Time Off

Summary: 1-shot. After the events in Changing Channels Sam is in some serious pain but not admitting how much. Dean decides it time for a break when he discovers just how much pain his brother is in and how much Sam is not looking forward to driving. *Limp/Sam & Understanding!Dean* Set after 05x08 Changing Channels

Warnings: None really, maybe mild language.

Tags: This could be tagged to 05x08 Changing Channels

Disclaimer: I don't own anything & this is written for enjoyment.

A/N: This one just popped up while I was trying for something else. Hope it came out well. It's just a short piece set after Changing Channels (yes, I'll probably write a better tag later one, lol)

SPN SPN SPN SPN

As hunters the Winchester brothers had faced a lot of weird, scary, stupid or downright unbelievable things growing up and more recently but in Dean's mind nothing topped the day they had yesterday.

A simple…if odd case in Wellington, Ohio turned out to be not so simple and a lot more than weird. At first thinking they'd run afoul of the damn Trickster again that had been one issue since Dean hated the thing anyway since he'd killed him more than a hundred times the year Dean's deal was due and had put his little brother through an emotional ringer that Dean still had to get out of Sam.

Thinking of payback, Dean admitted that maybe he hadn't planned as well as he should have and now took full blame for what the hell happened to them when he and Sam found themselves locked in a continuous loop of bad TV or stupid commercials courtesy of what turned out to not be a simple Trickster.

Angry demi-Gods were one thing but a practical joke loving Archangel living out under his version of Witness Protection as a Trickster was even worse.

"I hate Angels," Dean muttered, eyeing the bags on the seat beside him and realizing how odd it was to not have his brother sitting there even if it was just for today.

Gabriel's little idea of a lesson might have been fun for him, annoying as hell to Dean but it was a lot more painful for Sam who seemed to have taken the brunt of the hits…literally, this time.

Sure, most of the skits were simple or amusing and even though Dean ended up getting shot in one of them, it was Sam that had been made to do that stupid Herpes commercial, he'd been the one getting hit below the belt in that Japanese game show and finally, when they'd thought it was over, Sam winded up getting stuck in the Impala…meaning he was made one with the car and that was still weird for Dean.

As soon as they figured out they were dealing with more than a Trickster and learned his game, which was just another way to convince them to go along with the whole Apocalypse thing, they left Gabriel to stew in a slowly fading ring of Holy Fire and got as far away from Wellington as they could.

It hadn't taken long for Dean to figure out that his brother was covering something but had let it go until he'd found then a motel in the next state over to lay low and to think what this all meant.

When Sam nearly fell getting out of the Impala then Dean's concern notched up and by the time he got his brother inside the room it was pretty plain the kid was in some serious pain.

It took Dean over an hour to convince Sam to let him look where the most severe pain was coming from but as he reminded his stubborn little brother finally 'I changed your diapers so I've seen it all before'.

Sam was blushing a furious shade of red as he finally quit squirming to allow his brother to look between his legs where he'd been hit by that damn mallet like thing square in the balls and while his whole body felt weird due to the car thing his pain was mostly down there.

Considering the amount of teasing he could offer Sam over this, Dean stayed quiet after seeing how much pain his brother was in and the slight swelling around his right ball did concern him since he knew he'd have to knock Sam out if a trip to the hospital for this was required.

Deciding a warm bath might help, Dean helped his little brother as much as Sam would allow and managed to do it without teasing him too much.

The past few months hadn't been easy for them and Dean admitted having Angels and demons trying to convince them to be vessels for Michael and Lucifer wasn't helping much so the strain was there but since getting back together after the short separation the elder brother was firm that the Devil was not wearing his little brother.

Seeing Sam in pain always hurt him but more so when it was pain that he didn't really know who to fix it but some of Dean's stress went away when the bath did seem to help, so long as Sam laid still and didn't move too much.

Since Sam was having a bad day so to speak and they needed supplies anyway, he left his brother laying on his bed with strict orders to call if the pain returned or got worse again while he went shopping.

A quick stop to a clinic to ask some general questions got him some funny looks but also finally reassured him that so long as Sam's balls didn't swell again too much and he stayed out of severe, scream at the top of his lungs, pain then he should be fine…in a few days.

Days were longer than what Dean had planned to hang around the motel in Pennsylvania but he also had a hunch that sitting in the Impala for any length of time would be murder on his brother and so he shopped for an extended stay so he wouldn't have to leave Sam alone again.

His brother didn't like to sleep for long periods if he was alone since Lucifer seemed to enjoy tormenting Sam in his dreams and it didn't happen as much so long as Dean was nearby and since to get Sam over the hump of pain would require a few stronger pain pills his little brother would be sleeping a lot.

Getting more medical supplies, some food for snacks since he could make a run out to grab the main stuff and a few little extras to maybe brighten Sam's mood, Dean pulled back into the motel lot.

He made one more quick detour before grabbing the bags, unlocking the door to enter and instantly zero in on his brother. "Still in pain?" he asked, closing the door with his boot while dropping the bags to begin searching for the medicine. "Got you the good stuff until the edge starts to wear off."

"Just hurts if I move…or…use the bathroom," Sam dropped his head to avoid the smirk he was sure he'd be getting, trying to move without hurting but hissed then blinked as he felt his bed dip as Dean sat on the edge. "You…were gone ahile."

