A/N: Again, I'm sorry for the length between updates. School is starting to even out so I plan on writing a lot more. Thank you SO much for the reviews, alerts and faves. I swear they are better than crack! XD

Disclaimer: I don't own these characters or the universe. If I did, I wouldn't be here writing about them, I'd be living there, eating pie off of Dean's tummy. :)

It had been three days since Dean had gotten injured. He was in too much pain to travel so they had stayed close to Bedford while he recovered. Raven's headaches were held at bay courtesy of the peppermint oil treatment provided by Mr. French and they had been well fed by Lizzie, who was grateful to them for putting her grandfather's spirit at rest. She had made the comment that it was the most excitement that she had seen in fifteen years.

Raven had insisted they move to a more comfortable hotel so they had checked in to the Holiday Inn Express one town over, on her dime. She had been attending to Dean's injuries but his mood had been venomous. She had thought after their encounter in the Emergency Room that they had come to an understanding but it appeared as though Dean didn't remember what transpired. To say Raven was disappointed was a gross understatement. He had not spoken to her other than to answer direct questions concerning his health. He wasn't really talking to Sam either. All he did was sulk, eat, and sleep.

Sam wasn't making things any better. He was restless. All he talked about was the next hunt and was constantly trying to find another case for them to work. Raven kept reminding him that it would probably be a couple of weeks before Dean was up to doing any hunting but Sam just wasn't grasping the concept.

She was at her wits end when Sam discovered a lead on "the mother of all" and decided to visit Cleveland's large public library. He asked Raven to come but she wanted to stay behind with Dean. She was still injecting him with morphine and Dean insisted on drinking while taking it so she was keeping close watch. Sam seemed disappointed but couldn't really argue with her logic.

He took off mid-morning, leaving Raven and Dean alone. He was sleeping so she decided to do some laundry. It would pass the time and allow him to have some quiet. Watching the clothes tumble around in the dryer, she let her mind wander. What was she going to do about the current situation? She cared very deeply for Sam, but wasn't sure if that equated to love. And what she was feeling for Dean was downright scary. He could leave her breathless with a look. His entire being radiated this magnetism that she was having a hard time resisting.

There also was the matter of the connection between them that had yet to be explained. Sam appeared to have forgotten in the aftermath of the case that Raven had told him Dean was injured. Grateful he had not asked, she struggled to rationalize how it had happened. She had simply known. It was almost as if he had called her name across the distance and not just her ears had responded. The sensation was instinctive and there was no way to control it. The entire situation made little sense and that irritated her. In her world, concepts that did not follow a logical pattern were disregarded. Being analytical was what made her such a good hunter and it made her an even better doctor. Emotions were part of the job but not to be relied upon to make decisions. So how am I supposed to figure out an explanation for what is going on between Dean and I without feelings being involved. It seemed as though the entire relationship was based on raw emotion.

Her train of thought was rudely interrupted by the shrill ring of her cell phone. As she answered the call, she wasn't even given the chance to say hello before being cut off.

"Where in the hell are you?" Dean yelled in the phone. "I am in pain and need my meds."

"I'll be right there, your Highness," she replied with an acidic tone. Her examination of the situation would have to wait.

Dean lay in the amazingly comfortable bed flipping through the TV channels, trying to find something to watch that didn't cause him to actively lose brain cells. Talk about a tall order, he thought. All that appeared to be on were those horrible judge shows and cartoons. He turned the set off and flipped the remote across the bed. Besides his discovery that Raven was playing him and Sam against each other bothering the crap out of him, he was fidgety. Dean had never been exceptionally good at doing nothing. It wasn't in his nature. Raven would be back soon and the haze of pain meds would force him to sleep.

Napping while whacked on morphine had proven to be an interesting experience. For the first time in years, he had not dreamt of hell, not once. And for the first time in years, he felt well rested. The sensation was wonderful and aggravating at the same time. He was used to living on adrenaline. Dean thrived on getting by on a few hours of sleep and lots of caffeine. But if he allowed himself to admit it, even with a chest full of busted ribs, he had never felt better.

