Two orderlies rushed outside with a gurney. When they opened the door, they had to catch Bobby to keep him from falling. He was wheeled away into the hospital. Someone took her keys from her, she did not put up a fight. Just walked back into the hospital. The adrenaline was ebbing away. She felt like she was wading in a body of water.

"What about you sweetheart? Are you okay?" the receptionist nurse was asking her.

Emily nodded. "Not my blood," she mumbled.

"You cannot be unsupervised and unattended in the hospital. Is there someone you'd like to call?"

Emily would have objected furiously at the implication of those words but she was shell shocked, and truthfully, at the moment she welcomed being mistaken for a minor. She could have corrected the woman with her standard line, "I'm eighteen, I'm not a minor. I don't need adult supervision!" but she didn't. Instead she chose to make the phone call.

She tried Dean's phone first. "The person you are trying to reach is on another line," the electronic voice informed her.

She tried Sam's but it just kept ringing. She gave up after three tries.

"I couldn't reach them. I'll try again later," she reported.

"No problem. If you'd like to clean up, Hattie will show you to the bathrooms."

Since they believed she was a minor, she was not expected to fill in any paper work for Bobby, and if they had expected her to, she would have used the confused-traumatized-child routine. She had no idea what information Bobby would want to use, so he would have to fill in his own paper work when he was able. Sometimes looking younger than her years was an advantage, but she'd rather die than admit that loud.

She sat in the waiting area and waited for news, analysing her decisions. Had she driven too slow? Had she hurt Bobby further by moving him? Why had she not connected the dots between Bobby's hunt and the Hercules and Cacus poem earlier? Someone was standing in front of her. She looked up. The man handed back her car keys. He said something about moving her car. She didn't really care, but she still whispered thanks.

She had no way of knowing that at the time of her call, Dean's phone was busy because he was talking to their father. Sam who was already irate from his brief talk with John was becoming angrier as he watched Dean get a pen and write down the names their father was mentioning. Dean's 'yessir answers' were making Sam furious. He could not bear to answer his phone which was vibrating on the nightstand.

When Dean got off the phone and said they were going to Indiana, Sam was having none of it but he acquiesced temporarily and they checked out of the motel together. However, a couple of miles down the road, he stopped the car, and announced he was going to California to find their father. Dean was just as determined to fulfill his father's orders. He was going to Indiana to hunt whatever was snatching up a pair of couples every two years. After a brief spat, the brothers went their separate ways.

In Rum River, Emily had fallen into a light doze in the hard chairs of the waiting room, a victim of crashing adrenaline levels.

"Miss Singer?" someone shook her awake softly.

She came awake in a burst of movement; she was on her feet in an instant. How the hell had she fallen asleep?

"Did something happen? Is my uncle okay?"

"Yes, he's okay. I'm sorry I alarmed you. We've moved him to a room, you can go in and see him, sit with him. Is someone coming for you?"

"I didn't reach them yet. I'll try tomorrow. My uncle and I were staying at a hotel, but I really don't want to stay all by myself there. Is it okay if I stay here tonight? I promise I won't be any trouble." Emily was going to milk this being a minor scenario for all its worth.

"Of course, dear."

She was led to the room Bobby was in. The first thing she thought when she saw him was how different he looked without his cap on. He was somehow less rugged, more genteel. Next she wondered what it was about hospital beds that diminished people. Maybe it was because hospital beds had railings and that made the occupants seem childlike. Maybe, it was because the beds themselves were big and dwarfed the occupant. Maybe the machines that reduced a person's life to numbers and blips were to blame. Maybe Bobby had always been this size, and had just seemed bigger because to her he was a constant, solid, reassuring presence, and he was larger than life, albeit in a quiet, unobtrusive, gruff way. Either way, he looked smaller now.

She sat next to him and took his hand. "And you say I'm stubborn, you obstinate old fool!" she said affectionately.

"Obstinance can be a good thing!" The doctor was probably only a few years older than Dean. Emily's head snapped up at the words.

"Why?"

"He lost a lot of blood and he developed what we call hypovolemic anemia which is basically caused by low circulating blood volume."

"I did all I could. I just … I just couldn't stop the bleeding!" Emily's voice hitched at the thought that she had not done enough to save Bobby.

"No, I'm sorry. I'm not blaming you. You actually did good. You kept the wounds clean, and bandaged him up so you most probably kept infection at bay. Besides, you stopped the head wound bleed and you got him here really fast."

"So he is going to be okay?"

