Catch Me When I Fall

Eat

"I thought it would be best if ya ate something easy," said Bobby, walking back into the living room with a bowl of scrambled eggs.

Dean closed his eyes at the sight of the food, so Sam took the bowl from Bobby until he was ready.

"Are you ready?" asked Sam a minute later, holding the bowl out to him.

Dean took a deep breath and released it slowly, before opening his eyes, and taking the bowl with trembling hands.

"It's okay, Dean. Take it slowly."

The older Winchester started playing with the fork, and took another deep breath. "Here goes nothing," he said, putting a tiny bit on the fork. When he brought the food closer, Dean clenched his jaw and swallowed hard as he dropped the eggs back into the bowl. "I can't."

"You can do it, Dean. Try not to think about it," Sam told him, running his hand over Dean's bony back.

Dean nodded, and raised the fork to his mouth, and with his eyes closed, put the food into his mouth. As he slowly chewed the food, he immediately dropped the fork and put his hand over his mouth.

"That's it, Dean. Swallow it," Sam said in a quiet voice. "Don't bring it back up, try and swallow."

He swallowed convulsively, but as soon as he swallowed the scrambled eggs, he began heaving as if he was going to throw it back up.

"I'll take this," said Bobby, taking the bowl so it didn't fall off Dean's knee.

Sam continued to rub his back, and murmur soothing words to him. "That's it, Dean. You're doing good."

After almost five minutes, Dean was able to keep the food down, so he removed his hand shakily. "I can't... I can't eat anymore," he said in a trembling voice. "I can't."

"You did good. You tried and you ate a little. I'm proud of you."

Dean looked at his brother with raised eyebrows. "Really?" he asked, then looked at Bobby.

"Ya did good, son. Even if it's only a little, it's better than nothing."

Both men were going to have to keep an eye on Dean, so he didn't run off to the bathroom and bring up the little amount he was able to eat.

"C-Could you move that? I-I..." Dean gestured to the bowl, and put a hand over his mouth again.

Bobby shot up, and almost ran into the kitchen to get rid of the food. When he walked back into the living room, Sam was hugging Dean as tight as he dared. He noticed Sam was whispering to his brother, so he backed out of the room to give the two some privacy.

"Shh. You did well, Dean. To be honest... I didn't think you'd be able to eat any of it, so you did better than I thought," he whispered to his shaking brother. "I meant what I said, I'm proud of you. Maybe soon, you could eat a little more than that."

"I did the best I could," he said in a small voice, wiping his eyes.

"I know, Dean. Me and Bobby know, and that's why we're proud of you." Sam pulled back a little so he could see Dean properly, and almost burst into tears when he saw Dean's face. To Sam, Dean had always been his hero, always strong, so it hurt to see him looking so thin and fragile. He smiled reassuringly, and wiped Dean's tears. "Do you want to take a little walk? Get some fresh air?"

Dean shook his head, and hid his face against Sam's shirt.

"Come on, Dean. The only time you've gone out in the past few days is to the garage. You need to get out properly. The last thing you need is to develop agoraphobia."