(This takes place during s1)

It was supposed to be a simple Salt-N-Burn. "C'mon Sam, just let it go! I'm fine!" Dean said for the fourth time after they'd burned the bones. "Dean, we got thrown around like ragdolls! Don't lie to me, Dean! Please?" "Ok, ok. It does hurt a little,' Dean grimaced as he ran his fingers over the gash on his forehead, "I'll be fine, Sammy. 'Tis but a-'" Dean stopped mid-reference, sensing something Sam didn't and before he could speak, Dean's shotgun flew out of his hands into the air. Sam flipped around just in time to hear Dean's yelp as he sailed through the air, straight towards a tombstone.

Sam wishes he couldn't see the impact, let alone hear it. What happened?! They already burned Amelia's bones. And as far as he knew, there wasn't anyone else... Unless... Hadn't he read somewhere that she had a kid? Maybe- "WHERE IS SHE?!" Sam heard a booming voice from behind him. He turned quickly, seeing a teenager, maybe 16 or 17. He had no emotion on his face, but he sounded angry. Frankly, it was fucking creepy.

"Where is my mom?!' The boy yelled, 'Tell me or I'll kill your precious brother!!" He moved his hand towards where Dean lay sprawled out and coughing. "No! Don't!' Sam panicked and moved in front of his hand, "Your mother was dead. She was a ghost. And we put her to rest." Sam flinched as the teen snarled, "You KILLED her! I just got her back and you killed her!" "You think that was your mother?! Well it wasn't! Not anymore! That was a monster that killed two kids!" Sam hollered, sick of this kid-whatever he was' shit. He needed to get to his brother, the coughing had finally stopped and he was desperately trying to suck in a breath. The kid shook his head and sighed. "Forgive me, but I've got to go now. No hard feelings?" He looked at Dean smiled. "I guess I'll let your brother live. That is, if he doesn't die from his injuries." He chuckled. Sam glared daggers at him until he disappeared into the woods.

Sam hurried to his brother, who was shivering. He quickly assessed Dean's condition, taking in the paleness, the now bleeding gash in his forehead, a wonky looking wrist, and an angry bruise forming on his side. "Fuck. Fuck. Fuck..." Sam mumbled, shrugging off his coat and draping it over Dean. "Hhnnnggghhh" Dean moaned, eyes fluttering open and closed. "Hey! Hey, Dean? You with me man? Open your eyes. C'mon look at me." Sam sighed in relief as fearful green eyes locked on with his. The relief was short lived, however. "Wha-" Dean was cut off by a deep wracking cough. It was his own. He whimpered and went to grab at his chest but the second he moved his hand he cried out. Pain flowed throughout his whole body and he gasped, making it much harder to breathe. Tears were leaking through his squeezed eyes.

"Hey! Don't move Dean. Don't try to talk either, okay?" Sam choked, grabbing Dean's uninjured hand and squeezing it. Dean shook his head and whispered with laboured breaths, "Ch-chest... h-hurts..." Sam leaned in to hear what he was already expecting. Chest pain, bruising, trouble breathing... It was most likely a broken rib that punctured a lung... Sam almost gagged. He looked down and pushed the fear that was building in his gut away. 'Calm down, Sam! Dean needs you right now.' Sam felt his brother's hand squeeze his and he heard his breathing hitch again. Sam looked up. "Oh fuck! Dean!" The injured man had started hyperventilating.

Dean was scared. It was so cold. He couldn't hold a breath in. Why couldn't he hold a breath in?! He kept trying to grab at his chest to relieve some of the pressure, but his hands wouldn't fucking move! Someone was holding him down he guessed. 'Get the hell off of me!' He tried to yell, but all that came out was a wheeze. He started kicking his legs, unable to do much else. His brain was screaming at him on a loop. ican'tbreathe-i'msuffocating-i'mgonna die-please-sammy-ican'tbreathe Faraway he hears a voice. Who is it? Is it Sammy? It sounded so terrified so he strained to listen...

