Title: Family Means Everything

Fandom: Supernatural

Summary: Completely AU. Set pre-pilot. Dean's got his hands full raising his two kids on his own, hunting, trying to please his father, and checking up on his baby brother Sammy. Is there anyway he and Sammy will ever be close again? Will the fact that Dean has kids help them mend their fractured relationship? Don't worry there will be hunting for both Sam and Dean. After all they still have to find John.

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or any of its characters, but I sure as hell wish I owned Dean and the Impala. A girl can dream can't she.

AN: Here is chapter eight, I hope you enjoy. Thank you for all the reviews, they're very much appreciated.

Chapter 8: Downtime

Dean sighed as he pulled the reduced sugar chocolate milk from the fridge, slowly filling up the twins' sippy cups. He smiled as he entered the living room, he was greeted by the sight of Alec and Asha, clad in their pajamas, sitting comfortably on Sam's lap. The twins were both peering intently at the television screen, totally enraptured with Bob the Builder.

"Hey kiddos I've got your milk.", Dean said as he walked toward the couch.

All three heads, one dark, two fair swung around to look at him. Alec and Asha smiled at him, reaching out for their respective sippy cups. Dean smiled back, handing the yellow capped one to Asha and the green capped one to Alec, before dropping down onto the couch next to Sam. He looked down at the twins, asking with a soft smile, "Which one of daddy's munchkins is gonna give Uncle Sammy a break and spend some time with good ol' dad?"

"Me!", Alec screeched happily, smiling widely, his jade-green eyes sparkling with delight.

"You?!", Dean questioned, eyes wide, his eyebrows raised comically.

"Me.", Alec answered again, pointing to himself and nodding solemnly, before slowly clambering off his Uncle's lap and onto his father's. He plopped down none to gently, causing Dean to grunt loudly. He rested his head on his father's chest, taking a long sip of his chocolate milk and turning his attention back to the television screen. Dean smiled softly, before lovingly kissing his son's damp curls. The boy's hair was damp from the bath both Dean and Sam had given the twins after their messy afternoon at the park.

The first thing the twins had wanted to do upon arriving at the park was to go on the swings, but after a mere ten minutes they'd been bored and begging to go on their favorite slide. It was the biggest slide at the park, BIGGEST being the operative word, hell it was Sammy sized even; steep, wide, and partially enclosed. If you'd asked the few people who'd been at the park, they'd be hard pressed to tell you who'd had more fun, the adults or the kids. The two grown Winchesters had quickly taken to going down the slide head first. One time they'd idiotically decided to go down it together, and… well the end result hadn't been pretty. Not for Dean anyway. Sam – with his Godzilla sized limbs - had knocked him into the side of the slide, making him disoriented enough that he'd ended up face planting into the sand. Sam and the twins had found his misfortune highly amusing, much to Dean's annoyance.

Luckily Sam had some misfortune of his own, meaning that Dean had something to hold over him should his little brother open his big mouth. Shortly after finishing up on the slide, they'd headed over to the seesaw, and Sam, while lowering Alec onto said seesaw, had stood over it, feet spread about two feet apart. While Sam was chattering away to his nephew – the boy had always loved to talk - he'd failed to notice Dean placing Asha on her side of the seesaw. Of course the little girl's weight had brought her side down and her brother's side up, by the time Sam had realized what was happening it had been too late. Yup, Sam was nursing some sore balls.

Not too long after Sam's accident Alec and Asha's best friends had shown up at the park. Dean and the kids had been rolling down a hill, while Sam watched from his resting place on a rickety park bench. When they'd reached the bottom of the hill the twins had started pointing and screaming, "Daddy look, Logan, Kenzie, and Max are here!"

"Awesome, lets go play with your friends!", Dean had responded enthusiastically, smiling widely. The twins had taken off like a shot, and Dean had quickly began jogging after them as they ran in the direction of their friends. "Watch out!", he'd called, when Alec nearly tripped over a large stick in his haste to reach his goal, he needn't worry though, his kids were tough.

