When Sam and Dean finally pulled themselves out of bed the next morning although it was closer to noon, Sage was gone. Her duffel bag laid at the foot of one of the beds and her weapons were still piled on the table beside the supernatural information that had been accumulated over the long years of hunting.
Dean bolted up in the bed yanking the covers off of Sam who was still half asleep. "She's gone!"
"Who's gone?" Sam rubbed his eyes and didn't move.
"Sage! Damn it I knew she would leave one day!"
At about that time the door to the hotel room opened and the beautiful woman with the dark chocolate hair and caramel blonde streaks entered the room and kicked the door shut with her foot while she balanced three large coffees. Sage was wearing a pair of ripped up dark wash jeans and one of the boys white button up shirts that she had tied up around her waist revealing a little bit of her stomach over the waistband of her jeans. Her hair was still tied up in the same ponytail from the night before but a few fly aways had escaped and hung around her face. She was pretty even when she didn't try.
"Hey guys," She smiled and handed them two of the three cups, "They're both black."
She had no idea what had happened when she had left. Sam did though. He caught Dean's eye when Sage walked back into the room and he saw that he was relieved. He just wondered what had happened between Sage and Dean last night once he went to bed.
She took a sip of hers and sat down on the edge of the empty bed after grabbing the list of people participating in the upcoming art contest. "Shouldn't we be leaving soon?"
"Where'd you go?" Dean spoke between sips of his still hot black coffee.
"Coffee shop down the street, hotel coffee isn't worth shit." She laughed.
"Whose shirt is that?" He asked her again.
"One of yours, I didn't know whose it was I just picked it up off the ground as opposed to one of my shirts." Neither of the boys said anything as they slowly woke up and drank their coffee.
"Are you wearing that to the interviews?" Sam asked looking her up and down as he changed from his sweatpants into his black suit pants.
"What's wrong with this?" Sage said coyly as she gestured to her outfit with her coffee cup still in her hand. "Of course I'm going to change."
Sam finished redressing in his FBI disguise and checked to make sure his badge was in his pocket before picking up his coffee. "Let's get going."
Dean managed to pull himself out of bed and search for his clothes amoung that was cluttered the hotel room floor. The room to the door shut behind Sam who went outside to wait in the lobby and try to get some more information about the art show and contest from the owner of the hotel or the concierge.
"Hey Dean,"
Dean looked up just in time to catch the white shirt that Sage tossed his way and get a quick glimpse of her bare back as she went into the bathroom and shut the door.
He dressed quickly and put his badge in his jacket just as Sage left the bathroom dressed once again in her black pencil skirt and crimson blouse. This time she opted out of wearing the jacket and instead slipped her badge into a discreet pocket in her tight skirt. She slipped her slender feet into her black pumps and looked at Dean.
"Got you gun?"
Dean lifted the side of his jacket to show her his glock. Sage nodded and smiled. She couldn't carry a gun because she had no way to conceal it in her clothes but she was careful. She had hidden a knife on her body, in a sheath on her thigh. She turned and headed out the door to where Sam was waiting just outside the door.
"Where's our first stop?" Sage asked walking out the car that was parked across from the hotel. She took another sip of her coffee, which was now half gone and surprisingly still hot.
"Let's start with Maria's boyfriend, somebody David's, he might know who Maria thought was a threat to her winning the contest which could lead us to who might have wanted Maria and the others dead to ensure their win in the contest." Sam said, clearly having decided that case of action since the night before.
Dean climbed into his baby and got behind the wheel. Sam stood beside the passenger waiting for Sage to climb into the back. "Where will we find this boyfriend?"
"The hospital most likely, if not the staff should have some idea of where to find him."
Sage nodded as Dean drove off towards the hospital they had passed by on their way into town. Her eyes connected with Sam's in the rearview mirror. He gave her a look that basically asked what had happened the night before. She just gave a small smile and pulled her eyes away to look out the window and leave Sam to continue wondering what it was that had happened.
"Hey Davids, FBI." Sam spotted Maria's boyfriend filing out a chart at the nurses station. He turned to see the three agents before he dropped the chart and ran off down another hallway.
"Ah hell!" Dean took off after him while Sage ran down another hallway in her heels.
