Sam shook his head to clear his mind and saw Dean's eyes roll into the back of his head and him slump to the side, "Dean!" he screamed noticing the form of a girl hovering over his brother. Not just any girl but the same girl he had found in the freezer. He went to rush and grab his brother but something he couldn't see stopped him short.
To the side of the swirling fog Sam saw Donald. The ghost didn't look sad anymore. In fact he looked down right furious. The ghost reached a hand into the fog and pulled back the form of his daughter.
The girl gave a furious cry as she was pulled back away from the Dean. Donald held her in a bear hug and his eyes met Sam's, "Go!" he bit out fighting to restrain his daughter.
Sam gave a short nod and made it to Dean's side in less than two strides. He quickly searched for a pulse, finding one but it was slow. Too slow. Shooting a glance at Donald he saw that the ghost couldn't hold his daughter for much longer and decided to forgo waking Dean up for now.
Pulling the older Winchester into the fireman's carry Sam was unnerved at how cold his brother's torso was but quickly made his way out of the room none the less. He was almost at the steps when he passed the old leather bound journal. Thinking it may be useful Sam quickly scooped up the book and put it in his pocket. Securing Dean on his shoulders Sam sprinted up the stairs as fast as he dared to go. Carrying Dean was no easy task and as far as Sam was concerned Dean may as have well weighed a ton.
Once out of the house Sam sat Dean against the Impalas back door and fished in his pockets for the keys. When he found them he was unnerved at how cold the small pieces of metal were which only increased his worry ten fold. If the keys were this cold then what about Dean?
Sam unlocked the doors and placed Dean into the passenger seat before turning the old girl on and putting her heater on full bull. The young hunter quickly made his way around to the trunk pulled out the two blankets they had taken from the hotel room as an after thought and hoped into the front seat.
Not wanting to spend any more time at the Rhodes' house Sam quickly threw the blankets over Dean and pulled the car out of driveway and fishtailed down the road. When he was a good ten minutes away from the house Sam pulled the car over to the side of the road so he could better check on Dean.
"Dean? Hey Dean you with me bro?" Sam asked shaking Dean's shoulder softly. The older Winchester had stopped shaking when the cloud had been removed from him and now just sat silently not moving.
After another few minutes of shaking and trying to bring Dean around, Sam's heart almost blew up with relief when he got a moan in response from his brother. He smiled and shook Dean a little harder trying to bring him fully back to the land of the living, telling him encouraging things to help as well.
From somewhere in the cold darkness Sam's voice came through. Soft and muffled as if from far away at first but then more louder as Dean came back into himself. He became aware that Sam was shaking his shoulder but the contact was hurting him. He let out another groan to try and tell Sam to stop but the latter only took it as encouragement and shook him harder. Knowing that he wasn't getting through that thick skull Sam had Dean regretfully pried one eye open to glare at his little bother.
"Sammy?" he asked, his words still slurred. They were in the car. He would know his car anywhere and right now he was in it. How the hell did that happen? His brain felt like bloody scrambled eggs and he just wanted to go back to sleep, "Five more minutes." He whispered, his voice horse.
"No, no, no Dean you need to stay awake. Can you do that for me bro? Please." Sam said quietly.
Damn it. The dreaded please word. That was the one word that Dean had hoped wouldn't break through the haze of his mind but oh no. Sam just had to go and pull out the big guns didn't he? Now there was no way in hell that Dean would be able to go back to sleep. Mentally cursing he opened his eyes. Why did it have to be so hard to stay awake?
Dean smiled knowingly. The car. His one true baby. She was making him want sleep by being all comfy and warm. Dean inhaled as deeply as his ribs and back would let him and tried to stretch his stiff muscles to wake up more.
Sam saw his brother shiver and his worry spiked. Making sure he was gentle Sam wrapped the blankets around his brother a bit tighter, even going so far as to cover most of his head with one. Sam turned the cars heater down a few notches. From what he could remember you weren't supposed too warm the victim up, just make sure their temperature didn't get any lower.
"Dean I'm going to take you to the hospital okay. The kind of treatment you need I can't give you." Sam said pulling the car back onto the road and gunning it.
Hospital? What he didn't need a hospital! He needed a damn bed, "Sam no hospitals." Dean said with as much finality in his voice as he could muster, his head spinning.
"Dean you need a hospital." Sam repeated not taking his eyes off the highway.
"No. Just take me back to the motel. Or the beach. You know a hot bikini clad chick would be great right about now." Dean slurred and chuckled quietly to himself.
"No I'm taking you to a hospital Dean." Sam said remaining strong in his decision. That was until his brother's next words.
"Sam if you take me to a hospital I swear to god I will kill myself." Dean said, his eyes gleaming dangerously. His words had the desired affect. Sam slammed on the car breaks, stopped in the middle of the road and turned to gawk at his brother.
Dean had figured out somewhere in his hazy mind that if he threatened Sam with something like that then his younger brother would do as he asked. Because he really, really didn't want to go to a hospital right now. He just wanted to go back to the motel room, curl up in his bed and sleep for the next 24 hours straight. 'Sorry Sammy but if it's the only way to make you listen to me the so be it.' That and he knew that he didn't have the strength to argue with his little brother for very much longer as the peaceful abyss of sleep was calling him and he wouldn't be conscious much longer.
