A/N

Oh my goodness, once more we've reached the end of a story! A huge round of thanks to all our wonderful readers and supporters, and a special thanks to everyone that left us a review! For mckydstarlight, Christine, Wunjo, appletopine, maddietoes and Guest - Thank you all! You're the reason we write :3 Such warm words keep us going when work and life and everything else tries to knock us down.

For all fans of Brothers Adopted, fear not. More to come in the future.


Less than two hours later, Dean drove his shovel into the softened earth, breaking ground.

Sam and Jacob were safely standing behind a ring of salt, circled around the duffel and all of Dean's supplies to keep them out of reach of the spirit and hopefully safe until he was done. The grave had only been dug a few months prior, so the ground hadn't had time to harden. That would help make his job at least a little easier.

With the evening air turning cool, Sam had his hands shoved down in his pockets all over again. His shoulders were hunched in an attempt to keep as much body heat as he could to himself. He and Jacob had specific instructions to shout out a warning to Dean if they saw the spirit.

Next to the softened ground, Dean's salt gun sat within reach. Both of the smaller brothers had weapons of their own. Jacob and his iron nail, and Sam with a small sack of salt, ready to toss at any threat he saw. Either weapon could buy Dean precious seconds if they saw an opening.

Sam paced back and forth, trying to keep warm in the open air. He caught sight of Jacob and sent him a grin. "So, is this life as glamorous as you hoped?"

Jacob stood in place, watching Dean absently. His own hands were shoved into his hoodie pocket, balled into fists to keep them warmer. Despite the chill trying to work its way deep into his bones, he was also on high alert for any more attacks. He would try to be ready to draw the nail again to ward off that ghost.

He looked away from the growing mountain of dirt that Dean was building by the grave to shrug at Sam. "Pretty glamorous," he quipped back, letting a smile on his face. "I just can't wait for our first corpse-burning." Jacob pulled his hands out of his pockets to cup them in front of his face and blow some warm air onto them. He couldn't help but think that, when there was finally a fire to warm them up, it'd be a dead person burning.

"I guess it's cool though," he admitted, stuffing his hands back in his pockets. He was almost tempted to put his hood up to retain more heat in the chilly night. "I mean, this guy won't go killing more people. Otherwise that chick might have had every boyfriend in her life after this get murdered."

Sam let out a bark of laughter. "Yeah. Talk about being a jinx. She probably ran away to get away from her overprotective father. It would just figure if she was stalked by her obsessed dead boyfriend instead."

And not even just boyfriends, Sam found himself musing. The guy had jumped Dean the second the hunter laid hands on the photograph of the girl. It was like Sam and Jacob didn't even exist. The spirit hadn't acknowledged their presence once, not when Jacob was holding onto the photo, not when Sam was darting by his foot, and not even when Jacob was desperately striking out with the nail. It was a blind spot that had done the spirit in.

Sam hoped the spirit wouldn't return until the case was over. Without the photo, there might not be enough charged emotion for the spirit to summon up and reappear. The stronger the spirit was, the easier it was to come back from being dispersed. This guy had only been dead a few months. The psychic energy he'd been able to amass over that time might have been depleted by all the activity he'd shown in the last week. Spirits could go for years at a time unnoticed while they restored their strength, using it all up at once. If there wasn't much energy, there wouldn't be a way for the guy to attack Dean again.

The dirt pile eventually towered over everyone's head, including Dean's. He was only visible from the shoulders up when he stood straight. He hefted up his shovel, smashing it down on a box that was out of sight of both of the smaller brothers. It splintered open, dispelling a wave of rancid air that made even the hardened hunter gag.

Dean hauled himself out of the grave to get clear of the smell, then came back over to the duffel. "So, who wants to light this candle?" he asked with a wink as he dropped the matches between the other two. He didn't wait for a reply, grabbing the lighter fluid and salt and going back over to the grave. "Time to torch this sonovabitch."

Jacob was about to say something, but quickly lost his focus when he caught a whiff of the rotting body that was somewhere in that enormous canyon that Dean had dug into the earth. He had a feeling that if he and Sam stood on the edge and looked down, they wouldn't even be able to see the bottom in the dark. It would be a long drop; he tried not to think about it too much.

