December 6th, 2009 - Ketchum, Oklahoma
They had come up with a plan on the way to Ketchum. Dean and Amy would pretend to be taking Sam into the psychiatric ward for insanity, while also trying to get in themselves.
"How are we gonna do this?" Sam had asked.
Amy leaned forward across the seat. "We could always tell them the truth," she suggested. "That we hunt monsters. I could tell them about growing up in another universe, my powers, etcetera."
"That'll work," Dean agreed.
Sam nodded. "Okay. I'll get everything ready tonight."
Dean pulled into the parking lot of a motel. The hunters checked into their room and made their way up to it.
Amy dropped her bag on the floor by her bed and leaped into it, landing face down on the pillow.
"I'll make a few calls," she heard Sam say.
"Sounds good." With that, Dean flopped down on the other bed.
Before drifting off to sleep, the last thing Amy heard was Sam talking to someone at the Glenwood Springs psychiatric hospital.
December 7th, 2009
Amy woke the next morning around eight.
"Morning, Ames," Dean said. "Hurry up and get dressed. We're heading down to the hospital soon. Sam got a call from a former hunting buddy of ours, Martin, last night. He said things are getting pretty bad down there. Looks like someone else died last night."
"Shit," Amy hissed. She slid out of her bed. "Are we posing as anyone today?"
Sam shook his head. "Not this time."
Amy grabbed her bag and headed into the bathroom. She pulled on a pair of jeans and a t-shirt before pulling her hair into a hair tie and heading back out. She tossed her bag back on the bed and pulled on her shoes.
"Ready," Amy announced.
"Let's go." Dean grabbed the keys and led them back out to the Impala. They climbed in and headed off towards Glenwood Springs psychiatric hospital.
Sam and Dean explained the full plan to Amy on the way. During the night, Dean had called the hospital, pretending to be a Dr. Babar from Chicago. They would have aliases of Edward, Alex, and their little sister Jenny Van Halen. According to the fake call Dean had made, Sam showed paranoid schizophrenia signs and was being sent for an evaluation.
Dean parked the Impala in the woods just outside the hospital parking lot. "Everyone know the plan?" he asked.
"Yep," Amy said. "Just tell the truth." She climbed out of the Impala and began following Sam and Dean across the parking lot. "Kind of ironic that the only thing we need to do to get into a psychiatric ward is to tell them what we do for a living."
"Crazy works," Dean said,
They headed inside the hospital and made their way to the front desk.
"Hi there," Dean said to the receptionist, "I'm here to check my younger brother in."
"Name?"
"Edward Van Halen." Dean put his hand on Sam's back. "This is my brother, Alex."
The receptionist turned to Amy. "Are you with them?"
Amy nodded. "Yes."
"Name?"
"Jenny Van Halen."
The receptionist nodded and began typing something on her computer. Amy rocked back and forth on her heels as they waited.
"Are you alright, ma'am?" the receptionist asked.
Amy nodded. "Yeah, sorry. It's just a little uncomfortable for me to stand still sometimes."
"Hmm." The receptionist turned back to her computer.
Amy turned to Dean, who shrugged in confusion.
"Alright," the receptionist finally said. She stood up, grabbing a paper as it came out of the printer. "Right this way."
The hunters followed the receptionist down the hallway. They stopped in front of a door that read "Dr. Fuller" on the window.
The receptionist opened the door, knocking on the window as she did. "Dr. Fuller? I've got some people here to see you."
"Send them in."
The receptionist led the hunters into the room. She handed a file to a man sitting behind the desk.
Dr. Fuller was an older man wearing a white lab coat and rectangular-shaped glasses. Sam and Dean sat at the two chairs in front of the desk while Amy sat down on the white couch near Dean.
Dr. Fuller opened up the file. The hunters sat in awkward silence as the doctor read through it.
"You were referred to me by a Dr. Babar in Chicago," Dr. Fuller read.
Dean nodded. "That's right."
The doctor set the file down. "Isn't there a children's book about an elephant named Babar?" he asked suspiciously.
Dean shook his head. "I don't know. I don't have any elephant books. Look, Doctor, I-I-I think the doc was in over his head with this one. 'Cause my brother is..." Dean pointed one finger at Sam and circled another at the side of his head while whistling.
Dr. Fuller raised his hand. "Okay, fine, thank you. That 's-that's really not necessary." He grabbed his file and a notepad. "Why don't you tell me how you're feeling, Alex?"
Sam sighed. "I'm fine. I mean, okay, a little depressed, I guess."
Dr. Fuller wrote something down in his notepad. "Okay. Any idea why?"
"Probably because I started the apocalypse," Sam said with no hesitation.
Amy couldn't help but smirk as Dr. Fuller looked up at Sam. "The apocalypse?"
Sam nodded. "Yeah, that's right."
Dr. Fuller looked over in Dean's direction. Dean flashed the doctor a smile, and he turned back to Sam. "And you think you started it?"
