AUTHOR'S NOTES: This was originally the start of a much longer chapter, but I decided to make this part its separate chapter.

Chapter 12

Are We Doing the Right Thing?

For the next two weeks, Bobby and Fiona were as cantankerous as could be when Sam and Dean came to see them.

But when the Winchesters left the room, the Hunter and the Marine fell silent, each of them thinking of the dramatic changes in their lives.

Bobby knew he didn't have as much to complain about as Fiona, but still—recovering from getting shot in the knees was no picnic and it wouldn't be easy when he finally got back on his feet again.

The doctors had been assuring him left and right that "This time next year, it'll be like it never happened".

But Bobby knew that a year would be a long time, and optimism wasn't the same thing as a guarantee.

For Fiona, it was different because she was still healing from the internal injuries—although the physical therapists said she could get started on some light upper body exercises and move into the more advanced stuff in another week.

The good thing about recovering at Portsmouth was that Gibbs visited almost as often as Sam and Dean; sometimes Gibbs would be alone and other times he brought Abby or Ziva with him.

One afternoon, while the doctors were getting some new x-rays of Bobby's legs, Gibbs came in followed by Dean.

The NCIS agent looked like he wasn't exactly happy and Dean looked like there was a confrontation coming that he wanted to avoid.

"Gibbs?" Fiona asked, trying not to wince as she sat up more. "What's going on?"

"Just came to see you," Dean lied unconvincingly. Looking at Gibbs, he added, "Look, Sammy wanted to see me about—"

"Sit," Gibbs said, quietly, his tone making it clear that it wasn't a request or a debate.

Dean did so, watching as Gibbs closed the door and closed the shades. Looking at Fi, he asked, "Should I be worried?"

"You see a sniper rifle?" Fiona asked, sarcastically.

"No," Dean replied, nervously, as he looked from his best friend to Jethro Gibbs.

"Then you're safe," Fiona said with a shrug.

"Are the two of you done?" Gibbs asked, eyes narrowed as he looked at Dean and Fi. When they nodded silently, he said, "Now, I want to know what's going on with you two."

"Come again?" Dean asked, clearly no clue as to what the older man was talking about.

But Fiona knew what her godfather meant and she looked at Dean. She'd been dreading this, but knew it had to come out sooner or later. "Dean, I was awake." Catching his eye, she elaborated. "When Lilith possessed me. I was awake and I know what I said. To you, to Sam…"

"Hey, it's no problem," Dean insisted. But catching the quiet stare from Gibbs, he sighed. "Look, you were possessed, Fi. It wasn't you."

But Fiona knew that that wasn't entirely true. "I was scared, Dean. You were falling apart, Sam was a mess… I just thought that it was the right thing to do."

"And how you feel about the nickname 'Fiver'?" Dean wanted to know. "It wasn't your fault, Fi."

"That's why I hate the name," Fiona said, quietly. "But at the same time… When you call me 'Fiver' it reminds me of how close we used to be. And I miss that."

"I miss it, too," Dean admitted. "You know, at first I thought it would be just like old times—you, me, Sammy—but… Things change."

"Yeah, I guess they do," Fiona sighed. What had started out as half-hearted resolve was starting to turn into determination. "And I'm sorry I never told you about Adam."

"I know why you did it," Dean replied, running a hand through his hair before letting out a wry laugh. "Just think… Sammy a lawyer, Adam a doctor…"

"We would have been so bored leading normal lives, Dean," Fiona countered.

Dean didn't say anything, but that didn't mean he didn't want to. He wanted to apologize for dragging Fiona back into all this, just like he'd done with Sam. But what was done was done. Instead, he asked, "So how soon can you get out of here?"

"About a month, give or take," Fiona replied, shrugging. "But the sooner the better, you know."

xxxxxxxxxxxxxx

That night, Dean found himself at a local bar, a glass of whiskey before him. The clientele was far different that what he was used to and he knew there would be no backroom poker games or pool hustling here. Not in a cop bar that was filled with federal agents.

