50 Meet Cutes

by WuvWinchesterHugs

Summary:

You've heard the Groundhog Day trope. Now get ready for the 50 first dates trope.

Dean Winchester is a player. But he might've just met his match in Sam Singer, who suffers from anterograde amnesia.

Notes:

This is based off the Adam Sandler movie 50 First Dates. I own nothing.

Chapter 1: Could You Be Loved

"Shit." Dean thinks as he looks at the damage to his car. There's no way he can go anywhere now, not with this wreck on the side of the road. He's gonna have to call a tow truck and just wait it out.

He looks around and sees a cafe still open. That'll do. He walks towards the cafe, called Café Kaila, while calling for a tow truck.

Place doesn't look too busy, so he sits down on a stool at the counter, only for a brunette woman who has to be the manager to come over and ask,

"Hey, darlin.  What can I get you?"

Dean's not too interested, "Just some coffee, I suppose."

The woman doesn't move, "You suppose?"

Dean explains as quickly as he can, "Already ate breakfast. Just killing time before the tow truck comes to get my wreck out there."

The woman's still skeptical, "And what exactly do you think passes as breakfast?"

Dean feels sheepish now, but admits, "A miniature pie and a shot of whiskey."

The woman's clearly offended, "That's not a good breakfast. I'm getting you some Spam and eggs." Then walks off, telling the chef, "Ash, I need some Spam and eggs."

Ash stops in front of Dean, and asks, "You like pie, huh? Want me to chop up some leftover pie and put them in your eggs?"

Well. That's kind of weird. "Uh, no thanks, buddy."

Ash just shrugs, "Your loss."

That would be the end of it, but then the reflection of the light coming off of a butter knife gets in Dean's eyes, and when the light disappears, he sees the knife is being held by a fairly large guy with dark hair, reading a book (The House Without a Key by Earl Derr Biggers, in case anyone was wondering) while he waits for his breakfast.

But then, once Ellen brings him his plate of waffles, instead of eating them, he pulls them apart and starts building with them. And once it's been constructed into an interesting shaped car, he pours some of his coffee into a ramekins and sticks it inside the waffle car, before closing it off, giving the effect of exhaust.

"Hey!" Someone suddenly shouts. Dean looks, and a cranky old woman is staring at him, "If you don't stop staring at me, I'll have you thrown out of here."

Dean only quip is, "Calm down. I didn't even see you here. Eat your waffles."

Then Dean goes back to looking at the guy, and he won't lie, there's something about him that's intriguing.

 

Later, he's working the bar with his friend Garth, a side job while his beekeeping partner gets the funding for their big trip around the world. At the moment, he can't seem to stop talking about the guy from the cafe.

"I think he might be a local. Wanted to go talk to him, but I was kind of off my game. Guy was definitely good looking."

Garth notes, "That's not like you. I thought you were strictly into tourists."

Dean admits, "Yeah, that's typically my MO. That way I can get off this island with no strings attached. Here's your drink, with an umbrella and pineapple wedge." Dean stops the convo to hand a customer a drink, before Garth picks up.

"Let me guess. Ex boyfriend opened up to you, and the secret was highly disturbing you dumped him on the spot."

Dean laughs, and corrects, "Close. It was an ex GIRLfriend, and I was the one who opened up to her. But it's not just what I said that broke us up. She not only didn't believe me, she thought I was making it up so I could dump her."

Garth winces in sympathy. "I'm sorry. That's rough."

There's not much else to say after that, so the two just focus on serving up drinks and restocking inventory as well as refilling nuts. By the time they're finished, Dean's made up his mind. He's going back to the cafe, and he's gonna talk to the guy. What could go wrong?

Chapter 2: Is This Love

Come the next morning, he's back at the cafe, despite no longer needing to. This time, he takes a booth right next to the guy, who thankfully showed up again. Except this time the guy's breakfast is already made into a different car, this time with a functional door. For the moment, Dean just sits there, trying to work up the nerve to go over there.

"Hey! Pie Guy!" Ash suddenly appears enthusiastically.

Dean politely greets him, "Hey, Mr. Belongs at a Led Zeppelin concert. How are you?"

Ash notes, "You're back!"

Dean confirms, "Yeah. Guess there's something to spam after all. Who knew? Think you could cook up some with some eggs?"

Ash nods, "You got it. Hi, Sam." Ash addresses the latter to the guy, who responds, "Hi, Ash." while trying to put a door over the gaping hole in his waffle car.

Unfortunately, the door won't stay in place, and keeps falling, so Dean takes this as his opening.

Dean picks up a toothpick from his table and walks over to the guy's, who's apparently named Sam, table, addresses him, "Try this out.", sticks the toothpick into the waffle car's hinge on one side of the door, and demonstrates the purpose, pushing the waffle door inside and out. "See? Now it won't fall."

Sam seems to accept this, noting, "That's good. Wish I would've thought of it."

Dean assures him, "You were too caught up in it. Not your fault."

Sam agrees, "That's true. Asking for an outsider's perspective allows for a fresh take."

Sam chuckles, holding out his hand, "I'm Sam."

Dean reaches out his own hand, "Dean Winchester. You got a nice little setup here. Keep it up." and starts walking away.

But then Sam stops him this time, "Wait. It kinda looks to me you're sitting by yourself. Wanna join me?"

Dean definitely wasn't expecting that, but he quickly accepts, "Sure. Absolutely." and sits in the seat across from Sam.

About 10 feet away, Ellen notices Dean going to sit down with Sam, and is immediately concerned. What is this guy up to?

Sam now asks Dean, "You in industrial design? That how you fixed my waffle car?"

Dean's quick to deny, "No, no. I'm a bartender. You know, serving up drinks and refilling nuts. Even peeling the shells off. Part time, at least."

Sam nods, like he's just figuring something out, "Knew I was smelling pistachios somewhere."

Dean grabs a napkin to get and rub off the smell, embarrassed, "Yeah, guess so. Was peeling shells for hours, thought the smell wasn't that bad. Guess I was wrong."

Sam tells him, "I love that smell."

Dean can't believe that's true, "No, you don't. Natives don't even like that smell."

But again, Sam surprises Dean by telling him, "No, I really do. My dad owns a pistachio farm. He and my sister, Charlie, they leave for months at a time to try and get the family brand into stores, and try to sell our product to people to put pistachios in their products, like ice cream. Miss them like crazy when they leave, and when they come back, I just grab them in a bear hug 5 minutes each just so I can smell that sweet nuttiness. And that's the smell coming from your fingers. Best smell ever."

Dean is definitely surprised. A guy that actually likes the smell of pistachios? Who would've thought there was one left in the world?

"Well then." Dean starts, holding out his hands, "My fingers are yours to smell anytime you want. Take a whiff." Dean pushes them a little closer, and Sam takes one to take a deep inhale.

Whatever tension was there before, now it's gone, as after the introduction, they suddenly have a million things to talk about. They don't even realize how it's closer to lunch time when Dean starts talking about his real profession.

"Honey is great all by itself. Lavender honey is a pretty damn big seller. But the real profit is in purple honey."

Sam's definitely intrigued, "Purple honey?"

Dean confirms, "Yep, you heard right. Purple honey. So many different ways to make it, and everyone's got their own preference. I've had people tell me it even tastes like grape soda."

Now's where he decides a witty anecdote is in order, "By the way, when a male bee mates with a female bee, you can actually hear it. Their penises literally explode."

Sam's definitely intrigued, "Are you serious?"

Dean confirms, "Completely. Considered the second best way to go. Next to partying too hard, like Mullet guy over there." Pointing to Ash, who's banging his head to music only he can hear as he cooks.

Sam's so surprised, he starts laughing.

Dean notes, "You have a nice laugh."

Sam responds, "You're good at making me laugh."

That's when Ellen wanders by, "Sorry to break this up, but we gotta start setting up for lunch."

Sam's surprised when he realizes how late it is, but just says, "Oh. Wow. Okay. Sorry, Ellen."

After they pay their separate checks, they walk out together, Dean continuing his spiel on bees, "Cool thing about bees is they're extremely social."

Sam asks, "Oh they are, are they?"

Dean nods, "Yes. It takes an entire hive working together to make honey, to take care of the queen."

Sam asks, "Don't all the male bees sleep with the queen?"

Dean responds, "That's generally how it's done. That's what beekeepers have observed for generations. But who knows if they're sleeping with the female bees on the side?"

Sam jokes, "Well maybe they like exploding dick."

Dean agrees, "That could very well be the case. But there hasn't been a lot of beekeepers willing to put in the time to really stop and observe bees for long periods of time."

That's when they reach Sam's car, a sweet little Dodge Charger, quite a few years younger than Dean's own Impala.

"I should really get going."

Dean asks, "Where you headed?"

"It's my little sis's birthday, and every year we go up to the Hawaiian Crown Plantation to pick some apple bananas. Kind of a tradition."

Dean smiles at the sentiment, "That's really nice." Then, he decides to bid Sam farewell, "I had a good time today."

Sam smiles back, "I had a good time too. Would you...wanna do this again same time tomorrow? Cause I'm a florist and I teach a class on floral arrangements at the local community college."

Dean's surprised. He never would've pegged a big guy like Sam to be a florist. "Really?"

Sam nods, "Yeah. Whaddya say?"

Dean attempts to let him down easy, "I wish I wasn't so busy…" but one look at this guy's puppy dog eyes and he's doomed, "...but absolutely. I'll be here."

They shake hands, Dean telling Sam, "Take care, alright?"

Sam replies, "You too.", gives Dean's hands one last sniff, "One more for the road.", then finally lets go of Dean's hand.

"You enjoy that." Dean calls as he walks to his Impala. "Aloha!"

Sam calls, "Aloha!" back, and can't help what he does next.

He's just a little excited. "Wow. I met a guy today." and starts doing a little dance in victory.

But then the car in between him and Dean pulls away, and he catches a glimpse of Dean playing an air guitar, right when Dean catches him doing his embarrassing little dance.

Dean immediately stops and excuses himself as he gets into his car, window down. "Good song came on the radio. Couldn't help myself."

Sam looks at Dean's car, at the silent radio, and knows he's not telling the truth, as he gets into his Chargerh "Uh huh. Sure."

Dean keeps it up as he starts the engine, "It was a damn good song."

With that, they drive away, Dean going one way, Sam going another.

Dean's just a little excited, more than he should be. He's got to tell Garth about this. Maybe he'll be up for a little golf.

Chapter 3: A Slave to Love in My Little Grass Shack

Dean and Garth head out to their favorite golf course, Dean practicing his back swing when Garth interjects.

"Hey. So I ran into a tourist fresh off the plane. Blond. Paralegal. Told her you were the go-to guy for fun on this island. Got her number right here." and holds up a piece of paper, no doubt with the girls number on it.

Dean's shaking his head, "Are you back to being my pimp again?"

Garth confirms, "Yes! Now that I'm happily married, it's all I got in the young and stupid department. Give her a good time, and report back to me. That's how it works."

Dean doesn't feel like playing this game again, "Thanks, but no thanks. I think I'm gonna stay in. Now quiet, I gotta concentrate if I'm gonna whack this little white ball."

Dean pulls the club up, and once he's sure of the trajectory, gives it a hard swing.

The ball goes sailing, and eventually lands where the hole is. Unfortunately Dean underestimated the force of his back swing, and the ball just keeps rolling.

"No, no! Stay!"

 Eventually the ball reaches the edge and falls off the cliff they're on, going all the way down to the beach.

"Shit."

Now comes the grueling task of going down to get it.

"Where the hell did that thing land?" Dean mutters as he looks around.

"Looking for this?" Dean turns at the voice, and who should he find but Sam, holding Dean's golf ball. Not only that, he's in a Hawaiian shirt that actually doesn't look too bad on him.

