This is a weechester one shot. Dean is twelve and Sam is eight.

Summary :- Even though Dean didn't have high expectations for his birthday, he never thought he would spend it looking after a sick father, soothing a frightened little brother and nursing a black eye.

A/N 1:- Those of you waiting for an update on 'No Ordinary Boys', don't worry I should have a new chapter up really soon. I'm just having a hard time making the action scenes flow right but I'm almost done. :)

A/N 2:- I wrote this because I am stuck at home feeling miserable with toothache. :( I was suppose to be going to see Jeffery Dean Morgan's new film 'The Possession' at the cinema, but I'm in to much pain to go, so I decided to write a John Winchester fic to comfort me. :) Hope you all enjoy :)

Dean's 12th Birthday.

John staggered out of the Impala, one hand clasped tightly over his bleeding gut wound and the other one fumbling around in his pocket for the motel key. The distance from the car to his room wasn't far but to John it felt like miles. His legs felt so heavy that every step was like walking through thick mud, and his head was spinning so much that his vision was beginning to blur. John knew he wasn't feeling like this because of blood loss. The cut across his stomach, despite stinging like a bitch wasn't especially deep and it just needed a few stitches. No, it wasn't blood loss causing this. It was the poison from the Karumi's talon slowly working its way through his system that was doing this.

John had been on the Karumi's trail for three days when he finally tracked it down to secluded woodland. He'd thought the Karumi would take much longer to find and he'd told the boys that he would be gone for about a week. So he'd been pleased when after just three days he found it. It meant he could wrap the hunt up early and get back to the boys. If he drove fast, he might even make it back in time to spend some of Dean's birthday with him. In hindsight he probably should have used that extra time to research the Karumi more thoroughly, instead of just rushing headlong into the hunt. If he'd done his research properly, he would have realised that the Karumi almost always hunted in packs of three, not two like John had thought. God, he was lucky that the 5 inch gash across his stomach was all he coming back to the boys with. Hell, he was lucky he was coming back to the boys at all.

After what seemed like forever, John finally made it to the motel door and he tried to force his eyes to focus enough so that he could get the key in the lock.

Dean heard the scratching, fumbling sounds coming from outside the door and he was up out of his bed and stood protectively in front of his sleeping brother's within seconds. The shotgun raised and pointed at the door. His dad wasn't due back for another three days, so he knew that whatever was trying to get in was definitely not welcome.

Dean fought to keep his panic under control and the gun in his hand from shaking. He could do this. Whatever was about to come through that door, he could handle. He'd been trained for this and...

"Dad?"

His dad stumbled through the door, mumbled something which sounded like a garbled version of 'Hey Dean' before he face planted down on the bed.

"Dad!" Dean cried, lowering the gun to the floor and rushing to his dad's side. "Dad?" He shook the unconscious form, trying to get a response. "Dad, wake up! Dad."

"Dean?" Came Sam's sleepy voice from the other bed. "What's...oh my god." Sam scrambled out bed and over to his dad and brother. "What happened?"

"I don't know." Dean said, feeling his heart start to beat faster as his panic grew. "Help me turn him over onto his back."

Between the two of them, they managed to manoeuvre their dad onto his back. "God, he's heavy." Sam panted and then with more concern added, "And hot too. Dean, he's burning up."

Dean nodded. He could feel the unnatural heat coming of their dad in waves and his worry shot up when he noticed the spreading patch of red on his dad's shirt. "Shit." He hissed when he lifted the shirt and saw the ugly looking gash running across his stomach.

"Dean, you're not supposed to swear in front of dad." Sam scolded but then he saw the wound and he paled.

"Sammy, get me a towel from the bathroom."

Sam didn't move, his eyes remaining fixed on the freely bleeding cut.

"Sam! Towel, now. Move it." Dean ordered and Sam snapped into action, returning seconds later with a towel, which Dean quickly folded and pressed firmly against his dad's wound, causing his dad to moan in pain.

"Dad?" Dean called. "Dad, can you hear me?"

His dad just tossed his head from side to side, groaning loudly as his body began trembling.

"Dad?" Dean tried again. "Dad, it's Dean. I'm right here. You're gonna be okay."

"I'm here too, Dad." Sam added, moving to grip one of their dad's hands in his own. "Don't worry dad, me and Dean will take care of ya."

"Sammy, come here kiddo. I need you to keep the pressure on this for me." Dean nodded towards the towel he was holding against their dad's stomach.

"Why? What are you gonna do?"

"I gotta call Uncle Bobby." Dean reached out and grabbed Sam's hand, pressing down onto the towel. "You need to press down firmly, okay?"

