Dean is practically sprinting down the hall, regardless of the wards warning him to stop. Roman follows not too far behind, two others in his wake. He apologizes as he goes by each nurse and staff member that Dean has ignored and tries his hardest to keep up with the dirty blonde.

Visiting hours began at two o' clock in the afternoon. Dean skids to a stop at the elevator at 1:59. Hardly even waiting for the others to properly get inside the lift car, he mashes in the number for Seth's floor. On ground floor, they'd already been told by one of the nurses at the front desk that Seth had been scheduled to be seen by the doctors from the local hospital as well as those from sister cities. Dean knew all too well why all those nosy, lab coat-wearing bastards were there. Brushing aside the news, Dean had made a beeline for the hallway, having enough sense to play it cool and look the least suspicious he could manage before getting out of the nurse's view of course, and had herded his pack to the nearest elevator. They narrowly manage to cram into the elevator car with Dean before it leaves without them. Randy leans back heavily against the wall, trying to catch his breath.

"Fuck," he pants, "you're a quick bastard, Dean."

"If we get caught, you know this is illegal; we could get kicked out and banned from seeing Seth," Roman says, casting a glance at the fourth man in their ragtag group, at the mention of illegal escapades. Triple H shrugs. "Even if we do, it wouldn't matter. We won't be in Cincinnati for much longer."

Roman feels Dean tense up taut as a wire next to him. He knows; he isn't really too thrilled about having to leave the kid behind either.

The elevator chimes, the doors sliding open onto the new floor and Dean takes off again. Roman rolls his eyes, follows with a sigh, Randy tailing behind at a less strenuous pace with Hunter calmly bringing up the rear.

Around the corner, Roman finally catches up with Dean. "Why the fuck is Randy even here?" Dean asks, slowing a bit to scan the hall for Seth's room. "He doesn't –isn't-" its a direct jab and glare at Roman when he says it, "supposed to know about Seth." Roman shrugs apologetically. "He was with Trips when he came. I don't know why he's here either. But Hunter's okay with it, so…" He trails off and suppresses an amused grin at the narrowed death glare Dean is giving him currently.

It isn't tricky to find Seth's room. The number of people in lab coats standing at the door is a beacon for the group, screaming 'hey, look over here!', and Dean feels his stomach drop. They're too late. The room is almost bursting with people; some of them don't even look like doctors or scientists. They have notepads and pencils in hand, occasionally taking notes. Journalists.

"Fucking damn it," Dean growls low in his throat. Something moves out of the corner of his eye. Hunter has pulled his phone out of pocket, his eyes glued on his phone, brow furrowed in concentration as he studies the screen.

"What's going on?" Dean asks, confused. What the fuck was more important than getting those doctors away from Seth at this point? What was so interesting on that screen that-

"Fourth floor," Hunter mumbles suddenly, fingers flying across the screen. "You'll know it when you get here."

Dean narrows his eyes. "What? Who else is coming?" Seemingly ignorant of Dean's question, Hunter looks up, back at the crowded hallway full of people. "Shit," he murmurs. Dean is further confused, exchanging glances with Roman. Did he just realize how completely fucked Seth was?

"Think he can get that many people?" Randy says, folding his arms over his chest and glaring at the crowd with something like venom in his eyes. Hunter chews his lip thoughtfully. "Sure as hell hope so," he replied. "If not…"

And at that moment, a chorus of gasps arise from the crowd. The group doesn't need to see inside the room to know what demanded such a reaction; they can pretty much guess. Dean smacks his palm hard against the wall. "Fuck!"

Hunter and Randy remain oddly calm, glancing back over their shoulders from time to time. Dean doesn't understand it and looks to Roman, who shrugs and watches the two. Suddenly a pounding of feet sounds from around the corner, and within seconds, they're greeted with blue eyes and a nervous grin.

"Hey, guys; am I late?" the newcomer asks. He has an accent, Dean realizes. The kid looks familiar, but he can't quite put a name to the face. He's young looking, built limber and tone, good for speed and aerial maneuvers. Ah –he knows this kid. An NXT rookie. But what was his name?

"A few minutes earlier wouldn't have hurt," Hunter said aloofly, waving the kid along. "Can you manage that many people? There's more in the room."

The kid nervously bites at his lip, gauging his options. He hums low in his throat for a moment. "I think so. I've never tried that many people before, but so long as I can get everyone's attention, I think I've got this," he says. Hunter nods and jerks his head towards the crowd. "Then I guess you're up, kiddo."

