I woke up coughing a few hours later in bed at Jensen's apartment. Jensen stirred beside me and his eyes widened when the coughing intensified and I sat up, curling in on myself. He sat up with me and rubbed my back, waiting for the coughing to stop. When it finally did, his hand went to my shoulder. "You alright, babe?"
I put my face in my hands, tiredly, and nodded. "Yeah," I whispered, so low he could hardly hear me. He lay back down, slowly pulling me with him. He tried to pull me close to his side but I went a step further, laying on top of him, my legs falling to either side. He chuckled lowly.
"Well, you're awfully cuddly today."
"I don't feel so good," I mumbled into his chest. He looked down at me.
"Do you think you're getting sick from being in the cold water all day?" I shrugged, too tired to form a coherent thought, let alone answer him.
"Kate, really. Talk to me." I tried to focus but got distracted by the pain in my chest, worsening every time I took in a breath.
"It hurts," I whined.
"What hurts?" Jensen stroked my hair while rubbing my back.
"Chest." I buried my face in his shirt and bit my lip, trying to distract myself from the pain.
"Okay, what else?" I repositioned, resting the side of my face on his chest.
"Hard to breathe. Tired," I whispered.
"Should I take you to the emergency room?" He asked, concerned.
I shook my head. "Don't like doctors," I murmured. Jensen sighed.
"Fine but if it's still hard to breathe in the morning, I'm taking you to the doctor." I didn't respond, having already fallen asleep. Jensen sighed once again and lay his head back down on his pillow.
"Katie," Jensen nudged me gently. "Kate, babe, wake up." I didn't stir and Jensen grew worried. "Kate, Cliff and Jared are downstairs waiting. Katie?" He touched two fingers to the pulse point in my neck, sighing in relief at the feel of blood rushing through my veins. But when he watched my chest for movement, he saw none. Moving closer, he positioned his ear directly in front of my face and his eyes widened in fear. "Jared!" he yelled.
Jared and Cliff ran up the stairs to Jensen's room, stopping at the door. Jensen turned to them quickly. "She's barely breathing! We need to take her to the hospital."
Cliff quickly sprang into action, going downstairs to start the car. Jared, however, froze. He didn't move as Jensen picked Kate up and walked past him. "Jare, come on. We've gotta go. Jared!" Jared flinched and finally started following Jensen downstairs and to the car.
Cliff drove quickly but carefully, maneuvering cautiously through the streets of Vancouver.
Jensen and Jared paced in the waiting room as Cliff sat in one of the uncomfortable hospital chairs. Every time a doctor came out, the stopped and stared, hoping for news. Finally, they heard, "Ms. Padalecki's family?" The boys quickly stood in front of the woman as Cliff stood. "It appears to be a severe case of secondary drowning. When Ms. Padalecki was under water, she swallowed water, which entered her lungs. As a result, she is having difficulty exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide when she breathes."
"So what can you do?"
"Well, right now, we have her on a ventilator. If she doesn't improve in a few hours, however, we will need to take her in for a bronchoscopy to clear out the debris in her lungs."
"Is she awake?" Jared questioned quietly.
"No. One of the symptoms of secondary drowning is extreme tiredness so she may be out for a while. I wouldn't worry, though. If the ventilator isn't enough, we'll do the bronchoscopy and she should be just fine."
"Can we see her?"
"Yes, just prepare yourselves. It can be pretty scary to see loved ones on a ventilator. She's fine. She just looks a little weak."
The doctor led them to Kate's room. The boys sat next to her bed, Jensen and Jared each holding one of her hands while Cliff waited by the door. They sat silently until Jared noticed slight movement coming from his sister.
"Katie?" Kate's heart rate sped up, the beeping of the monitor quickening and worrying the boys. Kate took in a strangled breath and her eyes shot open in fear at the feel the ventilator. The beeping continued to quicken and Cliff slipped out to find a nurse.
"Kate, baby. I need you to calm down, okay?" Jensen whispered as he brushed the hair from her face. "You're alright." Kate's wide eyes stared into his concerned ones as Jared squeezed her hand gently. Her heart rate eventually slowed and she glanced over at her brother, tears threatening to spill over.
"You're in the hospital, Kate." Jared said. Kate's heart rate sped back up momentarily until Jared continued, "It's okay. You're alright." Kate reached up towards the ventilator before Jensen took her hand and moved it to rest on her stomach.
"You can't touch it. You've gotta let the nurse take care of it, okay?" Kate pouted slightly but nodded nonetheless.
Once the nurse removed the ventilator, Kate relaxed against the bed and closed her eyes. "Sorry," she whispered.
Jensen smoothed back her hair. "What are you sorry for?"
"For scaring you. You wanted me to go to the doctor last night but I wouldn't let you take me. S'my fault."
"No, none of this is your fault, Katie. If that moron hadn't tried to drown you, none of this would have happened." Jensen stood and raised his voice. "And that wouldn't have happened if it weren't for Josh! And I couldn't—" Kate reached out, weakly grabbing Jensen's hand in an attempt to calm him. "I couldn't protect you," he finished lowly, not looking her in the eyes. Kate pulled him in for a hug, squeezing as tightly as she could, and refusing to let him go when he tried to pull away.
"Don't ever say that. Don't talk like you haven't saved me. I could have killed myself after Josh." Tears started pouring down Kate's face as she continued. "So don't say you haven't protected me. Because you have. More than you know."