Sam was still sleeping when Dean emerged from the bathroom after brushing his teeth. Somewhere there was a cup of coffee with Dean's name on it and he intended to find it. He was surprised that Sam had been able to sleep with all the noise he had made that morning. Not that he was purposefully trying to wake Sam up ffor anything. Just because Dean didn't sleep well, it didn't mean Sam shouldn't, right? Dean's thoughts kept him awake most of the night. Sam's hurtful words running through his mind. After everything Dean did for his little brother over the years, he couldn't believe Sam could have such a low opinion of him. That's what hurt the most. Not the physical blows to his body, but the emotional blows to his psyche.

Somehow, Sam ended up kicking off his covers. He used to do it all the time when he was little and would wake up freezing. Then he'd want to climb into Dean's or John's bed to get warm. Dean hated when Sam would rub his cold feet against Dean's warm legs so he had taken to slipping out of bed early to make sure Sam was covered, all nice and snug in his bed. Old habits die hard and Dean pulled the covers up over Sam's body. He frowned when he notice how red and puffy the cut on Sam's neck looked. It had been healing nicely, but now it looked like it might be infected. Oh well, Sam can take care of it when he gets up, thought Dean.

After stopping at Dunkin Donuts, for coffee and breakfast sandwiches, Dean drove around for a while, not quite ready to got back to the motel room to face Sam. His whole life, Dean had looked out for his brother. Even before John had told him to take Sam out of the burning house, Dean felt like Sam was his responsibility. When Sam was brought home from the hospital, Dean had gone through a mild case of jealousy. The new baby required a lot of attention and Dean had felt that the baby was trying to steal his mom away. After several days, Mary had sat her oldest down and explained what an important job being a big brother was. Sammy was just a little guy and he needed someone to look out for him. Her words made Dean feel important. He had decided then and there that he would always take care of Sam.

Haven't I done that? thought Dean. Haven't I taken good care of Sam? How could he throw that all back in my face? Dean wished like hell, he could say it was the siren's spell. When the yellow eyed demon had possessed John, he tried to break Dean's body and spirit. Harsh words, which spewed force from the mouth of someone Dean loved so much, had been meant to break him. However, Dean knew that wasn't really his dad talking. It was the demon trying to break him. It was that thought that helped get Dean through those agonizing months following his father's death. That wouldn't work this time. The siren might have pushed Sam towards fighting with Dean, but the creature didn't make Sam say those harsh words. Those were things that Sam had been think all along. Dean knew that because he knew he had meant what he said to Sam.

Dean prided himself on two things in his life. One was the Impala and the other was his skills as a hunter. Dean was a damn good hunter, but apparently Sam thought he was better. Why Sam? Why? Is it because I'm not okay with you using your powers? Or is because I don't want to team up with a demon? What have those bastards ever done for us besides take away the people we love the most. If Dad could see you now, he'd be furious and I wouldn't blame him, thought Dean. How can you think it's okay to run around with Ruby?

Ruby. Dean didn't trust her one bit. A part of him felt he should be grateful that she was there to stop Sam from getting himself killed while Dean was in hell, but there was just something about her that he didn't trust. There was more to her than meets the eye. And Dean certainly wasn't buying into this good girl act she seemed to have going on. Before Dean and Sam had their second encounter with vampires, he never would have thought that there could be supernatural creatures that could be good. But Lenore proved him wrong. However, there was a big difference between Lenore and Ruby. Lenore was a woman who probably didn't ask to be turned into a vampire. She didn't ask for that life and she gave up killing humans for blood as a way of survival. But Ruby, she was already a witch to begin with and she sold her soul to a demon. Dean was pretty sure her motives weren't altruistic like his had been. Plus, she turned on her own kind and expected a pat on the back for it. Oh please, that's something that all demons are capable of. They might swear allegiance to one another, but given the opportunity, they'd kill one another if they thought they could get ahead.

