Nightmares weren't something that were foreign to the Winchester boys; for as long as they both could remember, they'd been plagued by them. Despite that Dean knew John left them alone so he could help other people, it still made him angry that there was no one but him there to soothe Sammy's fear when he'd have a bad dream. Usually they were the same; a monster jumped out of the dark and tried to hurt him, and nobody came to save him.
"That'd never happen, Sammy," Dean would assure him, hugging his little brother close to him under the blankets in the dark hotel room John had left them in. "Dad and I wouldn't let that happen."
"But Dad isn't here," Sam had whimpered, clutching Dean tightly as he sniffled, "Not ever. He always leaves."
That would be the point when Dean would feel the most anger toward their father. It wasn't fair that Sammy always had to be so afraid. He deserved to feel safe, especially since Dean knew the truth about the monsters he was so scared of. Holding Sam closer in a protective embrace, Dean shook his head.
"Then I'd save you from the monsters by myself. You know I would."
"But the monster's big..." Sam said, slightly awed by his brother's words, rubbing his tired, tearful eyes.
"I'm tough," Dean would say with a smile, nodding to assure him. "Monsters don't scare me. Doesn't matter how big they are."
Sam would grin at that, nodding in agreement before snuggling closer to his brother in the bed, slowly falling back to sleep, all the while wishing he could be as big and brave as Dean. What he didn't know what that Dean had bad dreams, too. Lots of them.
Dean had nightmares about that awful night back in Kansas. He would wake himself up screaming in a cold sweat, longing for his mother's comforting embrace even though he knew he'd never feel it ever again. That only made things worse. What hurt the most was that there was no one there to assure him that it was okay; that monsters would never hurt him like that. To be honest, Dean was certain that they would. He knew too much about the things that lurked in the dark for a young boy, and it scarred him in ways that would never heal. John was never around to tell him that he'd keep him safe; he was too busy hunting.
Despite his fear, Dean would never wake Sam. He'd never let Sammy know that he was scared of the monsters, too, because that would make him afraid, and Dean hated it when Sammy was scared. He wanted Sammy to keep thinking he was brave; that he'd always protect him. Because he would. Dean would face all the monsters from his nightmares all alone if it meant keeping Sammy safe.
Sammy was all Dean had. He'd never let the monsters take him away. Not ever.