One Thing Or Another (SPN, Sam)

[Wolfwings22]

I wrote this two part Supernatural story this morning with a random burst of motivation about a story where Sam’s allergies turn into a sinus infection and Dean scrambleS to try and take care of him. It’s one of my favorite tropes with Dean taking care of Sam, even with Sam being a little embarrassed by it. It was written fairly quickly so it may not be quite up to par with my other works, but I hope someone will enjoy reading it. I hope you all enjoy!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Sam's allergies give him a sinus infection

 

 

 

 

 

 

    The sound of nose blowing woke up Dean from what could've been considered a pretty pleasant slumber. It wouldn't have bothered him if it hadn't happened every morning that week. In fact, it happened all day everyday since they rolled into some rural town in the northern tip of Indiana. It was beautiful in the fall with changing leaves and crisp air. There were apple trees everywhere and pumpkin patches were everywhere. It was enough to put anyone in the fall spirit.

 

    "HtchsSHew! HrhchsHSew! HcrhcshSHew!"

 

    Except for Sam.

 

    He had been struggling with severe allergies to basically everything that anything to do with fall. Dean wasn't quite sure if it was the pollen or maybe some specific tree or plant, but Sam's nose certainly disagreed with it. He had been clogged down with congestion for the entire week on the hunt that they were on and spent most of his time fighting the itch that had taken permanent residence in his nose. Sam spent more time sneezing and blowing his nose than he did talking. It was really starting to get under Dean's skin and worried him at the same time. Dean feared that he was going to have to do this hunt on his own.

 

    "HtchsSHew! HtchsSHew! HrchsHsHew!"

   

    Dean propped himself up with his front arms outstretched. He rolled onto his back and threw the covers off of himself before rushing to sit up. His arms stretched over his head in a long stretch. "Leave some hot water for me, Sam," Dean called to let his brother know that he was awake.

 

    The sound of the shower turning on greeted Dean's request. The elder Winchester rolled his eyes at his brother's antics.

 

    Even though Dean had been around Sam for his entire life and had seen much grosser, Sam still had something about blowing his nose in front of his brother. He would always disappear into the bathroom and run the water or tell Dean to go on ahead before even attempting to preform the act. It didn't matter how many times Dean tried to reassure Sam that he didn't care, it didn't seem to matter. Dean had practically given up on it and decided it was best to just let his brother figure things out on his own.

 

    While Sam showered and did whatever he needed to do, Dean quickly changed into some jeans and another flannel, pulling at the sleeves and tussling his hair, trying to bide time until Sam finished so that he could get into the bathroom to brush his teeth. Sam was usually fairly quick in the shower, but when his allergies were acting up, it was anyone's guess how long he'd be.

 

    Almost ten minutes later, Sam shuffled out of the bathroom with a wall of steam around him.

 

    "Alright, Sammy. Time to....." Dean trailed off when he got a good look at his little brother.

 

    His usual good-natured and energetic brother looked listless and defeated instead of energized. He had deep bags under his furiously bloodshot eyes that were still irritated from Sam's frantic rubbing against them, adding to their usual sore quality. Discharge had collected in the corners of his eyes and hardened, making it difficult for Sam to keep his eyes open. His nose was ruby red and still actively running even as Sam attempted to mop up the byproducts with the cuff of his flannel shirt he wore. His breathing was labored and caught in his chest every couple of breaths, eliciting a sharp cough that nearly bent him at the waist. His entire face seemed almost puffy, adding to his miserable looking appearance.

 

    "Sam," Dean began, unsure of exactly what else to say. He wasn't sure whether or not to point out Sam's appearance of it that would be considered rude. "You okay?"

 

    Sam thought for a moment and let out a breathy cough over his shoulder since he couldn't bring up his arm quick enough. "Sobethig feels wrog."

 

    "Yeah, I'd say something's wrong." Dean jumped to his feet and came towards Sam. He grasped him by the elbow and drew him forward, forcing him to sit down on the side of the bed.

