I Spy, Gen Fic, 1/1
Oct. 26th, 2006 02:42 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
Title: I Spy a Chick Flick
Author:
tru_faith_lost
Rating: PG
Characters: Dean and Sam Winchester
Summary: Faith missing scene. Major spoilers for Faith.
Disclaimer: I don't own the cow. I'm just giving the milk away for free. Feed the world. LOL. I don't own the movie Untamed Heart either.
Author:
![[livejournal.com profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/external/lj-syndicated.gif)
Rating: PG
Characters: Dean and Sam Winchester
Summary: Faith missing scene. Major spoilers for Faith.
Disclaimer: I don't own the cow. I'm just giving the milk away for free. Feed the world. LOL. I don't own the movie Untamed Heart either.
I Spy a Chick Flick
“I spy, with my little eye, something in the color. . .yellow,” Sam hinted. He looked sideways at Dean who was slouched in the passenger seat and looking very uncomfortable. Chewing on his thumbnail nervously, Sam waited for some kind of response.
He wasn’t expecting his brother to actually indulge him in a game of “I Spy.” Even when they’d been kids and the endless road trips had quickly eroded their patience, Dean had hated that particular pastime. His brother, Sam had learned, was not much for silent introspection, but preferred even silence to mindless, pointless distractions.
At this point, however, ten hours into their trip to Nebraska and toward a possible cure for Dean, Sam was ready for any kind of distraction at all. They hadn’t spoken more than a few words to each other since Sam had bundled up his older brother and packed him carefully into the car that morning. It wasn’t that there wasn’t plenty to say, hell, they had more unresolved issues than the Senate following a filibuster, but none of those issues were going to be resolved. Not here. Not now.
What had happened was too painful to talk about. What may happen was still uncertain. And everything else either brother could think to say seemed to hinge on one or the other of those two things. So, instead they said nothing.
Dean had looked longingly at the radio dial after about ten minutes but had decided it was too much trouble to turn it on, not to mention too much trouble to talk over if they ever got through the crushing silence.
Sam had noticed Dean glancing at the radio and had been secretly glad that his brother had left it off. In fact, he’d had it in mind to feign a headache if Dean insisted on blaring Metallica. It wasn’t that Sam really despised the music. It was just, well, if the music was on, he wouldn’t be able to hear Dean breathing in the seat beside him, and that was suddenly very important.
“I hate that game, Sam,” Dean obliged, unable to use his brother’s nickname due to the fact that Sam had somehow taken over the role of protector in this particular instance. He was too tired to turn his head toward his baby brother, but at least the fog of his breath on the window glass as he spoke reminded them both that Dean was still alive, though not actually kicking. “And there’s nothing yellow in here.”
As short as that was, it was just the response Sam had been hoping for. The younger brother smirked to himself, though it still felt more like the nervous laughter that had been building in his chest since he’d talked to Dean’s doctor following the accident. He reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a bag of familiar candy. “Well, there wasn’t, but I picked this up for you at that last gas station. So, don’t say I never did nothin’ for ya.”
Sam tossed the bag of peanut M&M’s across the car toward Dean. He knew that his brother wouldn’t be able to catch the package, but he was immediately sorry for trying to bring a little normalcy back into the drive. The little bag of candy landed with a crinkly thud on Dean’s stomach, and the older Winchester recoiled as though he had been punched in the gut.
“Geez, Dean man, I’m sorry,” Sam apologized over his brother’s stifled groan. “I forgot.” He gripped the steering wheel with his left hand and reached his right over to Dean’s shoulder apologetically only to have it waved off by his brother. It was a dance they’d gotten pretty good at since Dean had checked himself out of the hospital the night before.
“Dude, you forgot, I get it,” Dean huffed, a little breathlessly, “but don’t touch me. You’ll just make it worse.”
