Temporary Heroes
Chapter 3
Author's Note: We still have a ways to go…..thanks for coming along for the ride!
oooOOOooo
Fear grows in darkness; if you think there's a bogeyman around, turn on the light.
Dorothy Thompson
oooOOOooo
Dean was dozing when he heard his brother call out, his tone panicked.
"I'm here, Sammy." He put the laptop aside and rushed to Sam's side. "You're okay."
"I was hoping it was a nightmare," Sam said as he lay back against the pillows, gripping the edge of Dean's shirt. "But it wasn't."
"No. But it's not going to last."
"I need to go to the bathroom," Sam said. He started to toss away the blanket, but stopped.
"What is it?" Dean asked.
"I – I can't see. I –"
"It's okay. I'll help you. You have to take the IV with you, so hold on for a second."
Dean stood up and took a moment to organize things before helping Sam out of bed. He led Sam across the room, but the younger man insisted on going into the bathroom alone. It took longer than normal, but when Sam came out he had a look of accomplishment on his face. He waved off Dean's help and made his way back to bed himself. It was slow going and he ran into the recliner, but he made it.
"Don't you ever go home?" Dean asked Marie lightly when she came into the room a few minutes later with the dinner tray.
"We're short handed, so I agreed to work an extra shift. How are you feeling, Sam?"
"I've been better."
"I'm sure you have," she put the tray on the table and rolled it toward the bed. 'You got the junk food special tonight. There's some pizza that isn't half bad and a soft drink. There's even apple pie for dessert. Don't tell anyone, but the pizza is from what we had delivered for the nursing staff tonight and there's enough here for your brother, too."
Sam only nodded.
"Thanks," Dean said.
She smiled at him briefly, then turned back to Sam even though he couldn't see her. "If you feel like taking a walk, feel free. Just take it easy and don't try to go too far."
Again, Sam said nothing.
She put a hand on Sam's arm, but spoke to Dean. "Dean, if you want to take a break, I'll stay with Sam. You can go downstairs to check your voicemail since you can't use your phone up here."
Dean looked at her, surprised.
"Go ahead, Dean," Sam said, his voice despondent. "Bobby might have called."
"I'll be back in five minutes," Dean said. "Okay, Sammy?"
"I'll be okay."
Dean patted his leg before heading out of the room.
---
"Do you want a slice of pizza?" Marie asked Sam.
"Not now, thanks."
"Maybe when your brother gets back. What about something to drink?"
"Sure."
"It's a canned soda. Do you want it in a cup?"
"The can is fine."
She opened it and helped Sam grasp it. "There's an empty spot on the tray for it; it's right in front of your hand."
"Thanks," he said and took a few sips.
"Your brother is worried about you," she said. "He cares about you very much."
"Yeah, he does," Sam whispered.
"It's nice to see two brothers as close as you seem to be."
"We are close."
"It must be comforting."
"Yeah."
"You know, it might be a good idea for him to stay here with you tonight. Of course the staff is here, but it might be nice to have your brother here if you wake up and –"
"And realize I can't see?"
"It's going to be disconcerting for you. Hopefully the medication will work quickly, but for the time being…."
"I'm sure Dean will want to stay," Sam said.
"You mentioned a name before. Bobby? Who is that?"
"Friend of the family. Dean called him and he's on his way here."
"Do you have other family?" Marie asked.
"No. It's just me and Dean now. Our mom died when we were kids and our dad….He died not so long ago. Bobby's like family, though."
"Well, I'm glad you have him, then."
"Yeah. I have Dean, but my brother….he depends on Bobby a lot right now. Dean and our dad were really close and his death….well, it's hard for Dean."
"Everyone needs someone they can depend on," Marie said.
Sam only nodded.
"I know you were just passing through when you had your accident. Where do you live?"
"No where in particular right now. We're kind of on an extended road trip. Just me and Dean."
"I'm sure you've meet a lot of interesting people. Seen a lot of interesting things."
Sam paused, wishing he could see the expression on Marie's face. He'd used those exact words himself when talking to Dr. Ellicott in Rockford the previous year when he and Dean were investigating the haunted asylum. Something about the nurse had seemed familiar before and he still felt it now that he could only hear her voice.
"I saw the car your brother drives," Marie continued. "I knew someone who had one just like it."
"It belonged to our dad, but he gave it to Dean for his 18th birthday. They used to spend hours under the hood of that thing. Dad taught Dean all about cars."
"It doesn't sound like you and your dad were very close," Marie said. Sam thought he heard regret in her voice.
