Blood Brothers Chapter Three
Title: Blood Brothers
Rating: T
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: It was just a little cut. Nothing serious. Right? After a routine hunt goes wrong, Sam discovers that sometimes it's the little things in life that get you down. Hurt!Sam, Protective!Dean
A/N: Thanks for all your lovely feedback - so glad you're enjoying:-) I just saw the AMAZINGNESS that was episode 12, so here is chapter three to celebrate!;-)
Blood Brothers
Chapter Three
Dean leaped to his feet and ran to Sam's side, hands moving frantically and helplessly. Sam's eyes were open and scared looking as his now blue-tinged lips tried desperately to suck in the oxygen his body craved. Dean slammed his palm down on the panic button, yelling for someone to come help them. The bleeping monitors had already alerted the hospital staff however, and people came running from all directions.
"What happened?" The first one into the room, a short plump woman, demanded unceremoniously.
"I don't know! He just started gasping for air! Do something!"
In the meantime the other staff had reached Sam's bedside and were quickly and efficiently examining him and the fluids he was linked up to.
"He's gone into anaphylactic shock! I need adrenaline and steroids. Now!"
The doctor who had ordered this covered Sam's face with an oxygen mask and started unhooking him from one of the multiple bags of fluid by his bedside. Dean watched these proceedings from a corner of the room, panic-stricken. "What's going on? Why has he gone into ana- whatever? Is he going to be OK?" His voice was harsh with fear.
The man turned impatiently from what he was doing, bag in one hand, and glared at him. "Would someone please get that man out of here?"
Nurses swarmed forward and shoved Dean out of the room despite his violent protestations, and the door slammed shut with a bang, sealing his little brother from his eyes and protection.
~ O ~ O ~ O ~
Dean paced up and down the corridor, glancing every few minutes at the ominously closed door which was hiding his brother from him. All around him the hospital hummed with activity and noise, but all he could think about was what was going on in that room. Was Sam OK? What was that thing that they said he was going into - some kind of shock? What did that mean? They had got the sepsis in time hadn't they, so wasn't he supposed to be getting better now, not struggling to breathe? An image of Sam, eyes wide and frightened as he gasped for air, came unbidden into his mind, and he shuddered. This was not supposed to happen. It was just a little cut, damn it; how could it have spiralled so out of control so quickly?
Dean didn't have any more time to ponder on this as the door opened at that moment and the doctor came out. Dean looked at him expectantly, willing to overlook the fact that this was the man who had had him forced out of the room if only he had some good news about Sam. The man saw him and came over, rubbing his hands on his pants.
"Well?" Dean asked, feeling impatient. "Is he going to be OK? What was that?"
The doctor sighed, the weight of too many life and death struggles clearly draining him. "Your brother went into anaphylactic shock. Basically, he had a severe allergic reaction to the antibiotics he had been put on for his sepsis, and his airways swelled up so he couldn't breathe. We've taken him off those antibiotics and put him on some different ones as well as treating his allergic reaction with injections of adrenaline and steroids. He is stable now and asking for you."
Dean didn't wait to hear anymore, shoving past the doctor to get to his brother. Sam still had the oxygen mask on, but the blue tinge had faded and, bar the various monitors and IVs attached to him, he looked more his normal self. He smiled faintly at Dean as he came in.
"Hey," he croaked, removing the mask briefly to speak. "So it seems I'm allergic to the antibiotics they put me on…"
"You think, Sammy?" Dean replied, sarcasm at the forefront now that he could see for himself that his brother was okay. "I thought you were just putting that on for show - nice special effects by the way - that blue was really quite convincing."
Sam laughed, then grimaced. "Ugh. Still hurts to laugh. Speaking of, how're your ribs doing?"
Dean wrinkled his brow in confusion as he tried to follow Sam's train of thought, not an easy job at the best of times. "I think that's what you'd call a non-sequitur, Sammy. Hey," at Sam's look of surprise, "I can use big words when I want to! Anyway, my ribs are fine."
Sam looked disbelieving (it was truly amazing how much that kid could say without opening his mouth), and Dean smirked. "Don't worry about me, Sammy. At least I can breathe which is more than I could say for you ten minutes ago."
This time it was a bitchface that greeted him from the bed, and man, how was Sam still able to bitchface so convincingly with a freakin' oxygen mask attached to his face? Wonders never ceased. Dean just laughed (and yeah, that did kinda hurt - maybe that was what Sam had been referring to), and settled back down into the chair beside Sam's bed, feeling suddenly drained from all the anxiety of the evening. "Well, Sammy, not that your conversation isn't truly scintillating, but if you don't mind, I think I'm going to take a little nap. Wake me up if you need anything, OK?"
