Emails are fixed now! Let's goooooo!
Kathy - As someone who has used a spoon on toast before, it is quite a challenge lol. But yes, do love writing Sam and John moments.
Wolfgirl2013 - I feel bad for laughing but "uh oh" is so right. Also hi! Welcome!
On with the show!
"Well, this is humiliating," Sam announced, stretched across the too-small hospital bed, tucked away behind a too-thin curtain in the emergency room.
"Sam, you were in so much pain you were crying," John reminded him from the uncomfortable chair sitting in the corner.
"AND you couldn't see anything!" Mary felt the need to add, pacing back and forth in front of the curtain. "Do you how scary it was to hear about that over the phone?"
Sam sighed. He slowly sat up on the bed and crossed his legs. "I'm just saying you're both overreacting. It's ridiculous. I'm perfectly fine now! Can we just go?"
"No." Mary said adamantly. "We are staying here and letting the doctor check you out."
Sam looked past her to his dad. John could only look at him sympathetically and nod.
Fuck me.
Sam laid back down on the bed. He heard the doctor's voice through the curtain talking to one of the medical assistants. "Sam!" his voice boomed as he pulled back the curtain. Appropriate for a potential head injury... "Great news. Your scans are clean and if you're no longer in pain, I say we get you out of here."
Sam excitedly sat up on the bed again, already grabbing his shoes and getting ready to put them back on. "Wait a second doctor-" goddammit Mom "-how can it be nothing? He was in a lot of pain."
"Well, he's not showing any signs of a stroke or aneurysm," Doctor What's His Name calmly explained. "And he hasn't had any recent head trauma. Sometimes a bad migraine is just a bad migraine. I can prescribe some medication to help get them under control and some of the good stuff for the next time it does act up. Might be more effective than Tylenol."
Hell yeah.
"Yeah, but he said he couldn't see?" Mary continued to press.
"Some people can experience what we call aura migraines. Usually, their vision goes blurry or they'll see spots right before the pain strikes them. It's pretty common."
"How common is common? He's been having these for a while now and they seem to be getting worse."
Here we go.
"Mary," John tried to reason, "come on, the doc said he's fine-"
"He is not fine!"
The doctor quickly scribbled something down in his notepad, ripping off the sheet and handing it to Mary. "Tell you what. This is my direct office line. If Sam's migraines worsen or the new medicine doesn't work, we can schedule an appointment to be seen right away. But for now, there isn't anything I can do without admitting Sam."
Please no. No more hospitals.
Mary seemed content taking the note paper from the doctor. She cleaned herself up, now feeling slightly embarrassed for her reaction.
Told you.
John and Mary went out to the parking lot to bring the car around while Sam went to the restroom.
"Why were you with Singer?" John asked rather sternly, alone with his wife.
"We were together at the coffee shop when you called me about Sam. I was so shaken up that he offered to drive me."
John huffed. "You told me you were meeting a girlfriend."
"I did," Mary lied. "We ran into him. She had to leave. I stayed and chatted with him for a bit."
John huffed again, unlocking the doors to the station wagon.
"What?" Mary asked, annoyed with her husband.
"Really? You? Shaken up?"
That was the best nap Sam had ever taken. He should go to the hospital more often.
Sam rubbed his eyes with his knuckles as he strolled downstairs. It was definitely late at this point. Sam hadn't looked at the clock yet, but he could easily guess 10 or 11pm. The only lights on in the house were the lamps in the living room where Mary sat reading.
"Hi honey," she greeted. "Are you feeling better?"
Sam nodded as he yawned.
"Are you hungry?"
Another nod.
Mary set her book down and went into the kitchen, Sam following closely behind her. She got out Tupperware containing spaghetti ingredients from the fridge. She dumped the noodles and sauce into a bowl and popped it into the microwave. Sam sat down on one of the barstools waiting patiently. Mary crossed over to the lockbox on the counter, spinning the dial for the code, and opening the box. She picked up several bottles and set them on the counter in front of Sam.
Sam stared at the yellow bottles mocking him. Not even three months ago Sam was a normal 22-year-old college student with lots of friends, the love of his life, and a bright future. Now here he is: no friends, no love of his life, and no future. Just him and his now three pills he has to take daily to function.
The microwave beeped. Mary placed the bowl in front of Sam, along with his new antidepressant, sleeping pill, and now migraine medication. "Eat something before you take those," Mary warned. "Wouldn't want your stomach to get upset later."
Sam silently dug into his spaghetti with a fork, putting on the show to please his mother.
Mary smiled sweetly at her son. She took a deep breath before asking "So, what should we do for dinner tomorrow? I'm thinking burgers but your dad has suggested steaks."
Sam wiped his mouth on his sleeve. "What's the occasion?" he snarkily asked, his voice sounding rough. He took another bite.
"Your brother's birthday dinner."
Sam nearly choked on a spaghetti noodle. He dropped the fork into his bowl. No. No it couldn't be. That would mean-
Sam kept coughing aggressively. Mary ran around to him, rubbing his back and encouraging him to try to catch his breath.
"Sammy?"
"Wrong pipe," Sam wheezed, letting out a final cough and clearing his throat. Once the oxygen returned to his brain, he noticed Mary holding out a glass of water towards him. Sam downed half of it, letting the cool liquid act as a processing agent for information.
Is it really January 24th already? How could he forget? Or not notice? Or-
"I hadn't gotten him anything," Sam mumbled out loud.
"That's okay," Mary said, still standing close to her son, "I'm sure Dean will be happy you're just there and not away at school again."
School. Like last year. When Jess had been so excited to turn 21. A new club had opened near campus; a bit flashy for Sam but Jess was really excited to check it out. Sam played designated driver while everyone continued to buy Jess drink after drink. He was so caught up in getting Jess back to the apartment in one piece and holding her hair back the next day that he didn't call Dean until way later. But Dean wasn't mad. If anything, he understood how crazy girls get about turning 21 and even laughed at some of the things Sam told him over the phone. Sam promised he wouldn't forget and make it up to him the next year.
How could I forget?
coffeeaddict13