Finally, the plot moves forward! This was supposed to be the second half of the last chapter, but the darn thing grew so big it just had to stand alone.

The next chapter will hopefully be up by this weekend. Long story short, I'm dealing with some job stuff that's been eating away at my time. But I'll do my best to post as soon as possible.

Enjoy!

A Mother's Love

Sam emerged from the Impala just as Dean pulled the Donovan's door closed. Leaning against the side of the car, Sam double-checked the batteries in the EMF reader, then proceeded towards the house. Ok, so he hadn't waited the prearranged five minutes, but then again, he hadn't done a lot of things he should have lately. Like showing Dean some respect. He felt horrible about lashing out at Dean, especially given the unnatural patience Dean had been displaying lately. It was as if they'd swapped personalities for the day. Sam couldn't wait until this case was over. He didn't want to waste any time in the search for their father, but maybe it was time to take a quick mini-vacation, just long enough to get his head straight.

Sam checked his watch again as he walked up the driveway. Five minutes. He chuckled sardonically. It would probably take him that long just to get up the stairs.

A war raged within Sam between his head and his gut. His head tried to go the rational route and reassure him that, other than suffering from a lifetime of nightmares, Jenna would be alright. His gut knew better. Hannah's ghost had tried to warn Elaine Donovan and Wendy Lanigan, hell, had tried to warn him, that something was going on, although she probably could've found a slightly better way to do it. Even seven year old Jenna had unknowingly given him clues that there was more than just a ghost plaguing the family.

Sam approached the front of the house, scanning the area for any nosy neighbors. Other than the elderly gentleman who was mowing his slightly overgrown lawn, Sam was alone.

The four wooden steps leading up to the front porch looked as formidable as Mount McKinley in Sam's eyes. Sam took a deep breath and pulled himself onto the first stair, then used his momentum to ascend the second. He was just about to go for the third when his right knee gave out. He fell heavily into the railing, his cheeks flushed with frustration. Bending slightly at the waist, he hopped up the remaining two steps on his left leg, wincing at the loud noise the resulted from his heavy steps on the hollow wood stairs. Hopefully no one inside had heard the noise.

The slightly muffled notes of Beethoven's Allegro Assai could be heard as Sam approached the front door. He opened the door just a crack and peered in. Above the piano music, Sam was just able to make out the sounds of conversation coming from down the hallway. Dean had Mr. Donovan in the kitchen, leaving Sam to search for Jenna.

Sam made his way towards the source of the music, keeping as close to the wall as possible. All he needed was for the unseen piano player to break into the Mission Impossible theme song and the scenario would be complete.

Sam peeked around the corner, expecting to see four year old Stevie tickling the ivories. But to his great relief, it was his sister who sat at the piano. Jenna's long blonde hair brushed the back of her hands as they scampered across the ivory keys. A huge grin settled on Sam's face as he watched the little girl. She was alright.

Sam slipped into the living room and slowly walked up the piano, as not to startle the child. He held a finger to his lips as he came to her side.

The song ended abruptly as Jenna took notice of her visitor. Sam wasn't exactly sure what reaction he was expecting; a smile, a shout, a hug, or maybe even another fit of tears, but the blonde girl simply stared at him.

Sam pulled his hand down and smiled warmly. "Hey, Jenna." he whispered.

Jenna gave no reaction, just continued her blank stare. Sam couched down so he was eye level with the little girl, wincing at the fire that shot up his right leg.

"Jenna, don't you remember me? Officer Darrow? Sam? The guy with the funny haircut?" Sam grinned, hoping to draw out the sweet giggles he'd heard the day before.

Jenna turned away from the piano to fully face Sam. She continued her eerie stare, finally giving Sam a slight nod.

"Jenna!" Mr. Donovan's voice boomed from the kitchen. "Everything ok in there?"

Sam's heart jumped into his throat. Jenna's piercing blue eyes continued to bore into Sam's. He shook his head, hoping she would take the hint not to announce his presence.

Jenna turned slightly towards the hallway, keeping Sam in her sights. "Fine, Dad!" she shouted.

Sam closed his eyes in relief as Dean's smooth voice drifted in from the kitchen. "I'm sorry, Mr. Donovan, I realize what an inconvience this is. I only have a few more questions, then I'll get out of your hair."

Sam made a mental note to thank Dean later and refocused on Jenna. It was too quiet to carry on their conversation, so he grabbed the remote control and turned on the television for cover noise. Returning to Jenna, he held out his hand to help her off the stool. Sam nearly yelped as her fingers touched his…her skin was cold as ice.

Sam led her away from the piano and went further into the living room, turning her so he could keep an eye on the entrance.

Sam sat the sofa and stretched his right leg straight out. "Jenna, you called me last night." Sam whispered. "Do you remember?"

Jenna nodded.

"You, uh," Sam paused, chosing his words carefully. "You said someone was in your room."

