"It's never easy" Harry put his hand on John's arm.
"I know. But it should be" John looked at the fire morosely.
Harry sighed,"Yeah."
Dean sat up straighter next to his father, "What isn't Dad?"
"Hot chocolate." he said seriously. "The addition of four of five marshmallows. Whipped cream or no whipped cream? I give up." John threw his hands in the air. Dramatically, He turned to Sammy, "I can make explosives out of washing powder and tin foil, but ask me to add a handful of m&ms to hot stuff? My brain goes all mushy"
Sammy smiled a little. It had been a long time since he had seen his Dad in such a good mood. He grinned at Debs. A little light came back to her eyes, but dulled again as she remembered. Dean relaxed a little, he knew it was a show. To raise morale.
"Your brain is always mushy, John Winchester!" Harry teased.
John nodded. "Look at who I class as a friend" he turned to the kids "Did I ever tell you about when me and this man here were in.." he winked at Harry. Knowing the other man knew at least a dozen places they had been that this story could be.
"John" Harry warned.
John laughed at the memory. "Nebraska."
Harry thought for a second, "John..."
"For a moment there I thought that...."
"Take the hot chocolate and get out of here" Harry handed the mugs out to Dean, Dex, Sammy and Debs. "Me and my mushy brained friend are going to have a lonng talk About age appropriate stories and certain things that happen, when certain mushed brains decide, that serenading their senior officer at three in the morning, naked."
"Technically, the neck tie makes you not naked" John informed Doris, "I was arrested for busking without a licence. They confiscated my banjo."
Dean and Sammy looked at their Dad, slack jawed.
"Complain complain, I got you a new one" Harry pointed out.
"That wasn't a banjo, Harry. That was a harp and I could tell your family how THAT one ended up?"
Harry held his hands up in surrender. "OK. You win. Back away from the anecdote. No body pull the pin on any stories"
"What happened in Nebraska?" Debs asked.
"I'll tell you when you're older. Now scoot" he waved them off the other side of the camp.
"What's the matter Dean?" Sammy asked
"Nothing" Dean looked over to where Doris was laughing at Harry miming playing a banjo.
"Tell your face then" Sammy bumped his shoulder into his brother.
"Bitch" Dean nudged back with his knee.
"Jerk"
They all took a sip of hot drink and listened to the sounds of the night.
"I'm good Sammy. Just thinking" Dean put his mug at his feet and pushed a branch into the second fire they had started.
"About Mrs Morgan?" Sammy asked.
Debs flinched a little. Dex didn't react at all. Dean looked at him. Not sure what reaction he was expecting. Dex must have learned to keep his feelings from his face. Dean looked away, better not to draw attention to Dex's lack of emotion. At least until he had time to make sure people saw what the should see.
Sammy poked the fire with a long branch. "You know that we must be the only kids in the world encouraged to play with fire?"
"Yeah"
"What do you want to be when you grow up?" Debs asked Sammy.
"I am grown up." Sammy protested.
"You are very short for a grown up little brother" Dean grinned at his brother.
"Sammy Winchester. Baseball Player" Dex joined in the game.
Dean smiled at Dex. "It's Samuel Winchester" he liked to remind people what a stupid name his brother had been given. No tough as nails hunter would ever be called Samuel.
"Lawyer!" Debs exclaimed.
Sammy decided to ignore his jerky big brother "Dexter Morgan. Door to door cheese salesman.", he teased Dexter.
"Dr Morgan. Vet?" Debs looked to her brother. Then shock her head. "Maybe not". She tried again "Singer!" she decided.
"Dexy Morgan's midnight runners" Dean bust out laughing.
Dexter stood. Anger made him grit his teeth. Dean stopped laughing.
The atmosphere had got dangerous
"Dean Winchester. Foot in mouth specialist." Sammy gestured for Dex to sit. "No offence, Dude." Sammy offered the other boy his stick. "If you want to beat some manners into him? I suggest the upper part of his leg. It's where he is keeping his brain!"
Dexter sat down and took some deep breathes, as he poke the edge of the fire.
Debs almost smiled. Sammy let out a breath and shot his brother a look that said "Quit being an ass-hole"
John went still for a split second as he saw Dexter stand. The boy's body language made him protective of his children. Hopefully, Doris didn't see the flash of how dangerous John could be when his boys were threatened. He pretended to be winded from all the laughing and started on another story he was sure Harry wouldn't want told.
"Officer Deborah Morgan" Debs had wanted to go into the family business since she was four.
"Dirty Debby?" Dean mulled it over "Sounds more like a pole dancer"
"Shut up" Debs protested.
"Make me." Dean challenged.
Debs stood up, a bit quicker than her brother did. Charged at Dean. Hitting him in the ribs and pushing him off the log he was sitting on. She swung out a hand at Dean, hitting him over and over.
He hadn't expected it quite as hard.
Debs stopped hitting and started to cry. She got up and for her mother.
Doris caught and wrapped her arms around her daughter. Stroking her hair, mummering comforting nonsense. Harry stood and made towards Dean. John was moving before Harry had a chance. John covered the ground quickly.
"What'd you have to do that for, Jerk?" Sammy whispered at his brother.
Dean looked up, he sighed as he saw his Dad.
Seeing the look, Sammy took Dex by the arm. "We'd better go" they went towards the other fire.
John pulled Dean roughly up to his feet and turning so his back was to the others. "What the hell was that all about?" he growled.
Dean looked down at his feet. "Sorry Sir"
Then, so that only Dean could hear. "Did you just get beat up by a girl?" he grinned a little.
"Yes sir." Dean looked over to Debs and Doris. They were sitting together, tears drying on their faces.
"She needed a hug that bad huh?"
"Yes sir"
"Get to sleep" John raised his voice again. "You kids will be hiking back to the motel at first light"