As they'd come to a halt, Dean had waved Sam over, smiling genuinely as he said, "Hey Nicki, uh this is my brother Sam, Sam this is Nicki Taylor. I work with her husband, and Al and Asha are friends with their kids."

Sam had nodded, smiling politely as he offered her a hand to shake, "Hi, it's nice to meet you."

She had smiled back, taking the proffered hand, speaking amiably, "It's nice to finally meet you, too. Dean and the twins having nothing but good things to say about you."

"Oh, really?", Sam had questioned, a smug smirk creeping its way onto his face as he'd nudged Dean's shoulder.

Dean had nudged back, his vibrant green eyes glaring pointedly, as he deadpanned, "No not really, she's lying, I told her you were a Godzilla sized freak."

"I don't think so.", Sam had taunted, smug smirk still plastered across his face.

"Well I did.", Dean had grumbled, shoving Sam's shoulder roughly.

Sam had huffed, shoving Dean back. Dean had just been about to retaliate when Nicki's soft laughter reached their ears. They had both turned to her, questioning in unison, conscious of the little ears a few feet away, "What's so fuc… funny!"

She had laughed harder, before composing herself, tucking a long strand of dark brown hair behind her ear, "I'm sorry, it's just you two are acting like my children and you're what, 26 and 22 years old."

Nicki had found herself laughing again as Sam stood there, grappling for something to say, while Dean just shrugged his shoulders, speaking in a way that it sounded more like a question than a statement, "Boys will be boys."

After she'd composed herself, her carnelian lips had curved up in an affectionate smile, and she'd leant forward, her hand reaching up and ruffling Dean's hair, "Yeah, boys will be boys."

Dean had rolled his jade eyes melodramatically, before smirking, causing her to laugh again. Just then her son came over, tugging at her shirt. "Mom, what's so funny?", the boy had asked, cocking his head to the side, floppy blond bangs shielding his light green eyes.

Nicki had smiled down at her son, pushing his bangs out of his face tenderly, "Dean and his brother Sam are just being idiots is all."

The blonde boy had eyed them both curiously, before speaking, his voice serious, "Did she call you morons? 'Cause she calls my dad a moron all the time and he says that it's because he's a guy, but I think it's just because he's her husband on account of the fact my mom's not sexist."

"Logan!", Nicki had admonished, trying to keep the amusement out of her voice, before looking over and checking on the younger children.

Dean had smiled, turning his attention to the boy, speaking reassuringly, "She didn't call us morons buddy. So, the next time you see your dad make sure you tell him that you were right."

Logan had smiled brightly, speaking honestly, "Okay Dean."

"Awesome, give me a high five kiddo.", Dean had responded, holding his hand up for the boy to slap.

And slap it he did, then he'd turned his attention toward Sam, who was eying the boy in confusion. Logan had smiled at him, offering his hand and speaking politely, "Hi, I'm Logan by the way, it's nice to meet you."

Sam had nodded, reaching out and shaking the boys hand, "I'm Sam, it's nice to meet you too."

There was an awkward pause.

"Well I'm gonna go play now.", Logan said, his statement directed toward all three of them.

Nicki once again pushed the boy's floppy blonde bangs out of his eyes, saying softly, "Alright baby have fun."

The boy had nodded, heading off to play with his siblings and the twins.

Sam had turned to Nicki, his moss-green eyes expressing his curiosity, as he'd questioned, "How old is he?"

"He's nine years old.", she'd stated proudly, a soft smile on her face as she watched him playing with the other kids, who were behind Sam.

"Nine?", he'd questioned incredulously, turning to look at the boy, a confused frown marring his face.

Both Nicki and Dean had responded simultaneously, speaking matter of factly, "He's precocious."

Sam had nodded, a soft smile on his face, "Yeah, I can see that. Um, what's with that?"

He'd pointed between the two of them.

"What's with what?", Dean had questioned, exasperated, his eyebrows furrowed.

"With the speaking in unison.", Sam had responded, with an annoyed eye roll, as if it had been the most obvious thing in the world.

