Chapter 8

Storm finished eating and waited for Dean to finish before taking their plates to the kitchen. She sat them in the sink and turned to Sam to get his dirty dishes. Storm ran water and did the dishes and wiped the counters down before joining Dean in the living room.

"Want the television on?" she asked him as she leaned down to hug him and sneak a check on his temperature. She kissed his forehead and pressed her cheek to his cheek thinking he didn't feel warm but felt slightly cold. Storm pulled an afghan from the couch and draped it over his lower body.

"Doesn't matter," Dean mumbled as he worked on taking deeper breaths to get the oxygen he needed into his body.

Once Storm had the television on, she flipped through the channels and found an old western she knew Dean would like. She watched Dean for a moment, doing her best not to cry. Knowing she needed to keep busy, she decided to do some chores.

"I'm going to do the laundry for you guys," Storm said, not getting a response from Dean. "Sam, you wanna get your dirty clothes together?"

"I can do them later Storm," Sam offered.

"I don't mind, really."

"Alright," Sam conceded getting up to go to his room and get his dirty clothes together for her. He took them to the laundry room and left them while Storm went to get Dean's dirty clothes.

Storm paused when her cell started to ring and answered it. Her Dad was calling back that he found an oxygen machine and could get it the next day. She explained that Sam would meet him halfway to pick it up so he wouldn't have to drive all the way to the cabin. He agreed and would text her when he picked it up and where to meet him.

"Sam, Dad called back and should be able to get the equipment tomorrow. He will text me with a location to meet him so you can pick it up."

"That's fine, just let me know when and where," Sam nodded. "How do you think he's doing?" Sam whispered looking to the other room at his brother's head.

"I'm not sure," Storm mumbled back. "His breathing seems labored, and he feels cold."

"From all I've read, it says, he'll get weaker, and his heart will start beating irregularly impairing the oxygen intake that his body needs."

"And there's nothing that can be done to slow the process or help him?"

"Not medically that I can find. I'm looking into hoodoo, voodoo, and spells right now to see if there's anything that could possibly help. Or even some kind of ritual I could do but…"

"Sam, you're not going to do something stupid are you? You know Dean won't let you, not even to save his life."

"I'm not telling him."

"I won't let you do it. It would kill him if something happened to you and you know it," Storm hissed. "Promise me you won't do anything that would harm you."

Sam looked away but didn't answer her. He couldn't make that promise when he knew if there was a way to help Dean, he was going to do it. He felt Storm's hand on his arm as she squeezed gently before stepping into the laundry room to get the clothes started. She hoped keeping busy would keep her mind off what was happening to Dean, if only for a few minutes. She could feel the stress and worry weighing her down and knew she had to be strong for both the brothers.

spn

The days passed too quickly for everyone at the cabin. Storm got Dean to sit out on the deck to get some fresh air and enjoy the beautiful scenery around them. They even walked down to the lake one day. She was cuddling on the lounge chair with him, wanting to be close to him and to access his condition without Dean knowing she was doing it.

Sam got a shower and got ready to go meet Cooper to pick up the oxygen machine. He watched them from the kitchen as he marked off another day on the calendar in his head and still, he was no closer to finding a way to help Dean.

"Hey, I'm going to run that errand," he called to Storm from the doorway.

"Alright, Sam, be careful," Storm told him looking over Dean at him.

"Where's he going?" Dean asked as he shifted in the chair.

"Just doing an errand for me. He'll be back in a couple of hours."

"What are you up to?" Dean questioned warily.

"Nothing, you're too suspicious Babe. I thought I'd fix a roast for dinner tonight with vegetables and rolls."

"Sounds good to me," he mumbled before coughing softly, trying to catch his breath.

"You want something to drink?"

"No, I'm fine," Dean replied clearing his throat as he drew in a several short breaths as Storm rubbed his chest.

"Babe, you would tell me if you weren't okay, wouldn't you?" Storm questioned him. When he didn't answer, she continued. "Please, don't keep anything from me, I need to know." Storm snuggled her head into his neck as she fought back the tears.

"It'll be okay Stormy, we all knew something like this could happen on every hunt that I went on. I thought I would have more time, but guess it wasn't in the cards for me."

"Stop it Dean!" Storm hissed angrily. "You can't give up on Sam and me. We'll find a way to save you."

"Stormy, I don't think there's anything either of you can do now. It's a matter of time and we both know that."

"I'm going to go start dinner," Storm stated dully. She got up and stepped back inside leaving Dean on the deck alone. Storm went to the bathroom and jerked a towel down to muffle her sobs so Dean would not hear. It broke her heart when she knew he might be right. In the past days, Sam had researched every source available to him and still had not come up with anything that might help Dean.

After getting her emotions under control, Storm washed her face and went into the kitchen to get the roast ready to go in the oven. She had prepared the vegetables earlier and just needed to put everything together in a cooking bag and it would be ready to put in the oven. She turned on the radio to quell the silence in the house. A song started playing and Storm paused as she listened to the words.

