AUTHOR'S NOTE: FandomCaptive, tamilyn313, EmilyAnnMcGarret-Winchester, Redheadlass, MariaKata, beckini, fanclaire, Artemis1964, BloodForInk, carlton1, AshtynnAlba, WandaMarie, LexieLou, and MACMONKEY, thank you for the reviews! I truly appreciate everyone who takes the time to leave a comment! I'm hoping to try and get myself into a writing schedule during the week so that I can try and publish once a week or so instead of having so much time between chapters. Hoping that a schedule brings me a little bit of peace during these trying times! Hope all of you are staying safe and healthy!

Content Warning for hurt/comfort/feels- the ending of the chapter gets a little emotional!

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I had decided I was going to try and be as cheerful and well-behaved as possible. Daddy had been in a bad mood when he woke up, and he had been snappy. Grandpa John had snapped back at him, and breakfast was tense. I did my schoolwork and helped Grandpa John with laundry and making lunch without any complaints.

In the afternoon, he took me to gymnastics. It had been a couple of weeks since I had been there. I was waiting in line for a turn on the balance beam. It was going to be my turn next, so I turned to find Grandpa John to see if he was watching me. He was sitting on the end of the front row of folding chairs where the waiting parents sat. A woman was sitting next to him, facing him, and it looked like they were talking.

"Ready, Charlie?" Miss Lainey asked. She helped me get up on the balance beam. I glanced over to see if Grandpa John had seen me. "Pay attention, Charlie. Get your balance." Miss Lainey told me. I straightened up and balanced, and she let my hand go. She talked me through the moves she had taught me before. "You've remembered everything, that's good. I think next time we can work on dismounting."

"Can I do a flip?" I asked as she helped me down.

She laughed. "Well, first you need to be comfortable doing a backflip on the floor. We're going to work on cartwheels and backflips at the next class."

After all the other kids had a turn on the balance beam, class was over. I skipped over to the chairs, where the lady was still talking to Grandpa John.

A girl with a long dark braid came over. "We're finished, Mom!" She said to the woman.

The woman smiled at the girl. "All right." She said to her, and then she focused on Grandpa John. "Would you mind taking a look?" She asked him.

"Sure, I can do that." Grandpa John stood up and looked at me. "I'm going to check out this lady's car before we leave." He offered me his hand.

I took it. "Okay."

"I told you to call me Harper!" The woman said with a smile. "I'm the silver minivan parked near the tree."

We followed her out to the parking lot. She opened the driver's side door and popped the hood while her daughter got into the back of the van. Grandpa John pulled the hood up and called, "Go ahead and start it."

She started the engine, and it made a screeching sound. She leaned out of the car. "That's the noise I was talking about."

Grandpa John reached into the engine and did something. "Give it some gas." He told her, and she revved the engine. He did something else, and then walked over to her. I followed him.

"Sounds like it might be the timing belt, you might need a new one." He said. "You can take it in to your mechanic and have them replace it, they're not that expensive."

She smiled at him. "Oh, thank you so much! I don't really have a mechanic, so…" She shrugged.

"My son works over at Turner's Garage, I'm sure he'd be happy to help." Grandpa John smiled.

"Is he as good with his hands as you are?" She tilted her head.

"I taught him most of what he knows, so I know he's good at it."

"Well, I'll give them a call. Do you have a business card?"

"No, I don't, I can give you their number." Grandpa John pulled out his phone.

"Let me grab my phone-" She leaned over and opened her purse, taking out her phone and pressing a button. "Go ahead."

"It's 705-555-2574." Grandpa John told her.

"Okay...and what was his name?" She stared at her phone, frowning in concentration as she typed.

"Dean Winchester at Turner's Garage."

She peered up at Grandpa John through her eyelashes. "I'll be sure to call him. It's been so hard finding the time to do things like this on my own."

"Okay then." Grandpa John looked over at me. "You ready?"

She sat up straight, smiling again. "Thank you so much for your help!" She gushed. "Will you be bringing your grand-daughter next week?" She glanced at me.

"You're welcome, glad I could help." Grandpa John slid his phone into his pocket. "We should be there."

She looked back at Grandpa John, wetting her lips. "I'll see you then! Maybe we could go out for coffee after."

