Bridge Over Troubled Waters Ch. 21

Disclaimer: See chapter one.

Author's Note: I'm not totally happy with this chapter, but I didn't want to keep you waiting since I won't have any time for writing tomorrow. I hope you enjoy the chapter.

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Previously: Sam heard his dad walk over to check on Dean before turning off the lights and exiting the room. He couldn't help but smile as he noticed his dad had left the door slightly ajar in case they needed anything. Peering over in the dark at his brother, he sent up a whispered prayer that Dean would soon get his sight back.

Later that evening as John peeked in on his sons, he found both of them resting so peacefully that he didn't have the heart to wake them to eat the ham and cheese sandwiches Bobby had prepared for them. Neither one had really had a good night of sleep since the training accident and it was obviously taking it's toll if the dark smudges under their eyes were any indication of just how exhausted they both were. Leaving the door slightly ajar once again, he returned to the kitchen to have a cup of coffee with Bobby before going to bed himself.

"The boys doing okay?" Bobby queried with concern upon seeing John return to the kitchen alone.

"Yeah, they were both sleeping so soundly that I couldn't bring myself to wake them up, especially since it's the first real sleep they've had in days with everything that's happened." John replied with a yawn as he scrubbed a calloused hand through his hair.

"From the looks of it, I'd say they aren't the only ones who need some rest. Why don't you go on up to bed and get some sleep yourself Winchester. I'll take care of things down here." Bobby stated with a nod of his head towards the stairs.

"Actually that sounds pretty good to me, see you in the morning." John replied with another huge yawn before trudging back up the steps to go to sleep himself. Stopping by the boys room for just a minute, he listened to the sound of soft snoring coming from one of them before entering the room directly across the hall from them.

Sitting on the bed, he quickly pulled off his boots and then stood up to remove his jeans. He thought about taking a shower since he felt kind of grungy after the long drive, but he was just too damned tired and decided to put it off until the next day. Turning back the covers, he climbed into the bed and soon fell asleep to the sound of crickets chirping and the night owls hooting.

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As the stars twinkled outside in the dead of night at Singer Salvage Yard, all was not well within Bobby's humble abode. One Winchester tossed and turned as a nightmare began to assail his addled mind.

"It's your fault Sammy, Dean will never see again because of you, why did you have to be so weak?" John yelled into his son's face with pure hate evident in his voice.

"Da'ad, M' sorry, I didn't mean..."

"That's right Sammy, you are sorry, not worthy of the Winchester name." John sneered cutting his youngest son off. "Maybe I should just ship you off somewhere, never let you see your brother again since you took his sight from him."

"Noooo Da'ad. Please." Sam cried out fearfully at the thought of losing the one person he could always depend on.

Dean was awakened from his sleep by the sound of his brother moaning and tossing about fretfully in his bed. Knowing that the kid was most likely having a nightmare, Dean threw the blankets off of his legs and was about to stand up when he heard his brother cry out, "Noooo Da'ad. Please." in obvious distress. Stumbling over his own two feet in his rush to get to Sam, he heard the bedroom door slam open and the unmistakable voice of his dad calling out.

"Dean, Sammy? You boys alright?" John asked out as he came thundering across the hallway from his room after having been abruptly wakened by the sound of Sam's distress, knife in hand. Scanning the room quickly as he flipped on the light, he saw Dean kneeling at Sam's side, carding his fingers through his hair.

"S'okay dad, I've got him, he's having a nightmare." Dean stated wishing he could see Sam's face. He could feel the trembles running through Sam's body as he touched his chest and it concerned him to just how bad a state Sam might be in now.

"De'n?" Sam questioned sluggishly as he was drawn from sleep by the sound of voices in the room.

"Yeah, I'm here kiddo, shhh, you're fine now." Dean soothed as he sat on the side of Sam's bed. "Dean, I-I don't wa-wanna leave, please don't let Dad se-send me away." Sam cried as he clutched on to his brother.

"Sammy, no one's gonna make you leave." John said as he entered the room to help try and calm his son.

Sam immediately tensed at the sound of his dad's voice and the trembling increased, not comprehending the words his father had said. "Please Dean!" He pleaded as he felt Dean pull him into his arms.

"Shhh, kiddo. It's okay, it was just a nightmare. I promise you're staying right here. Dad isn't going to make you leave." Dean voiced softly as he continued his soothing ministrations.

"He's right ya know Sammy." John voiced as he pulled up a chair beside his boys and gave Sam's knee a firm squeeze.

"But you s-said…s'my fault." Sam stuttered out, refusing to look at his father.

"I know and I was wrong kiddo, I should have never said that and I am so sorry. It wasn't your fault Sammy, please believe me." John begged as he tipped Sam's chin up to look his youngest in the eye. "Let the guilt go son, it's not your to carry. It was an accident." One that should never have happened, John thought to himself knowing he had made a stupid move by not planning ahead for all occurrences. If it was anybody's fault, it was his and he could see that now.

"John, ie everything alright?" Bobby questioned in concern as he stood outside the door of the room. He didn't want to intrude, but he needed to know that the boys were okay.

