Hey y'all! I'm back with another story.
This is going to be slightly different than my other fics. Instead of being a multi-chapter, it's going to be a series of one-shots all revolving around my four favorite boys. So, each chapter will be a different, standalone adventure.
A bit of a backstory for this series:
Joshua met Caleb shortly after Mac adopted the young psychic and the two same aged teens immediately forged a bond of brothers between them. For this reason, they are often with each other, with Joshua even bunking with Caleb at Mac's apartment when Esme has appointments or workshops concerning her career. Fast forward a few months later, the Winchester brothers came into their lives and the bond extended to include them. Therefore, the four considered each other brothers, even though only two were brothers by blood.
The story has certain characters borrowed from Ridley's and Tidia's brotherhood au.
Disclaimer: I don't own supernatural or any of its characters. Only the idea and plot of this story are of my own.
Spn
In this chapter: Sam: 1, Dean: 5, Caleb: 13, Joshua: 13
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"Josh! Seriously? How many times do we have to say this, your frigging smelly stuff stay on your side of the room and mine stay on my side." Caleb said, wrinkling his nose as he held up a sock on one end of a pencil.
Joshua rolled his eyes "You tell me a lot of things, Caleb, doesn't mean I listen. Besides, we both know that your side isn't any better."
"Fine, just don't tell Mac. He's already told us to clean up our room two times." Caleb said as he glanced out the room to ensure his father wasn't lurking in the hallway.
Joshua snorted "You don't think Mac will notice? The man can notice a needle in a haystack miles away."
Caleb rolled his eyes "Don't be such a drama queen Josh. Besides, if we close our door when we're not using the room, he wouldn't be able to notice. Right?"
"Wrong." A deep voice came from the doorway of the room.
The two teenagers froze then whipped around to find Mac leaning against the doorway with his arms crossed. There was a disapproving look on his face, but his eyes betrayed him as they twinkled with amusement.
"Dad… We were just about to," Caleb started then racked his brain for a continuation when Joshua saved him.
"Clean our room." He continued.
Mac smiled dryly "Yes I'm sure. And I'll be here in a few hours to make sure you do that. After all, little kids can seriously get sick or injured in the dump you call a room."
Caleb and Joshua scowled "We're not little kids." They snapped simultaneously.
"No, but Sammy and Dean are. Although Sammy's still a baby really." Mac added the last remark as an afterthought, and awaited the anticipated reaction from the teenagers.
"Wait, what are you saying?" Joshua asked.
"I don't know, what are you saying?" Mac answered innocently.
Caleb growled and reached out with his mind, growing impatient with his father's teasing, then his eyes widened.
"They're coming? Today?!" he asked disbelievingly.
"Not if you don't clean your room. Or actually, they will. I'll just lock you two here for the duration of their stay. Which might be a couple of months if I have anything to say about that." Mac said, setting his mind to fight tooth and nail to keep the Winchester brothers with him for as long as he can.
"Nonono that won't be necessary, we'll clean it up right away. Right Caleb?" Joshua nudged Caleb with his elbow.
The young psychic nodded "We'll even polish the windows and the floor if you want." He offered.
Mac chuckled "That won't be necessary, just make it clean and presentable. And keep any small objects from plain sights. Now that Sammy's walking he can get his hands on anything. Jim caught him trying to eat a Lego piece a couple of weeks ago."
The teenagers winced and were grateful that the pastor had caught Sam when he had or there could have been a very different outcome.
"They'll be here at around 9PM, that gives you five hours to clean. I think you'll benefit from all that time." Mac said then he turned and disappeared along the hall, smiling and shaking his head at the loud whoop and sound of a high five behind him as Caleb and Joshua expressed their excitement at Dean and Sam's visit.
O
Mac nearly dissolved in laughter at the sight of Caleb and Joshua barely sitting on the couch, jiggling their knees, glancing periodically at the clock then the door, instead of the game they were supposed to be watching.
The boys had miraculously cleaned their room in less than two hours, a feat Mac thought was impossible due to the amount of filth and dirty laundry that existed in the spacious room. But he never should have underestimated the willpower of two teenagers who were excited to see their little brothers after not seeing them for three weeks.
