Note: Hey babes <3 Thank you so much for all the love!

This one is pretty long, so get comfy!

This chapter deals with seizures, specifically psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. I wanna just clarify that I have PNES, and so this is heavily based on my own experience. The biggest difference between me and Anna in this chapter is that I don't fully lose consciousness during my episodes. My seizures also happen a lot more frequently than Anna's do, but I, too, have periods where they don't happen much at all and then periods where they're constantly happening.

All the medical stuff-- doctor's advice and explanations-- is stuff I've heard myself from doctors and neurologists. I also did some additional research to make sure it would all be pretty accurate.

If you read and have any questions, feel free to ask.

Anyway, enjoy getting to know another side of Anna's life. She's seventeen in this.

PNES

Anna slammed the door to her room and stormed out, tears at the corners of her eyes. Fucking Ian. Stupid fucking Ian. She had enough other shit to worry about without him being a jerk to her on top of that.

A door swung open just ahead, and Dean stepped out. His eyebrows popped up when he saw her tense shoulders and clenched jaw.

"What's the matter with you?" Dean asked with just a tad too much judgment in his voice.

"Nothing!" Anna snapped at him and charged on ahead.

She need an iced coffee. Hell, she need a beer, but she would settle for an iced coffee.

There was a throbbing pain that pinched at her forehead right above her eye, and her sorta-boyfriend was criticizing her for wanting to spend time with Kate this weekend, and, on top of that, she had fucking homework.

This had been a shitty day from the minute she woke up, and her emotions were reaching a boiling point.

"Okay," Dean chuffed and raised his hands in surrender as she passed him. "You just look kind of, uh, pissed."

Anna narrowed her eyes but didn't look over her shoulder as Dean started to follow her down the hallway. She was angry. And it was showing from the heaviness of her footsteps to the lines between her eyes. But it had nothing to do with him, so she wished he would just leave her the hell alone before she started being a jerk to him.

"Anna?" he said knowingly.

"What?" Anna finally asked and spun around so quickly that Dean almost bumped into her. She crossed her arms over her chest. But, for some reason, her head was throbbing ten times worse– the pain still in that one spot above her eye– now that she'd stopped moving, so she had to lift one hand to her head.

"What's wrong?" Dean asked with forced patience and a trace of humor.

Anna frowned, trying to displace her headache and express her disapproval at the same time. "I'm stressed," she said and sighed quickly. Stressed was an understatement. She was alternating between depressed, pissed off, and panicked. It was the classic trio of teenage emotions. At least, it was the classic trio of a mentally ill teenager's emotions.

God, her head hurt.

"Uh-huh," Dean said. He frowned when Anna scrunched her face up tighter against the pain in her head. "You okay?"

Anna's face stayed scrunched, but she opened one eye and nodded. She was starting to feel nauseous, and the feeling got rapidly worse.

"Hey." Dean moved closer to her, and Anna suddenly felt lightheaded. She reached blindly for the wall, and Dean caught her by the elbows instead with a, "Whoa. Easy."

Anna tried with difficulty to keep her eyes open. "I don't feel good," she mumbled, though it came out sounding more like i'uneelguh.

Her legs went weak, and she was left leaning completely against Dean as her eyelids fluttered. Heat surrounded her body and stifled her so that she panted.

"Hey, let's sit down," Dean suggested in his gentle voice.

She could feel his arms around her back and behind her neck as he crouched, lowering both of them toward the floor. The lack of control had her panicking somewhat as the floor grew closer, and her breath hitched.

"Easy, I gotcha," Dean promised her. He settled on one knee and used the other to hold up Anna's neck and head. "What's goin' on?" he asked calmly and smoothed his hand against the side of her face, pushing her hair back.

Anna struggled to speak, to tell him how weird she felt. How everything around them looked so weird and distant that it felt almost like she was in the setting of a video game. How she couldn't control her body, couldn't get her limbs to move or eyes to stop fluttering open and shut.

"Can you talk?" Dean asked softly, looking down with concern.

Anna tried to focus on the green of his eyes, but she didn't have the control.

"Anna," Dean called. It was like he could tell her was losing her. "What's happening?" he asked with a little more force. "Come on, Rugrat." He kept one hand on the side of her face and raised his eyebrows in question. "Hey," he said again.

There were pins and needles in her fingers and toes, and a white-hot pain shot through her shoulder all of a sudden. Her mouth opened, but that was the only reaction she was able to give to the pain.

"Anna!" Dean snapped as Anna's eyes began to roll backward. "Don't you go to sleep on me. Hey!"

The last thing she felt before the world pushed her away was her right hand twitching against Dean's boot.

()()()

"Shit!" Dean hissed when Anna went completely limp. She'd pretty much been a ragdoll even before, but he still felt it when she passed out. "Sam!" he hollered and tried to get his arm under her legs.

But as he moved his hand away from her face, he caught sight of his sister's arm. It was twitching against the floor. And suddenly Dean knew exactly what this was.

Sam's shoes squeaked against the floor before he suddenly burst around the corner. He barely managed to stop before he would have stepped on Anna's twitching fingers. "What's wrong?!" he demanded urgently.

Dean looked up with confusion and fear in his eyes. "She's havin' a fucking seizure!"

Sam didn't even say anything, just looked at him like he expected Dean to have some kind of fucking answer for him. But Anna wasn't epileptic, and she just didn't have seizures out of nowhere. Until now, apparently, because her neck was suddenly cricking to the side, her elbow bending until the back of her hand was against her neck, and her fingers curling and tensing.

"Get a pillow!" he shouted when Anna started to convulse. Sam took off.

Dean moved quickly when her head nearly slid off his leg. He wasn't about to let her have a seizure on a cement floor. He looped both his arms under hers and pulled her up against his chest like they were hugging. Her head hit his ear when her neck twitched again, but Dean didn't react except to run his hand up and down her back. "I gotcha," he told her.

He checked his watch. She'd been going for maybe fifteen seconds, and his watch read 16:10:34. So it had started at about 4:10 and twenty seconds. If it was still going when the time changed to 4:15, they were calling 911. Otherwise, they would drive her to a clinic or the hospital themselves.

But regardless, Anna would be seeing a fucking doctor whether she wanted to or not. Kids don't just have seizures out of nowhere.

"I gotcha," he murmured. He didn't know if she could hear him or if she was even the slightest bit aware. But the kid was gonna be scared as shit when she found out what was happening, and it was his job to minimize that fear as much as he could. "I'm right here."

"Here," Sam said from behind him and crouched down to hold the pillow behind Anna's head.

Dean lowered her carefully toward the floor, and Sam kept the pillow in place until Anna was on the floor again. "Easy, kiddo, easy," he told her.

"Did you time it?"

Dean checked his watch again. "It's been a minute and a half."

"God," Sam said in his ear. He reached out to gently touch their sister's arm as it hit the floor and trembled. "Come on, Anna," he said under his breath. Dean wasn't sure he was even meant to hear it. "Come out of it."

"Anytime now," Dean added, holding onto one of her ankles.

But things only seemed to get worse. Anna's spine curled, her back lifting off the ground. Both Dean and Sam lurched forward as if there was something they could do, but both were forced to just watch until her back straightened again and hit the floor with a dull sound.

"Fuck," Dean snapped irritably. He looked again at his watch. 16:13:25.

