-1Dream-State
Chapter 4
By infinite shadow
Disclaimer: Supernatural and any recognizable elements or characters in this story belong to the WB, CW and al. I did not make any money from this so please don't sue.
Author's notes: Thank you to my friend lynxlan for the patient betaing of this story. It's appreciated my friend.
I had said earlier that this was going to be a four chapter story. Well it's gonna be five chapters now. I wasn't happy with the actual ending so I wasn't going to post this instalment until I returned from vacation. But I didn't want to leave everyone hanging for three weeks. So hopefully this will do until I return. It's the best I could do.
I hope you enjoy and let me know what you think. I live for feedback!
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Dean fought like a man possessed. This thing had hurt his baby brother and by God it was going down tonight if he had anything to say about it. The only problem was he was beginning to tire. He had made several good hits and slices, the demon was bleeding from several places now, but none of it seemed to slow it down. The adrenaline that had kept him going in the fight was starting to wear off and the pain in his side was pulling his attention away from his opponent.
The Sandman lunged and Dean quickly back pedaled until he hit the wall with his back. He lurched to the side as the demon brought his blade down and just barely missed the hunter. The sword sparked as it collided with a bed frame on the way down. Dean swung his knife and caught the Sandman in the side. Bright red blood seeped into the white robe. Adding more red splotches to the others already decorating the light fabric.
"Your brother will never wake. He will last only a short time in my realm before he dies," the demon taunted with a smile.
"That's what you think. Sam will wake up tonight. He's faced harder odds before and survived. As long as I'm breathing he'll survive," Dean said somewhat grateful for the verbal sparring. It was letting him get his breath back.
"Then your life will be extinguished shortly. I grow tired of this game. It ends tonight," the Sandman said.
Dean snorted. "Of course it ends tonight. Why do you think I'm here freak. Your time tormenting these kids is over and I've got your one way ticket to hell."
Dean lunged out with his knife and got lucky. He hit the iron key and it fell away from the Sandman's belt. The antique key broke into pieces as it hit the floor. The demon shook as if he had been physically struck and staggered back.
"You will pay for that!" he roared at Dean as his eyes glowed red with anger.
Dean rolled his eyes at the Sandman. It was all the energy he had to spare for a smart ass remark.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
The young girl stepped forward her eyes hopeful but her stance wary. Sam noticed that she had placed herself in between him and the boy. It was something he'd seen Dean do countless times over the years.
"I'm Michelle and this is Bill," the young girl said quietly motioning to the boy behind her. "We have been here the longest. Please come with us."
Sam looked down at the little girl next to him as she grabbed his hand.
"I'm Lora," she whispered.
Sam smiled down at her and realized that she was the young one he'd promised to help when he couldn't remove her crescent moon necklace. "Sam," he whispered back.
The little girl giggled, pulled her hand out of his and scurried from the room. Michelle and Bill followed her out and headed down the hallway.
Sam walked out of the room and looked down the hall. He looked back to the room he'd just left to the door the children had stopped in front of. It seemed to be the same distance away as the alter room had been when Sam had been awake. The room that Dean had made him pick the lock on. Wondering about the possible connection and implication he hurried to join the Michelle and Bill there.
"None of us can enter this room," Michelle said reaching out for the door.
"We cannot even grab the handle or touch the door," Bill added as they watched Michelle's hand stop an inch in front of the door.
"It's sorta like a force field out of Star Trek. It doesn't hurt to touch it. In fact its kinda feels like pins and needles," Michelle said and sighed slightly as she pulled her hand back. "We can't find a way around it. But it must be important cause when the Sandman comes he comes out of this room."
Sam watched her pull her hand away and rub at it absently. He looked at the closed door and frowned slightly as he considered the options. If it opened for him would he wake up? He needed to get back to Dean and the fight. But he also had to find the way to help these kids. What if opening the door had an opposite reaction? What if opening the door hurt the children in some way? Sam shook his head.