"We fought a lot, but I loved my dad. I know now that he did his best. You know, I don't even know why I'm telling you all this stuff."
"I shouldn't be asking so many questions. It's none of my business. It's just….well, sometimes it's nice to talk and easier to do it with a stranger."
"Sometimes," Sam agreed.
"You can talk to me if you want, Sam. I'm here to help you."
"Thanks," he said over the lump in his throat.
Dean was back a few minutes later and Marie left them alone.
---
It was a quiet night. With the help of medication Sam slept through, but Dean woke up several times. Every time Sam shifted or someone came in to check on him, Dean was on alert. He was tired the next morning and almost glad that Sam couldn't see the dark circles under his eyes.
Dean helped Sam with breakfast and then helped him clean up. The younger man's mood was bleak and he didn't talk much; every movement seemed to be at Dean's urging. The doctor came in to examine Sam. The swelling of the optic never was starting to go down, but he seemed concerned that Sam's eyesight had not started to return yet.
"Thanks for staying here last night," Sam said after several minutes of silence once the doctor had gone.
"I think that chair is more comfortable than the bed in the motel room," Dean said, keeping his tone light.
"I've been thinking –"
"That can't be good."
Sam ignored the jibe. "We shouldn't stay here much longer. That insurance card you gave the hospital –"
"It's fine, Sam."
"We're not that far from the last job and… I think I should leave with Bobby. You can finish up here and –"
"Sam, we don't leave until we can leave together. And in case you've forgotten, you're on an intravenous medication."
Sam was about to respond when the door opened. Dean was already used to his brother's alarm when he didn't know who was coming in and he put a hand on his wrist. "Hey, Bobby."
"Boys," the voice was gruff, but it held a touch of affection for the brothers. The old man sat on the edge of the bed and touched Sam's arm. "How ya doin' there, kid?"
"Just great," Sam said. Dean didn't miss the sarcasm and he was sure Bobby hadn't either.
"Thanks for coming, Bobby," Dean said.
"Not a problem." Bobby looked at the older brother. "You been here all night?"
"Yeah."
"Has anything happened since we talked yesterday?"
"No. Were you able to turn up anything on this shadow?"
"Not this one specifically, I don't think, but there are stories about something similar in other places."
"What stories?" Sam asked.
"Everything I found is about as vague as what those women told you," Bobby said. "Just people in hospitals reporting seeing weird shadows. Sometimes there's a sound like whispering – the people get pretty scared. I didn't find much in the way of lore."
"What about patients who have seen it? Do they get better?" Sam asked.
Bobby glanced at Dean and the younger man shrugged.
"I don't know. Why?"
"The second woman I talked to said the patients who have seen it get better; even when they shouldn't," Dean explained.
Bobby looked back at Sam. "You think this has a supernatural cause, Sam?"
"I don't know. Maybe."
"I brought some books I didn't have a chance to look through before I left. Dean, why don't you take a break? I'll stay with Sam for a while."
That was one of the reasons Bobby had come; to help with Sam so Dean didn't have to be at the hospital all the time, but now that he was there, Dean wasn't sure he wanted to leave. He trusted Bobby, which was saying a lot, and he knew that Sam would be safe with him, but still….He looked at Sam's face and saw it was completely devoid of emotion. His brother was hurting – not just from his ribs - and there was nothing he could do about it. Dean didn't like that. He didn't like it at all.
Bobby must have sensed Dean's uncertainty. "Actually, let me grab a cup of coffee before you go."
He patted Sam's wrist and left the brothers alone.
"Sam."
"It's okay, Dean. I know you probably didn't get any sleep last night."
There was no conviction his Sam's voice.
"I slept okay," Dean lied. "But I want to get cleaned up and see what else I can dig up on this shadow thing."
Sam nodded.
"You'll be okay with Bobby."
"I know." His voice was soft.
"What is it?" Dean asked, moving to the side of the bed.
Sam turned toward the direction of his brother's voice. "I still can't see, Dean. Nothing. It's just black. If the swelling is going down, why is it still just as bad as it was? What if –"
"It's not permanent, Sam. And if it is related to the shadow….We've been up against worse."
"We have?"
"It hasn't even been twenty-four hours. Give it a chance," Dean touched his wrist. "Give me a chance."
"I don't want to need a babysitter for the rest of my life." Sam's voice had taken on an edge of alarm.
"Sam –"
"You don't get it, man! I won't be able to protect myself if I can't see. If –"
"Listen to me," Dean said, gripping both arms. "Either it has a physical cause or a supernatural one, but either way it is temporary. Do you hear me, Sammy? It's temporary."