"Oomph!" Davids yelled as he hit the ground after tripping over Sage's foot where she intersected him at the end of both hallways. Sage had taken the shorter hallway and cut off his exit by leaning against the wall and stretching out her foot.
Dean yanked him up by his collar and pushed him against the wall. "Why'd you run?"
"Because you're going to arrest me for killing Maria but I didn't kill her! I loved her!" Davids screamed, nurses and other doctors as well as some patients turning to watch the scene of Davids screaming at two FBI agents.
Sage sauntered up to Dean who still held Davids against the wall. She softly laid her hand on Dean's shoulder and smiled at Davids. "We're not here to arrest you. We don't even think you did it. All we want is to ask you questions about Maria and find out if she had any enemies."
Dean released the man and pulled him into an empty room just as Sam walked up to closed the storage room with a click and turned the lock while Sam and Dean pushed Davids into a lone chair.
"Did Maria have any enemies?" Sage asked the first question, slowly pacing the room and taping her bottom lip with her index finger.
"No, god no. Everyone loved Maria; she was the kindest person you would ever know." Brandon Davids ignored the two male hunters and focused on Sage, the pretty woman that he assumed was supposed to be playing "good cop". He didn't care; she was pretty and she didn't attack him.
"Who, besides Maria, were the favorites to win the art contest?" Sage asked again, now leaning against the door frame, one ankle crossed over the other.
"Victor Cruz, Sarah Fatale, and Emili Hart." Brandon looked to Dean, whose face had turned white. Upon turning back to Sage he saw that she too was ghostly pale.
"He's got another victim in mind." Sam murmered.
"Where's Emili Hart?" Dean yelled, his hazel eyes ablaze.
"I don't know. I don't keep track of Maria's competition even though she is a friend of all of them. I would probably say that she is working in her studio or at the gallery. If she is anything like Maria, she would be extremely stressed for this contest."
Sage had already unlocked the door, her beautifully pale slender hand resting on the doorknob. "Where is Emili's studio?"
"I don't know, I've never been there and I don't think Maria had ever been there either. But the gallery is on Greensburo Drive, right next to an antique store."
Sage had already left the room; Sam and Dean following quickly on her heels leaving a stunned Brandon Davids in the storage room.
Sage walked briskly from the hospital and climbed into Dean's baby. "The question is, is Emili the last victim? Or are their others?"
Dean started the car and peeled out of the hospital parking lot just as Sam was closing the passenger side door. "I'd say that Emili Hart is definitely on our creature's hit list, but as to whether or not she is the last victim I have no idea but we need to find her before our mystery creature does. She might have more answers since she is still a surviving artist that was a front runner for the art contest."
Sage's head was slammed against the side of the car as Dean took a corner fast and hard, jostling her about since she didn't put on a seatbeat. Her vision blacked out and she was instantly dizzy. She held a hand to the window as her vision came back to her slowly in little pieces. She swallowed hard, her dizziness suddenly vanishing. Sage raised a hand to the tender spot on her head where she had slammed against the car. There was a small bump but nothing sticky which meant no blood. She shook it off as Dean pulled into one of only four parking spaces in front of the gallery.
The hunters stepped out of the car and quickly walked into the gallery through the double glass doors in the front. Before getting out of the car, Sage took her hand gun and holstered it on her hip, not caring that she wasn't wearing her blazer to hide it.
The art gallery was dark from what they could see. There were paintings on the walls, paint supplies littering the floors, and sculptures resting in any empty space, some were finished, some weren't.
"Look over there," Sage whispered pointing as bright spots started to dance across her vision again.
Sam and Dean turned to the only light that was on in the entire gallery. It was coming from underneath one of the doors in the gallery. The three hunters moved as one, all of them with their guns raised liked the real FBI. Sam quickly opened the door and bathed the part of the gallery right behind them in light. The room was full of a cloud of ceramic dust and a black haired woman with a saw wearing an eye mask.
"Emili Hart?" Dean called.
The woman turned around, shocked at the presence of three strangers with guns pointed at her standing in her room. She powered off the saw and removed her eye mask.
"I'm Emili Hart." The woman had long black hair and bangs that covered her forehead. She was extremely thin and her features had a hint of an Asian nationality to them. She was wearing tight black skinny jeans and a loose fitting ACDC tank top.
