I'm back with a one-shot!

I promise I haven't disappeared forever. I'll get back to writing my stories. A lot of personal stuff has been happening and I just needed a break. But things have calmed down for now and I'm feeling the urge to come back, so here is a teeny baby step into hopefully returning and staying returned. Because I miss yall. *heart emoji*

On with the show!

Dean had pretty much blacked out the past 48 hours. He was riding on a high of shock and awe with Amara bringing Mary back to life suddenly and needing to go on an urgent rescue mission for Sam from what turned out to be the British Men of Letters. There was a lot Dean didn't feel like facing right now, much to Cas' disapproval. God, he had both been a saving grace and the most painful thing in Dean's ass all week. To help relax and distract himself from the chaos, Dean resorted to the one thing he knew how to do: take care of Sammy.

Which is what he was doing now. Dean stood at the sink filling up one of Sam's reusable water bottles. He screwed on the lid and set it on a tray next to medicine and first aid supplies. He double-counted everything on the tray to make sure he wasn't missing anything when someone called out his name and ruined his thoughts.

Dean looked over and saw Mary standing next to the Keurig machine looking slightly flustered.

"Hmm?"

Mary's cheeks turned pink. "Sorry, I know you're busy. But I can't get it to work."

Dean walked over to her and inspected the machine. He laughed. "You gotta turn it on first." He pushed the power button, causing the machine to light up and start making noise as it heated up the water.

First his dad with the toaster, and now his mom with the coffee maker. How did they manage to make it on their own before he was born?

Mary inserted a pod and selected the amount she wanted. "Thanks," she said as Dean went back over to the tray by the sink. "Are you going to check on Sam?"

"I am."

"Why don't I do it today?"

Dean almost dropped the tray. He laughed awkwardly as he tried to find the words. "That's- He- I'm not so sure that's a good idea."

Mary frowned. "Why not?"

"He's embarrassed, you know?"

Mary crossed her arms and tilted her head. "I'm confused. It's not Sam's fault that this happened, is it?"

"Well, no-"

"So what is there to be embarrassed about?"

Dean thought back to that car ride. Him driving, Mary in the passenger seat, Cas assuring Dean from the backseat that he was keeping Sam comfortable and using whatever grace he could to keep him stable. A tired, wet, dirty, bleeding, crying, confused mess of a Sam who just wanted to die until he saw Dean. Then he just wanted to go home.

"He's just not comfortable with strangers seeing him like this," Dean tried to reason. "Fuck, not that you're a stranger or anything, it's just..."

"I get it," Mary said, giving him a little smile. "He feels safe with you."

"Yeah..." Dean sighed. He readjusted the tray, left the kitchen, and headed down the hall towards Sam's room. The door was slightly open, allowing the ability for someone to hear Sam if he needed to call out. He nudged it with his shoulder and stuck his head in. "Sammy?"

"Hmm?"

Dean took the groan as his cue to enter. "Can I hit the lights?"

"Yeah."

Dean flipped the switch by the door. It was rigged to the lamp next to Sam's bed, causing Sam's face to scrunch up when the room suddenly got brighter.

"How are you feeling?" Dean asked, setting the tray on the corner of Sam's bed. He started by inspecting the cut on Sam's forehead. It wasn't deep for stitches and looked like it was scabbing fine. Dean just slapped on a new bandaid.

"I'm not cold anymore," Sam answered, "and my head stopped hurting."

"Good." Dean grabbed Sam's hands, inspecting his wrists for rope burns. Those had mostly healed by now but now Dean was being tedious. "Think you can eat today finally?"

Sam shook his head.

"I bet if you ask nicely, Mom might make you something," Dean teased.

Sam's head perked up. "Mom's still here?"

"Of course, she's still here!" Dean said, hurt by Sam's question. "Where else is she gonna go?"

Sam shrugged. "I just thought she'd freak out and leave," he said honestly. "It's not like we're her sons anymore." Dean looked at him confused. "You know what I mean."

Dean made his way down to the burn on Sam's foot. "Well, she's not leaving. In fact, she asked if she could clean you up today."

Though he might not admit it, Sam smiled. "Really?"

"Yeah." Dean was not expecting Sam to react so gleefully. "I told her not to worry about it though. Said I got it and it'd be weird for someone else to disinfect your foot."

Sam frowned and sunk back into his pillow. He winced as Dean removed the bandage and started to clean the burn. "If this thing gets any pussier, I'm taking you to urgent care," Dean commented. "I don't need you hobbing around on hunts with one foot."

"That's fair," Sam agreed.

Dean put a new wrap on Sam's foot and started cleaning up his mess. "Please try to eat something?" he gave one last offer.

"Toast?" Sam suggested. "And coffee? I want enough energy to get out of bed today."

Dean brushed Sam's hair out of his eyes. "Sure thing." He picked up the tray and turned the lights back off as he left Sam's room. Discarding the tray in his bathroom, Dean made his way back out to the kitchen.

"Hey Mom?"

Mary looked up from whatever book she was reading. "Yes?"

Dean smiled. "Sam's up and he wants coffee. Think you've mastered the machine enough times to make him one and take it to him?"

Mary smiled back and jumped up from the table. "I thought you'd never ask!"

Dean couldn't help but laugh. Maybe having their mom back wouldn't be such a bad thing after all...

coffeeaddict13