๐ฐ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ since the fire that started it all, since Maeve joined the boys on their adventures. The Impala currently cruises down a country road, with a hunting trio inside, on their way to their next destination. Maeve laid quietly in the backseat as she listened to Sam bitch at Dean about their newest destination; the same destination that John Winchester has sent them on. "Yeah. You probably missed something, that's what." Maeve could practically hear Dean's eye roll as he speaks to Sam. "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 snipped in annoyance, Dean shoots his brother a glare and quietly shushes his brother. Maeve smiles, he was so sweet; trying to be quiet since he thinks she's still asleep. "Yeah, I double checked. It's Fitchburg, Wisconson. Dad wouldn't have sent us coordinates if it wasn't important, Sammy." Sam grunts, throwing the map on the dashboard, clearly getting frustrated. "Well, I'm telling you I looked and all I could find was a big steamy pile of nothing. If Dad's sending us hunting for something, I don't know what."
Sam glares towards his brother, "Well, maybe he's going to meet us there." Dean speaks, trying to be optimistic about it. "Yeah. Cause, he's been so easy to find up to this point." Sam draws out sarcastically, "You're a real smart ass you know that? Don't worry, I'm sure there's something in Fitchburg worth killing." Dean smirks towards his brother, and maybe a decent motel room for him and his lady. "Yeah? What makes you so sure?" Sam asks, "Cause, I'm the oldest, which means I'm always right." Maeve raises a brow and smirks at his statement. "No, it doesn't." Sam cries out, "It totally does." Dean glances at Sammy then looks back at the road with a little grin. "Guess, that means I'm always right when we have an argument, huh babe?" Dean jumps slightly at Maeve as she pops up behind him. Sam snorts lightly, having seen her moving around in the corner of his eye. "Of course, sweetheart. Always." She hums lightly at his words as he gives her a cocky smirk. "Nice save, green eyes." She gives him a kiss on the cheek and begins running her fingers through his hair as Sam shakes his head with a small laugh.
The impala cruises past the sign for Fitchburg, population 20,501.
Ten minutes later, they had stopped at a small diner to get coffee. Sam leans against the Impala staring ahead, Maeve stills sits inside with the door open as she reads the newspaper with a frown on her face. Dean, who had gone inside to grab their caffeine, crosses to the road to the impala, holding three coffees. Glasow's Diner can be seen in the background, he moves downwards; handing Maeve a coffee and giving her a quick kiss while doing it. He pulls away with a smile, before leaning out of the impala and handing Sam a coffee. "Well...the waitress thinks the local freemasons are up to something sneaky, but other than that no one's heard about anything freaky going on." Dean grumbles out in slight annoyance, she had started making small talk with him while he waited; he was just bored to death by it. "Dean, you got the time?" Sam asks, causing Maeve to look up with curious eyes.
Dean nods, looking at his watch. "Ten after Four. Why?" Sam gestures ahead, "What's wrong with this picture." Maeve slips out of the impala to look at what Sam had been watching; a playground. It is deserted, with only one child climbing around. "School's out isn't it?" Maeve asks, looking between the brothers with a worried look. "Yeah. So where is everybody? This place should be crawling with kids right now." A woman sits on a park bench reading a magazine. Dean approaches her, "Sure is quiet out here." She looks up for a moment, giving him a small smile. "Yeah, it's a shame." She breathes out, watching her little girl. "Why's that?" Dean asks, cocking his head to the side. "You know, kids getting sick, it's a terrible thing." She explains, seeming to take notice that he wasn't from around there. "How many?" Dean asks, "Just five or six but serious, hospital serious. A lot of parents are getting pretty anxious. They think it's catching." They both watch the little girl playing by herself for a moment, before Dean moves back towards Maeve and Sam to explain what was going on.
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๐ป๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ the local county hospital, approaching the reception desk slowly as Sam argues with Dean about his ID. "Dude. Dude, I am not using this ID." Sam hisses to his brother, Dean scoffs as Maeve watches them with a small smile. "Why not?" Dean asks, raising a brow towards his brother. "Because it says bikini inspector on it." Maeve snorts slightly as Dean grins in amusement. "Don't worry she won't look that close all right? Hell, she won't even ask to see it. It's all about confidence Sammy." He spins Sam to face the desk and keeps walking, Maeve smacks her lover on the shoulder as he gives her a wink. The receptionist looks up, "Hi. I'm Doctor Jerry Caplin, from diesease control." Sam introduces himself, the lie falling off lips quite easily. "Can I see some ID?" Further down the corridor Dean sniggers and Maeve smacks him again. Sam turns, throwing his brother a dirty look; before giving Maeve a grateful one. "Yeah, of course." Sam flinches, before quickly pulling out the ID and flashing it. The receptionist frowns at him, her eyes barely getting a chance to get a good look.
She did, however, see the words CDC on it. "Now could you direct me to the pediatrics ward please?" She pauses, before giving him a stiff smile. "Okay well, just go down that hall, turn left and up the stairs." Sam approaches a grinning Dean, giving major bitchface. "See. I told you it would work." Sam glares at his brother and growls lowly, "Follow me, it's upstairs." Medusa sniggers slightly at the brothers as she follows after them.
They walk down the corridor, Dean looks into a room they pass. An old evil looking woman sitting in a wheelchair slowly turns her head to look at him. An inverted cross hangs on her wall, and he immediately frowns at the sight. Maeve and Sam stop, taking notice of the man no longer following after them. "Dean!" Sam hisses in annoyance, Dean follows them, glancing back toward the room. "What's wrong?" Maeve asks him, his hand coming to clasp with her. "Nothing. I hope." She frowns, but doesn't question further as they continue onwards. It doesn't take them long to find the main doctor for the wing, he was more than happy to help the trio; hoping that they could figure what was wrong with the children. They follow along with the man, Maeve a little bit behind them as she makes eye contact with something.
