Dean held him until he fell asleep, slipping in between one breath and the next. Moving carefully Dean slowly pulled away and gently placed Sam onto the couch so that he could sleep.

Grabbing the blanket on the couch he covered him with it and then knelt down next to his head, just watching his little brother.

Even asleep he looked like he was carrying the weight of the world. The bags under his eyes were more prominent, the stress lines that were across his face. It made Deans stomach clench and his chest tighten as he reached out to stroke at Sam's hair, sitting down on the ground to get a bit more comfortable.

The more he stroked over Sammys hair, the more he could see that it was relaxing him bit by bit, until finally he looked like a kid again, deep asleep and hopefully nightmare free.

Dean let his fingers linger, just stroking over Sam's hair and face, smoothing out the premature lines that were there. His thumb stroked over Sam's cheek, catching slightly on the stubble, Sam needed to shave. Back when he had left, he hadn't even had the hint of a beard so their dad hadn't shown him how to shave like he had with Dean.

He wondered who taught Sam how to shave, most likely it had been Bobby and despite everything that pissed him off more than it should and more than made logical sense.

Bobby shouldn't have had such a position in Sam's life, whenever the man spoke about him he almost spoke like a father talking about his son. He knew that it pissed John off, he could tell every time Bobby said something about the past and their dad tense up.

Dad was just as pissed off as he was, he was just hiding it better for the time being because they all needed to work together.

Sam should've stayed with them, visions of the future notwithstanding. They would've managed, they would've figured things out. Mom had been a hunter before, she would've known what to do and he and dad would've followed quickly and easily, just like they are now.

He wished that Sam had trusted them enough and had enough faith in them back then to just...talk to them. Let them be a part of it and help him. They were his family, it's what they were supposed to do.

It's what he's supposed to do. He's Sam's big brother, he's supposed to look after him.

Well, better late than never. He was here now and nothing was going to take him away from Sam or from helping him.

Especially now that he needed it most, whether he knew that or not.

He wasn't sure if Sam understood just how bad Ruby was to him, how bad it was whatever she was whispering and doing to him.

But Dean was going to make sure that he understood it. He'd find a way to get to his brother, get through that thick stubborn skull of his, and make him realize the truth.

He wasn't sure what to tell their parents tomorrow, he was sure that they were going to demand answers that he knew Sam didn't want to get into a second time, leaving it to him and whether or not to tell them the truth.

He also wasn't sure how they were going to react to the realization that Sam had been drinking demon blood, that was something that he really wasn't looking forward to seeing if he told them.

Rubbing at his forehead with his free hand, Dean leaned back against the couch and closed his eyes, feeling drained and tired to all hell.

He wasn't sure how to handle this, he had no idea. Apparently demon blood was addicting enough to make Sam want to have more, regardless of what he said. So that meant that he needed to deal with this like it was drugs.

God he wished that this whole thing was just drugs, then he could just beat Sam's ass and then send him off to rehab to get sober and deal with him when he got out with hard and rough familial loving.

But no, he had to be involved with hunting and supernatural things and demon blood. That was a bit more difficult than a twelve step program.

The little that he knew, he had to cut the addiction at the source, meaning no more demon blood from Ruby. No more dealing with Ruby, or having anything to do with her. If she has information as Sam says she does, she can text him.

And that's if she really does care about Sam like Sam thinks she does, Dean had a feeling that she didn't give a damn.

After that...he wasn't sure. He was going to have to look this stuff up to see how to deal with an addiction and getting over it. He saw that the town had a library, he could go there for a day to find some sort of steps to take.

Leaning back a bit heavier against the couch Dean kept his hand tangled in Sam's hair, feeling himself start to fall asleep himself.

He's exhausted with everything, he can only imagine how Sam felt at this point. They'd deal with this tomorrow morning, for now, they were just going to sleep.

Regardless of what tomorrow is going to bring, whatever eruptions from their parents and Bobby, they'd deal with it together.

He wasn't going anywhere, he was going to stand by Sam the entire time no matter what.

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