Chapter 1
1997
It was strange how normally a day could start out and how oddly that same day could end. Dean was busy unpacking their duffels and listening to Sam and their Dad fighting about the best way to salt doors of all things, (really Sammy’s argument for liquid cement wasn’t half bad), when there was a loud knock on the door and the three of them were diving for whichever weapons they had stashed on their person.
John quietly approached the door as Dean and Sam automatically moved to flank him sawed off and silver knife held poised and at the ready just out of sight of whomever was at the door. The door was pulled open with the barrel of John’s sawed off behind it. Behind the door, there stood two huge men. John was a decent sized man himself standing at over six feet but these men, while one was considerably older, were giants in comparison. This normally wouldn’t have affected John. The man could hold his own in a fight, but John simply stood looking absolutely stunned while the men behind the door looked down at him with a combination of righteous indignation, shock, and pure joy.
Finally, Dean spoke up keeping his gun trained on the older man while Sam’s knife was ready to move in on the younger. “Who the hell are you?” Both men’s attention was drawn to him and that snapped John out of his shock.
“Put ‘em down boys.” Both ignored the order.
“Who are they?” This time his question was clearly directed at his father though his eyes never left the men in the doorway.
The younger of the two men answered for him. “I’m Danny. I’m your uncle and someone in this room is in a hell of a lot of trouble.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dean watched incredulously as the man walked in and wrapped his arms around Mr. John Macho-man-don’t-get-touched-by-anyone-but-my-boys Winchester. After a moment John began wiggling and said lightly, “Can’t breathe here, Danny.”
The big man just laughed and replied with, “You deserve it you little bitch.” He pulled back and the older man spoke for the first time.
“Do you have any idea what we’ve been through the last fourteen years?”
Danny’s face darkened as he seemed to be remembering exactly what the older man was talking about. “Yeah, we all thought you were dead Johnny, dead.”
Apparently everyone was regaining their wits as John’s face darkened as well. “That was the point, Danny. You weren’t supposed to know I was alive.”
Danny took a threatening step toward his errant little brother, but Dean brought the shotgun up and had it half-cocked before the older man spoke again.
“That’s enough, Daniel. You’re scaring the children.” Danny’s head turned to take in both Dean and Sam and the weapons they had aimed at him. He let an easy smile fall over his face that perfectly emulated John’s placating a witness face. He lowered the hand he’d clenched ready to deck the younger man and placed it lightly on his shoulder.
“Sorry, Johnny didn’t mean to upset the rugrats.”
“I doubt you did any lasting damage. My ribs on the other hand…” John smiled ruefully.
Danny smiled back sadly but with a hint of nostalgia. “That’s what you get for not calling anyone for over a decade, kid.” He flashed an even brighter smile that lasted until he noted that neither Dean nor Sam had yet to lower their weapons.
John followed his brother’s gaze. The picture of his boys still tense and alert brought John back to his senses. John had known that his family may notice them, but he couldn’t very well leave them unprotected. Dean and Sam, though? They didn’t know to expect this, and John realized, belatedly, that they were right not to trust his pop and Danny. They didn’t know them. Hell, John wouldn’t have been able to tell if they were monsters or not on sight either.
Dean was looking at him warily, and asked with a deceptively calm voice, “Dad?” Just one word but John understood perfectly, this isn’t safe. Sammy’s not safe. Do something.
John nodded once and Dean’s gun came down, but not before he’d reached for the holy water tucked in his back pocket and chunked a little on each of the men while Sam quickly slipped in and nicked each with his silver knife, before sliding beside Dean to watch.
Danny was more than a little confused but seemed to be taking the attack with good grace. The older man on the other hand seemed a little more than irritated. “Jonathan Michael Winchester, what the hell is going on here?”
John looked almost sheepish, something his boys didn’t realize the man was capable of, for just a moment, but he recovered quickly. His voice was strong and confident (and slightly defiant,) as he responded. “Sorry, Pop, but it had to be done.”
