Title: Not Good Enough
Genre: Gen
Characters: Sam, Dean, John and River Winchester
Summary: River wants to take a more hands on approach to hunting. The other Winchester are a bit reluctant and River is a bit pissy. Never a good combo.
XXX
"So how did you boys think this was going to possibly end well?" Gramps asked as the Trio lined up in front of River and Jamie. River thought a firing squad looked more promising.
Jamie squared his shoulders, "We figured we would have a successful hunt and then we would come home and ya'll would kick our asses because that's what you do. But then you would realized that we did a good job."
"So how'd that work out for ya?" Dean asked.
"Not so good, I guess. I imagine we are both gonna get our asses beat and that ain't so great. The hunt though? It wasn't really all that bad. River was awesome, Uncle Sam. He sliced through that donkey like a hot knife through butter. It was a beautiful kill."
Sam narrowed his eyes, "If you don't mind the fact that River has a chunk of River missing where his shoulder used to be."
"Awe, c'mon, Uncle Sam, it's not that bad. Anyone can get hurt on a hunt. You and my dad have more scars than I can count."
"And that's your rationale for this clusterfuck?" Sam asked incredulously.
"Kind of strong word to use isn't it Uncle Sam?" Jamie asked. River kind of thought so too, his father didn't really cuss as much as his uncle did and neither one cussed as much as Gramps. They also tended not to cuss as much around Gramps either. River figured whatever flavor soap Gramps had used on his boys through the years must have still left a bad taste in their mouths.
"Strong word? I used a strong word?" He turned to his brother, "Dean? Did I use a strong word?" Sam didn't wait for Dean to answer, instead glared at Jamie, "My nephew and my son go on an unsupervised, unsanctioned – clearly dangerous - hunt involving witches and psychotic donkeys and I have the audacity to use a strong word?" For a moment he looked like he wasn't quite sure what to say next. Sam blew hard through his nose and then apparently decided on his next course of action, "This is exactly why THE ADULTS IN THIS FAMILY DECIDE WHO HUNTS AND WHEN! It is an adult decision not a kid decision!"
Jamie took a step back and River really couldn't blame him. His father was big and strong and typically he didn't really yell. He never really had too. River found out early that Sam was pretty effective at using his Sasquatch presence to convey how angry he was. It didn't mean that he wouldn't try other methods though if necessary.
Maybe it was Jamie's involuntary step back. Maybe Sam just didn't want to pull out the big guns yet, River wasn't sure the rationale, but his dad took a deep breath and seemed to center himself. He ran a calming hand through his hair. "Listen boys, I'm not angry because River got hurt, you're right, it happens in this business. But we do everything in our power to eliminate that possibility. Your grandfather, Dean and I learned a long time ago that fighting this fight isn't worth a damn if we can't live to fight another day. We've all made poor decisions regarding that. We've all put ourselves in terrible positions and forced the people we love to make a difficult choices based on something stupid that we've done. It's not good, it's never good - that's one of the reasons we are as tough as we are with you boys when it comes to hunting."
Gramps spoke up from the door jam, "Your father is right, Riv. The rules we have in this family regarding hunting are necessary and absolute."
"Absolute?" River yelled, "All I know about absolute is that you are absolutely not going to let me in on a real hunt until you I prove to you that I can do it!" River bellowed at his grandfather, throat raw with emotion. He surprised himself at the conviction in his voice as well as the volume. River didn't often yell at his grandfather. Gramps had checked off that particular ticky box River's first week as a Winchester.
"Who do you think you are talkin' to, son?" Gramps spoke low and although he didn't step away from the door jam, it felt like he was breathing down River's neck. Gramps had that affect on people. Jamie seemed to feel it too because suddenly River felt Jamie's elbow in his ribs. River couldn't help the slight involuntary yip that accompanied the jab.
River shook it off. "I'm talking to you Gramps, and Uncle Dean and yeah, Dad too. I'm tired of sitting in the back seat watching you guys and Jamie hunt. I deserve to have the right to hunt, just like any other Winchester."
