Winchester Secret

Lake Manitoc

Sam, Dean and Preslee are at the Lynnwood Motel looking for a case over breakfast. "Can I get you anything else?", the waitress asks and Dean smiles at her. "Just the check please?", Sam replies sitting down, and the waitress walks away. "You know Sam, we're allowed to have fun once in a while, he points at the waitress. That's fun." When Sam doesn't reply he says, "here take a look at this, I think I've got one. Lake Manitoc, Wisconsin, last week Sophie Carlton, eighteen walks into the lake and doesn't walk out. Authorities dragged the water... nothing. Sophie is the third Lake Manitoc drowning this year, none of the other bodies were found either. They had a funeral two days ago." "A funeral?" "Yeah, it's weird, they buried an empty coffin, for closure or whatever. "What closure? People don't just disappear Dean, other people just stop looking for them." "Is there something you want to say to me Sam?"

"The trail for dad... it's getting colder every day." "Exactly... so what are we supposed to do?" "I don't know, something... anything." "You don't think I want to find dad as much as you do?" "Yeah, I know you do. it's just..." "I'm the one who's been with him every day for the last two years while you've been off at college. We will find dad, but until then we're going to kill everything bad between here and there. Okay?" "Alright... Lake Manitoc. Hey." "Yeah?" "How far?"

In the car Sam looks over at Preslee. "How are you feeling kiddo? I know things were rough last night." "I'm feeling much better Sam, thank you for everything you did to help." "You're welcome." "What happened last night?" Dean asks. "She woke up in the middle of the night with a really bad headache and had a hard time getting back to sleep", Sam explains.

"Oh, well I'm glad you're feeling better sis." "Me too Dean. Hey, great find on the case by the way." "Thank you." "You're welcome." Preslee's mind begins to wander to the conversation between Sam and Dean earlier at the motel.

"Hey, is everything okay between you two? I noticed things were kind of tense at the motel earlier." Sam looks over at her. "Yeah kiddo... you have nothing to worry about, everything's fine." "Okay good, just making sure."

Upon their arrival at Lake Manitoc they pose as Agents Ford and Hamill of the US Wildlife Service and the sheriff, Jake Devins tells them they haven't found anything in the lake despite doing a sonar sweep, but the lake might not last much longer because the dam is falling apart. He also introduces them to his daughter, Andrea Barr and her son Lucas. "Can you please tell us where the nearest motel is?", Dean asks. "There's one about two blocks away." "Would you mind showing us?" "You want me to walk you two blocks?" "Well, if it's not any trouble."

"So, cute kid", Dean says. "Thanks", Andrea replies. "Kids are the best huh?", Dean says as they approach Lakefront Motel. "There it is... like I said two blocks." "Thanks", Sam says. "Must be hard with your sense of direction, never being able to find your way to a decent pickup line", Andrea says to Dean before telling them to enjoy their stay before walking away. "Kids are the best? You don't even like kids." "I love kids! What are you talking about?" "Name three children that you actually know, and Preslee doesn't count." Preslee laughs when Sam says that. Dean scratches his head and says, "I'm thinking" before they walk into the motel.

Inside the motel room, Sam begins researching the drownings. "So, there's the three drowning victims this year." "And then before that?", Dean asks. "Six more spread out over the last thirty-five years. The bodies from those weren't recovered either. If there is something out there, it's sure picking up the pace." "So, we've got a lake monster on a binge?" "This whole lake monster theory, it just really bugs me." "Yeah, it bugs me too", Preslee says, sitting on the bed and looking at the articles on Sam's laptop. "Why?", Dean asks, looking at the articles too now.

"Well Loch Ness... Lake Champlain, there a literally hundreds of eyewitness accounts... but here there's almost nothing. Whatever it is that's out there, nobody's living to talk about it." Dean points at the laptop, "wait, look here, Barr... Christopher Barr... where have I heard that name before?" "Let's see, Christopher Barr, the victim in May. He was Andrea's husband, Lucas's father... it says here he took Lucas swimming and he was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned, it took two hours for Lucas to be rescued." "Oh geez... poor kid", Preslee says. "Maybe we do have an eyewitness after all", Sam continues. "No wonder that kid was so freaked out, watching one of your parents die isn't something you just get over."

Preslee and Sam both know that it's not Lucas's experience that Dean's talking about, it's his own. "Hey Dean, are you okay?", Preslee asks a little concerned. "Yeah kid, I'm okay. You don't have to worry about me." Dean replies. "Okay good", she hugs him, and Dean hugs her back.

They meet up at the park and Dean goes to talk to Lucas, who's drawing a picture. "Oh, I used to love these", he says picking up one the army men and imitating explosion noises. "So, I see crayons are more your thing... that's cool chicks dig artists." He ends up sitting down and drawing with him.

"I know how you feel... a long time ago I saw something... anyways I know you don't think anyone will listen to you or believe you... but I will. You don't even have to say anything you can just draw me a picture. Here, this is for you, my mom, dad, that's my geek brother and that's me. Alright, so I'm a sucky artist. See you around Lucas."

Sam and Preslee are with Andrea when Dean walks up. "Lucas hasn't said a word, not even to me, not since his dad..." "Yeah, we heard about that, I'm sorry." "What are the doctors saying?" "That it's some kind of post-traumatic stress." "That can't be easy, for either of you." "We moved in with my dad. He helps out a lot. It's just... when I think about what Lucas went through, what he saw..." While they're still talking Lucas comes up and hands Dean a drawing of a house. "Thanks Lucas", he says.

Back at the motel it's just Preslee and Dean when Sam walks in. "Will Carlton is dead", he says. "He drowned?", Dean asks. "Yeah. In the sink." That's when they realize that whatever it is can get in the pipes, so everyone's at risk. They go visit Bill Carlton, Sophie and Will's father and try to get him to talk to them, but he won't. "My children are gone... it's worse than dying", he says and Preslee doesn't know why, but those words bring back memories of her mom.

Sam and Dean find her at a nearby tree branch near the lake, tears streaming down her face. "Kiddo, what's wrong?", Sam asks softly as they both sit next to her. "What Bill said... it brought back memories of my mom." "Oh sis... I'm so sorry." Dean says. "Come here sis... come here." Sam says. Preslee moves closer to Sam, and he pulls her into a hug. "I miss her so much", she says, sobbing softly on his shoulder. "I know... I know you do."

After she calms down, they go to Andrea's house to talk to Lucas again and figure out what the drawing means. Dean talks to him while Sam, Preslee and Andrea listen from the doorway. "You're scared. It's okay, I get it. I saw something really bad happen to my mom and I was scared too. I didn't feel like talking, but I know she would want me to be brave. I think about that every day."

They figure out that what's causing the drownings and going after the Carlton's is the ghost of a little boy named Peter and Bill Carlton figures it out too. When they get there Bill's on a boat in the middle of the lake and despite trying to stop him the boat tips and Bill drowns. They're all very freaked out by that and after they contemplate leaving, but Dean doesn't want to leave until he knows that Lucas is okay.

Luckily, they didn't leave because when they make it back to Andrea's Peter is trying to drown her in the bathtub. Sam saves her and the hunt ends on a heroic note when Lucas gets pulled into the lake and Sam and Dean jump in to get him after Preslee tells them to be careful and they promise they will be. Eventually Dean pulls Lucas out of the water which makes Preslee and Andrea feel relieved. 

Before they leave Andrea and Lucas give Sam, Dean and Preslee sandwiches for the road that Lucas insisted on making himself and Andrea gives Dean a thank you kiss before they leave.