Chapter 7 Rewritten-
"Agents Page and Plant, with intern, FBI," Dean says as the boys hold out their badges.
"Gentlemen, Miss – what brings you by?" a man in a white coat asks.
"We need to see Amber Greer's body," Sam replies.
"Really? What for?" the man asks.
"The police report said something – clawed through her skull?" Dean says.
"You didn't read the autopsy report that I emailed out this morning?" the man asks.
"We uh – we had server issues," Kayla replies., smiling man leads them over to the wall and pulls out the girl's body, on a metal slab. He uncovers it. The whole side of her head has deep cuts in it.
"When they brought her in, we thought she was attacked by a wolf or something," the doctor explains.
"Or something," Dean agrees, glancing at Sam and Kayla.
"But we were wrong," the doctor says, holding out a plastic bag.
Sam looks. "Is that...?"
"It's a press-on nail," the doctor finishes. "We found it in her temporal lobe."
"Is that even possible?" Sam asks.
"Wait – you're saying that she did this to herself?" Dean cuts in.
"Uh huh. She scratched her brains out," the man replies. "It'd take hours, and it'd hurt like hell, but – sure, it's possible."
"How?" Kayla asks, keeping her eyes away from the body in front of her.
"Pick your acronym. OCD, PCP – it all spells crazy. My guess? Some kind of phantom itch." Dean lifts the edge of the sheet and looks at her hand – sure enough, she's wearing the long blue nails, and one is missing.
"Phantom itch?" Sam repeats.
"Yup," the doctor says, sliding Amber's body back in. "All it takes is somebody talking about an itch, or thinking about one even, and suddenly you can't stop scratching."
"Thanks doc," Sam says, and the man leaves. Sam scratches his neck and Dean rubs his ear as they start to leave.
"Okay, now some of these questions might seem a bit odd," Sam begins, "But please, just bear with me." The boys are at the house where Amber died, talking to the parents of the boy. Kayla was sitting in the impala, still getting over the sight of the girls scratched out brains. "Have you noticed any cold spots in the house?"
"Uh, no," the husband replies. As Sam goes on, Dean wanders into the house, looking around. He runs into Jimmy, who's standing watching him.
"What're you looking for?" he asks.
"Don't know yet," Dean replies, walking closer. "It's Jimmy, right?" The boy nods. "So Amber was your baby-sitter?" Dean asks.
"Yes sir," Jimmy says.
"Yeah, most of my baby-sitters sucked," Dean agrees. "Especially Miss. Chancy. She only cared about two things. Dynasty, and bedtime. Did you see anything strange that night?"
"No sir," Jimmy says immediately, then looks down.
"You sure about that?" Dean asks.
"I – I would tell you if I knew something. I promise," Jimmy says. "One hundred percent! Cross my heart."
Dean looks around. "Well Jimmy, I happen to know you're lying."
"I'm not," Jimmy replies quickly.
Dean leans down and puts his hand on the kid's shoulder. "We gonna start talking truth, or are you and me gonna have to take a little trip downtown?"
Outside, Dean holds up a pack of itching powder. Kayla looks at it wearily. "Kid said he put this on the baby-sitter's hairbrush," he says to Sam.
"Dean, there's no way itching powder made that girl scratch her brains out," Sam replies. "It's just ground up maple seeds."
"If you have any other theories, I'm open to them," Dean says.
Sam's phone rings, and he picks it up. "Yup? Yeah, we'll be right there." They get in the car.
The doctors are just zipping up the body bag when the boys arrive. "What happened?" Dean asks. The same doctor as before is there. "Guy got electrocuted," he says.
"Any idea how?" Kayla asks.
"Maybe a loose wire, or a piece of equipment shorted out... so far we haven't found anything."
"Any witnesses?" Sam asks.
"Yeah. Guy in there – Mr. Stanley," the doctor says. There's an old man sitting in a chair by the window. "He says he saw it, but he's not making a lick of sense. Senile."
"Thanks," Sam says, and they head in.
"Uh, Mr. Stanley?" Sam begins.
"It was just a joke," the old man says quietly. "I didn't know it would really work."
"What would work?" Kayla asks gently.
"All I did was shake his hand," the old man says, holding out his hand. There's a joybuzzer in his palm. The trio look at each other.
Dean puts on protective gloves and a mask, then puts the joybuzzer onto his finger. He turns to Sam. "You ready?"