"Unfortunately, that's not true," Gramps said mildly, "Just because your name is Winchester it doesn't mean you get the right to hunt. What it does mean is that you have the responsibilities that come with that name. It also means that if you follow the rules and your family feels you are ready, well than maybe you will have the opportunity to hunt. Apparently though, you and Jamie both think the rules are only for other Winchesters."
"What do you mean 'other Winchesters' I'm the only Winchester who's subject to this Hunting rule shit." River protested.
"Not true. Both your father and your uncle had to prove to me they were ready to hunt. Jamie's continually proving it to all of us. Right now, all you've manage to prove is that you are a disobedient, stubborn boy, who happens to be very good with a knife."
River wanted to yell or stomp his feet but that certainly wouldn't help his case and it would only add to fuel to the last insult. He wasn't a boy. He was a hunter, an inexperienced one, true but damn it…River tried to steady himself. He was only going to dig himself a deeper hole if he didn't get his shit together.
River took a deep breath, "I got it Gramps. I screwed up, I broke the damn rules. I understand that. But I only did it because you guys wouldn't let me prove to you that I could do it any other way."
"No," Dad interrupted, "You screwed up because you screwed up. You broke the rules because we wouldn't let you do it any other way."
"Whatever." River said suddenly sullen and angry. Why did it have to be so damn hard?
"It's a big difference Riv, " Sam said, "The screw up in the hunt was a simple mistake, a rookie mistake, and yes, it was rookie even though you and Jamie are pretty savvy but you going out to hunt on your own was 100% wrong and you know it."
"It's not wrong if it's the only way I can get you to listen to me!"
"It is wrong. Because I say it's wrong, River." Sam allowed that trademark low Winchester rumble resonate through the room. It was so much scarier than his previous yelling was, "Because I'm your father and I get to make these kind of decisions until you are old enough to make them on your own."
River glanced at grandfather who was alternating between a look of agreement and astonishment, as if he wasn't quite sure that Sam was actually speaking those words.
Sam seemed to pick up on it because he glared at his father, "And even though Dad over there, apparently seems to think that what I'm saying is funny…
"Noo," Gramps interrupted, "I just remember me saying almost the exact same thing to you when you were a kid and you didn't listen any better than River is doing right now."
Sam turned toward his father, "The Hell I didn't, Dad. I did listen. I followed your orders. I'll admit I did it with extreme prejudice, because Lord knows, I didn't want to listen. But when I was sixteen, I damn well followed your rules because if I didn't you would wallop the hell out of my ass!"
Gramps agreed, "Point taken."
River had had enough. Completely, "Okay, so that's where we stand in all of this. I broke the rules. So why can't we just avoid all of the bitching and lamenting on my lack of obedience and just start whacking me? I'm tired of waiting." River through his hand up in frustration.
"Jesus, River…it's not like that!" Sam ran a hand through his hair.
"Yes, it is, Dad. I broke your fucking rules, now you all want to beat me for it. Well go ahead. Knock your socks off. It's not going to change anything. I'm still going to want to hunt, you're still not going to let me hunt and that damn donkey lady is still prancing around San Antonio. " River wiped a quick hand across his eyes. He was not crying damn it. Why couldn't they understand?
"Whoa, Cuz. Calm down." Jamie bumped his shoulder into River.
"I will NOT CALM DOWN!"
Gramps moved away from the door jam, far quicker than any old dude should be able to move. He managed to slide past both Sam and Dean and grabbed River by the collar. It wasn't rough and it wasn't harsh but he leaned down into River's ear and spoke so quietly, that River didn't know if Jamie even heard it.
"You will calm down, River Winchester. You will make your point like a civilized person or you won't make it at all."
River wanted to say something else. Wanted to continue on with his rant but Gramps had a way of suddenly clearing up all the extraneous bullshit in his head. River wasn't sure if it was the gentle shake or the proximity of his grandfather to his ass but River did calm down.
"Yes, sir." River spoke almost as quietly as this grandfather.
"Good boy," Gramps said, this time louder and he released River's shirt easily and moved back to the door jam.
"Dad," Sam protested, "My kid, not yours."
Gramps shrugged, "Just imparting a little grandfatherly advice."
Dad blew sharply through his nose, "Fine."
Gramps arched his brows toward Sam, "Fine."
