Hi again, sorry for late update.
Disclamers:
I have no idea how hospitals and ect work in US.
I have even less idea how universities work in US
English is not my first language
I tired to do some research but in the end I found nothing, so exuse my mistakes.
I'm Sorry
Enjoy chapter 2!
ANDANTE
CHAPTER 2
Sam, who joined them after he overheard the word 'marriage' and decided that he may want to know what's going on, gaped. Confusion and happiness followed by guilt and sadness were tangled up inside him.
"But why?" he croaked at the same time as Bobby shouted "What!?"
"Apparently," Castiel said with a carefully blank face, "our relationship was an effect of environmental pressure and curiosity." After a moment of startled silence, Bobby let out a long exhale full of general exasperation
"I'm way too sober for this. And it's morning. You're going to be death of my liver, boys." He paused and picked a random bottle from the cupboard. "But seriously guys, if it's a mutual decision then do whatever flies your boat." Dean and Cas exchanged relieved glances. Somehow, they didn't think that it would be that easy. However, the marriage thing was a surprise…
"Just don't think that Ellen and Jo are going to let it go. You were their favorite couple. Good luck with that."
Sam's poor heart didn't know what to do with it, so he stayed in low-keyed shock for the whole aftermath of that talk. He was silent when Cas was gathering his things. Not that he took out more than half of it on the previous night. Leaving, he patted Dean's shoulder and ruffled Sam's hair fondly. Sam's brain was, of course, too overworked, for him to register it and react with something embarrassing. Like a blush. Which he didn't have, of course. Not at all.
Sam sometimes hated himself.
As soon as the door closed behind Cas, Sam grabbed his brother by the elbow and dragged him upstairs to Sam's room. Dean didn't protest much. He wanted to sort it out with Sam. He knew that there was no running away from Sam with a purpose in his mind. Not that he enjoyed being dragged around by the short stack. The kid had no respect for his elders.
"What the hell Sam?"
Sam fluttered around him. Sat him down, closed the door and started to walk toward the window. And back. To window. And back. "Sit down Sammy. You're giving me a headache, and I've just got rid of one."
" 'What the hell?', 'What the hell?!' That's my line! What happened last night?" Sam snapped. Dean almost wanted to scold his brother but stopped himself. Sam was worried. And he was showing it by making angry demands and overall prissy behavior. He felt a sudden wave of fondness for the little twerp.
"We broke up Sammy. It happens, y'know?" He smiled gently. Sam looked outraged.
"But, but to you two?" the younger one shuttered. "You were like some fairy tale couple." Sam paused "I'm gonna kill you if you ever mention that I said that."
Dean sighed. "Sam, Cas and I are best friends, and that friendship suffered when we were a thing. The whole couple thing… it wasn't us. We both knew it, so we decided to return to being friends. Don't worry about it. It's fine. We are fine."
"But I don't understand," Sam whined, a bit calmer.
"Tough luck little brother. Maybe one day you'll have that one friend that everyone will try to matchmake you with."
Sam wrinkled his nose. He seriously doubted it.
Then, their stomachs rumbled in hungry unison. Dean grinned, glad that there was something to end that awkward conversation. Also, he was hungry.
"What are you doing here anyway? Shouldn't you be downstairs and helping Bobby with lunch? Chop, chop. Off you go!" Sam shot him a bitchface no.23. One of his best.
"Just get out of my room, jerk."
"Bitch."
Dean hoped that it was an end of that topic. Cackling, he left Sam's room and went to his bed. Night on the couch wasn't comfortable. A nap before lunch wouldn't hurt. When he fell asleep, he was feeling much lighter.
Sam went downstairs. He needed to do something with his hands. Fortunately, he liked to cook. He often found it soothing, something he needed at that moment.
"Something to help with?" he asked Bobby. After receiving gruff directions, he and Bobby settled into a practiced rhythm. When he was little, it was Dean who always cooked for them, as John never cared about such details as a home-cooked meal. Later, when they moved to Bobby's, he discovered that it was a quite enjoyable activity for him and took over that responsibility. Not that Dean minded. The older one preferred to bake anyway.
He went through everything that happened. Dean and Cas broke up and apparently never were in love. It didn't make any sense to him. They were perfect for each other.
He didn't know what to feel. On one side, he felt sorry for them. He doubted that they weren't hurt by these circumstances. On the other side, he was also happy, in some perverse way, and, because of that, eaten up by guilt. His selfish little crush made him enjoy their misfortune. It was disgusting, but if what they said was true, then it didn't really matter. After a while, Sam stopped shooting Cas suspicious glares. Crush or not, if he had hurt Dean in any way… well, he wouldn't be nice.
Everyone who knew Dean and Cas was shocked and indignant about their split up. Some people didn't accept that and, like Jo for example, for next year and some tried to push them together again. This time though, they weren't bothered by that. It was funny. The pair of friends, now that they talked everything out, laughed at fruitless attempts of matchmaking. Dean and Castiel's friendship rebuilt itself. For a while, Dean was free from any concerns more significant than an annoying client or Cas's trouble at school.
