Alright, so I've resigned myself to just the one review on this one...sigh I'm just happy that you guys are reading it and assume that you're enjoying it. You are enjoying it, right? lol I hope so...I'd hate to have written seven chapters of a story that isn't any good. :P (sorry, just teasing a little... though I would like reviews... seriously)
Well anyway... hehe... this chapter is a little bit longer that the others. I think the length was worth it though. Dean is having a hard time figuring out whether he should be angry or worried, Cal is rebelling and messing with Dean as usual... did I mention that the Metallicar goes for a joyride? hmmm...Feel free to drop me a line and let me know what you think...
So here is Chapter seven: sorry again about the length... and enjoy!
Chapter 7
They had to admit it. She was good.
Cal had led them on a wild goose chase. His credit cards and cell phone had led them to two different hotels in the area, both of which turned up empty. Of course. The girl had spent the better part of her life running, fighting, lying, stealing and hunting stuff. She certainly wouldn't make the chase easy. Or pleasant.
They were headed out from the second hotel toward the crappy rental Sammy had insisted on when on impulse he dialed his own number on Sam's phone. Whether or not she'd pick up he had no idea… but he sure as hell was going to try.
As luck would have it she did pick up, on the third ring just before the voice mail kicked in. "Hello?" She sounded groggy as if she'd been asleep. Eleven o'clock at night, they were chasing her all over the damn city and she was fast asleep somewhere comfortable. It was the last straw. "Well hell! This must be my lucky day. You actually picked up." Bitterness dripped off his every word.
"Oh its you." Well at least she was awake… though she wasn't being too friendly herself. There was venom in the way she spat out the word 'you' that he could have done without. Although it certainly helped feed his anger and that was okay by him. Anger was something he had plenty of, and at the moment it was all directed at her. "So, I can tell you're settled in somewhere nice and cozy for the night. Where the hell are you Cal?"
Oh, she was so not taking this crap from him. "None of your damned business Dean. If you decided not to stop for the night that's your own fault. Now leave me alone and let a girl get a decent night's sleep." "Oh I don't think so Cal. Not until I have my car back." There was silence on her end.
"You mean you haven't found it yet? Dude, you're not exactly at the top of your game tonight are you? I locked her up and left her for you when I picked up my 'Stang. So go get your precious baby and tuck in for the night already. I hurt. A lot. So if it's all the same to you I'd like to sleep it off. Goodnight Dean."
She hung up on him. He stood there next to the rental staring at the phone and he still couldn't believe Cal had hung up on him on his own phone. Then, once the whole pride thing began to ease up he started thinking about what she had said. His Impala was parked where she had left her Mustang.
She still had his phone, and most likely his wallet too but his baby was parked about three miles away from the bar they'd been to the night before… She'd left it where he should have thought to look for it himself. So… she had some sense of decency after all.
Cal had also mentioned being in pain. It was to be expected of course. That little twelve hour hospital stint of hers had not been easy on any of them, but especially not her. Shock, blood loss, fever and infection had all wracked her body at once. It had been sheer luck that she'd fought it off so quickly. The situation had been touch-and-go for hours and the doctors had mentioned antibiotics for the next couple of weeks to be sure that the infection stayed gone. Had she even bothered talking with the doctor before leaving? He seriously doubted it.
The anger was still there but now worry was beginning to creep in there with it as Sam drove them toward the Impala. Worry and anger were not a good combination for Dean Winchester. It generally left him short tempered and moody… and when he finally let it all out the explosion had the same impact as a nuclear warhead.
"Sam…we, uh, have to find her. Tonight." Sam just pressed his lips together and drove a little faster. "She's still got my phone and my wallet… and I don't think… I mean, I seriously doubt…" Try as he might he just couldn't put the thought into words. Sam knew though. "Yeah. I know. She left so fast that she probably didn't bother with any meds. Which, by the way, I picked up while I went on that last coffee run before she took off."
Well, at least they had them. Not having to drag her stubborn behind back to the hospital to get her prescription would make things a little easier. Unfortunately hearing the words out loud like that did nothing good for the worry he had begun to feel. Once again, for the sake of pride, Cal was putting her health at risk. The woman had a freaking death wish.
Cal had known about the blood loss. The bag of blood that had been hooked up to her arm was all she'd needed to piece that much together. The shock, the fever and the infection, however, had all happened when she was either unconscious or delusional. She had no memory of it ever having happened.
So when she finally arrived at the hotel and found it hard to keep her eyes open long enough to park and check in she could only chalk it up to exhaustion from the road trip. When she finally made it into the elevator and up to the tenth floor there was barely enough energy left in her to lock the door. It was nothing short of a miracle that she was able to pull off her jeans and sneakers and crawl under the covers of the queen sized bed.
When Dean called and woke her up she realized that the hospital chill had seeped back into her bones again. She was achy and sore all over and just wanted to sleep, so that's what she did. Only, as she rested her temperature started shooting up again. She'd been overdo for antibiotics for hours already.