"Should we be calling an ambulance?" Sam asked frantically and reached toward Anna's face. Her head twitched violently away from his hand, and it served as some sort of reminder, apparently, because Sam pulled his hand away again. "How long has it been?"

"Almost three minutes."

"What the hell?" Sam asked.

But Dean didn't have an answer for him, so he kept his lips pressed tightly together and his jaw clenched. Anytime you're ready, kiddo.

Anna's movements began to slow. Her shaking lessened, her neck twitched one last time then went still, and the last things left tense and spasming were the fingers of her left hand. The same place the damn seizure had started.

"That's it," Dean encouraged. "That's it, kiddo, come on."

"Hey, Dean," Sam said and touched the side of Anna's face.

When Dean looked up, he could see Anna's eyelids fluttering again. Her hand finally went still, and just as quickly as it had started, it seemed that the seizure was over.

"Anna?" Sam asked gently.

Dean rubbed his hand up and down her shin once, though it was probably more comforting to him than to her. "Easy, Sweetheart," he told her and moved so he would be in her field of vision when she finished coming around.

Anna's nose was wrinkling, and her eyelids refused to stay open for more than a second at a time. But it was obvious that she was waking up, or at least trying to. Finally, pale and hazy green eyes opened and stayed that way.

"Hey, Rugrat," Dean said with a comforting smile. "You with us now?"

Anna's mouth opened slightly, and a small, indistinguishable sound came out.

"What, Ladybug?" Sam asked and leaned a little closer to hear her.

But Anna's voice was a little stronger this time, and Dean heard her too when she said, "H'pen?"

"We'll get to that," Dean said easily. "How you doin'? You okay?"

Anna's eyebrows tilted inward, and she blinked slowly. "M'okay," she said after a few seconds. "Why..." She started to shift, and Dean knew exactly what she was about to try. He and Sam both put a hand on her chest to keep her still.

"Don't move just yet, alright?" Dean requested. "Let's just sit here a minute, huh?"

Anna's frown deepened, and her nose wrinkled.

"Anna, does anything hurt?" Sam asked.

Dean watched his sister take a deep breath and frown even deeper. "Head," she finally said. "Arms. Everything."

That couldn't be good.

"Alright, sit tight, kiddo. Sam's gonna get your jacket and shoes, and we're gonna get outta here." He looked meaningfully at Sam, who begrudgingly got up and went to get Anna's stuff.

Anna looked confused and a little distraught. This was probably hard for her to keep up with. "Happened?" she asked again, working to get her elbows under her.

"You had a little bit of a seizure, Anna," he told her gently. He tucked her hair behind her ear and let his palm rest on her forehead. "Just stay put, would you?"

Anna's distress had increased, though, and she was suddenly fighting the gentle weight of his hand. She got her head up, and soon after, she was sitting. But she was pale and sickly looking, and Dean thought if he so much as poked her, she would have fallen back over.

He took pity on her and helped her sit up, propping her against his knee again. Anna looked indignant at being held up, but if anything, that was comforting. She was coming back to herself for real now. "Talk to me," he instructed. "How you feelin'?"

Anna shrugged one shoulder sluggishly. "Tired," she mumbled. "Achey."

"Alright," Dean said. That made sense considering her body had just done a full-blown workout against a hard floor. "You feel sick?"

"No," Anna said. Then she wrinkled her nose. "Yes."

"You gonna-"

"No."

"Alright."

"Here," Sam said from above them.

Dean reached out and accepted Anna's zip-up hoodie from him. "Thanks," he said thoughtlessly and opened the sweater up to Anna.

Sam crouched down and started tucking her feet inside her OSIRIS sneakers.

"M'not four," Anna complained. But she looped her arms through the sleeves of her sweater when Dean guided her hands to the holes.

"Can you walk?"

Anna looked pissed that he'd even asked. "Yes," she said irritably.

Dean was completely unperturbed by her attitude. "Alright. Sam'll help you. Come on." He nodded toward their brother, and Sammy was there with his hands under Anna's arms immediately.

It was clear that the change in altitude didn't do Anna any favors. Her eyelids fluttered some, and she pressed her forehead against Sam's shoulder.

Dean stood up and touched the back of her head. "Okay?" he asked softly, frowning worriedly at her. She looked an awful lot like she had before the seizure had started. "Anna?"

"Kay," Anna said breathily. She then frowned and pulled her head slowly back from Sam. "Wait. Where're we going?"

Dean exchanged a look with his brother. Yeah, Sam was thinking the same thing that he was– that Anna was gonna argue with them about this.

"To the hospital," Dean told her sternly. Predictably, Anna's face colored with disbelief, and her mouth dropped open. "Don't even start," he told her, pointing a finger at her nose. "We're going. Now."

Anna didn't look happy. Not in the slightest. "Come on," Sam told her and gently pulled her in the direction of the garage.

She wasn't exactly steady on her feet when she pulled away from him, trying to shake his hands off her arms. "But..." she started, pouting. "I don't-"

Dean shook his head, and when Anna looked at him, he made sure his eyes showed his seriousness. "You had a seizure, Rugrat. It's the ER or the clinic, but we're goin' somewhere."

He saw the moment Anna gave in. "Clinic?" she requested tiredly.

"Works for me. Come on," he urged and nudged her gently in the direction Sam was trying to take her. He watched for a minute until he was sure Sam would be okay helping Anna to the car, then he hurried to his room to get the keys to the Impala. "Frickin' kid's gonna give me gray hair," he complained as he jogged back down the hallway.

()()()

Anna made a face as she dragged her feet through the clinic doorway. "Can we just go home?" she grumbled. But Sam put a hand on her shoulder to keep her moving toward reception.

"Hi," Dean said and smiled charmingly but briefly at the receptionist. "My sister just had a seizure. She needs to see someone."

"Has she had one of these before?" the receptionist asked, already typing something into her computer.

"No, first time," Dean replied and ran a hand over his head.

Anna sighed in frustration as she and Sam sat down. The waiting room was completely empty aside from them, so hopefully that at least meant they would be in and out quickly. She wanted a nap.

"How long did it last?" the receptionist asked.

"Just over three minutes."

"Alright, let's get some demographic information in here. Is this your sister?" she asked, pointing at Anna.

"Yeah. Anna Campbell," Dean introduced.

Anna smiled tightly and gave a little finger wave.

"How old are you, Honey?"

"Seventeen," Anna responded and sighed again.

"Alright," the receptionist said and rolled her chair back. She pulled a few papers from a cabinet out of sight and then rolled back to the desk. "Here we go. I'll have you work on filling these out, and someone should be out for you shortly."

"Thank you," Dean said and smiled politely again. He sat down on Anna's other side with the paperwork, and she knew he was gonna say it before he did. "You okay?"

Instead of answering, Anna just smacked him in the arm.

"Irritable?" Dean read from the paper. "Check."

"It doesn't say that," Anna grouched and rolled her eyes. But she snuck a glance at the paper, and Dean actually had just checked off irritability as one of her symptoms. "Don't write that," she told him and made a grab for the clipboard.

"Anna," Sam said from behind her.

Anna made a face but gave up and tilted her head back so she was left staring at the ceiling. She still couldn't believe her night had taken this turn. One minute, she'd been annoyed and tired, and the next she'd been on the floor, her brothers leaning over her, and it had been difficult to even speak.

"Campbell?"

"That was fast," Dean remarked and stood up.

