It had been nearly a week since Cas just randomly showed up with Mack and then disappeared again. They had helped Bobby get his soul back from Crowley by threatening to burn his bones. Mack hadn't said a word all week and she flinched away any time Dean tried to get close to her. He wished Cas had stuck around for a little while to fill them in on what happened to her, since she didn't seem to want to talk about it. They had just found reports of six girls going missing in seven days, which was more disappearances than the city had seen in over a year- all the same age. "Well, six directions to go here," Dean looked at Sam. "Pick a number."
"Seven," Sam answered. "Another call just came in today." Dean raised his eyebrows, and they climbed into the Impala. He glanced in the rearview mirror at Mack. She was staring blankly out the window at the scenery. It looked so wrong, especially since she didn't have Skittles in her lap. The rabbit had gotten lost in the chaos before the mess at Stull Cemetery and they hadn't bothered replacing it afterwards. Sighing, he started the car, taking off for the house where the latest girl who disappeared had lived.
"Kristin's a good kid," her father told them when they arrived. "A little naive, sure… You try to be a good parent. Girls are hard." Dean glanced at Mack, "Don't I know it…" Mack was hanging back, seeming almost fearful to get near him or Sam. "Just wait until she gets older," Kristin's father told him. He could only nod, lost in thought about what could have possibly happened to Mack during those eight months. "Well, we'd just like to find your daughter," Sam assured Kristin's father. He paused, gesturing to the stairs. "Last door on your left."
"Thanks," Dean told him. They headed up to Kristin's room, Sam giving a quick glance back at her father. Kristin's room was vastly different from the rest of the house. Where everywhere else was painted in pastels and decorated in non-descript furniture, her room was painted blood red and was covered in vampire posters. Vampire and gothic accessories adorned every surface, including a couple throw pillows on the bed with pictures of vampires on them.
Behind her father and uncle, Mack had begun to hyperventilate looking around the room. Her mind immediately went to the three vampires the Vastra had saved her from almost a couple weeks back. "Oh, it is so much worse," Dean muttered, looking around at everything. "Vampires?" Sam snorted. "Ah, these aren't vampires, man, these…" Sam closed the door, revealing a full-sized cut out of a teen heartthrob 'vampire'. "These are douchebags."
"Yeah," Sam agreed. He noticed Mack freaking out, but ignored it. Dean was still focused on the decor around the room and hadn't noticed yet. "Wow," Dean shook his head. Sam went over to the bed, flipping back covers until he found a blood-red laptop. "Aha. Alright," he took the computer over to the desk. "Let's see what we can see." Dean finally spotted Mack freaking out by the door. "Bug?" He moved closer to her and she flinched back from him. He swallowed.
"Hey… hey, it's alright," he assured her, keeping his tone gentle. "You're safe, Mack. Look at me." Her eyes, which had been frantically scanning around the room, locked onto his. "Hey… Just breathe, okay? Slow, deep breaths." Sam opened the laptop and it made a screaming noise and a picture of an intense-looking fake vampire popped up. When the scream rang out, Mack flinched violently. "It's okay, bug. Look at me. Just focus on me. Slow, deep breaths." Dean continued coaching her as Sam started trying to guess Kristin's password.
"Dean, would you keep it down? Need to concentrate here," Sam called over. "Oh, I'm sorry, I'm just trying to calm my daughter down from an anxiety attack," Dean quipped, glaring at his brother. Mack shrunk back at his tone, and he immediately realized his mistake. "Sorry… Sorry, bug. Just keep breathing. You're alright." Sam tried a number of different passwords, and each time he got it wrong, the scream sounded again. "Hey, how many 't's are there in Pattins-" the laptop accepted the password before Sam could finish. "That's it. We're in! Ha!"
"Great, you find out what you can, I'm gonna get Mack outside," Dean told him. He opened the door and Mack immediately bolted from the room, tearing down the stairs. "Mack! Mckinley!" He rushed after her and out the front door. "Mckinley!" He found her on her hands and knees in the front yard, throwing up into the bushes. He approached her slowly, scared to upset her further. "Mack? Hey, sweetheart." He put his hand on her back, intending to provide some form of comfort. She flinched away, backing away from him on her hands and knees with wide, fear-filled eyes. He held out his hands placatingly.
