Sam was in the yard when Dean burst out of the house. He shot his hand out when his brother passed him by, successfully stopping Dean in his tracks.

"Get out of my way, Sam." Dean growled his warning. But Sam was in no mood to heed to that. Or to any warning from Dean, honestly.

"What did you do? Have you lost your goddamn mind?" Sam couldn't help his outburst.

"Yes. And if you want to live, I suggest you get away from me." Dean quipped back, attempting to shove him aside and enter the garage.

Sam shot out his hand and wrapped it firmly around Dean's wrist. "Not before you tell me what is going on with you."

Dean remained silent before sharply tugging himself free from his grip. Dean's stoicism was annoying him to no end.

"Dean?"

"What is your problem, Sam? Nothing's going on with me! Now, move aside, I need to work."

Sam raised his eyebrows but didn't move an inch. As he watched Dean's control slipping from him by each passing second, he got a feeling that he was playing with fire. But Samuel William Winchester wasn't the one to back down in the face of danger.

"Sam, my well of patience has run dry a long time ago. So now, I am not asking you, but I am warning you to go back inside the house."

Dean gritted out through clenched teeth. Sam swallowed, but he stubbornly raised his chin. A silent motion indicated that he wasn't ready to back down.

"Not until you tell me what's the real problem is." Sam said calmly but firmly.

Dean scrubbed a hand down his face. "Fuck it!" He muttered under his breath before pivoting on his heels and walking briskly away from the garage.

Sam was stunned for a moment before he leaped into action. He ran after Dean as his brother reached the Impala, which was parked in front of the house.

Just before Dean could slide behind the wheel and drive away, Sam held the car door, halting Dean's movements to escape.

In a quick motion, Dean exited the Impala and slammed the door shut. Sam barely had the time to snatch his hand away and save his fingers from getting crushed between the car door.

"What the hell is your problem?" Dean shouted at him. His voice was vibrating with anger.

Without giving Sam a moment to reply, he barged on further.

"I know what the fuck I am doing, Sam. Dad left the kid to me and not to you. Do you think maybe you need to think about that before coming after me like a fucking motherhen? I am not Adam's enemy here. And I sure as hell don't need to give anyone any explanation!"

Dean's words stung. Especially the bit about their father. Logically, Sam knew that John entrusting Dean to be Adam's guardian didn't mean his lack of trust in Sam. But Dean's words brought out that tingling doubt in his mind anyway.

Losing his own temper, but not quite shouting, Sam snapped, "You do need to explain if not to me then to Adam. Why did you punish him so harshly when the kid didn't even deserve it?!"

"Excuse me?" The words were spoken quietly, but they seemed to carry a ton of tension behind them.

Sam bravely barged on.

"You heard me, Dean. You acted like as if you didn't trust the kid. That's why Adam behaved the way he did. You could have talked to him before going through his phone."

"What the hell's the matter with you and that bloody phone? I checked it because I don't trust a twelve-year-old to know what's best for him!" Dean yelled, but this time, his tone contained exasperation as well.

"And I agree! But you should have talked to him about it. That's all I am saying. That's all he was saying. He was surprised and hurt when he found out. And he reacted badly because he's a kid. Like you said, he's only twelve!"

Dean shook his head incredulously. "You saying that I should have asked his 'permission' ? Hate to break it to you. But I don't see the need for that. You may believe in soft parenting, but I believe in the parenting that works. Dad never asked our permission for anything because he knew better, and that's the reason we are still alive. Even after what felt like the whole fucking universe was out to get us. You and I are still breathing because of him. Because of how he raised us. I believe in the same."

Sam slapped his hand against his forehead. He couldn't help it. He let out a humorless chuckle. The situation was quickly escalating.

"Dean, dad raised us as hunters." He lowered his voice when talking about their past lives. "But Adam is not a hunter's kid. He shouldn't be raised as one. That type of parenting doesn't work on him. That 'what I say goes around' only ever worked with you. It didn't work with me, and it will not work on Adam."

"He's a hunter's kid, Sam. He just doesn't know it. When he turns sixteen, he will learn how to defend himself if not about what lurks in the dark. I gave him an order and plenty of time to follow that order, but he didn't. He brought the punishment upon himself. "

Dean's voice was tight, and his gaze was unrelenting. Sam sighed in defeat but still attempted to reason with his bull headed brother.

