This is the last chapter of the story. I hope you like it. Thanks for reading my story and reviewing it. I was shocked by how many people reviewed. On with the story...
It had been eight days since they had spoken about their plans and Sam knew he was ready to leave. They had taken the catheter out the day before and he was doing fine. He was crawling the walls, but he knew he was fine. He knew that the doctor was supposed to come today, and he couldn't wait.
"Dean, I can't take this anymore." He told his brother, wanting to be out in the bright sunshine that he could see through the window, not in here.
"Just a little while longer, Sammy." Dean said, clearly amused. He had to admit that they had run out of things to do with their time, and everything was mildly anti-climatic now that Sam was better. His life had been filled with action, and this whole standstill thing wasn't working for him, either.
There was a knock on the door and both Sam and Dean turned in that direction. Dr. Lambert was standing in the door.
"Hello, Sam. Dean." He greeted. They both knew that today was the day Sam got to leave the hospital, but every second seemed like forever. They were both so sick of being here.
"Hi. So, do I get to get out of here today?" Sam asked, ready to sign an AMA sheet if he wasn't.
"Yes, son. You are in remission right now, but there are a few precautions that you need. You will be susceptible to infections and illness more than usual for at least six months. It's important that if you show any signs of an infection to get to a doctor right away. The bone marrow is engrafting right now, but that could change at any time. Also, the cancer cells could build up again. In six months, we'll test your bone marrow again to make sure that everything is okay. If you do get sick, avoid aspirin and nasal decongestants. If you have aches and pains, use Tylenol. However, it can mask a fever, so be very careful when using it. If you take an antacid, it needs to be taken two hours before or after you take your medications. It's better to take an antacid with calcium instead of aluminum if at all possible, and liquid would be better as well. It's best to avoid alcohol and smoking. In general, it's better to avoid smoking and alcohol, but it's especially important while you are on medication. I'm giving you potassium, magnesium, Clonapin for nausea, and Cyclosporin which is an immunosupressive. Take the Clonapin before you eat as it's needed. You have to take the Cyclosporin for the next six months. We've had you on it here since the transplant. I'm going to give you six refills. They should take you until the next appointment. Do you have any questions?" Dr. Lambert gave the information while the boys listened to him.
Sam had been listening intently to the doctor and so didn't miss it when he asked if they had any questions. "No, no, I understand."
"Well, if any questions should come up, I'm giving you my office number. I've given Dean instructions concerning your activities, and he can belay those to you."
'In the form of bossing me around. Gee, thanks, doc.' "Okay." Sam said.
"There will be a woman from accounting coming to see you, and then a nurse will help you to your car." The doctor smirked. "I believe you know Emily."
Dean started to chuckle. "Yes, I know Emily." The doctor gave Dean the prescriptions and left the room. Dean stood there, shaking his head. "Yeah, I know Emily."
"You're shameless, you know that?" Sam asked him.
"What? I liked her. That's it." Dean defended himself.
"Mm-hmm. I'm sure."
The woman from accounting walked into the room, and Sam was ready to tell her to send the bill to the post office box that they still had in Lawrence. He knew it would take a long time to pay this off, even with the insurance that he had. She had a smile on her face. "Okay, if you'll just sign this, I'll put it in your record that your bill has been paid in whole." She said, handing him the paper to sign. Sam and Dean both looked at her for a moment. It was nice, but why weren't they being charged anything?
Dean was the first to get his wits about him. "How's that?" He asked.
"It says here that the bill was paid in full by a John Winchester." She said, looking back over the paper and then handing it back to Sam. "I don't handle the money. I just talk to the patients."
"Thanks. Would you happen to know when it was paid?" Dean was frantic, wondering how their dad knew how much it would cost them, or when he was there.
"Dean. It says April 12." Sam told him, finally seeing where she was getting the information on the paper. He couldn't get over it. That meant that he had come back and they were sleeping or that he didn't bother to come see them. He didn't get why he would do this. Signing the paper, he gave it back to the woman.
"Thank you." She said before turning and leaving the room.
The two Winchester boys sat quietly, neither wanting to break from their thoughts. This wasn't right. Emily came into the room with a wheelchair for Sam to ride down in and stood while Dean gathered his and Sam's stuff, including the quilt. "Here, I can carry something for you." She told Dean.
"No, I got it. I'll just hook it to the wheelchair." There was a small suitcase for his stuff, Sam's backpack, the laptop, and the quilt. Not too bad.
