Summer Comment-fic meme!

[ratherastory.livejournal.com]

It's been forever since we had a straight-up comment-fic meme, am I right? So let's get this show on the road!



SPREAD THE WORD

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THE RULES

→ Leave a comment here with your prompt. This is a Sam-focused hurt/comfort community, so Sam should be the one in the hurt/comforted role. Your prompts may involve sick!Sam, hurt!Sam, angsty!Sam, basically anything that results in Sam being on the receiving end of hurt/comfort. (No rules against whumping other characters as well, of course, but you have to whump Sam first. ;) )
→ In your prompt, please state your desired characters or pairings. All genres/pairings welcome, but no real-person (RPF) prompts.


Example A: “Sam, Dean, gen, set in season 2. Sam has a vision and passes out. Cue caring!Dean and limp!Sam.”
Example B: “Sam/Dean, trauma. Sam is injured on a hunt, Dean freaks out when he thinks Sam might be dead.”

→ Post as many prompts as you like - but one prompt per comment. If you've got a couple, comment with each separately.
→ Prompts can be as short or detailed as you like. Remember though - more detail means less wriggle room for the writer, which might lower the chances of someone picking up your prompt.
→ Go through the prompts! If you find one you like, write a fic for it. There's no limit to how many users can reply to a prompt, or how many prompts someone can write for.
→ When replying to a prompt with your comment-fic, put ‘filled’ in your subject line and then anything else you want, like a title if you have one/part numbers. It’s not a big deal if you forget this step, but it will make it easier for people to find your fic. As subject lines are no more, please begin your fills with the word FILLED and a TITLE in BOLD - the first box on this page shows you how to position the bold tag for proper results.
→ If you notice that your fic is not on the master list after a decent amount of time (say, two days), please poke me in a PM. I might have missed it.
→ Anon posting enabled.
→ NO SPOILERS FOR UNAIRED EPISODES.
→ Play nice - no flaming and no character bashing, period. Any comments that break this rule will be deleted without warning.
→ Feedback is catnip for writers. Leave some author-love!
→ No spam comments.
→ Contact one of the mods if you have a question.
→ Spread the Sam love - pimp this meme!
→ Have fun!

Master List of Fills

Mod Note: I have severely restricted access to the Internet these days, due mostly to time constraints. Bear with me if your fills don't appear right away, okay? :)

Priorities; by center_galaxy; Outsider POV: pizza guy/girl. Goes to deliver a pie (veggie lover's delight?) to a remote motel. The big guy that answers the door is in no way healthy (either he's woefully sick or beaten all to hell.) Or maybe the door is ajar and the delivery person can see someone passed out on the floor.

Winchester Luck; by chaos_slave; Sam falls/gets thrown off a cliff.

Bath Time Blues; by cherry916; Sam Dean John gen Pre-series. Sam has a back injury or some sort of back problem, he's not paralysed, but he can't lift anything. Dean and John are fussing over him and watching him like a hawk to make sure he follows the doctor's orders.

The Itch You Can't Scratch; by cherry916; Sam gets a nasty rash from the hellhound blood all over him.

Side Effects; by center_galaxy; "Everybody Hates Hitler" AU. What if the Nazi Necromancer poison didn't go away nearly as quickly as it did in the actual ep? Or had some nasty aftereffects?

The Very Thought of You; by center_galaxy; Jess has worked the late night shift at a diner for months now. But when the tall guy with the dimples that calls in every night for a coffee suddenly stops coming, she gets worried because no one seems to notice he's missing but her. Then a few nights later he stumbles into the diner, all beat up and bloody.

Occupational Hazard; by omh_6; It's the summer of Sam's 13th year. Dean is already Dad's right-hand man and Too Cool for School, and Sam has been scrambling to keep up, then KAPOW. Growth spurt. Almost overnight, Sam finds himself eye-to-eye with his 'big' brother and you'd think that'd make him happy, right? But no, this is Sam Winchester we're talking, here. Cue the growing pains, eternal hunger, long ungainly limbs, screwed up center of gravity.

