None Goes His Way Alone

By Coffeemaniac

Not Slash

A/N: Set in Season 1. After Shadow but before Devil's Trap.

"There is a destiny that makes us brothers: None goes his way alone: All that we send into the lives of others comes back into our own." (Edwin Markham)

The Treatment

Dean walked into the emergency entrance of the hospital to find twenty or so other people who were waiting. Some of them were family or friends of patients and some were patients who hadn't been seen yet. Whispers and gestures mixed with staring at CNN as people just sat, fidgeting and reading and paying more attention to their cell phones than was necessary.

Dean dismissed them and went to the front desk. A male nurse with a goatee that needed trimming, and bloodshot eyes, looked up at him with a bored expression.

"My brother was brought here by EMT's. His name is Sam Bachman. I need to know where he is."

"When was he brought in?" the nurse asked as he started typing into his computer.

"Half an hour ago, maybe."

"Okay, I've got him. He's being seen by Doctor Ansari. She'll be out soon to speak with you."

"I'm sorry, I wasn't asking for a status. I need to see my brother."

The nurse rolled his eyes, apparently annoyed.

"Look, sir, there's a lot of people back there already and he's being examined. I just need you to wait here. You don't want to be in the way, right?"

Dean cocked his head, fixing the nurse with his best "don't screw with me" face.

The nurse sighed, "Okay, follow me."

The nurse stood up, walked around the desk and led Dean through a door and into the examination rooms. Separated by curtains, the patients were situated in various stages of the process. Some dressed, some in gowns, some with IV's, some just sitting. Each area they passed was occupied. Most of the patients had at least one person with them. One little girl had two women and a man surrounding her.

"Here you are, Mr. Bachman," the nurse said and motioned to where Sam lay, unmoving on an examination bed.

He wasn't screaming anymore or curling up against the pain. With eyes closed he twitched as if a bad dream plagued him. An IV ran into the back of his hand. His chest was bare and a white sheet covered him from the waist down.

A tiny Arab woman dressed in a white lab coat and black skirt listened to Sam's heart through a stethoscope. Her black hair was swept into a bun. She wore glasses with narrow black rims. She looked up at Dean then spoke to someone else who was standing just out of Dean's view. A moment later, a blond, pony-tailed nurse came from around the curtain nodding at Dean as she passed.

'May I help you?' the doctor asked.

"This is my brother. How's he doing?"

"Well, according to the EMT unit, he was poisoned. We have taken some blood to confirm. I have administered a sedative to help him rest. He was agitated when they brought him in."

"He was in agony. That's what the poison does. It makes your muscles seize up and attacks your body where you're weakest."

"Yes, I was told that you believe the poison had a basis in spider venom."

"That's right."

"How did this happen?"

"A person did it to him. He did the same thing to me a few days ago and I don't want my brother to go through the same hell."

Doctor Ansari frowned for a moment, apparently processing the information. Finally she said, "I understand. We're treating him now and if his blood work indicates the need for anti-venom, we'll administer it. In the meantime, we're watching his vital signs and giving him fluids. He had some minor scrapes and bruises as well but nothing requiring stitches and nothing broken."

"Good," Dean said. He stepped through the curtain. "I'm going to stay with him."

"That will be fine. If you see any change in his condition, call out for a nurse. I'll be back soon."

Dean nodded.

As the petite woman left, Dean guessed that she was on her way to call the police. He was surprised they weren't already there to greet him. He didn't want to deal with giving a statement and he had no intention of implicating Battle or Jacob Moore. He didn't think Moore had anything to do with this latest attack anyway. He hoped Sam would be able to tell him either way. He didn't know why Battle would come back on his own. Maybe Moore hadn't gotten the message out. Maybe Battle was OCD about finishing what he started. It didn't really matter. Battle walked the walk of a dead man, he just didn't know it yet.

In any event, Dean could play stupid. Some people thought he excelled at it.

