A/N: If it is in 'regular' type face then it is Charlotte thinking/talking. If it is in Italics then it is Spirit Dean talking/thinking. Just so that this all makes sense. And an extra-long chapter. Happy Reading.

2006 – July

Part 2

South Dakota – Sioux Falls General Hospital

She stopped two feet in. Took a long, deep breath. Exhaled. And lifted her eyes to meet the bed. And the unconscious form in the bed. Her breathe got caught in her throat and she would deny it to anybody who asked that she forced a whimper to die in the back of her throat. "'I'll come back' he says." She scoffed and wiped at the tears that wanted to spring.

He sighed as he watched her. "Charlotte, I'm here. I'm fine. I'm coming back." The frustration was growing as he stepped around the bed to stand next to her over his body. 'That's still weird,' he thought as he watched his chest rise and fall thanks to the machine attached to him. Dean willed his eyes away to look at Charlotte. "Listen to me, I'm coming back. I am not dying today. I promise you."

"You idiot," she whispered and she grabbed the chair in the room and pulled it up to his bed. She fidgeted before she could settle with her arms folded across her chest and her legs crossed at the ankles in front of her. The position lasted for all of thirty seconds before she moved her body forward and pulled her legs in. Elbows sat on her knees and she clasped her hands on the edges of the bed.

"Dean, you-" she stopped and looked over his face. He looked fine. He looked alright. She hated internal damage. Hated life for being shit at the worst of times. "If you die on me I swear to God I will bring you back to kill you myself."

He laughed. "Yeah I know. I don't plan on dying anytime soon." He was stood behind her now, his arms crossed and his eyes fixed on her, him, her and the window. This was terrible. Shitty. All he wanted was to kick back, drink a beer and maybe even just take Charlotte to bed one more time. "I wish you could hear me," he said. Then a lump formed. 'Is that even possible?' He swallowed it away and sighed, his head ducking.

"The Doctors said it doesn't look good but I swear I am not going without a fight." He moved to stand next to her, his back to his body as he spoke. "Charlotte." He growled in frustration. He wished she could just look up at him, hear him out and nod. "Do not give up on me. I mean it. Don't." Then he saw the dark shape move past the door. He turned his eyes to Charlotte. "Did you see that?" When she didn't respond he moved through the room and to the door. He offered the girl one last look before he disappeared into the corridor.

She sighed and stood. Sitting around and waiting for the moment he dies or doesn't… she shook her head and frowned. Stuffed her hands into her pockets and moved into the corridor to grab herself a coffee. Her heart wrenched itself in her chest as the image of Dean just lying there came back to her. She couldn't lose Dean. She just couldn't.

There was a hitch in her breathing and she snivelled, wiped her eyes and nose and pulled her phone from her pocket. She dialled Ellen. "Hey Charlotte bad time to be calling."

"Can you put Ash on then?"

There were a few seconds before the man's voice appeared, "You've reached the great and awesome Ash how m-"

"Cut the crap and listen to me," she ran a hand over her face and said, "You know of any voodoo, hoodoo preacher, priest spell, incantation anything that heals anybody?"

"Erm," the man said. "How bad we talking here?"

"Life or death bad."

"Honestly? If it's their time it's their time."

"It's not his time alright! It's not. So you find my some way to save his sorry ass Ash."

"Alright! Just, don't kill me if I bring bad news. I'll get back to you alright?"

"Thank you." And she hung up with a sigh. She leaned against the wall, one arm pressed between wall and forehead as she calmed the panic in her chest. If there was one person in the world that could find anything it was Ash.

"Thank you! At least somebody's trying to save my ass." He folded his arms and leaned against the wall next to her. "You know my Dad's more concerned about the friggin' colt then me. And then there's the whole he knows something. Oh he knows something about yellow eyes alright." He sighed and ducked his head. Then he turned his head to Charlotte with a grimace. "I wish somebody could hear me. Talking to myself, talking to you guys without a response, it's crazy."

"Wait a minute," he turned his head to her with a frown. "Who the hell is Ash?" Charlotte just turned and leaned her back against the wall, coffee clutched tightly in her hands.

He sighed and pushed himself from off the wall and back towards his Dad's room. If he wasn't crazy before he certainly was going to be after this. The man had stopped looking over him and was in his own room. "I wish you of all people could hear me," Dean started. "Find a friggin' way to me back Dad! Stop chasing that stupid Demon for five minutes and help me!"

