Raising Winchesters
Chapter 21
Bobby had been gone for almost an hour. He had gone directly to the library, anxious to get the fax that Professor Tochtli had sent him. It took everything he had to not sit in the parking lot and read it right then and there, but he didn't. Instead, he stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things- including a pie for Dean- and then stopped by a pizza place to pick up dinner.
The drive home was spent with him eyeing the stack of papers on the seat next to him as he thought about everything that had happened that day. He hated the thought of either of the Winchester boys being spanked, but he knew that that was John's preferred method of punishment. Quick and to the point. No mixed messages. No inconveniences.
It wasn't like John could be the type of dad to ground his sons or take away their toys. Sam and Dean didn't really have toys that could be taken away, after all. And grounding them wasn't much different from the life they already led. It wasn't like they got to hang out with friends or go to the movies or anything like that.
Of course, there was always the extra training and the extra research that John sometimes assigned to his wayward sons. He knew that Dean didn't mind the extra weapons or tactical training, but he hated the extra research. And Sam was just the opposite. He hated the weapons training, but didn't mind the extra research. John knew this, of course, so he usually assigned Dean the extra research and Sam the extra weapons training. John Winchester had a diabolical mind, for sure.
Bobby was hoping that by the time he got home everything would be back to normal. Or at least as normal as anything ever got when the Winchesters were visiting. He figured there would be at least a little bit of awkwardness in the air, but that wasn't really unusual in and of itself. The boys often acted like they were walking around on eggshells if John was in one of his moods.
Once he parked the truck, he grabbed all the groceries in one hand, tucked the papers under one arm, and picked up the pizzas with the other hand. He kicked the door shut and then made his way to the front door, wondering how he was going to actually get the door open. He never actually figured out how he was going to, though, because just as he stepped foot on the porch, he heard Sam crying loudly and John yelling. Without a second thought, he threw the pizza down on the porch and ripped the front door open.
John had no idea what was going on with Dean and he had even less of an idea of how to get Sam to calm down. The boy had held it together for a few minutes, but John could tell he was right on the edge of losing it completely. Just as he had that thought, Sam lost it. The boy was suddenly wailing for his brother to wake up at the top of his lungs, which led to John yelling at his youngest to pull himself together.
The whole time this was happening, Dean laid perfectly still on the bed, his eyes glued to the ceiling, his chest heaving with each breath he took. Sam's crying and John's yelling had absolutely no effect on the boy.
Bobby ran up the stairs as fast as he could, terrified of what he was going to find when he entered the boys' room. Flinging the door completely open, he barreled in, surprising both Sam and John into silence.
"John! What's going on?" he roared as he looked wildly around the room. His eyes finally landed on Dean, but it was as if he couldn't at all comprehend what he was seeing.
"I don't know, Bobby," John answered desperately. "Something's wrong with Dean."
Bobby wanted to yell at John that he could see that something was wrong with Dean, but he didn't. Looking around the room again, he noticed the cracked window and what looked like blood seeping into the cracks of the glass. He walked over to the window and looked out, not surprised when he didn't see anything else out of the ordinary.
Finally turning his attention back to the three Winchesters, Bobby noticed for the first time how terrified Sam looked. Without hesitating, he stepped over to the bed and picked the boy up, pulling him tightly into his chest. He shared a look with John, but then turned his attention to Dean. He was shocked to see how pale and diaphoretic the boy was.
"What happened?" he asked John, hoping for at least somewhat of an answer.
It took John a few seconds to gather his thoughts before he could answer. "I was downstairs and I heard Sam scream. When I got up here, Dean was standing by the window, not moving or talking, at all. It was like he was completely catatonic, Bobby. And there was a bird at the window."
"A bird?"
"Yes. It was pecking at the glass and its beak was bleeding. The glass was starting to crack, but the bird just kept pecking. And I swear it was staring straight at Dean, Bobby."
Bobby listened to John's words, but he was having a hard time wrapping his head around what he was hearing. "The bird was staring at Dean?"
"I swear it was. And Dean wasn't moving. I yelled at him to get down because I was going to shoot the damn bird, but it was like he didn't even hear me. So, I pushed him out of the way and aimed at the window. The bird flew away before I could get a shot off."
"And he hasn't responded to you at all?"
"Not at all," John answered.
Bobby handed Sam over to John and then sat down on the bed. He put his hand up right in front of Dean's face and snapped his fingers several times, but Dean didn't blink or react at all. Next, he lifted Dean's left arm up in the air and dropped it. Dean's arm fell straight back down without any resistance. Bobby lifted the upper part of Dean's body up off of the bed, noting how the boy's head lolled to the side. After realizing that he wasn't getting any response at all, he pulled Dean to his chest, burying his face in the boy's short hair.
