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They were in a motel in the middle of nowhere, which was nothing new, but Dean had only been out of Hell a few weeks. Nightmares were plaguing him every time he slept. He would wake up screaming and clawing at himself as if he was trying to rip someone’s hands off of him. He yelled out for his mom. His dad. For Bobby. But more often than not, he screamed out for his little brother. So, when Sam woke up in the middle of the night to the sound of Dean screaming his name and clawing at the bed sheets which were damp with cold sweat, the younger Winchester wasted no time in scrambling out of bed and over to his older brother and began shaking Deans shoulder.
“Dean! Wake up! It’s a nightmare. Come on dude, wake up!” His big brother jolted awake and Dean, the strongest person he had ever met, eyes were haunted with unspoken tragedy and fractured with rage and pain. So much pain. Dean ran a hand through his damp hair and inhaled shakily. He refused to make eye contact with an extremely concerned Sam as he stared down at his hands clutched into fists.
“Go back to bed Sam. I’m fine. It’s fine.” He said hoarsely. At that, Sam couldn’t help but snort. This made his pain in the ass older brother finally lift his head up to glare at him. But it seemed one look wasn’t enough because Dean began running his gaze over Sam as if searching for something. The same thing he did when he woke up every morning. It was as if he was making sure that he wasn’t going to disappear before his very eyes. Dean had looked after him his entire life. Loving him and comforting him. But it was now it was Sam's turn to take care of him.
“Scoot over.” He said softly. The elder Winchester blinked in surprise and then again in understanding as he moved over to the other side of the double bed and lied down on his back. Sam pulled back the covers and laid next to him turning his head to look at Dean who was staring right back. He then rolled onto his side and gave his shoulder a squeeze then rolled back over.
“I’m real. This is real. I’m right here Dean and I’m not going anywhere. It’s okay. You’re okay. I won’t leave you. I promise.” At this, a single tear ran down his big brother’s cheek and he nodded slightly and closed his eyes and scooted closer to Sam so their shoulders were touching.
“Love you, Sammy.” His brother said drowsily. And it nearly cracked Sam's heart into two, because those words came so rarely from Deans mouth, that he only said them when he felt he really needed to.
“I know Dee. I love you too.”