Chapter 4.

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When Dean had moved Sam from the car to their motel room, he'd placed Sam on the bed farthest away from the door and quickly wrapped some blankets around his shivering brother. Dean had then found the first-aid kit and dug out some clothes from Sam's duffel before he'd begun the task of taking care of his brother. Dean knew that Sam could very well be suffering from hypothermia so, first of all, Dean had turned up the heaters in the motel room, before he had dressed Sam in a pair of sweatpants, a t-shirt and a hoodie to keep his brother as warm as possible.

"This is just like when you were little, Sam." Dean had said with a shake of his head while he rearranged the blankets around his brother's shaking form.

To Dean's big relief the frostbites on Sam's fingers and toes weren't as severe as first expected but that didn't mean that Dean didn't have to do something about them. He filled the ice bucket with some temperate water and returned to his brother's side. Dean carefully lowered Sam's hands into the water and carded a hand through Sam's bangs when the younger brother let out a pain-filled moan.

"It'll be over soon, I promise." Dean assured his brother.

When he was satisfied with the amount of time Sam's hands had been in the water, Dean carefully lifted Sam's hands out of the water and gently dried them off before wrapping bandages around both hands. Dean repeated the action with Sam's feet and applied two pairs of thick socks, and he then turned his attention towards the wound on Sam's forehead. When Dean got started on the required stitches, he noticed that even though Sam was still shivering his little brother's forehead felt warm to the touch which meant that Sam was probably running a fever. Dean cursed when the sound of some firecrackers coming from outside startled him and almost had him poking Sam in the eye with the needle. If he hadn't decided he couldn't leave Sam for this time being, Dean would have ripped open the door to their motel room and beat the crap out of whoever had used those firecrackers!

Dean finished up the stitches and admired his handiwork for a moment before he dug out some Tylenol from the first-aid kit and filled up a glass of water.

"Come on, Sammy." Dean said and moved his brother into a sitting position. "I need you to take these pills dude."

He shook Sam's shoulders a bit and Sam only groaned his answer.

"I know you would rather sleep and you can do that again after swallowing these pills, okay?" Dean said.

Years of experience on how to handle a sick Sam allowed Dean to simply pry his brother's mouth open and place the pills on his tongue. Dean then placed the glass of water by Sam's lips and told him to drink - and Sam obeyed. It never ceased to amaze the older Winchester brother how much Sam trusted him, and Dean also couldn't help but think about how remarkable it was that Sam had spent almost his entire life questioning every order their father had barked at him, but when Dean had told Sam to do something he more or less always listened. Maybe it had something to do with the fact that Dean had always been the one to take care of Sam or maybe Sam had simply always known that Dean would put Sam's well-being in front of anything else at anytime.

"That a boy.." Dean said in a soft voice and put the glass on the nightstand before he lowered Sam back down on the bed and tugged the blankets closer around his brother. "Still shivering though, huh? I guess that's what being half-way buried underneath an avalanche can do to you."

Dean stripped the covers off his own bed and draped them over the youngest Winchester brother as well before he decided he couldn't do more for Sam right now. He then went into the bathroom to take a shower and when he returned, Dean noticed the fact that Sam was still shaking.

"How can you still be cold, dude? You've got like a mountain of blankets already!" Dean grumbled though there was no real heat behind his words.

He found an extra blanket and put it on top of the pile of blankets that already covered Sam before Dean flopped down on the other bed. As long as Sam was out cold, Dean could as well try to get a few hours too.

"What a crappy New Year.." Dean mumbled and wished he and Sam had never decided to go on that hunt in the first place.

If they hadn't, then he would have been able to celebrate New Year's Eve more properly with his brother. Sam deserved much better than this – the poor kid could never catch a break, not even on New Year's frigging Eve.

"Happy New Year, Sammy." Dean whispered before he fell asleep to the sounds of firework and his baby brother's steady breathing.

When Dean woke back up it was by the screams of his brother and Dean was out of bed and by Sam's side in a heartbeat.

"Sam!" Dean called while he quickly tried to determine the reason to Sam's sudden fit and he noticed how the younger brother struggled to free himself from the blankets.

Dean pulled the blankets away from Sam's upper body and grabbed him by the shoulders before he hoisted Sam into a sitting position.

"Hey! Calm down!" Dean shouted and tightened his hold of Sam's shoulders. "You're okay, Sammy."

Sam stopped screaming and blinked glassy and confused eyes at him while panting heavily.

"I.. I can't.. My hands.. Dean.." Sam said while shaking his head from side to side. "So cold.. Dean.. So cold.."

Dean looked down at Sam's hands and let out a little sigh as he realized the fact that Sam was panicking because he couldn't rub his thumb across his scar like he always did when he wanted to reassure himself that he wasn't still trapped in the cage. Dean's heart ached every time he watched Sam do that.

"Shh.. Stone number one, Sammy. Remember?" Dean soothed and then tried to explain to Sam that he was running a fever and was probably cold from the snow.

"S-still cold." Sam stuttered out.

Dean washed a hand down his face while wondering what to do. How could Sam possibly still be cold? Or better yet; what could Dean possibly do to help his little brother? Dean hated to see Sam suffer which he was clearly doing right now. Sam was still pretty out of it because of the fever and everything, and Dean knew that he had to do something if he wanted Sam to get some more rest anytime soon.

"Maybe this will work." Dean mumbled and let go of Sam's shoulders so that he could slide behind his brother and pull Sam against his chest.

Dean made sure the blankets were covering Sam properly before he wrapped his arms around his little brother and held him tight. Dean felt the shivers that kept running through Sam's body but they ceased a little bit.

"Sleep Sammy." Dean said and he soon felt Sam relax against him.

Dean smiled wryly when Sam's breathing evened out and the older brother soon let sleep consume him as well.

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TBC…. I think? Yeah, one more will probably do it :)

Reviews = love 3

-Elisa.