Sam couldn't do anything the normal way – not even a nosebleed. Limp!Sam, Angsty!Dean. Sam is 12, Dean 16. One shot.

This is actually loosely based on a true story of something that happened to me.

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Sam looked around the crowded swimming pool area, searching for Dean. There was only 10 minutes until his group was going to be called for their medley relay and Dean had promised he would be there to watch Sam participate in his first swim event.

Sam hadn't ever planned on being part of a swim team. With their lifestyle, he would never have even dreamed of it. But due to a leg injury he had gotten on a recent hunt, the doctor had recommended aqua therapy as part of his recovery plan. He and Dean had both had swim lessons when they were young, simply as part of basic training. You never knew when the skill would come in handy. But it had been a long time ago and Sam had forgotten how much he loved being in the water, and soon was far surpassing anyone's expectations in his recovery. Soon he was taking the opportunity just to swim laps, testing himself to see how fast he could go.

When the chance for a long-term hunting job came up, John decided that Sam was not physically ready yet and left them at the apartment after giving some stern warnings and instructions. Sam certainly wasn't going to complain, even though he felt he had much improved – he finally got to stay in a place for more than a few weeks. After he found out through his therapy that there was a swim team forming in the area, he had begged Dean to let him join. After promising he wouldn't overdo and he would stop with no complaints when John came back, Dean finally agreed.

It turned out to be a great idea in Dean's opinion, because Sam wanted to do well on the team, so he also stepped up his therapy and continued to improve quickly. His leg only seemed to stiffen up a bit at night and the morning now. They were down to their last supplies in first aid, so Sam made do with some aspirin during those times.

"Sam!" He excitedly turned around, only to see Matt, one of his teammates. "You about ready to go?" Sam nodded and indicated he would join him in a minute. He took one more look around, and then dejectedly followed his teammate, accepting that Dean wasn't there. He had been excited for this event, and Dean knew it. So why wasn't he there? Sam tried to shrug it off, but couldn't deny he was hurt, and a little worried. This wasn't like Dean at all, but there was nothing to be done about it right now.

Sam was the final participant in the medley, with his freestyle the best on the team. When he finally hit the water for his portion, he fairly flew through it. They had been a little behind when he had entered the water, but Sam hoped he could make up the distance. He reminded himself to keep calm and not to wipe himself out too soon. He could see when he took a breath that he was gaining on the team to his right, the one that had been ahead of them. For the last 50 yards, he put everything he had into his stroke. When he finally reached the edge, he immediately looked to his right and saw the other swimmer arriving right after him. His team let out a solid whoop and jumped in the water around him.

Little did any of them know how badly one of the other boys would take to coming in second place. The boy Sam had beat to the end, Chuck, was furious and made his way over to Sam. "You cheated," he sneered. "You dove in early."

Sam was about to defend himself as he had done no such thing, but right as he started to respond, Chuck pushed him hard, and Sam's head hit the end of the pool. He saw stars as his team let out an outraged howl, and they would have pounded Chuck if his teammates hadn't quickly pulled him out of the water, telling him to go cool off.

"Hey, Sam! You okay?" Matt was looking at him with concern. Sam just nodded, then regretted that as it made his head hurt more. His teammates pulled him out of the water.

"I'm okay," Sam tried to assure Matt. It was a lie, but he didn't want to make a scene. With their dad on a hunt, he was trying to keep a low profile. "But I think I'll skip the after party."

Matt didn't look as if he believed Sam. "Hey, maybe I should walk you home." Although Sam would have been grateful for the company, he didn't think anyone should be at their apartment while their dad was gone. He smiled at the friendly boy and told him he would be fine. Matt still looked worried as he watched Sam leave.

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Dean was extremely frustrated. He looked at his watch again and sighed. Damn it. He was supposed to be at Sam's swim meet right now. But of all the worst timing, John had arrived back in town and told Dean he needed his help with a close by spirit. John was still on the trail of the witch he'd been hunting but couldn't pass up this case when he came across it. Dean couldn't deny him, as John would NOT be understanding about Sam swimming on a team. To say the least. Especially when the reason Sam and Dean weren't forced to go with their father was that Sam was still supposed to be recovering from the last hunt. It was either go with John, or start another fight between John and Sam. There was no question in Dean's mind.

