Authors Notes: Okay people, this is the last chapter and yes I chickened out of changing my pen name lol I'm over it now so im sticking with the one I have.
Thank you so much to everyone who followed this story even when Caleb butted in unexpectantly hehe. I have appreciated each and every review. You have all been above awesome.
Once again thanks needs to go to Angelustatt for reading over the chapter for me and Thanks to Ridley for allowing me to play in her universe and to both her and Tidia for the references i used from their stories.
Hope you enjoy the last chapter ...
Chapter 10. The Same Goes For You
"Cant leave you two alone without you getting yourselves in trouble can I?"
He knew that voice. It wasn't the voice he had been expecting but it was welcomed all the same. Still he couldn't help wondering where his brother was. Dean was always there for him when stuff like this happened. He could tell by the distinct sounds and smells that he was in a hospital. He even vaguely remembered what had landed him in this position. He had been shot! He'd been shot in the restaurant that he had dragged his brother to.
The one thing that had kept him calm through the whole thing was Dean's voice. Dean had been there every time he had woken up, coaxing him awake, begging him to stay with him. He'd hated hearing that scared pleading tone in his brothers normally so strong voice but just knowing Dean was there was enough to keep him going. It was enough to keep him breathing until Dean fixed the situation.
All through his life Dean had always been a constant, fixing anything he possibly could to keep Sam safe and happy. It was one of those sure things in life. He knew without a shadow of a doubt that Dean would always be there for him. Dean would always be there to put himself in between Sam and danger. It was something that always seemed to terrify Sam as much as it did re-assure him. He loved his brother for that protectiveness but he didn't want Dean to go and get himself killed because of it either.
Dean had been spiralling out of control since their Dad's death. He had been reckless, more willing to put himself in the face of danger, almost like he had a death wish. Or at least that's what it seemed like to Sam.
Caleb had always been able to bring balance to Dean when Sam couldn't but even the older psychic hadn't had much luck with Dean and now they were barely talking. It hurt Sam to see that because Caleb had always been such a big part of their lives. Dean looked up to the older hunter. Caleb had been typically stubborn though. It hadn't been all that long since Dean had spit the dummy at the psychic but Caleb had kept in contact and had obviously turned up when they needed help. Caleb was also a constant he could count on
"You're gonna be okay, Runt." Caleb continued the rambling Sam had been hearing since he had come to some sort of awareness. He hadn't opened his eyes yet or indicated to the older psychic that he was awake because simply enough he just didn't have the energy right now. He was working up to it. He wanted to talk to Caleb and he wanted to find out where Dean was.
"The doctors fixed you up with no problem. You'll be up on your feet in no time kiddo." He felt a hand on his arm.
He felt better the more Caleb talked but he still wanted to know where his brother was.
"Your brother's being his usual bitchy self." Had Caleb heard his thoughts? Sam hadn't thought of that possibility. "He's still pissed at me apparently. He's a pain in the ass but I'm not leaving just yet. Someone's gotta keep you company while Deuce's lazy ass is resting it up in bed."
Sam felt relief as Caleb spoke about his brother until what Caleb was actually saying sunk into his confused and tired brain. "D..."
He'd been talking about Dean but what had really stuck in Sam's mind was the mention of Dean being in bed. What was he doing in bed? Did he mean he was back at the motel? No, that couldn't be right because he knew from past experience and just simply knew that Dean would not have left the hospital until Sam woke up, even if Caleb was there. So did that mean that Dean was in a hospital bed? What the hell had happened? Was his brother hurt? If he was how serious was it? How the hell had he been hurt?
Sam's heart started to beat faster as panic set in. He needed to see his brother and he needed to see him now. First things first, he needed to wake up fully so that he could ask the questions that were plaguing his mind. He felt Caleb's hand tighten on his arm.
Caleb sat up straighter when he saw Sam move. It had sounded like the kid had tried to say something. He tightened his grip on Sam's arm and leaned forward. Whatever Sam was trying to say sounded more like a grunt than anything else but Caleb had a good idea what it had meant to be.
"Sammy?" Caleb called quietly. "Can you hear me?"
Caleb hadn't returned back to Dean's room once he had told the doctor he was awake. It was clear that Dean was irritated by his presence and he really wasn't in the mood to put up with Dean's pissy attitude.
