Eye of the Storm
Disclaimer: I only own Haley and the itty-bitty baby growing inside of her. Everything else belongs to… someone else. The virgin comment comes from something along the same lines in an episode of MASH.
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mollieclarke – Thanks, here's the update.
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Chapter 13: A Total Lack of Respite
The door swung open and, looking up, Haley saw Sam standing in the doorway, a mixture of distress and shock on his face.
"Haley, I just heard… I mean, Missouri just told me that…" At first, he just could finish the sentence. Then he finally actually saw Haley, and he trailed off. "You're still pregnant." The look on his face was now a mixture of relief, confusion and the beginnings of pure joy.
"Still pregnant…" She confirmed. "Sort of." Sam blinked.
"Haley, sort of still being pregnant is like sort of still being a virgin." He said. "You either are or you aren't." Haley gave him an affectionate smile, which seemed to confuse him even more.
"Yes, I'm still pregnant… but yes, I also did lose a baby." She explained.
"A baby? What like you were…?" He stopped, looking at her strangely. "You were…? Were you carrying twins?" He asked. Haley nodded.
"We lost the one we knew about, the girl." She said. She looked sad for a moment, but then she gave Sam another smile. "But we still have a little boy, which is just as wonderful." Sam looked like he didn't know what to say for a couple of minutes. But then he smiled, his mind apparently finally registering what Haley had said.
"I couldn't agree more." He said, moving forward and planting a kiss on Haley's forehead. Smiling lovingly up at him, she took his hand in hers, but his smile suddenly turned to a frown. "So why don't you seem as happy as you should be?" With a sigh, Haley let go of his hand, her own falling into her lap as looked down.
"I should be happy, shouldn't I?" She asked. "But I can I be happy when the baby I was carrying, the life my body has supported for six months, was snuffed out just like that." She clicked her fingers for emphasis. Still frowning, Sam dragged a chair over and sat down at the side of the bed.
"It's more then that," he said. It wasn't a question. Sighing, Haley nodded.
"I can't feel… anything." She said. "Empathically." A look of surprise was on Sam's face, as well as confusion.
"Can't feel anything as in… you're not empathic anymore?" His voice almost sounded hopeful, even though he knew that wasn't it at all. It was much worse, and Haley's brief shake of the head confirmed it.
"Can't feel anything as in… nothing… it's all gone, empty-feeling, like everything's been sucked into a black hole." She closed her eyes, rubbing her temples. "I thought not having to feel it all would be a relief, but compared that the silence is deafening. I feel like I'm being swallowed whole, and there's nothing I can do about it."
Sam sat in silence for a few minutes, and Haley waited for him to say something, anything, to make her feel better. Finally, he spoke up, "Maybe there's something I can do about it." He said. He took her hand in his. "Close your eyes." Haley obeyed, wondering just what Sam had planned. "Good, now, take a deep breath, and do what you normally do when you're intentionally trying to sense something." Again, Haley did as she was told, taking in a deep breath, reaching out for… anything really. However, as soon as she opened herself up, she felt as though she was suddenly standing on the edge of the deepest, darkest hole imaginable.
"I… I can't…" The words came out in panicked gasps, and she felt Sam's grip tighten on her own.
"Yes, you can." He said. "Do it… take the plunge. You told me once to fight, to stop… to stop sitting on the floor like a snivelling baby and get up and face my problems." Haley couldn't help but smile at the memory. It had been one of her first major experiences of being under the influence of her empathy; she'd been acting almost totally on Sam's own anger at himself.
The hole suddenly didn't seem quite as big. And it was now as if Sam was standing next to her, holding her hand. She could feel him, like he'd pierced the emptiness to be with her. She smiled, her eyes still closed.
"Thank you." She breathed, not really sure if she'd spoken it or thought it. And then she took the plunge. Physically, she was still sitting on her hospital bed, holding Sam's hand tightly. But she felt as though she was truly falling into the vast emptiness that had been trying to swallow her for the past few hours.