Dean's a little stunned, "Wow. What brings you to a place like this?"

Sam makes his way towards him, "Same as you. Lost my balls."

Dean shakes his head in wonder, "That's so weird. Been thinking about you a lot lately. Can't wait for breakfast again."

But here's where Sam gets bolder, "I know. I'm gonna eat you alive." as he moves closer, and Dean's even a little intimidated. "Today, tomorrow, the next day, and the one after that, and the one after that."

Then, before Dean knows what's happening, he's being shoved onto the ground.

"Whoa, okay. Now I'm on the ground."

Before he can even fully process it, Sam's on his mouth.

 

"Aw, Sam. That feels awesome." Dean mumbles. "Don't stop. Shit. Watch the teeth Sammy."

"Dean, wake up!" That's definitely not Sam. He opens his eyes, and who should he find but Garth standing over him.

"What the hell just happened?"

"Your backswing missed the trajectory completely and hit the golf cart and hit you in the head, knocking you unconscious. If I wasn't your best friend, I'd be laughing my ass off. Now, would you mind telling me who Sam is and why they're using teeth?"

That's when Dean finally gets that that little meetup was all in his head. He sits up and informs Garth,

"Crap. I can't be falling for a local. I'm not going back there again. I can't, not now."

Garth smiles, holding out the paper again,

"That mean you want this?"

 

Later, Dean's sitting across the table with the blond paralegal, a fishbowl in front of her next to his much smaller glass.

The blond is gushing over Dean, but honestly? She could literally be any of previous tourists he's banged, and there wouldn't be much of a difference.

"I can't believe you're a professional snorkeler in Hawaii. That has to be so amazing."

Dean plays along, but his heart's just not in it, "Yeah. Pays the bills, puts food on the table."

She tells him, "I'm a paralegal. Nothing but piles of paperwork. No fun for us."

Dean feigns interest, "Oh yeah?"

The blond goes on, "I'd love to have some real fun tonight." Then, in one really impressive move, she downs the whole thing through a straw. Looks like Dean's got himself a deep throater. 

"Like taking it deep, don't you?" Dean turns away to call out, "Hey, can we get another fish bowl over here?"

The blond giggles, "I think I just might be a little tipsy. How about you?"

Dean doesn't need to think about his response, that's how predictable this whole encounter is,

"Definitely getting there."

The blond asks, "So...what're you thinking about?"

Dean takes the question seriously, "What am I thinking about?"

But then, he suddenly realizes he can't do this. He literally can't stand another minute of this crap,

"Actually, no, I'm not drunk at all. And neither are you. Both of these drinks are non alcoholic. This is a common technique I use on women like yourself to help you loosen up but not have to worry about you passing out on me, while we're having sex."

The blond is surprised, "Wow. Wasn't expecting that."

Dean goes on, "I'm sorry. I'm actually not a snorkeler either. Jellyfish scare the crap outta me."

The blond stops to digest that, "Well, since I'm gonna be leaving in the morning anyway, can I pretend you have Tourette's and have sex with you anyway?"

Dean's already shaking his head, "Sorry, but no."

The blond asks, "Then can you point me to someone who will?"

Dean says, "Sure. That guy over there.", points in a random direction, and walks away.

Looks like he's having breakfast with Sam again after all.

Chapter 4: Do You Realize??

When Dean walks through the cafe doors again, Ellen's immediately right there, telling him,

"Hey, you. Aloha."

Dean greets her back, "Aloha."

Ellen clarifies, "No, not hello. Goodbye. We're closed. Turn your ass right back around and leave."

Dean's confused, "What the hell are you talking about?"

From the kitchen, Ash calls out, "Order up!"

Frustrated, she tells Dean, "You don't move from that spot. I wanna talk to you." then leaves him there.

Seeing Sam at his usual spot, Dean walks over to Sam and greets him, "Hey."

Sam looks up at him, but there's no recognition in his eyes, and just says politely, "...hi?" while going back to his book.

But Dean's too excited to notice, and immediately sits down, "My fingers are extra nutty today for your sniffing pleasure." and holds his hands out.

But Sam doesn't reach for Dean's hands or sniff them. Instead, Sam's defensive when he responds, "Excuse me?"

Dean goes on, "I was elbow deep in pistachios and thinking about you the whole time."

Sam looks around the cafe for help, and seeing nobody's nearby, he tries to be civil, "Okay, creep. I think you should go now."

Dean meanwhile is completely confused, "What? I was just kidding. From our little talk yesterday?"

Sam's even more confused and getting more agitated, "Yesterday? I've never seen you in my life."

Then he finally gets up, calling, "Ash! I need help."

At hearing Sam, Ash immediately responds, "Coming, Sam!" and grabs the gun he keeps handy for emergencies, but before he can get close enough to Dean, Ellen steps in.

"Ash, don't. Let me handle this."

Ellen drags a completely confused Dean towards the entrance outside, where it's now raining, demanding,

"What the hell's going on here?" Seeing Sam's about to leave, he tries to call out, "I was just making an inside joke!"

But now he's outside with the door shut, alone with Ellen, and all he has are a bunch of questions.

"What the hell just happened? Is he crazy?"

Ellen just calmly starts to explain,

"Sam is an extremely special person. He's...not like the rest of us."

That gets Dean's attention, "Okay."

"About a year ago, Sam got into a serious car accident. They were just coming back from the Hawaiian Crown Plantation, after picking some apple bananas, and out of nowhere, a cow moved right in front of the car. Sam's dad swerved out of the way, but they hit a tree instead. His dad only suffered a few broken ribs, but Sam suffered serious brain damage. He has anterograde amnesia."

Dean asks, "Amnesia? You mean he can't remember anything at all?"

Ellen corrects him, "No, no. His long term memory is still intact. That's a different part of the brain. His entire life leading up to the accident, he remembers. But new information just doesn't stick anymore. It's different for everybody, but in Sam's case, it seems to happen in the morning shortly after he wakes up."

Dean can't quite believe this, "Hang on here. This sounds like a scam I'd pull to make a stalker leave me alone. Am I the stalker?"

Ellen has to make him understand, "Believe me, I wish it was a scam! As far as he's concerned, you two never met for breakfast yesterday."

Dean asks, "What about the whole apple banana picking thing?"

Ellen explains, "He always says that because he wakes up every day thinking it's June 28th of last year. He comes in here for breakfast every morning because that's what he did on Mondays, and June 28th was a Monday. He has no clue it's over a year later."

Something doesn't make sense, "But I've seen him reading the newspaper."

Ellen knows that answer too, "It's the paper from the day of the accident. His dad has hundreds of them, and every morning he puts it out on the front porch for Sam."

Ellen looks away as he says this,

"Sam does the same exact thing every single day."

Chapter 5: Just Another Day

Notes:

If you haven't seen the movie Atonement, major spoilers ahead!

Sam pulls into the driveway, right as Bobby Singer and Charlie are just starting dinner.

Once he's through the front door, Sam calls out,

"Hello!"

And Sam's dad calls back, "Back here!"

Once Sam's made his way to Bobby, he immediately greets him, "Hi, Dad!"

But then he sees what's in Bobby's hands.

"You got the apple bananas without me?"

Bobby hates lying to Sam, but he still says, "The lady working there knew it was Charlie's birthday and let me have it as a gift. Didn't wanna hurt her feelings."

Sam gives a knowing look, "I'll bet she did it cause she likes you." But then he's back to the other issue, "What about our tradition?"

That's when Charlie pipes up from the living room, telling him excitedly,

"I came up with another idea! I filled the garage."

At Sam's suspicious look, she adds, "With wildflowers."

Sam's still not quite getting it, "Wildflowers?"

Charlie leads Sam out to the garage, telling him as she opens the door, "Now there's too many of them! Make me dizzy."

Sam surveys the flowers himself, "Yeah. Would look much nicer in an arrangement."

That's when Charlie tells him her idea, "That's exactly what I was thinking."

That's when Sam gets it, "Wait, really?"

Charlie nods, "Absolutely. Go crazy. Make me a nice bouquet for my birthday."

Sam's excited, "I absolutely will."

Charlie adds, "And Dad's gonna make sure we can go pick apple bananas for Christmas."

Sam can't wait to get started, "Sounds awesome. You and Dad should go watch the World Cup while I'm out here."

Charlie already knows this, "Alright I will."

Charlie goes inside to get the pre recorded World Cup game ready for when Sam comes back in, and asks Bobby,

"So what's for dinner tonight?"

Bobby steps away to show, "Chili cheese fries."

Charlie comments, "Yum yum." Before going to the couch to watch the same World Cup game she has for the past year. "Go Sweden."

It's a little later when Sam finally comes back inside, hands covered in stems and dirt, to sit with Bobby and Charlie to watch the game.

"Hey, everybody."

Charlie greets him, "Hey, Sam. How's the bouquet coming?"

But Sam wants it to be a surprise, "You'll see. What's the score?"

Charlie pipes up, "Both Sweden and South Korea are still at nothing nothing. Real nail biter. If Sweden wins, it'll be the first time South Korea's lost the opening match since 1998."

Sam tells them enthusiastically, "Maybe they'll win for your birthday, Charlie."

Looking back at the screen, "And I'm betting Granqvist is gonna deliver the kick."

Charlie, just a little annoyed, speaks up again, "I'm betting he throws a penalty kick in minute 64, and they go into review to show the kick going the other way from where Hyeon-Woo dives."

Bobby gives Charlie a dirty look, but Charlie keeps it up, directing the next part at Sam,

"Loser does the dishes?"

Sam, oblivious, shakes on it, "Deal."

Then, on screen, it happens exactly how Charlie described. Granqvist delivering the kick at minute 64. Kick goes into review, and it's accepted. Sweden won.

Sam's surprised, "Wow. That was impressive."

Charlie nods in feigned shock.

Sam comments, "You like soccer more than you've been letting on. Maybe you should teach soccer to kids." then gets up.

Meanwhile, Bobby throws a magazine at Charlie, "You idjit!"

Charlie tries to defend herself, "Come on! It was just a joke!"

Then, after dinner, it's time for birthday cake for the birthday girl.

After they finish singing, Sam comments, "And you don't look a day over 29."

Charlie rolls her eyes, "And Bobby doesn't look like a grumpy old bear when he scowls."

Naturally, Bobby chooses to do just that, and the both of them start laughing their heads off.

Charlie has to protest, "Stop! I'm getting tears all over the cake!"

Then Charlie blows out the candles, and they watch Sam eat a piece of cake by himself.

Now it's time for presents. Sam hands Charlie a wrapped present. Charlie opens it carefully for later, noting, "Let's see what you got for me." and pulls out the same DVD of the same movie. Atonement.

Then Sam suggests, "Hey. After I do the dishes, do the two of you want to watch it?"

Immediately both Bobby and Charlie say, "Absolutely."

The three of them sit on the couch as they watch the movie, watching Sam's face when he tears up at all the same places.

Once the movie's over, Sam can't stop talking about it,

"I'm still utterly shocked. It was all a story in a book! I did not see that coming. Did either of you?"

Both of them answer in a deadpan, "Nope." "Completely shocked."

Sam tells them, "Anyway, awesome birthday, right, sis?"

Charlie smiles, "That it was." And grabs Sam in a bear hug.

Charlie forgets for a moment and tries to tell Sam, "You should see…"

But Bobby interrupts, "Come on, Charlie. Let your big brother go to bed."

Charlie pulls away, slightly dejected, "Right. Gnight, Sam."

With that, Sam walks upstairs to his room, and once the bedroom door shuts, Bobby and Charlie start resetting the house to do it all over again tomorrow. 

Bobby dumps the banana cake into the trash while Charlie rewraps the DVD so it looks like it's never been opened.

