Chapter 2

"Paralyzed? What the hell do you mean…?" Dean found that he was unable to continue his question when he rose quickly to his feet and he felt himself growing dizzy just by that one simple action. Paralyzed. Sammy?

"Are you alright, son?" Doctor Morgan reached an immediate hand out and grabbed a hold of Dean's arm as she saw the dazed look in his green eyes and she almost feared she would have to call in her nurses and staff once again to help this young man. But to her relief, she waited until the dazed look left his face and he brushed her hand away,

"Dean?"

"What do you mean by paralyzed?" Dean demanded again, not bothering to even look over at his father as he sat back down. He didn't even want to see John's reaction to this.

With a light sigh, Doctor Morgan flipped through Sam's chart before closing it and looking in between Dean and John, her patient's father carrying a look she couldn't make out. But she brushed that aside for the time being as she met the younger Winchester's eyes,

"I'm terribly sorry, but when the semi truck hit him, his spinal cord snapped, which left him paralyzed from the waist down. He can't feel or move anything-"

"Then you'll fix him."

"Dean." John finally spoke up, shooting him a stern look.

"You'll fix him," Dean firmly continued as if John had not spoken,

"Or I'll fix him. This won't be permanent, this is Sammy we're talking about here! Physical therapy-"

"I'm sorry to have to be the one to tell you this, but it's almost 100% certain that it is permanent, Dean," Doctor Morgan gently interrupted, knowing this conversation was not going to end well when she continued her explanation of Sam's injuries,

"I'm afraid there's more-"

"More?" John interrupted, his gut churning at this doctor's words. Wasn't paralyzed enough? And paralyzed permanently? Sam would never walk again! He would never HUNT again! He huffed loudly,

"Isn't this enough, doctor?"

Ignoring the tone in John Winchester's voice, as she knew he was just acting that way due to his concern for his son-after all, it had to be that way, there wasn't any other explanation-Doctor Morgan went on,

"There also might have been some serious brain damage during the crash, Mr. Winchester." Here she directed her words primarily to John,

"We're uncertain to just what extent that will be until he wakes up fully, but there is a possibility he won't remember certain things. Whether that will be his life, certain people or even his family, that's yet to be determined."

"But there's also a possibility he's perfectly fine, right?" John asked with a raised eyebrow, swallowing his anger as he tried to not let it leak into his voice,

"Even just a small possibility?"

"Of course," Doctor Morgan gently assured,

"There's always that, but I highly doubt it." She sighed quietly,

"He's also sustained minor injuries from the crash, ones which have been tended to already. A broken left wrist, minor cuts and bruises on his face and hands. But what we're most concerned about of course, is his head and the paralysis."

"What-" Dean was suddenly cut off when a loud, familiar scream erupted from the other side of the hospital ward and he was on his feet as soon as he heard his name.

"DEAN!"

Doctor Morgan was on her feet within a matter of seconds and was soon holding out a hand to prevent Dean from following her,

"I'm afraid you're going to have to stay here for a few minutes-"

"The hell I will!" Dean snapped, brushing her hand away again,

"He's calling for me!"

"Dean, let her do her job!" John snapped, grabbing Dean's upper arm, which was soon shaken off. He reached forward and grabbed it again, only tighter this time,

"That's an order, son!"

"And I'm not following it!" Dean cried, feeling a few more tears starting to form in his green eyes,

"That's my baby brother-"

"We'll come and get you in a few minutes, Mr. Winchester," Doctor Morgan's gentle tone was now slightly impatient as she turned away and started rushing down the hall to where the scream had stopped and in its place, Dean was just barely able to make out crying.

Ignoring his father shaking his head in irritation, Dean turned away from the cries that were still calling for him and felt his heart shatter into a thousand pieces.

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The minutes felt like hours and the every time a second passed where Doctor Morgan had yet to come and get them, Dean felt himself growing more and more wrecked. The heartbreaking cries soon calmed down and the next thing the Winchesters knew, all that was heard again was the clicking of computer keys at the nurses station.

Waiting. Again.

That was the last thing Dean needed!

Unable to take anymore, and growing more and more annoyed that John had picked up a magazine and was flipping through it as if they had not just received critical news on his youngest son, Dean rose to his feet again and ignored the pounding in his skull as he made his way over to the pretty blond who was behind the desk at the nurses station. Normally, this would have been the perfect opportunity to turn his flirt on, to try and get a date, but not this time,

"Excuse me, but when will they let me see my brother?"

Eyebrows arching up to her forehead, the blond looked up from her computer and met Dean's eyes,

"I'm sorry, but what's his name?"

