AN: Sorry for the wait but apparantly my muse's interest is directly proportional to the response recieved per chapter. Hope to see you all soon!
Stephen and Joseph stood in shock as the words Mandy uttered finally sunk in, afterwards came understanding if not confusion. As Stephen rushed to Sammy's side, Joseph went to the kitchen for ice barely noticing the milkshake still in the blender in the freezer. Mandy was trying hard to make them understand what happened, but that didn't matter, what did matter however was to bring Sammy back to find out what happened while he was out of their sight and making sure it never happened again.
"He didn't know it was me, I thought the apartment was empty so I didn't think to say anything. My God, the look on his face… Stephen, he was terrified. What happened to make him feel that way?" Mandy cried out as she continued to stroke Sam's hair in the attempt to comfort him.
Shaking his head, Stephen didn't have an answer only more questions. Looking at little bro he prayed that they could break through this new obstacle themselves knowing that medical intervention would only make matters worse. Trying to give Mandy an encouraging smile, Stephen spoke quietly. "Mandy, it's alright; we know that he wouldn't hurt you on purpose. Right now though you need to let go so we can get him more comfortable."
Mandy looked up at Stephen before nodding and backing slowly away. When she looked again Joseph was holding a dish towel full of ice for her and Stephen had managed to pick Sammy up and carry him into Dean's room. Puzzled, she watched Joseph for any indication of what was happening.
"This has happened before and he responded better in Dean's room. Don't worry, we're not leaving him alone until he wakes up and lets us know what's going on." Joseph told her, hoping that they wouldn't have to wait too long.
"I have to call Taylor, but what do I tell him? I don't want him to be mad at Sammy, but he'll ask me what happened and I don't want to lie to him."
Joseph smiled and reached for his phone. "Don't worry about it, I'll fill him in. How about you take over the couch and deal with that ice pack while I do, ok?"
Numbly, Mandy made her way to the couch but didn't lie down; instead content to watch as Joseph put in the call to her boyfriend to explain what happened. She wasn't sure what was really being said, but she could tell that the Musketeer was really having a tough time getting a word in. Finally though the conversation came to an end and he turned to her to give her a quick wink before disappearing into the bedroom currently housing his brothers.
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Hoping that they weren't making a mistake by not taking Sammy to the hospital, Stephen sat on the edge of the bed watching the littlest of the brothers, praying that there would be some sign soon of his wakefulness. He could hear Joseph speaking to Taylor and it didn't sound like things were going well. 'Great, that's all Sammy needs right now is for someone to start pointing fingers at him.' he thought with disgust. When he found the person who scared his Sammy so badly that the kid resorted to striking out, he was going to wring their necks and laugh while doing it.
Seeing little bro constantly staring into nothing was definitely disconcerting, but there was no way he would be any place else. Now though he needed to figure out a way to not only bring his youngest brother back, but keep one of their other brothers from going ballistic on the kid. Hearing Joseph walk into the room he wasn't prepared for what came out of the man's mouth.
"Ok, I just talked to Taylor, and he's upset… not at Sammy though. He's wondering what the hell happened and how we're going to find out without freaking the kid out even more. I told him that I'd ask around while you kept Sammy grounded." Joseph said hurriedly. He knew that the best way to find information was when it was fresh in people's minds, so he was determined to see if anyone saw anything. Seeing the stunned look on Stephen's face he shook his head. "What, you thought Taylor was going to hate him or something? Get real dude, we all know there's not a vicious bone in his body unless there's a damn good reason for it. Call me when he wakes up."
Watching Joseph walk out of the room, Stephen let out a breath he didn't even he was holding. Turning back to Sammy, he smiled. "Hey kiddo, you need to hurry up and come back to us. How are we supposed to explain to Dean what happened while we were supposed to be watching over you, huh?" he asked, hoping for a twitch but instead got steady breathing from the bed. "Ok, don't worry about it we've got you covered. You get me Sammy… your big brothers got your back.
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Taylor placed the receiver back on its hook and pondered the phone call he just had. Sure he was upset and of course his normal reaction would to beat the hell out of anyone who touched his girlfriend, but there was no way he could place blame at Sammy's feet; not after everything that had happened the last several months. He knew that his little brother didn't get that scared for no reason, and when he found out what had triggered that response he was going to make sure that that person paid dearly.
Looking over at Dean, Taylor wondered just what was going on. First the brakes went out on his perfectly tuned Camero causing Dean's almost demise, and now their little brother was freaking out and lashing out. No, something or someone was definitely behind this and he was going to find out what as soon as Dean woke up.
"Come on bro, we have a little brother that really needs us right now, so enough of this beauty sleep already. We have work to do, so wake up!"
Celia heard Taylor talking to Dean and wondered what had him so worked up that he'd be willing to yell at the other man. Walking into the room she tried to lighten the mood, "You know he didn't mean to wreck your baby Taylor."
Seeing Celia walking closer, Taylor couldn't help but smile at the scene he was sure he had just made. Nodding, he had to agree but wasn't sure exactly how to explain what had happened and how they were all now handling it. Finally he decided that giving it to her straight would be the best way.
"Yeah, I know, that's not it. Something happened with Sammy and now he's all freaked out and we're trying hard to figure out what to do."
Looking at Taylor, Celia wondered exactly what happened but wasn't sure how to approach the subject. "You know I can swing by if you want me to and make sure he's ok."
