We lay my love and I

by TheNeatMonster

Shawn and Gus investigate a haunted house. Pretty creepy and a lot of fun. Shawn whump plus slight Dean and Sam whump.

'We lay my love and I, beneath the weeping willow. But now alone I lie, and weep beside the tree.' The words were haunting him. He had heard this song in a movie, once, thinking even then it was a little freaky. But now, he was alone in this massive house, listening against his will to this soft lullaby. He couldn't figure out where it was coming from. It seemed to emit from the walls, coming from all around. Shawn Spencer has been scared in the past, obviously due to the job he chose with his partner, Gus, but this was different. This surpassed anything that had ever happened to him. He was beyond screaming. He was beyond running. He was frozen, frozen in sheer, absolute terror.

"Do you believe in ghosts, sir?"

He was caught off guard by the blunt question of the 9, maybe 10-year-old little girl that stood outside his door.

"Um, hi, small, weird child. I really don't-what do you-why are you here?" Shawn stuttered. This was more random than the names he conjured up for Gus on a daily basis.

"Do you believe in ghosts?" she repeated as if he had never spoken. Her gaze was disturbing. He felt like he could see a whole lifetime behind the eyes of such a young child.

"I guess so, sure." He said, feeling more and more uncomfortable. He wasn't sure if he actually believed in ghosts, but he did "consult with the spirits," and if it got out that he didn't actually believe in them, he'd be screwed.

"Oh good!" she exclaimed, walking inside his apartment, "I thought no one was going to believe me!"

"Whoa whoa whoa you can't just walk into a stranger's home. That's dangerous, not to mention awkward for said stranger. Why don't we call your parents and maybe we could all talk about this, but I—"

"No!" she cried. "They don't believe me! They never believe me and I need help. You're psychic! I've seen you on TV before and you always seem to fix things. I need you to help me. Please." She gave him the most precious puppy eyes that even Lassiter wouldn't be able to resist, let alone the softhearted psychic.

"Ok ok let's take a breath and chill out. Now, who are you and what can I help you with?" Shawn said, not knowing if he was going to help, or make matters worse by not actually being psychic.

"My name's LeeAnne, but just call me Lee. And my house is haunted."

Shawn stared blankly at her for a few seconds. It seemed to roll of her tongue so smoothly, as if it wasn't weird or uncommon that her house was haunted. "Huh," he began, "well, I am not really qualified in the specific realm of psychicness, but maybe-"

"But they said they'd hurt my parents!" she cried out again.

Shawn paused. "They? Who are they?"

"The people in my house. There's a boy and two girls. They talk to me almost every night. I thought they were fun at first, but they've started asking me to do things, things that don't seem right…" she trailed off slightly.

Now, Shawn was really worried. Not only was there a small, missing child in his home, but she was also completely and utterly insane. Although, she seemed genuinely frightened that her parents would come to harm because of these ghosts, so there must be something going on. He tried to remain calm. "Ok, what do these 'people' ask you to do."

"Well, it started out they just wanted to play with me, which was really fun, but they made me promise not to tell my mom and dad. I didn't, at first. But then, they started waking me in the middle of the night. They wanted me to play all the time, but I couldn't. I was too tired. They said if I joined them, we could play all the time, night and day. I knew that was bad. I've seen those kinds of movies. I'm not stupid." She said, trying to justify herself. "Anyway, they got mad when I said no and that I wanted them to go away. Then, they started breaking things in the house. Things my parents could blame me for. Things I got in trouble for, not them. When I tried to tell my mom, she said not to blame imaginary things, but to accept responsibility. I told my dad, and he said the same exact thing! No matter what I do, they won't believe me. Then, I saw you talking to ghosts on TV and I knew you could help me." She concluded, smiling widely.

Shawn was speechless. He was in a horror movie. He was in a bad, poorly written horror movie. There were no such things as ghosts, was what the back of his adult mind was telling him, but that was miniscule compared to the rest of his mind, which screamed that he should totally take this case. "Ok," he said finally, "I will do my best to clear your good name and rid your house of the creeps."

She jumped up and hugged him, "Oh thank you thank you thank you! I don't have any money, but I have a SpongeBob pen," she said as she attempted to pay him with a yellow sponge on a stick.

Shawn smiled and shook his head. "No need to pay me. This is free of charge," he stated, secretly wishing he hadn't because that pen was really freaking cool. "Just let me call my friend. He'll help us out."

"Shawn."

"Gus."

"Shawn!"

"Gus!"

Gus sighed. He was not looking forward to this case. Not only did it involve ghosts, but creepy children ghosts, and those always end up messy. And Shawn was not making him feel any better with the whole 'it's probably not even ghosts' thing, because whenever anyone says that, it's so the opposite. And he was the token black guy! They always go first! Shawn's argument consisted of 'Gus, don't be the last Pringle that is impossible to get.'

Knowing Gus, could not possibly pass this up, Shawn hopped in the Psychmobile and filled Gus in on the plan.

"Ok, so her parents are at work all day and she is at school until 3, and then she is going to her friends for a sleepover, so we shouldn't be disturbed, but she is putting a key to the front door under the mat so we can go in and snoop around a bit while no one's home and be out before her parents come home," Shawn finished, assured that his plan was foolproof.

Gus stared at him. "We're breaking into the house? Shawn, this is so not cool! We could get arrested!"

"We could get arrested everyday, Gus, but we're not. Wanna know why? Because we're just that good, buddy," Shawn said, raising his fist.

Gus, not being able to resist and knowing Shawn would just do it without him anyway, conceded, raising his fist to his best friend's, mumbling, "You got that right."

Shawn and Gus slowly approached the house. It certainly looked the part of creepy haunted house and they were sort of wary about entering it. It was a grey house, with black shutters. Not fake shutters, but shutters that could flow eerily in the wind. It wasn't broken down or dilapidated, but it was dark and ominous. It loomed over the street with its four stories. There weren't many homes on this street to begin with, so it stood out like a sore thumb. The stairs up to the giant heavy wooden front door were black like the shutters with a very intricately designed banister. The mood of the home sent a shiver down the boys' spines.

"Hey buddy, was it this dark and spooky when we left the office?" Shawn pondered.

"No it most certainly was not, Shawn," Gus replied. "We should leave."

"No can do, Gus. We have to save this little girl from a house full of ghosts," Shawn said, determined.

They walked up the dark stairs and knocked on the door, just to make sure the parents were actually gone. When no one answered and Shawn noticed there were no cars in the driveway, they found the spare key and let themselves in.

The inside of the home was just as spooky as the outside. The furniture and wall moldings were all very gothic.

"Dude, it's like Tim Burton's Dreamhouse," Shawn whispered. "I feel like Johnny's gonna pop out and slice us to pieces with scissors."

