I don't own supernatural.
Long chapter for me; 3000 words!
This chapter is actually one of my least favorites in this story. I know it's long, and part of it's introductions. If you stick around till the end you'll get a surprise though!
Chapter 2 Family Dinner
Sam was uncomfortable. His uncle refused to let him down, and he honestly had no idea what one was supposed to do when they were being held.
Was he supposed to wind his arms around his uncle's neck and lay his head on the man's shoulder like he had seen toddlers do? That was too awkward since he didn't know Danny at all.
Was he supposed to just sit there and hope the man didn't drop him? If Sam was dropped he would fall a long way; Danny was ever taller then Dean and his father.
He really wanted down, but he didn't know the man well enough to be comfortable asking. Damn his shyness!
He didn't even understand why he was being held in the first place! Normally the only way anyone would pick him up was if he was direly injured. Well, unless they were with Caleb; he didn't have any reservations about throwing Sam randomly in the air and holding Sam when he fell back to earth.
Sam was carried out, but they stopped by the door and Sam saw his uncle's eyes fasten on the impala.
"You still have that old thing?" Danny asked in amusement. Sam could feel his chest rumble when he talked, and it felt funny. "You do know you could've gotten a cheaper car that won't use so much gas and isn't a bitch when you're trying to fix it?"
"It's not mine," John answered with a grin.
"It's alright baby; he doesn't know what he's talking about. He just doesn't understand how beautiful you are. Don't let him upset you," Dean consoled his car, sending his uncle a filthy look in the process.
Danny and their grandfather both burst out laughing at that.
"He definitely takes after you, John," Danny laughed. "You know I can remember you doing the same exact thing when you first came home with that car?"
"Yeah yeah, I get it; I loved my car to the point of a bordering obsession," John answered with an eye roll. "Can I have my son back now?" he asked, holding out his arms for Sam.
"Nope," Danny laughed. "Don't trust you not to just grab him a take off again. He's riding with me while Dad's going with you."
"Fine, well let's just get this over with then," John conceded.
They all piled into the cars and were off before Sam could ask if he got a say in all of this.
"So kiddo," his uncle said, obviously trying to start a conversation. "What's up with the knife you pulled on us? I'm pretty sure that's not normal teenage behavior."
"Just like to always be protected," Sam shrugged uncomfortably, knowing full well that if he told the truth his uncle very well might reroute the car towards the nearest mental hospital.
"And your daddy just lets you and your brother carry around knives and guns?" Danny asked with concern.
Sam snorted. "Dad doesn't let us go anywhere without a weapon of some kind," he answered. "I think the marines left him a bit paranoid."
"Maybe," Danny answered doubtfully.
"So…who can I expect to see at this gathering?" Sam asked, trying to change the subject as much as he was truly curious.
"It's a required on for the entire family, so everyone's gonna be there. Me, Misty, and our kids Adrian, Luna, and Brian. Then there's Calen who's the oldest of my four brothers. He married your Aunt Rose and had four kids named Violet, Darin, Hayden, and Aiden. Hayden and Aiden are twins. You Uncle Markus is second oldest of us boys. He married your Aunt Kevlyn and they had a kid named Jacklyn. Last one is Luke. He's older then me by about ten years, and he got married years before I did. He's got the biggest family with his wife Evalyn and their six kids."
"Six?" Sam asked with wide eyes.
"Yeah," Uncle Danny chuckled. "Opal, Caleb, James, Liam, Aaron and little Lily. Caleb might be a little late in coming because he's never home. I don't even know what he does for a job. Hell, Luke doesn't know what he does for a job."
They pulled into the driveway to a mansion at that moment. Sam stared at it with wide eyes. "Yeah, I'm guessing you daddy never changed from wanting to make his own way in the world. He always refused to admit that he was rich when he was younger; didn't want people to like him just for that. He cut off all access to any banking accounts he had after that fire. I think he did it so we couldn't track him. The whole family lives here," Daniel informed his stunned nephew.
They got out of the car (Sam managing to stay out of his uncle's grasp so as not to be picked up again) and headed towards the door.
There they encountered a problem in the form of John standing uncertainly at the door.
"Go on in, little brother," Danny urged.
"Mom's going to kill me," John said quietly and nervously. It was such a drastic change from the way John normally acted that Sam was almost tempted to throw holy water all over him.
"Hate to tell you, Jonny, but as soon as Dad gets your ass alone he gonna let you have it," Danny laughed. "Me, Luke, Calen, and Mark aren't exactly done with you either."
