Gnome Such Thing - Chapter 2
Dean had been left, lying in an unnatural face-up position, arms and legs spread eagle across the entire length and width of the bed. Sam had flopped him unceremoniously onto the mattress and argued with Bobby when the older hunter had suggested making him a little more comfortable.
"Hell no. He brought this on himself," Sam had said, stretching his now aching lower back.
But although Sam had made no further move to help Dean, he also hadn't left his side in the four hours that Dean had been asleep. Bobby had gone down to his medicine cabinet, fished out a bottle of Valium and brought it back to Sam.
"One of these at a time, only when it gets real bad. They seem to help."
Sam gave a knowing smirk as Bobby left the room, closing the door behind him and returned to his own bedroom. He'd need all the sleep he could muster to deal with the inevitable fallout of Dean's accidental overdose.
But with the new day rising, Bobby had risen too. He made his way, quietly down the short hallway to the boys' room and carefully opened the door.
The early summer morning was bright, the air, crisp, but you wouldn't know it from inside the boys' room. The curtains and shades had been drawn, the door closed and the room was silent except for the deep in and out breaths of the two Winchester men.
Sam sat dozing in an olive green wingback chair that he'd stolen from Bobby's room; his bare feet kicked up on the corner of Dean's bed, hands lying still and folded across his flat belly.
Dean still lay face up, still spread eagle, but his eyes were open and a strange expression was stretched across his nearly motionless face. Nearly motionless, Bobby noted.
His eyes were moving. In slow lazy loops, Dean's eyes moved across the room, never blinking, but taking in everything.
Bobby edged closer to the first bed, Dean's bed, and very cautiously lowered himself down to the floor, sidling up next to the bed. He followed Dean's gaze upward toward the ceiling that Dean was studying in quiet awe and wondered what it was that the young man was seeing there.
"Isn't it beautiful?" Dean whispered, reverently.
Bobby wasn't sure if the question was directed at him or if Dean was even aware that Bobby was there until Dean turned his head slowly to look directly at the older hunter.
Bobby was unable to stop the recoil he experienced when getting his first real look at his oldest boy. Dean's eyes were swimming with uncontrolled emotion. He looked, if truth be told, more like his brother and it just didn't suit him. Whatsoever.
Bobby stretched a foot out down the length of the bed and careful not to startle either of them, cautiously nudged Sam's foot with his own. Sam was slow to rouse from his sleep. He stretched stiffly in the chair and groaned, blinking his eyes, slowly adjusting to the dim room. Then the realization hit him and he sat up quickly, looking first to Dean and then to Bobby sitting on the floor.
Bobby held a finger up to his lips, silencing the young man and then subtly pointed at the older brother. Dean was once again focused on the ceiling, his gaze swinging in a slow figure eight pattern.
"What's he doing?" Sam whispered.
"I don't know, but it's 'beautiful'." Bobby jumped when Dean reached out to grasp his forearm firmly.
"It is beautiful, right? The most amazing thing I've ever seen. You think so too, right, Bobby?"
"Um, yea. I guess so," he agreed, playing along.
"What are you seeing?" Sam asked, carefully climbing up on the bed.
Bobby tried to warn him off, but Sam was already half way up Dean's side & easily within the stoned man's reach. Dean let go of Bobby's arm and zoomed in on his new target. He snatched Sam's wrist and yanked. Like a table with a missing leg, Sam toppled onto the bed, crashing shoulder to shoulder into his brother. But if Dean noticed, he didn't let on. He just continued to gaze in awe at the ceiling.
"Sammy. Sammy is my baby brother. I love my baby brother. Even when he's mad at me, like today. Why are you mad at me, Sammy?"
Dean turned his tear filled eyes on Sam and just like Bobby, Sam shrank back. But Dean didn't wait for Sam to answer; he just went back, again, to the ceiling. Sam tried to right himself, but his brother had yet to release his iron grip on Sam's wrist and instead pulled the younger Winchester closer, so they were nearly eye to eye.
"Lay with me, Sammy?"
Bobby tried and failed to cover the chuckle that escaped him and had to turn away completely when Sam gave him a bewildered 'help me' look. Bobby raised his hands, leaning away and chuckled again.
"You brought this on yourself," he jokingly threw back at the younger hunter.
"Sammy?"
Dean's grip on Sam's wrist seemed to wax and wane with his grip on reality as he had once again turned back toward the ceiling, reaching his left hand into the air. He waved it dreamily back and forth, wiggled his fingers & then sucked it back to his chest, falling into a fit of girly giggles.
"It tickles," he tittered. "Try it."
Very slowly, Sam pulled his arm free and turned his hips so that he was sitting on the mattress. Then he cautiously lowered his back down to lie beside his brother, shoulder to shoulder, hip to hip & much to his dismay, hand in hand when again Dean sought out the lost connection with his brother.
On the floor, Bobby rocked back against the bed, slapping a hand over his mouth to stem the flow of laughter that was threatening to burst forth.
"You're not helping," Sam growled, hazarding a dark glare over his shoulder.
"I'm not tryin'," Bobby laughed.
Sam rolled his eyes and released a slow breath to regain his composure and a smidgeon of the patience he was definitely gonna need to deal with the lovely situation Dean had gotten himself into.
"So…" Sam said softly, focusing his attention back on his brother. "What are we lookin' at?"
"Butterflies," Dean answered, sighing. "Hundreds and hundreds of butterflies. Isn't it awwwesome?" he said, stretching out the last syllable.
"Yea, Dean," Sam replied with a smile, "just awesome."
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