It's early morning and Sam is sitting in the kitchen, the only light coming from the hallway. Athena is on his lap, the girl still partly asleep as she still wakes up. She's become extra cuddly with Sam lately and is even still sleeping in her parents' bed since the whole Michael thing.
Sam and Larissa aren't sure why Athena has a sudden attachment to him, both assuming it's just a phase or something to do with her trauma.
"Morning, sunshine." Dean greets, walking in.
"Hey." Sam says.
"What you looking at? Porn? Sex tapes? Nip slips?" Dean asks.
"The internet is more than just naked people. You do know that, right?" Sam asks.
"Not my internet." Dean says.
"Also, what kind of person looks at any of that with their child in their lap?" Sam asks as Dean sits across from him.
"Very, very... very twisted people." Dean says.
"All right. Check this out." Sam says. "Ears." He tells Athena and she puts her hands over her ears. "So, this girl -- her body was found just outside Big Creek State Park in Iowa. Uh, covered in bite marks. The police are saying it's an animal attack."
"But...?" Dean urges.
"But I did some digging, and I found out that there weren't a lot of bodies, but a lot of people do go missing in that park. Look at this. Park ranger back in '06. A poacher in '98. And on and on and on. I mean, I've only gone back to 1943, and I've already found 54 missing people."
"Wow." Dean comments.
"Yeah." Sam mumbles.
"Yeah. Sounds like our kind of thing. You sure you're up for it? I mean, I know you wanted to take some time." Dean says.
"No, I-I'm-- I'm good. Honestly, I-I'm good." Sam says. He gently pulls Athena's hands away from her ears, it now safe for her to hear.
"All right. Well, let's hit it." Dean says.
"You got it. I'll grab Cas and tell Lissy." Sam says.
"Mm. He actually left." Dean informs.
"What?" Sam asks.
"Early this morning." Dean says.
"Why?" Sam asks.
"I don't know. Something about being cooped up in the bunker for a few weeks. We all need to stretch our legs. I get it." Dean says.
"All right. Uh, then, Jack." Sam says.
"Uh... I don't want Jack on this." Dean says.
"I thought you said Donatello gave him the all clear?" Sam asks.
"Yeah, he did. And I'm-I'm sure he's good. But... Jack's got his mojo back. His powers have gotten us in trouble in the past -- the security guard. So I just want to make sure that, you know, he's right before we put him back out there."
"Yeah. Yeah." Sam says. "So just us and Lissy."
"Sounds like a deal." Dean says.
"Do I go?" Athena asks.
"Yeah. Yeah, you're coming. You're just not going face to face with a monster." Sam says.
"I'm okay with that." Athena yawns. Sam kisses her on the head.
+++
They're at the police station and Sam is holding Athena.
"I'm sorry. I just don't really see how this is an FBI thing." Sheriff Romero says.
"Wildlife preserve is government property. We're the government." Dean says.
"Yeah, well, it is a large piece of land -- coyotes, rough terrain. We try to limit hikers to the trails, but some of them don't listen." Romero says.
"Okay, but the girl who died, she wasn't a hiker." Sam says.
"Do you know what happened to her?" Dean asks.
"Like I said, coyotes." Romero says.
"You know, do you mind if we take a look at the body?" Sam asks.
"Do I have a choice?" Romero asks.
"Not really." Dean says, the five leaving.
Romero leads them out and to the morgue. Larissa stays outside the room with Athena while the brothers study the body.
+++
"Kohonta." Sam says.
"Gesundheit." Dean says.
"No, not-- Kohonta. It's a-- it's a local Native American legend. I can't find much about it, but they're sort of... twisted monsters that roam the woods "driven to consume sweet mortal flesh."" Sam explains.
"You think this is our Hot Lips?" Dean asks.
"Could be. I mean, according to the lore, Kohonta get so starving, they spit up stomach acid." Sam says.
"Mm. Gross." Dean says.
"Yeah. If that is our monster, it's old... and... hungry." Sam says.
+++
They're at the crime scene after somebody else went missing last night and they're interviewing the person the victim was with. Larissa glances over at the Impala, seeing Athena still focused on the game she's playing on Larissa's phone.
"But did-- did they find him?" Sara asks.
"No, not yet." Dean says.
"Sara, what did you see out there?" Sam asks.
"There was this guy. I think it was a guy. He looked like he was covered in something. And... he was whistling. I ran, but Fitz, he..." Sara trails off.
"Can you tell us exactly where you were when this thing attacked you?" Sam asks.