"Hit it, Mr. Wizard," Sam replies, putting on his own safety glasses, Kayla just closes her eyes and buries her head in Sam's chest. There's a big ham sitting on the table in a cooking pan, and Dean puts his hand on it. Electricity flows out of the joybuzzer into the ham, cooking it all the way through. The boys stare.
"That'll do, pig," Dean says. Kayla pulls away from Sam and stares at the ham.
"What the hell?" Sam says, looking closer. "That crap isn't supposed to work!"
"This thing doesn't even have batteries," Dean adds, taking off the glove.
"So what, are we looking at cursed objects?" Sam guesses.
"Sounds good," Dean replies. "Maybe there's a powerful witch in town..." He takes out his pocket knife and cuts off a piece of the ham, then eats it. "Is there any link between the joybuzzer and the itching powder?"
"Uh, one was made in China, the other Mexico. But they were both bought from the same store," Sam replies. Dean cuts off another piece of ham and holds it out to Sam, who shakes his head, so he eats it. He tries offering a piece to Kayla but the look on her face makes him decide otherwise.
The boys and Kayla head into the joke shop. "Sam," Dean whispers, picking up a whoopee cushion and grinning. Sam gives him a look and shakes his head.
"Just like a child," Kayla mutters. A second later, a man comes out of the back room.
"Welcome to the Conjurarium. Sanctum of magic and mystery."
"You the owner?" Sam asks.
"Yup," the man says, walking up.
"Sold any itching powder or joybuzzers lately?" Dean asks.
"Yeah. Grand total of one of each. They aren't exactly big ticket items," the owner says. "You kids here to buy something, or...?" Dean holds up the whoopee cushion and hands the man some money.
"So, you get many customers?" Sam asks.
He shrugs. "Kids come in. They don't buy much, but they're more than happy to break stuff. These days all they care about are iPhones, and those kissing vampire movies. The whole thing makes me just..."
"Angry?" Dean finishes.
"Hey, not all teenagers are like that!" Kayla exclaims.
"Yeah, yeah. I am angry," the owner nods. "This shop has been my life for twenty years! And now it's wasting away to nothing."
"Which is why you hate them," Dean encourages.
"I suppose," the owner says.
Dean nods. "You wish there was something you could do about it."
"Yeah. I guess I do," the man agrees.
"So you're taking revenge," Dean says, picking up a rubber chicken. "With this." He holds up the joybuzzer, then zaps the chicken. The man yells and jumps back in shock as the chicken melts all over the counter. The boys stare in surprise.
"Yeah, something tells me this guy is not a powerful witch," Kayla says.
"Sorry. Sorry," Dean says. They leave in a hurry.
Sam is looking at the dad, who is laying in bed. His mouth is swollen, and he pushes away a drink that the nurse offers him. Sam goes out into the hallway, where Dean is talking to a nurse and Kayla is leaning on the wall looking bored. "Well I appreciate that, Nurse... Freemont," he says, looking at her ID.
"Please," she says, "Call me Jenn."
"Oh. Jenn it is," Dean smiles. Kayla fakes gagging. She leaves, and Dean grins at Sam.
"What's up with Toothless? Cavity creeps get a hold of him?"
"Yeah," Sam says. "Close. He wrote up a description. Five foot ten, three hundred and fifty pounds, wings, and a pink tutu. Said it was the tooth fairy."
"Sounds like my old next door neighbour," Kayla mutters.
Dean stares. "So, he's obviously whacked-out on painkillers."
"Maybe," Sam says. "Whatever it was got in past locked doors and windows, without triggering the alarm."
"Come on, the tooth fairy?" Dean says.
"And, it left thirty-two quarters underneath his pillow," Sam adds. "One for each tooth."
"Well, I will see your crazy and raise you some," Dean says. "There's a couple of kids upstairs with stomach ulcers – they say they got it from mixing poprocks and coke. Another guy... his face froze that way."
"What way?" Sam asks. Dean glances around first, then puts his hands in his mouth and pulls his lips out and crosses his eyes. Sam stares and Kayla laughs. "He uh – held it too long, and it... stuck," Dean explains quietly. "They're flying out a plastic surgeon." Dean rubs his jaw.
"So, if you add all that up... I got nothing," Sam admits.
"I thought sea monkeys were real," Dean says as he follows Sam down the hallway.
