They drove to a nice and cosy café just down the road from Lucy's house. When they walked in, they noticed all the curious and even hostile glances from the town folk. A few women even hectically paid their bills and ushered their children out of the café. Everybody who sat next to the table the brothers walked to stood up and moved to another table.

The waitress ignored them for quite some time and even after Dean almost knocked her over she took her time to come to their table. Her look told both Sam and Dean that she wasn't too happy to have them in here. And she didn't say a thing when she stood next to them, pen and paper ready.

Dean raised an eyebrow and tried a friendly smile. It didn't work.

"Ok honey…" he addressed her and received an upset look from her. But he flashed her another delightful smile and placed the order.

Dean only had a coffee and listened to what his brother had to tell him. Sam talked and munched his banana pancakes at the same time so Dean had quite a hard time getting everything Sam said. After a while, Sam fell silent. He had handed Dean the copies of his findings and started to fully enjoy his meal. He poured more maple syrup over the pancakes until they were completely soaked. Dean eyed him apprehensively and pulled a face.

"Dude, those are banana pancakes…"

"Yeah, so what?" Sam asked back with his mouth full. He had already forked another big piece and shoved it into his mouth.

"Nothing…" Dean mumbled and looked back at the print-out. He sighed and tried to concentrate.

"What is it?" Sam asked then.

"Nothing."

"Sure, what is it?"

"I already told you, it's nothing. I'm just…tired?" The drive here had taken them longer then expected and the first thing they had done instead of getting a motel room and some sleep was dropping by Lucy's house. And even though he knew that Sam thought he had spent the few hours while Sam was in the library with some chick, he didn't feel like explaining what he was doing. Ok, he had been with some chick, but it was just to find out more about the strange incidents. Again, he tried to focus on the text on the piece of paper he held in his hands.

"Dean?" Sam said avidly after he had wiped his plate clean of the maple syrup with the last chunk of pancake.

"Hmm?" Dean was busy reading the newspaper report on the deaths of the Stevensons.

"Sorry for the bust-up earlier. I…ah well, I don't know. I'm sorry…"

Dean gave his brother a look and a frown. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"I…ah, well…you know, I think I never really thanked you…"

"For what?" Dean looked up.

"For being there for me? You know, Lucy and her sister…they kind of reminded me…of how you always tried to protect me when I was little."

Dean chuckled. "Sammy, please don't get all cheesy on me here. No chick-flick moments, no hugs, ok?"

"Alright then! But are you going to tell me what you were up to during these two hours? Did you by any means find out anything? Because everything we can learn here can be of help, you know that."

"Yeah, and I actually learned something." The smile that flashed on Dean's face told Sam to better not ask what exactly this something was. Sam pulled a face, put up a hand to stop Dean from saying anything and sipped his coffee. It was not hot anymore but caffeine was something he needed badly. He felt the exhaustion now, too.

"And this is all you found out?" Dean asked after a few more minutes. He kept his voice low because the waitress was glowering at him.

"Yeah, so far! But there is this one woman, the librarian, who might now more…"

"Dude, two girls at once? You see me shocked!" Dean smiled but stopped immediately when he saw Sam's angry face. His brother seemed really upset, Dean thought. He raised both his hands and backed off. "So?"

Dean calmed down a little. "She doesn't believe that Lauren committed the murders."

"Yeah, I guess that's pretty obvious, she's not strong enough…" Dean interjected.

Sam shot him an annoyed look. "I think she put this article in a book so that the others couldn't see it."

"Which one?"

Sam shook his head. "The one about the house being torn down."

"Why would she do that?" Dean asked.

"How am I supposed to know that? I'll drop by her house later and find out…"

"Yeah, you do that."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Sam snapped.

"Nothing!" Dean said. "Calm down, dude!"

But Sam couldn't really calm down. The fact that they hadn't found anything that might help Lucy nearly drove him mad. "I'm worried about what will happen when they really do tear down the house…"

Dean thought about it for a moment but couldn't come up with a good idea. He then raised his hand to indicate that they wanted to pay. The waitress only gave him a disgusted look but didn't come to their table. Dean tried again but nothing happened. He clenched his jaw and put the money on the table. For the blink of an eye Dean considered taking the money back but the waitress watched them closely. He didn't need more trouble. "Let's go, Sam!"

When they stood up and walked over to the door, one of the men who were sitting on the nearest table got up as well. He was quite a threatening figure and loomed above them like a menacing clown. Dean tried to squeeze past him but the man extended a hand and held him back.

"Wow, watch it!" Dean barked and pushed against the other man. Sam pulled him back.

"We were just leaving!" the brown-haired young man said.

"You should better be leaving town." the man said in a not very friendly way.

"Yeah, already heard that, smarty-pants!" Dean hissed and broke free. "And now, get out of my way, ok?"

The man stepped aside and Dean was surprised that it had worked. Sam seemed surprised, too but Dean knew that this moment wouldn't last long. He grabbed his brother's arm and pulled him out of the café.

"Those people here are really friendly…" Dean muttered under his breath. "Get in the car!"

Sam did as he was told but he was quieter as usual. The incidents with the town people really got to him. Dean started the car and drove away from the diner, along the street and stopped in front of Lauren's house.

"So, what if she really is possessed?" Dean asked quietly after he turned off the ignition. He was almost anxious about breaking the uneasy silence that hung between them like a curtain.

Sam looked at him. "Didn't Lucy mention that the priest had taken Lauren with him and that he performed an exorcism on her?

"Yeah…so she's not possessed?"

"Well, at least not in the old-fashioned way. Maybe this demon is a clever one…Or she is not the one who called up these plagues and killed all these people? She sure doesn't look like a serial killer."

"They never do, little brother, they never do!" Dean smiled sadly. He stared at the house through the windshield. Sam didn't move and so Dean decided to stay in the car as well.

„Sam?" He asked after a moment of thinking.

"Hmmm?" came the tired reply.

"Sam!"

"What?" Sam straightened up in his seat.

"Why did they call the house a haunted house?" Dean cleared his throat. "I mean, it's not the house that is haunted, right?"

Sam shot him a disgusted look. "Yeah, the house is not haunted and the girl is not possessed. I think that…" He raised one hand and brushed through his hair. "I think that they want to drive Lucy and Lauren away, out of this town…"

Dean raised an eyebrow.

"They are afraid of Lauren…but they just don't see what they've already done to her, and to Lucy." Sam's face twisted as if in pain.

"Ok, so what are we going to do then? As a first?"

"They want to tear down the house, Dean!" Sam sounded upset. "We gotta do something! I don't know! How am I supposed to know?"

Dean's eyebrow went even higher. Sam didn't even notice.