Caleb growled as he saw the clock pass 9:18 pm
"Where are they?"
No sooner had the words left his mouth did a knock on the door sound.
Caleb and Joshua jumped out of their seats and rushed towards the door only for Mac to grab them from the back of their collars and drag them back.
"Remember that it's their bedtime so they might be sleeping." He told them.
They nodded and watched as Mac opened the door to reveal John Winchester holding a sleeping Sam Winchester in his arms, the baby's face buried in his father's neck, while Dean clung to his dad's leg, looking half asleep.
"Mac, thanks again for looking after them for me." John whispered as he gently transferred the sleeping toddler to Mac's awaiting arms. Sam, upon realizing that he wasn't with his dad anymore, let out a whine with his eyes still closed then immediately calmed down again as he recognized his uncle's scent, placing his little head on Mac's shoulder and continued his slumber, sucking on his pacifier.
"They're welcome to stay anytime John, you know that. Besides, these two," he said gesturing his head towards Caleb and Joshua "cleaned their room in record time when they knew the boys were staying with us for a while."
John smirked as he watched the two teenagers turn a deep crimson red "Is that so?" he said as he passed Sam's diaper bag and the boys' bags to the teenagers then waited until Mac took a still semi-sleeping Dean's hand with his own free one, the one that wasn't carrying Sam.
"I've gotta run now. I might be out of service for a while so call Jim if you need anything." John said then pressed a quick kiss to each of Sam's and Dean's foreheads then stepped back.
"You take care John, don't worry they're in safe hands." Mac told him then watched as John nodded gratefully then turned to leave just as Caleb shut the door.
"I'm going to put them to bed, you'll get to see them tomorrow." Mac told Caleb and Joshua, who nodded and felt a bit disappointed at not being able to interact with the youngsters.
Mac then climbed up the stairs of his duplex apartment and walked down the hall until he reached Sam and Dean's room.
The doctor had transformed the once guest room into one for the two little boys. It had a crib and two beds, one for Dean and one for Sam to use when he outgrew his crib in a few years, as well as a desk, a changing table filled with diapers and other essentials, and a rocking chair.
Gently guiding Dean towards the bed, he pulled the covers over the little boy with the hand not carrying Sam, then walked over to the changing table and placed the still sleeping one year old on it. Mac quickly changed his diaper and got him into a pyjama onesie then lay Sam down in his crib and covered him with a blanket.
Plugging a night light into the wall because of Dean's secret fear of the dark, he turned to stare fondly at the sleeping children.
"Sleep well my boys."
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Still not done with this chapter, but lemme know what you think so far!
Caleb and Joshua poked their heads into the boys' room to find Sam sitting up in his crib, rubbing his eyes with a tiny fist, pacifier still in his mouth.
The two teenagers smiled widely and made their way into the room.
"Morning Sammy." Caleb whispered as he stood above the crib.
Sam's head swiveled and his mouth broke into a smile behind his pacifier.
"Cayeb! Jo!" the baby squealed as he threw his arms up in a plea to get picked up.
As Caleb was picking him up, Dean stirred.
"Sammy? What's goin' on?" he asked sleepily.
Joshua smiled mischievously and sat down at the edge of Dean's bed. "I don't know Ace, what do you think is wrong?" he said, busting out laughing as Dean shot up in bed, his eyes widening comically.
"Josh? Caleb? Are we at Mac's?" The five year old asked, confused.
"Yeah bud, your dad dropped you off late last night. Wouldn't be surprised if you don't remember you were pretty tired and half asleep," Joshua told him.
Dean beamed widely. "Sweet!" he said, knowing he and his little brother were in it for loads of fun. This was the case whenever they stayed at Mac's, Jim's, and Bobby's.
Caleb, whose arms were still full of a baby seeking morning cuddles, approached the bed and threw back the covers from Dean's form.
"Come on Deuce, do your business then come down for breakfast. Mac got pie." He added the last piece of information as a conspiratorial whisper.
Dean jumped out of bed and made a beeline to the bathroom, but halfway there, he paused and went back to where Caleb was standing. Standing on his tiptoes, he reached Sam's arm and gave it a small pat "Morning Sammy." He said, to which the baby answered with a "De!" then continued his way to the bathroom.
