Sam subtly watches Dean over his cup of coffee. Dean gets up from the couch and sneezes into his hands, sniffs, grimaces, and makes a face that says he doesn't like where this is going.

Then he catches Sam's eye and narrows his own. Sam innocently sips from his mug, gaze wondering towards the book on his lap. Out of the corner of his vision, he sees Dean stumble uncertainly out of the living room.

Quietly, Sam puts the book and mug down, and walks after Dean. Sure enough, his brother goes to their room upstairs. He doesn't even notice Sam's following him. With his hunter's instincts failing him, it's a recipe for disaster.

Sam watches discretely as Dean mutters something under his breath and falls onto his bed, face first. He shifts for a minute, turning his face sideways, before relaxing. Soon congested snores quietly fill the room.

Raising his eyebrows, Sam enters the room too. He carefully puts a palm on his brother's forehead, and starts when his wrist his grabbed.

Dean's still got his eyes closed, but he's fully aware. Sam winces at the heat he can feel through the touch, and as he got caught, this was now going to turn into a battle.

"Quit feelin' me up, Sam. Just got a cold. Leave me 'lone," Dean growls in what is probably meant to be a threatening way. Instead, he sounds more like the middle sized bear from Goldilocks.

Sam easily releases his hand from Dean grip and innocently backs away. "Sure, dude, whatever you say," he says, hoping it sounds at least a little convincing. "Just making sure you don't fry that awesome head of yours."

He catches Dean flipping him off before he leaves the room, and grins, though worried.

The elder Winchester isn't very good at taking care of himself. But then he's not good at letting others take care of him either. Which turns most things into a battle. And pretty much all of the time Sam eventually wins.

After all, it is his job to look after his pain in the ass big brother. He just wishes sometimes it wasn't so hard.

Sam sighs and trails back downstairs. Bobby is in the kitchen, and raises his eyebrows at the younger hunter's steeling self.

"Trouble in paradise?" Bobby asks, smirking as Sam rolls his eyes.

"Well we have one sick and stubborn hunter in the vicinity," he mutters back, walking past Bobby to grab some paracetamol and water for Dean when he woke up.

Bobby thinks for a moment, and when Sam turns back around, the elder hunter is smiling at something.

Immediately knowing it can't be anything good, Sam asks edgily, "what?"

He gets a shrug in response, and Bobby leaves with another smirk. Sam narrows his eyes, but leaves it for now. He's got a stubborn ass brother to force into taking care of himself.

So Sam trudges back up the stairs, and in their room leaves the tablets and glass of water on Dean's bedside table. Then he ever so gently tests Dean's check against the back of his fingers.

To his relief, Dean really does seem to be asleep this time, so Sam check remains unnoticed. But he isn't very pleased with the way his brother's skin feels, unless he was planning to boil water on it, that is.

Sam sighs and walks back down the stairs again, deciding the best thing Dean could do at the moment is get some sleep. It isn't like he did the research anyway.

In the living room, Bobby is standing with his back to the doorway, talking quietly on the phone. Sam frowns, but the other hunter ends the call when he enters and nods in greeting to the boy as he walks past him into the kitchen.

Confused, Sam watches Bobby leave, and then shrugs. He returns to his book and mug of coffee, which is of course stale by now. He sighs and carries on reading anyway.

In the morning, Sam wakes up on the sofa, a blanket on him. Instantly making the connection of having accident falling asleep, he gets up, blinking sleep away and yawning.

Deciding to check on his uncommunitive brother, he walks upstairs and into their room.

Dean has moved a little, but not a lot. He's also sweating, which though is a good thing, also means dehydration. Sam sighs and moves forward, realising that the pills and water must have been taken at some point, as there is a second, full, glass next to an empty one, and no pills in sight.

Sam smiles at Bobby's version of taking care of his boys – Dean also has a blanket that is twisted in his legs, which was clearly thrown on his at some point.

Carefully, Sam grazes Dean's forehead with the back of his hand, and frowns. Definitely too hot, which meant Dean was also going to be grumpy if he woke. Even more helpful.

Sam sighs and is about to wake Dean when he sees that the hunter is already awake, instincts kicking in even while sick.

"Hey, how'd you feel?" Sam asks, wondering whether to go for the brusque little brother approach, or full on mother hen. He decides on the middle of the two for now.

Dean shifts, blinking up at Sam and he's just thinking that maybe he should check to make sure Dean hasn't killed his brain in heat, when his brother replies rather like a whiny child, "like crap on toast."

Sam rolls his eyes but secretly he's pleased. Moaning means Dean will submit to being taken care of. "Alright tough shot, here," he says, holding out the full glass of water. Dean struggles to sit up and Sam tells himself not to help. The slightest wrong move could stop his brother from accepting care.

