On to Chapter Ten! We'll see how Sam and Dean deal with this new issue. Thanks as always for reading, following, and reviewing :)
This chapter was written by: AnastaziaDanielle
Chapter Ten
"D'n," Sam choked out desperately against his brother's chest.
Dean swallowed hard and longed to be able to stroke his hand through his brother's hair. Instead, he settled for squeezing Sam's shoulder. "We'll figure this out, Sam," he told his younger brother, trying to sound confident. "The doctors will know how to fix this."
Sam's arm flailed out and he reached for his head. Dean immediately grabbed it and pulled it down as he lowered Sam back against the sheets. "Hang on, Sammy. You've gotta leave your head alone, dude. The doctors had to crack open that giant melon of yours to relieve the pressure."
Sam's eyes widened and he reached for his head once again as he tried to force words past his lips.
"Hang on," Dean cautioned as he grasped his brother's hand and carefully guided the tips of Sam's fingers to brush against the bandages covering his head. He watched as his younger brother's eyes widened in horror.
"It will be okay, Sam. Hair grows back, buddy," Dean assured his brother. He watched as Sam swallowed hard and knew his brother was trying to hide his feelings. "I'll get you some hats to wear until it does." Dean was just thankful that Sam seemed to have his sanity and that the wall hadn't broken as it very well could have.
Sam shook his head and gave his brother a bitch face.
Dean sighed. "Let's just take this one day at a time, Sam. I'll get the nurse to let the doctor know you're awake." He jolted in surprise when Bobby's voice filled the room.
"I couldn't sleep, so I decided I'd just come on back to the hospital." The older hunter stopped and stared at the Winchesters, a slow grin spreading over his face. "Good to see you awake, Sam."
Dean placed a gentle hand against his brother's chest and winced as the wounds on his own back pulled. "Bobby, could you let the nurse know Sam is awake and that he needs to see the doctor."
Worry lines creased Bobby's forehead. "Is Sam all right?" He stepped closer to the bed and placed a comforting hand on Sam's leg through the hospital's blanket.
Dean kept his eyes on his brother's face and did his best to keep his voice calm, steady, and reassuring. "Seems to be, except for a little trouble talking. We just want the doc to check him over."
Bobby's gaze flicked from Dean to Sam and back again. "I'll go find the nurse."
"Thanks, Bobby," Dean told him as he focused all of his attention back on his younger brother. "We'll get through this, Sammy. You've had a brain injury and surgery. I'm sure it takes a while for everything to sort itself out." Sam was so pale that it worried Dean as did the dark circles under his younger brother's eyes.
The nurse preceded Bobby into the room. "Hi there, Sam. I'm Karen, and I'll be taking care of you today. I put a call in to your doctor, and he will be here shortly. I'm going to check your vitals and we'll go from there. Your friend says you are having difficulty speaking."
Sam nodded and looked to his brother anxiously. Dean moved his hand to rest firmly on Sam's forearm.
"Head injuries can be tricky," Karen soothed. "The doctor will be here soon and he'll try to get you all sorted out."
Sam nodded his understanding, the movement escalating the pounding in his head, and had just closed his eyes when a knock sounded on the door.
"Good to see you alert, Sam," the doctor smiled as he entered the room. "I hear you are having some difficulty with speech."
Sam nodded once again, but winced as it made his head ache that much worse.
The doctor seemed to understand. "Next time blink once for no and twice for yes."
Sam blinked twice to show he understood.
The doctor glanced up at Sam and Bobby. "I'm going to ask the two of you to step out while I examine Sam."
"D'n," Sam slurred, gripping his brother's sleeve.
"I'm not leaving my brother, Doc," Dean said firmly. He settled himself on the bed next to his brother's arm and patted Sam's chest gently.
The doctor nodded briefly. "Is that all right with you, Sam?" he asked his patient.
Sam rapidly blinked twice and did not let go of his brother's sleeve. He allowed the doctor to check his reflexes and his eyes.
Next, the man pulled a chair next to the bed and sat down. "Sam, let's see if we can figure out what's going on with your speech." He glanced up at Dean. "Has he been able to speak at all since he woke up?"
