"Hey Sam, it's Easter tomorrow. What do you want to do?" Dean asked his little brother, who had his nose buried so deep in a book that the teenager would be surprised if the kid even heard him.

"Nothing." Sam muttered.

Dean frowned at that. Sure, their Dad wouldn't be around, but it wasn't like this would be the first holiday he had ever missed.

"Nothing? " He questioned.

Easter had never been a huge deal, but they always used to try and do something special. Normally, Dean would hide chocolate eggs around the motel room for Sammy to find, he had loved that last year.

"The Easter Bunny isn't going to visit if we don't celebrate his holiday." The teen declared.

Sam finally pulled his head out of his novel long enough to send his big brother an exasperated look. "There's no such thing as the Easter Bunny, Dean, don't be stupid." He grumbled, before returning his gaze to the text.

Since when had the little dork stopped believing in the Easter Bunny?

Oh right, since Christmas, when he found out about monsters and stopped believing in Santa Clause; Dean supposed all the rest of the holiday figures went out the window with the jolly old man.

"Well, we need to do something." He insisted, because it was still a holiday and that was the perfect excuse to have a good time.

They could both use some fun, especially Sam.

A few days back the Winchester boys had been on a hunt that hadn't ended all too well. It was a possessed animal, nothing serious, it had seemed simple enough. Sam had tagged along and stayed at Dean's back, like he had since he started coming on hunts several months ago. Tracking down and killing the threat had been pretty straightforward, the supernaturally influenced coyote was dead in minutes. Unfortunately, the trio came across the possessed animal just as it was tearing into its latest victim.

Literally tearing.

The scene had been gruesome to say the least. The coyote's meal was human and female, there was nothing identifiable beyond that, other than blood and gore. The very moment Dean had taken in the sight, he had reached out and clamped his hand over his kid brother's eyes, pulling Sam into him so that his face was tucked into the older boy's chest.

But even Dean's immediate reaction, hadn't been quick enough.

The youngest Winchester had seen more than enough, and he hadn't gotten much rest since.

Sammy's sleep had been riddled with nightmares for the past three nights. He would wake up screaming at some ridiculous hour and spend the rest of the night curled up trying his best not to cry. Every single time Dean would ask Sam if he wanted to sleep in his bed, but the kid had stubbornly refused, he'd tell the teen that he wasn't a baby anymore. The only comfort he would allow his big brother to offer was verbal, Dean would talk or hum aloud until Sammy finally drifted off.

Dean glanced at Sam, barely able to see his face past those long brown bangs, but he still managed to catch a glimpse of the dark rings under the soft hazel eyes. Tonight, he didn't care if Sam shrugged him off, the kid needed a solid rest and Dean knew the only chance of that happening was if they were in the same bed; he knew that because when he was younger – and even now- the only thing that ever helped him get to sleep after experiencing a nightmare, was having his little brother tucked into his side.

Knowing that Sam was there, knowing he was safe; that was what always chased away the dark horrors that pulled at Dean's subconscious.

"We are doing something for Easter, whether you like it or not." The teenager proclaimed.

The young boy's eyes popped up from the pages open in front of him, to look at his brother. He glared for a moment and then his gaze softened into a defeated sadness.

Dean would have preferred the look of aggravation instead of the sorrow that came over Sam's face.

"You don't have to do this, okay?"

"Do what?" The taller boy wondered in confusion.

Sam sighed heavily. "The whole Easter thing. You don't have to get me chocolates or anything like that. I know that there's no Easter Bunny. I know that its been you hiding the eggs. I'm older now, so we don't have to do that stupid kid stuff anymore."

Dean frowned. Sam was only eight years old. Since when did that not make him a kid?

And since when was having fun stupid?

This was Dean's fault.

He had told Sam about the supernatural, he had been the one to confirm his suspicions that monsters were real. He now realized that not only had he brought evil into his kid brother's world, but in doing so he had also extracted the innocence and magic.

Sam was too young to not want to celebrate holidays.

He was too young not to believe in fantasies like Santa Clause and the Easter Bunny.

He was too young not to be happy.

Dean had screwed it all up, and he needed to find a way to fix it.

"I'm going across the street to grab some groceries, you want me to get you something?" He asked as he pocketed the money Dad had left on the table.

Sam shook his head.

"You sure?" He queried. The younger boy hadn't been eating much since the hunt. He'd barely touched his dinner a few hours ago and Dean was more than willing to pick up any food his kid brother might actually bother to digest.

"I'm sure." Sam mumbled, his attention returned to the novel in his hands.

"Fine. I'll be back in ten." Dean promised, watching the shaggy head bob up and down before closing the door and locking it behind him.

