A/N: Sorry about the wait! This episode is not the easiest to work with, but I hope you enjoy what I've come up with :) And I definitely hope you're all still interested in this story.

Disclaimer: I own nothing except for my OC, Katherine.

Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin

A girl walked into a little kitchen where an older man sat reading at the table and a younger man sat on the counter with a bowl of cereal. She moved to kiss the older man on the back of the head. "Morning, Daddy."

"Morning, sweetheart."

She walked over to grab a sports drink out of the fridge, her brother looking up at her from his cereal. "All these workouts, Soph, I don't know. Guys don't like buff girls."

"Yeah, well, girls don't like guys who still live at home." Sophie's joke got her a sarcastic laugh, which she returned, before going to the door and opening it.

"Be careful!" The older man, her father Bill, called to her without looking up from his newspaper.

"I will." She smiled and shut the door, walking away from the house and to the lake. She took off her blue tracksuit and stood in her bikini on the edge of a dock, looking out over the water and listening to the sounds of nature for a moment. She then dived in smoothly, swimming expertly just beneath the surface.

But she couldn't shake the feeling that something was there. She soon broke through the surface, taking in a lungful of air, and looked around. There didn't seem to be another person or even an animal in sight. She shrugged it off, swimming a few feet and then diving back underwater. She only managed a few breaststrokes before she was swimming back up again, sure there was someone hanging around.

There was still no one, but there was suddenly whispering come from all around her. A hand wrapped around her ankle and yanked her down into the water.

She didn't even get to struggle.

With some convincing, Sam agreed to focus on hunts and make searching for John a secondary endeavor. He didn't seem to want to be found, so it was best to do some work and hope they found him along the way.

This thinking worked out for maybe a week or so before Sam was already getting antsy and on the edge again, trying and failing to not let it show in the way he snapped at Dean and Kat every once in a while. Sure, things were being patched up, but Sam had his own, personal feelings that were rearing their ugly heads because he wouldn't deal with them. He and Kat or even he and Dean could get as close and loving as they wanted; it didn't resolve the feelings he had for Jess, the thing that killed her, and his dad. He refused to deal with the pain of it all, and it wasn't having the best effects.

Dean and Kat were just thankful he wasn't moping around miserably like before. Even if the snapping was a little irritating.

They were trying hard to find a good hunt to fill the waiting time, Dean circling suspicious obituaries in local newspapers as they sat in a little restaurant that was part of the almost decent hotel they were staying at. While the hotel was decent and the restaurant had some nice, comforting food, Kat was drinking some rather less-than-stellar coffee as she sat beside Dean at the bar. Sam had gone off to use the bathroom a couple minutes before.

Their waitress came over, leaning on the bar and smiling at Dean, pretty much ignoring Kat's presence. Not that it mattered, really, it was just a little insulting. "Can I get you anything else?"

Dean looked at her, a pen between his teeth since he'd been chewing on it, and he gave her a flirtatious smile. He didn't get a chance to say anything, though, as Sam walked over and sat down.

"Just the check, please."

Kat suddenly didn't mind being ignored. The waitress looked at Sam like he was some sort of second class citizen and gave an uncaring, "Okay." She then gave Dean another smile, walking away.

Dean dropped his head to the bar. "You know, Sam," He raised his head to look at his brother. "we are allowed to have fun once in a while." He pointed after the waitress, whose hips were shaking as she walked off. "That's fun."

"She's not my type." Kat met Dean's glare with a smile, sipping her coffee.

When he turned back to Sam, all he got was a look, so he sighed and tossed the newpaper in front of him. "Here, take a look at this, I think I got one. Lake Manitoc, Wisconson. Last week Sophie Carlton, eighteen, walks into the lake...doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water; nothing. Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year. None of the other bodies were found either. They had a funeral two days ago."

Sam made a face. "A funeral?"

"That's funny."

"Yeah, it's weird, they buried an empty coffin. For, uh, closure or whatever."

"What? No, not that. It's not funny or weird." Kat set down her coffee. "They're grieving. It's just funny that my dad is...well, was from Lake Manitoc." A pang of something hit her. A little pain. That pain may have been dull and hidden, and the simple mention of her family didn't hurt like it used to a few years ago, but memories were still hard. The thought of her father's home made her remember the little things he told her about growing up there...which wasn't much. He had kept quiet about his childhood, always told her he preferred Missouri. He had always pronounced it 'Missour-uh', swearing up and down that all the locals called it that. They didn't, and she knew that even at a young age, but she just let him be.

Kat smiled a bit. It wasn't often she let those memories come forward for fear of the pain, so it was nice that this one was more pleasant than painful. Even if it still hurt a bit.

Sam looked at her, another look of curiosity like when she had mentioned her brother, but he didn't push it and turned his attention back to Dean. "Closure? What closure?" He let out a little laugh, his tone becoming bitter. "People don't just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for 'em."

