Living on a Prayer Ch. 5
Disclaimer: I don't anything recognizable in this story, nor am I making any profit from it.
Author's Note: Some people wondered why Sam was seen in cardiology instead of radiology in the last chapter. This chapter should provide the answers. It is what I found through researching the treatment for Sam's injury and massive amounts of blood loss.
This chapter is unbeta'ed so please forgive any mistakes.
Previously: "I…I need to go do so-something," Dean stammered before rushing out the door, leaving his father and the doctor to wonder what the hell had just happened and where in the world he was going?"
"What the hell?" John questioned worriedly as he watched his eldest run from the room. He couldn't believe Dean would just take off like that; not when Sammy was in such dire straits.
"Mr. Winchester, do you need to go after your son?" Dr. Brad Folsom asked, noticing the worried look on the hunter's face.
"No. Dean's, he's… uh; he's just struggling with the news. He'll be back," John answered, knowing that truer words were never spoken. Dean would be back when he had time to digest the news and get it together. "Can I…Can I see my son?'
"Yes you may, after we have gotten him settled in ICU. But only for just a few moments," Brad answered, knowing that John had not had a chance to see Sam before the surgery. He didn't want to deprive the father of his only chance of being with the boy should Sam succumb to his injuries. "Just follow the signs to the ICU waiting room. I'll let them know you are on your way."
"Thanks Doc, for everything," John voiced as he grasped the doctor's right hand and gave it a firm shake before making his way down to the Intensive Care Unit.
Waltzing up to the ICU Nurse's desk just moments later, John informed them who he was and was asked to take a seat while they got Sam situated in his room.
Sitting down on one of the almond colored chairs in the small waiting room, John was glad it was relatively devoid of people, except for two people who looked to be in their mid-forties. Gracing them with a tight smile, John turned away from them and started at the painting on the wall as he thought about Dean and where he had gotten off to. He knew he wouldn't stray too far from his brother, not while Sammy was in the hospital. Dean loved his baby brother too much to go off somewhere for any substantial length of time. He just hoped that wherever Dean went, he was holding it together. Hell, he wouldn't blame the boy for going off and downing a few beers to drown his sorrow, but he didn't think that was the case this time. No, the kin needed a few hours to himself to get his poker face back on and be ready to face whatever was coming their way.
Glancing towards the ICU doors, he could only wonder exactly what it was that was happening. Was his baby boy behind those doors sedated and resting comfortably, or was he at this moment fighting for his very life? He couldn't help but shiver as he thought about what would happen if they lost Sam. He knew without a doubt that he wouldn't only be losing one son, that he would lose two if that were the case.
~~Supernatural~~
Driving the Impala down 240 Main Street in Wolfeboro, New Hampshire, Dean had only one destination in mind. He had to get to Geneva Point Center, the retreat that was situated firmly across the lake from where they had been hunting. He knew if he could get to the Center, then his prayers would be heard. Why else would his eyes have taken in the cross that was centered in the middle of the outdoor chapel as the Rangers rushed Sammy to the rendezvous point with the helicopter? Maybe this was all a test, a test of what he would do for his baby brother? He didn't know. He only knew that he needed to get to that magnificent cross that he had seen and plead for his brother's life.
Sure, it had been years since he prayed, he wasn't sure if he even remembered how to do so. And to be honest, he wasn't even sure what he believed in anymore. Were there really angels or a higher power watching over them as his mother had stated so many times when he was just a little boy?
He couldn't answer that question. But one thing he knew, he wasn't ready to trust his brother's life to just the physicians at the hospital. If his Mom and Pastor Jim believed, then maybe there was something for him to believe in also. If there was even the slightest chance that there was a Higher Power, someone that could help Sammy, then he had to do everything in his power to make sure that being knew how much the kid meant to him.
