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Sam liked to think he was a patient person, a patient brother, but he was one second away from strangling the one and only Dean Winchester.
“And don’t forget she has soccer Tuesdays and Thursdays and you can’t just drop her off-“
“-becase in case it rains or there’s a wendigo suddenly on the field.” Sam finished and rolled his eyes. “I know, Dean. You’ve left me with her before.”
“But this is two weeks. There’s school and soccer and-“ Dean took a breath. “Maybe I shouldn’t go.”
“Cas!” Sam called up the stairs. “Your husband is going crazy.”
“I’m just worried-“
“Dean, your brother is more than capable of watching Emma during our honeymoon.” Cas thankfully appeared and placed a hand on Dean’s shoulder. He had unknowingly saved himself from being widowed one week into their marriage.
“Maybe we should only go for a week.” Dean brought a hand up to his mouth to chew at his fingernails.
“Oh my god! I’m not a kid, Dean.” Sam cried out, throwing his hands up. “I can’t believe you don’t trust me.”
“It’s not-“ Dean sighed, his thumbnail fell away from his mouth. “I just haven’t left her for this long since…before we got you back. It’s been months. I don’t want her thinking I’m leaving or going back to hunting.”
“Dean,” Cas started, but Dean cut him off.
“I know, I know, I just don’t want to be like… her mom.” Dean’s voice fell as his sentence went on.
“Dean, you’re a great dad, and Emma isn’t going to change her mind about that in two weeks.” Sam said. “Besides, after this you won’t get another vacation alone for twenty years so now’s the time.”
“You’re right.” Dean nodded and took a deep breath. “You’re right. I’m-you’re right. I’m going to go finish packing.”
Dean went back upstairs. Crisis averted. Sam sighed, and looked again at the long list Dean had handed him. It was filled with everything from reminders about having breakfast to his niece’s blood type.
“Thanks for calming him down.” Cas smiled.
“Hey, you married him. You signed up for a lifetime of stopping his freak outs.”
Cas chuckled lightly. “I may be in over my head.”
“Oh, you definitely are.” Sam laughed.
This was nice: standing in the kitchen and laughing with a friend, practically a brother, technically a brother-in-law. The whole last few months since they had killed Azazel had been nice. Jerry was happy to take Sam under his wing as he had Dean. He was learning about all the business details and the math calculations to make sure they made a profit. Jerry even paid him a little. Sam would help with paperwork or answer phones when he wasn’t being taught anything. Sometimes Dean would show him how to fix something when the shop was slow.
Cas cleared his throat, bringing Sam back to the present. “I should go finish packing, and make sure my husband is bringing more than one pair of underwear and ten Hawaiian shirts.” Cas gave a fond roll of his eyes before heading upstairs.
Three days later Sam was sitting in the break room doing some numbers for inventory. Dean had a sort of desk set up in the corner for their work. It was great unless you were trying to do something during lunch, then it was too loud and crazy with all the workers in there.
Sam hadn’t been expecting to like working at the auto shop as much as he did. He hadn’t been expecting to hate it but not to loved it. The numbers and the math with the decisions that need to be made fueled his brain, and there was always something to learn about cars. The whole building smelt of car oil, gas, and leather. It reminded him of his brother, or long weekends at Bobby’s.
Sam had an hour or so before lunch so the break room was quiet. That was until his phone began to ring. Sam didn’t recognize the number but that didn’t mean anything so he answered it anyway.
“This is Sam.” He said as he punched a few numbers into the calculator.
“Hello, this is Sarah Engel from the school, your brother gave me your number as he is out of town.”
“Uh, yeah, okay.” Sam stood. “Is Emma okay?”
“She’s fine.” Sarah said in a polite and unconcerned way. “She had a confrontation with another student on the playground.”
“A confrontation?”
“Yes.” Sarah sounded in need of a vacation. “You will need to come pick her up and talk to Principal Charles about the consequences.”
“Right, of course.” Sam began gathering his stuff that consisted of a folder, the calculator, his car keys, and the phone in his hand. “I’ll be right there.”
He walked out on to the floor to find Jerry bent at the waist so his entire upper half was in the engine of an old…Ford F150, yeah that was right. Honestly the eighty year old man shouldn’t be crawling into cars anymore, but Sam wasn’t going to be the one to tell him that. Jerry looked up to see Sam before grunting in acknowledgment and diving back in.
