Wichita, KS...
"Will you come out of there already? It's not like you're gonna be posing for Playgirl." Leaning against the Impala in her borrowed scrubs and tennis shoes, jacket containing tools and weapons folded over her arms, Nim squinted in the sunshine, glancing toward the public restroom into which her partner had disappeared in order to change into his newly acquired three-piece. An ID badge hung from her pocket, declaring her to be a registered nurse named Jamie Hetfield working for WesleyCare. Hopefully no one was going to challenge her in the two medical centers she was headed for.
"If I was posing for Playgirl, I'd be naked!" he reminded her, straightening his tie for the umpteenth time as he stepped out of the john and back into the daylight. He felt ridiculous in a suit and tie, but instinctively, knew he looked good. Too good. Model good. Embarrassingly good. He cleared his throat and fiddled with the tie at his throat, which was just slightly crooked. "This thing feel like it's choking me. Why can't Feebs dress in jeans and t-shirts like normal people?"
Oh yeah. That was a gorgeous view, right there, sending her mind spinning off into joyful fantasies of removing the brand new suit piece by piece. Nim blinked, clearing her throat as she realized he'd spoken to her, lifting her eyes to meet his gaze with a smile that didn't even try to hide the effect Dean in a suit was having on her. "Because they feel the need to prove they're not normal?" she suggested with a warm grin, setting her jacket on the Impala's roof to lean up and gently adjust his tie for him. "You should come with a health warning dressed like that."
He looked her over, still feeling a little silly in the suit, even though he'd worn one a hundred times before when playing cop with Sam. Maybe it was the way she was looking at him that was making him uncomfortable, like he was a tasty snack good enough to eat. "Ahem..." He cleared his throat again, lifting his chin so she could adjust his tie. "You look pretty cute in your Nurse Barbie uniform. It's like Hunter Halloween, both of us dressed like normals." He chuffed at her remark as she straightened tie. "What warning would that be? Handle with care?"
"Oh yeah," Nim chuckled softly, smoothing his lapels. "'Cos cute's a real good word to be using on a girl packin' a Glock." She patted his cheek teasingly, turning to fetch up her jacket into her arms again. "Warning - may cause sensory overload in susceptible females." One eyelid flicked him a cheeky wink as she grinned. "Okay, so ....I'm heading to the main center first. Where're we meeting up and when?"
He smiled in amusement as she smoothed his lapels and patted his cheek. Girl after his own heart, and she was winning. "I'll pick you up there in..." Dean glanced at the watch he was wearing on his wrist - one that Bobby said had once belonged to him, since the one he'd been wearing when he arrived in the alley was busted. "Two hours. Think that's enough time or wanna make it three?"
"Two'll do me," she nodded, chewing on her lower lip. "I don't really wanna get caught poking around sensitive files in confidential medical records if I can help it." Nor did she want to run the risk of walking straight into whatever it was they were after, but she didn't want to mention that to Dean. The sooner they got as much information as possible, the sooner they could go on the offensive.
"I should have what I want in about an hour," he told her with almost cocky self-confidence. And why not' The FBI gig had never failed to work before. Okay, maybe once or twice, but he had no reason to think it might not work again. And if they wanted proof of his identity, he'd just refer them to Bobby or Brian. "Okay, two hours from now. Be there, or be square," he quipped, with a smile he hoped didn't betray the tight coil of nerves in the pit of his stomach.
"Try not to get carried away, pookie." She rose onto her toes to touch a kiss to his cheek, a silent good luck and be careful passing from her to him before she stepped away, shrugging into her jacket. One hand checked for change for the bus before she turned to make her way along the sidewalk and into the roving mass of people going about their daily business.
He smiled at her teasing warning, but felt his heart sink as he watched her step away from him, resisting the urge to reach out and snatch her wrist, pull her back to the safety of his arms. Come with me. We'll just run away, leave all this behind. Hell with it. Who cares anyway' It will go on and on with us or without us. Come with me....Dean pushed the thoughts from his head, even as he blinked the sting from his eyes. Not now. Don't think about losing her again now. Focus. He watched grimly as she disappeared into the sea of people going about their daily business as if nothing was wrong, as if nothing could ever be wrong. "Be careful, Jo," he whispered to no one. No, Nim, he corrected himself. He waited for half a minute more before climbing back into the driver's seat - the one place he felt most comfortable, most in control of his fate - and drove off in the direction of the local police station to dig for clues.
Two hours later turned out to be just far enough after a shift change at the main medical center for the sidewalk to be filled with uniformed bodies, chatting and laughing with one another, freed from the penury of working on a beautifully sunny day. The only problem, as far as a hunter might be able to see, was the lack of one particular uniformed body making her way out of the hospital. Nim was nowhere to be seen.
