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(Today's chapter is short, but I hope you enjoy!)

Chapter 12: Fixes

When I woke up, my whole side felt like it was on fire. I gasped, and my eyes shot open. My hand flew to my side, and I struggled to move off the mattress I was on.

"Hey, hey," Dean coaxed me, dragging my hand away from my side. "Sorry, I just finished stitchin' ya, Katie. You passed out so you don't have any pain meds in you yet."

I made my eyes focus on my worried brother. I glanced past him to see Sam sitting on the other bed in a t-shirt and boxers. A bloody bullet was on the ground, and he was holding the wound in his leg closed. A suture kit was next to him, indicating they were just above to fix him up.

"Finish Sammy's leg," I mumbled with a chin jerk towards my twin.

"Katie—" Sam tried to protest.

"You're bleeding out, Sam," I fired back. "I can handle the pain for a minute longer." I closed my eyes and tried to focus on the even breaths that Sam had coached me through. I felt Dean move away from me, and I listened to Sam's breathing stutter every time the needle tied his skin back together.

"Here, I got you some pills," Dean said. I opened my eyes and slowly picked up the two pills and put them in my mouth. He helped guide a glass of water to my mouth and let me get a couple of sips. I collapsed back onto the bed in exhaustion.

After a minute, the bed dipped next to me. I opened my eyes to see Dean fretfully hovering, a rag in one hand and rubbing alcohol in the other.

"I gotta clean it, Katie," he told me apologetically.

I frowned. "Tomorrow."

He ignored me and poured the alcohol onto the clean rag. He leaned towards me and rubbed off the dried blood that Kevin had smeared onto my face.

"This is gonna sting," he warned me as he reached to clean my side.

I pushed his hands away. "No. Please. No—just no more pain. Please, no." My lower lip began to tremble as I held back my tears. It had been a traumatic, pain-filled day, and I just wanted it to be over. "Let it be over."

Dean turned and shared a look with Sam. Sam hobbled the step over to my bed and sat by my head. He took my hand and encouraged quietly, "Katie, you have thirteen rows of stitches in your side; you can do this."

I let the tears come down my face as I shook my head. "I can't take anymore, Sam. Just wrap it. I, I can't—"

"I'll make it quick, I promise," Dean told me. "But I have to clean it, Katie. I didn't clean it out before the stitches because you were bleeding out so bad. You can't get an infection." One of his hands grabbed onto my hip, just below the first slice.

"No!" I thrashed away from him, making him hold me down more. Sam hurriedly grabbed my arms and crossed them across my shoulders. He snuck underneath me so that I was lying in his lap as he held me down. Dean poured the alcohol on, and I screamed as it burned the already torn-and-sewn flesh.

"Shh, you're OK," Sam promised me, holding my upper half close to him. "It's almost over." I sobbed as Dean pushed the rag through my side of stitches.

"Hey," Sam said in my ear, "do you remember that time when we were—God, I don't know. Twelve? And Dean took us to that diner because Dad was out of town."

Through my tears, I glanced down at Dean. He was intently focused on cleaning my wounds.

"And all you wanted was a damn chocolate shake," Sam continued in amusement. "But Dean said you had to get real food, so you pouted and didn't order anything. And then I threw a fit over something, and you snuck behind our backs and ordered your damn chocolate shake anyways." He chuckled softly. "Dean's face was priceless. I grew a new respect for you that day, Katelyn Winchester."

"Yeah, and I got a wake-up call that I had to keep a closer eye on your insubordinate ass," Dean grumbled as he taped on a large piece of gauze to my side.

I relaxed into Sam's hold, feeling relieved and slightly embarrassed for freaking out like that. "Thanks, Sammy. Thanks, Dean."

As Sam kissed the top of my head, Dean rubbed my cheek affectionately before standing. "I'm going to take a shower, and you two aren't going to move." He pointed a parentally stern finger at us. "At all. I'm keeping the bathroom door cracked open, and I'll know if one of you so much as coughs, got me?"

I was too tired to even roll my eyes, so this whole speech was wasted on me.

"Dean, we need to find a way to end this curse, man," Sam said worriedly.

Dean waved him off. "I found a whole damn list of spells in Kevin's pocket. We'll look it over tomorrow and find a way to cancel whatever the hell he did." He moved and handed Sam pain pills and water. Sam obeyed as Dean rummaged around for clean clothes to change into.

"No moving!" Dean barked before going into the bathroom and leaving it purposefully cracked. The shower kicked on.

Sam sighed and ran his hand methodically through my hair.

"Sam?" I asked quietly.

"Hmm?"

"Did you know? About… about Kevin." My voice wavered on his name. "That he was alive."

"Kate, Dean didn't even know," he said.

I shook my head. "No. At the house, in that fire, on that day—did you know? Did you let him burn?"

Sam hesitated. "I saw his body. But Dean said he was dead… I thought we were just burning his body."

I let my eyes close and softly accused, "And you never told me."

"We knew that you felt like you owed him," he defended lamely. "We didn't think you needed that burden on you."

"Whatever," I grumbled. "This family is always keeping secrets from each other. Why would another one matter?"

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked, leaning his head down towards me.

I shook my head. "Just an observation."

We were silent, and I was still kind of pissed at my brothers for keeping things from me, but there was another burning question that I had to ask.

"Sam?"

"Yeah?"

"Did you hear what Kevin said about the repercussions?" I asked hesitantly. "With his death?"

Sam was silent for a moment too long. "Yeah, I did. But Kevin was a little more than screwed up, Kate. I don't think we should worry about it right now."

"'k," I mumbled, relaxing against him again. I knew Sam was avoiding this issue for right now because we didn't have any answers. But I couldn't get Kevin's threats out of my head.

I must've fallen back asleep because a freshly-showered Dean was carefully lifting me off of Sam. I mumbled something, and Dean slowly lowered me to lie on my good side. I peeked an eye open to see Sam sprawl out on the other bed, and Dean lied down beside me.

"You OK?" Dean asked. He raised his palm to my forehead to check for a fever.

"Tired," I slurred drowsily. I forced my eyes open and stared at him. "Are you OK?" My poor, big brother. He always carried the weight of the world on his shoulders, and his heavy eyes reflected that.

His eyes rolled as he tried to pass my worry off. "I'm fine."

I tried to get a serious response by giving him my I'm-worried-about-you face. "Really?"

He gave me a small smirk. "Katie, who's Batman?"

I smiled back. "You are."

"Damn straight." He kissed me on the forehead and flopped onto his back with a tired sigh. "Wake me up if you need something."

"Thanks, big brother," I mumbled in a yawn. "I love you, Batman."

"Back at ya, kid."

"I love you, Sammy!" I whisper-yelled over to the other bed.

Sam's tired voice stirred into a "What…?"

"Just say something sappy, man," Dean grumbled as he ran a hand down his face.

"Yeah, love you…" Sam trailed off into a snore.

I smiled contently and closed my eyes. Physically, I was a mess. But these two idiots couldn't have made me happier.