"Shawn, Edward Scissorhands wasn't a slasher film. He was just misunderstood," Gus argued.

"That's what they all say, Gus, that's what they all say," Shawn said.

Thump

They froze.

"…You heard that, right?" Shawn whispered.

Gus' stunned silence and unwavering gaze from the ceiling was a good enough answer. There had been a distinctive thud from some room upstairs and they were absolutely positive no one else was in the home.

Shawn broke the trance first, heading towards the stairs, before an arm grabbed him.

"Shawn, what the hell do you think you're doing? You don't know what's up there! What if it's a robber or something?" Gus said, avoiding what he truly believed it to be.

"Gus, don't be a wet noodle. First of all, we both know that you spell robber g-h-o-s-t, and second of all, that's what we are here for in the first place," Shawn reasoned. "We have to help this little girl."

"But Shawn, you aren't psychic!" Gus half-yelled. "How do you expect to—"

"Not a psychic?" a small voice floated by.

Shawn and Gus whipped around and saw nothing. They were officially freaking out.

"Well, that's interesting," the voice continued, obviously amused by their fear. "If you aren't psychic, then why do you claim to be?"

Shawn was at a loss for words. He wasn't talking to a ghost. He couldn't be. That was preposterous!

"…Lee…is that you?" Shawn tentatively asked.

"Lee's at school, silly!" Another voice said, much louder and deeper. The boy, Shawn deduced. And one of the sisters Lee was talking about.

"Oh. Okay. So, what are your names?" Shawn attempted at making a conversation. Gus had begun to go pale and wasn't moving at all. Shawn shook him slightly, but to no avail. Gus was frozen solid.

The only response to his question was laughter, laughter that filled every inch of the house with no place of origin.

This sent a snake of fear down Shawn's spine and he grabbed Gus and they bolted for the door. It slammed shut before they got there. Then, everything happened at once.

The shutters began slamming against the windows, all the doors in the house opening and closing, the sinks in the kitchen began running. Shawn scrambled for his phone. He dialed and put it to his ear.

"Santa Barbara Police Department, how may I help you?"

"Buzz! Buddy, could you find Jules and put her on?" Shawn yelled frantically.

"Oh! Uh, sure, Shawn. What's going on? Are you ok?" Buzz asked, walking towards the detective and her partner, who looked up at his arrival.

"Never better, buddy. I'll tell you later," Shawn said trying to drown out the loud slamming of wood on wood that was echoing around him.

"Shawn? What's going on?" Juliet said once she finally had the phone.

"Jules, I need you and Lassie to get to 4837 Willow Lane now. Please." He said, trying not to sound as freaked out and panicked as he felt.

Juliet looked at Lassiter, who rolled his eyes and sighed as he grabbed his keys and badge and holstered his gun.

Juliet smiled, silently thanking him. "Ok, Shawn, we'll be there in a minute." She said, hanging up.

"He'd better have a good reason for this. He's just lucky it's a slow day today," Lassiter grumbled.

"He's never really sounded that scared before, so it's gotta be something," Juliet replied, getting into the passenger side of his car.

Shawn breathed a sigh of relief when he knew Jules and Lassie were on their way. He looked back at his friend, who had his eyes screwed shut in fear and his hands jammed on his ears.

"Hey, buddy, they're on their way. We're going to be fine," Shawn tried to sooth his friend.

Gus slightly cracked his eyes. "Yeah, coming from the hero," Gus mumbled.

"What?" Shawn was confused.

"Shawn, I am your sidekick and I'm black. I am SO dead first," Gus said, trying to smile.

Shawn chuckled, knowing his friend was flipping out, but managing to hold together very nicely. "Gus, you are no one's sidekick. I only call you Robin because you both enjoy tap dancing and knitting." Shawn said, joking back with his friend.

"It's a very relaxing process, Shawn," Gus argued.

"Sure, sure, whatever you say, but you know what I mean. You're my partner, not my sidekick. I wouldn't be able to tie my shoes without you." Shawn said, grinning.

"Did you just compare me to Gwyneth Paltrow, Shawn?" Gus said, almost offended.

"Come on, man, you know if you were to be a woman, you'd want to be her."

Gus was silent. Not just because he agreed, but because the slamming stopped. The house was silent. Too silent. The boys looked around, trying to understand what was happening. Then, they heard the most glorious sound in the world.

Lassiter's tires on the gravel in the driveway.

Shawn and Gus almost cried in happiness. They ran to the door and tried to open it, but it was still sealed. They went to the window so the detectives could see them. This was successful, but also brought another problem into the mix. They had basically broken into a random person's house and were probably going to get in a lot of trouble with Lassie. But right now, they couldn't care about that. They needed to get out.

Lassiter and Juliet pulled into the driveway of 4837 Willow Lane. When they couldn't see Shawn, they groaned. He probably broke into some random person's house because of a "vision" and wanted them to cover him for breaking and entering. They looked around and noticed nothing was broken. So maybe it was just entering. As their eyes scanned the house, they saw them through the window. Shawn and Gus were banging and it looked like they were yelling, but they couldn't hear anything. This was a bit alarming. Lassiter pointed towards the door and moved towards it. When they got to the door, it opened before they could even touch it.

Shawn saw them walking towards the door, grabbed Gus, and ran. They were getting out! When they got to the door, however, Lassiter and Juliet were already inside, but the door was still open.

"Don't let the door close!" Shawn shouted, but he was too late. As soon as Juliet turned to grab the door, it slammed shut. Lassiter grabbed the handle, trying to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. Shawn and Gus paled. They were stuck again. And now they had no way out.

"Spencer, what the hell is going on?" Lassiter spat angrily, furious he couldn't open a simple door. "Why did you break into this house?"

"Ok, first, that tie is inexplicable. Second, we didn't break in. We had a key. And third, we have to get out of here. This house is haunted." Shawn rambled quickly, glancing around.

The detectives sighed. "Spencer, when are you going to realize you are the only one who can hear the voices in your head?" Lassiter groaned, knowing he shouldn't have left the station when Shawn called.

"Oh Lassie, always the skeptic, but not today. Today, we need to get out of here." Shawn said, losing his usual jubilance and replacing it with determination.

"Mr Guster, could you please explain what he is rambling about?" Lassiter pleaded the non-psychic.

Gus just stared at the door he had been staring at for the past five minutes some more and softly replied, "It's haunted. It's actually haunted."

Lassiter and Juliet just stared at him, starting to get worried. "What do you mean, Gus?" Juliet asked, softening her tone so as not to scare Gus anymore.

Gus turned towards them. "There are…ghosts in this house. They talked to us. They locked the door. They won't let us leave." Gus explained, knowing he sounded insane.

