The first thing Sam registered when he woke up was how soft and warm everything was. The next thing was that his body and his head felt like hell. His ears were ringing like he just got out of a really bad and loud concert or a hangover after a very bad drunken night out with Dean. He turned in his bed not bothering to open his eyes. Not until he heard 'Highway to Hell' start playing from somebody's phone did he realize that neither happened. He never went to a concert and he didn't get drunk.

"No, they're not up yet," a girl whispered, " Did you know they talk in their sleep?"

Highway to Hell wasn't Dean's ringtone and it certainly wasn't his.

He threw the covers in a panic and tried to make a run for it. But his knees gave way and he found himself dizzy and on the floor instead. The cooler air hit him like a cold splash of water. It was only then he realized that he only had his boxers on.

"We have a live one," an amused girl said, "I'll have them call you later, Uncle Bob."

The door swung open revealing an amused Summer McKenzie. Sam gave the girl an embarrassed smile. "Hi?" he tried, giving her a small wave.

Summer chuckled before helping him up back into bed. "Okay, you guys are so lucky I think this is funny," she said propping the pillow up so he can lean on it. "Stay still if you could please," she instructed before taking his pulse.

"Summer, where are my clothes?" he asked growing increasingly uncomfortable that he was half naked infront of a younger girl.

"In the laundry," she answered, grinning. "Still dizzy?"

"Not so much."

"Headache?"

"A little bit, yeah."

"Ears still ringing?"

Sam nodded.

"Okay close your eyes," she instructed opening his palms. "Feel this?" she asked.

"Are you scratching my palm?"

"And this?"

"You're scratching my other palm?"

"Okay, open your eyes," she instructed, " and follow my finger with your eyes."

Sam did what he was told. It took him a second to remember she was a doctor. She was giving him a quick check up. "Anything wrong with me?" he asked.

"Try wriggling your toes and everything," she said lifting the end of blanket, "Do you feel numb anywhere?"

"No."

"Do you still feel like you're about to die?" she asked, holding his hand.

And then it came back to him. They were hunting that man Paul in the alley. He blew on some whistle and everything came crashing down on him. He saw his brother twitching on the ground but he couldn't do a thing. "Dean! Where's Dean?" he asked the girl.

She tilted her head on the other bed where he saw his brother fast asleep, with one hand hanging off the bed. Sam sighed in relief and leaned back. He vaguely remembered throwing up on a trash can though there was no sign of it now. He remembered hearing her tell him to calm down. He met her gaze not knowing exactly how to thank her for taking care of them.

"Do you want a lollipop for being such a cooperative patient?" she teased, getting off his bed. Sam was suddenly reminded of his brother. "Do me a favor and sit tight. I'm going to go get you some food and check on your clothes," she said disappearing out of the door.

Sam sighed looking up at the ceiling. The art nouveau circle lamp made him smirk. He was certain that they were probably the only ones who would know hanging their heads was a devil's trap seal in iron. "She really is Bobby's god daughter," he mumbled to himself in disbelief.

"SAM!" his brother suddenly yelled in the other bed. Sam watched his brother roll over and fall to the floor, looking up at him confused. "I'm in my underwear! Where are my clothes?" he realized.

"Oh wow," Summer appeared with a tray of food and a hanger with his clothes, trying to hold back her laughter, "you guys are brothers."

"You!" Dean shouted pointing a finger at the girl.

"Take it easy, Dean," Sam warned when he saw his brother try to get himself back into bed.

"Yeah, take it easy, Dean," Summer mimicked laying down the tray on Sam's lap. "Don't get your boxers in a twist," she teased, moving to help him.

"You could've gotten that son of a bitch!" Dean accused the girl once he was off the floor.

"I could have. But you would be in trouble if I had," she said, fixing his pillow.

"What are you talking about?" Sam asked, confused at why his brother was so angry.

"She came after us and had that bastard beat. But she turned her back and let him go," he argued.

"Yes. Because you had that look on your face that you were starting to believe that you were going to die which is the worst thing that anybody could do in that situation," Summer revealed. "You guys were having a panic attack and vertigo at the same time. A panic attack lasts for about ten minutes but everytime that guy blew on the pipe, your problem doubles. I was worried if your bodies would be able to take it," she replied, running her fingers through her hair. "Look, Sam was already passed out. But you," she jabbed a finger at Dean's chest, "your panic was escalating. I've never seen someone so ... You needed to be reassured that everything was going to be alright. And that's what I did," she explained, with a small smile. "Now would you hold still, please?" she requested. Dean fidgeted a bit. "Dean, please?" she repeated, a bit softer.

"Fine," Dean agreed uncomfortably, "But this feels a bit... dirty. And is that pie?"

