Disclaimer: I own nothing. No copyright infringement intended.
Thanks go to SnarkyMuch2 for beta'ing this and for her general awesomeness.
Chapter Four
"Can I see him?" Dean asked.
"Of course," the doctor said. "He is in the ICU. I will take you up there."
Amelia stood to follow, and then she paused, looking at Dean. "Do you mind?"
Dean didn't want her anywhere near Sam, she didn't deserve to see him as she was still hiding the identity of Sam's attacker, but he tried to think what Sam would want. Sam had loved this woman, Dean thought he still did, and he would want to see her. Pushing aside his own wants, he nodded. "You can come."
She smiled gratefully, and they followed the doctor out of the room and into the hall. They were lead through a maze of halls and onto a quiet wing of the hospital.
Amelia shuddered as they crossed the threshold. Dean felt he should say or do something to comfort her, Sam would want him to, but he didn't know what. Instead, he clenched his jaw and carried on down the hall toward his brother.
The doctor paused outside a room and looked at Dean and Amelia. He was talking, but Dean didn't hear a word of it. His focus was on the closed door. Sam was behind there, waiting for him.
The doctor finished his speech, and he seemed to be waiting for some response from Dean, so Dean nodded at him.
"Very well," the doctor said and pushed open the door.
Dean stepped over the threshold and his heart sank as he caught sight of his brother. Sam looked terrible. A sheet covered him to the waist, and his abdomen and most of his chest was covered in yellow tinged plastic; it looked like Saran Wrap. There was an IV in the back of each hand. One led to a bag of clear fluid and the other led to a bag of blood. A tube protruded from Sam's mouth and connected to a flexible hose.
Dean wavered on his feet, and he gripped the end of the bed for support. Amelia reached out, as if she was going to place a hand on his arm, and then her hand fell limply to her side again. Dean was glad of it. He couldn't bear to be touched in that moment.
Amelia stepped closer to the bed, and she traced a finger up Sam's arm. Dean wanted to shout at her, to tell her to get away from Sam, but he was frozen in place by the sight before him. His brother was trapped in a hospital bed, looking like he was barely clinging to life because of this woman. If Sam hadn't tried to protect her, he wouldn't have been hurt.
But no, that wasn't entirely true. He couldn't heap all the blame on Amelia, as much as he wanted to. He had to take a portion for himself. He had been the one to send Sam to Kermit again. He had sent that text message. He could never have envisaged what would happen when he'd sent the message. He had been focused on keeping Benny safe, and he had kept him safe, but it had some at a terrible price, and Sam was the one that had paid it.
"Are you okay, Dean?" Amelia asked. His tormented thoughts had apparently shown on his face.
Dean shook his head, and she nodded understandingly. She pulled a chair up beside Sam's bed and gestured for him to sit. Dean sank down onto the hard plastic chair and looked at his brother.
Amelia pulled up a chair on the opposite side of the bed and sat down. Her eyes stayed fixed on Dean.
"Something you want?" Dean asked.
She shifted uncomfortably. "Why did Sam think you were dead?"
Dean sighed and raked a hand through his hair. "That's what you want to talk about, really?"
She shrugged. "I figure it's better than talking about the elephant in the room."
The elephant they were both ignoring stubbornly. Her because she didn't know better, and Dean because he was formulating a plan.
"We got separated," Dean said. "And to anyone else it would have looked like I was dead. Sam wasn't lying to you; he really believed I was gone."
She nodded. "He used to talk about you sometimes."
"Only sometimes?" Dean was a little hurt that Sam hadn't spoken about him more. Did that mean that he wasn't as important to his brother as Sam was to him?
"It was painful for him to talk about you," she said. "He was… broken when I met him. Losing you broke him."
Dean immediately felt guilty for his less than understanding thoughts. He had believed Sam had walked away without a second look when he had gone to Purgatory, happy to be able to live a free life again. It seemed he was wrong.
"He got better eventually." It seemed that she was talking to herself more than Dean, and he was content to listen. It gave him a glimpse into Sam's life without him. "But it would still catch him off guard sometimes. Something would happen, and he would turn to someone who wasn't there as if to share the moment. I think he was looking for you."
