"Alright!" Chuck shouted, his tone full of venom. "You want the end? You got it!" He snapped his fingers and day turned into night in an instant. He stood there in the cemetery with Sam and Cas, Jack laying lifeless at their feet.
The ground rumbled beneath them, speeding up their heartbeats. The graves around them forced out their occupants and Dean felt himself moving to yank out three pieces of an iron gate surrounding a small family burial plot nearby. He squared his shoulders off after he, the angel and his brother faced what really and truly might be the end before everything went black.
Fuck.
Was he dead?
Again?
For real this time?
Where was heaven?
Was this hell?
No... He'd been both places and this wasn't either of those places.
The void. Was he in the void?
"Dean? Can you hear me?" It was a female voice that he didn't recognize. She said something else he couldn't quite hear before he sank back into the darkness again.
His mind was foggy and he struggled to figure out where he was. He could feel some movement beneath him, like the ground was moving.
A bit of time passed and he wasn't sure how much when he heard the same female's voice again. This time she was talking to another female about him like he wasn't even there.
Was he dead?
He wasn't sure.
But Sam... the thought slammed into his mind. If he was dead, where was his brother?
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The dayshift nurse reviewed her orders on the computer she'd wheeled into her second patient's hospital room. His vitals were rock steady and she winced, knowing she was more than likely going to see him get agitated when she turned off the sedation to check his mental status and see if he could follow simple directions. The vent settings were getting lowered each day by respiratory therapy, indicating he was breathing more and more on his own. He'd been on the ventilator for more than a week now and his wonderful family and friends were in and out during visiting hours the entire time.
Heidi punched in a few buttons on the IV pump, turning off the sedative. She charted that and moved around the bed to check the catheter bag for urine output. She was humming softly as she did so and glanced up to check Dean's vitals on the bedside monitor. His heart rate had gone up slightly and she glanced at his face, but he hadn't opened his eyes.
She checked his circulation around the bilateral wrist restraints before fussing with the crisp white sheets she'd just changed with the other nurse when she'd bathed him an hour ago.
Heidi looked to her patient and was startled to find his eyes open, staring at her closely.
"Dean," She swallowed hard, noting the suspicious look in his eyes. "I'm Heidi, your nurse. You're in the hospital. You got in a car accident." He held her gaze as she moved around to the other side of the bed. "Can you hear me?" She reached down to touch his foot. "Can you wiggle your toes for me?" He made no effort, just watched her, which creeped her out a bit.
"Dean?"
He bit down experimentally on the endotracheal tube, causing the alarm on the ventilator to shriek loudly in protest. The nurse moved to silence the sound. "Honey don't bite that tube. It's helping you breathe..." He turned his head to watch her push some buttons before turning his attention to the restraints on his wrists. Dean yanked against them and the nurse looked over in surprise when he leaned forward to reach for the tube. "No no no!" She yelled out, realizing he was trying to self extubate. "Dean stop!"
He felt his lungs burning with the movement, but he managed to get ahold of the tubing and throw himself backward on the bed, gagging when the tube was displaced, oral secretions landing on his chest and IV tubing. He coughed weakly and felt someone placing a mask over his face.
"Crap. I can't believe he did that." The second nurse who'd rushed in when she heard the first nurse yelling spoke softly as she adjusted his mask. "Better call the doc."
"Ah, one step ahead of me, eh?" Like magic, the doctor appeared in the doorway, making the two ladies look up. "I was planning on extubation tomorrow, Dean."
"You want to reintubate him?" Heidi asked.
He shook his head. "Lets see if he can swim on his own." He reached to untie Dean's restraints and ducked away when he took a swing at the doctor. "Whoa, relax Dean."
"Don't.. you.. touch me." Dean wheezed, his voice hoarse from the tube down his throat. "My brother... where's my brother?"
"Relax," The second nurse tried, her hand on his shoulder. "He was here earlier to visit-," Dean jerked away from her touch.
"Sam!" He yelled, his voice weak, but his tone full of fight. "Sam!" Dean yanked off his mask, gasping for breath. "Sam!"
"You want us to call security to get him calmed down?" Heidi asked, reaching for the device on her lanyard.
"Get him what he wants." The doctor spoke softly. "Get his brother."
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Sam, Riley and Castiel were eating lunch in the cafeteria when the page came overhead. "Sam Winchester, please report to the ICU immediately." Riley's fork clattered to her plate and Sam's eyes snapped to hers. "Sam Winchester, to the ICU."
"Fuck." Sam spoke, his voice choked up, sliding out of the booth as Riley did the same. Castiel waved them on.
"I got this." He spoke hurriedly, referring to their mostly untouched lunches. "Get up there to him." Sam's hand slid into Riley's and she jogged to keep up with Sam's long strides as they headed to the elevators. Luckily, one was waiting there. They got in and Riley punched the button for the second floor.
The double doors of the locked unit awaited them and Sam picked up the phone that was on the wall to his right to be let inside. It rang once before the unit clerk answered. "This is Sam Winchester... I was just paged..." The door opened and he hung up the phone and they moved inside.