0o0
The calm lasted until the second half of May, two years later, couple weeks after his little brother's seventeenth birthday. Sam's girlfriend of four months broke up with him. And had been cheating on him for half of that time with some football player. It was an ugly and unfortunately public break up. Sam came home crushed and humiliated.
That day Dean found Sam curled up on his bed with slightly red and puffy eyes and open laptop with Netflix on. His heart twisted. Sammy shouldn't look so… defeated.
"What's up with the long face kiddo?" Sam, not turning his eye's away from the screen, answered in a blank voice.
"Madison was cheating on me since God knows when. And she was stealing pieces of my essays for herself, and her other boyfriend to get better marks." Dean winced and gaped a little. Madison seemed like a sweet girl, worthy of his baby brother. He knew that Sam lost his virginity to her. He confessed it to Dean one afternoon blushing furiously. He had been so proud. Now remembering it made him even more livid.
'And she… Goddamnit, what a bitch!'
How dare she use and hurt his baby brother. He could feel his face turn red with anger. His freckles disappeared from his skin. He never hit a girl, but it was tempting to make an exception. Or maybe talk to her parent like a responsible adult he needed to be. Sometimes he hated being an adult. That other guy though, that one he could beat up…
"What a bitch! Who is this guy? I swear I'm gonna…"
"Don't," Sam interrupted him, "not worth it. I just need to sulk a bit. At least I'm not the one with problems in school. Mr. Jeskins believed me, and they are in trouble for plagiarism. They may get suspended." He smiled weakly at his brother from under his floppy hair. "She called me a naïve midget," he whispered sadly. Dean felt all his anger leave him. Right now he only needed to take that miserable expression off Sammy's face. It didn't belong there.
While Sam wasn't tiny, he was still below average. Dean didn't know why. He was tall, dad was tall, and their mom was on the taller side too. And yet, at the age of seventeen, Sam was just 5'6.
"That can change. You will have another grow sprut."
"Somehow I doubt that," Sam said. "You stopped growing upwards at seventeen." Dean took a deep breath.
"We are two different people, Sam. You still have a chance." He patted Sam's shaggy hair. "Some of my friends were still growing at nineteen and stopped at twenty. Everybody is different." Sam nodded with a pensive look on his face, but Dean could see that he wasn't convinced.
0o0
Cas left the building in state of mental, intellectual ecstasy. His hard work had paid off. Place at transfer program and scholarship in New York was his. He, of course, made a fool of himself when his professor passed over to him an offer to continue his studies in one of the most exclusive universities. But nevermind. He was going to New York!
Of course, his family would be able to pay his tuition at some great university without bigger trouble, as they did for Inaias, Anna and Balthazar. But his mother sternly shot him down. "That money would go to waste," she said, "you wouldn't exploit such an opportunity. It's better for you to stay in town." He just asked why. It's not like Balthazar ever got a better mark than him. "It's more than that. He took a serious major, not some biology nonsense like you. And he is building connections for himself. You wouldn't even think of doing it, not talking about success in it."
And like always, he hadn't had enough spine to protest and defend himself. But now he was proving his mother, father and every single person that they were wrong.
Cas sighed happily. It was a dream come true. All those entomology famous people, all those opportunities! He was so pumped up that instead of taking the last of three buses he needed to take to reach his family home, he decided to walk through the nearby park to cool his mind.
With head in the clouds, he was crossing a vast lawn when he noticed somehow familiar stature curled up on the bench by a large oak. Curled up like they were in pain. He hesitated, but his kindness won and he headed toward the bench. It was quite dark. When he was just a few feet away, he thought he could recognize Sam Winchester.
'What is he doing here? At this hour? Dean must be worried sick…'
That's if it was Sam. It could be a random homeless person or some psycho killer hunting for nice people like him. He shook his head to himself. Paranoia was Dean's mantle. He was spending too much with him.
"Sam? Is that you?" he reached out slowly. Person nodded. Sam was breathing slowly and deeply although not in I'm-happy-sleeping-person way. "Why are you here? Does Dean know where you are? Did something happen?"
Sam sniffed and glanced shyly at Cas, ashamed of his condition. Cas sighed internally. He hoped that kid would gain some confidence someday. Ever since he first met Sam, the younger one was always acting in a shy, almost scared or flustered manner. It was sad to see such a bright teenager having so little self-confidence.
"I was walking home and then… I-I needed to sit for a while. And… it hurts to stand up," he whispered with tears of both pain and humiliation glistening in his eyes. Cas's face instantly softened, and his concern intensified.
"Why? What's wrong?" Sam bit down a sob. He was tired, stressed and in pain, on the verge of breaking down. Cas' worry kept skyrocketing.