 

    Sam blinked his eyes furiously. "Feels fuddy." Sam trailed off desperately as a sneezy expression washed over his features. He had enough warning to force his sleeve covered wrist under his nostrils. "Huh'HrchsSHew! Huh'HrcshSHew! Huh'HrcSHSShew!"

 

    Dean took the tissue box from the nightstand that Sam had nearly cleaned out the night prior on Sam's lap. "Here, use those instead of your sleeve." He doubled back to the first aid kit that Dean had been insistent that they bring in the night prior when Sam awoke the morning before with his eyes almost swollen shut. They hadn't known then that it was probably the outside air that was giving Sam trouble and had quickly shut all the windows instead of allowing a fresh breeze to travel through.

 

    Sam took out a couple tissues and pressed them against his still streaming nose. He didn't dare blow with Dean less than a foot away going through the first aid kit as though their lives depended on it. Dean grasped a small bottle of eye drops that Sam had been using around the clock to soothe his irritated eyes. Dean had been thinking of a clever jab to call Sam after all the time that he spent with his head tipped back and eye held open as he dribbled a few drops into his already watery gaze. However, it was anything but a joke at the moment.

 

    Dean sat down beside Sam and tipped his brother's head back. Sam attempted to resist, but Dean was much stronger and more determined. "Lean back," Dean ordered sternly. "I can't help you if you're fighting me."

 

    A groan rolled in the back of Sam's sore throat as Dean leaned over him. His palm pressed just below Sam's cheekbones and that sent Sam reeling back, puffy eyes wider than Dean ever realized they could get.

 

    "What, what," Dean asked, quickly righting the bottle of eye drops so that he didn't loose any drops. They were much more expensive than Dean ever realized and each drop was precious.

 

    Sam raised a hand and gingerly touched where Dean had pressed down. His hand darted forward as he hissed in pain. "Ugh, hurdts.”

 

    Dean titled his head. "Hurts? That's new, isn't it? Did it always hurt?" He knew that Sam's allergies were pretty severe but he was pretty sure that his face shouldn't hurt because of it. What sort of allergies could do that?

 

    Sam thought for a moment, eyes darting back and forth from his hands to Dean's face and then back down to his lap. "Ub, dno, nodt really." He gave a hearty sniffle.

 

    That wasn't giving Dean much to go on. He was going to need a little bit more to go on if he wanted his brother to help him. "Can you give me a little more? Try to explain it?"

 

    "S'heavy," mumbled Sam as he raised his palm to rub it against his tear duct. Dean swatted his hand away and Sam's fingers dropped to hover over right under his cheekbones. "Righdt here."

 

    "Heavy? Like painful?"

 

    Sam scrunched his brow while he took a moment to process what Dean was saying. "Yeah." He quickly swiped the back of his head against his forehead. "Uncomfortable too."

 

    Dean's thoughts ran wild through his mind. He reached down and pushed Sam's hand back and felt his little brother’s forehead. It was warmer than usual which signaled that Sam may have a fever. That was certainly much different than allergies. "Are you getting sick do you think?"

 

    "Doesn't feel like a cold. I'm not coughing." He suddenly pitched away from his brother and brought the bundle of tissues back up to his face to sneeze into them fiercely. "HrchsshHSew! HrchsSHew! HrchSHew! HrchsSHhsSHew!" There was a few frantic breaths between each sneeze that still left his body with ticklish misery. It seemed that no matter how many times Sam sneezed, there were already more waiting to show themselves.

 

    Dean pulled out the remaining four tissues from the box and shoved them into Sam's hands. "Just hang tight. I'm going to find another box because you're going to need them." He jumped to his feet and headed over to the bathroom quickly. He was on a one man mission and nothing was going to distract him. Although, thinking about what was wrong with Sam was certainly a puzzle. Could it be possible that Sam caught a cold on top of his allergies? That was just unlucky if that was the case.

 

    Dean pulled open the closet attached to the bathroom and couldn't find any tissues, or really anything that could be considered close to them. He closed it in a huff and stormed back over to Sam, realizing with a frustrated pang that Sam had already used the four tissues that Dean had forced into his hand.

