Chapter 25

"I can't explain it," said the doctor, shaking his head in disbelief. "All the scans show that your heart is completely fine. There's no sign that there was anything ever wrong with it. The contusions on your body have healed. Your vitals are back to normal. It's a miracle. You have some kind of angel looking out for you."

"Thanks doc," said Dean. He'd been poked and prodded for the last couple of hours, while the medical staff tried to figure out what had happened and how he had suddenly recovered. He didn't know either. He had a vague recollection of the accident and waking up at some point. Sam told him that he'd been near death and had even flatlined once.

"Where's Dad?" Dean asked.

"I went to go tell him the news, but he wasn't in his room. I have no idea where he went off too," lied Sam. He had a pretty good idea actually.

"Tell me about Laney," said Dean softly. "They wouldn't tell me anything." Which to him meant something was very, very wrong.

Sam's face fell. Dean was schooled in his brother's many expressions, and this one had pain, grief, and uncertainty written all over it.

"What is it Sammy? She's not – she's not…" He couldn't even get the word out. It was too impossible to imagine. His sister couldn't be dead.

"She's alive," Sam said quickly. "But it's bad. She took the brunt of the impact in the accident. She had some internal injuries and broken bones."

"What else aren't you telling me?"

"She has a serious head injury," continued Sam. "She has swelling of the brain and a skull fracture. She's in a coma and they don't know when…or if, she's going to wake up."

Dean's eyes watered with tears. He shook his head in disbelief. No way. Why did he make a sudden recovery and his sister was still in a bed, in a coma, fighting for her life? He didn't deserve it. He'd give anything to trade places.

"I want to see her." He had to see her with his own eyes.

"Okay," said Sam. He went to grab a wheelchair when his father appeared in the doorway.

"Hey Dean, how are you feeling?"

"I'm alive…I feel fine." He managed a small smile.

"That's all that matters," said John, smiling back.

"Where were you last night?" asked Sam, getting worked up at his father's sudden reappearance.

"I had some things to take care of."

"Well, that's specific," said Sam, sarcastically.

"Come on Sam," said Dean. This wasn't the time or the place.

"You were off looking for the demon, weren't you?" Sam asked angrily.

John sighed. "Sam – can we not fight? Half the time we're fighting and I don't even know what we're fighting about. We're just butting heads. I know I've made some mistakes, but I've always done the best I could. I just – I just don't want to fight anymore."

Sam's anger vanished instantly. Something was wrong. He narrowed his eyes. "Dad, are you all right?"

"Yeah, I'm just a little tired," he smiled at his son. "Would you mind getting me a cup of coffee?"

"Sure, no problem, I'll be right back."

"Thanks."

John watched Sam walk out of the door with an expression of regret and sorrow so deeply etched on his face that Dean couldn't help but notice.

"What is it, Dad?" he asked. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach that he couldn't shake.

"You know when you were a kid, I'd come home from a hunt and after what I'd seen, I'd be wrecked. But you would come up to me and put your hand on my shoulder and look me in the eye and say, "It's okay Dad". Dean, I'm sorry for that. You shouldn't have had to say that to me. I should have been saying it to you. I put way too much on your shoulders. I made you grow up too fast. You took care of me, you took care of Sammy…you raised your sister from a baby…when you were just a kid yourself. You did all of that and you didn't complain. Not once. I just want you to know that I'm so proud of you."

"Is this really you talking?" asked Dean, confused. His father had always been a man of few words. Never once before had he praised him for much of anything.

"Yeah, it's really me," chuckled John.

"Why are you saying this stuff?"

"I want you to watch out for Sammy okay. And your sister, right now, more than ever is going to need you. She needs you – you and Sammy. Don't let her give up. You've done such an incredible job with her. Keep it up."

"Okay, Dad…you know I will…you're really scaring me."

John placed his hand on his son's shoulder. "Don't be scared Dean." He leaned down to his son's ear and whispered. "You have to keep Delaney safe, no matter what it takes – and you have to save Sammy. If you can't save him... you might have to kill him."

Dean leaned back in shock, taken aback by his father's words. What the hell was he talking about?

John nodded an affirmation at his son. He studied him for a moment, tears running down his face and turned and walked out of the room, leaving his oldest son, stunned and terrified.

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Sam returned from the cafeteria with the coffee for his father. He turned the corner to his room, expecting to see him sitting there waiting for him. Instead, his heart slammed in his chest when he saw his father sprawled out on the floor next to the bed. He dropped the cup of coffee and began screaming for help. Within seconds nurses and doctors flooded into the room.

