Note: Shall we draw out the hurt/comfort and angst a bit? I think so! Spoilers for Red Meat!

Summary: An extension of the hallway scene after Sam shoots Corbin, some hurt/comfort and awesome brothers. Emjoy!

Too Close

"It took you long enough." Dean quipped, heart thundering against his ribs as he looked his brother over. Christ Sammy you look like shit. Gathering himself, the older hunter scrambled forward as his little brother lost the strength to stand. "Hey, hey I got you Sammy, I got you." Gathering the limp form against his chest, Dean slid across blood slicked tile until his back was against the wall. Sam's weight was hell against his broken ribs, but the pain felt good. I thought I lost you, kiddo. Fuck, I nearly did.

"S-saved your ass." Sam chattered, bloody hands scrabbling against Deans as his brother tried to get to the wound. Mud crusted boots slide across the floor as he tried to escape the pain in his belly. Now that the adrenaline rush was gone, the agony had come back in a rush. Got here in time though, Dean's okay, it's all okay now.

"You did, that was some badass work, little bro." Dean agreed, pulling up the many layers Sam wore, which were all saturated in blood, so that he could see the hurried bandage job underneath. The now red gauze was barely hanging on, so soaked with blood that it could literally be rung out. Dean swallowed back bile and took a deep breath. Looking down the hall, he made eye contact with Michelle.

The distraught woman was staring in horror at her husband's dead body, sobs wracking her small frame.

"Michelle, you need to find help. Now!" Dean barked out in his most commanding 'John Winchester' voice. He felt for the poor girl, he really did – but Sam needed help, and there was no telling what kind of damage had been done between when he'd left him in that cabin to now. I left him alone out there, how could I have been so damn stupid?

The girl jumped, but the sharp voice worked, and she went tearing off down the hall, screaming for help that had to be coming. "You'd think we'd be swarmed with doctors by now, eh Sam? Can't find one in a freaking hospital!"

"T-the girl?" Sam questioned, moaning when Dean pulled a wad of cloth out of his jacket and pushed down hard on his stomach. "F-fuck, you fr-friggen jerk that hurts." He gasped out.

"She's gonna be fine. How'd you know that Corbin had been infected? That's what you were trying to tell me on the phone, right?" Dean asked in an attempt to keep him distracted.

"S-saw the bite…" Sam mumbled, digging the back of his head into Dean's shoulder when the pain flared up particularly bad again.

Does anybody work in this place? Hurry the hell up! Dean silently panicked, but he remained calm and collected on the outside for Sam's sake. "When did you see the bite?" He pressed, it didn't really matter at this point, but he needed to keep the kid talking somehow.

Sam opened one eye, the other still squeezed shut against the agony, and peered up at his big brother. He doesn't know what Corbin did. "Doesn't matter." He shook his head, attempting a small shrug of nonchalance.

Dean raised an eyebrow, now it mattered. "Sam." He growled, "How did you know Corbin was bit? Tell me."

"Gonna be mad." Sam muttered in response, both eyes closed as he fell silent against Dean.

The hunter felt his heartrate spike at the sudden stillness. "Woah, okay hey. You don't have to tell me, don't be such a princess. Just keep talking to me, okay? C'mon Sammy, tell me how you saved my ass again." Dean said quickly, hands pressing down even harder against his brother's stomach. He could hear voices gathering from far away, and wondered if they were keeping their distance because of the gunfire.

"I need some help down here!" He bellowed as loud as two broken ribs would allow.

"W-woke up, y'were gone…" Sam trailed off in a quiet voice.

Dean swallowed and closed his eyes, his little brother laid out and dead burned against his vision. "Sorry Sammy, I thought…I'm so sorry." There was a groan from down the hall, and Dean watched as the doctor who'd saved his own life stirred from where she lay.

"Not your fault, C-Corbin…" Sam choked off, eyes flying open to look up at Dean when blood slid past his lips and stained his chin. He struggled to take in air, the fear in his eyes matched the look on his brother's face.

"Oh, no, nonono. Hang on Sammy, just keep breathing. You made it this far, just a little longer and we'll get you patched up." Dean encouraged, a frantic edge to his words. Not yet, Sammy. Not now.

Suddenly the noise in the hall increased tenfold, and Dean looked up to see both medical personnel and police coming down cautiously. Dr. Kessler had managed to pick herself up off of the floor and was staggering towards them, one hand pressed against the side of her bloodied head.

"I need help." Dean demanded desperately as the injured doctor dropped down to her knees in front of them.

She nodded tightly, one hand brandishing to the band of people approaching, "They're coming. I'm seeing double right now. This is who you were talking about? Sam?"

"Yeah. My little brother. He was shot hours ago, he's having issues breathing properly now." Dean added worriedly. I thought he was dead, Christ Sam I thought you were gone. I was ready to be gone too. I was ready.

"Sam, I'm Dr. Kessler. We're gonna get you taken care of. We need to lay him out, Dean. Keep his head in your lap and I'll raise his legs. We'll get him ready for the doctors who can actually see their patient properly." She ordered with a grin and wink at Sam.

"Okay. Okay Sammy, brace yourself, I'm gonna shift you now…"

Sam groaned as he was moved, tears leaked unbidden from the corners of this eyes, his nostrils flaring as he struggled to take in air. His body trembled when it was over, and he opened his eyes when he felt Dean's rough hand swipe the saltwater away from his temples.

Dean offered a reassuring smile when they made eye contact, "It's all good Sam. You'll be on the heavy duty stuff soon."

