The Man in Black.
BLB-This is the second part of The Doll Maker, if you haven't read it, it isn't necessary but it may help you understand what exactly went down with Michelle, but other than that you don't need it. The short version of it is this: she was shrunk by a demon's curse when the boys found her and Sam talked with one of the demons other victims about finding her something to make her normal. Now they are on another case and this puts Michelle in the direct line of fire once again. This is Au, just because I am not following the storyline that closely, although it will mention parts from the series. Set in Season One, not too long after Dean dragged Sam away from Stanford.
I do not own Supernatural, I only own Michelle. Please R&R, Peace and Love to all.
Chapter One
Since they left Creekwater in the dust Dean and Sam had worked two more cases in about a week and a half. Michelle helped with the research as best as she could, Sam was even teaching her how to read and write again. They still had no idea where their father was, the only good news was that whatever Sam had given Michelle was finally taking affect. After spending almost a week at the size of an actual Barbie doll, Michelle woke up a few mornings ago at about the size of a one year old.
Michelle couldn't talk to her dismay, but Sam assured her it was only a temporary. She sat on the bed of the hotel room, in a makeshift cloth pair of panties Sam made her and one of Dean's old t-shirts draped over her small form.
"Dean, we should probably go get her some clothing," Sams said, "real clothing. Her size."
"Waste of time, waste of money. Besides look at the kid she looks happy," Dean responded.
Michelle did not look happy, her small face was warped with a look of confusion as she tried to find her toes in the mass of cloth draped around her like a blanket. When she heard them talking about her again, her brown eyes shot them a look that said 'why do you guys talk about me like I'm not here?'. Then she gave them a bitchface, before letting her face fall into a deep frown; she didn't look happy.
Sam and Dean both looked at her knowing that their fighting wasn't helping Michelle any. They shared a look, before deciding just to pack up and move out without worrying about Michelle's clothes.
After their stuff was loaded into the Impala, Sam carried Michelle out and then Dean got in starting up the car. Their ears were filled with the familiar sound of the car's engine, but before they got going Dean had to comment on Michelle's attire once more. "It is a dress with a built in blanket, can't beat it."
Both Sam and Michelle just shook their heads, neither of them said anything to Dean, not wanting to feed the fire any more. Michelle sat next to Sam, leaning against him; when Dean looked over he saw his brother sitting with "Baby Michelle".
If the boys didn't know that Michelle was a twenty year old, they would have guessed she was really a baby. Michelle's face was round and chubby, her arms, legs, hands and feet were like a child's and even her hair was short falling down her head in soft blonde curls. Heck, even her smile had changed, her teeth were spaced apart like a kids, the only thing that didn't change were her serious brown eyes, that held her lifetime of pain in them.
They had almost made it out of town, when a patrol car pulled onto the road behind them and promptly flashed its lights, urging Dean to pull over. Sam looked at Dean in worry, knowing they were driving around with a "baby" that was not in a car-seat, or even buckled down.
When the Sheriff's right hand man came up to Dean's window and indicated that he wanted Dean to roll it down. "Sir, do you realize why I pulled you over?"
"Uh, no Officer," Dean responded, trying to keep the cops focus off of Sam and Michelle who were sitting next to him.
"You have a baby in the front seat of the car, no car seat and she isn't even dressed. I'm going to need for you both to get out of the car with the child," the Officer commanded, Dean and Sam got out, Sam holding Michelle. "Now give me the child."
Sam reluctantly handed over Michelle, who was whining and beginning to fuss. Her little hands reached for Sam and Dean, not liking the Policeman at all; it took a lot for Dean not to just take her back from him and speeding off in the Impala; it wouldn't be the first time they had evaded the police and certainly wouldn't be the last. Most police wanted them to get out of town as quickly as possible, but this guy was about to take them back into town.
"You don't seem like a lady killer," Dean commented, receiving a stressed look from the cop and a warning glance from Sam.
"This doesn't look good for you boys, where did you get this little girl from?" The cop asked. "You didn't have this precious little girl when you rolled into town, babies don't just materialize out of thin air. If you boys can't answer, I am going to get you for child endangerment and kidnapping."
"She's our niece," Sam answered quickly.