Dean swallowed a lump in his throat. He had never imagined his brother would have been like this. All his bitterness toward Sam for not looking for him dissipated and was replaced with longing. He wanted his brother awake so he could tell him how sorry he was for being a jerk.
"You must have been good for him," Dean said, feeling grudging gratitude towards the woman. "You fixed him."
She huffed a laugh and reached over the cot sides to hold Sam's hand in her own. "I did my best, but then I broke him again."
Dean raised his head. He didn't know the history of Sam and Amelia. When he had first seen Sam again after he'd returned from Purgatory, Sam had said there was a woman, but there wasn't anymore. What had Amelia done to him?
Seeing his confusion, Amelia spoke on. "I'm married."
Dean gaped at her. Sam had shacked up with a married woman!
"He didn't know," she said, running a finger over the back of Sam's hand, mindful of his IV. "He thought, well, I thought I was a widow. My husband was in the army, and he was reported dead."
"But he's not?"
She shook her head. "No, he was taken prisoner. They found him and freed him about six months ago."
"So, what happened then?" Dean asked. "How did Sam take the news that he was surplus to requirements?"
"He wasn't," Amelia said angrily. "I loved your brother; I still love him now. If he gave me the word, I would leave my life with Don behind and stay with him. I would have stayed with him then, I just said I needed some time, but Sam left me. He made the choice to go. "
Of course he had, Dean thought. Sam wouldn't have wanted to stay between Amelia and her husband. So Amelia had stayed with her husband, which made Sam's little trip to Kermit a lot more complicated. Where was her husband now?
Then he understood, and anger flared inside of him once more. "He was the one that did this to Sam, wasn't he? Your husband. What happened? Did he catch you and Sam together?"
"It wasn't like that!" Amelia said in a strident tone. "We were just talking, Don misunderstood."
Dean waved away her excuses, seizing only on her admission. "Where is he now?" he asked.
"I don't know," Amelia said, and Dean knew she was telling the truth. She didn't know where her husband was. She was no use to him now.
Dean got to his feet and advanced on her. "You can go now."
"What?"
"You can leave. You can let go of my brother and leave us both alone. I don't want you near him."
Tears sprang to Amelia's eyes, and she clung to Sam's hand a little tighter.
"I said leave!" Dean said in a low, dangerous tone.
She squeezed Sam's hand, and then she got to her feet. She was trembling slightly, but the show of weakness did not sate Dean, it made him more angry. She had no right to show weakness, not when this was all her fault.
She looked longingly at Sam and then turned and left the room. Dean watched her go, relaxing somewhat as the distance between him and her grew. As the door clicked closed behind her, Dean let out a slow breath and looked across the room at his brother.
"It's okay, Sammy. It's just you and me now."
Part of his mind wondered how Sam would feel if he'd witnessed the way Dean had spoken to the woman he loved. Would he be pissed at Dean? It didn't matter. He wasn't there to see, not really. He was stuck someplace between living and dying, and all that was happening around him was null and void. Not for long though. Dean was going to get him out of this mess.
Dean walked over to the window and looked out into the parking lot. The sun was up now, and the parking lot was cast into bright light. Sam's room overlooked the hospital main entrance, and Dean watched as Amelia stepped out of the main doors and came to a stop at the taxi rank.
An idea occurred to him, and he faltered, torn between the need to be with his brother and the need to avenge. The need to avenge his brother won out, and he patted Sam's arm once.
"I'll be right back, Sammy. You hang tight a little longer. I'm getting help."
That said, he raced out of the room and jogged down the hall to the elevator. Every second that passed as he waited for the car to arrive seemed to take a lifetime. He was worried that Amelia's cab would arrive and she would be gone before he had a chance to catch up to her.
Luck was on his side for a change. When he got to the main exit, he could see Amelia standing at the rank. He slipped out of the door and made his way to the Impala. Climbing in, he watched as a cab pulled up in front of Amelia and she climbed in. She would lead Dean to where he needed to be next, he was sure of it.
Thanks as always to everyone that is reading and special thanks to those of you that review. I love hearing from you all.
Other news: The third and fourth chapters of Stairway To Heaven have been posted. Chapter Three is Dean's POV, and Snarks and I had a good time working out what he would be doing while Sam was being held hostage by Lucifer. If you haven't already, please give it a look. The link to Snarkymuch2's page can be found under my favorite authors.
CoM x