I hope you are enjoying this story, I'm trying to work in all my little ideas and this story is now WAY longer than I originally thought it would be but I love writing it. I may post the first chapter on my second story soon, I just have to edit it and start the second chapter so I can see where its going. Look out for it soon!
Please forgive all mistakes they're mine alone.
A/N: Thanks you as always to everyone who is favouriting, following and reviewing it really helps that I'm not just writing for myself, that you are all waiting for the next installment.
Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any of the wonderful characters that I am taking on this journey.
Chapter 8 – We are Family!
"Dean, please don't take this the wrong way but in the immortal words of Bobby Singer, you're an idjit! ...of course I want, no... need you to help me with this, I can't do this by myself and as much as Bobby has helped me through SO MUCH, I can't expect him to take ALL this on his own, we need someone else on our team." Sam was smiling and really hoping that Dean didn't think he was joking.
"Ok that's good" Dean chuckles nervously, he hadn't wanted to step on anyone's toes, he didn't want to make his brother feel like he thought he was too weak to do it, that being in that wheel chair was a burden but his brother had already proved himself more that capable.
Looking back down at the contents of the bag, something caught Sam's eye buried at the bottom, right in one of the dark corners of the fabric, he dove in the pull it out." What the hell is this" He asks, finding a small parcel wrapped in newspaper, with his dad's handwriting, it was marked with just one word 'Hope'. His father had a bought a gift for his granddaughter, hidden in the depths of his fathers memory bag, that he obviously intended to give to her, one day. He was starting to see a whole other side to his father that he wished he could have known that John Winchester more, instead of the war weary soldier and hunter he grew up with. He looked up at Deans puzzled face and moved to open it. The parcel fit in the palm of his hand, and weighed almost nothing. Sam tore off the sticky tape and unraveled the paper to show a small jewellery pouch and a folded note. Sam passed the note to Dean in a silent request to read it out loud, while he opened the pouch.
"Sam, Congratulations on the birth of your beautiful daughter, she is so much like her mother, and yours, I am truly happy that you have been able to build this life for yourself, but as a father and now grandfather, I can't help but remember the dangers that lurk in the shadows. Please take this small token of protection for Hope, the stone in the middle is a Hope Stone, it seemed fitting. I am so proud of you my son, welcome to the club. Dad"
Opening the top off the pouch and tipping it upside down, revealing a silver brooch with a filigree border in the shape of a devils trap, in each of the points was a semi precious stone, amethyst, agate, aqua marine, quartz etc and in the middle was the Hope Stone.
Dean looked up to see Sam with an strange look on his face, he was in shock that his father had bought this brooch, possibly had it made especially for his granddaughter so she would be protected. "Did you know about this?"
Dean shook his head, "No Sammy, I have no idea how, when or where Dad pulled this off" Dean is surprised that John Winchester had gone to all the trouble of getting this gift for Sam's baby girl and not telling him about it.
"Well I say we go and pin that on your little girl right now, ...couldn't hurt right?" Dean asked, patting Sam on the shoulder. Sam looked up at his brother and nodded, now was as good a time as any. Straightening out against the back of the bed, Sam tried to leaver himself so he could grip the quilt and drag himself up onto the bed, but his brother was right there to pick him up, no complaints, no questions asked, making Sam incredibly grateful that his brother had come back into his life, and seemingly not forgotten how to read him like an open book.
"Thanks Dean" Sam says softly to his brother, trying not to let his emotions yet again, get away from him, he had cried enough tears today, his brother had seen him break down, more than once and he supposed that now the damn had broken, his emotions always sat right under the surface, so easy to just come out now, just from a small act of kindness. Shaking his head and telling himself that he needed to get himself under control. He swallowed it down and wheeled himself to tell Bobby about what they had found.