He had been nervous about leaving Sam alone in motel rooms since what happened a few years ago. Returning home to find some monster looming over his little brother was not something that he would be forgetting about anytime soon. But none of that changed the fact that sometimes he had to get out, but when he did he made certain not to stay away for too long.

The teenager rushed to the store, picking up a few essentials they were running out of: milk, bread, peanut-butter, Lucky Charms. And then a couple non-essentials: M&M's, Doritos, and chocolate eggs.

He was on his way to the checkout when he noticed the giant egg. It was bigger than his head, wrapped up real nice and Eastery. It was made of chocolate and apparently there were numerous types of candy inside of it. Dean looked at the price, mentally calculating the sum of money he had stuffed into his pocket.

There was no way he could afford the groceries he had already collected, on top of the giant egg, and it was way far too big for the five-finger discount. But the thought of the smile that would light-up Sammy's face at the sight of it, well that made Dean's decision easier than ever. He discarded the M&M's and Doritos and switched the Lucky Charms out for Cheerios (honey-nut of course), which gave him just enough for the massive chocolate egg.

He was so excited, he practically ran back to the motel room.

He did not skip.

He definitely didn't skit.

He wasn't a girl.

"Hey Sammy, I-

Dean paused as he entered the room. Sam was fast asleep on his bed, the book he had been reading all evening was resting on his chest.

The older boy shook his head, a fond smile crossing his face.

This kid.

He loved the nerdy little squirt so goddamn much it made it hard to breathe sometimes.

The teen quietly closed the door and put the groceries away, he placed the giant egg on the small kitchen table and tip-toed about the room hiding the other chocolates.

Sam may have said he didn't want to celebrate Easter, but Dean had a feeling that wasn't completely true. Besides, if a super-sized chocolate egg full of candy didn't make someone want to enjoy the holiday, Dean didn't know what the hell would.

He lifted Sam's book off his chest, marking his place before placing it on the bedside-table.

He wasn't in his pyjamas, but there was no way Dean was waking the kid. Sam needed the rest.

The older boy carefully tugged the covers out from underneath his brother and pulled them over top of his small frame. Dean silently slipped into his sleep clothes, double-checked the salt-lines and the locked door, before flicking off the light and slipping into bed.

"Night Sammy." He whispered, as he drifted off to sleep.

The tired teen was ripped from a rather pleasant dream in the same fashion had been for the past few nights, awoken by the sound of his little brother's scream. He shot up out of bed and headed straight for the kid sitting and gasping just a few short steps away.

"Hey Sam, you're okay buddy. It's okay. You're safe." Dean recited, his hands on the young boy's heaving shoulders. The elder Winchester continued to utter reassurances until Sam's breathing had finally levelled out and he was no longer trembling like a leaf in a hurricane.

"It's okay, Dean. I'm okay. Sorry for waking you up. You can go back to bed now." He mumbled, shrugging off his brother's stabilizing hold as he laid back down and turned away.

Dean snorted in exasperation.

"Yeah right." He dismissed, unceremoniously shoving his brother to the other side of the bed, the one furthest from the door. Dean ignored the smaller boy's squawk of disapproval as he dropped down into the now-vacant space.

"Dean! Get out of my bed."

The teenager reached across the small gap between the two mattresses and snatched his pillow, placing it under his head to clearly display that he was not going anywhere.

"What are you doing?" Sam inquired irritably.

"I'm trying to sleep, Sam. Do you mind?" Dean replied, feigning irritation as he turned on his side to face the little brat, his eyes closed as he settled into a comfortable position.

Dean both heard and felt Sam's huff of irritation, but ignored it, just as he did when Sam insisted he was "fine" and claimed that they were too big to be sharing the bed. After all the bitching there were a few moments of silence before the gentle whisper could be heard.

"Thanks, Dean."

The teen made no response, except perhaps a twitch of his lips. Because damn if he didn't love his stupid stubborn little brother more than anything.

A second later, Dean felt the tickle of shaggy hair on his chin and the warmth of steady exhales against his collarbone, as his little brother inched closer and curled up against him. The older boy lazily through his arm over the slim frame, palm resting against Sam' back, keeping him safe. Dean only opened his eyes upon feeling a slight tug on his neck. He glanced down to see thin fingers wrapped around the golden charm he was given at Christmas.

Dean smiled, his heart clenching.

He would do whatever it took to give his little brother a happy Easter.

Because Sammy deserved some happy.

Dean woke up to a kid who was sleeping soundly, glancing over at the clock and feeling satisfied that he had been out a solid six hours, not including the few before the nightmare woke him.

The teenager made sure not to move, Sam was still tucked up against him and clutching his amulet, he considered trying to fall back asleep, but the sight of the large object on the table across the room reminded him what day it was.

