Title: Bedside

Fandom: Supernatural

Summary: Sam's in the hospital, Dean and Jody are there. Season 11.

"How's he doing?"

"Crappy."

"Dean."

"They beat him to hell, Jody, so crappy pretty much covers it."

"How are you doing?"

I'd asked the question, already knowing the answer. Dean sat in the waiting room chair, head up and rocking slightly. His eyes were closed as he pulled himself together. He'd been pushed from the room – his brother's room – so that the medical team could assess his complete condition without family interference. Sam had been partially conscious at the time and had locked eyes with Dean until he was forcefully dragged from his side.

"They kicked me out, Jody. I was just…he needs me there."

"The doctors need to do their job, Dean. Trust me from experience, family is usually way too close to certain situations. In your case…" I left that one open-ended, though it wasn't really. 'Too close' in Winchester-Land meant co-dependent to the extreme. I'd never made light of that relationship with these boys. It was part of what made them what they were and in reality, it was all they had.

Dean picked up the line for me. "Yeah, too close doesn't quite cover it with Sammy and me, huh? Probably best that I'm here then and not breaking heads of anyone who hurts him in there."

"Yeah, I'd count that as a good thing. It's always a good thing to have conscious doctors." I paused for a second. Then, "He'll be okay. I've seen you guys…well, and heard stories…about the traumas of your past. This is just another painful hurdle."

When Dean finally opened his eyes to fixate on the door where Sam had disappeared, I could see the red rims around the edges. Gently, I reached a hand over and set it on top of his. Palm turned, he took a brief but tight grasp and released an emotional breath.

"Thanks, Jody. Sam's strong and he'll pull through this as usual, but still hurts like hell to watch it happen. Again."

I didn't say anything more. Just sat there trying my best to be silently supportive until we knew more.

Eventually, the doctor came out and addressed us.

"Mr. Smith?"

Mr. Smith was the assumed last name that the boy's often used when hospitals or doctors were involved. Dean responded to it immediately and popped out of the chair.

"How's my brother?"

"I am Dr. Veson. Your brother is sedated quite heavily at the moment, though he has provided a difficult patient to administer medications, even with sedation on board. We will go over everything shortly, but there is no permanent damage. He will heal, but needs to rest and nothing else. If necessary, I can provide a note for his employer to keep him out of work for the next week."

Dean shook his head. Of course he had the story ready for any angle. "We run a family business. Self employed. Keeping him out of work won't be a problem. I'll make sure he takes it easy. Can I take him home today?"

I set a calming hand on Dean's forearm, trying to give him a message to not get to overly anxious to move Sam. It seemed to work because when the doctor essentially said, there was no way in hell that Sam was leaving that hospital bed today, Dean accepted the statement.

"Okay. He just hates hospitals and..."

"I understand, Mr. Smith. Depending on how he feels when he wakes and then how he responds to the oral pain medication, that'll give us a better estimate for his stay. I am hopeful he'll be here only a day or two."

Dean visually relaxed, shoulders lowering as he nodded in agreement.

"As I said, he's heavily sedated, but you can visit for a time. I have other patients to see, but should be back this way in a couple of hours. The nurse can answer any immediate questions for you."

"Thanks, Doc." The doctor walked away, Dean turned to me. "I'm gonna go sit with him, Jody. You want..."

"No, you go. I'll go grab us some dinner."

I wasn't gone long, but when I returned, I did so quietly. Peering into the room, Dean was bedside, head resting on his folded arms next to Sam's side and Sam's tubed hand resting on Dean's arm that was closest to him. Somehow, Mr. Heavily Sedated had managed to defeat the sedation enough to open his eyes. I figured that he must've felt his worrying big brother nearby. It wasn't a farfetched idea with these two. Sam had even found the strength to lift his hand just far enough to offer a little comfort to that same brother.

I moved a little deeper into the room and gave a small wave to Sam when I saw his eyes follow me. His mouth twitched just enough to indicate an attempted smile.

I whispered past Dean. "He's okay, Sam. Just exhausted and anxious and worried and fretful. You know all the things he'd never admit to being, but always is when it comes to you. I'm looking after him for you."

Another twitch, this time in conjunction with a soft closing of his eyes and I could see that Sam understood.

Wasn't long after that Sam's eyes closed in sedation-sleep. His will enough to keep him conscious for a very brief window. I took that time to sit in the extra chair and dig into my cooling dinner. The smell, as expected, brought Dean around. Raising his head and watching his brother for a moment, he turned to me next.

"He was awake. Very briefly." I told him.

"Yeah? You shoulda woken me, Jody."

"You needed the rest and it was only a minute or two. Just long enough to make sure you were okay. Here. Dinner. Eat." I held out the bag and watched him hesitate. "And if you tell me you aren't hungry, I will sit you in a corner facing the wall until you eat every last crumb."

