Will have language and violence.
Summary: When Dean fails to reveal how sick he feels, he gives the black dog the upper hand. SickDean, WorriedSam/John. Dean is 17, Sam is 13.
Disclaimer: I do not own Sam, Dean, John, or anything Supernatural related, but the story is mine. Enjoy!!
Dean was propped up by pillows under his back after much debate. No one wanted to cause him more pain by putting pressure on his wounds, but then again, he seemed to be breathing easier in a semi-sitting position. It also made it easier for Bobby to continue his examination, especially when it came to checking for possible internal damage.
Bobby pulled the heavy blankets up to Dean's waist to start bringing some heat back into his body and decrease the shivers a little, but he made sure Dean's torso wasn't covered just yet.
Very gently, he began prodding Dean's chest, stomach, and lower abdomen searching for any swelling, bruising, or possible internal bleeding. Finding none, he sighed with relief. His medical training and constant research was telling him that Dean most likely had been hit with bacterial pneumonia, which could explain the rust colored fluids Dean kept coughing up.
Again, he listened to the boy's lungs hearing the constant wheezing in his shallow breaths. This wasn't the first time Bobby had been faced with this condition before and he was sure it wouldn't be the last. Luckily, with his previous encounters he had learned what to look for to make a proper diagnosis.
Dean's lips had turned a slight shade of blue, indicating the low levels of oxygen intake, professionally known as cyanosis. He gently took hold of Dean's wrist to find his pulse was rapid and his respiratory rate was nearly off the charts. He was practically panting. The fever of course was obvious, and he needed to get that down and soon.
"Jim? Can you get me a bucket of lukewarm water and some more towels? We need to cool him down before this thing gets any worse." John brought the supplies in and Bobby did an excellent job concealing his surprise.
"I've got it from here, Bobby. Thanks… you know… for everything."
"Any time, John. These boys mean a lot to me. Even this wise ass," he added, indicating Dean. John couldn't help but laugh.
"Pickin' on me behind my back?" a weak voice whispered out from the bed. Both men whirled in Dean's direction.
"Only a little. How're you feelin' kiddo?" Bobby brushed his hand over Dean's spiky hair.
"M fine." John placed the bucket next to Dean's bed and sat down near his knees.
"Bullshit you are. Now's not the time to be macho, Dean. If something doesn't feel right, you need to tell us now." Dean huffed and rolled his eyes at his seemingly overprotective parent.
"Just a little sore is all. 'S hard to breath." He coughed again and Bobby easily heard the unmistakable rattle coming from deep within Dean's chest.
"Anything we can do about that, Bobby?" John turned almost pleading eyes to his friend.
Bobby scratched his head. "If we could get 'im to a hospital he'd need chest X-rays and blood tests to determine the extent of the disease, but that's not an option in this case, is it?" As John dropped his eyes to the ground, Bobby quickly continued. "Normally, a Bronchoscopy and, if needed, a thoracentesis would be done."
"A what and a what?" Dean asked, sounding slightly nervous.
"A bronchoscopy is when a small camera at the end of a flexible tube is threaded down yer throat to take samples or a biopsy." Dean grimaced at the thought.
"And the other one?" He was afraid to ask.
"A thoracentesis is only done to relieve the pressure by extracting some of the fluid using a needle. I hate to say it, but that might be our only option at this point." Dean went a few shades whiter, if that were even possible. "I need more equipment to do any of this safely." The frustration in Bobby's voice was hard to miss. "Caleb!"
Caleb came running into the room, believing something to be wrong. "What?! What happened?!"
"Nothin' yet. I need you to try to steal some med tools from the closest hospital you can find."
"Such as?"
"Tools for a Bronchoscopy if you can find them, an IV bag with fluids, an IV cannula, and any freakin' sedatives you can find."
"I'm on it." Caleb turned on his heel and headed out to his car. Dean subconsciously pulled his sheets higher as though to protect himself as well as offer a bit more privacy.
This had certainly been an embarrassing ordeal for him as of yet. Plus he was still shaking. "Not so fast there, slick. We've gotta lower your fever." John dunked one of the towels into the bucket of water and wrung it out.
"I think I can handle that dad," Dean stated, blushing furiously at the idea of his father bathing him at the age of seventeen.
"The less movement you make the better, son," Bobby interjected. As John tugged the blankets back down and began rubbing the cool towel over Dean's flushed skin, Jim and Sam came walking in to check on him. Dean was so uncomfortable he refused to make eye contact with any of them.
"He's doin' better, now everyone out. Give these boys some privacy." He ushered them into the kitchen, leaving John and Dean alone.
After a few seconds the silence became too much for either of them. John broke it first. "You gave us quite a scare there, son."
"I'm sorry, dad. I didn't realize I was that bad."
"Is that what slowed you down on your laps?" Dean sensed John's inner turmoil and guilt.
"A little, but please don't blame yourself, dad. It was my fault. I should have said something. I just really wanted to go on the hunt."
"I know why you did it, kiddo. As much as I don't like you putting yourself in danger, I'm proud of you. You showed a lot of strength and courage tonight." Dean beamed.
He started to drift off, relaxed by his father's gentle motions and his exhaustion from the events of the night. He didn't even fight against his father's hand on his forehead. In fact, he was perfectly okay with being treated like a kid as long as no one knew that.
