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"Sammy!"

Dean leapt over a tombstone and skidded to a halt beside the pair. Ruby looked up at him, her face pale and tense. Dean returned her gaze, and then crouched down, reaching out to take his brother's shoulder.

"Sammy," he whispered, his voice catching in his throat.

Sam was a mess. His shirt was torn and soaked with blood, from the slash across his chest and the rock salt burried in his side. Dark bruises were rising around his cheekbone and jaw where the demons had hit him, and blood leaked steadily from his nose and the corner of his mouth. His right arm was burned so badly that the sleeve was completely gone, the flesh beneath blistered and blackened by the fires of hell. Dean took in the terrible injuries in a daze of grief and anger. He should have done something. He should have been there to protect his little brother. And who knew how Sam's mind had suffered from its latest fight. Dean swallowed hard and pressed his shaking fingers against Sam's throat, praying desperately that he was still breathing... he let out a sigh of releif as he felt a weak pulse flickering against his fingers.

"Thank god," he muttered. "He's alive..."

"We have to get him out of here," Ruby said. "Those demons might come back."

Dean was surprised to hear her voice trembling and thick, as if she were close to tears. Could demons even cry? He shook his head.

"I know. We'll get him help."

At that moment Sam moaned weakly and Dean's heart jerked. He crouched down again, taking hold of Sam's shoulder again.

"Sammy?"

"D-Dean," Sam breathed.

Dean couldn't remember the last time he had felt so relieved and happy to hear his brother say his name. He squeezed Sam's shoulder, struggling to keep his emotions in check.

"Yeah, I'm right here. You're gonna be fine, kid, hear me?"

Sam coughed wetly, and then cracked his eyes open, pain flickering across his face. His eyes gazed straight up, blind to everything around him.

"Di... did I... get h-her?"

"Yeah, you did," Dean said soothingly. "The gate's closed. You did it, Sam. You saved the goddamned world."

A crooked smile twitched at Sam's lips. Then he began to cough again, his body spasming in pain each time. Blood flecked his lips, and Dean wet his lips anxiously.

"Its okay, Sam, just breathe. I'm gonna look after you."

Sam's eyes squeezed shut in agony. "Unh... Dean... my head... oh, god..." He began to shake uncontrollably. Panic rose in Dean's chest, but Ruby placed her hands on Sam's face, leaning close to him.

"Calm down, Sam. Dean's not going to let anything happen to you, and neither will I. You're going to be alright."

Her words seemed to calm him - slowly the shaking subsided to a gentle trembling. Dean frowned, looking from one to the other. Had he missed something, or was there something more than just friendly concern in Ruby's face? He shook his head, pushing the thought out of his mind.

"I'll get help," he said. "I'll be right back, Sam."

He squeezed Sam's shoulder and then rose to his feet. He turned and began to stride back the way he had come. Bobby, Kale and Jacob were on their feet and moving towards him, Bobby desperately trying to catch a glimpse of Sam.

"What happened?" he demanded as he reached Dean. "Is he-?"

"No, he's not dead," Dean replied quickly. "But he's really torn up, Bobby. We need to get him to a hospital, right now."

"Hospital?" Bobby repeated.

"This is too much for us to patch up. Please, Bobby, we have to move fast."

Bobby nodded. "I'll fetch the truck."

As he turned and moved away, Dean looked at Kale and Jacob. "Thanks, guys. For... for everything."

Kale nodded. Jacob was trying to see Sam. "Hope he's okay, man," he said.

"We'll head back to Bobby's," Kale said, putting a restraining hand on Jacob's arm. "Get out of your way."

"Could you take the Impala? I'm going with Sam."

Kale nodded to Dean one last time, and then turned and began to walk away. Clearly he was still wary of Sam, and didn't want to go near him just yet. Jacob hesitated, and then touched Dean's arm reassuringly and headed after Kale.

"Dean!"

Dean turned, and then sprinted back over to Ruby. Sam was coughing hard, blood trickling from the corner of his mouth. His whole body was rigid with agony, and he was so pale that he looked almost like a vampire. Dean glanced at Ruby as he spoke, struggling to keep his voice level.

"Bobby's getting the truck now. We're getting him to a hospital."

"Hear that, Sam?" Ruby asked, her voice shaking wildly. "You're going to be fine."

Sam's good hand shot up, clutching at Dean's sleeve as if he was drowning. Dean took his jerking hand, holding it tightly, but still Sam seemed to be reaching. His jaw was clenched tightly, blood streaming from his nose.