"Sam." He called softly, combing the long brown locks off the young face as he stared down at the smaller boy. "Wake up, Sammy." He encouraged a little louder, softly nudging the slim form.

"Dee?" The kid mumbled sleepily.

The older boy smirked, always amused by the fact that his brother loved to make his short name even shorter.

"Yeah, buddy. Wake-up."

"Why? We leaving?"

Dean grimaced at the assumption, recalling the countless number of times in his short life that Sam was ripped from sleep only to be ushered into the Impala and dragged out of town a few moments later.

"No, kiddo, not today. It's Easter." He announced, grinning down at the tired hazel eyes that stared up at him.

"Thought we weren't doing Easter?" Sam stated and questioned all at once.

"That was just when you were being a whiny little baby. You still doing that?"

Sam scowled.

"I wasn't being a baby." He sulked.

"Whatever you say, squirt. Now, you going to get your lazy ass moving, or what?"

"You shouldn't say bad words. Dad would be mad." Sam declared, knuckling the sleep from his eyes as he sat up in bed, looking all of four years old with his hair askew.

"Yeah, well Dad's not here and ass isn't a bad word. So, you going to get out of bed? Or should I eat all the chocolate you got from the Easter Bunny?"

"Dean, there's no such thing!" He sighed in his token I-can't-believe-my-big-brother-is-this-dumb tone.

"Oh really? Then who brought that?" Dean queried, pointing toward the kitchen.

Sam gave him a curious look before directing his gaze in the indicated direction. The kid's eyes widened to a comical degree as he noticed the prized object.

"What is it?" He asked, jumping out of bed, nearly tangling in the blankets during his rush across the room.

"Whats'it look like?" Dean inquired, biting back his laugh as he followed the little squirt to the table.

Sam just ogled the egg, reaching out, but not touching, as though he were afraid it would disappear the moment he made contact. "How'd you get it?" He asked, directing his wide stare up at his big brother.

"I didn't get it for you. You think I could afford a chocolate egg that massive?" Dean joked.

Sam's face fell. "Did you steal it?"

"You think I could fit that sucker in my pocket?" The teen pointed out playfully.

He could practically see the wheels in his little brother's head turning.

"Then how'd you-

"I didn't. It was the Easter Bunny."

"Dean-

"Sam."

The kid studied the older boy's face.

Dean knew that Sam didn't believe him. He hadn't thought that the eight-year-old would fall for the Easter Bunny thing, not anymore, but a part of the teenager wanted some of the mystery, some of the magic to remain in the holiday.

Sam must have arrived at some sort of conclusion, because a bright smile lit his face, his dimples showing, and eyes sparkling.

"Thanks, Dean!"

"Don't thank me." Dean proclaimed, hands up in surrender.

Sam shook his head and rolled his eyes as he giggled.

Dean hadn't realized how much he had missed that sound until he heard it right then.

"Alright. Thanks, Mr. Easter Bunny." Sam yelled out.

Dean barked out a surprised laugh.

"Can I open it?" He asked, hopping eagerly from foot to foot.

"Not until you find the rest of the eggs."

"There's more?" Sam gasped, glancing around the room.

"Yeah, but they're smaller. And you can't open the big one until you find them all. Or the Easter Bunny will be pissed."

"You shouldn't say pissed, Dean." Sam admonished distractedly as he began searching the room.

Dean dropped into the chair with a snicker and watched his little brother search the small motel room. The teen gave him hints when necessary, but the kid was pretty good at hunting them all down on his own.

As Dean watched the squirt scurry about, he couldn't help but smile.

Sure, Sam didn't really believe that some magical bunny had brought him the treats, but he was grinning from ear to ear and having fun and that's all the elder Winchester had wanted.

As long as Sammy was willing to fake his belief in the Easter Bunny, Dean had no problem pretending to be the mythical creature, if only to see that damn smile light up the kid's face every year.

Eventually, his little brother would no longer be interested in feigning his belief in the Easter mascot, but Dean figured he had a few more years of fun until that happened.

He wished that he could hide the evil from his little brother.

He wished he could have prevented Sam from seeing that gruesome sight during the last hunt.

He wished he could take back that day months ago when he confirmed the young boy's suspicions about monsters.

He wished he could take the darkness that had seeped into Sam's life that night and replace it with the childish innocence he had once possessed.

He wished he could restore the kid's belief in magic and fairy-tales.

He wished he could keep that smile on his little brother's face and hear that giggle every moment of every day.

But he couldn't

What Dean could do was create some fun.

What he could do was fight off the nightmares.

What he could do was protect Sammy from as much of the darkness as possible.

What he could do was encourage some childish behaviour.

Because even feigned innocence was better than honest misery.

Especially when it came to kid brothers.