The Lightning Strike -- Chapter 2
Dean sat at the diner's counter sipping his coffee. He watched as the waitresses greeted most of the customers by name and knew their orders before they were placed. He found himself amused by the friendly, small town 'everyone knows everyone else' attitude that permeated the diner. The sound of feminine laughter drew his attention to the door in time to see Jeanine and another girl, also dressed in scrubs, walk into the diner. Jeanine smiled brightly at him and dragged her companion over to him.
"Hi! Dean, right?" she asked taking the seat next to him.
"Yeah, and you're the nurse from the other day. How's it going?" he returned her smile and nodded an invitation to join him at the counter.
"Well, I'm exhausted. I'm sick to death of the night shift," she replied as she flipped over a coffee cup. "I'm Jeanine and this is my friend, Julie. Julie this is Dean. He's the guy that found Becky."
"Becky?" Dean spoke up eagerly. "She remembered her name?"
Jeanine grinned at him. "No, but 'Roadkill' wasn't an appropriate option." When Dean smiled at that comment, the nurse continued, "She pulled it from that baby name book you found for her."
The waitress interrupted their conversation. "Hello, Ladies. What'll it be? Dinner or breakfast?"
"Dinner," they answered in unison. "Have any fried chicken left?" Julie asked earning a surprised look from Dean.
"Sure thing, sweetie. How about you Jeanine? The same?"
"Absolutely." Seeing Dean's bandaged hand, the nurse changed the subject. "What happened?"
"This?" Dean lifted his hand. "Cliff's mechanic didn't wait until my hand was out of the way before he started the winch. I had to get a couple stitches."
"A couple? That looks like more than a couple."
"Well, it should have been a couple, but the doctor seemed to be really into sewing me up."
The nurses exchanged looks. "Steve," they said in unison.
"Steve wants to be a plastic surgeon, so stitches are his thing," Jeanine said in sympathy. "On the bright side, it gives you an excuse to see our girl again. I already put you on the approved visitor list, Nurse Walsh won't bother you."
"Thanks, but I wasn't planning on -"
"What?" Jeanine interrupted him. "Didn't you ever hear that if you save a person's life, you're responsible for them?"
"No," Dean huffed a laugh as he shook his head.
"Oh, it's true," Julie added. "I think it's a Chinese proverb or something."
"Well, whatever, I can't be responsible for her. I'm leaving town as soon as my car's fixed."
"You can at least visit her, right? Think how bored she must be. All day long, sitting in that room with nothing to do and no one to talk to." Jeanine gave Dean a look that put his brother's puppy eyes to shame.
"I suppose I can visit her sometime before I leave town," Dean sighed.
"Morning, miss. I'm Sheriff John Brown. You spoke with my deputy yesterday, remember?" the Sheriff asked from the door to Buffy's room. "Do you have a minute? I'd like to ask you some more questions?"
"Yes, of course, Sheriff, but I really don't remember anything."
The sheriff nodded and pulled a chair alongside her bed. "Well, that's what I want to talk to you about. We didn't find a wreck or much of anything else out on the highway where that young man found you." He paused, he didn't want to upset the girl. "There is a chance someone could have stolen it or it could have even been towed; we're checking the local garages today. But since we don't know how you happened to be on that road and you don't know who you are, I thought maybe we could go to the media for help." Buffy looked unsure. "We could take a picture of you and ask anyone with information to contact my office."
Buffy thought for a moment. "Okay, sure. I guess it couldn't hurt."
Sheriff Brown smiled. "I'll send the deputy by later and you'll be on the evening news."
#*#*#*#
The deputy had just left Buffy's room after taking the photo they would give the local news to assist them with learning Buffy's identity, when Dr. Phil returned. "Good afternoon. Do you have a moment for us to talk?"
Buffy rolled her eyes. "Let me check my schedule...yeah, I've got nothing planned for the rest of the day."
"I see a sign on the door with the name 'Becky'. Have you remembered anything else?" he asked as he sat in the room's extra chair.
"No. My name's not Becky, but it's close to that."
Dr. Phil nodded and jotted some notes. "Okay, Becky, I've reviewed my notes and the sheriff's report. I'd like to discuss my theories as to what caused your dissociative amnesia." Buffy shifted in her place on the bed, leaning closer to the doctor. He recognized her worried expression. "You most likely witnessed something that made you venture out into that storm seeking help. Perhaps, whatever it was, frightened you so much, that you have blocked all your memories, not just the ones associated with this incident."
"Okay," Buffy replied slowly. "So, what can I do about it? How do I get my memory back?"
"Have you considered hypnosis?"
Buffy made a disinterested face. "I don't like the idea of not being in control."
Dr. Phil nodded and noted that in his folder. "Very well, but I think you will need to agree to sessions with me, where we will just talk," he reassured her. "We need to get to the cause of your situation."
