Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or the characters of Dean and Sam (pouts). I do own the character of Aidan though.
I slightly remember the crash, then Sam calling out everyone's name to check to see if they were all right and me trying to call back to him. I faintly remember Sam talking to the driver of the 18-wheeler semi and threatening to kill him. I barely remember the paramedics coming and rushing around to make sure everyone was alive. I do remember fighting the paramedic when they tried to take Dean from the tight hold that I had on him. I wasn't going to leave his side until I knew he was all right, I just wasn't.
I woke up to the annoying, constant beep. I tried to sit up but pain went down my entire body. Panic overwhelmed me when I took a good look at my surroundings. I was in another hospital room alone. Different machines surrounded me and I had different needles sticking out of me. My breathing picked up and my heart began to pound threw my chest. I could feel a panic attack coming on. Sam walked threw my door and relief washed over his face as it did on mine.
"Thank God. Your finally fully awake. I'm going to go get a doctor." Sam turned to walk out the door.
"Sam wait!" I called after him. He turned back around. "Don't leave me Sammy." Sam walked over to my bedside and I immediately took his hand. "Please." I begged him.
"I will just be a minute." Sam patted down some hairs that were sticking up from the top of my head. I let go of Sam's hand and he left to get a doctor.
Sam came back a few minutes later with a doctor behind him. The doctor immediately checked my vitals while Sam waited by my side. When he saw that I was stable he started to remove some of the different needles.
"So far she looks good. I'm going to need to run some more tests to make sure everything is working the way it should. I will send a nurse in to get you." The doctor gave us a smile then left the room.
"How are Dad and Dean?" I asked when it's just Sam and myself.
Sam sits down on the edge of my bed. "Dad's awake and everything looks good with him."
"Good that's good. And Dean?" I frown at Sam's sad expression.
"Dean he…" Sam pauses to take a breath. "He's in a coma."
"Coma?" I choke out.
"Yeah the doctors are saying that he may not wake up. He sustained serious injury –- blood loss, contusions to his liver and kidney. But it's the head trauma there worried about. There are early signs of cerebral edema."
I let the information sink in for a minute before I said anything. I saw Sam studying me to see how I was taking the news. "He'll wake up." I replied confidently.
"What?" Sam asked confused.
"It's Dean were talking about. He's a fighter. He knows that we need him as much as he needs us." A nurse walking in and taking me down to my tests interrupted me.
After about an hour and a half of different tests I was back to my room. Sam was waiting for me when I got back. He ensured me that he went and checked up on Dad and Dean while I was away. Now all we had to do was wait for test results.
"Want to hear a story?" Sam asked breaking the silence in the room.
"Sure." I answered. I need some distraction to get my mind off Dean's current condition.
"When you were a baby, I used to carry you around like some rag doll" I smiled weakly at the image. "Dad used to get so mad."
"Oh yeah." I laughed
"Yeah. He used to say things like." Sam paused so he could mimic Dad's voice. "Sammy put your sister down. She is not a toy."
"But you did it anyways." We turned at the sound of Dad's voice from the doorway. His arm was in a cast. "You were stubborn even at the age of four. You would always tell me that she was your dolly and that you needed to take care of her."
"That was before Sam got jealous of me." I joked. Sam gave me a slight eye roll and Dad laughed.
"How you feeling baby girl?"
"Sore but fine." I answered.
"Good." Dad walked farther in the room and sat down in one of the chairs next to Sam. He opened his wallet and handed a card to Sam. "Give them my insurance." Sam took the card and looked at the name.
"Elroy McGillicuddy?" I laughed at the name.
"And his three lovely children." Dad added. "So…what else did the doctor say about Dean?" My ears perked at the question.
Sam shook his head sadly. "Nothing. Look, since the doctors won't do anything…then we'll have to, that's all. I don't know, I'll find some hoodoo priest and lay some mojo on him." I cocked my head at Sam's response. That sounded like something Dean would say, not Sam.
"We'll look for someone." Dad agreed.
"Maybe we can find another faith healer or something along those lines." I suggested.