Angry Spirits Don't Care About Mud; by calypsobard;"Maybe Sam should've listened to his brother before he decided to play the hero and run back into that house."

The Worst Thing; by scribble2much; The memories of the cage are so strong that Sam begins to show psychosomatic symptoms to some of Lucifer's tortures.

On the Side of the Road; by jasmineisland; Back in season 5, after Dean and Sam split up; Sam hitchhikes, thing is, the angels are out to tear him apart, now that they’ve got them split up; they recruit a demon or something to that effect, to do their dirty work. The demon ends up raping him on the side of the road., while or right before Dean ends up calling him to reconcile.

Anything For You; by center_galaxy; Remember Sam's broken wrist way back when? He had a cast, it healed, all was well. Until somewhere in his late 30s the pain he's been ignoring for a while becomes a constant thing. They discover that Sam's been walking around with an improperly healed carpal bone and as a result has some nasty degenerative arthritis, and Dean decides this is a good time to hang it up and retire. But, just because they're done with the supernatural, doesn't mean that it's done with them and when Dean goes missing - Sam and his swollen, knobby "it's not entirely useless, dammit" hand have to find him. It's frustrating, it's dangerous, it hurts - but it's his brother, you know?

What I Would Give for You by center_galaxy Sam gets tuberculosis.

And a Pillar of Fire by Night by ladyarcherfan3 (gen please) At the end of 8.23, Sam tries to "let go" of the trials. The glow leaves his arms and he shows Dean with a smile before crying out in pain and collapsing. What if Sam''s collapse was caused by the Angels falling rather than just the trial's; side effects? He could be overloading on the same thing the Batcave is sensing when the machines turn on.

Better Than it Was by calypsobard Post season 8; The boys run into Jody Mills. She's still (quite understandably) shaken and freaked by her near-death-by-Crowley. However, once she sees how ill Sam looks, she seizes upon nursing Sam back to health as her new mission.

Just Press Reset by scribble2much  In the wake of s8 there would have to be some lingering trust issues for Sam regarding Dean's forgiveness and respect. So maybe something years down the line when they are in one of their desperate situations and Dean does a "we're good, right?" check and somehow realizes that Sam flat out doesn't believe him, and has just gotten used to the idea that Dean loves him, sure, but won't ever think well of him or believe that Sam has lived down his mistakes. And Dean is all "YES I LOVE YOU BECAUSE YOU'RE MY LITTLE BROTHER BUT I ALSO LOVE YOU BECAUSE YOU ARE AWESOME" in some very convincing way and then Sam cries

Overflow by monicawoe Sam/Dean or gen; Getting all charged up for the Trials and then not discharging that energy by closing the gates of hell may not have been such a great idea. Sam's not sick any more, but his powers are back -- visions, telekinesis, other freaky stuff -- and he has no control over it and he's starting fires and hurting people. And then it gets worse and he's causing little cracks in the reality around him, cracks between earth and heaven and hell and purgatory and the fae realm. At this point it's not even that discharging the energy all at once will probably kill him, it's that they don't know how to do it without blowing the whole thing apart.

Helpless by jasmineisland Sam breaks his collar bone and needs help with the very basics of daily life, IE. getting dressed, brushing his hair and so on.

One Soul, Needfully Patched by indiachick While Death is building the Great Wall of Sam, he tries to fix as much of the hell trauma as he can. Sam's head is one messy place though.

Work in Progress by mentholpixie Sam and Dean are at a bar and for some reason (up to the author) a bunch of guys start bad mouthing Sam and making fun of him. Sam just shrugs it off, but NOBODY is allowed to hurt Sam's feelings on Dean's watch, so Dean pretty much knocks the crap outta these guys and makes sure his brother is OK. :)