"Aren't you going to do something?" Bill demanded. "She's hurting."
"I don't want to die," Michelle said quietly.
"None of you are going to die," Sam said firmly. "Where did you get that idea from?"
"She bears the death mark," Bill said.
"Death mark?" Sam asked his eyebrows going up into his forehead.
"Show him," Bill said grabbing Michelle's arm.
Michelle looked from Bill to Sam. She nodded as she reached up and pulled the neck of her shirt down slightly. There as clear as day was a red raw ring that looked like it encircled her neck.
"It is the mark of death from the Sandman. My time is coming to and end," she said softly.
"I don't want her to die," Bill said his eyes wide with fear as he shuffled a little closer to her. "Please!"
Sam looked at the raw ring on her neck. "The crescent moon necklaces. When the chains get too small you die," he said as the pieces fell into place for him.
"I don't want my sister to die. I'll be good, or take me in her place. Please don't let her die," Bill said as a few tears slipped down his cheeks.
"Hey it's ok," Michelle said softly pulling her arm out of his grasp and putting it around his shoulders pulling him against her.
Sam looked down to the boy his heart breaking slightly for him. He understood. He would die for Dean without thinking about it, without regrets if it meant his brother got to live. He reached out and brushed away the tears. "I won't let her die. I won't let you die either. I promise."
Bill studied him for a moment and nodded before leaning against his sister.
Sam took a deep breath, reached out and as soon as his hand touched the door handle it swung open. Inside the room was an alter exactly as it had been when he and his brother had found the other one. Sam looked at the siblings who looked into the room with curiosity.
"Keep everyone away. I have to destroy the alter. Nothing may happen but in case it does I don't want anyone getting hurt," he said to them.
Michelle nodded, squeezed her brother and pulled her arm away before hurrying off.
Bill stayed for a moment watching his sister walk away. When he was sure she was out of earshot he turned to Sam.
"Even if this doesn't work, and you can't help her, I just wanted to say thanks for trying," he said then turned from him and hurried after Michelle.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
Dean stepped back to avoid the Sandman's blade as it swung dangerously close to his midsection. He brought his own blade around catching the demon on his arm.
"That's for Sammy you bastard," he said panting slightly.
The demon didn't even flinch at the cut as he brought the staff down on Dean's unprotected side for the second time. Dean screamed as he swore he felt one or two of his ribs break and he sank to the floor as the pain overwhelmed him.
He struggled to keep conscious and breathe against the pain. A murmuring voice above him made him open his eyes. A floating necklace was slowly descending towards his neck.
"NO!" he yelled as he quickly brought up his blade. The necklace shattered and Dean closed his eyes so none of the sand would land in his eyes.
"Soon stubborn one. You will join your brother," the Demon said. "Soon your life will end. That moment will bring me much pleasure."
"Bite me," Dean said. He kicked out with his leg catching his opponent off guard. The Sandman fell backwards having his knees buckle as his feet were swept out from underneath him. Dean used the moment to struggle to his knees.
He wiped a hand over his mouth surprised to see blood on his hand. "Bastard," he growled.
Panting and swearing against the pain in his side Dean struggled to find his feet. The Sandman recovered quicker than he did and using his staff he landed several quick painful blows before Dean could recover fully.
The hunter screamed at the sudden additional pain in his chest, arm and head. Dean fell bonelessly to the floor. All he could do was breathe and kept a precarious grip on his consciousness.
"Your brother is mine forever now. You have failed him," the demon said as he towered over Dean's limp form on the ground. "You will live and stay awake long enough to see him die. Then you will join him in his death."
Dean almost allowed himself to pass out welcoming the pain free darkness. He heard the demon's voice and tried to process what he had just said over the pain in his head. Then the voice was gone and Dean almost let himself go in the sudden quiet.
"Bind the boy to my realm for as long as he draws breath. Bind the boy's soul to my realm for all time…"
Dean had almost passed out but a murmuring voice nearby kept him from giving up. His battered brain finally realized what was happening. SAM! His mind screamed at him. The demon was still after Sam.