"Your niece? Where are her parents at?" The Officer asked.
"Her mother brought her to us earlier in the day, and her father..." Dean trailed off, not sure where to tell the cop their fake brother was.
"He's with out father on a hunting trip. We are on our way to meet him right now," Sam finished Dean's sentence for him.
"Okay, well your niece needs a car-seat and proper clothing first, so you two are coming with me." The cop walked towards the car carrying Michelle. Her little hands reached for them, and her eyes were beginning to water.
"What about the kid, can we have her back?" Dean asked wanting to get Michelle back with them as soon as he could.
"No, she is going to ride with me; that way you boys will follow me to the store to get her a car-seat. I will give her back to you, when and if she can tell me who you guys are." The Police Officer climbed into his car and put Michelle in the front seat. The boys got back into the car, and followed the cop car to the local department store.
"This is a load of shit, he takes Michelle from us. Then proceeds to accuse us of kidnapping, and endangering her." Dean clutched the steering wheel in his baby, trying to hold the anger back.
"I told you we needed to get her some clothes," Sam muttered, not believing the situation either.
"Well Officer Takes-his-job-too-seriously is probably interrogating a girl who can't answer him. Also, took her from the only two people that she knows," Dean said trying to hide the anger in his tone.
"We'll get her back," Sam began, "Whether we have to beat the cop, or not."
"That's what I like to hear, I'm proud of you Sam." Dean nodded, but he wasn't liking where this was leading. Their path ended at the local department store in the baby department; the cop had already picked out a rear-facing car-seat until Sam corrected him.
"Her parents always put her in a front-facing car-seat. Michelle likes to look out the window and take in the scenery," Sam explained, and the Officer accommodated them. Then they moved towards the clothing. The cop seemed set on getting her anything in pink.
"She hates pink," Dean interjected, that ugly pink dress her demon dressed her in not to long ago, but pushed that to the back of his mind as a cute girl approached them and the Officer.
"Officer Jacobs, are you helping two new Dads get their bearings?" The young woman asked giving both Sam and Dean the once over before looking at Michelle and ruffling her hair.
"We aren't Dads," Sam said getting slightly embarrassed, why was it that everyone assumed that him and his big brother were lovers. Dean wanted to get out of this section of the store as fast as he could, but he didn't feel right about leaving Sam and Michelle alone with the cop.
"They are two clueless Uncles," Officer Jacobs responded. "Driving this poor baby around without a car-seat."
"Well it looks like you boys have everything under control, but if you need me feel free to call my name, or my number." The girl eyed Sam one more time, before handing him a small slip of paper that most likely had her phone number scrawled all over it.
After the girl sauntered away, Dean decided that he was going to get out of there too. "I'm going to take this towards the front," He said turning his back, picking up the car-seat box and beginning to walk away from his brother and the cop.
That was when they heard something heard something they hadn't expected to hear for a while, but there it was. Michelle's small voice ringing like a bell in the middle of the store. "Dean!" She exclaimed, and neither Dean or Sam could believe it, she had actually spoke. What they didn't know was the sight of him walking away, leaving her like that; drove her to speak.
Dean turned around promptly and cleared the space between him and the cop in a few moments. "Yes, Princes." He looked at Michelle, before his eyes met the Officer's once more. "Is that enough proof for you? I'm Dean, Dean Winchester."
The cop nodded. "Let me go pay for these for your troubles and you all can get on your way." The Officer's voice had sunk in embarrassment, which only caused Dean to smirk; he took Michelle from the cop, before the Officer walked away.
Once the cop had walked away Dean and Sam both just stared at Michelle. "Thanks for bailing us out," Sam stated. Michelle just nodded, going back to her silence.
"You only had one word in you, huh?" Dean asked. Michelle merely shrugged, it wasn't that she hadn't tried to talk; she had but it hadn't gotten her very far. "Well that one word was you screaming my name so I can't complain." At that comment Michelle smacked her small hand against his chest, causing Dean to chuckle in response. "Is that all you got Barbie?" Dean smiled at her.
Officer Jacobs came over with the bags, the car-seat box and even a small bear for Michelle, not pink per Dean's instructions. Michelle smiled when she took it from him, giving the cop the satisfaction he wanted from his action. That was why he did this job, to help people, to protect and serve.
