Probably just one more chapter after this one, but it should answer a frequently asked question about Dean. Man, I love this oddball fic! Go oddballs!!

Chapter Twenty-six

"I'll buy the beer," Dean promised, tossing his keys in his hand. "Let's go."

Sam's hand shot out into the air, snatching Dean's keys. "Fine, but I'm driving."

"Hey!" Dean protested, but his aching legs could not keep up with Sam's long strides. He only caught up because Sam did not take off in the car. Glowering at his brother, Dean slid into the passenger seat. "What's the big idea?"

"You're exhausted," Sam replied. "I can't believe I had you standing in that line. I'm taking you back to the house, and then I'm going out to pick up a few things." His brother's buoyant attitude was fading out at times now. It gave Dean some hope.

Though he would never admit it, least of all to Sam, his legs felt so much better sitting down. "What kind of things?" Dean asked suspiciously.

"Well," Sam shot him a full-dimpled grin, "I can promise you beer."

Dean nodded, resting into the seat. "Okay, but I'm going with you." Sam shot him a dirty look as they pulled out onto the street. "Dude, I'll wait in the car."

It was such a relief to see his brother not acting stoned-happy all the time, Dean would have done almost anything Sam wanted. "Good," Sam snapped, but the corners of his eyes crinkled with that sneaky expression that was a hold-over from childhood. His brother obviously had more in mind that that.

As he waited in the parking lot outside a grocery store, Dean leaned back and tried to nap. He felt a gentle tug from his abdomen. A thin beam of bright light shot out of him, piercing the doors of the store.

"Crap," he muttered, pushing his door open. Dean followed the light, unable to tell why it wanted him there. A woman with three young children, the smallest in an infant carrier mounted on her shopping cart, walked through the doors. One of the children by her side bolted the instant the outer doors opened, racing from his family. Dean reached out with one arm to scoop up the child as a car squealed to a stop behind him.

Startled, Dean spun around with the squirming boy tucked securely under his arm. The car, with a wide-eyed woman hyperventilating behind the wheel, was in the exact space the boy would have been if Dean had not caught him. "Well that's just great," he swore to himself, understanding why he was here. "Perfect."

He turned around to face the mother, whose mouth hung open and eyes stared widely. Keeping a firm hand on the boy, Dean set him on his feet. "You," he said in his most Dad-like voice, "do not run off like that again!"

He wanted to shake the kid, really put his point across, but at the expression on the boy's face Dean found that he couldn't. The young boy sucked in his breath, his eyes wide with fear. He backed away into his mother's waiting arms, nodding. The mother did not look in any great shape herself, but then again her kid had almost been run over.

"Some kids need a leash," Dean muttered, watching. He stepped away, intending to go back to the car, when Sam appeared in the doorway.

"I thought you agreed to wait in the car?" Sam asked. Dean opened his mouth to answer, but Sam interrupted whatever he might have said with, "Never mind. You can help me carry some of this stuff."

Sam's arms were loaded with white plastic bags. Dean took a few, as many as Sam would allow.

"That's enough," Sam ordered when Dean reached for the beer. With a sigh, he followed Sam back to the car.

Sam grinned as he started the engine. "I have a couple of surprises for you."

"I don't like surprises," Dean complained.

"Since when?" Sam demanded, pointing the car back to the house they had been squatting in for the past few days.

"Since the last one gave me freaky eyes," Dean replied, amazed at his own truthfulness. Uh-oh.

"Yeah, well, you'll like this one," Sam promised. "But it does have something to do with your eyes."

Dean stiffened. "How's that?"

Sam's dimples appeared again. "I got some movies for us to watch."

"It's Ernie, isn't it? Did you get some of the old ones, where he and Bert were roommates and no one thought it was weird?" Dean asked.

Sam laughed, a sound that had been rare. "Yes, I got the Importance of Being Ernest. I also got Godzilla versus Mothra and a couple others I thought you might like."

"Seriously?" Dean reached over the seat to paw at the plastic bags. "What else did you get?"

