A Hard Road Ch. 24
Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story. Nor am I making a profit from it.
Author's Note: Dean is 8 and Sammy is 4 in this chapter.
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Previously: "We love you too dad. See ya when we get to Bobby's" Dean replied before hanging up the phone. He had a lot of things to get done before Bobby arrived.
While Sammy finished his breakfast of Lucky Charms and then sat down to watch cartoons on the television, Dean ran about the house throwing his and Sammy's things together. Being the sweet little boy that he was, Sammy had offered to help but Dean turned him down knowing that he could get things done quicker if he just did the packing by himself. After he had the items packed that they would need to get them through the next few weeks, he went around the house checking all the protective wards. He made sure each window had a new line of salt laid to keep the demons out while they were gone since he didn't know if his dad had planned on coming back to the same house when he felt better.
As soon as he finished making sure the house would be safe, Dean went to the kitchen and ran some water into the sink to wash the few dishes that he and Sammy had dirtied. He knew his dad wouldn't want to come back to a nasty looking kitchen with the dishes growing mold on them from being left to sit for a couple of weeks. He shuddered to think about the critters that the food would draw in if he didn't get it taken care of. He wouldn't admit it to anybody, not even his dad, but he sure hated mice. It only took him a few minutes to clear the dishes off the table and get them washed up and put into the drainer to dry.
After he completed cleaning the kitchen, his last task was to get Sammy changed out of his pajamas and into some clothing for the ride to Bobby's place. He walked to the bathroom and pulled out a wash cloth to wash the milk mustache off of Sammy's face before going to their room and getting the clothes had had laid out for Sammy. He carried them into the living room and sat the clothes on the couch beside Sammy as he wiped the kid's face off.
"Deanie stop, I's watching my toons" Sammy said as he tried to push Dean's hand and the warm washcloth away from his face.
"Sorry Sammy, but I have to get you ready for when Uncle Bobby picks us up" Dean explained as he went about his chosen task. Once he was happy with how clean Sammy's face looked, he pulled his pajama shirt off and then pulled on a long sleeved Transformer shirt. "Stand up a minute Sammy" Dean ordered so that he could remove Sammy's pajama bottoms and put on his blue jeans. Sammy quickly complied without ever taking his eyes off of the He-Man cartoon that he was currently enthralled by. After Dean snapped and zippered his jeans, he sat back down on the couch so his big brother could put his shoes and socks on.
"Okay Sammy, you're good to go" Dean said as he started to pull on his own socks and shoes. He didn't want to keep Uncle Bobby waiting when he got there.
"T'ank you Deanie" Sammy said with a smile, happy that he didn't have to try and tie his sneakers by himself.
"You're welcome tiger" Dean replied as he reached out to ruffle the curly brown locks of Sammy's hair. He had just sat down to watch He-Man himself when he heard a loud knock at the door. He whispered for Sammy to be quiet as he waited to see if it was Bobby.
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After a too long drive that had him worrying about the boys and whether or not they were alright, Bobby finally arrived at the dilapidated house that the Winchesters had been renting. He walked up onto the porch, being careful where he stepped and knocked loudly on the door. "Dean, Sammy, you boys in there?" Bobby called out as he knocked on the door once again. "It's me, your Uncle Bobby, you can open up now" he said as he waited to hear the sound of footsteps approaching. Upon hearing none, he became a little antsy wondering what was wrong before suddenly realizing he hadn't said the password. Hey sport, I forgot to say the password. He cleared his throat and said "THUNDERBIRDS ARE GO" rather loudly to make sure that he was heard.
It only took seconds for Bobby to hear the sound of feet running across the floorboards inside. He heard the sound of the metal bolt being unlatched before the door started to open. The next thing he knew, he was caught off guard by a small blur that leaped up towards him yelling "Unca Bobby." He quickly reached out to catch the little blur before he could crash down to the floor. "Hey there tiger" Bobby said with a grin as he picked up Sammy and walked inside. He swung Sammy around in the air like an airplane to the delighted squeals of the youngster in his hands.
"I've sure missed you boys" Bobby said as he placed a kiss on Sammy's forehead while pulling Dean into a one armed hug.
"We missed you too Uncle Bobby" Dean replied while Sammy gave Bobby a wet and slobbery kiss on the cheek.
"Have you got everything packed?" Bobby questioned as he pulled out a handkerchief to dry his cheek.
"Yes Sir, we're ready" Dean replied as he pointed to the duffle bags sitting on the floor.