She pauses for a moment as the reaper gives her a nod, her heart breaks slightly. She hates hospitals, they just held so much death and she had enough of it through the years. Hell, she probably would be the reason for most of it; if she was still snake hair and stone eyes. She jumps slightly when a hand touches her waist, "Sweetheart? You okay?" She turns to face Dean who has a worried look on his face as his eyes turn towards the empty space she was looking towards. "Yeah, sorry. I just needed a moment." He nods, giving her a gentle smile as his hand moves to brush back her hair. "As long as you're good, that way I don't have to worry about kicking anyone's ass." She laughs as he smiles, glad to have made her happy. "Don't worry, ฯฯ ฯฮฎ ฮผฮฟฯ . We should probably catch up." Dean nods in agreement, grabbing her hand and pulling her along; all the while, making sure to rub the back of her hand in comfort.
The trio walk down the corridor with Doctor Heidecker, the main man who is taking care of the sick children in the hospital wing. "Thanks for seeing us, Dr. Heidecker." Dean starts off, giving the man a nod. "Well, I'm glad you guys are here, I was just about to call CDC myself. How'd you find out anyways?" Dr. Heidecker turns to the trio with a frown on his face. "Oh some GP, I forget his name, he called Atlanta and must have beat you to the punch." The Doctor continues to walk them past the children. "So, you say you got six cases so far?" Maeve asks, her head turning to face the sick children in the beds. The Doctor pauses as well, "Yeah, five weeks. At first we thought it was garden variety bacterial pneumonia. Not that newsworthy. And now..." He sighs, "Now what?" Sam questions, his brows furrowing in slight annoyance and worry. "Kids aren't responding to antibiotics. Their white cell counts keep going down. Their immune systems aren't doing their job. It's like their bodies are wearing out."
Maeve looks towards Dean, who shakes his head in response. It would be to dangerous, to many things could go wrong if she tried what she was thinking. "Excuse me, Dr Heidecker." The Nurse hands him some forms to look over and sign. Sam continues to speak to Heidecker as Dean pulls Maeve away to continue their silent argument. "You ever see anything like this before?" Sam asks, a worried look on his face as he glances towards the couple. Dean had his hands on his hips with a frown on his lips as Maeve glared up at him with her arms crossed. "Never this severe." The Doctor replies as he signs the paper on the clipboard, handing it back to the nurse. She turns to Sam as well with a sad look on her face, "And the way it spreads...that's a new one for me." Dean and Maeve make their way back over, both looking quite upset. "What do you mean?" Sam asks, "It works its way through families. But only the children, one sibling after the other."
"You mind if we interview a few of the kids?" Dean speaks up after a moment of silence, "They're not conscious." The Nurse tells the trio with a shake of her head. "None of them?" Maeve asks, her eyebrow raising at the new information. "No." The trio glance at one another, seeming to have a silent conversation between them. "Can we, uh, can we talk to the parents?" Sam asks, cocking his head to the side. "If you think it will help." The Doctor replies with a nod of his head. "Yeah. Who was your most recent admission?" Sam asks, the Doctor pauses for a moment to think before leading them to a waiting room. A man sits on a chair against the wall, and the Doctor turns towards him; giving the trio the go ahead to move in that direction.
Maeve, Sam and Dean stand in front of him, questioning the man. "I should get back to my girls." The man stands up to move around them, "We understand that, and we really appreciate you talking to us. Now, you say Mary is the oldest?" Sam insisted, holding his hand up and giving him a sad look. "Thirteen." The man responds with a nod, "Ok. And she came down with it first right? And then..." Maeve questions, "Bethany, the next night." The trio frown at the news, "Within 24 hours?" Sam asks, "I guess. Look, I already went through all this with the Doctor." The man sighs, growing annoyed with the trio as they continued to keep him away from his girls. "Just a few more questions if you don't mind. How do you think they caught pneumonia? Were they out in the cold, anything like that?"
"No. We think it was an open window."
"Both times?"
"The first time I don't really remember but the second time for sure. And I know I closed it before I put Bethany to bed."
"So you think she opened it?"
"It's a second story window with a ledge. No one else could have."
Maeve, Sam and Dean walk back down the corridor, making their way towards the exit. "You know this might not be anything supernatural, it might just be pneumonia." Sam speaks up, making a valid point. "Maybe." Maeve starts off, "Or maybe something opened that window. I don't know man, Dad sent us down down here for a reason. I think we may be barking up the right tree." Dean finishes his girlfriend's words as he wraps an arm around her waist. "I'll tell you one thing." Sam sighs, looking down at his shoes with a sad look. "What?" The couple question together, watching him. "That guy we just talked to? I bet it will be a while before he goes home." Dean and Maeve both nod in agreement with Sam's words before the trio make their way outside.
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๐จ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, Maeve, Dean and Sam are checking the room of the sick little girl with an EMF reader. "You got anything over there?" Sam questions, Maeve who is checking out the closet shakes her head as Dean makes his way towards the window. "No, nothing." The couple call out together, "Yeah, me neither." Sam sighs in frustration, they keep checking, Dean had decided to move past the window which causes Sam to move towards it instead, the brother switching spots with fresh eyes. "Hey, Dean? Maeve?" Sam calls out, immediately spotting something that Dean had missed. "Yeah." Maeve replies as they move over to him. Sam is still taring at the windowsill, "You were right, it's not pneumonia." Dean and Maeve come over, the trio staring at a handprint rotted into the wood. "It's rotted. What the hell leaves a handprint like that?" Dean's lips pull into a frown as his eyes grow wide at the sudden memory he was having, he knew this seemed familiar. At the memory, he frowns; a look of guilt passing over his face, which didn't go unnoticed by Maeve who was watching him.
