I wanted to get this out there as fast as I could for those who stayed with me during the long time between post. OPGrimReaper thank you for not getting the mob. For my guest. Thank you and I hope this chapter is just as promising. Pryde23 sorry for the cliffies I made sure not to end it with one this time and glad you like the characterizations. Squidgy78 - here you go.. I hope you like it. Dean's Worshiper - here you go. Thank you guys for the reviews they make my day
For my new followers and those that favorite the story I get so excited when I see you.. thank you also.
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Vanessa pushed the bad air out slowly between clenched teeth and placed both hands on the exam table. And then suddenly needed to organize the equipment on the tray. She turned back to the exam bed just as abruptly as she turned away. The German Sheppard laid there and cocked his head watching the woman as she jumped from thing to thing.
A deep breath. In, out, and Vanessa turned back to her patient on the table. In a practiced movement the vet started examining the dog. She was sure her original diagnosis of superficial damage was correct but she wanted to buy him a few minutes. Practiced fingers prodded shoulders, hips and then looked at his feet.
"You weren't supposed to get caught."
The dog barked.
"No, I am not done with the exam yet."
He barked again, this time ending with a huff.
"No, you scared the hell out of me when brought you in here in that kennel. So you are going to lay on that table until I tell you that you can get up."
The dogs head lowered until it was lying between his paws just looking at the vet with sad eyes and softly whined.
Vanessa looked at the dog and shook her head in disbelief. Even as a dog, he could get his own way. "Fine, let me get Joshua in here to help you get ..."
The end of the sentence was silenced as the large German Sheppard leapt from the metal examination table on to the floor. Vanessa only had a second to turn her back to the dog as he changed form.
"Josh, Mr. Winchester needs some clothes, please. Then we need to finish examining Riley." She knew her voice held a bite that she didn't mean for her assistant but right now Dean was standing too close to her and she was holding on by a thin leash.
"Vee, I am fine. A little scuffed, a little tired but I've had worse," Dean said trying to pull the woman into a hug.
Vanessa wasn't willing to be consoled just yet and stayed as stiff as she could as Dean hugged her from behind. "Oh, sure you've had worse. Here you are thinking about yourself again. Damn it Dean and your need to do something without thinking it through. How did you live this long? Did you stop and think about what Jackson could have done to you or us? I told you if you leave you can't get caught and you can't come back ... not without the cavalry."
Dean sighed and ran his hand through his now shaggy hair and grimaced. "What do you want me to say Vee. I didn't give him enough credit and he was better than I thought he was. Jackson found me at this farmer's house about fifty miles from here. He threatened to tear out the throat of the man if I didn't stop hiding and come back with him. Did you expect for me to let someone die because of me?"
Vanessa slammed the instrument on the table and turned around to face Dean ignoring the fact he had no clothes on. "No I expected you to kill the son of a bitch. He is a damn werewolf. At least that is what a hunter would have done."
Dean was trying to decide what to say when Joshua cleared his throat. "You two might want to keep your voices down if you don't want Jackson to know your plotting his murder. He is walking around the compound spoiling for a fight and the newer ones are beginning to cower."
Vanessa swallowed hard when she thought about the damage the werewolf could do to her brothers and sisters. "I have to go calm him down."
"Not a good idea boss. You and Dean are the reason he's in a bad mood. To be confronted or even see you two would make him go off. And more of us would get hurt," Joshua said handing Dean a clean pair of scrubs.
"Are we supposed to stand by and watch..,"
"No we could go kill him. We could do it together. You were a hunter too." Dean said as he slid the scrubs up over his hips.
Joshua panicked. If they killed the werewolf, the doctor would punish all of them and one of the other werewolves would take over. "Hey I don't like the guy either but..."
"How? You said you underestimated him, last time. Even drunk two of use with no weapons are going to have a problem. They have all the silver locked in the doctor's office. Then there's our problem with the silver."
Dean thought for a minute, "tomorrow when..."
"Guys."
Joshua's fearful plead turned both heads toward the cowering assistant.
"We can not kill him. We just can't. I don't like him. Hell, I am scared to death he is going to find an excuse to rip out my throat. But he is better than the other four werewolves the doctor has guarding us. You should know you treat the training injuries. He keeps them in check. Besides that, the doctor will punish all of us. Or do you want that?"