He stepped down a bit harder on the gas pedal, even though he knew he would never make it back in time. He was still several hours away. The salt and burn hadn't taken long, but John had poked at him about why he wanted to leave so quickly instead of spending the night where they were. He sighed predictably when Dean cited not wanting to leave Sammy by himself all night. Dean knew Sam was going to be mopey enough that he had missed the swim meet – leaving him alone all night would just compound issues.

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Sam was fairly relieved when he made it back home. He had been a bit dizzy and his head was killing him. He just wanted some pain meds and to lie down for awhile.

He entered the cramped apartment calling out for Dean. He sadly figured Dean had simply forgotten what today was and expected to find him at home. When there was no answer he finally became worried and started searching in earnest. Sam finally found the note on the kitchen table. Sam – had to go hunting with Dad. Probably back late. Will explain later. – Dean

Sam had to read the note a few times to believe it. Dean ditched me for a hunt? Dad isn't even supposed to be in the area! He had no idea how long he sat there staring at the note but it was dark when the phone rang. He jerked out of his stupor and answered the phone.

"Hello?"

"Hey squirt. How's it going?" Dean's voice sounded a little too peppy for Sam's liking after the day he'd had.

"Well, let's see. My leg is aching like normal and my head is killing me from when the jerk I beat at freestyle decided to try to come after me, but you wouldn't know about any of that, would you?" Sam knew he was being antagonistic but really didn't care.

"What?!" Dean yelped. "Who hit you? I want a name, Sam!"

Sam sighed, annoyed. It's a little late for him to care. If he cared he would have been there. "Just forget it Dean. When are you going to be home?"

"A few hours still. Look, Sam I'm really sorry but…"

Sam cut him off. "I really don't care Dean. Look, don't bother waking me up when you get in. I'll just see you tomorrow." Sam hung up without waiting for an answer. He felt a bit bad about it, but he was still rather stung that his brother had ditched him on such an important day to him.

Sam really was aching, so he went off in search of aspirin, wishing they had something a bit stronger left in the first aid kit. He made do with a couple that he tossed back, and figured he might as well lie down. There was nothing else to do in this dump. He was asleep faster than he would have thought possible.

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Dean couldn't believe it. The kid actually hung up on me! He was tempted to call him back, but figured he needed to let Sam calm down and see he didn't have a choice. In any case, he wanted to get home to check on Sam for himself. If that kid had hurt Sam, it was the last thing he would do. He stepped down harder on the gas pedal.

Dean still felt antsy when he finally made it home. The apartment was dark so he assumed Sam had gone to bed. He knew he wasn't going to feel better until he saw Sam for himself though. He peeked into Sam's room and breathed a sigh of relief when he saw Sam lying on his stomach.

Dean debated about waking Sam up to let him know he was home and apologize for missing the meet. He finally decided that Sam would be more amenable to making up if he got a full night's rest and quietly closed the door. It would be a decision Dean would come to sorely regret….

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The next morning……

Dean woke up with a plan. If Sam was still upset over yesterday, he thought that a trip to the amusement park in the next town over would help sooth the wounds. It would be a financial stretch, but Dean had been saving up some money for a special treat sometime, and this seemed like the perfect opportunity. Especially since he knew Sam had been secretly dying to visit any amusement park. And this one was a doozy with the wild animals and high-speed roller coasters. Dean got excited at the thought of all the fun they would have.

He passed by Sam's door and listened, but didn't hear a sound. That wasn't that unusual in itself – even though Sam was probably up he also likely had his nose stuck in a book, oblivious to the rest of the world. He headed to the kitchen to finish off a bowl of cereal and grabbed a granola bar to take to Sam. Now that Sam had started to lose the baby fat, he had started a health food kick that Dean simply did not understand, but the kid was insistent.

He knocked on Sam's door to silence. Figuring Sam was ignoring him in retaliation, Dean decided to enter anyway. He pushed open the door and was surprised to see Sam still in bed. He was curled up in a spoon position facing away from Dean. The room was still fairly dark as the shades were drawn.

"Hey sleepyhead," Dean said. "Rise and shine, I got your rabbit food right here." He got a bit annoyed when Sam didn't respond. The kid was taking the silent treatment to the extreme.

He walked over to the other side of the room where there was a nightstand next to Sam's bed and put the food down. He turned on the lamp there and then turned to face Sam, intending on shaking him awake.

Instead, Dean felt his knees buckle. Sam's body and the bed were covered in blood. Sam's blood….