Johnny Angel Ch. 18

Disclaimer: See chapter one

Previously: "Sam's doctor was in here last night and she thought it might be a good idea for Sam to, uh,…"

"For me to what Bobby?" Sam asked, a feeling of dread rising in his body.

"She thought it might be a good idea for you to talk to a psychiatrist," Bobby answered quickly, steeling himself for the explosion he knew was to come.

"SHE WHAT?" Dean all but yelled as he turned to face the older hunter.

"Calm down ya idjit, before you get us both kicked out of here," Bobby grunted as he stood quickly and walked over to shut the door.

"Don't tell me to calm down. You know as well as I do that Sam can't talk to no freaking psychiatrist about everything he's been through. First thing they'll do it cart him off to the loony bin," Dean grumbled as he ran his fingers through his short cropped hair.

"Damn it Dean, I'm just trying to say…"

"You're just trying to say this is all just a practical joke right?" Sam asked, breaking into the conversation that the other two hunters were having between themselves, and about him no less.

"I wish I were joking with you boy, but maybe the doctor is right. Maybe it would be easier for you talk to somebody that you don't know about…" Bobby started to say before he was cut off again, this time by Dean.

"Oh yeah, I can see it all now, Sammy spilling his guts about what happened to him in hell," Dean retorted sarcastically as he crossed his arms in front of his chest and glared at the man who was so much like a father to him and Sam now. "Well, ya see, it's like this Doc. I'm having a really rough time dealing with what Lucifer and his cronies did to me while I was in hell and strung out on the rack."

"Don't be a smartass Dean. Of course I know Sam can't talk to psychiatrist about what he went through in Hell. But maybe the doctor can help him deal with the aftermath," Bobby groused as he pulled off his ball cap and struck it against his leg in anger.

"Forget it Bobby. I'm not talking to some damn head shrink. I'm fine and that's all there is to it." Sam stated with a sigh.

"Sure you are Sam. That's why you're having those damn nightmares almost every night," Bobby rebutted as he clenched his hands. "All I'm saying is you need to talk to somebody Tiger. I'm worried about you kid, we both are."

"I know you two are worried, but I just…I need some time to deal with everything that's happening on my own before I become the caring and sharing type of man," Sam voiced softly as he looked up through the bangs nearly covering his eyes at the others.

"S'okay bro, I understand," Dean told his sibling as he reached out and pushed the chestnut colored bangs away from his brother's eyes. "We'll give you some time. But I do expect you to start talking eventually, and if not to us, then…" he trailed off letting Sammy know that one way or the other, Sam was going to talk.

"'Kay," Sam replied with a yawn, knowing he had gotten off easy this time.

"Get some sleep kiddo. We'll be here when you wake up." Dean told his brother as he kept up the soothing motion of carding his fingers through his sibling's hair until Sam had faded off to sleep.

~~Supernatural~~

After a couple of days had passed in which Sam still hadn't talked about his nightmares, Bobby was beginning to wonder if maybe he and Dean needed to force the younger hunter to get things out in the open. Sam was still having nightmares, and it tore him apart to see the kid go through them each night. The one Sam experienced the night before had been bad enough that he hadn't wanted to leave the kid's room to go to the motel and shower before getting some sleep and only did so at Sam's insistence.

Walking down the long hallway which smelled of strong antiseptic, Bobby knew that Sam would be starting his core muscle rehabilitation today and he could only hope that maybe these new sessions would get Sam to finally open up to them. He was hoping that as the youngest Winchester grew stronger, he would feel more confident in himself. He knew Sam viewed himself as being weak at the moment and feared that was part of the reason why the kid wouldn't talk to him and Dean.

Strolling into Sammy's room moments later, he was pleased to see both brothers laughing and joking with each other which was a stark contrast to the trembling man he had witnessed last night on Sam's part. "Looks like somebody is in a much better mood this morning," he stated as he walked into the room.

"Yeah, Sammy here is actually looking forward to his therapy this morning since he knows it will help him get out of this bed pretty soon," Dean responded as he patted his brother firmly on the chest.

"Well that's good news to hear," Brian stated as he walked into the room pushing a wheelchair with a specialized chest strap attached. The first move in getting Sam ready for his core therapy was getting his patient used to sitting up. "And since there's no time like the present to get started, why don't one of you two give me some help in getting Sam transferred to his new ride."

Taking the hint, Dean immediately offered his assistance. "Hey Brian, I don't mean to sound dense or anything, but what will the core muscle therapy training entail?" Dean asked as he helped the therapist transfer Sam from the bed to the wheel chair and then watched as Brian strapped him in with the chest strap to help keep Sam in an upright position.