"Somethin' you wanna say to me?"

"The trail for Dad. It's getting colder every day."

"Exactly. So what are we supposed to do?"

"I don't know! Something. Anything."

"You know what? I'm sick of this attitude. You don't think I wanna find Dad as much as you do?"

"Yeah, I know you do, it's just—"

"Kat and I have been the ones with him every single day for the past two years, while you've been off to college going to pep rallies." Dean's tone had turned harsh, obviously hurt by the blame Sam seemed to be putting on him. "We will find Dad, but until then we're gonna find everything bad," he tapped on the newspaper. "between here and there. Okay?"

In typical 'younger brother' fashion, Sam just gave a little roll of his eyes.

"I just don't think your dad wants to be found and, knowing him, he's not gonna let us find him until he wants us to." Kat could be a mediator just as much as Dean. Fights between the boys weren't enjoyable or wanted, so she shoved those thoughts about her father back down to help comfort Sam. "Maybe that'll be tomorrow, maybe it'll be six months from now, but either way, we can't just search random places or sit around hoping he shows up. There are people to help and we can help them along the way. Otherwise, we're just wasting time."

Sam met her eyes. "Alright," he relented. "Lake Manitoc." He received no response, as Dean had already become distracted after the waitress passed by. "Hey!"

"Huh?"

"How far?"

"A few hours, but with my driving, we could probably make it in a couple."

"You know that's not a good thing, right?" Kat stood up, grabbing her jacket. "We're pretty lucky we make it anywhere in one piece."

"Hey, I'd never let any harm come to that car."

"It concerns me that you care more about hurting the car than you care about hurting Sam or me."

True to his word, Dean got them to Lake Manitoc in a couple, only slightly terrifying hours, driving on until they made it to the family home of the girl who drowned. A young man answered the door when they knocked and Dean immediately knew it was the brother mentioned in the girl's obituary.

"Will Carlton?"

"Yeah, that's right."

"I'm Agent Ford. This is Agent...Hamill and Agent Fisher." He lifted up an ID. "We're with the US Wildlife Service. We wanted to ask some questions about your sister, Sophie."

Will just nodded, stepping out of the house. "I already talked to, like, a hundred different kinds of officers. I don't know what else to tell you."

"Do you think you could show us where everything happened before we ask you any questions?" Kat asked, receiving a nod from him as they walked down the steps. Will lead them across from the house to the lake, where an older man, presumably Sophie's father, was sitting silently on a bench on the dock.

"She was about a hundred yards out." He nodded towards the water. "That's where she got dragged down."

"And you're sure she didn't just drown?" Dean shoved his hands into his jacket pockets.

"Yeah, she was a varsity swimmer." Will smiled fondly. "She practically grew up in that lake. She was as safe out there as in her own bathtub."

"So no splashing? No signs of distress?"

"No, that's what I'm telling you."

Kat looked out at the lake. It was calm. "Did you see anything? Like...a person...an animal...even just a figure of some sort?"

"Any shadows in the water?" Sam delved into more detail. "Maybe some dark shape breach the surface?"

"No, again, she was really far out there."

"You ever see any strange tracks by the shoreline?" Dean added in his own question, which Will shook his head to as a response.

"No, never..." He furrowed his brow. "Why? Why, what do you think's out there?"

Dean hesitated. "—we'll let you know as soon as we do." With that, he turned and walked back to where he had parked the Impala. Kat cast Will a sympathetic look and moved to follow, but they both stopped as Sam asked,

"What about your father? Can we talk to him?"

Will looked back at the dock where his father still sat. "Look, if you don't mind, I mean...he didn't see anything and he's kind of been through a lot."

"We understand." Sam nodded, turning to go to the car.

"Thank you for your time. Sorry for your loss..." Kat smiled gently before finishing her walk to the car, getting into the backseat. She wondered if people's pain would ever get less difficult the way that hunting monsters had. She hoped it wouldn't. What would it say of her if she became indifferent to someone else's pain? She looked into the front of the car, where Sam was settling in his seat and Dean was starting the engine. "What now?"

"We go to the police..." Dean glanced in the rearview mirror, before turning his attention ahead as he pulled the car away from the house. "Find out about the other victims...if there are any similarities other than the missing bodies."

"You gonna insult them if they don't have anything?" Sam snorted, giving his brother a look.

Dean opened and closed his mouth a few times before simply mumbling, "Maybe."

The town wasn't exactly ginormous, so the drive to the police station was hardly more than five or so minutes. They met a sheriff, Jake Devins, lied again with their most definitely Star Wars-esque names and asked for any information about the drowning, and he let them behind the desk despite some suspicion.

"Now, I'm sorry, but why does the Wildlife Service care about an accidental drowning?"

