The Kids Are Alright Part 2

Sam was at his computer, Angela next to him, doing research. Dean entered.

"Something's wrong with the kids in this town." Dean said.

"Yeah." Angela nodded. "Tell me about it.

Sam was looking at several documents on Changelings. "So, what do you know about Changelings?"

"Evil monster babies?" Dean asked.

"No, not necessarily babies." Angela muttered.

Realization dawned on Dean. "The kids. Creepy, 'stare at you like you're lunch' kids?"

"Yeah." Sam nodded. "There's one at every victim's house."

~/~\~

Later, Sam and Angela were seated on the bed doing more research, as Dean prepared a kerosene torch.

"So, Changelings can perfectly mimic children." Angela said. "According to lore, they climb in the window, snatch the kid. There were marks on the windowsill at one of the kid's houses. Looked to me like blood."

"The Changeling grabs a kid, assumes its form, joins the happy fam just for kicks?" Dean asked.

"Not quite." Sam replied. "Changelings feed on the mom: synovial fluid. The moms have these odd bruises on the back of their necks. Changelings can drain them for a few weeks before mom finally croaks."

"And then there's dad and the babysitter." Dean replied.

"Yeah." Angela said. "Seems like anyone who gets between the Changeling and its food source ends up dead.

Dean held up the torch. "And fire's the only way to waste them?" he asked. Sam and Angela nodded. "Great. We'll just bust in, drag the kids out, torch them on the front lawn. That will play great with the neighbors. What about the real ones? What happens to them?"

"They stash them underground somewhere." Sam replied. "We don't know why, but if it's true, the real kids might be out there."

"We better start looking." Dean replied. There was a beat. "So, any kid in the neighborhood is vulnerable?"

"Yep." Sam and Angela replied.

"We gotta make a stop. I want to check on someone." Dean said.

"If the real kids are still alive, we don't have time." Sam replied.

"We have to." Dean said.

~/~\~

Dean rang the doorbell, and Lisa opened the door looking bewildered.

"Dean?"

"I was thinking… Ben's birthday. I didn't bring him a present."

"That's okay."

"No. No, no, I feel terrible, so uh…" he handed her a credit card. "Here. Take a long weekend, just the two of you, on me."

"What?"

"I hear Six Flags is great this time of year. Go now. Avoid the traffic."

"Siegfried Houdini." She read the name on the card out loud. "Whose card is this?"

"Mine. Never mind. It'll work. I promise."

"You should leave."

"Lisa…"

Ben came down the stairs. "Mommy, what's wrong?"

"Nothing, Ben." Dean replied. "It's cool."

"Make him go away, mommy."

"You heard him. Get out."

"Lisa… I don't think this is a good idea."

"Get out!"

"They took Ben. He's changed."

"What?!" Angela asked. "Are you sure?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I checked his windowsill."

"Blood?" Sam asked.

"I don't think it is blood, and I think I know where the kids are." Dean replied.

~/~\~

There was a large mound of dirt outside the semi-finished home. Sam and Angela inspected it.

"Red dirt." Sam muttered.

"That's what was on the window." Dean said. "You two take the front. I'll go around."

~/~\~

Inside, Dean found a series of cages, each containing abducted kids. He saw Ben.

"Ben… Ben… it's okay. I'm gonna get you out of here."

In the back, a real estate woman saw Sam and Angela.

"What do you two think you're doing?" she asked. "This is private property. I'm calling the police. You heard me! Get out!"

Sam reached for his bag and grabbed Angela's hand. "Let me get my bag. We're going. We don't mean to cause any trouble."

~/~\~

Dean was helping the kids out. "It's ok. Get out here, okay? Come on, girls! Come on!" he said. He cleared off a windowsill and prepared to smash the glass. "Everybody back! Everybody back!"

Ben helped to usher the other kids away.

"Cover your eyes!"

Dean broke the window with a plank of wood, and began to brush the glass off.

Ben took off his jacket. "Here. Use this."

"All right. All right, Ben. Come on." Dean replied.

Ben indicated another kid. "Him first."

Sam and Angela ran in.

"Hey! Dean!" Angela said. "There's a mother."

"A mother Changeling?"

"We got to get these kids out quick." Sam said.

"Right there. There's one more." Dean replied. "You got to break the lock!"

"I guess that's why the Changelings are keeping the kids alive, so the mom can snack on them." Angela said.

~/~\~

"Ben, get them out of here!" Dean shouted.

Ben helped the other kids up and out the window as Dean, Sam and Angela confronted the Changeling mom. Eventually they burned her to a crisp with Dean's homemade torch; as she went up in flames, Ben, Katie, and all the other Changeling kids, also disappeared.

~/~\~

Dean, Sam and Angela drove Ben back home; he ran out to hug his mom.

"Ben?!" Lisa exclaimed. "Ben! Baby, are you okay?"

"I'm okay, mom."

"Oh, my god. What the hell just happened?"

"I'll explain everything if you want me to, but, trust me, you probably don't. The important thing is that Ben's safe.

"Thank you. Thank you." Lisa replied.

