A/N: So, I wrote this to make myself feel just a little bit better about the season finale. Not that I didn't love it, because believe me, I did. But I'm still trying not to cry (I know, I'm lame, shut up). Anyways, I thought giving Dean just a little bit of hope might help, and it did, a little.

This is a short story (not sure if it counts as a drabble… it's almost 600 words.) that starts off right where Swan Song ends. Hope you enjoy. (:

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A loud clank echoed throughout the dining room as Dean dropped his fork on his plate. He jumped at the sound, and it made him realize just how quiet the Braeden house was. He looked up.

Lisa and Ben sat there, staring. Staring at him. He sighed and dropped his gaze back down to the table. He had no explanations for them, no reassuring words. There was nothing he could say to calm their worries.

He'd been there for a week now. He slept on the couch, mostly, except for the first night. That night Lisa had tried to soothe him to sleep beside her. He hadn't shed a tear, just clutched at the sheets beneath his trembling body and stared at the wall with a look that was just…

Dead.

Like his life was over and for some cruel reason his body wouldn't let it end. It had scared Lisa, but all she could do was hold him. Hold him and hope that something in him would shift so that he could be alive again.

But even after a week, he still wasn't. Maybe his shock had faded slightly, but even little Ben could see that there was no life in Dean's eyes. It made him anxious.

Dean knew it, and he was sorry. He wanted to be alive for them. He wanted to be the guy that Lisa could be happy with and he wanted to be the man that Ben could look up to. He wanted to love them, but it just wasn't that simple. How could he really love if he wasn't even alive?

These were his thoughts as he dropped his fork on his plate that night. He couldn't meet their eyes because he couldn't bear to show them that, for all their love and effort, he was still dead. He wanted them to see life, but it just wasn't there.

"Dean," Lisa started. She didn't know what to say after that. She just wanted to see him happy, but she wondered if maybe that was too much to ask. She grabbed his hand and squeezed it, trying to meet his gaze.

"I'm okay," he lied. "Lisa, please, you don't need to worry about me." A ghost of a smile passed over his face. It wasn't a real smile; just a twitch of the corner of his mouth that practically screamed false. But still, it was something. Lisa smiled genuinely in response.

"Are you going to finish that?" Lisa asked, nodding towards Dean's half full plate of food.

Dean looked down. He sighed deeply and reached for the fork he had dropped. "Of course," he told her. "The chicken's perfect." He squeezed her hand back half-heartedly and turned back to his food.

Two minutes later, his fork clattered back down to his plate, louder than the first time. Lisa looked over, expecting to see that hopeless and desperate look in Dean's dead eyes. But she was met with something else.

Dean was looking out the window, his lips parted in surprise. "I..." he trailed off. "I could have sworn..." He wouldn't - couldn't - say it out loud but he could have SWORN he'd seen... Sam.

Lisa turned to look out the window. There was nothing there. "Dean, what..."

She turned back to face him and stopped talking, a look of pure disbelief passing over her face at what she saw. For the first time since he had shown up on her doorstep a week ago, there was a little spark of life in Dean Winchester's eyes.

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Reviews are greatly appreciated.

- Nix (: