Alright HPSPN! Alright! Here it is! XD JK, I was gonna put it up anyway, but hey. The reviews make me put it up that much faster. For instance, I finished it tonight. :P LOL Maui Melody. It's simple, Starbo had some spare souls lying around and gave me one of hers. She has multiple souls you see... She also owns one of mine. I give out some of my free souls to my constant long juicy dedicated reviewers. Ahhh, another chappie!
OH MY GOD! I LOVE YOU GUYS! -hugs reviewers- THANKYOU for getting the review number past 44, THANKYOU! Now this story is the most reviewed one I had. Thank GOODNESS! The competition was... sad...
Warnings: Uh... more dramalamas :P
Oh another thing. I have this seperation of spirits I should explain. I'll explain at the end.
Disclaimer: Every chapter? Really?
Prue sat by Dean's bedside, holding his hand lightly as she looked up with pleading eyes at the doctor. "Is he going to be okay?"
The doctor looked at her, smiled lightly, and nodded. "He'll be fine, though he might be pretty tired over the next few days. It seems as though he's overexerted himself, which caused him to fall unconscious. It might have been the shock of seeing his brother … the way he was. After he regains consciousness, he'll be free to leave."
"And how is … Sam?" she asked, afraid of the answer.
"He's not faring as well, I'm afraid," the doctor said. "His arm is broken as well as a few of his ribs. He might be suffering from trauma due to the blows to his head. At the worst, he'll have brain damage. We won't know for sure until he wakes up. We've got him hooked up to an IV and some pain killers for now."
Prue sighed and buried her head in her hands. "Please let me know if there are any changes."
"Yes, Ma'am," the doctor said and left the room.
Prue sighed and stared at Dean, still holding his hand. She hoped Sam was okay. She was so worried about them, and Dean … he shouldn't have just LEFT like that, but if he didn't, would Sam be in even worse condition? Maybe … Did she do something wrong, like letting them out of her sight? Maybe she should have just made them go home right after school and refuse to allow any exceptions … or something. She was so confused. The door behind her opened and she heard the scuffling of feet.
"Prue," Andy said. "I heard your brothers got admitted…"
Prue got up out of her chair and walked over to him, hugging him immediately. "Oh Andy…"
"Can you tell me what happened?"
"Can it wait just a little while?" she responded and walked out the door to look for her sisters.
Andy followed behind her. "I'm sorry. I know this must be hard. Are they going to be okay?"
"Dean's fine."
"And Sam?"
"They don't… know yet."
She spotted Piper, leaning against a wall with a tissue held tightly clutched in her hands and her eyes red and puffy. She walked over to her younger sister and embraced her tightly. Piper, in turn, wrapped her arms around her, sobbing. Prue caressed her back and pulled Pipers head on her shoulder, stroking her hair. Piper leaned against her and tried to calm down. They stayed like that for a few minutes before Piper seemed to calm down enough to withdraw from her embrace. Prue left an arm around her shoulder and wiped away her tears with her other hand.
"Ph-Phoebe's in with… S-sam," Piper said tearfully.
"Well, Dean's going to be okay if that makes you feel any better," Prue said.
"Well, that's a relief. At least we don't have to worry about TWO brothers dying."
Phoebe walked out, holding a box of tissues, and hugged Piper. "Shhhh. He's going to be okay, Piper. They both are, okay?"
"Dean is … going to be okay. When he comes too, he can probably get checked out," Prue said numbly.
"See? Dean's okay already. And Sam will be fine too, you'll see," Phoebe said.
"We should go and check on Odd. He's still in the waiting room," Prue said.
The four walked out to the waiting room and found Odd sitting in a chair with his hands folded and numbly looking at the ground. His face had a few scratches and bruises on it, but other than that, he was fine. When he'd seen Javna coming after them, he'd shouted out a warning to Sam and Sam told him to run, and he did. He'd just gone to get help, but now Sam was hurt because he left. He felt guilt welling up in his chest. He should have stayed. Maybe then Sam would be all right…
Prue walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder. "Hey, there, how are you doing?"
Odd sniffed and wiped his eyes, feeling them water. "I should have stayed…"
"Oh no, Honey, you did the right thing."
Odd shook his head. "I should have gone back… I could have helped maybe."
"There's nothing you could have done," Phoebe said with her arm still around Piper.
Odd couldn't hold back his tears anymore and just started crying. "No… Sam is h-hurt now because of me! If I'd have… stayed… o-or g-gone back… he might be… o-okay!"
Prue sat next to him and wrapped an arm around him, pulling him into her side in a comforting gesture. "No, if you'd have gone back, the only thing you would have accomplished is having your own room beside Sam's. Things might even be worse. You did the right thing, okay?"
When Prue first put her arm around him, Odd nearly jumped, not used to such a gesture. Then he relaxed and leaned into her comforting embrace and latched on to the comfort she offered, sobbing into her shoulder. He cried, wishing with all of his might that Sam would be okay. He worried about both him and Dean, who he heard fell unconscious.
"A-any word?" he asked tearfully.
"Dean is going to be fine," Prue said.
"And Sam?" Odd asked.
"They… don't know yet," Phoebe said. "Not until he wakes up."
"C-can I s-see… him?" Odd asked tearfully.
The girls looked at each other and Prue answered. "I don't think that's such a good idea Odd…"
Odd looked at them and realized they were afraid of scaring him or hurting him with the condition Sam might be in. They didn't know about the things he'd already seen or the things he'd been through already so early on in his life. He probably would have laughed in another situation, but Sam was hurt and he wanted to see his friend. He looked them dead in the eyes with a dead serious look.
"I want to see Sam. I don't care what he looks like. I want to see him. Please…"
"Well," Prue said, trying to think of the right thing to say.
"If he wants to see Sam, than let him," Piper said, speaking up. "He's his friend. We don't have any right to stop him."
"Actually," Andy said, speaking up himself. "If you don't mind, I'd like to ask him a few questions about what happened."
All three girls glared at him and Piper spoke first. "Can't you see he's hurting right now?"
"No," Odd said. "I mean, it's fine. He can ask me. We might as well get this out of the way."
Odd basically told Andy what had happened minus the powers and Javna's inhumanity. Andy thanked him for the information and reluctantly left. After he was gone, Odd demanded to be taken to see his friend. The girls took him, although a bit reluctantly. Odd walked into the room holding his friend and sat in the chair by his bedside, staring at him. His face and exposed arm was bruised and his left arm was in a cast. Odd sighed and gazed at Sam's face, hoping Sam was going to be okay. Piper walked over to him and put a hand on his shoulder in a gesture of comfort.
Prue stared at Sam, barely able to believe what she was seeing. That was her little brother lying there, hurt and beaten, and she couldn't do anything about it. She felt about as helpless as he looked lying there, broken and defeated. He was so… small, so fragile. She felt numb inside, like this couldn't be real. This whole thing, with the stupid witchcraft and spells and demons… but it was, and the proof was right in front of her.
Just by being who they were, they were going to be attacked, and she couldn't stop it. These things, these monsters would keep coming after them, time and time again, putting their lives at risk. How were they going to get through this? Prue let out a breath she didn't even know she was holding and walked to the other side of the room, sitting down in a chair by the door. She buried one of her hands in her hair to grasp her head and leaned back, staring at the wall numbly. Phoebe walked over to her, concerned.
"Hey, what's going through your mind?" she asked.
"It's just… how are we going to get through this? I mean… with… everything. Even if Sam ends up being okay this time, there could be a next time… and any… any one of us…"
"Just go through it," Odd said from his chair, his eyes not leaving Sam. "Try to live day by day. Just try not to worry, I guess. Concentrate on how to keep safe in the present or deal with things as they come. Don't worry about how you're going to survive and just do it. That's my view on it anyway."
"What?" Piper asked.
"Well," Odd said. "I assume you're talking about being witches and mages or whatever?"
The three girls all turned to look at him. "You know about that?" Piper asked.
"Well, yeah," he said. "Sam told me when we were tied up. This was after we watched a lady have the youth drained from her or whatever, so it wasn't that surprising."
"Look, Odd-" Phoebe started.
"Don't worry," Odd interrupted her. "I know it's not a good idea to let the public know about that kind of thing. I'll keep your secret, trust me." Odd opened his mouth to say more, but then closed it in indecision.
"What is it?" Phoebe asked.
"Well… I uh… there's this thing," Odd started.
"You can tell us," Phoebe said reassuringly, offering him a weak smile.
"I'm not a witch or anything, but there are some weird things about me too. I um… this sounds pretty silly …"
"Trust me," Piper said. "If you can believe we have magical powers and fight demons and warlocks, I think we can believe what you have to say."
