Chapter Text
“How long has he been like this, Mr. Winchester?” The doctor asked, scrawling down notes as he spoke. Sam said,
“For a while, I guess. Up until recently, it was easy to handle.”
“And how do you think this may have gotten started?” Sam sighed. Did they have to go through this again? He’d already explained to the other doctors and officials. Couldn’t they just take him and end this quickly?
“He, uh, he witnessed our mother’s death when he was younger. And he had a pretty rough childhood.” Sam stated.
“And may I ask how she went?” The doctor asked, still not looking up at Sam. The young man gulped,
“She died in a house fire. Dean had to watch her...you know.” The doctor looked up for a moment,
“Well, that could do it.”
“What?”
“Nothing,” The doctor murmured. He changed the subject by asking, “Is this hospitalization doctor recommended or court ordered?” Sam quickly answered,
“Doctor recommended.” It was hard enough that he was putting his brother in involuntarily. If Dean had to go with a trial, Sam wouldn't be able to take it. Sam had to put Dean in himself or his brother wasn't going.
“Now I must inform you that your doctor’s certificate says we can hold your relative for 48 hours. Then we will have a specialist come in and do a regular checkup to determine whether we see fit that he stay.” He said with a bored look on his face, as if he was reciting from a textbook. He handed Sam a pen and a large packet, "Please sign these and we will be able to take your brother in today.”
Sam took the paperwork. With a shaky hand, he began to sign his brother over to the strangers.
As Sam went through it, the Doctor spoke,
“You will not be able to see your brother for quite a while. We will tell you his progress but until we see needed, visits will be limited.” Sam nodded and finished his signing, handing the papers back.
“I understand,”
“I understand this can be quite hard, Mr. Winchester, but know you are doing the best thing you can in your...predicament.”
“Thank you,” Sam said but his, uh, kind words hardly helped.
“Please, call me Crowley.” The man grinned, “Now let’s see the bubbling boy, shall we?”
The two men walked out of the office and into the waiting room where the new patient was waiting. Like most new arrivals , he was still in his regular clothing, looking rather downcast. The doctor, Crowley, sat across from the man. Sam stood beside his older brother although he was still unsure about this head-worker.
Sam had been through this before. He could count on two hands the number of specialists he had taken Dean to see over the years. Each time they had only prescribed more drugs for him to put down his brother’s throat. It was now that Sam had decided to send him in, even though others had recommended it for a while. But Sam always argued that he could take care of his brother himself. It was only his upcoming situation that gave Sam much less time to care for his brother.
Crowley spoke to the patient,
“Hello, Dean. I would like to welcome you to Fireplace Psychiatric Center.” He look up to Sam, “You can have a few minutes with him before we will take him from here.” Crowley took the papers Sam had previously signed. He left the table and went back to his office.
Sam looked down at his older brother before taking Crowley’s spot. Dean was sitting in an eerie quiet. Sam could tell he was mad at him, but it was for his own good. Sam was making the right choice this time. He had to be.
The younger of the two brothers leaned over the table and looked at Dean. He said,
“I know this isn’t the best, Dean. But this will make you better. I know it will. I just need you to work with me this time. And you’ll be able to come home. I’ll miss you-”
“You’re not my brother,” Dean said suddenly, in a harsh whisper. Sam looked at him sadly, but seemed as if he heard this all before,
“You know that I am.”
“You are a disgusting demon, I just want Sam back. Not only have you taken him away from me, but you bring me to Hell too? Get the fuck away and leave me alone.” Sam rubbed his face, and took a breath. He could only pray his brother would get better, and he prayed it would be soon,
“I’ll see you later, Dean.”
He wanted to hug his brother, but he knew it wouldn’t mean anything to him. Luckily, the Doctor returned shortly after. Sam shook his hand, exchanged farewells and some rehearsed phrases of encouragement. Then, after years of caring for his brother, Sam dropped him in the hands of a stranger. Crowley turned to the new initiate after Sam left,
“I am the head of this hospital so I will be checking on you regularly. If you stay over the 48 hours, I will assign you an main doctor and a co-doctor. They will take care of you most of the time. For now, nurses will care for you. I trust you will follow our rules and regulations.” Dean spoke with venom in his voice,
“So I’m guessing that makes you the King of Hell?”
Dean expected a shocked, offended expression or at least a firm ‘That doesn’t exist,'. He has always received when he told others what he was thinking. No, he wasn’t just speaking his mind, he was telling the truth. He was warning them, trying to protect them or tell them he knew the truth. But they just pretended not to understand. They were liars.
But Crowley didn’t hesitate. He simply laced his fingers together and smirked,
“I suppose I am.”