Careful What You Wish For

Chapter One

Where Too Many Questions are Asked

But Not Enough Answers Are Found

"Just one girl?" Dean glanced at his brother curiously. "And just how is this one of our things?" He held one of the bottles out to Sam, before flopping himself into the chair across from him.

Sam flipped through a few pages of print-outs, looking for the particular one he'd marked for such a question. One corner of his mouth was twisted up into a grin; it always felt good to be on a case. Especially after the few months they'd been having. Dean waited impatiently. The cap of the bottle cracked open, but he watched Sammy like a hawk as he took a long swig.

"Here it is." Sam neatened up the stack as he scanned through the article looking for the bit he'd underlined. "Okay, so, this girl, Kayla, disappears from her pledge party at Phi Delta Kappa shortly after 10 p.m, a little more than a week ago." Sam glanced up just in time to see Dean's brows raise in interest.

"Sorority girl, nice." He quirked a grin, and raised his bottle in a toast to that one. "Okay, so how does this rank on the weird meter?"

"That's the good part. Most of the other girls statements were discounted because they were blitzed. We're talking six sheets to the wind, going here. Except one of them was quoted as saying that she -" Sam cleared his throat, and looked back at the paper, quoting directly from the article. " -was dancing with Kayla in the living room when a bright white light flooded the room, and took her." Sam could feel his grin grow as Dean made an interested noise.

He drained his beer before voicing his thoughts. "I hate bright white lights."

Dean knew what Sam was thinking. Sam knew what Dean was thinking. Neither of them liked the idea much. Sam finally cracked open his own beer, sipping it carefully while watching his brother.

"She's been missing for a week?" Dean asked finally.

"Yup. No sign of her since. Look, I know what you're thinking, but seriously, Dean, we've found more with less." Sam's brow wrinkled as his patented please-Dean-you-gotta look crossed his features. Dean grumbled quietly to himself, and finally stood up from the chair.

"Alright, already, Sasquatch. Where do we start?"

"Texas A&M."

"Texas? I hate Texas about as much as I hate bright white lights." Dean grabbed his jacket from the rack, and turned to point at Sam before he left the house. "Leave a note for Bobby, just in case."

Dean was in heaven. Or at least, a little slice of his personal version of it. The sorority house was bustling; girls were everywhere. Short ones, tall ones, svelte ones, curvy ones. So many girls that his eyes were trying to be in every direction all at once. It didn't hurt to look. And he let himself be all eyes.

He and Sam were standing in the shared common room of the Phi Delta Kappa sorority house. There were probably forty girls that all lived in the one building. It was midafternoon on a Saturday, and still in March, Texas weather was warm. Warm enough that he felt stifled in his monkey-suit, despite the building being tempered by central air. Sam studied the pictures lining the walls, while Dean continued to study the girls who passed by. They were waiting for one girl in particular, the sorority head. She was a senior, a political science major, and had been the last girl to see Kayla Druin before her disappearance.

"I am so sorry to keep you waiting, agents!" Jessica Hartsgrove came running down the stairs in her socks. She was dressed simply in a pair of long canvas basketball shorts, and tank-top. Her hair was drawn back into a tight braid, masking the fact that it was probably a day overdue for being washed. Dean studied her athletic frame while Sam stepped forward automatically.

"Don't worry, it's no problem." He flashed a bit of a smile, complete with dimples before reaching into his jacket pocket. With practiced ease, Dean followed suit, so they produced their badges nearly simultaneously. "We'd like to talk to you about Kayla Druin"

Jessica's face went white. "Oh my God, have you found her? Is she alright?"

A few of the girls moving through the living room paused to glance in their direction. Sam saw concern written on all their faces, not a single one of them gave a guilty start. Sadly, he shook his head. "I'm sorry, we haven't. We were hoping that you might be able to answer a few questions for us."

The girl sunk down into the couch, rubbing her face with both of her hands. "I... already spoke to the cops. I don't.. I don't really remember much."

Sam glanced around for a nearby chair, before finally dropping onto the couch beside her. Dean loved that his brother had his soul back; Sam was so much better at playing the schmooze than he was. He had that stupid puppy-dog look down so well, most people just couldn't resist him. Ms. Jessica Hartsgrove was about to fall prey to that very same look.

"Please, Jessica, sometimes it helps us to hear it fresh, instead of reading it in some report. Whatever you can remember, no matter how strange, or unlikely it sounds, we need to hear it from you." Sam leaned forward, putting his elbows on his knees. Dean wandered over to the wall where all the pictures were framed, studying the girl's faces there while Sam worked his magic.

"It was pledge night. We're pretty selective about who gets in; there's like, ten tests. Some of its silly, and some of its serious. But it takes most of the school year to complete. Kayla was on the last test with a couple of other girls; we were going to take the last three standing. They were doing tequila shots, one every half hour." Jess shook her head, pulling the end of her braid over her shoulder to fiddle with the tassel on the end. "Kayla had just done her fifth one, and we were talking, right over there." She gestured toward the door leading to the kitchen area. Sam and Dean glanced at one another, and Dean meandered over slowly to the spot. "We were all pretty blitzed; I mean, it was a great night."

