"Sammy… no…I don't understand!"

"You let me die. You are supposed to protect me- Just like you could have protected Mom and Dad. But you couldn't do it. You're too weak! You let Mom and Dad die for YOU!"

"Shut up," Dean muttered. "No, Sam… Sam would understand."

"Dean!"

"No, Sam doesn't hate me. Sam's my brother. He would understand how I feel about Mom. He would never say he hates me…Never…" Dean's voice was calm and he pushed away from the hallucination.

When he opened his eyes, the Sandman's image had replaced Sam's

"You're a fighter, Dean. I am going to have lots of fun with you. I think I like the slow and easy approach with you. You will become the monster you know you are. I know the truths you had behind your delusion of grandeur. Pathetic."

"Get out of my head"

"By the time this is over you will be begging for death!"

"Shut UP!" Dean screamed. His eyes closed and his fist pumped in rage. He lunged for the Sandman, only to find emptiness.

He spun around the room to scan for his tormentor, but found only a stirring Sam. With a deep sigh, Sam returned to deep sleep. "Okay, Dean… get your act together…. Can let Sammy see this…" His hands palmed over his fatigue drained eyes. He slowed his breathing. "You can beat this. "

Hopping back to his bed, Dean thought he would at least try to sleep. He had defended the Sandman away twice, so there was hope that he could beat the odds again. He closed his eyes, enticing sleep to take him.

-x-x-x-xx-x-x-x-xx-x-x

Whirling down the nearby highway, a big rig passed by the out-of-the way motel as a mangy stray dog dared to cross in the rig's barreling path. The ear piercing horn reverberated through Sam and Dean's motel room wall causing Sam to abruptly awaken.

Sam looked around nervously, half thinking Dean was in peril. The initial shock from waking out of a deep sleep soon passed, when he noticed Dean's bloodshot eyes looking at him.

"Man, you look like hell. How much did you sleep?"

Dean smiled imperceptibly at his brother. He had spent most of the morning thinking about Sam; thinking about all the things he needed to take care of before this all got worse; thinking about being on the precipice of ruination.

Somehow there weren't enough words in any language that seemed right. Sam was his brother, his partner, and his best friend. The thought of leaving Sam alone was foremost in his mind. He wondered what would happen to Sam once he was gone. That fear was the only reason Dean was fighting at all. Dean had spent most of his life feeling alone and to subject his brother to the same fardels was more that he could bear. But his decision, not matter if it came today or months from now had already been set in stone.

Dean suddenly realized he had been lost in his own thoughts and quiet too long. Sam had drawn closer to him without Dean noticing. He managed a half smirk laced with an amused sigh, but both acts were disingenuous.

"Oh...sorry, Sam. I just kinda drifted there for a second. I didn't sleep much."

Cracking his neck and smacking his dry mouth once, Sam readjusted his body from sleeping in such an odd position. A benevolence amalgamated with bitterness etched Sam's every facial feature. He desperately wanted to ask Dean a million things, but Dean looked so completely languorous. He quickly thought of the third thing Dean like best, mainly because his own stomach growled intensely. Sam realized their last meal had been twelve hours ago.

"Uhh…so….do you feel like some grub. I'm starving. I'm gonna grab us some coffee and something hot and not junk food-FOR A CHANGE."

Dean didn't feel like defending his favoring items often labeled as a food product with artificial colors and artificial flavors. Plus, Sam hovering was doing very little for Sam's psyche "Sounds good Sam."

Dean pushed himself to sit upright upon the bottom of the bed as Sam shoved some cash in the front of his jean pocket.

Grabbing a pair of jeans from his own duffel, Dean forced himself to put them on. A strange lethargic energy had invaded Dean that only seemed to ebb when he focused on not burdening Sam. Standing to button his jeans, Dean realized Sam stood fixed and staring at him.

"Sam, I'm not gonna break by getting dressed and its kinda weirdin me out…uhh.. with you doing that. I'm okay, Sam...Really."

Sam chuckled. "Yeah, sorry! I..uh...I'm gonna.."

Dean's hearing faded and soon Sam's moving lips spouted no words.

"Sam," Dean uttered.

Sam stopped talking and looked bewildered by his brother's expression. Dean's eyes flashed horror at the creature slithering towards Sam.

Sam stood unmoving unaware of the large cobra that was slithering towards his bare feet. Hissing loudly, the onyx hood fanned open as it plunged it overlarge fangs into Sam's ankle.

"Sammy!" Dean screeched. Sam stood perplexed as to why Dean was screaming his name. Unfortunately, Sam realized too late that Dean was lost in another Sandman hallucination, when Dean sprang to action and knocked Sam to the ground.

"Dean, Dean, snap out of it get off of me."

Dean couldn't hear his brother's plea. He could only focus on the snake's fangs that were still imbedded into Sam's skin, pumping him full of its deadly poison. Dean grasped the beast with both hands, straining to pull the beast loose, but the bond between Sam's flesh and the slippery snake was unbreakable.

Sam continued yelling, but figured the best course was to pin Dean until the delusion was over. Using on the partial strength available to him, Sam pushed Dean away.

The puzzled Sam scrambled to regain his footing as Dean fell back against his bed. Dean's hand thudded on a handle under his pillow. With lighting fast reflexes, Dean grabbed the knife, pulled it from its sheath, and brandished the weapon in his hand. Sprinting with mad fury to help his brother, Dean was ready to kill the cobra by any means necessary. Dean knocked Sammy back to the ground once more.

"Damn it, Dean! Stop!"

Don't worry Sam. I'm gonna take care of you." Sam pushed Dean back more harshly. Dean's side crashed to the floor. Landing upon his shoulder, his body omitted a large pop. His arm hung oddly.

Sam gasped as he knew he had hurt Dean, but the dislocated shoulder did little to stop the next charge. Sam had little time to react.

He pumped both of his legs into Dean's abdomen to block the momentum of Dean's run. Dean stumbled back, but twisted sharply. Raising the knife in a wide arc, Dean plunged the knife in a forceful death blow.

"Dean! NO! Stop!"