Here you go, everyone, the next chapter with baby Jake! thank you all once again for the great reviews, i'm so glad everyone is enjoying the story!! let me know what you think as the mystery deepens. :)

NOT ALL AS IT SEEMS

Chapter 8

Dean sat on the edge of Kerri's bed, his back to his friend, Jake sitting, smiling on his lap. Dean moved again, taking the feather he had found and dragging it over his sleeping brother's face, eliciting another squeal of laughter from Jake. Sam swatted at the offending object in his sleep, but did not wake up, and so, Dean continued on. Jake had woken about twenty minutes prior to Dean's little prank fest, and, though he didn't cry, the older Winchester was hard pressed to find a way to entertain the kid. Because he knew, no matter how good the kid seemed to be, that it was only a matter of time before he started fussing.

Dean swiped the feather across his brother's face again, having to stifle a laugh when Sam slapped his own face with more force then Dean had been expecting. But he still didn't awaken. "Hey, Jake, you wanna see something really funny?"

"Yah, yah." The little boy began, turning up to face Dean, a large smile still plastered across his face.

"Alright. Watch this." Dean snickered, carrying Jake over to the sink and filling a glass with warm water. He made his way back over to his still sleeping brother, easing himself quietly onto Kerri's bed. But, just as he was reaching for Sam's hand, he heard a voice.

"You know, that's not very nice." Kerri chided.

"You're a kill joy." Dean smirked, dipping his own hand in the water instead. He started to flick it at his brother, Sam flinching again and again as the water hit his face, Jake laughing with each movement. "This better?" He asked, turning towards Kerri.

"Yeah, I'm fine with it." Kerri smiled, watching as Dean held up the glass for Jake, the little boy splashing so much water on Sam that the younger Winchester's face was now soaked.

"What the?" Sam mumbled, his eyes flying open as Jake threw another handful of water at him.

"Dean."

"What? The kid threw it."

"Oh yeah, I wonder who taught him that." Sam scowled, pushing himself up off the bed, and heading towards the bathroom.

"I think you pissed him off." Kerri smirked, still laying on her side.

"Again, again." Jake cheered, dipping his hand into the glass once more, this time turning towards Dean.

"No way, buddy. Sammy's gone."

"Again?" Jake asked, his eyes imploring, hand still in the glass.

"Nope, no more 'again'."

Jake just turned back again, pulling his hand from the water and wiping it on the blankets. To say he was amazed would have been an understatement. As far as Dean knew, kids didn't usually obey like that. Well, at least Sammy didn't. It was just something else that made Jake different. He seemed smarter then a normal kid, and quieter.

"Dean!"

"Huh, what?" Dean asked, turning towards Kerri.

"I called your name like three times."

"Yeah, why?"

"I'm guessing that the kid's probably hungry."

"See, I knew I kept you around for a reason." Dean smiled, moving over to the small table. He placed Jake on one of the chairs before rummaging through the small fridge, trying to find something remotely kid friendly. To his dismay, it was all freakishly kid friendly. He knew he should have looked through the stuff his little brother had bought. "Awe, man, it's like baby food central in here."

"Yuk." Jake spat out shaking his head. "Ma, cheese."

"Sorry, dude, but Sammy didn't buy any."

"No ma, cheese?"

"Nope, no mac and cheese."

"What are you two whining about?" Sam asked, coming out of the bathroom with a down in hand, still trying to dry his sopping hair.

"You didn't buy the kid any mac and cheese."

"Yes, I did. I got him the kid kind, it's in there." Sam began, pushing past his brother and shifting things around the fridge.

"Well." Dean began, backing away, sending a wink at a still smiling Jake. "Looks like you got this all under control."

"What?" Sam asked, turning from the fridge, his eyes going from the jar of food to Jake before trailing back to his smirking brother. "You're a freaking jerk."

"No, I'm an awesomely crafty big brother."

"Yeah, freaking jerk."

"Sore loser. So." Dean began a few moments later, sitting opposite Jake and Sam and powering up the laptop. "We any further along then we were?"

"Well." Sam began, lifting a spoon to Jake, the little boy refusing to open his mouth. "I think I was right before, it looks like Korrigans can project images and ideas into people's minds."

"So the thing wasn't really in my house."

"No, but it would have seemed just like it. Apparently, the images and ideas are so strong, that they can even cause injuries."

"So." Dean broke in, his eyes boring into Kerri with a single minded intensity. He needed her to understand, needed to pull her out of the darkness she had been slowly falling into. It was more than just the painting, more than just the events of the last few days. Kerri was different, and it was painfully obvious. She'd been put through too much over time, suffered too much in his twelve year absence. And the fact that he and his brother returned didn't seem to be helping her all that much. "Even if it was all in your head, it still could have killed you."

"I know you're trying to make me feel better, Dean, but that's really not the way to do it." Kerri smirked, pulling her sweater around her as she shivered. "Why'd it stop, then? Why not go after Sam?"

"I don't know. Maybe it just wanted to scare you?"

"Like, 'oh I'm freaked, take the baby back.'?"

"Yeah well, phrased like that it sounds ridiculous."

"Then why give up?"

"That's a real good question." Sam began, the young man deep in thought, not even noticing when Jake took the spoon from him. The little boy then started feeding himself, slopping more of the noodles down his front then in his mouth. "Did Jake react to the Korrigan?"

"Huh? Yeah, he was crying."

"Yeah, I know. But was he crying about the Korrigan, or crying as a react to you being scared?"

"I don't know, I'm not a mind reader."

"Just, here me out. Do you remember anything he was doing when it was attacking?"

"Well, he cried when he heard it rip into the door."

"But, did he actually act like he saw it?"

