Chapter 11
Sunday Morning at the Athens Memorial Hospital
Fifteen minutes later Sam pulled the Impala into the ambulance bay of the hospital, he glanced at the sign saying: - AMBULANCES ONLY - STRICTLY NO PARKING
Sam looked across at Dean, he was showing no signs of waking. During the ride to the hospital his head had slid sideways and was now resting against the window.
Well at the moment I am an ambulance, Sam thought as he opened the door and rounded the Impala. He opened the passenger side door gently lifting Dean's head back against the seat.
"I'm going to get someone to help." He said to Dean even though he knew he couldn't hear him, "I'll be back soon."
Sam ran through the doors and seeing someone in the typical green uniform of hospital staff, with her back to him, he rushed up to her and grabbed her arm swinging her around to face him at the same time saying. "My brother needs help, please he's unconscious."
The nurse at first looked a little startled when he had swung her around by the arm, but when she heard his words; she looked up at his 6'4 inch height towering over her meager 5'1 and said. "Where is he?"
"He's in the car." He started to pull her towards the ambulance bay.
She let him lead her rather speedily through the doors, to the open door of the Impala.
She leaned in and looked at Dean, giving him a brief examination while still addressing Sam. "How long has he been like this?"
Sam was standing right behind her, leaning in over her shoulder. "I don't know he was like that when I found him." Sam said. It wasn't a lie.
Sam moved back a step as she straightened and turned to him, saying. "We have to get him inside so a doctor can examine him, I'll be back in a minute."
The next second Sam was alone as she disappeared back through the ER doors, only to appear again within a minute as she had assured him, with an orderly in tow pushing a gurney.
The orderly transferred Dean from the car to the gurney and pushed it back into the ER with Sam and the nurse closely following.
Sam had tried to follow Dean into the exam room, but the young petite nurse had taken Sam's arm in a firm grip much the same as he had done to her and led him to the waiting area. Telling him he had to wait here whilst they examined his brother and could he please fill out some paperwork and would he please move his car out of the ambulance bay.
"It's my brother's car." He stated to pretty redhead.
She seemed unimpressed with his statement.
Sam did as she asked. First moving Dean's car into the car park, and then filling in the appropriate paperwork, pushing his worry for Dean aside as he tried to remember all the details of their current aliases.
Then he waited.
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Fifteen minutes later found Sam sitting on the edge of a hard chair in the waiting area. His leg bobbing up and down at a furious pace, every few seconds he threw an anxious glance at the doors of exam room 3. A couple of times the door swung open, people came and went but no one said anything to him.
Why doesn't someone tell me what's happening.
Then Sam remembered Bobby. "And call me when you got him, I don't care what time it is." Bobby had told him.
Bobby picked up on the first ring. "Sam, did you get him?" Bobby said
"Yeah I got him but they did things to him Bobby."
"What do you mean, what sort of things?"
"They screwed with his brain, gave him shock treatment and…"
"And what Sam, what else?"
"I think they gave him a lobotomy."
"WHAT, are you sure?"
"When I found him he was unconscious, with an ice pick in his eye…Bobby it was horrible."
"Where are you now?"
"At Athens memorial."
"What did the doctor say?"
"No one has said anything, their still examining him."
"Call me back when you've talked to the doctor, as soon as you know anything."
"Will do Bobby."
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Ten minutes later the doors of exam 3 opened. A doctor with a shock of silver hair sticking up at odd angles emerged scribbling on a chart.
Sam was on his feet before the doors swung closed behind him.
The young nurse spoke briefly to the doctor and then pointed Sam out to him. The doctor came towards Sam still carrying the chart.
Sam was afraid the doctor was going to tell him Dean was irreversibly brain damaged. A vegetable. But he had to know.
"I'm Dr. Davidson and you're Sam Vincent? Dean's your brother?" The doctor asked holding out his hand to Sam.
Sam took the proffered hand "Dr. Davidson, how's my brother?"
"He still hasn't regained consciousness; he is severely dehydrated and has a head trauma, a brain injury. Has he received a blow to his head in the last twenty four hours?"
"I'm afraid I can't tell you. You see doctor he's been missing for the last week. I found him a couple of hours ago like that, unconscious." That's all true, no lies.
"From the marks we found on his temples he's been given electro shock therapy and, it appears someone has tried to perform a lobotomy on him."
"Tried, so he's okay then?"
"It's too soon to tell we have to wait for him to regain consciousness to see if there's any damage to his brain. There's also a risk he may develop a Subdural Haematoma, a blood clot on the brain.
We'll know more after a CT scan, we're taking him to radiology shortly."
"Can I see him?"
"Only for a minute."
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The hospital staff had removed the pyjamas Sam had found Dean in at the asylum. He now wore a hospital gown and a light blanket was drawn up to his waist. He had a IV in his arm to replace his lost fluids, a nasal oxygen canula in place.
Sam's eyes welled up with tears as he looked down at his big brother. Dean looked so young and defenseless, lying there so still and pale, his right eye was covered with a bandage. The eyelashes of his uncovered eye made a long sooty semicircle against the dark circles under his eyes which looked almost black in the harsh light of the room and something else Sam hadn't noticed before a fading bruise around Dean's left eye.
Moving to the left side of the bed, Sam gently rubbed his hand back and forth along Dean's forearm.
