Righteous Man Part 4enkeliorMay 28 2012, 17:18:17 UTC
Sam doesn’t remember the last time Dean slept so much. He’s glad for it - will take whatever he can get, whatever Dean can get. He just wants to have everything ready for when Dean wakes up.
Eventually, though, Dean does wake up.
Sam feels it when the foot against his leg jerks, then freezes. He looks down. The familiar green eyes are open and unseeing, staring at the wall.
He clears his throat, doesn’t know how to begin. “Hi,” he says lamely.
Dean’s eyes flicker up to him.
Sam winces, unnerved by the silence. “I called one of Dad’s old contacts,” he says quickly. “He’s a surgeon. Says he can do it.” He takes a breath, takes the plunge. “Rib removal. He says he can do it.”
Dean says nothing.
“I - I thought, you know, has to be big enough to be a weapon, and - and ribs are pretty sharp, and it’s not like you really need your floating ribs, and, and this way you could still fight.” He squeezes his eyes shut, opens them again. “It’s… it’s been done before,” he says throatily. “It’s - it’s kinda funny actually, some women do it because they - so they can have an hourglass figure. It’s even under the category of cosmetic surgery. So - so you’ll be okay, see.”
Dean sits up slowly.
“...That doesn’t sound so bad,” he finally says.
Sam loves his brother. He loves his brother so fucking much.
----
The ride to Wisconsin is filled with silences.
They do talk; Dean puts up a brave front, smirking at Sam and making fun of whatever he can think of, as usual. Sam tries to give back as good as he gets - it’s what Dean needs, so he doesn’t begrudge it. They don’t talk about it though, and every once in a while they lapse into a long silence where they're both thinking of the same thing and don’t meet each other’s eyes.
Dr. Nguyen (Matt, he says to call him) greets them at his empty clinic with a grim face.
“You realize these are not optimal conditions, right?” he says, giving Dean a hospital gown from the shelf. “We aren’t in a hospital. We have only one nurse and no other surgeon on hand, let alone an anesthesiologist, and I can only administer local anesthesia.” He meets Dean’s gaze. “That means you will be awake, understand?”
Dean swallows, then almost smirks. “Got it, Doc.”
Matt doesn’t blink. “There are risks both during and after the surgery of nerve damage, hemorrhaging and pneumonia. It's not an easy procedure in the first place, okay, your ribs are meant to protect a sensitive area, and removing any of them is risky. There's a reason it's not done often." He pauses. "Now, I am very good at my job," he says slowly, "but the fact remains that I have no experience with this sort of surgery. I studied it, of course, but this is not going to be a walk in the park. So, I understand you only need a sizeable fragment of the rib?"
Sam nods.
He looks at Dean's scans. "All right. That should make my work a bit easier.”
He eyes them both as if looking for something. Whatever he finds makes him sigh. “It won’t be easy, and there will be an extensive recovery period, but you will be fine,” he tells Dean. “All right? You'll be fine."
Sam puts a hand on Dean’s shoulder, squeezes gently. “Thanks, Matt. Do your best.”
Eventually, though, Dean does wake up.
Sam feels it when the foot against his leg jerks, then freezes. He looks down. The familiar green eyes are open and unseeing, staring at the wall.
He clears his throat, doesn’t know how to begin. “Hi,” he says lamely.
Dean’s eyes flicker up to him.
Sam winces, unnerved by the silence. “I called one of Dad’s old contacts,” he says quickly. “He’s a surgeon. Says he can do it.” He takes a breath, takes the plunge. “Rib removal. He says he can do it.”
Dean says nothing.
“I - I thought, you know, has to be big enough to be a weapon, and - and ribs are pretty sharp, and it’s not like you really need your floating ribs, and, and this way you could still fight.” He squeezes his eyes shut, opens them again. “It’s… it’s been done before,” he says throatily. “It’s - it’s kinda funny actually, some women do it because they - so they can have an hourglass figure. It’s even under the category of cosmetic surgery. So - so you’ll be okay, see.”
Dean sits up slowly.
“...That doesn’t sound so bad,” he finally says.
Sam loves his brother. He loves his brother so fucking much.
----
The ride to Wisconsin is filled with silences.
They do talk; Dean puts up a brave front, smirking at Sam and making fun of whatever he can think of, as usual. Sam tries to give back as good as he gets - it’s what Dean needs, so he doesn’t begrudge it. They don’t talk about it though, and every once in a while they lapse into a long silence where they're both thinking of the same thing and don’t meet each other’s eyes.
Dr. Nguyen (Matt, he says to call him) greets them at his empty clinic with a grim face.
“You realize these are not optimal conditions, right?” he says, giving Dean a hospital gown from the shelf. “We aren’t in a hospital. We have only one nurse and no other surgeon on hand, let alone an anesthesiologist, and I can only administer local anesthesia.” He meets Dean’s gaze. “That means you will be awake, understand?”
Dean swallows, then almost smirks. “Got it, Doc.”
Matt doesn’t blink. “There are risks both during and after the surgery of nerve damage, hemorrhaging and pneumonia. It's not an easy procedure in the first place, okay, your ribs are meant to protect a sensitive area, and removing any of them is risky. There's a reason it's not done often." He pauses. "Now, I am very good at my job," he says slowly, "but the fact remains that I have no experience with this sort of surgery. I studied it, of course, but this is not going to be a walk in the park. So, I understand you only need a sizeable fragment of the rib?"
Sam nods.
He looks at Dean's scans. "All right. That should make my work a bit easier.”
He eyes them both as if looking for something. Whatever he finds makes him sigh. “It won’t be easy, and there will be an extensive recovery period, but you will be fine,” he tells Dean. “All right? You'll be fine."
Sam puts a hand on Dean’s shoulder, squeezes gently. “Thanks, Matt. Do your best.”
Matt looks at him. “I just hope it’s worth it.”
Dean shivers. Sam doesn’t move his hand.
“It will be,” he says.
There’s no other option.
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