“You got those numbers done?”
“Yeah, almost.” Sam ran a hand through his hair. “Uh, I got to go pick Emma up from school, but I can be back in an hour.”
“Don’t worry about it.” Jerry waved off, standing up and stretching his back out. “Just get them done tomorrow.”
Sam was already making plans to get the work done by tomorrow. “Okay, thanks, Jerry.”
“Git outta here, kid.” Jerry stuck himself back into his work.
Sam had to stop himself from breaking the speed limit getting to the school. The office had said Emma wasn’t hurt. Still, there was a deep protective instinct Sam couldn’t shake. Not to mention there was a constant cadence of “Dean’s going to kill me” running through his head.
Sam pulled up to the school and managed to park between the lines before storming his way inside. He had only been inside the elementary school a few times when he was younger and a couple of more times as an adult for Emma’s concerts, but he was able to find the office easy enough. It was thankfully right next to the front entrance.
The office was small and quiet. There was a middle aged woman with big blonde hair typing behind a desk and a row of chairs against the wall. In one of the chairs was his niece with her chin seemingly glued to her chest. She was chewing on her thumb nail.
“Hey, Emma.” Sam said gently before crouching down to be eye level, or at least closer to eye level with the eight year old. “Are you okay? Do you hurt anywhere?”
Emma dutifully shook her head, green eyes not straying from where they were trained on her Gryffindor t-shirt. A throat was cleared behind him. When Sam turned around he saw the blonde woman who had to be Sarah, who had called him earlier, looking at him expectantly.
“Principle Charles is expecting you. Axel and his mom are already inside.” Sarah said while gesturing to an office at the end of the short hallway.
Sam stifled a sigh while Emma marched in front of him towards the principal’s office. Her chin had unstuck itself from her chest and her head was held high. Sam couldn’t help but to be proud of his niece for keeping her pride. She had the bravery to not flinch underneath a judgmental helicopter mother’s glare. The only thought that dictated the forefront of Sam’s mind was who the hell named their kid after a car part?
There were four chairs in a row with about three or so inches of space between them lined up in front of the principal’s desk. Emma promptly took the seat on the end, leaving Sam to sit next to Axel’s glaring mother. He subtly shifted his chair a little closer towards Emma.
Axel was a little boy Emma’s age with a pointy face and what looked to be a mullet in the making. He was sporting a darkening black eye and a split lip. Sam couldn’t help compare the boy’s condition to Emma’s. His niece only had some dirt on her knee, otherwise she was unmarred.
“You must be Emma’s uncle.” Principal Chuck who looked like Snow White if she was a stressed out school principal. Her dark hair, streaked somehow elegantly with grey, was pulled up into a all business looking bun that had a few strands escaping. She also seemed to have a permanent indent in her forehead from frowning. Presently her frown was traded in for a friendly smile.
“Yeah, that’s me.” Sam flashed his own people pleasing smile. “Sam Winchester.”
“Just what this kid needs, another male figure.” Axel’s mother grumbled.
“Excuse you?” Sam’s eyebrows shot up and he faced the woman sitting next to him. Her hair held too much hairspray, or more accurately, too much hairspray held her hair. Her face was caked heavy in make up to hide wrinkles. “Look, lady-“
“Emma, Axel has already told us his story.” Principal Charles talked over Sam and successfully stopped his rebuttal. “Why don’t you tell us your side?”
Emma took a breath and turned to Sam instead of the Principal. “I was swinging on the swings with Tommy when Axel told me that my dad shouldn’t have married my papa and they were going to hell. So I jumped off the swing and told him to go away or I was going to hit him. Then he pushed me and called me a freak so I punched him. Then he tried to hit me but he missed and I hit him again. Then-“
“Alright, thank you, Emma.” Principal Charles sighed before turning to Sam. “Im not sure if you are aware, but this is not Emma’s first incident. She has a habit of being violent when the other kids…” Are little shits? “Upset her.”
“She’s a danger to the other kids.” Axel’s mom, who had yet to introduce herself, snapped.
“Hey, your kid was the one that started it!” Sam snarled.
“Please, she’s just lying for attention.”
Thankfully the principal stepped in otherwise Sam may have been arrested for murder. “Stop it. You two are both grown adults, so act like it.” Her voice was cold and left no room for arguing. Emma next to him stiffened and her breathing hitched. Sam decided to wrap it up.