"What're you rollin' your eyes for, how the hell was I supposed to know what you meant?", Dean had inquired, his voice sharp.

"It was pretty obvious Dean.", Sam had huffed, once again rolling his eyes.

"Actually it wasn't, Sam.", Dean had replied, a distinct edge to his voice.

"What're we arguing for Dean?", Sam had questioned in irritation, throwing his arms up; totally exasperated.

"I don't know, but you're the one who started it.", had been Dean's response, his tone indignant.

"Whatever Dean.", Sam had said, with a huff.

After a moment of the two men staring at each other mutinously Sam had turned to Nicki, "So, what was with the whole speaking in unison thing?"

Nicki had rolled her eyes, before smiling widely, and speaking fondly, "It's just Logan, that's what he tells people when they're shocked that he's nine because of a statement he's made. You know, that he's precocious."

Sam had chuckled a little, he spoke in amusement, "That's pretty awesome."

"Yeah, it is.", Nicki had responded softly.

Their attention had turned to the kids a few minutes after, on account of them hearing a loud smack. Both Sam and Dean had watched in astonishment as the youngest Taylor child preceded to slap Alec across the face two times. They'd both jumped when Nicki had loudly scolded her daughter, "Maxine Ashley Taylor, don't you dare hit him again!"

The little girl had stopped suddenly, her little hand just inches away from the boy's face. She moved away from Alec, huffing as she glared at her mother, speaking in annoyance, "But, momma he was buggin' me."

"I don't care if he was bothering you, that's no excuse for hitting him.", she'd responded, her tone conveying her displeasure, as she'd picked her daughter up, placing the little girl on her hip.

Then she'd turned to Alec, inquiring softly, "Are you alright honey?"

The little boy had nodded, walking over to his father and signaling that he wanted to be picked up. Dean had bent down, grabbing the boy, and swiftly pulling him against his chest. Nicki had turned to Dean, speaking sincerely, "I'm so sorry, she's been in a hitting phase, and…"

Dean cut her off, a warm smile on his face, "Don't worry about it Nicki, I know how it is."

She'd shot him an appreciative grin, "Yeah, the terrible twos, she's just lucky he didn't hit her back."

Alec had looked at her with wide eyes, speaking softly, "Daddy says to neva eva hit giols."

Nicki had smiled brightly, responding to Alec's hushed statement softly, "Well, that's some good advice buddy, your daddy's a pretty smart guy."

Alec had nodded, a grin of pride making its way on to his face, before leaning his head back against his father's chest. Dean had bowed his head sheepishly, covering it up a moment later with a, "Damn straight!"

He'd gotten fond grins out of both Nicki and Sam at that, and then Nicki had asked, "So, how 'bout Asha, does she hit a lot?"

"Oh yeah, she's way worse than him in that regard.", he'd answered, looking down at his daughter fondly, "She's just like her mother."

"And Alec's like you.", Nick had stated, with a smile.

"Yeah, he gets into everything, but he doesn't hit unless he's really pissed off.", Dean had responded, softly.

After a pause, "She's a lot more aggressive than he is."

"Yeah, I know what you mean, Maxie is far more aggressive than Logan's ever been.", Nicki had said, looking from Max to Logan.

Dean had smirked, looking at the little girl, whose face was clearly conveying how pissed she was, and said, "Now, that's not hard to believe at all."

Not long after that Max had apologized, albeit reluctantly, and they'd headed home. Here they were now, both children falling to sleep in the adults' laps. Dean sighed, "Alright kiddos, it's time for bed."

He got up, holding Alec in the crook of his right arm, reaching down and scooping Asha up in his left, before heading back to the twin's bedroom, calling over his shoulder, "I'll be right back, 'kay Sam."

"Yeah, alright.", Sam called.

As Dean made his way into the twin's room, they pleaded tiredly, "Sing us Gamma's songs daddy."

Dean nodded, placing them in their individual cribs, grabbing their sippy cups as they settled in. He placed them on the little table a few feet away, then moved back toward the cribs, tucking both children in. He began singing, his voice taking on a lilting quality; it was loud enough that it drew Sam down the creaking hall.

