Disclaimers - Usual. I'm just enjoying the fruits of someone else's ... ideas.

Chapter 9

Kaitlyn had fallen asleep, exhausted not only from her foray into Thomas' mind, but also from the after-effects of assimilating the memories and emotions of the other victims. The stress left her defenses crumbling. Without protection, she would not only be left at the mercy of a madman, but she would also run the risk of being swept away by the emotions of every person she came in contact with. So her body shut down to allow her reserve energy to be used for rebuilding and fortifying her defenses.

Once Sam realized Kaitlyn had fallen asleep, he gently laid her on the bed. Then he motioned with his head to indicate to Dean that he wanted to talk outside the room, so as not to disturb her. The brothers slipped out to discuss their next course of action.

"So, what do you think happened?" The mental games of psychics were unfamiliar territory for both men, and it left Dean uncomfortable. Something had happened; that much was clear. But he couldn't even hazard a guess as to what it was.

Sam could only shrug and sigh. "I don't know. I guess we'll have to wait until she wakes up."

"Well…what do you want to do?" It wasn't typical for Dean to defer to Sam, but, as limited as their experience was, Sam had a better handle on what was going on. If nothing else, he had managed to read through most of Alex's files on psychic phenomena of various types.

"I don't think she should be left alone. If …whoever he is… found a way to take over her body, who knows what else he can do to her."

"Or how he could use her."

"Yeah." Sam sighed. He didn't like not having something they could pin down and hunt. Despite being ethereal, even demons and spirits had rules – laws - they had to obey. He knew the psychic would have limits and laws to follow as well, he just didn't know what those were, yet.

"Okay. I'm going to get our stuff from Ellen's and get a room here for the night. I'll check in with Ash, too. See if he's come up with any information. Maybe we'll figure something out once she wakes up. And Sam?" Dean waited until he had Sam's complete attention. "Be careful. She's not safe."

"Isn't that the point of me staying here?" Sam asked with a half smile.

"You know what I mean. I mean she's not safe for you."

"Yeah, I know." Sam felt disheartened by the admission. He couldn't help but think that none of them were safe – "them" being the psychics. And he wondered how long it would be before someone would give Dean the same advice about him.

Dean watched Sam a few seconds. He saw the return of the weight Sam carried. It seemed that, for a few hours, Kaitlyn had lifted some of the burden Sam carried, giving him hope that he would be all right in the end. Sometimes it felt like they were fighting a losing battle, trying to climb a hill of loose gravel and rocks with each slip and mis-step threatening to bury them in an avalanche of pain and darkness. I'm not going to let you go, Sammy. I swear, even if I'm buried with you. You will not go alone.

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Only about an hour passed before Dean stealthily re-entered Kaitlyn's motel room. He smiled to himself as he found Sam sleeping in the hotel chair, looking very uncomfortable with his head bent back at an odd angle and his mouth hanging open. He pulled out his camera-phone and clicked a picture while snickering quietly.

Sam's head snapped up when Dean closed the motel room door. He grew suspicious when he caught sight of the devilish smile playing on Dean's lips.

"Way to stand guard there, G.I. Joe." Dean kept his voice a low whisper to keep from waking Kaitlyn. He waved his phone at Sam to show that he had proof of his slacking for future ribbing, maybe even blackmail.

Sam just rolled his eyes, and smiled sheepishly at his lapse in guard duty. Man, had he been tired! It always amazed him how expending mental energy could be as draining as hard physical labor.

Kaitlyn shifted in her sleep, let out a small moan, and then startled awake. She groaned again and brought her hands to her eyes, rubbing them, and trying to wake up.

"Hey," Sam said gently with a small smile.

Kaitlyn looked at both men, trying to clear her head. She gave them a tired smile, and with half closed eyes and a lazy wave of her hand, she said, "Hey" back and headed to the bathroom.

Dean snorted. "She has a harder time waking up than you do, Sleeping Beauty."

"Ha. Ha." Sam gave Dean a nod, "So what'd you find out?"

"Well, not much." Dean started spilling the information he'd gotten, glancing at Kaitlyn as she came back out of the bathroom and sat on the bed expectantly. "The portrait you drew," he watched Kaitlyn more intently to see her reactions, "is a man named Thomas Wayne." Kaitlyn nodded as if this information was not new to her. "But, according to a newspaper article Ash found, the dude's in a coma in the hospital. Apparently, he tried to commit suicide and didn't quite finish the job. He's on life support in a small private facility in Pennsylvania. That's it. There's nothing else about him on record. Nothing Ash could find, anyway."

