John lay in his bed. Once again he found himself unable to sleep. Too many thoughts were going through his mind. He was thinking about his sons, his job, and the real job that was being ignored for now too long.
He turned on his lamp and pulled out the new journal that he had started a while back. He flipped through the pages looking at all the new potential jobs he had found in the papers and on the Internet during the past several months. Jesus, he was looking at a list that had over twenty possible hunts. People were dying and he was here playing house with his boys.
It was funny because he had been the one to lease the house for six months, not the boys. He could still remember Dean's reaction the night he told them of the six-month lease. Dean had been appalled, insisting they would be ready to go after just a week. John didn't regret his decision to protect and spend time with his sons. It was needed at the time, but everyone was healthy and strong now.
He thought back on all the things they had done over the past few months and he realized that a part of him had really enjoyed living in a house with his boys, holding down a steady job, earning a legitimate income, and even having a few nights a week to do family activities. The truth was he was going to miss this place. For the first time in decades he felt at home, not like he was in a motel or in a transition place. It had taken twenty-two years but he had finally given his sons a home. Now he was making plans to take it all away again.
At least they had had these few months if nothing else. They had all reconnected and his relationships with Sam and Dean were stronger than ever. Or so he had thought.
Sammy's little party had caught him off guard. He was surprised that Sam didn't give him the head's up about it. If he had known Sam was going to do that he would have gotten Dean some small gift too. He had forgotten about Dean's birthday all together. He figured he knew why Sam had kept him in the dark, though. If he had known what Sam had been planning he probably would have told him to not waste the money that he spent on the cake and the balloons.
Dean had been so happy that someone had gone through that much trouble for him. Sam's gesture had truly touched his brother and Dean wouldn't be likely to forget what Sam had done for a long time to come.
Once more his eyes wandered down to the growing list of hunts in his hands. He needed to get out there and start taking care of some of this, hell all of it. As long as he had the job at the garage, though, he was stuck waiting for the weekend to hunt but none of these jobs were close enough to be done in a weekend. No, John needed the freedom to go cross-country and have unlimited time to focus on these hunts.
He opened the drawer to his nightstand and pulled out six new credit cards in various names. Then he pulled out nine new driver's licenses, three for each of them. He had even arranged for new insurance cards. He had been making these preparations for the last few weeks now as a growing sense of unease and restlessness had crept over him. It was time for the Winchesters to move on.
Sam didn't realize it but he had actually made the final arrangement necessary for John to get his family back on the road. John wasn't helping Dean to rebuild his car just for the sake of having a little fun. No, the car was the last detail that needed to be taken care of. As soon as it was finished John would be leaving.
He stood up and wandered into the kitchen. He grabbed himself a glass of milk and even cut off another piece of the chocolate birthday cake. It really had been good. He ate his midnight snack and thought about how the boys would take the news of their impending exit. Dean would be glad to leave. The boy didn't really know how to stay in one place for long. On the other hand, as he thought of the past few months he realized that wasn't really true. Dean had been fidgety for the first few weeks they had lived there but once he got his job he had fallen into a comfortable routine. Maybe Dean would be upset to leave. Only time would tell.
Sammy on the other hand, well the shit was really going to hit the fan when he found out. Sam loved living here. He loved having his family under one roof. He loved feeling safe. He even loved his boring job at the library. Sam was going to be royally pissed off to hear it was time to leave.
Part of John wondered if Sam would even threaten to stay behind, but he knew Sam wouldn't abandon Dean again. Today's little birthday surprise showed John just how important Dean was to Sam, which was good because he wouldn't hesitate to use Sam's love for his brother as a motivator to get him to go back on the road.
John put his dirty plate and glass in the sink and peered inside the boys' room. As expected both were sound asleep, but they looked different than they had the last time he had spied on them during the night.
Sam wasn't twisted wildly in his bedcovers. In fact they were draped over him perfectly as if he had yet to move all night. His youngest son's face was relaxed, free from the nightmares that had haunted him when they first arrived here. John wondered if the time off had been enough to cure Sam of the night terrors for good or if his youngest would begin to suffer from them once more when he was back on the road. He hoped for Sammy's sake they never came back but John suspected they would. Sammy was just too emotional…sensitive. His youngest just wasn't able to cope with the grueling mental aspect of the job the way Dean could. He figured it would only take a few hunts before Sam would once more be plagued with nightmares.
Next John looked at Dean. Even he looked different. For the first time that John could remember Dean didn't have a hand right next to his pillow. He was sure if he looked the knife would still be under the pillow but Dean wasn't ready to grab it on a second's notice. Instead both of his arms were down by his side and he looked to be in a deep sleep. At some point in the last few months Dean had finally put trust in the protection spells that covered the house and felt free enough to truly sleep without being on guard.
