A/N: I can't even begin to explain the craziness that has been my life these past few weeks, so I'm sorry I haven't been too regular with the updates, but school is almost over so I should have more time for the fan-fics I love to write. Thanks a bunch, your reviews are always appreciated and savored! DeedeeSmith
Dark. Dark and cold, that's the only way to describe it, but it couldn't be that bad, at least he was feeling, something. Dean's eyes slowly opened, it was a slicing pain in his head and he couldn't remember if it had always been this way. Did it always burn to breathe?
"Well, you are in some deep shit, boy." The voice wasn't harsh or mean as a rough, calloused hand grabbed Dean's shoulder. He winced, expecting pain but none came. His eyes were open and suddenly he was somewhere different, better. It was still dark but the room was comfortably dark, as if a glowing warm fire was not too far away, and he sat up feeling the softness of cushions around him. His response to the fatherly voice was automatic and it slipped out before he thought about it,
"Yes, Sir." He laughed and it sounded like the pouring of a dusty bottle of brandy,
"Good boy" he said and Dean's eyes focused more closely at the man in front of him.
"Evan?" He asked and it was so, the old coon hunter Evan Boone was sitting in front of him with a satisfied smirk on his lips. Dean should have known the room he was in felt more like a cave then a house yet it was almost pristine in its cleanliness.
"Eureka and the mind of the hunter has cleared." Evan said and Dean struggled to sit up, but found that it hurt to do so.
"Evan, what the hell is going on?" Dean asked, his usually strong voice was withered and dehydrated, and it seemed to blow away after it left his lips.
"Oh, so you don't know" he said guilt lining his voice,and Dean would have screamed in frustration if it didn't feel like his entire rib cage had been smashed. Evan seemed to get the gist of Dean's feelings from his expression and spoke again before the battered boy in front of him tried to move, "then let me explain it to you."
"Okay, Cora, is it?" Doctor Mitchell was almost desperate as she stared down the petite red head in front of her, "you have got to tell me what is going on, because as of right now, your brother is legally dead, and so is Sam Winchester….the problem is, neither one of them is actually dead. So, unless you want to explain this to the nurse that has to do the paperwork, you explain yourselves….now." Cora smiled, trying to hide the turmoil that was raging inside of her as her stomach twisted into a horrible knot,
"I'm not sure that I can do that." She said and Drake looked at the floor feeling very sheepish, and almost sorry that he had woken up in the first place. Doctor Mitchell let out a sigh and shook her head,
"Then I'm not sure that I can let you see Sam right now" she said and Drake's head popped up the sheepish look in his eyes now border lining on panic,
"Please" he said. It was the first time he had spoken since they had gotten there and Doctor Mitchell was caught off guard. She looked at the man that was supposed to be dead and pressed her lips into a thin line, determined to stand her ground. She started to take in a breath to respond but he cut her off as if he knew what she was going to say and he had to stop her from crushing what he had left for answers. "Please" he repeated, "you have no idea what he's going through, and he has no one to help him out of it, he has nothing right now, and … you have to let us see him….you have to." Doctor Mitchell felt very heavily the absence of the older Winchester at that moment and she went against every ounce of protocol inside of her and nodded,
"just be quick."
Evan was taking his time explaining the situation and Dean could feel the frustration building up inside of him, "you see, I may have had something to do with this" he said as vaguely as humanly possible.
"Look, I just got hit by two major trucks, so I don't really have the nerves to mince words here, Evan, just tell me what is going on." Dean knew that he was being harsher then he should be but he didn't really care at the moment.
"Look, kid, don't get snippy with me, I'm getting to my point. This whole thing, it all might be my fault." If he had been able to move Dean would have ripped into the old man before he could finish his story.
"What?" Dean's voice came out so forceful and grating that it caught Evan off guard and the seasoned cowboy had to look away.
"Look, I didn't mean for it to turn out this way, none of this went as planned." Dean's frustration turned to hot anger as he struggled with his aching muscles to move, to attack, to do something.
"What the hell did you do, you bastard!" Dean growled like a pit bull ready to strike, but Evan didn't seem fazed. He just shifted a little under Dean's fiery gaze,
"I wanted that ghost dead, damn it! He was killing kids and it was eating away at me. I didn't think you boys had it covered so when I heard about the trucks, from these old superstitious guys in the town….I….I." His voice faltered and the old confidence that came with age and experience disappeared from the lines on his face. Dean wanted to scream, but all he could manage was a vehement,
"It was you" Evan nodded and looked down.
"You boys just got in the way, I didn't mean for it" He stopped and started again with only a slight hiccup in his voice, "I'm sorry about your brother, and so when you called up those big rigs, I had to send them back, I knew that they couldn't cross over so to speak for quite some time, but you and that girl…I could see that it was killing you and, I'm sorry...I had no idea, you sacrificed yourself for him and I couldn't let it go on, Dean...I'm so sorry" Dean felt the blood surge to his muscles and the dull ache that plagued all of his limbs ebbed away slowly.
"Can I go and see my brother now?" Dean asked, not giving Evan the absolution he needed, insteadhe ignored his pleas.Feeling extremely relieved that his strength was returning Dean felt like he couldfinally breathebut the fear grabbed his throat again as Evan refused to meet his eyes once more,
"It might not be that easy, Dean."
"Sam" Cora was holding the hand of the man she barley knew, but she felt that she needed to physically give him some reassurance of his stability, now that Dean couldn't be here.
"Dean?" He asked groggily opening his eyes again to find a concerned looking Cora and a shocked looking Collins standing in the corner, looking like he was having trouble standing on stable ground.
"No, Sam…he's not here." At first Sam couldn't get his mind around the idea that Dean wasn't there, Dean had always been there. The only solution must be that Cora was lying and he twisted his head around the room looking for the familiar form of his brother, but he wasn't there and Sam remembered his medicated dream. he's in trouble." Cora looked from Drake to Sam and back again squeezing his hand a little harder,
"I know, Sam" she said, "I was hoping that you could help us" she said and Sam nodded a bit too eagerly and the room went spinning,
"Anything, anything you need." He insisted and Cora smiled a bit sadly,
"I need you to get better, fast" she said and Sam squinted up at her the fluorescent lights humming above her made her look like an angel,
"I can do that" he said with a slight smile.
"Good" she whispered letting go of his hand and motioning Collins to follow her out of the room. He obliged and shook his head,
"I still can't believe he's alive" Collins said once they were safely outside of the hospital room,
"I just hope he stays that way" Cora said heading down the hallway.
Sam unclenched his hand and found Dean's necklace in his hand where Cora had previously held him. He let out a quick sigh and closed his eyes once more, hoping that if sleep found him Dean wouldn't be making an apperance.