Sam had been ushered out into the hallway while Dr. Rivers and the nurses evaluated Dee. He heard the questions Dr. Rivers asked and he was in the process of rolling his eyes when he heard Dee snark out, "Gee, did it take you this long t' fig're tha' out doc?" making him laugh at the image she had to be portraying at the moment; a true "Dean moment". Watching the door closely, he inwardly sighed in relief when he saw the nurses rush out of the room trying hard not to laugh. Apparently they thought his questions were stupid too.
Walking back into the room, he saw Dee looking at the doctor with a set look on her face and he had to wonder what had gotten into her. When she saw him he found out quick enough. "DADDY! He ask'd if I miss'd you! I think he's dumb."
Not certain if he should be horrified or amused, he settled for pleasantly relieved and sat next to her on her bed and pulled her into his lap. Looking at the doctor he finally asked, "I take it she's better?"
Smiling, the doctor shook his head at the humor he saw in Sam's face and answered, "Oh, I should say so. I still want to keep her for another twenty four hours, but if she's still improving at this rate I'd be comfortable with sending her home tomorrow afternoon."
"Yay! Daddy, can we make more Play Do?" she asked, already cuddling up against her daddy.
Nodding, Sam fought back the tears knowing that his little girl was going to be alright, he just prayed she would stay that way.
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Hendrickson had been waiting on the phone call, and was about to call back when his cell phone rang in his pocket. Glaring at a disapproving nurse, he answered brusquely then waiting for the news.
"Alright, David O'Halloran, age 25, blonde hair, hazel eyes, approximately 6'3, disappeared with his daughter after his wife committed suicide. He has parents in Seattle, Washington, but no one too close; an Aunt and Uncle in the area, but no real mention of any other family. Does that help?"
Knowing that he could tell the truth and be written up as a stubborn bastard, or lie and keep his post, he hedged his bets. "Maybe, look if this David guy has suddenly appeared, then there has to be a reason. He's not just going to stop in after walking away from everything…"
"Victor, you need to let it go. I know for a fact that you're about to get a call any minute and if you don't do what they want, you'll be kicked out of the Bureau. I got that straight from Manning, who played golf with the higher ups yesterday. Apparently there's still some flack going on about you losing the Winchester brothers in Milwaukee, they aren't giving you anymore leeway."
"Damn it, don't they get that I could have the younger brother in custody by tonight if people would just get out of my way?" he asked fiercely. It was the one thing that he hated about the FBI; even field agents had to deal with office politics sometimes. "Look, give me two days; if I can't find the proof they need in that time, I'm on the next flight to Georgia. Find a way to stall." Cutting the call without even waiting for a reply, he knew that he just put his friendship on the line, but then again, friendships just got in the way of the bigger picture; and right now that was bringing in Sam and Dean Winchester.
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Dee had been released late the next afternoon, and slept the whole ride home. Sam was just happy to have her riding shotgun with him and knew that they had less than a week left before she was gone again. Pulling to the side of the house, he knew that Ellen would be there waiting, just like she promised. He knew that he should be thankful that she and Bobby were around, but at the moment he wanted to be selfish and spend as much time as he could with her. Unfortunately, he might not have that opportunity if Hendrickson ever got a whiff of where he was.
Picking Dee up out of the truck, he was content to keep her in his arms forever, which brought song lyrics from Dean's tape collection to mind. Shaking his head, he had no intention of having the voice of Ozzy Osborn playing in his head for the rest of the night. Walking in the house he was pleasantly surprised when he saw dinner was already made and on the table with a bouquet of balloons tied to the back of a chair for Dee.
When Dee felt the truck stop, she didn't want to open her eyes. She knew that her Daddy would pick her up and carry her and Page inside, and that was something that she liked a lot. She had told Page several times that there wasn't anyone in the whole wide world as big and strong and smart as her Daddy and Page never disagreed; which meant she was right. Seeing the balloons made her smile, but she wasn't ready to let go just yet, so she made sure to tighten her arms and legs so she wouldn't be put down.
