CHAPTER 17

Sam just stared at his brother. Ofcourse , Dean was fine. He had a nasty cut starting from the centre of his forehead to just above his left eyebrow which would need stitches. His left side of the face was covered in blood. Blood was oozing from a wound on his right shoulder which had to be the bullet wound. He was leaning most of his weight on his right leg which means he had sprained his left ankle but thankfully it doesn't look like broken. But like Dean said 'I am fine, Sam'. Yeah , right. Thought Sam sarcastically.

"Sam, you gonna step aside and let me enter or you gonna keep staring at me weirdly." Dean said panting. The drive back to the motel had completely exhausted him. He just wanted to lie down for a moment before he falls on his rear.

"Yeah." Sam said after taking some deep breaths to bring his mind to focus. He could always yell at his brother for downplaying his injuries later on. Once he had patched him up good. He took hold of Dean's uninjured shoulder and wrapped it around his neck and then he guided his brother towards the bed.

As soon as the door was opened , Ryan had lunged towards his brother hugging him tightly and burying his face into Collin's tshirt. He missed his brother. For a moment in the alley , Ryan had thought that he would never be able to see his brother again. He promised himself right there and then that he would never go anywhere alone.

Collin had returned the hug with equal fervor. He had kissed his little brothers' forehead. It has been one of the worst mornings of his life. He didn't know what he would have done if Dean hadn't found Ryan. He cannot live his life without his little brother in it. He made a promise with himself that no matter what happens he would never leave anywhere without Ryan again.

"I am really sorry, Cole." Ryan said with tear filled eyes.

"Don't you ever ever do that to me again." Collin said with his voice cracking with emotions. He pushed Ryan away gently just enough to look in his eyes to show the kid how serious he was. A few tears spilled down Ryan's cheeks and Collin wiped them gently with his thumb.

"I promise…" Ryan began to say but he was interrupted by Dean's loud grunting. He looked towards Dean who was lying on the bed breathing heavily with a pained expression on his face as Sam was trying to remove his blood soaked tshirt which was stuck on the bullet wound on his right shoulder. He ran towards Dean.

Collin also followed his brother. He was once again immensely grateful to the Winchesters for saving his little brother. He didn't know what had exactly happened. He would ask Ryan about that later. But from what he could guess is that if Dean hadn't found Ryan on time then anything would have happened to his little brother. He didn't know who were the bad people that Ryan was talking about on the phone but none of that matters now. His brother was safe and here with him, he couldn't ask for more. The next important thing now was to help Sam in taking care of Dean and then to apologize to them.

"Just a moment, Dean. I am just about done. Here we go. Its off." Sam said finally cutting the blood soaked tshirt off Dean and tossing it on the floor. It had stuck badly to the bullet wound on Dean's shoulder due to all the blood and removing it has been a painful ordeal for his brother. Sam couldn't help but wince at every painful grunt that Dean let out. He is a strong badass hunter who can kill monsters single handedly but he knows that he would never be strong enough to see his brother hurt.

Dean rolled his eyes at Sam's commentary. He too have eyes so he could also see what was happening. Sam didn't have to narrate everything he does. Sam was talking to him so softly as if he was a spooked little kid. It isn't the first time that he had been shot or hurt. He had suffered worse injuries. But to Sam it didn't matter. Sam would turn into a mother hen no matter how small his injuries were. Dean could grumble about Sam's mother henning all he wants but inside it warms his heart seeing that his little brother is as much concerned about him as he is always of Sam.

Dean looked down when he saw someone taking off his boots. And sure enough , there was Ryan taking off his right boot while Collin was taking off his left. He hissed when he felt a sudden pressure on his sprained left ankle.

Collin flinched when he heard Dean hissing in pain. He carefully took off Dean's left boot and removed his socks as gently as he could. He winced when he saw Dean's ankle. It was beginning to turn a light shade of purple. It was badly swollen too.

"Its gonna need some ice. Can you ice it ?" Sam said coming behind Collin to take a closer look of Dean's ankle. Yep it was badly sprained. He would need the kids' help to patch up his brother and to leave the hell out of here as soon as possible. He didn't even know what happened but that doesn't matter now, what matters the most is patching up his brother.

"Yes sir." Collin replied and ran towards the small kitchenette to bring some ice.

Dean looked at Ryan who was now sitting besides him holding a wet towel in his hand. He didn't even noticed Ryan climbing on the bed besides him. Huh , he was getting dizzy.

"Sir , I need to wipe this dried blood off your face." Ryan said with a nervous tone. He knew that he wasn't the one to hurt Dean but he still feels really guilty.

"Okay." Dean said scooting back and leaning against the headboard.

Sam was glad that both the kids were helping him in taking care of Dean. Collin was now icing Dean's ankle while Ryan was wiping the dried blood off Dean's face. Sam just now have to focus on taking out the bullet trapped inside Dean's shoulder.