"Had to go to a few stores for some of this," Dean replied, hearing the concern and knowing in some small way that Sam still expected him to walk away from him again. "Those damn grape popsicles you always liked aren't easy to find these days," he complained with enough mock frustration to let Sam know he wasn't serious as he held one out. "Take the meds and you can have one."

Lifting his eyes to see the frozen half of a grape Popsicle made Sam smile for the first time in over a day as he took the two pills his brother placed in his hand, followed them with water and then was handed the frozen treat. "Thanks, Dean," he murmured softly.

Sam couldn't recall the last time his brother had actually went out to by something like this and it did lift his mood a little since he hated not being able to move like he wanted, especially when the thought of getting back in the Impala right then made him cringe but he wouldn't tell Dean that.

"What else did you get?" he noticed the amount of bags his brother was emptying, blinking as several books by one of his favorite authors was laid beside him along with a few DVDs. "Dean?"

"You get cranky when you're sick and bored, little brother," Dean tossed the box of frozen grape popsicles in the small freezer the room had along with a small bag of ice for the ice bag he was making up. "Three days of you laid up until the swelling goes down and I'd probably kill you if I didn't get you something to do until you can sit up to use the laptop," he shrugged off the question but didn't miss the slight surprise on Sam's face.

"Three…I thought we were leaving in the morning," that's what the plan was and why Sam was on edge about sitting for long.

Dean shrugged again before carrying the ice bag over to move the pillow that Sam had placed over his sore and achy groin.

It had been a fight to convince his brother to not try for his jeans and just stay in his loosest pair of boxer type briefs and some sweats but finally Sam had agreed and Dean handed him the bag of ice. "Keep that on for twenty minutes then we'll switch it out with the water bottle," he ignored the still questioning gaze as he sat on his bed to gaze at Sam and took the now empty popsicle stick. "I paid the room for another few days since I figured you probably wouldn't feel like driving much."

"Isn't figuring this whole thing out and stopping it more important than…" Sam hesitated just as he caught the way Dean's eyes narrowed at him before he moved back to sit beside him.

"No matter what I've said or what these douchebags have said there is nothing more important than your health, Sam," he made certain his brother was watching him as he added. "You're more important to me than whatever the hell is going on out there right now. So I'm not putting you in a car for hours at a time when you can barely move without being in pain."

Sam gave a tight nod, shocked by the amount of emotion he could see reflected back at him. "Didn't really feel like sitting much," he admitted quietly, starting to lower his head only to have a hand cup his chin to lift it back up.

"Tell me when you're hurt or not feeling good, Sammy," Dean hated that it had to gotten to the point where his brother feared even mentioning if he was in pain. "I'm good but I sometimes miss a few of the little Sammy signals you used to give off to let me know when you were sick. I need you to be honest with me. If you're in pain or sick, then you say something and we stop. Okay?"

"Yeah, thanks, Dean," Sam yawned as he eyed the bottle of pills. "How'd you get the good stuff?" he wanted to know since it took the really good stuff to knock him out this fast.

Helping Sam lay down more so he'd be comfortable as he slept, Dean chuckled while smoothing his fingers back through Sam's hair like he used to when seeking to offer his little brother comfort from pain or fears. "A nice doctor lady at the clinic downtown gave them to me after I explained how my little brother got hurt by being too close to an angry jackass."

"God, don't make me laugh," Sam groaned, pulling a single eyelid open. "She bought that?"

"No, but she gave me points for the lie when I tried to come up with something like the truth plus I can still charm the ladies, Sammy," Dean wiggled his eyebrows, then kept his hand on Sam's shoulder as he felt the younger man slipping into sleep. "Just try to rest now."

Sleep sounded good to Sam but the risk of visits from Lucifer worried him and he quickly moved a hand to latch onto his brother's elbow when he felt Dean start to move. "Stay…until I fall to sleep fully?" he asked in a voice so soft Dean almost missed it if he hadn't been looking at Sam's face.

"Yeah, I'll stay, Sammy," he assured him, understanding his brother's fears as he sat back down to lean against the headboard to reach for the remote. "No one's getting close to you while I'm here."

Sam's reply was a low mumble and only deciphered because Dean had spent his brother's life understanding him. "No, we're taking some time off while you get over this. You can read or watch movies and…I'm sure I can find something to do on your laptop."

He chuckled when Sam didn't respond but just lifted a hand to make a gesture that needed no translation and Dean smirked as he worked to find something on TV that wasn't a gameshow, a cheesy drama, a comedy or anything close to what they just endured while once again vowing to flash fry the next goddamn Angel that put its wings even close to his brother.

"Time off is just what we need, Sammy," he decided, settling on some documentary about ghosts that made him roll his eyes while setting his watch to warn him when it was time to switch out the ice bag with heat as he sat to make sure his brother's sleep was undisturbed for once and let himself relax for once. "Some time off before I decide who to show that hitting my little brother below the belt is so not the way to win my cooperation."

The End

A/NII: I take full responsibility for this corny little piece that just popped up while I was working for something else totally. I do hope it wasn't a total flop and promise to write a better actual tag to this episode soon.