As the beeping seemed to rip through the air, Dean slowly came out of a dream state. Little pieces of the visions from his slumber lingered as he stretched his right arm out and tapped the snooze button and burrowed his face in to his pillows. He exhaled a bit heavier than usual. Getting up was always a struggle for the man, and today was no easier.
His elbow cracked as he pushed himself up off his bed to walk over to closet. While grabbing a new t-shirt and pair of boxers to put on after his usual shower, the sounds from beyond his door registered. He couldn't hear the TV, which would have been common. Or the muffled sound of the music Sam would usually put on if he woke up in the middle of the night to drown out the silence back to sleep. Just running shower water. The amount of things that went through Dean's mind in a matter of a nanosecond would give anyone a headache. He dropped his clothes while hurrying to his door.
A little less than a run down the short hallway to the shared bathroom, Dean didn't bother knocking. Dean's breathing was hard as he opened the door. The light was on and the barely transparent shower curtain showed a smudged figure lying in the tub. Without a word, Dean turned off the water and pulled back the shower curtain. Panic set in as soon as his eyes saw his brother, still and cold.
Barely able to keep himself together, he got down on his knees to get a better perspective. The frail man's wet cloths made it hard to see if he was breathing. When Dean's shaking hand touched Sam's, just how cold it was sent chills up his spine. "…No…no…no…" Dean said under his breath. "Sam? Sammy?" He said a bit louder as he terrifyingly checked for a pulse. As soon as he pressed his brother's artery, the man coughed and caused Dean to jump. "God dammit, Sam…" Dean said slightly relieved, but still on edge. He propped himself up on the edge of the tub and reached for towels. "Sorry… I got really hot last night and didn't know what to do." Sam said as he rubbed his eyes.
Dean leaned down again and placed is hand behind his brother's back and said "Come on, we have to get you out of there. Clothes have to off." As Sam leaned forward, Dean removed the large shirt with minimal help from Sam. "Uh… You think you got your sweats?" Dean didn't really mind, but it was always best to ask his brother. He'd want the same treatment. "I think so." Sam said as he began to work off his heavy soaked sweat pants. Dean simply placed a towel around Sam's shoulders after hanging the dripping shirt on a hook next to him.
Once Sam was finally just down to wet boxers, Dean said "Ok, gotta get you in to bed. You are freezing." There was still a tremble in Dean's voice. His face no longer showed it, but panic wasn't going to leave for a little while. Sam raised his left hand and motioned for Dean to come closer. Dean offered his shoulders for his brother to wrap his arm around and Dean placed his right hand on his back as Sam began to try to stand. Sam was tall, but not in the greatest shape and Dean certainly out-weighted him. Gently, Sam was finally able to get out of the tub and with Dean's help, out the door.
Once Sam was finally in his bed, they were both lucid and aware of each other. "Sorry, Dean. I didn't want to wake you." Dean was in the process of removing the towel so that Sam could lie down and warm up. "Just…" Dean said but stopped himself as he looked at his brother. "Just don't scare me like that, alright?" Dean asked with a small twinge of fear in his voice. Sam gave a painful smile and said "Yeah. Alright." He rolled around a bit and got comfortable as Dean turned off the lights and shut the door a bit.
As Dean stood outside his brother's door, he exhaled heavily again. He finally noticed his own heart racing and the pit feeling in his stomach, the urge to throw up. He looked down the hallway toward the bathroom, light still on and the water still dripping from the head and finally emptying of any pooled water from Sam lying in the tub for hours. He turned around and entered his bedroom. He started to go for his dropped clothes, but then headed back to his bed. He sat down on the edge of his mattress and took a deep breath. As he exhaled, his chest shook a bit when his eyes couldn't hold it back anymore. Finally, with a heavy release of breath, he inhaled through his nose and wiped off his cheeks. Dean then shook his head and picked up the clothes again and was going to try his morning routine again.
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