Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 20
Disclaimer: Everything recognizable in this story belongs to the CW and Kripke. I'm just playing in their sandbox for a little while.
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Previously: "Get some rest kiddo." John said as he ruffled Sammy's hair, Sam sighing in frustration at being treated like a baby once again. Closing his eyes, Sam drifted off to sleep content in the knowledge that his family was close by even if they were overbearing at times.
Sam awoke a few hours later to the smell of something cooking in the kitchen. Opening his eyes, the first thing he saw was Dean's face smiling at him from the chair across the room. "Jeez, I bet he sat there and watched me the whole time I was sleeping." Sam thought as he smiled back at his brother even though it irritated him just a little to know that Dean was watching over him like a baby. Struggling to get himself into a sitting position, he noticed Dean walking over and allowed his brother to grasp him by the arm and help. "Where is everybody?" He questioned as he ran a hand through his sleep mussed hair before yawning.
"Dad and Bobby are in the kitchen cooking dinner." Dean answered as he took a seat beside Sammy. "Joshua and Caleb were called out on a hunt but said they would swing by in a few days to see how you were doing if they had the time."
"Hope you told them that wasn't necessary, that I'm fine." Sam said as he leaned forward to stand up, grimacing at the pain in caused in his nether regions.
"Sammy?" Dean queried as he immediately stood up and grasped Sam by his arms and helped him to his feet.
"M'okay, leave me alone." Sam retorted as he pulled away from Dean. "I'm not a baby so stop treating me like one."
"Sammy, I'm not…"
"Yes you are Dean. Stop hovering over me like I'm some damn invalid. I can take care of myself." Sam stated angrily and then immediately felt regret at seeing the hurt look in Dean's eyes. "Dean, I…"
"It's okay kiddo, I know your frustrated with everything that's happened, but I can't just ignore the fact that you're in pain, my Samdar doesn't work that way."
"Samdar?" Sam questioned giving Dean a weird look.
"Yeah dude, you know, Sammy radar." Dean replied with a smirk. "So where you headed off to tiger?"
"Nature calls Dean." Sam replied with a smirk of his own as he started a slow gait towards the bathroom.
"Oh, okay, well uh, if you need any help…" Dean replied, a slight pink tinge encompassing his cheeks.
"I think I can handle this on my own, besides, I wouldn't want to put you to shame with… ya know." Sam stated with a wicked grin before placing his hand on the wall to support him as he walked along.
"You wish dude." Dean retorted watching Sammy with anxiety at how unsteady Sam was on his feet. He really wanted to go offer his help, but with the mood Sam was in, he knew he'd be rebuked.. He knew there was no way Sam was going to make it up the stairs on his own, but he would wait until Sam asked for his help.
Finally making it to the stairs, Sam took a deep breath as he lifted his foot to step on the first one and raised himself. He gritted his teeth at the strength it took just to do the one step. "How in the hell am I going to make it up seven more?" he thought as tears leaped into his eyes. Lifting his foot again, he could feel his legs growing weak. "Damn it!" He shouted out as he released the railing and punched his good hand into the wall causing all three hunters to come running.
"Sammy?" John questioned as he rounded the corner quickly from the kitchen and saw Sam standing on shaking legs as he leaned against the wall, sobs racking his body.
"Just leave me alone." Sam said as he turned his face away from the others, ashamed of the tears that now clouded his vision. He was weak and useless and now his family knew it too.
"Sammy, S'alright tiger." John said as he reached out to pull Sam towards his chest.
"No, it's not alright, you don't understand, just leave me the hell alone." Sam gasped out as he tried to pull away only to find himself turned around and pulled comfortingly into his dad's hold as John wrapped his arms around him.
"You're wrong kiddo, I do understand, your feeling frustrated right now at not being able to do things on your own. Knowing you, you're probably thinking you are weak and useless and not worth a damn. But let me tell you one thing right now son, you are the strongest sixteen year old I know. You fought that bastard with everything you had and you survived everything he put you through. Don't let him win now." John said as he rubbed a comforting hand in circles on Sammy's back.
"But I am weak, I can't even make it to the damn bathroom by myself." Sam said as he tried to pull himself together, ashamed of letting his feelings show when everyone was around to see it.
"Sam, there is a huge difference between being weak and being medically incapacitated, which you are. You have every reason in the world for not having the strength to make it up the stairs by yourself. Hell if it were me kiddo, I don't know that I would have made it this far." John voiced trying to make Sammy understand that the human body had it's limits, and it didn't make him weak.
"Kay" Sam whispered accepting his father's words as he leaned into his dad's chest. "I still got to go to the bathroom though."
"Well then, let me give you some help." John stated as he placed an arm under Sam's legs and placed the other at the small of Sam's back. Lifting Sam up, he carried his youngest up the steps telling him just how proud he was of him along the way. Allowing Sam the privacy of taking care of things on his own, John stood outside the door and listened just in case his help was needed. Once Sam was finished, he wrapped an arm around Sam's waist and supported his youngest as he helped him to walk back down the stairs since dinner was ready.
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Entering the kitchen to sit at the small table, Sam and John found that their plates had already been fixed for them and that their steaks had been cut up into bite size chunks, just the same as Dean and Bobby's. Not wanting Sammy to feel singled out, Bobby had made sure to cut up the steaks as he placed them on the plates. After helping Sam to sit down, John sat down himself.
"So Bobby, did Jefferson say when he was going to be coming over?" John inquired as he forked a piece of his medium well done steak and plopped in his mouth. He wanted to make sure that the trip hadn't been too hard on Sammy and hampered his recovery in any way.
"Yeah, he'll be here around seven o'clock this evening." Bobby answered as he glanced over at Sam to see the kid pale a little at the knowledge. He couldn't blame him since Sam had enough already to deal with on his plate.