"I see spirits that haven't moved on or can't for some reason. They come to me for help I think. Justice or revenge. No one else can see them, just me. They follow me sometimes."
"Okay," Phoebe said. "I think I can believe that."
"For instance, Elv-… there's a spirit standing right there," Odd said, pointing to the side of Sam's bed. "He's worried about me and Sam, I think."
The girls turned to look, but as expected, saw nothing. Then Prue spoke. "Do you know him?"
"Well, he's been around me for quite some time, so in a way, yeah. And I know of him."
"Know of him?" Phoebe asked.
"Yeah, he's kind of… well known."
"Who is it?"
"I don't know if I should say," Odd said. "It sounds kind of crazy. Sam didn't believe me anyway."
"Okay," Phoebe said. "Now I really want to know who it is."
"Look," Odd said. "I swear, I'm not crazy!"
"Please," Prue said. "Just tell us who it is."
"Uhm…"
"Well?" Piper asked.
"Elvis… Presley."
Phoebe blinked a couple of times and just stared at him. "You see Elvis Presley?"
"Yeah…" Odd said, scratching the back of his neck.
"Right here, in this room?"
"Standing over Sam's bed, yeah."
"Wow," Phoebe said. "That's… that's…"
Prue stared at Odd and the shock of everything hit her at once. She and her sisters were witches and her brothers were mages. They were all doomed to a life of fighting warlocks and demons and who knows what else. Sam got kidnapped and attacked by a demon and was now lying on a hospital bed and might even end up having brain damage. Their normal lives, all of theirs, were officially over and now… now Odd saw dead people. Not just any dead people, but Elvis Presley. Her mind reeled and spun and she stood up to go outside and get a breath of fresh air. Instead of getting a breath of fresh air however, she fainted.
The girls and Odd whipped their heads around at the sudden loud thunk of their sister falling to the floor in a dead faint and for a second, no one did anything, simply trying to process what just happened. Then Piper, being the first to snap out of it, rushed to her side and started fanning her. Phoebe just blinked and looked at Odd, who looked at her in confusion.
"Did she just faint?"
"It's… been a stressful time for her," Phoebe said.
"Prue, are you okay?" Piper asked a bit hysterically, worried something was suddenly wrong with her and not realizing she'd simply fainted. "What's wrong? Are you sick? Did something happen? Speak to me!"
"Why is it that revealing my secret causes people to react like this? I mean, I might be a bit bias since it is my situation, but having magical powers sounds a bit stranger then seeing the dead, but maybe that's just me."
"No, Honey, it's not you," Phoebe said. "I think it's just that everything kind of caught up to her at once."
"Uuuh, Elvis… witch… nuuh," Prue groaned.
"PRUE!" Piper shouted. "Are you okay?"
Prue cracked open her eyes, confused, and blinked at her. "Piper?"
"Yes, it's me! Are you hurt? Do you feel queasy? Sick? Nauseous? Do we need to call a doctor in here?"
Prue sat up with Piper's help and groaned again. "What you need to do is bring some sense back into my life…"
"So, you're okay?" Piper asked.
"Well, I think at this point, I might be going crazy… but physically-"
"Thank god!" Piper cut in, realizing that Prue was okay and tightly embraced her.
"Thank god I might be going crazy?"
"No! Thank god you're okay! I thought something might have happened to you too! If it did, I don't know if I could bear it right now," she said with a trembling voice, on the verge of tears again, still hugging her older sister.
"I'm okay, Piper," Prue said, wrapping her arms around her to return the hug.
Phoebe gasped, suddenly seeming to realize something. "Hey, Odd! We should call your mother. I'm sure she's worried sick about you."
"Yeah!" Prue said, dropping her arms from around Piper and standing up, fishing out her cell phone. "We should have thought about it before. What's her number?"
Odd's eyes widened. "She'll understand. You don't have to call her!"
"Nonsense," Prue said. "She has to be at least wondering where you are. Now could you please tell me her number?"
"I'll call her!" Odd said, sounding a bit nervous and held out his hand for the phone.
"Okay, take your time," Prue said. "We'll give you a ride home if you need it."
"Uh, yeah, thanks," he said, getting up and heading for the door. "I'll just talk to her outside… alone."
