So I know you all want to see Sam and Samantha hae some action together..lol But... first things first... lol We needed to do some major explaining first to better understand our new characters and so on...

Enjoy! :)

Sam spent the first hour teaching tiny Samuel how to make lasagna, with a greatly amused Samantha in the sidelines. After they had finished making it without much damage to the kitchen, Samantha insisted on making cookies, something to which Samuel readily agreed, since it not only involved eating more sugar, but it provided him the opportunity to get his tiny hands into the nice gooey chocolate chip batter. Sam laughed more in that hour than he had laughed all together in the past two years on the road with Dean. He had never known what it was like to have some "normal" family time, and he found that he had missed out on much more than he had imagined. It made him wonder briefly if that was why his father had changed so much since the loss of their mother. Maybe the grief of knowing that he would no longer be able to enjoy the simplicity of a home life had been too much for him to handle. It made Sam realize that maybe…just maybe…John Winchester really hadn't been all that tough as he had tried to appear. Maybe deep down inside, he had been a frightened young man with a wound that had never stopped bleeding since the loss of his most beloved one.

And at that moment, Sam found that he had made his peace with his father.

***

It was 4:00 p.m. and Sam awoke groggily, with the hazy sensation of an unfamiliar weight on his shoulder. Opening his eyes, he smiled lightly. Make that two unfamiliar weights. After lunch, they had ended up in the living room watching re-runs of "I Love Lucy", and apparently somewhere along the way had all ended up falling asleep on the couch. Turning his head slightly, careful to not move as to not awaken anybody, he felt his heart warm as he saw that Samantha had ended up resting her head on his left shoulder, her left hand lying on his lap. Her hair in her face, Sam thought she looked even prettier in her sleep than awake. Nothing could beat the peaceful lull which surrounded them, and he sighed happily, as he turned his head to his right shoulder, where Samuel too had ended up resting his shaggy head.

It doesn't get any better than this… Sam thought to himself with a content smile, as his eyes slowly made their way back to the screen in front of them where "I Love Lucy" was still on. He frowned as he realized it was a Christmas program, and Fred, Ethel, Lucy, and Ricky were all wearing ridiculously large Santa Clause outfits. He sighed. He had forgotten it was almost Christmas. Checking his watch, he realized that it was only about two weeks before Christmas. With a set face, his mind wandered briefly, as old memories of not so happy Christmases as a child spent in a lonely run down motel with Dean stealing presents for him flashed through his mind. He couldn't help but smile slightly as he remembered the time Dean had unknowingly stolen a present from goodness knows where with tacky wrapping. He had handed it to Sam trying to convince him that John Winchester had indeed left them there while he had slept, and Sam had almost believed it—until the unwrapping of it revealed a Barbie doll, which made Dean squirm uncomfortably and admit that, "Look, I swear I didn't know it was a chick's present when I took it." He chuckled humorlessly at the memory of it, only to have a tiny voice next to his right shoulder snap him back to reality.

"You woke me up," complained Samuel in a groggy voice as he rubbed his eyes with two tiny dimpled hands.

Sam smiled at the little imp who despite being fully awake now seemed in no hurry to move from his comfortably warm spot on Sam's arm. "Well, good morning Sleeping Beauty," he teased lightly.

Samuel shifted to look up at him and stuck his tongue out at him. "HA, HA," he replied before readjusting himself on the sofa. Then turning toward the left where his mom was still asleep, he leaned on Sam's chest to get a closer look at his mom. "She's still asleep," he whispered rather loudly to Sam.

"So I noticed," Sam whispered back at him.

"Guess you can't leave yet then," was the kid's observation as he readjusted himself back on the sofa close to Sam. Taking up the remote control, he lowered the volume so as to make sure it didn't disturb his mom.

"Only for a little bit more," Sam explained, not wanting to have Samuel get too used to him. He was afraid of letting the kid get the wrong idea, being as he couldn't help but notice how accustomed the child seemed to be getting around him in only a few hours.

"Do you like Christmas?" Samuel asked abruptly, almost as if trying to change the subject. His tiny hands held on to the remote almost as if his very life depended on it, and his light brown eyes remained glued wistfully at the "I Love Lucy" episode that was still running.

Sam cleared his throat as he tried to think of a diplomatic answer. "Who doesn't?" he finally asked a bit glumly despite himself.

"I don't," Samuel replied quietly to Sam's surprise. "Not since last Christmas."

Sam looked at the bent head beside him with curiosity. "Why? What happened last Christmas?" he finally asked despite himself.

"Dad left," came the short reply.

Sam's heart wrung in compassion for him. He couldn't help but partly understand what that must have been like. "I'm sorry," Sam said softly, not wanting to awake Samantha. "I wish I could say something to make it better."