"Hey. Hey, it's okay. It's just me," he reassured her. What the hell happened to her? She wasn't hyperventilating any more, but was shaking as she cowered in the grass, staring up at him. He knelt down, trying to get closer to her level so he wasn't towering over her. "It's just Daddy, bug. I'm not gonna hurt you, I promise." Her eyes darted over his face, as if searching for anything that could negate his words. He swallowed, keeping his expression calm as he waited. She didn't move closer or say anything, but she slowly stopped shaking, relaxing in the grass. "That's it. See? You're perfectly safe, Mack," he told her.
Just then, Sam came outside, causing Mack to tense up again. Dean glared up at his brother for undoing what little progress he'd made. "Hey. So, according to Kristin's emails, some guy wanted to meet her at a place called the Black Rose. Could be just your standard perv, or it could be a legit vampire preying on an unsuspecting, willing victim. I say we head there, check it out." Dean fought to keep his anger from showing through for Mack's sake. "Okay, awesome. Let me just finish up and we'll go."
"Great." Sam headed to the Impala without so much as a glance at Mack, climbing into the passenger seat to wait. Dean let out a slow breath, refocusing on his daughter. "Alright, Mack. I need you to listen to me, okay, baby? We gotta check out this lead. Do you want me to drop you off at a motel while Uncle Sammy and I go?" She immediately shook her head no. "Okay. Okay," he nodded, immediately trying to calm her down. "We won't do that, I promise. Do you wanna just stay in the car while we go in?" She took a moment to consider that option, then slowly nodded her head yes.
"Alright, we'll do that then. Do you wanna sit here for a minute?" Again, she took her time to consider, then shook her head no. "Okay, do you wanna go to the car first?" he gave her another option. Nodding, she pushed herself to her feet. He waited until she'd climbed into the backseat and then stood, heading over to get into the driver's seat. He glanced back at her in the mirror. She had pulled her knees to her chest and was staring out the window silently.
Sam and Dean sat at a table together in the Black Rose. "Well, you wanted Emo chicks, I think we hit ground zero," Dean said as a waitress in a rubber suit gave them their drinks. He was sticking with club soda while Sam had ordered a beer. "Thank you," he told her. "You think she wears all that rubber to the beach?" Sam ignored him, canvassing the bar. "When was the last time we had a drink together, anyway?"
"There," Sam nodded at a couple. They studied the teenage boy in a black coat and dog collar chatting up a pretty teenage girl. "Whaddaya think? He's hittin' on her hard enough. Real?" Dean shrugged, "I dunno. It's hard to tell." He looked around the bar, spotting two other potential couples. "Hey, we got multiple choice." Sam frowned. "Great. Three of them and two of us." Just then, one of the potential candidates kissed another guy. Dean took a minute to process what he was seeing. "Okay. Make that two of them."
Sam noticed one of the guys escorting the girl he was talking to outside. "One's on the move," he noted. The other one began to leave with his girl as well. "Alright. You go with Efron, I'll take Bieber," Dean quipped. They split up, each taking one couple. Dean followed his to the alley, telling the girl to get scarce while he confronted the guy- who was just some punk teen with fake fangs. "Take those out. Take 'em out!" The boy complied. "Oh, for the love of… What're you twelve?" Dean looked closer at the boy. "Are you wearing glitter?"
"I only do it to get laid, man!" the boy said. Dean raised his eyebrows. "Does it work?" The boy shrugged, nodding slightly. "I'll be damned. Alright, mmbop your way outta here. Go, go!" The boy ran off, and Dean yelled after him. "And use a condom!" A voice sounded from the shadows behind Dean as he started to walk away. "You're pretty…" He turned, finding himself face-to-face with a hispanic man with long, curly black hair. "I'm sorry?" Dean asked.