Sam was at Fiona's townhouse doing research on some case that he'd found nearby and had declined to join Dean at the bar.

"If you continue drinking like that," said a lightly accented voice at Dean's left elbow. "I will be forced to take drastic measures to keep you from driving."

"Honey, I've driven with a lot more than two glasses of whiskey in my system," Dean replied, turning to give Ziva a smile. "But if that's an offer to take me home with you…?"

Ziva chuckled softly before ordering a mojito. When her drink arrived, she sipped it before turning to face Dean. "When was the last time you did anything to relax?"

Dean just shook his head. In truth, he felt run down and at the same time, he felt something building up inside that needed to be let loose. He needed a good bar brawl, or some big fight with some sort of monster… But thinking of the woman next to him, he figured a wild, passionate night with a gorgeous woman would also do the trick.

The two finished their drinks and headed back to the townhouse and before Dean could even lose his jacket, Ziva had grabbed him and pushed him against the wall, crushing her lips against his.

They became a whirlwind tangle of limbs as they somehow made it upstairs and to the guest room where Ziva pushed Dean onto the bed before pulling her shirt off and removing her shoes before straddling the demon hunter.

Dean had been with assertive women before, but never anyone like Ziva David. During their multiple rounds of raw, sexual frenzy, he learned things about her that he never would have imagined. For instance, she could do things with her toes that sent shivers up and down his body. Ziva also hated biting, loved having her neck kissed slowly… and she also happened to be a screamer.

During one extremely brief moment where he remembered there was a world outside of the bedroom, Dean could only imagine how Sam would feel, listening to the noise coming from upstairs. Or maybe Sam had had enough and went to stay the night at the hospital with Bobby and Fi.

But any further thoughts went out the window as Ziva gave him a look like he was a steak and she was a hungry wolf.

To Sam's surprise, Bobby was still awake when he snuck into the hospital at a bit after 1am. Fiona was sound asleep, but Sam was willing to bet that it wouldn't be long before nightmares woke her up.

As if sensing the younger man's thoughts, Bobby gave Sam a smile before sitting up in his bed. "Docs gave her something a bit ago. Kid hasn't been sleeping, so they put her on a sedative at night."

"Bet Fi was happy about that," Sam said with a return smile. After a moment, he caught Bobby's look and added, "Dean and Ziva are… well, you know."

"That boy needs to get some sleep and a decent meal," Bobby noted, grumpily. Narrowing his eyes at Sam, he said, "You, too, Sam. Both of you need to take better care of yourselves." But even as he said it, the older hunter knew that the two Winchesters wouldn't.

"We're fine, Bobby," Sam insisted, even thought he knew it was a lie.

"You're runnin' on fumes, is what you're doin'," Bobby corrected. Sighing, he paused a moment before he looked Sam in the eye. "Look, I know it's hard dealing with everything. But you and Dean can't afford to be less than 100%."

Sam knew that Bobby was right. But with Fi and Bobby down, Dean and Sam had been trying to pick up the slack. And if the calls from Ellen and Jo were any indication, the Harvelles had their hands full as well. And as much as he knew Dean would hate it, Sam promised to make sure that he and Dean took the next week off.

Marine boot camp was no picnic.

But compared with the training Fiona had gone through to be a hunter, it was close.

For more than half her life, Fi had done her share of lifting, climbing, and other physical exercises and although sometimes her muscles and joints complained about the strain, as she started physical therapy, she was suddenly grateful that she had such good upper body strength.

The therapists had wanted Fiona to take it easy at least a little bit, due to the nearly-healed abdominal injuries, but Fi was in no mood to do so. Every day that she was stuck in this hospital was another day that Sam and Dean didn't have her to back them up. Sure, being in a wheelchair would make things more difficult, but she wasn't about to let a little thing like being unable to walk stop her from protecting what was left of her family.