"My knees hurt." Cas blinked, and his concern evaporated a bit. Just a moment ago through his head flashed worse possibilities, from an appendix inflammation to a stab wound, which was stupid, because Sam had his appendix removed when he was thirteen. He could still remember his pained cries and Dean's absolute panic.
"Okay, your knees. Do you know why? Were they hurting before? Is it a sharp pain or a dull one? Does anyone know where you are? Talk to me, Sam."
"They were hurting a little for a week but not constantly and," he took a shuddering breath" never that hard. Also, kinda both? I don't know…" Sam's voice faltered, and Cas barely resisted an urge to coo at him. "And my phone is dead, so no, Dean doesn't know." Sammy finished miserably. He was looking at Cas with big droopy eyes slightly wet with unshed tears.
"Can you walk?"
"I think so…" Sam hesitated "It's not as bad as it was two hours ago" Cas's brow furrowed. How long had he been sitting on that bench?
"Come on, I'll help you up. Then we'll see. We need to get you home. Bobby will know what to do."
"Okay," Sam said meekly. With some fumbling, Sam stood up, only to falter and let Cas hold him up. At this point, blood returning to his cramped limbs was more painful than his still intensely sore joints. Cas put Sam's arm around his shoulders and helped him to take a few steps, incidentally pressing their sides against each other.
Sam felt his insides turn to jelly. After all these years of knowing Cas, he never was in such proximity to him. The most he got before, were few awkward half-hugs. Winchester felt some weird gratefulness towards his pain. I was a big turn off, but he still prayed to God, pleading Him not to let Sam spurt a surprise erection. That would be even more humiliating than that whole incident, his break up with Madison and having his hair dyed pink when he was fourteen and Dean decided to prank him.
These first five of ten steps were the most painful. After staying in one position on that bench for so long, not only blood came back to Sam's legs but also most of his muscles screamed in protest and spasmed angrily. He whimpered.
Which didn't stop him from having to muffle a small happy sound in the next moment. Despite the fact it was middle of May, it was a cool evening, and Castiel was delightfully warm against him. He radiated with warmth and tempted Sam to lean on him even more with it.
At Sam's pitiful whimper Cas couldn't stop himself again, and lowly cooed. The teenager was pressing all his buttons and woke up his protective instincts. Cas never realized he had ones before.
"Let's go," Cas said in a forced bright tone, trying to cheer Sam up. Not that it worked, Sam just lowered his eyes and stared hard at his legs who decided to betray him like that. After realizing that it didn't bring results, Castiel figured it would be better to shut up and not attempt it again.
They strolled through the park and later along the street in silence. In Sioux Falls most of the city's road activity dropped after nine pm, besides the strict centrum that is. As it was half-past nine cars passed them by rarely.
"Why were you at the park alone anyway? It's not on your way from school." Sam's cheeks turned pink. He muttered something under his nose. "I apologize. I didn't hear that"
Sam cursed silently. "Bobby mentioned getting a dog, and I wanted to check the park out." Cas grinned. It was so like Sam, to look for walking routes for a hypothetical puppy. What he knew from Dean's numerous complains through the years about his little brother's pleading for a dog and how Sam always wandered off if he saw a dog nearby, that he yearned for a pet since childhood.
Shame that Bobby thought about it so late. Sam would leave for college in roughly year and half. He definitely won't settle for one of Sioux Falls' universities. Cas loved his university, the familiar people and atmosphere, but he knew that Sam wouldn't be satisfied with it.
'Maybe we'll go to New York together.'
Cas stopped by that thought. He wanted to tell Dean and Gabriel, he generally told these two most of his secrets problems and news, but in these circumstances, he could make an exception. Gabriel who never left to get higher education broke off from the family and set up his own bakery like he always dreamed. Through the years their bond tightened, and Gabe became his safe place, especially when there was the mess with Dean going on.
"Hey, by the way, I have a big announcement. I intended to tell everyone tomorrow, but you can be first to know." He saw a spark of interest in Sam's eyes. He felt a surge of satisfaction. Everything was better than a distressed face. Dean would have to get over it.
"I got a scholarship in New York. It's the first one like that. I got picked out of, like, hundred other applicants in my field. I'm transferring" Castiel preened subconsciously. Sam blinked. A shadow of emotion appeared on his face, but Cas couldn't recognize it. So he dismissed it. He must have seen wrong.
"Oh," he gasped, stunned "So you're leaving?" Cas blinked. He didn't even fully realize that fact himself.
"Y-yeah. It seems so."
"Dean will be sad. But he can stuff it." Sam smiled at Cas toothly, flashing his dimples in the low lighting of the street lights. "Congratulations!" he raised his voice a bit. Sam seemed to genuinely happy for him.
"But I need you to know that I'll fail biology without you."
Cas laughed, immediately feeling lighter. Sam often had that effect on people, and Cas wasn't an exception. Gabriel, who despite their big, eight years, age difference and differences in characters struck a strange kinship with Sam, called it Sam Effect. While it wasn't as close as Cas's and Dean's friendship, at least Castiel thought so, they understood each other pretty well. They even teamed up against Dean and Cas in most of their epic prank wars. Gabe also called Sam his 'tiny young apprentice', dismissing the fact that they are roughly the same height since Sam was fifteen.