The doorbell downstairs rings and Dean winces at his headache. Sam smiles in sympathy. "I'll go get some pills," he offers. Dean feels too miserable to reply, so he just nods. Sam quietly leaves the room.

Downstairs, he stops in surprise to see who Bobby opens the door to. Sherriff Jody Mills grins mischievously at him and Bobby's looking like he regrets something. Sam decides not to ask.

Jody steps in with a bag in hand, and nods to Sam. "Hey, guess what, the Calvary's here," she informs him.

Sam blinks at her, confused. "Umm, last time I checked we didn't have backup," he replies, as a guess. The Sherriff grins.

"Last I heard, there was a sick stubborn son of a bitch in town who never had someone female to boss him around," she points out, and winks at Sam, who is taken aback.

She then breezes past him and walks up the stairs, looking like a lady on a mission. Sam exchanges a nervous look with Bobby. He had a bad feeling about all this.

Sure enough, there's a honest to god yelp from upstairs, and Sam can hear Dean yell hoarsely about keepin' freakin' hands to himself... and then it goes quiet as he realises what he's in for.

For the next hour, Sam and Bobby awkwardly busy themselves in the kitchen, wondering what the outcome of this will be.

It only takes one disbelief expression from Sam for an answer. "Well, last time Dean got sick, he ran himself to the ground and, dammit, Sherriff blamed me for it," Bobby explains. Sam understands. He wouldn't like to face the anger of Jody Mills either.

An hour later, Sam decides to carefully check on Dean. Tip toeing up the stairs, he peeks into their room. Dean is properly under the covers in his bed, looking meek. The Sherriff is sitting on the other bed, looking at a book that presumably was under the pillow.

She glances up at Sam's presence, and nods to him. Sam glances at Dean, who looks quite put off. Dean tries to glare at him and the younger brother quickly vacants the scene. Yeah, the Sherriff has this one under control.

Two days, lots of short arguments and a few mugs of mint tea later, Dean shuffles downstairs and slumps on the sofa, opposite to Sam.

Sam glances over at him and raises his eyebrows, trying and failing to hide amusement.

The Sherriff and Bobby come in from the kitchen, and immediately Jody narrows her eyes at Dean, who looks panicked for a second, and Sam can't help but laugh.

Dean glares at him, which is kind of ruined a second later by Jody putting a hand on his forehead briefly. After a couple of days of learning, Dean doesn't try to bat it away.

Seemingly pleased, Jody steps back, eyeing the hunter. She turns to Sam, to the brothers' surprise. "How do I threaten him?" she asks lightly.

Sam thinks for a second. Hm, planes? No, something more helpful...

"Needles?" he suggests, and suddenly Jody's eyes light up like a torturer with a new weapon. She turns back to Dean.

"Better," she says, like a mastermind hatching a new plan. "If you don't do exactly the same next time, or even now, then I'm going to, as it's put, drag your ass to a hospital or clinic," she informs him.

The effect is immediate. Dean looks away, afraid to look into her eyes. Bobby, safely behind Jody, grins, and Sam is as surprised and worried as his brother.

Appreciative of the air of terror, Jody nods at her work and turns on her heel to exit the house. "Thanks for the hospitality, guys," she says pleasantly, and Bobby follows her to the door.

Dean glares at his brother, who can't help himself and is sniggering into his coffee mug. "Just you wait, Sammy, I'll get her on your ass next," he says, as threatening as one can be whilst looking like a bunny could take them down.

Sam coughs hastily and puts down his mug, eyeing Dean warily. "You wouldn't," he hesitates. Dean smirks and Sam bitchfaces him. "Jerk."

"Bitch," Dean replies, looking better than in a few days anyway, so Sam counts the experience, however terrifying, as a win. Bobby walks back in at that moment and takes in the atmosphere.

Unable to help himself, he chuckles, and is met with two Winchester looks – a bitchface and a questioning expression.

"Two tough hunters, scared of the lady Sherriff of Sioux Falls," he shakes his head, smiling. "This one's definitely goin' in the journal."

The looks he receives in return makes him hastily back out into the kitchen to make them all some breakfast, still laughing quietly to himself. His boys were the most ridiculous idjits he had ever seen, but then again, Sherriff Jody Mills really was a force to be reckoned with.

And one thing was for sure – neither Winchester was going to get sick near Sioux Falls again!

Yes I know I'm meant to update the other one, and I will, really! But I was sitting here last night really not tired or wanted to go to bed, so I literally wrote this in half an hour at 1am. I don't know what it is with these sudden present tense stories, but I kind of like it. Next I really will try to update Hannah or If You Touch Him Again. Please review!