Sam nodded, and Dean leant back and closed his eyes with a sigh.
~ O ~ O ~ O ~
Dean woke up again a couple of hours later to the doctor on duty (a different doctor this time) checking up on his brother. The oxygen mask was still in place and Sam was sleeping.
Dean rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and looked up at the doctor questioningly. "Well, how's he doing?"
The doctor frowned. "Not as well as I would like to be honest. You're his brother, right?"
"Yes."
The man turned to meet Dean's eyes fully. "His blood pressure is still too low and his respiratory rate seems to indicate that he is having difficulty breathing, despite the mask."
Dean felt his heart sink. "So what does that mean?"
The doctor looked down at Sam and back up at Dean again. "It means that he's not responding to the intravenous fluids like he should and that his lungs have probably been affected by insufficient blood flow. Sepsis can cause low blood pressure and the severe drop in pressure caused by his anaphylactic shock will not have helped. Sam's cut had been infected for quite a while before you noticed it, which means that his body had been in a systemic inflammatory state for several hours at least. Even with immediate and aggressive treatment, sometimes organ damage is unavoidable. Sam's lungs have not completely given up, which is good, but the fact that he is still clearly not getting enough oxygen despite being on a mask would indicate lung dysfunction. I'm going to put him on a ventilator and give him some intravenous vasodepressors which will hopefully get his blood pressure and circulation back to normal. I'm sorry, but at the moment, it looks like Sam's sepsis is moving into the severe range."
If Dean was standing, his legs would have given way beneath him. As it was, he felt bile rise up in his throat as his brain struggled to take in the doctor's words. How could Sam's sepsis be getting worse? He'd been on antibiotics hadn't he? He'd just had a little cut, for goodness' sake - it was supposed to sting for a while and then get better, not put his brother at death's door!
The doctor smiled sympathetically, and walking around the bed, rested his hand on Dean's shoulder briefly. "It's a lot to take in, I know. But don't despair yet. He still has a fighting chance. In the meantime, you should get some rest - right now we can do nothing more than wait and see what the next few hours bring."
To be continued…
Rating: T
Genre: Hurt/Comfort
Summary: It was just a little cut. Nothing serious. Right? After a routine hunt goes wrong, Sam discovers that sometimes it's the little things in life that get you down. Hurt!Sam, Protective!Dean
A/N: Thanks for all your lovely feedback - so glad you're enjoying:-) I just saw the AMAZINGNESS that was episode 12, so here is chapter three to celebrate!;-)
Blood Brothers
Chapter Three
Dean leaped to his feet and ran to Sam's side, hands moving frantically and helplessly. Sam's eyes were open and scared looking as his now blue-tinged lips tried desperately to suck in the oxygen his body craved. Dean slammed his palm down on the panic button, yelling for someone to come help them. The bleeping monitors had already alerted the hospital staff however, and people came running from all directions.
"What happened?" The first one into the room, a short plump woman, demanded unceremoniously.
"I don't know! He just started gasping for air! Do something!"
In the meantime the other staff had reached Sam's bedside and were quickly and efficiently examining him and the fluids he was linked up to.
"He's gone into anaphylactic shock! I need adrenaline and steroids. Now!"
The doctor who had ordered this covered Sam's face with an oxygen mask and started unhooking him from one of the multiple bags of fluid by his bedside. Dean watched these proceedings from a corner of the room, panic-stricken. "What's going on? Why has he gone into ana- whatever? Is he going to be OK?" His voice was harsh with fear.
The man turned impatiently from what he was doing, bag in one hand, and glared at him. "Would someone please get that man out of here?"
Nurses swarmed forward and shoved Dean out of the room despite his violent protestations, and the door slammed shut with a bang, sealing his little brother from his eyes and protection.
~ O ~ O ~ O ~
Dean paced up and down the corridor, glancing every few minutes at the ominously closed door which was hiding his brother from him. All around him the hospital hummed with activity and noise, but all he could think about was what was going on in that room. Was Sam OK? What was that thing that they said he was going into - some kind of shock? What did that mean? They had got the sepsis in time hadn't they, so wasn't he supposed to be getting better now, not struggling to breathe? An image of Sam, eyes wide and frightened as he gasped for air, came unbidden into his mind, and he shuddered. This was not supposed to happen. It was just a little cut, damn it; how could it have spiralled so out of control so quickly?
