Work Text:
SPN: Breathe In, Breathe Out
Title: Breathe In, Breathe Out
Category: General, Hurt/Comfort
Characters: Dean, Sam, John
Rating: K
Word count: 4253
Dean and Sam were heading to Seattle to investigate several strange accidents that had been happening at a historic home there. Sam had actually stumbled onto it when he was searching online for clues that may lead them to their dad. He had started to skip right by it, but he had always enjoyed studying historic houses and he couldn't help but continue reading the whole story about it. When they were kids Dean used to tease him about his obsession with old houses, but he couldn't help it he liked trying to find out about the people that had spent their time and money to create these old homes. John started telling Dean to stop teasing Sam about it when Sam stumbled across an important clue to a hunt John was on because Sam was looking into the history of the home, after that John started letting Sam do most of the research for hunts. Sam figured that part of the reason he enjoyed studying historic homes so much was the fact that he liked to think about having a place to come back to even if earlier generations had moved away from it.
After doing more research about the home online, Sam had found out that the previous owner of the house was Margaret Taylor an elderly woman who was the last surviving member of her family. It turned out that she had refused many previous offers from people wanting to buy the house while she was alive. Her grandparents had built the home, and she had moved into the house with her husband when they got married. They had planned to pass the home on to one of their children, however, in 1940 her husband and their two children had been killed in a car accident after that she never remarried. Upon her death, one family had bought it, however, after a few strange occurrences that were never explained the family moved out, and the house sat empty until a developer bought it with the idea of fixing it up and turning around and selling it for a lot more in the newly rejuvenated part of the city.
Upon finding about the background of the house, Sam convinced Dean that it would be an easy salt and burn, and then they could continue searching for their dad, if only Sam had known how wrong he was.
Dean had sounded like he was coming down with a cold for a few days before they began heading for Seattle, but as they drove Sam noticed that Dean was starting to sound even more congested. However, when Sam asked Dean if they should stop and get Dean some cold medicine one of the times they stopped for gas Dean had given Sam a strange look, Sam had just shrugged it off and didn't bring it up again.
When they reached Seattle, they checked into a motel room and went over their plan again. They decided to head to the house in the morning and ask some questions, then go by the library and see if they could find out where Mrs. Taylor was buried, with any luck they could do the salt and burn the next night and be on their way to another job the following morning.
During the night, Sam woke up a couple of times to the sound of Dean coughing and heading into the bathroom in what Sam was sure was an attempt to keep from waking Sam up. Sam almost said something about Dean's coughing one of the times he was woke up by it but decided they would both get more sleep if he didn't start what was sure to be a fight with Dean, so he just turned over and put one of the pillows over his head.
The next morning Dean looked awful, he had dark circles under his eyes and looked even more tired than he had when they had gone to bed the night before. When they stopped at a diner for breakfast before heading to the house, Sam noticed that Dean was rubbing his chest from time to time as well as continuing to cough, but when Sam mentioned it, Dean said it was just a cold and for Sam not to worry about it, while still giving Sam that same strange look. Then Dean got up, headed to the restroom, and told Sam to pay the check so they could leave.
Sam had come up with the cover story of them being journalists for a local newspaper who were writing a story on historic homes in the area that were being renovated to their former glory. While they were walking through the house and asking the contractor questions, Dean started coughing worse than he had yet, and it was Sam's turn to raise an eyebrow. Sam could barely hear what the contractor was saying over all of Dean's coughing, and the contractor had been giving Dean worried looks before he finally suggested that it might be better for them to come back when Dean was feeling better.
"Well thanks to you being too stubborn to take some cold medicine now we're going to have to hope we can get all the information we need from the library." Sam said as he climbed into the driver's side of the impala without giving Dean a chance to protest.
Dean didn't say anything but he continued to cough as Sam was driving. Sam figured that since they would have to pass by the motel to get to the library he would try and get Dean to wait for him there.
"Since you hate libraries anyway, why don't I drop you off at the motel while I go to the library? This way you can make sure we have everything ready for the salt and burn, and I'll bring us back something for supper." Sam suggested knowing that if he outright told Dean to rest Dean would immediately balk and insist on going to the library with Sam, even if he was miserable the entire time.
"Okay, but you better bring back something good and don't forget to get some pie." Dean said without his usual enthusiasm.