Dean's eyes opened slightly and saw the night demon crouched over Sam. He was beginning an incantation over his brother as a crescent moon necklace hovered just above Sam's head.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
Sam watched them walk away to make sure they were really out of the way. He took a deep breath and entered the room. Glancing over the table he reached underneath it and yanked hard crying out at the pain that shot through his arm when the table didn't budge. He held his arm for a moment as a thought occurred to him and he smiled slightly. Moving to the side of the table he grabbed the ends of the velvet cloth.
"Always wanted to do this," he said quietly. He gave a yank and everything crashed to the floor.
The candles lining the room snuffed out, the door slammed closed and children's voices could be heard calling out in fear.
Sam staggered and fell to his knees. He dropped the velvet cloth and brought his hands up to his head. His world began to spin in the darkness and he screamed as pain seared his brain.
He could see Dean battling the Sandman and he was losing. His face was bloody from many cuts and one arm hung limp at his side. The Sandman hit him with his staff and Dean went down. The demon smiled as he allowed him to struggle to his knees then gave a mighty thrust with his sword.
Dean's eyes bulged in shock as he looked down where the sword stuck out of his chest. As he looked back up to his killer blood began to seep from his mouth. Then his eyes lost their focus and his body went limp and sunk down to the floor.
Sam screamed his brother's name and then his nightmare faded out. Darkness enfolded him making him disoriented and claustrophobic. He reached out and found the wall. Moving over to it he curled up with his back to the wall. He wrapped his arms around his legs.
"Oh God please don't let that be real," he sobbed quietly resting his head on his knees.
OOOOOOOOOOOOO
Dean struggled to his feet his eyes never leaving the evil that loomed over his brother. He moved as fast as he could, his knife out and ready. Metal struck metal as his blade destroyed the crescent moon necklace that had been meant for his brother. He collided with the demon bringing them both down to the ground.
Dean rolled away from the demon making sure he kept his grip on the weapon. He used the momentum to roll to his knees and threw the blade into the Sandman's arm. The demon screamed as he lost his grip and dropped his jewelled sword.
Dean almost screamed himself at the nauseating pain that emulated from his side. He did his best to put it out of his mind concentrating on finding another weapon. Glancing around he saw the demon's sword had slid near him. Gasping in pain he leaned down and picked it up. He reached out and used the wall to steady him as he got to his feet.
Stars danced in his sight and he blinked several times before they went away. The Sandman had used this time to pull the blade from his arm and toss it away.
Hunter and Demon stood before each other, resizing the other up and waiting for their opponent to make the next move.
Dean smiled with satisfaction as he took in the demon's state. "You look like crap."
"I will recover in a matter of hours. You will die tonight," the Sandman said angrily.
"We'll see about that," Dean said and brought the blade up slightly.
The Sandman paled slightly. Dean lurched forward and weaved to the side in time to avoid a swing from the demon. He twisted and swung out at the demon's side cutting through the demon's belt. It fell to the ground shattering the glass star that held the sand and the rest of the crescent moon necklaces broke making pieces scatter all over the floor.
"NO!" the Sandman shouted.
Dean made one final lurch and jammed the sword into the demon's chest.
The demon made no sound as he fell onto his knees. A look of wonder and surprise was on his face as he tried to say words. His mouth moved but nothing came out except a trickle of blood. Then his eyes closed and he fell forward onto his chest pushing the blade further inuntil the end stuck out of his back.
Dean swallowed reflexively against the nausea burning the back of his throat. He took a couple of shallow breaths to combat the dizziness that made the room tilt and spin. "Keep it together. You're not done yet," he said as he realized he was shaking badly.
He looked over at his brother who was crumpled against the wall. There was a trail of blood that ran down the wall ending near at his brother's bloody arm.
