Aww, I really liked this. Love the negotiating between John and Dean nad Dean's quiet acceptance of it at the end. Even at five, he gets it and wants it. John may have given Dean too much responsibility and extreme codependency issues, but he also gave him a purpose and focus, no matter how messed up it was. John couldn't be there all the time so he had to do something. My favorite parts:
“Burger,” Dean said. (“Urg,” said Sam.)
“You had a burger yesterday, kiddo. Try again. Meatloaf or chicken patty.”
“Chicken patty. Fries.” (“Aye,” said Sam.)
“And green beans.” (“Ee.”)
“Corn.” (“Bor.”)
Lol, I love how you've translated into Sammy's language. And it's very realistic too. Babies just beginning to talk do seem to parrot a lot of what's said around them. Plus, Baby Sam is too cute for words, stinky diapers and all.
Dean turned around and looked accusingly at his father. “He’s fussy ’cause you’re callin’ it ‘din-din,’ lady,” he muttered.
Dean's a smart ass even at five. I love it!
Dean thought. These past months, the places they’d been, the stream of hotels, motels, new people, strangers, watching TV in the room with Dad, eating out all the time - Dean liked it. Liked being with his Dad. Liked being useful. Grown-up, sorta. Did he mean…. “We...can’t come with you anymore?”
Oh, Dean. His fear of being separated from John and Sam is just heartbreaking but very real.
And it's so appropriate that Sammy's first word would be Dean.
One more thing:
“Got it, Dad,” Dean said, holding his nose, but reaching across to roll down the window on Sam’s side. “It’s okay. We don’t need to stop - I can take care of him.”
Aww. Great ending. And Dean will take care of him and it'll become so much a part of who he is that he won't be able to live without him.
Thanks so much for your detailed comments! You make me squee with joy.
John may have given Dean too much responsibility and extreme codependency issues, but he also gave him a purpose and focus, no matter how messed up it was.
Oh, I absolutely agree. Have you read dosger_winslow>'s go now. Read. She makes a wonderful observation about how he consciously chose to give Dean responsibility for Sam because it was the only thing that made Dean feel like he had any control over their situation. I think Dean really did bond with Sam in a paternal way and that "giving" him Sam to take care of anchored him in a way that even learning to hunt did not necessarily do.
“You had a burger yesterday, kiddo. Try again. Meatloaf or chicken patty.”
One of my favorite bits, too! I figure Dean's right at that age where he's pushing boundaries, and especially with the changes in their environment, there's so much for him to explore. Dean has always struck me as the "what can I get away with?" type.
Dean's a smart ass even at five.
Damn straight.
His fear of being separated from John and Sam is just heartbreaking but very real.
And it's so appropriate that Sammy's first word would be Dean.
But of course. ;^D Actually, Sammy's been working up to it all through the fic. (I tried to make it a little sub-tle).
I meant to ask you, too - do you ever beta? Because I've got one reliable and one way-too-busy beta. I like your stuff so much, I'd love to be able to bounce things off you before posting. Happy to reciprocate, of course, if desired!
Oh, dodger_winslow's stuff is amazing. I've read Parental Instincts a couple of times and it's so good. Same with "Stay," god, it amazes me how people in this fandom can write soo well. I love reading Wee!chester stories and I think dodger_winslow and eloise_bright are my favorite authors in that regard.
And I definitely agree that Dean needed Sam as an anchor. He needed some sort of stability in his life and Sam was it. That's why I think Sam leaving for Stanford and then dying was so devastating for him. Because of that, Dean's deal makes total sense to me.
Ah! I totally missed the subtleties . . . I'll just have to go back and read it. Oh, man :-).
I've actually only beta'd once, when I was writing one long and still unfinished Alias story. The girl I beta'd for was pretty demanding and I felt like I was writing half the story for her. Not the best experience.
BUT, I would love to beta for you. I'll do my best to be prompt in my responses, but if I'm not just blame it on class, work, and studying for the LSATs (shoot me now).
And it would be great for me as well to have someone to talk things over with.
“Burger,” Dean said. (“Urg,” said Sam.)
“You had a burger yesterday, kiddo. Try again. Meatloaf or chicken patty.”
“Chicken patty. Fries.” (“Aye,” said Sam.)
“And green beans.” (“Ee.”)
“Corn.” (“Bor.”)
Lol, I love how you've translated into Sammy's language. And it's very realistic too. Babies just beginning to talk do seem to parrot a lot of what's said around them. Plus, Baby Sam is too cute for words, stinky diapers and all.
Dean turned around and looked accusingly at his father. “He’s fussy ’cause you’re callin’ it ‘din-din,’ lady,” he muttered.
Dean's a smart ass even at five. I love it!
Dean thought. These past months, the places they’d been, the stream of hotels, motels, new people, strangers, watching TV in the room with Dad, eating out all the time - Dean liked it. Liked being with his Dad. Liked being useful. Grown-up, sorta. Did he mean…. “We...can’t come with you anymore?”
Oh, Dean. His fear of being separated from John and Sam is just heartbreaking but very real.
And it's so appropriate that Sammy's first word would be Dean.
One more thing:
“Got it, Dad,” Dean said, holding his nose, but reaching across to roll down the window on Sam’s side. “It’s okay. We don’t need to stop - I can take care of him.”
Aww. Great ending. And Dean will take care of him and it'll become so much a part of who he is that he won't be able to live without him.
Great job!
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John may have given Dean too much responsibility and extreme codependency issues, but he also gave him a purpose and focus, no matter how messed up it was.
Oh, I absolutely agree. Have you read dosger_winslow>'s go now. Read. She makes a wonderful observation about how he consciously chose to give Dean responsibility for Sam because it was the only thing that made Dean feel like he had any control over their situation. I think Dean really did bond with Sam in a paternal way and that "giving" him Sam to take care of anchored him in a way that even learning to hunt did not necessarily do.
“You had a burger yesterday, kiddo. Try again. Meatloaf or chicken patty.”
One of my favorite bits, too! I figure Dean's right at that age where he's pushing boundaries, and especially with the changes in their environment, there's so much for him to explore. Dean has always struck me as the "what can I get away with?" type.
Dean's a smart ass even at five.
Damn straight.
His fear of being separated from John and Sam is just heartbreaking but very real.
And it's so appropriate that Sammy's first word would be Dean.
But of course. ;^D Actually, Sammy's been working up to it all through the fic. (I tried to make it a little sub-tle).
I meant to ask you, too - do you ever beta? Because I've got one reliable and one way-too-busy beta. I like your stuff so much, I'd love to be able to bounce things off you before posting. Happy to reciprocate, of course, if desired!
Reply
Reply
And I definitely agree that Dean needed Sam as an anchor. He needed some sort of stability in his life and Sam was it. That's why I think Sam leaving for Stanford and then dying was so devastating for him. Because of that, Dean's deal makes total sense to me.
Ah! I totally missed the subtleties . . . I'll just have to go back and read it. Oh, man :-).
I've actually only beta'd once, when I was writing one long and still unfinished Alias story. The girl I beta'd for was pretty demanding and I felt like I was writing half the story for her. Not the best experience.
BUT, I would love to beta for you. I'll do my best to be prompt in my responses, but if I'm not just blame it on class, work, and studying for the LSATs (shoot me now).
And it would be great for me as well to have someone to talk things over with.
Just let me know!
Reply
I have so many bunnies it's not remotely funny.
Okay, so I guess the next step is to trade email addresses? Mine's "gwendolyngrace @ yahoo.com" (no spaces). Email me and we'll go from there.
Squee and a half.
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