Authors note: Thanks for the great response to my last chapter. I truly was beginning to doubt myself as a writer. You all have restored my faith, and I thank you.

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Time went by. Dean never left his father's side and Jim Murphy continued to work whatever medical miracle skills he had on the wounded hunter. He brought with him bags of plasma and other IV's which he quickly set up. He administered a morphine drip and Dean saw for the first time since the accident, the lines of pain erased from his fathers face. So engrossed in saving John's life, for a time Jim forgot that Dean and Sammy were within earshot and it wasn't until Sammy started to cry again that he even noticed them nearby.

"Dean, maybe you need to take Sammy into the other room, at least for the time being." Jim said about to begin stitching John's wound. Sammy ran to Dean's side and buried his head against his brother. Dean nodded slowly and turned to take the youngest Winchester out of the room. Jim marveled at the way Dean seemed to be handling things. He knew that being older, Dean was probably able to process what happened to their father a lot better than Sammy, but even so, it still had to be traumatic for the young teen. Left alone with a wounded father, trying to comfort a frightened brother, it was a lot to expect him to handle but he was handling it like a seasoned vet.

"No…" Jim thought to himself. "He's handling it like a hunter."

There hadn't been anytime since he got there for Jim to find out what really happened. Clearly it was a gunshot wound and Jim said a quick prayer that neither of the boys had pulled the trigger. Whatever explanation was to be had, it would have to wait until Jim got the bleeding stopped and the wound sewn closed. Finally with the bleeding slowly halting, Jim taped a large gauze bandage over the wound and sat back exhausted. Wiping a bead of sweat from his forehead he wondered to himself how many times he had sewn up other fellow hunters and how many times would he have to in the future. As always, it was so much worse when they were a friend, and this terrible occasion was no exception. He'd known John for a few years now didn't want to have to tell his sons that their father wasn't going to make it. No, Jim was determined that that was never going to happen.

A short time later, Dean returned without Sammy and crept up the bed.

"Pastor Jim…..." Dean spoke with a frightened voice. Jim, who had been silently praying, turned to the young Winchester and gave him a reassuring nod. Dean let out a sigh of relief and come over to see for himself. John was sleeping relatively peacefully. His face no longer deathly pale, and his breathing was regular and steady.

"He's gonna be okay now son." Jim said as he watched Dean sweep some stray hairs from his father's forehead. That simple act of affection, so rarely seen between father and son, was usually used only when the other was not awake to appreciate it. It was endearing and sad at the same time. Jim knew Dean had seen his father hurt before, probably more times than necessary, but this time John had really come close to the edge. Dean reached down to check his fathers pulse before finally allowing himself to believe the crisis was really over.

"Dean where's Sammy?" Jim asked quietly, as he started to put away some of his left over medical supplies.

"I put him to bed." Dean looked up at Jim with a worried look on his face. "I don't know, something's wrong with him, Pastor Jim, and I'm not just talking about him and his cold. It's like he doesn't know what happened to Dad. He keeps talking about this big black monster that attacked the car. I think he thinks that's how Dad got hurt…..I don't know, it's like he's blocking out what happened."

"What did happen, son?" Jim asked cautiously. It appeared that Jims worst fear was about to be realized, one of the boys did shoot John. Dean looked back at the bedroom door where the boys were staying. Suddenly his face looked so guilty Jim was convinced it was Dean who had been the shooter. Jim could see him struggling to come up with an explanation. "Dean its okay, just tell me the truth."

"Sammy can never know." Dean whispered, still looking back at the door. "He thinks it's a monster and that's what I want him to think."

"Now Dean, lying isn't going to solve anything." Jim told the young teen moving to place a hand on his shoulder.

"You don't understand Pastor Jim. He can't ever find out, it would kill him." Dean said his eyes pleading for the cleric to understand.

"Dean what ever happened, I'm sure it was an accident. Were you cleaning the gun when it went off?" Jim asked.

Dean's eyes flew open wide. He was a heartbeat away from owning up to the crime when he looked into Jim's eyes and knew he couldn't lie to him.

"Sammy did it." he whispered, hanging his head down. His voice so silent Jim almost missed the admission. Jim stood there stunned as Dean's words sunk in.

"Mary, mother of Jesus." The cleric exclaimed.

"It was an accident, I swear to god Pastor Jim. It was raining hard, and we were running to the car and I don't know, Sammy somehow, for some reason got the spare .22 out of the glove box. Dad was on the drivers side and I ran over to the other side and suddenly I heard this bang, saw a flash and Dad was lying on the ground and Sammy was screaming………" Dean's voice cracked as he relived the moment. Jim reached over and drew Dean over to him trying to comfort the teen. "Dad got up and tried to drive us back to the motel but he started to pass out and I had to grab the wheel and stop the car. Then you know, I had to get us back to the motel in one piece. I managed to drag Dad into the motel room and I tried to do what I could for him, but you know, he was hurt so bad and I couldn't stop the bleeding. I wanted to call 911 but Dad said no."

Suddenly Dean's voice changed from frightened to angry.

"He said no hospital." Dean said looking up at Jim. "He almost died and if he had he would have left me and Sammy in the middle of Colorado with no place to go. How could he do that? What the hell was the thinking?"

"I can't tell you what you're father was thinking but I do know for sure he was trying to protect you boys. Hospitals have to report all gun shot wounds to the police it's the law. He knew they would ask too many questions and given that your father was the one that was hurt, you boys would have ended up in Child Protective Services. I know John, and that is the one thing he will not allow to happen, you boys mean too much to him. That means you call me and I come and fix your father up. No cops, no hospitals, no Child Protective Services." Jim said with a certainty. He knew it never occurred to John that he might have actually died, just that if they did go get outside help, the boys would have been taken away from him. To John the thought of having his boys taken away from him was worse than the thought of dying.

Dean looked over at his father as Jim's words sunk in.

"Your father is hurt bad, but I got here in time. He's gonna make it, I promise." Jim continued.

"You promise?" Dean asked turning back to Jim. Dean's face looked so hopeful Jim knew he couldn't lie to him.

"I've got connections." Jim said nodding and pointing upward. Dean gave him a slight smile and nodded back. They stood there silent for a moment, each lost in their own thoughts. Suddenly Dean yawned and Jim knew the day's events were finally catching up with him.

"Your fathers is gonna be sleeping for awhile now Dean, might I suggest that you get some sleep as well. After all, the last few hours have been pretty traumatic for you as well."

"Naw I'm good Pastor Jim." Dean said trying to stifle another yawn.

"Son you're exhausted. I'll order you to bed if I have to." Jim said with all seriousness. Dean looked up and knew the cleric meant business.

"I'm gonna go check on Sammy. If he's okay, then I guess I'll take a nap." Dean said inwarding cringing that he used the word nap. "You'll come and get me if Dad starts to wake up, right?"

"The minute he starts to wake up, I promise Dean." Jim said giving Dean a reassuring pat on the shoulder. Dean nodded and turned to go into the room the boys were sharing. Jim went back to John's side and checked his bandages to make sure they hadn't soaked through. Once done, he pulled up a chair and sat next to the bed to begin his night long vigil.

"Don't make me start breaking promises Johnny." He said to his unconscious friend.

tbc