Pas De Cheval 1/?
Rating: PG (some naughty language)
Characters/Pairings: Sam, Dean, Ben and some new characters ;)
Summary: Timestamp. Set a little more than 2 years after the ending of Renegade and The Rain Song, Sam is off to Stanford and misses his brother greatly. This is Sam's first few months at Stanford.
Disclaimer: If only I owned the Winchester boys :( sad day.
A/N: Sorry this took forever and a day to get out, I had writer's block for a while then school and work got crazy! I apologize. Be grateful though because this one is pretty long! Anyway, this might be the last Wathctower story for a while unless someone has something specific they want (just comment me that or whatever). I have more of this verse that I want to write, but it's hard to get into the swing of just writing timestamps...so it'll take a while for me to get down the stories I want to tell, bare with me.
“It's the greatest thing that's yet to have happened
Imagine knowing me
It's the greatest thing you'd ever imagine
But you'll never know until you're there”
Pas De Chavel- Panic! At the Disco
Sam might be a little freakin scared… and by that he’s basically scared shitless. The dorm is brick with clean white stairs leading to the front double doors. His bags are heavy in his hands, but he can’t stop staring at the building that will be his home for the next nine months.
He wishes, not for the first time, that Dean was with him, but money was tight so it really wasn’t feasible for Dean, or his mom and dad even to buy the extra tickets to fly out to California with him…
He huffs and pulls one of his bags up higher on his arm. He takes the stairs up to his third floor room, which was probably a stupid idea since there was an elevator, but Sam doesn’t really care. He flops his bags unceremoniously onto the floor in the hallway and takes a minute to scramble around in his pants pocket for his room key. The room is completely empty except for the two bare beds and desks, and Sam’s secretly grateful that his roommate isn’t here yet.
He carefully unpacks his bags and is extremely grateful that his mom insisted on folding all his clothes for him because it makes it that much easier to stuff them into the built in dresser than if he would have to fold them all over again.
He’s gotten everything unpacked and his currently taking all his pictures up onto the wall above his bed when a blonde women and a tall blonde haired boy come into the room.
“Oh, hello!” The woman exclaims, she’s wearing a crisply pressed pink blouse and a black knee-length skirt. Her hair is perfectly pulled back into a neat bun, and her eyes are a little too cold for Sam’s liking.
The blonde boy, who Sam assumes is her son and his roommate, is much less put together than his mother.
His blonde hair is a little disheveled and the shirttails of his white button down are hanging over the waistband of his khaki pants.
He offers Sam a small wave and a tight smile, “I’m Tyson Brady and this is my mother.”
“Nice to meet you.” Sam told him in return, “I’m Sam Winchester.”
Tyson smiled tightly at him again, stuffing his hands down deep into his pockets.
“Don’t slouch son.” Tyson’s mother murmured to him. She turned on Sam and her lips were thin and pinched, “And where are your parents Sam?”
Sam wiped his sweaty palms against the fabric of his worn jeans. “Um, they couldn’t come.”
If possible her mouth pinched tighter as she assessed Sam with her cold hard eyes. Sam tried not to squirm. She turned around and Sam was grateful not to have her eyes on her anymore.
“Alright then, call me when you’ve settled in son.”
“Sure mom,” Tyson grumbled in response and gave his mom a quick kiss on the cheek that didn’t even reach her skin.
She breezed out the door closing it hard behind her.
Tyson breaths out a long breath as soon as the door shuts behind his mother.
“Sorry about her…” Tyson tells Sam, rubbing the back of his head subconsciously.
“It’s ok, man.” Sam offers gently.
Tyson extends his hand to Sam as he walks across the room. “Just call me Brady.”
Sam shakes his hand and laughs a little, “Brady it is.”
They unpack in relative silence, and Sam went back to tacking his pictures up on the wall.
“That your family?” Brady’s voice asks from behind him.
Sam startles a little bit, but turns around to look at his roommate. “Um, yeah, that’s them.”
Brady nods, “Where’re you guys from, it doesn’t look like Cali?”
Sam huffs out a laugh, “Nah, man, I’m from Kansas.”
Brady lets out a low whistle. “That why they’re not here?”
Sam nods, “Yeah, they wanted to come, ya know? But it was just too much.”
“That’s rough, those your parents?” Brady asks pointing to picture of John and Mary sitting on the porch steps.
