Disclaimer: I own nothing but my original characters.

Chapter 3:
Dead in the Water: Part 1

"You gonna tell me what's so fascinating?"

Dean merely shrugged, ignoring Addie and continued to make circles around areas in the newspaper he was reading.

"Okay. Fine." she snatched the portion of the paper he'd been going over away from him.

"Hey!" Dean exclaimed and tried to get it back, but Addie smirked and held it out of his reach, toward the empty booth behind them and held it up so Sam could see. "No fair!"

Addie laughed. "'S not about fair, little brother." Dean huffed in exasperation and slumped back in his seat. She grinned and handed the paper to Sam once she'd looked at it herself. "Obituaries? Really?"

Dean rolled his eyes.

"I think I found one." he explained, sitting up a little straighter and leaning forward over the table. "Check out the one for Sophie Carlton."

Both Addie and Sam skimmed through the circled obits until they found the one Dean was talking about.

"Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin," Addie read. "Last week Sophie Carlton, eighteen, walks into the lake, doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water; nothing." she handed the paper to Sam. "Sophie Carlton is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year."

"None of the other bodies were found either." Dean said. "They had a funeral two days ago."

"A funeral?" Sam said incredulously.

Dean shrugged.

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

Sam snorted and set the paper down on the table. "Closure? What closure? People don't just disappear, Dean. Other people just stop looking for them."

Dean's eyes narrowed.

"Something you want to say to me?"

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

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

Sam scoffed.

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

"You know what?" Addie said quickly before Dean could retort. "I'm gonna go take care of the check, alright?" she snatched it up from where it lay next to Dean's empty plate. "You two either take it outside, or talk it out. If I hear punches being thrown, I'm taking the Impala and leaving both your asses here."

"Like hell." Dean snapped, but as soon as she was out of the booth she'd shared with Sam, she'd made a grab for his jacket pocket and pulled the car keys out from it.

"Try me." she snapped before plastering a smile to her face, grabbing her purse and heading up to the front counter. Once she had paid, she went outside and waited in the driver's seat of the Impala.

It took less than five minutes before Dean and Sam left the diner and headed across the parking lot to her.

"Get in the back." Dean ordered.

She laughed and handed him the keys. "You know I was kidding, right?" she kissed his cheek before getting into the back seat. "I'd have come back after two or three miles."

"Whatever." he muttered.

Sam glanced at Addie, then at Dean.

"So how far to Lake Manitoc?" he asked.

Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin

"Is that it?"

"Matches the address." Dean pulled up in front of a large, lakehouse that was green, had two cases of steps that led up onto the front porch, and a red roof. He put the car in park and they got out. "You got your ID?"

"Yup. Now why don't the two of you let me do the talking this time?" she asked coolly as they climbed up onto the front porch and she knocked on the door.

Dean rolled his eyes at Sam, who shrugged. Addie took a deep breath as the door opened and they were met by a man. Luckily, they'd done their homework on who was who. The guy was too young to be the father, Bill.

"Will Carlton?" Addie asked, and he nodded.

"Yeah, that's right."

Addie held up her badge. "I'm Agent Ford, this is Agent Hamill, and Agent Fisher." she gestured to Sam and Dean. "We're with the U.S. Wildlife Service - we're here about what happened to your sister."

Will nodded silently, and led them around to the lake behind the house. A long dock ran from the bank behind the house out into the lake. On the far end, sat a wooden bench. An older man sat upon it, starng out at the water.

"She was about a hundred yards out," Will said mechanically, and Addie felt a rush of sympathy for him - how many times must he have had to say this for the reporters and the police? "That's where she got dragged down."

"And you're sure she didn't just drown?" Dean asked.

Will nodded.

"Yeah. She was a varsity swimmer," he explained. "She practically grew up in that lake. She was as safe out there as her own bathtub."

Addie cast a shrewd look at the water before walking out onto the dock. She didn't go too far, but turned to look out on either side for any signs of spirits or monsters. There was nothing. The lake was perfectly calm.

"But Daaaddd."

"No buts. Just jump in, Addie. It's fine."

"What if something gets me?!"

"Nothing will get you." her father assured the eight year old. "This lake is clear - I checked it out. No wraiths, no spirits, no nothing. Now come on. We need to get through these drills quickly."

"We can't just swim for fun?" Addie asked him.

John's answer was immediate.

"No."

"Did you see any shadows in the water?" Sam was asking Will. "Maybe some dark shape breach the surface?"

"Don't see how," Addie responded before Will could answer as she walked up and rejoined the three men. "She was far out, right?" she asked Sophie's brother.

