"Dean?" Sam called.

Dean looked at him and then back at Bobby. "He real?"

"Yes, son. Your brother is here. Didn't you want him to come?"

"Yeah, for the last time." Dean murmured.

"Gaah, don't start that bullshit again. Take your time with your brother. I'll be outside, chatting with that cute nurse."

Dean would've taunted him, saying something sarcastic if he wasn't so shocked to see Sam, there. "Sammy?"

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"Yes, Dean. It's me, I'm sorry." he approached his brother. "I'm sorry I left. I'm sorry I didn't answer your call. Sorry I wasn't there when I should've. Sorry I came late." Sam

"'s OK. You were angry. You had every right to be." Dean had already forgiven his brother.

"No Dean, I didn't. You were right. I would've done the same thing if I were you. I.. I said some mean things that I shouldn't have. I'm sorry. I know it's lame to just say so, but I'll do everything to prove myself to you."

"Sam, it's alri-"

"No. I know you can forgive easily. You've always forgiven me and I think that's why I .. You know, keep repeating my mistakes and keep hurting you. Hell, my excuses are even lame to my own ears." he took a deep breath. "I've said them so many times recently that I don't know how-.. I ... I know you can't really believe me and you probably think that I'll break my promise sometime soon. But I'll try- I-"

"That's all I can ask. It's good enough, Sammy." Dean tried to reassure his brother. It actually meant a lot to him that Sam had apologized and was aware of his mistakes. It'd impressed him to see that Sam knew he kinda doubted him and expected to see another betrayal, but he was glad to see his brother really wanted to try and it wasn't like Sam had ever hurt him intentionally. It was just painful to see that Sam never trusted him enough to rely on his judgment.

"I'm sorry, too. You know, for lying to you and keeping a secret. I really wanted to protect you, you were having enough to deal with and well,.. um.. I guess I was also a little scared of losing you. Sorry." It wasn't easy for Dean to say those words aloud, but he thought that Sam deserved to hear them.

Sam swallowed the lump in his throat. That was true; Dean's bête noir was losing his family. Not that he couldn't move forward, no, things had changed; Dean could and would live alone if he had to, but that didn't mean that he had to like it. He didn't want to lose Sam again, and there Sam had done the exact same thing that Dean was scared of and was one of the reasons he had kept killing Amy secret. 'Damn, this makes even more sense, now!'

"I understand it, now." Sam sat down on the chair. "Damn, I shouldn't have left like that. I know, now why you didn't tell me about it."

Dean smiled and closed his eyes, he already felt like a big hole inside him had started to be filled. He might have felt like he would be alright just if he wasn't so damn tired.

"Dean. You're not thinking about giving up, or anything. Are you? All the way to here I was thinking about being late; about losing you. I can't let that happen, Dean. If I was there with you, none of this would've happened. It's my fault. Don't give up, Dean. Please."

"Sam." Dean's voice was low, but it was firm. "It was NOT your fault. Keep it on your mind. This could've happened another way. Hell, we both might have been here in the hospital, so I'm kinda glad you weren't there. And it's not about giving up, sometimes it's your time and you can feel it." he chuckled. "How many times has it been my time?"

"It's not funny and it definitely s not your time, Dean. And exactly, you've said that phrase so many times and none of them was really your time."

"Some of them were."

"Your mission here is not accomplished, yet."

"Says who? Because we both know that there's no one up there deciding about it."

"Well, then what's the point of dying? We both have seen the other side, there's nothing interesting there."

"I liked the drinks."

"Like you don't, down here."

"Good point."

"It's not your time, Dean. We've to get rid of these new creatures."

"They're not new."

"What?"

"They're kinda the oldest. Remember when Death told us about them?"

Sam actually laughed at that. "Whatever, man. You know what I mean. By the way, what really happened?"

"Another time?" Dean asked, not up for talking any longer. The pain was too intense and it felt like something was trying to tear him apart from the inside out, ripping out his heart.

Sam sobered instantly. "Sure, take some rest. I'll be here when you wake up." he squeezed his brother's forearm and let him drift off.

"Everything alright between you two?" Bobby asked when he paced into the room, a few minutes later.

Sam straightened in his seat and looked at the old man. "Better than I can even ask for."

"He can never hold a grudge against you, but that doesn't mean you can hurt him whenever you like. Don't blow your chances." Bobby reproached, but his voice was kind and fatherly.

"I know. I always say that to myself, but when the time comes, I repeat the same mistake."

"It's because you're John Winchester's son; it's probably in your blood, at least you admit it. It's a good thing."

Sam smiled. "Listen, I'm sorry about the other day."

"Forget it, son. You were hurt. I'm glad you've got your eyes open, before it's too late."

"It's already too late."

"No it's not. Dean's alive and he'll pull through this. We'll be there for him. He's not alone."

"No, he's not." 'And I'm lucky to have him.' Sam thought ruefully. "I wish I could see things differently before he gets hurt so bad. It seems like I always just remember it when the grim reaper comes to visit him."

"The grim reaper isn't here and we'll keep it that way. Your brother's in a lot of pain. He's a mess. But he's not dying."

"You said something about the Leviathan's blood inside him. What's it doing to him? We don't know anything about it."

"No, we don't. But he's been fighting it for a few days, now. I'm sure he can defeat it. He just needs some support."

Sam nodded determinedly. "You're right."

"When aren't I?"

