God Bless Nutmeg
Chapter 2
Morning
~liquid-time

Dean usually woke up right away in the mornings. He didn't need an alarm clock in order to get up in time for school or hunting or moving. However Dean loved lounging around in bed for an hour or two before convincing himself to leave the soft warmth of linen sheets and used blankets. He liked the feeling of snuggling into a quilt-cocoon while the sun peaked in through the aluminium slates of the venetian blinds that were hung haphazardly over the window.

Beside him, Sam's steady breathing lulled the atmosphere of the slightly dingy room. It was relaxing and almost hypnotic and Dean found himself wishing that he was able to fall back asleep in order to escape his early-morning consciousness that was thoroughly pissed off about having to get dressed in another hour in order to memorize the layout of another neighborhood that he didn't care about. Dean also wished that Sam hadn't pushed him to the edge of the bed last night, easily taking up three-fourths of the mattress, but here he lay with part of his body balanced precariously on the edge.

He could shove Sam over and claim his rightful half, but Dean decided instead to give himself some extra shower time. Pulling off the covers and swinging his legs to the edge of the bed, he stood up, his toes burying themselves in the rough, green shag-carpet of the motel room floor.

Sam usually stayed asleep for as long as possible in the mornings. He definitely needed an alarm clock in order to get himself up in time for school or moving or breakfast. However, Sam hated being rushed. So as much as he loved not having to get up to leave the warmth of linen sheets and used blankets, he made himself rise early for the day. He hadn't bothered with an alarm last night though, figuring he would wake up once dad started to make a loud enough racket. He was usually a heavy sleeper, something he was thankful for considering the amount of times their motel was next to a highway, or his father had to stay awake at night, making noise. However that was not the case this morning.

Beside him, Dean's movement woke him up. His brother stood with his back to their bed and probably hadn't even noticed that Sam's eyes had opened, drearily blinking away the memories of his dream.

"Why are you getting up?" Sam asked, reaching his hand out to casually brush his brother's arm. Used to waking up with Dean beside him, Sam was confused. His brother had willingly gotten out of bed of his own accord, something that really never happened.

"Just figured I would hit the shower early."

"You okay?" Sam asked, wrinkling his forehead in concern. "You never get up before you have to... and sometimes not even then."

"Maybe I would stay in bed if I had more of it to myself," Dean grunted, his voice low and scratchy from the morning. It was still light though, just giving his brother a hard time.

Sam looked down and realized that he had taken over the mattress while asleep. Most of the covers has been wrapped around his small frame as well, leaving very little for Dean. "Oh," was his response as he scooted over in an attempt to make more room. Even though he knew Dean wasn't mad he still felt bad, not wanting to be any more of a nuisance than he already was.

But his brother shook his head. "Don't worry about it Sammy, I'm already awake," and with that Dean began his trek to the bathroom.

"It's Sam," he corrected with a smile on his face, "and he'll be gone soon," he added nodding at the outline of their father in the next bed over.

Dean stopped in his tracks, turned around and gave Sam a puzzled look. "What do you mean?"

"I mean tomorrow night he'll leave for... for whatever he does and you'll be able to sleep in his bed." Sam paused, but Dean just stood there staring at him, not making a move to leave and not making a move to speak. "Hello? I heard what you were saying last night I'm not deaf," he sighed, "I was there for the conversation about how you wanted your own bed sometimes."

Sam trailed off, but Dean still stared at him. It made him a bit uncomfortable, and he shifted the heavy quilt so that it was around his shoulders again.

"Are you sure you're okay Dean? You're staring at me like I'm crazy, but I was right beside you helping you unload the car. You want your own bed because your old now or whatever. You can have Dad's bed while he's gone and there: no more me being a mattress hog or kicking you in your sleep."

When Dean showed no signs of response Sam added jokingly, "Dean please say something, you're scaring me."

Dean shook his head suddenly and looked down before making eye contact with Sam. "Yeah, I know, I know. Sorry, just spacing out for a second. Dad gone, I get bed, we're both happy. Now if you could quit yammering, I'd like to take my shower."

Sam sighed in exasperation before nodding at his brother and falling back onto in pillow and back into sleep.

Dean walked into the bathroom and shivered from the sensation of cool tile below his feet. Shutting the door, he walked over to the sink and began to brush his teeth. Doing so before his shower would allow Dean to eat breakfast later without food tasting foul. He did this every morning, having routine that he stuck to. It was efficient and usually allowed him the maximum amount of time to sleep in. Plus, it was comforting to know that he had control over something in his life, even if it was something as small as what he did before leaving the motel room.

When he had turned ten his dad offered to let him help with hunting, but with the research and figuring out what they were up against. Dean was excited at first, but didn't enjoy hitting the books. That was more up Sam's alley, and he was sure little Sammy will be enthralled to read all day about monsters once he's old enough. Dean though, Dean wanted to go out in the field with his dad, help him take down the monsters. He knew how to use a gun, and was fairly proficient in hand to hand combat. John kept saying the he was too young, but he wasn't a child anymore. He was a teenager now and able to make decisions for himself.

Lost in his thoughts, Dean spat, rinsed and headed for the shower, turning the water temperature up so that it would fog the mirrors and steam the air. Sam's blazè attitude towards their dad leaving was what had caught him off-guard, making him momentarily forget about their conversation and stare blankly ahead. At some point when growing up Dean had stopped being surprised every time John left for a couple days or weeks. He stopped being sad about it and began to factor the absent father-figure into how he lived his life. He guessed Sam had reached that point too.

Droplets of water hit Dean's skin and as the warmth relaxes his muscles, he could momentarily forget about his life, forget about the worry of school and family that constantly plagued him. The shower was almost like sleep, and like sleep, would eventually have to end. But Dean didn't get out of bed early for nothing, so instead he closed his eyes, let the water wash over his face and basked in his momentary mental haven, safe from the real world outside.

AUTHOR'S NOTE: I cut this chapter short in order to post in a timely manner. Therefore nothing really happened in it. This past week I was moving and figuring out my winter term schedule which had me running around campus like crazy.
A quick thank you to those who have watched, reviewed and fav-ed, yall are great!

The End
(of the chapter)