Chapter Five

Sam didn't look any better, in Dean's opinion. He sat hunched over on his bed, wearing an old blue t-shirt and a pair of grey sweatpants. His damp hair hung in his eyes and his arms were wrapped around his middle as he shivered. He looked miserable.

Dean was relieved, however, that when he checked Sam's temperature, it was a few degrees lower than it had been earlier. Dean would have liked to see the ice bath break the fever altogether but he would take what he could get.

Taking advantage of having Sam fully awake and focused, Dean gave his brother some of the cold and flu medicine he'd bought and even made his brother some soup.

"You know you'll be sick if you take those meds on an empty stomach," Dean told his brother when Sam mumbled that he wasn't hungry.

Sam couldn't argue with that logic and obediently ate half the chicken noodle soup before his eyes started to droop.

"Nap time already?" Dean joked with his brother as he helped Sam lay down in bed and covered him with the duvet and extra blankets.

Soon Sam was fast asleep and Dean was left with nothing to do but watch mindless television until he woke up again.

The older Winchester jumped, startled, when his cell phone vibrated in his jeans' pocket.

Pulling his phone out and checking the caller ID, Dean was relieved to see that it was Bobby.

"Hey," he greeted the older hunter.

"You boys up to taking another case? There's been a rash of unusual suicides down in Phoenix that could-" Bobby informed Dean and the younger man frowned, interrupting his friend before he could finish.

"We're not that far from Arizona but Sam's picked up some sort of flu bug," Dean explained, "Is there anyone else you can call?"

"I suppose so," Bobby grumbled, "How long has Sam been sick?'

Dean scratched the back of his head, "Only a couple of days but he has one mean fever, he's barely able to get out of bed."

"You're not holed-up in some shit-stain of a motel are you?" Bobby asked so crudely that even Dean cringed.

"Ah, no, of course not," Dean answered, not really lying- the place wasn't that bad.

"Listen, I'll call someone else to take the case in Arizona if you come up to my place," Bobby bargained; he already planned to call another hunter now that he'd learned that Sam was ill.

Dean sighed, "It's just the flu, Bobby, not the bubonic plague."

The older man didn't laugh.

"Sam's just gonna be miserable and clingy for the next few days until this runs its course," Dean continued.

He appreciated the veteran hunter's concern but really, they didn't need to run to Bobby every time they had a booboo.

"At least you can stay at my place for free," Bobby enticed and Dean grimaced, thinking about the extra cash he'd have to dish out to stay in their room while Sam was sick.

"All right, old man, you win," Dean acquiesced.

"Didn't put up much of a fight," Bobby snickered.

"Yeah, yeah," the younger man grumbled good-naturedly, "just have a couple of beers on ice for when we arrive."

"Just take care of your brother," Bobby rumbled.

"Don't I always?" Dean replied, "We should be a few hours, I'll call when we're close."

"Look forward to it," Bobby told Dean and hung up the phone.

Dean slipped his cell back into its pocket and peered carefully at his unconscious sibling. Sam would be okay for the ten or so minutes it would take for him to walk down to the office and check out.

Quietly making his way to the door and slipping outside, Dean sighed tiredly. He wiped a hand over his face and trotted down the sidewalk toward the Office. Although the day was warm, Dean shivered and hoped he wasn't coming down with whatever Sam had managed to catch. Reaching the small, humid office, Dean waited in line behind a guest checking in, a middle-aged man who was wearing khaki shorts that showed off legs as white as a fish belly and black socks up to the middle of his calves; a blue and green Hawaiian style shirt and sunglasses completed the ensemble. Dean tried his hardest not to smirk as the man walked past him.

"Checking out?" the woman at the counter asked. Dean thought she most resembled a walrus. Large and shapeless, the woman had beady eyes and steel grey hair. A lit cigarette dangled out from a mouth smeared in bright pink lipstick.

"Yeah," Dean muttered and waited impatiently for the transaction to be completed.

The woman took a drag of her cigarette and blew the smoke in Dean's face, "Have a good day."

Scrunching his nose against the acrid smoke, Dean nodded, "You too."

Returning to the room quickly, Dean smiled when he opened the door and saw that Sam was exactly as he'd left him.

Packing their belongings back into their duffel bags, Dean shot glances at his brother, hoping that Sam would wake up. It was going to one hell of a feat to try and get his brother's unconscious 6'4" frame into the Impala if Sam refused to leave Dream Land.

