-TWENTY-
Gabe sat back in Melinda's desk chair, looking over the papers she'd handed him, listening as she explained to him what all she'd written. He glanced up at her, as she leaned over the desk, tapping a nail on the page he was reading.
"You'll see right here that even if we agree to the five percent up front, our returns will at least triple every time."
Gabe nodded, flipping back a page, then closing the small booklet and laying it on Melinda's desk. He leaned back in the chair, lacing his fingers together on his stomach. He looked up at Melinda, seeing the expectant expression on her face. Gabe smiled, letting out a laugh. Melinda's eyes narrowed as she set her hands on her hips.
"What?"
Gabe laughed again, sitting up before standing, leaning over the desk and taking hold of her face, pressing a smacking kiss to her lips. He leaned back, holding her face in his hands as he smiled widely.
"You're a genius."
Melinda blinked, and Gabe just shook his head as he let go of her face. He turned back, walking to the desk, sitting back down, propping his feet up on the desk. He reached over, tapping a finger on the booklet.
"Pure damn genius."
Melinda bit her lip, but couldn't help the smile that crossed her face. Gabe laughed again, and a beep sounded on Melinda's phone. Gabe reached to answer it, and Melinda slapped his hand away.
"My office."
"I built this office!"
Melinda shrugged her shoulders, then tapped the phone.
"What is it, Abby?"
"I'm sorry. I know you asked me to hold your calls."
"It's fine. We're done here anyway. Who is it?"
"It's your sister. She—she said it was urgent and she sounds really upset."
"Put her through."
Melinda and Gabe exchanged a glance as Melinda picked up the phone.
"Jess?"
"Mel."
"Jessie, what's going on?"
Melinda could hear the tears in Jess' voice, and after she asked her question, she could hear the sobs Jess couldn't hold back. Melinda swallowed, holding the phone tighter, glancing at the window.
"Jessica?"
After a few minutes, with only the sound of Melinda's breathing and Jess' sniffles, Jess spoke, slowly and with a voice threaded with sobs.
"You need to come home."
Melinda turned to look at Gabe, and the look on her face made him move his feet from the desk, sitting up in her chair.
"Why? Jessie, what's going on?"
"There's been an accident."
Melinda heard the strangest buzzing in her ears, and she closed her eyes, shaking her head, trying to come to grips with what she was hearing.
"What do you … What happened?"
Melinda gripped the phone even tighter, hearing nothing but Jess' sniffles on the other end of the line.
"Jessica! Talk to me. Tell me what happened."
Jess sobbed, and Melinda shook her head.
"Jessie—"
"Sam and Dean, Mel. Sam and Dean and their dad were in a car accident."
"What?"
"It's bad, Mel. Dean is … He's—"
Jess couldn't finish her sentence because she was crying so hard. Melinda froze at the edge of her desk, and Gabe watched as the phone slipped from her hand. He was up, out of the chair, catching her as she stumbled. She gripped his suit jacket as black spots danced in front of her vision. Gabe maneuvered her into the chair, and he grabbed the phone as he held Melinda's hand.
"Jessie? It's Gabe. What's going on?"
Gabe stared at Melinda as Jess relayed the story as best she could through her tears. He swallowed, nodding his head, and when she was done, he spoke as calmly as he could.
"You hold on, okay? We'll be there soon."
He hung up the phone, pressing another button, and Abby's voice came over the intercom.
"Yes?"
"Abby, page transport and tell them to get the chopper ready. We're leaving for Palo Alto within the hour."
"Yes, sir."
Gabe knelt in front of the chair, putting a hand on Melinda's cheek. She looked up at him, tears filling her blue eyes.
"Gabe."
"I know, sweetheart."
"Gabe."
"I'm going to get you to him, okay? Come on."
He helped her up, holding her close to his side as he led her out of the office, ignoring the hand that stayed clenched in his suit jacket.
The chopper ride was quiet, and Melinda stayed glued to Gabe's side. He continued to run his fingers through her hair, closing his eyes as her fingernails dug into his thigh as the helicopter landed on top of the hospital long enough to let them out, before disappearing from sight.
