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eyes. She was tall, probably only three or
four inches shorter than him, and even through the loose hospital covers he
could see the outline of a slender but strong body. She was absolutely
beautiful. She looked peaceful, as though asleep in a pleasant dream.
    But
of course she wasn’t asleep. She was unconscious in a hospital room surrounded
by machines and strangers, Dean thought grimly. And it was all his fault. He
had let Alec out of his sight, nearly gotten him killed. Would have gotten him
killed, he corrected, if not for the sacrifice of the Good Samaritan girl now
paying for his incompetence. He couldn’t find words strong enough to curse
himself for what he’d caused. Dean stood silently over her like a guard until
the nurse came in. 
    “Hello,
I’m Nurse Freeman.” She was a heavyset, middle-aged, very competent looking
woman in green scrubs, moving to check the patient’s vitals.
    “I’m
Dean,” he said.
    “Good,”
the nurse replied simply. “What can you tell me about this woman?”
    “What?”
Dean asked, taking a moment too long to realize what she was actually asking.
“Um, nothing.”
    “You
aren’t a relation?” the nurse asked.
    “No,
I… I was there when she was hit.” Dean couldn’t bring himself to mention Alec
now.
    “So,
you do not know our Jane Doe? You have no information as to her identity?”
    “I…”
Dean was finding it hard to force words out of his lungs. “I don’t know her.”
    The
nurse looked disappointed, and more than a little wary. “Then may I ask why you
are still here? If you were injured you’d be in a room of your own. If you
don’t know the patient, I mean?”
    Now
Dean understood, and the realization sobered him up sharply. If he was just
some rubbernecking bystander, they would probably tell him to leave the woman
alone. He had to stay, at least until she woke up. He had to say something,
convince the nurse to let him stay. “I, I wanted to make sure she was alright.
I was the one who pulled her arm. When she was in the street.”
    It
wasn’t a lie, he told himself. It wasn’t a lie. He had grabbed her arm, pulled
her away from the truck. She probably would have been hurt worse without him.
    No,
said a malicious voice in his head, she’d be absolutely fine without you. You
put her in the path of that truck and you know it. She was there because you
failed Alec. She saved him. Saved him from you .
    The
battle in Dean’s soul escaped the nurse’s notice, and she smiled kindly at
Dean. “Right. The paramedic’s report said she was hit by a vehicle, but that a
man helped pull her out of the way. You must be our hero.”
    Dean
burned inwardly at the undeserved thanks, but he’d take it if it kept him here.
“So, it’s alright if I stay, just to make sure she’s alright?”
    Nurse
Freeman took a breath. “It’s fine if you’d like to stay, but I should tell you
it may be a while.”
    “But,
she will be okay, right?” Dean’s voice approached panic.
    “Well,
I can’t promise anything. The surgery to repair her broken arm was successful,
and it should heal just fine. She’ll be in a cast for a while, but she’ll be
alright. More serious is the wound to her head. She was still out when they
prepped her arm, but they sedated her for the surgery anyway in case she came
to. Scans show a serious concussion, but not much damage to the skull itself.
Basically, she took a powerful blow to the back of her head. We won’t know more
until she regains consciousness.”
    “When
will that be?” Dean asked.
    “Difficult
to say. But, no one would blame you if you left. You’ve done enough already. I
can arrange for you to be called when she’s conscious, if you like.”
    “For
now I’d rather stay, thanks.” Dean said. The nurse’s statement that he’d done
enough rang painfully in his ears.
    “If
you like,” said Nurse Freeman, turning to leave.
    “Wait,”
Dean said. “You asked a minute ago if I knew her, and her chart says she’s