lying in pieces on the table. "Do you want to go talk to him together?"

Just then, the front door opened, and before it was shut, Gracie was bouncing on John's hip. Dean kicked his shoes off at the door and smiled, reaching out for the excited infant who offered her father a gummy smile with her fist firmly in her mouth.

"Hey, my girl. How was your day?"

Mary marveled at Dean as he took Gracie and cuddled her to him. Just nine months earlier, Dean had been terrified to be a father so young. Mary and John had been terrified too, but both had decided to hide it from Dean in favor of helping him get a decent start in his and Michelle's new life as parents. Before Gracie's birth, with his parent's blessing, Dean had studied for and gotten his GED, so he could work full time and contribute more financially to Gracie's upbringing. Michelle had done the same, and she was due home from work an hour after Dean that night.

Mary could see it, and she knew John could too. Dean and Michelle's life would have been much easier had they not gotten pregnant at sixteen, but the two of them had taken their responsibilities seriously. She and John had no problem helping them, including giving them a place to live, as long as they both did their job as Gracie's mom and dad. Just as Gracie giggled at Dean blowing raspberries on her cheek, Mary felt a twinge of guilt at the voice she heard in the back of her mind.

You and John are supposed to be Sammy's mom and dad too.

As if reading his mother's mind, Dean looked around. "What happened? Where's Sammy?"

The pride Mary had been feeling just a moment earlier was deflated like a needle puncturing a balloon. "Gracie thought his science project was a toy and he…"

"He yelled at her so loudly I could hear him outside with the lawn mower running." John interrupted.

"Oh." Dean frowned. He knew Sam wasn't crazy about Gracie, and it had caused his and Sam's once close relationship to fracture in the months since. "He didn't hurt her, did he?"

"No." Mary assured him. "But he's pretty upset."

Dean sighed deeply. "Let me get cleaned up a little bit and I'll go apologize to him. Mom, do you mind putting Gracie to bed and I'll help Sam fix his project?"

"No." John said immediately. "I've got another idea."

In his room, Sam was beginning to calm down. A little bit. A very little bit. He considered grabbing the phone in his parent's room and calling his uncle to vent to him about how unfairly his parents were treating him. Sam kept an eye on the clock on his wall. Time was getting away from him. He needed time to fix his project, and he needed to be up early in the morning in order to get to school on time. The participants of the science fair had to be registered inside by nine am, so that they could get their exhibits set up by the ten am start time. He had thought that his mother would be there to drive him to school and help him get set up, maybe help him with the stage fright he was struggling with as the mere thought of explaining his project to strangers terrified him, but clearly that wasn't going to happen now.

Sam knew he'd overreacted. Yes, Gracie had destroyed a few of his planets, but the planets weren't that hard to fix. They were Styrofoam balls with paint. She hadn't messed up the metal sticks that held the planets in place, so all Sam really needed to do was repaint the planets and stick them back on. If he wasn't interrupted, he could probably fix it in an hour, thirty minutes if he had help.

Help. Sam scoffed. Help him? When Dean and Michelle and precious Gracie needed help all the time? No chance.

Sam shook his head and took deep breaths, trying to calm himself some more. His parents weren't that bad, especially when compared to some of his friend's parents. They were quite reasonable, willing to listen and work with him when he was upset, but he had to always speak calmly and respectfully. It was hard for him sometimes, and in the family's most stressful moments, Sam thought it slightly hypocritical. Both his parents and even his brother had yelled at him in the past when they were upset. He does the same thing, and he gets sent to his room and punished for it?

Stop it, Sam thought. Going back over things that had happened in the past wouldn't help him now. He knew he needed to apologize, not just to his mom and dad, but to baby Gracie too. Despite his mixed feelings about her, he didn't want her growing up thinking that yelling was the way to get what she wanted.

Sam took his final deep breath, making up his mind. He would go out into the living room, apologize for his outburst, and ask with a sugary sweet voice for one or both of his parents to help him fix his project. Yeah. That would work, he decided. He could try to discuss his issues with them at another time. Sam walked out of his room and headed towards the living room, where he could hear his family engaged in a rather heated discussion. There was also a new voice in the room. Dean had come home. When Sam got closer to the living room, he overheard snippets of what they were saying.

"John, I don't think…"

"Dad, I don't want him to hate me more than he already does…"

Sam felt a renewed sense of guilt. Dean thought Sam hated him? Sure, he was aggravated at all the favoritism and attention his brother seemed to get from his parents, but he didn't hate Dean. He actually thought Dean was one of the best men he knew. He was only a kid, but was doing his best to take care of not only his own kid, but the person he declared he wanted to spend the rest of his life with.

"Sam. What are you doing out of your room?"

Startled, Sam jumped. His father had spotted him in the hallway. "Um, I wanted to talk."

"I told you to stay in your room. Go back Sam."

"But dad…"

"Go back Sam. Now."

Sam turned, angry and disappointed all at the same time. Again, his efforts to do better were being rejected. He waited in his room for a few more minutes, until his mother and father showed up at his door.

"Sam, we need to talk."

"Look, mom, dad, I know I blew up out there. I'm sorry…"

"We'll talk about that later, Sam." John said.

"Sam, we think you should spend a little more time with all of us." Mary said. "Especially Gracie and Michelle."

"Okay. I can do that."

"We know you can. That's why all of us are going to the lake tomorrow. Including you."

Sam's heart dropped. "What?"

"I know that the science fair was important to you, Sam. I get that. But I think school's getting to be more important to you than family." John said.

"That's not true…" Sam started.

"Enough, Sam. There's no discussing this. You have two options. You can go to the lake with us tomorrow and hopefully have a good time, or we'll all stay here and you can spend the day in your room."

A devastated Sam looked to his mother, fighting back tears. "Mom…"

Mary was a bit more sympathetic, but she was just as firm as John. "I'm sorry, Sam. Your father's right. You're not going to the science fair tomorrow."

Trying to hide how hurt he was, Sam pushed through the painful lump in his throat and turned away from his parents. He quickly wiped his eyes, praying they wouldn't notice, and found his flyer that was sitting on his bed. He ripped it up and threw it in the trashcan next to his desk.

"Fine. I'll stay in my room."

"Sammy…" Mary said, unable to hide the regret in her voice.

"You've been cheering Dean on for the last year. Everything he's done is great and awesome and he's trying so hard to be the big responsible parent. I just thought maybe you'd want to cheer me on for once too."

Sam didn't miss his mother's flinch nor the flicker of guilt in his father's eye. Neither of them said anything, just turned and left Sam's room. John closed the door behind him, and Sam let the tears flow freely. His feelings from earlier felt reinforced. Dean and Dean's new family would always matter more to his parents than anything that was important to Sam. No matter what he did, it would never measure up to Dean and his efforts to care for his future wife and child.

Isn't that what Dean was supposed to do anyway?

His parents wanted him to see that family was the most important thing in the world. But wasn't Sam part of that family that they so desperately wanted him to love being a part of? Didn't what was going on in his life matter too?

Apparently not.

As the time passed and the clock on the wall ticked by, Sam's decision was made. He'd wait for his parents and everyone else to go to sleep. He'd stay up all night if he had to.

But no matter what his parents said, he was going to that science fair the next day.