Disclaimer see chapter 1

Chapter 24 Delirious

Dean took the first shower while Sam hung their wet things up to dry. Dean was exhausted from the night's events and finding it hard to stand in the shower under the warm water. His back, head and groin were back to being sore and his temperature was again on the rise. He even dry retched in the shower and the shivers returned in full force. He came out of the shower looking worse than when he went in. By the time he was back in bed with Tylenol in him, the thermometer read 103 again. He couldn't face food but made sure Sam got food for himself before falling to sleep. Sam was worried about Dean not eating but acknowledged he would be exhausted after the night he had and let him sleep.

After two hours sleep Dean woke up and pulled his T shirt off. He was sweating too much and it was keeping him awake even though he had the shivers and felt cold. After another three hours of broken sleep Dean was back to dry retching in the bathroom and when Sam took his temperature it was 104. Sam gave Dean more medication and cold flannels before he fell back into bed. When Sam woke in the morning he felt like he was in an oven Dean was putting out a lot of heat and was sweating profusely even though he was asleep. Sam took Deans temperature again it was 104.4 so Sam woke Dean up and sat him on the floor of the shower until he cooled down. Dean stumbled back to bed just as there was a knock at the door.

Dr Mitchell or Callum, as he wanted to be called, was a middle aged man of small, thin build and a mop of wavy black hair. He chatted to Sam as he came in with a big medical bag under his arm looking more like he was going to the front line in a war rather than making a house call. Callum explained he had be treating hunters for about two years after a hunter saved him from a poltergeist when he was making a house call. Callum got his medical supplies from hunters who knew people and owed favors so he didn't charge hunters anything to fix them up. He just wanted them back out there doing what they did best. Bobby had explained to Callum that Sam and Dean were two of the best so Callum was happy to help and glad to meet them.

Callum looked Dean over, took his temperature, blood pressure and listened to his chest and stomach. Sam explained what had happened including Dean falling through the roof, which caused Callum to raise his eyebrows and his opinion on how tough these hunters were. Also the latest trip to the ER where the doctor filled Dean up on drugs and did nothing else. Callum scowled at that and took down the name of the hospital and the doctor involved. Sam also gave a quick account of Deans swim the night before. Callum examined Dean's chest,back,groin and the still damp cast on his arm.

When he finished he went to his bag and pulled out some strong pain tablets with codeine and gave Dean two with some water. Then he gave Dean a small tablet that he explained that was an anti nausea medication and should stop him throwing up. He took a blood sample from Dean then asked him to pee in a small cup, which Dean managed only a small amount. Callum explained to the boys he felt Dean had a kidney infection that should have been treated at the ER. Dean's latest escapade the night before had probably aggravated it but the main thing was to get antibiotics into him.
"It would be better to get you on intravenous antibiotics as soon as possible but I will start you off on saline solution to get your hydration level back up. I will come back this afternoon with the antibiotics as I don't have them with me but I'm meeting a friend in couple of hours who will have them and he will rush the test results through for me."

Callum went back to his bag and returned with several rolls of plaster, cotton wool and some scissors.
"Let's fix this up. I think you need a couple more weeks with the cast yet."
Callum cut Deans still damp plaster off his arm and Sam helped the doctor to put the new plaster on.

Callum left them shortly after promising to return later.
"Hey Sam, you still got those markers?" Queried Dean from the bed.
He was sitting with his back against the headboard watching TV. His right arm was laying on a pillow with a needle in the back of his hand and a tube going up to a bag of saline solution hanging next to the bed on a coat stand.
"Yeah, why?" Sam called from the bathroom.
"The cast looks too white again. I liked your pictures before."
"Well, you shouldn't have gone for a swim then." Sam joked as he walked over to his bag to get the markers.
Sam sat next to Dean and started to draw on his plaster. After a few minutes he saw drops of sweat slide down Deans bicep down to his elbow above the cast. He looked up to Dean's face and saw his eyes were shut his head lying back against the headboard his face covered in sweat. Sam grabbed the thermometer out and took Dean's temperature 105 a new high. He was looking pale now and very drawn. Sam applied some of the instant ice packs Callum had left and lay Dean down so he was more comfortable.

He stayed with Dean for a while drawing on his cast then deciding to go the supermarket down the block and get some soup for Dean when he felt up to it. While he was there he got lemonade and water for Dean, orange juice and some TV Dinners for himself. He decided at the last minute to grab a loaf of bread and a tub of butter as the room had a toaster. He grabbed a few snacks on his way to the checkout as Callum had said it would take Dean a few days to get better and he didn't want to leave him at all if possible. On his way back to the room he paid for a few more days feeling lucky they had paid cash for the room. It meant they could stay here safely while Dean got better. Dean hadn't moved when Sam checked on him then put the things away he had bought, stuffing the poor little bar fridge full.

After lunch Dean woke up confused and disorientated. He looked surprised when Sam approached and asked him where he had been.
"I've been here with you Dean."
Dean didn't look convinced. "Where's dad?"
"Dads d….dad died Dean."
"What? When?" Dean looked around in confusion.
"More than six months ago, Dean."
Dean looked shattered turning his tear filled eyes on Sam.
"Why aren't you at school?"
"I'm finished school now, Dean. I hunt with you."
Dean looked at Sam with his eyes wide. "Did dad make you Sammy?"
"No, I wanted to Dean. I want to be with you."
"Why? Dad said I was no good."