"You guys are free to go. Sorry, I uh do my job well, and take it a little far sometimes. Take care," Officer Jacobs said giving the stuff to Sam and Dean before starting to walk away.
Michelle tugged on Dean's shirt getting his attention, before pointing towards the bathroom. She had to go and bad. Dean got the message, but he wasn't doing bathroom duty.
"Talk to Sam about that, me and Officer Seriousness are going to rig this bad boy into the Impala." Dean nearly threw Michelle at Sam, before grabbing the car-seat box and following after the cop.
Sam's hazel eyes met Michelle's and her face warped into the best "please, help a girl out" look that she could muster on short notice. Sam nodded taking the bags of clothes into the bathroom with them. It wasn't like she needed him to assist her in any other way but to help her stay steady on the huge toilet; falling in was a huge possibility for her.
Michelle was embarrassed to say the least. She was trying her best to hold it back, but Sam could see it in her tiny face as he stared at her. Honestly she was glad that Sam was helping her instead of Dean, he wouldn't pick at her because of this unlike his older brother. That was just how Dean was, trying to make everything funny, when most times the situations they got into were far from funny.
"We don't have to talk about this. Dean is just a little insensitive about these things," Sam muttered as if he could read her mind.
"Sam," Michelle was able to mutter. She wanted to say so much more to him, but her voice wasn't there, it hadn't caught up yet.
"It's okay, you don't need to say it. Let's just get you dressed and back to the car so we can get out of here," Sam said before throwing together an outfit for her and helping her put it on. Once she was dressed, Michelle looked like your average one year old, Sam even put her hair up in to pig tails to keep the hair out of her eyes.
When Sam walked out to the Impala with Michelle, the policeman stood there with Dean waiting for them. Michelle clutched Dean's old shirt like it was a security blanket, but no one but Dean seemed to notice that. "Now she really looks like a baby," Dean commented in his head.
Officer Jacobs looked at Michelle, before muttering, "Take care of your Uncles Michelle." Michelle nodded, reaching towards the policeman and giving him a kiss on the cheek, just to make the mans day.
After they said their short goodbyes, and loaded back into the Impala, Dean peeled out of that parking lot like the pavement was on fire. They sat in silence for a few hours, Dean and Sam could tell Michelle was angry with them, but it wasn't like she could say anything at The only thing they discussed was the possible case they were going to work in Bend, Oregon.
"Why so quiet back there Michelle?" Dean asked receiving a glare and an arm cross from the girl in the backseat, who was strapped down in the car-seat. "It wasn't like it was our idea, Princess. Just sit back and relax. It shouldn't be long now." Michelle pouted and Dean just turned on his radio and continued to drive onward.
At some point during the ride both Sam and Michelle had fallen asleep; Sam pressed up against the window and Michelle cuddling with Dean's old black shirt in the car-seat. She was cute Dean had to admit, but he wanted her to be normal more than anything, he could protect her better that way and he wouldn't have to worry about her so much.
Dean drove through the night, both Sam and Michelle woke up while Dean was getting coffee and donuts from a local doughnut place. He returned with donuts for everyone and a cup of coffee for Sam. "Here." Dean handed Michelle a donut hole and watched as she ate it. Usually he would never let anyone eat in his baby, but he'd rather brake his own rule than sit in the donut shoppe and have everyone flock to them assuming that Michelle, was his, Sam or even 'their' baby once again. So he just handed out donuts and coffee, before getting back into the Impala.
"Where we headed again?" Sam asked, the looming question in his mind.
"Bend, Oregon. We are close to a possible victims home, a child death case. Well multiple child death cases, this one may just be the only set of parents we have left that will let us talk to them. Their son was murdered a few months ago," Dean explained.
"And how does that make this our type of job?" Sam asked, knowing Dean was just getting to that.
"The mother told the cops that she felt like she was being watched, the lady couldn't relax or catch a break until the kid was out of the house," Dean said, "but of course since she seemed on the looney side, the mother was on the top of the suspects list."
"Anything else?" Sam asked.