"And the slamming, don't forget the slamming," Shawn pointed out, looking around the hallway they were in.

Juliet looked at him and at Gus, then back to Lassiter, who looked equally confused. They were telling the truth, well in their eyes. This didn't help the fact that they seemed to have both completely gone off the deep end.

Lassiter spoke slowly, "Ok, then. Well, we are going to find you guys a nice soft room for you to share and live in your psychic delusion." He joked.

"Not psychic."

Everyone stopped. They heard it. They know they heard it. Shawn and Gus know they heard it. The small voice was back.

"Who's there?" Lassiter yelled, "This is the Santa Barbara Police Department. Come out now."

Silence for a moment, and then the laughter came back. It was unsettling to say the least. Then, another female voice, the last sister, spoke up.

"Oh, a big bad cop! Whatever shall we do?" The laughter continued. This greatly angered Lassiter.

"I will not hesitate to hit a child." He said, mostly to himself and not completely true, but it was enough to make the laughter stop abruptly. Everything was silent for another moment, when everything got cold, noticeably cold, not just a slight breeze. They began to see their breath. The sky outside began to get darker from the clouds, making it almost difficult to see. Then, it appeared.

A soft blue light appeared at the end of the hall. Everyone stared in aw for a moment and then it disappeared as suddenly as it appeared.

"I'd like to say I told you so, but I really, really don't want to right now," Shawn whispered shakily. Juliet and Lassiter looked at him in absolute shock, but he continued to look forward, waiting for more.

"We don't like strangers," a voice said softly, the youngest sister, Shawn realized. "We don't like being threatened by mean men."

"Aw, he didn't mean it. He's just cranky. He would never hurt you," Shawn tried to reason, eliciting a snort from Lassiter, which quickly turned to a cough with the look Juliet shot him.

"And we aren't strangers. My name's Shawn and this is Johnny, Tim, and Helena," Shawn continued, not letting go of the Burton reference from earlier. The others rolled their eyes, but were silently thankful he didn't give their real names.

More silence.

Then, softly, "My name is Annabella, my sister is Delphinium, and my brother is Gavril."

Then, another voice, Delphinium, "We would like to play."

The definitive statement threw everyone off.

"Um, well, we have a lot to do today, so I don't think we can, so if you could just let us out…" Gus began.

"Oh, you can't leave. You just got here!" cackled Gavril, obviously older than his sisters, and probably more insane.

Juliet and Lassiter had begun to think this was a hoax, an elaborate one at that, but Shawn and Gus' fear made them think—no that's crazy. Ghosts aren't real. This was ridiculous. This was a dream. This was…

"…music," Juliet muttered. "Do you hear it?"

Everyone stopped and listened, barely making out the soft sounds of a lullaby being sung in the distance. The occupants of the room unconsciously huddled closer together in fear, Lassiter gripping his gun tightly with his back to the group, Juliet next to him doing the same, and Shawn and Gus behind them, so they could see all around instead of just one direction.

"We have to get out of here," Shawn whispered.

"How, genius, the door is sealed?" Lassiter snapped. He still was not fully comprehending what was happening, but whatever it was, it was scaring him, and when he got scared, he got mad, because nothing scares Carlton Lassiter.

"Lassie, I am well aware of this fact. Gus and I have been in here for hours. We are being stalked by creepy, tiny ghost children who probably want to rip out our hearts and use the juice for their tea parties. Heart-juice, Lassie. They want to drain our hearts," rambled Shawn, unaware that he had kept talking.

Gus' face paled for about the 97th time that night. "Shawn, I like my heart-juice. You were kidding about the heart-juice, right?" he stammered.

"Of course, buddy, I'm just nervous," Shawn replied, patting his friend on the shoulder, while turning towards Lassiter and mouthing 'heart-juice.'

"Ok, there have to be other exits out of this house. Have you tried any of them?" Juliet cut in.

"Are you kidding? And risk running into Lock, Shock, or Barrel? We haven't moved from this spot," Shawn said.

"Well, maybe there's another way out. Come on, we have to at least check. Carlton, you go with Gus around the right and Shawn and I will go around the left. We'll meet in the back and see if we find any escapes, be it a window, door, or chimney," ordered Juliet, putting her detective skills to good use.

"Alright, if we aren't back in 10, well, then there isn't much we can do except hope for the best," Lassiter said, not really knowing how to handle a hostage situation with ghosts.

So, Lassiter and Gus set off on the right and Shawn and Juliet went left, checking everything and anything they could, looking for a way out. Not being one for silences, Shawn said," So, couldn't stand to be away from me for 10 minutes? Wow, I've never felt so special."

"Shawn, I knew we needed to split up and you and Gus are unarmed. You had to go with one of us, and if I sent you with Carlton, he would only end up killing you," Juliet stated.

"Well, wouldn't that be a shame?" said Gavril menacingly. Shawn and Juliet froze. In front of them, maybe 6 or 7 feet, stood, or rather, hovered a boy around the age of 15. He looked like a boy, just much paler and severely ill. But something was off. And then, they noticed it. He had no eyes, but the backs of his eye sockets had small white lights that glowed ever so softly.

"You know, somehow I feel you're being sarcastic," Shawn stammered, trying not to let his blatant fear show.

Gavril snickered, "You would be a lot of fun to play with. More fun than the others," he added, staring down Juliet with a hateful glare. Shawn inched his way in front of her, putting himself between the slightly transparent figure and the detective.

"As much as I'd like to take that as a compliment, I really don't want to play with you, you freaky little bastard," Shawn declared forcefully.

The child stepped back for a moment, but then a grin appeared on his lifeless face. He vanished instantly. After a seconds hesitation, Shawn and Juliet began to move again, but when they got next to the cellar door, it flew open and an unseen force latched onto Shawn's waist and yanked him down the stairs. Before Juliet could even shriek, the door slammed shut again. It had happened in less than a second. Juliet was shaking and horrified, trying to figure out what just happened. It was slowly coming to her. Shawn was gone. Shawn was gone.

"LASSITER!"

Shawn slowly opened his eyes. He could see almost nothing except a small window with moonlight cascading through it onto the concrete floor. Then, he registered to the pain in his head. His right temple was throbbing endlessly and he tentatively touched, only to recoil his hand and find it covered in blood. Ok. Here's one thing I'm not going to do. I'm not going to panic. It's as simple as that. I will be totally fine if I don't panic. Gus, Jules, and Lassie are going to find me and everything's going to be ok. Well, Gus and Jules are. Shawn chuckled softly to himself, and then realized he might have a concussion, because he was being weird even for Shawn.

