Nothing Short of Invincible
Part Three.
Dean woke in the early hours of the morning, confused and unaware of where he was as he tried to squint through the pitch black room. With a racing heart he tried to move, gritting his teeth at the throbbing pain that presented itself in every limb and eventually gave up, curling tightly into a ball. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been this sick; he hadn't had the flu for years but he was pretty sure he'd hadn't felt this bad then.
On top of everything, he was alone in the world. Dean was sure of it. He could see his baby brother's dead body lying in that tiny room so vividly in his mind's eye, blood staining the grubby mattress from the stab wound on his back.
The yellow eyed demon had taken everyone he'd ever loved from him in the worst ways imaginable.
His mother, burning to death on the ceiling of Sammy's nursery.
His father, trading his life for Dean's.
His brother, bleeding to death in Dean's arms.
Dean felt like he'd been punched when he imagined his life alone, wrapping his arms tighter around his knees and letting tears fall freely down his cheeks.
He became vaguely aware of someone or something moving on the bed next to him and his heart skipped a beat, terrified. Then he was being shaken, but he couldn't open his eyes. He just couldn't. If he didn't open his eyes it would all be ok.
He heard someone swearing, but wasn't entirely sure if it was real or imagined, and distorted images flooded his mind, his dead mom screaming at Dean for not protecting her youngest son, and how could he blame her for saying it when he himself was to blame for everything? Dean let out a strangled shout, more afraid than he'd ever been in his life.
Only when two freezing hands pressed against his cheeks did he slowly and carefully open his eyes, the person before him blurred by the tears that didn't seem to be stopping anytime soon.
"Thank God" he heard a familiar voice breathe in a sigh of relief.
"Sam?" Dean asked, blinking back tears to get a better look.
"Just try and relax, Dean. You were hallucinating. At least that's what I think you were doing, you were shaking and crying and -"
"Sammy?" Dean repeated, feeling memories wash over him like icy water. Sam was ok. Sam was alive. Sam was sat right there infront of him, alive. Because Dean made a deal, yeah, he remembered now.
"It's me. Jeeze, Dean. How out of it are you?" Sam asked to himself as he wiped the beads of sweat and tears from Dean's face with his hand.
The older Winchester drew a ragged breath and forced a shadow of a smile, ignoring whatever it was that Sam was saying, content with knowing his brother was safe.
"I'll call 911 if I have to because your fever's crazy high and you're scaring the hell out of me."
"Sam, you're rambling", Dean interrupted, determined to retain a scrap of dignity now that he was fully aware of where he was. He suggested that instead of calling an ambulance (which was decided would only be a last resort, especially since they were wanted by just about every form of authority in the USA) Sam should just dish out the good meds and leave Dean be.
Sam went to the bathroom to fill the glass with water, glancing at the clock as he passed and groaning inwardly when he noticed that it was nearly 5:00am. After this week, their body clocks were going to be wrecked.
He'd filled the glass and had just turned to get back to Dean when he was met with the sight of his brother, trembling as he supported himself on the doorframe before sinking to his knees by the toilet to throw up.
Apparently, Dean could move quickly when he needed to puke.
Sam knelt beside his older brother, placing the glass on the floor and rubbing a hand in slow circles over Dean's back as he retched. There was nothing in him to throw up, making him feel even worse as his muscles spasmed in an attempt to empty his stomach.
"Take it easy", Sam soothed as Dean continued to dry heave, feeling the heat of Dean's skin radiating through the hoodie.
When Dean was done, he leant back against the wall, a sheen of sweat glistening in the fluorescent light of the motel bathroom. Sam handed him the glass of water, keeping hold of the bottom as Dean raised it to his lips with shaking hands.
"You sure you don't need to go to hospital?" Sam asked when he'd taken a sip.
"You worry over nothing, Sammy" Dean breathed, pulling gently at the glass that both of them were holding.
"I'm a big boy, I can do it myself."
Sam bit the inside of his mouth to prevent him from saying anything as he let go of the glass and watched Dean carefully as he raised it to his lips again.
He was shivering pretty badly, and Sam barely managed to catch the glass before it hit the floor when it slipped from Dean's trembling hands. He placed the now empty glass on the floor and snapped his head up to his brother, taking in the front of Dean's hoodie, soaked with the spilled water.
"Sorry", Dean mumbled, looking like a lost puppy with his wide green eyes staring into Sam's concerned face.
"No need to apologise, it's only water. But we're gonna need to get this off, it's soaked through", Sam reassured him, tugging lightly at the baggy sleeve of Dean's hoodie.
"Arms up", he ordered and watched Dean do as he was told, behaving almost like a child.
Without saying anything, Sam carefully peeled the hoodie over Dean's head before reaching up to hang it temporarily over the edge of the sink.
Turning back to his now half naked brother, panic rose in Sam's chest and time seemed to come to a complete stop.
"I'm cold..." Dean complained, ignoring the look on his brother's face and wrapping his arms around his exposed skin, flinching away from Sam's touch when he reached out to move Dean's arms.
"Dean, just move your arm for me, 'kay?" Sam asked, pulling Dean's arm away from his goosebump covered skin rather than actually asking Dean to move for himself.
"Shit." Sam gasped, his hazel eyes wide in shock as they scanned his older brother's front, gently running the tips of his fingers across the red/purple rash that was spread across the bottom of Dean's chest.
Dean watched Sam run from the room, pulling his legs up to his chest and wrapping his bare arms around his knees in an attempt to warm himself up on the icy tile floor.
From the other room he heard his brother's panicked voice.
"I need an ambulance now, it's my brother..."TBC
Thanks for all the reviews! :)
Please keep reviewing and such and letting me know what you think!
I know some people guessed what was wrong with Dean from the start,
So well done if you did!
The thing is...has Sam figured it out in time?