A/N: Thank you everyone for the reviews. I check eagerly for reviews after I post each chapter.

Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or the characters …

Shared Burdens

Chapter 7

Dean had only been in the bar for a few minutes before he realized it wasn't really where he wanted to be. He ordered a beer, but wasn't able to savor the taste. His entire focus was on Sammy. Instead of feeling more relaxed by leaving the motel room, he was instead overcome by apprehension by not having his brother in his sight. By not knowing if he was okay, if he needed anything, if he needed him.

Determined to give Sam the break he'd asked for from his monotonous company, Dean slowly sipped his beer, making mundane conversation with the bartender. About half an hour later, he threw a few dollars on the bar before heading out the door. Denying his temptation to phone Sam to check on him, he decided instead to pick up some dinner and head straight directly to the motel.

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The distinctive smell of sickness hit him as soon as he opened the door.

"Sammy" he called, dropping the bag of take out on the floor as he rushed to his brother's side.

"Sammy?" Dean sat on the edge of the bed and placed a hand protectively on his brother's chest. "What's wrong?"

Sam stared at his brother, needing to take a moment to comprehend that Dean was actually beside him; that he wasn't hallucinating; that he wasn't dreaming. He'd been lying in the bed, trying to get the energy to get his phone off the dresser to call Dean. The small distance had looked like a marathon, one that he knew he couldn't manage. But with relief he acknowledged that Dean was back. His brother was here. He wasn't alone.

Sam looked at the mess on the floor. "Sorry Dean," he whispered, letting his eyes slowly close.

"Sam, open your eyes …Sam …Sam."

"Sorry Dean …sooo tired," he said woozily, struggling to keep awake, to keep focused.

"Come on Sam …we're going to the hospital."

Dean quickly pulled back the bed covers before putting an arm behind Sam to help him into a sitting position. Sam swayed as soon as Dean removed his supporting arm.

"Shit. …Come on Sammy, help me here."

"Sorry Dean." Sam mumbled, picking a focal point to stare at, hoping to stop the room from spinning.

With an arm behind Sam's back and a hand grabbing the shirt on his brother's chest, Dean heaved his brother to his feet. As Sam stumbled, Dean held him tightly, readying them to begin the slow walk to the car.

As soon as he stood upright, Sam felt the room tilt and closed his eyes against the spinning sensation. He breathed heavily, the effort to remain upright sapping his strength.

"You still with me?" Dean asked, bearing a large portion of Sam's weight.

Sam's response was to tilt forward suddenly. Dean grabbed him tightly, trying to steady his movements, but the shift in weight was too great, and Dean was unable to stop the descent.

Instantly recognizing the futility in stopping his falling brother, Dean kept a firm grip, instead slowing his graceless collapse to the floor.

"Sam …Sam …Sammy?

Sam was unresponsive.

After quickly checking that Sam was breathing and laying a finger on his pulse, relief washed over Dean.

"Sammy …come on, open your eyes." Dean pleaded, running a hand over Sam's face.

Sam remained unresponsive.

Shit, Dean thought, panic taking over for a second as he failed to get any response from his brother.

He pulled his phone from his pocket and dialed 9-1-1.

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As he was being loaded into the ambulance, Sam slowly swum back into consciousness.

"Dean?"

"Yeah Sammy, I'm right here." Dean moved a little closer to the side of the gurney, grasping his brother's hand.

"What …?"

"You passed out … gonna take you to the hospital."

"Sir, we need to take your brother now. If you'd like to follow us in your car…?" The ambulance officer spoke kindly as Sam was loaded into the ambulance. Dean reluctantly let go of his brother's hand.

"Dean?" Sam called shakily as the gurney was pushed fully inside the waiting ambulance.

"I'm gonna follow you in the car Sam. I'll be there when you get to the hospital." Dean spoke, as the ambulance doors were securely closed.

