AN: There is so much fluff in this one that I almost made myself sick. I thought Isabel was a little bitchy to Sam in last chapter so I warned her that, if she doesn't want me to kill her off, she should redeem herself in this one.

Please R&R. Thanks again guys. AT

XXXXX

Harrison, Arkansas

They arrived in Harrison, Arkansas on the Friday night and immediately checked into a motel. It was different to other places they'd stayed in so far. For one, Harrison was a pretty large town, in fact, it was a city. They could feel it, a different atmosphere to a country town.

Isabel chose the motel this time, a nice middle of the range establishment in the centre of the town. It was a little over budget for what Dean and Sam were used to, but as she had decided to pay for it, they went along with it. They got a triple room, and all three were excited at the prospect of getting their own bed, especially Isabel who by default always ended up sharing with one of her cousins. They turned in early, tired from having driven all day. But it had been worth it as they'd made very good headway.

On Saturday morning Sam was surprised to wake up to an empty motel room. He looked around but there was no sign of Isabel or Dean. He stood up and walked over to the window, checking to see if the Impala was still parked out there. It wasn't. He figured they must have gone somewhere together, and it most likely had to do with his birthday. He shook his head in disbelief; they must have been really quiet for him not to hear them.

He was twenty three today and he'd never felt so old in his life. He shook his head sadly. Anyone would consider him to be in the prime of his life, people would kill to be young and healthy like he was. He knew he should feel lucky, but for some reason he always felt like something was missing, and this year, more than any other year before, he knew exactly what it was.

He leisurely walked over to his bag and picked out clean clothes from the hamper, the scent of lavender reached his nostrils and he inhaled with pleasure. They had been dead tired the night before yet Isabel, typically disregarding Dean's protests and Sam's unwillingness, had insisted they do their laundry in the motel's laundry room straight away. In spite of his lack of enthusiasm at the time, Sam was now glad they'd listened to her, as he now had clean clothes to change into.

He showered slowly and washed his hair wondering, as strands of shampoo-lathered hair rubbed against his eyes, if he should take Isabel's not-so-tactful advice and get a damn haircut already! Having been left alone, he'd left the bathroom door open and he could now hear, through sound of the water spray, the front door unlocking and Dean and Isabel's muffled voices.

"Hurry up birthday boy!" He heard Dean shout out to him before walking into the bathroom "Don't make me come in there and get you out"

Sam poked his head out of the shower curtain.

"A little privacy please, Dean" He said in annoyance then glared angrier as Isabel walked in "Isabel! I'm showering. Naked!"

Isabel looked at him undeterred "You don't have anything I haven't seen before Sam"

"Get out of here! Both of you!" He yelled in a fluster before disappearing behind the shower curtain.

Isabel and Dean turned to each other shrugging and laughing as they walked out of the bathroom, closing the door behind them.

"He's so uptight" He heard Isabel complain to Dean.

Sam finally came out of the bathroom and almost collided with his brother and cousin, who were standing just outside the door, seemingly eagerly waiting for him. Dean was holding a small chocolate cake with a single blue candle, and Isabel was holding a couple of gift wrapped boxes. They were wearing party hats and instead of looking annoyed or disinterested, like he had intended, Sam laughed at how absurd they looked. Isabel launched herself into the obligatory Happy Birthday song, frowning at Dean halfway through it for not joining in. Dean looked at her and simply shook his head in the negative, so she finished the song on her own.

"Well, make a wish and blow your candle" She said cheerfully.

He smiled, wondering just what she would be like if it was her birthday, and did just that, looking from his brother to his cousin as the flame expired.

"I'll get a knife and some plates" Dean said, setting the cake down on the small wooden table and walking over to the kitchen.

"Happy birthday Sammy" Isabel said to him brightly and set the presents down on the nearest bed to give her cousin a hug. He leaned down so she could put her arms over his shoulders and kiss his cheek, wrapping his own hands around her waist and lifting her right off the floor. She yelped in surprise and laughed, mussing his wet hair with one of her hands "Wanna open your presents?"

"Do I?" He said, setting her back on the ground.

Dean had cut up three pieces of the birthday cake. Isabel and Sam sat on the edge of the bed and she handed him the two beautifully wrapped boxes. He started opening the larger one.

"That one's from Dean" Isabel said.

Sam raised his eyebrows at his brother. Yes, it may be from Dean, but it had obviously been carefully wrapped by Isabel. He opened the box to reveal a bright, shiny rifle. He lifted it off the box and examined it closely in wonder.

"It's just like mine" Dean said, grabbing a small cardboard packet from the box and throwing it at his brother "Salt, silver and iron bullets"

Sam admired the weapon. It was by no means a normal birthday gift, like aftershave or boxer shorts, but then again, he and his brother were anything but normal. This was exactly the kind of thing that he would expect from Dean, because it would be the kind of present Dean would absolutely love himself. His brother would have put thought into it.

He nodded in appreciation at his brother "Thanks Dean"

"Happy birthday, bro" Dean said patting him on the shoulder.

