A Mother's Love Ch. 7
Disclaimer: See chapter one.
Author's Note: I also do not own the lyrics, tune, or rights to the song Lean on Me.
Previously: It took a little time and some encouragement, but Mary was finally content after she had gotten Sam to drink at least half the cup. Placing it back on the nightstand, she slipped out from under a now slumbering Sam and gently lay his head on the pillow. "Sweet dreams baby boy." She whispered, bending down to kiss him lightly on the forehead before exiting the room.
Walking back into the kitchen and dumping the rest of the tea into the sink, Mary rinsed the cup out and placed it in the drainer. Her son would need another dose of the healing tea when he woke up later. She just hoped he would be feeling better by then. It concerned her deeply that he had been running a fever for over twelve hours now. If it didn't break soon, they would have to chance taking him to the hospital, rogue angel or not.
"Mary? You okay?" John asked as he noticed the contemplative look on his wife's face. Something was obviously weighing on her mind and he need to know what it was.
"Yeah, I'm just worried about Sam. The fever's not breaking and it could mean he's got some kind of infection running through his body. If he doesn't get better soon, we may have to chance taking him to the hospital." Mary answered worriedly.
"What? There's no way…I mean, we're not even from this time. I can't chance something going wrong, especially with Anna out there after our ass…uh, butts." Dean immediately stated dismissing the idea completely from his mind.
"I understand your fears Dean, but we might not have any other choice if Sam's fever continues to spike, or his condition worsens." Mary retorted, feeling it was her right as a mother to object, even if she hadn't raised the boys to be the men they were now.
"We'll cross that bridge if and when we come to it. Right now, I need to see Sammy so…" Dean trailed off, not wanting to argue with him mom, as he pushed up from the table and placed his coffee cup into the sink before leaving the room. He hated the fact that he bristled at his mom's suggestion, but he had always taken care of Sammy, done what was best for the kid and for his safety, and he would continue to do so now. Sighing deeply, he walked over to the bed, snagging a chair with his foot as he went by. Pulling the chair up beside the bed, he sat down in it and then reached out to grasp his sibling's hand, rubbing it with his fingers.
"Hey Tiger, I'm getting kind of worried about you man. Mom thinks we might have to take you to the hospital, but I'm afraid of what could happen if we do. We're not from this time period kiddo, hell, we're not even supposed to be born yet. What if they decided to give you an injection or something and you had some kind of reaction to the medicine? It scares me to think about what could happen. I just….I don't know what I'm supposed to do here kiddo." Dean stated, heaving another sigh.
"S'okay Dean, you're doing the right thing. We ca-can't afford to take any chances." Sam huskily whispered.
"Sorry kid, I didn't mean to wake you with my rambling." Dean apologized as he brushed the sweat soaked bangs away from his fevered brother's blue-green eyes with his fingertips. "Go back to sleep."
"M'not tired." Sam mumbled, his eye lids drooping in defiance of his words.
"Yeah I can see that princess." Dean smirked lightly. "You need your rest Sammy if you're going to beat this bug or whatever has got a hold of ya."
"What ab-about Anna?" Sam asked, his eyes at half mast.
"Don't worry about her dude, we've got everything taken care of for now." Dean replied, rubbing his thumb across his brother's brow to ease the lines of tension there. "Just sleep."
"K" Sammy barely whispered, his system to weak to fight off the exhaustion any longer.
~~Supernatural~~Supernatural~~Supernatural~~
Scouting around the cabin a few hours later with a rifle to make sure all the wards were still in place, Dean noticed his father watching him as if he had something on his mind. He knew his father wasn't too happy with them suddenly dropping in the way they had and destroying the picture perfect life he had been living up until now. He felt guilty about it, but it was either that or let Anna kill his parents before him and Sam had even had the chance to be born, and that was something he just couldn't live with.
"Something on your mind John?" Dean questioned, propping his foot on a chair as he let the barrel of the rifle fall towards the floor so as not to intimidate the man.
"Why don't you boys hate me?" John quipped in answer.
"Okay, random. Where did that come from?" Dean asked, stunned by the question.
"Just look at the way I raised the two of you. A life of hunting demons and who knows what kinds of nasty creatures. I mean what kind of life was that for you boys. You should hate me for what I did to you." John stated somberly.
"You raised us the way you had to dad. Yeah, it was a hard life, but it kept us alive and it kept us together as a family. That's all that matters." Dean responded in the only way he knew how.
