Sam and Dean: Don't You Dare
Sam and Dean have been close their whole lives; it's always been the big brother protecting the little brother. Now that they're older and grown up, it seems neither of them needs help or comforting yet, there are times when both brothers need each other. Sad to say, they keep all the pain and worry inside and let it build up until they break and can't take much more.
The hunt that they take on challenges both their emotional and mental strengths and weaknesses. They were hunting a djinn, the one that feeds off fear. They had a syringe full of the antidote if one of them got stuck in their fears but that was the problem, they didn't have enough antidote for both brothers, only one.
They were able to find the location of the djinn, which was in an abandoned barn out in a field. The drive was silent as they drove to their destination but you could tell they were both slightly on edge, remembering the other times they had to go up against a djinn and all times, it never went well.
Dean parked the car and got out, Sam following suite. "Alright, we'll split up. You go in from the back while I go from the front. Anything happens, you call out, got it?" Dean ordered his little brother as they went to the arsenal.
"Dean, I'll be fine. This isn't my first hunt or anything." Sam replies as they dipped their knives in lamb's blood.
"I know but these things mess with people's head. Just be careful." The older brother mumbled before slamming the trunk shut and they went their separate ways, getting ready and prepared for the disaster that was to come.
Sam stood outside the back door and took a deep breath before silently opening the door and walking inside. He had his knife in front of him for protection and his flashlight, trying to see his surroundings. He tried being as quiet as possible as he made his way through the building and he was almost to the front of the building with not so much as a glimpse of the djinn but that didn't make him any less tense.
He heard a thump behind him and he quickly turned around, on high alert. "Dean?" He called out, thinking it was his brother just before he saw a bright blue light and suddenly, the ground rushed up to meet Sam.
After a while, Sam let out a loud grunt as he began to stir, finding himself in the same position on the floor of the abandoned barn. He quickly got to his feet and found himself with no knife or flashlight. He silently cursed himself as he took out his gun from the waistband of his jeans and pointed it in front of him as he began walking. "Dean?" He shouted, wanting to get out of there before anything else happened.
Sam was just beginning to wonder what happened after he saw the blue light but his thoughts stopped instantly the second the opened a door and walked in the room, suddenly finding himself in the motel room he was sharing with Dean. He saw his older brother hastily packing his clothes in his duffel bag, which caused Sam to tilt his head a little in confusion.
"Dude, what's going on?" He asked, walking further into the room.
"I'm leaving." Dean gave his little brother a short response, his voice sounding like it held anger.
"Uh, okay. Let me go get my stuff, then we can head out." Sam walked over to his bed and grabbed his own duffel bag, beginning to grab some of his clothes.
"No, you're not coming."
Sam froze in his spot and slowly looked up at his big brother. "What? What do you mean you're not coming?"
"I mean, I'm leaving and you're staying here. What's the point in bringing you along?" Dean snapped, shoving past Sam as he started towards the door.
"Wait! The hell are you talking about, man?!" Sam quickly followed his brother, grabbing his shoulder to make him turn around, but it only made Dean angrier, roughly shoving him away.
"I'm talking about you! You can't watch your own back, how do you expect me to trust you to watch mine, huh?! I should've left you back at college, would've saved me a hell of a lot of trouble."
"Where is this all coming from?" Sam asked, his voice sounding broken, his big brothers words hitting him hard in the heart.
"Oh, I always think it! This ain't something that's random, I've just had enough of your crap, that's all." At that moment, Dean turned back around and swung open the door, slamming it shut after he walked out.
Watching his brother, his best friend, his hero, walk out broke Sam and it brought slight tears to his eyes but he tried to quickly blink them away as he ran towards the door and opened it, stopping short as he found himself not outside but in a different building again. Sam looked around wildly, looking for anything or anyone he knew, trying to figure out what was going on.
He tried to think of what happened, he saw a bright blue light, he passed out, found himself alone, then he was with Dean, who left him, now he was in a strange place alone again. Did the djinn get him? Was he dead? Or was he facing all his fears? He didn't know exactly what was going on and he wasn't sure if he wanted to or not.
"Sam!" He heard an all too familiar voice shout his name in another room.
His heart stopped at the sound of the voice and he didn't hesitate to run towards it, freezing in the doorway as he found the source of the voice. "Jess." He breathed out, seeing the girl he loved in an apron while cooking over the stove, a bright and happy smile on her face.
"Hey, how was your day, baby?" She asked, flashing him a grin which he had to return back at the sight of her.
"It was good." He didn't even know what he was saying, all he knew was that he was with Jess at the moment. He walked over to her and wrapped his arms around her waist, pulling her close to his chest. "I love you." He whispered, leaning down to kiss her.
"I know you do." She replied softly, leaning up on her tippy toes when she suddenly gasped, her eyes wide.
Sam pulled away, worry filling his body for the girl he's always loved. "Jess? What's wrong?" He asks, looking down at her before realizing she had a slash across her stomach, blood pouring out. "No!"