He moved around to the side of the bed to get a closer look at Sam. His brother's face twitched around his cheeks and eyes. The skin on his hands jumped too as did some muscles along his abdomen. He moved his legs in slow motion, drawing them up just a little then extending them again. Dean heard somewhere that sedatives didn't always block pain. Sometimes they just put the patient to sleep. He didn't know if it was true but he did know that Sam wasn't resting.

Dean pulled the sheet up to cover him better and put a hand against his brother's shoulder. He spoke softly, giving away nonsense words, doubting that Sam heard him or was comforted by him. But, regardless of what little he could offer, he had to believe that Sam's suffering was muted by the drugs. He simply couldn't accept that Sam was experiencing the same horrendous pain that Dean had endured.

He looked away from Sam when he heard footsteps approach. The click clack of Doctor Ansari's heels on tile and the rubber soled sound of a nurse stopped as they reached the curtained enclosure. Dean turned to see her plus the male nurse who had been manning the front desk.

"Mr. Bachman, the police are in the lobby," the doctor said. "They would like to take some information from you regarding the attack on yourself and your brother."

"Do you have Sam's blood work yet?"

"Yes," she said. "We did find spider venom. There are chemicals as well. The lab is sorting that out but in the meantime, we're here to administer the anti-venom. The concentration of the poison is extremely potent. I'm concerned about his ability to process it normally."

"Please. Just give it to him. I don't know what else to do to help him."

"Of course. If you'll go with Aaron, he'll take you to the police."

"I…" Dean took a moment to get his emotions under control. It wouldn't help anything to fall apart. "I don't want to leave him."

"I understand. I'll take care of him, Mr. Bachman but you have to go."

Dean turned back to Sam. He squeezed his bare arm. "They're going to help you now. I'll be back."

Dean followed Aaron out of the maze of sick people. He steadied himself mentally to deal with the police. He and Sam were victims so he wasn't worried about arrest. But, he was worried that they'd take him to the station, fingerprint him and discover his real identity. And he was worried that he'd be separated from Sam.

Outside the exam room doors, a single detective waited. Blond, blue-eyed and wearing a cowboy hat, he looked like a poster boy for joining the force.

Aaron, the nurse, returned to his desk without speaking to either of them.

"Dean Bachman? Detective Hill. Thank you for taking the time to talk to me. How's your brother?" The detective's drawl harkened to Kentucky or Tennessee, maybe.

"He'll be all right," Dean answered

"Glad to hear it, son. The medical people are saying that your brother was poisoned. Do you want to tell me about that?"

"I don't know much. I was injected a few days ago with the same thing so I recognized the symptoms. I called 911 and now we're here."

"You were poisoned too? Did you get yourself checked out?"

"No. I recovered on my own."

"Do you know who injected you and your brother with poison?"

Dean shook his head. "I don't. No."

"Do you have a description of the attacker?"

"No."

"Do you know why you were targeted?"

"No."

"Did you see the attacker?"

"No."

"When did the first attack occur?"

"A few days ago. I don't have a clear memory of it."

The detective had been staring at his notebook and writing. He looked up with a frown. "And what about your brother?"

"I don't think he knows either."

"No, I mean, when was he injected?"

"Earlier today."

"Did he see who did it?"

"I don't know. You'll have to ask him."

"So, I should put out an APB on anyone and everyone who may be carrying a syringe?"

"I'm not a cop but that doesn't sound very effective."

"You understand that I believe you're withholding information, don't you, Mr. Bachman?"

"I assume so, yeah."

"But, you're not interested in giving me more to work with," Hill said.

"I've told you what I can."

"Well, if you decide that you'd like to catch whoever harmed your brother, please contact me."

The detective sauntered his lanky body across the lobby and out the door. Dean didn't expect to hear from him again. Without a cooperating witness there wasn't much to do and Sam wouldn't be able to answer questions for a while.

Glad to have that over, Dean headed back into the examination area. Doctor Ansari met him halfway.

"We're moving your brother into a room. I'm going to keep him until we see how he tolerates the anti-venom. You can wait in the lobby and someone will tell you when he's settled."

"How's he doing?"

"His blood pressure is still a bit high and he's running a slight fever." She continued talking for a while but Dean stopped listening. He didn't need all the details, just the high lights and he had those.