Disclaimer: See chapter one. In fact, see chapter one for all further disclaimers.
A/N: Welcome to chapter 2. I have a four day shift at work coming up, so there may be more chapters this week. But only if I get a bunch of reviews. So, please? Please? *makes Sam's puppy-dog eyes* Please?
"The boys in the movies never make these things look this good," Dean said, adjusting the collar of his new EMS jumpsuit in the mirror of the locker room. He grinned as he watched Sam having considerably more trouble with his.
"I don't know, "Sam replied. "Wasn't Jason wearing that in the last Friday the 13th sequel? He might give you a run for your money."
Dean suppressed a burst of laughter into a small snort as Sam tried in vain to pull his uniform into a comfortable position, and failed as the top zipper came loose. Sam made a face that started out as a glare at Dean but quickly turned into a wince of pain as he zipped the jumpsuit again. "Laugh it up, Dean. At least yours isn't trying to castrate you!"
In a moment of compassion (the too-short jumpsuit did look painful on his overly tall younger brother), Dean went to help him extricate himself. "Come on, take this off. We'll go see if they have one in Sasquatch size."
Ten minutes later, Dean was still in the jumpsuit and Sam was in BDU pants and an EMS t-shirt, and they were ready for action. Stephanie had shrugged apologetically when she told Sam she'd order one in his size and for a terrifying moment he thought he was going to have to function in the medieval torture device. It must have been clear on his face what he was thinking, because she smirked at him in an expression that mirrored Dean's 'this would be so much fun to mess with him on, but it's just too cruel" look and went to the back and returned with a more suitable outfit of army-style pants and a t-shirt with a star of life on the front and EMS on the back in bold blue letters. Yellow wasn't exactly Sam's color, but at this point as long as it didn't put anything important in danger of losing blood flow, he was glad to have it.
"Okay, boys," She said to her two newest employees. "You guys wanted the overnight shifts, so you will each be driving one of our paramedics. Dean, you will be Scott's partner, and…" She paused, shooting Sam yet another sympathetic look, "…Sam, I swear I don't hate you or anything, but I guess you'll have to work with Danni."
"Why do you say it like that?" He asked warily. This was a tiny little town in the middle of the woods… was Danny a 400 pound redneck who never showered? He turned to meet Dean's eyes with a little fear showing. Dean grinned a little, trying to reassure his brother than there would be no "I'm gonna make you squeal like a pig" stuff, not on his watch.
Stephanie shrugged. "I guess she's not so bad. Just a little weird. She's not exactly social, would rather keep her nose in a book than actually talk to one of us mere mortals, and she gets upset when anyone tries to include her in anything. She thinks she's better than the rest of us." She didn't notice Sam's sigh of relief and Dean's shoulders relax at her pronoun usage. "And I guess she's a little messed up because the last person we lost was her partner. They weren't close or anything, but it seems to have screwed with her brain some. She keeps insisting that there were no batteries in the defibrillator, and that this place is haunted or something. Scott says she was in shock. But then, Scott's the only one here who can stand her, so he might be a bit more generous than necessary. I say she's just off her rocker."
Sam looked at her. "She just watched a man die in front of her. Doesn't that entitle her to a little shock?"
Stephanie looked at him for a moment. "Thinking like that, you're not gonna last long in this job. And if you're lucky, it won't cost someone else their life. Like your partner."
Dean nudged him with his shoulder, and Sam turned to meet his eyes. As Stephanie headed out the door, motioning for them to follow, Dean leaned over and whispered, "I know, Dude… She reminds me of Dad, too."
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Sam wondered down the hallway to the last bunkroom on the right. Dean had been summarily deposited with Scott, a slender man with spiky dark hair who was almost as tall as Sam, and a few years older than Dean. Sam fought the urge to ask him if his jumpsuit had put his masculinity in danger to begin with as well, then decided to leave that to Dean. He knew he would. Scott was giving Dean the tour, and Sam had been told to go find Danni for the same. And having less concern about knowing his way around the station than solving the case and getting out of here before he needed to know anything about it, he figured on asking more questions about the supposed haunting than the medical equipment… except maybe a defibrillator. That would be kinda important to know.
A petite, slender girl with short red hair sat on a twin bed with her knees up to her chest. A small hardback book was balanced on her knees, and her attention was focused solely on it. For a moment, Sam was unsure of how to get her attention. Then he saw the title of the book. Perlandra, by C.S. Lewis. Ok, this might be easier than he had thought. Clearing his throat, he said, "Excellent book. Have you gotten to the part where he figures out why he's there?"
The girl looked up at him, startled, then quickly recovered. "Yeah. Nice take on the Garden of Eden. You read this?"
"Yeah," he replied. "I read the whole trilogy in tenth grade. That one was my favorite though. The amount of trust it took for him to just go, not knowing where or what or how he would get back… quite a leap of faith. I'm Sam, by the way."
She looked at him for a moment, processing his answer. "Danni," she said finally. "I assume you're my new partner. I was wondering who would draw the short straw, so I guess it shouldn't surprise me that they had to hire someone new just to work with me. So, did the Queen Bee apologize for sticking you with me, or just give you that sadistic grin and throw you to the wolves?"
Sam smiled a little. "You mean Stephanie? Both, actually."
"So? You think you can make it through the day without threatening to quit if you don't get a new partner?" She was actually grinning for the first time since Sam walked in. He grinned back in response.
"I'm pretty tough," he said. "I think I can take it. In fact, I've known you for three minutes, and I already like you better than Stephanie."
"Then you're either a masochist, or way too intelligent to last long here."
Sam shook his head. "Why does no one think I'll make it here?"
She motioned for him to come sit down, and he was about to comply when there was a high-pitched noise coming from the radio on her desk, followed by a staticky voice that Sam couldn't quite understand. It sounded a little like EVP, but he wasn't sure. It could just be bad reception, and he made a note to ask Dean later if he heard it.
Danni jumped up. "Well, I guess we're about to find out. Car wreck. Sounds like a bad one. Come on, that's us." Grabbing her cap, she passed him and hurried down the hall.