Sam pulled his hand back and began chewing on the thumbnail once again. He felt like an ass. He’d forgotten. Of course he’d forgotten. The doctors at the hospital had made it so clear to him that Dean’s failing heart was the most pressing issue that Sam had completely forgotten about the fact that 100,000 volts of electricity had surged through his brother’s body, his entire body, not just his heart.
Sam had known that there had to be other injuries from the electrocution. Still, he’d only really thought about them on the couple of occasions when he’d gone to the hospital to visit Dean only to find his brother totally zonked out on pain meds. He’d asked the doctors why the dosage was so high, and that’s when he’d learned about the damage an electrical current can do to a human body.
It seemed that muscles could only contract so far and so tightly before they tore. It seemed that bone couldn’t conduct electricity as well as blood or muscles, so joints and intercostal spaces between rib bones were prone to sustaining internal burns; burns that were less visible but no less painful than the blackened char mark on his brother’s chest where his necklace charm had arced against his flesh.
Thinking about these injuries had only turned Sam’s stomach and made him more grateful that he’d arrived on the scene of the accident after the deed had already been done and there’d been nothing but the smell left to suggest the grisly scenario that had played out there. So, of course, Sam had forgotten. He’d forgotten that Dean could barely stand to be touched and launched a chocolate covered peanut missile at him. So much for a pleasant distraction.
“Thanks, though,” Dean finally said, struggling to sit up a little straighter despite the fact that his stomach muscles were clenched so tightly he could barely breathe. He knew that Sam hadn’t meant to hurt him, and he did his best to assuage the guilt. He gripped the cellophane candy wrapper in his fist and let it fall to his side, unopened.
“Don’t thank me,” Sam dismissed, slipping back into mother hen mode. “Eat. Don’t think I didn’t notice how you just picked at your breakfast and your lunch. You need to eat something, even if it is just candy.”
“Later,” was all the reply Dean could muster. He couldn’t even look at food without wanting to retch. If he managed to keep anything down, it took so much effort to digest it that he would sleep for hours. And he didn’t want to sleep.
Sam decided not to press the issue. He’d read that the nausea would get pretty bad, and he knew that Dean would never admit to feeling that sick. Besides, he’d resent Sam for pushing him to the point of admitting it. At any rate, Sam didn’t think that Dean would starve to death between now and tomorrow when, hopefully, this would all be behind them.
Sam leaned back in the driver’s seat, which wouldn’t adjust back far enough to comfortably accommodate his long legs, and focused on the road ahead. Well, he focused on the road ahead when he wasn’t casting worried, sidelong glances at his sullen, grimacing brother, or listening to each shallow, waning breath his brother took.
Sam had noticed that Dean hadn’t slept well the night before, so he’d expected him to nap more in the car. He really didn’t understand why Dean seemed so restless. He supposed it was possible that the pain meds the doctors had sent home in little bottles were not nearly as effective as the iv drips they’d had his brother on in the hospital, but he suspected there was more to it than that.
The younger Winchester looked down at the speedometer and saw that he was going 85. That was only further confirmation that Dean was sicker than he let on, because, while Dean was a great driver who could tear down winding back roads with the best of them, he was generally very conscientious about not going faster than necessary. Unless something was breathing right down the Impala’s back bumper, the car seldom went over the speed limit.
Sam knew, of course, that fifteen or twenty miles per hour over the limit wouldn’t get them to their destination that much sooner, but he couldn’t shake the feeling that he was racing a death clock that was quickly running down. He’d first realized it the night before. He’d realized, watching Dean struggling to sleep, half-sitting up and shivering from a chill that he just couldn’t shake, that this was their last chance.
Sam had been planning to stay up later to do more research, try to come up with another option in case this “specialist” in Nebraska didn’t work out. But an hour into his research, Dean’s breathing had gotten shallower, more strangled, and Sam knew that there would be no other chances. Dean hadn’t mentioned it, but Sam was pretty sure that the weeks to a month that the doctor had given his brother to live, had probably dwindled to days the minute Dean checked himself out of the hospital. There’d been no more research after that.