Sam was more than a little surprised. Apparently there was an uncle and a grandfather he didn’t know about. “So, this is our family?” Sam asked.
John only shrugged at Sam’s question but directed his own at his older brother. “How did you know we were here?”
“My wife works in administration at the school. When the boys registered, she wanted to know how common the last name Winchester was. When we said it wasn’t, she asked if we had more cousins she didn’t know about that shared your name. We thought we’d come by and see, and we found you.” Danny responded smugly.
“You got remarried?”
“-Got hitched with Misty a little while after you disappeared. We looked for you for nearly eight months non-stop. Misty helped as much as she could and we kinda hit it off. Adrian loves her, hardly remembers Eloise at all. Now we’ve got two more.”
“Wow, you’ve got an apple pie life, huh. Didn’t know Winchesters were capable.” Dean replied flippantly.
“Excuse me?” Danny asked a crease forming between his brows.
“You know, wife, kids, staying someplace long enough to wonder if your brother showed up out of the blue, the works.”
“And you haven’t had that?” John’s father asked. When Dean looked confused, Richard’s angry gaze slid over to John. “You can explain later, boy, but you will explain.” The man’s face softened slightly. “But for now, you can reintroduce me to my grandsons.”
John joined his sons laying a hand on Dean’s shoulder. “This is Dean. I’m sure you remember your uncle and gramps.” John smiled slightly as he slid the gun out of Dean’s hands.
Dean looked at the men uncertainly for a minute, but reached his hand out to them nonetheless. “Nice to see you again.” When the men didn’t immediately respond, Dean’s smile grew a little wider. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna throw anything else at you, probably.”
“You won’t.” John said firmly.
Dean’s face fell ever so slightly as he pouted dramatically. “Aww, way to ruin it, Dad.”
“Don’t whine Dean, you’re eighteen years old.” John said irritably while his hand moved to ruffle Sam’s hair slightly. “This is Sammy.”
Danny smiled widely. “Isn’t he cute.” Sam couldn’t help the blush that spread across his cheeks. Danny quickly advanced on the almost fourteen year old and hugged him tightly. Sam squirmed in the large man’s arms and Dean moved on instinct, almost knocking the guy’s lights out before John put a restraining hand on his arm shaking his head slightly.
“It’s fine, Dean.” He said quietly. After a moment, Dean felt the smile spread on his face Sam was squirming while the huge man hugged him, and the kid just looked so uncomfortable, Dean couldn’t help the laugh that escaped.
“I told you Sammy was adorable.” Dean huffed out between guffaws.
Danny had pulled back slightly but still had an arm lain over the teen’s shoulders. The kid seemed a little uncomfortable, like he wasn’t used to this much contact, but that just couldn’t be right. Winchesters were cuddlers, always had been, and always would be. Hell, Danny wouldn’t have any reservations about plunking John down on his lap. John was one of the babies. People cooed over him, and coddled him. It’s what they did and, even though he didn’t know it yet, Sam was in for the same treatment. Not only was he close to the youngest, he was freaking adorable.
Henry spoke up then. “We’re all heading back to the house; get your things, John.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Pop.”
Richard’s eyes narrowed and he growled out, “Did that sound like a question to you, boy?
Ten minutes later found them heading out the door. Danny still had his arm over Sam’s shoulders as they left and Sam could feel the vibrations in his chest as he stopped and let out a rumbling laugh. “You still have that old thing?” Danny asked John gesturing toward the impala.
“It’s not mine anymore.” John replied evenly a smirk appearing on his face at the affronted look on Dean’s.
Dean slid past the men to caress his car. “It’s okay, baby. They just don’t understand how beautiful you are.” Dean cooed at the sleek black machine.
Danny guffawed again and Sam was getting increasingly uncomfortable. “Yeah, he’s definitely yours, Johnny. Even calls her the same thing.”
John just rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I got it, loved my car, little obsessed, passed it on. Sammy, ride with Dean, a-”
Danny cut him off. “Nuh-uh little brother. You’ve deprived us long enough. Pop can ride with you and Sammy, here, can ride with me.”