He hooked an arm under Anna's elbow, and she glared at him. She didn't need any help, thank you very much. But she was tired, and shrugging him off would be more trouble than it was worth.

"It's been a slow night," the gray-haired woman in blue scrubs explained as she held the door open for them. "How are we?" she asked kindly and led them into the nearest exam room.

Anna shrugged. "Fine," she mumbled when it became clear no one was planning to answer for her.

"I'm Peg, I'll be your nurse. I see you had your first seizure tonight," Peg said sympathetically. "Any pain or fatigue?"

Anna shrugged again. The simple answer was yes. But she wanted to go home. So admitting to that would probably not work in her favor. She chanced a look in Dean's direction, though, and he was giving her a look that said she'd better be honest. So she tilted her head to the side, annoyed, and admitted, "Yeah."

"Both?"

"Yeah."

"Where's the pain, Hon'?"

"Mostly my head."

"Can you rate it for me? We've got a chart on the wall here for your reference."

Anna didn't even look in the direction the nurse had pointed. She was pretty familiar with the 10-point pain scale. "Three," she said dully.

The nurse hummed along. "Where else?"

Anna shrugged a third time. "Kinda everywhere. It's not that bad."

The nurse gave her an almost fond smile and then typed everything out on her computer. "Alright, then," she said. "Muscle weakness or lack of coordination?"

"Not since I woke up."

"So you lost consciousness?"

"I guess so."

"For three minutes," Dean spoke up.

"Were you there when it happened?" the nurse asked.

Anna was glad the attention was finally off of her. She picked at the paper under her legs and rubbed absentmindedly at her forehead. She wanted a nap.

"It was a seizure, right?" Dean asked after a couple minutes of going back and forth with the nurse, describing everything that had happened.

"It sounds like one, yes. The doctor'll want to do some tests. But I have a few standard questions to ask." She clicked over to another page on her computer. "Any recent head injury?" she asked, and she was looking at Anna again.

"Recent?" Anna repeated. "No."

"When did you have one?" Peg asked, looking up from her computer screen.

Anna shrugged one shoulder. She honestly couldn't give an exact date or even an approximate age.

"When she was thirteen, she got a concussion in gym class," Sam explained, and Anna was grateful. Not only did she not know the details, but she didn't feel up to making up stories either. "It was mild. And last year, she got a moderate one when she tried to learn how to skateboard. Without a helmet."

Cool, so now she looked like a dumbass teenager. Anna rolled her eyes and shot Sam a dirty look. But the look he sent her back said he hadn't actually intended to tell that exact lie. Improv was weird.

"Ah, you're a skater?" Peg said through a smile.

Anna gave her a vaguely irritated look. "Obviously not."

Peg looked off-put. "Any mood changes?" she asked, her smile gone.

"You mean is she usually like this?" Dean asked, giving Anna a warning look. "She's been irritable."

"Confusion? Has she lost consciousness again since the seizure?"

"No," Sam replied.

Anna wished she could be unconscious again. She was fucking tired. And everybody was talking about her instead of to her anyway.

"Okay if I get your vitals, Hon'?"

Anna shrugged. Whatever would get her out of this place. "Sure."

She nearly fell asleep while the nurse was taking her blood pressure. But she managed to stay awake thanks to Dean tapping her foot with his.

"Alright. I'll go tell the doctor you're here. Someone should be in, in just a few minutes. Okay?"

Anna nodded and sighed as the door clicked shut. "This is dumb," she announced after about ten seconds. Neither of her brothers graced her with a response. She sighed miserably and rubbed her forehead again.

"Won't even take that long," Dean promised her.

But Anna wasn't sure she even believed that. The nurse had mentioned some tests, and Anna didn't have any desire to get her head stuck in some kind of magnetic x-ray machine or whatever the hell they would use. She just wanted to go home, go to bed, and let her music lull her to sleep.

"You wanna lay down?" Sam asked.

Anna did want to. But she shook her head. She hated doctor's offices, and she especially hated laying down on hospital beds or exam tables. The position just felt so vulnerable, so out of control. She'd lost enough autonomy tonight.

There was a knock at the door before it swung inward, and a young black woman with a friendly smile walked in. "Hi," she greeted and looked between all three of them. "I'm Doctor Stasney, but I really would rather you call me Renée." She set her laptop down on the desk in the corner and sat down. "So I talked to the nurse," she explained and then made a tutting sound as if thinking of her next step. "But let me just hear it from you," she requested. "What exactly happened?"

She was looking at Anna, and Anna already liked this doctor. So she figured she ought to be the one to answer. She gave a one-shouldered shrug and a slow, tired blink. "I had this throbbing pain in my head, and then everything just went weak. I don't really remember anything else."

"She fell, and she was really out of it," Dean added for her. "She was slurrin' her words. And then she just passed out. Her hand was twitching, and she started shaking. She kept curlin' her wrists," he said and tried to demonstrate with his own hand. "Went on for about three minutes."

The doctor had been typing throughout Dean's explanation, though she'd somehow been able to look right at him and nod along instead of looking at her computer screen or the keyboard. "Alright," she said. "I'm going to do a quick neurological exam. The reason we do this is just to rule out anything too serious. When we're done, I'll let you know what I'm seeing and what our next steps are. Okay?" She looked at each of them with a friendly smile, her eyebrows raised in an open expression.

"Okay," Anna said when the Doc's eyes landed on hers.

"Alright." Renée stood up and washed her hands in the sink behind her. She dried her hands and stepped in front of Anna. She made another tutting sound, and tucked Anna's hair behind her ears. "Do you sleep well?" she asked as she tilted Anna's chin up and looked into her eyes.

Anna shrugged, and this time it was evasive.

"She has insomnia," Sam explained for her.

"I'm sorry, baby, that's no fun," Renée said with a frown. "Can you tell me what your sleep has been like for the last week or so?"

Anna bit her lip and tried to remember. "Last few nights have been like three hours each," she said. "There was one night I couldn't sleep at all. And other than that, I think like four or five hours?"

"Alright," Renée said with a humorless chuckle. "So that's not good. Do you take anything to help with sleep?"

"Melatonin sometimes."

"You should be taking it every night," Renée told her gently.

Anna shrugged evasively again. She couldn't have said why she didn't take melatonin consistently if she tried. Except maybe that it didn't really do much when she did take it. "Okay," she murmured.

"What about eating and drinking?"

"Does Monster count?" Anna joked.

"You really are seventeen," Renée teased and shook her head. She looked toward Dean. "How's she do?"

Anna watched Dean bob his eyebrows. "We're always fightin' her to eat and drink some damn water, but she does okay."

"Alright," Renee said again. She held up her index finger and nodded at Anna. "Touch your nose and then my finger," she instructed.

Anna did, and it was easy as pie, even with the doctor moving her finger back and forth the whole time.

"Good. Other hand."

It was still easy using her non-dominant hand.

"Okay, raise your leg like this."

Anna straightened her leg so it was sticking straight out off the exam table.

"I'm gonna try and bend your knee. Push back as much as you can."

It was surprisingly difficult, but Anna managed it. And then on the other knee. And then with her feet and arms.

"Stand up for me?"

Anna slid off the bench and rubbed her eyes with her fingers. This exam was really wearing her out for some reason.

"Now, I'm just gonna have you walk up and down the hallway a couple times, alright?"

Anna sighed, some of her earlier irritability returning. She didn't feel like doing this. But she followed the doctor into the hallway and paced so Renee could see her walk. She walked sideways, backwards, quickly, and slowly.

