AN: I hope you all like this one... don't forget to let me know!

"Boys, I think we need a weekend to ourselves, what do you say?" John asked as he sat down for dinner. He'd been impressed with the teamwork that went into the preparation of the lasagna and salad, Dean chopping up most of the vegetables and Sammy doing any and all stove/oven work. Although it definitely looked more like a third graders science experiment, he wasn't about to overlook the fact that his boys did something that he had been sure they weren't ready for.

Surprised, both Dean and Sammy looked at each other before turning their attention back towards their dad.

"Uh, not that we're complaining, but… are you serious?" Dean asked, not sure if he heard what he hoped he heard. A weekend off usually meant just the three of them kicking back and relaxing without any place to go or anything to hunt, and right now he wanted that more than anything if for no other reason than to get his little brother back to the healthy kid he was.

Nodding, John scooped up the sloppy mess that looked to be a cross between lasagna and stroganoff before answering, "Yeah, I am. I'm waiting for some information from one of my contacts and it'll take a couple days anyway, so I figured that since Sammy doesn't have school and we don't have a hunt we can take a bit to unwind."

Sam looked between his brother and dad and wasn't sure what to say. Ok, so he knew what to say, but there was no way he was going to do or say anything that could be seen as going back on their agreement. Silently though he wondered if that meant no training either; to him that made a difference between truly relaxing or just taking a few breaks here and there.

Dean was thinking things over and finally sighed knowing that reality bites, "Look Dad, I know you think it's a great idea and yeah normally I'd agree with you, but right now I need a bit more to go on here. Are we talking complete shutdown of operations or just some breaks tossed in? 'Cause I have to tell you, the weekend training we've been doing, we might as well not bother taking the time off."

"Sammy, what do you think?" John asked, wondering exactly when Dean was the one that started to question what he said.

Shrugging, Sam looked up momentarily from his food before digging in, "Honestly it would be nice to take a few days and kick back, but Dean still has his therapy to do so we'll still be getting up early, so it's up to you sir."

For a moment the only sound that could be heard was Sam eating his food and drinking his milk while his family looked at him in shock. It really didn't matter to him; he just wanted to make sure they all were ready for whatever was going to happen. He had no delusions about their father's reaction the first time he messed up, nor what could happen to Dean if he did, so he'd rather stay on top of anything and everything he could to make sure nothing went wrong on any of their hunts if he could help it.

"Son, I think you boys deserve at least a day on the town. Tomorrow, after Dean's physical training and after breakfast, why don't the two of you go out and find something to do. We'll meet up for dinner at the café down the street and then we'll spend Sunday together… maybe even catch a movie or something. How about it?" John asked, wondering if he'd made a mistake by coming back so soon.

Both Dean and Sammy looked at each other before nodding, "Sounds like a plan." They said, content in knowing they got that awkward moment out of the way.

SNSNSNSNSNNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNNSNSNSNSSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNS

John heard the door close and he let out a deep breath thankful that the boys were finally gone. After watching Sammy help Dean with his stretches and personal needs, all that he wanted to do was take a few minutes to pull himself together before he got down to what he really needed to find out – was Sammy on drugs.

He'd gotten a call from the Principal of the latest school when he was on his way back to the motel asking about Sammy's sudden illness and wondered if he was alright. It took a few uncomfortable moments before he'd been able to get the other man to finally get around to the real point of the call; Sammy's grades. Who knew that some administrators actually looked at new students files to see if there were any problems adjusting, he'd never run into this problem before. So now he needed to get down to the truth without Dean finding out, because if what Mr. Wheatley suspected was true it would break his oldest son's heart, but not before he taught his youngest a few things himself.

Determined to find out what the hell was going on, he finished his coffee and stood swiftly before heading towards the beds and Sammy's backpack. It had been Sammy's idea to move the beds against the wall, giving Dean more room in his wheelchair and inadvertently causing John to feel worse about not realizing what his son needed. Dumping the contents onto a bed, he quickly riffled through all the pockets and looked perplexed for a moment when the only items he found were school books, a notebook and a spiral. Looking through the notebook he saw several assignments that had been checked and returned, none higher than a 'C', making the Principal's concerns seem even more plausible. He'd never known Sammy to bring home anything lower than a 'B' and that had sent the boy into a study frenzy for days afterwards only eating if a sandwich was placed in his hand.

Turning towards the closet he pulled out both duffels and repeated the process with Sammy's bag. It always amazed him how his youngests' neatnik tendencies could carry over to even the most mundane things – like dirty laundry. Clean clothes were neatly folded and dirty items rolled and placed at the very bottom of the bag, leaving no doubt to what could be worn and what couldn't. Shaking his head, John continued his search but didn't find anything else which made him wonder what he was missing. Books… his boy was a classic bookworm, but there wasn't a book in sight other than what was required for school work.

"Alright Sammy, where would you put it?" he asked as he looked at the items on the bed. Suddenly another idea struck and he took Dean's duffle and poured the contents on the other bed, ignoring the mixed up dirty and clean items, the skin mags and a small notebook. Knowing that if Sammy was worried about hiding a stash then it made sense he'd hide it in his brother's things. But if that was the case, where was it? Rushing into the bathroom he took the first aid kit as well as the small box that held Dean's medication and went through each item before he realized that there wasn't anything there, no dope, nothing stashed, absolutely zilch. Placing everything in the bathroom back he resigned himself to clean up his mess so the boys wouldn't find out what he'd done. But it didn't make sense, what else could cause the symptoms that were described?