Buffy huffed out a "fine" and the doctor sighed. "Becky, the thing you must realize is that you cannot stay in this hospital forever." Buffy nodded. "However, it is not prudent to release you when you have no resources and nowhere to stay. Since you don't know who you are or where you live, you may have to move to my ward."
"Seriously? I'm forgetful, I'm not all 'bats in the belfry'."
Dr. Phil gave her an understanding smile. "I didn't say you were. I'm saying you can't go home, and you can't stay here."
Feeling helpless, Buffy slumped back in her bed.
Late in the day, Dean found himself with nothing to do. He thought about what Jeanine had said about how bored 'Becky' must be and decided it would be better to do nothing with her than by himself.
"Hey, how's it going? Want some company?" Dean asked, leaning on the doorjamb to Buffy's room.
Buffy looked up from her solitaire game and smiled brightly when she saw him. "Dean! Yeah, I'd love some. Come in."
"What's with the 'Becky' on the door? Is that really your name?"
"It is today," Buffy answered. "Took the name from the baby name book you stole," she added with a smirk. "It seems close. I don't know," she shrugged.
Dean's eyes were traveling all over her, making her feel very self-conscious. "You look like a Becky, I guess. But, I didn't steal anything, I borrowed. If you don't return it, then it's you doing the stealing," he added with a wink.
To stop herself from blushing, Buffy looked at the cards in front of her again. "I can't believe this, but I want to cheat at solitaire." She looked up when Dean chuckled at her. "Does that make me pathetic?"
"No." Dean stood at the end of the bed. "Competitive, yes, but not pathetic. You must not be used to losing."
Buffy gathered the cards into a pile to shuffle. "You play cards?"
Dean shrugged. "I've been known to play poker." He sat on her bed with the tray table between them.
Buffy made a face as she shuffled the cards. "I wonder if I play poker." She looked into Dean's smiling eyes. "You wanna play?" She saw no reason to tell him she spent the better part of the day with nothing to watch but the world poker tournament on ESPN.
Dean raised a brow. "Well, I don't know." He held out his hand and Buffy gave him the deck of cards, "How old are you? You're at least eighteen, right?"
Buffy gave him a confused look. "Yeah, Dr. Solomon said that I was probably twenty. What does that have to do with poker?"
"Normally, I play for money. But, seeing as you don't have any, we'd have to play for clothes."
"Excuse me?" Buffy asked with wide eyes.
"It's called strip poker." He paused and appraised her. "But, it'd be wrong of me to play with an underage girl. Especially since you are at a distinct disadvantage not having the usual girl defenses." Buffy balked, but Dean continued, "I'll have you naked in," he acted like he was counting her clothes, "five hands, six at the most." He smiled playfully at her, enjoying her shocked expressions.
"Six hands?"
"Well, I'd have to let you win at least one hand."
"Oh - kay," Buffy took a breath to steady herself. "And 'usual girl defenses'? What are those?"
"Earrings, jewelry, shoes," he answered matter-of-factly.
"Mm-hmm," Buffy nodded as Dean dealt the cards.
"Same rules as regular poker. Nothing wild. Person with the lowest hand takes off an item of clothing."
Buffy looked at her cards and a blush crept onto her cheeks. "I'm not sure I want to play this game."
Dean grinned at his cards, "I'm not totally heartless. Like I said, I'd let you win at least one hand." He looked up at her and winked, "Maybe two." He tilted his head and studied her. "Need a card?"
Buffy chewed her lip. "Yeah. Two?" She put two cards on the tray table between them.
Dean dealt two cards to Buffy and took one for himself. "Alright, sweetheart, show your hand."
Buffy bit her lip as she laid her cards on the table. "Two pair."
Dean looked at her cards. "Eights and threes, nice." He put his cards down. "I have two pair, also. Jacks and nines, so I'd have won." He scooped the cards into a pile, straightened them, then slid them towards Buffy. "Your deal."
Buffy squeezed her arms into her shirt and started to squirm out of her bra. "Whoa," Dean said, sounding a bit more excited than he intended. "If you're doing that, I should shut the door. And, really you don't have to, not that I mind. I totally admire your enthusiasm, but we were just playing for fun."
Buffy kept as calm as she could and attempted to appear confident. "You should shut the door, 'cause I'm in it to win it."
Dean's eyed bugged out and he nearly fell off the bed in his haste to shut the door. When he turned back to the bed, Buffy was nonchalantly dropping a lacy bra onto the bed. While Buffy shuffled the cards, Dean hopped back onto the bed and thought what a good idea it had been to see her that day.
With a raised brow, Buffy looked at her cards, then at Dean. "What is it called when the cards go in order? I can't remember."
"A straight. Is that what you've got?" he asked without looking up from his hand.
"Guess you'll just have to wait and see."
Dean wiped his mouth with his hand and studied her. "I fold."
Buffy grinned widely as she scooped all the cards into a pile. "Come on, make with the taking off of the clothes."
