Phoenix

Dean's Not Okay

Sam Winchester

The car ride was quiet. Too quiet. It was like no one was in the car. Dean had been sleeping for the last hour, which was unusual, and Dean still haven't fixed the radio.

Raindrops appeared on the windshield. Thumps after thumps, but it didn't make up for the silence. Harder.

Heavier.

Thump, thump, thump.

I sighed and thought about waking Dean, but he needed the rest. For last 3 days, he was been ignoring the fact that sleep was optional. He needed it. Hell, I needed but hunting comes first. People's safety was being questioned once again.

I pushed the petal farther down to the floor. Speeding down the back roads. Dean would have killed me if he had seen me speeding like this. Good thing, he's sleeping.

The hunt will be an easy kill. Two people were burned horrendously, but survived. The other four was sadly not so fortunate. A Euphorbia plant pattern spread across the victims' bodies. A Fireplant. I figured we were dealing with a witch, but Dean didn't care. He just wanted to get back to hunting. It's like he needs it as medicine for what he's dealing with.

It began with Cas. His disappearance was a surprise to us because he was recently been hurt. Worst than just stabbing. It was like all his grace as been removed, and he was decaying from the inside.

Then, the nightmares started appearing. The screaming began more and more frequent within a week. At first, I though he was going to get over it, but I was wrong. I'm losing more sleep now. I'm sitting outside his door every night because I don't want him to go through that. I know he's strong, but he's my brother. I want to protect him with everything I am.

I quickly looked at Dean as his chest lifted in a pattern. He was peaceful. That's good. He's ok. As long as I'm around, he's going to be fine.

The road was completely empty with the exception of a car going the opposite way of us. I flashed my headlight twice to get them to slow down, which they then came to a complete stop.

A girl with light brown skin looked back with sleepy eyes.

"I'm sorry," I began, "Do you know where I can find a motel for the night?" I asked.

She blinked for a second and said, "It's the first left as soon as you see the Campo Sign. It's in big red lights. You can miss it unless your blind." She smiled.

"Thank you." I nodded. "Uh, have a good night." I kind of strutted. This women looked really tired, and her house was probably a great distance from Campo.

She smiled again and drove away. I placed my foot on the gas and sped off.

"Easy on the gas." Dean was awake. He straighten his shirt and fixed his hair.

I looked over him as he tried to remove the sleep from his eyes. "Eyes on the road, Samuel. If you hurt Baby, I won't be too forgiving." I chuckled and looked back at the road.

"It's Sam." I mumbled, but Dean just rolled his eyes.

There was a pause before i decided to speak up. I needed to know what Dean was experiencing. I at least wanted to know how I can help.

"How you feeling?"

"I'm feeling hungry." He stated. He was dodging the real answer. Typical Dean move. I looked over at him, but quickly turned my head to face the road.

"What? Do you want to hold hands and talk about our feelings?" He said while holding out his hands.

I crooked my head to the right, considering the option.