Instead, he picked up the book of matches, reading the name of some motel in some other city on the front. Jacob had caught a glimpse of it already, traveling with Dean in the last few days. There really was nowhere in the country that was immune to a case. Dean had been all over the place. Now Sam and Jacob might, too. Distances unfathomable to them on their own became easy to cross when they were in that hulking Impala.

Jacob looked over to Sam with a smile. "I'll hold this steady if you'll light it," he suggested. He could already smell the oily scent of the lighter fluid mixing with the odor of the dead guy. The smell wasn't likely to get better anytime soon, and they'd have to walk closer to it to do their part in finishing the spirit off. Despite that, they were about to complete their first hunt successfully. It was something to be excited for.

Sam grinned back. "Works for me." Dean trusted them to put the final touches on the pyre, and that meant a lot. The fact that a man who'd spent years on his own with no one else to rely on was willing to give them that trust meant everything.

After losing Sam, Dean had spent years training to hunt on his own just like their father. After only a week of having them in his life, he was willing to let them participate in a hunt, to the extent of putting himself in danger to save them. When Dean had pushed the two of them under the desk for safety, he'd lost precious seconds to help himself. If he'd gone straight into an attack with his gun, he might not have been tossed across the room. Instead, he'd done what he could to keep them safe. Sam and Jacob had done the same for him, running out into the massive room with a vengeful spirit on the prowl to defend their older brother. They needed to make sure that his determination to keep them safe didn't end badly for him.

Now, Dean was just finishing with the salt as Sam and Jacob made their way over to the edge of the grave. Dean's boots sank into the soft earth only a foot away, compacting it under his heavier weight. Sam and Jacob wouldn't be able to make as much of an impression on the ground, but with the matches they'd make a huge impression on the fire.

Jacob held out the book of matches, and Sam ripped one off. With teamwork, they lit it up. Dean took a step back, kneeling down nearby to watch over them as they worked. One hand hovered close by, and this time Sam didn't mind those overprotective instincts. The sight of the massive canyon of the grave was enough to make them appreciate having someone close enough to grab them if they slipped.

Sam paused for a second with the match burning to size the grave up, then threw it for all he was worth. The little flicker of light dwindled away from them, until it dropped below the level of the ground.

Bright trails of flame burst into existence, roaring into life to consume the corpse below. Dean scooped them both into a hand, taking a step back from the heat. "Well," he chuckled, "I'd call this a roaring success."

Jacob rolled his eyes at the pun, but his focus was quickly back on the hole in the ground. The flames, helped along by the lighter fluid Dean had doused the grave with, reached a little higher. The pit glowed orange as the fire greedily consumed the body. The spirit, left vengeful after being murdered, could rest.

"Yeah, I guess that wasn't so bad," Jacob mused, leaning back where he was sitting on Dean's hand. He still had his hands tucked away in his pocket, but there was a lot of warmth coming up from the fire. Jacob tried to ignore the fact that it was a corpse providing the fuel for their bonfire. The oily tips of the flames didn't produce much smoke, but there was still enough in the air that the three of them would probably smell it on their clothes as soon as they left.

"Sam, I guess we're pretty good at this. We found some evidence, lit up the bones ... oh, and we completely saved Dean's ass. That actually happened." Jacob grinned, admittedly still amazed that it was true.

Dean smirked, nudging Jacob lightly with a finger. "Live it up, half-pint. I can still stick you both in a pocket."

Despite his words, he could feel a definite swell of pride. He hadn't been wrong, offering to let them come along on hunts with him. It was a dangerous offer, especially knowing what could lurk in the shadows.

But in a way, it was just as dangerous to hunt alone, if not more so. Bobby had scolded him time and again, telling him not to do it John's way. He could get himself killed without a partner to back him up. And now here he was, with Sam and Jacob as backup. Without them to wake him up and stop the spirit in his tracks, Dean might not be living and breathing to watch the fire burn down. They'd more than earned their own names as hunters.

When the fire burned itself out, Dean put the other two back down by the duffel bag and involved himself with filling the gravesite back in. Justice had been served, in more way than one. The spirit had taken out his killer, and Dean had taken out the spirit. They would both rest in peace from now on.

Sam nudged Jacob in the side with an elbow. "Hear that, half-pint? I'm not the only one with a nickname, shorty."