"Hold on Sammy. I'll be right back. Don't go anywhere," he said quietly. There was one more thing left to do and if he didn't he was afraid that his brother may never wake up.
Dean slowly made his way out of the room and down the hallway. He entered the alter room and stood before it. Knowing he no longer possessed the strength to upend the table he settled on pushing the three larger items off their stands to the floor. Then he grabbed the velvet cloth and walked away from the table. His wounds screamed at him, but he smiled as he heard therest of the items on the alter crash to the ground.
He made it to the door frame and leaned against it panting. He hurt everywhere, he was bleeding freely in several places and every breath sent sharp pains through his chest and down his arms like an electrical current. All he wanted to do was collapse right there, but he couldn't allow himself the luxury of passing out. Sam needed him and he needed his little brother.
Dean leaned on the wall all the way back to the room. He was shaking badly from the effort and as he turned into the room he lost the support of the wall and fell to his knees. He crawled the rest of the way to his brother hoping he'd be awake by the time he got back to him. All hopes were dashed as he got close and realized that his brother's eyes were still closed.
He propped himself up against the wall next to Sam. A glance of the room confirmed that the Sandman was gone. Permanently. The white robe speckled with blood and rips was there buried in a long pile of sand exactly where he'd left the demon. It was over, he hoped.
Dean rested his head back on the wall. "Sammy you have to stop running off on the job," he said as his shoulder brushed Sam's tensing slightly as his brother whimpered at the contact.
Without thinking Dean lifted his arm and placed it around his little brother's shoulders. It was an ingrained automatic response and Dean hissed at the pain the movement caused. A gentle pull had his brother resting against his side, his head nestled into his shoulder.
"I remember when you were little. Dad was out most nights hunting something or researching something. We were always moving and you were always having nightmares about the new house, new people or whatever we'd just hunted. You'd always run into my room and jump up into my bed. Always whispering what your nightmares were just in case they heard you and followed you," Dean fell silent for a moment just trying to breath against the pain in his side.
"I gotta tell ya kiddo I kinda miss the days when I could throw my arm around you and it would chase all the demon's away. Or all problems could be solved by saying because I said so, or because Dad said so. Or my favourite I'm the oldest. Do what I say or I'll tickle you to death," Dean said then stopped as the pain became unbearable.
"I hated that one the most," Sam said his voice slightly muffled by Dean's shirt as he woke up.
Dean smiled a little. "I know. Why do you think I used it so much?" he said relief evident in his voice.
Sam straightened up lifting is head off Dean's chest. "You look terrible," he said his voice slurring the words slightly as he fought to totally wake up.
"Well that's what happens when you fall asleep on the job," Dean said then ruffled Sam's hair a little. "Damn Sam you need a haircut."
Sam's comeback was interrupted when creaking caught their attention. They looked up to the doorway and saw children gathering there. Most looked scared or unsure, but a few were crying. A little one broke free of the crowd and happily ran into the room.
"Sam!" she said happily then her smile faded into a scowl as she saw Dean.
Sam couldn't help but smile. "Lora this is my brother Dean."
Lora slowly walked over to the injured man. She stuck out a little finger pointing to his face. "Owie?" she asked.
"Nah I'm all right," Dean said shaking his head but at the little one's look of disbelief he crumbled. "Ok, maybe a little."
"Lora do you think you could find Bill for me?" Sam asked.
The little girl nodded making her curls bob with the motion. Then she rushed out of the room yelling Bill and Michelle at the top of her lungs as she ran down the hallway.
"Bill?" Dean asked.
"A child I met while I was sleeping," Sam replied.
"Something you want to tell me Sammy?" Dean asked looking askew at his brother.
"I'll tell you all about it later. You ok? How bad is your owie?" Sam asked.
"Dude, they fry your brain while you were sleeping?" Dean asked as he ran a hand over his brother's head. "Or maybe you've just hit your head one time too many."
