Chapter 24. On Watch
Sam let Mac lead him through the emergency room doors and into the room where his brother was being prepared for surgery. His stomach was in knots at what he was going to find when he reached Dean. Mac had tried to reassure him that Dean was going to be okay but hearing his brother's name next to the words brain surgery was unsettling. Mac had explained to him that it wasn't full on brain surgery per se. They were going in and stopping the bleed and reducing the pressure but as confident in the doctor's abilities as Sam was, he wasn't buying Mac's attempts to calm his nerves. They were operating on his brothers head and that was a pretty big deal in Sam's book.
Sam walked into the room Mackland guided him to with the doctors hand still on his shoulder offering support anyway he could. Dean was lying in the middle of the room on a gurney with a light hospital sheet over his still form. He was unconscious just like Mac had said he would be.
Sam made his way slowly over to the bed Mac following behind, both coming to a stop beside Dean's gurney. Sam could now see that Dean was now wearing a hospital gown and he had the sudden irrational thought that Dean would be pissed if they had cut his jeans off him. They were his favourite pair. He had been given an IV along with a blood pressure cuff and a few other things that Sam had seen many times before. What had him paling was the sight of the ventilator protruding out of his brother's lax mouth and what looked to be a thin sort of tube inserted into the side of his brother's skull where his some of his hair had been obviously shaved away. Sam brought his hand up to his mouth. He felt sick to his stomach at the site of his brother's condition. He looked worse than he had before.
Mac squeezed his shoulder having sensed the kid's reaction. He had been prepared for it.
"It's okay Sam." Mac's familiar soothing voice wasn't doing much as he kept staring at where the tube entered his brother's head.
Mac sighed in understanding and leant down so he was closer to the boy. "Samuel I know all of this looks scary but he's going to be okay."
Sam tore his eyes from his brother and looked up at the doctor. "Wh-what's that?" he asked pointing to the tube.
"That my boy is monitoring Dean's intracranial pressure," Mac explained and pointed to the machine that the tubing was connected to. "See it's connected to this ICP monitor. We need to keep an eye on it while we are waiting for surgery to begin."
Sam soaked in this new information and then looked at the breathing tube sticking out of his brother's mouth. "Why does he need the ventilator?"
"It's common with this type of injury and surgery. We need to make sure that he is getting an adequate supply of oxygen. It's necessary to help promote healing."
"Oh." Sam continued to stare at Dean and jumped when he felt Mac's hand back on his shoulder giving it a light squeeze.
"It's okay to touch him if you want Sam." Mac smiled warmly at the youngest Winchester. He didn't like seeing Dean like this himself so he could only imagine what this was doing to Sam. "Look Sam, I've authorized it with the staff, you can stay here with Dean while we get ready."
Sam looked up at Mac again and gave him a sad smile of thanks. "Thanks Mac."
Mac ruffled the kid's hair again. "I have to go get ready. Talk to him if you want, he might be able to hear you."
Sam nodded and watched as Mac made his way to the door and left. Sam turned back to his brother and reached through the side bars and grasped Dean's cold still hand. "Hey Dean," he said quietly, his voice barely being heard over the whooshing sound of the ventilator as it helped his brother breath.
Sam wasn't surprised when he didn't get an answer but he couldn't help the hope that Dean would give him something to work with. He realized suddenly that his brother couldn't always give him what he needed, sometimes like in this moment; it was Sam's job to give Dean what he needed and that was love and support. He knew that Dean would never let him down and this thought only encouraged him to not let his brother down. He was gonna be there for whatever Dean needed to get passed this.
"I'm here Dean," he said a little louder this time, hoping that Mac was right and his brother could hear him. "You're gonna get through this. Mac's here, which means you have the best doctor there is and me and Caleb will be here when you wake up. I promise you!"
He squeezed his brother's hand and lifted his free hand to run his fingers through his brothers short hair which he noticed seemed to look darker whenever Dean was sick. Even though Dean was in a medicated sleep Sam could still see a small frown line on his brother's forehead. He moved the hand that had been on Dean's hair and used his fingers to stroke his forehead, wanting the pained frown to disappear. He wasn't sure whether he was imagining things but after a few minutes Dean's frown faded away and the eighteen year old looked almost peaceful if it wasn't for all the medical equipment attached to him. He could almost be asleep if it wasn't for that and the paleness of his skin that made the freckles scattered across his nose more noticeable.
"Um … Caleb's really worried about you … and Dad. Mac seems to think he's going to be okay." He went back to running his hand over Dean's hair. He smiled all of a sudden as he looked down at Dean's face. "Dude, you would so kill me for all this touchy feely stuff."