Sam actually was able to find the information he needed at the library and after asking the librarian if there was anyplace nearby that had cheap but good food available for takeout, he headed to Wing Dome. While it wasn't a cheeseburger like Dean usually liked as soon as he walked in the door of the place and saw the 7 Deadly Wing challenge he knew Dean would like this place. In fact, this place screamed Dean between the hole in the wall look and feel of the place to the simple menu of mostly wings and beer Sam knew the only problem Dean would have with it was that he had missed out on seeing the place. Of course, the Gargoyle Statuary shop that was next door was a little disconcerting, so maybe it was a good thing Dean wasn't here because he didn't think they needed to stumble onto what could easily turn into another hunt this close to the other one.
After getting his order of 4-Alarm wings, since there was no way he was going to eat anything hotter, an order of Hot Cross fries for himself, and a slice Reese's Peanut Butter pie for Dean, Sam headed back toward the motel. He knew the wings would be better with beer, but since they still had to do the salt and burn tonight, he decided that they would just have to make do with having soda with them.
When he got back to the motel Dean was lying on his bed watching TV and it sounded like his cold was getting worse. Dean was propped up with all the pillows from both beds and was breathing out of his mouth. Sam figured that the hot wings were a good idea since the spices should help Dean breathe better, but Dean didn't even eat half of them and Sam could tell that Dean only finished the pie to make Sam happy. At this point Sam just wanted to finish the hunt and then maybe he could talk Dean into taking something for his cold so both of them could get some much-needed rest.
They headed to Lake View cemetery shortly after sunset and after getting over the surprise at seeing all the large statues and tombstones throughout the cemetery, they were able to find the grave of Margaret Taylor without much trouble. They started out taking turns digging, but Sam could see that Dean's breathing was getting worse the longer he was digging and Dean was starting to look like a fish out of water, so Sam just kept digging when it was time for them to switch off again. When the shovel hit the top of the casket, he asked Dean to pass him the salt, but Dean didn't respond. Sam climbed out of the grave to get the supplies and check on Dean. Sam found Dean leaning against one of the headstones with one of his hands clutching at his chest and now that Sam was paying attention, he could hear a wheezing sound every time Dean took a breath. Sam knew he had to finish the job before he could help Dean, so he hurried through finishing the salt and burn and then rushed over to Dean. As Sam went to put Dean's arm over his shoulder to help him to the car, he could see that Dean's fingernails had a bluish tint to them, and it was then that he remembered that Dean had asthma. However, Sam didn't have time now to beat himself up for forgetting about Dean's asthma; instead, he had to focus on helping Dean now.
"Dean, do you have your inhaler with you?" Sam asked, but he didn't get a reply fast enough to suit him, so he started digging through the pockets to Dean's jacket, with the hand that wasn't busy keeping Dean standing. When they were younger and their dad had insisted that Dean keep an inhaler with him, Dean started keeping it there.
Sam located it and after nearly dropping it in his rush to get it shaken and primed one handed, he brought the inhaler up to Dean's mouth.
"On the count of three Dean take as big a breath as you can okay?"
Dean only slightly nodded, but it was better than nothing, so Sam started counting. When he reached three, Sam dispersed the medication as Dean took a breath in. It didn't seem to make much difference, but Sam repeated the process in hopes that it would at least help to keep Dean breathing for the ride to the hospital because as much as his family hated hospitals he knew this was one of the situations that warranted a trip to the hospital. The inhaler did seem to be helping a little because Dean didn't seem to be struggling quite as much, but Sam knew that the relief would be short lived without further medical treatment.
Sam had no choice but to leave Dean leaning against the headstone once again since he had forgotten their gear. Sam rushed over and started shoving their gear into the duffle bag before grabbing the shovel. He didn't care that he was leaving the grave uncovered. All that mattered was that he got Dean the hospital before his breathing got even worse.
Sam held the duffel bag and shovel in one hand so he could once more support Dean with his other arm. The walk back to the car seemed much longer than the walk to the grave. Sam was just glad that he had paid attention to where they had parked because Dean was too focused on trying to breathe to be of any help with finding the car.
Sam got Dean settled in the passenger side of the Impala and tossed the duffel bag and shovel in the trunk before he climbed into the car. He glanced over at Dean when they were stopped at a traffic light on the way to the hospital, and he could that Dean's breathing was getting worse. Sam had seen the hospital when he had gone to the library earlier and knew that it wasn't much further, but it wasn't enough to calm his nerves.
