Chapter Text
You had no idea where time went with the rest of that summer. One minute, you were signing the paperwork to purchase the condo, signing more paperwork to finally put your townhouse on the market, and sorting through and moving two houses of stuff into one condo, and the next, you were sitting in court, listening to Mary try so hard to fight for more child support payments because you ‘had the means to help pay’ while John simply stood there, asking for primary custody because he had a steadier schedule with work, guaranteeing he would be home every night to help with homework. He pointed out that he was moving to a nicer neighborhood than the one he’d been living in, and into a nicer home, in a neighborhood with the best schools available only a few blocks away.
He also pointed out that while yes, he was moving in with you, it helped solved the issue of making sure his boys got to school in the morning if and when he had to leave early for work. But since he had hired a second service manager to help tackle the ever growing air conditioner need, he was able to go into work later than he did when he was more involved. You sat a couple rows back, watching Mary scoff to herself and roll her eyes as both boys said they wanted to live with their dad; Sam who wanted to be in a better school so badly, and Dean, who ‘wanted to be in a better school’ just to have a new dating pool… not that he would ever say that last bit out lout. The judge watched like a hawk, noting every single move John and Mary made as they pled their separate cases, before he sat back and nodded his head.
“Taking a child away from one parent in favor of the other is never an easy decision.” He started as he took off his glasses and rubbed his eyes for a second. “Now, in this case, I would have to agree with Mr. Winchester. While I’m personally Brooklyn born and bred, the public school districts in Manhattan are a lot better than Brooklyn’s. The schedule that Mr. Winchester has laid out with work is a little more conducive to raising kids, especially since you work in a restaurant at night more times than not, Ms. Campbell. Now from what I’m hearing, the main reason we’re here today is so you can get more money out of him now that he’s bettered himself financially. And by the way you continue to roll your eyes and scoff at everything your ex-husband has done to better your sons lives, your actions seem to solidify that all you’re after is money even more.
So, effective immediately, since the boys want it, and the situation is in the best interest of them in the long term, I’m granting Mr. Winchester primary custody, and vacating the child support agreement. Visitation will still be every other weekend, and every other holiday, and more frequently should you allow it, Mr. Winchester. That is something you and Ms. Campbell can figure out if you so wish. Case dismissed.” Mary’s jaw dropped as Sam and Dean hissed a yes; both of them were excited to live in a penthouse in Manhattan with four dogs.
“Alright boys.” John said carefully as he looked over at Mary. “Say good by to your mom. We still gotta get you enrolled in school today.” You could see the tears in Mary’s eyes from the back of the room as her son’s went over to say good bye until that weekend, where they’d be packing up the stuff they needed every day to bring to their new home. Not wanting to be a thorn in an already hard situation, you got up and headed out of the court room to wait until the boys came out to leave.
“You’ll regret this.” Mary hissed to you and John as she walked out of the court room.
“Leave it alone, Mary. For our sons sake. Just give it a rest.” You looked away from the scorned woman’s glare as John pushed you toward the elevator.
“You OK?” You asked softly as you reached out to take his hand. He nodded his head as he laced his fingers with yours and squeezed them gently.
“Got my boys, and the woman I love at my side… I’m perfect.”
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
“I think we should go on a vacation before school starts.”
“Oh yea?” John asked as he looked over at you from the bed where you were putting the last of your books in the bookshelf headboard John had finally put together for you so you could unpack the last few boxes you had. It did make the room look a little smaller, but with the entertainment center that John had brought from his house in the living room, and the bedroom next to yours currently housing the giant DVD collection you now owned, two amazingly comfortable chairs, a 82 inch TV with surround sound, and the over two hundred bottles of wine in your collection, it was the only option you had. “Where would you wanna go?”
“Oh, that’s not up to me.” You said as you looked down to make sure you didn’t step on either one of the seven and a half week old puppies or Gizmo, who had taken on the role of being daddy to his babies, (and no longer had separation anxiety because of it) and took a step over to fill in the last cube with lighter paperback books… just in case. “We should ask the boys. See where in the world they wanna go.”