"Dean, please! You listen to me! I know it hurts, but you're gonna be okay, Dean. Just slow down. It's okay, I'm here. That's it, Dean. Just listen to my voice." A strangled sound escapes from Dean's throat and his face crumples in agony. Sam has never heard his brother, the strong one, the one who wasn't supposed to get hurt, make that sound before and hopes with every fiber of his being that he never has to hear it again... He takes in a shaky breath and squeezes Dean's hand again.

Dean's taking short breaths, tears still falling freely. Sam helps him sit up against the gravestone he hit. He catches the older hunter's eye and says, "You alright now? Y'know other than your wrist and your chest..." Dean nods and breaks into another coughing fit. Sam rubs his shoulder until it passes.

"Okay, Dean. Let's get you up. We need to get you to a hospital." Dean gives him a look so he adds, "Don't you look at me like that, you can't argue with me on this one." Dean rolled his eyes and sniffled. "I take that as a yes." Sam laughed. Then his face fell. "Wait- first, I need to look at your wrist, Dean. I- I have to... splint it y'know?" Dean started to shiver again at the word. Sam took off his flannel and pulled it around Dean, cupping his older brother's face with his hands. "I'm sorry, Dean... I have to. You know I do. It'll get worse if we don't..." Dean leaned his head against Sam's chest, wetting his little brother's shirt. His teeth chattered as he whispered, "I- I...know...Ss-sammy." Sam uses his brother's extra shirt to wrap his wrist to stop the bleeding.

Dean doesn't know how long they sat like that, but it felt like hours... He was so exhausted and they weren't even close to finished. "C'mon, Dean. Let's get you to the Impala, then we can do deal with your wrist there." Sam said as he hooked his arms around his brother, offering him support. Dean growled at the movement. He held his wrapped wrist still with his uninjured hand.

Sam heaved them up slowly, Dean leaned against Sam, barely able to carry his own weight. He grumbled a string of curses and tried to catch his breath again.

They slowly made their way past the headstones and graves. Halfway to the exit of the graveyard, Dean stopped and swayed, eyes unfocused. "You okay, Dean?" Sam's stomach dropped as Dean's face turned even paler than before, if that was even possible. Dean wanted to answer but his head was pounding. He didn't want Sammy to worry about him... He was supposed to protect Sammy from everything, even his own pain... How was he supposed to protect his little brother if he couldn't even protect himself? He looked into Sam's hazel puppy eyes, trying to focus. "S-sammy...I- I'm...so-sorry..." he ground out and then there was just pain and darkness.

"DEAN!" Sam screeched as his brother's eyes rolled back into his head, his whole body going limp in Sam's arms. Sam maneuvered his brother to the ground again and scooped him up into his arms. "Dean? Wake up. Please, man. I can't do this without you!" Sam put his forehead against Dean's and started sobbing silently. He sniffed and cursed himself. 'We need to get to a hospital. Then you can cry. Now is not the time!' He told himself as he took a shaky breath and started walking toward the exit.

Sam almost started crying again when he spotted the Impala hidden in the trees. He yanked the passenger side door open and placed Dean across the seat. Sam opens the trunk and searches for the first aid kit. Then he remembers that earlier he and Dean had been arguing when they were packing the bags. In the heat of the moment, Dean had forgot to put the kit in his bag. Sam curses and shuts the trunk gently, if Dean found out that he took his anger out on baby, well, he'd rather not find out. But he'd rather have an angry brother than a dead one.

Now he needed to splint Dean's wrist... He already stopped the bleeding, so now he needed to apply more padding. He reached into the backseat and grabbed his Stanford hoodie. Sam pulled a knife out of his back pocket, and started tearing the sweater into a few pieces. As he wrapped some around Dean's wrist, he heard a weak sob. He checked to see if his brother was awake yet but there were no signs. Dean was crying in his sleep. Next, he found two long sticks, padded them and tied them together into a sloppy-looking splint. But anything would do right now...