"Okay." Dean smirked and toed off a shoe.
"A shoe? Seriously? One shoe?"
"I want to keep you wanting more," Dean teased. He picked up the cards and started shuffling. "When are you getting out of this place, anyway?"
"I'm not," Buffy answered quietly.
Dean paused his shuffling. "You're not, why not? Is something wrong?"
Buffy thought she heard concern in his voice. But, she shook her head and her expression told Dean she didn't want to talk about it. "No. It's just policy."
"It's policy to keep a person here indefinitely? If you're at least eighteen, check yourself out."
Buffy sighed. "I can't be discharged because I have no place to go. So, I'm transferring to Dr. Phil's ward," she replied quietly, hoping she wasn't betraying her true feelings about her transfer.
Dean leaned back and blinked as her statement sunk in. "Dr. Phil's ward. The psych ward? But, you're not crazy. You just don't remember who you are." Buffy shrugged but didn't look up from her cards. "You can stay with me," Dean blurted out before he thought about it. "I got a place not far from here and I'll be leaving in a couple days, so it's all yours."
Buffy's mouth fell open in shock. "Dean, you don't have to do that."
"Why should you stay in the psych ward?" Trying to act as if it didn't matter to him, he shuffled the cards and dealt another hand. "Is Jeanine working? I can go ask her if there'd be a problem with you staying with me."
"But, Dean, you don't even know me," Buffy spluttered.
"So, neither do you," he joked, but he noticed she looked anxious. "Hey, forget it. I was just trying to help." He shrugged, "No skin off my nose if you want to stay in the psych ward. It's just I got this big ol' suite, two beds, a kitchen, cable TV... but, I get it. You're one of those people that actually likes hospital food." He sorted his cards before looking up at her. "Need a card?"
Buffy had been staring at him, but his question snapped her out of her shock. She looked at her cards, though her mind was reeling with his offer. "Uh, yeah, two please." Dean dealt her two cards then took two for himself.
Dean raised a brow expectantly as Buffy studied her hand. "Well, princess?"
"Two nines," she sighed.
Dean smirked. "Full house, sevens and fives." His brows were raised with expectation.
Buffy blushed, but made good on the bet by removing the scrub bottoms she was wearing. Calmly, she gathered the cards, shuffled them and dealt them, all the while trying to act like she was not at all uncomfortable being half undressed in front of Dean. Clearing her throat she asked, "Need a card?"
"Nope." By his puckish grin, Buffy figured he was enjoying her discomfort a bit too much.
#*#*#*#
Before the game could continue, Jeanine knocked on the door. "Hey, Becky, you got a minute? Oh, hi, Dean. Am I interrupting something?"
Dean looked at Buffy and noticed she had shifted her position on the bed. Dean slowly rose from the bed, blocking Buffy from the nurse's view. "No, Jeanine. Come on in." He put his cards down on the table and slipped into his shoe. "I guess I should get going. What'd ya have?"
"Three queens," she said with smirk, "You?"
"Flush. All diamonds." Dean licked his lip, then threw down his cards. "Dang, looks like I gotta go just when this was getting good," he added with a wink. Buffy tried not to smile or blush, but failed as she met his smiling eyes.
Jeanine watched him go, then turned to a blushing Buffy. "So, I'd ask what that was about, but I'm not sure I want to know. I just stopped by to tell you that the 'powers that be' haven't changed the policy and unless you can remember something, you'll be transferred to psych tomorrow."
Buffy nodded solemnly. "Dean offered to take me in."
"Did he now? You going to take him up on it?" Jeanine asked with a sly smile.
Buffy's eyes drifted to the door and her fingers fussed with the blanket. "No. I don't want to impose. I mean, he doesn't even know me." She looked at Jeanine. "Do you think I should?"
Jeanine struggled with the twinge of guilt she was feeling. Had she 'forced' Dean into making the offer? The nurse looked at Buffy and was going to tell her about seeing Dean at the diner, but then she remembered something Dean had mentioned. "Dean told me he was leaving town in a couple days. Did he tell you that?"
"Yes."
"Well, then, I think staying with him would be perfect. He will be here long enough for you to check out and have a place to stay. Sheriff Brown is going to find your family in a few days, anyway. If Dean leaves before that happens, you've got a place to yourself." She watched Buffy think it over. "Why don't we see if we can catch him?"
Buffy started to climb out of bed when she remembered she wasn't completely dressed. "Maybe you should go, I'm not exactly dressed for roaming the halls."
Jeanine took in Buffy's half-dressed state and gasped. "I knew I was interrupting something."
#*#*#*#
Jeanine caught Dean just as he was about to enter the elevator. "Dean, you sure about letting Becky stay with you?"
Dean slapped a hand on the door before it closed. "It doesn't matter. I mean, she can do what she wants. I'm leaving in a couple of days."
