Birthday/prompt fic: For brassband777
Author: Capricorn86 - written for brassband777`s birthday
Prompt: Family day out with all the kids, set after both Melissa and Laura have passed away
Characters: Sam, Emily (6) Alice (4) Dean, Dawn (9) Will (8)
Notes: This fic contains my four Ocs in a AU verse where Dean and Sam live normal lives after leaving the hunting lifestyle. Melissa is Deans ex-girlfriend who died from cancer, and Laura is Sam`s late wife, who was killed in a hit-and-run. Dean and Sam now raise their children alone, Sam works as a lawyer and Dean as a car mechanic.
English is not my native tongue, I apologize for any mistakes.
Total word count: 8,612
Part 2 located here: http://capricorn86.livejournal.com/35447.html
Summer was dying.
The end of summer always means change. It`s a time for new beginnings. Certain things end, while others start.
School and kindergarten would start up again in a week. It wasn`t too early to start getting back into the old swing of things. Dayrhythms and sleeping patterns had a tendency to alter during the long vacation time. Of course, for single parents like Dean and Sam Winchester, the two month summer holiday carried with it certain challenges.
They both had a set ammount of paid vacation each year, and their employers were understanding of their situation. They had to rely on both each other, patient neighbours and trustworthy babysitters to make things work. Each year they tried co-ordinating their schedules so they`d have a couple of weeks vacation time together, to give their children plenty of time to play with their cousins, and to give themselves a well deserved break.
With only one week left before school was starting, Dean was on his last vacation week for the summer whereas Sam had two weeks left. He had moved things around a bit so that he could be there as much as possible for his eldest daughter for her first week of school. He wanted to be able to take her there on her first day, and bring her to and fro the first week until she felt confident enough to take the school bus on her own. That said, if there was one thing Emily Winchester lacked, it certainly wasn`t courage or confidence. If anything, her father felt more apprehensive about her starting school than she herself did! It was a big step forward in his little girl`s life. What Sam wouldn`t give for his beloved wife Laura to be there with him, watching their firstborn embark on her first day of formal education.
Sam Winchester closed the bedroom door and moved quietly down the hallway. He had just put Emily to bed, and now he was going to make some preperations for the outing they were going to go on the following day. He knew that the more stuff he got ready now, the more time he`d save in the morning.
Dean and himself had planned on taking the four children to the park, they had talked about spending the majority of the day there. They were going to bring plenty of food, snacks and toys to keep the kids entertained. It was going to be great for the two fathers to relax and enjoy the sunny wheather while their children played together. That was to say, Dean would be doing plenty of relaxing as his children were big enough to not need continous parental supervision. Sam`s youngest was only four, which meant (in his own opinion) that he couldn`t take his eyes off her for a minute. He counted on it being a fun and enjoyable day for the whole Winchester clan in any case. Both Dean and himself were immensly grateful that their children shared such a close bond, and could without problems spend hours in each others company without growing bored.
As he was packing a bag of things, Sam tried to make a list in his head of what he needed. He knew Dean was bringing dinner, and he, Sam, was going to bring sandwiches and fruit, which he was going to prepare in the morning before leaving, so it was as fresh as possible. He had gone to the Farmer`s Market together with his daughters earlier that day and picked up some delicious, organic fruits he felt certain the kids would all like.
He had checked the wheather forecast for tomorrow on his laptop already, and had seen no signs of rain. Still, he wondered, if they were to be outside all day at the park, perhaps he should bring the girls raincoats, just in case? They had experienced a light shower in the afternoon. After pondering for a minute, he decided against it. He doubted it would rain again tomorrow anyway.
Sam knew it would be a good idea to bring a sweater or long-armed shirt for each of the girls, but he`d have to get those out tomorrow, as Alice and Emily had both been put to bed. He had already grabbed a couple of books from each of their bedrooms plus comics for his eldest.
