Coming Home Ch. 13

Disclaimer: See chapter one

Previously: "Then it's settled, we'll go to the Mall tomorrow," Mary voiced somewhat anxiously as she graced her boys with a smile, even though she was secretly scared to death inside.

Climbing out of bed early the next morning without awaking her husband, Mary dashed quickly to the bathroom as she felt bile begin to rise up her throat. She hadn't slept very well and her nerves were definitely getting the better of her. Falling to her knees in front of the porcelain throne, she promptly emptied her stomach of the previous night's dinner.

'How on Earth am I going to do this today?' Mary thought to herself as she finished vomiting and stood up and rinsed her mouth before grabbing her toothbrush to brush her teeth. The thought of even stepping foot back in that mall terrified her more than she was willing to admit.

Glancing into the mirror, Mary cringed upon seeing the dark shadows under her eyes, alerting anyone who cared to notice that she had had precious little sleep. 'Well, I can easily fix that,' she thought to herself as she opened the medicine cabinet above the sink and reached inside for her mascara. Her makeup would come in very handy today.

Returning to the master bedroom to get dressed after applying the makeup, she was surprised to see John sitting up in the bed and wearing nothing but his boxers, the blankets having been thrown off his sinewy legs.

"Hey Babe, are you feeling okay?" John questioned apprehensively, having heard her throwing up earlier.

"I'm fine Honey, or at least I will be," Mary answered, trying to strengthen her resolve for the day ahead.

"You know I will be there right beside you every step of the way," John informed his wife, and stood up to wrap his arms around her before she could remover her nightgown. "And I promise you that I will do everything within my power to make sure this trip goes well."

"I know that Sweetie. It's just that I can't help but feel sick at the thought of having to go inside that Mall again. Every time I pass the damn place, it brings back memories of that day and I…" Mary drifted off as she laid her head on her husband's muscular chest and began to sob.

"Shh, I've got ya Mare, I'm here," John uttered softly as he rubbed a hand up and down his wife's back in comfort. "And I'll be there for you to hold onto as tightly as you need to today. You won't be going through this alone."

"You must think I'm a big crybaby," Mary voiced as she pushed herself away from her husband's broad chest and wiped the tears from her eyes."

"Yeah, but you're my crybaby and I wouldn't change that for anything in the world," John voiced with a smirk as he rubbed away the black streak trailing down his wife's face from her mascara with his thumb.

"Dork," Mary voiced affectionately as she playfully slapped her husband on the chest.

"Sweet Cheeks," John returned as he cupped his hands around his wife's firm bottom and squeezed it lovingly.

"Forget it Mister, we don't have time for that," Mary informed her husband as she pushed him gently away. She had to get dressed and fix her makeup once again before the boys woke.

~~A Few Hours Later~~

"So, are we ready to go in," John turned and asked his family once he had parked the Impala in the closest parking spot he could find to the main entrance.

"John, I don't know about this," Mary whispered, her pale face almost as white as a sheet.

"It'll be okay Honey, I promise," John stated as he palmed his wife's face with both hands and smiled reassuringly. "I know what you're feeling, but we'll get through this as a family. Isn't that right boys?"

"Yeah, I guess, whatever you say," David answered, as he unbuckled his seatbelt and did the same for Joey.

John wished Dean could have been more positive with his answer to boost Mary's morale, but he also knew that Dean and Sammy were like two abused little puppies and needed to learn to trust again and that that trust would only come with time.

"Okay, then let's get this show on the road. Sammy, uh…I mean Joey, wants a toy and it's time we get him one," John stated, pushing the door open and climbing from the car so that he could go around and open Mary's door. And one thing was for sure, he would buy the kid whatever toy he wanted because he knew just how huge of a step it had been for Sammy to even ask if he could have one.

Reaching in for his wife's hand, he gave it a firm squeeze of support as he helped her from the car.

"John, I can't…" Mary whispered, her knees nearly buckling from the fear of having to take even one step towards the dreadful place.

"It's okay, Mary. You can hold my hand too if it will make you feel better," Joey voiced meekly as he exited the car and held his hand out to her.

"That will make me feel much better, Baby," Mary informed her youngest as she grasped his hand and tears began to roll down her cheeks. It meant the world to her; having her youngest reach out to her for the very first time.

Leading his family towards the entrance, John fervently prayed that things would go the way he had planned. With a little bit of luck, his sons would truly be on their way to remembering and they could be a family once again. Holding open the door for his family, John encouraged Mary to enter and then her a few minutes to adjust to being inside the building that she had sworn she would never put foot in once again.

"You okay honey?" he asked as he wrapped his muscular arm around her and held her close once she seemed steady enough.