He sat up, and tried to see through the blackness, but he came up empty. He could only see the shape of the window in the moonlight on the floor of this stranger's house.

The strangers! The parents! They had to be coming home soon! And then, Jules and Lassie would assure them nothing was wrong and they would keep the door open and they would find Shawn and everyone would go home happy. It seemed like such a perfect, flawless plan, but then Shawn began to wonder. Where were the parents? He had never gotten their names or when they would be home from work, but it seemed a little late to still be at work right now. In fact, he didn't know much of anything about this family. He walked into this completely blind, and obviously karma was coming back to take it's revenge.

Shawn slumped at the thought that he had no idea what was happening or how he could get out of here when his thoughts were abruptly interrupted.

"We lay my love and I…"

Shawn slowly turned.

"Beneath the weeping willow…"

He turned his head back again, only to be blinded by the pain on the side of his head.

"But now alone I lie…"

It was coming from nowhere and everywhere. He couldn't find the source, but it continued to play.

"And weep beside the tree."

The lullaby. The creepy lullaby that they heard before. It was clear as day down hear in the creepy basement. He slowly began to stand up, feeling the chill of the room seep past his bones and seemingly into his very soul. Ok that's kind of pushing it. It isn't that bad.

"Oh yes it is, crazy brain," Shawn muttered to himself, trying to calm himself so he could focus on escaping. His thoughts were interrupted by crashes on the door at the top of the stairs.

Lassie!

Lassiter continued his attempts at breaking down the cellar door, but was getting nowhere fast. Gus was pacing frantically, while Juliet stood, staring wide-eyed at the door that just ripped Shawn away from her.

"You said he was pulled through the door?" Gus said softly. He didn't want to startle her.

"Yeah. I-It happened so fast, I barely saw it, but the door opened, something grabbed Shawn by the waist, and he went backwards down the cellar steps, the door closing immediately behind him," Juliet finished, not taking her eyes from the door.

"Well, it isn't moving. I can't get it open," Lassiter said, panting. He still didn't know what was going on, but he didn't doubt his partner or what she saw. He just doubted his sanity at this point.

They stood in silence for a moment, when a voice spoke up again.

"Aw giving up so soon?"

Female. Crazy. Slightly older. Delphinium.

"Well, if you would just open the door, we could be on our merry way," growled Lassiter, upset to be speaking to nothing but air.

As if on cue, a dark shadow appeared in the corner of the dining room. It stood, leaning slightly forward, about a couple of inches from the wall. Everything stopped. They looked on in silence, too shocked to speak.

She was here.

"Well, Detective? You wanted to see me, didn't you?" she said, almost angrily. Silence was all that met her.

The next moment was a blur. The shadow glitched and moved at a rapid pace until it reached Lassiter, who had little time to do anything, even if he could move. But the shadow was no longer a shadow. A girl, around 12 years old, hovered very slightly off the ground in front of the head detective. Her hair was black and stopped in the middle of her back. She was wearing a very dark, plain dress. Her mouth seemed to twitch slightly, even if she wasn't talking. But her eyes. Well, she had her brother's eyes, in being that she had no eyes at all, but deep trenches with the dot of light in the back.

"Didn't you?" she seethed, closer to his ear.

Lassiter went to shove her away, but was only met with air. She just giggled and moved away from him, slowly this time. It was then that they noticed the two other shadows in the room, one very close to Delphinium, and one back where she first appeared. The closer one was taller, so it was obviously Gavril. The other, however, was sitting in the corner, Indian style with something clutched tightly in her fingers. The siblings moved together as if they were one and stood, shoulder to shoulder in front of the three adults.

Gus had stopped shaking. He was so beyond shaking. He was at the last stage of fear. Freeze. And by the looks of it, so were Lassie and Jules. They all just stared at the children, having nothing to defend themselves with that would be any use on these things. And then, Gus remembered. Shawn.

"Oh, Shawn has decided to stay and play with us." Delphinium said, but as she finished her statement, her words seemed to be echoed in a whisper and they saw it was Annabella, muttering after her sister's words. It was also at that moment that the three registered to the shouting coming from behind the cellar door. Shawn had probably been screaming for a while, but no one could really move or answer him. So, they continued to listen to the children.

"You, however, have to wait in the attic with the other guests, I'm afraid," said Gavril, grinning. "We have a particular game in mind for Shawn and you'll only ruin it."

They all looked at each other for a second. Other guests? There was no one in the house but them. Right?

Then, the children were gone. All sounds, all lights, gone, but before they could do anything, they felt small hands on each of their wrists, and when they unwillingly looked down, they just saw three sets of glowing eyes and white toothy grins. And that was all they saw before everything was gone.

"GUS!"

"LASSIE!"

"JULES!"

Shawn had been screaming for 10 minutes and no one would answer. They had been there not a moment ago. Why weren't they answering him? Then, a barrage of images hit his mind, his friends hurt and in trouble, the children taking them away. And it hit him.

He was alone.

He had no way out. All hopes of escape had been thrown away when they first entered the house. He was stuck here until…

Until what, Shawn? You die? You go crazy? You join the underworld of creepy ghost children? A little old for that, aren't we?

"Brain, if you don't stop thinking, I'm going to shut you off," Shawn once again muttered to himself.

You couldn't do that if you tried, 'psychic boy.'

"Mocking, Brain? Seriously, have we stooped that low?" Shawn was feeling crazier by the second. He decided to go back to thinking of constructive ways to get the hell out of here.

Ok, so what did those kids say before? Oh that's right. They want to play. And that's all I got.

It was hopeless. He had nothing to run on. Nothing to see, nothing to hear, none of his super awesome senses could help with nothing to sense. But he couldn't give up. He couldn't just lay down and take this. He started walking towards the stairs only to be shoved back to the ground. He sat dazed for a minute and then felt something. Something, not really sure what, but something was in the room. He started moving back until he hit a wall. Laughter rang out through the basement, sending shivers down Shawn's spine. In the moonlight, he saw the children, not moving, just standing there in the light.

"Now we get to play with you," Delphinium started, moving slowly with the others following. "No more rude interruptions, no interfering little sisters, nothing."

"I'm not gonna lie. I'm a little confused," Shawn said, trying to slowly move away from the children. "Why do you want to play with me? And your sister doesn't look like she's doing much but following in your creepy little footsteps."

"Not this sister, you idiot," Gavril replied coldly, "our other sister."

"LeeAnne," they said in unison.

Shawn's eyes widened and his mouth dropped open. LeeAnne. Oh my god I was talking to a friggin' ghost in my living room? Are you serious? How was this possible? And why did she do this to him? Did she just lure him to his death? No, they looked pretty pissed at her, so she probably really needed his help, but why him?

