Dean's reaction had been pure instinct. When the eighteen-wheeler collided with them, he threw his arm out as if to shield his brother. After the confusion of the collision cleared, Dean coughed, "Sam?"

A groan from the passenger side was the only thing that told him Sam was still alive. Dean tried to move towards him, but found that his body wasn't responding very well. He heard someone calling out, "Hey! You boys okay?"

The driver of the other vehicle shined a flashlight through their windshield. Dean struggled to raise a hand to show that he was alive. The driver walked around to his side and asked, "How about your buddy there?"

"Alive… got a...phone?" Dean said. "...911?"

"Right. Don't worry kid, I'll call them."

To Dean, it felt like forever before he heard sirens. It took several firefighters to pry open his door and carefully maneuver him out onto a stretcher. He tried to ask them about Sam, but all they told him was, "You two are in good hands. We'll get you all fixed up."

The paramedics loaded him up in the ambulance and assured him that Sam was in the one right behind them. When they reached the hospital, one of the nurses asked, "Is there anyone you need me to call?"

Without hesitating, Dean rattled off Bobby's number. His injuries caught up to him and he passed out, sending the nurses and doctors into controlled chaos.

Bobby sat with Sam most of the time, to keep the kid quiet. He was miserable thanks to the sedatives and not being able to see Dean. But he was still to weak to walk more than a couple steps and he couldn't hide that.

It took Dean two days to wake up in the ICU. Bobby was helping Sam into a more comfortable sitting position when Dr. Markus appeared in the doorway. He told them, "Dean is awake, and asking for you."

Sam started to swing his legs off the bed and Bobby snapped, "Not you."

The younger hunter pouted, but stayed on the bed. As they headed to Dean's room, Dr. Markus explained, "He's doing well, considering the extent of his injuries. If he can breathe on his own, we can move him and Sam into the same room. From what I can tell, it would be better for all of us if that happened."

Bobby chuckled. "You got that right."

Dean's face lit up when he saw Bobby. He looked exhausted and doped up on pain meds, but he was awake. About twenty minutes later, they moved him into an in-patient room. The journey from the ICU had left Dean feeling a little overwhelmed. When Sam was brought in, the younger brother said, "Dean? You okay?"

Dean's eyelids were at half-mast. As soon as he heard his brother's voice, he smiled sleepily. "Yeah, Sammy. You?"

"Yeah."