And then, as suddenly as she had felt it filled her, surround her, Haley felt the emptiness simply… dissipate. She was thrown back into everything, felt it rush into her mind like a tidal wave. She never thought she'd be so happy to feel so overwhelmed.
"Feel better?" Sam asked. Haley opened her eyes, looking over at him.
"Much…" She stopped on the first word, her eyes widening.
"Haley?" Sam's voice was suddenly filled with concern.
"S-Sam… I can't…" She didn't have to finish her sentence. It was clear that she was struggling for air. Without hesitation, Sam practically flew out of his chair to the door.
"Help! Somebody, I need help!" He shouted. Behind him, Haley's eyes rolled back in her head, her eyelids falling shut as she collapsed back against her pillow.
-;-
"Do they have any idea what's wrong with her?" Dean asked. He was sitting in a chair beside Meg's bed, his right arm in a cast and sling. Meg seemed to have improved dramatically from the damage done to her by her fall; though it was clear she wouldn't be walking on her own for quite some time. Missouri was sitting in a chair off to one side of the room, beside Sam, who was standing in front of his own chair, unable to sit down. John stood in the corner, one eye on Meg and the other on Sam.
"If they do, they're not sharing." The youngest Winchester said irritably. "All the doctor told me was that they'd stabilized her and that she couldn't have any visitors." He was fidgeting, apparently not enjoying standing there while Haley was possibly dying somewhere else in the hospital.
"If you start pacing again I'm gonna tie you to that chair." Dean warned, seeing his brother's restlessness on his face. Glaring at Dean, Sam nonetheless sat down.
"How can they not let me see her? She's my wife, dammit. And she's pregnant with my son!"
"And she also just came very close to dying, Sam." Missouri said, putting a hand on his shoulder. He looked over at her for a minute, and then sighed, leaning his head back against the wall.
"I know. I… I know." He shook his head, his eyes closed. "I just… I don't understand it. She was perfectly okay one minute, and the next, she couldn't breathe. What could do that?"
"Any number of things," Meg said, sitting up with some effort. "And most of them are not even of the supernatural variety." Dean had stood up as soon as Meg had tried to move, and was now propping her pillows up for her, trying to get her more comfortable. At least something good had come out of the entire disaster the last couple of days had been.
"I need a good dose of caffeine." Sam announced, getting to his feet again.
"I'll second that." Missouri stated.
"Thirded." Dean said, holding his hand up as if he were voting for something.
"I'll go with you; you'll need an extra set of hands to bring that much coffee back here." John said, joining his son as Sam left the small room.
They'd taken maybe half a dozen steps when a voice sang out from behind them, "Mr. Winchester."
"Yes?" Sam and John said simultaneously, turning around. No one had bothered to give an alias; a lot of people in the hospital somehow remembered John despite the fact he hadn't been to the place in twenty-three years. The doctor blinked, surprised when they'd both answered, but quickly turned to Sam.
"I need to speak with you." He said. Sam's focus was instantly totally directed at the young doctor.
"Good, there's something I'd like to ask you: What the hell is wrong with my wife?" He demanded. The doctor, whose last name was Tyers, shifted nervously under Sam's gaze, a little unsettled by his outburst.
"Come with me, we need to talk in private." He said. Sam hesitated for an instant, but then nodded.
"Looks like you're getting the coffee on your own." He said to his father, before turning back to the doctor. "Lead the way."
John watched as his son walked away with the doctor, could practically see the anger and worry emanating from Sam like heat rising from the pavement. He didn't blame him; Sam had been through a lot the last couple of days. They all had, but Sam most of all. And now, to top it all off, Haley had come close to death for the umpteenth time in who-knew how long.
Shaking his head, John turned around, returning to his mission for coffee.
