Disclaimer: I do not receive any profit for my fanfictions, nor do I own Supernatural or Sam and Dean Winchester.
Title: Snow Day
Status: One Shot/Complete
Set When: Er… after Sam had turned 23 and Dean turned 27.
Summary: Sam and Dean pass through a snow covered neighborhood on the way to a job, where two little brothers are playing with each other in the cold. Memories spring up, and they realize how lucky they are to have each other.
Warnings: um… near-death experience; er… fluffiness?
Sam looked outside the window of his Impala as Dean and himself made their way through a snow covered neighborhood. The white fluffs fell from the sky, causing the scenery to become that of a winter wonderland. There wasn't anything in sight that wasn't white, and children ran around in their lawns, throwing snowballs at each other.
Dean looked over at his brother, slowing to a stop. Sam didn't seem to notice, or he didn't mind. He was staring out the window at two little boys, and sad and longing smile playing on his lips. Dean looked out the window, curious.
"Jerry!" the older of the two, who looked about ten, yelled, laughing. His little brother, Jerry, who looked about six, had just thrown a snowball at him. The older grabbed some snow, throwing it at the little boy.
Jerry laughed and ducked, running around the snowman the two had built in the yard. "Steven, you can't get me!"
Steven grabbed another snowball, aiming for his brother. "Wanna bet?"
"You wouldn't hit Mr. Snowman, though!" Jerry whined, looking frightful and his brother advanced on him.
"Of course not!" Steven reassured, shrugging. "Why would I wreck the first snowman you made on your own?"
"Cause you're a mean older brother!" Jerry yelled, before laughing, covering his face with his hands.
Steven took this as a sign and grabbed his little brother, shoving snow down his back.
"It's cold! It's cold!" Jerry yelled, staring to hop around the lawn. "Stevie, it's cold!"
Steven laughed at his little brother, but grabbed his arm, pulling him over. Still laughing, he put his hand up his brother's back, below the shirt. He pulled what was left of the fast melting snow out, then grabbed another snowball, crushing it on his brother's head.
Jerry laughed, tackling his older brother to the ground.
Sam laughed slightly, then looked around. "Wait. Where are we?" He looked over at his older brother, eyebrows raised. When he didn't get a response he noticed that Dean was also staring out the window, a longing look in his eyes.
"Sammy, c'mere!" yelled a nine year old Dean, running outside. It was snowing outside, and they had always been down in Florida or California for the winter; John was afraid that Sam would get sick in the snow, and didn't want to have to deal with a runny nosed young child. But now they were in Montana, and the ground outside was covered with snow.
Sam ran out of the house, and his eyes went wide in fear. "Dean, the sky is falling! Run!" He then ran back into the house.
Dean laughed and ran after his brother, opening the door. He found Sam crouched next to the window, staring outside with scared eyes. Dean walked over to him, turning him around. "Sam, the sky isn't falling. It's snow. It's only snow."
"Snow?" Sam asked, his eyes going wide in pure excitement. He then ran past Dean and out the door. "Dean, it's snowing!"
Dean ran after his brother, nodding. "Yup, Sammy, it is. Wanna build a snowman?" Sam then frowned, looking sad. "What's wrong?"
"I don't know how," Sam said quietly, looking down at the ground.
"I'll teach you," Dean said, shrugging. He grabbed some snow from the ground and made it a ball in his hands.
"Really?" Sam asked, smiling widely as he looked back up at his older brother.
"Yeah!" Dean said, grinning. He couldn't help it; whenever Sam was happy he immediately became happy to. His baby brother always had that affect on him, but he wouldn't change it for anything in the world. "What are big brothers for?"
"I love you, Dean," Sam said, hugging his brother tightly.
Dean smiled slightly, looking down at his brother. "I love you, too, Sammy." After a couple minutes he rolled his eyes, though he was still smiling. "Sammy, if you don't let go of me the snow's gonna melt before we have a chance to build a snowman."
Sam let go of Dean immediately. "Let's build one, let's build one!" he yelled, a smile reaching across his face as he bounced up and down.
"Okay, c'mon," Dean said, starting to make one with his baby brother.
"Dean?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows. He was smirking slightly.
"What?" Dean asked, looking over at Sam quickly.
"Where are we?" Sam repeated, crossing his arms. He looked back at the brothers.
"Almost there," Dean said, looking back out the window.
"Why'd we stop?" Sam asked, not willing to tear his eyes away from the memories that the boys represented to look at his own brother.
