Chapter 14

Disclaimer: Still don't own.

I would like, once again, to extend my thanks to Soar for the awesome beta job. Any left over mistakes are competely my own. Also a huge thank you goes out to Soar, JuliaAurelia, and Sinead-Conlan for all their feedback and suggestions on this chapter. I would also like to thank everyone who is reading or reading and reviewing.

Dean Winchester was bored. It had been 9 days since they had told him he needed a bone marrow transplant. He still had another 5 days to go before he even found out if his dad and brother were a match. He'd already been incarcerated for almost two weeks now, and he was still looking at least another 2 months if there were no complications.

He really wanted out. The walls were closing in on him and not even walks down the hall were cutting it anymore. He was going completely stir crazy. He watched TV, he'd read all the magazines that Bobby, Sam and his father had brought him. Sam had even brought him some math puzzles called Sudoku. They'd kept him busy for a couple of hours but he'd always been good at math and once he figured out what he was doing he made short work of the book. He'd gotten so desperate that he'd actually picked up the book that Sam had left in his room. To his surprise, he was actually enjoying To Kill A Mockingbird. Not that he'd admit that to anyone.

He had to keep his mind occupied. If he didn't, it started to drift back to the fact that they were going to stick him in isolation, and that caused his mouth to go dry and his heartbeat to speed up every time someone mentioned it. He was thoroughly embarrassed by the way he'd reacted when his brother had told him, and in typical Dean Winchester fashion, he ignored it and refused to talk about it, saying he would deal with it when the time came.

That was another thing, when had he actually agreed to have the transplant? He seemed to recall agreeing to stay in the hospital until they found out if his father or brother was a match, and then they would talk, although deep down, he knew he had agreed to everything when he'd agreed to have the surgery for the chest catheter.

Dean's hand drifted up toward his catheter and he fingered it lightly. He would admit that it was nice not getting stuck with needles several times a day. The doctor had been right that the sensation of feeling the catheter would go away, but totally wrong about not noticing it. The nurses came in a couple times a day to clean and dress the surgery site and make sure it wasn't infected. Then they shot all three tubes with something called heparin, which was supposed to prevent clots. The damned stuff hurt like crazy.

Not knowing what else to do, Dean picked up his book and opened it to the page he had finished at the night before.

"Hey Dean," he heard a voice calling him.

Dean could see his baby brother entering the room and quickly hid the book under his covers. He had a reputation to maintain. "Hey Sammy," he answered.

Sam entered the room and took a seat next to Dean's bed. "Have you seen my book? I think I left it here last night," he asked.

Dean tried to look innocent. "Um, no," he stammered.

Sam could immediately tell that something was up. Had Dean actually started reading it, or had he ripped the pages out and used them to play basketball. He tried to discretely look at the wastebasket.

"Hey!" Dean protested. "I wouldn't wreck your book."

"You did before," Sam shot back.

"I was 12," Dean defended himself.

"So what part are you at?" Sam said.

Dean sighed. "Jem and Scout have just met Dill," he said and retreived the book from it's hiding spot and handed it back to Sam.

"You can keep it until you're done," Sam offered.

"Can you tell me how it ends?" Dean asked hopefully.

Sam shot his brother an evil grin. "You'll just have to read the whole thing and find out. You know, if you want, I can go to the bookstore and get you a few more." He knew that Dean's frustration was growing and it would be best to nip it in the bud.

"Let me finish this one first. There is one thing you can do for me, though," Dean said.

"What?" Sam asked tentatively.

"Help me convince dad and Dr. Scott to let me out of here."

Sam looked at his brother like he was crazy. He knew that Dean was bored, but he was really hoping they wouldn't have to go through this anymore. "Dean," he said warningly.

Dean realized that his request had been misinterpreted. "Not permanently, Sam. Just for a few hours. I want to get dressed, take a ride in my baby, and go eat food that's actually edible. I need this, Sammy. Right now, it feels like the walls are closing in on me and not even going for a walk down the hall is helping right now," Dean requested.

