Sick
GUARD DOGS AND CUDDLING COMPANIONS
Disclaimer: Not mine, but I wouldn't mind keeping Dean.
Written for a prompt in the Dean-focused hurt/comfort comment-fic meme(#6)PROMPT- Sam walks into the motel room and is surprised to find Dean fast asleep, and cuddling with a rather large dog on the bed with him.Will either be 2 or 3 chapters.
CHAPTER ONE
"Saaaaammmmmy. I'm... dying," Dean whined dramatically, pulling the covers up over his head.
"Stop being melodramatic."
"Saaaaaaam. I'm... hut-chooo! Huh-hitchsh!" Dean sniffled, and wiped his sleeve across his red drippy nose.
"Will you use the tissue? That's what I left it there for," said Sam, standing beside the bed with his hands on his hips.
"I've r-run out." Dean looked up miserably, his green eyes glazed, his lips pouted.
Sam placed his hand on Dean's forehead. His brow furrowed worriedly when he felt the heat. "How are you feeling?"
Dean sucked in breath to answer, but immediately regretted it when it burned like fire, and set off a painful coughing fit. He moaned in pain, and curled up into a foetal position as he hacked his lungs out.
"Whoa." Sam sat on the edge of the bed, and rubbed his aching back soothingly, trying to help him through it. "Hey, I've got you."
When Dean finally stopped coughing, he moaned in pain, rubbing his chest as he tried to catch his breath. Looking up at Sam miserably, he tried to smile, but it came out more like a grimace.
After making sure Dean was okay, he got up to check to see if they had any more cough syrup. "Crap. We've ran out of that too," said Sam, going back to sit on the edge of the bed, his fingers stroking through Dean's sweaty hair. "Are you okay?"
Dean didn't answer, which worried Sam even more. Dean had been sick for at least a week, but still insisted on hunting until he spectacularly collapsed into a freshly dug grave three nights ago, face so pale he gave the ghost a run for his money. Sam had panicked, and ran over to him to see if he was okay, the only sign of life from Dean was the slight wheezing as he breathed. Leaving in the middle of the job, Sam had dragged his stubborn brother to the hospital where he was diagnosed with pneumonia and bronchitis.
"I'm going to the store and the pharmacy to pick up some more things. Are you going to be okay on your own for awhile?"
Dean closed his eyes, and nodded with a sniffle.
"Okay. Do you want anything in particular?"
"No," Dean croaked weakly, sounding as if he had swallowed glass and gargled gravel.
Sam stood from the bed, and grabbed his wallet and the keys. "I'll be back soon. Text me if you need anything, alright?"
"Hmm."
Sam watched him for several seconds, before going outside to the waiting Impala.
Later, Sam came back into the room, armed with enough medication and painkillers, and other things that the pharmacist had recommended.
"What the-" He came to a stop at the door and stared open-mouthed at the scene in-front of him.
Laying fast asleep in his bed, was Dean, his face flushed, his hair stuck up in every direction, making snuffly, wheezy noises as he breathed through his congested nose. He was in his black t-shirt and boxers, the covers thrown across the room. But that wasn't what Sam was staring at.
Bizarrely, Dean was cuddling with a huge black and golden German shepherd, holding him like a giant fluffy teddy bear. The dog, who was also asleep, was snuggled up to his side with his head on Dean's shoulder, almost as if it was keeping guard over the sick young hunter.
"Huh," said Sam, eyes wide in shock. "What the hell happened while I was out?"
Inching closer into the room, not looking away from the strange, but adorable, scene before him, Sam placed the bags on the kitchen table and got out his phone to take a picture. It was just too cute not to.
Hearing or sensing something moving in the room, the dog opened his eyes, and growled when he saw Sam.
"Oh great! Trust Dean to be snuggling with Cujo," whispered Sam, hoping the dog didn't bite Dean's face off.
As he walked closer to the bed, the dog growled louder and inched closer to Dean. That's when Sam realised that the dog was protecting his brother. He raised his hands to show he meant no harm. "I'm his brother. I'm not here to hurt him."
