Author: Cat

Prompt: #29 Stalling

Rating: R

Type of Story: General

Author's Website: Cat's Website

Author's Note: Disclaimer: I don't own anything from Supernatural and I'm not making any money from this fic. The characters Jody and Amber belong to me, as do the kids. Summary: It's Thanksgiving, and the Winchesters reminiscence on old times. Warning(s): Spoilers for the entirety of Seasons 1 and 2 of Supernatural; AU for any seasons following those two; original characters. Timeline: Set some time after Coma, Elixir, and Difficult Decisions. All three can be found on my website, and Difficult Decisions can also be found on the 50 prompts page, under Birthday.


Thanksgiving


Amber jerked back a little in surprise as she was hit full-force by what felt like a whirlwind - a very heavy whirlwind. "Hey Rachel," she managed, pushing the twin back slightly - and hoping that she had the right name. "I take it your mom and dad are in?"

"Uncle Dean!" the seven-year-old squealed, throwing herself at Amber's husband. Having become more used to physical contact over the years, Dean didn't seem to have much difficulty returning the hug.

Jamie hung back behind Amber, a little shyly. She wasn't so used to the twins' exuberance, and often found it overwhelming. She kept one hand in her mother's, and reached up to slip her other hand into her father's, rewarded with a gentle smile and a light squeeze of her hand, before Rachel hugged her as well.

"Aren't you going to invite us in?" Dean asked. "Or is your dad too busy with his work to pay attention to his visitors?" He deliberately raised his voice on the last part.

"Oh... you're here already?" Sam came to the doorway, looking distracted. "Jody's cooking. Do you want to come in?"

"No. We want to stand out here in the cold and possibly get rained on." Dean poked Sam in the shoulder. "What do you think?"

"Hi, Uncle Sam," Jamie said.

"It's Uncle Sammy," Dean corrected.

Amber put her free hand to her slightly rounded stomach; and then glanced up at the darkening sky. "It does look like there's a storm brewing." As Sam stepped back from the door, she led Jamie into the house, with Dean following, Rachel dancing next to him.

"Rita! Could you not keep getting under my feet?!" Jody chased out the other dark-haired twin, brandishing a wooden spoon in one hand.

Dean stopped, then started laughing, glancing at Sam. "Well, that brings back memories." He smirked.

"No," Sam said firmly. "We are not having embarrassing stories, whatever one you've just come up with. Especially not about that."

"Why? You've told your share of stories. It's my turn." Dean turned to the twins. "Who wants to hear a funny story about your father?"

"I do!" Both twins jumped up and down in the air, waving their hands.

"I should probably get back to the cooking," Jody commented. "Maybe we can exchange stories over dinner?" She looked at Amber. "Do you want to come give me a hand with making the food? Or do you want to go and sit down?"

"I could do with sitting down, actually," Amber replied. "I feel like I've been on my feet all day." As she spoke, they heard the sound of a baby crying.

"Johnny probably needs feeding." Jody handed the spoon to Sam. "Here. Just stir the big pot sitting on top of the stove. Don't touch anything else. I mean it." She looked at Amber. "You coming?" Without waiting for a reply, she started heading in the direction of the lounge. Amber glanced at Dean and then followed Jody into the other room.

Dean looked at Sam. "I can't believe you were at college and still end up burning most of the food you try and cook."

"Hey, it's not just me. I can't remember the last food you made that didn't come out of a microwave." Sam started to head into the kitchen, but then turned back to Dean. "Watch the kids."

"Hey! I'm a demon-hunter. Not a babysitter." Dean turned to Jamie and the twins. "Well... former demon-hunter," he added under his breath.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Thirteen-year-old Sam headed quietly into the motel, even though he knew - or was pretty certain - that both his dad and older brother were out. He knew that the school had been trying to get hold of his father. Fortunately, it was nearly impossible to get hold of John Winchester when he was on a hunt; so Sam wasn't really worried.

"Sam?"

Uh-oh. Sam froze as he heard his dad's familiar voice. What's he doing back so early from a hunt? Automatically, he switched on the light; and saw his dad sitting on one of the beds, staring at him.

"Hi, dad," Sam said, nervously trying to smile; and smoothing down his hair that still wouldn't stay in place. "So... How did the hunt go?"

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sam frowned at Dean across the table. "That's not what happened and you know it." Apparently resigned to hearing his brother tell the story, Sam was insisting that it be told correctly. The twins and Jamie were hanging onto every word.

Baby Johnny let out a small burp against his mom's shoulder and yawned as he closed his eyes.

Dean grinned at his brother. "Well, why don't you tell the story, then?"

"Can you pass me the potatoes, mommy?" Jamie asked.

"Of course." Amber reached for the bowl of potatoes and put two on her daughter's plate. "One of you had better continue with the story," she added. "Rita's starting to get impatient."

"I'm Rachel," the fidgety twin replied.

"No, you're not," Jody said, after looking up. "I've told you both before. Don't play the twins game. It doesn't work on your family; and it just tends to concern your teachers. All right?" The scolding was gentle; but she had mentioned it to the twins before.