"Well then, let's hit the road" Bobby said as he turned around and picked up both duffle bags and carried them out the door in his left hand since his right was still occupied with holding Sammy. He waited for Dean to lock up the place before walking carefully across the porch and down the steps. He opened the door to his blue Ford pickup and placed Sammy in the carseat he had brought along for the youngster. He quickly buckled him in and then walked around the front of the truck while Dean climbed on the seat and then buckled himself in. Climbing into the driver's seat, Bobby placed the key in the ignition and started up the truck. He listened to the purr of the engine before backing out of the driveway and pulling onto the road.
As he drove down the road, Bobby was amazed how Dean kept Sammy occupied by playing games with him or telling stories. Sammy didn't have the time to become cranky or restless as he listened to the story of Sammy and the Beanstalk. Bobby was flabbergasted by how easily Dean wove the details of the story into their own personal lives to make the story even more interesting tfor his baby brother. He grunted in amusement when Dean named the giant after him. Of course in the end, it was big brother Dean who came to save the day by chopping down the beanstalk and tickling the giant until he turned into a statue to display in their yard. Bobby just shook his head in wonder knowing that Dean had changed the ending so as not to scare Sammy by killing the giant Bobby off.
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They had only been on the road for a couple of hours when Sammy started squirming around in his seat. "What's the matter tiger?" Bobby asked as he glanced over towards the youngest Winchester.
""I gots to go" Sammy said with wide eyes as his squirming increased in frequency.
"Crap" Bobby whispered as he looked around for a place to stop. He should have thought about taking bathroom breaks since Sammy was still so young. Spotting a Dairy Queen just down the road, he said "Hold it in tiger, where gonna stop at the DQ." Bobby quickly pulled into the parking lot as Dean released the straps holding his baby brother in his seat. Bobby reached over and plucked Sammy out of the seat and quickly carried him inside the fast food restaurant with Dean following closely behind. Bobby breathed a sigh of relief as he got Sammy to the potty and pulled his jeans and boxers down just in time to keep the child from wetting himself.
After he helped Sammy wash his hands and he and Dean had taken care of business also, Bobby picked Sammy up and was headed back out the door when he heard Sammy tell him to "stop."
"Do you gotta go again already Sammy?" Bobby questioned unbelievably. There was no way that Sammy could possibly have to potty again already.
"No, I's not gotta go again Unca Bobby, I wants some ice cweam p'ease" Sammy satted making those sad puppy dog eyes that always worked on his dad and his brother.
"Sammy, I think it's too early for you to be eating ice cream kiddo" Bobby said as he resumed his walk out the door. His progress was halted however as he heard the toddler sniffling and noticed the quiver to his bottom lip.
"Aw Sammy, don't do that tiger" Bobby said as he immediately reversed directions and walked back inside the restaurant with Dean laughing beside him.
"What's so funny Ace?" Bobby asked Dean as he walked up to the counter to purchase the ice cream.
"Nothin Uncle Bobby, can I have some ice cream too?"
"Sure you can Dean, now what do you boys want?" Bobby inquired as he looked at the different selections.
"I wants da vani-la-la-la ice cweam cone" Sammy stated since vanilla was his favorite.
"Can I have a banana split?" Dean asked since it cost more money and he wasn't sure Bobby would agree.
"Sure you can sport" Bobby replied as he ordered the vanilla cone for Sammy and a banana split for both him and Dean. He led the boys over to an empty table and they all sat down to enjoy their treat with Bobby praying that he hadn't done the wrong thing in allowing Sammy to eat ice cream when it was still a two hour drive to get back to the salvage yard.
After they had finished their ice cream, Bobby took Sammy to the bathroom once again to clean up his face and then walked back out to the truck. He took a clean shirt out of Sammy's duffle bag and changed him since the shirt he was already wearing was covered in melted ice cream. Afterwards, he placed Sammy back into his carseat with Dean climbing in after he had finished. As he pulled out onto the highway, he noticed that Sammy's head was already beginning to droop. He smiled at the sight as Sammy fought to stay awake. It only took a few short minutes of quiet driving for Sammy to give up the fight and slip off to sleep.
"Sleep tight tiger" Bobby whispered as he reached over to muss Sammy's hair with his hand. He couldn't wait to get back to the salvage yard and spend some time with the boys. But their father was a whole other story! When John and Caleb arrived, John was going to catch mortal hell from him for daring to leave those boys to fend for themselves.
TBC