by Ally Blue
“Bo came through the surgery just fine,” Jack told them. “He’s lost a lot of blood, of course, and we’re replacing that, but he should make an excellent recovery.”
While Sam sagged in relief, Dean leaned forward with a serious expression. “Jack, this is going to sound like a strange question, but you didn’t find any signs of infection, did you?”
The surgeon’s pale eyebrows lifted. “No, we didn’t. But then again we wouldn’t expect to find anything like that so soon.”
“No, of course not.” Dean flashed his most winning smile. “Thanks, Doc. We were really worried about Bo.”
The man’s gray eyes flicked between Dean and Sam with a calculating look. “You’re good friends of Bo’s, right?”
“Right,” Sam answered, doing his best to ignore the heat in his cheeks. “We have some other friends looking for contact information for his parents, just in case. Do we need to call them or anything?”
Jack let out a soft laugh. “No. But I need to ask you gentlemen something about your friend. It’s… Well, pretty personal. But it’s important.”
Sam glanced at Dean, who gave a tiny shrug as if to say he didn’t know what the doctor was talking about either. “We’ll tell you anything we can to help Bo.”
“Okay, good.” Glancing around, Jack leaned forward, elbows on his knees. “The ambulance report said Bo had no substances in his system, as far as you’re aware. But I have reason to suspect otherwise, and I need you both to tell me the truth. I won’t get him in trouble, but I need to know what he’s on, otherwise I can’t treat him.”
Alarm jolted along Sam’s nerves. “You found drugs in his system? What kind?”
“Well, that’s the thing.” Frowning, Jack rubbed the back of his neck. “We did a toxicology screen—drug screen, that is—when he came in. It’s standard procedure for any trauma patient. It showed up negative for all the standard substances except benzodiazepines, but we expected that one to be positive since he had lorazepam after his seizure. However, some of the medications we gave him before and during surgery had either paradoxical or exaggerated effects. Of course, there are other reasons why that might happen with one drug. But we saw several medications all having unexpected effects, and that tells me Bo must have some sort of drug on board that we aren’t aware of. Whatever it was may have caused his seizure as well.” He turned his sharp gaze from Sam to Dean and back again. “If you two know of anything he might have taken in the last couple of days—anything at all—you need to tell me.”
Stunned, Sam shook his head. “Dean thought he might be still taking the pain pills he had after his surgery back in November. We wondered if he might be hooked on them, because he’d been acting really strange lately. But I talked to him last night. He swore to me he hasn’t been taking anything.” Sam glanced at Dean, who seemed to be deep in thought, then turned back to the doctor. “I believed him. I still believe him.”
“Hm.” Jack scratched his chin. “You said he’d been acting strange. How so?”
Sam didn’t want to bare Bo’s recent behavior for inspection by this stranger, but there wasn’t much choice. Bo’s health, maybe even his life, was on the line.
“He’s been very angry,” Sam said, staring at his hands so he wouldn’t have to see the doctor’s expression. “He flies off the handle for no reason. He’s been having nightmares lately, and he never used to. Overall, I guess he just hasn’t been acting like himself.”
He wasn’t about to mention the angry, brutal sex, or the portal. Some things, he figured, it was best to keep quiet about.
“So the tox screen was negative,” Dean spoke up. “What sort of drug do you think might’ve been in his system? What should we be looking for?”
“Honestly? I have no idea. Most drugs would’ve shown up on the screen, even if it’s something we haven’t run across before, because the tests look for the type of substance rather than the particular drug.” Jack stood, joints cracking. “If you think of anything, please let one of the nurses know, and they’ll pass it on to me. In the meantime, we’ll have to be very cautious in what medications we give Bo, until we find out what, if anything, he’s been taking. I’ll talk with him about that later today, once he’s awake.”
“Okay.” Rising to his feet, Dean held out his hand. “Thank you, Jack.”
“Sure.” The surgeon shook Dean’s hand, then Sam’s. “Bo’s in recovery right now. They’ll be taking him to a room shortly. Someone will be out in a few minutes to let you know where he’s going.”