"Wake up, boy," he mumbled quietly before laying Dean back down on the bed.
"What's wrong with him, Uncle Bobby?" Sam asked in a tiny voice. "Why won't he wake up?"
"I don't know, Sammy, but we're going to figure it out, okay? Your daddy and I…. we'll figure it out." Bobby looked over at John, surprised to see the look of utter defeat on the man's face. He knew that John was tired, after everything that had happened recently, but he never expected to see him look so lost. "What do you want to do, John? Think we should take him to the hospital? Get him checked out?"
John didn't answer. His eyes never left Dean, and Bobby wasn't even sure if the man had heard him. Bobby stood up from the bed, running a hand over his grizzled face. He knew that he was going to have to be the one to decide what to do, but he was at a loss, too. Finally, though, after several minutes, he made a decision.
"I need to make a phone call. I know a guy here locally who is a retired doctor. He's been known to help out a few hunters in the past and he doesn't ask a lot of questions. I'll see if he can make a house call. If not, maybe we should get him to the hospital, John."
John nodded his head and Bobby turned and left the room, eager to make his phone call.
Dr. Hanley was old and gray, but he had a way about him that hinted at the virile young man he once was. His gait was slow, but steady, and his hands shook a little, but not enough to raise any concerns when he decided to put an IV into Dean's arm. John, Sam, and Bobby stood back as the man completely assessed Dean from head to toe. No one was talking as the man did what he needed to do. They watched as he performed a neurological exam and then as he took out his stethoscope and listened to Dean's heart and lungs. By the time he was done, almost twenty minutes had passed and not a single word had been said by anyone other than him.
After he put his stethoscope back into his bag, he slowly stood up and turned to address John and Bobby. "I'm not really sure what's causing this, but I'd like to draw some blood and run some tests. I'd also like to place an IV and start Dean on some IV fluids and antibiotics. His temperature is 101° at the moment and his heart rate is up a little."
"Whatever you need to do, Doc," John answered immediately.
Dr. Hanley turned back to Dean and quickly started the IV, drawing several tubes of blood at the same time. Dean didn't flinch at all when the needle pierced his skin, causing Bobby and John to worry even more. Dean wasn't a big fan of needles, so they expected- or at least hoped- to see some sort of reaction.
Once the doctor had the fluids and the antibiotics infusing through the IV, he put the tubes of blood into his bag and turned to the door. "I'm going to go drop these off at the hospital. My son-in-law runs the lab and he'll run these for me. I'll be back shortly to check on him. While I'm gone, I need you to take turns watching him closely. I don't really expect it, but there is a chance he might have a seizure or start throwing up. You know what to do if that happens, right?" he asked, directing his question to Bobby.
"Yeah, we know what to do."
"Okay, then…. I'll be back in a few hours." With that Dr. Hanley walked out of the bedroom, leaving John, Bobby, and Sam to all stare at Dean, anxiously.
Dr. Hanley returned two hours later to find John and Bobby still sitting by Dean's bed. Sam was curled up on the end of the bed, sound asleep. Bobby was poring over the papers that Professor Tochtli had faxed to him and John was just staring at his son with a strange look on his face. Bobby had occasionally shared something that he had read, but for the most part, both men were left to their own thoughts.
Dr. Hanley quickly shared his findings with the two men, who were both disappointed that the man didn't have any real answers for them. "The blood I drew shows an elevated white count which is indicative of either an infection of some sort of a stress response to something. His neutrophil count is also elevated, but that also is indicative of the same thing. Otherwise, his labs looked perfectly normal."
"So, what do we do?" John asked in a heavy voice.
"I'd like to continue him on the IV fluids and on the antibiotics for now. And we'll keep a close eye on his vital signs and on his neurological status. Other than that, there's not much we can do for now. If I had my way, he'd be at the hospital where we could run more tests, and if he continues in this state, I'll be insisting that he go. But for now we'll just continue to monitor him closely."
Dr. Hanley looked the two men over, noticing how exhausted they both looked. "Listen, now that I'm back, the two of you should try to get some rest. Dean's going to need you to be well-rested and right now you both look like a pair of zombies."
John immediately started to argue that he wasn't going to leave Dean, but Bobby stepped in. "We'll be right down the hall, John. And the doc will come and get us the second anything changes, right, Doc?"
"Of course."
John reluctantly agreed to try to get some sleep. As he stood up, he decided to take Sam with him. He didn't want the boy to get in the doctor's way, but he also just really needed to be near at least one of his sons. He bent down and picked Sam up, not surprised when the boy didn't stir at all. Sam was exhausted and had basically cried himself to sleep, so his face was tear-stained and red.
