Chapter 5 - Starting to make it better
Disclaimer: The usual - see Chapter 1 as I still don't own anything.
Chapter 5 - Starting to make it better
Sam sat and watched as Dean drifted back to sleep. He replaced the cooling cloth on his forehead and wrapped ice in towels and placed them round his body. It was going to be a long night. He flicked the TV back on, repeats of Oprah and Ricki Lake, wonderful. It was definitely going to be a long night.
He flicked the laptop on, caught up on emails, browsed for jobs, and then surfed aimlessly just passing the time between checking on Dean and replacing the ice and cloths. He woke his brother up regularly and got him to drink more water, each time Dean seemed to be just a little bit cooler and a little bit more coherent.
Finally, deciding Dean's temperature had come down enough to leave him sleep, Sam turned off the TV and laptop and climbed into his own bed and feel asleep.
Hours passed and both men slept. A deep, healing sleep, soothing hurts, calming nerves, readying them for the fights ahead. Dean was the first to wake, groggy and parched and still too warm for his own liking but nowhere near the heat of the night before. Pulling himself to a sitting position, he reached across to the nightstand for the cup of water Sam had left. Hands still shaking, he paused before picking the cup up. No, he was just going to have to go for it and hope he didn't drop it or spill it; he wasn't going to wake Sam for this. It took all his concentration to steady his hand enough to reach and secure the cup and as he brought it closer, he was relieved Sam hadn't refilled it or most of the contents would have been anywhere but in the cup.
Putting it back, he leant back against the wall and rested. He knew he could do with some more painkillers as the throb in his leg was increasing again but they weren't within easy reach of the bed. He could also do with a trip to the bathroom but he had a vague recollection of getting up and falling during the night, couldn't really remember too many details but he'd already found a lump on his head and his arm was sore, he thought he could remember snatches of a conversation with Sam but he wasn't sure. He remembered his brother's face, worried, he'd been close up, he'd said something important, something he needed to remember. Had they been talking about Stanford? Had he asked Sam if he was going back? What had his answer been? God, this thinking and trying to remember what had happened was really putting a strain on his headache. He closed his eyes and wished he could drift back to sleep. It was no good, his leg was definitely going to stop that.
He manoeuvred his body to the edge of the bed, the memory of falling was coming clearer and the pain in his leg was not reassuring that the same wouldn't happen again. He looked over at Sam. He was going to piss him off by either waking him now for help or by falling; lesser of two evils was waking him before anything went wrong. 'Sam,' he croaked out. Boy, was his throat sore and his mouth tasted foul, like he'd been… yep, he remembered that now as well, definitely throwing up, he owed Sam a serious apology if he'd been that out of it. What had happened before? Could he work it out before he woke Sam? He remembered being here and Sam having to do something to his leg, probably that was putting the bandage on that was there now, but he couldn't remember what he'd done to his leg to warrant the attention. Whatever it was, it hurt like hell? If he asked Sam, would it worry him? Maybe he should just keep quiet for a while and see how much he could piece back together, in the meantime… 'Sam?' He forced his voice a bit louder regardless of the discomfort.
'Mm. Yeah?' The mumbled response came as Sam shifted position but didn't quite wake fully.
It wasn't like Sam often got a solid night's sleep, but regretting it wasn't going to change the fact. Dean tried again, 'Sam, I need a little help here…'
'Dean!' He leapt from the bed catching them both by surprise. 'What's the matter?'
'Easy tiger!'
'Sorry, I was asleep not quite with it, yet. You okay?'
'Just need a hand and not feeling too good about standing up just yet.'
'Leg not good then? How's the temperature?'
'It's getting better Sam. Just I don't want to push my luck. I need to…' he nodded his head to the bathroom and looked down at the ground, 'I'm sorry. I didn't want to wake you, I…'
'Dean, it's okay, come on, give me your arm, bro.'
The improvement in the heat coming off of Dean was a good sign, he was definitely still too hot for healthy but not dangerously so. He also seemed far more lucid than the night before, although his throat must be sore judging by the gravel-like quality to his voice. More worrying was the fact he was struggling to put any weight on his leg. Having reached the bathroom, Dean spoke again, 'Thanks Sam. I can manage from here, but you'll help me back, please?'
'Sure, I'll be outside, just let me know you need anything.' Dean nodded. Sam left, amazed at the change in his brother. He was far too compliant, as if all the fight had gone from him. The journey from bed to bathroom seemed to have taken it out of him, but Sam wasn't sure it was that simple, the thought nagged that what had actually taken it out of him was the fact that he'd had to ask for help. Dean, ever independent and the protector, was the one in need of help and he didn't know how that role worked. Anytime he'd really needed them, his family had walked away from him, was he waiting for that to happen now? Sam thought back to when Dean had broken his leg when they were younger, Dad had been fuming at the prospect of downtime away from the hunt and worried sick about Dean's leg. Sam remembered the overheard telephone conversation, Dad had had with Pastor Jim. that had provided an unexpected (at least as far as the boys were concerned)solution to the dilemma. Once Dean was out of surgery and awake facing at least two weeks in hospital, Dad had announced that he was dropping Sam at Pastor Jim's and he was going to finish the job. Sam had stayed there for 10 days before Dad had come by to pick him up and then they'd driven back to where Dean was in hospital. He'd been relieved to get back and see him, but he'd never really thought what the wait must have been like for Dean, He'd had nearer two weeks alone in a hospital without a visitor, 12 days alone, waiting to see if they would in fact come back at all. What must that have been like? It had never been mentioned again, Dean had come with them, it had taken his leg awhile to recover completely and Dean had been subdued for longer still but Sam realised he'd always just put it down to discomfort from the leg as Dean had always been one to manage on the minimum amount of painkillers that he could.