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Dean stayed directly behind the ambulance as it traveled to the hospital. On arrival, he'd quickly parked the Impala before rushing through the doors of the emergency entrance. He'd just been in time to see Sam being wheeled away on a gurney - behind closed glass doors.

"Sir, you can't go back there."

Dean stood in front of the closed glass doors, barred from entering. He pleaded, almost begged the nurse to let him through. His brother was on the other side.

"Someone will come and get you shortly," was the firm but polite response.

Now he'd been pacing restlessly for the past fifteen minutes, not being allowed to follow his brother. Instead, he'd had to fill out the hospital forms. Giving the name Sam had used during his last visit, and inventing some false insurance details, Dean handed the completed forms back to the attending nurse. The nurse barely glanced at the forms before slotting them into the vast filing tray.

Dean waited impatiently for five more minutes until his name was called and he was escorted from the waiting room to another room where Sam lay in a curtained cubical. Dean went straight to Sam's side, laying a hand on his arm. He smiled reassuringly a Sam, stroking his arm, before turning his attention to the doctor.

Dean is it?" the doctor asked, getting a quick nod in response. "I'm Dr Hartman. We spoke on the phone."

"How's Sam?" He quickly asked, unable to hide the worry from his voice.

"Considering Sam's condition, I'd like to run a few tests …and then we'll probably prep him for surgery. I'm a bit concerned about his blood pressure, the vomiting and the fact that Sam passed out …but we won't know anything conclusive until after we've run a scan."

"Surgery?" Dean questioned. It was the only word he heard.

"He may need surgical repair of the torn kidney. At this stage, we want to try and spare the kidney from removal".

"Yeah …okay."

"Regardless of the scan results, Sam will have to stay here under observation for at least a few days, probably a week, maybe longer."

"Yeah, but he's gonna be alright …right?" Dean waited for the affirmative response he desperately needed.

"You know I'm right here …wish you wouldn't talk about me as if I'm not here …" Sam's weak voice murmured suddenly from the bed, frustrated by being excluded from the conversation.

"As I was saying" Dean said, pointedly staring at his brother, "Sam will do whatever you think is best."

"But Dean…"

"Not up for discussion Sammy."

"It's Sam," he said, closing his eyes in resignation.

Doctor Hartman chatted with Dean for a few more moments until he was called away, promising to return after Sam's tests had been completed.

Dean settled quietly in the chair beside Sam's bed to wait, continuing to hold Sam's arm; stroking gently, repetitively. The action soothed Sam and reassured Dean.

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Dean paced the room restlessly. Sam had been taken away three hours ago for the tests and scans.

Dean's anxiety rose in direct proportion to the period of time Sam was away.

Dean paused mid stride as the door abruptly opened, admitting Sam's doctor.

"Sam? …How's my brother?"

"Dean, take a seat," Doctor Hartman requested, waiting for Dean to settle. "Sam should be brought back in shortly. The scans showed that the tear in his kidney was still bleeding, and it seemed to have increased slightly since his last scan. In fact, his overall condition has deteriorated quite dramatically since I last saw him. I really felt that we couldn't afford to wait and see if Sam's kidney would heal by itself, so surgery to repair the tear and drain the excess fluid seemed to be Sam's best chance. I really want to save that kidney if we can."

"So Sam's going to have surgery?"

"Actually, it's a fairly quick and straightforward procedure, and Sam's just coming out of surgery now. We prepped him straight after I saw the scan – we couldn't gain anything from delaying."

"So, Sam …he's gonna be okay?"

"Well, the surgery went well. The kidney has been repaired. Now, we have to watch out for infection, and monitor kidney function. The kidney may return to normal function, or it may experience acute or chronic failure. Given that only one kidney is affected, there may be no outward symptoms if the kidney fails … because the second healthy kidney functions normally and is adequate for normal health".

"When will we know …you know, if everything is working okay?"