The newbie greets Randy, "Hey, Randy," and smiles at Roman and Dean, seeming to study them for a moment as he passes, then applies full attention to swimming through the crowd of people. Curious, Dean follows, pushing past people to get a look at the inside of the room. The sight makes his blood boil. Seth is lying on his side, his wings still bound in the figure-eight bandage, redone by the hospital's request from a veterinarian from earlier, but clearly out on display. As the doctor –Dean recognizes the man as the same who was there in Seth's room when he and Roman had come up to see him the minute he'd come from surgery- is explaining the validity of the structures jutting from Seth's back with evidence from tests apparently performed after surgery, the NXT kid finally pushes through the crowd. He stands next to the doctor speaking who has paused, looking at him with confusion and a mild touch of distaste.

"Excuse me, sir," the doctor begins, "you seem to be lost. Can I help you?"

The kid sands his hands together, and grins. "Actually, you can. You all can. I just need you to focus on something for a few seconds, okay?" Without any response from the doctor or his audience, the kid begins explaining himself. "Stand over there with the rest of them, will you? Gotta make sure you all get a good look at this; it's a real fuckin' doozy. You see, I've got this issue, with my back, you know? It's a bit of a hassle, not quite as benign as my friend's over there," he gestures at Seth, and then reaches up and pulls his shirt over his head. Some of the females in attendance make some rather mature noises in response to the sight of a well-built, half-naked, and very handsome man in front of them. "Yeah," the kid says, seeming to soak up the attention with a sunny smile. "But that's not what I want you to focus on. I need you guys to –are we all looking? All eyes on me? Good- I need you guys to take a gander, " he turns his back to the crowd, "at this."

Dean barely catches a glimpse of the kid's back before suddenly his view is deterred by Randy. He makes to protest, but Randy smirks. "Don't want to watch that," he says jokingly, though his eyes warn something entirely different. "No peeking."

And for some reason, Dean doesn't argue. He stays facing Randy, glancing down at his feet instead of staring the Viper full-on in his face, because wow, awkward, as the rest of the crowd goes silent, almost deathly so.

A bit off to the side, Dean glances up and catches sight of Roman, staring off down the hall as Hunter leans with his back against the wall, unable to see inside the room. That's when he notices that they are the only four not looking into the room. Curiosity is running rampant now, but still Dean resists the urge to lean over and peer past Randy into the room, until he hears the rustle of clothes and the sound of someone clapping his hands together.
"Alright!" it's the new kid's voice. "You all can leave now. I'm not sure why you all thought it was okay to be crowding my friend in his room; can't you lot see he's trying to get some sleep? He's got to rest!"

For a moment, there's silence. Then slowly a murmur rises up from the crowd, confused and disoriented, and little by little the doctors and journalists begin to disembark from the room and disperse in the hall as if being driven along by a current. Dean and Roman watch them go with wide eyes. It was over? Just like that?

Once the last doctor leaves, the one who had been speaking, the group nearly bowls him over herding into the room. Seth's wings have been covered up by a hospital issued blanket, rising and falling as his body does with each quiet breath. The kid is standing by his bed, looking concerned. Seriously, who the fuck was he?

Once the others approach, he looks up, his face completely brightening up once he catches sight of them. "Mission accomplished, boss man," he says cheerily. Hunter joins him by the bed. "I see," he shakes his shoulder with a small grin. Dean steps up then, before the pair can say anything else. "What the hell does that mean? What did you do? And who even are you?"

The kid nods his head, going 'ah', then crosses the short distance towards Dean. He offers his hand to shake, grinning widely as he introduces himself. "Name's Finn. Finn Balor. Pleasure to meet you and be of assistance."

He looks around the hospital room, his eyes eventually landing on Seth, gazing at him with a gentle expression, vaguely resembling familiarity, fondness even. All three Hounds knew that look well; it was one they shared with each other.

"Guess it's a good thing I got here when I did."

-8-

-8-

-8-

"Homo avialae," Finn murmured, watching Seth curiously. He rounded the bed slowly, turning his head this way and that, peering at the feathers that poked out from under Seth's back. Carefully, he leaned down close enough to Seth's chest to, presumably, listen to his heartbeat.

"You know there's a heart monitor right next to you, right?" Dean says, looking oddly at Finn, who flaps a hand at him, holding up one finger for quiet. After a moment of silence, he pulls away, nodding to himself. "Normal human heartbeat. No four-chambered heart?"

"Not full-blooded," Randy says thoughtfully, awe quietly coloring his voice. Dean turns to him. "Full-blooded what?"

"Light," Finn says suddenly, making Dean look back at him. He's gently lifting Seth's arm, slipping a hand under his shoulder and testing the weight. Behind him, Roman has one foot forward, as if frozen mid step, bristling over Finn's shoulder as he moves Seth's limbs. "Calcium-dense bones. Lots of muscle. More human than anything. Lightweight maybe under all the muscle, but probably not," the newbie says, mostly to himself. "Definitely not," Randy tells him, shaking his head. "Not with human organs. He's not full-blooded."

"What the fuck are you guys talking about?" Dean finally says loudly, throwing his hands into the air. "Full-blooded what? And what was the deal with you," Dean points at Finn, "and those doctors? Who, or what the fuck are you people? How do you know Randy?" he points at the Viper then. "And how do you know this kid?"

