One Hundred Days
Disclaimer: see chapter one
Author's Note: Just a quick note to explain my absence over the last week, for those of you who haven't heard by now, I was very lucky enough to have six days holiday in Sydney, NSW, and another state from where I live. Anyway, during my holiday I was able to attend the All Hell Breaks Lose Supernatural Con and over the two days managed to meet once again Jared Padalecki, and for the first time meet Jensen Ackles and Misha Collins. All day Saturday, a cocktail party Saturday night, and all day on Sunday. Needless to say, I am still floating on a SPN high but reality set back in when I arrived home on last week and had to go back to University for lectures on Wednesday. Soooo now I think I'm back under control. For those who want to see some pics I have them up on my facebook page under Shelley Shearer
Okkies without further rambling on with the next chapter.
ps Umm I have no idea on hospital protocol, in the states at all, and it's something that would never happen here but for artistic licence I have ummm yeah well you'll see what I mean. I don't mean to offend anyone who might be a lab tech or work in pathology or anything associated this is just for the flow of the story...promise!
Whoops just another little thing, I don't know exactly where Bobby's salvage yard is, all I can find out that it is supposed to be in Lawrence County Sth Dakota, so I found Deadwood on the map and thought it sounded just like Bobby. Plus the hospital is a real place so just a quick disclaimer to slide in there...
S—D
Chapter Nine
Room 212 Neurology Ward
Lead-Deadwood Hospital
Deadwood South Dakota
Present Day:
Sam sat next to Dean's hospital bed, his left leg jiggling nervously, he lifted his gaze from Dean's face to look around at their new room. Their new home for a while.
Because of Dean's unique condition, they had a private ICU room, all sounds muted from paper slippers over shoes, to no television, to no noise at all.
The nurses had brought in a fold-out bed in for Sam and set it up next to Dean's bed, knowing from previous experience that the proverbial snowball has a better chance in hell than they did trying to get Sam away from his brother's side.
The surgery the day before went better than the surgeons had hoped, they were able to remove two of the fragments successfully. Now they just had to wait for Dean to wake on his own volition to judge the level of impairment if any at all.
'S-Sammm,' Dean slurred, a thin line of drool sliding from his mouth as he started to regain consciousness. 'S-S-Sammmmy?'
'Hey I'm right here.' Sam ran his fingertips ran down the side of Dean's face a gentle smile on his face, 'you gonna wake up for me?'
Bleary eyes tried to focus, Dean blinked slowly, drool continued to slide from his mouth but Sam just mopped it up and continued to stroke Dean's face. 'You gonna wake up for me?'
'D-D-Don' w-w-wannnnnaaaa.' Dean whined and tried to roll his head away, 'wha?'
'You had to have some more surgery Dean two of the fragments shifted and the doctors had to remove them.' Sam felt his heart and hope plummet when he heard the childishness in Dean's voice.
'Leepy.'
'I know dude you sleep I'll be right here when ya wake up.' Sam pulled the blankets up and tucked his brother in a little more, 'I'll be right here.'
'Sammy?' Dean hummed a little a small smile on his face, 'my Sammy.' He patted Sam's hand and drifted off to sleep again, leaving a stunned Sam trying to workout what was going on.
S—D
Abandoned Warehouse
Grangeville Kentucky.
Present Day:
John limped along the wall, keeping his fingers pressed against the flaking plaster; his ripped and bleeding feet smudged red stains on the already filthy floor. 'Can't run forever Johnny boy.' The voice taunted him, 'I gotcha in my sites.'
Ducking John hurried as fast as his abused feet would carry him pushing himself further into the shadows, 'not yet you haven't you bastard.'
The laughter mocking him echoed through the abandoned warehouse; a gunshot sounded and John ran even faster trying to avoid the new volley of bullets flying after the initial shot.
Crouching down, John took a moment to take stock of his injuries, so far they were all minor except for the deep cuts running the length of the soles of his feet. Unable to wrap them to staunch the flow of blood, John tried to balance his weight as best as he could but nothing stopped the bleeding.
Weak with hunger and thirst he felt like a rat in a maze, every turn seemed to take him back to the centre of the building.
'This stops now.' He ground out and changed tactics, instead of continuing with following the wall, John turned and started back the way he had already come, walking over his own bloody footprints. The warehouse suddenly became ominously quiet for the first time since his ordeal started, shivers started to track through his tightly-wound muscles but John ignored them intent on only one destination.