Dean looked ready to protest, but John shook his head at the teen. “Fine, Danny, just be careful. Dean, load up. Pop, I’m parked around back.”
“But, Dad,” Dean started. John cut him off with a sharp look.
“That’s an order Dean.”
The boy still looked unhappy but he gave one quick nod. “Yes, sir.”
Riding in the car was only slightly less uncomfortable than having the man’s arms around him. They sat in silence for a few moments before Danny spoke up. “So, you always attack people when they come in the door or is that just for family?” The remark sounded flippant, but Sam could hear the underlying tension there.
“Just like to be prepared,” was his reply.
“Prepared for what?”
“Anything.”
“And Johnny just lets you go around with a knife strapped to your ankle?”
Sam let out a snort. “Dad doesn’t let us go anywhere without some sort of protection. I guess the marines left him a little paranoid.” Sam shrugged at the end of the last part trying to make the lie sound believable.
“Maybe…” Danny agreed reluctantly.
After a moment of awkward silence, Sam asked, “So, are we going to see your mom or what?”
Danny nodded. “Yeah, Mom, Calen, Markus, Luke, and Nate are all there.”
“Oh are those your kids?” Danny laughed out loud at that one.
“No, Sam, those are just our brothers and cousin. The kids should mostly be there for dinner, though.”
“Wait, how many brothers does Dad have?”
“Well, technically, four. There’s Calen, Markus, Luke and Me, but Nate also owns one of the houses on the property. He moved back here about ten years ago with his wife trying to put down some roots. We have mandatory weekly dinners; it’s momma’s rule.”
“How many people are we talking about?”
“About forty all together.” At the look of shock on Sam’s face, Danny explained. “There’s Calen and his wife, Rose. They have four kids total, but Violet is on vacation in Palo Alto right now and Darin is away in New York for school.
Then there’s Markus. He and his wife Kevlyn have their daughter, and they have two fosters staying with them. There’s Luke and Evlyn. They have six kids all together. Opal, Luke’s oldest, and her husband, Chris, usually stay at their place but they’re visiting his parents in Loan Oak, so they won’t be there, and Caleb’s working this weekend so who knows if he’ll be home for dinner. James is in the service, so he’s not there. Then there’s me and my wife Misty and our three kids and Nate and Kelly and their two kids. Not to mention Mom, Pop, Aunt Carol and Auntie Kelsey.”
“Who are Aunt Carol and Auntie Kelsey?”
“Aunt Carol is Pop’s cousin and Auntie Kelsey is her wife.”
“Oh.” Sam was trying to take it all in, really, but that was a lot of people.
Before he had time to try and remember any of that, they pulled up the driveway of what looked to be an old plantation with several other houses that were all connected by other dirt driveways. The main house was a huge white affair with pillars in the front to help support all three floors and giant picturesque windows all across the front. It was magnificent, and there were various people out in the yard including a few teenagers and some smaller children.
“My Dad grew up here?” Sam asked incredulously.
Danny couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit. “I guess Johnny hasn’t changed much. He always did want to make his own way in the world. The kid never did like asking Mom and Pop for help. I guess it got worse when he left home. He never used the family account; I guess it was so we wouldn’t know where he was.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Sam replied. A moment later his door was wrenched open and Dean was standing there looking him over as subtly as Dean knew how, and stepped back to let his little brother out. It took Dean a minute to convince Henry Winchester to let him carry all of their bags. While they were calmly discussing the matter (or hissing in irritated voices however you choose to interpret it,) John was having a problem of his own.
He was standing on the porch just looking at the front door. How many times had he swung that door opened and announced his presence to his family? How many times had he slammed that door in anger because he’d had fight? How many years had it been since he shut that door in the middle of the night and ran off to join the marines? Could he even still walk through that door after nearly twenty years?
“Go on in, Johnny,” Danny said quietly, and John felt himself complying. How bad could it be really?