 

    "Seriously, Sam? I just gave you those less than a minute ago," Dean exclaimed in exasperation.

 

    Sam looked up bashfully, eyes red rimmed and streaming. "Did you find ady bore?"

 

    "No I didn't, but I'm sure they have some behind the front desk." Dean patted Sam's shoulder roughly and gave it a firm squeeze. "Think you'll be okay without me for a couple minutes?"

 

    "I'b dnot dyig, Deadn. Jusdt allergies. HrchsHSHew! HrchsHSSHew! HrchsHSHew!" Sam let out a few itchy coughs into the folds of the tissues as he tried to rub at his nose through them.

 

    Dean gave Sam a thumbs up. "Be back in a second. Blow your nose while I'm gone." He jogged forward out of the room, making sure to take his wallet and room key just in case he needed to verify who he was. He crossed the parking lot in no time flat, feet striking the ground softly as he avoided the potholes that were now filled with water from the rain a couple hours ago. That made Sam's allergies all the worse and Dean wondered if that was why he was having such a severe reaction now.

 

    He pushed the thought from his head as he emerged into the office at the front of the motel. He looked around at the dingy decorations that were coated with dust. It hadn't been cleaned in a while, but at least the rooms were clean, so Dean didn't have any room to complain.

 

    "Can I help you, sir?"

 

    Dean looked up to the college aged women standing behind the counter. She had curly black hair and long eyelashes. She wore no makeup and seemed a little shyer, but that was fine by Dean. It wasn't like he was ever going to see her again.

 

    "Um, yeah. I was wondering if you had anymore tissues. My brother has been having really bad allergies and we're out," Dean explained, leaning over the counter a little more than what was needed to keep him upright.

 

    She turned and grabbed something under the counter. She brought two large boxes of tissues out for Dean. "Here. My boyfriend has really bad allergies too and this time of year can be the worst for seasonal allergies."

 

    "Thanks." Dean brought the boxes closer to him. "Do you know when it's going to get better? It's really making him miserable."

 

    A look of sympathy passed over the women's face. "Not for some time. Fall just started around here. The more he stays indoors the better he'll be. I know my boyfriend used to work outside and he woke up one morning with a sinus infection because of it.”

 

    Alarm bells started going off inside Dean's head. He snapped his head upwards and stared at the women. "You said a sinus infection?"

 

    The women nodded. "Oh yes. Allergies can turn into a sinus infection if they're severe enough and go on without help. It's pretty common here too because of how cold it gets in the fall. Why do you ask?”

 

    "No reason. Thank you." Dean tucked the tissue boxes against his chest and bustled out of the office without so much of a look back. He now knew what he had to go off of and he finally hoped he had enough information to make Sam's life just a little easier.

 

To Be Continued.....

[Wolfwings22]

And here is part 2! It’s pretty short but anytime I can write caring Dean looking after Sam I take full advantage of it. I hope you all enjoy!

 

 

 

 

    Sam finished blowing his nose as Dean waltzed in. His eyes glowed in relief when he saw the two jumbo boxes of tissues Dean had. He was more excited to see them then he was to see his brother.

 

    "You found some," Sam exclaimed in relief.

 

    Dean strolled over and dropped both boxes beside Sam. Sam grabbed the nearest one and tore the thin cardboard top from the box and buried his face into a greedy handful of soft tissues. He caught a volley of five ticklish sneezes, paused, and then sneezed four more times. Coughs bubbled up from Sam's throat, making him swallow thickly.

 

    "Those don't sound great," Dean commented with a frown. "You sure that you're not getting sick?"

 

    Sam rolled his eyes. "I'm sure." He clamped the tissues over his nose and blew lightly out of necessity than any comfort he felt around Dean. "Can you put the eye drops in now?"

 

    "Is that going to hurt you more?"

 

    Sam gave his head a small shake, hair falling around his face. "I don't care. They're so damn itchy I can't take it!" To enhance his point, Sam gave a fierce rub against his left eye, two knuckles on his right hand digging forward until Dean grabbed his wrist and slammed it down on the comforter.

