Chapter 6

Sam booked a room at the Motel 6, getting two queen beds knowing Storm would be heading his way as soon as he talked with her. He took his bags inside and got out his laptop to start his research. Before he started, Sam pulled his cell out knowing he needed to make a phone call. It was one he was dreading but couldn't put it off any longer, now that he knew Dean's condition. He dialed the number and listened to it ring trying to prepare what he would say.

"Hello," Storm spoke in a neutral voice.

"Storm, it's Sam," he greeted her.

"Hey Sam. How are things going? Where's Dean?" she asked cautiously. "You guys are still heading my way, right?"

"There's been a situation Storm," Sam tried to explain. "You need to come to Normal, Illinois now."

"What's happened to Dean?" Storm said slowly. "Sam, tell me. I had a feeling earlier that something was wrong and haven't been able to shake it."

"I'm at the Motel 6 on the east side of the town near the hospital in room 17."

"Sam, what aren't you telling me?" she demanded. "What's happened to Dean?"

"Please Storm, I'll explain when you get here and take you to see Dean," Sam told her, being vague for now, not wanting to worry her any more than he had to until she got here.

"I'll be there as soon as I can make arrangements. I need to go; I'll see you soon."

Sam heard the call disconnect and sat back in his chair as tears filled his eyes before he could stop them. He madly wiped them away and connected to the internet to start doing research on Dean's condition. He wanted to see if there were any options or procedures that the doctor hadn't mentioned. He searched any medical website he could find and spend hours reading reports, articles, and listened to seminars on the heart until his eyes starting blurring and his head began to pound. Knowing he needed a break, Sam got up and stretched and decided to take a shower, hoping it would relieve some of his stress and anxiety. He was not going to accept that his brother only had less than a month to live.

After his shower, Sam stretched out on top of the bed to rest his eyes and hoped his headache would go away. He didn't intend to fall asleep but did and didn't wake until the early hours of the next day. Sam got up and stepped to the door to look outside, seeing that dawn was breaking on the horizon. He wiped a hand down his face and walked down to the vending machines for a water before returning to his room. He sat back down at his laptop and started his research again, wondering when Storm was going to get there.

There was a knock on the motel door a couple of hours later and Sam got up to answer it expecting Storm but stared in shock at Dean leaning against the door frame barely able to stand and looking like death warmed over.

"You gonna let me in?" Dean grumbled as he shuffled past Sam.

"What the hell Dean? What are you doing out of the hospital?" Sam fussed grabbing Dean's arm as he wavered, trying to keep his balance.

"I'm not staying in no hospital Sammy. They didn't even have any good looking nurses," Dean complained as he let Sam guide him to a bed. "And daytime tv sucks."

"Dean, you're sick and should be…"

"Sammy, I'm not spending the time I have left in some hospital room, being poked and drugged up."

Sam huffed his concerns but knew he couldn't make Dean go back. It was his decision on what he wanted to do. He looked Dean over and saw how weak and sick he looked. His face had a sheen of sweat and his eyes had bruised, dark patches under them.

"At least get comfortable and lay down. I'll go get us something to eat in a bit."

Dean grunted as he pulled his jacket off and tried to lean over to untie his boots and almost fell off the bed. Sam caught him and pushed him back up before squatting and taking his boots off. Dean stretched out on the bed and sighed softly as he closed his eyes.

Sam went back to his laptop and started reading some articles he had bookmarked. Less than thirty minutes later, another knock sounded at the door and he went to answer it before it woke Dean.

"Storm, you made it," Sam greeted her in a whisper. "How did you get here so fast?"

"It pays to have a Dad that was in the service who has friends to do him a favor," she said dropping her bags by the door. "Where's Dean? Can we go to the hospital now?"

"He's here, but we should talk outside first," Sam told her looking to the bed to see Dean was still asleep. He stepped from the room, guiding her out, and walked to the Impala to lean against it.

"Sam, what's going on? Be honest with me," she questioned, her voice getting high pitched the more she talked. "What's wrong with Dean?"