"What were you and Kayla talking about?" Dean popped the question from the entrance way, glancing back toward Jess. His fingers had come up clean when he checked for sulfur. It had been worth a shot.

"She was worried that her parents would find out about her drinking." Jess gave a little nervous laugh. "Kay was... always like that. Worried what everyone else thought of her, like she was trying to live up to some great expectation." Her voice thickened, and she closed her eyes. After a few moments, she fanned herself, and heaved an unsteady sigh.

"Take your time, Jessica. I know this has to be difficult for you."

Damn, Sammy was on the spot today. Dean turned away from the two of them, to hide his grin of pride.

"Thank you." She took another deep breath, and exhaled slowly. "Things got... weird after that. I'm not really sure what I believe."

"Try us," Dean almost laughed. "You'd be amazed at what we haven't seen."

Sam shot him a glance: a patented shut-up-Dean glare. Shaking his head slightly, Dean walked slowly over toward the stairs. A sorority sister walked by him, up the stairs, and Dean leaned in to watch her back-side as she climbed. He wasn't hearing what Jess was saying until a certain phrase drifted over to him.

"Did you say the windows rattled, before the bright light came?" Dean was suddenly keyed in. He stood behind the couch, staring at Sam with wide-eyed intensity.

"Yeah, at least, I thought that's what happened. It got so bright I couldn't see, and then just suddenly, it all stopped. Kayla was gone, and most everyone else was passed out..." Jess shrugged slightly. "The cops said the building blew a fuse, and that Kayla probably just ran off."

Dean pinched the bridge of his nose, and hoped that this wasn't about to be a worst-case scenario. When he opened his eyes, Sam was gesturing up the stairs with his.

"Jess, can we see Kayla's room?" Dean asked the question, causing her to crane her neck around. Nodding in answer, she proceeded to lead them up the stairs. Dean waited until Sam was nearly even with him, before nudging his little brother in the ribs. Sam caught exactly which part of her anatomy he was gesturing to, and reflexively punched Dean in the arm.

Kayla shared her room with another pledge prospective, a girl who was currently in classes. Jess hovered in the doorway, while Sam and Dean poked around at Kayla's belongings. Dean flipped through some printed pages on her desk, while Sam perused her bookshelf. At first nothing jumped out to them as out of the ordinary, most of what was there were school books, textbooks and required reading. But Sam picked up a book from beside her alarm clock.

"Hey," he called Dean's attention to him, and showed him the book cover. Steadman's Dictionary of Dream Symbols. Sam started flipping through to see if any entries were marked, while Dean turned back to Jess in the doorway.

"Did Kayla ever complain about weird dreams? Maybe people following her?"

Shaking her head, Jess leaned in the doorway. "Not to me. Not to any of the sisters, that I know of. No..."

Their next stop was the parents. Dean spent the drive with his head in all the wrong places. Kayla's family had followed her out to Texas according to the sorority sisters. The whole bunch of them uprooted from Savannah and followed her to college. That had to be some kind of special family to be willing to do that. He had uprooted Lisa and Ben to keep them safe, and all it had gotten him was the door closing behind him. Sam left him to his thoughts, engrossed in his cell phone's web browser as he tried to dig up more dirt on the Druins.

By the time they pulled into the driveway of the two-story ranch, Sam had found a complete total of bupkiss. The family was squeaky clean. Sam fixed his tie before he got out of the Impala. Glancing at Dean, he had to ask.

"You ready for this?"

Families were always the worst. They were always the ones hit the hardest. Dean gathered himself, feeling Sam beside him do the same. They squared their shoulders, and began to put on their best FBI straight faces. As they passed the bay window at the front of the house, a dog began barking. As they reached the front door, it was already being pulled open by a young woman with short blonde hair and bright green eyes.

Sam let Dean take the lead on this one, as they reached into their breast pockets to produce the badges. Dean always gave them the best names. Today, they were playing the roles of Townsend and Van Zandt.

"Ms. Amy Druin?" The woman turned from quieting the dog to nod in agreement. "Kayla Druin's mother?"

She closed her eyes and took a careful, deep breath. The dog finally ceased barking, and trotted back into the house. "I... I'm her aunt, actually. Please, tell me you found her."

Dean glanced at Sam. Aunt. That was new. And it came with a whole new level of respect for the family. "I'm afraid we haven't. But my partner and I would like to ask you some questions regarding Kayla."

"Sure... sure," Amy opened the door quickly. "Can I get you something to drink?"

"No, thank, we're fine." Sam automatically ducked a little when he entered. Being tall and lanky had both benefits and drawbacks. The dog trotted back in from the kitchen, carrying an old sock weighted down with a tennis ball. It was a golden retriever, who looked up at Sam with a hopeful tail-wag. He reluctantly ignored the dog, and followed his brother into to the living room.

Immediately, Dean sat down, while Sam paced the room, looking at pictures. Amy was already talking.

