Sam looked down at lovely Elizabeth's sleeping form. Her chest rose and fell regularly with her breathing.
Sam found himself nodding off and he sat up quickly, opening his eyes wider. He looked up at the clock. It was almost 5:30 in the morning. Sam and Dean and Cas had brought Elizabeth back to Bobby's panic room while Bobby was gone. Cas had left soon after, saying that he had to prepare the ritual site and he would see them later. That was around eleven o'clock. About midnight, Elizabeth finally fell asleep on the cot.
Sam and Dean had proceeded to split the night into two-hour watches. Sam, after winning a round of rock-paper-scissors, took the first watch. He awakened Dean for the second, holding a hand over his brother's mouth to stifle the obscenities that came from being awakened from "the best dream since that one about Sandra Bullock and a case of Cool Whip". Sam rolled his eyes, grimaced, wisely decided not to ask any questions, and curled up on the floor to go to sleep.
Two hours later, Sam began his second watch. He sat in a chair beside Elizabeth, facing the bolted iron door, the salt gun laid across his lap. He leaned back in the chair and looked up at the ceiling, trying to stay awake.
A hand on his shoulder made him jump, and he realized he'd been dozing off. He looked up and saw Dean's smiling eyes. Apparently, Sam had been out for a few moments. He checked the clock again. 5:35. He frowned inwardly. Anything could happen in five minutes.
But Dean's expression was more sympathetic than scolding. He nodded towards the floor and suggested, "Why don't you get some sleep? I'll go ahead and take my watch."
Sam stretched and blinked rapidly. "I just… had something in my eyes."
"Uh-huh, sure." Dean pulled up another chair beside Sam.
Sam was worried. Had something awakened his sleeps-like-a-petrified-log brother? "Why'd you wake up, anyway?"
"I was starting to dream again," Dean quipped, "and I didn't want you to wake me up just when it gets good."
Sam groaned softly, shaking his head, tousled brown strands flying around his face.
"Hey, Sam," Dean said, suddenly serious, "I was thinking, about what you said earlier, about Liz and how you're not gonna let someone die for no reason, and… well… I'm sorry. I guess I should've trusted your instinct. I mean, she's not emotionless, like you thought, but she was innocent." He took the keys out of his pocket and handed them to Sam. "Here."
Sam narrowed his eyes questioningly and looked at the keys as though they were a rattlesnake. "Here, what?"
Dean jingled the keys. "I'm letting you call the shots on this one."
Sam raised his eyebrows and pushed Dean's hand away. "No."
Dean spread his hands in dismay. "You said you were tired of me bossing you around-"
"And you think I wanna do that to you?" Sam asked. "Dean, I don't want to be top dog. I want us to be equal partners. I want us to be a team. I want us to be…" He stopped suddenly and studied his hands.
Dean stared at him expectantly. "Be what?"
Sam sighed heavily. His tongue flicked out across his lips and he said softly, "I want us to be brothers."
Dean looked shocked. "Well, Sammy, the last time I looked at our birth certificates, we were brothers."
Sam was rolling his eyes before Dean was half-done. "No, Dean, I mean close. Give and take, not shoving crap down each other's throats. That's all I ever wanted. And…" He hung his head. "I know a lot of it's my fault. Some of the things I've done… But Dean, some of it's you, too. Yeah, I guess I've been pretty selfish, but I just can't…" He paused, thinking, and shrugged. "I just can't. Not anymore. I need us to be close friends."
Dean lowered his eyes and pocketed his keys. "Okay, Sam. I get what you're saying."
They both fell silent. Dean pursed his lips and tapped his heels on the floor. Sam studied his hands some more, and then looked up at Elizabeth.
The girl stirred, stretched, and opened her eyes. Sam and Dean both rose and stood over her bed. Elizabeth sat up on her elbows and stared back at them. After a moment, a smile crossed her face, and she signed to Sam. Sam smiled, too, and even laughed lightly.
"What'd she say?" asked Dean, eager to be in on the joke.
Sam said, a little shyly, "That it's unnerving to wake up and see two…" He smiled at Elizabeth. "Two such handsome men staring down at her."
Dean was pleased by the girl's comment. "At least Lizzie has taste," he said smugly.
Elizabeth smiled and shook her head at him.
Sam chuckled, "Um, I think she was talking about me, too."
Dean looked appalled at the idea.
Elizabeth laughed, a light, breathy, happy sound.