Bobby and Caleb had tried to look inconspicuous while scouring the campus for clues, but somehow people weren't feeling too generous with information after one of their fellow classmates had just been put in the hospital by a sniper; it made everyone more than a little nervous.
Caleb had finally caught a break when a small group of students were talking at the small café across from where Johnny had been shot. After being shown a picture of Johnny and Cade the students finally started to tell him what they thought they saw, which confirmed what Caleb had already suspected; a hunter did this, now the question was who.
After meeting back at Bobby's truck, the two decided their time would be better spent making a few phone calls to see if they could track down a man wearing a denim jacket, leather biker boots, and a crew cut; sure… piece of cake.
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Mary sat next to her youngest son and fought the urge to cry. It wasn't fair, they just got him back and someone deliberately hurt him to the point of almost killing him. She was glad she hadn't listened to Dean and John though, there was no way she could have waited any longer to sit with her baby.
The nurses came and went seemingly unaware of the broken heart that they gingerly worked around, and that was fine. Mary didn't care what they thought; all she cared about at that moment was for Johnny… no… Sammy to open his eyes for her, to be aware again.
Thinking about the conversation that she and Dean had with Dr. Malloy, she was certain that Sam had wanted to surprise them, and if this wasn't the biggest the surprise of them all then she didn't know what was. Grabbing his hand again, she smiled through her tears before whispering close to his ear. "You know baby, the next time you want to surprise us… send flowers, less risky ok?" She wondered if there was any possible way that he could hear her, but then again she was worried that if he was conscious then he would be in pain; how could he not be after being shot and going through major surgery.
"Excuse me, Mrs. Winchester, I need to take Sam down for more scans, I'll come and get you in the waiting room when he's back."
Nodding, Mary allowed the nurse to guide her out the door and she couldn't help but wonder if this would be the last time she saw her baby alive.
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Dean had known that he hadn't wanted to see the papers, but at the same time he was glad he did. He had known that he and Johnny were getting closer, but to know that he would be trusted with Ellie should anything happen made him feel overwhelmed but in a very good way. Sitting down and looking over everything in front of them, he quickly understood what his little brother was really saying; he wanted his family together.
"Alright, we have the papers so we can make sure they abide by his wishes. I think we'd better get back to your mother, I have a feeling she's already in there with… ok, so do we call him Sammy or Johnny?" John asked, knowing that it was a surprise, but they knew about it anyway.
Laughing, Dean picked Ellie up and headed for the door. "Dad, at this point he'd probably answer to 'hey you' if it was you or Mom behind it."
"YOU!" Ellie squealed and clapped her hands together once.
John watched as the little girl settled down again before he asked, "Hey Dean, should we go ahead and pack a bag for her now in case we're all up there all night?"
Thinking about the situation and putting himself mentally in front of Johnny he shook his head, "Nah, she's got a routine and she needs to stick to it as much as possible. As much as I hate the idea of not being up there with Sammy, I'll bring her back for dinner and bed."
Nodding, John agreed, Johnny had been sticking to a schedule for Ellie and it seemed to be paying off for her which allowed everyone to see the wonderful little girl she was. Smiling, he reached out and twirled one of her pigtails around his finger. "That's a good idea Dean, although I think that we can handle her for the night if you want to stay up there…"
"No offense Dad, but we have our own thing that we do when I'm home and I think that if both me and Sammy were MIA she'd freak out and we'd be back to square one."
The doorbell rang catching both Winchester's off guard, making them laugh at their own skittishness. Answering the door, John was surprised to see a young man around Dean's age wearing an old faded denim jacket which was odd in itself considering how the weather had been turning colder, but adding to that was a short hair cut with no headwear at all. In fact, it struck John that it was odd that the young man didn't seem to be bothered by the cold at all.
"Excuse me, but I was wondering if Johnny Doe lived here." The man asked looking between John and Dean before his eyes settled on Ellie.
Not liking the look of the guy, especially how he was looking at the little girl in his arms, Dean practically growled, "I suggest you leave before you upset my niece; she doesn't like strangers."
John saw something flash in the young mans eyes and he suddenly understood that this was no friend of Sammy's. "I'm sorry, but you have the wrong house."