Sam’s foot eased down on the gas pedal subtly. He didn’t want Dean to feel the acceleration and protest. The younger brother was actually thankful for his brother’s silence. The less Dean asked about where they were going, the less Sam had to lie to him.
Sam could hardly admit to himself that he was taking his brother to a faith healer. He knew it was crazy. But Dad’s friend had given him hope that no one else had been willing to offer, hope that no book or doctor could support. So, Sam was running with it. All he could do was get Dean there, after that faith would have to take over.
There was actually only one thing that Sam had complete faith in about this whole fiasco, and that was Dean. Somehow Sam just knew that if he got Dean there, it wouldn’t matter how many other sick people there were waiting to be healed, Dean would be picked. Dean would be healed. Because he was Dean.
It all sounded ludicrous in his mind, but Dean being Dean was the one thing that Sam believed in with complete certainty. Even when the brothers had been just children, Sam had noticed the way Dean stood out from other people, the way people couldn’t help but look when the elder Winchester passed by.
When they were very small, Sam had thought it normal, after all, that was the way he himself looked at his brother, with a certain reverence, respect, and wonder. When they were older, Sam had recognized something more to the glances his brother elicited from even complete strangers. Dean had always been handsome, confident, and charming, so Sam hadn’t been surprised to notice the infatuated, lustful stares that followed his brother wherever he went. Still, there was always just enough reverence, respect, and wonder in the mix to keep people safely at bay. Sam supposed that people noticed Dean the way they noticed the most expensive car on the showroom floor before they settled on the mid-range model.
The younger brother had sometimes aspired to be that attention worthy, and had even allowed himself to believe that it was perhaps something that he could grow into. In fact, there had been a brief period of time when Sam and Dean were roughly the same height, and when they’d walked together, Sam had occasionally thought that people were looking at him the way they had always looked at Dean, but when Sam’s head inched over that of his brother, the glances had not followed him up but remained fixed on Dean. Dean was just so. . .much. Even the walls he built around himself to hide his feelings and thoughts were not thick enough to hide his inherent. . .Dean-ity.
And it was that Dean-ity that would save his brother, Sam knew. For all his hours of research, hopeless prayers, and excessively fast driving, Sam could do nothing but get his brother to Nebraska. It was Dean who would save himself. Whether he knew it or not. Sam was completely convinced that there was no way that reverend guy could be anywhere near his brother and not pick him.
It was late in the afternoon as Sam gave his brother one more good, long glance, trying subconsciously to etch every ounce of Dean-ity onto his memory, just in case. Sam could drive all night, but he knew Dean’s discomfort was getting to be more than he could mask, and when Dean couldn’t hide behind his mask any longer, he was prone to lashing out. Sam didn’t want to upset his brother. Besides, the next church service wasn’t until late the next morning. They had plenty of time get in a decent night’s sleep and take to the road again afterward. So, Sam pulled off the highway at the next lodging sign.
Dean waited in the car, barely masking his relief that they were finally stopping. He was just so damned tired, and there was no way in hell he was going to let himself sleep in the car. No way in hell.
“I’ll pull around back,” Sam said as he slid back into the driver’s seat. “The manager says we can get right up to the door. And here,” he continued, dropping a bottle of tropical punch flavored Gatorade on the seat, “at least humor me by drinking something.” He caught the slight exasperated roll in Dean’s eye and added, “Please.”
“Fine,” Dean sighed, picking up the plastic bottle. He seemed to toy with it absently for several long moments and then just dropped it back on the seat. He shoved his hands back under the blanket Sam had given him to put over his legs and pulled the comforter up to his chin, looking away bitterly. “I can’t open it. Fingers’re numb.”