"We'll see." Grandpa John reached for my hand and I took it. "All right, we'll be seeing you." We turned and walked over to his truck as she called, "Good-bye, thank you again for your help!"

"Was she asking you out on a date?" I asked him, buckling my seatbelt.

The corners of his lips twitched. "I'm so out of practice with that sort of thing, I don't really know." He started the engine. "She talked a lot about how hard it's been, adjusting to being a single woman now...maybe she was coming on to me." He turned slightly as he backed out of the parking space.

"Would you go on a date with her?" I looked at him.

He was looking at the road. "Uh, I don't...I don't think so."

We passed by a used car lot. "I hope Daddy's in a better mood when he gets home." I said quietly.

Grandpa John glanced at me. "I hope so too."

When we got home, there were kids standing around near Addi's house and some kids on skateboards in the street. A girl on roller skates moved away from the group- it was Addi.

She skated toward me on the sidewalk, waving. "Can you come and play?" She called.

I looked up at Grandpa John. "Can I?"

"Sure." He nodded.

"Get your bike!" Addi called.

"Can I ride my bike?" I asked.

"As long as you make sure you keep that helmet on." Grandpa John said firmly. "We don't want a repeat of what happened last time."

I did not want another spanking! "Yes, Grandpa John." I agreed meekly.

"I'll get the bike out, meet you around the side." He told me.

We kept the bike in the little room that was at the side of the kitchen, where the washing machine and dryer were. It opened out into the back yard.

I hurried down the driveway and met Grandpa John as he wheeled my bike out. I grabbed the handlebar and started to climb on, but he said sharply, "Ah-ah!"

I stopped and looked at him. He pointed to the helmet, which was dangling off of the right handlebar.

"Put it on before you get on the bike." His voice was stern, and he frowned.

I put the helmet on, and he checked it to make sure it fit right. "All right, go ahead. Come inside when your dad gets home, like yesterday."

"Thanks!" I climbed onto my bike and pedaled up the driveway.

"That's a pretty bike!" Addi said to me as I met her on the sidewalk.

"Thanks!" I said.

"Were you at dance class?" she asked.

I looked down- I had forgotten to change out of my leotard. "No, I went to gymnastics."

"Oh." She started to skate and I rode my bike next to her.

"Next week we're gonna learn how to do backflips, so I can teach you how to do one of those too." I told her.

"I prob'ly won't be able to, I can't even do a cartwheel." Addi said dejectedly.

"You just gotta practice." I encouraged. "You'll get better at it."

"Hey, let's try something." Addi stopped. "I'll hold on to your seat and you pull me along!"

"Oh...do you think I can?" I asked uncertainly.

"I'm not that heavy!" She joked, skating around behind me. "Okay, go!"

I tried to pedal the bike, but it was hard to get going with the extra weight on the back.

"Oh look, it's Crazy Charlie!" The blonde boy on the skateboard from yesterday was back, skating past us.

"Just ignore him." Addi muttered.

"Craaaazy!" Another boy skated past.

"Chaaaaarlie!" A third boy went past us.

"Shut up!" Addi called.

I managed to get the bike going, and we rode down the sidewalk together. I turned around when we got a ways past her house and we started to go back.

"Hey, Crazy Charlie, seen any ghosts lately?" The blonde boy sneered.

"Ooohhh!" One of the other boys called, waving his arms.

I gritted my teeth, determined not to say anything. I stopped just past Addi's house.

"Wanna switch?" Addi asked me.

"What d'you mean?"

"You can use my skates and I'll ride your bike and pull you!" She explained.

"Uh-do you have a helmet?" I asked.

She shrugged. "My mom bought us helmets but you don't really have to wear one if you're skating. You aren't going as fast on skates, so you won't get hurt."

"Oh." I climbed off the bike and unfastened my helmet, holding it out to her. "Here."

She gave me a confused look.

"You gotta wear this, I get in trouble if I don't wear it." I figured if Addi rode my bike without the helmet and got hurt, I'd be in trouble with Daddy and maybe even with her parents, and I didn't want that to happen.

"Well...okay." She said doubtfully. She sat down and unlaced the skates. I sat down next to her and took off my shoes, tossing them over into the grass. I slid my feet into the skates and laced them up while she put the helmet on.

