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Synopsis: Pre-series. Dean and John are working separate hunts in New York when the unthinkable happens. It wasn't supposed to happen like this; it was supposed to be an easy hunt.
Setting: This story is set in NYC on September 11th, 2001, Palo Alto, and will be soon changing location to Blue Earth Minnesota.
Disclaimer: Supernatural and all of their associated content belong to Eric Kripke and the CW, I own nothing of the sort.
A/N: Thank you so much for all of the reviews/favorites/follows it means the world to me! We've had nasty ice storms here in upstate NY so I'm taking some time to write in the free time! The time line with this story may not add up perfectly as I have to estimate on the date for this because I, myself lost track. Sorry if this upsets anyone
"My dad chased monsters from the dark, he checked underneath my bed. An' he could lift me up with one arm, way up over top his head. He could loosen rusty bolts with a quick turn of his wrench. He pulled splinters from his hand and never even flinched. In four years I'd never seen him cry, but the day that momma died I realized:
Unsinkable Ships Sink.
Unbreakable walls break.
Sometimes the things you think would never happen, happen just like that. Unbendable steel bends, if the fury of the wind is unstoppable. I've learned to never underestimate, the impossible."
The Impossible
September 17th, 2001: Blue Earth Minnesota 3:23AM
Dean had fallen asleep shortly after they left the airport, so after checking that his patient was comfortable and stable doctor James Carville moved to the passenger seating area of the van to speak with Jim and Caleb.
"I'm worried about his reaction to his father." Carville told them "I think it would be more harmful than beneficial to hide it from him any longer than necessary."
"I agree." Both Jim and Caleb said at the same time.
Carville nodded, relieved that they felt the same way as him. "I still want to get him settled first before his father gets to the ranch, and Caleb from what your father told me the room with the medical equipment has been set up for two after we spoke to him earlier on Skype."
"Yea." Caleb nodded "We had another bed and more monitors brought in from a supplier a few hours ago. Dad's pretty influential when he wants to be."
"That's a good thing." Carville smiled at him. "Do you know what drugs he has?"
"Enough to stock a small pharmacy." Caleb assured him with a grin.
"Very good." Carville replied
"Do you have any idea what is wrong with John?" whispered Jim from the driver's seat "I know your theory and I trust your medical opinion I just want to make sure that we don't have a repeat of what happened to you on the plane."
"I want to speak with John and Dean before I can make any definitive diagnosis." Carville began "Now that I know more of your…occupation I'm wondering if perhaps John had any broken ribs prior to this event. It's possible that collapsing as he did earlier and all of the odd positions he's been sleeping in could have caused a healing fracture to re-break and bruise his heart which could have caused all of this. An injury of that magnitude coupled with stress, flying, and now further pressure from compressions could put him at risk for a repeat if we don't know for sure."
"When you did the tests at the hospital, didn't you run an x-ray?" Caleb asked
"That's not something I would routinely run on someone presenting with John's symptoms, so no." Carville said "But I'm now wishing I had, I wouldn't have recommended putting him on a plane and we sure as hell would have had his ribs wrapped."
Each man sat with their own thoughts for the remaining twenty minutes of the drive.
As they pulled up to the ranch over the stone driveway, the slight jarring woke Dean.
"Not a pleasant way to wake up." He grimaced "Any chance of getting some of the good stuff before I'm moved?" he asked Carville hopefully.
Carville took a peek at his medication log and nodded to Dean "It's been about four hours since your last dose so I can give you some morphine to help with the…."
"No." Dean shook his head as fiercely as he could "No narcotics. Advil is my best friend."
"Okay, if you insist." Carville said, still amazed at the kids stubbornness.
After giving Dean some Advil and a sip of water from Caleb's bottle they were ready to move him into the house.
Martha had come outside at hearing the van pulled in and she rushed forward, quilt in hand to her boy. "Oh Dean." She cried "Look at how skinny you've gotten!"
As the men pulled the stretcher from the van Martha worked quickly at securing the blanket around Dean.
"I've turned the bed down for you as best I could." She fretted "Not much you can do with hospital beds but I think you'll be comfortable."
"Thank you ma'am." Dean smiled before turning his head to Caleb.
