Kat kept her eyes on the road, ignoring the ongoing debate between the boys.
"Yeah, you probably missed somethin', that's why" Dean sat in the front seat next to Kat.
"Dude, I ran LexisNexis, local police reports, newspapers—I couldn't find a single red flag. Are you sure you got the coordinates right?" Sam sat in the back with his lap top.
"Yeah, I double-checked. It's Fitchburg, Wisconsin. Look, Dad wouldn't have sent us coordinates if it wasn't important, Sammy and besides Kat checked too" She nodded in agreement; she checked, Dean checked they were correct.
"Well, I'm tellin' you, I looked, and all I could find was a big, steaming pile of nothin'. If Dad's sending us hunting for something, I don't know what" Sam sighed.
"Well, maybe he's gonna meet us there" Kat shook her head in disagreement, John's gone and he's not coming back. Not unless something big was about to go down.
"Yeah, 'cause he's been so easy to find up to this point" Sam rolled his eyes.
"You're a real smartass, you know that? Don't worry, I'm sure there's somethin' in Fitchburg worth killin'" He looked over to Kat for approval but she kept looking forward.
"Yeah? What makes you so sure?" Kat questioned him; he seemed a little taken back it appeared as though she wasn't interested in the topic of John.
"Well, because I'm the oldest, which means I'm always right" Kat and Sam laughed.
"No, it doesn't sweetie and besides I'm only a year younger than you" She turned her head quickly to face him.
"Yeah, it totally does" He kissed the tip of her nose and grinned.
"'Fitchburg. Population 20,501.' Were here boys" Kat gestured to the welcoming sign.
Kat and Sam leant against the car waiting for Dean to return.
He arrived carrying two cups of coffee. He handed one to Sam and then reached into his jacket pocket and pulled out a bottle of pop.
"Well, the waitress thinks that the local freemasons are up to somethin' sneaky, but, uh, other than that, nobody's heard about anything weird goin' on"
"Thanks Dean" He smiled at her as she took a sip from the bottle.
"Dean, you got the time?" He checked his watch.
"Ten after four. Why?" Kat loved the way he said after instead of past.
"What's wrong with this picture?" Sam gestured over the road; there was a playground.
"It's deserted" Kat stated. All except for a young girl playing and an older woman watching her from a nearby bench.
"School's out, isn't it?" Dean asked them both.
"Yeah. So, where is everybody? This place should be crawlin' with kids right now" Kat began to walk across the street before Sam could even finish his sentence. She sat down on the bench next to the woman.
"It sure is quiet out here" Kat smiled.
"Yeah, it's a shame" She frowned, Kat raised her eyebrow.
"Why is that?" Kat questioned.
"You know, kids getting sick. It's a terrible thing"
"Oh no we have only just moved into town, me and my ... fiancé. How many are we talking?"
"Just five or six, but serious, hospital serious. A lot of parents are getting pretty anxious. They think it's catching"
"That's terrible" Kat watched the woman's daughter on the monkey bars.
"Planning on having kids of your own?" Her question interrupted Kat's thoughts.
"No" Her firm answer. "No we move around a lot, me and my fiancé, our job and I'm not exactly the mothering type... anyway I better be going thank you for your time"
"Have a nice day dear" Kat ran back over to the Impala and got into the passenger seat. Dean and Sam nodded as if to indicate that she should tell them what she found out.
"The hospital"
They enter the lobby. Dean and Sam in their 'monkey' suits and Kat dressed in her pin stripe jacket and matching skirt. A little too short for her liking but Dean picked it out for her. He looked very nice in his suit; not as nice as he would look out of it but ...
"Kat"
"What? Yeah I'm listening" She looked at Sam.
"I am not using this ID, haven't you got another one?"
"Why not?" Kat looked over to Dean. "What have you done?"
"Kat it says "bikini inspector" on it" Dean laughed at Sam's comment.
"Don't worry Sammy, I'm sure she won't look that close" She attempted to hold her laughter back.
"Hell, she won't even ask to see it. It's all about confidence, Sam" Dean turned Sam towards the front desk. Kat tugged on her skirt.
"You look very nice"
"Thanks you don't look so bad yourself" She winked at him. They waited as Sam spoke to the young lady behind the desk. He nodded at her and began to walk up the corridor. They joined him.
