Once again, thank you all SO much for your reviews, feedback, and support! I appreciate it so much. I'm thrilled to know that you're enjoying this.

I'm in the process of writing the fourth chapter now, but I'm finding that there's a lot of unfinished business that I need to get through- so this may have a fifth chapter…or maybe it won't.

And there's a few lines in this that I think grossed me out more than anything I've ever written, which is bizarre. But now you all know what skeeves me. Oh! And you can thank the TV show, "I shouldn't Be Alive" for the details of Sam's injury.

Blind, But Now I See: Chapter 3-

Sam looked around as he rested on a gurney in the emergency room of a local hospital. He was in an area partitioned by curtains with Dean at his side. One of the curtains was pulled opened.

"Hello, I'm Dr. Thomas Hawthorne." The man in the white coat stretched out his hand and both brothers took turns shaking it. The doctor was young looking, although he was going gray, and had a confident air about him. He looked down and began gently examining Sam's arm. Sam winced and Dean moved closer, keeping an eye on the doctor's actions.

The Dr. Hawthorne glanced up at Dean with an amused look before turning back to Sam and shrugging in Dean's direction. "Bodyguard?"

Sam smiled despite the pain and nausea. "Older brother."

The doctor looked up somewhat surprised and Dean growled something under his breath. The doc spoke. "You don't see too many siblings spending time together at your ages. Most people are too involved with starting their own lives."

"How bad's the arm?" Apparently Dean wasn't interested in Dr. Hawthorne's musings on sibling relationships.

The man's expression turned grim and Sam fisted his hand into the other sheet in anticipation of the bad news. "All right, no small talk then. Sam? Do you remember what the position of your arm was when you landed on it?"

Sam grimaced and nodded. "Uh…my wrist hit first; my arm was kind of facing down."

The doctor bit his lip and took a breath. "That's what it looked like in the x-rays. Um…" Dr. Hawthorne gave a humorless laugh, "…this explanation isn't going to be pleasant."

Both brothers braced themselves, giving the doctor their full attention. An x-ray was illuminated showing the bone in Sam's arm. The bone in the x-ray was literally in pieces, shards, over thirty of them. There didn't seem to be a bone in Sam's arm any more, only bone fragments.

Upon seeing the x-ray, Sam sucked in a breath. "Oh my God." Next to him, he heard his brother gasp, "Holy shit."

Sam turned his wide eyes to the doctor. "There's no way to save it, is there?"

Before the doctor could respond, Dean threw in his own question. "Doc, how bad is this situation right now? I mean, he seems somewhat coherent…how bad is this?"

Dr. Hawthorne held up his hands, silently asking the brothers to calm down. "It's a bad break, no doubt about it. It pretty much doesn't get any worse than this. Normally when an arm is broken, the person falls on the arm horizontally, causing a horizontal break. You fell on it vertically, and as you mentioned, it was a long fall. In that case, the bone shattered vertically up the arm and then splintered, 'causing what you see here, which is primarily a shattered bone."

Sam laid his head back against the gurney and closed his eyes. The situation had completely overwhelmed him, and he was exhausted. He knew he should pay closer attention to the rest of what the doctor had to say, but he wasn't sure that he wanted to know. Instead, he opted to concentrate on his breathing, which was once again becoming difficult. Through his breaths, he felt Dean's thumb begin to rub small circles on the front of his shoulder. He knew his brother meant well, but once again, his body was too sensitive. Sam made a slight move away from Dean's hand. "Stop."

Immediately Dean stopped and when Sam blearily opened his eyes, the doctor resumed talking. "As you are both aware, Sam, you're body has gone into shock, which is a normal reaction to this kind of injury and I would agree with your brother that considering the circumstances, you're quite coherent. I'd like to begin surgery immediately and try to see if we can save the arm. It looks bad, but we've worked with similar injuries before. You'll definitely need a bone graft and given the trauma to your body, we'd probably opt for an artificial graft rather than removing a piece of bone from your hip."

Overwhelmed and in pain, Sam couldn't speak. Dean spoke for him. "You sound confident."