The past few days, Fiona had been doing better at getting around in the wheelchair, but what she was having trouble with was how she would get in and out of the Impala.

Strangely enough, the harder Fiona worked, the more downtrodden Bobby seemed to become. In fact, the two had started sniping at each other so much, that Fiona had been moved to a room down the hall.

"How's it going, Bobby?" Dean said, as cheerfully as he could as he and Sam entered their old friend's room on a bright, sunny Thursday morning.

A nurse had helped Bobby out of bed and into a wheelchair but the older man didn't seem to be encouraged by the change in situation at all. On the contrary, he seemed to be even grumpier. "How do ya think it's going?" Bobby grumbled. "Idjits."

"Yeah, same to you," Fiona snapped as she wheeled into the room followed by a disheveled looking man in a rumpled suit and a tan trenchcoat. Jerking her thumb over her shoulder at him, she said, "He says he's with you, Dean."

"Castiel?" Sam said, looking a bit confused. "Why'd you go to Fiona?"

"You're hidden from angels now," Cas reminded him, a snap in his voice. "All angels. Fiona was the only one I was able to focus on."

"Yeah," Bobby snapped, irritably. "How about we skip the foreplay and you get to healing already?"

Castiel took in Bobby's condition and it hurt as he replied, "I can't."

"Say again?" Bobby said, turning to face the angel.

"I'm cut off from Heaven and much of Heaven's power," Castiel confessed, regretfully. "Certain things I can do, some I can't."

Fiona looked at Bobby who seemed to take the angel's words personally. But what did Bobby have to complain about? At least his legs still worked! Turning and heading back to her room, Fiona stopped by the hospital bed and sighed as she looked at her useless legs.

Well, who cared if some angel couldn't fix her up? Going around the room, making sure she had all her things shoved into her bag, Fiona didn't notice her doctor standing in the doorway until the woman cleared her throat as she knocked on the doorframe.

"Leaving so soon?" Dr. Warner said with a smile.

"Uh, Sam and Dean are getting ready to head out of town, so…" Fiona said, setting her bag on the floor.

"Listen," Warner said as she entered the room and sat down so she was level with Fiona. "This isn't going to be easy. I really wish you'd stay at least another couple weeks—just until you really get used to this."

"Look, Sam and Dean are my family," Fiona replied, shaking her head. "And the business we're in… If I could afford to take the time, I would. But I can't. I promise I'll keep up with my exercises and everything."

Warner wanted to find some argument to keep Fiona at the hospital, but knew it was hopeless.

"Hey, Fi," Dean said quickly as he poked his head into the room. "Sam and I are leaving."

"What, now?" Fiona asked, caught off guard.

Dean glanced briefly at Dr. Warner before he nodded. "Yeah, Rufus has got a major situation and needs back up. We'll call you when we get there."

"No you won't, 'cause I'm coming with," Fiona said, quickly, grabbing her bag and setting it in her lap before heading out of the room, Sam following her.

Dean looked at Warner and asked, "Is she okay to leave this soon?"

"I wouldn't recommend it," Warner admitted as she stood, holding out a large envelope to Dean. "But I get the sense that Fiona's as stubborn as they come."

"You're not wrong about that," Dean muttered, looking at the contents of the envelope. "What's all this?"

"Strengthening exercises, personal care information, a list of the physical therapists in the country that accept Fiona's health insurance," Warner replied. Catching the look Dean gave her, she added, "Fiona said that you guys were going to be doing a fair amount of traveling."

"Thanks," Dean replied, shaking the doctor's hand. After getting her card in case of an emergency, Dean headed out and down to the lobby where Fiona and Sam were waiting.

As the three headed out to the car, Sam just held the backseat driver's side door open for Fiona, watching as she managed to get herself into the car without any help. After closing the door and watching Dean fold up the wheelchair and put it in the trunk, Sam asked, "Dean, are we doing the right thing here?"

Dean had been wondering the same thing, but after a while, he shrugged. "Guess we'll find out, Sammy."