Sam looked away as he blinked back the tears of hopelessness and fear that had welled up in his eyes as he’d watched his all-powerful superhero brother struggle with the cap. Once again, the younger Winchester felt like a complete ass, but this time he didn’t apologize, just opened the bottle and set it in the cup holder as he put the car in gear and drove around to the back of the building.
Thankfully, Dean managed a few swallows of the drink before Sam pulled into the parking space and killed the engine. Little brother rushed around to the passenger side of the car to help his big brother get out. Dean stayed bent over, tottering uncertainly on his swollen legs as his muscles screamed in protest, before he managed to gain enough strength to straighten up to a standing position. Even through the gritted teeth and short breaths, Sam could tell that Dean wasn’t happy about their accommodations.
“Dude, this is a handicapped room,” Dean said with obvious disdain, too worn to mask his bitterness. “What the hell? I’m dying here, not a cripple.”
“It’s all they had left,” Sam lied, hovering close to his brother as the older Winchester tested out his unsteady legs.
“C’mon, Sam, the friggin’ parking lot’s empty.”
“Okay,” the younger brother admitted, “Not one of my better lies, but come on yourself, Dean. What you need is a long, hot shower to get that chill out of your bones. This room has a walk-in shower with a seat in it. I can go back and get us a regular room with a shower-in-tub, but then you’d have to have me showering with you, ‘cuz there’s no way I’m gonna feel comfortable with you staggering around in there by yourself.”
Dean glowered at his brother darkly. He so hated feeling this helpless. “That’s just sick, Sammy,” he grumbled. He gestured toward the motel room, “Open the damn door.”
“Glad to see we’re on the same page for once,” Sam sighed as he opened the door and flicked on the light. “There’s also one of those adjustable beds in here, so you won’t have to hog all the pillows to prop yourself up. Now maybe we both can get some sleep.”
“Whatever, Dude,” Dean grumbled. He sat in the first chair he came to, the lamplight making the dark bruises under his eyes even more prominent and ghostlike. Only the dark, sad glistening of the hazel eyes convinced Sam that the thing sitting before him was really his brother and not some wayward spirit that’d latched onto him somehow.
---
As much as Dean liked the idea of that long, hot shower, it took him some time to muster up the strength to attempt the long trek to the bathroom. As Sam brought in their clothes, cranked up the heater, and laid out some fresh clothes and toiletries for his older brother, Dean flipped absently through the television stations. He’d just gotten to the Lifetime television network when Sam looked over at the screen.
“Oh, Untamed Heart, that was one of Jess’ favorites,” the younger brother commented. “I’ve never seen it, but I always wondered about it. Have you seen it?”
“Yeah, I’ve seen it, and no we’re not watching it,” Dean stated flatly, panic rising in his stomach.
“When did you see it?” Sam asked. He suspected Dean was lying about that point, but that didn’t really matter. This was the most engrossing conversation they’d had all day, and Sam intended to keep it going as long as he could.
“In the hospital, few days ago,” Dean admitted. “It’s a sad commentary on the times when you can spend a whole day driving away from somewhere, and through the miracle of modern technology, find the exact same crap on the tube in the next city.”
Sam chuckled uncertainly, amused by his brother’s sarcasm. “So, wait, you watched the Lifetime channel while you were in the hospital?” Sam teased.
Dean shrugged, then grimaced, then sighed, “It was either that or soap operas, Dude, and there was no way I was going to watch soap operas and have to go to my grave wondering who was really the father of some chick’s kid or whether or not some dude was ever gonna wake up and realize that he was in love with his best friend.”
Sam would have laughed, had Dean left out the part about going to his grave. “So, why don’t you want to watch this movie? I’m kinda curious about it now that you’ve seen it.”
“Fine, Sammy,” Dean said, standing slowly and heading toward the bathroom. “Watch whatever you want, but don’t blame me when you can’t sleep tonight. Freakin’ chick flicks,” he grumbled as he started to close the bathroom door, “scarier than Freddy Krueger.”
