Sam, Dean and Hayden rode in the impala together on another trip.
"Yeah, you probably missed something. That's why." Dean said.
"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 replied.
"Yeah. I double checked. It's Fitchburg, Wisconsin. Dad wouldn't have sent us coordinates if it wasn't important Sammy." Dean said.
"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 argued.
"Well maybe he's gonna meet us there." Dean said.
Sam chuckled. "Yeah, cause he's been so easy to find up to this point." He said.
"You're a real smartass you know that. Don't worry. I'm sure there's something in Fitchburg worth killing." Dean said.
Hayden just looked between the two from her seat in the back as they conversated.
"Yeah? What makes you so sure?" Sam asked.
"Because I'm the oldest, which means I'm always right." Dean replied.
"No it doesn't." Sam argues.
"It totally does." Dean quickly replied.
The two shot looks at one another before Dean smiled to himself.
The three rode past two signs. One read 'Fitchburg POP. 20,501'. The other one, which was a much bigger sign that read:
A place to call home
Fitchburg Wisc❤️nsin
.
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.
"Ooh! Daddy can we go to that park?" Hayden asked. Dean looked around and spotted a cafe right across the street from the park.
"Yeah. We can." He said thinking this was a good place to start asking around to seeing if anything out of the ordinary was happening. Also, there was a place to keep Hayden occupied. Two birds, one stone.
Dean parked the car and Hayden happily jumped out and ran to the park. There was only one little girl there. So Hayden approached her.
"Hi! I'm Hayden." She said.
"I'm Sarah." The girl said.
"Wanna play with me?" Hayden asked. The girl smiled big and nodded. She had been the only one at the park and she was sad because of that. The two girls ran around laughing , screaming and playing.
Dean smiled to himself before turning to Sam.
"I'm gonna go ask around to see if something's been going on. Keep an eye on her." He said before heading to the cafe.
"Get me a coffee!" Sam yelled to him.
"How old are you Sarah?" Hayden asked.
"I'm 6. I'm in the first grade." She said.
"Me too." Hayden smiled.
"You're in the first grade like me?" Sarah asked.
"No. I don't go to school." Hayden shook her head.
"Oh. Why not?" Sarah asked.
"Me and my daddy move around a lot. So I can't." Hayden shrugged.
"Oh." Sarah said. Hayden looked around and started to get confused. She was sure parks were supposed to be filled with kids. That's how it was at all the parks she's been to before, but this one was deserted.
"So why are you playing alone?" She asked Sarah.
"My friends are sick in the hospital. My friends that aren't sick, their mommies keep them at home so they don't get sick." She explained. Hayden paused.
"They're all sick?" Hayden asked.
"Yep. Mommy doesn't let me play outside for long because I might get sick too." Sarah said. Hayden nodded and continued playing. She pushed back the icky feeling she got and decided to enjoy her short time with her new found friend.
Of course, she loved helping Sam and Dean with the hunts, but a normal life was never too far in the back of her mind.
.
Sam leaned on the impala as Dean approached him from across the street with two coffee cups in his hand.
"Well," Dean started as he handed Sam his coffee, "the waistress thinks that the local Freemasons are up to something sneaky, but other than that, nobody's heard anything weird going on." He finished.
"Dean you got the time?" Sam asked staring intensely at the park where Hayden was playing. Dean stopped and looked at his watch.
"10 after 4:00. Why?" He replied.
Sam nodded his head to what he was staring at. "What's wrong with this picture?" He asked.
Dean looked forward seeing what Sam was looking at. The empty playground, except for Hayden, Sarah and Sarah's mother.
Dean frowned as Hayden stood on top of the jungle gym like she was the queen of the world.
"I beat you! I'm the queen of the world!" She cheered as she laughed with Sarah.
"Hayden should not be standing on top of that thing. She'll hurt herself." He said.
Sam pauses and slowly turned to look at his brother, not expecting that answer.
"Dean." He said.
"Right. Uh... Kids... School's out, isn't it?" He asked. Sam nodded and replied with a small 'yeah'.
"So where is everybody?" He asked. Dean frowned looking at the empty playground.
"This place should be crawling with kids right now." Sam stated.
Dean walked over to the woman on the bench, who was reading a magazine as her daughter played around with Hayden.
"It sure is quiet out here." He said catching her attention. She quickly glanced at him and gave her child a look before turning back to her magazine.
"Yeah, it's a shame." She said.
"Why is that?" He asked.
"You know, kids getting sick. It's a terrible thing." She replied while looking at her daughter and Hayden climb another one of the playground contraptions.
"How many?" Dean asked as he also watched the two girls.
"Just five or six. But serious, hospital serious. A lot of parents are getting pretty anxious. They think it's catching and honestly, I'm starting to agree." She replied.
Hayden had looked over to Dean and smiled as she made her way back to the ground. Once her feet hit the dirt (making Dean sigh in relief), she ran to him.
"Daddy!" She yelled joyfully. Dean smiled and scooped her into his arms. "Daddy, is it time to go already?" She asked.
"Unfortunately." He said.
"Awe. Can't we stay a little longer? It's been so long since I played in one of these." She asked.
"No Hayden. We have to get going. Maybe later, okay?" He replied.
"Ok." She said.
"Bye Sarah!" She yelled to the child as the two made their way back to Sam and the impala.
"Sarah told me that her friends are in the hospital." Hayden stated as the three got into the impala.
"What? You were investigating?" Dean asked frowning at her.
"Not on purpose. I was just asking why she was alone on the playground. She said her friends were sick and in the hospital and her other friends' mom keep them home so they don't get sick. Something feels weird about these kids getting hospitalized like this." She explained.
"We're going to go check out the hospital right now." Sam said and Dean pulled off and headed there.
.
.
Sam, Dean and Hayden had entered the Dane County Memorial Hospital. Sam and Dean in suits and Hayden in a sun-decorated dress. Sam intently read his fake ID with a frown of disbelief.
"Dude! Dude, I am not using this ID." He said to Dean.
Dean frowned. "Why not?" He asked confused.
"Because it says 'Bikini Inspector' on it." Sam quickly replied.
Dean smiled while Hayden just frowned.
"Don't worry. She won't look that close. Alright? Hell, she won't even ask to see it. It's all about confidence Sammy." Dean said before quickly turning Sam and shoving him to the counter. Dean stopped and stood a bit from Sam with Hayden, as Sam talked to the lady at the desk.
"Hi, I'm Dr. Jerry Kaplan, Center for Disease Control." He said. The nurse looked up at him.
"Can I see some ID?" She asked.
Dean stifled a laugh as Sam turned to him, cursing him in his head.
"Yeah of course." Sam said as he reached into his blazer pocket and pulled out the ID.
He quickly flashed it to her before continuing to speak.
"Now, could you direct me to the pediatrics ward?" He asked.
"Okay. Just go down that hall, turn left, up the stairs. You'll see them." The nurse replied.
Sam thanked her before heading to Dean and Hayden. His smiled dropped as he glared at his brother but Dean only returned the look with a smile.
"See? Told you it would work." He said.
"Follow me. It's upstairs." Sam said quietly.
Dean glanced back at the nurse before following Sam up the stairs with Hayden.
"Daddy?" Hayden called. Dean stopped just at the top of the stairs as he and Sam looked at her.
"Yeah, Princess?" He asked.
Hayden frowned. "What's a bikini inspector?" She asked tilting her head. Confusion printed in bold on her face.