"Okay , Dean. I am gonna pour this whiskey over your shoulder to sterilize the wound." Sam said taking a deep breath and then pouring the amber liquid on the wound. Dean let out a small cry in pain. Ryan and Collin both flinched. Ryan couldn't stop the tears flowing down his cheeks. Collin was also crying but he wiped his tears hastily and focused his attention on icing Dean's ankle. He needed to be strong, no time for crying.

Dean turned his body away from Sam to present his brother with a clear view of his wound. He knew what was coming would hurt like a bitch. He grabbed the bottle of whiskey from Sam when his brother was done sterilizing his wound and downed a few gulps.

You can do this , Sam. The longer the bullet stays inside, the more is the chance of Dean getting an infection. You have to do it. Sam gave himself a little pep talk and took out the tweezers. With a deep breath, he dug them inside the wound on Dean's shoulder to find the damn bullet and take it out. He tuned out his brother's painful grunts and the kids' cries in fear and instead focused on the task.

"Sir, you want to hear a joke ? Whenever I am hurt , Collin always tells me a joke to distract me." Ryan said rubbing Dean's uninjured shoulder. He wanted to distract Dean from his pain like his brother does for him everytime he is hurt. It really helps a lot. He had already cleaned the dried blood off Dean's face.

Dean smiled at the little kid despite the pain and nodded. Because in this moment , Dean didn't think that he could open his mouth without screaming out in pain. He closed his eyes in relief when Sam finally found the bullet and took the damn thing out.

Collin looked at his little brother proudly. Ryan was trying to be strong. He could see the tears rolling down the kid's cheeks, a clear sign that the kid was worried. But he was still trying to put on a brave front to be helpful.

Sam was cleaning Dean's blood off using wet towels to get a more clear view of the wound to stitch. He smiled when he heard that Ryan would tell Dean some jokes to distract him. He remembered when he was a kid and whenever he was hurt , Dean would also tell him jokes while patching him to distract him from pain.

"Okay. Here, it is. Why do bees have sticky hair ?" Ryan asked in a mock serious tone. The expression on the kid's face was so adorable that Dean had to smile again even though when he felt Sam piercing his skin with floss and needle.

"Because they use honeycombs." Dean snorted at that and Sam smiled a little too. Collin shook his head fondly at his brother.

"Next one. What did the firefly say to her BFF ?" Ryan asked and waited for about ten seconds before continuing, "You glow girl !". Dean let out a small chuckle and Sam snorted. Collin just smiled and focused on icing Dean's ankle. He had heard everyone of his brother's jokes as he was the one to tell them to Ryan in the first place.

"Knock knock." Ryan said.

"Who's there ?" Dean croaked out with some difficulty.

"Nun." Ryan replied. The kid was trying to cover his giggling by clamping his hand over his mouth which made the joke a lot more funny even though Dean hadn't even heard the full joke yet. This distraction of Ryan was not only helping Dean to distract him from his pain but it was also helping Sam by distracting him from thinking about the pain that he was causing to his own brother by stitching him up like a piece of fabric. In his logical mind , he knew that he was helping Dean by nursing his wounds and not hurting him but it doesn't make it any easier to pierce a needle through his brother's skin again and again.

"Nun who ?" Dean asked sagging with relief when Sam was finally done stitching up his shoulder.

"Nun ya business !" Ryan said giggling.

"That was a good one, son." Dean replied smiling. He also heard Sam snorting behind him.

"Let me see your left palm, Dean. Your shoulder is done." Sam said wiping the blood off his hands with a wet towel.

Dean groaned in pain when Sam pour the damn whiskey on his badly torn left palm because it stung like hell. Collin heard Dean's painful grunts and decided to pick up from where Ryan had left,

"My turn to tell a joke now, sir. Okay , what's the difference between roast beef and pea soup ?" Collin asked while icing Dean's left ankle and gently massaging his right one.

"Anyone can roast beef but no-one can pee soup." He finished his joke and was glad to hear a small chuckle from not only Dean but from Sam too.

"That was a new one , Collin. Tell more." Ryan said rubbing Dean's shoulder with one hand while handing Sam's the supplies from the first aid box from the other.

"What did the grape say when he was pinched ?" Collin asked putting away the ice and using a dry towel on Dean's ankle before gently rubbing some numbing gel on it.

"Nothing , he gave a little wine."

Between jokes and some more of painful grunting and groaning from Dean, he was all patched up. He was now lying on the bed while Sam , Collin and Ryan were busy packing their stuff and cleaning the room to get rid of any blood marks on the floor or furniture.

"Okay, before we leave. I want some answers." Dean said with a hardness in his voice when their stuff was packed and the room was cleaned. When he reached the motel with Ryan , Dean had been sure to check his surroundings and so far nobody had followed him from the alley. So they got some time on their hands to clear somethings.

Collin and Ryan swallowed nervously and looked at Dean and Sam. Ofcourse, now the Winchesters will throw them out. They will finally realise what a headache it has been to take them in. Collin thought.

