A/N: Happy New Year, everyone! Let's celebrate with a new chapter. Enjoy!

Chapter 2

Waking up, Dean found it hard to breathe. Something constricted his chest. Due to the aches he felt, he already feared that he caught a cold overnight, but then he heard a snore. A snore from close to his ear.

Opening his eyes, Dean realized why his breathing was so labored.

His brother was sprawled out on top of him.

For a second, he was annoyed.

Then a loving smile cracked his features and out of a whim, he ruffled his younger brother's long hair.

"Huh?"

Sam stirred.

"Morning, bro," Dean murmured into his ear, "Could you stay on your side of the bed?"

An elbow dug into Dean's stomach, making him groan.

"Oops," Sam made sheepishly and scooted off his brother. It still was dark outside. "How late is it?"

"Something around seven," Dean replied, reading off the fluorescent numbers of the clock above the door.

Pushing the duvet back, Sam sat up.

"You think Jody's already up?"

Instead of replying, Dean grabbed the covers and pulled them close around him. Even the short moment had been enough to feel the cold in the room. Of course, it was not so cold that he could see his breath, but it certainly was not as warm as in the rest of the house. He felt the bed dip when Sam got up and listened to him gathering his clothes and leave the room.

When Dean woke up the next time, he was alone and faint sunlight filtered through the heavy curtains without being able to chase the dark away. Dean had not even noticed that his brother did not return to bed. Turning around, he saw sports clothes draped over the backrest of the chair which told him that Sam had gone for a run. A habit that Dean was not able to relate to.

With a groan, Dean contemplated whether he should stay in bed. As he heard voices and other noises coming from the kitchen and/or living room, he decided to get up. They planned to go on a hunt after all.

When he finally entered the living room, the whole group of hunters had already gathered at the breakfast table.

"You let me sleep in?" Dean mumbled, still half asleep, as he padded to his chair.

"Looked like you needed it," Jody declared. "We need you to be as fit as a fiddle."

"Sorry, what?" he groused. "Who still says that?"

"Are you fit, bro?" Sam prodded.

"Sure. Just need to wake up properly. Oh, yeah! Coffee!"

Sliding into his chair, Dean picked up the big mug that Jody filled for him and took a first sip. It was hot and strong.

"I brought the rest of the pie," Castiel remarked, cutting off a nice big slice for Dean and putting it on his plate. Then he distributed the rest to the others.

"I can fry pancakes or bacon if you'd like some," Jody suggested.

"Both?" Dean shot back just before he took a bite of pie.

"I should've expected that," Jody snickered and went back to the kitchen.

Over breakfast, the hunters discussed their plans for the day. Alex and Claire would, due to their surrogate mother's insistence, do more research. Castiel agreed to stake one of their suspects out with Dean, and Jody would go to surveil another potential monster together with Sam.

The team was just leaving the sheriff's house when first snowflakes tumbled down from the dark gray clouds.

"Maybe we'll have a white Christmas," Jody enthused, turning to the girls, "Wouldn't that be wonderful?"

"Sure," Claire sighed, rolling her eyes.

"Thrilling," Alex chimed in, though it sounded more like chilling.

"Kids," Jody shrugged helplessly. "No sentimental streak."

"There's nothing sentimental about hunting," Claire replied dryly. "A lot of snow might make it more difficult, actually, and there's a storm warning on th-"

"I know," Jody cut her short. "One more reason why you two will stay at the library."

Once more rolling her eyes, Claire climbed into the sheriff's car.

"Having your hands full with those two, huh?" Dean teased good-naturedly.

"Not just with those two," Jody shot back, giving him a telling look.

"Hey!" he protested, "We're low-maintenance!"

Sam shot him an incredulous look.

The way Jody quirked her brow seemed rather skeptical.

Castiel just shook his head, "No, you're not."

Throwing his hands up in exasperation, Dean crossed over to Baby. "What are you complaining about? Isn't feeding me with pie easy enough for you?"

Cocking his head to the side and quirking a brow in an oh so characteristic way, Castiel mused about that question before he chose to ignore it.

"Fine," Dean shrugged, opening the driver's door. "Pout."

"Have fun with the stakeout," Sam called teasingly before he climbed into Jody's car.

Right.

Just when Dean sank into the driver's seat, Castiel got in on the other side. One look at the angel was enough to know that Sam might be right with his prediction.

xXx

Their surveillance did not unearth anything new.

At least, Dean learned nothing new about their suspect. Instead, he had heard everything about Claire. Once he got started, Castiel did not stop talking about his vessel's daughter until he ran out of what was news to them. Then the angel fell silent.

