Fic-One Foot In Front of the Other- Chapter 7
Title: One Foot In Front of the Other-Chapter 7
Disclaimer: I don't own Dean or Sam. I'm sad now.
Rating: It's still PG-13, i guess.
Pairing: Sam/Dean (still more implied than anything else...soon changing!)
Summary: Sam left, but he had his reasons.
Warning: implied mpreg
Chap Summ: Sam asks Dean for a favor.
A/N: I think yall will like this! =/ I hope. And this chapter is significantly longer than all the others so I have been listening! lol
Thanks to
thelonejulietfor giving me beta-loving! =) And to
loverstarfor also giving it a once over!
In the week that passed since Dean and Sam talked at his apartment, Dean hadn’t heard from him. He was giving Sam the time and space he needed to think. He didn’t plan to stay away too much longer, though - the more time Sam had to himself, the more time that huge brain of his had to come up with reasons why things wouldn’t work with them.
Honestly, Dean really didn’t have anything better to do besides pester Sam. Hopewell, New Jersey was not, by any means, a party central. It was filled with tree-lined roads, a restored downtown, grassy parks, and isolated farmlands on the outskirts. Dean, stuck in his claustrophobia-inducing motel room, was climbing the walls by the time Saturday morning rolled around.
Fresh out of the shower, squeaky clean and still dripping, Dean dashed out of the bathroom when he heard the muffled tune, “Carry On My Wayward Son” coming from his duffel bag. Rummaging through, he cursed his inability to put his phone in an easily accessible place. Finally spotting it, he flipped it open, not even bothering to check the ID.
“Sam?”
“Uh, hey Dean.”
“Hi, Sam.”
Dean waited patiently through the awkward silence that followed. Sam had called for a reason and Dean was definitely up for whatever it may be.
“Um, Dean…I was wondering if I could ask you a favor.”
Dean hummed his agreement.
“Well, I, uh, I need to do some extra work at the office and Dennis is out of town and so I was wondering if you couldsortawatchMikey.”
Dean’s eyebrows rose. That was definitely not what he had been expecting. A pleasant surprise, though.
Dean was great with kids, so he told himself. But this was different. This was his son. Something warm and unnamed filled him as he smiled.
Sam misunderstood his silence. “Look, I know things are bad between us-”
“No, no,” Dean interrupted him before he could second-guess his decision to call. “I’d love to. What time do you need me?”
“Well, now, if it’s not too much trouble.”
Dean’s heart began to pound. “Be there in ten.”
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Sam dressed hurriedly while Mikey sat on the edge of his bed, swinging his feet back and forth and watching his father. For the millionth time that morning, Sam wished he could go back in time and not make that phone call. But then the practical father in him stepped in and reminded him he didn’t have a choice. There was no one else he could call to take care of Mikey while he worked. That was one of the downfalls to only having one close friend. And honestly, Dean was excellent with children; Sam had seen that for himself on countless occasions during a hunt. And Dean was, after all, Mikey’s father.
“Is Denny comin’ over to watch me?” Mikey’s voice cut into Sam’s thoughts.
Sam squatted down in front of him. “No, actually-“
The doorbell cut him off. He grabbed Mikey’s hand and they both went to answer. Sam took a deep breath. Dean was smiling on the other side and it took Sam a moment to steady his breathing and tentatively offer a small smile in return.
When Dean was inside, Sam turned to Mikey to make the introductions. “Mikey, this is-well, this is…this is your, uh,” he floundered pitifully until Dean stepped forward bent down to offer Mikey his hand and a smile.
“I’m Dean.”
Mikey glared at him, hard. Nowhere was even a trace of the sweet, charming smile Sam was accustomed to. He wasn’t even sure where Mikey had learned a look like that; it was disheartening on a face so small.
Sam caught his eye. “Mikey, I’ve known Dean for a long time and you’re going to have fun with him, okay?”
“Sure are,” Dean interjected, just for good measure.
Mikey turned to his father with doe-eyed innocence. “Daddy, can I have some ‘sed wheats’?”
