Author's note: Huge thank you to everyone who followed and reviewed!

I'm not an expert on medical stuff and information.

Spn

Mac sat rocking Sam in his lap for a long time, but neither man nor child took notice, until Sam's eyes started to shut close, exhausted by his bout of crying as well as the relief of being found.

Mac hated to let the boy out of his arms but he needed to check what was going on with Sam. Gently untangling Sam's grip on his shirt and started to lay him down on the floor when Sam let out a cry and threw himself back at Mac, holding his uncle for dear life.

"Shh Sammy, I've got you, I'm not going anywhere. I just need to see what's wrong." Mac soothed.

Sam shook his head, his face still buried in Mac's chest.

"Alright, tiger. Can you tell me what's wrong?" Mac prompted.

Sam unburied his face and laid his cheek against his uncle. "Hungry." He said weakly.

Mac's heart thudded painfully against his chest, then he stood up, carrying Sam tightly in his arms with the boy's head now on his shoulder. Crossing the room he headed towards the fridge and opened it.

It was empty, save for a thin slice of bread and one water bottle.

"Sammy, where's the money John left you?" Mac said, dreading the answer.

"Used it to buy food." Sam mumbled.

Mac felt the blood drain from his face as his brain connected the dots.

Sam, the boy like a son to him and the baby of their family, had been starving for days and nobody knew. John had probably left him some money, not enough by the looks of it, and Sam had used it to buy what little amount of food he could. Yet, it wasn't enough.

"Sammy, I'm going to lay you down on the couch, just so I can know what's wrong."

"No!" Sam cried and wrapped his arms around Mac's neck more.

"Please tiger. I promise I'm not going anywhere. In fact, I'm not letting you out of my reach for a while after this. I just need to see what's wrong." Mac pleaded.

Sam was silent for a moment then he spoke in a tiny voice "Don't leave me."

Mac's heart broke "Never. I'll be right next to you. Then I'll hold you again. Promise." He told the boy in his arms.

Sam nodded and only let out a whimper as Mac laid him down on the couch and knelt beside him.

"You're doing great champ. I'm right here with you." Mac said as he worked on undressing Sam's top half and nearly cried at what he saw.

Sam's already small chest and body was thinner than ever, and Mac could count his ribs. His skin was dry and his breathing rapid, indicating dehydration. The child was also clearly malnourished and extremely weak, and Mac doubted he could even walk on his own right now. Sam needed medical attention immediately.

Redressing Sam gently, he scooped him up, bridal style and started heading towards his car.

"Come on buddy, we're going on a little road trip." He said, smiling as Sam burrowed closer and drifted off to sleep. Getting in his car, he was grateful he chose his old car not his new one so he could place Sam with him in the front seat, with the boy's head in his lap.

As he drove, he called the hospital, telling them the situation and his title as a doctor, to prepare them for his arrival so that Sam could receive the medical attention he needed quickly.

Parking in front of the hospital, Mac lifted Sam effortlessly and placed him on the gurney that the nurses had prepared for him.

In a matter of minutes, Sam was sedated, an NG tube in his nose and an IV line in the back of his hand, to help him overcome the malnutrition and dehydration as he lay on a gurney in the ER until a bed in the pediatric ward became available. Mac sat beside him, stroking his soft honey colored hair as he listened to the various beeps of machines monitoring Sammy's vitals.

"Oh lord, Sammy." Came a voice that caused Mac's head to snap up, meeting the pale, shocked form of Jim Murphy.

As soon as he had treated Sam and hooked him up to the appropriate fluids and nutrition, he had called the pastor, who had been sitting with John in his hospital room just a few floors above the ER, and told him to get down to the ER.

"Mac, what the heck happened?" Jim asked, approaching the bed and placing a hand on the sleeping boy's head.

"I found him half starved to death Jim. He's somewhat malnourished and dehydrated but that's not the worst thing. You know how Sammy's eyes are, when he saw me, I saw this deep sense of shock and pure relief that someone had found him in them. He latched onto me and cried for so long and wouldn't let go, not even when I wanted to examine him." Mac told him.