Dean wheeled Sam out of the hospital, thinking about how pale his brother was. The time spent in the hospital had not been kind on Sam's complexion. This was the first direct sunlight that Sammy had gotten in over three and a half months. He had spent New Years in the hospital, and they had been so worried because he was so sick, that they missed it. He had also been too sick on Valentine's Day, which was a blessing because Jess wasn't in his mind. It couldn't have been a more beautiful day either. The sun was shining and the warm air touched them with a gentleness that only spring could produce. The trees were beginning to grow buds again, and the grass had that freshly mowed smell. Nature was coming to life.
Sam noticed that things were starting to be reborn. It was the middle of April, and it had that whole feeling to it. It seemed kind of odd that it had been winter, everything had died, when he was sick, but now that he was getting better, things were coming back to life. It seemed as though his life was being mimicked by the weather. He looked up at Dean, wondering if he saw the same thing. Dean was looking out and enjoying the weather, too.
Dean finally got to the car. It was a little bit away from the building, but closer than the parking garage. He had been told that he couldn't park his car in the emergency lane, and he wasn't going to let some nurse do this. "Come on, lazy." He jokingly told his brother, and then helped him to stand up so that he could get in the car. Sam was still weak, although he had gained a lot of muscle back in the last month. After getting Sam situated and putting the stuff in the backseat, Dean walked over to his side of the Impala and got in. They sat in silence for most of the ride to the hotel they would be staying in.
"Dean?" Sam's voice broke the comfortable silence that had settled over both of them in the car.
"What Sam?" Dean asked, still looking intently at the road in front of him. Even though he knew what was coming, he fought to keep them from having a chick flick moment.
"Why do you think Dad did that? Why did he bail on us and then come back to pay for my hospital bill?" Sam was in his usual brooding mood, and Dean fought to keep the smile off his face. It was nice to see that things were back to normal, even if he was still upset with their dad. He knew that he needed to smooth things over, but inside he fumed. How dare the man think he could just leave them for over a month, and then pay for things and everything would be back to normal between them.
"I don't know, Sam. He was always better at physically fixing things than dealing with the emotional stuff. That could also be one of the reasons we get along better than you and him." Dean sighed. He didn't want to analyze anybody, much less their father. He knew this would lead to one of those touchy-feely conversations that Sammy loved so much. He also knew that no matter how much he protested in his head, he would go along with Sam without too much of a fight.
"Yeah, but... why would he come back?" Sam looked at him and Dean could tell that Sam wanted a better answer.
Dean sighed and cracked his neck, rolling his head on his shoulders out of frustration. "That was something he could take care of. He knew we honestly don't have any money, and he did from somewhere." He reminded himself that he would need to find a poker game before they left Milwaukee because they only had enough for one night in a hotel. They were completely broke despite John paying for the hospital bill. Dean knew he still had the game, but he hadn't played it in several months, since Sammy had gotten sick. He had been too scar- worried to leave his baby brother's side, thinking that while he was gone, Sam could have gotten worse. He would have had the guilt in his head that his brother could have been all right if he hadn't left to go play poker.
"Okay, but Dean, where did he get the money to pay for it even?" Sam asked. He would have thought that their dad wouldn't have left them in a lurch like that, but he did leave. If he could leave his sons while one of them was sick, then he could pay for the hospital bill with a fraudulent credit card.
"I don't know, Sam. He probably had it left over from the house insurance or from mom's life insurance, or he could have had it hidden away somewhere." He wanted to get out of this chick flick moment, so he made a joke that might make Sam drop it. "Hell, that could have been your college fund."
Sam didn't laugh. He merely crossed his arms and rolled his eyes. "Funny, Dean."
"Seriously, Sammy. He wouldn't do that to you. He may not have stayed with you the whole time, but there is no way he would have done that to you." Dean was somewhere between angry and ready to laugh. Sam was over-thinking everything.
"Okay, but what if..." Sam started again, but dean cut him off, loud laughter resonating through the car.
"Ohmigod, Sammy. Let it go. Everything is going to be fine. I promise." Dean said, sure now which emotion he was going to let shine through. His brother was so tense, had been expecting the worse to happen for so long, and it was just hard to change now. It really wasn't his fault for being so wound up; they just needed some time away from the hospital and everything would be fine.
"Fine. Jerk." Sam said, looking over at him.
"Fine. Bitch." Dean told him, and spotted the hotel that they had been staying at before all this happened. The woman there was nice when they had first came there, when he checked out, and had even asked how Sam was after he had told her about things that were going on when he would go there when his dad told him he needed a break. He figured it was a good place, and he could maybe score with her. That would be nice. After all, Sam was fine. He was able to move around without too much trouble now, and he would be able to yell if it came down to it.