It didn't last long before his smile turned teary and he gripped his brother's hand tighter again. "You have to get better Dean … you have to!"
"Hey kid, times up." The male voice interrupted his moment with Dean. Sam glared at the man and realized that it was the orderly that Caleb had dubbed as Mr. T earlier.
Sam was just about to tell him where he could shove it when Leda, the nurse from reception walked into the room and frowned at Mr. T. "Do you work extra hard to be a jerk or does it just come naturally?" She asked with her hands on her hips, causing Sam to smile a little. "Give the kid a break."
Mr. T looked annoyed. "Whatever, just get him out of here, we need to get this one up to surgery."
Sam stood straighter and let go of his brother, sending daggers to the huge black man and his total disrespect for his brother. "This one has a name." he growled.
Leda stood in front of Sam's view of the rude orderly to get his attention. "Don't listen to him Sam, he's always in a rotten mood. Dr. Ames asked me to show you to your Dad's room. He said you could wait in there with your Dad if you want."
"Is he okay?" Sam felt slightly guilty for not even thinking about his father's condition. He had been so consumed with Dean since walking into this room that it had slipped his mind.
"I haven't personally seen him myself but I've been told he is okay."
"Okay." Sam looked down at his still unresponsive brother. He leaned back over him and took his hand once more. "I have to leave now Dean. They have to take you into surgery now but don't worry because Mac will take good care of you." Just like before his only response was the beeping of the heart monitor and the whooshing of the ventilator. He squeezed Dean's hand once more. "Happy Birthday Dean," he whispered, still loud enough to be heard by the young nurse standing next to him. He reluctantly let his brother go once again and took one last look before turning back to Leda. "Okay, I guess I'm ready."
"Good." Leda smiled. "Let's get out of here before Mr. Happy over there gets permanent frown lines." She took Sam's hand and walked him away from his brother and towards the door, giving Mr. T a smart arse smirk before exciting.
Some more medical staff entered the room to transport his brother to the O.R. Sam couldn't help but look back to the emergency room as Leda led him away. "Come on Sam." She said sympathetically. "Your brother is in the best capable hands. I'm quite a fan of Dr. Ames. I've read a lot about him. How do you know him?" she asked trying to get Sam's mind off his brother as they made their way to John Winchester's room.
"He's Caleb's Dad."
"He's your uncle's Dad?" she asked surprised. Mackland Ames was around the same age as the kid's father.
"Mac is like one of my Dad's best friends. He and Caleb are family." Sam explained, not wanting to delve too deep. He had probably said more than was necessary but he felt he could trust her for some reason.
"Oh okay … I was actually going to comment on how much you and your uncle look alike …" she laughed as she let go of Sam's hand and continued to walk beside him.
"Actually, I have been told that a few times." Sam smiled with her. He had always found that strange when people commented on his likeness to Caleb considering they weren't related by blood at all. He personally didn't see it.
"Really? Well I'd take that as a compliment if I were you because he sure is a looker." She winked down at the teen.
Sam rolled his eyes overdramatically. "Please don't tell him that. I don't want his head to grow any larger," he joked.
"My lips are sealed."
The two walked down the white hallway in a comfortable silence for a few moments. Leda looked down at her charge. "So it's your brother's birthday today huh?"
"Yeah … he turns eighteen today." Sam supplied. He slowed his steps to match Leda's as she came to a stop in front of a door that was slightly ajar.
"Well then you have nothing to worry about. Fate wouldn't be so cruel on your brother's birthday." she opened the door and quietly ushered Sam inside.
Sam snorted. "You don't know fate like I do." He mumbled under his breath.
Inside the hospital room there were two beds, a small couch under the window, some drawers by each bed and a door off to the side which Sam assumed led to a bathroom. Mac had really pulled all out and gotten them a private room with everything they would need. The man really needed to be thanked when all of this was said and done.
Sam looked to the occupied bed and took in his father's appearance. The blood had been cleaned away but the bruising to the man's face looked even worse than it did when they had first found him. Maybe it was just his fathers pale skin and the white sheets or maybe the bruises had just had time to really turn spectacular. He was connected up to an IV of Saline and another one filled with blood, replenishing his supply. There was an oxygen mask over his mouth but thankfully no ventilator. He really did hate those things and hoped to god that he never ended up having to use one himself. His arm was in a sling, held tight to his body.
