AN: Hey everyone, I'm glad you all still like the story, but I'm sad to say that there is only one more chapter to go after this. Hope you enjoy this chapter.
The doctors had made their rounds and filled the guys in on both Dean's and Sammy's conditions; Dean's case was straightforward with a slight concussion and broken leg, he was released quickly. Sammy's vital signs refused to stay stable for any length of time, and the doctors were keeping him on IV antibiotics to keep the risk of infection down. None of the Musketeers left his side even while he slept, leaving the Colonel to field questions from officers and fire investigators.

No one could explain how Dean and Sam had survived, as the house had completely shaken itself apart and fell into the basement. It had taken half an hour to find them pinned in between the basement steps and debris. Dean's leg had been broken by the same support beam that had laid against Sammy's chest. No one wanted to voice what it looked like, but no one could deny it either; most of the debris had seemed to settle around them, not on them, leaving them more in a cocoon instead of buried alive. The eldest Winchester hadn't been so lucky; what remained of him that is.

As the next couple of days passed, and Sam's test results started to bolster, another piece of the puzzle fell into place, and the Musketeers quickly agreed that Sammy would never know about it. The artifact had originally been hidden away at a neighbor of John and Samuel Cooper in Winslow, Arizona. Mr. and Mrs. Thompson apparently had made it a point to try and get to know their new neighbors, but to no avail. One day however after the Cooper's had moved on, the Thompson's got a package from young Samuel with a piece of antiquity inside and a note. The note explained that they were holding something very old and special and that Sam was sure they would take very good care of it. Unfortunately, when Mrs. Thompson died, her husband wanted to make sure that the piece was returned to him as his dear wife wanted. It had taken him over five months, but finally a response to one of his queries was answered, and a week later John Cooper returned to Winslow. Mr. Thompson however was found dead in his home after he apparently walked into a home invasion; those who knew the whole story knew the truth.

Now though, they watched over their Sammy and prayed he got better soon. After a brief discussion with the doctor, the man was getting ready to set up a psych evaluation for his young patient but was quickly dissuaded when the boy's guardians stepped in with the distinct warning of, 'We think you might want to reconsider that, doc.' Leaving him no doubt what the repercussions would be if he carried out his plans.

The Musketeers waited in hopes that the next time their little brother woke he would be more aware of his surrounds, instead he seemed to stay stuck in a mixture of then and now with no way to tell which was real or not. After talking to Celia, she made sure to call the doctor in charge of Sam's care and explain the full extent of his injuries to which the man quickly changed the medicines that were being pumped into him and apologized profusely for the confusion. Apparently the doctor hadn't had time to look at the medical records that had been faxed and was unaware of some of the drug interactions in the past.

As Bobby sat in the corner of Sam's room and the Musketeers sat around the bed, the Colonel stood watch by the door, not allowing anyone in who could very well disrupt the tentative calm that they had all fallen into.

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

"Dean?" Sam whispered, his head hurt and his throat was dry, but he just wanted to make sure his brother was ok.

"Hey Sammy, we're here. How about opening those eyes of yours so we know it's you talking, ok?" Dean asked as he and the others waited for their little brother to fully wake up. They were starting day four of their vigil and they all were getting worried that the doctors had been wrong and that something else was going on with their little bro.

Blinking, Sam wasn't sure what happened, and it took a moment to see that not only was he in a hospital bed, but his brothers were with him too. Looking around he saw that none of them looked like they had slept in awhile and he worried that they were sick. "Are you guys ok?" he asked, not understanding exactly where they were.

Laughing, everyone shook their heads. Leave it to their little brother to ask about everyone else and not think to ask about himself. Stephen stopped laughing first and answered, "Yeah Sammy, we're fine. You on the other hand have been out of it for awhile. How are you feeling?"

Puzzled, Sam looked around before answering honestly. "I don't know. My head hurts and I still feel kinda tired, but I guess I'm ok." he reached out and took Dean's hand. "You're you, right?" he asked, knowing he sounded idiotic, but he'd been having the weirdest dreams and he had to make sure.