“Hey, hey!! No, no, no! Babe! Get your dog!” You turned to look over your shoulder as Periwinkle attacked the edge of John’s boxers after climbing over the wall of pillows you had made for the ‘twins’ as you called them so they didn’t fall off the bed.
“Peri, no.” You said as you quickly bent down to tap your puppy on the nose and pull her off yet another pair of your boyfriend’s underwear. You kneeled down on the waterbed you refused to part with from John’s house no matter how much you loved your bed, (which was in one of your two private storage rooms for the time being) and held your puppy up to your face. “No eating clothes. You eat your toys.”
“She’s not gunna listen to you.” He huffed as you put Peri back down in her pillow pen.
“You could make her stop, too, John. You are just as capable of being a puppy parent as I am.”
“I didn’t sign up for being a puppy parent again.” He sighed as he changed the channel from the end of the news to the end of the baseball game. “You did. You said time and time again that they were your babies. And I warned you… I warned you…”
“You’re gunna take them all for a w-a-l-k with me, right?” You looked over at him with a smile as you moved the pillow closest to you away so you could cuddle with your fur children. “Or am I gunna have to ask Sam to stop his summer reading to help?” He looked over at you as you snuggled Tink up against your cheek, and pouted out your bottom lip. “Please, Daddy. Please take us for a w-a-l-k so Mommy doesn’t have to go all alone where cab drivers can whistle at her and yell out vulgar things like asking if her tits are real…”
“Oh, alright.” He grumbled as he set his remote down and got out of bed to get dressed.
“Yay!” You cheered as you picked up both puppies and put them on the floor. “We’re going for a walk!” Gizmo shot off the bed like a rocket and Bones got up from the floor where he slept slowly to lead the way toward the front door where the leashes were. You threw on a pair of shorts and grabbed John’s work shirt from the laundry basket on your way after your dogs, who were yipping and tackling each other just because they could.
“Boys! Let’s take the dogs out!” You heard Dean grumble about having to pause his video game but by the time you finished putting on your shoes, both he and Sam were there to help put leashes on all the dogs. “So (Y/N) was thinking about planning a last minute vacation before school starts. What do you guys think?”
“Where would we go?” Sam asked as he took Gizmo’s leash and stepped out the door into the small entry way to call the elevator.
“Well, I think I’ll leave that up to you and your brother.” You said as you carried Peri, since she wasn’t a fan of the elevator. “Sky’s the limit. It’ll give you an easy grade when you have to write what you did over the summer, because every teacher in the world makes you write those stupid papers.”
“Can we go to Universal?” Dean asked, excitedly, before checking himself to act cool. “I mean, I just saw the commercial, and it looks alright.”
“Yeah! Universal!” Sam agreed with a nod. “That’d be so cool!”
“We can do Universal if that’s what you two agree on.” You said as the elevator doors opened on the ground floor.
“What are you gunna do about these four?” John asked as he lead Tink out side for a short walk around the building because Dean was much to ‘manly’ to walk a small puppy like her.
“Bring them.” You said with a shrug as you put your Bichon puppy down to walk beside her sister. “And find a pet sitter that’ll let them out while we’re at the parks… or I’ll call my mom to come stay with them.”
“You’re gunna have your mother fly to Florida to stay in a hotel room for a week just to stay with the dogs we can leave at home and pay someone to house sit?” You looked over at your boyfriend with a smile and nodded.
“She loves Florida. She’d be happy to come visit. She prefers the night life there anyways.” John nodded slowly as your little family stopped to let the three smaller dogs use the bathroom. “You’re still scared to meet my mother, aren’t you?”
“I have heard the two of you on the phone. I’m not scared of her, I’m scared of both of you together.”
“Oh, we’re not that bad.” You giggled as you passed him a poop bag because he was the closest to the grass.
“Sure you’re not.” He muttered as Sam ran to catch up with Dean and Bones. “This is gunna be an interesting vacation.”