The two brothers slowly turned to face one another, not knowing exactly how to answer the question. So instead of dodging it, Dean smiled at her.
"Someone who... makes swimsuits." Dean lied. Hayden thought for a second. She knew it was a lie but it made sense to her.
"Ooooh." She said with a nod. Sam shot his brother a look and shook his head at him as the three continued walking.
.
.
They walked down the hall going past a room that was occupied by an elderly woman in a wheelchair.
Dean stopped looking into the room as Sam and Hayden proceeded to walk ahead. He took notice of the upside down cross as the woman slowly turned to look at him. He made eye contact with the woman, something seeming unusual about the woman. He looked from the upside down cross back to her as she turned away from him going back to her original state.
"Dean." Sam called grabbing the older brother's attention. Dean looked towards Sam seeing him and Hayden waiting for him.
Sam gestured his head telling Dean to come on. Dean gave a small nod and didn't waste another second before catching up to the two.
Hayden grabbed Dean's hand as the three headed to the pediatric ward.
.
"Thanks for seeing us Dr. Hydaker." Dean said. The three followed the doctor into the ward. Hayden had strangely moved back behind Sam. The boys took notice of this behavior but kept their game faces on.
Not caring to hear the conversation the men were having, Hayden walked towards the glass window that showed all of the sick children hooked up to monitors. She had quickly took notice of the faintly disappearing glow around every kid.
She sadly turned away and gripped Dean's hand. She had seen that before and she knew exactly what it meant. Dean looked down at Hayden seeing her look up at him.
"I think they're gonna die, daddy." She said. Even though her voice was soft and barely noticeable, Dean had heard her perfectly clear.
Seeing as his conversation with the doctors had ended, he squatted down to her level and held her by her shoulders. He could see the tears forming in her eyes. She was scared that so many kids like her were on the brink of death.
"What makes you say that?" He asked.
"I can fell it. Their glows are fading. Once it goes out, it means that they're dead. Daddy... theirs are almost out." She explained.
"Those kids are not gonna die. Not if we can help it. We're going to save all of those kids. I promise." He said.
Hayden nodded and threw her arms around his neck. Dean hugged her back. After a couple of second she pulled away.
"Daddy, I don't like that doctor. His energy is weird." She said.
"What makes you say that?" Dean asked.
Before Hayden could answer, she started to hear whispers and turned back to the kids. She gently put her hand on the glass as the whispers got louder. Suddenly an ugly, hooded creature with unnaturally long fingers slammed against the glass and sneered at her with hideous teeth. Hayden screamed in shock and jumped back, hiding her face into Dean. Everyone in the room turned to the child, surprised at the sudden scream.
"Is she alright?" The doctor asked Sam.
"She's fine." Sam said looking over to Dean.
"She saw a spider." Dean lied.
"She gets a little freaked out over bugs." Sam added turning back to the doctor.
"What's wrong?" Dean asked her quietly.
"There was a- there was- I don't know. There was something by the window." She stumbled over her words. She then turned to the window and frown in confusion wondering what the hell she had just saw.
Dean quickly grabbed her hand and walked over to Sam. The family then thanked the doctor for his time and headed out to talk to the parent of the most recent victims.
.
"I should really get back to my girls." The father of the most recent victims said.
"We understand that, and we appreciate you speaking with us. Now you say Mary is the oldest?" Sam said.
"13." The man answered.
"And she came down with it first? And then..." Sam started.
"Bethany. The next night." The man finished for Sam.
"Within 24 hours?" Sam asked.
"I guess. Look I already went through all of this with the doctors." He said.
"Right, but 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?" Dean said.
"No, we think it was an open window." The father said.
"Both times?" Dean asked.
"The first time, I don't remember. But the second time for sure, and I know I had closed it before I put Bethany to bed." He replied.
"So you think she opened it?" Sam asked.
"It's a second-story window, no ledge. No one else could have." He replied.
"Thank you for your time." Sam said.
Both men started to walk away but stopped hearing Hayden's voice.
"Don't be sad, sir. It's okay." She said.
They turned looking at her. She had placed her hand on the father's knee in a comforting way. The boys noticed the small golden glow coming from her hand as she touch him.
"My daddy will help your daughters." She said.
"Hayden, come on." Dean called making the child go to his side immediately.
The father called to them before they could leave.
"Hey! Be careful out there. I'm not sure what's happening or why but I'd hate to see you in my position. She's a sweet kid." He said before standing up.
"Thank you." Sam said.
Then the man walked off.
"Hayden, did you..?" Dean asked.
"Yes. His sadness was suffocating. It was bothering me." She said.
"Alright. Come on." He replied grabbing her hand.
Then the three made their way to the exit.
.
.
"You know this might not be anything supernatural. It might just be pneumonia." Sam said quietly to Dean.
"Maybe. Or maybe something opened that window. I don't know man. Look dad sent us down here for a reason and I'm pretty sure Hayden just had a vision back there. I think we might be barking up the right tree." Dean stated.
"I'll tell you one thing." Sam said stopping Dean and Hayden as they turned the corner.
"What?" Dean asked.
"The guy we just talked to... I'm betting it'll be a while before he goes back home." Sam stated.
Dean gave him a look before the three of them left the hospital.
.
.
.
Sam and Dean had left Hayden in the car while they went to investigate the house of the latest victim.
Hayden sat in the back seat of the impala drawing the same picture over and over again. It was of a rotten handprint on by a window. The window changed in every picture but that hand print stayed the same. When she came out of her daze and realized what she was drawing, she frowning in confusion.
"What is this?" She asked herself as she examined the pictures she had scattered across the backseat.
.
Sam and Dean were investigating the room of the younger sibling, looking for anything that pointed to supernatural.
"You got anything over there?" Sam asked as he gentle ran a blue light across the door way.
"No, nothing." Dean replied holding the EMF reader.
Sam sighed and stopped scanning the door way with the blue light.
"Yeah, me neither." He said.
He looked around the room for something else he could check before realizing that they hadn't checked the window.
Going over to the window, Sam started to scan the blue light across the window when something outside it caught his eye.
"Hey, Dean?" He called as he unlatched the window and opened it.
"Yeah?" Dean replied.
"You were right. It's not pneumonia." Sam said.
Dean walked over to the window wanting to see what Sam was talking about.
Right on the ledge outside of the window was a rotten unnatural hand print.
"It's rotten." Sam said.
Dean stared at it, remembering the first time he ever saw that exact hand print.
"I know why dad sent us here. He's faced this thing before." He said standing up straight, facing his brother. Sam frowned in confusion.
"He wants us to finish the job." Dean stated.
The two then packed up their things and left the house.
"Daddy, there's definitely something going on." Hayden said to Dean as he and Sam got into the impala.
"What do you mean?" He asked even though they already knew it was a job. Hayden handed Dean the pictures.
"I don't know what it is exactly but I think that's the thing I saw at the hospital. The hand print looks like the hand I saw." She said. The brothers looked through the pictures seeing they contained the same handprint they just found outside of different windows.
"We're going to a motel for the night." Dean said and drove off. Hayden looked at him. She could tell something was bothering him.
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.
.
The family pulled into 2400 Court Motel and exited the car.
"So what the hell is a Shtriga?" Sam asked.
"Kinda like a witch, I think. I don't know much about them." He answered as they approached the trunk.
"Well I've never heard of it." Sam said.
"And I didn't see anything about them in grandpa's journal." Hayden added.
