Disclaimers and warnings see Chapter 1

Thanks to SeaKat for the wonderful and fast beta job. All mistakes are mine.

Chapter 14 Clean

Sam held Dean's head in his lap until he got the word from the front seat that it was time to cross the border. Sam lay Dean down on the mattress then lay down next to him before Jim covered them both in the blanket so Sam's head was the only thing visible. They got through the border without a hitch even at the early hour and headed straight for El Paso and the new motel. Dean remained unconscious until he was placed gently on the bed. John stripped off what was left of Dean's T shirt as Bobby unwrapped his foot. John gasped at how thin his oldest was after only a few days locked away. Lean before…Dean was now almost skeletal. John was angry that the bastards could have given him at least some bread and water.

At John's gasp Dean woke and sat up quickly. He was a little dizzy but recovered enough to try to get up.
"No Dean, just lay back and get some rest. You're safe now."
"I wanna shower. I'm all dirty. I need to … please dad."
"Dean, you need to rest."
"I need a wash, please dad." Dean's voice was a broken rasp and all the males in the room felt for him.
"I can go with him dad, make sure he is okay," Sam pleaded trying to help his brother.
"Actually John it's not a bad idea. I just spoke to Peter on the phone. He is a good half hour away so we have time. The wound and ideally the whole leg needs a good clean. Best to do it now so we can clean it and Dean can get treated and rest properly," said Bobby.

It was on the tip of his tongue to protest but John saw the look on Sam's face and moved forward to help get Dean ready. Sam turned on the shower so that it was lukewarm and stripped to his boxers. John helped Dean take his jeans off and carried him to the shower. Normally he would have been worried Dean's weight would be too much for Sam but Dean weighed a lot less than he did before the hunt and he wouldn't put all his weight on Sam no matter how sick he was. Dean leaned against the wall in the corner of the stall and Sam aimed the spray towards the corner so it his hit Dean's front softly. Sam grabbed up the fresh bar of soap Bobby had bought. He heard Dean gasp as the refreshing water fell on his dry cracked skin. Dean started to sink slowly to the floor and Sam slipped behind him to hold him up. Dean slumped back into Sam softly who was leaning against the tiled corner. Sam was only holding Dean's top half up and did it comfortably due to the wall and Dean's loss of weight. Sam used the bar of soap to wash Dean's skin gently being careful of where it was cracked and broken. Sam pulled Dean's left foot to his body and gave it a good wash all the way up to the foot. It stung and hurt but Dean was too depleted to move it at all. Sam left it under the spray knowing it needed to be as clean as possible. Now that all the covers were off it Sam could see the red tracks going up and down from his tight, bruised and hot ankle.

While Sam washed, Dean was letting water fall on his tongue and slowly swallowed it down until his stomach revolted and he slowly and painfully threw it up. John came onto the room saddened to see Dean in such condition but glad Sam was there for him. John held up the bottle of shampoo so Sam could see what he was doing then squeezed a generous blob onto Dean's hair. John rubbed the shampoo in and it was clear he had used too much so he rinsed the hair partially then rubbed it in again. 'At least Dean's hair will be clean' he mused as he rinsed it again mindful of both boys eyes. He was very concerned at the heat Dean was throwing off. The water seemed to be steaming off his skin. John ran a hand through both boys hair and gave each shoulder a pat before going back to the room and retrieving clean clothes for them which he placed on the floor next to the sink.

When John left for the clothes Sam placed the soap in Dean's left hand.
"Dean, do you wanna do under your shorts? I won't look, I promise.
Dean took the soap in his left hand with a tired nod and slipped a hand under his waistband and cleaned himself as best he could. He dropped the soap on the floor and pulled his boxers away from his skin allowing the water to rinse him off. When he leaned back further Sam knew he was done so he slipped out from behind Dean and stood and turned off the water. Dean crawled out on one hand and knees to pull a towel off the rail and dry himself slowly. Sam grabbed one and dried himself quickly. He pulled his boxers off and new ones on then dressed quickly while Dean was still drying himself slumped awkwardly on the floor.

Sam went to Dean and gently flipped him over and draped a fresh towel over his wet boxers. Dean got the picture and pushed his hand under the towel and pushed the wet garment down to his knees. Sam pulled them the rest of the way off and slipped a new pair up to his knees for Dean to pull up while he busied himself getting the rest of Dean's clothes ready. Sweat pants and a loose T shirt. Dean was ready for Sam when he turned around with the clothes so he bent and carefully helped Dean slip them on. Sam just had Dean dressed when John came in picking Dean up and carrying him to the bed.

Just as John laid him down there was a knock at the door and Bobby let in a tall thin guy with a mane of wild brown hair and a big bushy beard. He was dressed in slacks, shirt and tie so John relaxed a little. Peter introduced himself to all the hunters. He approached the bed a little wary of the overprotective sibling sitting on the bed holding Deans hand. Peter gave Dean a full examination before going back to his injured foot. Peter spent thirty minutes and three towels draining the pus from the deep wounds, stitching them up then painting the area with Betadine solution. He announced he didn't think there broken bones in the foot but it should be x-rayed before wrapping it solidly in bandages and turning to his right hand. After a cautious and gentle examination he announced it would need an x-ray. He cleaned and painted the nicks and cuts before bandaging the hand then treating the rest of the cuts and grazes on his body. Dean had several bruises on his torso along his left ribcage and Peter felt he should be x-rayed as a precaution as they were very tender.

Dean's eyes were of particular concern to Peter as they had been punched at least once each but he cleared them after doing various tests. Peter was concerned about Dean's dehydration, fever and malnutrition but the hospital he had organized was only a few minutes away and he wanted to get Dean's x-rays done and the breaks cast before he put the IVs in he would need. He checked the supplies Bobby had got and set up a saline drip and antibiotic ready for when they got back. Bobby had explained Dean's aversion to hospitals so Peter was happy for Dean to come back to the motel to rest rather than be stressed at the hospital. He thought it was a good idea to upset the young man as little as possible given his current condition.

John slipped his leather jacket around Dean's shoulders as he lifted him from the bed and took him out to the Impala to drive to the hospital. John placed Dean in the back with Sam who had kept hold of Dean's hand on the way out to the car. John had known Sam wouldn't let his brother out of his sight and wasn't surprised when Bobby handed Sam's shoes to him through the open passenger door before Peter climbed in next to John. Pastor Jim stayed at the room to tidy up and get ready for Dean's return. Bobby climbed into the van as he had volunteered to get rid of it.

TBC