Authoress Note: Welcome to Chapter 18 of See You Again. We're getting closer to the end of this first instalment of A Woman of Letters. I have a feeling that it will take me some time to get the second instalment out for A Woman of Letters which is called I'm No Good. I want to thank those of you who have stayed with this story. It really does mean a lot and thank you to all of those who have left the kind reviews. I hope that you guys like this next part of See You Again. Without further ado Chapter 18.
Chapter 18
Shtriga
Dean drove down a country road. "Yeah. You probably missed something, that's what." Dean complained to his younger brother.
Andi rubbed her face at Dean's complaining. Whatever this case was it was making the brothers go at one another's throats and it wasn't a good sign.
"Dude, I ran LexisNexis, local police reports, newspapers, I couldn't find a single red flag. Are you sure you got the coordinates right?" Sam asked looking at Dean.
"Yeah, I double checked. It's Fitchburg, Wisconsin. Dad wouldn't have sent us coordinates if it wasn't important Sammy."
"Well, I'm telling you I looked and I could find was a big steamy pile of nothing. If Dad's sending us hunting for something I don't know what." Sam said getting frustrated with Dean.
"Boys knock it off before I knock your bloody blocks together." Andi snapped from the back seat.
"Well, maybe he's going to meet us there." Dean said thinking.
"Yeah. Cause he's been so easy to find up to this point." Sam grumbled crossing his arms.
Andi leaned forward smacking Sam on the back of the head.
"You're a real smart ass you know that? Don't worry I'm sure there's something in Fitchburg worth killing." Dean said gripping the steering wheel.
"Yeah? What makes you so sure?" Sam asked looking at Dean with a wondering gaze.
"Cause I'm the oldest, which means I'm always right."
Andi scoffed rolling her eyes.
"No it doesn't." Sam said shaking his head as he rubbed his head where Andi had hit him. "You know Andi you didn't have to hit me."
"Yeah I did you ass." Andi snapped as she pushed herself back against the seat crossing her arms.
"It totally does." Dean said looking at Sam then looked back at the road with a little grin on his face.
SPNSPN
Sam and Andi leaned against the car looking at the playground ahead of them. There was something seriously wrong with this picture. There was only one child playing at the playground, when there should have been more children out and about playing.
Dean came back holding three cups of coffee. He handed Andi and Sam their coffees. "Well… the waitress thinks the local freemasons are up to something sneaky, but other than that no one's heard about anything freaky going on." Dean said letting out a sigh as he took a sip of his coffee.
"Dean you got the time?" Sam asked looking at his brother.
Dean looked at his watch. "Ten after Four. Why?"
Sam gestured with his head looking ahead again. "What's wrong with this picture."
"School's out isn't it?" Dean asked in confusion.
"Yeah. So where is everybody?"
"There should be countless kids out here playing." Andi said pursing her lips together into a thin line. "This is too weird."
"I'll be right back." Dean said leaving Sam and Andi walking over to the woman that was sitting on the bench that was reading a magazine.
"This is unnerving… there's something going on in town… this is proving it." Andi said as she looked at Sam.
Sam looked over at her and saw the worry etched across her face. He felt a tug on his heartstrings. He knew Andi had a soft spot in trying to protect kids.
SPNSPN
The three hunters walked into the hospital heading towards the reception desk dressed in their suits.
"Dude. Dude I am not using this ID." Sam said looking at his brother like he had grown another head.
Andi shook her head as she smoothed out her skirt as she walked her heels clicked on the tiled floor.
"Why not?" Dean asked looking at his brother with raised brows.
"Cause it says bikini inspector on it!" Sam said in aggravation.
Andi rolled her eyes letting out a sigh. Of course Dean would pull a prank on his brother trying to make him look like a fool.
"Don't worry she won't look that close alright? Hell, she won't even ask to see it. It's all about confidence Sammy." Dean said with a grin as he spun Sam to face the desk as he grabbed Andi's arm leading her with him.
Andi looked at him as she walked with him rolling her eyes. "You know he's going to end up kicking your ass for this later." She said, shaking her head.
Dean laughed lightly as he continued to walk with her. "He's going to have to get over it sooner or later Andi."