Jacob chuckled and held his hands up in defeat. "Okay, fine, fine," he conceded. He remembered having the same nickname when Dean had first caught him. It was amazing how much had changed. Hearing it now wasn't demeaning or a threat; it was just Dean being himself. There was a lot more to him than his intimidating facade he put on while he was hunting.

"But just you wait, Sam. I might still get taller than you," Jacob warned, a clear challenge in his voice. Sam had seemed so tall when he first met him. Jacob had since grown, and he thought he might actually surpass Walt.

Of course, Dean, standing nearby and knocking an entire mountain of dirt over the fire with a shovel that could easily carry everyone that had lived in Trails West, dwarfed them completely. Jacob was still thrown by the size of everything around him sometimes. It didn't seem like it should be possible for one person to be so big.

After the grave was filled in and they were certain the fire was out, Dean gathered all of their things and both of his brothers into a hand. They left the abandoned hunting cabin behind them and headed for the Impala.


That night, Sam and Jacob were sitting on the table, pondering the laptop screen that Dean had left open. To the side sat an opened box of pizza. Most of it, (what remained of it, at least) was smothered in sausage, pepperoni, ham and any other kind of meat that Dean had been able to get on it. Two slices were sitting there with different toppings; one with just cheese for Sam, and a slice of mushroom pizza for Jacob. Both had the tips cut off and those pieces were sitting nearby on a napkin along with two bottlecaps of soda.

From the bathroom came the sound of running water. Dean was finishing up a shower after a long day of hunting, glad to have the chance to get the dirt and grime off from digging up the grave. Sam and Jacob had both already had their turn using the sink of the motel to get clean.

They might not be a normal family, but they made their own normal.

Dean walked out of the bathroom, scrubbing his face with a hand towel. He tossed it into the corner, taking a deep breath in the cool air of the room. A hazy steam rose from the bathroom, showing how hot he'd had the water.

"Good water pressure," he commented dryly as he came over to the table. He pushed the pizza box aside and sat down in front of the laptop. "So did you two pick a movie for the night?"

Jacob looked over his shoulder at Dean. He sat near the mousetrack of the laptop. He and Sam had worked out a decent system; Sam hopped around on the keys to type and Jacob handled all the point-and-click work. Between them, they could operate the laptop pretty quickly for people smaller than a pack of gum.

"Dude we found the entire original Star Wars trilogy," he announced with pride and some amazement. Youtube hadn't even existed yet when Jacob was first shrunk. The internet had progressed a lot even in just the three years he'd been unable to use it. It was no wonder Sam stayed up so late at night to mess around on the laptop.

Jacob glanced over at the bottlecaps of soda they had set aside. There was still some fizz bubbling off the surface of the sugary liquid, so he'd have to wait a little longer. Carbonated drinks could wreak havoc on small stomachs like Jacob's or Sam's, as they'd learned. The bubbles were a lot bigger by comparison.

Dean folded his arms down, resting his head on them. He'd grabbed a bite of pizza before diving in the shower. There was more for later if he wanted it.

Watching the other two work the laptop was almost entrancing sometimes. It became a workout for them, having to hop from key to key where he could span the entire keyboard with just his fingers. Sam certainly made it look easy, hopping around while Jacob controlled the mouse.

Between the two of them, they managed to pull up the movie and get it on full screen. He smirked at the sight of A New Hope. Sam must be working his magic on Jacob. That was the younger Winchester's favorite movie from when he was a kid. And now they had the entire trilogy at their fingertips. He wondered briefly if they'd want to start on the newer movies by the time they finished the originals, then pushed it from his mind. Maybe they'd forget those existed.

Jacob maneuvered the mouse and started it up. A black screen took over, heralding the beginning messages.

Dean let himself relax as his head rested on his arm. "Hey!" he said jokingly, a quiet pretend yell since their hearing was fragile compared to his. "Down in front. This isn't an episode of Mystery Science Theater 3000." The two small silhouettes were standing in front of the screen, blocking a small fraction of it.

Sam sent him a bitchface. "Oh, like you can't see the entire screen whether we're here or not. Guess we'll just have to find somewhere to sit."