Taylor was just about to decline the offer when a slight movement from the bed caught their attention.
"You know a person heals faster when people aren't pestering them." Dean groaned, hoping that the people in the room would get the point.
"Dean! Man, it's good to see you!" Taylor exclaimed. Sure Dean still looked like crap but at least he was awake which; was a major improvement from a short while ago.
Looking around, Dean could tell that something was wrong and it wasn't just the fact that Taylor looked like he was about to explode. "What's going on… where's Sammy, is he ok?" Dean managed to grunt out as he attempted to get out of bed.
Worried, Celia rushed to Dean's side and gently pushed him back down onto the bed. "Alright, enough! You've been in a major vehicle accident, not to mention a coma. The last thing you need right now is to get yourself worked up. Now lay there until you feel better then we'll explain everything, got it?"
Dean wasn't sure what to think, and then realized that he couldn't even do that without feeling foggy. His gaze locked with Taylor's but before he could ask anything else he slipped back into oblivion.
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Sam wasn't sure what was going on, but he knew that he definitely wanted to stay in that clueless state he was in for awhile longer. Here he felt no pain, no sadness, just a calm feeling that he couldn't remember ever feeling before. Yes, he definitely wanted to stay where he was, not matter where that actually was.
Suddenly though he realized that he wasn't alone, that there was someone there by him but he wasn't sure who it was or why they would be there. Then he felt it, something was touching him, a strong hand on his arm. Not sure what to think about that he waited until something else occurred, a slight sound like a voice calling to him making him want to go back to where ever he was before. Not fully understanding what it meant, he decided to follow what he knew, follow the voice and the hand in hopes of finding himself.
Blinking didn't seem to help at first; everything seemed out of focus, dim, and far away. It wasn't until he blinked several times that he started to understand that the voice was actually more than one and they weren't there to help him find peace but agony but it was too late the voices had already connected to people and the people saw he was there.
Groaning, Sam didn't want to face them, instead he wanted to hide from everyone and not return ever. Seeing the worried looks from Stephen and Joseph, he knew that there was no way they were going to let that happen, making him wonder if they knew what he'd done.
"Mandy?" he asked softly, hoping that maybe it was some sort of nightmare that he was finally coming out of. The answer though made his heart plummet.
"Don't worry kiddo, we all know you didn't mean it. Mandy's in the kitchen fixing something to eat, but she'll be here in a…"
"NO!" Sam shouted trying to get away from his brothers knowing that the last thing anyone needed was Mandy to see him face to face since he hurt her. She'd never forgive him and he didn't want to make things awkward for her or the brothers. "Oh my God… Taylor… he's going to kill me!" he said suddenly frozen half in and out of the bed, only being supported by Stephen's strong arms.
"Sammy, calm down. Taylor knows it wasn't your fault, just like we all know that. You need to tell us what happened though, what had you so scared?" Stephen asked, risking a quick glance to Joseph to gauge his reaction to their little brother's panic.
Looking between Stephen and Joseph, Sam couldn't find any deception in their faces and wondered how they could not be upset with him. Deciding not to push his luck he quickly nodded before he explained Paul's visit and what he had wanted. He told them about how he hadn't wanted them to rush home because he was being a baby, but at the same time felt so alone and scared that he wished they were there. It took less than fifteen minutes, but afterwards he felt somewhat better. At least now if they were going to be mad at him, then they would have all the information instead of speculation. He watched as they left the room quietly, but then could hear their conversation clearly making him wonder why they left in the first place.
"So, now Sammy has the attention of a cop now? And for what… Dean's accident? Man this is so screwed up!" Joseph said as he started to pace across the living room.
"I don't know, but I intend to find out. I'll call the Chief of Police if I have to in order to find out what's going on." Stephen said as he moved towards the phone. "You know, this doesn't make any sense. Why would this Paul go to all the trouble to have us with Sammy if he wasn't going to accuse him, but then again how could he pin Dean's accident on the kid?"
"Maybe he was trying not to scare him?" Mandy asked as she carried a plate full of sandwiches into the room. "If this guy knows Sammy even a little bit, then he'd know that he gets a little itchy around cops, right?"
Both Joseph and Stephen stopped and stared at Mandy with awe and suddenly understood why Taylor loved this girl so much; sometimes she could really put something into perspective.
"Ok, so how about we go talk to Paul to find out what's going on while Mandy and Sammy clear the air?" Joseph asked as he reached over to grab a set of keys. Before he managed to get to the door however Mandy stopped him.
"I don't think we'll get a chance to do that Joseph." Mandy said as she came out of Dean's bedroom. Seeing both men's questioning glances she sighed, "He's gone, he must have climbed out the window."
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Somehow he had to get away and sort this mess out, he couldn't have his brothers getting in the middle of another one of his messes and if that meant going to talk to Paul on his own, then that was what he was going to do. He knew he hadn't done anything to Taylor's car, and he'd never hurt Dean, but somehow the message was clear; someone thought he could do both, otherwise why would he be questioned about it?
He had gone out the window in hopes of buying some time because no matter what else happened he knew he need to see Dean and try to sort out the thoughts that were crowding his brain since the one thought that kept echoing inside his head was the mantra his father drilled into his head a long time ago. 'You're nothing, just a different kind of evil that doesn't deserve to live.' Yeah, he could still hear the words; feel the fists as they accentuated each word. He was evil, he didn't deserve to live, and he needed to tell his brother in person, it was the least he could do.