Disclaimer: I still don't own Supernatural or its characters and am not making any money on this…I'm still just having fun!
Bait
Chapter 21 – Time to Heal
Dean paused as he quickly packed up their things. Sam was still passed out in the back of the Impala…his father was standing guard…neither one of them willing to let Sam out of their sight for a little while. While his father had been taking care of the vampires, Dean had quickly cleaned Sam's wounds and bandaged them. A few of the wounds would need stitches, but he wanted to wait until he and Sam relocated, He had also taken a few moments to clean up the cut on his forehead and take a couple of aspirin for the headache. He was tempted to bring Sam in here to let him rest before taking the trip, but this place had too many bad memories for both of them.
Grabbing the last of the bags, Dean headed out to the car. He paused as he saw his father gently wiping the sweat from Sam's face. . He pulled the blanket up around Sam's shoulders and whispered something into Sam's ear. Sam didn't respond, in fact, Sam had been unusually quiet up to this point. Dean just hoped that meant that his brother was getting some much needed rest.
"Hey Dad, I'm almost done…I just need to check out and I'll be ready to go!" Dean closed the trunk and started to head for the front office. "Dean wait…do you know where you are going yet?" his father asked quietly.
"No…I just know that I promised Sam I would get him out of here…if possible, I want to avoid the hospital as well…but if he gets worse, I figure I'll just stop in the nearest town." Dean watched the play of emotions on his father's face. He could tell his father was trying to make a decision. "Look Dad, I know you want to get back to hunting the demon. It's ok…I think I can handle Sam…if he gets worse, I'll call you." Dean didn't want his father to go…but he understood that his father needed to leave.
John pulled a shaky hand through his hair, he knew that the right thing to do was to stay with Sam, but now that Sam was using his powers more and more, he was afraid that the demon would resurface. "Dean…I don't want to leave you and Sam, but the more Sam uses his powers..." John sighed and looked off into the distance.
"I know Dad…you need to do your job…finding the bastard, I'll do mine and protect Sam…just remember, you promised to call us when you find the demon…we need to fight him together!" Dean watched as his father reached down to pat Sam's shoulder one last time…trying to reassure himself that his son would be ok if he left him. "Hey Dad, could you just stay with him for another minute…I just want to check out and grab a cup of coffee to go"
John wasn't fooled; he knew that Dean was giving him room to say his goodbyes to Sam. "Sure son…and….Thanks!" He watched as Dean walked away. He was grateful that his oldest son understood…he always seemed to understand his father's and brother's needs without anything being said. But Sammy…well, he always wanted things spelled out. He pushed the hair out of Sam's eyes, letting his hand rest on the mop of dark brown hair for a moment. "Sammy…I don't know if you can hear me…but you need to understand. I'm not leaving because of what happened to you…I'm proud of the way you handled yourself…you have always been strong…I guess you've had to be to carry the weight you do. Dean and I are doing our part and you have to do yours…you have to get through this…don't let those bastards win." John let the tears he had been holding back fall, for just a moment letting his emotions come through. "Good bye Sammy" He bent forward and kissed his son's forehead, just like he used to do when Sam was a baby. Straightening up, he carefully closed the door and leaned against it, waiting for Dean to return.
Dean saw his father leaning against the Impala as he returned with two bags of food and two cups of coffee. He realized as he was filling his order that his father had not eaten either. He silently handed the coffee and bag of food to his father. "Thanks Dean…I know that you can handle this son…but if you need me" John looked at Dean and smiled at the cocky look on his son's face.
"Yeah…I know Dad…I'll call."
John reached over and gave his oldest son a hug and an envelope before heading to his truck. "Here is some extra cash…make sure you find some place nice for you and Sam to rest….make sure you both rest…that's an order!" He watched as Dean got into his car and drove off towards the highway. Sighing, John started his truck and headed back in the opposite direction…it seemed like he was always saying goodbye to his sons…he just hoped that some day, they would all be able to be together again.
