True to Sam's word, Dean felt a stab of pain, as if he had sustained the opening anew. He groaned and gasped at the pressure. "ARGGGHHHHHHHH" It was the strongest vocalization to be utter since Sam started his treatment. Blinding hot pain seemed to radiate through his body.
"You're hurting him Sam!" Sue shrieked.
"QUIET! I know, but bleeding has to stop. Stop distracting me. I need to focus on him."
"I'm calling an ambulance."
"No. Not yet." His voice ordered again.
Below Sam's weight, he felt his brother shift in an attempt to stop Sue too. Dean uttered nonsense syllables, but Sam knew he was trying.
"Easy. Just relax." When Sam removed the towel covering, he could fully view the open wound. Waiting excruciating minutes, Sam stared at the slice in his brother's back, half expecting more blood to flow. However, the outpour had ceased. He regretted the pain he had caused his brother, but the results had been more than worth it. Sam exhaled relief and wiped the sweat from his brow with the long sleeve of his flannel.
"It's okay, Dean. I got it to stop. Just hang with me a bit longer. I just need to stitch ya up, then you can sleep." Truthfully, Sam feared letting Dean sleep just yet. "This is…this is gonna hurt a bit. Actually, more than a bit. OKAY?" Not that he needed to remind his brother of that or required permission, but as long as Dean groaned a response, it was good enough for Sam.
"Ugmmfm"
"You're…..yy-y-yo- you're not going to stitch him yourself!?!"
"Yeah. …uh… Sue…" Sam noticed the pale sickly expression on her face. "Uh… why don't you go clean up in the shower and let me take care of this."
"Who the hell are you TWO!!! I want … I …" Her voice stopped as she watched Sam retrieve the instruments required.
"Later. Just go ahead and I'll find you some clean clothes when I finish." Sam threaded a long, sharp needle in preparation. That seemed to be enough of an incentive to end her argument. "Shower's over there." Sam pointed with the needle in his hand. She fled into the safety of the bathroom. Sam swore he heard her tossing cookies as the door closed.
"We'll Dean, you sure know how to pick 'em."
A small noise sputtered out.
"Was that a laugh?!" Sam spirits perked up at the levity of the noise.
"BWERETCH," Dean responded. Sam wasn't sure what his brother had just said, but he knew that tone well. It was definitely Dean's shut up tone. He would have laughed, but a painful moan shortly followed. "Urgmmmmm."
"I know.. I know..easy now...easy. Just let me." The sharp point entered into the first corner of the slash. Sam allowed Dean's body to flinch before he made the next piercing into the raw injured flesh.
"Ummm." Dean spouted weakly as his spine arched.
With each binding, Sam attempted to be as gentle as possible and found himself wincing with his brother's groans and flinches of pain response. "I'm sorry. I wish I had something to ease the pain. Dean? Dean….Dean, I think I should get you to a hospital. I wouldn't let the cops.."
"Naoooumm."
Sam nixed the thought and took a peek at this brother's pale face. Eyelids fought to stay awake, but Sam found reassurance in the sparkle of Dean's eyes. Those eyes still flashed with fight, allowing Sam to let the issue drop. "Okay. I almost got it." Sam scruffed Dean hair. "Hear me? Just a little more to go."
"Ooummk."
"I'm sorry. I have a few more stitches.
As the needlework progressed across Dean's back, the groans and involuntary reactions grew less intense and less frequent. His shoulder blades were starting to rise and fall in a steady pattern of breathing. Weariness had taken over and sleep was trying to overrule any spasm of pain.
"Dean? Still with me? I'm almost finished. Just a few more." True to his word, Sam finished quickly. His final step was to cover his brother with a blanket. As soon as he completed his medical treatment, he swung off the bed to hunker in the floor, staring into his brother's slumberous, battle drained, injury exhausted face. "Sleepy? Huh?"
"Saaaammm."
"It's okay. Go ahead. Rest."
"sss…ssssaam." Dean attempted to raise his head, which only resulted in a slight wobble.
"Whatever it is, you can tell me later. Just lie still."
"Ssshe..shem..Sue."
"I took care of her. It's okay. She said you saved her. I think you have some gratitude to receive when you feel better."
"Saammm. sis…" A hushed whisper mixed with a pained exhale and a hiss.