"Open mine now!" Isabel shrieked, unable to contain her excitement as she thrust her own gift to Sam.

Sam chuckled at her and grabbed the small box, opening it slowly. He pulled out a book. He flipped through it to find blank ivory colored pages. It was a journal, much like his father's, except it was newer and more elegant, brown leather-bound with gold embossed SW, his initials, on the front cover.

"It's a journal" Sam said looking up at Isabel.

"It's like your dad's" She said, touching the leather spine "There's so much stuff that your dad's researched and written on his. I figured you should have one of your own, you know? Write down all the stuff you guys are investigating now. A new edition"

"I love it, thanks Bel" He said.

"Look inside" She said sitting down next to him "in the front"

He looked at her intrigued and opened the journal. The inside of the cover had a leather pocket and something was sticking out. He reached into it and pulled out a photo. He gasped, rendered speechless, and looked at the picture in pure wonder.

It had been evidently taken in a hospital room and it was old, but he would recognize his father's face anywhere. He looked at the woman in the photo, sitting up on the hospital bed, holding a small bundle in her arms. Her face was tired and pale, but it was obvious she was happy and her smile was positively radiant. Her hair was long and blonde and she looked absolutely beautiful. His heart leapt in his chest. Mary Winchester.

"Mom" He whispered out.

"Yeah" Isabel said "It's from the day you were born. Took me ages to find it, but I knew I had it somewhere"

Standing on Mary's right was Jane, her identical twin sister. She too was holding a small form in her arms and Sam's eyes shot towards Dean.

"That's you" He turned the photograph so Dean could see clearly and pointed to the small golden-haired boy in their auntie's arms.

Dean looked at the photo, at the little boy who was looking up at his auntie with his bright blue eyes as he held a lock of her long blonde hair in his hand. He was attempting to eat it and Jane was looking at him and smiling lovingly as she let him.

"I would have been almost four" He said, nodding with a sad smile

"And that's you?" Sam said looking at Isabel and pointing to the third child in the photo, sitting on John Winchester's lap.

His father was sitting on Mary's left and he held Isabel easily in one of his arms, while his other hand was wrapped around his wife's. Isabel's hair was lighter, the color of cherries, and much shorter, although still falling in soft curls around her face. She was looking at John in pure fascination as her hand reached to touch her uncle's nose. Sam looked at his father's face in awe and amazement, not because he looked younger but because he looked truly happy. He'd never seen his father smile like that. He was grinning as he looked to the camera.

"My dad took that picture" Isabel said, her eyes were brimming with tears and she smiled poignantly as she looked up at Sam "Look at your parents, Sam. Look at how happy they are to finally have you"

Sam's own eyes were filled with tears and he sniffed to hold them back. He wiped his eyes with the back of his hand before they could fall, and swallowed past the lump in his throat. He nodded and smiled at his cousin.

"I don't know what to say" He choked out. They'd been on the road for over a week, which meant she'd been carrying this photo and planning this for at least all that time.

"That's your family. Every single person in that photo loves you Sam, even if some of them aren't around anymore" She said lightly touching the photograph tenderly "Don't ever forget that"

He put down the book and photo and grabbed her face with both his hands, bending his head to place a loud kiss on her forehead and holding her face inches from his as he looking into her shiny eyes.

"Thank you Isabel"

"Happy birthday Sam" She said smiling.

Standing in front of them, Dean cleared his throat "We gonna have cake or not?"

"Yes, lets" Isabel said "I'll get it"

She walked to the table and grabbed a piece for Sam. Then went back to grab herself and Dean a piece. Dean was sitting next to Sam on the bed now, still looking at the picture as she approached him. She held the plate out for him and he grabbed it, without even looking away from the photo.

"You were gorgeous" She said and he looked up at her with a smirk.

"Still am" He said smugly, but she could see the melancholy on his face. He was trying to hide it.

She laughed softly "Yeah, you are, and clearly you are very aware of it" She sat next to him on the edge of the bed.

"What can I say? " He said shrugging "Good genes"

"I agree" She said with a smug smile of her own "That's why we're all so attractive. We may share as much as half our genes, you realize"

"I'd never thought of it like that" Dean said honestly, never actually having given much thought to the genetics of their connection.

"Our moms were identical twins. Genetically speaking, I might as well be your sister" She said placing a hand on his leg, just above his knee.

Dean nodded as he watched her closely "You are" He said covering her hand with his own "So, we going out tonight or what?"

"For sure" Isabel said digging into her cake happily, nothing like chocolate cake for breakfast "Dean and I saw a pretty cool bar around the corner. How about it Sam?"

Sam looked at his cousin and brother "You're asking me like you're giving me a choice"

"Not really" Dean said casually "You're outvoted"

"It's my birthday, my vote should count for two" Sam protested.

"Fine, it's a draw then" Dean said through a mouthful of chocolate cake "I'm the oldest so I decide, we're going out"

"How is that fair?"

"Sam, you're twenty three, not eighty" Isabel said authoritatively "Now shut up, eat your cake and suck it up princess, because we are going to have fun tonight whether you like it or not"