Sam laughed as he gently pushed Dean's arm away from him then stood up as Michelle and Bill came into the room. Lora had each of their hands in hers and she was pulling them forward. Michelle's throat was showing a raw red ring on it confirming that she would have died soon from the necklace.
"Sam! You're ok!" Bill said.
"Yeah, but I need your help," Sam said.
"Whatever it is, you have it," Michelle said hoarsely.
Sam looked down to his brother then back up to the older children. "We have to tell the children a story to tell the police when they arrive and then I'm going to need help to get Dean out of here."
Bill nodded. "We all know what to say already. Two men saw one of us kids get taken onto this house, right Lora?"
"Yup. You followed us into the room where you fought the mean bad man. But you gots hurt bad. Lots and lots of owies," the little girl said sadly actually tearing up and letting a few tears slip down her cheeks. Then the tears abruptly stopped and she smiled at them.
"You couldn't wait for the police or ambulance so you left to get medical attention," Michelle finished her voice a little stronger.
Bill shrugged at the surprised looks on their faces. "Bad kids remember? Lying's a gift we all seem to share."
The children who had gathered behind them laughed and moved away out of sight.
Dean shook his head with a small smile on his face. "You will make sure everyone stays until help arrives?" he asked.
"Yes. The children will do what we say," Michelle said.
Sam nodded. "We passed a pay phone on the way here just down the street. We'll stop and call for help from there."
"Will we see you again?" Lora asked.
Sam shook his head. "Probably not."
The little girl rushed up to him and pulled on his pant leg. Sam crouched down to her level.
"Will I see mommy and daddy again?" she whispered her lower lip trembling slightly. Real fearful tears slipped down her cheeks.
Sam smiled at her and gently wiped the tears away. "I'm sure you will see them really soon."
She sniffed and wrapped her arms around his neck. Sam hugged her back and she gave him a small smile before going back to Michelle. The older girl picked her up and held her close.
Bill came forward and helped Sam get Dean to his feet. Dean gasped in pain at the movement.
Sam wrapped Dean's arm around his shoulder and wrapped his arm around his brother's waist. Dean groaned softly at the added discomfort.
"Sam," Dean said through gritted teeth. "I don't think," he started to say.
"Yes you can Dean. We gotta get out of here and these kids need to go home. You can and you will," Sam said quietly to him.
Dean closed his eyes and nodded slumping a little against Sam. Bill helped them get up the stairs and then headed back to the rest of the children. The hidden door in the pantry was left open. Sam got his brother in the car as gently as he could and drove away slowly to make sure the neighbours didn't see them. He stopped to make the phone call to the police, wiped down the phone so no prints were left and got back into the car getting back to the motel as fast as he could.
He opened the motel room door and then went back to Dean. He opened the car door but Dean didn't move.
"Dean?" he said softly as he crouched by his brother. Dean didn't stir and it relieved Sam slightly because he knew that it would hurt his brother when he moved him. If he could stay asleep while he moved him and treated his wounds then it would go way easier on his older brother.
He reached into the car, pulled his brother into what looked like a bear hug and pulled back then straightened up careful not to hit Dean's head on the car. Dean's head rolled slightly on his shoulders before it came to rest on his chest. Sam held him up against the car so he could close the car door. Then he wrapped an arm around his brother's waist and wrapped Dean's arm around his shoulder and got Dean into the motel room and onto his bed.
He ran back out to the car, opened the trunk and weapons case. He dug down and pulled out the medical kit. He tossed it aside and dug further until he found the medical bag they used for real emergencies and hurried back into the motel room. He closed and bolted the door. Closing the drapes he turned on the lights and turned back to his brother. He stilled for the first time as he got the real first look at Dean's injuries.
He swallowed as he took in all the bruising, and blood that almost coated his face and hands. Sam put the bag down on the motel bed and sat by his brother on the bed.
"Dean I don't know if you can hear me in there, but we're back at the motel and I'm going to look after you. It's gonna hurt like hell, you and Dad were always better at patching up than me, but you're going to be fine, ok?" he said. He waited for a response but none was forthcoming.