Finally, in the spirit of foresight, he also added a small toy ball to his bag.
Feeling quite satisfied and organized, Sam settled down in front of the TV.
--- SPN ---
Dean Winchester had not bothered to get much ready the evening before. So the following morning he was a little on edge due to being in a hurry. He had arranged with Sam to meet up by the park entrance at 11:00. Dean needed fifteen minutes to drive there, and with an annoyed glance at the kitchen clock, he realized he was running late.
"Kids! Hurry up, we gotta go!"
"Daddy, can I bring my football to the park?" Dean`s eight-year-old son Will came running into the kitchen, almost colliding with his father as Dean was coming out of the room to go put the cooling bag in the car.
"Yes, you can-" Dean broke off as he noticed the t-shirt Will was wearing could hardly be called clean. Dean was the last person to care if his own clothes got stained, but he knew his son had been wearing that shirt all day yesterday, and would like for him to put on a fresh one. Dean felt certain he`d put out a new pair of clothes for Will when he put him to bed last night. How could the kid have missed it? He seemed to have grabbed the clothes found on the floor instead. "Will, you need to put on new clothes, use the ones I put on the chair for you."
"But I didn`t see-" the boy`s voice got cut off as his father pulled his t-shirt up over his head.
"This is going in the hamper," Dean instructed. "Lose the shorts too, while you`re at it. Now go up to your room and change." And use those beautiful eyes your mother gave you!
When he returned after loading the cooling bag in the car, he met Dawn, who wanted to wear a dress. Dean tried to explain to her that shorts and a t-shirt would be more practical, besides, they were going to sit on the grass, what if she got dirty stains on her pretty dress that wouldn`t wash out? This got the girl moving, and by the time Dean had made sure he had all the food and drinks needed, both his children were dressed properly for their day in the park.
Soon Dean and his kids were all climbing into the Impala. Dean instructed them to buckle up while he took a moment to think if there was anything he`d forgotten. "Okay, guys, we`re off. Are you sure you got everything?" They both nodded at him. "I`m not turning around if you forgot something," he warned them.
When neither Dawn nor Will made a move, Dean turned the key in the ignition and the Impala roared to life. Before he could put his foot on the gas pedal however, Will gave a shout from the backseat: "Wait! I`ve forgotten my football!"
Dean clenched his jaw. They were late as it is! He felt sure the kid would forget his own head if it wasn`t attached to his shoulders. He left the engine on, but Will made no sign to leave the car. His father turned to face him, realizing the boy was awaiting permission to climb out. "Go get your ball, but hurry up!"
"Thanks, Daddy!" Will fumbled with his seatbelt, but although Dean was stressed and annoyed, he was kind enough not to rush the kid. The boy darted inside the house and returned quickly with his beloved football. "OK, now I`m really ready, promise!" he announced once he was back in the car.
"Alright, you`re both ready for a fun day at the park?" Dean asked.
"YEAH!" his children yelled in unison. They were looking forward to spending the whole day with their cousins and Uncle Sam!
"Alright, then let`s go."
--- SPN ---
Leavenworth County State Park was a large park spanning over 4 KM. It had a playground and a designated area for dogs (all dogs must be kept on leashes everywhere else in the park) where owners could let them run around, chase balls and fetch sticks. There was a duckpond located in the middle of the park, plus a barbeque area with grills and benches. The use of mini grills was discouraged due to littering and the fire hazard they posed, epsecially in long periods with dry, warm wheather. There had been a light rainshower the previous day, so the park managers expected to find mini grills discarded carelessly here and there across the park when they made their round. Smoking was not allowed within the park area, but the management knew most people wouldn`t obey that rule, so they`d made sure to put up plenty of trashcans with special trays for collecting ashes on top - if people insisted on breaking the rules of the park, they would at least encourage them to not dump cigarette butts everywhere.
Consumption of alcohol was also prohibited, but empty and broken beer bottles found here and there spoke witness to the fact that visitors to the park really couldn`t give a crap about the rules.
