Dean started to get agitated at the hour and a half mark. Sam's eyes were still unfocused and pupils were dilated to that of small saucers, his jaw still slack, head bent forward. Dean sat beside him, talking to him, reassuring him that everything would be alright, that he was right beside him, that whatever he thought he saw wasn't real, that they were right with him. But Dean's words were ineffective, the only thing was seemed to be effective was the cloth that Dean kept at the ready to dab even the tiniest amount spit off of his lips.

"Bobby it's been almost two hours." Dean finally said. Bobby nodded.

"It has son. But we both know that Sam will be back in his own time."

"But what if he doesn't come back this time?"

"He came back the first time and that was the hardest. Don't you think?" Dean looked from his brother to Bobby and finally conceded a nod. "It's been a rough couple of days for him. He hasn't had to talk about your daddy's death in a long time. It's hard. Makes it rough for him to stay with us." Dean nodded again taking some solace in Bobby's reassurances.

"Now, son. There is food in a box on the table. You need to eat. You haven't eaten a lick in almost 24 hours. Get something in you."

"Bobby…." Dean began to protest.

"That wasn't a request son. That was an order. You're no good to Sam if you're weak from hunger." Dean glared at him and Bobby just pointed towards the food. Dean got up, shaking life back into his legs and headed for the food. "And get yourself a shower and take a leak while you're at it. And I ain't takin' no for an answer." Dean sighed and went for the bathroom. Bobby heard the water turn on in the shower and scooted closer to the other Winchester. He took up the rag that Dean had abandoned and wiped the spit from the younger's mouth.

"You're brother 'll be back soon son, he just needs to take care of himself. You'd be yellin' at him if you were here. Just get back soon boy. You're doin' okay. You're okay."

"What's wrong with him?" Andrew asked from his position in the corner of the room.

"That's for Dean or Sam to discuss with you." Bobby went back to checking on the youngest hunter.

"Why don't you people tell me anything?"

"They've told you quite a bit sir. But Dean doesn't trust you."

"Why hasn't Sam told me anything then? It isn't like Dean owns him."

"No. But they've learned the hard way in the last couple of years that it's best if they stick together. And I suggest you don't try to pit one against the other or you will lose in more ways than you know." They heard the toilet flush, sink water run, and Dean emerged from the bathroom, he was wet, and was wearing only jeans and a t-shirt, Bobby chose not to question Dean on the speediness of the cleansing process.

"How is he?" Dean asked and went straight to his brother.

"He's the same. I told you to eat something too. Don't you go trying to get out of it." Dean grumbled and went to the table, located his meal from the diner and began stuffing it into his face as fast as he could. "Slow down son." Dean didn't listen. Finished his meal and went back to his brother. As soon as Dean touched Sam's bare arm Sam took a deep breath. Dean smiled.

"You coming back to us little brother?" Sam's eyes focused and turned sluggishly to his big brother.

"D'n."

"I'm right here Sammy. We're in a motel room. It's 1 in the morning.

"Water." He whispered. Dean obeyed and helped his brother get a drink of water from the bottle on the nightstand.

"You okay?" Sam nodded.

"How long?"

"Almost two hours."

Sam rested his head against the headboard and sighed. "Felt like years."

"I know it did buddy I know. Come on let's get you up, you need to use the bathroom, and then we'll get you all tucked into bed after you've had a snack." Bobby and Dean helped Sam up and they walked him to the bathroom, Dean going just inside, and Bobby standing by the doorway, both waiting and willing to help Sam if he needed it. They were out of the woods for the moment, but both Dean and Bobby knew that tonight was going to be a screaming night.

And true to form it was. Sam woke everyone up, screaming. Dean was up in a flash on top of the bed, hands on his brother's chest pushing him as gently as possible back towards the wall, and Sam's screaming didn't stop.

"HOT! MAKE THE BURNING STOP!"

"Bobby! Ice packs!" Dean barked. Andrew, who had been startled from his own sleep in the chair by the wall, stood waiting for what he knew not, but watched as Dean and Bobby took ice packs from a cooler, Dean putting one on the center of Sam's chest, and Bobby stripping socks from large feet and putting one on the soles of each foot. It took time but the ice packs did their job, and Sam stopped screaming, and calmed down. His breathing evened out and he looked exhausted.

"You want a shower?" Dean asked once Sam had calmed down. Dean had learned some time ago that it wasn't a good idea to try to get Sam to open up after one of these episodes. It was best to try and move things along in the most normal of ways possible. And as always after one of these episodes, Sam had sweat was dripping from his face and hair.

"Yeah. Yeah. Shower would be good." Sam said in a hoarse voice.

"Okay, come on, I got ya." Dean helped Sam to the bathroom, and Andrew heard the shower turn on and the shower curtain close. Dean emerged from the bathroom and rested his head against the door frame.

"What was that about?"

"Sam's been through some things."

"Obviously. What happened?"

"He was a prisoner of war." Dean said knowing that a normal person would need a normal answer, a normal reason for why a grown man was screaming in the middle of the night, for why he would space out, go virtually comatose for hours at a time.

"Your brother was in the war? The Iraqi war?"

Dean debated for a moment and then nodded. "We both were."

Andrew's eyes smiled. "Just like your dad?"

"Yeah. Just like dad. Sammy enlisted right after dad died. I'd been in since I was 18, Sammy was taken a little over a year ago. Didn't know where he was or how to get him out. They tortured him." Dean swallowed tried to keep the tears at bay. "I'd gotten out of service right before he did his last tour. There was nothing I could do. Finally, a higher up found him and they got him out. And now he's like this." And this too was another thing that Dean Winchester blamed himself for. But Andrew didn't need to know that. The story he'd been weaving for this man was already shaky enough, and if Andrew thought about it hard enough he just might start to see the holes. Best to keep as much of this to the truth with as few details as possible-details that showed just how Dean had let his little brother down.

"PTSD is rough on soldiers. Why isn't he in a hospital?"

Dean swallowed trying to keep the anger down. "Because they would just drug him, call him crazy."

"But a hospital can help him. The VA hospitals can do so much for the veterans."

"You might be able to leave those you love in hospitals and only visit them when it serves you. But I can't do that. I would die before I would leave my brother anywhere to rot." Dean turned and went into the bathroom he had to get away from Andrew before he went off of the handle. It wasn't just Sam who was having a difficult time dealing.