He took a deep breath and pulled Dean up by his shoulders. He removed his jacket and two layers of shirts, making sure his amulet stayed on. Gently he lowered his brother back onto the bed then went into the washroom, washed his hands and got a damp cloth. He sat next to his brother again and gently washed his face and arms. He needed to be able to see the wounds to treat them. He dug in the bag and pulled out a needle and stitched up the worst of the cuts. He put bandages over the stitches and the wounds that still bled freely. He reached out to check his ribs when he saw his hands were shaking and coated in Dean's blood.
He went into the washroom and washed his hands again. He returned back to Dean and as gently as he could he felt around his ribs. Sam hoped that the ribs were just bruised badly instead of fractured or outright broken. Bruised ribs could bring their own issues, but fractured or broken ribs could mean a trip to the emergency room. He wouldn't hesitate to take Dean to emergency, no matter how much they hated hospitals. He just wasn't sure how he was going to explain all of the injuries.
He pulled his shaking hands away from the painful looking discoloured skin as Dean groaned in his sleep. Sam breathed a sigh of relief. He couldn't feel anything broken or out of place and decided the ribs were just deeply bruised. He winced in sympathy knowing it was going to hurt like a bitch when his brother woke up.
"I'm almost done. Hold on just a little longer," Sam said as he pulled out bandages and cloth from the medical bag.
He pulled Dean back up to a sitting position and positioned pillows behind him for some support. He held most of his brother's weight as he slowly wrapped his chest in an Ace bandage. He rearranged the pillows again so that Dean would be sitting more than lying down to help relieve some of the pressure on his chest. Then he prepared a collar and cuff sling and secured Dean's wrist and arm close to his chest. Lastly he secured Dean's entire arm in a triangle sling to keep him from moving the arm and causing himself more pain.
He pulled the blankets up around his brother hoping that he'd found everything, doubting his own skills at triage as their Dad would have called it. None of them were doctors, but their father's military training had been thorough enough for John to teach the boys how to patch themselves up if the need ever arose, and it did a lot in this business. By the time Sam was ten he could dress a wound from cleaning it out to stitching it up to bandaging it and make the patient, usually Dean, comfortable. But that training seemed like a lifetime ago.
Sam remembered the first time Dean had broken his ribs. It should've been a simple salt and burn. Simple was a concept that their father had warned them about. Never underestimate your enemy was one of their golden rules. On that job they had seriously underestimated their opponents and Dean had paid for it.
The job was one ornery spirit haunting an abandoned old farm house. The old homestead was literally falling apart. A few more years and the building would collapse. Glass windows were broken with the broken pieces scattered inside and outside the building. The wrap around porch had fallen away from the house and some of the walls had holes in them. It was the kind of place where local teens went to party and dare each other to enter the spooky old building.
That lasted until teens started dying inside. The deaths bringing the Winchesters around to clean house.
Sam had done the research as usual and found that thirty fours years previous a young man had been killed in his home by Malikai Jones. After killing the boy Malikai committed suicide in the home. The Winchesters found the grave, salted and burned Malikai's old bones. When the fire was out they returned to the farm house to ensure things were ok. They weren't. Dean got pushed through rotting floorboards from the second story into the basement by another ghost. The remaining ghost was the boy Malikai had murdered.
Dean had been lucky to survive the fall with broken ribs, several lacerations and a sprained ankle. By the time they had returned to the motel they had been staying in Dean was pale, shaking violently and barely conscious.
After John settled his oldest on his bed he just looked over at Sam and said 'Here's your chance Son. Dress his wounds.' His older brother's condition had scared the crap out of him. Dean screamed when Sam had tried to put the bandage around his middle startling Sam so badly that he'd dropped the bandages and backed away from the bed. His Dad had spoken in a low comforting tone coaxing him back to the bed as he finished dressing Dean's wounds. The best he could do was try to hold back the tears while he held his brother's hand and prayed that he wouldn't die from his multiple injuries.