"They are. They're brine shrimp," Sam says.
"No no no, I mean like in the ads, you know like the sea monkey wife cooks the pot roast for the sea monkey husband and the sea monkey kids play with the dog in the sea monkey castle... real. I mean I was six, but I believed it."
"Okay," Sam says as Kayla gives Dean a weird look.
"My point is, maybe that's the connection," Dean says, and Sam stops to face him. "The tooth fairy, the poprocks and coke, the joybuzzer that shocks you – they're all lies that kids believe."
"And now they're coming true," Kayla adds.
"Okay, so whatever's doing this is re-shaping reality. It has the powers of a god. Or... of a trickster." Sam says, rolling his eyes.
"Yeah. And the sense of humour of a nine-year-old," Dean adds.
"Or you," Sam says, and Dean makes a face and Kayla laughs.
Dean is sitting at the table, eating a ham sandwich, when Sam comes in. "Dude, seriously – still with the ham," Sam comments.
"Yep, he is," Kayla says from the bed, looking at something on her phone.
"We don't have a fridge," Dean replies, mouth full.
"Well, I found something," Sam says, walking over and putting a map down on the table. Kayla walks over to join them, tucking her phone into her pocket. "Uh, tooth fairy attack was here, poprocks and coke was here, and then you've got itching powder, face freeze, and joybuzzer, all located within a two-mile radius."
"So we've got a blast-zone of weird, and inside fantasy becomes reality," Dean says.
"Looks like," Sam says.
"And what's the A-bomb at its center?" Dean asks.
"Four acres of farmland, and a house," Sam replies.
"Our motel isn't in that circle by any chance," Dean says.
"Yeah. Why?" Sam asks. Dean holds up his hand, there's hair all over his palm.
"Oh – dude – that's not what I think it is, is it?" Sam says, looking away.
"I got bored," Dean says sheepishly, "And the nurse was hot." Kayla stares at him, going slightly pale.
"I think I'm gonna go throw up," she says.
"You know, you can go blind from that too," Sam says.
"Give me five minutes, we'll go check out that house," Dean says, walking past them.
"Hey – do not use my razor!" Sam warns. Dean smiles.
In their suits, the boys and Kayla head up to the house in the middle of the farmland. Dean has the demon-killing knife in his belt, and Sam starts to pick the lock, but the door swings open. A young boy, about nine years old, is standing inside. "Can I help you?"
"Hi! What's your name?" Kayla asks from behind Sam.
"Who wants to know?" the kid asks. The boys exchange glances, then pull out their badges. "The FBI," Dean says awkwardly.
"Let me see that," the boy says, taking Dean's badge and studying it. "So, what, you guys don't knock?"
Dean smiles a little. "Are your parents home?"
"They work," the kid says.
"Well, you mind if we ask you a few questions?" Sam asks. "Maybe take a look around the house?"
"I dunno," the boy replies.
"Come on, you can trust us," Dean says, holding up his badge. "We're the authorities."
The boys follow the boy inside, into the kitchen. "What's that?" Sam asks as the boy goes over to the stove and stirs a pot.
"It's called soup," the boy says, taking the pot to the table. "You heat it up and you eat it."
"Yeah, right, it's just... I used to make my own dinner too, when I was a kid," Sam replies.
"Well I'm not a kid," the boy says.
"Right. No, I know," Sam says after a second. "I'm Robert, by the way." He holds out his hand.
"Jesse," the boy says, shaking his hand.
"Kayla," Kayla says, waving.
"Jesse? Nice to meet you," Sam says. Dean walks over holding a piece of paper.
"Did you draw this?"
Jesse nods. "It's the tooth fairy." The drawing is of a hairy man with a pink tutu and wings.
"That's what you think the tooth fairy looks like, huh?" Dean says.
"Yeah – my dad told me about him," Jesse says. "What? Didn't your dad tell you about the tooth fairy?"
"My dad? My dad told me different stories," Dean says, smiling a little.
"Well, the tooth fairy isn't a story," Jesse says. The trio exchange glances.
"What do you know about itching powder, Jesse?" Kayla asks.
"That stuff will make you scratch your brains out," Jesse says.
"Poprocks and coke?" She goes on.
"You mix them, and you'll end up in the hospital," Jesse replies. "Everyone knows that."
Dean pulls out the joybuzzer. "You shouldn't have that," Jesse says, looking scared.
