The Runt of the Litter

Something Simple and Safe

Note: hey lovelies <3

this one is for two requests and takes place right after "You've Spent One Afternoon..."

thanks for reading and voting and all that good stuff!

anna is fourteen here.

Something Simple and Safe

"Hey," Dean whispered, shaking Anna by the shoulder.

She hadn't been sleeping, but Anna still wrinkled her nose and blinked tiredly at him. "What?" she asked in a small voice, hoping he would sense her mood and leave her alone.

No such luck. "Med time," Dean told her. It was only then that she noticed the pill bottles in his hand. Antibiotics and painkillers.

But her wound wasn't too painful anymore; she'd been out of the hospital for a week. Anna sat gingerly, one arm curled protectively around her side and belly. "Kay," she said once she was upright against the headboard.

Dean handed her two pills and went to the bathroom to get a cup of water.

Anna stared tiredly at the tablets in her palm. The curtains were closed in their hotel room– hotel, which was just so weird– but Anna could see a few thin rays of orange light peeking from between them to hit the floor. She took her pills three times a day, and it looked like this was the evening dose. Anna sighed, realizing she'd slept away an entire afternoon again.

She looked lazily over toward the other bed. But Sam wasn't there, and Dean was already coming back with her cup of water. "Here we go," he said and perched on the side of her bed. "Down the hatch, Rugrat."

Anna obediently swallowed the pills and drank the water. "How many left?" she murmured, tipping her head back to rest against the wooden bedframe.

"One more day of antibiotics. The painkillers can go a little longer if you need 'em," Dean replied. He took the empty cup from her hand and set it on the nightstand. "Seems like you're not hurtin' too much anymore, though."

"Not really," Anna agreed.

"So, what's goin' on in that head, then, huh?"

Anna shrugged, then shifted uncomfortably at the way it tugged on her still-healing wound. "I dunno," she confessed, embarrassed by the sadness that invaded her voice. "I'm still tired, I guess. Can't stay awake." Her eyelids were already drooping again as she spoke.

"It's alright," Dean promised, then stood up to help her ease back down so she could sleep. "Perfectly normal, Honey."

The sweet talk had been constant over the past week. Anna had been called sweetheart and honey and even baby more times in the last seven days than in the seven months preceding them. "I'm sick of sleeping," she complained.

"Yeah, I hear you," Dean droned but didn't otherwise fix her problem.

Anna sighed heavily again, already drifting back toward sleep. "Sammy go?" she mumbled.

"He's gettin' dinner," Dean told her. "I'll wake you up when he gets back, kiddo. You need to eat something anyway."

By the time he finished speaking, Anna was out.

()()()

It was already a little darker when Anna was shaken awake again. But a glance at the clock told her it had only been a half hour.

The smell of burgers didn't entice her much, but Anna sat up regardless. Sam's hand at her back helped a lot with taking the strain off her abdomen. "Thanks," she mumbled, rubbing her eyes with one hand.