He marched himself right off the laptop and over to Dean. Dean arched his eyebrows at the smaller man as he hauled himself onto the opposite arm from the one he was resting his head on. Using the crook of Dean's elbow for a backrest, Sam pointedly put his feet up, giving his older brother a look that dared him to argue.

Jacob snickered at the staredown between the two of them. One that it certainly looked like Sam would win despite the fact that he was staring down a guy with eyes the size of his head. Dean didn't seem like he was about to knock Sam off his perch on his arm. The fact that Sam and Jacob could be cheeky and defiant with Dean like that and not face frightening consequences still shocked him from time to time.

Dean may be huge and a hunter, but he wasn't going to use either fact to bring harm to his pocket-sized brothers. In fact, the look on his face was quite comical, startled by Sam's decision to use him as a seat.

Since Sam had already made his defiant stance, Jacob took care of carrying their pizza and soda over to Dean's arm. From the look of things, there was no way Sam was getting back up after making his point so soundly.

Jacob pulled himself up onto Dean's arm in time for the yellow text of the beginning messages to scroll onto the top of the screen. The perch was fairly high up since Dean's arms alone were thicker than Jacob or Sam was tall at their widest point. Covered in flannel and producing body heat of its own, it was a good place to sit for a movie. Especially when the movie was on a cinema-sized screen like the laptop was to Sam and Jacob.

"You do make a pretty good couch, Dean," Jacob teased, patting the firm arm beneath him before finally taking a sip of soda. The muscle tensed at his touch.

Dean took in their seating arrangement, a hopeful expression on his face despite Sam's bossy attitude. It meant they actually weren't afraid of him, and didn't mind just hanging out with him. Even Jacob, after their tumultuous first meeting. "Hey, whatever floats your boat," he shot back at Jacob goodnaturedly.

Sam dug into his pizza, watching the screen intently as the battle between the Star Destroyer and Princess Leia's transport commenced. Out of everyone there, he'd had the longest time since being able to just sit and watch a movie like that. It was why Jacob had decided to go with the Star Wars series, after all. Sam wouldn't say much, but it had been thirteen years since he'd had the same opportunity. Dean could always choose what he wanted to watch, and Jacob had only lost that ability three years ago.

The movie continued on. Once, Sam slipped off the arm to grab himself a sip from his drink and put the leftovers down from his pizza. Otherwise, he and Jacob both relaxed on a surprisingly comfortable and safe perch, and safety wasn't easy to find in their lives.

Dean, the architect of that sense of security, started to fade about halfway through the movie as Han and Luke were on their way to rescue the princess. His eyes fluttered closed, heavy from exhaustion. Between the hunt and all the driving, it had been a long day. Especially since they didn't want to stay in the same town after breaking into a crime scene. They'd hopped in the Impala and hauled ass across state lines before finding a place to stop for the night. Dean's breathing slowed as he passed out.

Jacob was drawn in by the movie. He hadn't seen it in a long time, and he knew that for Sam the wait had been even longer. It was a good choice after all their hard work. He couldn't hold back a sense of pride as he watched the heroes on screen rescue the princess, feeling like the three of them had performed their own heroics that day.

Jacob turned to look over at Dean to ask a question, but he forgot what he was going to ask when he saw the huge face had gone slack. Dean looked so peaceful in his sleep. A lot of the worry lines that showed while he was awake simply disappeared. The huge hunter had definitely earned a rest.

"Sam," Jacob muttered, looking at Sam and nodding in Dean's direction with a faint smile. "Think we should wake him?" While it didn't particularly matter that Dean was missing the best parts of the movie, it was a wonder he was comfortable enough to actually drift off, leaning over the table like he was.

Sam jolted, then glanced where Jacob was indicating. He couldn't help but smile in turn at the sight of his - of their older brother falling asleep like that. All the noise of the blasters on the screen did nothing to disturb Dean's rest, his shoulders continuing to rise and fall peacefully in time with his breathing.

"Maybe," Sam said. Cautiously, he hauled himself to his feet. He didn't want to make Dean shift in sleep, causing the hunter to toss them off. He walked down the arm to the hand, staring up at Dean.

He frowned. Dean looked so peaceful. Even in the last week they'd been with him, Sam hadn't seen him drift off without any sign of the stress he lived in showing. "Then again, maybe not," Sam decided. A warm puff of air hit him as Dean exhaled slowly. Sam put a hand against the rough skin on Dean's cheek. A strange protectiveness rose up in him for the giant hunter that had welcomed them both into his life. Because of him, they could have movie nights and chill and eat pizza. "I haven't seen him sleep like this since we were kids."