Then Sam was stalking back into the room. "Sam please tell me you've found a way to bring me back. There's this thing in the hospital and it's killing people."

"Did you think I wouldn't find out?" Sam said.

"What are you talking about?" Dean grimaced. 'Not this,' he thought as he moved closer to the pair of them.

After grabbing a terrible sandwich in the hospital cafeteria with some fries that she let go cold she decided to move back into Dean's room. She perched herself in the doorway with a sigh. If anything Dean was going to choose when he was going to wake up. "Lazy ass bitch," she muttered with a faint smile.

But it was quickly wiped away as alarms started ringing. "Doctor!" She shouted and moved just inside the room. Doctors and Nurses flooded the room and Sam appeared a moment later. "Dean," she whispered, tears growing in her eyes. "Don't you dare."

She nudged herself back, reaching for Sam's arm, for some physical contact to steady her. Defibrillator paddles were applied and her breathing hitched. "No," Sam said. She squeezed harder and felt Sam nudge himself closer to her.

"Please," she whispered.

And something seemed to echo in the background. Above the noises of machines, Doctors, Nurses, something echoed. She couldn't be sure but when the Doctors issued the statement that Dean was still breathing she slumped against the taller Winchester. "Did you hear something?" Sam asked.

She blinked tears out of her eyes and turned, ignoring the wetness that refused to budge. "What?"

"I dunno," he turned his eyes to the room and to the bed. "Does it feel like Dean's still here or what?"

She shrugged, "I don't, I dunno. Maybe."

He nodded. "I'll be right back."

And he left her alone with Dean. The medical staff filed out once they were satisfied that he wasn't going to conk out in the next few minutes. She gave it a few seconds before she moved to sit back in the chair next to his bed. She sighed. Her phone rang and she answered it, "Yeah?"

"It's Ash."

"You find something?"

There was a pause before he answered. "Nobody knows anything about bringing people back from near death. It's not done. I'm sorry Charlotte but, your buddy's biting it."

Tears started to form and she nodded. "Okay," she managed around the dryness of her throat. "Thanks for everything."

"Yeah, look, I'm sorry."

"Yeah, bye Ash." She put her phone back into her pocket and let watery eyes fix themselves on Dean's face.

He found Tessa wondering the halls, screaming for people to see her. "Hate to beak it to you," he said, "But yeah, you're either dead or dying."

"How," she started. "How?" They started walking and Dean tried to offer her a calm expression. In all honesty he was freaking out himself. Eventually they found her room and he offered her a grim expression. "My God," she said. Then she turned to him. "What about you? How long have you been?"

"Oh erm," he frowned. "A day I think."

"Sorry."

She sighed. Dean was dying. That was the story. That was the summary of the day. Today was the day that Dean died. Tears prickled her eyes and she felt her phone vibrate again. "Yeah?"

"How's it going?"

"Not well," she managed to choke out.

Bobby sighed. "Want me to pick you up?"

"Not yet."

"Okay," he said. "Let me know."

She nodded, told him thank you and hung up. Her eyes were back on Dean and she knew that Bobby would be torn up himself. She pushed her phone back into her pocket and leaned her elbows onto her knees and leaned forward. "God I hate you," she muttered.

Dean stood facing her, face creased into a frown. Bad news. There didn't seem to be any good news today.

"Dean I-" she stopped, sucked in her bottom lip and bit it. Blue eyes found the floor for several moments then she fixed them on his unconscious form. "Since the day I met you I have done nothing but have the urge to hit you."

He snorted. "Gee thanks. Nice to know you care."

"But," she carried on. "It's cause you were a pain in the ass."

"You started it."

"Anyway erm," her hands became really interesting at that moment and she scowled at them. "Doctors say it's not good and Ash couldn't seem to find anyone. Outside of making a deal I got nothing." Her eyes fixed themselves on his face once more.

His face fell and he simply stared at her. "Charlotte," he said.

"So I figured I needed to get some things off my chest. You know, before you kick it and everything."

"Don't."

"If by some miracle you make it," she chuckled and steadied the smile on her face. "I'll deny anything and everything."

He moved to stand next to the top of the bed next to her. Tears will still forming in the corners of her eyes and there was one fat drop rolling down her cheek like it owned the flesh. "Don't do this to yourself, please." He could feel tears begin to well up in his own eyes.

She took a deep breath, let it out and sighed. Tightened her jaw and frowned as she readied herself to speak. Even the words in her head were making it hard on her throat to speak. "I never, really, hated you. Well, I sort of do." She eyed him with a lopsided smirk. "But you knew that. Of course you erm, you know that." She swallowed the growing lump.