"Well, the only thing the victims have in common besides being young children, is the fact that all of them visited the local hospital a few days prior to their disappearances. Oh yeah and did I mention that when they found the bodies that they had no pupils," Dean stated laying out what he knew.
"So what do you think we are dealing with here?" Sam asked.
"I don't know. I figured starting at the most recent victims house may give us a good idea," Dean responded.
It was late in the afternoon when they pulled up the driveway of the little boys house. Instead of their usual policeman/F.B.I. Agent get ups, they stuck with just the badges instead, because they already looked unofficial on account of Michelle tagging along with them; which looked like they were bringing a "baby" with them. Sam grabbed Michelle out of the car-seat, mostly because her and Dean weren't exactly getting along at the moment. Dean knocked on the door and a woman in her late thirties opened the door looking at them with shock.
"Nancy, who's at the door?" A man who was probably about forty came up behind her and wrapped around her.
"F.B.I. Agents," Dean answered for the woman.
"We came to talk about your sons disappearance and murder," Sam added, before they both flashed their fake badges to the couple.
"What so you guys can brutalize and antagonize my wife again? No thank you," the man growled, before trying to close the door.
Dean put a boot in the doorway, stopping the door from slamming shut. "We just want to talk to you both. Me and my partner are trying to find out what happened to your son," Sam said. "That is why we are here."
"Fine you guys can come in, but if you cross the line, you guys are out," the man stated before opening the door and letting the boys come into their home.
"You guys usually bring your child along on your cases?" Nancy asked, shooting them a wary look.
"Oh no, this is our niece Michelle. She is with us cause her parents checked out, we usually have a sitter to watch her while we are gone, but she bailed on us today," Dean answered, and Nancy nodded leading them into the living room and motioning for everyone to take a seat.
"She is adorable," Nancy muttered before looking at one of the many pictures of her son that were scattered everywhere around the room and throughout the house.
"Thank you." Michelle tried to hide the annoyance in her eyes at the compliment, she hated being talked about even if it was a nice thing being said.
After that the boys asked Nathan and Nancy basic questions, most of the answers didn't add up to anything in their ballpark except for the fact that Nancy had felt a presence watching her from the time they left the hospital days earlier until they had discovered that their son was gone. The woman was getting antsy, and her husband thought of something to get her out of the room.
"Why don't you take Michelle into the kitchen and get her some cereal," Nathan muttered, kissing his wife's forehead.
"Only if it is okay with you guys," Nancy said looking at Sam and Dean, both of them nodded before Nancy took Michelle from where she sat in between Sam and Dean and took her into the kitchen with her. They were just thankful Michelle didn't put up a fight.
"I'm sorry about that, my wife hasn't been the same since Tommy died," Nathan explained. "She blames herself and the guilt is eating what is left of her alive. I'm not sure how much longer I will be able to recognize her for, she's almost gone; haunted by our sons death."
"What do you think happened?" Sam asked trying to get to the point.
"I don't know exactly, but it wasn't normal. Tommy was just gone, no sign of forced entry, no struggle, he was just gone; unless Houdini is back and killing kids whatever did this is unnatural," Nathan explained with conviction.
"So you believe your wife? About the presence she felt the days before he disappeared?" Sam asked.
"Yeah, I know what you guys are thinking, Nancy didn't do this. She isn't capable of hurting anyone, let alone her son." Nathan got up and snatched a picture off of the mantle and handed it to Sam. "He was always so happy, but Tommy didn't find peace in death. His face was a mask of fear, and... and his pupils were gone, irises covering nearly his whole eye. I need to make sure whatever did this gets what's coming to it."
Meanwhile Michelle was sitting in a highchair getting baby-talked to by a mother, who was crippled with grief. The woman laid out cereal on the tray before her, the mother waited for her to eat it expectantly. To humor the woman, Michelle ate a few of the Cheerios in front of her; receiving a smile from the grieving woman. She hated this, not being able to say anything and being treated like a baby, she may look like one, but she was twenty years old for Christ's sake, but she was stuck like this until she was done "growing up" as Sam had put it.