Dean did not mind.

Sitting in companionable silence was alright for him. He did not necessarily need to talk. Listening to music would be nice, but of course, he knew that it was too distracting. Replaying songs in his head, Dean listened and watched their target's property.

Darkness began to fall when Dean's cell phone rang and Jody was on the other end, informing him that a relative of one of the missing people was found murdered. Apparently, she and Sam were going to check out the crime scene to see whether there was any connection. Dean informed Castiel and they resumed watching their target.

"Do you see anything suspicious?" Dean groaned about half an hour later. "All that man's interested in right now is decorating the Christmas tree. He's busied himself with putting up the lights and hanging ornaments for the last three hours."

"Are you suggesting to stop the surveillance?"

"Yeah, that's what I'm saying."

Of course, the angel disagreed, "He might act just when we stop observing him."

Huffing, Dean got out his cell phone and contemplated calling his brother. A blue minivan chose just that moment to pull into the driveway of the house they were watching. Holding his thought, Dean watched a woman and two children alight from the car and go to the front door. Mom let the trio in and they vanished inside the house. Lights switched on in the hallway and the kitchen and the father whom they had been surveilling all day crossed over to where his wife and the children were. Both the boy and girl were visually happy to see him, greeting him exuberantly.

"Even watching Dr. Sexy is more suspenseful," Dean groused, turning to reach for a bag of snacks on the back seat.

"Dean?" Castiel demanded his attention. "They are arguing."

Through beginning snowfall, they could actually watch the argument of the parents becoming heated. All of a sudden, the man snatched a big carving knife from the knife-block and turned on his wife.

"Fuck!" Dean cursed, pushing the door open. Castiel right behind him, he ran to the house. The front door did not open when he tried to charge in. As they could not afford losing any more time, he let Castiel pass. The door stood no chance against the angel's super strength, and Dean ran in, turning the corner to the kitchen. When he stormed in, it was too late.

The mother lay on the tiled floor, her chest torn by several deep stabs. Blood was everywhere. Both the father and children were gone.

"Cass," Dean muttered, shocked. "How could that happen?"

"There was no indication whatsoever," Castiel replied emotionlessly. "You said it yourself, the man was totally unsuspicious."

"Yeah?" Dean snorted angrily. "But that was wrong."

"Dean..."

"I was wrong!" the hunter went on, brushing a hand over his short cropped hair. Agitation began to build in him. "I even wanted to quit watching while you said we should stay. Now she's dead because of me!"

"Dea..."

Castiel did not get a word in when the hunter continued with his self-deprecation, "How could I be so stupid? I should've seen it despite his Christmas-loving-dad-act. Now she's dead and it's my fault. I need to figure out what we're dealing with. It's not a skinwalker, that's for sure."

"No, it is not," Castiel agreed, wracking his mind in order to try and recall everything he had ever read about any monster they had encountered. "Whatever the creature is, we had no chance to predict this, Dean. It is not your fault."

"It's not?" Dean spat. "Cass, we sat on our butts right outside the house and did nothing to prevent this! We couldn't even determine what attacked her!"

Deciding that it was senseless to argue with the hunter right now, Castiel pushed past him to squat down next to the woman.

"Talking with the only witness would be helpful," he stated dryly, reaching out for the woman to place his hand on her forehead. Sensing last remains of life in her, he called upon his grace. With an unearthly, white glow the angel's healing power flowed into the woman's body, knitting the wounds back up and restoring her internal injuries.

Groaning, she gasped for a rattling breath.

Puzzled, all Dean could do was watch while his gut churned with the realization of his failure. Despite their suspicions, he failed to notice the danger the family was in, he failed to check on the victim to see whether they could help, and he did not even pursue the monster that did this to her.

What the hell is wrong with me?

"Ma'am," Castiel queried in his low, rumbling voice, startling her despite aiming for gentle, "Can you tell us what happened?"

"My husband," she gasped, eyes growing wide with shock. Her attempt to sit up failed until Castiel supported her. "Oh, my God! Something's wrong with Mark."

"In which way?"

"He..." Helplessly, her eyes found his, "He spoke so... confused. It didn't make sense."

"Can you recall what he said to you?" Castiel queried.

Haunted, she let her gaze roam all around the kitchen.

"Where are Jamie and Tempe?" she asked with rising panic. "Where are our children?"

"We are here to help," Dean tried to assure her as he squatted beside the angel. "Anything you can remember can help us to get your children back."