"Why not?" Dean asks.
"It can electrocute you," Jesse says seriously.
"Actually it can't," Dean says. "It's just a wind-up toy. It's totally harmless. It doesn't even have batteries."
"So it can't shock you?" Jesse asks.
"Nope. Not at all," Dean says. "I swear."
"Oh. Okay," Jesse says.
"I mean, all it does is just shake in your hand," Dean goes on. "It's kinda lame. See?" He puts it on Sam's shoulder, and Sam jumps, even though it's just shaking. Sam glares as Dean looks back at Jesse, who's smiling. Kayla snickers as Dean asks. "What did you say your name was again?"
"Dude, what the hell?" Sam asks angrily as the trio leave the house.
"I had a hunch and I went with it," Dean replies.
"You risked my ass on a hunch?" Sam says loudly. "Why not risk Kayla's?"
"Because Cas would kill me. You're fine, and besides, now we know who's turning this town into Willy Wonka's worst nightmare," Dean says calmly.
"The kid," Sam says.
"Yeah. Everything Jesse believes comes true," Dean says, turning to face him. "The kid thinks the tooth fairy looks like Belushi, joybuzzers really shock people. Boom, that's what happens."
"Yeah, but convince him that joybuzzers don't actually work, and they go from killing machines back into crap toys," Sam adds.
"He probably doesn't even know he's doing it," Dean says. They wave at Jesse, who is watching them from the top window.
"How is he doing it?" Kayla wonders.
Dean's sitting on his bed reading a book and Kayla is on her phone again when Sam comes in. "So. Dug up what I could on Jesse Turner – it's not much. B-student, won last year's Pinewood Derby, but get this. Jesse was adopted. His birth records are sealed."
"So you unsealed them and?" Dean asks.
"There's no father listed," Sam says. "But Jesse's biological mom is named Julia Wright. She lives in Elk Creek, on the other side of the state." Dean closes the book and tosses it aside.
The trio walk through a gate, which has a "No Trespassing" sign on it. They go up to the door – the house is old and painted white. They ring the doorbell. "Whatever you're selling, I'm not interested," a woman's voice says from inside.
"We're not salesmen. Agents Page and Plant and intern, FBI," Dean calls, and they take out their badges and hold them up to the peephole.
"Put your badge in the slot – your partner's, too," she says, and Dean pushes them in. A second later, they hear several locks being unlocked, and then the door opens.
"What do you want?" the woman asks, holding out their badges.
"Um, we just had a few questions," Sam begins. "About your son."
"I don't have a son," she says, slightly shakily.
"He was born March 29th, 1998 in Omaha," Kayla says softly. "You put him up for adoption?"
"What about him," she says after a second.
"We were just wondering, was it a... was it a normal pregnancy?" Sam asks carefully. She stares.
"Was anything strange," Dean says.
"Stay away from me!" she screams suddenly and tries to close the door, but the boys catch it.
"Mrs. Wright, wait!" Dean calls. They go into the house after her. "We just wanna talk!" She grabs a can of salt off the counter and throws some on them. They stare. "You're not demons?" she says.
"How do you know about demons?" Dean asks while Kayla moans about her hair in the background.
"I was possessed," she begins. The boys sit across from her with Kayla sitting on Dean's lap. "A demon took control of my body, and I hurt people. I killed people."
"That wasn't you," Sam says.
"But I was there," she says. "I heard a woman beg for mercy, I felt a young girl's blood drip down my hands..."
"That's how you knew about the salt," Dean says.
"Yeah. I picked up tricks, it was in my head for months," she replies.
"How many months?" Dean asks.
"Nine," she says.
"So your son..." Kayla begins.
"Yeah. The whole time," she says. "The pregnancy, the birth. All of it. I was possessed. The night the baby was born, I was alone. And the pain, the pain was overwhelming. I screamed, and it came out a laugh. The demon was happy. It used my body to give birth to a child. When it was over, something changed. Maybe the demon was tired, or... the pain helped me fight it, but somehow I took control of it. The demon wailed inside me, it pounded against my skull. I thought my head was going to explode. But I knew. I knew what I had to do. And when I was alone, with the baby, part of me... part of me wanted to kill it. But, God help me, I couldn't do that. So I put it up for adoption, and I ran."
"Who was the father?" Dean asks.
