Notes: This was written for sinfulslasher for the SummerGen 2016 challenge over on livejournal. The full master list is up. You should go read some of the awesome stuff that got posted this year.
Disclaimer:
a) I do not, nor have I ever owned any part of Supernatural. The characters were just so pretty-shiny, I had to borrow them.
b) My knowledge of injuries, Arabic, genies, and Haxton, CO is based entirely off what I could Google in an afternoon. Andy medical, linguistic, supernatural, or geographical errors are mine alone.
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"Why are you being like this," Dean screamed. Sam was standing there in the doorway to the room Dean had hidden in, seething and sniffling and all around glaring at Dean.
"Because I've had enough. Why are you such a child!?"
"It's milk," Dean said, trying to regain some of his calm. The only reason they were even fighting was because Sam was sick and bitchy. It would pass. "Just milk. You'll live without your Lucky Charms for one day."
Sam punched the door frame. "It's not about the fucking milk! It's about the fact that you never pick up after yourself. Today it's the three drops of milk you put back in the fridge. Yesterday it was the toilet paper you couldn't bother to replace. Before that it was your stupid, muddy boots strewn across the living room floor."
"So what is it that's really bothering you Sam?"
"Why do you never do anything around here? I'm always picking up your crap!"
Dean's hands balled into fists. "I never pick up my crap? I do everything around here! Just because I'm not some OCD neat freak, doesn't give you the right to act like I don't. Hell, if I did anymore, I'd be changing your diapers."
Sam flashed from angry, to shocked, to hurt. Dean saw tears collecting in his eyes. Dammit. He'd gone too far. Even he knew that, but Sam had gone there first. He could see Sam trying to blink away the moisture in his eyes, trying to prove he wasn't as childish as Dean claimed. Dean knew it was just because he was sick, his defenses were down. Any other day, that comment would have kicked the argument up a notch.
Sam turned, hiding the hurt. When he spoke, his tone was the perfect balance of loathing and anger. "Glad we cleared that up, Dad."
Sam left, storming up the hall.
Dean bit his tongue to keep from yelling after his brother. Instead, he whirled and kicked a cardboard box that was sitting against the wall, satisfied when the side crumpled in with a dull thud. He knew he really should be more careful. The Men of Letters could have any sort of mystical whoosit stashed around that wouldn't appreciate being kicked. The guilt passed quickly as he heard Sam's gargantuan feet on the stairs, probably retreating to his bedroom to sulk.
Sam was sick. It wasn't anything serious, just enough to make him miserable. He had looked better that morning, but apparently that had been a fleeting reprieve. Even now, Dean could hear him snuffling and panting just climbing the stairs.
Dean glared down at the box. The light caught on something shiny inside, glinting just enough to catch his eye. He huffed and scooped up the box, dropping it on the table along the wall with a thud. Knowing his luck, he had probably managed to break the one thing that could save the world from the next apocalypse. Figures.
He pried open the flaps, resolutely ignoring the little voice that sounded suspiciously like Sam saying this was a bad idea. Normally he would check the register before he went looting just to make sure he didn't get into a room full of nasty. This was one of the unlocked rooms. The warding on the door was pretty mild. If there was anything in there, it wasn't likely to be very dangerous. Besides, he needed some new swag and he couldn't listen to Sam whine another minute.
Dean dug through the contents, laying each item out on the table in a neat row. There was a stone knife about as long as his forearm with characters carved into the blade – maybe ancient Sumerian if he had to guess – that would look pretty awesome hanging on his wall. Next was a large, round copper plate with an inscription that he couldn't decipher, but which appeared to be along the same lines as the knife. There was a carved sandstone figure of a toad with glittering black stones for eyes that seemed to watch him as he moved, definitely too freaky to leave sitting on his desk, and a tightly wound scroll.
The last thing inside the box, tucked away in the opposite corner from where he'd kicked in the side, was a cylindrical package wrapped up in brown paper and sealed with a glob of green sealing wax. It was unexpectedly heavy for being no bigger than the length of his hand. He broke the seal with his pocket knife and carefully unwrapped the paper. On the reverse side, he found symbols he was more familiar with; hunting marks for binding, a few minor wards, and some low level witch type symbols. It all looked to have been designed to keep the object from breaking while it was being transported.
A foot of crumpled paper later Dean was left holding a small, green porcelain bottle decorated with delicate veins of gold. It was thin necked and flared around the bottom. The tiny cork in the top was crowned with a shaped ruby. The entire thing screamed Middle East in that hokey, tourist trap way.
