The Good Man, a Supernatural fanfic

Warning: mild themes of violence—including very (very) mild sexuality.

Includes gasp plot. Sort of. I admit, this chapter is a bit rushed. Ah well.

Enjoy :)

Chapter 3

The days moved slowly, their monotony broken only by the same questions, sounds, and indignities Auh came to associate with the hospital. She opened her eyes and glanced at the open door which was her only window. It was early. The human river slipping past was dominated by the white and pale colours of staff uniforms. There were some haggard people wearing different shades, but Auh had memorized the questions they asked. "Is there any news?""When can I go in?" Can I see the body?"

Auh looked at her own body. It was difficult. Her neck was entombed by rigid cotton and plastic. Her arms were wrapped in an unyielding white cast signed by several members of the staff. There was Get better soon - Emily and Best wishes, Brad and Nice casts, Willy. She liked the last one the best, but she couldn't remember his face. She couldn't remember 'Fiona' either. Had they named her that or had she told them?

Someone knocked on her door. Auh glanced over and saw Seth O'Malley standing there. He wasn't like his dream self at all. His hands were shoved into his pockets and he kept looking at his feet. His dark blue uniform was startling against the hospital's sallow colour scheme. He looked nervous, but that was okay.

Auh smiled and tried to sit up. Her left arm was held in an awkward position and weeks of idling had made her clumsy. In the end she could only wiggle her fingers and smile.

"Hi," he said softly and sat in the seat beside her bead. He took off his hat and clenched it with both hands. "Do you remember who I am, Fiona?"

"Auh."

Seth rose out of the chair. "Are you hurt? Do you want a doctor?"

She laughed. "No…my name is Auh." She shifted awkwardly to get a better look at him. "Hello."

"What?"

It hurt to wiggle her fingers, but Auh repeated the gesture. "We weren't introduced before were we? My name is Auh." She spread her fingers towards him and after a long silence Seth leaned in and squeezed her hand. Her smile faltered at his obvious hesitation.

Seth cleared his throat. "So…Auh." He retrieved his pen and notebook from his back pocket. "Doctor Thomas told me you're not talking to anyone about what happened or who we can contact." There was an uncomfortable pause. "She also told me you tried to kill yourself." He licked his lips and glanced at the blank paper in his palm. "Would you feel more comfortable telling me what happened?" He looked over his shoulder as a nurse walked in. "Telling us?" He added lamely.

Emily. The woman she had startled. The nurse with the Irish accent. She had a nice smile, but Auh didn't return it when she entered the room. Her eyes fell upon Seth's face, at its creased and weary angles. She sighed and looked away.

"Is there something you want to tell us?" Emily asked after an awkward silence. Her dark eyes met Seth's. "Something wrong?"

Auh inhaled the toxic mix of sterile gauze and alcohol. "No," she answered blankly, "it's nothing."

Emily's manicured brows arched. "Love, where are your parents? Your family?"

The concept meant nothing. Only two things waited for her outside the hospital room: the Visitor and confusion. She managed a minute shake of her head and gazed at the empty bed beside her. Seth cleared his throat and fidgeted with his plastic pen. Pillars Hotel was written on it in graceful beige handwriting. He studied her face and finally sucked in a deep, steeling breath.

"Fiona…." She gave him a sharp glance. "Ah…I mean Auh. Can you tell me if there was a crime committed here?" At her blank look he continued on. "Did someone force you to do something you didn't want to? Did someone hurt you?"

"Seven," Auh replied.

Emily and Seth glanced at each other. "Okay," he muttered, "can you give me descriptions? Names? When did this happen?"

"It was too long ago. It doesn't matter now." Auh rubbed her index finger against the rough edge of her cast. "I'm alright. Thank you for coming."

An embarrassed silence pressed down through the room. It was Emily who spoke first.

"There are…financial issues we need to talk about. ID and insurance." Emily's great operetta voice was reduced to a whisper. She studied Auh's reaction tensely. "Is there anyone who can give us this information?"

"I can."

They all turned to see the Visitor standing in the doorway. His face was expressionless, but his eyes were filled with amusement. He crossed the space between them and thrust his hand into Emily's personal space. She shook it, too surprised to object, but Seth merely studied him with an appraising eye.

