Dean pushes the cart forward with his hips, typing furiously at the screen of his blackberry as he responds to a message from Jo. Sam is bent over and examining the selection of barbeque sauces. He reaches out and catches the front of the cart before Dean runs him over.
"What kind of sauce should we get? There's too many choices," Sam says, straightening up and looking at Dean. Seeing the phone glued to Dean's hands, he pegs Dean with a skeptical look at taps his foot impatiently while he waits for Dean to finish. When Dean finally looks up and sees Sam's expression, he immediately looks guilty.
"Sorry, Sammy. Jo's trying to book her flight. What's up? Barbeque sauce," Dean realizes as Sam holds up 4 different bottles. "Um, I don't know. Just get all of them? That way everyone has a choice."
Sam shrugs and drops the bottles into the cart with the various vegetables and meats. They scoot around to the next aisle, Sam dragging the cart behind him and Dean texting away.
"How many people are coming to this again?" Dean asks, finally sticking his phone in his pocket, much to Sam's relief.
"Well there's probably twenty people from the firm, and then Cas, Meg, Jo, and however many guys from the team," Sam replies, scanning the cans of baked beans on the shelves in front of him.
"Okay, so forty-ish people. So what are we thinking for buns? I'd rather have extra than run out," Dean adds, mentally calculating in his head. "Multiples of eight, right? So thirty-two of each? Or should we get more hamburgers than hot dogs? Why are we throwing this party again?"
Sam rolls his eyes and smiles over at Dean.
"Because it's going to be fun, and we haven't had a party in the new house, and because you love me, and I want to party!" Sam replies, and Dean laughs at the happy puppy expression on his face.
"Alright, well then you can figure out how many buns to get," Dean tells him, rolling his eyes as Sam sticks his tongue out at him. "I'm gonna go get a pretzel. You want one?"
"No, babe I'm good," Sam replies, concentrating once more on the two large cans of beans he's holding.
"I'll meet you at the buns," Dean says, and Sam flashes him a quick smile before turning back to the beans.
The Fourth of July falls on a gorgeously sunny Friday. Dean mans the barbeque, beer in hand, while Sam socializes and plays host. Half the party has already given in to the heat and jumped into the pool. Sarge provides entertainment as he jumps into the pool, splashing everyone on his way to the steps in the shallow end. He climbs out, a goofy grin on his face, then runs back to the deep end to jump in again.
Jo is soaking up the attention of three of Dean's teammates, all of whom are definitely single, Jo made sure to find out right away. Jo and Mark had broken up a few months ago, and Jo was already trying to move on. Dean shakes his head and smiles as he watches her flirting with the three men. Luckily, they were all good guys, or Dean would have played the big brother card and told them to get lost.
"Everything looks good, babe," Sam says, wrapping his arms around Dean's waist and planting a kiss behind his ear. Dean grins, turning his head to kiss Sam's hair.
"Burgers are almost done. Is everyone eating?" Dean asks, and Sam nods against the side of his neck. Sam kisses Dean's neck, his tongue darting out discreetly to taste the salty sweat glistening in the sun.
"Well aren't you two the picture of domestication," comes a voice from behind them, and both men turn in surprise. Cas has just stepped through the sliding glass door onto the porch, Meg following just behind him, a happy baby boy in her arms.
"There's my favorite Nephew!" Dean coos, setting down his beer and crossing the deck to wrap both Meg and Nathaniel in his arms. "How was the flight?" Dean kisses Meg on the cheek before taking Nathaniel out of her arms and holding him up. Nathaniel giggles and waves his arms.
"Wow he's gotten so big!" Sam exclaims, hugging Cas and then Meg before he tickles Nathaniel's stomach.
"It was a great flight, Nate fell asleep right after take-off and slept the entire way," Meg replies, obvious relief and admiration of their son in her voice. "Who's dog?"
"Sam's," Dean tells her, taking a step back with Nathaniel as Sarge comes barreling over to greet the new guests. Sam snaps his fingers and Sarge sits docily at his feet, allowing both Cas and Meg to pet his wet head. "Watch what I taught him."
Dean gives Sarge a stern look, telling him in a stage shout "incoming!" Cas, Meg, and the other various guests on the deck laugh as Sarge drops to his stomach and covers his face with his paws.