"Great," Renee encouraged and guided her back into the room. She settled back into her seat at the desk with a creaking sound.

Anna sat heavily in the chair beside Dean. She hated sitting on exam tables, and it seemed like maybe the exam part was finally over. She blinked slowly and let her head rest against the outside of Dean's arm. She caught the pinched look he sent her. Admittedly, it was pretty abnormal for her to be remotely clingy in public. She was seventeen years old, for shit's sake. But Anna was exhausted and confused, and she figured nobody would judge her here.

"So," Renee said when she'd finished writing in her notes. "It sounds like you had what we call a generalized tonic-clonic seizure tonight."

"A what?" Anna said, tilting her head forward in surprise.

"More commonly known as a grand mal seizure. There are a lot of different causes for them. This doesn't by any means indicate that you're epileptic."

Anna hadn't even thought it could, but suddenly she was worried about the possibility.

"What does it mean?" Dean asked impatiently.

Anna wanted to elbow him, but she was too tired. So she settled for rolling her eyes at him. And she was grateful when Sam lightly chastised him by just saying, "Dean."

"That's what we need to find out," the doctor replied. "Your exam went well. You only showed slight functional weakness of your left arm. But that's not abnormal for up to twenty four hours after a seizure. So we can rule out anything more serious like a tumor or anything like that."

Again, Anna hadn't even thought of that as a possibility until now, and the thought made her eyes widen. Holy shit. That had been on the table? A fucking tumor?

"Because you have a history of head injury, we need to run a couple scans. I would also like to get you an EEG."

That sounded like a lot of work.

"Tonight?" Dean asked.

"No, we'll try to get everything scheduled for tomorrow."

Anna's knee started to bounce. This was crazy. Two hours ago, she'd been totally normal, and now she had to get her brain scanned? Was she going to have more seizures?

"There are still a few possible reasons this might have happened." Renee tilted her computer screen halfway closed so she could look at Dean over it. It was like people could just sense that he was the oldest. "The first possibility is that you are epileptic."

"She's never had these before, though," Sam said. "I thought epilepsy usually starts in childhood."

"That's often the case," the doctor confirmed. "But epilepsy and seizures can actually start at any age. And because she's under twenty-one, it would actually not be surprising."

"Shit," Anna grumbled under her breath.

"But," Renee said with a hopeful smile. "This also could have happened because of your insomnia. Sleep deprivation and sleep disorders can cause people to have seizures. If this is what's going on, there's a good chance that you'll never have another one. But it does mean we need to get your sleep under control."

"Good luck with that," Anna snorted, and the boys both gave her disapproving looks. But they were both burying smiles under their frowns.

Renee didn't bother masking her smile. "The other possibility," she said, "is that this is what we call PNES. Psychogenic non-epileptic seizures. Let me be clear that this is not any less real or serious than an epileptic seizure. It just has a different cause. Do you have any history of trauma or mental illness?"

"Depression," Anna murmured. And this was just fucking great. Now she was so crazy she was having seizures?

"And trauma," Sam added for her.

Anna didn't like that word, but she couldn't really deny it either. And it just made everything worse.

"Okay," Renee said softly. "So that does make PNES a distinct possibility. Have you been under a lot of stress lately?"

Anna shrugged one shoulder. "I'm kinda always stressed," she admitted.

Renee just nodded. She made a tutting sound and re-opened her laptop. Her fingers clicked across the keyboard for a couple minutes before she stopped typing and looked up at them again. "Odds are good," she told them, "That this was just a one time thing. So the key here is just to keep an eye out for signs of illness or infection. Those can also be causes for these episodes. And make sure you're watching for other seizures. I'll give you a hand out on different kinds of seizures so you know what to look for. They won't all be as dramatic or obvious as this one."

"Awesome," Dean said and nodded.

"Thanks," Sam added.

"No problem. Now, we'll get those tests done in the morning, and I'll give you a call at the number you listed on your forms as soon as I have the results." She looked at Anna, "If you have any more intense headache or fatigue even after you sleep tonight, make sure you tell your dad," she said, nodding toward Dean.

"Brother," Anna corrected absently. "But okay."

Renee looked startled, but she quickly recovered. "Alright. If she has any more seizures, bring her back in. We'll know more once the test results are in."

"Alright," Dean agreed readily. "Thank you, Renee."

"Of course. You get some sleep tonight, alright, baby?" the doctor told Anna. "And we'll see you tomorrow."

Anna was beyond relieved that it was finally over. When they stepped out of the clinic into the cool night air, it was almost completely dark.

"You feelin' alright?" Dean asked and wrapped his arm around Anna's shoulders as they walked toward the side street where they'd parked the car. He rubbed his hand up and down her arm, and Anna actually welcomed the touch.

She shrugged in response to his question. "I'm fine."

"Well, let's go home then."

That sounded like the best idea Anna had heard in a long time.

()()()

"Ian, listen-"

"You ghosted me for, like, three hours. It's like you don't even care about me."

"Ian, I'm trying to tell you something."

"What?" Ian snapped at her through the phone.

Anna bit her lip, feeling the threat of tears. "I had a seizure," she said softly. "I had to go to the clinic."

Ian was quiet for a minute. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Anna told him. Her head hurt like hell, her eyes were heavier than cinderblocks, and she was terrified. But, yeah, she was fine. "That's just why I stopped answering. But I'm still seeing Kate this weekend, alright?"

Ian made an annoyed sound in her ear. "Fine. Don't hang out with me. See if I care."

"Ian..." She was too tired for this. Her body was still sore, and she felt strangely sensitive. His usual criticism was hitting her a lot harder than normal. "I'm sorry."

"Good night, Anna."

"You're supposed to be sleeping."

Anna looked up with a tired expression when Dean walked in. She rested her head against the wall behind her. "I had to call Ian. He was... worried," she eventually lied. It seemed like a bad idea to tell Dean that Ian was angry.

"Alright, well, you're done for the night. Gimme your phone."

Anna sighed but relinquished her phone.

"Here," Dean told her and held his closed fist out to her. Anna opened her hand, and he dropped two small purple pills there. "Melatonin," he told her. "Ten milligrams."

She hated taking this stuff, so Anna gave her brother a pleading look. "I'm tired enough," she tried to argue. "I can sleep without it."

"Rugrat, you heard the doc, alright? The last thing you need is to lose another night of sleep." He snatched her water bottle off her bed stand and held it out to her. "Down the hatch."

"Think I'm gonna have more?" Anna asked once she'd let the melatonin dissolve under her tongue.

"Hope not," Dean replied. "But if you do, we'll handle it. You'll be okay."

"I know," Anna murmured. But it was reassuring hearing her brother say it.

"Get some sleep, kiddo."

Anna slid lower in bed so she could rest her head on her pillows. She closed her eyes when Dean leaned down to give her a kiss on the forehead. For just a minute, she was transported back in time to lay in her bed at Bobby's house, the sigil drawing Sam had made her hung above her bed and Dean's hand brushing her hair off her forehead as he sang her to sleep. They were days she would never get back. Days without the constant pit in her stomach, the unrelenting fog of depression, and the constant struggle to fall or stay asleep. Days when Bobby was alive and Anna hadn't realized just how much she stood to lose.

"Do me a favor and wake somebody up when you get up."

"Why?" Anna murmured.