Sam shook his head. "Dean, I'm scared, I don't want to hurt him worse."

"You won't, Sammy." Dean gave his shoulder a reassuring squeeze. "You're doing a great job, kiddo. Just keep the pressure on."

Sam nodded and Dean raced off the grab the phone, frantically dialling Bobby's number. The phone kept ringing and just as Dean was beginning to worry that Bobby was never going answer he finally picked up.

"Yeah?"

Dean sighed in relief. "Bobby, it's me."

"Who's me?" Was the gruff reply.

"Uncle Bobby, it's me. Dean."

"Dean?" Bobby's voice became softer and more concerned. "You okay, kid?"

"It's dad." Dean babbled, his tone urgent and panicked. "He's hurt. Something got him. He's bleedin' and he's really sick. He's so hot and he won't wake up, and I...I..."

"Hey, hey, Dean. Calm down." Bobby said, firmly. "Everything's gonna be alright, you hear? Just take a deep breath and tell me what happened? Was your daddy on a hunt?"

Dean nodded before he remembered Bobby couldn't see him. "Yeah. Yeah, he was on a hunt."

"Do you know what he was hunting?"

"A Karumi." Dean answered. "It cut dad across the stomach."

Bobby was silent for a few moments and Dean could hear papers rustling. "Uncle Bobby?"

"Okay, boy, listen to me. You're daddy's been poisoned. The Karumi have a poison which they can transfer with their talons." Bobby explained. "Do you know how many times your dad got cut?"

"Just once." Dean replied quietly, his mind still stuck on the word 'poisoned.' "Bobby, is...is dad going to...is he gonna die?"

"No. No, he aint gonna die, kid." Bobby assured. "The only victims who have died have had multiple cuts, okay? Your daddy's just got the one. He's not gonna die but he is going to get real sick. Do you know where you're staying, Dean? Town? Motel?"

Dean quickly rattled off the information.

"Okay kid, I'm gonna be leaving now but it will take me at least six hours to get there, so you're gonna have to help your dad until I get there, alright?"

"Okay."

"The first thing you need to do is try and make him as cool as possible. The poison from the Karumi is gonna give him a real bad fever and we want to try and avoid any seizures."

"Seizures?" Dean exclaimed in alarm.

"Yeah, seizures. If your body gets to hot then it will seize, but Dean if that does happen then I'm gonna need for you not to panic, alright? Just try and keep him from smacking his head against anything and wait for it pass."

Dean felt his breathing begin to quicken. "Bobby, I...I..."

"Dean, you can do this." Bobby assured. "And the seizures might not happen. That's why you need to strip him down, okay? Get him cool as you can. Once his fever breaks then he'll start to get better."

"Okay, okay. I can do that."

"Good. Then you need to clean the cut out with holy water."

Dean nodded. "Holy water, got it."

"Listen. When you pour it on, it's gonna really sting for your dad but you gotta keep going until the wound is completely cleaned, okay? It's important." Bobby instructed. "Once you've cleaned it, you're gonna have to stitch it up."

"I can't." Dean's panic began to climb again. "I've never stitched anyone before."

"But your daddy's taught you how to, right?"

"Yes, but I've never had to use it before."

"Everyone has to have a first time, kid. I guess this is gonna be yours."

"But I..."

"Dean, listen. You can do this. I know you can and your daddy needs you to do this, alright?"

Dean breathed shakily into the phone. "Okay, Bobby. Okay."

"Good boy. Now just do what I've told ya and I'll be there as soon as I can."

"Alright."

"And Dean?"

"Yeah."

"Everything's gonna be fine, you hear me?"

"Yeah Uncle Bobby, I hear ya."

Dean heard him, he just wasn't sure he believed him.

John could hear voices around him and feel hands on him, but he couldn't seem to make his voice work or control any of limbs. It felt like something was weighing his body down, leaving him trapped and unable to move. His head was pounding so much that John was sure his brain was trying to bash it's way out of his skull, and the heat that was coursing through every inch of him was so intense that even breathing seemed like a impossible task.

"Sammy, help me get dad undressed."

John recognized that voice. It was Dean.

"Why?"

And there was Sammy. His boys. They were here and John wished he could find enough energy to respond to them, but his body was just drained, incapable of doing anything other than just lying there, shaking from the heat and pain.

"Uncle Bobby says that we need to try and get his temperature down."

John felt hands tugging off his clothes and heard the grunts of exertion as his boys tried to manoeuvre his uncooperative limbs. The cold air that his skin made him feel like he was being stabbed with thousands of ice needles, and he tried desperately to suck in a deep breaths to help ease the pain.