Sam nodded, seeming to calm down. "Okay."
"Okay."
oooOOOooo
Dean took a shower and changed into clean clothes before going back to work on the case. What he really wanted to do was sleep, but he had to get to the bottom of what was going on at the hospital. He took a few minutes for coffee and food, going over the information he'd gotten from Joanna and Marcy while he ate.
He'd asked why they were following something that seemed to be doing good things. What was wrong with making sick people well, after all? But he hadn't liked their answer and he wondered again if they knew more than they'd told him. He slipped out of the diner booth and paid the bill before walking out of the parking lot, pulling his cell phone from his coat pocket.
"Hello?"
"Marcy, it's Dean. I'd like to talk to you again if you have time."
"All right."
Dean thought he heard uncertainty in her voice. He wasn't even sure why he was about to do what he was, but he didn't feel like he had time to be careful. Normally he and Sam would do as their father taught them; they would research and be as sure as they could before jumping in. But Dean was afraid that his brother's loss of eyesight was related to the shadow and he just couldn't take chances with Sam.
"I don't know what all your tea leaves have told you and maybe you already know this. My brother is a patient in that hospital. We were finishing up another job and he got hurt. He was in a coma for a couple of weeks, but he woke up and he was getting better. Then he saw the shadow and not long after that he couldn't see. The doctor said it was due to swelling in the optic nerve and put him on some medicine, but it's not helping. The swelling is going down, but his eyesight isn't coming back."
"He saw the shadow?" she asked in a whisper.
"That's why I started asking questions. He saw it and followed it to the fourth floor. He said it seemed to lead him there; up to the door of the children's ward. I've tried to find other information about the shadow and a friend has been looking, but….Marcy, have you told me everything you know?"
"Yes. I know it doesn't seem like much after following this thing around for ten years, but –"
"You've never heard of any of the people who have seen it getting sick? All the ones you know about got better?"
"Yes, all of them. This thing has cured cancer, Dean."
"I don't understand why you're following it around."
"Well…."
"Marcy, please. My brother…." Dean knew he sounded desperate. He felt desperate. There was nothing he wouldn't do for Sam.
"Dean, I'm sorry."
"Please tell me why you're following it around."
Dean heard the old woman sigh. "Dean. It….We're not following it. It's following us."
"What?"
"Maybe we should have told you the whole truth in the beginning, but –"
"Ya think?" Dean growled.
"I still don't see what this has to do with your brother."
"Why is the shadow following you around?"
"All right. Fine. I'll tell you everything," Marcy promised. "For real this time. Why don't I come to your brother's room?"
---
"Where's Sam?" Dean asked when he got back to his brother's room and found Bobby alone.
"They just took him off for some more tests; said it would take a couple of hours. I was going to go down to the cafeteria for something to eat and call you."
"How has he been?"
"Sometimes all right. Sometimes not. He slept some."
"I brought him something," Dean said and took the MP3 player from his coat pocket. "I downloaded some audio books for him."
"That should help. He's getting kind of antsy. I took him for a couple of walks just for something to do, but his ribs are still pretty tender."
Dean sighed. "Yeah."
"Let's go downstairs while we can," Bobby suggested, leading the way. "I need something to eat."
"Bobby, I talked to Marcy again. She told me that she and Joanna aren't following the shadow. It's following them."
He turned to look at the younger man. "Well, that changes things."
"Marcy is going to come to Sam's room tonight to talk to us. She said she'd tell the whole truth this time."
"That would be helpful."
---
Sam still wasn't in his room when Dean and Bobby were done with lunch, but Marie was in his room.
"Hi," she smiled. "I just got a call about Sam. He's on his way back up and I was just getting a new IV bag ready. He should be here in a few minutes. I'll be in to get him hooked up."
Bobby watched as she walked out, then looked at Dean. The younger man was staring out of the window. Bobby had only seen pictures of Mary Winchester, but he noticed a certain resemblance between the nurse and Dean's deceased mother. He wondered if Dean had seen it, but decided not to bring it up.
They'd talked about the little Bobby had managed to find about the shadow while they were eating, but they both knew that whatever information Marcy and Joanna had withheld probably changed the entire picture.
"How are you holding up, Dean?"
"I'm all right. I just want to find out what's wrong with my brother, figure out what the hell this shadow thing is and get out of here."
Bobby noted the angry tone and laid a gentle hand on Dean's back. The younger man looked at him with a moment of affection and then turned back to the window.
"Hey, Sam," Bobby said a few minutes later when an orderly brought him back into the room.