"Get the crash cart!"

"Please help him!" yelled Sam.

"Sir, please step out of the room. We need the space."

Sam was about to protest but instead ran for Dean's room.

Dean was already half way out of bed in his attempt to find his own way to his sister's room.

"Dean, it's Dad!"

"What, what's wrong?"

"I don't know, he collapsed…they're working on him."

Dean moved as swiftly as possible. He was stiff and sore, but able to walk. He leaned into Sam for support and they quickly returned to their father's room. John was now on the bed, hooked up to several monitors that were beeping in warning. The medical staff was attempting to resuscitate him.

"You guys need to leave the room!"

"No, no…he's our Dad," said Dean.

Sam and Dean watched helplessly as the medical team tried to revive their father, both of them wondering how it was even possible that he was in such a state. They'd been talking to him just a few minutes ago. He was walking and talking and supposed to be completely fine.

"Stop compressions," said the doctor. He waited for a moment. There was still no heartbeat. "That's it. I'm calling it; time of death 10:41 a.m."

"No," choked out Dean. "No."

"How doctor? How did this happen? Ten minutes ago he was fine!" shouted Sam. He wanted answers.

"Sudden cardiac arrest," said the doctor. "It may have been from the accident or it may not have been. I don't think there was anything we could have done different."

The medical team left the room, leaving the boys alone with their father.

"This isn't right," whispered Dean.

"What?" asked Sam, through his tears.

"I don't know. It's just wrong." Something was wrong. It had to be the demon. The demon must have gotten to him.

"He's gone, Dean. He's really gone," whispered Sam in disbelief.

Dean placed his arm around his brother's shoulder. They stood side by side looking over their father's body; alternating between shock and grief and confusion.

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"Dean, this is Rachel. She's Laney's nurse," said Sam, introducing the two. After their father's body had been taken down to the morgue Dean signed himself out against medical advice and demanded to be taken to his sister. No one else in his family was dying. Not on his watch.

"How's she doing?" asked Dean, not up for pleasantries.

Rachel didn't let his abruptness bother her. Talk of the Winchester family was making its rounds all through the hospital, from the young man's miraculous recovery to the father's sudden death, theories abounded. She ignored it. Whatever was going on, these boys were hurting and she was going to do what she could to make sure they didn't lose their sister too.

"Well, there isn't much change. But her vitals have stabilized which is good. She's still on the ventilator. They just brought her back from a brain scan and the neurologist should be in with results soon."

Dean nodded. "Thanks." He paused in front of the room door before entering. Sam had given him the rundown on what to expect.

Sam walked in first. When Dean entered he sucked in a deep breath. As much as they'd tried to prepare him, it still wasn't enough to temper the shock of seeing his baby sister lying in a hospital bed and clinging to life.

Approaching the bed, he blinked quickly to try and hold back the tears. She looked so tiny. It reminded him so much of when he would watch over her when she was a little girl afraid of the dark, all tiny and exposed. He would let her climb up into his bed and she would curl up next to him and put her little hands on his face and ask him to keep the monsters away. Sometimes he would just watch her sleep, fascinated by her and how he could love a person so much. He was amazed by how much she trusted him and everything he said. She had given him so much purpose in his life. His father always assumed that he'd been burdened with caring for his sister – raising her – but it wasn't true. She wasn't a burden. She was a blessing. It couldn't end like this. She was too young and had too damn much to offer the world.

He pulled up a chair next to her. Sam took the chair on the other side and studied his sister, looking for any discernible changes, but not finding any.

"Hey short round," said Dean, "When did you become such a drama queen?"

Sam smiled. This was what his sister needed. She needed Dean.

"Sammy and I are here with you – and you need to wake up – you're the brains of our operation. Without you, we can't function. Do you think I want to stare at Sammy's ugly mug all day?"

"Yeah baby, you can't leave me with alone with Dean. He smells and he's messy," joked Sam.

Dean leaned over and very carefully kissed his sister's cheek. It was swollen and purple, but it was one of the few spots that weren't covered in a bandage, IV's, or wires.

"What did they say about her broken bones?" asked Dean, as he studied her from head to toe.

"Her arm was broken in two places, clean breaks, so they'll heal fine without any surgery. But her leg was pretty badly wrecked and they had to use some rods and screws to get it back in one piece."

Dean shook his head. It wasn't fair. He'd gladly take all of her injuries on himself if he knew it meant she'd live. He'd do it in a heartbeat. He was sure his father would have too; if he were still alive.

