WARNING: Spoilers for season 2 in general, but especially for 2x17 "Heart".

Author's Note: This story takes place a few days after 2x17 "Heart", and was written to fulfill Otorisosa-kan's March Themed Writing Challenge, the theme of which was "spring". If you are interested in participating in similar writing challenges, PM Otorisosa-kan or visit the Writing Challenge forum linked on Otorisosa-kan's profile. :)

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural.

It was early March, and rain was coming down heavily outside the Impala, which only added to the dark mood in the vehicle.

Sam could feel Dean worriedly glancing at him from the driver's seat as they slowly pulled into a gas station near Fresno, California, and he fidgeted slightly as a result.

He had been in a crappy mood ever since Madison's death. The guilt of having been the one to end her life, mixed with the grief from having lost the first woman he had truly involved himself with since Jessica… Well, it had all left him in a very dark place.

And it was obvious to Sam that his brother had taken notice.

Over the past several days, ever since they left San Francisco, Dean had been watching Sam like a hawk and it was making the younger man uncomfortable. Sam hated feeling like Dean was waiting for him to have some kind of emotional collapse, especially when they had enough concerns about Sam's apparent demonic destiny to be focusing on. It felt like Dean was just waiting for Sam to either fall apart or turn into something else entirely, and it caused him to be more self-conscious than usual, which definitely wasn't helping to lift his spirits.

Dean parked the Impala next to a gas pump, but he didn't move to exit the vehicle. Instead he turned towards his brother with a distinctly serious expression, and immediately Sam suspected a talk was coming.

Which is why it surprised him when all that his older brother said was, "It's been raining for a while, huh?"

Sam stared back at Dean, unsure of what to make of his comment. He could have sworn he'd seen that familiar hint of 'we're going to do the emotional disclosure thing' lurking behind Dean's gaze just moments before he spoke... And yet Dean was just going to talk about the weather?

"But you always gotta remember the saying: 'If March comes in like a lion, then it goes out like a lamb'," Dean continued, and Sam was still utterly confused by this random discussion about March's temperament.

Until Dean finally finished with, "So, uh... I guess we can look forward to better weather ahead, right?"

Suddenly everything clicked, and the realization struck that Dean was trying (and failing) to subtly hint that Sam should put the past behind him and look to the future. He was acknowledging his own awareness of how the situation with Madison had been awful, but simultaneously saying that Sam shouldn't let himself dwell on it, lest he fall into despair.

And Dean was confirming that, like always, he would be there to help make sure Sam didn't.

It occurred to Sam then that he'd possibly been wrong about the source of his brother's worry over the past several days. Perhaps Dean wasn't convinced that Sam was on the brink of breaking. In fact, it abruptly seemed quite obvious that he just cared Sam was hurting at all...

Thinking back over the past several days in which he had been quiet, reserved, and moody towards Dean- and about all the times Dean had offered support when Sam was feeling low in the past- suddenly Sam was certain that his brother was only seeking some sign that he was going to be ok. Something to make him less worried, and to show that Sam would let him in again.

All of a sudden Sam knew exactly the best sign he could offer, and so the younger Winchester replied with a decidedly innocuous tone, "Yeah, well, spring is a time of new beginnings. Brighter days and all that."

Dean eyed him with a mix of hope and skepticism while Sam added, "And you know, they say every rainstorm brings a rainbow."

The older man's expression changed then as he finally seemed to catch onto the fact that Sam was mocking his attempt at motivational speaking. "Ok, so I was a bit cheesy," Dean confessed.

"And hey, rain is necessary for flowers to grow! You definitely can't have a field of pretty flowers without some heavy rains first," Sam kept at it, because if there was a tried and true method for a Winchester to show his brother that things were alright between them, it was teasing and lame humor.

This time Dean's response was to open the car door and climb out, flipping Sam off as he went to fuel the Impala's tank. But he was smiling as he did so, and so was Sam.

Which caused Sam to take pause and consider the fact that, after days of feeling downright awful, he was actually smiling again.

He almost wanted to laugh, too, because even if his brother's attempts to inspire emotional recovery had been rather pitiful, they had apparently also been somewhat effective.

"Thanks Dean," Sam said with sincerity when his brother re-entered the vehicle a couple minutes later.

Dean rolled his eyes and retorted, "Oh now you're gonna be the cheesy sap, huh?"

Sam smirked again and they drove away from the gas station, through the rain.

But Sam really did feel better than he had in a while, and even though he still felt terrible about the situation with Madison, suddenly it seemed much easier to imagine that better days really were ahead.

Secondary Author's Note: Thanks for reading! Please do leave feedback if you have a moment. It is greatly appreciated. Also, do check out Otorisosa-kan's forum for writing challenges if you think it's something you would enjoy participating in! :)

Note to Otorisosa-kan: The use of the word "lamb" in this was not an attempt to fulfill the bonus part of the prompt. I am aware I didn't include anything about lambs skipping across a field. I just happened to be inspired by my sister the other day when she reminded me of that mythology about March. ;)