Vision
Chapter 10
Disclaimer: see chapter 1

The Nurse raced forward once she rounded the corner, seeing two men further down the hallway, one kneeling next to another, "Joe, the phone in the Chapel, call the desk and tell them we need help!" the Guard rushed into the room as the nurse dropped next to the two men, the smaller boy who had gotten their attention near the unconscious man's feet. Looking at Jim the nurse started to take Caleb's vitals asking "Can you tell me what happened?"

Jim watched the woman start to work, "I was coming to find him, his father is in the ICU and there was an incident before he was rushed back into surgery, Caleb believed his father had died and became upset, he rushed out before finding out that the doctor was able to revive him." Jim watched with worry as the nurse continued, "He hasn't eaten or slept for nearly two days, and with what happened upstairs, he just collapsed."

John felt like his own breath had just been pulled from his chest as he heard Jim mention that Mac had apparently crashed in the ICU and Caleb had witnessed it. The sound of several people approaching had John looking up as another nurse, an orderly and a doctor rounded the end of the hallway, pulling Sammy back John allowed them to pass as he watched Jim stand, pulling Dean with him.

"What have we got?" the white-coated man asked.

"Possible shock…" the nurse responded, "His breathing is shallow and heart rate is up."

"Okay…" the doctor helped the orderly and Jim get Caleb onto the gurney, "Let's get him back to the ER and try and figure out if that is what we are dealing with or if something else is going on." The group quickly made its way back down the hall, followed by Caleb's concerned family.

The two men and two children were stopped from entering the treatment area of the Emergency Room by the security guard. Within a couple minutes the nurse who had followed Dean came out the doors, Jim quickly approaching her, "Please, how is he?"

Holding up her hands, she wanted to try and calm the men in front of her, especially since the two smaller children where next to them, "The doctor is still evaluating him, I'm sorry, but can you tell me how you know the young man?" The nurse could tell that the men cared about the unconscious man, but she needed to know if she should share information with them.

"I'm Pastor Jim Murphy; I'm a close family friend of both Caleb and his father Mackland Ames, who has been in the ICU the last two days." Motioning to John, Jim continued, "This is John Winchester, Caleb's uncle."

"Okay, the doctor will be out as soon as he is finished evaluating Caleb…" she was wanting his last name as she hesitated.

"Reaves…Caleb Reaves." John finished for her.

She quickly started typing in the computer, then looked up at John, "Will you be able to take care of Mr. Reaves's paperwork?" John nodded as she handed him the clipboard. "As I said the doctor will be out soon."

John reluctantly took the clipboard and stepped away, still not knowing what had happened at the hospital, when he heard Jim speak to the nurse again. "Please, if he wakes up he may become upset, he doesn't like hospitals and he may not have understood when we tried to tell him is father was still alive, he was witness to the episode in the ICU."

"I promise you Pastor; we will take care of him and will come get you if needed, please have a seat." Jim turned as he met Dean's worried gaze, then turned to take a seat next to John.

John cleared his throat as Jim took the seat next to him, "You gonna tell me what the hell happened?" Sammy had taken a seat next to Dean who was across from Jim.

Running a hand through his disheveled hair, Jim blew out a deep-breath, "Mackland's heart stopped in the ICU while Caleb was back there with him. It took them a minute or so to get it started again, before they did, Caleb took off, he didn't know they had brought Mackland back and rushed him into surgery…" Jim stood, "I need to go back up their and let them know I'm down here with Caleb…"

John grabbed the older man's arm, "You tell me what happened, and once I finish the paperwork I'll head upstairs and you can stay here with Junior, you might be the only one who can convince him Mac is still alive. But that doesn't tell me what happened to Caleb."

Jim retook his seat, "I'm not really sure what happened, when I came out of the ICU Caleb was gone, then Dean showed up. I was checking with the staff upstairs to see if anyone had seen Caleb leave and Dean started looking for him."

Dean leaned forward, "Dad, I tried to tell you I needed to find Caleb, when I got here Pastor Jim didn't know where he had gone, so I started looking and found him in the Chapel, he had locked himself in there." The twelve-year old looked between the two men before him, "Once I picked the lock, I found him…" Dean wasn't sure how to describe the devastated shape he had found his best friend, "He said he had felt his connection to Mac break. It took me trying to tell him several times that Mac was in surgery, finally I convinced him to try and connect with Mac again, that's when he realized Mac was still alive, he had just made it into the hallway when you found us." Dean nodded at Jim.

"So he knows Mac is alive, right?" John looked at his son then to Jim.

"I think so; he seemed to have made the connection, before…" Dean didn't want to remember watching his friend collapse in the hallway; he didn't want to recall the sensation of trying to hold the older man's weight, trying to keep him from crashing into the floor.

John finished with the paperwork, returning the information to the nurse before reclaiming his seat next to Jim; he wanted to know about Caleb before heading upstairs. It was nearly thirty minutes before the doctor finally emerged, approaching the men he remembered seeing in the hallway the doctor spoke, "You gentlemen are with Mr. Reaves?"

Jim and John both stood, as well as Dean and Sammy, Jim spoke, "Yes, how is he?"

"Please, have a seat…" the doctor motioned as he took a seat opposite the men. "I believe Mr. Reaves' collapse was caused from extreme exhaustion, the nurse informed me that you mentioned he probably hasn't eaten in the last couple days, the blood test confirm that. I was also told he was witness to his father having to be resuscitated…" Jim nodded, "I believe that emotional trauma is adding to the situation."

"He's gonna be okay right?" Dean couldn't help but worry about his friend as his small voice asked the question.

The doctor gave the boy a weary smile, "I believe so," looking back at the men the physician continued, "We have started him on an IV to help with his fluid intake, we've also placed him on oxygen to help with his breathing, I can't tell you how long he may be unconscious, but rest is what he needs. This episode was his body's way of telling him he was pushing it further than it could go. If you give us a few more minutes I am going to have him moved to one of the more private areas of the ER, so he can still be monitored. You will be able to come back and sit with him if you wish, however, if he doesn't show signs of waking in a few hours we will probably admit him."

The doctor stood, Jim and John followed, shaking the younger doctor's hand, "Thank you."

Nodding the doctor turned to go, "I'll send a nurse out shortly to take you back."

John looked at Jim, "I'll head upstairs and see if they have any word on Mac." Looking at his son's he continued, "You boys need to come with me."

Taking a step toward the elevators John was stopped by his eldest's voice, "I'm staying with Caleb." It was rare for Dean to disobey, but as with earlier, when John turned around he saw an intensity in his son's eyes that told him there would be a fight if his father forced him to leave Caleb.

Sammy watched as his father approached Dean, placing a hand on his eldest's shoulder, John gave it a gentle squeeze. "I know I should have listened to you earlier, I'm sorry. You can stay down here with Jim, you are to listen to him and the doctor, but you need to understand I am still your father and you are to listen to me, the next time you take off like that there will be hell to pay, do you understand me?"

Dean was surprised he was being allowed to stay downstairs and had really expected more in the way of punishment than a warning to not do it again, "Yes, Sir", was his answer as he watched his father give him a nod before leading Sammy to the elevator.