Chapter Text
Sam ran his hand through his hair, squinting at the letters on the screen in front of him. He sighed and pushed the laptop away. Things were annoyingly quiet right now, and even if they weren't, he couldn't focus. Plus, he had Dean to worry about.
Glancing at the calendar on the kitchen wall, Sam sighed again. December 23. It had been a while since either of them had felt the need to celebrate any holiday, but Sam didn't think it could hurt. At this point, he was willing to try anything.
But then, he wasn't sure that either of them really knew how to celebrate anything any more.
Now there was a depressing thought.
Dean stumbled into the room, pulling Sam from his thoughts. Despite the near ten hours of sleep he'd gotten last night, his brother still looked exhausted, but at least a little color had returned to his face. It had only been a little over two weeks since they got Dean back, and Sam shuddered at the memory of his brother collapsing--cold, pale, and unresponsive--into his arms. Dean hadn't woken up for five days after that.
"Hey," Dean muttered, voice gravely. He sat down across from Sam, sending a confusingly hopeful yet dreading look at the laptop. "Find anything?"
"Nah, it's pretty quiet right now." Sam was glad he didn't have to lie. He wasn't completely sure he could pull that off right now. But then again, Dean was probably out of it enough that he was wouldn't notice.
He gave Dean a quick once over. He had dark bruises under his eyes, and he was gaunt and scruffy in a way he hadn't been since...well, it brought back unpleasant memories of the year and a half Dean had carried the burden of the Mark.
Sam had only brought up Michael once since Dean came back, asking if he remembered anything. All he got in answer was a haunted look that revealed a soul far too old for its body. He decided not to push until his brother looked a little better on the physical front. Until every moment Dean didn't spend asleep wasn't spent staring out into nothing or sitting alone in the garage.
Sam stood up quickly, making Dean jump a little. Sam flinched inwardly, but knew apologizing would only embarrass the older hunter. "You want some breakfast?" he asked instead.
Dean looked up at Sam, then looked away. "Uh, yeah, sure," he said, sounding like it was the last thing he wanted.
Well, too bad, Sam thought. At this point, he wasn't above force feeding his brother.
He considered his options, then decided pancakes were his best bet. One of Dean's favorites, and easy to refrigerate if they didn't finish everything. He seemed to be refrigerating food a lot more often since Dean got back.
As Sam was working on breakfast, Dean pulled over the computer, probably half-heartedly checking for any cases in the area. Dean's voice made him glance up. "Almost Christmas."
Sam could tell it was supposed to be a passing remark, but it wasn't hard to see through. "Yeah," he replied, unable to think of a better response.
"You got any plans?"
At this point, Sam really couldn't tell whether Dean was joking. Just as he opened his mouth to respond, his phone rang. He abandoned his project and answered it on the third ring. "Hello?"
"Hey, Sam, it's Jody."
"Jody?" Sam asked, sending a surprised look towards his brother. Dean raised his eyebrows. "Um, hey, it's good to hear from you. What's going on?"
"Oh, not much. How are you and Dean?"
Sam heard the underlying accusation and winced. In the chaos of the last two weeks, he'd forgotten to spread the word that they'd gotten Dean back, which meant Jody heard it from someone else. Oh yeah, she was definitely pissed.
"We're alright. How about you? And the others?"
"We're good, you know, just getting ready for Christmas. You boys have any plans?"
"Uh, no, not really."
"Great!" Sam could practically hear Jody beaming over the phone. "You should come up to our place for the holidays. Everyone's gonna be here, and the girls are dying to see you."
Sam glanced at Dean, who was hunched over a cup of coffee in a wrinkled flannel and jeans, which he probably slept in. A few days of mother-henning from Jody and pop-culture arguments with the Claire sounded...nice. Normal. God knew Dean could use some of that.
"Sounds great, Jody. I guess we'll see you soon."
They ended their call, and Dean gave him a questioning look. Sam smiled back. "I guess we have plans now."