"What about his...um...you know..."

"His what, Sam?"

"His boxers."

If John's eyes didn't feel like someone had glued them shut then they would have flew open wide at that. His what?

"Should we take them off too?" Sam continued.

Hell no! He protested silently at the same time Dean exclaimed, "No! Jesus Sam."

John heard Sam's indignant huff. "What? You were the one who said we had to take his clothes off to bring his fever down."

"Yeah, well I don't think leaving his boxers on is gonna make much of difference." Dean snorted. "Besides we really don't need to be scarred for life on top of everything else."

If John had been capable of it, he would have smiled. God, he loved those boys. He might not tell them enough but he there was nothing in this world more important than his boys. He remembered how terrified he'd been when Mary had first told him she was pregnant with Dean, how worried he was that he wouldn't be any good at being a father. It's not like he had the best example growing up. He spent many a sleepless night worrying about how they going were to cope and if they were going to have enough money, but then Dean had been placed in his arms and everything changed. Nothing else mattered expect for that tiny bundle.

"Okay, dad, this is gonna hurt. I'm so sorry."

Wait. What? What's going to...oh, fucking hell.

"Okay, dad, this is gonna hurt. I'm so sorry."

Dean winced as he poured the holy water over the wound and his dad's body bucked up in reaction to the searing pain. "Sorry, dad. M'sorry" The water made an aggressive hissing sound as it hit the skin and his dad began making small, hurt keening noises, it wasn't a sound Dean had ever heard his dad make before and he felt his heart beat faster in fear.

"Dean!" Sam cried, his eyes wide as he watched his dad writhe in agony on the bed.

"It's okay. It's okay." Dean repeated not sure who he was trying to convince more, himself, Sam or their dad.

Once the wound had been cleaned, Dean chucked the bottle of holy water to the floor and gently placed a hand on his dad's shoulder. "It's alright now, dad. It's over. It's over." His dad's body flopped back down on the bed, his breath was coming out in harsh pants and his skin was covered with sweat which was still radiating an alarming amount of heat.

"Sammy, go get a bowl of cold water and some cloths, okay?"

Sam nodded and rushed off to get what Dean needed.

"It's gonna be okay, dad." Dean patted his dad's chest carefully. "You're going to be fine."

"Here, De."

Dean took the items from his brother and Sam's use of his childhood nickname indicated just how much this situation was scaring Sam. His brother was eight now and was opposed to anything that made him seem like a little kid.

Dean wet one of the cloths and placed it over his dad's forehead. His dad groaned at the contact and tried to twist his head away. "Shhh, easy dad." He beckoned his brother over to him. "Sit up here with dad, kay Sammy? Keep this on his head."

Sam nodded, replacing Dean's hand with his own and watched as his brother collected what he needed to stitch dad's wound.

Taking a deep breath, Dean looked down at the 5 inch slash marring his dad's skin. Okay, he could do this. He could. He had to. His dad needed him and he wasn't going to let him down. He took a few more deep breaths and keeping his hands as steady as he could, he began stitching.

"Shhh dad, it's alright. Don't worry, me and Dean are gonna take care of you. Shhh now, it's okay." Sam kept babbling reassuring nonsense into his dad's ear, trying to keep him clam while Dean stitched him up. He felt his dad flinch every time Dean passed the needle through his skin and Sam ran the cool cloth over his face, soothing him anyway he could.

"Okay, okay." Dean nodded, looking up and giving Sam a shaky smile. "I think we're done."

"Did you hear that dad? It's all over" Sam whispered. "You did real good." He looked back towards his brother, "So, what do we do now?"

Dean gently taped a bandage in place over the cut. "We try to keep his temperature down while we wait for Uncle Bobby to get here."

Sam nodded, watching as Dean wet more cloths and placed them over their dad's fevered skin.

After a few hours, Dean and Sam were both still keeping a vigil at their dad's bedside but Sam's eyes were begging to droop, his head starting to hang lower and Dean knew his brother was losing his fight to stay awake.

"Come on, Sam." Dean gently guided his half asleep brother from their dad's bed to his own. "Time for bed, little man."

"But I wanna stay with Dad." Sam protested sleepily, looking very much like he used to when he was three years old and he would stand there pouting in his batman pyjamas refusing to go to bed.

"Don't worry, I'll look after him." Dean ushered him down on the mattress, pulling the covers up around him. "You need to sleep, Sammy."

"But..."

"Shhh, just get some sleep." Dean whispered. "I'll wake you if anything happens, okay?"

