CHAPTER ELEVEN

Day 28

'Into Everywhere Creep'

The next morning Andie was woken by the same shrill cry of the baby boy. It was six am. She'd been up with him half the night. Sam, who'd spent a restless day with the infant, was so tired he had fallen asleep within five minutes of Andie and Dean returning from their less-than-helpful visit with Melissa Tillerman. Due to his lack of sleep over the past few nights; Sam didn't wake up once during the night. Dean and Andie, on the other hand, both woke up each time the baby did.

Andie picked up the little boy and rocked him lazily under one arm while she fixed him a bottle of formula. She had to read the instructions on the back twice; as she had the day before, to mix it up properly. The baby did seem to like the food and Andie liked him more when he was eating; he was so quiet. Andie paced back and forth with her eyes closed as she fed the baby. He made a little sighing noise as he drank that made Andie open her eyes. She looked down at him; he was looking right back at her. For the first time Andie really noticed his face. He had glorious blue eyes, almost an unimaginable colour. He had wisps of golden blonde hair on his head that were slightly curling at the ends. Andie almost hated to admit it but he looked kind of cute.

"See?" She said in a soft voice to him. "Being quiet is fun, too."

"Do you expect him to answer?" Sam asked, rubbing his eyes as he stepped into the small kitchenette. He'd fallen asleep in his jeans and sweatshirt.

"You slept well." Andie told him; slightly resentfully. She hated the fact that she while she would wake up to even the slightest noise; like a feather dropping, people like Sam would sleep through an earthquake.

"Yeah, I'd almost forgotten what it was like." Sam went to the fridge and took out a carton of milk.

"Well, I think I'm starting to." Andie admitted, swaying the baby back and forth. "Hey, you fell asleep as soon as we came in yesterday; did you find anything out about Penny?"

"Yeah, actually. Nothing too exciting; but the police have called off the search." Sam drank from the milk carton; half-expecting Andie to complain, but she didn't even wince.

"Well; she's dead." Andie said bluntly. "She's a ghost. And ghosts haunt for a reason. A reason that somehow involves this baby." She sighed. "It doesn't make sense; someone left this kid in that abandoned home; they didn't want him to be found."

"How sure are we that he's not a demonic kid?" Sam realized. "Cos I gotta tell ya; from how he was yesterday; he's no angel. I swear; his cry is like an evil call for help."

"Well, even if that's true, no ones come to claim him." Andie replied. "So we're stuck with him until we figure out what's going on."

"You still think Melissa can help?" Sam asked.

"Well, she was kinda uneasy about having us there but she seemed to believe we were who we said we were." Andie told him. "What we need is something else; something to really make her feel safe." Andie thought for a moment; and for some reason she remembered Melissa's golden necklace and the cross above her door. Andie's eyes traveled up to Sam and she smiled.

Sam was immediately suspicious. "What?"

xxx

Dean, Andie, Sam and the baby all arrived at Melissa's home later that morning. Dean and Andie had brought the baby along as their 'son', hoping that the child would perhaps act as a buffer between the two of them and Melissa; showing her that they were genuine. Even though they were lying through their teeth.

Sam was not happy with his persona. Andie's brilliant idea had been to dress Sam as a priest; a character he'd played once before, but he didn't think this was the best way to gain Melissa Tillerman's trust. Andie was having none of his negativity. She managed to fashion a respectable looking colour from a cloth napkin for Sam to wear with his black suit. Sam, whose name was now Father James, fiddled with his suit as he, Dean and Andie walked towards the Tillerman home.

"I'm going on the record saying this is a bad idea." Sam spoke up. "No way is she gonna believe us."

"Where's your faith, Sammy?" Dean asked without turning back to his brother. "We've got this marriage thing down. And you add a kid to that? Everyone believes it."

"Hate to agree with him but he's right." Andie said to Sam, shifting the baby to her other hip. He was now quietly sucking on a pacifier Andie had purchased at the same time as her baby book. She was convinced this little plastic sucking device was magic; the baby hadn't cried since she'd stuck it in his mouth. "Women love babies; mother's love them more. Especially mothers like her. You should see her; she's like Martha Stewart."

Dean led the way up the front staircase and rung the doorbell. Melissa appeared moments later and looked from Dean to Andie to the baby to the priest. "What's going on?"

Dean managed to do some fast talking and explain the situation. Melissa seemed to believe him and let the four of them inside her house. She was quite taken by the baby; as Andie had expected, so she didn't hesitate to hand him over when Melissa asked if she could hold him.

"He's an angel." Melissa asked. "What's his name?"

Andie looked at Dean. He stared blankly back at her. They hadn't even thought to name the damn kid. Andie quickly looked back at Melissa. "Ah, Dean." She said immediately. "His-his name is Dean."

Melissa nodded and held him over her shoulder; patting his back. "Hello Dean."

Dean looked at Andie and gave her a 'What the hell?' look. She shrugged back.

Sam broke the silence. "So!" he said loudly, breaking up Andie and Dean's silent bickering. "Miss Tillerman. We are here to talk to you about Penny and how her...loss...has affected you...and your life." Sam saw Dean snigger out of the corner of his eye. He'd kick his ass later.

