Down the Rabbit Hole

Going Home

Soundtrack:

Don Gallardo Days long gone

The Fray Be Still

Snow Patrol Chasing Cars

"Bobby? Bobby? Hey, hey, hey, hold on." Sam climbed into the back of the van as Lacey stared on in shock, frozen to the spot.
"Sam, is he dead?" Dean asked as they screeched around a corner.
"I'm checking."
"Is he dead?!" Dean snapped.
"Just drive, Dean." Sam replied as he felt for a pulse.
"You gotta talk to me Sam." Dean sounded desperate.
"All right, he's breathing. There's a pulse." Sam confirmed.
"Lace, call the operator. Sam, keep him upright. Stop the bleeding."
"I'm not an idiot, Dean! I know first aid for a friggin' bullet to the head!" Sam snapped as he took care of Bobby. Lacey pulled her phone from her pocket and with shaking hands tried to dial the number.
"Here." Dean took the phone from her and dialled the number. "I need the nearest trauma centre." He told the operator.
"Hold on, hold on." Sam told Bobby as he sat him up against the back of the seats.
"What's the address?" Dean nodded before hanging up. "All right Bobby, hang in there." Dean told him before hitting the accelerator.

They had finally reached the hospital. Lacey got out of the van as Sam and Dean carried Bobby inside. She followed them inside, although the world was a blur, she felt numb all over, as if she was walking through a body of water and nothing of what was going on around her could reach her. Bobby was placed onto a hospital bed and wheeled into the intensive care unit, surrounded by doctors barking orders. The three of them followed behind.
"What's happening? Please just tell us..." Sam started but one of the doctors interrupted.
"Get them out of here."
"Sorry, you need to stay out of their way." A nurse tried to usher them out of the room.
"That's our uncle." Dean protested.
"You've got to stay back."
"What are they doing?" Sam asked as they cut open Bobby's shirt.
"We need to get him stable."
"Okay, when are you going to take the bullet out?"
"If we can get the swelling down, if it's in a place we can get to, if..."
"If he even lives this long." Sam guessed. The Nurse pulled the curtain across the room, blocking their view. Lacey felt her legs start to give way and she stumbled over to one of the chairs in the waiting area. She felt sick to her stomach, the world was rushing past and she couldn't stop it. She put her head in her hands and leant forward, trying to stop the room from spinning.

It seemed like forever but finally one of the doctors came out of the unit and walked over to them. Lacey looked up as he approached.
"He's stable for the moment. Just have to see."
"So, there's nothing else we can do?" Sam asked, worriedly.
"I'm sorry. We just have to wait. We'll see if the swelling goes down."
"How long?" Dean asked.
"It's hard to say in cases like this."
"Well, he's lasted this long, that's something, right?" Dean asked, knowing he was clutching at straws.
"Well, yes. Listen, the bullet didn't shatter. Only one hemisphere of his brain was injured. These are all positive things. But I don't want to give you false hope here. He's far from out of the woods. Most of the time cases like this..."
"They die." Sam said softly. Lacey felt a tear trickle down her cheek, she wiped it away with her sleeve.
"Right now it comes down to him. I'll keep you updated." The doctor gave them a half smile and a nod before heading back into the intensive care unit.
"Excuse me." The three of them turned to see a guy in a suit with a clipboard. "Sorry to interrupt. Is one of you Robert Singers next of kin?"

Sam stayed in the waiting room in case anything happened with Bobby, Dean and Lacey followed the guy in the suit out into the corridor.
"We know this is a stressful time."
"Yeah, okay. No offence but you can skip the garnish. What, did his insurance lapse?" Dean asked, abruptly.
"We're sorry to ask... but did your uncle ever make his wishes known in regards to organ donation? Organs are only viable for a very limited window..."
"Viable?" Lacey stiffened at Deans tone, knowing this wasn't going to go well.
"We're just hoping some good can come of this tragic..."
"Listen to me. I'm gonna say this once. He's not gonna die. It's one bullet. He's gonna be fine because he's always fine."
"I apologize." The man began to back away but Dean wasn't finished.
"Why are you talking to me like he's gonna die, huh? I do my job, do your jobs! Save him!"
"Of course, they're doing everything they can." The man replied hurriedly. Lacey let out a muffled cry as Dean punched the glass covered notice board on the wall behind the guys head.
"Walk away from me! Now!" Dean growled. Lacey's heart was pounding and she clutched the door frame as the guy rushed past her. She stared at Dean open mouthed for a moment before turning and heading for the door.
"Lace!" Dean called after her. Lacey rushed towards the exit and pushed open the emergency exit. She stumbled out the other side and moved forward until she was leaning on the barrier overlooking the car park. Seconds later Dean crashed through the door after her.
"Lace are you..." He stopped, staring at the large black car parked below them. "Dick! I know you're in there! Come on out." Dean headed down the steps and began pounding on the tinted windows. "You dick!" One of the back windows began to roll down, a smug looking Dick Roman sat in the back seat. "What, did you come here to finish the job?" Lacey glanced around and saw that a small crowd was gathering, mobile phones pointed at the car. Lacey hurried down the steps.
"Dean." She muttered, grabbing his arm and nodding in the direction of the bystanders, but Dean didn't seem to care.
"Yeah? Well come on! Right here, right now, out in the open, you and me, Dick Roman! See deciding to jump a famous guy ain't all upside. You can kill me right now, you want to see in online." Dean taunted.
"Maybe you should go check on that friend of yours. He can't be feeling to frisky right about now. I'm a very good shot." Dick grinned at them.
"We're coming for you, and not just to hurt you, to kill you. You understand me?"
"Come on, Dean. I can't be killed."
"You're gonna wish you could then."
"That's some conviction. You'd really crush it on the motivational circuit." Dick chuckled.
"You're either laughing because you're scared or you're laughing because you're stupid. I'll see you soon, Dick." Dean turned and stalked back into the hospital. Lacey glared at Dick.
"Somehow, some time soon, you and me. You'll see." She told him before following Dean inside.

