Thank you for your response to the last chapter. I do really appreciate knowing the story is worth commenting on. Here's the end of our tale. I hate rushing an ending, so I hope you find it fitting. (I hate to say it, but we all know Dean wouldn't actually KILL Sam for his actions. ...grin... And yep, Iuliana is right... It isn't just hurt Dean!)

Chapter Seven

Dean had been forced from Sam's side hours ago. He paced the waiting room. One of the nurses recognized Dean from earlier in the week. She pulled him from the sterile, plastic waiting area into an exam room and cleaned up his eyes.

She chuckled as she worked. "When you were in the exam room, I was cleaning up your brother's hand. You two are quite a pair."

Dean swallowed hard, choking on his words. "Yeah. we are." He squirmed at her touch. "Is there any word on him yet?"

She shook her head. "No, sweetie. But the doc will be here as soon as he can."

"That's the problem." Dean mumbled. It was taking too long. His heart ached for his brother, no matter what the condition. Sam's damned, open, ginormous heart led him to this risky step. Dean told himself he would have never been as stupid as Sam. Surely he would have waited. Dean envisioned Sam arguing that 'ginormous' wasn't a word.

The nurse gently clapped her hands together indicating she had finished. "Do you want to wait here or back in the waiting area? There's more privacy here." She gestured around.

"Where will the doctor will find me sooner?" Dean said flatly.

She smiled. "Here it is then. I'll go check on things for you."

Dean swallowed and fidgeted with the edge of the table. Time didn't want to cooperate. It only dragged.

"Mr. Weaton?"

Dean turned to find the doctor in the doorway. "I see your eyes are working. That's good news. Are you noticing any residual problems? I'll need to run some tests." The doctor had quickly advanced and reached to poke at Dean's eyes.

Dean shook his head and waved off the man. "How's my brother?"

Ripert smiled and nodded. "Of course. He should be fine."

"Should be?" Dean cut the doctor off.

"He received some nasty burns, varying from first and second to a few points of third. Fortunately, those are quite small and shouldn't need any grafting. They should heal over 

in time. He'll be uncomfortable for some time, but the scarring should be minimal with good care."

Dean finally felt like he could breathe. "Can I see him?"

"Certainly, I'll take you to him." He extended his arm for Dean to follow. "Before you see him you should know he's sedated."

Dean nodded eagerly in understanding as he walked beside the doctor. "For pain? He whines a lot." He secretly hoped his comment would get back to Sam. He'd enjoy the torment for some time to come. As far as he was concerned, Sam was going to regret acting on his own for a long time to come. Sam would think twice before even thinking about such a dimwit move again.

Ripert stopped just outside a door. "No, I should have warned you. He sustained substantial smoke inhalation. He's responding well to treatment, but I did feel it best to intubate him. I want to get as much oxygen into his system as possible. That's why we put the tube in."

Dean paled. "He's not breathing?"

The doctor shook off the misunderstanding. "He can breathe on his own, but he wasn't getting enough oxygen. The smoke prevents the lungs from using the oxygen correctly." He stopped Dean from advancing. "We should be able to remove it in the morning assuming his blood workups come back improved."

Dean nodded and pushed past the doctor's arm. Before him was a typical, white, sterile room. He'd been in rooms like this a countless number of times and yet it had never bothered him as much. Never before had his brother lain pale and unmoving in the bed.

He forced his feet to bring him closer and when he was finally next to the bed, he slipped his hand across the rail and grasped Sam's limp hand. "Hey, Sammy." He whispered as he stared at his brother's scorched fingertips. They glistened with some sort of goo which he assumed was meant to protect them. He couldn't bring himself to look at Sam's face.

He didn't know if it was the fear of seeing the tube push air in and out of Sam's lungs or the potential damage from burns. No matter what reason he tried to conjure up, it boiled down to witnessing his own failure. Sam was lying here because Dean had failed to protect him. His baby brother suffered because of him… again.

A nurse pushed a chair up behind him and he automatically sank onto it. "Thanks." He mumbled. She quickly left.