"I don't really have anything else to tell you." Melissa admitted. "It's like I told the police; Penny and I are neighbors, we have lunch every week or so. I went over to pick her up on Monday and she wasn't there. She never just disappears; I knew something was wrong." Sighing, Melissa handed baby 'Dean' back to Andie. "And now they've called off the search; they say they're looking for a body."

Dean was looking around the room as Melissa spoke. Something about the house seemed off to him; it had almost a sterility about it that made Dean uneasy. One thing was for sure, he wanted to check the second level. He tried to motion to Andie with his eyes what he wanted to do. All she did was roll her eyes back and glare at him for distracting her attention.

Melissa suddenly smiled. "Would you like some tea?"

"Ah, sure." Andie agreed. Melissa stood up and left the room. Andie followed with the baby in her arms but she hung back with Dean and Sam. "You have to check out this place; it's creepy to me."

Dean suppressed the urge to tell her he'd been thinking the exact same thing. But as it turned out, so had Sam.

"Me too." Sam spoke up.

"Ok, I'll distract her. You guys head upstairs." Andie offered.

"Are you sure?" Dean asked skeptically.

"Yeah; it'll be fine." Andie assured him. "Go."

Sam and Dean headed upstairs while Andie headed straight into the kitchen. "Oh! This is just gorgeous!" She said over-excitedly as she entered the room. "What a beautiful little kitchen."

"Oh, thank you." Melissa said proudly. She noticed that Andie had come in alone. "Where are your husband and the Father?"

"Oh, they were so taken by the architecture of the house; they just had to wander." Andie laughed haughtily. "Don't mind them; they're harmless."

"Oh, I can see that." Melissa assured Andie. "You're husband seems like a very lovely man. And he seems love you a lot."

This notion made Andie very uncomfortable. "Oh, thanks." She muttered.

"Although; if you don't mind me asking; why don't you wear wedding bands?" Melissa asked, filling the kettle at the sink.

Andie had to think fast. "Oh, ahh..." The baby gurgled loudly in her arms giving her an idea. "Well, since I had little Dean here my fingers are just massive." She silently thanked the passage she'd read in the baby book the night before about finger swelling.

"Oh yes." Melissa chuckled. "I remember."

"Oh, you're daughter." Andie pretended she's just remembered. "How is she?"

"Just fine." Melissa told her calmly, taking two mugs from the cupboard. "Just a bump on the head, she'll be fine. Back at school today." She put the cups on the bench and looked at Andie. "Will your husband be long?"

"Oh, no." Andie said smoothly. "Although he did say something about going to the bathroom; so he could be days." Andie let out another haughty laugh and was slightly put off when the baby giggled with her.

"He is just a dream." Melissa cooed looking longingly at the baby. "May I?" She reached out for the child.

Andie, still thinking that it was best just to go along with whatever Melissa wanted, handed over the baby boy. "He seems to like you." Andie said for lack of something better to say. Truthfully, the infant seemed reluctant to leave Andie's arms. She had to admit; that was a nice feeling.

"I love babies." Melissa said, looking down at the baby.

For some reason, they way she said that made Andie feel incredibly uneasy.

Upstairs, Sam and Dean were creeping cautiously through the halls. The weirdest thing was that had they not known that this was the same house they wouldn't have believed it. While the downstairs was completely well decorated in an extremely homely kind of way; the upstairs was a wreck. The walls weren't painted, the doors were all ajar and there was a thick layer of dust all over the floor.

"Well this ain't pretty." Dean whispered loudly. He didn't know why he felt he had to keep his voice down; apparently this setting invoked that in him.

Sam looked into the rooms they passed as they traveled up the hall. Each one was like the next; abandoned and musty. "I thought she had a daughter. There's no kid's room up here. Plus no photos." Sam said. "That's not normal, right?"

As Dean crept along, a foul smell rose into his nostrils. "Good God." He covered his mouth with the back of his hand and turned to his brother. "Is that you?"

Sam furrowed his brow. "What?" he asked. Then he smelled the air. "Aw, man." he closed his throat immediately. "What the hell is that?"

Dean walked to the end of the hallway to a closed door. He reached out for the handle and turned it slowly. Shoving it firmly; Dean made his way into the room. The smell was overwhelming. And Dean saw why. There was a woman's dead body in the corner of the room.

"Oh God." Sam caught sight of the body and turned away.

Dean moved closer to the body; recognizing the housedress, the apron, the golden cross around her neck. "This isn't good." He said, seeing her face.

"What?" Sam asked, still not wanting to look at the body.

Dean turned around. "This is the body of Melissa Tillerman."

This notion made Sam turn around. "But then who the hell is downstairs?"

Dean's heart filled with worry. "Andie."

Downstairs, Andie watched cautiously as Melissa jiggled the baby in her arms. The little boy was starting to whimper. Andie reached her hands out to him but Melissa made no move as to hand him back.

"I can see why you want to protect him." Melissa practically whispered.

Andie wasn't sure she'd heard correctly. "Sorry?"

Snapping her head up towards Andie, Melissa glared at her with bright red eyes. "He's my baby, now."

Andie barely got her mouth open to scream when Melissa jerked her head upwards; tossing Andie back off her feet and smashing her into a glass cabinet on the wall of the room. The glass shattered as Andie fell heavily on to the floor; unconscious. Melissa smirked, curled her arms around the wailing infant in her arms and disappeared.