——
“What are you doing here?” You asked Jen the second you stepped out of the car at the private airport. She smirked as she continued to lean on the stairs beside some steroid enhanced looking dude you didn’t know, who was looking quite casual sitting on the stairs.
“Heard you were going to see mom.” She replied with a shrug. “Figured I’d tag along.”
“Of course you did.” You muttered with a shake of your head. “And who are you bringing along with you like a prized trophy?”
“Babe…” John warned as the man stood up in a Mets shirt of all things.
“That’s Tim Tebow.” Dean breathed in awe. “No way.”
“Way.” Jen said with a nod, just trying to egg you on. “And who might you be handsome?”
“Dean Winchester.” He said as he stuck his hand out. “Nice to make your acquaintance.”
“Dean, come help with the bags.” John called out over your subtle growl beside him. “You be nice.” You couldn’t help but roll your eyes as you picked up the slightly larger dog carrier that had the three smaller dogs snuggled inside but you froze for a half second when you were tapped on the shoulder.
“Let me help.” Tim said with a friendly smile.
“I’ve got them. They’re just babies so I’m protective.”
“What kind of dogs?” He asked as he turned to help John unpack the trunk. He chuckled as he watched Sam try to wrangle Bones up the stairs into the plane because he was dying to see the inside of a private jet since he had never flown anywhere before.
“We have a golden retriever, an Italian Greyhound, and two Bichons. I don’t travel without them.”
“Understandable.” You nodded since you didn’t really have much more to say to him before turning around to grab your Louis Vuitton duffle that had everything you would need on the plane for the pups.
“Hey.” John said softly before you turned away. You looked up at his brown eyes as he took a pointed deep breath. “Relax. We’re here for the boys, remember? Family vacation. You and I both know that she’s just picking on you because she can, OK? That’s your sister.”
“She’s just… grrr!”
“Yea, I know. But unfortunately, you share a face, and a blood line, and all of your DNA, so you have to tolerate her antics.” You sighed and looked up at him as Giz shifted his spot in the bag, causing the whole thing to shift.
“I hate when you keep me calm like that.”
“I know you do.” He chuckled as he kissed your forehead. “Come on, let’s go to Florida in the summer heat.”
——
“Moje dziewczynki!” Your mom, Nadia shouted through the lobby of the Royal Pacific Resort.
“This was a bad idea.” You said as you took a step back in to John as your tiny mother with a larger than life personality came running over with your father right behind her.
“How are my babies?! I haven’t seen you in forever!” She said in Polish, which was her first language since it was what her grandparents taught her first when she lived with them.
“English, momma.” You sighed before Jen jumped in and responded in Polish. You looked up at your dad, Ben, who had always been more on your side because your mom was usually on Jen’s and smiled. “Hi daddy.”
“How’s my girl doing?” He asked as he pulled you in for a hug. “I missed you.”
“I missed you too. I’d like you to meet John, and his two boys, Dean and Sam.”
“So you’re the man that fixed my daughter’s heart.” Ben said as he shook your boyfriend’s hand, firmly.
“I’ve tried.” He chuckled with a nod. “She doesn’t make it easy.”
“She’s a little firecracker.” Your dad teased. “But we love her all the same. And you two… are you ready for a fun week in the parks? Don’t worry, we’re not coming with you. I deal with enough people at work, I don’t need to go to a park full of them.” The two boys nodded and shook his hand as your mom yanked your arm to turn you toward her.
“Why do you not come see me anymore? Is this man keeping you in New York?”
“Ma, for fucks sake.” You sighed as you gave her a hug. “English! He speaks English. You’re not having secret conversations behind his back…”
“I will speak whatever language I want.” She snapped, still in Polish, as she reached into her Birkin with a shrug. “We paid for your room, so you’re all checked in. We upgraded you to the Presidential Suite so that I’m at least comfortable as I’m puppy sitting my little grand fur children. We got a cabana by the pool and hired a dog sitter for the day so we can all enjoy it together.” You sighed and took your key cards, knowing there was no arguing with your mother, especially in public.