Dean swallowed and drew in a long slow breath, finally raising his eyes to meet Sam's face. "Rest now, Sammy." He chuckled. "You know I'm going to have to kick your ass when you're feeling better, right?"

Glancing around the room to be sure he was alone, he let go of Sam's hand and reached up to touch Sam's cheek. It was warm and firm, and tinged red. "Anything to get the ladies sympathy, huh?" Dean let his finger tips gently run down Sam's arm and torso, feeling the thick bandages under his hospital gown. "I don't think you'll be skiing any time soon, but a lodge might be just what we need, ok?"

For some reason, Dean kept expecting Sam to open his eyes, spit out the tube and fight with him. When it didn't happen, he settled back and eventually drifted off to sleep.

Supernatural

Sometime late in the night, a nurse woke him and sent him back to the hotel. Sense took hold and he complied. The one thing he could do for Sam now was look as good as possible when he woke. He napped for a few hours, showered, shaved and grabbed something to eat.

He'd spent more than a few minutes studying his face in the mirror. He blinked his eyes repeatedly, fast and slow. He opened one eye at a time and then the other. He played with all sorts of combinations of vision, utterly relieved to have it. He was careful to be gentle with his healing skin. He didn't want it any redder looking than was necessary. He didn't want to alarm Sam.

He finally pulled on his jacket and returned to the hospital, prepared to unleash a punishment such as Sam had never felt.

He'd missed Sam's transfer. They'd already removed the tube and moved Sam into a room. When Dean finally tracked his brother down, he was resting in a bed with his head turned away from the door.

"Sammy?" Dean stood in the doorway, waiting for a sign.

A few slight coughs and groans later, Sam's wan face turned to him. "Dean." The volume was barely above a whisper, but it went straight to Dean's heart despite his anger.

It was time for a new approach. "Morning Sunshine." Dean strolled across the room and plopped casually into the chair by the bed. He knew super-nice big brother would creep Sam out even more.

Sam swallowed and tried to wet his lips. Dean sensed his need and helped him with a few sips of water. "Are you supposed to be getting this?"

Sam rolled his eyes. "Thanks." His voice was still whisper soft and hoarse.

"No problemo. That's my job. Keeping my pain-in-the-ass little brother safe… oh wait… he doesn't make that easy does he?" Dean's banter was laced with the anger that had been building.

"I had to."

Dean jumped out of his seat. "NO…" He glanced around, bringing his temper under control. Now was not the time and Sam's wince was more than enough evidence of that. "You needed to wait a day."

"It would have been the same results." Sam offered.

"Really? You know for certain it would have ended with you being burned and a tube shoved down your throat?"

Sam looked away for a few beats. "I had to get it to burn something…"

"So you offer YOURSELF?" Dean interjected.

Sam scowled. He was tired and sore and in no mood for this discussion. "No, but in order to get something else to start on fire, I needed bait."

"I thought that's what the flippin' butter was for?" Dean retorted sharply. "I mean, seriously, butter? Something that ridiculous was supposed to be the key. You said so yourself."

Sam shook his head. "It wouldn't work that way. It just sucked the butter up. I needed to get it close enough to something it wanted…"

"You?" Dean demanded.

Sam nodded. "And something that would burn at the same time."

"Also you?" Dean chided.

Sam scowled. "The couch."

Dean sat back down. "It worked. The house is toast." He quickly added. "You nearly were too." He took a deep breath. "It went after evil Sam. You weren't evil. It wouldn't have touched you if you hadn't used the damn butter." Dean refused to consider that it had gone after him and that implication. He simply didn't care.

Sam nodded and they lapsed into silence. Sam's nose twitched and he reached up with his unencumbered hand and fiddled with the nasal cannula. He glanced to the door and then pulled it out.

Dean had been watching out the window, but caught Sam's movement from the corner of his eye. "Knock it off. Leave that alone!" He slapped at Sam's hand and pushed the tube back in place.

"It annoys me." Sam grumbled, sounding more like a pouting child.

"Poor baby." Dean settled back with a warning glare. "You asked for it."

Sam's eyes flared. "I did not."

"You went after it alone, Sammy. You promised me." Dean was rarely as sincere with his feelings as he was now. All his anger and hurt was plain to see.