He walked out of the room with Sam and closed the door behind him, feeling as if he'd just walked out of a place of safety and shelter and into a den of lions. He took a deep, shaky breath and tried to come up with something to say to his mother. The last thing Odd wanted to do was alarm her or say the wrong thing. He took a couple more deep breaths and leaned against the wall, closing his eyes. After a few moments, he opened them and dialed her number with shaky fingers, hitting the call button and bringing the phone to his ear.
It rang a few times before she picked up.
"Hello?!" answered an enchanting voice. "Who is this?"
"It's me…" he said, trying to clear his voice completely of the tears he'd cried for Sam before. "Odd."
"Why are you calling me?" she asked, sounding angry. "You know I hate phone calls!"
"There was an... accident-"
"Don't tell me about it! I don't want to know!"
"I'll be home a little later."
"So? Come home whenever you want, or don't come home at all. It doesn't matter. Are you crying?"
"No!" Odd said, trying harder to clear his voice of his previous tears.
"Don't come back home if you're going to cry. I'm not here to comfort you. I won't! I can't. Do you understand that?"
"Yes…"
"Good!" she said and hung up.
Odd sighed, relieved that the call was over, and took a few minutes to calm himself. Once his heartbeat went seemingly back to normal, he opened the door, walked back into the room, and looked at Sam, out of one kind of horror and into another, the horror that was the reality of Sam possibly never being the same again. Would things have been different if he'd gone back and tried to help Sam? The question plagued him, ate him up inside.
"Well?" Prue asked, looking over at him. "What did she say?"
"Oh, uh… I can stay here as long as I want," he said, walking over to Sam and taking his hand, as if that action could help him feel better. "I really hope he's going to be okay," he whispered. He didn't know how he'd be able to handle it he didn't.
"He'll be all right," Phoebe said, as if it were to reassure herself as much as him. "He'll be fine. You'll see…"
"I better go back and watch over Dean. You know, in case he wakes up," Prue said, walking towards the door.
"Let us know if he does," Phoebe said.
"I will," Prue said and left, closing the door behind her.
She walked back to Dean's room and sat beside him, wondering what she was going to say when he regained consciousness, and how he would handle it. He was closer to Sam than anyone, so he would probably be more upset then all of them put together. She sat by his bedside for hours, thinking about how she and her sisters had come to care so much for the boys that they'd only known for a few weeks. After a while, she started to doze off, closing her eyes. So, naturally, this is when Dean decided to come back to the world of the living.
Dean opened his eyes and after a moment, mumbled, "Oh great … I'm in a hospital and the person they chose to look after me is my main antagonist."
Prue opened her eyes and raised an eyebrow at him. "I'm your main antagonist? Not all the demons and warlocks out there?"
"Yeah," Dean said, smirking at her. "You're special."
"What makes me so special?" she asked.
"Well, if they bother me, I can just kick their asses and/or kill them. You however, I'm stuck with."
"Well, I'm honored."
The smile on Dean's face dropped, and he dropped all pretenses. "Where's Sam?"
"I don't think he's regained consciousness yet…" she said uncertainly.
"Is he going to be okay?" he asked, his face filled with worry.
"They… don't know yet. They'll be able to tell more when he comes too."
"Don't know? What's that supposed to mean?!"
"They don't know how the blows to his head affected him…"
"What… do you mean?" Dean asked, sounding terrified.
"There's a possibility of brain damage-"
"Take me to him!"
"I don't think that's such a good-"
"Take me to him NOW or I swear I'll rip this goddamn hospital apart until I find him," he said, immediately getting out of the hospital bed and glaring daggers at her.
"Okay," she said. "Fine, I'll take you to him."
Dean stared at her expectantly, raising an eyebrow, and Prue sighed, standing up and walking out, leading him down the hall and over to Sam's room. Dean nearly shoved her out of the way and ran over to Sam's bedside, grabbing his hand eagerly and tearing up as he looked him up and down. The girls and Odd blinked in surprise at the sudden event and turned to look at Prue.
"You know, Prue," Phoebe said. "When I said let us know if he came too, I didn't mean you should drag him here for us to see."
"He dragged me," Prue said. "Not the other way around."
"What's wrong with him?" Dean asked.
"A couple of his ribs are broken, along with his arm," Piper said. "We don't know anything else and probably won't until he wakes up."
"When will that be?" Dean asked.
"We… don't know," Piper said.