Gabe led her into the hospital, doing all the talking so she wouldn't have to. He kept an arm around her at all times, leading her into the elevator, whispering to her as they rode up to the fifth floor. As soon as the elevator doors opened, Gabe tightened his hold on Melinda.
"Hey. Look."
Melinda lifted her head, running to her sister, who opened her arms and held her, both of them crying, for what seemed like the longest time. Gabe was able to usher them to a couple of chairs, handing both of them tissues while they composed themselves. After a few minutes, Jess was finally able to speak.
"I, uh … I had a study group last night. Each week, we get together at someone's place and study all night long. I had an early class today, and I was going to go home for lunch. When I got to the apartment …"
Jess ran a hand through her hair, letting out a long breath.
"It was completely trashed. Furniture overturned, broken stuff… And there was—there was blood in the living room and the kitchen. There was a huge puddle of blood in the kitchen."
Jess shook her head.
"I—I freaked out, completely panicked. I called Sam's cell, and he didn't answer. Neither did Dean. And then I got a call from one of the girls in my class. She works here after class sometimes, and she said that a guy was brought in and he looked a lot like the tall guy who walked to class with me sometimes. I flew down here, and saw him."
She swallowed and shook her head again.
"They'd given him a pretty hefty dose of sedatives. They'd had to, because he was freaking out so much. And he's built like a house, so…"
"It took a lot to put him out."
Jess looked to Gabe and nodded.
"I had to tell them who he was, and I met John before they took him up to surgery."
"John? He's here?"
Jess looked to Melinda, and nodded.
"Yeah, he was conscious enough to tell them who he was before they took him."
"What about Dean?"
Jess looked back at her hands.
"I don't know. He's been in surgery since before I got here. And I'm not technically family, so they won't tell me anything."
"Well, screw that."
Gabe stood up, brushing off his pants, buttoning his suit jacket as he walked to the nurses' desk. Jess reached over and took Melinda's hand, and a few minutes later, Gabe walked back over to them.
"Anybody asks, I'm John's little brother. They'll give us an update as soon as they get one."
Melinda kissed Gabe's cheek as he sat back down beside them. Gabe patted the seat beside him and Jess walked over, curling up next to him, as Melinda did the same on the other side. Gabe let out a sigh.
"So what did you do about your apartment?"
Jess closed her eyes, sitting up.
"Jesus. I completely forgot about it. I guess I should call the police."
"Or maybe … Maybe we'll just wait on that."
Melinda sat up then, and both of the girls leveled a stare at Gabe. He held up his hands.
"Look, we don't really know what's going on. We'll get a game plan going first."
"Gabriel, there are—"
Jess looked around, then leaned in.
"There are puddles of blood all over my house. And I don't know whose blood it is."
"Exactly. Maybe we should just lay low. Have you called anyone?"
Jess shook her head.
"Just you two."
"Bobby."
Gabe and Jess looked over to Melinda, who nodded.
"Call Bobby. He'll know what to do."
Bobby rushed in from his place near Sioux Falls, cutting the trip time nearly in half. Sam was awake by the time he got there, and was gently running the fingers of the hand he hadn't broken through Jess' hair. She refused to leave his side, and no one really could blame her. Bobby claimed to be John's brother-in-law, the boys' uncle, which wasn't actually that far from the truth, since Sam and Dean had referred to him as "Uncle Bobby" until Dean decided he was old enough to call the man by his first name.
The first thing Bobby did was head to the apartment, coming back to the hospital a short time later. He walked into Sam's room, closing the door behind him. Sam lifted his head from the pillow, and Jess cut her eyes towards the door from her spot curled up on Sam's chest. Gabe stood to his feet, and Melinda slowly lifted her head. Bobby shook his head.
"Damn place was spotless."
Jess sat up then, keeping her fingers entwined with Sam's.
"No, there … It was terrible."
Bobby shook his head.
"I believe you, kid, but … That place was too clean. Fingerprints are long gone, if there even were any."
Sam let his head fall back on the pillows, letting out a breath. Bobby cleared his throat.
"How's your dad and Dean?"
Sam let out a sigh.
"Dad's surgery took longer than they expected, and he's still out. Anesthesia always has kicked his ass. They ended up having to put a rod and some screws in his left leg."
Bobby snorted.