"When the night has come
And the land is dark
And the moon is the only light we'll see
No I won't be afraid
No I won't be afraid
Just as long as you stand
Stand by me

So darlin', darlin', stand by me
Oh stand by me
Oh stand
Stand by me, stand by me

If the sky that we look upon
Should tumble and fall
Or the mountains should crumble to the sea
I won't cry, I won't cry
No I won't shed a tear
Just as long as you stand
Stand by me

And darlin', darlin', stand by me
Oh stand by me
Oh stand now
Stand by me, stand by me…"

As the song ended, she sighed heavily and finished preparing the meal and putting it in the oven. By the time Sam got back, it should be ready, and they could eat. Storm wiped her hands on a towel as she tried to decide what to do next to stay busy and keep her troubled mind off what the future held for them.

spn

"I'm back," Sam announced as he let himself into the cabin. He pushed the oxygen machine on its rollers across the floor and left it in the living room.

"What's that?" Dean asked suspiciously as he stepped back into the house when he heard Sam.

"It's an oxygen machine," Storm told him as she moved around the bar. "You're going to need it soon."

"Like hell I am," Dean said defensively looking between Sam and Storm.

"We're not going to discuss this now," Storm stated firmly, not backing down from Dean as she stared him down. "Now, why don't you go wash up while I get dinner out of the oven?"

Dean snorted his disgust before turning to head to the bathroom. Sam looked between the two, not sure what to do to ease the tension between his brother and girlfriend. He watched Storm stomp back to the kitchen and pull the pan from the oven banging it down on the counter. She took a platter and cut open the bag to take up the roast and vegetables and sat the platter on the bar. Storm placed the rolls on a plate and got the butter from the fridge to sit beside the platter.

"Sam, hope you're hungry, go ahead and take a seat," Storm instructed him, ignoring his concerned look. She sliced the roast and fixed the plates looking at Dean when he came from the bathroom. "Sit, you need to eat," she stated firmly, pointing to a chair.

Dean pinched his lips together but didn't say anything as he sat down on a bar stool beside Sam. Storm sat the plates in front of each brother before fixing her own plate.

"Sam do you want a beer or green tea?" she asked pulling a beer and Gatorade from the fridge. She sat the Gatorade by Dean's plate and opened the beer to take a sip.

"Where's my beer?" Dean questioned.

"You're off alcohol," she told him.

"Green tea," Sam said in a small voice as he cringed when Dean grunted a retort not loud enough to be heard by Storm, but he caught the words.

"Here you go," Storm commented taking a tea from the fridge for him. "Go ahead eat up boys. When it gets a little darker, we can watch the light show tonight. It's usually nice this time of year." She sat down beside Dean and began to eat her food, ignoring the nasty looks Dean gave her as she sipped her beer.

"You know, I think I'll go eat in my room. There's some things I need to do in there," Sam offered before grabbing his plate and drink to scurry away before Dean or Storm said anything. He was going to make himself scare tonight and let them work this spat out.

"You know Dean I'm only trying to help," Storm told him getting tired of the silence and nasty looks he gave her.

"I'm sorry," Dean sighed. "I didn't mean to get mad. I'm not mad at you Stormy."

"I know. It's hard on all of us, but there's still time to find a way to help you."

Dean looked down at his plate when she said that, thinking she was kidding herself. He knew nothing could be done to save him. He could feel his body getting weaker with each passing day and it was getting harder to do simple things without getting short of breath.

"I'm not giving up hope, and neither should you. I don't think now is your time to die because you still have things to do. The world needs you still, just don't give up on yourself."

"For you, I'll do anything," he whispered taking her free hand and kissing it.

Storm cupped his cheek as she leaned into him for a moment, satisfied that maybe she pulled him out of the mood he had been in. They finished their dinner and after putting the dirty dishes in the sink and putting away leftovers, they went out onto the deck to watch Mother Nature at her best. The stars were beginning to come out against the ebony darkness of the sky, sparkling and shining so brightly that they looked like diamonds. Storm had brought a blanket out because she didn't want Dean to get a chill since the nights were cooler now.

Sam stuck his head out of his bedroom to be sure the coast was clear and brought his dirty dishes to the kitchen. He glanced out the sliding glass door to see Dean and Storm watching the stars. He ran water and washed the dishes before heading back to his bedroom to make a few calls to other hunters that he trusted, hoping they might know of anyone with knowledge to help Dean. He had tried calling their Dad several times to let him know the situation and to let him know where they were hoping he'd come by to see Dean, but John had not called him back. He was not happy about that and wondered if he would show before it was too late.

"Look, there's Ursa Major and if you look close you can see the Big Dipper," Storm pointed out, as they snuggled together under the blanket.

"You're as nerdy as Sammy," Dean mumbled.

"I take that as a complement, thank you."

"Stormy, will you do me a favor?"

"Sure Babe, anything."

"When I'm gone, would you look after Sammy for me? He's going to need someone to lean on and look out for him."

"I don't like to hear you talking that way, but yes, you know I will. We're not anywhere near that stage yet. I still believe in miracles and so should you." Storm raised her head to stare into Dean's eyes not liking what she was seeing.

"I'm just trying to get you guys prepared is all. I can't see any miracle saving me and I don't know anything in the lore that could be used either. I know Sammy is trying his best, but you guys may have to face the facts, there's nothing that can be done to save me."

"Hush, no more talk of that," Storm fussed placing her finger on his lips. "Let's just enjoy tonight and the light show."

"Alright," Dean replied as Storm laid her head on his chest and wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly for a moment before easing her embrace. He kissed her head and watched the stars wondering how many more nights he would have to do this. To watch the stars and be with the woman of his dreams, sharing the light show.

A/N: Dean has accepted his fate, he just needs to get Sam and Storm to do the same. Things are winding down with only two chapters left in this short. Time is running out for Dean. Reviews would make my day. NC