It's been a week and a half since Serena was born, the family still not getting out much aside from walks that Sam and Miranda take the kids on to get them some sun.
Currently, Dean is standing at the wall of research while Miranda rocks Wyatt to try to get him to fall asleep, the boy not getting much last night. Sam walks in and puts duffel bags on the table.
"Dean, you know, um... I wonder if-- if we-- I mean, should we be telling people? I mean, people he knew." Sam says.
"How long ago did I give Frank these numbers? It's been a few weeks, right? What, is he nuts or is he just being rude?" Dean asks.
"Probably both. Dean, I-I got to ask you a question." Sam says.
"Unless, of course, something happened to him. He can't get to the phone because a leviathan ate his face." Dean says.
"Yeah, also a possibility." Sam says.
"We should go check on him." Dean says.
"Dean, do you want to call Bobby's people or not?"
"W-why is-- why is that our job?" Dean asks.
"Because who else is gonna do it?" Sam asks.
"I'm not calling anybody. If you want to, you go right ahead." Dean says.
"I don't want to call anybody. You kidding me?" Sam scoffs.
A phone from one of the bags rings.
"Well, I'm not getting it." Dean says.
Wyatt stirs in his mom's arms, the blonde gently shushing him and combing through his hair.
Sam finds the phone and answers it.
"Hello?" He asks. "Uh, oh. He's, uh... i-i-it's not, but I'm a friend of his." Sam says. "He's... not here, but, look, if you need s--"
"Who was it?" Dean asks.
"Just some kid." Sam says.
"For Bobby? Girl Scout cookies?" Dean asks.
"I think maybe... maybe a-a hunter's kid? I mean, she sounded pretty scared. You know, I have caller ID. Maybe we should go find her. We-- we can go check on her." Sam says.
"What about Frank?" Dean asks.
"Well, Dean, I think we should go find this girl first." Sam says.
"Sam, Frank's been working on the numbers that Bobby spent his last breath on, and you want to back burner that?"
"Fine. You go check out Girl Scout. I'll find Frank."
"Fine. But you know what? On one condition, if Frank is just spinning his wheels, then you bail out on crazy and come meet me."
"And thanks for drinking my entire beer." Dean says.
"I didn't touch your beer. Mine's right there." Sam points to the kitchen table. Dean looks at Miranda.
"I can't drink beer right now, idiot." Miranda says.
"You probably drank it without noticing." Sam says.
"Right." Dean mumbles.
"You go ahead. I'll stay here." Miranda says.
"Wha-- are-- are you sure?" Sam frowns.
"Yeah. The kids don't need to deal with everything and I'm not really in the mood to take a one and a half week old on a road trip." She says. "Go ahead."
"Okay. Just-- call me." Sam tells her. "You know, for-- for anything."
"I will. Go." Miranda tells him.
"You're okay with this?" He asks.
"If it was one of my kids, I'd want somebody to check on them. Go."
Sam pecks her on the lips and then kisses Wyatt on the head.
+++
It's nighttime and Sam is driving the car to their next case. Dean and the kids are all asleep and Miranda is on the brink of falling asleep.
Dean wakes up, letting out a small groan making Sam glance at him.
"Morning." Sam says.
"Hey." Dean mutters. He takes a flask out, unscrewing the cap, and drinking from it.
"Is that Bobby's?" Sam asks.
"Yeah, mine sprung a leak." Dean says.
"You know, most people would just carry a-a photo or something for a memento." Sam says.
"Shut up, man. I'm-I'm-- I'm honoring the guy, all right? This is, uh, grief therapy, kind of like you and your wild goose chase." Dean says.
"Wild goose chase?"
"Yeah."
"Four guys murdered in two weeks, hands and feet cut off."
"Yeah, well, some guy with a foot fetish run amuck."
"Grown men thrown so hard they went through walls. Did you-- did you even read the article?" Sam tosses a newspaper at Dean.
"No, I was napping." Dean says.
"What else you got going on? Dick Roman's a dead end for now, you might as well--"
"Stay busy."
"Exactly."
"Yeah."
+++
"Fascinating. Truly." The professor says. "And actually, rather accomplished draftsmanship."
