Disclaimer: wow, I forgot how hard it was to find cool ways to say no

A/N: Hi y'all! Thanks so much for the awesome reviews for that last story, and the welcome backs. It's great to be back! So... wow... haha, don't you love my stories where there's some small thing in it that pertains to my real life where I tell a little back-story and you all get to laugh and point at your comptuer screens? This story has a moment like that. Many of you may remember my story 'Cold' where I told you of the idiotic thing I did with getting hypothermia. Well my sickness went on from there. Haha... less than a week after that my temprature spiked to about 103F. I got a nasty flu, and then before I even got time to get over that, I got both bronchitis and tonsilitis at the same fricken time. Haha... I was sick for close to a month. I think I wrote this story at the heart of my bronchitis thing, which is why I gave it to one of our favorite brothers. Ok, ok... that's enough me-story time... I'll leave you to the people we all know you came here to read about.
Oh right, two quick things... one is that I didn't quite finish what I was going to give you all, so I'll tell you now, and you'll get it at some point tomorrow. I'm going to end up posting another chapter of 'A Windy Story' for you all to enjoy! Another thing... it has to do with this story. I read it over and realized that some of you might frown on the fact that Dean has himself simply as a 'friend' to Sam, and not family member. My basic justification to this is that they went into the hospital thinking he was there for just a simple chest cold or something, so they didn't figure they'd need to worry about any 'family confidentiality' stuff. So yeah... I hope you enjoy! Thanks again!
(oh, another ps... i'm also accepting to try and be a beta reader... so if any of you want me to help you at all, just give me an email!)

Title: Rabies
Genre: Angsty and suspense! Alright, and some fluff.
Summary: Sam goes to the doctor with what is thought to be a simple chest cold, but it soon turns into a life threatening evening at the hospital...

Rabies

"I'm sorry Sir, you can't see him," the nurse in lilac scrubs spoke bluntly.

A small flitter erupted in Dean's stomach, "What do you mean I can't see him?"

The nurse sighed, "It says on this sheet here that you are his… friend?"

"Yes," Dean nodded at the lie he'd written, "Yes, we've been best friends since grade school. Why can't I see him? What's wrong with him?"

"Sam is not your family," the nurse proceeded to explain dully, "I cannot let non-family members visit in the critical ward, nor can I let you know anything about his condition."

Dean's eyes widened, "The critical ward! What the hell is going on lady? I brought him in here because he had a bad cough and was having a little trouble breathing. We thought it might be bronchitis or pneumonia or something. Why the hell is he in critical ward?"

"I'm sorry, I can't--"

"--answer me," Dean finished in anger as he turned on his heel and stormed over to the waiting area.

It was true that the only reason Dean had brought Sam into the hospital was because he had a bad cough that was making it hard for the hunter to breath. Sam had brushed it off as a bad cold, but it had been Dean who insisted on a doctor visit on their way out of town, pointing out that if he got a prescription for some antibiotics, they could get some extra to keep in stock. He was beginning to regret this decision now as it had been nearly two hours since Sam went behind the large swinging doors, and he knew nothing. Another half an hour ticked by, and Dean was just beginning to form a plan in his head as to how to sneak into the area when a doctor came out in a white coat and called for a 'Dean Willington'.

"That's me," Dean was to his feet in seconds, and by the doctors side, "What's going on?"

The doctor looked down at a piece of paper, "I see here that you are not family…"

"Please," Dean found himself begging, "I'm the only person he's got right now. Please tell me what's wrong."

The doctor nodded, "I'm Doctor Maxwell. I need to ask you a few questions. Have you been with Sam for the past few weeks to a month?"

Dean nodded, "Yes. We-we're roommates."

"Alright," again Doctor Maxwell nodded, "Are you aware of Sam getting any bites at all? Did he say anything about maybe being attacked or bit by a dog or wild animal?"

Dean thought about this, "I don't think so… why? What's wrong?"

A saddened look came across the doctor's face, "We're testing him for rabies right now."

Dean could feel the color drain from his face as he let out a disbelieving laugh, "You… you're kidding right?"

"I'm sorry," Doctor Maxwell looked sympathetically at Dean, "He's showing signs of the disease, and we have found what looks to be an infected bite on his upper calf."

Dean's breath came out in a gasp, "I want to see him."

Doctor Maxwell shook his head, "I'm sorry-- that's not possible. Your friend is being quarantined until we know for sure."

"No, no," Dean shook his head, his heartbeat quickening, "You guys are wrong. Rabies-- you don't get that here."

"On the contrary Mr. Willington, you can get the disease anywhere," Doctor Maxwell explained, "It is contracted through the saliva of an infected animal. Now usually here in the US, people are protected against the virus, and there aren't too many infected animals around. But on rare occasions, it does happen."

"But, it--" Dean swallowed hard, his head spinning, "You can… if he does have it… you can help him?"

Solemnly Doctor Maxwell shook his head, "I'm sorry. At this stage the disease will have already taken over his body. It is a universally fatal disease."

