A BIG BROTHER'S JOB
Summary: Tag to 9x05 – "Dog Dean Afternoon". Dean's anxiety spiked to new levels when he walked back into the kitchen, eyes searching until they fell upon his still unconscious little brother – his little brother who hadn't moved an inch from his position on the kitchen floor since the crazy-ass chef had chased Dean out of the room.
Author's note: Sorry for not having posted anything in a while, guys. Sometimes life just gets so busy that it's hard to find the time to do anything - yet alone write, ya know? However, I'm working on some ideas, so don't give up on me just yet ;) In the meanwhile, I hope you'll enjoy this tag.
Elisa.
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"Trust is knowing that when a team member does push you, they're doing it because they care about the team."
- Patrick Lencioni, "The Five Dysfunctions of a Team: A Leadership Fable".
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Dean winced as the Colonel and the other dogs ripped Chef Leo to shreds in the back alley behind the restaurant – the dogs' growls and the chef's screams mixed together in a fatal chorus that echoed in the night. The older Winchester brother didn't feel sorry for the dude though. After all the human lives the chef had wasted to save his own bacon, he sure as hell deserved all the bad things coming to him, but that still didn't make the sight any less gruesome for Dean as he watched the guy at the dogs' mercy. On the contrary, the chef's intentions had been to kill Dean and frigging eat Sam, so maybe Dean did enjoy the show just a little bit after all.
As soon as they had started, Chef Leo's screams died out, and Dean knew he should cover up the mess before any authorities showed up - the noise having most likely alarmed someone in the neighborhood. But Dean didn't have time to get rid of the body just yet. It could wait. The oldest Winchester had far more important matters to tend – or more specifically; a little brother to tend.
"Stay with the body and make sure no one enters the alley, okay?" Dean told the Colonel. "I need to get back to Sam. He's hurt."
"We can handle it." The dog responded, and Dean nodded his approval before hurrying around the building to the front entrance of the restaurant – the backdoor having locked itself after Dean and the chef had burst through it.
Dean had been concerned – not to mention royally pissed – when his eyes had caught sight of his brother lying completely still and unconscious on the kitchen floor, while Dean himself had been tied up to a pillar. It was always disturbing to see Sam out cold, but even more so when the younger Winchester was bloody, and Dean hadn't been there to see what had happened to him or knew the extent of Sam's injuries. According to Chef Leo, Sam had just been "taking a little cat nap" which fortunately meant that Sam was at least still alive, and that had eased Dean's worries a notch. Eased them – not made his worries go completely away though. He'd continued to glance in Sam's direction, willing his little brother to blink his eyes open or just twitch a finger – but no such luck. Sam had remained unmoving while the chef had rambled on and on about his evil plan.
Now, as Dean tore one of the entrance doors to the restaurant open and headed straight for the kitchen, he couldn't wait to get back to Sam - couldn't wait to take a closer look at the younger brother's injuries and fix his little brother up himself. Like he'd always done. Like he always would do no matter how old the kid got. Cause that was Dean's job – a big brother's most precious duty – and Dean would rip the head off anyone who tried to contradict it.
Sam had been out for the count throughout Dean's entire encounter with Chef Leo, so Dean had expected Sam to at least be coming around by now. That was why Dean's anxiety spiked to new levels when he walked back into the kitchen, eyes searching until they fell upon his still unconscious little brother – his little brother who hadn't moved an inch from his position on the kitchen floor since the crazy-ass chef had chased Dean out of the room.
The chef had said that Sam was fine, right? But had he been lying? Was Sam more hurt than Dean had first assumed – or worse; was he dead?
Dean's heart pounded rapidly as he quickly crossed the kitchen floor – flashes of images passing through his mind from other occasions where Sam had been lying as still as he was now; memories that Dean wished wouldn't continue to be burned into his mind for as long as he lived.
"Oh my God." Dean muttered under his breath before he kneeled down by Sam's side, put one hand on the side of Sam's neck and the other hand on the younger brother's forehead.
"Hey." He spoke in a soft and shaky voice, his fingers carding through Sam's brown locks while his thumb gently caressed his brother's cheek. "For the love of God. Sammy!"
Sam didn't as much as flutter an eyelash so Dean patted Sam's cheek a couple of times, trying to rouse the kid while panic threatened to consume him.