"Will you be okay in here Sam?" Leda asked interrupting his silent inspection of his father. He looked over his shoulder at her and gave her a smile, a thank you for all her help. "I'll be okay. Thanks … for everything."
"Don't mention it." She smiled and turned to leave the room. She stopped and turned to look back at Sam, leaning on the door jam. "Want me to send Caleb in here if I see him?"
"Yes please, he'll want to be here."
"Sure thing sweetie," Leda replied and then slipped out of the room closing the door behind her.
Sam brought his attention back to the hunter in the bed. His father looked bad but Sam couldn't help but think about the emotional injuries just as much as the physical. Sam wasn't sure what exactly had gone on while his Dad had been held captive but he knew that being in their old house and being taunted about his mother would have hurt his father probably more than the physical injuries had.
Sam looked around the room and saw that there was a chair on the other side of his Dad's bed near the bathroom door. The thirteen year old walked around his father's bed and pulled the chair over closer to John's bed before sitting down. He folded his arms and leant them on the edge of the bed, resting his head on top of his arms. He just needed to rest his eyes for a bit.
xXx
It just went to show how much everything had gone to hell at the moment. Missouri hadn't even really told him off for leaving her in the dark but despite the lack of yelling Caleb apologized anyway. She had seemed almost at her wits end; made worse by the images she had been seeing her head. The psychic had picked up on a few things, enough to leave her in even more panic. Caleb calmly filled in the blanks for her and assured her that Mac was there and everybody was getting fixed up.
He could sense even without Missouri saying anything that she felt guilty for getting the Winchesters in the mess they found themselves in and even more guilty that her own psychic abilities hadn't been of any more help.
Caleb had bid his goodbye and hung up as the woman was already preparing for the Winchester's recuperation. There would be no arguing or getting out of it. They were all stuck with her now and Caleb wasn't sure he liked this side of Missouri. He would have felt better had the woman abused him over the phone for not getting back to her. This new guilt ridden, unsure Missouri was something that they would need to fix. Caleb shook his head in amusement. He couldn't believe he missed being told off. He was confident however as soon as everyone was back to their old selves Missouri would follow suit.
On his way back from calling Missouri he had ran into the cute nurse he had spoken to before … Leda was her name if he remembered correctly. She had told him that Sam was sitting with John and then gave directions to the room. Under normal circumstances Caleb would have been all for flirting or more, but his thoughts had been distracting and all he offered her was a thankful smile, which he didn't fail to notice that she seemed to like. He wasn't totally distracted.
He found John's room rather easily and opened the door quietly not wanted to disturb anybody on the other side. He poked his head around the door and saw John lying still on a hospital bed with Sam asleep against the side of his bed, his head lying on his folded arms. Maybe it was because both Winchesters weren't awake and arguing but the sight before him was almost peaceful.
Caleb quietly slipped the rest of the way into the room and walked up to John's bed and placed both of his hands on the side rails and he inspected his mentor. He looked like he had been beaten up by a cement wall and then some.
Caleb reached a hand out and placed it on John's lower leg to get a better read of what was going on with the older hunter. He took his hand away after a few moments and deducted that although the man was going to be as sore as hell when he woke up, he was going to make it. He was going to get proper rest this time if Missouri had anything to say about it which she already had. The woman had a way of getting her way with the hunters.
Caleb knew that the emotional scaring from this hunt was going to leave a mark on them for a long time and those types of marks were always the hardest to get past.
The young psychic sighed and scrubbed a hand over his tired face as he leaned in against the bed. He felt bone tired but he couldn't afford to rest right now. First things first he needed to get Sam moved from the chair to the small couch against the wall so that the boy could sleep properly.
He pushed off from the bed and walked around to Sam and shook his shoulder. Sam mumbled something but other than that showed no sign that he had even heard the psychic.
"Sammy." Caleb whispered loudly as he shook the kid again.
"What?" Sam grumbled sleepily trying to push Caleb away.
"Come on Runt." Caleb hands were under Sam's arms before he could complain further and he was lifting the boy up to a standing position. "Caleb? What's going on?" he asked, voice still slurred with sleep.
"Time for bed kiddo," Caleb replied as he guided the still half asleep boy over to the couch under the window and lowered him to the cushions.
Sam settled immediately, his body recognizing the relaxed feeling and the need for sleep. Caleb stripped his black leather jacket off, leaving him in only a black t-shirt and jeans, and placed the jacket over the youngest Winchester. "Is Dad okay?" Sam mumbled.
Caleb stilled. "Yeah Sammy, he's fine." Making sure that the kid was once again asleep Caleb stood and stretched his tired muscles.