Laughing, Sam knew what Dee was doing, and under the circumstances he wasn't going to force her to sit down. "Ok Babygirl, you don't have to get down, but how about loosening your grip a little so Daddy can breathe?"
Ellen and Bobby laughed at the sight of Dee hanging onto Sam like a koala bear and they both wondered what was going to happen when Dean came back. They both had heard about what happened after Jessica's death, and they worried that the same thing would happen when Dee was gone.
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Knowing that his time was running out, Hendrickson took a chance, and went to the Sheriff's office. Normally he would have made this his first stop, charging in and demanding answers, but at the moment, he knew that if the Sheriff decided to call in his credentials he wouldn't have to worry about his two day limit.
Deputy Sheriff Brown wished that he had stayed in bed. He knew who the man was standing out in the bullpen asking questions, but what was a person to say, "You're not going to get what you want because everyone here knows the Winchester's, and most owe them in one way or another"? Not too professional, not to mention extremely stupid. Sighing, he turned his back to the scene and drank some more of what they insisted was coffee, but he knew that it was some herbal crap that Zelma had brought in to 'help everyone focus'. Right, like anyone really needed to focus in their small town.
Hearing the knock on the doorframe, he knew who it was and sent a silent prayer for patience up to the heavens before he turned around. "Yes, may I help you?"
Flashing his ID Badge, Hendrickson got to the point. "I'm looking for a young man by the name of Sam Winchester; I believe I saw him in a diner posing as a David O'Halloran."
Nodding, Brown smiled and motioned for the other man to sit down. "I know who you are agent, and I have to say I'm surprised that you waited this long to come see us. Yes, we all know both Sam and David, and most of the towns folk are wondering how in the world you could have gotten those two mixed up." Holding up his hand he cut Hendrickson's statement off. "Look, we all get that they look similar because of their height and build, and they both are pretty mild tempered, but I have to tell you, David doesn't have a pit bull for a brother. Trust me; I learned that the hard way years ago."
After being told that the Sheriff was out of the office for the day but he could talk to the Deputy Sheriff, Hendrickson had a feeling that he should have just stayed in bed. Talking to the man for less than two minutes, and he knew for certain. "Alright, so what you're telling me is that Sam Winchester isn't here in this town, am I right?"
Brown looked at the man across from him and wondered how this was going to end. From the complaints that he'd been getting, this guy had been borderline stalking people who had come in contact with 'David' since he came in town, and now he was asking a direct question about Sam. Definitely a day he should have stayed in bed. He had every intention of giving this agent the courtesy of being a fellow law enforcement officer, he really did, but then the guy just had to piss. him. off.
"Look, you and your backwoods citizens can try and convince yourself that you're doing the right thing and then go about you business with cake walks, barbershop quartets and I don't give a rat's ass, but let me tell you that the Winchester's are dangerous and if you don't do something then you're going to start finding people dead in their beds. Are you willing to have that on your conscience, Deputy Sheriff?" Hendrickson yelled ignoring the stares the others were tossing in their direction.
Having his quota of crap for the day, Brown decided that enough was enough, "Agent Hendrickson, you seem to forget that you have no jurisdiction here. You've broken enough protocol's that they could use this whole visit as a 'What not to do" class in itself. I shouldn't have to remind you that you have no back up, you have no clearance, you have no leads, and if I hazard to guess I bet if I called your Supervisor right now you'd be on the next plane to Washington. So before you start slinging insults, agent, I suggest you remember you're only still in this 'backwoods' town because we haven't thrown you out. Now, as a courtesy, I'm informing you that I am calling your Supervisor and I am letting them know that one of their off-duty agents is snooping around making a horses ass not only out of himself, but the Bureau as well." Pausing for breath, he noted the anger in the other man and knew that he really shouldn't push, but the guy was asking for it. "So, while you're waiting for the phone call saying to go home, why don't you head over to the diner down the street; today they have blueberry cobbler and it goes quick, so I suggest you hurry."
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He had no idea how Bobby did it, he really didn't. Sam had only mentioned in passing how Dee had been hoping to ride a pony, and before he knew it they all were on a ranch watching Dee pick out which one she wanted to ride.