Bobby heads outside to the cooler where all the apple bananas are stored to be taken out every day for the cake, and unlocks it to grab the next bunch and relocks it, so Sam won't find them by accident.

After that, Bobby goes to the closet where he stores all the papers and pulls one off the many piles.

Then he goes into the laundry room to wash Sam's flannel shirt and undershirt.

In the bathroom, Charlie takes Sam's 2 in 1 shampoo and conditioner and refills it with a liquid dropper back to what it was this morning.

Once all this is done, they go to the hardest part of the night and go into the garage, where Sam's finished arrangement is sitting there waiting for Charlie to see.

Charlie pulls out a camera and takes a picture of the beautiful bouquet. It always makes her smile to see her brother's flowers, but still breaks her heart she can't keep them for more than a few hours. Pictures of them are all she can keep.

Bobby gives her a small pat on the shoulder before removing the flowers from the vase and wiping the clippings off the table, while Charlie gets the broom to sweep them up.

Tomorrow, Charlie will replace the missing flowers with new ones, so Sam can make a brand new arrangement for her. It's the least she can do, since Sam doesn't work anymore.

Chapter 6: Amber

"And he does this every single day?" Garth asks as they go from hive to hive, Garth releasing the smoke and Dean carefully removing the honeycombs.

Dean nods, "Yep. It's like some crazy Groundhog Day thing in reverse."

Garth asks the more pressing question, "How long before his memory comes back?"

Dean admits, "Well, actually they say there's a good chance it's permanent."

"So what you're basically saying is…" Garth pauses to release another puff of smoke.

"He's the perfect guy for you."

Dean has no idea how Garth came to that conclusion, "And why do you say that?"

Garth explains his reasoning,

"You two can hang all day, and then…"

Dean finishes, "His vacation ends every night? It's not like I haven't thought of that already. But there's one thing you're forgetting. It's wrong."

Garth tries to deny it, "No it's not! You two meet again, have breakfast, hang out, flirt, kiss, but no long term attachment. Nobody gets hurt."

Dean snaps, "He has serious head trauma, you insensitive jerk!"

Garth backpedals slightly, "Okay, that's true. But I think something like this is exactly what you need. You haven't really connected with anyone since Cassie, and that's cause you won't let yourself."

Dean's already done with this conversation,

"I get you're trying to help, man, but seriously? Just leave me alone."

Garth tries a different angle, "It's not that different from what his dad is doing. Giving him an awesome day where he doesn't have to worry about anything but having fun. Then once it's time for us to leave on our big bee project, we just vamoose. He won't even notice you're gone."

Dean decides a little payback is in order,

"Not so sure about the vamoosing part. Not a particularly big moose. Maybe you can call your moose friends and show me how it's done!"

Garth rolls his eyes, "Quit yanking my chain for five seconds and actually listen to me."

Dean winds up getting caught up in his work, but he still keeps Garth's advice in mind.

Maybe Garth's right. How bad could it be?

Chapter 7: Underneath it All

The next day, Dean shows up at the cafe at the time he knows Sam will be there, but he talks to Ash first.

"Hey, how's it going?"

Ash turns his head, "Hey, Pie Guy. What brings you back here?"

Dean tells him, "Just thought I'd stop by to talk to Sam. It'll be completely harmless, promise."

Ash asks, cause he knows Dean had to have heard something, "Oh yeah? What did Ellen say?"

Dean admits, "She said if I talk to Sam again, you'd put a bullet in my leg."

Ash laughs, "Hey, she's the boss, not me. But don't worry. Not like Sam would want to talk to you anyway."

Dean demands, "Excuse me? Whatt the hell does that mean?"

Ash lays it all out, "This isn't a bar or a nightclub. Sam doesn't like being bothered by people in the middle of his breakfast."

Dean defends himself, "He will if it's Dean Winchester."

Ash asks, "And who exactly is this Dean Winchester?"

Dean informs him, "Who's Dean Winchester? I am. Hell, I'll bet you 10 bucks I can get him to meet me again tomorrow."

Ash looks over to where Sam's making another car out of waffles, with a functioning door, and holds out his hand, "Deal."

They shake on it, and Dean moves to Sam's part of the cafe, right as Ellen walks by to refill Sam's coffee,

"Hey, hun. How you doing?"

Sam greets her, "Hey, Ellen. Loving the haircut."

Ellen smiles, "Thank you."

But when she walks away, she's met with the guy that once again won't just go away,

Dean immediately explains, "Ash and I made a deal. You don't have to worry about me."

Ellen doesn't say anything, just shoves a menu to his chest and Dean walks away, both Ellen and Ash watching him, both curious to see what's gonna happen.

Dean sits at the counter, pretending to look at the menu. He sees a thing of toothpicks and pulls one out. It worked before, why not do it again?

He walks over to Sam's table and informs him, "Try this out." and sticks the toothpick in the same door hinge, using the other hands for support, "Stick it in here, now you got a functional door." and demonstrates, having it move back and forth, "Now all the Waffleonians can drive in their brand new car!" He says in his best Bob Barker impression.

But instead of being impressed, Sam says, "Oh, I see what this is. Your parents never taught you manners, did they?"

Dean's taken aback, "What?"

Sam goes on, "Why else would you think it's okay to stick your dirty hands all over someone else's food?"

Now Dean understands. Apparently just doing the same thing day after day isn't gonna work here, cause different days mean different reactions.

But he feigns innocence, "Were you gonna eat that? I'm sorry. Have a good meal." and walks back to the counter.

The same lady from before is there too, and she's got something to say, "That was completely pathetic."

Dean rolls his eyes, "I hope you choke. Shut up."

Meanwhile, Ash is gloating, giving him the double thumbs down.

Fed up, Dean gets up and walks out, calling to Ash, "Double or nothing tomorrow."

 

The next day, he shows up with a different strategy.

"Excuse me. You look like someone who knows a thing or two about flowers. Can I ask your opinion?"

Then he holds up his creations,

"I made this flower out of pistachios shells, and I hand picked this banana blossom, and even grabbed a sunflower…"

But when Sam speaks, it's not in English,

"Conatus sum manducare prandium, obsecro, me solum relinquatis."

Dean catches on quicker this time, "Oh I see. Not speaking English today."

Sam responds, "Paenitet."

As Dean walks away from another failed attempt and sits back at the counter, he notes, "Didn't know he knew Latin."

Sam calls out, "Vale" to his retreating back.

Ash is gloating again, bragging, "That's 20 bucks you owe me."

The same lady asks, "Hey, can I have those? I need something to absorb the sweat in my armpits."

Dean's too annoyed, "Shut up."

 

The next day, Dean decides to really step it up, and immediately goes into his new plan.

Dean pretends to study the menu, and starts to make loud noises to get Sam's attention.

"No, no no! Damnit damnit!"

It's enough for Sam to look over, but not much else. So Dean steps it up.

"Goddamnit, why is this happening now???" He shouts, louder this time.

This definitely gets everyone else's attention, including Sam's, who asks the lady behind him, the same one that keeps busting Dean's balls,

"Wonder what's up with him?"

The lady comments, "Looks like a stupid idiot to me."

Meanwhile, Dean's still keeping the act up, turning to check to see if Sam's paying attention.

When he sees Sam coming over, he still keeps it up, until, Sam taps him on the shoulder,

"Excuse me." When Dean flinches, he apologizes, "Sorry. Didn't mean to startle you."

Dean shakes his head, "No, I'm just…"

Sam asks politely, "You alright?"

Dean confirms, "Yeah, I'm fine. I just…"

Sam goes on, "You need help with something?"

Dean denies, "No, not at all. I just…" then admits, "Have dyslexia. Kind of mixes everything up."

Ellen scoffs, "I can't believe this."

Sam offers, "I can help you sort it out."

Dean turns him down, "No, no. I can do it myself. But I appreciate the offer." He looks at the menu again, "I'll just have an order of…"

Sam can clearly see he's looking at the word pancakes, so tries to nudge him a little, "Pan…"

Dean follows along, "Panc, panku…"

Sam helps him again, "Ca…"

Dean feigns an attempt, "Pankugan." Then bangs his head on the counter. "Dammit. It's fucking pancakes. How could I not see that?"

Sam consoles him, "Hey, it's okay."

Dean keeps pretending to beat himself up, "I'm such an idiot."

Then Sam offers, "Here. Come sit with me, and we can have breakfast together and I'll help you get some of the words to make sense again."

Dean pretends to think about it, then says, "Alright."

Sam asks, "Yeah?"

Dean confirms, "Yeah that would be great." When Sam turns away, Dean shoots Ash an I-told-you-so look.

Sam and Dean proceed to talk about techniques for Dean to work around his "dyslexia".

"So if it looks different than before, then it probably is?"

Sam nods, "That's right."

Dean goes on, "So if I check the date before I leave my house and see the date it says it's the 28th, but then I come here and the date says 82nd, the 28th is the right one?"

Sam nods again, "See? You're learning already."

Dean keeps it up, "You're a good teacher. That your job?"

Sam admits, "Well, yes and no. I teach people to make bouquets, but I know about this kind of thing because my little sister has dyslexia too."

This is news to Dean, "Oh, really? I bet you're the kind of teacher people get crushes on and keep giving bouquets to as a gift."

That makes Sam laugh, and Dean continues.

"I would if it were me."

At one point, Dean grabs a napkin and says, "Aw man. My fingers smell like pistachios. That doesn't bother you, does it?"

Just like before, Sam assures him, "Not at all."

From a distance, Ellen's watching all of this and warns Ash,

"If Sam gets hurt, I'm gonna put a bullet in YOUR leg."

As they're walking out, Sam tells Dean, "I had a nice time with you."

Dean agrees, "Me too. Thank you for the help."

When they get to Sam's car, Dean offers, "Let me grab the door for you."

Sam replies, "Thank you." and slides into the driver's seat, window still rolled down.

Sam keeps smiling at Dean, while Dean wants to tell him the truth so bad, but he knows it's no use.

"I'll see you around, Sam." Then starts to walk away.

Sam starts to say, "Okay…" but now he's a little hurt.

"Wait. Are you seriously telling me that's it?"

Thankfully Dean's not too far away, so he can still hear, "What's it?"

Sam reminds him, "You're really gonna flirt and pull all that phony dyslexic stuff, and you're not even gonna ask me out, or at least for my number?"

Dean tries to assure Sam, "I do have dyslexia."

Sam rolls his eyes, "Oh come on. I could tell from a mile away you were making it up. I have a sister who's dyslexic, remember? But still, I thought, 'If he's willing to commit to a bit for that long just to talk to me, maybe this guy's not so bad.' But then you blow me off!"

As Sam starts his car, Dean moves back to Sam, "Wait wait wait. That's not what happened at all…"

Sam gives him a dismissive wave, "Mahalo for the bruised ego." and drives away.

Dean keeps calling after Sam as he drives away,

"I'm not that dyslexic! I genuinely didn't know that stuff you told me!"

But Sam's already gone, and now Dean feels bad.

"Shit. I gotta make this right." He says out loud as he gets into his car to follow Sam to his house.

Ellen is by the entrance with Ash, smacking him upside the head, "Hope you're happy."

and dials a number on the cafe's phone.

"Bobby? It's Ellen."

Chapter 8: Hands Off, She's Mine

When Dean reaches the house, he parks and goes straight to the door and knocks. But instead of Sam, Sam's father opens the door.

Dean's quick to greet him, "Uh, aloha. My name's Dean…"

But Bobby's not about to play nice,

"I know exactly who you are."

Dean tries to explain himself, "I just wanted to apologise to your son."

But Bobby's not having it, "Not happening, you idjit. He's inside, and we're gonna have it out right now." he informs Dean as he comes outside himself.