"Stop it," Sam laughed, swatting at his efforts. "You'll see when we get there. When you're feeling better we'll hit a bar, okay?"

Dean rolled his eyes. "Was I complaining, Sam?"

The grin dipped down briefly as Sam shot him a suspicious look. "No."

"Then quit worrying about going out to a bar," Dean said dismissively. "How about jerky? Did you get any jerky?" He tried to reach into the backseat again.

"God, Dean, you're worse than a little kid!" Sam barked, shoving his arm away.

"M&Ms?" he asked hopefully, grinning.

"Look, we're almost there," Sam pointed out the windshield. "Just hang on."

Dean watched his little brother. The instant Sam's attention was diverted as they pulled into the alley, Dean dove into the backseat.

"Damn it, Dean!" Sam shouted.

He felt his brother whacking on his legs as he hung over the seat, digging through the bags. Yes! Candy! And…where was it? Where? Jerky – score! Now, where were those movies?

The backdoor opened and Sam's long arms snagged bags right out from under him. "Come on, Sam! At least let me see what you got!"

"Who's the big brother again?" Sam asked, his eyes sparkling with amusement. Well, at least Sam was in a better mood these days.

With a huff, Dean grabbed the bags Sam did not already have to take into the house. He noticed that Sam always left him the lightest stuff to carry. That used to bug him, but Dean supposed he was getting used to it. Besides, it showed Sam cared, right?

He froze in the middle of the room, bags dangling from his hands. What the hell was that? It showed Sam cared? Since when did that make a difference? Since when did he worry about it?

"Dean?" He glanced over at Sam's worried face. "Hey man, are you okay? Maybe you should sit down, you look kind of pale."

Dean opened his mouth to say he was fine, but what came out was, "I think I'm losing it."

"Uh, okay." Sam took the remaining bags from him to stack on the rickety table. Sam returned to guide him over to a chair. "How exactly are you losing it?"

Dean shook his head, his mind in a whirl. "I'm not sure."

"Dean?" Sam kneeled by him. "Remember when you hid me? In your head?"

Dean rubbed the back of his neck with one hand. Maybe he could avoid this conversation. "So how are we supposed to watch these movies? There's not a television."

"On my laptop," Sam replied, waving one hand dismissively. "I want to talk about what I saw in there." He pointed to Dean's head.

"I don't. Where's my candy?" He hoped his brother could take a hint, but really, he knew better.

A simple, caring smile creased Sam's face. "I liked your movie posters."

Dean dropped his head in defeat. "What else did you see?"

"You had a lot of boxes in there with all kinds of stuff." Dean squeezed his eyes shut, wondering how hard he had to squeeze to shut Sam out. "A lot of boxes about me."

"Come on, Dean," a hand grasped his upper arm and Dean felt waves of concern flowing from the touch. His eyes snapped open.

"Is it back?" he demanded, grabbing Sam's other arm. "Is it?"

The concern turned to confusion. "Is what back?" Sam's large eyes blinked slowly at him.

"The freaky stuff where you could, you know, feel all my emotions and read my thoughts." Dean stared deep into Sam's eyes, trying to see if Sam could be lying.

A wide smile spread across Sam's face. "No, Dean. No freaky stuff." Then the concern came back in full force as Sam's forehead wrinkled. "Why? What made you think that?"

Dean pushed Sam away while scrubbing a hand down his face. "I just thought that…Forget it." Maybe he imagined it. Yeah, that's it, he imagined it. He also imagined that string of light that make him go save a little kid from becoming a statistic. Definitely losing it here.

"Look, I just wanted to say," Sam hesitated, as if he weren't sure how Dean would take his next statement, "I'm glad I'm not in just one box, and that none of my boxes are under lock and key like Cassie's." The grin returned, but there was a touch of sadness in it this time. "Not even the bad ones."

Oh crap, crap, crap! "You looked at stuff in my head?" Dean demanded.

Sam shrugged. "You shouldn't have put me there if you didn't want me to look. You know how I am." There was a sparkle in his eye Dean did not recall ever having seen before. "So, when you think of me now, what's the first thing that pops into your mind?"

