A/N: So this is a prompt for chillywinterbreeze who asked a while ago: "Since I am currently snowed in, what if Tyler, Cole and the brothers get hit with a blizzard?" I put a bit of a twist on it but I really like the result. (Also, it snowed last week where I live so that was a harsh reminder!)

I also decided that I would tentatively label Cole as autistic, at least for this drabble. He shows a lot of signs of it, but he's also much more well-adjusted than many of the autism spectrum. He still shows signs of selective muteness. If he was a real person, he would probably have a few different diagnoses and many different therapies and treatments. But, this is fiction, which means I get to also make stuff up!

Sam was napping on the couch…until he wasn't.

"Shhh. Wait, Cole, wait." There was a rush of air behind Sam's neck as he kept still, wondering what his twins were up to. He was turned into the couch so they didn't notice when he smiled at Cole's quiet giggle. It never got old hearing his largely non-verbal child laugh.

"Shhh," Tyler said again.

"Shhh," Cole mimicked.

"That's right," Tyler said. "Now, put it right there." Sam didn't have any time to wonder what "it" was before little hands were grasping at his collar and then something cold slipped down his back.

"Whaa?" he yelped. He sat up faster than if he'd been bitten by a vampire, fanning his shirt away from is body as the cold, wet something left an icy trail down his spine. Peels of laughter filled the living room and after Sam had recovered, he saw Tyler rolling around on the floor, laughing his head off.

"Your face!" he gasped, looking at Sam from his spot on the rug. "It looked so funny!"

"You put snow down my shirt?" Sam said, half-angry, half-impressed.

"Not me," Tyler said, sitting up. "Cole did."

Sam's other son was standing nearby, looking innocent as he could be. He smiled at his father.

"Somehow, I don't believe that," Sam said.

"It's true!" Tyler protested, eyebrows drawing together in a way that made him look exactly like his Uncle Dean. In fact, this whole thing was very Dean-esque. Tyler was becoming more and more of a troublemaker as he got older, the same mischievous streak running through his veins as the one that got Dean in so much trouble as a child.

"Cole, did you put snow down my shirt?" Sam asked. The boy smiled again.

"Wet."

"Yes, snow is wet. Now my shirt is all wet. See?" Sam pulled the shirt off his back and Cole stepped forward.

"Dad, can I have a cookie?" Tyler asked, bored now that the excitement was over.

"No," Sam said.

"But I'm hungry!" Tyler whined.

"Then have a piece of fruit. There are apple and bananas on the kitchen table." Tyler rolled his eyes but trotted off to the kitchen.

"Wet," Cole said, pointing to Sam's shirt. He petted the fabric and Sam grabbed hold of the small hand.

"Your fingers are pretty cold, buddy," Sam aid, trying to keep a stern look on his face. Cole pressed his other hand to Sam's cheek.

"Cold."

"Almost like you've been holding a snowball," Sam said. He wasn't angry anymore; he was amazed. Cole showed very little of his brother's devilry and Sam and Sarah weren't sure if that was just his personality or if it had something to do with his…problems.

Cole grinned.

"Wet, cold," he trilled. "Wet, cold, wet, cold." Sam laughed and pulled the child closer to him. This was a good sign. A good, good sign. He couldn't wait to tell Sarah. They loved Cole just the way he was but it was always a relief when he something other kids did. Like tell a joke. Or pull a prank.

"Come here," Sam said, wiping Cole's hands off with the shirt. "Where's Puppy?"

"Night-night," Cole said.

"Yeah, she's taking a nap? Lucky her," he grumbled good-naturedly. The sweatshirt he'd taken off before lying down was on the floor and he pulled it over his head, glancing outside. It was only one in the afternoon, but the sky was a dark gray, snowflakes the size of potato chips falling. It had been snowing like that since the early hours of the morning. Sarah was at a conference and had already texted to say she probably wouldn't make it home.

There was a clatter from the kitchen.

"Tyler?" Sam called, rushing into the kitchen, Cole hot on his heels.

Tyler had pushed a chair over the far corner and was kneeling on the counter next to the stove, the snacks cabinet open in front of him.

"Tyler!" His son turned around, glancing first at Sam and then at the two bags of goldfish scattered on the floor.

"Oops," he said. Cole stepped around the spilled crackers and went over to his brother, reaching up a hand.

"Please," he said. "Please thank you." Tyler gave his brother a cookie and then took two more before climbing down, completely ignoring Sam.

The scene stirred something in Sam. Dean used to raid convenience stores while Sam spun some sob story to the owner, diverting attention. Dean always split the loot exactly 50/50 and he always made sure to get Sam's favorite type of cookie if it was available.