"The time when you said Dad would come back before Christmas."

Bobby rolled his eyes. "Trust you to remember that one."

"I remember every single one of them."

"Haha. Yeah. Get some sleep, you look like crap. Besides, we're going to have some rough days. You haven't seen Dean yet when he has an attack."

"He has attacks? What kinda of attacks?"

"Yeah, it's because of that damn thing in his blood. His body is trying to fight it, but every now and then the pain rushes too fast, too hard for him to be able to keep his composure. Without the pain med it's -" Bobby shook his head. "Let's just say I've seen enough of them to last me a life time and it has just happened three times the last few days. First one was the one that made me call for an ambulance."

"What does trigger them?"

"Nothing. They just come from nowhere. One second he's asleep; the next he's yelling in pain."

"Why don't they try blood transfusion?"

"They already had done it once. But the poison has entered his organs and it'll take time to clean his system completely."

"When was his last attack?"

"About 5 hours ago. I've witnessed two of them firsthand. I heard his yells when the other one happened. It was just before they took him to surgery."

Sam swallowed hard. "And what should we do when one of them happens?"

"We? Nothing. We've to stand aside and watch. The nurses and doctors will try to calm him down with mild sedatives, because they can't risk strong medicines. His heart isn't in a good shape, right now. We've to wait for the tension to pass."

Sam rubbed his temple. "Things can never go the easy way, can they?"

"What can I say? You luck sucks."

"No kidding." he shut his eyes and was out less than a minute later.

He woke up with Dean's moan and before he could realize what was happening, Dean's scream filled the air, bringing the nurses and doctors to the room.

Shoving Sam aside, they started to help Dean through his agony, while Sam and Bobby stood aside and watched the whole dreadful scene unfolding in front of them. It was killing Sam to watch his brother struggle with such an intense pain.
Dean who always had been so stoic and strong, was yelling in pain and it seemed like nothing in the world could help him with his white-hot blinding agony. Finally after what felt like hours, even though it was just a few minutes, Dean's yells subsided into spells of protracted moaning and then he lost consciousness completely.

A few minutes later, his doctor finished his examination for the moment and walked towards Sam and Bobby. "This one didn't last long and considering the pressure on his heart it's a really good sign." his doctor announced.

"The pressure on his heart?" Sam queried anxiously.

"Yes, the poison is affecting his heart and he carries some risk for heart attack, but fortunately it seems like the poison's finally wearing off, therefore I think he's out of immediate danger."

"It really is wearing off?" Bobby's voice was laced with hope.

"I can't say for sure, yet. But the attack didn't last long and he seems to be less distressed. Without any further complications, I think it's safe to say he will make a full recovery. It probably will take a long time, though."

Sam's face split into a real smile for the first time since two weeks ago. "That doesn't matter, just as long as he recovers completely. When can we take him home?"

"Not so fast. The poison is still in his system and we need to keep a close eye on him for a while longer. You need to be patient."

Sam nodded earnestly which brought a smile to Bobby and the doctor's face. "I'll be back in a few hours for another checkup." he said and left the two men with their ailing family.

"He'll be fine." Sam repeated the doctor's word as he walked back to Dean and sat down on the chair by his bedside.

"You hear, Dean? You'll be just fine." he sounded like a little kid who had been given the best present in the world. Well, he actually had been given the best present in the world and he was truly thankful for it.

"Not if you put more of that crushing pressure on my arm. Sam, it hurts." Dean opened his eyes.

"Oh." Sam suddenly realized that he'd been squeezing Dean's arm out of enthusiasm. "Sorry?" He smiled sheepishly.

"Fine." Dean grunted and closed his eyes again.

"How are you feeling, boy?"

"Stronger." he replied without looking at Bobby. "Still tired as hell."

"Well, then get some sleep. That's all you've to do."

"Good." He mumbled and went quiet. The other two were sure he was asleep until he suddenly spoke up again. "Bobby?"

"Yes, son?"

"Would you please feed Sam? I bet he hasn't eaten properly for a good time, now and he won't eat if you don't make him."

Sam started to protest but closed his mouth as he met Dean's glare. He didn't know how Dean did that, but even sick and deadly tired, Dean could manage to scare him with his glares; under normal situation, of course.

"Sure thing. I'll even make him get some shut-eye, as well. You just rest."

"Thanks. You better take some rest, too, old man." He grinned slightly before closing his eyes and really dozing off.

"Did he just call me old man? He'll pay for it." Bobby growled. "Come on, let's go down and eat something. This isn't over, yet. We need our strengths."

"We can't just leave Dean alone."

"Yes, we can. He needs his rest and we need some fuel. Come on, boy; I don't need him on my ass for letting you get sick."

"I'm not four, you know?"

"Then move your ass and let's get something to eat. I'm hungry. It's the first time that Dean's sleeping peacefully. We need to celebrate."

"With what?" Sam asked as he followed Bobby out of the room.

"Pizza."

"Wow, how different from our usual meals."

Their voices faded as they stepped into the elevator, not noticing the small smile on the corner of Dean's mouth. Dean might have been still tired, but he knew for sure that he could bounce back, again. He had his family by his side. What more could a guy ask for?

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-The End-

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A/N: Alright, that's it! I hope you aren't all too disappointed. Just tell me what you think? :)

Thanks for sticking with me. I think I really needed to get this out of my system and your words and support made it a great experience. Thanks! ^_^

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