“There was a reason we were in the rooms we were in.” You said pointedly in English so your boyfriend had a general idea what you were saying before switching to Polish. “I need you to not undermine me this week. John is choosing to raise his kids a certain way even though he has money to instill values they would still have learned if it wasn’t for me. So respect that.” John reached out and rubbed the small of your back, making you turn toward him to calm yourself down.
“Should we go check out the rooms?”
“We’re in the Presidential Suite now.” You said as you looked at the two sets of key cards in your hand. “With a connecting suite for the boys it looks like. And it’s paid for.”
“OK.” John said with a nod as he looked over at his sons, knowing that you were already tense with having to deal with both your mother and your sister at the same time. “Sammy, give me Bones. You two get the cart. Do NOT run it into people, and do NOT run with it either.”
“Come on, dad.” Dean said as he grabbed the back bars while Sam jumped on the front before his brother realized that he wasn’t really helping. “We’re responsible.”
“Yea, my ass, you’re responsible.”
“Are you coming, or are we vacationing in the lobby?” Jen called out over her shoulder in Polish just to piss you off with her arm laced with Tim’s, knowing that you hated speaking other languages in front of people that didn’t know those languages.
“Such a bad idea.” You sighed as you set the duffle of dog stuff on the top of the other suitcases. “Why did I think this was a good idea?”
“Because you wanted my boys to have some last minute fun after a hard summer break.” John said with a smile as he laced his free hand with yours. “Just breathe, baby girl. We’ll go to the parks tomorrow with just us, right? We can make it until them.”
——
“Boys, you ready to go?” John called out from the kitchen in your suite as he made sure that Bones didn’t use his size to intimidate the puppies for the all wet food he coveted.
“Does this look OK?” You asked as you stepped out of your room in a white, sleeveless crop top with a strappy black bra underneath, one of Dean’s red flannel shirts tied round your waist, a pair of short black shorts, and a pair of your ever present black heels.
“One, shoes off. Put the sneakers on. Two… did you shrink one of my shirts?”
“It’s Dean’s.” You huffed as you kicked your heels off. “I’m so short without heels!”
“Trust me…” He said as he bent down to pick up the four dog bowls to leave them on the counter for your mom and dad. “You will thank me tonight when your feet are not falling off. No, the sneakers!” He chuckled when you walked out in wedges.
“Hate you.” You grumbled as Sam came in to the living room part of your hotel room.
“I’m ready.” He said as he came over to pick at the room service breakfast you had ordered while John was in the shower.
“Brushed your teeth?” Sam nodded as you stomped out in a pair of Converse you hadn’t worn since high school at the same time Dean did.
“Wow. You are short.” Dean teased, having heard your complaining as he was getting ready.
“See!”
“Dean, don’t encourage her.” John chuckled as he put his arm around your shoulder and dramatically bent down to kiss your head. “She’s pocket sized.”
“I hate all of you.” You said as you pushed John’s side and bent down to pick up Gizmo. “You love me even though I’m short, right Giz?”
“We didn’t say we didn’t love you.” Dean said with a shrug as he looked up at his dad. “Just said you were pocket sized.”
“Alright, alright.” John laughed as you kissed your fur child and put him back down while your parents just let themselves into the room.
“Hope everyone’s dressed!” Nadia called out as she walked in. “Oh, little babies!” She cooed as she bent down to get kisses from the dogs, forcing your dad to stop in the doorway to wait for her to move.
“They’re gunna need to go out in the next few minutes.” John said since he knew the morning routine better than you did since all he usually did was tell you to come help him walk the pups. “Leashes are here- colors match up with collars. Bones will pull a little bit until you hit the grass but he’s fine after that.”