“Yep, that’s my mom, Mary, and my dad, John.” Sam pointed to them each in turn. “That’s my older brother Dean and his son Ben.” Sam tells him pointing to another picture- this one of Dean sitting on the hood of the Impala with a two year old Ben perched on his shoulders. “And my little brother, Adam.” Sam finishes, pointing to the next picture, this one of him and Adam together, heads hanging over the side of the tree house.
“Big family.” Brady said.
“Yeah, I guess…” Sam smiles at the pictures, but can’t help but miss his family.
|<>|<>|<>|<>|<>|<>|
“Sammy!” Sam grins, he can hear Ben jabbering in the background and he figures that Ben must be curled up safely against his daddy’s chest.
“How’s Cali-fornication dude? Any babes?”
Sam shakes his head at the decidedly ‘Dean’ remark. “Not so far, just getting settled in.”
“Yea? Sorry I couldn’t be there.” He does sound regretful, and even if it makes Sam feel like a pussy he can feel a lump forming in his throat.
“Yea…” He manages to croak out.
“Aw, come on, Sammy, tell me all about it.” Dean prompts.
Sam huffs a laugh and tells Dean about his flight the Palo Alto, everything from the nice stewardess who brought him a Coke to the Russian couple three rows in front of Sam that wouldn’t stop making out and who, Sam was pretty sure, joined the mile high club. That made Dean laugh.
He tells Dean all about campus, and describes his dorm in great detail from the stained carpet in the halls to the unmistakable smell of pot lingering in every crevice.
Since Brady had ventured out to test the dining hall food, Sam felt free to talk about him and his mother. He confides in Dean about how he was upset with the way that Brady’s mom had treated him, but thought that maybe he could get along with Brady.
“And, hey. If ya don’t, it’s not your loss- it’s his cuz you’re a great friend little brother.” Dean tells him, and it makes Sam both smile and want to cry.
“Thanks Dean.” Sam tells him. They sit in comfortable silence for several minutes; Sam can hear Dean humming gently on the other line. It sounds like it might be the opening cords to Metallica’s “For Whom the Bells Tolls” and Sam can just picture his brother sitting on his bed humming and rocking his baby to sleep.
“Ben out yet?” Sam asks after a little while.
Dean chuckles quietly, “Yep,” he responds subdued. “I’m just gonna go put him down.” Sam can hear shuffling on the other line and in his mind’s eye he can just see Dean getting up and walking down the hall of his small apartment to the little room that they had painted a soft green for Ben.
He hears Dean’s soft, “Night baby boy.” Then the sound of the door creaking halfway shut.
He hears Dean move around some more and the light clinking of glasses and a small hiss as Dean opens a beer bottle.
“I miss ya’ll…” Sam finally says.
He hears Dean swallow, “I miss you too, Sammy.”
“Yeah?” Sam rattles in an unsteady breath.
“Course Sammy.” Dean tells him. “What’m I gonna do without my little brother around to mess with?” He jokes.
“You have more than one little brother.” Sam points out.
“Yea, but Adam’s only eleven so it’s not like I can buy him a beer and talk about chicks.”
“Is beer and chicks the only thing you like me for?”
“Nah, I like your pretty face too.”
Sam smiles, “Thanks Dean.”
“No prob, little brother.” Dean chuckles.
They chat for several more minutes before Brady comes back into the room and Dean says goodbye since he’ll be up early for work and with Ben.
“Checkin’ in with the folks?” Brady asks after Sam hangs up.
“Nah, my older brother,” Sam shrugs. “But Mom and Dad are next on my list.”
Brady nods sagely, “Just ignore me, I’m gonna try to get this looking like something.” He says pointing at the closet where he had threw all of his stuff and which was currently over flowing.
Sam chuckles and nods while he dials the familiar number for home.
His mom answers on the third ring, “Sam?”
“Hi Mom.”
“How are you settling in, baby?”
Sam smiled at being called baby. “It’s good, campus is big, but I think I’ve found my way
around. The dorm’s not bad and neither is my roommate.” He smiles at Brady who gives him a thumbs up.
“That’s good sweetie! Are you excited to start classes?”
“Yeah, but sort of nervous to, ya know?”
She mhmm’s conspiratorially, “You’ll do fine, you’re so smart.”
Sam smiles, “Thanks mom.”
“I love you sweetie, you wanna talk to Dad?”
“Yeah.” He tell her. He can hear her calling for his dad then he hears his dad’s gruff, “Hello?”
“Hey dad.”
