I don't own Sam or Dean or John or the Impala or Supernatural…..that's all the CW. So if they would be very kind to let me borrow it all for a bit, I promise to give it back….eventually…..well, maybe. Also, I lack an editor, so any mistakes are mine and please kindly overlook them (or let me know). Thanks.

Sam is 16 and Dean is 20.

-ff-

John wasn't back when Sam and Dean arrived home. Sam went straight to the bedroom without saying a word. Dean gave him a minute before following.

"Sam?" Dean paused in the doorway.

He looked up.

"You couldn't have known."

"I know." He sighed. "He's going to die, Dean."

Dean walked over and sat next to Sam. "We'll get this thing."

"Not soon enough."

That was Sam all over, heart on his sleeve despite his Winchester upbringing. Thank god he did, because otherwise Dean and John would forget that sometimes the victims were more important than getting the monster. Sam had always been the one to ask the questions that pissed John off, but most often needed to be asked anyway.

Dean reached over and grabbed Sam's arm. "I know, but we'll get it before it can get too much farther. All right?"

Sam nodded, his jaw still set hard and he wouldn't look over at Dean. "He was so scared, Dean."

"Are you?"

He barely nodded, but Dean still saw it. Dean saw everything about Sam.

"We need to get all the research together tonight." Sam said, determined. "Whatever dad found today and the stuff I have."

"I'm sure that's what we'll do tonight."

"Good." Sam finally looked over at Dean.

Dean knew his brother well enough to know when Sam needed time alone. "I'm going to clean some weapons." He stood and left the room.

Sam leaned back on the bed and folded his hands under his head. He took a slow breath and tried to forget the fear in Nick's eyes. He tried to forget the look in Nick's mother's eyes, the fear and acceptance. She knew her son would die, just like the others. He hated that there was absolutely nothing they could do to save him, that another boy was going to die because the Winchesters weren't fast enough or smart enough or knew enough. Too late, again.

He didn't know how much time passed until he heard the voices of his dad and brother in the next room. He heard footsteps and sat up as John opened the door.

John met his son's eyes. "Are you all right?"

Sam nodded.

"Dean told me what happened." He sat down on Dean's bed.

He looked down and swallowed. "At least we know it wasn't Nick, narrows it down."

"I'm sorry, Sam."

He nodded once and took a breath before he looked up. "Did you find anything out?"

"Maybe, at least a little more background on everyone. How about we put it all together and see what we can figure out."

"Okay." Sam stood and left the room without waiting for his dad.

John, Dean and Sam sat at the kitchen table. All their notes were spread out, organized in piles. Notes were scribbled, crossed out, written again. They worked mostly in silence as the evening fell around them. John had rarely seen Sam so focused about a hunt, the boy made it pretty clear that hunting was the last thing he wanted to be doing. They forgot about dinner until John stood up to turn on a light and realized how late it was.

"How about we take a break and order in pizza?"

Dean leaned back in his chair. "Definitely."

Sam kept looking at his notes.

"Sam?" Dean nudged him.

"I'm missing something." He muttered.

Dean closed the notebook Sam was looking at. "Take a break, geek boy. Read too much and your eyes will cross, and no girl wants that."

"Dean." Sam wasn't in the mood to screw around.

He mimicked the pissed off tone. "Sam." He took a breath. "Yeah, things went to shit today, but we can't stop this until we know who it is."

"And we won't know who it is until we figure it out."

"That's right, we, not you alone. Sometimes you gotta step back from something so you can see the whole picture."

Sam looked at his brother like he had suddenly grown another head. "That, that was intelligent."

"I'm impressed." John shrugged.

Dean looked from his brother to his dad and back again. "Hey, I'm not just a pretty face. I have a brain. Give me some credit, just because I don't memorize the library like Einstein here."

Sam tried not to smirk, but in all honesty, Dean was just glad that he was still able to make his kid brother smile. Even if it was for a second and even it if was in the middle of a hunt quickly going to hell.

They put the research away until the pizza came and decided to eat on the steps, since the kitchen table was covered in notes. On cases like this, the rule was no talk of the hunt during meals. Everyone needed a break when there were too many unanswered questions. They ate in silence.

"You want us to train after dinner?" Sam glanced over at John, that edge to his voice again.

