Chapter 11

It was already morning when the police officer showed up asking questions. He was young, looked like he had just woke up. He when straight to the nurse station the past the double doors to speak with Noelle. After he came back, he talked to Sam and Dean. He asked a few questions, when did they found her, what did they see, things like that. He didn't mention the Hurley house burning. But he was insistent on asking if they saw anyone with her. They talked for about 10 minutes, then he spoke a few words with the nurse at the station and left.

The nurse then approached them.

" Excuse me? You can visit her now if you would like. She's in room 103. "

When they got to her room it was clear to the brothers what the nurse that had spoken to them meant by 'condition'.

Noelle was lying on the bed looking out the window, she was wearing a hospital gown, IV on her left arm, huge bags under her eyes, she looked exhausted and small, except for one detail. Her pregnant belly, wich was clearly obvious without the huge coat she was wearing before.

Sam and Dean just stared at her for a full minute. Dean then clear his throat, snapping Sam out of his shock and calling Noelle's attention to them. She looked scared for a second before getting her emotions under control and smiling at them, it was small and shy but it was sincere.

" Hi. "

" Hey kid. " greeted Dean, him and Sam entering the room to stand next to her bed.

" How are you feeling? " asked Sam, a concerned look on his face.

" I'm okay. I've been better, but it's not as bad as it looks. A nap and regular meals and I'll be back at my normal. And you? The nurse said you passed the night at the waiting room. You didn't have to do that. Those chairs are uncomfortable as hell, no reason for you to force yourselves to sit on them for all that time. "

" It's no problem. We wanted to make sure you were okay. You had us worried. Heck, I'm surprised you're already awake. " Said Sam, a small reassuring smile on his lips.

" Yeah. I'm a quick healer. But it wasn't that bad, they gave a transfusion, patched up the wounds. I should be better in no time. " she looked down to her hands for a moment before looking back at them. " I, I wanted to ask. Last night, was not a crazy dream right? It really happened? The ghost? Was real? "

" Yeah. Don't worry, you're not crazy. " said Dean " And you got lucky. It had killed others before. Creepy abandoned houses are so for a reason, better for you to stay away from them. "

She gave a small smile and a nod.

" Of all the places I could have found it had to be the one with a crazy ghost. Just my luck. It was better to sleep on the woods."

An awkward silence fell on the room for a minute, before Noelle took a deep breath and asked:

" So, ghosts? It's that your job? Ghost killers? "

" More like monsters. that's a lot more out there than ghosts. " answered Sam.

" Like what? You say like vampires, werewolves, things like that? "

" Yes. Pretty much everything you ever heard of. "

" Wow. Wait. If monsters are real, does that mean that the good things are real too? Like Santa, Easter bunny, Tooth Fairy? "

" No, sorry to cut it to you but pretty much everything we ever found was a monster, and an evil one. "

" Oh. That's to bad. "

" Tell us about it " Said Dean with a scoff.

" And these monsters live everywhere or just creepy places? "

" That depends. But look you shouldn't think about that now, you should concentrate and getting better. " Said Sam.

Noelle started to try to sit up, Dean in a second was at her side his hands on her shoulders gently forcing her back down.

" No way kid. You need to rest, especially with the little one inside of you. "

" I wasn't going to stand, just sit up " She replied, her right hand on the controls of the bed. When she got the bed to the position she wanted she looked at Sam.

" Look, I don't mean to be disrespectful. You two saved my life. But I need to know. If those things are out there, I need to know what they are, what do they do, how to protect myself and OTHERS " she stressed by pointing to her swollen belly " from them. I am capable of taking care of myself, been doing it all my life. I just need the tools, the know-how. Please. "

She looked at them, and in that moment Sam knew why Dean always complained about his ' puppy dog eyes', her huge green eyes were impossible to say no to, and one look at Dean showed him that he thought so to. Then Dean closed his eyes pinched the bridge of his nose a muttered to himself " Great. Another one with the eyes."

And for the next three hours they talked. The brothers tried to keep it to a minimum, but Noelle always had new questions. They spoke about ghosts, vampires, strigas ( she wanted to know about monsters that went after kids ), werewolves, demons ( Sam ended up giving her a piece of paper with an antiposession symbol on it ) wendigos and many others. The nurse came many times, insisting that her patient needed her rest, Noelle manage to convince her all the times that they could stay that they were not disturbing her.

" So, you said that witches could make hex bags. And that some hex bags could hide you from certain creatures. Could one of them hide you from certain humans? Make impossible for one person to find you? "

Sam and Dean, who were sitting down at that point and Dean even had his feet on the bed, exchanged one look then turned to Noelle. Sam asked:

" Noelle who are you running from? "

At the question she tensed and looked down, her blanket suddenly became really interesting to look at.

" Does it have anything to do with the father? "

Her hand was shaking, her heart rate increased, she closed her eyes, taking deep breaths.

" You didn't answer. Is it possible? The hex bag? " she said, her voice low, still not looking at them.

Sam sighed, it was clear she wasn't going to answer them.

" No. Not that I know of. And I don't think you should look for one either. Witchcraft is not something to play with, you could stumble across something really dangerous. " he took a deep breath " Look, I know this isn't any of our business. But instead of looking for spells, you could talk to the police, ask someone for help. "

She scoffed an muttered. " Yeah. Like they will help. "

" Then maybe some family, or friends, someone to help, or to at least give you a roof, a place to live. You can't live on foot on the road in your state. And when the baby is born what are you going to do? " asked Dean, getting his feet of the bed and sitting up straight, looking at her hoping to knock some sense in her head.

His speech had a reaction, just not the one he hoped for. She looked at him right into his eyes, she didn't do that much, her eyes determined.

" I don't have any family. And to be sincere, as friends go, you two are the closest I have to them, and I only met you yesterday. What I NEED is to get out of this hospital, go to a town where no one knows who I am, get a new name and a job. I know that last night was not the best example of it, but I CAN take care of myself. And I WILL. As for my problems, they are my mess, and I will take care of them. " She didn't yell, or sounded disrespectful, but from her tone that was no discussion, she had her mind made up.

" Alright then. Okay. "

" Dean! "

" Sam, we are not changing her mind. BUT, as you said it yourself, I am one of the two friends you have in the world. With that in mind I feel like I can at least help you with your plan. "

She raised one eyebrow.

" How? "

" You need a clean start right? So, have you ever been to Sioux Falls? " she shook her head " Well, it's a nice town, I'm sure you'll find a job and a place to live there. Sam can help with the new name thing. We know someone there, a great friend of ours, name is Bobby Singer. He's a good guy, hunter too, if you need help he'll be there for you. Heck, maybe you even have three friends instead of two. "

If someone walked in to the room at that moment it would be comical, Sam and Noelle both staring at him mouth open, frozen in place.

" Okay. I accept. " she said before she could stop herself.

" See? Problem solved. Sam why don't you get started with the new name thing. I'm gonna get something to eat, because I'm starving. " He stood up and left the room.

The two occupants of the room stared at the door, processing what had just happened.

" Well, what name do you want? " Asked Sam with a pleasant smile.

" Uhhh..." she shook her head rapidly " I'm still at shock. "