Disclaimer: Supernatural and all its characters belong to Kripke and the CW. I own nothing.
AN- Just wanted to let y'all know that I start back to work tomorrow so it might take me a little longer than usual to update.
And nope, still no medical knowledge.
Previously on Supernatural- Bobby gently laid Sammy on the bed and covered him up. "Night kiddo" he whispered taking a seat in the rocker once more.
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Dean fidgeted anxiously as his dad turned and drove down Bobby's driveway. He watched out the windshield as trees and bushes gave way to rusted out heaps of metal lining the dirt path. Seeing the house come into view the youngster reached out taking hold of the door handle. "Come on, come on" he quietly muttered as the impala slowly made its way up the driveway slowing as it neared the house. As soon as Dean felt his dad tap the brakes he threw open his door and jumped out of the still moving vehicle. Ignoring his father's shouts the young boy raced up the steps and onto the porch. After opening the front door, Dean dashed across the room, up the stairs, and down the hall only slowing down once he came to their bedroom door. Knowing that his little brother was probably sleeping Dean carefully opened the door and tiptoed inside. He nodded to Bobby and then silently crept over to the bed taking a seat beside his sleeping brother. "Hey Sammy" he whispered carding a hand through Sam's long brown locks. "I'm here now. Everything's gonna be okay. Big brother's here and he's gonna take care of you."
"Dean!" John quietly hollered from the doorway. "What the hell do you think you were doing jumping out of the car like that?"
"Sammy needed me dad" Dean replied keeping his attention focused on his little brother. "Besides, the impala was barely moving."
"Not good enough, Dean" John growled shaking his head. "That's two you owe me."
Dean glanced angrily at his dad for a moment before looking back down at Sammy mumbling something under his breath.
"What was that, Dean?" John asked coming to the end of the bed. "I didn't quite catch it."
"Nothing, sir" Dean quickly answered ducking his head.
"That's what I thought" John said as he took a seat on the bed. "Now that you've seen your brother I want you to go downstairs and get started on your homework."
"I'll do it later dad. Sammy needs me right now." Dean replied.
"That wasn't a suggestion, son. Now get your butt downstairs and get started!" John warned.
"And I said later dad!" Dean hissed before catching himself. "I mean, I umm, I really want…"
"That's three, Dean" John calmly stated. Seeing his eldest about to protest he added, "Wanna try for double time? I'll throw in the outfit?"
"No, no sir. I'm going now." Dean stammered as he hurried over to the door. "Just holler if he needs me. Okay, dad?"
"Three and a half Dean" John growled. "Adding more in five, four, three…" he trailed off as Dean bolted out the door.
"I thought you were supposed to throw in the towel, Johnny." Bobby chuckled.
"Not this time" John replied with a smirk as he moved to sit closer to Sammy. "Trust me"
"Do I wanna know?" Bobby asked.
"Probably not" John said adjusting Sammy's covers. Seeing his friend motioning for him to spill he smiled. "Dean got a little mouthy in the car on the way home. Kid had the nerve to try and scold me for not keeping Sammy home cause he had told me Sam was getting sick."
"That don't sound like Dean." Bobby interrupted. "I don't think I've ever heard him raise his voice to you."
"I know, but he's older now. He's starting to push the boundaries, see how far he can get." John explained. "Figured I better nip it in the bud now or he'll be hell on wheels when he hits the teenage years."
"Have a feeling he's not the one you need to worry about. Dean might buck you every once in a while but I doubt he'll do anything major." Bobby said. "Little Bit's the one that'll give you a run for your money. Kid already asks a million questions about everything under the sun. Bet he'll question your every move when he gets old enough to find out what you really do."
"You must be losing it old man if you think Sammy here is gonna be a problem child." John laughed. "The little guy thinks I hung the moon. There's no way he'll argue with me when he's older."
"I'll be sure to remind you of that in about five or six years." Bobby quipped. "Now how about getting back to the topic at hand? You know, Dean's punishment?"
"Fine" John agreed as he stood and walked over to the window. "I told Dean that he had to do one of the things he hates most; read a book for an hour. Course now he's up to three and a half hours."
"And just how are you going to make sure he reads instead of just sitting and staring at the thing or reading a comic book instead?" Bobby asked.
"Easy, I told him he had to read the book Sammy got at the library to his little brother when he felt better." John clarified shrugging his shoulders.
"Oh man, not the…" Bobby said snickering at his friend's nod. "No wonder that boy lit outta here like his pants were on fire!"
"You should have seen his face when I told him." John crowed. "The way he looked you'd have thought I asked him to demolish the impala."
"Can't really blame him for that, Johnny. Reading Little House on the Prairie to Sammy is gonna be pure torture for the boy." Bobby said wiping his eyes. "You know Sammy. He'll make Dean do all the voices."
"Yeah, I know." John smirked. "And if Dean keeps up the backtalk he'll be wearing the outfit to go with the voice."
