Maria isn't sure why this particular day comes to mind when she thinks of a normal day with her family. This day was anything but normal for them: they weren't even hunting a monster. But maybe that's exactly why she thinks of this day. It was as close to normal as the Winchesters could get.
Their training started at a young age. They worked for hours at a time every day after school and twice as long on weekends. Dean and Maria had come to accept that their father was not going to stop training them until they were the perfect hunting machines. Sam, however, always fought with John.
"Dad, I don't understand why we have to do this," a 14-year-old Sam complained. "We have homework and I have a test tomorrow."
"Your homework can wait, Sam," John replied forcefully. "And don't you think your safety is more important than some stupid math test?"
"Not if I want to get an education!" Sam replied, starting to get angry. "I want to go to college and make something of myself!"
"Don't you even care that the thing that killed your mother is out there somewhere?" John asked, taking a menacing step toward his youngest son. "It's our job to kill that thing, Sammy."
"Why, Dad?" Sam asked defiantly, holding his ground. They stared each other straight in the eye, neither one of them flinching. "Why is it our job?"
"Okay, okay, you two," an 18-year-old Dean said, stepping between his father and brother. He put a hand on each of their chests and looked at Maria for help. "That's enough."
"Hey, why don't I make us all some coffee," 16-year-old Maria said, trying, like Dean, to diffuse the tension. "We could all use the break."
John tore his eyes away from Sam to look at his only daughter. She smiled at her father and he nodded curtly, walking away from Sam to sit at the small dining table. Maria turned toward the small kitchen area in their dingy motel room and began to busy herself with the coffee. Dean put a hand on his younger brother's shoulder and squeezed it once before taking a seat beside John. Sam went to sit on the motel bed farthest from his father.
"Here we go," Maria said cheerfully, bringing two steaming mugs of coffee over to the dining table after a few minutes of tense silence. She set them down in front of her father and Dean with a smile, then went back to grab the last two mugs for Sam and herself. She walked over to the bed Sam had occupied and handed him his cup. He took it from her without looking at her. She smiled down at him anyway and ruffled up his hair before tugging at his arm so he would follow her. He sighed and got up, following her to the dining table. Maria sat at the small round table beside John while Sam sat between her and Dean.
"Thanks for the coffee, Maria," Dean said, smiling, thankful that his sister could read him so well.
"Yeah, thanks, baby girl," John said, using his pet name for her. Maria smiled at his words. No matter how old she got, she would always be a daddy's girl.
"Thanks," mumbled Sam, not looking up from the steaming mug in front of him.
"It's no problem," Maria said, taking a sip from her cup. "What do you guys wanna do for dinner?"
"I saw this diner down the street," Dean said, getting excited about the thought of food. "It's probably pretty good….I bet they have pie."
"Dean, don't all diners have pie?" Maria laughed, teasing her older brother.
"Yeah, well…shut up," Dean said. Sam looked up just in time to see Dean stick his tongue out at Maria. He laughed loudly at the sight and snorted. John cracked a smile and then laughed loudly. Dean and Maria were practically rolling on the floor laughing at the noise that just came out of their brother. Sam looked down, embarrassed, but couldn't help but join in his family's laughter. Winchester laughs could be infectious.
A couple hours later, after they finished their laughing fits and coffee, they all piled into the 1967 Impala and drove to the diner Dean had mentioned. John drove, Dean sat shotgun, and Maria and Sam sat in the back as always. They never complained. Well, Sam complained a little, but Maria was comfortable with pretty much anything; she didn't care where she sat, as long as she got a seat.
They arrived at the diner and walked into the restaurant. It was small, with about 10 booths in the entire place. It smelled like onion rings, ketchup, and a hint of coconut. Dean's eyes lit up as he saw the desserts arranged in the little glass-door freezer near the register.
"There's your pie, Dean," Maria teased. Dean elbowed her lightly and grinned at her. Their waitress sat them down at one of the booths nearest the dessert freezer. Maria scooted into the booth first, followed by John. Sam sat across from Maria and Dean sat on the outside across from John. The waitress handed them their menus and walked away.
"Those onion rings smell awesome," Sam said looking at Dean, who was still eyeing the desserts with a look of love.
"Yeah, yeah, awesome," Dean said, not really paying attention to anything but the pie.
"Hello? Earth to Dean," Maria said, waving her menu in front of his face. He looked up at her. "What are you getting? And don't say pie. I already know that one."
