Sam walked into the motel room right behind Dean and was as surprised as his brother to see his father up and dressed. When Dean had all but carried him into the room that morning, the sight of his father had disturbed Sam tremendously and he was further convinced that his father had been in really bad shape when they had stitched his wounds. John had hardly moved and had barely flinched as Dean sewed his wounds. Sam knew his father was a strong man, but he knew his father would have had a few choice words to say about Dean's stitching if he had been in any shape to notice.

As he walked past Dean on his way to the bed, Sam said tiredly, "Dad, you can't go alone. You have to take Dean with you."

Dean couldn't believe his ears; his brother had just agreed with him, which left him too stunned to reply. John was also a little taken aback by Sam's statement and just stared at his youngest son.

Sam, on the other hand, wasn't paying any further attention to either of them. The combination of his injuries and the sedatives had left him exhausted and all he wanted to do was climb into bed and go to sleep. He proceeded to lie down on the bed with his back to both his father and brother.

Dean looked at his father. "You heard him. That's two against one."

"Dean," sighed John, "I think you should stay with your brother. I'm still not one hundred percent sure what this thing is capable of."

It was Sam who answered once again. "It's capable of hurting you. It did last night. You'll need help. I don't want it to hurt you again."

Dean felt Sam was arguing his case quite nicely without his help so he opted out of adding anything.

"But Sam, you're hurt too," responded John, the concern for his youngest son evident in his voice.

"Yeah, but I'm not going on a hunt. I'm going to sleep. I promise I won't get into too much trouble while I'm sleeping," Sam mumbled into his pillow. "Please take Dean with you."

John sighed. He realized the boys were right and that he did need help but he was torn between his concern for Sam and his own safety. Usually it was an easy decision: his sons' safety above all else. But tonight he was hurt and both of them were pleading with him not to go alone.

"I dunno, Sam."

"Dad, please," pleaded Sam wearily. "Besides, it's your turn to put up with him,"

ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

In the end, John had relented to his son's desires. He and Dean had hurriedly put all the weapons into the trunk of the Impala and then they set about protecting the motel room in much the same manner as Dean had the night before. Sam might not be getting into much trouble that night, but they didn't want risk trouble getting to him.

As Dean climbed into the driver's seat beside his father and pulled out of the parking lot he asked, "So…Mind tellin' me what this Aswang thing is that we're hunting?"

"An Aswang," began John, "Is a creature very much like a vampire. It thrives on blood, which is why it eats organs like the heart and the liver."

"But it's not a vampire?" questioned Dean.

"No. An Aswang usually takes the form of a person during the day but will change its shape to hunt at night. That's when it turns into an animal, like as a dog or a cat so it can rip its victim to pieces to eat the organs. It usually has wings so it can fly, and it's always black. Aswangs can see extremely well in the dark"

"Does it have a lair?"

"No, not really. Because they look like real people during the day, they live like people too. They live in houses or apartments and sometimes even have jobs."

"So, do you know where this one lives," asked Dean trying to figure out his father's strategy for hunting this thing.

"No, but they won't hunt in their own neighborhoods, so this thing doesn't live anywhere near the area it's been terrorizing."

"So why's it hunting there?"

"I'm pretty sure it's because there are a lot of young families living there. New sub-divisions tend to draw young couples and new families. We know it preys on expectant mothers, which makes this area a pretty rich hunting ground."

"But not all the victims have been pregnant women," stated Dean.

"Well, an Aswang will prey on anything that can't defend itself. It'll go after babies, children or someone who's sick," declared John. "They have a nasty reputation and they're brutal but they really aren't that brave. They'll retreat from anything that has the ability to protect itself. "

"Is that how you were able to get away from it?"

"Pretty much. It snuck up on me. It knew I was there looking for it and I think that it thought if it surprised me, it would be able to kill me."

"I guess it didn't do its homework," smirked Dean.

"Guess not," replied John. "Must be related to you."

They had pulled onto the street where John's truck remained from the night before. Once again Dean pulled the Impala to a stop behind his father's truck and the two hunters got out of the car.

As Dean stepped from the car, he asked, "What kills an Aswang, anyway?"