Jacob nodded, feeling the small gust of Dean's content sigh himself. Not as much as Sam, if the way his poofy hair waved about in the breeze was any indication, but enough. Dean was fine where he was. He might wake with a sore back later, but then again he'd dug up an entire grave just that day. He'd have a sore back no matter what.

"Before today I guess I never realized how much work it actually was," Jacob said absently as he shifted his position on the arm. He moved so he lay on his stomach with his chin propped on folded arms, still easily able to see the huge laptop screen.

"Glad he doesn't have to do everything by himself anymore." Even though Jacob couldn't do much to help dig a grave or provide the knowledge they needed, he'd still helped in his own way that day. He was proud, but at the same time he marveled at the fact that Dean had done this stuff alone for years. He'd had no backup at all in months, and he'd still lived to come and find Jacob and Sam.

"So am I," Sam said as he came back over. "It might work for our dad, but I doubt Dean ever wanted to go it on his own. Everyone needs someone to watch their back, just like we did for each other all those years."

He sat back down, settling to watch the end of the movie with Jacob. A fold of the flannel shirt beneath them was easily turned into a makeshift pillow, and Sam relaxed into the crook of Dean's elbow again.

By the time the end of the movie rolled around and the credits were rolling, Dean wasn't the only one that had slipped into sleep. Jacob was out cold, passed out on Dean's arm. Sam glanced over the other two, wondering if he should wake Jacob up. Their makeshift bed was waiting for them under the nightstand, after all…

But it was far away, and they had a perfectly good place to sleep already.

Sam busied himself shutting down the computer. He dragged the napkin holding their pizza out of range of Dean's arms in case he moved during the night, then brought the soda bottlecaps out of range as well.

With everything settled, Sam hauled himself back up onto Dean's arm. He had to nudge Jacob slightly out of the way of his spot, then flopped down onto the warm, soft surface. In no time at all, the room had three slumbering brothers.


At some point past midnight, Dean's eyes blinked open.

Confused, he rubbed his face with the hand he'd been resting his chin on, wondering why the hell he'd fallen asleep at the table.

A slight weight on his other arm came to his attention as his head started to clear, and Dean was glad he hadn't gotten up yet. His lips turned up at the sight of Sam and Jacob flopped on his arm and fast asleep. The open laptop cleared the rest of his confusion, and he could remember drifting off to the backdrop of Star Wars.

Sam and Jacob still on his arm caught him off guard. Sam was curled up in the crook of his elbow, and Jacob was lying on his forearm. They were so relaxed and peaceful, Dean didn't want to risk waking them. His movements were far more tender than normal as he cupped a hand next to them, slowly tilting the arm so they slid together into his protective palm. Jacob mumbled something unintelligible, but didn't even stir. One of Sam's small boots kicked against Dean's thumb, but he settled down as well.

Dean cupped his hand against his chest once they were fully on, then stood to go back over to the nightstand. He'd set it up earlier on in the night, so all he had to do was nudge the books out of the way. Jacob was closer to the edge of his hand, so with care, Dean tilted it and let their youngest brother slide off and land in the thick nest of flannel that made up their bed. Almost on autopilot, the teen burrowed a little into the soft bedding, a blind hand tugging some of it over himself as a blanket. Sam tried to curl deeper into Dean's hand as though he knew he had it all to himself, but he joined Jacob under the nightstand in short order. Gentle nudges with a fingertip were enough to dissuade him from his claimed position.

With a warm smile, Dean put the books back in place. They'd be safest there, and that's what mattered. Keeping the two brothers he'd taken in safe and free the way he'd promised. He grabbed himself a slice of pizza to quickly devour, then hopped into his own bed. The light snapped off, and once again the room was silent.

FIN


A/N:

And we end our story on a happy note with these three! Sam and Jacob are definitely growing closer to Dean as time goes on, trusting him more and more, enough to fall asleep right on his arm!

The poll is over and the winner is announced! Starting on November 15th we will have The Water's Fine, the second story from Brothers Lost, posting! Tiny Dean returns!

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