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"Dean?"
Sam whispers into the darkness and tightens his grip on his blanket. He hears the rustle of sheets coming from a couple feet away.
Dean just barely manages to drift off to sleep, until Sam's voice pulls him back from his short slumber. He turns in his bed, reaching up and flicking on the lamp that was sat on a table inbetween their beds.
Sam continues to look at Dean, clutching his blanket in his hands.
"What is it?" Dean asks through a yawn, rubbing his eyes sleepily.
Sam sniffs. "Promise you won't make fun of me?"
"Well, you already woke me up." Dean says, and then adds, "I promise."
"I," Sam's voice is shaking. "I had a bad dream."
Dean smiles softly. "C'mere."
Sam slowly climbs out of his bed, padding over to Dean's and then crawls in with him under the covers.
"What was it about?" Dean asks Sam quietly, lifting his arm so he can snuggle in beside him. Sam shakes his head and mumbles something that he can't quite make out.
"Speak up, Sammy."
"I said, it was about you."
"Me?" Dean frowns.
Sam nods, hiding his face in Dean's neck. "You and Dad left me in some motel room and never came back." he whispers. Dean's feels something stab him in the heart.
"Sam, you know Dad and I would never leave you, right?" Dean reassures, looking down at Sam the best he could. "Right?"
Sam nods. "I, just...it felt so real, and-"
Dean was stroking Sam's hair, shushing him gently. "I'll never leave you."
Sam sniffles.
"I'm your big brother," Dean continues. "and you're my little pain in the ass—" Sam punches Dean's arm lightly "—so if I'm going somewhere, you're coming with me."
Sam lifts his head and looks at Dean with eyes filled with affection.
"Thank you," he says quietly.
Dean chuckles. "You're welcome, kiddo. Now go to sleep, you're tired."
Sam's eyes widen slightly and he tenses up against Dean, but never one to miss anything about his little brother, Dean notices this and squeezes his arm lightly.
"It's okay," he assures. "I'll protect you from everything. Bad dreams can't come near you if I'm fighting them, right?"
Sam relaxes immediately, and he sinks down into the bed, resting his head back into it's place in Dean's neck. It only takes a few minutes for Sam to ease off to sleep and when he does, Dean lifts his arm as slowly as possible to turn off the lamp without waking him.
Dean closes his eyes as the light was replaced by darkness, and leans his cheek against Sam's head.
"Goodnight, Sammy."