As they entered the house, John was immediately accosted by a man at least ten years his senior with shaggy blond hair and thick stubble. “Where in hell have you been?” The man asked as he pulled John into a tight hug. A second man was entering from what looked like a dining area and he too hugged John tightly only pulling back after nearly two minutes.
“Luke, Mark.” John greeted mildly to each successive man. Then, through the same door, came yet another man. This one was shorter than the rest with graying blond hair and broad shoulders. He walked directly to John and wrapped the younger man in the fiercest hug yet.
“God, it’s good to see you, little brother.”
John reached out and grasped the man’s shoulder firmly. “It’s good to see you too, Calen.”
The man’s face darkened somewhat as he said threateningly, “You and me are gonna have a nice long chat later. Got it?”
“Don’t think I’m not getting a piece of this.” Another voice sounded this time from the doorway behind them. The man looked to be in his mid-thirties with the same black hair as their father, Danny, and Markus, but he was both smaller and shorter than any of the rest of them. He had a plate full of what looked like steaks in his hands, but that didn’t keep him from waving the grilling fork menacingly at John.
“Hey there, Nate. Good to see you too.” John smirked. The other man smiled slightly setting the plate down and approaching John. Once again, the man was wrapped in someone’s arms, but this time, John held on just a little longer.
“Heard you got married.” John finally said to the younger man as they pulled apart. A mischievous smiled spread across his face and he nodded using his hands to simulate what looked to be very nice curves. John chuckled and ruffled the younger man’s hair before turning back to his children. “Boys, these are my older brothers, and our little cousin, Nate.”
Sam couldn’t help but snort. Only his dad would call this man who stood at least six feet, the ‘little cousin’. Seeing all six men lined up like that, you could definitely see the family resemblance. They all had about the same build and all but Calen and Luke had the same dark brown hair.
“That’s a little eerie.” Dean stage whispered and every single one of the older men broke into broad smiles and looked around at each other as if sharing an inside joke. Then, a shrill voice sounded from the presumed dining area.
“Jonathan Michael you have less than one minute to get your behind in here, young man!"
It was strange how normally a day could start out and how oddly that same day could end. Dean was busy unpacking their duffels and listening to Sam and their Dad fighting about the best way to salt doors of all things, (really Sammy’s argument for liquid cement wasn’t half bad), when there was a loud knock on the door and the three of them were diving for whichever weapons they had stashed on their person.
John quietly approached the door as Dean and Sam automatically moved to flank him sawed off and silver knife held poised and at the ready just out of sight of whomever was at the door. The door was pulled open with the barrel of John’s sawed off behind it. Behind the door, there stood two huge men. John was a decent sized man himself standing at over six feet but these men, while one was considerably older, were giants in comparison. This normally wouldn’t have affected John. The man could hold his own in a fight, but John simply stood looking absolutely stunned while the men behind the door looked down at him with a combination of righteous indignation, shock, and pure joy.
Finally, Dean spoke up keeping his gun trained on the older man while Sam’s knife was ready to move in on the younger. “Who the hell are you?” Both men’s attention was drawn to him and that snapped John out of his shock.
“Put ‘em down boys.” Both ignored the order.
“Who are they?” This time his question was clearly directed at his father though his eyes never left the men in the doorway.
The younger of the two men answered for him. “I’m Danny. I’m your uncle and someone in this room is in a hell of a lot of trouble.”
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Dean watched incredulously as the man walked in and wrapped his arms around Mr. John Macho-man-don’t-get-touched-by-anyone-but-my-boys Winchester. After a moment John began wiggling and said lightly, “Can’t breathe here, Danny.”
The big man just laughed and replied with, “You deserve it you little bitch.” He pulled back and the older man spoke for the first time.
“Do you have any idea what we’ve been through the last fourteen years?”
Danny’s face darkened as he seemed to be remembering exactly what the older man was talking about. “Yeah, we all thought you were dead Johnny, dead.”
Apparently everyone was regaining their wits as John’s face darkened as well. “That was the point, Danny. You weren’t supposed to know I was alive.”
Danny took a threatening step toward his errant little brother, but Dean brought the shotgun up and had it half-cocked before the older man spoke again.