Sam smiled wide. Whatever his problem with Dean was, Mikey seemed to have gotten over it quickly enough. “Sure.”
The threesome moved into the kitchen. Mikey hopped up into his chair and Sam went to fixing his bowl of cereal while Dean leaned his back against the doorway, watching. Once the boy had been situated, Sam prepared to say goodbye.
“I have to go to work now, and Dean’s going to watch you. Be good and have fun. I love you.” He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the top of Mikey’s silky locks. Mikey offered him a toothy grin before spooning up some of the soggy cereal.
Sam turned to address Dean. “Thanks for doing this. Listen, he likes to watch the really old Bill Nye shows, draw and do his puzzles. If anything happens, call my cell- I’ll have it on. And of course, you know 9-1-1.”
He bit his lip, glancing back at Mikey and then eyeing Dean dubiously.
Dean smirked. “Come on, Sam. You know I can do this. I want to do this.” That said, he unceremoniously ushered Sam to the door.
Sam hesitated just a moment more and his eyes met Dean’s. Surprised by the current of emotion he found flowing between them, Sam grabbed his coat and left with one last murmured “Thanks”.
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Once Sam left, Dean found Mikey exactly where the left him, enjoying his mushy Honey Nut Shredded Wheat.
“So, Mikey, what do you want to do when you’re done eating?” Dean watched the glare return as quickly as it had disappeared when he was talking to Sam.
“’Michwowl’, to you.”
It’s Sam.
Dean bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. This truly was Sam’s child.
“Okay, Michael, what do you want to do?”
Mikey chewed the last bit of his cereal before hopping down to stand in front of Dean with his tiny hands on his hips. “Nothing with you.”
Dean frowned a little. Sure, he was technically a stranger, but that didn’t warrant this hostility.
“Well, why not?” Dean asked, slightly offended.
Mikey crossed his arms in a way Dean was sure he’d learned from Sam, who had learned it from Dean, who had seen John do it countless times. “You yelled at my Daddy.”
It took Dean longer than it should to realize what he meant. That night, Dean had yelled at Sam…and thrown him against a wall - and accused him of some horrible things. He’d forgotten that poor Mikey had witnessed some of that. He probably thought Dean a bad person to come barreling into their lives, yelling at his Daddy, and then trying to make friends.
Dean hunkered down to Mikey’s level and looked him in the eye. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at your Daddy. But there’s-” He decided to take a detour around saying there was a lot Mikey didn’t understand. He seemed to distinctly remember kids didn’t appreciate that too much. “I love your Daddy and I won’t hurt him.”
Mikey eyed him suspiciously. “Promise?”
Dean nodded solemnly.
Mikey bit his lip and looked straight into Dean’s eyes. It was a bit unnerving to be scrutinized by a child. But he must have passed the test because Mikey gave him an uncertain look which was identical to Sam’s from earlier before shrugging.
“Okay.”
Dean smiled in relief. “What do you say we watch some Bill Nye?”
Mikey perked right up. Dean had never much been a fan of Bill Nye. He hadn’t understood the hooplah when Sam had ogled over the overly-excited scientist as a kid and he still didn’t. But as Mikey chanted along with the theme song, “Bill-Bill-Bill”, and rocked happily from side to side in time with the music, Dean figured he could deal. And when Mikey tossed a grin and a giggle over his shoulder in his direction, Dean was pretty sure his heart was going to burst.
Dean knew he had won Mikey over when they had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and Mikey exclaimed that it was his favorite. He talked Dean’s ear off about school, and his friends, and managed to get more of the sandwich on his face than in his mouth. Sam called a little while after that to check on things. He talked to Mikey and Dean assured him everything was fine before Sam had to rush off when someone called for him.
He and Mikey spent the rest of the day quietly drawing pictures of various different things around the house and completing one of Mikey’s nature puzzles.
They were working on one of the more difficult ones when Dean glanced up to find Mikey frowning, tongue out and to the side in concentration as he tried to shove two pieces together that obviously weren’t going to fit.
“I don’t think those are going to work, Michael.”
