Hi Jules,

I read this after reading Do You Hear What I Hear, creating a cart before the horse situation;-) So, no element of surprise for me, but a great schmoopy story, anyway, LOL. Your portrayal of John was interesting, he came across as a pretty decent guy overall.

Happy New Year!

Sue

Author's Response:

Hi, Sue,

Yeah, um....oops....sorry about that. You know, you have it all planned out in your head what to say in the author's notes and chapter notes, yadda-yadda, then when it comes time to actually post, the brain goes on strike and things get left off.

*sigh*.....

But I'm glad you loved the schmoopy story anyway, even though you knew what the little bundle of joy was already.

Ah, John....my two very dear friends have worked hard to get my attitude towards John to soften. I was a bit like Bobby for quite a while there - ready to blast John's butt off with a shotgun fulll of buckshot at the drop of a hat. But they've been toiling tirelessly in his defence, and this is one of the end results of that hard work. Dig is another one.

Thanks for that, and I hope that you had a great start to 2012.

Jules

Hi Jules,

Yes, I finally got around to reading this!  My break is not turning into the relaxing reading/writing fest I hoped it would be but I was determined to at least get this one read.

This isn't what I would exactly call schmoop but whatever it is, it's still a good story.  I love how confused John was when he thought the baby belonged to Sam.  Very nice moments afterwards with John and Sam.

And wow, those two disgusting old men were really disgusting! :)

Another beautiful banner by Chris.  Love the pic of young Sam/Jared. 

Jane and I discussed it awhile back and after the episode aired about the baby we decided not to do ours because you know I have a hard time going against canon and they made it pretty clear that Sam had never seen Dean really interact with a baby before so there went another idea out the door.

Hope you're having a good holiday!

Author's Response:

Hey, Sonya!

Oh, I'm having a great time on my holidays. Have gotten a good bit of writing done - two one-shots in the bank folder and have dusted off a multi-chapter story and am hacking away at that today while I get some washing done, since it's the first day of fine weather we've had for over a week. I won't say sunshine, because the sun's peeking in and out of clouds, and I don't want to put the mockers on myself....

Not schmoop? Must look up schmoop then, and see if I want to dive into that particular pool or just dip my toe in like I did with this one. 

Yeah, I really worked hard on making the OC's really disgusting. Hence the email that went out about the freakin' pervert - lol. That was the garage/convenience store owner, as you probably guessed. 

Re your idea - I'd still encourage you and Jane not to give up on it entirely. Can it work if you have the child a little older? Because Sam has definitely seen Dean interact with kids, and he's good with them - like Michael in Something Wicked. So perhaps making the child of walking age...? 

hugs

Jules

I really really enjoyed this one.  Made me smile. :)


Author's Response:

Thanks so much for that, Claudia. I thought I'd try my hand at a wee bit of schmoop - relieved that it worked - lol.

Thanks so much - and got your email, just have to sit down tonight and reply. Got a few for you that you might like.

Jules

Hey Jules! I know it has been a while since I've reviewed anything, but in all honesty I haven't had a lot of time to read, between working full time and being a full time house wife and trying to get some other things finished by certain days I've been really preoccupied lately. But it was really fun to have the time to read one of your marvelous stories again.

I have to say one of my favorite parts of this story was when John thought the little baby was Sam's. That really cracked me up - and then the look Sam gave John when he realized what John was thinking, too priceless! A wonderful story, Jules, just like all the others. You shouldn't worry so much about diving into new territory, you know that we'll enjoy anything you write simply because you wrote it. We don't have internet access at our apartment right now, but I'm at my parents today - mostly because I'm too scared to be alone at the apartment because some creep tried to follow me to my car when I was leaving to go to work yesterday. So I'm going to take advantage of this and save what stories I haven't written to my computer and read them when I can. I promise I will review them soon.  Thanks as always for sharing your work with us and I hope you are doing well. :) Hugs.

Author's Response:

Hey, Candace! So great to hear from you and know you're still around. I know you've been mega busy with home, work and other stuff.

Ah, I'm stoked that John's reaction came over well. I tweaked that a fair bit, I have to admit, just to get his shock and misunderstanding right. Chopped and changed a bit of dialogue, etc.

Really hope you've managed to shake that creepy bloke off your back. What a horrible feeling!

Take care, and thank you, hun. Hope you are doing well, too.

Jules

Awww....what a sweet, touching story. To have these three men melting at the sight of this little baby girl put a smile on my face. That was awesome Jules.

Author's Response:

Thank you, hun. This one sat in my folder for a year before I got the nudge to finish it. So I'm quite relieved that it worked out all right. And really glad you loved the schmoop-fest.

And yes, it was rather sweet to have the three big, tough hunters reduced to being clucky over the poor abandoned bub - lol.

Thanks again, hun.

Jules

This was just a treat.  A real treat, and it felt true to their characters, too.

Thanks so much for this.  I really loved it.

Author's Response:

Thank you, Melanie,

I'm glad you stopped by for a look, and enjoyed the tale. I just needed a bit of a break from the angst and drama - especially now with season six....how can we get so stressed out about a television show....*chews nails*...

Anyway, thanks again, and I'm really thrilled you loved this little schmoop-fest. Oh, and I'm relieved I got the characters right, especially young Sam. Not used to writing Wee!Chesters...or Teen!Chesters.

Jules

 

You wrote John just the way I see him. A single father that is trying to do his best under the circumstances. Yet those circumstances turned him into a hunter that sees the need to make soldiers out of his sons to give them a chance to survive. He loves them more than life and occasionally is able to express it, but usually puts that side of him deep into the darkest corner of his being in order to give all of them a chance to survive. Now to the whole story.

