Sam lay on the floor, the comforter still twisted around his legs. Every time he tried to sit up he was hit with a wave of dizziness and after a couple of tries he gave up. At that moment all Sam wanted was for his big brother to come through the door, but he was pretty sure Dean wasn't going to be back soon. Please, Dean, please come back, prayed Sam.

oooooOOOOooooo

"So Dean, do you wanna get out of here?" asked Marla.

Dean had spent a rather enjoyable hour having drinks with the blonde who it turned out was named Marla. She was funny and sweet and just the kind of girl Dean usually went for. So why didn't he feel like taking Marla up on her offer? He was just about to decline her offer when they were interrupted by an extremely irate man.

"Marla Jane Perkins, just what, in the hell, do you think you're doing?" yelled the man.

"What does look like I'm doing, Baxter? I'm having a drink here with this nice gentleman." Marla gestured towrds Dean.

Oh God, thought Dean. Please don't get me involved in their marital problems.

"Yeah, well I think it's great that you leave the kids with a sitter so you can go out and screw around on me!" Baxter was was turning redder by the minute.

"Well, if you didn't work so late, I wouldn't be lonely for some companionship," Marla complained.

"I work hard to provide a good life for us and our kids," countered Baxter.

Not one to get involved in marital squabbles, Dean left a tip for the bartender and slipped out the door while Marla and Baxter were shouting at each other. If he had known Marla was married he wouldn't have even talked to her. There was this tiny niggling feeling in the back of his mind that something wasn't right. Maybe it was that Marla was married, but for some reason that Dean couldn't explain, he knew that wasn't it. That niggling feeling turned into a pit in his stomach the closer he got to the motel. Going back there meant dealing with Sam. Dean didn't feel up to a conversation with Sam who not doubt was probably sitting up waiting for Dean to get back so they could talk. For a split second, Dean thought about going for another drive, but decided he didn't want to burn the gas. Gotta face Sam sometime. The kid was trying, but Dean didn't know if he could ever really get past Sam's cruel words.

oooooOOOOooooo

After locking up the car, Dean headed into the motel room. He wondered if Sam was sitting there with his bitch face on ready to yell at Dean for abandoning him for the day or would he have that hurt puppy look he seemed to have had for the past couple of days. Dean steeled himself and opened the door. No amount of preparing could stop him from being shocked at the sight that greeted him, his brother on the floor, his forehead bleeding.

"Sam!" Dean rushed to his brother's side. What the hell happened? "Sam, can you hear me?"

A small moan came form Sam, but no actual words.

"Sam, please say something," begged Dean.

"De..."

"Yeah, Sam, I'm here." Dean grabbed a t-shirt off his bed and pressed to Sam forehead. Cut looks like it's gonna need stitches. He was alarmed by the heat he could feel radiating off of his brother. Helping him up off the floor, Dean led Sam over to the bed. "Sam, I'm just gonna go get the first aid kit from the trunk. I'll be right back."

Once he had the kit and was back in the motel room, Dean took out the digital thermometer out and gave it to Sam. After the longest minute, it beeped. Dean frowned when he read that the temperature was one hundred and three degrees. Not good, not good at all. Dean thought about filling the bathtub with cool water so Sam could have a cool bath to break his fever, but decided instead that he was going to take Sam to the hospital. The cut on his forehead needed stitches and the cut on his neck looked even worse that it had that morning. Damn it, why did I leave Sam alone for so long? What would have happened if I hadn't come back when I did? Dean couldn't help, but shudder. "Sam, we're going to the hospital."

"No hospital." Sam shook his head and regretted it instantly.

The look of agony on Sam's face caused Dean's fear to ratchet up a notch. "Yes hospital. You have to get checked out."

In less than five minutes, Dean had Sam dressed and in the Impala. The younger Winchester wanted to lie down in the backseat as he felt dizzy, but Dean wanted, no needed, Sam up front where he could keep an eye on him.

"I wanna sleep, Dean."

"You can, Sam. After the doctor checks you out."

Sam's head was killing him and his mind felt a little foggy, but one thing was clear. Dean had come back. "You came back."

"Huh?"

"I was afraid you weren't gonna come back, but you did."