When they made it to Harborview Medical Center, Sam didn't waste time with finding a parking spot and instead pulled straight up to the emergency room doors before jumping out of the impala and running over to the passenger side to help Dean out of the car. Sam guided Dean into the emergency room and headed toward the check-in desk, now that they were inside under the bright lights, Sam saw just how bad Dean looked. Of course, so did the nurse at the desk and after checking Dean's oxygen levels they got him into a wheelchair and started heading to a room. Sam tried to go with Dean, but one of the other nurses at the desk informed him that he had to move his car and fill out some paperwork before he could go back and stay with Dean. Sam wanted to argue with the nurse, but he knew it didn't matter how sick Dean was he would find the strength to beat Sam up if he let the Impala be towed just because Sam wanted to be with Dean instead of moving it, so Sam decided he had better just hurry up and move the car.
By the time Sam got the Impala moved, the required paperwork filled out, and had made it to Dean's room, Dean was already hooked up to a pulse ox monitor, a heart monitor, an IV, and was in the middle of a nebulizer treatment. Sam couldn't help but look over at the monitor to see how Dean was doing and from the looks of things; the treatments weren't helping as much as they should be. Sam had learned from an early age what all the numbers meant because of Dean being to the hospital so many times because of his asthma. Dean had told him one too many times when they were younger that he was fine only to wind up in the hospital. Therefore, Sam learned that he couldn't rely on Dean to give him an honest answer because when it came to his own health Dean's idea of fine was on the whole other side of the chart from everybody else's idea of fine.
Dean was pretty much out of it when Sam had come in, so after he had checked the monitors and decided that he didn't need to get a doctor in to see Dean right that minute Sam sat down in the chair beside Dean's bed to wait for the doctor. Sam wished he knew more about what medication Dean was currently taking and whether they had been controlling his asthma, but Sam didn't have any idea, so all he could do was hope that Dean had been able to give the nurse that information. Within a few minutes of Sam being in the room, a doctor walked in and after introducing himself to Sam and Dean, he started examining Dean and looking through his chart.
"After looking at Dean's chart and examining him, I would like to admit Dean until at least tomorrow afternoon. With the fact that his O2 levels are still low even after receiving some breathing treatment and his current medications doesn't seem to be enough to control the asthma attacks, it leads me to believe that we need to look into starting Dean on other long-term medications to control his asthma. For now I'm going to order another nebulizer treatment and see if that will bring up his O2 levels enough until the other medications have a chance to help him." The doctor said to Sam.
The fact that Dean didn't complain about being admitted or that the doctor was talking to Sam instead of him was enough to prove to Sam just how bad Dean was feeling. However, Sam was hoping that Dean wouldn't have to stay longer than one night because he wasn't sure how long it would take the hospital to realize that the insurance card that they were using was a fake.
The nurse came back into the room a few minutes after the doctor had left. She administered another nebulizer treatment and said that once it was done they would move Dean to his room upstairs. Dean was completely asleep before they came in to move him to his room.
Thankfully, the room that Dean was transferred to was empty, so they wouldn't have to deal with another patient bothering them. Once Sam was sure that Dean was settled, he headed to the vending machines to get himself something out of the vending machines. When he got back to Dean's room and made sure that Dean was still okay Sam settled into the chair beside Dean's bed and prepared for the long night ahead.
As Sam was sitting there, his mind drifted back to the first time that he could remember Dean being hospitalized because of his asthma.
John had left nine-year-old Dean in charge of five-year-old Sam while he went on what Sam had thought at the time was a business trip. John told them that he should be back the next morning because he didn't want to leave them long since it seemed like both boys were coming down with a cold. Dean fixed them soup for supper after John had left and then helped Sam get ready for bed.
They were sharing a bed and Sam got woke up in the middle of the night by Dean coughing and making a funny whistling sound. Sam knew Dean had a special kind of medicine to take when he started to whistle without even trying, so Sam got up and went to Dean's bag to get it for him since Dean was too busy coughing to get up to find it. Dean took it from Sam and used it a couple of times before telling Sam he was fine and that Sam should go back to bed while Dean got up to get some water. Sam fell back to sleep, but woke up a few hours later and noticed that Dean wasn't in bed with him, so he got up and walked into the living room/kitchen. Dean was sitting in a chair and the TV was on. Sam didn't think that was fair since they were both supposed to be in bed, but when he went to complain to Dean, he could hear that Dean was still making that whistling sound and was rubbing his chest now too.
