"Dean, c'mon, we gotta get to the hospital," Bobby said, shaking his shoulder.
"What?" Dean asked, turning slightly to face Bobby. He thought he said that they needed to go to the hospital, but he couldn't figure out why. And he felt terrible and it was taking a minute to catch up.
"C'mon, I know you don't feel great, but I doubt you want me ta leave ya here," Bobby said.
"Why're we goin' to the hospital?" Dean asked slowly. Bobby better not be trying to get him there because he was sick. He knew he was sick, but he wasn't hospital sick.
"Somethin' happened and Jody's at the hospital with Sam and Alec," Bobby said.
"What?!" He yelled, jumping off of the sofa. He fell back down though, but immediately pushed himself back up. He started for the door without even thinking about shoes or a jacket. Either his brother was hurt or his son, and he needed to be there. Since they were at the hospital, he figured it was Alec that was hurt. But what could have happened on a trip to the store. Maybe they were both hurt. Maybe they got into a car accident. Oh God, he couldn't breathe. Alec was hurt and he wasn't there.
"Dean, hold up," Bobby called after him. "Slow down or else you're gonna pass out and I'm gonna leave ya here."
"Bobby, we have to get there," Dean stressed. His chest felt tight; panic was going to overwhelm him. He had to get to the hospital.
"I know, but you need a coat and shoes before we go anywhere," Bobby said, grabbing his arm and leading him back to the sofa to sit down. "Stay here and I'll get everything."
"Bobby…" Dean said to stop him from leaving. "Are they ok?"
"I think so," Bobby said. "All I got from Mitch was that something happened and Sam was the one that was hurt. He didn't say it was urgent, he just said Jody took 'em to the hospital." He felt his chest loosen knowing that Alec was ok. He still didn't like that Sam was hurt, but he couldn't handle it if Alec was hurt and he wasn't there. "Stay put, ok?" Bobby said.
He nodded, and waited for Bobby to come back. He still didn't feel good, but his brother mattered more than his own health.
"Ok, put this on," Bobby said, handing him Sam's hoodie and dropping his shoes on the floor. "I'll grab your coat while you work on that." He was shivering so it felt good to put on Sam's hoodie, and he was actually looking forward to putting his coat on too. "Dean, c'mon, try to focus," Bobby said, walking back in. "We've gotta get your shoes on before we go."
"I'm not a kid…" Dean grumbled.
"Dean, you're just sitting there," Bobby said.
He grumbled a little more, but finally started to get his shoes on. Bobby helped him get into his coat, and then gently pulled on his arm to get him up. He let Bobby help him to the car since he knew it would take him a while to get there on his own, and then they were finally on their way to the hospital.
"Jody, you don't have to stay with us," Sam said. "One of the nurses can watch Alec until Dean gets here while I get a scan done."
"No, I've got him," Jody reassured. She loved being around Alec. Ever since Halloween she'd felt a little lighter, a little less trapped in despair. And when Alec yelled her name and ran to her in the store…she hadn't been that happy since before her son died. "We'll find the play area while we wait." She had picked Alec up to get him out of his car seat, but then he hadn't wanted down. She got a feeling the little boy didn't actually walk around unless that was part of a game he was playing. "How does that sound, Alec?"
"Good," Alec said. He shook the snow globe he was holding and held it out to her, "Look Jody, it's snowing."
"That's really cool, Alec," Jody said.
"Uncle Sammy got it for me," Alec said. "He said we could put up a Christmas tree at home too."
"That's really neat," Jody said.
"Jody, if you get tired or you need to leave-"
"Sam, I've got him," Jody cut off. She patted Sam's leg and reassured, "We'll see you when they bring you back, ok?"
Sam smiled and nodded before he said, "Alec, be good for Jody, ok?
"Where are you going?" Alec asked in concern.
"They've gotta get a scan of my shoulder to make sure everything's ok, but then I'll be back," Sam said. "Jody's gonna look after you until I get back, ok?"
"Ok…" Alec said.