"Okay, because you know when I said you're responsible for her, I was teasing. I didn't mean you had to take her in," Jeanine confessed.
"I know. But staying at the Bluebird is better than the psych ward, right?"
Jeanine nodded, but then broached her main concern. "You're not trying to.." she broke into a whisper, "take advantage of the situation and hook up with her, are you?"
Dean's eyes widened at the accusation. "What? No, what makes you say that?"
"The fact that she's in there half dressed."
Dean laughed as he stepped into the waiting elevator. "She's the one that wanted to play poker. Tell her I'll be right back." The elevator door shut and stopped their conversation.
Jeanine returned to Buffy's room wearing a nervous smile. "Well, I caught up with Dean and he said it would be okay for you to stay with him."
Buffy could tell something was making the nurse anxious. "Well, I don't know if I will, but I guess it's nice to have an option other than the psych ward."
"Yeah," Jeanine agreed. "The thing is, I think Dr. Phil would have to agree with it. He's the attending physician in charge of your case."
"And you think he wants me to stay in the psych ward?"
"I don't know, but he might not approve of you staying with Dean." She studied Buffy for a second. "How much do you know about him?"
Buffy tried to look hopeful. "He likes chocolate, he's got thirty-two stitches in his hand, and he's a pretty good poker player."
Jeanine huffed a laugh. "Not exactly enough. He said he'd be back. So when he gets here, hint around and find stuff out about him."
"What kind of stuff?"
"Find out where he's from. Where he works or where he goes to school. Does he have a wife and kids waiting at home for him? You know, that kind of stuff."
Buffy's eyes widened in panic. "How am I supposed to do that?"
"Just bring it up in conversation."
"Okay," Buffy nodded, at least she could try. "You really think he's got a wife and kids?" Buffy wrinkled her nose; she didn't think Dean looked old enough to be married, let alone be a dad.
"Who knows?" Jeanine shrugged. Before the nurse could say anything more, Dean walked in. "See, Becky, told you he'd be back." The nurse smiled at Dean. "I'll leave you two to your game."
The moment Jeanine closed the door, Buffy asked, "Were you serious about letting me stay with you?"
"Yeah, sure. Why? You change your mind? Thinking the Bluebird might not be so bad?"
"Well, I don't think staying in the psych ward is such a great idea. But, uh, I don't want to impose on you. I mean, what would your wife think of you letting a girl move in with you?" Buffy cringed as she asked, but she needed to know more about Dean's background and family.
Dean paused, then chuckled. "Wow, you really suck at fishing." He laughed again. "I'm not married, I'm only twenty-two. I don't have a girlfriend either. I wouldn't be here if I did. Hell, I wouldn't be here if I had my car." He looked at Buffy and noticed her demeanor changed.
Buffy nodded and felt like he was only there out of pity for her. She snatched up the television remote and clicked on the TV. "You know, Dean, if you don't want to be here, you can go. No one's forcing you to stay." She hoped that came across as more bored than insulted.
"Whoa, wait, sorry, I didn't mean that the way it sounded. I meant that it's Friday night. If I had a girlfriend, she'd expect to go out on Friday night. So, since I'm here, obviously I don't have a girlfriend. And my car has a busted radiator. If it didn't, I'd have left Wednesday morning. I didn't mean I didn't want to be here." He paused, hoping his explanation soothed her attitude. "What else you want to know?"
Buffy stared at him for a moment, then with a sigh she asked, "Where are you from? What do you do? You know, for a living. There can't be a high demand for saving damsels in distress who lay in the road during thunderstorms."
"Hey, that's a good gig, don't knock it." Dean smiled, "I'm originally from Kansas, but I've kinda lived all over. I was on my way to meet up with my dad when I found you."
"So, do you have a big family?"
"No it's just me, my dad and my brother," he paused as he reconsidered his answer. "Actually right now, it's just me. My brother ran off to college and my dad is in Alabama on a case."
"A case? What does he do? Is he a lawyer or a detective or something?"
Dean scratched his head to give him time to think. "Yeah, he's a detective sort of."
"I thought you had a sister."
Dean looked baffled. He was about to ask why she thought that when he remembered the trip to the maternity ward. Shaking his head he said, "No, I only said that so I could get a book of baby names."
"Oh," Buffy said with a small smile. "Thanks."
"You're welcome. So, we playing cards, or what?"
"Sure, I guess." The return of Buffy's complete discomfort made Dean smile.
"Cool. I got us some of these," Dean held out two bags of M&M's. "Figured we could use these for betting, or our game will be over pretty quick." Dean gingerly lifted her bra off the bed by hooking it on a finger. "Better put this back on. I don't want anyone thinking I'm taking advantage of you." Buffy blushed as she snatched the bra from his fingers.
#*#*#*#
They played for a while, until Buffy found herself low on 'funds'. Unable to make a bet, she crumpled her candy wrapper. "This sucks. I could have totally won this hand." She threw down her cards.
