Hi, what's up? This takes place right after Yellow Fever and obviously just before It's the Great Pumpkin, Sam Winchester. Expect small spoilers from both. And I make a reference back to season one's episode Hell House. I couldn't help it.

Enjoy

Bye…

Supernatural

Waverly, Iowa, 2009…

They hadn't had a hunt in over a week; the last having come pretty damn close to killing Dean. It wasn't because he was afraid to hunt, their lack of a hunt (because Dean was not afraid of hunting), but because neither him nor Sam could find anything interesting. He didn't want to hunt a ghost, again not because he was afraid, but because they had already kinda hunted one… sorta. The demons were being unnaturally quiet, the angels haven't shown their heads, there were no lower level supernatural creatures running around, and he was started to get bored.

Sam had talked him into a break, a half hour of actual diner food and not take-out from some odd ball place around town. They were sitting in the furthest booth from the door, waiting for their food. The place wasn't packed. In fact, excluding Dean and Sam, there were only four other people in a diner that could easily seat fifty at the most. Three of which were the wait staff playing Scrabble at a corner table, and the forth the cook. A bell dinged and the skinner of the three waitresses got to her feet and shuffled over to the cook's area. She grabbed two plates from the counter, carrying them over to Dean and Sam.

"Double bacon cheese burger with chili chess fries," she said placing the plate in front of Dean, "and a chef salad." She deposited the second plate in from of Sam and then returned to her Scrabble game. The cook joined the game a few seconds later, taking his place next to a blonde who had been playing for him while he cooked.

"I wonder how much salad one man can eat before he becomes a girl," Dean commented taking the top off his burger and dousing it in ketchup. He added his onions, lettuce, tomato, and pickle to the ketchup before replacing the top once more.

"Eating healthy doesn't necessarily mean I'm a girl," Sam commented stabbing several pieces of lettuce and a piece of egg with his fork before shoveling it into his mouth.

"Sm, eang hathy dsn't necsly mn yul lve a log lfe, eithr," Dean retorted around a huge bite of burger. Some managed to escape his mouth, pelting Sam in the face.

"God Dean, didn't anyone ever teach you any manners?" his brother snapped wiping his face with a napkin from the dispenser on the table.

Dean swallowed before he said, "Pastor Jim tried once. It didn't go so well."

"I guess it's kinda hard to teach someone who doesn't want to learn," Sam muttered taking a drink of his soda.

"Ha, ha."

They lapsed into silence, both returning to their meals. Someone from the Scrabble game had their word questioned, her voice flitting over to the two brothers, "It is too a word. Caterize is a word."

"Bridge, it's cauterize. You need a U. You don't have a U. Pick another word." The cook said trying hard not to laugh.

"Are you sure?" the girl asked curiously.

"Bridgette it's cauterize. God, are you sure you're in college?" another woman asked with a chuckle.

"It was a lapse in memory, Cara," Bridgette snapped taking her pieces from the board.

"Guys, knock it off. We have customers," the last woman said, the blonde who had been playing for the cook earlier.

"Do you two mind?" Bridgette asked glancing over at Dean and Sam.

"Carry on," they said together before returning to their meals. Dean found it funny how they were talking about a word that was reality to him and Sam. The number of times they had had to cauterize a wound couldn't be counted on two hands. A couple of toes had to be added to the mix to get the exact number. And it was probably one of the most painful treatments either Sam or him had to have. Easily in the top five and these people were talking about it like it was just a word, part of a game. Strange world, he thought with a slight shake of his head.

About five minutes later Sam stood up. Dean gave him a curious look before he scoffed and said, "I'm going to the bathroom. Would you like to join me?"

"No," Dean replied returning to his burger. As nonchalantly as he could, he followed his brother's trek to the bathroom. No matter how many times Sam told him he wasn't using his powers, how many times he promised he wasn't in cahoots with Ruby anymore, Dean still didn't quite trust him. There was still the off chance he was doing both. But what could he do? Sam was a grown up and could make his own decisions. No matter how screwed up they were and how many times Dean told him not to. Besides, Dean couldn't exactly feign innocence with his secrets either. Sam knew he remembered Hell, or suspected at least, when nightmares plagued his older brother's sleep practically every night. But those were things best kept locked up in the deepest pits of his mind. To never be explored again.

Dean sighed, putting his burger down. He wiped his hands on his napkin, glancing around the diner, not exactly hungry anymore. He wished they could find a hunt, get out of this tiny town, and maybe he'd stop thinking so much. Thinking never did his brother any good; it probably wouldn't help him in the slightest. He had to do something, anything, to get his mind off things.

And there it was. Sam's fork was sitting neatly on his napkin, waiting for his brother to get back and finish eating his 'rabbit food.' Dean glanced around the diner again, making sure Sam was still in the bathroom, and snatched the utensil off the napkin. He weighed it in his hand, unsure what to do with it. There were a couple things he had in mind, one quite possibly the nastiest thing he could do. He pushed that one aside, knowing it would cross the line, and opted to lick the fork. He quickly replaced it and went back to picking at his burger.

Sam came back not even thirty seconds later, his cell phone glued to his ear, listening to whatever the other person was saying. He sat down, Dean throwing him a curious look. Bobby, he mouthed before saying, "We'll check it out. Thanks Bobby." He hung up, stashing his phone back in his right hip pocket.

"What'd he want? Did he find us a hunt?"

"Maybe," Sam replied picking his fork up. Dean waited, anticipation washing over him. Instead of using it, his brother replaced it on the napkin and said, "A woman found her husband on the kitchen floor, dead. Coroner took a look at him, found razor blades in his stomach. Get this; he was eating store bought candy."