Sam looked after his brother as his face twisted in amused confusion at the last comment. Now, he was so gonna watch that movie. “Uh, Dean,” he stammered, motioning toward the door, “do you mind leaving it open a crack, you know, so I can hear if you need something?”
“Whatever, you little perv,” Dean allowed, too weak to argue. “Just don’t let me catch you peeking.”
Sam tossed his hands up as if to say, “So not an issue,” and Dean left him with his damned chick flick.
---
By the time Dean emerged again, the movie was over, and Sam was biting at his fingernails, looking pale and drawn.
“Dude,” Dean said knowingly, “I told you not to watch that movie.”
“Well, you should’ve warned me harder,” Sam whined, annoyed that his brother had been right about the fact that this movie in particular was probably more than a little inappropriate given their current situation. “What the hell possessed you to watch it while you were in the hospital?”
“Honestly, I slept through most of it, and I used to have the tiniest little thing for Marisa Tomei.” Dean’s face took on a faraway lustful look that Sam hadn’t seen for days, “Mmm, that cute little button nose, and those big, brown eyes.” He shook off the sentiment, “And maybe it was all the meds, but I so did not see that ending coming, or I would have changed the channel, soap operas or not.”
Realization dawned on Sam, and he shook his head slowly. “So that’s why you wouldn’t go to sleep in the car. You were afraid you wouldn’t wake up just like that guy in the movie.”
Dean looked away, found a spot on the floor between his feet, and focused on it so that he could keep the fear at bay. “No. That’s not really it,” he admitted. “Look, Sammy. I’ll be the first to admit that this whole dying thing kinda sucks, but I’m not afraid of it.”
“So why are you afraid to fall asleep?”
“If you don’t know, then I’m sure as hell not going to tell you,” Dean said, knowing that the words that he’d require to actually tell Sam the truth would be too much for him to handle.
But Sam did know. He was just surprised that Dean felt that way, considering the jokes he’d made in the hospital that had made him sound so indifferent and uncaring. Dean wasn’t afraid of dying. He was afraid of leaving Sammy alone. Afraid that Sammy would find him the way that girl in the movie had discovered her dead boyfriend in the car seat beside her. Afraid that Sammy wouldn’t be able to deal, and afraid that Dean would be the one to cause his brother so much pain after all the years he’d spent trying to shield the kid from just that. And Sammy had to admit, he was afraid of the same things.
Dean made his way over to the bed, which Sam had adjusted to a semi-upright position, and slid in, drawing the covers up as far as he could around himself. The effects of the hot shower were only fleeting, and the chill began to settle in again. He really hoped that he wouldn’t start shivering again. With his muscles still so sore, shivering was its own private agony.
“God, I wish I’d never seen that movie,” Sam sighed, heading to the bathroom for his own shower, and what Dean knew was probably a good long cry.
“You and me both, little brother,” Dean whispered.
---
The darkness of the room did little to force the sleep issue. Dean was shivering uncontrollably, despite the fact that he had all of the blankets on his bed, and the heat was turned up as far as it would go. And Sam, the image of the movie burned into his brain, lay staring at the wall, afraid to close his eyes and miss the sound of Dean’s faltering breath.
Sam heard a rustling of covers on Dean’s bed, and turned to peer into the darkness at his brother. He saw the bedspread had been lifted up the same way Dean had always lifted the covers to invite little Sammy into bed beside him when the youngster had awakened from a bad dream as a child.
“You’re not serious,” Sam said in disbelief.
“C’mon man, I’m freezing, and I know you’re not going to be able to sleep over there listening to me breathing all night,” Dean argued weakly, “So get your ass over here. I cant’ have you driving my car without a good night’s sleep. Don’t think I won’t haunt your ass when you fall asleep at the wheel and wreck my baby.”
Sam was in no shape to argue, so he accepted the invitation. The room was far too hot for him, so he only pulled the topmost cover over himself, but even with several other layers of blankets between himself and his brother, Sam could feel Dean breathing, and the closeness of it was soothing to him.