"Dad hunted on in Fort Douglas, Wisconsin. About 16, 17 years ago. Sam, you were there. You don't remember?" Dad said.
"No." Sam replied.
"I guess dad caught wind that the thing's in Fitchburg now and kicked us the coordinates." Dean said.
Hayden stood next to Sam as she started thinking about what she saw at the hospital. She couldn't see its face, it was just the hand. Something about her vision bothered her. She's rarely ever had vision like that. They don't just jump out at her.
Dean closed the trunk and started to approach the motel office door. Sam and Hayden, who had come out of her thoughts at the sound of the trunk, followed behind him.
"But if dad went after it, why is it still breathing?" Sam questioned. He knew his brother was hiding something from him and he wanted to know what.
"Because it got away." Dean said wanting to drop the topic.
"Got away?" Sam asked skeptically.
"From grandpa?" Hayden added confused. Dean turned to face them.
"Yes. It happens." He said.
"Not very often." Sam and Hayden replied in unison.
"Well I don't know what to tell you. Maybe dad didn't have his Wheaties that morning." Dean joked.
"What else do you remember?" Sam asked as his brother walked to the door.
"I don't know. I was a kid alright?" Dean said. He then entered the building, ending the conversation.
Sam turned to Hayden with a sigh.
"Maybe he's not ready to tell yet." She stated.
"You've caught on too huh?" He asked.
"Puh-lease. I felt it the second he started lying. But it's not just that. He feels guilty about something." She replied. Sam sighed again.
"Get in. It's cold and raining. We don't want to get sick." He said.
"As if this rain can me get sick. I'm going in with daddy." She laughed and ran inside.
Sam chuckled at his niece before grabbing John's journal and looking through it for anything on a Shriga.
"Daddy!" Hayden called as she entered the lobby. Dean and the boy at the counter turned to her.
"Woah. She's hot." The boy said quietly.
"What'd you just say?" Dean asked turning to him as Hayden reached the counter.
"Nice car." The kid said with a fake smile.
"Thanks." Hayden smiled. Dean noticed how the kid kept his eyes on Hayden. He didn't like it one bit. He already didn't like Matt, now this kid was checking out his daughter right in front of him. Dean went to say something to him when a woman came in.
"Hi. Checking in?" She asked as she walked up to the counter, standing next to Hayden.
"Yeah." Dean answered. She nodded at him before turning to the boy.
"Hey, do me a favor. Go get your brother some dinner." She said.
"I'm helping a guest." He said. The mother gave him a look before going behind the counter to take over.
"Two queens." The boy informed her before going to the back where his little brother was.
"Funny kid." Dean said to the woman.
"Oh, yeah. He thinks he is. Will that be cash or credit?" She replied.
"Do you take Mastercard?" Dean asked.
"Yeah." She replied.
"Perfect. There you go." Dean said handing her the card. She took the card and handed him the check-in clipboard. Dean glanced back up to the room where the two brothers where and started to have flash backs of him and Sam when they were that age.
"Daddy?" Hayden called to him but he was trapped in the memories. The woman glanced between the two.
"Is he alright?" She asked.
"Sorry that happens sometimes when he works too much." Hayden lied. The woman nodded and grabbed the card to give it back. Hayden took it and thanked her.
"Daddy!" She said louder as she shook his arm. Dean blinked out of his daze and turned to her.
"You didn't finish signing the paper." She said.
"Oh. Sorry." Dean apologized as the woman handed him the receipt. He finished checking in and slid her the clipboard.
"It's alright." She said before walking away to go to her boys.
.
.
.
Sam and Dean were in their room the next morning, researching.
"Sam, what time is it?" Dean asked.
"Uh, it's... 10 after 8." Sam said before going back to his laptop. Dean nodded and moved over to Hayden who was still asleep. Instead of waking her up when they got up two hours ago, Dean let her sleep a bit longer since she hadn't been sleeping well.
"Hayden." Dean said as he gently pulled the child into a sitting position. She wobbled a bit before her body woke up, keeping her in the position. She didn't want to open her eyes and started falling back asleep while sitting up.
"Come on princess. It's time to wake up." Dean said. Hayden didn't budge. So, he picked her up and placed her feet on the floor, forcing her to wake up.
"Daddy." She whined.
"No. Just because you don't go to school, doesn't mean you should sleep all day. You slept the whole night plus 2 extra hours. It's time to wake up." Dean said.
"But you said I'm not allowed to hunt unless it was absolutely necessary. Why do I have to be up now?" She complained.
"Because I need to get you back into a routine. So, get up and go shower. I'm gonna get your clothes. Then you can eat, brush your teeth and start on your homework." Dean said. Hayden turned to the table seeing the new work books that Dean had bought for her. She turned to Dean with a frown.
"Just because you're not hunting doesn't mean you should be unproductive." He stated.
"I'm already smart. I don't need those books." She grumbled.
"Don't be an ass." Dean said.
"Uncle Sammy!" Hayden called to Sam, hoping he'd help her out.
"Nope. I am not involved." He said not taking his eyes off his laptop. She turned back to Dean with a pout.
"That's not gonna work. Shower. Now." He said.
"You guys are mean." She pout as she went to the bathroom. Dean chuckled before going back to his coffee.
"Well, you were right. It wasn't very easy to find but you were right. A Shtriga is a kind of witch. They're Albanian, but legends about them date back to Ancient Rome. They feed off of spiritus vitae." Sam explained. Dean pulled out an outfit for Hayden.
"Spirit what?" He asked as he took Hayden's outfit to the bathroom.
"Vitae. It's Latin. It translates to "Breathe of Life". Kinda like your life force or essence." Sam explained when Dean came back out.
"Didn't the doctor say the kids' bodies were wearing out?" Dean asked as he went back to his books.
"It's a thought. You know, she takes your vitality, maybe your immunity goes to hell, pneumonia takes hold. Anyway, Shrigas can feed off anyone, but they prefer-" Dean cut him off.
"Children." He said.
"Yeah. Probably because they have a stronger life force." Sam stated as Dean thought.
"I'm keeping Hayden out of this hunt for good. She doesn't even need to take part in the research." He stated.
"Dean, she'll probably still have visions." Sam said.
"I'm aware... but this thing goes after kids because of their strong life force. Hayden has the strongest life force I've known a kid to have, especially because of her abilities. A Shtriga gets off on human kids, imagine what would happen if she attacks a supernatural kid. I just keep having this feeling that Hayden'll get hurt by it." Dean said.
"Dean, that's just your protectiveness over your daughter. She might be helpful. Even if it's just with the research. She always catches what we miss." Sam explained.
"It's not just that. This feeling is different and I'm not gonna ignore it. She's staying out and that's that." Dean said. Sam sighed before turning back to his computer to continue informing his brother on what he'd found about Shtrigas.
"Alright. Well, get this. Shrigas are invulnerable to all weapons devised by God and man." Sam read.
"No. That's not right. She's vulnerable when she feeds." Dean corrected as he went over to their bag to grab a journal.
"What?" Sam asked shocked.
"If you catch her when she's eating, you can blast her with consecrated wrought irons, buckshots or rounds, I think." Dean explained but as Hayden came out of the bathroom. She had been listening in on the second half of the conversation.
"How do you know that daddy?" She asked.
"Your grandpa told me. I remember it." Dean said. Hayden and Sam shared a glance.
"Oh. So, uh, anything else dad might've mentioned?" Sam said.