He was tempted to peek inside, but every instinct he'd ever had screamed not to. He shook it, expecting the contents to shift. It was far too heavy to just be an empty knickknack. It didn't make a sound. There was no sloshing, no swishing, and definitely no thumping. Dean was perplexed as to what could possibly be inside.
His hand hesitated over the cork. Before he could do anything, he heard the creaking of the floor as someone approached the stairs to the lower level. The hinges squeaked as the door at the top of the stairs swung open. He stared down at the bottle and waited.
"Dean?" Sam sounded rough, like his voice was made of brittle paper. Dean grimaced, letting his thumb trace over the gold patterns and sighed. Sam sounded pathetic. The idiot had probably forgotten to take his medicine again.
"Just once," he muttered as he tucked the bottle into his pocket followed shortly by the knife. "Just once I'd like to be the one being looked after." He dumped the other things back into the box and flipped the light out as he left the room.
He met Sam at the top of the stairs. His brother was pale with bright spots of color on his cheeks and sweat on his brow. He stared at Dean with glassy eyes. Maybe he wasn't feeling as better as he had looked that morning. He was leaning against the wall and when he saw Dean his posture sagged. Dean had a suspicion that he could probably sleep where he was and never know the difference.
"Don't feel so good," Sam said in a hoarse whisper.
"Yeah. When's the last time you took your meds?" Dean asked.
"Hmm?"
Dean frowned. "Medicine. Have you taken anything recently?"
Sam stared at him a long time before he finally blinked and said, "Um, no?"
"Right," Dean said with a sigh. "Let's get you in bed."
Sam shook his head and pulled back a little. "No, I gotta apologize."
Dean hooked Sam's arm over his shoulder and moved so that he could support him. "What for?"
Sam stumbled forward a few steps under Dean's guidance. He seemed to consider for a moment. "I…I don't remember." He said before launching into a coughing fit that made Dean wince.
"Right," Dean said, guiding him down the hall. "Well, you can figure it out in the morning."
Between the two of them, they made it back through the halls and to Sam's bedroom. Dean flipped the light on and propped Sam against the door. The place was a disaster. Discarded clothes littered the floor, and the sheets lay tangled and strewn half across the bedroom.
Dean made his way to the bed, kicking books and clothes aside to clear a path as he went. With a few brisk flaps of the sheets and a crisp tuck to the corners, he had made the bed and was getting Sam situated.
After a brief tussle with the thermometer, Dean was swearing under his breath. Sam was basically supernovic. He was reading at 104.3, creeping into the dangerously high zone. Dean shoved pills at Sam and stood over him as he chased them down with a glass of tepid water, not that Sam was coherent enough to care. He'd lost whatever real fight he'd had to remain lucid about the time they stumbled into the room. Dean was just waiting for him to drift off.
He knew he wouldn't be going far until that fever was under control. Instead, he gathered up all the clothes from the floor and dumped them in the basket in the corner of the room. That done, he started to collect the books that had been strewn haphazardly around the bed and stacked them neatly on the desk, taking a moment to swipe a pile of tissues into the trashcan. He should get paid for hazardous working conditions. He set the can next to the bed, just in case as Sam started to snore.
With Sam sleeping, Dean grabbed the clothes basket and hauled it to the back of the bunker to the laundry room. He had already been planning to throw a load in, so he just added Sam's things to the pile. He took his time sorting everything and started a load. That done, he wandered into the kitchen, more out of habit than any real purpose.
He supposed he should go check on Sam. The kid would need liquids when he woke up and he wanted to monitor that fever. He mixed together some of the powdered Gatorade they had in the cabinet and carried it back to Sam's room. He set the glass on the nightstand for when his brother woke up. He took a moment to swipe the back of his hand over Sam's forehead, relieved when he found some of the fever had dissipated. Sam was still hot, but the Tylenol had taken the edge off.
Dean glanced at his watch. If he was lucky, Sam would surface sometime around six or so. Between slight nip in the air, and Sam's rabbiting appetite lately, he figured soup would make a good dinner for them. He might even have the stuff left to make a loaf of bread.
Somewhere between pulling out chicken to defrost and chopping vegetables, Dean felt himself relax. This is what he really enjoyed. Not sick little brothers, but providing for his family.
He knew Sam didn't understand. To him, providing was being stable and settled. It was bringing home a check at the end of the day and mowing the lawn. It was keeping the Impala stocked with licorice because he knew it was Dean's favorite or watching monster movie marathons when one of them was down.
Dean loved him for it, but that was the extra stuff. Having a place to call home was something he'd never even thought to dream of. Providing for his family meant clean clothes and warm food. It was having a roof over their heads and hustling pool to pay for it if he had to. It was knowing enough first aid to handle most things and having enough ammunition to make sure he never needed the knowledge. Dean took pride in the little things, like making soup. And if Sam made a crack or two about Martha Stewart, he could wash his own rank socks.