"Dad always promised that one day he would dress up like Santa Clause and that we would play with legos all day long," Samuel said. "But he was always tired and grouchy." He paused and shook his head. "Mom would tell me to wait and be patient…she said she was sure that one day he would keep his promise. But she just said that to make me feel better. I don't like it when people lie to make you feel better. How can a lie make you feel better if it's not true?"

Sam nodded sadly, understanding him more than he thought. Brief memories of Dean lying on Christmas mornings in an effort to make him feel better flashed by. Yeah, I hear you man…

"And then last Christmas he and mom had this real big fight," Samuel continued, carefully avoiding Sam's eyes. "Mom was crying a lot. She sent me to bed, but I heard all of it," he clarified.

Sam squirmed uncomfortably. He didn't want to cut him off, but he couldn't help but think that it was none of his business. "Uh…maybe you shouldn't really talk to me about this, Samuel. See, maybe your mom wouldn't want me to know."

Samuel knelt on the sofa and looked at Sam in the eyes. "Oh, no, it's ok, 'cause you're our friend."

"Uh…yeah…but—"

"Jeb knows," Samuel interrupted, as if that made it all right.

Sam looked at Samuel as if that statement made sense. Now he understood why they had seemed such close friends when they had met earlier at the call center. "Oh?" he asked. He couldn't help but feel a twinge of something akin to jealousy, as he wondered if maybe he had read it wrong all along and maybe Jeb and Samantha were a lot closer than they seemed.

"Yeah," Samuel assured him, only to happy to comply with information. "See, he was here when they were fighting that day."

Sam looked at him with confusion. "What do you mean Jeb was here?"

"Well, mom was worried because dad hadn't come home…and she called Jeb, and Jeb went to look for him at the bar."

"The bar?"

"Yeah…Dad drinks…a LOT," Samuel clarified with emphasis.

"Oh," Sam bit his lip thoughtfully. Still, he couldn't help but ask one more question. "So Jeb's a real good friend of your mom, huh?"

Samuel shook his head. "Jeb isn't her friend."

Sam frowned. "But you just said he was."

Samuel shook his head vigorously. "No, Jeb's my mom's cousin."

Sam hadn't realized he'd been holding his breath until Samuel clarified that tiny tidbit. Almost chuckling, Sam shook his head as he mentally slapped himself, suddenly grateful that Samantha had been asleep for all of this.

"What's so funny?" asked Samuel curiously, his perceptive eyes not missing a thing.

Sam chocked back a laugh and shrugged. "Nothing…never mind…it doesn't matter, really."

"You like my mom, huh?" was that child's next inquisitive question, which not only made Sam's ears turn bright pink, making him even more grateful that Samantha was asleep for all of this.

"Why do you ask?" Sam asked. Man…Sam thought to himself…I'm getting better at this than I thought…answering questions with another question…

"You like her," Samuel replied, ignoring Sam's question. "And she likes you too," he added hopefully.

Sam frowned and shook his head. "Why do you think so?" Sam asked…a little too eagerly perhaps. Man, he had to admit having a tiny confederate on your side was useful in the love equation. You could extract all kinds of useful information which might otherwise not to be granted.

"Cause she asked you to stay," was the simple reply. "She never asks the other guys to stay for lunch."

"Other guys?" Sam asked. Looked like he had a lot of catching up to do.

"You jealous?" asked the artful child with an impish grin.

"Just answer the question, man," Sam replied. Despite Samuel's young age, he could tell that he was going to have to be on the level if he was expecting to get any information. The boy was older than his years. He smiled despite himself. There was something about the intelligent child that reminded him of Dean when he was growing up.

But Samuel proved to be a match, as he shook his head stubbornly. "Nope, not till you answer me what I asked you."

Sam agreed. It was the fair way to do it. "Deal."

"Do you like my mom?"

Sam gulped. Oh boy… He turned slightly to make sure Samantha really was asleep. One good look at her peaceful face and rhythmic breathing settled that point. "I need to spend more time with her to get to know her better…but…" he added hastily to make the boy see he wasn't sidestepping the question, "I think she's the kind of girl I could get to like a lot if I knew her better."

Samuel tilted his head in thought. "That means you wanna spend more time with her?"

Sam smiled. "If she lets me," he replied carefully. After all, he didn't want to take too much for granted.

"Oh she will," Samuel responded happily, as if sure of that point.

Sam chuckled. "I wish I had half of your confidence." Then he paused. "Ok, my turn. What about those guys?" he asked seriously. "The ones you were talking about earlier…are they from work?"

Samuel shrugged. "I don't know where they're from. Guys are always following my mom around. I don't let them though," he clarified as he crossed his arms across his chest.

Now it was time for Sam to choke back a laugh. Samuel looked so ridiculously serious for his age that Sam couldn't help but think it was cute. "You don't?" Sam asked as serious as he could.

