Dean was immediately lifted onto a gurney, despite his protests.

"You're gonna be fine. It's okay." Sam said, trying to reassure himself as much as his brother as he ran alongside the nurses wheeling Dean through the hallway.

"Don't...do anything...stupid." Dean wheezed.

"We need to do a chest X ray." A technician stepped in front of Sam, blocking him from entering the room.

Between gasping breaths, Dean managed to call out for his brother. "Sammy! Don't leave me!"

The fear in his voice seemed to cut through Sam's heart. He tried to reach out, tell him it would be okay...but Dean was whisked away by the nurses.

As he stood alone in the hallway, he heard what sounded suspiciously like a fist colliding with a face, followed by panicked shout for a nurse to grab a sedative.

He cringed. Dean always had a tendency to lash out when he was afraid.

An hour later, Sam sat at Dean's bedside, trying to convince him not to rip out the IV.

"Look, I'm sorry, okay? I thought you were dying."

"Well, I'm obviously not. Can we go?"

"I don't think that would be wise." A grey haired doctor came into the room. "You have Pneumonia in both lungs. It's quite a severe case, you really should have come in sooner."

Dean tried to formulate a response, but his brain was still foggy from the sedative.

"Thanks, doc." Sam spoke for him.

"Of course. That IV is pumping your body full of antibiotics and fluids, I wouldn't remove it if I were you." He raised an eyebrow as Dean started fidgeting with it again.

"Dammit." He muttered, starting to cough.

"I would suggest you stay with us and continue the antibiotics Intravenously for a week, then we can send you home with the remaining course of antibiotics."

"A whole week?" Dean rasped, looking miserable.

"It's in your best interest." The doctor said apologetically. "Sam, may I speak to you outside for a moment?"

"Sure." Sam started to rise, but Dean grabbed his wrist.

"No. Anything you've gotta say, you can say it to me too. I'm assuming it's about me, so come out and say it." He scowled.

"Alright," The doctor seemed unfazed. "While we were taking the chest X ray, among other things, we couldn't help but notice the plethora of scars and cuts littering your body. When we took the X ray, it was obvious you've had broken ribs that never healed properly. I need to know if you're in any kind of gang-related trouble."

Dean laughed, which sent him into another coughing fit. He doubled over in pain. "Ohh, laughing is bad. Bad idea." He gasped.

"He's not in a gang." Sam answered, rubbing Dean's back and encouraging him to breathe. "He's just good at getting into bar fights." Well, it wasn't a total lie.

"I'm alright, Sammy." Dean mumbled.

The doctor didn't look convinced, but he didn't question them further. "Okay. Well, I'll be around. Press the call button if you need anything, particularly if your chest pain returns. I'll send the nurse in with the paperwork."

"Thanks."

Sam sighed, rubbing his temples. "I can't believe he thought you were in a gang."

"Well, it probably doesn't help that I punched some random guy's lights out when they tried to X ray me." Dean smirked.

"That's not funny."

"Come on, it's a little funny."

Sam rolled his eyes.

"Are you really gonna make me stay here for a week?"

"You bet your ass I am!"

"Ughhhh." Dean groaned. "I hate hospitals."

"I know, but this is good. You're getting better. Just don't punch any more nurses."

Dean gave a small smile. "No promises."

Thank you so much to everyone who's read and reviewed this story! I've run out of ideas, so I think I'll end it here unless anyone has thoughts on how to continue. Please leave your feedback! Thank you all :)