"How do I do this?" She asked. I helped her buckle it and made sure it wasn't too loose, then she stood up. "Lemme try it first." She got onto my bike and started to ride it, wobbling back and forth.

"Gee, great job." One of the skateboard boys rode by, laughing.

I tried to get my balance on the skates, and fell backwards, landing hard on my butt. There was more laughing from the kids in the street.

I stood up, turning towards them. "Shut UP!" I yelled. "Leave us ALONE!"

They laughed, making jeering sounds.

Addi rode up to me. "Okay, I got it. Wanna go?" She turned the bike around. I skated behind her, leaning forward and grabbing the little bar on the back of the seat. "Okay!"

She started to pedal, grunting with the effort.

"Pulling that crazy along has gotta be hard!" The blonde boy was back.

Addi turned her head toward him. "You shut up! Go away!"

"Addi, watch it!" I shouted, as the bike began to veer onto the grass. She turned her head back and concentrated, and we rode down the sidewalk past her house. We turned around to go back, and the boys on the skateboards began skating alongside us in the street, back and forth.

"It's Crazy Charlie and Idiot Addi!" One of them called.

"They're gonna ride off and look for ghosts!"

"Hahaha, they're too dumb!"

"Aw, go away, you jerks!" Addi hollered, turning her head again.

The boys began laughing and calling to us as they skated. "Oooohhh, maybe the ghosts will come and find them!"

"Look, it's a crazy train!"

"Goin' off the rails on the crazy train." A boy sang.

Addi had been looking over at them again, and saying, "Shut up, shut up, shut up!"

Suddenly we were at the slope in the curb where the driveway started, and then Addi had biked out onto the street.

"Addi, stop, I'm not s'posed to be in the street!" I exclaimed. If Daddy saw me in the street I'd be in big trouble!

Everything seemed to happen in slow motion then. One of the boys skated up next to us, so close that I could see the bandaid on his neck. Addi steered away from him. Another boy skated in front of her, making whooping sounds, and she cried out. A third boy was right behind him, and he crashed into us. The world turned upside down and I heard the sound of the bike falling and a loud thump, and then there was yelling. Everything went gray.

I was looking down at the street from up above. There was a tangle of bodies on the road. An upside down skateboard was nearby, the front wheels still rolling. The girl who was trapped under the bike was holding her arm, her mouth wide open. The boy who was laying over the back wheel of the bike sat up, rubbing his head- his face had a huge red scrape on it. There was a blonde girl underneath him and the bike wheel, laying completely still.

I couldn't feel anything or hear anything. Everything appeared to be happening in slow motion. I saw the other kids come running over, and a girl knelt down next to the girl who was holding her arm. One of the kids ran over to a house and went inside, and then a woman came out of the house and ran into the street. A man came out of the house next door and hurried into the street as well. The man and woman got the bike off of the girl and helped her sit up. The woman leaned over the blonde girl, and then looked up at the man. He ran down the street to another house and knocked on the front door frantically. A tall dark haired man came out of the house and both men ran back to the kids on the road. A car had come down the street and stopped, its emergency flashers blinking. The driver got out and had gone over to the group.

The dark haired man knelt down next to the blonde girl and touched her face, and then her neck. He looked over at the other girl who was crying and still holding her arm.

I could see the red flashing lights of an ambulance, and then everything started to go gray again...

I could hear machines beeping steadily, like in a hospital. My vision started to clear and brighten. I was in a hospital room, looking down again. The blonde girl was laying in a bed, a big plastic collar-thing on her neck, with wires and tubes hooked up to her. Her eyes were closed and her face was pale.

It was me. I was the girl in the hospital bed! But why was I looking at things from outside of my body?

Daddy was sitting in a chair next to the bed, his hand over his eyes. Grandpa John was standing next to him, his hand on Daddy's shoulder.

I took a deep breath and said, "Hey. Hey, Daddy."

The men continued looking down. Why couldn't they hear me? Could they see me? I concentrated, and realized I could move! I moved down from the ceiling so that I was across from them.

Daddy's voice was full of tears. "-if I can go through this again, with her in the hospital- what if she's paralyzed again? What if she-if she never-"

"Shh, don't go there. We're still waiting to see what the results of the scan are." Grandpa John said reassuringly.