Turning right onto Route 28, Dean unconsciously carded his fingers through his short, spiky, blonde hair nervously as he thought about how long it would take to get back to the Center. He knew it would take longer than the trip in, and he hoped he could find the place without any trouble. He had the coordinates in his head, but he didn't have his sidekick beside him to keep him on track and damned if that didn't feel all kinds of wrong.
"Damn it, I can't lose you Sammy," Dean voiced aloud as he kept his eyes trained on the road ahead. He didn't even want to contemplate a life without his younger sibling in it because as far as he was concerned, it wouldn't be a life worth living. Sammy had been his whole world for so long, that he could barely remember his life before his sibling had been born.
Keeping on the designated route for the next twenty minutes, Dean breathed a sigh of relief as he saw the center come into sight. Pulling into the expansive parking lot, he quickly parked the sleek, black muscle car away in a secluded corner where no other cars were parked and then climbed out and locked the door.
Keeping to the shadows, Dean quickly made his way through the wooded area of the Center Grounds, trying to be innocuous was possible to the few people who were out roaming about. Finally nearing the outdoor chapel, he scanned the grounds to make sure it was empty and then walked up to the silver colored cross situated on the grounds. Chewing on his bottom lip, he felt a full body shiver run through him and quickly kneeled at the stone base to bow his head in prayer.
~Meanwhile, back at the hospital~~
"Mr. Winchester, you can see your son now," Jodie, the ICU nurse, informed John as she approached him in the ICU waiting room. It had taken them longer than they had expected to get the teen stabilized once he was moved to ICU because his blood pressure was bouncing around so erratically.
"How…How is my doing?" John questioned as he stood to follow the nurse through the sliding glass doors.
"I'm not doctor, so I really can't answer that for you. But I can tell you that he is fighting and that we will do everything in our power to make sure he recovers," Jodie answered as best she could. "I need to prepare you though so you will know what to expect when you see your son. We were having some trouble stabilizing Sam because of his blood pressure, so he is hooked up to a ventilator to make sure he is getting enough oxygen. He is also hooked up to an EKG so we can closely monitor his vitals. The doctor has put him on an antibiotic drip and he is still receiving a blood transfusion at this time in hopes that it will help with his pressure."
"Is the doctor worried about Sammy's heart? Is that why his tests were done in cardiology?" John questioned as he took a faltering step forward.
"The doctors were concerned about his heart possibly giving out on him due to the amount of blood loss, so it was safer for them to perform the tests there where they would have the needed equipment if Sam had coded and needed life sustaining surgery right then," Jodie answered hoping to quell some of the man's fears. "I assure Mr. Winchester, it was only a precaution."
"Here we are," the nurse stated as she stopped in front of ICU room 4. "If you have any questions, or need me, I will be at the desk."
"Thanks," John voiced with a near whisper, his heart clenching at the thought of seeing his youngest on a ventilator.
"You're welcome," Jodie stated as she walked away to allow the anxious father to have some private time alone with his child.
Walking quietly into the room, John's heart early broke at the sight of his son lying there so still and pale in the bed with the ventilator tube protruding from his mouth. He just couldn't reconcile himself to seeing the kid so still when Sammy was always moving, even in his sleep. Walking softly to the side of the bed, he reached out a shaky hand and tugged his fingers through Sam's chestnut colored locks.
"Hey Kiddo, its Dad," he voiced around the lump in his throat. "I know you were probably expecting your big brother, but he'll be here in a little while. He just needed…."
John's voice broke off and he looked up in a panic and Sam's heart monitor began to wail.
"I'm sorry Mr. Winchester, but you will have to leave," Jodie informed the angst-filled father as she rushed into the room followed by a host of other nurses and a couple of doctors.
"What the hell is happening?" John questioned as he found himself being pushed out of the room by one of the male nurses.
"I'm sorry, but the doctors need room to work and you will only be in their way," The male nurse informed John before re-entering Sam's room and closing the curtain behind them.
TBC. I hope everyone has a safe, healthy, happy, and prosperous New Year!