"I had a bad dream." Jenna replied tonelessly.

Sam nodded. "Yeah, that's what your daddy said." Sam reached out and gently took her hand. He couldn't help but shiver as her icy grasp seemed to leech the warmth from his body. "You know, Jenna, you can tell me anything. I'll believe you, no matter what. I just want to help you."

"I had a bad dream." Jenna repeated. She stood unnaturally still, as beautiful and rigid as a porcelain doll.

Sam let go of her hand and rested his elbows on his thighs. He wrung his hands nervously, not liking where this was going. The little girl was so utterly devoid of emotion, a far cry from the lively young girl he'd seen the previous night. Sure, he'd only spent a few minutes with Jenna, but he'd felt a bond with her; her melodious giggles and huge crocidile tears had seared a place in his heart. Now, he'd give anything to see any hint of the emotions she'd so easily bared last night, even if it were in the form of tears. Her stony stare was completely unsettling.

As if reading his thoughts, Jenna finally broke her gaze, sliding her eyes to the left. She focused on a point over his shoulder, her indifferent expression never changing.

The hair on the back of Sam's neck stood up, and he turned to see little Stevie staring up at him. The youngest Donovan had seemingly appeared from nowhere and was standing directly behind Sam, wearing the same lifeless expression as his sister. Sam looked at each sibling, shivering as their matching blue eyes seemed to penetrate him from both sides.

Sam got off the couch and backed up against the wall. It was ridiculous to be afraid of children, yet Sam's heart was racing. Stevie walked over and stood next to Jenna, whispering a question into his ear. She looked down at him and shook her head.

Sam shuddered. He felt as if he'd just entered the Village of the Damned. But that was crazy. Or was it?

The inner turmoil in Sam increased as he tried to tell himself that he was being irrational; there was nothing wrong with them other than the trauma they'd been subjected to. But no matter how hard his mind tried to rationalize the sudden change Jenna had gone through in one day, his gut knew better.

His hands shook slightly as he pulled out the EMF reader. He shook his head and whispered, "Please…"

He aimed the gadget at Stevie, then at Jenna. There was no denying the brilliance of the tiny red lights, or the painful piercing noise of the machine as it screamed it's warning at Sam.

Moving as if of one mind, Stevie and Jenna looked at the device, then raised their heads and resumed their unearthly stare.

"What's that?" Jenna pointed at the screeching machine. Sam quickly shut off the machine and swallowed the lump that had risen in his throat.

"One of my brother's toys." Sam forced a smile and slowly pulled out his cell phone. He refused to accept what the facts were telling him; that the two children in front of him were not Jenna and Stevie Donovan, but rather some kind of supernatural creatures. He aimed the phone at the kids and gazed into the monitor, praying that a ghost or some other invisible specter was the reason for the high readings.

Sam panned around the room, his heart sinking. There was no one…nothing else in the room. The source of the readings had to be the children.

Sam shifted back to the kids, who were now looking at him with the slightest hint of curiosity on their otherwise blank faces.

"What're you doin'?" Jenna squinted up at Sam.

Sam tried to keep calm. The children, or whatever they were, didn't seem to pose an immediate threat to him. If anything, they seemed completely docile, innocent as the children they were pretending to be. He had to gather as much intel as possible. First he had to determine exactly what he was dealing with, although he was fairly certain he knew just what kind of creatures stood before him. They had to be shape shifters. Although he couldn't for the life of him figure out why a shape shifter would impersonate a child, there really was no other explaination. Although, unlike the murdering monster they'd encountered in St. Louis, the two beings before him seemed reasonably harmless.

Sam adjusted the phone so Jenna and Stevie were in the middle of the monitor. Their eyes were as blue as the sky in the tiny screen. A bit odd; he'd been expecting to see their saucer-like eyes flare in the camera. Maybe once he actually took the picture, the creatures' true colors would show.

"Oh, just taking a quick picture…" Sam gave her a quick smile, "…you shape-shifting freak." he finished under his breath.

Say cheese. Sam snapped the photograph, and gasped at the image that appeared on the screen.

Although their clothing was the same, everything about the childrens' appearances had grotesquely changed. Long straw-like red hair had replaced the glistening blonde manes. Large ears poked out beneath the straggly locks. Their sphinx-like black eyes were set close together above large bulbous noses. Swollen lower lips stuck out, almost as if the creatures were sulking at being discovered. Skin the color and texture of leather was stretched taunt on their long arms; the delicate little hands that had created such heavenly music were oversized and knobby.

Sam tore his eyes away from the gruesome images and stared disbelievingly at the creatures who to the naked eye so eerily resembled the Donovan children. It was almost impossible to grasp that such hideousness could lie beneath such beauty. A wave of rage swept over him, and he swiftly grabbed Jenna's shoulders.

