Day 1 - Head Wound
Whumpee: Dean
Caretaker: Caleb
Other Characters: Sam
Dean is 19
Sammy is 16
Caleb is 27
TW: Severe injury
Welcome to Febuwhump! A straight month (hopefully) of me torturing my favorite characters!
I can't promise that these will be the best as they are written pretty quickly and with as little energy expended as possible. My classes, while not unreasonable, mixed with my job tend to be exhausting so this month we're going for quantity over quality.
With that out of the way, I really do hope you enjoy them! There will be a lot of dialogue because that's what I prefer to write. Each story will be it's one (not one story with every prompt) because I have a lot of mulit-parters and different fandoms. So please follow the series if you want more!
That was long a rambly but please enjoy! Be sure the heed the warnings as this is a whump challenge.
Comments give me a will to live. Literally.
~TH~
"Take that fugly!" Caleb watched as the ghost went up in flames just like Ophelia's precious murder journal now smoldering on the floor.
Caleb stood in the now silent living room, breathing heavily and stamping out the fire. The house may have been haunted and home to several murders, but it was still a beautiful building. Now that the ghost was taken care of, it was time to find out why his hunting partners had failed in their duty to keep the crazy old lady away from him.
"Deuce!" He called up the stairs, "So much for your bragging about being able to keep women entertained for hours. You couldn't even manage fifteen minutes. What kind of example are you setting for your brother?" The older hunter teased lightly.
When there was no response, Caleb frowned. "Deuce?" He started up the stairs. "Sammy?" The panic was truly beginning to set in. He called their names again, not hearing any response. Caleb moved back towards the bedrooms when he heard the pounding. It was coming from… up?
A string hung down from the ceiling, likely leading to the attic.
"Caleb?" A muffled voice called from above.
"Sammy? Stand back, I'm going to open the door!"
There was scuffeling and when Caleb was confident Sam wouldn't fall through the trapdoor, he pulled the string. It popped open and he eased the ladder down for the youngest Winchester, who hurried down.
Caleb looked up, "Where's Deuce?"
"He's not with you?" Sam paled.
"Wha- he's not with you?" Caleb parroted.
"No, I was up there looking for the journal when the door slammed shut! I couldn't get it open!"
"You were looking for the journal? I thought you were helping Dean keep the ghost away?"
"We split up," Sam answered quietly, "I said I was sick of being stuck as the bait just because I was the youngest, so Dean told me to help you."
"Deuce!" Caleb turned away without responding. "Dean answer me!" He attempted to connect with his best friend but he just got a spike of a headache that almost led to him kissing the floor. The good ghost Ophelia must have whacked him harder than he thought. Unless…
"Caleb?!" Sam managed to keep him upright. "What happened? What's wrong?!"
"I-I can't get a read on him."
"Y-you don't mean-"
"I don't- if he died, I'd feel it right? It wouldn't just be-. " Unless he was blocking it. Keeping himself from the ugly truth that his best friend was dead. No. He wouldn't believe it! "Deuce!" He started off again, ignoring the pounding in his head. "Sam, start checking the rooms." He snapped, pushing away the boy's hands. "You better not be dead you idiot!" He called out. The sudden urge to throw up hit Caleb. Dean wasn't dead. He wasn't.
"Caleb!" And the distress in Sam's voice made the older hunter stop in his tracks.
He ran back, finding Sam standing frozen in front of a shattered window. Caleb ran up beside him, following Sam's line of sight. It was Dean. Lying on the ground. Two stories down. Small pieces of glass lying around him.
"He's not moving!" Sam's voice barely registered.
Caleb wasn't exactly sure what happened or how he got there, but the next thing he knew he was kneeling beside Dean's body.
"Hey, hey, hey, Deuce, look at me, okay? Open your eyes." His hands hovered over the unmoving teen, afraid to touch and make things worse. Afraid to know.
He wasn't moving. At all. Caleb wasn't even sure if he was breathing. Finally he forced himself to lay his fingers near Dean's throat. "Come on, come on." He mumbled to himself, until finally he found a weak throbbing.
"Caleb?" Sam was standing on the other side of his brother. Hands fidgeting nervously.
"He's alive." Caleb reached in his pocket pulling out his phone. The no service sign flashed on his screen and he cursed. The house may be beautiful but its location was really inconvenient. He held the phone out to Sam. "Start running. As soon as you have service, call an ambulance." Caleb looked at the blood that was pulled under Dean's head, noticing for the first time that it was coming from his ears. His nose also offered a steady stream of blood. "Mac too." He added. "Tell him to get down here ASAP."
