But in Your Dreams (Whatever They Be)
Five times people passed out on Dean, and one time he returned the favor.
5.
"Hey, big guy," Dean says softly, putting a hand on Ben's shoulder. The boy's sitting at the kitchen table, about to nod off onto his math textbook.
He yawns, and turns to blink owlishly up at Dean. "Whuh?"
For a moment he looks so much like Sam that Dean's chest tightens, heart swelling with a bittersweet twinge. His smile is maybe a little more wobbly than a sleepy face really warrants.
He gently shakes the shoulder he has his hand on. "Time to pack it in, Benjamin. We'll work on this in morning, okay?"
Ben responds with another yawn and tired, "Mmmkay, Dean." He climbs to his feet and trudges towards the stairs, rubbing groggily at his eyes.
Lisa is just coming down the stairs, and turns to watch Ben stagger up the treads with a tender frown unique to mothers. "Don't forget to brush your teeth!" she calls after him, and gets a grunt in response.
Dean has taken Ben's crumb-covered plate and half-finished glass of chocolate milk to the sink, and when Lisa wraps her arms around him and stands on tiptoe to prop her chin on his shoulder, he turns to graze a kiss over her cheek.
They end up in the family room with some Academy-Award-winning French movie in the DVD player. After the third topless girl wanders casually across the screen he says, "I could get used to this," and Lisa elbows him in the ribs.
It's a weekend and they both work full time, so by the time the movie ends (one of the topless chicks dies of cancer, her equally topless sister departing for Algeria and, if the subtitles are to be believed, "The sweet shores of oblivion"), Dean's head has come to rest on his hand and Lisa is fast asleep, her head tucked into the crook of his neck.
She stirs a little as he hoists her into his arms, but only to murmur, "My hero," and let her head fall back onto his chest as he navigates around the corner and up the stairs to their bedroom.
He tucks her in, discovers Ben's fallen asleep with the light on and tucks him in too, smoothing the comforter down over his thin shoulders and flicking his nose lightly just to see his face scrunch up.
He checks the doors, windows, vents, chimney. He makes sure the hexbags are where he left them and that his and Dad's and Sam's phones are still charged, with no messages waiting.
Just in case.
He slides the drawer closed and looks briefly out the den's big bay window, into their neighbor's backyard and up at the stars and gleaming opal moon.
" 'Night," he tells it, and goes to bed.