"Where are they?" Sam whispered harshly, his hands squeezing her hard. "What have you done with them?"

Jenna's eyes widened in surprise. Her mouth opened, but no sound came out. Sam gave her a rough shake and tightened his painful grip.

"What have you done with Jenna!"

The little blonde's porcelain face began to crumble. Her eyes welled with tears and she began to wail. "I am Jenna!"

Sam dropped his hands in surprise and looked to his right as Stevie's tiny fists began to beat on Sam's jeanclad thigh.

"Leave my sister alone!" The little boy shouted as he continued his mini assault.

Sam swept the tiny child away with a swing of his arm just as Mr. Donovan's voice roared from the kitchen.

"Jenna! Stevie! What's going on?"

Both children were crying now, Jenna holding onto her shoulders and Stevie on the floor where he'd fallen. Sam ran a hand through his hair and cursed under his breath. The conversation from the kitchen had abruptly halted. He heard a loud scraping noise coming from the kitchen, as if two chairs had been rapidly pushed across a hardwood floor. Footsteps clomped towards the living room even as Sam heard Dean try his best to slow Mr. Donovan down.

"I'm sure they're fine. Kids fight all the time. In fact, studies say it's the younger brother that starts nearly all of the fights." Dean's hurried voice was getting closer, the footsteps louder.

"Dammit!" Sam shoved the electronics in his jacket and quickly gauged his options. He had no weapons with him, although he couldn't risk killing the creatures anyway, not until he found out the fate of the real children. He and Dean might be able to grab the creatures and run; they didn't seem to pose much of a threat. But what of Mr. Donovan? Even with their current injuries, the brothers could deal with him in no time. Sam quickly nixed that idea. The poor man had been through enough already, and now they're supposed to, what, tie him up? Steal away the only family he thinks he has left?

With the creatures' loud wailing and the appraoching heavy footsteps swirling about, Sam made his decision. As much as he hated to do it, a swift retreat and rational regroup were his best options. He frantically looked around for a means of escape.

snsnsnsnsnsnsnsnsnsnsnsnsnsnsnsn

Dean bolted in front of Mr. Donovan as they walked down the brightly lit hallway towards the living room. He continued to blather on, hoping to give Sam enough time to get the hell out of there.

"My little brother was always pulling stuff...coming after me, then saying I started it. And of course our dad believed him...for a little while, anyway. But then I figured, if I were going to get blamed for it, I might as well have a little fun." Mr. Donovan nearly ran into Dean as the eldest Winchester stopped right in front of him.

"You'd be amazed what some finely placed Nair will do for a boy." Dean gave a clever wink, grinning brightly.

Mr. Donovan blinked rapidly, shaking his head as he pushed past Dean. "Jenna, Stevie!"

Dean held his breath as he followed Mr. Donovan into the living room. The harried man bolted over to his crying children and knelt before them. He turned his attention to Stevie first; examining him carefully to make sure none of his earlier wounds had reopened.

What the hell had happened? Why were the kids crying? Was Sam alright? Where was he?

Dean nervously searched for signs of his brother, and breathed a sigh of relief once he saw the curtains blowing by the open window. He made sure Mr. Donovan's attention was still on his children, then slipped over to the wall.

Dean peeked out of the window and breathed in sharply. Sam was sprawled out on the green grass, slowly pulling his long limbs into a seated position. Dean didn't move until Sam turned his face up to the window. Sam grabbed his knee tightly and gave Dean a stiff nod, indicating he was more or less ok.

"Well, you seem to have your hands full here." Dean edged his way into the hallway. "We'll call you if we have any further questions."

Mr. Donovan gave a distracted wave of his hand, his attention still focused on his bawling children. Dean raised his eyebrows and massaged his ringing ears as he backed out of the living room.

Dean let himself out of the Donovan house, more than a little confused. His sappy, puppydog-eyed brother could charm the pants off of anyone (although, unlike Dean, he'd never use his powers for such an immoral deed). Yet, somehow, it seemed that Sam had driven not one, but two children to tears. What the hell was going on?

Halfway down the driveway Dean could still hear one of the children's ear-piercing cries. "That is why I will never have kids."

Dean jogged around the side of the house. Sam had made his way to his feet and was limping heavily towards Dean.

"Sam?"

Dean reached Sam just as the taller man lurched off balance. Dean snagged him by the upper arms and held tight. Sam lifted his head and shook the hair out of his eyes. Dean nearly took a step back as he took in the sheer hopelessness in his brother's hazel eyes.

"Sam, are you ok? What happened with the kids?" Dean asked earnestly, still holding fast to his brother. Sam looked as if he were about to crumple back down to the ground.

Sam swallowed hard, an odd combination of sadness and anger splashed across his ashen face. "It's all my fault. I failed, Dean. I failed."

Sam took in a trembling breath and met his brother's shocked face.

"The kids are gone."