"Yeah, but I don't think Mom's going to wait," John said, running a hand through his hair. He glanced at Sam, and then back to Dean who as still at the impala and trying to convince his grandfather that he could carry in his and Sam's duffel bags, the weapons bag, and the medical kit by himself.
"I'm just gonna go get Dean," Sam said shiftily. "He looks like he needs help."
"From what I can see your Grandpa's got it under control," Danny said mildly as he watched the two figures.
"Yeah, but he doesn't know Dean," Sam muttered.
John suddenly looked alarmed. "You don't think he would….."
"I don't know. The last person who asked was a cop, so maybe not. Then again, this is Dean we're talking about," Sam considered.
"Go get him quick. We really don't need a repeat of last time. Especially since I actually care about the other person this time," John commanded urgently.
Sam ran up to Dean. "Calm down Dude; he just wants to help," he muttered as close to his brother's ear as he could get. This wasn't very close, obviously, since he was so short, but it got the message across anyway.
Sam plucked his duffel bag from Dean's hand and grabbed the medical kit. He knew Dean didn't want him carrying the weapons bag because it was heavy and full of loaded guns, knives, and other pointy stuff that could cut off a few toes if dropped.
Their grandfather watched in what looked like concern as he and Dean walked up the path.
They reached the house and found their father taking a deep breath. He grabbed the doorknob and carefully opened the door.
"Jonathan Michel Winchester!" a shriek met their ears the second the door was fully open. "Get in here right now."
"Anyone else get the feeling we should be running as fast as we can in the other direction?" Dean asked uneasily as they cautiously made their way into the house. Heads were peeking around random doors to inspect them, and it was making Sam very uncomfortable.
He inched closer to Dean, and his big brother threw an arm around his shoulder. Dean glared at the next person to stare at them, and they back off instantly.
"Yeah," Sam and John answered instantly.
They reached the kitchen where their father was assaulted by a small women in a pink dress and cooking apron.
"Where have you been all these years young man!" their grandmother yelled. Sam cowered behind Dean. The only person he ever dared yell at was their father. Their father was also just about the only person Sam wasn't scared of being yelled at by. He knew his father would never hurt him.
"It's been sixteen years. Sixteen! John! We all thought you were dead!"
"I know. I'm sorry," John answered uncertainly. "I did have a reason, you know. I didn't just up and vanish because I wanted to," he added defensively.
"Yes, well, you can just tell your reason to your big brothers later on tonight." Sam actually saw his father cringe back at the thought. "For now, go get reacquainted with your nieces and nephews."
"Yes Ma'am," John answered softly.
"And none of that Ma'am business, John. I'm your mother, not you drill sergeant," the women rebuked sharply.
John nodded, just barely stopping another 'yes ma'am' from slipping past his lips.
"Follow me little bro," Danny said as he started towards the door. "I'll take you somewhere you can dump you stuff, and then we'll go introduce you to the family."
It was then that their grandmother seemed to see Sam and Dean standing there awkwardly.
"Go on with them, you little dears," the women crooned. Sam got the feeling that the croon was more for his benefit then Dean's, but Dean bristled anyway. Sam pulled Dean away before the bigger boy could make a scene.
Their bags were soon dumped in two bedrooms. Dean insisted that Sam share a room with him. Sam didn't mind; in a house filled with so many strangers he didn't want to be alone.
As soon as they entered what Sam gathered was the family room they accosted by children. Children of all ages and looks. Some of them weren't even children anymore.
It was overwhelming, and Sam shrunk back even farther towards Dean. He had never done well with crowds, and had proved at an early age to be claustrophobic.
Dean wrapped an arm around his baby brother's shoulders and pulled the little boy closer; he knew how Sam hated crowds.
"Back up everyone; you're crowding them," a voice boomed over everything. Another huge man was striding through the crowd. "That really you, Jonny?" he asked as he reached their group.
"Yeah," John answered softly.
"Then we are going to be having a talk later buddy boy," the man threatened. John winced.
The man turned towards Sam and Dean. "I'm Luke," he said, offering his hand. He reminded Sam of someone, but he couldn't place who. Maybe it was his father, but somehow Sam doubted it. He let it go.
"Dean," Dean replied as he took the hand. "This's Sam," he gestured at Sam.
"I can talk for myself," Sam said mildly.
Daniel and Luke locked eyes over Sam's head and roared in laughter.
"Oh, Jonny, he might have gotten his mother's looks, but he got your independent streak. You have as much fun with him as Dad did with you?"