"Yeah, he's just sleeping. We pumped him full of painkillers and antibiotics. The only reason he was in the O.R. for so long was because stitching him up took quite a while. The bear that attacked him, really had a swing, uh! However, your uncle must have one hell of a guardian angel because none of his organs were damaged! We had to give him a rabies shot though, just to be safe. Now, we're going to closely monitor the serum electrolytes to avoid overcorrection."

"And his head?" Emily had stopped listening at stitches, the rest was just medical mumbo jumbo to her. The doctor should know better than to bombard her with so much information. After all, she was supposedly a minor!

"He has a slight concussion, hence the dizziness you reported. The actual head wound is really very minor, head wounds just tend to bleed a lot. Like I said, you did good. He will be okay."

Emily said a heartfelt thanks to the doctor and he left.

She sat and watched Bobby sleep. She had failed him. She should have gotten to him faster. She rested her head on the bed, what ifs running through her mind. What if Bobby hadn't relayed Steve's information to her? What if she had read something else? What if she hadn't connected the dots at all? What if she had missed that shot? She finally fell asleep an hour later, slumped over the bed and still holding onto his hand.

She had been too late. Bobby had been eviscerated. She was in time to kill the cacus but not to save Bobby. Falling off the chair woke her up from the nightmare. She had been asleep only one damn hour. The dream had been so real, she couldn't catch her breath or pick herself off the floor for nearly a minute.

When she finally did, she could not fall back asleep. She realised it was not just the fear of having another nightmare that was keeping her awake, but the fear that she had not done enough to protect Bobby. She could not fail him now. She remembered her time in the hospital in Brandon. Even before knowing what had really happened to her, Bobby had secured her room, like the hunter he was. Well, she was a hunter in training, so she had better start behaving like one.

Damn, now she wished she had driven Bobby's car from the woods, because at least it was loaded with the hunter's equipment. Hers had nothing except the duffle Bobby had had with him in the woods and that only had the first aid kit, a handful of weapons, and salt. The salt would do, but unfortunately the holy water was finished. She really needed to get Bobby's car.

She carefully ventured out of the hospital and creeped through the parking lot looking for her car. She knew the guy who had parked it had said something about where he had placed it when he returned the keys, but she could not recall his words, so it took her nearly thirty minutes to find it. The duffle bag was on the back seat where she had tossed it in her haste to get Bobby to the hospital. She found the salt then placed the duffle in the trunk. Back in the room, she salted the window and placed a salt circle round Bobby's bed. She hoped the night nurse would be too distracted to notice the salt, and in the morning, Emily would wake up early and remove it so the day nurse wouldn't think she was crazy and have her thrown out or into psych. Then she would go get Bobby's car. Slightly more content, she was able to fall asleep.

Movement from the bed woke her up. She'd gotten another two hours of sleep. Not ideal, but it was better than nothing. She was so stiff, she was sure she would never stand fully upright ever again. Bobby had been out for nine hours but that did not stop him from complaining about her bringing him to the hospital. She ignored him and kissed him on the cheek, glad he was awake and grousing already. He growled even louder at the lack of coffee and threatened her with retribution.

"I'd be scared if you were not wearing a dress!" Emily teased him, with a laugh as she gathered the salt, using her hands and his chart. Finally seeing her smile and remembering how worried and scared she had been back in the forest and during the drive, Bobby let it go. Besides, he hadn't felt too hot on the drive to the hospital, and he did not remember getting to the hospital, so he knew she had made the right call bringing him here instead of driving him to the yard.

"You're a candy flavoured dictator, aren't you?" he groused good-naturedly.

Emily grinned even wider. "Well, this dictator is glad you're okay."

"Thanks to you."

Her smile fell. "I should have gotten there sooner."

"You got there, even though I told you to stay put, and that's what matters. Now I hope you're not blaming yourself for what happened."

"Bobby, I …"

"Hey, listen here knucklehead, this is not your fault. If anything, it was mine. I should have done my own research instead of acting on Wandell's damn conclusions! Now I don't want you saying otherwise!"

A nurse came in, her cheery presence ending the discussion. She frowned when Emily randomly said Christo, and subsequently ignored her. Checking Bobby's chart, she added medication to the IV, then readjusted the flow rate.

Before Bobby faded out, Emily told him she was going to go get his car back, and look for food. When she left the room, her anxiety began to show. She had kept it well hidden from Bobby, but she was worried about her brothers. She was yet to hear from them.

Outside the hospital, she tried their phones again. This time Dean's was off and Sam's was giving a busy signal. Oh God! Please, let them be okay, please. Emily had never been one for prayers, but after last night, hunting was no longer an abstract activity, so not hearing from her brothers was making her break out in a cold sweat. Why hadn't they answered their phones the night before? Why hadn't they called her back yet? They'd said they'd make it to the yard last evening. If they had, they would have called her and Bobby immediately. So it was obvious they had not made it to the yard. Were they okay? She didn't know what to do, she couldn't go to Rockford, couldn't leave Bobby here alone. She needed to keep busy, keep moving or she was going to break down, curl herself into a foetal position and sob herself into oblivion.