Off to the side, a girls voice is heard, "Hey Dad? I think a raccoon got into the garbage again." But once she can be seen, and she can see Dean, she's already asking, "Is this him?"

Bobby confirms, "This is the guy." then focuses back on Dean. "All I ask of you, Mr. Winchester, is that you leave my son the hell alone."

Dean's immediately all about assuring the both of them, "Of course. I just kind of hurt his feelings and didn't want to leave it like that."

Charlie starts, "You're gonna leave it like this." and goes to lunge at Dean, but Bobby's right there reaching out a hand to stop her. "Calm down, Charlie."

After taking a breath, Charlie complies, then informs Dean,

"Look, you obviously don't seem to get how hard me and Dad work to protect Sam. We're not about to let some jackass screw it all up."

But Dean's not looking to do that at all, "Ellen gave me the rundown on what you guys do every day, and I respect the hell out of that."

Bobby informs Dean, "If you know what Sam's been through, then you know he can't have a normal life, let alone a relationship, cause the next morning, he'll have no clue who they are! And anybody who's okay with that." Bobby states at Dean hard. "Is sure as hell not okay with me."

Dean tries again, "I'm not gonna bang and leave."

Charlie speaks up then, "Anything you do with Sam is a bang and leave, moron."

Bobby draws the line clear enough for Dean to see, "Just stay the hell away from Cafe Kaila. My son's been through enough to last a lifetime."

Seeing they're not gonna budge, Dean relents, "Alright. I'm sorry." And walks away.

 

Later, when both he and Garth are behind the bar again, Dean decides to get Garth's opinion.

"I'm probably gonna regret this, but what the hell. If you made a promise to someone's dad you'd stay away from their son, is that the final word?"

Garth immediately answers, "Of course!"

Dean asks, surprised, "Really?"

Garth adds, "But then again, you can always work around stuff like that. It's like a loophole in a contract."

Dean asks, "Like what?"

Garth uses himself as an example, "If I was told to not see someone anymore, I'd just close my eyes."

That's when Dean gets it, "Okay, that's a very literal way of looking at it, but I think I get what you're saying."

That seems to be the thing Dean needed to hear, and decides to put his new plan into motion tomorrow.

Hopefully it goes better than his cafe chats.

Chapter 9: Friday I'm In Love

"He said don't go to Kaila. I'm not breaking the rules."

Dean talks to himself as he waits by the side of the road, on the path Dean knows Sam drives down every day when he comes home from breakfast.

Sure enough, Sam's Charger comes down the road, and upon seeing Dean with the hood of his car popped, slows down to see what the problem is.

"Hey. Everything okay here?"

Dean responds, "Actually, no. My baby here needs a jump. Can you help me out?"

Sam nods in understanding, "Yikes. That's no fun. Sure, I'll help you out."

Sam pulls himself over and upon getting out of his car, opens his trunk to grab his jumper cables, bringing them over to Dean.

"Thanks so much. I really appreciate it. Been waiting out here for a while. Nobody stopped but you. You're a real gentleman."

Sam smiles, "Thanks, man."

But then Dean starts shaking out of control, screaming his head off, and Sam's so shocked he actually joins in.

Dean then suddenly stops, and starts laughing, "Oldest trick in the book, and you fell for it. You're such a girl."

But Sam still looks upset, "My uncle died trying to help someone jump start their car."

Crap. Now he's an asshole. "I'm sorry, man. I didn't know. It was just a joke."

Then Sam suddenly changes his tune, "Second oldest trick in the book, and YOU fell for it. Who's the girl now?"

Dean realizes he's just been had, and laughs despite himself, "Oh wow. You definitely had me going for a second." Then he holds his hand out, "I'm Dean."

Sam holds his own hand out, "Sam."

They talk for a few minutes, then Sam gets back into his car and drives away.

Dean calls it a win.

 

The next day, it's pouring rain, and this time the stretch of road is actually busier than normal, so he sets up a little roadblock and passes himself off as a crossing guard.

He doesn't have long to wait before Sam's car shows up in the busy street, and when he gets to Dean, Dean walks up to the window.

"Very sorry about this, sir. Should be able to cross in a few minutes."

Sam shakes his head, "Not a problem."

Dean keeps it up, "Where you headed? Home?"

Sam answers, "Yeah, it's my sister's birthday."

Dean asks, "Yeah? You doing anything special for her?"

Sam replies, "Were making an apple banana cake. It's to die for."

Dean tells Sam, "I like going up to the Hawaiian Crown Plantation to pick apple bananas."

Sam's surprised, "Really?"

Dean nods, "Yeah. Kind of my thing. Only the best for my banana cake." Then he asks, "So what's your name?"

Sam responds, "I'm Sam."

Dean introduces himself, "I'm Dean."

Once again, after chatting for a few minutes, the road clears for another car to pass, so Dean lets Sam through.

Win number two.

 

Dean comes out to the road with a bouquet of flowers.

"So when he stops, all he has to do is pick up the flowers. Then he'll see me. Easy enough."

Then he sets the vase down in the middle of the road.

"Perfect. Rest is up to him."

Then he moves to the side and keeps a lookout for Sam's Charger.

Sam shows up not long after that, but what Dean can't see is Sam knocked something to the floor and has reached down to try and grab it, and isn't looking at the road.

Dean keeps talking out loud, "Here he comes."

But then he sees the problem, "Where the hell is he?"

With a start, he realizes Sam's about to run over the bouquet, and he can't help but think, "Oh shit shit shit!"

In a second, Sam's Charger hits the vase the flowers are in with full force, shattering the glass and sending the flowers flying everywhere, and then Sam's gone, not having met Dean for the day.

Dean mutters, "Okay, that was a bust."

 

The next day, Dean decides he needs to step it up to make up for not seeing Sam yesterday, so he asks for paid assistance that comes in the name of a weird guy named Cass, who Dean and Garth hired to help with the bees part time.

This job is simple. 

"All you gotta do is beat me up and make it look good."

When he sees Sam's car, he tells Cass, "This is him. Go."

Immediately, Cass throws Dean to the ground and starts punching first.

"You think you can mooch off us natives?"

When Dean sees Sam slowing down, he calls out, "Help me!" But then a particularly hard kick gets him in the stomach, "Ow. Not so hard." He whispers.

"Hire me part time and then forget to pay me?"

Dean doesn't know what to make of that, "Okay, why are you bringing that up now? Chill out."

Seeing Sam get out of the car, Dean calls out, "Hey, hey! Help me. Please."

But right as Cass gets ready to hit him again, he suddenly flinches, and when Dean looks, he sees Sam's just hit him with a bat.

"You like that? I got more!" And whacks him again a few more times.

Cass starts flinching away, but Sam doesn't let up, still yelling, "Take this! And that! And some of these!"

Dean feels bad, and tries to get Sam to stop, "Okay, I think you got him."

When Sam sees Dean just lying there, he turns to ask, "Are you okay?"

Dean nods, but when Sam sees Cass running away, Sam tells Dean, "I'll be right back!" and then chases after Cass again. "Come back here, you ass!"

Dean tries to stop Sam, "No, no! I think he's had enough!" Weakly, he calls out to Cass, "I'm sorry."

At one point, Sam hits him right in the face, knocking him to the ground, prompting Dean to call out, "I think he's learned his lesson!"

Sam calls back, "I don't think so!" Then goes back to whacking away.

Dean says, "Yeah, you got him." Right as Sam finally comes back to ask, "What's your name?"

Dean introduces himself, "I'm Dean. You really let him have it."

Sam apologizes, "I'm sorry for the unnecessary roughness. I'm in a community watch program."

At seeing Cass' retreating back, Sam turns to yell, "You better run, you assbutt!"

Dean assures Sam, "The guy's gone now. You can relax."

They keep talking, and this time Sam offers Dean an opportunity to join the community watch program. That's definitely new.

 

Next day, he has his car trunk open and himself ready to close it, a tail light missing so he can stick his hand through the now open hole, to look like he's trapped in the trunk.

At seeing a car ready to pass by, he closes the trunk, but when he looks through the hole, he can see it's not Sam's Charger.

"Not him. False alarm."

When he hears the car stop, he assures whoever it is, "I've already called the cops. I don't need help."

Then he hears a familiar voice call out, "You sure about that, punk?"

Dean looks, and can see the figures of Charlie and Bobby Singer looking through the hole.

"Oh crap." Is all Dean says.

Bobby just says, "Soon as you're done with this fake kidnapping crap with my son, I want you to stop by. Something we wanna show you." and walks away.

Dean tries to respond, but they're already too far away.

What could either of them possibly have to show him?

Chapter 10: Wouldn't it Be Nice

When Dean reaches the house and gets out of the car, Bobby gets his attention and leads him to the garage, where Sam's working on the newest arrangement for another "birthday". Only Sam can't see them approach because the door's closed, but they're not here to interrupt him.

No, the reason Bobby called Dean here was because of what they can hear through the flimsy glass in the garage door window,

"Did I say that I need you? Did I say that I want you? What if I did and I'm a fool you see. No one knows this more than me. 'Cause I come clean."

After Dean's hears it for himself, they walk a few feet away, to avoid Sam seeing Dean, and Bobby explains,

"We figured it out. He only sings on days you two meet up."

This is definitely interesting, "That particular song?"

Charlie explains here, "Pearl Jam is Mom's favorite band. He grew to love it because of her. When she was alive, he always made sure I'd take the CD with that song on it whenever we left for another business trip."

Dean asks, intrigued, "Oh yeah?"

Bobby confirms, "Yep. He knew it would make me miss his mom, so I'd come back sooner than planned."

Dean has to joke to cut the tension, "Gotta say, this new side to you is creeping me out."

Now that there's this new thing going on, Bobby has to know, "Tell me something, kid. What's in it for you by keeping this up?"

Dean considers making something up, but decides this man deserves more than that,

"Truthfully? I don't know."

Just then, Sam sings loud enough to where they all can hear him, and that prompts Dean to then ask,

"Tell me you wouldn't want to hear more of that."

Charlie is quick to deny, "Not really. He didn't exactly pick up Mom's pipes. She'd sing, then he'd play alongside her."

But something else is bothering Dean, "Can I ask you two something?"

Seeing how he's starting to come around, Bobby decides to let him, "Shoot."

Dean asks carefully, "You've only been at this for over a year. But what about later down the line? One day he's gonna look in the mirror and see his hair turned gray overnight."

Bobby admits, "Know something? That thought actually scares the crap out of me."

They keep talking for a bit, but by the time Dean's leaving, Bobby's lifted the ban off of the cafe.

Dean smiles with this new information, and makes plans to show up there the very next morning.

Chapter 11: Your Love

Next morning, Dean's more determined than ever to get Sam to give him a chance, so instead of trickery, he tries for the simple direct approach.

"Hey." When Sam looks up from the same book he's always reading, Dean continues,

"I noticed we're both sitting by ourselves, and was wondering if I could sit with you. Could build a faster engine for your waffle car there?" And gestures to the already built waffle car.

But Sam's polite, "That would be nice, except I have a boyfriend. So, sorry."

Dean doesn't believe it, "Are you serious? You're making up a boyfriend to make me leave you alone?"

Sam's offended, "I most definitely am not."

Dean challenges Sam, "Oh yeah? Then what's his name?"

Sam answers, "Axl."

Dean keeps it up, "Is his last name Rose?"

Sam replies, "No. Adler."

Dean rolls his eyes, "Adler. Right."

But then Sam sees something going on outside, and says, "Oh shit."

Dean relents, "Fine, I'm sorry!"

But Sam doesn't care about that, "No! Someone's writing me a stupid ticket!"

It hits Dean in a split second what's gonna happen, and follows Sam towards the entrance, "I really think you don't wanna go out there."