S—D
Room 212 Neurology Ward
Lead-Deadwood Hospital
Deadwood South Dakota
Present Day:
Bobby crept into the hospital room and stopped just inside the doorway, his shocked gaze taking in the sleeping Sam with his head cushioned on his arm resting against the side of Dean's bed, and Dean propped up on pillows, wide awake running his fingers through Sam's hair in a gentle almost reverent manner. 'Hey Bobby.' Dean whispered holding his finger up to his lips, 'he's been asleep for a little while.'
'D-Dean?' Bobby wiped his eyes and stared again at the younger man watching him with amused eyes.
'That's the name ... don't wear it out.' Dean grinned.
'How ya feeling son?' Bobby pulled a chair up to the bed just opposite Sam's prone figure.
'Considering I've had someone playing hockey in my brain not too bad.' Dean glanced back down at his sleeping brother a tender smile on his face, 'Sammy's pretty wiped.'
'He's too stubborn for his own good sometimes.' Bobby scratched at his head tried so hard not to stare at Dean. 'Damn boy, you ... you look ...'
'Yeah I know.' The smirk was pure Dean and Bobby finally sat back and let out his breath, 'don't keel over there old man.'
'Give ya enough of the old.' Bobby groused.
'Mm Deanie?' Sam sat up and sleepily stared up at his brother's grinning face, 'hey.'
'Hey yourself sleeping beauty.'
'Hey Sam.'
'Oh ... hey Bobby.' Sam sat up and wiped his chin with the back of his hand catching any drool before Dean noticed. 'How you feeling Deanie?'
'M'fine.' Dean yawned, 'so when am I getting springed from this joint?'
'Dean you just had brain surgery.' Sam didn't want to upset his brother but he didn't want to build up false hope either.
'Don't you want me home?' Dean asked his smile fading and replaced with a pout.
'Yes of course I do Dean, but I want to make sure that you're completely better.'
'Guess.' Dean continued to pout while he twisted his fingers in the blankets, 'not fair.'
'What's not fair Dean?' Sam asked as he stretched and tried to uncurl some of his muscles.
'Not fair have to stay in bed.' Dean sighed heavily and pushed himself back down under the covers, 'gonna sleep.'
'Dean? You feeling okay dude?' Sam regarded his brother's face carefully trying to gauge how he was really feeling but Dean had turned off any body language and kept his face completely neutral, the only telltale sign that there was something wrong was Dean's eyes, dark to almost black and dull, with very little life in them. Something wasn't right. 'Talk to me please.'
'Nothin' Sammy, I just want to get some sleep, head hurts a bit.' Dean mumbled and turned his head to the side avoiding Sam's direct gaze.
Heaving a small sigh Sam stood up and moved to sit on the edge of the bed, tenderly he cupped Dean's chin and forced his ailing big brother to turn back around. 'Dean?'
Bobby sat silently watching the two brothers interact, his initial euphoria with Dean's seemingly miraculous recovery from surgery diminished slightly as he watched the childish behaviour return. Listening and watching Dean carefully, Bobby smiled inwardly, realising just what was happening. After everything Dean had been through in the last few months, hell what was it? Over a hundred days, he felt safer returning to the innocence of childhood, being little Dean no matter what age was easier, less stressful and less painful than what he had to face and deal with as an adult. Now he had a choice, which meant that Bobby's and Sam's jobs just got a lot harder.
S—D
Eighty-five days earlier
Memorial Hospital
Grangeville Kentucky
Sam sipped his coffee as he wandered down the hallway towards Dean's room, he smiled, and nodded at the different staff members as he passed them, most he knew because of his permanent residence in his brother's room.
The pitiful whimpers floated out of the oh so-familiar room making Sam rush forward no longer interested in the hot coffee in his hand. As he burst into the room Sam skidded to a stop, the coffee dropping from his numb fingers. 'What are you doing to my brother?' He demanded, his deep resonating voice filling the claustrophobic hospital room.
'Trying to get a blood test.' The stranger snapped, 'he won't lie still to let me.'
'So you restrained him?' Sam snarled, with his freakishly long legs he crossed the room in two strides, fisted two large hands into the uniform collar and bodily pulled the lab tech away from the bed and pressed him against the wall. His handsome face twisted in a mask of fury, 'who gave you permission to use them?' He demanded hoarsely.
'Let me go or I'll call security.' The tech tried to be cocky and not show just how scared of the much larger man he was.
'No I'm gonna call security after you answer my question, who gave you permission to use the restraints, and why are you in here alone with Dean?'