 

    "And that's not going to help. Now, tip your head back and I'll get the drops." Dean left Sam's side, but kept his gaze locked on him as if daring Sam to go against him.

 

    Sam didn't complain as he tilted his head back and mentally prepared for Dean to grab his face. He sucked in a panicked breath as Dean leaned over and pulled his eye open with the nozzle of the eye dropper hovering over Sam's right eye. Sam's eyelids tried to close even as Dean held them open. Sam's face squinted and lip curled in an exaggerated scowl.

 

    Dean snorted in amusement. "You're making this harder than it needs to be, Sammy. Just relax."

 

    "Easier said than done," Sam shot back, willing his face to relax as much as possible. He knew that the cooling wetness of the drops would soothe the sandpaper quality that had taken over his bloodshot eyes, but staying still for it was a whole different challenge.

 

    Dean said nothing more as he squeezed the side of the dropper slowly. Three drops hit Sam's eye and sent him reeling. Dean ducked back and allowed Sam to blink furiously as the excess ran from the corner of his eye. Sam allowed it to fall while he wrinkled his nose in an effort to force the rising itch that fluttered from the depths of his sinuses and even tickled his upper palette and back of his throat.

 

    "You ready for the other side," Dean questioned, dangling the half used bottle of eye drops in front of Sam's line of vision.

 

    Suddenly, Sam lifted a couple new tissues and clamped it over his face. His breath sucked in and eyelashes fluttered while allergic tears clung to his eyelashes. His nose gave a violent twitch before he crashed forward into the tissues, entire body thrown forward with the force. "Huh'HrcsSHew! Huh'HrchsSHew! Huh'HrchsSHew! Huh'HrchsSHew!"

 

    After the first sneeze, Dean rested his hand on the small of Sam's back to comfort him to the best of his ability, just letting him know that he was there and that he wasn't going anywhere.

 

    Sam shrugged his brother from his embrace as he rubbed at his ticklish nose. The forceful nasal outbursts had done nothing to rid Sam of the itch; if anything they only served to chase it deeper to where Sam couldn't easily rub it out with a tight fist.

 

    "Ready for the next side?" Dean thought about blessing Sam, but he had done so very often the last few days. He was getting tired of it and he could only guess that Sam was too. Although they had been in close proximity since they were little, Sam still had a strange streak where he didn't want to be embarrassed in front of anyone, even Dean.

 

    Sam lowered the tissues from his nose after he squeezed all the way from the base and brought it forward to try and force the mucus from his much abused nose. "I guess," he mumbled darkly.

 

    Dean didn't delve into Sam's gloomy demeanor and instead focused on something that he could actually help: Sam's eyes. He raised the eyedropper and held Sam's left eye open. He squirted a few drops in there before Sam could protest. Sam wriggled from his grasp and dapped the corner of the wilted tissues against his eyes to collect the moisture that leaked out.

 

    Dean sat back on his bed across from Sam, frowning when he saw Sam rush to sneeze three more times into the raised tissues. He set them aside on the nightstand and quickly took out another handful to smother four more sneezes. Dean noticed with a hint of worry that they were sounding weaker than his earlier sneezes, and yet they still seemed to shake Sam with the same intensity. It was as though Sam's body was growing tired of this. Dean was growing more and more worried with how much this was taking out of Sam. Dean was going to need to do something more than just eye drops and taking Benadryl around the clock.

 

    Suddenly, the elder hunter clapped his hands together, causing Sam to jump. "I met this nice women at the front desk," he announced.

 

    "I'b right here," Sam complained darkly. "Ad you wandt to brig a girl back here?"

 

    "No, smartass. She told me about her boyfriend having really bad allergies too. In fact, they were so bad that they caused him to get a sinus infection because of them. Sound familiar?"

 

    Sam squinted his eyes and gave a heavy sniff that ended in a painful sounding cough. "You thignk thadt's wrog with be?"

 

    "It's a pretty good guess if I had to offer something. It would explain why you have such pain in your face and why you have a low grade fever. We need to do something else besides just pumping you full of allergy medication and closing the doors and windows. Because apparently it's not helping." Dean waved his hand in a circle around Sam's face. "Because you look like two seconds away from your eyes swelling shut."