Will nodded. "Right."

Dean glanced down at the ground and then back up at Will.

"You ever see any strange tracks by the shoreline?" he asked.

Will shook his head.

"No, never." he answered. "Why? Why, what do you think's out there?"

Dean shrugged. "We'll let you know as soon as we do."

"I still don't get why I have to be Fisher." Dean complained.

Addie grinned. "Because I said so." she punched him playfully in the shoulder. "Oh come on. What other logical alias works with Ford and Hamill?"

Dean thought about it.

"Jones?" he suggested. "Cushing? Guiness?"

Addie and Sam both laughed. They were seated in the Impala outside the local police station.

"Sorry man, you wanted something different, you should have picked it back when we made the IDs," Sam pointed out.

Dean muttered something under his breath that Addie was certain was a 'fuck you.'.

"Boys, play nice." she chided, giggling as Dean huffed in annoyance and punched Sam in the shoulder, only for Sam to punch him back. "Hey! Can we please adopt professional personas before we get into the sheriff's office?"

Dean snorted.

"Whatever."

They headed inside the police station.

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

Sam stared at the sheriff, a man by the name of Jake Devins.

"You sure it's accidental?" he asked. "Will Carlton saw something grab his sister."

"Like what?" Jake asked as he headed back to his office. Addie, Sam, and Dean followed him. "Here, sit, please." he gestured to the chairs in front of his desk. There were only two, and Sam let Addie have the one that Dean hadn't quickly occupied. "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 said with a forced laugh. "Right."

Jake sighed. "Will Carlton was traumatized, and sometimes the mind plays tricks. Still -" he sat down. "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," Addie commented, "I mean, that's the third missing body this year."

"I know." Jake nodded. "These are people from my town. These are people I care about."

Addie smiled softly at him. "I know."

"Anyway..." Jake huffed. "All this...it won't be a problem much longer."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked.

Jake stared at Dean for a minute and Addie had to fight the urge to smack her brother around the head. They'd done their research of course; They knew about the dam.

"Of course," Dean said quickly, perhaps sensing his sister's annoyance, "the dam. It's uh, it sprung a leak."

"It's falling apart," Jake explained. "and the feds won't give us the grant to repair it, so they've opened up 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, you already knew that."

"Exactly," Addie said, "Just helps hearing what's going on from a local's perspective is all."

"Mmmhm." Jake gave her a long look before the sound of knocking on the door caught his attention. A young woman with dark hair entered the office. A boy around ten, with shoulder length auburn hair, was at her side.

"Sorry, am I interrupting?" she asked, glancing from Addie, Dean, and Sam to Jake. Dean and Addie stood up and stepped away from their chairs. "I can come back later."

Jake shook his head.

"This is my daughter," he informed the three.

Dean grinned and approached her. Addie felt her annoyance with her brother begin to escalate. How could he try to pick up a woman right now?! She was sure that Jake was already suspicious of them, and if Dean let his hormones override the case, they were done for.

Dean shook the woman's hand. "It's a pleasure to meet you. I'm Dean."

"Andrea Barr." she responded. "Hi."

"Sorry, he's a bit of an idiot," Addie interjected as Dean opened his mouth again. "I'm Addie, and this is Sam."

"They're from the Wildlife Service." Jake explained. "About the lake."

"Oh." Andrea said.

Addie turned her attention from Andrea to the boy with her.

"Hey there," she said to him. "What's your name?"

Instead of answering, the boy turned and walked away, out of the office. Andrea hastily followed him.

"His name's Lucas." Jake supplied, taking note of Addie's saddened expression. "You have kids?"

"Had." she said in a hollow voice.

Jake's face softened and he walked over to her, placing hand on her shoulder. "I'm sorry."

"Thank you." she said.

"Is he okay?" Sam asked, glancing out of the office window to the main room, where Andrea was now supplying Lucas with crayons and paper.

"My grandson's been through a lot. We all have." Jake went to the office door and opened it. "Well if there's anything else I can do for you, please let me know."

"Thanks," Dean told him as they headed to leave. "You know, now that you mention it, could you point us in the direction of a reasonably priced motel?"

But Jake didn't answer them, Andrea did.

"Lakefront Motel," she said. "Go around the corner. It's about two blocks south."

Dean cocked his head to the side. "Two - would you mind showing us?"

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

It was Addie's turn to laugh. "Well me and him can find it easily." she gestured to Sam. "but Dean, well - he gets lost easily. Makes us have to do a lot of hand holding."

Sam tried not to laugh, and Addie fought down the urge to giggle at the sight of Dean's responding scowl.

