A Whiter Shade of Pale Ch. 12
Disclaimer: See first chapter
Author's Note: To avoid confusion between stories, this story is the one where Sam is 13 years old and was stabbed outside their motel room by a man who was drunk.
Previously: "No, they-they can't arrest you Daddy," Sammy sobbed as he climbed from the bed, his face paling considerably as he felt an intense tearing, burning sensation in his stomach.
"Daddy, De, hur's," He garbled just before his legs gave out and he slumped towards the floor.
"Sonuvabitch," Dean gasped, catching his younger sibling just in time to keep him from hitting the floor.
"What in the hell is going on here?" Dr. Brad Spencer's voiced boomed as he walked into the room in time to see his young patient collapse.
"I'll tell you what's going on. Those two idiots have come in here and upset my little brother and now…" Dean's voice trailed off as the doctor knelt down beside him and immediately started assessing Sam's condition.
"Damn it," Dr. Spencer swore as he immediately noticed the rapid onset of shock and the way his patient cried out in pain when he barely touched Sam's stomach. Things were definitely not looking good for the young man. Glancing up as he heard the sound of others entering the room at a quick pace, he immediately started barking out orders upon noticing it was two of Sam's nurses. "Janie, call the O.R. and put them on standby. Tell them we might have an acute abdominal perforation on our hands. Alison, I need you to call the lab and tell them to clear the x-ray lab for a stat patient."
"Yes Doctor, right away," Alison answered as she quickly walked over to the phone to do as told. If Sam did indeed have an acute abdominal perforation as feared, then time was of the essence.
"Hey Doc, just how b-bad is this thing?" Dean questioned anxiously, his fear for his brother building substantially with each passing moment.
"I'm not going to lie to you Dean. If my fears about an acute abdominal perforation are confirmed, it means that Sam is in serious trouble since the mortality rate for the injury can be very high the longer it is left untreated," the doctor answered as he carefully taped down the stomach tube to keep it stable until he could get an abdominal series done on his young patient.
"Sonuvabitch," John swore loudly, echoing Dean's earlier statement as he tugged a calloused hand through his disheveled hair. Things had been going so well for his young son and now things had taken a major turn for the worse because of the two idiot detectives.
Turning to glare at the policemen as they stood gawking at the scene before them, he clenched his fists in anger and said, "If my son dies, I will make sure you'll regret it."
"Now wait just a damn minute. Are you threatening us?" Officer Matt Speight queried angrily as he glared at the imposing hunter.
"It's not a threat, it's a promise," John seethed as he stood his ground.
"Mister Slade, you are already in enough trouble without making threats against an officer of the law," Matt returned as he jangled the handcuffs in front of the angry hunter while his partner Jason Marks tried to calm him down.
"Damn it, will you gentlemen taking your pissing contest outside," Brad fumed as he fought to stabilize his young patient. The last thing Sam needed was to hear what was happening between his father and the police officer.
"And just what has Mister Slade done to get into so much trouble?" Alison questioned, once she hung up the phone after talking to the lab personnel, in an effort to ease the tension in the room before things got really out of hand. There was no way the man could have done anything since he had been at the hospital nonstop since his son had been injured.
"Mr. Slade here is a suspect in a possible murder that occurred last night on the other side of town," Matt answered smugly as he looked at the haughty nurse who dared to question him.
"I'm sorry officers, but you are definitely barking up the wrong tree if you consider Mr. Slade a suspect. John was here all night long. And if you don't believe my word, you can check with Security. They've had the CCTV cameras running all night long and one of them is right outside of this room.
"Wh-what?" Matt stuttered embarrassedly, his astonishment at the revelation showing on his face.
"That's right you asshole, you got it wrong this time," Dean informed the stunned officer as tears began to flow silently down his cheeks. If only the cops had been more thorough in their job before accusing his Dad, then Sammy wouldn't be facing another life threatening injury right now.
"I'm S-Sorry, I didn't mean…" Matt voiced, before being cut off by John.
"Yeah, well sorry doesn't cut it this time," John stated with contempt as he glowered at the officers before him.
"Mr. Slade…"
"Just get the hell out of my son's room," John fumed, his temper having already reached its boiling point. If the officers didn't leave soon, he wouldn't be responsible for what happened to them.
Apologizing once again, the officers left quickly, feeling lower than an ant's belly. Because of heir assumption, a young boy's life was now in jeopardy. Both men couldn't help but wonder if the incident would cost them their jobs.