“What are the consequences?” He was careful not to touch his niece even though he badly wanted to pull her into his side and physically remind her she was safe and loved.
“We have a strict violence,” Principal Charles turned to Axel, “and no bullying policy. Both will receive lunch room detention and Friday Free time will need taken for three weeks.”
“That’s not fair!” Axel stomped his foot.
“If you’re in this office for bullying again, Axel, I’ll take it for two months.” She turned her frown line to the mother. “I suggest you be more careful what you say around your child, especially about other people. You two are dismissed.”
With huffs and grumbles the mother and son left the office. Emma was still ridged next to him. Sam was just hoping she didn’t have a panic attack, and leaving the office would help calm her. “May we go too?” He hated how much like a little kid he felt.
“I know this is unpleasant, Sam.” A brief flash of guilt crossed her dark eyes. “But you have to understand that the fighting, if it doesn’t stop, can be put on her permanent record or get her expelled.”
“I know.” Sam bit out.
Principal Charles turned to Emma. “I know they say mean things, but that doesn’t mean you get to hurt them. I don’t want to see you in here again for the rest of the school year.”
“M’kay.” Emma mumbled.
“You two may go. I’m sorry we didn’t meet under better circumstances, Sam.”
With the blessing Sam and Emma darted out of the building. Thankfully the devil child and his mother were gone, so they were able to reach the safety of Sam’s old Dodge Charger in peace.
The ride home was quiet. Sam was lost inside his own head wondering how to handle this. Emma, in the backseat with her head pressed to the window, was also quiet. Sam’s first priority was to call Dean when he got home. His brother would know what to do, and Sam knew he had to tell his brother what happened.
“Go up to your room, I’m going to call your dad.” Sam said gently as they entered the house.
“Do you have to tell him?” Emma asked in an almost inaudible voice.
“Yeah, E, lying, or even just not telling someone something they should know isn’t good. It always ends badly.” Sam smiled apologetically.
“‘Kay.” Emma said, this time more so mouthing the words than actually saying them, then she disappeared up stairs.
Sam sighed and dialed his brother. He hoped Dean didn’t freak out. The newlywed couple still had a week and a half left of their honeymoon. God knew they deserved it, and when the shop was in the Winchester’s name who knew when they’d ever get another chance for a vacation.
“Hey, Sammy.” Dean had a laugh in his voice as he answered.
“Hey, how’s California?”
“Really freakin’ nice. We went snorkeling today.”
“And your brother got scared of the fish!” Sam heard Cas call in the background.
“It was a shark, babe!” Dean called back, offended. “Anyway, what’s up?”
“I just got back from picking Emma up from school. The principal called, she got into a fight with another kid.”
“Shit.” Dean sighed. Sam heard low rumbles of his brother explaining the situation to his husband. “Okay, uh, okay. I’ll talk to her tonight, give her some time to settle down. So, punishment: no reading passed the twenty minutes for school, no dessert, and no play dates until we get back.”
“Alright.” Sam was surprised Dean was taking this so seriously.
“I hate to do this, man. I do.” Sam could practically see his brother rubbing at the back of his neck. “But she’s going to get into some big trouble one day if she doesn’t stop, and I can’t…”
“I know. You’re doing your best.” Sam said. “I’ll put her to work, have her clean something.”
“Okay, I’ll call back at the usual time.” Dean sighed out. “Thanks, Sammy. Tell Emma I -we- love her.”
“Okay, jerk, don’t get eaten by a minnow.”
“It was a shark, bitch.” Dean’s voice sounded a little lighter.
After Sam hung up the phone he made his way to Emma’s room. His niece was sitting in the corner of her room with her favorite stuffed animal, a black squirrel, in her lap. Emma’s fingers were stroking the tail methodically. Her head snapped up when Sam softly knocked of the opened door.
“Dean and I talked, he says you can only read your twenty minutes of reading time and no dessert or play dates until he gets back. Also we’re going to be doing some extra cleaning around the house.” Sam crouched down in front of her.
Emma nodded her head.
“He also told me to tell you that he and Cas love you.” Emma’s lower lip quivered. “Hey, look at me.” Watery green eyes found his. “There is nothing you could do to make your dad, your papa, me, grandpa Bobby, or Ms. Matthews ever stop loving you, alright?”
