Fic: Don't Sleep Yet (Sam & Jo, G) Part 2 of 2
Back to Part One
*****
Sam crumpled into one of the most uncomfortable chairs he’d ever had the misfortune to find himself in. You’d think they’d spare a thought for the worried people waiting on their loved ones. Jo wasn’t really a loved one, more like a liked one if that was a category. He thought back on the last time he’d been in an ER, waiting to hear if Dean was going to pull through or not. And this-this was not that, not at all. He should probably feel badly about that, because he cared about Jo, but he knew, in the privacy of his own thoughts, that if it had been Dean in surgery right now…
He briefly contemplated calling Dean, telling him what was happening. But Dean had made it clear, he didn’t want that anymore. No more contact. Sam thought about calling Ellen, but decided to wait until he had more information on how Jo was doing. He didn’t want to have to explain his failure to keep Jo safe, and Dean’s absence to her. He pulled out his cellphone, still considering and was surprised to see the missed call alert. He pressed the buttons to listen to the voicemail and held it up to his ear.
Dean’s voice was there, warm and real in his ear, sounding a little drunk, and more than a little sad.
“Sammy, ‘m just callin’ to say Merry Christmas. I hope you’re out somewhere, having fun tying one on with a Santa’s elf or two. Miss you, little brother.”
Sam’s heart filled up with too many feelings all at once, he dropped the phone back into his pocket and put his head in his hands, closed his eyes and thought back to last Christmas. Dean’s last ever, or so they’d both thought. And now he was here again for another one, and Sam wasn’t with him, and nothing was right. Nothing would ever be right until he fixed it back to how it was supposed to be. The devil put back in his cage, and Dean back at his side.
The seat next to him was filled with someone. Sam peeked to the side and saw a large, matronly woman with a name badge, she must be the night admin.
“Hi there, sir, you brought in the woman with the animal wounds?” The woman asked, shuffling the papers on the clipboard on her lap.
Sam clenched his hands around his face briefly, and then let go, sinking into character to b.s. his way out of this situation. “Yeah, that’s my little sister in there, how’s she doing?” He read the name tag on her ample bosom and made sure his face was doing the right thing.
“I’ll have an update for you in a bit, they’re still working on her in surgery,” Marge said. “Until then, I’ve got some paperwork for you to work on.” She handed him the clipboard and a pen with the hospital name on it. Mercy something something. Always with the mercy, just not when it came time for the hospital bills to get paid. He took the clipboard and tried to focus on filling in the forms. He had no idea about Jo’s medical history or if she had insurance. Maybe he should call Ellen after all.
He dug his phone out of his pocket again, hesitated for a second and pressed the buttons to hear the voicemail again. Hearing Dean’s voice made it seem possible to get through this. He dialed Ellen’s number, she didn’t answer so he left a message. Bobby was next, he picked up and sounded half in the bag, but it was late at night on Christmas. Bobby at least had an insurance number for Sam to put down. The forms filled out, he brought them up to the front desk and handed them over to Marge. He noticed the Christmas smock she wore, and the reindeer decorations on the desk, holding the jar of pens.
“Not much of a Christmas, huh?” Marge asked, smiling warmly.
“I’ve had worse believe it or not,” Sam said.
Marge’s eyebrows shot up, but she didn’t ask him to elaborate. “I’ll get this in the system. The nurse just told me, your sister did well and she’s in the recovery room. We’ll get you back to see her in about a half hour.”
“Oh…thank god, thank you so much,” Sam said all in a rush of relief. “I’m going to go get some coffee and come right back.” He walked down the hallway following the signs for the cafeteria. Even though it was the middle of the night, he hoped there was coffee. His phone bleeped at him, vibrating in his pocket. He was surprised there was enough battery left. There was a text message.
Dean: Sammy, you okay? Just heard from Bobby
Sam sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He hadn’t thought about telling Bobby to not call Dean.
Sam: I’m fine, Jo’s doing okay according to the nurse.
The three circles danced as Dean typed and un-typed whatever he was struggling to say.
Dean: Did you get my voicemail?
Sam: Yes, Merry Christmas to you too
The three circles danced some more.
Dean: I didn’t think I’d get another one
Sam: Me either
Dean: I didn’t think I’d be alone
Sam: Me either, but you thought it’d be better this way, right?
