The Gift, Sam gets a very special gift.

[maxandkiz]

Hey y'all!

I thought you might like to read one of the newest stories I have going.(the other is a Criminal Minds story so I won't post it here) I hope you enjoy it!(and yes I'm nuts for having so many stories going at once. but right now writing keeps my mind off other things I'd rather not think about.)

The Gift

Summary: Sam gets a very special gift; time with his mom. Set after Dark Side of the Moon.









Chapter 1





Sam Winchester held back a sigh of relief as the impala sped off the highway exit, heading towards the nearest cheap motel. After an almost full day of riding in the tension filled vehicle with his brother Dean, the young man was more than ready for a break. Dean hadn't spoken more than a handful of words to him since they'd come back from Zachariah's little field trip and it was really starting to get to him. He couldn't believe…Sam was jerked out of his thoughts when the car screeched to a stop. Glancing out the windshield at the dilapidated building, the youngest Winchester grimaced as he reached back to grab his bag. Opening the door, he tossed the bag strap over his shoulder and stepped out. He barely had time to shut the door before the impala took off backwards through the parking lot. Sam watched the classic Chevy do a three-sixty at the edge of the lot and then barrel down the street.

"Great" he muttered. Shaking his head, the hunter trudged to the front office of the crumbling motel. He walked inside coming out minutes later key in hand. Sam strode down the long walkway to the room on the end. Shoving the key in the lock, he swiftly opened the door and stepped into his home for the night. He shut the door and flicked on the lights before looking around. The light brown walls with brightly colored landscape paintings and the beds covered with plain blue blankets were a far cry from what he was expecting. The room was actually pretty decent. It was definitely better than the dumps they'd been staying in lately. It looked like for once they'd gotten lucky.

'Yeah, right lucky' Sam thought as he tossed his duffle across the room and dropped onto the edge of the bed. Lucky was the last word he'd use to describe them at the moment. Running a hand through his chestnut hair, the young man sighed. His relationship with Dean had been rocky for a long time. But they had both been working hard to get back the closeness they'd once had. Unfortunately, he knew that Zachariah's twisted version of "This Is Your Life" had destroyed any tiny amount of progress they had made. Sam knew that the dick of an angel had screwed with the memories to further his cause. After all, how could anyone believe that a small child witnessing his parents fighting or a knock down drag out fight between father and son were happy memories? You'd have to be a nutcase to think those were happy times. Staying with that other family for the holidays and the huge fight with his dad that ended with the ultimatum 'if you leave, don't come back' were some of Sam's worst childhood memories. Anyone who knew him would know that. But Dean was so busy being hurt by the angel picked memories that he didn't realize he was being manipulated. If he just stopped to think, he'd remember why Sam was with that other family or what happened when Dean and dad finally came to get him. But it didn't look like that would happen anytime soon and he didn't know what to do ab…

"Why so glum, chum?" a cheery voice called from the other side of the room.

Sam's head shot up the same time as his hand reached for the gun he kept in the waistband of his jeans. Seeing the owner of the voice standing by the rickety wooden table smirking at him, the hunter groaned. "Aww man, not you again." He grumbled, glaring at the intruder. "What do you want this time?"

"Now is that any way to greet a friend?" the short, brown-haired man asked.

"There's a lot of things I'd call you, but friend isn't one of them." Sam fired back. "Now what do you want, Gabriel? I'm in no mood for a guessing game."

"But games are fun!" the angel protested.

"Gabriel" Sam growled.

"Fine, party pooper" Gabe huffed. He pulled out a chair, plopped down, and sat staring at the youngest Winchester.

Sam waited impatiently for the annoying being to explain his presence. When several minutes went by without a word being spoken, the hunter snapped. "Gabriel, I swear if you don't…"

"Loki" the angel corrected. "And don't swear, it's not nice."

Sam pinched the bridge of his nose to try and ward off the headache he could feel coming. Glaring at the cause of his current problem, he growled, "What. do. you. want?"

Gabriel grinned. "Oh, it's not what I want, Sammy boy. This visit is all about you. See, I know about what that douche Zachariah did to you and Deano and I gotta tell you I was a little disappointed by your brother's reaction. I was sure he'd catch on to Zach's trick after the first bad memory. I never expected him to fall for it let alone blame you."

"So what, you're here to gloat?" Sam interrupted.

"Not a chance, Sundance" Loki replied. "I'm here to do you a favor."

