As usual I've borrowed Eric Kripke's toys to play with. Hope you like this story. My beta had lost her computer access so this is un-beta'd.
The Innocents
Chapter One
Mary Winchester silently crept in the abandoned house. John was behind her with his machete ready while Rufus, Bobby and Jim were looking downstairs. They knew the house was being used by a nest of vampires so they were being very careful. Contrary to the movies and popular books, vampires could move around in the daylight and were only killed by cutting their heads off. Dead man's blood could paralyze them, though. So far, the group had taken out most of the nest but the Alpha and her mate was still missing and they needed to find them otherwise the two would come after them.
What clued the hunters in about the vampires was a call from a doctor friend of Rufus Turner. He had been called and asked to come out for a house call. It seemed that the vampires had a couple of children in their care and the youngest child had gotten very sick. When the doctor had declined to do the house call, the Alpha insisted on his coming to the house by showing him her teeth and bringing him there. When he got there, she stayed in the room while he looked at the tiny boy laying in the crib. The baby had a case of bronchitis for which the doctor prescribed antibiotics and breathing treatments. The Alpha sent one of her nest-mates to get the items then she warned him never to say anything or the whole nest would come to his house and "have dinner with his family" as they put it. She insisted that he continue to treat the baby, which he did but the child was still sick. Since he had had dealings with hunters before, he called Rufus for help. He knew that if the child died, so would the doctor and his family.
Rufus called Bobby who got some friends together then met them at the doctor's house. The doctor told them where to find the nest and that the children were being held in a room on the second floor. There were two children, he said. The oldest was about five or six with blond hair and green eyes. The baby was one or two with dark hair and hazel eyes. Both were kept in the same room that was made up as a nursery. The children were clean and fed but, on the older one, he had found some scars that told him the child had been abused in the past. The only thing he could say on that was unless the vampires had them for a while they were not the ones to abuse him.
Now the group was prowling the house, looking for the children and the heads of the nest. Mary knew that she had found something when she found a door that was locked. She gestured to John who got out his picks and went to work on the lock. When he was through, he stepped back and Mary opened the door carefully. Peeking in, she saw a crib on the far wall with two children sleeping in it. Looking back at her husband, she nodded to indicate that they had found the kids.
Carefully, as to not wake the two children, Mary crept into the room but found that her efforts were not enough. The older child, who looked to be about five or six, was staring at her with huge green eyes. While she watched, he put the other child behind him like he was protecting the baby. When he was moved, the baby woke up and she could see the fever in his glassy, hazel eyes. Both children looked at her with mistrust.
Walking slowly to where the children were, Mary started to talk, keeping her voice soft and low so she wouldn't scare them, "Hi there. My name is Mary. Could you tell me yours?" Neither child answered. She didn't expect the younger one to talk, he looked to be around one or two but she had hoped that the older one would answer her. "I'm not going to hurt you or your friend," she said to the older child. "I just want to make sure you two are okay." She hoped she could put the children at ease but the older one just got agitated the closer she got. When she was a foot away from them, he stood on the mattress and pulled a knife that had been hidden under a blanket, clearly showing that he was acting as a protector. Mary stopped then started to look at him.
The older boy was blond with longish hair. He was thin and dressed in pajamas that hung on his small frame. On each of his wrists there was a silver looking bracelet that had engravings on them. She could also see that the band on his right wrist had what looked like charms on it but the left band was plain except for what looked like two engravings. When she looked at the baby, she could see he also had bands on both wrists. The bands on both children were seamless and she wondered who would have given them bracelets that couldn't be taken off.
As she looked closer at the baby, she noticed that he too was thin and had beautiful long chocolate brown hair. Wondering where their parents were or if the vampires had killed them, she inched closer when it happened. The older one, clearly threatened by her nearness, displayed wings that hid the baby from her sight. The wings were beautiful, white with streaks of green running through each feather.
Mary was startled and stopped for a second before she realized that the display was for protection of the baby. She took a breath then said, "Hey, little one. Don't be afraid, I won't hurt you." Behind her, John nodded his agreement. There was something about the boy, even with the wings, that cried out to his soul to nurture and love. The boy looked at her then at John before lowering his knife and wings. Stepping aside, he let Mary get close to the baby. She looked at him questioningly then got to the side of the crib.
Besides being thin, she noticed the baby was pale with two rosy cheeks. He had sweat on his forehead and his breathing was labored. Without thinking, Mary picked the baby up and cuddled him. The older child was shocked and made a move as to go after her but John was there and caught him up. "Shh, buddy! It's okay, she won't hurt your friend but he's sick and needs help. Please let us help you both. Hey! I bet you would like something to eat," John rambled. Then he pulled a bag of candy from his pocket. Pouring some onto his hand, he offered it to the older boy. The boy picked one up then looked at the man holding him. Sniffing the candy to make sure it was okay, the boy put it in his mouth. He smiled at the sweet taste then reached for another one. John smiled at the little boy and let him take another piece.
As the Winchesters were getting acquainted with the children, the other hunters, having cleared the house, came into the room. The child in John's arms became agitated when he saw the strangers and his wings came back out as he twisted to get to the baby. John just held him close and whispered in his ear to calm the boy down. Jim was surprised at the wings and wanted a closer look but John just shook his head so Jim kept his distance.
"John, we need to get the boys out of here. The baby is burning up with a fever," Mary said in a hushed voice so she wouldn't scare the children.
"Okay, babe, let's get out of here. Hey, Bobby, could you look around and see if there is any medicine for the kid? We also should get any stuff that may be theirs, clothes, food, and toys. Jim, could you grab their bedding so we can wrap them up in the car?" John asked. The others looked around and gathered everything that was for the kids, then the group left after the children were wrapped in the blankets. When they got to the cars, Mary sat in the back holding the baby while the older child sat next to her with his hand on the baby's leg. John talked to the other Hunters. He knew they had booked a couple of rooms but with the children he wondered if it would be a better idea to just get their stuff and head to Blue Earth. Jim had a couple of doctor friends there that knew about Hunters and they would be able to help with the children. The other Hunters agreed that going to Jim's would be the best course of action, it not only would keep the questions down but the vampires that they hadn't found would not be able to follow them easily. With the decision made, John got in the Impala with Jim while Bobby and Rufus got into Bobby's truck. As they pulled away from the now burning house, they didn't know that the best and most difficult days lay ahead.