"No problem Sammy" placing Sam into his wheelchair. Dean moved toward the door, gave Sam a quick once over, to see if he was alright and once seeing that he was ready, opened the door and walked through it. "Hey, Bobby? Can we show you something?" Watching as Bobby came from the kitchen with Hope on his hip, sucking on her thumb and watching her Daddy come into the room. "We found this in the bottom of a bag of stuff that Dad left behind, it's for Hope"
Bobby puts his hand out so Sam could put it into his hand and in his other hand he grabs the letter from Dean, which he reads first. Grumbling he puts the letter down and looks at the brooch in his hand, "well, it would have been nice if he'd said all that stuff in person but I guess we can't ask for everything" Bobby says, looking closer at the intricate design.
"What do you think Pa?, is it safe for her to wear?" Sam asks the surrogate father, trusting his judgment.
"Well, It was made special, I've never seem one like it. How about I do a little research to make sure, if you want her to wear it." He looks at Sam and smiles "I think it'll protect her, all these stones have protective and healing properties. Bobby finishes reassuringly.
"Da!" Hope says trying to get her fathers attention. Sam freezes, thinking whether he heard correctly "Da!" She says again stretching her arms out for him.
"Oh my god, did she just…" Bobby whispers passing her to Sam. Note really caring that Da wasn't really a word.
"I think she did Pa, she just said her first word" Sam smiles down at his daughter.
Suddenly Dean is there taking a photo. Clicking away. "We can't let this minute pass by without a happy snap, come on baby, say Dean, Deeeeaaaaaaannnnn!" Another snap of the camera.
"Da... dadadadada!" Sam chuckles and kisses his daughter on the forehead. "Well at least she has her priorities straight"
"Ha ha Sammy, she loves her uncle Dean, don't you baby girl?" Dean asks his niece, the last part in a high pitched baby talk that Sam never in a million years thought would come out of his butch brothers mouth.
"Da! Dadadada! Hope happily chanted, smiling all the while, swinging her arms in the air, clapping, joyously happy to have the 3 older men's attention.
"Deeeaaannn, Come on little one, Deeeaaannnn" Dean looks her right in the eyes, while he try's to get her to say his name.
She was silent for a while, looking at him with wide eyes, then she says "Papapapapapapapapa!" Bobby laughs out loud, huge smile on his face, happy to be her second word.
"Ooh man, she's just leaving the best to last. You know I was your first word, way before you said Dad, you said De." Looking Sam's proud father face, his heart swelling at the smile on his face, dimples in full force. "Dad was a little grumpy but he got over it, I was looking after you all the time anyway."
"Yeah I guess you were, I always thought you were the best big brother, I probably got a little possessive though, I remember chucking tantrums to get you to stay with me, instead of going on your dates." Sam looks apologetically.
"Yeah you were quite the little c... date blocker" Dean says with a smirk, looking at his brother holding his rather impressionable niece who once she started talking would repeat everything they said. "Sometimes I didn't really mind though, You were pretty cool for a geek, and you thought my gadgets where clever, and sometimes you said you didn't mind that Dad wasn't there, because you had your big brother and that was enough" Shaking his head, Dean wonders where all that estrogen came from, why was he turning into such a girl, oh wait, it was the little girl in his brothers arms.
"Well, I kind of thought the stars and moon shone out of you back then. I know things have changed now but you're still a pretty good big brother." Sam says, surprised that he actually believed that now, even though a week ago he would have wanted nothing to do with the man in front of him.
"Oh well, thanks" Dean says scratching the back of his neck nervously.
"Ok enough of this love fest, lets get this little one down for the night. All this excitement has screwed up her routine" Bobby states like the grandpa he was and loved being, picking Hope up from her fathers lap, rubbing her back softly, starting to sooth her into relaxation.
"Oh yeah, your right, she's had way too much stimulation today, I hope she'll sleep through now" Sam feeling doubtful, suddenly remembering that he was a responsible father.
"You said stimulation" Dean said sniggering in a childish manner that if Sam was honest with himself he had really missed.
"What are you 12? I meant she... never mind" Sam said shaking his head at his brother.