"Come play with me." Michelle heard a little boy's voice say. She looked over and saw him standing outside of the kitchen looking at Michelle expectantly, the boy from the pictures that were cluttered around the house. "He'll keep us safe." The boy walked towards the door to a tall man dressed in a long black coat, when the boy went to him the man placed a hand on his shoulder, they both disappeared after giving Michelle a look that seemed to say 'I'll see you later'. Michelle wondered if the child's mother saw him, but from her unchanged expression she had guessed that she hadn't.
"Make sure your Uncles don't leave you alone angel," Nancy muttered, before giving her a sippy-cup filled with apple juice. Michelle took a tentative sip of the cool liquid, before placing it back down on the tray.
Nancy watched as Michelle nodded off and eventually fell asleep in the highchair, her little face pressed against the tray. Nancy took her out without waking the small girl. She took her back to her Uncles, who had just finished talking with her husband.
"She fell asleep in the highchair, I was just going to lay her down, but then I remembered I wasn't watching her." Nancy offered Michelle back to Sam, who took her before getting up with Dean. They had spent far too long here already, and it was getting late.
"Thanks Nancy." Sam nodded looking down at the short woman. "We should probably get going."
"Do you boys have a place to stay?" Nathan asked.
Dean nodded. "We travel a lot, don't worry about it. It's part of the job."
"There has to be something I can do for you," Nancy said looking between Sam, Dean, her husband and Michelle. She thought about it for a moment before she spoke again, "I have a pie in the oven and some steaks marinating in the fridge. I always make enough for a small army." She looked at them hoping they would agree to stay. "You guys are welcome to stay and eat." Nathan gave the brothers a look, trying to plead with them to stay; knowing if they didn't his wife's spirit would be crushed further. What they didn't realize was that Nancy had won Dean over when she said there would be pie, the free dinner was just a plus.
"We can stay, but after dinner we are leaving. We have work to do." Dean hated wasting time, but he had a weird feeling about this house. He felt like something was going to happen, and well there would be pie so he didn't have any other objections.
It wasn't long before Michelle woke up on the couch, while Dean and Nathan were watching some mind-numbing television, so Michelle let herself climb down off of the couch and she crawled towards the kitchen. Neither Dean or Nathan seemed to notice that she was gone. On the way there she was finally able to get her footing enough to walk the rest of the way. She passed a staircase, catching sight of the little boy once again.
"Come play with me," He repeated standing at the base of the steps, beckoning for her to follow him upstairs. Michelle shook her head before, she continued towards the kitchen to where Sam and Nancy were. Michelle walked over to Sam pulling on his pant leg, trying to get his attention.
"Not now Michelle," Sam told her, waving her off. "Go have Dean help you."
Michelle walked away slowly, but the little boy approached her putting a finger over his lips like he didn't want her to say anything. "Come play with me," He said again reaching for Michelle's hand. "You'll be safe with him." Tommy pointed at the man in the black coat, before he slowly walked up the steps trying to take Michelle with him. Michelle was drawn to the boy, so she followed him slowly up the steps and into the bathroom. "Come play with me." The spout on the tub began spurting out hot water before Michelle made it there. The boy was in the tub and Michelle felt herself climbing up onto the the toilet so she could get a better view, she just stood there looking at the boy in the steaming water.
Down in the kitchen Nancy was working on a salad when her back stiffened and she let the glass bowl fall from her hands and shatter on the floor. "Its back," Nancy muttered, that was when she noticed the soft sound of the water running upstairs. She wondered why her husband would be running a bath while they had company over. There was a loud crash, and question that left her lips in a shriek was, "Where is Michelle?"
"I don't know! She wanted my help with something, but she was going to see Dean," Sam muttered and that was when everyone heard the subtle crying coming from the bathroom before there was a splashing in its place.
"The bathroom." Nancy ran up the steps with Sam and everyone else on her tail, the door was shut and locked. "Michelle, sweetie open the door," Nancy pleaded banging on the door.
"She can't open the door , move Nancy," Dean commanded. "Goldie Locks, Papa Bear is coming in." He used his shoulder to batter the door, it hurt like a bitch, before he tried that again he gave the door a swift kick and the door gave with it.
