Chapter Seven: Research

Sam had stayed the night at the hospital with Dean. With research spread through the bed, the walls and the floor they began to make connection back to the very birth of the stone. Dean remained in bed a little overwhelmed with his newly prescribed medication. His doctor had figured that his medication wasn't strong enough to kill the infection going throughout his body. The dosage was bumped a little higher and Dean was feeling more then willing to take a much needed nap.

Rubbing at his eyes again he stifled yet another yawn. He wasn't allowed to get tired while working a case. "Dean?" Sam spoke quietly. Dean lifted his gaze to his brother drawing a chart out. "If you tired…" Sam looked up to his brother. "…then get some rest. You promised that you wouldn't push yourself if you could help with this case."

Dean shook his head. "How many times do I have to tell you Sammy? I'm fine. Now how close are we?"

Sighing Sam looked down to his chart. "1980's." Rubbing at his face he leaned back. "I hope we never run into a youth snatcher again."

"Yeah, well with some luck this will be the one and only." Looking back down to the papers in his lap Dean highlighted another sentence. "I thought dad said he had figured this out. Giving us a crap load of medical files and telling us to go through it looking for a connection isn't finding whoever holds this stone."

"No, but it does slash our options by a lot."

"Not exactly. I mean we knew it was someone in the hospital from the get go. People isolated from the rest of the world were kicking the bucket."

"Yeah, but dad got us the confidential files of all those people who have mysteriously died from that stone. So far I've gone through five cases which all ended up with a mysterious aging of the patients organs." Turning the page so Dean could see the highlighted mark Sam gave him a smile. "How many you come across?"

Dean rubbed his eyes again. "Almost every single one that landed on my damn lap. I've been looking through these reports Sammy and there isn't anything these victims have in common. Not even their doctors match up. I mean, Dr. Loathen and Dr. Sath came up twice but their patients had been diagnosed with cancer. What exactly should we be looking for?"

"Dad said there has to be…wait a minute…" Eyeing a piece of paper Sam looked up to Dean. "Doctor Habresken."

"Habresken?" Dean frowned. "Wasn't that the one we met at the walk-in clinic?"

"Yeah…Dean…all these patients…had gone to him…at the walk-in clinic."

Dean shifted in his seat. "So…then Habresken…he's the one stealing all this youth?"

"No…I don't think he's doing it…but I think he's picking the victims."

"So a tag team of youth snatchers?"

"Well, there are rituals in which the stone's power can be distributed amoung others. At long as they hold some of the original piece."

"So we could be up against as much as how many people?"

"Anywhere from one to two dozen." Sam shrugged. "Alright. So say Habresken got the stone and broke it up into pieces. Gave a piece to someone working at the hospital held a piece for himself. He picks the victims sends them here…then what? Chances that they'll run into the one person with another piece?" Sam scratched his head. "Okay. I'm going to call dad and see if he knows anything else. Then see if Bobby, Caleb and Pastor Jim can check the other hospitals for these mysterious deaths."

"While you're doing that I'll look for a connection inside the hospital with the doc." Turning his wrist to look at the time Dean sighed. "After lunch. Help me will ya? I'm going to go meet Erin."

Pushing the wheelchair closer Sam helped Dean move from the bed to the chair. He hadn't been up for many arguments since the new medication. "Erin doing okay since her brother died?"

Dean shook his head. "No, not really. She hasn't been her bubbly self. I'm worried about the kid. I'm hoping that some sort of interaction can cheer her up. The kids in the ward avoid her like the plaque because she's bald from the kemo."

"Poor kid."

"Understatement. Alright. So I'm going to go for lunch. Give me a call when you've found something." Unparking the chair Dean wheeled himself out of the room, Sam following closely behind him. As the came up to the children's ward Dean could see Susan and Dr. Loathen standing at the end of the hall. Exchanging a concerned look with Sam both made their way over.

"It'll be alright Susan." Dr. Loathen mumbled softly to Susan. Looking over to Dean and Sam as they came by he nodded to them. "Dean, how's the new medication I've put you on?"

"It's fine, doc. What's going on?" Dean looked from his doctor to Susan. She wiped at her eyes again. "You alright Susan?"

Susan looked to Dr. Loathen. "I'll be alright, you can go check on your patients." After getting a peck on the cheek from the doctor Susan turned to look at Dean. "Another one of the kids had died last night." Susan sniffed. "I'm just…a little overwhelmed. It seems everytime I go in there another kid comes out in a body bag."