"Yeah, if you get past the fact that it was carved into a guy's body." Dean says.
"Professor Morrison, we're hoping you can tell us what the symbol means." Sam says.
"Uh, maybe." The professor says.
"It's possible I could, even likely. Is the FBI offering suitable remuneration?" He asks.
"The respect of a grateful nation." Sam says.
"And a good word with the I.R.S." Dean adds.
"Ah. Well, it appears quite ancient." The professor says.
"Well, that narrows it down." Dean mutters.
"A corrupted version of symbology associated with worship. Definitely an obscure regional script. Oh, this will require some research." Professor Morrison says.
"All right. Great. Well, uh, I guess we'll be seeing you tomorrow." Sam says.
"Tomorrow?" Morrison laughs. "I've spent entire sabbaticals on a project like this."
"Professor. We have a serial killer on our hands." Dean says.
"Your government needs you, sir." Sam says.
"Gentlemen, lady. My housekeeper needs a green card." Professor Morrison says.
~ ~ ~
"Good God, where'd you find this guy?" Dean asks as they leave the professor's office.
"He's supposed to be a top expert in his field." Sam says.
"Yeah, well, when his field includes things that go bump in the night, he's gonna be worth the breath we just wasted." Dean says.
"So, what are we supposed to do, Dean? Spin our wheels?" Sam asks. He stops and turns to Dean. "Dean, you know what? I want to call him, too, okay? Believe me. But Bobby's not here. So we're settling."
"Yeah. We sure are." Dean looks at his phone. "Damn it, why hasn't she called?"
"Who? Lydia? Wait, so some girl's actually dumping you the morning after?" Sam asks.
"Oh, please. I'm sure all the girls have dumped him and he's just lied about it." Miranda scoffs.
"No they don't. Plus, I think you are enjoying this a little more than you need to." Dean says. "Fuck it. I'm going over there and getting the flask." He says and leaves.
+++
"Hey, where are you? It's a flask, not the holy grail." Sam tells Dean over the phone. "No. Not yet. Look, would you get back here? We're due at the crime lab." He tells Dean. "Dean?" He calls. "You there? Hello!" He takes the phone away from his ear. "He hung up on me."
"Shocker." Miranda says.
"Okay, well, I-- do you wanna go to the morgue or me?" Sam asks.
"I don't know. Can you produce milk?"
"I go. Got it." Sam kisses her on top of the head.
+++
"So what? I mean, so maybe she has another kid she didn't tell you about." Sam tells Dean as the two walk into the hotel room.
"Daddy!" The two older ones race to Sam.
"Hey, kiddos." He smiles and picks both of them up.
"Nope. Just the one -- Emma. But that night, when I was with her, she didn't have any. And I was at her place, man. There was no playpens, no blankets, no rubber ducks." Dean says.
"Right. Like you would have been focused on that kind of thing." Sam scoffs
"Hey, dude, that's the first thing you notice. Red flags." Dean says. Sam scoffs.
"That is not a red flag." Miranda scoffs. "I mean, long as the kid ain't there, single parents are allowed to have sex as they please. You're a red flag."
"Shut up." Dean tells her. "Then, all of a sudden, boom -- baby." He takes two beers out of the fridge.
"Yeah, the one you thought talked." Sam says, getting on his laptop.
"Oh, it talked. And not baby talk, either." Dean says, giving Sam a beer.
"Now you know so much about child development?" Sam asks.
"Um, hello..." Dean motions the his nieces and nephew.
"Says the guy who made a five and two year old fend for themselves by stuffing them with candy and chips while their parents were at the hospital to deliver their sibling." Miranda rolls her eyes.
"Look, Emma was younger than -- or the first two, at least -- and I know at that age, those two weren't capable enough to say, "Hey, mom, who's that guy?" So, cut to..." He sits down, shutting Sam's laptop. "Lydia's handing this kid who's calling her mommy over to these two women, right? But this is not a baby. No, no, this kid's, like, Carly's age. And same name -- Emma."
"You know, George Foreman named all his sons George."
