Visions of Sugar Plums
Title: Visions of Sugar Plums
Series: SPNCIS
Author: hunters_retreat
Fandom: Supernatural/NCIS
Pairing: Sam/Dean, Future Gibbs/DiNozzo
Summary: Tony handed Abby her drink then dropped the bag of goodies on the table. He brought the carafe to Sam. “Dean said you might need more than just a cup. Hope it keeps you standing.”
Sam struggled to keep his attention on the work at hand, but he was failing miserably. Dean had stopped by with a large coffee earlier but it was long gone. He stared forlornly at the garbage can but took a deep breath and tried to focus back on the computer screen.
“Hey, Sam, you doing okay?” Abby asked.
“Nightmares. That’s all,” he answered. She knew about them, but she didn’t know how bad they’d gotten lately. The journal had been more than helpful in letting Sam get back to sleep after the fact, but waking so many nights in a row to them was taking its toll on him.
“Delivery for my favorite scientists in the world,” DiNozzo said as he came strolling into the lab. He had a coffee carafe from Sam’s favorite coffee shop, a brown paper bag, and Abby’s Caf-Pow.
“To what do we owe the visit?” Sam asked. He wasn’t about to turn down the goods, but they usually got gifts when they were working on something for Gibbs and the team needed it pronto. They had nothing specific for Gibbs’ team right now.
Tony handed Abby her drink then dropped the bag of goodies on the table. He brought the carafe to Sam. “Dean said you might need more than just a cup. Hope it keeps you standing.”
“No one came blame your effort,” Sam said with a grin. “Thanks, Tony.”
***
“Hey Ducky,” Sam called out as he entered the lab.
“Young Mr. Campbell. What can I do for you this blistery afternoon?”
“Just had a sample Abby needed to return to you. She said you were expecting it.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you, my boy.”
“Where’s Jimmy today?”
“He had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon. Afraid he’s been coming down with something so he took the afternoon off.”
“You need any help?”
“Have you ever done an autopsy before?” Ducky asked.
“Um, officially, no.”
“Unofficially?”
Sam smiled, “I’m gonna say no and pretend you believe me.”
Ducky laughed at that. So long as Sam wasn’t introducing something new to Ducky’s understanding of the world, they got along fine.
“Not too busy today?” Sam asked.
“I’ve actually just got the one body to work on. A very slow day on the murder front, I’m afraid. Even slower on the supernatural side. What did you used to do when there was nothing otherworldly to keep you occupied?”
Sam shrugged. “We drove the US to get from case to case. With travel time involved, there really wasn’t that much down time to the gig. But sometimes, we’d stop at off the wall attractions or just take time off to heal our wounds. I remember stopping for a winter while Dad was recovering from a broken leg. We ended up in the cabin out in the woods. No electricity until Dean found this old busted up generator and took it apart.”
“So, our Dean is quite the mechanic?”
“Dean is good with his hands. And he doesn’t like people to notice, but he can put just about anything together. He’s good with puzzles, mechanical or otherwise.”
“Oh, I think Gibbs figured that out a while ago,” Ducky said with a grin.
Sam watched as he started his autopsy but he felt his stomach turn as he got a look at the guy’s face.
“Ducky, when did he come in?”
“Mr. Tucker was brought in this morning. He was apparently walking down the sidewalk and just dropped to the ground.”
Sam swallowed against the lump in his throat. “His heart stopped beating.”
“I won’t know the cause of death until I’ve finished the autopsy. Did you have an interest in the results?”
Sam nodded. “Yeah. I need to get back to Abby, but can you let me know what turn up?”
“Of course.” Ducky looked up at him then and frowned. “Are you alright, Sam? Should I call your brother?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m just gonna go back to the lab. I forgot to eat and I think all that caffeine is catching up with me.”
It was obvious Ducky didn’t believe him, but he didn’t say anything more as Sam left Autopsy.
***
Fifteen minutes later, Sam was interrupted from his work when his brother came into the lab. “Abby, how’s the hottest Siren in town?”
“Just waiting for you to come butter her up.”
Dean pressed a kiss to the top of Abby’s head before he came over to Sam’s workspace. “Doing okay, Sammy?”
“Did Ducky call you?”
“Why would Ducky call him?”
“It’s nothing,” Sam said.
“Then why did Ducky call me?” Dean asked.
Sam sighed. “It’s reall-”
“Not getting ignored,” Dean interrupted. “What happened with the dead body down there?”
Sam shook his head but he knew he had to answer. “I’ve seen the guy before. Last night, in my nightmare. I was watching him walk down the street and some guy brushed passed him. The guy said ‘Stop your heart’ and kept walking. Then our dead body just dropped. There was no sign of heart attack or stroke or seizure. He just dropped.”