"No, no thanks" Sam adamantly stated, shaking his head. "I don't need any favors from you."

"Oh, I think you do." Gabe countered as he stood and walked over to the young hunter. Kneeling down in front of the boy, he sighed. "I think after all the crap my so called brothers have put you though, it's only fair that one of us does something nice for you. And I happen to know just what to do to pay you back."

"Really? And what would that be? You gonna put me in tv land again? Or maybe you're going to drop me back in that time loop? Find some more bizarre ways to kill off Dean, did you?" Sam growled.

"Nothing like that Sammykins" the trickster said, patting the hunter's knee. "No, the gift I'm going to give you is something you never really got to have; time with your mother."

"Mom? But she's…how can you…"

"Relax Junior, let me worry about the how's and why's." Gabe instructed. "Now come on. We're running late."

With that the smiling man swiftly reached out and touched the youngest Winchester's forehead.

[Bec]

Yea! A new story! Can't wait to read more.

[maxandkiz]

Bec- Thank you! Here's the next part!



Chapter 2




Sam groaned as he slowly woke. Shaking his head at the crazy dream he'd had, the young hunter opened his eyes, blinking a couple of times to clear his vision. Seeing the baby blue walls, he shot straight up in bed. He glanced around the sparsely furnished room in alarm. This was not the motel room he remembered from last night. There was nothing in what looked to be a child's bedroom that he recognized. What the Hell was going on? The last thing he remembered was was walking into the motel room last night. Everything after that was kind of foggy. Maybe he'd had a little too much to drink. That would explain the headache and fuzzy memories. And after the past few days he and Dean had had, tying one on wouldn't be out of the realm of possibility for him. But that still wouldn't explain what he was doing here.

Hearing footsteps outside the door, Sam reached for his gun but it wasn't in his waistband anymore. Readying for a fight, the littlest Winchester scooted to the edge of the bed. He threw his legs over the side to stand only to start to slide when his feet didn't touch the floor. Flailing his arms, he fought to stop his decent.

"Whoa, Geronimo!" an annoyingly familiar voice called as strong hands grabbed Sam, settling him back on the bed. "You don't wanna end up like Humpty Dumpty, do ya?"

Scowling as the trickster easily lifted him back onto the bed, Sam opened his mouth only to slam it shut as the other man's actions hit him. The angry hunter glared up at the suddenly tall being. "What did you do?" he squeaked. Wait squeaked? WTF? Raising his hands in front of his eyes, Sam stared at the tiny appendages. "You, you shwunt me?"

"Give that man, uh, kid a prize!" Gabe cheerfully announced. Noticing the deepening scowl on the boy's face and the crossed arms, the trickster rolled his eyes. "Look, shrimp I told you I was going to give you some time with your dear old mom and I meant it. You're going to have a whole week of mommy and me time. You being a chubby cheeked kid is your in."

"No, it's not." Sam argued as he carefully stood on the bed, putting him at eye level with the being's stomach. "You didn't haf to mate me a tid."

"Yes I did." Gabe insisted. He plopped down on the bed beside the small boy. "What, did you think you could just waltz right up to your parents and say 'Hey mom and dad! I'm your son from the future come to visit you.' You'd be locked up in the looney bin so fast your head would spin."

"I wouldn't haf to tell them." Sam suggested. "I tould go in as the, as the…"

"As what? The creepy stalker guy? That'll go over big with Johnny Boy. You'd have five maybe ten minutes before he'd fill your backside full of buckshot." Loki pointed out.

"Otay fine" Sam huffed. "What about mating me a teenager?"

"Dude, what self respecting teenager needs a babysitter?" Gabe replied with a shake of the head. "Besides, if we went that route, you hanging around the house with Mary instead being out with your friends would definitely set off alarms with her and Daddy dearest."

"Oh yeah" Sammy muttered. "But tan't you mate me a yittle oldew yite ten or something?"

"Man, do you want your dad to beat your ass? Preteens are worse than teenagers. They're sullen and moody. And they think they're too old to have anyone watching them. Don't you remember what you were like at that age? You and your old man did nothing but square off and it always ended up with you butt up on your dad's lap." the trickster chuckled.

"I won't awgue this time. Besides, dad wouldn't pant me." Sam defended.