Caleb then got set to get Sam ready. He changed his diaper, thankful that it was only wet, otherwise he would've delegated the task to Mac, and dressed him in gray baby sweatpants and a green shirt, along with some white socks. He also attached a pacifier clip to the toddler's shirt, then carried him again and went downstairs.
Putting Sam down at the bottom of the stairs, he smiled when he saw the baby reach for his hand, or finger more accurately, so the two made their way towards the kitchen.
As soon as Sam caught sight of Mac, he let go of Caleb's finger and toddled over as fast as he could with Caleb following closely behind to ensure that the youngster wouldn't fall as he was still a bit unsteady on his feet.
"Un Ma!" Sam yelled.
The Scholar whirled around and beamed, catching the toddler and threw him in the air.
"Morning tiger," he said as he carried Sam with one arm while the other stirred the scrambled eggs to avoid them getting burnt.
"Morning son, where are Dean and Joshua?"
Caleb took a seat at the table and snuck a mini donut in his mouth "They'll be down in a few." He answered with his mouth full, giving his father a sheepish smile when Mac turned to look at him disapprovingly.
Caleb took notice of the big apple pie placed strategically next to Dean's seat, and knew that the child wouldn't have eyes for anything except for it.
His suspicions were proved correct when five minutes later, Dean and Joshua bounded down the stairs. Then after greeting Mac, Dean plopped in his seat, cut himself a big piece of pie, and devoured it in less than two minutes.
O
A week had passed since John had dropped off Sam and Dean at Mac's and there was never a dull moment.
Caleb and Joshua had completely reverted back to children, to the extent where Mac had to break up a fight between them over the last piece of cake, and sent them both to their room for a few minutes.
They weren't pleased. 'We're not kids anymore, dad! You can't send us to timeout.' Caleb had argued indignantly.
Mac's response had been 'I'll treat you as you want when you stop acting like children and start setting a good example for Sam and Dean.' So they had gone to their room begrudgingly.
In the span of one week, Sam and Dean had been perfect angels, barely causing any trouble. Sam only got cranky when he missed his nap, and both were irritable when they were hungry. But other than that, they were pleasant and fun to be around despite their young ages, unlike some of the children Caleb had met during his many stays at different foster houses.
Mac had taken them to the zoo, the aquarium, and restaurants. They even made the trip down to Central Park every day. Sam loved the swings and Dean the monkey bars.
Caleb, however, had gone from a snarky and relaxed teenager to a quiet and broody one in a matter of days. Mac and Joshua knew it was because his grandma's birthday would have been this week. The young psychic started seeing her in everything. Her favorite dish in the restaurant, the flowers she always had in her house at the florist, and it tugged on his heartstrings.
Today, Sam had been extra tired from staying up late last night, so he was taking an extra-long nap on the couch in the living room while Caleb stayed with him in the house. Mac and Joshua had taken Dean down to the park to release his energy.
Truth be told, Caleb wasn't feeling up to going out anyways, his grief was clouding his thoughts more than usual today. It seemed like everything he saw today reminded him of his grandmother.
It wasn't until he went to the kitchen and was filling a glass of water that he looked out the window and saw an elderly lady who's hair looked just like his grandmother on the balcony of a nearby building.
The similarity to his grandma hit him hard, causing the glass to slip out of his grasp and into the sink. He felt like there was something heavy on his chest, constricting his breathing and his vision was tunneling.
Dropping to his knees, the teenager felt his darkening vision blur with tears, and his hands claw on his throat, breathing harshly as he was caught in the throes of the panic attack.
Suddenly, he felt tiny hands stroke back his hair and pat his face while a little voice kept whispering in his ear.
Concentrating to hear the voice over the rush of blood, Caleb felt the hands continuously moving while a small body was next to him. The voice acted like an anchor until he heard what it was saying clearly, the roaring in his head fading to a low tone.
"Is otay Cayeb. I hewe."
Slowly, his breathing became easier, and his vision and mind cleared up again. He looked to his side to find two hazel green eyes blinking up at him from underneath a mop of baby soft hair.