Dean: I did, but I’m
Sam: You’re what?
Dean: Night, Sammy
Sam: Night, Dean
That was that on that. Sam found himself some coffee, it was boiled down to a thick tarry dredge, but it woke him up enough to get through the next hour sitting by Jo’s bedside waiting for her to wake up.
“You’re here?” Jo asked.
Sam woke up out of his doze and smiled at her. “Of course.”
“Thanks,” Jo said, closing her eyes, she shifted in the bed and groaned.
“You had surgery, don’t move around too much yet,” Sam said.
“Thought I’d killed that thing,” Jo said. “Good thing you were there.”
“We had each other’s backs, and the thing is dead, that’s what counts,” Sam said.
“You call my mom yet?” Jo asked.
“I did yeah, I left her a message last night,” Sam said. “I got an insurance number for you from Bobby.”
“Oh great, so the whole damn hunting world already knows I fucked up yet again,” Jo said.
“You did not fuck up, Jo. If it’ll make you feel better, Dean says hi and he’s glad you’re okay,” Sam offered.
“Sam, what I said back there up on the mountain,” Jo said.
“I’ve already forgotten it all, and I’d never tell him, don’t worry,” Sam said.
“You must get sick of it, girls throwing themselves at him all the damn time,” Jo said.
“Oh, I’m used to it by now,” Sam said.
“But it’s complicated,” Jo said. “Thanks for staying, but you can go now, Sam.”
Sam laughed and gave her a grateful smile. He stood up and stretched, then leaned over and gave her forehead a quick kiss. “Get some rest, Jo.” He left her car keys on the table along with her back pack.
As Sam walked out of the hospital the sun was just coming up. It felt like it was even colder than last night, and he had to get back up on the mountain to get his car. He got out to the main street and stuck his thumb out, it just didn’t seem right to steal someone’s car on the day after Christmas.
As he rode up the mountain in a stranger’s work truck, he thought about how he knew he’d made the right choice to get out of hunting, but he was never going to feel right about being separated from Dean. But there was no easy medium, no in-between place where that could happen for them. It was all in or nothing, and for now, nothing was it.
The End
*****
Sam crumpled into one of the most uncomfortable chairs he’d ever had the misfortune to find himself in. You’d think they’d spare a thought for the worried people waiting on their loved ones. Jo wasn’t really a loved one, more like a liked one if that was a category. He thought back on the last time he’d been in an ER, waiting to hear if Dean was going to pull through or not. And this-this was not that, not at all. He should probably feel badly about that, because he cared about Jo, but he knew, in the privacy of his own thoughts, that if it had been Dean in surgery right now…
He briefly contemplated calling Dean, telling him what was happening. But Dean had made it clear, he didn’t want that anymore. No more contact. Sam thought about calling Ellen, but decided to wait until he had more information on how Jo was doing. He didn’t want to have to explain his failure to keep Jo safe, and Dean’s absence to her. He pulled out his cellphone, still considering and was surprised to see the missed call alert. He pressed the buttons to listen to the voicemail and held it up to his ear.
Dean’s voice was there, warm and real in his ear, sounding a little drunk, and more than a little sad.
“Sammy, ‘m just callin’ to say Merry Christmas. I hope you’re out somewhere, having fun tying one on with a Santa’s elf or two. Miss you, little brother.”
Sam’s heart filled up with too many feelings all at once, he dropped the phone back into his pocket and put his head in his hands, closed his eyes and thought back to last Christmas. Dean’s last ever, or so they’d both thought. And now he was here again for another one, and Sam wasn’t with him, and nothing was right. Nothing would ever be right until he fixed it back to how it was supposed to be. The devil put back in his cage, and Dean back at his side.
The seat next to him was filled with someone. Sam peeked to the side and saw a large, matronly woman with a name badge, she must be the night admin.
“Hi there, sir, you brought in the woman with the animal wounds?” The woman asked, shuffling the papers on the clipboard on her lap.
Sam clenched his hands around his face briefly, and then let go, sinking into character to b.s. his way out of this situation. “Yeah, that’s my little sister in there, how’s she doing?” He read the name tag on her ample bosom and made sure his face was doing the right thing.