She took a bus, then walked the rest of the way to where the Chevelle was. Driving it back into town, she went shopping for herself and Bobby. She then booked into a hotel simply to have a shower, and replenish the holy water which involved dropping a blessed rosary in a plugged sink filled with water and saying a blessing. 'Creature water, I exorcise thee in the name of God the Father almighty, and in the name of Jesus Christ His Son, our Lord, and in the power of the Holy Spirit, that you may be able to put to flight all the power of the enemy, and be able to root out and supplant that enemy and his apostate angels.'

There was a longer version of this prayer but this Sam-abridged version worked just as well, and in a pinch, you could make plenty of holy water very fast. She filled the flask.

In the hotel restaurant, she ordered a huge meal but barely ate. There were still no calls from her brothers and she needed to return to the hospital, to Bobby. Having no other choice, she called the only other person whose number she had.

Expecting, the two rings then hang up then call again routine her brothers followed, she nearly dropped the phone when he answered after the first ring.

"Yeah?" the voice was deep, the tone curt and a little dangerous.

"Pastor Jim Murphy?" Emily asked. She had never expected a pastor to sound so dangerous!

"Who is this?"

"My name is Emily Av…"

"Did something happen?" the man's voice went from dangerous to concerned like someone had clicked a switch! Emily was thrown and went quiet for a moment. "Hello?" the pastor called.

"Sorry, uh … yeah, I mean no, I'm okay, but something happened to Bobby." Without waiting for him to ask for details, Emily launched into a quick, summarized retelling of the events.

"Are you still there? In Rum River? I can be there in less than three hours, I just need to get someone to cover for me." He wondered why Steve had not called him about the hunt. After all, Blue Earth was just two hours away from Rum River.

"Yeah, we're still here, but you don't have to come. I've got it covered here and I'm sure Bobby will want to leave as soon as he can. It's going to be a trial just persuading him to stay one more night. I'm calling you for another reason."

"What?"

"I've been trying to get in touch with Sam and Dean, to no avail and I'm kind of worried about them. Is there a way you can find them? Someone you can call maybe?"

"Oh! You know, I wouldn't be too worried about those brothers of yours. They have a way of wriggling out of the tightest spots. Besides, like John, they have a spotty relationship with technology, though he takes it to new heights. I'm sure they're okay, but I'll send out feelers, just in case. If I learn anything, I'll let you know."

"Thank you."

"Sure. Thanks for looking out for Bobby but for all our sakes, don't forget to take care of yourself, okay? Your father is not one to cross!"

Emily laughed as she hang up. She needed to return to the hospital. She'd been gone almost two hours.

She could only bring the holy water, a UV marker and one of Bobby's knives smuggled in her boot, into the hospital. She wondered how Sam had managed to get his gun through screening at the hospital in Brandon. Maybe that hospital hadn't had as much security as this one, or maybe her brothers were ingenious about such things. The latter was the most probable reason.

She opened the door and found a kid, a boy about eleven, standing right next to Bobby, staring intently at him. Emily was not sure who was more alarmed; her or the kid. She yelled Christo and flung some of the new holy water in his face. Nothing happened. She hoped it was because the kid was harmless and not because she had made the water wrong. With her nerves shot to hell she might have said the blessing wrong. She sure hoped she hadn't. She edged herself between the boy and Bobby.

Spluttering in indignation the kid asked, "What the heck?"

Clearly he wasn't allowed to swear. Emily smiled. "Sorry. I thought you were … uh someone else?"

"Who? Mr. Stinky?"

"Who are you and why are you here?" She took in the kid's hospital gown and waved him down to sit in the reclining chair next to the bed. She sat on the edge of the bed, by Bobby's legs.

The boy made himself comfortable, sitting cross-legged in the chair. "I'm Joe, I heard the nurses talking about the guy who was half eaten by a bear. I wanted to check it out. He doesn't look half eaten."

Emily did not know whether to be amused or appalled by the kid's disappointment that Bobby had not been eaten. "That's because he wasn't, but he was clawed up pretty bad. You do know it's rude to enter people's rooms without permission, right?"

"I know, I'm sorry,' the kid dropped his head in shame but seconds later it snapped back up, "Hey, how come the bear didn't get you?" he narrowed his eyes in suspicion.

It was a funny look on a child and Emily found herself smiling as she answered. "That's cos I shot it before it could, but you can't tell anyone."