"We were on a hunt for a Rawhead," Sam started. "It kidnapped some children in this town, and we were trying to save them. We found the kids and I took them to safety and Dean went looking for it to kill it. We had tasers that were souped up and Dean tasered the Rawhead, but they were standing in water and he was hit with the electrical shock too."

"No, oh no," Storm whispered as she slumped against the Impala beside Sam. She didn't resist when Sam put an arm around her to help hold her up. "What did the doctors say?"

"His heart was damaged. They can't do anything to fix it," Sam told her trying to keep his voice calm and steady and be strong for her.

"How long?" she asked. "Sam, how long?" she asked again when he didn't answer the first time.

"Less than a month," he finally whispered.

Storm choked back a sob as she buried her face into Sam's chest, her body trembling uncontrollably. He wrapped his arms around her and held her as she cried in despair. He couldn't stop his own tears from falling as he tried to comfort her as best as he could.

"I'm not giving up. I'm going to find something to save him, even if I have to do something supernatural." Sam's voice was harsh and determined as he gazed over Storm's head out into the parking lot.

"I need to see him," she said pushing away from Sam and wiping her face. She let Sam lead her back to the room and opened the door to go inside. Storm walked over to the bed where her lover, her soulmate, her friend lay sleeping, his breathing raspy and wheezy. She could see how pale he looked. Storm pulled her jacket and shoes off and crawled onto the bed with Dean. Storm gently pulled him into her embrace, letting his head rest in the crook of her neck. "I'm here now love," she mumbled to him as he started waking. "Go back to sleep hon."

Dean mumbled in his sleep and nestled into Storm arms as she rubbed his back and whispered to him. He wanted to wake up but couldn't pull himself out of sleep's strong grip. He finally gave up and tried to listen to the soft voice speaking into his ear. He calmed and lay still as his mind drifted away again into the darkness.

spn

Storm laid with Dean for a while before finally slipping from the bed to go sit with Sam at the table. She fought the tears that brimmed her eyes and looked at Sam's red rimmed eyes and tired face.

"I need to make some phone calls Sam," she told him getting up to go outside. "Have you eaten anything today?"

"No, wasn't really hungry. I was waiting for Dean to wake up and I was going to go get something for us."

"Why don't you run across to that diner and get us some food?" she told him taking a credit card from her wallet and handing it to him. "My treat."

"No, really I can…" he protested until Storm pushed it into his hands.

"Please Sam, let me do this," she begged. "Now go on, I'll wake Dean when you get back so he can eat with us."

"Alright," Sam conceded stepping outside with her. He walked across the parking lot toward the diner as Storm pulled her cell out to make some calls. She was going to see if the cabin was available for them to stay at and was going to call her Dad to let him know he needed to run the bar until she could get back. She watched Sam walking across the parking lot, his shoulders hunched and his gait like that of an old man. She had to have faith that they could find a way to save Dean. He couldn't die like this, not yet, he still had a life to live, and she wanted more time to spend with him.

Once she talked to her father about the cabin, she waited for him to call back. It wasn't long until her cell rang, and Cooper told her the cabin was hers for as long as she needed it. He made her promise to call him if she needed anything or any help. Storm promised him she would and thanked him for his help. She stepped back into the room to find Dean sitting on the edge of the bed with his head hanging down on his chest.

"Babe, hey, are you okay?" she asked hurrying to his side and sitting down beside him.

"Stormy," Dean mumbled raising his head to look bleary eyed at her. "What are you doing here?"

"Sam called me," she replied cupping his cheek and brushing her lips across his. She could feel how dry and chapped they were and made a note to get him some chap stick.

"He shouldn't have done that," he whispered, his voice weak as he tried to sound angry.

"I would have been upset if he hadn't called me. Sam's gone to get us some food and then we're packing and heading to the cabin," Storm told him. "You remember the weekend we spent at the cabin, don't you?"

Dean closed his eyes and smiled as memories of their weekend together came to him, their sweaty bodies entangled as they made love.

"Yes, it was unforgettable."

"That it was," she nodded kissing his cheek.

