Typical Disclaimer: This story has the typical violence you'll see in the show along with all the angst. I try not to get too off character or too violent, but I'm giving it a mature rating just to be on the safe side.
I of course own nothing and get nothing but the satisfaction of writing the story and hopefully making it enjoyable for others as well. Comments are always welcome, good or bad. Thank you to everyone and I hope you have been enjoying it.
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"Sammy! No!" Dean yelled as he ran up to Sam's prone form on the ground. He heard Sam apologize to the woman as he tore off his jacket and shirt, leaving only his T-shirt on, and tried to stop the flow of blood coming from Sam's upper left chest.
"Oh God! No!" John rushed towards Sam and in a rage hit the woman as hard as he could when she tried to get to Sammy's side. "Oh Sammy, I'm so sorry. Sammy?" Sam face twisted into anger and rage as he turned to face Dean and John. His look shocked both of them until Sam's eyes actually looked at them and a flash of recognition swept over his features. It was replaced by confusion for only a second before his face completely relaxed, his eyes closed, and his head turned slightly to the side.
"No!" Dean yelled again as he pressed his shirt against the wound, "Sam! Wake up Sam!" John took Dean's jacket and wrapped it around Sam's chest, tying the sleeves at his back as best he could so that it squeezed tightly against Dean's hands. "We have to get out of here Dean, now." They both looked around the barn, there was not going to be an easy way to get back to the truck.
Something caught Dean's eye; he removed his hands making sure the jacket was still keeping the shirt tight against the wound, and then ran to the side of the barn, throwing back a tarp revealing a 4-wheeler. His eyes brightened as he turned to see his dad already picking up Sam under the arms and dragging him towards the vehicle. Dean got on and started the engine as John maneuvered Sam onto it, "Thank God they left they key in it," Dean thought to himself. "Hold on Dean," John ran over to where some loose rope was rolled and brought it back, wrapping it lightly around Sam and Dean. John nodded, "get him to the truck as fast as you can, be careful. I'll be right behind you." Dean didn't have to be told twice, he hit the gas and sped out of the barn as John opened the main doors. He glanced back just before he hit the tree line to verify that his father was following, then returned his attention to getting out of there once he saw John was running towards the tree line himself.
John raced after the four-wheeler glancing back towards the field when he heard yelling. A group of people were coming through the trees on the far side heading towards the house at a run. John didn't hesitate and just kept up his pace following the creek towards the truck praying that the people near the house didn't hear the four-wheeler speeding through the woods.
By the time John arrived to the truck, Dean was just finishing up his struggle to get Sam's tall lanky frame up into the high vehicle. John jumped into the driver's seat as Dean situated himself in the passenger seat with Sam in the middle leaning into Dean, who was doing his best to keep the pressure on the wound. Sam's body shook as he coughed and Dean noticed a light splatter of blood on his lips. "Hurry Dad, I think it hit his lungs," Dean's eye watered as he clenched his teeth in an effort to hold his emotions at bay. For so long they searched and then buried Sam, now to find him alive only to have his shot and dying in his arms. It was almost too much for Dean to bear. But right now, Sam was alive and with him and he was going to make damn sure he stayed that way. John drove as fast as he could through the trees and then floored it as soon as he reached the main road forcing the truck to go as fast it was mechanically possible to the nearest hospital.
Dean tried to get Sam to wake up and open his eyes. At one point Sam's eyes fluttered lightly and look straight into Dean's. "That's it Sammy, stay with me now," Dean kept his eyes on Sam's and noticed the confused expression on his face. It took him a minute of coughing and swallowing before he lightly whispered, "you're dead … I saw your graves." Dean shook his head, "no man, we've been trying to find you. I'll kill those bastards for what they've done to you I swear, but right now you gotta hang on ok?" Sam gave him a light smile, but his eyes closed and his head lolled to the side. Dean tried to get him to wake up again, but it was no use. Dean was at least minutely relieved that when he check, Sam's pulse and breathing were still there, but weakening.