Anything At All by center_galaxy Gen, pls! Remember Sam's broken wrist way back when? He had a cast, it healed, all was well. Until somewhere in his late 30s the pain he's been ignoring for a while becomes a constant thing, a constant sense of pain that he feels when it's cold, when rain's coming. It's difficult to use his dominant hand - he can barely hold a pen or a fork, let alone a gun. Under the appropriate assumed identity, Dean takes Sam to get it checked out. They discover that Sam's been walking around with an improperly healed carpal bone and as a result has some nasty degenerative arthritis. It's been years and the doc they go to see doesn't think that there are a great deal of surgical options. He recommends injections to reduce the inflammation, some ibuprofen for daily use, some lortab or percocet when it's particularly bad, and for Sam to do what he can to start training his left hand while at the same time working to keep maximized function of his right. Dean decides this is a good time to hang it up and retire. Little place, little jobs, and Sam and Dean get by - working out Sam's hand, getting injections, and living. But, just because they're done with the supernatural, doesn't mean that it's done with them and when Dean goes missing - Sam and his swollen, knobby "it's not entirely useless, dammit" hand have to find him. It's frustrating, it's dangerous, it hurts - but it's his brother, you know?

Washed Up Like Poison by starling_night The thing about being human is that you can know things with your mind, believe them with all of your soul, and still have this little place in your heart that doesn't give a shit. Ruby lied to Sam, she manipulated him, and when he was with her - he was as close to being evil as he's ever been, barring the soulless Sam debacle. If she was brought back to life, he wouldn't hesitate to do everything he had to to make certain that it wasn't for very damned long. But, still, here and there, now and then, he thinks of her, he misses her just the tiniest bit. Sure, she was a vile, lying demon, using him to bring about the rise of the Devil and the eventual end of the world, but there were quiet moments, peaceful ones where they'd lie together while the sun came up, while the candles burned down, while the world went from silence to waking. And no matter how it frustrates him, how much he hates himself every time he thinks of her instead of those he misses that actually deserve it (i.e. the Good Saint Jessica), he is unable to do anything with that tiny little place in his heart that thinks "I know it wasn't real, I know she lied and was truly Evil with a capital E, but sometimes, I still miss her."

Scapegoat by reggie11 Teenchesters. In retaliation to Dean stealing his girl/showing him up/whatever, a school bully (or bullies) drags Sam into the school bathroom and cuts his hair off. Cue distraught Sammy and protective, pissed off, big brother Dean; Gen please!

A City Broken Into by sharktheory Naomi orders Castiel to kill Sam

Nutcracker by jasmineisland Sam is hiding that he's injured or more injured than Dean thinks or that he's sick from Dean 'cause he thinks that Dean has enough to 'deal with' already, love it to be canon; Skin, The Benders, Devils Trap, any of the episodes from early Season 2, pretty much any episode in Season 5, Let it Bleed, Plucky Pennywhistle's Magical Menagerie and sooooo many more episodes where this could happen; Dean gets all guilty when he finds Sam treating himself and mother-hens Sam back to health; Gen or Slash

Instinct written by monicawoe art by quickreaver After the trials, Sam doesn't get better. Kevin's theory is that it's cancer: the trials are supposed to purge him of all physical and spiritual impurities, so tuberculosis is out, and cancer is the only reason left for Sam to be coughing his lungs up when he's supposed to be the pinnacle of human perfection. Nope. Sam's falling apart because the demon blood is gone.

Surfacing by a_starfish Cas's completely, face-palmingly nonsensical "fix" for Hallucifer doesn't work. Not quite all the way, and not forever; Gen or Wincest, any rating.

Time and Time Again by center_galaxy Kid!Sam time travels forward and meets current!Dean (without current!Sam, preferably, but I'm not that picky). Dean's having a bad time with his PTSD from . Sam freaks out and is generally scared of the big gruff hunter who's trying to help him get home. And then he finds the amulet tucked away somewhere. Or maybe he sees a picture of himself and Dean. Or he's just smart enough to put two and two together. Whatever the case, he figures out that this is what his big brother becomes and he's terrified. Bonus points for wee!Sam witness torturer!Dean.

42 Blankets and Towels by hadassah934 Sam and Dean are both sick. Charlie finds out and brings chicken soup and geeky movies to the batcave.

Save or Kill by of_nightingales John shoots Sam. On purpose or accident -- repercussions are going to be severe in any case.

