Not While I'm Around

I'm Already There

**A/N: I never thought this story would turn out the way it has. I never thought it would end up blossoming into 20+ pages (in MS Word at least) and still going strong. Here's the next chapter of Not While I'm Around. Enjoy!**

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            It was just after 6 in the evening when Sam took the exit into downtown Seattle. Dean slumbered in the seat beside him, his head resting against the window. His usually harsh features were gentled and smoothed in sleep, making Dean look younger than he was. It was a Dean that Sam never thought he’d see again; the years of hunting wearing down on him. Sam hoped that he would see this side of his brother more often, now that he had lifted the heavy weight from his shoulders.

            Sam turned into the parking garage at Harborview Medical Center, finding a space far enough away from the other cars so that the Impala wouldn’t get scratched. He shut off the engine and scrubbed his face with a free hand. He’d driven straight through the day to make it to Seattle as quickly as possible, and he was definitely feeling it now. Sam shook Dean’s shoulder gently, rousing him from his sleep.

            “Sam? Where are we? What time is it?” Dean asked sleepily. He rubbed the sleep from his eyes as he stretched his arms out.

            “We’re at the hospital in Seattle. It’s just after 6 p.m.,” Sam replied as he opened the car door. Dean slowly got out of the car, feeling his muscles slowly relax.

            “6 p.m.? Did you drive all day Sammy?”

            “Yeah I did. But I’m fine Dean, don’t worry about it.” Sam shrugged as they made their way to the elevator that would take them to the ground floor of the hospital.

            “You didn’t have to do that Sam. I would’ve been fine stopping for a break once we got over the pass.”

            “I didn’t want to stop,” Sam confessed as the elevator began its ascent. “I was afraid to stop. It sounds stupid, but I didn’t want to chance Cass waking up and us not being there. I didn’t want him to think we abandoned him.” Sam leaned against the wall, staring at the elevator doors.

            They rode the elevator in silence, Dean too scared to say anything. He was scared of what would greet them when they got to Cass’s room. He was scared that the doctors would tell them that Cass would never wake up. Dean knew that Sam was scared too. The ding of the elevator doors opening pulled Dean and Sam from their thoughts. They approached the front desk.

            “Hello gentleman. How can I help you?” The woman asked as she hung up the phone.

            “Our brother was transferred here from a hospital in Eastern Washington. We were told that Dr. Collins would brief us on his condition,” Sam explained.

            “Can I get your names please?”

            “Sam and Dean Winchester; our brother’s name is Jimmy.”

            The woman typed quickly on her computer, her eyes scanning the record that popped up. “Okay, it looks like Jimmy was admitted here at about 4 p.m. and was taken up to the Intensive Care Unit for observation. I’ll page Dr. Collins and let her know that you’ve arrived. If you’ll have a seat in the waiting room, she’ll be right down.”

            Sam led Dean over to a pair of empty chairs in the corner of the crowded waiting room. Every pair of eyes followed them as they sat down. Dean resisted the urge to shoot a death glare at a particularly nosy old woman who stared at them from behind her thick-rimmed glasses.