Chapter Text
Mary Winchester
Sunday May 13th, 1984
Sometimes life can be really, really beautiful. So beautiful, that it's easy to get lost in the whirlwind of your own thoughts and memories. Certain moments tend to leave a very distinct trace, bookmarking all the different chapters and milestones throughout our short time here. Mary knows today is one of those moments, as the hum of the Impala rumbles lowly and the cool breeze outside the window rustles through her golden hair, this warm and special feeling isn't going away anytime soon.
She looks left, the sight and sound of her husband singing along to Led Zeppelin always makes her smile, falling in love with him all over again.
"Ramble on, and now's the time, the time is now, to sing my song!" John sings loudly.
What John lacks in talent he certainly makes up for with passion, fingers drumming on the steering wheel and eyes shining brightly. He spares a glance away from the road to meet his wife's gaze, the two of them burst out into a fit of laughter, unable to reel in the happiness that has etched its way into their lives.
Anticipation building ever higher as they drive closer to their destination, Mary turns to face the back seat, seeing that both her boys are sleeping soundly. Dean is five years old now and little Sammy is just passing a year. Their peaceful faces always make her heart ache, a feeling she'll never get used to, nor ever want to. Dean's face is pressed against the window, mouth open and breath fogging up the glass, while Sam is snug in his car seat. John hits a pot hole, jolting the whole family and waking up the older brother. Mary watches as her son's eyes peek open, droopy with sleep as he rubs at them, yawning when he finally finds his mother's face.
"Mommy? Are we there yet?" Dean asks softly, looking over at his sleeping brother.
"Not yet, pumpkin, almost," she reassures him, reaching back to wipe away a small droplet of drool that had leaked from the corner of his tiny mouth during sleep.
He smiles when he recognizes the song. John once said it's his favorite, so now naturally it's Dean's favorite too.
"Gotta find the queen of all my dreeeeams!" He draws out the last word, giggling when his father winks at him through the rear view mirror.
Mary listens to the two of them sing the rest of the song, enjoying her very own personal rock concert.
"Do you remember the name of the town we're moving to, Dean?" She asks him, watching as he scrunches up his face thinking hard, freckles dancing wildly on his face.
"Uh, Lawrence!" Dean answers proudly.
"That's right! Such a smart cookie," she praises him. He smiles at her words, but suddenly it changes into a frown, apparently just realizing something very important.
"Will there be pie in Lawrence? I'm scared there won't be pie," Dean confesses, looking worriedly at his mother.
She presses her lips together tightly holding back a laugh, ecstatic that this is her son's biggest concern.
"Of course there'll be pie, sweetheart," Mary soothes him, brushing the hair off his forehead, he needs a haircut soon.
"Ok, good. I want apple pie. Apple pie is my favorite. And pecan pie. Oh, and pumpkin pie!" Dean babbles enthusiastically.
Sam makes a small noise from his seat, starting to wiggle and cry. Dean snaps out of his elaborate pie fantasy and is at his brother's side in an instant.
"Hey, Sammy, it's okay," Dean says gently, placing a small kiss on the top of his head. Sam stops crying and stares up at Dean in wonder. "Mom says we're almost there!" Dean practically squeals and Sam smiles, kicking his little feet in excitement.
At least once a day Mary's heart threatens to jump straight through her chest, always while watching her boys interact like this. But today is so different, more intense than usual. She can't shake the cheesy feeling that today is the first day of the rest of her life.
~
An hour later they are pulling up to the familiar neighborhood they've been to so many times before in the past, when visiting Uncle Bobby. The house next door to the Singer's recently became available and John jumped at the opportunity to move his family from a small two bedroom apartment in Chicago to a beautiful spacious home in the suburbs. Mary was thrilled when John told her his idea and she quickly secured a transfer to Lawrence High as an English teacher. Bobby offered John a job at his auto shop, which he gladly accepted. With both parents working there wouldn't be much time for anything else, but they would work it out, they always have.
As they park in the driveway of their new home Bobby is already stumbling out his front door walking over to them. Following closely behind is Ellen, holding a six month old Joanna Beth. Dean rockets out of the car almost as soon as it comes to a stop, running towards Uncle Bobby, arms stretched wide signaling for him to pick him up.
"Woah, easy, son!" Bobby laughs scooping the boy up into his arms.
"Uncle Bobby! I miss you a lot," Dean says tugging on the worn out old hat that Bobby always wears.
"Good thing you're moving next door then, right?" Bobby replies, fixing his hat.
