Sick as a Dog

AN: Hope you guys enjoy, let me know what you think!

Dean scooped Ashley up and carried her into the bathroom as soon as he noticed the temperature she had. He knew Ashley would be embarrassed and hate him later for this but with being a hunter came the knowledge that eventually you would be stripped without your consent-and this is one of those moments for Ashley. Dean had taken everything off of her and placed her carefully down in the tub. Dean then stripped off his shirt and shorts, leaving only his boxers on as he climbed in behind her for support and turned on the shower to the coolest setting.

Gasping, Ashley sputtered and came to; she was still really dizzy and sweating despite the ice cold water falling on her skin. That's when she realized someone was behind her and she was butt naked in front of that person. Ashley tried as much as she could to turn around, but her neck was stiff and the thought of moving her head made her stomach clench, looking down at her hands though, she could tell it was most likely Dean's and they were clasped around her bare stomach.

"De, what happened?" Ashley mumbled around her throbbing head.

"You got sick and passed out. You fell out of bed right into your…uh…" Dean said clearing his throat and looking at her vomit crusted hair. "Now you have a high temperature, I'm sorry but I had to strip you down."

Underneath all his words, Ashley could hear the panic in Dean's voice, but before she could reassure him, another wave of sick hit her. Thank God, Dean wasn't sitting in front of her, because no matter how she tried, she could not control that it was coming out and she felt terrible already that it landed on his feet.

"Dean, I don't feel-" she choked out before she could even finish her statement, blackness started to fade over her. Apparently Dean had seen her head flop because the last thing she heard was him screaming for help.

Ashley finally came to when the sun came through the window. Looking around, she saw Dean asleep in a chair next to her bed, bare feet propped up at the end of the bed next to hers. He was snoring louder than ever before, which made Ashley smile at the ruckus he was making, but it also clued her into how tired he really was. She was all sweaty and her hair was wet and tangled like she had never seen before.

Ashley remembered what had happened last night, and was now completely confused. Dean stirred and woke up to see Ashley looking at him, confused to all hell.

"Hey Killer" he greeted his sister.

"What's wrong Dean?" she asked, clearly worried since Dean was on bedside vigil.

"You got an infection from the miscarriage, something called a 'cervix infection'" Dean said pulling is feet off the bed so he could lean closer to her. "Bobby got you set up before heading out on that case with Sam."

"So you washed my hair?"

"Yeah, had to get the gross out."

"And dressed me" Ashley noticed, instantly feeling the color rise up her face.

"Sorry Ash" Dean chuckled, also turning shades of red.

"Am I going to be able to… you know?"

"Sam said you would ask that question" Dean chuckled, letting the color drain from his face "yeah you can repopulate the world like a bunny if you so desire."

Ashley couldn't help but laugh at how uncomfortable that made her brother and how he looked like he was about ready to pass out sitting up in his chair at any minute.

"Hey bud, before you face the plant on the bed, help me get down stairs. You get the couch and I get the desk, deal?"

Relieved that Dean could finally sleep without the worry of Ashley not waking up, Dean quickly agreed and helped her down the stairs before flopping down on his bare stomach to sleep off the stress.

Dean slowly became aware of the empty room, Ashley was not around and Dean instantly shot awake, panic rushing through his veins faster than even is blood could. "Ash!" he yelled out, allowing the word to echo around the empty house. Dean was just about to punch a wall when he heard footsteps quickly descending the stairs. The responder had a gun and was coming right for him.

"Dean?" the soft voice whispered, peeking around the corner. "God, Dean" she said lowering her gun when she saw him standing in the back corner of the study, "way to scare the shit out of me!"

"Yeah, sorry. Thought you were gone again" Dean said flopping back down on the warm couch. Ashley sat down next to him and laid her head down on his shoulder.

Despite always bickering with her brothers, she finally figured out she needed both around to keep pulling her out of the dark times that would invade her soul. Ashley could never tell her brothers about these moments that plague every second of her life. The dreams she had every night was the shadow sneaking up to choke her, that's why she couldn't sleep alone anymore. Ashley noticed Sam's presence didn't keep the shadows fully at bay, so when Dean started to have the same fear spread across his face she switched beds. Ashley knew it was time to tell Dean what was plaguing her sleeping moments.

Dean, after feeling Ashley's forehead rest against his shoulder, couldn't stop thinking about the comfort her touch was to him. Sam used to be the driving force that kept him calm and grounded at nights. When Sam was deep in sleep and sharing the bed with his brother, Dean would roll closer to his brother, just to feel his warmth. Sometimes when Dean was feeling really lonely, he would roll on his side just to press his face into Sammy's unruly hair. Sam would always scoot in closer to Dean when he felt Dean's breath tickle his ear. But now, both boys were too big for that, no bed could hold 2 6 foot plus men and no way would Sam allow that to happen anyways. Hell, Sam wasn't too happy about sharing the bed with the petite little sister and as soon as Ashley had made the switch to Dean's bed, Sam was visibly happier. Dean knew he needed to tell Ashley all this, but was stopped short when small tears trickled down his left arm.