She had no idea she'd even been on antibiotics. They had been given to her intravenously until her IV had been removed. There was no way she could have possibly known it, but she was in danger of landing her sorry behind right back in the hospital again.
When it came to hiding out and covering tracks Cal was good. It had to be said. Experience and the training her father had put her through had made her damned good at what she did. Oh, she was good alright… but Dean Winchester wasbetter and he would prove it to her before the night was out.
By the time they reached the Impala Dean had all of the days' purchases on his credit card traced. He tracked her down through process of elimination. She'd used his card to make reservations at six different hotels but had only checked in and actually paid for the one. Figured… it was the most expensive one. After speaking with the front desk clerk Dean knew they had her.
A certain Ms. Mary Jane Watson drove in just after seven and had parked her little red Mustang in the hotel's underground parking lot before heading up to her room. She'd explained to them that she was using her step-brothers credit card and the hotel staff had just let her. Dean pictured her batting her eyelashes and flirting shamelessly to get her way. Bunch of sad, gullible sons of… the thought didn't even bear finishing. It didn't matter anyway. He had his car and they'd found little miss 'big-time-spender'. In a few minutes he would be face to face with her again and boy would he let her have it.
Now, Dean is not exactly what one would call… subtle. He's a lot like his car: loud, obnoxious and real nice to look at. As for the many personality flaws he carries with him… well his ability to feel wholeheartedly no matter what emotion it is and his immense sense of responsibility for pretty much everything more than makes up for them. He is charming and generally modest and when he's not, Sammy generally takes him down a notch or two. The man is a saint with a tarnished halo… unless he is pissed off.
He was already angry. Angry about having been assaulted for being concerned when Cal first asked them for help… angry about the whole bar incident… angry that Cal had been keeping stuff like bleeding to death from him… angry that she'd taken off with his car, among other things. He was worried too and that just added to the anger. He kept trying to figure out why in the hell someone would run away from the hospital so soon after nearly bleeding to death. Especially when she knew she was safe with them…
When the kid at the front desk refused to give them the room number he went from angry to livid. Seems the kid didn't believe that Dean and Sam could possibly be related to Mary Jane Watson. Maybe it was Dean's use of the name Peter… a little too close to the comic book hero to believable. Still… as always Dean had a back-up plan. He pulled out the one fake ID Cal had left in his jacket. He should have known better… should have checked which one it was before flashing it around to try and get his way… but nooo, he just pulled it out and proceeded to make a general fool of himself.
"Sorry man, which agency did you say you were with?" Was this kid for real? He was tossing around 'tude to a badge? Though Dean had to respect his disregard for authority figures he was still less than happy about it. "Look, kid, doesn't really matter which agency I'm with does it? I'm on a case and I need to speak with miss Watson and you're going to give me her room number so I can do that. NOW." The kid snorted at him and looked at him skeptically. Then he opened his mouth and put his life on the line.
"First of all dude, you don't look like any government agent I've ever seen. You're too rock and roll and not enough paper-pushing stuck-up jerk. I mean… where are the suits man? The guy you're here with… way more believable." The kid took a moment to admire the surprised, shocked look he'd managed to plaster all over Dean's face then went on before it wore off and the scary guy started throwing punches at him.
"Secondly… whatever-you-said-you're-name-is…Peter Parker was it? You think I was born yesterday? If you really are some sort of agent then you're a really dumb one. You're flashing around an 'Official Bikini Inspector' card." Well, it didn't matter how funny the situation was. Sam knew it was time to get Dean the heck out of there before he did something they wouldn't be able to talk their way out of.
His brother had officially surpassed his threshold of patience. He'd gone from livid to officially 'pissed-off' in the space of a heartbeat. They were barely out the door when Dean muttered the words "fire escape" and took off toward the back of the building.
"Dean! We don't even know what room she's in." Sam called out to him. What was he planning to do: peek into every window until they found the right one? "Dufus left the reservations book open. She's in room ten-oh-five." Dean called back. Sam had to run to catch up with him.
Who would have thought that four hours sleep in three days were not conducive to climbing ten floors worth of fire escape? It was a lesson hard learned. The boys were completely out of steam by the time they reached their destination. Still. Dean trudged on. They were close and he wouldn't be happy until she was in his sights. It would all be for nothing if she ran off before they caught up with her. He wanted to tear a strip into her and then he wanted answers. In exactly that order.
He wasn't exactly sure which window belonged to room ten-oh-five. Sam was not at all surprised when his brother started playing 'peeping-tom' looking through windows trying to find either her room or an empty one they could use to sneak into the building. As it turned out there was only one occupied room on that entire side of the tenth floor. Dean took an educated guess as to whom exactly that room belonged to. "This is it." He said as he started to take the screen off the window and climb in. Sam wasn't so sure.