“How’s it going son?”
“Good, good.”
Sam speaks to him for a little while longer before they hang up. He kinda wishes it wasn’t past Adam’s bedtime, but he figures he’ll just call and talk to him again tomorrow to tell them how the first day of classes went.
He and Brady spend the rest of the night getting their room in order. Sam eventually runs down to the dining hall for a late night meal, bring the food back to the room with him to eat at his desk. He and Brady make the usual get to know you small talk and he learns that his roommate is planning on majoring in business which basically translates as he doesn’t have a damn clue what he wants to do with his life, that makes Sam laugh and he tell Brady that he’s pre-law.
They joke around and tell each other a little about themselves for the rest of the night before quietly slipping into their beds.
Sam stares at the dark ceiling in his dorm room before drifting off. He still misses home terribly but he hopes that he made the right decision in going to Stanford.
|<>|<>|<>|<>|<>|<>|
Sam’s been at Stanford for almost two months when the much anticipated ‘Family Weekend’ rolls around.
Sam has put up with the expected murmurs on campus for a full week now and he’s both pissed and depressed.
After his last class on the Thursday before family weekend he bursts into his room before throwing himself facedown onto his bed. He curls up facing the wall, hoping to wallow in self-pity for a little while, but Brady has other ideas.
“Whoa, dude! You PMS-ing or what?”
Sam ignores him.
“Come on what’s the matter?”
Sam sighs and turns over so he’s looking at the ceiling instead of Brady.
“Nothing,” Sam says. “It’s just Family Weekend is starting to piss me off.”
“Because your family can’t come?” Brady prompts.
Sam nods, “Because my family can’t come.”
“That’s rough.”
Sam purses his lips and nods.
“Is your mom coming?” He asks Brady, trying to be polite.
“Yep.” Brady responds as he spins around in his desk chair. “She’ll be here tomorrow night.”
Sam nods and they let the topic drop.
The next day Sam shuffles through his classes and tries not to feel too sorry for himself.
He walks the stairs up to his dorm, dodging excited students and their parents.
He greets Brady who’s busily trying to clean up their room before his mother sees it, Sam laughs at him just a little and Brady glares at him in return.
When Brady’s mother gets there she sits stiffly in his desk chair.
“Hello Mrs. Brady.” Sam greets her politely, because his Momma raised him right.
“Hello,” She says through tight lips. “And where are your parents?”
“Umm, they’re still in Kansas. They couldn’t come.”
Mrs. Brady looks shrewdly at him before turning her back on him to address her son. Sam tries to tune them out as he works on getting ahead in reading for his biology class.
He’s been at it for about an hour when there’s a knock on the door.
Brady, taking the out from being grilled by his mother, jumps up to open it.
Brady’s eyes get big when he sees the toddler standing in front of their door.
“Ummmm, aren’t you a little young for college?” He asks the tot. The toddler giggles and starts babbling at him in broken baby-English. Brady just stands there staring at the child dumbly.
“Where are his parents!” Brady’s mother says indignantly. Sam just raises his eyebrows at Brady’s mom because she didn’t sound worried, just disgusted.
He looks away from her to get his first good look at the little boy who has crowded into the room past Brady’s legs.
Sam feels all the breath rush out of him as he recognizes the child.
“Ben!” Sam shouts, startling the child into looking up. His big green eyes, so much like Dean’s, land on Sam.
“Unc Smamy! Ben cries before flinging himself into his uncle’s arms. Sam squeezes the little boy tight to his chest and came feel the little boy giggle and squirm in the embrace. He settles Ben onto his hip and smiles brightly at him.
“Where’s daddy Ben?” He asks him.
“Right here.” Dean’s voice says from the doorway. Sam turns and sees his brother’s familiar form propped up against the door frame, booted feet crossed at the ankles and a smirk firmly planted on his face.
“Dean.” Sam says on a breath.
Dean smiles at him brightly and Sam tries not to cry for missing his brother so much.
“Hiya Sammy.” Dean pushes off the doorframe and meets Sam in the middle of the room where he grabs his brother and son into a hug, his strong arms tight around Sam’s gangly frame.
Sam wraps his free arm around his brother’s waist and grabs a handful of the cotton shirt Dean’s wearing. He smells so familiar, like leather and motor oil, and it makes Sam want to never let him go.
“I gotcha now, Sammy,” Dean whispers in his ear, and suddenly it’s all better. All the stress of college life and of missing is family just melts away under the warmth of his brother.