"You sure it's accidental?" Sam sighed as the three followed Jake to his office. "Will Carlton saw something grab his sister."

"Like what? Sit, please." He gestured to two chairs, which Sam and Dean took while Kat stood just behind them. Jake moved behind his desk. "There are no indigenous carnivores in that lake. There's nothing even big enough to pull down a person, unless it was the Loch Ness Monster."

"Yeah," Dean chuckled, "right."

"That would be impossible. Nessie's in Scotland." Kat really said it to, perhaps, assure herself that it couldn't be the Loch Ness Monster. Knowing what she knew, it was a possibility that the thing was real, but it definitely couldn't have gotten from Scotland to here. Could it? She earned a look from Sam either way.

"Will Carlton was traumatized, and sometimes the mind plays tricks. Still..." Jake sat down in his chair. "We dragged that entire lake. We even ran a sonar sweep, just to be sure, and there was nothing down there."

"That's weird, though." Dean leaned forward, elbows on his knees. "I mean, that's...that's the third missing body this year."

"I know. These are people from my town." Jake spoke softly, looking between the three of them as he did. "There are people I care about."

"I know."

"What if it's something that can be in water and on land?" Kat posed the question for more than a couple reasons. To keep up their facade of being with the Wildlife Service, to ease the sheriff's confusion that she was sure didn't help his pain, and to explore all possibilities before declaring this to be something of their expertise. "Maybe something drowned them and took the bodies away."

"Like an alligator in Wisconsin?" Jake looked up at her with understandably tired eyes. "Or maybe a crocodile? I don't think so." He sighed, sitting back in his chair. "Anyway, all this...it won't be a problem much longer."

Dean blinked in confusion. "What do you mean?"

"Well, the dam, of course." Jake stated it like it was obvious, like he expected them to know. Like they should have, considering they were part of the US Wildlife Service.

"Yeah." Kat swatted Dean's shoulder gently with the back of her hand. "The dam, remember?"

"Yeah, the dam...of course..." He looked at up at her then over at Sam and back to Jake, nodding. "It's, uh, it sprung a leak."

"—it's falling apart. And the fed's won't give us the grant to repair it, so they've opened the spillway. In another six months, there won't be much of a lake...there won't be much of a town, either. But as Federal Wildlife—" The way he mentioned their supposed job seemed to hint that his suspicion was growing again. "—you already knew that."

Dean just nodded, playing his part. "Exactly."

There was suddenly a loud tap on the door, followed by a female voice, "Sorry, am I interrupting?" The new presence had Kat turning around and the boys standing from their chairs, almost like gentlemen. Almost. There was no doubt that the respect was partly because the woman who stood by the door was nothing if not a natural beauty. "I can come back later."

"Gentlemen," Jake stood, hands on his hips, smiling proudly. "This is my daughter."

"It's a pleasure to meet you." Dean was quick to swoop in, shaking her hand eagerly. "I'm Dean."

"Andrea Barr. Hi."

"Hi."

The sheriff was no fool and interrupted, "They're from the Wildlife Service. About the lake."

"—oh." Andrea glanced away from Dean to Sam and Kat, before a little boy stepped in beside her.

"Oh, well, hey there." Dean smirked at the kid. He was never afraid to impress a woman by being sweet to children, which Kat had witnessed too many times to count. "What's your name?" His question was met unanswered as the boy simply turned and walked out of the room. Andrea looked around the room apologetically before following him.

"His name is Lucas." Jake filled them in as they watched Andrea give the boy crayons to color with in the other room.

"Is he okay?" Sam looked back at the sheriff.

"My grandson's been through a lot. We all have." He moved around his desk, walking over to the door. "Well, if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know." He gave Dean a pat on the back as he was the first to walk out of the room, with Sam and Kat close behind.

"Thanks. You know, now that you mentioned it," Dean, of course, turned his attention to Andrea rather than Jake. "could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced motel?"

"Lakefront Motel. Go around the corner, it's two blocks south."

"Two—" Dean pointed, looking confused about those couple of blocks, before giving his most charming smile to Andrea. "Would you mind showing us?"

Sam looked at Kat, rolling his eyes, and she nodded in understanding. Poor Dean couldn't have been more obvious if he tried.

Andrea laughed. "You want me to walk you two blocks?"

"Not if it's any trouble."

"I'm headed that way anyway." She smiled, turning to her father. "I'll be back to pick up Lucas at three." She bent down to kiss Lucas on the head. "We'll go to the park, okay, sweetie?" She then turned to the door to lead them two blocks to the motel.

Dean waved to Jake and followed Andrea with Sam behind him. Kat stayed back for just a second or so to watch Lucas color; he looked so...distant. She wondered what the sheriff meant by him being through a lot...he was just a kid. But that was always how it was, wasn't it? Always just kids, going through hell, growing up before they even had a chance to be young. She went to the door, seeing Sam had stopped to wait for her, and they both shared slightly forced smiles before catching up with Dean and Andrea.