The doctor shrugged. "It's about 50/50. Although, there's a good chance that if we can save it, there will be nerve damage. He may not have full function or feeling."

Before Sam could process the implications of never fully using his arm again, he was distracted by his brother's nod. Dean had a serious look on his face. "He'll live though?"

Sam was taken aback by the question. His main concern had been saving the arm, but apparently Dean hadn't even been sure that Sam would live. Suddenly Sam remembered his conversation with Danny. Danny had said that he knew Sam was dying. Sam took a breath, apparently, he had been the only one unaware of the fact that death was a real possibility. Sam looked over at his brother. At least if he died in surgery, he wouldn't be dying alone; there'd be people around…and he wouldn't have been betrayed and abandoned by the person he looked up to the most… Sam shook his head, he owed somebody something for giving him Dean and not Drew. He couldn't imagine dying alone.

Dr. Hawthorne looked dour as he answered Dean's question. "He's still conscious, he's healthy and in good shape. Given his injury, he's doing extremely well so far, but I can't make any guarantees. He'll be going into emergency surgery and his body's already in shock. Those aren't the best circumstances. However, that being said, I am fairly confident of survival."

Well, that was candid. Sam laughed and rolled his eyes. "Great. That's real reassuring."

Dean didn't crack a smile. "There's no choice?"

The doctor opened the door, allowing the nurse to enter before answering Dean's statement. "No, the only choice is amputation or for me to try to save it, but I had assumed you'd want to try for the arm."

Both brothers nodded and Sam watched as the nurse handed him a pen and paper. "Permission forms."

Sam nodded and signed them. The nurse left and almost immediately another doctor walked in, holding a small bottle and a packaged syringe. He addressed Sam as he filled the syringe with the bottle's contents. "I'm Dr. Chan; I'll be your anesthesiologist. Dr. Hawthorne and I have already discussed your case and I've read your reported medical history. You have no known allergies correct?"

Sam nodded and Dr. Chan continued. "I'm going to inject a muscle relaxant into your IV. It will take about five minutes to diffuse into your system." The doctor injected the medicine into the IV. "Some patients note a warm feeling passing through their body, this is entirely normal. Over the next five minutes, you should begin to feel more relaxed. It may become harder to think, speech will be difficult. If you feel tired, you can sleep. After the relaxant has taken full effect, I'll come back in and administer the general anesthesia which will knock you out." Sam watched, feeling the warmth flow through his body, as the doctor turned to his brother. "You can stay with him for the next five minutes, then you'll have to leave. You can wait in the waiting room, or go and come back. The surgery will probably take about 4 hours provided there are no complications."

Dean nodded and pulled a chair up to his brother's bedside as the doctors left. "Are you tingly yet?"

Sam smiled. The medicine was working faster than he thought. He felt very relaxed and although his arm still hurt, the pain was considerably less than before. He answered his brother, "A little bit. What're you going to do while I'm getting artificial bones put in me?"

Dean shrugged. "Dunno. I saw a hot redheaded nurse over at the front desk. Maybe I can convince her to comfort me while I wait."

A new feeling of warmth washed over him and Sam closed his eyes. "You shhhould see if you hcan talk to Drew."

"Dude, Drew's office is thirty minute from here. Besides, who knows what time they open."

Sam cracked open his eyes. He was very relaxed now and his voice had dropped down to a whisper. "7:30, it said on the sign…you don't pay attention."

Dean smirked and leaned forward, presumably to be able to hear better. "Yeah, insult me now when you know I won't get you back."

Sam closed his eyes and smiled. "Don't 'member it ever sopping you b'fore."

He felt Dean tap his arm and stand up. "Go to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

Sam forced his eyes open. "Dean."

Dean looked over from where he was collecting Sam's clothes and Sam continued, "You hhhate waiting anyway. Danny's shoe needs t'be resolved."

Dean gave his brother an amused look before shaking his head. "Danny's shoe can wait."

