Water.
That was all Sam could think about. Why was he so damn thirsty all the time lately?
Consequently, this also meant frequent trips to the bathroom, annoyingly he might add. Sam opened a fresh water bottle and downed it in one sitting, crushing the plastic bottle he threw it into the trash can.
Something was wrong, he just didn't feel right. Sam noticed how baggy his clothes were getting and when he finally weighed himself, he was down twenty pounds. Seeing as how he was lanky before that certainly wasn't helping. He found himself having to wear so many layers of clothing just, so his family wouldn't notice. Sam sighed, he was planning on telling Dean today that maybe he should see a doctor but that was before their case took a turn when they found out they were hunting not just one vampire, but they had landed on an entire nest.
Dean and john came walking into the motel room only moments later. Covered in sweat and dirt as if he just went head to head with big foot, Dean plopped down on the nearest bed. "Get off the damn bed Dean, your filthy, go shower" John snapped.
Dean rolled his eyes, he was too tired and too hungry to shower. But a burger? That he could muster up some motivation for. Turning his attention to Sam "Hey Sammy, I'm starved wann go grab a bite?" Dean wouldn't admit it out loud but hell he missed the kid. Ever since he graduated and started hunting full time, he barely sees his baby brother.
"Not so fast Dean. Shower. Now." John barked.
"Yes sir" Dean thought he may have set a world record for quickest showers, but he hates to admit he feels a hell of a lot better. Wrapping the towel around his waist he steps out into the room "whadya say Sammy, dinner?"
"Sure, are you coming dad?" Sam silently prayed their dad said no, sure he loved his father, but it was nice to be able to spend time alone with Dean every now and then.
"No, I ate plus I have some research to do so go on ahead"
"Okay" Both boys sounded before heading to the parked Impala.
Shutting the door to the Impala, Dean turned towards Sam as he turned the key in the ignition.
"Sammy, I've missed you" Dean said as he headed towards food.
"Yeah, I've missed you too, but it's not like we haven't seen each other at all" Sam said looking out the window.
"I know but I haven't seen you much, with you in school and me hunting full time now, it just, I've missed being able to give my kid brother a hard time." Dean joked hoping to get a smile out of Sam. To his demise though Sam just continued staring out the window.
"Yeah" replied Sam flatly.
Dean noticed something wasn't right with his brother; he seemed tired, out of it. He looked skinner too. Normally Sam was all over these chick flick moments.
"Sam, man, are you feeling okay?"
"Dean I need to talk to you"
Dean noticed the sudden change in Sam's mood that he seemed serious, which put Dean on alert. "Okay, shoot."
"I haven't been fee-" Sam didn't get to finish when the waitress walked up to their table.
"What can I get for you guys?" The blonde waitress asked politely.
Dean smiled at her, if he wasn't so concerned about his brother he'd probably try and hit on her but there were more important things on hand. "I'll have the burger, extra onions, and a side of fries" Dean said
"I'll have the double burger, two orders of fries, a chocolate milkshake, and an order of onion rings"
"Whoa Sammy, why not just eat the entire diner?" Dean joked, normally it was all leafy greens for Sammy boy. Always giving Dean trouble about his heart attacks on a plate that he ordered.
"I'm just hungry, okay?" Sam snapped. "Calm down you girl, I was just kidding but you better eat it all"
"Can I get you boys anything else?"
"Just a water please" Sam asked
"Sure thing" the waitress finished writing their order down and walked away.
"So, Sammy what did you want to talk about"
"Well I don't know it's just" Sam was tripping over his words.
"Sammy what is it? Just get on with it and we'll work whatever it is out"
Sam sighed and looked down at the table. He hated having to ask for help. It wasn't the "Winchester way" to complain about being sick or hurt but Sam was getting concerned this might be more serious than a common cold. Staring at the table Sam continued, "Dean it's just I don't know, I haven't been feeling good lately. Like something is off. I mean I'm hungry and thirsty all the time and I'm dropping weight no matter how much I eat."
Dean was freaking out but, on the outside, he was making sure he looked as cool as a cucumber for Sammy's sake. "How much have you lost?" I mean the kid was already skinny…
"Twenty pounds"
"Jesus Sammy. I should have realized something was off, I'm sorry, if I was around more often…"
Cutting off his older brother, Sam put a stop to that train of thought "this isn't your fault Dean"
"Yes, it is. It's my job to protect you Sammy, maybe if I was around more this wouldn't have happened."
"What? that's crazy. I didn't say anything sooner because I didn't want to worry you guys about nothing. Plus, I know how much dad hates complaining so I was trying to tough it out but I'm starting to feel like I need to see a doctor.
Suddenly Dean looked at Sam and I mean really looked at him as he realized how crappy his brother looked. Sam looked as if he hadn't slept in days and he could tell he had lost weight even though he was wearing a T-shirt, a hoodie and his jacket.