Still, Cas frowned a bit. He didn't like the self-degrading tone Sam used. He stopped in the middle of step making Sam stumble a bit. He turned shorter boy around and grabbed him by shoulders and stared right into Sam's startled hazel eyes.
"Look, Sam," he said in a serious voice. Sam shivered a little at the sound of Castiel's deep voice. Cas blamed the wind. "Dean and I are very different, but there is one thing that we agree on without any doubts and arguments." Sam's eye's widened in surprise, he wasn't sure where that conversation was going. "You are the smartest person we know."
Sam made a dying noise in the back of his throat and suddenly felt a little light-hearted with a mixture of embarrassment, low-key pride and sheer mortification on these words. For God's sake, Cas said it without any hesitation or embarrassment.
'What the fuck is wrong with him? You don't say things like that out loud!' he thought, slightly hysterical. But what came out from his mouth was a shy: "Y-you really think so?", Sam asked whispering so quietly that Cas barely heard him. Shurley's heart melted, and his lips stretched into a gentle smile. Sam was too humble for his own good.
"Yes, I really think so. Therefore, I'm assured that you'll pass biology with flying colors." He ruffled the teenager's hair fondly. "Now come on, we are almost at your home. How are your legs?" Sam grimaced. Now that the whirlwind of emotions was mostly dispelled, he once again became aware of pain in his knees.
"They hurt," he sighed. Cas wrapped his arm around Sam's waist pulling him closer and squeezed his side lightly.
"Just five more minutes." Sam was worried that his face would stay red forever. He also knew for sure that as soon as he stops hurting all thoughts that Cas bestowed upon him will fuel many of his future fantasies.
When they got home, they faced furious and out-of-their-minds with worry Bobby and Dean. Sam's brother welcomed him with a tight embrace and bundled him up in his jacket. Dean almost picked him up, but Sam growled out plausible treats of severe biting. Bobby fussed around him for a second before regaining his logic thinking and pushing all three of his boys inside.
Before Sam realized what was going on, he was sitting on the couch in the living room, half leaning on Dean's chest with a blanket (fluffy green one, his favorite) around his shoulders and warm cup of tea in his hands. Bobby and Cas were inspecting his knees while kneeling and squatting, in Cas's case. Sam was suddenly glad that he was wearing shorts.
"No swelling, no bruising, a little warm though" Bobby raised himself from his knees with a pained grunt.
"Um, Bobby?" Cas hesitated "I think there is a slight swelling." Bobby squinted.
"Huh. You might be right. Well then," he turned to look Sam in the eye "If they still hurt you tomorrow, I'm taking you to the doctor first thing in the morning."
"That's right," Dean nodded. His own paleness withdrew a bit now that he had his little brother at home, safe and near him. When Sam was gone and not picking up his calls, he was in a full-blown panic. He felt like a powerless twelve years old.
Cas shifted his weight from one foot to another. It definitely wasn't a right moment to announce his news, but he knew that if he kept it away from Dean and Bobby, they wouldn't be pleased. Maybe he should come back tomorrow… Then Sam looked him straight in the eye. It was a weird feeling. Sometimes Sam's eyes felt like they could see one's all thoughts. After a second that felt more like an hour, Sam simply turned sight away and took a small sip of his still hot tea.
"Cas would like to say something." Castiel shot him both betrayed and amused look.
"Um…"
"Cas?" Dean with difficulty tore his eyes away from Sam and glanced at him. "Something happened?" Cas fidgeted uncomfortably. Bobby also turned to him watching him with expectation. Castiel chuckled lowly. Sam was one devious little guy.
"Yes, but I don't think it's a right moment to…"
"Cas."
"What?"
"Get on with it." Dean shook his head. Sometimes Cas was a scholar with superior intelligence and big vocabulary. Sometimes he was as clueless and awkward as a pre-teen.
"Oh, um, okay. So," brunet took a deep breath "There was this thing at school, and scholarship was the price, I applied and got in," he rambled on, "So just before the start of the next semester I'm leaving and gonna finish my degree in New York." Castiel finally inhaled. Dean gasped.
"Congratulations man, I'm proud of you!" he exclaimed, for once not applying to his famous no-chick-flick-moments. Then the second part reached his brain. Cas was leaving. For years. The ground moved away from his feet, and he was glad he was sitting because if he were standing, he would have fallen over. His best friend was going to leave the town. Leave him. For over seven years there almost wasn't a day when they haven't seen each other. It was a crushing realization.
Dean felt small palm patting his foreman gently. He looked down and met Sam's big and understanding brown eyes. In that moment of vulnerability, he was grateful to the universe for giving him such a great little brother.
