Benny was still sleeping, but alive, hours later.
Dean checked on him periodically, and then around midnight, Benny started to stir. Dean felt his heartbeat start to race. He had no idea how Benny would react to suddenly being human.
"Dean?" Benny asked.
"I'm here, buddy," Dean said. He put a reassuring hand on his friends shoulder. "Just lay back and relax. Are you hungry? Thirsty? How do you feel?"
Benny's eyes looked unfocused, and he shook his head as if to lift his fugue. "Food? I guess…yeah, I am hungry. Cooking is going to be so fun now that I can eat the food."
"Are you okay?" Dean asked.
"I never thought I'd say this, but the sound of my own heartbeat is kind of…deafening. And everything looks, and smells, and sounds, so dull. Dean, I'm going to be a total liability for a long time. This is—this is completely different than I thought it would be," he said. He wiped a hand down his face.
"I'm sorry," Dean said softly.
"No—I don't mean that, brother. I don't regret anything. It's just—I feel as weak as a kitten. I'm going to have to relearn fighting and all that stuff," he said.
"We have time. We're not jumping into hunting with the angels everywhere, either. And you don't have to hunt until you're ready. I told you you'd probably be great with the research stuff, and I meant that. Bobby played a huge support role and he stuck pretty close to home. You can stay here as long as you need to," Dean said.
"Whatever you think is best," Benny said.
"So, what do you want to eat? I'll make you something. I'm a pretty good cook—not like you, but I make a mean burger," Dean said.
"I'll come and keep you company," Benny said.
"No, you just stay here. Go back to sleep, if you can. I'll bring your burger when it's done," Dean said.
Benny seemed to collapse back into the bed, and Dean left him alone. Sam and Cas were sitting at the table in the library.
"Any change?" Sam asked.
"He's awake. He seems…okay," Dean said. "He's really weak. I'm going to make him some food. I figure his body just needs fuel to build up his strength."
"Where is he?" Cas asked.
"I told him to go back to sleep. I have to make him that burger," he said.
Dean found himself uncomfortably reminded of all the decisions he'd made for Sam over the years, and how Sam had resented him for them. What if Benny didn't like being human and started to hate Dean for helping him change back? Benny called Dean his brother, but there really was nothing, no blood between them. They had an intense friendship and connection, but they hadn't known each other that long.
Dean sighed and put several burgers on the preheated frying pan, and started toasting the buns. Maybe he couldn't control how Benny reacted to being human, but he could make him remember the joys of an amazing burger.
Dean grabbed some ice and put it in a bucket with some beers. Vampires didn't really drink anything but blood, so he figured Benny would have missed beer. He dressed the burgers with nice cheese, condiments, lettuce and tomatoes. He put everything on a tray with some pieces of cheesecake he'd found in the fridge, and carried the works into his room.
He put the tray down on his desk and then moved his laptop into the top drawer of his desk. He looked over at Benny, and saw his friend was waking up.
"That smells amazing," Benny said.
"Do you need help getting up? I don't mind you sleeping in my bed, but you ain't eating in it," Dean said.
Benny nodded and swung his feet to the floor, and then grabbed his head, looking as though he was dizzy. Dean walked over and Benny stretched out his arms. Dean held his forearms and pulled the other man up. "That's so weird," he said.
"What's that?"
"You're warm," Dean said.
Benny smiled wryly. "Funny, it's the first time I've been cold in years. You got any idea where my shirt got to?"
"Let's get you sitting, first," Dean said.
He maneuvered his friend into a chair and then found his shirt and handed it to him. "You brought beer. I knew there was a reason I liked you," Benny said.
"Hard to believe after all this time, this is the first time we're going to have a beer together," Dean said, his voice suspiciously rough. He opened a beer and sat on the edge of the desk.
Benny struggled into his shirt and then picked up a burger. He ate with relish, not stopping to comment until he was about halfway finished the first burger. Dean opened a second beer for his friend, and Benny paused in his meal and took a long pull of beer. "Good god that's nice," he said. "A burger and a beer. What could be better?"
"There's cheesecake in the Tupperware," Dean said.
Benny groaned. "I like the way you think, brother," he said. He finished his burger and his beer, and then started eating a second.
Dean smiled. Maybe Benny would be okay.
The next morning Kevin and Sam were busy researching when the younger man looked up at Sam.
"Vaccinations," Kevin said.
"You're right," Sam said, marvelling at how brilliant the kid was.
"What are you two talking about?" Charlie asked, walking in the room.
"Benny needs vaccinations," Sam said.
"For real! He's been a vampire for so many years he hasn't built up the same immunities as other people, and being around perfectly healthy people could get him sick," Charlie said.
"You three are such nerds," Dean said.
Sam hadn't even realized that his brother was awake. "How is he?" Sam asked.
"Good enough to make us all breakfast, apparently," Dean said.
"Alright, Benny's coming right along, and we need to get him to a doctor," Charlie said. "So what's next?"
Sam looked around the room uncomfortably. "That's a good question. What is next?"
"I guess we have to look for a case," Dean said. "The angel activity has settled down quite a bit. Might be time to get back to it.
Sam felt his heart sink, just a little. It wasn't like he wasn't completely stir crazy, but it had been nice to take a break from hunting. A part of him had hoped he could stick around, maybe get a job in town, and make a life. He should have known Dean would never go for something like that.
"Are you well enough, Sam?" Charlie asked.
"I—I don't know," he said.
Dean looked at him sharply. Sam realized he had never admitted to being too weak or sick to hunt, no matter how bad he felt. Now Dean would think he was on death's door.
"I could go out with Garth, and check out the situation," Dean said. "We'll come back as soon as we have a handle on things."
"Where is Garth, anyway?" Charlie asked.
"Some hunter friends of his needed phone support earlier. He's been verifying credentials for the past half hour," Kevin said.
"That's something that you and Benny can do while we're gone, if you're up to that," Dean said.
Sam couldn't let this go on any longer. He couldn't let Dean worry about him unnecessarily. Dean was the best hunter in the world, unless he was worried about Sam, and then he made some of the stupidest decisions on record. The stakes were too high with the angels in play to let Dean think he was sicker than he actually was just to get out of hunting. "I'm fine. I'll come with you, and Garth can show Benny the ropes of phone support."
"Are you sure, Sammy?" Dean asked.
"Yeah. I want to see this through," Sam said.
Dean seemed to take that at face value, but a part of Sam wondered if it was even true. No matter what happened with the angels, wouldn't another crisis just come along? A part of Sam was bone weary, and it wasn't because of the trials. It was this life—this endless cycle of constant combat and temporary victories was getting him down.
"Alright, so Sam and I will go check things out. Obviously, the rest of you are free to come and go as you please, but I would advise Kevin and Cas to stay here. Angels are probably still looking for you. And for gods' sake, no one say yes to any angels," Dean said.
By the time Sam and Dean were saddled up, it was decided that Garth and Charlie would go out, too, and look for cases in the opposite direction. Sam was sure Dean's head was going to explode at the thought of trusting Charlie's welfare to Garth, but he managed to say nothing about it.
"You're leavin' already?" Benny asked.
Sam nodded. He was waiting in the garage for Dean. "How are you doing?"
"I'm feeling right for the first time in a long—since I was human. I got you to thank for that, Sam," he said.
"I'm glad I could help," Sam said awkwardly.
Everyone said goodbye, and then it was Sam and Dean alone on the road again.
A/N: I'm thinking complete? But there might be more, like a sequel or one more chapter, so if you're interested in reading more in this universe, remain a follower...Please review whether positive or negative. And write a Benny story! I love that guy.