"And he'll just be a ray of sunshine about all that, I know."
Sam smiled and nodded, and the smile slid from his face.
"Dean, uh… He's not doing so hot."
Sam swallowed, blinking back the tears that came to his eyes. Melinda turned, and Gabe wrapped an arm around her, kissing the top of her head. Bobby closed his eyes, walking closer to the bed.
"What's the … What are we looking at here?"
"Epidural hematoma."
Melinda lifted her head, meeting Bobby's eyes.
"There was a massive bleed on his brain. They drilled holes into his skull yesterday morning. And now, he's on a ventilator and they're keeping a close eye on his kidneys."
She shook her head, tears filling her eyes.
"This wasn't supposed to happen. It's not supposed to be like this. He can't have visitors and I just want to see him, but I—"
Gabe wrapped his arms around her as she sobbed, pulling her close to him. Bobby blew out a breath, glancing out the window. Jess was stroking Sam's hair as tears slipped down his cheeks. Bobby took his hat off, rubbing his hand over his head before hitting the hat against his leg.
"No. No, he—he is young and strong. He's gonna be fine."
Melinda looked devastated blue eyes up to Bobby, who gave her a nod before he turned and walked out of the room.
"I thought I'd find you here."
Bobby cut his eyes to the side, smiling when Melinda came walking up, handing him a cup of coffee. Bobby took a sip, making a face, and Melinda smiled as she leaned up against the wall near where Bobby was propped up against the doorframe. Bobby took another sip, shaking his head.
"This shit is horrible."
Melinda nodded.
"I know. It's thick as mud and tastes no better. I could go to Starbucks. It's right across the street, wouldn't take any time, but I just … I can't leave."
Bobby reached out, gently squeezing Melinda's shoulder.
"I know."
Melinda reached up and patted the hair she'd pulled into a ponytail nearly a day ago. Bobby sipped the coffee again, speaking to her over the lip of the cup.
"You okay?"
She glanced at him, blue eyes wide.
"Fine. Are you?"
Bobby took another sip of his coffee, just staring at Melinda, and she finally closed her eyes, seeming to deflate against the wall. Bobby tossed his cup into the trashcan just inside the room, then walked back into the hall, propping himself up on the wall beside Melinda. She glanced over at him, a soft smile on her face.
"You know I haven't been able to walk into that room yet?"
Bobby glanced over his shoulder, and Melinda nodded.
"I know he's been out for … ever since they brought him in. He doesn't seem to be waking up any time soon, yet I can't even walk into the room."
Bobby nodded, and Melinda sighed.
"I can't decide whether to hate him or not. He's Dean's father. Dean doesn't hate him. Sam doesn't even hate him. Sam doesn't particularly like the man, but he doesn't hate him. But I cannot decide if I'm supposed to hate him."
She lifted her eyes to Bobby, who let out a sigh, rubbing a hand over his beard. Melinda shook her head, speaking softly.
"Dean hasn't told me much. He's barely told me anything. But he … He raised them like wolves, Bobby. Like they were—"
"Daddy's little soldiers."
Melinda nodded.
"He left Dean on his own, and he was … He was broken and we've been working so hard to put him back together."
Melinda smiled, letting out a quiet laugh.
"Do you know what that's like? Having one broken soul trying to put another broken soul back together? We don't know which way is up half the time. We try not to hurt each other, but it's only hurting ourselves, and I …"
She covered her mouth as tears came to her eyes. She looked to Bobby, who stepped closer to her.
"Mel?"
"I never told him that I loved him."
Bobby sighed, and Melinda reached up to wipe away the tear that was slipping down her cheek.
"I never told him. He tried to tell me, and I—I stopped him. I wouldn't let him say it."
She shook her head, and Bobby stepped in front of her, pulling her from the wall and into his arms. Melinda hugged him back, squeezing her eyes shut, letting out a shaking breath.
"He has to be okay, Bobby. He has to wake up so I can tell him."
"He will, honey. He will."
Melinda nodded, letting out another shaking breath.
"He has to."