"Humor me," Dean requested. "I just don't want you to be alone if you have another one of those. You could get hurt."

Anna made a face, but she relented. "Okay."

"Sweet dreams, Rugrat."

()()()

Miraculously, she slept almost all the way through the night. But Anna still woke up tired.

She dragged her feet out to the kitchen for a cup of coffee. Technically, Dean had told her to wake someone up. But she didn't see any reason to do that. It was still early, only five o'clock, and she thought it was a safe bet that the boys had stayed up late to check in on her every so often.

So she made a pot of coffee and opened a streaming app on her phone, which Dean had left on her desk. She watched the Smith family have breakfast together and laughed at Rick's cynicism while she waited for the boys to get up.

Sam was the first to join her. "You were supposed to wake us up," he chastised when he saw her sitting at the kitchen table by herself nursing a half-empty cup of coffee.

"I was fine," Anna justified. "What time do we have to go the hospital?" she asked and took a sip of cool coffee. Man, she needed a refill.

"You got an EEG at ten, and they were able to get you in for a CT scan right after that, around eleven-thirty."

Anna sighed. That sounded like an annoying morning. But at least she had some time first. She could talk to Kate. "I can still hang out with Kate tomorrow, right?"

Sam gave her a sympathetic smile. "I don't know, Ladybug. I think it depends on what happens today."

"Come on. I'm not gonna have more."

"I'm not saying you are," Sam replied reasonably. "I'm just saying, we should see what the tests say before we make any plans."

Anna rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Sam gave her a side eye, but he was smiling fondly. "How do you feel?" he asked nonchalantly as he poured himself a cup of hot coffee.

"Tired."

"Still got that headache?"

"Not really."

"Not really?"

"A little bit. It's just not as bad."

"Okay," Sam accepted easily. "Listen, Dean and I were talking, and we think-"

"Let me guess. You want me to stay in your sight all day?" Anna deadpanned. "Sam, I'm seventeen years old. I'll be fine."

"Just to be safe. If nothing happens, great. But we're supposed to be watching for illness or more seizures."

"Well, I'll take my temperature every few hours then."

"Anna, that's not what she meant, and you know it."

Anna groaned and let her head fall back. "I don't want a babysitter," she complained.

"You don't need one. Just stay out here in the kitchen or the library, alright? Please."

She looked up and saw Sam giving her that stupid puppy dog look. She felt guilty for being so difficult. "Fine," she said. "But I think it's dumb."

()()()

"Here we are, your highness."

"Shut up," Anna grouched as Dean set her breakfast down in front of her. "Man, I'm not you. I can't eat this much food."

"Well, eat what you can, then," Dean told her, unimpressed.

"You guys are really going overboard with this," Anna complained when Sam set down a tall glass of water in front of her.

"You had a seizure, Anna," Dean reminded her.

"Oh, did I? Oh, thanks, I didn't realize."

"Alright, smartass, eat your breakfast. And drink that," he added with an emphatic look. He bent his head down to give her a kiss on the temple. "We gotta head out soon."

Anna poked at the scrambled eggs in front of her and sighed. "Do we even have to do this stuff?" she asked. "She said it was probably a one time thing."

"She also said it might not be. And either way, we play it safe with this shit. Got it?"

He was pointing his index finger at her, and he had a stern look on his face that Anna didn't want to mess with. "Whatever," she surrendered. "Dude, I looked up EEGs, and apparently they're gonna put all this goopy shit in my hair. You know how long it's gonna take this shit to recover?" she asked, grabbing a handful of curls to show her brother. Her hair was finicky on a good day.

"I think you'll live, Rugrat. Eat."

Anna wrinkled her nose. Someday she would get him to stop calling her that.

()()()

"Stop touching me," Anna grumbled, shoving Dean's hands off her arms. She stepped out onto the concrete of the hospital parking lot and felt the sun warm the skin of her face.

"Sorry, just trynta be helpful," Dean said and raised his hands in surrender.

"And annoying," Anna added for him. She pinched her lips together and wrinkled her nose. "Come on, can't we just go home? This is so dumb."

Dean gave her a dark look and put his hand between her shoulderblades to push her gently toward the hospital entrance. "March," he said in a tired voice.

"Dean-"

"Anna," Dean suddenly snapped loudly enough to make her flinch. He closed his eyes for a minute and took a deep, calming breath. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "I'm sorry, kiddo. I'm just... You know, you scared us last night, and-"

Anna swallowed, feeling timid. "Yeah," she replied quietly. "It's okay."

Dean sighed like he could see just how small he'd made her feel. He put a hand on the back of her head and pulled her close. "No, I'm sorry," he said again. "How are you doin' with all this? You okay?"

Anna shrugged and pulled back. She brushed her hair out of her face and wrinkled her nose when it immediately fell back in front of her eye. "I guess I'm okay," she told her brother. She hadn't let herself think too hard about any of this yet. She'd been trying to stay distracted instead. But now that Dean had asked her, something was becoming clear to her. "I think... I think the reason I don't want to do the tests is 'cause I'm kinda– a little nervous of what they might find," she admitted and bit her lip.

"Yeah," Dean replied. "I kinda figured." He put two fingers under her chin, and Anna found herself looking into his eyes. They displayed an easy love, and Anna had to bite the inside of her lip. She suddenly felt like crying. "We'll figure this out," Dean promised her, nodding slightly as if affirming his own statement. "Whatever it is, we'll handle it. We always do."

"Okay," Anna answered quietly. She swallowed, and Dean's fingers fell away from her chin.

"Okay," he repeated. "Let's go."

()()()

"Dean, seriously, if you ask me that one more time-!"

"Sorry," Dean replied a little peevishly.

They were walking through the parking lot back toward the car, the sun warming their faces. Anna had sticky crap in her hair, and her eyes were burning with the need to sleep. Which was ridiculous. She'd slept practically perfectly last night, and it was only one o'clock.

"I'm. Fine." Anna huffed and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Someone's grumpy," Dean quipped from her other side. He moved his hand like he was going to ruffle her hair, but he paused with his hand just above her head. "They really did a number on your curls, huh?"

Anna glared at him. "Someone's smothered," she corrected. "And yeah, they fucked up my hair."

Dean gave her the tiniest patient smile and put his hand between her shoulderblades. "Well, look, the tests are done. We can go home now, and you can have some space."

"Yeah, sitting across the room from you, that's a lot of space," Anna complained. "I haven't had another one all day. Can't I just go to my room?"

"Anna..." Dean said in frustration, and she sighed angrily.

"This sucks." She dropped into the backseat and grit her teeth. She couldn't take any more of this mothering routine. She wanted to lay in bed and listen to music. Plus, her hair was disgusting, and she was desperate to try and fix it. "I have to at least take a shower."

"I know," Dean agreed. "But, you know, if you start to feel weird or anything-"

"Yeah, I know. I'm not stupid. I don't want to have a seizure in the shower."

"Just don't be too long, okay?"

"Dean, my hair is probably gonna take like an hour to fix."

"Well, just... be careful."

Anna rolled her eyes. She got it. They were worried about her. They didn't want her to get hurt. This whole seizure thing was messing with her too. But she was seventeen years old, and this overprotective routine of theirs was getting old really fast.

She needed some privacy. Some time alone to put her headphones in and ignore the world.

Not to mention, she still needed to call Ian again and try to get through to him. She had this pit in her stomach, knowing that he was angry with her. And she needed space to call him.