“That’s enough, Daniel. You’re scaring the children.” Danny’s head turned to take in both Dean and Sam and the weapons they had aimed at him. He let an easy smile fall over his face that perfectly emulated John’s placating a witness face. He lowered the hand he’d clenched ready to deck the younger man and placed it lightly on his shoulder.
“Sorry, Johnny didn’t mean to upset the rugrats.”
“I doubt you did any lasting damage. My ribs on the other hand…” John smiled ruefully.
Danny smiled back sadly but with a hint of nostalgia. “That’s what you get for not calling anyone for over a decade, kid.” He flashed an even brighter smile that lasted until he noted that neither Dean nor Sam had yet to lower their weapons.
John followed his brother’s gaze. The picture of his boys still tense and alert brought John back to his senses. John had known that his family may notice them, but he couldn’t very well leave them unprotected. Dean and Sam, though? They didn’t know to expect this, and John realized, belatedly, that they were right not to trust his pop and Danny. They didn’t know them. Hell, John wouldn’t have been able to tell if they were monsters or not on sight either.
Dean was looking at him warily, and asked with a deceptively calm voice, “Dad?” Just one word but John understood perfectly, this isn’t safe. Sammy’s not safe. Do something.
John nodded once and Dean’s gun came down, but not before he’d reached for the holy water tucked in his back pocket and chunked a little on each of the men while Sam quickly slipped in and nicked each with his silver knife, before sliding beside Dean to watch.
Danny was more than a little confused but seemed to be taking the attack with good grace. The older man on the other hand seemed a little more than irritated. “Jonathan Michael Winchester, what the hell is going on here?”
John looked almost sheepish, something his boys didn’t realize the man was capable of, for just a moment, but he recovered quickly. His voice was strong and confident (and slightly defiant,) as he responded. “Sorry, Pop, but it had to be done.”
Sam was more than a little surprised. Apparently there was an uncle and a grandfather he didn’t know about. “So, this is our family?” Sam asked.
John only shrugged at Sam’s question but directed his own at his older brother. “How did you know we were here?”
“My wife works in administration at the school. When the boys registered, she wanted to know how common the last name Winchester was. When we said it wasn’t, she asked if we had more cousins she didn’t know about that shared your name. We thought we’d come by and see, and we found you.” Danny responded smugly.
“You got remarried?”
“-Got hitched with Misty a little while after you disappeared. We looked for you for nearly eight months non-stop. Misty helped as much as she could and we kinda hit it off. Adrian loves her, hardly remembers Eloise at all. Now we’ve got two more.”
“Wow, you’ve got an apple pie life, huh. Didn’t know Winchesters were capable.” Dean replied flippantly.
“Excuse me?” Danny asked a crease forming between his brows.
“You know, wife, kids, staying someplace long enough to wonder if your brother showed up out of the blue, the works.”
“And you haven’t had that?” John’s father asked. When Dean looked confused, Richard’s angry gaze slid over to John. “You can explain later, boy, but you will explain.” The man’s face softened slightly. “But for now, you can reintroduce me to my grandsons.”
John joined his sons laying a hand on Dean’s shoulder. “This is Dean. I’m sure you remember your uncle and gramps.” John smiled slightly as he slid the gun out of Dean’s hands.
Dean looked at the men uncertainly for a minute, but reached his hand out to them nonetheless. “Nice to see you again.” When the men didn’t immediately respond, Dean’s smile grew a little wider. “Don’t worry, I’m not gonna throw anything else at you, probably.”
“You won’t.” John said firmly.
Dean’s face fell ever so slightly as he pouted dramatically. “Aww, way to ruin it, Dad.”
“Don’t whine Dean, you’re eighteen years old.” John said irritably while his hand moved to ruffle Sam’s hair slightly. “This is Sammy.”
Danny smiled widely. “Isn’t he cute.” Sam couldn’t help the blush that spread across his cheeks. Danny quickly advanced on the almost fourteen year old and hugged him tightly. Sam squirmed in the large man’s arms and Dean moved on instinct, almost knocking the guy’s lights out before John put a restraining hand on his arm shaking his head slightly.