He definitely knew something, but whether he shared it with the class or not, was the real question. Maeve understood what it was like to have those memories of a past that filled her with guilt and shame, and she knew Dean had one of those too. Sam moves to speak up, only stopping when he takes notice of his brother's look. "Dean?" Sam questions, pulling his brother back to reality. "I know why Dad sent us here. He's faced this thing before. He wants us to finish the job." Dean states, his body moving forward as he leads the confused pair outside.
It's dark outside when the Impala pulls up to a motel reception and the trio get out. "So, what the hell is a Shtriga?" Sam asks, cocking his head to the side as he shoots his brother a glare. "Kinda like a witch, I think. I don't know much about them." Dean grumbles out, "Well, I've never heard of it. And it's not in Dad's journal." Sam tells his brother as they move to the trunk of the impala. "Dad hunted one in Fort Douglas, Wisconsin, about 16-17 years ago. You were there, you don't remember?" Dean questions as he frowns in confusion, he really thought Sam would remember. Dean opens the back and starts grabbing items for him and his girl. "No." Sam replies, Dean pauses for a moment, Maeve quickly takes notice of the guilt in his eyes. "Guess, he caught wind the things in Fitzburg now and kicked us the coordinates."
"So wait, this..." Maeve starts off, gaining their attention. "Shtriga." Dean finishes for her, she nods in agreement. "Right, you think it's the same one Dad hunted before?" Sam asks, "Yeah, maybe." Dean shrugs, slamming the trunk after they finish gathering their items. "But, if Dad went after it how come it's still breathing air?" Sam questions, moving to follow his brother and Maeve. The trio stand at the door, "Cause, it got away." Dean grunts out with a small sigh, Maeve raises a brow as Sam's jaw drops. "Got away?" Sam scoffs back, Dean turns towards his brother; starting to get frustrated. "Yeah, Sammy it happens." Dean snips, Maeve looks between them after a moment of silence. "Not very often." Sam continues, "Well, I don't know what to tell ya, maybe Dad didn't have his wheaties that morning." Maeve immediately knew Dean was lying, something happened back then; something bad.
"What else do you remember?" Sam asks, Dean sighs getting defensive about it. "Nothing, I was a kid all right?" Dean and Maeve enter the reception room and rings the bell. A boy of around 10-12 comes from the back room where a younger boy sits watching TV. "A king or two queens?" He asks, the couple make eye contact with each other, silently agreeing to sharing the room for the night. They can have their own next time, for now, sharing with Sam will have to do. "Two queens." Dean replies, giving the boy a small smile. The boy frowns at him for a moment, before his eyes pass over the couple towards the impala where another man was standing. "Nice car!" Dean smirks, his chest puffing slightly with pride as Maeve chuckles lowly.
A woman enters, smiling at them both. "Hi." She greets, eyeing Dean for a moment; before taking note of Maeve and Dean's hands. "Hi." Dean and Maeve greet together, "Checking in?" The woman asks, raising a brow. "Yeah." Maeve utters, the woman turns to the boy with a small smile. "Ahh, do me a favour, go get your brother some dinner." She demands lightly, "I'm helping a guest!" She gives him a look, he grimaces and turns to go, but not before looking at his mother, while raising his eyebrow at Dean and Maeve. "Two queens." Dean gives a fake laugh, "Funny kid." Dean utters out awkwardly as Maeve chuckles. "Oh, yeah. He thinks so. Will that be cash or credit?" She asks, "Do you take mastercard?" She nods, "Perfect. Here you go." Dean watches through the door as the boy pours a glass of milk for his younger brother, his mind flashing back once more to his past.
Maeve watches him for a moment, before her eyes turn towards the woman who had come back into the room with the card. She holds out the card, but Dean isn't paying attention. Maeve gives the woman a small smile, grabbing the card from her. "Thanks." Maeve speaks up, breaking Dean from his trance.
An hour later, Sam sat on one of the beds, on his laptop as Maeve and Dean were looking through journals and papers about this creature. Dean had paused to make himself a cup of coffee, while Maeve moved over to make herself comfortable on their bed. "Well, you were right. It wasn't very easy to find but you were right. Shtriga's is a kind of witch. They're Albanian, but legends about them trace back to ancient rome. They feed off spiritus vitae." Maeve and Dean raise a brow at his words, "Spiri-what?" Dean asks, looking confused. Maeve smiles, before speaking up; she knew some Latin. Most of her language consists of Greek and English, but she had picked up others along the way. "Vitae. It's Latin, translates to 'breath of life'. Kinda like your life force or essence." She utters out, Sam nods in agreement. "Didn't the Doctor say the kids bodies were wearing out?" Dean asks, writing down more notes. "It's a thought. you know she takes your vitality maybe your immunity goes to hell, pneumonia takes hold. Anyway, shtriga's can feed off anyone but they prefer..."
"Children." Maeve speaks up, both brothers looking towards her with sad looks. "Yeah, probably because they have stronger life force. And get this. Shtriga's are 'invulnerable to all weapons devised by God and man.'" Sam replies, "No, that's not right. She's vulnerable when she feeds." Sam and Maeve both turn to Dean with raised eyebrows. He did know something more than what he was letting on, "What?" They ask together, Dean flinches slightly, clearing his throat; making his way over to his bag, pulling out their father's journal. "If you catch her when she's eating you can blast her with concecrated wrought iron. Ahhh...buckshots or rounds I think." Sam squints at his brother, "How do you know that?" He asks, Dean shrugs. "Dad told me. I remember." Maeve snorts slightly as she looks down, Dean shoots her a quick glare as Sam frowns. "Oh. So uh, anything else Dad might have mentioned?" Sam questions, Dean shakes his head; he was such a horrible liar. "Nope, That's it." Sam keeps staring at Dean. "What?" Dean snips slightly, shooting his brother a glare. "Nothing. Okay. So, assuming we can kill it when it eats we gotta find the thing first. It ain't gunna be a cakewalk. Shtriga's take on a human disguise when they're not hunting."
