Daddy's Little Hunter (SPN Season 1)

Something Wicked

"You probably missed something," Dean argued as he drove the Impala down the road.

"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 asked.

"Yeah, I double-checked. It's Fitchburg, Wisconsin. Dad wouldn't have sent us coordinates if it wasn't important Sammy,"

"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,"

"Well, maybe he's going to meet us there,"

"Yeah. Cause he's been so easy to find up to this point," Sam scoffed.

"You're a real smart ass you know that? Don't worry I'm sure there's something in Fitchburg worth killing,"

"Yeah? What makes you so sure,"

"Cause I'm the oldest, which means I'm always right,"

"No, it doesn't,"

"It totally does," Dean glanced at Sammy then looked back at the road with a little grin.

***

Sam was leaning up against the Impala staring ahead as Natalia played on the local playground.

Dean crossed the road to Sam, holding two coffees. He handed Sam a coffee "Well...the waitress thinks the local freemasons are up to something sneaky but other than that no one's heard about anything freaky going on,"

"Dean, you got the time?" Sam asked

Dean looked at his watch "Ten after Four. Why?"

Sam indicated ahead "What's wrong with this picture." he was watching a playground.

It was deserted, only Natalia was climbing around.

"School's out isn't it?" Dean asked.

"Yeah." Sam replied "So where is everybody? The place should be crawling with kids right now,"

A woman sat on a park bench reading a magazine.

Dean approached. "Sure is quiet out here," he noted

"Yeah, it's a shame," The woman replied

"Why's that?"

"You know, kids getting sick, it's a terrible thing,"

"How many?"

"Just five or six but serious, hospital serious. A lot of parents are getting pretty anxious. They think it's catching,"

***

Sam and Dean entered and approached the reception desk of the Memorial Hospital.

Sam had left Natalia in the Impala in case the children in the hospital were truly contagious. "Dude." he scolded as he looked at the ID that Dean had handed him "I am not using this ID,"

"Why not?" Dean asked.

"Cause it says bikini inspector on it!"

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 spun Sam to face the desk and kept walking.

The receptionist looked up.

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

"Can I see some ID?" The Receptionist asked.

Sam threw his brother 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 ard please?"

"Okay well, just go down that hall, turn left, and up the stairs,"

Dean grinned as Sam approached "See. I told you it would work,"

Sam shook his head irritably "Follow me. It's upstairs,"

The brothers walked down the corridor.

Dean looked into a room as they passed, an old evil-looking woman sitting in a wheelchair slowly turned her head to look at him.

An inverted cross hung on the old woman's wall.

"Dean!" Sam called out.

***

Sam and Dean walked the hospital corridor with a doctor.

"Well, thanks for seeing us, Dr. Hydecker," Dean said.

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

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

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

"Yeah, five weeks. 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,"

"Excuse me, Dr. Hydecker," A nurse handed him some forms to look over and sign.

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

"Never this severe," Dr. Hydecker admitted.

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

"What do you mean?"

"It works its way through families. But only the children, one sibling after another,"

"You mind if we interview a few of the kids?" Dean asked.

"They're not conscious," The nurse replied.

"None of them?" Sam asked surprised.

"No,"

"Can we, uh, can we talk to the parents?" Dean suggested.

"Well, if you think it'll help," Dr. Hydecker said.

"Yeah. Who was your most recent admission?"

***

A man sat on a chair against the wall in the hospital waiting room, Sam and Dean stood in front of him. "I should get back to my girls,"

"We understand that, and we really appreciate you talking to us. Now you say Mary is the oldest?" Sam wondered.

"Thirteen," The man nodded.

"Ok. And 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 said "How do you think they caught pneumonia? Were they out in the cold, anything like that?"

"No. We think it was an open window,"

"Both times?"

"The first time," The man admitted "I, I don't really remember but the second time for sure. And I know I closed it before I put Bethany to bed,"

"So, you think she opened it?" Sam questioned.

"It's a second-story window with a ledge. No else could've,"