The help that Dean felt like he'd waited hours for was suddenly right over his shoulder, and he refused to move as a doctor and two nurses knelt at his side, watching as they inspected his brothers injuries with a sharp eye. He kept one hand on Sam's head, the other gripped his shoulder for reassurance. His or Sam's, he didn't really know – probably both. I'll never leave you like that again. I'll never forgive myself.

Suddenly, his little brother was being lifted up and on to a gurney, and he was forced to stay behind as the medical team whisked Sam through a set of doors. Left to wait helplessly for some scrap of information. The loss of contact so soon after seeing the younger man alive left an ache in his chest that had nothing to do with his own injuries.

"He'll get taken care of, that's one tough brother you have there." Dr. Kessler, who Dean realized was still standing beside him, commented.

"Yeah, yeah he is." Dean agreed absently, looking down at his blood covered hands. I should've been there for him.

The doctor gave him an encouraging pat on the shoulder, before looking around at the mess before them. "Christ, I don't know what the hell happened here today – but something tells me it could've been a lot worse. I'll take care of the police, why don't you get washed up? There's a waiting room three hallways down, just keep going left. I'll make sure the doctor caring for your brother knows where to find you."

Dean nodded, waving off her promise to come check on him, so he swallowed some pills- he was fine now damn it, and hurried towards the closest bathroom.

Four hours later found Dean sitting at his brother's bedside, one hand wrapped around Sam's wrist as the kid slept. Dr. Tac, the one that had taken care of the younger man, had just finished telling him how 'lucky' Sam had been and how it 'could've been much worse'.

Sam was pale, an IV stuck in one hand feeding him a cocktail of pain meds and something to ward off infection, another in the other hand slowly transfused a bag of O-neg. A large bandage hid a hell of a lot of stitches decorating his abdomen (not to mention those in his stomach) that were holding everything together.

That wasn't even the worst part, at least not for Dean. The livid bruise in the shape of a handprint that laced Sam's throat...

Corbin's hands. That sonuvabitch had strangled his little brother, made Dean think he was dead. He'd left Sam there, left him in a pool of blood to save that bastard. It was a miracle Sam had survived everything he'd been through. Nearly unbelievable.

You saw the bite on his arm when he was choking you, right Sammy? "I'm so damn sorry kiddo," Dean spoke hoarsely, tears brightened his green eyes but he refused to let them fall, "I should've checked you better, should've figured it out. I just left you there." He dropped his eyes down, staring at his boots even as the guilt ripped through him.

"I never should've left you alone with that bastard."

"You're an idiot…" A voice rough from sleep drifted over to him.

Dean looked up, smiling with relief at the familiar hazel eyes that looked at him blearily. "That's not very nice, you know." He faked offense, chair scraping across the floor as he moved closer to Sam. "How ya feeling?"

Sam blinked wearily, "Numb and tired, mostly. You okay?" His eyes flitted up and down his brother's hunched frame, taking in the pale complexion and haunted look the older man wore.

Dean shrugged, "Fine. Couple broken ribs, nothing new. You, on the other hand, nearly bought it. You lost a lot of blood out there, and your throat nearly swelled shut. Doctors got a handle on it just in time." Too close, man. Way too close this time.

"I'll be okay." Sam murmured, eyes fighting to stay open, "You did the right thing out there, you know that, right?"

Snorting in self-disgust, Dean shook his head. The right thing? I left you alone with that piece of shit, I was twenty feet away while he strangled you. I left you in that cabin, half dead and gut shot, swallowed a bunch a pills to save you, only to find out you were still alive. I didn't do a single thing right today, kiddo. "Get some sleep Sammy," He evaded, "Once the blood transfusions are in the Doc said we could hit the road."

Sam shifted where he lay, wincing at the pain that spiked, still sharp even with the morphine. "Dean, about Corbin, you couldn't have known…" He tried again, concern written all over his face, but his big brother stood up and cut him off.

"I'm gonna check on Michelle. Seriously Sammy, get some sleep. We can talk later if you want, but you need to rest now." Dean spoke, voice wavering around the hot lump that had suddenly formed in his throat. He gripped Sam on the shoulder, squeezing hard, before forcing himself to turn away and leave the room. I just can't right now Sammy, I just can't. He ignored the feeble protest that followed him out the door, trusting the painkillers to take Sam back under within the next few minutes.

Air. Right now. He needed to escape, just for a minute, just to pull it back together for Sam.

Striding down the hall, Dean made a beeline for the exit, taking in a gasping sob when the cool breeze hit his overheated face. Looking around desperately, he found the Impala, standing out like a beacon in the darkness. The car was parked across two spots, the driver's side door still hanging open from Sam's hurried exit. As Dean walked up beside the car, he saw bloodied fingerprints on the doorframe and windows.

He hurled himself into the Impala, eyes sweeping over the blood caked interior before closing his eyes to shut it out.

No more second chances, no more extra lives. This was it. He'd almost lost Sam today. Too fucking close. Dean thought about the pills, how furious his younger brother would be when he inevitably found out. He'd left him in the woods, and almost left him permanently. I'm sorry Sammy, I'm so sorry.

Dean hunched over the steering wheel, forehead against the leather, and sobbed like he hadn't in a long, long time.

END

That episode is just begging for tags, don't you think? I have so many ideas… I had a hard time staying focused (there was just so much I wanted to address) – but I hope this turned out okay, I'm not totally sold on the end - I may edit that bit.

I can't even imagine how much guilt Dean must feel (however undeserved) and I hope the show addresses it! I'm sure I'll have another tag (or two!) for this episode at some point! Please let me know your thoughts!

Cheers,

Ashley