"So yeah," Cas said awkwardly, fully aware of what was going on in his friend's head. He was in the same turmoil on his and Sam's way from the park. Bobby cleared his throat.
"Congratulations, Cas. We all will miss you."
"I will miss you too," Cas said with a strangled voice. He was on the verge of unexpected tears. He loved that small strange family with all his heart. With that three sad pairs of an eye looking at him with pride he doubted if success ever tasted so bittersweet.
After they all got themselves under control like the many men they were, Bobby jumped into the role of the grumpy caretaker. He had Dean help Sam upstairs and almost ordered Cas to stay overnight. All three gladly listened to him. They were all exhausted.
Sam fell like a sack of potatoes onto his bed falling asleep right away. Dean smiled fondly at his sleeping brother. He was so worried when Sam didn't pick up his calls. And then Cas's news. He was so mentally and emotionally tired. He gently took Sammy's covers from under him and tucked it around his little brother. He picked a cowlick of Sam's hair between his fingers. It's been a long time since he last tucked Sam to sleep.
He was still worried though. Pain in knees could be passed as a growing pain, but it seemed too intense to be from sudden grow sprout. His own was more of an annoying inconvenience than a violent I-can't-walk pain. He sighed. He was in desperate need of a nap or even better of a full night of sleep.
0o0
When Sam woke up following morning, he noticed two things. First, somehow, he was under the covers, instead of being on top of them like he was while falling asleep last night. Second, his knees were still sore. With his mind dizzy with sleepiness, he thought over his options. He could get up and see if anyone else was awake or go back to sleep. He yawned. The second one, definitely the second one.
It wasn't given to him, though. As soon as he closed his eyes again, Dean opened the door with annoyingly cheerful voice.
"Rise and shine, Sammy!" Sam burrowed his face into his pillow with a groan. It had to be a big brother thing. Last night Dean was a complete and utter mother-hen, and now he turned into a ruthless sleep taker. "Up you go. Breakfast is ready, princess."
Sam whined softly but proceded to sit up on the bed. Dean was watching him with keen eyes. Underneath all his bravado he was as worried as he was the previous night. He was waiting for something to happen. Sam looked at his legs curiously and stood up.
"And?" Dean asked. Sam decided to tell the truth. Dean would be unbearable in his quest to find out the truth and he could smell Sam lying from a mile away.
"They hurt a little, but not as much as yesterday," He said, slapping Dean's fussy hands away as they were getting ready to help him. "You're such a mother hen, I swear to God," he grumbled.
"Hey! I'm not! Have some respect for your elders."
"What respect ?" Sam asked barely keeping himself from laughing.
His stomach rumbled loudly, and Sammy blushed. He forgot that he hadn't eaten since the previous day's lunch. He was starving.
"Come on, Sammy. They are waiting for us." They headed downstairs to the kitchen. Sam grimaced slightly while going down the stairs. He didn't need to ask who were 'they', that Dean had in mind. Castiel was a regular overnight guest at their home. Especially when he and Dean were dating. Ugh, he could still remember that horrible feeling when Dean and Cas used to retreat for the night, both blushing, for obvious reasons. They were the worst three months in his life. Okay, he might have exaggerated, but he was far from fine at that time.
When Sam and Dean joined their father figure and friend in the kitchen, they both fluttered around Sam and overwhelmed him with questions.
"How are your legs? Do we need to go to the doctor? Are you okay? Are you hungry?" Both Bobby and Castiel had nervous and impatient expressions. Sam rolled his eyes hard.
"Yes, good morning to you two too. How was your sleep?" Bobby stared at him unimpressed. Sam sighed. "They are a little sore, no we don't have to go, yes and yes. So, can we eat?" Bobby frowned.
"If they are still hurting then we have to get them checked out. It's not normal. Don't be an idjit and eat your breakfast, then. As soon as you finish, we'll drive out." Sam sighed.
He was still embarrassed about the drama he caused the previous day. Winchester hated being in the center of attention, especially in that way. He also thought that they were all overreacting. He probably just pulled or tore or overworked his joints somehow on his soccer training. He already felt better and was sure that the pain would completely disappear within a week or so. A trip to the hospital would be a horrible waste of time and fuel. He decided to protest.
"It's probably nothing bad, I mean, I'm better today. There's no need to go and bother some doctor."
Cas's eyes had gone so wide that they might have as well popped out of their sockets. For a person, so brilliant (Cas wasn't lying or exaggerating evening before) Sam could say some really dumb things.
"No, Sam," he raised his voice "You're going." Dean nodded furiously.
"Don't even try to argue with us," he said, " It's three against one." Sam's face spasmed and created a well known to everyone present bitchface.
"Fine," he said in that pained way he often used when he knew he had lost.
After breakfast, Cas had to say his goodbyes and leave. He had a lot of people to call and paperwork to fill. Therefore, he couldn't accompany them to the hospital. As soon as Sam got dressed, Bobby and Dean packed and headed to the Sioux Falls General free clinic.
