Dean let the door slam shut behind him ignoring his little brother's pleading.
He couldn't take it anymore. His dad's death was still fresh on his mind and he didn't need Sam going over and over it all the time.
Sighing heavily Dean made his way to the bar that was two blocks from the motel. It was still early in the day but dammit Dean needed a drink.
He jerked open the door to the bar to reveal the normal small town setting inside. There were only three other men seated at the bar and a middle aged woman who was serving them.
Dean took a seat at the end nearest the door and pulled out a twenty dollar bill from his wallet.
"I'll be with you in a minute hon, just got to change a barrel." The woman stated as she went out the back.
Nodding his understanding Dean waited for the woman to return. His thoughts began to drift back to the argument with Sam.
He knew his younger brother was a touchy feely type and he needed to talk things out. That was not what Dean wanted or needed but he should have at least tried to give some sort of comfort to his sibling. Guilt began to set in as he remembered that pained expression on Sam's face as they fought.
Come to think of it Sam wasn't moving too well either and the pain on his face seemed to be more than just hurt feelings. Dean tried thought back to the previous day's events. His brother had been kidnapped by vampires, had Gordon cut him with a knife and then had to deal with getting Lenore and the rest of her nest out of Dodge. Not to mention the right hook that Dean had landed on Sam's face.
Worry began to set in as Dean thought more about the ride back from the farmhouse. Sam was stiff and mostly quiet on the ride back. He had given Dean first shower without any arguments and had asked to stay in the town another day. Sam never wanted to stay still after a hunt. Although it was more likely that his little brother wanted time to talk about their father's death than simply staying for another hunt.
The worry now completely focus at himself as he relived the fight. Sam had told him he was hurting. A moment flashed in front of him at one of the last things Sam said before Dean had began yelling and cutting him off. 'I'm Hurt' Sam had said 'I'm hurt' not that he was hurting but that he was hurt. The worry turned into guilt as he realised what he had missed.
"Dammit!" Dean swore as he jumped up from his seat and out of the bar heading back to the motel room as fast as his legs would carry him.
He had the motel room key out of his pocket before he got to the door. The young hunter starting swearing as his nerves got the best of him and he had trouble opening the door.
When the door eventually opened terror took over his self anger and guilt as he saw Sam unconscious on the floor.
"Sam!" Dean yelled as he ran towards his brother landing heavily on his knees beside him.
Dean did an inventory of Sam's body trying to find the cause for his brother's current state. As soon as Dean reached for Sam's head he found the golf ball sized lump where Sam must have hit his head on the nearby table.
This indicated that Sam had collapsed due to some other injury and with Sam's luck had caught the side of the table on the way down.
"Sam?" Dean tried as he gently shook the injured man in front of him.
He was rewarded with a small groan from Sam.
"Hey Sammy, you with me?" Dean asked as he pulled Sam's head up onto his lap.
"Ahh, what…what happened?" Sam inquired groggily.
"You tell me dude. I came back to find you unconscious on the floor. You have a pretty impressive bump on your head but that doesn't explain why you face planted." Dean tried lightly to ease the tension.
"My…my back…Eliah… ahh God, it hurts Dean." Sam told him and the pain in the younger man's voice was unmissable.
"Okay. Let's get you on the bed so I can see and you can tell me what happened." Dean told him making sure Sam knew it wasn't a request.
Sam whimpered and moaned as Dean got him lying down on his stomach on the bed.
Dean gingerly pulled up his brother's shirt and couldn't hold in the gasp as he revealed the deep and angry purple, blue and black bruises. The surrounding area was a throbbing red.
"That bad huh?" Sam ventured but his breathing was harsh trying to deal with the pain.
"Sam you told me there wasn't a mark on you when the vamps brought you back. There are definitely marks!" Dean said unbelieving that his brother kept this from him.
"Yeah, well, I didn't think the whole 'they're not like other vampires we should let them go' thing would have worked if I added that Elliah decided to beat the crap out of me with a damn tree branch, you know." Sam stated lightly.
"Elliah needs his damn head removed from his body!" Dean seethed.
"Gordon already took care of that." Sam informed him as another pained gasp escaped him.
Sam cried out when Dean put pressure on the bruising on his back and Dean winced in sympathy.
"It looks like a trip to the hospital Sammy, I think there is more going on here than I can see." Dean stated.
"Yeah, this feels worse than just a bruise, I was going to tell you-" Sam stopped himself.
"You tried to tell me and I was being an ass and yelled at you instead. I'm sorry Sam, I should have picked up on the fact that you were hurt a lot sooner." Dean replied guiltily.
"Not your fault. I should have told you sooner."
"Okay, how about we get you to the hospital and we can discuss this later." Dean told him grabbing his keys and then helping Sam up.
"God, it feels like a knife is repeatedly stabbing into me." Sam gasped out trying to get up from the bed with his brother's help.
Sam got wobbling legs underneath himself as Dean carried most of his weight. They only made it as far as the door when Sam whimpered and his legs gave out completely causing both men to fall to the floor.
Dean's worry went through the roof as his sibling went limp in his arms.
"Shit, Sammy, come on." Dean shook Sam.
"Okay, hold on Sammy." Dean said digging in his pocket for his cell.
As soon as he retrieved it he quickly dialled '911'.
"I need an ambulance. My brother he has collapsed, he's unconscious. Room four at Red Lodge Motel."
tbc