It didn't look all that fine from where River was standing, but it was kind of nice not to have the spotlight shining on him for a moment.
Dean looked at both his brother and his father, "Pissing contest done yet?"
Sam pursed his lips but dropped his head and Gramps nodded imperceptibly. Dean turned his attention to River, "Okay, Riv – is this your entire defense, kiddo? 'Cause I'm not seeing a huge impact on what's going to happen here."
"Yes, sir. That's it. The only thing I can say differently is that Jamie only went along because he wanted to make sure that everything was as safe as possible. He was just protecting me and JR."
Uncle Dean allowed his eyes to linger at River but then settled on Jamie. He addressed River's statement though, "Jamie protecting you would have been a helluva lot easier if you hadn't gone on the damn hunt in the first place."
Jamie eyeballed Dean right back, jumping in before River could even offer a rebuttal, "It wouldn't have solved the problem, Dad. The donkey lady would have still been there but more than that, River still wouldn't be able to prove he could hunt."
Uncle Dean spoke earnestly, "We are obviously having a problem in communication here. For some reason, you boys are stuck on the thought that the end justifies the means. It doesn't. Period. Regardless of what River thought he needed to prove or how much you felt like you needed to help him, you were wrong. And because of your disobedience, River is hurt, JR is in hot water, and there is a half completed hunt that the rest of us have to finish up." Dean stopped a moment and made sure that he met both Jamie and River's eyes, "But more importantly, you lied to us. We trusted you two and you both betrayed that trust."
"Jeeze, Dad. When you say it like that…" Jamie began.
"There's no other way to say it."
River was at a loss for words. He hadn't thought of the hunt as a betrayal - simply as way to show his family he was competent. Instead it had done the opposite.
"I'm sorry, guys." River blushed. He hated when he blushed. No matter how tanned the warm Texas sun colored his skin, it could do nothing to stop the crimson that blossomed up his face when something like this happened. It gave him little comfort to see his cousin just as red.
"So it's finally in your thick skulls?" Gramps asked.
"Yes, sir." Both Jamie and River agreed, their voices exactly the same.
Jamie quirked an eyebrow at his father, "So, since we've learned our lesson without the customary beat down – can we just forget that part?" He asked hopefully.
"Hardly." Uncle Dean scowled.
"Figures."
XXX
River hated having Jamie get a whipping because of him. Hated even more that he had to be there for it. It was also extremely inconvenient that River was getting his ass kicked at the same time. The Trio decided unanimously that boys that lie together get punished together. Mercifully, Gramps decided he would be in charge of the grounding and that Sam and Dean would both deal with their own boys as they saw fit. "As they saw fit" was exactly the same and it entailed both Jamie and River bottoms up over the couch in the living room. Nothing racked back a boys' self esteem better than to find themselves sans pants having their butts blistered by their respective fathers.
It put a whole new spin on Winchester bonding.
It was inevitable River figured – it was hard not to feel connected to the kid getting has ass whipped right next to you. Shared experiences and all that. Besides, they'd both been on the receiving end of each other's father's hands – it wasn't like one spanked any harder than the other. If the volume of yelling in the living room was any indication, both parents were Olympic caliber spankers.
That didn't stop his dad or his uncle from impressing on both River and Jamie the severity of the situation.
All three of the Winchester men had varying degrees of spankings, the least of which was a sharp swat or two. Those brief swats hurt like hell but startled a kid more than anything else. Gramps called it a "love tap" if he was feeling playful or a "wake up call" if he was not. River supposed it worked because he was usually a little more mindful of remembering whatever the adult had swatted him for. Whether he felt anymore loved after it, was up for debate.
This was no wake up call.
Apparently, hunting on your own called for a class A beat down.
And as usual, neither his father nor his uncle did things by halves so Jamie and River were privy to a butt roasting of astronomical proportions.
With each slap of hand on ass River tried not to groan, then when both Sam and Dean reached for their belts at exactly the same time, well River determined right then and there that his father and his uncle had been living together far too long.
As usual though, the belt was pretty much the climax and neither man was downright malicious. Simply effective.
Very effective, River thought. That is, when he could think again.
