Author's note: This is it! The final chapter.
Thank you to everyone to who reviewed, favorited, and followed and a huge thanks once again to Meilean for helping me with perfecting this story!
Stay on the lookout for future stories! I've started working a new one:)
Spn
John sank into his chair, feeling absolutely exhausted as the previous two days' events replayed themselves in his mind.
Sam's surgery to catch and fix the bleed had been successful. The doctor had caught the bleed in the nick of time. But Sam had developed an infection a few hours after waking up from the anesthesia. John remembered the doctor telling them that it was expected, after two almost back to back surgeries and all the trauma his body had gone through the past couple of weeks.
But despite the assurances that Sam was going to be okay, John, Dean, and Bobby weren't easily swayed. The father remembered how Sam became less lucid and aware as his fever continued to climb, and how he cried in a very uncharacteristic way for his father. Sam rarely showed his pain, and his crying meant that all his defenses were down, causing John to climb into the hospital bed and hold his aching baby in his arms.
However, one scene repeated itself over and over in his mind and it was one that shook John to his core.
Flashback, the previous days:
Despite the countless IV meds and fluids, Sam's fever refused to abate, and even the doctors were getting worried.
John and Dean were sitting, talking with each other softly when Dean saw Sam's hand twitch.
"Sammy?"
When there was no response, John and Dean watched Sam for a moment before continuing their conversation. Not ten seconds later, Sam went into convulsions.
"Oh God, Sam!" Dean yelled as he tried to help his brother while John called for help, the doctor and nurses crowding into the room.
"Push 10 mg IV Diazepam," the doctor shouted as he rolled Sam over to his side and bent his knee to get him situated in the recovery position, tilting his head back to keep his airway clear.
The nurse scrambled to draw the appropriate amount of medicine in a syringe then injected it into Sam's IV line.
Sam stopped seizing and he went limp. The doctor checked his O2 status before rolling him back on his back.
"Sam just had a seizure due to his high temperature, we need to get it down as quickly as possible. I'm going to order the nurse to wrap him in some cooling blankets and hang a second bag of fluids as well as another dose of IV fever reducers…"
End of Flashback
Thankfully, Sam's fever started to go down after that, but John would never forget the way his baby boy's body shook and twitched while he stood by and could do nothing. It was something that would give him nightmares for a while.
Bobby tried to convince them to leave the room to get some rest, but they refused. The grizzled hunter had to threaten them to eat the food he brought into the hospital room and to get them to take a shower and shave.
After days of healing and resting, Dean was taking Sam for a short walk around the ward, since Sam was moved out of the ICU earlier this morning.
The door to the room opened and his sons stepped in. Dean was supporting Sam with one arm while the other dragged his brother's IV pole.
John was on his feet in a second "Boys? What happened? I thought you were going for a walk?" he asked as he went to the other side of his youngest and helped him walk back to the bed.
Dean shook his head, "Sammy got tired."
John pressed his lips together and smoothed back his baby's hair as Sam leaned against the pillows and closed his eyes, drifting off into a light slumber.
"Guess his body wasn't ready," John muttered as he stared at Sam, drinking in his features and color filled cheeks, praising the Lord that his son was alive and was going to pull through this.
Spn
"Alright, tiger, lean on me and get up slowly, like we did this morning," John spoke soothingly as he placed Sam's arm around his shoulders and grabbed the IV pole with the other hand.
Sam's failed attempt at walking with Dean had been two days ago, which gave the youngest Winchester's body time to heal further.
The father had helped Sam get up from bed and helped give him a bath much to Sam's embarrassment. He had let Sam wash his lower regions, while he took over the hair and upper body. Sam had almost drifted off in the tub so John had dried him off while giving his son the privacy he wanted and dressed him up in sweatpants and a shirt.
Sam had slept for three hours before declaring that he wanted to try walking again which is what found the father helping his son get up.
At the end, Sam succeeded in getting up and walking a few steps, then continuing the journey down the hall towards the vending machine and back to the room, with John whispering words of encouragement in Sam's ear.
Spn
A week had passed since Sam collapsed from his nearly fatal wounds, and spent the days fighting for his life at the hospital, when he finally got discharged.
The Winchesters were now back at Bobby's, with Sam on strict bed rest much to his chagrin. Though he was doing better, recovery from splenic injuries was slow and had to be taken seriously. The boy had complained until his father gave a death glare and threatened him with dumping Bobby's over cheerful neighbor on him while they went out. It shut him up immediately.
That night, John snuck into the room where his sons bunked and stood by the doorway, staring at his sleeping sons.
Walking towards Dean's bed first, he placed the covers that Dean had kicked off back over his eldest then walked towards Sam's bed and planted a light kiss on his son's forehead.
"I love you, Sammy," he whispered and was surprised when expressive hazel eyes blinked sleepily up at him.
"L've you too, D'd." Sam slurred, a slight smile on his face, then went back to sleep.
And John's heart healed.
The end
Hope y'all have enjoyed this story!
Until next time
Meemz