Sam felt his heart go out to his brother. After John had told Bobby why Dean reacted the way he did, there had been a long discussion amongst the three as to whether or not to tell Dean. Sam and Bobby wanted to, as they felt that if Dean knew the reason why he was afraid of small spaces, then he might be able to deal with it better. John had said no, that with everything else Dean was dealing with, he didn't need to deal with the fact that his babysitter used to lock him in a closet too. They ended up not really doing anything because any time they tried to bring it up, Dean changed the subject and refused to deal with it.

Sam didn't know if Dean's request was a good one, or even something that was possible. Over the last week and a half, Sam had clearly seen the impact this disease was having on his big brother. Dean tired easily and had trouble catching his breath if he pushed himself too far, which he often did. Not to mention the fact that if Dean came down with an infection, it would throw the whole transplant off schedule.

There was something else that worried Sam even more, though. What if nothing went wrong? To Sam's ears it sounded ridiculous, but Sam knew his big brother. He knew what would happen. In a couple of days, Dean would ask to go out again, then it would be for a few hours a day, then Sam would have a fight getting Dean back to the hospital, period. Dean would be able to convince himself that he was fine, and that the doctors were over reacting. It might have been cruel, but Sam would rather keep Dean in the hospital where he was safe.

"Sam?' Dean asked.

He wanted to say no, but he couldn't help himself and Sam found him agreeing to Dean's request. "Let me go find your doctor. If he agrees, we'll have a much easier time convincing dad, but I'm adding my own condition in there," Sam stated firmly.

"What's that?" Dean asked.

"You follow the doctor's advice, including the fact that he may say no," Sam insisted. "And no arguments about coming back."

"Deal," Dean quickly agreed. He knew it was the only way. "I'm about to start climbing the walls."

An evil grin spread across Sam's face. He stood up to go try and find Dean's doctor and just before he exited the room, he turned to his brother. "Go ahead, they're high enough that it would probably take you all day, little brother." Sam managed to get out of the room just before the pillow struck the wall where his head had been.

Sam stopped at nurse's station to find out where Dr. Scott was. He was told that the doctor was on rounds and would be available in about an hour, but if it was an emergency, she could have him paged.

Sam smiled and said that it wasn't and asked if she could just have Dr. Scott come see him at his earliest convenience. Sam went back to Dean's room and tried to keep his brother occupied.

--

John and Bobby showed up a little while later. Dean had drifted off, leaving Sam feeling glad that he didn't have to explain Dean's request to his father just yet. He had a feeling that he wouldn't go for it, for all the same reasons Sam was worried about.

After Dr. Scott checked in on Dean, Sam told his father and Bobby that he was going for coffee and followed Dean's doctor out the door.

"Dr. Scott," Sam quickly called.

Dr. Scott stopped and turned around. "What's up, Sam?" he asked.

"I was just wondering if I could ask you something," Sam said.

"Anytime, you know that," Dr. Scott said agreeably.

"You may change your mind when you here what I want," Sam warned.

"Let me see if I can guess. Dean wants to check out of here for a while?"

Sam stared at the doctor in shock. How the hell had he known that?

"No, I'm not psychic. It's a common request. Two weeks is a long time while you're waiting for test results," Dr. Scott explained.

"Can he?" Sam wanted to know.

Dr. Scott hesitated for a few seconds and Sam was sure he was going to say no. Explaining that to Dean was going to be soooo much fun.

"2 hours," Dr. Scott eventually granted. "Given the severity of Dean's condition, I'd rather he stay here, but sometimes a brief sabbatical can do wonders for a patient's state of mind."

"Thanks doc," Sam said with a hint of uncertainty in his tone. He knew that, deep down, part of him was hoping that the doctor would say no.

"I've seen that reaction too, Sam. It's okay to feel that way. If it was my brother, I'd want the doctor to say no too. Just keep a close eye on him. If he seems more fatigued than normal, or has trouble breathing, bring him back."

"Thank doc," Sam said again, and this time it was genuine. "I don't mean to press my luck, but can you do me one more favour?" Sam asked.

--

Dean could have kissed Sammy when Dr. Scott showed up and asked him if he'd like to check out for a couple of hours and go out to dinner with his family, making it sound as if it was totally his idea.