"I need to use the bathroom," he sighed.

"Here, let me help you up." Storm stood and helped Dean to stand and get his balance. He pushed her hands away and then walked to the bathroom on his own. He shut the door behind him as Storm stood by the bed trying to decide what to do. She looked around the room and started to gather Sam's clothes and put them in his duffle.

"I'm back with some food," Sam announced as he opened the door to let himself in.

"Good, Dean's up and it will do him good to eat something. I've talked to my Dad and he talked to his friend about the cabin. We can go there and stay for a while. At least until we figure something out."

"That sounds good," Sam replied sitting the food bags on the table. He moved his laptop and notes out of the way so there would be room to eat. "I got Dean some soup, thinking that would be easy on his stomach."

"That's good, he needs to take it easy with his diet right now."

"I'll let you tell him that."

"Tell me what?" Dean asked as he stepped from the bathroom.

"Sam's back with some food Dean, why don't you join us and try to eat something?" Storm suggested pulling out a chair for him. "Come, sit, Babe."

Dean walked carefully toward them, paying close attention to his balance as he made his way across the room and sat down. He worked on controlling his breathing so Sam and Storm wouldn't know how much it took out of him. He let Storm sit a cup of soup and crackers in front of him and a drink as Sam divided the other food between him and Storm.

Sam and Storm started eating their food and Dean looked at his soup before picking up a spoon to eat some. He opened the crackers and broke them into the soup before continuing to eat. His stomach growled and grumbled its need for food as he took another bite, chewing slowly to be sure it was going to settle before taking another bite. He looked over at Sam and Storm to see they were eating salads with grilled chicken breast on top of it.

"Is the food okay?" Storm asked as she watched him eat.

"It's fine," Dean answered. He sipped on his drink, feeling his body absorbing the fluid and needing more. He drank half his drink before stopping and burping softly.

"I'll get you some Gatorade when we leave," Sam told him as he watched him gulp his drink. "You probably need the electrolytes."

"Okay," Dean mumbled.

Sam and Storm looked at each other as silent communications passed between them that Dean did not see. They finished their meal and threw away the trash. Sam got his bathroom things and packed them before taking his and Storm's bags to the Impala.

"Dean, are you ready to go?" Storm asked him once she saw he had stopped eating.

"Yeah," he replied.

"I've got the car packed," Sam noted.

"Come on Dean, I'll sit in back with you," Storm offered. She grabbed a pillow from the bed and dropped some bills on the other one to pay for it. She wrapped her arm around Dean's waist and guided them outside to the car. Sam hurried around them and opened the back door to let Storm get in and slide across the seat so Dean could get in beside her. She put the pillow behind her in the corner and let Dean lean against her.

"Which way Storm?"

"Pick up Interstate 74 to Interstate 80 and head west toward Des Moines. The cabin is on the other side of Des Moines. I'll direct you from there," she told him. "We'll probably need to stop at a motel later, so it won't be so hard on Dean."

"I'm fine," Dean mustered when he caught the last of what Storm had said.

"I know you are Babe, maybe if I swap out and drive part of the way, we could get there without stopping."

"Storm is right Dean, we don't need to kill ourselves getting to the cabin. I'll drive until I'm tired and we'll stop."

Sam looked back at them knowing Dean was not feeling good when he didn't object to him driving the Impala. He could see Dean was trying to put on a good front, but he knew his brother and could see that each breath was getting harder for him to take. He followed Storm's directions and fell in with the traffic on the interstate.

He turned on the radio and found a station he knew Dean would like and left it there. He could hear Storm humming to the music as she got Dean to lay down in her lap so he could rest. She started singing the lyrics ever so softly, her voice hitching in places as she tried to hold it together. Sam felt the wetness on his face and wiped his cheeks and eyes of his tears knowing he had to be strong for the both of them.

The next few weeks were going to be tough on all of them, but he was determined to find a way to save his brother.

A/N: Storm knows now and steps up to help. They are heading for the cabin to stay hoping somewhere out there, there is a way to save Dean. There is a twist coming, that I hope you will enjoy. NC