"Hi, Bobby," he sounded depressed. "Is Dean here?"
"I'm here, Sammy." Dean turned from the window and moved to the bed once the orderly had everything in place. He put a hand on Sam's arm. "How ya doin'?"
Sam didn't bother answering. He lay back against the pillows and held onto the blanket.
Dean glanced at Bobby, but the older man had no answers.
"Sam, I talked to Marcy again. Turns out that she and her friend haven't been following the shadow. It's been following them. She's going to be here in a while to talk to us about it and hopefully tell the whole truth this time."
Still there was no response.
"What tests did you have this time?" Dean asked.
"Same ones as before," he answered quietly, his face turned away from the sound of Dean's voice.
Once again, Dean looked at Bobby. He shrugged and walked toward the door. "I'll be back in a few minutes."
---
Alone with his brother, Dean sat on the edge of the bed.
"Sam –"
"Don't, Dean. It doesn't matter. The doctor can order as many tests as he wants and it just won't matter. He's not going to find anything. This has something to do with the shadow. I know it."
"Well, then you know I can fix it."
"I'm tired," Sam said, ignoring him.
"You're tired and want to rest or you're tired and you don't want to talk about it now?"
"Either one works for me. Can you hand me the MP3 player?"
"Marcy will be here soon."
"You and Bobby can handle it. I can't do anything."
"That's not true, Sam. You can listen to her and ask questions. Come on, man. This isn't you. You don't give up."
"I haven't given up," he said when the door opened.
"Hey, Sam, it's Marie. I need to change your IV bag."
Just as she had done every time before, she told Sam what she was going to do before she did it. He didn't seem to be paying attention, but Dean suspected that he really was.
"Can I bring you anything?" she asked when she was done.
Sam said nothing and she looked at Dean.
"We're fine, thanks."
She nodded and left after making a few notations in Sam's chart.
"Sam –"
"Dean, please." His voice was barely above a whisper. He turned onto his side, away from his brother. Dean put a hand on his shoulder.
"Okay, Sammy." He took the MP3 player from the bedside table and put it into his brother's hand. "I'll be right back, okay?"
Sam only nodded.
---
Sam was trying not to wallow in depression, but he was having a hard time. He was sure the blindness had a supernatural cause and he knew that Dean would stop at nothing to find a way to reverse it, but he was still finding it difficult to remain upbeat. He felt vulnerable and hated that he was afraid to stay by himself for more than a few moments.
What scared him even more was the possibility that the blindness wasn't supernatural in origin. If it was physical, there was nothing Dean could do to fix it and he knew the doctor was at a loss. He was also worried about the insurance – the longer they stayed and the more that was billed against it, the greater the chance the fraud would be discovered.
He heard the door open, followed by the sound of soft footsteps.
"Dean?" he called, even though he didn't think it was his brother who had walked into the room.
"It's Marie, Sam. I thought you were asleep, I'm sorry."
"It's okay."
"I just wanted to check something I forgot to take care of before."
After a moment, Sam sensed her standing close to the bed.
"Is there anything I can do for you?" she asked.
"Can you give me back my eyesight?" he asked, then smiled. "I'm sorry."
"It's all right," she assured him. "You know, I have a feeling this is all going to be behind you soon."
"A feeling, huh?"
"I'm not saying I'm psychic or anything," she said with a smile in her voice, "But I have a good feeling about you, Sam."
"I hope you're right."
"The dinner trays will be coming out soon. I might be able to sneak something onto it that is close to edible."
"You don't have to do that."
"Well, we'll see. No promises. I talked to your friend, Bobby, for a little while. He seems nice."
"Yeah, Bobby's great. It will help Dean that he's here."
"It will help you, too, won't it?"
"Yeah."
"Are you worried about your brother?"
"We always seem to be worried about each other. Dean doesn't always take are of himself and I know he hasn't been sleeping all that well. He always puts me first and forgets about his own needs. But Bobby will look after him. He'll try to, anyway."
"Well, then I'm glad he's here."
Sam thought he heard the same regret in her voice that he'd heard in their earlier conversation and he wondered what had caused it. He also wondered why he felt compelled to tell her things.
"How is the pain level? Do you need some more medication?"
"No, thanks, I'm fine."
"Okay, well, the call button is within reach. Do you know where it is?"
"Yeah, thanks."
"Good. Let me know if you need anything. I'm here until morning."
"Thanks, Marie."
"Get some rest, Sammy."
He said nothing, surprised she called him by the nickname that only Dean was allowed to use.
TBC