Both John and Dean felt better after having their heart to heart, but walking back to Sam's room, something else was bothering John. Something else he had to talk to Dean about before seeing Sam. He put a hand on his sons' chest, who stopped walking.

"Dad what is it?"

John wasn't sure how to approach this, but he knew he had too soon or a later.

"Listen, I know I put a lot of responsibility on your shoulders when it comes to Sam, but you said something in the car, something that I need to clarify."

"I said a lot in the car…"

"You said Sam was yours."

"He is, he's my brother…"

"No, I think you know what you meant. I know you've been threw a lot with Bobby's father showing up, and you got banged around a little bit, but did you mean what I think you meant? Or did you get your words mixed up?"

Dean had to take a deep breath. Sure he had meant what he said back in the car, but it had slipped, and he never meant to say in in front of his father. It was time to clear the air.

"No dad, when I called Sam mine, I meant it. Now look, when Sam was a baby, you gave him to me to save. But in my mind, you gave him to me, period. He's more than my little brother, I see him as kind of my kid too. I know it might be a little twisted in a way, but I taught him to walk, I taught him how to ride a bike, I protected him from everything and everyone. I got him to kiss a girl for the first time, and hell I've even been teaching him how to drive. When he first started to speak, remember when we thought he was trying to say dada? But it actually came out Dede, and he was reaching for me. Maybe you didn't think about it back then, but thinking about it now? I'm more responsible for him than you think, and I always have been. Ever since you gave him to me in the fire, and maybe even before that. I think that's why you let me have co guardianship of him the second I turned eighteen, other than for the obvious reasons."

John could barely breathe. He knew he put a lot of responsibility onto Dean at such a young age, but he never realized just how much responsibility he had put on him until now. The fact that Dean saw Sam not only as a little brother, but kind of as his son too? That was a lot to take it.

"I'm sorry Dean…"

"No, don't apologize. Do you feel sorry for being my dad?"

"What?! Dean of course not!"

"Well, same goes for me."

John and Dean stared at each other. Sure John knew the boys were close, and definitely co-dependent, but this is a whole new level that he wasn't expecting. Dean saw Sam not only as his brother, but as his son too.

"So Dean, what does this mean?"

"This means that I have more of a say in Sam's wants and needs. If Sam hadn't been on the werewolf hunt, he wouldn't have got his ankle hurt, we wouldn't have ended up at Bobby's, his father wouldn't have used us as leverage, and Sam wouldn't be in this situation with a gunshot wound plus other injuries. I'm not saying I don't want him hunting, he needs to be prepared. But he hunts on his terms, and if I agree to them? I expect you to do the same."

John sighed. Dean was telling the truth. No more was the shivering sobbing mess he had in his arms not five minutes ago. The Dean standing before him was a confident 20 year old man, who looked like he would do anything necessary to protect his sixteen year old brother. This Dean was a little scary to John, yet he couldn't help but be extremely proud.

"This really is a lot to take in. I know I've been a crappy father, but you have to know that everything I did, is to prepare you boys for what's to come."

"This isn't about you being a crappy father. You taught us how to protect ourselves, and to make sure we're knowledgeable about what's really out there, and I couldn't thank you enough for that. But now? We need to think about Sam. After he makes a full recovery, we need to start thinking about what he wants."

"What? For Sam to quit hunting?! You think he'll survive out in the real world if he quits at sixteen?!"

John had to calm down. Several nurses and doctors were looking there way, and if they over heard them talking about defending themselves against monsters, they may have them evaluated. Dean lowered his voice.

"No dad, not to quit hunting, just to let him do what he wants to do once in a while, is that really so much to ask?"

A little brunette nurse stepped out of Sam's room. She nodded to the outside cop, who then pointed in the direction of John and Dean. Both men stopped their arguing, and met the nurse to see what was up.

"John and Dean right?" Both men nodded. "I'm one of the attending nurses to Sam. He's awake now, but he's in pain so I gave him something for that. You can see him, and talk to him, but he might doze off soon. And before I forget, once he's coherent enough, police officers would like to talk to him about what happened."

John spoke "Thank-you miss."

The nurse nodded and went on her way.

The police men stationed at the door eyed both John and Dean. Once Sam gave a definite answer on if he knew these men, and that he wasn't in any danger, they wouldn't be regarded as dangerous. Well, not to Sam anyway.

Both police escorted John and Dean into the room. Sam was awake, and upon seeing his father and brother, he got a huge smile on his face.

"Dean, dad!"

Before the older men started to run to Sam's side, the cops grabbed them.

John yelled, "What the hell do you think you are doing?! Let go!" John and Dean struggled against the cops' holds.

"Son, are these men a threat to you?" One of the cops asked.

Sam's brows furrowed. "No, they're my dad and brother! They would never hurt me!"

The cops let go of Dean and John with grunts, and the moment they were free, they both went running to Sam's side.

Dean got to him first, and pulled him into a bone crunching hold. John came up behind Dean and wrapped his arms securely around both of his boys. Now that he had his little family safe and together again, he didn't really care about Dean's view on how he saw his brother. Well that was a lie, of course he cared, there were things to still be talked out, but right now? Right now he has his family back, and once they are healed, they have to tie up some loose ends in the name of Ed Singer.

