He missed his mom. Dean had been thinking that over and over. He just missed his mommy and he was scared that the fire would come back and start taking his dad and his brother. He didn't want the fire to have anyone else. Not even the weird man, Pastor Jim. Pastor Jim was okay. He was nice and didn't try too hard to make him talk like every one else. He let him take care of Sammy, and didn't tell him to get out of Sammy's playpen when he found him sleeping inside.
Dean's exuberant little brother took advantage of his daydreaming and tackled him. His little diaper crinkling as he kicked his chubby legs and hugged his brother and giggled. Jim watched from the couch as Sam smiled and laughed and buried his head into his brother's stomach and tried to push like a bull dozer. Dean laughed. Dean laughed hard, and writhed on the floor playing with his little brother like a normal five year old. Jim kept the astonishment off of his face as best as he could because he didn't want to spook the older boy and cause him to stifle the laughter, laughter might just help heal his little soul.
Dean pushed Sam off of him and had him on his back, and Dean, sitting on his knees, put his mouth on his baby brother's stomach and blew making a farting noise on the child's stomach. Sam put his little chubby hands into Dean's hair and laughed hard, Dean did it again, and Sam laughed again so hard that he stopped breathing for a few seconds. Encouraged by his brother's laughter Dean kept on giving him raspberries and Sam kicked his legs and smacked Dean in the head all the while laughing so hard that he would turn red and his laughter would become silent.
"Dean." Pastor Jim said in a warning voice, Dean stopped and his face went from happy grins to scared in less than a second. "Just give Sammy a little more time. He needs to catch his breath." Dean nodded a little and looked back at Sammy who was all wide eyes and grins. He smacked his stomach wanting Dean to do it again, and Dean smiled and obliged his little brother.
After they played for a while Dean turned on the television, which now pretty much resided on the channel that held cartoons most frequently, and lay on the floor on his stomach and watched whatever cartoon that was flickering across the screen. Jim left the boys to the television and worked on making lunch. When he was finished, he went into the family room to collect the kids, and found Dean still awake watching television and Sammy asleep next to his brother. Jim, reluctantly, went and picked up little Sammy. Dean looked worried.
"Don't worry Dean. I'm just putting him down for a nap. I won't take him away from you." Dean got up and followed Jim to the bedroom and put Sam down for a nap. He covered up the child and Dean watched his green eyes wide with concern.
"He'll be fine Dean." Sam shifted in his sleep and Dean's eyebrows knitted together. "I'll leave the door open. You need to eat lunch. Once you've eaten, you can come back in here if you want." Jim said. Dean nodded briefly, and followed Jim to the kitchen, got into his chair and started to shove the sandwich into his little mouth.
"Whoah, whoah Dean. Don't eat so fast, you'll get sick." Dean looked up and then put the sandwich back on the plate. "Chew Dean, make sure you chew. I don't want you to choke. You don't want to get hurt. Because if you got hurt, who would protect Sammy?" Dean nodded and sat, kicking his legs and chewed the sandwich that was in his mouth before he took a drink of milk. Jim ate some of his lunch and pondered whether or not he should try to talk to Dean about talking. The child needed to talk if he was to enroll in school in the fall. He was already a year behind.
"Dean?" He looked over at Pastor Jim and his eyes were curious. "You know, Sammy should know how to say some words by now." Dean looked suspicious. He could sense that the Pastor was trying to get him to talk. "You do a very good job with him Dean. You are a very good big brother. You know, maybe if you started to talk then maybe he would realize it is okay to talk too." Dean seemed to consider this information as he ate. The moment the last piece of sandwich was stuffed into his mouth he ran into his brother's room.
"Get the kid to talk again, and then teach him table manners." Jim sighed as he picked up Dean's plate and glass and put them in the sink.
He heard Dean shut the door, and he figured that Dean was already inside his brother's playpen. He was. Dean had climbed in as fast as he could and lay beside his baby brother.
"That true what the man says?" Dean asked his sleeping brother. "You should be talking." He said. "I'll start talking if you do." He said quietly. He watched Sam for a little while and decided that his mother would want Sammy to talk, would want Sammy to grow up like normal. She would want Dean to be brave for Sammy, to help him. "I'll be brave and talk for you Sammy. I love you."