Like Groundhog Day by foolscapper Gen, during Mystery Spot. So, after countless Tuesdays, let's say Sam's gotten a little desperate. I mean, if Dean dying means resetting the day, then maybe him dying will end the loop? The youngest Winchester figures it's worth a try and starts to put himself in situations where Dean usually died (ex: walking into the middle of the street with a speeding car coming at him). Dean, on the other hand, can't figure out what the heck is going on with his brother. Bonus points if Sam eventually breaks down in tears, puts a gun to his head and Dean has to talk him down from pulling the trigger.

Comments

[center-galaxy.livejournal.com]

FILLED: Anything at All (1/?)

Author's Note: The last point of cannon this makes reference to is the end of season 7, but we'll pretend that Dean and Castiel never went to Purgatory. Season 8 never happened. Also, I'm not a doctor so please forgive me for any mistakes when it comes to my medical terms!

This isn't the way Dean thought they would get out of the life.

He always thought he would die on a hunt. That was how he would go out, in one last blaze of glory, heart stopping as he laid in a pool of his own blood, lifeless eyes locked on the night sky. That was the vision that he had come to accept for himself--as long as Sam made it, as long as he survived. Dean didn't mind Death, but he refused to lose his brother. He had been the last remaining Winchester for a whopping three days and he hadn't been able to handle it. He had sold his soul and brought his baby brother back because without Sam, what was the point in going on? He fought every day against the weariness to help Sam, to keep him safe. Sure, a psychologist would probably have a field day with their relationship, but screw them. They didn't understand what true loneliness was, how it could eat you up so that you were nothing but an empty shell. They didn't cherish their siblings as much as he cherished Sam, they could never understand what family truly meant.

No, Sam was his reason for living and Dean wouldn't have it any other way.

"Dean, someone's on the phone for you!" Linda hollers and Dean smirks as the matronly woman holding the handheld smiles affectionately at him. Wiping a few beads of sweat off of his forehead with his rag, the eldest Winchester rises from the side of the classic car he had been restoring.

This was his life now--working odd jobs in some small towns, renting a small house with his brother and then, when they both felt stifled, they left. They hadn't done a hunt ever since Sam had gotten his diagnosis, about three years ago. Both Winchesters had taken the news surprisingly well, all things considered.

Dean still blamed himself, but Sam always found a way to comfort him, even if it was as simple as insulting his tape collection to distract him from his thoughts.

He still thought about it though.

A lot.

"Dean?" Linda asks, hand on her hip, head tilting slightly to the side in confusion. "Y'all alright, honey?"

"Fine, fine," He replies, shooting her one of his best charming grins. She simply chuckles and shaking her head, she passes off the phone to him. "Hello?"

"Dean Winchester?" a female voice begun, fear shaking her words. "I need your help."

And once more, he was roped back in.

[center-galaxy.livejournal.com]

FILLED: Anything at All (2/?)

Sam likes his life now.

I mean, yeah, he liked his life before they quit hunting, but there was something freeing in laying down the weight of the world and leaving it for some newer, younger hunter to pick up. Sure, Garth still calls to check in and pass them some information on what was going on, but they no longer went chasing for the things that went bump in the night. After years of trying to escape the life, it still surprises him how easy it actually was to adjust back to "normal" life. Dean had taken to it with relative ease and Sam wonders if his year with Lisa had anything to do with that. He would never ask; however, as that topic--along with most of everything that had transpired before--was off-limits by mutual agreement.

That didn't mean Sam still didn't think about hunting.

He often calls Jody to check in with her and he finds the talks with the police officer to be just as comforting as they are informative. The moment they had found out about Sam's problem--they had been in Texas at the time--Jody had shown up the next morning with a bottle of booze and an open invitation to talk about anything. It was a chick-flick moment at its best, but Sam feels like it was a needed one at the time. They had mostly spent the night talking about Bobby anyway and the stories he had learned about the older hunter still bring a grin to Sam's face even now. Charlie often visits too, somehow finding an address and tracking them down without them even telling her. She often teases Dean and shows the youngest Winchester her latest gadgets and at the end of her visits, she'll pull out a DVD and force the two of them to watch it. Dean always says he hates her movies, but really, he loves them just as much as she does. As for Castiel . . . well, they hadn't heard from the angel since he had decided to take a "journey of self-discovery" or something along those lines. His faith had been shaken and Sam understands why he needed to take some time to figure things out, but that doesn't stop him from missing the angel's company.

