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Sam’s brain was a little fuzzy right now—the symbols on the screen in front of him were all complicated and confusing—so he knew he needed to find Jess.
No, not Jess. Not anymore. That made Sam sad. Who did he have to take care of him now? Who could he love with all his heart?
Dean. That’s right, Dean. Sam loved Dean! Sam needed to find Dean, and everything would be okay.
But where was Dean? And where was Sam? He shoved his laptop aside and looked around. He was in a motel, sitting on a bed. He was alone.
Uh oh.
Okay! Don’t panic, Sammy! Dean will be right back! Right?
Right! Because Dean loved Sam! He wouldn’t leave him alone for long!
Sam hugged his knees to his chest and tried taking deep breaths. He was pretty sure that’s what Jess or Dean would tell him to do right now. They’d probably call him a good boy, too.
You’re a good boy, Sammy.
It helped maybe a little bit. He wanted Dean, though.
Sam didn’t know what else to do, so he rocked back and forth and kept trying to breathe. And he waited. And waited. And waited some more.
What if something bad happened to Dean?
No! We can’t think like that.
Sam rocked back and forth and waited. He was safe. Dean was safe, too—he had to be! He was super strong. And he had to be there to protect Sam. Everything was okay.
Sam wasn’t used to being alone like this. But he knew Dean would want him to be brave, so he didn’t cry, which he was very proud of himself for.
He wasn’t sure how much time had passed, but he was humming an old song Dean used to sing to him—Hey Jude—when he heard the unmistakable roar of the Impala outside. Sam immediately perked up. He jumped off the bed and peered out the small gap in the curtain, and there he was. Dean.
Sam waited for him to walk into the room before jumping him with a hug.
“Whoa!” Dean exclaimed, stumbling backwards, but he hugged his brother back tightly. “Alright there, Sammy?”
“You was gone,” Sam mumbled, muffled by Dean’s collar.
Dean made a noise of understanding. “I’m sorry, baby.” Dean pet his hair, which felt real nice. It also felt nice when Dean called him ‘baby’ (even though ‘baby boy’ was his favorite). His heart rate began to slow down. “I didn’t mean to leave you alone.”
“‘S’okay, De. What was you doin’?”
Dean continued petting Sam’s hair. “Case stuff, baby boy. Don’t worry about it.”
Uh oh. They were on a case. He hugged Dean a little tighter. “Was I s’posed to be doin’ w-research?”
“It’s okay,” Dean immediately responded. “No rush with this one, kiddo. You’re all good.” One kiss on the forehead later and Sam was feeling much better.
Dean led them both to the couch and sat real close, draping his arm over Sam’s shoulders. “Hey, Sammy? Next time you regress and I’m not here, you can give me a call on your phone and I’ll come right back.”
Oops. How could Sam forget about phones? He seemed to be very foolish today. “I sorry, De.”
Dean shook his head. “No, don’t be sorry. I’m not mad at ya. It’s just so you know for next time.”
“Oh.” Sam leaned his head on Dean’s shoulder. “Okay. But how come there’s gotta be a next time?”
“‘Cause, even though I want to, I can’t be with you all the time. But I’ll always try my best to do so, so you just gotta call me next time you need me, understand?”
“Oh. Okay, De. Unnerstand.”
“Good boy,” Dean praised. That made Sam feel all warm. He liked it a lot when Dean was nice to him. Dean touched him a lot these days, which he also liked. Dean was the best brother ever. He slipped back into the role of big brother so easily, and Sam couldn’t believe he ever tried to hide his regression from him.
They sat on the couch in silence until the fuzziness in Sam’s head went away.