"W-what!" Sam choked out his eyes as wide as saucers. He would have looked comical had the situation not been so desperate.
"Take me to the motel Sammy." Dean said and closed his eyes, leaning back into his seat and ignoring the pain it ignited in his back and ribs. Sam put the car back into drive and drove to the motel room. Game, set, match.
By the time they reached the motel Dean was asleep and Sam was biting the insides of his mouth in agitation. 'Stupid git. How they hell could he just throw that in my face like that! If he wasn't already beat to hell I'd kick his ass myself.' Sam pulled the car to an angry stop out the front of their room and scrubbed his hands over his face in frustration. He couldn't completely blame Dean. The older brother had merely said what he knew would make Sam listen and do as he asked and Sam decided to blame the hypothermia that was screwing with his brother's head for that. Still he wasn't going to let this go and as soon as Dean was better he was going to get it.
"Dean come on, get your ass up and inside." Sam said and shook Dean's shoulder.
The older hunter muttered something under his breath that sounded suspiciously like 'pancakes and shampoo' before he opened his eyes and untangled himself groggily from the blankets that had been wrapped tightly around him.
Sam ran around to the passenger side of the Impala and helped his brother out not liking that the older man was still cold to the touch, even his torso. Keeping one arm firmly around Dean who had pretty much all of his weight leaning on Sam, he maneuvered them – with some difficulty – into the hotel room.
With Dean's remaining strength he collapsed onto the first bed in much the same manner as he had the other day, and closed his eyes finally being able to drift off into a much needed sleep. Unfortunately for him his brother had other ideas.
"Dean you can't sleep yet. I have to get you warmed up, but I promise after that you can go to sleep okay?" he asked Dean while turning on the hot water in the bathtub of the small bathroom. His knowledge of his brother's current condition was floating around his head. He remembered his father hammering it into his head that sufferers of hypothermia often refused treatment and didn't realize that they were in trouble so you had to be firm with them and when Dean ignored him that's what he decided to do.
After the bath was three quarters full with warm water Sam went back to Dean and shook the older man for what he figured was probably the thousandth time that night, "Dean, get up now. That's an order." He said making his tone sound scarily like the great John Winchester's.
Dean opened one eye lazily and glared up at Sam, but he was awake all the same and Sam would take what he could get. Helping to leaver Dean up they both got into the bathroom where he sat Dean on the close lidded toilet. The older brother leaned back and to the side almost falling of the porcelain seat if Sam hadn't grabbed him by the shoulders and straightened him. Sam got to work, the bath being almost full, and took off Dean's heavy boots, jacket and over shirt.
Sam then pulled his brother to his feet and maneuvered him into the bath fully clothed. Dean gasped at the warmth of the water and made futile attempts to get out only having Sam push him back each time.
After the inevitable shock of the waters temperature wore off Dean relaxed back into the bath and closed his eyes. This actually wasn't so bad and he was glad he had 'convinced' Sam to bring him back to the motel. He knew that if he were in a hospital they would be sticking IVs into him to fill him full of warm fluids right about now and he was enjoying the bath a lot more than that prospect. This was great actually now that he was really getting into it and he let himself slip back to sleep, not having the strength to stay awake anymore, and knowing that Sam was there and wouldn't let anything happen to him.
Realizing that his brother wasn't going to be able to stay awake even if he did wake him up again Sam kept his hand on Dean's shoulder incase he slipped underneath the water.
The brothers stayed like that for around fifteen minutes until Sam deemed it safe to get his brother into bed. Pulling the asleep or unconscious - he wasn't really sure but he hoped it was the first - brother from the bath and stripped him of his wet clothes. He half carried half dragged Dean to his bed and laid him on it on it while he got the older man some dry clothes.
Sam wrapped Dean's ribs tightly and then dressed him, not really caring about his nakedness having spent too much time on the road together to care about such false modesties. He tucked Dean under the sheets and piled on the blankets from the car, the spare ones from the linen closet and the one from his bed over his brother making him almost invisible beneath the mound. He checked Dean's vitals finding that they had improved and then went and quickly had a shower to warm himself up.
When he got back Sam checked the windows and door was closed and locked before he turned off the light and hopped into bed next to Dean. He hoped that he would wake before his brother to spare him the ridicule he was likely going to have to endure from being cuddled up to his brother if the older man woke first, but he knew that it was necessary.
So Sam snuggled, although he hated to call it that, up to his brother laying behind him and pulling him close to share his body warmth. At least not only was he helping Dean but he could keep a close watch on his vitals throughout the night. He quickly fell into a deep sleep comforted by his brother's steady breathing next to him.
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Hey my beautiful readers! I told you I wouldn't keep you waiting for too long. I'm not sure I liked Dean threatening Sam like that but I couldn't think of anything else. How uncreative of me. But anyway thanks to Swasti, DeanLives, Rhesa, GB Freak1, KateCyrus, SpookyClaire and PowerRangerFreeek who all took the time to review and make me smile :)
I'll try to update again soon but I have a really busy few weeks coming up with school starting with a damn Health SAC tomorrow and the day after, not to mention my end of year Exams are coming up soon too. But I'll keep writing in my spare time. In the meantime please hit the little button and let me know what you think ;)
Mishka xXx