Mikey looked up in surprise, evidently unused to being called by his full name. He cocked his head to the side, still clutching his puzzle pieces. “You can say Mikey now.”
Dean’s smile was slow and wide. “Thank you.” He handed over the adjoining parts to Mikey’s two pieces.
They were watching one of Mikey’s favorite shows on the couch in the living room when Mikey’s head began to droop a little. More than halfway asleep already, he snuggled into Dean’s side and promptly fell asleep.
Dean felt something deep in his chest tug painfully. He wished for the hundredth time that day that things had been different. This wasn’t going to be easy - coming into Mikey’s life, trying to lay some claim. He wished Sam had trusted him more - that he hadn’t walked away and taken with him Dean’s shot at a family. Admittedly, a family was something he had thought he would never want. But now that he had one - now that there was a tiny body trustingly pressed against his, Dean was determined to somehow make this work.
When Sam got home, Mikey was just waking up, and Dean was sneering at the actors on “Days of Our Lives.” He offered a soft, tired smile at Mikey and Dean before plopping down onto the other end of the couch.
“So, everything go okay?”
Dean nodded. “Everything went great.”
“Daddy!” Mikey, finally having shaken off the last clutches of sleep, climbed into his dad’s lap. “I missed you.”
Sam smiled. “You did? Did you have a good time?”
Mikey nodded emphatically. “We watched Bill and De showed me how to draw a car.”
Dean chuckled. Throughout the day, Mikey had been having some trouble actually getting ‘Dean’ out. Somewhere along the line, he had decided to stick with De.
Mikey rattled on about several other parts of their day and Dean watched as Sam’s eyes glazed over a little, clearly exhausted.
“Hey, Mikey, why don’t you go work on some of those cars I showed you?” With that, the little boy eagerly scurried off to his room.
Dean took in Sam’s slumped form, face pinched, eyes screwed shut. Obviously a headache.
“Work was tough today, huh?” Dean wanted nothing more than to work out the kinks and tension evident in Sam’s neck and shoulders. He knew that wouldn’t be received too well so he busied himself with finding some Tylenol when Sam gave a weak nod.
He gratefully accepted the pills and glass of water before focusing on Dean. ‘So, what’d you two do today?”
Dean shrugged. “Watched some Bill Nye, drew some pictures. Oh, and I made my famous Dean Winchester PB&J.”
“You mean my sustenance for the better half of my life.” He offered a grin along with it.
“Yeah, maybe. But I’ll tell you something, that Bill Nye character is one creepy dude.” Dean cringed.
Sam snorted. “I-”
Their eyes met and Dean’s heart skipped a beat. They were leaning forward, smiling into each other, tension nonexistent for the first time in a long time. Sam’s eyes were bright, his dimples deep and prominent and all Dean really wanted to do was…
“Look, De, look!” And just like that, the moment ended as Mikey came scuttling back into the room. He waved a blue piece of construction paper at Dean. Upon further inspection, Dean could see a black car drawn in crayon, beside which was drawn a stick figure he assumed to be himself. A smaller one was standing close beside him. “When you were at my school.”
Dean smiled and gave an evil little chuckle on the inside and wondered what it meant that Dennis was featured nowhere in the drawing but had been at the school that day. “It’s great, Mikey. Can I have it?”
Mikey beamed up at him and nodded.
“Thanks.” He stooped down. “Well, buddy. It’s time for me to head out, but thanks for the great time today.”
Mikey did the Sam pout. “Are you coming back?”
“Of course, I am.” He ruffled a bit of the blonde mop and straightened up.
When Dean reached the door, Sam stopped him with a light hand on his arm. Before Dean could enjoy the touch, Sam snatched his hand away as if burned by the contact.
“Uh,” He cleared his throat. “Thank you, Dean. I really appreciate it.”
Dean grinned. “Anytime, Sammy.”
I'm sorry, but there really are only so many ways you can shorten Dean's name.
Reviews are love; won't you show me some? =)
And thanks to everyone who has been keeping up with this and reviewing and whatnot! You people make me squeal!