"Any word from Sam or your dad on how close they are? How are they getting back here anyway? Your dad's car is right over…"
"Easy does it now." Jim said as they brought the stretcher through the door and into the home. Dean was momentarily distracted as he looked around in fondness at the beautiful log ranch.
"Good to be back." He said to Jim as he closed his eyes with a grimace as he was once again jarred against the narrow hallway.
"Sorry deuce." Caleb said with shame "That was a foul on my end."
Once they were able to maneuver the stretcher to the back end of the home where Jim's enclosed all-season room was, Dean immediately took notice of the second bed.
"Ready for the apocalypse or what?" Dean smirked and Jim just smiled uncomfortably at him before moving to side of the stretcher.
"Alright Dean." Carville began "We're going to move you from the stretcher and over onto the bed using a slide board and…"
"No." Dean's tone was firm "I'm not an invalid, I just need a hand."
"Okay." Carville agreed, wanting to save Dean from stress that arguing would bring.
"You're going to very carefully move to the edge of the stretcher and allow Jim, Caleb, and myself to help you maneuver to the other bed without putting any strain on your ankle, ribs, or shoulder."
"That's fine." Dean said in bewilderment, clearly expecting an argument on the subject.
He broke into a sweat as he was assisted to a sitting position, and he nearly passed out as his ankle bumped into the side of the stretcher but after five grueling minutes he was proudly settled into the bed.
"You're doing pretty well now." Carville told him as he looked at the various monitors in the room. "We're going to keep the IV in to make meds easier but I don't see you needing the heart monitor anymore, & we can keep the blood pressure cuff handy, but I think we can keep the tubing to a minimum."
Dean just nodded at him, still obviously distracted. "Can I have an honest answer here?" He asked
"Of course Dean." Jim nodded to him as he moved to Dean's side
"What's going on with my dad?" Dean asked "And please don't lie to me."
Mackland looked down to his cellphone and saw various messages from his son.
"Have you gotten any texts from Caleb?" Mack asked Sam.
Sam looked at him in confusion before pulling his phone from his pocket "Yes, but I also have some from a number I don't recognize and I somehow think these messages are directed to you."
Sam handed his phone to Mackland and was dismayed to see a frown cross Mackland's face.
"From what I gather." Mackland began "Your brother is being his usual stubborn self and knows that we are keeping something from him so I think the time to cross that bridge will be tonight."
He paused for a moment and leaned forward on the seat, closer to John before continuing.
"How often have you spoken to your dad and brother in recent times Sam?" Mackland asked him, catching Sam off guard.
"Not too often." Sam replied guiltily "Why?"
"Carville seems to think it's possible that your dad may have been injured before any of this happened and that one of his ribs could be pressing against his heart." Mackland stopped speaking and put his stethoscope on before removing the blanket from John's chest.
There was definite bruising present and some could be from the earlier compressions but he had begun to worry that Carville could be right.
"Hey, Johnny?" Mackland asked him as he raised his voice slightly "You with me?"
"Not stupid." John smirked as he opened his eyes "Just resting."
When he saw that Mack was clearly not in a joking mood he immediately sobered "Is Dean okay?"
"Dean is fine dad." Sam rushed to assure him, wanting to keep his father as calm as possible.
"Have you hurt yourself at all John?" Mackland asked him
"What?" John asked, clearly confused.
"I guess I know about as much as you do." John said
Mackland explained Carville's theory to John and waited for a response.
After a few moments John replied "Our last hunt before this was in Erie, PA." John said "Wendigo. Nasty son of a bitch tossed me into a tree before Dean torched it."
"Let me guess." Sam said "Chest first?"
"Bingo." John grimaced as he laid his head back into the pillow more. "Chest feels pretty rough right now."
"Like chest pains?" Mackland wanted to know
"Nah. Not exactly." John said "It's more of a deep throbbing."
"Should I even bother trying to get the x-rays from the ER you went to in PA?" Mackland asked knowingly.
"Wouldn't do you much good." John said "I knew I busted a few so I had Dean wrap'em and we laid low for a few weeks until these last two hunts. Didn't have any insurance cards on me at the time."