"We'll be monitoring Sam closely for the next few days and running tests on his kidney function. We really just have to wait and see now. …As I said, they should be bringing Sam back in shortly. He'll most likely be a bit groggy from the anesthetic when he wakes up."

"Okay …thanks."

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Dean got to his feet as soon as the doctor left, unable to curtail his restlessness. He paused at every sound out in the corridor, hoping it was Sam being brought back to the room. Each disappointment coming one step closer to breaking him.

As he moved restlessly around the room, he found it difficult to curb his thoughts. Surely, he contemplated; Sam should be back by now. But, what if there'd been a complication. What if Sam didn't come out of the anesthetic? What if… Dean tried desperately to stop his thoughts. He needed to be strong. Sam needed him. His anxiety was quickly replaced by guilt as his mind shifted, memories overcoming him. Sam had been sick when they'd been traveling…why didn't he notice …do something sooner? Why didn't he pay closer attention to Sam's symptoms in the motel room? Why didn't he insist Sam come back to the hospital sooner? Why did he leave, no abandon, his brother and go to the bar…?

Dean sank hopelessly down onto the chair, dropping his face into his hands. He felt weighed down with the guilt rushing over him.

He'd been too self-centered to notice his brother's pain.

He'd let Sam down when he needed him most.

He could hardly think. Could hardly breathe.

Tiny shudders ran through his body, barely discernable.

Desperately, Dean tried to control his emotions. He needed to pull himself together. He needed to be strong.

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An hour later, Dean sat beside Sam's bed and watched as his brother's eyes started to flicker, fingers started to twitch, and small moans escaped his mouth.

'Sammy …come on …open you eyes …Sammy…" Dean said the words he'd been repeating regularly since Sam had been brought back to the room. The words were a little more desperate now, brought on by the endless hour he's spent fervently waiting for a response.

Sam lightly squeezed the hand clasping his, a small groan escaping as he drifted slowly back to consciousness.

"Sammy …can you hear me?"

"Deeeean" Sam slurred, eyes opening to mere slits.

Sam's head felt heavy, his mind disorientated. Light crept past his partially opened eyes, and he reluctantly opened them further. Everything was fuzzy, blurred, and as he looked around, the room wavered.

Moving was a mistake. He felt disconnected from his body as he remained still yet everything else seemed to move, shift and spin around him.

"Deeean …sick" he gasped out as he felt the wave of nausea hit him.

Dean held on tight to Sam's hand as he watched him regain consciousness. He recognized the signs of Sam's imminent nausea a moment before Sam said the word. Grabbing the bowl off the table, Dean gently propped his brother's head up and held the bowl under his face, waiting for the inevitable.

Sam was grateful for Dean's support, still feeling too weak to lift his head on his own. As the bile rose in his throat, it was the comforting arm of his brother that helped ease his distress. When it was over, it was his brother who gently eased his head back on the pillow, gave him a sip of water, and brushed the hair from his eyes.

"Thanks Dean" he whispered tiredly, struggling to remain awake. Dean was here; everything would be okay, he thought, as he let the calm wash over before he drifted to sleep.

"Rest …I'll be here when you wake up." Dean could see Sam's obvious struggle to stay awake.

Dean pressed the nurse call button as he remained by his brother's side. He gently stroked his fingers through Sam's hair, relaxing him back to sleep.

A nurse arrived within a few minutes, and Dean reported that Sam had woken and been sick. She checked his vitals, assuring Dean that everything was okay, that the nausea would just have been a result of the anesthetic. She cleaned up the mess, before leaving Dean alone again with his brother.

Dean watched his brother sleep, reassured by the even rise and fall of his chest, the soft steady breaths, the relaxed facial expression.

Unable to help himself, he laid a hand on Sam's chest, cherishing the feel of its movements. His brother was all he had left, and he silently vowed to take better care of him, to protect him, to do whatever it took to keep him safe.

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A/N: Will probably add a final chapter. Yes / No ?

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