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XX-SchitsoManiacAmutoLuver-XX
***Thanks to you AGoodOmen!
WARNING: SOMEONE WILL GET HURT! I almost didn't put this chapter in but I incorporated it in to some other chaps so decided to stick with it. If I hadn't of put this chap in, it would've became a deleted scene. I think I have like 1 so far…
Chapter 9
"Tell me why we're here again?" Dean asked Lisa.
"I told you like 6,000 times. We're going Christmas shopping." Christmas was Lisa's favorite Holiday. Not because of the presents, although they were nice, but because it was a time to hang out with family. Her older brother Daniel always came home from college and everyone just seemed to be generally happier.
"Christmas isn't for another 3 weeks though," he complained.
"Dean, I know you like to procrastinate and get your Christmas shopping done like two days before but it's actually good to get things done early. What if there's a huge snow storm right before Christmas and I can't get the stuff I need, huh? Besides, I'm volunteering at that camp again and I need to get stuff done. Look at the bright side, at least the stores don't look packed. Think about how packed it will be a week before Christmas," Lisa told him. She had been begging Dean to go with her for a few days now. The last time Dean they had gone shopping together was about 3 months after Dean had started chemo. They had gone because his clothes were getting too big and he needed some hats. This time, Dean had only agreed to go with her if he didn't have to try on clothes. Lisa didn't mind, she just wanted to go shopping, Dean never took her anywhere near a mall.
"Ok, where to first? I promised my mom we'd be home for dinner. She's making Mac & cheese soup," Dean added.
"Well…" Lisa said pulling out her list. "I have to get my mom a necklace, my dad this book he wanted, my brother a microwave and Sam the complete 8th season of some show called Supernatural… that's it. I've said all of them."
"Um…Aren't you missing someone?" Dean asked with a nervous chuckle. "I was thinking of a person very close to you…right now… who has a Black Sabbath sweatshirt on…who loves burgers…" Dean listed.
"Oh, I'm sorry I totally forgot your mom. She's been so nice. Oh and how could I forget! Anna too she-"
"Lisa…" Dean whined.
"I'm just kidding Dean. You know that. I didn't forget about you handsome." Dean tried not to redden at the nickname. "I would never," Lisa said kissing his cheek.
"I know that…"
"Besides, I've already bought your present. Turn right, we have to go get my mom's necklace," Lisa said leading Dean over to a jewelry store.
"Hello welcome to Galaxy's Jewelry. Do you need any assistance?"
"Oh, no thank you. I think I know what I'm looking for," Lisa responded.
"Ok, well if you want to look at any jewelry behind the glass close up, let me know. I hope you find everything okay."
"Me too," Dean mumbled.
"Thank you, we will."
"Do you have any idea what this necklace look like?" Dean asked.
"It has two- there it is." Lisa said quickly walking over to it.
"The angel wing one?" Dean said looking at the simple necklace.
"It's so beautiful and it's just what she needs."
"How about the butterfly one? I thought she liked butterflies."
"I really wanted to get her this one… but that butterfly one over there is beautiful too… oh! What about that dove one right here? It's gorgeous too! No this heart one is perfect!" Lisa squealed.
Dean leaned on a nearby wall. Why did I even agree to come?
*S*P*N*
By the time they got out of the jewelry store, or jewelry hell Dean would call it, it was 30 minutes later and Dean was starting to get hungry.
"I just know my mom is going to love the butterfly necklace!" Dean rolled his eyes at her comment. The butterfly necklace was the one he had recommended from the start.
"Dare I ask… what's next?"
"Well my dad's next then my brother then Sam. Their presents are at the same store."
"Ok lead the way," Dean told her. His stomach could wait for now.
Once they got there, Lisa was able to find her brother's microwave and Sam's TV series easily. Her dad's book on sociology was very difficult to find. They had to go to a different store since they couldn't find it.
"Can you not get him like Volume 4? You said that he had never read it before."
"No he needs volume 5. He's read volume 4, its volume 3 he hasn't read," she corrected.
"Then why not get him that one?!" Dean practically yelled. He was tired of being at the mall and he was so hungry that his stomach was hurting. Frankly, he wasn't in the holiday spirit at that moment.