Sam frowned. "There's gotta be something."

"No." Kaitlyn's voice was quiet and she was looking at her hands. When she raised her eyes and saw both men watching her, she cleared her throat and tried to organize what she had seen and put it into words. With slow, carefully-weighed words, she explained. "There wouldn't have to be anything else about him. Everything he does… did… to the other women… it was all in their heads."

"Wait. What women?" Dean didn't like the sound of where this was going. He was really beginning to hate head games with a passion. Three times he'd had psychic powers used against him by people touched by the Demon: twice, he'd almost gotten his head blown off, and once he lost his beloved car. He really didn't think his luck would continue to hold out indefinitely.

"What did you see?" Sam coaxed Kaitlyn when he saw her hesitate.

"There were… women - nine women. He killed them all without ever even touching them." Her fear was starting to grow, as she realized what exactly it meant for her to be marked by him. She brought her knees up to her chest and wrapped her arms around her legs before continuing. "He…I don't know, I really only saw the end result, but, it looked like he…somehow, drove them to suicide. I…know their names." The last statement was nearly whispered and Kaitlyn had to fight with herself to keep her emotions in check. Though she'd never met any of them personally, they had become part of her and she silently mourned their passing.

Sniffing, she grabbed the pad of paper she had used earlier and wrote down all the names, as well as the dates of their deaths. She didn't trust herself to speak the information and still hold herself together. This level of self-absorption, however necessary for her emotional stability, also served another purpose. It temporarily cocooned her, blocking off the emotions coming from the men. She was vaguely aware of this separation, but didn't think she had the strength to deal with someone else's emotions anyway, nor did she currently have the mental faculties to contemplate what this meant for her in a broader sense. All her energy was being spent staying afloat so she could be of use to the brothers.

Kaitlyn needed a change of focus. "Are you guys hungry?" she asked, fishing through the night stand and pulling out a laminated piece of paper that listed all of the local restaurants and fast food places. "I can order in pizza."

Sam was looking over the list of names she had written down. He sat at the small motel table and turned on the laptop to begin the search for information, or confirmation of the deaths of these women. The first name stood out to Sam. "Uh, yeah, sure…" Sam said distractedly. "Didn't you say his name was Thomas Wayne?"

"Yeah," Dean confirmed and Kaitlyn nodded agreement.

"Well, this first one… the woman's name is Margret Wayne…" Sam let the statement hang as he started pulling up newspaper articles that contained her name.

While Sam was looking up the information, Kaitlyn went ahead and ordered the food. With the brothers busy, she grabbed a few things and took a shower. She loved showers. They were her respite from the world. She loved the feeling of being wrapped in warmth, like a comforting embrace. Stepping out, clean and refreshed, was like a new beginning, no matter the time of day. She did her best thinking and praying in the shower, and some of her most important decisions were made during that time. It was during this quiet time that her soul rejuvenated and strengthened the rest of her. She exited the shower with a genuine smile, still tired, but ready for the next scene in this most bizarre episode of her life.

When she stepped back into the main part of the room, she noticed that Dean wasn't there and Sam was hard at work on the laptop. "Where's Dean?"

"Uh…He went out to pick up a few things." Sam said absently while pouring over the various tabs he had open at the same time, making notes on the motel pad.

A few minutes later, Dean walked in – six pack in one hand, pizza in the other. "Signature," he said while putting his load down on the table. Kaitlyn went to the door and found the pizza girl waiting on the other side. When she saw Kaitlyn, her face fell. She had obviously been anticipating the return of the handsome gentleman who had relieved her of her delivery. Kaitlyn chuckled to herself. Shaking her head a little, she signed the receipt and closed the door.

"I think she was expecting a tip from you," Kaitlyn jokingly stated to Dean, who already had a slice of pizza in one hand and a beer in the other.

"I can't just give this away to anyone," he said with his signature, cocky grin.

Sam snorted, "Oh yeah? Since when?"

"I have my standards." Dean put on a much-offended face. He sighed and shook his head, "Ah Sam. One day you'll understand. There is a time and place for everything." He favored Sam with a patronizing smile and a pat on the shoulder. While he was glad the mood had lightened considerably in his absence, the conversation only reminded him of the one person he could give himself to, wholly. And he had no idea where she was or if she was okay. He could count the days since they had last been together. Though they weren't actively looking for Laura, he ran a quick search every day, not sure which he wanted more – to see her name and know where she was; or not to see it, and be able to hope for the best.

