Dean paid no heed to his Dad firing off a round at the angry spirit in his rush to get to his injured younger brother.
Landing hard on his knees beside Sam, Dean immediately surveyed his little brother's injuries. Right away, his eyes were drawn to the jagged piece of mirror protruding from Sam's side.
"Shit! Hold on Sammy. We're going to get you fixed up, baby brother," Dean reassured his younger sibling.
Looking back to where John was currently standing, searching the house for any trace that Aiden was about to return, Dean called for his attention.
"Dad, it's bad, we need to get him to a hospital now," Dean stated, trying to hold in his rising panic.
As soon as the words left the older sibling's mouth, the wind in the room started to pick up and a cold chill filled it.
"I don't think the damn spirit likes the sound of that," John returned, raising his gun in anticipation of whatever was coming.
Dean's attention was brought back to Sam as he began to come to whimpering lowly, obviously in pain.
"It's okay, Sam. Just breathe deeply for me," Dean told him, putting a comforting hand on the teenager's chest.
"A…Aiden?" the injured hunter inquired.
"About to make a reappearance. We need to get you out of here Sammy."
Before Dean could try to lift his brother, a loud thump sounded behind him and he turned just in time to see his father land on the ground. Dean went to reach for the iron bar that John had previously placed with Sam in the salt circle, but was halted by a weak hand grabbing his arm.
"Dean, no," Sam said pleadingly.
"Sammy?"
"Aiden, stop, please? Dean won't hurt me. He loves me. He's only trying to help me," Sam tried to get through to the spirit.
The wind didn't calm, but Aiden seemed to stall his rampage on the older Winchesters and pay attention to Sam.
"I need to protect you. He will hurt you," Aiden stated, moving closer to Dean.
"No, please. He's not like your brother. Dean only wants to protect me," Sam told the young spirit.
Aiden shook his head and raised his arm to Dean, cutting off Dean's ability to breathe. Dean began clawing at his throat, trying to remove the invisible hands closing off his air supply.
John let out a shout and swung an iron bar through Aiden, causing him to dissipate. Dean gulped in a deep breath as the invisible hands released his throat.
"Hurry, Dean! We need to get your brother out of here before the spirit returns," John yelled as he moved to Sam's other side.
John didn't like the lack of blood coming from the wound on his youngest son's side. Sam's skin was cool and clammy; his pulse was weak and his breathing was rapid and shallow.
Sure that his son was in shock and that piece of mirror was probably the only thing from stopping his son bleeding out, John sighed, "Damn it," as he tried to contemplate what to do next.
"Dad?" Dean asked anxiously.
"Keep your brother comfortable. I'm going to lay more salt lines around the both of you. I need to get the first aid bag," John informed them as he began to put down more salt.
As soon as the salt line was in place, John left his sons and headed out to the impala for the first aid bag. Dean was on high alert for any signs that Aiden was about to make another reappearance, but at the same time, kept a close eye on his brother.
"I... It's not the d…dad…" Sam stuttered.
"I gathered. The brother, then?" Dean surmised.
"Y…Yeah. H...he has been attacking b...big broth- Ahh!" Sam tried but was interrupted as pain flared through him.
"It's okay, Sammy. Just breathe through it, little brother," Dean comforted him, brushing Sam's bangs back from his forehead.
"I…it's bad, i…isn't it?" Sam asked, tears of pain in his eyes.
"A little scratch, Sammy. Dad will patch you up and we'll get you to a hospital before you know it. Maybe I can even get some hot nurses' numbers," Dean said in an attempt to lighten the mood.
"A…Aiden believes h…he's protecting his younger siblings… not h…his fault… We need to get him some peace," Sam told his big brother, tears still trickling from his eyes.
"Shh, Sammy, we will, but we need to get you out of here first, okay? Dad and I will come back later," Dean reassured Sam gently. He wiped the tears from his younger sibling's cheeks.
"H…how could his b…brother do that to him? H…he was only fifteen, Dean!" Sam asked weakly, letting a hurt groan fall past his lips.
"I don't know, Sam. Christ, big brothers should protect their annoying kid brothers, teach them, mind them, not… Look, right now I need you to worry about yourself, okay? I promise I'll come back and try to find Aiden's bones once I have you safe in a hospital bed with a hot nurse at your beck and call." All teasing had gone from his voice.
"I…I want him to b…be at peace Dean, please… we have to find his body a…and put him to r…rest."
The air suddenly took on a cold chill and Dean immediately grabbed the iron bar beside him, searching around them for the spirit.
He heard the voice before he saw the teenaged ghost.
"In the lake," a quiet whisper sounded.
"A…Aiden?" Sam asked meekly.
"He drove us into the lake, it's about forty minutes from here. The three of us are still there… in the car," Aiden provided, finally showing himself to the two brothers.
Dean tightened his grip on the iron weapon in his hand, making sure his whole body was in front of Sam.
"You really do love him, don't you?" Aiden inquired, his body language a far cry from the enraged spirit from earlier.
Now, he stood before them looking every bit the vulnerable fifteen-year-old boy he had been when his brother killed him.
"Yeah, I do. He is everything to me and I can't lose him. I'm really sorry for what your brother did to you but I would never hurt Sammy," Dean told the spirit, still wary of him, but for the first time seeing a kid and not a spirit.
"Can you do it? Give me peace?" Aiden inquired in a small voice.
"Yes, we can," John announced from the doorway, startling the Aiden and Dean.
"But right now, I need to take care of my boy and get him to a hospital," the older hunter continued.
"I'm sorry. I never meant to hurt him. I won't cause you any more trouble; I'll wait for your return by the lake."
With that, Aiden disappeared, leaving the hunters to focus on their youngest.
"T…Thank you, De." Sam whispered before going limp beside his big brother and falling into unconsciousness.
"Sam? Sammy? No no no, come on, Sammy, stay with me here, please!" Dean pleaded.
"Hospital, NOW DEAN!"