"Well, yeah, I mean," Sam sighed, "I killed this demon, Lilith, and I accidentally freed Lucifer from hell," he explained. "So now, he's topside, and we're trying to stop him."
Dean let out an exasperated sigh.
"Who is?" the doctor asked.
"Me. A-and him." Sam pointed to Dean and Amy. "And her, and this one angel."
"Oh, you mean, like a...like an angel on your shoulder?" Dr. Fuller asked, tapping his shoulder.
"No. His name's Castiel. He wears a trench coat."
Dr. Fuller went back to taking notes.
"See what I mean, Doc?" Dean asked. "The kid's been beating himself up about this for months. The apocalypse wasn't his fault."
"No, of course not," Amy agreed. "I did try to warn them, after all.
The doctor looked back and forth between Dean and Amy, stunned. "It's not? You did?"
"No. There was this other demon, Ruby," Dean said quickly. "She got him addicted to demon blood, and near the end, he was practically chugging this stuff."
"I told Sam Ruby was evil," Amy added. "But I think it was too late by the time I did."
"My brother's not evil," Dean continued. "He was just...high...yeah? So, could you fix him up so we can get back to traveling around the country and hunting monsters?"
The doctor held a finger up. He picked up the phone next to him and dialed an extension. "Irma...cancel my lunch." He hung up as Dean pat Sam comfortingly on the arm.
A few minutes later, the door opened back up, and a happy-looking nurse stepped into the room. "Dr. Fuller?"
"Yes, uh," the doctor stood up, "excuse me for a second." He stepped out of the room with the nurse, closing the door behind him.
"Do you think it worked?" Amy asked.
"It better have," Dean said.
The door opened back up, and the nurse reappeared. "Could you three please follow me?"
The hunters stood up and followed the nurse out of Dr. Fuller's office.
"Doctor Fuller would like to keep the three of you under observation for a couple of days," the nurse said as she led them down a hallway.
"Three?" Dean asked. "Me, too?"
"And me?" Amy asked.
"Yes, Sugars," the nurse confirmed. "The doctor thinks that would be best."
Amy turned to Sam and Dean. The three hunters gave each other victorious smiles before turning back to the nurse.
The nurse walked them down to an examination room. "Okay," she said, turning to the hunters, "I just need to give the three of you a little check-up and give you a change of clothes, then you'll be good to go. If you want to wait in the lounge, it's just down the hall." She pointed at Amy and grinned. "Let's take you first, sweetie."
Amy looked back at Sam and Dean. They ushered her to follow the nurse, and she reluctantly did.
The nurse led Amy into a small examination room. "Alright, go ahead and take off your jacket for me," she instructed.
Amy sat down on the exam table and took off her jacket, setting it next to her.
The examination went by reasonably quickly. The nurse made sure Amy was healthy, checking her blood pressure, heartbeat, temperature, etcetera.
"Okay, I just need to take a blood sample, and then you're all set," the nurse said with a smile.
"Blood sample?"
"Mhm." The nurse nodded. "It's just to make sure you don't have any health issues we might need to address while you're here."
"Well, I can tell you right now that I have anemia," Amy said. "But that's all I know of."
The nurse grabbed the items to draw Amy's blood. "Well, this will tell us if you have any more."
After it was over, the nurse handed Amy a pair of blue scrubs, black slippers, and a blue robe.
"Just put these on, and you'll be good to go!" the nurse said gleefully. She still had a grin on her face, making Amy feel uncomfortable. "Bathroom's right over there."
Amy quickly headed into the bathroom, desperate to get away from the super happy nurse. She changed out of her regular clothes and into the patient's outfit before heading back out.
"Alright," the nurse said, "I'll just take those for you." She took Amy's clothes and shoes. "Go ahead and head out to the lounge. It's just down the hall. Your brothers will be out to join you in a bit."
Amy didn't say anything as she left the examination room. The nurse followed her to the patient's lounge and called Dean in next.
Sam was sitting at one of the tables, looking around at all the other patients. Amy pulled up a chair and sat on the other side of him.
"Hey," Sam greeted. "How'd it go?"
Amy shrugged. "About as well as you'd expect." She looked around the room. "Is that guy, Martin, here? I have no idea what he looks like."
Sam shook his head. "I don't see him anywhere."
"Hopefully we can get this over with quickly," Amy muttered. "I wanna leave here as soon as possible."
"Yeah, I know the feeling."
After Dean finished his check-up, Sam followed the nurse down the hall. Dean leaned against the back of the couch, staring down at the floor.
Amy stood up from the table and walked over. "Hey."
Dean didn't respond.
"You okay?" Amy asked.
Dean nodded. "Yeah, yeah, I'm good."
"You sure?"
"Don't try and shrink me, Ames."
Amy held up her hands. "I wasn't, but okay." She moved around the couch and sat down on the arm, next to Dean.
Eventually, Sam walked back out, wearing the same thing as Dean and Amy. Dean had resumed staring at the floor, only looking up when Sam walked up next to him.
"How was your Silkwood shower?" Dean asked.
