A/N: I honestly don't know how this happened but I wrote this chapter the day after Mother's Day and somehow forgot to post it. Oops...sorry. Here it is, hope it's ok and sorry for...well...sorry.

Chapter 23

Sam Winchester was not a happy man. It had taken them nearly two hours to get to the first address on Bobby's list, only to find out that they had just wasted the first two hours of their day when they rolled up the long, middle of nowhere driveway in Bobby's beat-up old pick-up to an almost empty lot. The small cabin that had seemingly been there two years ago, according to the county assessor's office at least, was now pretty much gone, the only remnants that a home of any kind had ever been there being the lone standing toilet still attached to its sewer line surrounded by splintered pieces of wood and debris that had been strewn about the wide, barren area. Had Dean not been so anxious for the two of them to leave this morning, Sam would have been able to find out well in advance that the cozy, three bedroom, five bathroom 'shack' had been totally leveled by a tornado over a year ago and nobody in the Waterson family had bothered to take on the task of rebuilding it just yet.

Irritated with himself for not being able to focus his thoughts on anything other than the fact that he'd just been conned into leaving his all too recently suicidal brother alone to fend for himself to do any researching that could have saved them precious time during the two hour drive to get there, he sat in the passenger seat scowling as Bobby drove on to destination number two at the quotes he'd come across in the local newspaper articles now that he'd actually taken the initiative to look. The house was a rarely used, occasional 'pit stop' on the way to other, more interesting destinations that hadn't had a soul actually inhabit it in over two years, other than the occasional maintenance workers trying their best to keep it up to the strict Waterson standards. Let's face it; they had plenty of other places to stay that were more to their liking anyway.

Bobby could feel the anxiety oozing from every pore in Sam's body that he tried so hard to hide as he watched him play nervously with his cell phone in one hand as he searched the internet for any information on the second location they had to check out with the other, the look on the younger man's scowling face telling him that he wasn't really paying as much attention to the screen as he was to the little communication device he mindlessly flipped open and closed repeatedly as he blankly trolled from one website to another.

"Call him Sam," Bobby nearly ordered as he darted out a quick hand to snatch the phone away from the fidgety fingers that were annoyingly clicking the lid shut over and over again, the aggravated tone he snapped at the younger man with breaking the oppressive silence in the cab and making Sam visibly jump. "You know you've been itching to call for the last hour now so get on with it already, before I shove this damn phone somewhere so dark you'll be crapping numbers for a week."

"But Bobby, I don't want him to think I don't trust him enough to leave him alone for more than five minutes," Sam unconvincingly argued and Bobby could tell exactly what he was thinking.

"You obviously don't if you're dying to check up on him. Have a little faith in your brother Sam. He's been through a lot, hell, you both have and he just needs to sort his own head out now that it's finally firmly attached to his neck and facing forward again," Bobby reasoned and Sam seemed to be listening, at least somewhat.

"Do you really think he'll be ok?" Sam tentatively asked, wanting nothing more than it to be true.

"Do you think I would have left him alone and let you come with me if I didn't?" Bobby reminded him of what should have been blatantly obvious. The fact that Sam was sitting next to him instead of being invisibly chained to a chair at Dean's side pretty much said it all on that matter.

"I guess not. I just don't like leaving him alone right now, not after yesterday, not after everything." He said as he considered not only how close he had been to losing his brother the day before but how many other times Dean had nearly died in the last few weeks.

"You gotta give him some space Sam. I know you just want to be there to help him get through the rest of this, but it kills him that you even gotta see him like that at all. Believe me, he knows how hard it was for you so if he wants to spare you from any more grief, you just go ahead and let him take his world back onto his own shoulders for a little while. I know it ain't his fault and it ain't yours either but you gotta stop smothering him and let him breathe a little. It'll be hard, but you gotta do it."

"You're right, I know, but…"

"Good. End of conversation then. Now pay attention to what you're looking at so we aren't wasting any more time going on another wild goose chase or two," he cut Sam off, not wanting to hear any more 'buts' about it. Winchester men were so damn stubborn and argumentative he knew the 'buts' could go on all day if he let them.

