La Primera Feliz Navidad 2/4
December 15, 1995
There were times when Sammy wondered if Dean hadn't simply taken on too much.
Because of the holidays, the junior high got out at lunch. Sammy got off the bus at the high school, dropped his bookbag off in the Impala's back seat, then jogged lightly down the hallway to Dean's classroom.
He arrived to find Dean curled up, head rested on his folded arms, completely asleep. Mister Cooper was bent over him, fingers resting on Dean's wrist. He looked up and smiled.
"What are you doing?" Sammy asked.
"Setting the alarm on his watch so he'll wake up in time for his shift at Mercer's."
Sammy frowned. "But Dean doesn't have an alarm on his watch."
Cooper straightened up, honey-brown eyes twinkling with mirth. "Yes, he does."
Sammy shook his head. "No -- I'm certain he doesn't."
"Yes, Sammy. He does." Cooper slid Dean's report from under his arm and walked over to Sammy. "Let's go down to my room. I'll grade this and you can chat while we wait."
Sammy nodded and went to Dean's desk. He quickly scrawled a note on Dean's notepad, explaining where he was. He glanced over his shoulder at his sleeping brother, thinking that Dean must be well and truly, bone-deep exhausted for that kind of touch not to wake him.
Then he followed Cooper down the hallway.
"Pull up a desk," Cooper gestured toward the candy jar on the corner of his desk. "And help yourself."
Sammy blinked at the red-white-and-green triangles. "Christmas coloured candy corn?" He laughed and scooped a handful out. "You always have the most unique candy!"
"I like to surprise people." Cooper settled in and opened the cover of Dean's report.
As Sammy ate the handful of candy corn, popping them one at a time into his mouth, he wandered the classroom. He studied the bright posters and maps that lined the walls. He took care of a little bit of trash in the corner, eliciting a smile from Cooper. He skimmed a chapter or two in the textbook a student had forgotten open on his desk.
"Speaking of unique," Cooper said as he wrote a note at the end of the report, "your brother's thought processes definitely qualify."
"How so?" Curious now, Sammy drifted over to sit in one of the front row desks.
"When I read most student papers, I get facts and figures spit back at me with some rather... colourful... commentary. Occasionally, I'll get one with some real writing talent and I'll find myself engrossed in a story. But Dean's... I always look forward to reading his."
"Yeah?" Sammy smiled.
"Yeah. Dean's papers are the best of all worlds, with his own unique twist. He's a natural storyteller and he's factually accurate -- but his narrative is filtered through a finely honed passion for justice and truth that's actually quite shocking to see in a 16-year-old. Did you read his paper?"
"I proofread the first three pages."
"He's come up with ten ways that the Children's Crusade could have been prevented! Ten, Sammy! And they all make perfect sense!"
"So what did I get?"
Sammy turned and smiled to see a sleepy-eyed but very wide-awake Dean standing in the doorway.
Cooper smiled at him. "A good, solid A. Few grammatical errors in the last half, but your thoughts were all solid and you backed up each one convincingly. Good job, Dean."
Dean found himself grinning from ear to ear.
Cooper walked over and handed his paper back. "Go home and rest, Dean. You need it."
Dean shook his head. "I've got a shift at the garage."
"I'll take care of it, Dean. You go home and rest. You're exhausted."
"I'll be fine." He nodded. "Ready, Sammy?"
As Sammy followed him out, he said over his shoulder, "I wonder, sometimes, if he doesn't just do too much."
Cooper watched them go, and started to smile. It grew when Sammy doubled back for another handful of candy corn that Cooper knew would end up in Dean's belly.
He was starting to get an inkling of what he could do for the Winchesters for Christmas.
On to chapter Three