"His BP's dropping!"

"We need to get his heart rate back to normal."

"Call in, tell them to have blood ready! He'll be needing it!"

Dean pushed aside the paramedic that was examining him.

"Hey! Is he okay? Is Sammy gonna be okay? Sammy!"

"Dean, buddy, I need you to sit back and calm down, okay?" the paramedic said.

"That's my baby brother!" Dean cried. He gasped sharply and grabbed his side. The paramedic grabbed his shoulder gently.

"Look. Jesse and Bailey know what they're doing. Your brother is in good hands. Once we get to the hospital, there will be doctors waiting and your brother will be fine. I need you to trust me and let me get a look at you."

Dean nodded miserably, breathing shallowly in an attempt to keep his ribs from burning. "What's your name?"

"Jimmy. Wanna tell me what happened?"

"To me or Sam?" Dean asked.

"You," Jimmy answered.

"We were in the mine. It started caving in. I heard Sam yell and so I turned around and went back for him. A huge piece of something hit me in the side and knocked me down. I didn't really notice anything wrong for a while. Adrenaline finally wore off, I gue-" Dean's words were cut off suddenly by a violent coughing fit. Tears filled his eyes as he painfully coughed up blood. He looked at Jimmy, terrified. He knew what it meant when someone started coughing up blood.

Internal bleeding was a bitch.

"Shit, Jimmy! He okay?" Bailey asked.

"He must have displaced ribs," Jimmy answered. "Hey, Dean? Buddy, I need you to try and stay cool for me."

Dean's coughing subsided, and he leaned against the side of the ambulance in exhaustion, trying to catch his breath, trying to stop the agonizing sobs that jostled his ribs. Come on, Dean, he chided himself. Broken ribs are nothing.

"Look, we're at the hospital. They're gonna take your brother and then they'll bring a stretcher for you, okay?"

Dean nodded weakly. He wanted to say that he didn't need a damn stretcher, but he was beginning to think that maybe he was a little worse off than he'd initially thought. He watched in harrowing silence as his brother was wheeled away, wanting desperately to march out after his little brother, but finding that he didn't even have the strength to stand.

A thought was pounding its way around his head. What's dad gonna think?

XXX

The girl at the desk looked up at the man who'd just burst in and was now striding to the desk.

"Mister Winchester?" she ventured.

"Yes. Where are my sons?"

"Doctor Jones is right over there, he'll help you."

Winchester nodded and headed over.

"You must be John," Doctor Jones said.

"I am. Can you tell me what happened to my boys?"

"Sam has a mild concussion, and a leg fracture that looks like it may need to be operated on. He lost a lot of blood, but we got him a transfusion. We're keeping an eye on his injuries in case they get infected."

John cursed and took a deep breath. "And Dean?"

"Dean has several displaced rib fractures. We had to remove fluid from around his heart and lungs, and we're giving him a CT scan to make sure there isn't any organ damage. Both boys needed stitches for various lacerations," Jones explained.

John nodded. "But they're both going to be okay?"

"We believe so, sir."

"Can I see them?"

"You can see Sam. Follow me," Jones answered.

XXX

Sam opened his eyes slowly, letting them adjust to the light. He was vaguely aware of someone holding his hand.

"Dad?"

His dad looked up. "Hey Sammy! How're you feeling, bud?"

Sam blinked. How was he feeling? "Slow."

John nodded sympathetically. "Yeah, they've got you on some pretty heavy duty pain meds."

Sam took a minute to process this. Why was his brain moving so sluggishly? Something was bothering him. "Dean?" he asked, finally figuring out what it was.

"Dean's okay," John said. He smiled a little. "You looks pretty tired there, champ. Why don't you try and get some sleep?"

Sleep sounded pretty good right now. Sam smiled at his dad, then closed his eyes, worry for his brother still gnawing at him.

XXX

"So?" Dean asked after the CT scan.

His doctor came around, flipping through some papers on his clipboard. "Good news. You don't have any organ damage. We'll get you wrapped up, and then you're on the road to recovery! We'll keep you here under observation a few days, but then you'll be good to go."

Dean breathed a sigh of relief. It wasn't a very big one, given his current state, but it was there.

"Arms up," Doctor Mason commanded. Dean lifted them as high as he could without pulling on anything. Doctor Mason tightly wrapped a wide band around his middle, relieving the pain just a little.

"Come on, I'll wheel you back to your room."

"I don't think so," Dean said. "I can walk fine."

Mason shook his head. "I don't think so, Dean. Just a few hours ago you were too weak to stand. Besides, I don't want you to tear those neat stitches you got. I know she doesn't look like it, but Doc Anderson will hand me my ass-and probably yours- if she finds out you ruined her work."

Dean sighed. "Fine." As fun as it sounded to get a whipping from the hot doctor that'd stitched him up, he was, admittedly, a bit tired. He plopped himself into the wheelchair and winced.

"Pain meds wearing off?" Mason asked.

"Yeah," Dean answered with a grimace.

"Alright, we'll get you back to your room and see what we can do."

"Thanks, Doc."

No sooner had Dean gotten settled into his hospital bed with another dose of meds than the door opened.

"Hey, Dean."

"Hey, Dad," Dean answered. He could feel the drugs kicking in and his eyelids growing heavy, but he had the feeling his dad wanted to have a talk.

"You gonna tell me what happened?" John asked.

Dean groaned. "Dad, not now. They just gave me pain meds and I'm tired and the doc says I should get some sleep."

John leaned in. "When you wake up, I will be here, and you better be ready to tell me what the hell happened."

Dean wanted to yell at his dad. Wanted to tell him what in insensitive son of a bitch he was being. Wanted to ask where he was when Sammy needed him most.

Instead, he mumbled out a quick, "Yessir," and let the drugs take hold and his eyes close.

XXX

John paced back and forth. He knew he was being hard on Dean. But he had to be. What the hell had he taken Sam and gone to the mine for? If Dean was gonna make stupid decisions, he was going to have to own up to it and take responsibility.

He looked over at his sleeping son, and let out a sigh. He didn't want to do this. But how else would Dean learn?

XXX

Thanks, guys for all the reviews! Hope you enjoyed the chapter! Spring Break is almost over, so unfortunately that means updates will be coming slower. Just hang in there! And remember there is no such thing as too many reviews. (;