Dean shook his head. "Shouldn't eat the winnings, babe."
"How am I supposed to not eat chocolate? Was this some sort of scheme to guarantee you won?"
Dean winked. "I don't give away those kinds of secrets. What'd you have, anyway?"
"A flush."
"Dang, sweetheart, if we had been playing for clothes, somebody would be naked." He pushed the rest of the M&M's to her. "Here, have the rest. It's only fair."
Grinning widely, Buffy greedily scooped them up. "Ha! So you admit I'd have won!"
"I admit nothing. I just know better than to get between a girl and chocolate," Dean replied with a wink.
Buffy smiled and returned a few of the candies. "Where is the Bluebird anyway?"
"You can probably see it," Dean said, standing up from the bed. He tossed a candy into the air and caught it in his mouth. "No, wait, it's on the north side. Come on, you'd be able to see it from the big windows at the end of the hall."
"There, see the sign?" Dean asked, pointing once they arrived at the wall of windows.
Buffy leaned as far over the rail as she could, resting her head on the window. "Yeah, nice. Looks like it has a pool."
"Uh-huh," Dean answered, but he had been checking out Buffy from behind, looking away just as she turned.
"It's within walking distance."
"Kinda has to be until I get my car back." Dean looked at the darkening sky. "Hey, I think I should get going. It looks like we might be getting another storm."
Buffy beamed at him. "Thanks for coming by and letting me win. Sure beat watching TV."
Dean scoffed and playfully tapped her arm. "I didn't let you win. I just let you have the candy before you succumbed to chocolate withdrawal." They had arrived at the bank of elevators and awkwardly paused, both smiling, neither wanting the evening to end. The elevator arrived and Dean ducked his head, thinking how the moment felt like the end of a date. "Well, uh, I'll see ya, Becky. The invitation to Bluebird is open, if you decide not to stay in the psych ward."
Buffy took her time returning to her room. Staying with Dean seemed harmless. He had been nice to her every time she saw him. He hadn't tried to do anything creepy to her when she was unconscious girl, so that was definitely a point in his favor. He was also going to be leaving soon. That idea gave Buffy pause. She didn't want Dean to leave; she didn't really know anyone else. Then she realized she barely knew Dean. She paged through the phone book to the listing for motels and dialed the number for the Bluebird.
Dean had just made it to his motel room when large drops of rain began to fall. He plopped down on a bed, flipped on the TV and nearly jumped out of his skin when the phone rang.
Only one person knew where he was, so he hoped Cliff was calling to give him a progress report on his car.
"What's up, Cliff?" Dean asked as he picked up the motel phone.
Dean's answer had Buffy baffled into momentary silence.
"Hello?" Dean asked when Cliff hadn't said anything.
"Dean?" Buffy asked, though she was certain it had to be him.
"Yeah, this is Dean, uh, who -"
"It's Becky, sorry for blanking out there. I didn't understand what you said when you picked up the phone."
Dean laughed. "Sorry about that. I thought only Cliff had this number."
"I looked it up, not exactly hard to do."
Dean smirked. "Aren't you Little Miss Resourceful. So, what can I do for you Becky? You miss me already?"
Buffy snorted. "Yeah, I just can't bear to be without you for more than an hour at a time."
"If I had a nickel for every girl I made feel like that, I'd -
"Still be broke?" Buffy offered in a teasing tone.
"Ouch!" Dean chuckled. "Didn't you call because you needed something? Most people are nice when they're asking for a favor," Dean lightly chided. "I'll cut you some slack because you've got that whole amnesia thing going for you, but there's no need to stomp all over my ego."
"You're right, I'm sorry," she mocked. "I'm sure you've had plenty of girls throw themselves at you, begging for even just a minute of your time," Buffy replied with fake drama in her voice.
Dean laughed at that. "Now that's more like it. You just might remember how to kiss-up to a person. So, what can I do for you?"
"Do you know when your car will be done?"
"No, not really. The radiator came in today, but the gear box isn't due to arrive until next week. I don't know what kind of schedule Richie the mechanic has either. I'm sure my car isn't top priority over there, since they're doing it on their own time. Why?"
"Because Jeanine said that Doctor Phil might have to approve the idea of me staying with you. I wanted to know how long you'd be staying there."
"Approve me, huh?" Good luck with that Dean thought to himself, figuring 'approval' wouldn't happen. He flipped through the channels and changed the subject. "Hey, does your room have cable?"
"Yeah," Buffy replied, hardly noticing the topic change.
"Cool. Turn on channel 58, it's AMC, if the numbers aren't the same." Dean kicked off his shoes and sat back in the bed. "You're going to see a kid playing a video game. You find it?"
Buffy sat in her bed and tuned to the channel. "Yeah. The boy is wearing a shirt that says Bears and now there's an old guy coming in the room."
"Good. You'll like this movie. It's the Princess Bride, all chicks like this movie."
