What a marvelous story! You have captured the boys so so well. Not just their voices, but their relationship. And then you bundled it with just the right touch of gentle humor and sentimentality to create a wonderful story. Thank you so much for sharing it with us!

This can't honestly be your first Supernatural story. Maybe...(hope hope hope) you have more stashed on LJ or somewhere? LOL I can't wait to read more from you!

What an awesome idea on which to base a story! That storage locker really is a treasure trove of Winchester family history.

“Went out for the team, made it, went to a couple of practices, then the hunt ended and we moved on.” - I found that incredibly bittersweet, a wonderful illustration of Dean being denied the normalcy he craves, but rarely allows himself to express.

And the exchange over the valedictory address; boy does that sum up Sam and John's relationship in a nutshell. Sniff.

Loved the bubblegum cigar anecdote, but really LOVED the 'parenting book' conclusion. What an incredible way to sum up Sam and Dean's relationship. Of course, you broke my heart with this bit: 'And it made Sam ache to wonder who there had been to make sure Dean lived up to his potential.'

Then you had me laughing again with 'Sam felt a rush of love for his big brother and seriously considered risking life and limb to give him a hug.' Go for it, Sammy! :)

Absolutely wonderful slice of Winchester life. Yum.

Cheers, Sculls

Oh, DARN that was awesome! *sniffles* Ok, now I don't get emotional when it comes to reading... but I think I got something in my eye there towards the end. Page started getting a little blurry. :P

Anyway, wow. That was REALLY well done. I had some reservations when I made the connection between the book and Dean, but as I read, you took care of them, making it perfectly believable.

"He gestured helplessly, thinking of a young Dean reading the book so carefully, highlighting the parts that seemed important, dog-earing pages with activities he could use as “games” with a young Sammy. Dean, who hated doing homework, who had a hard time sitting still to read anything that wasn’t a comic book.

It wasn’t that Dean wasn’t smart; he was one of the smartest people Sam knew. He just had the attention span of a five-year-old on a sugar high. And it made Sam ache to wonder who there had been to make sure Dean lived up to his potential. He cleared his throat and tried again, “Dean…I don’t even know what to say, man.”"

this was my favorite part. Honest to goodness... the characters are spot-on, there's a ton of emotion, and a great blast of humor on the side.

I'm looking forward to seeing more work from you. Oh, and you managed to get around the language beautifully. God bless!

Wow that was really good! So touching! You did an excellent job with their emotions and it really felt realistic. Great job!

That was so sweet and funny - I loved it. Particularly loved the idea of the parenting book. And I particularly loved this line: "It wasn’t that Dean wasn’t smart; he was one of the smartest people Sam knew. He just had the attention span of a five-year-old on a sugar high." That pretty much sums Dean up perfectly.

Great job.

This was just amazing hon! *hugs* I'm so glad you decided to post it! You captured the boys so well, I can hear their voices, see their faces. It's a truly amazing first effort, and I hope we see many more like this to come in the future! Just plain awesomeness, my dear!

Rated:

Five freshly waxed, lovingly detailed Impalas with three extra large bags of peanut M&Ms, a new Classic rock boxed set and Sam and Dean happily singling along.

Aw, sweet. *g* That's what I needed this morning! Thanks for a good read. I'm glad Sam got some insight into his awesome big brother.

Ha! And you were worried... This was sweet. Bless those boys and their chick-flick moments.

Oh, man, I don't have the words to tell you how incredibly sweet this fic is. I laughed over the landmines, awwed over the comic books-and that's my philosophy, too: what more do you need than brothers and comic books?-and loved the idea of Dean saving Sam's speech for their dad. But the whole parenting book idea was so inspired and beautifully done. It's like revealing a whole new side of Dean, one that fits both the practical and the loving aspects of the guy. Just lovely.

that was awesome. dean was such a great big brother, and I'm so glad you captured the essence of what that all meant. Nice. Definitely going on my favorites.

I loved it !

Oh I love this! It's perfect, so believable. Love it.

Oh jeez, girl, what were you worried about? That friggin' rocked!

I've always thought of Dean having a brother-father relationship with Sam. Those four years make a heck of a lot of difference until you're both in your twenties.

And while I believe it was more brother, than father, I can so see this happening, just from a big bro kind of way. Dean, man of action, sitting down, forcing himself to read through a dry book to help his little brother with such an intangible thing as future growth potential.

And the fact the John had items in there from both his boys? Loved that. That you showed they were a loving family despite all the speed bumps along the way. I think, too often, it is overlooked.

Awesome first story. Looking forward to more from your pen.

That was absolutely lovely! Made me feel all warm and gooey inside, so thanks! I'm going to your page at fanfic to see what else you've got to delight me. Thanks for sharing, Nancy

Aww. This is cute. Of course Dean would have done some parenting research to raise Sam. It shouldn't have surprised Sam so much. I liked at the end how Dean kept going into the chick-flick moment and how Sam let him off the hook and ended it.