“Just don’t try to get fresh with me,” Dean cracked, leaning his head on Sam’s shoulder.
“You look like shit, Dean,” Sam assuaged. “Even I’m not that desperate.”
“So, the face of death has its advantages,” Dean chuckled weakly, “Pervy baby brother repellent.” He sighed slowly, the chill evaporating from his bones as Sam’s body heat filtered through the blankets. “You’re right, though. Even I wouldn’t hit on me right now, and I’m my own biggest fan.”
“Second biggest,” Sam whispered. He supposed Dean had a comeback lined up for that, too, but they were both sound asleep before the statement had a chance to register in either’s mind.
---
“I spy with my little eye,” Dean began, his back propped against the passenger door of the car, “something in the color. . .black.”
“Dude, everything in this car is black,” Sam said in exasperation.
“Good, then it’ll take you a long time to figure it out. I had to take some pain meds before we started this drive, and I so don’t want to fall asleep.”
Sam nodded obligingly. “I’m right there with you, man,” he said. “God I wish I’d never seen that friggin’ movie.”
The End
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Date: 2006-10-26 04:19 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-26 04:22 pm (UTC)Glad you liked it, and thanks for dropping a line.
HT
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Date: 2006-10-26 04:40 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-26 04:44 pm (UTC)Haha, love your icon BTW. Personally, I gotta shop for underwear in the Mary-Kate and Ashley section of the Wal-Mart. Sigh.
HT
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Date: 2006-10-26 04:51 pm (UTC)Thanks! Both were actually t-shirts, but I didn't have money to buy them, so I thought I'd still show my support (pun intended :D )in the good fight. Lol.. yeah mine are either Walmart, Superstore or Sears... talk about fancy.. lol
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Date: 2006-10-26 05:06 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-26 05:10 pm (UTC)HT
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Date: 2006-10-26 05:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-26 05:34 pm (UTC)I had no idea. I'm surprised this hasn't come up in other fics 'cause it seems deserved.
You conveied Dean's weakness well with his inability to stay warm and even digestion exhausting him. And nice balance of humour with the grim reality of their situation. It helped, of course, that I knew how the whole thing ended. ;)
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Date: 2006-10-26 05:39 pm (UTC)I love both ends of the emotional spectrum. You're a doll. Thanks,
HT
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Date: 2006-10-26 07:56 pm (UTC)And I'm glad I haven't seen that film because I'd have been a blubbering mess..LOL!
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Date: 2006-10-26 08:01 pm (UTC)Thanks for reading.
HT
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Date: 2006-10-27 02:29 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-10-27 02:42 am (UTC)Glad you liked it. Thanks for reading.
HT
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Date: 2006-10-27 05:28 am (UTC)“God, I wish I’d never seen that movie,” Sam sighed, heading to the bathroom for his own shower, and what Dean knew was probably a good long cry.
HEH Sam is so emo.
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Date: 2006-10-27 10:38 am (UTC)HT
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Date: 2006-11-02 07:10 am (UTC)no subject
Date: 2006-11-02 11:40 am (UTC)HT
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Date: 2006-11-03 10:22 am (UTC)*HUGS*
Totally awesome, dear...
*More hugs*
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Date: 2006-11-03 12:24 pm (UTC)HT
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Date: 2007-09-03 01:53 pm (UTC)Ok, that might not be the hardest thing in the world to do but still!
I have admit that I loved the faith episode. I love those episodes that give us a glimpse of the soft underside of Dean.
Oh and shhh, don't tell anyone, but I have a thing for Christian Slater too and yes, I've watch untamed heart a few times! LOL!
Awesome fic darl, just loved it!
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Date: 2007-09-03 02:02 pm (UTC)And I totally love Christian Slater, was the only reason I watched that move, and I still find it incredibly depressing, haha.
Thanks for reading.