Chapter Thirteen - Flirting
Sam was brought out of his slumber by a nurse calling his name, waking him up, as he opens his eyes, his Doctor strides into the room and grabs his medical record at the end of the bed and just starts talking. "Ok so Sam how are you feeling?" his voice comes out loud and booming in the quiet room.
Dean and John are both awoken by the doctor's voice and rub out the sleep from their eyes as they try to focus on what the doctor was saying.
Sam clears his throat "My ribs are a little achy and it hurts to take deep breaths" Sam said honestly
The doctor gets him to sit up slowly and examines him, checking that his ribs gently. "There are no breaks but I think they are still bruised or there may be a crack or 2 which is why there is pain when you take a really deep breath"
"Ok, what can you do for him then, for his pain?" Dean asks worriedly
"Let's run some tests to confirm that his ribs aren't broken or cracked and we can then set a pain medication program so he is more comfortable" the doctor said reassuringly "So what's your level of pain… between 1 and 10, 1 being low level pain and 10 being the worst pain you've ever felt?"
Dean smiled at Sam "Yeah, he's putting on a brave face but I can tell he's in pain" Dean said rubbing Sam's hand soothingly. He had noticed the tightness in his eyes and how his shoulders were slumped because of the pain he was feeling.
Sam looks up at Dean with betrayal, it had no heat in it but Dean gave him a look of apology. "I'm sorry Sammy but it's true… you don't have to suffer you know".
Sam looks from Dean to John to the doctor "Fine… about a 7"
The doctor nods and writes something down on Sam's file "Alright, let's get you over to radiology to take some x-rays and a few other tests" The nurse that had been waiting on the corner came over and started preparing Sam for transport to Radiology.
Dean and John stepped away from the bed and watched doctor and the nurses move around Sam and move the hospital bed out of the room. "We'll see you in a bit Sammy" Dean said as Sam's bed was moved out of the room and down the hall.
Sam loses sight of his father and Dean as the bed is moved away from his room and his anxiety ramps up. "Dean?" Sam calls out with a hint of fear.
Dean strides forward and pops his head out of the room "I'll be here when you're done with your tests" Dean calls out and Sam relaxes back on the bed knowing that Dean and his father will be in the room waiting for him to return.
Dean and John sat in silence in the empty hospital room and after about 10 minutes of listening to the clock ticking, Dean cleared his throat "You know, I need you to know something… I really care about your son… and.. when that demon hurt him… with your face…. I was really close to… before we knew it wasn't really you… I would have killed you… and I would not have been sorry about it" Dean said unapologetically.
John nodded his head, he remembered everything that he had done to Sam, and it would take him a long, long time to not have nightmares about it. "I know… I know everything I did to Sam is unforgiveable… I'll never forgive myself, even if it was a demon using my body to inflict that sort of damage"
"It wasn't just this time though… you have always had very high expectations and when Sam didn't meant those expectations, you would use pain as a punishment" Dean interrupted "It wasn't fair to him"
John swallowed the lump in his throat "I know… I'm not making excuses but when I lost my wife, I struggled for a while and I had no idea how to be a father, so I used my military training as a way to parent my child… in hindsight I know that it wasn't the best way for a young boy to grow up"
"I just wanted you to know that it may take a while for Sam to trust you again and with us attempting to build a relationship, I may take a while to not be protective" Dean said, he wasn't mad, but he wanted John to know where he stood.
"I understand and I will take the rest of my life to gain Sam's trust back and to show you that I don't want to hurt Sam again" John replied, and they nodded at each other in understanding and respect.
About 45 minutes later Sam's bed is pushed back into the room, along with the nurse and the doctor in tow, to find Dean reclining in the hospital chair and his head in his hand sleeping and John standing at the window. John tuned when he heard the bed coming through the door and Dean bolts upright in his chair and looks around trying to see what woke him up.
"How did it go?" John asks as Dean moves over to the bed to get a better look at Sam's face.
The doctor moves over to the display light boxes and turns them on and places the x-rays into the lip that holds it in place. "So, there are no breaks or cracks on both sides of Sam's ribs, so luckily, we only need to manage Sam's pain for his bruises" the doctor turns the light box off and pulls the x-ray out and back into the large yellow envelope for his file.
"Well, that's good news" John says with a smile.
"When do you think that Sam could go home?" Dean asks knowing that Sam would want to know when he could get out of the hospital, and they could both start their fledging relationship.