"No." Kerri breathed, leaning back against the headboard. "No, just the sound. But, I don't know, I kind of jumped and held him tighter when I heard it."

"So he may have not even heard it."

"What are you getting at, Sam?" Dean asked, his eyes shifting between Kerri and Jake. The little boy just sat in the chair, spoon abandoned on the table as he dug small hands into his food. This entire hunt centered on Jake, the innocent little boy somehow immune to a creature that should have been able to destroy him. Hell, he'd even managed to get away from the thing.

"I don't know. It's just… I think there's more going on here then just the Korrigan."

"You find something?"

"No. But I can't shake this feeling."

"Yeah." Dean conceded. "Me either. We need to get in his house. Come on, Ker, up and at um."

"Huh? Why don't you and Sam go?"

"I think we've already decided that you and baby alone is a bad idea, and it's not like we can bring Jake with us."

"Dean's right. You two go, I've got a few more things I need to look up."

"Why do you two always have to agree when I don't want you to?"

"It's part of our charm." Dean smirked, helping Kerri off the bed. "Sam, one sign of evil baby snatcher, and you head to us. Ya hear."

"I got it, Dean."

666666666666

Dean and Kerri sat in the impala, both staring at the house before them. It seemed normal enough; freshly cut lawn, perfectly laid out fence, not a single chip in the paint. Oh yes, it was the pure 'american dream' kind of house. But, if there was one thing Kerri knew, it was that looks could be deceiving. It was the first thing she learned about the hunting world, and well, the first thing she learned about the world in general. People usually based everything they knew on first impressions, on out dated stereotypes and stories past down from their parents. And, more often then not, their views of the world were warped beyond repair.

She had experienced it first had as a child, had watched as people doted over Evelyn, all while completely ignoring her. She'd seen the way teachers had treated Dean, had become friends with men that most people locked their doors on, and had felt extreme loss at the hands of people society believed to be perfect. Yes, looks could be deceiving, and it was that deception that killed.

"You alright?" Dean asked, still staring past her. She knew he was watching her, though, knew he could sense how she felt, read her body language the same way people read books. It was always something he was able to do, ever since the first day he'd met her. In all reality, he was the first and only person not to judge her on sight, and that as something she had never forgotten.

"Yeah, I just wanna get this over with."

"Ladies first."

"Then why are you still sitting in the car, Winchester?"

"Oh, aren't you a riot. Come on."

Kerri just smirked, a little bit of her waning energy returning as she followed Dean up the sidewalk. It felt good to have him back, almost like a piece of her soul had returned. But she knew not to get too attached. Things in her life were just too easy to lose, too easily stolen away, and she knew that one day, Dean would be gone again.

She was brought back by the sound of the doorbell, focusing again on the task at hand. They only had two days to figure this all out, two days before another family would be destroyed, before another child would be orphaned. And that was something none of them would ever allow.

"Can I help you?" A young woman asked, the chain still stopping the door from opening more then a crack.

"Yes, Ma'am, my name is Dean Matthews, and this is Kerri Simon, may we come in?"

"You know, my husband's due back in a few hours, maybe you could come back then." She began, trying to smile but obviously frightened by the pair. Kerri couldn't help be smile a little; where was Sam when you needed him.

"Actually, Ma'am, we're just here to ask you a few questions." Kerri broke in, smiling at the woman before her, though it was immediately obvious that Kerri wasn't calming her at all.

"We can talk here, if it's better for you." Dean began, trying to keep the woman from slamming the door in their faces. Kerri knew that they needed the information, sooner rather then later, and she was certain that Dean wasn't going to walk away from the house without the answers they came for. "It's about your camping trip."

"I've already had someone from the site call."

"Yes, we just had a few follow up questions."

"Why? Is there something wrong?"

"We don't know exactly. That's why we're here."

"Well, what did you want to know?" She began, still not opening the door more then a few inches.

Kerri could tell that Dean was getting more then a little aggravated, but at that moment they would take what they could get. In reality, they wanted to see the kid Candice Robinson thought was her child. But, at the moment, it seemed like they would see pigs flying first.

"Did you see anything, out of place, while camping?"

"What do you mean, out of place?"

"There were a few reports of something lurking around the camps." Kerri broke in, her voice as soft as she could make it. She really didn't like interacting with their targets, but it was part of the job, or at least, part of the job when Sam and Dean were around.

Kerri smiled a bit despite herself when she saw Mrs. Robinson falter, the woman looking to the ground before answering. "It was nothing."

"Please, Ma'am." Dean broken in. "All details are important."

"I thought I saw someone, a woman, out at the edge of our camp. I called my husband over to see it, we searched the area for a little bit, but we didn't find anything. Michael, he told me it was just my imagination. And, you know, after I got back, I figured he was right."

"Why's that."

"Well, Jake, our little boy, he usually picks up on things like that. I don't know, it's almost like he's got a sixth sense or something. Whenever someone around seems, odd, he starts fussing. But, when we got back to the tent, he was just sleeping, not a care in the world."

"So, you left him in the tent when you searched the forest?"

"We weren't that far from him, Mr. Matthews, if that's what you're trying to imply. Now, if you don't have anymore questions, I suggest you leave."

"Just one more thing, Mrs. Robinson." Kerri chimed in, just as the woman was closing the door.

"Yes?"

"You said Jake had a sixth sense about people, when did you first notice it?"

"Oh, it's happened a few times. But the first… had to have been when he was a little baby, no more then sixth months or so. There was this man, he'd been in the park I always walked in, a strange man. He'd just stand there and watch, always kept to the shadows, but not like he was trying to hide. It was weird, whenever we'd get close, Jake would fuss. I called the cops, but a week or so later, he just vanished. You wanna know something funny-- I was the only person that ever reported seeing him."