“What the hell?” Dean asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t been able to get the guy out of my head since I woke.”
“But you’re feeling okay?”
“Just tired,” Sam confessed.
Dean nodded. “Alright. But if anything weird happens, you let me know.”
“I know the drill.”
Dean went back to work then and Sam was left alone with a very worried Lab partner who decided it was a day to take care of Sam and went about spending the rest of the afternoon doing just that.
***
A text from Dean told Sam that his brother had taken off early to run some errands. Sam didn’t ask. It was Christmas time and Dean had already told him that he wasn’t allowed to ask questions around Christmas. He didn’t know what his brother was doing, so he hailed a cab home. To his surprise, the Impala was in the driveway.
He went into the house and was stopped as soon as he walked in by the sight of his brother, in the front room, next to a real Christmas tree.
“Dean?”
“Hey Sammy. What do you think?”
“That’s … not a Charlie Brown tree.”
Dean laughed and Sam felt warmed by his brother’s presence in ways that little else could make him feel.
“I still need to go out and get some ornaments but I got the lights on, anyway. I thought maybe this week we could go out and find ornaments together.”
They’d never had a real tree before, not one like this. And Sam knew that Dean had gone out of his way to do this for Sam. Something special to make Sam feel better today.
“Sounds like fun,” Sam said honestly.
Dean turned the light off in the front room but it was softly lit by the tree.
“Come here, Sammy,” Dean held his hand out and when Sam took it, Dean pulled him down onto the couch to look up at the tree. He laid them out on the couch and pulled Sam into his arms and Sam was able to rest his head on Dean’s chest.
“Thought we could relax for a bit before we thought about dinner,” Dean said.
Sam felt the press of lips against his temple and closed his eyes. The thought of sleeping had made him nervous and jittery all day, but here, in Dean’s arms, he felt safe enough. There was a soft chuckle above him and Sam turned until he could bury his face in Dean’s neck.
Dean’s hand stroked Sam’s back in soothing circles. “That’s what I thought,” Dean said softly. “Sleep, Sammy. Dream of sugar plums. I’ll stay awake and watch over you.”
“Love you, Dean,” Sam said softly.
Dean held him close and the last thing Sam heard for the night was, “Love you too, Little Brother.”
Series: SPNCIS
Author: hunters_retreat
Fandom: Supernatural/NCIS
Pairing: Sam/Dean, Future Gibbs/DiNozzo
Summary: Tony handed Abby her drink then dropped the bag of goodies on the table. He brought the carafe to Sam. “Dean said you might need more than just a cup. Hope it keeps you standing.”
Sam struggled to keep his attention on the work at hand, but he was failing miserably. Dean had stopped by with a large coffee earlier but it was long gone. He stared forlornly at the garbage can but took a deep breath and tried to focus back on the computer screen.
“Hey, Sam, you doing okay?” Abby asked.
“Nightmares. That’s all,” he answered. She knew about them, but she didn’t know how bad they’d gotten lately. The journal had been more than helpful in letting Sam get back to sleep after the fact, but waking so many nights in a row to them was taking its toll on him.
“Delivery for my favorite scientists in the world,” DiNozzo said as he came strolling into the lab. He had a coffee carafe from Sam’s favorite coffee shop, a brown paper bag, and Abby’s Caf-Pow.
“To what do we owe the visit?” Sam asked. He wasn’t about to turn down the goods, but they usually got gifts when they were working on something for Gibbs and the team needed it pronto. They had nothing specific for Gibbs’ team right now.
Tony handed Abby her drink then dropped the bag of goodies on the table. He brought the carafe to Sam. “Dean said you might need more than just a cup. Hope it keeps you standing.”
“No one came blame your effort,” Sam said with a grin. “Thanks, Tony.”
***
“Hey Ducky,” Sam called out as he entered the lab.
“Young Mr. Campbell. What can I do for you this blistery afternoon?”
“Just had a sample Abby needed to return to you. She said you were expecting it.”
“Ah, yes. Thank you, my boy.”
“Where’s Jimmy today?”
“He had a doctor’s appointment this afternoon. Afraid he’s been coming down with something so he took the afternoon off.”
“You need any help?”
“Have you ever done an autopsy before?” Ducky asked.
“Um, officially, no.”
“Unofficially?”
Sam smiled, “I’m gonna say no and pretend you believe me.”
Ducky laughed at that. So long as Sam wasn’t introducing something new to Ducky’s understanding of the world, they got along fine.
“Not too busy today?” Sam asked.