"Damnit John." Mackland swore. "We're going to have to get some portable x-ray equipment out to Jim's.
"You had broken ribs dad?" Sam said incredulously "Why didn't you say something? No wonder your chest hurts, I probably re-broke your ribs during the compressions!"
"Nah Sammy." John tried to assure him "I'm pretty sure they weren't healing all that well in the first place. I may have done more than crack them."
Mackland ran a hand over his face warily. "I've got a few phone calls to make once we get to the ranch. It's good we know now what we may be working with." He said to John "But if you so much as move funny with this, we could be in serious trouble."
John nodded, understanding the gravity of the situation.
"Long as Dean's okay you do what you want with me." He told Mackland firmly.
Sam had noticed that his dads O2 sat had gone down a bit, even with the oxygen.
"Hey Mack." He said "Should we turn the oxygen up?"
Mack looked at the reading of 92 and frowned "Yea." He said "We'll put it up on 8."
After they had adjusted the oxygen flow and placed the mask more firmly over John's face, they were both pleased to see the pain lines in his face ease.
"Alright John we'll be to the ranch in about twenty minutes so I'm going to do a quick exam before we get you there. First, I'm going to give you some pain meds to help ease the throbbing. I'm sorry I can't give you a stronger dose but I don't want to weaken your respiration rate any further or lower your blood pressure."
John nodded his understanding as Mack had the paramedic prepare a low-dose of Fentanyl for the IV.
Sam watched intently as Mack gently palpated his father's chest. When Mack got to the top of John's ribcage, closer to his heart John took a noticeably deeper breath and gripped Sam's hand as tight as he could.
"S-stop." He cried out as the pain became too much "N-nine." He told Mack before even being asked "That's a solid nine."
Mack nodded as he worriedly continued to probe the area, this time with a little more caution. He felt a slight crunching movement in the ribs near the top of the rib cage that worried him greatly but he did not want to worry Sam.
"You definitely have some damage to your ribs John." Mack sighed "I'm going to run a respiration test quick with Sam's help."
Sam looked to Mack for instruction, ready to help however he could.
"Okay Sam." Mack said "I need to check your father's chest as he takes in a full breath to see the motion of his ribs."
Sam nodded, following along.
"John we're going to remove the oxygen for a moment and Sam is going to help you with breathing okay? I know it's hard for you to take a deep breath right now, if not impossible so Sam is going to give you a few deep breaths."
John nodded; clearly confused as the fentanyl was beginning to ease his pain. He was having a harder time following along with the instructions.
"Okay Sam." Mack turned to the 18 year old "You know how to do CPR right?"
Sam nodded.
"With the oxygen removed I'm going to have you take nice and slow breaths for your dad just like you would if he wasn't breathing okay?"
"Sure." Sam said "But wouldn't it be easier with the ambu-bag?"
"Generally, yes." Mack said "But it's hard to give measured breathes with that and I need to be able to clearly gauge your father's chest expansion."
"Okay." Sam said, willing to do anything he could to help his dad.
"Alright John, we're going to remove the oxygen now."
As Mackland removed the mask he told Sam to get into position.
"Wait a few moments Sam." Mack said "I want to see what his rates are like without the extra O2 for a moment."
John struggled weakly for breath, his chest barely rising and falling. His eyes rolled back into his head as his chest heaved.
"Okay Sam." Mack ordered "Now. Nice and slow."
Sam nodded and raised his father's chin to clear the airway before pinching his dad's nose and sealing his own mouth over his fathers and breathing deeply and slowly once.
Sam watched as best he could as his fathers' chest rose, the part of his chest near the top was uneven as it raised and went back down. Mackland frowned, obviously unhappy with the result.
"Okay Sam, Twice more for me." Sam nodded and gave his father two more much needed breaths before taking the oxygen mask from Mackland and sealing it back into place over his dads face.
"Okay?" Sam said as he watched Mackland. "What the hell was that?"
"I think Carville was right on the money." Mackland said to Sam "I think we're definitely looking at a myocardial contusion but I also think there is some fluid build-up in your dad's chest."
John sat up for a moment and coughed as deeply as he could, grabbing at his chest.
