The kitchen windows were misted with steam, the heat from the oven and hob flames filling the small room. Unnerved with being unable to now see outside the house, Emma smiled at her own foolishness as she twisted the blinds closed and suddenly felt much safer. Turning back into the room, she headed across to the bubbling pan on the stove and gave the soup a stir.

"Smells wonderful."

Emma spun at the voice and smiled in greeting. "Hey, Bobby. How are our patients doing?"

Bobby shoved his hands into his jeans pockets and wandered further into the room. "Fine." he nodded and gave a small shrug, "So … herbal medicine's your thing, huh?"

"Yup." Emma turned back to the stove and turned off the heat under the soup. "Passed down through a long line of crazy old women." She chuckled softly and reached up to grab some bowls from the cupboard beside the stove.

"It's a powerful talent." Bobby offered, stepping closer to help her dish out the soup. "I know a little about protective rituals and such but not nearly as much as I'd like."

"Oh?"

Bobby smiled thinly and began to arrange the full bowls onto the tray on the kitchen table. "I'm too old to race around like the younger hunters." He explained, noticing her small nod of empathy, "So I've spent years building a resource library and such."

"The oracle of the piece, huh?"

"Maybe." Bobby shrugged.

Emma collected a handful of spoons from a nearby drawer and smiled in gratitude as Bobby picked up the tray. She grabbed the remains of a large loaf of bread and followed him back to the lounge.

Morgan was semi-awake and curled up on her side, sucking on her thumb and cuddling her cloth rabbit close under her chin. She looked up and her mouth formed a smile around her thumb, her eyes lighting up as she saw Emma.

"Hey, baby." Emma sighed merrily, perching on the sofa and reaching out to place her hand on Morgan's forehead. "You look better." She smiled in relief as Morgan nodded in agreement. "You hungry?"

Giving another nod, Morgan sat up a little and, still clutching her rabbit and sucking on her thumb, peered in interest at the tray Bobby set down on the large coffee table.

Bobby stepped around the table and leaned down over Dean, giving his shoulder a gentle nudge. "Dean?"

Stirring slightly, Dean frowned and gave a small moan of protest.

"Come on. You need to eat something."

Blinking his eyes open and taking a moment to focus on his friend, Dean yawned wearily. "What?"

"Food." Bobby explained.

"Yeah?" Dean lifted his head and grimaced as he pressed his elbows into the cushions and levered himself up along the couch. He sniffed in interest towards the soup and smiled happily. "Smells good."

"Oh yeah, you're feeling better." Bobby chuckled and shook his head in amusement as he passed Dean one of the steaming soups.

Dean took the bowl and mumbled in gratitude as he sniffed the contents. About to dip in the spoon Bobby handed him, he then looked around the room and frowned suddenly. "Where's Sam?"

As if to confirm his sudden fear, the lights in the house flickered and died. Balancing his soup in his lap and peering around in the thin light offered by the lit candles scattered about the room, Dean groaned in dismay. "Oh, that can't be good."

"Bobby!"

Dean heard the hurried footfalls descending the stairs and sat up straighter. "Sam!"

"Dean?" Sam urged breathlessly, "You okay, man?"

"Yeah. What the hell happened?"

"I'm not sure." Sam sighed, "I couldn't see anything. Bobby? We best go check outside."

"Be careful!" Dean ordered hurriedly.

ooooo

Stepping out into the icy chill of the early morning darkness, Sam held the Colt at eye level and peered along the golden barrel. Faint light from the house behind him made eerie shadows dance on the snow and out along the wide garden. In the silence beyond the kitchen, his heart beat was loud in his head and his rapid breaths clouded before him in the still air.

"What's the plan?" Bobby urged in a whisper.

"I'm still working on it." Sam shrugged.

"That's a comfort."

"Just keep your eyes peeled."

Bobby nodded and gave a heavy sigh. "Right. With my night vision."

"You know what I mean." Sam groaned, glancing back at his companion. "Just - " He suddenly paused and listened to the still air around them. "Wait … you hear that?"

Bobby frowned, concentrating hard on the gentle breeze that stirred the trees at the far end of the long garden. At first, he could not sense anything more than the nothingness of the dark morning and then he heard something drift faintly towards him.

"What the hell is that?" Sam urged in a whisper, "Birds?"

Bobby's frown grew and he closed his eyes. "No … it's … it sounds more like laughter."

"Laughter?" Sam echoed, trying to tune in on the gentle noise that drifted towards them. He then heard the sound a little louder and gasped in horror. "Children." He muttered in dread, "It sounds like children."

ooooo

Dean watched as Emma made her careful way out of the lounge and paused at the bottom of the staircase, calling softly to her niece. He shivered in the sudden chill that had descended on the room, despite the persistent flames still dancing high up into the chimney, and Emma began to climb the stairs and out of view.

Turning towards the adjacent sofa, he watched Morgan huddle up into the corner amid the cushions and hug her rabbit close against her. "You okay, honey?"

Morgan glanced warily at him and gave a small shake of her head, her hand moving with her as she sucked on her thumb.

"It's okay. You'll be alright." Dean offered lightly, "You got Mr Pickles. Right?" He saw her eyes smile shyly and he grinned back.