"Now that's just cruel." Bobby stated. "Glad my old man didn't have your warped sense of humor."
"What sense of humor?" John jokingly asked. Placing his hand on his son's forehead he frowned. "Hey Bobby, how about bringing me a glass of water? I need to give Sammy some more Tylenol."
"Sure thing, Johnny" Bobby agreed as he stood and hurried out of the room. Returning moments later he walked over and handed the worried father the requested glass before returning to his chair. He watched as John managed to get a half awake Sammy to take the medicine and fall back to sleep.
"Bobby, about that hunt tonight…" John began.
"Already taken care of Johnny" Bobby assured his friend. "I called Josh and explained our little problem. He'll be here in a couple of hours."
"I thought he got himself hurt on that last hunt?" John questioned.
"Yeah, he broke his arm and bruised a few ribs taking out that poltergeist." Bobby said. "But he says he can handle it and tonight's the first night of the lunar cycle so...I don't like it but I don't have much choice."
"Yes you do" John replied. He leaned down and kissed his sleeping son's forehead and then stood. "I'm going with you. Josh can stay here and look after the boys for me."
"You sure John?" Bobby asked.
"Yeah, Sammy will be okay." John told his friend. "He's just gonna sleep. Besides Dean will be here if anything goes wrong."
Later
"Alright Dean we're headed out now. I want you to help Josh take care of Sammy while I'm gone. And no backtalking him." John instructed patting his eldest son on the back. Turning to his friend he gave Josh some last minute instructions as well. "Sammy's medicine is in the refrigerator. Dr. McCoy said he needed to take the first dose after supper. There's some cans of chicken soup in the cabinet, you can fix that for him."
"Don't worry. I've got everything under control." Josh assured his friend as he followed him to the front door.
"I know" John replied grabbing his duffle and slinging it over his shoulder. "Oh, and one more thing; the information sheet about the antibiotic is on the counter by the fridge. Sammy's never had this medicine before so make sure you read over the possible allergic reactions just in case. Neither one of the boys has ever had trouble before so I doubt there'll be a problem but it doesn't hurt to be prepared."
"John, will you just get going? We'll be fine. If I have any questions, I'll just ask Dean." Joshua stated with a grin. "Now go before Bobby drives off without you." Josh closed and locked the door behind John. Walking into the kitchen he found Dean already warming up the soup. Shaking his head he went over to the cabinets and took out bowls, spoons, and glasses. After setting two places at the table, he grabbed the tray table out of the storage room and set a glass of water and a spoon on it before taking the remaining bowl over to the stove for Dean to fill up. Deciding they would eat once Sammy was taken care of Joshua picked up the tray and followed Dean upstairs to the boys' bedroom. He placed the tray on the nightstand and then sat back and watched in awe as Dean easily got his little brother to eat a good bit of the soup and take the medicine without any whining or complaining. Wanting to give the boys some time to themselves he tapped Dean on the shoulder and motioned to the door before picking up the tray and leaving the room.
In the kitchen
"Sammy okay?" Joshua asked when Dean walked into the kitchen a half hour later.
"Yeah, he finally went back to sleep." Dean replied. He grabbed the ladle out of the soup and quickly filled his bowl. "I figured I'd get a bite to eat and then go back upstairs and sit with him."
"Take your time Dean. I'll go up and watch him until you get through." Josh offered already heading for the other room.
"Thanks Josh" Dean called out. Turning back to the table he took a few crackers, crushed them into bits, and added them to his chicken soup. He walked over and grabbed a soda out of the fridge before going back to the table and wolfing down his meal. Two bowls of soup and several crackers later Dean was finally full. Patting his stomach he pushed back from the table and slowly stood with a groan. He set his bowl and spoon in the sink and dumped out what little was left of the soup and then shuffled out of the room. After pulling himself up the stairs he started down the hall his walk turning into a run as he heard his little brother throwing up. Bursting into the bathroom he found Joshua cradling Sammy as he continued to retch. Racing over Dean wrapped an arm around his little brother's waist nudging the older hunter out of the way in the process. He whispered reassurances to Sammy until the bout of sickness ended and his little brother wearily slumped against him. Taking the wet wash cloth Josh offered he cleaned Sammy's face before picking him up and carrying him back to bed. Once he had his brother settled Dean rounded on Josh. "What happened? Why didn't you call me?" he hollered.
"It happened too fast, Dean. One minute Sammy was sleeping and the next he's throwing up everything he ate." Joshua explained. "Why didn't you guys say anything about him puking his guts up?"
"Cause he hasn't been" Dean hissed. "He hasn't been sick at all today. It didn't start until now."
"Oh, crap!" Josh exclaimed as a thought crossed his mind. "I think I might know what it is. Stay with him Dean. I'll be right back." Josh flew down the stairs and into the kitchen. Snatching the medical information sheet off the counter he skimmed down the page to the cautions eyes widening at what he read.