'Ohana means family. Family means nobody gets left behind or forgotten.'

- Lilo and Stitch.

April 25th 2009

Windom, Minnesota

Dean sat beside a motionless Beth, watching as she inhaled and exhaled harshly around the oxygen tube that had been stuck down her throat. He rubbed at his mouth and chin roughly and sighed as her fingers twitched yet again, her nails brushing against the back of his hand.

Beth had been unconscious for three days and in that time the doctors had carefully inserted an IV drip into the vein in the crook of her elbow, Sam and Dean had been forced to wait in the cafeteria as the doctors and nurses worked on stitching up each of her wounds, their confusion obvious at the human bite marks on her side and shoulder. The cut on her neck had been cleaned and covered with gauze when decided that it wouldn't require stitches, the rest of her wounds -however- did.

Sam had gone back to the motel about two hours ago on Dean's orders to get some sleep, because apparently staying up for three nights in a row only affected Sam and not his brother. He'd gone willingly though, eager to get a shower and a bite to eat... and to get away from the sound of his half-sister's ragged breathing and the fact that he'd let down another person because he hadn't been able to discover what the ghouls actually were until the last minute. And now Beth lay in hospital, encased in numerous bandages with ghostly white skin and dark bruises littering her face and Adam was dead, he was now nothing more than a pile of ash whilst what remained of their mom lay on a cold slab in the morgue.

"Beth, you need to wake up," Dean coaxed as he hesitantly squeezed her hand, his calloused fingers surrounding her slender ones, "now's not the time for taking a nap."

The blonde nurse—Elena—stood behind him, smiled sadly and patted his shoulder sympathetically as she read Beth's chart before replacing the almost empty IV bag with a new, full one and left the room to give him privacy.

"I'm serious princess, you need to get your lazy ass up."

"Like she's gonna respond to that," Sam said from the doorway, making Dean jerk his head up in surprise.

"You never know," Dean replied with a shrug of his shoulders.

"She'll wake up when she's ready." Sam dropped into the empty chair beside his brother and pushed a wet strand of hair from his face.

"Who knows when that will be," Dean mumbled. He pushed himself to feet and headed for the door, glancing back only once to tell Sam that he was going to get some coffee and would return later, unaware of what was going on in his half-sister's head.

Beth's eyes snapped open, hazel orbs trailing over the bright white ceiling curiously as she attempted to recall the last thing that had happened to her, only to come up blank. She slowly pushed herself up onto her elbows, realising she was lying on a vintage, deep blue, velvet chaise longue with a cushion placed gently beneath her hair.

"...Hello?" she called, surprised at how melodic her voice sounded. She climbed to her feet, eyes widening at the ankle length, burgundy dress she wore; the bodice and the skirt was covered in sequins, and it had thick, spaghetti straps and an open back that stretched down to the middle of her spine.

"Ah, little dove. It's nice to see you up and about." The sudden voice had her jumping in surprise, the burgundy skirt whirling around her ankles and showing off her bare feet.

"Let me guess, Gabe sent you?" she questioned, resting her hands on her hips.

"Who else?" he raised his hands in a 'you got me' gesture. He smirked widely as he conjured two glasses of whisky from the bar in the corner of the room and held one out to her.

"Thank you." She accepted the glass without a second thought and gulped down the liquid, wincing at the burn in her throat.

"How have you been, my little dove?" the tanned male set his glass down and wrapped his arms around her from behind, surrounding her with his unnatural warmth.

"Well, my mom and my brother were torn apart by ghouls and I was made to watch," she answered sarcastically. She tossed the glass into the air, watching as it spiralled towards the ground and disappeared before it could shatter. She huddled back into his chest as the cool air caused goose-bumps to appear on her arms.

"Yes, I heard about that. How unfortunate," he said, not unkindly. Beth turned her head to meet his eyes and frowned curiously.

"How did you know?" He set his chin on her shoulder and smirked widely at her. Beth sighed, knowing that he wasn't going to answer her and rested her forehead against his temple. "I guess it's just another thing I don't need to know?"