"Okay. Yeah, good. Yeah, good, um-good water pressure," Sam stammered. "Did the nurse..."
Dean nodded. "She was very thorough."
"Yeah. Yeah, good. Good. Yeah."
"Please stop talking," Amy muttered. She hadn't gone through the same thing Sam and Dean were talking about, but hearing them talk about it made her uncomfortable.
Amy looked around the lounge at the other patients. A man slept at one table while a woman made paper puppets at another. On the other side of the room, another woman played with a stuffed, pink bunny. Most of the other patients were walking around the lounge.
"I can't believe I let you talk me into this," Dean muttered.
"Hey, it's the least we could do," Sam argued. "Martin saved Dad's ass more times than we can count. He's a great hunter."
"Was," Dean corrected. "Until Albuquerque."
Sam sighed. "Besides, I just figure it's best we keep busy. That's all."
"Better than what?"
Sam shrugged. "Nothing."
Dean wasn't buying it. He motioned for Sam to continue.
"Okay." Sam sighed again. "Look...um...last few weeks, you've kind of been worrying me."
Dean sighed in frustration. "Oh, come on, Sam. Stop. Look, just because we're in the loony bin doesn't give you the right to head-shrink me."
"Dean-"
"The Colt not working and Lucifer getting away-" Dean continued. "Yeah, it was a friggin' tragedy, okay? But I'm not gonna wallow in it."
"We'll find Lucifer again," Amy cut in.
"Exactly," Dean said.
"Dean, you always do this," Sam argued. "You can't just keep this crap in."
Dean chuckled. "Watch me." He looked over at another table, where a bald man was staring out the window. "Oh, there he is."
Amy followed Sam and Dean over to the table. Sam cleared his throat and the man, Martin, looked up at them.
"Sam, Dean, wow." Martin stood up and shook Sam's hand. "Wow, you boys got big. You look good."
"Thanks." Sam nodded. "You do, too, Martin."
Martin noticed Amy standing next to Dean. "Who's this?"
"Oh, uh, Martin, this is Amy. She's a hunter as well," Sam explained. "We met her a few years ago."
Martin nodded. "Uh...Well, thanks for coming." He motioned for them to sit down.
Dean sat in the chair across from Martin while Sam and Amy grabbed two more chairs and pulled them over.
"In the old days, I could've taken care of this thing with both hands tied behind my back...but, well...now..." Martin trailed off, letting out a long sigh.
"What do you think it is that we're hunting?"
Martin shrugged. "I don't know yet. A ghost, demon, monster...animal, vegetable, mineral." He chuckled slightly. "Hospital's had five deaths in the last four months. Doctors keep calling it suicides, but they're wrong."
"So, you've seen this thing?" Sam asked.
Martin shook his head.
"Has anyone seen this thing?" Dean asked.
"Well, a couple patients have, uh...had glimpses, but there's not a lot to go on."
"Are they reliable?" Dean asked.
Martin nodded. "Oh, sure, why wouldn't they be?"
Dean looked around the room again, then turned back to Martin. "Gee, I don't know."
"I know you boys think I'm a bag of loose screws. Now, you wouldn't be wrong," Martin argued. "But I wouldn't have called you unless there was something here. I can feel it in my gut."
Amy exchanged a glance with Sam and Dean.
"We believe you," Sam finally said. "Have you checked any of the bodies? Found signs of an attack?"
Martin flinched. "Well, uh, no...I don't go around dead b-b-b-bodies anymore," he stammered.
"Alex, Eddie, Jenny."
Amy turned to see Dr. Fuller walking up behind them.
"Well, I'm glad to see you're making friends," Dr. Fuller said, nodding at Martin. "Why don't you two and, uh, Mr. Creaser join us for group? Please. Right this way."
The three hunters and Martin stood up. Amy followed Sam and Martin past Dr. Fuller.
"Actually, I'm gonna be putting you in the afternoon group," Dr. Fuller said. Amy turned to see him talking with Dean.
Dean frowned. "What? Why"
"Well, to be frank, uh, the relationship that you have with your brother seems dangerously codependent." Dr. Fuller glanced back at Amy. "I'd put you in a separate group as well, to be honest, but we only have a morning and afternoon group." He turned back to Dean. "I think a little time apart will do you both good."
Amy and Sam exchanged glances as Dr. Fuller walked off. They reluctantly began to follow as Dean waved at them.
Dr. Fuller led Sam, Amy, and Martin into another room. Five additional patients sat in metal chairs around a circle.
Dr. Fuller sat down in one of the vacant chairs. Amy took a seat between Sam and Martin.
"Alright, so...who would like to start us off?" Dr. Fuller asked, looking around the room.
A male patient raised his hand.
Dr. Fuller slowly looked around the group, hesitating on the man with his hand raised, before continuing. "Anyone else?"
The patient raised his hand higher, determined to get called on.
Dr. Fuller finally gave in. "Alright, Ted," he said. "Calm down."
Ted lowered his hand. "I am calm," he stressed, rocking as he spoke. "And I'd very calmly like to talk about the monster that's hunting us."
