OFFICERS DOWN

Sam had struggled hard to hide the fact that he was shot afraid that it would distract Dean and get him hurt. That all seemed senseless as he watched his brother take down the last two shooters by pushing them out the window but Sam's heart stopped as he watched Dean fall with them.

He heard Arandi's scream seeing that she had watched everything in horror too. Dean had done this to protect them, always putting his own ass on the line for those he loved.

Arandi pushed herself to her feet, her heart aching that she had barely gotten Dean just to have to bury him. It hadn't been enough time, nowhere near enough. They had wasted so much time dancing around each other and if he died….?

She headed to the window the fiery pain of the bullet a mere pinch compared to the pain of the fear of losing the man she loved. She looked down seeing both men lying dead below and somehow miraculously Dean had landed in the swimming pool, the pool that now swirled red with Dean's blood.

He wasn't coming up and she needed to get to him now. There was no way she could get to him fast enough taking the stairs.

She heard Sam yelling. "Officers down!" Over and over and she didn't dare turn to look at him as she jumped.

Sam watched Arandi looking down and had no idea how she could. He was frozen to the spot praying that somehow Dean had survived being shot and the fall. He never expected Arandi to jump but he understood why when he could distinctly hear the splashing of water.

Dean might have a chance after all.

Arandi pulled Dean up from the bottom of the pool, extremely happy to see the bubbles still coming from him.

She pushed his head up out of the water and held on to the edge of the pool with everything she had. It wasn't easy being weighed down by tactical boots and gear.

"You better hold on you hear me." She yelled at him. "I love you Dean Winchester and I know how stubborn you are so you better not let death win!"

Dean's eyes barely inched open. "Sweetness." Was all he managed to push out before his eyes slid shut again.

It seemed like hours before someone was pulling them out of the water and Arandi finally gave in to the darkness.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

"I want to see my brother!" Sam yelled.

"You've been shot too Sam. You're not doing him any good by pulling the Winchester bull headed shit now!" Sebastian yelled back.

"I got shot and the bullet was through and through, my brother is dying because he was trying to save me, Arandi, and Misha. They don't call those fucking bullets cop killers for nothing!"

"Sam you can't see him he's in surgery and he's going to be so pissed if he did all that just for you to hurt yourself more." Jade soothed him.

Sam lay back on the hospital bed covering his eyes with his arm to hide the hot tears streaming from his eyes. He couldn't lose Dean he was a grown man but Dean was always going to be his big brother, the man that had been the only one there for him through it all. Dean was the only family he had left.

From the bed beside him came a soft groan of pain.

"Misha hey man how you doing?" Gabriel asked jumping to his feet to take Misha's hand.

"Sam?" Misha opened his eyes looking around frantically.

"Right beside you bro." Sam answered.

"Oh thank god." Misha sighed and grunted again as he tried to shift. The bullet had caused a break in his leg that had been set and his leg was in a cast. "Dean? Arandi?"

"Dean is in surgery." Sebastian answered leaving the rest hanging. "Arandi had to be sedated."

"He saved us." Misha whispered as his own eyes filled with tears.

"Always the fucking hero." Sam growled.

Sebastian began to sob and everyone stared at him in shock. "This is all my fault. I had tickets to the game and I asked Dean and Arandi to take our shift. That should be us, they shouldn't be suffering that was meant to be us."

Sam stared at Sebastian and turned to look at Misha who only shook his head.

"Our asses are always on the line Sebastian you know that." Sam tried.

"It was our shift, our shift, our shift." Sebastian went to his knees with the mantra on his lips.

Gabriel his eyes full of tears went down with him and pulled him into his arms. "They saved our lives too, you hear me, they saved our lives and now we have to make it up to them Sebastian that's the only thing that we can do."

"What if Dean dies huh then what?"

"Don't you fucking say that! Dean is going to be fine!" Sam screamed feeling pain course through him.

A nurse came in then staring at the scene. "Is everything alright?"

Everyone glared at her and she quickly backtracked out of the room.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dean had made it out of surgery but days later he had yet to regain consciousness.

Everyone was on edge and scared out of their wits. The doctor had told Sam that there was much swelling around Dean's spine and that he could possibly be paralyzed. He didn't tell anyone else that because things were already stressed to no end.

Arandi insisted on sitting with him and talking to him. She needed to see him. She needed to see the rise and fall of his chest and to be able to take his hand to believe she still had him.

Nothing mattered to her except him being alive. Three weeks slid by like a quiet nightmare.

"Remember that time that we went to that domestic disturbance and this man had beat up his wife really badly if front of their little boy. He was crying hysterically and you just picked him up and held him told him it wasn't his fault and that if you could you would make it all go away. That was the day I fell in love with you."

Arandi took Dean's hand as her eyes filled with tears.

"You're all this Texas boy through and through. The tough guy of the ages but your heart is the kindest most understanding giving heart that I have ever seen. I didn't believe I deserved that."

She felt the lightest squeeze of her hand.

"Dean?"

Slowly his eyes opened and his tongue slid out so that he could lick his lips. He stared at the ceiling then turned his head to look at her.

"You alright?" He rasped.

"I am now." She said her eyes full of tears.

"Where's my brother?"

"He's good. He was released a couple of days ago and he's been here with you but went to get something to eat. Hey I need to tell someone that you're awake."

Dean gripped her hand harder. "I love you."

"I love you too baby."

He tried to shift but couldn't get his legs to move for him and panic settled into him immediately.

"What's wrong with my legs?"

"I'll get the doctor."

Sam limped in at that moment and saw the fear in his brother's eyes. Dean looked into Sam's eyes and knew from the look that things were just as he feared.

