Disclaimer: no

A/N: Hey guys-- sorry today's one shot is a little late... I had to get it off of the school computer, and it took me a while to get the time to go there. Anyways, this one shot is one that I've posted before. It's actually from my 'What Ifs' that I was doing way back when, so some of you may remember it, and some not-- either way, I personally enjoyed this one when I wrote it, and I hope you do too!

Title: 40 Minutes
Genre: There's a little angst... not too much, some fluff, and basically just a worried Dean.
Summary: This is a what if for the episode Phantom Traveler; what if Sam had gone on the plane by himself and Dean waited in the airport for the longest forty minutes of his life...

40 Minutes

'Why the hell did I let him go by himself?' Dean's mind screamed at him, 'I should have gone with him!'

Dean paced back and forth in the large airport terminal. He had admitted to Sam that he was afraid of flying; a move that Dean now regretted because after doing so Sam gave him the ultimatum of either coming along with him to stop the demon, or letting Sam go by himself. At Dean's hesitation Sam declared that he'd do it on his own because he didn't want Dean to be nervous and vulnerable. Dean had so many times between that moment and when Sam got on the plane to stop him, but his fear of flying took all of those opportunities away.

"I swear Sammy, if you make it back ok, I'll let you drive whenever you want," Dean mumbled, "I'll even let you pick out the fricken music!"

His heart beat quickening, Dean looked at his watch. It had been thirty-four minutes, and Dean knew that the plane was going to crash at forty. He also knew that Sam was perfectly capable of performing an exorcism on his own, but what worried Dean the most was the fact that he wasn't there to make sure someone… or something… wasn't going to hurt him while he did so.

Thirty-six minutes.

"Come on Sammy," Dean cussed internally.

What he was waiting for, Dean wasn't sure. He had his phone on him, but the chances of any reception being able to reach him from his brothers phone was slim to none on a good day; never mind when a demon was trying to send the plane and all of the passengers into oblivion. Sam was prepared though; he'd grabbed holy water, an incantation book, duck tape and a number of other things that made it past security; and even things that shouldn't have. Dean glanced at his watch again.

Thirty-eight minutes.

The anxious Winchester was just about to attempt to phone Sam when a sudden commotion could be heard from behind the counter.

Dean struggled to hear bits of the conversation, "…plane is going down… mayday about a minute ago… Captain missing…"

"Sammy," Dean whispered and then bounded over to the counter in one giant step, "Excuse me," no one answered, "Excuse me!"

"Yes?" a lady stepped over to him with a forced smile on her face, "How may I help you Sir?"

"I heard what you said," Dean got right to the point, "My brother is on board that plane. What the hell is happening?"

"I assure you that our airlines are perfectly safe. In over one thousand flights out—"

"I don't want to hear your fricken speech lady!" Dean barked, "I want to know what's happening to my brother!"

A number of people looked over, and before Dean could go on any more with his rant a strong hand grabbed his arm. Dean was about to fight off the person that was interrupting him, but as he glanced over and saw a muscular man who was about double his size, the older Winchester thought otherwise.

"Uh, hi," Dean smiled at the official looking 'Security' tag on the man.

"Hi," the man smiled slyly, "Can I help you with something?"

Knowing that the chances of him being put into a holding cell were very high if he started making a fuss about a plane crashing, Dean shook his head feebly.

"Good," the officer nodded in approval, "Now why don't you just go and wait in one of the chairs for your flight. I'll keep an eye on you to make sure nothing bad happens."

"Thanks," Dean forced a smile and followed the security officer to one of the many chairs that were laid about in the waiting area.

Dean glanced over at the counter where even more people were crowded around and someone was talking fast into a phone. He wished he could get close enough to hear what was being said, but the large man standing near was keeping his word on not letting Dean out of his sight. Instead Dean settled for looking at his watch.

Forty-four minutes.

Whatever was going to happen had already happened, and Dean felt a sinking feeling form in the pit of his stomach. His little brother may be dead at that point. The demon may have crashed the plane, and why? Because Dean was too afraid to go with Sam. To afraid to save his only brothers life.