Riley let out a soft sob when they heard Dean's weak voice, screaming for his brother. There were four security officers, three nurses and the doctor in the doorway of his room.
"Where's my brother?" Eight sets of eyes moved to the approaching pair.
"Sam," The doctor shook his hand. "Your brother managed to pull out his breathing tube and is getting pretty combative with the staff..." He paused. "I don't want to sedate him, but if he doesn't calm down, I'll have no choice."
"I got it." Sam stepped past the group and into the room. "Dean? I'm here."
His older brother had one leg over the railing and most of his heart monitor leads yanked off his bare chest in the process. His other leg lay useless and heavy in a brace. "Sam."
"I'm here." Sam saw the oxygen mask on Dean's lap and reached over carefully to replace it on his face. "I'm here, brother." Dean's frantic eyes took in the sight of Sam, unharmed and in one piece. He couldn't explain it, but the incredible need to make sure his little brother was okay was overwhelming and seemed second nature. "Relax. Just breathe."
Dean allowed Sam to move his good leg back over the bed rail and into his bed. He fell back onto the bed, a mixture of relief and exhaustion setting in. Sam turned to see where Riley was and saw she'd stopped in the doorway, watching the scene before her. He nodded to her and shaky legs carried her to the bed where her boyfriend lay panting, each breath fogging up the mask he'd allowed Sam to put on.
Sam saw Dean's face soften when his eyes moved to the brunette who stepped up to the bedside cautiously. "Ry," He managed to whisper, his right hand reaching out to her, the tape unpeeling off the IV in the back of his hand.
Heidi the nurse slid in quietly to place a strip of tape back on his IV, no wanting to lose it and have to stick him again. Dean allowed it before Riley squeezed his hand, tears in her eyes. The nurse stepped back and watched the scene, nodding to security in the doorway that it was okay to go now.
"I'm here." She whispered. Dean closed his eyes for a few seconds. "I love you so much." He only nodded slightly. Riley looked to Sam before she let go of his hand. Dean's eyes opened when she did that. "I'm gonna step out and let Cas know you're okay..." Sam started to protest, but she stepped out before he did so.
"Sam... the hell... is going on?"
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Meg closed her eyes when she listened to the call from her husband. "What can I do? How can I help?"
I don't know." Castiel was waiting outside the women's restroom for Riley. "I just don't know." He'd updated Ruby and Dean's parents as well as Ben and Lisa and they were on their way to the hospital to see Dean before visiting hours were over. "I'm concerned about Ry."
"Me too." Meg murmured. "Cas, when she's ready, bring her here. I don't want her by herself."
"I agree." He fought back a yawn. "She was only in there a couple minutes before she came back out. Sam's still in there."
"She feels guilty, like this was her fault." His wife sighed softly. "Make her go say goodnight to him."
Castiel shrugged. "I'll try, but I can't make her do anything." The door opened. "I love you. If you call for some chinese food, I'll pick it up on the way home." His wife smirked.
"Read my mind... I didn't feel like cooking anyways." She paused. "Love you too. See you soon."
Cas hung up when the brunette approached, looking worse for the wear. "Hey honey. You alright?"
"I wanna go home." Riley murmured softly.
"You're coming to our house. Meg insisted," He added when she gave him a look. "I'm gonna go say goodbye to Dean... come on."
"It's a two person limit," Riley tried to argue, but he was already picking up the phone to be let into the intensive care unit. "Cas." He gave her a pointed look and she let him lead her inside.
Dean was sleeping again in the now dimly lit hospital room and Sam had pulled up a chair to sit close by in case he woke up. "Hey guys."
"Hey." Cas spoke quietly. "We're gonna head back home. Your folks and Ruby are on their way up here. Meg called Ben and Lisa and they'll be up when he's done with basketball practice." Sam nodded before his hazel gaze shifted to the young woman at Castiel's side who was staring at the man she loved laying in the bed, his sheets in mild disarray.
"Night Sam." She hugged Sam tight before reaching out to pat Dean's hand "Love you, Dean."
"Love you, Ry." He rasped, his eyes still closed, making them all smile softly. She leaned over to kiss the top of his head, his hair sticking out in a million directions. His mouth twitched into s sleepy smile before she and Castiel slipped back out.
The night air was cool and calm, just a hint of a breeze wafted through Riley's hair as she linked her arm into Castiel's, leaning into him some as they headed to his car. He smiled a little to himself as she did that. There was no need to speak and that was just fine with him.
Riley nodded her thanks as her husband's best friend opened the passenger door for her. She slid inside and he closed the door firmly before moving around the back of his SUV to climb in the driver's seat. He turned the key over in the ignition and turned to say something to the brunette, but she was leaning against the window, her eyes closed. He buckled his seatbelt and shifted into gear, heading for home.
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A million apologies for the delay on the update. I've been sick on and off for the last few months and have had zero motivation coupled with writer's block.
Hope you guys enjoyed this. Thanks for stopping by and leave me a review!
CitrineMama