-;-
Sam just stared at the Dr. Tyers, a mixture of shock and disgust in his eyes. "You're telling me… that Haley almost died… because of the drugs you gave her?" He asked in disbelief. Slowly, the doctor nodded.
"And I have already apologized profusely for my actions." Dr. Tyers said. "There was no time, it was either that or risk her losing the second baby. Which of those two scenarios would you have preferred?"
"The one where my wife wasn't given drugs that weakened her heart to the point where this baby could kill her." Sam snapped.
"Now, that's where you're wrong." Dr. Tyers stated. "Despite the fact that, yes, the drugs have had a rather unpleasant side-effect, her heart should still be strong enough to support both herself and the baby. What you saw, what happened to Haley was… quite unexpected. While it is true that the pressure on her heart from the baby could cause shortness of breath, and perhaps even stop the flow of oxygen altogether, what happened to Haley just now was… far too sudden."
"What do you mean 'sudden'?" Sam asked, his eyes narrowed.
"It was as if something had simply taken hold of her heart it stopped it from beating." Dr. Tyers explained. He gave Sam a thoughtful look. "Did you happen to tell her anything? Something that perhaps was particularly stressful?"
I helped her emotionally open herself up to the entire hospital. "No." Sam said, shaking his head. "Nothing. We just… sat." More or less the truth. They had been sitting. Tyers sighed, but could obviously think of nothing else that could have caused Haley's heart attack. "Can I go see her now?" Sam asked. The doctor frowned at him for a minute, before nodding.
"Just don't stay too long. She's not out of the woods just yet." He said. Sam nodded, getting to his feet and leaving the doctor's office.
If he'd stayed just a few seconds longer, he would've been there to witness the doctor's sharp intake of breath, and then the black haze that spread like oil across his eyes, rendering them a deep, soulless black. The doctor's mouth twisted into a smile, and the demon got to his feet, leaving the office as well as his eyes returned to normal.
-;-
Missouri had left a few minutes before to see what was taking John so long, leaving Dean and Meg on there own. With both of them fully conscious and more or less emotionally intact, neither one of them knew what to say, and an awkward silence descended upon them.
"So…" Was Dean's attempt at breaking the silence.
"Yeah…" Came Meg's amused response. Dean gave her a grin, and for a minute he reminded her of a teenager about to ask his crush out on a date. And she'd had many a boy ask her out on a date when she'd been in high school, so she had some experience in such matters.
"Do you think Haley's going to be okay?" Dean asked, not sure what else to ask. At least that was neutral territory, away from whatever was happening between he and Meg.
"Yeah, she'll be fine." Meg said, and she seemed perfectly sure of herself. "To someone who can stare death literally in the face, and send it packing empty-handed, a few drug-induced side-effects are nothing."
"You know that from experience?" Dean asked.
"Nah, just call it intuition." Was Meg's response as she smiled at him. He returned the smile, but once again they found themselves unsure of what to say to each other.
They were saved the trouble of trying to find something to talk about by the sudden arrival of Dr. Tyers.
"Meg Masters?" He asked, looking over at Meg. She nodded.
"Yeah, that's me." She said. The doctor looked over at Dean.
"And Dean Winchester?"
"Yeah," Dean said, now a little suspicious. "Is there something we can do for you?" He asked. The doctor smiled, and turned around, closing and locking the door.
"As a matter of fact, there is." He said, turning back to face Dean and Meg. "You can sit quietly while I kill you." He was holding a scalpel in his hand.
Far from being afraid, Dean looked somewhere between agitated and bored.
"Can we never get a minute's peace?" He asked, rolling his eyes. Dr. Tyers smiled at him, poised to stab Dean with the scalpel as soon as the opportunity present itself, but apparently not game enough to make a blind lunge at the hunter.
"I think that's a no." Meg said, trying to sit up. The doctor glance at her, but his main focus seemed to be on Dean.
"I owe you for that little explosion you threw at me back at the cemetery." He stated, which caught Dean's attention.
