This is the first thing I've posted in...a while. It's actually the first thing I've written since California fell into a fire tornado last month. But all's good, and it's nice to be back, plugging along once again, it's just taken some time to adjust, and I'm not quite back to where I was, but I'm getting there!

I imagine I'm not alone in thinking that Sam could've been in the driving scene in 14x07 (which is probably one of my favorite scenes this season). So I offer you this little fix-it with some background in hopes it makes at least someone smile, because I felt much better after writing it. Thank you all for reading! *If anyone's over here from Crash and Burn, I've got finals this coming week, but expect a chapter after that, thanks for the endless patience*

I don't own SPN. If I did, we'd have some answers to the 7 different plot holes going on right now...

"You do know that you passed the motel like five minutes ago, right?"

"Course I do. You insinuating I don't know where we are?"

"No, it's just that what are we doing not back yet? I have reading to do."

"Dude, it's summer."

"So? I can't read during the summer?"

"Nerd."

"Jerk."

"Bitch."

Sam actually hit him on the arm for that one, though the teen was smiling before he rolled his eyes. It was mid-July, Sam had just turned fifteen, and it was a rare case where John had left both boys behind for a week or so, since they'd been going non-stop state to state, case to case since school ended. Still, the kid was sprouting up like a freaking weed, and Dean was only semi pleased about it, not that he'd ever admit it though. His little brother would probably one day be taller than him…it was a thought to get used to.

As for the slight detour, he had a plan, he just needed to find the right place. Unfortunately, middle-of-nowhere-Idaho didn't have much of what he was looking for. There were a few abandoned gas stations, but those definitely wouldn't work. He was just hoping to find a place nearby before they had to up and move again and lose their chance.

"Wake me up when we get to Disneyland."

"We're going east," Dean reminded with a smirk as he glanced away from the open highway to Sam at his side.

"Maybe the interstates meet up or something," Sam muttered.

Of course, the teasing was just good-natured, a way of showing them enjoying their time together. They got along easily…easily enough whenever John wasn't around anyways. With an increase in teenage years came an increase in attitude and the desire for independence on Sam's part, and an equal increase in the amount of yelling done on John's part. Things were tense at the best of times, explosive at the worst, and Dean found himself playing referee more often than he'd like. But on the open road, brother at his side, mission in his mind, Dean wasn't about to think about what seemed to be spiraling downwards in their lives at the moment.

"Ah ha!" Dean announced, spotting what he had been looking for from the interstate, made a few turns, and parked the car in a spot in a small abandoned shopping center. Nobody else was around, the three connected buildings looked a little worse for wear, but there were parking spots and curbs and wide open spaces.

"You realize how little sense you're making, right?" Sam was still eyeing him curiously, his big brain trying to figure out what the hell Dean was up to.

Dean pulled the keys from the engine and looked at Sam, amused. "How often do you actually get surprised by something? Not like a werewolf falling from the trees something, but a good something?"

Sam only shrugged in response.

"Exactly. So this," he took the keys and put them in his brother's hand, "is a surprise. Welcome to your first driving lesson."

Sam looked between the keys and Dean, trying to determine what sort of a trick or prank it was. When all he got was Dean's earnest look, his mouth opened ever so slightly. "You…can't be serious…"

"Why not?"

"Dean, it's not even legal! I don't have a permit, I'm not old enough-"

"So? You see any cops staking out this abandoned lot and miles long stretch of deserted highway?" Dean didn't wait for him to answer. "Besides, you're tall enough to reach the pedals, I'm here, I'm giving you express permission. If it makes you feel better, I was younger when I learned."

"No, it really doesn't," Sam shook his head, still in disbelief.

"Well, whatever, we're here, we have some time off, and it's a skill you need to learn sooner rather than later. I'm not sayin' we'll go drive in actual wall to wall traffic any time soon, but get some basics down at least?"

There were a few motives behind it. One, of course, was that it would never hurt to have another driver with them just in case, especially in their line of work. Two, it would be a welcome break from just sitting around the motel room doing literally nothing. And three, three was something Dean would definitely never admit out loud.

It was a way for him to teach Sam something. With his kid brother continuously getting older and smarter, reading lore faster than he or dad could put in front of him, there wasn't a whole lot left to teach. Even with his GED, there wasn't much in the way of math he could help Sam out with. He had lives to save, information about that took precedence over how to find the side of a triangle when given the angle or whatever. English and Latin were other stories, but still, Sam was catching up fast. But driving…Sam knew the pride Dean took in it and in Baby, and being able to share and teach that, it was special.

"You're not joking," Sam eventually said, less of a question, more of a statement, as the weight of the situation finally started to settle in.

"Nope," Dean popped the 'p'. "But if you scratch my Baby…" he didn't even have to finish the sentence for Sam to get the meaning behind it. He knew. Everyone knew he knew. Dean tapped the steering wheel and got out of the car before he opened the passenger and muttered at Sam to 'scooch' over.

The doors closed, and their positions were swapped.

"Okay, let's start with the most basic basics," Dean waved his hands in front of him, and went into explaining how to rock his foot between the pedals, how to shift gears, and to not be worried if there was a slight lurch upon starting, especially in cold weather, it was just what older cars did on occasion. Mirrors, blind spots, spacing, he went over all of it, and the whole time, Sam was looking at him wide-eyed and nodding, intent on getting every single detail.