Disclaimer: I don't own Dean or Sam. I'm sad now.
Rating: It's still PG-13, i guess.
Pairing: Sam/Dean (still more implied than anything else...soon changing!)
Summary: Sam left, but he had his reasons.
Warning: implied mpreg
Chap Summ: Sam asks Dean for a favor.
A/N: I think yall will like this! =/ I hope. And this chapter is significantly longer than all the others so I have been listening! lol
Thanks to
thelonejulietfor giving me beta-loving! =) And to
loverstarfor also giving it a once over!
In the week that passed since Dean and Sam talked at his apartment, Dean hadn’t heard from him. He was giving Sam the time and space he needed to think. He didn’t plan to stay away too much longer, though - the more time Sam had to himself, the more time that huge brain of his had to come up with reasons why things wouldn’t work with them.
Honestly, Dean really didn’t have anything better to do besides pester Sam. Hopewell, New Jersey was not, by any means, a party central. It was filled with tree-lined roads, a restored downtown, grassy parks, and isolated farmlands on the outskirts. Dean, stuck in his claustrophobia-inducing motel room, was climbing the walls by the time Saturday morning rolled around.
Fresh out of the shower, squeaky clean and still dripping, Dean dashed out of the bathroom when he heard the muffled tune, “Carry On My Wayward Son” coming from his duffel bag. Rummaging through, he cursed his inability to put his phone in an easily accessible place. Finally spotting it, he flipped it open, not even bothering to check the ID.
“Sam?”
“Uh, hey Dean.”
“Hi, Sam.”
Dean waited patiently through the awkward silence that followed. Sam had called for a reason and Dean was definitely up for whatever it may be.
“Um, Dean…I was wondering if I could ask you a favor.”
Dean hummed his agreement.
“Well, I, uh, I need to do some extra work at the office and Dennis is out of town and so I was wondering if you couldsortawatchMikey.”
Dean’s eyebrows rose. That was definitely not what he had been expecting. A pleasant surprise, though.
Dean was great with kids, so he told himself. But this was different. This was his son. Something warm and unnamed filled him as he smiled.
Sam misunderstood his silence. “Look, I know things are bad between us-”
“No, no,” Dean interrupted him before he could second-guess his decision to call. “I’d love to. What time do you need me?”
“Well, now, if it’s not too much trouble.”
Dean’s heart began to pound. “Be there in ten.”
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Sam dressed hurriedly while Mikey sat on the edge of his bed, swinging his feet back and forth and watching his father. For the millionth time that morning, Sam wished he could go back in time and not make that phone call. But then the practical father in him stepped in and reminded him he didn’t have a choice. There was no one else he could call to take care of Mikey while he worked. That was one of the downfalls to only having one close friend. And honestly, Dean was excellent with children; Sam had seen that for himself on countless occasions during a hunt. And Dean was, after all, Mikey’s father.
“Is Denny comin’ over to watch me?” Mikey’s voice cut into Sam’s thoughts.
Sam squatted down in front of him. “No, actually-“
The doorbell cut him off. He grabbed Mikey’s hand and they both went to answer. Sam took a deep breath. Dean was smiling on the other side and it took Sam a moment to steady his breathing and tentatively offer a small smile in return.
When Dean was inside, Sam turned to Mikey to make the introductions. “Mikey, this is-well, this is…this is your, uh,” he floundered pitifully until Dean stepped forward bent down to offer Mikey his hand and a smile.
“I’m Dean.”
Mikey glared at him, hard. Nowhere was even a trace of the sweet, charming smile Sam was accustomed to. He wasn’t even sure where Mikey had learned a look like that; it was disheartening on a face so small.
Sam caught his eye. “Mikey, I’ve known Dean for a long time and you’re going to have fun with him, okay?”
“Sure are,” Dean interjected, just for good measure.
Mikey turned to his father with doe-eyed innocence. “Daddy, can I have some ‘sed wheats’?”
Sam smiled wide. Whatever his problem with Dean was, Mikey seemed to have gotten over it quickly enough. “Sure.”