"Are you deliberately messing with me?" Dean asks and Sam shrugs. "Dude, I know weird. Okay? There is no non-weird explanation for this. This morning, Emma was a baby. By sunset, she's Hannah Montana. Early years."
Sam's phone rings.
"It's the professor." He says.
"Oh. Good. The professor. Yeah, I'm sure he'll crack this wide open." Dean remarks.
Sam shushes his brother as he answers the phone.
+++
The three are sitting in seats in the lecture theater as Professor Morrison stands at the front by a projector screen that's showing the symbol that was carved on the chests of the victims. Sam has Carly on his lap, trying to keep her occupied with her coloring book. Miranda has Wyatt on her lap, the boy cuddling into her chest, wanting to move around although she doesn't let him. Serena is in her car seat and asleep.
"You know, identifying the scroll was no day at the beach. Lesser scholars would have crumbled." Professor Morrison says.
"I forgot how boring college could be." Miranda mumbles to herself, hearing her son giggle.
"Professor... the symbol?" Sam asks.
"Yeah. Yeah, it's ancient, regional. Very difficult to identify. But I managed to find a match." Professor Morrison says. He changes the screen to an ancient Greek building. "It's a variation of a symbol associated with the Greek Pantheon, the temple of the goddess Harmonia. According to the myth, the coupling of Harmonia and Ares, the God of War, produced by the Amazons."
"The Amazons?" Sam asks.
"Like Wonder Woman?" Dean asks.
"No, like-- like a tribe of warriors. They actually existed. The comic books, they're just silly perversions. The symbol--" He changes the screen to show a symbol of two women kneeling around a large urn and there's a person on a horse.
"I believe it originated with the Amazons. Pictographs meant to pay homage to Harmonia -- occult talismans, if you will. They had an exclusively female culture. No use for men whatsoever, except procreation."
"All the vics were male." Sam says.
"So you said... with this symbol carved in their chests." Professor Morrison says, changing the screen. There's a diagram of two composite parts of the symbol and they're added together to make it the symbol.
"And their hands and feet cut off." Sam says.
"Now, that is interesting." Professor Morrison says.
"Got our attention." Dean says.
The screen switches to naked women hunters with crossbows and they're pointing them at men who are hung upside down over a fire.
"After they were impregnated, they killed the male. First cutting off certain body parts." Professor Morrison says.
+++
"I know Bobby's got a Grecian encyclopedia of weird in here. I saw it last time I was looking through this stupid... would it kill him to have a system?" Dean asks.
"He has a system. His files are set up like his brain." Sam says.
"You got anything?" Dean asks, drinking from his flask.
"Uh, yeah. There's this whole crazy side to Amazon lore that Professor Morrison didn't even mention." Sam says.
"That's cause he doesn't believe n it, which is a real handicap when you're trying to deal with it." Dean says.
"Right. Um, apparently, there was this long, bloody war. The Amazon population was decimated, so they made a bargain with Harmonia to replenish their ranks and make them stronger."
"Well, I'd say throwing grown men through walls was stronger."
"Yeah. Well, basically, they became more than human. Harmonia turned them into monsters."
"Can you kill them like humans? Or is there some kind of trick?"
"Uh, doesn't say. No idea. I guess it could go either way."
"Well, that's helpful. What else?"
"The lore says they reproduced quickly. As in, after mating, they gave birth within 36 hours. The babies grew incredibly fast, then the aging process became normal. Which is one way to make an army, I guess. The mating cycle is every two years. They send out all the women who have reached child bearing age."
"Which lines up, cause this happens every couple of years in different towns, right?"
"Yeah. And we know for sure that at least some of the vics hooked up with strange women days before being killed Amazon style."
"Hooked up in the same bar I met Lydia, right?"
"Yeah."
"And then suddenly... she's got a little baby in, like, fruit fly time. Their baby turns into a little girl just as fast."
"Wow. So maybe you're-- you're, uh..."
"Don't say it."
"Look, if that kid's yours--" Sam starts.
"I said don't say it!" Dean exclaims.
"Dean... dude, seriously, a one night stand, you're just gonna... roll the dice? You don't even--" Sam says.
