Dean woke up the next morning sore, tired, and hung-over. Driving all day, strapping up and untying a car and going to a bar for around six beers just doesn't sit well. As Dean got himself ready for another long day, he thought about the information he had learned and what evidence he still needed. He knew that there were only two survivors of the crashes and that he wouldn't be able to get anything out of Jane until she wanted to cooperate. This left the old man, whom he had yet to track down. He knew that there were trace amounts of sulfur surrounding each accident, which pointed to a demon and quite possibly a demonic possession. Dean also knew that Jane's accident had involved his Impala and, even though he knew it wasn't his anymore, that bothered him immensely.
He sat down by the cheap wooden table that wobbled every time an object was set down on it and opened his laptop. Dean wanted to find out who the old man was and where he lived to get information on his crash. Jane would have to wait until he was sure she would be more comfortable talking to him about the crash and that obviously wasn't today. He checked the police database as well as the local news's website to get the info he needed.
Apparently, George Wilkins lived in a retirement home just outside of downtown. He was around 70 years old and had one living family member left in town, his wife Barbara, who was unable to take care of him. Dean found the address of the retirement home and shut his laptop. He didn't bother dressing up today as his suit was covered in dust and grease from towing the Impala back to Jane's house. Then he grabbed his keys and his cargo jacket and walked out the door to his truck.
Dean arrived at the retirement home about quarter after eleven but before he was able to open the door, his cell phone rang. He didn't recognize the number as he flipped the phone open.
"Dean Winchester."
"Hi Dean, it's Jane. I was thinking about what you said yesterday and I want to talk about my crash." Dean was a bit taken aback. It seemed unusual for that quick of a turn around but hey, it was an opportunity to get more of the story.
"That would be great. I'm kinda busy at the moment so would you want to meet around…12:30?" There was a slight pause on the other end of the line.
"Yeah, sure that would work. There's a burger place called Hamburger King. You wanna meet there?"
"Sounds awesome."
"Yep. Well, I gotta go so, see ya at 12:30. Bye." And Jane hung up the phone. Dean hung up and stared at the phone for a second before putting it away and getting out of the truck. He was still amazed that Jane had called so soon. Dean sauntered up to the building and walked towards the front desk to ask which room Wilkins was in.
"Hello sir, I'm Charlie Granger. I'm George Wilkins's nephew and I haven't seen him in ages. Could you tell me what room he's in?" The man behind the desk didn't even look up as he spoke.
"Room 14, down the hallway to the left. His nurse is outside." Dean stopped and blinked then moved in the direction the man pointed out to him.
He was greeted outside the door by a middle-aged nurse who was just exiting the room.
"Hello, may I help you?" She seemed friendly enough, if stressed.
"Hi, I'm Charlie Granger, George's nephew. Is it possible that I could speak with him? I was devastated when I heard about his accident." Her smile faded rather quickly after his statement. She readjusted her grip on the food tray she had brought out of the room.
"Oh. Oh yes well I suppose that's fine. He's just inside. Let me just put this tray in the kitchen and I'll go with you. My name is Rachel."
"Well it's very nice to meet you Rachel." She gave him a tight smile, which he returned and then she turned away towards what Dean could only expect to be the direction of the kitchen.
After waiting ten minutes, Dean was getting impatient. He was about to walk after Rachel when she appeared at the end of the hallway.
"Sorry about that. I was caught up with something in management. This way." And before Dean could respond she had opened the door and motioned for him to follow her in.
George Wilkins looked unusually well for his age and predicament. There was no hemorrhaging on the visible body, and he was sitting up attentively. Dean noticed this and was cautious when he began approached him.
"Hey Uncle George! How've you been? I heard about your accident and wanted to check up on ya."Dean smiled tightly hoping his ruse would work. Everything depended on Wilkins appearing to recognize him.
"Oh yes! I have been fine thank you for asking." George turned to Rachel. "He was always such a thoughtful boy." He smiled brightly at Dean whose returned smile did not reach his eyes. Dean was relieved to not have been discovered but the comment was a bit nerve-racking.
"So what happened? The crash I mean. It sounded pretty bad from Aunt Barbara."
"Now you know that she like to be called Auntie B when all you kids are around."
"Right, sorry."
"Well, I was driving late at night and then I lost my vision for a few moments and then there was a car next to mine!" Dean kept smiling out of good graces for the old man.
"Can you elaborate on that a bit?"
"Oh yes. I was listening to that new song on the radio, oh what was it called again? Oh yes. The Wayward Wind. I just love that song!" Dean was attempting to be interested in the man's monologue but he was getting the feeling that he wasn't going to get anywhere with him.
"Anything else."
"Oh! And Rachel was with me." George looked over at Rachel and smiled. She grinned back at him forcefully. Dean looked over at her, smiling bitchily.
"Well I'm glad your okay. I'm just going to go outside to have a talk with Rachel for a minute okay?" George nodded. Dean looked over at Rachel who looked just a bit frightened. He left the room and waited in the hallway for Rachel to reassure her patient. She left the room and closed the door, her back to Dean.
"So you were in the car with him hmm?" She turned around to face him.
"Yes I was. I was only there to make sure he didn't fall asleep while driving."
"You let him drive?" Dean was appalled. Here was a man, obviously not capable of walking, let alone driving a vehicle, speeding down a highway in the middle of the night.
"Look, it's not what you think! He had started to walk the week before and he seemed well enough to drive on the highway after he had driven around the facility safely. He was going to be released but then the accident happened." She crossed her arms defensively as she spoke. The story sounded ludicrous to Dean.
"Fine, fine whatever. Do you know how he was able to walk again?"
"No, that's the weird part. He was paralyzed from the waist down when he was admitted to the facility. It's like his guardian angels where looking down on him or something." Dean tensed just the slightest at the mention of angels. He hadn't heard from Cas or any angel since…
"Okay. Thanks. I'll be back sometime this week before I head home to see him again." And with that, Dean made his way out of the building and into his car.
He sat there for a moment. How is it that a man who was paralyzed can suddenly walk perfectly fine and is allowed to drive then gets into an accident re-paralyzing him? Then he smirked. How ironic that she mentioned angels when it's a demonic case.
Dean shook his head and turned the truck on. He had some time to kill before he met up with Jane. He decided to head back to the burger joint they had agreed on to do more research. Who knows, Dean thought, maybe I'll run into Cas?