The protective dog moved even closer to the defenceless, sleeping hunter, and continued growling savagely, his brown eyes blazing.
Dean sniffled and shifted in his sleep, his arms tightening slightly around his moving teddy bear, as he mumbled sleepily.
The dog's expression softened, and he lowered his head to lick Dean's flushed cheek, making him snuffle and lean into the soft wet nose on his face, sighing in relief. He jumped back startled when Dean suddenly jerked and started coughing.
The violent coughs woke Dean up, sending him from a peaceful doze to fully awake with one solid rattle and choke. He removed one hand from the dog's fur to place on his chest to ease the pain. When it was over, he opened his eyes and smiled at the German shepherd.
Sam watched, stunned, as the dog started licking Dean's cheek again, his tail wagging in excitement.
"Hey boy," Dean croaked, ruffling the fur. The smile dropped when the dog looked up and started growling again. Confused, he looked over and saw Sam staring at him. "W-What?"
"What? Dean what the heck is that?" he asked, pointing at Dean's cuddling companion.
"I-It's... a dog."
"Thanks for that. I mean, who... what the hell is it?"
"Ozzy," Dean whispered, stroking the soft fur.
Sam blinked and stared at him. "Ozzy? Who's Ozzy?"
"The d-dog," he said as if it was obvious and Sam was slow. Sam continued staring at him, making him sigh. "Bl-Black Sabbath. Prince of darkness. Godfather of h-heavy metal. Crazy train."
"Okay, I think you need to climb aboard. Why is there a dog in your bed?"
"He's m-my new friend." Dean sniffled and ruffled the black and golden fur, trying to ignore the pain in his chest and back. "Ain't you Ozzy?"
The dog, Ozzy apparently, barked in agreement, his tongue lolling out, his tail wagging in excitement when Dean gave him attention. He whined and nudged Dean's hot clammy cheek when the hunter suddenly started having another coughing fit.
Sam grabbed the bag from the pharmacy and slowly inched closer to the bed, keeping a close eye on Ozzy. He froze when the dog barked at him, and then nudged Dean again, telling him to help the sick young man.
"I'm here," Sam soothed, sitting on the edge of the bed. As Dean hacked and wheezed, Sam used his free hand to rub his chest in soothing circles. "It's alright Dean, it's alright."
He had to smile when Ozzy snuggled closer to Dean, as if that would help stop the horrible noise his human friend was making.
Ozzy turned to Sam, huge puppy dog eyes out in full force as he continued whining. He shifted slightly and placed his paw on Dean's heaving chest beside Sam's hand, making his heart melt.
"Aw," said Sam, as he tried to help Dean.
Finally, the coughing fit ended, leaving Dean weak and breathless, clutching at his chest, moaning in pain. "S-Son... bish."
Ozzy barked and tried to lick Dean's face off with over enthusiastic kisses.
"G-Get off," laughed Dean, trying to move away from the dog's tongue. He moved away, but the German shepherd moved closer and continued his lick attack.
Sam didn't want to, but he started laughing at the cute scene. He could see the affection the two clearly had for each other, but he still didn't know where he came from.
Dean laughed until he suddenly had trouble catching his breath, so he gently shoved the dog away, and turned on his side, gasping and wheezing. He moaned in pain as his throat, chest and lungs seemed to be on fire. He struggled to tune everything out, including Ozzy, who was whining behind him, because he needed all his concentration focused on sucking in one painful breath after another, fighting against his lungs to take in air.
Sam jumped from the bed and grabbed the inhaler from the bedside table. He looked at Ozzy when he stood up on the bed and started howling. "It's okay, Dean. I'm here. You're going to be alright," he told him, holding it out. "Here."
"T-Thanks," wheezed Dean, taking the inhaler with a trembling hand. After taking two puffs, he closed his eyes and concentrated on breathing slowly in and out. He jumped in surprise when he felt a hand on his back, moving in soothing circles.
