Fic: Silence
Disclaimer: Not mine.
Author’s Note: This is for the prompt Loss of Hearing on my card for this year’s hc-bingo.
Many thanks to nygirl7of9 for the beta.
Summary: A witch’s revenge is in the form of a curse that takes Sam’s hearing.
Silence
“Shhh,” Dean soothes, although he knows Sam can’t hear him. Sam’s curled in his arms, shivers wracking his body.
The poor kid’s terrified, and no wonder.
Dean knows Ada May is responsible. She’s mad because they burnt her altar. Dean should’ve killed her right away, but he’d been too focused on getting to Sam.
That’s a mistake he won’t make if he sees her again.
Hunting her down is for later, though.
He called Bobby, who did some research and called back to tell him there’s nothing they can do but wait it out. Sam did a bit of research of his own to confirm it, and he was actually handling it pretty well for a while.
They carried on very much as normal, other than the fact that Sam refused to talk. Which, now that Dean thinks about it, is the exact opposite of normal. But it had its perks. Dean had fun ordering Sam the biggest, greasiest burgers he could find, until he got the full force of the puppy-dog eyes and promptly went and bought Sam a salad.
It was fine, until Sam, crossing the street outside their motel ten minutes ago, almost got run over by a car because he didn’t hear it honking. The driver swerved, and Sam just got grazed. He got out and started yelling at Sam, until he realized Sam couldn’t hear. Then he apologized, picked Sam up, and handed him over to Dean, who went running out of the motel with his heart in his throat.
Fortunately, the bandages did their job and protected Sam’s still-healing burns. He’s not hurt beyond a couple of bruises and a scraped elbow, but he’s in shock. It’s not because of the accident - Sam’s been hurt worse on hunts - but because he’s suddenly realized just how vulnerable he is out in the world with no sense of hearing.
Sam’s hands are the size of dinner plates, but Dean remembers a time when they were tiny. They grip his shirt just as tightly now as they did then.
“Sammy,” Dean says. Sam can’t hear him, but the word sounds comforting on his tongue, and Sam will feel the rumbling of his voice where his cheek is smushed into Dean’s shirt. “Sammy, kiddo, it’s going to be OK. Just another day or two, and you’ll be back to normal.”
“What if it never comes back?” Sam whispers.
“Sam.” Dean disentangles Sam’s hands from his shirt and pushes him away. Sam resists, but Dean keeps up the gentle pressure until Sam looks him in the eye. “We’ll get through this.”
Sam looks puzzled, because of course he can’t lip-read. He’s been deaf for less than forty-eight hours.
So Dean takes Sam’s hand, brings it to his chest, and closes his fingers around the amulet.
It’s a promise in the only way he can give it right now, a promise that he’ll be there, a promise that Sam’s going to be all right, a promise that no matter what happens, Dean Winchester will always protect his baby brother.
THE END
Author’s Note: This is for the prompt Loss of Hearing on my card for this year’s hc-bingo.
Many thanks to nygirl7of9 for the beta.
Summary: A witch’s revenge is in the form of a curse that takes Sam’s hearing.
Silence
“Shhh,” Dean soothes, although he knows Sam can’t hear him. Sam’s curled in his arms, shivers wracking his body.
The poor kid’s terrified, and no wonder.
Dean knows Ada May is responsible. She’s mad because they burnt her altar. Dean should’ve killed her right away, but he’d been too focused on getting to Sam.
That’s a mistake he won’t make if he sees her again.
Hunting her down is for later, though.
He called Bobby, who did some research and called back to tell him there’s nothing they can do but wait it out. Sam did a bit of research of his own to confirm it, and he was actually handling it pretty well for a while.
They carried on very much as normal, other than the fact that Sam refused to talk. Which, now that Dean thinks about it, is the exact opposite of normal. But it had its perks. Dean had fun ordering Sam the biggest, greasiest burgers he could find, until he got the full force of the puppy-dog eyes and promptly went and bought Sam a salad.
It was fine, until Sam, crossing the street outside their motel ten minutes ago, almost got run over by a car because he didn’t hear it honking. The driver swerved, and Sam just got grazed. He got out and started yelling at Sam, until he realized Sam couldn’t hear. Then he apologized, picked Sam up, and handed him over to Dean, who went running out of the motel with his heart in his throat.
Fortunately, the bandages did their job and protected Sam’s still-healing burns. He’s not hurt beyond a couple of bruises and a scraped elbow, but he’s in shock. It’s not because of the accident - Sam’s been hurt worse on hunts - but because he’s suddenly realized just how vulnerable he is out in the world with no sense of hearing.
Sam’s hands are the size of dinner plates, but Dean remembers a time when they were tiny. They grip his shirt just as tightly now as they did then.
“Sammy,” Dean says. Sam can’t hear him, but the word sounds comforting on his tongue, and Sam will feel the rumbling of his voice where his cheek is smushed into Dean’s shirt. “Sammy, kiddo, it’s going to be OK. Just another day or two, and you’ll be back to normal.”
“What if it never comes back?” Sam whispers.
“Sam.” Dean disentangles Sam’s hands from his shirt and pushes him away. Sam resists, but Dean keeps up the gentle pressure until Sam looks him in the eye. “We’ll get through this.”
Sam looks puzzled, because of course he can’t lip-read. He’s been deaf for less than forty-eight hours.
So Dean takes Sam’s hand, brings it to his chest, and closes his fingers around the amulet.
It’s a promise in the only way he can give it right now, a promise that he’ll be there, a promise that Sam’s going to be all right, a promise that no matter what happens, Dean Winchester will always protect his baby brother.
THE END