"Mark, he... he said he became part of something bigger," she muttered, still clearly in shock. "He did not say what it was, though, just asked if we were going to join him. I... declined. Saying that he should give me more details. That's when he flipped and... Oh, my God! He grabbed a knife! He stabbed me!" Suddenly recalling the pain, she grabbed at her chest and pulled at her blouse. Becoming aware of the blood, she freaked, "Argh! What the hell? Is that...? That's mine! Mark stabbed me! I'm-"

Within a second, she lost consciousness when Castiel put two fingers against her forehead and sent her to sleep.

"She was beginning to ramble," he told a stunned Dean. "She told us all we needed to know."

"We could have asked if her husband has a place where he would go when he's upset," the hunter shrugged.

"Right," Castiel agreed, abashed. "I'll wake her back-"

"No," Dean stopped him. "Let's see what the house can tell us about him."

Confused, the angel stood up with Dean and followed his example when the older Winchester began to search the house.

xXx

About two hours later, the hunters met at the sheriff's office. Jody started up her computer and brought some crime scene and autopsy photos up to show the team what had happened.

"Same as our victim," Dean said as he eyed the pictures. "Stabbed multiple times, blood splattered everywhere."

"Thankfully, there was enough life left in yours for Cass to save her," Sam threw in. "Late Mr. Carter wasn't as lucky."

"Yeah, blood drained, heart missing," Jody stated, "so we could be dealing with a vampire after all."

"Could also be a werewolf," Claire suggested.

"Somehow I don't think it's that easy," Sam sighed, reaching for the mouse and pulling up another set of pictures. "Something doesn't add up. It's a waning moon, so it's the wrong time for a werewolf for example."

"And vampires rarely feed on the flesh, only the blood," Claire remarked.

"What confuses me is that there's no apparent connection between the two families," Jody told them. "They live in different parts of town and seem to have nothing in common what we might usually find: the same fitness studio, same doctor, the same way to work, stuff like that. Nothing."

"So... we should try and track Mr. Potter down," Dean said. "He's taken his kids with him. Who knows if he won't kill them as well."

"Did you find anything at their house?" Jody wanted to know.

"We saw pictures taken at a cabin but couldn't find out yet where they were taken," Dean answered.

"Brought any of it?"

"Actually... yeah." Fumbling his cell phone out of his jacket pocket, Dean opened up a shot he had taken of the framed picture and showed it to Jody.

"I think I have an idea where that is," the sheriff stated. "Up north is a lake and a couple of fishing huts. Maybe Potter's gone there."

"Alright," Sam said, "Show us the way."

"I can," Jody nodded, "but first, we'll drop the girls off at my place."

"Oh, no!" Claire groaned, rising from her seat, her annoyance palpable. "Why do you keep doing that? I'm a hunter now! Don't treat me like a kid!"

"You are my kid now," Jody argued back, "and you'll do as you're told. You're not coming with us tonight. My last word." Her gaze trailed from the young woman to the angel, "Castiel... Why don't you stay with Alex and Claire?"

Perplexed, Castiel looked from Dean to Sam and finally to Jody.

"Actually, I would assume that I was of more assistance if I accompanied you on the hunt," he said. "Especially as we still do not know what we are dealing with."

"Which is exactly why I'm going to feel much better knowing you're there to protect my daughters," Jody declared. "Besides, there are still a couple of books in my collection that I haven't read yet. You could check if you can find any hint at the creature we're hunting in there."

"Jody's not wrong," Dean threw in. "Some of the books she salvaged are in languages that the girls can't read. We need you there."

"If you say so, Dean."

"Yes, I do," Dean grinned at the angel. "You know all languages of the world, Cass. You're our secret weapon."

Cocking his head to the side with an unreadable expression, Castiel watched the brothers don their jackets. Inwardly, the angel rejoiced at seeing the hunters so relaxed. The previous tension seemed forgotten.

The ride to the sheriff's house did not take long despite the snowflakes swirling around the cars. Initially tiny crystals had changed to big, clustered flakes that begun to settle everywhere. The windscreen wipers needed to work harder now to keep the snow away and according to the radio news, it was going to get worse.

When Jody dropped the girls off, she exchanged a long, knowing look with Castiel. Offering her a reassuring smile, the angel nodded at her.

"Take care. Be safe."

"Thank you for staying," Jody told him. "We'll be back as soon as possible."