"Because I told you, he hated it and never finished-"Lisa paused when she noticed that Dean was leaning heavily on one of the shelves. "Babe, you ok? Are you in pain?" Lisa asked him in a muted voice.
"No I'm fine," Dean said sharply.
"Yeah I can see that."
He instantly regretted his tone. He hadn't meant for it to come out like that. "I'm sorry Lisa. I didn't mean to snap at you. And No, I'm not in pain I'm just- do you mind if we go or I just get something to eat?" Dean asked.
"Sure, not at all."
"Let's just look for the book first," Dean insisted.
"That's ok; I'm not going to be able to find it anyway. I'll just order it online. Let's go get something to eat," Lisa said grabbing his hand and leading him to the food court. "What sounds good?"
"Um… well since we're sharing, what do you want? I can eat just about any-"
"Tofu kebabs!"
"Absolutely not," he said firmly. The thought of tofu made him want to throw up.
"Oh come on Dean! Tofu is so good! It just soaks up whatever sauce they put on it and it's just-"
"Absolutely not," Dean said again. He didn't have to hesitate. He had told Lisa from the beginning that he would never eat tofu.
"Ok fine… how about…. Sal-"
"Let's not finish that sentence."
"Come on Dean you said anything! We had burgers last time I ate with you!"
"Yeah, but that wasn't a real burger and it was like 2 weeks ago!" Lisa crossed her arms. "Ok fine. How about we just get a sandwich and that way, we'll both be happy," Dean suggested.
"Ok fine. Let's get in line there's like two people. What do you want?" Lisa asked as she pulled Dean over to the line.
"How about the… meatball-"
"Sounds good."
"We finally made a decision about something, good timing too cause we're next."
When they were finished making the order, they sat down at a table and started eating their sandwich. To Dean, it was heaven. To Lisa, it hit the spot. Once they were finished, Dean looked at his watch. It was 6:38.
"Ok, what else do you have to get?" Dean asked as they threw away their trash. "We have a bit of time before dinner."
"Well… I need to get a jacket for Anna. She said she wanted a green utility jacket."
"My mom already bought her one," Dean informed her.
"Oh then I'll have to get her a laptop case. Hasn't she been asking for that since she got her computer?"
"Yeah, she wants a yellow one. I don't even know why she likes the color yellow. When I think of yellow, I think of pee." Lisa smiled at his comment.
"Well why do you like the color blue?"
"Because it doesn't remind me of pee," Dean simply said. "I'm going to get her a flash drive because she's always using mine. She's always using my stuff..."
Lisa just scoffed. "Turn here. The computer store is this way."
"There's like nobody in here," Dean commented.
"Yeah, I know. That's a good thing," Lisa said. By the time they were out of the computer store, it was time to go home and it was starting to get dark. As they were walking out, they heard yelling behind a vacant store. It looked like a couple.
"You should have never broken up with me Nella," a boy yelled. He sounded like he was in his teens. From what Dean could see, he had blond curly hair.
"Matt, get out of here! Don't you get it? I don't want to be with you. Please just leave me alone," the girl said furiously. She had red hair that was styled into a long bob. Her face was red from crying.
"No. you see I can't do that," Matt said pulling out a gun.
"Whoa…Lisa, call 911. I'm going to try to hold him off till the police come," Dean told her.
"Dean no-"
"I can't just let these too teens mess up their lives. I've hunted monsters before, holding off two teens won't be nearly as difficult," He told her. He walked towards the couple.
The boy pointed the gun at Dean. "Don't move!" He noticed the guy had tears training down his face too.
"Don't do this Matt- please don't!" The girl said crying. He pointed the gun at her.
"I have two bullets in here…one for me and one…one for you Nella, I love you… and – and we are going to be together, forever. Nobody… can break what we have together. We love each other," Matt said in a shaky voice. In fact, his whole body was shaking.
"Matt is it?" The boy only glanced at Dean then went back to staring at the girl.
"Get the hell out of here," he told Dean. "It will all be over soon," Matt said.
"You have so much to live for; you don't have to do this," Dean said. He meant it.