John was pretty sure that he wouldn't be able to fall asleep because he was so worried for his son, but after settling Sam into his bed and then settling himself down next to him, he was asleep within seconds. It took Bobby a little longer to fall asleep.
The first thing Dean noticed was that he didn't feel Sam's presence anywhere near him. The second thing he noticed was how quiet and dark it was. And the third thing he noticed was the unfamiliar shape sitting in a chair next to the bed. He could tell right away that it wasn't his dad or his Uncle Bobby and he immediately went into high-alert.
Realizing that there was a strange presence sitting next to his bed and that Sam was nowhere to be found, Dean's heart began racing faster than ever. His eyes struggled to make sense of anything in the dark room and he wanted desperately to call out for his dad. But, he didn't. Instead, he did what he was trained to do. Using all of the senses he could, he began a head to toe assessment of himself and then a complete assessment of the room he was in. He was eventually able to surmise that he was still in the room he shared with his brother, so that made him feel a little better. He was also able to surmise that for the most part, he was physically okay. His head was hurting and he felt a little cold and nauseous, but overall he felt pretty good.
Not wanting to give away the fact that he was awake, he continued to reach out with his senses to determine what was going on. As he did that, he struggled to remember what had happened. It didn't take long for some of it to come back to him. He had been sent to his room to wait for his dad. His dad had come up and punished him for something that he wasn't really to blame for. Then his dad had left him alone and he'd fallen asleep. Sometime later, he woke up and realized that he could hear something tapping on the window. After that, it was all a jumbled mess.
Had there really been a bird outside the window? Had it really been pecking at the glass so hard that the glass had cracked and the bird's beak had bled? Had it really been staring at him like he thought? Or had it all just been a strange dream?
Whatever had happened, Dean's number one priority was to find Sam and make sure he was okay. He had no idea who the man was sitting next to him, but he felt pretty confident that he was still in Bobby's house. And if he was still in Bobby's house, that meant that Bobby and his dad were somewhere close by.
As he was thinking about everything, he suddenly realized that he really, really needed to go to the bathroom. In fact, he had to go so bad that he thought he might pee his pants if he didn't go soon. Running a little experiment of his own, Dean moved his left hand slightly as he watched to see if the person sitting next to him would even notice. Of course, it didn't take long for his answer, because the second he moved his hand, the man's head lifted up and he could feel him looking at him.
"Ah, you're awake," the man said in a deep voice. "How are you feeling, Dean?"
"Who are you? And where's Sammy?" Dean's throat was immensely dry and his voice croaked strangely. He didn't care, though. All he cared about was finding his brother and getting himself to the bathroom before he had a humiliating accident.
"Oh, I'm sorry. I guess I should have introduced myself. I'm Dr. Hanley, Dean. I'm a friend of Bobby's. And Sam is currently sleeping in the next room with your dad." Dr. Hanley didn't miss the way Dean was squirming and he quickly surmised the issue. "Do you need to use the bathroom, Dean?"
Dean nodded his head and then tried to pull himself up in the bed. His head immediately started swimming and he felt like he was going to black out.
"Whoa, there," Dr. Hanley said as he pushed Dean gently back against the bed. "You shouldn't be getting up, Dean. Not yet."
"But, I have to go….."
Dr. Hanley reached down into his medical bag and pulled out something that looked like a jug. He held it out to Dean, obviously expecting him to use it. "Here you go. You're going to have to use this for now, until you're a little stronger."
"You want me to use that to….." Dean broke off in embarrassment. "I-I can't use that!"
"Dean, you're not ready to get up just yet, so unless you want to, well….. unless you want to pee the bed, you're going to have to use this urinal."
Dean suddenly felt like crying, both from frustration and from embarrassment. Unfortunately, the situation at hand was getting out of hand and Dean knew it. He had no choice but to take the urinal from the doctor's hand and get ready to use it.
"Can you, uh…. can I have some privacy?"
Dr. Hanley looked the boy over again and then stood up. "I'm going to go let your dad know that you're awake. Don't try to get out of bed, understand?"
"Yes, sir."
Dr. Hanley left and Dean found himself in the embarrassing position of having to try to urinate while laying down in bed. It was an awkward situation- especially for a boy his age- but when you had to go, you had to go. After trying for a long time, he realized that there was absolutely no way it was going to work. He pulled himself over to the side of the bed, surprised by how weak he was feeling. And he was also really, really dizzy. Just as he stood up and promptly fell to the floor, the door flew open and John thundered in.
"Dean! What are you doing?"