Sam head turned towards his voice. "That's it Sam." Caleb bit his bottom lip in worry as Sam's heart rate increased.
The slow fluttering of Sam's eyes was a beautiful sight as far as Caleb was concerned. The doctors had assured him that Sam would be fine but Caleb wasn't going to take anything for granted. It wasn't a luxury he had anymore and he knew he wasn't leaving the hospital on the word of some doctor telling him that Sam would be fine. He wanted to see him awake and talking before he went on his own way. A bullet to the back wasn't a simple injury.
"Hey …" He smiled down at Sam's blinking eyes. "You with me?"
Sam was finally able to keep his eyes open and he looked up blearily into Caleb's face. Caleb wouldn't be smiling if something was seriously wrong with Dean but Sam still needed to know.
"Ca…leb?"
"The one and only." He nodded. "How're you doing?"
"Dean?"
Caleb rolled his eyes. He should have known that Sam's first questions would be about the welfare of his brother despite the fact that he was lying in a hospital bed after being shot. It was typical and Caleb admired their relationship.
"Dean's fine, dude," Caleb assured him. "Although he's gonna be pissed with me all over again when he finds out that no-one woke him up to come and see you."
Dean had fallen back asleep when they had moved Sam to a regular room. The younger hunter had needed the rest and he was already pissed with Caleb so he had made sure that the staff had let Dean sleep. That had been four hours earlier.
Sam frowned in confusion, licking his dry lips. "What … happened?" It annoyed Sam that his voice was barely above a whisper.
Caleb sighed. "Just a little altercation with a knife but he's fine seriously, Sam. He's just sleeping it off."
Sam's eyes widened. "Is h..he okay?"
"Would I lie to you about something like this?" Caleb asked seriously.
Sam held the psychic's gaze. "No …"
"Good." Caleb patted his arm and sat back down in his chair. "So how're you feeling?"
Sam closed his eyes for a moment as he contemplated the question. "Numb actually … and tired."
"Yeah well they have you on some of the good stuff." Caleb leaned back in his chair. "I called Mac to let him know what happened …"
Sam groaned. "He's not … coming out here … is he?" It wasn't that Sam didn't want to see the doctor in question but he didn't want the man running out every time they got in trouble or hurt. It seemed to happen a lot and Mac had enough on his plate with having to run the Triad all by himself now.
Caleb quirked an eyebrow and an amused smile pulled at his lips. "I'm sure he would love your enthusiasm Sammy but no … I told him to stay put, that you guys were okay."
"Thanks … Caleb…"
Caleb heard the tiredness in Sam's voice and decided it was time that he let the doctors know their patient was awake and leave.
"What the hell do you think you are playing at?" Dean's voice growled from the doorway as he was pushed into the room by a nurse.
Caleb grimaced. He had been hoping that he would avoid this attack. He turned around to face the younger hunter and smirked. "Nice set of wheel's there Deuce, you trading the Impala in?"
Dean gave him a glare that would rival John's and ignored the question. "Why they hell didn't you wake me up?"
"You needed rest."
"Dean …"
The softly spoken sound of his name coming from the bed halted Dean's argument. Dean stood up from the wheelchair, using his IV pole for support. He shrugged away from the annoying nurse and vaguely heard her mention she'd be back to collect him later.
Caleb moved out of the way of a very determined Dean. He reached out and grabbed stubborn idiots arm when he nearly wavered again. "Will you sit down before you fall down?" Caleb groused.
"Would you leave me alone?" Dean snapped back. "I can look after myself."
Caleb raised an eyebrow. "Sure you can." He released Dean's arm once the kid was sitting and stood back and walked around to the other side of Sam's bed.
Dean ignored the older hunter and moved his chair closer to Sam's bed. "Hey Sammy," Dean greeted, placing his hand on the arm, not realising he was mimicking Caleb's earlier pose.
Sam felt his uneasiness about not knowing where his brother was fade away as he could hear Dean's annoyed voice, feel his brothers hand on his arm. "Hey Dean …" He sighed.
"How are you feeling?"
"I'm okay." Sam whispered tiredly. "How … are you?"
"Me?" Dean questioned. Looking up at Caleb, not sure how much the psychic had said. "I'm awesome."
