Jack sat quietly at the library table with their hands in their lap, watching Sam earnestly. Their tallest dad was eagerly explaining the Sacking of Lawrence with Jack’s school books and other random kitchen items as monuments.
“We could do a diorama! Do they do those anymore? Man, I can’t tell you how many dumpsters we dove through looking for shoe boxes when I was a kid. I still have the box from your winter boots in the closet— if you want?” Sam finally focused on his child and the happy, yet clueless expression on their face when he started talking about the outdated project suggestion.
“Hm?” Jack replied.
“It’s like a 3D model of a scene, lots of glue sticks and either figurines or hand drawn replicas,” Sam explained, brushing the hair out of his face.
“And a shoe box?” Jack concluded.
“In— inside the shoebox, like it’s a tiny stage,” Sam felt like he was doing a poor job communicating, even as he used his hands to sign. “Here–.” He reached for his laptop and pulled up some examples.
“Oh! That looks cool— very retro,” Jack said like he was finally in on a secret.
Sam cocked his head at the jab, but let it roll off his back. “So, do you think it will work?”
“How would it work, exactly?” Jack asked.
They got to work, with safety scissors that were too small for Sam’s hands that were quickly discarded and extra coloring supplies which were pilfered from the desk Eileen set up as a craft station for the younger kids. It took them almost two hours, but finally they were able to recreate the historical event as best they could. With that work behind them, they left it to dry on the counter, out of the way from toddler reach.
That night, when everyone was home and the kitchen was full of hungry Winchesters, Jack practiced his presentation. Dean listened as he took turns feeding himself and baby Millie. While Castiel sat nervously at his side as Juniper fed herself.
“And that is the beginning of what we now call Bleeding Kansas,” Jack concluded, reading from his handwritten note cards.
Eileen clapped and Dean cheered his praise, while Cas squinted at Jack and then at Sam. Sam did a double take and motioned for Cas to stand down and not ruin the historical integrity of the project.
Later that night, when everyone else was in bed Castiel inserted a tiny figure in the back of the diorama, one with red eyes and a perfectly tailored suit.