"I'm glad you asked Dean. Most people believe that core muscle training only deals with the abdominal muscles and they couldn't be more wrong. Yeah, the abdominal muscles are important but they have a very limited and specific action. In reality the core of the body consists of many different muscles in the human body. These include the muscles that stabilize the spine and pelvis and run almost the entire length of the body. The muscles provide a firm foundation for Sam being able to move his extremities. Therefore, we have to make sure the exercise program we put Sam through targets all of Sam's muscle groups or the therapy will be ineffective," Brian answered as they strolled towards the therapy room, truly happy that Dean was so interested in learning all that he could to help his brother. "And to answer your question about what it will entail, we'll start Sam on some lower back strengthening exercises because they are the most important for his spine health and overall orthopedic health. Later, we'll move on to strengthening the abdominal muscles also since they are vital in getting him moving again."

Arriving at the therapy room, Brian pushed Sam over to the area with the floor mats and then locked the brakes on the young hunter's wheelchair. Kneeling in front of his patient so they could be face to face, Brian said, "Sam, we're going to transfer you to the floor mat where you will be placed on your stomach. I don't want you to try and help, just let us do all the work." Waiting for Dean and Bobby to get in position, they soon had Sam transferred to the floor mat and resting as comfortably as possible on his stomach. Arranging Sam's hands so that they were level with his head, Brian informed his patient that they were now going to start on the back extension exercises.

"Okay Sam, when you're ready, I want you to inhale and try to lift your chest off the floor. As you lift your chest off the floor, I want you to bring your arms towards your sides if possible and squeeze your shoulder blades together."

Doing as requested, Sam groaned as he performed the required movement in a slow and controlled manner. It hurt like hell since he wasn't used to moving in such a way, but he smiled through the pain at having accomplished the task.

"Way to go Dude," Dean cheered his brother on as he watched Sam perform the movement. Sure, it was a small step, but one that would lead to much bigger ones in the long run.

"Great job Sam. Now, I need you to do nine more repetitions for me before we move onto the next step," Brian informed his patient much to the chagrin of Sam.

"You've got to be kidding me?" Sam grimaced, already sweating from the effort of pushing his body to do something it hadn't done in a long time.

"Enough with the complaining and on with the therapy ya idjit so we can get you out of this godforsaken place," Bobby groused good naturedly, doing his best to keep Sam motivated.

"Whatever," Sam grumbled as he raised his chest and arms up off the floor and held the position for a second before lowering himself again. Performing the task another eight times, he collapsed to the floor gratefully and sucked in some panting breaths.

Giving his patient a few minutes to recover, Brian decided it was time to move onto the next phase. "Okay Sam, this next exercise were going to do is referred to as the Superman position. Basically what you're going to do is the same exercise of raising your chest up off the floor, but this time you're arms are going to be extended over your head instead of by your side and I want you to try and lift your feet off of the floor as well."

"Hate to break it to you Brian, but I ain't no damned Superman," Sam complained as he lay upon the floor mat.

"No, he's more like Supergirl," Dean smirked, knowing it would get a reaction out of his brother.

"Jerk," Sam breathed out through clenched teeth as he pushed himself to raise his chest off the floor once again while lifting his feet at the same time to prove to his brother that e could do it.

"Bitch," Dean retorted in satisfaction as he watched Sam do the requested exercise. No way was he allowing his brother to give up easily.

Standing back and watching as Dean coaxed his little brother into completing the repetitions that the therapist wanted Sam to do, Bobby had to smile at the way that Dean was able to easily goad his baby brother into completing the exercises. It sure was good to see them getting back to their normal selves once again.

~~Supernatural~~

Sitting in Sam's room a few hours later as the youngest Winchester slept off the exhaustion that overtook him after his therapy session was completed, Bobby silently prayed that the boy he loved as his own would be able to sleep peacefully without a night terror waking him too early. Sam had really pushed himself during therapy and needed the rest to rebuild his strength. Glancing at his watch to check on the time, he knew that Dean would soon be returning to the room. Dean had left approximately an hour earlier to get a shower and change his clothing. He had tried to encourage Dean to take at least a two hour nap, but the boy had stubbornly refused saying he needed to get back to his little brother as soon as possible. Reaching over to pick up a magazine, he had just started reading an article on classic car restoration when a mewling sound caught his ears.

"Damn it," Bobby swore as he threw the magazine down on the floor and stood up to walk to Sam's bed to see him starting to thrash about lightly. The kid was having another nightmare.

TBC