Coming Back to You ✔

27. May - Last Year

Sophia started out of her half-doze at the sound of the door to Dean's room opening, and her body practically floated with relief when she saw who walked through.

"Sandy." It didn't take for Sophia to stand and for Sandy to stride across the room and gather Sophia in her arms. Sophia gripped Dean's mom tightly, some of the tension lifting from her thanks to Sandy's embrace.

"I hear he's going to be okay." Sandy smoothed down some of Sophia's frazzled hair. Her gaze was steady, grounding Sophia and keeping her calm.

Sophia nodded. "Yeah. He should be waking up soon." She sank back down in the chair next to Dean's bed and grasped his hand.

Sandy pulled up a chair next to her. "Are you going to be okay?" she asked quietly.

The question caught Sophia off guard. She hadn't even been thinking about how she might be feeling in the near future. Everything had been about the present, moments spent when everything seemed so uncertain. "Yeah," she eventually found the answer, "yeah, I'll be okay. I just, I just want him to wake up."

Sandy squeezed her hand and then trained her gaze on her son. "I know," she said. "And he will."

"How are you so calm?"

Sandy gave a chuckle that couldn't quite be described as humorous. "Well, this isn't my first rodeo," she said. "Let's just say him crashing his car during his driving test was not the first or last motor incident he was in." She let out a sigh. "And I've had a lot longer to adjust to the realities of his job than you have. And then there's you."

"Me?"

"The last time Dean was in a hospital bed, I came into his room and it was empty. I had been home, so it took less time to get here, but I still worried the entire time about him not having anyone there for him. But this time, even though I was out of state, the moment I got the call I knew he would have someone. It put me more at ease with the whole situation even though I was still worried about his injuries."

Sandy gave her hand another squeeze. "Everything is going to be okay." She stood up. "And given my nerves on my flight back, I'm starving, so I'm going to go find something to eat. But I'll be back soon, okay? And call if you need anything."

Sophia looked up at her and nodded. "Thank you, Sandy."

Sandy gave her a smile and then her son a final look before leaving the room.

Even though Dean's mom had left the room, the calm she had brought with her remained. The waiting game Sophia currently had to play was still infuriating, but now she could relax back into her chair, her eyes skating back and forth between Dean and his vitals without her heart rate jumping every five seconds. Sandy was here, and if Sandy thought that things would be okay, then they would be okay.

Not five minutes later, Dean's eyelids began to flutter and his eyes blinked open. He shifted around, and Sophia shot up from her chair to sit on the edge of his hospital bed, taking his hand and hoping to ease some of the confusion he was probably feeling at that moment.

His eyes focused on her. "You're here," he whispered, his voice scratchy and hoarse.

"I'm here," Sophia whispered back. She reached forward to smooth out some of his hair, and Dean's eyes closed at her touch. "Of course, I'm here."

Dean's hand closed around hers, not gripping very tightly but enough to send another wave of calm through Sophia.

"How are you feeling?" she asked him.