Just One More Thing 2/4
Under doctor's orders to clean up and rest, Sam checked into the motel room alone. Dean had been sedated so he could rest and Dad....
Dad was never coming back.
Groaning as his own aches made themselves known in his exhaustion, Sam sank onto a bed and clicked on the TV.
And froze as colourful pantomime with an undecipherable soft drone sprang into life.
Sam had forgotten.
It was the work of only a couple of button-presses to turn on the closed captioning. A moment of reading told Sam he had turned on the History Channel and the program was about the Civil War.
Sam let the remote fall to the bed as he stared at the words crawling on the screen and let the reality crash into him. He parted his lips and spoke it aloud, wondering if it would help.
"Deaf," he felt himself say, felt his teeth catch on his bottom lip at the end of the word.
"Omig-d. ... I'm deaf."
Not completely, his mind attempted to argue with him. Sounds are profoundly muted -- not completely silent.
It didn't help. Sam couldn't hear the beeping of monitors, and that meant he probably couldn't hear phones ringing. He couldn't understand the TV without the closed captioning. The only reason he'd done so well at the hospital was because he'd focused on mouths and their dad had insisted both boys learn to read lip as part of reading body language as a hunting skill. He couldn't understand speech without that or regulate his own voice or....
Sam dropped his face into his hands. He had been right the first time.
Sam Winchester was deaf.
He took out his phone and stared at it. Two missed calls. Both from Bobby.
Licking his lips, he texted Bobby.
In room 124 in Cedar Pine motel. Need you. Text me when you're here. Won't hear the door.
Seconds later, he felt it vibrate against his hand.
In room 148. Come on.
Sam pocketed his room key and bolted to 148. He pounded on the door until it opened.
Bobby's mouth was working, but Sam pushed past him and entered the room. He turned to see Bobby closing the door.
Sam waited till Bobby fed him a belt of holy water before sinking to sit on one of the beds.
He watched Bobby talk for a moment more, then put him out of his misery.
"You're wasting your time." At his expression, Sam took a deep breath.
"Bobby, I can't.... I-I..."
Bobby's hand touched his knee and he clearly saw him say, "Breathe!"
Sam drew in another deep breath, and this time he got it out past the lump in his throat that was threatening to strangle him.
"Uncle Bobby, I'm deaf!"
Continue on to part 3