E/O Challenge Word:

eighteen /āˈtēn/ number – Equivalent to the product of two and nine; one more than seventeen, or eight more than ten; 18. Related words: 18-wheeler (a semi-trailer truck).

Spoilers/Warnings: none; pre-series

Disclaimer: Not mine

Word Count: 223...so a double drabble

I'll look after you. ~ The Fray

"M'sorry," Sam gasped, his weak voice hollowly echoing as his head was bent; his pale, sweaty face hovering over the public toilet.

Dean shook his head from where he stood awkwardly positioned behind his 12-year old brother as they were both crammed into the small bathroom stall; Sam kneeling on the grimy floor while Dean leaned over him, supporting the kid's sagging head.

"Sorry for what?" Dean asked, glaring over his shoulder at the sounds of someone banging on the locked bathroom door; undoubtedly a driver of one of the many 18-wheelers parked on the lot outside the truck stop.

"Hey!" a man's voice yelled, muffled by the barrier. "I gotta take a piss!"

"Too bad," Dean replied dryly – because a sick kid brother would always take priority over a stranger's bladder – and turned back to Sam just as the kid threw up again.

"Easy, Sammy," Dean urged, frowning at the heat radiating off his brother.

Sam coughed, then spit; breathing heavily through his mouth as his head stayed down. "M'sorry," he sobbed once more.

Dean's frowned deepened. "For what?"

"This," Sam responded simply, his breath hitching in his throat.

Dean smiled softly, affectionately. "It's okay, kiddo," he soothed and rubbed Sam's back for emphasis even as the angry pounding continued on the other side of the bathroom door. "Everything's gonna be okay..."

FIN