"Ted, we're not going to have that discussion again," Dr. Fuller said.
Amy exchanged glances with Sam and Martin. Something interesting was going on here.
"It's not good for group," Dr. Fuller continued.
"I agree," Ted said. He let out a shaky breath. "You know what else isn't good for group? A monster eating all our faces off."
"Alright, fine, thank you." Dr. Fuller leaned forward. "Now, anyone else?"
"I saw it," Ted said quickly, "when it killed Susan."
"I did, too," a female patient cut in. "It had big lobster claws."
"No, it didn't."
"Yeah, and it was an alien, like on X-Files," the other patient continued.
"Stop it. Stop helping!" Ted shouted frantically. "Listen to me. We're all dead!"
"That's enough," Dr. Fuller snapped. He leaned forward and took off his glasses. "There is no monster. Now, Ted, do you need me to call the orderlies..."
Ted shook his head.
"...or can you behave?"
Ted nodded. "Behave."
Amy and Sam exchanged another glance.
"What about you, Jenny?"
Amy quickly looked over at Dr. Fuller. "What?"
"Why don't you tell us how you're feeling?"
Amy shrugged. "I'm fine."
"Are you?" Dr. Fuller asked.
"Yeah, totally," Amy insisted.
"I see." Dr. Fuller scribbled something down on his notepad. "Nothing you want to talk about."
Amy shook her head. The doctor was starting to get on her nerves a little. "Like I said, I'm fine."
Dr. Fuller nodded. "Very well."
Amy tuned most of the rest of the session out. Finally, they finished, and everyone stood up to leave.
Martin left with the rest of the group while Sam and Amy hung back.
"You okay?" Sam asked.
Amy rolled her eyes. "Oh, god, not you too," she said in frustration. "I'm fine, Sam."
Sam nodded. "Okay. 'Cause you know you can talk to me, right?"
"I know." Amy nodded. "Come on, we better go find Dean."
They began making their way out of the room. A long line of patients walked down the hallway, passing by the room they were in. At the end of the line was Dean. He had his hands in his pockets as he walked past Sam and Amy, not acknowledging them.
Sam and Amy stepped out of the room. "Dean, hey," Sam said.
Dean turned to face them.
"You okay?" Sam asked, seeing Dean's face.
"I just got thraped. So, no, I am not okay," Dean said. "Tell me you two found something."
"Looks like one of the patients saw something," Amy spoke. "I think his name was Ted."
"We should talk to him," Sam added. "You wanna meet here in an hour?"
Dean nodded. "Yeah, sooner we take care of this thing, sooner we can get gone. This place gives me the creeps." He turned around to see a female patient standing directly behind him. Without a word, she put a hand on the back of his head and kissed him.
Sam and Amy stood there, watching awkwardly.
Finally, the woman pulled away. "Hi."
"Hi," Dean said back.
"I'm Wendy."
Dean nodded. "Uh-huh."
Wendy walked past Dean, slapping his butt as she passed.
Dean turned around and smirked at Sam. "Maybe this place isn't so bad, after all."
"Dude...you cannot hit that," Sam said.
"Oh, so torn," Dean said as Amy laughed.
"Okay," Amy said. "When should we talk to the guy who says he saw the monster?"
"I think tonight would be best," Dean said. "Once everyone's asleep. What room is he in?"
"I dunno," Sam said. "But I'll find out. Meet me in front of my room tonight."
"How are you gonna get out?" Amy asked.
"I snuck a lockpick in," Sam explained.
"So did I." Dean turned to Amy. "You can just use your powers to get out, right?"
Amy nodded. "Yeah, I should be able to."
"Good."
"We should head back to the lounge," Sam said. "Before anyone notices that we're missing."
Amy followed Sam and Dean back out to the lounge. As they entered, a woman wearing a white lab coat and holding a clipboard approached. She had a nametag on her lab coat that read 'Dr. Cartwright.'
"There you three are," she said with a smile. "I was wondering where you three wandered off to." She turned to Amy. "You must be Jenny."
"Uh, yeah."
"Do you mind if I ask you a few questions, hun?"
Amy opened her mouth to answer, but Dean quickly stepped in. "Yes, she does mind," he snapped.
"Sir, it's procedure that I talk to all the new patients," Dr. Cartwright said. "This won't take long."
Amy stepped forward. "Eddy, it's fine."
Dean hesitated for a moment. "Alright," he finally muttered, "okay.
Dr. Cartwright smiled. "Right this way, then."
Amy followed the doctor to an empty table and sat down opposite her.
"Now then," the doctor began. "I'm just going to ask you a few questions, and you answer them as truthfully as you can. Deal?"
Amy folded her arms and leaned back in her seat. "Deal."
"How many hours of sleep do you get a night?"
Amy shrugged. "It varies, I think. Sometimes I get a full eight hours, sometimes I get much less."
"What's the shortest amount of sleep you've gotten?"
