Disclaimer: e kore e ēnei pūāhua no ki aha.

A/N: i'm sorry guys. i've got nothing really to say about updating except that i've been going through some really rough times right now and honestly haven't been able to write. it sucks because normally writing brings me joy and happiness and a way to escape, but sometimes you hit past that point and you can't even do those things anymore. so i really am sorry. that being said, this last week's episode, 'red meat', was my favorite episode this season, and definitely in my top 3 of the series, and for some reason sparked a muse… so while having middle of the night insomnia, this story came out. i wasn't going to post it… i wanted to wait and get the other one i have been working on finished and posted first. but then realized you guys deserved something from me as it has been a few weeks. so here's a story—for the first time ever posting a missing scene to an episode before the next one even airs. again, i'm so sorry guys…

Title: Relax, He's Alive
Genre: Dunno really… some hurt/comfort… a bit of angst… brother fluff… just an extension of what was in the episode.
Summary: A missing scene from 'Red Meat' episode taking place immediately after Sam shoots Corbin and going to when Dean leaves to talk to Michelle.

Relax, He's Alive

"It took you long enough," Dean gasped from the floor.

Sam stared for a moment before wincing in anguish and crumbling to the ground legs sprawled. Breathing deep Dean closed his eyes as pain coursed through his entire body and his neck pulsed from Corbin's strangulation. He pushed these aches away however, when he realized quickly that Sam had slumped from an upright position to a prone one on the hospital floor.

"Sammy," Dean's voice was hoarse, "Sam!" he looked quickly at Michelle who was kneeling on the ground, "Go get a doctor!"

Still stunned at the events Michelle covered her mouth in a strangled sob, however got to her feet and backed away down the hall.

"Sam. Hey, c'mon man…" Dean half crawled the less than six feet to his brother and crouched beside him, "Hey buddy can you look at me?"

Sam's eyes had been squeezed shut in pain but at the request they opened and Dean felt a lump in his throat at the sight of the hazel eyes he thought he'd never see again.

"You 'kay D'n?" Sam breathed out.

Dean laughed, "Are you serious man? I'm fine."

Wanting Sam to be more comfortable but not wanting to put any more pressure on the bullet wound, Dean pulled his brother's head closer to him and rested it on his lap. Carefully he pulled back Sam's shirt, the young hunter recoiling at the movement, and Dean doing nearly the same as he saw how much blood and dirt there was that covered his entire abdomen.

"It's okay Sam," Dean swallowed hard running what he hoped was a comforting hand through his little brother's rough hair, "You're going to be okay."

Sam nodded as his whole body trembled slightly.

Dean's eyes darted down the hallway desperately wishing that the doctor would hurry, "You just had to save my ass one last time huh? Make the dramatic entrance as usual. All about the theatrics Sammy."

Sam smiled weakly his eyes half opened only and Dean held a little tighter to his brother as his eyes searched again around their abandoned world. Just as he did this second time though, three sets of feet came running around the corner.

"There!" Michelle shouted, "There they are!"

"Oh my God," a female doctor in a white coat skidded to a stop by the brothers on the ground as her eyes took in the scene while a nurse stood beside her, "Okay," she put on a smile as she looked at the semiconscious younger Winchester, "My name is Dr. Johnson. You must be Sam; I've heard a lot about you in this hospital."

"Uh oh," Sam gave a crooked smile.

"All good things, I promise," Dr. Johnson repeated Dean's actions as she lifted Sam's shirt to inspect the wound.

Sam hissed out in pain as Dean kept on hand on his brother's shoulder to keep him still while comfortingly keeping one hand on his head.

"It's alright Sammy, I'm here. You're good," Dean whispered unnecessarily.

After a few moments Dr. Johnson looked up at the nurse who stood anxiously waiting instructions, "Alright Katie I need you to grab a stretcher and quickly call down to exam room four. Tell them a have a victim with a gunshot wound to the abdomen coming in, and to set up a unit of o-negative for me and a number three suture kit." She gave a quick look over at the two dead bodies of Corbin and the Sherriff, and as well at the still unconscious Dr. Kessler "And get Dr. Markus and whoever else is available over here right away."

"Right," Katie gave a quick nod and took off down the hall.

"Okay Sam," Dr. Johnson pasted back on her smile as she looked down at her patient, "I'm going to need you to hang on just a little longer for me, okay?"

Sam nodded, squeezing his eyes shut, "M'good… m'good…"

Dean swallowed, and continued to give all the physical support to his brother he could. Luckily he didn't have to long as very soon several people were crowded into what had once seemed a large hallway. Three people; Dr. Markus and who Dean guessed was two other nurses rushed to Dr. Kessler and the bodies of Corbin and the Sherriff, and then two more nurses and Katie brought a stretcher over to where Sam lay.

"Alright, we're going to lift him onto here on the count of three," Dr. Johnson spoke in a very authoritative voice once the stretcher had been brought to its lowest point beside Sam, "Not you." She looked pointedly at Dean.

"He's my brother," anger laced Dean's words, "I can help lift him!"

"D'n…" Sam mumbled.