"I don't know you can look at things that way. I mean…the hell I must have put you boys through. I could have gotten you two killed. What kind of bastard does that to his own kids? John asked.
"The kind who loves his kids. If you hadn't raised us the way you did, Sammy and I would have surely been killed by now Dad. We would have been innocent to the ways of the supernatural. We wouldn't have known how to kick evil's ass when it came looking for us. So don't you go blaming yourself for the life we lived." Dean voiced strongly.
"Thanks for that." John said, feeling a little of the weight lift off his shoulders. Both of his sons had basically absolved him of blame for the life they lived, but he wasn't sure he could ever truly forgive himself.
"Sure. No problem." Dean replied with a sad and wan smile before deciding to make his rounds once again. He was uncomfortable and didn't want to continue the heart to heart talk with his father since he just wasn't the talk-it-out kind of guy. Sammy could attest to that fact very well.
~~Supernatural~~Supernatural~~Supernatural~~
"Sounds like the two of you had a pretty good talk." Mary told her husband as she walked into the room carrying a bowl of water, a bar of soap, a washcloth and a towel. She hadn't meant to eavesdrop, but she couldn't resist.
"Yeah, I guess. I don't know how those two can be so forgiving for the way I…well, the way my future self raised them."
"The answer to that is simple John. They're our boys and they love us regardless of anything that happened, just like we love our own parents, even with the mistakes they made in raising us." Mary answered as she walked over to Sammy's bedside and placed the bowl of water on the end table. Laying the towel and washcloth on the side of the bed, she palmed Sam's cheek. "Sammy, I need you to wake up for me baby."
"Wha'?" Sam moaned incoherently as he opened bleary eyes and looked around.
"You're still running a fever son, I'm going to give you a sponge bath to help cool you down some. Is that okay sweetie?"
"Uh," Sam answered groggily, his mind trying to figure out what had been said to him.
"Baby, you're too hot, I need to cool you down some." Mary supplied, seeing the look of confusion on her son's face. "John could you help me get his shirt off?"
Sitting on the other side of the bed, John tugged Sam up and supported the struggling man against his chest while Mary grasped the hem of his t-shirt and then started to pull it up.
Trying in vain to understand what was happening to him as he felt himself tugged forward, Sam struggled to get free as he felt his shirt being lifted up. "N-n-no, stop," he pleaded to whoever was trying to undress him, his mind too muddled with fever to be coherent.
"Shhh, it's okay baby. It's just mama." Mary cooed as she released the shirt and palmed her son's cheeks. "Relax and let me take care of you."
"M-mom?" Sam questioned, his expressive eyes misting over with tears."
"Yeah sweetie, it's me. You with me now?"
"Ye-yeah, sorry." Sam mumbled out an apology, for what, he wasn't quite sure of.
"It's okay sweetie. I need you to relax for me now so I can take your shirt off. You're burning up with fever again and I need to give you a sponge bath too cool you off."
"'Kay" Sam muttered, no longer struggling when he felt his shirt being lifted. He couldn't help but shiver once the cool air hit his overheated skin. "Co-cold."
"I know you are baby," Mary responded in a soft voice as she dipped the washcloth into the bowl of lukewarm water. Picking up the bar of soap, she lathered up the washcloth and then wrung most of the excess water from it. Grasping the arm that was closest to her, she began to bathe her youngest child as she sang.
Sometimes in our lives we all have pain
We all have sorrow
But if we are wise
We know that there's always tomorrow
Lean on me, when you're not strong
And I'll be your friend
I'll help you carry on
For it won't be long
'Til I'm gonna need
Somebody to lean on
As John listened to his wife's melodious voice while she took care of their youngest, he couldn't help but believe she was trying to deliver a message with her words. It was obvious their boys were independent, that they relied only on themselves and each other to get through the rough times. Well, he was here to tell them they didn't have to carry that load alone if they would just let them help.
Listening from the doorway as his mother sang, Dean felt a passing urge to do as the song suggested, to lean on them and let them shoulder the burden for a little while, but then reality hit. His parents had never dealt with angels before so they would be ill equipped to deal with them in a fight. Clearing his throat to rid it of the lump that was building there, he entered the room and sat down.
"You uh, you want me to take over?" Dean queried as he watched his mom sluice the washcloth over Sammy's chest.
"No, It's okay, I'll finish taking care of…what the hell?" She gasped anxiously as her youngest child began to shake uncontrollably upon the bed. "Damn it, he's going into convulsions!"
TBC