Dean ordered himself to put it out of his head. The only thing he needed to be thinking about at the moment was getting his sister through this ordeal. He had to be there for Sammy too. He was the oldest and it was his job to protect them and care for them. He intended to live up to the promise he'd made to his father even if he didn't completely understand what it meant.

A knock at the door broke into his thoughts.

"Come in," said Sam.

"Hi, I'm Dr. Chung; I'm the neurologist on Miss Winchester's case."

"We're her brothers. I'm Sam, and this is Dean."

The doctor offered a curt nod in greeting. "We got the results back from your sister's latest brain scan."

Dean and Sam both took a deep breath.

"The good news is that the swelling has seemed to hit its peak and has diminished somewhat. It's not a dramatic change, but it's enough to convince me that surgery won't be necessary."

"That's great," said Sam, sighing in relief.

"What now?" asked Dean. He wasn't quite at ready to celebrate. His sister had a long road ahead of her.

"We'll keep aggressively treating the swelling and fluid with medication. But like we've said before, until she wakes up we won't know the extent of the brain damage, if any. She's still in a comatose state, but that is a way of the brain and body protecting itself and to be expected for now. We'll probably remove the ventilator in 24 hours if she continues to improve. "

"Thank you doctor," said Dean.

"No problem." Dr. Chung turned to walk out of the room, but stopped at the door and turned around. "You know, your sister has proven to be a remarkable young woman. She's doing far and away better than most patients I've seen with her injuries." He offered them a rare smile and left.

"Damn straight you're remarkable," Dean said in his sister's ear. "You're a Winchester after all."

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"Thanks Bobby, for everything," said Dean.

"You got it. Whatever else you need, you just let me know."

"You think you could sit with Laney while we handle this? I don't want her to be alone," said Dean.

"Of course," said Bobby.

After a long night sleeping in their sister's room, Dean and Sam decided that they really needed to deal with their father's remains. Bobby helped them retrieve the body from the morgue. Dean had insisted on salting and burning his body as John would have wanted. Bobby found an out of the way spot where they could take care of business without drawing unwanted attention.

Dean nodded in appreciation. He was grateful to have someone they trusted close by.

"Ready Sammy?" Dean shook his head. His brother had been staring intently at Laney's face for hours, looking for any change, any indication she was aware of what was going on – aware that her brothers were waiting impatiently for her to wake up.

"Yeah okay," answered Sam glancing up at his big brother.

Dean knew from his expression that he was anything but ready. But they had to do the job. They couldn't put it off regardless of how painful it was.

Sam kissed his sister's cheek. "See you in a little while sleeping beauty."

Dean walked over and kissed her too. His hand lingered on her face for a few moments. He kept hoping her eyes would just pop open.

"We'll be quick," Dean said to Bobby.

"Take your time."

Dean nodded, but he knew he'd be back as fast as possible. He wanted to be at Laney's bedside when she woke up.

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"The Colt is nowhere to be found," said Sam.

When they had claimed their father's possessions at the morgue, the Colt was not among his things, nor was there any indication of what he might have done with it.

"Maybe he hid it to keep it safe," offered Dean.

"Yeah, maybe."

"Look Sammy, we'll find it again, wherever it is, but we have a lot more important things to worry about right now."

"I know that," snapped Sam. He was irritated by the implication that he was more worried about the gun than his sister. That was not the case.

Dean sighed. "Let's just get this done, okay?"

Sam nodded.

Dean flicked his lighter and set the pyre with his father's body, on fire. He took a step back towards his little brother and out of the way of the flames. The whole experience was surreal. He couldn't believe he was gone; his father, his hero, being reduced to a pile of ashes.

Sam felt as though he'd be swallowed up by regret. The last time he'd seen his father he'd tried to pick a fight. And that would be forever etched in his mind.

They watched until the flames completely died out and there was nothing left put a smoldering pile of embers and ash.

"We should get back," said Dean. He was anxious being away from Laney, especially knowing that the yellow-eyed demon was still out there somewhere. He knew Bobby would have called if there was anything to worry about but the sooner he was back with her the better he would feel.

"Yeah," said Sam. His thoughts were echoing his brother's. He needed to be with his little sister.

They climbed back into their borrowed car and headed back towards the hospital.

"How are we going to tell Laney about Dad?" asked Sam.

"We're going to wait, until the time is right."

"She's going to take it hard."

"We're all taking it hard."

