Vrskaandrea: I love writing Caleb, he's fun!

CHAPTER 46

They stopped for dinner then switched out drivers so Sam could get some rest in the back seat. Dean pulled up to Bobby's around midnight to a dark and empty house. Bobby was still in Oregon but was expected home later the next day. Waking Sam they stumbled inside and up to 'their' room and collapsed on the beds, sleeping through to late the next morning.

Sam and Dean were sitting at the kitchen table the next morning enjoying a leisurely breakfast when Caleb burst into the room.

"Chupacabras in Cali. Get you're shit and let's go." He announced as he tried to take Sams breakfast only to be met with a hard slap on the hand.

"We just got back. Can't we have one day?" Dean whined.

"Don't know what to tell you. Three hikers missing just this week." Caleb said as he scraped the leftover eggs and bacon onto a plate.

"Who the hell keeps letting these fuglies in? Why can't they just stay in Mexico where they belong?" Dean bitched.

"Dunno." Caleb shrugged as he shovelled food into his mouth. "But times a'wastin'. We'll take one car."

"Fuck!" Dean angrily pushed her plate across the table then stormed out of the room and up the stairs.

Sam watched her leave before turning to Caleb.

"Is there really a chupacabra in California or is this just a scam so you and Dean can go perve on girls in bikinis?" He asked.

"No, there's really a chupacabra in California, the bikini babes will just be a bonus." Caleb answered with a smile.

•

Dean was sleeping in the back seat as Sam drove. Caleb turned back to look at her.

"Well look at that. He finally fits." Caleb said with a chuckle.

Sam checked the rear view mirror. He laughed.

"Yeah, I guess he does."

"How's he doing?" Caleb asked.

"He's doing okay."

"Really?"

"Yeah, there was a small melt down back at the motel, but the next day, he seemed fine." Sam said.

"I warned him." Caleb said shaking his head.

"What, you think this was Deans fault? That he somehow made it happen?" Sam growled.

"No! Of course not! This was no ones fault but that mother fucker from the bar! He deserved ever fist Dean gave him. What I'm saying is, look at him. He's fucking beautiful, and he's gonna attract all sorts of attention. We spend so much time fighting monsters, honest to God monsters, that we forget sometimes humans are monsters too." Caleb looked back over his shoulder. "I shoulda been there."

"I was there and it didn't help. Why the fuck do you think you could have stopped it?"

Caleb shrugged.

"Did Dean ever tell you the story about how we first met?" Caleb asked.

"Yeah, it was at one of Pastor Jim's church picnics."

"Yeah. My gran had taken me, your dad had left you guys with Jim and he had dragged you to it too. I had a couple of Milky Way bars that Gran had bribed me with to make sure I behaved. Dean had heard me say orange candies were my favourite and he went around and collected as many as he could then he came over to me and offered to trade me for one of the bars because 'he thought his baby brother would like it better than the mush Pastor Jim's housekeeper was feeding him'. My friends started teasing him but he didn't flinch, just started to eat the candies in front of me. 'The longer you wait to make the deal, the less candies you get', he said." Caleb smiled at the memory. "He must have been all of six or seven. I'd seen you guys a few times and he'd never said a word to me before that. He never smiled, would just look at people like he was waiting for them to take away his puppy or something, but here he was standing up to kids five, six years older than him just to get a candy bar for his baby brother. Man, I thought this kid is one tough little shit but he was headed into a world of trouble and right then I decided I liked him, even if he was a baby himself."

"He never told me that. So did he get it?" Sam asked.

"What?"

"The candy bar. Did you give it to him?"

"Yeah. I think most of it went on your face instead of in your mouth."

"Sounds like me." Sam said. "So what was the point of your story?"

"Dean is always going to stand up against someone bigger than he is, I guess we just have to make sure we are there with him."

"I get what you're saying but Deans not going to like being followed to the bathroom every time he needs to pee."

"Maybe not, but he's just going to have to get used to it. Just because he can, doesn't mean he has to fight every battle alone."

(And if Dean did happen to notice that over the next week or two, Sam or Caleb lingered near the restroom door every time she went to use it, well she didn't say anything, and if maybe they stood closer in public, well she didn't have anything to say about that either...)

•

Chupacabras meant forest and forests meant no bikini babes which put Dean in a pissed off mood.

"Fuckin' tromping through the fuckin' forest! Stupid fuckin' chupacabra couldn't just stay in Mexico where it fucking belongs." Dean muttered as she followed Sam and Caleb through the trees.

Suddenly they heard a scream echo through the woods. Stopping they turned toward the sound. Dean pulled out a flare gun.

