Fighter | Supernatural [1]

Chapter Ten

        About two days after Christmas, Sam and Dean had to leave again, though they promised Callum they'd be back in a few weeks. Now it was mid-January and Aarin was driving the young boy to a hospital a few states over.

Dean was hurt during a hunt and Sam had called Bobby, who had been on a hunt and left Callum in the care of Aarin.

"Remember to be gentle and not to tell him I let you sit in the front seat, all right?" Aarin told the boy as they pulled up in front of the hospital.

All the young boy did was nod. He didn't feel like talking, knowing his dad was going to die.

They headed inside, Callum holding Aarin's hand as they entered Dean's hospital room, Sam sat in a nearby chair. Callum saw how ill his father looked lying in his hospital bed and it hurt. Just seeing his hero looking so weak.

Aarin let go of Callum's hand and stepped outside, letting the small family be together.

"Hey, buddy." Dean said, giving the boy a small smile as he walked over, to the side of the bed, taking his father's hand. "You gotta be good for your Uncle Sammy, all right? I'll haunt you if you don't."

Tears filled the boy's blue eyes. All he wanted to do was hug his dad, but he couldn't get onto the bed.

"You can't go, yet..." The boy told him. "You haven't taught me how to drive or how to hunt." His voice cracked halfway through.

"I wish I could be there." Dean replied, trying to stop his own tears.

"I can't lose you, Daddy." Callum squeaked.

"Can you lift him up?" Dean asked Sam, who lifted the boy onto the edge of the bed.

Placing a hand onto the back of his son's head, Dean pulled the boy into a hug as the boy began to sob, knowing this could possibly be his last hug from his father.

"I'm sorry for not being around much, lately." Dean told the boy. He felt horrible. He'd shipped Callum off to Bobby's like his own father had.

"I forgive you." The boy said softly. "I'm sorry for lying."

"Lying?" Dean questioned.

"When I said Aarin and Sam are both my best friends." Callum said. "You're my best friend, as well."

"It's all right." Dean assured the boy. He held the boy close as he looked at Sam. "Looks like you're gonna leave town without me."

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked. "I'm not gonna leave you here."

"Hey, you better take care of that car." Dean told him. "And you better teach Callum how to drive in it when he's older or, I swear, I'll haunt your ass."

"I don't think that's funny." Sam said.

"Oh, come on, it's a little funny." Dean said with a smile. Sam looked away, trying to fight back his tears. "Look, Sammy, what can I say, man, it's a dangerous gig. I drew the short straw. That's it, end of story."

"Don't talk like that, alright?" Sam told him. "We still have options."

"What options?" Dean asked. "Yeah, burial or cremation. And I know it's not easy. But I'm gonna die. And you can't stop it."

"Watch me." Sam said, lifting Callum away from Dean.

        Sam sat on his bed in his motel room, a sleeping Callum snuggled into his side wearing an extremely large shirt. The young boy had cried himself to sleep wearing one of Dean's shirts, saying it made him feel safe. He was also gripping tightly onto Cosmo.

Sam sat there listening to his father's voicemail.

"Hey, Dad. It's Sam." He said as the phone beeped. "Uh...you probably won't even get this, but, uh...it's Dean. He's sick, and uh...the doctors say there's nothing they can do. Um...but, uh, they don't know the things we know, right? So, don't worry, cause I'm uh...gonna do whatever it takes to get him better. Alright...just wanted you to know."

He threw the phone down, looking at the sleeping five year old. If he couldn't save Dean, what would happen the Callum? Sam already knew that he'd care for the boy of that happened. He loved Callum as much as he loved Dean.

The young man noticed as Callum's eyes tightened and his breathing grew faster.

"Hey, Callum?" Sam said, giving the boy a gentle shake. "It's just a nightmare." The boy's eyes snapped open and he quickly looked around, sadness filling his eyes when he noted Dean's absence.

Tears filled the young boy's eyes as he remembered what'd happened.

"Hey, don't cry." Sam said in a calming tone.

"I can't lose him." Callum said as he crashed into his uncle's side, holding him tightly. Sam couldn't bring himself to look at the boy's blue eyes, knowing if he did, he'd breakdown. Callum didn't need that right now. "He said he'd be here for my birthday. He promised. He can't break that promise."

It was then Sam had a realisation. This boy had been through way too much for a boy his age. His mother had died in labour, his uncle had been away most of his life, his grandpa was missing and his father was dying. That wasn't even taking all the monsters the boy had seen into consideration. In only five years, this boy had experienced more loss than most. And he didn't know the half of it. Callum, of course, had kept a huge secret. The secret that he wasn't human.

"Did you ever meet my Mommy?" The boy asked after calming down slightly.

"Yeah, I did." Sam nodded.

"What did she look like?" Callum questioned. Sam's eyes widened. He forgot this boy hadn't even seen a picture of his mother.

"She had long brown hair and beautiful blue eyes like you." Sam explained. "You look more like your dad, but you act a lot like your mom."

"I wish I got to meet her." Callum said.

"I wish you did, too." Sam said, giving the boy a small smile to comfort him.

There was a knock on the door and Sam tried to stand up, but Callum was clinging onto him. The man ended up carrying his nephew towards the door, the boy keeping his face against Sam's shoulder. As the door opened, someone Sam never would've expected stood there. Dean.

"What the hell are you doing here?" Sam asked, sounding happy, surprised and confused.

"I checked myself out." Dean said, using the walls to get into the room. Callum moved his face away from his uncle's shoulder.

"Daddy!" The boy said with a smile.

"Hey, kiddo." Dean smiled as he sat himself onto a chair.

"Are you crazy?" Sam asked, closing the door and placing Callum down.

"Well, I'm not gonna die in a hospital where the nurses aren't even hot." Dean joked.

"You know, this whole I-laugh-in-the-face-of-death thing? It's crap. I can see right through it." Sam told him.

"Yeah, whatever, dude." Dean said. "Have either of you even slept? You both look worse than me."

"Callum's been crying for the past three days." Sam said as the young boy climbed onto his bed. "Nightmares and everything. It's... it's bad. And I've been scouring the Internet. Calling every contact in Dad's journal."

"For what?" Dean questioned.

"For a way to help you." Sam explained. "One of Dad's friends, Joshua, he called me back. Told me about a guy in Nebraska. A specialist."

"You're not gonna let me die in peace, are you?" Dean asked.

"I'm not gonna let you die, period. We're going." Sam said. "I'm not letting my nephew grow up an orphan."