Sam took his dads hand in his "It's okay dad we're almost there, and Dean can kick both of our asses." Sam looked to Mackland for assurance but found none as the man was bent over his father listening to his chest with a stethoscope.
John was obviously going downhill fast so Mackland asked the ambulance driver if he could speed it up. They were only moments from the ranch now.
As the ambulance rumbled into the driveway Caleb, who had been waiting for its arrival on the porch hurried into the ranch to get Carville when he saw the urgency at which the rig was moving.
Dean was in the capable hands of Martha as she insisted on being the one to explain his fathers' episode on the plane to him. Martha had been an ER nurse for more than 30 years before retiring so she was more than able to explain it to him.
Dean had asked the others to leave while they talked. He knew that as kind as she was, she would sugar coat nothing and he appreciated her honesty.
As they were talking, Dean heard Caleb lumber into the house and call for Jim and Carville with urgency.
"What's going on?" Dean asked to her and she shook her head "I'm not sure honey."
"Can you go find out?" Dean asked her "Please?"
"I'd love to young man but that father of yours and my husband would kill me if I left you alone. There are two doctors out there and of course Sam, Caleb, and Bobby. I'm sure everything is just fine."
She said a prayer that she wasn't lying to this boy.
"What's going on?" Carville yelled as he sprinted from the porch to the ambulance, covering the distance in seconds.
"Definitely a myocardial contusion." Mackland told him "I've got Bobby on the phone now to get a portable x-ray out here and we've confirmed rib injury, he's hypoxic when not on oxygen, uneven rib cage during respiration, extreme pain above the ribs with a crunching feel at the top."
Carville reached out to help get the stretcher from the ambulance as Sam and the paramedic worked to re-attach the oxygen tubing to a portable tank.
John was moaning weakly in pain, still holding Sam's free hand.
Carville opened John's eyes and used his penlight to gauge John's consciousness. "I'd like him out for this trip into the house but I know it's too dangerous." He said to Mackland and Mack nodded his agreement.
As they moved John into the house Carville explained John's earlier symptoms to Mackland. "I at first didn't think too much of these with the obvious stress that this man was going through but now that we have more of an idea: the weakness, excessive fatigue, light headedness, increased heart rate, and shortness of breath all coincide with the diagnosis.
Once they were into the ranch the paramedics brought any remaining supplies to the door and were sent off by Jim. "Thank you gentlemen so much." Jim told them "And remember: not a word to anyone."
This wasn't the first time that this private EMS service had been utilized by the pastor over the years so they knew the drill fairly well.
Jim looked to the sky as he began to close the door "God help us." He whispered
As John was brought into the room, Dean remained silent, not wanting to interrupt the men trying to help his father. "Dad?" he whispered as tears began to trail down his face "Sammy?"
Martha rushed to the group and pulled Sam quietly away so the men could move John to the bed.
"Sam can you keep an eye on Dean for me?" She asked him, hoping to give him the needed distraction and for Dean's peace of mind.
Sam nodded distractedly and heard his brother's broken plea. "Sammy?"
"Dean!" Sam rushed to the bed "It's okay they're going to help him."
Sam crawled into the available space on the large bed and carefully let Dean rest his head on his shoulder.
"You said he was fine." Dean accused quietly, clearly spent. "I don't call coding fine Sam."
"He didn't code Dean!" Sam assured him "It was close."
"What's going on?" Dean asked him "And I don't want some bullshit half answer Sam- I want the truth."
"Do you remember the hunt in Erie, Pennsylvania?" Sam asked Dean.
"Of course I do." Dean said, not understanding where this was going.
"When the Wendigo tossed dad into the tree, it did a lot of damage." Sam said "They think that dad, not going to the hospital and doing all of the activity he's been doing has caused one of the ribs to bruise his heart."
"To bruise his heart?" Dean said, paling. "How bad is that?"
"I don't know Dean." Sam said honestly, "But I know that we have two of the best doctors in the entire world working on him right now so we should have an answer soon."
The boys watched as Martha removed the stretcher from the room. Their father's shirt was cut off and the same was done to his pants and boxers- the time for modesty was long past.
"Okay gentlemen." Mackland said, turning his attention to Sam and Dean.