His bandage job now looked the same as his Dad's had been then. The only difference back then was Dad had pulled out a sedative for Dean, now they had none.
Sam sat heavily on his bed and watched his brother's chest rise and fall with each breath. He looked down at his clothes, there was a lot of sand on them as well as blood. There was no time for the luxury of a shower, he would have to watch Dean closely for a while.
He grabbed fresh clothes from his bag and went into the washroom. Stripped out of the dirty clothes and slipped on clean jeans, hesitating when it came to his shirt. He looked over at his arm and remembered that he had yet to clean it and bandage it. He took a moment to wash it then returned to the medical bag. He pulled out some anti-septic, most of which had been used up on his brother earlier, but there was just enough left for him. Taking a good look at the wound he debated momentarily about stitches and decided against it. He finished cleaning the wound then bandaged it.
He looked around the room and cleaned it up. He put the medical bag next to the door and finally collapsed on his own bed.
Sam watched over his brother for a short while. His heavily bandaged chest rose and fell evenly. When he felt that Dean would be ok for a moment alone he grabbed the ice bucket and hurried out of the room. He came back a moment later with a bucket full of ice. Watching Dean as he quietly closed the door he watched the bandages rise and fall evenly assuring himself that his brother was still alive.
Breathing a quiet sigh of relief he went into the washroom, put some ice in a shower cap and tied it off. Wrapping a towel around the hastily made ice pack he evened out the ice as best he could then gently laid the pack over the bandages where he remembered the worst of the bruising to be on his brothers chest.
He stepped back and sat on his bed watching his brother breathe in and out for a moment. Satisfied that despite his bet efforts his brother would survive the night, he settled back against the headboard of his bed and turned on the TV muting the sound as soon as it came on. He surfed for a few moments and after going through the few channels provided by the motel he settled on an old TV show.
As the episode came to an end he glanced over at Dean and watched the bandages barely rise. He quickly got off the bed and leaned over his brother. Taking away the cool water pack he could hear Dean's breath wheeze as air slowly made it's way in and out of his brother's battered body.
"Oh crap," Sam muttered and pulled Dean up into a sitting position taking most of his brother's weight against him as he removed the bandages from his chest as quickly as he could without disturbing the slings.
"Sammy?" Dean asked as he leaned up against his brother confusion clear in his voice.
"Yeah?" Sam replied still unwrapping.
"What happened?" Dean asked his voice sounding a little stronger.
"Sandman fractured your ribs," he said softly.
"And you wrapped me up like some freakin' mummy," Dean said gasping slightly.
"Yeah," Sam said.
Dean nodded against Sam's shoulder his breathing a little easier but still in short pain filled pants.
Sam was surprised a little that there were no smart ass remarks or sarcasm. Then again he had almost killed his brother tonight. Dean always did his best to hide most of the pain from him, but Sam figured this time he was just trying to deal with the pain as best he could.
He finished taking away the last of the bandages then helped Dean lay back against the propped up pillows. Dean's eyes were closed and Sam wasn't sure if he had passed out or not. He got up and took the melted ice pack with him. He emptied out the water and put the last of the ice cubes in the shower cap.
Leaving the tied up shower cap in the sink he brought up his hands. They were shaking, badly. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath and images from the past week slammed through his head. He opened his eyes and gave himself a hard look in the mirror. Now was not the time to lose it. After all, how many times had Dean actually needed him and allowed him to help? Taking a deep breath, Sam did his best to shove away the panicky feelings, grabbed the ice and returned to the room.
The first thing that he noticed was that Dean's eyes were open and he was watching as Sam camefrom the bathroom to the bed. As gently as he could he placed the ice pack on the worst of the bruising and heard Dean take in a sharp breath.
"OK?" Sam asked his hands hovering just above the ice pack ready to take it off if it was too much.
"Yeah," Dean said in a controlled voice.