But even as Dean calls out, "Sam wait!" Sam's already marching right out to where the cop is, Dean looks to Ellen for help, who orders him, "Get your butt out there!"

Dean needs no further prompting, and chases Sam to where he's now arguing with the cop, Ellen right behind him.

"My tags don't expire for another 6 months!"

The cop tells Sam as he writes the ticket,

"Your tags expired in December of last year."

Sam's adamant, "No they didn't! They expire December of THIS year!"

Dean tries to reason with the cop, despite knowing he's just trying to do his job.

"I think there might be a mix up."

The cop finishes writing the ticket and hands it to Sam, "You thought wrong."

Sam takes it, but still argues, "I'm not paying for this. It's June!"

Another passerby is holding a newspaper, and Sam grabs it, asking, "Can I borrow this?" and points to the date, "Look, see? June."

Ellen finally tries to tell Sam, urgently, "Sam, come on. Let's get you back inside."

But Sam's already seen the date.

"What the hell?"

Sure it has to be a misprint, he goes for the newspaper machine, opens it, only to find all of them with the same date on them.

This only confuses Sam even more, and the only thing he can think to do is run for his car and race home. Somebody needs to tell him what the hell's going on.

He peels out of the parking lot so quickly, he doesn't even register the black Impala following him.

Chapter 12: You've Got to Stand for Something

Bobby's by the front window when he hears Sam's car speed into the driveway honking, and immediately knows what's wrong.

He calls out, "Charlie! Sam knows!" and heads outside to answer Sam's questions.

After that, Bobby goes through the same routine he saves for days like this.

First he opens the closet full of newspapers and shows them to Sam. This makes Sam even more upset at realizing he's been lied to. 

But just seeing the fake newspaper with the fake date, as well as knowing how long both Bobby and his sister have been lying to him, it's just too much.

Sam drops the newspaper and runs back out the front door, onto the pier near their house, not noticing when he runs right past Dean.

Sam almost makes it to the end before his legs collapse, and he screams, because it's all he really can do.

Bobby, Charlie and Dean follow Sam from a distance, and once they catch up to him, Bobby takes initiative by handing Sam a folder.

"These are from the accident." He explains, and slowly, Sam goes through them, Dean looking over his shoulder.

There's a lot of stuff stockpiled in this folder. Photos of bouquets his students made. A clipping from the accident. 

But then, when Sam turns the page again, he sees a picture of himself, all banged up and asleep in a hospital bed.

This is the worst thing he could've seen, because seeing it triggers a phantom pain in the back of his skull, and he can't help but say, "Oh God." as he puts a hand on the back of his head. "This is real."

Bobby explains, "You wound up spending three months in the hospital, Sam."

But now that he's somehow managed to pull himself together, he tells Bobby, "I have to talk to the doctor. I have to hear him say the words."

Bobby gently tries to explain, "You already have, Sam. Many times."

That just confuses Sam more, and all he can ask is, "I have?"

Dean finally speaks up, "I'll take him. I need to hear it from him too."

 

Finally, Bobby decides they're all going, with Bobby and Charlie in the front seat, Sam and Dean in the back.

Sam's still holding onto the folder, and finally hands it back to Charlie,

"Charlie, I need you to take this. I just can't look at it anymore."

Dean tries to comfort him, "It's alright, Sammy."

Sam snaps back, "Please don't call me Sammy. I don't know you at all."

Surprisingly, Bobby's the one to speak up first,

"Uh, Sam? He's kind of your boyfriend."

That makes Sam give Dean as second look, new information in mind. "Really?"

Dean nods, "Sorry if I'm not your type."

But Sam's now thinking of other things, "What else has happened since June of last year? What about my business? My class?"

Bobby explains, "We had to sell The Flower Palace, and Ms. Wesson took over your class."

Sam asks next, "Did Amelia and her husband reconcile?"

Bobby confirms, "Yeah, they did."

Then Sam remembers Charlie, "Charlie, did you win the Miss Hawaii contest?"

Charlie admits to her embarrassment, "Kara made some good luck brownies with her "special" ingredient and I got disqualified by the urine test."

Sam can't believe all of this, "Wow. I've missed out on so much."

Then he turns back to Dean, "Are we sleeping together?"

Everybody's looking at Dean for that one, but he quickly denies, "For the record, everyone, no, were not." Then, "But we want to."

That makes everyone do a double take, but Dean quickly backpedals, "Just kidding. Just trying to cut some of the tension."

But it appears that attempt failed, because the next thing Sam says is, "I can't believe you lie to me every single day."

There's no response for that, so the rest of the drive is covered in the awkward silence.

Chapter 13: Hotel California

When they finally get to the hospital, they walk straight through to the doctor, despite Sam not remembering ever being here.

Before long, they're sitting at a table in a room where the doctor shows them Sam's brain scans.

Dr. Marlowe points to one set, "Sam, these are your brain scans. Unfortunately there hasn't been any improvement. You severely damaged your temporal lobe in the accident."

Marlowe turns to Sam and Dean for the next part,

"We believe the problem is there's scar tissue on your brain, making it impossible to convert short term memory into long term. It's called anterograde amnesia."

Dean asks, "Who was the first case?"

Marlowe explains, "A brilliant neurologist. Took him four years to document his findings because he kept having to start over."

Sam snorts unintentionally, which prompts Marlowe to say, "Clearly you still have your sense of humor." He points to a part in Sam's head, "That's right there. And your amygdala? Brilliant."

Then Charlie speaks up, "Hey, doc? Can I ask you a question?"

Marlowe turns to Charlie, "Sure."

Charlie asks, "I have this friend who's...been experimenting with marijuana, and she's been experiencing frequent trips to the bathroom. Could they be related?"

Marlowe states the facts, "Charlie, get off the weed. And as for your small bathroom problems, buy a nice dress and take your girlfriend out to a nice dinner."

Then he turns back to Sam, "To finish my last thought, Sam, your condition won't get any worse unless you get into another accident, but most likely it'll be permanent."

Sam looks sad from hearing that, so Marlowe assures him, "But it could always be worse."

Sam asks, "How?"

Marlowe says, "Follow me. There's someone I want you to meet."

They make their way over to a young man building something out of Legos on the table, and Marlowe introduces him,

"Everybody, meet Turn Back Jack."

Jack stands up and introduces himself,

"Hi, I'm Jack." And shakes everyone's hand as they introduce themselves.

Then Jack notices Charlie's earrings, "Cute earrings."

Charlie smiles, "Like them? They were a gift from my girl…"

Then Jack holds out his hand again, "Hi, I'm Jack." And shakes everyone's hand again.

Something's definitely off here, so Marlowe explains, "Jack here lost a good chunk of his temporal lobe when someone attacked him. As a result, his memory only lasts 9 seconds."

Jack's upset at hearing this, "I was attacked? That's terrible."

Marlowe assures him, "Don't worry. Wait 4 more seconds."

Jack's pissed, "Don't worry? What the hell happened, did someone stab me in the brain, or…"

Then he's all smiles again, "Hi, I'm Jack." And shakes everyone's hand for a third time.

Then Dean goes for a turn, "Hey, Jack, can I tell you a secret?" And whispers in Jack's ear.

Within moments, Jack's laughing, looking at Charlie, "Don't you think you should have that bathroom problem looked at?"

That has everyone laughing, including other patients that overheard, then Jack's going, "Hi, I'm Jack." which prompts Charlie to go, "Easy, Jack."

 

It's a few hours later before they finally make it back home, and when Sam gets out of the car, all he says is, "I think I'm just gonna head to bed."

Bobby nods, "All right, Sam. See you tomorrow."

Sam responds, "Gnight, fam. See you tomorrow."

But when he remembers Dean, "Guess I'll see you tomorrow too?"

Dean replies, "Yeah. Guess so. You had a pretty rough day. I'm sorry about all that. Hope you'll get some rest."

Then he starts to walk away, but Sam stops him, "Hey, wait. Thank you. For being so supportive today."

Dean blushes slightly, "Course."

Sam goes on, "I just don't want you to... strike out again tomorrow. Try talking to me about... sunflowers."

Dean's surprised, "Sunflowers?"

Sam smiles, "Yeah, I know. I'm a florist, and my favorite is the sunflower. But what can I say. I'm a sucker."

Huh. That's an interesting idea. "Thanks for the tip. Gnight."

Sam says one last, "Gnight" then heads inside to bed.

Then Dean walks over to where Bobby and Charlie are seated, and Bobby offers,

"Stick around, kid. After today, I think you've earned a drink with me."

Dean decides what the hell, so he sits down, and once he's got a beer in hand, Bobby asks about his life,

"So what're you gonna do once you get the funding?"

Dean answers, "Actually, me and my business partner are gonna study the mating patterns of bees."

Charlie quips, "Sounds boring."

Dean doesn't blink, "Thank you."

Bobby asks, "How long will something like that take?"

Dean guesses, "Probably a year, year and a half."

Charlie jokes, "Bet you won't miss crazy days like this one."

Dean decides to share what he's been thinking, "Well, actually, what if they didn't have to be like this?"

Bobby asks, "What do you mean?"

Dean goes on, "Well, from what I've seen, when you told him the truth, he wasn't just finding out about the accident. He found out his whole life since up to now has been a lie. That's probably freaking him out more than the accident."

Charlie quips, "And you're suddenly an expert on all things Sam?"

Dean admits, "No, not at all. I just don't agree with your whole, "Sorry we couldn't trick you. Here's some pictures of your broken head." approach."

Charlie gets up, angry, "You want a broken head to match?"

Bobby grabs her shoulder, "You're not gonna go that, and you know it. Calm down."

Dean gets up then, "I'm gonna bounce."

Bobby tries to stop him, "Aw, don't go cause my daughter's overprotective."

Dean assures him, "Gnight. Steer clear of the bathroom, Charlie." Then starts to walk away.

But before he reaches his car, he notices the folder in the open window, and when he's sure nobody's looking, takes the folder and drops it in the passenger seat.

If Dean's gonna carry out his plan, he's gonna need some reinforcements. And he thinks he knows just the people to help.

Chapter 14: Just Breathe

The next morning, Sam comes back from breakfast, only to be stopped when a random guy walks up to him.

"Excuse me. Are you Sam Singer?"

Sam reluctantly confirms, "I am."

The man explains, "I have a delivery for you."

Sam has no idea what to make of this. Why would he be getting a delivery on Charlie's birthday? "A delivery? For me?"

The man confirms, "That's right." And proceeds to hand Sam a bouquet of sunflowers.

Sam is impressed, "Wow. These are awesome. Who are they from, and how did they know I love sunflowers?"

The man smiles, "I'm afraid I can't break client confidentiality. They're from a secret admirer. But that's not all." And hands Sam a DVD case, presumably with a DVD inside.

Bobby, upon seeing Sam's car but not Sam himself, makes his way over to where the two are talking and asks, "Hey, Sam. Who's your friend?"

Sam's quick to tell him, "Oh, he's not my friend. Just a delivery guy I think. Check it out. Apparently I have a secret admirer."

Bobby knows Dean has to be behind this, but he feigns surprise anyway, "Oh yeah? What's that?" Gesturing to the DVD case.

Sam tells Bobby, "A DVD."

Bobby asks, "A DVD? Of what?"

Sam admits, "No clue. But I'm intrigued. I'm gonna go inside and find out."

But before he does, he sees Charlie about to come outside, and kisses her on the cheek, "Happy birthday, sis."

Once Sam's inside, Dean jokes, "Right I forgot, Charlie. Happy birthday. Which makes you what, 452?"

But Bobby's in no mood for jokes, "Don't try to be cute. What the hell are you doing?"

Dean explains calmly, "Just wanted to try a new method. If it backfires, it's just one day."