"What kinda human disguise?" Maeve asks, "Historically, something innocuous. Could be anything, but it's usually a feeble old woman, which might be how the witches as old crones legend got started." Dean crosses the room as Sam moves to grab himself a cup of coffee. "Hang on." He starts shuffling through his things again. "What?" Sam asks, Dean grabs a map. "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?" Maeve had moved over to look over his shoulder, "The hospital." She speaks up, raising a brow. "The hospital. When we were there I saw a patient, an old woman." Sam smirks at his brother, "An old person, huh?" Dean pauses for a moment, looking up to glare at his brother. "Yeah." He draws out, Maeve smiles at Sam's teasing. "In a hospital? Phew." He shakes his head and sniggers, "Better call the coast guard." Maeve laughs gently as Dean looks between them, annoyed. "Well, listen smart ass, she had an inverted cross hanging on her wall." Sam quickly looks up, serious and Dean raises an eyebrow at him.
"That took a turn."
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๐บ๐๐๐, ๐ด๐๐๐๐, ๐บ๐๐ and Dean walk down a hallway, quickly ducking back when they see Dr. Heidecker. "Good night, Dr. Heidacker." They hear the voice of the nurse from earlier speak towards the Doctor. "See you tomorrow, Betty." The man replies, "Try and get some sleep." The trio hide until Heidecker passes, then continue onto the old woman's room. They open the door and sneak in, Dean taking the front, Maeve following close behind, Sam hanging back, guns and whip drawn. Maeve, using her snake bracelet that turns into a whip, or staff when she wants; after leaving her sword back in the motel room. The woman is in her wheelchair facing toward the corner, she seems to be sleeping. Dean slowly leans in closer and closer to her face. Maeve moves to hiss words at him, to back up, but is interrupted by the woman herself. Turning her head, "Who the hell are you!" Dean freaks, leaping back against a wall cabinet, pulling his gun up. Maeve quickly slaps her hand over her mouth to keep from laughing at her lovers reaction. "Who's there? You trying to steal my stuff?" She starts grumbling to herself, "They're always stealing around here." Sam moves to turn the light on, that way the trio can see she has cataracts. Maeve gives Dean a look, before she speaks up. "No! Ah, ma'am, we're maintenance. We're sorry. We thought you were sleeping."
"Ahhh, nonsense. I was sleeping with my peepers open." She laughs, then gestures at the wall. "And fix that crucifix would ya? I've asked four damn times already!" Dean, still looking slightly freaked out, taps the crucifix and it swings the right way up. As the trio leave, Sam bursts into laughter as Maeve pushes Dean lightly with a small smile. "Shut up!" He hisses with an annoyed look, but in reality, he was happy to see Maeve smile and even Sam, just a bit.
The Impala pulls up to the hotel, the morning rays shining and Sam was still laughing. Maeve had calmed down, Dean just looked purely annoyed about it. "'I was sleeping with my peepers open?' Bahahahaha." Dean shoves his brother slightly, "I almost smoked that old girl, I swear. It's not funny!" Sam shakes his head lightly, still sniggering. "Oh, man you shoulda seen your face." Sam smirks, Maeve lets out a small laugh herself. "Yeah, I'd never thought I'd see my big tough man so scared of a little old lady." Maeve teases, giving Dean a small shove. "Yeah, laugh it off. Now we're back to square one." Dean pauses, seeing the owners son sitting behind the office looking forlorn. "Hang on." Maeve and Dean move over to the boy, leaving Sam by himself, watching them. "Hey, what's wrong?" Maeve asks, bending down to be eye to eye with the young boy. "My brother's sick." He whispers back, tears gathering in his eyes.
"Little guy?"
"Pneumonia. He's in the hospital. It's my fault..."
"Oh c'mon, how?"
"I shoulda made sure the window was latched. He wouldn't have got pneumonia if the window was latched."
"Listen to me. I can promise you that this is not your fault. Okay?"
"It's my job to look after him."
His mother hurries out of the motel toward her car. "Michael, I want you to turn on the no vacancy sign while I'm gone. I've got Denise covering room service." She calls out to her son, who starts rushing over to her. "I'm going with you." He insists, "Not now, Michael." She says, her face looking like she was carrying the wait of the world on her shoulder. "But, I gotta see Asher!" Michael insisted, Maeve gently pulls him back with a small smile. "Hey, Michael. Hey. I know how you feel, I have a brother, but you gotta go easy on your Mom right now ok?" She utters out, the brothers watching her with small smiles. The woman drops her handbag in her haste, "Damn it!" She curses, Sam moves to help her. "I got it." She tries to smile, but it doesn't work. "Thank you." Dean moves up, "Listen, you're in no condition to drive, why don't you let me give you a lift to the hospital." Dean insists, the woman shakes her head. "No, I couldn't possibly..." Dean gives Maeve a small kiss. "No, I insist. It's no trouble." Dean takes her keys, and she nods. "Thanks." She turns to Michael. "Be good." Dean helps her into her seat, "I'll watch him." Maeve utters out as Dean turns to Sam. "We're going to kill this thing. I want it dead, you hear me?"
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๐พ๐๐๐๐ ๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ the woman to the hospital, Sam had taken the impala to the local library and Maeve stayed at the hotel with the young boy. He had a grand old time, showing her the ropes of running a motel; their day passing by slowly. Maeve felt sorry for the boy, and it made her miss her brother even more, but she could tell he was strong and it would be okay.