Sam blinked owlishly up at him. "Promise?"

Dean smiled. "I promise."

Sam was fast asleep within seconds of his head hitting the pillow, and Dean made his back to the chair by his dad's bed to keep watch.

He checked his dad's temperature again and frowned when he saw it was even higher than before. "Come on, dad." Dean urged. "You gotta fight this."

His dad's eyes flickered open and Dean squeezed his hand, leaning over him so that he would be in his line vision. "Dad? Hey dad, can you hear me? You with me?"

John groaned. God, he hurt. What happened? Why did he feel so hot? The last time he remembered feeling heat like this was the night of the fire...oh god, is that what this was? The fire? Mary. He had to save Mary.

When his dad suddenly began struggling to get up, Dean quickly placed his hands on his shoulders, carefully pushing him back down on the bed. "Dad, no. You gotta stay still, okay? You're sick and you need to stay in bed."

"Mary!"

Dean froze. His eyes wide as he stared down at his dad. His dad's gaze was glassy and unfocused, and he once again tried to get up from the bed. His movement sprung Dean back into action. "Dad, stop. It's okay. Please dad, just lie down."

"No! Mary." His dad's voice was raspy and weak but the pain and desperation in his tone were crystal clear, and it made Dean's stomach twist uncomfortably. "I have to save her. Let me up...the fire...I need to...Mary!"

"Dad, please, it's alright. Just stop. You're gonna hurt yourself." Dean could see spots of blood starting to stain the bandage and he knew he had to get his dad to calm down.

"I have to save her." His dad tried to bat Dean's hands away but he was too weak to push him away for long. "I have to save the boys."

"Dad, listen to me." Dean put as much firmness and authority in his tone as he could and he let out a sigh of relief when he dad's eyes finally focused on him. However, that relief was short lived when he saw no flicker of recognition in his father's gaze. His dad had no idea who he was. "I need you to listen to me, alright? You have a fever, you're gonna be okay but you need to stay in bed."

"But the fire...Mary...the boys..."

"There's no fire." Dean tried to keep his voice steady and reassuring. "The boys are fine."

His dad shook his head weakly. "No, I can feel the heat...I have to..."

"No." Dean said, firmly. "It's just the fever. There's no fire. Everything's alright. The boys are fine. You saved them."

"And Mary?"

"She...I..." The words stuck in Dean's throat, feeling like razor blades, and he felt his dad's body tense up again at his hesitation.

"Mary's fine." Dean swallowed hard, blinking back tears. "You...you saved her too."

"I...I did?"

The relief Dean saw in his dad's eyes at those words made him feel like he was going to throw up. "Yeah, you did. Everybody's okay, so please just lie down and take it easy."

His dad finally relaxed back into the bed and Dean replaced the cool cloth on his forehead. "There you go. Just relax."

"Where is she?" His dad's confused, feverish eyes met his. "If Mary's okay, why isn't she here?"

God. Dean took a deep breath and prayed his dad wouldn't remember any of this in the morning. He hated lying to him but he couldn't afford for him to get worked up again. His fever was to high and his body was still trembling. "She's fine." Dean smiled, hoping it looked more reassuring than it felt. "She's just busy, that's all?"

"Busy?"

"Yeah, it's...it's Dean's birthday." Dean tried not to choke on the large lump forming in his throat. "And she's in the kitchen getting the party ready."

His dad lips curved up into a weak smile. "It's Dean's birthday."

"Yeah. Yeah it is and there's gonna be big party." Dean bit down hard on his lip to stop a sob from escaping. "There's gonna be a loads of food, presents, the whole nine yards. So, you need to get some sleep, okay? Make sure you're feeling better for the party later."

His dad nodded, his head sinking further into the pillow as his eyes slipped closed. "Will there be a cake?"

"The biggest and best birthday cake you've ever seen." Dean swiped at the tears that he was unable to stop from falling. "Mom's making it now." He took a hold of his dad's trembling hand. "Just go to sleep. She'll be here when you wake up."

Dean ran his thumb repeatedly over the back of his dad's hand in a soothing rhythm, and once he was sure his dad was properly asleep he let the tears come, sobbing so hard that he thought his heart was going to break out of his chest.

Dean was just beginning to doze off in the chair when his dad started seizing. He was by his side in an instant.

"Dad?"

He watched in horror as his Dad's body went rigid, the cords of the muscles in his neck standing out so much that looked like they might snap.

'Stay calm, stay calm.' Dean repeated to himself over and over. 'Bobby said this might happen, just stay calm.'