Sam closed his eyes briefly in frustration. He had barely any energy anymore. "Dean─"

Dean cut him off, "Come on, man. I don't want to argue with you. You're going into surgery."

Sam closed his eyes and nodded. "Dean, ifff I don't─"

Dean interrupted again, this time with anger. "Hey! Shut the hell up. I'll see you in four hours."

Sam opened his eyes once more and smiled. "I meant what I sssaid out 'ere wiout shhhhock."

Sam saw his brother swallow hard, a distressed look on his face. Then Dean approached the bed. "I know you're out of it, dude, but I want you to hear me…"

Sam gathered all his energy and strength to focus on his brother and Dean continued. "I want you to expect me to be there- anytime you need me. Anytime, Sam, no matter what it is or what's between us- I will be there. And don't you EVER thank me for that. We're even. I play my part and you play yours and it evens out. I've got your back and you've got mine. This isn't a one sided thing. I owe you too."

Sam heard his brother's words and absorbed them, despite the relaxant. He was sure Dean would never had said those things if he thought Sam was really listening and Sam hoped to God that he could remember the conversation after he woke from his surgery. Although, Sam really couldn't figure out what Dean owed him for.

Dean moved to walk out the door, but then stopped and turned back to Sam smirking. "Stay away from the light Carolanne…"

Sam grinned, lifted his good hand in an obscene gesture, and closed his eyes.

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Sam stared at his face in the mirror. God, he was ugly. Not only did he still have all his baby fat, but now he was also covered in zits. And when the hell did his nose get so freakin' big? Being twelve sucked. With a sigh, Sam moved to start popping some of the more 'ripe' pimples. Putting his thumb and pointer finger around a particularly large, white headed one, Sam began to squeeze.

"Dude, that shit sprays on the mirror- you're takin' bathroom duty and cleanin' it yourself."

Startled, Sam dropped the pulsing pimple and looked up into the mirror to see his brother hanging half way in the door. Grabbing the nearby face towel, Sam turned, flinging the towel at his brother. "Dean! Get out!"

Dean caught the towel easily with a laugh. "Chill, dude. I just had a question to ask ya."

Sam crossed his arms over his bare chest. "Does the word 'knock' mean anything to you?"

Dean shrugged, "Only if it's followed by 'ers'…"

Sam growled and Dean laughed as he asked his brother the question. "Listen, what are you up to today?"

Sam sighed and leaned on the sink. "Well, some kids at school said the state fair's today. It's over on County Road 5. Some of my friends are going…" Sam waited to see what his brother would say.

Their dad was out on a hunt, left Friday night and wouldn't be back until Monday, which meant that he and Dean were on their own for the weekend. The state fair seemed like fun and Sam wanted to go, but this town was apparently supernaturally dangerous and dad's orders had been clear when he left- 'Dean, watch your brother. I don't want him on his own in this town.' The order was for Dean, Dean was the one who would be held responsible for making sure it was carried out, but Sam wasn't an ass- he'd make sure he stayed with Dean too. It was a mutual agreement between the two of them. Sam didn't want Dean to get into trouble and Dean didn't want something to happen to Sam- so they stayed together. And the truth was, Sam would love it if Dean would go to the fair with him- regardless of dad's orders.

Dean leaned up against the doorjam, apparently considering what Sam had said. Then he bit his lip. "Royce, Reid, and Cody are going to see the new John Carpenter flick…"

And there it was- both brothers wanting to do different things, both knowing they had to stay together, and both unwilling to ask the other to sacrifice. Sam's mind immediately began running through the possible compromises. "You think they'd want to go to the fair?"

Dean snorted. "Unlikely. Is your fair thing on Sunday too?"

Sam shrugged. "I don't know. Everyone said they were going today. They said all the animal contests were today. Oh! And there's a pie eating contest too!"

Dean raised his brows at Sam's excitement. "You plannin' on entering?"

Sam squinted his eyes at his brother's implication. "I'm not fat. I'm just big boned."