"Just my name and it's a little slurred," Dean explained as he shifted closer to Sam.
"Let's try a few questions and see what happens," the doctor smiled kindly. "What's your name?" he asked.
Sam frowned and worked at it, finally managing a feeble "s" sound like the beginning of the word snake.
"Good job, Sammy," Dean enthused as he gave his brother's arm a squeeze.
Sam only grunted in frustration.
"What about your friend out there, the one in the hat?" the doctor asked kindly.
Sam tried, but couldn't even begin to form Bobby's name. Anger and frustration seeped out of him and he made the unconscious move to run his fingers through his hair.
"Woah, buddy," Dean stopped him, catching his hands with his own. "It's okay, Sammy. This will get better, won't it, Doc?" he asked as he gave the man a pointed glare.
The doctor sighed. "Well, I'd like to do another scan of your brain, Sam. I'll also schedule an intake exam with a speech therapist. Head injuries can be tricky. Sometimes the issues will resolve themselves with time. There can be a full or partial recovery. The scan may tell us more, or it may not. We will just have to take this one step at a time."
Sam grunted in frustration and tried to pull his hands from Dean's grip, but his brother held on tight.
"Thanks, Doc," Dean sighed. "Thank you for helping Sam."
"My pleasure." The doctor stood and gave Sam a kind smile. "We will do our best to get you all straightened out, Sam. Don't give up hope. The nurse will let you know once your scan is scheduled. I'll send your friend back in."
Sam ripped his hands from Dean's grasp and fisted them in the sheets instead.
Bobby entered the room and looked anxiously at Dean. "What did he say?"
Dean straightened the sheets around his brother, but Sam brushed his hands away angrily. "They want to do another brain scan and they're going to set up an appointment with a speech pathologist. Guess they'll know more after the scan."
Bobby sank down into the chair the doctor had vacated. "Well, why don't you go get some rest? I'll stay here with Sam."
Dean felt his brother's fingers twist into his sleeve once again, and he shook his head. "No, I'm gonna stay with Sam until they start to figure things out. I am going to go grab a cup of coffee. Are you okay with that, Sam?"
The younger Winchester looked a bit hesitant, but he blinked twice for yes.
"Two blinks means yes, Bobby," Dean informed the older hunter before turning back to Sam. "I'll hurry," he assured him.
"Get something to eat while you're at it," Bobby instructed. "You need to take care of yourself, too."
Dean nodded and hurried out of the room. He decided a quick trip to the hospital's gift shop was the first order of business. He quickly scanned the small shop until his eyes landed on the notepads. A grin curved his lips as he found a lined pink notepad with a purple castle decorating the bottom of each page. "Perfect," he grinned.
As Dean reached the register and tugged his wallet out of his back pocket with a grimace, he eyed the pens that sat in a canister on the counter. There was a pink one with a fluffy pink pom-pom on the end.
"Will this be all?" the cashier asked as she scanned the notepad.
"I'll take this pen as well," Dean told her as he handed her the pink writing implement.
The woman smiled. "Some little girl is going to be very happy."
Dean chuckled and then smirked. "Very happy," he repeated as he imagined the bitch face Sam would give him.
Once he had paid for Sam's gifts, Dean quickly purchased a sandwich and a cup of coffee which he carried back up to Sam's room with him.
Sam breathed a sigh of relief when his brother reentered the room. A tray of food had been delivered for him consisting of soup, a roll, and a cup of Jello. None of it looked appetizing. His head was pounding so badly that he wasn't really hungry anyways.
Dean placed his sandwich and coffee on the bedside table and eyed Sam's food tray with distaste. "Eat your food, Princess, and then you can have the present I bought you."
Sam gazed at his brother with suspicion while Bobby chuckled. "Something tells me to be cautious of your brother, Sam," the older hunter warned cheerfully.
Sam forced himself to swallow a spoonful of soup without gagging and then blinked twice at Bobby for "yes." He knew with the grin that now wreathed Dean's face that his brother was up to something. He took another taste of the soup and made a face. It was truly terrible.
Dean leaned over to examine the bowl and wrinkled his nose. "Dude, that stuff smells awful and looks worse. Glad I'm not the one that has to eat it."