Sam held the least injuries from the crash. He had strained muscles in his back, broken his left hand, and had extensive bruising along the left side of his body. His face was mottled with cuts, and his right eye was swollen shut. Jess led Sam on walks around the hallway, down to see a groggy John. John's right shoulder had been torn to pieces in the crash, and he held his right arm in a sling. His left leg was trapped in a thick brace, and he was doped up on a heavy dose of painkillers.
On the fourth day after their accident, Sam was discharged from the hospital. He didn't want to spend much time away from the hospital, but Jess was able to talk him into going back to their apartment for a few hours that turned into an overnight stay. Gabe took Melinda to a hotel right down the road from the hospital, where, after four days of only catching the tiniest catnaps, she slept for twenty-four straight hours.
After she woke up, Gabe bribed her with chocolate chip cookies and sweet cappuccino, and she lounged around the hotel room. She took a long, hot shower and soaked in the bathtub afterwards. He found her sitting on one of the luxurious beds, wrapped in the complimentary robe, picking through a box of chocolates the hotel had given them.
"Hey, you."
Melinda gave him a tiny smile before making a face as she put the chocolate she'd just taken a bite out of back in the box. Gabe let out a laugh.
"Orange filling?"
Melinda nodded.
"Yuck."
Gabe set his wallet, phone, and the hotel key on the table near the door, slipped his shoes off, and fell face-down on the other bed in the room. Melinda smiled, then reached into the box and popped another chocolate into her mouth.
"Rough day?"
Gabe let out a groan, then rolled onto his back and laced his fingers together over his stomach.
"Everyone at the office has lost their minds. They literally can't function without me there, breathing down their necks."
Melinda smiled, then let out a sigh.
"You don't have to stay with me. You can go back."
"Are you kidding me? No. Let the office fall apart. You're more important to me."
Melinda's eyes filled with tears, and Gabe jumped up from his bed, walking over and sitting beside her, wrapping an arm around her as she rested her head on his shoulder.
"I don't know how to do this, Gabe. I'm trying to be strong, but they won't even let me see him."
Gabe nodded, blowing out his breath.
"Let me handle this. You get dressed."
"What are—what are you doing?"
Melinda took the tissues Gabe handed her, softly blowing her nose while he walked to his phone. She watched him, and he glanced over at her, giving her a smile.
"You let me handle this. Get ready."
She nodded, walking into the bathroom. She smiled when she opened a bag, seeing all of her usual bathroom products in it. A different bag out in the room held clothes, her laptop, and her cell phone charger. She did her hair, blow drying it, then leaving it to let it settle into soft waves. She slipped on a pair of jeans and Dean's old Poison t-shirt. Black TOMS completed her outfit, and she sighed before she walked out of the bathroom, where Gabe met her with a smile.
"Poison? You can't be serious."
Melinda smiled and shrugged her shoulders.
"Bret Michaels is hot. Besides … It's Dean's."
Gabe smiled, stepping over and pressing a kiss to Melinda's forehead. He took her hand, leading her out of the room and into the elevator. They walked to the hospital, since it was just down the street, and Gabe thought Melinda could use the fresh air, anyway. They walked into the hospital and Melinda took in a sharp breath, but straightened her shoulders and was quiet as they rode the elevator up to the fifth floor.
Sam was waiting there when the elevator doors opened, and Melinda smiled when she saw him. She walked into his arms, feeling the weight of the cast on his arm as he hugged her. She stayed closed to his side as he walked her down the hall, turning to go into an area she hadn't been in before. Melinda's eyes narrowed as Sam led her down the hall, stopping outside a room. He reached into a box on the door, pulling out a yellow paper gown, handing it to Melinda.
"You've got to put this on, and a mask, and a beautiful blue cap for your hair. Blue gloves that match, too."
"Sam, what is this?"
He gave her a soft smile, getting her to turn around as he tied her gown.
"I might have stretched the truth a little and told them you were Dean's fiancé. They agreed that you could sit with him for an hour, and then they've got to take him for some scan or something."
"I can see him?"
"As soon as we get you dressed out. They're sticklers for infection protection."
Melinda nodded, accepting the cap Sam slid on her head, slipping her hands into gloves. She stood as still as she could as Sam tied the mask on her face, then stepped aside as Sam opened the door, and she took in a deep breath, then stepped into the room.