Bobby wasn't the only one who noticed Sam's immediate change in demeanor. Dean took immediate notice of the way Sam's face paled and the way he just pushed his food around on his plate instead of eating it. "Sammy, you need to eat dude." Dean encouraged with a tight smile as he reached over and gave Sam's shoulder a light squeeze.
"M'not really hungry, can I be excused?" Sam asked as he timidly looked up at the others, his too long bangs nearly hiding his eyes.
"Sam, you haven't eaten anything since yesterday. At least eat some of your baked potato or salad and then you can be excused." John answered with worry evident in his voice. Sam had lost noticeable weight over the time of his ordeal and John was seriously worried about his physical as well as mental health.
Sam visibly deflated as he stabbed a piece of lettuce with his fork. Placing it into his mouth, he gagged at the thought of actually having to swallow it.
"Shit." John gasped as he stood up and rushed over to his youngest. "S'okay kiddo, you don't have to eat it." John said as he rubbed Sammy's back once again. He wondered if maybe they were forcing too much on Sammy at once. Maybe they should call Jefferson and have him wait until tomorrow to come over.
"M' Sorry Sir, I'm just really tired." Sam said as he hung his head knowing he had disappointed his dad, but the idea of eating was turning his stomach right now since his nerves were strung tight at the thought of yet another person wanting to touch him and check him out.
"Dad, I'm gonna take Sammy upstairs so he can get some rest before Jefferson gets here." Dean informed his dad as he pushed back his chair and then helped Sammy up too. Guiding his baby brother towards the steps, Dean went at a slow pace waiting for Sam to indicate he needed help. He watched as Sam made it up to the third step before his legs began to buckle and smoothly swept Sam into his arms and carried him the rest of the way.
Entering their room and placing Sammy on his usual bed, Dean grasped Sammy by the chin and turned his head so he could look him in the eyes. He hated seeing the haunted look in what was usually the most expressive eyes he had ever seen and he knew what was putting that look there.
"Sammy, it's just Jefferson, he's taken care of you many times dude. I know the last thing you want is another person poking and prodding at you, but at least this time it's somebody you know." Dean enunciated as he carded his hands through Sammy's hair in comfort.
"I'm sorry, I just don't know what's wrong with me Dean." Sam stated with tears glistening in his eyes. "I hate feeling like this, weak and exhausted all the time."
"I know you do tiger, I know you do." Dean whispered as he climbed into the bed behind Sam and wrapped his arm around him. "Just get some rest kiddo. I've got ya."
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After having finished their dinner, Bobby and John were sipping their coffee when they heard a knock upon the door. Walking into the room, Bobby opened the door and welcomed their guest in. "Jefferson, it's good to see ya. Thanks for coming." Bobby stated as he reached out to clasp the man's hand.
"I wish it could be under different circumstances." Jefferson stated as he shook Bobby's hand. "So how is Sammy doing?" Jefferson queried as he looked over towards John surprised to see how worn out the hunter actually looked.
"Not to good, I'm afraid." John answered with a grimace. "He's really weak and he hasn't eaten anything in a couple of days now. I'm afraid the stress of everything that has happened is getting to him and I don't know what to do to make it better."
"Just give him some time John, the kid has to work through things on his own before he can start dealing with what happened. Can you take me to him so I can check on his physical health?" Jefferson asked
"Follow me." Bobby stated as he led Jefferson up the stairs and to the boys room. Knocking on the door, he said, "Dean, Jefferson's here and he needs to check on Sammy." After receiving permission to enter, he opened the door to see Dean laying on the bed with his brother, with Sam sleeping protectively within his hold.
"Just give me a second, I'll wake him up for ya." Dean told Jefferson as he prepared to give Sammy a gentle shake.
"Nah, just leave him sleep Dean, he needs that more than anything. I'll just give him a cursory check up and come back tomorrow morning to give him a complete exam." Jefferson stated as he pulled out his stethoscope and warmed the tip before placing it to Sam's t-shirt clad chest. Satisfied with his heart sounds, Jefferson took his pulse to find it within the normal range also. Glancing more closely at Sam, he could see the pale pallor to his skin and his that he seemed to be a little underweight. Gently lifting his eyelid, he saw that they were red rimmed and a little inflamed confirming what he had first thought upon entering the room and seeing the youngest Winchester.
Turning towards the boys father, he said, "John. I'd like to start an I.V. on Sammy. He's showing beginning signs of malnutrition and that's probably part of the reason he's having trouble dealing with things. An I.V. will help him get the nutrients he needs until he build his strength and feels like eating again. With your permission, I'd also like to give him a sedative that will make his sleep a deep, dreamless sleep throughout the night since the kid is obviously exhausted beyond his limits.
"Sure Jefferson, whatever you think is best." John replied as he chewed on his bottom lip wondering just how many times his youngest was made to go without food in captivity. No wonder the kid didn't want to eat, his stomach had probably gotten used to not having any real sustenance in it.
Grasping Sam's uninjured hand, Jefferson lightly swabbed it with an antiseptic solution to clean it and then inserted the needle to get the I.V. started. He heard Sam whimper, but watched as Dean easily soothed him right back into sleeping without Sam ever truly waking up. Once the I.V. was up and running, he injected the sedative into the port and waited to make sure that Sam didn't show any adverse reactions to it. Before leaving, he check on Sam's injured hand to make sure he still had good circulation going in it and then excused himself saying he would return tomorrow for a full examination.
Walking Jefferson out, Bobby once again thanked the man for his help and watched him drive away before locking the door and turning out the lights downstairs. Walking back up the stairs, he peeked in on Sam to see the Winchesters watching over their youngest before closing the door and going to bed himself to allow the family some time alone together.
TBC