Amy had to think for a moment. There were times, back before meeting Sam and Dean when she would only get two or three hours of sleep because she went to bed too late and had to get up early for school. "Two or three hours," she finally answered.
Dr. Cartwright scribbled something down on her notepad. "Do you drink?"
Amy shook her head. "Not really. I've had maybe one or two, but that's it."
Dr. Cartwright nodded and wrote her response down. "When's the last time you were in a long-term relationship?"
"I've never been in a relationship," Amy replied. "Not interested."
"How come you're not interested?"
Amy shrugged. "I've just never been interested in dating or being in a relationship at all. Can I go now?"
"Just a few more questions." Dr. Cartwright looked down at her clipboard. "Have you ever felt really depressed or anxious for any reason?"
Amy chuckled at the irony. "I was diagnosed with depression and anxiety when I was fourteen, so I'm gonna go with yes."
"I see." The doctor wrote Amy's response down. "Are you taking anything for these?"
Amy shook her head. "I did for a few years, but then I stopped altogether. My brothers and I travel a lot. I just don't have time to pick up a new prescription when I need to."
The doctor nodded again. "Alright, I think that's all I needed to know for now. You can go join the others."
Amy didn't say anything as she stood back up and went to find Sam and Dean. She found them standing by the couch, talking, and walked over.
"How'd it go?" Dean asked.
"It went okay, I guess," Amy muttered. "She just asked me how much sleep I got, if I drank, when my last long-term relationship was, stuff like that."
"Yeah, she asked me the same things," Dean said.
"Yeah," Amy said, "and then she asked if I ever felt depressed or anxious, which I thought was both a little odd and also ironic."
"How come?"
"I've had depression and anxiety since before I met you two," Amy said nonchalantly.
"Oh."
Amy glanced back and forth between the two Winchesters. "Seriously, guys, you don't have to feel bad or anything. Like I said, I've had both for years, longer than my diagnosis. I don't remember what I was really like before I got it, but I've kinda just learned to manage and try to live with it."
Sam and Dean exchanged a glance.
"Okay, I suppose," Sam said. "But just know that if you ever need to talk, Dean or I are here for you."
Amy smiled. "I know."
The rest of the day went by pretty uneventfully. Dean went to the afternoon session later in the afternoon, coming back just before dinner. That night, the three hunters were placed in separate rooms nearby each other.
Amy waited until the lights went out before using her powers to unlock her door. She poked her head out to see Dean leaning against the wall and walked up to him. "Where's Sam?"
"I'm still waiting on him," Dean said.
Another door opened, and Sam stepped out, holding a lockpick in his hand.
Dean and Amy walked over to him. "Well, it's about time," Dean said. "Nurses are on their rounds. We got, like, fifteen, twenty minutes. So, where is this guy?"
"Room 306."
They walked down the hall towards Ted's room. As they rounded a corner, a scream echoed through the halls. They quickly rushed to Ted's room and looked inside. Sam began to pick the lock as Ted's feet slammed against the window.
"Move!" Amy pushed Sam out of the way and used her powers to unlock the door. The hunters hurried inside to see Ted struggling with something in the dark.
Dean quickly flipped on the light, and they were met with the sight of Ted hanging from a metal pipe in his room, tied up with his bedsheets.
"Oh my god," Amy gasped.
"Well, so much for that," Dean said in frustration. "Alright, we'll check the morgue tomorrow. Find out what this thing does to its victims." He pat Sam on the shoulder. "Come on, we should get back to our rooms."
They left the room, leaving Ted for the nurses and doctors to find in the morning, and headed back to their rooms.
December 8th, 2009
The next morning, Amy's room was unlocked by one of the orderlies. She was ushered out to the patients' lounge with everyone else.
She joined Sam, Dean, and Martin over by the window and sat down. "Hey."
"Hey, Ames," Dean greeted.
"You three find anything?" Martin asked.
"Not what we wanted to, but yeah," Amy confirmed. "We found Ted dead in his room."
"Oh."
"We gotta get into the morgue to search the body," Sam said. "Do you think you can distract the orderlies for us so we can sneak out?"
Martin shook his head. "I don't-I don't think so."
"Please?"
Martin shook his head again. "Sorry, guys."
Sam sighed. "It's alright, Martin."
"Well, now what are we going to do?" Dean asked. "These guys are watching us like hawks."
"I think I got an idea," Amy said. "I can turn off the lights from here, just get ready to move." She looked over at the light switch on the other side of the room, using her powers to turn them off.
The room went dark just long enough for the hunters to slip out of the room, unnoticed. They hurried down the hall to the morgue and headed inside.
Dean led them over to the refrigerators and opened the door with Ted's name on it. He pulled out the slab, and Sam pulled back the sheet. There was a red line where the bedsheet had been wrapped around Ted's neck. Sam began feeling around Ted's head, while Dean and Amy searched his hands.
"Hey, I think I found something," Sam said.
"What do you got?" Dean asked.
"Right here." Sam pointed to a hole on the side of Ted's head. "Uh, give me a hand."
