Dean was used to Sam being quiet as they drove down two-lane highways. It gave the older brother an opportunity to listen to his music and try to forget all their problems, focusing on driving instead. He had never wondered what it was that kept Sam silent, even if his brother was not preoccupied by an open computer on his lap or various files. It wasn't until he heard an awed, "Wow" come from his brother's side of the front seat that he became curious.
"What?" Dean glanced at Sam as much as he could, still continuing to focus on the narrow, winding road. He saw that Sam was staring out the windshield, leaning forward to get a better view of what he was looking at. Dean did the same when he received no answer. What he saw made him slow the car down before pulling to the shoulder, eventually stopping the Impala and turning it off.
In making the last bend of the road, they happened upon a clearing of the trees and an unobstructed shot of a snowy mountain, its image nearly filling the backdrop of the sky. It was somewhat flat on the top and the sides sloped gently downwards. Jagged pieces of rock jutted outward, their dark blue color contrasting sharply with the white of the piled snow.
After checking to make sure it was safe, Dean climbed out and moved to the front of the car, staring up at the mountain just as Sam had been. A moment later, he was joined by his brother. They stood, each overcome, simply watching the mountain. Several cars drove by in the silence, but their concentration never broke.
A thought suddenly came to Dean. He reached into his pocket and pulled out the phone Sam had picked for him. He pulled up the menu and found the camera. Holding up the phone, he squared it up with the scenery before him. However, the image on the screen did not match what he was seeing with his own eyes. Confused, he looked up to the real version and then back to the digital version.
"What's wrong?"Sam asked.
"It's smaller," Dean answered. He put his fingers on the screen and zoomed in. It only served to lower the image quality, frustrating the Winchester further. "Here, you try it." Sam took the phone and held it up like Dean had done, and found he was having the same problem. He quickly gave up and handed it back to Dean, putting his hands in his coat pockets.
"I guess we'll just have to look at it while we can," Sam said, smiling up at the mountain.
"How can you be so calm about this?" Dean was still attempting to take a decent picture. "We'll never be here again." His younger brother shrugged as he watched him mess with it.
"I'm used to it now." When Sam failed to continue, Dean looked over and saw Sam staring up serenely at the mountain, leaning back against the hood of the car. For several seconds, the older Winchester looked from his brother to the mountain and back again.
"When do you have the time to be able to say you're used to this?" Dean asked. "We're always either driving or on a case."
"You're always driving," Sam responded. "I don't always have something to do in the car, Dean. So I stare out the window. We drive through some of the most beautiful places, but you never see it because you're so focused on getting where we're going."
"We drive through some of the smallest towns in the world," Dean retorted. "And it's boring as hell. I don't get what's so interesting about it." Sam seemed to consider something for a moment before he held his hand out to Dean.
"Give me the keys."
"What? Dude, no way—"
"Dean." They locked eyes and argued nonverbally before Dean reluctantly handed over the keys to the Impala beside them. In sync, they brushed past each other and climbed into the car again, Sam in the driver's seat and Dean in the passenger. The car roared to life and Sam signaled to return to the road. As he drove onto the asphalt, he said, "You're not allowed to talk or focus on anything except what we're driving by." The older man threw a look at the younger, but did as he was told, leaning against the door and staring out the window at all the trees and the mountain.
An hour passed with Sam steering them down the curving road, finding his way to the bottom where they could keep going to their next case. Dean stubbornly stared out the window and remained silent the whole hour, and though he would not care to admit it to his brother later, he had never realized the beauty and wonders of the land they drove through, and he wished he had earlier. The trees were evergreen and stood tall, creating a calming pattern with their branches, and the curving road helped him relax. Occasionally, there was a break in the trees where a small creek or the same snowy mountain were visible, and they were quickly hidden again by the pines.
In the months following, Dean would let Sam drive every now and again. Not a word was exchanged about the why, but both rode in content silence, enjoying the change of routine.