Half an hour or so had passed before Dean suggested they actually turn the car on. Sam did as instructed, put the key in and turned, and the engine came to life. The sheer joy and surprise that came onto Sam's face in that moment was something Dean would cherish. As the years went by, those looks had begun to lessen in their number, so being able to cause one felt especially good.

"Car works, that's a good sign," he quipped, and Sam mock annoyingly rolled his eyes. "Gear from P to D, ease your foot off the brake, no gas yet, just coast, steer the wheel a little, get a feel," Dean instructed.

He had purposefully parked them in an area with no obstructions, just in case, but it wasn't like there was many to begin with. A curb here and there, two forgotten raised cement planters, that was it. Sam completed each step, though painfully slow, and then the car was moving. He'd seen Dean do the steps a thousand times over a hundred times faster, but the fear of screwing up was getting to him.

"Give her a little, let's circle around the building."

Sam touched the gas just a little too hard, the car lurched forward, and in surprise he slammed on the brakes, sending both of them slightly out of their seats.

"Sorry!" he said quickly, hands white knuckled over the wheel.

Once Dean had gotten over his own surprise, he just nodded. "It happens, you're doing just fine. Tap the pedal, ease into it." How the hell did instructors do this on a daily basis? What was the hourly rate?

The second time was the charm, and after a few laps around the building, Dean had Sam pull into a spot. Of course, he was a bit off the mark, but spacing would come with practice, and after half an hour of trial and error, there was significant improvement.

"I think you're road ready," Dean smirked at him. Sam's shoulders had drooped a little over the course of the hour or so, but they immediately perked up again in nervousness. Dean held up a hand before Sam could argue. "Two cars have passed here the entire time we've been here and there's plenty of space to pull off if you need a break and want the professional to take over."

"If you say so," Sam replied and smiled back. Dean said it was okay, so it was okay. Still worked like a charm. He just hoped the kid's faith in him never waned like his acceptance of their dad's authority had. He maneuvered out of the lot, looked both ways for the nonexistent traffic, and made a right onto the road.

"But thirty miles an hour gets you nowhere fast, literally," Dean reminded after he looked over at the speed gauge to affirm that they were indeed going a solid forty under the limit.

Sam cocked his head ever so slightly, as if in a challenge with the road itself, and gradually the Impala began to accelerate.

"There you go," Dean praised with a nod. Though Sam stuck closer to sixty, it was still a massive improvement. His shoulders eased the further they went, and still no cars in sight. When they got a mile or so from the motel, Dean told him how to pull off to the side, and while it was a bit jerky, everything made it in one piece.

Dean slid back behind the wheel and they resumed their normal positions, both brothers smiling.

"Way better than Disneyland," Sam said quietly, still smiling, as Dean got back up to proper speed and took them the rest of the way to the motel.

"Baby and the two of us? Not much that can beat that." If there was anything at all, in fact, he didn't yet know, but for the moment, he was completely content.

Jack looked a bit worn down after the fishing trip, so after putting the rods in the trunk, Dean pulled out a blanket and tossed it to him so he could take a quick nap if he wanted while they drove back to the bunker. Jack took it appreciatively and got into the car, leaving Dean outside with Sam returning a moment later, having thrown away the beer bottles.

They had both been in the car while Jack was learning to drive, and it had been an…experience. But Dean had seen the proud smile on Sam's face from the back, and he knew that the day had been a good decision. They all needed it.

"They grow up so fast," Dean remarked when Sam had come up within earshot.

"Was it that stressful when you first taught me?" Sam asked with a smirk, pausing next to Dean outside the car, keeping his voice a bit lower than normal.

"You were much worse. Second time around is a piece of cake. And I didn't even have to mention Disneyland," Dean replied.

"Yeah right. I think we did about the same, all things considered."

"Well…he at least got up to speed on the highway" Dean trailed off, and chuckled as Sam shot him a bitch face with no real heat behind it. This, the bantering, the car, even when the world seemed to be falling apart, they settled back into it naturally. "Just wait until you teach someone. Not in Baby though," he added quickly and pointed a finger at Sam.

"Why not? You know what, don't even say anything," Sam raised a finger back and shook his head.

Dean was content with taking the win, and they both slid into their respective places in the Impala. Jack was already out in the back, blanket spread haphazardly over him, which Sam rearranged as Dean got the car started.

He lightly drummed his fingers on the wheel before he found the local soft rock station and put it on low. He completed the steps he taught Sam all those years ago, and Jack just hours ago, and pulled the car away from the picturesque river and back onto the quiet interstate.

Away from their break from the real world and back home, where the lore was piled high on the tables and bloodstained napkins sat at the bottom of every wastebasket. But they'd get Jack better and plan a long overdue family road trip if nothing else. Hell, they could take turns driving to the Grand Canyon. Dean knew at least Sam would be on board with it. Jack would probably be ecstatic and Cas would come along because why not? But for now, the world half falling apart and one of their family members again on the brink of disaster, this was what they had.

Dean figured that a kid in the back, Sam at his side, Baby protecting all of them was something that beat the feeling years ago. If Cas was with them, it would've been higher on the ladder, but Dean would take what he could get.