“I’ll have an update for you in a bit, they’re still working on her in surgery,” Marge said. “Until then, I’ve got some paperwork for you to work on.” She handed him the clipboard and a pen with the hospital name on it. Mercy something something. Always with the mercy, just not when it came time for the hospital bills to get paid. He took the clipboard and tried to focus on filling in the forms. He had no idea about Jo’s medical history or if she had insurance. Maybe he should call Ellen after all.
He dug his phone out of his pocket again, hesitated for a second and pressed the buttons to hear the voicemail again. Hearing Dean’s voice made it seem possible to get through this. He dialed Ellen’s number, she didn’t answer so he left a message. Bobby was next, he picked up and sounded half in the bag, but it was late at night on Christmas. Bobby at least had an insurance number for Sam to put down. The forms filled out, he brought them up to the front desk and handed them over to Marge. He noticed the Christmas smock she wore, and the reindeer decorations on the desk, holding the jar of pens.
“Not much of a Christmas, huh?” Marge asked, smiling warmly.
“I’ve had worse believe it or not,” Sam said.
Marge’s eyebrows shot up, but she didn’t ask him to elaborate. “I’ll get this in the system. The nurse just told me, your sister did well and she’s in the recovery room. We’ll get you back to see her in about a half hour.”
“Oh…thank god, thank you so much,” Sam said all in a rush of relief. “I’m going to go get some coffee and come right back.” He walked down the hallway following the signs for the cafeteria. Even though it was the middle of the night, he hoped there was coffee. His phone bleeped at him, vibrating in his pocket. He was surprised there was enough battery left. There was a text message.
Dean: Sammy, you okay? Just heard from Bobby
Sam sighed and ran his hand through his hair. He hadn’t thought about telling Bobby to not call Dean.
Sam: I’m fine, Jo’s doing okay according to the nurse.
The three circles danced as Dean typed and un-typed whatever he was struggling to say.
Dean: Did you get my voicemail?
Sam: Yes, Merry Christmas to you too
The three circles danced some more.
Dean: I didn’t think I’d get another one
Sam: Me either
Dean: I didn’t think I’d be alone
Sam: Me either, but you thought it’d be better this way, right?
Dean: I did, but I’m
Sam: You’re what?
Dean: Night, Sammy
Sam: Night, Dean
That was that on that. Sam found himself some coffee, it was boiled down to a thick tarry dredge, but it woke him up enough to get through the next hour sitting by Jo’s bedside waiting for her to wake up.
“You’re here?” Jo asked.
Sam woke up out of his doze and smiled at her. “Of course.”
“Thanks,” Jo said, closing her eyes, she shifted in the bed and groaned.
“You had surgery, don’t move around too much yet,” Sam said.
“Thought I’d killed that thing,” Jo said. “Good thing you were there.”
“We had each other’s backs, and the thing is dead, that’s what counts,” Sam said.
“You call my mom yet?” Jo asked.
“I did yeah, I left her a message last night,” Sam said. “I got an insurance number for you from Bobby.”
“Oh great, so the whole damn hunting world already knows I fucked up yet again,” Jo said.
“You did not fuck up, Jo. If it’ll make you feel better, Dean says hi and he’s glad you’re okay,” Sam offered.
“Sam, what I said back there up on the mountain,” Jo said.
“I’ve already forgotten it all, and I’d never tell him, don’t worry,” Sam said.
“You must get sick of it, girls throwing themselves at him all the damn time,” Jo said.
“Oh, I’m used to it by now,” Sam said.
“But it’s complicated,” Jo said. “Thanks for staying, but you can go now, Sam.”
Sam laughed and gave her a grateful smile. He stood up and stretched, then leaned over and gave her forehead a quick kiss. “Get some rest, Jo.” He left her car keys on the table along with her back pack.
As Sam walked out of the hospital the sun was just coming up. It felt like it was even colder than last night, and he had to get back up on the mountain to get his car. He got out to the main street and stuck his thumb out, it just didn’t seem right to steal someone’s car on the day after Christmas.
As he rode up the mountain in a stranger’s work truck, he thought about how he knew he’d made the right choice to get out of hunting, but he was never going to feel right about being separated from Dean. But there was no easy medium, no in-between place where that could happen for them. It was all in or nothing, and for now, nothing was it.
The End