Blood Is Thicker...

Daylight barely filtered in through the curtains when the voice woke Dean from a broken sleep. "Sam?" He got up out of the chair and walked over, standing at the foot of the bed his brother lay sprawled over. He listened to his brother chanting unintelligible words through some kind of haze he was in. "What is it?" Dean whispered, eliciting a shaken sound from Sam. Worried, he eased closer but still out of reach, especially of those long legs that knew how to reach the distance. "Sam?" He watched him turn, yanking at the restraint and a futile groan escaped Sam's parched lips. Dean's heart ached inside for what he was putting his brother through but it had to be done. It was either this or lose him forever and he wasn't taking that chance again. Not again. "I'm sorry, bro," Dean whispered and gave a tired sigh. "It's only for one more day," he explained and Sam looked up at him with those pleading, dark eyes. Dean looked away. He couldn't stand seeing Sam like this, not like this. He was supposed to be stronger than Dean, only not this way. "I can't," he muttered quietly and reached over, taking a glass of water from the table. It was a chance but Dean sat on the edge of the bed, right on the damn edge. That way, he could bail. Lifting Sam's head, he brought the glass to those parched lips. Sam took one gulp and spat it right in Dean's face.

Dean got up and wiped a hand down his face, his t-shirt stained dark with droplets. He tried to ignore the emptiness behind Sam's laughter but even on the best of days, his patience was about the size of a golf ball. "Damn it, Sam!" he shouted and yanked the shirt over his head, used it to wipe the water from his hair. "You ungrateful son of a bitch," he muttered and tossed the shirt into a corner. "Let me up, Dean. Now," Sam insisted and Dean shook his head, ruffled a hand through his short hair, trying to shake it dry. "No can do, little brother," he responded and walked over to sit back down in the chair. "No, I'm serious, dude, you gotta let me up from here," Sam continued, his voice stronger and his eyes were glued to his older brother. Their eyes never met as Dean turned the chair halfway around, a smirk on his face that wasn't hidden in his voice. "Look over in the corner, man." He heard the rustling of the covers and had to bite back a grin of pure revenge for all the pranks Sam had done to Dean over the years. "I mean it this time, Dean, I really hate you," Sam grumbled and Dean heard him getting to his feet. "I know you do," he retorted and slipped on the pair of headphones.

He waited at least an hour before glancing over his shoulder and the moment Dean saw that Sam was sleeping, he felt his body slump down in the chair. A deep breath left him and he closed his eyes for the first time in what seemed like weeks. He wasn't going anywhere, he'd exhausted himself from yesterday and what Dean hated the most was that it had to start all over again when Sam woke up. His brother was right, he didn't want to do this anymore than Sam did but it was the only way. And maybe, somewhere down the road, his little brother would forgive Dean for putting him through hell. Maybe. Right now, his kid brother couldn't be trusted and he had to leave him like that until the very minute three days later that this whole thing started.

"Dean?" The whisper in the darkness jolted Dean from his seat and he stood instantly. There was an urgency in that voice that he'd been waiting for. Without hesitation, he neared the side of Sam's bed and sat down. "What is it, Sammy?" he whispered softly in return. There was a dead silence for so long that Dean drew a breath to say his name again when the voice returned. "I...please..." It was all he got out and Dean reached over, flicked on the cheesy hotel room lamp. Those eyes were glued to him in such desperation that Dean actually cringed. "Sam?"

"I need it. Please, Dean, you gotta..." he whispered again, looking pale and shaken. "Alright," Dean replied, hiding the grin that threatened. "Actually," he added as he climbed up and sat beside his brother this time instead of holding over him. At least Sam wasn't fighting him anymore. "I've been waiting to hear you say that," Dean finished and winced, hissing through clenched teeth as the blade of his silver knife slashed open the skin an inch above the last. Again, Sam seemed to have a strength that Dean didn't know existed. The iron chains rattled as he moved, leaning up and the blood red streaks of overflow stained down past the corner of his lips. With a gentle touch, Dean reached over and wiped it away, then wiped it on his pants. He exhaled a tired breath and stared up at the painted black Devil's Trap. Tomorrow, Sammy would walk right out of that thing on his own. Tomorrow. He heard the groan and it sounded a little too much like a sick kind of pleasure to Dean's ears. "Dude," he mumbled, glanced down to see Sam's head bent over his arm, holding onto it with a strong, tight grip. "Easy, tiger," Dean murmured and raked a hand over his brother's shaggy, crazy haircut. "It's not going anywhere," he continued and hoped that wherever Dad was right now, he was not seeing this. "I'm not going anywhere," Dean promised and leaned his head back against the headboard, amazed at the sight of his own blood trickling down the side of Sammy's face when his head finally raised.

"Let me go, now, Dean," Sam gasped quietly, licking the blood from his lips and he wiped his cheek with the back of one hand. Dean smiled weakly. "Can't do that, Sam." He sat up as his brother collapsed on the bed. "Why not?" Sam asked, closing his tear-filled eyes. "Dean, you win, okay? I'm not fighting you anymore." At a loss for words, Dean patted Sam's chest soundly and got up. "One more day, little brother and you're a free man," he swore as he flipped open the cell. "I'm starving," Dean muttered and dialed up for take-out. Halfway through, he paused to ask Sam if he wanted anything but his face and those emerald eyes softened at seeing his kid brother out like a light.

Dean smirked. Two cheeseburgers with extra onions, just because he could get away with it this time.