"But if it's not any trouble," she added. "We'd appreciate it."

Andrea nodded and looked at Jake.

"I'll be back to pick Lucas up at three." she said. Then she turned to Lucas and kissed the top of his head. "We'll go to the park, okay, sweetie?"

Lucas didn't respond, seemingly immersed in the drawing he was working on.

"Thanks again," Addie called to Jake before they left the station.

"So cute kid," Dean said as they headed around the corner and down the street from the station.

"Thanks." Andrea answered as they came to a crosswalk.

"Kids are the best, huh?" he tried and Andrea looked at him incredulously before turning her attention back to the street.

Addie grinned silently at Sam as the walk continued in silence. Before long, they stopped in front of a large building. The sign in front read, Lakefront Motel.

"There it is," Andrea said. "Like I said, two blocks."

"Thanks," Sam said earnestly.

Andrea turned to Dean.

"Must be hard," she commented, "with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line." she looked at Addie and Sam and smiled. "Enjoy your stay!"

Addie and Sam waited until she was out of earshot before bursting into laughter.

"Fuck you both." Dean spat. "I'm going to check us in. You need anything?"

"I was gonna ask you the same thing," Addie smirked. "You want some ice for that burn?"

Dean flipped her off before heading inside the motel. It made Addie and Sam laugh even harder.

Later when they had gotten into their rooms, Addie had come to see what the next phase of the investigation was, instead of staying in her own room by herself. Sam was hunched over his laptop, typing furiously at the keyboard while Dean unpacked his clothes.

"So there's the three drowning victims this year." Sam said finally, looking up from the screen at Addie and Dean.

"Any before that?" Dean asked.

"Uh, yeah." Sam turned the laptop around so Addie and Dean could see the screen. Addie heaved herself up off the bed she was sitting on and walked over to get a closer look at the browser Sam had open.

"'Drowning Taints Ice Fishing Festival'," she read. "Twelve-year-old girl drowns in lake. Second drowning in six months at Lake Manitoc.'"

Dean frowned. "So what, we got a lake monster on a binge?"

Addie rolled her eyes.

"Nessie doesn't exist Dean."

"How much you want to bet?" he shot back.

"Sweetheart, our bets don't work out well - for you anyway," Addie chuckled. "but of course, I'll humor you. Hundred bucks, cold hard cash."

"And if you lose?"

Addie snorted. "So confident, are you?" she thought about it. "Up to you."

Dean grinned.

"You shouldn't have said that."

Addie snorted and looked at Sam. "He only says that because nothing will ever top when he lost that last bet we had before I left."

Sam laughed.

"I forgot about that."

Addie grinned. "I still have the polaroids at home."

Dean flushed. "We promised we'd never talk about that!"

Addie grinned.

"Then you shouldn't have bet something impossible for me to lose, little brother." she chided, ducking when he grabbed a pillow off of the bed and lobbed it at her. She caught it before it could collide with her face. "C'mon, we should get back to work."

"Yes Mom," Dean said in a mocking tone as he went to check out the article Sam had pulled up on his laptop. "Wait." he pointed at the screen. "Barr. Christopher Barr. Where have I heard that name before?"

"Christopher Barr," Sam read, "the victim in May." Addie rounded the table to stand next to Dean as Sam clicked on another link. The article headline read Local Man in Tragic Accident. Addie gasped as the picture with the article loaded to reveal a police officer with - Lucas. "Oh. Christopher Barr was Andrea's husband, Lucas's father. Apparently he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned. Two hours before the kid got rescued."

"That's awful," Addie said.

Sam sighed.

"Maybe we have an eye witness after all." he said.

"No wonder that kid was so freaked out." Dean added, glancing at Addie. "Watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over."

"Yeah." Addie said softly, eyes glassy. She still remembered that night their mother died in vivid detail, though it had been decades since it had happened, and she knew Dean remembered it too, though with less detail. "We uh...we should go see if Andrea'll let us talk to him."

They ended up finding Andrea at the local park, seated on a bench while she watched Lucas as he colored a few feet away, toy soldiers scattered across the pile of white paper he had with him.

"Can we join you?" Sam asked when they had walked up to Andrea, who turned at hearing him.

She smiled uncertainly. "I'm here with my son."

Dean glanced at Lucas.

"Oh." he said. "Mind if I say hi?"

Without waiting for an answer, he walked over to where Lucas was. Andrea glanced at Addie.

"Should your boyfriend being trying this whole Jerry Maguire thing out on me right now?" she asked. "It's not gonna work."