In the hour it had taken to get from point A to point B, Sam had fully investigated all five locations left on the ever shrinking list and determined that they would indeed, and very unfortunately, need to scope out each and every one in person. Warehouse after summerhouse after outhouse they searched and came up empty each and every time. With each new location scratched off the list, their frustration only seemed to increase, especially Sam's. It was amazing to Sam that one family could accumulate so much that they cared so little about while other, more deserving people had nothing more to show for their selfless lives than an old, black car that had been nothing more than another hand-me-down and a massive weapons collection that most people would never see in an entire lifetime or even have good reason to, but little else of any meaning to their name, a name that they could rarely share with anyone anyway. Climbing back into the truck after their fourth failed search and unable to really think straight anymore, Sam decided he had had enough.

It was nearing late afternoon and they only had two sites left to go, but Sam's body language told Bobby he was pretty much done for the day. The overly worried younger sibling had seemingly kept his disquiet in check for most of the day but Bobby was pretty sure that the couple of times he had snuck off with his phone in hand hadn't been to call and order a pizza, but he said nothing about it. He just let Sam have his private moments of concern because he knew that no matter how hard he tried, Sam just couldn't help but worry. Watching as the tall, lanky young man slipped his cell back into his pocket before he climbed back into the truck's cab with his shoulders hunched and his face pinched with concern, he asked the question he had been dying to hear the answer to for hours now himself, knowing full well their day was done.

"How's Dean?" He inquired as he looked directly into the distracted eyes that stared right back.

"How'd you know I called?" Sam surprisingly asked, somewhat stunned that the question had been posed in such a 'don't deny it' tone. The slight cock of his head and the subtle raise of his eyebrows as the corners of his mouth turned into an obvious frown was the facial response Sam got from Bobby as he sat staring at him and it was an answer that wordlessly told him everything. Sam could only sigh and shrug his shoulders once he knew he'd been found out.

"He's been sleeping all day. One of the nurses woke him up around two o'clock to give him something but he went right back to sleep. Damn it Bobby, I knew it was a bad idea to leave him alone. Why would he need to sleep all day unless…" Sam had obviously been holding that in all day and Bobby wasn't going to let Sam's mind get carried away.

"Nothing is wrong Sam," the older man finished the thought before shooting the idea down entirely. "He's just sleeping. Damn it Sam, not everything has to be so ominous. Your brother has been up since four a.m. I know, because it's when I got up too. I'm dog tired right now and I didn't spend five weeks in a coma then another week in and out of a drug induced stupor before having surgery on my most private, most delicate parts and nearly dying after being OD'd by some crazy doctor with an even crazier vendetta against me for no good reason while some dead woman keeps whispering sweet nothings in my ear so just give him a break, will ya? Hell, I'd be sleeping too if it were me, probably with a half empty bottle of Jack in my hand."

Bobby's irritation was painfully apparent but somehow the normally calm, cool, and collected hunter's outburst had done the trick as Sam stared at the older man's face and let a big grin spread out wide on his own before he actually started laughing out loud, which didn't help Bobby's demeanor very much now that he was borderline fed-up with the Sam's constant need-to-know/there must be something wrong obsession. "You know, it's kinda cute the way your ears turn bright red when you're angry," Sam dared to say and somehow the giggle followed by the crack shut the older man up and made him laugh a little too. Sam's laughter had been nearly uproarious when Bobby's had started and as the two of them seemed to feed off one another the tears started to flow and it was a long while before they were both laughed and cried out.

"You ready to go," Bobby finally asked as he wiped his cheeks on his sleeve, the grin on his face firmly plastered in place and perfectly content to remain there the rest of the day.

"Yeah, I think so," Sam chuckled his answer before taking a deep breath and turning somewhat serious. "The next stop on the list is only about twenty miles away; we can probably check it out before it gets dark."

"Sam, I can't speak for you, but you can stick a fork in me because I am done for the day and since I'm the one driving the only place we're going is right back where we started from." With that, he started the truck and hit the gas, letting the tires spin just a little as they took off. They may not have found Trent's hiding place, but they did at least accomplish something just as important today, and tomorrow was definitely another day.