The man seemed to contemplate that for a moment before he nodded, "Yeah, alright, sorry about that. I knew I had to have written the address down wrong, after all Johnny wouldn't be able to fit in here."
Dean knew then that something was wrong, very wrong. This person was an antagonist, and he was looking for his little brother, the only question was why.
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Caleb saw Mary in the waiting room and worried that something had happened. Looking around he wasn't sure if he would be welcome, but he couldn't let Johnny's mother sit by herself looking so lost. "Hey Mary, mind if I join you?" he asked, hoping that his gesture would have the same results as in the ER with John.
Mary was startled out of her thoughts, but quickly smiled at the sight of the man before her. "Hi Caleb, please…sit. The guys haven't returned yet, and Sammy had to go for more tests."
He watched her carefully, looking for a sign of what was really going on. When she did elaborate further, he decided to press. "So I take it Dean and John took Ellie home?"
"Dean remembered something that Sammy said and they had to see what was so important." Mary kept looking towards the doorway hoping that the nurse was returning for her. "He had asked John to put a few things in the safe, and told Dean about it before they brought him to the hospital. Dean had a feeling that it was something important to deal with what's happening right now so they went to find out."
Smiling, Caleb nodded and leaned back against the couch cushions. "You know, Johnny and Cade were a lot alike. I wouldn't be surprised if Johnny had a backup plan for Ellie in case something ever happened to him." When Mary looked at him suddenly, he smiled and shook his head. "I'm not saying that's what's happening now. I'm just saying that being a single parent is scary. Everything you do directly affects another person just as much and you have a tendency to try to make sure someone else is able to take over in case the unexpected happens."
Mary hadn't thought about it that way, she had always assumed that her boy knew that if anything should happen to him that she, John and Dean would take Ellie as their own. Now that she though about it further, she realized just how much of an assumption that was, especially since she had no real idea of is thoughts about them raising Ellie.
"Don't get me wrong, it's actually a great idea. I mean, hey, I've actually been in towns that have been divided over cases like this; where a parent dies leaving children behind and there's really no evidence of their wishes of what to do. Friends who say they were to take the children, while the grandparents are right there claiming they have the right. It becomes a mess. So, if Johnny followed in Cade's footsteps, that'll be one less thing any of you have to worry about – if, something happens to him. I'm not ready to count the kid out."
Anything that Mary would have said was halted when she saw the rest of her family walk in the door with concerned expressions on their faces. Caleb noticed this as well and took the lead in asking what was going on.
"We went to the house and found the papers that Sammy wanted, but when we were leaving a guy came to the door asking about Johnny." Dean said, still trying to get the creeped out feeling under control. Whoever that guy was, was definitely bad news.
'No way,' Caleb thought, 'there's no way that someone would be that bold.' Pausing only for a moment, he voiced his suspicions. "Let me guess, denim jacket, crew cut, biker boots?" Seeing the surprise on their faces, he pulled out his phone and called Bobby. "Bobby, he was at the Winchester's asking questions…. No, I'll stay here and keep them covered… see if Missouri's seen anything while you're at it… yeah, you too."
Looking at the questioning gazes, he knew what he was about to say would upset this family, but they needed to know. "We're pretty certain that it was a hunter who shot Johnny, to make matter worse, he decided to knock on your door."
Realization dawned on the Winchester's and they knew that things had gotten worse. Now Sammy didn't just have a struggle for life here in the hospital, but one waiting as soon as he left as well.
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Dr. Morrison had been given a Living Will for the patient that had just been passed off to him and as he read it, he couldn't believe what it had written. Thinking that it was a joke, he quickly called the nurse's station to speak with Sam Winchester's nurse in the hopes of getting confirmation of this error. After speaking to her that she had been aware of the new paperwork, but not what it contained, he searched the documents again to find the next person he needed to speak to; Dean Winchester.
Finding the person he was looking for wasn't hard, it seemed that the Winchester family had already gained a reputation from the ER; just what he needed, overzealous family members. Approaching the small group he didn't bother to introduce himself, just jumped into the conversation. "I need to speak with Dean Winchester immediately."
Dean looked at the doctor and had to wonder what the hell had happened now. It was bad enough that his little brother was shot but some idiot hunter who even now was scoping out places to find Sammy, now he had to deal with a doctor who looked like he was about to keel over. "I'm Dean, what's wrong?"
