Revenge Is a Dish Best Served Cold Ch. 21
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Previously: Before leaving, Jefferson checked 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.
Early the next morning, John was awoken by the early morning light as it streamed through the bedroom window signifying a bright new day. Stretching as he sat up, he looked over to the bed where his boys lay to see them both still asleep with Sam held in a protective embrace by his big brother. Yawning, he couldn't believe that Sammy had actually slept through the night. He wondered if it was due to the sedative he had been given by Jefferson, or the fact that he felt safe with Dean's arm protectively thrown over him. Glancing up towards the IV bag, he noticed that it was nearly empty and would need to be changed or removed soon.
Pushing off the blankets and throwing his feet over the edge of the bed, he pulled on his jeans and silently exited the room, Walking down into the kitchen, he was thankful to see Bobby sitting at the small table with a cup of coffee firmly in hand. "Hope you saved me some of that sludge." John stated as he walked over to the cupboard and pulled out a ceramic coffee cup.
"Best damn coffee you'll ever get." Retorted Bobby as he sipped on his own brew while looking at the morning newspaper.
"At least this morning anyway." John replied as he sat down with a sigh, running a hand through his sleep mussed hair.
Looking over towards his friend, Bobby could see the anxiety that was clearly evident on John's face. He had a pretty good idea of what was bothering the hunter, but decided to ask anyway. "What's got you so upset this morning John, Sammy's okay isn't he?"
"Yeah, he's about as well as can be expected." John answered to ease Bobby's worries. "I just didn't sleep very well last night after hearing Jefferson say the kid was malnourished. Bobby, we really have no idea of the kind of hell Sammy suffered other than the physical trauma he was put through. It scares me to death to think what Hank could of done to the kid emotionally. I mean there's got to be some reason why he isn't eating." John stated as he placed his head in his hands.
"Yeah, I was thinking about that myself." Bobby informed John before taking another sip of his coffee. "Somebody is going to have to get Sammy to open up about what happened before it eats away at him until the Sam Winchester we all know and love is gone."
"No time like the present I guess." John stated as he heard noises coming from up the stairs. He knew his boys would soon be coming down and he hoped he could get Sammy to open up to them some before Jefferson showed up to give Sam his examination.
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As Dean lay in the bed waiting for Sammy to wake up, he couldn't get Jefferson's words from the previous night off of his mind. His little brother was actually malnourished. Sucking in an angry breath, he wondered just how long Sammy had been made to go without food during his captivity. He wondered if that bastard Hank had even fed Sammy once throughout the week that he had been missing. "I'm so sorry for all the hell you went through." Dean whispered as he carded his fingers lightly through Sam's hair. He felt his baby brother begin to squirm and then smiled when he yawned and opened his eyes.
"Morning tiger, how ya feeling?" Dean asked as he brushed the bangs away from Sammy's eyes.
"Okay I guess." Sam answered with a shrug as he went to push himself up, but stopped when he felt a pinching sensation in his uninjured hand. "What the hell?" He grumbled as he noticed the IV that hadn't been there when he fell asleep.
"Jefferson stopped by last night. He gave you a cursory check up while you were asleep." Dean answered in explanation. "What do you say I take that thing out and we go down and see what Bobby's cooking for breakfast.
"Dean, I'm not really hungry." Sam mumbled as he focused his attention on the blanket that he was now picking at with his fingers.
"Sammy, you haven't really eaten anything in a few days. You have got to start eating. Jefferson told dad last night that he thought you were malnourished and that's probably the reason you've been so tired and weak lately. Please, just try to eat a little something okay?" Dean voiced as he placed a hand on Sam's knee wanting Sammy to feel the connection. When his little brother refused to respond to what he had said or even look up at him, Dean tried pleading with him. "Sammy, please talk to me kiddo. I can't help you get through this if you wont talk to me about what happened."
Unbeknownst to the boys, John was standing right outside after having come back up the stairs to remove Sam's IV drip. As he approached the room, he had heard Dean talking with Sammy and decided not to interrupt his boys. If Sam would open up to any of them, it would be his big brother. "Please Sammy, you're never going to get over this if you don't talk to somebody." He thought as he stood nervously by the door waiting to see what Sammy would do.
"Dean, you just don't understand. I don't deserve to eat food that's fit for consumption. Bobby would just be wasting good food on a useless piece of crap like me." Sammy whispered unable to look Dean in the eyes.
