Chapter Twenty Six

Sam wasn’t sure if Dean remembered their talk that night, about dad, and all the things he’d revealed. Very telling things about his current mental state. Even how they talked about Katie. Sam wasn’t sure. But he dare not ask. Whatever it was, whatever had broken in Dean that night had somehow transitioned into where he was now ( Read more... )

Chapter Twenty Five

Dean took the pills and lay on the bench for a while, his head throbbing from what was probably a mild concussion. Riley carted her fingers through his hair and he almost let himself fall asleep at how tender the gesture was, but Sam had gripped his arm and kept him conscious. Eventually, once the relaxants and painkillers had ( Read more... )

Chapter Twenty Three

The shower was nice. The warm water seemed to relax everything and he was able to wash away the salty sweat from his skin. He even ran some shampoo through his hair.
He turned the water off and used the rails to get out of the shower chair, the shower chair he would one day take a baseball bat to.
Scratch, scratch.
Dean ( Read more... )

Chapter Twenty One

Riley helped get Dean into the passenger seat then turned sharply to Sam, “I’ll be talking to you later.”
“Riley, I -“
“Hey,” she stopped him, eyes wide, “You can justify why you skipped out on work and your brother later. Just take him home.”
Sam swallowed, clenching his jaw. He looked down, about to say something, when Riley ( Read more... )

Chapter Nineteen

“At what point do I have to call your brother?”
Dean was hunched on the floor, head over the toilet, where he’d been for the last 20 minutes. His stomach was clenching, and he felt disgusting, head spinning.
Riley was sitting up on her bed, watching him through the doorway. She was wearing only a pair of tiny black lace ( Read more... )

Chapter Fourteen

"Dude, you alright? We've only made it halfway down the hallway," Sam said, playfully.
Dean breathed heavily, leaning a hand on the wall, and smiled.
"Was the hallway always this long?"
Sam laughed, "Yeah, dude. Need me to bring you a chair? Maybe we should just move the couch in here and..."
"Shut up," Dean groaned and ( Read more... )

Chapter Thirteen

Sam heard a knock on the back door, and that was alarming in itself, because Dean wouldn’t knock. Unless he couldn’t get back inside…
Sam hurried down the hall, stepping back in surprise when he opened the door. Cas was standing there, Dean’s body completely limp in his arms.
“The house is warded. I cannot enter.”
“Uh, Bobby,” ( Read more... )

Chapter Twelve

Dean was tired. He felt like he’d never been so tired in all his life. His bones ached, his muscles ached, his skin ached. The exhaustion was deep. Crippling. Suffocating.
“Go to sleep, boy.”
Dean’s eyes scanned over to Bobby, who was sitting to the side, looking like he hadn’t said a thing. The lights were off in the hospital. ( Read more... )

Chapter Eleven

Dean was sitting up on the edge of his bed, which was more than he’d done all day. It took the help of a nurse to get him in that position, but he was trying not to focus on the negative. Sam had stepped out while the psychiatrist came to speak to Dean. He was wound up so tight he was close to snapping. The knowledge that he’d soon ( Read more... )

Chapter Ten

The impala trundled over a pothole and Dean winced, letting out a whimper as pain shot through his back.
“Hey, Dean?” Sam said.
He’d been muttering things throughout the whole ride, squeezing Dean’s sore shoulder any time he started to drift off. It was comforting but also a little annoying, because his body so badly wanted to sleep ( Read more... )