"No that's it." Dean stated. Hayden and Sam once again shared a look before staring at Dean. Dean glanced up at the two.
"What?" He asked.
"Nothing." They said. Sam went back to his laptop and Hayden went to the table to start her work.
"Okay, so, assuming we can kill it when it eats, we still gotta find the thing first, which isnt gonna be a cakewalk. Shtrigas take on a human disguise when they're not hunting." Sam said walking over to Dean.
"What kind of human disguise?" Dean asked.
"Historically, something innocuous. It could be anything, but it's usually a feeble old woman, which may be how the whole witches-as-old-crones legend started." Sam stated. Dean looked up for a second in thought.
"Hang on." He said picking up a map. Hayden slowly did her work as she listened in on the conversation.
"What?" Sam asked.
"Check this out. I marked down all the addresses of the victims." Dean started as he showed Sam the map. "Now these are the houses that have been hit so far, and dead center-" Dean pointed out.
"The hospital." Sam said.
"The hospital." Dean confirmed. "When we were there I saw a patient, an old woman." He said.
"An old person, huh? In the hospital? Woo. Better call the Coast Guard." Sam joked.
"Well listen, smartass. She had an inverted cross hanging on her wall." Dean said making Sam turn to him seriously.
"Let's go then." Sam said.
"Wait." Hayden called to the two before they could leave.
"What? What's wrong?" Dean asked.
"It's not her. It's not the old lady." She stated.
"What are you talking about?" Sam asked.
"I saw the cross. Plus this thing pretends to be old ladies." Dean said.
"I saw her aura. It wasn't mean or evil. It wasn't dark." She argued.
"Hayden-" Dean warned her.
"Daddy, Uncle Sammy said it can turn into anyone not just old ladies. I saw her too. I don't think it's her." She added.
"Hayden you are not involved in this hunt. Not even for research. You need to focus on your homework. I'll check it when we get back." He said and went out the door before she could protest. She turned to Sam with a pout.
"Don't worry panda. He's just trying to keep you safe." He said.
"I know but I just want to help." She stated.
"You're helping him by staying here. He's freaked out about you getting hurt again. Just stay here alright. We'll be back soon." Sam said. Hayden nodded and Sam followed Dean out the door.
.
.
.
It was now dark out. Dean had been calling Hayden periodically throughout the day just checking on her... which is what he was currently doing.
"Make sure you shower before you go to sleep. And lock up the doors. And don't forget to lock the windows too. And if anything, and I mean anything, happens, you teleport your ass to me and Sam, immediately. Understand?" Dean said. Hayden giggled.
"Daddy, your worry is showing." She joked.
"Haha very funny. We should be back in the morning, alright?" He replied.
"But do I have to sleep alone? I don't like sleeping alone." She pouted.
"I'm sorry princess. We have to work this job and I need you to stay safe. You're safe there." Dean explained.
"Can't you and Uncle Sammy come home for the night? To like take a break or something?" Hayden begged. Dean sighed.
"Princess, you've gotta learn to that it's alright to sleep by yourself." He said.
"But... daddy, I... I have a bad feeling about tonight. I don't know what it is. I haven't had any visions. But I just... I have this feeling that something bad will happen." She explained.
"Princess, don't worry. Nothing bad is gonna happen to you. You're the strongest kid I know." Dean said hoping that would comfort her. Hayden sighed and nodded
"Okay. Okay. Just don't get hurt daddy." She said.
"You worry too much, princess." He said.
"Says you." She mumbled.
"Get some rest." He said.
"Ok. I love you daddy." She said.
"Love you too princess. Goodnight." Dean ended the call. Sam chuckled a bit.
"What?" Dean asked confused.
"Nothing. You two are adorable." Sam chuckled. Dean frowned at his brother, grossed out by the comment.
"God." He groaned.
Hayden hung up her phone and set it on the table. She did as told and showered before going to bed. She made sure to lock the door and windows. It took a while for her to sleep but she eventually found her way to it.
Unbeknownst to the sleeping child, the creature that Sam and Dean were searching for was feeding off the youngest son of the motel owner. Once it finished, it smelled the strength of her life force and made its way into her room unable to resist. It knew who she was from seeing her in the hospital. The Shtriga wanted nothing more than to feed off of this deliciously, strong life force.
Hayden started having visions of her dying, just like the kids in the hospital. She tried to wake up but it was too late. The creature had already been feeding on her and she was too weak to fight. It did take longer than normal, feeding off of Hayden because her body was fighting back. With all her strength gone, pneumonia started to take hold of her body, rendering the child defenseless. Soon, the Shtriga finished feeding off Hayden and creeped back out the window, leaving two of the children in the motel comatose.
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.
.
The brothers pulled back into the motel. Sam got out laughing as Dean pulled his phone from his ear.
"Hayden's not answering." He grumbled. Something felt wrong.
"I was sleeping with my peepers open." Sam laughed as the two recalled what had happened the previous night. Turns out, Hayden was right and the old lady was harmless. The inverted cross Dean had seen was a simple crucifix the woman had been asking people to fix for a while. So it was just a regular cross.
"I almost smoked that old gal, I swear. It's not funny." Dean said.
"Yes it is. Hayden was so right. Oh man, you should've seen your face, Dean." Sam continued laughing.
"Oh yeah. Laugh it on, man. We're back to square one. Speaking of Hayden, she's not answering her phone." Dean complained as he glanced over seeing the boy from the other night sitting on a bench.
"She's probably still sleeping." Sam suggested.
"Yeah. Maybe." Dean said but he couldn't shake the feeling that something felt off.
"Maybe we should just let Hayden help. She probably had another vision." Sam said pulling his brother from his thoughts. Dean immediately looked at him and frowned.
"Absolutely not." He said.
"Dean-" Dean cut him off.
"Hang on." He said walking over to the upset child. Sam took the key from the door and followed Dean. Both of them unaware of what awaited them inside their room.
"Hey, what's wrong?" Dean asked asked the boy as he squatted down next to him.
"My brother's sick." The boy said.
"The little guy?" Dean asked.
"Yeah. Pneumonia. He's in the hospital. It's my fault." He said.
"No, come on. How?" Dean replied.
"I should made sure the window was latched. He wouldn't have gotten pneumonia if the window was latched." The boy sniffled.
"Listen to me. I can promise you that this is not your fault, okay?" Dean said.
"It's my job to look after him." The boy said. Dean's face hardened. Sam noticed this and frowned a bit. Suddenly the boy's mother came out.
"Michael." She called to her son as she quickly went to put things in her car. He went to her side.
"I want you to turn on the No Vacancy sign while I'm gone. I've got Denise covering room service, so don't bother with any of the rooms." She ordered.
"I'm going with you." Michael protested.
"Not now Michael." She pleaded.
"But I gotta see Asher." Michael argued.
"Hey, Michael." Dean called to the boy.
"I know how you feel. I'm a big brother too. But you gotta go easy into your mom right now, okay?" He said calming the child. Before turning to his mother.
"Hey, look you're in no condition to drive. Let me give you a lift to the hospital." Dean offered.
"No. I couldn't possibly-" he cut her off.
"No. It's no trouble. I insist." He said.
"Thanks." She complied as she handed him her keys. She kissed Michael on the head before getting in the passenger seat.
"Sam, get Hayden up for me and get her some breakfast." Dean said. Sam nodded and turned back to their hotel room. His blood ran cold when he spotted something. An open window with a rotten hand print next to it.
