"C'mon, baby boy. Wake up for me," Dean croons, rubbing his hand gently up and down Sam's arm.

Sam twitches and whimpers, curling in on himself and huddling closer to Dean.

"Awh, Sammy..." Dean peers down at him sympathetically, shaking his shoulder. "Hey. You gotta wake up."

Sam stirs this time, shuddering, and his eyes force themselves open. "W-what's... De, where-"

"Shhh," Dean soothes, sensing the panicked edge creeping into Sam's voice. "You're okay. I'm right here. We're at Bobby's, kiddo, 'member?"

Sam latches onto Dean upon hearing the old nickname, arms around his neck, and takes in his surroundings, breathing heavily but finally starting to calm down. "Yeah. Right. I remember."

Dean begins running his hands up and down Sam's back, holding Sam tightly to his chest. "You wanna talk about it?"

Sam sighs, shaky and slow, before responding, "Stanford. It was Stanford and the fire, but it was... It wasn't Jess, De, it was you, and I couldn't move, couldn't do anything, just had to lay there and watch while you-"

"Okay, baby, okay," Dean whispers into Sam's hair when it becomes obvious that he's about to go back into at least mild hysterics. "But, hey, I'm right here. Okay? I'm fine. You're fine. Everything's fine, Sammy, just breathe."

Sam forces himself to comply, pushing air into and out of his lungs, slowly but surely, and forcing himself back from the brink of a panic attack. He's doing everything he can to shove the horrible, scarring images from his mind. The reality of it was bad enough. He doesn't need this amendment.

Dean doesn't let go of him until his breathing finally evens out, and even then only loosens his hold. "There you go. You need anything? Water?"

Sam settles down into Dean's lap, leaning his head against Dean's chest. "Just you."

"You've got me," Dean assures him.

"I need..." Sam turns his face, forehead resting on Dean's collarbone. "I need to know that you're real, I need to... feel you."

Dean understands all too well and lays Sam down gently on his back, proving in the best way he knows how that he is very, very real.