As soon as Sam put the splint in place, Dean's eyes shot open with another sob. "Hey, buddy. It'll be alright, Dean. Just try to hold still, okay?" Dean nods and lays his head down against the seat. He tenses up as Sam uses his shoelaces to tie the splint to his wrist. Sam takes a deep breath and goes to the driver's side. He lifts Dean up so he could slide in. Laying him back down so his head rests in Sam's lap.

"Y-you...o-okay...Ss-sammy?" Dean stutters, looking up into Sammy's eyes. Is he okay? Really? Here Dean was, with a broken wrist, a possible collapsing lung, and a huge gash on his forehead, and he was asking if Sam was okay? Sam broke down again, tears falling down onto

Dean's face. "Yeah, Dean. I'm alright... It's just- you...I'm worried about you, Dean." Sam said through his tears. Dean weakly patted his brother's knee with his uninjured hand, "It's...o-okay...Sa-sammy... I'll be f-fine." "I know, dude. Just- Please promise me. Promise me you'll be okay?" Sam sniffled. He probably sounded like a five year old, but he didn't care. He needed to hear it. "Yeah, Sam. I p-promise." Sam wiped his nose on his sleeve and said, "It's Sammy. Now be quiet, Dean. You need to save your breath..."

When they pulled up at the hospital, Dean didn't even complain that Sam had to carry him. He was just so exhausted, but Sam had told him not to fall asleep. He couldn't understand why, it felt like the right thing to do... But he couldn't. Sam had told him it was very important so he listened. He didn't want to die... He had to be alive to protect Sam. "Always protect Sam. Before yourself, before anyone." His father had ordered him. He listened.

"Help! Can I get some help in here!?" Dean heared Sam yelling. Suddenly there was a flock of doctors and nurses surrounding him... Someone lifted him out of Sam's arms and placed him on something hard and uncomfortable. He whimpered, missing the loving touch of his brother, his only family. 'Sam!' He tried calling out, but his voice was barely a whisper. There was something covering his mouth and nose, making the attempt muffled. But he could finally breathe... He was so tired...but Sammy! He felt a warm hand on his shoulder. Dean looked up into familiar eyes. "It's okay, Dean. You can sleep now. I'll be right here when you wake up, okay?" Dean nodded and his eyes slipped closed.

When Dean opened his eyes, he immediately scrunched them closed again. He let his eyes get used to the light and opened them again. Sam was on the bed with him, snoring with his arm draping over Dean. He had probably crawled up there when the nurses left. Dean looked down and grumbled at his hand, which was wrapped in a cast. "It's just temporary of course." A dirty blonde nurse whispered. Dean glared at her. "Doesn't make it any better..." The nurse huffed and left.

Sam whimpered in his sleep, crying silently. Dean shook him. "Sammy, wake up!" But he wouldn't stir. He just moaned and shook his head, "No... nonono...Dean...Please...Dean...hhnnnnggg..." "Sammy! Wake up! I'm here, Sammy. I'm okay!" Dean was starting to panic, but Sam's eyes shot open. As soon as Sam saw his older brother he started bawling. "Hey, hey. C'mere Sammy, I'm alright... I'm okay... It's okay, just take a breath. I'm not going anywhere. It was just a dream." Dean soothed, rubbing Sam's back, holding him close. "Bu-but y-you you died! I s-saw it! You're not real!" he sobbed. Dean gave him a noogie. "Is this real enough for you Sammy?! Huh?!" Sam laughed, shoving his brother's hand away. "Stooppp!" He sniffled again, hugging Dean closer. "Just don't die on me. Ever. Promise?" "Yeah, Sammy. I promise." Dean replied, shuffling Sam's hair. "Man, you seriously need to cut this mop of yours!" "Shut up, jerk!" Sam said playfully.

"Bitch!" Dean laughed and pulled Sammy into a bear-hug. "Are you okay, Sammy?" Dean whispered. Sam looked up at Dean, "Yeah. I'm okay now."

END