"Dean. Dean!" He yelled to his brother before taking off to the room. Dean turned to his brother confused. It only took another second for his to spot what Sam saw.
"Wait here." He said to Michael and his mother before running after Sam. Sam quickly unlocked the door, opening it.
"Hayden!" Dean yelled as the two burst in. The two of them unaware that Michael and his mother had followed them. Immediately, they spotted the pale and unconscious child in bed. She looked dead and that was scaring the brothers to hell. Dean quickly moved towards her, picking her up.
"Hayden? Hey princess, come on. Wake up." He said gently shaking her. She was completely unresponsive. The only sigh of life in the child was the small movement of her chest showing she was breathing... barely. She was undeniably sick like the other children in the hospital.
Dean was livid. His mind was racing. When he let her hunt with them, she gets hurt. When he tried keeping her out of the hunts, she still gets hurt. He didn't want his daughter to keep continuously getting hurt. He didn't know what he could do to protect her. He looked at her as she lay unconscious in his arms and started to wonder if it was better for Harry to take her. He was completely stuck. His thoughts were consuming him in that moment and he didn't know what to do.
"Dean!" Sam yelled bringing his brother from his thoughts.
"We should get her to the hospital." Michael's mom said making Sam and Dean turn to the door way seeing her and Michael standing there. Dean nodded.
"Sam, you take her to her son. I'm gonna take Hayden." Dean stated.
"No. Dean, I got Hayden. It's alright. You get Michael's mom to Asher." Sam said. He grabbed the keys to the impala before grabbing Hayden. Feeling stressed and frustrated that the thing had the audacity to feed off of his daughter, Dean rubbed his hand over his face before standing close to Sam.
"We're gonna kill this thing. I want it dead. You hear me?" He said quietly before turning and walking away with Michael's mother. Sam quickly made his way to the impala, placing Hayden in the passenger seat.
"Is she sick like my brother?" Michael asked making Sam pause.
"I hope not." Sam said sending a worried glance to Hayden.
"She told me she doesn't get sick very often." Michael said.
"She what? When did she tell you that?" Sam asked.
"Yesterday," Michael started.
Hayden was bored out of her mind. She had already talked on the phone with Dean and they went over all of her work, especially the math work. She had done everything Dean had planned for her but the problem was that she was now bored.
So, she went to the Motel lobby to try talking with the boys she had seen the previous night. Just as she went out her room to head there, she ran smack into Michael what was carrying a stack of towels. The two fell to the ground along with the towels. Hayden helped the boys pick the towels back up as she apologized. Then she finally looked up at his face seeing it was the boy from last night.
"Oh! You're that boy from last night. Your mom runs this place." She said. Michael smiled.
"Yeah." He said.
"Well, My only friend lives far away and my daddy and Uncle are working. Are you guys busy right now?" She asked hoping to have someone to keep her company.
"No, not at all." Michael said. Asher frowned to his brother.
"Yes we are. Mom said we have to deliver the towels." He argued. Michael sighed heavily. Hayden giggled at the boys as Michael sent his brother a glare.
"It's alright if you're busy." She said bring their attention back to her.
"We just have to deliver these to a room. Would you mind waiting for us in the lobby?" Michael said hopefully.
"Sure." She said as her phone rang signaling that Dean was calling.
"It's my daddy. I'll just head to the lobby." She said before answering the phone and walking away from the boys.
.
Michael and Asher played games with Hayden and the three were having a fun time together.
"Have you guys heard about those kids getting sick?" Hayden asked.
"Yeah. Pneumonia. Mom's really worried about us catching it. What about you? Your dad keeping you locked away too?" Michael asked.
"No way. I mean yeah... well my dad's worried too but I don't get sick very often." Hayden shrugged.
"I hope it ends soon." Asher said.
"Don't worry, Ash. I'm sure it will." Hayden comforted the boy. With that being said, the three went back to watching the television before Hayden headed back to her room.
"That's what she said. Why is she sick like this now?" Michael said.
"I don't know Michael, but I gotta-" Sam was cut off by coughing coming from Hayden. The two quickly turned to see her starting to sit up. Sam pushed her back down.
"Uncle Sammy?" She asked as she squinted at him.
"Hey. How you feeling Panda?" Sam asked her.
"That thing came in our room. I couldn't wake up." She said.
"I have to get you to the hospital. You look like you're getting worse." Sam said.
"No." Hayden stopped him from going to the driver seat.
"Hayden, you're sick. You should be in the hospital." Michael cut in. She didn't even glance at him.
"I don't like that doctor. I don't want to be around him." She said.
"You mean Dr. Hydaker?" Sam asked confused.
"I don't like him. He's weird." She said. She was too unwell to elaborate on what she meant.
"Hayden, you need to be in the hospital." Sam argued.
"What's gonna happen there when I heal?" Her eyes started flashing purple... right in front of Michael. He jumped back, surprised.
"What the..?" He whispered.
Sam sighed. Hayden was right. She would heal from this and it would cause a big commotion at the hospital. It would draw too much unwanted attention to them and considering Dean was still a wanted criminal, that wasn't a good idea.
Still, he was worried. He wanted to take her to the hospital because he knew that was the only way he could help her but he nodded in agreement and decided to take her with him instead of leaving her alone again.
.
.
.
Sam sat in the library on a computer researching, while Hayden laid in the chairs next to him. She didn't look to be healing and that was worrying Sam even more. So he was trying to be as detailed as possible with his research, trying to make sure he didn't miss a thing. He pulled out his phone calling Dean.
"Hey." Dean answered.
"Hey. How's the kid?" Sam asked.
"He's not so good. How's Hayden?" Dean replied.
"The same. She's got a high fever and she keeps saying she can't breathe. She's not healing, Dean." Sam sighed as he glanced at Hayden. Dean's head dropped.
"Maybe I should bring her here." He said.
"Dean we can't. She will heal and when she does-" Dean cut him off.
"I know. I know." Dean sighed before running his hand over his face.
"Plus, she keeps saying that she doesn't want to be around Hydaker." Sam added.
"Hydaker? That's random." Dean said.
"I know." Sam agreed.
"You know, she said that to me in the hospital. She said he was weird and she didn't like him." Dean stated.
"Same here. I wonder why." Sam said.
"Where are you guys anyways?" He asked.
"At the library. I'm trying to find out as much as I can about this Shriga." Sam said gluing his eyes back to the computer screen.
"Yeah? What do you got?" Dean asked.
"Well, bad news. I started with Fort Douglas around the time you said dad was there." Sam started.
"And?" Dean asked.
"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 Fitchburg. In all these other places, it goes on for months, dozens of kids, before the Shtriga finally moves on. Kids just languish in comas and then they die." Sam explained.
"How far back does this thing go?" Dean asked.
"I don't know. The earliest I could find is this place called Black River Falls back in the 1980s. Talk about a horror show." Sam said.
"Uncle Sammy, I'm cold. I want daddy." Hayden whined as Sam flipped through the new articles. He paused and turned to her just as he flipped to a picture.
"Hayden, Dean's still at the hospital with Asher. He can't come right now." Sam said.
"Can I call him?" She asked.
"Here. He's on the phone." Sam handed her the phone.
"Hayden?" Dean asked as he heard heavy breathing on the other line.
"Daddy, where are you?" She asked.
"I'm still at the hospital." He said.