Before John or Sam could answer a fourth man walked into the room. He stopped dead at the sight before him.
"Jonny?" he asked dazedly.
"Calen?" John asked. He almost didn't recognize the man in front of him as the brother he had left. Sixteen years did that to a person.
"God Jonny; we thought you were dead," Calen breathed as he slowly moved closer.
"I know," John answered uncomfortably.
"You and I are gonna have a talk, baby brother," Calen warned.
"Get in line," yet another man growled from the other side. Sam spun so fast he almost lost his balance.
"Mark," John said.
Once all five of the older Winchesters were together it was clear they were brothers. There was very little difference between them at all. They were all tall (Calen being the tallest and John actually qualifying as the shortest) with dark hair and eyes. The only real difference between them was their ages. Hell, they even had the same muscles, Sam realized.
"That's kind if eerie," Dean muttered in Sam's ear. "Can you imagine five of Dad walking around?" Sam shuddered at the thought.
"Ok, that's enough threatening John; time to meet the kids," Danny interrupted loudly. "Everyone go ahead and line up; you know the drill."
And suddenly they were all in a line of what looked like age order, starting with the youngest.
"I'm Brian," the boy introduced himself with a grin. "I'm twelve." He had nondescript brown hair, lighter then Sam's and brown eyes. Brian went to stand next to Danny.
"I'm Luna," the next girl in line was blond. "I'm thirteen. Brian's my little brother." Her brown eyes sparkled with fun. She too stood near Danny.
"Adrian," the next boy in line said. Brown hair in a crew cut and brown eyes like his little brother. "Fifteen." He seemed to be trying to pull off the whole badass thins, but he failed epically next to Dean.
Lily was also fifteen, but her fiery red hair hung in ringlets down her back and brown eyes peeked curiously from behind her bangs.
Jacklyn, Hayden, and Aiden were all seventeen. They looked at the newcomers with curiously probing looks. Hayden and Aiden had gotten their father's floppy black hair and dark eyes. Jacklyn had also gotten dark hair, but hers fell in ringlets down to her waist. Her blue eyes were full of intelligence and understanding.
Liam, Aarons, and James were eighteen, nineteen, and twenty respectively. They looked exactly alike with wind ruffled blond hair and sparkling blue eyes. They looked smart, but like they knew how to have fun too.
Darin was twenty three and tall enough to be able to touch the ceiling without standing on his toes. He had strawberry blond hair and light blue eyes.
Last were Opal and Violet. At thirty one they were by far the oldest of the children. Opal had blond ringlets to her shoulders and deep brown eyes. Violet, as though she wanted to contrast this, had midnight black, pin straight hair cut in a bob, and the lightest blue eyes Sam had ever seen.
It was odd to see the relatives standing together, seeing as they looked nothing alike. The difference in ages also threw Sam off a bit. The oldest was thirty one and the youngest twelve. Apparently all Winchester had big splits between their children.
Sam noticed that they were still missing Caleb and all of his aunts, but that was quite alright with him because he was still trying to remember everyone else's names.
"I hope Caleb shows soon," Luke put in with worry in his voice. "That boy needs to be home more."
"He'll be fine," John offered automatically.
"And how do you know that?" Calen asked curiously.
John, Sam, and Dean all grinned. "He's a Winchester, isn't he?" they asked together in 'duh' voices.
"Yeah, so?" Mark asked in a confused voice.
"Winchester are always ok. Trust us; we know," Sam and Dean answered together. Sam's back twinged with a reminder of stitches that he had to be careful not to pull, but he ignored them.
Soon everyone was called to the table for dinner.
They were introduced to Rose, Kevlyn, Evalyn, and Misty. The women seemed nice enough, but only time would tell.
It was crowded and noisy, and Sam didn't like it. People were always talking (sometimes over each other) and he didn't know anyone. He stuck as close to Dean and his father as he could get.
He picked at his food as he normally did, slipping it on to Dean's plate when no one but Dean was looking, His big brother merely grinned at Sam when he realized why he never seemed to run out of food. He had tried to make a big deal out Sam eating when they had food when they were both younger, but eventually gave up. It only made it worse when they didn't have food. Besides, it made Sam throw up if he ate too much.
Dinner was almost over when the first real diversion came. No one but Sam noticed the door opening. Sam was instantly on full alert, but his fears where almost instantly proved groundless.
No one noticed Caleb walking through the door until he had plucked Sam from his seat and thrown him in the air.