Sam looked away. "I'm not going to apologize."

Dean waved his hand in the air. "Of course not." Dean's anger and frustration couldn't find the proper way to expend itself. His body was tense and his heart seemed to be skipping beats.

Once, he'd driven off on Sam and it had killed him. The entire time Sam had been at school, nearly killed him as well. He knew he wasn't completely whole without Sam by his side and yet, he also knew, no matter how much his brother claimed to love him, he was not plagued by such an issue. Sam was always fine on his own. Sam would never understand. He simply couldn't.

This knowledge didn't help Dean at all.

They settled again into silence and soon Sam was asleep. For the rest of the day, Sam dozed and Dean watched the television. At dinner time, Dean stood up to go.

"You're going?" Sam asked quietly.

Dean's face remained neutral. "I'm entitled to a good night's sleep, aren't I? All you're doing is sleeping." Sam's hurt expression nearly moved him to stay. "I'll be back in the morning. The nurses on the night shift aren't as hot anyway."

Supernatural

The next morning, Dean rushed through the hallway. He hadn't meant to be this late; he knew Sam would worry. As he rounded the doorway, he came to an abrupt halt. Sam was attempting to stand with only the help of his IV pole. Every nerve in Dean's body screamed for him to jump in, but his heart overruled. He merely stood there, watching his brother flounder.

Sam happened to glance up in search of assistance. "Dean? Don't just stand there. I need a hand." His voice and eyes pleaded for help.

"Are you supposed to be out of bed?" Dean asked nonchalantly and took a few steps into the room.

"Dean!" Sam groaned. He felt his fingers slipping. "I just want a little walk. I'm sick of this bed."

"Then walk." Dean passed right by Sam and slumped into the chair by the window. He looked to the TV, noticed it was off and jumped up to snare the remote control from Sam's rolling table.

Sam stared at his brother, utterly astounded by his brother's behavior. He paled. "You're really not going to help me?"

"Why?" Dean glanced Sam's way. "You don't need my help."

Sam gave up his struggle and collapsed back onto the bed. "Fine, be that way."

Dean bit his tongue to keep from responding. He forced his eyes back on the TV screen.

Sam fumbled to pull himself back onto the bed. As he struggled, his day nurse, Cassie appeared. "Sam! What on earth are you doing?"

He blushed at the alarm in her voice. "I just wanted to go for a little walk. I thought I was allowed up?"

Cassie scowled. "With help! Your brother is right here. You could have asked him."

They both looked over to Dean, who looked up. "He didn't ask."

Sam's jaw dropped in disbelief. Before he could say anything, Dean added. "Well, you didn't. You just said you were going for a walk."

Cassie raised an eyebrow. "You didn't think he might need some help?"

Dean looked from Cassie to Sam. "He doesn't need anyone's help. He can do it all on his own."

Cassie immediately knew she'd stumbled into something bigger. "Look, I have to check on a couple other patients." She swallowed from the tension in the room. "If you don't want to help him out, I'll be back in a few minutes." She forced a smile and looked at Sam. "Ok? It's a good sign that you're raring to go, but not too much too soon, ok?"

Sam nodded. "Thanks, Cassie."

He looked over to Dean, fully understanding just how angry and hurt his brother had been. He'd completely ignored Dean's feelings and gone on his own selfish needs. Sam hadn't considered Dean's own need for revenge, especially with his own fears looming over his condition. Sam left Dean when he was essentially helpless and most vulnerable.

"Dean, would you please help me up?" Sam said softly. Dean had sent his message and Sam would acknowledge its receipt without the benefit of an emotional outburst. No chick flick moments for the brother's Winchester.

Dean immediately recognized the changed tone in Sam's voice. The air threatened to become choked with emotion unless he made the right move. He raised an eyebrow. "You just want to stand up?" He climbed from his chair and stood before Sam.

Sam scowled. "No, I'd like to see the outside of this room, too."

"So, a small walk?" Dean considered his options. "Sounds good." He noted the robe at the end of Sam's bed. "Without the robe though, ok? Give these nurses a little treat."

