Chapter 5

"A Boy"

Avera McKennan Hospital& University Health Center, Sioux Falls, South Dakota

Next day. 3:57pm.

Dean stood in the doorway of Charlie's hospital room. The nurse had let him know Charlie was awake and that he could go see her. His eyes swept over Charlie from head to toe as he approached her. She looked ghastly pale and vulnerable lying in that big hosptial bed. It drew a bubble of anger seeing her in this condition. He wanted nothing more to find out what happened and who or what was responsible. He wanted to make someone pay for hurting her. He paused, grabbed a nearby chair, dragged it the rest of the way to her bedside and sat down beside her. She had an IV strapped to one of her arms and two tubes inserted into her nose. There was also a moniter to her left carrying a steady beeping sound which enveloped the otherwise quiet room.

"Hi." Dean said. He watched her carefully. She looked disoriented and confused as her eyes moved around the room questioningly. "You're in a hospital." Dean answered her unasked question.

"Hospital." Charlie repeated the word slowly as if she was trying to decipher its meaning. "Why?" Her voice sounded strained.

Dean looked puzzled. "You don't remember?" She shook her head no. "You left a message asking for help but it sounded like you got cut off before you could tell us where you were. We ended up tracking your cell phone to your car in the woods not far from here. That's where we found you."

Charlie looked down to her bandaged wrists.

"Do you remember being in the woods or how you got there?" Dean asked. She shook her head slowly. "Do you remember leaving the message?" He followed up. She nodded. "We're you hunting?" Dean asked. She nodded again but otherwise remained silent. "Charlie what were you hunting?" He asked not knowing what to anticipate.

Charlie turned her gaze to him. It was the first time she had made eye contact with him since he had entered the room. Dean was taken back by the sudden intensity in them. "A woman." She said softly.

"A woman?" Dean repeated.

Charlie suddenly looked very saddened. Dean was struck by it. "There was a child." Charlie whispered.

Dean found her searching in his eyes for something. It felt like she was peering into his soul it felt so intimate. It made him uncomfortable. So much so he impulsively moved back a bit from her.

"A boy.." Her eyes suddenly swelled with tears as she spoke. "A beautiful boy.. " She looked away. The expression Dean caught on her face at that moment was more than sadness; it was devastation. "He.. he.." Charlie stuttered. She didn't bother to wipe the tears that now fell freely down her cheeks. "He went away." A look of panic suddenly shadowed her face. She looked back up to Dean and grabbed the sleeves on his shirt. "When.. when will I see him again? How long I've waited to see him again! When?" She practically shouted as she sat up in her bed aggressively pulling Dean towards her. It was so out of character. It scared him.

Dean instinctively placed his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to help calm her down.

"Charlie you need to calm down, ok? Or your gonna tear your stitches." She didn't seem to hear him or even care. Instead, she pulled on his sleeves with even more force. "Charlie, hey, hey, hey look at me, look at me." He did his best to remain calm but she only shook her head in despair. "Charlie HEY..!" Dean's voice went heavy and low. That got her attention. Their eyes locked again.

She was breathing heavily now, her face wet with perspiration and tears and her cheeks flushed. Dean felt his heart racing. "I need you to take a deep breath with me, ok? Ok? Deep breathe.." Dean took a deep breathe motioning her to do the same and then he exhaled. They did it several times. And it seemed to be working. Her grip on his shirt loosened up and she finally let go. She leaned back into the bed looking nothing but worried and exhausted. Dean slowly straightened himself up, trying to gather his thoughts and process what had just happened. What he had just witnessed was bizarre behavior for Charlie and it warrented a great deal of concern.

"Can I sleep?" She asked him anxiously. "I'm so tired, I just want to sleep." Dean could only stare back at her lost as to what it all meant.

"It's the painkillers. There's a strong sedative in it." A older looking nurse stood at the doorway catching only the tail end of their conversation. She paused a moment before entering the room. She headed straight for Charlie and checked her vitals. She then moved on to checking the monitor. "Helps her sleep. Lord knows this poor child needs it." The nurse commented. "She'll be in and out all day like this." The nurse saw the traumatized look on Dean's face and commented. "Don't worry honey, with proper rest and recovery she'll be fine." The nurse said in a comforting tone.

Dean's eyes slowly drifted up to the nurse standing over Charlie for a moment before returning his attention back to Charlie who had already fallen asleep. Whatever had happened to her she seemed to have taken the brunt of it. It was messing with her in more ways then just physical injuries. He didn't like it. He didn't like it one bit. Dean walked out of the hospital room and into the hallway and immediately phoned Sam.

"Hey Dean. How's Charlie doing?" Sam asked earnestly.

Dean hesitated unsure of what to tell his brother. "I.. uh.. I think we have a bigger problem.