"I can't see any reason that Sam can't go home tomorrow" the doctor said with a large smile
"Yes! Thank you so much" Sam exclaims happily
"That's great news… I'm sure you'll still need to take it easy though Sammy" Dean says soothingly
"I know" Sam said resigned. He had always been someone who didn't like to sit idle, so having to rest or having to take some time to heal, was going to be hard for him.
"Don't worry, I can keep you company until you're back on your feet" Dean said with a smile. "I can teach you how to play poker, or at least how to cheat at poker"
"Don't go teaching him bad habits" John said with a laugh
"Who said I don't know how to play already?" Sam replies smugly
Both Dean and John exclaimed "Whaaaaattt?"
"My first housing in college, I had a roommate and he was a big poker player, he taught me some of his tips and tricks" Sam explained with a shrug
"Well, we will need to have a tournament then" Dean suggested.
"Get ready to loose" Sam said cheekily
They spent the next few hours discussing all the thing Dean and John could do to keep Sam company while he healed. Visiting hours come to a close and the 2 hunters get up to leave, stretching and collecting their belongings.
"Are you guys coming back in the morning?" Sam asks anxiously
"We'll be back in the morning… don't give anyone any trouble while we're gone" John says with a smile
Sam nods at him and John moves out the door "I'll wait out here" he says to Dean walking out of the room and down the hall
"Just relax ok, have an early night and we'll be back first thing tomorrow morning" Dean said reaching out to brush Sam's hair from his face "Have some nice dreams about me" Dean said with only a hint or sarcasm
"After that kiss today, I'm going to have to spend some time in the bathroom after you leave" Sam says with an embarrassed chuckle
"Oh, it's like that is it" Dean says leaning over Sam and presses his lips gently to Sam's plump ones.
"Yes… you know perfectly well that you're a good kisser" Sam replied breathlessly after the part
"Oh I know… but I like to hear it… and you're not bad yourself you know" Dean replies with a breathy growl that shoots tingles right down Sam's spine.
"Oh praise indeed" Sam whispers back and leans up to kiss Dean again, his lips parted so he run his tongue along Dean's bottom lip, they trade wet kisses for a few minutes and reluctantly part when they hear a nurse walking past their room.
Dean caresses Sam's cheek with his thumb "No getting out of bed and don't forget to eat" he says softly
Sam sighs at that "I wasn't planning on getting out of bed and I wasn't hungry earlier" He says defensively
"I know, but please eat your dinner, you have to get better so we can… go on our date" Dean says with encouraging smile
"Oh yeah… I almost forgot about that…" Sam says with a shy smile "Fine, I'll eat my dinner… like a good boy… as long as I get a treat" his cheeks go pink at his attempt at flirting.
Dean smiles back at that, he loved this flirty, dirty talk, he loved this side of Sam, and hoped to see more of it in the future. "Oh you'll get a treat alright… and a good spanking… if you don't do as your told" Dean said with a sultry growl
"I'll do as I'm told De…" Sam replies with a breathy whisper and their lips meet again, softly, and sensuously.
"I better go Sammy, or I'll never leave" Dean says as he steps back and walks backward towards the door not taking his eyes of Sam.
"See you in the morning De" Sam says looking up shyly through his fringe
"Bye Sammy" Dean replies with a wink and walks out the door and walks down the hallway following John's path out of the hospital.
Sam watched him leave and after a moment, when Dean doesn't return, Sam leans back against the pillows, he looks up at the ceiling and relives the feeling of Deans lips on his, his hands brushing his face, combing through his hair, his scent invading his senses, his body heat seeping into his skin. Sam could feel himself drifting off to the memory of Dean surrounding him. The next thing he knew he was sleeping soundly, dreaming of Dean and their future together.
Dean and John walked towards the car in silence, just as they separated to get into their side of the car John stopped to look over the car to Dean "Hey… I just wanted to do the father thing then never speak of it again…" When Dean nodded in understanding John continued "I know this goes without saying but… I don't want Sam to get hurt… he's had enough of that from me so… please don't hurt him Dean… I really don't want to come after you" John gives Dean a look to express what he means by that.
Dean nods his head again "The last thing I want to do it hurt him… I just really want to make him smile… so, you don't have to worry, ok?" John nods in reply and get into the car.
Dean takes a breath and gets into the car as well and with that conversation over with, they are in companionable silence once more as they drive back to the motel.
TBC