Chapter Eight

Too Good to be True?

A/N: I would like to include another disclaimer here. Duke University and Duke Memorial Hospital are real places. I'm from the are Duke is located in, and I very highly respect both institutions. However, the character names in this story are completely made up. Any similarity to anyone at either place is purely coincidental.

The next two hours went by in a haze. Dean stayed behind at the motel room, deciding to go back and get Morgan if indeed it was Savannah in the hospital. Dean sat on the bed, fighting the urge to call Lisa and tell her what was going on. He didn't want to get her hopes up just in case it wasn't true. But if it wasn't true, Dean dreaded what would happen when Sam and Jess's dream was crushed. He decided to do something he wasn't good at. He decided to hope. Hope that Savannah was alive and would at least eventually be okay. Maybe for once it really would all turn out for good.

At the hospital, Sam and Jess were ushered off the plane and into the hospital building by a doctor. Once they were inside, the doctor pulled them aside and explained what was about to happen.

"Alright, Mr. and Mrs. Winchester, I'm Dr. Jessup. I know you're anxious to get to your daughter, but I need to talk to you both first. Let's go to my office for a few minutes."

Reluctantly, Sam and Jess both followed him. Once they were seated, an eager Sam asked, "Where's our daughter?"

"That's what I wanted to talk to you two about. First of all, agent Malone told me that he let you know she was in surgery." Dr. Jessup said.

"Yes. Why was that?" Sam asked.

"When she arrived, we saw some signs of internal bleeding. We tried to test her to find where it was happening, but we couldn't find it, so we took her in for exploratory surgery." Dr. Jessup explained.

"Did you find anything?" Jess asked.

"No. The surgeon was thorough, he found no internal bleeding. The only thing he found was a bruised rib."

"Okay." Sam said. "What else?"

"She has a broken leg. Considering how hard the plane crashed, the leg break could have been much worse. It's pretty clean, and we've put a cast on it. It should heal in six weeks or less." Jess took a shuddering breath, and Sam took her hand to steady her. Dr. Jessup continued. "She has some cuts, some of which needed to be stitched up, and some bruising."
"Those all sound…not so bad." Sam said, wondering if he was hearing the doctor correctly.

Dr. Jessup finally smiled. "I know this sounds strange to hear, but your daughter is incredibly fortunate. Other than the broken leg, she seems to just have minor injuries. Physically, there's no reason she shouldn't make a complete recovery in a couple of months."

"Seems to?" Sam asked. "You don't know for sure?"

"I'd like to keep her here for a few days. The injuries themselves are minor, but with the number of them, I just want to observe her, make sure there's no unforeseen complications. The biggest thing I'm worried about is the fact that we don't know if she hit her head when the plane hit the ground."

"She could have brain damage?" Sam asked in a whisper.

"I won't sugarcoat it, that is a distinct possibility. She's been out of anesthesia for a few minutes. She woke up for around thirty seconds, but she was still way too groggy to be comprehensible. So we'll have to try and test her again when she's more fully awake." Dr. Jessup said.

"If you think it's necessary, it's okay with us." Jess said, looking to Sam, who nodded in agreement.

"All right, then. Do you two have any other questions?"

"I do." Sam said. "What caused the misidentification? Why was she identified as Rachel Lucas?"

Dr. Jessup's smile disappeared. "I wondered about that myself, so I asked agent Malone to look into it. It looks like when the paramedic picked up Savannah, assuming it is Savannah, in the field, she asked what her name was. Savannah kept answering 'Rachel'. The paramedic told the chopper pilot that, who reported it to the NTSB agents. Agent Malone checked the passenger list, and saw Rachel was sitting next to Savannah. He checked the IDs of both girls, and saw that they looked pretty similar."
"Why would she tell them her name was Rachel?" Jess asked.

"Victims at scenes like that are often confused. It's understandable; they're in pain, there's lights, sirens, people all around them they don't know. They don't know where they are or may not even know what's going on. She may not have been answering the paramedic's question, she may have been trying to ask if Rachel was okay." Dr. Jessup explained.

Jess and Sam nodded, and an anxious Sam asked, "Doctor? Can we see her now?"
"Sure. If you two don't mind, I'd like to wake her up myself first. Let her get her bearings for a moment, then tell her that you're here for her." Jess and Sam both murmured 'okay', and Dr. Jessup continued, "And I know you're anxious for a hug. I get that. But be gentle. Even though her injuries are minor, and she has been given painkillers, she'll probably still be in some pain."

"She hasn't been out of surgery long. Won't she still be unconscious?" Sam asked.

"No. Like I said, she came out of the anesthesia just fine. She's just sleeping right now. The poor kid's beyond exhausted." Dr. Jessup said. "You ready?"

Jess and Sam nodded eagerly, and they were off down the hall again. Time had stopped now, and Sam felt that his heart had stopped with it. He couldn't allow himself to hope this was Savannah. If it wasn't, then he and Jess were headed towards a cataclysmic disappointment, and Sam would have to be there for Jess if that happened. They reached a room, and the patient's name on the door was marked 'Jane Doe'. They walked inside and stayed in the doorway as Dr. Jessup approached the bed. The girl in the bed was turned towards the window with her back facing the door, so Sam and Jess couldn't see her right away. Dr. Jessup gently touched her shoulder and shook her slightly.

"Wake up, sweetheart." The girl moaned a little, but didn't wake up. "Wake up, sweetie."
The girl opened her eyes and looked up at the doctor.

"Hi. I'm Dr. Jessup. We met when I took you off the helicopter. Do you remember me?"

The girl nodded.

"Do you remember what happened to you?"

The girl nodded again.

"Okay. I need you to do something for me. There's someone here to see you. Can you turn a little towards the door and tell me if you know them?"

The girl turned her head, and stared in shock at the couple in the doorway. Jess and Sam didn't move either. For a few seconds, there was complete silence in the room. Sam still didn't want to believe, too afraid that it was just a cruel joke. But the girl's eyes filled with tears, which spilled onto the bed below her, and all doubt was removed from everyone's minds.

"Mommy? Daddy?"