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Chapter Four: Where Do I Hide?

"DEAN!!" Sam let out a strangled yell as he watched Dean crash into the water, the werewolf still gripping painfully at his side.

Sam ran as fast as he could to the edge of the water; he was about to jump in but realized that he was going to need one of them remotely dry to that they could get the other to safety.

Sam kneeled by the edge of the river, his heart pounding in his chest and his breath burning in his lungs as he eyes scanned the rushing water frantically, for any sign of Dean.

Sam was about to go into full blown panic when he saw Dean's arm emerge from the water before being submerged again, only a couple of feet down from where Sam was kneeling, and close enough to the bank so that Sam would be able to grab him and pull him to land.

Sam ran as fast as he could, running a few feet father than he had seen Dean so that he would be prepared to grab Dean and pull him to the dry land where he would be able to help him, God I hope I can help him; Sam couldn't get the images of a blood covered and pale Dean out of his mind, but this just spurred him on and gave him the extra adrenaline he needed to get Dean out of the rushing water.

Sam skidded to a stop at the waters edge, getting as close to the water as he could without falling in, so far that the knees of his jeans were getting splashed with the frigid water each time the rough current swept by.

Sam's eyes darted around frantically; searching for any clue that he brother was there – a hand, foot, corner of his jacket…suddenly Sam caught sight of something out of the corner of his eye and before he could even think about what he was doing, he plunged his right arm up to the elbow into the water and grabbed purchase of the first thing his fingers brushed against and pulled, the breath torn from his lungs in a gasp at the sheer bitterness and freezing temperature of the river; pins and needles crawling like insects up his submerged arm, he willed his fingers to keep a tight grip around whatever it was they had grabbed, praying to a God he didn't even know existed, that it was his brother.

Sam was rewarded when, with the sheer forced that he had exerted to pull, he forced Dean's head and shoulders free of the waging current, Sam tightening his grip on what he now discovered to be the collar of Dean's jacket, and reached forward with his other hand and wrapped his arm around Dean's chest, quickly pulling him from the water but being mindful to the various wounds that had been inflicted on his brother also.

Sam pulled Dean free of the water, crab crawling backwards with Dean clutched in his fierce grip, not stopping until he was at least ten feet away from the edge of the river; it was as if he was almost afraid that the werewolf would crawl from the river and try to attack his brother again, and Sam was taking no chances.

"Dean…Dean…come on, wake up" Sam chocked out as he laid Dean on the ground, the sheets of rain pouring down from above and streaking the blood in rivets down the side of his face.

Sam reached over and grabbed Dean by his shoulders and starting to shake him, trying to get him to wake up and show him that everything was going to be alright…but everything wasn't going to be alright because Sam had seen the way the werewolf had bitten his brother, knew that, even now, the deadly virus was traveling through Dean's veins, turning him into…Sam's thoughts were abruptly cut off by the sound of Dean's strangled coughs.

Sam quickly reached over and turned down on his side, watching as he coughed up the water that he had swallowed when he had been pulled into the water,

"That's it…it's alright…your alright" Sam soothed as Dean continued to hack up the rest of the water from his lungs before slumping further into the ground, his breathing ragged. Sam gently put his arm behind Dean's shoulders and lifted him so that he was leaning against Sam's chest; his head falling onto Sam's shoulder, Dean was unable to stifle the groan that the movement caused.

Sam craned his neck so that he could see Dean's face and was relived when he saw that Dean's eyes were flickering open, even though he was blinking owlishly and they were glazed in pain Sam couldn't have been happier because moments ago when Dean had fell into that water he didn't know if he was ever going to see his big brother's expressive green eyes ever again.

"Hey, hey Dean that's it, open your eyes for me big brother" Sam said and was rewarded when Dean's eyes opened fully, looking at Sam,

"Sam…" Dean groaned out, squeezing his eyes shut in pain only to open them a moment later to scan Sam's face, "You…alright?" Dean managed to gasp out, his arm curving around his abdomen,

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine Dean, I'm alright" Sam said, trying to reassure Dean; Dean who would always ask how Sam was doing even if he was lying bleeding to death…which he was…Sam thought in a panic, trying not to let it show on his face,

"We need to get you to a hospital Dean" No room for argument as Sam gathered Dean in his arms, wincing along with Dean, and carrying him back to the Impala as fast as he could, hoping that he wasn't hurting Dean more, but knowing that a little pain would be worth it if he could get Dean to help soon and make sure that he didn't bleed to death on him.