Still, all things considered, his life is pretty good now.

The phone rings, its shrill beeping interrupting any further thoughts on his life. He moves swiftly to their home phone--yes, they are in one place long enough to be able to have home phone, a thought which delights Sam to no end--and he places the handheld to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Sammy, hey." Dean begins and immediately, the youngest Winchester senses something is off. There's an odd twinge to his older brother's voice and immediately, Sam stiffens.

"Dean, what's wrong?" Because while maybe he can't deal as much damage as he used to, he can still kick some ass if need be and if someone messed with his brother--

"I just need some air," He replies and Sam deflates a little bit. That's the code word they have. In the beginning, Dean would use it whenever he felt like the walls were pushing him into a corner. Sam understands. Dean isn't use to staying in one place for so long. He has always felt most at home on the open road with the windows rolled down, his music blasting and an endless sky before him.Just for a few days. Sam smiles bitterly, trying not to feel the sting that comes whenever he thinks about how he's responsible for this.

If he had never gotten hurt in the first place, they would've never had to quit the life.

"Okay," He whispers, trying to push down the guilt because he does not want to spiral back into that dark place. If he does, he might not come back again. "You'll call if you need me?"

"Of course," Dean replies. A pause and then, "It's not what you think it is, Sam. I just . . . have to do this."

And with that, the eldest Winchester hangs up.

[center-galaxy.livejournal.com]

FILLED: Anything at All (3/?)

It all started when his hand started to hurt.

It wasn't a big deal at first. It would twinge for a few hours and then fade away on its own. He had just attributed it to a fall gone wrong and he hadn't even bothered to tell Dean about it. Over the next weeks; however, the pain became more of a burning sensation and it was more frequent. He could tell what the weather was going to be like because the cold would cut through his hand like a flaming knife. At this, his older brother began to notice what was going on, but Sam had lied, said he could handle it and the two of them moved on.

It was when they were in the middle of a hunt with a pissed off werewolf and he couldn't pull the trigger on his gun because his hand was burning like skin branded that it occurred to the youngest Winchester that something was seriously wrong. Dean had thought so too and so he had dragged out the card of "Mr. Samuel Hagar" and dragged him to the local clinic.

"I can't really pick up a fork anymore," Sam confessed quietly, Dean's eyes boring into the back of his skull. "I just . . . I don't know what's wrong." The man, Dr. Torres, simply grinned and reassuringly placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry," He began in a confident tone. "We'll get to the bottom of this."

It turned out--after some tests and a few x-rays--that Sam had been injured years ago, when he had broken his wrist after he had been tossed into a tombstone. The doctor explained that the bone had healed improperly and that the continued use of the hand had led to much of the cartilage in the bone being destroyed. As a result, the youngest Winchester found himself with degenerative arthritis or as the doctor called it, osteoarthritis of the arm.

"So, what now?" Dean had been keeping quiet this whole time and Sam could see the obvious signs of guilt swirling in the eldest Winchester's eyes. He blamed himself for not figuring this out years ago and fixing the problem. "Can we do surgery?"

"I'm afraid with the level of damage that's been done to the bone," The doctor began carefully. "Surgery wouldn't solve anything." He met Sam's eyes with a sympathetic gaze. "I can provide you some injections to keep the inflammation down and to deal with the pain, I can recommend ibuprofen and I will give you a prescription for some higher grade pain medications should you need them."

"And my hand?" Sam whispered, cradling his arm.

"You need to begin physical therapy with it immediately," Dr. Torres said forcefully. "I will give you some exercises to perform to help strengthen it, but I suggest you learn how to use your left hand because until you get the right hand under control, I do not want you to use it."