“I’ve actually just got the one body to work on. A very slow day on the murder front, I’m afraid. Even slower on the supernatural side. What did you used to do when there was nothing otherworldly to keep you occupied?”
Sam shrugged. “We drove the US to get from case to case. With travel time involved, there really wasn’t that much down time to the gig. But sometimes, we’d stop at off the wall attractions or just take time off to heal our wounds. I remember stopping for a winter while Dad was recovering from a broken leg. We ended up in the cabin out in the woods. No electricity until Dean found this old busted up generator and took it apart.”
“So, our Dean is quite the mechanic?”
“Dean is good with his hands. And he doesn’t like people to notice, but he can put just about anything together. He’s good with puzzles, mechanical or otherwise.”
“Oh, I think Gibbs figured that out a while ago,” Ducky said with a grin.
Sam watched as he started his autopsy but he felt his stomach turn as he got a look at the guy’s face.
“Ducky, when did he come in?”
“Mr. Tucker was brought in this morning. He was apparently walking down the sidewalk and just dropped to the ground.”
Sam swallowed against the lump in his throat. “His heart stopped beating.”
“I won’t know the cause of death until I’ve finished the autopsy. Did you have an interest in the results?”
Sam nodded. “Yeah. I need to get back to Abby, but can you let me know what turn up?”
“Of course.” Ducky looked up at him then and frowned. “Are you alright, Sam? Should I call your brother?”
“No, I’m fine. I’m just gonna go back to the lab. I forgot to eat and I think all that caffeine is catching up with me.”
It was obvious Ducky didn’t believe him, but he didn’t say anything more as Sam left Autopsy.
***
Fifteen minutes later, Sam was interrupted from his work when his brother came into the lab. “Abby, how’s the hottest Siren in town?”
“Just waiting for you to come butter her up.”
Dean pressed a kiss to the top of Abby’s head before he came over to Sam’s workspace. “Doing okay, Sammy?”
“Did Ducky call you?”
“Why would Ducky call him?”
“It’s nothing,” Sam said.
“Then why did Ducky call me?” Dean asked.
Sam sighed. “It’s reall-”
“Not getting ignored,” Dean interrupted. “What happened with the dead body down there?”
Sam shook his head but he knew he had to answer. “I’ve seen the guy before. Last night, in my nightmare. I was watching him walk down the street and some guy brushed passed him. The guy said ‘Stop your heart’ and kept walking. Then our dead body just dropped. There was no sign of heart attack or stroke or seizure. He just dropped.”
“What the hell?” Dean asked.
“I don’t know. I haven’t been able to get the guy out of my head since I woke.”
“But you’re feeling okay?”
“Just tired,” Sam confessed.
Dean nodded. “Alright. But if anything weird happens, you let me know.”
“I know the drill.”
Dean went back to work then and Sam was left alone with a very worried Lab partner who decided it was a day to take care of Sam and went about spending the rest of the afternoon doing just that.
***
A text from Dean told Sam that his brother had taken off early to run some errands. Sam didn’t ask. It was Christmas time and Dean had already told him that he wasn’t allowed to ask questions around Christmas. He didn’t know what his brother was doing, so he hailed a cab home. To his surprise, the Impala was in the driveway.
He went into the house and was stopped as soon as he walked in by the sight of his brother, in the front room, next to a real Christmas tree.
“Dean?”
“Hey Sammy. What do you think?”
“That’s … not a Charlie Brown tree.”
Dean laughed and Sam felt warmed by his brother’s presence in ways that little else could make him feel.
“I still need to go out and get some ornaments but I got the lights on, anyway. I thought maybe this week we could go out and find ornaments together.”
They’d never had a real tree before, not one like this. And Sam knew that Dean had gone out of his way to do this for Sam. Something special to make Sam feel better today.
“Sounds like fun,” Sam said honestly.
Dean turned the light off in the front room but it was softly lit by the tree.
“Come here, Sammy,” Dean held his hand out and when Sam took it, Dean pulled him down onto the couch to look up at the tree. He laid them out on the couch and pulled Sam into his arms and Sam was able to rest his head on Dean’s chest.
“Thought we could relax for a bit before we thought about dinner,” Dean said.
Sam felt the press of lips against his temple and closed his eyes. The thought of sleeping had made him nervous and jittery all day, but here, in Dean’s arms, he felt safe enough. There was a soft chuckle above him and Sam turned until he could bury his face in Dean’s neck.
Dean’s hand stroked Sam’s back in soothing circles. “That’s what I thought,” Dean said softly. “Sleep, Sammy. Dream of sugar plums. I’ll stay awake and watch over you.”
“Love you, Dean,” Sam said softly.
Dean held him close and the last thing Sam heard for the night was, “Love you too, Little Brother.”