"Sam Winchester." Dean impatiently drummed his fingers on the counter, his green eyes flashing with annoyance,

"When will they let me see him? He needs me-"

Just as the blond was about to open her mouth to say something, the familiar voice of Doctor Morgan sounded from behind him and Dean sucked in a sharp breath as he turned to face her,

"Mr. Winchester, if you could follow me, please?" She nodded at him and then turned to meet John's eyes as he too rose to his feet,

"I'm going to take you to see Sam now."

The only thing Dean heard come out of the doctor's mouth was his brother's name and, without even bothering to check to see if his father was following, Dean turned and followed Doctor Morgan down the long hallway until they reached the end where a single room was, the door closed. Her hand on the doorknob, Doctor Morgan turned towards the Winchesters and met each of their eyes in turn,

"He should be sleeping right now-"

"Just open the damn door, lady, and let me be with my brother," Dean growled, not even bothering to remain calm and call, much less polite,

"You kept me from him when he was calling from me, the least you can do is get out of the way."

Knowing this young man would more then likely physically remove her if need be, as the look on his face took on one of a mother bear, Doctor Morgan opened the door and stepped out of the way to let them through,

"If you need anything-"

"We won't," Dean interrupted as he and John entered, closing the door in the doctor's face.

"You didn't need to be rude to that doctor, Dean," John grumbled, once again pushing his anger aside as he took a seat in the chair on the other side of the room, flipping open his magazine again with his good hand,

"She was just doing her job…"

"What the hell, dad?" Dean mumbled to himself with a shake of his head as he turned to the figure lying still in the hospital bed. His eyes softened and the tears began as he took a seat in the empty chair next to Sam and scooted it as close as possible,

"God, Sammy…"

If Dean didn't already know the things he did from the doctor's words, Dean would have assumed his brother had just had a run in with an avenging ghost and was paying the price for it, what with the clean white cast on left arm that was lying on his chest and the cuts and bruises decorating his still face. Monitors beeped around Sam's head, which was covered with a large white bandage, as he slept on and an IV was inserted into his right hand to give him the fluids he so desperately needed. Being as careful as possible, what with the IV and all, Dean gently took a hold of his baby brother's hand and rubbed his fingers with his own,

"You'll be fine, Sammy, I promise, little brother. Those doctors and nurses don't know you, you're gonna be just fine…"

Sighing from across the room as he looked up from the magazine he was reading, John Winchester shook his head in disgust as he went over everything that blasted doctor had told them regarding Sam. Paralyzed…Brain-damaged…What the hell was their world coming to? All of this never would have happened if Sammy had just shot and killed him the previous night; all of this would have been over and done with. Sure, he would have been dead, but it would have been worth it. Yellow Eyes would have been vanquished forever, his boys would have been safe and Mary would have been avenged. Now, here they were, stuck in some shitty hospital, the Impala practically totaled and Sam so severely injured, he might never walk again, much less hunt again.

Damnit, Sam, He silently curses his youngest as he turned back to his magazine, ignoring the silent looks Dean was shooting his way every now and then,

If you had only listened to me, we would never be in this position. Now, we're stuck taking care of your sorry ass all because you refused to follow orders once again. Selfish bastard…Something's gonna have to be done; Dean and I are gonna have to continue the hunt, one way or the other.

Plastering a forced smile of encouragement on his face, John looked up and finally met his oldest son's eyes and nodded over at him,

"He'll wake up, son."

"Why the hell are you sitting over there, dad?" Dean growled in reply, lowering his eyes back to his brother, who had yet to move. His hand tightened on Sam's right hand, while he moved his other to brush dark strands of bangs out of his brother's sealed eyes.

"I'm sure he's gonna want to see you when he awakens, Dean," John answered, finally setting the magazine down on the nearby table and rising to his feet with a slight groan,

"I'm going to go and get a cup of coffee. You want anything?" When Dean shook his head silently, his eyes staring harshly back at his father, John smiled and patted his son's shoulder as he left the room, closing the door behind him.

Finally allowing his tears to flow more freely down his face, Dean shook his head in disgust as he rubbed Sam's arm gently,

"He's just worried, that's all, Sam. You know how dad is, he's not the type to get all emotional or show how worried sick he is. But he still cares, I know he does; he just doesn't know how to show it yet…It's just gonna take a while for this to sink in is all, Sammy-" His words were suddenly cut off when he felt slight movement coming from the bed; more importantly, he felt the movement coming from the very hand he was holding and before he could say anything, a slight moan was heard in Sam's bed,

"Sammy?"

Sam's eyelids felt like something was holding them down and the longer he tried to pry them open, the more determined he got. Stubbornness was starting to win out when he heard the all-too-familiar voice sounding in his right ear and the gentle hand rubbing his. He tried to open his eyes again when felt that same hand running through his hair and with one final try, he managed to pry his hazel eyes open and a bright white light greeted him.