"What do you always do after dinner?"

Sam sighed. "Train."

"Then that's what you'll be doing. Stay in the yard and stay with Dean."

"Well, obviously."

John was about to reprimand him for his tone when he caught Dean's eyes. More often than not, Dean couldn't stop Sam and John going after each other, but until this hunt was done, Sam didn't need it. The kid was already under enough stress, so if he talked back, it wasn't just his usual teenage attitude. Dean didn't expect John to be able to tell the difference between defiant Sam and scared Sam, but Dean sure as hell could see it.

John stood. "Boys, clean up." He went into the house.

Sam's jaw was set, as it usually was when he and John had a conversation. He stood and picked up his plate. Dean sighed and followed.

As soon as the dishes were done, Sam and Dean changed for training. At this point it was mostly sparring to keep their skills sharp and their reflexes fast. Sam had already been taught how to use most of the weapons and he was a damn good shot when he focused. They sparred until John called them in for the night.

Dean stretched his shoulder. "Christ, Sam. When exactly did you become able to pin me?"

"It was only three times." He climbed the stairs.

"Yeah, but a few months ago you got lucky if you got me once."

Sam shrugged. "I guess."

Dean gripped his shoulder. "You did good, really."

The boys went inside and the rest of the evening was spent looking at notes and trying to figure out who was behind all the deaths.

-s-

Sam woke the next morning with the sun pouring through the window. He wondered how Nick was, if his parents had brought him to the hospital or if they just wanted him home. He wondered who was next. He wondered if Danny and Jack knew yet. He got out of bed and got ready.

John was in the kitchen with his usual cup of coffee and newspaper. He looked up when Sam came in, there was something like sympathy in his eyes and it just made Sam angry. Sympathy didn't fix anything, being sorry didn't stop anything and concern did nothing more than lead to caution. All the caution in the world wouldn't stop those kids from dying.

Dean came into the room not long after Sam had poured himself a bowl of cereal. He sat down between his dad and brother.

"Anything in the news?" Dean kept his eyes on Sam.

"No, but this is a few days behind."

Sam played with his cereal more than he ate it. "I don't know if anyone's gonna be around today. I figure the parents know about Nick by now, and they'd probably keep everyone close." He looked up. "I'll look anyway."

John nodded. He forgot how quickly Sam made friends and how hard it must be for his son to not know what was behind this.

Sam and Dean set out for town an hour later. If they thought it was abandoned before, they were wrong. The houses all had the curtains pulled shut and the doors locks. Nobody was out, Sam and Dean could have been the last two people on Earth.

"This is creepy." Dean muttered.

"As opposed to?"

He had to agree, they had never experienced this town before it was creepy and dangerous and dark.

Sam stopped in front of Nick's house. Someone had put a remembrance candle on the front step along with a few flowers. Nobody expected him to miraculously survive.

A rock hit the gutter behind them and Sam turned. He saw Jack in the doorway of his house. He motioned Sam to come over.

Sam jogged across the street, Dean stayed a few feet behind.

Jack glanced behind him into the house. "I don't have a lot of time, my mom will kill me if she knows I'm at the door." He paused. "A group of us are getting together tonight, at the basketball courts. Like before."

"Why tonight?"

"Keep tabs on who's left." His eyes glanced to Nick's house. "Try and figure out where Nick was before he got sick."

"I'm sorry, about Nick."

Jack nodded. "Thanks. You'll be there tonight? Midnight." His eyes were filled with fear and the faint hope that maybe someone knows something, anything.

"Yeah."

He almost smiled. "I wish you would have moved here at a better time."

Sam never would have moved here at all if kids weren't being picked off by a demon, that was the terribly irony of it all.

"Me too." Sam glanced back at Dean.

There was a noise from inside the house and Jack tensed. "I gotta go. Midnight."

"I'll be there."

The door closed and Sam took a step back. He took a slow breath and went to Dean.

Dean looked to the house. "Which one was he?"

"Jack. We're getting together at midnight tonight."

They turned to head back home, to report to John and to figure out a plan. If they couldn't find who was behind this, then they could at least try and protect some of the kids. The Winchesters never were very good at doing nothing.

-ff-

Dun dun dunnnnn. Thank you all so so much for reading and for the comments. I love reading them and they definitely keep me writing this for you.