Unlike with Kate, Claire, or Ethan, Anna didn't like talking to Ian with the boys right there. They would end up constantly shooting her strange looks, and then undoubtedly would have something to say when she hung up. She figured it was just that they were weird about her dating. And neither Sam nor Dean liked Ian very much.

Maybe it would actually be good for her to be stuck with her brothers for a while longer. The thought of talking to Ian made her feel nauseous. She didn't see that conversation going her way.

()()()

Anna looked in the mirror and admired her handiwork. "Not bad," she said with a smirk. "Considering two seconds ago you were drowning in gloop." She nodded and turned her head to make sure the back of her head wasn't looking too neglected. She was too tired to spend the time fixing it even if it looked terrible, though, so she changed her mind and left the bathroom.

"There she is," Sam said fondly as she entered the library. "Your hair looks great, Ladybug."

"Thanks," Anna smiled and wrinkled her nose. "Did Renée call yet?"

"Nope," Dean replied from the other side of the table. He waved his phone in the air. "Anytime now." Before he'd even finished saying the word now, his phone started to ring. "You gotta be kidding," he snorted. "That was amazing. It's like I planned it-"

"Dean," Sam said dryly. "Answer the phone."

"Right," Dean said, sobering.

Anna watched Dean answer the call and tapped her foot impatiently as he listened to the doctor. "Hang on," he said then, "I'll put you on speaker. She's right here."

"Anna?" Renée asked.

"Yep," Anna replied awkwardly.

"Hi. So, the neurologist over at the hospital read your results. She couldn't find any abnormalities. Which means this episode was more likely PNES. That's the psychogenic non-epileptic seizure."

Anna didn't know whether to be relieved or annoyed. At least if they'd come back with abnormalities, there would have been a distinct answer to why she'd randomly had a fucking seizure. This psychogenic thing... it felt... off. It felt like somehow this thing was her fault.

"I just want to tell you again, that doesn't make this any less real. All it means is that the cause is distinctly different from an epileptic seizure."

"Okay," Dean said and bumped Anna's knee with his own under the table. It was like he could tell what she was thinking and wanted to emphasize to her that this wasn't her fault. "Great. So what do we do?"

"Well, that depends. If it happens again, I still want you to come back in. We can have another look. Maybe run some more tests. There's still a chance this was just an isolated incident. Whether it happens again or not, the recommendation for treatment is the same. I want you to work on getting that sleep under control, Anna."

Anna wrinkled her nose and blushed. Talk about a targeted attack. "Okay," she murmured.

"I'm going to prescribe you a sleep medication. Take it around the same time every night. It's best if you can get on a consistent sleep schedule. That's good for your circadian rhythm. Sleep is really important for our physical and mental health. When you don't get enough of it, it worsens things like depression and seizures."

"We'll work on it, doc," Dean assured her. He bumped Anna's knee with his own again and then looked across the table at Sam.

Anna knew what that meant. She was gonna take the doctor's advice whether she wanted to or not.

"We also recommend psychotherapy in situations like this. Do you have a therapist, Anna?"

"Yeah," she replied. Ramone was annoying enough as it was, she wasn't adding any more therapy to her life.

"That's great. Do you see him or her weekly?"

"Monthly," Anna corrected. "It's, like, a three hour drive."

"Okay, well, maybe you could do weekly sessions on the phone instead," Renée suggested. "Or find someone closer to home. This is all totally up to you. But weekly is the recommendation."

"Okay," Anna said again. She felt so small for some reason. Like everything was suddenly happening to her. She was losing her control. Over her body, her mind, her life.

"If you notice any other symptoms– weakness, frequent headaches, dizziness, changes in vision, anything like that– call us right away, and we'll get you in. Otherwise, that's all I have for you. Do you guys have any questions for me?"

Anna had a million questions. Was she going to be able to go to school on Monday? Would she have a seizure at school? Was she going to have to change therapists and do sessions every single week? It all sounded miserable. But she didn't want to bring it up to Renée. So she stayed quiet.

The boys were both looking at her, and when she shook her head, they both looked to the phone. "I got a question," Sam said. "Are these dangerous? I mean, if she has another one, what are we supposed to do."

"Good question," Renée replied. "So, seizure first aid is pretty simple. Make sure her head is protected, don't put anything in or near her mouth, and make sure you keep an eye on the time. If it lasts more than five minutes, get her to a hospital. Some people will throw up or experience incontinence-"

"Fuck me," Anna said miserably and dropped her head against the table.

"-just make sure if she does throw up that you turn her onto her side so she's not aspirating vomit or choking. It's very rare, but sometimes people will stop breathing during a seizure. If that happens, call an ambulance and do rescue breathing. Do you know how to do that?"

"Yeah," Sam said. "We both do. Thanks, doc."

"Of course. Anything else?"

Dean shrugged and looked at Sam, then Anna, whose head was still on the table. "I think we're good, Renée. Thank you."

"No problem. Take care."

"You too," Sam said, and Dean hung up the call.

Anna wrinkled her nose. "Ramone is more than enough therapy for me, thank you," she grouched. "And I swear to God, if I ever wet myself, you better shoot me on the spot."

"That isn't funny," Sam told her.

"No, it's not," she agreed. It was bad enough that she'd had a seizure, passed out in the middle of the hallway, and had to go the hospital for a bunch of pointless tests. The very idea of... incontinence... it made her want to scream.

Dean sighed measuredly and put his hand on Anna's arm. He gently shook it and said, "Alright, we've got a plan now, huh?" He looked at her with raised eyebrows, like he thought that fact would cheer her up. "Sleep and therapy? You can do that."

"Bet," Anna deadpanned. "Sleep is harder than you seem to think. And Ramone is more than enough therapy for me."

"I know," Dean relented without argument. "No one's makin' you do more therapy. But, hey, you've got this medication now for sleep. That should help."

"I guess," Anna said quietly.

The medication didn't sound terrible. There were some nights Anna wound up in tears because she was just so unbelievably exhausted and her body still refused to let her sleep. Having a magic pill for those occasions would be kinda nice.

"But you have to take it every night. No more of this inconsistent crap."

"Whatever."

"No, don't whatever," Dean mocked, then turned serious again. "You gotta take better care of yourself, or this might not stay a one time thing."

"Dean, I'm fine."

Dean gave her a frustrated look. "I'll watch you take it every single night if I have to, Anna. We're not messing around with this."

"Weirdo," Anna griped. But she finally said, "Fine. I'll take it every night. Is that it? Can I go listen to music?"

Dean and Sam shared a look, and Anna watched Sam give their brother a small nod.

"Alright. Fine," Dean said. "But if you start feeling weird, send a text or something. If this does happen again, we need to be there."

Anna sighed in relief. "Sure," she agreed easily and slid out of her chair. She was still exhausted, and her ever-present cloud of sadness was caressing her brain. But she was finally going to have some space.

She couldn't wait to be alone.

On second thought, though, once she went to her room, she had to call Ian.

Anna turned around again in the doorway of the library. She rocked back and forth on her feet.

Both boys looked up at her with questions in their eyes.

"You wanna... watch a movie?" Anna asked slowly.

()()()

"No, for real," Anna said, raising her eyebrows emphatically. "I had a seizure."

"That's crazy," Ethan said.

Kate's mouth was wide open in shock. "Are you okay?" she asked urgently.