After a while, Dean decided to head back to the motel. He wanted to check out before they were charged for another night. There was no hunt in sight for them, but he just wanted to be one the road. It would be harder for Ruby to track them down if they were on the move.

oooooOOOOooooo

Dean was dismayed to find Sam still asleep when he returned the room. Sam never slept this long before, but he wasn't using demonically linked powers before. Maybe they tire him out. But then Sam brought it on himself. "Sam, get up. We got to get a move on it."

Sam gave a small groan, but made no move to get up.

"Sam, come on, get up." Dean pulled the covers off of Sam just like John did when Dean was a kid and didn't want to get up for school.

Squinting against the harshness of the light, Sam reached and pulled the comforter from Dean's grasp. His whole body ached and his neck itched liked crazy. He didn't want to get up. "Let me sleep a little longer."

"Sam, you've slept long enough," said Dean. "I wanna hit the road soon. So get up."

"We don't have a new hunt. Let's just stay here another day."

"Why Sam, you got a hot date lined up?"

Sam could hear the barely controlled anger in Dean's voice and knew he was referring to Ruby. Slowly, he sat up in bed. "I told you, Dean, I haven't talked to her in days and I'm not planning on contacting her anytime soon. I'm just a little tired and think we should stay one more night."

Like I can believe you, thought Dean. "Fine. You can sleep all day if you want. I'm going out."

"Where to?"

"Somewhere that's not here." Grabbing his keys, Dead headed out of the room before Sam could reply.

Laying back down, Sam pulled the comforter over his body, trying to ignore the tears that were forming in his eyes. He could hear the throaty roar of the Impala as it drove away from the motel.

oooooOOOOooooo

"I'll have another," said Dean holding up his empty beer bottle. After leaving the motel, he headed to the bar down the street. He figured he could hustle up some pool, maybe see if there was a backroom poker game going on. He was a little low on the cash flow and it would help occupy his time. Luckily for him, at Tim's Pub, the pickings were easy and in just a couple of hours he had made three hundred dollars. That should tide him and Sam over for awhile. The beer was cold and the waitresses were cute and that was all he needed right now. A part of him wanted to head back to the hotel and check on Sam. The kid wasn't looking so hot earlier, but Dean just wasn't in the mood to be around him right now. Maybe, after he'd had a few drinks, he'd be ready to go back.

oooooOOOOooooo

Waking up to darkness, Sam reached over and turned the light on. He couldn't help, but notice that Dean was still gone. Glancing at the clock he saw that it was after nine. Man, I really did sleep all day. Every bone in his body ached as he stood up. Slowly, he made his way into the bathroom to relieve himself, his whole body seemed to protesting the movement. When he was finished, he inspected the cut on his neck. Itching like crazy, it was even redder than it had been the day before and was oozing a little. Sam knew he needed to put neosporin on it, but the first aid kit was in the trunk of the Impala which Dean had taken when he left. Dean couldn't get away from me fast enough, thought Sam. Not that I blame him.

I could call Dean and see if he'll came back, thought Sam. There was a chance his brother wouldn't answer his call and Sam didn't think he could take the rejection. Grabbing a washclothe from the little shelf over the toilet, Sam ran it under cold water. He felt like he was burning up and decided to lie back down on the bed with a cool compress on his forehead and wait for Dean to return. When he had gotten out of bed, the comforter had fallen on the floor and when Sam walked towards the bed, he had closed his eyes for a moment and didn't see the comforter on the floor. Once he stepped on it, the comforter became twisted around his feet and before he knew it, Sam was falling. His head hit the sharp, metal, edge of the luggage rack at the end of his bed. Sam lay on the floor with blood flowing freely from a gash on his forehead.

oooooOOOOooooo

"Sure, I'll have a drink with you, sweetheart," Dean said to the pretty blonde sitting next to him at the bar. He had spent the better part of an hour chatting up the bartender. She wasn't into what Dean had in mind, but she made for some nice conversation. When her shift ended and she left to relieve her babysitter, Dean decided that he should get back to the motel. Before he could get up from his bar-stool, a pretty blonde sat down next to him and asked if he wanted to share a drink. What's it gonna hurt to have one more drink? thought Dean. So instead of leaving, he stayed.

More to Come

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