Tears and Colors - Chapter 13

Saltlines

previously…

Caleb was brought back to Bird by Abe Sullivan after his adventure through New York. After taking the last pills, he collapsed in the bathroom caught by a migraine attack and Bird called the ambulance ...

Bird was completely exhausted. She just didn't know what to do anymore. It had been 48 hours since she noticed Caleb's disappearance. She hadn't had a quiet minute since then. She just couldn't go on like this. The doctor had asked her all sorts of things, whether Caleb had allergies, was taking medication, or drugs. She had denied it. Caleb's condition was not clearly understood. He wasn't even conscious yet. So far it was only clear that he collapsed. The blood tests were still pending.

Bird drove home and went to his room, only to get some clothes for him as she found the empty blister of pills. Bird had to sit down, how could he have slipped away from her like that? How did he get pills? She searched his belongings for more drugs. Maybe that could enlighten the situation.

His bag was still untouched near the bed. She opened the zipper and took out the sketch pad. Should she look inside? She decided against it. Drugs wouldn't be in it, would they? She put the pad on the desk uncertainly. After she had his clothes on the bed and pens on the desk, the bag was empty. She ran her hand over the floor and felt a crack on the edge. Her fingers slid underneath and she pulled up the solid bottom of the bag.

"What the...?"

She counted the nearly 100$. How did he get so much money? She continued to search every corner of his pocket and rummaged through all of his pants and sweater pockets. But found only the Deuce of Spades which he always had with him.

Back at the hospital, Bird gave the doctor in charge the empty blister and told him she found it in Caleb's room.

Dr. Miles studied the package and sighed, shaking his head. It was frustrating how easy it was for the kids to get pills and drugs. He could only hope that these pills were all that explained Caleb's breakdown.

"Have you noticed any change in Caleb in the past few weeks? Different eating habits or sleep disorders? Was he unusually excited or something similar?"

"He didn't eat much, but that's probably not unusual, his grandma died 3 weeks ago. He had a difficult childhood and often wakes up by nightmares. Caleb lost his parents at the age of six and has lived with his Grandma since then. He's still grieving and I didn't think anything unusual about it. Where did he get the pills anyway and what are they?"

"I see…Ms. Isbell, the drug is called Captagon. He probably bought them on the street or at school. He goes to school, doesn't he? It is a kind of stimulant, it leads to the typical amphetamine effects such as increased alertness and motivation. It can lead to seizures and cardiovascular collapse if you overdose it."

Bird's hand had wandered to her mouth and tears welled up in her eyes. She had to get a grip on herself for a moment. Dr. Miles soon continued speaking.

"The lack of sleep means that you have a significantly higher energy requirement, but since your appetite is inhibited and you don't eat enough, deficiency symptoms quickly develop. If that goes on for several weeks, it can become very critical."

"Oh Jesus, Caleb. Do you think he wanted to avoid falling asleep? I wanted to take him to a doctor because of his constant nightmares. I just do not know how to go on. He hardly talks to me at all. I thought if he got some time he would open up more. I should have noticed something ..."

"Don't blame yourself we still don't know how many he took. We can draw conclusions from the blood results. At the moment he is stable and we are monitoring his vital signs. His body probably needs this break. When he wakes up, we'll see."

The doctor tried to calm her down, but Bird felt like she failed Caleb. How did Ruth manage it all? Children were difficult, especially a traumatized kid like Caleb. She sighed and went to the coffee machine and went back into the room in which her foster son was lying to sit vigil next to him. It was going to be a long night.

Bird kept dozing off, a friendly night nurse had brought her a pillow, so it was more bearable. A look at the clock showed 8:35 in the morning. She yawned and stretched her stiff body. Caleb had not wake up yet and she kept glancing at the monitor, which did not show any abnormalities, as well as she could judge. So she went back to her newly appointed best friend, the coffee machine.

"Ms. Isbell? Is that you?"

Bird looked up. Abe Sullivan was strolling towards the machine.

"Mr. Sullivan, what are you doing here?"

"I visit a friend. And you? Where's Caleb? Is he alright?"

Bird needed someone to talk to. She poured out all her worries in front of Abe and found a willing listener in him. After she had put the frustration off her mind, Abe put a sympathetic hand on her back.

"Children like Caleb are difficult and often have to be handled very careful. I guess he felt cornered by your suggestion with the doctor. Do you think he wanted to submit suicide?"

"I… I don't know what to think anymore. I can't imagine what he went through. Thank you for listening to me, Mr. Sullivan."

"No problem. I need to go, work is calling. We'll keep in touch, okay? Call me when Caleb is at home again so I can look after you two."

Bird nodded and blew her nose before pulling herself together again and walking back to Caleb's room.