With that, Jack turned and strode off. Dean plopped back into his chair, shaking his head. “Okay, that was weird.”
“Bo was telling the truth.” Sam turned a pleading look to Dean. “I know he wasn’t lying. I can tell. So what the hell could possibly be in his system?”
“I have no fucking clue.” Sighing, Dean leaned back in the chair and rubbed both hands over his face. “None of it makes any damn sense. I mean, even Bo taking the prescription this long seemed pretty far-fetched to me, it was just the only reason I could come up with for him acting so weird. I can’t believe Bo would even know about any drug so new and different it wouldn’t show up on a tox screen, never mind actually be taking it. Hell, I can’t see him taking any drugs at all, ever.”
Sam was inclined to agree. Getting Bo to take his pain pills in the days after his surgery in November had been a never-ending struggle, in spite of all the sleep Bo lost because he was hurting. It was impossible for Sam to wrap his head around the thought of Bo being addicted to any drug.
It was only a few minutes until the nurse they’d talked to before came bustling up to them. “They’re taking Bo to his room now. He’s going to the general surgery floor, room 412. Just go down that hallway to the right of the triage desk”—she pointed in the right direction—“and take the visitor’s elevators to the fourth floor. When you get off the elevators, the nurse’s station will be right in front of you. Turn to the right, Bo’s room is at the end of the hall.”
Pushing to his feet, Sam smiled at her. “Thank you very much.”
“You’re welcome.” She smiled back and patted Sam’s shoulder. “I hope Bo recovers well.”
She hurried away again, and Sam and Dean set off to find Bo’s room. They arrived just as two nurses were helping Bo off the stretcher and into bed. After a few minutes’ wait while the staff got Bo settled, Sam and Dean were ushered into the cramped little room.
Sam heard the nurse telling them Bo would be groggy for a while and that someone would be coming to check his vital signs every half hour, but he barely listened. All his attention was focused on Bo, curled on his side beneath a white sheet and a thin blue blanket. His hair was in knots, his lips were uncharacteristically pale and he still had the green plastic prongs feeding oxygen into his nose, but overall he looked better than he had before. Sam felt some of the tightness ease from his shoulders and neck.
Moving closer, Sam perched on the edge of the recliner beside the bed, reached through the rails and touched Bo’s hand. “Hi, Bo. How are you feeling?”
Bo’s eyelids opened. He looked confused for a second, then his eyes focused on Sam. A faint smile curved his lips. “Like shit. But better now you’re here.” His cold fingers curled around Sam’s, squeezing.
A warm glow pulsed in Sam’s chest. He bent and pressed a kiss to Bo’s hand, not caring if anyone saw.
Bo’s smile faded into a solemn look. “We have to talk. About what happened tonight. I think I know…”
Sam glanced toward the door. The nurse was tapping on the keyboard of the computer in the corner. Dean was leaning against the doorframe, talking on his cell phone. “Later, okay? You’ve been through a lot, I know you’re exhausted, and you need to rest.” He bent closer, lowering his voice to a whisper. “I don’t think a portal’s going to open here. I kept my senses wide open while you were in surgery. I didn’t feel anything. It’s okay for you to sleep now. We’ll figure all this out later.”
A soft
sigh escaped Bo’s lips. “Good.” He blinked, the movement so slow and languid it made Sam sleepy just to watch it. “Stay with me?”
“Of course.” Sam laid his free hand against Bo’s cheek. “I love you.”
Bo’s eyes shone. “Love you too.” He turned his head to kiss Sam’s palm before settling against the pillow once more. His eyes drifted closed.
“Sleeping, huh?” Dean leaned against the wall to Sam’s left and smiled affectionately at Bo. “Good. Been a rough night for him.”
“Yeah.” Sam yawned. “Do you think they’ll let us stay with him?” He looked up. The nurse was gone.
“They’ll let you stay with him. There’s not room for both of us.”
“Oh.” Sam glanced around the small room. “Damn.”
Dean grinned. “Don’t worry about it. Kyle’s coming back to get me.”
“He is?”
“Yeah. That was him on the phone just now.” Dean’s shoulder hitched up, and Sam could’ve sworn he saw a faint rosy flush coloring Dean’s cheeks. “He said he missed me.”