"See? I told you it'd work" Sam shook his head.
"Follow me. It's upstairs"
They walked down one of the many identical white hallways, Dean stopped. Kat turned to see what had caught his attention. An old woman sitting in a wheelchair turned to look at them with cold, steely eyes. Kat noticed an inverted cross on her wall and figured that was what caught Dean's attention in the first place. The woman turned away from them.
"Kat, Dean" Sam nodded his head towards the end of the hallway. They followed him.
They had found the doctor in charge of dealing with the case outside of the children's room.
"Well, thanks for seein' us, Dr. Hydecker." Dean smiled.
"Oh, I'm glad you guys are here. I was just about to call the CDC myself. How'd you find out, anyway?" The doctor replied.
"Oh, some GP, I forget his name, he called Atlanta, and, uh, must have beat you to the punch" Dean continued.
"So, you're dealing with six cases so far is that correct?" Kat readjusted her black rimmed glasses.
"Yeah, in five weeks at first, we thought it was garden-variety bacterial pneumonia not that newsworthy. But now…" He looked over to a young boy in a coma.
"Now what?" Kat raised her eyebrow.
"The kids aren't responding to antibiotics. Their white cell counts keep goin' down. Their immune systems just aren't doin' their job. It's like their bodies are wearing out"
"Excuse me, Dr. Hydecker" A nurse joined them in the corridor.
"You ever see anything like this before?" Sam questioned them both.
"Never this severe" The doctor replied as he signed the clipboard that the nurse has brought him.
"The way it spreads that's a new one for me" She took the clipboard from the doctor.
"What do you mean?" Sam continued.
"It works its way through families, but only the children one sibling after another" Dean and Kat exchanged worried glances.
"Do you mind if we interview a few of the kids?" Kat asked politely.
"They're not conscious" The nurse frowned.
"None of them?" Sam's voice was filled with shock.
"No"
"Can we, uh can we talk to the parents?" Dean shrugged.
"If you think it'll help"
Kat joined the boys near a vending machine to report on her findings.
"Right so I talked to Miles Tarnower, Mary and her younger sister both developed "pneumonia" with-in twenty four hours of one another. He can't think of any explanation except an open window" She shrugged to suggest that she thought that was nonsense. "Boys I'm no doctor but I don't think sleeping with an open window for one night could have this much of an effect"
"Did the dad open the window?" Sam questioned as he munched on his chocolate bar.
"Well her rooms on the second floor and has no ledge so ... no one normal could have opened it" Dean handed her the remains of his M&M's. "Thanks"
"You know, this might not be anything supernatural. It might just be pneumonia" Sam suggested.
"Maybe. Or maybe somethin' opened that window. I don't know, man, look, Dad sent us down here for a reason. I think we might be barkin' up the right tree"
"I'll tell you one thing"
"What's that Sammy?" Kat and Dean looked over at him.
"That guy we just talked to? I'm bettin' it'll be a while before he goes home"
Kat lay on the backseat of the Impala. The front doors opened and Sam and Dean appeared.
"What did you find guys?" Dean handed her his phone with a picture of a long black handprint that had been rotted into the wooden window ledge.
"A Shtriga?" Kat looked at Dean, he nodded.
"What the hell is a Shtriga?" Sam turned to the side so that he could see both of them.
"It's kind of like a witch, I think. I don't know much about 'em" He shuck his head in annoyance.
"A shtrigia comes from Albanian folklore meaning vampiric witch that sucks the blood of infants while they sleep" Kat nodded and smiled.
"How do you know all this?" Dean smiled at her in amazement.
"What can I say I'm just awesome" She smiled back.
"Well, I've never heard of it. And it's not in Dad's journal" Sam interrupted.
"Dad hunted one in Fort Douglas, Wisconsin about sixteen, seventeen years ago. You were there, you don't remember?" Dean told Sam.
"No"
"Yeah, I guess he caught wind that the thing's in Fitchburg now and kicked us the coordinates"
"So, this…" Sam hesitated.
"Shtriga" Kat and Dean said in unison.
"Right. You think it's the same one Dad hunted before?"
"Yeah, maybe" Kat got the impression that Dean was avoiding the subject.
" But if Dad went after it, why is it still breathing air?" Kat shuck her head at him as if to tell him to drop the subject.