"It's this way. Come on let's light this fucker up so I can get back to the motel and ogle girls in tiny weenie bathing suits." Dean said as she stormed off in the direction of the scream. "And if I fall and twist my ankle, just shoot me!"

"Is she like PMSimg or something?" Caleb said.

"Shouldn't be, come on let's catch up with him before he decides it would be easier to just burn the entire forest down, and don't let Dean hear you call him a 'She'." Sam answered taking off to follow Dean.

•

The only cabin available at the lodge when they'd checked in earlier was a single room with two double beds. The clerk promised a roll-away cot, no charge, after Sam flashed his dimples. After an argument over who would get it, that included Dean calling the two 6' plus men in the room sexist and heightist and anything else she could think of, they came to an agreement that who ever was the least injured after the hunt got it. Of course Caleb just had to get a nasty gash in his thigh that required six of Deans best stitches and Sams shoulder was almost dislocated in a tussle with the creature so that left Dean tossing and turning on the crappy fold-a-way.

She finally slept only to slip into nightmares of hand grabbing at her, tearing at her clothes and covering her mouth making it impossible to breathe. She fought the hands that held at her, lashing out violently but they just held on stronger, dragging her deeper into darkness. She woke fighting against the firm hands holding her.

•

Sam watched as Dean tossed and turned in her bed, moaning slightly. He knelt beside the bed and placed his hands on Deans shoulders, shaking her gently.

"Dean. Wake up." He said quietly.

Deans eyes flew open and she immediately began fighting him. Sam pulled his hands back quickly as if he had been burned then drew further away when Deans right hand reached under her pillow and came out grasping her knife.

"Woah, Dean! It's me, it's Sam." He said, holding his hands up. "Dean it's Sam."

Dean stopped waving the knife around and looked at her brother, the nightmare finally fading from her mind.

"Sammy?" She whispered.

"Yeah, Dean, it's me." He said carefully placing a hand on his brothers shoulder, feeling he shiver violently under it. "You were having a nightmare."

"Sorry, I didn't mean to wake you." She said.

"You didn't. I had to use the bathroom and saw you moving."

"Okay, well, thanks." Dean said as she replaced the knife beneath her pillow. "I'm okay now you can go back to bed."

She lay back down and pulled the blankets over her.

"Really, I'm fine. Go get some sleep."

Sam manoeuvred himself so he was lower on the floor, it was uncomfortable but he stayed there. He pulled his injured arm against his body and lay his head on Deans mattress.

"What are you doing?" Dean asked.

"Remember when I was little, when we were growing up, all the times I would climb into your bed because I was sick or cold or scared?" He asked.

Dean reached out a hand and began running her fingers through Sams hair, brushing it back from his face, just as she used to when they were children.

"Yeah Sammy, I do. Got to a point I wouldn't even wake up. You'd just be there in the morning."

"I'd sneak in and you'd just make room for me and then you'd wrap your arms around me and all the nightmares would go away. I always feel safe with you." Sam reminisced, smiling at his brother. "I can make the nightmares go away for you."

"I'm fine Sam." Dean said. She gently touched his cheek with her palm then withdrew her hand completely. "Go back to bed and sleep."

"Come with me."

"Sam, there's barely room for your ginormous body without trying to squeeze me in there. Besides, you've done your shoulder and I don't want to make it worse." Dean said.

"Dean I'm not going to sleep, we both know that, I'm just going to lay awake listening for your next nightmare and we both know you're just going to fight sleep so you don't have one. You're sleeping next to me and that's final."

"Sam." Dean growled as her brother gently grabbed her wrist and began to draw her from the lumpy bed.

"I will carry you." Sam threatened.

Dean heard the double meaning behind Sams words and immediately gave up any pretence of not wanting to sleep next to her brother.

"Fine." She huffed quietly into the night as she threw her blankets back and sat up. "But no hugging!"

The siblings froze as Caleb snored loudly and rolled over. Dean shook her head and stood, following Sam to his bed. Climbing in beside her brother she tried to stay as close to the edge as possible, mindful of both his larger stature and his injury. Sam lay with his back pressed against Deans, to give her warmth and physical reassurance that he was there. They both quickly slipped back into dreamless sleep for the remainder of the night.

Caleb woke first the next morning and saw Deans cot empty. He figured she'd left early for a run but when he stood and looked at Sams bed he smiled at the sight. The brothers had moved together during the night and the sight brought back memories of younger Winchester's for him. The scene in front of him was very reminiscent of their childhood only this time it was Dean curled into Sams side and Sam wrapped protectively around his older sibling.