Eventually they break their hug and Dean holds Sam at an arm’s length as he inspects him from head to foot.
“I thought you couldn’t come?” Sam questions.
Dean smiles, “Yea, well then it wouldn’t have been a surprise would it.”
Sam smiles at his brother and is so happy that he could sing. “It’s a great surprise.” Sam tells Dean smiling even wider. He can feel one of Ben’s chubby fingers in his dimple and he turns his head quickly to playful bite at his nephew’s fingers. Ben shrieks in joy and giggles even harder.
Their little bubble of family happiness is broken when they hear a disdainful sniff from behind them.
Brady’s mother is regarded the little family with barely concealed displeasure.
“Dean, that’s my roommate, Brady and his mother.” Sam points them out and Brady gives and awkward wave and smile and his mother barely looks at them.
“This is my older brother, Dean, and my nephew, Ben.” He tickles Ben’s side causing the little boy to giggle loudly.
“Nice to meet ya’ll.” Dean offers his hand which Brady heartily shakes and his mother quickly shakes before wiping her hand on her thigh. Dean shows no sign of noticing except for a small tightening around his eyes.
“And, where is your wife?” Mrs. Brady asks unkindly.
“My wife?” Dean responds raising one eyebrow.
“Yes, you didn’t travel all this way with your son by yourself did you.” She phrases it a question but the tone leaves nothing to be questioned, it’s a statement.
“Well, since I’m raising him by myself that it only makes sense that I traveled all this way with him by myself.” Sam can hear the underlying anger in Dean’s otherwise polite tone.
Mrs. Brady sniffs angrily, “Well then!” She exclaims and turns her back on the brothers. “Tyson come along, we’ll go get some dinner somewhere else.” She emphasizes the last part.
Brady rolls his eyes and mouths ‘sorry’ behind his mother’s back.
“Jesus!” Dean exclaims after the door is shut, rubbing on hand down his face.
“Yep…” Sam responds.
The brothers look at each other for a beat before bursting into laughter.
“Oh man,” Dean wipes tears from his eyes. “What a bitch!”
Sam laughs harder, “Man, I’m glad you’re here!”
Dean’s green eyes shine at Sam, “Me too, Sammy. Me too.”
Next
Characters/Pairings: Sam, Dean, Ben and some new characters ;)
Summary: Timestamp. Set a little more than 2 years after the ending of Renegade and The Rain Song, Sam is off to Stanford and misses his brother greatly. This is Sam's first few months at Stanford.
Disclaimer: If only I owned the Winchester boys :( sad day.
A/N: Sorry this took forever and a day to get out, I had writer's block for a while then school and work got crazy! I apologize. Be grateful though because this one is pretty long! Anyway, this might be the last Wathctower story for a while unless someone has something specific they want (just comment me that or whatever). I have more of this verse that I want to write, but it's hard to get into the swing of just writing timestamps...so it'll take a while for me to get down the stories I want to tell, bare with me.
“It's the greatest thing that's yet to have happened
Imagine knowing me
It's the greatest thing you'd ever imagine
But you'll never know until you're there”
Pas De Chavel- Panic! At the Disco
Sam might be a little freakin scared… and by that he’s basically scared shitless. The dorm is brick with clean white stairs leading to the front double doors. His bags are heavy in his hands, but he can’t stop staring at the building that will be his home for the next nine months.
He wishes, not for the first time, that Dean was with him, but money was tight so it really wasn’t feasible for Dean, or his mom and dad even to buy the extra tickets to fly out to California with him…
He huffs and pulls one of his bags up higher on his arm. He takes the stairs up to his third floor room, which was probably a stupid idea since there was an elevator, but Sam doesn’t really care. He flops his bags unceremoniously onto the floor in the hallway and takes a minute to scramble around in his pants pocket for his room key. The room is completely empty except for the two bare beds and desks, and Sam’s secretly grateful that his roommate isn’t here yet.
He carefully unpacks his bags and is extremely grateful that his mom insisted on folding all his clothes for him because it makes it that much easier to stuff them into the built in dresser than if he would have to fold them all over again.
He’s gotten everything unpacked and his currently taking all his pictures up onto the wall above his bed when a blonde women and a tall blonde haired boy come into the room.
“Oh, hello!” The woman exclaims, she’s wearing a crisply pressed pink blouse and a black knee-length skirt. Her hair is perfectly pulled back into a neat bun, and her eyes are a little too cold for Sam’s liking.