It was quiet; quieter than she had expected it would be. The only sounds were the whir of the machine that continued to breathe for him, and the steady beep coming from a heart monitor. Melinda stepped closer to the bed, her breath catching in her throat. There was a large gash down the front of Dean's head, along with some minor cuts and bruises. Melinda swallowed, leaning down, gently running a finger over Dean's cheek.
"God, I've missed you."
She took a seat in the chair beside his bed, reaching over and taking one of his hands. Tears came to her eyes, but she blinked them away. She smiled as she reached over, not noticing the way her hand shook before she gently ran it through his hair.
"I've been here, Dean. I don't know if you know what's going on, or if you can even hear me, but I—I'm here. We all are. Sam, Jess, Gabe. Even Bobby's here. Ash is watching over the bar. So you can just take this time and rest. Whenever you're ready, you can come back to us."
She leaned closer to him, laying her head on the pillow beside his.
"Come back to me, okay? I have something important to tell you, but I'm not doing it until I'm certain you can hear me."
She closed her eyes, a smile crossing her face.
"I'm wearing the Poison shirt you left at my place. You know, the one with "Don't need nothing but a good time" across the back? Gabe's already given me shit about it."
She sniffled, trying to stop the tears from slipping from her eyes. She squeezed his hand, letting out a shaky breath before she whispered to him.
"Dean, I'm so scared. I don't know what to do, and I can't do anything at all but sit here. Please don't … God, Dean."
She leaned in closer, feeling the stubble on his cheeks gently scratch her forehead before she sat back, wiping her face with the sleeves of her gown and letting out a shaking breath. She pushed a hand through her hair, still keeping hold of his hand.
"Sam's doing okay, but I'm sure you know that. Your dad's here, and I can't help but think that's why you're in here the way you are."
Melinda took in a deep breath, lacing her fingers through his.
"I haven't been able to meet your dad yet. I could have, a bunch of times. But I just … I haven't. I guess I'm afraid that as soon as I see him, I'll punch him in the face or something."
She let out a sigh.
"This would be so much easier if you could just talk back."
She sat up suddenly as alarms began to sound. She jumped up as a swarm of people rushed into the room and found herself back against the wall, where she stood with wide blue eyes as medical terminology she wasn't quite sure the definition of was thrown around. She nearly collapsed when she heard the high-pitched steady whine, and she had to close her eyes when paddles were brought out and Dean's body bowed up on the bed as he was shocked in an effort to kickstart his heart. She glanced over to see Sam at the door, tears in his eyes as he shook his head, whispering "no" again and again.
Finally, a slow, intermittent beep began to sound. Everyone seemed to stop, looking up to the monitors, and breaths of relief were exhaled. Melinda and Sam were ushered down the hall, and a doctor let out a sigh.
"He's stable for the moment, but as you saw, that can change in a second. We're doing more tests and bloodwork, but it seems that his heart may have been affected."
Melinda covered her mouth with a blue-gloved hand as Sam shook his head. The doctor nodded to them and jogged back to Dean's room, and Melinda closed her eyes. She slowly reached up and removed her mask and the blue cap, untying the yellow paper gown and slipping the gloves off her hands. She placed the items in Sam's hands and slowly walked away, to a waiting room down the hall. She crawled up on a couch, laying on her side in the fetal position. Sam let out a sigh, stuffing the gown, gloves, and cap into a trashcan, then pulled out his cell phone. In a matter of minutes, Jess had Melinda's head in her lap, gently stroking her hair. Gabe was sitting on the floor, just staring at Melinda, who was just staring back at him. Bobby was standing at the window behind them, and Sam was down with his father. The doctor walked back into the room and let out a sigh.
"I'm afraid Dean has contracted a virus. Has he been out of the country recently?"
"He's never left the country, Doc."
The doctor nodded to Bobby, then let out another sigh.
"Well, all of the symptoms and markers in his bloodwork point to a rare virus only seen in the southeast parts of Asia."
"Where?"
The doctor looked to Gabe, holding out a hand.
"Most likely, either Thailand, Cambodia, or Vietnam."
Melinda sat up then, slowly blinking her eyes. Jess eyed Melinda, then cleared her throat.
"Can you cure it?"