"D-Dean, god, I c-can't... its k-killin' me... all the n-noise..."

"What noise?"

Sam's other hand jerked up to press against his forehead. "The s-screaming!" he whimpered. "Unh... D-De..."

Dean watched in shock a tear trailed down the side of Sam's face, cutting a track through the dirt and dried blood. His brother's body jerked, and then abruptly fell limp, his head rolling to one side. Dean gripped Sam's hand tightly, his heart pounding hard and fast in his chest.

"Sam? Sammy!"

His brother did not respond. Dean shook him slightly, and then made up his mind. They had to move now. He stood up, dragging Sam up beside him. He threw an arm around Sam's back and scooped him up into his arms, struggling not to place any strain on any of his brother's injuries. Ruby scrambled to her feet.

"What can I do?"

"Tell Bobby to move it," Dean replied through gritted teeth.

Ruby nodded once and ran ahead. Dean tightened his grip on Sam and began to move. Sam's head rolled to the side to rest against Dean's shoulder, painfully reminding Dean of a similar pose Sam used to have when he was little. Dean touched his cheek to Sam's hair, only just managing to hold back tears of fustration and greif. He could not fail again. He had to look after Sam this time, had to make everything alright again... Sam moaned and Dean squeezed him gently.

"Its okay, Sam," he whispered. "I gotcha."

As soon as they got to the hospital, Sam was whisked away from him. Dean watched as Sam vanished through a set of double doors, and then a nurse appeared before him.

"Mr. Eagles?"

Dean blinked at her, aware that sweat was standing out on his forehead and that he was shaking. The nurse seemed to be talking to him... he tried to focus on her words, but all he could think of was Sam... he looked past her through the windows. They were cutting off his shirt, shouting to each other, someone was fixing a breathing apparatus over his nose and mouth. God, did that mean he wasn't breathing? Was he still alive? What if he died in there, alone... what if Dean wasn't there...

"Mr. Eagles, can you hear me?"

Dean started, looking back at the nurse. "What? I don't... I have to..."

"He was attacked," Bobby said, appearing behind Dean. "We were at a pub. He stepped out to take a call. When he didn't come back we got worried and followed, and found him on the floor. His wallet was taken, and his phone, but there was no one there."

The nurse nodded. "I see. Well, we will have to call the police-"

"No point, we didn't see anything," Bobby replied shortly. "And until Sam recovers, I as his uncle refuse to let him undergo any unnessercary stress. We will talk to the police but when he is ready. Call them and tell them if you want, but they won't talk to him tonight."

The nurse nodded. "I know, sir, we would not let him do so either but we do need to alert the police to your names and they will need..."

Her voice trailed into nothing as Dean stopped listening. He stepped past her, moving up to the doors and pressing himself against the window. His brother was surrounded by people in blue or green scrubs, buzzing around him like flies around a carcass. The heart monitor jerked and stuttered, so irregular that Dean could hardly recognize it as a heartbeat. Sam's face was turned towards him, but his eyes were shut.

"Come on, Sammy," Dean whispered. "Come on, please, please... please..."

"Dean. Dean. Dean!" Dean flinched as Bobby grabbed his shoulder in an effort to take his attention. "Dean, they want you to move away from the doors. They say you might be in the way."

Dean nodded numbly and allowed Bobby to lead him away from the doors and over to a plastic hospital chair. He slumped down in it, putting his head in his hands. Bobby sat down beside him, sighing quietly.

"Where's Ruby?" Dean asked after a moment.

"She's vanished. She didn't come inside."

Dean shrugged. He couldn't find it in his heart to care what Ruby was doing right now. He just cared about Sam. He lifted his head slowly, barely even sparing a thought for the tears that were starting to blur his vision.

"Bobby... what if... what if-"

"Don't you dare," Bobby said firmly. "Sam is going to pull through this, trust me. Don't start thinking like that."

"We don't know that." Dean scrubbed a hand over his face. "I just... jesus, Bobby, I can't lose him again. Not when he's only just come back to me. The last few days we had together I was acting like an arsehole towards him because of his powers... I should have listened to him more..."

"Of course you were freaked out, Dean!" Bobby cried. "You found out that your brother had demonic powers, what were you supposed to do?"

"Back him up!" Dean snapped. "Try and help him! Not shove him away. If I lose him again, I might as well just go and throw myself back into hell."

Bobby took his arm. "Then don't lose him again. If he has you with him, he will get through this."

Dean swallowed hard. "God, I hope so," he whispered. "I hope so."

Hope you liked it, please review!

SUPRNTRAL LVR.