Dean was right on time, as promised, his tie loosened, discarded into the back seat as soon as he had finished playing his role with the local boys in blue. It had taken very little convincing to get what he wanted. The flash of a fake badge and a little fast talking and they were more than happy to spew everything they knew, handing over the file and letting him take his time looking things over. What he'd learned was disturbing at best, confusing at worst and he was anxious to share it with Nimue. He had the radio on, but turned low on some soft rock station that was starting to grate on his nerves. Air Supply, it sounded like. I'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you. I know you were right, believing for so long. He clenched his jaw and turned it off with a loud click, feeling anxious and impatient. Where the hell was she"
Where was she" Pressed into a locker in the male staff changing room, trying as hard as she could not to breathe loudly. She'd been doing so well, too; it had taken her less than an hour to locate the files they needed, little more than ten minutes to photocopy them. But then she'd just had to give into the urge to investigate the baby unit, didn't she" The police stationed in the hospital had barely batted an eyelid when she'd flashed her faked ID, even the nurses hadn't challenged her. But one doctor in full theater scrubs, an obstetrician with sharp, watchful eyes ....he'd come into the unit while she was checking out a hunch, walking close enough behind her that she smelled something that made her go cold. Blood ....and straw. She'd left the unit as nonchalantly as she could, but he'd followed her. And now she was pretty certain he was prowling the rows of lockers, looking for the nurse who shouldn't have been in the unit at all. Dean is gonna kill me.
Dean tapped at the watch on his wrist. Maybe it was running fast. Maybe she'd lost track of time. Maybe maybe maybe. There were a thousand or more maybes screwing with his head. And then there were the what ifs. What if she got caught' What if she'd been arrested" What if she'd run into the monster....or whatever it was that seemed to have an insatiable appetite for newborns. Five minutes turned to ten, but to Dean it felt more like hours. "Son of a bitch," he muttered to himself, losing his patience. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he wasn't sure if he was just worrying too much or if it was his spidey sense again. He pulled his phone out and scrolled through the names til he got to hers and hit the little red call button. "Come on, answer. Tell me you're chatting with Doctor Sexy or something and lost track of time."
"Will you come out of there already? It's not like you're gonna be posing for Playgirl." Leaning against the Impala in her borrowed scrubs and tennis shoes, jacket containing tools and weapons folded over her arms, Nim squinted in the sunshine, glancing toward the public restroom into which her partner had disappeared in order to change into his newly acquired three-piece. An ID badge hung from her pocket, declaring her to be a registered nurse named Jamie Hetfield working for WesleyCare. Hopefully no one was going to challenge her in the two medical centers she was headed for.
"If I was posing for Playgirl, I'd be naked!" he reminded her, straightening his tie for the umpteenth time as he stepped out of the john and back into the daylight. He felt ridiculous in a suit and tie, but instinctively, knew he looked good. Too good. Model good. Embarrassingly good. He cleared his throat and fiddled with the tie at his throat, which was just slightly crooked. "This thing feel like it's choking me. Why can't Feebs dress in jeans and t-shirts like normal people?"
Oh yeah. That was a gorgeous view, right there, sending her mind spinning off into joyful fantasies of removing the brand new suit piece by piece. Nim blinked, clearing her throat as she realized he'd spoken to her, lifting her eyes to meet his gaze with a smile that didn't even try to hide the effect Dean in a suit was having on her. "Because they feel the need to prove they're not normal?" she suggested with a warm grin, setting her jacket on the Impala's roof to lean up and gently adjust his tie for him. "You should come with a health warning dressed like that."
He looked her over, still feeling a little silly in the suit, even though he'd worn one a hundred times before when playing cop with Sam. Maybe it was the way she was looking at him that was making him uncomfortable, like he was a tasty snack good enough to eat. "Ahem..." He cleared his throat again, lifting his chin so she could adjust his tie. "You look pretty cute in your Nurse Barbie uniform. It's like Hunter Halloween, both of us dressed like normals." He chuffed at her remark as she straightened tie. "What warning would that be? Handle with care?"
"Oh yeah," Nim chuckled softly, smoothing his lapels. "'Cos cute's a real good word to be using on a girl packin' a Glock." She patted his cheek teasingly, turning to fetch up her jacket into her arms again. "Warning - may cause sensory overload in susceptible females." One eyelid flicked him a cheeky wink as she grinned. "Okay, so ....I'm heading to the main center first. Where're we meeting up and when?"