"I don't like being sick. It sucks and it's cold." She mumbled. She was feeling horrible. So much so that she started crying. Sam rubbed her head in hopes to bring his niece comfort.
"Hey, don't cry alright? You're already having trouble breathing. I need you to stay as calm as you can okay. If you get any worse, you might go into a coma." Dean said.
"My chest hurts." She whined.
"Hayden, listen to me. You're gonna be alright. I promise." Dean said as calmly as his could. He was so glad that Hayden didn't get sick regularly. He hated the fact that she was unwell. He hated it more because it was caused the creature they were hunting. Right now all he could do was try and calm her as best as he could.
"Okay daddy." She said as she tried taking deep breaths.
"Hand the phone back to Sam. I'll see you soon Princess." He said. Hayden quietly handed Sam the phone before climbing into his lap. She was in pain and wanted to sleep as comfortably as she could get. Sam waited until she got comfortable on his chest before moving his eyes back to the computer screen.
"Woah." He said.
"What? Sam?" Dean asked.
"Hold on. I think I just figured out why Hayden hates Hydaker." Sam said.
"What do you mean?" Dean asked.
"I'm looking at a photograph right now of a bunch of doctors standing around a kid's bed. One of the doctors is Hydaker." Sam explained.
"And?" Dean asked.
"And this picture was taken in 1893." Sam stated.
"You sure?" Dean asked.
"Yeah. Yeah, absolutely." Sam said.
"Alright. Get back to the motel. I'll meet you guys there." Dean said ending the call.
.
.
.
"We should've thought of this before. Doctor's a perfect disguise. You're trusted. You can control the whole thing." Sam ranted angrily. They were both pissed because it was right under their noses. Hayden laid in Dean's bed, still in the same condition. She was only healing a little bit at a time.
"That son of a bitch." Dean said as he got up from the bed. He pulled his jacket off and threw it to the side.
"Daddy." Hayden called reaching for him. Dean went back to her side. He grabbed the towel that was now no longer cold. Considering she was still holding a fever, he went to replace the towel with a fresh cold one.
"I'm surprised you didn't draw him right there, considering..." Sam stated, motioning his head towards Hayden as Dean placed the new towel across her head.
"Yeah well... first of all, I'm not gonna open fire in a freaking Pediatric Ward." He started as he walked away from her again. He then threw the old towel to the floor.
"Good call." Sam said.
"Second it wouldn't have done any good because the bastard's bulletproof unless he's chowing down on something. And third, I wasn't packing... which is probably a really good thing 'cause I probably would've just burned a clip in him off of principle alone." Dean said.
"You're getting wise in your old age Dean." Sam joked.
"You're damn right... 'cause now I know how we're gonna get it." Dean said. Hayden just watched them.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked.
"The Shtriga? It works through siblings right?" Sam asked.
"Right. Well, minus Hayden." Sam said making Dean frown.
"Right, Hayden's my only child. The Shtriga wouldn't know that she has a brother elsewhere." He thought out loud.
"Maybe it, I don't know, sensed her energy when we went to the hospital. Maybe when Hayden sensed that the doctor had a weird energy, he sensed her strong Vitae. Maybe he targeted her then and just got lucky when he attacked Asher." Sam suggested.
"If that's the case, I want this thing dead as soon as now. So last night," Dean started.
"It went after Asher." Sam said.
"It's going after Michael tonight." Hayden said making the brothers turn to her.
"We have to get him out of here." Sam added. Hayden sat up slowly, considering she was still in pain.
"No. That'll blow the whole deal." Dean said.
"What?" Sam and Hayden said in disbelief.
"Yeah." Dean said.
"Dean you wanna use the kid as bait?" Sam asked. Dean said nothing.
"Are you nuts? No. Forget it. That's out of the question." Sam argued.
"It's not out of the question Sam. If this thing disappears again, it could be years before we get another chance." Dean argued.
"Daddy, Michael's a kid and he's my friend. I'm not gonna let you do this." Hayden argued back. She don't know where she got the strength to do so but she was glad she had it. This idea of Dean's was insanity.
"Hayden stay out of this." Dean ordered.
"No! Hayden's right and you know it. I'm not dangling a kid in front of this thing like a fish on a hook, Dean." Sam said.
"Dad didn't send me here to walk away." Dean stated.
"Send you here? He didn't send you here. He sent us here." Sam corrected him.
"This isn't about you, Sam. Alright? I'm the one who screwed up. It's my fault. There's no telling how many kids have gotten hurt because of me." Dean said walking away from Sam.
"What are you saying Dean? How's this your fault?" Sam asked. Dean didn't look at Sam as he remembered what happened the last time they had encountered the Shtriga.
"Is that what you feel guilty about, Daddy? Because it got away last time?" Hayden asked. Dean looked at her. To him, she was in that state because of his mistake. His mistake of leaving her alone. His mistake from 16 years ago.
"Dean, you've been hiding something from the get-go. And don't say you haven't because me and Hayden caught the second you started lying. Since when does dad bail on a hunt? Since when does he let something get away? Talk to us. What is going on?" Sam said. Hayden thought for a second in Dean's silence.
"Wait, siblings. The Shriga attacks siblings, starting with the youngest." She thought out loud. The brothers looked at her.
"It attacked Uncle Sammy, didn't it?" She asked. Dean shut his eyes and started silent.
"What? Dean?" Sam asked confused.
"Think about it Uncle Sammy. The Shriga attacks children, siblings. If grandpa was hunting in Fort Douglas, you and daddy were right on its radar. Just like right now. The Shriga must've attacked you because it starts with the youngest sibling." She explained her thoughts.
"No. That's not possible. Dad wouldn't have let that happen. Dean wouldn't have let that happen. Right, Dean? Dean?" Sam asked.
"Fort Douglas, Wisconsin. It was the third night in this crap room and I was climbing the walls, man. I needed to get some air." Dean started.
Turns out, Hayden was right. During that hunt, Dean went out and left Sam alone in the room, asleep. He hadn't gone far, just to the Motel lobby to play on the arcade games until they closed up. Unfortunately when he got back, there was a bright light and whispers coming from their room, where Sam was sleeping. Dean quietly crept to the room and gently pushed to door open, to reveal the Shtriga feeding off Sam.
He grabbed the shotgun off the floor and took the safety off, alerting the monster that he was there. It stopped feeding off Sam and roared at Dean. Dean went to shoot when John came in.
"Get out of the way!" He yelled at Dean. Dean dropped to the floor as John started to shoot the monster. The Shtriga flew out the window as John kept shooting it. John quickly went to Sam's side after making sure it was gone.
"Sam. Sammy. Sammy." He pulled the child into his arms, waking him from his sleep. Sam looked at his father confused as Dean peaked into the doorway.
"You okay?" John asked.
"Dad, what's going on?" Sam asked confused.
"You alright?" John asked. Sam nodded, still confused about his father's worries. Dean set the shotgun down and walked into the room.
"What happened?" John turned to Dean.
"I just went out." Dean said.
"What?" John asked appalled.
"It was just for a second. I'm sorry." Dean said quickly.
"I told you not to leave this room. I told you not to let him out of your sight." John scolded him. Dean felt awful at that moment. Maybe if he had listen to his father, Sam wouldn't have been attacked. What would've happened if John hadn't come in when he did?
"Dad just grabbed us and booked. He dropped us off at Pastor Jim's about 3 hours away. By the time he got back to Fort Douglas the Shtriga disappeared. It was just gone. It never resurfaced until now. Dad never spoke about it again. I never asked. But he, uh- 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 and I almost got you killed." Dean finished explaining.