"I'm sorry." Dean mumbled lowly. "Who was it?" Susan looked down to Dean. She didn't have the strength to speak. As the doors to the children's ward opened Susan looked up. Sam and Dean turned as the bed was being wheeled out. A sheet pulled over another tiny body. As it passed by the three something fell from underneath the sheets. A tattered white teddy bear. Wheeling over to it Dean leaned down and picked it up. He brushed his fingers over the bear's face. "Erin…"

XxXxXx

Sam handed Dean a styrofoam cup of coffee as he took a seat beside his bed. Dean took it silently. He nodded a thanks to Sam, still unable to speak. "Dean?" Sam whispered softly. Dean was still holding the tattered bear. "Dean…it's not your fault."

Dean shot his brother a look. He was silent, just staring at Sam. "I should have saved her." Looking back down to the bear Dean studied it. The worn out fur, the missing eye and the stains that could only be Erin playing dress up with mommy's makeup. "I should have saved her." Dean let out a breath. "She was telling me about something hurting the kids…I should have been there. Should have gone down there to help her. To protect her and all those other kids!"

"Dean…you couldn't have done anything."

"Bull shit!" Dean threw the cup of coffee across the room. "I could have done something! I knew something was going to happen and I chose not to do anything about it!" Dean clenched his jaw. "I chose to let her die."

"Dean…"

"Don't Sammy." Dean closed his eyes. "Just…just leave."

"…" Sam looked down to his shoes. His brother was hurting. His brother was upset and he was trying his hardest to be strong. "…alright." Sam whispered as he stood from his seat. "I'll see you tomorrow." Making it to the door Sam looked back at Dean. His brother was watching him, weary eyed and pale. Giving Dean a nod goodbye Sam left.

It was the last time Sam had seen his brother for the next few days. Every time he came to visit, every time anyone came to visit, Dean would turn them away. He kept the door locked. Only spoke to kick someone out. Spent his locked up days going over and over paper after paper figuring out how Dr. Habresken was connected with the victims. Still nothing came up. Dean was running on cheap idea's at this point. Looking for connections with the victims family as far as second cousins twice removed.

Tossing another load of papers aside Dean grunted. He was getting frustrated and he wanted this thing dead! Throwing his blankets off he grabbed on of his crutches and slipped it under his arm. Hobbling to the papers on the wall he followed them to the second wall. Masking tape went from one paper to the other labelling the connections between.

"Okay so the stone was found by that Juan guy. It went missing for a few hundred years and was found by this Caleb guy who sold it to this museum who donated it to this church…" Dean continued to follow the connections. "…stolen by this guy, given as a gift by this chick then lost for another few decades…." Dean stopped at the last paper. "Then apparently found by the doc's sister who gave it to him as a souvenir…" Dean ripped the page off the wall. "Then how come we can't find the damn thing!"

"Dean Winchester!" Dean turned to look at Susan as she opened up the door and walked in on him. Her hands were positioned on her hips as she shot daggers at him. "How many times have I told you not to get out of bed with just one crutch!" Dean half shrugged his shoulders. "Now get back into bed, c'mon." Making her way around the bed Susan stepped over the discarded piles of papers. She hadn't asked Dean what he had been doing. No one really did. She had seen people do such things before and it wasn't as if it was anything random. Dean was making connections and the times Susan glanced at them she knew he was only working on a project.

Grabbing his arm she lead him back to bed. Moving his legs under the covers she pulled them over top of Dean and began to tuck them under the mattress. "I know you're getting antsy but Dr. Loathen is increasing your medication dosage today and you could get a little dizzy. We'd like you to have a cushioned fall if that's the case." Leaning over Dean Susan tugged at the blankets gently. Her loosened blouse snapped open and a small crystal fell out. It was on a black thread.

Dean stared at the gem for a moment. "That's a nice necklace." Dean muttered as he looked up to Susan. "What is it?"

Susan looked down to her necklace before smiling. "It was a gift from my fiance, Dr. Loathen." She held the stone between her fingers. "He never did tell me what it was just that it was special. That I wasn't allowed to take it off or something." Susan shrugged. "I guess I'm just humouring him by holding on to it."

"Hmm…" Dean reached out to touch the stone. "…it uhh…it's looks broken."

Susan shook her head. "Nah, Justin broke it in half. He took a piece then gave me one." Susan looked around the room. "So…what are you doing anyways? You seem to be knee deep in papers."

Dean let the stone go and looked around the room. "Uh yeah. Me and my brother were relic buffs. We like to find the origins, where they came from, the journies they went on and where the ended up. I'm stuck on the last connection though. Dr…."

"Habresken?" Susan smiled as she picked up the paper Dean tore off the wall.

