Heat

[Zwee]

Hello! So, I've been strangely inspired to write, and I've definitely on a bit of a Supernatural-writing spree lately. I already have a new story idea that's separate from this little one. I've just started it, and it has sick Dean in it, so if you're a Dean fan, keep an eye out for that. In the mean time, have some sick Sam! If you want, of course! This story is probably set somewhere in the first or second season. Just as a point of reference. Thanks so much, all!

~*~Heat~*~

The road swam before Dean’s eyes, writhing and shimmering in the blazing heat. He could feel the sun searing the back of his neck, his cheeks, the bridge of his nose. But there was warmth elsewhere. It burned his stomach and set flames to his head, and the argument he and Sam were having torched him more. Sweat gathered at the nape of his neck as well as his lower back and arms. If he’d had the Impala, then he would be in a nice, semi-air conditioned car, not fighting with his brother. Instead, they’d had to take the case that involved walking down a dusty, seven-mile long, pedestrian-only road that was the only way to get to the abandoned (and haunted) old warehouse. In the back of Dean’s mind, he knew it was the boiling humidity that was riling them both up, but he ignored it, letting the fire rage on inside him.

“Dean, how was I supposed to know it wasn’t an ordinary spirit? Look, I’m just as mad as you that we couldn’t save Eileen, but—”

“But we could have saved her, Sam! If you’d just looked into the robbery like I said from the beginning instead of only looking at the murders—“

“There was no sign that they were tied in at all! You’re the one who figured out the first victim didn’t die of a heart attack, so you’re the one who said we should check out the murders! And looking into the robberies was my idea.” Sam’s voice cracked twice, and he cleared his throat with a painful cough.

“Then why didn’t you look into the robberies, if you were so sure they were the solution?”

“So, what, you’re saying it’s my fault she died?” Sam’s eyebrows were raised, and he looked at Dean imploringly. Dean had an urge to kick him. He couldn’t think; it was too hot to even be outside, let alone fighting with his brother. He opened his mouth and let the words fly free, momentarily not caring about the impact they would have.

“I don’t know, Sam! It wouldn’t be the first time, would it?” As soon as he said it, he wished he could take it back. The fire inside him cooled to a throbbing ember, the heat in his cheeks replaced with the pallor of someone filled with instantaneous regret.

Sam looked like he’d just been slapped. His breath wouldn’t come, and that was all it took to make him double over, hands planted on his knees, gasping and coughing.

“Shit. Sam… I didn’t…” Dean had stopped too, unsure of what to do. Sam continued coughing, harsh, deep coughs that echoed in his chest. His face began turning red from lack of oxygen. “Hey, hey, Sammy. Sam look at me. I didn’t mean that. Breathe a second.”

Sam couldn’t look, but he did manage to work a few breaths in between coughs, so his face grew less pink. Eventually, he had control and met his brother’s eyes. Dean could see tears swimming in the blue-green pools, but he couldn’t tell if it was from coughing or Dean’s comment.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean that. It’s not true, okay? Jess wasn’t your fault and you know it. I was just pissed. And it’s friggin’ hot.”

“Hup’tschhuhh! Heh-hehtschh-ew! Etscchhht-ew!” Sam was bent over again, sneezing. He recovered, standing up and grabbing Dean’s shoulder for support. He stumbled forward, but Dean held him still.

“Jesus. Just wait a minute. You dizzy?”

“M’fine.” Sam muttered, sniffling and wiping his eyes.

“I’m sorry.”

“Fine. I get it.”

“Okay.”

“Okay.”

Sam shivered.

“What’s wrong with you?”

“Nothing. Just… leave me alone.” Sam was coughing again, shuddering, deep coughs that Dean disliked more and more by the minute. Sam blushed, running a finger beneath his nose. “I’m okay.” He added, quieter.

Dean nodded, although when Sam threw up a wrist and sneezed a minute later, he found it more difficult to bite his tongue.

“Hih-hitsch! Heh-hetchoo! Huh-huh-huhiiitsch!”

“You take your allergy medicine today?”

“Dean, you know I haven’t had allergies for years.” Sam said, looking embarrassed.

“Yeah, well it sounds to me like they’re back.”

“Shuhhh… Shut uhhhh-up. I ju-uhhhh-ust sneezed a couple of time—hih-hitschh! Huh-etschh! Hih-iiishhoo!”

“A couple, yeah.”

