Dean was disgruntled as he sat in the passenger seat, the seatbelt forgone in exchange for his good arm pressed forward to brace himself on the dashboard. He had told Sam to drive carefully, reminded him to go easy on the brakes and not to make any sudden swerves, so really he shouldn't have needed to hold himself too well.

Except apparently he should have more careful, because Sam gave him zero to no forewarning that he was going to slam the brakes, an action which would cause his good arm to buckle and the rest of his body to jolt forwards. The quick movement forced his back to instantly arch into the seat to keep him stable, but it still caused his bad shoulder to jerk forward and then hit the seat with a resounding sound of contact.

"Fuck!" Dean had yelped, a gasp accompanying his words as soon as he was able to suck in a breath of air. He had quickly managed to steady himself and raise the previously gripping arm up to his shoulder, and then he was gingerly cradling the joint through the thin material of his t-shirt. That morning he had not bothered with his jacket or more than an over-shirt because any contact against the bruised and swollen flesh caused constant complaint. "The hell are you doing, Sam?" His words were tight and laced with streaks of pain.

Instead of apologies, Dean was met with silence and the sight of Sam's gargantuan body clambering out of the drivers side. He watched through a mist of pain as his heart thudded in his chest and Sam bent down to apparently scoop something into his arms.

He returned with something curled between his hands, all fluffy and tiny, and Dean couldn't help but shake his head.

"It's a kitten, Dean." Sam informed his brother as though it wasn't damn obvious. "I caught sight of the poor little critter, and -"

"You thought you'd try and throw me through the window?" Dean retorted, "Jesus, Sam." He was still holding his injured arm protectively, the shoulder dislocated just yesterday. Even turning to catch sight of Sam's long fingers wrapped around the tiny animal was a strain and sent a stab of pain through his shoulder and down through his chest.

Sam's eyebrows furrowed at Dean's harsh words and he smiled ruefully. "I didn't want to hurt her."

Obviously Sam lacked the appropriate knowledge of cat anatomy to know whether it was a male or female animal, but Dean didn't even bother.

"What are you going to go with it?" Dean sighed a little, tried to settle more comfortably into the seat. He was too tired and sore to be too concerned about this little animal, but trust his baby brother to get all starry-eyed over something covered in fur.

"Keep it!" Sam announced gleefully, raising the kitten to his face and nuzzling her fur.

Dean twisted at that, not caring as it torqued his shoulder and caused his face to blanch. "We can barely take care of ourselves, Sam." His voice was deadpan.

Sam automatically pulled the kitten back to his lap, his expression dropping, "I was joking, Dean. Calm down. I was thinking we should take it to an animal shelter or something."

"Yeah, and whilst we're there we can adopt a pony."

"Shut up." Sam rolled his eyes, his fingers carefully running through the fur that was all soft and fluffy.

"It's probably got a mother around here somewhere." Dean nodded his head towards the side of the road, "Perhaps it's better just to leave it."

"And what happens if we come back tomorrow and it's dead?" Sam's eyebrows furrowed again as he looked towards Dean, lips pulled together and eyes wide. "Could you live with yourself?"

Dean shook his head, incredulous. Sam was being ridiculous but the kid had a point. "We drive for thirty minutes, Sam," he spoke, words authoritative, "If we don't find an animal shelter, this thing... I don't know. We'll do what we have to."

Sam's eyes lit up and his grin spread wide. "Half an hour. Got it."

He made to thrust the tiny kitten into Dean's lap and Dean jerked back, the movement again jarring his shoulder and causing him to curl over on himself slightly.

"Sam," He growled, "Put it in the glove compartment or something. I'm not catching fleas or rabies, or-"

"Shut up." Sam snorted and proceeded to position the kitten between the crook of Dean's legs. He gave Dean's good arm a gentle tug to drop it down. "I think we passed one a few miles back. The cat doesn't have rabies, it's adorable. Look at her!" He was still smiling brightly, the smile only accentuating at Dean's unimpressed expression.

Dean once again pushed himself back into the seat to find a comfortable position, letting his fingers settle protectively around the tiny mewling animal.

"Seatbelt." He mumbled, motioning with a tilt of the head.

Sam obliged, leaning over his brother awkwardly and securing Dean into place. Dean remembered that he had left the belt off because it pressed across his shoulder and holy fuck that hurt, but he supposed he could put up with it for a while.

As if on cue, as soon as Sam pulled back from the click of the seatbelt he was leaning closer again, one hand holding a water bottle and the other holding a duo of pain pills.

Dean pulled his hand away from the kitten, instantly missing the warmth and softness, and pressed the two pills onto his tongue.

"Thanks," he spoke through a mouthful of water before swallowing the pills down. Hopefully that would cause his shoulder to settle some. It always hurt like a bitch for the first couple of days, after that he would be able to function with relative normality.

Then Sam kick-started the engine and Dean winced as the car didn't start quite as smoothly as when he was behind the wheel. He gave a half ditch attempt to quietly settle in his position and found himself with his eyes closed, his fingers still wrapped around the kitten and stroking it intermittently with the pad of his thumb. He unconsciously found himself enjoying stroking the animal, his lips quirking up a little as the mews grew louder and then softened.

They hit the animal shelter around an hour later and Dean hadn't complained. Hadn't spoken much at all, actually. The pain relief had kicked in quickly, dulling the pain to an ache that he could handle with ease. He hadn't realised he was pretty much close to sleep before Sam nudged his arm and reached for the kitten.

"Say goodbye." Sam spoke with a slight smile as his fingers bumped Dean's before he pulled the kitten towards him, Dean doing little to resist with only one functional arm.

Dean allowed a yawn to pull through his chest as he flexed his fingers and then raised his hand to settle on his bad arm again.

"Yeah." Dean nodded his head, raising an eyebrow towards the tiny, adorable kitten.

He wasn't one for goodbyes.