"You're not gonna get rid of me that easy."

"You're staying."

"I'm staying."

"I'm sorry."

"For what?" Dean knew what Sam was talking about, but he didn't really want get into it right now. However, he wanted to keep Sam talking. Talking meant that Sam was awake and Dean knew that with head wounds it was important to that the injured person stay awake.

"For what I said about you. I wish I could take back what I said."

"But you'd still feel that way," Dean couldn't help, but say.

"Dean, when you were gone, I was messed up."

"I was in hell, Sam."

"And I put you there."

"God, Sam is that what you think?"

"It's what I know."

Flashback

"I don't want to do it any more, Ruby."

"You can't stop now."

"Yes, I can."

"Do it for Dean."

"What? This is the last thing he would want me to do."

"He died for you. Face it Sam, if it weren't for you, Dean would be here now so you owe to him to make his death stand for something. You owe it to him to kill Lilith."

End Flashback

"That bitch!" growled Dean. "Sam, how could you believe what she said."

"Because it's true. If it weren't for me, you wouldn't have made a deal with the crossroads demon. You wouldn't have ended up in hell."

Dean was seething inside. Next time he saw that bitch, she was as good as dead. Or at least exorcised back to hell. Dean wondered what other crap Ruby filled Sam's head with. "Sam, I chose to make that deal. That's all on me."

Dean was beginning to suspect that Ruby had been poisoning Sam's mind since he'd gotten back from hell. She was smart enough not to bad mouth Dean when he was dead knowing it wouldn't go over well with a grieving Sam. So instead she played on his guilt. She made him feel like he was to blame for Dean's death. Now that Dean was back, Ruby needed a new tactic, a way to drive a wedge between the reunited brothers. Suddenly, Sam's words started making sense. Ruby was pushing Sam all along to hone his powers. She needed him to be stronger so he could kill Lilith. Dean didn't want Sam to use his powers. Neither did the angels. Dean had a feeling that what Sam said may have originally come out of Ruby's mouth.

Lost in his thoughts, Dean didn't notice his brother had started to drift off. "Sam, come on man, you got to stay awake."

"So tired, De..."

"I know, but just stay awake for a little while longer. Please." Dean pressed down on the gas pedal as hard as he could overtaken by a need to get Sam to the hospital right this second.

oooooOOOOooooo

Once at the hospital, Sam had been put on a gurney and take behind swinging doors. Dean wanted to go with him, but the doctor wouldn't allow it. So instead he stood at the door staring through the small window until Sam was out of sight. Then he went and sat down to play the dreaded waiting game.

Dean didn't know exactly how long he had been waiting when the doctor finally appeared, but it felt like an eternity. He searched the man's face for any clues about his brother's condition, but the doctor was hard to read.

"Mr. Young?"

"How's Sam?"

"Your brother required ten stitches for the wound on his forehead. It wasn't as bad as it looked. Head wounds tend to bleed a lot, even the ones that aren't very deep. Also, Sam shows no signs of concussion."

"What about the fever?"

"That's what has me concerned. Your brother has developed an infection from the wound in his neck. It looks like it started to heal, but then re-opened. Do you mind telling me how your brother got cut in the first place? I tried asking him and he mumbled something about shaving, but that's no nick from shaving on his neck."

Atta boy, Sam, Dean silently praised. Even in his fevered state, Sam knew not to tell the truth. The doctor would have Sam locked up in the psych ward. "Sam was mugged last week. Bastard cut Sam's neck and stole his wallet."

"Well, the knife was probably dirty and that would explain the dirt I found in the wound."

Dean swore under his breath. He knew exactly where the dirt came from. He picked it up at the graveyard on the hunt Dean insisted on taking. God, I saw the dirt on Sam's neck and I didn't say anything.

"Mr. Young?" The doctor waved his hand in front of Dean's face.

"Huh?" Dean didn't realize he had spaced out.

"I was saying that your brother has been admitted to the hospital. I've started him on a round of antibiotics. Also I'm giving him some fluids as Sam is a little dehydrated. He needs to stay here for at least a couple days."

Okay," replied Dean. "Can I see him now?"

"Of course. He's been settled into a room and I can take you there now. He is asleep, though. I had to give him a mild sedative."