The truck screeched around the corners and growled as more pressure was put on the gas pedal until they finally reached the emergency room entrance. Dean kept his hold on Sam as John ran into the hospital yelling for someone to come help him. A couple of nurses and a doctor ran out with a gurney to the truck and helped Dean get Sam onto it. They quickly strapped Sam down and rushed him into the hospital. They refused to let Dean follow and John grabbed his arm telling him to wait, that they would take care of him. John then pulled out an FBI badge and pulled the nurse to the side, "I need to make this perfectly clear to you and you need to make sure anyone responsible for that boy understands the consequences they may face. That boy is a VIP beyond your understanding. He is to be put in records under a false name that I will give you. I am to personally interview anyone who has contact or might need contact with him. No one that doesn't directly have to have any visual or physical contact with that boy is get anywhere near him. Do I make myself perfectly clear? It could mean his life and ours."
The nurse paled slightly, but nodded her head quickly and ran to the desk for some papers. She handed them to John, "here's the admittance paper work, just put down the name we're suppose to use and I'll make sure the doctor's and nurses that are working on him now understand." John nodded, "now, my partner and I need a place to hide. We cannot be seen here in case the individuals that have done this to him come looking. You cannot put on his records that it was a gunshot wound and you cannot talk to anyone about is condition other than me or him," he pointed towards Dean, who was pacing furiously in the waiting area. The nursed gave him instruction to a private counseling and conference office on the second floor, "I'll make sure they know that information as well."
Confident that the nurse would do as he asked, John returned to Dean and told him to follow. Dean hesitated for a second and John frowned. Damn this boy has gotten defiant more and more since Sam rejoined him. He smiled lightly knowing that it was a good thing that Dean was so protective of his baby brother, but right now they had to get out of sight. "Dean, we've got to up to this conference room and stay out of sight in case someone comes looking for him. They are only going to talk to us and they're going to put him in the records for something other than a gun shot wound. Now come on." John watched as Dean's expression didn't change much, but he did nod and followed, which was good enough as far as John was concerned.
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They'd been waiting in the conference room for hours pacing and hitting the table with their fists in frustration. The nurse had come by a couple of times to let them know that John's instructions were being followed to the letter and to reassure them that no one unfamiliar had asked anything. That only made them feel a little better, but at least it was something. They'd found Sam and rescued him, now they had to keep him safe.
Eventually a stocky man with a doctor's coat knocked and entered the room. John and Dean both jumped up from their seats simultaneously asking how Sam was. The doctor sat them back down and went into details on how the bullet had hit his lung, broken a rib, and stopped after impacting and cracking the scapula, or shoulder blade. They were able to repair the damage remove any debris from bone and bullet fragments, but Sam was going to have to remain in the hospital for a while. The doctor assured them that he was in a private room by himself and all doctors and nurses had been counseled on his situation. Only require personnel would interact or be given any information about him.
At one point a nurse walked in to let them know Sam was being moved to his room and they could join him. She also asked whether or not a female brought in with a gunshot wound to the leg was part of their incursion. Dean tensed up but John raised his hand and told the nurse that she was part of the group that had hurt Sam and if the police were called, he was to have a meeting with the officer alone before anyone spoke about Sam. The nurse looked nervous, but nodded her head before leaving the conference room and taking them to Sam's private room.
Dean immediately took up a position next to Sam, watching the slow rise and fall of his chest and the jumping line on the heart monitor. John sat on the other side of the room where he could see anyone who entered but still keep an eye on Sam at the same time. After a while the nurse returned and led John back to the conference room where a deputy waited. John showed him his badge and the deputy introduced himself as Deputy Williams. John provided him only the information he believed the deputy required to keep him away from Sam but investigating the woman and the location where'd they'd found Sam. When they finished talking the deputy assured John that they would do everything they could to protect Sam and get those that had harmed him. As John watched Williams leave a knot began to form in his stomach telling him that something wasn't right.
John inquired with the doctor on the soonest that Sam could be moved out of the hospital, then insisted that he be moved within the hospital to keep his whereabouts hidden from those that already knew, but no longer were required to help with his care. The doctor frowned and tried to assure John that everything was secure, but agreed after John pressed the issue.
