Chapter 1

The sound of the alarm on his phone dragged Dean out of yet another very pleasant dream about Donna. The dream had just been getting good, and he considered rolling over and going back to sleep to see if he could finish it, but he was definitely ready for breakfast so he turned the alarm off, got out of bed, and shuffled to the bathroom to start his day with a cold shower. Ice cold.

While he stood shivering under the cold spray he tried to sort out his thoughts. He had always liked Donna. From the moment he had met her a few years ago he'd thought she was adorable. Pretty in a way that she was completely unaware of, and he liked the fact that she wasn't high maintenance about her appearance, though he wasn't crazy about the reason why. She seemed to think she didn't deserve to look pretty, and that was a shame because she could be a knockout if she wanted to. It was like she was trying not to be pretty, but you either were or you weren't, and she definitely was. So what if she had a little extra weight? It didn't change the fact that she was an absolutely beautiful woman.

And that personality of hers. She was like a firecracker wrapped in rainbows and sunshine. Dean couldn't help but smile when he was around her. He wished he could be around her more.

But why couldn't he? The world was safe for now, and the mess with the Men of Letters had been settled. Mary seemed to be adjusting well, and Stillwater was only about a nine hour drive from the bunker. Unless something changed in the next few hours he didn't see any reason why he couldn't take a little vacation and go see the woman he hadn't been able to get off his mind lately.

After getting dressed he walked into the kitchen, happy to find both Sam and Mary present. This way he could run his idea by both of them at the same time. He took his time fixing himself a cup of coffee, and refilled Mary's when she politely asked him to. It was that polite request, like she was a guest in a stranger's home, that made him start to rethink his plans. He really wanted to go see Donna, but if his mother was still uncomfortable in her own home maybe now wasn't the best time to take off. But there was really only one way to find out, so he waited until he had finished about half of his coffee and was a little more awake before he broached the subject.

"So, uh, Mom," he said, keeping his attention on Mary, but noting that Sam looked up from his paper to tune in out of curiosity. "How are you doin'? You know, with being back and all. Are you settling in okay now that all the crap has calmed down, and things are kinda back to normal?"

Sam set his paper on the counter and gave Mary his full attention, clearly curious to hear what she had to say.

Mary shrugged, holding her coffee in both hands with her elbows on the counter. "It's still a little weird, but I'm adjusting. Why?"

"Do I have to have a reason to ask how my mom's doing?" Dean asked.

"No." Mary agreed, thinking it would be wonderful if he were asking solely to see how she was doing, but as a mother and a hunter she could tell the difference. "But you do. I may have only been your mother for four years, Dean, but I can still tell that there's something else going on in that head of yours. So, come on. What is it?"

"Well, first of all, I really do want to know how you're doing." he assured her. "I can't imagine any of this is easy for you. I know it's pretty weird for Sam and I."

Sam nodded his agreement.

"It is weird." Mary said. "There's a lot I still need to learn about how things work now, and what's going on in the world, but I'm doing just fine. Now, what do you really want to ask me?"

Dean ducked his head and smiled a little. She was such a mom. The smile faded when he looked back up at her simply because what he had in mind was kind of serious. "Well, I was wondering if you would be okay with me taking off for a little while. Both of you actually." he gestured to include Sam as well.

"What's going on, Dean?" Sam asked, instantly worried.

"Calm down. Nothing's going on." Dean assured him. "I just need a break after the last few years. But I know Mom's still adjusting to her new life, and you never really had a chance to develop any kind of actual relationship with her, so I wanted to make sure it's okay with both of you before I leave. If I leave."

Sam and Mary exchanged a glance that contained an entire conversation, much like Sam and Dean often did. They both knew what Dean had been through in the last few years. Sam had seen it with his own eyes, and Mary could see the results of it. He hid it well, but he was tired. It was glaringly obvious to both Sam and Mary that he needed some time off to relax and recharge, and neither of them had any intentions of depriving him of a vacation.

"Dean, if you need some time for yourself, go." Mary said as she got up to put her breakfast dishes in the sink. "Sam and I will be just fine by ourselves. If anything you'll be doing us a favor, giving us a chance to have some one-on-one time to get to know each other better."

"Yeah." Sam agreed. "We'll be fine without you, and if we run into any trouble we'll call you. But if anyone deserves some R&R, it's you. Go have fun. We'll be fine."

"Okay then." Dean said, pushing off the counter to stand up straight. "In that case I'll leave in the morning. Gotta make sure my baby's good to go."

Sam and Mary both smiled in amusement at his affection for the car, and Mary went to go take a shower before heading into town to go grocery shopping and restock on a few supplies, something she insisted they let her do so she could adjust to the vastly different world she had been dropped into.

"You really think she's okay?" Dean asked once she was out of the room.

Sam picked up his paper again and took a sip of his coffee. "I think she's a lot like you."

"That's not good."

"She'll be fine, Dean." Sam said. "You don't need to watch over her every second."

Dean decided that Sam was right and made up his mind that he was definitely going to see Donna. He enjoyed his breakfast and some time with his family, and then spent the afternoon packing and making sure the Impala was all tuned up and ready to go. All the while he was thinking about where he was going, or more accurately, who he was going to see.

He couldn't seem to get her off his mind lately, but he hadn't mentioned one word about it to anyone. He wasn't really sure why he couldn't stop thinking about her since he hadn't had this problem until recently, but he knew that there was no way he wanted his family or anyone else to find out about it. At least not yet.

Cas would probably be respectful about it simply because he didn't know any better, Mary would be a mom about it because she was a mom about everything, and Sam would be the quintessential little brother teasing him about having a crush every chance he got. No way was Dean about to let that happen. At least not until he knew exactly what was going on. Once he got things sorted out maybe he would tell them, but until then he was going to keep it a secret. It was nobody else's business anyway.

As he packed up his tools and wiped grease and oil from his hands he couldn't help but wonder if maybe she thought about him too. Was it too much to hope she did?

Awwww! Dean's got a crush on Donna! Dean's got a crush on Donna! And trust me. It gets a lot cuter in the next few chapters. See you again tomorrow for another dose? ~SG