She shakes her head. "I was a virgin." The boys look at each other as Kayla stares at her. "Have you seen my son?" she asks. "Is he human?"
"His name is Jesse," Dean says. "He lives in Alliance. He's a good kid."
"So now what?" Sam wonders as they leave.
"We need help," Dean says. Kayla grins, knowing what that meant.
As the trio enter the motel, there's a flutter of wings. Castiel appears.
"Hey Cas," Kayla says, walking over and hugging him.
"I take it you got our message?" Sam says, sitting down.
"It's lucky you found the boy," Cas says, returning the hug.
"Oh yeah, real lucky," Dean replies. "What do we do with him?"
"Kill him," Cas says immediately. Kayla pulls away and looks at him, narrowing her eyes in anger.
"Cas," Dean begins.
"This child is half demon and half human. But he's far more powerful than either," Cas explains. "Other cultures call this hybrid Cambian or Katako. You know him as the antichrist." He sits down, and there is a loud farting sound. Dean and Kayla stares at him. "That wasn't me," Cas says. He pulls the whoopee cushion out.
"Who put that there?" Dean says innocently.
"Child," Kayla mutters, glaring at Dean.
"Anyway, I don't get it. Jesse is the devil's son?" Sam interrupts.
"No, of course not," Cas says. "Your Bible gets more wrong than it does right. The antichrist is not Lucifer's child. It's just demon-spawn. But it is one of the devil's greatest weapons in the war against Heaven."
"What is Jesse doing in Nebraska?" Kayla asks.
" The demons lost him and they can't find him. But they're looking." Cas replies.
"And they lost him because...?" Dean asks.
"Because of the child's power," Cas explains. "It hides him from both angels and demons. For now."
"So he's got like a – forcefield around him. Well that's great," Dean says. "Problem solved."
"With Lucifer raised, this child grows strong," Cas says. "Soon he will do more than make a few toys come to life. Something that will draw the demons to him. The demons will find this child. Lucifer will twist this boy to his purpose. And then with a word, this child – will destroy the host of Heaven."
"Wait, you're saying that Jesse's gonna nuke the angels?" Dean asks.
"We cannot allow that to happen," Cas says.
"Wait," Sam says, standing up. "We're the good guys, we don't just kill children."
Castiel stands up too. "A year ago, you would have done whatever it took to win this war."
"Things change," Sam snaps.
"What if it was me Cas. What if I was in this position?" Kayla asks.
"Thats not the point," Cas replies, not looking at her.
"Okay, look," Dean says, touching Sam and Kayla on the arm. "We are not going to kill him, alright? But we can't leave Jesse here, either. We know that. So, we take him to Bobby's. He'll know what to do."
"You'll kidnap him?" Cas says. "What is going on this town, it's what happens when this thing is happy. You cannot imagine what it will do if it's angry. Besides, how will you hold him? With a thought he could be halfway around the world."
"So we..." Dean begins.
"So we tell him the truth," Sam cuts in. "You say Jesse's destined to go darkside, fine. But he hasn't yet. So we lay it all out for him – what he is, the apocalypse, everything – he might make the right choice."
Cas leans close. "You didn't. And I can't take that chance." He disappears. Sam swears.
Dean kicks the door in, and Sam and Kayla rush in behind him. They find Jesse standing in the next room. "Was there a guy here? He had a trenchcoat?" Dean asks. Jesse points at the ground. There's a tiny action figure on the floor, and it looks exactly like Castiel. Kayla walks over to it and picks it up.
"Hey Cas," she whispers. She walks over to the mantel piece and puts him down.
"Was he your friend?" Jesse asks. He sitting on the couch, and Sam is sitting nearby.
"Him?" Dean says. "No." Kayla glares at him.
"I did that," Jesse says, looking at the doll. "But how did I do that?"
Dean shrugs. "You're a superhero."
"I am?" Jesse asks.
"Yeah! I mean, who else could turn someone into a toy?" Dean replies. "You're Superman. Minus the cape and the gogo boots." He glances at Sam and Kayla, then crouches down in front of Jesse. "See, my partner and I, we work for a secret government agency. It's our job to find kids with special powers. In fact, we're here to take you to a hidden base in South Dakota. Where you'll be trained to fight evil."
"Like the X-Men?" Jesse asks.
