O Brother Where Art Thou
By Tsia
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"Ah, I thought that was his name," grasping the doorknob she turned to Sam, waving him over. She seemed unaffected by Sam's display. Struggling to his feet and with the aid of the walker he limped over to the door she entered. He saw a room similar to the one he woke up in. Thera was on the far side of the bed that occupied the space, bent over someone. "He was thrown from the car and was hurt worse," she stated as she straightened, she spoke as if she was talking about the weather. Sam could have throttled her right then and there had it not been for the relief he felt at finding out that his brother was still alive.
The walker sounded too loud in the quiet room as Sam approached the bed. 'He's alive,' joy sprung from him. That joy was short lived when he looked at Dean. His head was bandaged, his right arm was strapped to his chest, he was covered with cuts and bruises. He looked as if he'd played chicken with a train and lost.
"His legs were broken, three ribs, and his right arm. The bruising was extensive and he lost a lot of blood," Thera said without prompting, as if she was listing things she had to get at the grocery. "He is healing nicely, as are you." She smiled that amused smile.
Though there was no malice behind her words, Sam sensed something, again he could not place it. 'Good? Bad? Who the hell cares!?' Sam wanted to scream at her, 'What is with you?' he wanted to gut her, he could not get his emotions under control. Sam swayed and gripped the walker harder struggling to stay upright. Before he realized she had moved, Thera was pushing a chair under him. Gratefully he sat forgetting his wrath.
She moved the walker to Sam's side, placing one hand on his arm the other on his shoulder, "You sit with him for a while, it will do you both some good." Thera watched the struggle for just a moment making sure, then left the room.
Feeling suddenly tired, Sam blinked his eyes rapidly and tried to focus on Dean, "Yeah, tha' will be nicth," his words slurred. Reaching for Dean's left hand Sam held it in his own. "I sorry Dean, I didna mean to start a fight but you can be so damned pigheaded." A tear slipped down his face as he fought a losing battle to stay awake.
The next thing Sam registered was the sound of music, AC/DC to be exact, "Back in Black" was softly floating in the background. He was shocked when he realized where he was, back in the room he previously woke up in. He sat up in bed, again shocked to find he was naked. 'What the hell?' Swinging his legs over the side he did not see the walker anywhere, but instead a cane was leaning against the night stand. Grabbing it, he got dressed as quickly as he could in a grey t-shirt and the red long sleeved shirt and, he now knew, a pair of his brother's jeans.
As he exited his room he was hit with the pleasant aroma of bacon and biscuits. Thera was sitting at the bar again drinking coffee. He saw that she had already poured him a cup when he approached the bar. "What is a five letter word for aggravator?"
'Bitch, how it that for a five letter word?' Sam thought, he was in no mood for crosswords or games. "Back in Black" concluded and "Highway to Hell" started. Still at the whim of his emotions, he demanded, "What the hell is going on here?"
Blinking at him Thera answered, "Breakfast," she picked up a biscuit, split it, and placed two strips of bacon in between the halves. She was so matter of fact about it there seemed to be no doubt that is all it was. "It is morning," she cocked her head to the side as she ate her sandwich. A simple answer to a simple question. Sam did not like to be made fun of, though there seemed to be no teasing in her voice or actions. She just did not volunteer anything, she was almost like a computer, giving exact answers to exact questions, no elaborations. It was driving Sam insane.
"You know what I mean," his voice was almost threatening and a bit exasperated, "What did you do to me? I was in with Dean and then I wake up in there," he pointed to the room behind him, "naked. What are you doing to me? Us? Why are we here? Damn it, what do you want?" he demanded as he sat on a barstool, he could not hold himself up anymore.
Again she blinked, taking a sip of her coffee then answered, "You were tired, I put you to bed. You can't sleep in your day clothes, that is just gross." She finished her drink and poured another cup. Her voice was droning in Sam's ears. "It is morning, I made breakfast. I am helping." Thera's statements hid nothing and Sam did not get a bad 'vibe' from the woman. She simply answered the questions in an obvious way, but her words were not cold nor hard, just concise, infuriating to Sam. 'Everything seems right but so wrong, why?'
Thera got up, walked to Dean's room and opened the door. Stunned, Sam just stared after her, fuming, as she opened the curtains and adjusted the window. He knew should have gone in there to see how Dean is doing, but he was too mad to think clearly. He jumped when the tape ended with a loud click. Sam turned to see a portable stereo with a tape player sitting on the bar. 'Tapes, Dean's got a kindred spirit,' Sam absentmindedly picked up the cup in front of him and drank the coffee, distracted from his thoughts.
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