Buffy rolled her eyes, even if Dean wasn't there to see it. "All chicks. You know all women so well, don't you."
"I was right about the chocolate, wasn't I? Well, trust me, this movie is like chocolate."
"Fine, I'll give it a try."
Dean grinned. "Good. Well, enjoy the movie Becky and if you think of more questions, feel free to call. And if you decide you do want to stay here, just let me know. Like I said, I've got a great room, so it's totally fine with me."
Less than ten minutes later, Buffy called back. "Dean, this movie is so sappy. I can't believe you thought I'd like it. Oh farm-boy! Oh Buttercup! Makes me wanna puke. Her true love gets killed by pirates and she locks herself in her room and cries? I would have gone after the pirates."
Dean laughed. "What part are you on now?"
"You're not watching it? But you expect me to?"
"I've seen it and the Rangers are playing Baltimore on channel 9." Dean changed the channel to the movie. "Wait, this is when it gets good." They watched in silence for a moment.
After Princess Buttercup had been kidnapped, Dean started to chuckle. "What are you laughing at?" Buffy wanted to know.
"The rhyming. My brother, Sammy, and I did that to my dad one time. He got so angry." Dean laughed. "God, that was funny. Anything my dad would say, Sam would rhyme it and I'd crack up."
Buffy couldn't help but smile at Dean's story. "You and your brother watched a chick flick together, that's.."
"Shut up," Dean teased back. "We were kids and Sammy had strep throat and was sick, just like the boy in the movie, and our motel had premium cable. So, yeah, we watched it."
Buffy was about to reply when the storm kicked up a notch and a loud crash of thunder made her jump. "Holy cow. That was loud. Was it like this last night?"
Dean watched the lightening flash. "No, it was worse."
Buffy shuddered as the rain pelted her window even harder than before. "How were able to drive in a storm like this?"
"Very carefully."
Buffy watched the rest of the movie. If Dean thought it wasn't bad, she'd be willing to give it a try. She figured it would help her decide if she could stay with Dean. If he liked really bad movies, maybe they wouldn't get along.
As she watched, she found herself able to predict some of the action and dialogue. But there was a fight scene in a castle that caused Buffy to sit up in surprise. It felt so familiar to her. She knew the moves, her body nearly twitched with muscle memory.
"Jeanine!" Buffy rushed to the nurses' station. "I remember something!"
Jeanine's eyes grew wide. "Tell me. What happened?"
"I was watching this movie Dean told me about, The Princess Bride, and I remember it. I've seen it before!"
The nurse gave Buffy a patient smile. "I was hoping you remembered something about yourself, but at least it's something."
When the game Dean was watching was between innings the channel broadcast a news update. Becky's picture was plastered on the screen and anyone with information about her was directed to call the sheriff's office. Dean was shocked. If Doctor Phil thought Becky was repressing an awful memory and had witnessed something terrible, couldn't this put her in danger?
He reached for the phone. Normally, he wasn't the type to call the authorities, but he couldn't help feeling protective of Becky. His hand hovered over the phone for a second and the television screen went red and flashed a weather service warning before the power went out.
"My baby had better be in the garage," he said to the dark, empty room.
The power was out for only a moment before the generator started and the emergency lights flashed on. Buffy hopped off her bed, made her way to the door, and looked down the hall. A flashlight beam landed in her face. "Becky, don't worry. We'll be moving everyone to the interior rooms or the basement, shortly. Just stay in your room for now," directed Jeanine as she hurried to a patient's room.
Buffy walked to the window of her room and peeked through the blinds. She thought she saw hail falling, but the lightening was so bright that it was difficult to be sure. She heard Jeanine call from the hallway, "Okay everyone, we will be making our way to the stairway by my station. If you don't know your way there, wait by your door and a staff member will assist you."
Quickly and quietly, Buffy followed the other patients down the stairs. Jerry, the orderly, led the way, while Jeanine brought up the rear. On the next two floors, they met up with other patients and continued on to the basement.
It only took a few minutes for Buffy to become uncomfortable sitting in the basement. She had the incessant feeling of being watched. She looked at her fellow patients, but they all seemed too consumed with their own problems to give her more than a passing glance. But she couldn't shake it, something was making her wig out. 'Wig out?' she thought to herself, 'who says that?' She saw the orderly she had followed and stopped him. "Jerry, can I go back upstairs? I don't feel so good."
Jerry smiled at her. "Sorry, miss, but there's a tornado. We've got to stay put until we get the all-clear." He crouched in front of her. "Do you want me to get one of the nurses to see if you need your meds or something?"
Buffy nodded nervously. Unable to pinpoint what was making her so nervous, she got up and paced the small hall. "Becky? What's wrong, hun?" Jeanine asked from behind her.
Buffy spun around. "I don't like it here," she whispered. "I'm flipping out."