Giving her another nod, Castiel stepped back while Jody drove off, showing the brothers who followed in their Impala the way out to the lake.

xXx

"The weather forecast wasn't kidding," Dean groused as he stared out into the thickening flurry of snow. Outside of town, with no other traffic so far, it was not hard to keep Jody's tail-lights in sight. Right at that moment, the jeep's indicator flashed before Jody turned right onto a dirt road.

"Hope my baby's up for that ride."

They drove about a mile before the sheriff turned left this time. Only about a hundred yards further, the jeep stopped and Jody climbed out. As soon as Dean left the Impala, he pulled the fur-lined collar of his quilted jacket up against the wind that washed over him in a cold gush.

"Alright, what have we got?" Sam asked.

"First cabin ahead," Jody stated, getting out her service weapon. Of course, she had exchanged the regular shells against silver ones beforehand. "What's the plan?"

"First, let's see if anyone even is out at that cabin," the younger Winchester replied. "Then we'll make up a plan."

"Right, we'll spy the place out first. Maybe we can find out further details about the creature we're hunting."

"Or maybe..." Sam cautioned, "Mr. Potter attacking his wife actually had nothing to do with the other murder. Maybe he was depressed and attempted an extended suicide."

"After preparing the Christmas tree?" Dean shot back, perplexed.

"That's not uncommon," Sam shrugged. "People do the weirdest things, and trying to create a final perfect moment before taking a loved one's life seems to be high on the list."

"Did you learn that at law school?"

"Really?" Sam scoffed. "We've got to discuss that now? Let's save the discussion about motives for when we have a hot drink in front of the fireplace, alright?"

"Fine with me," Dean agreed, blowing warm breath onto his hands before he rubbed them together. "Tell me why we're out here again?"

"We're out on a hunt," Sam chuckled wryly as he fell in step beside Jody while Dean followed close behind.

"Wonder whose idea that was," Dean grumbled to himself.

Up ahead, they could soon make out the dark shape of a small house. For all they could tell, the cabin appeared vacated. They double checked to be on the safe side and returned to their respective cars.

"Good that the snowfall's lessened a bit," Jody remarked as she opened the driver's door, "There are a couple of cabins out here."

"Let's hurry up then," Dean declared and marched on to get back into Baby. Sam had hardly gotten into his seat when he already put the gear in reverse and backtracked the way they came. The trail the tires had left was already blurred by fresh snow.

With Jody taking the lead, they inspected two more cabins before they were successful with the fourth. Upon closing in on the house, the hunters saw light in the windows. There were two cars, so they probably had to deal with more than just Mr. Potter.

"Alright, boys," Jody mused aloud. "As I'm the sheriff here, maybe I should just knock and tell them that they should go back to town before the snow storm hits."

"You mean to say that's not the storm yet?"

"Are you kidding, Dean?" she chuckled, "This is nothing."

"If you say so."

Ignoring his complaints, she turned to Sam who nodded at her to go ahead, "You're right. You can have a look at how many we're dealing with and whether the children are in there."

Even though he rolled his eyes, Dean also gave her his go-ahead. They would be close by in case she needed backup. As they watched Jody walk up to the front door, he muttered, "I'm freezing my friggin' ass off."

"Stop bitching around."

"You've gotta talk, bitch," Dean shot back.

"Shut up and watch, jerk."

Eager for action, the older brother zipped his mouth shut and redirected his attention on the sheriff who just knocked on the door that opened only a short moment later. He saw Jody talk with somebody but could not tell if the man was Mr. Potter. Suddenly, there was a struggle.

Jody cried out.

Seeing a blade, both Winchesters ran toward the house, guns at the ready.

"The kids are in the house!"

Spotting an opportunity when Jody ducked, Sam fired at the man who stumbled back under the impact. Dazed, he swayed for a moment, before he hefted his knife to meet the hunters charging at him.

Seeing that the bullets only slowed the creature, Dean paused to exchange gun for blade. Sam fought with the monster now, luckily landing a punch on its jaw that threw it back a step. Using the distraction, Dean swung his weapon, cleanly severing head from shoulders.

"Whoa!" Sam cried out, clutching at his arm. "I think it bit me."

"What? Let me see!"

Fighting a surge of panic, Dean reached out for his brother. For many creatures, one bite was enough to pass their curse on to somebody else. Pulling Sam into the light that fell out through the open door, he slapped Sam's right arm away to be able to examine the other limb. At first, he could not find much, but then, he discovered that a claw had pierced the thick sleeve and stuck in the flesh.

"Um, guys," Jody suddenly called out. "That's not normal, now is it?" Pointing at the chopped off head, she indicated the eyes that still glared at them and lips that curled back to reveal vicious fangs.

tbc...