"Other than the fact you're a pain in the ass?" he grumbled. Sam smiled again and nodded. Dean let his mind wander as he thought about Sam. Several great images of Sam in embarrassing situations sprang to mind. He chuckled when he thought of sticking that spoon in Sam's mouth as his brother slept in the car, and the way Sam's face contorted when his little brother realized the real reason his underwear itched. "Dude, you're so funny when I get the best of you."

"Good." Sam still smiled at him. "I was hoping you'd say something like that."

"Were you?" Dean stared at Sam as if he had never seen him before. "And why is that?"

"Well," Sam gave a little shrug, "I might have rearranged a few things."

"And you didn't bury the good stuff? Who are you and what have you done with my brother?" Dean demanded.

Sam laughed, squeezing his arm again. "Ready for a beer?"

Dean watched suspiciously as Sam handed over a beer. Sam setup his laptop on the table, arranging it to be watched from the mattress on the floor. If Sam really had that dark stuff inside since he was a baby, was this the real Sam now? Dean wondered if he could get used to it. The broodiness he could handle, this unicorns and rainbows version bordered on creepy.

"Come on," Sam motioned to him. "Need any help getting down there?"

Dean shot his brother a hard look. "No," he snapped. Instantly he felt guilty at the flash of disappointment on Sam's face. "But I might getting back up," he found himself admitting.

Sam grinned again, plopping down on the mattress. "If I'd been thinking, I would've found a place to buy some cheap, clean sheets."

Dean shook his head. "Don't worry about it. We've made do with less," he said as he lowered himself to the mattress.

Sam beamed at him, making him feel both better and guilty. Oh, man, when would this end?

Sam watched his big brother anxiously during The Importance of Being Ernest. He really wanted Dean to enjoy it. Dean seemed to laugh at the right moments, relaxing just enough. It wasn't until he put the Godzilla movie on that Dean really appeared to feel at home, though. Sam chose to file that away for future reference. Dean liked his kind of movies best, but was willing to suffer through Sam's just for the sake of being brothers. Wow, what a great big brother he had.

Eventually Dean fell asleep watching the monster movie Sam thought he'd enjoy. Well, they could finish watching it tomorrow. Sam planned to be here for a couple more days, at least. He really liked just hanging out with his big brother. If they did hit a bar within the next couple of days, he could watch Dean turn on the charm. Maybe he needed to take notes? Nah. He could learn by observation. After all, he had been watching Dean all his life.

Sam stopped the movie before he headed outside. He wanted to take a nice walk before going to sleep. The air was gentle and the stars blinked in the night sky. Sam grinned at the sky as he walked, enjoying just being.

"Hey, Sam," a familiar voice said.

Sam spun around to find Mike leaning against a really nice tree. He grinned at their friend. "Hey, Mike! What's going on? You don't have a new job for us already?" Sam tried to hide his disappointment. He really wanted a few days just to hang out with Dean.

"Nah. Somebody wants to talk to you." Mike motioned behind Sam.

Sam looked back over his shoulder. Gabriel walked up to him. "I just have to check," she said, reaching for him.

"Check what?" Sam asked. What would bring Mike and Gabriel out here now?

"That's a good question."

Sam spun around again. Wasn't Dean just asleep? Yep, Dean's hair was all mussed like his brother just rolled out of bed.

"What are you doing here?" Gabriel demanded, eyes blazing. Wow. That was pretty cool. Tiny fires danced in her eyes.

"Look," Dean spread his hands in a placating gesture, "I'm just trying to get a little sleep. Can't we do this later? Like – oh – next year?"

She scowled at Dean. "No. We have to be sure."

"Sure of what?" Sam asked.

"Why?" Dean demanded, walking to stand beside Sam. "Didn't think I could do it myself?"

"I told you," Gabriel stepped right into Dean's personal space. It was a good thing she was a girl, Sam thought. "We have to be sure."

Actually, having people talk about him like he wasn't here was a tad annoying. Really annoying. "Dean," Sam turned to look at his brother, "what's going on?"

