"Sammy! Shake that ass!" Dean called upstairs.

Sam moaned and rolled out of bed. He felt like he had been hit by a freight train. He slowly got ready for school and went downstairs. He found Dean in the kitchen making cereal.

"Where's Bobby?" Sam asked, barely able to get the words out.

"He had to run out in the middle of the night. Emergency couple states over. We're on our own for a bit which means, of course, we're running late. So come on, eat up and let's go."

Sam's stomach flip-flopped when he looked at the cereal.

"That's okay. I'm not hungry."

"You good kid?" Dean asked. He walked over and put his hand on Sam's forehead, which Sam then smacked away.

"I'm fine," he muttered.

"Yeah whatever. Let's go then. You have a test in first period right?"

They made their way to the school. Dean dropped Sam off and made sure he got inside safely. Since the fight in the quad, Shane seemed to have disappeared. Sam told him that there were rumors he got expelled. Or that his parents enrolled him in military school. Or that Sam killed him.

That one was personally Dean's favorite.

Dean eventually made his way to the high school. He was late, of course, so he had to go into the office for a pass.

"Dean?" Mr. Matthews called. "Can we chat for a minute?"

Dean rolled his eyes and walked behind the desk into Mr. Matthews office.

"Wassup?" Dean smirked as he threw himself down in a chair.

"Just wanted to check in. It's been a while."

"Yeah it has been. I love what you've done with the place. Very holiday-ie in here."

"You know Dean, I was very happy to learn that you were back at school," Mr. Matthews said, ignoring him.

"Don't get too excited. I'm considering dropping out."

"Why do you say that?"

"I turn 18 in like two weeks," Dean scoffed. "I don't have to be here anymore."

"Well… from a legal standpoint that is technically correct. But you don't really want to do that, do you?"

"School's never been my thing. Plus it'll give me a chance to start working in the family business full time."

"Ah. Yes, the family business. Which is what again exactly?"

Dean shrugged.

"Random odd jobs. We drive around and do things other people don't know how to do."

"We being you and Sam and your parents?"

"My dad," Dean clarified. Mr. Matthews cleared his throat and leaned forward onto his desk.

"Dean, I haven't had a chance to talk to Kelly since we came back from break. But if this has anything at all to do with the pregnancy."

"She's not pregnant anymore. She had an abortion over break."

"She did?" Mr. Matthews asked. His reaction worried Dean.

"You sound surprised."

"Son when you have my job, you hear a lot of things. And then you have to figure out which things are true or not."

"You're saying she's still pregnant?"

Mr. Matthews didn't respond.

"You're saying she never was pregnant?"

Mr. Matthews still didn't respond. Dean started to freak out.

"Dean, I didn't bring you in here to talk about Kelly. I brought you in here to see what your current plan was. For a while there, you really cleaned up your act. And college applications are due soon so if you'd still like to continue, we need to work on sending those out."

"I told you. I'm dropping out when I'm 18," Dean said, still freaking out.

"Dean-"

"I'm going to miss first. I should go."

And with that, he stormed out of the office.


Sam could barely concentrate on his test. It had already been ten minutes and he was still on the first problem. Why did he had to have math first thing in the morning anyway?

Sam closed his eyes and took a deep breath to try to focus again. He stared at the page. Considering how algebra is already random numbers and letters on a page, this looked even more random. Sam knew these formulas like the back of his hand but absolutely nothing made sense.

He turned it in halfway finished and moved onto his second period.

By the time he got to third, he felt like he was dying. After that class was done, he went into the office.

"Can I call my brother? I'm not feeling so well," he told the office lady. She led him behind the desk to the phone. Sam dialed the number for the high school. He waited a few minutes for them to pull Dean out of class. Of course Dean was in class the one day Sam just wanted to go home early.

"Sammy?"

"Can you come get me?"

"What's wrong?"

"I'm tired," was all he could say. Dean could tell over the phone something wasn't right.

"I'll be right over."

Sam's school called Bobby for permission, given that he was the legal guardian. By the time Dean got there, Sam was all signed out.

"Dude you look like something that needs to be salted and burned," Dean said when he walked in and saw Sam falling asleep in a chair.

Sam flipped him off. Dean flipped him off back.

Dean picked up Sam's bag and helped him out to the car.

"Why didn't you say something this morning about not feeling good?" Dean asked when they got inside.

"I didn't think I was getting sick. I just thought I was tired."

Dean put his hand on Sam's forehead again. Sam smacked his hand away again.

"Dude will you stop doing that?"

"Stop touching me!"

"I'm trying to see if you have a fever."

"I don't have a fever."

"Then why are you sweating so much?"

"Because you have the freaking heater cranked up to a thousand degrees!"

"Car's not on Sammy."

Sam slouched down in the passenger seat and leaned his forehead against the window. It was freezing but it felt so good on his face.

Dean started the car and drove them home. Sam fell asleep on the drive and started quietly snoring. Dean knew it was not going to be a good day. He hated when Sam got sick. You thought Sam was a pain the ass already, oh no. Sick Sam is the worst thing on the planet.

Dean parked the car and basically carried Sam in the house. He put him on the couch still asleep and called Bobby.

"Hey we're home."

"How is he?"

"He's pretty sick. Maybe a flu?"

"I got some Tylenol upstairs. Try that. You may have to run to the store."

"Already ahead of you Bobby. I'm making a list right now."

"Good thing you two made up a coupla days ago," Bobby said, chuckling to himself. "Hate to leave Sam to fend for himself with you trying not to kill him."

"Don't hold your breath. That can still be arranged."

"Well I might be stuck out here for a week minimum so try not to go so hard on each other, mkay?"

"Alright Bobby I'll keep you updated."

Dean hung up the phone and began searching through the house for stuff he needed to get for Sam. A week alone with his sick brother? What could possibly go wrong?


someones-big-sister