"Kid, he had you over his knees so many times growing up, I'm surprised you know how to stand up straight." Gabe reminded the youngest Winchester. "And don't think just because Johnny Boy thinks you aren't his, that he'll go easy on you. His or not, you set on toe outta line and he'd make sure sitting wouldn't be easy for a while. No, this is the only way. At three, you're little enough for your mom to take care of without anyone getting suspicious, big enough to take of important business by yourself, and too little for your dad to really smack if you do something wrong. Not to mention the fact that you can give your mom all the hugs and kisses and loving looks you want without your dad laying you out."

"But"

"Darling, are you boys almost ready?" a voice called before a beautiful woman with long blond hair peered around the open doorway. "We're going to be late."

"We'll be right there, my sweet." Gabe cooed. Turning, he smirked at the gaping boy. "What do ya think of your new mommy? Not bad, huh?"

Shaking his head at the delighted being, Sam huffed. "Fotus, Gabe" he ordered in his best John Winchester tone, eliciting a round of giggles from the trickster. "It's not funny! Top yaughing and tuwn me bat!"

"Sorry, Pipsqueak, not gonna happen" the trickster replied as he stood. "Now come on. We've gotta go." Leaning over the bed, he reached for the littlest Winchester, frowning as the boy scooted out of his reach. Rolling his eyes at the youngster's misguided attempt to get away, Loki snapped his fingers, disappearing in the blink of an eye only to immediately reappear behind the surprised child. Smirking, he scooped the struggling toddler up and settling him on his hip walked out of the room. The smirk fell from his face as a well placed kick came a little too close to his manhood. "Stop it before I turn you into the two month old you're acting like." Gabe warned, swatting the boy's bottom.

"You wouldn't" Sam challenged.

"You really wanna test me on that?" the trickster questioned, raising an eyebrow at the boy. Seeing the toddler suddenly deflate, he grinned. "I didn't think so."

"Are my two favorite boys ready to go now?" the blond from earlier asked as they entered what appeared to be the living room.

"Yep, Sammy's all changed and ready to go!" Gabe cheerfully answered. Grabbing the small bag sitting on the couch, he slung it over his shoulder and strode to the front door. He waited for his "wife" to open the door and then stepped outside.

Sam racked his brain for a way out of this one. As much as he'd love to spend time with his mom, he knew that wasn't going to happen. The trickster was up to something and whatever that something was, it wouldn't be good. In all the times they'd crossed paths with the being, he'd never done anything nice. Loki was all about pulling pranks or dealing out what he called life lessons. This had to be some kind of trick and Sam had no desire to find out what little "lesson" the trickster/angel had in store for him this time. He needed to get away from the brown haired being and get back to Dean. His brother had surely noticed that he was missing by now. And he knew Dean wouldn't rest until he found Sam. Or would he? Maybe Dean would think he had just run off again. After all, that little trip had certainly hammered it into his big brother's head that Sam was happiest when he was away from his family, even if that wasn't anywhere remotely true. Dean might not even…

"Tone it down, short stuff. All that thinking's giving me a headache." Gabe grumbled, breaking the youngster's train of thoughts. "Besides, there's nothing you need to worry about, Sam. You're going to be well taken care of."

"That's what I'm afwaid of." Sam crossly muttered.

"Sam, you wound me!" the trickster gasped. "I'm doing you a favor! Why would you be questioning my motives?" Seeing the pointed look being leveled at him, the brown haired being grinned. "Yeah, okay I guess I can feel where you're coming from. But I am really trying to help this time."

"But what about…"

"The question and answering period is now over. We're here." Loki announced, walking up the driveway of the house that had haunted Sam's nightmares for years now. Stepping onto the porch, Gabe glanced down at the toddler in his arms. "Piece of advice, kid. You need to act like the three year old you are, starting with crying when your mommy and daddy leave you with these good folks. That's what toddlers do when their parents leave them so that's what your mom and pop will expect. Anything else will make them worry that's something's wrong. And in this day and time, all that will get you is a thermometer stuck somewhere very uncomfortable. Got me?"

Swallowing hard, Sam nodded. "Got it" he agreed. Seeing the blond haired woman ring the doorbell, Sam took a deep breath before pasting on a smile. After all these years, he was about to see his mom and he couldn't wait.

[Bec]

Awwww I love it

[maxandkiz]

Bec- Thank you! Glad you're enjoying it!