"Salt," responded John as he headed toward the truck. "But we have to get the salt right inside this thing's stomach to kill it or else we'll just piss it off. Likewise, silver bullets should do the trick."

Dean opened the trunk and pulled out the two guns that were stored in there. He decided to carry the gun that was filled with the rock-salt and tucked the other one into the back of his jeans. Both he and his father agreed that it was better to be prudent and try to shoot their quarry with rock-salt first than it would be to end up shooting bullets into something other than their intended target. That was why, if there was a choice, they always started with the least dangerous weapon. If bullets would be required, they were just a quick reach away.

Dean joined his father on the road between the two vehicles. "Which way?" he asked.

Nodding in the direction where Dean had found him earlier that morning, John replied, "That house. The woman who lives there is due to give birth any day. It was going after her last night when I found it. I'm sure it'll be back tonight. It's bound to be hungry. I stopped it from getting its meal last night."

The two hunters started across the road and Dean asked, "How's it gonna get to her?"

"It will sit on the roof and wait until she's asleep – that's when she is the most vulnerable – and then it will go in through the bedroom window. Her room is the second window from the left at the back of the house."

"Are there kids in the house?" queried Dean, wondering whether they had be concerned for anyone else in the house should the Aswang not be able to get to its preferred target.

"No, this is their first. And I think the husband works nights, so she's alone. Another reason she's high on this thing's grocery list."

"Lucky her," remarked Dean.

They had reached the back of the house and John had motioned Dean to get down and out of sight. The backyard was in total darkness and they would have to be extremely careful when they made their way across the yard to the bushes at the back in order to watch the house secretly. If the Aswang was already there, it would see them before they saw it.

Dean knew his father was planning on crawling across the yard to take up position at the back of the property while Dean covered him, but Dean didn't think that was the safest plan. It made much more sense for Dean to go and have his father stay in the shadows at the side of the house. He wasn't injured and would be more agile so he would be able make it to the back of the yard with less difficulty.

"Dad, you cover me," whispered Dean as he crept in front of his father. "I'll go."

John knew his son's reasons for determining that he would be the one to venture through the yard and he agreed. This was not a father/son escapade. It was a life or death hunt. And on a hunt, they were professionals and partners. Second-guessing or bickering with each other could get them killed.

John motioned for Dean to stick close to the fence at the border of the property and he positioned himself at the extreme edge of the house so he could see if anything flew from the roof or over the yard. He'd be able to shoot it before it attacked Dean if it saw him while he was relocating. With his father in position, Dean commando-crawled to the shrubbery at the back the yard. Once there, he leaned back into the undergrowth and surveyed the roof of the house.

At first Dean didn't see anything on the roof but he waited until his eyes had adjusted to the lack of light before he signaled his father. Just as he was about to indicate to John that it was safe to join him, he saw what appeared to be a dark form sitting very still on the opposite side of the chimney. He wasn't certain if it really was some sort of life-form as it was sitting in the darkness, but it didn't look like a typical chimney shadow to his trained eyes. He indicated to his father that he should stay where he was and Dean sunk further back into the scrubs to remain out of sight. His father had told him that Aswangs had excellent eyesight and Dean wasn't sure whether it had seen him as he inched across the yard. He didn't think so as it was sitting on the far side of the chimney but he couldn't be sure. So far the creature hadn't stirred but that didn't mean that the two of them weren't involved in a very dangerous standoff. Dean was concealing himself as added protection in case the Aswang had detected him.

John kept himself hidden in the shadows at the side of the house. He alternated between watching Dean and the back of the house. He didn't have the best line of sight from where he was, but if the Aswang flew from the roof to the woman's bedroom window or over to Dean's location, John would be ready. And he realized that his best advantage at the moment was that the Aswang didn't know he was there; he wasn't sure if it had seen Dean or not so his best course of action was to stay right where he was.

For five minutes nothing happened and nothing moved. Dean was beginning to wonder whether the shadow was just that, when he saw a slight movement from the being on the roof. He signaled to his father.

John's injuries had started to bother him and he was beginning to feel very uncomfortable crouching beside the house. But as soon as he saw Dean signal that something was about to happen, John forgot his physical problems and returned to high alert status for whatever might transpire.