"FBI." Sage coughed pulling out her badge and flashing it to Emili just as the Winchesters did.
Emili Hart nodded. "What can I do for you?" She whipped her hands on her jeans, removing the thick cover of ceramic dust from her palms.
"We need to talk to you about Maria." Sage told her as Sam and Dean walked across the studio as examined her artwork and the tools of her trade.
"I heard about what happened to her, she died. Murder is what I heard about it." Emili Hart.
Sage clutched her head as her ears began ringing and her eyes saw white spots. She quickly closed her eyes and leaned on the table for support. When she opened them, she was fine again.
"You okay?" Emili reached out to her and laid a hand on her forearm.
"I'm fine." Sage winced "You know that besides yourself, all of the favorites for the contest are dead."
Dean turned from where he stood at the sound of Emili's voice asking Sage if she was okay. He set the piece of ceramic art down on an extra table and silently walked up behind Sage.
"Do you think I killed those other contestants? Maria was my best friend; I would never hurt her, or the others."
"We don't think that you did, we think that you are in danger of becoming the next victim." Dean's voice shocked Sage since she never noticed him come up behind her.
"What?" Emili grabbed her crafting table for support. "What do you mean?"
"Someone is killing the artists that are favorites to win the contest. We have a feeling that you are next." Sam spoke softly, peeking out into the main gallery to make sure no one was outside.
"Who?" Emili sounded genuinely terrified as she turned to look at Sam.
"We don't know yet, but we're working on it. Is there someone in the contest who seems to have it out you and the others? Someone who wouldn't stand a chance unless you were taken out?" Sage asked before she started to feel lightheaded. "Sorry, I need some air." She turned and practically ran while she stumbled from Emili's studio and the gallery.
Dean looked after her but resisted the urge to go after her. She was probably fine; the dust had just gotten to her. Besides protecting Emili was a major concern since she was there only link to the killer, whatever it was.
Emili was a little shaken at Sage's abrupt exit but she addressed the men instead. "Ummmm, I'm not entirely sure. There is a guy who has been trying to enter the contest since it was first opened and he barely made it in to qualify. His art really sucks, I mean it's really bad but I guess he paid off a guy to be allowed into the contest. He has always been extremely jealous of myself and the contestants that were killed but he didn't stand a chance of winning even with them gone unless he paid somebody off."
Sam nodded, jotting everything down in his memory as Emili spoke; she absently started cleaning up her ceramic materials as she talked to Sam about the crazy guy in the contest. She mostly ignored Dean; he didn't talk much since he seemed preoccupied with whateverelse. She also found him somewhat intimidating.
"I should go check on Sage" Dean abruptly leaving the studio while Sam continued to question Emili about the man.
Dean found it strange that Sage left the studio as well as the gallery so quickly and that she hadn't returned yet. He didn't see her standing amongst the mess in the main gallery so he left and walked outside into the new darkness of night. As soon as he walked onto the sidewalk he saw a woman lying down a few feet from the main entrance to the gallery. Her beautiful dark hair cascaded over her shoulders and fell across her pale face. She was laying down as if she had fallen and she certainly wasn't homeless in her black pencil skirt and crimson blouse as well as her black heels. She was pale, her lips were blue, and her eyes were closed.
"Sage?" Dean called. The woman on the ground didn't stir. "Oh my god! Sage!"
Dean ran to her and flipped her over so she was laying on her back, her head in his lap. She was limp, her body cold. "Sage wake up! Don't do this, wake up damn it!" Dean shook her, gently but he wanted her to wake up more than anything else.
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god!" Dean carefully laid her back down on the sidewalk and ran back to the gallery. He threw the door opened and screamed. "Sam get out here now! It's Sage!" He ran back to where she was laying and lifted her up off the ground. She hung, limp in his arms as Sam sprinted from the gallery with Emili on his heels.
"Oh my god! What the hell happened to her?" Sam got to the car and yanked open the front door. "Emili get in. We can't risk whoever it is coming after you tonight."
Emili silently climbed in the backseat and Sam followed her lead.