"So, cute kid."

"Thanks."

"Kids are the best, huh?" Dean didn't even sound all that convincing. Andrea just gave him a smile as they crossed the street to where the motel was.

Another look between Sam and Kat, the former smiling in amusement and the latter laughing softly at Dean's attempts.

"There it is, like I said. Two blocks." Though Sam uttered a thank you, Andrea just looked up at Dean. "It must be hard, with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pick up line." She walked off, leaving a confused and disappointed Dean. "Enjoy your stay!"

Kat laughed again, a bit louder. "I like her. She's smart."

"Kids are the best?" Sam grinned. "You don't even like kids."

"I love kids!"

"Name three children that you even know."

Dean raised his hand to count of any kids he might know. When a beat of silence passed, Sam waved him off and continued on into the motel, as Dean continued to try and come up with something, scratching his head. "I'm thinking!" He followed his brother, glancing at Kat who was walking beside him. "I like kids."

"I know." She pulled the door open. "But I'm pretty sure that wasn't about kids so much as the place kids come out of."

They ended up going to the park later that day. Not for anything fun, of course, but they knew that Andrea and Lucas would be there. After doing a little research on the internet, Sam had discovered that Andrea's husband had been one of the victims, and that Lucas had been there to witness his own father's demise. No wonder the kid seemed so off. It was the exact situation Kat had feared. Another kid, ruined.

He was just like her. Just like Dean, who had mentioned that it wasn't something you just get over. He was so right. Even if the pain dulled, you got distracted, you moved on...it would always be there. But the kid was worse off, having not had the years that Kat and Dean had to grow as best as they could.

There was a picture on an article, of Lucas wrapped up in a blanket, soaked to the bone and looking scared as a spooked animal. Kat figured it was going to be stuck with her forever, and knew that to be true when she saw the kid coloring at a bench and the image flashed through her mind. It was always hard when the most innocent were involved, and especially hard knowing he had been through something so similar to her.

They approached a bench where Andrea was sitting and Sam asked, "Can we join you?"

"—I'm here with my son."

"Oh. Mind if I say hi?" Dean didn't wait for an answer, just walked off to the bench where Lucas was still coloring.

Andrea smiled, almost laughing. "Tell your friend this whole Jerry Maguire thing's not gonna work on me."

Sam sat down, leaving enough room at the edge of the bench for Kat to sit beside him. "I don't think that's what this is about."

"Dean can be a real charmer, but trust me. This is different." Kat sat back, feeling Sam's arm on the back of the bench behind her. It felt a little out of place for the both of them, but their friendship would never get back to the way it was if they let their distance make them awkward and jumpy.

"How's it going?" Dean had made it over to Lucas, kneeling down across the bench from him with a small laugh. There was a beat of silence. His eyes strayed to a few army men that were on the bench and he grinned, picking one up. "Aw, I used to love these things." He mimicked the sounds of gunshots and explosions, before making the army man 'scream' and fall down to the bench. Lucas just kept on coloring, not looking at him let alone seeming impressed or amused by his antics. "—so, crayons is more your thing? That's cool. Chicks dig artists." He looked threw a small pile of drawings that were already done; a black swirl, a bright red bicycle. "These are pretty good. You mind if I sit and draw with you for a while? I'm not so bad myself."

He knew he wouldn't get a response, so he just grabbed a crayon and pad of paper, moving to sit on the bench and start drawing. "You know, I'm thinking you can hear me, you just don't want to talk. I don't know exactly what happened to your dad, but I know it was something real bad." He looked at Lucas almost sadly. "I think I know how you feel. When I was your age, I saw something—" He stopped short, trying to carry on, emotions passing over his face. It wasn't something you just get over. "—anyway...maybe you don't think anyone will listen to you. Or, uh, or believe you. I want you to know that I will. You don't even have to say anything, you could draw me a picture. About what you saw that day...with your dad. On the lake." He still received no response from Lucas.

"Okay. No problem. This is for you." He held out his drawing of stick figures, pointing to each one of them. "This is my family. That's my dad. That's...that's my mom. That's my geek brother, and that's me." He paused on a fifth figure, thinking for a moment. "That's Kat. She's my...friend. She knows how to make ya feel like you're worth a dam— special." That was some cheesy Mr. Roger's shit, but he couldn't very well get deep and cuss-happy around a little kid. "She knows how to make you feel special." His picture barely got a glance from Lucas. "Alright, so I'm a sucky artist. See you around, Lucas." He tossed the crayon down and stood up, setting the pad of paper down where he had been sitting, walking back over to Sam, Kat, and Andrea.