Dean felt tears burn at his eyes, but refused to let them fall. For what seemed like forever he stared at the doctor as the words and information sunk in. He would pay anything to go back in time five minutes and be once again simply waiting in the waiting room.

"How-- how long until you know for sure?" Dean whispered out.

"We've done one, initial test," Doctor Maxwell spoke carefully, noting Dean's quickly deteriorating state, "That test came back positive. Right now we're running more conclusive tests. Mr. Wellington is there any family that you can get a hold of for him?"

"N-No," Dean stuttered out.

"Alright," Doctor Maxwell placed a hand on Dean's shoulder, "Right now I suggest that you just sit down and try to relax. We'll know for sure if our suspicions are correct in about an hour, and at that point I can discuss with you some of the options for Sam."

Numbly Dean nodded his head and walked back to one of the chairs without hearing anymore. The hour was getting to be late, and so there was only one other person in the waiting room holding onto a small boy in her arms. The boy was wrapped up in a blanket and Dean could see his pink cheeks from his position on the other side of the room. For the next hour Dean sat in the waiting room, feeling his heart rate quickening with each passing minute. Twice he was forced to get up and get sick in the bathroom. The doctor had told Dean that there was an infected bite on Sam's leg, and the older brother screamed at himself for not having noticed.

"Why Sammy," a small tear fell down Dean's rough face, "Why didn't you tell me?"

Dean had always protected Sam his whole life, but it was the times when Sam would hide things that would scare Dean the most. Dean remembered when Sam when was in high school, and a group of kids were bullying him. Sam hadn't told Dean until it had got to the point where Sam broke his arm. Now, Dean supposed, was worse.

Much worse.

"Mr. Wellington?" the hour had crept by, taking extra minutes with it and Dean now looked over to see Doctor Maxwell once again standing at the entrance to the waiting room.

"Yes," Dean breathed, jumping to his feet and making it to the doctor in one long stride.

"Can I talk to you," the doctor kept a straight face as Dean nodded and he lead him into a small separate room a small ways down the hall.

"What's happening?" Dean choked out staring intently at the man in front of him.

A smile spread to the doctors face, "We've performed two more tests on Sam, and we have concluded that he does not have the rabies disease."

Dean's hand flew to his mouth as he muttered out a relieved, "Oh, thank God."

Doctor Maxwell nodded, "He does, however, have a case of blood poisoning and bronchitis. Which means he's not out of the woods yet, but it is very treatable, and I have every reason to believe that he'll be back to full health in no time."

"C-Can I see him?" Dean stuttered out, "Please, can I see Sam?"

The doctor looked at his watch, "It's past visiting hours, but… you can see him for a little bit tonight. After that, he does need his rest."

Dean nodded and followed Doctor Maxwell's quick pace down the corridor. They made it to a room, and Doctor Maxwell motion to Dean that it was the right one. Swallowing hard, Dean walked inside and let out a breath he never even realized he was holding as he saw Sam sitting up in the bed with a simple oxygen tube inserted into his nose.

"Dean," a large smile spread to Sam's face.

Dean scrunched up his forehead, "…Sammy…"

In one swift, silent movement, Dean crossed the room and grabbed his little brother in a tight hug. A shaking breath came from Dean as he squeezed his eyes shut against the tears which once again threatened to take over him. Sam squeezed back in the embrace before finally the two brothers separated. Looking at Sam, Dean washed his hand over his face in a vane attempt to get rid of his overflowing emotions.

"Are you ok?" Dean finally asked, his voice hoarse.

Sam smiled through select tears which crawled down his face, "I'm going to be fine."

Dean laughed, "Dude, you scared the holy hell out of me."

"I'm sorry," Sam breathed deep, "I-I didn't realize it was this bad."

"They told me they thought you had rabies!" Dean cried out, "They said… they said you could die Sam…"

"I know," Sam nodded, "That's what they told me too. They said there was nothing they could do if the tests came back positive. I just… I wanted to see you, but they wouldn't let me."

"I'm sorry I wasn't there Sammy," Dean whispered sitting sideways on the hospital bed, "I wanted to be-- trust me."

"I know," Sam took another deep breath, using the back of his hand to wipe the tears from his face.

Something occurred to Dean suddenly, "The doctor said that you had a bite mark on your leg, and that's what caused an infection. I don't remember you getting bit…"

"Oh," Sam pulled up the sheet to reveal a bandage on the lower half of his right leg, "Yeah… it happened about three weeks ago. It was from when we were being chased by those stupid coyotes in the woods in north Michigan. I didn't think anything of it."

"You should have told me Sam," Dean shook his head, "You should know better! When one of us gets hurt, the other needs to know because--"

"Not now Dean," Sam interrupted in a whispered, "Please… not now."

Dean placed a hand on Sam's leg, "Sorry man… I just. If I lost you…"

A small smile touched Sam's mouth as he looked down at his hands, "I'm not going anywhere Dean… I promise."

The End.