"Yeah," Anna replied and shrugged. "I'm completely fine." She kicked at a pebble on the sidewalk and looked over at both her friends walking beside her. "They said it might be a one time thing."

"But, what, you might be epileptic?" Ethan asked.

"No," Anna said. "They did this test. An EEG? They put all these wires on my head and basically watched all the impulses in my brain. It was normal, so I guess that means I don't have epilepsy."

"Well, that's not true," Kate told her and frowned. "I've read about EEGs. If you don't have a seizure during the reading, they won't see anything."

"Oh," Anna sighed. "Well, I don't know. They scanned my brain too. I guess everything looked normal. They said they'd do more tests if it happens again."

"Man, that's crazy," Ethan exclaimed a second time. "It probably sucked, right?"

Anna wrinkled her nose at the memory. "I had this horrible headache," she said. "And then I got hit by, like, this wave of heat. My legs went all jell-o-y. I was unconscious for most of it. It was embarrassing, honestly. Dean had to friggin' catch me in the middle of the hallway."

"That's awful," Kate sympathized. "Did they say why it did happen?"

"Yeah, it's psychogenic," Anna mumbled. For some reason, that was an embarrassing thing for her to admit.

"Psychogenic, like, what- They think you made it up? I'll fight them," he said, frustration building in his voice.

"No, Ethan," Kate said patiently. "Psychogenic means it happened because of psychological factors."

Ethan looked at Anna with an annoyed expression. "You have a simpler explanation?" he requested.

"It's like a miscommunication in my brain, I guess." That was how the handout Renée had given them explained it. "Like, instead of an electrical impulse, it's a functional problem with my nervous system."

"I'm sorry," Kate told her. "I wish you didn't have to deal with this. You have enough to worry about."

"Yeah." Anna opened the door and waited for both her friends to step into the school lobby before walking in behind them. "It's fine. I'm hoping it doesn't happen again."

"Fingers crossed," Kate and Ethan said simultaneously. They gave each other matching looks of surprise and annoyance.

"I bet Dean's been, like, a total mama bear all weekend. Hasn't he?" Ethan said and huffed a laugh.

Anna gave Ethan a short smile. "That's an understatement," she replied. "Sammy's been hovering too. I swear, I couldn't get a minute to myself all day Saturday."

"That sucks," Ethan complained on her behalf.

"I put my headphones in and blared music. That was as close as I could get to having privacy."

"You know it's just because they care about you," Kate told Anna and nudged her with her elbow. "I think I would've been scared to leave you alone too."

"I know," Anna said and gave Kate a soft, affectionate smile. "You know, honestly, it wasn't all bad. I was kinda freaking out. So having them there was nice sometimes. It just would have been cool to get five minutes alone every once in a while."

"Fair enough," Kate said and nodded.

Anna stopped in front of Ethan's locker so he could open it and put his backpack inside. He had first period free, so he liked to leave all his stuff here and spend his time in the gym.

She rubbed her hand down her face. She was unbelievably tired. Dean had made her take that new medication last night, but the doctor was starting her on a low dose, and it had only helped enough for her to get four hours of sleep.

"You okay?" Kate asked her quietly.

Anna looked over at her friend and nodded. "I'm just tired." And she had a headache. But it wasn't the same as the one she'd had for most of the weekend. It was throbbing, and it was right over her eye. "Fuck," she said suddenly. "Fuck. We have to go outside."

"What?" Ethan asked frantically and slammed his locker shut.

"Are you about to have one?" Kate asked her, brown eyes widening with fear.

"I don't know," Anna said. She could feel herself starting to panic, and that wasn't going to help. So she took a deep breath and tried to slow her heart rate. Her legs started to wobble. "Yes," she corrected herself. She was definitely about to have another one.

"Jesus," Ethan cried when Anna started to fall. He and Kate each grabbed one of her arms and eased her toward the ground.

"Go get the nurse, I'll stay with her!" Kate ordered.

Anna tried to speak, to say she was okay. Kate's eyes were wearing a blanket of concern, and it was Anna's job to rip that away.

"K-"

"It's okay," Kate told her in a shaky voice. "I know what to do. My dad is epileptic."

Anna wasn't sure if she frowned or not, but that was certainly new information. She didn't have time to dwell on it. Kate was pulling off her oversized hoodie, folding it up into a pillow shape, and tucking it under Anna's head.

"Just try to breathe," Kate instructed. She sounded nervous but so in control that it helped Anna feel calmer.

Her shoulder seemed to buzz, and then her arm jerked sideways so that her hand hit the lockers hard. Kate laid her own arm along the floor, and the next time Anna's arm jerked, she hit Kate instead of the metal lockers.

Her whole head started to feel strange, like it was trapped in a washing machine, shaking and rumbling with no way out.

She saw Ethan's dark skin flash in front of her, and she knew it was time to trust. Just trust her friends the way she trusted her family. She let go, and that was it.

()()()

"No, she was just shaking, and she kept making these little sounds," Ethan explained. He was rubbing the back of his neck nervously, and he kept glancing down at Anna on the bed. She'd woken up briefly, but she'd been so tired that she'd gone to sleep after a few minutes.

"Vocalizations are normal with seizures," the school nurse said.

Kate felt indignant at that. "Seizures aren't normal for Anna. She had one this weekend, but that was the first one in her life. She has to go to the hospital."

"Her family can make that call when they get here."

Kate sighed angrily. There was no winning this, though, so she just threw his hands in the air and turned around.

"I don't get it. Shouldn't calling an ambulance be, like, the first protocol when a kid has a seizure?" Ethan asked in disbelief behind her. "I would think you guys would play it safe, so you don't end up liable."

"I don't make the rules for this kind of stuff. But, for the most part, seizures aren't dangerous. We have two other students at this school who have epilepsy."

"This makes no sense," Ethan complained.

"If her parents sign off on it-"

Kate turned around with fire in her eyes. "Anna's been a student here for three years, and you people still can't get it through your head that she lives with her brothers, not her parents. You know how painful it has to be for her, having to correct you guys every single time?"

The nurse looked taken aback. Kate had only been in here a couple times in her three years at Lebanon, and she'd always been a quiet, polite girl. It was no wonder this kind of backlash was surprising coming from her. But dammit, Anna had been through enough bullshit in her life, and Kate was sick of watching it all from the sidelines.

"You can take the two seconds to commit that to memory," Ethan backed her up. "And it won't be a problem again."

The nurse looked between the both of them in obvious frustration. It was like she wanted to kick them out or chastise them for being so rude, but she knew she couldn't because of the nature of their complaint. So she just shook her head at them. "I'll be at my computer. Notify me when her family arrives."

Kate looked at Ethan, and they both rolled their eyes. This school was so full of airheads, it was unbelievable.

"You wanna go back to class?" Kate asked.

"No way," Ethan replied and sat down in one of the chairs by the bed. "I'm waiting til they get here. I don't trust this lady."

"Me neither," Kate agreed and took the other chair. "I feel like everybody treats her so badly here. It's like she's got some stamp on her forehead saying she's not worth as much as other people. It makes me mad."

"I hear that," Ethan said. He shook his head and grit his teeth. "She's, like, the nicest, coolest, smartest kid here. And everyone just treats her like crap."

"I think it's cause of all the fights she's been in. Word travels, even if you don't get caught."

"Okay, but she only fights people who deserve to get their asses kicked."