"First, why did you leave the motel alone , Ryan ? Everyone was worried sick about you. If I hadn't found you in time. God knows what would have happened to you." Dean said. He didn't mean his voice to come out so harshly as it did. But in truth , he was angry.

"Its not his fault, sir. Its all mine." Collin said trying to cover up for his brother.

"I didn't ask you, Collin. Let your brother speak." Dean said with a stern tone silencing Collin.

Ryan flinched from Dean's stern tone. And Sam felt bad for the kid but this time , he was also angry. He wanted to know too that what possessed Ryan to leave from the motel like that.

"W-when I woke up alone in bed. I panicked. I didn't find Collin anywhere and I didn't see you too. I th-thought.." Ryan didn't finish.

"What did you thought , kiddo ?" Sam asked softly. He was now beginning to understand the real reason why Ryan left but he wanted to hear it from the kid.

"I thought that Dean had taken Cole somewhere to hurt him. So , I-I took a knife from your weapon bag and left to search for him. I don't know how I ended up in that bad place. I wanted to go back but some big men grabbed me from behind and when I tried to attack them, they took the knife from me. They were about to hurt me but Dean came and saved me. I am sorry. Really sorry." Ryan said and with that he bursted in tears.

And I was right. Thought Sam. He kinda had this idea that Ryan had left the motel because he panicked when he woke up and didn't find his brother. "If you would have just looked at me , kiddo. You would have seen the note that Dean left nonetheless on my forehead telling that he and Collin went to pick up some breakfast." Sam said giving Ryan a soft smile.

"For the first time in my life. I left without leaving a note for Ryan. It is my mistake." Collin said rubbing his face tiredly which made him look even older than his age.

"You didn't need to. I had left a note with Sam already. It isn't your fault. Look boys , I don't know what had happened with you in your pasts but you need to trust us. We don't know what to do to earn your trust but you need to try to give us a chance. " Dean said. He had tried to be patient with the kids as Sam had said. But to make sure this doesn't happen in the future , the kids need to give them a chance too. He knew it was next to impossible to earn someone trust so soon when the said someone are betrayed by their own family. But the boys need to atleast try to trust them.

"Dean is right , kids. We haven't hurt you once since you boys started living with us and we promise that we won't. But anything could have happened today. We are all lucky that Dean found Ryan on time and he got shot in the shoulder and n-not in his chest or something." Sam said. He didn't even want to think of what would have happened if the bullet had hit Dean a few inches lower on his right or if Dean hadn't found Ryan on time.

"I am sorry , really sorry. We understand that if you both decide to kick us out , now. But if you could just help us to get out of here. Please , sir." Collin said looking at Dean and Sam in turns.

"You don't understand boy, do you ? We aren't going to kick you out just because you made a mistake, goddamnit. We promised to take care of you and your brother. You didn't understand a single word of what I and Sam had just said, did you ? You need to trust us too that we won't leave you both just because you made a damn mistake." Dean yelled angrily. He didn't know how to earn the kid's trust. Dean Winchester wasn't a patient man, damnit. He knew he should be angry on those bastards responsible for making the kids unable to trust but without meaning to, he yelled at Collin.

"Dean, calm down." Sam said placing his hand on his brother uninjured shoulder. He knew Dean was angry but yelling at the kids would not help. It wasn't the kids' fault that they cannot trust anyone because they had a horrible past. It was the bastards' fault responsible for that. They need the kids to trust them not to be afraid of them.

Collin and Ryan both jumped from Dean's voice. Collin still didn't understand what he had said to make Dean yell at him. But he still muttered a quiet apology, it never hurt to apologise.

"Sorry , sir." Collin whispered to Sam and Dean. He didn't know how he would try to trust these Winchesters when his own father had broken his trust again and again. But he would give it a try and he knew it won't be easy.

"Its okay, kid." Sam replied gently giving a small smile to put the kids at ease.

Dean didn't reply. He was still pissed. Now , he didn't even know if he and Sam were even suitable to take care of these kids after today's events.

Sam saw Collin's face shut down after Dean ignored his apology. He decided to change the subject,

"Dean, who were those people that were about to hurt Ryan ?"

"I think some local gang. There were four of them. Their bodies were covered in identical tattoos. I don't know if there's more of them or not. But I made sure to check that we weren't followed to the motel. We need to leave, now." Dean said standing from the bed.

Sam just need to ask one more question from his brother that was bugging him.

"Dean, you said that you were about to reach the motel in ten minutes but it took you extra ten minutes to reach here. You are never wrong about these things so what happened ?" Sam asked.

"I got a little dizzy on the way here. I had to stop before I slam my baby in a tree or I hit someone else." Dean replied.

Collin and Ryan were standing at a corner with their stuff in their hands watching Sam helping Dean in a tshirt while Dean was trying to bat his hands away. In the end, Dean finally gave up and decided to accept Sam's help. They knew that while Sam had said that he had forgiven them but in truth they could see that Sam was a little angry. And Dean , well he wasn't even talking to them.

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Please check my other story "Family Reunited 2" . And drop a review there as well.