Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural
Warning: NOT A HAPPY STORY.
A/N: Good day! Another update! Thank you so, so much again for all your feedback! I am attempting to make the chapters longer, but I'm not that good at writing, so... yeah. I am going out of town for two weeks so I may not be able to update very much during that time. PLEASE CONTINUE TO REVIEW! Your reviews inspire me to write more and help me improve as a writer. Anyway, I hope you enjoy this chapter!
The lines mean either time change or POV change.
Sam woke up to the sound of someone banging on his door. Groggy, he peeked at the alarm clock next to him. Nine twenty-three. He groaned and flopped back down, hoping they might go away.
Bang! Bang! Bang! With a sigh, Sam put a shirt and pants on and hobbled over to the door. His limp was always more pronounced in the morning when he first got up.
Before he could register anything, his stomach was pressed against the floor, arms twisted behind his back. Sam yelled in pain and fought against the firm hands that were around his wrists.
His assailant bent over and snarled in his ear, "What hell are you doing? Why are you following me?"
Sam stopped struggling. "Dean?"
"Answer the question!" his brother shouted back, pulling his arms nearly out of the socket.
Sam gasped at the pain that radiated down his shoulder. "Gah! I had to know what was wrong," he confessed. An unwanted tear rolled down his cheek.
With one final tug, Dean released him. Sam rolled over to see his brother, not trying to get up.
"I told you what's wrong," Dean said, a certain edge to his features, "Stop trying to follow me and go home. You got what you wanted, now leave me be."
Sam's face dropped as his brother went to leave. "Wait! Dean, please. I wanna go hunting with you." The words escaped unbidden from Sam's mouth. But there was no taking them back now.
Dean stopped and turned back around, laughing. Sam was a little alarmed at the sardonic sound. He couldn't ever remember hearing such a laugh from his brother. He always meant it when he laughed. Now, it sounded forced - bitter. When he stopped, he scowled down at Sam. "You wanna go on a hunt? Do you even remember how to hunt?"
"Yes. I promise. I won't let you down." He knew he was practically begging, but at this point, he would take whatever he could get.
"Well, alright, Sammy." Dean grabbed his wrist and heaved Sam onto his feet. Sam made a barely audible hiss of pain, that he was sure Dean missed. "Follow me, I guess." With that Dean retreated.
Sam, not missing a beat, grabbed his unopened duffle and trailed after Dean to his room. He did his best to not limp, and swallowed two massive pain pills discreetly as they walked.
Dean didn't turn back or hold the door for Sam when they walked into Dean's room. Sam looked around, noting how methodical everything was. There were file folders with papers lying nice and tidy on the table. The few charts that hung on the wall were systematically placed. There was a certain precision to how his brother had set up. The duffle bag in the corner was the only thing that was not neat - he must have thrown his clothes in there before bed. Everything else was very... organized. It wasn't like the Dean he used to know.
Dean walked straight over to the table with the file folders and a map of what looked like hiking trails. "John sent me coordinates that lead to a case near Grand Junction, Colorado. A place called Blackwater Ridge. We're hunting a Wendigo." Dean was all professional, giving him all the information and research he had done for the case. "You'll follow me in your car. It'll take us about 12 more hours to get there."
"Wow, this is impressive. Was this what you were doing when I called you?" Sam asked, trying to start a light conversation.
"Yes, I was about to go after the damn thing when you interrupted. Thanks for that, by the way." Dean appeared annoyed at the question, his eyebrows raising and his tone suggesting that Sam should have already known.
Sam sighed. "Look, man. I didn't mean to freak you out, okay? I just - I needed to see you."
"Yeah, whatever," Dean muttered, putting his papers away. "You can nap on the couch over there if you need to. We're leaving tonight, though, so don't get cozy."
"Thanks, I appreciate that," Sam said, offering a small smile. He made his way over to the pitiful couch and lay down. It wasn't at all comfortable with his feet hanging nearly a foot and a half over the edge, and the cushions provided no support. He'd slept on worse though and would take it just to stay near his brother. The feeling of danger had returned right when they stepped through the doors to Dean's room.
And despite the animosity he clearly saw from Dean, he couldn't help but feel safe and protected like he used to. He knew his brother would still have his back just like before. Somewhere underneath all the masks and anger, he knew his brother still loved him.
It was these thoughts that sent Sam into a deep sleep.
Dean's POV
Sam was out as soon as he hit the couch. He didn't have any pillows or blankets. It was just like the little brother he knew to fall asleep wherever he could - even in the most uncomfortable spots and positions. He would often wake up sore though and beg Dean for massages. Not anymore, Dean thought to himself. The first thing he did when he heard Sam start snoring gently was grab a bottle of whiskey and start drinking.
When Dean felt he had drank enough, he went through some of his notes for the hunt. He made plans and prepared as best he could for everything to go smoothly so he could get the whole mess over with. He mapped out the route they would take, where they would camp, and how they would attack. If everything went as planned they would be done in less than sixty hours.
He couldn't believe he was letting his brother come along. Now that he had moment to think properly (though he was still intoxicated) he decided he really did loathe Sam. The stubbornness and persistence he used to think was cute now really pissed him off.
His little brother had been sleeping for about two hours when the nightmares started. Sam was tossing and turning, barely managing to stay on the couch, and whimpering like a baby. Dean's initial reaction was to wake him up and soothe him. That feeling dissolved into annoyance at the continuation of the sounds. God, could he just shut up? After a few minutes of trying to block out the noise, Dean caught some of the words coming from him. His interest piqued, Dean sat still and listened to what his little brother was saying.
"Jess…. No, Jess, not you too - Please don't go…. Let me go… I have to help her…. I can't leave her…. No…. NO! She's not dead! She can't be gone!" He was yelling now, and struggling against an invisible foe. His face was contorted in agony and tears were streaming down his face. "Do something, please…" he begged. "Dean, please help her. Dean, please.… DEAN!" he screamed the last word and sat up abruptly. Breathing hard and sweat beading down his face, Sam swung around and saw Dean sitting behind him at the table. He looked away abruptly, cheeks flaming red with shame. "S-sorry, Dean," he sputtered, still trying to calm himself down.
Dean eyed him, curious as to what occurred. "Don't worry about it. You're definitely not sleeping with me though." He closed up the folder he had open with the newspaper clippings and articles and maps he was looking at.
Sam nodded, clearly embarrassed. He stood up and walked over to his bag where he pulled out a bottle of whiskey. He then walked - somewhat oddly though - over to the chair across from Dean and sat down.
Dean debated whether he should try to get Sam to talk about it. He wondered who Jess was and what happened and why he was mentioned. He didn't want to seem interested though. He didn't want Sam to think he cared about his well-being or anything. He didn't. He did hate him, but he wasn't so heartless that he would play with Sam's emotions. The only reason he was allowing Sam to come was because he knew Sam would just follow anyway.
Strengthening his resolve, Dean asked, "So who's Jess?"
A/N: Uh-oh! What's going to happen next? What would you like to see happen next? Did the meeting go as you had thought? Did it go better? Worse? Review and tell me what you think! What would like to see happen next?
Also, just so everyone know: Jess is dead. Sam is crippled. This story will follow the show chronologically pretty closely. I will be skipping some parts in the show, but I won't ever go backwards.
Thank you again for reading and thank you to all those who have reviewed already! I look forward to hearing back from you guys!