A Whiter Shade of Pale Ch. 9

Disclaimer: See first chapter

Previously: 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.

Thumping his fingers of his right hand on the arm of the chair as he glanced at the closed door and then at his watch, Dean couldn't help but think that this latest setback was his fault. If only he had been there at the motel instead of out with a girl, then Sammy wouldn't have been forced to endure yet another medical procedure, one that was sure to keep them in the hospital at least another day or two, days when he could be out there trying to catch the bastard who had hurt his Sammy.

"Dean, do you mind not thumping your fingers," John groaned as he raised his hands to his head and began to massage his temples lightly. The repetitive sound was causing a headache to build and that was the last thing he needed with his nerves already so frazzled with everything that had happened over the course of the last 24 hours or so.

"Sorry Sir, I didn't mean to upset you" Dean voiced before pushing himself to his feet and walking over towards the window in Sammy's room to see that snow had began to fall outside and was starting to cover everything in a sparkling sheen of white.

"No Son, I'm the one who should be apologizing. I shouldn't have growled at you just then," John refuted as he pushed himself to his feet and strode over to stand by Dean's side to place a supportive hand on his eldest son's shoulder. "It's just…"

"I understand Dad, you don't have to explain," Dean replied, accepting the rarely given comfort his father was offering. "It's been a long couple of days for me too."

"Hey Dean, do you remember the time a few years back when we were stuck at Jim's when that sudden snowstorm hit leaving us stranded for two weeks with nothing to do but play in the snow?" John queried as he gazed over the snow covered parking lot.

"Yeah, I'll never forget the look on Sammy's face when you stepped out the door of the parsonage just as he let lose with a snowball and it hit you full on in the face," Dean replied with a smile as he thought back to that time. "I didn't know if the kid was trembling from the cold or from the fact that he had just hit you with a snowball."

"I know. Kid probably thought I was going to spank his ass good with the sour mood I had been in at the time," John reminisced with a sigh.

"You sure surprised him though when you gathered up your own handful of snow and tossed a snowball right back at him," Dean stated, the smile on his face growing with the vivid recollection of what happened soon after. "Sammy giggled so hard that day that I thought he was going to keel over from laughing. That was the best day ever as far as Sammy was concerned."

"I know what you mean. I can't remember another day when the three of us had so much fun. I should have…" John's voice drifted off as the door to Sammy's room opened and Dr. Brad Spencer walked in followed closely by two orderlies who were pushing a portable gurney between them, a gurney on which their youngest now lay sleeping and looking very pale to him.

"Doc, is something wrong. I mean, Sammy just seems so pale." John voiced apprehensively as he reached out a hand and brushed it over Sam's chestnut colored hair.

"He's doing okay. We had a little scare in the x-ray room when Sam panicked causing his blood pressure to shoot up, which in turn caused me to have to sedate him to perform the drainage procedure he needed. But as I said earlier, Sam's doing fine now," Dr. Spencer stated, to calm the overwrought family members before him.

"Wh-what caused Sammy to panic?" Dean inquired anxiously, not yet ready to let the doctor off the hook. It wasn't like Sam to panic. His brother was one tough little dude.

"I'm not totally sure, but I think it was just the idea of having a needle, with a drainage tube attached, inserted into his stomach," Brad answered thoughtfully. "Especially when he found out that it might have to stay in for more that just a few hours."

"How long are we talking about here Doc?" John queried, caressing Sam's cheek softly with his thumb when the boy began to whimper softly in his sleep.

"Honestly, I can't say. It depends on just how bad the abscess is. It could be anywhere from 36 to 72 hours or longer,' Dr. Spencer answered truthfully.

"Knowing Winchester luck, it will 72 hours or longer," thought John to himself despondently as he automatically reached out to give the doctor's hand a shake. "Okay, thanks Doc, for taking such good care of my boy."

"You're welcome," Brad voiced as he pumped John's hand firmly before walking over towards the opened hospital room door. "I'll be back later to check on Sam after he awakens.