“It’s fine, Dean.” He said quietly. After a moment, Dean felt the smile spread on his face Sam was squirming while the huge man hugged him, and the kid just looked so uncomfortable, Dean couldn’t help the laugh that escaped.
“I told you Sammy was adorable.” Dean huffed out between guffaws.
Danny had pulled back slightly but still had an arm lain over the teen’s shoulders. The kid seemed a little uncomfortable, like he wasn’t used to this much contact, but that just couldn’t be right. Winchesters were cuddlers, always had been, and always would be. Hell, Danny wouldn’t have any reservations about plunking John down on his lap. John was one of the babies. People cooed over him, and coddled him. It’s what they did and, even though he didn’t know it yet, Sam was in for the same treatment. Not only was he close to the youngest, he was freaking adorable.
Henry spoke up then. “We’re all heading back to the house; get your things, John.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea, Pop.”
Richard’s eyes narrowed and he growled out, “Did that sound like a question to you, boy?
Ten minutes later found them heading out the door. Danny still had his arm over Sam’s shoulders as they left and Sam could feel the vibrations in his chest as he stopped and let out a rumbling laugh. “You still have that old thing?” Danny asked John gesturing toward the impala.
“It’s not mine anymore.” John replied evenly a smirk appearing on his face at the affronted look on Dean’s.
Dean slid past the men to caress his car. “It’s okay, baby. They just don’t understand how beautiful you are.” Dean cooed at the sleek black machine.
Danny guffawed again and Sam was getting increasingly uncomfortable. “Yeah, he’s definitely yours, Johnny. Even calls her the same thing.”
John just rolled his eyes. “Yeah, I got it, loved my car, little obsessed, passed it on. Sammy, ride with Dean, a-”
Danny cut him off. “Nuh-uh little brother. You’ve deprived us long enough. Pop can ride with you and Sammy, here, can ride with me.”
Dean looked ready to protest, but John shook his head at the teen. “Fine, Danny, just be careful. Dean, load up. Pop, I’m parked around back.”
“But, Dad,” Dean started. John cut him off with a sharp look.
“That’s an order Dean.”
The boy still looked unhappy but he gave one quick nod. “Yes, sir.”
Riding in the car was only slightly less uncomfortable than having the man’s arms around him. They sat in silence for a few moments before Danny spoke up. “So, you always attack people when they come in the door or is that just for family?” The remark sounded flippant, but Sam could hear the underlying tension there.
“Just like to be prepared,” was his reply.
“Prepared for what?”
“Anything.”
“And Johnny just lets you go around with a knife strapped to your ankle?”
Sam let out a snort. “Dad doesn’t let us go anywhere without some sort of protection. I guess the marines left him a little paranoid.” Sam shrugged at the end of the last part trying to make the lie sound believable.
“Maybe…” Danny agreed reluctantly.
After a moment of awkward silence, Sam asked, “So, are we going to see your mom or what?”
Danny nodded. “Yeah, Mom, Calen, Markus, Luke, and Nate are all there.”
“Oh are those your kids?” Danny laughed out loud at that one.
“No, Sam, those are just our brothers and cousin. The kids should mostly be there for dinner, though.”
“Wait, how many brothers does Dad have?”
“Well, technically, four. There’s Calen, Markus, Luke and Me, but Nate also owns one of the houses on the property. He moved back here about ten years ago with his wife trying to put down some roots. We have mandatory weekly dinners; it’s momma’s rule.”
“How many people are we talking about?”
“About forty all together.” At the look of shock on Sam’s face, Danny explained. “There’s Calen and his wife, Rose. They have four kids total, but Violet is on vacation in Palo Alto right now and Darin is away in New York for school.