Both twins nodded, though looked slightly disappointed.

"Do you want me to take Johnny so that you can eat without having to juggle a baby as well?" Amber asked Jody. "I don't mind, really."

Before Jody could respond, Dean nudged Amber gently. "You should finish up what you've got on your plate first," he suggested. "You need to keep your strength up."

"I notice a lot hasn't changed over the years." Sam looked seriously at Jamie. "Tell me... does your daddy order you around as much as he used to order me around?" Sam paused a moment, then, lowering his voice, added, "And still does - sometimes."

Jamie giggled and then looked at Dean, seemingly torn between agreeing with her uncle; and not telling on her father. Finally, she said, "I plead the Fifth."

Dean chuckled, while Sam mock-glared at his brother. "Let me guess," he said. "You told her to say that."

"Uncle Dean," Rachel said, reaching over her father to tug on Dean's sleeve, "Will you finish telling the story?"

Sam frowned at his brother and then smiled at Rachel. "No, I'll continue with the story."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

John just watched his youngest son for a few moments. Finally, he spoke, "Want to tell me what you were doing skipping school today, son?"

Uh-oh, busted. Sam started fidgeting behind his back, trying to look as innocent and angelic as possible. "You know, Dean's skipped school loads of times," he said, trying hard not to whine. "You haven't punished him for skipping school."

John narrowed his eyes slightly. "Well, you can rest assured that I will be having a long 'talk' with your brother about that..."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"Wait, you were the one who told him?" Dean interrupted. "I was trying to figure out for ages how Dad found out about that!"

"Well, I was in trouble," Sam pointed out. "I was willing to say anything that would save my skin."

"Daddy..." Rita looked quite impatient, and Sam continued.

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I really hope you're not trying to stall your way out of this punishment," John continued. "Your education is very important, Sammy. We've talked about this before. I know that you know how important it is. Come here," he said with an awful finality.

"Wait!" Sam protested, staying right back, his hands covering his backside protectively. "Aren't you even going to ask me why I did it? It could have been a... a... demon! Or a ghost! Or maybe some kind of emergency."

"Was it one of those things?"

"Well..." Sam fidgeted a little.

"Was it?" John remained calm.

Sam lowered his head and mumbled, "I guess not." Then, he quickly raised his head again. "But dad! You know, it's cruel and barbaric to physically punish your children. Grounding would work much better." He nodded vigorously. "Honest."

"Well, I suppose I'm a cruel and barbaric father." John sighed. "Sammy... If you're not in school, then I don't know what's happened to you. If it's an emergency, it's one thing. But if it's just because you wanted a day off school, or to have fun, or to be like your brother? Those are unacceptable reasons. Now, if there's something I don't know, I expect you to tell me; and will take that into consideration." John waited.

Sam hesitated, still fidgeting a little. His mind was going round and round in circles as he tried to figure out a way of getting out of his punishment. Finally, however, he just shrugged, knowing that the battle was useless.

For now, at least.

"Come here." John crooked a finger at him.

Sam slowly walked over to his father, dragging his feet a little. When he was close enough, John reached out and quickly unbuttoned his school trousers. Then, he pulled them and Sam's underpants down, before pulling Sam across his lap.

"You don't skip school, Sam," John told him. "Unless it's for a very good reason - and I know full well you know what those are." He let the first swat coincide with the last word.

Sam gasped a little; but that swat was quickly followed by others, and pretty soon, he was squirming, trying to get out of the way of the blazing smacks.

John didn't lecture during the spanking. He didn't have to. Sam already knew what he'd done wrong. The spanking seemed to go on for hours - but was really only a few minutes - before John finished; and by that time, Sam was sobbing hard. John didn't say a word; he just lifted Sam up and held him, before the boy had even realised that the spanking was over.

"It's all right, Sammy."

---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Rachel stared up at her father. "I can't believe you were ever spanked, daddy!"

Sam laughed. "Well, when I was thirteen, I was quite a bit shorter than I am now," he answered. "It took a while for me to grow up to be this tall."

Dean had been quite quiet while Sam had been telling the story. Now, however, he smiled briefly. "Yeah, tell me about it," he agreed. "I swear you shot up overnight."

Apparently noticing that Amber was finished, Jody stood up and handed baby Johnny to her. "Who wants dessert?" she asked.

Three hands waved in the air and Rita scrambled off her chair. "I'll help you, mommy!" She followed Jody into the kitchen.

Jamie started to get down off her own chair. "I'll help clear the plates!" she said.

Sam sighed and shook his head slightly - though he was smiling - and then got off his chair. "I'll clear the heavy stuff," he said. "You can take the things that don't weigh very much. Does that sound fair?"

Jamie thought about that for a moment and then nodded.

"This place is absolute chaos," Dean commented, shaking his head slightly.

Amber leaned her head against Dean's shoulder and closed her eyes. "But it's good chaos, isn't it?"

Back to Fifty Prompts