Hope you guys like this chapter. It's a bit longer than the last one. Thanks for the reviews from the last chapter.
Four hours later, Dr. Lambert came into the room where the two Winchester men stood guard over Sam. They both looked haggard, although he had been told that the boy's father had gone to get food for himself and Dean. These men could use some good news.
Dean saw the doctor walk into the room, and was instantly on alert. Still gripping onto his baby brother's hand with one hand, he turned to face the doctor. This needed to be good news. He needed for this to be good news as much as Sammy did. There wasn't a doubt in his mind that he couldn't move on if he were to lose his Sammy.
"Would you like to go to the lobby or talk in here?" The doctor asked, not even sure why he was asking. These guys weren't going to leave the boy.
"Here. I'm not leaving him." Dean said, steeling his voice. Just in case this wouldn't work out, he needed to spend the rest of the time he had with Sam near Sam.
"Dean, you're a perfect match. It tested better than an identical twin would have been. As soon as he's a little more stable, we can start giving him the medication to kill off the rest of the cancer-causing bone marrow. We also need to get the operation scheduled. Dean, would you like to know the details of the procedure now or when we get closer to it?" The doctor asked.
Dean almost chuckled, but stopped himself, not wanting the doctor to think he was losing his mind. He really didn't want to know, just let them do it and not warn him. It was like when you give blood and the lab technician tells you that she's taking your blood right as she does it. You look over, and because you can see it, you feel the pain more. "Tell me later. I really don't need too much time to think about this."
"Okay, do you have any more questions for me?" The doctor asked.
"Yeah. How do you know when to take that thing out?" Dean asked, motioning toward the ventilator. He knew that it was helping Sammy to stay alive, but it freaked him out worse than Sammy's dreams. This thing just served as a reminder of how sick Sam really was.
"We'll monitor his breathing and the fluid in his lungs and when he's doing better, we'll test him off of it to see how he does. If he doesn't respond well to being off of it, we'll put it back on him and wait until his lungs get stronger. If he does well, we'll leave it out and start the process for the bone marrow transplant. Sound good?" The man told them. He could see the worry etched into their faces and reassured them the best way he could: with honest information. John would probably be able to see through him if he tried to step around anything.
"Thank you, doctor." John said, quietly excusing the man.
Dean felt like he could cry tears of joy, but kept them to himself. His brother would be okay. If they could get him well enough to have a bone marrow transplant, then his brother would be okay. He didn't feel so helpless anymore; his bone marrow was going to be used to save the one thing in his life that had ever been worth protecting.
John sighed in relief. As much as he wanted to be able to help somewhere, he knew that it was important that it be Dean who was able to do this. He had seen the guilt and helplessness, how close he had needed to be physically with Sammy to protect him, and knew that he needed this to help let go of some of those emotions. He came back over to the bed after escorting the doctor out, and laid a hand on Dean's shoulder. This was good news for all of them, but he still worried about before and directly after he received Dean's bone marrow. He was really weak right now, and still was not breathing on his own without the ventilator. Who knew how he would be after the transplant. All the doctor said was that they would need to wear a mask, caps, and gowns when they came into the room. They would probably have to wear gloves too, and he would have to guilt trip Dean by telling him that he could kill Sammy if he touched him. It was cruel, but Dean would think it was cruel to not be able to touch him, too.
Dean looked down at his little brother. There was hope now. He gently rubbed his forehead again and made a promise to give him a normal life again. They could nurse him back to health, and then they could settle down somewhere. He pictured Sammy settling down here, and a smile came to his face. Sammy did love the snow, ever since they were kids. He would run around whatever hotel room they were in and wake up him and dad, telling them that it had snowed. He always loved it in the colder regions that they went to, also. He loved to see the look of joy on little Sammy's face.
John sat down in his seat and started flipping through his journal, anxious to get back out on the road where he could continue to hunt for Mary's killer once again. Even with everything that had gone on, he still wasn't needed. Dean was taking the reins and he was inclined to let him. They could take care of themselves and each other, and he could focus solely on his cause. Dean looked so lost now, and it was the only thing that made him stay.
Dean glanced out the window for a moment, noticing that snow fell in the mid-afternoon grass. "Hey Sammy, it's snowing. Wake up, so you can see it." He tried, mimicking the younger Sammy subconsciously. After several moments with no response, he sighed. "Yeah, I didn't think that would wake you up. Had to try, though."
"Dean, he's not in a coma. He's sleeping because they have him drugged. Leave him alone." John said with his usual commanding tone. He was tired, and the fact that Dean was being that foolish grated at his already frayed nerves.
Dean sat down in his chair that he had pulled up closer to the bed, and laid his head down against the bars of the railing. After only pausing there for a moment, Dean felt the total exhaustion of sleeping in a chair for weeks wash over him. God, he wished he had a soft bed and one of those steam showers that had been in Oklahoma to soothe his aching muscles and provide a good rest that wasn't in an awkward position in an even more awkward place. Before he even realized it, the exhaustion washed over him and he succumbed to sleep.
Well, I hope you liked it. Yay, Dean to the rescue! Please feel free to give any kind of review. There will be another chapter up by this time tomorrow.
A/N: There's something else that's good that I got from this story, too. I am an old-school hunt and peck person, and I wrote most of this chapter without ever looking at the keyboard. Woo-hoo!
Have a nice day. Happy hunting!