Sam grimaced, massaging his throat. “I’ll be fine. How far till we’re back at the motel?”

“About two miles.”

By the time the brothers reached the Discount Motel, Sam was shivering hard, despite the hot sun. He had begun trying to stifle his sneezes so as not to worry Dean, or increase the pain that was pounding against his skull. It had worked, to some extent, but as soon as they reached their room, Sam collapsed on his bed, shivering hard. His sweat-soaked shirt was now cold against his body, and there were goosebumps covering his arms and legs.

Dean stripped off his dirty clothes, grabbed a clean set, and was about to head in for a shower when he heard his little brother sneeze behind him.

“Ehhh…ehh-hetchsh! Kptch-uh! Hihh-hitchshoo! Heshchsh! Ughh.”

“Bless you. Want me to close the window?”

Sam nodded, suppressing a shiver.

“Here, we’ll turn on the A/C. You take some allergy meds. Want the first shower?” Seeing his brother so miserable made Dean ache, his guilt making him careful to be as nice as he could to make up for what he’d said.

“Uh, no. You shower. I think I’ll just turn in early.” Sam’s voice was quiet, raw-sounding. “Hih-hitchoo.”

“Take the pills, Sam.”

“I don’t know that I even h-have any.” He trembled. “But I’ll be okay now that the window’s shut, probably.”

Dean gave his brother a long, evaluating look, before shaking his head and ducking inside the bathroom for a shower.

Sam shivered and released a breath, five sneezes tumbling out and leaving him breathless and exhausted. “Etchshch-uhh! Atshch! Hehhaashshoo! Ehh-ktshch-uh! Heh-tchsh!” He whimpered, chest, throat, and head all aching. He managed to move his legs off the side of the bed, over to the air conditioner to turn it off, and then back to his bag for some clean clothes.

Once he’d changed, he flopped down on the bed again, utterly exhausted and shaking with cold. Slipping below the covers, he closed his eyes and drifted off.

“Sam?” Dean’s voice came too loud, startling the younger one awake.

“Huh? Heh-ktchsh.”

“Did you turn the air conditioner off?”

“Oh, uh, yeah.”

“It’s baking in here. I’m turning it back on before I sweat out of my skin.”

Grimacing at this image, Sam buried his face in his pillow, coughing hard. He wriggled further under the covers.

“D-Dean?”

“Yeah.”

“If you’re boiling hot… c-could I have your blanket?”

“You’re cold?” Dean asked incredulously.

“No, I just want more weight on me.” Sam lied.

“You’re going to cook tonight with two blankets.”

“I’ll be okay.” He shivered. A moment later, the blanket landed over him, and he curled up, pulling it over his shoulders and up to his ears, burying his head in the fabric as he drifted off.

“Night, Sam.”

“Night.”

When Sam awoke the next morning, he felt four hundred times worse than he had the previous night. He was beginning to suspect this wasn’t just allergies, especially because of the soreness of his throat and his achy body. His deep chills, and the lethargic quality of his limbs and movements convinced him.

“Hey, you’re finally up!” Dean said loudly as he passed by the bed and noticed Sam’s eyes were open.

Sam winced and tried to speak, but a string of sneezes came out instead. “Hih-chuh! Hih-etchsh! Kkptsh-uh! Hih-iisshhh! Hutschptshuh!”

“Damn.” Dean actually looked a little worried. “Maybe I should go get you some allergy meds.”

“No, it’s not—“ Sam tried to tell his brother that he didn’t think it was allergies, but his voice caught, and he began coughing.

“I’ll be back in a minute.” Dean frowned. “Need anything else? Tissues?”

Sam nodded, still coughing.

Looking concerned, Dean clapped his brother hard on the back, then grabbed his keys and ducked out of the motel room.

As soon as he left, Sam fell against the headboard, completely spent. He’d only woken up seven minutes ago, and he already felt done for the day. Not only was this cold kicking his ass, it was preventing him from telling his brother it was even a cold, so it might be kicking his ass for a lot longer.

It really didn’t take Dean that long to get back, but when he did, Sam’s eyes were closed, and he was breathing slowly through slightly parted lips.

“Sammy,” Dean said quietly, touching Sam’s shoulder.

“Mm.” Sam’s eyes opened for a brief moment, and he turned to face Dean, though he didn’t rise.

“I bought you some Benadryl and a box of tissues.”

“Thanks.”

“You should take some now.”

