Dean hated painkillers; they always made him feel disoriented and dizzy. But they were definitely working because he didn't feel the pain he thought he should be feeling. He was actually surprised that he was alive at all. He'd killed the Demon and he was at peace with the knowledge that Sam and Alec were going to be ok without him. He was sure that he was dying and now somehow he was alive. Or, at least, he thought he was alive.
"…but now Bobby's gotten super protective over Alec." Sam was talking to him, so he must still be alive. "I know you said they didn't get along, but seriously Bobby hasn't left Alec's side. I'm worried about him though, he hasn't woken up yet and I only expected him to sleep a few hours. It was nearly impossible to get him out of here so…I don't know…I just didn't think he'd sleep this long…"
Dean was happy to hear that Bobby and Alec were getting along, but he didn't like that something was wrong with Alec. Sam and Bobby were worried and Dean was afraid he hadn't killed the Demon soon enough. Sam also sounded exhausted and he figured that his little brother hadn't left his side either.
He realized after a moment that Sam had ahold of his hand and he knew that Sam had been worried about him. He wanted to say something or make a sound to let Sam know that he was alright, but he couldn't get his voice to cooperate. Now that he thought about it, he figured out that his eyes were still closed too. He needed to let Sam know he was ok so he would stop worrying, but that was going to be more difficult than he thought.
He finally settled on barely squeezing Sam's hand; anything was better than nothing.
Sam was instantly alerted by Dean's feeble squeeze, "Dean?"
It was a small victory, but it was enough to give him the strength to open his eyes. It was still a struggle, but the reward was worth it. Sam was sitting next to him, waiting patiently for him to wake up.
"Sam," Dean managed to breathe out and Sam's face lit up in a smile.
"Hey man, it's good to see ya."
"Wha' happ'ned?" Dean slurred.
"What do you remember?" Sam countered.
"I shot the Demon…then nothing…" Dean didn't want Sam to know that he'd been ready to die so he left that part out.
"Well, I was out for all of that, but Bobby told me what happened. Bobby and Ellen shut the doors and then the three of them managed to get us back here. Alec patched you up and then gave you a lot of blood. Almost too much blood…"
"Is he alright?" Dean instantly asked in concern.
Sam hesitated, "…I think so…we had to force him to go lay down, but Bobby's with him now…"
Dean trusted Bobby, but he wouldn't be completely reassured that Alec was ok until he saw him with his own eyes.
"Do you want something to drink?" Sam asked after a few minutes.
Dean nodded slightly and watched as Sam got up and walked toward the door. He hesitated in the doorway and looked back at Dean. "Sam, I'm alright. I'm not going to die just because you leave the room."
Sam gave him a small smile and then walked out the door. He wasn't gone long, but it was longer than Dean expected him to be gone.
"What took ya so long? Get lost on your way back?" Dean lightly teased.
"You want this water or not?" Sam teased back. "I stopped to let Bobby and Ellen know that you're awake."
"Did you check on Alec?"
"He's still asleep," Sam answered. He gently lifted Dean's head up and held the glass so he could get a drink. The water felt amazing on his parched throat and it was too soon when Sam pulled the glass away.
"Where are we anyway?" Dean asked. He didn't really care where they were, he just wanted to keep Sam talking so he didn't fall asleep.
"Some hunter friend of Bobby's owns it…Dean, maybe you should go back to sleep."
"I'm fine Sam," Dean replied, but Sam didn't look convinced.
"If you go to sleep now, maybe Alec will be awake the next time you wake up," Sam tried.
Dean turned his head a little so he could glare at Sam, which just made Sam laugh. He was getting tired, but he wasn't about to admit that to Sam.
"Hey, I have to tell you something," Dean said, making Sam raise his eyebrows in a question. "Did Alec ever tell you how he got his name?"
Sam's eyebrows drew together in confusion, "I don't think so…"
Dean smiled and Sam looked back at him uneasily. "I don't know if I should tell you or let you figure it out on your own."
"What is it? Tell me!" Sam instantly asked.
"I don't know…I think it'll be better if you figure it out on your own. Besides, you went to college; it shouldn't take you that long."
Dean smiled at Sam again and then snuggled down further into his pillow and closed his eyes. Sam huffed in annoyance, but Dean knew he wasn't going anywhere.
Alec knew he'd been asleep for a long time. He still felt really tired, but he was on a comfortable bed and he didn't really want to move. He could hear a low voice speaking, but it was all one sided and it took him a while to figure out that it was Bobby and that he was reading something out loud.
"'Good morning!' said Bilbo, and he meant it. The sun was shining, and the grass was very green. But Gandalf looked at him from under long bushy eyebrows that stuck out further than the brim of his shady hat. 'What do you mean?' he said. 'Do you wish me a good morning, or mean that it is a good morning whether I want not; or that you feel good this morning; or that it is morning to be good on?'"
Bobby continued to read, but Alec had no idea what he was talking about. He slowly opened his eyes which felt heavy with sleep. He carefully sat up and scooted back against the headboard while Bobby read.