When they arrived, they found out that, unfortunately, they weren't the only one in need of medical attention that morning. Sam was quite astonished by the amount of sneezing, coughing people with cold or flu in the middle of May. Anyway, the clinic was bursting.
Sam sighed, he was glad that he managed to sneak a book with him. Because his visit wasn't scheduled beforehand, he ended up at the end of the queue. One of the employes fished out his file Since he was officially registered, and placed it at the bottom of the enormous pile of similar folders. He sat down on an uncomfortable plastic chair, surely the cheapest they could find, and settled down for long waiting. He opened his book on the page he ended the day before and did his best to ignore Dean ogling attractive nurses and overall noisy people around him. And grumpy Bobby next to him.
After full two hours of waiting, full of Dean's useless comments and Bobby's snoring (he nodded off after first twenty minutes of waiting) his file had slowly reached the top of the pile. Seeing it, Sam stretched in his chair, with satisfaction feeling his spine pop couple times. He closed his book, carefully marking the page he was on. Then, he jabbed his fingers into Bobby's gut. Older man's eyes flew open cutting himself off in the middle of a snore.
"What?"
"I'm next." Bobby hummed happily. Finally.
"At last we go," Dean said dramatically when a middle-aged man in scrubs called out his name.
"Samuel Winchester? Exam room 3!" doctor called out with a raspy voice. Sam thought that it sounded like he was doing it way too often. He stood up, freeing his poor butt from the chair of torture. Dean and Bobby followed him into the room doctor pointed out. Middle-aged man held the door open for them and went in as the last one.
0o0
Tom Gains MD let out a twenty-something student who came to the clinic hight as a kite asking for a prescription for more happy pills. He squeezed bridge of his nose in annoyance. He hated clinic duty.
I'm a fucking surgeon, surely I'm needed on some, uh I don't know, surgery?
"Here you go, doctor." A brightly (too brightly) smiling nurse gave him next file in a plain brown folder. He entered the clinic four hours ago, and he low-key wanted to die. He took part in ten hours long surgeries before, but it was the predictability of a clinic that bored him to tears. He became a doctor to help them, but later he found his destiny in being a surgeon, and it changed almost everything.
He grabbed the file and opened it. Seventeen years old male, 5'6, admitted with intense pain in knees. Huh.
"Samuel Winchester? Exam room 3." He called out with a raspy voice. Another reason to hate clinic. Nonstop talking. He had great respect for teachers and their made-of-steel throats. He was jealous, he wanted on too.
A brown haired teenager stood up with two other men. They looked like some male model and creepy uncle. Tom had a bad feeling about it. They followed the kid into the exam room. Gains decided to let them through first and closed the door behind himself. They did not look like a happy bunch. The teenager grimaced when he jumped onto the exam table. The blond man beside him fidgeted and his hands clenched and unclenched. The older brother then.
And the pain in knees. Geez. Another overprotective family. He forced himself to smile, he got paid for that. In a way. It probably looked more like a weird muscle spasm anyway.
"So what's the problem, gentleman?"
"You should have it in that pretty folder over there," the older man growled and glared at him. Ouch. So grumpy. Strange, if to think about it, most of the overprotective parents were more aggressive. God knew that he met his fair share of those.
"His knees hurt. Badly," said impatiently Male Model, visibly trying hard to be polite. Yup, definitely an older brother. He could see some resemblance in the jawline.
"Okay then." Tom pulled a little stool to himself and sat down in one fluid motion. He rolled forward to get a better view of Samuel's legs. It was probably just growing pains. "Intense pain you say." He hummed. "It's probably just a growing pain," he said while examining the joints. He frowned though, he could feel a small swelling and a little heat. Then again he could be wrong, it's not like he knew kid's joints personally. Everybody was different.
"Growing pain my ass," older brother barked. His patient rolled his eyes.
"He is the doctor Dean, besides I told you you're overreacting." Scruffy older man made a face like he had heard that before and wasn't pleased.
"Growing pains are not bad enough to make walking problematic." Tom froze. If that was true, then it wasn't a growing problem.
„Problematic? Wow, Dean, I didn't know you knew such sophisticated language!"
„Shut up, bitch!"
"You couldn't walk?" the doctor asked sharply. Samuel blushed under his scrutiny.
"I could. I just-"
"He sat down and couldn't get up," the brother, Dean, supplied. "My friend had to help him get home."
"That changes a lot, young man," Tom said sternly to Samuel, "Growing pains can be intense, but they shouldn't prevent you from moving." He stood up and took off his gloves. " I'll see if we can squeeze you in for some tests."
While he was walking out of the room Gains turned around with a small smile. " You stay and wait for me here, I know how terrible chairs are in the hall."
Tom almost skipped his way to the director's office. He could check the schedule without her input but wasn't it fun to interrupt?
"Boss."
"What?" Not polite, either she was alone and miserable or with someone, and he was interrupting in every meaning of that word.
