Everything I Do (I Do It For You)
Dean sat on the edge of the bed closest to the door. He couldn't sleep, instead he watched Sam sleep fitfully. It brought him back to the days when he would sneak into Sam's bedroom when he was just a baby, tossing, turning and whimpering slightly. But Dean had placed his hand against Sam's hair, stroking it gently, watching as his brother settled down immediately. After what had gone down in San Francisco, Sam had been unable to sleep more than a few hours at a time, if that. So of course Dean couldn't sleep either.
Hunting was out of the question right now. Much to Sam's surprise Dean had insisted they lay low for a while, at least until they both could make it through one night without Sam waking in a cold sweat from nightmares. Your basic, run-of-the-mill nightmares, consisting mainly of San Francisco and Madison, but there were times he dreamt of Jess, Mom and even Dad. And Dean was there when he awoke in a blind panic to assure his younger brother that he hadn't gone anywhere as feared.
"I don't know how to help you, Sammy," Dean whispered, his voice rough and shaky from unshed tears. Crying over this would do no one any good. He had to keep his little brother safe. And he was beginning to wonder maybe he didn't know how to do that as well as he'd originally thought. He had to keep trying though because the second option was just out of the question. He slowly rose from the bed, going over to his brother and stroking his hair as if he were a baby again. Sam stirred, staring blearily into his brother's eyes.
"Dean?" he asked, his voice equally sleep roughened.
"Hey, tiger. Shove over. I figure since both of us are having such a hard time with this whole sleeping thing we'd do better together than apart."
Sam smiled weakly. "Like the old days?"
Dean's grin was unable to meet his eyes. "Yeah, like the old days," he murmured, climbing in beside Sam. Sam, being the emotional guy he was, pulled Dean to him, finally letting out all the tears he'd been holding back for a week since the events that had transpired in San Francisco. Dean held him, not saying a word, just gently rubbing his back as Sam sobbed into his shoulder.
They would awake the next morning with their legs intertwined, Dean drooling on Sam's shoulder, and of course being Winchesters they wouldn't discuss it, just prepare themselves for the next hunt. But tonight was a different story. They were two brothers in dire need of comforting and they found it, within each other.
THE END