They had left their bench now, Sam and Andrea talking about Lucas while Kat stood by, watching Dean. It had become ingrained into her by now; make sure Dean is okay and never not okay. It was ingrained in him to know that by now, and he gave her an attempt at a reassuring smile as he came over.

"Lucas hasn't said a word, not even to me." Andrea stood with crossed arms, looking up at Sam. "Not since..." She glanced at Dean after noticing him approach. "His dad's accident."

"Yeah, we heard about that. Sorry." Dean nodded and so did she.

Sam looked at Dean, then back at Andrea. "What are the doctors saying?"

"That it's a kind of post-traumatic stress."

"It can't be easy. For either of you."

"We moved in with my dad. He helps out a lot." Andrea looked past them at Lucas. "It's just...when I think about what Lucas went through, what he saw..."

"Kids are strong," Dean said. "You'd be surprised at what they can deal with."

"You know, he used to have such life. He was hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth." Andrea grinned widely for just a moment. "Now he just sits there. Drawing those pictures, playing with those army men. I just wish..." She trailed off when Lucas came over, carrying some of his drawings. "Hey, sweetie."

Without a word, he handed the pictures to Dean. One was a house. The other was, for some odd reason, the motel they were staying at. "Thanks. Thanks, Lucas." He didn't say 'you're welcome' or 'no problem', of course, just walked back to the bench he'd been drawing on.

"He's talented..." Kat looked over the pictures.

"He must like you." Andrea smiled at Dean. "He's never given out his drawings like that before."

"Yeah...I guess so..." Dean folded the pictures up, slipping them into his jacket. "Anyway, we should get going. Thanks for letting me talk to him."

Andrea nodded. "No problem. It seems like you got through to him somewhere."

He didn't even try to hit on her again, just smiled slightly and walked past her, in the direction of their motel. Sam and Kat said their goodbyes and followed him, waiting until they were a good distance away before Sam asked, "Did you get anything?"

"Nothing."

An uneventful night of dinner and sleeping lead to an uneventful morning. Sam had gone out to get breakfast, Dean was in their motel room doing probably less-than-savory things, and Kat was in the bathroom of her own motel room, washing her face.

Sure, she was a hunter, but that didn't mean she couldn't take care of herself. It wasn't like she had some eighty-product beauty regimen anyway; water and soap were enough to hold her together, it seemed. It helped her to wake up in the morning, too.

She was bent almost painfully over a sink that seemed to be meant for children, splashing water on her soap-covered face. The little process was cleansing, and invigorating, and even a bit relaxing. She needed some relaxation.

She had dreamt about her father the night before. She hadn't had dreams about her family in years, but her father's hometown seemed to bring it out of her, and it hurt like hell. It isn't something you just get over. She almost thought she had sometimes. It always turned out to be there, though, way deep down. Even if it didn't always hurt, it was always there. Enough exposure and it came back up to the surface like she was still fifteen.

She didn't have time for this.

She had to help other people, with newer pain. She had to keep anyone else from dying in this little town, if she could.

Her face felt free of suds, so she opened her eyes, jumping back instincitvely when she noticed the water coming out of the faucet was now brown. "—gross." She was a woman who had walked through blood and guts more than once, yet the sudden, mysterious change of water skeeved her out more than that ever could. It had been on her face and only God knew what the hell could have possibly been making it brown. None of the possibilities that came to mind were particularly nice.

She quickly shut the faucet off. It was too late, the sink was already full to the top with murky, brown water, and it didn't seem to be draining. Of course. She could have left it, gone to the front desk, gotten another room, left them to clean it up; but that would be unnecessary. She could handle a clogged sink. She just had to remind herself of all those blood and guts, and how much worse that was compared to dirty water and whatever was clogging up the drain. Showers existed for a reason anyway.

Although, she would definitely be using Sam and Dean's instead of hers.

She pushed her sleeve up and, with a slight grimace, slipped her hand into the water, feeling around for the drain. She hadn't put the stopper down and it wasn't down now, so it was definitely a problem with the pipes. Could she even reach it? Did she even want to?

She was both relieved and disappointed when she found that she couldn't fix the sink by hand. She started to pull her arm from the water, looking real forward to stealing Sam and Dean's shower for a good half hour, when something gripped her wrist and yanked her down, making her slam into the edge of the counter. That hurt her ribs like a bitch, but her mind was too busy being on high alert because something was pulling her into the sink.

"Shit! Oh, shit—" She tried to pull away. The grip on her wrist was steady, barely letting her budge and just yanking her back down if she even managed an inch. It kept pulling her down, down, down, and impossibly down, until the ends of her hair touched the water and she felt a foreboding tug. "Shit! Dea—" was all she managed to get out before her head was yanked into the water.

Her arm was freed and she immediately pulled it out, feeling it slip again and again on the counter as she switched to fight mode, using her upper arm strength on either side of the sink to try and push herself out. It was useless. There was pressure on her face, tugging her down, keeping her just under the water enough to prevent her from catching her breath.