Wheeling into the guest bedroom after Bobby had walked in with Hope, watching him sooth his daughter, trying to get her to close her eyes for sleep, he turns off the light and moves toward her crib and grabs her favourite toy, a pink rabbit that Jess had bought her, before she was born. It still smelled like her perfume, he remembered she would be in the rocking chair with Hope, humming her to sleep with the rabbit against her chest, soaking in her perfume so it still smelled like her even after washing it. Handing Bobby the rabbit he says softly "Here, this might help"
"Ah, she loves this thing." Bobby says softly so Hope doesn't startle, her eyes are half mast, she grabs onto the rabbit with her hand and scrunches it up and puts her thumb in her mouth, her eyes closing all the way, a big sigh indicating the toy was what she had been waiting for.
Sam goes to his wardrobe and takes out his Stanford sweatshirt and puts it on his bed for later, after everything that had happened today, this old piece of clothing would comfort him when he changed for bed and hopefully allow him to sleep without any nightmares.
Sam wheeled out to the lounge room, leaving Bobby to put his daughter in her crib. He looked towards Dean and said, "You have our old room upstairs if you like, or the couch folds out, which ever you want" Sam realised he was nervous for some reason.
"The couch is fine" Dean asks knowing that his brothers nerves were from wanting his brother to be close by but not wanting to seem so weak by asking him to stay.
Letting out a breath he didn't realise he had been holding. Dean walks up to him, pats him on the shoulder and crouches down and says softly "Don't worry Sammy, I'll stay down here, I won't leave you two alone" Dean wants his brother to know that the newly re-established brotherly affection was not going to end now that the sun had gone down.
"Ok, thanks...Umm Dean? ...Ok now I really feel like a wimp, I need my big brother sleeping just outside my bedroom just so I can sleep!" Sam says aggravated with himself, looking at his hands, fidgeting and closing his eyes in shame.
Dean watches him thinking the kid was punishing himself for needing a little protection, having to ask anyone, let alone his brother for something he used to need every night when he was 10 years old. After everything that had happened today, his brave, strong, amazing little brother thought he was being a burden. Dean shakes his head and once again, moves his hand to touch his brother, to reassure him that he really doesn't mind "Hey Sammy, it's fine, your aloud to have a little freak out, OK. I really don't mind sleepin on the couch. It's probably more comfortable than most of the motels beds I've slept in recently. Besides I might get up for Hope if she wakes up in the middle of the night, it'll be like old times, when you would have nightmares and you can finally get some much needed sleep... Oh, don't forget, you have your therapy tomorrow, so you need all the sleep you can get." Dean smiles at Sam.
"OK, if you really don't mind. It'll be just for one night. You can sleep upstairs tomorrow" Sam says nodding too himself, like he's trying to syke himself up, so by tomorrow he won't need his brother on the couch again.
"Don't worry Sammy we'll sort out the sleeping arrangements tomorrow OK." Dean says nudging him to move towards his room and getting up himself so he can start pulling out the bed held within the couch and to make it with the sheets and blanket Bobby had placed on the coffee table, so he can get a few hours shut eye.
Looking up seeing Bobby watching them from the guest room doorframe, with a small smile on his face. "He's right Sam, please, get some sleep now, your therapy sessions always take a lot out of you. Dean and I need to get some sleep too, we'll be keeping watch while you're with Tracy."
Nodding in acceptance, Sam wheels himself toward his room, where Hope lay sleeping soundly, peacefully. "Ok Pa, I'm going to bed, don't take too long to do the same?" Sam wheels inside the room, "Night" he says before closing the door behind him.
"Night Sammy" Dean says to his brother, then looks at Bobby when the door closes and whispers "He still doesn't believe that I'm here for good, I really want him to trust me, ...I thought we had moved past all that stuff, it's like one step forward, two steps back."
"He does trust you Dean, what he doesn't trust is his own strength, he thinks he's being weak by needing you, because throughout his recovery, he tried to tell himself he didn't need you, he could move on, by himself. I tried to fill the void, and I know I have become the family he craved, and it's a role I cherish, but I know it's not the same" Bobby says sadly.
"Hey, man, don't sell yourself short, I mean, what you did for Sammy... what you've been for him. I can't even... I could never repay you for that, never" Dean says, trying to keep his own emotions in check. "You are his family, I'm just his long lost brother, trying to come back into the fold"