"Yeah Sammy, I'm me and you're you and as soon as you're up for it, we're going home." Dean said with tears in his eyes. They all had heard Sammy's ramblings and nightmares the last couple of days, and he was just thankful that he had his kid brother back in spite of all of it.

They watched as he mulled that information over for a moment and then ask the question that they all were dreading. "Where's Dad?"

Dean looked around then back at Sam. "He's dead Sammy, there's no way he can hurt you anymore. He didn't make it out of the house and Bobby took care of the rest." He said it softly, but looked intently at Sam to make sure he understood that there was no way that John Winchester was coming back.

Sam smiled and nodded, then said quietly. "Mom's really pretty, I'm glad I finally got to meet her."

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

It took over an hour to convince his brother's that he'd be ok for the length of time it would take them to go eat somewhere besides the hospital kiosks. It took another half an hour for them to finally go, and twelve phone calls assuring them that he was fine before they finally left him alone with his own thoughts.

Now that he could actually put his thoughts together, he saw how lucky he was. His brothers loved him so much that they all were willing to rush into a collapsing building to save his ass, and then stick by his side even when he was having the worst nightmares he could ever remember having. What stuck out the most though was what his Mom said that she wanted; him to have a full life. That sounded pretty easy, but he had no idea what it meant. He was so used to surviving from one moment to the next that he had never really put together what he could have. Sure, he had his brothers, and he had a business that was bringing in money, he even had a reputation of being someone others could count on, but beyond that he had no idea. His family wanted him to finish school and even think about college, but then what. What would he do afterwards… sit behind some desk somewhere wishing time would speed up all the while wishing the clock that was ticking away at his life would slow down? It was confusing, and he knew that all he had to do was ask and he'd have plenty of people to help him sort it out. That's what threw him the most; he was used to having no one, and now he had everyone, it was sort of disconcerting.

"Excuse me… are you Sam Winchester?" a man at the door asked while looking at a file folder before walking into the room.

Not sure what was going on, Sam gave a tentative, "Yyes"

Smiling, the man stuck out his hand, "I'm Marc Jones, and I'm a patient advocate here at the hospital."

Shocked, Sam wasn't sure what to say so instead just watched the man who looked more like a mix between a yuppie and a wannabe biker. The guy couldn't have been older than thirty and wore a pair of faded blue jeans with tears in his knees, a polo shirt that was tucked in, a leather jacket that looked like it had actually seen some action, and a necklace of beads that were made out of shells that Sam recognized from some of the people he'd seen in California; mostly from the surfing crowd. What really confused Sam were the cowboy boots and pony tail. Definitely not you're average person.

Smiling, Marc nodded and pulled a chair close to the bed. "Don't worry; I get that reaction a lot. How about I tell you what I do and why I'm here, and then we can get down to business, ok?"

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

The Colonel was happy that he had been able to get all of the guys fed at the same time and knew it had more to do with Sam's power of persuasion than anything. What really amazed him though was that they all had actually sat down and ate a full meal like they should instead of shoveling it down on the way back out the door, again he attributed it to Sam and his ability to turn a situation back around on his brothers.

"Nope, so not happening Sammy. There's no way we're going to leave you alone." Dean said with determination.

"Dean, you all say that there's nothing to worry about. So go, get something to eat. It's not like I'm dying or anything, right?" Sam said, looking around the room.

"Sammy, of course there's nothing to worry about, you trust us, right? Then don't worry about it, and no… of course you're not dying." Taylor said trying hard to ignore the look his little brother was giving them.

Nodding, Sam agreed, "Sure, I trust you guys, and I get why you don't trust me…"

"Whoa wait a minute Sammy; no one said that we don't trust you." Dean said, sounding fairly panicked, if he was one to allow himself to sound that way.

"Of course you don't, I mean who would, I'm a freak… I get it." Sam said then grabbed the remote, "So, what do you think is on?"