Sam laughed. “That is so cute.”
Crossing his arms, Dean studied a spot on the far wall with great interest. “So, will y’all be okay if I go?”
“Yeah, we’ll be fine. Go on back and get some sleep. And tell Kyle how much we both appreciate all he did for us tonight.” Reaching up, Sam touched Dean’s arm. “Thanks, Dean. For everything. Especially for always being such a good friend.”
The shuttered look vanished from Dean’s face, replaced by a beaming smile. He bent and hugged Sam hard. “Call me later and let me know how Bo’s doing, okay? Oh, and let me know what he has to say about… You know.”
“Sure.” Sam smiled as Dean pulled away. “Talk to you later.”
Dean left the room with a grin and a wave. Letting his hand slip from Bo’s, Sam scooted the chair as close as possible to Bo’s bed and studied Bo’s sleeping face. He looked wan and tired, but peaceful. Sam hoped it would last. He didn’t think he could go back to the kind of turmoil he and Bo had lived in for the past few days.
Kicking off his shoes, Sam curled his legs beneath him and slipped his arm through the bedrail to lace his fingers through Bo’s. He let himself drift into a half-doze.
***
In his dream, Sam felt eyes watching him. Unlike the malicious intelligence which populated his most recent nightmares, the mind whose attention was currently focused on him felt benign. Loving. The gaze was warm and comforting as sunshine on his face. He smiled and hummed, basking in the regard of the person he couldn’t see.
A soft laugh slid beneath the dream and nudged him up into the waking world. He opened his eyes. Bo’s smiling face was inches away, on the other side of the bedrail. “Good morning,” Bo said.
“Hey.” Sam sat up and gave Bo a once-over. The oxygen tubing was gone. He was still too pale, throwing the dark smudges under his eyes into sharp relief, but other than that Sam thought he looked remarkably good for all he’d been through. “How long have you been awake?”
“Not long. A few minutes.” Bo extended a hand through the railing, took Sam’s hand and wound their fingers together. “I didn’t mean to wake you up.”
“You didn’t.” Sam lifted Bo’s hand, rubbing his cheek against the cool, dry fingers. “How do you feel?”
A rueful smile crossed Bo’s face. “Honestly? I feel like I’ve been filleted with a butter knife. But if what I remember is right, I’m lucky to be alive, so I’m not complaining.”
“What do you remember about last night?” It was the last thing Sam wanted to talk about, but they had to discuss it at some point. Now was as good a time as any.
Bo’s eyes clouded. “The last thing I remember with any clarity is being in bed with you. I think I went to sleep for a little while. When I woke up, everything seemed…strange. Fuzzy. I only remember parts of what happened after that, but I know I wasn’t in control of myself.”
“How do you mean?”
Bo was silent for a moment, stroking his thumb across the back of Sam’s hand. “This is going to sound ludicrous, Sam, but I felt as if I were being literally compelled to go to the fort. I couldn’t act for myself. I couldn’t even think for myself. It was like my mind and body had been completely taken over. I…I heard things. Saw things. And the feel of those things was very similar to what I felt in my nightmares. Then the second you closed that portal, the compulsion was just…gone. Just like that. I still didn’t feel normal, but the feeling of something else taking me over was gone.”
Sam stared into Bo’s eyes, his stomach churning. “What exactly are you saying?”
Bo frowned, looking as if he were trying to think of how to explain himself. “After that juvenile bit me back in November, my blood grew out an unidentified organism, remember?”
“Yeah. The same bug showed up in the thing’s teeth.”
“Along with an unknown inorganic chemical.” Bo’s hand tightened around Sam’s. “I think that chemical’s been lying dormant in my body all this time, and something about the fort activated it.”
Something cold squirmed in Sam’s belly. “What makes you think that? And what does it mean?”