She opened her eyes despite all of her instincts telling her it wasn't a good idea in the filthy water. It wasn't a good idea either way, as she saw nothing. She wasn't sure what she had expected. A sudden deep abyss that had opened in the sink, full of creatures that were pulling her down? That was ridiculous even in their line of work.

Her chest was starting to burn. She felt like an idiot. She was too busy calling for Dean to get a good breath in, which was likely to cause her demise. She had maybe thirty seconds before she wouldn't be able to hold her breath any longer. Then she would drown.

In a sink.

In a tiny motel sink.

It wasn't even deep. It was about as shallow as any sink you'd find in a cheap motel or a 1970's bathroom. She was going to die, in a sink, held down by some invisible force. She always thought her time would be a little more intense...like being eaten by a wendigo or something.

"Come play with me."

The words came from such a tiny voice, so far away. It was a tempting offer. But then there were two other voices, deeper, even farther away. Maybe it was her dad and her brother, waiting for her somewhere, arms opening for her.

Why didn't that tempt her as much? To see her family again? That was something she longed for deep down, right? Right?

Her arms felt so heavy and her mind was blurring, and all she could think of was Dean, and Sam, and even John. She didn't want to leave them, even for her family. Even if she missed her dad a little more in this town, the past was in the past. Her family was gone. But the Winchesters? They were there. They needed her. She couldn't leave them, and miss them, and hurt them. Did she have a choice?

She felt hands on her body, which was weird. She had never really come so close to death before, though, so maybe it was just part of it.

"Kat!"

"Kat, damn it!"

The water was suddenly gone and her body took over for her weakened mind as she immediately gasped for air. She felt a chest at her back and arms tight around her waist, pulling her from the sink, stumbling to the floor with her between their legs.

"I've got you. I've got you..."

"Dean," she gasped out, relaxing in his hold. She was alive, and safe, and with Dean. She blinked and look ahead to see Sam surveying the water in the sink cautiously, keeping a safe distance from it. She felt herself being shifted and then she was sitting back against something cool, Dean crouching in front of her.

"Hey. Hey," He grabbed her face to get her to look at him. "You okay?"

Her senses were starting to come back to her, letting her mind clear, and she nodded. "I'm alright, but...what was that? I couldn't get out. It was like something was holding me down, but...there was nothing."

"Tell me about it. It took me and Sammy to get you out of there." The worry was clear in Dean's eyes, but he didn't let it go any farther.

"You said your dad was from here, right?"

Kat looked up at Sam, who had come closer and was staring right at her. If there wasn't any time for pain before, there definitely wasn't any now. "Yeah...why?"

"Did he know Bill Carlton?"

"I...honestly don't know, Sam. He didn't talk about it much." She started to stand, smiling at the way Dean's hands hovered near her in case she fell. She managed to stand just fine now that she had her wits about her. "Isn't he that girl's father? What does he have to do with this?"

Sam and Dean shared a look, which never meant anything good. "Will Carlton drowned last night." Sam glanced back at the sink. It was still full, like it was waiting for Kat to come back so it could pull her in again. "In his sink. And I found out that Lucas' dad was Bill's godson. He's our connection."

"Yeah, you're lucky we came to tell you, or Will wouldn't be the latest victim."

"Thanks for that." Kat sighed, looking at Sam. "It makes no sense. Even if my dad did know Bill, I never did, so why would whatever this thing is come after me?"

"We just gotta find out, don't we?" Dean walked to the door. "We're gonna pay Bill a little visit."

Neither of the boys would let her shower in their room and, knowing that this thing might be targeting her now, Kat wasn't keen on the idea anyway. Dean had, at least, given her a wet washcloth and a bar of soap, which allowed her to clean some of the filth off of her arm, face, and hair. She was willing to sacrifice showers until they left the town if it meant...well, if it meant that she got to continue living.

They drove to the Carlton's house and Dean gave her stern instructions not to go into the water. It would have been funny if the prospect of just being near the water didn't terrify her so much.

So when they walked along the dock to will Bill Carlton sat on a bench, she didn't mind much that Dean and Sam had her walk between them.

She felt bad for more than herself when she saw how Bill was. On that bench like when they'd come for questions before, looking even more lost and sad than before. How could he not be? He lost both his children. She decided, as she saw him, that even if this was all connected to him, it wasn't on purpose. No man could look so devastated over people he hurt on purpose.

"Mr. Carlton?" Sam started softly. "We'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind."

Dean followed Sam's lead this time, folding his hands. "We're from the Department of—"

"I don't care who you're with. I've answered enough questions today."

"—your son said he saw something in that lake. What about you? You ever see anything out there?" Sam's question didn't receive an answer. "Mr. Carlton, Sophie's drowning and Will's death—we think there might be a connection to you or your family."