Bobby cuffed him on the back of the head. "Be nice to your invalid brother."
Sam grinned tiredly and forced down more soup before he gave up. He moved on to the Jello. While not exactly something he liked, it had better flavor than the soup. Once he was finished, he shifted against the pillows trying to get comfortable. He was exhausted and his head hurt so badly he was nauseous.
Then, suddenly, his brother was there, shifting pillows, tugging him around on the bed, and tucking in blankets.
"Better, Sammy?" Dean asked quietly.
Sam blinked twice and fought a yawn.
"Don't go to sleep yet," Dean grinned. "Here, look what I got you." He held out the brown paper bag from the gift shop.
Sam took it in hands that trembled from weakness and exhaustion and upended it in his lap. The pink notepad and the pen with the fluffy pom-pom tumbled into his lap.
Both Dean and Bobby snorted with laughter. "Now you can communicate with us, Princess," Dean told him as he squeezed his little brother's knee.
Sam glared silently at his brother.
"Don't be such a bitch, Sam," Dean snickered.
Sam tugged the top off of the pink pen and wrote "JERK!" in all capital letters across the notepad.
Dean practically howled with laughter.
Bobby poked him in the arm. "Behave before you get us thrown out of here, ya idjit!" He stood and stretched. "I'm going to head out and get some sleep. Dean, let your brother rest."
Sam yawned and then winced when it made his head pound. He closed his eyes to the sound of his brother and Bobby speaking quietly in the doorway. It didn't take long for his exhausted body to surrender to sleep.
Sam crept slowly down the dark hallway. Dean was several yards ahead of him, his gun at the ready. That was when Sam saw it, the angry monster sliding down from the overhead vent. He tried to call out to his brother, but the words refused to come out. His mouth was sealed shut.
Sam reached up with his hand to feel his lips. A row of wide stitches made with thick thread were painfully obvious to his fumbling fingers. He tried to get his fingertips beneath them to pull them out so that he could warn his brother. Pain flared through his lips, and he watched in horror as the creature leapt onto his brother's back and began to tear Dean to shreds.
Sam woke with a start, flailing and attempting to sit up despite the wires and tubes attached to his body. "D'n!" he choked out as he cast his eyes around desperately for his brother.
Dean was immediately at Sam's side. He rested a comforting hand on his brother's chest and felt his wildly beating heart. "It's okay, Sam. It was just a dream. Everything's all right."
Sam gasped for air and his fingers clutched desperately at his brother's arm. His head pounded mercilessly and his stomach rolled.
Dean used his free hand to squeeze Sam's shoulder. "Come on, man. You need to calm down."
Sam's breath hitched in his throat and he looked at his brother as he swallowed convulsively. Dean read his brother's mind and snatched up the room's trash can, holding it under Sam just in time for the younger Winchester to vomit weakly into it.
Dean rubbed his brother's shoulder until the vomiting stopped and then helped Sam lean back against the pillows. "You're all right, buddy," he soothed quietly.
Sam grasped Dean's sleeve and twisted his fingers into the flannel material. He screwed his eyes shut and willed the ache in his head to go away.
Dean placed his hand on the side of Sam's neck and began stroking the skin there with his thumb in a slow, steady rhythm. It took a while, but Sam finally relaxed. "Good job, Sammy," Dean murmured.
A knock on the door made Dean look up. Sam's nurse, Karen, stood there looking at the brothers in concern. "Is everything all right?" she asked.
"Sam had a nightmare and got a little upset, but he's okay now," Dean assured her.
"Well, we're here to take him down for his scan. You can wait in the room. He's going to come right back up," she explained.
"Nope, not leavin' him," Dean stated. "I'll walk down with him and wait right outside of the room while he has the scan." He felt Sam's fingers tighten in his sleeve.
Karen nodded. "All right," she agreed. "Let's get this show on the road, Sam."
Dean rubbed his younger brother's chest. "This shouldn't take too long, Sammy and then you can get some rest. I'll sit right beside you and wake you up if you start to have another nightmare. I promise."
Sam blinked twice at his brother for "yes" and didn't let go of Dean's sleeve until he was wheeled into radiology for his scan.
To be continued…