Disclaimer: Nu-uh! Not mine. Wish they were but not in this lifetime.
Betas: bia1007 and PsiChic (These girls are doing marvellous jobs)

a/n: This one-shot was done on request by Robyn who wanted one on feverish Dean. Hope it's likeable.

………………………….

Face Beloved

Sam woke with a start and only Dean's tight grip on his shoulder was what keeping him from falling to the floor. To see Dean sitting on his bedside gave Sam the shock of his life since the last time he checked Dean had been too sick to get out of his bed.

"Dean?! What…" He hadn't quite finished when Dean unexpectedly pulled him into a huge bear hug. The heat radiating from Dean's body was searing Sam's skin, making him flinch.

"Uhh? Dean?" Sam looked up from Dean's chest and found the green eyes glassy with fever, looking disoriented and hazy.

"S'okay Sammy…I gotcha!" Dean mumbled. "Evrythin's going to be fine…" Dean's voice drifted off as he flopped back to bed, limp like a rag doll.

"M' goin'… to protect ya… Dean mumbled incoherently as his consciousness slowly ebbed away.

Sam ran a hand through his hair and sighed. Was there one single moment in his life Dean would not think about protecting him? Did Dean ever take the time to think about himself? Sam was at a loss with this matter.

He curled himself in front of Dean and studied his big brother's fevered face. It was not a very reassuring sight. Dean's eyes were moving frantically under the closed lids as a nightmare flashed through his mind in his slumber. Sam was sure it was a nightmare because their dreams were never about sweets and candies.

Dean's expression was etched with pain. But Sam grew up adoring that face, regardless what expression it showed - though most of the times it was masked by the wall Dean brought up around him, preventing Sam from entering. To have Dean's face appearing in his sleep was enough to chase the nightmare away. To wake up every morning seeing the face hovering over his gave him peace, though sometimes what happened after could be annoying.

Sam wondered what Dean was seeing in his restless sleep.

"I gotcha' Sammy…" Dean mumbled, oblivious in his slumber. His face was scrunched with worries.

Sam cringed. Even Dean's nightmare was all about him – about protecting him, keeping him safe. There was no time in his life – not even in his sleep - Dean did not think about Sam. It seemed like his face didn't have the same effect on Dean's nightmare as Dean's would have on his.

Most of the time Sam had wished he was Dean's big brother. Only then he would have been able to protect his hero.

"I know Dean," Sam whispered tiredly. "But just this once, let me take care of you."

To Sam's surprise, Dean's features softened. His eyes were now motionless, fixed to only one point. If Dean wouldn't have been asleep he'd be looking straight at Sam. The stiffness on his face had loosened and the scrunches were gone, only leaving traces of peace.

Maybe Sam's face haunted Dean's dreams, but at the same time it was him and him alone who could drag Dean away from the nightmares.

"Jerk!" Sam muttered.

"Bitch…" A slight mumble escaped Dean's lips as if the word had been hanging on the tip of his tongue, waiting for Sam.

Sam relaxed. Maybe being the little brother was not so bad at all.

………………………….

End

a/n: Reviews worth? Any Sam's girls out there? I'm opened for request. Feverish/confused/delirious/hurt Winchesters are my mission!*I haven't watched the season's premiere, but I heard what happened...it just breaks the heart to see the boys' bond shaken*