The park was fenced in and the gates locked at 23:00 each night. This did however not prevent the odd homeless person from breaking in there to catch some Zs on one of the benches.
Park personell was also trained to look for shots - it wasn`t uncommon for junkies to assemble in the park to get their fixes or even pick up drugs.
But Leavenworth was first and foremost a family place. On any Sunday afternoon one could see plenty of families gathering to sit on the neatly trimmed lawns, mothers pushing their prams along the path and the odd couple showing their affection for each other underneath the rhodedendron bushes.
On this summer day however, the park looked mostly deserted, at least when the Winchester clan entered through its gates. They had wanted to arrive early so they could find themselves a nice, secluded spot.
Before even setting foot inside the park, Sam and Dean had given the kids strict instructions to stay within sight of them at all times. If they needed to use the porta potty, they had to tell one of them, no wandering off alone for any reason! (Sam gave his eldest a pointed look when he said this). The children were also given a warning as to what the consequence would be if these orders were not obeyed.
The family went deep into the park, calmy taking their time until they found a place underneath a large oak tree that seemed suitable.
They knew there would probably be lots of people about in the park as the day wore on, but many of Lawrences residents had yet to return from their summer holidays, so the Winchesters may very well be in for a quiet, peaceful day.
--- SPN ---
An hour and a half later, there hadn`t been many people walking by the large oak tree where Sam and Dean were now sitting, observing their children at play. And no one had settled down close to them either. They were both pleased at this. Neither of them felt like sitting on a crowded lawn, they preferred a bit of privacy.
"Daddy!" Little Alice came running up to her father. "I need to pee!" She announced loudly.
Sam was hardly surprised, he had expected his youngest needing to do that after all the water she had been drinking. (As the wheather was warm, he was making sure she stayed properly hydrated). He got up from the grass and grabbed her by the hand. "OK, come on, Daddy will take you. Uh, Dean, can you..."
Dean nodded, understanding immediatly that Sam wanted him to watch over Emily while he was taking his youngest to the toilet. Emily herself was so busy playing with her cousins she didn`t even notice her father and sister walking together down the path.
When Sam returned with Alice a short while later, he noticed Dawn was busy removing the boxes of food from the cooling bag. The kids had told Dean they were hungry, and he was never one to turn down an oppurtunity to eat. He`d instructed his eldest to start getting the food out and was just about to tell his son and niece to halt their current activity when Sam and Alice rejoined them. Sam was less than pleased to discover exactly what his eldest child was currently up to.
"Hi, Daddy!" Emily called down. "Look at me! I`m really high up!"
"What the hell..?" Sam felt his heart skip a beat. His six-year-old and his nephew had both climbed up one of the tall trees that were found everywhere in the area. Most of the trees in the park had been trimmed of their lower branches to avoid children climbing in them, but there were several trees with branches low enough for the average adult to reach and be able to pull themselves up if they had the strength. The tree Emily and Will were currently sitting in had no branches that were low enough for them to climb up on their own, so Sam understood immediatly that Dean had given them permission to climb and even helped them to do so, which meant it would be quite unfair of Sam to discipline Emily as she had been allowed by her uncle.
Climbing was an activity Sam tried to discourage. If they were at a playground and his eldest wanted to climb on the monkey bars or the like, he`d naturally let her, but if Sam caught her or Alice climbing on the furniture at home he would smack them as they knew he didn`t accept it. In Sam`s eyes, climbing on the furniture or in tall trees posed a risk to his daughter`s safety, and he was quite annoyed with Dean for allowing her to do something that put her at risk.
"Is this what you call keeping an eye on her?" growled Sam, glaring daggers at his brother.
"I`m looking at her, aint I?" Dean countered. "She`s just climbing the tree, no big deal."
"Emily, get down from there," Sam called up to his eldest. "You could fall down and hurt yourself!"