"Sam…" She breathed out, collapsing to the ground.
"No, Jess, please! Stay with me, okay? It's gonna be okay!" Sam was panicking, his heart thumping loudly in his ears as he put pressure against her wound, not taking the time to look at her face to see her already gone. "Jess, please, stay awake!" He begged, tears threatening to spill.
He choked back a sob as he tightly shut his eyes and bowed his eyes, resting on the back of his heels as he stood on his knees. He tried to control his own breathing before opening his eyes, feeling his face go pale as he found himself in a different place. Instead of being in a room again, he was outside in the woods.
He slowly got to his feet, wanting for this whole mind thing to end as quickly as possible. He hastily wiped his tears as he looked around his surroundings, finding nothing but trees everywhere in the middle of the woods. "Come on." He muttered, tossing his hands up in the air in frustration.
"Sam!" The young Winchester turned around at the voice, seeing his brother marching down a small hill, making his way towards him.
"Dean…" Sam carefully said, as if trying to calm down someone who was about to do something they might regret later.
His big brother didn't give any kind of answer; all he did was trudge up to Sam, retracted his arm, and flung his fist into the side of Sam's face. The younger brother stumbled a few steps back, shock taking over his body. He looked at Dean and went to ask a question but he never got the chance, instead he got hit with another fist, which caused his bottom lip to split open.
He couldn't process anything at the moment; bright blue light, Dean leaving him, Jess dying, and now Dean beating him? It seemed to never stop, all Sam could feel was his body screaming out in pain as his face kept connecting with Dean's fist and his brother's foot connecting with his side.
Suddenly, all the pain subsided and everything seemed dark and quiet. Sam uncurled himself from the ball that he had formed into for protection but he didn't get to his feet this time. He realized he was in Bobby's house, his kitchen to be in fact. He heard the TV going, which caused him to slowly get up and walk in the room.
He carefully rounded the corner and when he thought he couldn't find any more surprises, he knew he was wrong. He saw himself standing across the room, a hard and cold glare coming from his face. The real Sam swallowed thickly and stood as still as he could.
"You know what you've done, don't you?" The Sam clone asked, his voice sounding cold with hatred.
"No." Sam answered quietly.
"They're all gone. Everyone you've ever loved. Dead. Your parents, Jess, Bobby, even Dean. And it's all because of you."
"That's not true." Sam whispered, shaking his head as he took deep breaths.
"Oh, it is. You don't believe me then fine. You'll figure it out sooner or later. One day, everyone will be dead because of you. You won't have anyone left but yourself! You drove them away and they died!" The Sam-look-alike snapped, coming closer to the real Sam.
"You don't know what you're talking about. You're wrong!" Sam shouted, feeling as if he'll break any second with all this pressure, this fear.
Before the cold Sam could respond, he vanished into thin air, leaving Sam all alone again. He looked around, feeling slightly better but then he heard a faint voice. "Sam, come on! Damn it, Sammy, don't you dare do this!"
Sam recognized the voice immediately. He felt like he almost stopped breathing, it was a comforting voice to him. He closed his eyes and suddenly, he was laying on his back, gasping for breath. The youngest Winchester opened his eyes once more and was met with a protective and stern set of green eyes above him. "Dean?" He choked out, feeling light headed.
"'Thank God." Dean breathed out, grabbing the front of Sam's jacket and yanking him up to his feet, supporting most of his little brother's weight. "Come on, we gotta get ya outta here."
"What happened?" Sam asked groggily, feeling weak and sore all over.
"The djinn. He got ahold of ya and I had to kill the bastard. Didn't go down without a fight but I still got him. I gave you the antidote but you still didn't wake up. Had me worried there for a minute, man." Dean answered, helping Sam to the car and sliding him in the passenger seat before hurrying to the driver's side.
Sam leaned against the window, the cold feeling against his head refreshing his memory. The car was quiet for a couple minutes, driving down the old dirt road. Sam didn't know Dean kept glancing over at him until he spoke up. "Hey, uh…you feelin' okay over there?"
Sam moved his head slightly so he could look at Dean and he was almost surprised at how much worry his eyes contained. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just…tired, I guess. Got some things on my mind is all."
"Well, what happened? When those djinns touch you, they knock you out, sure, but they also make you face your fears. What'd you see?" Dean asked, his voice holding a bit of concern for his little brother.
"I don't wanna talk about it."
"Dude, come on. We both know how these things work out, something like this happens, we don't talk, one of us explodes." Dean tried to reason but all he got was a small shake of his baby brother's head. The older Winchester sighed and shook his own head before drawing his attention back to the road, the rest of the drive in complete silence.
Once they pulled into the motel, they both got out of the impala and went to the door. Dean stayed behind his brother as to watch him carefully and it was clear something was going on in his head and whatever he saw, it screwed him up.
