~*****~
Carlotta's POV

The sun had barely risen over the horizon by the time we made it back to the motel. The Impala pulled into the parking lot and we got out. "I was sleeping with my peepers open?" I laughed aloud with Sam. We had been teasing Dean ever since we left the hospital, and he was having no fun with it.

"I almost smoked that old girl, I swear! It's not funny!" Dean snapped, shaking his head.

"Oh, man. I haven't seen you that jumpy since that time we found an abandoned building by the schools!" I laughed harder. I pulled out the room key to unlock our door.

"I was nine, shut up. Now we're back to square one." Dean sighed. He gazed off to the side, making me follow his faze. I stopped laughing immediately as I spot the young boy sitting alone outside the office, looking like he had a spoonful of Caster Oil. "Hang on." Dean hummed and walked towards the child. Sam and I looked at each other before following. "Hey, what's wrong?" Dean asked, crouching down to his level.

He looked up to us, then back at Dean. "My brother's sick."

"The little guy?" Dean questioned.

He nodded. "Pneumonia. He's in the hospital. It's my fault." He said quietly, looking down in guilt.

"Ah, c'mon, how?"

"I shoulda made sure the window was latched. He wouldn't have got pneumonia if the window was latched." Tears began to surface in the boys eyes.

Dean looked away, his eyes lost in thought. There was something bugging him, but I couldn't think of what. Something that he knew about this case that he refused to divulge. "Listen to me. I can promise you that this is not your fault, okay?" Dean said sternly.

He looked up at him. "It's my job to look after him."

Dean nodded his head in understanding. There was something about this situation that seemed familiar. I didn't know what, but it was something that happened to our little circle. A woman rushed out of the office, carrying a bag, pillow, and a teddy bear. She headed towards the car parked close by. She glanced behind her and at Michael. "Michael, I want you to turn on the 'No Vacancy' sign while I'm gone." She instructed. Michael jumped up and walked over to her.

"I'm going with you." Michael shouted.

"Not now, Michael." She scolding, looking at him in disapproval.

"But I gotta see Asher!" Michael complained.

"Hey, Michael." Dean started, walking towards the pair. "Hey, I know how you feel. I'm a big brother too, but you gotta go easy on your mom right now, okay?"

Michael nodded in defeat as his mother slammed her door shut. In her haste, she dropped her hand bag. "Dammit!" She screeched.

"I got it." I say gently, and stooped down to grasp it. I handed it to her with a sympathetic smile.

"Thank you." She replied, wiping her hair from her face in stress.

"Listen, you're in no condition to drive -- why don't you let me give you a lift to the hospital?" Dean offered, noticing how tired she looked.

"No, I couldn't possibly..." She said, her voice shaking. I laid my hand on Michael's head and smiled when he gazed up at me.

"No, it's no trouble, I insist." Dean urged. She seemed to hesitate for a moment before holding out her keys to him.

"Thanks." She leaned down and kissed Michael on the head. "Be good."

Dean held the door open for her as she climbed in and shut it behind her. He started to walk around to the drivers door and stopped as he passed us, leaning in. "We're gonna kiss this thing. I want it dead, you hear me?" He growled before getting into the car.

Sam and I gave each other a confused look before watching him leave. This case had some serious ties to Dean. If only I could figure out what.

~*****~

Sam and I decided to go to the local library to try and find out more information and narrow down our search. I sat at the table with the microfiche machine and Sam was besides me, going through old records. After about an hour, I picked up my phone and dialed Dean's number. I placed it on speaker.

The phone rang once before Dean's whispered voice came through. "Hey."

"Hey, how's Asher?" I ask softly.

Dean sighed. "He's not good. Where you at?"

"We're at the library. We've been trying to find out as much as we can about this Shtriga." Sam explained, rubbing his tired eyes.

"Yeah? What do ya got?"

"Well, bad news, I started with Fort Douglas around the time you said John was there," I started, hearing him hum. "Same deal. Before that, there was, uh, Ogdenville, before that, North Haverbrook, and Brockway. Every 15 to 20 years it hits a new town." I said gently. I ran my hand over my face and let out an exhausted sigh. "Dean, this thing is just getting started in Fitchburg. In all these places it goes on for months. Dozens of kids before the Shtriga finally moves on. The kids just.... Languish in comas and then they die."