Dean sighed and took the seat by Sam's bedside holding Sam's hand tightly, which is where he stayed for hours, just staring at him, thinking about everything Sam and him had been through and worrying about him. The sisters and Odd watched him watch Sam for a long time. An hour passed and Dean barely moved. He just sat by his brother's bedside as if in a daze, just staring at him and holding his hand. Eventually, Prue stood up.
"Listen, I'm sure we're all pretty hungry. Why don't we go out and eat something? Just for a little while. Sam will be here when we get back."
"Yeah," Phoebe said. "That sounds like a good idea."
Piper nodded, agreeing too and the girls stood up along with Odd to head towards the door. They needed a break, not just to eat, but to get some fresh air and to escape from the scene, if only for a little while. It was overwhelming, just being in there for so long worrying. They hoped to distract themselves, or try to, if only for a little while. Sam would be there when they got back. The boys also looked like they needed a break. It wasn't good for either Odd or Dean to sit there so long, worrying about Sam. As the girls stood up however, Dean didn't move.
"I'm staying. You can go without me," Dean said.
"But… we're getting food," Piper said. "Surely you're hungry."
"I'm not hungry," he said.
At that point, the girls knew he was lying. Dean was always hungry.
"Come on, Dean," Phoebe said, putting a hand on his shoulder. "You look like you can use some fresh air…"
"Look, I want to stay, all right?"
"Dean…" Prue started, trying to find the right thing to say.
"I'll be fine," he said. "Just go."
Prue looked at him and sighed. She couldn't deny him the right to stay by Sam's bed side. It would probably do more harm than good if she forced him to come with her. He also probably wanted some time alone with Sam and if that was what he wanted, he deserved it.
"Dean, I know you're probably starving. Do you want us to bring anything back for you?"
"Nah, I'm fine…"
"Look, Mister," Piper said. "Even if you aren't hungry, you're going to eat something. You haven't eaten since morning. I'm going to get your meals in you even if I have to shove them down your throat. Now what do you want?"
Dean sighed. "I don't care."
"You tell me or I'll pick something you hate and force-feed it to you!" Piper said.
Dean looked at her tiredly and resigned. "Fine then, just get me burgers or something. Now could you please just go?"
"All right, we'll go…" Phoebe said and walked out first, followed by Prue and the Odd.
Piper was the last to leave and she stood there looking at Dean for a minute sadly, worried about him.
Dean looked up at her and glared. "Look, I'm FINE! Just GO!"
Piper walked out of the room and caught up to Prue, whom was already headed for the car. She grabbed her arm and she stopped, looking at her questioningly. Piper met Prue's eyes and tried to convey her worry through her own. She was worried about Dean. What if Sam didn't come out of this all right? That would be horrible enough, but she feared that they would lose both brothers if Sam turned out to not be okay.
"Are you sure it's the best thing for him to just leave him there?" Piper asked.
"No," Prue said. "But either way, that's what we're going to do."
"What? Why?" Piper asked.
"I'm pretty sure from the look in his eyes that he wants to be alone with Sam," Prue said. "I'm not going to deny him of that. Besides, we all need some fresh air and I really am hungry."
Piper nodded reluctantly and they left the hospital. The air felt good, along with the openness of the outside in general. It was nice to have a change of atmosphere. Compared that stuffy, closed hospital room, a raging hurricane would have been a welcome change in scenery, but the day was actually quite beautiful. The sun was shining, but not too hot, and there wasn't a cloud in sight. In a way, it seemed surreal to them. How could the day shine and the places seem so cheerful when Sam was lying in a hospital bed after being attacked by a hideous demon? It seemed wrong somehow, unreal, like the whole situation was actually.
Either way, it was a welcome break and made somewhat of a distraction for them. While they didn't forget about Sam, not at all, the simple acts of eating and drinking gave them something to do other then think about the possible horrors of what awaited when Sam opened his eyes… if he ever opened them at all. They made light conversation during their meal and talked of different things. The subject matter was random and they seemed to be grabbing at topics simply to have anything to talk about rather than to have a real attempt at a conversation.
Sooner than they would have liked, the food was gone and their stomachs were full. They got some burgers to go for Dean and headed back to the hospital. They were eager to get back, but at the same time, reluctant. Things seemed a little better on the outside. Almost as if they could pretend that Sam wasn't sick at all, just out with Dean somewhere, and for some random reason, Odd was out eating with the girls. Going back to the hospital meant going back to the hard and cold reality, to welcome fear and terror back into their hearts again. Sam was there, however, and if by chance he did come too and something was horribly wrong, Dean would be there to handle it alone. So they had to go back.