The threesome moved into the kitchen. Mikey hopped up into his chair and Sam went to fixing his bowl of cereal while Dean leaned his back against the doorway, watching. Once the boy had been situated, Sam prepared to say goodbye.
“I have to go to work now, and Dean’s going to watch you. Be good and have fun. I love you.” He leaned down and pressed a soft kiss to the top of Mikey’s silky locks. Mikey offered him a toothy grin before spooning up some of the soggy cereal.
Sam turned to address Dean. “Thanks for doing this. Listen, he likes to watch the really old Bill Nye shows, draw and do his puzzles. If anything happens, call my cell- I’ll have it on. And of course, you know 9-1-1.”
He bit his lip, glancing back at Mikey and then eyeing Dean dubiously.
Dean smirked. “Come on, Sam. You know I can do this. I want to do this.” That said, he unceremoniously ushered Sam to the door.
Sam hesitated just a moment more and his eyes met Dean’s. Surprised by the current of emotion he found flowing between them, Sam grabbed his coat and left with one last murmured “Thanks”.
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Once Sam left, Dean found Mikey exactly where the left him, enjoying his mushy Honey Nut Shredded Wheat.
“So, Mikey, what do you want to do when you’re done eating?” Dean watched the glare return as quickly as it had disappeared when he was talking to Sam.
“’Michwowl’, to you.”
It’s Sam.
Dean bit the inside of his cheek to keep from smiling. This truly was Sam’s child.
“Okay, Michael, what do you want to do?”
Mikey chewed the last bit of his cereal before hopping down to stand in front of Dean with his tiny hands on his hips. “Nothing with you.”
Dean frowned a little. Sure, he was technically a stranger, but that didn’t warrant this hostility.
“Well, why not?” Dean asked, slightly offended.
Mikey crossed his arms in a way Dean was sure he’d learned from Sam, who had learned it from Dean, who had seen John do it countless times. “You yelled at my Daddy.”
It took Dean longer than it should to realize what he meant. That night, Dean had yelled at Sam…and thrown him against a wall - and accused him of some horrible things. He’d forgotten that poor Mikey had witnessed some of that. He probably thought Dean a bad person to come barreling into their lives, yelling at his Daddy, and then trying to make friends.
Dean hunkered down to Mikey’s level and looked him in the eye. “You’re right. I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have yelled at your Daddy. But there’s-” He decided to take a detour around saying there was a lot Mikey didn’t understand. He seemed to distinctly remember kids didn’t appreciate that too much. “I love your Daddy and I won’t hurt him.”
Mikey eyed him suspiciously. “Promise?”
Dean nodded solemnly.
Mikey bit his lip and looked straight into Dean’s eyes. It was a bit unnerving to be scrutinized by a child. But he must have passed the test because Mikey gave him an uncertain look which was identical to Sam’s from earlier before shrugging.
“Okay.”
Dean smiled in relief. “What do you say we watch some Bill Nye?”
Mikey perked right up. Dean had never much been a fan of Bill Nye. He hadn’t understood the hooplah when Sam had ogled over the overly-excited scientist as a kid and he still didn’t. But as Mikey chanted along with the theme song, “Bill-Bill-Bill”, and rocked happily from side to side in time with the music, Dean figured he could deal. And when Mikey tossed a grin and a giggle over his shoulder in his direction, Dean was pretty sure his heart was going to burst.
Dean knew he had won Mikey over when they had peanut butter and jelly sandwiches for lunch and Mikey exclaimed that it was his favorite. He talked Dean’s ear off about school, and his friends, and managed to get more of the sandwich on his face than in his mouth. Sam called a little while after that to check on things. He talked to Mikey and Dean assured him everything was fine before Sam had to rush off when someone called for him.
He and Mikey spent the rest of the day quietly drawing pictures of various different things around the house and completing one of Mikey’s nature puzzles.
They were working on one of the more difficult ones when Dean glanced up to find Mikey frowning, tongue out and to the side in concentration as he tried to shove two pieces together that obviously weren’t going to fit.
“I don’t think those are going to work, Michael.”