"I said…" the man repeated, "you're pretty." Dean took a step back. "Yeah, sorry again, pal. Kinda already taken." The man grabbed Dean, launching him into the air. He flew into the nearby dumpster, rolling off into a pile of garbage bags. He took a few moments to recover, vision blurry. As the man lazily approached him, he grabbed a nearby pipe and took a swing. The man easily dodged his attack and soon had Dean pinned against the dumpster, punching him into submission.
During the attack, Sam walked into the alley, surveying the situation, and running forward a few steps. Then he stopped, and just watched, a strange fascination in his eyes. The man- vampire- kept Dean pinned with his right arm, just below his throat, and brought his own wrist to his fangs and bit it. Dean was helpless, unable to move, as the vampire smeared his blood over his mouth. He made a guttural sound of protest, but couldn't do anything to defend himself. At the other end of the alley, Sam's mouth twitched in a smirk, waiting until he was sure Dean had swallowed some of the blood before charging in with his machete.
"No!" he cried. The vamp released Dean, who crumpled to the ground. Sam and the vamp sized each other up for a moment, and then Sam slashed with his machete, which the vamp deftly evaded. He laughed, making a 'bye-bye' wave before running away and climbing up the wall and escaping. "Sammy," Dean said weakly. Sam turned to his brother, plastering on what he hoped was a shocked, concerned look. He helped Dean back to the Impala where Mack was waiting.
Dean couldn't hear himself think. Everything was so loud. The drive to the motel was excruciating- Mack had started having another panic attack when he and Sam arrived back at the car and it was distracting as hell. He only just barely restrained himself from getting into the backseat and drinking her blood. Sam, on the other hand, was totally calm as he pulled into the motel parking lot and helped him inside. After arguing with Sam about how Samuel would be killing him, he snuck out to go to Lisa and Ben's house.
He got distracted outside because he could hear Mack still in the backseat of the Impala. She was still in the midst of a full blown panic attack. He stopped, fighting the urge to go to her. That was his daughter. If he hurt her… Breathing deeply, he ran off, heading to his original destination. He made his way into the house, heading to Lisa's room. He stood in the corner, just watching her sleep. A dog barked outside, waking her up. She spotted Dean and sat up, startled. "Dean," she said. "Hey," he greeted her.
She turned on the nightstand lamp and he turned his head away, blinded by the light. "Hey. I wasn't expecting you for a few days," she told him. "Yeah, yeah… I wanted to see you." Dean walked over, gingerly sitting on the edge of the bed. "What's up? Are you okay?" she asked. "Listen…" he started, unsure about how to proceed. He could tell by the way her heart rate increased slightly that she was starting to pick up that something was wrong. "What's going on?"
"It doesn't matter. But I need you to know… you and Ben… just, uh… Thanks. Okay? For everything." Lisa slid from under the covers, heart rate increasing even more. "Dean, you're scaring me." He could smell her blood, the fact that she wasn't wearing much not helping the situation. He clenched his jaw, trying to ignore it, and got up, walking away a few steps. "Oh, God, I'm Pattinson," he muttered. "What?" she asked. "Nothing. I… I gotta go…"
"No, you can't just show up like this and-" He tried to get away from her even as she got out of the bed and moved closer. "Believe me, I wish it was different," he lamented. "Just stop, and explain to me what's going on out there," Lisa begged. "Lisa, I can't bring this crap home to you," Dean told her miserably. "You're talking about your work?" she tried to understand. "I'm talking about my life. It's ugly… and it's violent… and I'm gonna die- soon."
"Just tell me. Just tell me what the hell is going on…" Lisa grabbed his arms. Dean stared at her, listening to her heartbeat, and couldn't stand it any longer. He grabbed her shoulders, slamming her into the wall hard enough that the picture frames hanging there shook. Her heart rate skyrocketed and Dean's eyes narrowed as he moved in close, her bosom heaving. His mouth started straying closer to her throat, but at the last minute, he turned the other direction as his new fangs descended. "Dean?"