The blonde boy, who Sam assumes is her son and his roommate, is much less put together than his mother.
His blonde hair is a little disheveled and the shirttails of his white button down are hanging over the waistband of his khaki pants.
He offers Sam a small wave and a tight smile, “I’m Tyson Brady and this is my mother.”
“Nice to meet you.” Sam told him in return, “I’m Sam Winchester.”
Tyson smiled tightly at him again, stuffing his hands down deep into his pockets.
“Don’t slouch son.” Tyson’s mother murmured to him. She turned on Sam and her lips were thin and pinched, “And where are your parents Sam?”
Sam wiped his sweaty palms against the fabric of his worn jeans. “Um, they couldn’t come.”
If possible her mouth pinched tighter as she assessed Sam with her cold hard eyes. Sam tried not to squirm. She turned around and Sam was grateful not to have her eyes on her anymore.
“Alright then, call me when you’ve settled in son.”
“Sure mom,” Tyson grumbled in response and gave his mom a quick kiss on the cheek that didn’t even reach her skin.
She breezed out the door closing it hard behind her.
Tyson breaths out a long breath as soon as the door shuts behind his mother.
“Sorry about her…” Tyson tells Sam, rubbing the back of his head subconsciously.
“It’s ok, man.” Sam offers gently.
Tyson extends his hand to Sam as he walks across the room. “Just call me Brady.”
Sam shakes his hand and laughs a little, “Brady it is.”
They unpack in relative silence, and Sam went back to tacking his pictures up on the wall.
“That your family?” Brady’s voice asks from behind him.
Sam startles a little bit, but turns around to look at his roommate. “Um, yeah, that’s them.”
Brady nods, “Where’re you guys from, it doesn’t look like Cali?”
Sam huffs out a laugh, “Nah, man, I’m from Kansas.”
Brady lets out a low whistle. “That why they’re not here?”
Sam nods, “Yeah, they wanted to come, ya know? But it was just too much.”
“That’s rough, those your parents?” Brady asks pointing to picture of John and Mary sitting on the porch steps.
“Yep, that’s my mom, Mary, and my dad, John.” Sam pointed to them each in turn. “That’s my older brother Dean and his son Ben.” Sam tells him pointing to another picture- this one of Dean sitting on the hood of the Impala with a two year old Ben perched on his shoulders. “And my little brother, Adam.” Sam finishes, pointing to the next picture, this one of him and Adam together, heads hanging over the side of the tree house.
“Big family.” Brady said.
“Yeah, I guess…” Sam smiles at the pictures, but can’t help but miss his family.
|<>|<>|<>|<>|<>|<>|
“Sammy!” Sam grins, he can hear Ben jabbering in the background and he figures that Ben must be curled up safely against his daddy’s chest.
“How’s Cali-fornication dude? Any babes?”
Sam shakes his head at the decidedly ‘Dean’ remark. “Not so far, just getting settled in.”
“Yea? Sorry I couldn’t be there.” He does sound regretful, and even if it makes Sam feel like a pussy he can feel a lump forming in his throat.
“Yea…” He manages to croak out.
“Aw, come on, Sammy, tell me all about it.” Dean prompts.
Sam huffs a laugh and tells Dean about his flight the Palo Alto, everything from the nice stewardess who brought him a Coke to the Russian couple three rows in front of Sam that wouldn’t stop making out and who, Sam was pretty sure, joined the mile high club. That made Dean laugh.
He tells Dean all about campus, and describes his dorm in great detail from the stained carpet in the halls to the unmistakable smell of pot lingering in every crevice.
Since Brady had ventured out to test the dining hall food, Sam felt free to talk about him and his mother. He confides in Dean about how he was upset with the way that Brady’s mom had treated him, but thought that maybe he could get along with Brady.
“And, hey. If ya don’t, it’s not your loss- it’s his cuz you’re a great friend little brother.” Dean tells him, and it makes Sam both smile and want to cry.
“Thanks Dean.” Sam tells him. They sit in comfortable silence for several minutes; Sam can hear Dean humming gently on the other line. It sounds like it might be the opening cords to Metallica’s “For Whom the Bells Tolls” and Sam can just picture his brother sitting on his bed humming and rocking his baby to sleep.
“Ben out yet?” Sam asks after a little while.