"No, but I will be as long as I have my three favorite men here to support me," Mary voiced nervously as she glanced from her husband to her sons. She had to be strong for her children's' sake.

"So where to first?" David inquired, anxious to get moving in one direction or another so people wouldn't think they were crazy just standing there.

"How about the toy store?" Mary answered as she noted the pleading look on Sammy's face.

"Toy Store it is," John announced, glancing at the map of store locations for just a moment before leading his family in the correct direction.

Passing by the clothing stores, Mary took note of the outfits hanging in the windows and made a mental note to herself to make sure they picked up at least two or three new outfits for the boys. She was sure that Sammy would love the shop that had printed cartoon characters on the front of their t-shirts.

Entering the Toys-R-Us store, John led the boys around to where the sports equipment was located. Glancing at the different equipment, his eyes immediately landed on a red, white, and blue football, just like the one he used to toss with Dean. Hefting the ball into his hands, memories flooded his mind of happier times ad he couldn't resist passing the ball to his son.

"Hey Dean, catch," John shouted out as he tossed the ball to his oldest.

Looking at the soccer balls with Joey, David hoped John would let his baby brother have one as Joey had always seemed to be interested in the game. Watching as Joey picked one up, his attention was diverted as he heard John shout out to him, "Hey Dean, catch," and his mind immediately began to swim with a long forgotten memory.

"Hey Dean, catch," John called out to his four year old as he tossed the ball easily to his oldest child while Mary sat swinging back and forth on the front porch swing with their precious baby sleeping contentedly in her arms.

Catching the ball with both hands, Dean shouted with joy as he ran towards his Dad and was immediately picked up and swung through the air by the strong arms of his father.

"Huh,' Dean gasped, as the football hit him in the chest and dropped to the floor.

"Shit, Dean. Are you okay?" John asked as he rushed over to his stunned eldest.

"Huh," David inquired again as he looked at John, befuddlement evident on his face.

"Sorry Kiddo, I didn't mean to hit you with the football. Are you okay?" John once again queried as he looked his eldest over.

"Yeah, I'm fine," David answered absently, wondering if what he had just remembered was true, or if his mind was wishing the scene upon him.

"De, are you sure you're okay. You're acting kinda funny," Joey surmised as he stood in front of his bewildered brother.

"Yeah, I'm fine munchkin," David answered, shaking the memory off as he turned his attention back to the bin of soccer balls. "So, you going to pick one of these to keep or not?"

"I don't know," Joey hedged as he looked at John, and then back at the soccer ball with Transformer image on it. He was sure it cost a lot of money and didn't want to get in trouble.

"Ya know, I kind of like this one," Mary stated, as she picked up the ball that had caught her son's eye. "Would you like to have it, Sweetie?"

"Could I?" Joey asked, glancing towards John as if seeking permission.

"Sure you can, Kiddo," John informed his youngest as he reached out to ruffle the child's chestnut colored mop of hair. Turning towards Dean he said, "What about you David, do you want anything?"

"Nah, I'll be too busy teaching Sammy to play soccer," David voiced, gracing his smiling brother with the coveted nickname. At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder now if that was indeed the name he should be calling his brother all of the time.

"I think maybe we could all teach Sammy to play if he'll let us," John mentioned in hopes of getting both boys to agree. "He'll need to learn to play as a team member, if he wants us to sign him up for practice for the new soccer league forming this Spring at the Recreation Department."

"You mean I could really learn to play, that you would really let me do it?" Joey asked hopefully as he glanced up at the man who could be his real father.

"Sure Kiddo, why wouldn't I?" John questioned with a shrug of his shoulders.

"Cause it would cost money, and Norman always got real mad when he had to spend money on us," Joey answered truthfully. "He always said we didn't deserve nothin' cause we were too bad."

"Yeah, well, that bast..idiot didn't know what he was talking about," John groused, wishing for the umpteenth time that he could get his hands on the man who had abused his children and beat the crap out of him.

"Your father's right Sammy. You boys deserve everything in the world and more," Mary iterated as she bent down and gave her youngest a loving hug.

"Does that mean we can get an ice cream from over there?" Joey asked shyly as he pointed to the TCBY store at the entrance of the food court? He knew he was chancing getting in trouble with asking for more, but he really wanted the savory treat.

"Sure does," John intoned as he picked Sammy up and started walking towards the place, intent on getting his boys the biggest ice cream they had.

"Awesome, sure hope they got some pie too," David injected as he walked beside the Winchesters. This was turning out to be a good day after all.

TBC…So what did you think about the chapter?

Author's Note: I will be referring to the boys as Dean and Sammy more often now.