He smirked faintly. "Yeah. I do."

She licked her lips and managed to find her voice once more. She gave a little scoff and ducked her head. "I have no idea where this Alex thing is going. Part of me thinks that I did it to spite you. Or to make you jealous. Or... I don't know!" She sighed and ran a hand over her face. "But I have no idea what I'm doing with him. That," she eyed him, "That is the truth."

Dean gave a snort. "That much was obvious."

"Doesn't mean if you remember this you're a dick about it."

He settled his expression.

"As I said I will hurt you."

Another smirk started to grow.

She sighed. "Every time I saw you I kept thinking, 'This is it. I won't see him or his brother again.' But you kept coming back."

He frowned, curious to where the conversation was going.

A faint smile tugged the corners of her lips up. "And every time you came back I started to like you a little more."

He crouched in front of her, lifting his eyes up to hers. "I love you." He swallowed, if that were possible for a ghost, and ducked his head. After a moment he lifted it with a stern expression. "I love you. If I'm dying then I want to say it. I-" he faltered, mouth hanging open. "I love you."

She gave a laugh and ducked her eyes from his body. "You are the biggest pain in the ass I've ever met. The biggest man whore and I want to hate you." She lifted her head to eye his unconscious body. "But I can't I just…" she sighed and a frown started. "There was one thing the Shifter said that I never told you."

He leaned closer. "What?"

"You love me. That's what it said and…" she left her mouth open, closed it and opened it again. "It scared me. I didn't want to believe it. I didn't. But then I started thinking and I started to realise that I." She stopped.

"What?"

"Dean I lo-"

Sam entered and Dean jumped to his feet. "Dammit Sam! She was just about to say it." He watched as Charlotte clamped her mouth shut and wiped her eyes. "If there was ever a time I need you to hear me Sam it's now. Leave. For ten minutes that's all." Then he saw what Sam was pulling from the bag he was holding. "The hell is-" a Ouija board. "Oh like that actually works."

"Do you really think it'll work?"

Sam shrugged. "Nothing to lose right." He set the board on the floor and Charlotte stood behind him, arms folded and eyes fixed on the small wooden tool in the middle of the board. "Dean? Are, are you here?"

She pinched her nails into the folds of her arms and waited, eyes fixed on the wooden pointer. As it moved to point to YES she froze. "Oh my god," she muttered. "Have you been listening this whole time?"

He smirked and circled the pointer around the YES on the board.

"You asshole," she muttered. Sam gave her a look and she rolled her eyes. "Nothing."

NOT NICE. He spelt out with a glare.

"Yeah well you deserve it."

"Charlotte can we," Sam said. "Okay," Sam turned his attention back to the board. The pointer moved again. H. U. N. "Hunt? You're hunting?" YES. "What are you hunting?" R. E. A. P "A reaper?" YES. Charlotte turned her eyes to the floor. Reapers were natural in hospitals and there was no way to kill one that anybody knew about. Dean was dead. "No," Sam said. "No, no, no, no. There, there has to be a way." And he was leaving once more.

She followed him with her eyes and sighed. A reaper. There was no stopping a reaper. Out of the corner of her eye she noticed the pointer moving and stepped closer to the board. TALK. She sat down and took a hold of the other side. "Dean? You seem screwed."

He glared. "Thanks for that," and moved the pointer to YES. He sighed. That was what they did he guessed. They fought so they didn't have to admit anything. He always attacked her when she made some personal comment and she did the same thing. "I know you can't hear me but at least I can talk to you now." He started to move to the letters on the board. SHIF.

"Shifter." She sighed.

YES. "It's true," he said and he eyed her. Then he started to move it again. TRUE. LOVE YOU.

"Dean," she whined, tears starting to form again. "Stop it."

"Nope," he smirked sadly. "I may be dying so I want to say it. If Sammy asks though, or anyone, I didn't say anything. Like you said." SAY IT. DYING.

Another fat tear rolled down her cheek. "Dean."

PLEASE.

She took in a shaky breath and turned her eyes about the room. "Where are you?"

ACROSS.

She turned her head to face him.

He let go of the pointer and looked at her. The tears he kicked himself for but he wanted to hear it. Before he died before he kicked the bucket he wanted to hear her say it.

"I," she hesitated, sucked in her bottom lip and let a breath out. "I love you." Then she ducked her head and let out a sob. "I hate you," she muttered and she got to her feet and wiped at her eyes. "You son of a bitch," she choked out between sobs.