Dean chuckles quietly, “Yep,” he responds subdued. “I’m just gonna go put him down.” Sam can hear shuffling on the other line and in his mind’s eye he can just see Dean getting up and walking down the hall of his small apartment to the little room that they had painted a soft green for Ben.
He hears Dean’s soft, “Night baby boy.” Then the sound of the door creaking halfway shut.
He hears Dean move around some more and the light clinking of glasses and a small hiss as Dean opens a beer bottle.
“I miss ya’ll…” Sam finally says.
He hears Dean swallow, “I miss you too, Sammy.”
“Yeah?” Sam rattles in an unsteady breath.
“Course Sammy.” Dean tells him. “What’m I gonna do without my little brother around to mess with?” He jokes.
“You have more than one little brother.” Sam points out.
“Yea, but Adam’s only eleven so it’s not like I can buy him a beer and talk about chicks.”
“Is beer and chicks the only thing you like me for?”
“Nah, I like your pretty face too.”
Sam smiles, “Thanks Dean.”
“No prob, little brother.” Dean chuckles.
They chat for several more minutes before Brady comes back into the room and Dean says goodbye since he’ll be up early for work and with Ben.
“Checkin’ in with the folks?” Brady asks after Sam hangs up.
“Nah, my older brother,” Sam shrugs. “But Mom and Dad are next on my list.”
Brady nods sagely, “Just ignore me, I’m gonna try to get this looking like something.” He says pointing at the closet where he had threw all of his stuff and which was currently over flowing.
Sam chuckles and nods while he dials the familiar number for home.
His mom answers on the third ring, “Sam?”
“Hi Mom.”
“How are you settling in, baby?”
Sam smiled at being called baby. “It’s good, campus is big, but I think I’ve found my way
around. The dorm’s not bad and neither is my roommate.” He smiles at Brady who gives him a thumbs up.
“That’s good sweetie! Are you excited to start classes?”
“Yeah, but sort of nervous to, ya know?”
She mhmm’s conspiratorially, “You’ll do fine, you’re so smart.”
Sam smiles, “Thanks mom.”
“I love you sweetie, you wanna talk to Dad?”
“Yeah.” He tell her. He can hear her calling for his dad then he hears his dad’s gruff, “Hello?”
“Hey dad.”
“How’s it going son?”
“Good, good.”
Sam speaks to him for a little while longer before they hang up. He kinda wishes it wasn’t past Adam’s bedtime, but he figures he’ll just call and talk to him again tomorrow to tell them how the first day of classes went.
He and Brady spend the rest of the night getting their room in order. Sam eventually runs down to the dining hall for a late night meal, bring the food back to the room with him to eat at his desk. He and Brady make the usual get to know you small talk and he learns that his roommate is planning on majoring in business which basically translates as he doesn’t have a damn clue what he wants to do with his life, that makes Sam laugh and he tell Brady that he’s pre-law.
They joke around and tell each other a little about themselves for the rest of the night before quietly slipping into their beds.
Sam stares at the dark ceiling in his dorm room before drifting off. He still misses home terribly but he hopes that he made the right decision in going to Stanford.
|<>|<>|<>|<>|<>|<>|
Sam’s been at Stanford for almost two months when the much anticipated ‘Family Weekend’ rolls around.
Sam has put up with the expected murmurs on campus for a full week now and he’s both pissed and depressed.
After his last class on the Thursday before family weekend he bursts into his room before throwing himself facedown onto his bed. He curls up facing the wall, hoping to wallow in self-pity for a little while, but Brady has other ideas.
“Whoa, dude! You PMS-ing or what?”
Sam ignores him.
“Come on what’s the matter?”
Sam sighs and turns over so he’s looking at the ceiling instead of Brady.
“Nothing,” Sam says. “It’s just Family Weekend is starting to piss me off.”
“Because your family can’t come?” Brady prompts.
Sam nods, “Because my family can’t come.”
“That’s rough.”
Sam purses his lips and nods.
“Is your mom coming?” He asks Brady, trying to be polite.
“Yep.” Brady responds as he spins around in his desk chair. “She’ll be here tomorrow night.”
Sam nods and they let the topic drop.
The next day Sam shuffles through his classes and tries not to feel too sorry for himself.
He walks the stairs up to his dorm, dodging excited students and their parents.
He greets Brady who’s busily trying to clean up their room before his mother sees it, Sam laughs at him just a little and Brady glares at him in return.
When Brady’s mother gets there she sits stiffly in his desk chair.