'Skeeter' Lewis owned the horse ranch and knew Bobby for several years. So when his friend had called saying that he had a little great niece who wanted to go riding, he couldn't say no. Seeing Sammy Winchester all grown up had been an added bonus, and to find out that he had a little girl too was just icing on the cake. "You know Sammy, I remember when I first met you; you weren't too much bigger than your girl there. Where does the time go boy?"
Smiling, he knew that Mr. Lewis had known his dad a long time ago, but he didn't remember the first time ever meeting him. Turning his attention back to Dee he was anxious to find out which one she was going to pick. Somehow he knew she'd find the one that was the most dangerous for such a little girl to be on. If he only knew that her eyes weren't set on ponies any more, he would have been more frightened.
"Tha' one Daddy!" she exclaimed, pointing at a full grown mare who looked like she wanted nothing to do with having little girls ride on her back.
Sam heard Mr. Lewis laugh at Dee's choice and knew that he was in trouble. Turning to the man he waited before asking what was so funny, what he heard didn't help his anxiety at all.
"Oh, just leave it to a Winchester to pick the most damn stubborn horse I have on the ranch. Don't get me wrong, she won't hurt you… much, as long as you keep in mind whose boss – her." Skeeter said wiping his eyes with the back of his hand. "If that's the one little missy wants, I have to insist that you ride with her."
Sam heard the words, but the meaning was lost on him until he heard Dee squeal, "Yay! We ride tog'ther Daddy!" Then he knew that his nightmare had really begun.
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Sam had kept Dee inside and mostly in bed the last few days, and when he finally announced she could go outside today, she blurted out that she wanted to go on a pony ride. Bobby couldn't help but look at the calendar, and he hated himself for it. They only had a few days left with Dee, and there he was thinking about Dean. Feeling like a fool, he was wishing that he was at Skeeter's ranch watching Sam and Dee, but he also had the distinct feeling that he and Ellen were cramping them at the moment.
Going outside, he was about to go towards his workshop when he heard a car pull into the yard. Seeing that it was Deputy Sheriff Brown he relaxed and walked over to the man who was starting to get out of his cruiser. "Mike, what can I do for you?"
Smiling, Mike Brown shook his head, "This is more of an unofficial official visit Bobby." Seeing the other man's frown he continued, "I've stalled, redirected, and even made phone calls, but my boss feels that the only way to get rid of this annoying agent is for him to meet 'David', unfortunately so does Hendrickson's bosses. They all feel that the sooner he sees our David the sooner he'll leave without causing anymore of an incident."
Groaning, Bobby knew that there was no way that they could get Hendrickson and Sam in the same room, much less close enough for a positive ID. How Sam had been able to get away from the agent the last two times they met up Bobby had no idea, but he was positive that the boy had used up whatever luck he had in doing so.
"Look, I came by to let you know that we're supposed to all meet casually at the diner after lunch, apparently no one wants it to look like a witch hunt." The younger man said, looking sheepish while he did so. Their only hope was to get Sam and his little girl out of the area before then, when he mentioned it Bobby he got a look on his face that he didn't like.
"We have a problem; I sent them over to Skeeter Lewis' so Dee could ride one of the ponies. Then they were going to try and sneak in and visit Twyla at the diner… for lunch."
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Sam remembered renting a couple of horses with Jess and that experience had proven that he wasn't meant to be a cowboy. Looking at Dee though and seeing not only her excitement but her confidence in him, he couldn't say no. Watching one of the ranch hands saddle the mare, Sam was determined not to let his little girl down. It took only a few moments and a few instructions from the handlers before he was swinging his leg over and positioning himself in the saddle, praying that he and Dee didn't get thrown off. Looking down at Dee he knew that even if they did, he would make sure that he was the one who took the brunt of the fall.
Holding up her arms, Dee was ready for her Daddy to pick her up so they could ride. When she was sitting in front of him she squealed happily while looking up at his smiling face. Everything would be alright, he knew that now; all he needed was for her to be happy, and everything else would fall into place.