"We'll be back," Jody said with a smile as she carried Alec out of the curtained area.
Alec turned in her arms and looked back where they had left Sam. "Jody…"
"Everything's ok, honey," Jody said. "We're going to look for the play area if that's ok. Or we can go to the cafeteria and get a snack."
"Why can't we stay with Uncle Sammy?" Alec asked.
"Well, Uncle Sammy's going to get his shoulder fixed up," Jody said.
"But who's going to hold Uncle Sammy's hand when they fix him?" Alec asked.
She held Alec closer to herself; he was so good and warm, she just wanted to keep him forever. "Uncle Sammy's going to be ok," Jody said. "Maybe one of the nurses will hold his hand if he needs it."
"I want my Daddy," Alec whispered, his little lip quivering.
"I know sweetie, but he'll be here soon," Jody said. "Let's go to the cafeteria to get a snack, ok? Maybe they have some cookies or something."
Alec rested against her shoulder as she carried him to the cafeteria. He was starting to get heavy in her arms, but she couldn't put him down. He'd been through a traumatic experience and he hadn't even realized it yet. If she put him down, she was afraid it would all suddenly hit him and he'd be scared.
"Look, they do have cookies," Jody said, rubbing Alec's back. "Which one is your favorite? Sugar cookies, chocolate chip, oatmeal…"
"Chocolate chip," Alec whispered. "I want to go back…"
"Ok, we'll head back," Jody said, grabbing Alec a couple cookies and a carton of milk. "We'll still have to wait for Uncle Sammy, but this way we'll be right there as soon as your Daddy gets here."
Alec nodded and snuggled against her neck, so she walked back to the waiting area. She held Alec on her lap, which was a relief for her arms, and gave him one of the cookies to eat. He shook his head though and gave her the cookie back. "I don't feel good," Alec mumbled.
"Do you want some milk?" Jody asked.
"No…"
"Ok, just relax and before you know it, your Daddy will be here," Jody whispered. She ran her fingers through his hair and rubbed his chest soothingly as they waited.
He wanted to run into the hospital to get to his little boy faster, but he couldn't. He had to wait for Bobby to come around to his side of the car and help him up, and he could only walk so fast. He just wanted to get to Alec and make sure his little boy and his little brother were both safe.
It took forever to get inside, but once they did, he scanned the room to try to find Alec.
"Over there," Bobby said, spotting them before he did. "Jody's got him."
He broke out of Bobby's helping support and practically ran over to where Jody was sitting with Alec in her lap.
"He fell asleep just a little while ago," Jody whispered, slowly standing up with Alec in her arms. He reached out and carefully took his boy back. He held him close and closed his eyes in relief when his soft breath hit his neck.
"Thank you," Dean breathed out. "Thank you for watching him."
Jody smiled, "I'm happy to do it."
"Dean, you need to sit down," Bobby said. "If you're gonna hold him, then you need to sit. Your boy's heavy and you're sick."
"Alright, alright," Dean grumbled, taking up the chair next to the one Jody had been sitting in. He shifted Alec so he was lying across his lap, but he still kept him close. "How's Sam? Is he ok?" Dean asked once he got his little boy situated.
"They took him to get a scan, but he should be done pretty soon," Jody said. "He was hit in his left shoulder, but the doctors thought he should be ok." She reached into her pocked, and then held out a little snow globe to him. "This is Alec's. He said Sam got it for him and there's another one in your car that Mitch gave him."
He handed Bobby the little snow globe to put in his bag they had brought. He thought Alec would want a few of his things in case they had to stay at the hospital overnight. He hoped Sam was well enough to go back home, but the doctors might want to keep him around for observation.
"Here's his blankie," Bobby said, pulling the soft blanket out of the bag after he put the snow globe in. "I'll give ya Teddy once he wakes up."
He wrapped Alec up in his blanket and held him again. He still didn't feel good, but at least he knew for sure that Alec was safe.