A strange smell penetrated Caleb's nose. It reminded him of something. Two more breaths and the memory set in. A hospital like that terrible night ... He forced his eyes to open. It was bright white, the sun made the walls look even brighter. The thin white sheet that wrapped him didn't keep warm. He shivered and tried to sit up with a groan until he noticed the IV tube on his arm and some adhesive pads that itched terribly.

How did he end up in a hospital? He was alone. Why the hell was he alone? Shouldn't someone be with him? But who was interested in him? Bird maybe, but she just wanted him to function. She had promised him that she would not drag him to the doctor, but now he found himself a fucking hospital. He felt betrayed. The last thing he could remember was reading. His vision went black for a second and he decided not to get up. He was just thinking about ringing the bell for the nurse when the door opened and Bird's small figure was visible.

"Caleb, you woke up. Thank God!"

"Bird, what happened? Why the hell am I in the hospital?"

Anger crept up her stomach. He always was so blaming others for trying to help him. She forgot all her good intentions an started her tirade.

"I was hoping you would explain it to me. I found you passed out in the bathroom you weren't reacting on me and called 911. What were you thinking."

She wanted to give him the opportunity to explain, but he didn't answer.

What did she mean by that? It wasn't my fault, was it?

"I found something at home. How did you get these pills? Did you want to kill yourself? I just don't understand what's going on here, Caleb. Why didn't you speak to me? And where did you get almost 100$ from ..."

"What! Did you went through my things? What the hell is that supposed to be!"

"Beware of your tongue young man!"

"You're not fucking reprimanding me! You are not Ruth and certainly not my mother. I'm just a burden to you. You didn't want me at all. And I didn't want to move to this freakin town anyway! Fuck!"

The itching was driving him insane. He reached into the hospital gown, pulled the pads off his chest, and rubbed his skin. Frustrated, he dropped his hand on the mattress and averted his gaze from Bird. He didn't want her to see the moisture in his eyes because he felt completely betrayed and abandoned.

Bird already regretted what she had said. Mr. Sullivan had warned her to handle him very careful. She also didn't know what had made her so angry. She was ashamed.

A warning light came to life in the nurses' room. Nurse Peggy looked up from the papers she just went through and put the pen down to walk quickly to Room 79. Not sure what to expect, she opened the door. Her patient was awake and his foster mother was standing by the bed. They had apparently quarreled. A heavy silence filled the room. The monitor's sensor pads hung down on the floor and a warning light flashed.

"Everything OK? You're awake, that explains why the machine beeped. How do you feel?"

The nurse gave Caleb a friendly look, but the boy continued to stare at the sheet, gritting his teeth. She shut down the alarm of monitor and fiddled with the IV. Peggy made a few notes on the clipboard by the bed and briefly looked uncertainly into their faces. She could almost feel the tension in the room and felt uncomfortable.

"I'll let Doctor Miles know you woke up."

After Dr. Miles had checked him over, Caleb was allowed to get up under Nurse Peggy's supervision. He felt weak and let help him into the bathroom. Dr. Miles turned to Bird.

"So far, his values are okay. It couldn't have been that many pills. The concentration in the blood is not critical. However, we were able to detect ethanol in his blood, which certainly increased the effect of the Captagon. Have you ever noticed that he has consumed alcohol? I strongly advise you to go to a specialist with him. If he has trouble sleeping as you say, this should be clarified so that such a situation does not recur. We will definitely keep Caleb here overnight for observation. If you not inform the youth welfare office we have to make a call."

Bird let out a frustrated breath. What if they took Caleb away from her? How could she explain this to him? A specialist? How could she even explain that? She had practically promised not to try again to take him to the specialist. It would be best if she talked to him about it at home.

***SPN***BH AU***

After Bird said goodbye that evening and got rid of the IV needle, he was alone in the room again. He had told her she could sleep at home safely. The tension between them was clearly felt. Neither of the two really dared to say anything relevant.

Not that he thought it was good to have a roommate who couldn't shut his mouth, but all the noises became more intense and the thoughts louder when you were all alone. After what felt like an eternity, he couldn't take it anymore. The clock showed 11pm.

He slid his legs off the bed. After a few moments sitting just there to get rid of the dizzy feeling, Caleb went to the bag that Bird had brought him during the day and pulled out some clothes. He immediately felt better with his own a little weak but much better. His hand slipped to his back pocket. Relieved, he pulled out the Deuce of Spades. He was glad that Bird in the rush had grabbed the first pair of pants she found and it was the one he had taken off in front of his bed. He looked at the card briefly and a lump formed in his throat. He put the card back to its usual place and headed for the door.

The station corridor was silent and deserted. Only at the end of the corridor faint radio noises could be heard. Caleb took the other way. He made several turns until he no longer knew where he was. Every corridor looked the same. Where the hell was the exit?