Sam tried to get Dean to take more of his medicine, but Dean told him that it hadn't been long enough since the last time he used it so he couldn't use it again. Sam decided that he would stay up with Dean than and wait for their dad to come home and take care of Dean.
Sam must have fallen asleep since he was woken up by his dad shaking him. John tossed a coat at Sam and told him to put his coat on because they were taking Dean to the doctor. Now that Sam was awake, he could see that John was carrying Dean even though Dean was too big to be held.
John had Sam climb into the backseat of the Impala, but John let Dean ride up front with him, which was something his dad never let Dean do even though Dean said he was too old to still be having to ride in the back like a little kid. Sam didn't think Dean was really enjoying it though because when he looked up into the rearview mirror he could see that their dad had his arm around Dean and his hand was rubbing up and down on Dean's chest, while John was telling Dean when to breathe in and out. But it didn't look like Dean was doing it right because he was still making that whistling noise and breathing like a fish out of water. When Sam looked at his dad's face in the mirror, his dad had a look on his face that Sam couldn't remember ever seeing before. Sam wasn't sure what it meant, but he didn't think it meant anything good, so he decided he better stay quiet instead of asking all the questions he wanted to about what was wrong with Dean.
Minutes later, they were pulling up to a big building that Sam hadn't seen before, and John jumped out running into it with Dean in his arms. Sam wasn't sure what he was supposed to do because his dad never left him anywhere without at least Dean being with him, yet here he was sitting all by himself in the car, with the car still running. Just when Sam decided he was going to go look for his dad, John came out and drove the car over to a parking spot. Sam climbed out of the backseat as soon as John had opened the door for him and was ready to go running alongside his dad, but John picked him up as soon as he was out of the car.
Sam thought his dad was going to take him to Dean, but instead they stopped in a large room with a bunch of people sitting in chairs and there was a TV on in the corner of the room, but nobody seemed to be really watching it. His dad sat down in one of the chairs while still holding him. Sam was getting tired while waiting for Dean and started falling asleep while laying his head on his dad's shoulder. He woke up slightly when his dad stood up some time later, and could tell his dad was talking to somebody about Dean, but he was really tired and couldn't wake up enough to figure out what they were saying about Dean.
The next time Sam woke up his dad was still holding him, but when he opened his eyes, he could see that they were in a different room. As he looked around, he could see Dean lying on a bed with something over his mouth and nose.
"What's wrong with Dean?" Sam asked looking up at his dad.
"The medicine that Dean was taking didn't help him enough so now he's getting some other medicine to help him feel better. The doctor said Dean would have to stay until tomorrow, but when we leave we're going to have to find a new place to stay because Dean can't go back to where we were staying." John told Sam as he brushed Sam's bangs out of his eyes.
Sam hadn't really understood at the time, just how much things were going to change. After that, they didn't stay in motels anymore, but instead John would find a cheap apartment or rental house for them in whatever town they were staying. John also didn't go on any business trips for a while after that, but instead got a job at a garage and would pick them up after school every day.
Sam found out when he was older that the doctor had warned his dad that Dean's health would continue to deteriorate if he continued to be exposed to smoke, mold, and other irritants that were found in the kind of places they were living in at the time. They didn't start staying in motels again until they began having more nonsmoking rooms readily available.
By the time Sam left for Stanford, Dean going to the ER because of his asthma when he got sick with a cold had become a regular occurrence. Most of the time it was Sam who was making sure that Dean kept his medicine refilled, and Sam always made sure he knew what medication Dean was taking so he could tell the doctors at the hospitals in whatever town they were currently staying in when Dean got sick.
As angry as Sam had been that Dean wasn't taking care of himself now, Sam couldn't help but blame himself since he should have remembered Dean's asthma. Dean hated looking weak so of course he wasn't going to remind Sam of it, in fact Dean probably thought Sam did remember it and just didn't care. Sam was going to have to do better now since he couldn't afford to lose himself in his grief over Jessica's death at the cost of Dean's health.
He was going to insist that they take some time off when Dean was released from the hospital, and he was going to contact both Bobby and Pastor Jim to find out how Dean's health had been when Sam was at Stanford because he knew he wouldn't get a straight answer from Dean. It scared him that it seemed as if Dean had stopped making sure that his asthma was under control since their dad had left, but if Dean wasn't going to make sure he stayed healthy then Sam would.
With his decision made, Sam leaned back in the chair so he could get a little sleep while there were other people around to take care of Dean because once they left the hospital it was all on him.