Dean seemed to not hear him, and pulled his keys out of the ignition. "Hey, Sammy, wanna make a snowman?"
"What, do I look like I'm five?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows slightly.
Dean shrugged. "Fine, geez. Just thought it'd be fun."
"Wow, I didn't know that you were capable of that," Sam said, laughing slightly when he received a playful glare from Dean. He looked back at the kids, then nodded. "Yeah, sure. But where?"
Dean shrugged. "We could go hang out with those kids."
Sam raised his eyebrows in surprise. "First you want to play in the snow and now you want to go play in the snow with kids? Who are you and what have you done with my sarcastic pain in the ass brother?"
Dean rolled his eyes, though Sam could've sworn he saw a light smile playing on his lips. He got out of the car, and Sam sighed slightly, getting out after him.
Dean walked over to the kids, sporting a grin. Steve stepped in front of Jerry protectively. "Who are you? What do you want?"
"You two are brothers, right?" Dean asked, kneeling down in front of them.
"Yeah, that's right. What's it to you?" Steven asked, crossing his arms.
"Well, me and my brother are on a road trip, and the snow just looked so inviting. Do you mind if we play with you guys?" Dean asked, looking hopeful.
"Well… only until our Mom and Dad get home," Steven said, nodding. "But then you have to go."
"They left you here alone?" Sam asked, walking over to the three.
Steven nodded. "Yup. They said that they'd only be gone a little while. Jerry's sick, so they had to go get him some medicine."
"Sick? Then why the hell is he out here?" Dean asked, staring at the ten year old like he was insane.
"He's not that kind of sick," Steven said quietly, looking down at the ground.
"The doctor says that something's wrong with my head," Jerry said, not looking at all scared. He smiled widely. "Mommy and Daddy and Steven don't like to talk about it."
Sam looked over at Dean, who also glanced at him. They shared a look for a moment, both thinking the same things. Poor kids. And poor Steven for having to deal with the thought about losing his little brother.
"We're trying to make this winter really good for him because the doctors don't know if he's going to see the next one," Steven said quietly, looking over at his brother.
"I'm sorry," Dean whispered, looking over at the little kid. "I'm sure he'll be fine; just give him a lot of support and be there for him. Be a really good big brother."
"You think that'll work?" Steven asked, looking hopeful.
Dean nodded, smiling sadly at him. "I'm sure it will. My little brother got into a few tough scrapes before, and I always stood there next to him, supporting him, being strong. I let him know that I was there for him, and now here he is, twenty three, healthy, and walking around. Not too bad, huh?"
Steven looked over at Sam for a second, then looked back at Dean. He smiled and nodded. "Okay. Thank you."
"Just be strong," Dean said, giving Steven a light, playfully punch in the shoulder. He then dug into his pocket, pulling out his wallet. He grabbed a card, handing it to the kid. "My cell phone number's on the back. If you ever need us just call, okay?"
Steven nodded. "Okay." He stuck the card into his own pocket, then looked back at his little brother. "Jerry, wanna play with these nice men?"
Jerry jumped up and down, nodding quickly. "Yeah, yeah, yeah!"
Sam watched the boys, swallowing hard. He didn't quite feel like playing in the snow anymore. Before he knew it, everything went black.
"Dean, are you out here?" Sam asked, walking outside slowly. It was the same year, just a few days later. "Dean?" When he received no response, he sighed, walking over to his snowman. He grinned, looking up at it. "Hi Mr. Snowball Man Thing! Have you seen my brother?" When it didn't respond Sam crossed his arms, looking annoyed. "Fine. Be that way. I'll just find Dean on my own."
Sam trudged up the snow covered hills that were next to his house, his boots crunching causing a slight crunching sound to be made whenever he walked. As he looked around, he sighed. No Dean. "Dean? Where are you?" Sam sat down in the snow, bringing his knees to his chest. The cold air caused his throat to start hurting, and the tears that now slid down his face to burn. Without holding back, the young five year old started sobbing.
"Sammy? Is that you?"
Sam turned around on the snow slowly, looking around. What he saw next made a big smile cross his face. "Dean!"
"Sammy!" Dean ran towards his brother, looking like he had just seen a ghost. But as he got a little closer to his brother he stopped walking, looking down at the snow. "Sam, stay there. And don't move."
"What's wrong?" Sam asked, standing up. He then heard a crack, looking down. "Dean, why is the ground breaking?" As he looked back at his brother he could see the fear in the older Winchester's eyes, and it suddenly struck Sam. He was standing on ice. "Dean, go back. I'll make it fine."