"Smart dog!" Cas says with a laugh. Sam offers both of them a beer, as well as Dean when he notices Dean's empty bottle. Meg and Sam then go into the house with Nathaniel to move their bags into the guest bedroom and get changed into swimsuits. Jo was sleeping on the futon in the office tonight.
"Man, it's good to see you looking so happy," Cas tells Dean, clinking the neck of his bottle against Dean's as they stand by the barbeque. "You look good."
"Thanks, Cas," Dean replies self consciously, glancing down at his white button up and khaki shorts. He had quickly rolled the sleeves up to his elbows when he got a feel for how warm of a day it was becoming. Sam had apparently taught Sarge to do his business in the far back corner of the lot, behind the shed, so Dean felt comfortable walking around the backyard in bare feet. Sam had opted for something more casual, wearing a grey v-neck t-shirt over light green plaid shorts. Most of the guests were in t-shirts and shorts, with a few guys from Sam's office opting for button downs with the sleeves rolled. Most of the women were in short shorts or sun dresses.
Dean introduces Cas around to the team as Meg and Sam play in the shallow end of the pool with Nathaniel, who giggles hysterically every time Sarge belly-flops into the deep end. They catch up, although there isn't much to say. Dean and Cas email at least once a week, but Sam and Meg talk almost every day. Sam has thousands of pictures of Nathaniel on his phone, and shows them to Dean as they lay in bed at night. Every time Dean hears Sam's voice swell with pride at little Nate's accomplishments, like the time Sam showed him the video of Nathaniel rolling over seven times, Dean thinks to himself how much he wants to give Sam a child of his own someday.
That night, the Neighborhood Association puts on a big, and expensive, Dean grumbles under his breath to Jo, fireworks display. Everyone lays on blankets and towels in the grass to watch the fireworks overhead. Sam folds his arms behind his head, Dean's head on his stomach and Meg's on his thigh. Sarge was curled up against Cas's side next to Meg. Cas held the baby monitor against his ear the whole time, but Nathaniel slept through the entire show.
As the fireworks burst overhead, Dean rolled over onto his stomach, propping himself up on his elbows to stare down at Sam. The huge grin on Sam's face made him chuckle.
"You throw a great party, babe," Dean whispers, leaning in close enough to tickle Sam's ear with his breath. Sam laughs as he turns his head to catch Dean's lips with his own. He wraps one hand around the back of Dean's neck, pulling him close. Dean leans on Sam's chest as they make out under the bright flashes and loud booms.
The next morning, Dean flips pancakes on the stove while Sam cuts up watermelon and cantaloupe. Cas and Meg join them first, looking as sleepy as Nathaniel squirms happily in Cas's arms. Dean raises his eyebrow at Jo as she wanders into the kitchen, followed closely by Justin, who plays left wing for the Sharks. Jo blushes, mouthing an apology and a 'nothing happened' to Dean when Justin wasn't looking. Dean shrugged. Of all the guys on his team, Justin was probably one of the better choices.
Sam took Nathaniel from Cas, nuzzling raspberries against the baby's neck as Cas and Dean carried platters of food out to the deck, followed by Meg and Jo with coffee and juices. Justin said a hasty thank you to form and Dean, gave Jo a quick kiss on the cheek, and excused himself to go to a family function.
"Hey Dean, Sam," Cas began around a mouthful of pancake, "can we ask you guys a favor?"
"Yeah, of course. What's up?" Dean replied.
"The company is putting on a retreat in a couple weeks. And by retreat I mean three nights in Vegas." Sam chuckles as he bites a grape in half to feed to Nathaniel. "We were going to ask my parents but Meg was thinking you guys might like to watch Nate for the weekend?"
"Which weekend is that?" Sam asks, breaking off a small piece of cantaloupe and handing it to Nate.
"The first of August, until the fourth. Does that work for you?" Meg says, glancing from Sam to Dean.
"Yeah, that works for me. Season doesn't start up again until October so I can take that weekend off from practice," Dean replies, grinning at Sam as his face lights up.
"Oh, this is going to be so much fun. You're going to be so spoiled by Uncle Dean and Uncle Sam, aren't you?" Sam coos in the babies ear. His hair flops forward, and Nathaniel reaches up to grab two huge fistfuls. Everyone, including Nate, burst into laughter as Meg tries to rescue Sam's hair from the baby's grasp.