Chapter Seven

Dean attempted to roll to his side, to sit up and unhook himself and run in the direction of the gun shot, find Sam, grab his lazy ass hop in the car and drive off into the sunrise like Sundance and Butch.

So far he'd managed to roll slightly onto his back, only for the ropes to pull on his wrists and cause him to roll back onto his side. He heard a noise from behind Phil's car, he had no weapon to reach, no way to swing himself round to defend himself, all in all he had no hope so when he saw Sam stumble round the corner, Dean blamed the grit in his eyes for the tears.

Sam walked forward, one hand braced against the police car as he tried to make sense of what happened, what he'd seen. His mother, Jessica, could it really have been? He'd heard stories about the desert and certain sacred Indian grounds being able to call forth desert angels when those who were worthy were in need. Could it have been?

"Sam, oh god am I glad to see you."

Sam smiled, or, at least he was certain he did, what he wasn't too certain of was which Dean he was smiling at.

"Which one of you do I need to free first?"

"What?"

"God Dean one of you is enough to have to deal with, you're gonna have to wait."

Sam pointed drowsily to the right of Dean, then walked crookedly over before dropping heavily to his knees and leaning forward to balance his head in his hands, elbows in the grit.

"Sammy?"

"Mmm?"

"You ok?"

"Uh huh."

"Could you free me?"

"Have to free him first, then you."

"Ok then, free me first Sammy."

"Ok"

Sam rolled Dean onto his stomach and pulled on the binds wrapped around his hands, after what seemed an eternity the rope slid down to the ground, Dean slowly stretched his body out and pulled his arms round to his front, his wrists were caked in blood, but other than a few cuts and bruises he figured he was doing ok, well, better than his kid brother who kept looking to the right as if he'd lost something.

"Sammy?"

"Where'd the other one go?"

"He went for cigarettes, don't worry about him ok?"

"Ok."

Dean held firm to Sam's shoulders, he stared into his brother's eyes and noted the vacant look and the sleepy droop of his eyelids. Gently slapping Sam's cheek he brought his brother's attention back.

"Where're Phil and Mike?"

"Mum sent them into the desert."

Ok, now he was officially worried about his little brother. Dean patted him down carefully, feeling no further injuries. He inspected the cut on Sam's temple, the huge goose egg that had formed.

"Sammy, you got a concussion man, we gotta get out of here before those guys come back ok?"

"Yeah, yeah ok Dean, hey, you ok?"

Sam looked Dean square in the eyes for the first time, relief washed over him instantly as Sam frowned and began to check Dean over for injuries, his fingers brushed his side where Phil had kicked him repeatedly and he couldn't stop the gasped intake of air before it escaped.

"Hey Dean you're not ok, we gotta get you fixed up."

Dean slapped Sam's hands away. "It's not me that has the concussion and is talking like an extra from 'One flew over the cuckoo's nest'. I'm fine Sam, banged up, bruised, tired and pissed off, but I'm fine. Come on man, we gotta go."

Standing carefully the older hunter grabbed the younger under his arms and lifted him slowly from the ground, Sam swayed precariously and grabbed onto Dean's jacket, with one arm around his waist and another around his shoulders, Dean guided the younger man to the Impala, once he had him settled in the passenger seat he ran around the front of the car to check the damage and, satisfied it wasn't anything he couldn't fix, he carried on to the drivers side, slowly lowered his bruised body into the seat and gunned the engine.

As he drove away, Dean checked the rearview mirror for any sign of Phil and Mike. Two women, both in white dresses, stood by the abandoned police car. Blinking quickly Dean checked again. The road was clear, no one around and no sign of their attackers.

God he needed a drink.

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"Ok Sammy boy here we go."

"I can go to sleep now?"

Dean carefully walked his brother to the second bed in the motel room. After driving for six hours he'd found a little by-the-wayside Motel called the Lazy Oyster, checked them in and then started the monumental task of getting the giant sized lump that was his brother from the car to the bed.

Why'd he have to be so tall? And when the hell did he start to fill out and get so big? He knew it was all muscle but damn, his brother needed to slim down if Dean had to carry him.

His own aches and pains were in full symphony with each other, but needing to stay awake to make sure Sam didn't fall into a coma had kept him going throughout the entire six hour drive, even if the big lug had almost decked him after the third hourly awakening.

Maybe the water in his face had been cruel.

"Come on Sammy, help me out here." Dean pulled the boots from his feet and then helped his brother sit up, pulling the jacket and shirt away and then the hoodie.

"Seriously Sammy what's with all the layers, is that like a prerequisite to becoming a student? You have to go grunge?"

Sam tried his best to help, but his eyes were drooping again and he really wanted to get back to his dreams, Mum and Jessica in the desert, running and laughing and smiling and free.

"Saw Mum."

"What's that Sammy?"

"Saw Mum and Jess."

"Where?"

"Desert."

Dean poured some peroxide onto a towel and gently cleaned the head wound. Carefully holding back Sam's hair as he did, the thought of grabbing a pair of scissors and sorting out Sam's do flashed through his mind.

"Yeah? You saw Mum and Jess?"

"You don't believe me?" Sam tried to frown around the hand, hair and towel currently holding, plastered to and pressed against his face.

"Yeah, yeah Sam, I believe you." Nope, no he didn't, and he was sure the sight he'd seen in the rearview mirror was just a trick of the light.

"They helped us, saved us."

"You saved me Sammy."

Sam looked up at his brother grabbed a fist full of his t-shirt and pulled Dean closer.

"I'll always be here to save you Dean, always."

"I know that man."

"Just like Mum and Jess will always be there for us."

"Go to sleep Sammy, please, just go to sleep."

"M' k Dean."

Sam's eyes drifted closed and his head lulled toward Dean. He brushed the hair back some more and applied a band aid to the cut on his temple. Pulling the covers up over is brother Dean sat back down again and brushed his hand through Sam's hair, tenderly and slowly, the tears that fell landed on the bed sheets and disappeared from view.

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I watched the new eppy (about to watch for the 4th time) and i'm still floored!! I can't get enough of this season! LOL!

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