DISCLAIMER: I only own my character! Anything you might recognize is courtesy of the CW. Any Gifs and/or pics present are not mine. They were pulled from google searches and/or Tumblr.
A/N: Just remember to keep in mind about the edit & chapter adds (the numbers might be off unless i finished the edits). Thank you for all your support and comments :)
Previously skipped: Hell House...
Dean drove the impala down a country road, Angel in the passenger seat and Sam in the back.
"Yeah." He looked in the rearview, "You probably missed something, that's what."
"Dude, I ran LexisNexis, local police reports, newspapers, I couldn't find a single red flag." Sam leaned up and turned to Angel, "Are you sure you got the coordinates right?"
"Yes, Sam, I think i can read coordinates. Fitchburg, Wisconsin is where he's sending us." She sighed, "For some reason."
"Dad wouldn't have sent us coordinates if it wasn't important guys."
"Well, I'm telling you I looked and all I could find was a big steamy pile of nothing." Sam couldn't keep the frustration from his voice, "If Dad's sending us hunting for something, I don't know what."
"You know boys... he could be meeting us there."
"Yeah." Sam scoffed, "Cause he's been so easy to find up to this point."
Dean snapped at that, "You're a real smart ass you know that?"
"Stop." Angel dismissed, "Look, we're going and I'm very positive there's something there to hunt so just both of you drop the tudes."
"Yeah?" Sam argued, "What makes you so sure?"
"Cause I'm the oldest, which means I'm always right."
Dean scoffed, "No it doesn't."
"Oh but it does." She cut him with an eye, "Now shut it."
She smirked at the both of them as the impala cruised past the sign for Fitchburg, population 20,501. On the Fitchburg main street the three stopped at the Glasow Diner so Dean could get coffee. Sam leaned against the Impala staring ahead studying something in deep thought.
Angel surveyed him, "You alright there, Sammy?"
"Uh... You got the time?"
She checked, "Ten after four. Whats up?"
Sam motioned in front of him, "What's wrong with this picture?"
She looked over to where Sam was watching and noticed the playground was deserted, only one child climbing around.
"Huh... Schools out and there's no kids..."
"Yeah. So where is everybody? This place should be crawling with kids right now."
A woman sat on a park bench reading a magazine so Angel approached her slowly.
She offered a small smile, "Sure is quiet out here."
"Yeah, it's a shame."
"Why's that?"
"You know, kids getting sick, it's a terrible thing."
Angel studied her for a beat, "How many?"
"Just five or six but serious. Hospital serious. A lot of parents are getting pretty anxious. They think it's catching."
They both watched the little girl playing by herself before Angel crossed back over to Sam the same time Dean crossed the road from the diner, holding three coffees.
"Well..." He spoke as he handed Sam and Angel their coffees, "The waitress thinks the local freemasons are up to something sneaky but other than that no one's heard about anything freaky going on."
"Other than the fact that kids are dropping like flies here."
Dane County Memorial Hospital...
The Winchesters entered and approached the reception desk, all three of them dressed to impress.
"Guys..." Sam hurried behind his older siblings, "Guys, I am not using this ID."
Dean gave him a look, "Why not?"
"Because it says bikini inspector on it!"
Angel couldn't help but smirk and shake her head as Dean grinned, "Don't worry she won't look that close all right? Hell, she won't even ask to see it. It's all about confidence Sammy."
He quickly spinned Sam to face the desk as he and Angel kept walking. The receptionist looked up at him curiously.
"Hi..." Sam smiled nervously, "I'm Doctor Jerry Caplin, Centers for Disease Control."
"Can I see some ID?"
Further down the corridor Dean and Angel both snickered before Sam threw them a dirty look, "Yeah, of course." He quickly flashed the ID, holding his thumb over part of it, "Now could you direct me to the pediatrics ward please?"
"Okay well, just go down that hall, turn left and up the stairs."
Sam approached his grinning sibling and gave them a major bitchface. Angel chuckled as she turned and started walking as Dean still grinned at him.
"See. I told you it would work."
Sam glared once more before shaking his head irritably, "Whatever."
Upstairs...
As the three of them walked down a corridor, Dean looked into a room they passed. An old evil looking woman sat in a wheelchair and slowly turned her head to look at him. He quickly noted an inverted cross was hanging on her wall.
"Dean."
At Angel's voice he began following them again, glancing back toward the room.
Once they met up with a doctor, he led them through another corridor.
Angel smiled from beside him as her brothers followed behind, "Thanks for seeing us, Dr. Hydecker."
"Well I'm glad you three are here. I was just about to call CDC myself." He looked from her to the guys, "How'd you find out anyways?"
