A/N: Hi everybody! Here's the next instalment of In His Glow. I hope you enjoy this one. It's tagged to episode 1x10, Asylum. The title comes from a phrase that my professor dropped on me a few weeks ago in class, and it just screamed Winchesters to me.

Thanks to Sasha Snape, 'Guest', lenail125, NightReader22, hecatess, spnfanforlife for the reviews. They mean a lot! Please continue to review. I honestly love reading what you guys think of my take on the different episodes.

Disclaimer: Nothing belongs to me, only my interpretation.

Organically Interdependent

"Now I'll make you a deal. I'll tell you all about the Roosevelt Riot, if you tell me something about yourself. Like, uh…this brother you're road tripping with. How do you feel about him?"

Sam swallowed, uncomfortable all of a sudden. The plan had been to get in, get the information pertaining to the case, and get out. Piece of cake. No additional effort required. And yet, their infamous streak of Winchester luck had won out again, and Sam had no idea what to do about it. Dean would have made up some garbage about his life and had the information in his hand within ten minutes. Sam wasn't a great liar. Probably because he'd never had the opportunity to become great at it. Dean had always been able to read him like an open book, and, whenever he did try to pull one over on his big brother, all it took was a single plea for the truth before Sam spilled his guts all over the motel floor.

Sam shifted in his seat. "My, uh…my brother?"

"Yes," Dr. Ellicott replied softly, sitting back in his seat and resting his steepled fingers on his chin. "Your request for an appointment said that you wanted grief counselling; that your girlfriend died in an accident. Yet, here you are, with your brother on a road trip. Why?"

Sam cleared his throat. "Well, Dean…Dean has a way of making things better, you know? He always has."

"Why do you say that?"

Sam grinned a little, looking down at his twisting fingers in his lap. "It's just the way things have always been between us. Ever since I was a baby, Dean's been the one looking out for me. Dad wasn't ever really around a lot because he had to travel for work, and Mom…she passed away when I was a baby. Ever since I can remember, Dean was the one I would go to whenever I had a problem. Bullies, bad grades, scraped knees; Dean could handle it all, even if he is only four years older than me."

"He sounds like a good guy," Dr. Ellicott pondered softly.

"Yeah, but he can be a real jerk sometimes," Sam smiled ruefully.

"Well, most big brothers can be," the doctor chuckled.

Sam laughed. "I guess."

The room was silent except for the ticking of the clock. "So, why a road trip?"

Sam's smile dropped from his face and the air grew thick with tension. "Before Jess died, I hadn't seen Dean for two years. When I got into Stanford, our Dad kicked me out. He was all about the family unit sticking together, but I needed out, and I think Dean knew it too. I knew he didn't want me to go, but he never tried to stop me. Hel—heck," Sam quickly corrected himself, but the doctor continued to look pensively at the ceiling. "Dean even drove me to the airport when it was time for me to go. After that we spoke on the phone every once in a while, but we didn't see each other until…"

"Until?" Dr. Ellicott's voice was soft and soothing, but Sam was a hundred miles away.

"He got hurt in a hunting accident. Wild animal clawed into him pretty good." Actually, it had been a wendigo, and Dean had driven himself to the hospital with a hand pressed against his abdomen to keep his insides inside. Sam had found out and flipped, leaving a royally pissed Jessica in his wake (Not only was it their Valentine's Day Do-Over, but he had almost knocked her down the stairs in his haste to get to his brother.). He had driven through the night, scared out of his mind that he wouldn't make it in time. "They couldn't get ahold of Dad, so they called me instead. He never did change his emergency contact after I left. Seeing him like that…" Sam shook his head at the memory of his immovable big brother lying so still upon the hospital bed in some small town outside of Seattle. Add that to the multitude of similar hospital visits, and it was no wonder why Sam had worked even harder to cut ties with his family after leaving that hospital.

"It must have been difficult for you." Sam shot the doctor a quizzical look. "Seeing someone who is obviously so important to you so hurt, especially when there was nothing you could do about it."

Sam nodded. "He always looked after me. We were pretty rowdy kids, and landed ourselves in the hospital too many times to count. Even if he was worse off, Dean always made sure I got looked at first." Sam smiled grimly. "He never cared about himself so long as I was okay. Any stereotype about protective big brothers begins and ends with Dean."

"That doesn't have to be a bad thing, Sam. Obviously being around your older brother is a source of comfort for you; don't let anyone try to take that away from you."

Sam scoffed. "Isn't that called being co-dependent?"

Dr. Ellicott let out a huge belly laugh. "You take a psych course in college, Sam?"

He nodded a bit sheepishly. "Sorry sir, it's just—"

"No worries, Sam," Dr. Ellicott laughed again. "Some people would call it co-dependency. I call BS. Nobody can survive in this world alone. Everybody needs somebody at some point in their lives. Even Hitler found somebody who could love him. I don't call that co-dependency. I prefer 'organically interdependent'."

Sam nodded. "I guess I can see the difference."

"Good."

Sam looked up at him. "So do I get to hear about the Roosevelt Riot now?"

Dr. Ellicott laughed again before leaning down and opening his desk drawer. He pulled out a file and handed it to Sam. "This has all the newspaper clippings about the Riot. Have at it."

"Thank you, Doctor." Sam stood to leave.

He reached out to shake Dr. Ellicott's hand, which the doctor returned heartily.

When Sam reached the door, the doctor called his name.

"You never answered my question." At Sam's puzzled glance, he continued. "How do you feel about your brother?"

Sam stood in the doorway for a moment, considering the question from all angles. A small smile crept across his face as he replied, "He's my best friend and my brother. I don't know where I'd be if he hadn't been there to help pick up the pieces after Jess died. Dean's the best."

Dr. Ellicott smiled at him as he left. He leaned over to pick up the single sheet of paper he had been going to use to record Sam's possible treatments, and gently let it slide into his recycling bin. He wouldn't be seeing Sam Winchester again; of that he was sure. The kid had all the care he needed already.

A/N: So there you go! I hope you enjoyed it! Drop a line and let me know what you think. See you next week!