"I won`t fall down, Daddy!" Emily objected, not wanting to get down at all. Besides, Uncle Dean had told her it was okay to climb the tree. Daddy was being so unfair!
"Do as you`re told, Emily Elizabeth," Sam said sternly. He`d climb up the tree himself to grab the girl if he had to! He just wanted her down on the ground where she belonged.
The six-year-old knew Sam meant business. After a tiny, spiteful hesitation, she slowly climbed down on the lowest branch so her father could grab her and lift her down.
"It`s not fair, how come Will can climb and I don`t?" Emily complained, referring to her cousin who was still sitting in the tree, watching the battle of wills between father and daughter.
There was a sticky moment, but Dean came to the rescue. "Will, you`d better get down now. We`re gonna have some lunch."
The boy complied. He loved to climb trees, but it wasn`t any fun if Emily wasn`t allowed too. He sure didn`t feel like sitting up there alone.
"We can go to the playground after we`ve eaten," Sam tried suggesting to cheer Emily up. "You can climb on the monkey bars, okay, big girl?"
But Emily was in a huff about Daddy ruining her fun. "NO! I don`t WANT to climb on the stupid monkey bars!" She yelled and stomped her foot angrily in the grass.
Sam reacted instantly by landing a single firm swat to the seat of the girls cotton shorts. He tried to avoid swatting his daughters in public, but in this instance he felt it was called for.
"Ouch!" Emily`s hands flew back to rub at the sudden sting.
"I understand you`re upset, but you do not yell at me," Sam warned.
He felt a prick of guilty conscience at seeing Emily`s eyes glazing over with tears. Sam knew Emily didn`t cry from being given a single smack, she was welling up as a reaction to what she felt was being treated unfairly. She was feeling angry and upset, and although Sam could appreciate her point of view, he was not accepting his six-year-old yelling to his face.
Will had winced at seeing his cousin get swatted. Uncle Sam`s hands were real big, and he smacked just as hard as his own Daddy! The kind boy went to Emily`s side and slipped his hand in hers, giving it a comforting squeeze. He understood that she was upset and totally agreed that Uncle Sam was being unfair. After all, Will had asked Daddy if he and Emily could climb, and he had said that it was fine.
While this was going on, Dawn had been kept company by Alice, who was now eagerly munching on a slice of watermelon the older girl had handed her.
Will and Emily went over to join them, and as they were out of earshot, Dean turned to Sam, shaking his head. "Nice job, dude."
Sam knew exactly what he was referring to. "I am not risking my daughter ending up at the emergency room with a broken arm or worse!" he hissed. "And you shouldn`t undermine my authority by letting her do something that conflicts with the rules I set for her."
"You`re totally exaggerating, we climbed trees all the time as kids, and we never fell down." Dean was feeling a bit exasperated at his brother - Sam was being too protective in his mind. The kids hadn`t been very far up the tree, and if Emily had fallen, Dean had been standing there, ready to catch her. His son had after all been up in that tree too, and Dean would never let him, his daughter or either of his nieces do anything dangerous. The problem was that Dean and Sam defined risky play in very different ways.
The two men went over to the children, who were all now eager to eat. Dean thanked Dawn for helping to put the food out, and Sam seated himself next to his brother.
"Emily, do you want to sit here?" Sam asked kindly, patting the grass next to him.
But the girl wasn`t feeling ready to mend fences just yet. She still had some pouting to do, so as Will sat down next to his father, Emily seated herself next to her cousin.
"She`s giving you the cold shoulder," Dean mumbled to Sam.
"Shut up."
Alice was more than happy to sit next to Daddy, and with Dawn sitting by her side, the Winchester clan was ready to enjoy a hearty lunch.
Sam handed out sandwiches and juice boxes to all the children before grabbing a sandwich for himself and Dean. The eldest Winchester man produced a beerbottle from the cooling bag, while his brother was satisfied with water for the time being.