"Keep taking slow breaths, Dean. That's it."
Dean did what Sam told him until he got his breathing under control, and he no longer felt like he was suffocating. He jerked when he felt something wet nudge the back of his neck. Turning around carefully, he smiled at the German shepherd, who barked twice, before laying down beside him, whining mournfully, looking at Dean with a sad expression.
"Y-Yeah. I'm okay, Ozz. D-Don't worry," Dean told his friend, stroking the soft fur.
Ozzy whined again, and licked the flushed cheek once, before lowering his head to lay on Dean's shoulder, snuggling as close to him as he could.
Sam grabbed the bag from the pharmacy and took out the things he had bought. "Here. Take these," he said, taking out the recommended antibiotics and painkillers, and dropping them into Dean's hand.
After getting him a glass of water, he sat back on the bed, and helped sit Dean up against him to take them. "There we go. How are you feeling?"
Dean settled back against the pillows. "L-Like crap."
Ozzy made Sam smile when he moved his front leg so it laid across Dean's chest, looking as if he was hugging his sick friend. "Where did he come from?"
"I don't know," Dean whispered weakly, fingers stroking through the dog's fur. "I h-heard whining and... and a bang at the... d-door. When I opened it, t-there he was just s-sitting there, staring at... me."
"He must belong to someone. Has he got a collar?"
"No. C-Can you... get him some water?"
Sam nodded, and walked to the kitchen to fill a bowl of water, which he placed on the floor. "There you go, er... Ozzy."
Instead of getting up, the dog shifted closer to Dean. It was as if he was too scared to move.
"G-Go on, Ozz," whispered Dean, gently nudging him. "Have a drink."
Ozzy whined, and jumped off the bed to walk towards Sam cautiously, never taking his big brown eyes from the other man standing above him.
Sam frowned when he noticed the dog was quite skinny and he was limping slightly. "Hey, it's alright," he said, kneeling in-front of him with one hand outstretched. He blinked in surprise when the dog flinched and cowered under the kitchen table. "Hey Dean? I think this dog has been abused or something. He's scared to death and he's skinny."
Dean slowly sat up, and started to get out of bed. "I-Is he... alright?" he asked breathlessly.
"I don't know." Sam leaned closer, and reached out to gently stroke him. "Hey, it's alright. Nobody's going to hurt you."
Dean staggered to the small kitchen and knelt beside Sam. "Come on Ozzy. Y-You're safe... here." He smiled when Ozzy looked at Sam then back at Dean, and slowly came out from his hiding place and into his waiting arms. "Shh. I-I've got you, Ozz."
Sam felt his heart melt when Dean wrapped his arms around him, and hugged the dog, who snuggled into his chest. He was glad the dog had found someone as caring and loving as Dean, he could tell Ozzy felt safe with him and trusted him. "He's got a scar on his leg," he whispered when he saw the healing cut.
Dean pulled away, and checked the leg, making the German shepherd yelp in pain. "S-Sorry," he whispered, blinking through the sudden dizziness as he checked the dog over to make sure he wasn't covered in them.
After checking him over, they saw some healed scars, but none still needed medical attention. Dean and Sam shook their heads, their jaws clenched angrily. How could anyone do that to a dog?
"H-Here. Have some w-water," Dean told him, moving the bowl closer to him. He reached out and grabbed Sam's shoulder when he felt as if he was going to pass out.
"Whoa. Are you alright?" a worried Sam asked when he saw he was even paler than he was earlier and he was blinking rapidly. "Come on, let's get you to bed."
"O-Ozzy needs... something t-to eat."
"I'll get him something from the kitchen. We need to get you laying down before you fall down. Come on," said Sam, wrapping his arms around his sick sibling, and slowly standing up.
Ozzy paused from lapping up the water, and looked up at the two men.
"It's alright. I'll look after him," Sam told the dog in a gentle voice, leading his brother back to bed.
TBC
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