Unfortunately, the high degree of spanking didn't stop Gramps from grounding them for a month either. Then he added on the caveat of extra PT and whatever kind of chores he could come up with during that month. River knew his grandfather could be pretty creative when it came to chores. Scrubbing the head with a toothbrush was way too boring for John Winchester.
Not that he hadn't used that one on occasion.
Honestly, River thought that particular punishment was pretty effective. Cleaning the lone bathroom used by five males was pretty damn disgusting no matter what you tried to clean it with.
Fortunately, neither his father nor his uncle seemed to think the spanking was a actual competition and afterward, both Jamie and River were sore but it was nothing they hadn't felt before.
Although, as in previous lickings, it felt like it was the worse spanking River had ever got. It always did for him. It gave him little comfort that Jamie appeared to be in the same shape that he was in. They both limped up the steps to their room; Jamie first and River a half step behind.
Jamie opened the door to their bedroom wearily but stopped short of sitting on his bed.
"I agree," River said.
Both boys had pulled up their jeans for the trip upstairs and River was quite sure Jamie didn't want them touching his blazing ass anymore than River did. So he dropped his jeans again and threw them in the corner of their room. Jamie offered a surprisingly bright smile and pitched his own on top of River's.
"What's so damn funny?"
"Nothin'. Just glad that's over, s'all."
"Only you could smile after that little foray into ass kicking hell."
Jamie shrugged.
"I wonder how, JR fared?" River asked.
"Probably in the exact state we are in, except he's got his big brother in his room without a red ass – so he's commiserating by himself. At least I got you to whine with."
River nodded. It was true. Mr. Jeff was just as old fashioned as his parents and JR was probably miserable too. River glanced up the cell phone on his desk. His parents were so old fashioned in fact; that the Trio had forgotten to take away cell phone privileges. At least temporarily. Maybe JR's dad had too.
Sure enough there was a text, sent to both River and Jamie. River supposed it wasn't in JR to commiserate by himself.
River grinned, "That boy's not right."
Jamie was still contemplating exactly how he wanted to lay down on his bed when he turned to River. "Huh"
"Take a look at your phone."
Jamie picked his own phone and laughed out loud.
"Perv."
"Dude's got no shame." River agreed.
JR had snapped a picture of his own naked ass and had forwarded it to them.
He'd even signed it ~ Baboon Ass Boy.
"He was your friend first, "River commented.
"Yeah, but you embraced all that was JR far too quickly. I'm blaming you. Now he has two of us to show off for."
River shook his head. Only JR.
Jamie glanced at his phone questioningly.
"No way, Jamie. I'm not sending ass photos over to JR. You want to embarrass yourself and join in the crazy that is your friend. Knock yourself out."
Jamie tossed the phone on his bed easily.
"Nah, knowing JR he'd post it on Facebook or something."
"Yeah, or something." River reached up and switched the light switch off. The room wasn't plunged into complete darkness though, there was still a little moonlight spilling in from the window.
River lay down on his bed, carefully avoiding his ass. It wasn't an easy thing to do but if he was going to get some sleep, it was going to have to be in the bed somehow. While he was still trying to find a comfortable position, Jamie spoke up from his own bed.
"You know, I wasn't kidding, Riv."
"'Bout what?"
"The hunt. It was a beautiful kill. I mean you were startled and all but you pulled yourself together and honestly? I couldn't have done it better myself."
"Now you're just fucking with me." River wasn't searching for compliments, there was no way he was as good as Jamie.
"Honest, Cuz. Beautiful. And if the old farts had seen it, they would have said so too."
River was glad the lights were out. He could feel himself blush in the darkened room. Damn blonde genes from Sunshine.
Then, River found himself smiling. So he was the newest Winchester. So he'd just gotten an ass kicking. So he'd screwed up big time. His smart ass, never-gonna-give-a-compliment cousin seemed to think he'd made a good kill.
True it was just a demonic donkey but beggars couldn't be choosers.
There, in his room, nursing a burning ass and still sniffling, it occurred to River that maybe, just maybe, he might just make it. It wasn't always going to be pretty and he was going to make mistakes but it was quite possible that River Winchester might just be good enough.
End