The drive to the hospital to the hospital was one if Sam's worst experiences in his entire life. He had struggled between trying to keep Dean conscious and trying not to drive them into a ditch as he tried to see the road through the heavy downpour of rain.

Sam now sat in the waiting room of the hospital as he waited for Dean to come out of surgery. He still remembered the way he had parked the Impala haphazardly at the entrance to the ER, as he left Dean slumped in his seat, bleeding everywhere, the doctors and nurses came rushing over to him as he ran into the ER shouting for someone to help him, as they had pulled a now unconscious Dean out of the blood soaked seats and onto a gurney, rushing away behind doors that Sam wasn't allowed to pass, leaving him to wonder whether his brother was even alive.

Sam had been alternating between sitting in the uncomfortable chairs and pacing the length of the waiting room like a caged animal for the past six hours. He still hadn't heard anything about Dean. He was about to go and grab himself another coffee when he saw a doctor coming towards him as he was currently the only occupant of the room, dressed in a pair of surgical scrubs, his brothers blood tainting the clothing,

"Sam Monahan, I'm Doctor Reece"

"How's my brother; how's Dean?" Sam asked hesitantly as he walked over to meet the doctor half way. He wanted to know how Dean was doing but he was also anxious as to what he might hear; all he could see was the blood and he wasn't sure he wanted to know anymore.

"Would you like to take a seat?" the doctor asked as he indicated to the uncomfortable chairs, before sitting down in one himself once Sam had sat down. The doctor was in his early fifties with graying hair and a kind smile.

"Sam, when your brother came into the ER he had sustained some very serious injures; blood loss being one of those," the doctor started, his tone suggested that what was going to follow was going to be something serious, "He had mild hypothermia, a pretty deep slash wound to his abdomen, several other gashes on his arms and on his face, and the bite wound to his side as well as sustaining some broken ribs" the doctor rhymed off Dean's injures in a clinical manner before he continued speaking, "We were able to replace the most of the blood loss, although he will most likely be anemic, we stitched his gashes and set his ribs as well as treating him for the hypothermia. Right now he is stable but he's not out of the danger zone yet; he needs to be monitored and rest and with time he should be fine" the doctor finished, giving Sam a warm smile.

"Can I go see him?" Sam asked, now knowing that Dean was alive and stable he wanted to go and see him with his own eyes.

The doctor gave Sam an encouraging nod and Sam nearly ran down the hallway to his brother's room.

Sam walked into his brother's room and sat down on another hard and plastic chair, settling in for what he was sure was going to be a very long night.

God, Dean looked terrible. He was as white as the sheets that he lay on, and the skin that wasn't deathly pale was covered in bruises and stitches, holding his brother together. The many sheets were pulled as high as his hips trying to keep his body warm from the trip he had taken into the icy river, but also wary of his injuries and not wanted to inflict more pain on his already deeply abused body. His torso was bare except for the bandage that was wound around Dean's abdomen covering the bite marks from the werewolf as well as the gash that without a doubt was another small army of stitches. His arms were covered in purple and blue bruises as well as a multitude of stitches that ran from the top side of his left arm down to the underside of his wrist. His face was extremely pale underneath the dim light from the lamp beside the bed and it illuminated the stark red colour the blood they had not managed to clean off just right left against Dean's forehead down to nearly his right eyebrow.

Amidst all of the bandages and stitches there was an array of medical equipment monitoring his brother, such as the pulse-ox that was clipped onto his index finger on his left hand, and several I.V's in his hands and in the crooks of his elbows, letting the warm saline flow into his blood and warm his chilled body. There were also two bags of blood flowing into his brother's veins trying to replenish the blood which he had lost, although the colour was yet to return to his cheeks. There was a nasal canual underneath his nose, breathing air into Dean's lungs as he slept away, his body resting against the abuse that it had suffered. Sam blinked the wetness from his eyes.

His big brother was broken.

"Jesus Dean…" Sam whispered out as he lifted Dean's cold hand into his big warm hand and placed his other hand atop Dean's head, brushing stroking his hair softly in a comforting manner – although Sam wasn't sure if it was to comfort Dean or himself.

"It's gonna be alright Dean, I'm gonna make it alright…" Sam whispered a promise as he pulled the sheets higher and took Dean's hand in his grasp again. Sam was sure he wasn't going to be getting any sleep tonight.