"'Cause it got away" Dean snapped.
"Got away?"
"Yeah, Sammy, it happens" Kat smiled.
"Not very often" Sam would not drop it.
"Well, I don't know what to tell you, I mean, maybe Dad didn't have his Wheaties that morning"
"What else do you remember?" Sam kept pushing and pushing.
"Nothin', I was a kid, all right?" Dean started the engine and they drove to the nearest motel in silence.
After they checked in they all settled down in their room and began to research the case.
"Well, you were right Kat. It wasn't very easy to find, but you were right. A Shtriga is a kind of witch. They're Albanian, but legends about 'em date back to ancient Rome. They feed off of spiritus vitae"
"Spiri-what?" Dean asked.
"Vitae. It's Latin—it translates to "breath of life". Kind of like your life force or essence" Kat continued to flick through John's diary. She knew that Sam had told her earlier that there was nothing about the Shtriga in it but she wanted to double check.
"Didn't the doctor say the kids' bodies were wearin' out?" Dean looked at Kat and she nodded.
" Well if she takes your vitality, maybe your immunity goes to hell, pneumonia takes hold. Anyway, Shtriga's can feed off anyone, but they prefer-" Dean cut her off.
"Children"
"Yeah. Probably because they have stronger life force" Kat frowned at him. He just continued to stare at her.
"And get this guys Shtrigas are invulnerable to all weapons devised by God and man" Sam seemed not to notice the silent conversation between his brother and Kat.
"No. That's not right. She's vulnerable when she feeds" Dean never broke eye contact with Kat.
"What?"
"If you catch her when she's eating, you can blast her with consecrated wrought irons, buckshots, or rounds, I think" Dean spoke matter of factly.
"How do you know that?" Sam questioned.
" Dad told me. I remember" Kat raised her eyebrow.
" Oh. So, uh, anything else Dad might have mentioned?" Sam looked up at Dean.
"No. That's it" Sam stared at him. "What?"
"Nothin'"
" Okay, so, assuming we can kill it when it feeds, we still have find it first, which isn't going be a cakewalk. Shtrigas take on a human disguise when they're not hunting" Kat stood up and walked over to the window.
"What kind of human disguise?" Dean followed her with his eyes.
"Historically, something innocuous it could be anything. But it's usually a feeble old woman, which may be how the whole witches-as-old-crones legend got started" Dean took out a map from his bag.
"Hang on" He told her.
"What is it sweetie?" She placed her hand on his lower back .
" Check this out. I marked down all the addresses of the victims. Now, these are the houses that have been hit so far, and dead centre?" He pointed.
"The hospital" She smiled. She was impressed.
"The hospital. When we were there, I saw a patient—an old woman"
"An old person, huh?" Sam commented from his bed.
" Yeah" Dean continued.
"In the hospital? Whew. Better call the coast guard" He laughed and looked over at Kat expecting her to join in as she normally did.
"I saw her too, she had an inverted cross hanging on her wall Sam" His smile faded.
Sam and Dean had gone to investigate the old lady in the hospital. Kat had stayed behind to continue the research into dealing with the witch once they had caught her feeding. She stood up and began to stretch, she looked out of the window and saw a little boy sitting alone on a bench. She went outside and walked over to the vending machine next to the boy. She placed her money in and began to press the buttons. She collected her chocolate and opened it. She sat next to the boy and handed him a piece of chocolate.
"Hey sweetie, what's wrong?" She smiled at him.
"My brother's sick"
"I'm sorry to hear that, I'm Kat"
"I'm Michael"
"What's wrong with your brother?"
"Pneumonia. He's in the hospital. It's my fault"
"Oh, come on, how?"
"I should've made sure the window was latched. He wouldn't have gotten pneumonia if the window was latched" Kat frowned as she handed him a bit more chocolate.
"Listen to me. I can promise you that this is not your fault, okay?"
"It's my job to look after him"
"I know what you mean; my – friend has a younger brother and he loves him more than anything in the world"
"More than you?" He looked up at her.
"Me?"
"I saw you guys check in, aren't you too married?"
"No sweetie were not"
"But you're in love?"