He started to read the signs on the doors to find a way out of this labyrinth. Most of them were only numbered others had an additional word like laboratory or broom closet. The last one read storeroom. The lights in this corridor suddenly flickered several times and then went black. Caleb was petrified. All the warning bells in the 12-year-old's body went to life. A green emergency exit sign was visible further back.

He watched as his breath became visible in a small white cloud. It got freezing and he didn't know why. Caleb pulled his sweat jacket closer around him.

Suddenly there was a rattle from the room that he had just passed. Caleb stumbled backwards until his back hit the wall. The boy panicked, ran to the exit sign and threw himself against the door to the stairwell.

*** SPN *** BH AU ***

"Mackland hurry up!"

James Murphy had struck with the chisel and for the moment made Mrs. Miller's ghost disappear. The blow had emptied the shelf behind her and some metal bowls clattered to the floor.

Mac meanwhile hastily pulled out every drawer in the closet. He searched hastily, but couldn't find the green pendant. He didn't know how long Jim could fight the ghost. His shoe touched the line of salt that was drawn around him and the closet. It crunched under his expensive leather sole and he cursed softly and pulled his foot back into the protective circle. There were still 3 drawers to search.

Why in the world were all these things stored here? He needed to ask whether such a storeroom could be found in every hospital. The doctor pulled the next one. A green gem shimmered in a plastic bag, set in a gold chain. It finally had to be the right one.

The translucent figure manifested itself again and let a stainless steel trolley race towards the pastor, who was hit by the force unprepared and dropped the chisel. As hard as he tried, the trolley couldn't be pushed away and pinned him to the wall.

"Mac ..."

Mackland Ames jerked around by the unusual use of his short name form and saw his mentor's predicament. He yanked the stainless steel drawer out of the closet. His hands were usually calm, as a neurosurgeon they had to, but just now he couldn't control the tremors. He sprinkled salt and alcohol over the pendant just as Jim had told him and set everything on fire.

The flames licked over the stone and at the same time Mrs. Miller's spirit went up in flames until it evaporated. Suddenly the trolley didn't put any pressure on Jim and he let himself slide to the ground with a sigh.

"Well, that was exciting for your first ghost!"

Mac ran his trembling hands through his curly brown hair and looked questioningly at the pastor who rubbed his chest in pain.

"Are you ok Jim?"

"Everything OK. But you shouldn't have needed much longer. I could at least use a whiskey now."

Jim got up and came over to pat Mackland on the shoulder in appreciation and smiled blissfully.

"Now we just have to clean up the mess."

*** SPN *** BH AU ***

Caleb rushed down the stairs to the next door, which he roughly opened, and found himself on the first floor. Warm air welcomed him, his heart pounded to his throat. The last thing he wanted was to get noticed, so he kept moving but stopped running. As he crossed the door to the hospital chapel. Without knowing the reason why he slipped into it.

The dark blue carpet that was laid swallowed every sound. A large plain cross that was illuminated hung on the wall opposite behind some kind of altar. He stood uncertainly at the door and then slowly walked closer right to the front of the altar.

Caleb never prayed. In fact, he didn't know why he was here. He felt idiotic saying anything loud alone, so he just thought.

Is there really a god? Why does he allow so much dread? Why are my parents and grandma dead? Why I wasn't allowed to know my brother? Why am I all alone?

His fear and grief consumed him inside. He sank to his knees in front of the altar. His eyes sting and a lonely tear escaped his eye.

If you can hear me, please help me...I just don't know how to go on.

His throat constricted and the rest of the salty tears made their way over his lips and were soaked up in the black denim of his pants.

*** SPN *** BH AU ***

When the Neurosurgeon and the Pastor left the hospital, Mac felt weird, like he'd forgotten something in the hospital. The adrenaline that flowed through his system from the hunt slowly ebbed and the night nurse nodded goodbye to him.

If she only knew what they had just done. He wondered if she wasn't happier, as unsuspecting as he was not so long ago. She could go home after work without fear of monsters, vampires, werewolves, ghosts and demons. Not to mention the things he didn't know yet.

But it made him proud to be one of the few people who made sure the others were safe.

"Are you all right Mackland? You seem so absent."

"What ... yes everything is fine. That was pretty exciting. I think I accept your proposal with the whiskey. I know a place to go."

TBC

A/N: I decided to write a "previously..." at the beginning of each chapter, so you can recall what happened last chapter. I hope you like it.

Ok, cause the last one was a little short, I couldn't wait to publish that one. So have fun and please please review! It happened, that Dr. Mackland Ames and Pastor Jim Murphy found a way to that story. But it just popped in my mind and it fits really good, I think. If you want more about Jim and Mac, then write it in the review or PM me.