"Hey. Sammy." Dean continued – his breath coming out in shuddering pants as he carefully rolled Sam's head from side to side.
Fear surrounded Dean's heart like ice-cold fingers; the frigidity spreading through his veins and making him feel cold. This was not supposed to happen. Sam was not supposed to be hurt. The younger Winchester already had a lot on his plate as he was slowly healing up from the repercussions of the trials, so Dean knew that Sam hadn't been at the top of his game from the start. And the wacky chef had somehow taken advantage of that – had somehow gotten the drop on Sam which, as a result, both brothers were now paying for in each their way. Dean unsuccessfully tried to call for the angel whose purpose right now was to protect Sam from the inside – to make sure Sam's body continued to improve from the trials, while Dean was doing whatever he could to protect Sam from outside forces. But where was Zeke now?
Dean felt nauseous as he remembered the angel's words about how every healing he did weakened him. What if the angel had been too weak after healing both Cas and Charlie that he didn't have any magic angel juice left in him to heal Sam? Was that what had happened? Dean had to catch his breath when he considered that possibility. Everything he ever did, he did to protect the ones he cared about. But never at the expense of Sammy – never at the expense of the little brother he'd spent his whole life protecting; the little brother that he loved more than anything. If saving Cas and Charlie had robbed Dean of Sam, the older Winchester would never forgive himself.
"Hey!" Dean called once again, patting Sam's cheek a little harder in desperation - his fingers entangling in the younger man's bangs as Dean continued to plead his brother to wake up. "Come on… Don't make me lick your damn face."
But not even the threat of a face-lick was enough to stir the youngest Winchester, and Dean felt on the verge of crying.
"Hey!" Dean called in a sharp voice and desperately shook Sam.
This time Dean was rewarded for his efforts when Sam grunted and scrunched up his face.
"Guh." Sam breathed, rolled his head a bit to the side and blinked his eyes open.
Dean let out a heavy sigh - his whole body sagging in relief as Sam blinked the haze away, his eyes darting around in confusion for a few seconds until they settled on his big brother. Sam still looked confused, eyes asking a million questions, but still seeming aware of the fact that something had happened and that Dean was taking care of it.
"Come on." Dean said in a soft voice, clutching the collar of Sam's jacket with one hand while the other one supported the back of Sam's neck as he pulled the younger man first to sit up – then wrapped his arms underneath Sam's armpits and around his back, before pulling him to his feet.
As soon as Sam was vertical though, his head started throbbing painfully and the world tipped before the youngest Winchester's eyes.
"Whoa, Sam!" Dean exclaimed as Sam moaned and sagged against him – his forehead coming to a rest in the crook of Dean's neck while the older brother supported most of Sam's weight. "You okay?"
"Mmm." Sam hummed, the sound muffled by Dean's jacket.
He closed his eyes for a few seconds, swallowing down the urge to vomit and tried to get back control of his wobbly legs – all the while Dean's arms stayed locked around his back, keeping him upright and secured.
"Sammy?" Dean asked, his forehead wrinkled in concern and his teeth clenched tight against the effort of holding up Sam's weight.
You could say a lot of things about Sam Winchester but, despite having lost too much weight for Dean's liking during the trials, the younger Winchester was still heavy. But never too heavy for Dean to handle though.
"I'm okay." Sam croaked as the dizziness finally subsided a little bit and he weakly pushed away from Dean. "Dean, what happened? The chef..?"
"Dead." Dean said and pulled Sam's arm across his shoulder. "I'll fill you in later, okay?"
Sam nodded – which turned out to be a bad idea when his skull already felt like it was being pecked by a woodpecker - and let Dean guide them both towards the exit. They hadn't taken more than a few steps, however, when Sam's dizziness returned with full force.
"D'n." Sam said and swayed a bit.
"Easy, easy, I've got you." Dean murmured and gently sat the younger brother down on what Sam realized what somekinda big white insulated box. "Just a sec."
Sam closed his eyes as the older brother walked a bit away, groaned and buried his pounding head in his hands before rubbing his temples. Sam then frowned as he touched his sore neck and felt his fingers come back sticky.
"Dean?" Sam asked as he looked down at his bloody fingers. "I eh.. I'm hurt?"
Dean hurried back with a damp kitchen towel in hand, crouched down in front of his little brother without a word and carefully started dabbing at Sam's neck with the cloth.