Jim closed his eyes for a few moments then opened them, determination etched on his face.

"We need to get to the bottom of this. John's lucid, so we can question him."

Mac nodded "I'm coming with but I promised not to leave him alone. Caleb and Josh done with the hunt?"

"Yes, they said they're taking the weekend off to do 'manly stuff', I didn't ask them to elaborate though." Jim replied, a hint of a smirk on his lips.

Mac shook his head "I'll call them to stay with Sammy while we talk to John. And the tiger's going to need all the support he needs, what better than his brothers. Speaking of, I tried to call Bobby and Dean but got no answer."

"They took a hunt deep in the woods and phone signals would only throw off their leads so Bobby turned off his and Dean's cells, I wouldn't expect them to answer the phone for a couple more days." Jim informed him.

"Dean's going to flip when he finds out something happened to Sammy, you know how protective he is of Sammy." Mac said.

"He isn't the only one…" Jim muttered, thinking about how protective everyone in their family was of Sam, as he took a seat next to Sam's gurney as Mac exited the small cubicle to phone Caleb and Josh.

"Hey dad, what's up." Came the chirpy voice of his son after the phone rang for 3 times.

"Caleb, where are you?"

"We're actually just leaving Blue Earth to come visit John."

"Is Joshua with you now?"

"Yes. Dad? Is something wrong?" Caleb asked, noting something wrong in his father's tone. Beside him, Joshua immediately tensed.

Mac sighed "When you get to the hospital, meet me in the ER entrance and call me when you get close. How far away are you?"

"Bout 30 minutes. Dad, is it John? Did something happen?" Caleb asked, panicking.

"No it's not John." Mac answered and Caleb sighed in relief, but the next 2 words that Mac uttered stopped his heart.

"It's Sammy."

Caleb pressed on the breaks, the two figures pitching forward as the car came to a sudden stop eliciting a yell from Joshua.

"What do you mean Sammy. What's wrong with him?" Caleb asked, worried.

"Just get here Caleb. Quickly." Mac said then hung up.

Caleb let go of the steering wheel and gripped his hair tightly.

"Caleb? What's wrong with Sammy?" Joshua asked fearfully.

"I don't know, dad wouldn't tell me. But it sounded bad."

"Then let's go."

Caleb took a few moments to collect himself then pressed on the gas pedal once again, both he and Joshua determined to get to their little brother and get to the bottom of things.

O

Caleb parked the car haphazardly in front of the ER entrance then he and Joshua jumped out of the car to meet Mac who was waiting for them.

"Dad! What's wrong with Sam?"

As they walked into the ER, Mac filled Joshua and Caleb on what had happened as he led them to where Sam was currently sleeping.

Drawing back the curtain, Caleb and Joshua felt their hearts stop at the sight of the little boy they loved and protected with all their being lying so still and pale on that gurney with a tube coming out of his nose and an IV in the back of his hand as Jim caressed his hair softly.

"He looks so fragile..." Joshua's voice broke at the end, unable to stop the rush of emotions.

"How did this happen?" Caleb asked in a low voice.

Mac pressed his lips into a tight line "That's what we're going to find out. We're going up to ask John some questions. I sedated Sam so he wouldn't feel the placement of the NG tube, but he should wake up soon. When he does, try to get some answers out of him, he was vague back at the house. And whatever you do, don't leave him alone."

Both young adults shot him a look that said, 'You're really telling us this?'

"I know you won't, just making sure because I told you what happened back at the house." Mac said, referring to the attachment Sam had exhibited back at the house.

"Don't worry Mac, just go ask John... go find out more from John." Joshua said.

"And update us when you have information." Caleb added.

"Alright." Mac promised then he and Jim left the cubicle, leaving Caleb and Joshua alone with Sam.

"Oh tiger, why does it always have to be you?" Caleb asked softly.