"Of course not, Sam. What, do you think I'm brain dead?" Dean asks. "Accidents happen. If one even did, which I-I-I don't think--" He stops. He smiles a little. "No. You know what? We're-- stop. We're not gonna talk about this anymore because my skin's starting to crawl."
"All right, fine. But if it's true, if it happened..." Sam says.
"I know. I got to hang on to my hands and feet." Dean says.
+++
"Looking through Bobby's files is like dumpster diving." Dean says.
"Yeah, tell me about it. So, it makes sense why, uh, why the Amazons all want to hook up with decent looking, successful guys." Sam says.
"Oh, they're picky about the gene pool?" Dean asks.
"Right. So... what was Lydia doing with you?" Sam asks.
"Well, she may or may not have thought I was a rich investment banker." Dean says making Miranda roll her eyes. "Guys." He calls.
"Yeah?" Sam asks.
"These papers just moved." Dean says.
"What?" Sam asks.
"I didn't touch them." Dean says.
Sam gets his EMF meter out, it immediately spiking.
"It's all over the place." Sam walks over to the bed. "Redline. Redline." He walks to the window. "Oh, and... power lines by the open window where there's a breeze..." He turns the meter off. "That could have moved the papers."
"Did you feel a breeze?" Dean asks.
"It doesn't matter, Dean. The readings are useless."
"Hey. Maybe, uh..." Dean holds the flask up.
"We burned him, Dean."
"So what?"
"So, what are you suggesting?"
"I don't know. What are you?"
"Concentrate on something else."
"Why?"
"Because it's not Bobby!"
"Could be."
"No, it couldn't be."
"Why not?"
"Because we want it to be!" Sam shouts. He grabs a piece of parchment off the bed.
"Maybe it's useful." Dean says.
"It's in a pile of maybe it's useful. Besides, it's in Greek. Nobody reads Greek." Sam says.
"Greeks read Greek." Miranda states making Sam give her a bitch face.
"You know what I meant." He says.
"Oh, and Bobby." Dean adds.
"And Professor Morrison." Sam says.
"Really?" Dean asks.
"We're going, Dean. You stay here, keep the door locked. Don't go anywhere. I mean it." Sam says.
"Fine." Dean says.
"Well, I'm going back to our room." Miranda says, putting Serena in the car seat and picking Wyatt up. "Come on, baby." She tells Carly who gets up.
"What? You don't wanna stay and protect me?" Dean remarks.
"No." She answers.
+++
Sam is driving and Dean is sitting in the passenger seat. The kids are asleep, Miranda stroking Carly's hair, it being hard to get the girl to fall back asleep. Emma had found Dean and Sam ended up shooting her since it didn't seem like Dean was going to. They went to the Amazons' hideout to kill them, but all of the Amazons were already gone by time they got there.
"Hey, you know what? I don't like it, either. I wanted to torch 'em just as much as you guys. Yeah, but, hey... next time they surface, we'll be ready. If we live that long." Dean says. Sam doesn't say anything. "All right, fine. Just sit there and be pissed."
"What did you say to me... when I was the one who choked? What did you say about Amy? "You kill the monster!"" Sam states.
"I was going to!" Dean insists.
"Guys." Miranda mumbles, not wanting the kids to get woken up.
"Oh, the hell you were! You think I'm an idiot?" Sam asks.
"What, you think I am?" Dean asks.
"Dean, you were gonna let her walk!"
"No, I wasn't. That's ridiculous!"
"Look, man, she was not yours. Not really."
"Actually, she, uh, she was, really. She just also happened to be a crazy man killing monster. But, uh, hey."
"You know what? Bobby was right. Your head's not in it, man. When Cas died, you were wobbly, but now..."
"Now what? Oh, what, you're dealing with it so perfect? Yeah, news flash, you're just as screwed up as I am! You're just... bigger."
"What?!" Sam asks, giving Dean a confused look.
"I don't know." Dean says.
"Look... Dean, the thing is, tonight... it almost got you killed. Now, I don't care how you deal. I really, really don't. But just don't-- don't get killed." Sam says.
"I'll do what I can." Dean says.
"Well, what's that supposed to mean?" Sam asks.
"It means I'll do what I can. All right? You can shut up about it." Dean says.