AN: Round two! My brain is still forsaking fluff so here's another dose of hurt Dean. (Why yes, I am subconsciously abusing him for what he's going to do to Cas in the next episode) Kinda a transition chapter in my opinion before we get into the heart of things. There's some medical talk, and even though my sister-in-law is a doctor and I have some veterinary training, I really don't know what I'm talking about. Italics are flashbacks, in case anyone was wondering. Enjoy!

John walked back towards Dean's room at the hospital, coffee in hand. Reaching the room he paused, leaning against the doorframe as he watched his two sons. Sam was sitting in a chair next to the bed with his eyes closed and head laying on the edge of the bed next to Dean's hand. The sight of the older boy broke John's heart every time he walked into the room. Dean was hooked up to IV's and several monitors, with wires crisscrossing his body. I had been five weeks since they had hunted the Wendigo and Dean still hadn't woken up. Sam had been enrolled in the local school so that he would have something to keep him occupied. Whenever he wasn't in school or sleeping at the motel room they had gotten, he was glued to Dean's side; much like John. The doctors couldn't explain it. The seventeen year old was healing perfectly from his other injuries, yet showed no signs of waking. Specialists had been called in, but they all declared that there was nothing they could do but wait. The oldest Winchester shivered involuntarily as he remembered what had all happened after they brought Dean in.

They had rushed into the ER and Dean had been taken to be worked on almost immediately. John burned a hole into the ground as he paced along the waiting area. Sam sat staring at the floor, lost in thought. Every so often, John would glance at his youngest and wonder what the boy was thinking before returning to his own thoughts.

Several hours later found Sam's head resting on his dad's thigh as he dozed. John idly ran his fingers through his hair. A nurse finally approached them.

"Family of Dean Collins? Follow me please."

John nodded and shook Sam awake. They followed the nurse to a private room.

"The doctor will be out momentarily to fill you in on your son's condition." She told the Winchesters before turning and walking away. A minute later the door to the room opened and a short, portly man in a white coat came out. Closing the door behind him, he turned to face John and Sam.

"Dean Conllins' family I take it?" He asked in a low voice. John nodded, 'I'm Dr. Phillips, I'll be Dean's physician while he's here."

"How is he? Is he going to be ok?" John asked hurriedly.

"Dean has a severely sprained knee, two cracked ribs, heavy bruising on his back as well as a few minor cuts there. There was also a cut on his cheek that needed stitches as well as the three inch laceration on the back of his head. He should make a full recovery from all those injuries, no problem. But none of that is what has us concerned."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam asked incredulously.

"Dean still hasn't woken up. We've preformed a CT and MRI scan, both of which are showing that he has severe cerebral swelling. If it doesn't go down or he doesn't wake up by tomorrow, we'll have to operate to relieve the pressure."

John swallowed thickly, "Can we see him now?"

"Yes. I'm going to warn you, we have him hooked up to several machines to monitor his vitals and brain activity. Thankfully he's able to breathe on his own, but we have an oxygen mask on him to make it easier to breathe with the cracked ribs." Dr. Phillips told them as he opened the door and stepped back to let them in. Sam had rushed forward to Dean's side, eyes moist with tears. John stood back, bringing a hand up to cover his mouth.

"If he shows any signs of regaining consciousness, use the call button." The doctor informed him. John nodded and watched him close the door as he left the family.

The next morning Dean hadn't woken at all and was taken for more scans, which revealed that the swelling in his brain hadn't gone down. Dr. Phillips briefed the Winchesters on the surgery that would be preformed; They would be removing part of Dean's skull to allow the pressure on his brain to be released. The surgery was a success and a week later the swelling was all but nonexistent so they were able to perform a crainioplasty to repair the skull. Even after all that, Dean still hadn't woken up. He was still breathing on his own; the doctors assured John that it was a good thing because it ruled out the possibility of Dean slipping into a vegetative state and that he would wake up. It was only a matter of when.

"Morning John." Dr. Phillips greeted the hunter as he walked up to stand next to him, bringing him out of his memories. John grunted in return, taking a sip of his coffee. The two had formed a strange kind of friendship over the weeks. The doctor tended to be blunt and to the point when he discussed options for Dean, and John appreciated that. The doctor entered the room and started reading the nurses' notes while checking the boy's vitals. He paused when he read the data from the machine recording Dean's brain activity. A pleased smile was on his face when he turned back to John.

"Well, I'm going to do a couple scans today to make sure, but I think it's safe to say that Dean will finally be conscious in the next couple of days. There were several spikes in brain activity, for prolonged periods of time, last night. This is a very good sign."

John stared blankly at the doctor before his minds caught up with the words. His son was going to wake up. Quickly, he found a chair and sunk into it.

"Oh thank God." He muttered shakily, scrubbing his hands over his face. Dr. Phillips rested a hand on his shoulder and squeezed it briefly before leaving to finish his rounds and schedule Dean's scans.

Sam stirred and sat up, rubbing his eyes. Looking around the room he saw his father sitting with his face in his hands. Worry flashed through his mind and he got up and walked over. :Please don't let Dean be any worse.: He thought to himself.

"Dad?" He asked concerned. John lowered his hands and smiled up at his youngest.

"Dean's gonna wake up finally, Sammy."

Relief flooded Sam's body and he found himself throwing his arms around his father, who squeezed him back.