Caleb watched the brothers reconnect for a bit. Their balance was back and he had no doubt that both of them would bounce back from this latest setback.
"Okay." Caleb clapped his hands together. "If you two think you can handle recovering without getting into more trouble I think I'm gonna hit the road."
"We can look after ourselves." Dean repeated for felt like the thousandth time.
"Dean …" Sam quietly reprimanded.
A witty retort was on the tip of Caleb's tongue but he decided to save it. It would only bring about more verbal sparring and he wasn't in the mood and Sam was starting to fade on them again.
Caleb turned to Sam and placed a hand on the younger psychic's shoulder. "I'll be in touch Sammy and … you know … call me whenever."
"Thanks Caleb." Sam gave him a dopey smile, indicating that the drugs really were taking him under again.
"See ya, Sammy." Caleb ruffled Sam's shaggy brown hair and then looked up meeting Dean's gaze. "Take it easy, Deuce. I'm only a phone call away."
Dean remained silent as his friend backed up a few steps and then turned to walk out of Sam's room.
That was one big difference between Caleb and his dad. That whole year they had been searching for John, their father hadn't answered the phone once, not when Dean had called from Lawrence and not when Sam had called to tell him that Dean was dying. Dean loved his father something fierce but not having that assurance that year had been a little bit frightening.
He knew deep down that Caleb would never break off contact like that. The whole restaurant situation was indicative of that.
"Thanks, Damien." Dean called out loud enough for the other hunter to hear. He tightened his grip on Sam's arm. He knew that he would have most likely been able to get out of the hold up without Caleb's help given enough time. But if Caleb hadn't of shown up when he did then he might have not had enough time to save Sam. He couldn't ignore that fact.
Caleb turned around and smiled. "No problem, Deuce." He was out the door before anything else could be said and Dean still didn't like where things were going but at least if Caleb was keeping in contact with Sam he could still keep an eye on the older hunter without being obvious about his concerns.
"Are … you okay Dean?" Sam slightly slurred as sleep beckoned.
Dean's attention was brought back to his brother whose eyes were barely open. Sam still looked worried but Dean didn't want Sam to worry about him. He was fine. It had apparently been close but he didn't want Sam to know that either. He hoped that Caleb hadn't disclosed too much.
"I'm fine and you're gonna be fine too Sammy, just get some rest okay. I'll be here when you wake up." Dean kept his smile in place until Sam's eyes drifted shut.
Things had gone so incredibly wrong and all they had tried to do was have a normal dinner. Why the hell did normal not agree with them? He had bristled at Sam's need for normalcy in the past but was it too much to ask to just go out and spend a couple of hours with your brother over a nice meal? Apparently it was if you were a Winchester.
Dean sighed and reached his hand up to Sam's head and ran a hand over Sam's hair. He breathed a sigh of relief. After so many hours of worrying over his brother's welfare it was good to relax in the knowledge that Sam wasn't going anywhere. Sam was alive and breathing.
xXx
To state that Sam Winchester was bored was an understatement. He had been in the hospital for a week and over the last couple of days he had been well enough to be awake for long periods of time. When Dean wasn't there he was stuck with day time TV or his own thoughts, he hadn't quite decided which was worse but he was more than ready to leave and recuperate in the Impala and whatever Motel room they decided on.
Dean wouldn't even bring him his laptop. His brother wanted him to rest and apparently Dean was sure that if Sam had the new laptop Caleb had bought for him he wouldn't rest.
So Sam sat there sulking as 'Bold and the Beautiful' finished and 'Days of Our Lives' started up. This was torture pure and simple. He had half a mind to just get up and check himself out like Dean had done after his electrocution induced heart attack. The only thing that stopped him was that he was still sore and really couldn't be bothered and the fact that Dean was supposed to be there any minute to check him out of this god damn small town hospital.
Where the hell was his brother anyways? If he was held up by some nurse he was flirting with then Sam was going to kill him.
Familiar footsteps halted Sam's thoughts of torturing his brother. Sam scowled at the older hunter as Dean rounded the corner with a cocky smirk on his face, pushing a wheel chair. Sam wondered briefly if Dean had taken his damn time on purpose just to annoy him but then of course he realised he probably had knowing Dean.
"You ready to go, Sammy?"
Bitch face firmly in place now, Sam scowled at his brother. "I've been ready to go for the last couple of days."