Loved the way the boys acted around the baby, especially Sam, who treated it like it was some alien being. It was too funny how he protested, when he thought Dean was going to check what gender the baby was. It reminds me though of my 14 year old daughter. You really hit the nail on the head there. Dean wasn't that comfortable either, but at least he took it with a little more strive, something I would expect from a twenty year old and especially Dean, who seems to adjust to different situations more easily. I especially liked how he protected Sam from seeing what that convenience store clerk did. He just knew how traumatized his little brother would be by the sight. Looks like you toned that pervert down quite a bit, but he was still more than just a little disgusting. So was that old guy at the motel. What a town.

John's reaction, too funny. That will teach him not to listen outside of closed doors anymore. To think that it was Sammy's baby and then his youngest reaction before he realized what dad was thinking, priceless. "It wasn't my fault" and "I wasn't even there when it happened", I just had to laugh. Especially the second excuse, my response would have been, "What, was it long distance insemination or did you not listen during class when they were talking about how babies are made?" I can see how John would have been horrified. He knows Dean and although he would have torn him a new one for being careless, he knows things happen sometimes. But Sam, you underlined it so well with John seeing him still as innocent, as the baby and not even as old enough to do anything like that. It tends to be something parents do and especially with the younger ones. I think we want to hold on to their innocence longer, as we are loosing the last of our children when this one grows up. With the first one, although overprotective, I think we are also curious to see them grow up and what's happening to them. At least that's me. Anyway, it was wonderfully written and made a lot of John's reactions more understandable.

And then how he dealt with the baby. Here came out the in charge John again, yet also the young father he used to be. Suddenly he was gentle and the clock was turned back to when Sam was little. I adored the way he pulled Sam in and started talking about the past. It was just enough to make his youngest curious and give him some insight of who is father really is. And how he let him hold the baby and instructed him, not taking the illusion of the little girl smiling at him away and preventing Dean from saying anything detrimental. I loved the glance of what he hoped could be the future for his boys and the sadness when he came to reality realizing it would probably never happen unless they could catch the thing that killed Mary, be ready for it.

Dean getting into the back of the Impala without being asked to, showed his way of caring and being involved and I took a picture with my mind's camera of the three of them sleeping back there. I could feel that it was difficult to leave the little girl behind and for Sam to name her Mary and the other two to agree to it showed that they cared about what was going to happen to her. The hug was certainly the crowning end. No matter how they feel about chickflick moments, there is a need for physical comfort and this was just one of those much needed ones. I know that the ones most vocal are usually the ones craving it most and once again, it was Dean. I think that this in no way unrealistic. John probably had a few moments, when he allowed himself to show some emotions. They might have been few and very short, maybe even not as obvious, but they had to be there. He gave his life for Dean and in a way for Sam too, that by itself shows how deeply he loved them. To me that also means that there had to be some visible signs of that at some point. 

Anyway, so it was schmoop, but it was awesome schmoop and I loved and enjoyed every word of it. Hugs, Vonnie

Author's Response:

Oh, my gosh......

What can I say after such an awesome review?

First, I am truly glad that you feel I hit the mark with John, especially given your professional background and your ability to read people. I'm honoured that you think I did him such justice.

It's not easy for me painting John in a sympathetic light. I've only done it twice now, counting this story, and each time I chew my nails and fall back on Petra and Sarah for guidance. Before that, I avoided writing John into anything. Think I've only used him once before, and that was on....um....ah! Eagle And Dove. John's much harder to write than Sam, and much more enigmatic.

I'm thrilled, too, that I got the boys right for their ages. I actually pictured Petra's son and his reactions to different things quite a few times while writing this - lol. He was a great model for Sammy.

And yep, that will teach John to eavesdrop - lol. Nothing good ever comes from that.

Oh, I'm not doing this justice, I just know it. Thank you so much, hun. I thrive on your wonderful words and your insightful dissertations, and how you carefully dissect every scene to gain the fullest intent out of it. I'm beyond words.

hugs

Jules

  You are quite simply the best. Lovely Friday morning Schmoop!!! Thank you! I truly loved the first episode of season 6, so well written and amazing character development. Yet, like John in your story I often have some bittersweet moments where I long for the gentler times of Sam and Dean. This story was a lovely gift.                                       Jo 

Author's Response:

Jo, I'm thrilled that you loved this Friday schmoopfest. It was rather strange writing schmoop, but I felt it was time I dipped my toe into that particular pool. Well, after a year of sitting on the story idea - lol.

And yes, I know what you mean about longing for those quieter brotherly moments. I'm not sure how many of them (if any) that we'll see this season, but I'm keeping my fingers crossed all the same. Just call me Pollyanna.

Hope that foot is healing, and you're taking care of yourself.

Jules

Very nicely done. You captured their voices perfectly. Great writing. And John's quiet reassurance at the end I'm okay just tugged at my heart strings. Wonderful little story. You should totally do a short sequel to this! Five - or so- years later (trying to remember if the boys traveled back to Arizona during any of the episodes) they return and visit the little orphanage. Aww that would be really sweet :) I feel all gooey and fluffy inside.

Author's Response:

Thank you so much! I'm really thrilled that you went all gooey.

Hmm, sequel - well, one never knows what the muse will point to next.

I've been trying to get inside John's head lately - and trying to get past my own resentment of him and the way he treated the boys. It's a relief to know that I'm succeeding - he's harder to read than Sam was in season four!

Thanks again for reading. I'm glad you liked it.

Jules