"Anything I can do to help... Kay's been with us since she was ten years old. She's more my daughter than my niece." Amy wrung her hands together as she spoke, looking drawn out and tired.

"What happened to her parents, if I can ask? Our reports listed you and your husband as her mother and father." Dean found his stride quickly, if she started to break down, that's when Sam would step in with the puppy-dog eyes. Glancing over to his brother, he found Sam being followed around by the golden retriever, even while Sam was ignoring the dog carefully.

"Rick and I adopted her a few years ago. She'd been living with us since she was ten..." Amy reached over to an end table, handing Dean the picture that sat there. "Rick's brother, Martin, was Kayla's father. He died in a car accident when she was four; Kayla barely survived it herself. Daphne just.. wasn't the same after Marty was gone. The state took Kayla away and we fought pretty hard to get her back.

"Kay's a good girl. A God-fearing girl. She's never done anything like this before. Never given us any difficulties." It sounded like Amy was about to start bawling, and just on cue, Sam settled himself in beside Dean. Reaching out, he took Amy's hands and gave them a solid squeeze.

"It sounds like you think Kayla ran away," Sam observed gently. "Is that what your local police said?"

Amy sniffled, and reached for a box of tissues. In a quick glance around the room, Dean noticed they seemed to be placed strategically. "Yeah. They say in most cases like this, the missing are runaways. But I don't believe them. I just have this sinking feeling..." She pressed her hand against her stomach, and the golden retriever came to sit dutifully beside her, laying his head upon her knee. In an automatic reaction, Amy reached out to scratch the dog's ears. "Please find my Kayla. We promised her we'd take care of her, and never leave her..."

"So Amy was about has helpful as a wet noodle." Dean flopped back on the motel bed, sprawled out wide. Sam only glanced up at his dramatics, before going back to his laptop. "As was the sorority house, not that I'm complaining though. I'd interview those girls again in a heartbeat."

"Alright, so we're back to square one." Sam clicked through a few things on his Macbook, frowning at the screen. "We've got a nearly straight-A student, environmental engineering major, getting pledged into a sorority that disappears."

"She's adopted by her aunt and uncle, Daddy Dearest is dead, Mom sounds like she's gone off the deep end." Dean propped himself up on his elbows. "And the only clue we've got is a bright, white light."

Something in Dean's voice made Sam glance up from his computer. Dean was looking at him expectantly. "Are you thinking...?" Sam gestured his eyes upwards.

"Yeah. I'm thinking." Dean sighed, and pushed himself all the way up. "Think we should give it a shot?"

"You don't think he's a little busy?"

"Hell yeah, he's busy. But, y'know, me and him, we've got a bond." Dean rolled his eyes, and Sam tried hard to not laugh at his tone. Angels definitely weren't high on either Winchesters list of Things I Like, but they both made an exception for Castiel, when he wasn't being a royal, winged dick. Sam clicked his Macbook shut, and gestured for Dean to get on with it.

"Alright, here goes nothing." Dean pressed his palms flat together and closed his eyes. "Oh, Castiel, who art hopefully kicking some archangel ass in Heaven right now, we could use a little feathered advice right about now." He cracked one eye open, and looked around. Sam shook his head, no feathered friend. "See, we're on track of this girl... who's been abducted... by a bright, white light-"

"Did you find her?" Castiel's gravelly voice nearly sent them both rocketing out of their skin.

Dean was on his feet before he'd realized he even had moved. Cass came striding across the room. His mortal vessel looked no worse for wear, but it was often hard to tell. He was forever unshaven, forever hollow-eyed. But the brothers knew the angel riding inside, and he looked tired.

"Well, no we haven't," Dean shot back. He always got irritated when Castiel forget common courtesy, and didn't so much as give them a hi boys. "We wouldn't be calling you if we found her."

A similar expression of irritation flickered over Cass' face like a shadow. "You have to find her. She's hidden from us, from all of us. You two have the best chance of all."

"Easy, Cass, why's she so important?" Sam's brow furrowed. This wasn't making any sense. The data he found couldn't possibly explain anything about the girl. Cass looked up at him, silent for a few moments. Sam met his searching eyes steadily, unable to help wonder just what Cass was thinking, but wasn't saying.

Castiel did what Castiel often did. He answered the question indirectly. "I'm not sure. I won't know until I can meet her. But... Raphael and his followers are looking for her. And we know that can't be good."

Sam and Dean glanced at one another. Then Dean swore under his breath. By taking their eyes off the angel for even a brief second, they'd given Castiel the exact opportunity to take off that he needed. When Dean looked back, he saw exactly what he expected. The angel was gone. Dean pinched the bridge of his nose, trying to nip a migraine in the bud before it started.

"So," Sam shrugged lamely. "We know the angels don't have her."

Dean dropped his hand, blinking at his brother. "Which means she escaped."

"So, if you were a nineteen year old girl who just got away from angels, where would you feel safe?"

The brothers looked at each other for a few long minutes, trying to think of all the young women they had known over the years and a common factor for all of them. It was Dean that came up with it first, seeing in his mind's eye Jo and Ellen.

"Mommy."