"Shut up! I only want to be with Nella. Nobody else."
"How about you put the gun down," Dean offered calmly. "You haven't killed anyone yet, there's still a good chance that you could walk away from all of this scot-free."
"You don't know shit about what I'm going through!"
"You may be right but I know that killing yourself isn't worth it. If you really loved Nella than you would never let anyone lay a finger on her- including yourself. Whatever you're dealing with, it will get better. Trust me," Dean finished.
Matt started to breath heavily. Tears started to run down his face. It seemed like Dean was breaking through to him.
"Please matt," Nella pleaded.
"I'm sorry Nella. If I can't have you, no one can," Matt said. When Dean heard the familiar click everything seemed like it was in slow motion. Without thinking, he swiftly pushed the girl out of the way just as the gun went off. As Dean and Nella hit the ground, he heard another shot.
"Dean!" Lisa screamed. She ran up to him to see if he was alright.
"Lisa, I'm fine I just landed wrong."Dean went to sit up but he was pushed back down with crippling pain on his right shoulder. He had been shot.
When the paramedics arrived, Dean was holding his shoulder and he was sweating.
"Dean is it? We need you to move your hand so we can see the damage," a paramedic ordered.
"I can't… it hurts," Dean said. His breathing was shallow. He was so tired. Why wouldn't these people just go away? Couldn't they see that he was so tired?
"On the count of 3 I want you to move your hands." Dean agreed and on the count of 3 he did just what he was told. They quickly put an oxygen mask around his face and started to stop the bleeding. Once he was okay to transport they got him into the ambulance and to the hospital.
*S*P*N*
When Dean had woken up the next morning, he was groggy and he didn't have the slightest idea why he was at the hospital and why his arm or why his arm was in a sling. Lisa had to fill him in. She told him about the boy Matt and his ex Nella and how Dean had tried to talk him out of it. She explained that when he had tried to shoot Nella, that Dean had tried to push her out of the way and how the bullet had gotten him instead.
"You had to have surgery to get the bullet cause it was lodge into your shoulder. The docs said that if the bullet would've been an inch higher, it would've hit your collar bone."
"Why am I so dumb? I should've beaten him up when I had the chance. The one time I listen to my mom and use my words, this is what happens."
Lisa laughed. It was amazing how Dean could make light of the scariest situations.
"So is my mom here?" he asked.
"She had to step out for a second to talk to the doctors."
"So you said my shoulder?" Dean looked down at his hospital gown and felt his right arm.
"What happened to my clothes?"
"They had to cut it off actually because they had to get to the wound."
"Damn it! That was my favorite shirt…" Dean pouted. "What happened to the two teens?"
"Well-"
"They both died didn't they?" He asked in panic. Then he remembered that Matt had only had 2 bullets.
"No no, the girl lived but the guy… he was dead when the paramedics got there."
"Damn it."
"Don't be so hard on yourself," Lisa said, trying to comfort him. "You're a hero. Remember that."
"Oh yeah? If I was such a hero then why did that guy die?"
*S*P*N*
Dean had just been dosing off when he heard a soft bang on his door. It had only been 3 days later and Dean was getting antsy. He desperately wanted to leave the hospital, he couldn't stand them, but the doctor had wanted him to stay so he could heal. He felt like he was obligated to take a long break from hospitals ever since his remission. It was now Christmas break. He had missed 4 days of school. This obviously wasn't the first time he had missed school for a long period of time but it was the first time since he had been in remission. He hated missing it more, as weird as it sounded. It made him feel isolated and like the whole world was going on without him, leaving him in the dust.
"Come on in," he encouraged. The door opened, a red haired girl walked in. Her hair was up in a pony tail and she had on a grey cardigan and a dark blue, white polka dotted skirt.
"You may not recognize me but… you saved my life."
"I remember you. How could I not? Your ex is the reason I'm here. It's Nella right?"
The girl nodded. "I just wanted to say thank you and that you're the reason that I'm standing here right now. I'm sorry for what Matt did."
