Return of the Sam 2/?
Chapter 2
"I'm Castiel." The stranger said and after an awkward moment of silence he seemed to realize that his name meant nothing to me.
"I'm a friend of Sam and Dean Winchester." He added. "I need you to come with me."
Hearing the more familiar names I relaxed slightly. It still didn't explain why and more important how this stranger had just entered my house in the middle of the night.
Last time I'd checked I had a working door bell and my charged phone lay on the nightstand, with all the chaos going on at the hospital I wanted to be available just in case they needed my help. Why didn't he use a more civilized way to contact me? You don't just break into somebody's house.
Anyway. Sam wouldn't send a stranger if it wasn't urgent. He wouldn't contact me at all if it wasn't for a life or death matter, period.
"What happened?" I asked, mentally already weighting my options. "Where are they?"
The hospital I currently worked at was busy with the aftermath of the accident and so were the others near by. But if I pulled a few strings, called in a few favors …
However, it all depended on where they were and the nature of the injury.
"I need you to perform an appendectomy on Dean." The stranger, Castiel, said. "It ruptured four minutes ago. Sam is setting everything up for surgery as we speak."
Overwhelmed by his statement I only managed an eloquent "What?".
If Dean's appendix burst four minutes ago he had to be near by. So why sending out this Castiel guy to get me, wasting precious time, instead of heading straight for the next ER? A burst appendix is life-threatening, yes, but it is also a pretty standard operation.
It was for sure nothing that should cause the Winchesters any trouble. Not like a gun shot wound or something they couldn't easily explain. C'mon, when Sam had been clawed up by a Manticore I hadn't asked twice about the bear story Dean had sold me.
And under what condition was Sam setting up an operation room?
I must have stood there pretty dumbfounded and after a few seconds Castiel seemed to have enough of that. With three quick steps he came around the bed, cornering me.
"We have to go." He stood close now, his unblinking eyes fixed on me.
When he reached out for me I flinched back, expecting a punch, but he touched my forehead almost gently with the tips of two fingers.
I felt something like a shift and I squinted against the suddenly bright lit room.
"Luis, good you're here." I heard Sam's voice behind me. I swirled around because I was pretty sure that a second ago I'd been alone with the stranger in my bedroom, literally standing with my back against the wall.
"What the fuck?" This was definitively not my bedroom. I made another half-turn to take in my surroundings.
"I'll explain everything later but first you have to help Dean." Sam promised. "Can you do that, Luis?"
I nodded numbly. Wherever I was this was at least a medical station of some sort. From the fifties.
Four beds for the patients, two on each side, all but one empty and neatly made. The other one was occupied by Dean Winchester.
He was already dressed in a hospital gown and lay on his side, arms clutched around his middle, sweating and writhing in pain. An Asian kid stood at his side, preventing him from falling out of bed. The kid looked at me but I couldn't quite make out the emotions in his expression, however, nobody this young should ever wear such an expression.
On a tray next to the bed lay everything I'd need for a quick examination.
"The operation room is behind this door." Sam pointed in a direction. "You can prepare yourself over there." There was a small washing station. Not exactly modern hygienic standard but it would do. "We have quite an arsenal of drugs here but if you need anything else just say it. Cas can get you whatever you need."
However he'd do that.
Sam tried to stay calm but it wasn't easy, that much was obvious. With his brother laying in that bed, it wasn't a surprise.
I had no idea where I was or how I got there but that had to wait. Dean was in pain and if Castiel was right and it was a burst appendix, there was no time to waste.
I took a deep breath and stepped over to the bed.
"Hey, Dean." I tried to get his attention. "Can you hear me?"
After a minute it was clear that Castiel's diagnose was right. I had to perform the surgery. While I looked Dean over I noticed something else.
"What is this?" I pointed at a pad of gauze taped on Dean's shoulder. Sam, who'd hovered behind me, spoke up.
"He got shot yesterday." He explained without elaborating the details. "I cleaned it and stitched it up, should be fine."
I made a mental note to keep an eye on that but let it be for the moment. This, however, was most likely the reason I was there and Dean not in a hospital. An appendicitis didn't raise any red flags, a gun shot wound did.
"Okay, let's get this show on the road." I clapped my hands and looked in the round. "Who's going to play nurse?"
Sam would have been my first choice, with him I was at least sure he knew some basics, but I didn't want to force this decision on him.