Chapter 3




John sighed as he watched his wife flutter from one side of the living room to the other, cleaning and dusting everything in sight. She had already cleaned the room three times in as many days and he was certain there wasn't one speck of dust left there or anywhere else in the house. In fact, Mary had been a virtual whirlwind of activity the last few days and frankly it was starting to get on his nerves. You'd think she was expecting the President the way she was cleaning and polishing, not a toddler. Seeing her starting to rearrange the nick-nacks on the bookshelf that she'd just fixed not five minutes ago, John shook his head. It was time for him to step in and put an end to her cleaning frenzy. He quickly walked across the room and wrapped his arms around her from behind. "That's enough, Mare. The house is as clean and baby proofed as its gonna get." He soft said. "Come sit down on the couch with me and relax a little."

"Alright, I just need to make sure there's nothing he…"

"Sweetheart, you've already checked and double checked everything. There's nothing breakable or harmful that's anywhere near Sammy's reach." John exasperatedly pointed out. He kissed her on the cheek before resting his chin on her slender shoulder. "Wanna tell me what's got you so nervous? You're acting like you've never babysat for anyone before."

"Don't be silly John. I've watched lots of children." Mary fibbed, wishing not for the first time that she'd been brought up in a normal home instead of a hunter's. The hunter lifestyle had made it virtually impossible for her to have the free time needed to babysit anyone. She had no clue had to take care of a child and that terrified her but there was no way she was telling John that. It would bring up too many questions. Instead she smiled and gave her husband what she hoped was a valid excuse for her nervousness. "It's just that this time we're keeping the baby here. Usually, I'd go to their house. And it's not just for a couple of hours either. We're going to have Sammy for a whole week. What if something happens to him? What will we do…" a shrill buzzing from the kitchen drowned out her tirade. "The cookies!" Mary exclaimed. Slipping out of her husband's hold, she started for the kitchen, stopping as the doorbell sounded. "They can't be here yet! Everything's not ready!"

"Calm down, Mare." John soothed, hugging his wife. "You go take care of the cookies and I'll take care of our guests. Everything's gonna be fine. I promise." He kissed her before letting her go with a gentle push towards the kitchen. He watched her disappear into the other room and then turned and walked over to the front door. Throwing open the door, John smiled at their friends. "Gabe, Heidi! Come in! We've been expecting you!" he greeted. Taking a step back, he held the door as the young woman steered the stroller full of supplies into the house.

"Morning, John" the trickster said as he walked in the open door. Once inside, he stopped beside the Winchester patriarch. "Look Sammy. It's Papa John. You remember Papa John, don't you?"

Sam barely suppressed the eye roll at his dad's nickname. Leave it to Gabe to name his father after a fast food place. Knowing he had to play along at least until he figured out the trickster's plan, the littlest Winchester looked over at his real father and grinned. "Papa!" he squealed, reaching out for the man.

"Hey buddy" John cooed, taking the toddler. He tossed the little boy in the air a few times before walking over and setting him on the baby blue blanket in the middle of the room. Kneeling down beside Sam, John picked up a wooden block. "Look a'here Sammy. Aunt Mary got you some blocks to play with. You can make yourself a tower. It's easy. See? You just put one block on top of the other, like this." The young man instructed as he quickly built a tower with four of the blocks. Picking up another block, he held it out to the little boy. "You wanna play with the blocks, kiddo?"

Managing once again to stop the eye roll at being talked to like an idiot, Sam enthusiastically nodded. Smiling, he took the wooden block and did what any self respecting three year old would; he threw it at the block tower, leveling it. Sammy clapped his hands, giggling with glee. "Byots fall down!"

"They sure did, Sammy" Gabe agreed, patting the little boy's head. "Now you be a good boy and play with the blocks while Papa John and I have a little talk, okay?" Getting an answering nod, the trickster looked over at the other man in the room. "Come on. There's a few things I need to show you before we leave."

Sammy watched the two men grab a handful of items out of the stroller and walk out of the room. Sighing, he turned back to the blocks in front of him. He stacked three or four blocks then lazily knocked them over with his hand. He began stacking them again, stopping as a rustling sound reached his ears. Glancing up, Sam saw his mom enter the room. "She's just as beautiful as I remember." He thought. He couldn't take his eyes off her as she crossed the room to greet the trickster's groupie.

"Good morning, Heidi" Mary greeted. "Sorry I wasn't out here when you came. The timer for the cookies went off about the same time as the doorbell."

"Don't worry about it. I totally understand." Heidi replied as the two took a seat on the couch. "And I can't thank you enough for helping us out. I don't know what Gabe and I would have done if you hadn't agreed to keep Sammy for us."