Dean looked up at his dad, taken aback by the look of concern on the man's face. He knew he wasn't supposed to be getting out of bed, so he figured he'd be in big trouble if he got caught. The fact that it was his dad that caught him made it even more likely that he'd be in trouble. "I have to go to the bathroom," he said simply, hoping that his dad would understand and show him a little sympathy.
"Dr. Hanley told you to stay in bed."
"I know, but….."
John interrupted, this time with a louder voice. "That means stay in bed, Dean. Do as you're told." John bent down and picked Dean up off the floor. Without another word, he put Dean right back onto the bed and handed him the urinal jug.
"I can't use that, Dad," Dean all but whined.
John looked Dean over and then made a decision. Picking the boy back up, he headed to the bathroom. A few minutes later, they were back in the bedroom and Dean was back in bed. John sat down on the edge of the bed next to him. "How are you feeling?"
"Okay. I feel like I did last year when me and Sammy got sick. Remember?"
"Yeah. That flu laid you both out for almost a week." John looked over to the window and then back to Dean. "Do you remember what happened, Dean?"
Dean looked over at the window, too, before turning back to his dad. John didn't miss the shudder that ran through the boy's body. "All I remember is that there was a big black bird on the window ledge. It started tapping on the window with its beak and it wouldn't stop. And I swear it was staring at me, Dad. Not just into the room, but staring right at me. Do birds do that?"
"I doubt this was just a regular bird, Dean."
"Then what kind of bird was it?"
"I don't know yet, son, but Bobby and I are working on it, okay? We'll figure it out."
"But what if it comes back? What if it breaks through the window next time?" Dean could feel the panic starting to rise up in him and he suddenly felt like he was going to throw up. John must have noticed, because he grabbed the small trash can by the bed and held it close, just in case.
"Take some deep breaths, kiddo," he said as he rubbed Dean's back. "Slow, deep breaths. There you go." After a few minutes, Dean's color returned to a more normal shade and he was able to relax against the headboard. John continued to rub his back for a few more minutes as he thought about how he was going to handle everything. "Okay, listen up….. For the foreseeable future, you and Sam are to be with either me or Bobby at all times. I mean it, Dean. No going anywhere on your own. Got it?"
"Yes, sir." Dean thought that sounded like a horribly boring idea, but at the same time, he was happy to have a reason to stay with his dad. He didn't want to be alone for the time being and he definitely didn't want Sam to be alone. Whatever was out there was scary and dangerous, and Dean really wanted Sam to be safe.
"Okay. And I meant it when I said that you needed to do as you're told. Dr. Hanley wants you to take it easy for now, so no trips up and down the stairs. Either Bobby or I will get you up and down. And no horse-playing with your brother, either. I don't want you doing anything more strenuous than reaching up to scratch your nose. Understand?"
Dean groaned and rolled his eyes.
"I mean it, Dean."
"Yes, sir."
"Okay, let's go wake up Bobby and get this day started. Are you hungry?"
"I'm starving," Dean answered straightaway. "Do you think Uncle Bobby has some pie?"
John laughed as he picked Dean up. Carrying him down the hall, he paused outside of Bobby's bedroom before finally knocking on it loudly. They both laughed at the sound of Bobby grumbling as he came to the door. The door opened and it took Bobby a few seconds to realize what he was seeing.
"You're awake," was all he said as he looked at Dean.
"He's been awake for about thirty minutes now. And he's starving."
"That's good. What do you say we go downstairs and get some breakfast, Dean?"
Dean's stomach growled loudly at that exact moment, causing Bobby and John to laugh.
"Where's Dr. Hanley?" Bobby was surprised to see that the man was nowhere in sight. "And where's Sam?"
"Dr. Hanley went downstairs to make a few phone calls. And Sam is still sleeping, but I'm about to wake him up. I want the boys to be with one of us at all times, Bobby."
"That's good thinkin', John. Why don't you let me go wake up Sam. You go on and get Dean settled on the couch. Once Sam's awake, I'll get going on some breakfast."
John nodded and turned towards the stairs. He hadn't taken more than two steps when Dean called out to Bobby.
"Uncle Bobby! Do we have any pie? I really want some pie!"
Bobby laughed at the hopeful look on Dean's face. "Yeah, we got pie, boy."
Dean smiled widely and then uncharacteristically settled himself in John's arms. He hated feeling like he was being babied, but for the moment, he wasn't going to argue with it. Truth be told, he still felt pretty awful. And truth be told, he was really, really scared.
Author's note: I hope all is well with everyone. And I really hope you enjoy this chapter. Thanks so much for reading and reviewing. I'd love to hear your thoughts on everything.