John didn't know whether he should be happy that his boys were really well rested and safe or worried if he had somehow softened them up and now made them vulnerable to future danger. Yes, it was definitely time to get his family back on the road and back in the routine of protecting themselves and others.
He carefully pulled the door too, hoping to see Dean open one eye and look at him, telling him that Dean really had been on guard the whole time, but his son's eyes never flickered. Dean had slept through John's visit to their room. What if John had been someone or something else? The symbols on the house would do nothing to stop a werewolf or vampire from waltzing right through the door and at the moment his sons were sitting ducks.
John actually found himself feeling a surge of anger. He had let his boys relax too long, making them potentially weak and open to attack. As soon as Dean's car was done they were out of here. It would be for their own good as well as for others who needed their help. He sons needed to face the cold reality of what was out there again. He headed back to his room, his mind running over the things that would need to be taken care of.
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Sam sighed as he woke up. It was Saturday. There was no reason to jump out of bed and start hurrying to cook breakfast or to get ready for work. The Winchesters had the day off and Sam was looking forward to spending about another hour just lounging in his bed.
Sam looked over and saw that Dean too was still in bed. Apparently he also figured there was no need to get up early this morning. He had just rolled over and snuggled down into a more comfortable position when suddenly their bedroom door burst open.
Sam and Dean both nearly fell out of the bed from the loud clash as the doorknob connected with the wall behind it. Instantly Dean had his knife out from under his pillow and he was poised to strike.
It wasn't a monster or demon that stood in the doorway. It was their father and he had a rather stern face.
"Come on you two lazy asses. Up and at 'em. I want us to be at the shooting range in thirty minutes!"
Before Sam or Dean could reply John had stepped away from the door and they were alone once more.
"What the hell was that?" Sam asked.
"I haven't a clue but we might as well get up," Dean replied.
Each took a five minute shower and when they came into the kitchen they found a breakfast of coffee and Cheerios waiting for them. John was in the living room with all the weapons laid out. There was a smell of burning metal in the air. It only took a glance to see that John had been making silver bullets. There were a lot of them in fact.
"Dad, how long have you been awake?" Dean asked.
"Several hours," John replied. "Eat up and let's go."
"What's the rush?" Sam asked.
"The rush is you two need some practice. You're both going soft. When was the last time you worked out or sparred? Last night I was able to sneak into your bedroom with neither of you any the wiser. I could have blown you both away or slit your throats and you would have slept through the whole thing. You two need to get back on your game or you're going to end up dead!"
"Dad, are you kidding me?" Sam gasped. "We haven't been sparring because we are all working from morning to night. We all have jobs and while I admit you and Dean clock more hours than I do I've been taking care of this place and doing all the cooking and laundry to help you two out. Then once all that is done we all go back to the garage and work on Dean's car. Then we come home well after dark and it's time for research and trying to find a hunt. You're mad at us simply because we slept in for an hour this morning?"
"I'm upset because last night something could have killed you two and you both would have been caught off guard."
"Dad, the house is safe. You are the one who told us that several times!"
"Sam, sit down, eat your breakfast and be ready to go in ten minutes!" John ordered. He then stormed through the living room and marched out the front door, slamming it behind him.
"What the hell!" Sam bitched. He looked to Dean to back him up on this one but Dean looked to be deep in thought. "You okay?" Sam asked.
"I can't believe Dad managed to sneak up on us like that," Dean muttered.
"What? Dean we were asleep."
"Doesn't matter," Dean replied. "I've been sleeping with one eye open for all my life. I can't believe last night I never even sensed that someone was in our room. That's not like me. I know better than that." Dean couldn't believe he had let himself be vulnerable like that. He couldn't believe he had allowed Sam to be in danger like that. Sure, nothing had happened, but what if it had?
"Don't tell me you think Dad's little temper tantrum is justified."
"Do I think we've been lazy? No. But, do I think maybe we aren't as sharp as we usually are, maybe. So he wants us to spar and do a little shooting. It's not a big deal. The practice would probably be a good thing."
"Still, he didn't have to talk to us like that," Sam complained.
"Sammy, he's Dad. Honestly bro, you need to get over it already. Just learn to roll your eyes and go with it."
"Yeah, maybe," Sam replied as he shoved a bite of cereal in his mouth. Still, for some reason Sam had a bad feeling. He felt like something was coming, he just didn't know what.
A/N: Now I wonder what bad thing Sam might be sensing is coming? Muha ha ha ha ha… :-