Sam groaned, but took the bait. "Careful Dean, you don't want them focusing on my assets instead of yours."

Dean grinned. "Charity, bro. Charity. You've earned a little ogling." He held out his arm and Sam latched on. "We are coming back though, right? Doctor Phil's on in a few minutes."

Supernatural

They avoided the topic for the next few days. It wasn't hard, Sam slept a lot or there were nurses present caring for him. For lung tests, or bandage changes or general check-ups, Sam was being doted on. Dean couldn't help think Sam secretly thrived on it, despite his protests to the contrary.

Dean knew it was those damn puppy dog eyes. He also knew Sam had earned it. Despite the circumstances, he'd done well. He'd done the research, formed a plan and carried it out.

Dean had gone back to the house and with a picture supplied by Shirley, tried to summon the Agni. It never came. Sam had either killed it or sated it. It was gone.

He'd given Shirley his number, in case it came back.

Sam groaned as he twisted on the seat.

"This was your idea, genius. The doc wanted you to stay longer." Dean kept his eyes on the road. He hadn't lied. Sam had insisted on being sprung from the hospital that morning.

"The longer we stay; the closer we get to being busted for insurance fraud." Sam lamented. They had argued the release at length. He chuckled. "Besides, you stole any equipment I might possibly need."

Dean smiled. "Hey! That breathing machine was small enough to fit in a duffle and it really helps you sleep."

Sam rolled his eyes. "It's called a nebulizer and I don't need it any more."

"And you got your medical degree, when? I thought you went to law school?" Dean snapped back and added a sarcastic raised eyebrow as well.

"So, where are we going?" Sam asked after a few minutes of silence. "Did you get us another job?"

Dean shook his head. "I hate to say it, but you did good."

Sam was struck by the surprise compliment. "I hate to ask, but what?"

Dean hesitated. He didn't want Sam thinking he could pull something like this again. "We earned a break. We're heading for one of those lodges."

"You didn't answer my question." Sam pressed.

Dean pulled the Impala to the side of the road and put her into park. He shifted on the seat and looked at Sam. "Look, I don't like what you did AT ALL and don't you even THINK of trying it again, but you did good getting that thing."

Sam grew a small smile. "I did, didn't I? How's it feel?"

Dean's eyes flared with anger. "It's not about me. I already told you, don't do it again Sam. I still may kick your ass about this one."

Sam chuckled softly. "Gotcha. No more solo jobs. Always make sure my big brother's ego is satisfied."

Dean's eyes flared with anger from the jab. He wasn't ready to make light of it. "You nearly died." Dean slapped at the steering wheel. "I watched them shock your heart… push air into your lungs… I've seen your burns."

Sam's guilt drove him to interject. "I've seen the same happen to you. I understand, Dean."

"It's not the same." Dean whispered.

Sam shook his head. "Don't play that game, Dean. It's no different for me. Do you think it was easy to wait while they treated your burns? You might have been blinded for life."

"This isn't about me, Sam."

Sam groaned. "Of course it is. If it's about me, it's about you."

Dean winced. "That's just… ew… Sam. You know the rule. No chick flick moments!"

Sam relaxed and there was silence between them as Dean took the opportunity to snatch a handful of M&M's. "So, where are we going?"

Dean grinned, chocolate residue and crunchy shell evident on his lips. "I'm going skiing."

Sam nodded. "Sounds like fun."

"You're not skiing, dude. You need to rest. I'm sure you'll enjoy the lodge."

A gleam of mischief formed in Sam's eye. "Sounds good." He grinned as Dean's shocked face turned to him and he continued. "You'll be out breaking your leg making a fool of yourself and I'll enjoy the company of the snow bunnies in the lodge."

"You? Snow bunnies? HA!" Dean was frazzled. "And what do you mean, break my leg? I can ski."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Since when?"

Dean was defiant. "You don't know everything about me, bitch!" He floundered for a good offense. Defense never suited him.

Sam laughed, although his hands slid around his abdomen for support against the pain it caused. "Jerk!" He paused long enough to let the warm moment engulf them. "Some things a brother always knows."

Dean merely grumbled and pulled back onto the road.