Thank you for the lovely reviews – you guys rock :)
-Elisa.
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"What is that?" Dean asked as the nurse prepared a syringe with some medication to inject under his little brother's skin.
"It's called Renagel." The nurse explained as she tapped the syringe with her finger a couple of times. "It's a Phosphorus-lowering medication since Sam's body can't remove it properly from the blood."
Dean exchanged a look with his weary brother, who just shrugged his shoulders, and he then turned his attention back to the nurse. Sam winced a little when the nurse poked him with the needle but he didn't make a sound. The nurse drew the needle back and put the syringe away before preparing a new one with a different type of medication all the while Dean watched her every move.
"And that is?" Dean asked.
"Iron supplements." The nurse sighed and then injected the medication into a vein in Sam's arm.
Dean figured that the nurse was probably growing tired of his constant questions about Sam's treatment – he'd asked questions when the nurse had given Sam vitamins and blood pressure medications as well – but Dean couldn't find it in his heart to care. This was Sam they were talking about, not just anyone.
Speaking of said brother, Sam wasn't doing very well. To Dean's big dismay, Sam had - since the biopsy he'd had the day before - just kept getting worse. He still didn't have much of an appetite and he was nauseous all the time. He had headaches, back pains and was tired beyond imagination but Sam couldn't really sleep properly. Even though the anemia was making him sleepy, the kidney failure made it difficult for him to fall asleep – or stay asleep if he'd been so lucky to finally manage to get a little rest. Sam had also scared the crap out of Dean earlier in the day when his muscles had suddenly started twitching and cramping. Dean had in a moment of panic shouted (in a very masculine and not at all girly way) for a doctor because he'd believed Sam was having some sort of seizure, but when the doctor had arrived he'd just simply stated that muscle cramps was a natural symptom of kidney failure and that Sam just had to ride it out. The doctor had been very lucky he'd left shortly after that statement because Dean had been ready to rip the man's lungs out for those words.
"When will he start on dialyses?" Dean asked the nurse when she finished providing Sam with meds.
"The doctor will inform you when it's time." The nurse said and left the room.
"The doctor will inform you when it's time." Dean mimicked while making a face and Sam raised his eyebrows.
"What are you? Five?" Sam asked.
"What I am is sick of the lack of info this hospital provides us with." Dean complained and started pacing back and forth in the small hospital room. "The doctor is an idiot and the nurses, Sammy – the nurses aren't hot at all!"
"Dean, the nurses don't have to be hot for them to do their job." Sam said which made Dean stop his pacing and look at Sam like had the younger brother suddenly grown a second head.
"I'm gonna pretend you didn't say that." Dean said before he continued to walk back and forth in the room. "Maybe I should have you transferred to a hospital with hot nurses and better treatment."
"Yeah? Like where?" Sam asked with an amused smile.
"You know.. Like.. like.. frigging Lawrence for instance!" Dean suggested. "I'm pretty sure they took good care of you when you were born. I don't remember mom saying anything bad about the hospital staff."
"Dude, you were four." Sam chuckled but it quickly turned into a hissing sound.
"Sam? What's wrong?" Dean asked worriedly and closed the gap between him and his brother in a hurry.
"Cramps." Sam panted out and clenched his eyes shut while fisting the sheets of the bed.
"Where?" Dean asked.
"Legs." Sam groaned.
Dean had been helpless the last time it had happened because he hadn't known what was happening to his brother, but now that he knew, he wasn't going to sit back and do nothing while Sam suffered. Dean lifted the bottom of Sam's blankets and rubbed his hands together to get them a little warmer before he started massaging one of Sam's cramping legs and stretched it a bit. Dean worked efficiently on both legs while keeping an eye on his brother's face and he felt relieved when Sam became more and more relaxed, since that meant what Dean was doing was helping.
"Thanks." Sam sighed and fell back onto the bed like a ragdoll while trying to catch his rapid breath.
"No problem." Dean said with a little smile, put the blankets back down and tugged Sam properly in. "This is just like when you were a kid and had growing pains. You remember that?"
"Yeah." Sam nodded with exhaustion. "I remember."