Tyler stopped in front of his father and smiled, dimples appearing. He held out an offering.

"Want a cookie?"

xxx

He had to get the boys out of the house. They were going crazy just hanging out, and they were testing his patience. An hour after the cookie incident, Tyler had opened the backdoor and run right out onto the deck, which was under at least a foot of snow.

He didn't even have shoes on.

Sam had run out after him and scooped the squealing child up as if he were a toddler again and not a growing eight year old.

"You…are…insane," Sam panted. "What did I do to deserve you?"

"Can we c-call Uncle D-d-dean?" Tyler asked as Sam stripped him of his wet pants.

"No, he's on a business trip."

"Uncle Dean!" Cole shrieked, dancing around the other two. Puppy had woken from her nap and was watching her charge from across Tyler's bedroom.

"Nope," Sam said. He rubbed Tyler down and then put the kid in some pint-sized sweatpants. "Maybe we can call in a couple days."

"But I want to tell him about the snow!"

"Bud, he doesn't even have his phone on him. He'll call in a few days."

"Will he come visit? Can we build a snowman with him?"

"When he calls, I'll ask him."

"But what if all the snow is gone by then?"

"Bye-bye," Cole said, climbing up on Tyler's bed and starting to jump. "Bye-bye snow."

"I think it's going to stick around for a while," Sam said. "They already called you guys off of school for tomorrow."

"Wheeee!" Tyler said, joining his brother on the bed. Sam just shook his head.

"We're going sledding," he announced. Tyler stopped bouncing.

"Now?"

"Yes. It stopped snowing for a bit and we can walk to the small hill down the road."

"YES!" Tyler yelled, jumping off the bed and landing on all fours. "I'm going to go put on my boots!" He disappeared down the hall.

"Come on," Sam said, helping Cole off the bed. "We're going sledding." Cole looked at him suspiciously. He still wasn't big on leaving the house, even more reluctant when it was sprung on him all of a sudden.

"No outside."

"Yes," Sam said. "It'll be fun. Tyler and Puppy are going to. Go get put on Puppy's vest and harness, okay?"

It took them a while to get ready. First, Sam had to wrangle both boys into snowsuits and then adorn them with hats, scarves, and gloves, not to mention the four tiny boots that had to be tied. Then he had to dress himself and dig the sleds out of garage. Tyler stomped around in the driveway while Sam cursed himself for not being more organized. Cole wandered out more slowly, making sure there were no neighbors around before stepping out to follow his brother.

Finally, finally, they could go. Luckily, the street had been plowed so the twins could walk easily on top of the packed surface. After a couple minutes of walking, Cole loosened up and detached himself from Sam's side to run ahead with his brother.

Over a foot of snow covered the peaceful neighborhood, much of it undisturbed as everyone stayed in their houses. It quieted the world in a way that made Sam grateful. Grateful to be here, taking his boys sledding, like a normal family. Sometimes, he took it for granted how easy his life was. Sometimes he forgot Dean was still out there, fighting the good fight. That was a part of Sam he hated about himself.

When they got to the hill, Tyler grabbed the round saucer sled from Sam and sat down in it right away.

"Push me, Dad!" he said with glee.

"Remember to keep your fingers in," Sam said. "And if you need to slow down, drag your heels."

"I know," Tyler said impatiently. "I'm not a baby!"

"Alright, alright," Sam said, giving his son a push and watching him careen down the hill, the saucer turning around and around.

"Wooo!" Tyler shrieked when he got to the bottom, climbing off and looking back to see if his father was watching. Sam gave him two thumbs up and then turned to Cole, who had plopped himself in the snow.

"Cole, do you want to go for a ride?" Cole didn't look up.

"No."

"What are you doing, bud?" Cole held up a misshapen snowball. Puppy pranced close to the boy's side, snatching up bites of the white fluff. Sam made his own snowball, packing it tightly and then tossing it gently at Cole. It hit the boy in the arm and he started, dropping his own snowball to inspect his arm.

"All gone," Cole said, wiping the remains of Sam's snowball off his arm. He went back to packing his own snowball.

"Dad, push me again!" Tyler was back and sitting in the sled. His face was red with cold but those green eyes shone brightly from under his hat. Sam sent him off again.

"Cole, throw the snowball," Sam said, not liking his son's intense fascination with the snowball. "Throw it at me." Cole glanced at him and then back down to the snow, brow furrowed. Sam got down on his knees. "Come on, like a baseball," Sam urged.

