sparks fly, sam winchester [ 2 ]

022. child soul sucker

They get to a town that John sent them on a case for. Miranda and Sam are leaning against the Impala.

Dean walks over, three coffees in hand.

"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 says, giving Sam and Miranda their coffees.

"Dean, you got the time?" Sam asks.

"Ten after four. Why?" Dean asks.

"What's wrong with this picture?" Sam nods to the park where only one kid is playing.

"School's out, isn't it?" Dean asks.

"Yeah." Miranda nods.

"So, where is everybody? This place should be crawling with kids right now." Sam says.

+++

"Dude. Dude, I am not using this ID." Sam hisses as the three walk into the hospital.

"Why not?" Dean asks.

"Cause it says bikini inspector on it." Sam states. Miranda snorts.

"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." Dean spins Sam to face the front desk, Dean and Miranda continuing to walk a bit away.

"Hi. I'm Doctor Jerry Caplin, Centers for Disease Control." Sam says.

"Can I see some ID?" The receptionist asks.

Sam glares at Dean.

"Yeah, of course." Sam awkwardly smiles. He quickly shows her the ID, his thumb covering the bikini inspector part. "Now, could you direct me to the pediatrics ward, please?"

"Okay, well, just go down that hall, turn left, and up the stairs." The receptionist informs. Sam nods in thanks, walking to his brother and girlfriend.

"See. I told you it would work." Dean says with a grin.

"I mean, hey, you would inspect my bikini any time we went swimming, so..." Miranda shrugs.

"I wasn't inspecting the bikini, I was inspecting what the bikini doesn't cover." Sam remarks. "Follow me. It's upstairs." He grumbles.

They get upstairs and walk down the corridor.

"Dean!" Sam calls when he realizes the older one stopped. Dean quickly catches up to them.

"Well, thanks for seeing us, Dr. Hydecker." Dean tells him.

"Well, I'm glad you guys are here. I was just about to call CDC myself. How'd you find out anyways?" Hydecker asks.

"Oh, some GP, I forget his name, he called Atlanta and, uh, he must've beat you to the punch." Dean says.

"So, you say you got six cases so far?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, five weeks. At first we thought it was garden variety bacterial pneumonia -- not that newsworthy. But now..."

"Now what?" Miranda asks.

"The kids aren't responding to antibiotics. Their white cell counts keep going down. Their immune systems just aren't doing their job. It's like their bodies are... wearing out." Hydecker says.

"Excuse me, Dr. Hydecker." A nurse gives him some forms.

"You ever see anything like this before?" Sam asks.

"Never this severe." Hydecker says.

"And the way it spreads... that's a new one for me." The nurse says.