"Where'th my mom?" Morgan husked suddenly, her speech slurred thanks to the thumb in her mouth.

"Em's gone to check on her. She'll be alright." Dean adjusted his position to face her more and took a deep breath. "You've been so brave, Morgan. I bet your mom is real proud of you."

Morgan nodded warily.

Noise from somewhere outside the house then startled them both and Dean listened for a moment to the quiet that followed. Looking back at Morgan, he could see her trembling and her eyes were wide with fear as she stared towards the kitchen. "Hey."

Morgan turned back to face him and blinked away tears.

"I'm kinda scared, Morgan." Dean began carefully, "You think Mr Pickles will protect me, too?"

Seeming to take a moment to consider this, Morgan looked down at her cloth bear. Pulling her thumb from her mouth with a damp slurp, she smiled and looked back up at Dean with a nod.

"Oh, good. Thanks Mr Pickles."

Morgan's smile grew and she shuffled forwards a little, sliding down from the sofa and stepping warily towards Dean.

Dean watched her approach and was unsure what she wanted. He held his breath as she paused beside him and then held out her worn rabbit.

"Mr Pickles said he's scared, too."

"Is he?" Dean frowned in concern, "Well, we can't have that. Does he need a hug?"

Morgan gave a small nod.

Leaning out over the edge of the sofa, Dean slid his hands under Morgan's arms and lifted her up into his lap. He grimaced as the weight of her tiny form pressed on his injured thigh and he clenched his teeth as he quickly pulled her up higher. It was still painful to have her sitting on him but he relaxed against the cushions and steadied his breathing, determined that it was well worth it. The memory of her tearful distrust of him after the exorcism flashed through his thoughts and then seemed to quickly fade as she snuggled down against him.

Carefully wrapping one arm around her small frame, afraid that she would suddenly be spooked and move away from him, Dean's throat tightened. He closed his eyes as she leaned her face into his neck and pressed Mr Pickles up under his chin.

"There." Dean offered quietly, "We'll look after each other. Okay?"

Morgan nodded, the top of her head brushing against his cheek and her mumbled reply lost as she sucked on her thumb once more.

"You feeling better?"

"I guess." Morgan replied quietly, "Did the girl make you sick, too?"

"Kind of."

"She said she was my friend. Why did she make me sick?"

Dean sighed and pulled her a little closer. "I don't know." She wiggled further into him and he tried not to protest as her feet brushed against his thigh. As she then settled and mumbled contentedly against his neck, he smiled and chanced placing his other arm gently around her small frame.

After a moment, he was sure she had fallen asleep and then he heard her humming softly. Listening in interest to the slightly off-key melody, he tried to place the tune and began to drift off as he focused on her small voice.

ooooo

They seemed to appear from nowhere. Sam spun around quickly, his hands shaking as he aimed the Colt at each of the five small girls. They laughed and giggled, their ghostly images dancing in the semi-shadowed snow. He looked between them and frowned in confusion. "Bobby?"

"I see 'em." Bobby husked, edging closer to Sam and his eyes darting around them in concern.

"Ideas?" Sam urged breathlessly.

Bobby sighed and shook his head. "Back inside."

"Right." Sam took a step backwards and glanced towards the kitchen door behind them. He then gasped as he saw one of the bedraggled, pale forms flicker into sight. She stood between them and the house and laughed merrily.

"Or take 'em out." Bobby shrugged.

Sam tightened his grip on the Colt and his heart was loud in his ears. "Kinda don't want to antagonize them." He shuddered and glanced back to see the other children venturing closer, hemming them in. "I've seen what these things can do."

Bobby took a tentative step towards the house and saw the small grey-silver child glare at him in defiance. For a moment he thought her grinning smile became a sharp-toothed snarl and he flinched back.

"Ring around the rosie."

"What?" Sam demanded quickly.

Bobby looked between the strange apparitions and his frown deepened.

"A pocket full of posey."

"Are they singing?" Bobby grated.

Sam gave a small shrug and glanced at his companion in uncertainty. "I think they are." He watched the children move in even closer and felt his skin crawling beneath his thick coat.

"Ashes, ashes."

Bobby groaned, "What the hell?"

"I don't like this." Sam agreed, spinning around and seeing that the five girls now encircled them.

The children laughed excitedly and then seemed to become more serious. "All fall down."

"What the hell is this?" Bobby urged quickly, "We need to get inside. Or something."

"Yeah." Sam agreed, retreating towards the house and glaring a warning at the small form that still blocked the way. He aimed the Colt at her and swallowed hard.

And they started singing again. "Ring around the rosie. A pocket full of posey. Ashes, ashes. We all fall down."

Sam gasped loudly and clutched at his throat with his free hand, the Colt falling to his side as he tried to draw breath.

"Sam?" Bobby grabbed Sam's shoulders and watched in horror as Sam's terrified face grew more red. "Shit! Sam!"

Grabbing at his throat and wheezing loudly, Sam's eyes were wide with fear. His legs started to buckle and he sank down to his knees in the snow.

"No!" Bobby hooked his hands under Sam's arms and tried to support him, groaning under the weight. "Sam! No!"

- tbc -