"There is an antidote, but it is extremely rare. I've got some people working on it, but honestly… You should prepare yourselves."
Melinda watched as the doctor walked from the room, and she let out a shaky breath. Jess leaned forward, reaching out a hand.
"Mel?"
"Don't touch me right now."
Jess pulled her hand back, exchanging a glance with Gabe. Melinda took in a breath, letting it out slowly.
"Where did the doctor say the virus came from?"
Bobby cleared his throat.
"Cambodia."
"Or?"
"Thailand."
"Or?"
Bobby waited a moment, closing his eyes as he spoke.
"Vietnam."
Melinda jumped off of the couch, taking off at a sprint down the hall. Jess and Gabe jumped up to follow her, watching as she weaved her way through people in the hallways and down two flights of stairs, coming to a screeching halt outside of John's room. She burst through the door, earning a glare from Sam, who was standing by the window, body tense. Melinda looked at him for a moment, then turned to John.
"What have you done?! What did you do?!"
"What the—Sam, who the hell is this?"
"He is in here because of you! What did you do?!"
Sam made his way over, helping Gabe take hold of Melinda and pull her back from John's bedside.
"Mel, calm down. Calm down! What is it? What happened?"
Melinda pushed out of Gabe's hold, walking to Sam and pointing a finger at John.
"He's done something."
"Why would you say that? Talk to me, Mel. Not him."
She was breathing hard, staring at John. She brought her fiery blue eyes to Sam.
"Dean has some sort of virus. A virus that's only found in one section of the world."
"Okay?"
Sam shook his head, and Melinda grit her teeth.
"Southeast Asia. Most specifically, Vietnam. Last I checked, only one person out of all of us has been there, and it's that son of a bitch in that bed."
She pushed past Sam, walking back to the bed.
"So tell me, John, what the hell did you do?"
Just short of using force, Gabe convinced Melinda to take a walk with him. He took her out of the hospital and down the street to the Starbucks to try and calm her down. Sam stayed in John's room, pacing the floor, while John lay in the bed and stared up at the ceiling. After a long stretch of silence, John spoke.
"So who was that little spitfire?"
Sam glanced over to see a smile on his father's face. He rolled his eyes.
"That's Melinda. Dean's girlfriend."
"Jess' sister?"
Sam nodded. John let out a quiet laugh.
"Dean's going to have his hands full with that one."
"You don't know the half of it."
John laughed again, then let out a sigh.
"Sam, you should go sit with your brother."
Sam shook his head.
"I'm fine."
"Sam."
"Oh sorry, was that an order? You seem to have me confused with Dean. You know, your perfect little soldier? He's on life support at the moment, Dad. Did you forget?"
John blinked.
"No, son. I haven't forgotten. It's the only thing I can think about. And let me just say, I don't care for any attitude from you. It's not my fault Dean's in here."
"The hell it isn't, Dad!"
Sam let out a sigh, tossing up his hands.
"You suddenly show up back in town and we're all in the hospital. This has gone on my entire life, Dad. Dean just got the brunt of it this time, like I did when I was nine."
John lunged forward in his bed, using his good hand to point at Sam.
"That was an accident, and you know it."
Sam rolled his eyes, turning to face the window again.
"It doesn't matter. The point is, you show up and everything goes to hell. When you're gone, we get to have lives and girlfriends, and I graduated from college, Dad! Did you know that? Do you even care? Dean does. He was there. Bobby was there."
"Bobby isn't your father."
Sam leveled his eyes at John.
"Not by blood."
Sam turned and walked out of the room then, and John let his head fall back onto the pillow. After a moment, a clearing of a throat caused John to tense, glancing at the door with a snarl on his face.
"You've got some nerve, coming here right now."
"Oh, bite me, John. Everything that boy had to say was right, and you know it."
John closed his eyes, and Bobby stepped further into the room.
"I'm sorry it came out when it did and the way it did, but I ain't sorry he said it."
John nodded.
"They'd rather have you, Bobby. Isn't that what we've said all along?"
Bobby sighed.
"I may not be their daddy, but they're my boys, too. I love 'em, John."
John nodded.
"You've done a fine job of protecting them when I couldn't. Stepping in and actually being a father for them when I was too busy for it."