Jeanine gently put a soothing arm around Buffy and whispered "It's the morgue. No one likes being down here." Jeanine kept her arm around her patient, she could feel the girl trembling. "Being down here, on top of another storm like last night? It's no wonder you're a little freaked out."
Buffy nodded and smiled weakly.
"I'm sure we'll get the all-clear soon, then I'll give you something to help you sleep, okay?"
"Thanks, Jeanine."
Less than thirty minutes later, the lights came back on and the all-clear sounded. After Jeanine and the orderlies led the patients back to their respective floors, the mild sedative the nurse gave Buffy began to work.
#*#*#*#
She dreamed of being in the hospital basement. There was a girl with long hair crying and Buffy was trying to comfort her, but something stole her attention away. A tall, demonic man, dressed in black clothes and a black hat, with long and pointed fingers walked passed the door. He turned to face Buffy and his eyes came out of his head on long stalks. Buffy screamed herself awake.
"Just a dream," she panted. "Just a dream." She looked around her room, terrified she'd see the man again. She regained control of her breathing and laid back down. "Must be the storm and the trip to the morgue that have me wigging out." She took a few deep breaths to calm herself. "Think good thoughts." The only thought that came to her mind was Dean's smile when they were at the elevators.
Sam fretted as he finished his shift in the kitchen. It wasn't like Dean not to call for this long. Sam couldn't think of any other time Dean let being angry stop him from calling. Dean loved to call when he was angry. He'd call, bitch him out for a while, then, tell a stupid joke and Sam would know everything was all right between them. But, when Sam checked his voice mail, there were no messages from Dean. He had spent the last couple days pretending not to care; now he was worried.
Nervously, he dialed his brother's number only to have it go straight to voice-mail. "Uh, hey, Dean, you're not still mad, are you? Look, I'm sorry I had to leave like that, but," Sam paused not knowing what to say to his brother to get him to call, "call me, okay? I don't care if you call just to yell at me, just call me, man."
Dean awoke early the next morning to the sound of chainsaws. He rubbed his eyes and peeked out his window. The storm had done some severe damage. Trees were down, poles and street lights were down. The Bluebird's sign was dangling by a wire.
He experimentally flicked the light switch and discovered he was still without power. He threw on some clothes and headed outside to see the extent of the damage.
He was halfway across the parking lot when the motel owner approached him. "Mr. Johnson, I'm so sorry the motel has no power this morning. My generator blew. We'll have it up and running in no time." The man looked worried that Dean would move out of his motel.
"No problem, Mr. Lee. Do you know where I could get some coffee? Is the diner open?"
"Yes, Point Diner is open, but the sheriff is using it as a meeting place of sorts. But you are more than welcome to come to the office. We have coffee and Mrs. Lee made sandwiches."
His breakfast with the Lee family wasn't completely uncomfortable. Mrs. Lee made excellent coffee and as one of the motel's two guests, Dean was given his fill of sandwiches. The radio told them about the extent of the tornado's damage. Most of the town was without power, several outlying buildings were flattened, but no one had died.
After breakfast, Dean helped Mr. Lee remove the Bluebird's sign, before more damage was done. Then, he crossed the street to help move a fallen light pole off of a parked car. The utility worker talked about the other jobs they had to get to, and mentioned the hospital.
"What happened at the hospital?" Dean felt a pang of concern that the hospital had been damaged.
"Just some wind damage mostly," the man answered, "nothing too serious."
Dean's concern faded the moment he returned to the motel parking lot. Buffy and Jeanine were getting out of a small car. "Hey!" he called out, "Looks like you've decided to give the Bluebird a try."
Buffy gave him a small smile. "Is it still okay if I stay here?"
"Yeah, of course," Dean replied while trying not to look too happy to see her.
"Thanks. The hospital needs the bed." Jeanine turned to Buffy. "I'll be back in a couple hours, okay?" Buffy nodded. "Dean, what room are you in?"
"Seventeen."
Jeanine nodded, waved and drove off. Dean watched her drive away then asked, "Why is she coming back in a couple hours? Are you only staying that long?"
Buffy hesitated. Did Dean only want her to stay a short time? Was he regretting inviting her? "Uh, she's taking me shopping. All I have is what I'm wearing."
"Right," Dean responded, looking her over, making Buffy feel like she had been stripped bare. "Are you ready for the grand tour of your new accommodations?"
#*#*#*#
Once inside, Dean opened the curtains to allow for some light. Then he hurriedly picked up some dirty clothes that were on the floor and did a quick check for his Busty Asian Beauties magazine to make sure it was out of sight. "Sorry about the mess. The maid was busy being a mom this morning."
Buffy didn't notice Dean's self-conscious behavior. "It's nice," she said as she checked out the newly remodeled room. "It has a kitchen. You cook?"
"Hell yeah, I am Chef Boyardee."
"What?" Buffy asked, wrinkling her nose to show her confusion. "You're who?"