Dad shook his head. "Well, that was one in a million." I shared an annoyed expression with Sam.
"So what? What, do we just sit here with our thumbs up our ass?" I saw anger fly threw Sam. I needed to defuse the situation before it got anymore heated.
"Sammy, Dad said we would find someone." I said.
"Where's the colt." Dad asked. I looked at Dad surprised and Sam just looked annoyed.
"Your son is dying, and you're worried about the Colt?" I put a hand over my eyes and waited.
"We are hunting this demon, and maybe it's hunting us, too. That gun may be our only card." Dad said trying to use as much force in his voice without actually yelling.
I heard Sam sigh a little. "It's in the trunk. They dragged the car to a yard off of I-83." I peeked through my fingers. Did a potential fight just blow over?
"All right, you've got to clean out that trunk before some junk man sees what's inside." Dad said. I thought of all the weapons we had in the trunk and how bad it would look if someone else found them.
"I already called Bobby. He's, like, an hour out. He's gonna tow the Impala back to his place." Sam answered.
"All right, you go meet up with Bobby. You get that Colt and you bring it back to me, and you watch out for hospital security." I narrowed my eyes a little. Why did he want the colt here with him? Why not just leave it at Bobby's with everything else?
Sam got up to leave but Dad stopped him and handed him a piece of paper.
"What's this?" Sam asked reading the paper. "Acacia? Oil of Abramelin?" Where had I heard those names before?
"It's for protection. Just have Bobby pick them up for me." Sam nodded and went to leave the room but stopped again.
"Hey Dad, you know the demon –- he said he had plans for me and children like me. Are you sure you have no idea what that means?"
Dad shook his head. "No I don't." When Sam left the room, Dad turned to me. "I'm going to go back to my room and get some rest. You rest up too." Dad kissed my forehead and left. Wait! Didn't he know my fear of being alone, especially in a hospital! The doctor came back and told me that my tests turned out great and that I was free to be released. Since I was over 18, I signed the papers. I changed into a pair of clothes that Sam brought me which consisted of a pair of jeans, T-shirt and his Stanford hoodie that I never gave back. I asked the doctors to show me to Dean's room. I hesitated before entering. I was deathly afraid of what I would find on the other end of the doorway.
I watched my brother's lifeless body. The only thing that was keeping him alive was the machines that he was hooked up to. The different tubes and wires that were coming out of him made me sick to my stomach. Sam was still out talking with Bobby and getting the supplies off Dad's list. Dad was in his room resting. He had stopped by Dean's room after he left mine to check up on him. He got up and left when he saw me enter. He knew that I needed my alone time with Dean. I pulled a chair up to Dean's bed. I would have crawled right in with him but I was afraid that I might hurt him. I took his hand into mine and laid my head next to his on the pillow. He still had that distinct smell to him. No gross hospital smells could over power that. I stayed silent not quite sure what to do. A nurse came in and smiled softly at me.
"Not sure what to do?" She asked. I gave a slight shrug. "Just talk." She put some more medicine in his IV and left the room shutting the door behind her.
"So the nurse says to just talk. Well you know me. I have never been good with words. I think it's a Winchester trait or something. Well for the exception of Sammy. He has always been different anyways." I laughed a little at my own joke but then got serious. "Dean if you can hear me, you need to listen to me. You can't die on me. You just can't. I don't think I tell you this enough but I need you. I just don't think I could do it without you. God knows you're the only one that can stop a Dad and Sam fight. Without you, they're going to kill each other. Guns will be fired. I swear."
I paused to wipe away tears that were falling from my eyes.
"Besides who's going to watch my back? You have been there for me my entire life. Hell you basically raised me. You know everything back me. You're the only one that can truly calm me down when I'm upset. You understand me, and vise versa. You're a fighter Dean. I know you can pull yourself out of this. I have faith in you."
I got up from chair to stand up. I leaned down and kissed Dean's forehead.
"Get better big brother. You understand me."
I understand you, Aidan Rose.