He stopped in the doorway, watching his brother, a fond expression making its way onto his face. He hadn't heard Dean sing like this in a long time, with his soul, not since Sam had been fifteen; it'd been after a particularly grim hunt that had left Sam with horrible nightmares. Nightmares of Dean dying, something that had nearly happened, for Dean had lost a lot of blood. He'd watched in horror as the Chupacabra had drained what had seemed to be nearly all of Dean's blood from his body. Sam had thought, that with his brother home from the hospital the nightmares would stop, but they hadn't, and of course Dean had heard and taken it upon himself to comfort his baby brother. He'd sung a whole slew of Metallica songs, but Sam hadn't minded, it hadn't mattered what Dean had been singing, it'd just mattered that he was. Sam had been curled into his brother's side, his head resting on Dean's chest, the vibration of Dean's voice rumbling underneath his ear, soothing him, the timbre of it lulling Sam into a deep sleep. Times like that are when he remembers feeling safest.

When his brother finished they walked back to the living room, dropping onto the couch with a sigh. Sam was first to break the silence, he couldn't resist ribbing his brother at least a little, "What was with that song Dean?"

Dean glared pointedly, speaking with an edge to his voice, "It's nothing Sam, forget about it."

Sam didn't heed Dean's warning, "But Dean, it's so…"

"Sam drop it.", Dean hissed, and Sam saw the brief flash of pain in Dean eyes, before he managed to hide his reaction.

"What's wrong?", Sam questioned, brows furrowed in confusion.

"Nothing's wrong.", Dean answered, his voice soft.

"No, Dean, something is obviously wrong, is it about the song?", Sam responded, watching Dean in bewilderment.

"You wouldn't understand.", Dean stated, fidgeting with his fingers restlessly.

"Try me.", Sam, spoke softly.

When his brother finally looked up, Sam could see that desperate longing on his face; the look that Dean only got when he was thinking of their mother. He shot Dean an encouraging glance, then waited patiently. It was another ten minutes, before his brother spoke, "It doesn't matter Sammy."

'The hell it doesn't.', Sam thought to himself with a sigh. He wasn't going to push Dean for an answer right now though, his brother didn't want to talk about it, and Sam didn't want to fight. "Dean?"

"Yeah?", Dean replied, he sounded weary.

"I've been looking for an engagement ring, you know for Jess, and I think I've finally found the perfect one.", Sam said, watching through his bangs for Dean's reaction.

Dean smiled at him, reaching out to pat him on the back, speaking sincerely, "That's great Sammy, I'm happy for ya'."

After a moment, "You know you have to tell her Sammy, if you're gonna marry her, it wouldn't be right to keep her in the dark."

Sam sighed, squeezing the back of his neck, and spoke, "Yeah I know, and I figured you'd say as much. I just…"

Dean cut him off, his voice reassuring, "Sammy you've got nothin' to worry about, Jess knows you're not crazy. She'll understand why you haven't told her, and, yeah she'll be pissed at first, but she'll forgive you. She loves you, she'll say yes."

"Ya' really think so Dean?", Sam questioned, his voice tight."

Dean nodded. "I know so, Sam. Now enough of this chick flick shit lets watch some TV."

Sam nodded, using the clicker to search through the guide. He stopped on Stephen King's It, pressing the okay button with barely any hesitation. Dean's head whipped around to look at Sam so fast it nearly gave him whiplash, his brows were furrowed and his eyes wide as he questioned incredulously, "You wanna watch It."

Sam responded softly, "Yeah, why not?"

"You can't be serious, this comin' from the guy who busts out cryin' whenever he sees Ronald McDonald on the television?", Dean spoke, sarcasm lacing every word, his trademark smirk plastered across his face.

The only response he got was a pillow smacking him in the face.

TBC…

AN: Sorry for the long wait on this, I hope it's worth it. Next chapter Sam tells Jess everything.

Thanks,

Alaina