Inside, Sam's just put the DVD into the player, and once it's finished loading, immediately, Pearl Jam's Just Breathe starts playing in the background, and white text on a black screen appears.

 

Good morning, Sammy.

 

Nothing bad is going to happen to you.

 

...but here's some things you missed this past year.

 

The video cuts to several clips of events that occurred over the past year. Among them are Megan Markle's wedding to Prince Harry, Sears and Toys R Us going bankrupt, Snoop Dogg and Martha Stewart coming clean about their unlikely friendship. 

There's a clip of the Dodgers celebrating a win accompanied by the text, Dodgers win world series. Which is immediately followed by the black screen and the words, ...just kidding .

Then it's followed with a news clip with the text, California request to split from the rest of the US qualified for the ballot.

Then the black screen is back, this time with, ...not kidding.

Then it shows a newspaper clipping featuring Charlie, with the headline, Singer disqualified for marijuana use.

This makes Sam look at Charlie for a moment, who turns away in embarrassment, as Sam turns back to the screen.

The black screen now features the words,

Bet you're wondering why you don't remember any of this. Well…

The screen cuts to an article with the headline,

Stray Cow Causes Collision.

At this, Sam starts to get upset, but then the camera zooms in on the article itself, which Sam reads to himself,

Pistachio farmer Rober Singer struck a tree when a cow darted into the road.

Once he finishes reading, he turns to Bobby, who's keeping a straight face.

Sam starts clutching his head like he did the day before, now able to feel the phantom pain.

But just then, the video changes to Cafe Kaila, and the man that gave him the DVD appears.

"Aloha! I'm Dean Winchester. We met here at Cafe Kaila about a year after your accident. I like you, and most days you like me. Every day gets a different reaction, but when I talk to you here, it goes a little something like this."

The camera changes focus to a table, with a plate of waffles that Sam supposes is supposed to be a car, and a short skinny man dressed like Sam, and Dean sits down across from the man, then speaks to the camera again,

"The part of you in this reenactment will be played by my good friend and business partner, Garth."

Garth addresses the camera, "Aloha, Sam! Sorry about your accident. I've had a few here and there." He gestures to his cheeks, "Believe it or not, I'm actually allergic to bee stings, and these sweet things are swollen right now."

Dean turns Garth's attention back to what they're supposed to be doing, "Alright, we ready?"

When Garth nods, Dean approaches the table and asks, "Hi. Nice waffle car."

Garth responds, "Thanks for noticing. Have a seat."

Dean does, "Thanks. My name's Dean."

Garth introduces himself, "I'm Sam."

Dean holds out his hands, "Wanna sniff my hands?"

Garth grabs them to sniff, "Oooh. Pistachios. Yummy."

Dean goes on, "So, Sam, I'm a beekeeper."

Garth teases, "Bees turn me on! Drizzle some honey on me."

Dean gets annoyed, "That's not funny. Don't make jokes like that."

Dean turns back to the camera to apologise, "Mr. Singer, if you're watching this, I'm really sorry. It's either really late, or really early in the morning, and we're all really tired. And I'm sorry to you too, Sam. I know you wish this was some cruel sick joke. I do too. But there is a small upside to this. You have a wonderful support system behind you. Like your dad and sister Charlie, and your awesome friends here at Cafe Kaila."

The camera changes to Ellen, who holds up a picture of Sam's mom,

"Sam, honey, you know your mom and I were good friends. When she started getting sick, I promised to look out for you for her. We all know life's not fair, and it hasn't been to you, either. But we still love you, damaged brain or not."

That's sweet, but Ellen's not done yet,

"Oh yeah. And if you're wondering about the guy that made this...he's actually a really nice guy."

Then the camera changes to Ash, who's really close up to the camera.

"Hey, Sam. Since your accident, I became a big time CEO."

Then the camera backs up, to show he 's just standing next to a trash can, taking out the garbage,

"Nah, just kidding. We all know that's too easy for a genius like me."

Then the camera goes back to Dean, who has one last thing to say, 

"Whenever you're ready, we're all here for you, ready to answer any questions, cause we know you have a lot. You're awesome, Sammy. Aloha."

Then the screen goes black, and that's the end of the DVD.

Sam can't think or speak for a moment. His whole life has just been turned on its head. How does one go about recovering from that?

When he finally does think to say something, it's directed at Bobby, "How many times have I seen this?"

Bobby doesn't bother lying, "This is number one."

 

About an hour later, Sam's outside by the pier, but this time he doesn't run down it. He just stands there staring at the horizon, not speaking.

Meanwhile, Dean talks to Bobby.

"Okay. Only cried for about an hour. Could be worse. I'm betting give him another hour, then he'll be ready to see all his friends, talk over a meal. Even get his old life back. This is huge. Could be a whole new aspect of his life."

Bobby looks at Sam, and as much as he wants to agree, he knows something else comes first,

"This is all up to Sam."

Chapter 15: Baby

When Sam finally comes back to them, his first question is aimed at Dean, "What happened to the cow?"

Dean makes a joke, "Same as you. Every day she forgets she's a cow."

That makes Sam laugh, then he asks,

"Can you take me somewhere?"

 

By the time they get to the tree Bobby hit, the sun's starting to set, and Sam's looking at the damage,

"Look at that. The bark's healing already."

Dean notes, "You're not doing too bad yourself."

That's when Sam notices Dean staring at him rather intently, "What?"

Dean shakes his head, "Nothing. We've just never hung out in the afternoon before. And I've just noticed how in this light, you look…" Sam's pretty sure Dean's gonna say something super sappy here, but he's a little relieved when he instead says, "Ginormous."

Sam laughs, then throws in one of his own, "How the hell do you get me to fall for that bad boy attitude every single day?"

Dean picks it up, "Not that hard. Just the standard. Turn on Warrant's Cherry Pie, slip on some skinny jeans. Do a nice little striptease. Works every time."

That makes Sam laugh even harder, "Why couldn't I have bumped into you one day before the accident?"

Dean tries to assure him and joke at the same time, "Nah, probably for the best. If you spent more than one day with me, you'd catch on pretty quick how boring I really am."

Sam suddenly gets an idea, "Oh yeah? Then prepare to be surprised, Dean Winchester."

Dean asks, "Surprised by what?"

Sam informs him, "It takes less than one day."

Dean clutches his chest, pretending he's just been shot, "Now that hurt, Sammy. Your anterograde amnesia is hurting me, and you're gonna pay for that."

Sam slaps him lightly, which causes Dean to shout, "You're dead!"

Dean proceeds to chase Sam in the field around the tree, both of them laughing their heads off.

It's about a week later when Sam decides he's ready to see all his friends again. 

There's a big Hawaiian luau set up, complete with dancers and a roasted pig.

One by one, Sam addresses the people around him.

He starts with the couple, "I can't believe you two are engaged!"

Max responds, "She said yes before I even got the question out."

Stacy elbows her, teasing "Watch it. I just might take it back."

Then he goes to guy sitting nearby, "And Eliot, you've really grown up!"

Eliot smiles, "Thanks, Sam."

Then he turns to someone else completely, "And you look much happier now that you've grown your hair out and dyed it brown, Meg."

Meg smiles, "Mahalo."

Then Dean shows up with a drink, "Here you go, Sam."

Eliot asks, "So you're Sam's new friend. The one that made him the DVD?"

Sam messes around with his drink as he answers, "Actually, I think he's a lot more than that." He turns to Dean as Dean sits down, "Aren't you my boyfriend now?"

Dean nods, "Yes, sir."

Stacy pipes up again, "So you have to help him remember what happened, every single day, and wait for him to slowly accept it, then move in for the kill?"

Dean confirms, "Basically."

Stacy playfully swats Max's shoulder, "And you don't even know my favorite flower!"

Everybody laughs at that, but by the end, everyone's back to their usual happiness.

 

On another day, Sam and Dean are in front of a cave by the beach, with Sam holding a video camera, asking Dean questions,

"Alright, now tell me a little more about you."

Dean answers, "Well, I… have won every single pie eating contest I've ever entered."

Sam intrigued, "Really?"

Dean nods, "Yep. I'm a killer singer, but only at karaoke."

That one makes Sam laugh, but Dean asks, "Guess it depends on what you want to know."

Sam thinks it over for a moment, "Um…" before finally asking an important question, "Do you love me?"

That definitely stuns Dean, and he doesn't respond either, so Sam quickly explains,

"I don't wanna push you into saying something you don't mean. It's just as a, 'How do you feel in this moment?' kind of thing. You know, so the video stays up to date."

That makes sense to Dean, "Alright."

He thinks about it for one more moment, then starts, "The word love is meaningless. It's just one word that's supposed to describe all these girly feelings."

Then he looks right at Sam for this next part,

"But I know that nearly every morning, I go to the same cafe for breakfast, see you in your usual spot, reading the same part of your book over and over, and…"

He hesitates, then finally,

"I love you. More than one word could ever hope to sum up. More than should be humanly possible for two people who start off as strangers every single morning."

Sam definitely wasn't expecting that, "Wow." Then he asks, "What about me?"

Dean needs to cut the tension here, so he jokes, "You wanna know more about the pie thing…" which gets a smile from Sam, "...and you're distracted cause you wanna make out with me since I dropped the L word."

Sam smiles bigger, and whether Dean was right or not, he leans in to kiss Dean.

When they pull away for a second, Dean asks, "All better?"

Sam responds, "First kiss is always the best."

 

Those words would come to be a sort of mantra for the next few weeks as they keep up the new routine.

When they're making out next to a lighthouse, "First kiss is just like biting into an apple. First one's always the best."

Out in the pistachio fields, "First kiss is always the best."

Dean replies, "So I've been told.", then they lean back in.

Out on the beach, they don't even bother pulling apart, because someone tries to shout, "Get a roo-" but he's hit by a large wave, and gets promptly cut off.

Then they're at an aquarium, in the underwater conveyor belt, but this time, Dean tries to reach for Sam's hip. Unfortunately, he's thwarted by Sam, who immediately pulls away.

"What do you think you're doing?"

Dean tries to cover, "Thought I saw some lint on your shirt."

But Sam's too smart for that, "You were trying to grope me."

Dean confesses, "Alright, I'm sorry. But we've been doing this little makeout routine for about 28 days now, and I gotta tell you, blue balls is not fun."

Sam nods, "I know. I get it." But then he reminds Dean, "Okay, no I don't. But to me we're still making out for the first time."

Dean pretends to contemplate that, "Okay. Let's do a little math then. For me, it's magic number 28. You, it's number one. That makes it number 14 between us."

Sam asks, "Oh really?"

Dean nods, "Yep. And Hawaiian law states that I'm entitled to get to at least third base after date number 12."

Sam laughs at this, and wonders out loud, "Why couldn't we have met a day before the accident?"

Dean sighs, "You've said that a lot since I have you the tape."

Then Dean gets an idea, "Wanna meet a buddy of mine?"

 

They go all the way out to Dean and Garth's bee farm, where they can see a trained dog patrolling the hives.

When he sees Sam and Dean, he goes right over to them.

Sam gasps at the huge dog, while Dean introduces them, 

"Sam, this is Rumsfeld. Rumsfeld, Sam."

Sam can't believe it, "Wow." When Rumsfeld holds up a paw, Sam shakes it. "Nice to meet you, Rumsfeld."

Sam can't stop smiling, "He's the best dog ever."

Dean says, "Wait till you see this.", then talks to the dog.

"Hey Rumsfeld." When the dog looks at him, Dean asks, "What's on the house?"

Clearly Rumsfeld has been asked this before, cause he jumps up with his front paws, and goes, "Roof!"

Sam laughs, impressed, then asks Dean, "Can I ask him a question too?"

Dean agrees, "Sure. But he probably won't answer."