And that was the final nail in the coffin.

They had left the clinic with a few prescriptions and few answers. They had filled the prescriptions, returned to the motel room and Sam flopped onto the bed. As he stared up at the ceiling, wondering how the hell he could hunt if his dominant hand wasn't allowed to be used, Dean spoke.

"I think . . ." His voice faltered. "I think we should stop." Sam had sat up at that, startled.

"Stop hunting?"

"Yeah." Dean whispered, nodding to himself. His mind was made up.

"But Dean--"

"We've paid our dues, right? Let someone else deal with everything--"

"Dean--"

"And it's not like there aren't any hunters left. Garth knows a ton of them. We could always help with research--"

"Is this what you want though?" Sam insisted. "Or are you just saying this because of my arm?"

A pause filled with careful reflection. Then, Dean met his gaze, green eyes filled with determination.

"I want this, Sam," He started. "I want out of this life."

"Okay, then." Sam nodded.

And just like that, they were out.

[center-galaxy.livejournal.com]

FILLED: Anything at All (4/?)

The routine is the same everyday.

Get up at 7:00 am, put a pot of coffee on, turn on the TV to the news and wait for the coffee to brew. If it's a good day, Sam will just pop two ibuprofen into his mouth and be okay for most of the day. If it's a bad day, he gives himself an injection and waits in sheer agony as the medicine slowly begins to work his way through his hand. Once the inflammation is down, he takes one of the higher grade pain medicines.

After breakfast, Dean will head to the garage and Sam will do some research for any local hunters. He wants a job, but with his hand it's hard to find one that he can do well. Dean swears he doesn't mind being the sole source of income, but the youngest Winchester feels a bit guilty. He wants to be helpful and not entirely useless just because of his damn hand.

He wants to prove to himself that he can do this.

The morning after Dean left, the routine is the same, though Sam performs it with little joy in his system. He misses his brother and frankly, he feels bad. This new life has been harder on the eldest Winchester than on the youngest and it makes Sam wonder if it's time to move again. Sometimes, a new location could soothe Dean for a few weeks--

His cellphone rings, playing Sammy Hagar--a joke ringtone that Sam put on for Dean to annoy his brother--and immediately, he picks it up and places it to his ear.

"Dean?"

"Is this Sam?" A frightened girl's voice whispers and immediately Sam stiffens. Dean never let his phone out of his sight, not even for a pretty girl. No, something was wrong here.

"Who is this?" He growls, venom dripping from his words.

"Please, I'm not one of them," The girl whimpers and the defensive attitude the youngest Winchester feels begins to slip slightly. "Please, you have to help. It's Dean! He promised that I could call him if something else happened and he came, but he has him!"

Oh God, no.

"Who has Dean?" Though his hand is fucking killing him this morning, he forces himself to push it down and he moves for a pen and paper with his left hand. "What is your name? Where are you?"

"I didn't mean for this to happen," The girl is crying now and dread solidifies in Sam's gut. "Daddy just wouldn't go away. He should be in Heaven, but he has Mama and now Dean!"

A hunt, Sam realizes belatedly. Dean had gone on a hunt. He had gone on a hunt without telling him or even asking for back-up. What the hell had he been thinking?

"Listen to me," Sam soothed. "You need to tell me your name."

"Arianna." The girl said in-between sobs.

"Good, Arianna," He lavishly praises her. "Now, where are you?"

"103 Western Place, Houston, Texas." She recites dutifully.

"I'm coming to help you," Sam assures her. "Just hang on, okay?"

"Thank you, Sam."

The line goes dead and he immediately starts to pack.

Ruined hand or not, he was going to save his brother.

Consequences be damned.

Author's Note: The rest will be up tomorrow!

[center-galaxy.livejournal.com]

FILLED: Anything at All (5/?)

The first thing he does is run outside and it's there he notices the Impala is gone. Dean's duffel is gone, along with his handgun, a tub of salt and some rosaries.

The first person he calls is Garth.