A sob tore its way out of the little girl’s chest. “I’m sorry.”
“I know you are. Dean is still going to call tonight just like he always does and he’ll talk to you then. He just wanted to give you some time to calm down.”
Sam slowly folded Emma into his arms. He unfolded his legs to fall on his butt so he could rock the little girl back and forth ever so slightly. He wasn’t getting better at this, this comforting thing. His entire life the only comforting he could do was the subtle slightly aggressive comforting for his emotionally constipated brother. Even with Jess Sam had been awkward and fumbling when she needed some support. Now it was easier, to just sit on the floor and rock his niece. It was more natural to him.
When Emma stopped shaking and her sobs turned to sniffles Sam pulled back. “How about pizza for supper, yeah?” He gently pushed her hair out of her face.
Emma nodded and smiled just a little.
They went down stairs and Sam preheated the oven before sliding the pizza on to a cookie sheet and into the oven. Sam reached for something to say. He felt like he should give some…words of wisdom as cheesy as it sounded. He searched around in his brain for something. Emma was still sulking, she had a dark cloud around her still. She still seemed as if she was physically stewing inside her own head.
“You know I used to get bullied too.” Sam said on a whim.
“Really?” Emma asked, her eyes actually meeting Sam’s.
“Yeah, they made fun of me for things I couldn’t control, like how my clothes didn’t fit, or I smelt weird from motel rooms. Sometimes I’d get mad and fight back. This one kid at this one school was giving me a really hard time, he’d say things or push me around, and one day I snapped. I beat him up pretty bad and after that no one picked on me because they were all afraid of me.”
Sam took a breath and saw that Emma, although was now staring at the floor, she was listening. “Later, like years later, I found out that that kid was really sad and because of that he was really mad. Looking back what mad feel worse was hurting him, someone else, because I was hurting. Does that make any sense?”
Emma didn’t say anything. She kind of tilted her head and scrunched her nose at the floor. Sam tried again.
“Okay, so hurting someone who hurt me made me feel good for a little bit, but eventually I went back to feeling hurt. On top of that the person who hurt me had some things going on on their life that made them hurt. That doesn’t give them an excuse, but…” Where had Sam been going with this? “What I’m trying to say is I know how it is to be angry like that, but fighting isn’t going to help, it’ll just make you hurt longer.”
Geez, Sam was wondering how he had made it into Stanford. That attempt at wisdom was the biggest lecture of blabbering that anyone had ever attempted. Emma seemed to understand though, or at least appreciate what Sam was trying to say.
“Hey,” Sam said as an idea struck him. “How about if you don’t get into anymore fights for the rest of the school year, that’s three months, you and me will go to the bookstore and you can have any three books you want?”
Emma’s eyes got big. “Really?”
“Really, but not a single fight for the rest of the school year.”
Emma’s face brightened with excitement and determination. “I can do it.”
“I know you can.” Sam smiled, feeling better that his niece was feeling better.
The rest of the night went by peacefully. They ate their pizza and Dean dutifully called at six thirty as he always did whenever he was away. Sam gave them some privacy to talk by cleaning up the kitchen -he hadn’t done any dishes in three days and they were going to start piling up if he didn’t do something about it.
Not long after Sam had gone to bed there was a hesitant knocking on his door. Sam, half asleep, made an affirming grunting sound. Emma opened the door a crack and stood awkwardly in the doorway. She seemed smaller again. Sam, like Dean used to do for him sometimes, lifted the blankets wordlessly. He was grateful for the actual bed they had put together for him. The office was now and actual bedroom, it wasn’t like Sam was going to complain about the books so most of it was just moved around to be more functional, so the bed Emma scampered into was a real one and not an air mattress.
Sam tired to give Emma her space and was shocked when she burrowed into his chest. He was also glad he decided to wear a shirt and pajama pants that night. Sam wasn’t totally sure what to do so he began tracing shapes and words into her back. It was something Jess used to do for him after he had a nightmare. Sam traced out words like, LOVE, FAMILY, STRONG, KIND, and stuff like that. He also wrote out all of the names of their family.
Soon, Emma’s breathing evened out. Sam could also feel sleep tugging at the corners of his mind.
Maybe he was biased or naive but Sam had a feeling his niece was going to turn out just fine, either way he was going to be there. They all would, because family didn’t end in blood, and that was all there was to it.