"Well you don't have to say that. It's not like I'm a-"
"Hero? Don't ever say that. It wasn't your fault that Matt died, it wasn't. How could you have saved us both? He didn't want to be saved, it's as simple that," Nella finished. She then told Dean that Matt had been abusive towards her and that he had attempted suicide a few weeks prior. "You're a hero and don't let anyone tell you differently."
"Thank you…About matt… I'm sorry he's gone now. That suicide thing… I don't know if that makes feel better or worse."
Nella smiled sadly at him. "I know it's not the best news but all I'm trying to say is that it wasn't your fault. I had tried to get him some help but he refused to listen to me. Even his parents tried but they couldn't get through to him. And yeah I'm sad but I'll eventually have to get through it, I have to for myself. I don't want to keep you long. I just wanted to show my gratitude for what you did for me," she said pointing to herself for emphasize. "And what you did for him." She paused for a moment. "Whatever you may think, you're still a hero."
*S*P*N*
The next morning, Dean was allowed to come home. His doctor had advised him to take it easy for the next few weeks till his stitches and shoulder stabilizer- which kept his shoulder to his side- were able to be removed.
"Can I please go take a walk?" Dean begged his mom.
"No. you need to rest."
"I'm tired of resting. I've been doing that for a year. I want to do something! Lisa's not here to keep me company. Come on." Lisa was volunteering at a winter retreat for Children who had autism for a few days. It was something she had done, willing, every year since she was 13. Because she was worried about Dean, he had to practically beg her to go and had to reassure her that he'd be fine without her.
"Dean you just got back from the hospital and you're sore all the time. You think I'm going to let you go around the block? What if you trip on the ice out there?" Dean looked outside. It had just snowed the night before but it didn't look too bad.
"It's just one loop. Mom, it doesn't even look icy. I'll even get the mail while I'm out there," Dean said exasperated. "Come on I'll take it slow! I swear. I'm not even in pain anymore. See," Dean said trying to move his shoulder with little success. The movement still made his arm hurt a bit but he wasn't about to tell his mom that. It was kind of weird seeing his mom being so overprotective, usually she gave him space.
"Okay fine, I will let you walk around the block. I want you to call me when you're almost home, okay?" Dean agreed and kept his mouth shut. He didn't want her to change her mind. As he started putting on his shoes, he felt a throbbing pain.
"You better not let mom see you like that. Here, Let me help you," Anna said as she bent down to help him into his shoes. She then helped him with his jacket. Doing tasks with one arm were difficult.
"Thanks Anna. I owe you one."
"Don't worry about it big brother…you owe me a lot," she said with an evil smirk walking away. Dean couldn't help but smile. She had learned that evil smirk from him.
Halfway around the block, he realized that his mom was right; his shoulder had starting to hurt a little. When he got back to the house, he grabbed the mail and started to flip through it. Mary Campbell…Mary Campbell… Mary Campbell… Dean Campbell. His first thought was that it was probably sympathy mail or a congratulations letter; he had been getting a mixture of both a lot recently. When he walked in the house, he kicked off his shoes noting the fact that it was easier removing the shoes than actually putting them on then he handed his mom her mail. Lastly, he sat down to open his letter. It didn't have a return address. In the envelope there was a little note and a slip of paper.
Here's my thanks to you.
He took out the small slip of paper, it was a check. His eyes skimmed over it and he almost stopped breathing at the total amount which was 8,550.
"Mom? I have to tell you something."
"What is it?" She ask walking in the living room. Dean handed her the check.
"What's this for?"
"I don't know, it's anonymous," he answered completely baffled.
"Well… I say you should keep it. It's obviously yours and Dean-o, I think it's safe to say that you definitely deserve it after the hell you've been through."
That night, Dean decided to call Lisa. She had one more day at the retreat left.
"Hey babe."
"Hey, what are you doing right now?" Dean asked.
"Walking to the dining hall, the leaders have a meeting but I'm a little early what's up?"
"I just received 8,550 bucks."
"What? From who? You're joking."
"I'm not joking and I'm not sure who it's from, it was anonymous," he explained.
"Hm… wait, maybe it was that girl! What was her name again?"
"Uh Nella…"
"And her last name?"