Andi simply shook her head lightly at Dean's antics. Sometimes she wondered when the 27 year old would ever grow up.
Sam caught up to them and gave Dean a look which Andi dubbed a bitchface.
Dean grinned. "See. I told you it would work."
Sam glared at Dean and shook head irritably. "Follow me. It's upstairs."
SPNSPN
The three hunters walked with Dr. Hydecker down one of the halls.
"Well, thanks for seeing us, Dr. Hydecker." Dean said with a smile.
"Well, I'm glad you guys are here. I was just about to call CDC myself. How'd you find out anyways?" Dr. Hydecker asked them.
"Oh some GP, I forget his name, he called Atlanta and, uh, he must've beat you to the punch." Dean explained to Dr. Hydecker.
"So you say you got six cases so far?" Sam asked looking at Dr. Hydecker concerned.
"Yeah, five weeks. At first we thought it was a garden variety bacterial pneumonia. Not that newsworthy. But now…"
"Now what?"
"The kids aren't responding to antibiotics. Their white cell counts keep going down. Their immune systems just aren't doing their jobs. It's like their bodies are… wearing out."
A nurse walked up to them. "Excuse me, Dr. Hydecker." She handed him over some forms to look over and sign.
"You ever see anything like this before?" Andi asked him softly.
Dr. Hydecker shook his head. "Never this severe."
"And the way it spreads… that's a new one for me."
"What do you mean?" Sam asked looking at the nurse.
"It works its way through families. But only the children, one sibling after another."
"You mind if we interview a few of the kids?" Dean asked the nurse.
The nurse shook her head. "They're not conscious."
"None of them?" Andi asked in concern, now that was worrisome.
"No." She said, shaking her head.
"Can we, uh, can we talk to the parents?" Dean questioned softly.
"Well, if you think it'll help." Dr. Hydecker said looking at them.
"Yeah. Who was your most recent admission?"
SPNSPN
Dean, Sam, and Andi stood in front of a man interviewing him.
"I should get back to my girls." The father said softly.
"We understand that, and we really appreciate you talking to us. Now you say Mary is the oldest?" Sam asked softly.
"Thirteen."
"Okay. And she came down with it first, right? And then…"
"Bethany, the next night."
"Within 24 hours?" Andi asked curiously looking at the father.
"I guess. Look, I, uh, I already went through all of this with the doctor."
"Just a few more questions if you don't mind. How do you think they caught pneumonia? Were they out in the cold, anything like that?" Dean questioned softly wondering if the father could give them any information that would help them out.
"No. We think it was an open window."
"Both times?"
"The first time, I, I don't really remember, but the second time for sure. And I know I closed it before I put Bethany to bed."
"So you think she opened it?" Sam asked curiously.
"It's a second story window with a ledge. No one else could've."
SPNSPN
The three hunters walked down the corridor together.
"You know this might not be anything supernatural. It might just be pneumonia." Sam said looking over at Andi and Dean.
"Maybe. Or maybe something opened that window. I don't know man, look, Dad sent us down here for a reason. I think we might be barking up the right tree." Dean said looking at Sam.
"I'll tell you one thing."
"What?"
"That guy we just talked to? I'm betting it'll be awhile before he goes home."
Andi nodded her head. "Let's check it out. See if it points us in the right direction. See if there is a reason why these kids are getting sick."
SPNSPN
The three hunters were in Bethany's room checking the EMF readings of the bedroom.
"You got anything over there?" Sam asked Dean.
"Nah, nothing." Dean said shaking his head.
"Yeah, me neither." Sam shook his head.
The three of them kept checking the room to see if they could find anything.
Sam then went over to the window. "Hey Dean?"
"Yeah?" Dean asked looking over at his brother.
"What is it Sam?" Andi asked turning to the younger Winchester.
"Well." He said looking at the windowsill. "You were right. It's not pneumonia."
Dean and Andi came over and saw a handprint that was rotted into the wood.
"It's rotted. What the hell leaves a handprint like that?"
Dean's lips went into a thin line.
Andi looked at Dean with a look of concern etched on her face.
Dean looked at the windowsill looking a little sick. "I know why Dad sent us here. He's faced this thing before. He wants us to finish the job."