I spun around the room. Did I just hear, what I thought I just heard? No. I shook the thought from my head. It was just my imagination. My head was playing some cruel joke on me.
After I left Dean's room, I went to Dad's to find that Sam was back and looked less then happy.
"What's going on?" I asked timidly, sizing up the tension in the room.
"You think I wouldn't find out?" Sam asked Dad.
"What are you talking about?"
"That stuff from Bobby. You don't use it to ward off a demon; you use it to summon one. You're planning on bringing the demon here, aren't you, and having some stupid macho showdown!" Sam yells. That's where I heard those names before. I read them in one of Bobby's book about summoning a demon.
"I have a plan Sam!" Dad yelled back. I rolled my eyes and sank into one of the chairs. I wasn't planning on stopping them. I was just going to sit here and watch them fight.
"That's exactly my point! Dean is dying and you have a plan! You know what, you care more about killing this demon than you do saving your own son!"
"Do not tell me how I feel. I am doing this for Dean." I kind of wished I had some popcorn.
"How? How is revenge going to help him? You're not thinking about anybody but yourself! It's the same selfish obsession!"
"It's funny, you know what, I thought this was your obsession, too! This demon killed your mother, killed your girlfriend. You begged me to be part of this hunt! Now, if you killed that damn thing when you had the chance, none of this would have happened!"
"All right guys that's enough!" I tried to yell over them.
"It was possessing you, Dad, I would've killed you, too!" This fight was getting down right nasty. I jumped up from my chair and stepped between them.
"Just stop." I pushed Sam back a little.
"Yeah, and your brother would be awake right now!" I turned around to face Dad.
"Dad, enough!"
"Go to hell." Sam hissed at him.
"I should have never taken you along in the first place. I knew it was a mistake!" Dad screamed at Sam. We all fell silent when the glass of water that sitting on the table fell over by itself. Several doctors run past Dad's room.
"Something's going on out there." Dad gestured for Sam and I to leave. We run out of the room and go down to Dean's. We stand in the doorway as the doctors and nurses try and find a pulse. My eyes fluttered over to the monitor that showed that Dean was flat lining.
"Don't you do it. Don't you do it Dean." I cry from the doorway. After what seems like eternity a steady beep fills the room. I let out a breath of relief. Sam and I head back out to the hallway.
"I have to talk to Dad." Sam whispers and goes back down to Dad's room. I follow him not knowing what else to do.
"What do you mean you felt something?" I hear Dad ask when I entered the room.
"I mean, it felt like…like Dean. Like he was there, just out of eyeshot or something. I don't know if it's my psychic thing or what. But do you think it's even possible? Do you think his spirit could be around?"
"Yes." I answered surprising both men. "I heard him or thought I heard him earlier."
"Why didn't you say something earlier?" Sam asks.
"What? And interrupted your little fight from earlier. No thanks." Sam and Dad both look down a little ashamed.
"Well, there's one way to find out." Sam gets up to leave the room.
"Where you going?" I ask.
"I got to pick something up. I'll be back." Sam turns and starts to walk away.
"I want to go with you." I start to follow.
"No you stay here." Sam stops me from going any further. I tilt my head a little, baffled on why Sam wouldn't let me come with him.
"Sam. I promise…I won't hunt this demon. Not until we know Dean's okay." Sam nods and leaves the room.
I left Dad's room a few minutes after Sam left. Dad mumbled something about needing some sleep or something. I took this as my opportunity to get a cup of coffee. I had been dying for one since I was released. I decided to go to the cafeteria because they tended to have better coffee then the ones from the machines. I decided to grab a sandwich while I was down there. It just hit me that I was starving. Dean's lifeless body kept haunting me. There had to be something we could do for him. Something that the doctors wouldn't know about. The only people I could think of calling was Bobby and Joshua since they were the friends of Dad's that were still alive. I knew that Sam had already talked to Bobby so I called Joshua. He told me that he would keep his ears and eyes open for something. After eating I walked back to Dean's room. I stopped in the doorway when I saw Sam sitting on the floor.
