Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to the CW and Kripke. I own nothing.
Previously on Supernatural- "Ooookay" Sam yawned. "Love you Dean." Sammy fought to stay awake a moment longer before closing his eyes. He held back a sob knowing that when he awoke his brother and friends would be gone and he'd be all alone.
SPN
"I should've just kept my big mouth shut" Josh thought as he stood between his two furious friends. This was the last place he wanted to be. Most days he would have happily paid to see Bobby beat the shit outta John. In the best of times the Winchester patriarch was damn near infuriating with his cocky attitude and smug smile. As for the rest of the time the man thought he was God's gift to hunting. That John was the most arrogant, bull-headed SOB Josh had ever met. The man thought he had all the answers and could do no wrong. Winchester had lost more than a few good friends with that attitude. There was no denying Johnny had had this coming for a long time now. The eldest Winchester needed to be knocked down a peg or two. But this was neither the time nor the place for that to happen. Dean and Sammy were gonna need their daddy to get through this mess. And that was the reason Josh found himself stuck in the middle of a battle zone.
Keeping his arms out as he stood between the warring parties Joshua glared at both men. He was not about to let these two get any closer to each other. He so did not want to be in the middle of a free for all. Knowing that Bobby was the more level headed of the two he decided to work on him first. "Don't do it, Bobby" he pleaded.
"Get outta my way, Josh!" Bobby growled. "I don't wanna go through you but I will."
"Yea, Josh! Let him through!" John challenged.
"Shut it John!" Josh ordered not taking his eyes off Bobby. "Come on, Bobby. You know I'd love to see you knock some sense into the jackass but it's not the time. Think about Dean and Sammy."
"I am thinking about them!" Bobby bellowed.
"No, Bobby, you're not. You're thinking about getting revenge for what happened to the boys." Josh corrected. "There's a big difference." Seeing that his words weren't having the desired effect the older hunter huffed out a frustrated breathe. Sometimes the junk yard owner could be just as stubborn and ornery as Winchester. Knowing that this was one battle he couldn't afford to lose Josh tried a different approach. "Look, Bobby I know how you feel. I felt the same way when I read the note. I know you wanna pound the life outta John; I can't blame you. I'd like to do that myself. But we've gotta think about Sammy and Dean right now. Those boys love their daddy no matter what. And they're gonna need him whether we want to admit it or not. Those bruises aren't the only things hurting Sammy and you know it. Whatever John said to him is killing the kid and the only way Little Bit can heal is for his daddy to man up and tell Sammy how he really feels about him."
"This ain't no TV show Josh. A few words from dear old dad here aren't gonna magically solve all the boy's problems." Bobby huffed.
"And this will?" Josh fired back.
"No, but it'll make me feel better." The salvage owner muttered.
"Well, bully for you." Joshua sarcastically stated pinching the bridge of his nose to ward off the headache that was starting to make itself known. These two stubborn cusses were more aggravating than the snot nosed brats that kept sneaking onto his property looking for moonshine. Sighing he glanced at his two angry friends. It was gonna be a long night.
SPN
Sammy awoke to the soft murmur of voices above him. Hoping the afternoon's events had been a dream he slowly opened his eyes. He had to hold back a sob as the ever present darkness still surrounded him. What was he going to do now? With his sight gone he'd be no good to anybody. How was he going to take care of himself now? How would he even survive when he couldn't…?
"Hey sleepyhead" Dean softly called as he took a seat on the edge of the bed and took his little brother's hand in his.
Sammy's head snapped around in the direction his big brother's voice. He couldn't have heard Dean. His big brother had left with his dad while he was sleeping. Hadn't he? Mustering up the courage to find out he whispered, "D-D-Dean? You're still here."
"Course I'm still here. Where else would I be? Vegas?" the older boy teased smirking at his ailing sibling. One look at Sammy's face quickly wiped the smirk off Dean's face. Stunned he eyed his younger brother searching the boy's face for any sign of teasing and frowning when he found none. "Wait, you're serious, aren't you?" he asked his shock clear in his tone. Sam's head turning away was the only answer he needed. Reaching out he gently grasped his brother's chin turning the boy back to face him. "Sammy, I don't know what dad did or said to make you think we'd abandon you. But whatever he said was wrong. I will never leave you, buddy. You're my little brother and I love you. Nothing's ever gonna change that."
"Dean's right, squirt. No way you're getting rid of him. That goes for the rest of us too." Caleb piped up as he stepped over to the bed. "Afraid you're stuck with all of us, kid."
"Caleb! You're here too?" Sammy disbelievingly called.
Biting back the sarcastic comment just dying to come out the older boy smiled. "I'm right here Sam I am." Caleb replied running a hand through Sammy's hair. "Jim's here too. And we're staying right here until Dr. Best releases you." Seeing the littlest Winchester's expression change from happy to fearful Caleb mentally kicked himself at his choice of words. "Then we are all going back to Jim's for a late Christmas." He added making sure to stress the word all.
