It only took about twenty minutes for Nick to return.

He looked visibly displeased, if not disgusted.

His face was all scrunched up and he looked more annoyed than Sam had ever seen him.

And, after shooting Sam an almost pitiful look, he stepped out of the way to let his doctor in through the door.

He closed it once the man was through, handing him a clipboard before stepping to the other side of Sam's bed.

The simple gesture was enough to bring a smile to Sam's face as he looked up at his nurse.

The two of them exchanged smiles and warm looks before Sam's attention moved back towards the other man in the room, though it was easy to forgot anyone else was there when Nick was so close to him.

He was the most flamboyant, douchey-looking man Sam had ever seen.

He kinda looked like if Liam Neeson knocked up Gordon Ramsay.

"Ah, hah. And what do we have here, Nicholas?" The man in the white lab coat asked, not looking over at Sam, instead keeping his bright eyes on Nick.

And… Of course he was British. Or French? Something like that.

Sam took a moment to let the words make sense in his brain.

It was kinda like when you look at a clock, then look away, and have to look at it again because the numbers didn't make sense the first time.

Nicholas.

That name did not suit him.

Well, neither did Nick, but-

"Sam Winston. Mugged, robbed of his wallet; no belongings other than the clothes he came in with. Stabbed through the abdomen, received several slash marks along his stomach and intestines. Massive amount of internal bleeding, though it has stopped since the operation. He was in comatose for three days with limited reaction to light; none to sound. I didn't think he'd pull through as good as he did, but his healing has been progressing rapidly. It's basically unheard of to have a patient healing this quickly."

It was rare that Sam got to hear Nick talking that much, let alone about his work.

He decided it was cute when his nurse went into Work Mode™.

It wasn't often that Nick showed how smart he actually was.

Though… The doctor didn't let it last long.

After a once over of his nurse, he started talking again.

"I'm sure in your small amount of time at this hospital it seems almost supernatural, huh? Ah, it's always good to see ignorant, naïve little nurses being so hopeful when it comes to their patients. Just don't get too attached, Nicholas." Nick was shot a sly little wink after that, a shit-eating grin showing bright on the doctor's face. "You never know what'll happen."

Nick was seething.

His hands were balled into fists, jaw set. It was obvious that he was gritting his teeth.

A chill ran up Sam's spine.

The room seemed to get just a little cooler.

He blamed it on a draft that must've come from the door, considering the windows in patient's rooms didn't open.

A moment after that, the door opened.

Dean's voice broke through the silence of the room.

"So, you're gonna tell us how long it's gonna take to get Sammy outta here, right?"

Sam tore his eyes away from Nick, who seemed to slowly be calming himself down. He looked over at Dean, who was nonchalantly pushing past the man in the white coat.

The doctor looked a little surprised at Dean's forwardness.

"I- Yes." The man pushed a clipboard against Nick's chest blindly, moving to extend a hand out to Dean. "Excuse my rudeness." He paused. "Doctor Novak." He announced his name finally, his previous shit-eating grin turning into something a little more curious than anything.

Maybe even charming.

Sam couldn't really say.

Dean eyed his hand before finally taking it.

"Dean." He responded, green eyes flickering over Dr. Novak's smooth features.

Sam looked between the two of them for a few seconds.

His brother was still holding the doctor's hand.

He wondered what the hell was going on.

"It's good to see you again, Dean. Our meeting in the cafeteria was cut far too short."

Sam could practically feel Nick rolling his eyes.

Dean cleared his throat.

"Huh, yeah. Guess it was." He agreed, before finally noticing that they were indeed still holding hands. After dropping it, he pulled his attention away from the doctor and to his brother.

Dr. Novak had started smirking.

He looked as if he'd unhinge his jaw and devour his brother any damn second.

… Sam wondered if Nick ever looked at him like that.

"So," This time, Nick, blessedly, broke the silence. "You two just gonna stare at each other all day or are you gonna tell Sam what's going on? I mean, I'd do it, but it's against protocol. And, Doctor Novak, you would never break protocol, would you?"

It was a low blow, and everyone in the room could feel it.

Dr. Novak didn't seem too phased, however. His smile was soft as his gaze wandered over Nick.

Sam didn't like the way he was looking at his nurse.

"He's right." Dean spoke up. "I'd like to know anything you can tell me about my brother's condition, Dr. Novak."

"Oh, Dean. Don't you worry. We'll get to that soon enough. And, please. Call me Balthazar."