"Exactly like the X-Men!" Dean says. "In fact, the guy we're taking you to? He's even in a wheelchair. You'll be a hero. You'll save lives, you'll get the girl – sounds like fun, right?" Kayla shakes her head, not believing what she's hearing.
Suddenly, Dean is thrown against the wall. Julia walks in. "They're lying to you." Sam gets up, and she throws him into the wall next to Dean. Kayla stays where she is, still unnoticed. "Stay right there, dreamboat. Can't hurt you. Orders. You on the other hand?" she looks at Dean. "Hurting you's encouraged." She throws Dean against the wall a couple of times. She then turns to Kayla. "Hmmmm, I know what you are kiddo. Not sure if I can hurt you, so I'm just gonna keep you over there." She then throws her into the wall next to Sam, making sure that she hits her head. Kayla groans.
"Leave them alone!" Jesse yells. She smiles at him and comes closer.
"Jesse! You're beautiful. You have your father's eyes."
"Who are you?" he asks.
"I'm your mother," she says. He shakes his head.
"No you're not." She nods.
"Mmhmm. You're half human, half one of us."
"She means demons, Jesse," Dean says, and she holds up a fist and squeezes. Dean winces in pain.
"Leave him alone," Kayla screams.
"Those people?" she says, crouching down, "You call your parents? They lied to you too. You're not theirs. Not really."
"My mom and dad love me," Jesse says.
"Do they?" she asks. "Is that why they leave you alone all day? Because they love you so much? These people – these imposters – they told you that the tooth fairy was real, and that your toys could hurt you, and a hundred other things that aren't true. They love you so much, they made your whole life a lie. Look into your heart, Jesse. You've always known you weren't theirs. You've always known you were different. Everyone has lied to you. They're not FBI agents." She looks at Dean, Sam and Kayla. "And you're not a superhero."
"Then what am I?" Jesse asks.
"You're powerful," she replies. "You can have anything you want – you can do anything you want."
"Don't listen to her Jesse!" Kayla and Dean yell, and she squeezes Dean's throat again, but ignores Kayla.
"They treated you like a child. Nobody trusted you, everybody's lied to you. Doesn't that make you angry?"
Jesse's fist clenches, and the house begins to shake. A fire starts in the fireplace and the lights flicker. Julia smiles. "See? It does make you angry. But I'm telling you the truth, Jesse. Wouldn't it be better if there were no lies? Come with me, we can wash it all clean. Start over. Imagine that. A world without lies?" Jesse squeezes his fist again and a picture of him and his parents falls to the floor and breaks. A crack goes up the wall behind the trio.
"She's right. We lied to you," Sam begins.
"But I'll tell you the truth." She raises her fist again, cutting him off.
"Stop it," Jesse says, and she lowers her arm. Sam falls off the wall. "I wanna hear what he has to say."
"You're stronger than I thought," Julia says.
Sam slowly gets to his feet. "We lied to you. And I'm sorry. So here's the truth. I'm Sam Winchester, that's my brother, Dean and our friend Kayla West. We hunt monsters."
"Except when you are the monster," Julia cuts in. "Right Sammy?"
"Shut up Bitch," Kayla growls.
"And that woman right there, her name is Julia," Sam goes on. "She's your mother. But the thing inside of her – the thing you're talking to – it's a demon."
"A demon?" Jesse repeats.
"He's done nothing but lie to you since the moment you met him – don't listen to him!" she says loudly. "Punish him."
"Sit down and shut up," Jesse says. A chair moves up behind her and she falls into it, unable to speak or get out of the chair.
"There's kind of a – a war, between angels and demons, and you're a part of it," Sam goes on.
"I'm just a kid," Jesse says.
"You can go with her if you want," Sam says. "I can't stop you. No one can. But if you do, millions of people will die."
"She said I was half demon," Jesse interrupts. "Is that true?"
"Yes," Sam says. "But you're half human too. You can do the right thing. You've got choices, Jesse. But if you make the wrong ones, it'll haunt you for the rest of your life."
"Why are you telling me this?" Jesse asks tearfully.
"Because I have to believe someone can make the right choice," Sam replies. "Even if I couldn't." Jesse clenches his fist again, and looks at Julia.
"Get out of her," he says, and the demon flows out of her mouth and up the chimney. Dean and Kayla fall to the floor. Kayla lays there, holding her head and quietly groaning.
"How did you do that?"
"I just did," Jesse says.
"Kid," Dean begins, panting, "You're awesome." He winces in pain.