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๐บ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ a microfiche machine, picking up his phone as it rings. "Hey." Dean's voice comes through the phone in a slight whisper. "Hey. How's the kid?" Sam asks, as he continues to multitask. "He's not good. Where you at, and Maeve? She didn't pick up her phone." Dean states, he had gotten her one a while back, but she hardly used it. "She's still with the boy, texted me a while back; stating that she was busy. I'm at the library. I've been trying to find out as much as I can about this Shtriga." Dean smiles lightly at the thought of Maeve being with the young boy. "Yeah, what have you got?" He asks Sam who lets out a sigh, "Well, bad news. I started with Fort Douglas around the time you said Dad was there." Sam started, "Yeah?" Dean urges his brother on, "Same deal. Before that there was Ogdenville, before that North Haverbrook and Brockway. Every 15-20 years it hits a new town. Dean this thing is just getting started in Fitzburgh. In all these other places it goes on for months. Dozens of kids before the shtriga finally moves on. The kids languish in comas and then they just die."
"How far back does this thing actually go?" Dean questions his brother, "Ah, I don't know. The earliest mention I could find is this place called, 'Black River Falls.' back in the 1890s. Talk about a horror show... whoa." Dean's voice comes through the phone in concern. "Sam?" There is a small pause, "Hold on... I'm looking at a photgraph right now of a bunch of Doctors standing around a kids bed. One of the Doctors is Heidacker." Sam tells Dean, who frowns, "And?" Dean questions slowly, "And this picture was taken in 1893." Sam replies. "You sure?" Dean asks, his eyes widening in shock. "Yeah. Yeah, absolutely." Dean hangs up and turns to watch Heidecker sitting on Asher's bed. He moves in closer to listen in on their conversation, "Don't worry, your son's in good hands. I'm going to take care of him." Doctor Heidecker tells Asher's mom, giving the woman a small smile.
Heidecker moves toward Dean standing in the doorway. Dean looks ready to slit his throat, "So, what's the CDC come up with so far?" Heidecker asks, raising a brow towards Dean who clears his throat, getting into character. "We're still working on a few theories. You'll know something as soon as we do." Dean tells him, "Well, nothings more important to me than these kids. Let me know if I can help." Dean nods, giving him a sarcastic smile. "I'll do that."
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๐ฉ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, Dean had stopped by the reception area to grab Maeve. When he knocks, it took a minute before Michael answers. "Oh, it's you." The boy grumbles out causing Dean to snort, giving him a laugh as he ruffles the boys hair. "Where's my girl, kid?" Michael smiles, before stepping aside to allow Dean inside, he makes his way towards the back; where the sound of TV leading him. He smiles slightly, his body relaxing and his eyes softening when he spots Maeve passed out on the couch with a book on her chest. "She passed out after helping me keep the customers in check." Dean nods, moving over to pick her up; the book dropping on the floor in the process. She hums slightly as her body curls up in his arms, "Thanks, I'll see you later. Your brother and mom are fine." Michael nods with a sad look on his face, before Dean makes his way to the exit; heading back to the motel room just as Sam pulls in. "Another spontaneous nap?" Sam asks, letting out a small laugh as Dean nods; Sam opens the door, allowing them to go in first.
"We should have thought of this before. A Doctor's a perfect disguise. You're trusted, you can control the whole thing." Sam states as Dean moves to place a sleeping Maeve on their bed. "That son of a bitch." Dean grunts out, his lips quickly moving to give Maeve a quick kiss, before turning back to his brother. "I'm surprised you didn't draw on him right there." Sam murmurs, raising a brow at Dean. "Yeah well, first of all, I'm not going to open fire in a pediatrics ward." He snips back, Sam smirks slightly and shakes his head. "Good call." Maeve speaks up, causing both brother to jump at the sound. They turn to see her sitting up crisscrossed and yawning into her hand. Dean smiles gently, Sam watching the two with a small smile; he had noticed that the more he watched them, the more his heart began to hurt. He just didn't know why, "Second, it wouldn't have done any good. The bastards bullet proof unless he's chowing down on something. And third, I wasn't packing, which is probably a good thing cause I probably would have burned a clip in him on principle alone."
"You're getting wise in your old age Dean." Sam teases, Maeve lets out a small laugh; "Don't worry, you still look great." He points towards her with a wink and a click of his tongue. "Damn right." He turns back towards his brother. "Cause, now I know how we're going to get it." Sam cocks his head, "What do you mean?" Maeve and Sam questioned in unison, "Shtriga, works through siblings right?" Dean points out, as he questions; Maeve and Sam nod in agreement. "Right." Sam draws out slowly, "Well, last night.." Maeve's eyes widen in realization and slight horror for the poor boy. "It went after Asher." She breaths out, "So, I'm thinking tonight it's probably gunna come after Michael." Dean finishes, giving his girlfriend a nod. "Well, we gotta get him outta here." Sam calls out, a worried look falling onto his face. "No. No, that would blow the whole deal." Dean insisted, "What?" Sam questions with a scoff, he couldn't believe what his brother was suggesting. "Yeah." Dean nods back, Maeve stays quiet; as much as she didn't feel comfortable with the idea, she knew it was the most likely scenario they'd have a chance to get this thing. "You wanna use the kid as bait? Are you nuts? No! Forget it. That's out of the question."
"It's not out of the question, I could use one of my runes to protect the kid." Dean shakes his head at her words, "No, that's out of the question. Sam, it's the only way. If this thing disappears it could be years before we get another chance." Maeve throws up her hands in annoyance, "Dean, you know I'm powerful when I remove runes; it'll be a secondary precaution incase.." Dean spins to face her with a glare as Sam shakes his head, "No! We've been over this, removing those runes can kill you, why do you want to do everything in your power to do so, are you trying to die?! Or are you just stupid?" Dean snaps, a moment of silence passes through the motel room as his eyes widen in horror. Maeve had looked away, while Sam winces slightly at his words. "I'm sorry, sweetheart. I didn't mean it..." She just shook her head and held her hand up, "Don't. Look, Michael's a kid. And I'm not going to dangle him in front of that thing like a worm on a hook without protection. So, with or without your permission; I'm going to protect that little boy." She snarls, her eyes flashing a green color as she stands and leaves the room.