Sam burst into laughter which, at a look from Addie, he quickly turned into a coughing fit. Addie smiled at Andrea.

"He's my brother, not my boyfriend." she explained. "but I'll pass on the message."

"Oh!" Andrea flushed. "I'm sorry, I -"

"Don't be." Addie smiled and nodded toward where Dean was now coloring on a piece of paper while he talked to Lucas. "Lucas seems like a good kid."

"He is," Andrea smiled. "You have kids?"

"A, uh...I had a daughter," Addie replied. "She passed about a month ago."

"I'm so sorry," Andrea said, and she looked it. Sam wrapped his arm around Addie's shoulders. "So..."

"Oh. Nope, this is my other brother." Addie said. "I'm the oldest."

"You're also the shortest," Sam teased.

"Fuck you."

"Language. There are kids present."

"I know. I'm standing next to an overgrown five year old."

Sam rolled his eyes and Andrea laughed but her attention turned somber as she looked back at Lucas.

"Lucas hasn't said a word, not even to me. Not since his dad's accident." she explained as Dean rejoined them.

"Yeah we heard." he said. "Sorry."

"What are the doctors saying?" Sam asked.

Andrea nodded, though her eyes stayed on her son. "That it's some kind of post-traumatic stress."

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

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

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

Just then, Lucas joined them. Addie was astounded by how quietly he'd approached - she hadn't even heard him walk up.

Andrea smiled at him. "Hey sweetie."

Lucas looked at her and then turned to Dean before handing him the picture he was carrying.

"Thanks," he said, "Thanks, Lucas."

Lucas said nothing, but headed back to his bench in silence.

"So I think it's safe to say we can rule out Nessie."

Addie fist pumped the air. "Yes!" she crowed before rounding on Dean. "Pay up."

He shook his head, grinning at his sister. "Bet was to prove whether or not Nessie exists, Add. Still anyone's game." he looked at Sam, who'd entered the hotel room after going on a food run. "What do you mean?"

"I just drove by the Carlton house," Sam answered, "There was an ambulance there. Will Carlton is dead."

"Oh my God." Addie breathed. "He drowned?"

Sam nodded. "Yep. In the sink."

"What the hell?" Dean said incredulously. "So you're right, this isn't a creature. We're dealing with something else."

"Yeah, but what?" said Addie.

Dean shrugged.

"I don't know." he replied. "Water wraith, maybe? Some kind of demon? I mean, something that controls water...water that comes from the same source."

"The lake," Sam realized.

"Yeah." Dean nodded.

"Which would explain why it's upping the body count." Addie told them, "The lake is draining. It'll be dry in a few months. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it's running out of time."

"And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone, almost anywhere." he sighed and stood up. "This is gonna happen again soon."

"And we do know one other thing for sure," Sam reminded him, "We know this has got something to do with Bill Carlton."

"Yeah." Dean nodded. "It took both his kids."

"And I've been asking around." Sam continued. "Lucas's dad, Chris - Bill Carlton's godson."

Addie ran a hand through her hair and then retrieved her jacket from where it lay on one of the beds.

"Let's go pay Mr. Carlton a visit."

No one answered when Dean knocked on the door of the Carlton house. Addie and Sam peeked through the windows, trying to see if anyone was inside. They didn't see anyone.

"Let's check out back," Addie said finally, when Sam went for his lock pick kit. "There's clearly no one in there, Sam. Best bet's the lake."

"You think?" Dean said with a roll of his eyes as Sam put the kit away again. "Let's go."

They found Mr. Carlton sitting on a bench out on the dock.

"Mr. Carlton?" Addie said tentatively as they approached him. The man looked up at hearing her voice and stared at them for a moment. "We'd like to ask you a few questions, if you don't mind."

No answer. Mr. Carlton turned away from them and stared out at the lake.

"We're from the, the Department -" Dean started, but Mr. Carlton cut him off.

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

Addie shifted her weight uncomfortably as Sam cleared his throat.

"Your son said he saw something in that lake," he tried, "What about you? You ever see anything out there?" No 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 dead." Mr. Carlton replied bluntly. "It...It's worse than dying. Go away. Please."

Sam and Dean exchanged a look and turned around to head back up the dock toward the shore. Addie didn't move. At the shoreline, her brothers turned to see her standing behind Mr. Carlton's bench, her stance rigid.

"You go," Sam said, turning to Dean. "I'll get her."

Dean nodded.

"Okay."

I went ahead and broke this into two parts since I felt it was getting way too long. Next chapter will be up asap! Hope y'all like it. Reviews are welcome - no flames please. Constructive criticism accepted.