Sam sighed heavily and sat across form him watching the ice pack rise and fall like he had been doing most of the night.
Dean took in his brother's posture. Even in his current condition he couldn't help but notice that something was wrong. Sam was slouched on the bed and his hands were clamped tightly together in his lap. A sure sign that if he let go they'd be shaking badly. His brother was staring at him with glassy unfocussed eyes making him slightly uncomfortable.
"Dude take a picture," he said hoping for any kind of response but didn't get one. He was pretty sure that Sam had gottenpaler, if that were possible, heightening his concern.
"Sam? You ok?" Dean asked but didn't get a response. "Hey Sam? You with me? Did that bastard hurt you? Sammy? Come on. Talk to me man."
"I'm fine. You're the one who is hurt," Sam said quietly.
"Yeah but I'll make a full recovery. Seriously did you hit your head or something? Cause your hundred yard stare is creeping me out man," Dean said.
"I'm fine," Sam said.
"Well you look like shit little brother," Dean said hoping to break into the little world of denial that Sam had built up around himself. "You are not fine."
"Whatever," Sam huffed as he rolled his eyes and looked down at his shaking hands in his lap.
Dean looked over at the TV glad that the almost empty stare was gone. "Well look at that," he said.
Sam's head came up and he realized something on the TV had caught his brother's attention. The screen showed a reporter talking with the words breaking news flashing at the bottom of the screen.
"Dude the sound," Dean said.
They were reporting a dramatic rescue happening with children. Live coverage was showing children being re-united with their families on the lawn of a house. Sam couldn't help but smile as he saw Lora in the arms of her mom and turned up the volume.
A reporter's voice cut over the scenes of the families on the lawn. "Two young men allegedly followed a blue robed man into this home. They apparently fought the robed man and were critically injured. We have our reporter on the scene and go live to her now."
"So this man," a woman's voice said as the TV showed a microphone pointed at a young girl.
"Yeah this scary guy took us from our homes. I tried to fight him but he was really strong," Michelle said tearfully into the camera. "He dragged me into this room and made me breathe through this cloth. I don't remember anything after that until these two guys freed us."
"What was their condition?" the reporter asked.
Michelle looked down at the ground. "They were bleeding badly from different cuts. The bad man had a sword and had cut them up. There was so much blood," she said then turned and wrapped her hands around her mom.
"Man she's good," Dean mumbled.
The reporter turned into the camera. "Police have told us that aside from some very mild injuries none of the children had been harmed. Police will be releasing a sketch of the man who had taken the children as soon as one becomes available. He has been described as a white male, 30-35 years of age. He has white hair, white beard and several scars on his face. Police are warning families to be on the lookout for this dangerous man.
"Police are also looking for these two young heroes tonight that saved these children. They have stressed that they are not suspects in this case, but they would like to get their statements. They may have valuable information helpful to catch the man who took all of these children.
"If you two men are out there and watching tonight these families wanted me to pass on their heart felt gratitude to you both. You truly are heroes tonight.
"This is Sherry Richards, channel 5 news. Back to you in the newsroom."
"Kinda makes it all worth it, doesn't it," Sam said quietly as he muted the volume, but there was no response. Dean had fallen asleep or passed out during the report. Sam turned off the TV and grabbed the notebook. He began to surf the net for nothing in particular but visited some of his favourite pages. He surfed for a couple of hours watching over his brother at the same time.
Sam looked up as Dean mumbled in his sleep. He was shaking slightly and there was sweat forming on his forehead. From the look on his older brother's face it wasn't good. Sam went over and pulled the blankets up and around Dean.
"It's not real. It's just a dream. You're safe here," Sam said quietly.
Dean seemed to settle and Sam went back to the table ignoring the switch in their usual roles. He began to look to see if there was anything else paranormal happening in this town. After several hours of surfing he found nothing else out of the ordinary and he could barely keep his eyes open. Giving in he moved over to his bed and crawled under the covers falling asleep almost immediately.
To be continued