Sam was over the moon happy with seeing his father and brother. After all they've been through with the violence and his kidnapping, he wasn't sure if Ed Singer's accomplice was going to be the one to do him in. And Dean? Dean was hurt too…

Sam pulled enough away from Dean so that he was still in arms reach, but examining his face.

"Dean oh my god are you ok?!"

Dean smiled. Of course Sam would be the one in the hospital bed thinking of other people.

"I'm fine kiddo, you're the one who got kidnapped and shot."

"You got shot first! Plus other injuries."

"Dad patched me up I'm right as rain."

John was still with his boys, but seething with anger. Both of his sons, his and Mary's babies, had been shot. There was going to be hell to pay.

"Oh no! What about Bobby? Where is he? What happened to him?"

John chimed in "Bobby is in a different hospital, and he will be fine. Now we have to get this story straight for the cops."

"This was a human's doing, shouldn't we just tell the truth?" Sam asked.

John sighed. "No. This is too complicated, and there's a lot of hunters involved now that are on Ed's trail. We need a simpler story."

By the time the cops got to Sam's room, the three men came up with a good tail.

Dean was driving late at night with Sam asleep in the passenger side. When they stopped at a red light, the man in question came out of nowhere and pulled a gun on Dean. Once forced out of the car, the man took a shot at Dean, and beat him up some. Then the man forced Sam back in the car, after he tried to get out and help his brother, knocked him around, tied him up, and drove all the way out to Des Moines. Why he drove all that way? Sam played dumb, saying he had no idea, but Dean chimes in with 'Whatever he was planning was absolutely no good, and the kidnapping of his innocent baby brother is hard on everyone.' The rest was mostly the truth. Sam got lose, got a hold of the gun, shot at the guy, damn near shot his ear off, then as he was making a run for it, the guy pulled out a second gun, shot Sam, and Sam fired the gun he had at the guy, and got him, but they were both badly injured.

After all that Sam was exhausted. Dean noticed how tolling emotionally and physically just telling the story was on his brother. While he pulled Sam to his chest, John and the Doctor were ushering the cops out of the room, saying Sam needed rest more than anything right now, and the guilty party was already dying.

No one dared to mention Ed Singer. Hunters were on his trail, and what they were going to do to him, mostly Dean and John, was going to be well deserved, and they didn't need the cops interfering.

John had to clear things up with the cops and D.C.F, so at this point, it was just Sam and Dean in the room, sitting on the hospital bed. Sam clutched impossibly close to Dean's chest. Neither boy really wanted to move, and both were comfortable with that.

After a couple of minutes, Dean positioned his hands so they were cradling the back of Sam's head. He pulled away from his brother ever so slightly, so that they were still in contact with each other, but Dean can get a good look at Sam's face. He saw exhaustion, relief, and of course uncertainty. Sam knew Ed Singer was still at large, and as long as he was, and he knew what he was capable of, Sam knew he was never really going to be safe. Not him, and not his family, including Bobby.

Sam made eye contact with Dean. Seeing him after the mayhem and the kidnapping was a huge relief. Sam saw Dean as safety, and with that, he couldn't help but start to cry. Dean noticed the signs, and pulled a now sobbing six foot hurting little brother into his arms, and up to his chest. His chin rested on soft brown hair, and he started to card a hand through the shaggy locks.

No one made Sam feel this scared, no one. Dean knew this was more of a cry of relief than out of fear, but he knew the fear was still present. And Dean knew how to make this right.

"Sssshhh it's ok Sam, really. I'm here, and there's no way I'm going to let anyone hurt you again."

Sam pulled his face slightly away from Dean's chest. "What about Ed? I know he's still out there, and I know Bobby's hurt…"

"Caleb is with Bobby, and Ash is working on Ed's location. But just know, he's nowhere near this hospital, or this state. And you know for a fact that the best hunters and trackers are on this. Not to mention you have the world's best body guard by your side right?"

Sam made a chuckle, and Dean couldn't help but smile at the dimples that adorned his brother's face. He didn't realize how much he missed that smile.

Then the boys locked eyes again, and Sam gave Dean a look that he used to give him all the time when he was little, and some of the times growing up. Sam was looking at Dean as if he hung the moon.

It was that moment that John decided to walk through the door. He saw the way Dean's posture changed at the potential threat, but slightly relaxed at realizing it was John. The whole thing was very subtle, but John could tell. The whole time Sam was nestled in Dean's chest, taking in the warmth and promise of having Dean right there.

It was that moment that John really understood what Dean was saying when he said Sam was his. There was no way Sam would cling to John like that, and even though Sam felt safe with John, there was no place safer than when he was in Dean's arms, and everyone knew that. John knew that once all of this was over, he really would have to talk to Dean about everything. But right now? He was going to let the brothers be.

John nodded at Dean, Dean nodded at John, and just like that, John slipped out the door and into the hallway. He would have his own heart to heart with his youngest, but right now was Dean's time. Which was fine, because he had to check and make sure Bobby was still ok, then check in with Ash to see if they had a location.

John Winchester had some ass to kick.

*So we had some mushy brother moments, and Dean putting his foot down for Sam's needs. Still more to come, and again I promise I will finish "Hunters and Heros" once I'm done with this story.*