"A sedative? Sam was barely awake when we got here. Why would you need to give him a sedative?"

"Sam became agitated and it was necessary to sedate him."

"Agitated? Why was Sam agitated?"

"He became upset when I had to give him a needle to numb the area around his head wound before I stitched it."

"Next time you come and get me before you sedate my brother." Dean had been hoping to talk to his brother before Sam fell asleep, but it looked like that wasn't going to happen.

"Mr. Young, your brother became severely agitated and it was compounded by the fever and I decided that sedation was in his best interest. His fever is dropping and I don't think that he'll need to be sedated again. However if it comes to it, I'm going to do what's in the best interest of my patient."

Dean nodded. He didn't want Sam to be sedated, but he did want the doctor to do all that he could for Sam.

After walking Dean to Sam's room, the doctor left to start his rounds with a promise to check in on Sam in a few hours. Dean paused a moment before entering in the room.

The first thing Dean noticed when he saw his brother was how pale he looked. Dean walked over the bed and gently pushed Sam's bangs off his forehead. What's going on kiddo? wondered Dean. Sam never had a problem with needles before. Even when he was five and had to get a tetanus shot after cutting his foot on a piece of glass. Sam didn't cry once. So why would a needle freak him out now?

Grabbing a chair from the corner of the room, Dean placed it next to the bed and sat down. When the nurse came in to check Sam's vitals, Dean informed her that he was not leaving his brother's side so don't even try reminding him about visiting hours. She said as long Dean was quiet, she'd look the other way.

God, how did things get so screwed up between us? wondered Dean. Here we are in the hospital. Why didn't I check Sam's wound? Because I was angry with him. Dean knew it was his anger that was to blame. No matter what Sam said, I shouldn't have ignored him like that. And with what Sam told him earlier, Dean was pretty sure that Sam words were influenced greatly by Ruby. Dean didn't care how long it took, but that bitch was going to pay for messing with his brother. First though he was going to do whatever it took to repair his relationship with Sam. Eventually Dean fell asleep with his hand resting atop Sam's.

oooooOOOOooooo

The next morning Dean woke up feeling sore from sleeping in the uncomfortable chair. Sam was still asleep, which Dean figured was a good thing. As much as he needed to talk to his brother, Sam needed to get well. The conversation they needed to have could wait until Sam was feeling better. Just as Dean stood up to stretch out his sore muscles, the nurse came in the room to check on Sam.

"Good morning. I'm just gonna check Sam's vitals."

"Okay."

"Why don't you go and get some breakfast. That way you can be back before Dr. Connolly comes to check up on Sam."

"No, I wanna be here when Sam wakes up. Besides, I'm not really hungry." Dean's stomach chose that moment to betray him and let out a loud growl.

"Not hungry, huh?" The nurse smiled at Dean. "Look, it's probably gonna be a while before your brother wakes up and you're gonna be no good to Sam if you pass out from hunger. Now, I want you to go down to the cafeteria. Tell them Rosie sent you and they'll fix you up right."

Reluctantly Dean left the room. Rosie was right. He wasn't gonna be any good to Sam if he didn't take care of himself.

oooooOOOOooooo

Walking back to Sam's room, Dean felt much better with a full stomach. He had mentioned Rosie's name and was promptly served with a good breakfast consisting of scrambled eggs, hash browns and crispy bacon. For a hospital, the food was actually pretty good. The good feeling that Dean had disappeared the moment he neared Sam's room. From out in the hallway he could hear a commotion coming from the room and he started running. Damn it! Sam was awake. Dean immediately became upset at the fact that he hadn't been here when his brother woke up.

"No! Stop!" Sam was shouting and waving his hands at the doctor who was trying to administer a sedative to calm his patient down.

"What are you doing?!" shouted Dean.

"I came in to check on your brother and found him trying to rip out his I.V."

"Don't you dare give him a sedative!" growled Dean.

"Your brother needs to calm down before he hurts himself," said Dr. Connolly.

The next words out of Sam's mouth broke Dean's heart.

"Where's Dean? Please get Dean!"

More to Come

Thank you for reading! Reviews are always greatly appreciated. Please let me know what you think.