"So…"

"Bobby thinks it's a witch or something. Maybe a demon. I mean, Halloween is coming up in a few days."

"And we're gonna check it out?"

"I told him we would."

"Great, finish your salad and we'll go."

Sam gave him a suspicious look, glancing down at his salad. "No," he said slowly.

"Come on, Sammy. We aren't kids anymore. Why would I do anything to your salad?"

"Does the itching powder incident mean anything to you? We weren't kids back then, either."

"I mean it. I didn't do anything to your food. I promise." Dean returned to his food, picking up a stray fry and taking a bite. He still wasn't hungry, but he had to keep up the pretenses.

"Okay…" Sam grabbed his fork, stabbing the final bite of salad. He shoveled the remaining bits into his mouth, freezing when Dean snorted. "What did you do? Seriously, tell me."

"Whatever they put in that salad is nasty," was all Dean said glancing at Sam's fork before motioning the Scrabble table for the check.

"You are sick," Sam snapped spitting his food into his napkin. Dean laughed as their waitress walked over to their table. He was in a better mood from earlier; he just hoped it would last.

Supernatural

Sam was still peeved at his brother. Dean could act his age sometimes, but there was always the off chance he'd revert back to twelve again. Seriously, what twenty-nine year old licks his brother's fork while said brother is away from the table?

Of course, it was nice to see his brother do something like that again. Dean hadn't been Dean for a while. Yes, he'd make a few jokes, tried to become the pre-death Dean again, but something kept him from it. Secrets he wouldn't share with Sam. Maybe Dean couldn't remember all of Hell, but there were still some lingering memories. Or his subconscious was haunting him with suppressed memories. Something had to be triggering the nightmares that kept occurring nearly every night. And drinking could only get Dean so far. But if he didn't want to talk about it, Sam couldn't force him. Dean was a grown up, making his own decisions, no matter what said decisions were doing to him mentally, emotionally, and physically.

They had just pulled into the motel's parking lot, a two floor building with a pool. It was probably the nicest place they had stayed in a long time. It was a borderline hotel. Only missing the optional wakeup call, room service, and any other small or large commodity a hotel comes with. Of course, Melvin the day manager might make a wakeup call if they paid him enough. Sam couldn't be sure.

The pool was still open, it being oddly warm for almost the end of October, and Dean was closest. Sam didn't even think about it, the fork incident like a demon possessing him. He laid a hand on his brother's shoulder and pushed, sending Dean into the pool.

There was a splash, a few specks of water hitting Sam's jacket, and Dean sunk to the bottom before kicking off the floor and swimming to the surface. He was coughing when he resurfaced, blinking rapidly to get the chlorine water from his eyes.

"What…what the hell?" he sputtered running a hand across his face.

"Maybe you're not the only one who can revert to twelve," Sam said, a grin spreading across his face.

"You suck," Dean said. "Help me out." He offered Sam his hand, the appendage dripping water into the pool.

"Do I look stupid? You'll just pull me in."

"I'm calling a truce. Will you please help me out?"

"I don't see why you can't use the ladder…" Logic caught up with Sam too late, his hand already in Dean's grasp, when he was pulled into the water. He sunk to the bottom, kicking his feet seconds before he hit the bottom, and broke the surface a few seconds later.

"You suck," he grumbled spitting pool water out of his mouth.

"It's your fault, anyway," Dean said swimming toward the ladder.

"My fault," Sam protested following his brother. "How is me getting revenge my fault. You licked my fork earlier."

"Yes, but you grabbed my hand, you allowed me to pull you into the pool, so it's your fault," Dean replied climbing out of the water. Sam climbed after him, dripping all over the cement when his feet hit land.

"I… But…" okay, so there was no retort to that. "You called a truce."

"Yeah, I did." And Dean headed toward their room, his shoes making squelchy noises as he walked.

"That was cheating," Sam called chasing after him.

"I know. But it's not like you've never cheated before."

Sam shook his head, once again unable to reply properly. Yes, he had cheated before at little things. Foot races, board games, a bike race once. He learned it from Dean, who cheated a lot more, on a lot of things. It was unethical, but it was also funny to see the look on his brother's face. Good memories of better times.

Sam froze, watching his brother continue on his way. It was probably the closest they had come to the old days, when they'd just play pointless pranks on each other. Sometimes Sam missed those days, but he knew he couldn't go back to that time. It was gone, he wasn't that guy, and Dean wasn't his same older brother. Things changed, people changed. It was pointless to try and stop it.

He sighed, starting to walk again. Water dripped from his hair into his eyes, down his nose, into his mouth. More water rolled down his back, despite the layers he had on. He wasn't even sure he had any clean clothes to change into. But he guessed it was worth it. Just for a taste of the old days…

Supernatural

I've actually done what Dean did once. Except it was with my hamburger. I had this friend in high school who weighed practically nothing but could eat Bill Gates out of house and home. He had eaten his lunch and started eyeing other people's lunches, looking for items our friends hadn't touched, when he spotted my burger. I quickly licked it because A-it was mine and B-well, I was hungry. Of course, he shrugged his shoulders and said, 'I'd still eat it.' Guys are weird sometimes.

Anyway, Scrabble isn't my favorite board game. I'm not very good at it despite the fact that I read all the time and writing is a hobby of mine. I'm like a walking contradiction or something. I do enjoy playing The Game of Life, though. That game is fun, especially with my brother. We are 'cheater, cheater pumpkin eaters' when we play that game. Plus, it gets ugly at the end. We can't lose to the other, but someone has to eventually lose, right?

Anyhoo, Thanks for any and all reviews, alerts, and/or support for the last chapter. I really hope to hear from you guys/gals again.

I've gotta go

Bye…