"Hey man it's me, Sammy. You gonna lie there all day? You lazy good for nothing, come on Dean open your eyes, please I gotta know you're alright, that I got you out in time. Dean come on bro wake up."
The silence was broken only by the hiss of the oxygen.
Sam squeezed Dean's cold hand and tried again. "Dean, I want you to wake up and say you're hungry for a cheese burger and fries. There's a pretty little nurse here, dude she's just your type, a red head."
Before Sam could say more an orderly came to take Dean to have his CT scan.
Two minutes later Sam was again sitting on the hard chair in the waiting room.
All this waiting is driving me nuts, I'll phone Bobby again, let him know what's going on."
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Sunday Afternoon at the Athens Memorial Hospital
Dean could hear voices. He tried really hard to hear what they were saying. Please don't let it be Dr. Frankenstein and his bitch of a sidekick.
The voices were getting clearer, now he could hear their conversation.
"The CT showed no sign of a haematoma. However he could still develop one in the next few days, so we've started him on Dilantin as a preventative measure. We're keeping him on the fluids as he's still very dehydrated. When he regains consciousness we'll access his cognitive function, reflexes and movement using some simple tests.
Don't know that voice, It's not Dr. Frankenstein.
"Shouldn't he have woken up by now doctor?"
Hey that's Sammy. Dean tried to open his eyes but couldn't. No can't do it, eyelids too heavy.
"It doesn't mean he won't, sometimes the brain shuts itself down to help itself recover, don't worry, I'm sure he'll wake soon. I'm going to admit him for a few days for observation. Someone will be along shortly to transfer him upstairs to a room.
"Thanks Dr. Davidson."
Yep that's definitely Sam, thank god he's okay. So tired.
"Keep talking to him, sometimes it helps."
Dowwannatalk, wanna sleep.
Dean let himself drop back into that quiet, safe place.
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Someone was squeezing his hand, squeezing so hard it hurt like a bitch. "Dean, come on bro it's time you woke up, open your eyes."
Sammy again, he's not gonna let me sleep and he's gonna break my hand in a minute.
Through cracked dry lips Dean managed to crock "Okay Sammy, I'm awake."
Dean heard the scrape of a chair and then Sam said from close above his face. "Dean?" It was a question.
With a huge effort Dean opened his eyes and tried to bring them into focus on his brother's worried face close above him.
"In the flesh." He croaked. Then added "Dude my hand."
"Oh, sorry." Sam said as he loosened his grip but didn't let go of Dean's hand.
Taking in Sam's tired face and puffy eyes Dean asked, "You okay?"
"Yeah I'm good, now. You?"
"I'm fine, tired." Giving his stock standard answer as his eyes drifted shut.
"No, no, no, Dean you gotta stay awake."
"Can't… tired."
"Dean try to stay awake, I'm getting the doctor."
"Too… sleepy."
The next thing Dean knew was someone shining a bright light into his eye and saying. "Dean, can you hear me? I'm Dr. Davidson."
"Hey stop that… hurts." Dean said swatting at the hand holding the light.
Dean looked up at the face attached to the arm holding the light.
"Hello Dean it's good to see you're awake, follow my finger." He said
Dean did as he asked following the finger from left to right, when the finger went to the right it disappeared from view.
"Can't see it now… gone."
"That's because your right eye is covered."
Dean lifted a shaking hand towards the eye, feeling the pull of an IV in the back of his hand.
Before he touched the bandage the doctor gently pushed Dean's hand back down.
"I'm going to test your reflexes."
"Leave me alone… wanna go to sleep."
"Dean let Dr. Davidson do his job than you can sleep." Sam said
"Now who's bossy?" Dean answered.
Dr Davidson lifted the back of the bed to almost a sitting position.
Dean let the doctor check his reflexes and movement without further comment except when the doctor asked him a question, can you feel that, repeat this, move that.
When he had finished Dean asked "Did I pass doc?"
Dr Davidson smiled and said. "I think I'll give you a pass."
Dean felt a sudden wave of nausea hit him, he swallowed hard trying to push it down.
"Dean you alright?" Sam asked as Dean's face turned a little green.
"Gonna be… sick.' Dean gasped
The doctor pushed a plastic bowl under Dean's chin as he retched into it.
There was nothing to bring up, except a bit of bile and mucous.
When it was over Dean lay his head back against the pillow, he was trembling and even more pale than before.
Sam leant over Dean smoothing his short hair back from his forehead.
"Better now?" he said
Dean nodded, which was a mistake as the room tilted precariously, his stomach again threatening a revolt. After a few seconds the room righted itself and his stomach settled.
Dr. Davidson said "Nausea and vomiting are to be expected after a head injury. I'll organize the nurse to give you something for nausea in the IV that should help."
The doctor lowered the head of the bed so Dean was halfway between sitting and lying. "I'll let you rest now, try not to move your head to much."
"Thanks doc." Sam said, as the doctor left.
Sam went into the bathroom and came back with a damp face washer.
Dean went back to sleep with Sam gently smoothing it over his face.
Thanks Sammy. Dean thought it but couldn't get his mouth to say the words.
TBC
Sorry for the delay with this chapter, but my beta - Loco aka Ms Okie Dokie is in hospital following surgery and was unavailable for a few days.