It was later that evening when Sam finally woke to find Dean and his father leaning over him. At first he began to panic, unsure of where he was or why his two dead family members were apparently haunting him. He tried to bring his hands up to his eyes but he couldn't move his arms. His eyes were closed but he could hear Dean's voice, "Sammy? Sammy? Look at me Sammy, calm down and look at me." Sam tried to calm himself, he could hear the fast beeping of the machine near him, and he took a few deep shaky breaths. His mind raced trying to remember the last events: talking with the Perry, Marcia, Patricia, and Carol … and then Perry had a vision of hunters coming to kill them. They'd run for the barn, the hunters giving chase, Patricia was shot, he had been fighting a man that he'd never seen before with dark skin and goatee, but then he was shot … Carol was punched … then Dean was looking down on him … Dean, his dead brother, was looking down at him … was he dead too now?
He was afraid to open his eyes. He took several deep breaths while Dean's voice continued to speak, "that's it Sammy, it's ok now." Sam finally took one last deep breath and whispered, "You're dead Dean. You and dad are dead. I saw your graves, I talked to Missouri." He swallowed and this surreal thought passed through his mind, "are you here for me?" The corners of John's mouth tugged lightly as he suppressed the smile but Dean laughed a little, "yeah, you could say that Sammy. We're here for you alright. But we aren't dead man. I swear we aren't dead." Both Dean and John relaxed a little and let go of Sammy's arms.
Sam finally opened his eyes and stared intently into Dean's, tears that had been threatening to fall began to openly drop from his eyes and down his cheeks. "Dean? Is it really you?" Dean smiled down at him and nodded, "you wont believe what we've been going through trying to find you, dude. But we found you and we got you back." John put his hand on his son's good shoulder and smiled, "you're going to be ok kiddo. You need to rest and get your strength so we can get out of here soon." Sam just nodded and turned back to Dean suddenly frowning.
"What's wrong Sam?" Dean studied Sam's expression.
"If you're not dead, then how did I travel to Lawrence to see Missouri and your graves? How do I know that I'm imagining all this now?" Sam's pulse began to quickly slightly and he tried to keep his breathing under control as the fear began to swell in his chest. He began mumbling to himself, "I need to wake up, I need to wake up."
"Sammy! You are awake." Dean wanted to grab his shoulders firmly like he always did whenever Sam was losing focus, either during a vision or when he was real sick. But he couldn't with the wound.
"I must be hallucinating … I saw the hunter who shot Patricia and then shot me, and I saw the hunter who was fighting with me … They're going to kill us … I have to wake up and save them!" Sam was shouting now, gripping his long bangs with his fingers and pressing his hands into his eyes. The yelling attracted the attention of the nurse in the hallway, who ran into the room to check to see what was going on. John stiffened as she came in, but relaxed a little when he realized it was the nurse that was suppose to be taking care of Sam. She nodded at John and ran out of the room, returning shortly with a doctor carrying a needle.
John stopped the doctor before he could get anywhere near Sam. The doctor raised the needle, "it's a sedative to calm him down before he hurts himself." John frowned slightly, but stepped aside to let the doctor inject the medicine into the IV.
Dean was still trying to convince Sam that he wasn't dreaming and that he was safe when Sam slowly relaxed and fell into the drug induced sleep. Dean waited until the doctor had checked Sam's vitals and left the room before he turned to his dad, "what the hell did they do him there?" John just shook his head, "it had to be the woman I hit. I noticed she was staring at Sam the entire time we were fighting. I bet she was doing something to make him see us as different people."
They both waited anxiously as the hours passed by. As evening approached, John left to get him and Dean food, brining it back to the hospital room so neither of them were away from Sam for long. The shift change for the nurses came and the new woman entered the room cautiously, knocking lightly first. John and Dean both stood up defensively and the nurse waited by the door until John nodded a single time in affirmation that she could enter. She walked slowly up to them before even turning towards Sam, though she did glance towards him to see that he was still sleeping. She reached her hand out and shook both John's and Dean's as she introduced herself, "good evening, I'm the night shift nurse assigned to Sam. My name is Marcia."