Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural or its characters and am not making any money on this…yada yada yada…

Chapter 4 – Hospital

Time seemed to stand still for Sam. He still remembered the long ride to the hospital with his father and brother---it was the longest 10 minutes of his life. He managed to convince the ambulance drivers to allow him to ride with his father and brother in the same ambulance. No small feat as his battered and bloody face called for immediate medical attention. However, after threatening to refuse medical treatment unless he could ride along, the paramedics decided to let him sit up front.

They reached the hospital without either of the older Winchesters coming to. Sam was especially worried about Dean. He had lost so much blood—he couldn't remember the last time he had seen his brother so still. As his father and brother were whisked away to the triage room, Sam began to panic. How could he make sure that the demon had not followed, that no one was possessed in the hospital? Sam began to shake as he sat in the waiting room, absently rubbing his aching neck and shoulders. His head was still pounding and he was covered with blood from all three of the Winchester family members.

After what seemed like an eternity, he saw two white shoes approach him. He looked up as the doctor cleared her throat to get his attention. "Mr. Hardacher….son, can you hear me?" the doctor asked in concern.

"How…how are my father and brother?" asked Sam wearily as he struggled to keep the wince from his face as he looked up at the doctor.

"Well, both seem to be doing much better than you at this point. Why are you not in triage with them---you look like you're ready to collapse!"

"Don't worry about me…I asked how are my father and brother?"

"Ok…ok, but when I finish discussing their status…you have to let me take you back to the triage room and give you a quick once over, ok?

"Sure, sure, whatever" Sam growled, getting impatient with the delay. Why wouldn't she just spit it out—Oh God, one or both might be…..

"Mr. Hardacher…Mr. Hardacher…Sam?" the doctor was getting more concerned as she noticed what little color the boy had, had just vanished.

"Just give me the news…are they….ok?

"Sorry Sam, I didn't mean to scare you. Yes, both your father and brother are doing fine. Your father's leg was broken by the bullet and he has a concussion, but he was conscious when we sent him to surgery a few moments ago to fix his leg. He should be in a room shortly."

"And my brother Dean, how is he?

"Dean has lost a large amount of blood. Frankly, I'm surprised he made it to the hospital at all…he must have some fortitude to last as long as he did! He also has a concussion. We have given him 3 units of blood to help replace what he lost and will need to keep him under observation for a few days. I expect that he will be just fine" she said with a slight smile.

"You don't know how stubborn my brother can be!" laughed Sam and he thanked whoever had been watching over them this night. "When can I see him?"

"Not until after I take a look at you young man. From the way you look, you should probably be in the bed beside him…"

"Not goin' to happen" glared Sam as he stood up to move away from the doctor.

"Ok, ok…just let me clean you up a bit. The way you look now, you'd scare your brother back to the other side!"

Sam slowly followed the doctor. As he passed by a window, he took a good look at his reflection…hmmm maybe she's right…I guess I could use a little cleaning up! Sam grimaced at his appearance, knowing that if Dean saw him like this…he would not rest until Sam had been thoroughly healed.

Dean woke up with a start "Sammy…Dad?" He was getting ready to panic when he felt a hand softly land on his shoulder.

"Welcome back bro'---did you get enough beauty rest?" came the tired but happy voice of Sam.

Dean struggled to clear his vision as he got his first good look at his brother. And what a sight…the left side of his face was a deeper shade of purple than before, covered by a large white bandage. He looked like he hadn't slept in a week…And then there was the neck brace…"What the hell happened to you—you look like you got run over by a truck!"

"Well, funny you should mention that" said Sam as he brought his chair closer to his brother's bed.

"Dad, Sammy what happened to Dad?" Dean asked as he tried to sit up. Boy that was a mistake as his head began to swim and he felt a sharp pain in his chest. Sam reached for the controls and helped put the bed up at an angle so that Dean would be more comfortable. He wouldn't meet the older boy's eyes as he fussed with the pillow. "Sammy, where is Dad?" Dean asked again "He's not…..he can't be….Sammy…tell me he's not dead!"

"I'm fine…just friggin fine" came a low growl from the other bed in the room. The bed that contained a sullen John Winchester. Dean saw that his leg was in a cast and he had a thick bandage around his head. Otherwise, he looked ready to go…almost. There was something in his eyes…and Sammy was refusing to even look in his father's direction. Great! Now what did I miss!

"How long have I been out…what the hell happened?" asked Dean as he tried to get Sammy to look at him. He grabbed Sam's hand to stop him from fussing with his blankets. Sam looked up and Dean was shocked at the guilt and sorrow he saw in Sam's eyes before his kid brother could hide the emotion from his probing gaze.

"Well, you've been kinda out of it for the past couple of days…of course, with the amount of blood you lost added to the battering you took when the truck hit…"

"Woa…hold on there, truck, what truck…if you dented my car!" Dean stopped as he noticed his brother backing up "No, please not my car…tell me you didn't…" Dean couldn't finish the sentence. His car, his baby…no it just wasn't fair. He remembered how proud he was when his father first gave him the keys to the car. He drove it for 6 hours straight with his favorite Metallica tunes playing loudly on the radio as he roared down the highway.

"Dean….I'm…..Dean….sorr…" choked Sam as he took one look at the devastated face of his brother, turned and ran from the room. He need to get some space…he couldn't face another scene like the one he had with his father when he woke up.