November 9th excerpt:
Before he could retreat more than a hair, Sam darted forward with his own hands, landing them on top of John’s fingertip. “Agreed!” he echoed his older brother.
John’s finger nearly flinched in tandem with Dean’s much smaller hand, but he managed to breathe and keep it still, taking Dean’s cue for when to shake his finger up and down ever so slightly.
His eyes widened and his jaw nearly dropped when Sam’s tiny hands joined both of Dean’s.
November 8th excerpt:
Struck by a thought, John carefully reached a hand toward the brothers, extending a finger to Dean with an amiable look in his eye. “Shake on it?”
Dean recoiled from the hand, his eyes darting from the extended finger up to John’s expression to read his intent. Spotting nothing but honesty in the planes of John’s face, he hesitantly reached forward.
As his hand approached the waiting finger, Dean’s much smaller fingers brushed against the thick skin and flinched. Reaching forward again, Dean gripped John’s fingertip, finding his entire hand inadequate to cover the entire surface. Using that same determination, Dean reached out with his second hand as well, clasping the rest of John’s fingertip and a bit of his nail, the rigid surface ungiving between Dean’s hands as he shook them up once, then down.
November 7th excerpt:
He finally noticed that Sam was tugging at his sleeve. The younger boy was looking up at Dean, his expressive eyes full of worry. “What?” Dean said, his tone sharp with the lingering exhaustion from the night before combined with the stress of waking up with Sam and John both missing from the bedroom.
“There’s bacon,” Sam said simply, pulling Dean’s sleeve in the direction of the food. “John made it. It’s good!” He tugged harder at Dean’s arm. “Please?”
October 6th excerpt:
Dean slowly scanned the room around him, spotting his boots as he shoved off the edge of the handkerchief. “Didja sleep good Sammy…” he yawned into his arm. “Sam?”
Looking around, Dean realized something was missing.
October 4th excerpt:
“You go on and eat up now, alright? I’ll fetch you another water and be right back. Sound good?”
Sam nodded numbly, mechanically reaching for another bit of egg. There wasn’t much in him to protest, and he didn’t much want to. His energy was sapped from the outburst of emotion, leaving him to eat the food, more tasteless now that he felt drained. He ate for energy and nutrition instead of enjoyment.
October 3rd excerpt:
“Do you have a napkin?” Sam asked, momentarily breaking out of his reverie. “It’ll be like a picnic blanket I can wipe my hands with.”
John perked up and his eyes darted back to Sam as the boy spoke up. His suggestion had been considered in passing as John worked, but it was admittedly a little endearing to have it described like a picnic blanket.
October 2nd excerpt:
John popped a slice of bread into the toaster, putting it on a light setting. Just enough to get it crispy on the outside. By the time that was done, the eggs were, too, and he put those on the plate with the bacon. Separately, he took a small cutting knife and took a small rectangle off one corner and split it into two squares. These he pressed thin with the flat of his knife, to make them easier for Sam and Dean to handle.
August 27th excerpt:
John started with the bacon, setting a small pan on the stovetop and placing on it two strips once it was hot. He almost put more on in consideration of his guests, but then he remembered that their portions would amount to crumbs compared to his own. He wouldn’t miss anything he took from his own meal if he gave it to the brothers.
While those sizzled in the background, John cracked a couple of eggs into a bowl and started mixing them up with a fork, meandering back to check on Sam. “Found ya some cherry tomatoes,” he reported warmly.
Sam brightened up, distracted from his wanderings on the table. “I love those!”
August 26th excerpt:
“How old are you, Sam?” John asked while he looked around for something to continue Sam’s path. With the kid so open with him, he allowed himself to indulge in the curious questions he hadn’t had time to ask the night before.
“Ten,” Sam answered offhandedly, distracted by his new surroundings. Then, corrected it to “Ten and a half.”
August 25th excerpt:
Turning back to the nightstand, John’s heart gave a little stutter to see Sam so close to the edge of the nightstand. “You okay?” he blinked, not quite yet putting two and two together.
Sam’s lips turned down into a frown. “I can’t follow you,” he said disconsolately, rubbing the sole of his boot over a mark on the nightstand’s surface. It was wider than his boot, but so relatively small to everything else.
Brothers Apart 