Spn
In a matter of a few hours, Sam's condition deteriorated as the staph infection took hold in his little body. His low grade fever shot up despite the IV fever reducers, his breathing worsened as it took on a wet raspy sound, and he ached all over, especially his throat and head. He also developed a rash on his chest and arms, confirming the diagnosis of the staph infection.
John remembered the conversation they had with Mac after the doctor gave them Sam's diagnosis.
Earlier:
"Staph infection? How the heck did he get that?! He's in the hospital for God's sake!" Bobby snapped as the others got over the shock of the diagnosis.
Mac ran a hand through his hair "Staph bacteria can spread anywhere, especially through an open wound or cut. In Sammy's case, it was his IV port. Normally, it wouldn't have been such a big deal, but his immune system is extremely weak right now which allowed the infection to take hold."
Caleb, having sensed the rest of the hunter's anxiousness and the question that was the most prominent in their heads, decided to beat them to it.
"How do we treat it? And what are his chances?"
"Thankfully, this type of infection isn't resistant to antibiotics, so the course of treatment is going to be IV antibiotics. But since the infection is in Sammy's bloodstream, we need to keep an eye on his internal organs especially his lungs, heart and kidneys, because the bacteria can easily affect those. Another thing we need to keep an eye on is sepsis. Staph infections can become septic if not treated carefully. As for his chances, he has a pretty good chance of beating this but I'm warning you, it will be tough. Sam's body extremely weak right now so he needs extra monitoring and precautions to avoid other pathogen"
Now:
The pain John felt in his heart was unbearable as he stared at his son, pale save for the fever spots on his cheeks, with a tube coming from his mouth and another sticking out his side.
When Sam first started having difficulty breathing, Mac fitted him with an oxygen mask. But in a matter of a few hours, his breathing became erratic. His little chest rose up and down rapidly and the rest of his family could do nothing but watch.
It wasn't until nighttime when Jim and Bobby retreated to Jim's house to take care of an urgent business, even though Caleb sensed how their hearts were breaking at the thought of being far from Sam. Mac and John were awake, conversing softly while Caleb, Joshua, and Dean slept in chairs around Sam's bed.
Suddenly, machines around Sam's bed started blaring. Mac and John were on their feet on a split second and the others woke with a start.
"What's going on?" asked Dean fearfully, a characteristic he normally didn't express.
"He's in tachycardia." Mac said, reading the monitors and jumping to action. "I need you guys to get out so I can work." He told the others, not taking his eyes off Sam, as two nurses came bustling into the room.
"No! I'm not leaving Sam." Dean yelled and surged forward but Caleb, having anticipated his reaction held him back and dragged him slowly out of the room.
As soon as the door to Sam's hospital room closed behind them, Dean bolted.
"Dean!" John shouted after his son but Caleb placed a hand on his shoulder. The psychic sensed the father's emotions, torn between painfully waiting and hoping his youngest would be alright, and chasing after his eldest who was clearly hurting.
"Let him be Johnny. I'll go after him." He told John.
John nodded and sank into a chair, placing his head in his hands.
"Please let my baby be okay." He prayed and felt Joshua place a comforting hand on his shoulder.
Meanwhile, Caleb was on the search for Dean.
The boy knew how to hide himself and his tracks very well, but he was no match for the psychic. Focusing on the huge amount of emotions that ranged from fear to sadness to guilt, Caleb followed them like a beacon until he reached a mop closet.
Opening the door, he glanced down and found Dean sitting on the floor, his knees drawn up to his chest. Caleb was somewhat overwhelmed by the huge rush of emotions coming from the teenager that he had to take a second to regain his bearings.
Dean glanced up and glared at him with red rimmed eyes "Go away Damien."
Caleb knelt next to him "Not a chance, Deuce. Not until you tell me what's going on in that wacked up head of yours."
Dean just wrapped his arms around his knees tighter.
Caleb sighed and crossed his legs as he got comfortable on the floor "Deuce, what happened was not your fault."
Dean raised his head and stared at him with such sadness and guilt in his eyes that Caleb almost cried.
"Really? But if I had not gone on that hunt with Uncle Bobby and stayed with him, none of this might have happened." He said mournfully.
"And did you know that this would have happened when you went?" Caleb asked.
"Of course not!" Dean said indignantly.
"Then how is this your fault?"
Dean stared at the ground and said nothing. Caleb felt Dean's resolve begin to crumble so he inched closer to him and gathered the teen in his arms just in time for him to start crying.
Ten minutes later, Dean pulled away wiping his eyes furiously and Caleb knew he was embarrassed.
"Don't even think about apologizing Deuce. You did nothing wrong, I cried too. Several times actually since Sammy was hospitalized." The psychic admitted.
Dean nodded so Caleb took advantage of his compliance to ensure the idea he was trying to tell Dean earlier.
"Dean, what happened to Sammy was not your fault. Don't you dare think otherwise."
"I don't want him to die." The sentence took him by surprise.
"Buddy, Sammy won't die. Not if Mac or any of us have anything to do with it. I can promise you that. Now do you want to end this chick flick moment and go see how that little brother of ours is doing?"
Dean smiled "Let's go."
However, when the two of them opened the door to Sam's room and saw their little brother lying with a tube protruding from his mouth, Caleb felt Dean collapse all over again on the inside. Putting a pause on his own feelings and slapping a bandage on his broken heart, Caleb quickly grabbed Dean's hand and focused on lending him some strength.
It worked and Dean straightened up again and darted towards Sam's bed where John and Joshua were sitting on opposite sides of it holding the child's hands.
Joshua, upon noticing Dean's arrival, got up from his chair and hugged the teenager then let him pass to be with his brother.
As Dean grabbed Sam's hand and started comforting his little brother, Caleb and Joshua went over to John's side of the bed.
"What happened?" Caleb whispered.
John stared at him with red rimmed eyes "Mac had to shock his heart back to normal rhythm. Then Sam stopped breathing. Long story short, the infection is targeting his lungs and heart so Mac put him on a ventilator as you can see and placed him in a medically induced coma for a little while."
Caleb ran a hand through his hair to control the rush of emotions that went through him "Oh God…"
Joshua placed his hand on his shoulder. He might not be psychic like Caleb, but he had an impeccable sense of knowing what his brothers were feeling and had a way of getting through to them.
"He'll be alright Cal." Joshua said soothingly as he guided his brother to a chair beside John.
Caleb grimaced and glanced at Sam's still form "I hope so."
Spn
Bit of an intense chapter.
