The Effects of Vertigo Ch. 3
Disclaimer: I don't own anything recognizable in this story, nor am I making a profit from it.
Previously: "I will, just as soon as he wakes up and is lucid enough to understand." John replied as he carded his fingers through his sleeping son's hair.
Sitting by Sam's side, John couldn't believe that he had inadvertently caused Sam so much pain once again with his actions. "You know I never meant to hurt this time don't you Dean?" John queried as he looked up at his oldest child. The last thing he needed was strained relations between him and Dean while they tried to deal with this latest blow as a family.
"Yeah I know that, but you need to realize that when it comes to hurting Sam without meaning to, nobody does it better than you. You need to start thinking before you act Dad or you're going to cause him a hell of a lot more pain too." Dean answered succinctly even though he could see the hurt in his father's eyes as he spoke.
"I know you're right son, it's just…it's hard to change after doing things a certain way for so long ya know." John stated as he brushed a hand through his own unkempt hair. He had been the drill sergeant for so long, that sometimes, he forgot to act like a father too.
Nodding his head, Dean could understand how his father felt, but that didn't mean he had to like it. Sure, life had dealt them a vicious blow and forced them to become hunters, but they were a family first and it was time to start acting like one instead of a small unit of marines. "Just make sure you talk to him when he wakes up Dad." Dean responded, letting his father know in no uncertain terms what he expected. There was no way he was going to allow his Dad to brush this latest incident off and pretend it never happened, which was usually the Winchester way.
"I already said I would didn't I?" John replied tersely, a little angry with Dean for doubting him. But then he couldn't really blame his son knowing how many times he had let his boys down before by choosing to ignore things instead of working them out. Pushing himself to his feet, he walked over to the small refrigerator in the room and grabbed an ice cold beer. He needed something to relax his nerves.
Sighing deeply as his dad walked off, Dean massaged his temples to ward off the tension headache that was trying to make itself known. He didn't have the time for it when Sammy was lying there on the floor. Reaching down and tossing the comforter off his brother, he lifted a sleeping Sam up with a grunt and placed him in the bed furthest from the door. Sam would be in enough pain upon waking, without having to deal with a bad back from having slept on the floor too long. Once he was sure Sam was sleeping soundly, he walked over to grab some clean clothing from his duffle, hoping that a hot shower would soothe away the headache.
Awaking a few hours later, Sam groggily opened his eyes and glanced around the room to see his Dad sitting at the table, pen in hand and writing in his journal. Surveying the rest of the room, he was surprised when he didn't see Dean anywhere. Usually when he awoke from an episode, Dean was right there by his side with pain killers in hand…and thinking of pain killers, he sure could use a few right now. Trying to push himself up, he groaned as a wave of weakness assailed him and fell back on the bed, his eyes scrunched shut in pain. Seconds later, he felt the bed dip down as a warm and calloused hand touch his face.
"Sammy, are you okay son?" John asked as he sat on the edge of the bed and placed a palm to Sam's cheek, feeling the light warmth radiating from them. He wondered if Sam might be coming down with something other than the after effects of his latest vertigo attack.
"M'okay." Sam answered automatically even though his head felt like it could split wide open and his stomach was doing major somersaults.
"Then these should help you to feel just about perfect then." John retorted as he handed over two prescription strength ibuprofen pills to take the edge off the pain that Sam was so obviously suffering from.
"Th-thanks." Sam croaked before placing the pills in his mouth and then chasing them down with the bottle of water his father gave him.
"Anytime kiddo." John voiced as he brushed back the wayward bangs from his son's eyes.
Taking a few more sips of the water, Sam handed the bottle back to his father to let him know he was finished. "Wh-Where's Dean?'
"He went to get us something to eat." John answered as he placed the bottle on the dresser before turning to face his son one again. "Sammy, we need to talk."
"Oh no, here it comes." Sam thought as he closed his eyes to hide the tears that were beginning to form.
Seeing the flash of distress in Sam's eyes before he closed them, John grasped him by the chin and said, "Sammy, I need you to open your eyes for me Tiger." John waited for his son to do as instructed before going on. "Sammy, I know you're scared about what's going to happen to you after what the doctor said, but I want you to know that we're going to be here for you son, and by that, I mean both me and Dean.
"Dean talked to you, didn't he?" Sam asked with embarrassment as he turned his head away.