"I'm not-"
"If you don't go now he's going to die." Caleb said bluntly, not willing to tell Sam that even if an ambulance suddenly appeared at that moment, Dean still might not make it.
Sam hesitated only for another second before snatching the phone and taking off at a full run towards where the car was parked.
Caleb looked at his friend. He wasn't a doctor and just because he had been adopted by one didn't mean he magically knew what to do. Basic first aid? Sure. Falling out the second story window, bleeding from nose and ears while lying unconscious was not something he knew how to handle. Especially when this was Deuce.
"Come on man, don't make me explain to Johnny how I got you killed. That would really put a strain in our relationship." He kept one hand on the artery in his neck, using the other gently probe at Dean's skull. He didn't feel any swelling which was actually the worse thing he could imagine. If he had some sort of bump there would be less of a chance of severe brain damage. Which Dean definitely didn't have. Even though he was bleeding from his ears and nose. That wasn't a sign of a hematoma. Sure last time it had been a sign of, what has his dad called it? Cushing's Triad? But he had ended up fine then and he would be fine now.
Except then Dean was awake and this time he isn't even responsive.
"Deuce!" Caleb shouted, "Wake up!" He ran a hand over Dean's sternum.
There was a gasp. Caleb watched as Dean's eyes fluttered, then finally opened.
"There you go, there you are." Caleb thought he might start crying; he was overcome with such relief. He knew they weren't out of the woods yet but at least for the moment Dean was awake. "Hate to admit it, but you had me scared, Deuce."
Dean didn't respond, staring straight up at the sky.
"Deuce?" He cupped his friend's cheek when he got no response. "You with me?"
The boy's eyes slowly met his older friend. A look of confusion passing over clouded green eyes. "Damian?"
"Yeah, yeah it's me. You're okay."
"Where-"
"Ophelia, remember? The woman/ghost who used to throw men out the window? We really should have seen this coming." He really should have and he'd never forgive himself for not connecting those dots before now.
"Caleb?"
"I'm right here, Deuce." He took Dean's hand in his own and squeezed it. "Can you squeeze it back for me?"
Dean had yet to move anything but his eyes and mouth.
"Caleb?"
He forced a chuckle, "Hey you're scaring me here, kid."
"I don't-" Dean squinted up at Caleb, moving his head slightly. Caleb was relieved to see any movement at all as Dean still hadn't answered his request to squeeze his hand. "What happened?"
"You got tossed out the window."
"Window?"
"Yeah. By the ghost, remember?"
"No? I thought-" Dean let out a shuddering breath, his eyes sliding closed.
"Hey- hey no sleeping on the job, Winchester." Caleb tapped his face. "What would good old Johnny say?"
It looked difficult but Dean managed to blink his eyes open. "Damian?"
Caleb was really beginning to panic. This was… really really bad.
"Yeah kiddo, it's me. Keep your eyes open yeah?"
"Where- where's Sammy?"
"He's okay," Caleb was relieved that Dean still thought like Dean at least. "He went to call for help."
"Help? Why?"
"For you, Ms. Drama Queen. Always having to garner all the attention."
"Jim?"
Caleb frowned, "Jim's not here Dean."
"Why not?"
"We haven't been to the Farm in weeks, man. We'll call Jim later, okay?"
"No- we-we were at the Farm, right? I thought-"
"No, we're at Ophelia's house, remember? Tennessee?"
"No- I-I fell in Jim's barn? A-apples?"
Caleb suddenly remembered when Dean was sixteen and had fallen from Jim's barn loft. There had been no serious side effects to everyone's shock. It was a pleasant surprise but nearly unheard of.
"Dude that was like three years ago."
"No it was- Damian my head hurts."
"I know Deuce, but you're going to be okay. Just hold on a little longer, okay?"
"Kay." Dean mumbled, eyes slowly falling shut.
"Nope. Hanging on means keeping your eyes open for me."
"But my head hurts."
"It's gonna hurt worse if you keep making me slap you awake."
"Then don't." Dean mumbled. Caleb's lips turned upward at that.
"Then don't fall asleep."
Dean grunted but kept his eyes open.
"Damian?"
The smile dropped. "Still me Dean."
"Where's Sammy?"
"He went to call for help, remember?"
Dean's eyes widened and for the first time, Dean initiated movement and squeezed Caleb's hand. "By himself!?"
"He'll be okay, Deuce. He's not a kid anymore."
"He's not?"
Caleb sighed, "No, Dean."
"But he's okay."
"Yes, he's okay."
"Why are you holding my hand?"
"Because you're acting like a girl."
"Mmmm." Dean hummed, eyes sliding closed.
"Hey!"
"Right, right." Dean mumbled, "No sleeping."