"Is she gonna be alright?" Jesse asks as they look at his mom. She's unconscious.
"Eventually," Dean says. He crouches down and picks up the Castiel toy off the floor.
"Look – truth is, he's kind of a buddy of mine and he is Kayla's brother. Is there any way you could turn him back?"
"He tried to kill me," Jesse snaps.
"Right. But he's a good guy," Dean says. "He was just confused."
Jesse glares. "Okay," Dean says quickly. "It's been a long night. We'll talk about it later." He puts the toy back on the mantle.
"Please," Kayla sobs quietly, curling up into a ball on the floor. Dean walks over and picks her up, trying to comfort her.
"What now?" Jesse asks. Dean glances at Sam, who shrugs.
"Now we take you someplace safe," Dean says. "Get you trained up. You'd be handy in a fight, kid."
"What if I don't wanna fight?" Jesse asks.
"Jesse," Sam says, sitting down in front of him. "You're powerful. More powerful than anything we've pretty much ever seen. That makes you..."
"A freak?" Jesse finishes.
Sam is silent for a second. "To some people maybe. But not to us. See, we're kind of freaks ourselves."
"I can't stay here, can I?" Jesse asks.
"No," Dean says, still holding Kayla. "The demons know where you are, more'll be coming."
"I won't go without my mom and dad," Jesse replies.
"There's nothing more important than family," Sam says. "We get that. And if you really wanna take them with you, we'll back your play. But you gotta understand – it's gonna be dangerous for them too."
"What do you mean?" Jesse asks.
"Our dad? He would take us with him wherever he went," Dean says.
"Where is he now?" Jesse asks.
"Dead," Sam replies. "A demon killed him."
"Look, Jessie," Dean begins. "Once you're in this fight, you're in it till the end. Win or lose."
"What should I do?" Jesse asks.
"We can't tell you. It's your choice," Sam answers.
"It's not fair, I know."
"Can I go see my parents?" Jesse asks. "I need to... say good bye."
"Sure," Dean says.
Downstairs, Sam is looking at the Castiel doll and Kayla is still crying. "He's been up there a long time," Dean comments. They look at each other and head upstairs, Dean still carrying Kayla.
When they get to Jesse's room it's empty.
"He's gone." They turn to see Castiel walk up behind them.
"Cas!" Kayla shrieks. Dean puts her down and she throws herself at Castiel. He catches her and lifts her up into a hug.
"Where?" Sam asks.
"I dunno," Cas replies. "Jesse put everyone in the town back to normal. Everyone's still alive. Then he vanished."
Sam looks back at the empty bed. "Hey." There's a note on top. He picks it up and reads it.
"What's it say?" Dean asks.
"That he had to leave to keep his parents safe," Sam says. "That he loves them, and that he's sorry."
"How do we find him?" Dean asks.
"With the boy's powers, we can't," Cas replies. "Not unless he wants to be found."
Kayla finally pulls away from Cas, "Are you alright?" she asks.
He nods, "I am fine." He looks at her closely. "Are you?"
She shakes her head, "I've hit my head pretty hard and I was really worried about you."
He nods and picks her up and carries her out of the house. Sam and Dean follow. They climb into the impala as Cas gently lays Kayla on the back seat. "You get some rest, I will see you again soon."
Kayla nods and curls up into a ball. Cas nods goodbye to Sam and Dean before disappearing. Sam shuts the door and Dean drives off to the motel. The boys pack up everything and then head out. Kayla is asleep in the backseat.
"Should we wake her up and check for concussion?" Sam asks Dean quietly.
"We'll do it soon and check every half an hour," Dean says, looking at Kayla in the wing mirror. He says, "Hey, put your coat over her. Make sure that she is warm enough." Sam nods and leans over the front bench. He lays his coat over Kayla and sits back down.
"You think Jesse's gonna be okay?" Dean asks.
"I hope so," Sam replies.
"You know we destroyed that kid's life by telling him the truth," Dean says.
"We didn't have a choice, Dean," Sam says.
"Yeah. You know, I'm starting to get why parents lie to their kids?" Dean says. "You know, you want them to believe that the worst thing out there is mixing poprocks and coke. Protect them from the real evil. You want them going to bed feeling safe. If that means lying to them, so be it. The more I think about it... the more I wish Dad had lied to us."
"Yeah me too," Sam agrees.
