A Whiter Shade of Pale Ch. 8

Disclaimer: See first chapter

Previously: Nodding at John, the doctor silently made his way out of the room to give the small family some time alone together before the tests had to be done to see if Sam did indeed have an Intra-abdominal abscess.

Sitting at his sons bedside just an hour or so later, John sighed in contentment as he watched Dean whisper soft words of comfort to his slumbering brother while carding his fingers through Sammy's chestnut colored locks. He couldn't hear the words that Dean was saying, but that didn't matter anyway since he knew they were meant for Sammy's ears only. His boys shared a bond that transcended the four year age difference between them. It didn't matter that Dean was quickly approaching adulthood and Sammy had just become a teen, the two still preferred each other's company to going out and spending time with friends…well, unless you counted girls of course. Dean had a thing for the ladies. Leaning back in his chair, John couldn't help but feel a little envious in knowing that he wasn't a part of that special bond that the two shared. Sure, they loved him without reservation, but when it came to something important, his boys always turned to each other first.

Hearing the sound of someone approaching the door of Sam's room, John glanced up to see a young female lab technician dressed in purple scrub gear entering the room and carrying a plastic container that was filled with empty vials, some of which had different colored lids. "Ah, the vampire has arrived," he thought knowing immediately why the young woman was there.

"Hello gentlemen. My name is Mary Jane, though everyone calls me Janie, and I'm here to draw the blood samples the doctor has requested for the CBC tests to be done on Sam," the pretty young phlebotomist, with the auburn colored hair, stated with a smile as she walked over to Sam's bed and placed her supplies on the small portable table in the room before pulling on a pair of sterile gloves.

"Can't this wait for a little while, at least until Sammy wakes up?" John asked, knowing that Sam was going to be upset upon finding out what awaited him upon awaking.

"I'm sorry, I really wish it could, but Dr. Spencer wants the results of the CBC as soon as possible," Janie answered with a sad smile upon noticing that her patient was sleeping so peacefully at the moment.

Sighing remorsefully upon hearing the information, Dean shook his little brother's shoulder gently to wake him up.

"Sammy, I need you to open your eyes for me, Tiger," Dean coaxed with a tranquil voice so as not to startle the kid.

"De, wha'?" Sam questioned groggily, his blue green eyes opening to mere slits per his brother's request.

"Sammy, the nurse is here to draw some blood for your tests," Dean informed his younger sibling as he lightly palmed Sam's cheek in comfort when Sam began to slightly tremble upon hearing the words.

"Hey, Hey. None of that Kiddo. I'm right here beside you and you're gonna be fine," Dean stated softly as wrapped an arm around Sam's shoulder and pulled his brother to his chest.

"Dean's right. It'll all be over before you know it," John told his youngest as he stood up and walked over to the bed where he could stand guard over his baby when the technician drew the blood.

Chewing on his bottom lip as the medical health care provider wrapped an elastic band around his upper arm and then swabbed the inside of his elbow with an antiseptic wipe to disinfect it, Sam couldn't help but wince in pain the next moment upon feeling the sharp stinging sensation as she deftly slid the needle into his vein. Damn, but he hated needles.

Attaching an airtight tube to the needle, the lab technician quickly withdrew four small vials of blood from Sam's arm, thankful that she hadn't had to stick her young patient more than once to get the required amount of blood.

Once the blood was collected, Janie withdrew the needle from Sam's vein and then covered the puncture site with sterile gauze and a band-aid to stop the small amount of bleeding that was occurring.

"All finished Sweetie," Janie commented soothingly as she wrote Sam's name and room number on the collected vials of blood and then placed them into the container before turning back to compliment her young patient. "You've been a real trouper Sam. You did better than most of the adults I've drawn blood from today."

"That's my boy!" John stated proudly as he reached out to tussle Sam's honey-brown colored locks while the lab technician packed up her things and left. If there was one thing he knew for certain, he couldn't ask for two better children than the two he already had.

~~Supernatural~~

Once the CBC tests were run and the results had been given to Dr. Brad Spencer, it was discovered that Sam did indeed have a higher than normal white blood count and the young hunter had been immediately been whisked away from his room for a CT scan of his abdominal area, leaving his family behind in the room to struggle through the wait period since they had been forbidden to go with Sam.

"Damn it, what the hell is taking so long?" Dean growled as he paced the room like a caged lion.

"Dean, Sammy's only been gone for approximately five minutes. You need to try and relax," John voiced calmly, even though he felt like his inside organs were quivering like a bowl full of Jello.

"I'll relax when the Doc comes in here and tells me that Sammy is going to be okay," Dean retorted with ire evident in his voice.

"I wish I could tell you that Dean, but after doing the CT scan, my fears have been confirmed. Sam is suffering from an intra-abdominal abscess," Brad stated, after having walked into the room just in time to hear Dean's remark.

"Sonuvabitch," Dean swore vehemently as he raised a shaky hand to his mouth in worry. "Where is he, Doc? Where's my brother?"

"He is being moved the X-ray room as we speak," Brad answered the young hunter succinctly. "I wanted to come inform the two of you what would be happening during the next few minutes and to keep you up-to-date on Sam's treatment."

"And just what will you be doing to treat the abscess?" John asked wearily as he tugged calloused fingers through his hair. "Will he have to have more surgery?"

"No, I believe we can safely drain the fluid and pus by inserting a needle into the abscessed area this time. That's why Sam is being taken to the X-ray lab as we speak, so that I can perform the procedure and get the drainage process started as quickly as possible," Brad informed the worried family members.

"How long will the drainage process take?" Dean asked inquisitively.

"That depends. As I said earlier, sometimes the process of draining an abscess takes a only couple of days to run its course, but in some cases, the drainage process can take up to a few weeks to be completed," Brad answered, glancing furtively at his watch. "Now if you will please excuse me, I really do need to get down to the X-ray lab so I can do the procedure."

"Of course," John agreed readily. "But I just need you to answer on thing for me. Are we looking at any life threatening complications in having the procedure done?"

"John, I won't lie to you. With any medical procedure, there can be unforeseen complications. But if we don't do the procedure, Sam is at risk of having the abscess rupture. If this happens, then there is a very high chance of the infection spreading to Sam's bloodstream, which would most definitely prove fatal in Sam's case," Brad answered honestly.

"Then what are you waiting for? Get down there and take care of my brother," Dean implored, wincing when the remark came out sounding somewhat rude and abrupt.

"As you request," Brad responded with a grin, not taking any offense at the young man's remark. He knew how upset Dean was with not having his younger sibling there by his side.

Sitting down in their respective chairs once the doctor had exited the room, both John and Dean sighed despondently as they settled in for yet another wait where their Sammy was concerned.

TBC. I'm sorry if this chapter doesn't seem up to par, but we are dealing with a major medical issue family wise, so I ask you to PLEASE UNDERSTAND if it takes me longer than usual to get chapters up.