A Hard Road Ch. 26
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.
Thanks to VickyLoka for giving me the kick in the pants that I needed to get this chapter out.
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Bobby was awakened in the dead of the night by the sound of a car pulling into his driveway. He pulled the loaded pistol of the gun holster he kept hanging on his closet door and silently crept downstairs to await the unwanted intruder. Glancing out the window to determine how many intruders to expect, he breathed a sigh of relief as he saw Caleb climbing out of his '69 Mustang. He watched the hunter walk around the front of his car as the passenger door opened to reveal John Winchester climbing out. Bobby placed his gun in the back of his jeans and then unlocked the door as John precariously climbed the steps on his crutches with Caleb following behind just in case.
Opening the door, Bobby growled "If you weren't on those crutches I would kick your ass from here to hell and back. How dare you leave those two little boys all alone with only Dean to fend for them. Damn it John, the boy is only eight years old. He is too damned young to have so much responsibility placed on his shoulders."
"Bobby, I didn't have a choice. I couldn't just…" John said as he started to defend his actions to the grizzled hunter only to be cut off by him.
"You did have a choice damn it. You could have brought them here to me or took them to Jim's place. Don't you realize how dangerous it was to leave them by themselves you freaking idjit. You could have unwittingly left them at the mercy of any pervert or pedophile within a hundred miles John. It's not just the supernatural creatures out there that you have to worry about when it comes to two small boys."
"Bobby, I understand what you're saying but…"
"No buts about it John, Nothing you say could change the fact that you made one hell of a stupid decision in regards to your boys. Do you realize all it would have taken was for one person to find out that those boys were left alone and you would have lost them forever. CPS could have swooped in and taken those boys and separated them from each other. Do you know what that would have done to Dean? To Sammy?"
"Dean never would have let that happen Bobby. He knew not to answer the door without the secret knock or password. He's more mature than he looks."
"I don't give a damn how mature he is John, he is still only eight years old and doesn't deserve the burden you've placed on his shoulders ya idjit."
"Sammy isn't a burden Uncle Bobby, he's my brother" Dean said as he entered the room suddenly and walked over to hug his father. He had been awakened by the commotion he heard downstairs and decided to investigate. "I'm glad your home daddy. Does your leg hurt?"
"No, it's okay Ace." John answered quickly upon seeing the concern on his son's face. "What in the world are you doing up at this time of night? You should be in the bed asleep sport."
"I heard some people talking so I came down to see who it was." Dean answered with a wide yawn.
"Sorry we woke you up kiddo. Let's get you back to bed." John stated as he took his oldest by the hand to lead him back up the steps.
"Wait a minute dad. I have to ask Uncle Bobby something." Dean said as he turned around to look at the grizzled hunter. "Why would you say Sammy is a burden Uncle Bobby? He's not a problem for me. I like taking care of him."
Kneeling down in front of Dean, Bobby said "I didn't mean it that way sport. I just meant it is not fair to you that you can't go out and play like the other little kids because you are too busy having to take care of Sammy."
"But that's what big brothers do Uncle Bobby, they take care of their little brothers and make sure they're happy." Dean explained
"Yeah, I guess you're right there kiddo" Bobby replied as he mussed Dean's hair. "I won't call Sammy a burden again. Now why don't you go on up the stairs with your daddy and get some sleep."
"Yes sir" Dean replied as he walked back up the steps slowly with his father. He really was tired and besides, he didn't want Sammy to wake up all alone in their room and be scared.
Walking into the room, John stripped out of his jeans as he watched Dean climb into the bed. "Scoot over sport, Daddy is sleeping with you and Sammy tonight." John said needing to be close to both of his boys. Once Dean had made room for him, John leaned over and kissed both of his boys on the forehead before pulling the blanket up and over the three of them and shutting off the lamp to go to sleep.
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The next morning John was awakened by squeals of delight as Sammy woke up to find his daddy home. John opened his eyes just in time to see his youngest sailing towards him and caught him just in time to keep Sammy from landing hard on his chest. "Hey there tiger, did you miss me huh?" John asked as he pushed himself up in the bed and hugged Sammy to his chest.