The corners of Bo’s mouth lifted, as if he knew Sam had begun to figure it out. “First of all, the way my leg acted around the closed portal at Sunset Lodge tells me something in the wound must’ve been reacting to the residual energy of the portal. The chemical from the juvenile’s teeth is the most logical possibility, especially since the organism was no longer there when they rechecked for it. The chemical is from the same world the portals link to. That means it’s based on the same chemistry and physical properties as that world. So it seems reasonable to think it might react in some way to the energy left over from a sealed portal.”
“Makes sense.”
“Yes. The rest is pure speculation, but…” Bo glanced toward the closed door of his room. “Ever since the first time I went to Fort Medina, I haven’t been myself. I didn’t see it then, but I do now. I understand why Dean believed I might’ve been addicted to drugs, because that’s exactly how I was acting. And he was right, in a way.”
“Do you mean you think that chemical is addictive?”
“Not exactly.” Bo shifted in bed, grimacing with the movement. “Ever since that first night at Fort Medina, I felt this irresistible pull toward the place. I couldn’t stop thinking about it. I felt like I’d do anything to be there, even though I couldn’t have given you a reason for it if you’d asked me. Addiction is a good analogy for how I felt.”
Sam’s mouth fell open as the memory of his recent nightmares hit him like a hammer. In his mind’s eye, he saw the thread of glowing energy leading from the sentient blackness, through the empty cold of another dimension to his own world. At the same time, he remembered the strange sensation of something other looking out of Bo’s eyes, and realized with a sickening jolt what it meant.
“Oh, my God. Those things used that chemical to draw you to the fort and track you. Then once they had you pinpointed, then they opened a portal and…” Sam trailed off, not wanting to consider why the fucking monsters had targeted Bo. “Shit.”
“Yeah.” Bo’s solemn gaze held Sam’s. “I think the chemical may have bonded with the primitive parts of my brain—the same parts that activate to allow you to manipulate portals—and allowed those things to enter my mind in a limited way. Once the chemical was activated and they were able to get into my head, all they had to do was nudge me toward the fort by ‘addicting’ me to it, for lack of a better phrase.”
It made a horrible sort of sense. A hard chill raced up Sam’s spine. “But they’re gone now, right? They’re gone from your head?”
“Yes. At least I assume so. I feel back to normal now.”
Sam licked his lips. His fingers gripped Bo’s tighter. “If that chemical’s still in your body, then this could happen again.”
Bo didn’t say anything, but the fear in his eyes said it all. Dread knotted Sam’s
stomach.
“Dr. Curran was here earlier,” Bo said after a silent moment.
“When? I thought you said you just woke up.”
“I did. I went back to sleep for a while after he left.”
“What did he say?” Sam asked, thinking of the doctor’s conversation with him and Dean the night before.
“He asked me if I was taking any drugs. Said my tox screen was negative, but something was interfering with the meds they gave me during surgery. I told him I took some valerian root to help me sleep.” Bo’s lips curved into a faint smile. “I have no idea if valerian would actually interact with any of the drugs they gave me, but he didn’t seem to know either, so I suppose it doesn’t matter. In any case, he said that definitely wouldn’t have caused a seizure, or the fever I had, which means I’m in for more tests before they’ll let me go.”
“What sort of tests?”
“MRI of my brain. EEG. Blood and body fluid cultures, chest X-ray to rule out pneumonia although his index of suspicion for that is pretty low. Of course, I believe the chemical caused both the seizure and the fever, but I can hardly tell the doctor that.” Bo shifted again. The over-large hospital gown slid off his shoulder, revealing a corner of surgical tape from the bandage covering the better part of his back. “They’re giving me anticonvulsants, Sam. You know what that might mean.”
Sam did, and the realization gave him a surge of hope. “If your brain connected with those fucking things and the portals the same way mine does, the anticonvulsants could keep it from happening again.”
“If your theory is correct, yes.”
“I really hope it is.”
“So do I.” Letting go of Sam’s hand, Bo pushed the button to raise the head of the bed. He stopped, wincing, after it lifted a few inches. “Damn. I think I’m going to ask for that pain medicine now.”
“It’s about time.”
Sam reached inside the bedrail, feeling for the nurse call button. Bo’s hand on his stopped him. He looked at Bo, eyebrows raised.
“Thank you, Sam,” Bo whispered.