I got the Dean stare before he submitted. "Fine. But if he wakes up again and I'm busy stuffing my face with a burger and miss it..."

"Would you settle down. Oh and here. I got you a soda. No beer. Why? Because it's a hospital and because I said so. So, shut up and eat your dinner."

"Jody..."

"Ah, ah!" I held a corrective finger toward his face. Once a mother, always a mother, I wasn't about to be pushed around by an exhausted overprotective big brother.

Dean gave in, of course, and eagerly stuffed down the burger and soda. He felt better after, even looked a bit more energized. Turned out to be just what he needed to stay awake all night to look after his little brother. I knew, because I stayed up to look after him.

And when Sam woke again in the middle of the night, bothered by a bad dream, Dean was there to settle him back into a comfortable sleep.

"Hey, Sammy. No, don't open your eyes. I'm here. You're okay. Here." I saw as Dean reached his hand around that of his brother's and gripped it tight. His own eyes closed in a sigh of relief when the hand squeezed back. "That's it, Sammy. Just rest. I'm not leavin' little brother."

Part of me felt as if I was intruding. These boys and their unequaled brother bond. Another part of me felt honored that they had welcomed me into seeing that bond and those moments that they normally kept to their own. A final part of me though...that part thought I should leave, that I really was intruding.

Oddly enough, it was that exact moment that Dean acknowledged that I was still in the room. "Jody."

"Dean, if you want me to leave..."

"No, it's okay. I was just gonna ask, can you find another blanket? He's cold."

I hadn't seen any shivering, but Dean knew his brother. I stepped out and back in quickly, handling a clean hospital blanket to him.

"Thanks. He gets cold when he's doped up or feeling like crap. Always has. You shoulda seen him as a baby when he was sick. I'd wrap him in five layers and he still shivered. Then, when he was a young kid...maybe four or so..." Dean continued as he wrapped the cover around Sam. "He'd sometimes curl up in my bed because I was a 'warm big brudder'. I complained and tried to kick him out a lot, but he was like a damn boomerang. Just kept coming right back until I gave in and just tucked him in next to me. I tried once to get Dad to talk to him, but even at that age, Sam and Dad were on different pages. And Dad would just tell me he was workin' and that Sam was my responsibility when he was workin'. So, I had to figure it out."

Dean stopped himself, suddenly unsure of what the hell he was babbling on about.

"Sorry, Jody, for the flashback. Don't know why I started on the life story thing."

"I do." I said softly. "You've taken care of him forever. Any little moment can bring a flood of memories. I know the feeling. It's all good. I won't let on to anyone that you were a 'warm big brudder.' Although, Claire and Alex would enjoy the hell out of that story."

He opened his mouth to protest. "Don't you even..."

"Ha. Something to blackmail you with one day, Dean Winchester," I said with warm smile and motioned toward a quiet Sam. "He's settled again."

"Nightmare gone and he stopped shivering. He should sleep okay the rest of the night."

The side of my mouth kicked up and I gave an inaudible 'huh.' How well he knew his brother. These two, this relationship, still amazed me.

"Well, then," I said, "I am going to grab a hotel room nearby and catch some sleep. I'll text you the place and room in case you need to crash vertically. I know you won't leave him, but the offer is there."

Dean stood and held his arms out to me. "I know. Thank you, Jody. We've not had much family. Ever. A few pieces that fit here and there. You are family." Our arms folded around the other. "Thank you for everything."

I held him tight in my best mom type hug. Anymore, I was their support system as much as they were mine. "Get some rest, okay?"

"I will."

Grabbing my bag and the trash from dinner, I headed for the hall. Naturally, I couldn't help but take a quick look back at the brothers Winchester. How they'd become part of my life was quite the story, but I was glad they had. I watched for a moment as Dean reassumed his bedside position. He'd fixed the second blanket around Sam's shoulders then crossed his arms and set his head down. Fast asleep in seconds - a trick they'd learned by necessity with the crazy life they lived - Dean again missed Sam's brief moment of consciousness. As he'd done before, the younger slowly reached his hand forward and rested it on the older's arm. I suddenly flashed back to Dean's story about how Sam kept bouncing back to him when they were very young. Dean had said it was Sam trying to keep warm, but I got the feeling - at least on Sam's part - that it was less a need to get warm than it was a need to seek comfort from the one person in the world he could trust. The one person in the world that loved him, no matter what.

Somehow, for me, it wasn't hard to picture those two boys from Dean's story as these two grown men. The things that had cemented them together so many years ago, had deepened into this desperate need for the other's survival and unrelenting devotion to family - to each other.

I left them to their own. I'd check in tomorrow. I knew they'd be okay.

The end