"My children are gone," Bill said shakily, tears in his eyes, before he looked up at them. "It's worse than dying. Go away." He shook his head, turning to stare back at the lake. "Please."

Kat could practically feel his anguish. God, it was hell. "Let's just go." She gave Sam's sleeve a slight tug and he nodded, as the three quietly left the dock, going back to the Impala.

"What do you think?" Sam asked when they were out of earshot.

"I think the poor guy's been through hell." Dean shrugged, stopping on one side of the car while Sam stopped on the other side. "I also think he's not telling us something."

Sam leaned on the roof of the Impala. "So now what?" There was a pause as Dean stared at the Carlton's house. "What is it?"

"Huh. Maybe Bill's not the only one who knows something." He reached into his jacket, pulling out the pictures Lucas had drawn and unfolding them. There was no doubt, it was a drawing of the Carlton's house. He paused again, lifting it to look at the picture of their motel, then looking at Kat who stood by him. "He knew about Will and you. I think he was trying to tell us with these pictures."

Kat slowly looked at the drawing, staring at it. The enormity of the situation hadn't hit her fully yet, but this certainly helped it to sink in. Whatever was in the lake was after her, too, and she had no idea why.

"—I'm sorry, but I don't think it's a good idea."

Andrea couldn't be blamed. Three people that weren't even acquaintances coming into her home, one of them asking to speak to her son about drownings. No mother would have felt at ease with that, and it would be worrisome if one did.

"I just need to talk to him." Dean was almost pleading, knowing that Lucas could be their only hope for more information. "Just for a few minutes."

"He won't say anything." Andrea snapped. "What good's it gonna do?"

"Andrea, we think more people might get hurt." Sam gave a subtle glance at Kat before looking back at Andrea. "We think something's happening out there."

"My husband, the others, they just drowned. That's all." Andrea's voice shook, maybe because of emotion. Maybe because she didn't believe her own words.

"If that's what you really believe, then we'll go. But if you think there's even a possibility that something else could be going on here, please let me talk to your son."

She just stared at Dean for a long moment, then gave in with a shake of her head. "Fine. I don't think it's gonna do any good, but if you think you can stop this...then okay. But just for a few minutes." She repeated the words back to him, giving him a look that showed she meant it.

"That's all I need. I swear."

She nodded, leading the three of them down a hallway, to Lucas' bedroom. As per usual, he was coloring away, sitting on the floor surrounded by paper and crayons.

"Hey, Lucas." Dean stepped into the room and crouched down in front of him. "You remember me?" He looked down at a pile of drawings, looking through them like before to find more pictures of red bicycles. "You know, I, uh, I wanted to thank you for that last drawing. But the things is, I need your help again." He took the drawings out of his jacket again, unfolding them and setting them down. "How did you know to draw these? Did you know something bad was gonna happen? Maybe you could...nod 'yes' or 'no' for me."

Lucas gave no indication that he even heard Dean, and the realization as to why he was so silent hit him, "You're scared. It's okay. I understand. See, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom...and I was scared, too. I didn't feel like talkin', just like you."

As he spoke, Sam looked at him with surprise and Kat looked at him with sorrow. His pain was always difficult. One thing she had always believed was that he was a good man who deserved a hell of a lot more than he'd ever gotten.

"But see, my mom...I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that every day. And I do my best to be brave. And maybe your dad wants you to be brave, too."

Lucas suddenly dropped the crayon he was holding and looked straight up at Dean. He picked up the picture he had been drawing and handed it to him; it was a church, and a house, and a little boy with a red bicycle.

"Thanks, Lucas." Dean stood as the boy went right back to drawing.

Kat sat in the back of the Impala, watching trees fly by. Everything was dawning on her little by little; she was in danger. All she had to do was get too close to a source of lake water and she was pretty much a goner. She noticed that it didn't scare her nearly as much as Dean being taken by that wendigo, but it still scared her enough.

She had learned long ago that she couldn't be afraid. So why was she? Why couldn't she control it after all she had seen and been through? The best she could do was put on a brave face for people who needed it, but that didn't mean she wasn't afraid. It just meant that she knew how to act. But so did Dean, she figured. So did Sam. Maybe even John spent most of his time acting.

Like pain, fear doesn't just go away. It gets buried somewhere until something is so terrible that it has to come out.

"Andrea said the kid never drew like that till his dad died."

She looked to the front seat as Dean spoke. She could distract herself with his words and his voice. He was someone she knew she would be safe with. Sam, too. As much as she protected them, they protected her right back. None of them would ever let anything bad happen to the others.

"There are cases," Sam sighed. "going through a traumatic experience could make people more sensitive to premonitions, psychic tendencies."