He made his way over to Sam's vacated chair and slumped down and leaned forward against John's bed unconsciously mimicking Sam's earlier posture. The only difference was that Caleb wasn't about to fall asleep. His mind was too wired with what ifs to rest at the moment and someone needed to watch out for his friends and Caleb was determined to fill that roll for as long as was needed.
"Son?" Caleb jumped as a hand came to rest on his shoulder. He relaxed immediately relaxed recognising the grip as his father's.
"Dad?" Caleb blinked trying to wake up. He hadn't even realised he had fallen asleep and what was Mac doing back so soon? Wasn't he supposed to be performing surgery on Dean.
"What's wrong?" he asked groggily, suddenly worried that something had gone wrong and Mac was about to give him bad news. "Dad?" Caleb asked, sitting up straighter in the chair not giving the older man a chance to answer.
Mac looked into his sons bloodshot eyes. "Nothing's wrong Caleb."
"Why are you back so soon?" Caleb's gaze was unwavering.
Mac frowned. "I've been gone for two and a half hours. You fell asleep Caleb and it doesn't look like you were finished with that ... why don't you go get some rest."
"Two and a half hours?" Caleb looked down at his wrist watch and then back up at his father. The man was still wearing scrubs, looking like he had just come from the OR. "That cant be right."
"I'm afraid it is and before you ask ... Dean is in recovery." Mackland stood back to give his son some room. The boy really needed some proper sleep, not a couple of hours slouched forward in a hard plastic chair. He doubted that the younger psychic had slept much since taking off for Kansas.
"Is he okay?" Caleb scrubbed at his sore, tired eyes. They were stinging from not enough sleep.
Mac smiled. "He seemed to pull through it okay. We got the bleed and released the pressure. We'll know more when he wakes up."
Caleb glanced over to John who looked like he hadn't moved much since he had accidentally fallen asleep. His face was turned to face his family and Caleb couldn't help but wonder whether subconsciously the man knew they were in the room.
"How long till he wakes up?" Caleb stood and wrapped his arms around himself. He suddenly had that trembling feeling you got when you hadn't had enough sleep and had been up all night. He looked behind him to the couch and saw that Sam was nicely snuggled with his jacket. "Damn Runt." he mumbled under his breath before looking back at his father.
"It all depends on Dean and how long it takes his body to recover." Mac frowned as he noticed the goose bumps on Caleb's bare arms. It wasn't that cold in the room but Caleb was only in a t-shirt and obviously exhausted. He reached out to take the younger man by the arm. "Why don't you get some rest ..."
Caleb shrugged away from his fathers grasp shaking his head. "I'm fine and I'm not going anywhere until Dean is brought in. I wanna see him."
Mac's eyes looked to the ceiling as if silently asking for patience before settling back on Caleb. And the boy called the Winchester's stubborn.
"I need coffee." Caleb suddenly declared.
"No, you need sleep."
"No, I need caffeine." Caleb stubbornly argued back. "Look Dad, I will rest soon, I promise."
"I wont hesitate to sedate you if i feel it necessary." Mac warned raising one eyebrow.
Caleb smirked. Mac loved pulling medical rank. "I believe you but it wont come to that."
"I'm serious, son."
"I know." Caleb walked past his father and around John's bed. He reached into his pockets and pulled out the keys to the Impala. "I need something from the car. I'll bring back coffee."
Mac watched his son walk out of the room before he had a chance to reply. He sighed as he looked down at his beaten friend. "What am i going to do with you people?" he asked the room.
Mac knew how important the Winchester's were to his son that was why he was worried that Caleb was going to burn himself out. He'd seen too many people he cared about lying in hospital beds lately and he didn't want to add his own son to that list. He noticed his duffle bag on the floor next to the couch and he decided that he needed to change out of the hospital scrubs. He picked up the bag and glanced back at the two Winchesters before shaking his head and entering the bathroom, closing the door quietly behind him.
TBC ...
Well there ya go ... Dean was back for all of you who missed him (even if he was kinda unconcious) and Caleb was in a black t-shirt and jeans ... yummy ... okay i wrote that in for my benefit but its still HOT lol Saynt Jimmy your friend was back hehe
Okay well I dont have a new episode of Supernatural to watch this week so i'm off to the cinema's to see the new Pirates film ... not as good as a fresh new Supernatural ep but still bound to be funny as hehe ... Like always i will try to post asap and i really hope i do this time :D thanks for sticking with me :D
Tara x0x