"Hey." I waved my hands. "Hey, Daddy. Daddy, can you hear me?" I said loudly. "I'm right here, I'm right here next to you!"

Daddy took a deep breath and scrubbed his hand over his face, and then ran it through his hair. His eyes were red and damp and his face was shiny. "I know. Just gotta hope for the best." He sighed.

"Charlie's a strong girl, she'll get through this." Grandpa John said.

There was a knock on the door, and they both tensed, looking over. "Come in," Daddy called.

The door swung open and Uncle Sam came into the room slowly. He stopped a few feet away from the bed. Something in Daddy's face shifted as he stood up.

"I got here as fast as I could." Uncle Sam said. "Dad called me-Dean, I'm so sorry-"

Daddy rushed toward Uncle Sam and they threw their arms around each other..

"Sam-" Daddy said in a choked voice.

"I know, man, me too-"

They stood there hugging for a moment and then let go and stepped back. They walked over to the foot of the bed and looked down.

"What happened?" Uncle Sam asked.

"As far as we can tell, Charlie was using her friend Addi's skates, and Addi was riding Charlie's bike. Addi was pulling Charlie behind her." Grandpa John said. "There were some boys on skateboards who had been teasing them, and Addi rode into the street accidentally. One of the boys crashed into them and all three of them went down."

Uncle Sam frowned. "You told me on the phone that Charlie could have a brain injury? Wasn't she wearing her helmet?"

Daddy huffed. "Addi was wearing it."

"One of the kids said they saw the kids fall and heard Charlie's head hit the road. They said it was a loud thump." Grandpa John grimaced.

Uncle Sam shook his head. "Geez." He looked down at the bed. "And she's been unconscious since then?"

Daddy rubbed the back of his neck. "Yeah. They took her for a brain scan to see if there's any swelling or bleeding on the brain, haven't heard anything yet."

I moved over next to them. "Uncle Sam!" I said loudly, waving my hands. "Uncle Sam, I'm here!" Neither of them reacted to me.

Uncle Sam walked over to the side of the bed and reached out to take my hand. He lifted it as he leaned down, and kissed the back of my hand, then he placed it back on the bed. "She's a fighter, she'll come out of this." He straightened up and looked over at Daddy. "I know it."

Daddy exhaled. "I hope so, Sam."

They all stood there quietly, looking down at my body in the bed.

I tried to grab Uncle Sam's hand, but it was like my hand passed right through him. I moved over next to Daddy and tried to touch him, and the same thing happened. What was going on? Was I dreaming? How had I gotten outside of my body?

After a few minutes, Uncle Sam looked up at Daddy. "You want me to bring you some coffee or something to eat?"

Daddy sighed and scrubbed a hand over his face, and Grandpa John said, "That would be good, Sam, I had just started dinner when someone banged on the front door, and we've been at Charlie's bedside since then."

Uncle Sam glanced at his watch. "The cafeteria should still be open, I'll go grab some food."

"Thanks, Sammy." Grandpa John smiled at him, and Uncle Sam left the room.

Daddy sighed again and rolled his shoulders, looking around. "I forgot how much time is spent waiting when you're in the hospital."

Grandpa John gestured to the chair by the side of the bed. "Sit down, Dean."

He gently pushed on Daddy's shoulder, and Daddy sat down. He moved the chair closer to the bed and leaned forward, stroking my hair back from my face. "Come on, Charlie." He whispered. He took my hand and held it in his.

I climbed onto the bed next to my body and tried to make myself go into it, but it didn't work. Daddy was rubbing my hand with his thumb, and I leaned forward so that I was right in his face. "Daddy, I'm right here! Can you hear me?" I asked. Grandpa John was standing next to the chair, and I stood up on the bed and walked over to him. I waved my hands in front of him. "Grandpa John! Can you hear me?"

There was a knock on the door, and then it opened. A nurse wearing pink scrubs came in followed by a doctor who was pushing a cart with a computer on it.

"Mr. Winchester?" The doctor asked.

Daddy stood up. "I'm Dean Winchester, Charlie's father. This is my father, John Winchester."