It didn't take long to put Sammy's things back into the duffel and he was in the process of doing the same to Dean's when the notebook caught his attention. It was completely out of character for his oldest to keep a journal, making him wonder what the hell was going on and if it would lead him to the answers about his youngest. Flipping through he saw that it was a week after Dean had been released.

'Something's going on. I mean it's like Sammy's become a pod person or something. Not that I'm complaining, it's nice not to hear those two going at it. Just wish I could be the big brother for my little brother.'

Sighing, John wasn't sure if he could really deal with this, but he continued by flipping a few pages.

'I'm worried. Yeah ok, when aren't I? But seriously, Sammy's like a hunting machine which wouldn't be bad but the kid's nightmares are getting bad. I know it's about that night, but he won't tell me about it – the little prick. Does he really think that just because I'm stuck in this chair that I can't kick his ass? Don't answer that.'

Glancing at the clock, he knew that the boys were planning on staying away from the motel for at least another hour. Taking advantage he flipped to the last entry.

'I told him to come home early today, the kid is practically on death's door with staying up late to hunt, getting up early to train and still doing everything for school… all while taking care of me – it's too much for him but for some reason he won't slow down. Damn fool kid actually admitted that he thought what he was doing wasn't good enough. Right, like we could ask for anything more? He's a kid for Christ's sake!'

John sat there and mulled over what he'd read wondering if it was really that simple, that his boy wasn't on drugs, he was just tired and wasn't able to focus on his school work. If that was the case what could he do about it without losing what he'd already gained. Sighing, he put everything back and sat back to ponder what he now knew.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Dean was happy to see a smile on Sammy's face and was determined to make sure it didn't go to the wayside like it had too many times in the last few months. It hadn't take long to convince his little brother to find the nearest pool hall so they could try to get back to normal – well, as normal as they were to begin with. To be honest though he was nervous about this little trek away from the motel, he didn't normally venture out without Sammy close by, and they hadn't played a game of pool since before the accident that had trapped him in the contraption he was in at the moment.

"You ready Dean?" Sam asked as he picked out a couple of cues that he knew his brother would like and handed them over for final inspection. Seeing that his brother had picked one, he took the other and headed towards a table in the back corner out of the way. He knew Dean was still self conscious even if he didn't say anything; they were brothers and could read each other like a book.

"I was born ready Sammy. Stand back and let me show you how it's done." Dean smirked as he wheeled himself closer to the table and lined up his shot for the break. Although he was all smiles, he was secretly thankful that they were in the back so not too many people were taking notice of them, the fewer who was staring at him, the better he felt.

Although not his greatest break ever, Dean had to admit that it felt good to get back to doing something so natural to him. It took three more shots before it was Sammy's turn and when he looked over he was surprised by the blatant pride that shone from the kids face. He was just about to comment on it when the look disappeared, replaced by a subtle rage and Dean felt the presence getting closer.

"Well, well, well, look who we have here… the freak Sammy Winchester. Who you have here Sammy… your boyfriend?"

"Lay off, Blake." Sam snarled, holding onto his cue stick tighter as Blake and his friends began to surround them. He didn't have a problem facing off with these jerks by himself; he did have a problem doing it where his brother could get hurt.

"Sam, who's your friends?" Dean asked cautiously. He knew that his brother had a few problems at some of the other schools, but he hadn't heard anything about this one – this situation was a complete surprise to him… and he hated surprises.

"Yeah Sammy, aren't you going to introduce us?" another boy taunted before he shoved Dean's chair forward, knocking him into the table.

Dean immediately whipped his arm behind him, grabbing the other boy's wrist and twisted until the kid was whimpering on his knees.

Seeing their friend in pain the rest of Blake's friends jumped in to teach Sammy and his friend a lesson. Dean had no sooner turned his chair around than he was dodging a fist, immediately taking the end of pool cue and shoving it hard into the armpit of his assailant. With one boy down with a possible broken wrist and another backing off holding his shoulder, he was determined to teach his brother's attackers a lesson.

Sam saw what was happening a mere moment before all the players moved. Seeing Dean take care of the first guy, he stepped in and hit Blake square in the forehead, shocking the other boy until he had no choice but to sit down. By the time Dean's pool cue nailed the pit of another attacker, he had the last one in a choke hold waiting until the body went limp before letting go. Seeing his brother was safe and sound, he turned back to Blake, "If you ever screw with my brother again, they'll never find the body."

Not bothering to wait for a reply, they made their way towards the exit and into the early afternoon sun.

"Wow Sammy, you really know how to show a guy a good time." Dean smirked, knowing that if his little brother didn't laugh now he'd explode. Silence reined another moment before he heard the quiet laughter coming from his side and knew that everything was alright.

"Thanks Dean. Hey… those were some pretty cool moves you had in there. Remind me never to make you mad." Sam said, knocking into his brother cheerfully.

Smiling, Dean was happy to have the good mood back and answered, "Yeah, and don't you forget it… bitch!"