"Cayeb otay now?" Sam asked, his little hand still stroking Caleb's hair.
The teenager smiled weakly, "Yeah Sammy, I'm okay."
He then grabbed the toddler gently and pulled him into his lap, hugging him tightly and savoring the warmth and comfort emanating from the tiny body. Sam, ever intelligent for a one and half year old, seemed to sense Caleb's need for further comfort, so he hugged him back and played with the hairs on the back of the young psychic's neck.
Both of them were unaware of the figure looming in the doorway, eyes wet from the touching scene that had occurred in front of him.
Mac had left Joshua supervising Dean so he could go up to the apartment and grab some water bottles. He also wanted to check on Sam since the baby was really tired and Mac was afraid he was getting sick. As soon as he stepped into the apartment, however, he could feel something wrong in the atmosphere.
Rushing to the kitchen, he saw Caleb on his knees, obviously having a panic attack. He was about to surge forward and comfort his son when he saw Sam toddle into the kitchen using the other doorway and do what Mac would have done.
The Scholar watched in amazement and with a touched heart as Sam whispered reassurances into Caleb's ear until Caleb snapped out of his panicked state. Smiling as he saw Caleb pull Sam into his lap, he quietly turned and left the kitchen, deciding that Caleb was in good hands and that he would sit in the living room and check up on them in a few moments.
A few moments later, Caleb walked into the living room carrying a sleeping Sam in his arms. Laying him down on the couch, he smiled when he heard the baby whimper and tighten his hold on his neck.
Grabbing a blanket, he wrapped it around the sleeping kid in his arms and sat down on the couch facing Mac who was reading a medical journal.
"Say it dad, I can sense your thoughts from here." Caleb said, giving him a small smirk that didn't quite meet his eyes.
Mac sighed and put the journal down. "What happened Caleb?"
Caleb was silent for a moment and tightened his hold on Sam drawing comfort from him, being careful not to suffocate the baby then thought 'There's no use worming out of this chick flick.' Debating whether or not he should talk, Caleb finally decided to just roll with it. "You know what this week is. I keep seeing her everywhere. But just today, I saw a woman with the same hair as her. Then… I don't know… Something inside me broke. It was like I couldn't breathe, or see. Sammy snapped me out of it."
Mac felt his heart break at his child's pain "Do you want to visit her?" he asked.
Caleb shook his head. "I can't. Not right now."
The Scholar nodded understandingly."Alright son, what can I do to help?"
Caleb smiled, "You already have," he said, and Mac's heart soared.
O
Mac's suspicions about Sam getting sick were proven to be true when the child woke up in the middle of the night burning with fever.
The doctor had just dozed off when he felt himself being shaken awake. Opening his eyes, he was welcomed by the panicked face of his son.
"Caleb? What's wrong?" he asked, alarmed.
"It's Sammy, dad. He's really hot and he won't stop crying."
Mac threw the covers back and jumped out of bed, hurriedly followed Caleb to his and Joshua's room.
After Caleb's panic attack, Sam had asked to sleep next to Caleb for the night and where Sam went, Dean followed. So the two brothers were bunking with their big brothers for the night. Caleb and Joshua had pulled Sam's crib and placed it next to Caleb's bed. They also pulled out the drawer bed for Dean to sleep on.
As he approached the room, Mac started to hear the wailing that belonged to the youngest Winchester.
Sam was in Joshua's arms, face red from the fever and from crying. Dean was right next to them, holding his little brother's hand and stroking his hair.
Mac knelt next to them and palmed Sam's forehead, wincing when he found it boiling hot.
"Give him to me," the doctor told Joshua, then gently lifted the baby into his arms. Sam cried harder when he felt himself being separated from Joshua but started to calm down when Mac whispered "It's alright Sammy. It's just me, Uncle Mac."
Making his way to the bathroom, he opened the medicine cabinet and grabbed the tympanic thermometer, placing it gently into Sam's ear. The youngster whined and tried to turn his head but Mac worked quickly and with skilled hands.
Pulling the thermometer out when it beeped, Mac nearly yelped when he saw the reading of 102.7. It was too high a fever, he needed to get it down.