Dean watched his father's truck disappear in the rear view mirror. "Well Sammy…it's just you and me again kiddo. You just rest back there…I'm going to get us a nice motel and you and I are going to get some much needed R&R!" Hitting the accelerator, he roared down the highway, playing his favorite music.
Dean drove in silence for 4 hours, glancing back periodically at his sleeping brother. He had yawned as he felt the past few days catching up with him. He knew that it would still be a while before he could sleep. He had seen a sign advertising a resort not too far ahead. He figured it would be a good place for him and Sam to relax. "We're almost there Sammy…then we can get you cleaned up and more comfortable."
A short time later, Dean had registered and was pulling up in front of their lodging. The property had individual cottages. Dean had paid for a month in advance, wanting to give him and Sam plenty of time to recover. He sighed as he entered the cottage…this was the closest thing to a home that they had been in for a long time. Dropping the bags by the front door, he returned to the car to grab Sam. Opening the door carefully, he gently shook his brother's shoulder. "Come on Sammy…we're home…time to wakee wakee!"
Dean smiled as he saw Sam open his eyes, blinking at the bright sunlight coming through the car windows. Sam groaned as he tried to sit up, but didn't say anything. "Ok sunshine…that's it, just scoot over to the edge of the seat…let me do most of the work!" Dean noticed that his usually overly modest brother didn't react to his lack of wardrobe. Dean hadn't wanted to dress Sam until he was able to finish repairing the damage done to him by the vampires. He tried to get a look at Sam's eyes, but his head was leaning forward onto his chest…almost as if it was too heavy for him to support. It was only a short distance to the cottage, so Dean just placed Sam's arm over his shoulder and started pulling him towards the doorway.
Luckily the bedroom wasn't too far...Sam was moving, but didn't appear to be able to support his weight. "Sam…how about a little help here…man you gotta lay off the granola bars!" This time Dean looked into Sam's eyes, hoping to see the usual rolling action that normally followed one of his wise cracks. He frowned when he saw the blank stare instead. "Come on Sammy…you're scaring me here…you need to snap out of it!" Dean gently laid his brother onto the bed and went back out to get the first aid kit.
After cleaning the wounds more thoroughly and stitching up the wounds, Dean wiped his hands on a towel. He decided to try and give Sam a quick sponge bath…he wasn't sure how long it would be before his brother would be able to stand and take a shower. Going over to Sam's bag, Dean removed clean clothes and placed them on the nightstand. Sam had fallen asleep again as soon as his head hit the pillow. Dean was glad, that the sleep seemed to be without nightmares…he just hoped it would last a while longer.
Dean returned a few moments later with a bowl, washcloth and towel. "Now Sam…you know you are really going to owe me for this one…I normally don't do sponge baths…but since you can't get to the bath…I guess the bath will have to come to you!" Dean started by slowly washing Sam's face and neck. Talking quietly as he moved, trying to not startle the young man. He reached over and held Sam up as he washed down his back. Laying him down more gently, he worked on the rest of Sam's body. Sam flinched a few times during the process, but didn't open his eyes or protest. Dean took that as a good sign that Sam wasn't afraid.
"Ok Sam…the hard part is over. Now we just need to get those dirty briefs off and get you into some nice clean clothes. Then you can rest for as long as you want." Dean placed his hand on Sam's shoulder to let him know that he was there. Watching Sam's face, he reached down and began to remove the boxers…luckily this time he anticipated the reaction and jumped back before Sam's fist connected with his jaw…however he didn't anticipate the melt down that Sammy would go through.
Sam rolled from the bed, curling into a ball on the floor…objects started flying through the room while Sam lay on the floor rocking and crying to himself…"NO…please don't touch me…I don't want to be touched, just leave me alone…Dean where are you!"
TBC
Raven524: Ok…so it will be at least one more chapter of Sammy angst…hopefully you won't be getting too bored at this point. If you want me to stop here, just let me know!