"Not with your broken ribs you're not," Dr. Johnson stated turning back to her three nurses as they all took stances around Sam, "Alright, on three. One… two… three!"

"Arghh!" Sam's cry of pain vibrated off the walls as his body was lifted and twisted in a way that shot white hot pain through his entire abdomen.

Dean closed his eyes and looked away as he got to his feet, finding himself unable to watch as Dr. Johnson straightened Sam's body out causing cries of pain to escape.

"D'n… Dean…" Sam's gasping voice immediately caused Dean to turn around however.

Sam's hand was grasping desperately from the stretcher as they brought it to its full height and within half a second Dean was to his brother's side grabbing one hand in his and gently pulling back his hair with the other, "Hey, yeah I'm here Sammy, don't worry."

The stretcher was wheeled down the hall and Dean followed at a quick pace, being sure to keep hold of Sam's hand as they went. They reached the large doors reading 'Authorized Personal Only' far too soon however, and paused a moment.

"I'm sorry," Dr. Johnson frowned in genuine sympathy, "Dean you're going to have to stay here. We need to stabilize him and check his injuries, but as soon as possible you can come in. I'll come and get you myself."

Dean took a deep shaking breath, swallowed and nodded as he looked down at Sam, "Okay Sammy, I'm just gonna hang out here. They're gonna take good care of you—none of the hack job work that I do, okay?"

Sam was shaking as he nodding his head wordlessly.

Dean squeezed his brother's shoulder reassuringly one last time before they wheeled him through the doors. He didn't even notice the tears that had built up in his eyes until one spilt over suddenly and quickly Dean swiped away at it as he took a deep breath.

"He's okay," Dean whispered to himself closing his eyes, "He's alive… Sammy's alive… just relax."

But he couldn't do that. Dean knew he had to do something until he was allowed to be with his brother again, and not wanting to be reminded of the carnage back down the hall, he chose to go the opposite direction and went to the bathrooms by the front doors. Body still trembling with adrenaline, Dean turned on the tap and washed his hands from the blood… Sam's blood… that stained his skin, and then rinsed his face off.

"Damn it Cass, sure could have used you here today," Dean spoke quietly as he looked himself over in the mirror.

His face would heal fast; the road rash from smashing into the ground from a trigger happy Sherriff. His chest and insides would take some time, he knew; not only the broken ribs which weren't thanking him from the violent shaking he'd succumbed to from his overdose and as well his fight with Corbin, but too, the shot of adrenaline they'd had to shot right into his damn heart. The aftereffects of the overdose itself was going to be kicking him the ass for a while to come... and how was he going to explain that to Sammy?

But none of that mattered.

Sam wasn't lying dead in a cabin the middle of a forest right now; that was what mattered. With one final look at himself, Dean took a breath and left the bathroom. Heading outside to get some fresh air, he smirked when he saw the haphazard parking job his brother did. Not that he blamed the kid; how the hell he managed to even drive all the way to the urgent care in his condition was a miracle in itself.

"You did good Sammy," Dean opened the door and felt the lump return again to his throat at the smears of blood on the door and seat.

Tears curiously burning at his eyes again, Dean reached into the backseat where they kept some wipes and he began to clean the inside. Guilt was rushing through the older brother as he did this; Sam shouldn't have had to drive himself there to save his ass.

"I shouldn't have left you Sam," Dean scrubbed harder than he knew was necessary on the blood… Sam's blood… that covered part of the driver's seat, "I shouldn't have let Corbin put his hands on you. I should have protected you and…"

Dean stopped and closed his eyes, the tears falling onto the beige upholstery. Again he took a deep breath and reminded himself that it was okay; Sam was alive and inside right now getting the help that he needed. Soon the two of them would be sitting in the car again side-by-side back in the only home they'd ever known. Together the way it should be and if Dean had anything to say about it, always would be.

For the next several minutes Dean occupied himself with cleaning the inside of the car, and once satisfied that all evidence of the horrible hunt was out of there, he sat down, started his baby up, and straightened the car out properly.

"Last thing I need is a freaking parking ticket," Dean smirked as he got out.

Just as he was about to head back in to check on Sam, a thought occurred to the older brother and he quickly went to the trunk. He'd spent so much time cleaning up himself, and then his car, that he'd almost forgot what was most important.

"Get you some clean clothes Sammy," Dean smiled as he scanned their bags.

Five minutes later Dean was once again standing in the hospital with a bag of Sam's clothes flung over one shoulder and an anxious expression on his face. He paced only for five minutes before Dr. Johnson walked out.

"How's Sam?" Dean asked barely before she had time to come fully through the doors.

The brunette doctor smiled, "He'll be alright. We cleaned out the wound and checked to see if it punctured any internal organs- specifically because of the location we were worried about the small intestines; your brother was very lucky that it didn't. However, he is going to be in some pain for a while as the bullet tore into his abdominal muscles and those can take time to heal—though they're essentially what saved his life and stopped the bullet. Which," she gave a smirk to Dean, "Your brother said you saved us the trouble of having to take out."