"We're gonna give you guys some time." Angela smiled softly. She took Sam's hand in hers and led him out.

~/~\~

Ben was sitting at the kitchen table, listening to something on his portable CD player. Dean and Lisa talked in the hall way.

"Come on. Changelings?" Lisa asked.

"You know how I never mentioned my job? This is my job."

"I so didn't want to know that." She replied. She looked at Ben. "Do you think he'll be okay?"

"Yeah. I think he'll be fine." He replied. There was a beat. "Okay. Seriously… I mean, you're a hundred percent sure that he is not mine, right?"

Lisa smiled. "You're off the hook. I did a blood test when he was a baby. There was this guy, some bar back in a biker joint." She said. "What? I had a type. Leather jacket, couple of scars, no mailing address? I was there. Guess I was a little wild back then. Before I became a mom. So yeah. You can relax."

"Good." Dean nodded. He looked at Ben a little wistfully.

"I… I swear you look disappointed."

"Yeah, I don't know." Dean shrugged. "It's weird, you know your life… I mean, this house and a kid… it's not my life. Never will be. Some stuff happened to me recently, and, uh… anyway, a guy in my situation, you start to think, you know. I'm gonna be gone one day, and what am I leaving behind besides a car? I don't know."

"Ben may not be your kid, but he wouldn't be alive if it wasn't for you. That's a lot if you ask me."

"You know, just for the record… you got a great kid." Dean replied. "I would have been proud to be his dad."

Lisa kissed him. "Look, if, um… if you want to stick around for a while… you're welcome to stay."

Dean paused wistfully. "I can't. I got a lot of work to do, and it's not my life."

~/~\~

Sam was talking to several different people on the phone, while Angela crossed names off a list.

"Hi. I need to check some facts with your, uh… with your secretary about a fire that occurred on November 24, 2006 in Lawrence, Kansas." Sam said. "Hardecker was his name. Okay. Great. I was just trying to find out the date he died."

"This is police chief Phil Jones. July 13th. Can you check the records for a Robert Campbell?" Sam asked. "July 19th, 2001. Dead on arrival. What I'm after is cause of death. Heart condition? Wasn't he a cardiac surgeon? Wouldn't he have known about that?"

"I'm looking for information on… Mrs. Wallace's death. Two deaths. Who was the other? Ed Campbell. Any survivors? No, that's all I needed. Thank you very much." Sam said. He flopped down on the bed, head in his hands, and Angela next to him.

"Oh, my god." He muttered.

~/~\~

Later, in another room, about halfway through Sam's first statement it was revealed that he and Angela were speaking to Ruby.

"They're dead." Sam said. "All of them. All of my mom's friends, who are somehow connected to Angela's mom. Her Doctor, her uncle, everyone who ever knew her, systematically wiped off the map one at a time. Someone went through a hell of a lot of trouble trying to cover their tracks."

"The yellow-eyed demon." Ruby sighed.

"So, what's your deal?" Angela asked. "You show up wherever we are. You know all about us. You know all about our moms."

"I already told you. I'm—

"Oh, right, right." Sam nodded. "Yeah. Just a hunter. Just some hunter who happens to know more about our own families than we do. Just tell us who you are."

"Sam, Angela, it—

"Just… tell us who you are." Angela whispered.

"It doesn't matter."

"Just tell us who you are!" Sam shouted.

"Fine." Ruby sighed. She blinked her eyes once and they went demon-black; she blinked again and they became normal. Sam and Angela back up, both fumbling in their bags.

"Think twice before going for that holy water."

Sam and Angela both pulled out flasks, holding them out. "Give us one reason why we should." Sam said.

"I'm here to help you two."

"Is this some kind of joke?" Angela asked.

"God's honest truth… or whatever."

"You're a demon." Angela glared slightly.

"Don't be such a racist. I'm here because I want to help you two. And I can if you two trust me."

"Trust you?" Sam asked.

"Sam, Angela, calm down."

"Start talking." Angela said. "All those murders… what was the demon trying to cover up?"

"I don't know."

"What happened to our mothers?" Sam asked.

"I honestly don't know. That's what I'm trying to figure out. All I know is that it's about you two."

"What?" Angela frowned.

"Don't you get it, guys?" Ruby asked. "It's all about you two. What happened to your moms, what happened to their friends. They're trying to cover up what he did to you. And I want to help you figure it out."

"Why would you want to help us?" Angela asked suspiciously. She didn't trust her one bit…

"I have my reasons. Not all demons are the same. Not all of us want the same thing. Me? I want to help you two from time to time. That's all. And if you let me, there's something in it for you two."

"What could you possibly—Sam started.

"I could help you save Dean." Ruby replied.

A/N: Heya guys! Luckily my power isn't out, so yay. But we're supposed to get even more snow tonight and tomorrow night... Anyway, hope you all liked this chapter. Hint, Ruby's kind of gonna wedge herself between Sam and Angie, and kind of make them choose sides, so we'll see what's in store for that ;)

Don't forget to review, review, review! Love you guys!

~Emily