Oh. That's right. I'm psychic. Damn it.

"So, we couldn't help but overhear you aren't actually psychic," the oldest sister said. "That's very interesting. Usually Lee brings home a psychic or an exorcist or a hunter to try and get rid of us. It's actually become quite fun," she giggled.

"But you. You are just a normal guy. A liar, and a con man, but normal nonetheless," Gavril finished.

"Hey, I mildly resent that," Shawn muttered. "I'm far from normal and I am not a con artist," he said defiantly.

The kids cocked their heads and Gavril said, with mocked enthusiasm," Oh? Then, what are you?"

Shawn opened his mouth, but then closed it again, not quite sure he wanted to relay his life story to a couple of kids trying to kill him. The older brother smirked.

"That's what I thought. Well, we are just itching to play," he said, his smile getting wider, as were his sisters'. "And when our game is done, you get to join the others in the attic and then we'll take care of your friends."

Shawn glared. "You leave them out of this. They aren't claiming to be anything, they're not psychics. They were just helping me. If you touch them, I swear to God, I'll—"

"You'll what? Kill us?" Delphinium cackled. "Don't worry you'll be dead long before we start killing them." The children laughed and disappeared into the shadows of the basement.

Shawn jerked up and went to run for the stairs again. He felt something slash at his back and then at his face, and as he was falling to the floor, screaming in pain from being beaten by nothingness, the lullaby started up again.

As the trio stirred, they tried to figure out where they were and what had happened. They were in the living room. The kids were talking to them. They were trying to get Shawn out of the basement.

Shawn.

Everyone sat up. Gus looked around, but it was really dark. He was also sitting on something uncomfortable. He went to move, when he realized he was sitting on someone's foot. Not sure if it was Lassie or Juliet, he mumbled a "sorry" before getting off.

"Gus?" Juliet said from across the room, which was wider than he thought. "Over here," he answered, still trying to get off of Lassie.

"Have you seen Lassiter?" she asked. Before Gus could answer, a voice came from the other side of the room. "I'm over here," Lassiter replied.

Gus stopped moving.

Juliet was in the corner across from him and Lassiter was on the adjoining wall. So who was he sitting on? Gus shouted and jumped up, knocking his head on the low ceiling.

"Gus!"

"Guster!"

The detectives got up, careful of the ceiling and reached to their sides. They each grabbed their flashlights and Lassiter put his hand on his holster. When they turned their flashlights on, everyone gasped. Even Lassiter.

The floor was littered with bodies. Dead bodies. Bodies that had been slashed and beaten until they were almost unrecognizable. But Lassiter and Juliet recognized them. They had been searching for 3 missing people for weeks, coming up with nothing. And here they were. All three of them, plus about 4 other people who they didn't know.

Gus ran over to stand with the detectives as they all looked at the massacre that was the attic, they deduced from the low ceilings and the pointed windows.

They were all startled out of their trance by a bloodcurdling scream from downstairs. They all stared at the attic door, horrified.

That was Shawn.

Gus bolted to the door, ramming into it in his rush. He tried the handle, only to find it locked. He began throwing his body at the door, yelling for his friend, frustrated at how helpless he was. Lassiter ran over and grabbed Gus, forcing him to stop. Gus continued to shout and scream, yelling at nothing to leave his friend alone. Juliet began kicking at the door. She shot it, she rammed it, she kicked it. Nothing opened the thick wooden door. As she fell to the floor, exhausted, she looked over at Lassiter, who still had Gus' shoulders in his grasp, holding the younger man down. Gus' shouts died down as he hung his head.

He was helpless. He couldn't do anything to make those screams stop. He was supposed to be keeping Shawn out of trouble. That's what he does. It's his job. He thought he was actually pretty good at it, until today. He heard a small whimper and looked over at Jules. She looked at him with wide eyes, clearly not the one to make that sudden sound. They all turned around rapidly, staring at the source of the noise.

Another little girl stood in the middle of the room, her head hung low. She looked normal, aside from the fact that she was about 2 inches from the floor. Her eyes were still intact and her skin wasn't as nearly as transparent as the other kids in this home. Gus angrily stood and moved toward her, ignoring the fear in the back of his head.

"Let him go. Now!" he yelled at the girl. She withdrew from him, seemingly frightened from his outburst. Gus stepped back, slightly shocked. "Please," he added in a slightly softer voice.

The child look up at him, extremely upset. "I'm sorry. I really wish there was something I could do. I just needed his help. I just needed to make my siblings stop," she said, hanging her head again. Juliet stood and moved toward her. "What do you mean? Who are you?" she said in a much softer tone, indicating her sympathy.

"My name's LeeAnne."

Gus stared at her, confused, and then it clicked. The little girl that talked to Shawn. She wasn't a little girl anymore. There was silence, so she continued.

"My brother and sisters and I lived here 30 years ago when our parents died on a plane ride back from New York. We were left completely alone, no one to go to, no one to take us in. One night, we were all sleeping when my brother got up and said he was going to get some water. When he came back, he had dad's rifle, the one he kept in the hall closet. Del and Bel were still asleep, but I had woken up. I begged and pleaded with him, but his eyes were completely lifeless. It was like his real eyes were replaced with these dark voids that were definitely not my brothers. He pointed the gun at me and then, and then nothing. Everything went black."

She paused and looked up. She was crying. Gus had stepped farther back and stood with Lassiter and Jules, who both had moved up toward him and the girl. They were now staring down at this frightened little girl, not knowing whether to trust her or to try escaping again. She caught her breath and continued again.

"After that, they started getting angrier and angrier. I didn't know why. I just wanted to leave the house. I wanted to find my parents, but they were so set on staying that I got stuck with them. I finally was able to break from their bonds, but it would only last for a couple of minutes before I would find myself back here. I used those to try and find people who could help me with my siblings. Most people never believe me, but when they do and they try to help, it angers my brother and my sisters just follow him blindly. They've slaughtered anyone who tries to help, but I can't just give up. They'd do it anyway to anyone if they wandered in here unknowingly. I just want it to end. I want to leave. I'm scared," she finished, sitting on the floor amongst the bodies.

They were shocked. The girl's story was horrible and they felt terrible for her, but they were more worried about Shawn, who was still trapped in the basement with the psychotic siblings. That's when they noticed Shawn's screams had stopped. Juliet's heart almost stopped. She ran to the door, with Gus and Lassiter following closely. She put her ear to the door and held her breath.

"He isn't dead yet," the soft voice said from the middle of the room. "They like to make them last."