Raven came through the door with a sour expression. He figured she really didn't take to kindly to being ordered around. Good, he thought. About time Miss High and Mighty got a taste of her own medicine.

She didn't speak to him. She simply loaded his dose into a syringe and walked to the bed. To make giving him his meds easier, she had placed an IV port in his arm. Swabbing the head of the port with an alcohol rub, she slowly squeezed the morphine into his veins. Dean felt the effects instantly. His eyelids began to droop and the familiar feeling of euphoria followed by intense drowsiness swept him away.

He squinted and rubbed his eyes, tired from hours of staring at computer screen. The research was going so slowly that it was painful. His new lead took him nowhere. Frustrated, but unwilling to go back to the room and watch Dean sleep, Sam had tried another approach that was pointing toward the inevitable dead end.

More than anything, he just wanted to get back to Raven. She had been a little distant since the hunt. Sam was aware that she took Dean's injuries to heart but he wasn't sure what that meant. Raven had proven she was an excellent doctor as well as a capable hunter. Sam was counting on the care that she had been rendering would convince Dean to keep her around. But much to his surprise, Dean was being horrible to her and snapping at him. He wanted to blame the injuries or the meds but something was telling him it was more than that. Somehow, the peace needed to be restored.

When Dean woke up from his nap, Raven was sitting next to the window, reading one of the Latin texts she had borrowed from Bobby. She was completely absorbed so Dean decided to take a long look. Her auburn hair was shimmering in the sunlight that filtered through the curtains. Her legs, graceful even while still, stretched across the couch cushions. She was dressed comfortably in flannel pajama pants and one of Sam's sweatshirts. In spite of his anger, Dean found himself captivated by the way she was absently twisting her bangs. In the brief time she had been with them, her hair had grown and it was currently a mess. He also noticed that her face had lost some of its fullness. Now that he thought about it, he really never saw her eat much of anything and the hollow contours of her cheekbones showed it. The cracks in her armor were showing. Maybe he was wrong about her, he thought.

She glanced up from her book and looked startled to see him staring at her. She placed a bookmark in the leather bound volume and got up. Checking his vitals and listening to his breathing, she seemed satisfied that he was doing alright.

"You want another dose of morphine?" she asked wearily. Dean noted the deep crease between her eyebrows.

He shook his head and replied, "I am not in any pain right now. Maybe later."

She turned toward the kitchenette and sighed, "You want some lunch? Lizzie dropped off another chicken casserole and it's still warm."

Dean felt himself smile. Lizzie had taken a liking to him and was insisting on feeding him at every turn. "No, but thank you. Sit down, please." She looked a little stunned, but did as he requested. "Raven, I think we should talk."

"About what, Dean?"

"Well, I have been a complete dick the past few days and I think I should explain." She nodded and he continued, "I saw Sam holding you that night at the hospital."

She shrugged, "Yeah… and?"

"You don't care that I saw you and got jealous?" He couldn't stop the words from coming out if his mouth.

"You were jealous? Why?" The look on her face was a mixture of surprise and pleasure.

"Didn't you want me to be jealous?" Well, looks like a misjudged this situation, he thought.

"Why in heaven's name would I want to make you jealous? Dean, the last thing I want is to come between you and Sam." No one could doubt the sincerity in her voice.

"Raven, I need to know how you feel about me… and how you feel about Sam."

She ran her fingers through her hair in a gesture of pure exasperation, "Dean, I…"

Just as she was starting to answer the question, Sam let himself in the room with his key, "Dean, glad you are awake. I found us a case."

A/N: Yeah, I know... another cliffy. I'm sorry! But if it makes you guys feel any better, I plan on updating again over the long weekend. Happy 4th of July to all my U.S. readers! Please be safe and try not to blow any fingers off! XD