'Sam?'
'Yeah. Ready to get back to bed? Have to find you a nice girl to keep you company bro?'
'Nah. I'd prefer a good sleep.'
'Woah! What have you done with my brother?' a slight smirk raced across Dean's face but didn't stay long enough to signify a real change in his mood.
'Do you want something to eat? I hadn't realised how late it was, guess I slept longer than usual huh?' Sam kept his voice light and easy as he watched for a response from his older brother.
'I'm sorry Sam. I kept you up.'
'Dean, it's okay, you'd do it for me wouldn't you?' He waited for an acknowledgement before continuing, 'I don't mind doing it for you, same thing, brothers look out for one another.'
He only just caught Dean's mumbled response, 'shouldn't have to look out for me, I'm supposed to look out for you, my job, big brother.'
'Dean, brothers! It's not just one way, we have each other's backs, so quit saying sorry. I'd be pissed if you asked someone else and not me.'
'Dad would have something to say…'
'And we wouldn't listen. Or I wouldn't anyway because it would be crap. Now settle down here, you want anything?'
'Yeah, the painkillers.'
Sam's eyes widened in surprise but he said nothing as he picked up the cup to refresh the water in it and went to find the tablets. When he returned, he saw how Dean's hands were still shaking and without comment, helped him hold the cup steady as he swallowed the tablets. Then he waited as his brother laid back against the wall and closed his eyes. As his eyes opened again, Sam spoke up, 'They for your leg? Shall I check it again?'
'Give me a minute, might be okay once they kick in.'
'It was bad last night. Maybe I should check it, just in case.'
'Sam…' he didn't continue until Sam looked up at him, 'please just hang on, let them start to work first. It hurts.' Sam nodded, this admission from Dean meant a lot, signified just how badly it hurt, Dean wouldn't have said anything unless… he could hang on for a while but didn't want to leave it too long worried what might be lurking beneath the bandages. 'In the car, there's some stuff, it might help, antibiotics, got them a while back, you know, just in case, don't like taking 'em but maybe this time, might help.'
'I'll fetch them.'
'While you're out, get breakfast.'
'You feel like something to eat? That's good, what do you want?'
'Not me. Not yet, still feel a bit sick, I'll be okay for now, maybe a bit later, but you need something. You could bring me something to drink, besides water. Don't rush, I'm just gonna rest for a bit.'
'Okay, let's just get you more comfortable then I'll go, but I won't be gone long.' He helped Dean get into a more settled position and put a pillow behind his head, 'You want the TV on for company?' he waited for a nod before flicking it on and leaving the remote by his brother's hand. 'Here's your phone, in case you think of anything you want me to get or…' he left the rest unsaid and saw Dean mouth the word 'go' silently before letting his eyes close.
He pulled on clothes and grabbed the keys from the table before casting one last look at his brother on the way out of the door.
The door closed and Dean's eyes opened again, relieved to be alone with time to think. He tried to piece back together all the bits of memories from the previous few days. He remembered they'd been doing some research, they'd cleaned all the guns but what had they been researching and where were they. He struggled for a while longer before remembering something coming at them in a wood – the Mambolin, shit it had been going for Sammy, he stepped in front of him, he'd shot it but it had got his leg, that one extra long claw, it had gone straight through. It had been one grotesque creature. Had they killed it? Yes, if he concentrated he was pretty sure they had, then Sammy had helped him back to the car and back here. He remembered he'd upset Sammy but when, what had he done exactly? Was it before they'd got there? He didn't think so, not absolutely sure but near enough. Was it when he fell outside? He seemed to remember Sam having told him to wait but he hadn't. Something told him that wasn't it either. But he'd managed to piece most of the previous events together although he still couldn't remember where they were but things were improving. With relief he closed his eyes again, truly trying to rest this time.
When Sam opened the door a short while later, he looked first at his brother before creeping in to the room. Dean looked like he'd gone back to sleep. He closed the door behind him. At the click of the lock, he heard Dean gasp. 'Hey, it's okay, it's only me.'
'Must have drifted off there.'
'That's good, you're better off resting. I thought I'd bring breakfast back here so you weren't on your own for too long.'
'I'm fine Sam, I can manage on my own, I've done it before.'
'I know, but that's the point Dean, you don't have to do it on your own this time. Now how about I look at that leg and you take some of these antibiotics. I've read the packet and you need to eat something though, so if I sort your leg first, then I got you a choice of bagels, you could have one of them with the first tablet.'
'If it keeps you happy…'
'Yeah, it'll keep me happy, bro.'
Dean smiled in acquiescence.