"Daddy, that wasn't your fault." Hayden said.
"It was." Dean stated.
"Dean you were just a kid." Sam added.
"Don't." Dean shut them down.
"Dad knew this was unfinished business for me. He sent me here to finish it." He said.
"But daddy, we can't just throw Michael to the Shriga. It's wrong and that's not how we should do this." Hayden argued.
"We? Absolutely not. You're still in pain and running a high fever. You're not doing anything but staying in bed." Dean said.
"She's got a point Dean. I don't know about us using Michael. I mean, how about one of us hides under the covers? You know, we'll be the bait." Sam suggested.
"No, that won't work. It's gotta get close enough to feed. It'll see us." Dean shut down the idea.
"Well, what about me? I could be the bait instead." Hayden suggested.
"Hayden, no. No way." Dean said.
"Daddy, I'm healing and I will heal. Michael won't. It's a better idea than him." She said.
"No, I'm not going to deliberately put you in harms way, Hayden." Dean said.
"But you'd do it to Michael?" She asked.
"You're my daughter!" He stated.
"And he's innocent!" She fought back.
"Believe me, I don't like it either... but it's gotta be him. It won't be you. My job is to protect you not put you in harms way." He said.
"At least take me with you to talk to him. He won't believe you. Plus, he's my friend and he might listen to me better than he will listen to you." She asked. Dean looked at his daughter and sighed.
"Fine but when everything goes down, you stay here and don't leave for any reason at all." He said.
"But what if you or Uncle Sammy gets hurt?" She asked.
"No." Dean said. Hayden pouted and sighed. Dean was right anyways. She was hurt. What good would she be in the state that she was in?
"Ok." She sighed.
.
.
.
"You're crazy. Just go away or I'm calling the cops." Michael said as he held up the phone defensively. Sam stood behind Dean with Hayden leaning into him.
"Hang on a second. You have to believe me, okay? 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." Dean explained. Michael looked at Hayden unsure. She nodded slightly at him. He nodded back before putting the phone back on the landline.
"This thing... is it like- it has this long, black robe?" He asked. Hayden's eyes widened.
"You saw it?" Hayden asked as she rushed towards the counter. In doing so, she made herself so dizzy that she almost fainted. Dean quickly grabbed his daughter, steadying her.
"Maybe this was a bad idea." He said.
"Daddy, I'm fine." She said before turning back to Michael.
"What happened Michael?" She asked him.
"I... I uh... I thought I was having a nightmare." He said.
"I'd give anything not to tell you this, but sometimes nightmares are real." Dean said.
"So why are you telling me?" Michael asked. The family shared a look.
"Because we need your help." Hayden said.
"My help? Why?" Michael asked.
"My daddy and my uncle can kill it. It's kinda like our family business. But we need your help because it's coming after you... tonight." Hayden revealed.
"What? No. No way." Michael refused.
"Michael, listen to me. This thing hurt Asher and it's gonna keep hurting other kids unless we stop it. Do you understand me?" Dean said. Hayden saw the look on Michael's face and sighed as she placed her hand on Dean in hopes to calm him because his plan wasn't working out.
"Michael, it's alright. You don't have to help us if you don't want to. We won't force you." She said.
"I'm sorry." He said.
"It's alright Michael. Let's go." Sam said and the three left.
.
.
"Well that went crappy. Now what?" Dean said.
"What did you expect? You can't ask an adult to do something like that, let alone a kid." Sam said. He was sitting on the bed next to Hayden. Then there was a knock on the door. The brothers got up and Hayden stayed on the bed. Dean opened the door revealing Michael.
"Michael?" Hayden asked, standing next to Sam.
"If you kill it, will Asher and Hayden get better?" Michael asked.
"Honestly, we're don't know." Dean said.
"It's definitely a theory." Hayden added. She paused blocking out the conversation. She was suddenly feeling worse. A strong wave a nausea flowed through her body. The world started to spin.
"Daddy, something's wrong." She said as she started trying to walk towards Dean. Halfway to him, she fell to the floor. Not even a second later, she vomited blood onto the floor. The brothers and Asher were instantly by her side.
"What's wrong with her?! Is that blood?!" Michael panicked. Dean quickly picked her up and rushed her to the bathroom. She proceeded to vomit into the toilet. Sam came in with a ponytail holder to tie her hair back. Hayden continued coughing up blood and bile until there was nothing left for her to puke.
Once her body calmed and she could breathe stably, she fell back into Dean, exhausted.
"That was awful." She said. Dean helped wipe her face clean of the vomit.
"It looked awful. You alright?" He replied.
"I think I'm officially out for this one daddy." She said honestly. She was tired from the episode.
"No kidding kid. Come on." Dean said before standing from the floor with her in his arms. He walked past a worried Sam and a freaked out Michael.
"Is she okay?" Michael asked as Dean tucked her into bed.
"She's sick. The monster attacked her the same time it attacked Asher but Hayden's symptoms are different because she's different. She's... special. We don't know what's happening with her or why but I hope that when we kill this thing, She'll get better with everyone else." Dean said as he tucked her in.
"You said it attacked her too. What if it comes back for her?" Michael asked concerned. Dean and Sam shared a look.
"Not if our plan works out. It should only be focused on you." Dean said.
"But what if it doesn't? What if-" Dean cut Hayden off.
"You're doing it again, Princess."
"Can you blame me? Look at what we do." She said. Dean made a face and nodded.
"Touché." He said before rubbing her head. "Try not to worry too much Princess. We got this. We'll end this and you'll get better. I promise." He swore. Hayden nodded and relaxed into the pillow.
"Come on." Dean said to Sam and Michael.
.
.
.
Dean was in Michael's bedroom with him, setting up their cameras to keep watch.
"This camera has night vision on it. So, we'll be able to see you clear as day." Dean said to him.
"Are we good?" He asked Sam, who was watching them through the camera in the next room.
"A hair to the right." Sam into his mic. Dean moved the camera to the right a couple inches.
"There, there." Sam said making Dean stop.
"What do I do?" Michael asked.
"Just stay under the covers." Dean said walking towards him.
"And if it shows up?" Michael asked.
"Well, we'll be right in the next room. We're gonna come in with guns. So, as soon as we do, you roll off this bed and crawl under it." Dean explained. Michael seemed unsure.
"What if you shoot me?" He asked.
"We won't shoot you. We're good shots. We're not gonna fire until you're clear, okay?" Dean said reassuring the child. Michael nodded hesitantly.
"Have you heard a gunshot before?" Dean asked.
"Like in the movies?" Michael replied.
"It's gonna be a lot louder than in the movies. So I want you to stay under the bed, cover your ears and do not come out until we say so. You understand?" Dean ordered. Michael nodded and looked off to the side.
"Michael, are you sure you wanna do this? You don't have to. It's okay. I won't be mad." Dean asked.
"No, I'm okay. Just don't shoot me." Michael said.
"We're not gonna let anything happen to you. I promise." Dean said before leaving the room to meet back up with Sam.
.
.
It was 3am and the brothers were watching over Michael through the camera. Hayden was sound asleep. The only time Dean took his eyes off the computer screen was to check on her. She was still the same. She only healed enough for her to breathe normally. Dean turned her on her sided to make sure she'd be alright is she vomited in her sleep or if anything happened while they were fighting the Shtriga.