“Periwinkle hates elevators.” You said as you made a quick cup of coffee to take on the boat with you while John triple checked the small backpack to make sure the Brita water bottles, the external batter pack for all four of your cell phones, and the bottle of sunscreen were all ready to bring into the park. “She’s the purple collar. Just carry her or she’ll get nervous and pee and it starts a chain reaction. Other three are just fine. They’ll nap most of the day, but the babies get one of the small cups of the wet food in the fridge for lunch and the big dogs don’t need anything until dinner. Feed the babies lunch in the bathroom at noon so the bigger dogs don’t try to steal their food. Bones is fine to go in our room when you get back and he’ll stay in there most of the day to just sleep but don’t let the puppies in there to bother him. He’s our old boy and we let him be. And Giz won’t go in without them. If you just close him in, he’ll knock if he wants to come out. And you saw the dinner routine last night.”
“Don’t leave anything on the floor, near the floor, or within reach of those little monsters.” John said as he tapped Dean’s arm and pointed to his open bedroom door. “They chew everything.”
“The puppies have training pads in a few places that they’re figuring out. If you don’t wanna take them outside every couple hours, just put them on the pad and wait a couple minutes, they’re good about it. And other than just getting into everything when they’re awake, they are little angels.” You said with a smile. “Just like me.”
“Yea, just like you.” Ben laughed as your mom finally stood up to come into the room. You double checked your cellphone case, which had your ID, your black AmEx card, your room key, which was also your express pass, and a couple hundred dollars in cash just in case and looked up just as your mother was handing Sam a small wad of cash as secretly as she could.
“No!” You said as you shook your finger at her, and put your phone in your pocket. “No, don’t give him money… Mom, I swear…” Your eyes narrowed as she smiled broadly and held the same small wad of cash toward Dean and that made you snap in Polish; which was super rare. “If you give him that money, I will break your legs, cover you in honey, and shove you over the edge of a cliff into a pit of fire ants.” Your mother gasped and your dad looked over at you from putting leashes on the dogs, absolutely appalled.
“(Y/N) Karina (Y/L/N) Ross!” He nearly shouted as your mom spit angrily in your direction, telling you you had really messed up and that she did not like your attitude. “If she wants to give them money, that’s her right.”
“They’re the closest things I have to grand babies!” Your mom said in a forced crying tone. “You won’t give me any!”
“Well I’m sorry that my husband died, and I had to fall in love again.” You defended as you grabbed your sunglasses off the dresser in your room. “You talk to him if you want grand babies.” Your mother and father both looked over at John, who had absolutely no idea what you were saying since he didn’t speak Polish, and you lunged to stop the conversation from happening. “No, we have to go. All of us have to go. We’ve got rides, you got puppies. Let’s go. Boys, you ready?” Sam and Dean both quickly pocketed their cash, grabbed a handful each of the strawberries that were left, and darted out the door, dying of laughter.
“Walk. Walk, walk, walk.” John said a little harshly as he eyed your mother’s slightly predatory gaze while your dad finished leashing up the dogs. With quick goodbyes over your shoulder to the fur children, you got cornered in the elevator by all three Winchester men.
“Where we not supposed to take the money?” Sam asked before John cut him off.
“What did you say to her?!” You couldn’t help but smirk as you looked up at the suddenly very interesting ceiling.
“I told her if she gave the boys that money I’d break her legs, cover her in honey, and throw her off a cliff into a pit of fire ants.”
“Oh, sweetheart.” John groaned over the laughter fit Dean and Sam burst into, knowing that the only reason you would say something like that was because your mother annoyed you as much as your sister did. Which was a lot… and all the damn time. “You can’t let her get to you like that.”
“She called your kids her grand babies and asked me when you were giving her her own grand babies. It’s not even seven thirty in the morning yet.”
“God, what the hell am I gunna do with you?” He asked as you all stepped out of the elevator and headed over to the boats that took you over to the parks.
“Help me with the body?” You smiled up at him as he shook his head, and pulled out his wallet to pass out everyone’s park ticket cards, and make sure he had his, Sam’s, and Dean’s room keys. “How much she give you, anyways?”
“Five hundred bucks.” Dean said as he pulled out his wallet and the money to put the cash and his ticket away.
