This chapter is a crucial turning point for Dean's feelings towards Kerry, so I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Sorry for the delay in posting- I went away for a few days and ended up staying an extra week and a half, so apologies! Thank you again for your reviews and favourites- they truly are fuel for my passion and really make me want to continue writing!

Dean finally smashed the door open only to find the room completely empty except for something lying on the floor in the middle of the room. His sharp eyes picked up on the blonde hair and his blood turned to ice.

"Kerry!" he called.

No response. Running faster than he even knew he could, he dropped to his knees next to her and drew her up into his arms. He put his hand on her throat, checking for her pulse and all colour drained from his face when he discovered there wasn't one.

"No, no…nonono" he muttered.

He lay her down on the floor and immediately began chest compressions, screaming out for Sam. Seconds later, Sam came in to find Dean desperately pressing down on Kerry's chest, his eyes wild with fear and panic. Sam ran over and dropped next to his brother.

"Dean, I'll take over. Call an ambulance."

Dean shook his head.

"You call; I'm not stopping." He snapped.

Sam called the ambulance and as soon as he ended the call, he moved out of the building to direct the paramedics. Ten minutes later, the ambulance arrived and Dean found himself having to be pulled off Kerry. He grasped Sam's jacket tightly as he watched them load Kerry into the vehicle and bring out a defibrillator. He tossed the Impala keys to Sam and jumped into the back with Kerry, his eyes telling Sam he couldn't leave her. The doors shut and the ambulance sped away, leaving Sam behind to deal with everything else.

Once they were moving, the sound of them shocking Kerry filled the ambulance, and one of the paramedics shook his head. Dean felt completely helpless; just a few months ago he watched his dad die in front of him and Kerry was comforting him. Now he was standing watching as she too was slipping away from him. His eyes began to blur and he wanted to look away; but he knew that until she opened her eyes there was no way he was taking his own off her. Three more shocks with the defibrillator and the paramedic finally smiled.

"We have a pulse. It's faint but it's there." He informed Dean.

Dean felt his heart kick back into gear and let out a breath he hadn't been aware of holding. As the paramedic moved out of the way, he took hold of Kerry's hand with both of his and continued to stare at her, praying to any and all god that would listen to ensure she would be okay and silently begging her to open her eyes.

Kerry was wheeled off to the intensive care as soon as they arrived at the hospital and Dean was told to stay back. He wanted to refuse, but knew Kerry would kill him if he got in the way of the professionals, so he busied himself with filling in the hospital forms. Thankfully, he knew almost everything about her and so it didn't take long. As he signed the form, Sam appeared in the hallway. At the sight of Dean semi-calmly signing some paperwork, he relaxed; if anything was a good sign, that was it.

"How is she?" he asked.

"They got her pulse back but she's still too weak to breathe by herself. They took her to intensive care and told me to wait out here."

Sam nodded and put a hand on Dean's shoulder.

"She's a hunter and she's a Singer. From what we know of both of those, it's pretty safe to say she's going to fight through this and be okay."

Dean nodded, but he was still too shaken to truly believe it.

"By the way, Bobby's on his way; said he'll be here in a few hours." Sam continued.

Before Dean was able to respond, the door opened and a doctor came over to him.

"How is she doc?" he asked.

"She will be okay. She needs to be kept here for a while as she's still not quite able to breathe comfortably on her own, but thankfully she doesn't have to rely on the machine to breathe for her. That in itself tells me she should be okay. She should wake in the next couple of hours."

Dean almost sank to the floor in relief, but instead forced himself to walk into her room. He instantly froze when he saw her lying there, her skin a sickly grey colour; an oxygen tube up her nose helping her breathe. He swallowed the lump that appeared in his throat and moved to her side. As he reached out to take her hand, the force of a memory hit him and he blinked in surprise as the echo of her voice filtered through his mind

"I'll never stop loving you as long as you stay here and don't abandon us"

So shocked by the voice, he dropped her hand and stared at her in shock.

"Where the hell did that come from?" he asked himself out loud.

As he spoke, Kerry's eyes fluttered under her eyelashes and she let out a gentle moan. Dean immediately turned his attention back to her and re-took her hand.

"Kerry? You awake?" he asked softly.