"Uh huh! Where have you been daddy? I misseded you so much." Sammy replied as he flung his arms around John's neck.
"I missed you so much too tiger" John said with a grin as he enjoyed this special bonding time with his baby boy. Sammy was growing up entirely too fast for John's liking and he wished time would slow down to a crawl so he could enjoy being with his boys while they were still young.
"Daddy, what happened wif your leg?" Sammy questioned as his eyes landed on the off white cast that adorned John's leg. "Did you get an owie?"
"Yep, I sure did, a mighty big one." John retorted as he lay Sammy down on the bed and proceeded to tickle his little boy unmercifully.
"No 'top Daddy" Sammy giggled as he tried to bat John's hands away. It sure did feel good to have his daddy home again.
"Okay, well how about we both get your brother then." John said as he and Sammy both launched a tickle attack on Dean who had just woken up himself. Dean began to laugh hysterically as he did his best to try and escape the hands that were now ticking him on. He could take being tickled anywhere but on the bottom of his sensitive feet.
John played well into the morning with both of his boys until Bobby called them down for lunch. As the smell of bacon wafted up the steps, he said "Come on boys, it smells like your Uncle Bobby is making BLT's for lunch." He led his boys to the small bathroom on the second floor where he helped them to wash up for lunch. After the Winchester threesome washed their faces and hands, they arrived in the kitchen to find Bobby placing some chips on each plate to go with the sandwiches.
"John, why don't you fill some glasses with iced tea so we'll all have something to drink" Bobby stated as he placed the food laden plates on the table.
"Sure thing Bobby." John replied as he reached into the cupboard and pulled out three plastic glasses and Sammy's favorite sippy cup. Pouring the iced tea into the glasses, John asked "So where's Caleb this morning?" as he glanced around to notice the other hunter missing.
"He's taking a shower in the spare bathroom." Bobby replied as he picked up Sammy and placed him in his booster seat. The words had no sooner left his mouth when Caleb came strolling into the kitchen wearing a pair of black jeans and a black t-shirt. He walked over to the table and plopped himself down in a chair before asking "So where's mine?"
"Waiting for you to make it." Bobby replied with a pointed look daring the younger hunter to say anything. He was old enough to fix a sandwich for himself and he wasn't suffering from a broken leg like John was.
"Damn it Bobby, that's not fair." Caleb complained sullenly as he watched the others munching on their own sandwiches before pushing away from the table to star a skillet of bacon frying.
"Oooohhh, him said da bad word." Sammy gasped as he covered his little mouth with his hands. "Daddy you needs to give him a spanking."
John and Bobby both burst out laughing upon hearing Sammy's remark, especially when they looked over towards Caleb to see him now sporting a pink tinge on his face from embarrassment at having been reprimanded by a four year old.
"Why's you laughing daddy?" Sammy questioned innocently as he picked up a piece of the sandwich Bobby had cut into small sections for him and popped it into his mouth.
"Because grown ups don't get spanking Sammy." Dean replied for his father. "They're too big so that means that the man needs to put a dollar in the swear jar."
"The swear jar?" John asked questioningly as he looked at Bobby with his eye brows raised wondering when that had come about.
"Don't look at me. It was the boys idea. They decided that with as much cursing as we hunters seem to do, they could earn enough money to go to the circus when it comes to town next week." Bobby replied as he pointed to the jar on the counter that now contained at least ten dollars of his own money. Sammy had caught him cursing more than once as he worked on an old vehicle with Sammy playing nearby so he could keep an eye on him.
"Well I'll be damned," John said impressed with his children's ingenuity. He suddenly heard the sounds of Dean's giggling and questioned him as to what was so funny.
"You just said a bad word too." Dean said "Time to pay up."
John just shook his head as he reached into his pocket. Looks like he would be taking his boys to the circus next week.
TBC Will the boys be able to wrap Caleb around their fingers as easy as they have the other hunters? Find out in the next chapter.