"Given the chance, I'd do it all again."
John sighed, looking up at Bobby from the bed.
"Will you take me to see him?"
Bobby nodded.
"That's what I'm here for."
John blinked his eyes open, momentarily confused by the lack of sunlight shining through the thin curtains in his room. Then he realized how late it must be, and a smile crossed his face as he turned his head. He cleared his throat, his voice low and rumbling, thick from sleep.
"So you're Melinda."
A soft smile crossed the blonde's face.
"So you're John."
He nodded, unabashedly letting his eyes wander up and down her face, taking in the full extent of her beauty. The words came out in a murmur, slipped out when he didn't exactly want them to.
"You look like your mother."
Melinda rolled her eyes.
"I didn't know you'd met my parents."
John kept the smile on his face, a method of Winchester charm he'd perfected over fifty-two years. She assumed he was talking about the Moores, and he let her. After a moment, she let out a sigh.
"Listen, I … I wanted to apologize. I've been wanting to come in here and meet you, and the way I went about it is … Less than I'd imagined. I don't really regret the things I said, but I do wish I had gone about it in a more mature way."
John nodded.
"To tell you the truth, I was quite impressed with your little outburst."
Melinda's cheeks grew red and he laughed.
"I told Sam earlier, Dean's going to have his hands full with you."
Melinda smiled, nodding once.
"What are you doing here, John?"
He let out a sigh, laying his head back on the pillows.
"I'm trying to protect my boys."
"Protect them from what? They're twenty-seven and twenty-three. Both of them are over six feet tall. What could they possibly need protecting from?"
John just slowly nodded his head. Melinda blew out her breath, sitting back in her chair and crossing her arms over her chest. She nodded.
"I can see where Dean gets his stubbornness from."
John nodded back at her.
"Sam got his from his mother."
They were both quiet for a moment, and Melinda stood to her feet.
"Well, I guess I should go check on Dean."
John nodded, giving her one last dazzling smile.
"It was a pleasure to meet you, Melinda."
Melinda smiled.
"Bobby's right. You are full of shit."
She walked down the hall, smiling at the booming sound of John's laughter behind her.
Back in the room, John let out a sigh, resting his head back against the pillows. He glanced down at his arm, still in the sling, and the new brace they put on his leg that morning, saying they wanted him up and moving around the next day. He let out another sigh, then heard a quiet laugh at the door. He narrowed his eyes as a woman walked into the room.
She wasn't drop-dead gorgeous, not like Mary had been, but she was pretty. It was in a different way, an unusual kind of pretty. She smiled at him, showing dimples in her cheeks. Her brown hair curled down her back, and her dark eyes that seemed almost black never left him. She glanced down to his leg, stared pointedly at his arm, then looked back to his eyes.
"Well, well. Look at what we have here."
John stayed quiet, and the girl stepped forward, gently pushing her fingers through his dark hair. Her dimples continued to shine.
"That's okay. I enjoy the strong, silent type."
John rolled his eyes, but held a smirk on his face, that Winchester charm he just seemed to ooze. Something he'd shared with both of his sons. Charisma seemed to leak out of Dean's pores, but Sam only pulled it out when it was necessary. The woman let her hand fall, letting out a sigh.
"You're a hard one to find. Of course, that car isn't exactly inconspicuous, you know. And Trent, well… He never did quite get the hang of those big rigs."
John tensed then, sitting up straighter. The woman's smile grew, and her dark eyes widened.
"You had your suspicions, right? Of course this wasn't an accident. Not with the infamous Winchester luck."
She put her hands in the pockets of her leather jacket as she slowly paced the room, the heels of her boots making clicking sounds on the floor.
"Trent was a newbie. Just dying to take one for the team. And well… I suppose you know how that play on words played out."
"Who the hell are you?"
She turned to face him, dimples shining as she smiled again.
"He speaks."
She stepped to the end of the bed, taking her hands from her pockets, setting her hands on the footrail.
"Name's Masters. Meg Masters."
John nodded.
"What are you doing here, Meg?"
"Take a guess, Johnny."
John let out a sigh.
"Nick?"
Meg smiled as she gave him a nod.
"The boss wants to see you, and as Winchester luck would have it, he's in town."