"Sammy?"

Groaning quietly, the younger Winchester silently turned his head, but winced when he felt sharp needle-like pains slicing through his skull. Feeling a few tears well up in his eyes from the intensity of the pain, Sam closed his eyes once again, but that same voice sounded in his ear.

"It's okay, Sammy; you're okay."

Pain still slicing through his skull with an intensity he hadn't felt in…who knew how long…Sam forced his large eyes open again, only this time instead of seeing the bright light, he was greeted by the face that belonged to that voice. Only this time, he was now sitting right beside him on the bed that he was lying in, one hand still holding his and the other running a damp washcloth down his face.

"Can you hear me, Sam?"

Blinking his eyes rapidly as he took in that face, that face he knew the name of…Sam silently nodded his head in reply.

"Can you say my name for me?"

The youngest Winchester gulped, his throat parched with thirst, and licked his lips before opening his mouth and attempting to get any type of words out. He closed his eyes tightly as the face and name soon came together; the name that he had never once forgotten, not as long as he lived,

"D…Dean…"

Gently rubbing his baby brother's good hand in his, Dean nodded through the tears he was unable to keep at bay and smiled,

"Good job, kiddo. Now what's your name?"

"Sammy." Came the immediate answer.

Arching an eyebrow at the answer, Dean frowned and replied,

"Do you know where you are, little brother?"

"N-No…" Came the quiet answer,

"Dean…"

"Yeah, kiddo?"

"What…" He closed in hazel eyes in agony as his brain tried to form the words he wanted to ask,

"What…day is it…? Where's…dad…?"

"You're in a hospital, Sammy," Dean replied as gently as he could,

"You've been seriously hurt, alright?" As Sam nodded in reply, the older brother went on,

"And dad will be right back, okay?"

"Why?"

"Why what, Sam?"

"Why…am I here…?" Came the too quiet question,

"Motel…?"

"No motel this time, little brother, okay?" Dean sighed softly, his own heard starting to pound once again from the stitches he had received,

"Your condition is too serious."

Glancing down at his left arm which lying still on his chest, and frowning at the cast that covered his hand to elbow, Sam swallowed and looked down at the sheets covering the lower half of him,

"I can't…"

"What, little brother?" Dean gently urged, his eyes following his brother's eye movement.

"I can't…feel my legs…" Sam whispered, closing his eyes tiredly as he let out a heavy sigh,

"D-Dean…? What…day is it…?"

"I'll answer more of those questions later after you get some more rest, Sammy, okay?" Dean gently placed his hand on his brother's chest and carefully pushed him back against the pillows when he attempted to sit up,

"Just get some rest for right now; I'll let your doctor know you woke up, okay?"

The youngest Winchester nodded his head slightly and as he allowed his brother to gently push him back against the pillows, Sam opened his eyes briefly and attempted to squeeze Dean's hand,

"…Love…you, Dean…"

Shock flowing through him at his little brother's words as he watched Sam close his eyes again and drift off, Dean gulped and squeezed Sam's hand in return before replying, although he knew he couldn't hear it,

"I love you, too, kid…" More fear started to flow through ever fiber of Dean's being right then. It wasn't just because of those little words that Sam had said; it was the little fact that they had never said those words since they were little kids. Never! Also…when he had asked Sam if he knew what his name was and he had replied "Sammy"…what was up with that? His little brother had flat out refused to be called by that nickname ever since the day he turned 16; even when he had picked him up at Stanford a year ago, he had always tried to get Dean to call him "Sam"; every single time he had attempted to call him "Sammy", his little brother had tried to stop him.

Of course, things had gotten better over the months the longer they hunted together; it had started to get to the point where Dean himself-and on occasion, their father-had been the only one ever allowed to call him that. But…Every time he introduced himself, he introduced himself as "Sam".

"You're gonna be okay, kid," Dean whispered as he moved from Sam's bed and putting the bed bar back up, knowing Doctor Morgan and her team of nurses would throw a huge fit if they came in and saw him sitting there,

"You'll be just fine…" He moved from his chair and walked to the door of his brother's hospital room and opened it, looking back and forth to see if John was returning, but felt a huge surge of anger forming when he saw nothing,

"Where the hell are you, dad?" He growled to himself as he looked back at his injured little brother. With a sigh, he walked back over to Sam's bed and pushed the call button, alerting the staff of his brother having woken up. As he awaited their arrival, Dean took a hold of Sam's good hand again and brought it to his lips, giving it a quick kiss,

"You're gonna be fine. Even if dad's not here right now, you're gonna be fine, because I'll take care of you."

He just hoped he wasn't lying.

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TBC