"Yeah, you know him?"

Susan laughed as she set the paper down. "I should. He's my father. Anyways. You should get some rest. No visitors again?"

Dean stared at Susan for a moment before shaking his head. "No, it's alright. I'd like to see my brother."

"Okay." Standing up Susan turned to the exit. "Dr. Loathen should be in to see how you're taking to the dosage." Stepping over the papers again Susan left.

Once she was out of ear shot Dean reached into the end table and took out his phone. His fingers fumbling with the numbers. "Damnit Dean c'mon!" Finally getting the number right he lifted the phone to his ear.

"Hello?"

"Sam!" Dean nearly hollered into the phone. "I figured it out."

"The connection?"

"Yeah. Dr. Habresken got the stone from his sister as a souvenir from her dig in Australia right?"

"Yeah."

"Then we knew he gave it to the man who was supposed to marry his little girl right?"

"Yeah."

"Guess what Susan's last name is?"

"Habresken?"

"Habresken." Dean nodded. "And her fiance is Dr. Loathen...who broke the stone in half. He gave one piece to Susan and told her to never take it off."

"So then Habresken really didn't have anything to do with it."

"I guess not. I don't think Susan knows either."

"What about Loathen?"

"I'm guessing he's the one and only in this. It would explain a lot of things. Bobby and Caleb didn't find any mystery deaths in the other hospitals like this one. Loathen and Susan get all of Habresken's walk-in patients since they're family. Not to mention that for this stone to work it needs an altar to jump start this youth stealing mojo."

"Alright, so lets just say this theory is right…how do we stop it?"

"I'm guessing the altar…we destroy that we could stop the stone's power."

"Yeah but Dean. I've looked up the items needed to awaken this stone. It's a one time spell. We destroy the altar it's power decreases but we don't stop it."

"Well then we'll the destroy the damn stone! I don't give a damn on what we have to do but I'm not letting anyone else die." Dean took a moment to catch his breath. The other end of the line remained quiet. "Sam?" Nothing. "Sam?" Pulling the phone from his ear Dean looked to the screen. The call had been ended.

"Dean…" Dr. Loathen spoke with a sinister smile on his face. "…you should know that cellphone in hospitals aren't allowed. You could hurt someone." Taking a step forward Dr. Loathen smiled.

"You mean like you?" Dean let his arm drop to the bed as he started at Dr. Loathen.

"Oh come now Dean. I only killed people who were going to die anyways."

"Like those people outside their house? Or Erin? Or her brother?"

"Okay the people outside the house were wrong place wrong time. But Erin and her little brother. They were both dead anyways. I mean Erin had lung cancer. Her lungs were practically coated! And her brother! Well, there was no way in hell he was leaving the hospital with his insides all shredded and damaged. I did them a favour."

"You killed them for your own selfish desire."

"I helped them."

"Oh yeah, helped them. Terrifying them. Stealing their life until they died from exhaustion. Yeah…lots of help."

"Ah Dean. You just don't understand. You're still young. Still got your good looks working for you."

"And you don't?"

"Well I do now…how old do you think I am Dean?"

"…" Dean inched a little further to the edge of the bed. "Don't know don't care. I'm going to kill you either way."

"Be careful Dean, you should show your elders some respect."

"Elders? Right you're so old."

"Ah, that's just how good this stone is…" Pulling at a black string the second piece of the stone fell out. "…I'm sixty-three years old Dean."

"…what? But…Dr. Hab-"

"Gave me the stone? Yes…well kinda. You see…when I learned about what this thing could do…I stole it from him. Replaced it with a fake. When he gave me the fake back I broke this one in half and gave the other half to my dear Susan. She's been killing the kids you know. Unknowingly killing them but killing them either way."

"You couldn't just go down alone you had to take her with you?"

"I wanted her Dean. The things she does in bed, whoo. They'd blow your mind. But…now that you know…I'm going to have to kill you too."

"Yeah…and how you going to do that?"

Dr. Loathen chuckled. "Ah Dean…you forget…I'm your doctor." Lifting up his clipboard Dr. Loathen flipped the pages over and pulled out his pen. Pressing it to the paper he glanced up at Dean, his lip drawn in a smikr. "How are you feeling from that new dosage?"

"…" Dean tried to get out of bed, his body was unresponsive. "What did you do…?" His neck began to numb and weaken. His head fell back into the pillow. Watching Dr.Loathen Dean felt his eyes grow heavy.

"That good huh?" Dr. Loathen jot down a few notes.

"…Sam…" Dean mumbled.

"Anything else, Dean?"

Dean's eyes closed. 'Sam…'