Dean held Ted's head and tilted it slightly as Sam grabbed a long Q-tip from a nearby table. He stuck the Q-tip into the hole and pushed it all the way down to almost the end.
"This hole goes all the way through to his brain," Sam realized.
"What the hell?" Amy grimaced.
"What does that mean?" Dean asked.
Sam grabbed a bone saw from the table. "Let's find out."
"Seriously?" Dean asked.
"You two keep watch."
Dean and Amy headed outside the morgue to keep watch. Inside the room, the bone saw started up, and Amy saw Dean frown in disgust.
A moment later, Amy heard a door open down the hall. She glanced over at Dean to see that he had heard the same thing. They quickly headed back inside the morgue.
"Dude," Dean said quickly as the door closed behind them.
Sam held up a small, black, charred brain. "Look, his brain's been sucked dry."
"That's fascinating," Dean deadpanned. "Somebody's coming."
The hunters quickly got to work cleaning up. Sam put Ted's brain back inside his head and carefully put the top of his head back on.
Amy stood watch by the window as Dean pushed the slab back into the fridge. "Hurry up," she hissed, hurrying back over.
Sam threw his bloody gloves into a nearby trash can just as the door to the morgue swung open.
The overly happy nurse stepped into the room. "What are you three doing in here?"
Amy looked back and forth at Sam and Dean, hoping one of them would be able to come up with something.
Dean shrugged and pulled down his pants. He threw his arms over his head and put on a goofy grin. "Pudding!" he said, jumping around.
Amy shielded her eyes and looked away. "Nope," she muttered.
The nurse smiled. "Alright, come on, you three." She walked over to the door and held it open for them.
Dean began walking to the door, turning back to Sam and Amy as he did. "Crazy works," he whispered.
After getting over their initial shock, Sam and Amy followed Dean out the door. The nurse let out a chuckle as she followed them out the door.
"This way, you three," the nurse said. "We gotta get you back to the others."
Amy turned her head back to the nurse as they walked. The nurse still had a big grin on her face. She turned to Sam and Dean. "That nurse creeps me out," she whispered.
"Yeah, me too," Sam whispered.
They walked back into the patient's lounge, where Martin was waiting for them. Amy followed Sam and Dean over to him.
"Martin, hey," Amy said as they approached.
Martin was standing next to the wall, looking at several paintings of clowns.
"Are those original Gacy's?" Dean asked with a chuckle.
"I painted those," Martin said.
"Back on point, please. Um...so, whatever this thing is-"
Dean pointed to the paintings. "It's good."
"It Slurpees your brain," Sam continued, "sucks you dry."
"Yeah, then it makes the deaths look like suicides. Any ideas?" Dean asked.
Martin thought for a moment. "Yeah," he finally said. "A bad one." He led them over to the table by the window and opened his journal.
The drawing was of a large head with several pointy teeth, rotten skin, and long, stringy hair.
"What is it?" Dean asked.
"It's a wraith," Amy recalled.
Martin nodded. "And I bet you a chicken dinner it's what we're up against. They crack open skulls and feed on brain juice."
"You ever tangle with one before?" Sam asked.
Martin shook his head. "Never. Never wanted to, neither."
"So, how do we kill it?" Dean asked.
"Silver. You so much as touch a wraith with the stuff, and the skin will crackle. Now, that's the good news. The bad news is...they can pass as humans."
The hunters and Martin looked around the room at everyone.
"It could be any Peter, Paul, and Mary in the joint," Martin said.
"Well, that's just great," Amy muttered.
"So, how do we find it?" Dean asked.
"A mirror. Lore says a wraith will show its true form in a mirror."
"Okay," Dean said, "well, we just gotta spot check every patient and every staff member."
Sam nodded. "Okay. Yeah. But-I mean, what's it doing in a mental hospital?"
"Who's gonna believe a psych ward patient when they say they've seen a monster?" Amy asked.
"Exactly," Martin agreed. "It's the perfect hunting ground."
"Okay, well, we can't just go up to every single person and hold a mirror up to their face," Amy pointed out.
Dean looked around, spotting a mirror mounted near the ceiling in one corner, aimed down at the room. "There," he said, pointing to it. "We can use that for now." He straightened up. "Okay, I'll keep an eye on the mirror, try and spot this thing. Sam, Amy, you guys go see if you can find something silver that we can use to take it down."
"Okay," Martin agreed. "I'm gonna go sit down if that's alright with you guys."
"Yeah, okay." Dean pat Martin on the shoulder. "Thanks for your help."
Martin walked over to the couch and sat down.
"We might have better luck tonight," Amy pointed out. "Less chance of us running into someone."
"Good point," Sam said.
Dean nodded. "Okay."
Amy turned to look around the room. The overly happy nurse was standing on the other side of the room, beaming. Amy quickly turned away.
"I still can't get over my feeling that there's something off about that nurse," she muttered.
"Which one?" Dean asked.
"That one over there," Amy said, nodding her head in the direction of the nurse. "I can't put my finger on it, but something about her reminds me of something."
