Maybe Someday; Sam Winchester

Chapter Sixty-Two

When the group returned back home to Bobby's, Sam immediately crashed on the couch. Cielo hadn't noticed until she was gonna tell him that dinner was ready, but when she saw he was asleep, she lifted his jacket over his shoulders, placed a kiss on his forehead, and left him be. It was weird sleeping without him that night, but she'd rather sleep alone than prevent him from getting rest.

The next day, Dean went to wake him up and she went to get the first aid to clean up his stitches. Diana leaned against the doorframe as Cielo walked past her to Sam who was now sitting up.

"That's 12 hours straight, I'm calling that rested," Dean says to Sam. "Here," he holds out a water bottle, "hydrate." Sam takes it, his hand trembling a little bit. "And, uh, protein-ate." He's handed a protein bar, which Cielo figured would hold him off until she made lunch.

Sam looks up when Cielo walks by him and takes the chair to sit by him. "Breakfast in bed," Sam comments, sitting up more.

"Don't get used to it," Dean counters.

Cielo rolls her eyes, setting the first aid on Sam's thigh. "Lemme see," she says gently and her voice alone sends a spark of warmth through Sam's tummy. Reminds him that she was actually there.

Cielo can see the distraught look on his face when he looks over her shoulder. She assumes he's looking at Diana, but she focuses on his injured hand. Sam places his hand on her palm, her gentle touch making his hand almost buzz. She's gentle as she removes the old bandage. "Yeah, you'll live," she hears Dean say somewhere by her.

"Yeah, it's healing good, which is a good sign," she says, mostly to herself and digs through the first aid she left on Sam's lap. She takes an alcohol wipe, cleaning slowly around the stitches. Sam hisses in pain, but tries not to move. She tossed the dirty wipe on her lap and looks back at Dean. "Liquor, please," she tells him. He gives it to her immediately, along with a rag. She knows better than to give him a countdown, so she immediately pours a small amount on his palm. Sam inhales sharply, his whole body having a physical reaction to the burn. She covers his hand with the rag and lets him take his hand back. "You'll be good," she tells him, standing to put things away and in the trash.

"So, ooze invasion— any leads?" Sam questions as Bobby comes in.

"I got all my feelers out," he says, sitting in the chair with a bandage wrap. "Whatever they're up to, it ain't..." he motions for Sam's hand, "it ain't about going Mothra down main street. They'll turn up."

Cielo washes her hands in the sink in the kitchen and starts taking vegetables out of the fridge. "They seemed pretty eager to stretch their legs, huh?" She hears Diana say from the kitchen, setting the fresh veggies in the sink to wash them.

"Yeah," Bobby agrees.

"Yeah, well, now onto our other big problem," Dean begins as the girl starts taking the cutting board and knives out. "How are you doing? And do not say 'okay'." She turns off the faucet, spinning around to look at her family, anticipating Sam's answer.

"I'm not okay," Sam answers, looking down at his freshly bandaged hand.

"You think?" Dean sasses.

"Hey," Bobby tells Dean. "Go a little easy."

"There's nothing easy about it, Bobby, okay? We acted like he had everything under control."

"I get it," Sam says. Cielo approaches Diana, standing next to her with a kitchen rag in her hands. "I'm sorry. Look, I-I didn't exactly want to crack up, you know?"

"What happened back there?" Cielo finally asks. She isn't angry, she's quite the opposite. She just wants him to be okay, but in order to do that, she needs to know how to help.