"Dean, stop it. We don't know that's her room and I don't really want to waltz in on some stranger, wake them up and then have to run out or get arrested." "Relax Sam. This is the only room in use with access to the fire escape. She's on the run from us and a love-sick vampire. She may be crazy and suicidal but the chic is definitely not stupid. She'll want to be able to make a quick and above all unnoticed escape if we or her not-so-secret admirer show up." He was going in whether Sammy followed or not.
In one look the question was passed between them: are you coming too? Sam sighed deeply, obviously unhappy. "Fine. For the record: I don't like it." Dean just smirked a 'whatever' and climbed through.
It just got better and better. The 'room' Cal had booked for the night wasn't a room at all but a full sized suite. It reeked of 'spare-no-expense' and everything in it was high-end. They had climbed in through the living area window and it took them three tries to find the bedroom. Dean was single-minded in his quest for a curvy sleeping figure… Sam wasn't real sure he wanted to be there when he finally found her.
So instead of following Dean, Sam went his own way in search of the kitchen. Cal would need water to be able to swallow the meds… plus he was willing to bet she hadn't eaten since before they went to the bar the day before. Dean… well Dean was most likely going to yell… a lot… and Sam wouldn't likely be able to calm him down until he got it all out.
Cal didn't seem like the type who was used to people doing things for her. In fact Sam suspected that it was actually the other way around. Like Dean, Cal was the one who took care of others and preferring to carry her burdens alone. When she and Dean finally started duking it out the last thing on her mind would be taking care of herself, so Sam was going to make sure someone did.
The only light in the bedroom came from the open doorway. Dean could barely make out the shape of the bed, let alone the figure that lay within it. He didn't have to, he already knew it was her.
Even if he hadn't just spent the entire night before listening to her breathing as she slept in the hospital to be sure she wasn't taking a turn for the worst again…even if he hadn't memorized the shape her body took when she lay curled up on her side in her favorite position for sleep…Even if she hadn't said his name in her sleep again…
Even if… well, he would be able to make out her bags anywhere. Anyone could. They had an almost fluorescent white stripe across them that caught whatever light was available and reflected it. She'd picked them out like that so she could find them and the weapons she kept inside quickly and easily when she was in tight situations… which apparently happened a lot for her.
The first thing he noticed was that she was still wearing his t-shirt, something he was definitely okay with. It had never looked quite as good on him as it did on her. Then he noticed that she was shivering under the mountain of blankets that covered her. Not a 'just caught a little chill' kind of shiver. No this was a 'something nasty coming on' kind of violent shiver. Wasn't nearly as bad as the night before but she would need the meds fast if she was going to avoid another hospital visit.
Pushing aside the anger momentarily he called out to Sam then rushed over to her and gently lay a hand on her forehead and cheeks. "Jesus, she's burning up… Cal, you've really got to stop doing this to yourself… it kills me finding you like this." And that's when she opened her eyes.
At first she thought it was part of the dream. There had been several variations of the one she'd had in the hospital since she'd fallen asleep. That last one had been a bit steamier than just a kiss and each one had been more real than the next. So when she heard his voice and felt his hand touch her forehead with a gentleness that made her want to cry it was only natural for her to think she was still fast asleep.
It never occurred to her that he might actually be in the room.
She didn't see his surprise when she sat up and leaned into him, laying her head on his shoulder. When her arms wrapped around his waist and she held on as if her life depended on it his arms went around her too and held her safely against him. Not one thing he had rehearsed on the chase all that night came to mind… "You scared the living hell out of me today woman. Don't you ever do that again, you hear me?" was what came out instead. It was a tortured growl in his chest where her ear was pressed against him. Funny… he hadn't been scared in any of the other dreams… at this point she didn't care though. She was tired and it felt so good to just be held and to feel safe.
She said nothing when he shifted her out from under the blankets and onto his lap. It was cold, really cold. But he was so warm and it was so much more comfortable there than in bed so she was willing to let it go. Safe… good lord it had been a long time since she'd felt safe! It felt nice. She wasn't willing to let it go yet. Her eyes drifted slowly shut and she went limp in Dean's arms as she drifted off again.
He'd expected her to yell at him for showing up in her room at three o'clock in the morning… maybe throw something at him… like her fists or maybe the clock radio next to the bed. Of all the scenarios that had run through his mind that night, none of them had involved Caitlin O'Sulivan curling up in his lap, wrapping her arms around him and falling asleep. It felt good. Really, really good. Unfortunately, no matter how nice it was it meant that something was wrong… and he knew what that something was. The heat of the fever was seeping right through his clothes and she was shivering as if she was freezing.
Dean lost no time. Once again he slid an arm under her knees, the other around her back and carried her out to find Sam and the meds. Looked like they'd be bunking down here for a couple of days. One thing was for sure… he was not going to let her out of his sight. His little escape artist was not performing any more tricks…at least not until she was feeling better. He would make sure of it personally even if it meant tying her to the damned bed. She may be stubborn… but so was he and a stubborn Dean Winchester was a force to be reckoned with.