The Aswang rose slowly from its seat beside the chimney. Dean could see that it was huge and it appeared to have taken the shape of a cat.

'More like a cheetah on steroids'

As Dean watched it, the Aswang moved stealthily to the edge of the roof. Dean raised his gun and from the corner of his eye could see his father do the same thing. Dean was too far away to be able to get a good shot at the creature but it never hurt to be ready.

'Here Kitty, Kitty.'

Dean knew that once it left the relative safety of the roof, the Aswang would expose itself to his father, giving him an excellent opportunity to shoot it. Dean would provide backup.

The moon had appeared from behind the cloud cover for a moment briefly illuminating the backyard and John could just barely make out the shadow of the Aswang reflecting on the ground. He knew exactly where it was and where it would be heading once it made its move, an advantage that he was more than happy to have.

The Aswang didn't appear to be in a hurry to find its prey. It stood silently at the edge of the roof and looked out over the yard. Dean wondered whether it actually knew he and his father were there or if it was contemplating flying away. But he knew better than to move and reveal his position. He glanced at his father who was waiting patiently despite his injuries.

Suddenly the Aswang crouched and with an exaggerated leap, flew from the roof. It didn't appear to be heading for either the window or the young hunter. Both men were caught off guard by its flight pattern, but didn't lose the creature from their sights. The Aswang made a slow dive around the yard and then headed in the direction of the bedroom window.

As it ventured closer, John raised his gun and aimed at the thing's stomach. His gun was powerful enough to break the Aswang's skin if he waited until the right moment to fire. Once it was injured, he and Dean would be able to pump it full of rock-salt before it could recover. This looked like an easy kill, even if John was injured.

Dean watched the Aswang take a long, winding loop around the yard and he wondered again whether it sensed that something wasn't right. But as the creature flew to the window, Dean cautiously raised himself up to be able to sprint toward the house once his father shot it. They would need the rock-salt from his gun to finish this thing off.

The Aswang finished its flight over the yard with a low-flying plunge close to the ground before it began to ascend toward the window. But before it reached the window, it caught sight of John's movements as he aimed at it and it turned quickly in John's direction. With a powerful trust of its wings, the Aswang overcame the distance between them.

John managed to get a badly aimed shot off at the Aswang before it was on top of him. The rock-salt hit the creature on its leg but did not deter it. In fact, it only appeared to make the being more irate and it struck out at John with its tail. John turned sideways to avoid being hit, but the Aswang grabbed him by the shoulders and lifted him from the ground.

Dean witnessed the Aswang's attack on his father and burst from his hiding spot in the bushes, firing his gun as he ran. The rock-salt hit the Aswang in the back and it turned to face Dean, still holding John tightly. It hovered just above the ground and appeared to be taunting Dean. As John struggled to free himself, Dean threw the now useless gun at the Aswang to distract it from his father's actions knowing instinctively that he would go for his knife.

John had used one of his hands to grab the small pocket-knife that he kept in the breast pocket of his shirt. It wouldn't kill the Aswang but if he jabbed it into the creature with enough force, it might cause it to lose its grip and release him. At the same time, Dean had seized the gun from the back of his jeans. As he aimed the gun to fire at the creature, John had thrust the blade of the small knife into one of the creature's feet that was holding him at the shoulder. As Dean discharged his weapon, the creature flung itself backward, which caused the bullet to hit its wing instead of the heart as Dean had intended.

The simultaneous assaults on the Aswang were too much for it and it released John from its grasp and he fell to the ground. Dean again fired at the Aswang, but the creature had sprung up considerably when it had let go of its hostage and the bullet struck it in the hip. The Aswang recoiled from the two hunters and flew off into the night.

Dean raced to his father's prone shape to see if he was okay, but John sat up before Dean was able to reach him.

"DAD!"

"I'm okay," uttered John. "A few more scratches but nothing like last night." He pulled himself up and looked at his son. "It's not done hunting. It's hungry and won't be able to mend its wounds until after it's eaten."

"Then we have to go after it," said Dean. "Before it finds a new meal."

John looked at his son. "It'll go after someone weaker than itself. It's angry."

"Yeah…at us," added Dean.

The two men looked at each other as a revelation hit them both at the same time.

"SAM!"