The brothers flinching at the sound, "Great." Dean mutters, letting out a sad sigh as he moves to sit down on the bed. "Dean, what is going on? Ever since we stopped here, you've been acting off; and now, snapping at Maeve..." Sam draws off, giving Dean a moment to reflect on his choices. He gives another sigh, before speaking up. "Dad did not send me here to walk away." Sam looks confused as he takes a seat across from his brother, "Send you here? He didn't send you here, he sent us." Sam insists, "This isn't about you, Sam. I'm the one who screwed up, all right. It's my fault. There's no telling how many kids have gotten hurt because of me." Dean grumbles out, running a hand through his hair; his thoughts running a million miles from him. "What are you saying, Dean, how is it your fault?" Sam questions, there is a long pause of silence between the brothers. Sam sighs, "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? Now talk to me man. Tell me what's going on..."
"Fort Douglas WIsconsin. It was our third night in this crap room and I was climbing the walls man. I needed to get some air..."
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ด๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐, her head in her hands as her body shakes. Maybe she was trying to kill herself, the thought had definitely crossed her mind more than once. Would it matter if she wasn't? The moment she burns off the last rune, she'll become the monster she knows she truly is, and Dean would be the first one to hunt her down and kill her. Soulmate or not, and Sam wouldn't be too far behind him, making sure he finishes the job. "You know you can't run forever." Maeve jumps slightly at the sound of his voice, she knows he's not there, but the tears still come to the surface. "I know, but what else am I supposed to do. Just hide somewhere and rot away?" She snaps, looking towards her hallucination. The man smiles softly and shakes his head, his hand reaching to brush back her hair. She slightly leans into the phantom touch of his, "No, but I'm not the one you should be asking that question too. Find him, he'll help you; and maybe kick that Winchester boy in the ass for saying stupid shit to you." She lets out a small laugh as a tear rolls down her cheek. "You always knew just what to say... I'm sorry for kill..." He shushes her with a smile, "I love you, my little flower and I'll always be here when you need me." Just like that, he disappeared and a sob escaped her lips as her head lowered in mourning.
"I love you too, dad."
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ซ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, to his brother what had happened that day. "Dad just grabbed us and booked. Dropped us off at Pastor Jim's about three hours away, but by the time he got back to Fort Douglas the shtriga had disappeared, it was just gone. It never surfaced until now. Dad never spoke about it again, I didn't ask. But he...ah...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 was mentally kicking himself in the ass, Sam sighs before speaking softly towards his brother. "You were just a kid." Sam tries to explain, to keep the burden off his brother's shoulders, but nothing he ever says would keep the weight of the world of Dean Winchester's shoulders. "Don't. Don't. Dad knew this was unfinished business for me. He sent me here to finish it."
"But using Michael, I don't know Dean. I mean, how bout one of us hides under the covers, we be the bait." Sam sighs, "Besides, we need Maeve." Dean grunts as he moves to stand again, he knew he needed to apologize to his girl. She was everything to him, and if she was upset with him then what was the point. "Yeah, I know. But no, it 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 grunts out, before making his way outside to go apologize to his lady. The moment he stepped outside, she quickly stood up, wiping her eyes and turning away from him. "Maeve, sweetheart." She pauses, waiting for him to move closer, he grabs her hand and pulls her to face him. "I'm sorry, I shouldn't have said that; I'm just worried about you." She sighs, but nods in understanding. "I'm still doing this, whether you like it or not. He needs to be protected." Dean takes in a deep breath before nodding, "Fine. Just this once." She gives him a small smile and kisses him, "Thank you for trusting me."
Five minutes later, the trio stand in front of Michael who is holding the phone up in a defensive manner. "You're crazy! Just go away or I'm calling the cops." He yells out, Maeve sighs as Dean groans in annoyance. He really hates it when people don't listen, "Hang on a second. Just listen to me. You have to believe me ok? This thing came through the window and it attacked your brother. I've seen it. I know what it looks like. Cause it attacked my brother once too." Maeve looks between the brothers with a raised eyebrow, to which Sam shoots her a 'I'll explain later,' one back. Michael looks between them, slowly hanging up the phone. "This thing...is it...like...it has this long...black robe?" Dean and Sam make eye contact with one another, "You saw it last night, didn't you?" Maeve questions the young boy. "I thought I was having a nightmare." He whispers back, tears gathering in his eyes. "I'd give anything not to tell you this, but sometimes nightmares are real and the monsters that come with them." Maeve explains to him, Dean frowns at her words; he really wished she would see herself in a better light.
"So, why are you telling me?"
"Because we need your help."
"My help?"
"We can kill it. Me and him that's what we do, but we can't do it without you."
"What? No!"
"Michael listen to me. This thing hurt Asher. And it's going to keep hurting kids unless we stop it, understand me?" Michael stares at Dean, horrified. He pauses for a moment, before shaking his head and pointing towards the door. "Get out." The trio shoot each other looks, before they make their way outside and head back to their motel room.
Entering the room, Dean sighs, "Well, that went crappy." He grunts out, Sam scoffs in response. "What did you expect? You can't ask an adult to do something like that, much less a kid." He snips slightly towards his brother with a glare as Maeve plops herself down on the bed. She crosses one of her legs and leans back on her hands with a small smirk, "Just wait for it, boys." There is a knock at the door, Dean and Sam shooting Maeve a confused look, moving over to open the door. It is Michael, he pushes his way inside. "If you kill it, will Asher get better?" He questions, his eyes not leaving Maeve's, because he knows she'll tell him the truth.