"What are you doing?" I asked slowly, trying not to laugh. Sam hushed me. I raised an eyebrow and walked slowly over to him. I stifled a laugh when I saw the Ouija board sitting on the floor.
"A reaper is after Dean." Sam answered not looking up at the board.
"No way." I said skeptical. I nearly pissed my pants when Sam's steady hands moved up to the YES on the board. "Holy shit." I mumbled.
"Holy shit is right." Sam leaned back a little running a hand down his face. "It's here on it's own, I think."
"Which means we can't stop it." I added.
Sam jumped to his feet. "No, there has to be a way. I will talk to Dad. He will know what to do." He ran out of the room. I looked down at the Ouija board, tempted to use it myself. Instead I picked up the board and packed it back in its box. Sam came back in the room with Dad's journal.
"Dad wasn't in his room." Sam said sitting down on the edge of Dean's bed.
"Where was he?" I asked looking over his shoulder.
"Who knows." Sam shrugged flipping the pages until he came across the section on reapers. Sam sighed when he didn't find the information he wanted to read in Dad's journal. "Can you give me a minute?" He asked. I nodded and left the room. I stood just outside the door.
"Dean, are you here? I couldn't find anything in the book. I don't know how to help you. But I'll keep trying, all right? As long as you keep fighting. I mean, come on, you can't leave me here alone with Dad, we'll kill each other, you know that. Dean, you got to hold on. You can't go, man, not now. We were just starting to be a family again. Can you hear me?" I wiped away the silent tears that were falling from my eyes. My phone rang from my pocket. I answered it quickly, so not to disturb anyone.
"Hello?" I answered.
"Aidan? It's Joshua."
"Yeah." I replied hopefully.
"Listen. I went through everything I know but I didn't come across anything to help Dean. I'm sorry."
"Thanks anyways." I hung up my phone and slid down the wall, falling on my ass. I buried my face in my hands and bawled. I felt someone sit down next to me. I didn't have to look up to know that it was Sam. I fell into him, sobbing into his chest.
"Everything is going to be fine." He soothed rubbing a hand up and down my back, while his other hand held the back of my head.
"I can't lose him Sammy. I just can't." I murmured into his shirt.
Sam laid his cheek on top of my head. "I know."
After my sob fest, Sam helped me to my feet. He smiles softly at me, wiping my cheeks.
"You all right?" He asks.
"I guess." I sighed. "I'm going to wash up." Sam nodded. I found the nearest bathroom and washed my face. I ran my hand through my hair a couple of times to relieve some of the tangles. I wrinkled my nose when I noticed how dirty it was. I was in desperate need of a nice hot shower. When I came out of the bathroom I noticed several doctors and nurses rushing into Dean's room.
"Not again." I grumbled, running into the room. I swallowed the lump in my throat, when I noticed that Dean was awake. Dean was awake!
The next morning Sam and I went back to the hospital. We rented a room from a motel down the road. We stopped by Dad's room first but he was still asleep so we went straight to Dean's.
"How you feeling?" I asked when I entered.
"I'm alive." He replied dryly. He moved over a bit and patted the bed next to him. I smiled and climbed in next to him. I cuddled into his side. It reminded me of when we were younger and when I was sick. I would always end up in Dean's bed, cuddled to his side. It was more of a comfort thing then anything else. Dean draped an arm over my shoulder. His doctor came in carrying Dean's chart.
"I can't explain it. The edema's vanished. The internal contusions are healed. Your vitals are good. You've got some kind of angel watching over you." The doctor read of the chart.
"Thanks doc." Dean said. When the doctor left, Dean turned to Sam who was standing at the foot of the bed. "So you said a reaper was after me?" Sam had explained the whole reaper thing to Dean the night before; before we were kicked out because visiting hours were over, or some stupid excuse like that.
"Yeah." Sam answered.
"How'd I ditch it?" Dean asked, perplexed about the whole situation.
Sam shrugged. "You got me. Dean, you really don't remember anything?"
"No. Except this pit in my stomach. Sam, something's wrong."
"How you feeling dude?" Dad asked leaning in the doorframe. It was like déjà vu.
