A/N: We meet two new characters in this chapter. I hope you like them. Thank you for coming along for the ride. Reviews/Comments would be great. NC

Chapter 3

Luckily, Sam was turned enough that the Chupacabra hit him in the side, knocking the breath out of him as he hit the ground hard. His gun was knocked from his hand and a searing, hot pain raced up his arm and side. He could hear the screeching above him and glanced up to see evil, red eyes glaring at him. He tried to pull himself away, but his legs were trapped under the back paws of the monster. He gagged from the sulfuric odor wafting off the monster. Sam tried to shield himself with his good arm as the Chupacabra prepared to deliver the killing blow.

Fierce barking suddenly erupted at Sam's head causing him to flinch and try to see what it was. He could make out the outline of a large dog that seemed to be trying to defend him. The dog's lips were drawn back from his teeth as he snarled and snapped at the monster. Slobber sprayed from his mouth, landing on Sam's hair and face. Sam didn't know what to do, trapped between them and tried to lay still as arcs of pain shot through his body. All this transpired within seconds but seemed like a lifetime to Sam.

"Sammy!" Dean yelled from nearby as he stormed through the brush toward his brother, his gun drawn ready to kill the monster. He had heard the commotion, got a whiff of stench coming off the Chupacabra, and ran to help his brother.

The Chupacabra reared up on his hind legs preparing to attack the dog that had his attention now. The dog was coming between it and its next meal and was making it angry. Dean aimed his gun and put two shots into the chest of the monster and before the echoes died away, two other shots rang out from across the clearing hitting it in the head. The impact had the Chupacabra stumbling away from Sam. It screeched loudly, hurting the hunters' ears until the sound was suddenly cut off as the monster crumbled to the ground.

Sam couldn't move as he felt warm breath as a cold nose sniffed his face and a wet tongue licked his cheek. He was trying to make sense of what was going on around him when silence filled the small clearing for a moment.

"Don't shoot my partner," an unfamiliar voice spoke as a stranger stepped into the clearing, addressing Dean who was zeroing his handgun on the large dog standing by Sam's head since he didn't know if he was friend or foe.

"Who the hell are you?" Dean growled dangerously as he stepped closer to Sam, trying to put himself between the stranger and his brother.

"If you're out here in the middle of the night, searching for that thing," he nodded toward the dead Chupacabra. "I'm thinking you're hunters like me. It looks like your partner is hurt," he commented looking down at Sam as his dog nudged him.

"Sammy are you hurt?" Dean asked as he quickly slipped his gun back into the waistband of his jeans and knelt beside him trying to access his injuries while watching the stranger.

"Arm…Side…" Sam grimaced as he panted in pain. "Leg…" he gasped trying to hold his injured side with his good hand and breath.

"Hold on," Dean told him pulling a small flashlight out and shining it over Sam's body before concentrating on where his clothes were ripped and bloody. "I need to get your pack," he told him laying the light aside as he reached to pull Sam from the ground.

"I have a first aid kit and can help," the stranger offered moving closer to them and pushing his dog to the side out of the way. "I've got medical experience."

"Yeah, we all do in this line of work," Dean stated looking at the stranger. He was tall, muscular, and dressed like someone in the military. He couldn't tell much more about him since there wasn't enough light for him to see.

The stranger dropped a pack he was wearing beside Sam and opened it, pulling out a light that he turned on and sat by them. It was brighter than Dean's light and made Sam squint his eyes and moan in pain when Dean and the stranger helped him sit up to get his pack off.

"Name's Tucker, Tuck, by the way," the stranger told the brothers as he pulled field dressings from his pack. "That is Max, my partner," he nodded to the dog who was sitting on his haunches watching them closely.

"Dean Winchester and my brother, Sam," Dean introduced them pulling out the first aid kit and a bottle of holy water from his pack.

"Winchester…Hmmm…" Tuck noted pausing as he thought about the name. "I've heard of you through the hunter grapevine. They say you're some of the best hunters out there."

"Can't say I've heard about you," Dean replied. He picked up a field dressing as he checked Sam's leg injury. He took the holy water and poured some over Sam's leg making him hiss and groan. Dean quickly wrapped it to stop the flow of blood, tying it tightly.

"I fly under the radar when I can, and I usually only work with Max."

"Sammy, how are you doing?" Dean asked him as he watched Tuck clean and bandage Sam's side and move to his arm.

"Hurts…" Sam mumbled as he tried his best not to pass out when Tucker cleaned his gashes.

"He needs to go to the hospital and get stitched up. Maybe get an IV and pain meds," Tuck assessed once he was done.

"We don't do hospitals," Dean insisted looking at Sam and seeing how pale he looked. "But you're probably right this time. Sammy, I need to get you out of here and back to town."