"I think... a few miles past the old Parker cabin." She says.
"Parker?" Dean asks.
Romero pulls up, blaring his siren.
"Okay, wrap it up!" Romero calls, getting out.
"Sheriff, we've got a search party out there." The deputy says.
"Not anymore. You're bringing everybody in. Now." Romero orders.
"What's going on?" Dean asks.
"What does it look like? We're done here. I'm not wasting time and money hunting for a rabid coyote." Romero says.
"Okay, sheriff, this wasn't an animal attack." Sam says.
"Then what was it?" Romero asks.
"Look, if you want to pull your men out of there, that's fine. But we still need to get in there." Dean says.
"It's not happening. Look, I don't care if you guys are the FBI. Nobody goes in those woods without my say-so. Understood?"
"Mm-hmm." Dean nods and Sam hums.
"Good." Romero says.
"Well, we should probably do what he says." Dean says.
"Oh, yeah. Definitely." Sam says.
"You guys either really suck at lying or I just know you too well." Larissa says.
"I'd go with the second one." Dean says.
"Looks like you and Thena are sleeping alone tonight. Well, some of it, anyway." Sam says.
"Mm. Our favorite way to sleep." She remarks, Sam able to hear the sarcasm in her voice.
"You'll have me back before you know it." Sam says, leaning down and kissing her on the cheek.
"Look, if you guys just wanna shoot me and put me out of my single misery, then just go ahead." Dean complains.
"We could really make him wanna barf." Larissa quietly says, grinning. Sam glances around before kissing Larissa, cupping her face.
"You know what? Never mind. I'll-- I'll just go kill me myself." Dean says.
+++
Dean is driving with Sam in the passenger seat. Athena is asleep in her booster seat and Larissa is sitting next to her.
"So, telling the kid -- you think that's the best idea?" Dean asks.
"What? You don't?" Sam asks.
"It doesn't make his life any better, you know? Do what we always do. When in doubt, lie." Dean says.
"Yeah, right. Like we did with Jack?" Sam asks.
"I took care of it, okay? We took care of it." Dean says.
"No, no, Dean. We did not take care of it. You did. And do you think you really took care of it the right way?" Sam asks.
"Jack said he was fine." Dean says.
"Yeah. He's a kid. And when we were kids, how many times did we tell dad that we were fine just to make him happy?" Sam asks.
"Oh, God." Larissa groans.
"What?" Sam asks, turning to her, glancing at her stomach, concerned.
"Athena's a teenager in seven years." Larissa says. "And a tween in four."
"Oh, God." Sam mutters, turning to face the front again. "Oh, God." He repeats, running his hands over his face.
"Well... you two have fun with that." Dean laughs.
+++
They get back to the bunker and Jack is in the library and researching.
"Hey, kid. We're back. You still at it?" Dean asks.
"Almost there. How was the hunt?" Jack asks.
"Oh. Uh... disgusting." Dean says.
"Oh. Well, I got the supplies. Except for the beer. I didn't have ID." Jack says.
"You have tons of IDs." Dean says.
"They're fake." Jack says making Larissa snort.
"Jack... listen. Dean, Lissy, and I, we-- we want to talk to you about your powers." Sam says.
"What about them?" Jack asks.
"This hunt, we, uh... we didn't want you coming along because we didn't want you using them." Dean says.
"Not yet. Not for now. You know, you just got 'em back, Jack. We want to make sure you're comfortable with them again before you..."
"Before you go all X-Men." Dean says. "It was shitty of us not to tell you."
"Swear jar." Athena says. Dean rolls his eyes.
"You know, we were trying to be nice. Cause we care about you. But because we care about you, you deserve the truth." Dean tells Jack.
"You understand that?" Sam asks. "Jack?"
"I understand. I won't use my powers without permission. Promise." Jack says.
"Great. And I guess I'll go get some beer." Dean says before starting to leave.
"Hey." Athena calls. "Swear jar." She holds her hand out expectantly. Dean rolls his eyes, digging around in his pockets until he pulls out a quarter. He gives her the quarter making her grin.
Dean leaves the bunker, grumbling under his breath about stupid swear jars and annoying children.
"What about everything else? You good? I mean, anything happen while we were gone?" Sam asks.
"No. Nothing." Jack says.
"Good." Sam nods. Larissa takes his hand, leading him out of the library.
"You wanna play?" Athena asks Jack with a hopeful smile.
"Uh... yeah. Yeah, sure." Jack nods. Athena grins, grabbing his hand and dragging him to her room.