"Dean did what?" The normally laid-back hunter exclaims and Sam sighs slightly, rubbing his hand and willing the pain meds to work. He hasn't been able to use his right hand very well, but he could shoot with his left. For Dean, there was nothing he wouldn't risk, nothing he wouldn't sacrifice if it meant saving his brother.

"A hunt," Sam replies, tossing some shirts into his duffel and then grabbing the guns--while they had quit hunting, years of it had made them a bit paranoid about the supernatural so they had kept their guns in working order. "Did he call you at all?"

"Well, he asked if there was anything going on a few hours south of you," Garth answers dutifully. "But, I told him that there was nothing. You think someone set him up?"

"Maybe." Sam confesses, running a hand through his hair.

"Look, I'll send someone--"

"No," The youngest Winchester interjects. "I'm going after him. I've got his last known coordinates before someone turned off the GPS on his phone."

"Sam, you haven't done a hunt in years," Garth informs him, as if Sam didn't know that himself. "You don't know what you're getting into and your hand--"

"I'm doing this Garth," He growls because no way, no how is a stupid hand injury going to slow him down, not with his brother's well-being on the line. "If you hear anything, call me."

And then he hangs up.


The first place he heads to is a little bar that Dean was last seen in.

He pulls out his FBI ID and slightly surprises himself with how easily he slips back into the life. Most of the patrons don't recognize the man in the faded picture he has, but the bartender speaks up.

"Yeah, he left with Arianna," She tells him, cleaning a glass. "She lives right down the road. She wouldn't hurt a fly though--"

"Thank you, ma'am." He cuts her off and then as slowly and calmly as he can, he walks out of the bar and back to the car he had stolen from the parking lot. He hadn't wanted to go straight to Arianna. He wasn't sure whether he could trust her or not, but with all his leads exhausted, now was the right moment.

It was time to find Arianna.

[center-galaxy.livejournal.com]

FILLED: Anything at All (6/?)

Arianna was dead.

Her front door had been ajar and cautiously he had stepped into the front room, only to see her bloody, broken body on the floor. Whomever "he" was must've killed her, but more importantly, his only lead to finding his older brother was gone. Dutifully, he called the police from a pay phone across town and returned to the motel room he had rented. His hand is killing him, but he doesn't have time to rest, didn't have to waste, not with Dean's life on the line.

He has to figure this out.

"What is it with you boys?" A voice begins and immediately, Sam rises from the bed, his gun trained on the figure in the doorway. He's never shot with his left hand though and it feels uncomfortable. Still, using his right hand wasn't an option. "Why do you two always feel like you have to go it alone?"

Charlie steps into the light and relieved, Sam sinks back down to the bed.

"Charlie." He greets.

"Sam, why didn't you call?"

"I can do this myself," He answers sharply. "I'm not useless--"

"I'm not saying you are," The red-head interjects. "You don't have to deal with this alone."

"Dean's missing." He confesses, guilt and desperation dripping from his tone.

"I know," She whispers. "I'm here to help."

"Charlie, no--"

"Look, you need back-up, okay?" She informs him wisely. "Just . . . let me help you, please?"

With a sigh, he says,

"Fine."

With that Charlie pulls out her I-pad and begins to research.


A few hours later--and thanks to Charlie's hacker skills--they've figured out that Arianna's father died after being shot by her mother. He had been physically abusing his wife and in a fit of rage, she had killed him. The court had ruled in her favor and any charges of murder were dismissed.

"That must be the man Arianna was talking about." Sam says, rubbing his arm absently, willing some of the pain to go away. He does not have time to deal with this.

"That makes sense why Arianna wound up dead, but how did she know Dean? And more importantly, why would the spirit take Dean?"

"I stopped trying to understand spirits years ago," He tells her, standing up. "Okay, where is he buried?"

"Sam, you're not going to--?"

"I have to get this over with," Sam begins. "Who knows where he has Dean and what the hell he's doing to him."

"I'm coming with you--"

"No, I need you to stay here and find out where the spirit would have Dean if it wasn't in that house."

"Okay, Sam, but--"

"Thanks Charlie." With a smile, he slings the duffel over his shoulder and heads to the car.