Just then, the rumble of a car pulling in front of the house broke through the night and they jerked their heads up, towards the window. Lassiter moved first, getting to the window and looking down. He saw the end of a black car, from what he could see, it was a Chevy, Impala, from the looks of it. Two men stepped out of the car and moved to the trunk, which he couldn't see from his view from the window. Gus and Juliet were looking through the window as well, trying to figure out what was happening. Even LeeAnne had sat up, curious of the newcomers. Then, the air in the room got colder. They all spun around and saw three new shadows in the room.

"More guests, Lee?" Gavril seethed, stalking towards his younger sister. "But we're having so much fun with the psychic. Oh wait. Fake psychic." He laughed cruelly. "Honestly, you couldn't even find a real one? You really are useless." His other sisters soon joined in his laughter. Then, they looked back, hearing the front door open again. "Well, tonight's gonna be a busy night," Gavril said, backing up. "Wouldn't want to keep our new guests waiting." And like that, they were gone again.

Gus ran back to the door, feeling pity for the new victims in this sick game these children were playing. He tried the door again, only to fail again. Lassiter slid his back down the wall, running his fingers through his hair, feeling just as helpless as the little girl in the middle of the room. Juliet leaned against the wall, rubbing her eyes and praying for Shawn to be safe.

Please, Shawn. Please hold on.

He opened his eyes and immediately regretted it. Pain shot throughout his body as he attempted to move. He remembered being slashed at and then being thrown, but then he was out for the count. He didn't know whether or not they continued beating him after he went unconscious, but it sure felt like they did. As he went to sit up, his head started swimming. He stopped for a moment, letting the vertigo subside, and then slowly moved to sit all the way up. He stopped abruptly when he heard the front door open. He froze so he could hear.

Did they get the door open? Were they escaping? Wait a minute. Were they leaving him?

He heard the door slam and more footsteps head up the stairs above him. He listened carefully. These weren't his friends' footsteps. These sounded heavier, more determined. It was two men, by the sound of it, and they were moving quickly. That's when he heard the gunshots.

The attic dwellers were ripped from their thoughts when they heard gunshots downstairs.

"That sounds like a sawed-off shotgun," Lassiter stated, a little confused.

"Do you think those two guys were coming to rob this house or something?" Gus asked.

"No, Gus, I don't think so," Juliet said. "Robbers generally carry handguns. Shotguns are too loud." She looked over at Lassiter, who already had his gun in his hand. They heard heavy footsteps coming up the stairs. Backing up against the opposite wall, they waited, guns drawn, for the door to open.

The door slammed open, nearly falling off its hinges. The two men held up their guns, but quickly lowered them. Lassiter and Juliet, however, did not drop their weapons.

"Who are you?" Lassiter demanded.

"Well, I thought I was saving your sorry ass, but you know I could leave you here, too," the shorter one bit back.

"Dean," the taller one snapped. He then turned back to the group. "Hey. My name's Sam and this is my brother Dean. We're gonna get you out of here, ok?"

Gus nodded. "Guys, come on. Do we have another choice?" Juliet dropped her weapon and holstered it, with Lassiter begrudgingly following after. The taller one, Sam, nodded and continued. "Ok, look. We're gonna have to get rid of these kids before we can get out of here. They've got the house on indoor lockdown."

"What does that mean?" Lassiter said, still upset he was listening to two random strangers with shotguns, no less.

"It means that we aren't getting out of here until we can do our job," Dean said. "So, we're gonna need you to not freak out and not arrest us once we do."

"And why would we arrest you?" Juliet asked, curious as to how these men were going to succeed, and what they meant by their "job."

"We have to find, salt, and burn the bodies of these kids," he said, as if it wasn't the most insane concept in the world.

"Oh great," Lassiter mumbled, "we're being saved from psychopaths by lunatics."

"Yea, and I'm saving an ungrateful dick. Today's just not our day," Dean whipped back, stepping toward the detective. The detective stepped forward as well, when Juliet grabbed his arm. "Just let them help us, Carlton. We need to get Shawn and get out.

"Shawn? Who's Shawn?" Sam asked, holding his brother back.

"He's my best friend. He got dragged into the basement. We have to go get him," Gus said.

Sam and Dean collectively sighed. "I told you! I told you we'd end up going down there," Dean whispered harshly to Sam. "You said, 'no they're just in the attic, Dean. The bodies are in the attic. The basement is just a staging area. We won't actually have to go down there.'"

"Yea yea, whatever, man. I was wrong, ok? But we've got to go down and see if he's still alive."

"He is."

Dean and Sam snapped up their guns at the new voice that had returned to the center of the room.

"No!" Gus shouted. "She didn't do anything wrong. She's just trying to stop her crazy ass siblings."

"And you'd have to go to the basement anyway," she continued, "That's where you'll find our bodies."

"Of course it is," Dean said, staring daggers at his brother.

"Ok, um, little girl—," Sam started

"LeeAnne."

"LeeAnne, do you think you could, like, hold off your brother and sisters for us?" LeeAnne hung her head.

"I've tried before, but it never really works. They're too strong together."

"Ok, well then it looks like we're all going on a trip to the basement," Dean said.

"I think not," a new voice said.

Sam and Dean whipped around, finding the three other children in front of the door.

Dean reacted first, shooting the oldest sister through the head, only to be thrown across the room into the wall. Sam shot Gavril, and went to shoot the youngest sister, when she let out a horrifying screech and disappeared.

"Dean!"

"I'm fine, Sammy. Let's get downstairs before they get back."

Sam motioned to the remaining people in the room and they all ran downstairs, Sam in front, Dean in back.

Shawn finally managed to get himself standing when he heard the footsteps bounding down the stairs. He listened closer and realized there were more feet running down then went up. Wait, how many people are here? Did someone come save us? Where were they, in the attic? Then, he froze. The attic. There was something in the attic. And his friends had been up there. But as he heard the frantic running, he felt a little relieved that everyone was up and running. Now to make sure they didn't forget him.

"GUS!" he shouted as loud as he could in the condition he was in.

Everyone stopped running for only a moment.

"He's alive! He's ok!" Gus shouted, running for the basement door.

"No, wait!" Sam shouted, running after him. Juliet and Lassiter followed quickly behind, with Dean muttering a 'damn it' before following as well.

They stopped at the basement door. Gus began shouting through the door.

"Shawn! Shawn are you ok?"

There was a quick silence before they heard him, sounding tired and in pain. "Oh, I'm just awesome, buddy, but I'd really like to not be down here anymore. The games these kids play suck."

"We've got some help, Shawn. We'll get you out soon," Juliet said.

"Jules, the mere sound of your voice is music to my ears," Shawn said.

Juliet blushed and Lassiter rolled his eyes. "Ok, anyway we need to figure out how to bust down this door. It wouldn't budge last time," he said to the brothers.