"Only difference is that you weren't so freakishly tall back then, Sasquatch." Dean remarked and then snorted as old childhood memories popped into his mind. "You never came to dad when you weren't feeling well or when you were hurt. You always came to me instead."
"That's because I knew.." Sam said.
"What?" Dean asked.
"That you were the one who could fix it." Sam admitted and Dean's chest clenched painfully by those words. "Dean, this.. this might be something you can't fix for once."
"Don't be stupid, Sammy." Dean said.
"I'm not being stupid." Sam protested.
"Yes, you are!" Dean loudly exclaimed. "And I'm not having this conversation with you. You're going to be just fine so you can shut up right now!"
"But what if I'm not gonna be fine?" Sam asked in a small voice. "Dean, my kidneys are damaged and so far I've only become worse."
"Well, you haven't even started on dialyses yet." Dean said. "Besides, I don't think you get what I'm saying here, bro. You're gonna be fine and you know why? Because I said so, okay? No matter what the doctor says I'm going to make sure you get well again – and I will find a way. Mark my words!"
There was a little bit of silence in the room while the two Winchester brothers just stared at each other, trying to read each other's expressions.
"Okay." Sam finally said.
"Okay?" Dean repeated.
"Yeah, okay." Sam said and Dean saw nothing but trust in the younger brother's eyes.
Dean wondered if this was the right time to go all in on the chick-flick wave, he'd been riding for the past few minutes, and give Sam a hug to emphasize his promise, but the moment was ruined as Dr. Calvin stepped into the room.
"We're ready to put you on dialysis, Sam." The doctor announced.
About an hour later, Sam was sitting in the bed, propped up on pillows. He had some special catheters inserted into the larger vessels of his left arm and the doctor was currently connecting the tubing from the arm to the dialyzer. Dean was watching the doctor like a hawk which seemed to annoy the physician tremendously but Dean didn't care.
"You just sit back and relax." The doctor told Sam. "You might feel a little bit of discomfort but it's a natural side effect of dialysis so there's no need to panic if that happens."
Sam nodded and Dean noticed how thin his little brother was becoming. Sam had always been a skinny kid but it really didn't help that he'd lost weight during his hospital stay.
"The treatment will take a couple of hours, maybe more." The doctor said. "I'll return to you later."
With those words, the doctor left the room – leaving the brothers alone.
"So, how does it feel?" Dean wanted to know.
"I can't really feel anything." Sam said with a thoughtful look. "So I guess it's alright."
"That's good." Dean said and sat down in the chair next to Sam's bed. "Doctor said it's gonna take a while. Care to watch some TV?"
"Sure." Sam answered and Dean then flicked the TV on.
They were halfway through a rerun of 'Friends' when things started turning the wrong way.
"Dean." Sam suddenly said and Dean turned his head to see that Sam's face had turned a new shade of white and a bead of sweat had appeared on the younger brother's forehead. "I'm gonna be sick."
Dean reached out for an empty food bag and held it underneath Sam's mouth just in time for the youngest brother to start heaving into it. Dean was quite surprised that Sam had got something to throw up at all since eating hadn't exactly been on Sam's agenda these days but that didn't stop him for rubbing Sam's back in a soothing way.
"Just get it all out." Dean encouraged. "You'll feel better in a minute."
Dean kept rubbing his brother's back until Sam's upset stomach eventually settled down, and after Dean had removed the bag of vomit, the younger man let his head come to a rest against Dean's shoulder.
"You okay, Sammy?" Dean asked after a little while.
"I feel like crap." Sam mumbled.
"You kinda smell like crap too." Dean commented, trying to lighten up the tension. "No wonder there're no hot nurses around here – they've all left this floor to get away from you, stinky."
"Ha, ha. Very funny." Sam said dryly and Dean snickered.
The brothers stayed like this for a little while, all the while Dean kept rubbing Sam's back in circles. When Dean at last decided to move a bit, he discovered that Sam had fallen asleep against his shoulder. Dean smiled a little as he removed some of the pillows and eased Sam back down on the bed. He just hoped that Sam would be able to get a little more rest this time around. Satisfied with the fact that Sam continued to rest, Dean leaned back in his chair and spent the next period of time alternating between watching TV and watching his little brother sleep.
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Please review.
-Elisa.