The doctor offered his hand. "I'm Dr. Washington, I'm a pediatric neurologist." He shook hands with Daddy and Grandpa John. "We've got the results of Charlotte's scans." He pushed the cart closer to the bed and tapped at the keyboard. The screen filled with black and white images with multi-colored lines. He turned to look at Daddy. "I understand she was riding a bike and fell into the street?"

Grandpa John spoke up. "No, she was on roller skates, being pulled behind a bike. She wasn't wearing her helmet."

Dr. Washington nodded. "Ah, that was going to be my next question. Well, the good news is that there's no swelling or bleeding on the brain. The bad news is that she has a Coup-Contrecoup brain injury."

"Isn't that like 'Shaken Baby Syndrome'?" Grandpa John asked.

Dr. Washington nodded again. "Yes, exactly. Coup and contrecoup mean blow and counterblow. What happens is the brain strikes the inside of the skull, which is the coup, and then because of the velocity of the impact, the brain also strikes the opposite side of the inside of the skull, which is the contrecoup injury. Think of it like an olive in a jar, if you shake the jar, the olive moves around and hits the inside of the jar. That's basically what happens in that type of injury."

"Oh God…" Daddy said weakly. His face had gotten paler and paler as the doctor had spoken.

The doctor turned toward the computer and scrolled on the screen, then pointed at part of the image. "This shows the area where the initial injury is, it's-"

"What does that mean, Doc?" Daddy interrupted in a grief-stricken voice. "Is she-" he swallowed. "Is she gonna-be okay?" His voice broke, and Grandpa John put his hand on Daddy's shoulder.

The doctor put his hand down and turned back towards Daddy. "Yes, I'm sorry, I should have mentioned that. Charlie is young, and the bruising on her brain is confined to a small area, so I'm expecting that she should make a good recovery. Once she wakes up we can do some more testing and make sure that her cognition hasn't been affected."

"What are the-aftereffects of an injury like this?" Grandpa John asked.

"Some of the symptoms she may experience will be comparable to a concussion- increased sensitivity to light and sound, dizziness, nausea, fatigue, ranging all the way to problems with memory and seizures. You'll have to monitor her carefully and report any symptoms to her pediatrician. And if she needs any kind of therapy we can send you to a TBI clinic." Dr. Washington explained.

"What's TBI?" Daddy asked.

"Stands for Traumatic Brain Injury, which is what this is. Sometimes patients need physical therapy depending on the issues that they develop, but we'll have to wait and see with her. Charlotte's neck is fine, the EMTs have to put a brace on as a precaution when there's been a head injury and the patient is unconscious, but we can remove that now." Dr. Washington looked at the nurse. "Go ahead."

The nurse walked over to my body and gently lifted my head, taking the plastic brace off. She looked at the machines that were next to the bed and pressed a couple of buttons. "Heart rate and blood pressure have been steady, which is good." She smiled at Grandpa John.

Daddy was staring down at the bed with tears in his eyes.

"So, what's next?" Grandpa John asked.

There was another knock on the door and Uncle Sam came in with a paper bag and a drink carrier with 3 cups of coffee in it.

Grandpa John introduced Uncle Sam and Dr. Washington explained things to him. Uncle Sam looked at the images on the computer and asked lots of questions. The whole time, Daddy was just watching my body in the bed, his face pale and his eyes sad. A muscle twitched in his cheek as he clenched his jaw.

Finally the doctor and nurse left. Uncle Sam walked over to the small table that was next to the other chair in the room. "Got burgers and fries for us." He set the bag down.

Daddy ran his hand through his hair and swallowed again. "I-I just-" He turned abruptly and walked across the room quickly, kicking at the chair. "Why is this happening?" He turned back around, his face angry now. "This is bullshit!"

"Dean, it'll be-"

"No, Sam, don't give me the 'everything will work out' speech, I'm sick of it! What the hell is going on? This kid's been in the hospital more than any kid I've ever known!"

Grandpa John spoke in a soothing voice. "Kids get hurt, Dean. You and Sam both got injured plenty, we just didn't go to the hospital that much because of my medic training."

Daddy gestured at the bed. "Yeah, but she hasn't led the kind of life we did! This can't be normal!"