Randy looks from Dean to Hunter leaning against the wall by the head of the hospital bed, seeming to silently ask permission to answer with his eyes. Finn shrugs a shoulder at him as well. "I mean, they already kinda know," he says quietly. Hunter nods. "May as well, though we should probably wait until Seth wakes up. He'll want to hear this too, I'm sure."

So they wait. Finn and Randy keep quiet, refusing to even make eye contact with both Roman and Dean, while Hunter mostly stays outside the room, and probably even the building, making calls. He doesn't say who he's been talking to when he returns. Regardless, almost to the second, Randy raises his head just as Hunter re-enters the room, his eyes glued to Seth's frame on the bed. "Showtime," he says quietly. It takes a moment of strained silence, but eventually, Seth shifts under the blanket, a weak twitch of his arm, and makes a small, hoarse noise in the back of his throat.

"Seth?" Almost immediately, Roman and Dean appear by his side, gazing down at him with hopeful eyes. "C'mon, kiddo," Roman murmurs, "wake up. Open those eyes."

It's been an hour since Finn drove the doctor's out of the room, almost ten minutes more waiting for Seth to finally open his eyes. When he finally does, it's a slow, tedious process. His eyelids must feel like they weigh a ton as they slowly slide away from his brown eyes.

"There we go," Roman says gently, smiling in relief. "How're you feeling?"

Seth makes an effort to blink, swimming in and out of a morphine haze. He can't really feel anything –god bless the power of high-grade painkillers. Even though his body language read exhaustion and his dark eyes were half-lidded, he still made an attempt to speak. It takes a few tries, his words mostly slurred together and mumbling as he tries to get his mouth to work. His voice is low and sluggish with sleep when he finally says, "Where'm I?"

Dean furrows his brows, worry etching his features. "You don't remember?"

Seth closes his eyes again. He hums slightly; no. Roman sighs. "I guess you wouldn't; you've been unconscious for almost two days." Seth's eyes widen at this, though he still looks dead tired. "What happened?"

Roman shook his head, running his hand through his hair. "There was a car crash," he says quietly. "You got the worst of it. The guy slammed right into us off your side. He died on impact. I'm okay, I'm okay," Roman added hurriedly, seeing Seth's eyebrows furrow in worry. "But you got hurt bad."

"How bad?"

"We thought we were gonna lose you."

Seth tilts his head; a nod as best he can manage. "Feelin' it," is all he says before closing his eyes again. "Morphine's powerful stuff."

Both Roman and Dean wince at that mention; Seth was so pumped full of morphine that he probably couldn't tell that he had no feeling in his leg. When he finally came down off the stuff, he would probably be panicked by the loss of sensation. Both of them exchange worried looks, but before Dean can explain the temporary paralysis that was ailing him, Seth turns his head a little, opening his eyes again, blinking once, before he settles on the three others watching him. A small grin graces his lips. "Randy? What're you guys doing here, Hunter?"

"Came to save your butt," Hunter answers, grinning at his bedridden protégé. "Prying eyes and inquiring minds wanted to know what was under your shirt; just thought we'd come prevent that. I made you a promise. I'm making good on it."

Seth nods, tilting his head slightly again. "Thanks, Hunter." He furrows his brow at Finn. "Ah…um…Finn, right? The Demon kid."

"You know him?" Dean asks incredulously. Surprisingly, he hasn't shown any extreme displays of relief and joy at Seth's awakening, but Roman figures that it's only because there are other people in the room with them. Later, the tears of relief might come, they might not. If they did, Roman certainly wouldn't judge.

"Yeah. NXT kid. Good ringwork. Sick body paint," Seth replies, his voice still low and scratchy, yet still bearing an air of amusement. Hunter nods. "Yup, brought him all the way up from Tampa," he says nodding at him. Finn gives Seth a two-fingered salute. "Nice to meet you formally," he says cheerily. "Now, think you can stay awake? We need to talk."

"'Bout what?" Seth asks, interest obviously piqued despite his body exuberating drowsiness. Finn cocks his head in thought. "We were waiting for you to wake up, actually. Dean asked us to explain ourselves; 'ourselves' including you now. We thought it best to show you what you really are."

Seth stares at him for a moment, confusion etched into his face. Still, he nods slowly and tries his best to seem awake.

Some of you commented, telling me you thought Seth's fate was kinda cliche, and I agree. I get that, but it had to be that way to set in motion these next few secrets and surprises. Hopefully by the end of this story, I'll hit two-hundred reviews. It makes my day to find them in my inbox and I want you readers to know that I appreciate you, even if you don't review or follow. That's not what this is about; I just came here to have a good time and let everyone have a good time with me. So I thank you for joining me this far. :)

-AC