Grabbing the infant's Tylenol, he tightened his grip on Sam, whose head was now on his shoulder, sobbing softly, and turned to face the three worried boys hovering in the doorway.
"Alright boys, I need your help. Joshua, I need you to measure 5 ml of this and add it to a bit of grape juice in Sammy's sippy cup. Caleb, drag the rocking chair to my room. Dean, your job is with me. Come on."
Caleb and Joshua hurried to go do what was asked of them while Dean trotted behind Mac.
"Uncle Mac? What's wrong with Sammy?" Dean asked as they entered Mac's room.
The Scholar turned to face the youngster. "Sammy probably just has the flu Dean. Don't worry, he'll be back to normal in no time."
Dean wasn't satisfied. "But why did he get sick?"
Mac smiled and placed his free hand on Dean's head "Sometimes babies get sick, Ace. Their bodies aren't well protected like ours which is why they get sick more often than we do. In Sammy's case, he got tired the past couple of days and probably picked up a virus at the park."
Dean nodded in agreement. "So let's not go to the park anymore."
The doctor laughed. "No Ace, that's not the solution. Sometimes, babies become more protected against viruses when they get sick. Not that we should get them sick on purpose, that would do more harm than good. But take now, for example, Sam's body is fighting the virus and when he's healed, his body would develop some sort of protection against this virus," he explained in terms simple enough for a five year old to understand.
Dean had apparently gotten a satisfactory answer when Caleb entered dragging the rocking chair.
"You better make this up to me for slaving for you." Caleb teased in an attempt to make Dean laugh, who was obviously very worried about his little brother's state.
Mac rolled his eyes and smiled as he heard Dean giggle. He took a seat in the rocking chair, settling Sam in his lap with the toddler's head on his chest.
Joshua then came into the room holding a sippy cup with a bit of tylenol spiked grape juice.
"Thanks Joshua," Mac said, then brought the cup to Sam's tiny lips and breathed a sigh of relief when the youngster drained the contents then fell into an uneasy sleep, small tremors racking his little body.
Dean, ever observant of his little brother, grabbed a blanket and wrapped it around his little brother.
"You three should go back to bed," Mac suggested and wasn't surprised when he was leveled by three glares.
The doctor sighed, "Fine, at least take my bed. You can sleep there for the night."
Caleb, Joshua, and Dean exchanged looks skeptically and shrugged after some thinking. With Sam sick, chick flick moments were just around the corner. What was sharing Mac's king sized bed compared to the cuddles and cooing that were awaiting them?
"Alright." Joshua said and the three of them climbed into bed. Dean shot a glance at his sleeping sick brother so Mac jumped to reassure him.
"Don't worry Dean, he's in good hands. You have to sleep to be able to help me with Sammy tomorrow alright?"
The five year old nodded, then lay his head on the pillow and drifted off to sleep.
Mac tightened his hold on the baby and rocked back and forth in the rocking chair, hoping that Sam wouldn't wake up from the discomfort the fever brought on soon.
The next couple of hours were rough, on both Sam and Mac.
The sick child had woken up crying, so Mac had to exit the bedroom to keep the sleeping trio in his bed from waking up. Heading to the living room with Sam in one arm and the thermometer in the other, the doctor prayed that the virus would let up its hold on Sam soon and the fever would abate.
He ended up spending the next few hours pacing the living room, while rocking the sobbing child in his arms. Sam was miserable from the chills and discomfort the fever brought, so his naps were very short. The only good thing was that the Tylenol seemed to be working, as the fever seemed to be going down, albeit slowly.
Around 5 am in the morning, Sam's fever finally went down to a safe level after bordering on dangerous for a couple of hours, and the baby finally drifted off to an exhausted sleep in Mac's arms. Mac, in turn, felt like he could finally breathe again, and so he sat down on the couch and closed his eyes to rest them for a bit while seeking comfort from the small body on his chest.
And that's how Caleb, Joshua, and Dean found them a few hours later. Both The Scholar and the future Scholar in deep, hopefully peaceful sleep.
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Lemme know what you think! Should I continue writing different one-shots?