Dean gave him one of those aggravating shrugs, like he didn't know. Sam shook his head in disbelief. "Come on, Dean. I feel good, not stupid."

Dean's eyebrows arched. "Could've fooled me."

Delaying tactic. "Not gonna work, Dean."

Dean shrugged again, turning away to face Gabriel. "You'll have to go through me, first."

She smiled, stepping closer. "I doubt that will be a problem."

Mike cleared his throat. "Uh, that's what I thought, too." He pointed down at his feet. "And I'm staying right over here."

This really did not look like a good situation. "Just tell me what you want," Sam pleaded. "I might agree to it."

"No you won't," Dean snapped. "Let me handle this, Sam." His brother's voice was a low growl, but Sam could hear the pure exhaustion in it still.

"Come on, Dean." Sam rested a hand on Dean's tense shoulder. "Let's hear her out." Dean shot him an incredulous look. Yeah, okay, so it sounded crazy. Although this was probably the least crazy thing they'd done in the past week. Sam tilted his head to one side. Dean blew out a breath, eyes widening and shifting briefly to the side. Well, at least he agreed.

"See?" Gabriel demanded of Mike. "I told you Dean didn't get it all."

Sam exchanged a look with Dean again. "What?" they asked in unison.

"Uh," Mike stepped forward now. "They just do that." Gabriel spun to face him. "Where they talk without talking. They do that. I don't think it's related."

"I was sent to check, and I intend to do just that!" Thunder echoed in her words.

Dean stepped pointedly between Sam and Gabriel. "Uh, I think you better discuss what you want to do." Sam pointed to his brother behind Dean's back. "So we can get this over with and maybe still grab a few hours' sleep?"

Gabriel's eyes danced with flame. She looked right at him and Sam found his eyes forced away. "I have to check to be sure Dean got it all."

"So my word isn't good enough for you?" Dean demanded. Sam still could not lift his eyes. "You think I screwed up?"

Sam dredged his eyes from the ground to look Gabriel in the throat. No way could he look her in the eye when she looked like that. There had to be a simple way out of this. "What do you have to do to check?" Sam asked. "Dean is kind of protective of me." He grinned as he said it, a warm feeling flooding him. One of Dean's elbows jabbed backward, catching Sam perfectly in his stomach. It didn't hurt, though it could have. Sam poked his brother in the side, letting Dean know he got it, he wouldn't go anywhere unless Dean said it was okay.

"Well?" Dean demanded of Gabriel.

Gabriel's flaming eyes danced between them. "I have to know if Dean got it all."

"All what?" Sam demanded. Honestly, it was like they all spoke a totally different language from him.

Dean's head turned to give Sam a quizzical glance over his shoulder. "Dude, all that dark stuff. Weren't you paying attention?" Dean's head snapped around to face Gabriel again. "And you are NOT going inside my brother's head."

Sam thought it over. This Gabriel person (person – ha!) certainly appeared determined and Dean warned him not to cross her. Perhaps they could agree to a compromise. "Well, it wouldn't be that bad if you came too, Dean," Sam suggested, confident that his brother could handle even an archangel in his head. That would probably sound moronic if he ever said it out loud.

"No," Gabriel said and her voice was low and menacing.

His brother stepped closer to her and Sam knew Dean was staring her right in the eye. "That's the only way it's happening, bitch."

Mike flinched at that. "I'm in!" he shouted unexpectedly, moving to stand beside Dean. Gabriel glanced over at Mike, disbelief clear on her face.

"You can't be serious," she said, her tone implying far more than just the fact she thought Mike had lost his mind. Now Gabriel looked damned dangerous. Ha! An angel who looked 'damned' dangerous! Sam had to remember to tell Dean that one later, his brother would love it.

"Soddom," Mike said, his voice heavy with meaning, "and you still owe me."

Her cheeks flushed deep red, just like a regular woman. "Fine," she snapped, "but later, you're explaining your side in all this to me."

Mike's lips pursed and Sam wondered what all this meant. Finally Mike nodded. "Agreed."