Vanessa closed her eyes and sighed. She knew everything Joshua said was true. Dejectedly she said, "Alright. Go get me Riley."
"Vee"?"
"What?" she snapped.
Dean did not say anything as Joshua picked up the Ridgeback from earlier and put him on the examining table. He watched as she gently prodded the animal on the table. As difficult as it was for him he waited. It was going to take teamwork to kill the werewolf and the only way she would listen was if she was calm. "Vee?"
She didn't snap this time but there was still a hard edge to her voice that Dean couldn't miss. "What?"
"Since I am stuck here what can I do to help?"
"Dean," Vanessa sighed. "You're not stuck here. You ought to go back to the barracks and see if you can get some sleep."
His lips twisted into a smile that didn't reach his eyes. "I'm fine. If I go out there and he sees me and we can't kill him the doctor will know that you lied to him."
Vanessa shook her head in defeat. "Fine... I mean all right. Joshua is there anything that Dean can do to help you?"
Joshua thought for a moment. Macy would be coming back from lunch any time now which mean Dean couldn't be at the front counter. The kennels needed cleaning but there was no way he was going to assign that to the former hunter, he liked his throat where it was. "Nothing that wouldn't put out were Jackson would find out about him. He could take my place here while I exercise the animals and clean the kennels."
"Alright get him a shirt and your clip board. I guess your my nurse today Dean. It's a good thing you have plenty of field medicine."
Dean snorted and then he realized what she said was true. He couldn't even count all the times he helped patch up his father or little brother. The though of John and Sam reminded him of the stabbing pain that had been there when Jackson told him his family knew where he was and didn't want him anymore.
Vanessa saw the emotion settle over Dean. It wasn't anything tell-tell as a matter of fact it was the opposite. Suddenly he stood straighter, his shoulders were squared and there was a hardness to his face that was supposed to remind you of a statue. But she wasn't fooled because Sam had told her long ago about Dean. She asked Joshua about her scheduled patients and then dismissed him.
"When your finished dressing Dean can you pull me two vials and a needle. I need to pull some blood for the heart test and for the doctor."
Dean was grateful Vanessa didn't push like Sammy did. That was before his little brother left them to go to that fancy college in California. His bare feet slapped against the tile in the quite room with only the whimpers of the Ridgeback on the table. He put the syringe and the vial together and handed it to Vanessa. "What's wrong with him?"
She scratched the brown dogs bony head before motioning for Dean to hold him down against the table. "Nothing. Riley here is just getting a check up and testing to get heartworm medication."
"Huh."
Vanessa tried to keep the smile from her face at Dean's tone. With the life a hunter lead, preventive care wasn't usually in their dictionary. Plus, only a few knew about the mundane side of the clinic. Having a veterinary hospital with boarding privileges kept the good citizens from wondering what was going on out in the middle of nowhere.
"Vee, you know we could do it. Together you and I we could kill him." Dean said holding the squirming dog.
Vanessa shook her head no. "Can you promise me we would kill them all at once? So they don't go after the others. They are innocent and we can let them be hurt because of what we do."
"Vee, they're not innocent they are monsters."
Vanessa sighed, "So are we. Your alter ego, the one I just treated was Rin Tin Tin and I am some stupid collie type thing. Not one of them had a real choice in becoming this thing. And not one of them has hurt a living being. They are innocent and its our job to protect them."
Dean expelled air loudly to voice his disapproval of her argument and yet he really couldn't counter it either. Oh he could say that they hadn't had a chance to hurt humans and they choose to let the skin walker bite them but even he didn't believe that. But there was a part of him screaming to kill them before they did turn on a human.
"Take Riley back to his cage. I have to have Joshua run his blood for parasites so Macy can give them heartworm pills. While I finish filling out his file you can clean up the exam area and bring Beauregard...he's the basset hound with the ear infection."
Vanessa had move over to a counter and began scribbling notes. Dean though she wasn't even paying attention to him anymore. And was startled when she said, "I could see it on your face. You think we should kill them or let them die before the have a chance to harm anyone. Any hunter could say the same about you. Should we let a hunter kill you because of what you might become?"