"Christmas?" Sammy repeated eyes widening as he remembered what day it was. "I'm, I'm sorry Caleb! Today's Christmas! I messed it up for everybody! You, you guys should go, go back to J-Jim's and celebrate. I'll, be, be okay h-h-here by my, myself." He stammered as he began to cough.
"You're not getting rid of us that easy, kiddo." Dean emphatically told his sibling. He eased Sammy into a sitting position and patted his back as the coughing spell continued. Once it was over Dean helped his little brother take a sip of water before settling him back on the bed. "You okay, Sammy?"
"Y-yeah" Sammy rasped turning his head toward the sound of the opening door.
"Evening gentlemen" Dr. Best cheerfully greeted as he walked into the room. Noticing Dean sitting beside his brother Bubba went around the bed and stepped up on the other side of his patient. Pulling out his stethoscope he asked, "How are you feeling, Sammy?"
"Better" Sammy softly answered jumping as the cold instrument landed on his chest. He followed the doctor's directions taking as deep a breathe as he could manage and letting them out. As soon as he heard the rustle of Bubba pocketing the stethoscope he blurted out, "I'm sorry I ruined your Christmas."
Dr. Best stared down at the boy in surprise. "You didn't ruin anything Sammy." He assured the young teen.
"Yes, I, I did." Sammy argued. "You should have been home celebrating with your family. Instead you got stuck taking care of me. I'm sorry I messed up your time with your family."
Taking a seat on the bed Dr. Best self-consciously rubbed the back of his head. "You didn't mess up my Christmas, son. In fact being around you and your family is one of the best presents you could have given me." Bubba assured the youngest. "You see, my family was killed a long time ago. It happened back when I was a resident here. It was Christmas Eve and I was stuck working so my wife decided to take the kids to her mother's house for the holiday. She figured we could have a family celebration in a couple of days when I got off work. Anyway it was snowing and the roads were rough going which made driving hard especially with three excited kids in the back of the car. But my Julie was an excellent driver. She had almost made it to her mom's before some drunk driver veered into her lane. His big rig slammed into her little family car; killed Julie and our kids on impact."
"I'm sorry" Sammy whispered.
"It's okay sport. I made my peace with it years ago." Bubba quietly said. "The holidays still get to me, though. It's tough going from a full house to an empty one. This is usually one of the worst days for me. You, my dear boy, have changed that. You kept this old man from wallowing in his grief. Being around you and your brother has reminded me of just how wonderful it feels to be part of a family, even if it is just for a little while. And for that I thank you."
"Bubba" Pastor Jim called out breaking the silence that had enveloped the room after the doctor's speech. "Do you still have that cabin up by the lake?" he asked already knowing the answer.
"Yeah, I'm headed up there tomorrow after I get Sammy here taken care of." Bubba replied. "Why?"
"Oh, that's right. I forgot you go up there every year." The pastor fibbed. "Just ignore my question. I'll figure something out."
"You're not getting out of it that easy, Jimmy." Dr. Best said shaking his head. "Now spill. Why did you want to know about the cabin?"
Jim fought to keep the smile off his face. His friend had fallen right into his trap just as he knew he would. "Well, I thought when Sammy was released, I would take the boys somewhere to rest and recuperate. And I thought your cabin would be the perfect place. But don't worry, I can find another…"
"Y'all are more than welcome to come with me!" Bubba broke in eyes lighting up at the prospect of having children under his roof once more. "I'd love the company."
"Are you sure?" Pastor Jim questioned. "We wouldn't want to intrude."
"P-lease" Dr. Best said rolling his eyes. "You'd be doing this old man a favor. I bet Dean and Caleb could chop more wood in a day than I could in a week. And you could do the cooking. I could actually sit back and relax for once. Come on Jimmy. What do ya say?"
Pastor Jim ran a hand across his face pretending to consider the offer for a minute before smiling at his friend. "I think you've got yourself a deal, old man." He agreed.
"Great! I'll call a friend of mine and make sure everything's ready for us." Bubba replied as he stood. "I've gotta go finish my rounds now. You boys don't keep Sammy up too long after supper. He's got some tests to do first thing in the morning. And then with any luck I'll be able to spring him by lunchtime and we can head to the cabin then."
"You mean it? I can leave tomorrow?" Sammy hesitantly asked.
"As long as the tests come out okay, you're good to go, sport." Bubba assured the young teen. "You just follow my orders and you'll be out of here and back on your feet in no time."
"Thanks Bubba" Dean said as he watched a dimpled grin light up his little brother's face.
"Anytime, dude" Dr. Best replied. He high fived Dean and then turned and made his way to the door.
"Hold up, Bubba. I'll walk you out." Jim called from his spot on the couch. Looking at Dean and Caleb he whispered, "Be right back boys. I've got a call to make." Getting a nod from both boys the pastor hurried over to the door and followed the doctor out. Things were working out perfectly.