"What are you reading?" Alec asked quietly, but he still startled the older man.
"You've never heard of 'The Hobbit'?" Bobby asked in surprise.
Alec shook his head and asked curiously, "What's it about?"
"Well it's about a Hobbit who goes with a bunch of Dwarves to go win back their home from a dragon. I found the book on one of the shelves out there. It's been years since I've read it, but it's still a classic. I wasn't doing anything and I didn't know if you'd ever read it or not…"
Alec cleared his throat, "Thanks…for reading it and you know…and staying with me…"
Bobby waved him off, but Alec was uncomfortable with the touchy feely moment so he decided to shrug it off with humor. "You'll probably have to start over though, I kinda missed the beginning."
Bobby laughed, "I will, but you needed the sleep. You probably need more, but I'm not gonna force ya."
Alec smiled a little, but then he asked, "How's Dean?"
"Sam said he woke up for a while, but that was a few hours ago."
Alec started to push himself up and Bobby was there a moment later to help give him support. He couldn't believe how weak he was; his legs were like jello and his vision went black as soon as he was standing. He was actually glad Bobby was there so he didn't end up on the floor.
"Just go slow ok?" Bobby quietly said.
"I'm good," Alec replied with a cocky smile, but he didn't shrug Bobby off.
They walked slowly down the hall and Alec tried to not lean against Bobby, but it was either lean against Bobby or lean against the wall and Bobby was helping him get to Dean faster.
Sam was sitting in the chair next to Dean's bed, but he stood up as soon as Alec and Bobby went inside. Bobby led him over until he could sink into the chair and he breathed out a sigh of relief. Just that short walk from one room to the next almost did him in.
"You alright?" Sam asked softly.
Alec nodded and then asked, "Is Dean ok?"
"I'm fine," Dean grumbled in a sleepy voice. "You two girls should stop worrying…"
"You shouldn't use 'girls' as an insult Dean," Ellen reprimanded from the doorway, making all of them look at her in surprise. "Besides, you need to be nice to the one who's cookin' your meals…"
Dean gave her a small smile and quickly apologized, "Sorry Ellen."
Ellen smiled and looked around the room, "You boys are lookin' a little worse for wear. I'll cook you guys somethin' to eat and then I'm going to go look for Jo."
Sam, Dean, and Bobby all looked up in surprise, but Alec had no idea who she was talking about.
"Who's Jo?" He asked curiously.
"She's my daughter. We had a fight a while ago and you boys made me realize how important it is to stick with your family," Ellen replied.
"Do you know where she is?" Alec didn't know why he cared so much, but he couldn't stop the questions from coming out of his mouth.
"I'll find her," Ellen confidently stated and then she walked out of the room.
Alec turned around again to face Dean, but he was surprised to find that Dean's eyes were already on him.
"How're ya feelin'?" Dean asked him.
Alec shrugged, "I'm alright, how about you?"
"Fine," Dean replied easily.
It was quiet in the room until Sam huffed, "You're both liars!"
"Not very good ones either…" Bobby muttered with a smile.
"Better than you!" Dean shot back.
"You've got a lot of catching up to do if you want to be as good as me," Bobby said.
Alec chuckled, "Dream on old man! I was made to lie!"
Bobby laughed, "You better watch it kid!"
"Or what? You better be careful, you might break a hip," Alec jokingly challenged and Bobby got up and ruffled Alec's hair. Alec lightly pushed him away while both of them laughed.
"Alright you two," Sam said as he laughed. "You better settle down before you hurt yourselves…"
Alec rolled his eyes and glanced at Dean, "Is he always like this?"
"It's getting worse," Dean replied.
Sam huffed in fake annoyance but he couldn't hide his smile.
They stayed up and chatted for a while, but Dean and Alec were both worn out and it didn't take long for them to get drowsy.
"Alright Dean, time to go back to sleep. Alec, you too," Sam stated quietly when he noticed Dean's eyes were drooping closed.
"I'm fine, I don't want to sleep yet," Dean complained.
"And I'm not into taking 'cat naps'," Alec muttered sarcastically.
Bobby chuckled, but Sam rolled his eyes and started to mutter, "Smart Ale-" He stopped in the middle and his eyes widened in surprise. He looked at Dean and started laughing, "Smart Aleck!"
Dean laughed and nodded. Alec didn't know what had gone on between them, but Sam had just figured out how he got his name.
"Alec, you heard Sam, time to go back to sleep," Bobby said after a moment.
"You're not going to watch me sleep again are you?" Alec teased.
"Hey, if you didn't play 'Let's see how much blood I can lose and live' then I wouldn't have to keep an eye on you!" Bobby replied.
"You know Sam, you don't have to watch me sleep either…it's gotten kinda creepy," Dean said with a smile.
Sam laughed, "Shut up and go to sleep."
Dean fake saluted, but then closed his eyes. Alec didn't argue after that; he was pretty tired and it had become a fight to keep his eyes open. Besides, he would sleep soundly now that he knew his family was safe.
Ending coming soon...