Dean nods and looks over his shoulder, noticing Ellen and the baby, "Hi, Aunt Ellen! Hi, Jo!" he shouts too loudly in Bobby's ear.
"Hey, sugar pie," She smiles warmly at him, giving him a quick kiss on the cheek when she catches up.
"Pie!" Dean yells again in Bobby's ear.
"Kid, you keep shoutin' in my ear and nobody's gettin' any pie," Bobby teases him.
Dean can tell he's kidding and they both laugh. He playfully ruffles Dean's hair and puts him back on the ground, while the remaining three Winchester's join them. They all exchange greetings and Ellen invites them inside for some lunch.
Mary quickly removes the crust off of Dean's sandwich, just the way he likes it, before he has a chance to complain that 'Aunt Ellen doesn't make it right'.
The moving truck still hasn't arrived yet so Mary decides to take Sam and Dean to meet the neighbors on the other side of their new house.
"What did you say their names were?" Mary asks, helping Ellen clean up in the kitchen.
"Chuck and Becky Novak. And they've got two rug-rats, older one is Gabriel and the younger one is Castiel," Ellen explains.
"Castiel? What a pretty name," Mary says, saying the name over and over again in her head.
"Yeah, I thought the same thing first time I heard it too. He's precious too, kid could be a model. Chuck is a real sweet guy, but between you and me I think that wife of his a little off," Ellen says quietly.
"What do you mean?" Mary replies, rethinking the decision to bring her children over there.
"No, nothing bad, just really eager, ya know? Like she doesn't know how to be anything but real damn excited all the time," Ellen concludes.
"Hmm," is all Mary says.
"Look, forget I said anything, it's fine! Go meet the neighbors and by the time you get back the truck will be here and I'll whip us up some dinner while the boys unload the heavy stuff," Ellen says comfortingly.
"Okay, whatever you say," Mary smiles and agrees. She picks up Sam, walks to the front door and shouts "Dean!"
Her son is sitting in the living room listening to Bobby and John talk in detail about the Impala's engine. He perks up at the sound of her voice and runs over.
"Wanna meet our new neighbors?" She asks him.
He thinks about it for a moment, looking back at his father, apparently having an internal debate over which seems more interesting. Eventually he says "Yes!" and sits down to put his shoes back on.
~
Ten minutes later Mary stands on the front porch of the Novak household and rings the doorbell. Mere seconds pass before it cracks open and a woman pops her head out, eyeing Mary and the boys up and down. Her eyes pop wide like a cartoon character as she gasps excitedly, swinging the door all the way open.
"You must be Mary!" The woman exclaims, holding out her hand. "Sweet Ellen's told me all about you guys moving here. It's so nice to be livin' next to your friends! Like one big happy family! Well, from this day on you can treat this house as family too. I'm Becky by the way!" She blurts out quickly.
"Thank you, it's very nice to me you," Mary says politely, shaking her hand.
The woman does come off overwhelmingly happy and eager like Ellen had warned, but Mary senses no ill intent, and decides she likes her anyway. Mary lowers her attention to the small boy hiding behind Becky's legs. He is absolutely adorable, fluffy black hair and piercing big blue eyes.
"And who's this?" Mary asks, squatting down to eye level of the child.
"Oh! This is my little angel, Castiel," Becky says gently pushing him forward. "Come on, Cas, say hi to our new friends!"
Castiel steps around his mother, becoming fully visible and Mary can tell he looks roughly about the same age as Dean. She already finds herself secretly hoping they get along well, a new friend would be an excellent way to help Dean adjust to the new life.
"Wow, your eyes are special," is the first thing Dean says to him. Mary blushes almost as hard as little Castiel does.
"Thank you. So are yours," Castiel says quietly, staring back at the Dean, then quickly shifting his focus down to the ground.
Mary and Becky look at each other in awe, and Becky mouths 'Oh, My, God' at her.
"I'm Dean, and this is my baby brother, Sammy," Dean points to the bundle in Mary's arms.
"Hello, Dean," Castiel says automatically. He steps forward to get a better look at the baby, smiling down at him he adds, "Hello, Sam."
Mary can't seem to wipe the now permanent grin off her face as she stands back up.
"This is wonderful! He never takes to new people this well! He's always so very shy, but he seems to love your boys!" Becky says in the weirdest loud whisper, eyes bulging slightly.
"He's lovely," Mary says genuinely, looking back at Castiel.
A deafening clatter from inside the house pulls the attention away from the porch. Becky looks startled and yells "Gabe?" while running towards the sound, leaving Castiel outside with Mary.