"I think it was Cogel… I think that's what I heard. It was on the news but I only watched like a minute of it."
"Duh! How could I not have known?! Danielle Cogel. She's the daughter of the man who owns the hospital you were staying at."
"… How did you know that?"
"Because I pay attention to people, that's how. You know, I think I've actually seen her before…"
"I pay attention!" Dean pouted.
"Dean, your attention span is worse than a gold fish. I don't think so."
*S*P*N*
"Wake up Dean! It's Christmas!" Anna shook Dean. Dean pulled the blankets up over his head. Anna had been waking Dean up for Christmas ever since she could talk. Because of her, Dean dreaded Christmas mornings. Anna waking him up early for Christmas was inevitable. He had even tried locking his door at one point but she still managed to get in.
"Get out of my room! You always do this! Year after year after year!" Dean yelled.
"But it's Christmas!" She pleaded.
"… Why do you always do this to me?" Dean groaned. "I'll be out in a minute."
"Whatever you do, don't go back to sleep," she reminded him. Dean threw a pillow at her but she dodged the flying object and went down to the kitchen.
"Is he awake?"
"Yeah, you know how he doesn't like to get up on Christmas."
"It's weird since he's a morning person…"
"I'm up and I can hear you…. Are you happy? Sorry I'm late. I had to put my sling on and I had to call Lisa." Dean explained walking into the kitchen. His hair was going in all different directions. It had grown a lot since he stopped chemo. It was to his ears now.
"Oh yeah, it's her birthday today right? Is she still coming over?"
"Maybe. I'm going over to her house later. What's for breakfast?"
"Cinnamon maple Quinoa casserole," Mary responded. Dean looked at the casserole.
"Keen on what?"
"It's quinoa. It's a type of whole grain." Mary handed Dean a spoon. "I want to start eating healthier."
"But we do… I thought I was supposed to gain weight not lose it!"
"Try it."
Dean examined the spoon. "Am I gunna like throw up or something?"
"I promise you won't."
"Here goes nothing," Dean muttered with a one arm shrug. He put the spoon in his mouth.
"So how do you like it?"
"It's good," Dean mumbled.
"I'm so relieved. You're going to love the new healthy foods! I'm going to go get ready, have a bowl and I'll be right down."
"Okay mom, we will."
Once she was gone, Anna looked over at him. "You hated the quinoa didn't you?"
"Hated it so much," Dean said putting his spoon in the sink. "Did you like it?"
"I thought it was pretty good, it tasted like oatmeal. I'm surprised she didn't catch you in a lie."
Dean rolled his eyes at Anna and shuddered at the thought of oatmeal. "She probably did, mom has a sixth sence. Help me put this away."
"You better get used to it. By the looks of it, mom likes it. That means it's going to be in our food a lot. "
"What? It can be in different foods? Were all gunna die..." Dean muttered as he started to put the dish in a container.
"Why don't you like oatmeal?"
"I don't know, I just don't. It's just mushy and gross."
"Or is it because… dad liked it?" Anna asked. Dean stiffened. "Why don't you ever talk about him?"
"No it's not because dad liked it," Dean insisted. "And I talk about him."
"No Dean, you don't. I mean sure you say little comments but I have never heard you full on talk about him. It's healthy to talk about him sometimes, you know."
"I don't need you to tell me what's healthy and what's not," Dean put the leftovers in the refrigerator. Taking a deep breath, he turned back to Anna with a softer expression. "Look Anna I know you want to be a psychologist someday but, stop picking at my brain. I let dad go a long time ago."
"I was just trying to help. Sorry for picking at your brain," Anna apologized. She didn't believe Dean but wasn't willing to push him further. She was surprised that she got that much out of him.
"Eh, it's alright. I pick on you sometimes."
Anna rolled her eyes. "More like relentlessly…"
"As your big brother, that's my job!"
Anna smiled at him. "You need to get a new job…"
*S*P*N*
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"Dean, Jimmy and I have something to tell you."
"Yes we do," Jim said making googly eyes at Mary. Dean felt like he was going to vomit. "So as you know, your mom and I are in the medical field and we just clicked. Your mom and I are getting married! Happy birthday Dean!"