"No!" Dean scolded himself loudly; causing a number of people to look over curiously.

It seemed that only seconds after his outburst a loud eruption of cheers came from behind the counter where the huddled group of people were. Dean got to his feet, but the security officer stopped him from going any further.

"What happened?" Dean asked eagerly, "What the hell happened?"

"Sir, I don't think it is any of your concern about what is going on behind the counters," the security tried to talk calmly.

"Like hell it isn't!" Dean's heart thumped in his chest, "That's my brother on the plane. What happened?"

The security guard, too, was curious, and Dean saw him glance over at the counter where two stewardesses were hugging each other. An official looking man with a white uniform on caught a glance at them and gave the thumbs up.

"It appears," despite himself, the officer wore a smile on his face, "That the plane is no longer in trouble."

Dean pushed past the officer and went to the desk, "Where is it?"

Instead of the lady coming over, it was the official looking man, smiling broadly, "I'm sorry Sir?"

"The plane," Dean's eyes were wide, "Where's the plane now?"

"It is headed back to our terminal," the man explained, "It should be here in about an hour."

"Was anybody hurt?" Dean's voice cracked as he asked the question.

"We're not sure," the man shook his head, "But we're having paramedics brought here just the same."

"Thank you," Dean whispered.

Somehow Dean found his way back to his seat and slumped down into it. Exhaustion overwhelmed him, and Dean was startled to find himself having to force tears back. It was the scariest thing Dean could ever remember; the worst forty minutes of his life. Though, Dean admitted to himself, he wasn't even sure why. Sam had gone on numerous hunts on his own. He'd been separated from Dean more times than Dean cared to admit, yet this time was different. Maybe it was because Dean, himself was scared of flying, but he didn't like the thought of Sam being thousands of feet up in the air while he was on the ground.

For the next hour, Dean forced himself to calm down; resting his head limply in his hands. He figured, quickly, that he must have dosed off, as it seemed like only minutes before he heard the announcement that the plane was coming into the terminal. With a start Dean stood up and looked around. Numerous people were anxiously waiting for the passengers to get off while at least a dozen paramedics stood around waiting to look at them.

"Come on Sammy," Dean breathed as he saw the stream of people walk into the terminal; numerous loved ones running up to them.

"Is anyone hurt?" a paramedic asked one of the passengers that walked out.

"Yeah, there's three people that are hurt kind of badly," the man answered.

"No…" Dean whispered, still staring wide-eyed as the people came out.

Why the hell were there so many people now? There wasn't this many people getting on the plane! Finally, just as Dean was about to really start to panic, he saw Sam walking out of the terminal; helping what looked like the Captain. A large smile came to Dean's face as Sam handed off the injured man to a paramedic and started to look around.

"Sam!" Dean called, "Over here!"

Sam looked over and smiled as he walked up to Dean. Unbelievable relief swept over Dean at the sight of his uninjured brother, that he almost found himself grabbing him in a hug. Instead he settled for placing his hands on Sam's shoulders and looking intently at his face.

"Sammy?" Dean's voice was gruff, "You ok?"

Sam took a deep breath, "Yeah, I'm alright."

Dean moved his hands away from Sam's shoulders, and they began to walk away from the crowd, "You sure?"

"I'm fine Dean," Sam paused and looked at his older brother, "How about you? You look like crap."

Dean laughed, "Thanks," he paused, "I was just…"

"Worried about me?" Sam raised an eyebrow suspiciously, "Not only does Dean Winchester succumb to his fear of flying, but he also worries about College Boy?"

Dean stared at him a moment before laughing and turning away, "Shut-up."

"Ah, but why stop?" Sam spoke loudly and mockingly now, "Not only have I found your kryptonite, but also you're Achilles' heel."

"Dude, I said shut-up," Dean laughed as they neared the doors.

Sam stopped and smiled at Dean; one of the best sights Dean had seen in a long time. Next time, Dean swore, he wouldn't let his fears get in the way of anything. Especially his little brother.

"Here," Dean spoke up and fished in his pocket for something.

"What?" Sam asked; confusion on his face.

Dean grinned and tossed his keys at Sam, "You drive College Boy."

The End