The drive hadn't been as long as Sam thought it would be and they pulled into the hospital parking lot sometime around five. Both men were tired, dirty, hungry, and quite obviously anxious to get back upstairs to see for themselves what all their talk had been about, Bobby needing to prove he had been right and Sam just wanting any kind of proof that things were ok at all. The room inside was dark and silent as Sam slowly pushed the door open and for the briefest of seconds his heart leapt into his throat as his stomach dropped to the floor. It seemed that every time he opened that door to find the room dark he didn't like what he found when he actually turned the light on. Walking warily inside, he crossed the space from the door to the bed and gradually played with the dimmer switch to light up the room just enough to see what, if anything, was happening and he was more than a little surprised at what he actually saw. He knew he didn't like this sight, not one bit.

"Dean, wake up," he said, giving his sleeping brother's shoulder a gentle, little shake as he lay on his side shivering on the bed with his back turned to the door, one leg stretched out straight and the other bent at a right angle with the knee nearly into his chest.

"Go away Nurse Ratched, You already bled me dry and I already took your damn pills…just leave me alone now, I'm tired," Dean mumbled as he tried swatting the offensive hand away that continued to prod him, interrupting his perfectly good sleep.

"Come on Dean, wake up," Sam tried again, desperately wanting his brother to wake up but not wanting to resort to the drastic measures he thought he would need to use if Dean wouldn't comply easily.

"No…I said go away," Dean whined through slightly chattering teeth as his hands continued to mindlessly flail at nothing.

"Dean, please…" Sam said as he poked his brother harder and this time he had to cover his mouth with his other hand to stop it from involuntarily making any other sound but the speech he was trying to project.

"Sammy…that you?" Dean asked when he finally realized who it was that was trying so hard to bring him back to consciousness. "What's wrong with me Sam…why am I'm sooooo cold."

"Probably because your totally naked Dean," Sam stated rather nonchalantly as if seeing his brother in a complete state of disrobe sprawled out on a hospital bed with nothing but a thin blanket bunched up under his bent leg and covering only half of what Sam and Bobby both could have gone their entire lives without seeing was an everyday occurrence. "Wow…I gotta tell you dude, I'm really glad you had your back to the door when we came in because if you had been facing the other way…"

"Your just jealous little brother, and I do mean 'little'…and stop staring at me you flaming pervert," Dean ripped, albeit sluggishly, while he groped for his wadded up blanket to cover his exposed body when his sleeping brain finally registered what was going on around him and the recollections of the day that had past fully came back to his tired mind as he drifted closer and closer to full awareness, the low snicker he heard from both men eventually helping to bring him fully around.

"I'll bet the nurses that have been parading in and out of here all day while you played sleeping beauty got an interesting eyeful," Sam continued chuckling as his eyebrows danced on his forehead in a rather suggestive manner, his amusement totally at his brother's expense but right now not really caring. His mood was too good to let it be ruined.

"Dude, I think by now they've all gotten an eyeful. Let's face it, I didn't exactly leave much to the imagination when I landed face down on the floor and ripped myself to shreds, now did I?" Dean groused as he finally found the strength to roll over onto his back to look both overly happy men in the eyes with a rather crabby sounding grunt.

"Jeez Dean, you have such a way with words," Sam came right back, unwilling to let his brother's seemingly foul mood spoil his own good one, the good mood he'd been waiting nearly two months to have. "So, how exactly is it you ended up naked anyway?"

"Because I was too damn tired to look for clothes after Julia left and I took the longest, hottest shower I've taken in…uh…a long time, so I just didn't bother to. Man, I think that shower felt even better than sex," Dean remarked as he let the memories of the hot water coursing over his sore and tired body as it washed the sweat and grime away start to calm his growing irritation.

"You took a shower? Did your doctor say that was ok with stitches?" Sam immediately questioned in that tone that always drove Dean to the brink of near madness and the second he had said it, Sam knew things were starting to get too tense.

"I didn't know I needed his permission; besides, the sponge baths are getting a little old and let's face it, they don't exactly get you very clean either. Excuse me if I wanted to feel fresh from the shower fresh for a change," he answered with a little attitude tinged in his voice, absolutely sick and tired of his little brother treating him like he was made of glass that was going to shatter any second if it wasn't held just right.