Sam and Dean exchanged a glance. "Maybe you could," Sam began, "you know-"
"What?" Amy asked, not quite getting what they were implying.
"Come on," Dean urged, "you know."
"Read her mind?" Amy asked quietly. "Dean-"
"Look, Ames, I know you don't like invading people's privacy like that," Dean said, "but if you really have such a bad feeling about that nurse, maybe it's for the best."
Amy sighed. Maybe Dean was right. "Alright," she agreed.
Amy turned back to the nurse. It had been a long time since she had used her mind-reading powers. She focused on the nurse's thoughts, ignoring the sounds of the other patients around her.
'These humans look so delicious,' the nurse was thinking. 'And no one suspects a thing.'
Amy gasped and took a step back, breaking her concentration.
"Ames?" Sam asked, putting a hand behind her to stop her from stumbling back too far. "You okay?"
Amy shook her head, keeping her eyes on the nurse. "I think it's her," she said.
"What?" Dean asked in shock.
"I think that nurse is the wraith," Amy explained. "When I read her mind, she was thinking something like 'these humans look so delicious,' and 'no one suspects a thing.'."
"Crap," Dean said. "Are you sure?"
"Unless she somehow knows I can read minds and she was just thinking those things to mess with me, I'm gonna go with yes."
Dean exchanged another look with Sam. "Well, I guess that's one way to figure out who we need to kill," he said.
"Okay, uh, I'll find something silver we can use tonight," Sam said. "You two keep a close eye on that nurse. Find out where she goes so we can follow her."
Amy and Dean nodded in agreement.
"Sounds like a plan."
"Should we tell Martin?" Amy asked.
Sam looked over at Martin. "We might need his help."
"Are you sure?" Dean asked. "'Cause I think the three of us can do this no problem."
"He's still a hunter, Dean," Sam argued. "Plus, he's been here much longer than we have. He might be able to help us more than you think he can."
"I kinda have to agree with Sam," Amy cut in. "I mean, if Martin's up for it, that is."
Dean sighed. "Alright, fine. But someone's gotta tell him the plan."
"I'll do it," Amy offered. She walked up to Martin. "Martin?"
Martin looked up. "Oh, hi. It's Amy, right?"
Amy nodded. "We've come up with a plan," she said. "If you're up for it, we could use your help."
"What's the plan?"
"Well, we figured out who the wraith is," Amy began.
"You did?" Martin began frantically looking around. "Who is it?"
"You see, the nurse over there who's always smiling?"
Martin nodded.
"It's her. Sam, Dean, and I are going after her tonight, but we might need your help. If you're up for it, that is."
"I don't-"
Amy held up a hand, cutting Martin off. "Hey, that's okay," she said. "Think about it, okay. We're going after her tonight. If you're up for helping us, meet us out in the hallway. If not, that's fine too."
Martin hesitated a moment before nodding. "Okay," he said. "I-I'll think about it."
Amy smiled at Martin before turning and walking back to Sam and Dean.
"What'd Martin say?" Sam asked.
"He said he'd think about it."
"Okay." Sam sighed. "Guess now, the only thing left to do is wait."
That night, Amy met up with Dean in the hallway. Martin was there waiting with him as well.
"Hey, Martin, you made it," Amy said quietly.
Martin waved meekly.
"We're just waiting on Sam," Dean explained. "He should be here any minute."
A minute later, Sam walked up to them, holding four letter-openers. "Alright, I had to raid three nurses' stations to get these." He passed them out. "They're only silver-plated, but they should work."
The woman that had kissed Dean, Wendy, began walking their way.
"Oh, no, no, no," Dean said, quickly spotting her. "Not today, sweetheart. Come on, keep walking. I..."
Wendy ignored Dean and walked up to Sam. She pushed him against the wall and began kissing him.
Amy stood there awkwardly as Dean watched in shock.
"I want him now," Wendy said, looking at Dean. "He's larger." She pulled away from Sam and walked away.
"Hm." Dean shrugged. "You've had worse."
"Well then," Amy said, "uh, the wraith's office is just down the hall."
Sam nodded, still not quite over his shock. "We'll have to hit her after lights out."
"What?" Martin asked. "No."
"Martin, we gotta get past security, past the orderlies, and then cut that nurse's throat, okay?" Dean explained. "It's gonna suck start to finish, but we could use the backup."
Martin shook his head. "Oh, I can't. I can't." He began to walk away.
"We know what happened in Albuquerque," Sam called out.
Martin stopped in his tracks. "You don't know the half of it." He turned back to face them. "God, I used to be just like you two. I used to think I was invincible, and then...Well, I found out I'm not."
"If you didn't think you could do this, then why did you come out here with us?" Amy asked
"Martin, you're still a hunter," Dean said.
Martin shook his head again. "No. I'm not. I'm useless. Why do you think I checked myself into the Hotel California? I'd give anything to help you guys, I would. But, I-I can't. I'm sorry. I can't." He handed Sam back his letter opener and walked away.
