First of all I wanted to thank Faye Dartmouth for beta'ing this for me... She really helped me make it a lot better.

THANK YOU FAYE!

Next I wanted to thank all of you for the reviews, they help keep me going... And for your reviews there shall be a reward... A brand new... shiny... CHAPTER!

Take care and I hope you enjoy the next installment.

John pushed Dean down the hall towards Sam's room. They had gotten the okay from Sam's doctor to see him this morning, with the stipulation from Dean's doctor that Dean stay in the wheel chair, and try not to overtax himself. Dean had readily agreed, as long as it got him to his brother's side.

So now John and Dean were both on their way to Sam's room, both quietly anxious, and afraid of what would happen when they entered the room. Both were allowed to be in the room at the same time, since Dean himself was still a patient, and the fact that Dr. Cook had thought it would be good for Sam to be near his family.

John pushed Sam's door open, and wheeled Dean through the doorway, trying not to look at his youngest son, until he got Dean settled. Seeing Dean's face lose some of it's color, John knew he had done the right thing by not looking. He pushed Dean to Sam's left side, and locked the side of the wheelchair, so Dean wouldn't take any unexpected trips backwards. He walked over to Sam's right side, and pulled a chair over to his side.

When he sat down, John finally looked at Sam. There was a little more color in Sam's features, and John felt relieved at that little improvement. His blood pressure and heart beat looked stable, and though the ventilator was still helping Sam breathe, his youngest did look like he was doing better, and John smiled a little, taking Sam's lax hand in his own, needing to feel him there.

Dean wasn't faring as well as his father. Having not seen Sam since the cabin, Dean didn't notice the little improvements that his father did, all he saw was Sam unconscious on the bed, with a tube down his throat to help him breathe, and hooked up to so many monitors it wasn't funny. All he saw was the paleness in Sam's face, and all he felt was the way that Sam's hand was limp in his own.

Dean unconsciously held his brother's hand tighter, and pulled it to his heart, whispering to himself and to Sam. Words of encouragement and apology left Dean's mouth in a repeating cycle. Words for both himself and for Sam.

"Sorry I wasn't there to help you little brother, I'm so sorry I broke my promise."

"C'mon Sammy, you're gonna get better. All you need is a little rest and some time to heal up, and you'll be just fine."

John saw his oldest son's distress, and though he wanted to help Dean and comfort him, his own inadequacies were being cruelly thrown back in face. His own words added to the mantra of Dean's.

"Shouldn't have pushed you. The last thing I did was tell you to kill me."

"I'm sorry I wasn't able to protect you son, I shouldn't have let that bastard hurt you. It's my fault you're lying there, if I had taken the demon out when he was possessing me, then you would never be in this mess."

Sam felt like he was floating in the darkness that overtook his mind. He couldn't remember exactly what had happened to bring him here…Why couldn't he remember?… but he knew that whatever it was wasn't good. Sam just knew if he pushed the darkness away, he would be left feeling the full brunt of the pain he must have been in, rather than feeling the dull throb he could now.

He could here voices around him, talking to him maybe, and he wanted to go towards the voices, but at the same time, he didn't want to feel the pain that would inevitably accompany consciousness.

The pull to go towards the voices became stronger when he could hear the worry, and the sorrow those voices held.

XXXXX

Dean felt Sam's hand tense in his own, and he his head immediately shot to Sam's face. He saw his father shoot him a look, and he said, "I think he's waking up, Dad; he just squeezed my hand."

John looked at Dean, and then to Sam, looking for any indication that Dean was right. As if on cue, Sam stirred on the bed. Stirring, Sam crinkled his face as he felt the pain he had been expecting, though more muted than he would have thought.

Sam started to panic when he tried to breathe, and found that he couldn't. Something was in his throat, and he choked, trying to get whatever it was out. He tried to reach for it, but found both of his hands being firmly held down.

Sam opened his eyes, and looked around, choking and gasping as the tube down his throat didn't let him breathe. Sam could see Dean and his father on either side of him, Dean in a wheelchair, and his father standing over him. Dean was yelling for help as he saw Sam choke, while his father tried to calm him down.

"Sammy, it's okay son. The tube is there to help you. Just calm down, and let it do its job." Sam stopped choking, but fear still shone in his eyes at the sensation of not being able to breathe. Both Dean and his father's reassurances made it easier to handle, but Sam wasn't used to not being in control of such simple functions in his body, and though he tried to calm down, gasps and tremors shook his body and the tube jutting out of his mouth.

Dean was running his hand through Sam's hair, something that had become habit when they were children, and Sam had been afraid. The action still seemed to calm and help his brother, and Dean was willing to do whatever it took to help Sammy.

Jared Cook and three nurses came running to Sam's door when they heard Dean's cries for help. When they saw Sam's eyes open, and both his father and brother trying to calm him, they immediately went to help. Jared walked over to Sam, and said; "We're going to give you a mild sedative to keep you calm. The tube has to stay in for a little while longer, to help take stress off your lungs, and the rest of your body.

Sam looked to Dean, and then to his father, and gave the smallest of nods, to let the doctor know it was okay. Dean squeezed Sam's hand, and didn't loosen his grip, until the sedative had taken effect, and Sam was too out of it to care that there was a tube down his throat.

John talked with Jared a while longer just outside Sam's door, the doctor still not able to believe Sam's recovery. It was nothing more than a miracle, but it was a miracle that every doctor and nurse in the ICU was thankful for. Dealing with Dean and John if Sam had died would have been a nightmare, so every employee in the ICU was glad to still have the buffer between them and the Winchesters.

Jared left a while later after making sure that everything was still good with Sam, leaving the small family alone. When Dean's doctor came in and told them that Dean needed to go back to his room to get some rest, Dean fought tooth and nail against her until she told him that she wouldn't allow him to see Sam unless he went back with her now.

John wanted to snap at the doctor. Couldn't she see that his sons needed each other, now more than ever? But he could also see the reasoning behind the doctor's actions, and knew that Dean did need his rest, that he was still recovering from his own run in with the demon, so he let Dean's doctor take him back to his room, hearing the, 'But Dad's,' and 'You are so going to pay for this,' John knew he would be getting an earful later from Dean.

John just wanted both his son's to get better, and if that meant getting a lecture from his son, then he would just have to take it.

Thank you again to Faye... and take care all of you... By the way feed me with the little purple button before you leave if you will... I'm getting hungry for reviews...

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