This ends tonight.

[center-galaxy.livejournal.com]

FILLED: Anything at All (7/8)

Finding the grave is easy. Digging it up is hard.

For one thing, his hand is killing him because his wrist is bending down and the youngest Winchester knows that his doctor will not please once he sees the damage caused by this evening. Still, if he could save Dean, that was all that mattered.

You . . . A voice hisses on the wind and Sam keeps digging. He has to reach the body and salt and burn it before the spirit comes looking for him. You think you can stop me? You are nothing! You are broken!

Sam keeps digging and right as he reaches the coffin, he finds himself flying through the air. His head collides with a tombstone and for a few seconds, he sees stars. Before him, Arianna's father hovers above the ground, blood red eyes meeting his gaze.

"Where's my brother?" Sam manages to get out between coughs because all the air has been pushed from his lungs.

Dead, I presume. He smiles gleefully. Along with that bitch of a woman that used to be my wife!

He shakily stands up and with his left hand, fires a salt round. The spirit dissolves and Sam makes his way to the grave. His head is pounding and he knows that the black spots in his vision add up to nothing good. Still, he can't give up. He has to keep going. He pours salt on the coffin and then lighter fluid. Lighting a match, he drops it as the the spirit screams.

The last thing Sam remembers before it all goes dark, before his knees buckles and he hits the grass, is the spirit burning away.


In the darkness, all Sam knows is pain.

The slow burning pain of his hand coupled with the white-hot fury of his skull from being thrown. Still, here, the pain is dulled somewhat and he finds the dark to be somewhat soothing.

What good are you? A traitorous voice whispers. You can't even do a salt and burn without something going wrong?

But . . . he had tried his best.

Your best wasn't good enough. You are broken. You are nothing. You are--

"Sammy?" A voice pierces the darkness and a ray of light fills the dark chasm. "Sam, hang on, okay?"

For Dean, he does.

[center-galaxy.livejournal.com]

FILLED: Anything at All (8/8)

He wakes up to the steady beeping of a heart monitor, the sterilized smell of a hospital room and Dean's calloused hand rubbing circles on his arm. Blinking a few times, Sam focuses on his brother's slightly bruised, but otherwise unhurt, face.

"Hey." Dean whispers, expression a mixture of relief and sheer joy.

"You okay?" Sam's voice is like sandpaper and before he even has to ask, a glass of cool water is held up to his lips. It feels heavenly on his parched throat and he hums his thanks as Dean takes the glass away. Out of the corner of his eye, he can see Charlie sound asleep in a chair next to his bed, her hand clutching a copy of Lord of the Rings.

"Fine," His older brother replies. Sam shoots him a disbelieving glance. "Really, I am. Just a bump on the head and a few bruises."

"Good." He sighs, relief surging through him.

A pause and then Dean finally speaks the thoughts that have obvious been plaguing him for hours.

"What were you thinking?" He hisses. "You could've gotten yourself killed!"

"You went on a hunt without back-up," Sam replies. "And you're calling me stupid?"

"I had things handled--"

"The spirit took you--"

"Sam--"

"Dean," Sam began seriously. "I thought . . ." His voice trails off, but his older brother understands. Squeezing Sam's hand within his own, he says with a small grin.

"I'm fine, Sam," He assures his brother. "Just worry about you, okay?"

"M'fine--"

"Your inflamed wrist and serious concussion would beg to differ," Then, seriously. "Sam, for a few minutes there, it was like you were . . ."

"I know." Sam whispers and Dean nods. "Promise me something?"

"What?"

"If you want to go on a hunt, you tell me, okay?"

"Sam--"

"No judgements, okay?" Sam tells him. "Just . . . don't go alone, alright?"

"Alright."

A pause.

"Aww," Charlie coos, a huge grin spread on her face as her eyes open. "That's my boys."

While Dean tosses a pillow at her, Sam just laughs.

Messed up hand or not, he and Dean are going to be just fine.

Author's Note: Thanks for the awesome prompt! I really enjoyed writing this!