"We have a portable x-ray coming to get us some films so we know exactly what we are working with. Your dad is having a real hard time moving air right now and it's putting a strain on his already fragile heart. I know you're not going to like this but we're going to have to put him on the ventilator."
"Is he dying?" Sam asked in fear
"No." Carville said in a firm tone. "This is a treatable condition & your father is still breathing on his own it's just a precaution to keep the stress low. If it's a contusion of his heart in order to heal he's going to need this to limit the strain." Sam nodded, clearly not convinced.
"The contusion can cause a build-up of fluid around the lungs and heart." Mackland said
"Carville and I are thinking that once we have the films and know what we're working with, we'll insert a chest-tube to drain the fluid and we'll utilize the ventilator for about 72 hours. We're going to avoid surgery at all costs and as long as his ribs are all in the right place, we'll leave them wrapped and leave him very limited, motion-wise, for a period of time."
"So I'll have a bed-rest buddy." Dean joked, now feeling mildly better about the situation.
Mackland gave him a tense smile "That's one way to look at it kiddo."
"Was there anything else you noticed with your dad Dean?" Carville asked "Besides his ribs?"
Dean thought for a moment.
"The left side of his neck was real sore for a few days. When he hit the tree the majority of the impact was his left side but that was so long ago."
"But your dad not resting and taking it easy could have very well prevented any additional breaks from healing." Mackland told Dean. "You and I know how stubborn your old man is- that's where you get it from!"
Carville had been prepping the ventilator while Mackland talked to the boys and Bobby spoke up from where he'd been standing silent in the room.
"Why don't we let these boys have a few with their daddy?"
Mackland looked at Bobby thoughtfully "I like that idea." He said
Now that John was settled into the bed and covered from the waist down, Martha got a wheelchair for Dean and brought it into the room. Sam all but lifted his brother- with Caleb's assistance into the chair.
Dean took a sharp intake of breath but said nothing. He wanted to see his dad.
As Sam pushed Dean to his father, he himself became hesitant. Would John even be awake?
"Dad?" Dean asked as he took his father's hand and squeezed it gently.
John moved his head towards Dean and grimaced slightly at the pulling motion.
His eyes fluttered open "Hey kiddo."
"Hi dad." Dean smiled, trying like hell to not tear up.
"C'mere Sammy." John said when he noticed Sam standing behind the wheelchair.
"M'not gonna break boys." John said
"You aren't seein' what we're seein' right now dad." Dean told him "Guess you weren't as fine as you told me."
"Guess not." John agreed too easily.
"How you doin kiddo?" John asked Dean as he tried to look at him better but again grimaced as he tried to turn his head.
Mackland saw his pain and went to the supplies to take a soft neck brace out. "Sorry John." He said as he came up to the small group. "But I don't want you in any pain if I can help it."
John just nodded softly and turned his attention back to his boys.
"We're Winchesters. This ain't nothing compared to what we've been through. S'just a bruise."
"That's easy to say dad but the bruise is on your heart." Sam said, hoping his father realized the seriousness of the situation.
"I know Sammy I just….I j-ju…" he trailed off chest suddenly heaving as he couldn't find the air to pull in anymore.
Sam was pushed back gently by Carville and Mackland as they moved in to John.
Sam pulled Dean's wheelchair back and the brothers watched anxiously at the scene in front of them.
Mackland frowned as he listened with his stethoscope. "The strain on his chest muscles is too much- he's in respiratory arrest we need to get that vent now." He said to Carville.
Carville nodded and set about to insert the breathing tube.
Dean turned away, he couldn't watch this. "Dean." Martha told him "You need to get some rest honey."
Dean just shook his head tiredly "But…my dad."
"Your dad will be fine." She told him as she drew up a low-dose of morphine "Doctors orders honey." She told him as she injected it into his IV.
Dean tried to weakly fight the sedation but was powerless to stop it as he drifted off into oblivion.
Sam smiled gratefully at Martha before accepting Caleb's help at moving Dean back onto the bed as painlessly as possible.
"Please be okay dad." Sam said quietly to himself as he settled down into the chair next to Dean's bed.
This little chapter turned into quite the monster on me 0.o
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