"How far back this thing go?" Dean asked.

"Ah, I don't know. The earliest mention I could find is this place called, 'Black River Falls' back in the 1890's. Talk about a horror show." Sam said from besides me. I flicked to another article and froze, gazing at the image in horror. "Whoa." Sam breathed out.

"Guys?"

"Hold on... we're looking at a photograph right now of a bunch of doctors standing around a kids bed. One of the doctors... is Heidacker." Sam explained.

"And?" Dean asked, clearly not informed.

"Dean, this picture was taken in 1893." I snapped.

Dean paused. "You sure?"

"Absolutely." I confirmed. The line went dead all of a sudden, and I grunted, looking at the screen with a pout. "Rude ass." Sam snickered a bit and we started getting up. "Does it look like somethings eating at Dean lately?" I ask.

"Yeah." He sighed, putting away the articles. "Should we ask him?"

I shrugged. "You know Dean. He'll bottle it up till he can't take it anymore."

"You're probably right." Sam sighed again and we left the library, our eyebrows furrowed in worry.

~*****~

Sam and I made it back to the motel before Dean did, and we took that time to unwind and relax a bit. I sat in the bathroom, nervously gazing at the pregnancy test on the counter. All these dreams I've been having have made me anxious. And the old lady made me even more antsy about it. The door rattled lightly with a series of knocks. "Lottie, you okay?" I hear Sam ask from outside. I leapt up and grasped the test and shoved it to the bottom of the waste basket without looking at it. I swung open the door and glared at him.

"Can't a girl get a little alone time?" I snapped, annoyance in my tone.

Sam held up his hands in a 'okay, okay' gesture. "You've been in there for about forty minutes, Lottie. I got worried."

"I'm fine." I bite before storming passed him. Just as I got to my bed, the door swung open, and Dean stepped inside. "Dean." I breathed out, enveloping him in a hug as his face remained contorted in anger. "We should have thought of this before. A doctor's a perfect disguise... You're trusted, you can control the whole thing." I mutter after a beat of silence.

Dean just stood there before removing himself from my arms and threw his jacket to the side, grunting in agitation. "That son of a bitch!"

"I'm surprised you didn't pull a gun out right there." I said gently, rubbing my arm tenderly.

Dean walked into the bathroom, and a quiver of nervousness washed over me, but I let out a sigh of relief as he stepped back out with a towel, pressing it to his neck, and then throwing it to the floor. "Yeah, well, first of all, I'm not going to open fire in a freakin' pediatrics ward."

"Good call." Sam smirked.

"Second, wouldn't have done any good, because the bastards bullet proof unless he's chowing down on something." Dean snarled. "And third, I wasn't packing, which is probably a really good thing cause I probably would've just burned a clip in him on principle alone."

"You're getting pretty wise for an old guy." I comment, wiggling my eyebrows playfully.

"Damn right." Dean said, smirking a little. He thought for a moment before coming to a decision. "I know how we're going to get it."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked.

Dean walked forward, resting on the counter besides me. "Shtriga's work through siblings, right?"

"Right." Sam confirmed.

"Well, last night..." Dean started, looking at us to finish his thoughts.

"It went after Asher." I state.

"So, I'm thinking tonight it's probably gonna come after Michael."

"Well, we gotta get him outta here." Sam exclaimed.

"No. No, that would blow the whole deal." Dean shook his head.

"No! No, never in a million years, Dean!" I snapped. "Forget it! It's too risky!" I add after I gaze at his serious look.

"It's not too risky, Lottie, it's the only way. If this thing disappears, it could be years before we get another chance." Dean shouted at me.

"He's a child, Dean!" I shouted back, getting in his face. "There is no way I'm using a child for bait! It's not right, and very, VERY, dangerous!"

"Dad did NOT send me here to walk away." Dean growled.

"Send you here? He didn't send you here, he sent US!" I slammed my hands on the counter.

Dean turned his back to us and walked forward for a bit. "This isn't about you, guys. I'm the one who screwed up, all right? It's my fault. There's no telling how man kids got hurt because of me."

"Dean, this whole case has been bothering you. What happened?" I coo, placing my hand on his shoulder. Dean reached up and grasped my hand tightly, not saying a word. "Dean, please. Talk to us. Tell us what happened."