It's been five days since Sam had that encounter with the djinn and Dean could easily tell that something was bugging his little brother. Dean had said that he wanted to stay in town for a while to make sure nothing else was going on and for Sam to get back to his feet. But Sam didn't get back up on his feet. He hardly talked to Dean, it seemed like he wasn't getting much sleep, and he didn't eat a whole lot. Late at night, the eldest could hear his brother having nightmares and he's have to stay up most nights, listening to Sam shuffling and mumbling in his sleep.
But it all went down during the last night in town. Dean was sleeping soundly in his bed until he heard small grunts further away from him. He opened his eyes and sat up, finding his brother's bed empty. He quickly threw the covers off him but he relaxed when he saw him standing in the bathroom, leaning against the sink with his head ducked down.
It seemed Sam was breathing heavy as if trying to keep something in and Dean saw this as he moved closer to his brother, leaning against the door frame with his arms crossed. He stayed quiet for a moment to allow Sam to breathe before speaking up. "You doin' alright?"
Sam didn't answer for a minute and Dean began to think his little brother didn't hear him but then he saw him shake his head. Dean subconsciously stood a little straighter as he walked in the bathroom and stood behind his brother, clapping a hand on his shoulder. "What's goin' on, huh?"
"I don't know." Sam's miserable voice responded, keeping his head ducked down as he gripped the edges of the sink tighter, his knuckles turning white.
"Hey, calm down. Listen, take a few deep breaths and let's talk, okay?" Dean tried to help, giving Sam's shoulder a slight squeeze. Sam did as told, taking a few deep, shuddering breaths before his grip started to loosen and his body began to slowly relax. "There ya go. Come on, let's sit down." Dean gently led Sam away from the bathroom and let him flop on his bed before sitting right across from his baby brother.
Sam brushed his hair away from his face and then Dean could see his sibling clearly. His eyes were red and slightly blood shot, his skin was pale, and his hair was all over the place. "There's so many things going through my head and it won't stop." Sam finally confessed, not looking Dean in the eye.
"What's going through your head? It's got something to do with the djinn." He wondered, seeing Sam quickly turn his head away at the word of the creature. "What did you see when that bastard touched you?" He got no response and Dean couldn't help but slam his hands down on the bed and quickly stand, running a hand through his hair. "Sam, something's going on with you and it's screwing you up something bad, man! I wanna help but I can't do that if you keep playing little tricks and trying to make me guess."
"It was you! Okay?" Sam finally snapped, looking heatedly up at his older brother. "It was you and Jess and…." He stopped there, feeling almost scared to continue. His breathing picked up again as he glared at the floor.
"What about me, Sam?" Dean asked, suddenly worried about what his mind did to himself that made his brother nearly afraid of him.
"You left." Sam's broken voice choked out, his eyes becoming glassy but trying to keep in all tears. "You left me and said you should've left me at college because it would've saved you a bunch of trouble. That you couldn't trust me." Sam spoke quietly, biting his bottom lip to keep it from trembling.
"Sam, you gotta realize that that ain't ever gonna happen." Dean said carefully as he shook his head.
"I know but there's…I don't know, doubt? I'm just worried and…" Sam struggled to get the words out.
"You're worried and what?"
"…Scared." Sam whispered, twiddling with his hands.
Dean felt his breath hitch in his throat as he heard these words. His baby brother was afraid that he'd leave him? Hasn't he proved that that won't ever happen as long as he's alive? Dean's protected and always been there for his brother, wouldn't that help reassure Sam that he'll stick by him until the end?
"Sammy..." Dean said softly, feeling as if his heart was as fragile as glass.
"And I know what you're gonna say! You think that it's stupid and that it's not real, that I should know between reality and fake fears but I can't help it, Dean! I've always been scared that you might leave one day and with everything going on, I swear I can feel something bad happening to us." Sam pleaded for his brother to understand, though Dean held an expression that he couldn't place.
The older man stayed silent for a moment before putting his hands on his hips as he shook his head, turning around so his back was facing the youngest Winchester. "You son of a bitch." Dean whispered, raising his hand to run his fingers through his hair. "You…friggin'….MORON!" Dean finally shouted, facing the younger man as he marched up to him, grabbing his shirt, and yanking him to his feet. "Don't you dare think any of that! You understand me?! I ain't leaving you, no matter what! And if you can't realize that then I'll beat the hell out of you until you do understand." Dean growled in his little brother's face, his eyes full of fury.
Sam stood there in shock, his bangs slightly in his face as his body tensed up, remembering the fear of Dean beating him but once his big brothers words registered in his brain, his body slowly relaxed. His breathing seemed to regulate as he looked in his brother's eyes, seeing the true sincerity.
The second Dean saw his baby brother relax, he didn't hesitate to pull Sam close to him, wrapping his arms tightly around the younger man's shoulders. Sam nearly grunted at the suddenly force but returned the hug, snaking his arms around his brothers waist and squeezed his eyes shut, trying to savor the feeling of being safe and protected in his brother's arms.
"I'm always gonna be here for you, man. You've always got me, don't you dare think different." Dean orders in a soft yet stern tone.
Sam nodded his head against his big brother's shoulder and quietly responded, "I know."