Hiding in Plain Sight Ch. 7

Disclaimer: I only wish I owned them. Everything recognizable in this story belongs to Kripke and the CW. Making no money here either folks.

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Previously: "It mean's that Sam will most likely develop peritonitis which in itself is a life threatening condition. Combine that with everything else he is already going through, and Sam's chances of recovering from this become significantly lower." Alan answered honestly.

Alan became concerned about Dean as he watched his patient's brother begin to tremble. Dean had been through a lot himself over the last twenty four hours and he was worried that Dean could be exhibiting signs of shock. Guiding them back over to some chairs to sit down, Alan said, "I know this is upsetting news Dean, but we've placed Sam on a broad spectrum of antibiotics hoping to stave off the infection. With a little luck, he'll be able to overcome this latest setback without developing the peritonitis."

"Yeah, well you don't know Winchester luck." Dean stated despondently knowing that when it came to luck, they had no luck at all unless it was bad. "Wh-when can I see my brother doc?"

"I'll have somebody come get you just as soon as Sam's moved out of recovery and into his own room. Let me warn you though Dean, he's going to be hooked up to a lot of machines so prepare yourself." Alan advised not wanting Dean to freak out at the sight of his brother. Sam was going to need his brother's strength if he was to have a fighting chance at surviving.

"Yeah, I kind of figured that with the surgery and all." Dean informed Alan as he tried to rub the tense kinks out of his neck muscles. "Thanks doc, for everything your doing to help Sammy. He's all I have left and I don't know what I would do without him."

"You don't have to thank me Dean. I'm just doing my job. Somebody should come in get you in just a few hours. Until then, why don't you go lay down over there on that empty sofa and get yourself some shut eye. Sam is going to need you well rested when he wakes up." Alan replied.

"Don't think there's much chance of that happening dude, but I will try." Dean said as he scrubbed a hand over his weary face and then watched the doctor walk away. As he started over towards the couch, he felt a wave of dizziness overtake him and began to weave unsteadily on his feet.

"Whoa, the doc's right. You're getting some rest even if I have to ask him to sedate you." Bobby informed Dean as he placed his hands on Dean's shoulders and guided him over to the sofa, forcing him to lay down.

"But Sammy…"

"Sammy will be fine. I'll wake you if something happens or when they come to get us. You won't do Sammy any good if you end up admitted yourself due to exhaustion Dean. Now get some sleep ya damned idjit."

Dean sighed as he felt a pillow placed under his head and something warm placed over his shoulders. "Sammy please" he mumbled incoherently as his body gave in and succumbed to the sleep he so desperately needed.

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As Ali looked down at her unconscious patient, she couldn't help but reach out and brush away the stray lock of hair chesnut colored hair away from his eyes. He looked so innocent in his drug induced sleep that she wondered if that innocence shone through at all times. "I'll bet you're a real heartbreaker aren't you Sam?" She said as she started giving him a sponge bath to cool him down since he was running a low grade fever. I haven't seen those eyes of yours yet since you've been unconscious upon arrival, but I'll bet they would make my heart melt just at the sight of them."

Moving on to the next part of the sponge bath, Ali said, "I'll bet you're a hard worker from the feel of your biceps." using a comforting tone as she moved the wet washcloth up and down Sam's muscular arms. She knew that it was important to keep her patient calm as he lay in the recovery unit and it was a proven fact that soothing voices kept the patient in a state of calmness as they slowly came out of the anesthesia. Pulling back the blanket that was covering Sam, she gently cleaned his chest and abdominal area making sure not to disturb the surgical site or get the stitches wet.

"From what I hear Sam, you have a brother out there in the waiting room who is eagerly awaiting for you to wake up. Kris said that he is a real looker, just like you." Ali stated as she covered Sam's chest back up and then moved the blanket off of his legs to wash them talso. "I'm sure that brother of yours is getting anxious to see you awake, so you need to keep fighting Sam, if not for yourself, then for him."

After Ali finished the sponge bath, she started assessing Sam's vitals. She glanced at the heart monitor and could tell that his heart rate was relatively normal for a patient who had just been through the type of surgery Sam had. She checked his pulse to see that it had elevated just a little and looked towards Sam's face for signs of him waking. Even though he was still in a medicated state of unconsciousness, she could see pain lines starting to form around his eyes and mouth indicating he was feeling pain. Calling the doctor for instructions, she quickly gave him a light pain killer and smiled as he relaxed into a serene state once again. The last thing she did was check the catheter for signs of irritation and for the level of urine output before charting the amount and taking a seat in the corner of the room to chart the results.