"I need forms for parental consent and to check out the MRI schedule. I need to look into kid's knees." His and everyone's boss stuck her head out of the room.
"Then do a USG, y'know the one we have on in every room? You don't need a paper for that." Smudged lipstick and slightly messy bun. Inside she was hiding a young male nurse. Or a female one. Everybody knew that their collective boss swung both ways. Ah, the workplace romance. A new one every week. Tom was impressed with the fact she was never sued for harassment. And surprised that supply of naive youngers eager to jump into bed, or office, with her, didn't seem to end.
"But MRI would be better." He said taking in his the most annoyingly eager voice.
"No," she barked, annoyed. "First USG, if you see anything out of place, you can do MRI, and please take form from the front desk."
"Okey-dokey boss." Tom smiled brightly. She sighed. She couldn't fire him. He was the best surgeon she had in the hospital, and he was an old acquaintance from med school. She liked him, but his I-love-infatuating-people and I-am-the-gossiping-king personas were out of control. And never failed to cause a massive headache.
Gain's returned to Exam room 3 in a couple of long strides. From behind the door, he heard raised voices. Decency declared war to his curiosity. Curiosity won.
"Why?! He barely visits us anymore! I don't see any reason to call him!" Tom recognized Male Model's voice. His inherited noisiness intensified. Just who were they talking about?
"He is your father, Dean." the older man said sternly. "He deserves to know that something is wrong with Sam. No matter what kind of father he is."
Tom raised his eyebrows in silent surprise. The scruffy man was acting so much like a protective momma-bear that he was sure that he was boys' father.
"But…" Dean trailed off. That's when Gains decided to step in. He needed to know first what exactly was wrong with the kid. Family discussions could come later. With that thought, he put his palm on the handle and pushed the door open as if he wasn't eavesdropping shamelessly a moment earlier.
"Hello again, gentlemen. Somehow I managed to squeeze you in for MRI in half an hour. But," he turned to the oldest in the room. "You'll have to fill a form for that. Also, I have to do a USG first. "
He stopped, struck by a sudden idea. "Actually," he turned towards Samuel. "I'd like to measure you first." Tom smiled at the visibly nervous teen. He gestured towards a scale combined with the measure. Sam jumped off the table grimacing when his feet hit the floor. The kid was clearly in pain. Fortunately, Tom had an inkling about what was bothering him.
The boy took off his shoes and stepped on the device. Tom noted down the results with a poker-face. Then he unfolded the measure.
"Do you exercise a lot?" The doctor spoke in a casual tone.
"Uh, I play soccer."
"How often?" Tom took down the results. He compared them to the ones he had in the file.
"Three, sometimes four times a week for an hour and a half. We are going for a state championship this year," Sam said with enthusiasm. Tom caught a smile on Dean's face. He hummed.
"Okay, now the USG. Sit down and relax." Sam returned to the exam table. This time he carefully climbed on it instead of jumping. Tom pulled the machine to himself and turned it on. He took special gel out of one of the drawers and put on a fresh pair of rubber gloves.
"Ready?"
"Yeah."
The doctor put it on Sam's right knee and gently smeared it all over. Teenager's fingers clenched around the edge of his seat. Gel was cool and sticky, it was a weird sensation.
"Okay. So first I'll check out the whole joint," Gains said. Telling patients and their companions what he was doing was an old strategy to calm them and make the doctor more trustworthy. One of Gains' professors told him this once in med school, and Tom took the lesson to heart. "Good news, there is nothing wrong with the knee itself. Now I'll check are above and below it. Often problems there seem like joints problems when in reality they are not." Tom explained. Whole three of them stared intently at the screen. "Here, a change on the tibia. Can you see it?"
"No. Not really," the brothers said together. Older man rolled his eyes. Tom had a feeling that it was a regular thing. He laughed silently.
"It is hard to read a USG image." He took a tissue and wiped the knee clean. "Now the other one. I have an idea what might be wrong, but I needed to know if it's present in another leg. Then we'll confirm the diagnosis with MRI. Is that alright?" He directed the question to the… uncle? Surrogate father? Legal guardian? Whoever the fuck he was anyway.
The man nodded. The other knee received the same treatment as the other one. This time Sam managed not to fidget and try to squirm away. On that one, he could also see dark discoloring.
0o0
The MRI examination itself went way faster the Sam expected it to go. Quick, exact and clean. Still, MRI was even weirder experience then USG. The loud sound the machine kept making caused a minor headache, and as soon as the doctor told him to be still, he felt his foot started itching. The big down part was the fact that he had to change into a hospital gown. Dean kept snickering for the whole walkthrough hospital's halls. However, Sam had to admit he looked truly ridiculous with his awkward teenage body and bony knees.
After the exam, he had been quickly ushered to the corridor by a young nurse. Then, she sat him down by Bobby and Dean and ran off. Sam a little baffled with unceremonious treatment, but taking into notice her dark bags under her eyes he wasn't offended. She probably didn't even have the energy to be nice. He sighed. That chairs again. Bobby and Dean immediately fluttered around him asking questions and relieving their overprotecting instincts. Sam sadly concluded that he was already used to that.