"You're the one who possessed Elkins."
"Oh, was that his name?" Tyers asked. He took a step forward, and Dean stiffened.
"No to redirect blame," Dean said. "But it was actually my brother who made the ground explode underneath you, not me." Without warning, Tyers rushed forward, having thought he'd found his opportunity. Dean threw up an arm to block the scalpel, which turned out to be his broken arm, and even with the demon's supernaturally enhanced strength, Tyers was unable to break through the cast with the scalpel. Without hesitation, Dean swung his arm at the possessed doctor, landing a direct hit across his face and sending him sprawling back.
"Okay, bad move, bad move." Dean gasped out, cradling his arm as pain shot through it. He looked up just in time to see Tyers come charging at him, and then he was knocked to the ground, having just enough time to catch hold of the doctor's wrist so as to avoid being stabbed in the chest.
"Dean!" Both demon and hunter looked over at the young woman, he was now sitting bolt upright in bed, her eyes filled with determination. She raised her hand, palm facing forward, fingers outstretched, and the demon was thrown backwards off of Dean into the wall.
Her eyes narrowed as she tried to keep him there, but it was obvious she had neither the energy nor the mental strength to keep up what she was doing. Luckily, those few seconds she kept him there were all Dean needed. He was on his feet in an instant, and by Meg's side the next.
"This won't work unless we both say it." He said. Releasing the demon, Meg nodded, holding out her hand, which Dean took.
"EGO expello vos hinc quod is populus, licentia iam." Dean said. Tyers had just gotten to his feet, but gave startled jerk, and look of discomfort on his face.
"EGO expello vos hinc quod is populus, licentia iam." Dean repeated, and this time Meg said it as well. Tyers' eyes had turned black; the demon knew what was happening and it was trying to fight it. "EGO expello vos hinc quod is populus, licentia iam!" Upon completion of the third recitation, Tyers' mouth opened wide and the thick, black, smoke-like substance poured out in a frenzied rush, dissipating as it spread through the room, seeking an escape but finding none, until finally, it was completely gone.
Meg slumped backwards, her energy spent, and Dean caught her as her head sagged back. He was just laying her gently back down against the bed when the door burst open and his father staggered into the room.
"Nice of you to join us." Dean said, a little irritably. His arm was aching, and he'd just had to perform an exorcism, which he couldn't accomplish on his own in the best of circumstances, with a woman who couldn't even stand up on her own. John took in the scene, and quickly noticed the source of the disturbance.
"You two okay?" He asked.
"I'll live." Dean said. He glanced at the unconscious woman in front of him. "Wish I was as certain of that conclusion for Meg." He gave a sigh and looked over as Missouri came in, and saw the doctor lying unconscious against the wall, a rather nasty bump on the back of his head. "Maybe we should… I don't know, move him," he suggested. "Make it looked like he was the one attacked, instead of the one doing the attacking." Because that would not look good on his record, Dean thought humourlessly.
-;-
A/N: I know it's an abrupt ending, but I couldn't think of anything else to write for this chapter. Now, a little explanation as to why my exorcisms (I really need to lay off those for a while) are all crazy different. The first exorcism, the one used to free Meg, is a proper exorcism, and can be performed by just about anyone because it channels power from some other source. The exorcism Haley used against the demon who caused her miscarriage was short and easy to use, but takes a lot of energy, physically and mentally, from whoever is using it. Because she was tapping into her demonic essence, which is practically a limitless source of energy, it was easy for her to do it. The one in this chapter is essentially the same, except because Dean didn't have the supernatural nor the mental energies (being completely human with no supernatural gifts) to perform the exorcism, both he and Meg (who, at this point in time, also lacks the strength to do it on her own) had to do it together for it to work. Does all that make sense? Hope so, and I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Next one will hopefully ease up a little, but I'm not promising anything. Until next time, Cyas.