"Yeah, Sammy had a nightmare." Dean answered in place of his father. "I've got him now, you and dad can go back to bed."

Reaching over to ruffle Sam's hair, John said, "Sleep well kiddo and I'll see you in the morning." Standing up from the bed, he walked over to the door and turned around to watch his boys for just a few minutes before turning off the light and going back to his own room.

Waiting for the hunters to leave, Dean said, "Scoot over Tiger" as he nudged his little brother to the side.

"Dean what…?"

"I stumped my toe on the way over here and my foot hurts now so move your ass over." Dean voiced telling a little white lie. He could sense that Sam was still upset and knew that his brother wouldn't get any sleep without him there.

Moving over as told, Sam rolled over onto his side and felt Dean lay down beside him. Within a few short minutes, he felt an arm flung over him in protection and faded off to sleep knowing the nightmares would be kept at bay.

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Early the next morning, Dean groaned upon waking. He could already feel the beginnings of a major headache coming on and wasn't looking forward to the throbbing pain. Realizing that he was in the bed alone, he wondered where Sam had gotten off to and why he hadn't noticed he'd left. Inhaling, he had an idea of where Sam was now since he could smell the aroma of sausage and eggs drifting into the room. "Guess it's morning." He said as he threw the blankets off his leg and stood up wondering where in the hell his jeans were. Feeling around the room, he stumbled into a chair and felt the clothing that was laid out for him. Grateful for whoever had placed the clothing there, he got dressed and then felt his way out the door and down the hall. Reaching the small stairwell, he became nervous at the thought of going down, the last thing he needed to do was to slip and fall. Scooting his foot forward, he felt the edge of the step and knew to lower it to the next step down. He followed the process until he finally found himself at the bottom of the steps. Walking into the small kitchen, he gasped upon realizing that he could see some shades of gray, nothing much, but at least they were there.

"Dean?" John questioned anxiously as he pushed back his chair and rushed over to his son upon hearing the gasp.

"M'okay dad." Dean said with a bright smile as he allowed his dad to take him by the arm and lead him to his seat at the table. His head still hurt bad, but at least he wasn't just seeing pitch black anymore and it gave him some hope.

"Something has sure got you in a good mood this morning Ace." Bobby intoned seeing the smile light up Dean's face.

"I'm just happy to have finally woken up in a soft bed and to the smell of eggs and bacon frying. I hope you guys saved some for me, I'm starving." Dean stated keeping his news to himself. He didn't want to disappoint his family if he was wrong, that it was his mind playing tricks on him.

"When aren't you starving." Sam retorted as he lightly bumped Dean with his shoulder.

"Course I saved some for you, ya idjit." Bobby replied as he placed a plate in front of Dean. "Okay Dean, your eggs are at ten o'clock, your toast is at two o'clock and the bacon is at six o'clock." Bobby told Dean as he described the position of Dean's food. "You've also got a glass a milk to the right of your toast."

"Thanks Bobby." Dean voiced as he felt around for his fork and picked it up to start his breakfast.

Making sure that Dean was okay with his own breakfast, John forked a helping off eggs from Sam's plate. "Okay Sammy, time for you to finish what's left of your breakfast so you can get a bath." John said as he held the fork in front of Sam's mouth.

"Dad no, please…can't it just wait?" Sam questioned, mortified once again at the thought of John bathing him. He had been holding off going to the bathroom this morning not wanting to go through the embarrassment of having to help again, but to even think about the bath… "Just kill me now." He thought.

"No Sammy, it can't. You might as well get used to the idea son." John answered as he finished his own breakfast before giving Sam one last forkful. "Okay Tiger, let's go."

"Can't Dean do it Dad?"

"No Sam. Dean still needs a lot of rest." John replied as he grasped Sam by the bicep to help him up. He couldn't help but feel bad for Sam as his son's cheeks started flaming with embarrassment, but he was going to have to get used to having help sooner or later, so they might as well get over that first hurdle now.

Leading Sam up the stairs, he started Sam's bathwater and placed the stopper in the tub and then turned around to start undressing his youngest. As he removed his clothing, he suddenly remembered that Sam hadn't used the bathroom yet. Once he had Sam completely stripped, he said, Okay kiddo, I'm going to step out for a minute or so to let you take care of business." He could at least give Sam that little bit of decency.

Leaning against the wall, he heard Sam call out that he was finished and entered to see Sam chewing on his bottom lip, cheeks inflamed once more. Knowing immediately what he had to do, John grasped some toilet paper. "S'nothing I haven't done a hundred times before kiddo, so relax." John voiced as he took care of cleaning Sam's bottom before helping him into the tub.

Quickly bathing his youngest, he helped Sam to stand up and then dried him off before wrapping a towel around his waist. "See, that wasn't so bad now was it." John soothed as he grasped the first aid kit from the small medicine cabinet so that he could also take care of Sam's hands after getting him dressed once again.

TBC Uh oh, is that an innocent headache Dean has, or could it be something much worse?