I don't own Sam or Dean or John or the Impala or Supernatural…..that's all the CW. So if they would be very kind to let me borrow it all for a bit, I promise to give it back….eventually…..well, maybe. Also, I lack an editor, so any mistakes are mine and please kindly overlook them (or let me know). Thanks.
Sam is 16 and Dean is 20.
-ff-
Sam was asleep for most of the trip and that worried Dean. Asleep looked a lot like unconscious and that was too damn close to coma, which was too damn close to dead. He had to resist the urge to wake Sam up every hour or so, just to make sure he still could. John had driven all day and he was going to keep going until they had pulled into Pastor Jim's driveway.
"Dean?" He looked up in the mirror. "You hungry?"
"No."
"If I grab something quick next time we stop for gas, would you eat?"
He brushed his hand over Sam's fevered forehead. "Is that an order?"
"It can be."
"Fine." He glanced out the window at the oncoming night.
John paused and took a slow breath. "How's he doing?"
"Fever's up, hasn't moved in a while." His jaw was set hard. "How much longer?"
Too long. "Five, six hours maybe."
Dean turned his attention back to Sam and John pressed a little harder on the accelerator. Sam shifted and his eyes blinked open for the first time in hours.
"Sammy?" Dean leaned forward to get a better look at him.
Sam pulled himself closer to Dean and gripped handfuls of his jeans. He was too tired, too sick, in too much pain for words. Everything inside of him felt like fire and knives and he couldn't make his arms and legs work properly. He must have made some sort of sound because Dean was running his hand through Sam's hair.
"You're all right, Sammy. Just breathe, you're gonna be okay." Dean muttered close to his ear. "I'm right here."
Dean held a bottle of water to Sam's lips and he tried to pull away. Dean wouldn't let him, so he ended up swallowing some of the water anyway. It burned down his throat like acid and hit his water like ice. Dean didn't make him drink any more. He pulled the blankets up around Sam's shoulders.
He could feel the pull of sleep again. "Dean?"
"Right here."
"M'okay." He sighed and slipped back under.
Dean leaned his head back and took a slow breath. Unless they figured out what to do, Sam would be dead in less than four days and he was telling Dean he was okay.
"Don't you go anywhere without me." Dean whispered so only Sam could hear. "You're not allowed."
It was a few hours past dark when John had to pull into a small gas station. He stopped the car next to the pumps and looked back at Dean.
"You need to get out for anything?"
"No." He kept his gaze on Sam.
John got out of the car.
"Dad?" Dean looked up at him. "Make it quick."
While the gas tank was filling, John went in to grab a couple sandwiches. He wasn't hungry and he knew Dean wasn't either, but them not eating wouldn't help Sam. He poured himself a cup of what the gas station called coffee and went to check out. He threw the money on the counter and jogged back out to the car. Under five minutes, had to be a record. They pulled back onto the highway.
John handed one of the sandwiches to Dean. "Eat that."
He did as he was told, though it felt like he was chewing cardboard and that had nothing to do with the gas station quality of the sandwich. Sam shivered almost constantly and Dean couldn't ever remember seeing him so pale.
Pastor Jim stepped out onto the porch when he heard the Impala pull into the driveway. Ever since John had called him, desperate and scared and trying his hardest to not let it show in his voice, Jim had been looking through every book he had. He knew it was bad, but he didn't expect Sam to be as sick as he was.
John got out of the car and went around to Dean's door. For a minute, he just stood there and looked at his youngest.
"How is he?" John's voice was low.
Dean shook his head slightly. "I don't know how to fix this."
He gripped Dean's shoulder. "We will. Let's get him inside."
Dean slipped out from under Sam and helped get him into John's arms. A blanket was tucked around Sam and John carried him up to the house. Dean grabbed what they needed from the car and went inside.
Jim directed John to the downstairs bedroom. He had the bed all set up and Sam looked small and vulnerable when John finally set him down. Dean set the bags down and stood back out of the way. He wanted to sit with Sam, have his little brother in his lap like he had done for the past ten hours and every other time Sam was sick, but he had to let Jim help. John stood over by Dean and put his arm around his son's shoulders.
Jim sat on the edge of the bed next to Sam. The boy was thin and pale. He hadn't woke or moved since before he was taken from the car. Jim said quiet words in Latin and made the sign of the cross on Sam's forehead with his thumb. Sam turned slightly into the touch, but didn't move other than that. Jim sat back and looked towards the Winchesters.
John was afraid to ask. "Jim?"
"Too soon to tell." Jim met Dean's eyes. "This fight's far from over. Why don't you two go get cleaned up and something to eat. I'll stay with him."
Dean wouldn't have left if John hadn't made him. Jim turned back to Sam and took out a small bottle of holy water. He let a few drops fall onto his finger. He drew a line with the water across the back of Sam's hand. Sam shifted away slightly and made a small noise of discomfort. When Jim looked down, there was a faint red mark, like a burn where he and put the holy water. Jim closed his eyes for a moment and said a prayer for Sam. The boy was going to need all the help he could get.
Jim wasn't surprised that John and Dean were back in about ten minutes. They had changed clothes and Jim hoped they had eaten something. Dean carefully sat on the edge of the bed near Sam's legs.
"Pastor Jim?" Dean asked quietly.
He turned to Dean. "I'm not giving up yet, are you?"
"No."
"Then we're not out of options yet." He held Dean's gaze.
Dean turned his attention back to Sam. Jim stood and went over to John.
"What do we do?" John's voice was rough with fatigue and worry.
Jim took a slow breath. "It won't be easy and it might not work, but it's all we got."
"Jim?"
"In the morning, we'll take him down to the chapel."
John met Jim's eyes and suddenly knew what had to happen. John Winchester had only seen a purification ritual once and the victim didn't survive. He felt ice in his veins, what Sam was going to have to go through in the morning would test all of them.
"John." Jim's gaze was determined and hopeful. "Sam's a strong kid, he's going to make it through this."
John looked at his boy and wished there was anything else they could do. He wished it was just the flu, something easy. Just once, something easy.
Jim managed to convince the Winchesters to get a little sleep while he stayed up with Sam. John and Sam would have stayed awake for a week straight if Jim would have let them.
Sam's fever spiked that night. It was as though Dean knew, because just about the time Jim went to get some ice packs, Dean was in the doorway holding a couple.
"If he's running a fever, it's always worse at night." Dean whispered and sat down next to his brother.
Dean tucked one of the ice packs under Sam's neck and the other two under his arms.
"Though you were sleeping." Jim kept his voice low even though there was hardly any chance of waking Sam.
"Can't sleep when he's sick."
Dean took the damp cloth from the table and gently wiped it over Sam's face before he rested it on his forehead.
"He's going to need you tomorrow."
"He needs me now." He paused and glanced over at Jim. "What are you going to do to Sam, tomorrow?"
"Save him."
"Jim." If Dean could have turned to water to ice with that glare, there wouldn't have been a need for the ice packs. "I'm too old to be lied to."
"You ever seen a purification ritual?"
Dean shook his head. "Dad talked about it once."
"What'd he say?"
He turned his attention back to Sam and gently brushed his hair back. "Not much. Said it didn't take and we moved on. He never mentioned it again."
"It's going to be hard for everyone, Dean, but you're going to have to do just as I say if you want any chance of Sam back."
Dean nodded without taking his eyes off of Sam. "Anything. Please."
-ff-
Not sure how many more chapters. 2 or 3 probably. Hope you all had good holidays and Happy New Year to you.