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The fight was over. It supposed to be over. They must have missed one vampire. It came out of nowhere, taking the advantage when Sam's defense was down stumbling to reach his impaled brother, wide eyes staring at the long rusty nail that pierced his brother chest in shock. Shaking hand hovered over the wounded site lightly, palm smeared with hot crimson blood, afraid his invincible big brother gonna break like fragile glass.
The sole surviving vampire prey on this vulnerable moment, shoved Sam forward on the sharp rusty nail that protruding from Dean's chest. "Sam! Look out!" The protector in Dean managed to shout out a warning to an unaware Sam in his weakened state as he caught sight of the fast moving shadow. A burst of energy surged through him, he tried to push Sam away from penetrating on the same nail with shaky arms, he knew he wasn't going to make it but he swore by himself that Sam would live a long normal life, his baby brother deserved it.
Sam cried out feeling the painful intrusion scratching his ribs on the way in. The thick nail had driven through his lungs, the sharp edge stabbed at his spine and stopped at that, an inch away from piercing the skin of his back. It's nothing like the sharp knife that severed his spine a decade and a half ago, he was spared with a quick death back then.
"No, no, no, no... S-S-Sam? Sammy?"
Dean choked out in anguish, failed to protect Sam at his last moments. For one second, his heart gripped by panic, almost stopped, thinking that Sammy had been gone. He patted Sam's cheek trying to rouse his unconscious brother. He waited and took a rattled breath when Sam lifted his head offering a sad smile and muttered a soft "Dean."
"Hey, Sam? You with me?"
Dean calmed his racing heart as Sam stirred, his mind suggestively told him that if he called an ambulance, there's a chance that Sam might survive. He never cared what happened to him, but he did care what happened to his baby brother.
"What are you doing?" Sam inquired in confusion as he felt a hand roaming around his thigh and ass, patted at his front and back pockets.
"Your damn phone, Sam. Where is it? Mine had broken. We gonna call an ambulance, just hang on, alright?"
The black plastic phone nowhere to be found much to his dismay.
"No, Dean. Stop. Remember that agreement we reached before we went in the apocalyse world years ago? If something happened, we would deal with it together and if we died, we gonna die together too." Sam refused the help Dean getting for him. Maybe the vampire getting the drop on him was for the best. He had no will to live without his brother. If he's not injured, he might try for Dean but he rather to go out fighting and die along side Dean.
"Yeah, the fucking vampires ripped your throat out, I failed to save you just like now. Fucking hate vampires!" Dean growled, he still heard Sam's screaming his name to this day, dragged away from him, mere food for the starved vampires in their den, he was grateful for Lucifer resurrecting Sam.
"Dean. I'm here." Sam chuckled at his brother protective growl.
"Dude. You're not gonna be here soon if you don't let me get help for you." Dean freaked out even more, gazed at Sam with concern.
Sam offered Dean a reassuaring smile but unlike Dean had the pillar as support, Sam had difficulty to stand. His wobbly legs treatened to go out under him and yelled out in agony as he slipped. Face twisted in excruciating pain as it tore at his wound, the damage on his chest left him gasping and coughing out blood.
Dean felt the pain with his brother, grimaced with Sam as the movement jarred his injury, he let Sam rested against him for a minute to get his breath under control. As much as he promised Sam to go out together, he's going to make his brother's death as painless as possible, never could stand Sam in pain. The sharp jolt forgotten, he reached out to steady his little brother, no matter what condition he was in, blind or deaf, organs missing or holes in his body, he always would put Sam first before himself. Sam's his priority.
"Lean on me, Sam." Dean pushed past his own pain, gathered a renewed strength helping Sam to take some weight so he didn't fall. It reminded him when they were little, he used to climb into Sammy's crib wrapping the tiny baby in his toddler arms, staring at the ceiling readied to grab the sleeping precious bundle and run when fire erupted, afraid the flame was going to consume little Sammy. Sam leaned on Dean for support, held onto him for dear life.
Their time's running out, the brothers locked their eyes with each other, face filled with hundred kinds of emotion, chest to chest, the only sound in the barn was their harsh breathing, head dipped forward pressing their foreheads together, memories flew between them.
Dean was anxious to see his unborn brother. '
Mom? Is Sammy here yet?' Dean asked Mary. '
No, sweetie. Sammy needs time to grow.'
He accepted her answer and went back to playing with his cars. Just when Mary thought the toddler immersed in car racing, the questions came again, "When Sammy will be here?"
She signed, his first born had been asking for his little brother over and over again for months. "Dean, my boy, Sammy will be here when he's ready. I need you to be patient for him to grow big and strong, okay?"