"... I love him, he loves me but blood is thicker than water"
"Oh ... he looks at you the way my daddy used to look at my mommy"
"Well –"
"Michael" An older woman came outside with her arms full of blankets and pillows; she puts the items in the passenger seat of her car. "I want you to turn on the "No Vacancy" sign while I'm gone. I've got Denise covering room service, so don't bother with any of the rooms"
"I'm going with you"
"Not now, Michael"
" But I gotta see Asher!"
"Hey, Michael sweetie, hey, your moms got a lot she needs to do now so you need to be there for her ok?" He nodded. His mother shut the car door and dropped her purse.
"Dammit!"
" I got it" Kat picked it up and handed it to her. "Here"
" Thanks"
" Hey, listen, you're in no condition to drive. Why don't you let me give you a lift to the hospital, huh?"
"No, I couldn't possibly-"
" No, it's no trouble. I insist" She considered it for a moment, then handed her the keys.
"Thanks" She kissed Michael's forehead." Be good" She got into the car and Kat shut her door.
"Don't worry I'll look after your mom" She smiled. He nodded.
Kat sat on a bench outside the hospital, she took out her phone and dialled Dean's number.
"Hey Dean"
"Hey babe you ok?" She smiled at the sound of his voice.
"I'm fine, a little tired but fine" She twisted a piece of her hair between her fingers.
"How's the kid?" Dean sounded concerned.
"He's not good Dean ... Where are you?" She wanted him with her.
" At the library, i'm lookin' at a photograph right now of a bunch of doctors standing around a kid's bed. One of the doctors is Hydecker"
"And?" Kat sounded confused.
"And this picture was taken in 1893"
"You sure?" Kat stood up.
"Kat! Meet us at the motel do you understand?" He ordered her, he was not going to let her confront it on her own.
"... Yeah" In any normal circumstances she would have gone in their on her own but she knew that this case was important to Dean. She didn't know why but that didn't matter.
By the time Kat arrived the boys were already there and in mid conversation.
"We should have thought of this before. A doctor's a perfect disguise. You're trusted, you can control the whole thing" Kat stated slamming the door.
"Huh. That son of a bitch" Dean looked angry.
"I'm surprised you didn't draw on him right there" Sam looked over to Kat.
"I'm not gonna open fire in a paediatric ward now am I?"
" Good call" Sam was impressed. Self control was rare in a hunter as young as her especially one driven by revenge.
"And it wouldn't have done any good because he's bulletproof unless he's feeding"
"I probably would've just burned a clip in him off of principle alone" Dean joined the conversation.
" Gettin' wise in your old age, Dean" Sam teased.
"Damn right. So now I know how we're gonna get it" He stood up.
"What do you mean?" Kat turned away from Sam to face Dean.
" This Shtriga—it works through siblings, right?" He questioned her. She knew what he was going to say.
"Michael" Kat nodded.
"We gotta get him outta here" Sam shut his laptop.
"No. No, that'd blow the whole deal" Dean told him.
"What?" Sam asked but Kat knew what he was going to suggest.
"He wants us to use the kid as bait" Kat told Sam never taking her eyes off of Dean. He raised his eyebrows in agreement.
" Are you nuts? No! Forget it, that's out of the question" Sam began to get up and make his way over to the living area of their motel room. Kat took a seat on the table.
"It's not out of the question, Sam, it's the only way. If this thing disappears, it could be years before we get another chance" Dean looked to her for support but she said nothing.
"Michael's a kid. And I'm not gonna dangle him in front of that thing like a worm on a hook" Sam looked over to Kat. Why was it always left to her to settle the sibling disputes.
"Dad did not send me here to walk away" Dean told the both of them with conviction.
"Send you here? He didn't send you here, he sent us here" Sam gestured to them all in turn.
"This isn't about you, Sam!" He turned away from both of them. "All right, I'm the one that screwed up. It's my fault. There's no tellin' how many kids have gotten hurt because of me" Kat stood up and placed her hand on his back.
"Dean? Sweetie how is it your fault?" She spoke softly but he stayed silent. Sam sighed heavily. "Dean, you've been hiding something from the get-go. Since when does Dad bail on a hunt? Since when does he let something get away?" Dean turned to face them. He looked down at Kat.
"Dean you can tell us" She smiled.
