07-05-2008, Kansas City Hospital
Dean again wakes up when Castiel walks into his room.
Dean smiles at Castiel. "Hi!" Dean says in a happy way.
Castiel smiles. "Hi," he replies.
Castiel walks up to Dean and he holds up a bandage. "Can I see the wound again?"
Dean pulls up one eyebrow. "Are you asking me if you can do something what's your work?"
"Maybe."
They both laugh.
Castiel loosens the bandage and gasps when he sees the wound.
Dean who has his eyes closed asks what's wrong.
"Dean, this is not good!" Castiel looks at the wound which has stuff with a green oozy substance on it.
"What! What's not good?" Dean asks while almost panicking out.
Castiel shakes his head and puts his hand against Dean's head.
"You're burning up!" Castiel runs towards the water tap and wets a towel with cold water.
He holds the towel against Dean's head while swearing.
"Dean, hold the towel against your head," Castiel says and he looks at the wound.
Dean holds the towel and Castiel puts on gloves. Castiel carefully lays his hands around the wound.
It has grown!
Castiel stands up and swears while running out the room.
"Cas! What are you gonna do?" Dean yells while freaking out.
A moment later a stressed Julia runs into the room. She looks at the wound and tells Castiel to help her push the bed towards the OR.
They push Dean towards the room and Julia tries to explain Dean what's going on.
"You're wound is septic, we're going to look at what we can do. And we'll do as much as we can, but this doesn't look good," Julia says and she isn't even trying to calm Dean down.
Dean gets lightheaded and he sees how Julia's face gets blurry. Dean is hyperventilating and Julia is telling him to try to breath calmer.
Dean starts blinking with his eyes to try to get his vision normal again, but after a moment he can't open his eyes anymore. Dean passes out and Castiel starts to panic while pushing the bed.
When they have put Dean's bed in the OR, Julia tells Castiel to call over some other doctors.
Castiel runs downstairs while Julia tries to stabilize Dean's breathing. Castiel runs through the hallways yelling for a doctor.
He comes back into the room with two extra doctors. They give Dean a little prick so he won't wake up while helping him.
Castiel can't handle the stress and he leaves the room, but he still hears the doctors discussing inside.
After a few hours of only talking and trying things to get away the oozy stuff, Julia walks outside the room.
She sees Castiel sitting on the floor with his face in his hands. Castiel looks up when he hears Julia.
Castiel's face is red and weepy, he obviously cried in that hour.
"Can you… Is he okay?"
Julia shrugs, but then shakes her head.
"He's not okay, Castiel, I cannot lie to you. Even if I want to," Julia says while she looks at Castiel who tries not to burst out in tears. "But he'll survive, but only if we do one thing."
Castiel gasps, he knows what Julia means.
"Do you really want… have to do that?" Castiel asks, he knows Dean will hate it if they'll do what Julia means.
Julia nods sadly. "Yes, otherwise he maybe won't…"
"… I understand, don't finish that sentence, please," Castiel says and he wipes with his hands in his eyes.
Castiel sighs. "If you really have no choice, you need to do it," he says.
Julia nods. "I know, we'll give him one more injection with drugging to bring him to a deep sleep," Julia says and she takes a deep breath. "Come here, Castiel."
Julia opens her arms and Castiel hugs her back. "Dean's gonna be okay, I promise."
Castiel sniffles and nods.
"I know…" Castiel says, but he only hopes so.
Dean wakes up in a dark room. This isn't his own room, that's all he knows.
The last thing he remembers is that Julia told him to breath calmer than he did.
Dean feels the tubes in his nose and he has a weird feeling. Dean moves his eyes to look around the room.
There are more beds and there are people in it.
When Dean moves he feels a burning pain in his leg. The leg with the wound, but not in the place where the wound is.
"What the…" Dean mumbles.
The pain is higher in his leg – just a little above his knee – weird.
Dean closes his eyes and opens them when he hears a calm voice next to him.
"Dean, it's me, I'm gonna take you to your own room," the calm voice says. It's Castiel, he rides the bed to Dean's room. The room is the same as always.
"Castiel, what happened?" Dean asks while Castiel puts Dean's bed in the right spot.
Castiel is not looking at Dean and he tries not to let Dean see that he cried.
"We'll explain."
Julia is also in the room and when Dean's bed stands still Castiel and Julia take a seat on two chairs.
Julia turns to Castiel.
"Do you want to do it alone, Castiel?" she asks Castiel.
Castiel wanted to explain everything to Dean. Castiel nods.
"Yes," he answers and Julia nods and she walks away.
Castiel takes a deep breath.
"Okay, Dean, what do you remember of the last few hours?"