She didn't respond, but Dean took it as a sign that she was going to wake sooner rather than later, so sat in the chair next to her, determined to be there when she woke. He found himself staring at her in minute detail, something he'd never done before and found that the more he looked, the more beautiful she became. He shook his head, rubbing his face with his free hand. Firstly he tried to kiss her and now he was imagining her voice telling him she loved him. It was too confusing for him to take in.

"What's coming over me!?" he whispered.

Sam entered the room at that moment, armed with two cups of coffee. He silently handed one to Dean who nodded his thanks.

"She moved yet?" Sam asked.

"She let out a moan but that's all."

Sam nodded; at least she'd done something, which was more than a good sign.

"Good. Bobby said he'll be here in about an hour. I told him she should be okay, so he's not breaking every speed limit now."

Dean couldn't help but smile at the fact that one twenty one year old could turn a group of the most hardened and rough hunters into worried wrecks. He glanced back at Kerry's face and squeezed her hand once his eyes widening when there was the softest of squeezes back.

"Hey kiddo, you gonna wake up?" he asked her.

There was a slight furring of her brows and she let out another soft moan, but she still didn't open her eyes. Sam and Dean exchanged looks.

"Do you think I should get a doctor?" Sam asked.

Dean shook his head.

"No, I think she's just fighting her way into consciousness and we should leave her to it."

Sam nodded and sat back in his chair; his eyes clearly displaying the worry that Dean was trying to hide in his own. Dean once again found himself thinking about Kerry and as he thought back to the events of the past few days, he felt a fierce protectiveness towards her that he'd never before felt.

"We have to be there for her more. She nearly died today and that's just not acceptable." He said out loud, his voice steely.

Sam glanced up in surprise at the fierceness of his brother's words and almost smiled at the intensity of the look on Dean's face as he stared at Kerry.

"I'm with you there." Sam agreed.

Bobby walked into the room before either could say anything else and Sam was the first to stand and leave the room, putting a reassuring hand on the older hunter's shoulder as he passed. Dean felt reluctant to leave, but eventually forced himself to stand. Before he left, he looked at Bobby.

"I'm sorry Bobby; I shouldn't have let her go by herself."

Bobby glared at him and Dean stepped back.

"You idjit! Of course you should have; she's a hunter like us, it's what we do! Don't you ever apologise for something that's out of your control to me again boy, you hear me?"

Dean could only nod and bobby then reached and quickly patted him on the back.

"Sam tells me you were the one that helped bring her back. Thank you. If it wasn't for you, I'd be mourning the loss of my daughter right now. I owe you big time."

Dean gave him a small smile, trying not to think of how close they came to losing her.

"I just… I wish I could protect her more Bobby. It scared me so much to see her like that. She's my family every bit as much as dad and Sammy, and I can't think of her dying. I promise I'm never letting her out of my sight again when I'm around her."

Bobby smiled and patted him on the back, and as the younger hunter left, he turned his attention to Kerry and saw she had opened her eyes and was looking at him with a tearful expression. Relief overwhelmed him and he almost threw himself at her, pulling her into his arms. She simply lay her head on his shoulder and let her tears fall, too weak to do anything else.

"He loves you darling' I can tell. He just doesn't know it yet, but I know he'll figure it out in time."

Kerry sniffed and nodded. Bobby released her and she lay back down, exhaustion in every movement she made.

"It wasn't a witch." She whispered, her voice sounding raspy.

Bobby raised an eyebrow.

"Demon." She ended.

"Damn. I'm so sorry; I should've known."

Kerry shrugged.

"We're hunters, it's what we do; or was that just something you said to shut Dean up?" she asked, a twinkle of mischief in her eyes.

Bobby chuckled and reached to stroke her hair.

"You have no idea how terrified we were." He commented, his voice gentle.

She didn't respond, but the look in her eyes told him she knew exactly how terrified they all were. At that moment, there was a tap on the door and Sam came in, a huge relieved smile spreading across his face when he saw Kerry looking at him.

"Dean, get in here!" he called.

There was a crash and the door slammed open, the force of it hitting Sam and sending the younger brother crashing to the floor. Dean raced in, eyes wild with fear and Sam glared at him. Bobby stared at the commotion with wide eyes, but Kerry couldn't hold in the giggles. They were so soft they were almost inaudible, but Dean snapped his head to her as he heard the noise.

"You're okay." Was all he managed to say.

Kerry smiled and nodded, her eyes sparkling with amusement as Sam reached up and kicked Dean's legs, returning the favour of sending his brother to the floor.