Sam said nothing in return and only shook his head, not wanting to have this argument; or any argument with his brother at all. He was going to take Bobby's advice and give Dean that break he so desperately seemed to need for a change, even if it meant biting off his own tongue to do it. Re-plastering his previous smile back onto his face, he just silently walked into the corner of the room, rummaged through the bag on the floor and smiled even wider as he threw what he'd found inside at his cranky older brother. Dean's look of sheer annoyance quickly melted away when he realized what Sam had tossed his way and he returned the wide grin in Sam's direction, feeling like he'd won yet another victory today.

"Clothes…real clothes, aww Sammy. Wait a second…these boxers are mine, aren't they? I'm not wearing your mangy old trou…remember, I've done your laundry and it ain't pretty."

"Trust me, they're yours man," Sam tried to laugh before digging right back. "You think you can figure out how to get them on around all that hardware you got going on there? You don't need any help putting them on, do you?"

"Not from you. Now, maybe if you go ask that little blonde nurse that's on duty at six…"

"Shut up and get dressed Dean." The younger brother just shook his head and plopped himself into a chair, pretty much exhausted himself.

"Well, you ladies can continue your unarmed battle of wits all night if you want, but I am going to get a pizza. Sausage and mushrooms, unless you got a better idea," Bobby finally spoke up as he eyed Dean's untouched lunch sitting in the corner.

"No pepperoni? That's sacrilegious man," Dean voiced his opinion, the mere sound of pizza making his mouth start to water.

"Ok, sausage, pepperoni and mushrooms then," Bobby snorted as he made for the door.

"Dean, do you think…" Sam started until the hard glare Bobby shot at him told him to just let this one go too. He knew full well where Sam was going with that comment and it was ending before it started. "…we could not get pepperoni? It gives me heartburn."

"If your brother wants pepperoni, I'll just get it on half Sam," the older man quickly covered for the younger brother, and then snuck quickly out the door before any more could be said on the subject.

"So, any luck in finding Dr. Douchebag's House of Horrors?" Dean inquired as he drew on the boxers rather carefully and T-shirt rather slowly and painfully that Sam had so kindly given him, the joy at being able to wear something other than a cheap, thin hospital gown more than he could have ever imagined. As sore as his body had become since he'd fallen asleep, the feel of real cotton against his skin was like a little bit of heaven. 'A real shower and real clothes...today must be my lucky day.'

"Nope, no luck whatsoever. I'm telling you Dean, this guy must be like Houdini. There are still two places we didn't get to today but somehow I'm expecting more of the same. There's gotta be something we missed; he has to be taking them all somewhere, but where?" Sam thoughtfully dwelled on the subject, grateful to have something other than Dean to focus on at the moment.

"Why don't you just go take a shower and worry about it in the morning. There's nothing else you can do tonight anyway."

"Shower, huh. Better than sex, huh? I'm liking the sound of that," Sam grinned and made for the bathroom in a near run as Dean's words echoed behind him before being silenced by the slamming door.

"Aww, dude…I didn't mean it like that."

By the time Sam had showered, dressed and settled in for the evening Bobby had returned with a piping hot pizza dripping with grease and a six pack, both of which he knew Dean should not be having but damn it if he wasn't giving the kid something to make up for the shit day behind him and the shit days ahead. They ate and talked about anything other than Trent Waterson, each man needing a break from the present, even if it was only for a little while. Even though he had pretty much slept all day, Dean was the first one asleep with Sam and Bobby not too far behind.

Dean's eyes cracked open well before dawn cracked itself and for the second day in a row he dragged himself from his bed, ready to take whatever was thrown at him again. He didn't know what it was that the nurses kept slipping him every few hours and he really didn't care. He hadn't felt an ounce of pain or even remotely like vomiting in over a full day now, pizza, beer and all and he was beginning to think he could just pack up and leave, except for the minor detail of not being able to walk yet. Well, he had plans on that already.