"Jody, Sam's back if Alec wants to see him," a nurse said. She was a petite woman with light blonde hair and warm, hazel eyes. She had a nice smile and her scrubs had little smiley faces all over them.
Jody stood up, and he quickly followed. "Mel, this is Dean, Sam's brother and Alec's father. And you know Bobby Singer."
"Well, Sam's ready for some visitors," Mel said. "He's been asking where Alec is."
"We'd like to see him," Bobby said with a smile.
"Follow me," Mel said, leading the way back through the double doors.
Alec rubbed his face suddenly on his shoulder to get more comfortable. He rubbed Alec's back and reassured, "Everything's ok, Alec, we're just goin' to see Uncle Sammy."
Alec gasped though and shot up to look at him. "Daddy!" Alec yelled, throwing his arms around his neck and hugging him tightly. "Daddy, I missed you!"
He chuckled, "I missed you too."
"Daddy, Daddy, Uncle Sammy-we were at the store looking for a toy and, and Uncle Sammy, he, well, we were about to leave when these two guys came in and they were yelling and it was really scary but Uncle Sammy told me to get down and then he shot one guy but then the other guy shot him at the same time that Mitch shot him!" Alec said as fast as he could. Part of it didn't hardly make any sense at all, but he understood most of it. "And then Jody came and she took us to the hospital because Uncle Sammy was bleeding but then we had to go somewhere else because they had to take Uncle Sammy somewhere, but Jody said Uncle Sammy was going to be ok."
"We're actually going to see Uncle Sammy right now," Dean said.
Alec rested his head against his shoulder again and whispered, "Daddy, I was really scared."
His arms tightened around his little boy and he kissed the side of his head, "It's ok to be scared. But it sounds like you did just the right thing by listening to Uncle Sammy."
"Daddy, do you feel better?" Alec asked, easily switching to the next thing that had popped into his head.
"A little bit," Dean hedged. "I'm gonna need to take another nap here pretty soon."
"I'll take a nap with you," Alec said, giving him another hug.
"Thanks Alec," Dean whispered. He was so glad his little boy was ok. He wasn't going to let go of him for a while since he was afraid he would lose him if he did. Now he just needed to make sure Sam really was ok, and then maybe they could get back home so he could go to sleep.
"Daddy, look, the lady's back," Alec said, tapping on his shoulder.
"Lady? What lady?" Dean asked turning to see who Alec was talking about. But he didn't see anyone except for Bobby, Jody, and Mel. "Do you mean Mel? Because she's been here this whole time."
"No Daddy, look," Alec said, pointing back where they had come.
He looked, but no one was there, "I don't see anyone, kiddo."
"She's really pretty, Daddy. She's got long red hair," Alec said. "She just smiled at me!" Alec waved and his face lit up after a moment. "She's waving now! Daddy, look!"
His heart pounded; there was something here that only Alec could see. Something was after his little boy and he couldn't protect him if he couldn't see what it was. "Don't wave at her, baby, she might be bad."
"But Daddy, she's so pretty," Alec said.
"Alec, I mean it," Dean said, shifting Alec so he couldn't see behind him. "Don't look at her, ok?"
"Ok…" Alec sad, his voice sad.
"And here we are," Mel said, holding open a curtain and revealing his brother.
Sam's face lit up when he saw them; his left arm was in a sling, but other than that he looked pretty good. "Hey," Sam said with a smile.
"Uncle Sammy!" Alec yelled reaching for him. Dean kept his hold on his little boy, but he held him out so Sam could give him a one-armed hug before he held him again. "Uncle Sammy, did they fix your arm?" Alec asked.
"Yeah buddy, they fixed my arm. It's just going to be sore for a while," Sam said.
"Did it hurt? Did you cry?" Alec asked quickly.
Sam laughed and shook his head no, "No buddy, they numbed my arm so it didn't hurt, and no, I didn't cry."
"Did someone hold your hand?" Alec asked.
"No, no one held my hand," Sam said with a wide smile.
"I would've held your hand," Alec said.
"Thanks Alec," Sam said, and then he looked at him and asked, "Are you alright? How're you feeling?"