"Course not. Like the other day we went to the market and this dude started flirting with her. But I don't like the way he looked at her." He paused and brushed some hair away from his forehead. "He looked like he wanted to eat her."

Sam laughed softly. "Oh, I believe you."

"Yeah, and mom never lets them go home with us, even though they try to follow her sometimes."

"They follow her sometimes?" Sam looked worried at that. The idea of some perv stalking Samantha made his protective mode kick in, making him want to punch whoever tried to follow her around.

Quite unaware of what was passing through Sam's head, however, Samuel continued. "Yeah, Mom says they only want one thing," he remarked seriously in a whisper, as if it was a secret.

Sam looked with amusement at the kid. He wondered if Samuel actually knew what that one thing was. "And what is that?" he asked in a whisper to match Samuel's.

"I dunno," Samuel answered offended. "She won't tell me."

Sam's head tilted back and he roared with laughter.

***

Sam's laugh woke up Samantha soon enough. At first a little groggy from her short slumber, it took her a minute to realize that she had fallen asleep on Sam's shoulder.

"Oh my God…" she gasped out in embarrassment as she jumped off, her eyes wide open. "Oh, Sam, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to…I mean…you should have woken me up—"

Sam grinned at her. "Actually we all kinda fell asleep back there, so you weren't alone. Samuel here and I just woke up, right man?"

Samuel nodded convincingly enough. Then he yawned. Apparently the kid was more tired than he thought. Looking at her child, Samantha smiled tenderly. He looked so freaking cute when he was tired.

"Little sir, I think you should take another nap," she observed as she moved to his side of the sofa and gently pulled him to her lap. Rocking him against her chest as best as she could due to his size, she started humming a lullaby softly.

"Aw, mom…Do I have to?" he protested, as he tried to suppress a yawn. Failing miserably, Samantha laughed.

"Yes, you do," she replied. "Now you thank Sam for everything and scoot."

Getting up from her lap, Samuel threw his tiny arms around Sam's neck in a bear hug and whispered in his ear, "Will you come visit us later for Christmas?"

Sam tensed at the question. Who was he to know if he was still going to be around here by that time, let alone if Samantha would even want him there for it. He opened his mouth to try to say so, but then he stopped. Sam never knew what exactly possessed him the next minute. Maybe it was a defiance to the world in general. A desire to prove that happy endings did indeed exist, even in a demon infested world. Then again, maybe it was the quiet desire to still be around Samantha for that long, with the hope of something else. Or maybe…just maybe…it was the queer lump he felt in his throat produced by the loyalty and simple faith of a child in him. It made him feel like he was indeed capable of giving something else besides protection against demons…something like…well…he didn't know exactly how to put it into words exactly but…

"I will," Sam whispered back earnestly, careful that Samantha wouldn't hear him. He hugged tiny Samuel back with one arm and he smiled into the child's shaggy hair.

"Promise, right?" Samuel persisted, just to make sure. "You still gotta play with my legos too, remember?"

Sam chocked back a chuckle and tightened his hug a bit. Ruffling his hair with his free hand he replied in a low voice, "It's a promise."

Samuel smiled and disengaging himself, he looked from the young man to his mom and his smiled spread from ear to ear. "See ya later, Sam!" he cried out as he obediently headed up the stairs to his room. Now you can talk to my mom and you won't have to worry about me…I'll be so quiet you won't even know I'm here… he promised to himself as he raced to his room and threw himself on his bed. Squeezing his eyes shut, he purposed to fall asleep and not come down at all until Sam had left.

***

Somehow even after Samuel left, the awkwardness seemed to disappear. Maybe it was when Samantha shyly asked if maybe he wanted to eat a quick snack for dinner…that is, unless he really needed to go…she would understand. Taking the hint, Sam had suggested renting a movie, to which Samantha had immediately warmed up to, seeing as she felt gratified at the fact that Sam understood that she wouldn't want to leave her kid alone at home. So she whipped up something tasty at the kitchen while Sam walked a block or two to the Blockbuster and flipped open his cell to call her and read the titles available. Once they had agreed on one, he had gone back home, and they ended up eating and laughing together at the romantic comedy Sam had rented. It was an old musical from the 50's, and they both fell to talking after that, since it appeared they both enjoyed old movies and much of the same books. Samantha loved reading with a passion, something which made Sam liven up at once, at the chance of finally finding someone to talk "book talk" at last. He'd forgotten when was the last time he had had a reasonably intelligent conversation, seeing as how Dean didn't exactly pass as the intellectual type.

They laughed, they talked about their hometowns, they chatted about their casual likes and dislikes, and before Sam knew what he was doing, he ended up sharing briefly about Jess. Samantha had sympathized, prompting Sam to ask her gently if it was ok for him to ask about Samuel's father. Expecting for the conversation to turn sour after that or at the least stiffen up, he was surprised to see her simply shrug and very matter of factly accede to talk about it.

