Burned - Destiel

XV

        "Alright?" John repeated persistently. Dean wiped the tear away and nodded absently. John sighed and watched his son for a second before paying attention to the road again.

        It took them ten agonizing slow minutes to reach the hospital. Never had Dean wanted to leave the car as much as he did at that moment. He didn't care waiting for his father and made his way from the parking lot to the front doors, which was a hundred  feet away from each other.

        "Dean. Wait up."

        Dean ignored him once again and kept walking.

        "Dean Winchester. I swear to God, if you don't stop now, I'm gonna drag you back to the car myself and retain you from seeing Castiel."

        The boy felt chills run down his body, as he finally turned around. The older man caught up with him and placed a hand on his shoulder slowly.

        "Come here," John said, leading the both of them to a bench close by. He sat down next to his son, who looked at him curiously through his sadness. The older man opened his mouth once to speak, only to close it again. After a minute, he tried again.

        "At the time of the fire, they had found your mom shortly after you went upstairs to get her. They had rushed her into an ambulance, which meant that she was actually alive. I don't know if you remember, because you were injured yourself, but I decided to drive with you because at that moment, no matter how much I loved her, I needed to take care of you, " John started, smiling at the ground.

        "-When we arrived at the hospital, you were prepped for surgery and all I could do was hold your brother and wait for news on your mom and you. And eventually, that came. Not only did they tell me that your skin and vocal chords were still severely injured, they also reported that your mom had gained consciousness in the ambulance and that she had called for me."

        "-She was getting worse, and the doctors let me see her, to say goodbye. There was hardly no skin left on her arms, legs and face. Everything was bandaged. Her eyes were closed and her heart rate was beating incredibly slow. I remember speaking to her, telling her that it was OK. That the two of you were OK. That I loved her and that I would miss her, but that I wouldn't wish her all this pain. And then her heartbeat just- stopped."

       Tears streamed down Dean's face as he listened to his father's story. The man himself was crying as well. Dean tapped the man's leg to gain attention, before signing: 'Why did you never tell us?' John gave him a weak smile.

        "At first, I wanted you to remember her as beautiful and kind as she had been. The way she looked, it was absolutely horrible. I just couldn't do that to the two of you. After that, I didn't want to cause you anymore pain, so I kept it to myself," John explained, wiping some tears away roughly.

        "The moment I heard about the accident, I called mister Edlund and briefly explained the situation. He gave me the room number, so we can go up straight away. I'm sure that he's going to be fine, but I understand that you're worried more than anyone else."

        Dean pulled his father close to him, hugging him like he had never done before. He could feel his father's surprise, due to the stiffness of his posture. However, after a second or two, he hugged him back. His father smelled like leather and coffee, which was nothing new, but it created a safety that he desperately needed. He breathed in the scent one more time before pulling away.

        'I'm sorry that you had to go through that alone,' he signed. His father grabbed his hand and squeezed it reassuringly.

        "Not anymore," he replied softly. Dean hated how sad John was, even though he tried so hard to hide it. He had no time to address this, because the man stood up. "Let's go see your boy," he suggested. Dean forced a smile and followed him towards the hospital. They could walk straight through because they already knew what room to be in. Dean felt his heartbeat in his throat and his wrists covered in sweat. He breathed in slowly when his father stopped walking and pointed to room E271.