Dean went in to pay the woman, telling her that he would come back later to talk, and came back to park the car. He parked the car as close to their room as he could, remembering to be careful because it had been a long time since Sam had walked any far distance and he still wasn't up to par. He got out of the car, and started unloading the stuff that they would need. He wasn't watching Sam closely, and so he was shocked enough to drop his bags when he glanced over at him. Sam had grabbed his bag out of the backseat and was struggling to carry the thing into their room. "Sam!" He yelled.
"What?" Sam asked annoyed, as he turned around.
"Let me carry your things. Just go in there and lay down." Dean told him, handing him the key to the room.
"I can take care of myself, Dean."
"I know you can. Just, let me do this now, okay?" Dean said, humoring him.
"Fine. I'm carrying my laptop, though." Sam announced, and grabbed the smaller of the two bags he had been carrying.
"Fine. I'm carrying my laptop." Dean mocked his brother's retreating form.
Sam went into the room, and started to set up computer. They hadn't looked at it in a few days, instead choosing to veg out to television and the game system that Dean had talked Nurse Emily into getting for them. Sam shook his head and chuckled to himself. It had been on the pediatric wing of the floor, but Sam still wondered if the woman knew just how much she had been manipulated by his brother. He reached into one of the pockets to retrieve a part for the computer, and stopped as his hand touched what felt like paper. He pulled the paper out, and looked at it for a moment. It was a yellow sheet of legal paper that had several bills wrapped in it. He momentarily discarded the paper so that he could count the money. "Dean!" He yelled as he counted out a thousand dollars. Not waiting for his brother to come back in the room, he picked the note back up.
Sammy and Dean,
I'm sorry that I left. I know it was the wrong thing to do. It's very intimidating to be near the two of you. My intention to raise you to protect each other has obviously worked. I am so proud that the two of you can share that.
Before Dean called me, I was very close to finding the thing that killed your mother. It's a demon. I knew that I could do more by finding the thing than I could by staying there. Dean had everything under control, and I have faith in you boys to pull yourselves through anything.
I know that you boys are probably broke. Sam, I looked into your insurance situation and found out about the student insurance. I also found out how much the bill would be. I have some money set aside in a bank account in Kansas, and I needed to do something.
I was here tonight as you guys slept. Dean, I'm rather disappointed that you would allow movement in the room and not wake up. Anyway, I wanted to give you guys money so that you can take care of yourself for a while. Dean, that woman that you've been flirting with at the Knickerbocker on the Lake Hotel told me that a week was $250 dollars. You can either let your brother rest there or find something to hunt. Either way, I wanted you to have that option.
This isn't good-bye. I know that you told me not to talk to you again, but I'm always here for you. You have my cell phone number.
Dad
Sam sat down on the nearest bed, coming centimeters from missing it and falling flat on his ass on the floor. Dean was right in front of him, and had apparently been trying to get his attention for a couple of minutes. "Who's the note from Sammy?" Dean asked, grabbing it from him.
"Dad. He also left us a thousand dollars." Sam was dumbfounded. He had been wrong.
The boys stared at each other for a moment before Dean started to read the letter. It was clear, unlike the Yoda crap he usually wrote. After he was done reading, Dean looked at Sam. "What do you want to do?"
"I want to stay here for the night and then find something to hunt."
"Sounds like a plan." Dean said. He knew that things were going to work out. Sure, Sam wasn't completely healthy yet, but he was getting there. He was in remission and as soon as they got him back in the swing of things, he would be okay.
Hoped you liked the story. Thanks for sticking with me through it. This is the first multi-chapter story that I have seen through to the end.
Kaewi: You're awesome, and yeah, at the bottom of this is a summery of the next story.
Big thanks to my regular reviewers: NateandJake, KatieMalfoy19, Supercellchaser, PlutoBaby494, Brody113, MistroandDaquiri, Long-Live Christopher, GuestTypePerson, doyoufeellikeyourfallingdown, aniki19, Mystery927, Ktlane, Connor, Animalia-Fear
Also, thanks: Cassi, JPfan, whimseyrhodes, tp96, supernaturalfan0718, Phoebe, dancing-through-starz, Aciel, Sensue, Adara, Dawn N, andSpuffyshipper
Thank you to the people who only reviewed once, too. It meant a lot that you spent a moment of your time reviewing my story.
The summery for the next story: Sam and Dean travel to Savannah, Georgia to investigate a haunting in a dorm building, but will they fall prey to it themselves?
Okay, this is the next big story that I am going to do. I'm going to write from the challenges on PL Wynter's forum.