"Wow! Awesome!"

"No, shooting the bear was not awesome! What is awesome is that he is okay." Emily said sternly, indicating Bobby.

The kid was old enough to understand what Emily was trying to relay to him. He looked duly chastened. "I'm glad he is okay. Is he your dad?"

"He's as good as. He's my uncle."

"How big was the bear?" the kid sure had a one track mind.

Emily smiled, "It was huge!" she said theatrically. She knew how much kids his age liked drama. She used her arms to indicate the size and height of the imaginary bear. Her exaggerations still fell short of the cacus.

"Whoa!" he was impressed like she had expected. "Were you scared?"

"Shitless!" she thought but instead said, "I was beyond scared!"

"But you still shot it?" his voice was filled with awe. It really didn't take much to impress a child!

"It was a fluke! So why are you here? In the hospital I mean?" Emily needed to turn the tables.

"Appendicitis." Joe sighed. "Being sick sucks."

"I know it does, but at least you'll have a scar. My brother keeps saying chicks dig scars!"

"Yeah? Really? Do you like scars?" he sounded hopeful.

"Of course, I do. They're proof that you've lived, seen action! Survived pain!" Emily smiled. Dean said it to bolster himself, but maybe he had a point. "You're a little young for me though."

The kid looked disappointed for a few seconds then perked up again, "Does your brother have scars?" he needed to quantify the statement from both sides.

"Yeah. They both do." Now the anxiety was back. Were her brothers okay?

"Where are they? Your brothers I mean?" the boy broke into her desperate musings.

That's a good question. She took a deep breath before answering the boy, "They're working."

"Bet they're really cool, cos you're cool and you're a girl."

"Thanks, I think!" Emily laughed. "And yes, they're cool, Dean even has the leather jacket to prove it. Do you have siblings?"

"I have a big sister. She's not cool like you. She's bossy!" he added petulantly.

"Is she always telling you what to do, even when you know what to do?" Emily smiled.

"Yeah! And she's always telling me I told you so!" he said in a high affected voice, trying to imitate his sister.

Emily laughed. Okay, her brothers would never say that, but sometimes Sam would give her a look that relayed the same message. Of course by the time they left the yard, they had mostly learnt how to handle her and she had stopped doing things just for the sake of being contrary, so there were less I told you so looks. "You know, if you show her how grown up and responsible you are, she won't be on your case so much," she advised her new friend.

"Really?"

"I promise! Then when …"

The door opened and a nurse came in, "So this is where you are, you cheeky little monster, I'm sorry if he bothered you dear."

"Oh, no, he was not any trouble. We were having a bit of a chat."

"Well, he needs to get back to his room. His mom is here."

The boy got up. "Bye. I hope your uncle gets better."

Emily waved him out, "You be nice to your sister, okay?"

"Sure!" the door closed behind him and the nurse.

Emily berated herself for slacking on the Bobby protection job. It was 11:30, she had to work fast because lunch time would bring Bobby's nurse. With the UV marker, she hurriedly drew sigils strategically around the room hoping she was getting them right. She switched the knife from her boot to the waistband of her jeans, making sure her jacket covered it.

She then sat in the chair and turned on the TV and flicked the remote looking for something decent to watch. Gosh, there was nothing on. She flicked through again, just in case she had missed something. Nope, still nothing on. Third time is the charm, she flicked through again. Nothing had changed. There was nothing on. Great, Bobby would be okay but she was going to die of boredom! Or anxiety, because the boys still hadn't called.

She got her phone and tried them again. Now both phones were off. Shit!

She paced the room. She sat down. She flicked through channels. She tried to call her brothers. She swore. She paced the room. And the sequence started again.

When Bobby's nurse walked in an hour later to check on the IV, Emily was mid-pace. "What did you give him? He's not waking up!" she petulantly asked the nurse. At least with Bobby awake and bellyaching, she'd have someone to talk with.

The nurse laughed. Teenagers! They thought the world revolved around them! They wished you didn't exist, but ignore them and they suddenly wanted your attention!

"He should be waking up soon but his body needs the rest to heal."

Emily sighed. She knew that.

"We've got a recreation room in the children's wing. There are a couple of video games that might interest you," the nurse added kindly at seeing the dejection on Emily's face.

"What! You want me to go play video games and leave him here alone?" Emily sounded so shocked that the woman would even suggest such a thing.

The nurse smiled. She had been wrong, this one right here was one of the good ones. "He raised you right!" she patted Emily's knee before leaving.

"What was with people treating her like a child?" Emily wondered. Maybe it was because she was too fresh faced. At this rate she just might reconsider makeup!