"A GP called our Atlanta office and gave us the rundown." Angel quickly explained, "He must've beat you to the punch."
"So you say you got six cases so far?"
"Yeah, five weeks." Dr. Hydecker nodded at Sam, "At first we thought it was garden variety bacterial pneumonia. Not that newsworthy. But now..."
"Now what?"
"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."
A nurse earned his attention, "Excuse me, Dr Hyecker."
She handed him some forms to look over and sign as Angel questioned him, "Have you ever seen anything like this before? Anything similar?"
"Never this severe."
The nurse looked at them with a frown, "And the way it spreads... that's a new one for me."
"What do you mean?"
"It works its way through families." She explained to Sam, "But only the children, one sibling after another."
Deans brows furrowed, "You mind if we interview a few of the kids?"
"They're not conscious."
Surprise filled Angel's face, "None of them?"
"No."
Worry filled Angels eyes, "Is there a way we could talk to the parents instead?"
Dr. Hydecker shrugged, "If you think it'll help."
"Yeah. Who was your most recent admission?"
Hospital waiting room...
A man sat on a chair against the wall as the Winchesters stood in front of him, "I should get back to my girls."
"We understand that, Sir. We really do appreciate you talking to us." Angel said softly, "Now you say Mary is the oldest?"
He nodded sadly, "Thirteen."
"She came down with it first, right? And then..."
"Bethany, the next night."
"Within 24 hours?"
"I guess. Look, I, uh, I already went through all this with the doctor."
"Just a few more questions if you don't mind." Dean pressed on, "How do you think they caught pneumonia? Were they out in the cold, anything like that?"
"No." He frowned, "We think it was an open window."
"Both times?"
"The first time, I- I don't really remember but the second time for sure. And I know I closed it before I put Bethany to bed."
Angel studied it, "Do you think she might have opened it?"
"It's a second story window with a ledge. No one else could've."
As the three of them walked back down the corridor, something about this case was starting to ring familiar in Angel's mind. She was getting serious deja vu as it seemed like a boulder was starting to settle in her stomach. She really hoped she was wrong.
"You know this might not be anything supernatural." Sam turned to them, "It might just be pneumonia."
"Or..." Angel frowned, "Something snuck in through that kids window and infected her."
Dean nodded, "Dad sent us down here for a reason." He looked at Angel, mirroring her worries, "I think we might be barking up the right tree."
Sam sighed but nodded, "I'll tell you one thing. That guy we just talked to? I'm betting it'll be awhile before he goes home."
Bethany's Bedroom...
When they made it to the interior of Bethany's Bedroom they spread out around searching and scanning for EMF.
Sam looked over, "You got anything over there?"
"Nah, nothing."
"Me either." Angel frowned, "Damn."
They kept checking as Angel made it to the window. What she saw there caused her to stop in her tracks, recognition evident in her face. There was a handprint rotted into the wood. She remembered the first time she'd ever seen that type of handprint...
Flashback...
Young Angel, around 13, sat staring at a photo of the same rotted handprint. Dean sat at the table boredly trying to do his homework and a little Sammy sat in the recliner watching cartoons. John came out of the bedroom as he loaded his sawn off shotgun.
"Alright. You know the drill, Ang." John looked at her expectantly as he brought his bags up to the table, "Anybody calls, you don't pick up. If it's me, I'll ring once, then call back. You got that?"
"Yes, Dad." She looked up at him pointedly, "Don't answer the door and don't answer the phone unless it rings once first. I've done this a million times."
"I know." He studied her, "Just... makes me feel better telling you. And this stuff is important so look alive."
"Yeah but we go over it all the time, Dad. You know i'm not stupid. I can handle it."
"I know you're not but it only takes one mistake, you got that?" At her nod John continued to gather the last of his things, "Alright, if I'm not back Sunday night...?"
"Call Pastor Jim." After she answered him she quickly interrupted him before he could go on, "Lock the doors, the windows, close the shades, and line everything with salt. Most importantly: take care of the boys." She grinned, "Told you: I got it."
"Alright." John smiled down at her, proud, "That's my girl. If something tries to bust in?"
"Shoot first, ask questions later."
John winked at her, "That's my girl."
She followed him to the door and locked it after he was gone before turning to look at her brothers. Dean had been staring after John sadly but Sam was still glued to the couch watching his cartoons.
"You alright?" Sam walked over to Angel, jarring her from her memory, and then noticed the handprint on the windowsill and frowned, "It's rotted. What the hell leaves a handprint like that?"
Dean came over to them and instantly looked sick when he saw the handprint. Guilt filled him as he looked over to Angel's terrified face.
"Dads faced this thing before... that's why he sent us..."
Angel nodded and looked at Sam's confused face, "He wants us to finish the job."