It was closer to seven than six when Sam finally shuffled into the kitchen. Dean had been periodically checking on him and had shoved another round of Tylenol down him an hour or so back. He was still feverish, eyes still glassy, but he was a little more coherent. He sank down in a chair at the table and groaned.
"Can't you just shoot me now?"
Dean snorted. "So feeling nice and refreshed, I take it."
Sam slumped forward so his head was laying on his arm across the table. His eyes were lidded and Dean was a little worried he'd fall asleep there. "If you're going to start snoring, at least go back to bed so I don't have to listen to it."
"Sick of laying down."
Dean shrugged. "Think you could eat something?"
Sam's eyes slipped closed. "Too tired."
But Dean already had a bowl full of soup and was setting it in front of Sam, who stared blearily at it for a few seconds before propping himself up enough to eat. A chunk of bread found its way to Sam's spot before Dean collected his own portion and sat across from him. Sam picked at the bread and ate a bite before turning his attention to the soup. It took him a full thirty seconds to chew and swallow and another minute to pick up his spoon. Dean was relieved to see him ladle a spoonful up.
"S' good," he said.
Dean hummed in response. They stayed that way, Dean eating and Sam trudging through his soup. Finally Sam heaved a sigh. "How much more do I have to eat?"
Dean glanced down at the half full bowl. "One more."
Sam dutifully sucked down another spoonful before he gave up and went back to laying across the table.
Dean finally took pity on him. "All right, bed or couch?"
Sam grunted.
"Table ain't one of your options."
"Time's it?"
"Bout eight."
"Bed."
Dean nodded and got up to haul Sam to his feet. Together they went back to Sam's room and settled him there. Dean spent the rest of the evening periodically checking on Sam and digging through the Men of Letters catalog to find the records for his mystery objects.
br/br
They rode out the next few days until Sam felt more like a human being with the tacit agreement not to talk about their argument at all. Mostly this involved a lot of Netflix and popcorn. Sam's fever broke the second day and he was up and shuffling about the next. He was still tired easily, which grated at him, leaving him huffing in annoyance when Dean told him to go take a nap.
A day after Sam had gotten up and moving under his own steam, he brought Dean a hunt. Dean suspected it was a peace offering.
"I think I found us something." Sam's voice was still a little hoarse, but he seemed to be doing fine otherwise.
"Oh, yeah?" Dean asked. "What kind of thing?"
"A hunt a couple of towns over. Looks like a restless spirit. Should be a simple salt and burn."
"Are you sure you're up to doing anything of the sort?" Dean said, finally sitting up and looking at Sam properly. He was still pale, but he was doing much better.
Sam sighed and sank down in a chair at the table. "I'm fine Dean. Besides, this should be an easy one. I think I've figured out who it is. We just need to do the grunt work. Take us two days, tops."
"Alright, so what do you have?"
"Daniel Morse, 35, owner of a local jewelry store, was killed six months back in a bad car wreck just outside of town. He wasn't exactly well liked by any standard. His kids closed the shop and sold the building last month."
"And?"
"There have been people claiming the building is haunted. There have been reports of strange noises and lights coming from over there at night too."
"So you thinking poltergeist?"
"Nah. The scope's not big enough for a poltergeist, just one seriously pissed of ghost of a grumpy old man."
"Where is this grumpy old man?"
"In Haxtun, CO. It's like a 3 hour drive from here." Sam slid the papers he'd been reading from over to Dean.
"So, northern Colorado then," Dean asked. "Man, last time we drove that there was nothing but construction. Take us twice that to get anywhere near there."
Sam shrugged. "Sound like something you want to pick up, or should I forward it on?"
Dean took a minute to grumble about the horror of taking his car through construction zones, but finally acquiesced. "Fine, sure. We've been sitting still too long anyway. Let's do it. But we're waiting a couple of days."
"What? Why?"
Dean narrowed his eyes ate his brother. "When you can walk down the hall without panting, we'll go."
Sam scowled, "Fine."
Dean chuckled and collected his dishes. He ruffled Sam's hair as he walked by, earning himself a scowl in the process. "Don't worry, Princess. We'll be back to chasing ghosts in no time."
Sam just rolled his eyes and leaned forward to collect some old book that had been left on the table, flipping it open curiously. Dean decided he'd leave Sam to his books. Kid could entertain himself all day with one of those musty old things. Instead, he made his way back to his room intending to examine the objects he'd found a little more closely.