Sam moves forward to stand right in front of the dog, and addresses him directly,

"Rumsfeld." When the dog looks at him, Sam asks, "Do you think me and Dean are ready to kick things up a notch?"

Dean moves his hand up and down, to get Rumsfeld to nod, and sure enough, the dog does.

Sam's not convinced, though, "Hm. You sure? Do you also think I should bring Dean into his house so I can have my way with him?"

Dean gestures with his hand going up and down again, but this time the dog doesn't do it at first, so Dean keeps it up, and finally, the dog nods again.

But Sam wasn't fooled, "I saw you manipulating him." Sam turns around to look at Dean, "And what the hell. I'm glad you did."

Then he grabs Dean in another kiss, and next thing they know, they're moving inside, into Dean's room that's got a bunch of windows looking out, and wouldn't you know it, some lazy bees are floating by.

But they don't notice that much as they reach Dean's bed and start making out more heavily.

They don't really say anything else for a while after that.

Chapter 16: Forgetful Sammy

Much later, Sam and Dean wind up next to a small bonfire set up in Dean's backyard, away from the beehives. Dean has another little surprise for Sam.

"Alright, I'm asking you to keep an open mind here, cause while I said I can sing, I kinda had to take a crash course with this thing."

Sam looks, then he sees Dean pull out a ukulele, starting to tune it up.

"It's kind of like playing a guitar, but kinda not. But bear with me, and we can hopefully laugh about this song later."

Sam nods, and just lets Dean do his thing.

Dean strums a few practice notes, then once he's ready, starts singing,

 

"Cafe Kaila was the place

When I saw your ugly face

I acted like an idiot right away

Then you forgot it the next day

 

Forgetful Sammy

I gotta love that hammy

 

I tricked you into stopping your car so we could chat

But my favorite time was you beating up my assistant with a bat.

And we talked to Dr. Marlow about how badly you got scarred

And found out why Charlie gets lost in her own backyard

Forgetful Sammy

Your big brain just went kablammy

 

But loving him is what I know

And hope he never wants to go

Even if while I'm singing this song

He's wishing he has a bees schlong

 

Forgetful Sammy

Your lips taste super spammy

 

How about another first kiss?

 

Once it's done, Sam smiles and gives Dean another kiss.

Chapter 17: From Da Chuuuch to Da Palace

That night, Sam surprises Dean by asking him to stay the night.

Dean all too eagerly says yes, and once they're in Sam's bed, all they can do is keep whispering back and forth.

"Don't fall asleep, Sammy." Dean begs.

Sam whispers back, "Not sleeping, just closing my eyes."

Dean teases, "I can go downstairs, then." And makes like he's gonna get up.

But Sam won't let him, grabbing Dean's arm to stop him from leaving. "No, don't. I'm just resting."

Dean smiles, and asks, "Sammy?"

Sam replies quietly, "Yeah?"

Dean says it without having to think twice, "Will you marry me?"

Sam smiles at the question, both of them knowing he won't remember his answer when he wakes up.

But at the look in Dean's eyes, Sam replies, "You know I will."

Dean says, "Yeah? Good."

Dean reaches out for Sam's arm, stroking it gently, "Don't forget me."

Sam smiles again, and he assures Dean, "I don't think that's even humanly possible."

But all too soon, Dean falls asleep, and Sam's not too far behind him.

Neither of them could predict what the next day will bring for them both, but for now, they're just content to lie in each other's arms, with the promise of a marriage in their future now at the forefront of Dean's dreams.

Chapter 18: Breakfast in Bed

The next morning, Dean wakes up first, and when he sees Sam waking up, he smiles and tells Sam, "Morning, Sammy."

There's a small smile on Sam's face as he wakes up, and for a moment, Dean thinks Sam actually remembers him.

But it only lasts a second, and next thing Dean knows, he's being forcefully shoved out of the bed, and Sam's shouting at him,

"What the hell are you doing in my bed?"

Dean tries to calm him down, "Whoa whoa whoa. Sam. Sam! Sam."

Bobby and Charlie hear the noises from outside, and run back in.

Sam doesn't listen, just starts throwing things at Dean, most of them missing, but one of them successfully hitting him in the head.

Dean tries again, "Sam, I know you can't really understand this right now, but we've been seeing each other for a while now."

Sam's upping his ammo, shouting, "Liar!"

Dean has to say something quick, "Sam, think about it! If I was lying, how would I know you're a florist and teach classes on making bouquets at the local community college? Or go to Cafe Kaila every Monday and make waffle cars. Or that you love sunflowers?"

Sam picks up a racket and shouts, "Stalker!"

Dean defends himself, "No, I'm not! Come on, Sam, you really don't remember me at all?"

Then Sam whacks him in the head with the racket, and that's when Bobby and Charlie finally storm in to lead Sam out, and only then does Sam relax.

 

Later, Dean's downstairs with an ice pack on his head, courtesy of Charlie.

"I may not be allowed to kick your ass, by my brother has no such restriction."

Then Dr. Marlowe comes down and lets everybody else what's going on,

"Randy Johnson up there is a bit spooked, but otherwise he's fine. Watching the DVD as we speak."

Dean removes the ice pack to ask the doctor, "Is my temporal lobe still intact?"

Dr. Marlow replies, "Relax. It'll take more than that before you get anterograde amnesia."

Then he notices something, "But were you always this ugly, or is that just cause he hit you?"

That prompts a fit of giggles from the couch, and it's Charlie, who's apparently been having a much nicer time than she let on.

Marlowe tells Dean and Bobby, "Note the inappropriate laughing. That's the marijuana talking."

Then he turns to Charlie herself, "Charlie. Once again. Off the weed."

Charlie denies, "It's not weed! It's just some really good brownies."

From upstairs, Sam comes out of his room, now up to date thanks to the tape, but when he hears them talking, he decides to hang back and listen.

Marlowe asks Dean, "So, Dean. Bobby and Charlie tell me you're getting ready to head off to a bee farm in South Dakota to study the mating patterns of bees. When does that start?"

Dean answers as he sips his drink, "Actually that started almost 12 years ago. That's when I first got the idea and got into beekeeping in the first place."

Charlie asks, somehow coherent enough to form a question, "Does Sam know about this trip?"

Sam listens, cause he's smart enough to know Dean won't tell him the truth.

Dean answers, "No. But that's cause there's no trip. I'm not going. Sammy needs me here. I can't just leave and jeopardize all the amazing progress he's made."

At the looks of pity he's getting from all three, Dean continues, "I know you guys think I'm nuts, but I just know, deep in his brain, he's starting to remember who I am."

Marlowe reminds him gently, "No Dean, that's just wishful thinking. On both yours and all of our behalf. But that's all it is. It's not gonna happen."

At that, Sam retreats back into his room, a little hurt at hearing all that. But he knows now his plan is the right thing to do. It's telling Dean that's gonna be the hard part.

Dean gets up, telling the group, "I gotta head to the farm. Will you tell Sammy I'll stop by later to pick him up? Oh, and don't tell anyone I got beat up by a moose."

Bobby notes at his retreating back,

"Idjit. That man could go all the way to Antarctica and back, and Sam would be none the wiser."

Chapter 19: The Diary of Jane

Once Dean gets back to the farm, he sets about giving Rumsfeld a bath.

"There we go buddy. Got you all nice and clean, all that pollen out of your fur."

Once Rumsfeld shakes all the water off, Dean tells him, "Alright. Now go get your treat. You know you love it."

Rumsfeld's "treat" is a little homemade blend of different ingredients, including a few drops of already distilled purple honey, this kind made from blueberries. Dean truthfully doesn't remember a lot of the stuff mashed together in them, but whatever they are, he knows they're not toxic, and that Rumsfeld goes nuts for it every time he gets it.

"Now try to stay clean for me. Cause having to give you a bath two days in a row cause you can't eat your treat without getting messy is starting to get old."

From behind him, Dean hears someone call out,

"Dean?"

When Dean turns, he's surprised to find Sam there, holding some sort of book.

"Hey, Sammy."

Sam asks, "How's your head?"

Dean jokes, "Oh, it's fine. Now I can cross, 'getting attacked by a moose' off my bucket list."

The Dean asks, "So what brings your nickle bouncing ass all the way out here?"

Sam answers, "I had to talk to you."

Dean looks at the book again, "What's that you're holding there?"

Sam holds it in front of him, opening it to show Dean, "It's my personal journal. I write in it every night."

Dean's both surprised and hurt, "Oh. I see. So you don't like the DVD?"

Sam's quick to assure Dean, "No! I do. I love it. But now and again when I'm watching it, it feels like I'm only getting half the story from someone else's perspective. But when I read my journal, I'm getting it from my own perspective."

Dean has to know, "And how long have you been doing this?"

Sam admits, "Almost right after you gave me the DVD."

Dean's surprised, "Really? Wow. I had no clue."

Sam moves onto the real issue, "I can't tell you how nervous I was to come all the way here. To meet the guy that goes out of his way to get me to fall for him every single day."

Dean jokes again as he cleans up the area around him, "Lemme guess. Was worried I'm not the big teddy bear I'm made out to be."

Sam shakes his head, "No, I was nervous because…" he hesitates, but he knows he has to do this, no matter how much it hurts. "Because I'm here to end it with you."

That makes Dean stop to look at Sam again, "What?"

Sam immediately explains, "I heard your little conversation. You had a life, you had plans for the future, all before we met, and now you're giving all that up so you can keep getting me to fall for you every single day."

Dean argues, "That's not all I do. I have my dog a bath today."

When he looks, he sees Rumsfeld is covered in his treat yet again, "Which I'm gonna be doing again tomorrow."

Sam continues, "I've seen what I've put my dad and sister through. I can't let that happen to you too."

Dean starts to get mad, "What exactly is your plan? I'm just a chapter in your little book and that's it?"

Now's the harder confession, "No." Sam takes a breath and says, "My plan is to take you out of the journal altogether. So it's like I never met you at all."

That hurts like hell. Dean asks, now more upset than angry, "Why are you doing this, Sam?", and walks away, all of this becoming too much.

Sam follows him, "Because you don't seem to understand how any relationship with me is doomed from the start. Don't you want a career? To get married? Have kids?"

Dean reminds Sam, "I proposed last night, and you said yes! And I'd love to have a couple of rugrats."

Sam asks, "And how exactly is that gonna work? I'm gonna wake up every morning with pictures of a sonogram from a surrogate, with no memory it's ours? Or going to the hospital to meet our surrogate, and not remember she's pregnant with our baby?"

Sam flips through the journal again, a little more frantic this time, "I need a new journal without you in it."

He looks at Dean again, "But before I do, I want you to read all the entries first."

Dean tries to find a way out of it, "I'll be more than happy to tomorrow, after you've forgotten all about this breakup and mind wiping stuff. How's that?"

But Sam is firm, "I won't forget it. I already wrote it down. I won't let myself forget it. And I'm doing it tonight, whether you stop by to read it or not. I'll be at my house if you decide to."

Then Sam leaves, with Dean simultaneously heartbroken and unable to think of a reason to talk Sam out of this crazy plan.

But, ultimately, he knows Sam won't be dissuaded, and this might be his last chance to see the Sam he's gotten to know before Sam locks himself away again.

 

Later, Dean shows up to help Sam write a new journal, Dean reading it and Sam typing it up.

"Okay, type this one in. 'Monday, July 30th. I went to the Center for Neuro Skills and had a very interesting chat with Dr. Marlowe.'"

Then Dean keeps going like that, until he notices, "Oh, found one about me."

Sam reads it for him, "'Reminder: he gets a little weak in the knees when I kiss his hips. Do as often as possible!" Sam looks at Dean, "Guess I'm gonna miss that more than I thought."

Dean asks, "Sure it can't stay?"