When Michelle got up onto the toilet the door slammed shut behind her and the door locked. When she looked back over towards the tub Tommy's spirit was gone, and the man that kept him safe was standing over her causing Michelle to topple backwards into the tub. She cracked her head against the bottom of the tub and was able come up long enough to let a cry out in hope that someone would hear her. That when the gloved hand of the man dressed in all black held her face under the water, trying to end her, because of what she saw. Michelle struggled, but it didn't matter her struggles were nothing in comparison to the ghosts strength, it would be be like her trying to fight Dean or Sam; it just wouldn't work. The spirit dissipated when Nancy banged on the door, and they were saying something trying to talk to her; but Michelle couldn't hear anything besides the memory of the boys voice ringing in her ears. The voice hand changed, it said, "You'll be with us soon." That was when the door flung open and she was pulled out of the water and thrown over someone's shoulder.
Once they were in Dean saw Michelle laying under the water, he reached in the scalding water and pulled her out, putting her against his shoulder and patting her back hoping to expel any water that she had swallowed from her lungs, and maybe kick start her lungs again. She wasn't breathing. "Come on Michelle," Dean muttered under his breath, just as he felt Michelle's whole body lurch; water ran out of her mouth and down Dean's back as she coughed. He hated the feeling of the warm liquid running down his back, but at least Michelle was breathing, even though her small form shuddered against him.
"Is she alright?" Nancy and Sam asked simultaneously.
"I think so, but she is gonna have a huge knot on her head and she is shaken up quite a bit. Other than that I think she is going to be alright," Dean explained.
Sam and Dean shared a look knowing that whatever it was that killed Tommy, was the thing that had probably just attacked Michelle. They needed to talk to Michelle about what she saw, why she came up the stairs in the first place and how she ended up in a tub of nearly boiling water. They needed to get out of there, before whatever it was came back for a vengeance.
"You guys should leave, whatever it is has attached itself to me," Nancy muttered wrapping her arms around herself for comfort. "I don't want anyone elses blood on our hands. Take your niece to the hospital, get her checked out..." She trailed off, like she was trying to remember something.
"We plan on doing that," Sam muttered in response, he wasn't sure if they would actually take her to the hospital or not.
"Don't take her to the clinic in town, there is one a few towns over, that is where everyone has been taking there children since..." Nancy couldn't finish the sentence.
"Tommy died, and no one has went missing since," Nathan explained.
"Alright, we gotta take care of her now," Sam responded, before he followed Dean and Nancy down the steps. They headed for the door, when Nancy spoke quietly again.
"Don't leave her alone," She muttered. "That was my mistake. I shut my eyes, and went to sleep leaving him alone in that room... That's when he was gone, I knew he was gone. Don't lose her, like I lost Tommy."
Sam apologized about the broken door, but the couple didn't seem to care. They were just glad Michelle was alright, and that Dean and Sam didn't freak out about this.
"We won't, this little lady isn't going anywhere while we are around," Dean promised, mostly himself but also Michelle and the worried couple. That was when he wrapped up Michelle in his leather jacket pressing her against his chest. She was beginning to get a chill from being soaked and them dragging her outside wasn't going to help that any. Dean walked her out to the car followed by Sam, and he didn't relinquish Michelle to Sam until the Impala was started and Sam was sitting next to him.
"You want me to put her in the car-seat, or not?" Sam asked.
"Just hold her, and wrap her up in this would ya?" Dean grabbed the t-shirt from where it sat in the car-seat and gave it to Sam, who did what he asked and wrapped Michelle up in the old black t-shirt. "Kid'll freeze to death in the backseat." Dean pulled the Impala out of the driveway and headed towards the local hospital.
"Where are we headed?" Sam asked.
"To get her checked out at the local hospital," Dean responded, not heeding the warning they had gotten from Nancy at all.
"You sure this is a good idea?" Sam asked.
"We are going to have to check this place out at some point, why not now?" Dean asked. "We have a baby that needs to get checked out, that is pretty important."
That was the end of their discussion of why he was dragging them to the hospital. Dean knew that Michelle was most likely fine, but the hospital would be about the only place they could get answers on what exactly happened to these children, and maybe even why this was happening. After that they needed to try and figure out what Michelle had saw in that house even though it would be a challenge, because the girl could barely talk.
When they pulled into the parking lot of the hospital Dean said something Sam had expected him to say in the beginning, "So much for free dinner huh?"