Note- Again I have been neglecting my duties to my characters and all I can do is apologise. It seems there is always something that gets in the way of my writing. Unfortunately with work, the wedding, worsening health and the addition of two little kittens to our household something has to give and recently that has been my writing (as well as my home crafting business). All I can do is apologise again and hope that my new medication will help to take some of the strain.

The Weapon

Chapter 28- Lollipops and Candycanes

Kaida pulled at the hem of her dress as the three of them returned to the motel room. She hated dressing up like this, trying to look like a normal girl, but sometimes it was a necessary. She only had the one dress. It was a nondescript black dress that came down below her knees and she hated it. But as they had been sneaking in to the Shoemaker funeral and she would have stood out too much in her usual jeans and t-shirt. As soon as the door was open Kaida pushed passed her brothers and into the bathroom to get changed.

At least she had made the effort, she thought as she came back into the main room glaring at Sam and Dean. They hadn't bothered and of course they had been discovered. Dean could see the annoyance on her face and couldn't help himself from laughing.

"Don't give me that look Kaida. She thinks we are cops investigating the death. Everything is fine. And we got the information that we needed didn't we?"

Kaida huffed as she sat down. She had to concede that one. At least she knew now what had been nagging away at the back of her mind.

Kaida stood to one side watching the small group of girls closely. The group included Mr Shoemaker's two daughters and Kaida was determined to hear what they were talking about. Maybe there would be some clue as to exactly what, if anything, they had seen that night. But unfortunately there was nothing to overhear as they were all sitting in a somber quiet. That was until Sam and Dean approached.

"You must be Donna, right?"

Kaida took a sip from the glass that she was holding with only half an ear on the conversation. It would take a few moments for her brothers to steer the conversation around to what had happened that night. In the meantime Kaida glanced around the gathering. There didn't seem to be anything out of the ordinary here, nothing obvious anyway, so she turned her attention back to the conversation.

"That's because it wasn't a stroke."

The younger daughter had been silent until that moment. But the guilt had suddenly become to much for her. Kaida listened intently.

"Lily don't say that."

The older daughter chastised her sister, but Lily kept going.

"No, it happened because of me"

The nagging feeling was back, scratching away at the back of Kaida's mind. She wasn't sure what the girl was talking about but somehow it fit.

"Sweetie, it didn't"

The youngest hunter watched as Sam crouched down in front of the little girl so that they were eye to eye.

"Lily. Why would you say something like that?"

Lily bit her lip and Kaida could feel the guilt coming off her in waves.

"Right before he died, I said it."

Suddenly Kaida felt like laughing, suddenly all of the pieces clicked together.

"You said what?"

But she didn't need to hear anymore. Kaida knew what the girl was going to say before she said it.

"Bloody Mary, three times in the bathroom mirror. She took his eyes, that's what she does."

Kaida felt a little guilty now. She had insisted on going back to the Motel room to get changed before going to the library. But the library had been a bust and they had been forced to go back to the room once again with nothing to show for their efforts. It felt like they were wasting time. In an attempt to make up for her childish behaviour Kaida had volunteered to get the local papers. Now she was back at the motel with an arm full of papers and coffee to keep them all going. As she pushed open the door she noticed that the curtains were closed and Sam was asleep on the bed. As quietly as she could Kaida joined Dean at the small table in the corner. Raising her eyebrows slightly she asked him wordlessly how the research was going. Huffing out a breath the eldest sibling shook his head, it wasn't going well. Sighing they continued to work while Sam had some much needed rest.

They had both been worried about Sam over the last few weeks. He hadn't slept, constantly making excuses and brushing aside their concerns. But now the exhaustion had finally overtaken him and both Kaida and Dean were determined not to wake him before they needed to. Unfortunately Sam was not destined to sleep long, as not long after Kaida's return he gasped himself awake.

"Why did you let me fall asleep?"

He asked without looking at his siblings across the room.

"Because I'm an awesome brother. So what did you dream about?"

Kaida put the newspaper she was reading back down onto the table and took a sip of her coffee.

"Lollipops and Candy Canes."

Both Kaida and Dean scoffed. There was no way Sam was going to tell them what he had been dreaming about, but they could make a pretty good guess.

"Yeah sure."

Dean said, and for a moment she thought he was going to push for an explanation. But then Sam changed the subject.

"Did you find anything?"

Taking the change reluctantly Dean answered the question.

"Oh besides a whole new level of frustration. No. I've looked at everything. A few local women, a Laura and a Catherine commited suicide in front of a mirror, and a giant mirror fell on a guy named, but uh, no Mary."

Kaida put her coffee down as Sam sat up.

"Maybe we just haven't found it yet.

Dean and Kaida shared a look.

"I've been searching for strange deaths in the area, you know… eyeball bleeding, that sort of thing. There's nothing. Whatever's happening here, maybe it just ain't Mary."

Kaida wasn't convinced at that one, even though it certainly looked that way. Her instincts told her this was Mary, they just had to find it.

"There aren't any developments in the local papers either"

She admitted with a sigh. If this wasn't Mary they were back to square one. But then Sam's phone started to ring and they were jumping into action.