Andi's eyes went wide. "Finish the job? A job that he didn't finish?" She said in surprise. This wasn't normal that John never finished a job.
SPNSPN
The three of them got out of the Impala.
Andi put her hands into her back pockets letting out a soft breath.
"So what the hell is a shtriga?" Sam asked in confusion having no idea what the hell it was.
"It's… kinda like a witch I think. I don't know much about 'em." Dean admitted softly. He had been young when this type of case had popped up and John really hadn't told him all that much about what they were.
"Well I've never heard of it. And it's not in Dad's journal."
"Dad hunted on in Fort Douglas, Wisconsin, about 16, 17 years ago. You were there. You don't remember?"
"No."
"And I guess he caught wind of things in Fitzburg now and kicked us the coordinates." Dean said letting out a sigh.
"So wait, this…"
"Shtriga."
"Right. You think it's the same one Dad hunted before?"
"Yeah, maybe."
"But if Dad went after it why is it still breathing air?"
"Cause it got away."
"Got away?"
Dean rubbed his mouth. "Yeah Sammy it happens."
"Not very often."
"Well I don't know what to tell ya, maybe Dad didn't have his wheaties that morning."
"What else do you remember?"
"Nothin'." Dean said rather defensively.
Andi's brows furrowed together. She never seen Dean get defensive like this.
"I was a kid alright?" He said as he left the two of them outside.
Andi pursed her lips together into a thin line. "You know… I remember my dad saying something about this case. I mean this was years later after it happened… But my dad said that a shtriga did get away from your dad." Andi crossed her arms. "In fact my parents were coming to help out with this case, but John had told them not to come. He said that he had it handled… but I guess John didn't." Andi let out a soft sigh. "Don't know what happened. I never asked… neither did my folks."
SPNSPN
Sam typed on his computer pursing his lips together into a thin line.
Andi was going through her father's hunting journal that she had swiped when she had left London. Her brows furrowed as she read his sloppy handwriting. She nibbled her bottom lip as she tried to read his notes.
"Well, you were right. Heh. It wasn't very easy to find, but you were right." Sam said looking up from his laptop.
Andi put her father's journal down looking up at Sam to see what he had to say.
"Shtriga is a kind of witch. They're Albanian, but legends about them trace back to Ancient Rome. They feed of spiritus vitae."
"Spiri-what?" Dean asked in confusion.
"Vitae. It's Latin, translates to 'breath of life'. Kinda life your life force or essence."
"Didn't the doctor say the kids' bodies were wearing out?"
"It's a thought. You know she takes your vitality maybe your immunity goes to hell, pneumonia takes hold? Anyway, shtrigas can feed off anyone, but they prefer…"
"Children."
"Yeah. Probably because they have a stronger life force. And get this. Shtrigas are 'invulnerable to all weapons devised by God and man'."
Andi pursed her lips together.
"No, that's not right. She's vulnerable when she feeds."
"What?" Andi and Sam asked in confusion.
"If you catch her when she's eating you can blast her with consecrated wrought iron. Ahhh… buckshots or rounds I think…"
"How do you know that?" Andi asked blinking a few times. She was actually kind of surprised that Dean even knew something like that.
"Dad told me. I remember."
"Oh. Huh. So uh, anything else Dad might have mentioned?" Sam asked looking at Dean.
"Nope, that's it."
Sam kept looking at Dean.
"What?"
"Nothing." Sam said shaking his head. "Okay. So, assuming we can kill it when it eats we still gotta find the thing first, which ain't gonna be a cakewalk. Shtrigas take on human disguise when they're not hunting."
"What kinda human disguise?" Dean asked looking at his brother.
"Historically, something innocuous. Could be anything, but it's usually a feeble old woman, which might be how the witches as old crones legend got started."
Dean crossed the room. "Hang on."
"What?"
Dean grabbed a map. "Check this out." He said as he brought the map over to them. "I marked down all the addresses of the victims. Now these are the houses that have been hit so far, and dead center."
Andi pursed her lips together. "The hospital."
"The hospital." Dean said with a nod of his head. "Now when we were there I saw a patient, an old woman."
"An old person huh?" Sam asked looking at his brother.