"We know," they said in unison, as they reached into the duffel bag, pulling out salt and weapons that kind of looked like fire pokers. "You need salt and iron," Sam said. He hesitated and then walked to the center of the room with the salt. He began making a very wide circle.

"Ok, I need you all to step into this circle. I know it seems crazy, but honestly, tonight is not the night to be critical. It'll keep you safe fore now."

The three looked at each other quizzically, before Gus moved forward first and stepped into the circle. The other two slowly followed after. Then, Dean walked up to Juliet and Lassiter, two shotguns in hand.

"You guys are police, right?"

They nodded.

"Ok, then take these and you see anything ghostly or evil, shoot it. It's rock salt. It gets rid of the bastard for a little while so we can concentrate on opening this door."

Juliet and Lassiter took the guns and got on opposite sides of the circle, with Gus in the middle. Sam handed him one of the fire pokers. "Here. Anything gets too close, swing this through it and it'll go away." Gus nodded as well, staring at the door that held his friend captive.

Shawn heard a lot of commotion as he heard his friends and the two other strangers get to work on the door. He sank down against the wall, relieved he was going to be free soon. Then, the sounds upstairs became more frantic. He sat back up, only to look into the dead circles of the youngest child in the house, her fingers burning into his shoulder. The pain was so blinding, but he couldn't scream. Something was forbidding him. The small child just held on, a ghost of a smirk appearing on her face.

Sam and Dean got to work on the door, throwing salt and beating it with the iron. Soon after they started, the kids showed up. One appeared directly behind Dean, but Lassiter shot it immediately. Another appeared in the doorway to the living room, and Juliet shot it just as quickly. It went on for a few minutes. They would pop up, and Juliet or Lassiter would shoot it down. But soon, they were running low on ammo.

"We're running out over here!" Lassiter shouted to the brothers.

"Door's almost open. Just a few more minutes," Sam panted, swinging at the door that was refusing to give.

"We don't really have a few minutes!" Juliet said, firing her last shot. Lassiter fired his last shot immediately after and everything fell silent. Then, the silence exploded into frenzy. The objects in the room began swirling about, hurling themselves at the brothers and at those in the salt ring. Dean and Sam tried desperately to ignore the heavy objects and glass beating against them, when they heard the door in front of them creak and give out. With a gasp of relief, Sam turned around to the other three, who looked equally as relieved. Just then, the sounds stopped and two children appeared at the top of the basement stairs, looking extremely pissed off. Dean swung at them, but Gavril disappeared before it could hit him. He reappeared behind Dean, shoving him forcefully down the stairs.

"Dean!" Sam screamed, running towards the door. Something threw him back into the ring of salt, landing him on top of the others. They all got back up, not moving out of the circle just yet. The children stared at them from outside of the ring, frowning.

"Dean! Dean answer me!" Sam called past the kids.

They heard nothing.

Sam started panicking but refocused his attention on the children that were in front of them.

"Wait, where's the third one?" Lassiter asked.

Dean opened his eyes at the bottom of the staircase. His head was pounding and he knew by the amount of blood running down his face that he was definitely going to have a concussion. He heard his name being called, knowing it was Sam, but if the kids weren't down here, he didn't want them to know he was awake. As he cleared the fog from his head, he heard the older cop ask, "Wait, where's the third one?"

As he rolled over, he caught the sight of a man lying on the ground with the third small child looming over him. When he looked at the child, she wasn't looking at the man, who he guessed was Shawn. She was looking at him, her head completely 180 degrees backwards, but her body was still facing Shawn. And then he saw her hand digging into his shoulder.

"Hey!" he growled, pulling himself to his feet. He ran over, grabbing his fallen iron rod, and swinging it through her. He knelt down next to Shawn and began shaking him.

"Shawn? SHAWN! Wake up!" he whispered as loudly as he could. Shawn didn't move and Dean knew he needed to finish his job, so he began looking for the bodies. He saw an adjacent room to the basement that looked like it was locked. He broke the lock easily and the smell of death wafted out. 'Jesus,' he muttered to himself turning away. Well, at least he found them. Then, he heard a groan from the other man in the room.

Dean ran over to Shawn, glancing up the stairs to make sure the kids were still preoccupied. Shawn sat up, grabbing his shoulder and hissing as he did so. He looked at Dean, who knelt down next to him again and he instinctively moved back.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"My name's Dean. My brother and I are getting you guys out of here, but you gotta keep quiet for now. Don't want Lock, Shock, and Merril knowing we're up."

Shawn looked at Dean for a minute and then nodded, chuckling slightly.

"What, you a Burton fan?" Dean said, trying to keep the semi-conscious man awake.

"As a matter of fact, I am. First thought in this house was that it would make Tim proud." Shawn replied, knowing he needed to stay awake, and knowing Dean was trying to keep him awake.

Dean smiled. "Alright, think you can stand?"

Shawn nodded, moving to stand. He stopped as his world spun madly, and he jammed his eyes shut. "A little help with the standing part?" he wheezed.

Dean grabbed Shawn's elbow and the shoulder that wasn't hurt and slowly helped him up. Shawn leaned against the wall for a minute before opening his eyes again, relieved the world went back to being stationary. He nodded at Dean, letting him know he was good for now. Dean nodded back, turning back towards the stairs. He needed his bag so he could light up the bodies, but if he went back up, he was surely going to be tossed back down. He needed Sam to throw it to him, but he hadn't heard Sam since he was calling for him. He decided to take a leap of faith, and yelled out, "SAM TOSS THE BAG!"

Sam waited for his brother to respond, but he could hear nothing from the basement. The other three were staring at the two kids in front of them, who had begun to smile again.

"Bel probably has him just like she has your friend. They won't last long," Delphinium began. "You, on the other hand, are going to be here for a very long time, if you don't open your fancy circle."

"You are possibly the lamest ghosts I have ever come across," Sam said, trying to taunt the kids, hoping to keep their attention. "You can't even get past a simple salt circle? Wow."

Lassiter, Juliet, and Gus were staring at Sam, silently willing him to shut up and stop being a dick. He just continued, trying to stall for his brother. He knew he was awake. A staircase wasn't going to keep Dean down for long. He just needed to give him time to salt and burn the bodies. Then, his eyes glanced towards the door, noting that their bag was still up here. That meant Dean would need it as soon as he found the kids. As Sam continued talking to the kids, who were looking more and more angry, he waited for his brother's signal.

"I'm sure your friend would disagree," Gavril hissed through his teeth.

Sam was about to retort, when the third child appeared suddenly in the corner of the room.

Gavril whipped around to his sister. "What are you doing up here? You're supposed to be watching the toy!" he yelled at her. She cowered and pointed towards the basement, silently alerting her siblings of Dean's consciousness. As if on cue, they heard Dean yell, "SAM TOSS THE BAG!"