The kids all chatted cheerily while eating, and once their sandwiches had been more or less consumed, they could have their pick of the fruit Sam had brought. Dawn wanted watermelon and red cherries, while Will and Emily each picked two slices of orange and some strawberries. Alice wanted strawberries too, plus a slice of cucumber. There were certainly nothing wrong with the children`s apetities.
Sam found a packet of rice cakes in his bag, and he fished out two, happily chewing on one before noticing the extremly skeptical look Dean was throwing him. "What?"
"Dude, what are you, a chick on a diet?"
Sam furrowed his brow, wondering if his brother had failed to notice the slices of bread and fuit he had already thrown down the hatch.
"That`s not food for real men," Dean continued.
Sam was used to being critized by his brother for his eating habits. "I think they`re delicious!" he defended himself, biting into the second rice cake and making yumming noises to prove to Dean how good it was.
"They`re all dry, they taste like paper!" he spat, disgusted.
Sam had a hard time believing Dean had ever even tried them. "How would you even know that, Dean? You hardly eat anything that won`t clog your artieries."
"Mel used to eat them all the time."
"Oh..." Sam hadn`t realized. He felt bad about inadverdently bringing up his brother`s ex girlfriend, knowing how painful it was for himself to talk about his deceased wife Laura, even two years on. He knew that Dean kept all his true feelings bottled up, he rarely let any bubble to the surface if he could help it. For Dean, being honest about his emotions and letting the tough-guy mask slip was very difficult and so it rarely happened.
Dean went on. "Yeah, she loved them. Always kept a pack on the counter. She`d eat them when she was feeling peckish or fancied something sweet. Took the edge off the hunger if a meal was running late, kept her from diving into the cupboards in search of some calory-infested snack. God forbid she`d gain weight, you know?" He took a deep swig of his beer. "She was always careful about what she ate, but after her pregnancies it got worse... She couldn`t shed the baby pounds fast enough. Mel was just naturally slim, but she still worked hard at her figure. I sure didn`t mind that," he grinned. "She lost the extra weight pretty fast after each of the kids arrived and was very happy for it. I didn`t mind her being healthy and keeping fit, but it did bug me when she nagged me to follow her example. Like I`d be caught dead having salad and water for lunch. I`m not you!" Dean finished, pointing an accusatory finger at Sam, like it was something wrong with a grown man watching his waistline. Not that Dean had ever been anything but hard muscle. A lifetime of John Winchesters training regime had seen to that.
Dean patted his chest. "Don`t need no woman telling me to be healthy. I`m as healthy as a horse!"
"Sure you are," Sam nodded. He knew all about Dean`s love of junk food. In fact, it had been Sam who had brought the sandwiches and fruit for lunch whereas Deans contribution in the way of todays dinner was frozen hamburgers. He`d bought two mini grills and planned on firing them up later.
The attention of both men was suddenly claimed by a loud outburst of laughter from Emily. "Look, Daddy!" she gasped, pointing at Will.
Both Sam and Dean smiled and chuckled when they saw what Will was doing - he had put an orange slice in his mouth and held it with his teeth, making the bright orange peel stick out between his lips. He looked so goofy he made little Alice laugh so hard she nearly rolled over. Dawn also found her brother`s silliness amusing and chose to follow up, wanting to harvest some laughs herself. She grabbed two pairs of cherries and hung them on her ears. "I got new earrings!"
The other children laughed, and Dean said teasingly to his kids that fruit was for eating, not playing with.
Sam was just happy to see Emily smiling and laughing, it told him she was quite finished with being offended with him. He thought to himself that he should be glad that her anger was never long-lasting - ten years from now temper tantrums and attitude would take on a whole new dimension in his household, and he certainly wasn`t looking forward to that! Right now he was very happy that his girls were still little and that hurt feelings could easily be soothed.
Part 2 located here: http://capricorn86.livejournal.com/35447.html