"Oh, uh…" Dean replied. "Probably just the cheeseburger and onion rings."
"Me, too," Maria and Sam said in unison.
"I've raised you well," John said proudly. Maria grinned up at him, then asked the question that had been bothering her all week.
"Daddy, what is it that you're hunting here? You haven't told us yet."
"When you need to know something, you'll know it," John said, making it perfectly clear that the conversation was over.
"Yes, sir," Maria replied obediently. The waitress returned and took their orders. A comfortable silence followed her departure. She returned 15 minutes later with their food, and they all ate, the children laughing and joking with each other while their father watched them fondly.
"Pie!" Dean said after finishing his last bite of burger. He jumped up and ran over to the freezer to get a better look at the desserts he'd been eyeing since they arrived. He returned a few minutes later with an entire coconut cream pie in his hands. John gave him a strange look as he sat back down at the booth.
"You are nine kinds of crazy," John said, eyeing the pie on the table in front of his oldest child.
"It's not just for me," Dean said, trying to justify himself. "Everybody have some."
"You don't gotta tell me twice," Maria said, grabbing her unused fork and digging into the pie. She loved pie just as much as Dean did. She just wasn't as vocal about it. John smiled at his two older children and grabbed his fork, too. Sam had already taken a rather large bite of pie and had started to choke on it. Dean patted him forcefully on the back until Sam could breathe again.
"Death by pie," Sam said, laughing. The other Winchesters couldn't help but laugh along with him.
The four Winchesters finished the pie in twenty minutes. Full to bursting, they scooted out of their booth. John left enough cash on the table to cover their bill and a tip, and they headed out to their car. It was seven o'clock and just starting to get dark outside. When they got into the car, John started driving the opposite way of their motel. Dean, Maria, and Sam were confused, but they didn't bother asking where they were going. When they needed to know something, they'd know it.
"I thought we'd take a break from training for tonight," John said after a few minutes of driving. "There isn't really a case here. I just know of a drive-in theater that plays old movies."
Dean and Maria looked at each other and grinned. They loved old movies. Sam sighed. He was glad that they didn't have to do any more training, but he wasn't as crazy about old movies as his brother and sister were.
"Thanks, Daddy!" Maria squealed excitedly.
"Yeah, thanks, Dad," Dean said.
'Thanks," Sam muttered, trying to convince himself that it wouldn't be all that bad.
"You're welcome," John told them, glad he could let his kids just be kids for once.
The movie had almost started by the time they arrived at the drive-in. When the opening titles came on the large screen in front of them, Sam audibly groaned. Gunfight at the O.K. Corral. A western. Sam hated westerns. But Dean and Maria were practically bouncing up and down with excitement. They loved western movies. When they were younger they used to play Cowboys. Sam was always Ike Clanton, Dean was always Wyatt Earp, and Maria was always Doc Holliday. Sam hated it, but he put up with it to make his older siblings happy, much like he was doing now. He secretly enjoyed watching the movie: it was as close to normal as the Winchesters could get.
The drive back to the motel was filled with Dean and Maria's chatter about the movie. They even reenacted some scenes, using their fingers as their pistols. Watching that old western had reminded them of simpler times, when they could play Cowboys and just be kids. They didn't have to worry about training and hunting monsters then. But that was a long time ago, before their father had told them the truth about what was really out there in the dark.
By the time they got back to their motel room, they were all exhausted. Maria went straight into the bathroom to change into her pajamas, while Dean, Sam, and John all changed in the room. When Maria came out, she crawled right into the bed nearest the door. Dean got in the bed beside her, facing opposite her. They fell asleep almost immediately. Sam and John got into the remaining bed, facing opposite each other. John was asleep instantly, but Sam stayed awake, thinking about his small, broken family.
Dean and Maria had always shared a bed since the fire. Always moving from motel room to motel room, the only solid foundation they had was each other. In the beginning, Sammy was too young to be any real comfort to them, and John was too set on revenge to really offer the comfort that he should have. But Dean and Maria had each other then, and they got along just fine. And when Sam grew up, they depended on him just as much as they depended on each other.
Maria still wasn't sure why she thinks of this day when she thinks of normal. Maybe it's because this is what she wishes her life could be like all the time. No monsters, no hunting. Just family. It's the life they deserve, but it isn't their life. The Winchesters can never have normal.