'I got a verbal from my supervisor when the patient became combatant.' The tech started when he saw Sam's fist hurtling towards his face, only at the last moment did the younger man pull his fist and slammed it into the wall barely centimetres from the man's head. 'Let me go now.'
'Sam what's going on?' Nurse Darrin Letts came in after hearing the commotion coming from within and immediately knew that someone had upset the normally gentle giant of a man. 'Let him go Sam.'
'He put Dean in restraints.' Sam sneered refusing to take his steely gaze from the tech's face, 'just for a fucking blood test.'
'You what?'
'The patient was combative, I called my supervisor and got a verbal go-ahead.'
'Sam let him go.' Darrin placed a calming hand on Sam's shoulder, 'go see to your brother he looks pretty scared.'
Sam blinked as though he was sucker punched, the mention of his brother's name the only thing to wipe the red haze from his mind. With a last shove into the wall he let the trembling tech go and hurried to his brother's bedside, whispering softly and soothingly as he unbuckled the soft cuffs.
Darrin watched Sam for a moment and then turned his attention to the errant technician, 'first up never ever place restraints on a patient without medical staff present no matter what your so-called supervisor says. Secondly check with the floor staff before entering the patient's rooms, there is a standing order if Dean's brother Sam is not present then a staff member must be, and thirdly if I ever have to see you on this floor again it won't be Sam you'll have to worry about.'
'You haven't heard the last of this.'
'No you haven't, anything comes back to me and I will be officially reporting you for abusing a patient, do I make myself clear?' Thirty year old Darrin Letts, was senior nurse on duty but he was also now a friend to the Singer brothers since Dean was admitted for the emergency neurosurgery. Not much older than the brothers, Darrin found himself growing attached to the them, they reminded him of himself and his own younger brother, though only two years between him and Josh, he understood exactly the connection.
Standing just over six feet tall and built more like a professional wrestler than a nurse Darrin had a cheeky grin and sparkling blue eyes, a hit with the female nurses socially but at work he was the consummate professional.
'Thanks Darrin.' Sam mumbled while he continued to soothe his brother, 'but I don't understand ... who?'
'Blood tests were ordered but that idiot didn't follow protocol where Dean's concerned, don't worry Sam he'll never get close to him again.'
'Sammy?' Dean whimpered as he started to pummel the sides of his head with his closed fists, 'Deanie dumb now.'
'No, no Deanie, Sammy please he was a bad man who scared you that's all.'
'Don't what this anymore Sammy.' Dean's low gravely voice shook Sam's resolve and he quickly swiped the tears away with the back of his hand.
'Don't Dean please...' he choked out.
'So tired Sammy, so tired.' Dean murmured as his eyes slipped shut and his thumb slipped in between his lips.
S—D
Doctor Thomas Gardiner knocked on the door and waited for Sam to acknowledge his presence before coming all of the way into the room. 'I heard from Darrin about what happened.'
'Yeah well I'm not sorry.' Sam started in a gruff whisper.
'No, no Sam there's no need for it, I've put in an official report, and both the supervisor and the technician are on it.'
'Thanks Tom.' Sam gave him a small but warm smile, he had one hand on Dean's chest and the other cupping Dean's cheek gently caressing the pale skin. 'So how is he?'
'I'm not going to lie to you Sam, Dean's still has a long road ahead of him, and it's gonna be a bumpy one but, but your brother, Sam he's stronger than anyone ... I know that Mister Nelson the neurologist told you to look for institutions but, I don't think that you'll need to do that.'
'Sorry Tom I'm not following you ...'
'I've watched the way you are when you're with him, there's no better therapy or medication than that Sam, with you I firmly believe that Dean will improve.'
S—D
Abandoned Warehouse
Grangeville Kentucky.
Present Day:
John staggered and dropped to his knees, his breath coming in short sharp gasps as he fought to stay alive long enough to avenge his sons.
'Uh, no you don't Johnny you don't get the luxury of death yet.' A cold toneless voice cut through the fog startling John out of his stupor.
'Who?'
'Hmm, let me tell you a little story, about a hunter named Samuel, his wife Deana and daughter Mary.' The voice mocked him.
'You!'
'In the flesh ... so to speak!'
'You bastard!" John pushed aside the pain and tried to launch himself at his tormentor, 'you were the one who took Dean!'
'Ah that's better, never took you to be a quitter Johnny boy.' The possessed man smiled, his yellow eyes flared with bright flames as he rounded down on John Winchester.