Once the luggage was stowed away safely in the Impala's trunk Dean returned to the room and his present problem. Sam looked so peaceful asleep on the questionable bed sheets that Dean almost didn't have the heart to wake him.

Uh huh, like I'm going to try lugging that Sasquatch out to the car, Dean thought and gave his brother's shoulder a gentle shake.

"Sammy? Hey, think you can wake up for me?"

Sam's green eyes opened to slits and Dean could see how glassy they already were. He gave his brother's shoulder a more vigorous shake and Sam groaned weakly.

"C'mon Sammy," Dean cajoled, "Up and at 'em!"

Sam brushed Dean's hand off his shoulder but sat up, slumping forward slightly.

Dean smiled when his sibling looked up at him expectantly.

"You only have to walk as far as the Impala, okay?"

Sam's head dipped down in what Dean took to be a nod, "Kay."

Dean helped his brother stand, Sam swaying dangerously for a moment before steadying.

"You okay?" Dean asked, not wanting his brother to face-plant on the asphalt

"Mmmmhmmm," Sam confirmed and Dean led him out of the room, closing the door behind himself.

It didn't take long for Dean to get Sam settled into the front passenger's seat; his brother sleeping soundly even before he put the key in the ignition.

Turning the radio on quietly, Dean pulled out of the parking lot, smiling when Led Zeppelin's 'Dazed and Confused' came on.

W

Dean was singing along to 'Honky Tonk Woman' when Sam began to shake.

It wasn't just little shivers either. It was more like seizures as far as Dean could tell. Startled and terrified, Dean quickly pulled onto the side of the road, ignoring the blaring of horns as irate drivers passed the Impala.

"Sam! Sammy!" Dean cried his brother's name fearfully as his muscles continue to spasm.

"Shit," Dean swore and grabbed at Sam's shoulder, "C'mon man, don't do this!"

Sam took no heed of his older brother and slumped, the seatbelt across his chest preventing him from falling forward any further, his limbs twitching.

"Sam?" Dean pushed his brother back up and peered worriedly into his face. Sam's eyes were closed and his mouth was slack, slightly open.

What the fuck just happened? Dean wondered. A regular flu bug doesn't make someone have grand mal seizures!

Dean's confusion turned to alarm when he noticed how pale his brother's face was and how blue his lips were.

"Oh no," Dean gasped as though he suddenly couldn't breathe either, "No, no, c'mon Sammy. Wake up!"

Unbuckling his brother, Dean grabbed hold of Sam's shirt and tugged him across the bench seat and onto the gravel shoulder of the road.

Once his brother was on the ground, Dean tried to rouse Sam again, shaking his shoulder.

"C'mon Sammy, c'mon!" Dean begged, his eyes watching his brother's face frantically as Sam's skin began to slowly turn grey.

"Shit," Dean muttered and wiped a hand over his eyes before tipping his sibling's head back.

Dean looked up, startled, when he heard a car door slam and feet crunching over hard-packed gravel towards him. An older man was looked down at him with a shocked expression.

"Is there anything I can do?" he asked. Behind him, Dean spied a red minivan and a white-haired woman- the man's wife- watching grimly from the passenger's seat.

"Call an ambulance," Dean instructed and turned to his brother. Although taking Sam to a hospital had been the last thing he'd wanted to do; now it looked like there wasn't much of a choice.

Ignoring the fact that his brother might have the flu, Dean leaned down, pinched Sam's nose closed and quickly breathed into his mouth. After watching his brother's still lungs rise, Dean pressed down on his brother's chest in quick succession before repeating the process.

Dean was sweating and his arms were aching by the time he heard the wail of sirens. Sam didn't look any better and his brother began to panic.

"Damn it, Sammy," Dean cursed and sat back on his heels. The older couple was still there; the man hovering uselessly while his wife remained in the van.

Dean grabbed his brother's pale face in his hands, "Sammy! Wake up! Please!"

Author's Note:

1. Thanks to BranchSuper, reannablue, Cdw43, london'slonelyhearts, cold kagome, Priya723, CIAKat, SPN Mum, mb64, DianaLadris802, Samstruck, L.A.H.H, sarah, , MysteryMadchen, Sparkiebunny and TeamEtharaRules for reviewing.

2. Thanks to everyone who alerted/favourited/followed.

3. Reviews are love!