"Just do it," Sam hissed through gritted teeth as he wavered between consciousness and darkness.

"Let me help, it'll make it easier," Tucker offered. He quickly packed his bag and reached to help Sam stand on his feet and kept a firm grip on him as he swayed unsteadily between them.

"Sammy, you still with me?" Dean asked his brother as he got his arm around his waist and put Sam's arm over his shoulders.

"I think he's out," Tucker grunted as he took half of Sam's dead weight and got a better grip on him. "We should get going. The dressings are helping, but he's still losing blood."

"Yeah, I know," Dean replied falling into step with Tucker as they headed toward the Impala with Sam between them. Max, Tucker's partner, trotted close to them staying out of the way and keeping pace with them. They had to go slow so they wouldn't stumble or drop Sam. Dean sighed with relief when the trees started thinning and they finally stepped out of the forest about a hundred yards from the Impala. "Let's put him in the back."

"Nice ride," Tucker commented after stopping at the Impala and waiting for Dean to get the backdoor opened. They got Sam in the backseat, bending his legs so he would fit.

"Thanks for the help with Sammy. You need a ride?" he asked eyeing the dog that was by Tucker's side. He didn't want the dog in his Baby but thought he owed him for helping with Sammy.

"No, I have my own ride."

"Well, we have a room at the Hot Springs Motel in town if you want to stop by. We're in room 134. I owe you a beer and shot of Jack Daniels and maybe a burger for your partner too. I figured he saved my brother's life by distracting the Chupacabra the way he did."

"I might take you up on that. Take care of your brother," Tucker replied, shaking Dean's hand. "I'll go get rid of the body before heading out." He turned and disappeared back into the forest with Max on his heels.

Dean got in the Impala and cranked her so he could head into town and get Sammy some medical attention. He was already coming up with a backstory for Sam's injuries and thought about the hunter named Tucker. When Dean got onto the paved road, he gunned the Impala and sped toward the hospital.

spn

Dean was in the waiting room at the emergency room while Sam was being stitched up and given fluids. He knew they would probably want to keep him overnight and figured he'd leave Sammy here to rest and pick him up the following day. He thought Sam would be safe here with nurses and doctors coming and going. People were moving around but he paid them no mind as he started coming down from his adrenaline rush.

"Family of Walker," a doctor asked.

"Yes," Dean spoke up quickly standing and walking to the man dressed in scrubs. "How's my brother?"

"We've treated his injuries and he's resting right now. Your brother was lucky. There was no major damage done, but he needs to take it easy for a few weeks and let his body heal. The stitches can probably be removed in about a week and that can be done by your family doctor. I'd like to keep him for twenty-four hours to monitor him and let him finish the IVs we've been giving him."

"That's fine," Dean nodded. "I'll come back tomorrow morning to pick him up."

"You can see him if you like."

"Yeah, that'd be good. I'll be sure he understands he needs to stay here tonight. Are you going to drug him to keep him comfortable?"

"We have given him something for the pain that should help and let him sleep."

"Good, it'll make it easier to keep him here."

The doctor didn't comment about Dean's statement as he led him to the small room and left to attend to other patients. Dean stepped into the room to see Sam lying in bed with an IV in one arm and a blood pressure cuff on the other. He looked at the monitor that was reading his vitals before looking back to Sammy. His arm was bandaged and so was his chest that was slowly rising and falling.

"Dean…" Sam mumbled when he sensed his brother beside him. He looked at him with half closed eyes.

"Hi ya Sammy," Dean cooed to him leaning down closer to him. "The doctor has patched you up and wants you to stay overnight so they can monitor you."

"I'm fine," Sam slurred as he tried to sit up.

"Whoa there, Tiger," Dean told him pressing his hand to his chest to hold him down. "You need to rest and do what the doc says. Look, you'll be fine here for the night, and I'll come back later in the morning to get you."

"But…" Sam started.

"Hey, they've given you some good pain meds, why don't you go to sleep and just rest. They'll take good care of you until I get back."

"O'ky," Sam mumbled deciding Dean was right. He didn't think he could stand anyway, and the pain meds were making him sleepy. He closed his eyes and let his mind drift away on a sea of darkness.

"Night, Sammy," Dean whispered to him brushing his hair back from his face and cupping his cheek for a moment. He stood there long enough to see Sam's breathing had evened out and his body was relaxed as he drifted to sleep. "See you later bro."

Once Dean saw Sam was resting easily, he went out and stopped by the nurse's station to let them know how to contact him and that he would be back to pick his brother up later that day. The exhaustion and concern for his brother were catching up to him and all he wanted to do was grab some sleep. He headed for the motel and wondered if Tucker would show up for that drink he owed him.