"I don't know Sammie, I came outside to check on her and she was laying on the ground." Dean laid her down on the passenger seat before getting in the car on the driver's side. Dean's knuckles turned white as he gripped the steering wheel and headed towards the hospital for the second time that day. "She's so cold Sam." Dean's voice was sad and distant as he stared off straight ahead and focused on getting to the hospital quickly and helping the strange new beautiful woman he was beginning to have strong feelings for.
Now Emili knew why Dean was preoccupied in her studio, he was in love with his female partner and he was worried about her. Emili was quick to pick up on things that maybe even the people themselves aren't yet aware of. She could tell his feelings even if he wouldn't admit it to himself and she didn't think that he would. She decided to just be quiet and not bring it up. She was just thankful to have FBI protection with the artist killer on the loose. She didn't wanna be another body on a slab, another name on a file.
Dean pulled into the hospital, parking in a handicap spot closest to the sliding doors; he didn't even care that he wasn't allowed to park there. His parking was insanely crocked and he'd barely shut off his baby before running around to the other side of the car and carefully pulling Sage out of the car and not even waiting for his brother and Emili to pull themselves out of the car. He tossed the keys behind him without looking back, Emili caught them as she got out of the car. Dean held Sage in his arms and ran into the hospital, the doors opening automatically as he reached them.
"Help! Somebody help me!" Dean yelled angrily as several heads in the emergency room turned in his direction. A middle aged man in green scrubs and a lab coat ran towards him.
"What happened to her?" The doctor asked quickly, feeling Sage's cold neck for a pulse. "Her pulse is there but it is very faint. We need to admit her now and get her stabilized before we lose her."
Dean bit his lip. His eyes watered a little but he didn't wanna cry; he didn't cry. He just got Sage, well almost, he was staring to fall for her and he couldn't lose her already. He knew that she was a hunter and that it was always a possibility that he could lose her but not like this, not finding her half dead on the sidewalk from who knows what. "I found her like this, on the street."
The doctor's eyes grew softer as he saw Dean's face fall. "We'll try to save her. Quickly bring her this way." The man sped off as Dean ran behind him carrying Sage in his arms. "In here."
Dean laid Sage down on the bed as the good doctor began to hook her up to machines and IVs before he quickly stopped and looked at her and then at Dean. "She's armed." He gave them a suspicious look.
Dean impatiently pulled out his FBI badge and showed it to the doctor. "She's FBI too, check her pocket."
The doctor pulled her badge out and looked at it before removing her gun holster and passing it to Dean along with her badge. "You need to get out of here now, I need to work on her and stabilize her before finding out what made her fall unconscious and how to fix her. I'm sorry, you can't wait outside in the waiting room for now." The doctor walked Dean to the door and pulled it shut as he drew the curtains as well.
Dean wandered dejectedly back to the waiting room, his mind fretting over Sage. He wondered what would make a strong hunter like her fall completely unconscious and half dead. Emili and Sam were already seated in the waiting room. Emili was twirling Dean's keys on her fingers and staring off into space. Dean said nothing as he went to sit down across from the two. Sam knew not to say anything when he saw Dean the way he was at the moment. Emili looked up, opened her mouth and thought better of it so she returned to focusing on twirling the keys. It seemed like years before the doctor finally emerged in the waiting room but in reality it was only an hour.
"She had a concussion but she's stable now, she's just resting." The doctor told Dean as he stood up already going towards her room.
"A concussion? How?" Dean turned to look at the doctor as his words sunk in.
"She hit her head sometime today, pretty hard I would say to knock her out. She'll be fine, I'll release within couple days once I can make sure that she is okay and her memory wasn't affected."
Dean was speechless. Her memory, as in she might not remember anything. He was afraid that she wouldn't remember being a hunter, remember her life, remember him… he really hoped that her memory hadn't been affected. He had to see her, see if she remembered her life. Dean was surprised with himself. He was never like this, ever, but Sage was different; she made him different.
"Don't wake her! She needs her rest." The doctor called after Dean as he ran to her room. Sam and Emili watched him go but they remained in the waiting room. The both came to an understanding that he needed time alone with her.
Dean had just entered her room and closed the door and the curtain when he had a crippling thought when he saw her sleeping in the hospital bed, the beautiful, strong woman that he had come to know in a state that he had never seen her. I did this to her, he thought, it was in my car that she hit her head, if she doesn't remember me it's my own damn fault!