"Fort Douglas, Wisconsin" He finally spoke after a long silence. "It was the third night in this crap room, and I was climbin' the walls, man. I needed to get some air. I checked on you, you were asleep so I headed outside and over to the arcade across the street. When I got back the Shtriga was sucking the life out of you. Dad burst in and shot at it but it got away. Dad just grabbed us and booked—dropped us off at Pastor Jim's about three hours away. By the time we got back to Fort Douglas, the shtriga disappeared. It was just gone. It never resurfaced until now. Dad never spoke about it again. I didn't ask. But he, uh—he looked at me different, you know—which was worse. Not that I blame him. He gave me an order, and I didn't listen. I almost got you killed" Dean had tears in his eyes.
"You were just a kid" Kat snapped; she hated John and this was the reason why.
"Don't—don't. Dad knew this was unfinished business for me. And he sent me here to finish it" They locked stares. He was an idiot when it came to John.
"But using Michael? I don't know, Dean. I mean, how about one of us hides under the cover, you know, we'll be the bait?" Sam broke the silence.
"No, that won't work. It's gotta get close enough to feed. It'll see us. Believe me, I don't like it. But it's gotta be the kid" He stood up and walked over to the doors with tears in his eyes.
Dean returned from his chat with Michael.
"Well, that went crappy. Now what?" He sat down on the end of the bed that Kat was lying on.
What did you expect? You can't ask an adult to do something like that, much less a kid" She sat up and wrapped her arms around his neck.
"Kat he likes you can't you-"
"No" She cut him off "I can't do that, I'm not going to-" There was a knock at the door. Dean stood up and opened it. It was Michael.
"If you kill it, will Asher get better?" Dean turned and glanced at Kat.
"Honestly sweetie, we don't know" Kat smiled at him.
"You said you're a big brother?" He looked up at Dean.
"Yeah"
" You'd take care of your little brother? You'd do anything for him?" Kat smiled she would have loved a sibling.
"Yeah, I would" He looked over to Sam. Sam smiled at him.
"Me, too. I'll help" Michael looked over to Kat.
"Come on let's go get you a chocolate bar" She stood up and escorted him out of the room.
Kat sat in front of a monitor viewing a live feed from Michael's bedroom, where Dean was setting up the camera.
" Now, this camera has night vision on it, so we'll be able to see as clear as day" Dean reassured Michael. He turned towards the camera. "Are we good Kitkat?"
"Little to the right sweetie!" Dean adjusted the camera "There, there" She turned to face Sam. "You're lucky" She told him.
"I know" He smiled.
"I wish I had a brother to look out for me" She observed the monitor Dean was talking to Michael.
"Well if the job's still vacant I'd like to apply" Sam smiled brightly at her.
"... Your hired" He opened his arms and she stepped in.
"Kat ... I like you"
"I like you too Sam" She laughed.
"No you know what I mean, I know you'll look after us. Me and Dean I mean"
"Of course I will, I promised your mom" She smiled at him.
"Thanks Kat ... it means a lot to have someone who isn't Dean to talk to"
"Well I'm always here for you Sammy ... I get why you can't always talk to Dean so don't worry I can keep my mouth shut" He remembered the incident with bloody Marry and Kat had kept her word and did not tell Dean about Sam's dreams about Jess.
"Thanks Kat" The door opened and Dean stepped in.
"Hey is Michael ok?" Kat asked turning to Dean.
"He's fine, we just gotta wait now" He sat down in Kat's previous seat. She sat on his lap and they all stared at the screen in silence.
Hours past, Dean's hands found their way to Kat's hips, he absentmindedly drew circles and squiggles on her. She rested her head on his shoulder and closed her eyes.
"Asleep already" He whispered to Sam "What time is it?" He checked his watch.
"Three. You sure these iron rounds are gonna work?"
"Consecrated iron rounds. And, yeah, it's what Dad used last time"
"Hey, Dean, I'm sorry" Kat smiled.
" For what?" Dean sounded confused, Kat couldn't see his face but she knew he'd have his eyebrow raised. She thought he was cute when he was confused. Sam sighed.
"Well, you know….I've really given you a lot of crap for always followin' Dad's orders. But I know why you do it" Kat felt a little guilty but the way John had treated Dean in the past infuriated her.
