Sam vaguely shifted in and out of waking consciousness, his sleeping mind assaulted with various visions replayed in his mind. Dean was on the ground- blood everywhere- fire- the ghost cackling and then he saw himself falling, the ground rushing towards him and just as he could taste his demise…
…he awoke to movement under his arm and Dean's raspy voice; "Dude, you're drooling on my arm."
"Dean! You're awake!" Sam exclaimed as he pushed himself to a seated position and rubbed his eyes as if he disbelieved what they saw.
"Either that or we're both dead," Dean managed as he began to cough; a weary cough that shook his whole body and brought blood to the corners of his mouth.
"Dean, are you okay?" Sam anxiously leaned in towards the bed with a pained expression on his face.
Dean's face easily displayed to Sam that he was about to utter the always-available "I'm fine," but changed with a fit of coughs and then to Sam's horror gasped; "Actually I'm having some trouble breathing…" before falling into more heart-wrenching coughing.
"Dean, I'm gonna get the Doctor," Sam worriedly shouted, as he ran frantically into the hallway and began to yell wildly for Dr. Wagner.
"Sam," Dr. Wagner called as she hurried to his side, "What's wrong?"
"My brother, he's awake, but he's coughing-up blood… I think something's wrong."
"Dean?" Dr. Wagner gently called as she strode swiftly to the bedside and reached to examine his condition. "Are you having trouble breathing?"
"Yeah…" Dean wheezed as beads of sweat formed on his pale temples.
"Okay well, it seems that the internal bleeding is still excessive. I see no other option than to operate," Dr. Wagner whispered as she led Sam to the far side of the room.
"What? Surgery?" Sam frantically replied while nervously running his hand through his thick brown hair.
"Sam. Without the surgery I see no chance of your brother's survival. The aorta needs to be repaired. It is a technical operation, but really our only shot," Dr. Wagner calmly stated as her hand reached to steady Sam's trembling arm.
Behind them several nurses were tending to Dean; placing an oxygen mask over his mouth adjusting his IV's. Sam's mind raced and he found himself obsessively biting his nails, a bad habit he hadn't resorted to since the age of 13.
"Can I have a moment?" Sam asked, his pleading eyes glistening with fresh tears.
"Of course, I will return in few minutes to hear your decision," Dr. Wagner sadly smiled as she exited the room followed by the nurses.
Dean was now faintly breathing with the assistance of oxygen, the heart monitor beeping slowly, again no movement.
"Dean?" Sam called weakly as he sat once again at the bedside. Dean's eyes peered intensely into Sam's own and Sam was relieved to find him still conscious and responsive.
"Dr. Wagner wants to operate to repair your aorta, I guess it's damaged," Sam started softly while fingering a hole in his jeans. "She says it's risky… I don't know…"
"Sam," Dean grunted after pulling off his oxygen mask, "I'll take the surgery."
"I know," Sam grimaced as he reached to replace Dean's mask, "But you gotta come out of it okay?"
Dean gave a dim smile and replied with a thumbs up, his eyelids fluttering with exhaustion from the effort of movement.
"Okay," Sam mumbled, forcing a smile onto his face he reached to squeeze Dean's hand- not caring of embarrassment or any such notion.
Sam rose to greet Dr. Wagner who he was surprised to find standing in the doorway watching him.
"I didn't mean to interrupt," she started, "Your brother and you have a strong bond."
"Yeah, we do," Sam said, "And he wants the surgery so I guess you've got the go-ahead."
"It's the right choice, Sam," Dr. Wagner declared as a nurse and attendant moved towards the bed, first lowering Dean and then starting towards the hallway. "There's a more private waiting room on the third floor by the ICU," Dr. Wagner continued as she led Sam into the hallway following the gurney.
"Thank you… for everything," Sam answered as he slowly turned from the hospital hallway, from Dr. Wagner's sincere face, from the gurney that bore his brother towards surgery and walked out of the hospital.
Comments? Questions? Reviews are terrific….!