"Fine, I guess. I'm alive." Dean answered shrugging.
"That's what matters." Dad's response gave me the chills. Something was off.
"Where were you last night?" Sam asked, a hint of anger in his voice.
"I had some things to take care of." Dad answered, vaguely as usual.
"Sam can we not get into this right now?" I asked, not wanting to ruin the moment.
"No I want to know but of course Dad is being specific as usual." Sam replied sarcastically. "Did you go after the demon?" I bit my lip at Sam's question. That thought had been wondering my mind since Dad asked Sam to bring the colt to him.
"No." Dad answered. I noticed him scuff the floor with his toes. A tall tell sign he was lying. I felt my stomach drop.
"You know, why don't I believe you right now?"
Dean sighed in a disapproving manner. "Sam knock it off."
"Can we not fight? You know, half the time we're fighting, I don't know what we're fighting about. We're just butting heads. Sammy, I...I've made some mistakes. But I've always done the best I could. I just don't want to fight anymore, okay?" Dad gave Sam a hopeful smile. I looked between the two men, not quite sure how to take the situation in front of me.
Sam looked taken aback. "Dad, are you all right?" Ha! I wasn't the only who noticed that something wasn't right.
"Yeah. Yeah, I'm just tired." Liar. That wasn't the reason but I kept quiet. "Hey, Sam, would you mind, uh…would you mind getting me a cup of caffeine?"
"Sure." Sam agreed and left the room.
"Aidan, would you uh." Dad racked his brain to find some excuse to make me leave.
"Yeah sure Dad. I'll go." I rolled out of bed and left the room. I stood outside the doorway. I was making it a habit to listen in on conversations.
"You know, when you were a kid…I'd come home from a hunt. And after what I'd seen, I'd be…I'd be wrecked. And you'd…come up to me, and you'd put your hand on my shoulder, and you'd look me in the eye, and you'd say, "It's okay, Dad." Dean…I'm sorry." I put a hand over my mouth and listen intently. What the hell was going on?
"For what?" Dean asked, confused on Dad's apology.
"You shouldn't have had to say that to me. I should've been saying that to you. You know, I put…I put too much on your shoulders; I made you grow up too fast. You took care of Sammy, and you took care of me. Hell it was you who raised Aidan. You did that. And you didn't complain, not once. I just want you to know…that I am so proud of you." I sucked in my bottom lip, wondering why Dad was saying all this stuff. Dad was never this open with us kids. Something was wrong; I just couldn't put my finger on it.
"Is this really you talking?" I heard Dean ask.
Dad laughed a little. "Yeah it's really me. I want you to watch out for Sammy and Aidan." I clenched my eyes shut. The room suddenly went quiet. I strained to hear but didn't hear anything. I pinned myself closer to the wall when Dad walked out, not noticing me. I walked back into Dean's room feeling more confused then I ever felt in my life. I noticed the look of shock and terror that Dean wore on his face.
"Dean? What's wrong?" I asked.
Dean hesitated before answering me. "It's Dad. He just said some things."
"What did he say?" I asked, acting like I heard nothing.
Dean looked at me sadly. "He said…" Before Dean could continue Sam came flying into the room.
"It's Dad." The three of us ran to where Sam found Dad, collapsed on the floor. Doctors and nurses were working on him, trying to get a pulse. Dean cried out to him as Sam cried in the doorway. I stood there too shocked and scared to do anything.
"Okay, that's it, everybody. I'll call it. Time of death –10:41 AM." The doctor announced backing away from Dad. The sound of him flat lining echoed in my ears. Suddenly everything hit me like a sack of bricks. Dad wanting Bobby to get those ingredients to summon a demon, wanting Sam to bring him the colt, his mysterious disappearance the night before, Dean suddenly waking up with no permanent damages, lying about seeking out the demon, Dad being all open and honest with Dean. Now Dad just all of a sudden dying after the doctors said he would make a full recovery.
Jesus Dad, what have you done?
A/N: Oh Em Gee! Only two more chapters left! Review!