"I know, Dean. I just mean, you know how she blames herself for everything. This won't be any different. And the last time she saw Dad…possessed. And what the demon said about her being given up…which isn't even true."

Sam looked over at his brother and saw a strange expression cross his face. His eyes widened in shock.

"Wait a minute; tell me it's not true, that's not possible. I don't remember that," stammered Sam.

Dean sighed and stared out at the road. "When she was four months old…you know, Dad was having a really hard time dealing with a newborn and grieving for Mom…he was overwhelmed. He spent a lot of time at the bar drowning his sorrows in Jack… One night the baby got really sick. You were asleep already, but I was up with her and she was struggling to breath. I couldn't reach Dad. I had to run to the neighbor's house and to get help…they had to call an ambulance." He paused, shaking the memory out his head. "Anyway, she had pneumonia and nearly died."

Realization dawned on Sam. "I remember you told me she was in the hospital and really sick, but we weren't allowed to visit her."

"She was there for a few Protective Services were called in because we had been left alone without an adult. They threatened to take us away from Dad. Instead the social worker convinced Dad that taking care of Laney was too much and she might be better off with a more suitable family, whatever that means," scoffed Dean.

Her own family was her suitable family. Screw what they thought. His family was unconventional, but they all loved each other deeply.

"Anyway, they placed her with a family in town. After a couple of weeks though Dad couldn't take it, he missed her too much. I heard him cry himself to sleep every night she was gone."

Dean's eyes watered at the memory. He remembered crying himself to sleep as well.

"I begged Dad to get her back, I promised him that I would take care of her and he wouldn't have to worry…I don't know the details of how, but he got her back and we shagged ass out of Lawrence and never went back."

"I never knew that. I just thought she was in the hospital that whole time," said Sam in disbelief.

"You were still so young."

"So were you."

Dean shook his head. "Yeah, anyway. We do have to tell her about it."

"What if she doesn't believe you?"

"We'll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it." First, she needs to wake up.

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"Hey kiddo," said Dean. "When you wake up, we're going to go out and get you this shiniest, fanciest laptop you could ever dream of. You'll be the envy of all the geeks."

"Resorting to bribery," joked Sam.

"Whatever works," said Dean.

His attention turned towards the door as the nurse, Rachel walked in with a cart of equipment.

"Hey Rachel," said Sam.

"Hey there guys."

"What's all that?" asked Dean, studying the cart suspiciously.

"I need to change out her bandages and check her incisions. An infection would be deadly at this stage."

"Oh, okay. Should we leave?" asked Dean.

"Nope, you guys can stick around and watch. You can learn how to do it yourselves."

"Will we need to?" asked Sam.

"Of course," she said, cheerfully. "She's going to wake up soon, but these wounds are going to need care for a few weeks until they heal completely."

Rachel had learned that one of the best ways to help family cope with their loved ones injuries was to involve them in some way or another in the healing process. It made them feel a little less powerless. It gave them a purpose and a direction.

"So gather around," she said.

Rachel arranged Laney's gown and blanket to protect her modesty. When she woke up she would be mortified if she thought her brothers had been seeing her naked.

"I'll remove the dressing very carefully."

When she pulled the dressing away, both Sam and Dean winced. It was a very thick horizontal incision across her stomach. There were more staples than they could count holding it together. It was going to be a nasty scar.

Rachel grabbed the bottle of antiseptic and cleaned around the wound carefully.

"It's looking good," she said, "No sign of infection and it's not draining anymore, so that means it's starting to heal."

She grabbed fresh gauze and tape to dress the wound again. She pressed the gauze and tape down. Sam jumped.

"What?" asked Dean, noticing his brother's reaction.

"I don't know, but I could have sworn I saw Laney flinch when she pushed down on the wound."

Dean looked up at his sister's face skeptically. Sam was probably just seeing things.

"I'll apply some more pressure and we'll see," said Rachel. She was skeptical. In her experience, loved ones were always trying to see things that weren't happening. So any little innocuous thing was a sign of something.

She pressed down and they all watched Laney's face. And there it was; an almost imperceptible flinch of her eyes. She pressed again just to be sure and once again got the same reaction.

Dean looked from his sister to the nurse.

"You're right," she said, "I think she felt that."

"That's good right?" asked Dean, restraining the excitement from his voice.

"Very good… I'm going to go call her doctor and have him examine her."

"Okay," said Sam.

Rachel quickly finished getting Laney resettled before leaving the room.

Sam looked at his brother with a goofy grin. Dean couldn't help but smile back.