"Dean?" Sam asked again - his voice edged with a hint of annoyance and exhaustion.
"What do you remember?" Dean asked, forehead wrinkled in concentration as he kept dabbing at Sam's bloody neck.
"Ran into Chef Leo after we split up." Sam sighed. "It gets a bit blurry after that, but.. I think.. did he do something to my neck?"
"No, your neck looks fine." Dean promised, his stomach sinking as he realized that the chef must have hurt his little brother, and that Zeke must have somehow healed it up. "I'm not even sure it's your blood. I don't see any wound."
"Really?" Sam asked with confusion. "But my neck is sore and I.. I'm pretty sure he did something to it.. And then he said something weird."
"Like what?" Dean asked, throwing the bloody kitchen towel away before checking his brother for other injuries.
"He asked me what I was." Sam said, blinking at his big brother.
"He asked you what you were?" Dean repeated, then huffed and shook his head when Sam nodded. "Sammy, the dude was a nutjob. He probably wondered how anyone could be as freakishly gigantic as you are."
"Very funny." Sam said in a dry voice – then winched as Dean's fingers probed along his jawline and hit a sore spot. "I just think it's weird."
"You're weird." Dean retorted. "Now sit still."
As Sam turned his head a bit away from Dean's ministrations, his eyes caught sight of the row of plastic containers lined up on the metal table right next to him and the youngest Winchester gagged.
"Ugh, gross." Sam all but whined as he read the labels saying stuff like 'Possum intestines' and 'Mongoose liver'. "I feel sick."
"Then stop looking at it, you dumbass!" Dean said with a roll of his eyes, grabbed Sam's chin and turned his head away from the plastic containers again. "How are you feeling? You think you can stand?"
"Yeah, I think so." Sam responded, keeping eye contact with Dean as the older brother studied his eyes for a few seconds.
"Good. Let's roll then - before the cops show up." Dean said, yet again moving Sam's arm over his shoulders and pulling Sam to his feet surprisingly gracefully, before leading them both out of the kitchen.
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As the brothers left the restaurant behind in the car a little while later, Dean had filled Sam in on the events after they'd split up, but Sam still wondered what the chef's words to him had meant.
I want to know what you are.
The younger Winchester brother couldn't recall much of what had happened after his run-in with Chef Leo, but he did remember the surprised look on the chef's face when he'd told Sam those words. Even after Dean had delivered the Colonel to the vegan couple and had assured his brother that he'd got nothing to worry about - that the chef had been out of his mind and couldn't be taken seriously - Sam still couldn't help but wonder what the hell he had meant.
The drive back home to the bunker had happened in silence. Well, at least Sam had kept quiet while Dean, on the other hand, had gone on and on about how close he had been to know the true secret behind the dogs' existence - and how much he still wanted to blow the brains out of that douchebag pigeon for pooping on the car.
Still sore and exhausted from the case, Sam eventually fell asleep with his head resting against the passenger window of the car and didn't wake up before Dean shook him awake back at the bunker's garage.
"Come on, Sammy. Time for bed." Dean said and gently patted Sam's chest, before Sam groggily followed behind his brother towards the main area of the bunker.
Sam fell asleep again only a few moments after collapsing on his bed - face down but with his head turned slightly to the side – and was completely lost to the world by the time Dean walked into the room a little while later. Dean pulled off Sam's shoes and tucked his little brother properly in, his hand carefully brushing a strand of hair out of the younger man's eyes in the process. Dean then placed an icepack on Sam's neck and jaw that had swollen up a bit and already seemed to be a little bruised, before he grabbed the chair by Sam's desk and sat down on it with a heavy sigh.
Dean feared the day where Sam would learn the truth about what had happened after Dean had talked him out of completing the trials and they'd left the church - the day where Sam would know that Dean had allowed an angel to possess him and had furthermore kept it a secret for him. Dean wasn't sure if Sam would ever be able to forgive him for that one – hell, he could hardly forgive himself for betraying Sam's trust like this – but Dean had made the deal with Zeke out of love for his brother, and the older Winchester brother would never regret that. After all, keeping Sam safe and sound was his duty as a big brother and, despite knowing he would be facing Sam's wrath sooner or later, Dean wouldn't trade that job for anything in the entire world.
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THE END.