The next time that Sam woke up, it went much better because Dean was there as promised.

"Hey, Sammy," said Dean. "How are you feeling?"

"Like I got run over by a mack truck," replied Sam. "Dean, what happened?"

"What do you mean, what happened?"

"I remember you insisting that we go to the hospital and I can remember being the car talking with you, but the rest is kinda fuzzy."

Dean wondered if his brother was telling the truth. There definitely was more than meets the eye to Sam's sudden fear of needles. The fever may have amped it up a bit, but he was sure the fever didn't cause the sudden fear. Looking at Sam he could see it in his eyes that he wasn't lying about his memory being fuzzy.

"Dean?"

"Apparently, you freaked out last night when the doctor was stitching you up and he tried to give you a shot. He had to give you a sedative. Then, when you woke up alone this morning, you freaked out again." Dean still felt guilty for leaving Sam alone.

Sam sat there for a moment, lost in thought, before he spoke. "I thought you'd left. When I woke up alone I thought you'd left me. Not that I'd blame you if you had."

"Sam, I meant it yesterday when I said I wasn't leaving."

Even though deep down Sam knew Dean wouldn't abandon him, he felt better hearing Dean say it. "So, can I get out of here now?"

"Tomorrow, maybe."

"What? Why not today?"

"Cause you're on I.V. antibiotics to fight an infection that I'm pretty sure you picked up at the cemetery when the spirit was tossing you around," said Dean. "I'm sorry, Sam."

"For what?" Sam was confused.

"For insisting we take the hunt. I should have waited until you were better, until your cut was completely healed."

"Dean, it's not your fault. If we didn't take care of the spirit more people would have been hurt or even worse, killed."

"Still, I..."

"Don't Dean. It's not your fault," said Sam. "So are you sure we can't leave today? I could sign out AMA."

"No way, Sam. Your fever reached a hundred and four yesterday. There's no way you're leaving early."

"Okay." Sam knew better than to argue with Dean when he was this determined. Besides, if he was being truthful, he knew his body needed the rest.

"Bobby's on his way here."

"He is?"

"Yep. He's gonna bring us the key to Pastor Jim's cabin," said Dean. "You remember the place?"

"Yeah, it was in Michigan, right?"

"Yeah. I figured we could hole up there for awhile, til we figured some things out. Plus, it would give you a chance to rest."

You too, thought Sam. He could tell just by looking at him how tired Dean was. Knowing his brother, he probably didn't go back to the motel to get some sleep opting instead to spend the night sitting in the uncomfortable plastic hospital chair.

"Ruby called me today."

"What did she want?"

"To talk to you. Since you haven't been answering your cell phone, she resorted to calling mine."

"What did you tell her?"

"I told that bitch that she wasn't getting anywhere near you."

"Good."

"Good? You're not going to try and defend her."

"No. I think I'm finally seeing things clearly when it comes to Ruby."

"Well, after what you told me last night, I think she's been manipulating you all along. Using your grief against you."

"You don't know the half of it, thought Sam.

oooooOOOOooooo

Sam spent most of the day sleeping, his body still worn out from being sick. Dean stuck close by, only leaving to go to the bathroom or grab a snack from the vending machine. When Bobby arrived at the hospital, he took one look at Dean and insisted he got back to the motel to get some sleep. Dean didn't want to leave, but he knew he needed to be well rested for the drive to the cabin. Knowing that Sam was safe with Bobby, Dean left for the motel, not without speaking to a certain nurse first.

oooooOOOOooooo

A hot shower and a good night's sleep did wonders for a person. Dean woke up feeling well rested and ready to get the hell out of that town. Sam was doing much better and the doctor agreed to sign him out of the hospital. After getting Sam's prescription filled, the hunters hit the road.

Sam wound up sleeping most of the way. Even though he was doing much better, his body was still healing and needed the rest so he laid down in the backseat. Dean passed up his favorite tunes in favor of quietly listening to NPR so as not to disturb Sam's slumber. It was a far cry from just a couple of days ago when Dean was too angry with his brother to care about what was best for him.

To look at Dean you wouldn't peg him as a fan of public radio, but Car Talk was one of his favorite programs to listen to. He also enjoyed listening to a Prairie Home Companion, especially the segments with Guy Noir.

About half an hour out from the cabin, Sam woke up and Dean pulled over to let him move up to the front seat.

"Man, it's gonna be strange to be at the cabin again," remarked Sam.

"Yeah, it sure is," replied Dean.

"I use to love it when we stayed there."

"Me too."

"The best was when Dad wasn't on a hunt and we were all together"

Begin Flashback

"Okay, Sammy, now hold it over the flame. Not too close. You don't want to burn it." John was introducing his youngest to the fun that was toasting marshmallows.

"Like this, Daddy?" Sam smiled up at his father as he held held his stick over the flame.

"Yep, just like that," replied John. "Once it's a nice golden brown pull it away from the flames."