"Yes, and I'm glad he did, otherwise, how would I have known you were scared of me sending you away…which will never happen by the way." John intoned strongly. "I mean it Sam, whether you know it or not son, you're the glue that holds this family together. Without you kiddo, we would have went our separate ways long ago. And as for this bullshit about not being of any use to us, I want you to understand right now that couldn't be more any more far from the truth if you tried. Damn it kid, don't you know how invaluable you are when it comes to research? Don't you know how many times your knowledge has pulled me and Dean's butts out of the line of fire? Hell Sam, what I'm trying to say is we need you boy, and we always will." John informed his youngest as he pulled him into a quick hug.
Letting out a shaky breath, Sam leaned into his father's chest accepting the
comfort the man was offering. He would take it while he could, knowing that his father was apt to change his mind at any given time.
Arriving back at the motel with a couple of meat lovers pizzas, Dean was startled to see his Dad and Sam sitting at the table while his dad looked through the local paper, he had thought Sam would sleep through the rest of the evening and through the night. Looking at the two of them, he wondered if his dad had taken the time to talk to Sammy while he was gone. Searching his brother's face, he immediately noticed how pale he still looked, but he could also sense a calmness about his brother that wasn't there earlier. Walking over and placing the pizza on the table between the two of them, he asked, "So, did you two have a good talk while I was gone?"
"Wouldn't you like to know?" John queried with a smirk before winking at his youngest. He knew that answer would irritate the crap out of Dean.
"Actually, yeah I would." Dean answered as he looked from one family member to the other with a questioning gaze. He didn't like being left out of what was said and was a little upset by the casual answer.
Sensing that his brother was becoming aggravated, Sam reached out for a slice of pizza and said, "Don't worry dude, me and Dad hashed things out between us and everything's okay now, I promise."
"Cool, then let's eat, I'm starving." Dean said as he plopped down into the chair beside Sam and reached in the box to pull out the biggest slice.
"Son, when aren't you starving?" John retorted with a smile as dug into the pizza himself. It felt good for the tree of them to be doing something so trivial as eating together. He could get used to this.
"So uh, did you find anything interesting in the newspaper?" Dean queried with his mouth full after a lull in the conversation.
"Ewww, that's just gross man, don't talk with your mouth full." Sam remarked.
Shaking his head at his oldest son's antics, John replied, "Yeah, I think I might have found our next hunt. Seems there's a little town about half a day's drive from here where a Tiyanak has been luring people into the woods and killing them by slashing them to death with it's sharp claws. I was thinking maybe we could do a little more research and possibly check into hunting this thing tomorrow."
"Tiyanak? Don't think I've ever heard of that before. What is it?" Dean asked as he swallowed down some of the beer he had bought to go with the pizza.
"A Tiyanak is a creature which imitates the form of a child Usually, the creature will take the form of a newborn infant and cries like one to attract unsuspecting people. Once the victim picks the supposedly abandoned newborn infant up, the creature reverts to it's natural form and slashes them to death and then eats them." John informed his son.
"Sounds like one nasty little bastard." Dean announced as he thought about the deceitful creature and the way it lured it's prey. "Any ideas on how to kill the thing?"
"Well, seeing as how they are thought to derive from babies who died before receiving baptism rights, I was hoping we could take care of it using Holy water and an exorcism." John answered with a sigh. "So what do you boys think, you up for a hunt?'
"I don't know Dad, maybe we should let Caleb or Joshua handle this one." Dean answered as he glanced over at Sam. His brother was still a little too pale for his liking and he didn't think Sam would be ready to undertake a hunt so soon after this latest episode of his.
"Forget it Dean, I know you worried about me, but I'm fine. Besides, you and Dad will be right there so nothing bad is gonna happen to me." Sam retorted with a dimpled grin. "We're doing this."
"Sammy, I don't think…"
"Dean, you heard your brother. If Sam thinks he's ready to do this, then were going to let him." John stated as he cut Dean off mid-sentence. Hell, he was worried about the kid too, but they had to let Sam make his own decisions whether they agreed with him or not. "Besides, this should be a relatively easy hunt for the three of us."
"Okay, but if you even look like you feel even the slightest bit sick tomorrow, your ass is staying in the car whether you like it or not." Dean enunciated as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at his younger sibling.
"Deal." Sam agreed, knowing that Dean would look him in the bathroom to keep him from going if he even looked the slightest bit sick tomorrow.
TBC