Making no effort to be quiet once the sun rose, he finally succeeded in waking his brother and then waking Bobby by somehow charming his way down the hall to the nearest coffee machine with the help of that pretty blonde nurse that came on duty at six and returned with numerous cups of the hot, black necessity of the morning. Convincing Sam to go with Bobby today had been a lot easier then it had been the day before and within an hour of the men rising from their respective sleeping places they were out the door, leaving Dean alone again. He liked being alone, it gave him time to think, gave him time to plan, gave him time to do.

He ate the crap breakfast they had brought him with the last couple remaining pieces of cold pizza left over from the night before then just sat there waiting for Julia to arrive; which she did, right on time as always. Another day, another muscle aching, sweat inducing workout that left him utterly drained but feeling remarkably good inside. Julia had relegated herself to nothing more than a spectator as she let Dean do what he knew he needed to do, her services not really being required until it was time to get the man out of the chair and up on his feet. That, she knew, was when the real fun would begin.

Once he was done torturing himself and Julia was gone though, he decided to have another go at what had gone so miserably unsuccessful the day before now that he had a new plan. Locking the door to the room behind the woman as she left, Dean wheeled himself back to the bed and started repeating the process he'd tried the day before, this time hoping for a little more success. Making sure things were all in their proper places, he once again grasped the footboard of his bed and rose to a full stand, all of his weight being held up by his one good leg and the iron grip he had on the bed in front of him. Slowly and carefully he put the other foot flat on the floor and for the first time in nearly two months he was standing fully upright. Very tentatively letting the other leg start to take some of the burden, he winced when he felt the zing in his hip shoot down into his foot and he knew exactly what his limits were. Exhausted but energized, he walked …actually walked from the foot of the bed to the side, using the metal rail for support before turning around and going back, then walked up the other side of the bed and back, finally delicately dropping himself into the chair now that he felt like he had just run a marathon. 'Three days my ass,' he thought to himself as he sat, trying to catch his breath enough to head for the shower again.

By the time Sam and Bobby got back, Dean was showered, dressed in at least a new shirt and clean boxers, and fast asleep under his covers in his bed with the most interesting smile on his face Sam had probably ever seen. Sam let that little smile Dean sported in his sleep ease the frustration of another wasted day. They had found nothing at the last two Waterson land masses and honestly didn't know what else to do. Bobby ran for food again while Sam woke his brother and filled him in on their day and once all three were stuffed and exhausted, they were all pretty much asleep.

Dean had a habit of waking up before the birds started chirping and the new day that hadn't dawned yet was no exception. It felt like déjà vu all over as he climbed out of bed, this time with both feet on the floor like the normal person he really wanted to be. He could tell by the way they both breathed that both Sam and Bobby were still soundly asleep and since he was already standing up relatively straight he decided to head to the bathroom. Instead of sitting in the chair that seemed to always be calling his name, he grasped both handles on the back firmly and cautiously took one step after another in the direction of the bathroom, only letting out a breath when he was safely inside with the door closed behind him. He must have made more noise than he had thought because the instant he sat down, he heard footsteps just outside the door, then an agonizingly long pause before he heard the inevitable knock that he could feel was coming.

"Dean? You ok?" It was his ever-worrying little brother rapping at the door and he didn't really know right now if it warmed him or irritated him. Maybe it was both.

"I'm fine Sam," he answered with his typical Dean response.

"What are you doing?"

"What do you think I'm doing? I am in the bathroom dude. Unless I missed something, I don't have a colostomy bag too," Dean snapped in a more annoyed tone then he had meant to use as he rolled his eyes. Sam was like a bloodhound, never giving up until he sniffed everything out.

"Oh…right…sorry," he said and Dean breathed a sigh of relief when he heard the feet shuffling away.

Wishing he had a newspaper, or a magazine, or anything to pass the time, one very important thought occurred to Dean as he sat. Since it had been so early in the morning when he had grilled Mark on how much longer it would be, going by his math, this was day three. Today, if he had his way, he'd be walking free.

End Notes: Well...let's hear it. Tell me what you thought. Sometimes I wonder if I drag days out too long, but that's just me. I also ramble too much sometimes, like right now...so I'll just shut up now and hit 'add story'