Dean laughed. "And a girl apparently…"

Sam didn't get it and Dean shook his head. "Look Sam, they're cool guys and they've already let me in as one of the pack…"

Sam sighed and wilted against the sink considering it. He wanted to go to the fair, but going to a movie with his brother could be okay too. Besides, it was kind of fun spending time with Dean and his friends- made him feel cool- not everyone his age got included with 16 year olds. Sam conceded. "Fine. But after the movie, can we at least ask them if they want to go to the fair?"

Dean didn't look thrilled, but nodded anyway. "Thanks Sammy."

Sam glared. "Sam…"

Dean rolled his eyes. "No, see, when someone says 'thank you,' you're supposed to say 'you're welcome'- not your own name."

Sam growled again and Dean smiled as he went to close the door. "By the way, there's about ten more on your back that look like they're ready to pop…"

"Get out!" Sam grabbed another towel and threw it at his brother. It hit the back of the door as it closed.

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Sam woke slowly. There was an excruciating pain in his arm, which was currently serving to dull the throbbing in his head. He tried to look around, but there was only darkness. His throat was dry. Why did his arm hurt so badly?

With a soft moan, Sam forced his eyelids to open. Whatever he was looking at, it was white…and blurry. Where the hell was he? Was he in danger? Was he safe? What the hell was going on?

Taking a deep breath, Sam slowly turned his head. Everything was still blurry, but now he could hear voices. He didn't know what they were saying, but one was definitely Dean's. He'd recognize his brother's resonant tone anywhere. Dean didn't sound too upset, so wherever he was, he must be safe.

Sam blinked and looked around again. The blur started to dissipate and he began to remember. He was in the hospital; he was having surgery on his arm. Had they saved it?

Sam winced as his tongue unstuck itself from the roof of his dry mouth. Suddenly Dean's face was grinning in his vision- Dean must have been in the same room with him then…

"Hey man, how you feel?"

Sam closed his eyes and tried to breathe through the pain. He felt like shit. Too bad his mouth didn't work well enough to tell Dean that…

Sam felt movement to his right and he once again opened his eyes. The doctor, his surgeon, was injecting something into the IV. He looked down as Sam blinked at him. "Fentanyl. It's 100 times more potent than morphine, with less side effects. You should be flying high in about 30 seconds."

Given the amount of pain in his arm, Sam found it hard to belie- "Whoa."

Dean laughed. "That good, huh?"

Sam blinked, trying to right his eyes and keep them from rolling back into his head. The world shifted around him. Where was he again?

"How you feelin' there, Sammy?"

Sam swung his eyes to his brother. The edge of Dean's silhouette seemed to replicate itself three times, making it look as though he was radiating energy. Sam smiled at him. "You're glowing."

Dean bit his lip, obviously trying to hold back the laughter. Sam smiled at his brother's happiness. He didn't know what was so funny, but if Dean was happy, he was glad.

Suddenly, Sam remembered his arm. Trying to see if it was still attached, he lifted his left arm. Immediately, Dean and the doctor rushed forward, gently pushing the arm back down. "Don't move your arm, Sam."

Sam looked over at the doctor. "I still have one?"

Now the doctor laughed. "Yeah- it's still there."

Sam sighed and closed his eyes. "Good." Then he opened them again with a start. "Dean!"

Dean looked startled. "What?"

Sam's eyes were wide, his gaze rudely intense, his voice unnecessarily loud. "Did you talk to Drew?"

Dean shook his head. "No, I told you man, I wanted to be here. I'll go deal with that asshole after you're settled."

Sam looked over at Dr. Hawthorne. "I feel weird."

The doctor pursed his lips. "Weird how?"

Sam closed his eyes. "Sick but happy."

He heard laughter and then, "Do you feel nauseous?"

Sam shook his head, his heart beginning to pound as his breath grew short. He felt a hand on his right arm and he opened his eyes. The fear had come on almost instantly. The doctor was peering down at him, concerned. "Sam? Are you in pain?"

Pain? He was so far from pain- he couldn't even remember what pain felt like. Sam bit his lip. "I'm scared."

"Of what, dude?" This time it was Dean who leaned in.