"Whatever's out there, what if Lucas is tapping into it somehow?" Dean's idea was met with doubt from Sam, but he carried on, "I mean, it's only a matter of time before somebody else drowns, so if you got a better lead, please." He looked at Kat in the rearview mirror and Sam did the same. She could drown.

"—alright, we got another house to find."

"The only problem is, there's about a thousand yellow two-stories in this county alone."

Kat leaned forward, looking at the drawing that Sam had in his lap. "What about the church?"

"See this church?" They spoke at the same time and quickly looked at each other, then away, and Sam continued, "I bet there's less than a thousand of those around here."

"Oh, College Boy thinks he's so smart," Dean mocked, making Sam laugh slightly. "And what's your excuse, Kat?"

"Women just naturally know everything." At least she still had her humor, despite everything.

A beat of silence passed and Sam looked at Dean, "You know, um...what you said about Mom...you never told me that before."

"It's no big deal." Dean's suddenly tense posture said otherwise. He glanced over to see Sam still staring at him. "Oh, God, we're not gonna have to hug or anything, are we? Kat hugs me enough as it is. I don't need my brother hanging all over me."

"You hardly complain when I hug you."

"Alright, alright. Enough." His voice was gruffer than usual, which was how it usually got when he was getting flustered by something. "Just keep an eye out for the church. Both of you."

They rode in mostly comfortable silence — though Kat's fear was still causing a bit of inner turmoil — for ten or fifteen minutes before Sam spotted a church. "I think that's it, right over there. Pull over."

Dean obliged, parking on the street and taking the drawing from Sam as the three of them got out of the car. He held the picture up, looking at the church and then a yellow house just across the street from it. "Bingo. Let's go."

They crossed the street to the house and Dean knocked on the door, fishing around his jacket for his fake ID. A couple moments passed before an elderly woman opened the door, looking at them in confusion. "Agent Ford. That's Agent Hamill and Agent Fisher." He flashed the ID quickly. "We wanted to ask you a couple questions."

"Oh...of course, agents." She stepped aside to let them in, shutting the door behind them and walking further into the house. "What did you need?"

"We're sorry to bother you, ma'am, but does a little boy live here, by chance? He might wear a blue ball cap, has a red bicycle."

The woman looked down, shaking her head. "No, sir. Not for a very long time. Not since my son..."

"Can you tell us about your son?" Sam asked gently, his eyes full of sympathy.

She nodded, leading them to a bedroom that was set up like a little boy still actually lived there. "Peter's been gone for thirty-five years now." She turned to look at a picture of a little boy that was on an end table. "The police never—I never had any idea what happened." She turned back to face them. "He just disappeared. Losing him, you know...it's..."

Sam noticed a set of army men much like Lucas', nudging Kat and catching Dean's gaze, before gesturing to them silently.

"It's worse than dying." The woman was starting to become overcome with emotion, on the verge of tears.

"Did he disappear from here?" Dean swallowed. "I mean, from the house."

"He was supposed to ride his bike...straight home after school, and he never showed up." A moment passed and tears began to fall down her cheeks. "Excuse me..." She offered the best smile she could and made her way out of the room.

Kat watched her go, frowning slightly. "Poor lady. I wish we could find Peter."

"He could be hanging around somewhere." Dean shrugged, walking over to a mirror and plucking a picture of two little boys off of it. He turned it over. "Peter Sweeney and Billy Carlton, nineteen-seventy."

"There's another clue that points to Bill." Sam sighed, shoving his hands into his pockets.

Kat looked around the room, at all the various toys Peter had once played with. The little army men, some classic matchbox cars placed here and there, an original G.I. Joe stuck up on a shelf, and even a twisted up slinky forgotten on a shelf below it. Her gaze fell on a framed picture beside the slinky and she felt her breath catch in her throat, her feet practically moving of their own accord towards it.

She picked up the frame and ran her fingers over the face of one of the little boys in it; a face she knew all too well. It was a face she had seen in pictures just as old as the one she held, pictures that had been forgotten in Missouri in John Winchester's haste to get her away from the scene that would be considered a crime. It was a face that had aged and gained lines, but still looked basically the same every year. Hazel eyes, like hers. Light hair, not like hers. She had gotten her mother's hair.

"Kat? You find another picture of Peter and Bill?" It was Dean's voice, but she couldn't even look up. She just stared at the picture. "—Kat?" He and Sam moved up behind her to get a look at the picture. "Yeah, that's Peter alright, but I don't know who the other kid is. It's not Bill."

"—it's my dad."

A/N: Dun, dun, dun. Pretty sure you all saw it coming, though ;) The usual apology for any typos or grammatical errors, they are never on purpose, just mistakes when I'm writing while sleepy lol. If anything was confusing, don't worry! All will be explained in the next chapter, which should hopefully be up quicker than this one was. Review, please!