The doctor came in and confirmed everything and Dean lay listening feeling numb from the inside out. He had just began his life with Arandi.

Now this would end his career and he couldn't ask Arandi to stay with him when he no longer felt like a complete man.

"I want to be alone." He whispered because his voice wasn't going to hold.

"Dean we need…." Sam began.

"I said I want to be alone." He said a little more sternly.

Arandi stared at him. "Dean?"

"Please Arandi."

She nodded, her eyes full of tears and she walked out of the room.

Once alone Dean let the flood gates open and mourned his loss.

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dean sat in the wheelchair waiting for Arandi to come to his room to see him. He had been in the hospital five weeks already. She didn't seem to care at all that he would forever be trapped in the God forsaken chair but he didn't plan on doing that to her. She deserved to have better.

Arandi walked in looking rather pale and Dean felt badly that he was going to make her feel worse but it needed to be done so that she could get on with her life.

The two days that he had had with her would be all that he would have.

"Dean I need to talk to you." She said sitting in the chair across from him.

"I need to talk to you too." He said. "I know you're going to hate me but I can't see you anymore. Things the way they are changes everything."

"I don't see it that way you're still Dean whether you can walk or not."

"I'm sorry Arandi but it's over I can't be that burden to you."

Arandi's eyes were full of tears and she had her hand to her chest as if it was hurting.

Dean hated to be the cause of her pain but it was for the best.

"But I'm….." She whispered.

The figure in the door made them both turn.

Jo stood there staring with her hand on her extended belly.

Arandi stood up and looked between Dean and Jo. "So it's true then. You're dumping me because she told you she's pregnant with your baby."

Dean felt like a sledgehammer had just been swung straight into his face. "Wait what?"

"I can't believe that I thought you could actually love me. I was just a fucking game to you."

"Arandi wait." Dean started turning the wheelchair.

"I think you need to leave." Jo said coolly.

"You shut the fuck up." Dean yelled at Jo.

Arandi headed for the door wanting to run.

"Arandi!" Dean yelled trying hard to follow her.

He made it past Jo and the doorway just in time to see Arandi half way down the hall lean against the wall and slide to the floor in dead faint.

Dean panicked but she was surrounded by medical staff in seconds as he watched helplessly.

Jo still stood watching.

Arandi was taken away on a stretcher and Dean only watched feeling a deep dread in his heart that he didn't know the whole story.

"I don't know what the fuck you're up to Jo but I know fucking well that baby is not mine."

Jo only smirked. "It doesn't matter does it? The bitch deserves what she got for fucking around with you while you were still with me."

"Nothing ever happened between us back then you dumb bitch. I wanted to make a life with you but you always let your jealousy of Arandi interfere. We just hooked for the first time ever a couple of days before I was shot."

Jo looked at him as if she was trying to read him and then started to walk away. "Even if this baby were yours I wouldn't tell you because then you would be around all the time and she must have cut off your balls too because the Dean Winchester I knew is nowhere to be seen."

"Fuck you! It's called being in true love so stay the hell away from me." Dean growled heading back to his room.

It was his last day in the hospital and the doctor came to check on him.

"Doctor can you tell me what happened to my partner. Why she fainted?"

The doctor sighed. "You know I can't divulge any information on her health to anyone beside family."

Dean nodded feeling a sick feeling in his gut. "I just wanted to know if I made a mistake breaking up with her. I did it because I love her and I don't want to burden her but if she's sick I don't want her to be alone."

The doctor regarded Dean carefully. "All I can tell you is that right now is not a good time for her to be alone. I was going to release you tomorrow but we can make it tonight if you prefer."

"Yes please, I have to find her."

XXXXXXXXXXXXX

Dean sat in the wheelchair staring out into the night from the balcony of his apartment. He had been home two days and had arrived to find all of Arandi's things gone.

He felt awful. He had wanted to give Arandi her freedom and instead he looked like the dick boyfriend who had dumped his girlfriend because she was sick.

He had no idea what to do. The doctor had practically told him something was wrong with Arandi. He had tried to call her but she had apparently had her number changed and Jade refused to tell him anything because he had hurt her sister.

Sam was around taking care him and Dean knew that he thought Dean had made the worst mistake of his life.

He missed her so much and he relived his time with her just to feel alive. Who the fuck was he kidding? He had truly fucked up and she hated him.

"Hey I got dinner for you." Sam said behind him.

"Thanks Sammy." Dean mumbled.

"I really hate to see you sulking but I don't want you to hear this from anyone else."

Dean turned to look at his brother.

"Arandi turned in her resignation yesterday. She's leaving Dallas in the next couple of days and she won't even tell Jade where she's going."

Dean felt sick with dread. He had done this to her, hurt her so badly that she couldn't even stand be in the same city with him.

"She can't be alone. Who's going to take care of her?" Dean said and he made to come back into his apartment. A sharp pain sliced right through him taking his breath away and making him see stars.

"Dean!" Sam was there to keep him from falling out of the wheelchair.

"Something wrong Sam fuck it hurts." He moaned.

"I'm calling 911." Sam said half expecting Dean to argue but Dean just panted and nodded.

"Get me out of this thing." Dean pleaded.

Sam dragged him to floor holding him tight against himself and felt tremors coursing through Dean's body. Sam had back spasms once and literally thought that he was going to snap in half. Whatever was happening to his brother was causing severe pain.

He made the call and tried to stay calm he was a police officer after all but when Dean cried out in pain and Sam could feel his body twist he began to panic.

When Dean passed out Sam thought he might need a stretcher for himself by the time the ambulance arrived.

TBC

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I have no medical degree of any kind so forgive me for errors and embellishments.

Thank you for reading!