Sam shrieked, half from glee, half from fear (he hadn't been expecting that), but Caleb simply laughed as he caught the younger boy.
"What're you doing here Little Bit?" he asked as he set Sam back on the ground.
This immediately proved to be the wrong move, because Sam tackled the man with all the strength in his tiny body. They both went down, laughing and throwing harmless punches as they did.
"Dude, that was so not a cool move," Dean said half angrily. "I almost shot you. Again." And indeed he was tucking a gun back into his waist band as he spoke.
"Gottcha!" Sam yelled happily as he came out on top.
"Damn. How the hell do you always do that?" Caleb asked. "You're so tiny you should be easy to beat, but your like some kind of whirlwind when you fight." He flipped them over so he was on top again.
"I'm just awesome like that," Sam grunted as he attempted to flip them again. "Dude, what have you been eating? You weigh like a million pounds."
Caleb grinned. "Well, Short Stuff, I had a bacon cheeseburger around half a day ago with some fries and a chocolate shake," he began.
"Never mind Cales; I don't want to hear it. And don't call me Short Stuff," Sam added defiantly as the much bigger man pinned him.
"Why not? You are short, you know?" Caleb teased.
Sam growled as he attempted to flip them again. He was getting ready to play dirty and use his finger nails to pinch Caleb off him (Caleb didn't have any finger nails and therefore couldn't retaliate in the same way) when a booming voice stopped the action instantly.
"Caleb Lukas Winchester, get off you cousin now," Luke's voice blared. "You're going to hurt him!
Caleb was up in an instant and pulling Sam with him. "Cousin?" he asked, then he moved onto a more important topic.
"I would never hurt Sammy. In fact, if past experience is anything to go on, Sam was just about to turn the tables on me."
Sam grinned.
Everyone at the table stared.
"You know, I still don't know how you manage to always come on top Little Bit," Caleb added in sulkily. "What're you doing here anyway?"
"Well, we had some people practically break down out door today and drag us here. Turns out we have a rather large family that we never knew about. Our lives are so cliché," Dean sighed.
"Dean, your lives are the farthest thing from cliché I've ever heard of. Hell, even my life is more cliché then yours," Caleb answered with an eye roll.
"You find a case here, John?" he asked as he took note of the older man lounging in his chair and clearly enjoying the scene before him.
"Yeah," John answered. "Y'know you could've mentioned that we were related before this."
"How the hell was I supposed to know you were using your real name? No one uses their real last name in our line of work," Caleb said with exasperation.
"Which is exactly why I did," John answered smugly. "The last thing anyone would expect was for us to use our real names. It throws people off."
"Dude, Winchester is a kind of gun; perfect fake name for our profession," Caleb complained.
John laughed.
"Wait, correct me if I'm wrong, but you're making it sound like you work together. And if you tell me this job includes guns you can just kiss it good bye, Caleb," Luke's voice was very serious.
"Can we have this discussion later? I'm starving. I was in the middle of a job when you called," Caleb pleaded.
Luke watched his son for a second. "Fine, but your not getting out of explaining things this time little boy," he warned.
"Of course," Caleb answered with a stoic face. Sam could see the gears turning to think up a lie. "That goes for you too, John," Luke added.
"Yeah, I know," John said dryly. "You've made that abundantly clear, thank you very much."
"You're gonna be in sooo much trouble," Caleb realized with a laugh. He sounded lik a second grader taunting his older brother for getting caught stealing a cookie. "Everyone thought you were dead; they're gonna be pissed now."
"Thanks for the news flash," Dean said, rolling his eyes.
"Sit down and eat," Caleb's mother ordered, her lips in a thin line. She obviously didn't like the idea of he son having anything to do with guns.
Caleb didn't bother to try and find a chair at the already crowded table; he just sat down in Sam's chair placed the smaller boy in his lap.
"Caleb," Sam muttered, red with embarrassment. "Let me down."
"No thanks Little Bit. I haven't seen you in forever. Besides, I don't know if there's even another open chair for me to take.
Sam sighed, but didn't push it.
The rest of dinner was a quiet affair, much different from the noise of earlier. Everyone seemed to be studying Sam, and it was making him feel like the specimen in a science lab. He was almost waiting for someone to try and dissect him.
"How did the job go, Caleb?" John finally asked when he got tired of the silence.
Caleb looked up, about to answer, when something stopped him.
A long drawn out howl was heard from outside. This wasn't something one usually heard in this part of the country, so it had everyone looking up in surprise.
Caleb went dead pale. "Shit," he breathed.