Doctor Davenport hated cases like this, hated having to tell a young man in the prime of his life that there was nothing he could do for him. Most of all, he hated watching the faces of the patient as well as the family go from hopeful to despair in less time than it took him to finish his diagnosis. It was days like this that he really wished he'd listened to his mother and studied law instead.
As he passed the Nurse's Station he noticed the headlines of the local paper and shook his head. The news had spread quickly about this small family of heroes and how one of them had been so badly injured that he was still in the hospital for treatment. He had to admit, the rescue had been spectacular and having spent time as an Army medic, he'd seen some pretty awesome rescues, but watching a team of firemen, paramedics, as well as rock climbers work in tandem to get the young man off the edge of the cliff had been a sight to behold. The whole time the crews worked, the victim's family offered assistance as needed, demanding to be a part of the rescue – no… needing to be a part of it. They still weren't sure how the hell the kid brother had managed to get down to that ledge without breaking his neck, but it had been evident that there wasn't going to be any moving him until his big brother was well on his way to the hospital.
Sighing, he noticed he couldn't procrastinate any longer, the dreaded room was in front of him and standing there wasn't going to do anyone any good. He heard the banter before he fully opened the door and that cheered him momentarily until he saw the young man in the bed look up at him expectantly causing the other two members of his family to follow suit.
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John sat and watched his boys joke around with each other as they had since Dean woke up a week ago hooked up to just about every device known to man. It had been a rough time watching his son lie there in bed for the two weeks he was in a coma, not knowing what the outcome would be once his boy woke up. He barely slept; the images of Dean going over the cliff edge haunted him until he knew better than to close his eyes for more than a few seconds.
His gaze settled on his youngest son and he had to smile slightly at the boy's antics today, a much easier version than what he'd had to deal with before Dean had woken. The kid had been scared, pissed, angsty, and guilty all at once leaving any and all in his path to have to deal with the teenager's emotions that seemed to seep everywhere. He wasn't mad at him though, although Sammy had thought he had every right to be. No, it wasn't Sammy's fault that his brother was lying in bed and he'd told his boy that. No matter how much he would have like to have blamed his youngest, the truth was he couldn't; the kid had been clear of the blast before Dean had taken into his head to save his brother. In fact in any other circumstance he would have been proud at how quickly Sammy had followed his order, hadn't stopped even for a moment to decide whether or not to argue for once.
"It's not laziness Sammy, it's part of my plan. You really think all those hot nurses would be falling over themselves to get to me if there wasn't anything wrong with me?" Dean said as he tossed a card into the pile before grabbing one from the deck.
"Right Dean, you're here because you need a date. Dude, you need a date like I need another lecture on how to clean the weapons." Sammy teased as he looked over his cards wondering if his brother had that last Ace.
"Well you know Sammy, I've been meaning to talk to you about that…" Dean began with a smile, knowing full well that there was nothing wrong with the way his little brother took care of their weapons.
"Jerk."
"Bitch!"
The door began to open causing Dean to look up and look at the doctor hopefully.
"Dean, it's good to see you in such a good mood." Dr. Davenport stated nervously. He knew this was going to be a hard blow to the young man and his family. He'd consulted with everyone he could think of, postponing this moment as long as possible until he could tell this family with all certainty that he hadn't left any rock unturned.
"Hey doc, how's it going? I'm beating Sammy here, but if you give me a second I'm pretty sure I can squeeze you into my schedule."
Smiling slightly the doctor looked at the father and noticed that apprehension that was settling on the other man's face. "Dean, I'm afraid that after I say what I have to, you're not going to want to see me at all." Seeing the sudden serious look on everyone's faces he sighed before he shook his head. "I'm sorry Dean, I really am, but there's nothing we can do. The injury you've sustained is extremely rare and there just isn't any known treatment for it. I wish I had better news, but I'm afraid that your paralysis is permanent."
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"Yeah thanks Jim… no, I'm not sure when but I'll let you know, ok?" John said on the phone, waiting to hear confirmation from his friend before hanging up. He stood there not really paying attention to anything, wondering just how everything could have gotten so damned screwed up. They had been waiting on the latest test results, results that were supposed to let them know that Dean had a chance of walking again, that what happened wasn't permanent. Now though he had to wrap his head around the fact that his oldest son, his carbon copy was useless as a hunter and was now more of a liability than Sammy ever thought of being.
Sighing, he knew he wouldn't have to convince his son that this was the best thing, he'd just tell Dean to stay at Jim's and that would be the end of it. Why did it still break his heart though?
"So that's it? You're just going to shove him off somewhere because he can't be what you want him to be?" Sam demanded. He knew what he heard and also knew what it would do to his brother if it actually happened.
Groaning, John knew he should have made that call somewhere else. "Look Sammy…"
"It's Sam, Dad. S. A. M. SAM! You don't get to deflect what I'm saying… not this time… not about this." Sam said through his gritted teeth. "You know, I was telling Dean that you weren't going to leave him behind, that you couldn't leave him behind. Do you have any idea what this is going to do to him? Do you even care?!?"
"Watch your tone with me young man. This is the best thing for us and for Dean. He won't be able to keep up, he'll need extra care. Damn it, there's just no way for him to stay with us and…"
"You Dad… not us… you! You can't face the fact that he's not your perfect son anymore. Well too damn bad! You keep telling me how family is the most important thing and that we need to stick together, but when the chips are down you cut and run. Well I'm not doing it. You leave him behind, you leave both of us behind and I won't have a problem with telling anyone and everyone exactly why. Do you understand what I'm saying Dad? I'll turn my back on you just like you're doing to us!"