When Lacey walked back into the hospital waiting room Dean was getting a coffee from the machine and Sam was leaning against the wall beside him.
"What did that guy want?" She heard him ask as she approached.
"Nothing. Just some insurance mook. Dick Roman was out there."
"What? What happened?" Sam's eyes widened.
"Nothing, for now. It was just a friggin' staring context. That was about it. What's the update?"
"The swelling's down a little. They took him off sedation. Apparently he started fighting his tube. So the pulled them out and he's breathing on his own." Lacey's expression brightened.
"That's good, right? Is that good?" Dean asked.
"Yeah. Well doctor said best case scenario."
"All right, so when they gonna take the bullet out?"
"Dean.... They're not even gonna try that, not yet." Dean and Lacey exchanged glances.
"What does that mean?"
"The word's abrading, I think."
"English." Dean requested.
"Cutting out the dead brain tissue." Sam explained. "That's if the doctor even thinks it's worth the risk." Sam glanced around at the other people in the waiting room. "Guys, we need to talk."
"What? Talk about what?"
"You know what." Sam told him pointedly. Lacey looked down at her hands, unable to make eye contact with either of them.
"No, we're not gonna have that conversation." Dean shook his head.
"Well, we need to."
"He's not gonna die." Dean barked.
"He might." Sam told him, gently.
"Sam..."
"Dean, listen, we need to brace ourselves."
"Why?"
"Because it's real."
"What do you want to do? You want to hug and say we made it through when dad died? We've been through enough." Dean turned and walked away. Lacey sat down in one of the chairs and watched him go. Sam sat down beside her, putting a hand on her shoulder.

Lacey looked up from studying the floor to see two nurses heading towards Bobby's room.
"Wait, wait, wait, what's happening?" Sam asked, following them towards the ICU.
"He's showing signs of responsiveness. We're taking him up for surgery. If you want to see him I'd squeeze in there quick." The three of them rushed into the room. Lacey approached Bobby's bed and took him by the hand. The nurses continued to bustle around them.
"Sorry, we need to get moving." One of them apologised.
"Right, yeah. Hey Bobby, um... just thanks, thanks for everything." Sam told him.
"All right. Please step back." One of the nurses made to wheel the bed out of the room but Bobby's eyes began to flutter and opened.
"Wait, wait, wait, stop, his eyes are opening." Sam put a hand out to stop them.
"Bobby?" Dean asked leaning towards him.
"Hey." Sam put his hand on Bobby's shoulder and Lacey gave him a small smile. Bobby made to remove the oxygen mask covering his face.
"What don't talk, don't talk, a pen..." Dean grabbed a pen from the chart at the end of the bed. "Here, here, here, here." He handed it to Bobby. "What is it?" Bobby began to write on Sam's hand. When he'd finished he smiled as the three of them.
"Idgits." His head fell back and the monitor behind him began to beep loudly as he flat lined.
"Bobby? Hey!"
"Call a code, trauma room." One of the nurses barked. The three of them were shoved out of the room as the doctors converged and tried to revive Bobby, but to no avail. As one of the doctors called time of death Lacey dropped to her knees as her legs gave way, and she began to sob. Sam knelt down beside her and pulled her into a hug, tears welling up in his eyes. Dean stared through the doors as the doctors began to disperse. As a tear ran down his cheek he turned away and walked down the hall until he disappeared around the corner, leaving the two of them sat on the floor in the middle of the waiting room.