"Honestly? We don't know." She responds, Michael sighs, looking up at Dean with a determined look.
"You're a big brother, right?" Dean nods, his face slightly confused. "You'd take care of your little brother? You'd do anything for him?"
Dean looks towards Sam with a grin, "Yeah, I would and I wouldn't let anything touch my girl either." Michael lets out a small laugh as he makes up his mind. "Me too. I'll help." Maeve grins in amusement at the duo as they shake hands with each other, while Sam scoffs with an eye roll.
Boys will be boys.
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ณ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐, Dean completes hooking up a security camera in the corner of the room, staring into the lense. Michael is behind him in bed, with Maeve holding his arm as he winces in pain. Sam is watching the security feed in the other room, he couldn't help, but let his eyes wonder over something that wasn't his and it made him feel like shit. Dean looks to Michael, "This camera has night vision on it so we'll be able to see clear as day." He then faces the camera, lifting his voice for his brother to hear next door. "Are we good?" He calls out, "A hair to the right." Dean adjusts the camera, "There, there." Sam shouts, causing him to stop. Michael sighs as he fidgets around, finally pulling his arm back from Maeve who gives him a small smile. "What do I do?" He asks, Dean moves to sit on his bed, grabbing Maeve's hand. "Just stay under the covers." He tells the young boy, "And if it shows up?"
"We'll be right in the next room. The boys will come in with guns. So, as soon as we do you roll off this bed and you crawl under it; this rune I've placed on your body will put a protective seal around you, but it only lasts for a few minutes so we'll be sure to stop it before then." Michael nods, wincing slightly at the new tattoo like symbol on his body. After a few minutes of watching Maeve and Dean argue with one another, she mentioned that she could transfer a protection rune to the young boy, but it won't last long. Dean had given her a look saying that he was super pissed about it, exclaiming that she should've brought that up earlier; to which she replied she forgot since it was the only rune she is able to transfer. While, all of the runes on her body do have to be removed for her to use her powers; including that one, there is a technicality with the protection one; she could only transfer it over once. Not that she would tell Dean that right now, because the moment another person needs help; she'll have to remove it.
He definitely won't be happy about it either, when the time comes.
"What if it doesn't work and they shoot me?" The boy asks, looking between the trio. "We won't shoot you. We're good shots and Maeve is the best at protecting so don't doubt her work." Maeve's heart soars at his words as she smiles at him. Too bad she partially lying about the rune, guess she'll have to ask for his forgiveness later. "We're not going to fire until you're clear ok? Have you heard a gunshot before?" Dean asks him, "Like in the movies?" Michael questions, Dean laughs slightly, before he nods. "It's gunna be a lot louder than in the movies. So I want you to stay under the bed, cover your ears, do notcome out until we say so. Understand?" Michael nods slowly, looking scared. "Michael, you sure you wanna do this?" Maeve asks, Michael doesn't answer for a long moment.
"You don't have to, it's ok, I won't be mad." Dean insisted, speaking up after Maeve who gives him a small smile. "No, I'm ok. Just don't shoot me." Michael gives Dean a small smile, Dean laughs softly before pulling the boy into a quick hug. "We're not going to let anything happen to you, I promise you."
Two hours later, Sam and Dean sit watching the security camera feed. "What time is it?" Maeve asks, she is sitting crisscrossed on one of the beds, waiting for the right time. "Almost 3. Are you sure these iron rounds are gunna work?" Sam answered, turning to Dean to ask his question. "Consecrated iron rounds, and yeah it's what Dad used last time." Dean explains again, his eyes not leaving the screen in front of him. "Hey, Dean; I'm sorry." Sam speaks up, a moment of silence falls between them as Maeve opens an eye to look at her boyfriend. After taking note of his confused look, she closes it again to continue her concentration. Her hair; now sits in a high ponytail, "For what?" Dean asks, cocking his head, eyes finally leaving the screen. "You know, I've really given you a lot of crap, for always following Dad's orders. But, I know why you do it." They sit in silence for a moment, Dean running back to the screen. Sam goes to speak again, but is interrupted by Dean. "Wait, look."
There is movement outside the window, soon enough, it slides open. Sam and Dean pick up their guns, Maeve's eyes begin to glow as she puts her hand out to use the protection rune. The Shtriga is inside Michael's room, "Now?" Sam asks, looking towards Dean in confirmation. "Not yet." The shtriga moves closer and leans over the bed, Michael is terrified but frozen, unable to move. The shtriga leans closer and opens his mouth, going to draw Michael's energy only to be blasted back by a force field. Dean and Sam burst in as it flies across the room and slams into the wall. "Hey!" Sam shouts, gaining its attention. "Michael, now!" Dean calls out, Michael rolls off and runs towards Maeve, who had appeared in the door just after the thing hit the wall. The moment the shield activated and was used, she was able to break the connection and rush in to help the boys.
She grabs for Michael, placing him behind herself to shield him as Sam and Dean open fire, shooting the Shtriga multiple times each. It falls to the ground, "Sweetheart, Mike, you two all right?" Dean calls out, the duo nodding together in response. "Yeah." They call out, "Just sit tight." Dean approaches the shtriga, gun at the ready. There is no movement, he relaxes slightly and glances at Sam. The shtriga suddenly rises, grabs Dean by the throat and throws him against the wall. "Dean! Sam! Behind you!" Maeve calls out, her eyes widening in horror as the Shtriga moves and throws Sam to the ground, falling on him and forcing his mouth open. Sam stuggles to reach his gun. The shtriga begins drawing his energy and Sam stills and starts going grey. "Hey!" The shtriga looks up and Dean shoots it between the eyes. He falls backwards and Sam lays gasping for breath, Maeve rushing over to check on them. "You ok little brother?"