Sam took bites of his apple pie breakfast completely amused. Dean went through relatively the same questions as he did with the young doctor. However, he has never seen his brother so uncomfortable and behaved at the same time. There was no wise crack or smart mouthing from him at all. He answered all the questions without meeting the girl's eyes. Sam could swear he had seen that expression before-- from a lost puppy being patched up by a vet.

Summer left the room to get more food and his brother's clothes. Highway to Hell started playing in the room once more as she left her phone on the side table between their beds. Sam met Dean's gaze and grinned. "What do you know? A nice hunter," he said.

His brother looked at him shocked, "Bite me," he snapped before he eyed his plate, "How's the pie?"

-- -- --

Summer McKenzie fingered the row of leather-bound A4 notebooks on her living room shelf. Most people think they're just for decoration. After all, why would she have so many of the same thing in different colours? No guest has ever taken one to look at. If they did, they would probably think it was a joke. These notebooks chronicled every monster and lore her parents ever encountered or dared to research on. They was colour coded and then regionally and alphabetically arranged. "So, I was seven and we were in Germany because someone asked dad to find the Pied Piper's Pipe," she said pulling out a notebook and giving it to the boys on her couch.

"You were in Germany?" Dean inquired.

"Yeah, i grew up nomadic," she replied, pointing at the notebook. "That's our file of that hunt."

"...But this is a story about Pan's Pipe," Sam said carefully.

"Pan, the Greek god, Pan?" Dean asked

"Yes, Pan or Faunus, whichever you subscribe to. Half man half goat and kind of pervy," Summer quickly replied, pacing in front of them. "Anyway, the legend of Pan's Pipe was that Pan was chasing after this nymph who didn't really like him all that much--"

The older Winchester chuckled, "Busted."

"Very," Summer agreed. "So the nymph went to her sisters and her sisters turned her into a reed. Pan didn't know which reed she was so he cut them down and made them into the musical instrument he cannot live without, the pan pipe," She summarized.

"So," Dean gave her a mischievous grin, " when he blows and plays that thing, he's actually giving--"

"Aw, thanks a lot Dean," Sam groaned.

Summer snickered. "My dad cracked the same joke and my mom covered my ears but it was too late," she sighed remembering happier times. "Anyway, so what happened was everyone thought it was myth, legend and lost. But we came across this text that every academic translated as 'he taught shepherds the pipe'. But it was mistranslated using Ancient Greek. It should've been 'He gave the shepherds the pipe'."

"Gave. The original pipe?" Sam asked lifting his gaze from the notebook.

"Yeah, like Prometheus stole fire and gave it to mortals," she continued. "Pan gave his pipe. So the pipe got disassembled so people could copy it but the individual reeds remained. Seven of them in total and all the reeds had some residual Pan Power. There were small patterns here and there to catch it but we found out most of them was destroyed. Five for sure burned with during the medieval inquisition-- old hunters hunting witches and stuff. Two of them remained. One of them, the smallest one, was refashioned and passed along a family."

"Parties, festivals, animal charming..." Sam read off the notebook.

"Like rats," Dean frowned.

"The Pied Piper did it for the money," Summer said. "The guests of the courts he happened to play for claim that i was the best party they've been to. The Kings would say he was also one of the most expensive and most elusive jesters. The Pied Piper was never pinned down to be a court musician. I mean, the only way we were able to track him was by the money trail. Then he hit rat infested Hameln and people refused to pay. He kidnapped those children and they were never seen again," she said. "He died without issue. But the next person to hold the pipe was another jester. Strictly minor leagues. He was court musician. We tracked that pipe from Germany, Romania, Spain, then all the way to Italy, then the trail turned cold," she stopped pacing. "We guessed that nobody after the Piper figured out the real power of the pipe and the type of music itself lost its popularity."

"You said we have until the 26th with the kids?" Sam inquired.

"Yeah, that's what I reckon because that's when the Pied Piper did his disappearing act. June 26. Dad used to say that artifacts like this tend to feed off spirit residue. June 26 was when the Piper was most insidious." Summer shrugged.

"Great," Dean said standing from his seat, "so this guy knows we're after him. If we're going to play hide and go seek, we only have a day to find him."

Sam followed his brother and took his jacket off the coat rack. "We should stop by a pharmacy first and get some ear plugs. Legend has it that the deaf kid wasn't affected."

"Just as long as it's those foam ones. The other kind makes me feel like I got too much ear wax."

"Dean, that's disgusting."

Summer stared at the bickering brothers as they put on their shoes by her doorway. She crossed her arms, trying to hide the amusement in her face. "Winchesters, he's been in the St. Raphael's Hospital the whole day." she called out before they stepped out the door, "I'm not going with you. Three is a crowd," she joked. "Besides, there's something I need to check so be careful. She tossed a small screen which Sam expertly caught.

"GPS?"

"You didn't think I'd let him get away easy yesterday did you?"