"Well, she was in the hospital before because of the hunting world, but this is a typical injury that a kid can get." Uncle Sam said. "Remember that kid I made friends with the summer before sixth grade, Joel? He'd broken his arm, sprained his ankle twice, and gotten a concussion playing field hockey. Some kids are just more accident prone."

Grandpa John walked over to Daddy and put his hands on Daddy's shoulders. "I know it's a lot to take in right now, but the doctor gave her a good prognosis. Keep holding on to that."

The anger drained out of Daddy's face and he looked sad again. "What if- if she-I-I can't-" His face crumpled, and Grandpa John pulled him in for a hug. Daddy's shoulders shook and I heard his breath hitching.

"All right, it's all right. We'll get through this, we're here with you." Grandpa John spoke quietly to Daddy, holding him tightly.

The only sounds in the room were the machines beeping and Daddy's strangled sobs. It made me sad that he was crying, and I wanted to hug him too, but I couldn't. I had to figure out what was happening!

After a couple of minutes, Daddy spoke. "I'll be okay. It'll be okay." He pulled back and they let each other go. Daddy scrubbed his hand over his face and shook his shoulders. ""You get me a burger with extra onions?" He asked gruffly.

Uncle Sam picked up the bag and rooted around in it, pulling out a cardboard box. "Yeah, I did. And they were selling slices of pie, too." He handed the box to Daddy.

Uncle Sam handed a box to Grandpa John and then took out a plastic container of salad.

Daddy walked over and pulled a cup out of the holder. "Remember how Charlie was constantly wanting to drink coffee when she came to stay with us?" He took a sip.

Uncle Sam chuckled. "Yeah, and she knew how to do the puppy-dog eyes too. That must be genetic."

Daddy removed a container of french fries out of the bag and held them out. "Dad?"

Grandpa John stepped over and took the bag. He sat down in the chair next to the table.

"You want to sit, Sam?" Daddy gestured to the chair by the bed.

Uncle Sam shook his head. "No, you go ahead." He leaned against the wall as he dug into his salad.

Daddy sat down, setting the box and the fry container on the edge of the bed. He opened the box and removed the hamburger, looking at it disinterestedly.

I watched them eat, each of them seemingly lost in their own worlds. Daddy took a small bite of his burger and chewed slowly, his eyes unfocused. After a few minutes, he set the hamburger in the box. "I can't eat right now, I'm just-" he waved his hand in front of his stomach. He closed the box and leaned back, rubbing his eyes with his thumb and forefinger.

There was a knock on the door. "Come in," Daddy called.

Two nurses came in. "Charlotte Winchester?" A nurse read off of a clipboard.

Daddy stood up. "Yes?"

"I'm Nurse Gwen and this is Nurse Carrie, we're here to take Charlotte to the pediatric intensive care unit." Nurse Carrie had the clipboard. She walked around the bed and began to disconnect wires from the machine.

"Which one of you is Dad?" Nurse Gwen asked.

"I am." Daddy replied.

"Will you be staying the night?"

"Uh-am I allowed to?" Daddy shifted uncomfortably.

"Yes, we allow one parent to be with the child in the PICU. If you want to stay the night and then have Mom take a shift tomorrow, that's fine." Nurse Gwen explained.

"Charlie doesn't have a mother, so it'll be me." Daddy told her.

"Oh, I'm sorry." Nurse Gwen said.

"What about other visitors?" Uncle Sam asked.

"We allow one other family member at a time during visiting hours. If the patient is improving we sometimes allow two, but it's on a case-by-case basis."

"Oh." Uncle Sam looked over at Grandpa John. "Then I guess we have to say goodbye to Charlie now."

"You call her Charlie?" Nurse Carrie said. "That's cute."

"We can put you in a room with a fold-out loveseat, so you can spend the night." Nurse Gwen told Daddy.

Grandpa John and Uncle Sam came over to the side of the bed. Uncle Sam leaned down and kissed my forehead. It felt weird to be watching everything like it was a movie. He smoothed my hair back from my face. "You can beat this, Charlie. We're here for you. I love you." He whispered. He stood up and stepped back, and Grandpa John sat down on the edge of the bed. He leaned down and cupped my face in his hands. "I know you're gonna be just fine." His voice was hoarse. "I love you, little one." He kissed the top of my head and sat up, wiping his eyes.