"You're safe right now. Dean, why did it attack you after all this time?"
No answered was returned, not even a half understandable mumble. His brother's eyes had closed as the pain had eased enough for a labored sleep.
-x-x-xx-xx-x
Glancing back at his sleeping sibling at least six times before he crossed the room to his duffel and at least six more times on his way to the closed bathroom door, Sam felt like an overprotective mother cat. But, he wasn't going to apologize for it. Knocking, he waited for the shaken woman to respond. Silence lingered for a moment before Sam spoke. "Sue. It's over. You can come out. I have some clothes for you."
She peeked out of a crack in the door. Her system was a bit overloaded with the discovery of things that go bump in the night and seeing a battle wound field dressed. That was enough to shake anyone's belief in a single night. She grabbed the offered items and reclosed the door. Within a few minutes, she opened the doorway. Dressed in one of Sam's t-shirts and a pair of sweat pants, the baggy clothes took away the harsh edge of the legal world.
"Doing okay?"
"Am I …I don't know. Is.. is he…
"Sleeping." Sam reassured her, although he did glance back at his brother twice as she asked. "Sit down. I need some information." His open palm welcomed her to the small kitchen table . She grabbed a seat, afraid her legs would give out on her under Sam's questioning at this point. It had been a long night.
Taking a seat close enough to appear like a close intimate couple in a secluded restaurant, Sam held her in a firm, yet comforting gaze. "I want you to tell me everything. Did you see the attacker!?"
"Yes…..it… oh Sam.. I think I am going crazy…please who…?"
He realized she was about as comfortable with this as someone who just sat on a cactus. Exhaling, he forced himself to smile.
"And… and why is the janitor coming…."
Another sigh and Sam began. "Dean's my brother." The odd look on her face and the way she stopped talking almost stopped Sam's voice. "Dean and I, we hunt things.Things like you saw tonight. We go in undercover and try to help people. It's a long story, but we're the good guys. We want to stop this thing. Please." Sam's eyes widened in softness. His face instantly appeared five years younger and he regained innocence about him. "Please…this thing, it hurt my brother and it's killed so many others."
"I… I know. My sister."
Abruptly Deans' words sprang to mind. His brother was trying to tell him about the sister. He glanced back at the still quiet sleeper. "Saammm. sis!"
"What?"
"Dean was trying to tell me what happened."
"He doesn't give up does he?"
"No, he doesn't." Sam smile widely, but returned back to the investigation. "What happened to your sister?"
"She was the first one….the first one to be….K.. killed."
"What was she accused of?"
"NOTHING! She was just in the courthouse."
"So she wasn't on trial?"
"NO, DON'T YOU EVER SAY SHE.." Anger fumed her every word.
"I don't mean to imply anything. Dean didn't do anything either. It's just the pattern was…"
"There's a pattern?"
"Thought there was. The creature, which is a spirit, judging from the ectoplasm."
"Ectoplasm… that is really Real???"
"Afraid so." Sam chuckled. "So far, it's attacked anyone found innocent for the past 6 months, but Dean and your…"
"Jan."
"Jan?"
"My sister."
"We'll then, Dean and Jan were not in the pattern. How did..uh..did..?" Sam wanted to ask her about her sister's death, but still tried to have some tact.
"The same way…but…they never found her…uh….her….…her body was left in the courthouse. They never found her killer… Do you think this ghost…GOD, I can't believe I am saying this, could a ghost have…"
Sam wanted to tell her the world was safe, but he couldn't lie. "Did you see what attacked you?"
"Ohh… Sam…it, I am going crazy… I …… it looked like the Justice Stature, only…it was terrifying. It was…" Her voice cracked in panic.
"It's okay. I'm guessing a sword made the slash in Dean's back."
"He just got up and took charge …then…once we were out."
"What happened before the attack?"
"We were talking and…"
Sam noticed she was uncomfortable. "Dean got a bit too…uh.. frisky?"
"No! I turned him down and he smarted me off. Not that I blame him."
"He has a way of doing that. One of the quickest most impertinent minds in the world."
"I screamed at him, and still he protected me…I was so angry… I." Her voice gasped.
"WHAT?!!"
"I screamed that I wanted him to be punished. I called it to him…IT'S MY FAULT…OH MY G… This is my fault."