"Oh, we're only too happy to help out." Mary told the other woman. "I just hope we do a good job of taking care of him."

"You'll do just fine. I'm sure of it." Heidi commented.

"Is there anything I need to know about Sammy? Does he have a certain schedule or something like that?" Mary questioned.

"Yes, he does. I wrote it down for you along with his allergies and the pediatrician's number just in case. The number to the hospital in Chicago is at the bottom. I don't know my room number yet but Gabe promised he'd call and tell you once I got settled." Heidi replied. She pulled a piece of paper out of her purse and handed it to Mary. "Umm, let's see. He's had breakfast already and Gabe changed him right before we left the house. Oh, there's a couple of other things you need to know, too. Sammy is potty trained now but he still has accidents at night or sometimes at naptime so you'll need to put a diaper on him before you put him down. Oh, and he's a very restless sleeper. He tosses and turns most of the night."

Tuning the annoying woman out, Sammy continued to stare at his mother. She was so beautiful, she positively glowed. And she seemed so happy to be taking on a toddler. He wondered if this was the mother Dean remembered. Maybe she…

"Umm Heidi, is Sammy okay?" Mary asked, interrupting Sam's train of thought. "He's been staring at me for the last few minutes."

"Uh oh busted!" Sam thought. Racking his brain for an excuse for his behavior, he quickly recalled the one time he had gone on a babysitting job with Jess. Smiling, he dropped the block, put his hands on the floor, and pushed himself up to stand. He tottled over to his mother and raised his arms. "Up" he demanded. As soon as Mary picked him up and settled him on her hip, Sam reached over and grabbed the cross on the necklace she was wearing.

"Oh, so that's what you were after." Mary said with a chuckle.

Sam nodded his head. "Sammy haf it?" he asked. "Peas, Aunt, Aunt Mommy?"

"Sorry sweetie, you can't play with my necklace. It's not a toy." Mary told the boy as she gently removed the cross from his hands.

"Heidi, are you girls almost through?" Gabe inquired as he walked into the room with John. "We really need to get going or we'll miss our flight."

"I'm ready darling" Heidi replied. "Just let me say goodbye to Sammy." Leaning over, she kissed Sam on the forehead. "Bye Sweet Pea. Momma will see you later."

"Here we go" Sam thought, eyeing the trickster who was headed his way.

"Bye Little Man, you be a good boy for Aunt Mary and Papa John, okay?" Gabe instructed. "And don't forget what I told you." He whispered in Sam's ear before kissing the toddler's cheek, smirking as the littlest Winchester's face scrunched up in disgust at the action. Taking Heidi's hand, the trickster started for the door. "I'll call you guys tonight to check in. Thanks again for keeping him for us."

Seeing the trickster and Heidi walk away, Sam started what he hoped was an Oscar worthy performance. Reaching down, he pinched his leg until it brought tears to his eyes, which actually wasn't hard to do at all. "Evidently it doesn't take much to upset baby bodies." He thought as the tears started to flow. Raising his arms towards the departing couple, the youngest Winchester screwed up his face. "Mommy! Daddy!" he cried as he wiggled and squirmed in Mary's arms.

"Shhh, Sammy, shhhh, it's okay" Mary soothed, rocking the baby. "You're alright. I've got you." Walking around the room with the sobbing toddler, she fought down the panic that was quickly making its way to the surface. "What do I do? What do I do?" she thought as she continued to attempt to console the upset child. She glanced around the room for anything that might calm the boy but found nothing. Looking to John for help, she noticed he was already headed her way with something in his hands.

"Here, try this" John suggested, handing his wife one of the cookies she'd made earlier.

Figuring it couldn't hurt, Mary held up the sugar cookie for the toddler to see. "Look Sammy, Aunt Mary has a cookie for you." She brightly said.

Sam immediately stopped crying and reached for the sugary treat. "Tootie!" he exclaimed. "Sammy haf tootie, peas."

"Yes, Sammy can have a cookie." Mary replied, relieved that the crying was over. She handed the cookie to the toddler who quickly devoured it.

"Mowe tootie?" Sam questioned.

"No, sweetie, one cookie is enough for now." Mary told the youngster, frowning as the little boy's lower lip began to tremble.

"Hey, champ what do you say we go out and throw the ball for a while?" John quickly offered, holding up a bright red plastic ball.