He touched the pointer once more and spelt out the words THANK YOU before he stood and looked at her. "I mean it," he said. "Thank you." And then he was turning his eyes back to the door as Sam entered, their Dad's journal in hand.

"Dad's gone."

"What?"

"What?"

Charlotte hurriedly wiped her eyes and moved to follow Sam across the room. "Where is he?"

"I don't know," then he saw her and frowned. "Are you okay?"

"Shut up and open the damn book." She pushed his shoulder into opening their Dad's journal. Sam complied and turned to the pages John Winchester had written about Reapers. "What's it say?"

Sam shook his head. "Nothing that helps Dean."

"Dammit," she said.

"I'm not going with you," he told Tessa once he'd learnt that she was the Reaper. "My family's in danger and my little brother could die."

Tessa just smiled politely. "Dean, even if I did let you stay, they'll die anyway and you'll be left to hang around. In a hundred years or so you might get sad. Crazy. It may even drive you to violence." He frowned and she offered him a sympathetic look. "How do you think angry spirits are born? They can't let go and they can't move on. If I leave you here you'll just become one."

Dean screwed his face up in weary sadness. That was the last thing he wanted. But he didn't want to go either. At least not without saying goodbye properly. "Can, can I say goodbye?"

She shook her head. "I'm sorry Dean. But don't you think Charlotte's hurt enough."

"To my brother at least."

She shrugged her shoulder. "I can't do that. I can only take you on."

"To where?"

"I can't ruin the big punchline for you."

He sighed. The lights started to flicker and he stepped away from the bed he'd been sitting on. "What are you doing that for?"

"I'm not," she said. Black smoke started to appear and Dean began to back away towards the door. "You can't do this!" He watched in shock as it moved into the Reaper and she turned to him. Her eyes were black and she smiled sardonically. "Today's your lucky day kid." And she touched his head.

Dean spluttered, coughed and woke. "Dean?" Sam said.

"We need help in here!" Charlotte called through the door. Seconds later Nurses and Doctors were in the room and dealing with him. She turned her eyes up to Sam with a smile. "He made it." The minutes passed and once he was cleared they approached the bed once more. "How you feeling?"

"Fine," he said with a frown. "I'm alive?"

"Yeah," Sam said. "Well good job." Dean only frowned further. "With the reaper." Deeper. "That was after you."

"What?"

Charlotte's face dropped. "You don't, you don't remember?"

Dean shook his head. "I remember driving in the car, then I'm waking up here."

John Winchester appeared at the door and everyone turned to see him. "It's good to see you son."

"Yeah," Dean said.

"Where were you last night?"

"Sam," Charlotte and Dean whined together.

"I had some things to take care of." He moved into the room and eyed his taller son. "Sammy you can be angry all you want, but I don't want to fight anymore. Half the time we argue I don't even know what it's about. We're just butting heads. I've done what I thought was best for you and I've made some mistakes. Can we not argue?"

"Are you alright?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, just tired. Would you two mind grabbing me and Dean something eat and drink?"

Charlotte nodded with a frown and pulled Sam out of the room. "Well Dean's alive."

"Yeah," Sam said. A smile started to form and he moved to the coffee machine.

Charlotte dug her phone out of her pocket and dialled Bobby. "So Dean's fine. He lives to annoy us another day," she bit her lip and frowned. "Could you pick us up in an hour or two? Thanks." And she hung up. He didn't remember anything. The corners of her eyes crinkled and she gritted her teeth. I love you. Words spilt for what? Nothing. She shook her head and grabbed a few snacks from the vending machine. Until they could get some actual food this would do.

She and Sam started back to the Winchester rooms and stopped as they passed John's room. The coffee was abandoned on the floor and Charlotte dropped the stuff she had to yell for help. Dean hobbled over and Charlotte let him lean on her as he peered into the room full of Nurse and Doctors. A Nurse had tried to shuffle the three of them out and Dean had only yelled that it was their Dad. They watched as chest compressions were started and fluids were inserted. "Come on," he hissed. There was a flat tone on one of the machines and Charlotte shook her head. This couldn't be happening.

"Don't die," Charlotte muttered.

"Okay," one of the Doctors said. Charlotte's heart dropped. No. Dean seemed to slump on her and she backed up to hold him up. "I'm calling it." No. Dean seemed to hold onto her a little more. "Time of death, 10:41 AM."