Sam put his hands on Dean's shoulders not sure where his head was at the moment. Dean looked at Sam, his eyes brimming with tears. Sam wanted to hug his brother but was scared he would upset him.
"Sammy, help," said Dean in a tiny voice.
Sam wrapped his arms around Dean and Dean melted into them crying into Sam's shoulder. Sam let Dean cry himself out then he lay back down and went to sleep. To say Sam was confused about what Dean had said was an understatement. He simply had no idea what was going on in Dean's head. Sam didn't think Dean knew either and watched his brother sleep restlessly,not liking seeing his brother this sick.

Dean slept for another two hours. Sam went over to check his IV and his temperature, 105.5 no wonder he was delirious. Sam woke Dean to get him to take the medication Callum had left. He got it down with some water but Dean heaved painfully and it came back up, so Sam started again and this time it stayed down. Dean looked tired and still unsure of what was going on he tried to pull his IV out saying it hurt and then tried to pull his cast off saying he didn't need it he didn't have a broken arm.
"Dean, the doctor put that on today you have to leave it on."
"Dad said doctors don't know how to fix people."
"Yeah well he's wrong this time buddy."

For some reason this was funny to Dean and he laughed until he dry heaved again. When he calmed down again, he looked at Sam sagely.
"I will look after you, Sammy."
"I know Dean. You always do."
Dean pulled Sam to his chest holding his head like he was cradling a baby.
"Sammy's, Dean's baby to look after now."
Tears spilled onto Sam's face. Sam's heart broke for Dean. He thought Dean was remembering the night of the fire when Sam had been a baby and Dean only four.

Heat was coming off Dean in waves and even Sam was starting to sweat. After a while Dean's head lolled down and his grip on Sam loosened. Sam got up and laid Dean down under the sheet. Sam got more instant ice packs out and put them around Dean. Dean woke enough to make a fleeting attempt at pulling his cast off again before he fell backto sleep.

When Callum came in the afternoon he wasn't surprised to hear of Deans antics.
"He will keep you busy for a couple of days until the antibiotics start to work".
Callum hooked up the antibiotic and checked Dean over again. He didn't like Dean's temperature and gave him an injection to help him sleep and bring the temperature down. Callum decided to bandage Dean's hand where the IVs went in to make sure he didn't pull them out, he knew what delirious patients could get up to. He gave Sam some more cold packs and anti nausea tablets and promised to be back in the morning with Deans lab results.

Sam decided to sleep in the other bed tonight to give Dean room to sleep and even though Callum had given Dean an injection Dean's temperature was only down to 102.3. Sam watched his brother sleep as he took his temperature his breathing was heavy, his chest rising and falling slowly but it looked like Dean was using all of his lungs as he slept like he was running. Just for curiosities sake Sam checked Dean's pulse to find it banging away in his neck like he was exercising hard. Sam's fingers came away from Dean's neck slick with sweat. Sam moved all blankets off Dean's bed and covered him with just a sheet again. Dean was shivering enough that the IV tubes were shaking as were the bags of fluid.

Sam woke at six in the morning to a feeling that someone had dropped a hot iron on his chest. He pushed it off in reflex as he opened his eyes to find Dean lying on his bed curled up beside him and the coat stand falling towards him. After dodging the coat stand and thinking 'thank god I left the bathroom light on just in case', he dimly saw the IV bags fall on his pillow. Sam scooped the bags up with one hand and Dean with the other. He dragged Dean to the bathroom, the heat coming off him told him that he had to get Dean cooled down fast.

He lowered Dean to the floor of the shower and turned the water to tepid, after a minute or so he reduced the heat so that the water was between tepid and straight cold. Sam hung the bags from the shower caddy. As he crouched back down he saw blood coming off Dean and looked at where the blood was coming from. Dean's right wrist was bloody under the bandage, it looked like Dean had tried to pull his IV out in his sleep or when he woke up. While Dean shivered under the water, steam coming off his body, Sam unwrapped Deans hand and fixed the IV needles up. He had got one all the way out and the other almost out. Sam re wrapped the hand with the bloody bandage for the time being. He made sure Deans head was up where he wouldn't drown and fetched the thermometer.
"I should have this thing on a chain round my neck like and old lady with her spectacles." Sam mumbled as he headed back to the bathroom.

Dean blinked up at him slowly as Sam took his temperature again, 105.9 Damn. Dean was trying to break records here. Sam sat with Dean and put the water all the way to cold after a few minutes. Dean started struggling, his chest going up and down like he was running. Sam grabbed the tablets that Callum had left and got two of the codeine tablets into Dean.

Dean felt as bad as he looked, he had a bad fever once before in his life and this felt even worse. He was struggling to move his body or to even think straight. Sam sat next to Dean and held his hand. After a while Dean seemed to notice Sam and moved slowly toward him. Sam leaned forward and held Dean's head but Dean struggled out of Sam's grasp and leaned up looking for Sam's face. Dean's mind was panicking that he may never see Sam again and he wouldn't have a chance to tell him how he really felt. Sam leaned his face down to Dean's and Dean leaned into Sam's ear and whispered croakily.
"I love you, Sammy."
Dean moved his lips to Sam's and pushed his way in with his tongue. Sam was worried about Dean overexerting himself in his current condition and tried to pull away but Dean pulled at Sam with what felt like the last of his strength. He kept kissing Sam for as long as he could. His brain was frantically showing him images of his past and in all the images it threw at him there was one constant, Sam. He wanted Sam to be the last thing he saw and touched so he held on as long as he could then his world swam and pitched into blackness.

TBC