His dad's shaking increased until his whole body was thrashing violently, his head banging against the headboard repeatedly. Dean tried to move his dad further down on the bed so his head wouldn't keep hitting the headboard but the seizure made his body so tense that it impossible to move him, so he did the only thing he could think off and slid his own body in between his dad and the headboard, using himself as a buffer.

"Dad." Dean said desperately, his breath hitching as he watched on helplessly. "Dad, please stop."

"Dad!" Sam's distressed cry altered Dean to the fact that all the noise had woken his brother, who was now sat upright in his bed, watching them both with wide, terrified eyes.

"It's alright, Sammy." Dean stammered, wincing as his dad's head collided hard with his chest. "Just stay there, okay?"

"What's happening?" Sam cried, his eyes locked on his dad's wildly thrashing body. "Why's he's doing that?"

"It's just a seizure." Dean tried his best to sound calm and reassuring. "He's just got too hot. Bobby said it might happen, but it's okay. He'll be okay."

"Make him stop, Dean." Sam begged, tears starting to fall down his cheeks. "Make him stop."

"It's okay, Sam. It's okay. He'll stop in a minute. He will."

Just moments later John's body finally stilled and Dean breathed a sigh of relief. Thank god. "See, Sam, he's fine. It's over now, it's all over." He had barely finished saying the last word when his dad's body began seizing again.

The next few hours were some of the worst of Dean's life. His dad had five more seizures and all Dean could do was sit there and whisper reassurances that he was certain his dad couldn't even hear, but he said them anyway, just so he had something to do other than silently watch his dad suffer.

Sam sat on his bed the entire time, crying as he watched what was happening with an expression that Dean hopes he never has to see on his little brother again. When one of dad's wayward arms flung backwards, slamming his hand hard into Dean's eye, Sam had whimpered and his cries had turned into sobs.

A few minutes after the last seizure stopped, Dean noticed that his dad was no longer burning up like had been. His fever had finally broken. He was going to get better now. He was going to be okay. Dean slid out from behind him and gently placed a hand on his dad's forehead. "Dad?"

His dad's eyes slowly blinked open and relief flooded through Dean when he saw recognition in them "D'n?"

His voice was slurred and his eyes were clouded in confusion but Dean didn't care. His dad was awake, he was talking.

"Yeah dad, it's me." Dean smiled. "I'm here. Everything's alright. You were really sick but you're gonna be fine, okay?"

His dad's eyes once again drifted closed as slipped into an exhausted sleep.

"Just get some rest." Dean whispered, placing one of the bed sheets lightly over him. "You'll feel better soon, I promise."

He watched his dad sleep soundly for a few more moments before making his way over to a still tearful and upset Sam.

"He really gonna be okay?" Sam sniffled.

Dean nodded, giving him a tired smile. "He's gonna be fine, Sammy."

Sam hiccupped, taking in a shaky breath. "I was so scared."

"I know, kiddo. I was too." Dean nudged Sam backwards, encouraging him to lie back down in the bed. "You should get some more rest."

Sam tugged Dean down next to him. "Will you stay here with me for a little while?"

Dean smiled. Since Sam had decided he was no longer a little kid he hadn't wanted to share the same bed as Dean, but if he was frightened or upset then all that would be forgotten and he'd seek comfort the same way he had his entire life, in Dean's arms.

"Shhh, Sammy." Dean whispered, rubbing comforting circles in his brother's back when he felt the slight trembling of Sam's body. "It's all okay now."

Sam stayed cocooned safely in Dean's arms for a few more moments then he pulled back slightly and reaching up, he carefully touched Dean's rapidly swelling eye. "That's gonna bruise."

Dean shrugged. "That's okay. I'll just tell everyone I got it in a fight." Dean grinned. "The girls will love it. They just can't resist a bad boy."

Sam rolled his eyes at his brother before he snuggled back down into Dean's arms. "Hey Dean?"

"Yeah kiddo?"

"Happy birthday."

Dean let out a small chuckle. "Thanks Sammy."

"I'm sorry I didn't have enough money to get you anything." Sam hugged Dean tighter and Dean could hear the sadness in his voice.

"That's okay, Sam." Dean glanced over at his sleeping father and placed a soft kiss on the top of Sam's head. "I got everything I need right here. I don't need anything else."

And Dean meant it. As long as his family was alive and they were together, then nothing else mattered.

End.

This is intended as a oneshot but I may add another chapter to this later to explore what happens when John wakes up the next morning. :)

Anyway, thanks for reading and reviews are always appreciated. :) Concrit is most welcome. :)