Knowing that he'd already given the wrong impression, Dr. Morrison tried to calm everyone down. "I need to speak to you about Sam's wishes in his living will, they're a little… unorthodox to say the least."
Confused, Dean continued to look at the man with a questioning glare. He didn't like how this was going, and he knew that his Mom wasn't going to be able to deal with much more if this guy didn't get to the point. "Look, how about telling us what is exactly on your mind, then we can decide what's unorthodox."
"Have you even looked at the…" the doctor hesitated for a moment seeing the glare the man in front of him shot in his direction. "I'm sure it's an oversight but as it stands, we're not supposed to give him more than enough medicine to take the edge off of any pain that he might be experiencing. At the moment, he's on enough to ensure that he is getting a pain free rest so his body can heal. Now as Sam's Power of Attorney you can…"
"I can do a lot of things doc, but go against my brother isn't one of them. He has his reasons, and until I speak to him about changing it, the document stands. Now if you'll excuse me, I want to spend some time with him before Ellie and I head home." Dean stated as he sat Ellie on the couch with her Aurora doll.
"Mr. Winchester," the doctor began, "you don't understand…"
Sighing, Dean was too tired to play nice with others much less argue with someone who couldn't take a hint. "No, you don't understand. My brother has been through more hell in his life than either you or I combined will ever have to deal with. If he wants minimum meds, then that's what he'll get; he can always change his mind when he wakes up. Now how about you do your job, and I'll do mine." Dean said tersely while standing in front of the doctor and staring directly into the man's eyes.
Mary sat next to Ellie to watch what was happening. With John on one side and Caleb on the other, the three made a formidable sight, and she wasn't surprised when the doctor backed down. When Dean turned around to give both her and Ellie a wink before he went to see their Sammy, she knew that her youngest had done the right thing; no one could protect Sammy's affairs better than his big brother.
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Dean was thankful that his parents allowed him time with his little brother alone, he didn't want to seem selfish, but he really just needed this time without their feelings getting the way. Now as he stood by his Sammy's side he saw all the monitors that were keeping track of his vital signs, the tube that was regulating his breathing, the IV's and chest tube that stuck out and he couldn't help but wonder how much more his brother could take. Letting out a breath that he hadn't known that he was holding, he took one hand in his and squeezed lightly.
"Hey there Sammy, we need you to wake up soon kiddo, there's some people asking about you and they're not the good kind either. I can take care of Ellie, but I'm more concerned about you and this little Sleeping Beauty thing you've got going here. Yeah, I know you just had surgery, but how about you open those eyes of yours and show your quack doctor what you got." Dean watched as his brother continued to sleep and he couldn't help but feel a little resentful for it, after all it would probably be later when he wasn't there that he'd actually wake.
"He should be coming out of it pretty soon." A deep voice stated from the doorway.
When Dean looked he saw a large man in scrubs looking at a chart in his hands. Curious, he wondered who this person was and why he was interfering in this one sided brother moment.
Looking up, the man smiled and walked in to the bed. "My name is Joshua Mansfield, everyone calls me Josh. I'm Sam's nurse for this shift. So, any questions while I'm here?"
Dean looked at the man and at first had to wonder if this was a joke, this guy was huge and didn't look to have a gentle bone about him, how did he become a nurse? Having a feeling that that question wouldn't go over well if not with Josh, then with his own mother, so he decided on something a little less threatening. "So, what's with Dr. Morrison? Is he always so itchy to override a Living Will?"
Josh looked up from his notes and laughed lightly. "I do have to admit that it's a request we don't see often, but you know as far as doctors go, Morrison's alright." Seeing that his answer didn't put the man at ease he tried a different approach. "So, what was it about him that set you off?"
Looking at the other man Dean was able to see that he wasn't half bad. "Look, I don't know if he's a good doctor, but his bedside manner sucks." He saw the agreement in Josh's eyes, but suddenly didn't care anymore; the only thing that mattered was the twitch he felt in his hand. Looking down he saw it happening and took a chance to look up and see his little brother opening his eyes before locking onto his. "Hey there little brother, it's about time you woke up."