John was hesitant, but since it had been the doctor's suggestion he agreed.

So after a ton of rules, most relating to his catheter, and things to watch out for, Dean was seated in a wheelchair and being pushed toward the exit by his brother. He smiled when he saw the Impala waiting for him by the door. Sam wouldn't let him drive, though and to placate him, Sam popped in a tape and Dean's grin got wider when Nazareth's Hair of the Dog started playing as they drove off.

Sam drove Dean to the local bookstore first. Dean protested, but Sam insisted.

"Hey, Sammy," Dean said hesitantly before they could exit the car.

"Yeah."

"Can you tell?" Dean asked.

"About what?" Sam asked.

"You know," Dean said and pointed to his chest. "Can you see it?"

"No," Sam said honestly. He don't know why he was surprised that it was a concern of Dean's. Dean had on his usual outfit of jeans, t-shirt and overshirt but the over shirt had actually been buttoned due to the fact that the catheter's outline could be seen under the t-shirt. "Come on," he said changing the subject. We're meeting dad and Bobby at the Lick-a-Chick for dinner in about a half hour.

Dean looked at his brother. Was he serious? "I wonder if they have a full service menu," Dean said lecherously.

Sam shook his head and led his brother into the book store, while he listened to Dean make comments about the restraurants name.

He helped Dean pick out of a couple of books that he knew his sibling would like, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and The Catcher in the Rye. Sam agreed when Dean asked if it was about baseball, he figured Dean would like the book anyway once he got started.

After the book store, Sam drove Dean to a music store. Bobby had pulled him aside and had given Sam some money to get Dean and Ipod. They both knew that John couldn't afford it, but music had always had a calming influence on Dean, and Sam knew that it would come in handy in the coming weeks.

After the music store, Sam could clearly tell that Dean was getting tired. He knew that Dean wouldn't admit it, so he told his brother that he was hungry and drove Dean to meet their father and Bobby.

Sam couldn't believe how big Dean's grin got when they pulled into the parking lot of the Lick-A-Chick. Dr. Scott had recommended the place, saying that it was a local fast food restaurant that made the best chicken. Sam personally found it a bit greasey, but he was never a huge fan of fast food, but he did agree that it was good.

Dean sat at the table with his family, enjoying what was sure to be his last taste of freedom for a very long time. He loved the restaurant so much that he insisted on buying a t-shirt.

"Everything, okay, son?" Bobby asked.

John tried his best not to flinch, but he had to agree with Bobby. Exhaustion was clearly written all over Dean's face. "You ready to head back?" he asked.

Dean glanced at his watch. He still had ust under an hour left and he didn't want to go back until he absolutely had to. Acutally he didn't want to go back at all but he had promised Sam he wouldn't argue and truth be told, he would love to be back in his bed right now. "In a bit," was all he said and went back to his food. His plate was still almost full and he was sure that was what had prompted his dad's and Bobby's inquiry. Normally, he didn't even stop to chew.

He had thought that he was hungry until he sat down, and then his appetite had disappeared. He loved fried chicken, but he found the food tasted like copper. He wanted to ask the others if their food tasted like that, but he didn't want to draw attention to himself.

"Why don't we..." Bobby started and then looked up at his son, his suggestion dying on his lips.

Sam and John turned their gazes toward the middle Winchester as well, wondering what Bobby was looking at.

Dean wanted to shout "What the hell are you staring at?" Then he knew. He could feel wetness on his upper lip. He picked it up his napkin, held it to his face and checked it a few seconds later. There was blood on the napkin.

"Come on, kiddo, time to head back," John said gently.

Dean could feel all the stares from the others in the restraurant and he flushed red. He hated this.

Sam assisted Dean, trying extremely hard to make it look like he wasn't helping him. He grabbed several napkins and walked behind Dean out to the car. He drove back to the hospital quickly, thanking God that there were no stop signs, their worry increasing when Dean's nosebleed showed not only showed no signs of stopping, and appeared on the napkin when he started coughing.