As Sam floated in that state just before consciousness, he head the soft sound of a feminine voice talking to him and took comfort in it. He tried to latch on to the words she was saying, but they stayed elusively just out of his reach. He wondered where he was and what had happened to him and why he couldn't seem to put two thoughts together. He was soon drawn out of his musing as he felt the soothing caress of something cool on his skin, first his arms, then his chest and legs. Had he gotten drunk and had a one night stand? His head sure felt woozy enough to make that a distinct possibility. But then why did he hear a beeping sound? And come to think of it, why was his stomach beginning to hurt so damn bad. He didn't have time to contemplate those thoughts though as a sudden warmth encased him and he drifted off once into the abyss once again.

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After a few hours of tense waiting, Sam was finally moved to his own room in the Intensive Care Unit and Janice was sent to get his brother and Bobby from the O.R. waiting room. Bobby hated having to wake up Dean since he was finally getting some much needed sleep, but he knew Dean would let him have it with both barrels if he found out he had waited to tell him that Sammy could finally have visitors.

As the walked up to the room, Dean hesitated just outside the door. He wanted to see Sammy so badly, but did he have the right since he was the reason Sammy was in the hospital now. What if by going in, he would make things worse. What if Sammy woke up and had a setback because of seeing him there after everything he had put his little brother through.

Seeing the look of hesitation on Dean's face and knowing Dean was once again blaming himself for everything, Bobby said, "You're wrong you know."

"Wh-what?" Dean questioned as he looked warily at Bobby.

"You think I don't know you're blaming yourself for Sammy being in here boy. I can read you like a book Dean. Right now you're wondering whether or not you should even go in there, wondering if Sammy would even want you too. Damn it Dean, you should know your brother better than that by now. The kid loves you even though your damned stubborn just like that father of yours was. There's no way in the fires of hell that boy will blame you for what happened. Now get your ass in there before I beat some sense into it for ya." Bobby said as he stared Dean down with his hands on his hips.

Knowing that Bobby would most likely do what he threatened, Dean took a deep, relaxing breath and walked through the open door to Sammy's room. He ran a shaky hand over his mouth as he took in the sight of his baby brother laying there looking so helpless on the bed. It scared the crap out of him to see just how pale Sammy was because it attested to just how much blood he had lost. As he got closer and took in Sam's face, he wondered why he had never noticed just how dark the smudges under Sam's eyes had become or how sunken in his cheeks were. "I'll tell you why you dumbass, because you refused to sleep in the same room as him--that's why. Who knows how many nights of sleep he lost to nightmares because you weren't there to comfort him." Dean thought to himself as he bowed his head in shame.

Pulling up a chair beside Sammy's bed and reaching out to place a hand gently on his shoulder, Dean took a really good look at his brother for the first time in weeks. Sure, it was easy to see all the medical equipment hooked up to Sammy such as the IV's and heart monitor, but he could also see the sadness that was etched into his baby brother's face even in Sam's state of unconsciousness.

Glancing down towards his chest and stomach area, he finally took note of just how much weight Sam had dropped lately. No wonder his brother had taken to wearing baggy shirts and hoodies to hide just how thin he was starting to become. If Dean didn't know better, he would have sworn that Sammy had lost nearly half of his muscle tone from the look of things.

"Reaching out to take one of Sam's hands in his own, Dean rubbed a thumb comfortingly back and forth across the top of it and said, "You know Sammy, we're going to have to put you on a high protein diet when we get you out of here. You're practically skin and bones now man and we can't have you looking like that for the ladies now can we?" Dean sighed as Sam showed no outward appearance of having heard anything he said. He wanted more than anything for Sammy to wake up so he could apologize for being such an ass.

Deciding that he could care less about a chick flick moment, Dean leaned in and carded his fingers through his baby brother's hair. "Sammy, I need you to wake up for me kiddo. It's killing me seeing you like this and not being able to talk to you. I need you to know that I love you little brother, and yes, you've heard me right. I love you Sammy and I don't care who knows it." Dean said as he glanced at Bobby and looked him right into the eyes, immediately surprised to find them misty. His eyes were however drawn back to his little brother as he thought he heard the sounds of a low moan coming from Sam's bed.

"Sammy can you hear me?" he asked hopefully looking once more towards Bobby to see if he had heard the same thing. He was immediately rewarded as he felt Sam lightly squeeze his hand even though his eyes never opened.

"He squeezed my hand Bobby, Sammy squeezed my hand." Dean informed the older hunter excitedly before focusing all of his attention back on Sammy. "You're gonna be okay tiger, just rest. I'll be right here when you wake up." Dean informed Sam breathing easily for the first time in weeks hoping they would soon be able to talk and get everything out in the open.

TBC