Sam looked over at his brother and whispered. "The demon."

Dean crinkled his brow in distress and worry as he gripped Sam's shoulder. "Do you have a reason to think he's here?"

Sam was confused by the question and it obviously showed. Dean tried again. "Sam, what made you think of him?"

Sam closed his eyes. "I…I'm not okay…I don't want to be left alone."

Dean's voice returned, along with the sound of a chair grating across the floor. "You won't be."

Sam drifted into sleep.

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Sam stared into his pizza slice, avoiding the stares of the five boys around him. Dean had just left for the bathroom and apparently, all of Dean's friends were waiting for this moment to say something to Sam.

"How old are you again? Ten?"

Sam flicked his eyes briefly at Royce before returning to his pizza. "I'm twelve."

"So what'd ya think of 'Village of the Damned'?"

Sam put his pizza down and eyed the boys suspiciously, they were up to something… Not letting his guard down, Sam shrugged indifferently. "I thought it was kind of boring…and stupid." It was true- compared to the things he had seen in real life, that movie was just dumb.

Reid laughed. "Sure you did…who you trying to kid, Sammy? We also saw you cringing in your seat. You practically had your eyes covered through the whole thing."

Sam straightened, now annoyed. "What?! I did not! That wasn't even scary! The only good thing about that movie was that it had Luke Skywalker and Superman in it."

A few of the boys laughed, but Royce's expression took on a sneer as he leaned in close to Sam. "You know how embarrassing it is to have to drag your little brother around?"

Sam's eyes darkened as he faced the bully. "You better shut your mouth before Dean hears you or he'll kick your ass."

Royce seemed to contemplate this and he backed up. "I'm just telling you the truth Sammy. Dean's not gonna say it… Besides, we're all going to Marcy Westfield's party tonight and there's no way he can show up with you. Why don't you do him a favor and make your own friends?"

Sam turned until he was fully facing his brother's 'friend'. "Look, if Dean wants to go to the party, then he'll go to the party-"

Cody cut him off. "And how's he supposed to do that with you tagging along? Yeah, that'll go over real well…I can see it now, 'Hey Lindsey, you don't mind if my little brother watches do you?'"

Reid went along with his friend's scenario. "Yeah, you know, she might like that, she always said she wanted to be a school teacher. She can teach Sammy here what boobs look like."

"She can teach him a hell of a lot more than that…"

Royce shook his head and moved in again. "Point is Sammy…Dean can get laid tonight, but it ain't gonna happen if you're sittin' around. You wanna be responsible for Dean being hard up?"

Sam felt himself shrinking back. No, he didn't want to be responsible for ruining Dean's good time, but he knew there was no way they could split up- not after dad's decree. "I'm not trying to ruin Dean's life- I'll sit in the car if he wants."

All of the guys stared as though Sam were crazy. Then Reid spoke up, "You're twelve, why don't you just stay at your apartment by yourself?"

Cody laughed. "No wonder Dean hasn't been able to get laid yet. How can he if his little brother follows him everywhere he goes?"

Sam squinted his eyes at his brother's 'friend'. Dean had 'gotten laid' plenty of times. Royce smiled at Sam's reaction. "Didn't know your brother was a virgin, did you?"

Alright, now he was pissed- nobody made up lies about Dean. Sam glared at the sixteen year old. "He's not."

All the boys at the table laughed and Cody spoke up. "Hey, can't say as I blame the guy for lying about it…he's got to try to make himself look normal somehow."

Sam felt his right hand clench in a fist as Reid nodded. "Dean is a bit of a freak. Did you guys get a look at the shit he draws in his notebook during his classes?"

Cody agreed. "Yeah…last week he was drawing this thing with extra long arms and claws and this weird head…looked like an alien. I asked him about it and he told me it was a 'Windigo'. Then he gets into this long story about flesh eating Native Americans…" Cody shook his head. "He's so freakin' weird."

Royce nodded. "Well, come on, what else do you expect him to do in class? It's not like he's smart enough to understand what the actual lessons are about."