But at seeing Sam rip it out after another second, Dean knows he can't make this harder than it already is.

Sam takes over the flipping for a moment, then notes, "Let's just skip that one."

But Dean's curious, "No, don't do that. Let me see it."

Dean leans in and reads it out loud, "'We had sex tonight. Didn't last long and wasn't too rough, but it was still amazing."

Dean looks at Sam for a moment, then notes, "I didn't think it was about how long it lasted. I thought it was about connecting."

Sam smiles, but then surprisingly, it's Dean that takes initiative, "Actually, let's rip that one out too. All or nothing, right?"

But he can't help but notice the slightly crushed look on Sam's face at seeing it ripped out.

After that, it seems to go a lot more smoothly, typing in entries and leaving all of Dean's entries out.

For the title page, Sam prints out a simple cover that says "Read Me." on it, then once the pages are printed, he staples them all together.

Then, they go outside, fill a trash can with the DVD and the ripped out journal entries, cover them with gasoline and salt, then light them up with a match.

As both Sam and Dean watch the blue fire burn them all away in the pouring rain, Dean decides the only way to get through this is to rip off the band-aid and get it over with.

"So...hope to see you around." He says, and starts walking away, towards his car.

Dean's already soaking wet when Sam calls out, "Dean wait!"

Dean turns, hoping this is where Sam's changed his mind.

Sam says instead, "Can I have one last first kiss for the road?"

Dean considers saying no, to hurt Sam like he's hurting him, but then decides he's above that.

Dean nods, and that's all the prompting Sam needs to dash into the rain and grab Dean and kiss him, hard.

Dean reciprocates, but all to soon, Dean breaks it off, knowing if he didn't, he'd never stop. 

Dean gets into his car, starts the engine and drives away, knowing that was the only real goodbye he could give Sam.

Chapter 20: Drive

What proceeds to follow is Dean back to working out the details of his research trip, which is now possible because Garth finally secured the funding.

On Sam's side, he's both back to his old routine, and also not. He has the new journal, and is back to cutting flowers.

Although it's different from before, as now he knows it's not Charlie's birthday, and he no longer sings.

Dean just goes through the motions of his job at the farm, pulling the honeycombs out, getting rid of any accidentally squashed bees, only a few things required when you're a beekeeper.

Sam, one day, gets in his car and drives, knowing it'll be awhile before he comes back.

Dean's getting drunk every other night, reminiscing over the happy memories between him and Sam, while also getting his car ready to be airlifted to the mainland, so he can make the rest of the trip by car to South Dakota.

One night, drunk out of his mind while it's pouring rain, he goes back to Sam's house, begging Bobby when he answers,

"Bobby, I can't do this."

Bobby only says, "You can. And you will."

Once, while Dean's making the rounds in his bee protection gear, he sees Bobby's car drive by, and Sam's in the backseat with the window down.

Sam waves, but Dean can tell it's a formal wave, like you do to complete strangers, and he only gives a wave back.

 

Finally, he's reached the day he's been waiting for years. The day he's heading off for his research trip.

"I'm gonna miss you, old boy, but I've had it with this island. I think the pineapple fumes are starting to get to me." He says to Rumsfeld now. "Wish I could take you with me, but the plane ride would freak you out, and you're not used to the number of bees they got in South Dakota."

The dog whimpers, but just gives Dean a small lick, and Dean kisses his head, "Love you. Good luck with Garth and the bees. Don't let them land in you."

He still has to drive to the airport before he can get it airlifted, so Garth says goodbye first.

"See you soon, Dean. Bring me a snow globe."

Dean rolls his eyes, but just says, "Sure, buddy." And hugs Garth before letting go.

Bobby and Charlie show up, he's surprised. And they come bearing gifts.

"Sure you don't want Charlie to come with?" Bobby asks, as Charlie brings a big box with her.

Dean addresses them, "Hey, you two. What brings you back here?"

Bobby nods in Garth's direction, "Gave him a call, and he said you were leaving today. Thought we'd drop in to say goodbye."

Charlie pats the box and gives it to Dean, "Little care package from Ellen and Ash. They also send their best wishes and a safe flight."

Dean opens it, and laughs, "Spam and miniature pies. Yum."

Charlie exclaims, "I love Spam and pie. Can I have it?"

Dean fake hisses, "Back off. My pie." And puts it in the back of his trunk.

Once he's back from that, he asks Bobby, "So...how's Sam been?"

Bobby has a small surprise for Dean, "Actually, he moved to the Center for Neuro Skills."

Dean's shocked, "When did this happen?"

Bobby answers, "About 4 weeks ago. Said he didn't want to hurt us anymore. Nothing either of us said worked."

Bobby looks sad for a moment, then says, "But you know something? He's doing pretty well. He's teaching his floral arrangements classes for the other patients. Gets to work with flowers all the time now. Even took over the upkeep for the flowers put up for decoration around the building. He's even started singing again."

Dean nods to himself, silently agreeing.

But Bobby's not finished yet. He hands Dean a small wrapped package.

"Got you something too. Little heirloom passed along from one traveler to another."

Dean decides he'll wait until he's on the road before opening it. "Thanks, Bobby."

And they shake hands, before Bobby says, "Take care of yourself, ya idjit." And walks back to his car.

 

When Dean makes a rest stop on the way to the airport, he finally opens the package, to find Pearl Jam's Backspace staring back up at him.

"Wow. Would you look at that. As a parting gift, Robert Singer gave me a CD to remind me of all the girly stuff between me and his son."

He pauses, then just yells,

"You ASSHOLE!"

Chapter 21: Memories Are Made of This

When Dean gets back on the road, not only is he crying, he's singing horribly off key to the only song he listens to,

"Did I say that I need you? Did I say that I want you? What if I did and I'm a fool you see. No one knows this more than me. 'Cause I come clean."

Then he cuts himself off, shouting at no one,

"You cruel bastard! Why? Haven't I been through enough already?"

But then, somewhere in his crying fest, something clicks.

"Wait. Is he saying what I think he's saying?"

He remembers the first time he came to Sam's house and heard him singing. Then he remembers what Bobby said about it,

"He only sings on days you two meet up."

Combine those two things, as well as what Bobby said about how Sam's doing now, there can only be one conclusion.

"Holy...he remembers me???"

And that's all the motivation he needs to make a harsh u turn, causing a bunch of angry drivers to honk loudly, but he doesn't care.

He rolls down the window, sticks his head out, and shouts,"He fucking remembers me!!!", not caring how crazy he sounds or if anyone heard or not.

 

By the time he gets to the Center, he's so out of breath and sweaty, he can barely think straight.

Luckily, the guys at the front desk recognized him from before, and assumed he was here to see Sam, and let him in.

Meanwhile, Sam's in the middle of his floral arrangement class with the patients, wearing a long sleeved white shirt paired with a fully sized floral bib and work jeans, when he hears from behind,

"Sam Singer?"

When Sam turns, he sees a man only slightly shorter than him, out of breath. When he manages to breathe normally, he asks,

"Mind if I ask you something?"

When Sam doesn't respond, Dean asks, "Do you know who I am?"

It really shouldn't have surprised him to hear Sam's answer, but after connecting the dots, Dean's holding onto some false hope his theory is right.

"No."

And Dean realizes it was a mistake coming here,

"You don't? Then, I'm sorry."

But Sam surprises him by asking, "What's your name?"

Dean responds, now confused, "I'm Dean."

Sam goes on, "Dean, could you come with me? I have something I want you to see."

All the other patients making arrangements are confused, but Sam just nods to his assistant teacher, and he takes over as they make their way to a room not too far away.

When Sam lets Dean inside, the first thing he's aware of is the smell. Once he gets a better look, he sees why.

All over the room there's bouquets. And not only that, they all have green flowers in them.

 

 

Sam speaks up from behind,

"I don't know who you are or why you're here, Dean…" Sam pauses, "But I dream about you almost every night. And I try to capture just the right shade of green to match your eyes." When Dean turns back to Sam, Sam asks, "Why?"

Dean has no idea how to start that conversation, but he tries anyway,

"What would you say if I told you that the journal you write everyday, the one you read so you don't forget, used to have a lot of entries about me, before you ripped them all out?"

Sam's sucks in a breath at that, but once he stops to think about it, he actually realizes, "I'd say that sounds like the kind of thing I would do."

Dean goes on, more confident,

"You took me out of your memories, cause you thought you were ruining my life, stopping me from having one. But you were wrong. Any life I could have wouldn't amount to much, without you there with me. You're the only guy in my dreams. And apparently I'm the one in yours."

That makes them both laugh, then Sam holds out his hand, "Nice to meet you, Dean."

Dean takes it, introducing himself, "Nice to meet you too, Sammy."

Then, without thinking, Dean starts to lean in for a kiss, but he stops, not wanting to pressure Sam into something he's not ready for.

Sam surprises both of them by leaning in as well, maybe because he wants to know what it's like to kiss the guy of your dreams. Or maybe his body remembers something his mind doesn't. Regardless, he leans in to reciprocate.

When they kiss, it's like the stuff of fairy tales. For Sam, he's kissing Dean for the first time. But for Dean? He can honestly it's the best first kiss of them all.

Chapter 22: Somewhere Over the Rainbow

Sam wakes up from the sun in his eyes, and when he looks around, the first thing he's aware of is this is not his bedroom.

Not so sure what to do, he sees an open case with a DVD on a table, with the words, "Good Morning Sammy" written on the front.

When the DVD plays, a sort of montage begins, to the tune of Pearl Jam's Just Breathe.

First there's a black screen that says in white text,

" Good Morning, Sammy."

Then, one by one, he sees pictures of bouquets he doesn't remember making, a newspaper clipping telling about his accident. All his friends from Cafe Kaila waving at the camera. A guy he's never seen before making goofy faces at the camera next to himself on the video, before they kiss.

There's so much more, including the man from before, who's name is Dean, as it turns out, but then, the scene abruptly changes to an outdoor ceremony, and once the camera gets closer, he sees himself standing next to Dean, and some skinny looking guy is the officiate.

"Do you, Dean Winchester, take this guy next to you to be your husband, to have and to hold, from this day forth, as long as you both shall live?"

At that, Sam watching the video looks down, and sure enough, there's a ring on his finger, which tells him what Dean's gonna say next before he says it.

"I do."

The man goes on, "I now pronounce you married."

Him and Dean kiss, and at the end of the video, Dean looks at the camera, saying,

"It's very loud outside, and you need to protect yourself. So when you're ready, don't forget to put on your protective gear, so we can have breakfast."

Sam stops the DVD then, and on impulse, looks out the window.

And what he sees shocks him completely. Hundreds of hundreds of bees are all over the place, along with so many white boxes for what looks like miles.

It's not long after that that he finally does head outside fully decked in gear, and Dean's right there to greet him.

"Hey, Mr. Winchester. Wanna meet our son?"

Dean kneels down to speak to the little boy who's standing next to him, "Go say hi to daddy."

The little boy walks right up to Sam, saying, "Hi, Daddy.", and on impulse, Sam picks him up to hug him.

Once Dean sees that, he goes over to Sam as well to kiss him on the cheek, "Morning, Sammy."

Sam's so in shock at all this new information, all he can say is, "Oh my God." and then laughs at himself.

Dean tells Sam, "Grandpa's off selling pistachios, but he'll be joining us for breakfast too, later."

With that, they all sit down at a very impressive spread, naturally with honey as the main condiment.

Sam may not fully remember most of what is in that DVD, getting married or having a kid, but right now, he can honestly say that he's happy right where he is, with this gorgeous man of a husband, and this beautiful little boy that is their son.

And it may not be happily ever after, but it's the best ever after either of them could've hoped for.

Notes:

And that is all I wrote. Thanks for reading, and see you next time!

Notes:

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