The Runt of the Litter

Penguins on the Ceiling

Note: Hey, my loves <3 thanks for all the lovely comments and votes!

This chapter was requested a long time ago by @breatheandlive here on Wattpad. You'll see pretty quickly what it's about ;)

Anna is nineteen.

Penguins on the Ceiling

Anna sighed, watching her breath smear fog over the window pane. She lazily dragged her pinky against the glass, doodling aimlessly on the window. She was beyond tired. Her throat was sore, and she was sweating despite wearing only a t-shirt in the cool interior of the Impala. It totally sucked.

"How you holdin' up back there, Kiddo?"

Anna shrugged lazily and reached a hand under her shirt to rest against her stomach. Her fingers were cold against her hot skin, and it felt incredible. "M'okay," she mumbled and leaned her head against the cool glass of the window.

"You look like crap," Dean informed her. "You sure you're okay?"

"Sure," Anna whispered and let her eyes fall shut. She was so tired. But she had been having a hard time sleeping thanks to her fever which had been making her feel either way too hot or way too cold for two days straight now.

"Well, we're almost back to the motel, alright? So you hang in there."

"Uh-huh." Anna drifted unpleasantly between sleep and wakefulness. There was no way to rest comfortably with a fever, and hers was high. It had hung right around 103 for the last 24 hours, which meant she'd been sufficiently miserable for that amount of time.

They rode in silence for another couple minutes before the car came to a stop, and Anna sighed. She didn't feel like moving. Not at all. But Dean opened and shut his door as he got out, and the breeze that came in from outside flipped a switch in Anna's body. She went from being boiling hot to freezing cold in an instant.

"Fuck," she muttered and sat up straighter, her body weak and slow. "Dammit, it's cold." She managed to reach her sweatshirt and pull it over her head. It took a minute to get her arms through the sleeves, though, because she lacked her usual coordination and strength. By the time she had the extra layer on, Dean was crouched outside with the back door open.

"What're you doin'?" he asked and reached out to unfold the bottom of her sweatshirt.

"'M cold," Anna grumbled. She swung her legs outside of the car and let Dean help her stand up. She almost immediately began to shiver bodily when she was out in the open air. "'S freezing."

"Not so much, Rugrat," Dean said in concern. "Let's just get you inside. You can take another shower."

Anna's eyes drooped, but she nodded. A warm shower sounded nice. Except she was told every time not to turn the water too hot, because she could end up making her fever even higher that way. "Just wanna sleep," she said. "'M tired."

"I know, Sweetheart," Dean told her gently. "You can lay down in a minute." He pulled the room key out of his pocket, letting her lean on him as he unlocked and opened the door to their room.

"Hey," Sam said when they walked in. "How'd it go?"

"They said she's got some sort of a virus. Nothing to worry about, should go away in a few days."

"Well, that's helpful," Sam said sarcastically.

Anna laid down on the far bed, and Dean pulled the blankets up over her. His cool hand brushed over the hot skin of her forehead briefly before he stepped away from her bedside. "I swear, she's gettin' warmer."

"I hope not," Sam murmured. "Fevers start causing worse symptoms after a certain point, and I think she's already past it."

"That's comforting," Anna said through chattering teeth. She curled up into a tight little ball in bed. The blankets weren't thick or heavy enough, and it was driving her crazy. What good was a blanket if it couldn't make her warm?