They didn't have to wait for his doctor to come back with results, although Sam wasn't sure how long exactly. His headache evolved into steady throbbing in his temples and behind eyeballs. He was getting seriously fed up with that whole incident.
Doctor welcomed them with a suspiciously bright smile. Sam thought that it was a rather good sign, his condition couldn't be bad. Eighter that or he was a sadist. Under his right hand, Gains was holding a big folder. He waved at them with his left palm with a clear message to follow him. When the small family unit did, he sped up and started talking without looking back at any of them.
"I asked the technicians to zoom on your legs," He informed. "Also I am sure about what's wrong with the bones." Doctor rapidly turned right and entered first room that was open. Inside on the walls were some strange shining slabs. With almost excited expression doctor put up photos on top of the plates. Suddenly Sam could full of details image of his legs. It was a weird feeling. Again.
His sight drifted up his tibias to his knees. He gasped. On bones just below pattelars, they all could see darker spots. Sam concentrated on them. His paranoia was rising. On USG he couldn't even see 'changes' doctor had been talking about, but with MRI he could acknowledge them. Somehow they seemed more frightening.
"Before any of you will ask, no, they are not tumors and yes I'm sure." The doctor said in a cheery voice that hurt Sam's ears.
"What is that?!" Bobby voiced the whole family's thoughts. Sam wasn't brave enough to ask by himself. Dean seemed to be too shocked to say anything. His full lips were slightly parted with astonishment.
"Necrosis," Doctor said with a cheerful voice as if it wasn't a big thing. Sam froze. His throat tightened rapidly with panic.
"You need to take away my legs?" He croaked, terrified. Cas told him about necrosis year before on their biology lessons. He knew what it meant for him. That's when Dean shook off his shock, and his big-brother instincts awoke him. He instantly moved to stand in between his brother and the doctor as if he expected the man to throw himself on Sam to server his legs. He also wrapped his arm protectively around his Sammy.
"WHAT?! NO WAY!" He yelled. "You can do something, right?" Dean's big green eyes turned to doctor with begging desperate look. Gains shook his head, amused.
"Not exactly, but-"
"You're not cutting his legs!" Dean's fear turned into anger. Suddenly his pleading expression turned into threatening one. Male Model turned into a coldblooded killer.
"No, no, no we won't be taking the legs! I know that necrosis sounds scary, but it's not that kind of necrosis." He raised his hands in an attempt to calm young man down. "It's typical for growing teenagers doing sports that require a specific way of bending the knee. Soccer, cycling, running and jumping of any kind, for example. Combination of rapid growth and intensive training is harmful to young bones. It's called Sterile necrosis of tibial tuberosity or Osgood-Schlatter disease." The doctor said quickly. If Dean weren't suddenly so scary, he might have laughed at Sam's reasoning.
'Maybe I am a bad person.'
"There's nothing to fear, you need to stop playing, wait it out maybe take some medication or use an ointment and you'll be fine. It's sterile necrosis which means that it had developed without the input of any pathogen." He rambled on.
Sam's panic lessened, but after a moment distress took its place for everyone to see. He was glad that he was going to be fine, but then he registered the second part of doctor's word-vomit. Dean patted Sammy's back lightly trying to comfort him. He knew how much Sam loved to play, to move, but his relief overweighted his sympathy. Sam was going to be okay. That was the most important thing.
"No soccer?" Sam whimpered. "But I'm the only goalkeeper, the team needs me, and the championship…" Doctor's face softened.
"I'm sorry. I'm a surgeon, not an orthopaedist, but I know this for sure. You can try rehabilitation, but you'll mostly have to wait it out. I'll introduce you guys to our child orthopaedist. She'll tell you more." He smiled at Sam reassuringly and took down the photos.
"Wait a moment." Sam suddenly said, "You said that it's typical for kids with intense growth. But I'm not growing at all!"
Gains stared at him for a second. "In your file was written that your height and weight were last updated month and half ago."
"Yeah, coach measures as all regularly. I'm 5'6 and 155Ibs." Sam stated.
"Nope." Doctor smiled at boy's surprised face. He had been low-key waiting for this to come up. "Since then you have grown about an inch and some and put on five pounds." He closed Sam's file loudly. He took great joy in Sam's and Dean's gaping expressions. "I'd say that you're on the beginning of big ass growth spurt and you won't be slowing down any time soon," He finished with a wide grin. From an abruptly delighted look at Sam's face, he could guess that kid had been waiting for such news.
Dean beamed at Sam, glad that there was something to distract him from looming problems with both health and soccer.
"See! I told you that you'll shoot up one day!" He half hugged his brother and ruffled his floppy hair.
"Just remember," he said fake-sternly, "Don't you dare to overgrow me!"