“Hello Mrs. Brady.” Sam greets her politely, because his Momma raised him right.
“Hello,” She says through tight lips. “And where are your parents?”
“Umm, they’re still in Kansas. They couldn’t come.”
Mrs. Brady looks shrewdly at him before turning her back on him to address her son. Sam tries to tune them out as he works on getting ahead in reading for his biology class.
He’s been at it for about an hour when there’s a knock on the door.
Brady, taking the out from being grilled by his mother, jumps up to open it.
Brady’s eyes get big when he sees the toddler standing in front of their door.
“Ummmm, aren’t you a little young for college?” He asks the tot. The toddler giggles and starts babbling at him in broken baby-English. Brady just stands there staring at the child dumbly.
“Where are his parents!” Brady’s mother says indignantly. Sam just raises his eyebrows at Brady’s mom because she didn’t sound worried, just disgusted.
He looks away from her to get his first good look at the little boy who has crowded into the room past Brady’s legs.
Sam feels all the breath rush out of him as he recognizes the child.
“Ben!” Sam shouts, startling the child into looking up. His big green eyes, so much like Dean’s, land on Sam.
“Unc Smamy! Ben cries before flinging himself into his uncle’s arms. Sam squeezes the little boy tight to his chest and came feel the little boy giggle and squirm in the embrace. He settles Ben onto his hip and smiles brightly at him.
“Where’s daddy Ben?” He asks him.
“Right here.” Dean’s voice says from the doorway. Sam turns and sees his brother’s familiar form propped up against the door frame, booted feet crossed at the ankles and a smirk firmly planted on his face.
“Dean.” Sam says on a breath.
Dean smiles at him brightly and Sam tries not to cry for missing his brother so much.
“Hiya Sammy.” Dean pushes off the doorframe and meets Sam in the middle of the room where he grabs his brother and son into a hug, his strong arms tight around Sam’s gangly frame.
Sam wraps his free arm around his brother’s waist and grabs a handful of the cotton shirt Dean’s wearing. He smells so familiar, like leather and motor oil, and it makes Sam want to never let him go.
“I gotcha now, Sammy,” Dean whispers in his ear, and suddenly it’s all better. All the stress of college life and of missing is family just melts away under the warmth of his brother.
Eventually they break their hug and Dean holds Sam at an arm’s length as he inspects him from head to foot.
“I thought you couldn’t come?” Sam questions.
Dean smiles, “Yea, well then it wouldn’t have been a surprise would it.”
Sam smiles at his brother and is so happy that he could sing. “It’s a great surprise.” Sam tells Dean smiling even wider. He can feel one of Ben’s chubby fingers in his dimple and he turns his head quickly to playful bite at his nephew’s fingers. Ben shrieks in joy and giggles even harder.
Their little bubble of family happiness is broken when they hear a disdainful sniff from behind them.
Brady’s mother is regarded the little family with barely concealed displeasure.
“Dean, that’s my roommate, Brady and his mother.” Sam points them out and Brady gives and awkward wave and smile and his mother barely looks at them.
“This is my older brother, Dean, and my nephew, Ben.” He tickles Ben’s side causing the little boy to giggle loudly.
“Nice to meet ya’ll.” Dean offers his hand which Brady heartily shakes and his mother quickly shakes before wiping her hand on her thigh. Dean shows no sign of noticing except for a small tightening around his eyes.
“And, where is your wife?” Mrs. Brady asks unkindly.
“My wife?” Dean responds raising one eyebrow.
“Yes, you didn’t travel all this way with your son by yourself did you.” She phrases it a question but the tone leaves nothing to be questioned, it’s a statement.
“Well, since I’m raising him by myself that it only makes sense that I traveled all this way with him by myself.” Sam can hear the underlying anger in Dean’s otherwise polite tone.
Mrs. Brady sniffs angrily, “Well then!” She exclaims and turns her back on the brothers. “Tyson come along, we’ll go get some dinner somewhere else.” She emphasizes the last part.
Brady rolls his eyes and mouths ‘sorry’ behind his mother’s back.
“Jesus!” Dean exclaims after the door is shut, rubbing on hand down his face.
“Yep…” Sam responds.
The brothers look at each other for a beat before bursting into laughter.
“Oh man,” Dean wipes tears from his eyes. “What a bitch!”
Sam laughs harder, “Man, I’m glad you’re here!”
Dean’s green eyes shine at Sam, “Me too, Sammy. Me too.”
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