"Not much," Dean answers. "I passed out, I guess."
Castiel nods. "That's true," Castiel says. "Here's what happened after."
Castiel looks at Dean who looks scared.
"Julia and two other doctors took a look at your leg, they tried some things to get the swellings away. Because your leg had very, very much liquid in it and because of that it was very swollen."
Dean scans Castiel's face.
"Did the things they did work?" Dean asks with a scared and vibrating voice.
Castiel shakes his head once.
Dean looks away and then back.
"What now?" Dean face expression is full of fear.
Castiel swallows, he doesn't know what's a practical way to tell Dean what they had to do. When tears are beginning to come up, he decides that the best way is to show it without words.
Castiel closes his eyes and carefully pulls the blanket off Dean's body.
Dean looks at his left leg.
It's in bandage and, his leg, it's… shorter?
Much shorter.
It took Dean a moment to realize what happened. Dean opens his mouth and he shakes his head.
"What?" Dean's voice breaks and tears start to stream over Dean's face. "No, no, no, no!" Dean cries.
Castiel also starts to cry when he sees Dean crying.
Castiel lays his hand on Dean's shoulder.
"They had to," he says in between his soft sobbing.
Dean doesn't react, he only sits there with his head in his hands.
When Dean is able to speak again he looks up to Castiel. Dean shakes his head.
"Leave me alone, please," Dean cries.
Castiel doesn't want to upset Dean even more than he already is, so he decides just to do what Dean asks him to do.
When Castiel closes the door behind himself, he collapses onto the ground.
Why didn't he just let Dean know in another way?
"I'm such a fool," Castiel whispers to himself.
After leaving Dean alone for a few hours, Castiel decides to take a look at him and try to let him eat something. Castiel walks into Dean's room with a tray in his hands.
"Hi, Dean," Castiel says in a calm voice.
Dean looks at Castiel, but he says nothing. Dean's eyes are red and also is his face.
Castiel takes a seat next to Dean and gestures at the food.
"Do you want to…"
"Not really," Dean interrupts Castiel.
Castiel nods. "I can understand, but this is no hospital food," Castiel says.
Castiel asked Julia if he could make some soup for Dean and Julia told him that Dean would feel better after a cup of nice soup.
"I made it."
Dean looks at Castiel and smiles, but not in a happy way.
"Okay, but I'll only eat it to make you happy," Dean says and a small smile appears on Castiel's face.
Dean takes grip of the spoon and Castiel sees that Dean's hand is shaking.
"Are you cold?" Castiel asks Dean.
Dean puts the spoon in his mouth and shakes his hand.
"No, not really," Dean says after he swallows the soup.
Castiel nods and Dean puts another spoon full of soup in his mouth.
"Great soup," Dean says. Castiel smiles and looks at Dean who keeps taking full spoon towards his mouth.
"Thanks," Castiel says and Dean shakes his hands.
"No, thank you," Dean says. "This is so much better than hospital food."
Dean and Castiel both say nothing for a moment, but when Dean's done eating he opens his mouth again.
"Why?" Dean gestures at the butt-end of his leg. "Why nothing else?"
Castiel looks down to the ground and back to Dean again.
"They couldn't something else," Castiel says. "They tried everything, you know?"
Dean shakes his head. "In those few hours they could not have tried everything they could try," Dean says, but Castiel disagrees.
"You passed out at seven in the morning," Castiel says. "It was five PM when you woke up again. They tried everything in ten hours, I think they really did try everything."
Dean startles when he hears the time that he was anesthetized.
"What? No, it was anesthetized for maybe two hours, right?"
Castiel shakes his head. "No, ten hours."
Dean starts to shake his head.
"Was it really so bad?" Dean asks and Castiel nods one time.
"You had a bacterial in your wound and if they didn't do anything it was going to spread through your intire body," Castiel says looking at Dean. "It c-could kill you."
Dean looks away and shakes his head.
Dean looks at Castiel.
"Do my parents and Sam know that I have only one leg left?" Dean asks and Castiel shakes his head.
"We're going to tell them tomorrow, but you first must try to take some rest," Castiel answers.
Dean nods and he pulls up the blanket, so it covers his shoulders too.
Castiel stands up and walks towards the door.
"I'll see you tomorrow," Castiel says.
Dean looks at Castiel and closes his eyes.
"Yeah, see you tomorrow."
Soooooo...
I personally loved to write this chapter - and other things like this -, but hated to read it again today...
Let me know what you think! Was Castiel too overreacted or did Dean just react too normal?
I don't know, I'm not intirely happy with this chapter, but I'm not going to change anything because I want to post it just like I wrote it a few months ago, but I still want to know what you think.