"I'll do it." Sam answered without hesitation and neither Castiel nor the teenager looked like they wanted to compete for the job. So that was settled.
Another thing was the anesthesia but as Sam had said they were well stocked. Where they'd gotten all the drugs in their cabinet I didn't want to know. For me only mattered that I had what I needed at hand.
"Any last words?" I asked Dean when I gave him the drug. I knew him well enough to make that little joke, at least I hoped so.
"Sam." He coaxed out while the medication started to work. The pain eased visibly and he stretched out on the bed.
Sam stepped closer and I expected some famous last words from Dean. This were weird circumstances but I knew how good I was and this was more or less a standard procedure but every surgery has its risks. There is always the possibility that something goes wrong. Especially if you have to improvise.
"Don't let Cas do anything stupid." Dean said with dropping eyelids. "He's burning grace too fast as it is."
I had no idea what he was talking about, it was important to him, that much was clear, however, Sam nodded knowingly.
"I won't interfere as long as it is not absolutely necessary." Castiel stepped in.
"Good." And with that Dean was out of commission.
Minutes later I stood at the operating table, scalpel in hand.
"Can you do this?" Sam asked, his voice muffled by the mask he was wearing.
"Can you?" I looked up to meet his eyes. This were strange circumstances for me but in the end it was a surgery like all the others I'd done. I could pretend that this was just another hospital, just another patient.
For Sam this would always be his brother.
"I'm only playing nurse here." Sam answered. I couldn't see his tight smile but it was clearly there.
Turned out we worked quite well together and Sam was surprisingly good at playing nurse.
Dean didn't give us any trouble either and all in all it was a routine job.
"That should be it." I tied the last knot and stepped back from the table. "Let's clean up and then we can get him back in his bed."
Sam nodded and with one last look at his brother, more green surgical drape and blood than anything else, he followed me to the other room.
When I opened the door I nearly ran into Castiel who'd waited right outside the door.
"How is he?" Castiel asked without stepping back, his eyes pinning me down and I got the feeling he wouldn't take bad news very well. Behind him the teenager jumped off a bed he'd been sitting on and came closer as well. Worry was clearly written on his face.
Last time there had only been Sam and Dean, now there were these two as well and I've to admit I was curious. I didn't peg he Winchester brothers for making friends easily.
Were these people part of the other side of Sam's life? The side he tried to keep away from me as much as he could? He did it to protect me, I got that, but I've always been too curious for my own good.
"Surgery went well." I told them because it did. "For the rest we'll have to wait. I'd like to have an eye on him for at least 48 hours."
Castiel searched my eyes for a moment before he finally moved out of the way. I'd no idea what he read in my expression but he seemed satisfied with what he'd found.
"Luis, you don't have to do that." Sam followed me to the washing station where I stashed my gloves in the bin and started to work my way out of the surgical gown.
"You've done enough, thanks, man." Sam snapped his gloves off as well. "Cas will bring you back in a minute."
Now it was my turn for the pinning down glare.
"Sam, I don't know where I am or how I got here." I started and Sam actually cringed a little at that. "But Dean is my patient now and I'm not leaving until I'm sure he's alright."
Whatever kind of hospital this was, it was old and even if it had modern monitoring I wouldn't have let Dean alone with no medical staff around. Especially with the addition of the gun shot wound. No way.
Sam opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something but closed it again without a word.
"I like him." The teenager spoke for the first time and gave me a grin.
After we'd cleaned up Sam and I settled Dean in his bed and I checked his vitals once again.
"Everything alright?" Sam asked.
"He's fine." I placed Dean's hand back on the mattress. "Pulse and breathing are steady. The anesthesia should wear off in a bit but he's going to sleep for a while."
With Dean settled and out of immediate danger there was time for some answers. I raised a promoting eyebrow at Sam.
"We should sit for this." Sam decided with a sigh.
Probably sensing my reluctance to leave Dean's side he turned to Castiel.
"Would you stay with him?"
"Of course."
If Sam was fine with leaving his brother in Castiel's care I was nobody to object but I made my point clear that Castiel had to call me immediately if something changed.
Only then I was comfortable with following Sam wherever he was going.
The teenager came with us and I couldn't help but threw a curious glance in his direction. So far I didn't even catch his name. But that was probably part of the explanation Sam was about to give. And boy, had he some explaining to do.
Chapter 3
Masterpost