"I gotta go…" He fled the room, covering his mouth with his hand. Ben emerged from his room, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Dean…?" he asked, confused. "Ben, just stay there," Dean commanded. "I thought I heard you-" Ben continued. "I said stay back!" Dean pushed Ben into the wall, tearing out of the house. Behind him, Lisa pulled Ben to safety.
Mack had finally managed to calm down from her panic attack and had joined Sam and Samuel in the motel room. She wouldn't get close to either of them, staying in the corner. She sat with her knees pulled to her chest, rocking slightly as she tried to process everything that was happening. Her father was a vampire. He was going to have to die… They were going to have to kill him. She was getting worked up again. She felt like it was her fault. If she had just done something, helped instead of staying in the Impala, then maybe she could have prevented this from happening.
Useless little bitch. Good for nothing. It's all your fault. Her uncle and great-grandfather were discussing something, but she wasn't processing a word of it. "Can't keep track of your brother now?" Samuel asked. "Well, I didn't think he'd just-" Sam tried defending himself. "He's not himself, Sam. He's a monster and he's hungry. You gotta be prepared to do the right thing."
"I told you he'd kill me when he showed up."
They both looked over to see Dean hunched against a cabinet in the dark. In the opposite corner, Mack had tuned back into the conversation at the sound of her father's voice. Samuel and her uncle both drew their machetes. "Did you feed?" Samuel asked. "I went to say goodbye to Lisa… which, for the record, was a lousy idea." Samuel got stern, "Dean, answer the question." Dean looked up, meeting his eyes. "You can relax, I didn't 'drink' anyone."
"Thank God," Samuel breathed. "But I came close," Dean stood, removing his jacket. He glanced subtly over at his daughter in the corner. "Alright. Do it." Samuel nodded, "Okay… if you insist… or I can just turn you back." Dean blinked. "What?"
"What?!" Sam echoed a second later, the question sounding forced. Samuel gave him an odd look, then turned his attention back to Dean. "I didn't drive all this way to kill you, Dean… I came to save you."
After Dean made a trip into the nest to get some of the blood of the vamp that turned him, Samuel was able to make the cure to turn him human again. "If this works, you know it's not gonna be a kiddy ride, you know that," Samuel told him. "That's great. Light her up." Sam piped up, trying not to sound too eager and failing, "So, what'd you see in there?" Dean squinted at him. "What?" Sam pressed, "In the nest. What'd you see?" Dean shook his head, "Sam, I can't hear you- you're blood's so frickin' loud, okay? Just- just back off."
Mack was watching from her corner with wide eyes. Samuel poured the concoction into a coffee mug. "Alright, gimme the damn cure," Dean held out his hand. Samuel handed him the mug, and he sniffed it, recoiling. He grimaced, lifting the mug, "L'chaim…" He chugged the cure messily, trying to keep it down. Nothing happened, and he spit a little back out. "I don't think it-" He suddenly spun, projectile vomiting what appeared to be blood into a nearby wastebasket. "Is it working?" Sam asked. "Either that, or he's dying," Samuel replied, drawing his machete. Dean finished vomiting, struggling to breathe. He lifted his head, clutching his stomach and moaning. His fangs descended and his eyes were bloodshot as he started to see everything that happened in reverse.
What happened while he was in the nest… Pushing Ben and nearly attacking Lisa… Having to restrain himself from going to Mack in the Impala… Arguing with Sam… Him and Sam in the alley after he was turned… Sam fighting Boris… Boris smearing the blood over his mouth… Sam watching the attack… Boris roughing him up against the dumpster… And finally, Sam's mouth ticking upward in a smirk as he watched Dean get turned. His eyes flew open, back to normal. Everything was back to a normal volume again.
He blinked a few times, struggling to sit up. Sam and Samuel rushed over to help him. As Sam patted him on the chest, he eyed him, realizing his brother threw him under the bus. Remembering Mack and the state of panic she'd spent nearly the entire case in, he looked over at her frantically. Her chin rested on top of her knees and she was staring unseeingly at the ground in front of her, clearly checked out.