“She said to buy whatever we wanted.” Sam chimed in as he lead your group onto the boat.
“Of course she did.” You sighed as you grabbed a seat. You looked up at John and shook your head. “I tried.”
“It’s fine, sweetheart.” He said with a nod as he put his arm around your shoulders to pull you into his side so he could kiss your forehead. “It’s a vacation. And now, it’s just you, me, and the boys. Hanging out at the park in the hot Florida weather, no where near your sister or your mother. It’s a perfect day.”
“True.” You agreed with a nod as you leaned into his side. “Thank you, my love.”
“Of course, sweetheart.”
——
“Hey (Y/N)?” Sam said softly as the two of you waited for John and Dean to ride the Rip Rocket rollercoaster for the third time. You hummed and looked over at him as he played with the reed interactive wand he had bought that morning in Diagon Alley. “How come you don’t like your mom?” You huffed as you shook your head.
“It’s complicated, Sammy.” You said as you leaned against the rails behind you. “You see, you and I are a lot a like. We both like to read, and learn. We prefer the company of books over people. My dad understood that, but my mom didn’t. At first it was OK. I just studied, she left me alone… until my sister and I got to middle school age. She joined the track team at boarding school and I convinced my advisor to let me do my first independent studies class on top of my required four.”
“What class was it?”
“That year was Latin one. Which is a really cool language that I could teach you, if you want. But, as my sister regularly pointed out, that made me a nerd. And my mother agreed with her. Because she didn’t understand that learning Latin was my sport. And studying my butt off to get as close to a perfect grade as possible was my Super Bowl. So… you know how your dad tells Dean to stop picking on you? My mom didn’t do that. She would just laugh when I told her Jen was picking on me. Said it built character. So after a year or so, I just stopped telling her.”
“That’s not very nice.” Sam said, making you nod in agreement.
“No, it’s not. No one should get picked on for being different or being studious. But we can’t control what other people do. You can’t stop Dean from picking on you, like I can’t stop my sister from picking on me. We have no say on how our parents react to them. What I can do though, is find people that accept me for who I am. Like you, and Dean, and your dad. When you get older, you surround yourself with people that are more like you. Just like I did. I have friends that I go see at the comic book store in Manhattan that genuinely care about what’s going on in my life. And the woman that owns the book store I go to all the time. She’ll sit for hours, and talk to me about her newest favorite books, and mine. And I have girl friends I have lunch with when you boys and your dad are at work, and people that I was in school with that call me when they come to New York. They don’t pick on me for being smart. Just like the friends you’ll make when you graduate high school and go to college.
But when it comes to my mom, I can’t change the fact that she doesn’t understand me. I can’t change the fact that she didn’t stand up for me. It just is what it is, you know? I speak seven languages and I took enough classes to graduate the summer of my sophomore year of high school. I took my SAT’s in eighth grade and got 1460. I’m not like them. And that’s what makes me special as an identical twin. But I’ve held on to anger and that hurt for so many years that everything my mom and my sister do now is always suspect. My dad didn’t sit down and tell me that it was OK to be smart the way I needed him too. He just told me to ignore it which made me feel like the weird one. But despite all that, I still love them. My mom was the first person I called when I met your dad. And she was sitting front row when I gave my valedictorian speech. We’re just not as close as her and my sister are.”
“So should I give the money back to her?” He asked innocently, which made you smile, and shake your head.
“No, sweetheart. You can keep the money. That’s a complicated subject. Not something for you to worry about. Gives me something to practice my Polish, right?”
“You’re not gunna be mad?” With a small giggle, you put your arm around his shoulder, and shook your head.
“No buddy, I promise I’m not.”
“So can I get an ice cream?”
“How ‘bout I pay, and we split the ice cream?” You said as you turned your head to look at him. “Then you can spend that money on a cool t-shirt or something. Sound good?” He nodded his head as you both stood up to head over to the little stand alone shop. “Just… don’t tell your dad I let you spoil your dinner.”
“Deal.”