Prue went inside the hospital room alone to give Dean his food and found him standing over Sam's bed and talking to him, stroking his face. He didn't seem to realize she was there and kept talking to Sam. As the words continued to flow from his mouth, Prue started to feel as though she were invading something too personal and had the urge to leave, but something kept her there listening for a few minutes.
"Please…" Dean whispered to Sam brokenly. "Don't leave me. Not now. I can't… I can't live with you gone, Sammy. I just can't and I just got you back, dammit! You don't know what… what it's like without you. I couldn't sleep without nightmares. I was so worried, Sammy. I was worried about you. And oh god, I missed you!" At that point, the tears were flowing freely down his face. "I missed you so… so fucking much… it hurt! I missed you so much it was killing me. I missed you, Sammy. I miss you now. Please, don't leave me, I'm begging you. I just got you back, don't you see? You just… you can't leave yet. Not now! Hell, not 'til I'm dead and gone. Sammy… I need you…"
All Prue wanted to do was walk up to him and hug him, but she knew that Dean needed some time alone with his brother and she was basically intruding on them at this point. So instead, she placed the food on the table and quietly left the room. Then, she walked out to the waiting room, where her sisters were. They immediately knew something was wrong from the look on her face.
"What happened?" Piper asked.
"Is Sam okay?" Phoebe asked.
Prue shrugged. "He didn't… wake up yet."
"Honey, what's wrong?" Phoebe asked, looking concerned for her sister.
Prue opened her mouth to speak and closed it again, staring at the floor. Slowly, she felt the tears well in her eyes and started sobbing. It just wasn't fair! Why should they have to suffer? Why couldn't they just live normal lives and just be happy? Piper and Phoebe's eyes widened and they rushed forward to embrace her. Piper stroked her hair and Phoebe rubbed her back.
"What's the matter? I mean … besides the obvious?" she asked.
"I'm just … this whole thing …"
"Shhh, it's okay," Phoebe said, rubbing her back in circles.
"How's Dean?" Piper asked.
"He needs … some more alone time with Sam …"
Phoebe nodded and brought Prue over to one of the chairs to sit down. She met Odd's eye and he smiled unsurely, for lack of knowing what else to say or do. He was completely lost with the whole situation. Last month, he didn't even have any friends other then Elvis, but well, Elvis didn't talk back. It got old talking to someone who couldn't have a conversation. None of the spirits he saw spoke. The dead didn't talk and he didn't know why. They just came to him, expecting help of some sort.
Usually it was justice or revenge on their killers. Sometimes it was just reassuring words. Either way, they all floated in and out of his life, except for Elvis, but even Elvis was just hanging around him in the hopes that he would somehow help him move on. He'd lived like this his whole life, then Sam came along, Sam, a boy that can talk and wanted to talk to him, a boy who actually sought out contact with him and genuinely expected nothing. He just wanted to befriend Odd, that was all. Sam was such a rare gift in Odd's life and now … who knows how he'll turn out to be when he opens his eyes?
He was scared. It might seem strange for him to care for a boy he'd hadn't known for long, but Sam was more than just a friend and that was exactly what made him so important. He was his friend, his first friend practically. That alone made Odd care so much for him already. Yet, he felt like an intruder looking upon his weeping family, like he didn't belong. He felt like an alien, an outsider.
How could he belong? It was his fault Sam was in this state. Sam was his first friend, and yet he didn't even go to the lengths he'd gone before for the dead. He should have gone back… or stayed. He should have done everything in his power to protect his first friend. To just leave him to die like that… was a horrible way to repay him for such a gift. Some friend he was…
They waited an hour before going in to see Sam. Dean was sitting in the chair beside Sam, holding his hand and looking downright miserable, but the bag Prue left for him was empty and in the garbage can. The girls sighed in relief at seeing that he'd at least eaten. For the rest of the time, Dean refused to make conversation and refused to meet any of their eyes. The hours seemed to drag on and yet fly by at the same time. It seemed like years were passing as they sat there, yet when visiting hours were nearly over, it seemed like a minute at most had gone by. Dean was extremely reluctant to leave. When Prue told him visiting hours were nearly over, he spoke for the first time in hours, telling her he didn't want to go. It took a lot of convincing to get Dean to leave with them instead of stay and eventually get kicked out, but eventually, he left with them.