Sam nods, they both pull themselves to their feet and look to the Shtriga. The energy the shtriga stole begins to escape from it's mouth. Dean raises his gun, shooting it three more times at point blank range. It falls in on itself, disintergrating. Michael peeks in from the doorway, causing Maeve to let out a small laugh. "It's ok Michael, you can come on out." She calls towards him, the brothers turning to face the boy with relieved smiles. Michael comes to stand beside them, Dean places his hand on Michael's shoulder and gives the kid a proud look.
๐๐๐๐๐๐๐๐
๐ป๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐, Maeve, Dean and Sam are packing the Impala ready to head out. Joanna comes out of the back of reception, giving the trio a small smile. "Joanna. How's Asher doing?" Dean asks the woman, she ignores his question, looking for her other child. "Have you seen Michael?" She asks, the said boy in question comes running up after her words. "Mom! Mom!" His body slams into hers, causing everyone to smile. "Hey!" She replies, a relieved look on her face as the trio watch with smiles. Dean slipping his hand into Maeve's, giving her a small smile; to which she responds with one. Sam watches with a small stiff smile, "How's Ash?" They all turn back towards the mother and son, "Got some good news. Your brother's going to be fine." Michael grins, looking towards the trio who nod back in reassurance. "Really?" Michael asks, looking back up at his mom. "Yeah, really. No one can explain it, it's a miracle. They're going to keep him in overnight for observation and then he's coming home."
"That's great." Maeve breathes out, "How are all the other kids doing?" Sam questions, raising a brow towards the woman. She gives him a nod, "Good. Real good. A bunch of them should be checking out in a few days. Dr. Travis says the ward's going to be like a ghost town." Sam acts surprised about the news of the change in doctors. "Dr. Travis? What about Dr. Heidacker?" He asks, cocking his head. "Oh, he wasn't in today. Must have been sick or something." Joanna frowns slightly at her own words, as if she didn't believe them herself as Dean scoffs. "Yeah. Must have." He mutters lowly. Joanna turns to Michael, "So, did anything happen while I was gone?" The young boy glances at the trio. "Nah, Same old stuff." The boy shrugs, Joanna smiles and lets out a small laugh. "Ok. You can go see Ash." Michael grows excited and starts to bounce up and down. "Now?"
"Only if you want to." Michael runs to the car, the trio laugh at the sight of his excitement. "I'd better get going before he hot wires the car and drives himself." Saying goodbye, she leaves; Maeve, Sam and Dean turn back to the Impala. "It's too bad." Sam calls out over the hood of the car, "Oh, they'll be fine." Dean grunts out, opening the door for Maeve to climb into the back. "That's not what I meant. I meant Michael. He'll always know there are things out there in the dark, he'll never be the Same, you know?" There is a long pause as the trio think on it. "Sometimes I wish that..." Sam sighs, "What...?" Dean raises a brow towards his brother. "I wish I could have that kinda innocence." They watch Joanna and Michael drive away. Dean sighs, speaking slowly, "If it means anything, sometimes I wish you could too."
They exchange a look, Dean climbs in the car and starts the engine. Sam follows and they pull out of the motel car park and back onto the freeway.
โ๐๐ช, ๐๐ฆ๐ช๐ค.
๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ฃ๐ช, ๐'๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ช ๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ค ๐ค๐ฅ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐๐๐ฅ. ๐๐ ๐ฆ'๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ฅ๐๐ฃ ๐ค๐ ๐๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐, ๐๐ฅ ๐จ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐จ ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฅ; ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ฅ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ฅ ๐๐ ๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฆ๐๐ค ๐ ๐ง๐๐ฃ ๐๐๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐ฃ.
๐ธ๐๐ช๐จ๐๐ช, ๐ ๐๐ ๐ก๐ ๐ช'๐๐๐ ๐๐๐๐ ๐ช!
๐ธ๐๐ ๐'๐ ๐ฅ๐ฃ๐ช๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐๐๐ฆ๐ฃ๐ ๐ ๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ ๐จ ๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ฃ๐๐๐ ๐ธ๐๐จ๐ ๐๐, ๐ ๐จ๐ ๐ฆ๐๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ช ๐๐ก๐ก๐ฃ๐๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐ ๐ค๐ฆ๐ก๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ ๐๐ช ๐๐๐๐ฅ๐ ๐ ๐ง๐๐๐๐ ๐ค, ๐๐ฆ๐ฅ ๐๐ ๐ช๐ ๐ฆ ๐๐ ๐'๐ฅ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐ฅ; ๐ฅ๐๐๐ช ๐๐ฃ๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ค๐ฅ๐๐๐ฃ๐๐.
๐ธ๐๐ค๐ , ๐ค๐ก๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ฅ ๐๐ก๐ก๐๐๐ฃ๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ช ๐๐๐๐ง๐'๐ค '๐๐๐ฅ๐๐๐ฃ' ๐จ๐๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ง๐ ๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ก๐๐๐ช๐๐ ๐๐ช ๐๐๐๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ค๐ ๐.
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ช๐ ๐ฆ ๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฃ ๐ฅ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ง๐ ๐๐๐ ๐ค๐ฆ๐ก๐ก๐ ๐ฃ๐ฅ ๐ ๐ ๐๐๐ฃ๐!!
๐ ๐๐ ๐ง๐ ๐ช๐ ๐ฆ ๐๐๐!!
๐ ๐๐ฆ๐ค๐ฅ ๐๐ ๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ ๐ค๐๐๐ฅ๐ฅ๐ช ๐๐๐๐ ๐ฅ๐๐๐ฅ ๐๐๐๐ก๐ค ๐๐๐๐๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ ๐๐ช ๐๐ค๐ค...
๐๐๐๐๐ ๐ช๐ ๐ฆ ๐๐๐๐๐!
๐ก,๐๐๐ ๐๐ ๐ฃ๐๐ค