Dean shook his head. "Never mind. It's, uh, canned spaghetti."
Buffy chuckled. "I know. I'm just giving you a hard time." Seeing the unmade bed, Buffy walked over to the other one and bounced on it. "I guess this one is mine, huh?"
"Yeah, I've got this thing with the bed by the door. I've kinda always taken it every time my brother and I share a motel room."
"It's fine. I'm just glad to be out of the hospital. Last night, during the storm, they had us wait it out in the basement. I ended up by the morgue." Buffy shuddered at the memory. "The place gave me the wiggins."
"'Wiggins'?" Dean repeated, brows raised in amusement. "That's a new one."
"Whatever." Buffy made a face at him. "Hey, I did remember seeing that movie before, so that's good, right?"
"Yeah, did you tell Dr. Phil that?"
"No. The guy's got enough to worry about. A tree fell into the psych ward last night. That's why I had to find a place to stay."
"And here I thought you liked my company," Dean said, making it sound like he was offended.
"I didn't mean -" Buffy stammered, but she saw Dean's smirk and knew he had been teasing her. "I'm very grateful you're letting me stay with you. I was one of the lucky ones with a place to go. Thank you."
Dean waved off her thanks. "Hey, about last night, did you know your picture was on the news?"
"Yeah, the sheriff thought it was a good idea. He said that maybe someone would see it and know who I was and come forward."
Dean nodded. "What did Dr. Phil think of that idea?"
"I don't know. Why would he think anything of it?"
"Didn't you say he thought you might have seen something and you're repressing it or suppressing it or whatever?"
"Yeah," Buffy answered, her eyes widening with understanding. "So maybe it's not so good if my picture and location are broadcast around, huh?"
Dean shrugged. "I don't know and I don't want to tell you what to do, but maybe you should tell the Sheriff what Dr. Phil said."
Buffy bit her lip and seemed lost in thought, so Dean took the opportunity to study her. "You want to borrow a shirt or something?" Buffy looked at him quizzically. "It's just that sweater is gonna get hot. I don't know when the power will be restored and we don't have A/C until it is." He didn't wait for her to answer, he simply tossed her a t-shirt from his pack.
"Thanks."
When she returned from the bathroom, Dean was still looking at her oddly. "What's wrong? If I didn't tie it, it'd be way too big."
Dean shook his head. "That's not it. Why were you wearing a sweater? It's late May, we're in Texas. Not exactly sweater weather."
"I don't know, maybe I was cold."
Dean didn't look like he agreed. "It's not the kind of sweater you'd just throw on because you got cold. It's what you wore when you left your place that day." Buffy looked doubtful, but Dean wasn't deterred. "You're not from around here, that's for sure."
"And you know this how, Sherlock?"
"Well, Watson, besides the sweater, you don't sound the least bit Texan."
Buffy was slightly awed by that deduction; why had no one else mentioned that? Dean let himself smirk when he saw Buffy's reaction. "I'm thinking Dr. Phil might be onto something. Maybe you were running from something or someone, and you hitched a ride with a trucker or something."
"Then why was I all alone in the middle of a highway in a storm?" Buffy asked in a tone that showed she was agreeing with Dean's logic.
Dean rubbed his chin as he thought. He didn't want to think that something bad had happened to this girl, but why else was she in the road? His mind kept returning to her fighting off unwanted advances - or worse- and she was abandoned at the side of the road.
"Well, what if your ride couldn't take you all the way to your destination, just part of the way, and you tried to walk the rest of the way?" Dean suggested. "I remember the doctor saying something about you being dehydrated and stuff."
"I guess that could have happened." Buffy nodded slowly as she considered his words. "But then why didn't I have anything with me?"
Dean shrugged. "Maybe your ride stole it. Or maybe you got too hot and tired carrying it and you dumped it."
Buffy suddenly brightened. "Do you think my stuff might still be out there on the side of the road somewhere?"
"After four days and two storms? I doubt it." He didn't like her crestfallen expression. "But we won't know until we look."
"You'll take me to look?" Buffy asked with all the excitement of a kid on Christmas.
"Well, I don't have a car, but maybe when Jeanine comes back we can -" Dean couldn't finish his sentence. Buffy in her gratitude was hugging the air out of him.
"Thanks, Dean!"
Jeanine allowed Dean to borrow her car while she and Buffy shopped at the Walmart in the next town. He drove to where he had found Buffy and pulled over.
A large scorched mark scarred the pavement at the site, but there was nothing else. There were no belongings left on the road. As far as the eye could see, there was nothing but barren land. He hopped back in the car and drove further out, retracing his path. He drove slowly, but he found nothing.
The acid in his stomach churned as he thought of what might have led 'Becky' to be alone on the highway during that storm. What was she running from? Maybe the doctor was right. Maybe she had seen something terrible. He pulled out his cell to call the sheriff and have him take 'Becky's' ad off the air, but he still had no signal.