He smiled in amusement as she smoothed his lapels and patted his cheek. Girl after his own heart, and she was winning. "I'll pick you up there in..." Dean glanced at the watch he was wearing on his wrist - one that Bobby said had once belonged to him, since the one he'd been wearing when he arrived in the alley was busted. "Two hours. Think that's enough time or wanna make it three?"
"Two'll do me," she nodded, chewing on her lower lip. "I don't really wanna get caught poking around sensitive files in confidential medical records if I can help it." Nor did she want to run the risk of walking straight into whatever it was they were after, but she didn't want to mention that to Dean. The sooner they got as much information as possible, the sooner they could go on the offensive.
"I should have what I want in about an hour," he told her with almost cocky self-confidence. And why not' The FBI gig had never failed to work before. Okay, maybe once or twice, but he had no reason to think it might not work again. And if they wanted proof of his identity, he'd just refer them to Bobby or Brian. "Okay, two hours from now. Be there, or be square," he quipped, with a smile he hoped didn't betray the tight coil of nerves in the pit of his stomach.
"Try not to get carried away, pookie." She rose onto her toes to touch a kiss to his cheek, a silent good luck and be careful passing from her to him before she stepped away, shrugging into her jacket. One hand checked for change for the bus before she turned to make her way along the sidewalk and into the roving mass of people going about their daily business.
He smiled at her teasing warning, but felt his heart sink as he watched her step away from him, resisting the urge to reach out and snatch her wrist, pull her back to the safety of his arms. Come with me. We'll just run away, leave all this behind. Hell with it. Who cares anyway' It will go on and on with us or without us. Come with me....Dean pushed the thoughts from his head, even as he blinked the sting from his eyes. Not now. Don't think about losing her again now. Focus. He watched grimly as she disappeared into the sea of people going about their daily business as if nothing was wrong, as if nothing could ever be wrong. "Be careful, Jo," he whispered to no one. No, Nim, he corrected himself. He waited for half a minute more before climbing back into the driver's seat - the one place he felt most comfortable, most in control of his fate - and drove off in the direction of the local police station to dig for clues.
Two hours later turned out to be just far enough after a shift change at the main medical center for the sidewalk to be filled with uniformed bodies, chatting and laughing with one another, freed from the penury of working on a beautifully sunny day. The only problem, as far as a hunter might be able to see, was the lack of one particular uniformed body making her way out of the hospital. Nim was nowhere to be seen.
Dean was right on time, as promised, his tie loosened, discarded into the back seat as soon as he had finished playing his role with the local boys in blue. It had taken very little convincing to get what he wanted. The flash of a fake badge and a little fast talking and they were more than happy to spew everything they knew, handing over the file and letting him take his time looking things over. What he'd learned was disturbing at best, confusing at worst and he was anxious to share it with Nimue. He had the radio on, but turned low on some soft rock station that was starting to grate on his nerves. Air Supply, it sounded like. I'm all out of love, I'm so lost without you. I know you were right, believing for so long. He clenched his jaw and turned it off with a loud click, feeling anxious and impatient. Where the hell was she"
Where was she" Pressed into a locker in the male staff changing room, trying as hard as she could not to breathe loudly. She'd been doing so well, too; it had taken her less than an hour to locate the files they needed, little more than ten minutes to photocopy them. But then she'd just had to give into the urge to investigate the baby unit, didn't she" The police stationed in the hospital had barely batted an eyelid when she'd flashed her faked ID, even the nurses hadn't challenged her. But one doctor in full theater scrubs, an obstetrician with sharp, watchful eyes ....he'd come into the unit while she was checking out a hunch, walking close enough behind her that she smelled something that made her go cold. Blood ....and straw. She'd left the unit as nonchalantly as she could, but he'd followed her. And now she was pretty certain he was prowling the rows of lockers, looking for the nurse who shouldn't have been in the unit at all. Dean is gonna kill me.
Dean tapped at the watch on his wrist. Maybe it was running fast. Maybe she'd lost track of time. Maybe maybe maybe. There were a thousand or more maybes screwing with his head. And then there were the what ifs. What if she got caught' What if she'd been arrested" What if she'd run into the monster....or whatever it was that seemed to have an insatiable appetite for newborns. Five minutes turned to ten, but to Dean it felt more like hours. "Son of a bitch," he muttered to himself, losing his patience. He had a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach, but he wasn't sure if he was just worrying too much or if it was his spidey sense again. He pulled his phone out and scrolled through the names til he got to hers and hit the little red call button. "Come on, answer. Tell me you're chatting with Doctor Sexy or something and lost track of time."