The boys laughed again. They stopped when Sam's fist connected with Royce's jaw sending the teen flying backwards off of his chair.

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"Sammy? Sam, what the hell happened? Why're you crying? And what the hell is that smell?"

Sam pulled his head out of his knees and looked up at his brother. "Nothing. I'm fine. I know you want to go to Marcy's party- I can sit in the car, Dean."

Dean shook his head, clearly confused. "What? What the hell are you talking about?"

Sam brushed the tears off of his face. "Your friends said Marcy Westsomething was having a party and you could get laid by this girl Lindsey there."

Dean scrunched his nose and sat back. "Lindsey Harrison? Dude, I wouldn't touch that ass with a ten-foot pole. That girl's a walking STD."

Sam looked confused. "But they said you liked her…"

Dean shuddered. "No way in hell. Besides, I'm working my way up…and down…Kaitlyn Scott and there's no way I'll be able to get her if I screw Lindsey. And, dude, what the hell is this? Why the hell are you so upset? Why's your skin so hot? Sam, are you sick?"

Sam closed his eyes and shook his head. "They tried to convince me not to come with you to the party tonight, but I couldn't agree- I didn't want you to get in trouble with dad. But they wanted you to be able to have fun, and you wouldn't with me around-"

"Says who?"

Sam ignored his brother. "They um, well, I…uh…I told them I'd have to come, so they threw me in the dumpster and told you that I left."

Sam's statement was met with silence. Cautiously, he opened his eyes and found himself staring at Dean's emotionless face. After another minute of Dean's silent staring, Sam became unnerved. Did Dean know about the part that Sam wasn't telling him? "Dean?"

Dean sucked in his lips thoughtfully. "I knew you didn't leave on your own. I just thought something happened to you while I was in the john… I mean something did, but…"

Sam grew concerned; was Dean mad at him? "Dean?"

Dean looked up at his brother and nodded. Then he put his hands under Sam's arms and pulled him up. Sam questioned him, "Where're we going?"

Dean pulled him along as he answered. "First, we're going back to the pizzeria to get some ice to cool you off. Then, we're going home. You're gonna get cleaned up, and then I'm taking you to the fair."

Sam shook his head. "Your party…"

Dean looked down at him. "I never said I wanted to go, Sammy. Kaitlyn's not going to be there. Besides, we've spent the past three weekends doing what I want."

Sam shrugged as though that was obvious. "You're the one with the license; it's not like I have much of a choice. And I don't mind anyway, I like hanging out with you. You're cool."

Dean let out a lopsided grin. "Yeah… I am, aren't I?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Not to mention arrogant."

Dean laughed and Sam became serious, kicking a rock in front of him. "I wish I could be like you- you wouldn't have gotten thrown in a dumpster, you would've been able to take 'em. It's not fair… You're great at everything. You can get any girl you want, you know everything about flirting and sex, you can rebuild an engine in under five minutes-"

"Three minutes…I can also get a girl to take her bra off in two…"

Sam threw his arms out as he continued, "See? You can shoot a two-inch target with a pistol from 100 yards; you're really funny…I'm all ugly and awkward. It sucks." Before Dean could respond, Sam continued. "You know Dean, it's never boring when you're around- all my friends are totally jealous, their brothers barely give them the time of day. And I know you only hang out with me because dad wants you to watch me-"

"That's not true, Sam-"

"But it's still fun for me, so I don't mind if I'm not with my friends…you're my best friend anyway…" Sam turned red, embarrassed- he hadn't meant to say that last part out loud. Quickly, he fumbled to cover it up. "Uh…I mean…"

Dean let him off the hook. "Yeah, alright dude, I think the heat's gone to your head. Let's get the ice and we'll see about this pie eating fair you wanted to go to."

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Sam opened his eyes to see Dean lounging in a chair, reading a magazine, his feet up on Sam's bed. Evidently noticing Sam's stare, Dean lowered the magazine and his feet. "Hey."

Sam forced his dry throat to work. "Hey…" Sam winced as he swallowed. "…thanks for taking me to the Idaho State Fair."