Dean didn't have any more time to ponder on this as the door opened at that moment and the doctor came out. Dean looked at him expectantly, willing to overlook the fact that this was the man who had had him forced out of the room if only he had some good news about Sam. The man saw him and came over, rubbing his hands on his pants.
"Well?" Dean asked, feeling impatient. "Is he going to be OK? What was that?"
The doctor sighed, the weight of too many life and death struggles clearly draining him. "Your brother went into anaphylactic shock. Basically, he had a severe allergic reaction to the antibiotics he had been put on for his sepsis, and his airways swelled up so he couldn't breathe. We've taken him off those antibiotics and put him on some different ones as well as treating his allergic reaction with injections of adrenaline and steroids. He is stable now and asking for you."
Dean didn't wait to hear anymore, shoving past the doctor to get to his brother. Sam still had the oxygen mask on, but the blue tinge had faded and, bar the various monitors and IVs attached to him, he looked more his normal self. He smiled faintly at Dean as he came in.
"Hey," he croaked, removing the mask briefly to speak. "So it seems I'm allergic to the antibiotics they put me on…"
"You think, Sammy?" Dean replied, sarcasm at the forefront now that he could see for himself that his brother was okay. "I thought you were just putting that on for show - nice special effects by the way - that blue was really quite convincing."
Sam laughed, then grimaced. "Ugh. Still hurts to laugh. Speaking of, how're your ribs doing?"
Dean wrinkled his brow in confusion as he tried to follow Sam's train of thought, not an easy job at the best of times. "I think that's what you'd call a non-sequitur, Sammy. Hey," at Sam's look of surprise, "I can use big words when I want to! Anyway, my ribs are fine."
Sam looked disbelieving (it was truly amazing how much that kid could say without opening his mouth), and Dean smirked. "Don't worry about me, Sammy. At least I can breathe which is more than I could say for you ten minutes ago."
This time it was a bitchface that greeted him from the bed, and man, how was Sam still able to bitchface so convincingly with a freakin' oxygen mask attached to his face? Wonders never ceased. Dean just laughed (and yeah, that did kinda hurt - maybe that was what Sam had been referring to), and settled back down into the chair beside Sam's bed, feeling suddenly drained from all the anxiety of the evening. "Well, Sammy, not that your conversation isn't truly scintillating, but if you don't mind, I think I'm going to take a little nap. Wake me up if you need anything, OK?"
Sam nodded, and Dean leant back and closed his eyes with a sigh.
~ O ~ O ~ O ~
Dean woke up again a couple of hours later to the doctor on duty (a different doctor this time) checking up on his brother. The oxygen mask was still in place and Sam was sleeping.
Dean rubbed the sleep out of his eyes, and looked up at the doctor questioningly. "Well, how's he doing?"
The doctor frowned. "Not as well as I would like to be honest. You're his brother, right?"
"Yes."
The man turned to meet Dean's eyes fully. "His blood pressure is still too low and his respiratory rate seems to indicate that he is having difficulty breathing, despite the mask."
Dean felt his heart sink. "So what does that mean?"
The doctor looked down at Sam and back up at Dean again. "It means that he's not responding to the intravenous fluids like he should and that his lungs have probably been affected by insufficient blood flow. Sepsis can cause low blood pressure and the severe drop in pressure caused by his anaphylactic shock will not have helped. Sam's cut had been infected for quite a while before you noticed it, which means that his body had been in a systemic inflammatory state for several hours at least. Even with immediate and aggressive treatment, sometimes organ damage is unavoidable. Sam's lungs have not completely given up, which is good, but the fact that he is still clearly not getting enough oxygen despite being on a mask would indicate lung dysfunction. I'm going to put him on a ventilator and give him some intravenous vasodepressors which will hopefully get his blood pressure and circulation back to normal. I'm sorry, but at the moment, it looks like Sam's sepsis is moving into the severe range."
If Dean was standing, his legs would have given way beneath him. As it was, he felt bile rise up in his throat as his brain struggled to take in the doctor's words. How could Sam's sepsis be getting worse? He'd been on antibiotics hadn't he? He'd just had a little cut, for goodness' sake - it was supposed to sting for a while and then get better, not put his brother at death's door!
The doctor smiled sympathetically, and walking around the bed, rested his hand on Dean's shoulder briefly. "It's a lot to take in, I know. But don't despair yet. He still has a fighting chance. In the meantime, you should get some rest - right now we can do nothing more than wait and see what the next few hours bring."
To be continued…