"Yeah."
"In a hospital. Phew." Sam shook his head and sniggered. "Better call the Coast Guard."
"Well, listen, smart-ass, she had an introverted cross hanging on her wall."
Sam quickly looked up looking serious suddenly.
Dean raised an eyebrow.
"Well you two guys go on ahead. I'm going to try and get some sleep. I think you two will do just fine on this." She said with a smile.
SPNSPN
Sam came into the motel room the next morning waking Andi.
Andi rubbed her eyes tiredly looking up at him. She stretched out looking at him blinking a few times trying to clear her foggy brain. "How'd it go?" She asked as she slowly sat up.
Sam shook his head. "The old lady wasn't the shtriga."
Andi's eyes went wide in shock. "You're kidding."
Sam pursed his lips together and shook his head again. "And we got another problem. The little boy… little brother… he is sick."
Andi quickly got up to her feet. "Give me a few minutes to get dressed and we can go to the library. Where's Dean?" She said as she began to gather some clean clothes in a hurry.
"He's taking the owner of the motel to the hospital." Sam explained to her as she walked into the bathroom to change. "He wants to kill this shtriga."
Andi pursed her lips together into a thin line as she closed the door. "I don't blame him. We're going to have to do some digging… Maybe find out some information from prior." Andi let out a soft sigh as she changed her clothes into her jeans, tank top, and flannel. She slipped some socks onto her feet. She fixed her tousled pixie hair coming out of the bathroom. She slipped her feet into her boots. "Do you think that's a good idea? Looking back to when your father hunted this thing before?"
"Yeah… I think that might be the best idea." Sam said with a nod of his head. "Maybe there is something that there that can help us."
"We can only hope."
SPNSPN
Sam had gone to the library with Andi to see if they could find any information that could help them out with the shtriga case.
Sam's phone rang and he picked it up. "Hey. How's the kid?" Sam said softly as he sat at a microfiche machine next to Andi as she worked it. "I'm at the library with Andi. We've been trying to find out as much as we can about this Shtriga."
Andi pursed her lips as she looked at Sam as he talked to Dean.
"Well, bad news. I started with Fort Douglas around the time you said Dad was there? Same, deal. Before that, there was, uh, Ogdenville, before that North Haverbrook, and Brockway. Every 15 to 20 years it hits a new town. Dean, this thing is just getting started in Fitzburg. In all these other places it goes on for months. Dozens of kids before the shtriga finally moves on. The kids just… languish in comas and then they die."
Andi pursed her lips together as she began to look at photographs from the old days as Sam continued to talk to his brother.
"Ah, I don't know. The earliest mention I could find is this place called 'Black River Falls' back in the 1890s. Talk about a horror show…"
Andi smacked Sam's arm. "Sam."
"Whoa…" Sam looked at the photo that Andi was making him look at. "Hold on… I'm looking at a photograph right now that Andi's showing me of a bunch of doctors standing around a kid's bed. One of the doctors is Hydecker." Sam pursed his lips together. "And this picture was taken in 1893. Yeah. Yeah absolutely." He hung up his phone and looked at Andi. "Good pointing that out."
Andi looked at Sam. "So that's what Hydecker is. He's the shtriga that we've been hunting for."
Sam nodded his head. "It would appear so. Let's go. Dean will most likely be meeting us at the motel soon."
Andi nodded her head as she got up to her feet. "Let's just hope that he doesn't try to take a shot at Dr. Hydecker at the hospital…"
Sam nodded head in agreement.
SPNSPN
Dean had returned to the motel about the same time that Sam and Andi had and he was fairly frustrated when he came back.
"We should have thought of this before. A doctor's a perfect disguise. You're trusted, you can control the whole thing." Sam said thinking about it pursing his lips together as he sat down.
Andi sat down nodding her head.
Dean threw his jacket after he took it off and began to pace back and for agitated about the whole thing. "That son of a bitch."
"I'm surprised you didn't draw on him right there." Sam said looking at Dean.
"Yeah, well, first of all, I'm not going to open fire in a freakin' pediatrics ward."
"Good call." Andi said looking up at him.