Dean looked confused. "Oookay… The doc changed your pain meds- said the other one was making you hallucinate- apparently this shit's not much better."

Sam frowned, when had he been hallucinating? Before the operation? His arm hurt once again, although it wasn't nearly as bad as before surgery. "So he saved the arm?"

Dean leaned forward, putting his hand on Sam's shoulder in a comforting gesture. "We can work through this Sammy. You're right handed anyway…"

His eyes going wide, Sam stopped breathing and moved his right hand over to feel his left arm. Almost immediately, he felt the swollen, splinted fingers. Then, he glared at his now smirking brother. "That was low."

Dean held up a finger. "You mean funny."

Sam stuck out his lower jaw as he squinted his eyes. "That…you're a real asshole."

Dean merely snickered and Sam laid back, staring away from his brother.

"You should've seen your face…man…I should've taken a picture."

Looking up, Sam shook his head at the ceiling.

"Hey, you need anything? Water? More pain meds?"

Sam turned back to his brother. "Water?"

Dean nodded and poured some water out of a pitcher into a plastic cup. Then he moved over to Sam's bed. "You need to sit up. Wait! Got that covered…"

Sam watched as Dean reached over and pushed one of the buttons on the side of his bedrail- and suddenly, the head of the mattress was moving up. Dean was grinning like he had just found the coolest toy in the world. Sam rolled his eyes.

Finally, once Sam was partially sitting, Dean handed his brother the water. Sam took a few sips before questioning his sibling. "So, did you talk to Drew?"

Dean gave him an incredulous look. "I'm having Déjà vu. We had this conversation already."

Sam handed back the water. "Remind me…"

Dean sighed and sat back in his chair. "I haven't talked to Drew yet; I was waiting to make sure you were okay first."

Sam reached over and pushed the button to return his bed to the flat position. "Dean, Danny's waiting for him. We have to get him back there."

Dean ran a hand through his hair. "I don't know…I've been thinking Sam- what if Drew's still a…dude, there's not even a word for him… what if he hasn't changed? We'd just be exposing the ghost to the fact that he was purposely abandoned- could end up setting the kid off, turning him malevolent…I say, we just go back and finish him ourselves."

Sam closed his eyes. "Dean, I spent two hours with the kid, man…he didn't deserve what he got-"

Dean interrupted. "I'm not saying he did; I just think we should play it safe."

Sam shook his head. "He spent the last five days of his life in misery- the past twenty-four years abandoned and alone…what if, what if we burn 'im and he ends up alone for eternity?"

Dean leaned forward. "Sam, there's nothing to say that if we resolve his issue, which this is assuming that we even can, that Danny'll be able to move on."

Sam looked over, pleading. "It seemed to work for Molly… I just…it's just not fair, Dean."

Dean nodded. "Life's not fair- that's just the way it is."

Dean's statement was absolute and Sam stared at him with tears in his eyes. After a minute, Dean's gaze broke and he sighed, running a hand over his face. "Fine, I'll talk to Drew."

Sam met his brother's eyes. "Thanks."

Dean sent him back a look. "But dude, if I kill him, you have nobody to blame but yourself for sending me there."

Sam agreed. "Understood."

Dean snarled, looking annoyed. "You're a pain in my ass."

Sam smiled and closed his eyes. Before he could fall asleep, he heard Dean's voice. "Drew'll be getting out of work soon…you still need me here?"

Sam opened his eyes and shook his head. "I never needed you here. You were the one who insisted on staying."

For a moment Dean looked like he was ready to argue, but then his expression changed. "Right, I must've forgot."

Sam furrowed his brow in confusion and Dean rephrased his question. "So, you'll be okay here on your own?"

Sam stared at his brother as though he had sprouted another head. "Why wouldn't I be?"

Dean shook his head and mumbled under his breath, "Seriously a pain in my ass…"

Not understanding his brother, Sam once again closed his eyes and fell asleep.

I hope you're still with me. The next chapter will resolve most of the story (if not all). Please review and let me know what you think so far...