"What time is it?" Dean asked.
"3." Sam replied as the too continued eyeing the screen.
"You sure these iron rounds are gonna work?" He asked.
"Consecrated iron rounds. And yeah. It's what dad used last time." Dean said.
"Hey, Dean, I'm sorry." Sam said. Dean turned to his brother, frowning in confusion at the sudden apology.
"For what?" He asked.
"You know... I've really given you a lot of crap for always following dad's orders, but I know why you do it." Sam explained. Dean sighed and turned back to the screen.
"Oh god. Kill me now." He groaned. Sam chuckled at him. Dean's face hardened as he noticed something by the window.
"Wait, look." He said bringing Sam's attention back to the screen. They noticed that in the shadows of tree branches, there was a shadow of an unnatural hand reaching down to open the window. They grabbed their guns, taking the safety off as they watched the window slid open. In the blink of an eye, the Shtriga was in Michael's room, staring at the terrified child that was staring back at it.
"Now." Sam said.
"Not yet." Dean refused. They watched as the witch approached Michael and opened its mouth to feed from him. The quickly ran in and burst through the door.
"Hey!" Sam yelled drawing its attention to them.
"Michael! Down!" Dean yelled. Michael quickly rolled off the bed and went under it. Sam and Dean proceeded to shoot the Shtriga until it fell to the floor.
"Mike you alright?" Dean asked.
"Yeah." Michael replied.
"Alright. Just sit tight." Dean said before he went over to the Shtriga to make sure it was dead.
It was not.
It jumped up in the blink of an eye and grabbed Dean by the throat.
"Dean!" Sam yelled as the Shtriga threw Dean across the room. Dean crashed through a bookshelf and fell to the floor. The Shtriga then turned to Sam. It knocked the gun from Sam's hand before grabbing him by the throat.
Hayden was snatched from her sleep feeling something horrible. The same horrible feeling she felt the night the Shtriga attacked her. She instantly knew it was Sam and Dean. She was still too weak but she could feel their pain. So she mustered up the strength to roll from the bed. But that was all the strength she had. She felt too weak to get up. She could only lay on the floor unable to even get up. That was because the Shtriga had thrown Sam onto Michael's bed and began feeding from him.
"Hey!" Dean said. The Shtriga look up, only for Dean to shoot it in the head. It fell back, finally dead.
"You alright, little brother?" Dean asked as Sam gasped for air. Sam simply held two thumbs up before rolling off the bed. The brothers stood together as they watched the Spirit Vitaes flow from its mouth.
Hayden gasped sharply as she felt her strength return to her. She quickly sat up, still feeling pain in head and throat. She jumped to her feet and ran to Michael's room. As soon as she reached the door way, Dean shot the Shtriga 3 more times. It faded into nothing as the rest of the Vitaes flowed out of it and headed back to their original owners. Michael popped his head out from under the bed.
"It's okay, Michael. You can come out." Dean said. Michael came out, looking at the Shtriga. He went to look at Sam and Dean when he spotted Hayden in the doorway.
"Daddy." She called out. Sam and Dean quickly turned to her. She smiled and ran into Dean's arms.
"Thank God." He sighed.
"Are you alright?" He asked holding her by the shoulders. She smiled.
"Never better daddy." She replied hugging him. The four turned back the the dead Shtriga that was now nothing but ash and clothing as they silently took in their moment of victory.
.
.
.
"Are you alright? After last night?" Hayden asked Michael.
"I think so. I just hope my brother is ok." He said. Hayden placed a comforting hand on his shoulder.
"Don't worry. I got better. I'm sure Ash will be fine." She said.
"Thanks. So you guys kill monsters like that all the time?" Michael asked. He and Hayden sat on Hayden's bed in the motel room, talking as Sam and Dean loaded their bags in the trunk.
"Yeah. It's our family business." Hayden said.
"Don't you get scared?" Michael asked.
"Yeah. I get scared sometimes... but I'm more scared of something happening to my family than any monster we hunt." She said honestly.
"I saw your eyes yesterday. They turned purple." He said. Hayden sighed.
"Yeah... Daddy says I'm special. I'm supernatural. I have powers. That's why the monster attacked me. But I couldn't go to the hospital because I can heal." She explained.
"Does that run in your family? Having powers?" Michael asked. Hayden giggled and shook her head.
"No. I'm adopted. My daddy saved me from a really bad family and I've been with him and Uncle Sammy ever since." Hayden explained. She looked outside and saw Michael's mom standing in front of Dean.
"Hey, there's your mom." She said. Michael's face lit up and he ran out embracing his mother. Hayden walked out behind him and stood next to Dean.
"How's Ash?" Michael asked.
"I've got some good news. Your brother's gonna be fine." She said holding his face.
"Really?" Michael asked.
"Really. No one can explain it. It's uh, it's a miracle. They're gonna keep him in overnight for observation, but after that, he's coming home." She explained.
"That's great." Dean said as she turned her eyes to Hayden.
"I see you're also better." She said. Hayden smirked a bit as she glanced at Dean.
"Like you said, a miracle." She shrugged.
"How are all the other kids doing?" Sam asked.
"Good. Real good. A bunch of them should be checking out in a few days. Dr. Travis says the ward's gonna be like a ghost town." Michael's mother explained.
"Dr. Travis? What happened to Dr. Hydaker?" Hayden asked.
"Oh, he wasn't in today. Must've been sick or something." She replied.
"Yeah, yeah. Must have." Dean replied.
" So did anything happen while I was gone?" She asked her son. Michael glanced at the three before quickly lying to his mother.
"No. Same old stuff." He said.
"Okay. You can go see Asher." She said.
"Now?" He asked excitedly.
"Only if you want to." She replied. Michael turned back to the family, giving them a small smile.
"Tell Ash we kept my promise." Hayden said. Michael nodded at her as Dean turned to her confused. Michael then ran off and hopped into his mother's car.
"I uh better get going before he hot wires the car and drives himself." She said before walking away.
Dean turned to Sam and Hayden with a shrug before shutting the trunk.
"It's too bad." Sam said as the three went to their doors to get into the impala.
"No they'll be fine." Dean said.
"That's not what I meant. I meant Michael." Sam stated.
"What about him?" Hayden asked.
"He'll always know there's things out there in the dark. He'll never be the same, you know?" Sam said. The three had a moment of silence before Sam continued.
"Sometimes I wish-" He cut himself off.
"What?" Dean asked.
"I wish I could have that kind of innocence." Sam confessed. Dean turned back and watched as Michael and his mom drove away.
Hayden looked between the brothers sadly. Not one of them had a normal innocent childhood. Sam and Dean's were coated with monster hunting. Hayden's was coated with abuse. Hayden started to wonder what that would be like, to have the innocence Michael had. Dean turned back to Sam.
"If it means anything, sometimes I wish you could too." Dean admitted. He then looked down at his daughter, giving her a small smile.
"Get in." He said. She nodded and the both got into the impala. It didn't need to be said that Dean wanted his daughter to have that innocence. It was said enough in how he was trying to raise her. A couple of seconds later, Sam got in. Hayden projected calmness and peace to the brothers. They both paused and turned to her.
"We're gonna be okay." She said. Being that she was a child, she wasn't sure how to comfort the men. So she did what she knew how. Sam and Dean returned her smile and Dean pulled off.
The family drove away, putting Fitchburg, Wisconsin in their rear view mirror.