He jerked back to awareness as he felt strong hands on his belt. His eyes flew open and filled with a fevered confusion as they locked on his dad.
"Just relax, Dean. You're fever hasn't gone down yet so we've gotta get these jeans off and cool your skin down." The blush was back. Thank god he wore boxers today!
Dean's shivers increased ten fold as John pulled back the blankets and slid his jeans off.
"D-dad… 's co-old."
"I know, kiddo. I'm sorry. Try not to think about it." Dean's teeth were chattering. John was afraid they had missed something. Something must have gotten infected. "Bobby?" He kept his voice as low as possible to not startle Dean, but loud enough so that Bobby could hear him a few rooms over. Bobby was there seconds later.
"John? What's wrong?"
"I dunno. His fever isn't going down. Did we miss something? Does he have an infection?" Bobby felt Dean's forehead, cheek, neck, and chest, easily confirming that the boy was still burning up. He didn't miss the shaking either.
"A fever is to be expected with this sort of thing. Let's have a look at that shoulder just in case. That's the only place that has a possibility of getting infected. Jim took really good care of the claw marks. Maybe we waited too long to cauterize it."
John slid in behind Dean to give Bobby better access to the back of his shoulder. Their friend carefully peeled off the bandaging and examined the wound. The surrounding flesh was still red and irritated looking for the burn, but that was to be expected. There were no red lines around it or discoloration to suggest an infection.
"Looks alright. He's been through a lot. I'm sure his system's a little screwy by now. We'll get an IV in 'im when Caleb gets back."
Bobby retrieved his old fashioned thermometer and placed it under Dean's tongue. "I know it's hard for you, blabber mouth, but try to keep your trap shut around this for a few minutes." Dean glared at him but did as he was told. Leave it to Bobby to take Dean's place in using humor to hide the intensity of a situation.
Neither of the men left, much to Dean's disgruntle. John remembered well when Dean was younger and had a high fever but wanted to go outside and play in the snow with Sammy. Dean had removed the thermometer behind John's back and cooled it off a little but was caught before he could return it to his mouth.
His dad knew him too well. Dean knew he was burning up at a dangerous level and if he wasn't being babysat, he would have done the same thing he had as a child so as not to alarm his family more than he had to.
Bobby checked his watch, then removed the device. "Damn. 103.5."
"What can I say? I'm just a hot guy." Dean smirked. John had to admit he was glad to see his son behaving more like himself again.
"Wise ass. This isn't the kind that brings girls flockin'."
"Only cause I'm not in a hospital surrounded by hot nurses."
"I think yer damn lucky to have my mug to look at." John chuckled at that one. Dean looked disgusted.
"So what do we do? Ice bath?"
"Hell no!" Dean struggled against his father's grip, but John just tightened it to prevent Dean from hurting himself further.
"Only as a last resort. Ice water could shock his system and send him into seizures." Dean's eyes widened and he stopped struggling.
Caleb chose that moment to come striding in, supplies in hand.
"Thank god… tell me you've got some strong drugs in there, dude," Dean pleaded.
"Sorry, kiddo. Best I could find was muscle relaxants and ibuprofen. But I got everything else." Dean swallowed hard at the long wires and sharp instruments held in the man's grasp.
John felt him tense against him and began rubbing the back of his neck to relieve some tension. He felt Dean jump at first contact. His son was scared and it broke his heart.
"Alright. Let's get that IV set up and get some pain killers in him." Bobby took control again and began bustling around the room. He pulled a hat stand over to the side of Dean's bed and hung the IV bag on it.
"Dean, yer gonna feel a little pinch…" Dean watched as Bobby inserted the needle into the back of his hand.
"Ow." Bobby taped it in place and released the fluids. "What is that stuff?"
"A little cocktail that'll help yer immune system cope. Now let's see about those crappy lungs of yers."
"They already feel better." Dean winced as a few coughs escaped him.
"That's just the fear talkin'. Don't worry, son. We'll get you back on yer feet with as little pain as possible. Just maybe some discomfort."
"Such as?" Bobby held up the long thin tube. "This, thankfully, is a flexible fiberoptic scope. It'll let me see the condition yer lungs are in. However, if we had a sedative, I would have preferred the rigid bronchoscope because it can be used to such the fluids out. This one can't."
"So how's it gonna help?"
"We're going to find where the fluid is building up, then use a long needle to extract it."
"Lovely."
"Ok, Dean. I'd give ya some pain killers now but since I'm not a licensed medic, it could increase the risk of bleeding."
"So what exactly are you going to do with that?" Dean eyed the tube. Bobby grinned evilly.
"Open wide…"
"You're gonna stick that thing down my throat?"
"Unless you want us to go another way?"
"Nah, I'm good."
"Alright then. First, take these." Bobby handed Dean two muscle relaxant pills.
"What for?"
"It's the closest thing we have to sedatives and it'll relax your throat so we won't hit much interference." Dean swallowed the pills. "Now those things are pretty strong, so you might feel as though you're almost paralyzed, but don't worry. It won't last more than an hour or so."
"How long is this going to take?" The hint of fear was back in Dean's voice.
"We'll find out, won't we?" Dean groaned and prepared himself.
TBC
Any other ideas? I think I'm getting to the end of the torture for this poor kid. He can't take much more!! But if I missed something, let me know and I'll try to work it in!
Poor Dean is going to go through hell in the next chapter, but don't worry… after that he'll be on the long road to recovery!