Then there’s Markus. He and his wife Kevlyn have their daughter, and they have two fosters staying with them. There’s Luke and Evlyn. They have six kids all together. Opal, Luke’s oldest, and her husband, Chris, usually stay at their place but they’re visiting his parents in Loan Oak, so they won’t be there, and Caleb’s working this weekend so who knows if he’ll be home for dinner. James is in the service, so he’s not there. Then there’s me and my wife Misty and our three kids and Nate and Kelly and their two kids. Not to mention Mom, Pop, Aunt Carol and Auntie Kelsey.”
“Who are Aunt Carol and Auntie Kelsey?”
“Aunt Carol is Pop’s cousin and Auntie Kelsey is her wife.”
“Oh.” Sam was trying to take it all in, really, but that was a lot of people.
Before he had time to try and remember any of that, they pulled up the driveway of what looked to be an old plantation with several other houses that were all connected by other dirt driveways. The main house was a huge white affair with pillars in the front to help support all three floors and giant picturesque windows all across the front. It was magnificent, and there were various people out in the yard including a few teenagers and some smaller children.
“My Dad grew up here?” Sam asked incredulously.
Danny couldn’t help but chuckle a little bit. “I guess Johnny hasn’t changed much. He always did want to make his own way in the world. The kid never did like asking Mom and Pop for help. I guess it got worse when he left home. He never used the family account; I guess it was so we wouldn’t know where he was.”
“Yeah, I guess.” Sam replied. A moment later his door was wrenched open and Dean was standing there looking him over as subtly as Dean knew how, and stepped back to let his little brother out. It took Dean a minute to convince Henry Winchester to let him carry all of their bags. While they were calmly discussing the matter (or hissing in irritated voices however you choose to interpret it,) John was having a problem of his own.
He was standing on the porch just looking at the front door. How many times had he swung that door opened and announced his presence to his family? How many times had he slammed that door in anger because he’d had fight? How many years had it been since he shut that door in the middle of the night and ran off to join the marines? Could he even still walk through that door after nearly twenty years?
“Go on in, Johnny,” Danny said quietly, and John felt himself complying. How bad could it be really?
As they entered the house, John was immediately accosted by a man at least ten years his senior with shaggy blond hair and thick stubble. “Where in hell have you been?” The man asked as he pulled John into a tight hug. A second man was entering from what looked like a dining area and he too hugged John tightly only pulling back after nearly two minutes.
“Luke, Mark.” John greeted mildly to each successive man. Then, through the same door, came yet another man. This one was shorter than the rest with graying blond hair and broad shoulders. He walked directly to John and wrapped the younger man in the fiercest hug yet.
“God, it’s good to see you, little brother.”
John reached out and grasped the man’s shoulder firmly. “It’s good to see you too, Calen.”
The man’s face darkened somewhat as he said threateningly, “You and me are gonna have a nice long chat later. Got it?”
“Don’t think I’m not getting a piece of this.” Another voice sounded this time from the doorway behind them. The man looked to be in his mid-thirties with the same black hair as their father, Danny, and Markus, but he was both smaller and shorter than any of the rest of them. He had a plate full of what looked like steaks in his hands, but that didn’t keep him from waving the grilling fork menacingly at John.
“Hey there, Nate. Good to see you too.” John smirked. The other man smiled slightly setting the plate down and approaching John. Once again, the man was wrapped in someone’s arms, but this time, John held on just a little longer.
“Heard you got married.” John finally said to the younger man as they pulled apart. A mischievous smiled spread across his face and he nodded using his hands to simulate what looked to be very nice curves. John chuckled and ruffled the younger man’s hair before turning back to his children. “Boys, these are my older brothers, and our little cousin, Nate.”
Sam couldn’t help but snort. Only his dad would call this man who stood at least six feet, the ‘little cousin’. Seeing all six men lined up like that, you could definitely see the family resemblance. They all had about the same build and all but Calen and Luke had the same dark brown hair.
“That’s a little eerie.” Dean stage whispered and every single one of the older men broke into broad smiles and looked around at each other as if sharing an inside joke. Then, a shrill voice sounded from the presumed dining area.
“Jonathan Michael you have less than one minute to get your behind in here, young man!"