"Alison, I'll need some help getting Sam back up into his bed," Brad informed the young nurse as he checked Sam's catheter to make sure no damage had been done in that sensitive area.
"We can help with that Doc," Dean interjected immediately needing to help his brother in any way that he could.
"Okay, I'll need you and your father to 'log roll' Sam so that I can slide a backboard beneath him to keep his body as still as possible until I can get him down to the x-ray lab," Dr. Brad Spencer agreed as he motioned for Alison to bring him the desired object. He didn't want to chance the stomach tube being pushed even further into Sam's abdominal wall if indeed it was.
In a concentrated team effort, the Winchester soon had a now unconscious Sam placed safely on the backboard and then transferred to the portable hospital bed so that Sam could be safely transported to the x-ray lab. Holding their breath, John and Dean were forced to watch as Sam was once again removed from their sight.
Feeling his knees weaken as the seriousness of the situation hit him once again, Dean stumbled and would have collapsed to the floor if it hadn't been for his father's strong arms encircling him in support.
"Dad, wh-what if.."
"Don't even think that Dean. Sammy is going to be okay. He's a fighter and he's got one of the best doctors there is taking care of him," John declared as he hugged his eldest to him, unwilling to accept any other possibility.
"I sure hope you're right because I can survive without him," Dean stated, his voice cracking as he thought about a life without his baby brother in it.
John's heart nearly shattered at that very moment, knowing that if he lost one son, he would surely lose the other. "Don't you worry Kiddo, you won't have to."
Guiding Dean over to one of the chairs in the room, he eased his son down and then sat opposite of him to await news of their youngest.
Meanwhile, in the X-ray lab
Knowing that he couldn't use barium to have the x-rays taken since there was a suspected abdominal perforation, Brad considered having a rectal contrast administered to help with the scan, but then vetoed the idea since Sam had previous problems with rectal fullness from the abscess. Settling on an abdominal series of x-rays with an IV contrast administered, Brad made sure that chest and abdominal x-rays were taken of Sam laying in the supine position as well as an upright position. Of course, utmost care was taken in placing their young patient in an upright position so that the stomach tube was not dislodged or further forced into the abdominal cavity.
Standing behind a barrier as the x-rays were taken, Brad then waited for them to be developed and then hung where he could read them. Sighing as he noted the free air showing under the diaphragm, Brad knew his next line of discourse was to talk to Sam's family so that he could inform them that their youngest would indeed require surgery. Reaching back to massage the tense muscles in his neck, Brad couldn't help but think that sometimes, he really hated being a doctor.
Turning to the lab technician, Brad said, "Jules, make sure Sam here is sent up to pre-op. I've got to go talk with his family and get them to sign the permission forms."
"Yes Doctor, right away," Jules stated as she walked over to the phone to call for a couple of orderlies to take care of getting her patient transported to pre-op.
Making his way back to Sam's hospital room with surgery permission forms in his hand, Dr, Brad Johnson thought about the easiest way of breaking the news to Dean and John, but knew that it basically was a moot point. Either way, Sam's family was going to be devastated by this latest setback and no words he could say would make it easier on them.
Stopping at the door for just a moment, Brad pushed it opened and wasn't surprised when John and Dean immediately stood, both of them watching him intently with red rimmed eyes.
"Doc?" John questioned.
"I'm sorry to inform you that my fears were confirmed," Brad stated in answer to the unspoken question. "When Sam moved off of the bed earlier, it caused his stomach tube to puncture the abdominal wall, thereby causing what is known as an acute abdominal perforation. Because of the immediate danger of peritonitis setting in due to gastrointestinal leakage, we need to operate on Sam right away."
"Damn it, why can't things ever go right for Sammy?" Dean sobbed as the news hit him hard, even though in truth, he had been expecting it.
"Dean, I promise you that I will do everything within my power to make your brother well once again. You have my solemn word on that," Brad voiced around the lump in his throat as he handed the necessary forms over to John to sign. He couldn't stand seeing the elder brother in such obvious despair over his younger sibling.
Signing the papers, John was unable to hold back the lone tear that trickled down the side of his face. Now, now all they could do was sit and wait once again and pray that Sammy would make it through.
TBC. Sorry that I have not yet replied to your reviews to Sons of My Heart, but I promise to get to them soon. Things have been really hectic right now. Also, please remember that I have no medical knowledge whatsoever.