He stepped over to Daddy, and they hugged. "Let us know the moment you hear anything." Grandpa John looked in Daddy's eyes.

"I will."

Uncle Sam hugged Daddy next. "Try to get some rest."

Daddy shrugged.

Nurse Carrie clicked something on the bed and started pushing it. "We ready?"

Daddy picked up his food. "Can I bring this with me?"

"Yes." Nurse Gwen said. "There's a parent's lounge on the ward with vending machines and a microwave, so if you need to reheat it later you can."

The nurses began to push the bed out of the room. Grandpa John reached out to touch my shoulder as the bed moved past him.

I moved alongside Daddy as he walked. The nurses turned down a hallway and pressed a big button that opened the doors, and pushed the bed through. We went down another hallway and then got onto an elevator.

The elevator doors opened onto a lobby with a big counter. There was a mural on the wall behind the counter that said "Pediatric Intensive Care Unit" with wild animals around the letters. There were two hallways going in different directions. Nurse Gwen scanned her ID badge in front of one of the doors and it opened.

"Stop at the front desk so they can give you a badge." Nurse Carrie said. She wheeled the bed down the hallway.

"We have Charlotte Winchester." Nurse Gwen told the nurse behind the desk. "I think they were going to put her in 204. This is her father, he'll be staying the night."

"Dean Winchester." Daddy said.

The nurse behind the counter entered something on a computer keyboard and then picked up a plastic badge with a clip on it. She waved it in front of a machine that beeped. "This is your ID badge for the PICU. If you go off the floor, you'll need to show it to get back in. We can set up an account for the cafeteria with the badge if you want, all you do is show the badge and it'll charge your meals to an account that will be paid when the patient leaves." She handed the badge to Daddy.

"Thank you." Daddy clipped it to his jacket pocket.

"I'll take you to her room." Nurse Gwen said. She showed Daddy how to wave the badge in front of the sensor to open the door.

The hospital room looked almost like a motel room. There was a small sofa and side table in the corner of the room, plus a couple of plastic chairs lined up against the wall. There was another painted mural on the wall, this one of flowers.

Nurse Carrie was looking at the machines and writing things down on a clipboard. She looked over at Daddy when they came in. "These are all connected to the front desk, so we'll know if anything happens. Here's the call button, and here's the remote for the TV. That door is the bathroom. We've got a shower room for parents that's down the hall, you have to sign up for a time to use it, just let us know."

"Thank you." Daddy said.

"The sofa is a pull-out bed and there's already sheets on it, and an extra blanket in the closet there. If you need anything else, just press the call button. We'll be in later to check her vitals."

Daddy nodded, giving the nurses a strained smile. He set his food down on the table and then pulled one of the plastic chairs over next to the bed. He sat down in it with a heavy sigh, and took my hand. "Come on, Charlie. Come on, kiddo." He whispered. He squeezed my hand, and then shook it. "Charlie, wake up! Come on, give me a sign."

I moved so that I was standing opposite from him, on the other side of the bed. "I'm here, Daddy! I'm right here!" I said.

He let go of my hand and then stroked my hair back from my face. His jaw clenched as tears filled his eyes. "Charlie-" His voice broke, and he lowered his head. He rested his elbows on his knees and covered his face with his hands.

I moved over so that I was next to him and tried to put my arms around him, but it was like they went right through him. "Daddy, I'm here! Why can't you hear me or see me? What do I do? Daddy, help me! I need help!" I shouted, desperation overtaking me. I didn't understand how this had happened. If nobody could see or hear me, what was I going to do?

"Daddy!" I shouted again, and then I began to cry. "Please hear me, Daddy. Please!" I begged, but he didn't move. I sank down onto the floor and curled into a ball, wrapping my arms around myself and crying.

~ ~ spn ~ ~ spn ~ ~

AUTHOR'S NOTE: Coup and Contrecoup are real brain injuries, pronounced "Koo" and "Kontra-Koo". The information about the injury is correct but in real life I don't know what the hospital protocol is for kids in the PICU and visitors, so I made that part up. Sorry to leave the chapter on a cliffie, I promise I'm already working on the next one!