Author's Note: I've actually nothing to say here. You are free to read on! lol

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.

The first thing Dean noticed when he woke up was that the room was unusually bright. Normally the blaring sound of a motel alarm clock forced Dean to open his eyes and take in the soft light of an early morning. Light so soft it emphasized the early hour and made Dean grumble, wishing that for once in his damn life he could just sleep in. "What's the point of being self-employed if you don't get to sleep past seven AM?" Dean would complain while Sam merrily greeted the day.

But today Dean opened his eyes to the bright light of a sun that had clearly been up for a while. As he rolled over to glance at the window, he noted the blinds were mostly drawn shut, yet the light was still strong enough to fill the room, which meant that it had to be at least ten AM.

Immediately Dean was concerned.

He sat up and quickly scanned the room for Sam. Because if he had somehow slept that late then surely his brother hadn't been there to force him to get up. And if Sammy was missing…But Dean didn't even get to finish his panicked thought before relief swept over him.

Sam was sitting at the little table across the room, tapping away at the keys of his laptop. He turned to see that Dean was awake. "Afternoon ." He said with a smirk.

Dean looked at the clock. Maybe his estimate of ten AM had been a little off. But only by a few hours. The clock read 1:00 PM.

"Why'd you let me sleep so long?" Dean asked as he groggily rubbed his eyes.

"We were up practically all night salting and burning that corpse Dean, so I thought you'd appreciate the rest. Besides, I didn't find anything to go on this morning so it looks like we've got some down time until a case comes along. I thought, why not catch up on sleep?" Sam said with a shrug.

Dean decided not to point out that Sam had clearly not participated in the act of sleeping in as well. "Uh, thanks." He said instead, climbing out of bed and heading for the bathroom.

While Dean was brushing his teeth Sam came over to the open door and leaned in. "Hey, do you want me to run and pick us up some breakfa…Well actually it'll be lunch by now… But anyway, do you want me to grab us some food?" Sam asked.

"Ghive me a minught aghnd we caghn gho ought." Dean gurgled around the toothpaste that filled his mouth.

"Yeah, going out works too." Sam replied, and he went to get his shoes on. Dean spit his toothpaste into the sink and stared after his brother.

That was weird.

There was no 'dude don't talk with your mouth full' or 'gross, you're such a pig sometimes'. Sam hadn't even looked bothered by the disgusting mouth-foam as Dean spoke to him.

"You feeling ok Sammy?" Dean called to his little brother.

"Yeah, why?" Sam asked.

Dean decided it was probably one of Sam's weird moods manifesting as forced cheer. He didn't want to tip the balance toward grumpy because the day was looking like it had the rare potential to actually be calm and enjoyable. And in the midst of an impending apocalypse it wasn't recommended to intentionally ruin such a possibility.

So instead of questioning Sam further Dean just shrugged and said, "Eh, no reason."

They went to a local diner and Dean found that he did in fact feel hungry. Sleeping well past breakfast time after a long night of digging a grave had left his stomach empty and crying out for sustenance. So Dean greedily shoveled down a plate of fries in between massive bites from a double cheeseburger.

Sam was making steady progress on his Cobb salad, but he had an amused look on his face as he watched Dean eat.

"Wa'h?" Dean asked with his mouth full. Sam had a glint in his eyes as he responded. "It's just good to see you enjoying your meal." He said, a smirk pulling at his lips.

Dean rolled his eyes in return. "It's a burger Sammy. The only people who don't enjoy them are depressed people. And they don't enjoy anything, so I'd say they're bias judges…" That earned him a huff of laughter.

Dean wasn't sure why Sam was acting the way he was, but he wasn't about to complain either. In fact maybe it was time to push his luck…

"So, seeing as we have the day off…Wanna do something, like, for fun?" Dean asked, hesitating only slightly.

Some indistinct emotion flickered in Sam's eyes before he replied. "Yeah. Actually, I was looking up some local activities this morning. You know, since we had the day off…Anyway there's a Jayhawks game tonight a few cities over. I'd be ok with the drive if you are."

Sam looked…hopeful. Dean couldn't imagine why. Sure, they hadn't been to a game in years, but Dean had never been one to reject the chance.

"Sounds good to me." he said, and they quickly paid for their food, went back to the motel to pack up, and checked out before hitting the road.

By the time they checked into the new motel later that night, it was about eleven PM and both men were pleasantly exhausted. They were in good spirits though, laughing at one of Dean's patented dirty jokes as they entered the room.

The Jayhawks had won, they'd gone for beer and pizza after the game to celebrate, and on the drive home Sam had even joined in with Dean's off-key singing to his Led Zeppelin cassette.

Sam's laughter quickly turned into a yawn, however, and Dean had to tell him to get some sleep. "Knowing our lives Sammy there'll be one hell of a case waiting for us tomorrow to pay us back for the break."

Sam just smiled. "Yeah. Yeah, I don't doubt it. But hey, it was a good day wasn't it?" Sam tossed out the remark casually, but his eyes looked hopeful again. Dean really wished he could understand why, but he didn't comment.

"Good? I'd say 'great'. I think we should start petitioning the apocalypse to give us more vacation days like these…" Dean joked.

"Ha! That'll be the day." Sam snorted before flopping onto his bed, but he looked genuinely satisfied by Dean's answer. It wasn't long before the younger man's eyes drooped closed and he fell asleep.

He looked peaceful. Happy, even. And Dean was glad to see the kid look so at ease. The world was crumbling around them, but at least today it hadn't seemed to be. And God knows they deserved the break.

With that thought Dean climbed into his own bed, reaching to set the motel alarm for the dismal seven AM wake-up call, and found there wasn't a clock at this motel to set. Sighing, he grabbed his cellphone from the nightstand and opened it to program his phone's alarm instead. Which was when the date listed on the little glowing screen caught his attention.

SEPTEMBER 18, 2009

And suddenly it all made sense. Why Sam was so…Well, why he was so nice all day, not to mention why he had looked so hopeful that Dean was enjoying himself too. And Dean couldn't help but smile. "Thanks, Sammy." He said softly to the sleeping form of his little brother.

A little brother who hadn't said a word about the anniversary of Dean's return from Hell, but had said exactly how much it meant to him with his actions.

The little brother who Dean wouldn't trade for the world.

Secondary Author's Note: Thanks for reading! For those who might not know, the newspaper on the day Dean returned from Hell read "September 18, 2008", so this was set on the one year anniversary. :) Please do take a moment to leave a review, because I sincerely appreciate feedback. Thanks again!