Disclaimer: The characters of Supernatural do not belong to me.

A/N: I'm still planning to finish Reverse Engineering, but this story called to me first. I haven't completely decided if it'll be multiple chapters or just a one shot. I do have other chapters written in my head, but I need to do some planning with them and see if I really want to keep going with it. Basically, in this story, Dean died in the house fire instead of Mary.

Six-year-old Sammy Winchester sat in his uncle Bobby's front yard, underneath the big tree that he used as an unofficial sandbox. This was his favorite place when he stayed with Bobby. It was his own, and no one ever bothered him out here.

Not there was anyone around to bother him lately.

Sammy was out of school for the summer. Unlike most kids, though, that made him sad. In school, he could learn stuff and distract himself from how lonely he always felt. Lonely because most of the time, his mommy and daddy were away from him.

That feeling of loneliness had gotten worse today at the park. Uncle Bobby had taken him to play, and for a while, he'd had fun. Bobby pushed him on the swings, ran around kicking a soccer ball with him, and helped him across the monkey bars a few times. Bobby had then told Sammy he needed to go rest on the park bench for a few minutes, but Sammy could keep playing as long as he stayed where Bobby could see him.

As Sammy walked back to push himself on the swings, he noticed something that made him stop. A mommy pushing her little boy on the other end of the swing set. Sammy took a swing of his own, but didn't push himself on it. He watched the mommy and the little boy closely. As the little boy would get close to his mom, she'd hold the swing with one hand and tickle him with the other, then send him swinging. The little boy would laugh, and the mommy would do it again. After a few times of doing that, the mommy stepped in front of the swing, pulled the little boy off of it, and held him tightly to her chest. As he watched them walk away, Sammy's heart started to hurt.

Why couldn't his mommy pay attention to him like that?

The two of them had been gone for days. They'd called a few times, but mostly it had been him and Bobby. Bobby tried to cheer him up, but Sammy still missed his parents. He wanted them home, with him. But as he thought about how he was feeling, he remembered something that made him feel a little bit better.

Mommy had promised they'd be back that night. And, as she always said, you don't make a promise unless it's important.

Bobby came out from the house and spotted Sammy sitting underneath the tree. He sighed and watched for a minute before going over there. The little boy looked so lost, so pained, so lonely that Bobby could barely stand it. He thought of Sam as his own little boy, who he shared with John and Mary, but there were times he could kick John and Mary's collective asses. They left on hunts so frequently that Sam spent more time with him and in hotel rooms than he did with his own parents. It wore down the sensitive kid's heart. Bobby decided to stop staring at Sam and go on and get it over with.

"Hey, bud. Time to come inside and get ready for bed."

"But I gotta wait for Mommy. She promised she'd be here tonight."

Bobby frowned. "Buddy, I don't think they're coming back tonight."

"They will. Mommy promised. She said you're not supposed to make promises unless it's important. Please, uncle Bobby?"

"Tell you what. Come inside and get a bath and get your PJs on, but you don't have to go to bed until your parents are home. But you can't stay out here."

"You swear I don't have to go to bed?" Sam asked.

"Pinkie swear." Bobby said, offering Sam his pinkie finger.

Sam entwined his pinkie finger in Bobby's and smiled. "Deal!"

It was partially a trick, one Bobby felt bad about but was necessary. He knew that once Sam had been given a warm bath, he was done for the night. He might stay up another hour or so, but would conk out on the couch and Bobby would have to carry him up to bed. Bobby couldn't really call Mary and John, as they'd left the motel room they'd been using, so he hoped that, once Sam was dressed and on the couch in front of a kids' movie he'd seen a thousand times, they would somehow miraculously come through the door before Sam nodded off.

No such luck.

Bobby carried the sleeping Sam to his 'bedroom', one of Bobby's two spare rooms that he'd converted into a playroom for Sam's sixth birthday. Though random hunters would sometimes come through and rest overnight at Bobby's, there were never enough of them that he needed two rooms. If there were, they could sleep on Bobby's couch. After laying the boy down to sleep on the Sesame Street bed Bobby had found him while dumpster diving one day, Bobby snuck a quick kiss on Sam's cheek, then cursed Mary and John under his breath.

"Damn idjits."

The Impala rumbled and pulled into Bobby's driveway, much later than John and Mary had hoped they would be. Mary knew that Sammy would likely be upset, unless Bobby had told him something to satisfy the precocious little boy. She had a feeling, though, that he hadn't bothered. Bobby had little patience for her and John breaking promises to Sam. They'd done it before, completely unintentionally, but Bobby had made it clear to them.

"You promise that kid something and you don't deliver, you idjits are gonna deal with the fallout."

As John turned off the engine, he looked to Mary. "You okay?"

Mary sighed deeply and said, "Sammy's gonna be so upset."

"I know. But we tried. We couldn't make it back in time."

"I know. I just feel bad getting his hopes up and then letting him down. We already can't spend a lot of time with him."

"I know, babe. But we're here now. For at least two days. Let's just make the most of it."

"Yeah. You're right." Mary said. She leaned back against the seat, against her better judgment, and relished the comfort. "Good hunt, Clyde."

"Good hunt, Bonnie."

Mary smiled. "What do you say we go up and get some sleep? Sammy's always up pretty early."

"That sounds like a good plan."

"Let's go."

Mary walked up the steps and inside Bobby's house, arm in arm with John. The hunt had been brutal, and they were both exhausted. John decided he wanted to take a shower that night, so Mary laid on the bed waiting for him to return. As she waited on him to return, her mind drifted to the same thought it had whenever she was alone.

Dean.

Mary still felt Dean's loss every second of every day. There were moments, blessed and peaceful, when the pain was nothing more than a minor, dull ache. And then there were moments, mostly when she was alone, when the pain would nearly kill her. She remembered everything about Dean in vivid detail, which was both a blessing and a curse. It hurt in the moments when she ached to have her baby back, but comforted her at the same time.

"Mommy?"

Mary jumped. For a brief second, she thought she was hearing things. Dean?

"Mommy? You're back?"

Not Dean. Sammy. Mary felt a small sting of disappointment, but smiled at Sammy in the doorway. "Hi, baby. Yeah, we're back."

"You promised you'd be back before I went to bed." Sammy said sadly, gripping his teddy bear in one arm to stop himself from crying like a baby.

"I know, sweetpea. I'm so sorry."

"Can I sleep with you and Daddy?"

"You sure can. Come here."

Sammy climbed into bed next to Mary, allowing her to cuddle him, just like he'd wanted her too when he watched the mommy earlier at the park. He felt safest when he was with his parents, and he just wished they would stay around long enough for him to feel this way for a while.

"So how you doing, kiddo?"

"'m okay." Sammy said with a yawn. "I missed you and Daddy."

"We missed you too." Mary said. "I'm really sorry we didn't make it back."

"What happened?"

"We just couldn't make it back, baby." Mary said. "But I promise we tried."

"'Kay, Mommy." Sammy said.

"Why don't you lay down and get some sleep, honey?" Mary suggested. "Daddy and I are all yours tomorrow."

"All day long?"

"All day long."

"Yay!" Sammy said. "Can I wait for Daddy before I go to sleep?"

"Sure. You want me to sing to you?"

"Yes, please."

Ten minutes later, after John had joined them and hugged Sammy himself, the three of them were drifting off into a deep sleep, each preoccupied with their own dreams. In the corner of the room, an unseen but familiar face watched them.

"Goodnight, Mommy and Daddy. Night, Sammy. Stay safe."