Laughing to himself, Terrance had to hand it to the kid; it was brilliant playing the brothers protective tendencies against them. After all, they all had been trying to get him out of his shell for so long, and played right into it. He had no delusions though that the Musketeers wouldn't figure it out soon, but until then he'd sit back and watch the show, because right now them trying to act nonchalant was more entertaining than any lounge show he'd ever seen.

None of them had wanted to leave their little brother alone, he was still recovering for Christ's sake, but when he pulled the trust card none of them could refuse. Suddenly four pairs of eyes stared at each other before all four men simultaneously jumped up from the table with a curse making the Colonel laugh.

"I was wondering how long it would take you to figure it out." He said as he put the money on the table. "Come on, I think Sam's had enough 'alone time', don't you?"

SNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSNSN

Hearing two voices coming from their little brother's room didn't help their nerves any, but when they heard Sammy laugh they stopped and looked at each other before walking in and seeing a strange man sitting next to the bed.

"Hey guys, this is Marc Jones, and he's a patient advocate. He wanted to check up on a few things before they let me out of here." Sam said with a smile.

The guys looked at each other before Dean spoke up. "Is there a problem?" he asked, trying to think of any reason why Sammy would have been given an advocate if everything was alright.

Marc smiled while he stood; it wasn't the first time that a family member hit the panic button when hearing his title. "No, everything's good. I just wanted to make sure that Sam here understood his rights as a patient. Normally I would talk to his parents since he's a minor, but he was good enough to let me give him the spiel."

Not sure if they were being given a load of crap or not, they quickly positioned themselves around Sammy to make certain that nothing had happened while they were gone.

"Marc was making sure that I knew that I couldn't be refused treatment just because of my HIV status, that it was considered discrimination." When he saw their puzzled looks he admitted quietly, "It still happens sometimes."

Dean felt like kicking himself, just because they had accepted Sammy's condition didn't mean that everyone else in the world did. "Sorry Sammy, we never thought of it like that."

"Don't feel bad, most people don't give their rights as a patient a second thought. I've actually seen people get treated poorly and let it slide because they didn't know they could do something about it." Marc told them. "I just wanted to make sure that he knew what his rights were, and where he could go for information in the need arises."

Sam smiled at his brothers, "Not bad for an attorney, huh?"

Looking at his watch Marc realized he was running late. "Ok Sam, I have to run, but remember, if you run into something that you're not sure of… ask, don't assume that others have your best interest at heart, ok? Sometimes the patients have to be there own advocate."

The Musketeers watched as the man walked out the door before turning back to their little brother. Seeing him smile like that made them wonder what else they had talked about. Before they had a chance to ask, Sammy's doctor walked in with a smile on his face.

"Sam, your test results are back, and I'm happy to say that you're free to go home young man… with the condition that you stay in contact with your physician and take your medicine like you're supposed to. Otherwise, the infection has cleared, and the fatigue that your feeling should abate in the next couple of days." As he looked at the others in the room he nodded, "I have a feeling that all of you know how to take care of him. I'll get the release papers drawn up and we'll have you out of here soon."

Looking at each other in surprise they wondered about the doctor's attitude, he seemed a lot more helpful now that a couple of days ago. It wasn't until they heard their little brother that it started to fall into place.

"Marc found out about the doctor not checking for medicine interactions sooner, and reminded him that it was his job to help people not kill them." He smirked a moment before continuing. "I get the impression that they don't like each other."

Dean could care less at that moment about the doctor and 'Marc', he was just happy that Sammy could go home. Checking the time, he was wondering about flight arrangements; he didn't think that Sammy was up for a ride in a cargo plane just yet.

"Alright you yahoos, if the doctor will hurry up we can get to the airport and make our flight to San Diego. I assume that everyone is ready to get back home?" the Colonel asked, knowing full well that Sam was about to spring out of the bed any second.

"Yes sir!" was the unanimous reply, leaving no doubt in anyone's mind where they all wanted to be.


AN: Oh! I will entertain the idea of a sequel if there are people who would want it.