"Sammy, stop moving!" Dean yelled, the fear now evident in his voice. He slowly started walking towards Sam, cursing when he realized that with every step he took the ice threatened to break beneath him.
"Dean, Daddy said that bad words are…" Sam thought for a moment, choosing his words carefully. "… bad."
Dean couldn't help but laugh slightly as his brother's remark. He nodded. "I know, Sammy. I'm sorry." He backed up slowly, sighing in relief when he was on land. He looked over at his brother, who was still stuck in the middle of the lake. "Sam, walk towards me. Slowly," he said, putting an emphasis on the last word. "And avoid walking where I just was."
Sam nodded and started walking forward, looking down at the ice. As he realized it was slowly breaking beneath his feet, he stopped, letting out a small sob.
"Sammy, just keep your eyes on me. Don't look at the ice," Dean said softly, the fear laced throughout his words.
Sam looked up at his brother, nodding slightly. He started forward again, but made the mistake of walking where Dean had been before. Before he knew what was happening he fell through the ice, water surrounding him. He didn't even know how much time passed, but before he knew it he was thrown onto the ground.
As Sam sat up slowly he looked around, not seeing anything for a moment. He then looked over at the water, watching his brother struggle beneath the ice.
"Dean!" Sam yelled, his eyes popping open. He looked around, realizing that he was laying on a couch, a warm washcloth on his forehead. He looked up and the first person he saw was Dean. Tears came to his eyes and he hugged his brother tightly, never wanting to let go.
"Woah, woah, woah. Sammy, what's wrong?" Dean pulled back his brother a bit, so he could look into his eyes. He saw the pain and fear in them, and that broke Dean's heart. What had Sam dreamed?
"I…" Sam took a few deep breaths, shaking his head. "Nothing. Where are we?"
"We're inside Jerry and Steven's house," Dean said, looking behind him. Sam looked over, too, finding a worried looking woman standing there. Dean looked back at Sam. "His parents were just driving up the street when you blacked out. Their dad helped me get you inside since you weigh a ton. Now, really, what's wrong? You were screaming and yelling… God, Sam, you were even crying."
Sam swallowed hard, taking a few deep breaths. "I… I remembered what happened my first winter with snow. My first cold winter, when I was five? The ice, and the cold water… the image of you under and…" He shivered slightly.
The woman handed Dean a blanket, and he wrapped it around his little brother. She then left, giving the two some privacy. "Hey, Sam, it's alright. I didn't drown."
"Only because Dad got there in time," Sam whispered, looking away from his brother. "What if he hadn't? What if he had been out on a hunt? You would've… I mean… God, I remember being so scared."
Dean nodded slightly, sighing. "Yeah, I remember. You wouldn't go to sleep unless I was in the same bed as you for a couple weeks after that." He then grabbed Sam's chin gently, forcing his little brother to look at him. "Sam, had fallen in the ice. Of course I was going to jump in after you. And neither of us died, so it's all good. Now stop turning this into a chick flick moment before I hurt you."
Sam smiled slightly, nodding. "Sorry."
"Don't be," Dean said, rubbing his brother's arm a bit, hoping to warm him up. "You were five, of course you were scared. Falling in the ice, watching your big brother struggle against the cold water… If the places had been reversed I would've been scared, too."
"You mean if I was you big brother?" Sam asked, raising his eyebrows slightly. "Thank god it's the way it is."
Dean smirked slightly, pushing Sam playfully. "Seriously. I would've died already, with a big brother who cares more about books than hunting."
Sam rolled his eyes. "Like I would've let that happen." He stood up, shivering again, though he set the blanket down on the couch. "Why am I so cold?"
"Sam, you weren't wearing the right clothing to be in the snow. Then you landed face first in it. I'd be scared if you weren't cold." Dean then grabbed Sam's arm, pulling him towards the door. "C'mon, let's go on that hunt now."
"What about the boys?" Sam asked, looking confused.
"I'm sure they'll be just fine. I mean, really, I doubt Steven is going to let anything happen to Jerry."
Sam nodded, smiling slightly. "Good point. And I'm sure Jerry's going to be just fine, knowing that Steven's always going to be there to protect him."
"Damn straight," Dean said, nodding. He then pushed Sam out the door. "Let's go, geek boy. Another job, another ghost to bust."
Haley: Sorry, no Sam and Dean at the end of this story! They, uh…. Er….. Went on a vacation! Yes! That's right! Sam and Dean when on a vacation! Heh…. Bye! Runs away.