Sam shook his head into his pillow. “Dean, I don’t think I have allergies.”

Dean chuckled. “Yeah? I don’t think so either. I think the nonstop coughing and sneezing you’ve been doing the past two days is completely normal.”

Sam scrunched up his face, forcing his eyes open. “No, that’s not what I meant—Hih-itschhoo! Ugh.”

Dean grabbed his little brother a tissue and handed it to him, shaking his head and laughing quietly. “Okay, Sammy. Open up.” Dean sat down on the edge of the bed and put a hand beneath Sam’s head when he didn’t respond, helping prop him up a little so he could take the pills, but as soon as his fingers made contact with Sam’s neck, he stopped. “Dude, you’re burning hot.”

As if to contradict this, Sam shivered hard.

“Fuck, this really isn’t allergies, huh?”

Sam merely shook his head, sniffling.

“How long have you been sick for?”

A shrug.

“When were you going to tell me?”

Another shrug.

Dean sighed. “I’m sorry, Sam.”

“S’okay.”

“You… want me to go back to the store?”

Sam shook his head emphatically. “Can you just… stay here?”

“What, you mean… on your bed?”

Sam, whose face was partially buried in the pillow, nodded somewhat shyly and snaked his hand out from under the covers, fingers wrapping around Dean’s T-shirt and pulling.

Dean went down face-first on to the covers, which wasn’t exactly what he’d had in mind when Sam had asked him to stay, but his hand was locked onto Dean’s shirt, and he knew he wouldn’t be moving, so he got comfortable.

After a few minutes, Sam had fallen asleep again. Dean saw this as his escape, but hesitated. A quiet cough sounded from deep within his brother’s chest, and Sam whimpered, curling up tighter. That was all it took. Dean was down, and he would not be leaving Sam’s side until he was better.

~*~THE END~*~

Thank you for reading! Hope you enjoyed, and have a perfect rest of your week! I love all of you just for reading this.

[flower]

What a nice little morning surprise! I loved it!

[EmeraldThread]

I love it! The description is great, and the ending is really cute (I felt so bad for Sam, even though I enjoyed it). I can't wait to see what else you're working on!

[cupkake]

Awww, this was cute! I really liked the little mini plot you had going and the ending,

[VividBubbles!]

Awwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwwww!!!!!!!!!!!!

Soooooooooooo cute!!!

BYE!

[SexualOddity]

Aww Zwee, this is lovely. I love Dean's guilt and how it made him so much more full on with the caretaking, and how he assumed it was allergies and tried really hard to fix them, but Sam couldn't set him right (and being a raging allergy fan, I had a little private 'squee' even at the suggestion of allergies) and oh, he sneezed so much and he was so miserable and I wanted to make him better, but Dean was awesome and that made me happy.

Loved it

You should totally write more often!

[Lady Blessington]

I'M EXCITED FOR YOUR SICK DEAN

*pulls up a chair*

Edited May 21, 2012 by mads3rv3r

[Zwee]

@flower: Thank you! I'm so glad! Morning surprises are the best!

@ElementsofGray: I know... maybe I went a bit too far on poor Sam, but hopefully I made up for it! I actually managed to get inspired with two new story ideas and am almost done with the first. I'll see how much proofreading and ending-inventing I can do this week. Thank you!

@cupkake: Oh, yay, thank you! I've found that I'm better at mini-plots because they're less inventive. And it's easier to wrap up, and there are less details to stick to. Although, personally, I LOVE big plot stories (as well as mini-plot stories. Really, any stories). Thanks for reading!

@Bubbles!: Wow, thank you! I'm glad you thought so!

@SexualOddity: Thank you immensely! You're making me so happy! I might have to just write more often, then, if you say so! Maybe I'll try my hand at an allergic Sam story... Pleasing?

@mads3rv3r: Well, I knew you would be! You're the biggest Dean fan of them all! Keep an eye out! I have one that needs finishing touches, and one that's just an idea floating about, but I imagine they'll both be up here soon.

Edited May 21, 2012 by Zwee

[SexualOddity]

@SexualOddity: Thank you immensely! You're making me so happy! I might have to just write more often, then, if you say so! Maybe I'll try my hand at an allergic Sam story... Pleasing?

Yes... YES... in answer to this question.

[HPG]

Hey, so I've been meaning to comment on this for years. This is one of my favorite SPN stories and I thought it deserved a bump up. I hope you're having a nice day!