Shocked, John wasn't sure what he was hearing, but he didn't like it one bit. "Now see here, I'm your father and I deserve some respect! You will do what the hell I tell you and keep your damn mouth shut about it!"
"No sir! Not this time. This time you're going to cut the crap and actually follow your own damn rules. We are not leaving Dean anywhere. You want someone to watch your back, to not question you? Fine, you got it. You change your mind about Dean going to Pastor Jim's or anywhere else, things stay exactly the same, you don't treat him any differently, and I will be that person. I will train, hunt, scam and steal if you want, hell I won't even bug you about school anymore. But listen very closely Dad, you go back on this and so help me GOD I will find a way to ruin you."
John thought a moment and wondered just what the hell had gotten into this boy, and even considered splashing holy water and announcing Christo, but something caught his attention. The determination in Sammy's eyes, the look of truth sitting there staring at him and he knew that his boy meant it. All he had to do was keep things as they were, except for Dean not actually hunting, and Sammy would fall in line readily. Nodding, he held out his hand, and made a deal with his fourteen year old son that would either bring them closer together or rip them all further apart permanently.
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Dean hated this. He hated sitting there waiting for his family to return, if they returned, just to find out where his dad was shipping him off to. He knew Sammy was trying to stay optimistic, hell he'd do the same if the tables were turned… no… that's not right, he'd fight damn it! He'd stand toe to toe with dad and make sure that the man wouldn't leave Sammy behind, but that was the problem – Sammy wasn't him. The kid had his own way of thinking about things and trying to relate to their old man wasn't one of the items he normally pondered too closely, always expecting the worst from their dad.
Sighing, he laid further back into the pillows and listened to the footsteps in the hallway, noticing that the little candy striper Helen was working tonight. Of all the volunteers he actually liked Helen, even though she seemed more Sammy's type. Maybe that's why he felt comfortable with her, she reminded him of his little brother in so many ways, and he found that something that he needed when he was nervous about some of the tests he'd undergone.
It had been bad enough waking up in a hospital, but not being able to feel his legs had sent him into a panic that sent a whole team of doctors and nurses in to deal with him. Finally though he was told what happened, and he'd been shocked that the hospital staff actually knew the truth of what had gone down that he'd looked at his dad in disbelief wondering if the man had gone completely around the bend. Thankfully though the whole town thought him and his family heroes and it was Helen who had showed him newspaper clippings of his rescue off a ledge fifty feet down from the top of the cliff. He had to wipe the tears from her cheeks as she showed him one picture of Sammy performing CPR on him while the rescue crews worked to get to them. Yeah, she reminded him of Sammy, but all in good ways.
Looking at the clock he wondered just how long it would be before the doctors got tired of him taking up a bed and kicked him to the curb. They still call a cab if the person doesn't have a ride, right? Not that it would help any, he had about a hundred dollars stashed in his wallet and he had to wonder just who out of all their friends would be willing to open their home to someone like him – hell, he couldn't even go to the bathroom by himself.
"Dean, you ready son? We have your discharge papers right here and your chariot awaits." John said as he walked into the room followed by Sam. He saw Dean's resigned nature and knew that Sammy had been right, if they sent him off somewhere, he wouldn't last long. "Sammy found a Lady in White in Nevada just outside of Las Vegas and we figure if we hurry we could get there in a couple of days, how does that sound?"
Confused, Dean looked at the two of them before asking, "So I'll be staying with Bobby then?"
"No way bro, you're not getting away from us that easily. Now c'mon, get your boots on and lets go!" Sam said with as much enthusiasm as he could muster. He knew what was about to happen and he knew that he had to let it; it was going to determine whether or not they left as a family of three, or if they left their father by the wayside.
"Right… look, I don't know if you two have noticed this, but you see I'm kind of paralyzed here. I really don't think I'm going to be much use to you anymore, so how about the two of you just drop me off somewhere and go about your merry little way!" Dean growled, looking at both members of his family as if they had committed the most heinous of sins… even for them.
John stood and listened to his oldest fight to hold on to the last piece of dignity and he knew that he had to play this just right, he couldn't afford to screw this up otherwise he'd lose both sons, not just the one. Taking a deep breath, he schooled his features and prepared himself for the performance of a lifetime. "Dean, what the hell are you talking about? We're a family, we stick together no matter what. Ok, so you're going to have to retrain your body and we'll have to deal with things a little differently, but that's just it, we'll deal. Besides, what do doctors really know anyway? If there's a way to fix your back, we'll find it… if not, we carry on like we always do. Got it?"
Sam stood next to his dad and had to admit that if he didn't already know the phone call had been made, he would have fallen for it. He could only hope that his brother wanted to stay together so badly that he didn't pick up on their dad's tells. He also hoped and prayed that his big brother wouldn't question his change in attitude about hunting; he couldn't directly lie to Dean, but he'd hold off the questions as long as he could because he knew how this would devastate him if he ever found out. He just needed time… time to find a way to fix this, time to make this whole screwed up situation better. Lost in his thoughts, he'd almost missed seeing Dean push the puzzlement from his face, exchanging it for his normal cocky self.
"Las Vegas huh? Awesome! Hey, you know, I'm sure we can catch a few games of poker, or maybe craps… hmmm, how about a few floor shows? Yeah… showgirls… awesome!"
John and Sam looked at each other with silent agreement, vaguely listening to Dean's enthusiasm about going to The Strip. Each one appraised the other, seeing if there was any hesitation about their agreement, both knowing that Dean could never find out about it.
