Chapter 25
The next couple of weeks came and went and soon faded with time. As those weeks turned into two months, Dean was finding things slowly starting to get easier for his little brother. Adjusting of course took time and patience, but thankfully the older brother had an endless supply of that patience whenever Sam feared he was going off the deep end or he was getting impatient and angry with himself. Each time, Dean was right there whenever his brother needed him by his side, whether it be physically or just as a listening ear. Every night, the two brothers had seemed to develop their own routine when they went to bed and as the weeks turned into months, Dean found that their little nightly routine was helping his brother way more then Sam even thought; but Dean knew better, he knew his brother better then anyone. If anyone thought of doing something as simple as talking with each other in their own beds nightly until Sam fell asleep, whether it be funny memories or serious conversation, it was Dean. And Dean was more then willing to do just that.
Dean had yet to bring up the topic of the Seeing-Eye dog, after all it did take a little thinking it over to convince himself that this could be the perfect option for Sam. But after talking with Jody some more about it, he realized the perfect opportunity to bring it up. And that would involve a little trip after their latest doctor visit; Dean couldn't think of a more perfect time then that to do it, his brother absolutely loved dogs and knowing that he could possibly be getting one as well as prosthetics would make it all the more special for his little brother. The older brother had also been in converse with Sheriff Mills over the course of the last few weeks, keeping her up to date on Sam and although they had yet to receive the special something from Jody that would help his brother with Brail, Dean had gotten right on it with the books in the library. Thankfully, his baby brother seemed more then eager to learn it with him; they would learn together and practice together and even though they didn't have too much to go on, it often sometimes brought some laughter between them that felt practically foreign these days.
Sam had been fitted for the prosthetics a couple of weeks ago, after more thinking on his part and a lot more talks with his brother, until he finally came to the conclusion that he wanted them. If no other reason then to appear normal out in public. Dean was more then happy when his brother appeared to relax a bit when his appointment started; as they talked more and more about it, the older Winchester didn't even allow himself to think of how in the world they were going to pay for this.
It wasn't until the end of the appointment and Dean allowed the topic to switch to that, he found himself more then a little floored when the doctor had announced to him and Sam that an anonymous donation came from an unknown source to help pay for the prosthetics that Sam desperately needed. The older brother refused to allow the emotions to show on his face in front of the old geezer who had been examining Sam and he had refused to show it until they were out in the Impala. That was when he had folded his little brother into his arms and just held him for a few minutes as they both took it in.
Now, Dean was sitting next to Sam in the same clinic, his hand resting lightly on his shoulder as they waited for the doc to come in with the very thing that would change his brother's life hopefully for the better. All he hoped for was that this wasn't some big mistake, that his reassurances that this was for the better wasn't just a bunch of crap.
"You nervous, Sammy?" Dean broke the silence, his hand still resting on his brother's shoulder as the two sat side by side on the cushioned couch in the exam fidgeted and twirled his hands together,
"Yeah, a bit…Are you?"
"Nah," Dean lied through his teeth,
"I'm good. And so will you when we leave here. You're getting your exact same eye color that you had before, you'll feel like you again, Sammy, I know it."
"I hope so," Sam whispered, lowering his head and allowing his hair to fall into his face. It wasn't until this past week that he had finally allowed his brother to take a pair of scissors to his head of hair which had grown ridiculously long that last year; it was only a trim, and Dean promised when he felt more ready and sure of himself, he would give him a real haircut. But not until Sam was ready,
"I just want to get it over with…"
"Would it feel better I put them in for you?" Dean questioned, wanting more then anything for his little brother to relax, but knew that wouldn't happen until the doctor was in the room,
"Instead of the doc?" At Sam's nod, Dean nodded his own head and replied,
"Okay then. He won't be touching you, I promise." He felt Sam's shoulders start to relax some at that statement, as if he just knew that his older brother would keep that promise and never break it.
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"How do they feel, Sammy?"
Silence had filled the exam room and Dean's eyes never left his brother's face as he watched Sam's facial expressions. He just watched and waited as Sam blinked his eyes for the first time in months, his heart in his throat. The look on Sam's face changed every couple of seconds from shock and awe, to fear and uncertainty, and then finally for the first time in months, he watched a tiny smile appear on his brother's face that last more then two seconds.