It turned out that Samantha had met Samuel's father at work in the call center. They had started dating, even though her cousin Jeb hadn't really approved too much, never having liked the guy from the start. Well, somewhere along the line she had found out she was pregnant, a fact which had made Daniel (the guy's name) blow his top off. Their "relationship"…or what little was left of it by then…had almost terminated due to Daniel's heavy drinking, but Samantha had insisted on her child having a father. She honestly thought it was better to have a semi father, than no father at all. She herself had grown up with only her mother, making her heart always hunger for a father. Daniel had grudgingly agreed to stay and live with her, as long as she didn't interfere with his own private life. "Young and stupid" –as she put it—she was still in love with him, with the hope that once the baby was born, Daniel would change. But life not being a fairytale, the baby was born and not only had Daniel kept up his heavy drinking, but he had managed to loose his job at the call center on account of it. When he didn't try to get another job, Samantha started loosing her patience, finally realizing that Daniel was no good. She gave him an ultimatum—either he got a job, or he could leave her house. Daniel had gotten pissed at her, and gone to the bar. That was the aforesaid night that Samantha had called Jeb on the phone in tears, begging him to look for him and bring him back so they could talk it over. She thought maybe she had been too harsh…too pushy. Well, to make a long story short, Jeb ended up finding him in the bar all right…making out with a another woman. He and Daniel had had words, ended up fighting, with poor skinny Jeb getting the worst of the ordeal. In the end, Jeb told Samantha what he had seen at the bar, making Daniel and Samantha have their last fight. She told him to leave or she would call the police. In a drunken stupor, Daniel had made a loud exit, cursing every thing under the sun, telling her not to expect any help from him for the child's expenses. That had been almost a year ago, and she had never heard from him since.

But perhaps, what more surprised Sam was the fact that she could relate the whole story without the slightest hint of bitterness. When he mentioned as much to her, she had shrugged and smiled, explaining that she had dealt with that, same as she dealt with anything else. She learned from her mistakes and tried to be grateful for the little things. When Sam had asked what possible blessing could come from having getting involved with a jerk like that, she had chuckled and said that tiny Samuel more than made up for it. Seeing her love for her child shine through her eyes, Sam couldn't help but agree and admire her all the more for her spunk and faith in life. Faith that as of lately, he had more or less lost.

"You make me wish I could see things more like you do," he admitted softly as his fingers toyed with the remote control. "I still can't help but wish there was less pain in this world."

"But you're wrong, Sam. Even pain can be beautiful," Samantha noted softly.

"Yeah…right," Sam grated out bitterly. "How do you figure?"

Samantha shrugged shyly and gave him a foolish smile, as if embarrassed of opening up too much. "Pain makes you stronger. It also makes you a better person if you don't let yourself get bitter. And," she paused and sighed. "It let's you have more room for love. I've always thought that great people are measured not by their 'success' in life, but by how many people you've loved." She looked at Sam full in the eyes, her blue eyes shining with full conviction that her words were true. "How many people have you loved, Sam? How many people have you taken the time to show that you care? How many people have gotten a kind word or a hug from you?"

Sam exhaled and smiled. She does have a point…

"And…" she squealed out playfully with a funny face. "There is this ONE other purely selfish reason why I think pain can be good for us."

Sam chuckled at the look on her face. He couldn't for the life of him guess what was going on in that blond head of hers. "And that is…"

"Well…see, people who know what really hurting feels like, also tend to be the kind of people you can depend on. Since they know what it's like to have no one, they can then decide to never do that to someone else. And when you're lucky enough to meet someone like that, you can just about bet that you have found one of the truest kind of friend there is to be had. "

"I … don't exactly…see how that can be selfish…" Sam stuttered as he lost track of the conversation.

"Personally, I prefer meeting people who have suffered and moved on than to be around people who have had mostly normal, happy lives. There is a beauty and loyalty that can only be found and understood between people who have gone through hell in earth together." She paused and pursed her lips as she tilted her head in thought. "And when it comes down to it…there's nothing more comforting to the human soul as knowing that someone has your back. It's magical, in a way, the way suffering can bond people together in a way not otherwise possible."

Sam looked at her and smiled as her words sank deep into his soul. She was right. His mind wandered over the past two years, the crazy and insane situations that he and Dean had gone through…the way they had bonded in the past few months as they had never before thought possible…the way they had faced pain and moved on as well as they could. Because no matter how annoyed he sometimes felt with Dean, he knew…he knew that when it came down to it, his big brother was always there to have his back. And Sam knew that he too would always be there for Dean, no matter what.

But he didn't say so. He only smiled at her and thanked the gods for having met such an amazing woman.

And a single one at that, he added to himself with a grin.

Well, Sam...you should have it made, right? ... Or not... time will tell, I guess... stay tuned!