"Gabriel is my big brother, he's a troublemaker," Castiel tells Dean, and they both giggle.
"He sounds like fun!" Dean says honestly, trying to peek inside the house.
Becky is back within a couple minutes, apologizing for keeping them waiting and inviting the inside.
"Sit! I'll fix us a little treat. Tea? Coffee? I just finished baking an apple pie," Becky rambles, scurrying around the kitchen.
Mary is about to decline, since they had just eaten lunch, but the squeal of delight that escapes her son is simply too cute to deny.
"Mom! Did you hear her? She made pie!" Dean says bouncing in his seat.
"I helped," Castiel says proudly, sitting in the chair across from Dean.
"Awesome!" Dean shouts, staring in awe at the little boy in front of him.
"I'll have a cup of coffee, and a small slice for Dean would be perfect, thank you so much," Mary says graciously.
"My pleasure!" Becky replies placing two plates in front of Dean and Castiel.
The kids eat happily while Mary tells Becky all about the long drive here and their decision to move to Lawrence. Finally, Mary asks her about her other son, causing the other woman to smile and sigh.
"Gabriel! We have company, don't be rude!" She hollers and within seconds a small blur zooms by the table, stopping directly in front of her.
The boy has long, sandy blonde hair, appearing no more than a year older than Castiel. He is sporting a crooked, yet sweet smile and is sucking on a giant red lollipop. He is unique.
He smiles and observes the newcomers before bowing dramatically, causing Dean to giggle at the ridiculous entrance. Castiel rolls his eyes.
"Name's Gabe," he tells them, approaching Mary to get a closer look at Sam just as Castiel did beforehand.
"I'm Dean," He replies, wiping his mouth on a napkin after taking the last bite of his pie.
"Deanooooooo!" Gabe howls and they both laugh. He turns his attention back to Sam, who has fallen asleep upon entering the house. His wild demeanor turns calm when he looks at the baby.
"What's his name?" He asks softly looking up at Mary.
"Sam," Mary replies, heart melting.
Sam opens his eyes and blinks up at the new face staring back at him.
"Hiya, Sammy," Gabe whispers.
Sam smiles and tries to grab his lollipop, but Gabe's too quick and pulls it away.
"Sorry, but you're not old enough to lick my lollipop yet!" He says innocently and Mary and Becky fill the room with booming laughter. The kids join them, but certainly have no idea why it's funny.
They hear the front door open and close, announcing a new arrival.
"Chuck?" Becky calls and a man's voice replies with "Be right there, babe."
A short and very tired looking man enters the kitchen, face brightening when he sees his family and their guests.
"Daddy!" Castiel and Gabe yell at the same time, running to hug him from both sides.
Becky introduces everyone and he joins them for a quick cup of coffee, while the three boys end up watching cartoons on the couch in the next room.
Mary learns that Chuck is a writer, he writes mainly children's fantasy stories, and Becky is a stay-at-home mom. She offers to babysit the boys anytime Mary needs, saying it would be her pleasure. One cup of coffee turns into over an hour of chatter, thoroughly enjoying one another's company. Chuck offers to tell the kids a fast story before they leave and Mary can't say no upon seeing their excited faces.
He turns off the television and sits in his arm chair, facing the three kids huddled together on the couch. Dean sits closely to Castiel, his eyes glued on his new friend. Becky and Mary, with Sam still in her arms, sit in the empty love seat, ready for Chuck's story.
It's a very longwinded tale about Angel warriors from Heaven fighting all sorts of evil monsters. Mary, not really listening, watches Dean instead. He looks completely captivated by every word out of Chuck's mouth. She couldn't have asked for a better experience regarding their new neighbors. After the story is finished Mary insists they have to leave, wanting to get back to help unpack everything. They make plans for a playdate tomorrow afternoon and the kids jump up and down in excitement.
"Bye, Cas! Miss ya already!" Dean shouts as Mary drags him out the front door.
"Goodbye, Dean," Cas calls back, waving from the front porch.
Mary holds her son's little hand inside her own as they walk across the lawns back to Bobby's house. Suddenly, Dean says something that makes Mary's heart want to explode for a second time that day.
"Mommy, I'm gonna marry Cas," he says unabashedly.
She holds her breath and smiles at him before asking "Don't you think you're jumpin' the gun a little, honey? Why do you wanna marry Castiel?"
"Because his eyes are magic and he makes really good pie."
The statement is so beautiful and innocent that she can't come up with one single reason to disagree with her son.