"Dean…"
"How do they feel, Sam?" Dean repeated, wanting to know for certain that his brother wasn't in any sort of pain at all, that he wasn't hiding anything,
"Are they comfortable?" He turned his eyes to the doctor standing beside him, who's eyes were also directed on Sam as they waited for a response. From the moment the doc had first entered the room, Dean had made it crystal clear to him that he would be handling Sammy's prosthetics; he just needed to be shown how to insert them. Maybe it was due to fear of what the older Winchester could very well do to him if he so much as touched his little brother; whatever it was, the doctor had agreed to it, which had led to no problems.
"They…feel comfortable, Dean," Sam finally answered, blinking his eyes in shock one more time. God, it feel too weird to do that; even though the artificial eyes couldn't move and he couldn't see of course, to know that there was actually something underneath his eyelids...the very thought brought a few tears welling up and he allowed them to fall down his cheeks,
"It's almost like…they feel real…"
Not giving a rat's ass that the doctor was in the same room as them and that he was about to bear witness to an all-out chick-flick moment, Dean ignored the man and closed the gap between his brother and himself and pulled him to his chest. Placing his hand on the back of his little brother's neck, he closed his own eyes and wrapped his arms tighter around Sam, whispering into his ear,
"And they look real, kiddo; they're all yours."
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So much had changed in just the time span of one hour that Dean was unable to control the smile that wouldn't leave his face as he and Sam climbed back into the Impala. After he made sure that his little brother didn't hit his head on the door as he climbed inside, Dean moved back around to the driver's side, shutting the door behind him but not starting the car up. As he sat there for a few moments in silence, he then turned back to his brother, his face now turning serious,
"You sure they feel alright there, kid?"
Still in some sort of trance from the experience in the doctor's office, the knowing that he actually looked half-way normal again, Sam nodded his head slowly,
"Yeah…It's weird and all, but they really do feel…real…" He lifted a trembling hand and brought it up to his face, tentatively touching his eyelids and feeling around,
"Is this real, Dean?"
Dean's eyebrows arched a notch,
"Of course it's real, Sammy. This is all real, I promise you that." He watched as Sam lowered his shaking hand back down to his lap and then turned in his seat until he was fully facing his brother,
"You know you deserve this, little brother. Right?" When he was met with silence, Dean raised an eyebrow at him and continued,
"You deserve nothing less. Am I right?"
Silence.
"Sammy?"
"I'm trying, Dean," Sam whispered back, turning his head in Dean's direction,
"I really am…"
"That's why we're continuing to talk through all of this," The older Winchester replied back softly yet firmly,
"Because I won't just let all this drop. You're going to get better, Sam, I don't care how long it takes and you deserve to have this given to you, alright? Just accept it."
Sam jerkily nodded his head as fiddled with the cane resting against his leg,
"Now what?"
"Now…I've got a little something I want to talk with you about, Sam. Something else that could also help you."
"Something else?" Sam frowned in confusion,
"Dean…I just got a pair of eyes back and I'm finally starting to learn how to walk without falling on my face or rolling down the stairs. I'd say that's a lot of help there, don't you think?"
"Yes, but I've been thinking about this for a while; Jody, actually, was the one who mentioned it to me," Dean revealed,
"That day she came by to visit a few months ago?"
"You guys never said anything," Sam whispered back, going over in his head what his brother and the Sheriff could have possibly come up with. It wasn't like they could just give him his real eyes back or his vision.
Dean smiled slightly as he rested a hand on his brother's upper arm,
"That's because we wanted it to be a surprise and we still do." He watched as Sam's face seemed to form one huge question mark,
"You'll find out, Sammy, don't worry; you won't have to see it in order to know, I can promise you that."
"So we're headed to Jody's then?"
Dean turned back to the steering wheel and turned the key in the ignition,
"Something like that, Sam." Not saying anything else and grinning at the confusion written all over his little brother's face, Dean backed out of the parking lot of the doctor's office and started back out onto the highway.
He couldn't wait to see the look on his little brother's face when they got there.
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TBC