"Yeah," Dean's hand instinctively went to his jacket pocket as he cleared his throat, "Our Dad was in the military. He taught us a lot of first aid and field dressing."

Dr. Johnson nodded her head in approval, "Well you saved his life. With that bullet in there, a deep infection very well could have spread through his body or could have shifted further and punctured not only his intestines, but any number of blood vessels inside him. As it is, he lost a lot of blood so we're giving him a unit right now, and may need to give him another. We gave him a tetanus shot and have an IV of antibiotics going."

Dean breathed deep and tried to wipe away the emotions from his face, "What… what about at the cabin doc? I felt… I mean… I didn't feel a pulse on him."

"Right," Dr. Johnson nodded, "Sam explained to me what happened; that Corbin choked him covering his mouth and nose until he passed out." Dean flinched and closed his eyes briefly. "Sometimes when a body is already so severely damaged and slipping so quickly, when something like… well like what happened with Sam happens, the body will go into shock. The person's heartrate and breathing will drop so low that it can't be detected by any means except for if they're hooked up to a machine." She looked at Dean a moment before adding, "It wasn't your fault; any professional would have thought he was gone too given the circumstances. Your brother will be okay though."

"Can I see him?" Dean's voice was thick, "Can I see Sam?"

"Of course, follow me."

Dean followed the doctor through the doors and past several sectioned off areas before arriving to where Sam lay. An immediate breath of relief left Dean and he couldn't help but smile as he saw Sam lay on the hospital bed with just his jeans on. His entire stomach was wrapped up in clean white gauze; to the crook of his right arm a tube ran up to a bag of blood, and to his left hand an IV of what Dean recognized as a simple saline solution, antibiotics and what he guessed was some sort of pain medication dripped steadily into Sam.

"Looking good Sammy," Dean swallowed; and he meant it because unlike when he'd last held his brother in the hallway the younger Winchester now had color to his cheeks and didn't look like he was flirting with death.

Sam smirked, "It's Sam."

"Today it's Sammy." Dean put the bag on the bed, "I brought you some clean clothes though I know how much you love showing off for the nurses around here."

"Right," Sam laughed weakly, "Thanks. How are you doing? You okay? I remember the doctor saying something about broken ribs."

Dean waved his hand dismissively, "Nothing a little R&R can't heal, I'll be fine. Let's worry about getting you on your feet."

"Speaking of which," Sam looked up and frowned at the different things he was hooked up to, "When's that gonna be?"

"A while still Sam," Dean frowned, "We're in no rush. The doc said she may want to give you some more red juice there, and the longer you're hooked up the antibiotics, the better."

Sam sighed, "Well what about Michelle? How's she doing?"

"I'm not sure," Dean admitted, "I haven't gone to talk or check on her since we were in the hallway."

"You should go," Sam frowned, "Make sure she's alright."

Dean hesitated, "Not yet Sammy."

Sam's eye roll wasn't completely unnoticed by the elder sibling but Dean let it slide and the two talked quietly and about everything but the last forty-eight hours as Dean sat in a chair next to the bed. Just over an hour later Dr. Johnson walked into the curtained area and began to check Sam's vitals.

"How's he doing?" Dean tried to keep the still anxious tone from his voice.

"Better," Dr. Johnson nodded as she took Sam's temperature, "A definitely improvement from before, but I'm still worried with how low his blood pressure is. I think we're going to give him a little more blood before letting him go, so it's going to be about another two or three more hours I'm afraid."

"No," Sam immediately objected, "It'll be okay. I'm fine!"

"Shut up Sam," Dean glared before looking back at the doctor, "That sounds good doc, thanks."

"A nurse will be here in a few minutes to set you up," Dr. Johnson smiled, "If you need anything, just call."

Sam waited until she left before shooting a look at his brother, "What the hell Dean? I'm good enough to go now."

"Obviously not Sam," Dean spoke definitively, "I almost lost you out there man. You were… Sammy I had to leave you there at the cabin." Dean was forced to clear his throat, "Now so help me God if we have to sit here for the next twenty-four hours straight just to make sure that you're okay enough leave here, then that's what we're going to do."

"Okay," Sam spoke softly, "Alright Dean that works for me; no complaints I promise. Will you at least go and see if Michelle is still here though? Check on her?"

Dean sighed deeply through his emotions and nodded, "Yeah I can do that." He stood and patted Sam on the leg, "Don't go anywhere Sammy."

"It's… Sam," the younger brother spoke deflated knowing Dean hadn't heard as he walked out.

Leaning his head back against the pillow Sam closed his eyes. It had been close; too close for both brothers this time. Sam had a feeling deep down that Dean had done something drastic after leaving him at the cabin if for no other reason than Sam knew he'd do the same if the situations were reversed. He had every intention of asking Dean later what he did, but for now tried to relax himself in the knowledge that once again both of them had somehow lived through something that normally would have ended any normal person's life.

"But he's okay," Sam reminded himself opening his eyes and looking in the direction his brother had walked, "Dean is okay, so just relax."

Both Winchesters were alright and would live to see another day, and that was what really mattered in the end.

The End.