 

    Sam was sure that Dean was exaggerating, but he could see where his brother was coming from. It was difficult to see and his face was a mix of pain and uncomfortableness. He didn't often like to complain and he certainly didn't want to say anything in front of Dean. He could be overprotective at the best times—there was no saying what he would do if he was completely honest with just how rotten he felt.

 

    "Whadt do you suggest we do," Sam rasped, breath wheezing and catching in his throat.

 

    Dean drummed his fingers against his thigh. "Cold compresses over your eyes and warm ones on your face. It may help with the congestion. Sound like a plan?"

 

    Even if Sam thought otherwise, there was no arguing with Dean when it came to helping him. Dean always seemed to know what Sam needed even before Sam himself. Dean was the one to look after him the years before Stanford and nothing was going to stop him from looking after him now.

 

    Before Sam could even process that Dean was moving, Dean was up and in the bathroom. The sound of rushing water filled Sam's clogged ears. However, his attention was on the feathery echoes of a tickle that continued to travel through his sinuses. The building urge to sneeze was upon him, putting all of his attention in trying to combat the feeling.

 

    Just when Dean walked back in with one washcloth streaming with warm water and another streaming with cold water, Sam pitched forward into his wrist instead of into the tissues that were at his disposal.

 

    "Huh'HrchsSHew! Huh'HrchsSHew! Huh'HRcshSHew!" They were much more irritated sounding than his earlier sneezes and packed just as much of a punch. Sam groaned in the aftermath, wishing that the insistent sneezing would give him a break. It was beginning to bother his throat just as it was bothering his nose.

 

    Although Dean had told himself there was no point in blessing Sam since he had been doing so almost without pause the entire week, he couldn't miss the pain that shone through Sam's dark brown gaze and pulsed through his tight features.

 

    "Bless you." Dean marched over and flicked his wrist, showering Sam's face with a few water droplets from the cool washcloth. "Lay back. These should help you out a bit."

 

    Sam wrinkled his nose as he swung his legs out in front of him and propped himself up with pillows behind his back. "We have to go see the witnesses."

 

    "Correction, I have to see the witnesses. You certainly aren't in any position to do so even if we can get you to say your consonants correctly again." Dean rested his cool washcloth over Sam's eyes, tucking it close so that the coolness could seep into his irritated retinas.

 

    Sam huffed in distain. Although, he was hardly in any position to argue. Dean was right as he usually was. There was no way that Sam would be any use to Dean like this. He would only slow him down or worse.

 

    Dean tucked the washcloth against each side of his cheeks. He was careful not to apply too much pressure and cause Sam anymore discomfort. His little brother had been in a constant state of uncomfortableness for the better half of the week. Dean was going to do anything in his power to make it more bearable.

 

    "That alright," Dean questioned as he gingerly began to massage where the washcloths were with the tips of his pointer and middle finger. He wanted to apply enough pressure to provide comfort and be tolerable while not causing Sam anymore pain than he already was in.

 

    Sam gave a violent shuffle that nearly had Dean jumping back in surprise. "Sorry. Ub, yeah. Feels dnice."

 

    "Good, I'm glad." Dean wasn't sure whether or not Sam wanted him to stop, but he had just gotten into a rhythm. Unless Sam told him otherwise he would continue with what he was doing.

 

    Sam's eyes were still open under the washcloth, but Dean's gentle prodding began to soothe his aching facial muscles. His eyes started to close and his breathing grew more even until finally slowing. Soft snores left Sam's nose from under the warm compress. It wasn't long until his breathing grew labored and Dean felt he could pull his hand back slowly so not to wake Sam. He had been having trouble sleeping due to his severe allergies that would wake him up every hour or so due to a sneezing fit or simply his nose being too clogged with congestion to breathe properly through it. Dean would count anytime that Sam could find time to sleep as progress.

 

    "Get some rest, Sammy. You've earned it."

 

The End

[shrinkwrap]

I always love a good SPN story with some Sam allergies and Dean caretaking!