Sam wasted no time. He bolted out of the circle, grabbed the bag and hurled it down the stairs. He was thrown across the room into an armoir in the corner, slumping to the floor. Gavril went to his youngest sister and got directly in her face. "Now watch this one and try not to fail me this time," he seethed, turning around to his other sister and disappearing to the basement. The three in the circle stared at the little girl who just stared back at them, almost with regret. Then, they looked over to the man unconscious in the corner and back at the circle of salt that was keeping them safe. Lassiter looked at Juliet, who looked at him and then turned to Gus. Gus looked at her and then at the iron in his hands. The child cocked her head, and before anyone of them could act, another shadow appeared in the corner.

"LeeAnne," Gus gasped. LeeAnne walked towards her little sister, who looked up at her in fear, but before she could tell her brother that her sister escaped, LeeAnne took Annabella's shoulder and they disappeared. Lassiter took his chance and jumped out of the circle, checking to make sure Sam was alive, before turning towards the stairs. Gus and Juliet were right behind him.

"Someone needs to stay up here with him. What if they come back?" Lassiter said. At that moment, Sam opened his eyes and went to stand.

"I'm fine," he mumbled. "Help Dean."

Lassiter nodded and ran down the stairs with Gus and Juliet in tow. Sam wobbled a bit, before walking towards the basement, grabbing the salt along the way.

As soon as Lassiter got to the bottom of the stairs, he saw Shawn unconscious. As he went to run for him, he was thrown against the wall. He looked over and saw Gavril holding Dean against the wall, his hand around Dean's neck, burning his fingers into his flesh. Before Lassiter could attempt to move, Gus ran over to Dean and swung at the boy holding him. Gavril disappeared and Dean fell to the ground. Juliet ran to Shawn and tried to wake him up, when Delphinium appeared and grabbed Juliet's arm. Juliet's shriek is what woke Shawn up, and using his adrenaline to fuel him, he snatched up the iron rod Dean dropped earlier and swung through the girl. Juliet fell back, grasping her arm. Shawn fell to his knees next to her, checking her arm and making sure she was alright.

"Guys, he isn't waking up!" Gus shouted from his crouched position over Dean. As they were all making their way over to them, Sam rushed down, and was next to his brother in a second. He checked Dean's pulse, and was relieved to find one. He jumped up immediately and ran to the bag, which was next to the bodies in the other room. He dug around quickly and found the salt, matches, and lighter fluid. He heard a shout from the other room, signaling the return of the kids, but they weren't going to get the chance to hurt anyone else.

Sam lit the match and threw it, watching the kids light up in flames. In the other room, Lassiter, Juliet, Gus, and Shawn prepared themselves for the attack, when the kids lit up and disintegrated right in front of them. Shocked, they sat back, not knowing what to do. Sam ran back into the room.

"You guys ok?" he asked hastily.

They all nodded, except Shawn, whose eyes began to droop again. "Is your brother ok?" Shawn asked, slightly slurring his words.

"How'd you know he was my brother?"

"Lucky guess," Shawn smirked, slowly giving into the unconsciousness that was looming.

Sam smirked as he went over to his brother, who had yet to move. "We tend to get knocked around a lot. I'm sure he's fine." Even as he said it, Sam was still worried. Dean usually jumps right back up, but he hadn't even moved since he blacked out.

"Dean," he said as he shook his brother's shoulder.

He didn't move.

"Dean!"

Nothing.

"DEAN!" Sam yelled, becoming increasingly concerned with Dean's lack of response. He was about to shout for someone to call an ambulance, when Dean shot up, gasping in a huge gulp of air. As he began coughing and grabbing his throat, Sam, as well as the rest of the room, let out sighs of relief.

"Jesus Christ, Dean," Sam breathed, still holding Dean's shoulders as his brother regained his breath, "you gave me a freakin' heart attack."

Dean, who finally was able to breath semi-normally again, looked at his brother and smirked, "We could've had a club. 'Heart Attacks Anonymous: for those who've had heart attacks under the age of 30.'"

Sam frowned slightly, "Not funny, dude," as he lightly punched Dean on the shoulder earning him a hurt glare.

"Well, I did just get the shit kicked out of me, so how bout giving me a break?"

Sam just chuckled softly, as he turned back to the rest of the group, who had been watching the brotherly exchange. Dean caught the pain in Shawn's eyes and immediately sobered up so they could get him to the hospital.

"Why don't you get Shawn there some medical attention, huh?" Dean said as he got to his feet, swaying slightly.

Sam caught his brother's elbow, steadying him, as Lassiter began to stand with the others. "Yeah not just him," he said with a slight grin.

Dean shook his head. "No, I'm fine. Just get him some help. We need to be heading out anyway."

Juliet stared at him. "What? You're just leaving? What was that? What just happened? Who were those kids? How did you know what to do? Why—"

Dean cut her off with a wave. "Sweetheart, you just asked eight questions that I can't answer." He shrugged his brother off of him and walked to the stairs, Sam following close behind, gathering their things.

Lassiter stood immediately, starting to follow the brothers. "Hang on. You can't just waltz in here with god knows how many weapons, burn a bunch of bodies, and just leave without me arresting you!" he yelled furiously.

Dean smirked. "Kinda what we do. You might need to help out with that," he added, pointing at Gus and Juliet struggling to lift Shawn.

Lassiter turned around and went to walk back towards the group and then turned around again.

"Shit," he muttered.

The brothers were gone.

As they finally got Shawn to his feet, they heard the roar of the Impala as she drove the mysterious brothers away. By the time Lassiter, Juliet, Gus, and Shawn got outside, there was no sign that they had been there in the first place.

As they stood there, dumbfounded, they turned to each other, at a loss as to what to say after the events that just transpired.

"Well, I don't know about the rest of you, but I am perfectly fine with forgetting that any of that ever happened," Shawn said, momentarily rousing from his unconscious state.

Gus looked at the others and shrugged. "Yeah, me too."

Juliet looked at Lassiter, with that commanding look in her eye. He sighed, "Fine. We can just forget about the weirdness that was the evening." He paused. "But if I see those boys again, don't think I'll hesitate to arrest them. I have them for property damage, possession of an unlicensed weapon—"

"Carlton," Juliet sighed, "they saved our lives."

"Doesn't mean they aren't no-good, dirty criminals," he muttered as they made their way to the cars.

"Where to now?" Shawn asked drearily.

The other three shared an exasperated glance.

"To the hospital Shawn. Where all idiots who taunt ghosts go when they've been beaten to hell," Gus sighed, as he pulled his friend along, silently thanking the men who saved his, as well as his best friend's life.