~~Supernatural~~

Sitting at his youngest child's bedside as he waited for Sam to wake, John couldn't help but lift the blanket covering Sam's abdomen to take a look at the incision and then winced upon seeing the end part of the needle and the tubing protruding from it. He could imagine how painful it must have been for his youngest to have a needle stuck into his stomach and prayed that the doctor had used some kind of local anesthetic to numb the area before sticking the needle in.

"Sure hope the doc gave Sammy something before sticking him with that needle," Dean voiced aloud, echoing John's thoughts as he sat on the opposite side of Sam's bed and carded his fingers through his sibling's chestnut colored hair, Sam's head automatically turning towards Dean as his eyes began to flutter.

"Dad, I think he's waking up," Dean informed his father with a smile before turning his full attention to his brother, tears misting his eyes. "Come on Sammy, time to grace us with those beautiful blue-green eyes of yours,"

"De'n, you 'cryin," Sammy slurred with concern upon opening his peepers fully and noticing the glistening sheen that encompassed his brother's eyes.

"Nah, just got something in my eyes Kiddo," Dean replied as he reached out to brush away the long bangs that drifted down over Sammy's forehead when Sam moved his head. "How are you feeling?"

"M'okay I guess, just a little sore," Sam replied, his hand going down toward his tender stomach area.

"Whoa, careful there, Tiger. You don't want to dislodge the tubing," John voiced as he reached out to grasp Sam's hand and stop it's progress. He didn't want his baby boy inadvertently causing himself any undue pain.

"Dad?"

"Yeah Sammy?"

"When can we leave? I don't wanna be here anymore." Sammy stated, his wo-be-gone 'puppy dog' eyes nearly melting his father's heart.

"Just as soon as the doctor says you can leave, we'll be out of here quicker than you can say Jack Be Nimble," John answered, unwilling to leave any sooner. Sure, he had taken his kids out of the hospital before, but that was only under the threat of losing them to Child Protective Services when some nosy doctor stuck his nose where it didn't belong.

"But dad, can't you just…"

"No way Sammy. Besides, what's your hurry? I mean, everyone's waiting on you hand and foot. And just think of the sponge bath the nurses will give you tonight," Dean voiced, waggling his eyebrows suggestively.

"Eww, that's your thing bro, not mine," Sammy stated as he crinkled up his nose in a disgusted manner.

"Don't worry about it squirt. I'll ask the nurse to let me give you your bath tonight so you modesty is protected," John touted as he pulled the blanket back up over Sammy. "You just worry about getting better."

"Who are you and what have you done with my Dad?" Sammy smirked, not accustomed to the more gentler side of his father.

"Ha, ha, very funny," John groused lightly, happy to see the smile on his youngest son's face.

"Maybe I should douse the old man with holy water just to make sure it's him. What do you think, munchkin?" Dean asked his brother with a wink, trying to keep the atmosphere affable.

"You do that and I might just have to turn you over my knee," John warned his eldest with a smirk of his own.

"Jeez, you're becoming a sourpuss in your old age Dad. You know that?" Dean grumbled petulantly.

John was about to make a retort to Dean's remark when he saw that his youngest had drifted off to sleep once more and placed a finger to his lips to warn Dean to stay quiet before motioning to the far side of the room with his head.

"Now that Sammy's sleeping peacefully, why don't you go pick us up something to eat from the cafeteria," John whispered as he pulled a twenty dollar bill from his wallet and handed the money over to Dean. He knew his eldest had to be hungry since Dean had barely eaten any food for the past 24 hours and to be honest, he was hungry himself.

"But Dad, I'm not.."

"Don't tell me you're not hungry because I heard your stomach growling earlier when you were teasing Sammy. Now go on." John ordered. He was going to make sure he took good care of both of his sons.

"Yes Sir," Dean answered, sticking the money in is pocket as he glanced over at Sammy one last time before leaving the room. Damn, but his father could be bossy at times.

Nodding his head in satisfaction as Dean left the room, John walked back over to his youngest son's bedside and sat down to watch over Sammy to hopefully keep away the nightmares that he knew would soon assail his child's mind over the attack.

TBC Sorry that you had to wait so long for an update. It's been a rough couple of weeks. I'll try to do better.