Dean's face fell, his innocent mind wanted his brother's here already but he would listen to mommy. He stroked Mary's pregnant belly lovingly, cupped his hands on it and whispered just for Sammy's ears, "I'll wait for you, Sammy." He gave a wet sloppy kiss on the belly button, Mary winced when she felt Sammy kicked towards her belly button, this was the strongest kick she ever received from her unborn baby.
xxxxx
Sam remembered that time when Dean slipped into his class at Stanford, sitting at the far back, gaze burning on his back, the fine hairs stood on his skin.
The professor knew every faces in the class and called his brother out. He turned around and saw Dean ducked under the table. Sam smiled and knew it was his big brother checking up on him, his chest burning hot, Dean still cared and concerned about his well-being. His steps light, grinning stupidly all the way to his dorm.
He had been worried sick about Dean since he left. Did dad watch Dean's back? Did Dean eat? Did Dean hunt alone? What if his brother hurt? What if Dean didn't want to see him again? What if the hunt killed him and he never knew? Sam even had panic attacks over his own assumptions. The heavy rock pressing in his chest lift up considerably seeing his big brother safe and sound.
Pulling from the memory, faces paled, they had their hands on each other's heart monitoring the fainting heartbeats.
Sam was fading fast due to his little ordeal earlier, head finding its comfort place at the curve between Dean's neck and shoulder inhaling the smell of blood and sweat. "Dean, what if I go to hell?"
Dean heard the muffled question loud and clear, he couldn't watch Sam's suffer, determination burning fierce in his green eyes, he said, "Sam, it doesn't matter where you go, I will always find you. Come heaven or hell, you and me agaist the world, remember? It's always been you... and me. Promise me you gonna wait for me, okay? I'll be right behind you,"
"Y-yeah, I promise." Sam understood that's Dean speech of letting him go first. His thoughful and protective brother wouldn't let him die alone.
"I love you so much, my baby brother."
Dean cupped Sam's face in one hand, the other patting his back, his green eyes staring into Sam's with so much proud and affection. And pain.
Sam let himself sinking in the safety of the strong arms,
squeezed Dean once, relaxing his bunched up muscles and let go. Dean's warm breathe cooing him to sleep, energy, soul leaving his body peacefully in Dean's embrace.
Dean tucked Sam under his chin, a kiss to the crown of Sam's head, face buried in Sam's hair sniffing the smell of Sam. He felt the ghost smile of Sam brushed his neck, Sam exhaled one last time before he went boneless. Dean cried in grief as he felt the feeble heartbeat under his palm stilled.
"I'll find you in the afterlife. Won't leave you alone for too long, Sammy. It might take me a little time, but I'll be there soon."
He didn't let go of Sam. Pretending that Sam's sleeping. Soulless eyes staring at the ground, clutching at the cooling body, the barn quiet as if the world had abandoned it. The silence deafening, the reality creeping in, there're just him and Sam's body, fear and panic welling up in his chest and broke out in a sob, his whole body trembling.
He felt so lonely, waiting and waiting for his own reaper to claim his soul. He rocked his brother, slow, back and forth, dropping kisses after kissess on top of Sam's head, hair, face, nose, cheek, neck, shoulder and hand.
"Come on. Come and take me!" Dean yelled in frustration, expecting his vision to fade black. No matter how many times they experienced death, it's never easy. It's just as painful as any other times. Everytime it ripped his heart out.
The early morning cold seeping into his bones. His death had been long overdue. Goosebumps on his arms as he felt a presence in the barn with them. Dean tighten his hold on Sam on instinct. A laugh from the shadow mocked him for being protective over a corpse.
"Dean, dean, dean. What am I gonna do with you? Maybe I let you survive this." The voice came out of the dark revealing Dean's reaper.
Dean gave the reaper a dead glare. The reaper chuckled, knew Dean's impatience to join his little brother and dragging his death for fun.
"Just kill me already." Dean grunted, his life force draining, wandering at death door but couldn't quite get past the threshold.
"Oh, you're begging me for death now?" The reaper shook his head in resignation, Dean's just a pathetic human who lived and died for his little brother, losing its interest in toying with Dean. It's time.
Dean pulled Sam closer for comfort, eyes slipping close, willed his death to come, welcomed his death.
Meanwhile, in heaven.
Sam worried as hell wondering if his heaven was just his illusion and he's actually in hell. Pacing back and forth under the burning sun. Nothing particular stood out to him. An endless gravel road winding among trees and more trees. Clueless to where he was. Not an entity in sight. Thousands of possible worst case scenarios running in his mind.
"Damn it! Dean. Where the hell are you?" He screamed at the sky.
A car rumbled sound in the distance stopped his racing inner thoughts. His heartbeat picked up. The familiar sound of the Impala's engine. Turning around, his face blossomed with a bright smile, there, Dean joining him in heaven.
"Hiya, Sammy."
"Dean."
The simple two words, his childhood nickname, the beautiful voice stealing his breath, his big brother's here with him. Finally. Green eyes met hazel eyes. This was heaven.