"Papa pyay ball wif Sammy?" Sam incredulously asked. His dad had never had time to play ball with them. He'd watched his dad and Dean toss a baseball back and forth a couple of times when he was real little but he couldn't remember one time the two of them had played.

"Yeah, Sammy, Papa's going to play ball with you." John agreed. Taking the toddler from Mary, he settled the boy on his hip and headed for the kitchen where the back door was located.

Sam grinned from ear to ear as his dad carried him through the living room and into the kitchen. He had been held and comforted by his mom, eaten a homemade cookie that she had made just for him, and now he was actually about to play ball with his dad. It was a dream come true!

[Bec]

Yea! Perfect way to start my Sunday! That was great.

[Raven524]

Nice start...More please?

[maxandkiz]

Bec- Thank you! Glad you enjoyed it!

Raven524- Thanks! Your wish is my command!




Chapter 4



Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW. I own nothing.

AN- Okay, nobody have a stroke. I finally have a new chapter for you. Hopefully, it'll be the first of many.(crosses fingers) And hopefully, you guys are still interested.

Previously on Supernatural- Sam grinned from ear to ear as his dad carried him through the living room and into the kitchen. He had been held and comforted by his mom, eaten a homemade cookie that she had made just for him, and now he was actually about to play ball with his dad. It was a dream come true!

SPN

Mary hummed as she bustled around the kitchen, gathering the items she would need for lunch. She pulled a large metal pot out of the cupboard by the sink and filled it half way with water. Setting the pot on the front burner, she turned the knob to medium high before going over to the fridge and taking out a package of hot dogs. The young blond took several out, put the pack back in the fridge, and went back to the stove. She dropped the hot dogs into the pot of rapidly heating water and hurried over to the island in the middle of the kitchen. Kneeling down, Mary grabbed three plates out of the cabinet and set them on the counter. Snagging the family size bag of potato chips, she poured some on all the plates before adding hot dog buns to two of the dishes. It might not be the best lunch for a toddler but it would have to do. With nothing left to do but wait, the young woman made her way over to the sink and peered out the big, bay window above it. She smiled as she watched John and Sammy playing ball. He looked so relaxed with the toddler; like he'd been taking care of the boy for years instead of minutes. She knew he'd been around a lot of little kids growing up so he was used to dealing with children. But to tell the truth, she was a little envious of the ease with which he was handling this babysitting job. Because she was just the opposite: she was a nervous wreck. Growing up in the hunter lifestyle, Mary hadn't had the opportunity to be around other children or their families that much. For the most part, she would only see the few friends she managed to make at school or if she was really lucky, a mall or another teenage hangout. She didn't know anything about babies or little kids. Contrary to what she'd told John, she'd never babysat before in her life. Her father had forbid it saying it was too dangerous. She knew little to nothing about taking care of a small child, not that she was about to tell her husband that. John thought she'd had a normal upbringing and she was determined to keep it that way. She could do this. She'd just have to wing it. After all, how hard could taking care of a baby be?

The sound of water boiling drew Mary out of her thoughts. Going over to the stove, the retired hunter watched the rolling water for a couple of minutes before turning off the burner. She grabbed a fork and took the hot dogs out of the pot, placing them on a waiting paper towel to cool a little. She then got all the condiments out of the fridge and set them on the table along with their drinks. Once the table was set, Mary placed two hot dogs in the buns on the plates before cutting up a third and setting the tiny pieces on Sammy's plate. She carried them all to the table and then walked over to the back door. "John, lunch is ready!" she hollered.

"Coming, Mare!" John called back. Kneeling down, he picked up the ball and held out his hands. "Come on kiddo! It's hot dog time!"

Sam raced over to his dad and leaped into his waiting arms. "Yea! Hot doggies!" he shouted, clapping his hands.

"Yeah, hot doggies" John replied, tossing the youngster into the air a couple of times before settling him on his hip and heading for the house. "I don't know about you, but I'm starving."

"Sammy tawving, too" Sam announced, patting his stomach. Hearing his dad laugh had Sam grinning from ear to ear. He hadn't seen his dad this relaxed since he was a toddler the first time and that had most likely been just a show for his benefit. Sam was getting his first glimpse of the dad John had been before he became the hardened hunter his youngest knew and the boy was floored by the difference. He couldn't wait to tell Dean…the smile dropped off his face at the thought of his brother. He wondered if Dean had noticed he was missing yet. Was his big brother searching for him or was he happy to be…Sam cut that thought off. Dean may be angry at him but he still loved him. Sam knew that much for sure. Zachariah's twisted little "This is Your Life" trip couldn't change…

"Sammy? You okay, kiddo?" John questioned, derailing the boy's train of thought.