"Come on Sammy" Dean said while grabbing Sam by the wrist.
"Where are we going?"
"To the bathroom"
"Why?"
"Just come on."
Closing the door to the bathroom behind them Dean turned to Sam, "take your shirt off"
"what? Why?"
"Cause even through all those layers I can tell you've lost weight."
Removing his three layers Sam prepared himself for Deans reaction. "Sammy" Dean spoke in a whisper as he looked at his brother, Dean could see nearly all of Sam's ribcage and his collarbone was sticking out a little too much for comfort. It looked like he had been starved.
Suddenly hit with an intense waive of light-headiness "Dean I don't feel good"
"I know tiger were going to the hospital"
"But Dean" Sam didn't get to finish when he collapsed into Deans arms.
Dean saw Sam's eyes roll into the back of his head at least he managed to catch him before he fell onto the bathroom floor. "Sam!" After calming himself by finding a pulse Dean scooped his too skinny brother into his arms Dean carried Sam out of the bathroom and through the restraint. They passed their table and Dean sighed "Poor food I never got a chance to eat you" He said out loud before making his way to the impala ignoring the weird looks from the other customers.
Setting Sam down in the passenger seat he buckled him up before running over to the driver's side and practically jumping into the car. "Hang on Sammy I'm taking you to the hospital just hang on" He said while glancing at his brother who was too still for his liking.
Dean picked up his phone and called their dad.
"Yeah"
"Dad"
"Dean is something wrong"? John could tell something wasn't right by his voice.
"Dad its Sammy, were on the way to the hospital now, I don't know what's wrong with him. He collapsed at the restaurant. I'm pulling in now! Just get here quick dad." Dean snapped the phone shut and jumped out of the car. Running around to the other side he opened the passenger door and got Sammy into his arms, Dean ran through the double doors of the hospital and yelled, "Help!"
A doctor and two nurses came running over to him "Sir what happened"
"I don't know he just collapsed, please he's my brother, you gotta help him"
"Okay put him on the gurney" The doctor ordered while pointing to a nearby bed. The doctors and nurses started barking orders to each other and pushing Dean out of the way. "Sir we need to room to help your brother"
"Ok just please help him" Dean didn't want to be away from his brother, especially now, but if that was the only way to help him than he would do it. The doctor pushed Sam's gurney into a nearby room, leaving a frantic Dean to wait alone.
Two hours. Two very long damn hours that John and Dean had been waiting for any news on Sam.
A doctor walked into the waiting room and recognizing Dean as the young man who had carried his patient in walked up to him. "You're with Sam, right?"
"Yes" The hunters answered.
"I'm Dr. Blake I am the doctor that will be taking care of Sam. Sam collapsed from dehydration, he is currently on a saline drip to help with that."
"But he was chugging water like crazy, how could he also be dehydrated?" Dean asked
"Well, that's the other part of why I'm here. To find the cause of Sam's symptoms we ran some lab work and found Sam has Type 1 Diabetes"
"Okay so how do we fix it?" Flying immediately into big brother mode 'I can make anything better' Dean impatiently asked.
"It's not that simple. While there isn't a cure, yet Sam can still live a normal life if he monitors his blood levels, takes insulin and keeps his diet healthy he should continue just fine. With Type 1 diabetes it's a chronic condition in which the pancreas produces little or no insulin, a hormone needed to allow sugar to enter cells to produce energy. We will go over how to care for it and how to manage it in a day or so but for now we will be handling his insulin levels."
Dean was trying to process all of this, how was he gonna break it to Sammy? What would this mean for their 'family business'? The questions were running through his mind a mile a minute when John spoke for both, "Thank you doctor, when can we see him?"
"Follow me" The doctor lead the way to Sam's room. The hunters tried to be quiet because when they first entered it looked to be as if Sam was asleep, each took a spot on either side of the bed. Dean began reaching for his brothers' hand when he was startled by Sam's voice. "Why me?"
"Sammy, we thought you were asleep," Dean said pushing back a few stray strands of hair on Sam's forehead.
"No just thinking"
"About what?" Dean silently scolded himself for asking such a stupid question.
"Life, and how it will be different now. Nothing's ever going to be the same any more. Does this make me weak? I mean you guys are going to look at me differently and why-y m-me" Sam was sobbing so hard that he couldn't even finish what he was trying to say.
Dean took off his shoes and climbed into the small hospital bed wrapping his arms around Sam and rubbing his back the way he did when they were kids and Sam had a bad dream. Within minutes Sam's breathing had evened out and Dean knew he was asleep. Dean looked at his dad and was surprised to see tear tracks staining his cheeks. "What are we gonna do dad?"
"I don't know son but well get through this as long as we have each other"
Dean leaned his head back against the hospital bed and allowed himself to drift off.
John sat there watching his boys sleep and smiled. If they have each other John knew everything else would work out.