As Sam walked out of class he turned his cell phone back on. He frowned when he noticed that he had four new messages, all from Dean. Sam hadn't heard from Dean lately. Ever since Sam had left for school, it seemed that the only time his brother called was to tell Sam they could use his help on a hunt. He listened to the messages as he walked back to his dorm room.
"Hey Sam, its me, Dean. Give me a call as soon as you get this message."
"Hey Sam, call me right way."
"Damn it, Sam answer your phone!"
Sam growled in anger. Dean's probably just trying to get me to patch things up with Dad or they could really use my help on a hunt. Well Dad told me that if I walked out the door not to comeback. I'm just doing what he wants, thought Sam. He refused to admit to himself how much he missed his Dean and his dad. It hurt less that way. He opened the door to his room and stepped inside. Sam was about to delete the last message without listening, but changed his mind. Standing by his bed, he listened to the last of Dean's messages.
"Sam, I didn't want to leave this message on your voicemail but since you're not answering, I guess I'll have to. It's Dad. He's in the hospital,"
Dad probably got hurt on a hunt and Dean blames me for not being there thought Sam angrily.
"A drunk driver ran a stop sign and hit the car Dad was driving. It's bad, Sam. Dad's at Memorial Hospital. The one near Pastor Jim's."
Sam sank down on his bed in shock. He couldn't wrap his mind around what he just heard. A drunk driver hit his Dad. Sam called information and got the number for the hospital. He held his breath as he dialed.
"Hi, I'm calling to get information on a patient, John Winchester," said Sam anxiously.
"I'm sorry, I can only give that information to family members," replied the nurse.
"I'm his son Sam. I just got a call from my brother. He said our dad was in an accident," said Sam.
"Sorry about that. I'll check on that for you if you'll hold for a second," said the nurse.
The two minutes Sam waited for the nurse to get back to the phone felt like the longest two minutes in his life.
"Sir, your father is in surgery right now. He has several broken ribs, one of which punctured his right lung, and they're going to remove his spleen. He also has a broken nose," said the nurse rather bluntly.
Sam hung up the phone and sank down on his bed. Unshed tears stung the corners of his eyes threatening to spill out.
Sam sat on his bed for awhile in shock. He didn't know what to do. His dad was in the hospital. Would he even want Sam to be there? What if I show and he tells me to leave. Sam was afraid he wouldn't be able to handle it. Just then his roommate, Sean, came in.
"Hey, Sam what's the matter?" Sean asked. He could tell by the way Sam that looked something was wrong.
"My Dad was in a car accident, a drunk driver hit him," said Sam.
"Oh my god Sam! Is he okay?" said Sean
"I don't know. He's in surgery right now," said Sam.
"So when are you leaving?" asked Sean. He knew that Sam wasn't speaking to his Dad, but he figured Sam would want to go see him.
"I'm not sure if I'm going. I have a lot work. I have a paper to finish up and two tests next week."
"Sam, I know you're not on good terms with your dad right now, but don't do something you might regret."
"Look, I understand where you're coming from, but my dad made it clear when I left not to come back. Besides I don't even know if he would want me there," said Sam.
"Sam, My dad had a huge blow up with my grandfather about ten years ago. They stopped speaking. My mom tried to get my dad to talk to him, but he refused. My grandfather died three years ago. My dad never made peace with him and it still eats him up inside every day. I wouldn't want that to happen to you," said Sean.
Sam sat on his bed for awhile. He knew what Sean had said was true. But what if I go there and my dad doesn't want to see me. Sam didn't know if he could handle the rejection. My dad can't die, he thought. My dad's too tough. He has to be okay, he has to was the thought running through Sam's mind.
oooooOOOOooooo
Dean was practically wearing a hole in the carpet pacing the waiting room. His dad had been in surgery for over three hours now and the wait was killing him. He thought about calling Sam again, but what good would that do. Sam knows what's going on, he thought.
"Any news," asked Jim.
"No," said Dean.
"Have you heard from Sam?" asked Jim.
"No. I left him a message telling him what's going on, but he hasn't called me. I swear he can be as stubborn as Dad sometimes," said Dean.
Just then, Dean spotted the doctor who had worked on John when he was first brought into the hospital and he rushed over to the man.
"How's my dad? Hasn't he been in surgery a long time?" asked Dean anxiously.
The doctor had just come from checking up on John and sadly the news wasn't good. Dean could tell that by seeing the look on the doctor's face.
"Please, I have to know. How is he?" pleaded Dean.
"I'm sorry there have been some complications. Your father has a lot of internal bleeding that they're trying to stop," said the doctor.
"Oh god," was all Dean could get out.
"Don't worry your Dad is in good hands," said the doctor.
Dean sank down on a chair behind him in shock. Pastor Jim patted Dean's back reassuringly, before stepping away. He didn't want to leave Dean alone right now, but he needed to make a phone call. He had told Dean that he was going to the bathroom.
oooooOOOOooooo
Sam had fallen asleep on his bed. He had only been that way for a short while when his phone rang.
"Hello," said Sam.
"Hey Sammy, its Pastor Jim," said Jim.
"Hey Pastor Jim. Did Dean tell you to call me?" asked Sam.
"He doesn't know I'm calling. Look Sam, I know that you're not speaking to your Dad, but I really think you should be here," said Jim hoping he could get through to the boy. He didn't want to have to tell Sam how bad the situation was over the phone.
"Pastor Jim, what happened? I mean Dean's message said a drunk driver hit him, but shouldn't he have been safe in his truck. I mean, that thing is pretty huge," said Sam.
"Your dad wasn't in his truck. Dean was changing the oil on the truck and the Impala. John was helping me deliver food to some of my homebound parishioners. He was driving one of the church cars, a Geo Metro," said Jim.
"A car that small, that's a death trap," said Sam instantly regretting his choice of words.
"I know, Sam. I'm sorry," said Jim.
"So what happened?" said Sam prodding the man to continue with his story.
"The driver who hit your dad, Bob Stokey, apparently had been drinking all night. His blood alcohol was three times the legal limit. Your dad was halfway through the intersection when Bob's car slammed into the driver's side of your dad's car," said Jim.
"Three times the legal limit. What was bastard doing on the road!?" yelled Sam.
"I don't know, Sam, but I do know that you should be here," said Jim.
"I don't know if I can come. I got a lot of school work, besides I doubt my dad would want me there." said Sam.
"Sam, don't say that. Your dad would want you here."
"Has he asked for me? I bet he hasn't. He's probably happy enough with his good little soldier, Dean, being there," said Sam bitterly.
Jim didn't know how to respond to that. He hadn't wanted to tell Sam over the phone how bad the situation really was. He sat there in silence for a couple of seconds longer.
"Sam, I really think you should come. I know you and your dad have your differences, but you really should be here."
"Pastor Jim, what is it? What aren't you telling me?"
"Sam, your dad's still in surgery."
"Hasn't he been in surgery for quite awhile now?" Sam voice was full of worry.
"I didn't want to have to tell you like this, over the phone. There have been some complications. There was a lot of internal bleeding."
"Oh god," said Sam echoing his brother.
"Sam, I'm going to arrange for a ticket for leaving tonight from the Palo Alto airport. If you want to come it will be waiting for you," Jim offered.
"I'll think about," replied Sam.
Sam was still in shock about how bad his dad's condition is. He still wasn't sure if his presence would be wanted, but he knew if something happened to his dad and he didn't go and see him, he would hate himself.
More to Come