The first thing they did was test Dean's platelets. They were low, which was why his nosebleed wasn't clotting. They relaxed a little bit also found out that the blood had been running down the back of his throat and that he was not actually coughing up blood. The relief was short lived when they hooked a bag of blood up to one of the ports in Dean's catheter and then added the oxygen cannula under his nose. His blood counts were so low it was effecting his oxygen levels. What scared them is that Dean didn't fuss over it. He took a few deep breaths, to get get rid of his breathless feeling and he closed his eyes. He was alseep in five minutes as Sam, John and Bobby sat by his bed watching the transfusion drip slowly into one of the ports on his catheter. Each was thinking the same thing, wanting, wishing they could do anything to help Dean

--

"Dad, I've been thinking," Sam said to his father. It was later that same evening. Dr. Scott had assured them that Dean was in no immediate danger and had sent them all back to the motel to get some sleep.

"What's up, kiddo?" John asked.

"When Dean has his transplant, one of us is going to have to be with him at all times. I know that you and Bobby are having issues, but we can't do it with just the two of us. It's going to be too much. We need him," Sam admitted. "Dean's comfortable with him."

John sighed deeply. He knew that Sam was right, but he didn't like the situation. "We'll set up a schedule. There's something else I need to talk to you both about. Hang on, I'm going to get Bobby." This was a conversation he was not looking forward to.

Bobby had the room next to theirs, and John went and knocked on the door and asked Bobby to join him in his and Sam's room for a moment.

"The results of the HLA typing should be available soon. Bobby, if you're a match, I want you tell Dean that Sam is. I think it will be easier on him that way," John said.

"Excuse me," Bobby protested. "No way! If I'm a match, I want Dean to know it came from me."

"This is about making it easier for Dean, don't you think that he's going to question why you're a match. I mean, he know the odds of a stranger matching are 1 in 20,000."

"I'm his father," Bobby said coldly.

"That's not what I meant, Bobby, and you God Damn well know it, and if you want to bring up this argument again, you may be his father but I'm his dad!" John's tone matched Bobby's.

Here we go, thought Sam. "I'm his brother," Sam said to the two of them. "I thought we agreed that the two of you were not going to use my brother to mark your territories. I get what dad's saying. I know you love Dean, Bobby, and you want to help him, but dad's right. Dean will question it. We can tell him that you're staying with me while I donate. That way he won't wonder why I'm not there."

Bobby wanted to protest further, but one thing he did agree on was that Dean would wonder why Bobby matched him, despite the odds. Finding out the truth right before undergoing a serious medical procedure was definitely not in his best interest. He had no choice but to grudgingly agree.

--

The next day at the hospital, John sought out Dean's doctor. Dr. Scott did not like the plan at all but he, like Bobby, understood it and agreed.

--

Five days later.

Dr. Scott walked down the hall to his patient's room. He was carrying the results of the HLA typing and was very happy that he finally had some good news to pass onto Dean and his family.

He stepped into the room.

"Hey all," he greeted. "Thought you'd want to know the results right away."

"Is any of us a match?" John asked.

Dr. Scott grinned. "Yup. There are 6 markers that we look for and, Sam, you match 5 out of the 6. We prefer a 6 marker match but five gives the transplant a chance at succeeding."

The mood in the room brightened considerably. Sam was hoping it was truly him. He really wanted to be the one to help his big brother for a change.

Bobby was hoping it was him. He wanted to help his son.

John was a little disappointed that he hadn't matched, because he would have liked to help his son, but as he gazed fondly at his boys, he was really hoping that it was truly Sam that was a match, because despite the fact that they weren't biologically related, they were brothers.

TBC

A/N: Is Sam truly a match, or is it just part of John's plan? I'll be honest, I haven't completely decided yet, but I am leaning heavily toward Sam because I think they were destined to be brothers, no matter if they're related by blood or not. What are your thoughts? Sam or Bobby? Who would you rather see?

Lick-a-Chick is actually a real restaurant. When I heard the name, I knew I had to work it in somehow.

Don't forget to read and review. I would also like your opinions on if you would prefer Sam or Bobby to be the match.