"Second, wouldn't have done any good, because the bastard's bullet proof unless he's chowing down on something. And third, I wasn't packing, which is probably a really good thing because I probably would have just burned a clip in him on principle alone."
Andi shook her head.
"You're getting wise in your old age Dean." Sam commented with a small smile looking at his brother.
"Damn right. Cause now I know how we're going to get it."
"What do you mean?"
"Shtriga, works through siblings right?"
"Right."
"Well last night…."
"It went after Asher."
"So I'm thinking tonight it's probably gonna come after Michael."
"Well we gotta get him outta here."
Andi nodded her head in agreement to what Sam said.
"No. No, that would blow the whole deal." Dean said shaking his head.
"What?"
"Yeah."
"You wanna us the kid as bait?"
"Dean have you lost your bloody mind?" Andi asked getting up to her feet.
"No!" Sam said agreeing with Andi. "Forget it. That's out of the question."
"It's not out of the question Sam, Andi, it's the only way. If this thing disappears it could be years before we get another chance."
"Michael's a kid. And I'm not going to dangle him in front of that thing like a worm on a hook."
"Dad did not send me here to walk away." Dean said shaking his head.
Andi looked at Dean with a look of concern. What the hell was Dean going on about?
"Send you here? He didn't send you here… he sent us here."
"This isn't about you, Sam or you, Andi. I'm the one who screwed up, alright. It's my fault. There's no telling how many kids have gotten hurt because of me."
Andi's eyes went wide. "Dean… What are you going on about? How is this your fault?" She asked in confusion.
Dean kept silent not answering her question.
Andi looked at Sam with pursed lips.
Sam looked at his brother and let out a sigh. "Dean. You've been hiding something from the get-go. Since when does Dad bail on a hunt? Since when does he let something get away? Now talk to us, man. Tell us, what's going on." Sam pleaded with his brother. He truly wanted to know what was going on with his brother.
"Fort Douglas, Wisconsin. It was our third night in this crap room and I was climbing the walls. Man, I needed to get some air." Dean began to tell them the story of what happened that night.
Andi pursed her lips together as Dean told the story of what had happened in Fort Douglas. She hadn't expected the story to be like that.
"Dad just… grabbed us and booked. Dropped us off at Pastor Jim's about three hours away, but by the time he got back to Fort Douglas the shtriga had disappeared, it was just gone. It never surfaced until now. You know, Dad never spoke about it again, I didn't ask. But he… ah… he looked at me different, you know? Which was worse. Not that I blame him. He gave me an order and I didn't listen, I almost got you killed." Dean said looking down at the ground ashamed.
"You were just a kid." Sam said softly.
"Don't. Don't. Dad knew this was unfinished business for me. He sent me here to finish it."
"But using Michael… I don't know Dean. I mean, how about one of us hides under the covers you know, we'll be the bait." Sam asked softly.
"No, it won't work. It's gotta be close enough to feed… it'll see us. Believe me, I don't like it, but it's gotta be the kid."
"Well… you can go and try to ask him. But I'm not going with you. I'm not getting involved with this alright. I don't have a sibling." Andi said shaking her head. She wasn't about to get involved in something that didn't involve her.
"You sure Andi?" Sam asked softly.
"This is something that siblings should do guys." Andi said softly giving them a weak smile. "And I don't have that… you guys do… it will help Michael understand. And I can't… I can't help him understand that. Because I don't have a sibling. Go." She gave them a pleading look to leave the room.
Sam and Dean slowly left the room leaving Andi alone in the room.
Sam let out a soft breath rubbing his face. "You think she's going to be okay?"
Dean looked over at his brother. "I think she will be." He admitted softly. "But she was right. She doesn't have the type of bond that we have."
Sam pursed his lips together and nodded his head. He knew that she didn't have any siblings, but sometimes it made him wonder if she truly was lonely. And if she was, then why didn't she tell him and Dean about it? He wasn't so sure about that, not with how she was acting lately.
SPNSPN
"Well, that went crappy. Now what?" Dean asked rubbing his face. He had no idea what else to do. They had really needed Michael to help them with this and he had turned them down quickly.
"What did you expect?" Sam asked looking at Dean. "You can't ask an adult to do something like that, much less a kid."