With the return of her inner calm, Kaitlyn relaxed in the light atmosphere and was caught off guard by the deep currents of sadness that stirred through Dean's emotions, however briefly. I wonder who she is. She regarded Dean for another moment.

"Okay," Sam said, grabbing a piece of pizza. Dean opened a beer for him. Sam looked at Kaitlyn, "All the names check out. Each woman committed suicide. But, none of the women were connected in any way that I can see. And with each death being ruled a suicide, no pattern was ever established. No one linked them. But," Sam held up his finger to emphasize his point, "each death occurred after Thomas had gone into a coma. His mother was the first one to commit suicide."

Dean whistled.

"Yeah. Everyone assumed she had been distraught over the incident with her son - according to the paper."

"Okay. So…Road-trip." Dean smiled, glad to finally have a solid lead. "Looks like we head to Pennsylvania tomorrow and try to get this taken care of." Dean lifted his bottle in a mock toast.

"And do what, Dean?" Sam asked with an edge to his voice. He could guess what Dean's first solution to the problem would be. "We're not going to kill him."

"I never said that," Dean said defensively.

"No, but you were thinking it."

Dean huffed. "Thank you, Missouri." They'd had this conversation before, and with seemingly increasing frequency. He loved Sam's innocence, but sometimes you had to take care of the evil, even if it wore a human face. "We can at least get more information. Maybe interview the families."

Kaitlyn listened to the conversation with interest. She could feel the frustration coming from both men. This had obviously been ground already covered in past arguments. As much as she believed in mercy and forgiveness, she also believed in justice, and she just didn't see how the authorities would be able to take care of a case like this… If they could even be convinced of the truth of the situation. But she didn't like the idea of killing a defenseless man. No, scratch that. He's anything but defenseless.

A sudden prickling of her senses told Kaitlyn that Thomas was back. Unaware of any logical reason for doing it, she looked around the room and froze as her eyes locked onto the mirror. In the reflection, Kaitlyn saw Thomas standing behind her. Leering, he locked eyes with hers and reached out to touch her head. "Huuu…" she groaned and half slid to avoid the touch, half jumped from where she was sitting on the bed and spun around. Not seeing Thomas behind her, she spun again and took a short breath before holding it again. She became aware that the two men who were physically present in the room had stopped everything and were staring at her.

Kaitlyn gave a small nervous laugh. "Hallucinating?" She offered by way of explanation. She hoped that Sam and Dean's occupation would keep them from thinking she was losing her mind.

"Great! This just keeps getting better." Dean had a feeling this was going to be a very long night, and drive to Pennsylvania.

Sam watched Kaitlyn struggle to shake off her mounting fear. He could almost feel it as if it was his own. And he felt sorry for her. He thought this might be just the beginning of what was in store for the next couple of days. Sam could feel a headache building behind his eyes.

Kaitlyn looked over at Sam. She recognized the symptoms as the vision started before Sam even knew what was happening. "Sam."

Sam hissed and grabbed his head. Dean practically knocked his beer over in his fluid but quick motion, coming around the table and reaching for Sam at the same time. He had to get to Sam before he hit the floor.

Sam had been watching Kaitlyn, but the next thing he knew his world was consumed with blinding pain, followed by the few moments of reorientation while his mind's eye adjusted to what he was seeing. The pain lessened some and he felt himself relax. As he looked around, he saw he was in a nicely decorated room in a private care facility. There was a man lying on a bed attached to various types machines giving the illusion of life with their flurry of noise and activity. What grabbed Sam's attention though was the figure on the floor. In the small space between the bed and the wall, Kaitlyn lay on the floor. Dean was performing CPR on her.

"Nothing…come on!" Breathe. "Don't do this." Breathe. "Sam!?"

Then the world swirled, filling with color, sound, and a disconnected feeling. For a second he thought his head had finally exploded, but then pain came back with a vengeance and he knew it was still intact. When he was finally able to see again, he was sitting on the floor, Dean gave him support by holding him up against the wall. He felt a hand on his knee and followed the arm up to the face. Kaitlyn was watching him. Traces of her own headache still etched in her features, but fading - a blank numbness taking its place as she stared at him, wide-eyed.

Thomas laughed. Kaitlyn heard his laughter, felt his delight. His confidence increased ten-fold as Sam's vision confirmed his victory. I have the perfect place for your portrait, he whispered smugly. And he laughed again.

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tbc

A/N Thanks again for all of the reviews and for those who are journeying with me. Thanks, too, to J.A. Carlton, Mom, and mei mei. Love you all. I hope everyone had quite the enjoyable Christmas, too.