'Busted' Sam thought. Thinking quickly, the tiny hunter poked out his bottom lip and peered up at his dad. "Papa and Sammy no pay ball no more?" he tearfully asked.

John laughed. "We're going to play ball again, buddy." He assured the youngster, rubbing the toddler's back. "We've just got to go inside and eat first, okay?"

"Pwomise?" Sam prodded, his puppy dog look at full force.

"Scout's honor" the senior Winchester replied, crossing his heart. Smiling as the boy's frown morphed into a dimpled grin, John tickled the toddler's tummy. "Come on, Short Stuff. Let's get inside and snag a couple of hot dogs before Aunt Mary gobbles them all up." Hoisting Sammy onto his shoulders, John dashed across the yard and into the house.

SPN

After a quick stop at the sink to wash their hands, John walked them over to the table. He placed Sammy in his booster seat before dropping into the chair next to him.

Sam licked his lips as he looked at his plate. Sure it was just hot dogs and potato chips but it was his first mother cooked meal. He waited impatiently for his mom to say the blessing and then dug into his food, remembering to use his fingers. Mimicking his older brother, he stuffed several pieces of hot dog in his mouth. He chewed with his mouth open, trying hard not to choke. Grabbing his sippy cup, the youngest Winchester quickly took a sip before stuffing his mouth once more.

"Slow down, kiddo. Your food's not going anywhere." John instructed, stifling a laugh as he caught sight of the look on his wife's face.

"Otay" Sam agreed, feeling relieved. He picked up a piece of hot dog and stuck it in his mouth before looking to John for approval.

"That's right, Sammy. One piece at a time." The Winchester patriarch coached, taking a small bite of his own hot dog and smiling as the boy followed his example. Winking at Mary, John turned back to his meal. He made sure to only eat small bites at a time to ensure the youngster beside him did the same. Finishing off his hot dog a few minutes later, he walked over to the counter and nabbed another one. He chuckled as he headed back to the table. "Hey Mare, I think someone's ready for their nap." He quietly said.

Glancing across the table, Mary saw Sammy's head slowly dropping to his chest. Seeing her husband put down his plate, she shook her head. "Finish eating. I'll get him." she offered. She stood and walked around the table. Leaning down, she carefully picked the toddler up and settled him on her hip like she'd seen John do earlier. The young blond then hurried out of the kitchen and down the hall to the room that would be Sammy's for the next week. She grabbed the supplies Heidi had left and went over to the bed. She laid the sleepy boy on the bed and placed the supplies next to him before taking a seat herself. 'Okay Mary, you can do this.' she told herself as she took the boy's shoes and pants off. Picking up the diaper, she eyed it carefully. 'Where's the front of this thing?' she thought, taking in the two identical sides. She thumbed the tab on one side up, manipulating it into position before smiling. 'Got it!' she mentally cheered as she quickly settled the diaper under the toddler, wrapped it around him, and fastened the tabs. Deciding to leave the boy's pants off for now, she gently scooped the toddler up and walked over to their old, wooden rocking chair. Sitting down, she settled back in the chair and slowly began to rock.

Sam fisted his eyes as he gazed up at his mom. He wasn't tired. He didn't need *yawn* a nap. Forcing his eyes back open, he fought to stay awake. He didn't want to waste his time with his parents sleeping.

Mary frowned as she took in the wide eyed toddler. Maybe she was doing something wrong. After all, she'd never rocked a baby to sleep in her life. Maybe there was a special way to do it; a certain way to sit or hold him that would have him drifting off to sleep. Mary shrugged. She had no clue. She'd just have to make it up as she went along. Remembering her mom saying music soothes the savage beast once when her dad was on a rampage, she decided it was worth a shot. She thought for a moment before settling on what she hoped was a soothing song. "Hey Jude, don't make it bad…"

Sam melted into his mother's embrace. He struggled to keep his eyes open but the rocking and the singing and his full stomach were all working against him. Blinking sleepily, the tiny hunter fought for all he was worth. He needed to stay awake. He only had a week and he didn't want to waste a minute of it. He, he…his thoughts ground to a halt as his eyes slid shut and he drifted off to sleep.