"I'm alright, Sammy," Dean said, trying hard to not roll his eyes at his brother. "You need anything? You want somethin' to drink or somethin'?"
"I'm alright," Sam said, holding up a cup of water. "Doctor said I could leave in a few hours."
"Dean, if you wanna take Alec home, I'll bring Sam when he's cleared," Bobby said.
"Daddy, I want to stay with Uncle Sammy," Alec said, playing with his collar.
"Ok, we can stay with Uncle Sammy," Dean said.
"I've gotta get back to work," Jody said. She walked over to him and ran her hand through Alec's hair. "I'll see you later, ok?"
"You're leaving?" Alec asked in distress.
"She's gotta work, Alec. She can't stick around here forever," Dean tried to explain.
"But I'll see you again," Jody reassured. Alec reached out for her and gave her a hug before she could leave. "I'll see you boys again soon," Jody said.
"We're gonna be putting up Christmas stuff soon if you want to come by," Bobby said.
Jody smiled and nodded, saying that she would, before she left. Bobby found them some chairs so they could sit down and wait for Sam to get cleared.
"Uncle Sammy, look," Alec said, holding out his snow globe to him. They were home again, and Bobby had ordered Dean to go upstairs to sleep. His brother was dragging after their trip to the hospital and the mountain of worry that had nearly crushed him when he didn't know if he or Alec were ok. Dean was still sick and that hadn't helped matters at all.
"It's snowing," Sam said with a smile. Alec was sitting on his lap in the living room as they watched TV. His nephew had been put out when he couldn't carry him from Dean's room back to the living room, but he'd quickly gotten over it as soon as he could sit on his lap and show him his new toys. Alec stood up suddenly to balance on his legs. He usually played this game with Dean, but he couldn't catch Alec if he fell since his left arm was in a sling. "Alec, you gotta sit down, buddy. I can't catch you if you fall."
"I won't fall," Alec said simply. He kept his right hand on Alec's back as his nephew bounced on his legs. "Uncle Sammy, does your arm hurt?"
"They gave me some medicine so it wouldn't hurt," Sam said.
"Can I see it?" Alec asked, suddenly serious. He'd stopped bouncing and his green eyes looked too old for his young face. He wondered how much Alec saw at Manticore and what they did to him since he was only two-years-old.
"How 'bout I show you when I change the bandage? How does that sound?" Sam suggested.
"Ok," Alec said.
"Alec, how much do you remember from the bad place?" Sam asked, deciding to take a chance. Dean refused to bring it up, but he wanted to know how much Alec remembered. Maybe he could help him if he knew more.
Alec's eyes darkened, and then he admitted, "A lot…"
"Did they hurt you?" Sam asked softly. Alec nodded and slowly sat in his lap again, but facing him. He brushed Alec's soft hair away from his forehead and decided he didn't need to know any more unless Alec wanted to talk about it.
"Daddy said I shouldn't play with guns because I might get hurt," Alec whispered.
"Yeah, guns can be dangerous if you don't know what you're doing," Sam said, unsure why Alec brought that up.
"People are dangerous," Alec muttered with his head down. "I'm dangerous…"
Sam frowned; Alec was two, he shouldn't be feeling like this, especially since he and Dean hoped that he hadn't been through too much bad before he was brought to them. "Alec…why do you think you're dangerous?"
"I hurt people…" Alec whispered.
He pulled Alec closer with his good arm and held him. "They made you," Sam finally said.
Alec shook his head no, "I was scared and I tried to get away and I hurt them. I didn't mean to…I just didn't want to go back and get hurt again."
"It's ok, Alec," Sam murmured.
"I don't wanna go back," Alec whispered.
"Me and your Dad are going to make sure that never happens," Sam reassured. "We'll keep you safe."
Alec moved so he could snuggle against his side, and he wrapped his arm around his little nephew. "I love you, Uncle Sammy."
"I love you too," Sam said, kissing the top of Alec's head.
More soon...