"That frigging son of a bitch. I wish I could raise his sorry ass and beat the hell out of him with my own damn fists before sending him to hell where he belongs." Dean thought angrily as he swiped the tears away that were now falling silently down his face. "Damn it Sammy, don't say that. That's Hank talking, not you. Don't believe that shit he tried to break you with. Hell kiddo, don't you know you're worth more than me, dad and Bobby all three put together."
"You're wrong Dean, Hank was right. I am a pathetic hunter and loser. If you and dad had any sense, you'd leave my sorry ass and never come back."
Not able to take it any longer, John entered the room to find Sammy sitting on the bed in despair as he hung his head in shame. Walking over quickly to the bed and sitting down by his youngest, John wrapped him in a hug. "Sammy can I ask you something?"
"Ye-yeah dad?" Sam queried a little nervous as to what his dad wanted.
"Who is it that always comes through in a pinch with a perfect translation of the texts we need on hunts? Who is it that I can always count on to help with the elusive research when I can't manage to find the information myself? John questioned as he grasped Sammy by the chin to tilt his head up and look him in the eyes.
"But…"
"No buts about it kiddo. You have saved our asses quite a few times out there on a hunt with your knowledge of things, so don't let me hear you say you're a worthless piece of crap ever again. You hear me Sam?"
"Yes Sir." Sam answered a little tremulously, surprised to hear his dad talking so nicely about him with as much as they had fought before he was kidnapped. He honestly thought his dad never really noticed what he did to help on hunts.
"Sammy, I'm going to ask you another question and I want you to be truthful with me tiger. When was the last time you ate? Did that bastard Hank feed you when he held you captive?" John questioned apprehensively, not really sure that he wanted to hear the answer.
"He, uh, he brought me food a couple of times. But then he would either spit in it or spill it on the floor and then trample through it before laughing and walking out the door telling me to enjoy my dinner." Sam answered while once again fiddling with the blanket across his legs.
"Damn that bastard to hell!" John vehemently swore after hearing his youngest son's words knowing how torturous that must have been to Sammy to be teased with food only to be unable to eat it. No wonder he had a hard time accepting it now. He was probably afraid it would be taken away from him too. Feeling Sam shrink back away from him, John quickly drew in his anger and reached out to clasp Sam's knee with his hand. "Sorry kiddo, didn't mean to lose it. I'm going to take this IV out of your hand and then I want you to go downstairs with me and Dean to eat some breakfast, Bobby is making blueberry pancakes since he knows they're your favorite."
Chewing on his bottom lip in nervous, Sam nodded his head in agreement as he waited for his dad to pull out the IV needle.
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Sitting at the breakfast table, the hunters tried to keep up a casual conversation as the kept a covert eye on Sammy waiting to see if he would eat. So far he had just used his fork to push the pancakes and sausage around on his plate without ever having lifted a piece to his mouth.
"Damn Bobby, these are pretty good for a change." Dean said as he forked some of the delicious pancakes into his mouth. "For once you've managed not to burn them."
"Watch it Dean, or you'll be eating burnt food for the rest of your stay here." Bobby grumbled with a laugh knowing what Dean was up to.
Seeing Sammy actually stab a few pieces of the pancake with his fork a moment later, the hunters held the breaths as they watched him slowly lift the food into his mouth. John winced at the grimace that covered Sammy's face before he choked down the morsels with a slight gag.
"You okay there squirt?" Dean questioned anxiously as placed a comforting hand on Sam's shoulder and gently massaged it.
"Ye-yeah, M'fine." Sam replied with a small smile as he reached out with his good hand to grasp the glass of milk sitting by his plate to quickly rinse down the food.
"Just take it slow and easy Sammy. Give your stomach the time it needs to adjust to having food placed in it again. Eat what you can and then we'll build up from there." John encouraged not wanting to push his youngest into eating more that he could handle. A little food kept down was better than eating everything on his plate and throwing it all back up.
"Kay dad." Sammy whispered as he forked another small mouthful. By the time that he was finished, Sam had eaten approximately a whole pancake and a drank the whole glass of milk. His two sausage patties, however, were left untouched.
Finishing up with breakfast, John and Bobby took care of cleaning the kitchen while Dean and Sammy decided to retire to the living room to watch some television. Flipping through the channels, Dean commented on how boring daytime television was. Finally settling on a channel showing the old horror classics, the brothers settled back side by side on the couch and made fun of how utterly wrong the writers were about their knowledge of werewolves. Hearing a knock at the door, Dean got up to answer it to see Jefferson standing there.
"Morning Dean, I'm here to give Sam his examination." Jefferson stated as he walked in to see the youngest Winchester sitting on the couch staring at him with wide and apprehensive eyes.
TBC