Dean, at nine, was already an expert at toasting marshmallows and therefor did not need any help.

"S'mores are yummy," said Sam as he ate the last piece of his gooey treat. Somehow the youngest Winchester had managed to get chocolate all over his mouth and chin.

John had to fight to reign in his laughter knowing it wouldn't go over well with his baby boy. "Yes, they are. Now, how about we get cleaned up?"

"Dad, just take him out back and hose him off," said Dean, who had managed to stay clean while eating three s'mores.

End Flashback

Sometime shortly after dusk, the Impala pulled up in front of Pastor Jim's cabin. It looked just like Sam and Dean remembered. There was the front porch, where John and Jim were often found sitting in the large adirondack chairs watching Sam and Dean chase each other around, that spanned the width of the building. The front door was still painted a bright red to be more visible during a snowstorm, although the paint was chipped in some areas.

"Wow, I wonder when's the last time anyone's been here," said Sam as he stepped out of the car.

"I think Bobby said no one's been here since before Pastor Jim died," replied Dean. "It's still has that rustic charm to it, doesn't it?"

The cabin, which had been in the Murphy family for years, was originally used as a hunting cabin by Jim's great grandfather when he went deer hunting. Then it became a family retreat when Jim was growing up. Being a pastor had kept him rather busy and since he couldn't make it up the cabin that often, he started letting hunters using when they were in the area. It gave them a free place to stay and that way the cabin didn't go to waste.

Grabbing the duffel bags out of the trunk Dean followed Sam, who was carrying his trusty laptop, into the cabin.

When you first walked into the cabin you were in the great room which consisted of a small kitchen area complete with a sink, stove and refrigerator. There was also a dining area with a table and chairs, where Sam had spent a lot of time coloring while his dad researched a hunt and Dean practised his poker skills. Next to the dining area was the sitting area which was where the fireplace was. There was a sofa and two chairs there. There was an late model television that had rabbit ears on top. Behind the great room were two bedrooms. One contained a king sized bed and a dresser, the other, a set of bunk beds, plus a twin bed and a dresser. One of the best features of the cabin was that it had an indoor bathroom which had been added on during the seventies. No more rushing out to the outhouse in the middle of the night.

"Look, Sam, it's your old pal, Rusty," said Dean as he pointed to a rather large moose head that hung over the fireplace.

When Sam was little, he was scared of the moose head. Maybe it was the giant antlers that cast scary shadows on the walls or that fact that Dean had told him that it came to life at night. Either way, Sam had decided that if he named the moose head that it would be less scary so he called it Rusty.

After putting their things away, Dean headed out back to fire up the generator while Sam stripped the sheets off the beds. There was a twenty-four hour wash and fold in town and the sheets and blankets needed a good washing before they were slept on. Plus, the boys had accumulated a decent amount of dirty laundry. Dean had wanted Sam to stay at the cabin to rest, but the place was still pretty cold as the generator needed time to warm up due to lack of use. And after sleeping most of the day, Sam wasn't tired. So he accompanied Dean to the laundromat.

The next morning, Dean headed back into town to stock up on supplies. Letting Sam sleep in, he left a note on the nightstand and headed out. Not sure how long they were going to stay at the cabin, Dean got enough food and other supplies to last them a several weeks. If they ran out of anything important, he would make another trip into town, but he planned on him and Sam keeping a low profile.

oooooOOOOooooo

After waking up to find Dean's note, Sam decided to do a little cleaning. He wanted the cabin to look and smell a little nicer by the time Dean got back. While there was snow on the ground from a recent storm, the sky was clear, so Sam swept off the front porch and carried out the area rugs. They had smelled musty so Sam draped them over the porch railing to air out. Then he went back inside to clean out the fireplace and open the floo. Hopefully, Dean would bring back some firewood and they could light a fire. It would help with the chill from the drafty windows. After wiping out the refrigerator, which had thankfully been empty inside, Sam felt bushed.

Grabbing a cup of coffee, Sam headed outside and sat down in one of the adirondack chairs. It was so beautiful outside with the trees all covered in snow. The air was crisp and clean and Sam took a deep breath. He and Dean couldn't get anymore secluded than this. There were no neighbors close by. Which may or may not have been a good thing because there would be no one to hear Sam scream. He had a feeling he was going to be screaming when Dean got through with him. Screaming in pain that is. His brother was going to want to talk and Sam knew Dean would have a lot of questions for him. Mainly, why did Sam freak out over getting a shot at the hospital, which Sam now vividly remembered. In his fevered state, when the doctor approached him with a needle, Sam had a flashback to the last time he had seen a needle. That's when he started freaking out and the doctor had to sedate him. His brother was going to want to know why Sam was upset by needles. When Dean learned the truth Sam was sure he would be good as dead. He was certain Dean would kill him when he found out that the last time Sam had been near a needle, Ruby had been using it to inject her blood into him.

More to Come

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