Mikey looked up in surprise, evidently unused to being called by his full name. He cocked his head to the side, still clutching his puzzle pieces. “You can say Mikey now.”
Dean’s smile was slow and wide. “Thank you.” He handed over the adjoining parts to Mikey’s two pieces.
They were watching one of Mikey’s favorite shows on the couch in the living room when Mikey’s head began to droop a little. More than halfway asleep already, he snuggled into Dean’s side and promptly fell asleep.
Dean felt something deep in his chest tug painfully. He wished for the hundredth time that day that things had been different. This wasn’t going to be easy - coming into Mikey’s life, trying to lay some claim. He wished Sam had trusted him more - that he hadn’t walked away and taken with him Dean’s shot at a family. Admittedly, a family was something he had thought he would never want. But now that he had one - now that there was a tiny body trustingly pressed against his, Dean was determined to somehow make this work.
When Sam got home, Mikey was just waking up, and Dean was sneering at the actors on “Days of Our Lives.” He offered a soft, tired smile at Mikey and Dean before plopping down onto the other end of the couch.
“So, everything go okay?”
Dean nodded. “Everything went great.”
“Daddy!” Mikey, finally having shaken off the last clutches of sleep, climbed into his dad’s lap. “I missed you.”
Sam smiled. “You did? Did you have a good time?”
Mikey nodded emphatically. “We watched Bill and De showed me how to draw a car.”
Dean chuckled. Throughout the day, Mikey had been having some trouble actually getting ‘Dean’ out. Somewhere along the line, he had decided to stick with De.
Mikey rattled on about several other parts of their day and Dean watched as Sam’s eyes glazed over a little, clearly exhausted.
“Hey, Mikey, why don’t you go work on some of those cars I showed you?” With that, the little boy eagerly scurried off to his room.
Dean took in Sam’s slumped form, face pinched, eyes screwed shut. Obviously a headache.
“Work was tough today, huh?” Dean wanted nothing more than to work out the kinks and tension evident in Sam’s neck and shoulders. He knew that wouldn’t be received too well so he busied himself with finding some Tylenol when Sam gave a weak nod.
He gratefully accepted the pills and glass of water before focusing on Dean. ‘So, what’d you two do today?”
Dean shrugged. “Watched some Bill Nye, drew some pictures. Oh, and I made my famous Dean Winchester PB&J.”
“You mean my sustenance for the better half of my life.” He offered a grin along with it.
“Yeah, maybe. But I’ll tell you something, that Bill Nye character is one creepy dude.” Dean cringed.
Sam snorted. “I-”
Their eyes met and Dean’s heart skipped a beat. They were leaning forward, smiling into each other, tension nonexistent for the first time in a long time. Sam’s eyes were bright, his dimples deep and prominent and all Dean really wanted to do was…
“Look, De, look!” And just like that, the moment ended as Mikey came scuttling back into the room. He waved a blue piece of construction paper at Dean. Upon further inspection, Dean could see a black car drawn in crayon, beside which was drawn a stick figure he assumed to be himself. A smaller one was standing close beside him. “When you were at my school.”
Dean smiled and gave an evil little chuckle on the inside and wondered what it meant that Dennis was featured nowhere in the drawing but had been at the school that day. “It’s great, Mikey. Can I have it?”
Mikey beamed up at him and nodded.
“Thanks.” He stooped down. “Well, buddy. It’s time for me to head out, but thanks for the great time today.”
Mikey did the Sam pout. “Are you coming back?”
“Of course, I am.” He ruffled a bit of the blonde mop and straightened up.
When Dean reached the door, Sam stopped him with a light hand on his arm. Before Dean could enjoy the touch, Sam snatched his hand away as if burned by the contact.
“Uh,” He cleared his throat. “Thank you, Dean. I really appreciate it.”
Dean grinned. “Anytime, Sammy.”
I'm sorry, but there really are only so many ways you can shorten Dean's name.
Reviews are love; won't you show me some? =)
And thanks to everyone who has been keeping up with this and reviewing and whatnot! You people make me squeal!