the prophecy, spn [ 1 ]

020. unfinished case

Sam, Rachel, and Thomas are standing by the Impala, waiting for Dean to get back.

"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 says, giving Sam and Thomas their coffees.

"Dean, you got the time?" Sam asks. Dean looks at his watch.

"Ten after four. Why?" He asks.

"What's wrong with this picture?" Sam nods to the playground where only one kid is playing.

"School's out, isn't it?" Dean asks.

"Yeah. So where is everybody? This place should be crawling with kids right now."

+++

"Dude. Dude, I am not using this ID." Sam argues.

"Why not?" Dean asks.

"Cause it says bikini inspector on it." Sam says. Dean smirks.

"Ugh." Rachel grimaces.

"Exactly." Sam hisses.

"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." Dean turns Sam to the receptionist desk before he, Thomas, and Rachel walk a bit away.

"Hi. I'm Doctor Jerry Caplin, Centers for Disease Control." Sam tells the receptionist.

"Can I see some ID?" She asks and Sam can hear Dean try to hold in his laughter. Rachel winces. Thomas pinches Dean's arm.

"Ow." Dean frowns.

"Good." Thomas mutters.

"Yeah, of course." Sam says, casting a quick annoyed glance to his oldest brother. He holds his ID up quickly, doing his best to hide the bikini inspector part. "Now, could you direct me to the pediatrics ward, please?"

"Okay, well, just go down that hall, turn left, and up the stairs." The receptionist says. Sam walks over to his siblings, giving Dean a major bitch face.

"See. I told you it would work." Dean grins.

"Follow me. It's upstairs." Sam grumbles.

~ ~ ~

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

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

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

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

"Yeah, five weeks. At first, we thought it was garden variety bacterial pneumonia. Not that newsworthy. But now..." Hydecker says.

"Now what?" Thomas asks.

"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 bodes are... wearing out." Hydecker says.

"Excuse me, Dr. Hydecker." A nurse gives him some forms.

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

"Never this severe." Hydecker says.

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

"What do you mean?" Rachel asks.

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