"You got that right," he returned as he tightened his grip on her. If it had been any other man, she would've been struggling to get out of their hold but she'd know him just as long as Gabe and she trusted them both with her life.

"Do I have to wake up?" Her eyes flickered to the ceiling-to-floor glass walls and watched the waves crashing down onto the shore below. "I want to stay here forever."

"I know you do," he said softly, "but you have people waiting for you."

Beth turned around in his hold and put her hands on his chest. "I don't want to go back. You and Gabe are the only ones I have left."

"We both know that's not true," he murmured, "you have those two apes."

"But I don't know them," she argued immediately. She closed her eyes and tried to stop herself from crying. "I don't need them."

"Yes you do... more than you know." He stroked a finger down her cheek, catching the tear that escaped.

"I'm gonna miss you," she admitted.

"It's not like you'll never see me again." He cupped her face in his large hands. "But it's time to wake up."

"Please... please don't make me go," she begged and gripped his shirt tightly in her hands.

His lips twitched sadly, clearly torn between giving in and letting her stay and forcing her to wake up. Eventually, the latter won and he drew her in, pressing a kiss to her lips.

"Wake up."

Beth's eyes snapped open and a loud gasp escaped, filling the previously quiet room. Dean shot up at the noise and turned to his youngest sibling, he took a hesitant step towards her.

"B-Beth?"

Beth let out a strangled breath and began tugging at the oxygen tube in her throat. Dean lurched forward and grabbed her hands tightly, preventing her from hurting herself as he called for a nurse.

"Beth, I need you to calm down," Nurse Elena told the brunette. Elena turned to Dean and gestured him to come back over. "Can you calm her down?"

"Uh, okay... sure," Dean cleared his throat and took hold of Beth's hand again. "Beth. I need you to calm down, the nurse needs to get the tube out."

Beth's hazel orbs locked on him and she seemed to recognise him after a few moments. Her hands shook in his as she nodded jerkily and let out another gasp. Nurse Elena smiled in satisfaction and gently eased the tube out, replacing it with an oxygen mask.

"Thank you," Dean told the nurse.

"It's no problem, Dean." Elena patted his shoulder and left the room to inform the doctor that Beth was awake.

"D... Dean?" Beth winced at the ache in her throat. She glanced down in surprise as her fingers tightened around his when he attempted to pull away.

"Hey princess." Dean ruffled her hair gently, mindful of the bruises on her face.

"Can I have some water?" she asked slowly.

Dean filled a glass from the unit beside her bed with water and handed it to her, watching as she raised it to her lips with a weak, shaking hand and took a small sip, followed quickly by a large gulp and she finished the glass in seconds flat.

"Wow, easy," Dean said, helping her into a sitting position as she began to cough roughly.

"W... where's your brother?" she asked the moment her coughing fit ended.

"He's around," Dean answered vaguely.

Beth nodded in acceptance, eyes roaming around the room, taking in the sterilised hospital equipment, the medium sized TV on the far wall and the thin but comfortable bed she lay in.

"What... what about my mom? A-and Adam?" she asked, painfully aware of the pitying look Dean gave her. "They... they're really dead."

"I'm sorry," Dean offered but she shook her head.

"I-it's not your fault," she said.

Beth pulled the blankets tighter around her body and rolled over to face the window, her back to Dean. She squeezed her eyes shut and tried in vain to control the sobs that tore up her throat and shook her body. Dean hovered in the background, unsure what he should do, if he should comfort her or leave to give her space. The first option eventually won and he set a hand on her shoulder, squeezing it gently. He didn't struggle as she reached back and pulled his hand to her, encasing it with both of hers and holding it tightly for comfort.

"It's okay. I'm not going anywhere," he promised, it was the least he could do, after all, her family was dead and though she didn't know it, Dean and Sam were all she had left. "We won't forget about you," he whispered lowly so she wouldn't hear him, he just hoped she would be able to forgive them for leaving her so soon after her mom and twin had died.