Dean sighed in frustration. "Come on," he said. "We gotta get this done."
They crept down the hallway with their silver-plated letter openers in hand. Sam took the lead, with Dean behind him, and Amy in the back.
As they approached the room, they could see the light to the office still on and the door wide open. As they got closer, though, the light flipped off, and the happy nurse stepped out into the hall. The hunters quickly ducked out of view as the nurse closed the door to the office and began walking down the hall.
Sam poked his head around the corner. He gestured for them to follow, and they snuck down the hall after the nurse.
The nurse walked down the hall, stopping at a patient's room. Sam, Dean, and Amy broke out into a run as she opened the door to the room and stepped inside.
Sam got to the room just before Dean and Amy. He threw open the door to find the nurse standing over Jenny, with a skewer protruding out of her wrist, digging into the patient's head.
The wraith stood up quickly, startled. "You three aren't supposed to be in here."
"And you're not supposed to have a skewer in that woman's head," Amy countered.
"Is this real?" Dean asked.
The wraith took the skewer out of Wendy's head and licked it, before sliding it back into her wrist. "Oh, it is, Sugar. It's very real." She lunged forward, reaching towards Dean.
Amy ducked out of the way as the wraith grabbed Dean and threw him into a wall.
Sam swung at the wraith with his blade but was thrown into the wall as well.
Amy stood up as the wraith came after her. She gripped her blade in one hand and quickly dodged the oncoming attack. She quickly stood up and spun around, only to have to put a hand on the wall because everything around her seemed fragmented.
"Ames!"
Amy looked up to see three Sams struggling with three wraiths. The room swayed as three Deans through a punch at the wraith. She straightened up and gripped her blade, hoping she was going towards the real wraith as she made her way forward.
The wraith turned to Amy as she swung her letter-opener. The silver blade cut the wraith's arm and began to cackle.
The wraith screamed and began stumbling towards the open door. Through her fragmented vision, Amy managed to put out a hand and slam the door closed, trapping the wraith in the room with them.
"Guys!" Amy shouted, holding her pounding head. "I don't think I can keep this door closed for that long." She slid to the floor while Sam and Dean struggled with the wraith.
The wraith pinned Dean to the wall by the throat and raised an arm. The skewer jumped out of her wrist, and she began moving towards his forehead, while Dean tried to hold it away.
The skewer came out a little more as Sam gripped his letter opener and came up behind the wraith, jamming the blade into her back. The wraith let out a gasp as the silver began to burn her.
Amy lowered her hand as the wraith hit the wall and slid to the ground. Her fragmented vision slowly went back to normal, and she looked up to see Sam and Dean approaching her.
"Are you okay?" Dean asked.
Amy nodded. "Yeah," she said quietly. "Yeah, I'm okay now. I started seeing three of everything during that fight, and I just..."
"Yeah, I saw that, too," Dean confirmed. He looked over at Wendy. "Is she still alive?"
Sam went over to check. After a moment, he nodded.
"Good," Dean said. "We gotta get out of here."
"Yeah."
The alarm bell above the door began to ring. Amy quickly stood up and followed Sam and Dean out of the room. They ran down the hall as fast as they could and burst through the side door. The alarm continued blaring behind them as they ran towards the woods.
They finally slowed to a walk as they approached the back of the Impala. "Well, looks like Tom Cruise was right," Dean said. "Shrinks suck."
Amy approached the back seat and reached for the door handle. She heard Sam sigh and looked over to see him standing by the trunk.
"What are you doing?" Dean asked. "Sam? You okay?"
Sam shook his head. "No. No. I'm angry all the time. I'm mad at everything. I used to be mad at you and Dad, then Lilith, then Amy, now it's Lucifer, and I make excuses. I blame Ruby or the demon blood, but it's not their fault. It's not them. It's me. It's inside me. I'm mad...all the time...and I don't know why."
Dean stepped closer. "Stop. Stop it," he snapped. "So what if you are? What are you gonna do? You gonna take a leave of absence? You gonna say yes to Lucifer? What?"
"No, of course not. I-"
Dean cut Sam off. "Exactly. And that's exactly what you're gonna do. You're gonna take all that crap, and you're gonna bury it," he retorted. "You're gonna forget about it because that's how we keep going! That's how we don't end up like Martin! Are you with me?"
Sam didn't respond.
"Come on, man. Are you with me?" Dean repeated.
"I'm with you," Sam finally said.
Dean nodded. "Good. Let's get the hell out of here."
Dean got into the driver's seat, and Amy slid into the back. After a moment of hesitation, Sam got in next to Dean, and they drove off.
They reached the motel shortly after and headed up to their room. Amy was relieved to see a comfortable bed waiting for her after sleeping on a firm mattress for the past few days.
"Get some rest," Dean told them. "We'll head out in the morning."
Amy flopped face-first onto her bed and gave Dean a thumbs up. "Aye-aye," she said, her voice muffled. She didn't bother to change out of her patient's outfit as she moved her head up to the pillow and laid down, falling into a deep sleep in record time.