"You don't have to tell me," Kate defended. She looked over at Anna and was surprised to see her eyes fluttering. "Anna?"

"Hey."

"Girl, that looked like it sucked. Are you okay?"

Anna rolled her head to the side so she could see Ethan. "Yeah," she said tiredly. "Are- Are Sam and Dean coming?" she asked. Her eyes were already drooping closed again.

"Yeah," Kate answered. "They should be here any minute."

Anna gave a tiny nod. "Did people see?"

"Ethan yelled at 'em, and they cleared out." Kate had to smile at the memory. Ethan was a good friend. She was glad he'd been there to tell everyone to screw off. She'd been preoccupied making sure Anna didn't get hurt. "How are you feeling?"

"Just a headache," Anna said. She sat up with effort and swung her legs off the edge of the little bed. "You guys can go," she added with a frown. "You have class."

"I don't," Ethan corrected.

"And I would rather stay with you."

Anna looked guilty for some reason. But Kate didn't have time to say anything about that before heavy footsteps found the office.

"Hey," Sam said softly, looking at Kate and Ethan, and then Anna. He still had keys in his hand, and he shoved them in his jacket pocket as he stepped between the two chairs to sit beside Anna on the edge of the bed. "You okay?" he asked and wrapped an arm around her.

Anna nodded and leaned her head into his shoulder. "Just tired," she told him.

Kate met Sam's eyes. "It was three and a half minutes long," she said.

"Thanks, honey," Sam told her. "You guys can go back to class, okay? We're just gonna take her to the hospital."

"Where's Dean?" Kate asked curiously. It was strange that he hadn't come with Sam to get Anna.

"Signing her out," he said. Then he bobbed his eyebrows.  "And probably giving the headmaster an earful."

"I told them it was messed up they didn't call her an ambulance."

"She could've been at the hospital fifteen minutes ago," Ethan added.

Sam just smiled fondly at both of them. "It's okay," he said. "She'll be fine. Thank you, guys, for looking out for her. You're good friends."

Both Kate and Ethan shrugged off the praise. "Will you call me?" Kate requested as she stood up to go.

"Soon as we can," Sam said.

"Hey, Anna," Ethan called.

Anna's head slowly lifted, a curtain of curly hair shielding half her face.

"Text me when you can."

Anna's mouth curled up tiredly on one side. "Okay."

()()()

They did a twenty-four hour EEG, and the stress of being in the hospital for so long triggered another seizure about twelve hours in.

It was definitely a seizure, the doctors told her. But it definitely wasn't epilepsy.

"So... what?" Dean asked. "It's just therapy and better sleep?"

"There hasn't been very much research done on PNES," the neurologist explained patiently. She then proceeded to give them the same spiel every other doctor had about PNES. It's a miscommunication in the brain, a functional problem rather than a physical one. Blah blah blah.

But Anna was fucking tired from spending 24 hours in the hospital and having stupid seizures and still not sleeping well. She was stressed and irritated, and Ian was still mad at her. She was embarrassed about having these seizures at all, let alone in front of her friends and the other kids at school. She didn't have the mental capacity to sit and listen to the same useless explanation again.

"Yeah, I've heard it all before," she snapped in the middle of the woman's sentence. She got out of her chair and snatched up the pamphlet the neurologist had prepared for them. It was probably the same bullshit she'd gotten from the doctor at the clinic. But whatever. "Are we done?"

"Anna," Sam scolded softly. "That's rude."

She tossed her head back in frustration and took a short breath. "Fine," she said and sat back down.

"She's had a long few days," Dean explained and tapped Anna's foot with his own.

"I understand," the neurologist said and nodded. "In the pamphlet here, you'll see stress management techniques. You should try and minimize any stress and anxiety. Odds are good that the reason you're having so many right now, is because you're stressed about the fact that you've started having seizures. In a little while, if you use these techniques, you could be virtually without seizures again."

"Wow," Anna said sardonically. "So, I'm having seizures because I'm stressed about having seizures. So now I'm gonna be stressed about the fact that I'm stressed. And then I'm gonna have more seizures. This has been so helpful. Thank you."

She got up and threw the door open so she could storm down the hallway. She went outside and took a deep breath of the cool, fresh air. She had to close her eyes against the threat of sudden tears. It had been one thing knowing that this had happened to her one time. But now it was becoming a whole fucking thing. Something she had to learn to live with.

Thing was, these seizures were terrifying. Losing consciousness with little notice, waking up so tired she could barely move her body, and just feeling so so sick right before the seizure actually started. That was without the added possibility that she might throw up, stop breathing, or hit her head.

And she didn't have a pill to take for these things. She didn't have any guarantee that they could or would get better. She didn't even have anything physical to blame. Just her brain. Her sad, fucked up brain.

The trauma wasn't enough. The depression wasn't enough. She had to lose control over her body as well as her mind.

Anna rubbed her eyes roughly with her knuckles and kicked the curb hard. Then again. And again. And again. She shoved over a metal trashcan and listened to the top rattle off onto the sidewalk. And she kicked the side of the building until her toes went numb.

The corners of her eyes bled tears, and she wound up just leaning her forehead against the brick in front of her, arms wrapped around her stomach, crying.

And, of course, it was that way that Sam found her.

"It's not fair!" she shouted into his arm when he wrapped her in a sideways hug. "It's not fair," she whispered.

"I know," Sam told her gently. "I know."

She didn't want this. She didn't want any of it. She didn't want to have a seizure in the school lobby, and she didn't want to cry in Sam's arms in a hospital parking lot. She wanted to go back to being normal.

"It's okay," Sam promised into her hair, his breath warming a small patch of her scalp. "We can handle this. You'll be okay."

Maybe she would. But dammit, this sucked. And it was hard to let hope in, because this whole thing was painful enough without adding dashed hopes to the mix.

()()()

It was after a whole week of no seizures that Anna started to let it in. Because even if she had seizures once a week or once a month, she could live with that.

She took her medication every night, slept better but not well.

It was about a month later that things with Ian came to a head. She found out she was ace, she came out to everyone, and after that whole ordeal went down– with its insane levels of stress and depression– Anna still didn't have a seizure. So she figured she must be in the clear. It must have been a one time thing.

But she wasn't taking any chances. She kept taking her sleep medication, kept seeing Ramone even when she didn't want to, even tried those stupid stress management techniques.

It was after Mary came back that Anna had another one.

She didn't remember much between the drinking coffee at the counter and waking up with Dean carrying her through the doors to the ER.

It had lasted eight minutes.

After a two hour nap and a drowsy ride home, Anna sat down across from Sam and Dean and listened with a broken heart to what they had to say.

"PNES can be lifelong," Sam read off yet another stupid pamphlet. "It's not unusual to go long periods without having an episode."

"They said you'll probably have flare ups," Dean told her. "A week or two where you have 'em every day."

Somehow, that made it worse. Worse than it had sounded when she'd first heard about it almost a year ago. Because to give her so much hope and then yank it away was so cruel.

And if she'd gone through so much stress without having an episode only to have one randomly months later... then the doctors were full of shit and nobody knew what they were talking about. Because there was nothing predictable about this. There was no dumbass stress management technique that could make these go away. And there was never going to be a way she could be certain that she wouldn't have another one tomorrow.

But that was just fine. Since when had the world treated Anna Winchester with a shred of compassion anyway.

This was just another line of bullshit.

La Fin