The girls dropped Odd off at home and he looked at the house in dread. Slowly, he told himself not to cry and repeated the words 'don't cry' in his head over and over again as he drew closer to the door. As he placed a hand on the doorknob, he swallowed and took a deep breath before entering the lion's den. As he closed the door behind him, he felt with horror as the unbidden thought of Sam lying on the hospital bed flew into his mind. The guilt welled up in his chest and brought tears to his eyes.
Against his will, he burst into uncontrollable sobs, loud sobs. At that moment, his mother decided to talk into the room and… he couldn't help it, he looked up at her with pleading eyes. He couldn't help it. He just wanted her to hold him… Just this once, if she could just put it all aside and just comfort him. Instead of comfort, her eyes flew open in fear and she darted from the room. For a few moments, Odd started to cry even harder, knowing what was coming.
… But all the tears faded, as they always do, when she came out with the gun.
After the girls and Dean got home, Dean simply asked Prue if he could stay home from school the next day and instead look after Sammy, to which Prue agreed. After that, he walked straight into the basement to spend the hours until the hospital let visitors back in staring blankly at the ceiling and wait for the time to pass. He didn't sleep and didn't bother trying. He just waited and waited. An hour before visiting hours re-opened, he went out to the impala and drove to the hospital to wait… As soon as he was allowed, he was through the door and headed for Sam's room. Before he went in however, he found Sam's doctor standing outside the door and he stopped Dean from going inside.
"Listen, something concerning the development of your brother happened overnight I need to discuss with you."
"What?" Dean asked, speaking his first words since the day before.
"Your brother is awake. He doesn't have brain damage, but…" the doctor said and faded off.
"BUT?!" Dean asked, urging him to continue. "Is something WRONG?!"
"He can't remember anything," the doctor said.
"Of the attack?" Dean asked.
"No, anything at all. He remembers to do every day things, like reading, writing, math, but he can't remember anything personal. He probably won't know who you are or anything that's happened to him…"
The news hit Dean like a ton of bricks. It felt as if his heart just suddenly stopped beating. Well, he definitely stopped breathing anyway, at least for a few moments. How the hell could Sam not remember who he was? Who DEAN was? He had to see for himself. He took a deep breath and walked through the door and into Sam's room. Sammy was there, laying on the bed with his eyes open, looking at Dean in… confusion?
"Sammy?" Dean asked.
"Hello," Sam said weakly. "What's your name?"
Dean's vision swam and he had to lean against the wall. He was in pure shock. Sam didn't… remember him… at all. He was joking, he had to be joking. There was no way … no way he could forget him. He was kidding around, it was a joke. Ha-ha-ha, funny! Yeah, they were all playing some kind of fucked up game. As soon as Sam was healed up, Dean was going to kick his ass for such a disgusting-
"Hey, Mister," Sam said, looking concerned. "Are you okay?"
Dean closed his eyes tightly and took several deep breaths. This couldn't be happening. Right, a joke… just a- oh hell! Sammy would never ever pull such a sick fucked up thing on him. Dean felt tears falling down his face as he took a shaky breath, looking up into Sam's eyes. Not a drop of recognition was in them. It was… all gone. Everything…
He opened his mouth to say something to Sam, but found he couldn't and instead turned to the doctor, who had followed him in. For a few minutes, he tried to learn how to work his vocal chords. Then he managed to speak. "Is it… is it p-permanent?"
"It might be," he said. "We don't know yet. He could start getting his memory back tomorrow even, but there is a chance he might never remember his past."
Dean nodded and left … he left the hospital room and the hospital, running out to the impala. Although he'd just gotten there, he needed to get away. He needed some space. How could he face this reality? A reality where Sam couldn't remember his name. He was in shock. How could it happen? How? After…. After everything… with a few blows to the head his whole life was erased? Nothing, nothing was left. How could he not remember? How could he forget it all? Everything they'd been through together? All of the laughter, the tears, the fear, the joy. Dad, hunting, life, Dean. All of it, gone. He didn't remember Dean at all, he didn't know who he was… Maybe he would never remember…
Dean barely even saw the car that hit him, and after he was bleeding like a stuck pig and realized what had happened, he barely even cared.
Yeah, so unless the spirit is an EXTREMELY enraged poltergeist or either was magical in life or has something magical after it in death, that spirit can't talk, and only Odd can see them. There, hope that makes sense. I'll go into more detail later.