CARRY ON | SPN

4. Pains Old and New

When Phoebe cracked her heavy eyelids open, the first thing she was forced to notice was the dull pounding in her head, much less harmful than it had been feeling hours prior, but painful nonetheless.

The next thing she noticed was how dark the room was- a motel room that her brothers had no doubt purchased and brought her into as she had been fading in and out of consciousness. They must have deemed her alright, because she wasn't still in the Impala on their way to one of their hunter connections that had a history in the medical field to take a look at her.

The only light that filled the small space was the moonlight through the window, curtains opened as opposed to being drawn together like they normally were. Sam must have opened them, always preferring to let natural light in while Dean favored the safety and privacy that came with keeping them closed.

It was humorous to the young girl how after all this time, she still knew her brothers almost as well as she knew herself.

A quiet, groggy groan left her lips as she attempted to push herself into a sitting position on shaky arms from the mattress she had been carefully set down on.

"Hey, hey, careful, kiddo." Sam's voice drifted into her ears hurriedly from off to the side.

She turned her head just in time to see her older brother scrambling to stand next to her, his hands coming over to carefully guide her upright, touch gentle as if she were made of glass and eyebrows furrowed in a mixture of concern and concentration.

"Where's Dean?" Phoebe asked with a disoriented voice from unuse.

"He's out to get food." The middle Winchester informed her, hands falling back to his side once she had settled, "How're you feeling?" He asked cautiously.

"Like I hit my head on the dashboard of the Impala." The sarcasm in her voice was not lost on either of them, and while it made her crack a small smile, Sam simply glared at her slightly.

"Not funny," He scolded.

A mocking pout took over her lips, "Too soon?"

"Much." He hummed before reaching over to the bedside table and picking up a glass of water, "Here, drink." He ordered gently, allowing her to take the liquid and slowly drain the cup.

Once she had handed it back to him, Phoebe took the chance to eye her elder brother, a sadness coming over her as she thought back to the previous day. Of the events that had taken place. Of his promise to go back to his 'normal' life.

"Sammy?" Phoebe asked quietly, eyes averting to the blanket over her legs that she had begun fidgeting with the edge of.

"Yeah, Pheebs?" He questioned, absentmindedly moving some hair from her forehead that had fallen out of place as he gently lowered himself onto the mattress beside her, sitting at her legs.

"Are you really going back to school?" Her voice was so small, so broken. She felt like she was five years old again, asking her older brother why her father was leaving them yet again.

The man drew in a sharp breath and turned his head away from her, his eyes briefly squeezing shut at the tone of her voice, though she didn't see any of it with her gaze still trained stubbornly on her lap.

"Yeah," He finally said, "Yeah, I'm gonna head back tomorrow morning. I just wanted to stay one more night to make sure you were okay."

She felt as though her throat was closing up. How could she tell him that she wasn't okay? That she couldn't have him leaving again? Because once he left, Dean would surely send her back to her own school. He had left her there for so long, anyway, why would he want her around if their brother wasn't there as well?