"That's right. Look at that, you're actually listening to me for once!"
"Why am I on the ground?"
"Because you fell through the window."
"Oh."
"And now we're going to stay awake until the ambulance gets here, right?"
"An ambulance?! Come on Caleb, I'm fine. I just-"
Dean's face drained of the little color it had left.
"Damian-" He whispered on a breath.
"Hey, hey I'm right here." Caleb reached his other hand up and touched Dean's abnormally cool cheek. "You're okay."
"I-I can't feel them."
The fear pouring off of the teen made Caleb's heart rate speed up. "Can't feel what, Deuce?"
"My- my legs. I-I can't, I can't feel them."
"Hey, hey slow down. Just breathe man. Freaking out isn't going to help anything."
"But I can't-"
"It's going to be okay. You're just in shock." But Caleb suspected that it wasn't he hadn never lied to Dean. And this wasn't a lie. It wasn't a lie. It wasn't. Dean would be fine.
"Damian!" The fear in his eyes and the way he was gripping Caleb's hand nearly broke the older hunter. His panic grew when Dean started hyperventilating.
"Deuce! Deuce! Listen to me, listen. Your brain's all messed up right now. You can't tell now from years ago. You've got a brain bleed at the very least. It could be nothing. It could just be some good ol' fashion brain swelling temporarily shutting out your nervous system. You're fine. Don't freak out. Just focus on staying alive, okay?! Stay alive and we can get past anything else, okay!?" Caleb hadn't realized his voice growing louder and more frantic.
Dean blinked at him. Once. Twice. "Damian?"
Caleb let out a half sob. "It's me Deuce."
"My head hurts."
Caleb closed his eyes to keep from letting the tears come. He took a shuddering breath. "I know, Deuce." His voice wavered. "I know."
There was silence as Caleb tried to regain control of his emotions. Dean laid unmoving, eyes open but not seeing anything.
"But what if it doesn't get fixed. What if I never walk again." It was said quietly. This would be the only thing that Dean's screwed up head latched on to.
"It won't happen." Caleb said with far more confidence than he felt.
Dean finally turned his head to look at his friend. This was the first time since he regained consciousness that his eyes were clear. "But what if it doesn't?"
"This would be the time your head clears up." Caleb sighed.
Dean smiled slightly, "I like to make things difficult."
"Yes you do, remember that time-"
"Damian." The older man's mouth snapped shut. "What if it doesn't." And there was real fear in the boy's eyes. And Caleb realized what he was asking. If this was permanent, would Caleb still love Dean?
"It won't change anything, Deuce. I'd stand with you the whole way."
"Even if I couldn't hunt?"
"It doesn't matter, Deuce. Nothing could change the way I feel about you."
"That's good," Dean's eyes started to slip closed.
"Hey, hey, no sleeping, remember? It's rude to pass out in the middle of a chick flick moment."
"Dad won't feel the same way."
"What?"
"If I can't hunt or take care of Sammy."
"Don't say that. Your dad loves you." But Caleb knew it was probably true.
Dean's eyelids were drooping again and he blinked rapidly. "Just like you." He smirked tiredly.
"Hey don't put words in my mouth, Deuce."
"It's okay. Even if I'm not to Dad. It's okay."
"Not what? Dean? Hey, look at me."
Sluggish eyes met his. "At least I'm real to you."
"Deuce?" Caleb noticed Dean's grip slackening in his hand. "Nope. You stay right here with me, okay? You said you'd stay and you never lie to me."
"Tell that to Jim, okay? Tell him you made me real."
Was Dean having some sort of dissociative episode? Was this part of the head wound or something else? "Stay with me, man." He could hear the sirens in the distance. "You hear that? They're almost here. Sammy's gonna bring them right to us. Just stay with me a little longer."
"'M sorry. It's better this way."
"No! Come on Deuce. Dean? Don't do this to me!"
He glanced back towards the road, hoping to catch a glimpse of the emergency vehicles.
"It'll be okay. It's better this way." He repeated, his words slurring.
"Dean Matthew Winchester don't you dare-"
"'M sorry." Came the whisper before Dean went completely slack in his arms.
"Deuce?! Deuce!" He slapped at his face, not getting a response.
Dean's breathing was shallower, pulse threadier, and he was showing no signs of regaining consciousness.
"Come on man, please, please don't do this." His voice cracked and he lost his battle to keep the tears away.
(To be continued in day thirteen)
~TH~
The next part will be posted on day 13 :)
An no. Dean's not dead so don't panic.
Until then, be on the lookout for tomorrows prompt! Like I said, follow the series (or me lol) if you want more!
Would love some comments on your thoughts!
God bless,
Jamie