"You're a relation, I assume?" He asked, doing no such thing.

The Visitor nodded. "I am her brother. My name is Marcus Carter." He stalked around Auh's bed and stood opposite of Seth and Emily. "I apologize for my tardiness. I was abroad on business." He sat down on the opposite bed. "Please, when can I take her home?"

"Ahm, Mr. Carter hospital policy requires—"

The Visitor made an impatient gesture. "Yes, yes I understand, but you haven't answered my question." His dark eyes studied Emily. "When can I take my sister home?"

"That depends," Seth replied quietly. He tilted his head and returned the Visitor's stare, pen tapping against his notebook. "Can you explain to me what happened? Why did it take you so long to come here?"

"Certainly. I was entertaining several potential business partners with a day's cruise across the Venetian Lagoon. As you can well imagine, I didn't receive the news until late that night, and I was unable to get a flight back until now. It's peak season, officer." The Visitor made a charming smile. Auh knew it had taken years of practice to get every nuance right.

"Who called you?" Seth's eyes were keen, his mouth taut. Auh caught his expression and smiled. He mistook her look for affirmation. "You?" He asked incredulously. "How? When?"

"No, no." The Visitor held up his hand, clearly amused. "I have several friends who live here. Harry heard what happened and phoned me. I have his number if you want to confirm my story. My sister, on the other hand, was admiring—"

"Be quiet," Auh interrupted.

The Visitor smiled, but kept silent.

Auh stared red-faced at the ceiling then sent a quick glare in the Visitor's direction. The tension eased when Emily stifled a chuckle. "I'll go get the forms," she said. A tremor rumbled underneath her straight-faced declaration and she quickly left the room, shoulders shaking. The Visitor watched her departure before he regarded Seth O'Malley with open appraisal. The tension returned.

Seth stood up and put his notepad on the table beside Auh. "Can I see some ID, Mr. Carter?"

The Visitor's smile was brittle. "Certainly," he replied quietly and retrieved his wallet for inspection, "whatever is necessary."

Auh swallowed thickly. "When can I leave?"

"Soon," Seth and the Visitor replied unanimously. They glanced at each other.

Emily suddenly reappeared, her easy going expression dispelling the animosity in the room. "Here's the paperwork," she said and handed a clipboard to the Visitor. She smiled apologetically. "I couldn't find Doctor Thomas, I'm afraid."

The Visitor wore a cryptic smile. "That's alright."

"She'll come later." Seth lifted his head, eyes full of secret thoughts.

She frowned. Everything was bewildering. She had missed something. An unnameable bubble wobbled up through her thoughts. This had never happened before. Her heart gave an elated little shudder. Her life had been long and predestined, bound by the same cosmic certainty that made stars wheel and the sun rise.

Auh inhaled sharply. "I didn't know that was going to happen."

Seth looked at her. "What?" He leaned forward. "Did you remember something?"

"No," she replied breathlessly, "I didn't know any of this was going to happen—this conversation, the doctor, meeting you…."

For two thousand years the travelling theatre that was her life had been written for her. The characters exchanged masks and the scenery was rearranged, but Fate's stage had become an inescapable prison. Puppet strings had become chains.

Seth looked awkward and uncomfortable. "We can lea—"

Auh sniffled. "I'm happy," she said.

The Visitor spared her an irritated look, but he hadn't been bound to the same script for two thousand years. He didn't know. Now she didn't, either. That gap was a wondrous, unfelt thing. She had always known everything.

Seth grabbed his notepad and put it back into his pocket. The good-man. He was responsible for this feeling. If he hadn't happened by, so random in the way his kind could be, this wouldn't have been possible.

Auh felt a sudden urge to touch Seth O'Malley. She was fateless. The good-man had dragged his palm across the prophecy ruling her life. Her fingers strained out of the cast like a turtle peeking out of its shell.

"Seth O'Malley," she said, nearly sick with joy.

"Yes?"

Run.

The wall behind Emily exploded into millions of shocking little flecks. She flew forward, dolly-like. The florescent lights died cackling, and the world was devoured by darkness.

There. I'm done. R&R if you want. I'm going to find something chocolate and look at it.