"Oh, God, kill me now" Kat elbowed Dean. "Wait, look"
"What is it?" She sat up. The Shtriga unlocked the window and entered the bedroom. Sam and Dean quietly picked up their guns. The Shtriga stood by the bed for a moment.
"Now?" Sam questioned.
"Not yet" Kat whispered. The Shtriga moved closer to the bed and bent down over Michael, it the began to suck out his life force.
"Now" Kat ordered. They burst into the bedroom. "Hey!"She shouted. The Shtriga turned to face them. " Michael sweetie, get down!"He rolled off the bed and crawled under it. Sam and Dean shot the Shtriga many times and it fell to the ground. "Mike, you all right sweetie?" Kat knelt down and held put her hand towards him. He ran to her and she wrapped her arms around him.
"Yeah" He hugged her tightly.
"Sit tight" Dean nodded at Kat, she winked. He and Sam walked over to the Shtriga, Sam lowered his gun. Suddenly, the Shtriga bolted upright and through Dean into the closet across the room.
"Dean!" Kat and Sam shouted simultaneously. The Shtriga pushed Sam to the ground and began to choke him. Sam attempted to pick up his gun, but he could not reach it. Kat dived towards the gun as the Shtriga lowered its head and began to suck out Sam's life force. Kat aimed it at the Shtriga.
"Hey!" It turned and Dean shot it between the eyes. It fell to the ground again.
"You okay, little brother?" Breathing heavily, Sam gave Dean a thumbs-up. Dean helped Kat to her feet and they looked at the Shtriga's body. Kat and Dean glanced at one another before they both pointed their guns at it and shot it three more times, it disappeared into nothing except a pile of robes on the floor. Kat turns to Michael.
"You alright sweetie?" He nodded and smiles gratefully at her and Dean, they smiles back.
The next morning Dean and Sam had begun loading the trunk of the Impala, Kat came outside and noticed Michael's mother approaching.
"Hey, how's Asher doing?"
"Have you seen Michael?" She ignored Kat's question. Michael came outside.
"Mom, Mom!" He ran to her and threw his arms around her.
"Hey!"
" How's Ash?"
"I've got some good news. Your brother's gonna be fine"
"Really?"
"Yeah, really. No one can explain it. It's a miracle" Michael and Kat exchanged a glance "They're gonna keep him in overnight for observation, but after that, he's comin' home"
"That's great. How are all the other kids doing?" Kat asked her already knowing the answer.
"Good. Real good. A bunch of them should be checkin' out in a few days. Dr. Travis says the ward's gonna be like a ghost town"
"Dr. Travis? What about Dr. Hydecker?"
"Oh, he wasn't in today—must've been sick or something"
"Yeah. Yeah, must have"
"Mm. So, did anything happen while I was gone?"
"No. Same old stuff. Kat here took good care of me" He smiled at her.
"Really? You shouldn't have"
"No he was no trouble really" She ruffled his hair.
" Okay well thanks again. You can go see Ash" She told Michael.
" Now?" He looked from his mom to Kat.
"Only if you want to" He smiled and looked at Kat, she nodded at him.
"Thanks Kat" He reached into his pocket and pulled out a chocolate bar. He handed it to her.
"Your more than welcome sweetie" She knelt down and gave him a big hug. He ran to the car.
"I better get going before he hotwires the car and drives himself" They exchange smiles and she walked away. Dean closed the trunk. Kat made her way over to the boys.
"It's too bad" Sam took the piece of chocolate that Kat held out to him. He nodded in thanks.
"Oh, they'll be fine"
"No, that's not what I meant. I meant Michael. He will always know there are things out there in the dark. He'll never be the same, you know?" Dean and Kat nodded. "Sometimes I wish that…."
"What sweetie?" Kat smiled at him.
"I wish I could have that kind of innocence" Dean turned and watched as Michael and his mother drive out of the parking lot. He turned back to Sam.
"If it means anything, sometimes I wish you could, too" He got into the car. Sam and Kat exchanged smiles and then joined him inside.
""I was sleepin' with my peepers open" Sam burst out laughing remembering the incident from earlier when they had attempted to confront the old lady in the hospital.
"It's not funny Sam I almost smoked that old gal, I swear"
"Oh, Kat, you should've seen his face"
"Yeah, well, laugh it up ... hey where's my chocolate?"