---This is my first fanfiction and all I can say is that I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it. It's short, but I think it makes its point.

He always remembered the big things. He always knew what to do when it came to the things that were outwardly important. He always remembered to put a ring of salt around the boys' beds before he left overnight. Always knew what Latin to chant to get rid of a spirit or a demon. Always remembered how to keep his boys safe from anything supernatural. But John didn't always realize how important the little things were.

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Ch. 1: Toaster

Why was it so damn hard to figure out how to use the damned toaster? He looked down at the contraption that the dingy motel provided for him. It'd been so long since he'd used a toaster. He'd watched Mary make toast for him and Dean every morning, up to the very day of her death. It had never looked this complicated, but then again, their old toaster didn't have all these knobs with all of these different settings on it. John had always let Mary deal with the toast, gladly accepting the simple task of pouring milk and cereal.

John stared at the toaster again before picking it up and slamming it down in frustration. That's when he saw his five-year-old son walk up to him, legs still wobbly, eyes still heavy from sleep.

"Mornin' Dean," he said, pushing his frustration aside as he lifted up his little boy and set him on the tiled counter. "Sleep well, son?"

"Yessir." Dean replied, words slurred as he lifted a sleepy hand and rubbed his eyes. "Bu' why're you slammin' aroun' the toaster?" he asked, eyeing the now slightly dented metal heap.

"You wouldn't happen to know how to work one of these, would you, son?"

Dean smiled, his voice beginning to perk up. "Did ya put the bread in the little slot, daddy?"

John gave his son an incredulous look. "Of course I did."

"Did you push the little handle down?"

Of course he'd tried that. "Sure did." John smiled, not really expecting that his son knew how to work the toaster any better than he did, but humored him anyway. "But it still won't work. It just pops right back up the second I push it down." Milk and cereal was starting to sound really good at this point.

Dean stared at the toaster. "Did you try turning the little knob? It's pointing at the number '0'."

John looked down at the toaster again. Damn. How'd he miss that? Maybe if he hadn't been so damn frustrated. He turned the knob to the number '5' and pulled the handle down. The bread stayed in the slot this time, and he could feel the heat already beginning to cook the bread. John looked back up to Dean, slight embarrassment starting to show itself. He hid it behind another grin directed towards his son. "Why don't you go get your brother up and we'll have some breakfast," he said, not willing to admit his stupid mistake.

"Okay," Dean replied as John lifted him off of the counter and onto the linoleum floor. "But daddy," he said, turning back to his father, as he smelled the unfamiliar smell of burning food and saw an excess of smoke beginning to rise from the toaster. "Maybe we shouldn't have toast. I think you broke the toaster." Than he turned around to wake a still sleeping Sammy.

John looked down, and quickly unplugged the toaster. He grabbed a towel and waved it around to get rid of the smoke. Surely it had been caused by the dent he'd inflicted on the hunk of metal. He felt frustration beginning to build again, but couldn't help but chuckle instead, at his own stupidity. His son, in his five-year-old patience, had just figured out how to work the device, when all he could do in his own impatience was have a one sided wrestling match with the thing, that unfortunately led to its demise.

But that's how it always was. John was always short tempered, impatient, and quick to get frustrated. He also seemed to forget how to do all the little things. The little things that were important. Like how to work a toaster, for instance. Somehow, he knew, this small flaw; this tendency to bypass the things that didn't seem to matter would cause trouble later on.

Maybe I should pay more attention, he absently thought, not really listing to his own advice, but searching around for some clean bowls and spoons. For now, he'd stick to cereal and milk.

---New chapter coming soon. Hopefully a longer one. Reviews are extremely helpful. I'm new to this and any comments and constructive critisism would be greatly appreciated.