Andi pursed her lips together as she rubbed her hands together. "Sam does have a point."
There was a knock on the door and Dean got up and went to the door opening it up.
Michael stood there shifting a little bit looking nervously at the three hunters. "If you kill it, will Asher get better?"
"Honestly?" Dean said looking at Michael. "We don't know."
"You said you were a big brother."
Dean nodded his head. "Yeah."
"You'd take care of your little brother? You'd do anything for him?"
"Yeah I would."
"Me too. I'll help."
Dean looked at Sam knowing that this was a good sign.
Andi pursed her lips together. This plan needed to work and Michael needed to be safe. "Okay… we're going to have to do this properly then." Andi said as she got up from the couch. "We're gonna need a camera to watch over him when this thing comes to keep him safe and sound."
Dean looked at Andi knowing that she wasn't fully comfortable with this plan. "Andi…"
"Dean this is your plan… I'm gonna make sure that it works… he's just a kid." Andi said as she walked out of the room.
Michael watched Andi leave the room. "She seems protective…" He said softly.
Dean swallowed the lump in his throat and nodded his head. "Yeah… she is."
"Is she a big sister?" Michael asked softly.
Dean shook his head. "No… she's an only child. But that's why she's so good at this job. I think."
Michael nodded his head. "She would have made a good big sister."
SPNSPN
Andi sat with Sam in the other room as Dean setup the camera in the other room. Andi pursed her lips together as Dean was setting up the camera.
Sam looked over at her and saw the concerned look on her face. "You're really worried about the kid."
"Of course I am." Andi said softly, her eyes never once left the screen.
"Do you want to tell me why you're so worried, Andi?" Sam asked softly, wondering why she was so concerned about using this kid as bait.
"I don't like this plan of using someone as bait… not even a fellow hunter." Andi said shaking her head. "Bad experience." Andi said as she rubbed her arms.
"Are we good?" Dean questioned them over the camera.
"A hair to the right." Sam told Dean and he moved to the camera. "There, there."
"I'm just hoping that your plan works." Andi said softly as she watched Dean talk with Michael trying to soothe his nerves.
Sam let out a soft breath. "Dean's not going to let anything happen to Michael. None of us are." Sam said looking at her.
Andi nodded her head. "Well, let's hope we get this damn thing before anything else happens to these kids."
SPNSPN
The three hunters sat and watched the security feed making sure that Michael was alright.
"What time is it?" Dean asked rubbing his mouth with his hand.
"Three. You sure these iron rounds are gonna work?" Sam asked looking over at his brother.
Andi looked at Dean with a worried look wondering if these were going to work as well.
"Consecrated iron rounds, and yeah it's what Dad used last time." Dean explained to the two younger hunters.
Andi pursed her lips looking down hoping that everything would work out in the end.
"Hey, Dean. I'm sorry." Sam said apologizing.
"For what?" Dean asked looking over at his younger brother, wondering why Sam was apologizing.
"You know, I've really given you a lot of crap, for always following Dad's orders. But I know why you do it." Sam said softly.
"Oh, god, kill me now." Dean said with a groan.
Sam laughed softly.
Andi shook her head softly knowing that Dean and Sam were going to have a hard time.
"Wait, look." Dean said looking at the surveillance noticing that the window sliding open.
The three hunters picked up their guns.
"Now?" Sam asked softly.
"Not yet." Dean said shaking his head.
"Dean it better be fucking soon." Andi said her nerves beginning to grow as shtriga moving closer to Michael leaning over him.
The three hunters quickly tore out of their motel room and into Michael's.
"Hey!" Sam yelled.
"Michael, down!" Dean yelled hoping that Michael would get down.
Michael rolled off and under his bed.
The three hunters open fired on the shtriga shooting it multiple times causing it to fall to the ground.
"Mike you alright?" Dean asked the little boy.
"Yeah." Michael called back from his hiding spot.
"Just sit tight." Dean said calling back going towards the shtriga. He had his gun ready to go if he needed to use it. He relaxed slightly when he noticed no movement and glanced at Sam and Andi.
The shtriga suddenly raised grabbing Dean by the throat and threw him against the wall.