"No baseball," Cole said, looking around. He held up empty hands and shook his head.

"No," Sam said, growing frustrated. Sometimes he just didn't know how to communicate to Cole. He could tell Cole was trying hard to respond appropriately and it was difficult for both of them. Dean was always better at knowing what Cole wanted and was thinking. "Snowball," Sam said. "Throw it." He mimicked throwing something.

"What are you guys doing?" Tyler asked, traipsing over.

"I'm trying to show Cole how to throw a snowball."

"Watch me, Cole," Tyler said. "I'll show you." He scooped up a handful of snow and patted it into a sphere. "See? Are you watching?" Cole nodded, totally fixated on his brother.

Sam was again reminded of his own childhood and how he had followed Dean's every move, trying to emulate his brother in every way possible. And Dean had rarely lost patience with Sam-the-tagalong. He saw so much of that with Cole and Tyler. Even though they were twins, Cole's special needs created a gap between them and Tyler often played the role of older sibling. He was usually patient with Cole, especially when it was just the two of them. In public, Tyler tended to shy away from his brother's eccentricities but not in a mean way. Sam understood but it bothered Sarah more.

"Okay, now you throw it. Like this." Tyler reared back and let the snowball fly. It landed about ten feet away, disappearing into the snow. "Then you can make another one and throw that one." He threw a second snowball. Cole twisted around to look back at Sam, who smiled encouragingly.

"Cole, can you say snowball?" Tyler asked, making a third one.

"Snowball," Cole repeated and he held up his own, which was starting to fall apart.

"Now, throw it," Tyler said. There was one more moment of hesitation but then Cole launched the snowball into the air and it flew far, landing further away than Tyler's. Cole definitely had an arm on him. Puppy chased after it, burrowing her nose into the pocket it had created. Cole whined.

"We don't whine," Sam reminded him. "If you want something, you have to ask."

"Puppy, come," Cole called and the dog shot back over to him, crawling into his lap and licking his chin.

"Cole, let's go sledding," Tyler said, taking his brother's hand and leading him over to the plastic toboggan Sam had abandoned when they got to the hill.

"No," Cole said.

"Yes," Tyler said. "It's fun."

"No!" Cole said again and Puppy became more alert, more professional when she heard the panic in his voice. She pushed her nose into Cole's hip until he pet her, grabbing onto her harness through thick gloves.

"Don't push," Sam warned Tyler. "If he doesn't want to, he doesn't want to." Tyler scowled, all patience dissipating.

"Who is supposed to go with me if he won't?"

"Why don't you go ask Peter to come out?" Sam suggested, talking about the little boy who lived nearby. "He might like to sled with you." Cole was back to sitting in the snow but he seemed to have caught on to the idea of snowballs and kept throwing them for Puppy to chase. His high-pitched giggles seemed even louder in the quiet of the outdoors. Louder and somehow purer.

Tyler was gone for ten minutes but when he came back, Peter was following him, trudging through the snow in a bright red snowsuit. Cole abruptly stopped laughing when he saw the other kid and ran to his father, even though he knew Peter. Sam sighed.

"It's okay," Sam said. He forced himself to remember that it was a step forward to just get Cole out of the house and out of his usual routine. He hadn't been sure the sledding trip wouldn't cause a meltdown or a panic attack but so far, so good. He wanted to keep it that way.

Cole clung to him for another minute and then sat down and went back to making snowballs. Sam went and pushed Peter and Tyler down the hill. He was watching the two kids slide down the hill when he felt something hit the back of his left knee. His Hunter instincts had him whirling around but all he found was a surprised looking Cole, his mouth a perfect 'O'.

"Did you just throw a snowball at me?" Sam asked, heart lifting. Cole shook his head but the grin tugging on his lips gave him away. "Well, you know what that means," Sam said, tossing one back. It hit Cole right in the chest but he recovered fast, crawling on his knees to a new patch of snow and then making another one. This one landed on Sam's hip – although Sam might have stepped in the path of it on purpose, just to see the look of elation of Cole's face when it made contact. Puppy bounced between the two of them, always running back to Cole when he called.

Sam heard the chatter of the other two boys as they made their way back up the hill, talking about a new Lego set Peter had gotten for his birthday. He watched his quieter child who beaming as he threw snowball after snowball at his child. And in that moment, Sam swore that he'd stop trying to compare Cole to every other kid around, including Tyler.

Because happiness wasn't always expressed by words. His child was proof of that.

A/N: Let me know what you thought! And maybe leave a review, I'd love to hit that 250 mark :)