"Not according to the doctors. In fact they wanted to keep you in longer. You should be thanking me."
Sam rolled his eyes and swung his legs over the edge of the bed, pulling up short when the action bulled at the wound on his back. Sam sighed. "Can we just get out of here?" He was glad he had thought to get dressed before Dean had gotten back.
Dean seemed to take pity on the younger boy and nodded. "Yeah Sammy, let's get moving." He moved in to take Sam's arm, helping to lower him into the chair.
Sam was silent as Dean pushed him. His thoughts went back to what had happened since that night. Dean looked back to normal, healthy and Sam was grateful because he had been scared when he had first woken up in Dean's absence.
Melissa and Sami had come by to say hello which ended up being more of a flirting session for his brother, playing on his heroics which had Sam groaning and not from the pain of his injury.
Caleb had called at least once to make sure he was okay and to check up on how he was, even Mac had called despite Caleb's reassurances that they were fine.
Little Matthew had insisted to come and see them in the hospital, bringing his father and older brother with him. Sam didn't remember a lot of the details of what had happened but it always amazed him to watch Dean with children.
Matt had sat on his bed and told him in great detail how he had helped Dean and Caleb. How Dean and Caleb were super heroes like Batman and Robin. He would never forget the look on Dean's face when he had learnt that he was apparently Robin to Caleb's Batman. It had made Sam snicker.
He had watched as Dean acted like it was nothing when Matthew's father had thanked him for making sure Matt was safe.
With medication and instructions for Sam's care they were leaving and Sam wouldn't care if they never came to this town again. Sam was surprised when Dean pushed him out through the hospital's sliding doors to find the Impala sitting right outside waiting for him.
"Your chariot awaits, Princess." Dean quipped as he helped Sam out of the chair and into the front passenger seat of the Impala.
"Shut up."
Leaving the chair with a nurse Dean jogged around to the driver's side and slid onto the leather seat behind the steering wheel. He looked over to his brother and saw that Sam's head was resting against the window, he was sweating a bit and Dean was reminded that Sam wasn't exactly completely well just yet.
"You doing okay there, Sammy?" Dean asked. "Because if you're going to hurl do it now before we leave … and not in the car." The concern in Dean's eyes and voice betrayed his apparent worry for his cars upholstery.
"I'm fine, Dean." Sam assured and gave his brother a small smile. "Just glad to be home."
Dean frowned. "Dude, we haven't gone anywhere yet."
Sam opened his eyes and looked at Dean. "I know …"
Dean was quiet for a moment as Sam let his unspoken truth sink in. Dean groaned moments later and started the car. "Do you always have to get sappy after an injury?"
Sam chuckled as Dean manoeuvred the car our of the hospital parking lot and onto the main road that would take them out of town. The faint sound of 'Take it Easy' by The Eagles could be heard from the Impala's speakers, Dean softly singing along almost unconsciously relaxed Sam further into the seat.
They drove in a comfortable silence for a bit before Sam brought his head up from where it was leaning against the glass. "So where are we headed to now?"
Dean shrugged. "I was thinking of maybe West Virginia."
"You gonna talk to Caleb?" Sam asked.
Dean glanced at Sam and then back at the road. "Batman can kiss my ass." Dean growled good naturedly. "I'm no side-kick."
Sam snickered. "He is older than you."
"Yeah well … I'm older than you."
Sam chuckled and shook his head before leaning it back against the cool glass window. Silence enveloped the car again until Dean broke the silence.
"Same goes for you y'know … with the home thing."
Sam sighed and smiled as he closed his eyes. "I know."
The feel of the cars tires eating up road, Dean in control of the car, music playing softly in the background Sam found he was able to go to sleep. He knew he would get a better rest in the Impala with his brother by his side than in a hospital bed any day.
Suddenly a thought occurred to him. "Hey Dean?" he asked with his eyes closed.
"Yeah?"
"Do you mind if we stick to fast food and mini-marts for a while. Restaurants feel overrated."
Dean's laugh made Sam smile and he let sleep claim him.
The End
Again Thanks everyone for their continued support and I really do hope I did okay with that ending.
I have more stories on the way for anyone who is interested ... some Brotherhood ... some not :) Thanks guys! Enjoy Supernatural tomorrow night :D
Tara x0x