"Dean!" Andi yelled as she went to help him, but the shtriga threw her against the wall.
"Andi!" Sam yelled as he went to help her, but the shtriga attacked him throwing him against the wall and he hit the ground. The shtriga came onto him forcing his mouth open and began to draw his energy and he began to turn grey.
"Hey!" Dean yelled causing the shtriga to look up and Dean shot him between the eyes.
Sam gasped for breath.
Andi crawled towards Sam checking on him.
"You okay little brother."
Sam nodded his head unsteadily holding up two thumbs-up.
The three hunters got up to their feet and looked at the shtriga. They saw the energy that the shtriga stole began to escape from its mouth.
Dean raised his gun and shot it three more times in point blank range.
Andi shook her head lightly.
Michael peeked his head out from the side of his bed looking out.
"It's okay, Michael, you can come out." Dean said softly letting Michael know that he was allowed to come out.
Michael came out and stood beside them smiling tentatively.
Dean placed his hand on Michael's shoulder and smiled softly.
SPNSPN
Sam, Dean, and Andi packed up the Impala. The three of them were getting ready to head out on the road since they had finished up the case here.
Dean looked up and saw Michael's mother coming out of the back of reception. "Hey, Joanna. How's Asher doing?"
"Have you seen Michael?" Joanna asked looking at them.
Michael came running up to his mother. "Mom! Mom!"
"Hey!" Joanna said hugging her eldest son.
"How's Ash?"
"Got some good news. Your brother's gonna be fine."
"Really?" Michael asked with a grin.
"Yeah. Really. No one can explain it… it's a miracle. They're going to keep him in overnight for observation and then he's coming home."
"That's great." Dean said with a smile.
Andi and Sam smiled as well.
"How are all the other kids doing?" Sam asked curiously.
"Good. Real good. A bunch of them should be checking out in a few days. Dr. Travis says the ward's going to be like a ghost town."
"Dr. Travis?" Andi asked tilting her head to the side.
"What about Dr. Hydecker?" Sam asked looking at her, wondering what had happened even though he knew what had happened.
"Oh he wasn't in today. Must've been sick or something." Joanna said unsure of where Dr. Hydecker was.
"Yeah. Yeah must have." Dean said knowing that they had gotten Dr. Hydecker.
"So, did anything happen while I was gone?" Joanna asked Michael.
Michael glanced at Dean. "Nah, same old stuff."
"Okay. You can go see Ash."
"Now?" Michael asked excitedly. Michael looked at Dean who nodded slightly.
"Only if you want to."
Michael ran to the car.
Joanna looked at the three of them. "I, ah, I'd better get going before he hotwires the car and drives himself." She said with a smile before leaving the three of them.
The three hunters turned back to the Impala.
"It's too bad." Sam said softly musing a little bit thinking about Michael.
"Oh, they'll be fine." Dean said looking at Sam.
"I don't think that's what he meant Dean." Andi said pursing her lips together.
"She's right." Sam said softly. "I was talking about Michael. He'll always know there are things out there in the dark… he'll never be the same, you know?" Sam let out a breath thinking. "Sometimes I wish that…"
"What?" Dean asked looking at his brother.
Sam looked at his brother. "I wish I could have that kinda innocence."
"Sam…" Andi said softly causing him to look at her. "I wish I could have the same."
The three of them watched Joanna drive away with Michael taking him to go and see his little brother in the hospital.
Dean looked over at the two of them. "If it means anything to the two of you… sometimes I wish you could too."
The three of them shared a look.
Dean then got into the car starting it up.
Andi and Sam got into the car.
Dean pulled out of the parking lot and out onto the road.
"Dean I know you wish that we could have that innocence, but it's something that we're never going to have." Andi said softly looking at the elder Winchester. "This is who we are."
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This is the end of Chapter 18. I know that there wasn't much action in this… I tried my best with this chapter and it was rather difficult. But I tried my best with it. Please leave a review and let me know what you think. The next chapter I have quite a bit planned for it. Please let me know if there is anything that you would like to see in Provenance. Reviews will help me get the next chapter out. There isn't very many chapters left of this story. Only four chapters left and then it will be off to the second story and I can't wait to start writing season 2. Until next time guys.