"So what if he didn't follow your order, Dean? It wasn't a life-threatening situation that if he didn't follow your order, he would have died. Maybe instead of yelling and spanking him with your belt, you should have just talked calmly to him."

"You know what, Sam? I don't think that I did anything wrong." Dean declared, his face pinched in anger. "I am not explaining myself to you."

"Following dad's footsteps, I see. Maybe it wasn't a surprise that I ran away at eighteen. I hope Adam doesn't make the same mistake. It's not like he hasn't already run away." Sam's words flew out of his mouth without his brain's permission. Really. He was just exhausted. He opened his mouth to apologize or take back his words. But Dean cut him off.

Dean's face contorted in shock before becoming tight with anger. If he were a cartoon character, Sam was sure smoke would be coming out of his ears.

"And look what happened to you, Sam. You went to Stanford to study law. And yet, when I found you, you were jobless and completely broke with a kid. Maybe running away wasn't a good choice, huh?" An ugly smile accompanied Dean's words.

Sam was speechless. His anger flicked out and hurt, replaced it. He didn't know what to say. In a second, Dean was once again in the Impala and driving away. Sam didn't stop him this time.

Adam groaned pitifully in his pillow. He rubbed a hand over his eyes. He shifted slightly and then winced when his butt twinged painfully in response.

"Come in." He still managed to croak at the closed door. It was probably Sam coming to check in on him. It better be Sam. He wasn't ready to face Dean yet. He was way too angry for that confrontation.

The door to his room opened, and to his surprise, it was DJ. The kid shuffled inside while shooting him a worried look.

"Hey, kiddo." Adam greeted quietly as DJ made himself comfortable on his bed. He propped his tiny back against the headboard and sat by where Adam's head was lying on his pillow.

Adam squinted up at the kid. He was lying on his stomach, no thanks to Dean, so he was at eye level with DJ. He didn't think he would be ready to give sitting a try, at least for a few more years.

"I have come to check on you." DJ declared seriously in his little voice.

Despite the circumstances, it brought a smile on Adam's face. Seeing DJ so worried about him warmed his heart. It wasn't like he wanted the kid to worry about anything. But it was nice to be loved. Considering that he wasn't feeling particularly loved at the moment.

"That's very nice of you, my little dude." Adam offered DJ his fist, which the kid bumped happily. "But I am fine."

DJ looked unconvinced and too suspicious for an almost four year old. Adam booped his nose.

"Seriously, kiddo, I am alright."

"But I saw you crying." DJ argued, batting his hand away, and he had a good point, too. Adam had literally ran crying to his room in front of the kid before he had slammed his door shut. He might be little, but DJ was no fool.

With an embarrassed huff, Adam agreed in a sad voice. "I had a little argument with Dean." Understatement of the century. "But I am fine now." That was a lie, but DJ didn't need to know that.

DJ regarded him for a long moment. It was longer enough to almost make Adam fidget, but in the end, he sighed a long sigh that looked out of place coming out of a toddler. And he accepted Adam's lie.

"When I am sad, I lie on Daddy's lap. It makes me feel happy." DJ said, patting his knees. "You can lie on my lap, and it will make you happy too."

Adam was too choked up, looking at the earnest expression on the kid's face to react. It took DJ impatiently tapping his knees and gesturing at his lap to get him to move.

Adam's head was too big for DJ's tiny lap, but he obediently laid down. Surprisingly, it did make him feel good. DJ's little fingers wounded up in his hair as the kid began to sing a completely off-key version of 'Baby Shark'. It made Adam laugh, and a giggle burst out of DJ.

Sometimes, Adam wished he could bubble wrap the kid and preserve his cuteness and innocence forever.

DJ didn't stop running his fingers through his hair or his singing. Weirdly enough, Adam was glad. He didn't want to think about this afternoon. And the kid was doing an excellent job in helping him forget. If only for a while.

Hi! I hope you all are doing fine. I don't know why but I sort of struggled writing this chapter.

But since half of it was already written. I wanted to post it out there. I hope I did a decent job.

It's sad but I am sort of losing my motivation writing this story?

I love it immensely. But I don't know. Your reviews help more than you know. That's the reason I continue writing. Also, I love Dean, Sam, Adam and DJ with all my heart!

Any way, do review to let me know what you think of Dean's behavior.