He took a seat on the bed and pulled me forward by my belt loops, and buried his head into my belly. He just sat there for a moment before taking a deep breath and pulling away. "Fort Douglas, Wisconsin. It was our third night in the crap room and I was climbing the walls. Man, I needed to get some air...."

Dean's POV

.... I sat in the large leather arm chair, watching TV. It had been like this for three days. It felt like I was suffocating. I hopped up and switched the TV off before heading towards the door. I hesitated for a moment, my hand resting on the door knob. I glanced into the bedroom. Sammy and Carlotta were asleep on the bed. A few minutes wouldn't hurt. I left the room, and locked the door behind me before heading towards the reception area.

The fresh air hit my lungs in one burst, and I enjoyed the feeling. The feeling of freedom. No Sam or Carlotta to look after, no Dad breathing down my neck, and certainly no bumps in the night. I let out another sigh as Carlotta popped into my head. I grimaced a bit. She'd only been with us for a few months, and she insisted on fighting me with every choice I made about how to take care of Sam, and nine times out of ten, her ways were the better way. It agitated me to no end. The only qualities on her that gave her something of value was her long black hair and bright green eyes. Other than that, she was crap at everything else. I don't know why Dad let her come with us in the first place. I smiled a bit as the arcade came into view. I walked over to the first game I saw, and slipped in a few quarters. Time seemed to slip by, because by the time I actually got high score, the owner came out of the back room. "Kid, we're closing up." I sighed and nodded, making my way back to our room.

I locked the door behind me as I stepped in the room, and immediately noticed Sammy sleeping on the couch, with late night cartoons playing on the screen. I huffed a bit at him. Of course he'd sneak out for cartoons. I wonder why Carlotta isn't with him. I looked over to the room and pushed open the door slowly. The lamp by the bed was on, and flickering wildly as a dark figure haunched over Carlotta. My eyes widened in fear as she gasped in pain, her eyes glazing over to stare at me, and those green eyes seemed to dull by now. I reached for the rifle by the door with a shaking hand. I aimed the rifle at the creature, shaking violently. It heard the subtle click of the hammer and turned to me, hissing.

I hesitated, and jumped in terror when the door burst open behind me. Dad rushed in. "Get out of the way!" He shouted, making me duck down while he shot the creature multiple times until the gun's chamber was empty. He rushed to Carlotta's side and pulled her into his lap, cupping her cheek as worry etched over his features. "Lottie, come on. You alright? Hey! Come on, you're alright, you're alright." He cooed, cradling her slowly.

She let out  a gasp of air and started jerking a bit. She reached up and grasped her forehead. "J-John?" She whimpered, setting down the gun she had in her hand. I had just noticed it. "I-Is... Sammy okay?" She whispered, rubbing her eyes.

"He's fine, he's fine." He sighed out heavily and pulled her into a tight hug. He then raised his head to me. "What happened?"

"I-- I just went out." I stuttered, clenching my hands.

"WHAT?!" His face hardened and my breathing quickened.

"Just for a second, I'm sorry!"

"I told you not to leave this room! I told you not to let Sam or Lottie out of your sight!" Dad yelled at me and I flinched. Carlotta started to cough again and clenched tightly onto his shirt before passing out in his arms.....

Carlotta's POV

"Dad just... grabbed us and book. Dropped us off at Pastor Jim's about three hours away, but by the time he got back to Fort Douglas, the Shtriga had disappeared, it was just gone." Dean explained. I tried hard to remember the night in question. All I remembered was Sam asking to watch cartoons as I spotted what looked like a tree branch by the window. I told him that was alright and grabbed the gun, then everything went black. "It never surfaced until now. You know, Dad never spoke about it again, I didn't ask. But he... ah... he looked at me different, you know? Which was worse. Not that I blame him. He gave me an order, and I almost got you killed."

"Dean, honey, you were a kid." I coo softly, grasping onto his shoulders.

"Don't. Don't. Dad knew this was unfinished business for me. He sent me here to finish it." Dean replied through clenched teeth.

"But...." I start, sighing out in frustration. "Using Michael-- I don't know. I mean, how 'bout either Sam or I hide under the covers? Let us be the bait."

Dean looked over and shook his head. "No, it won't work. It's gotta be close enough to feed-- it'll see us. Believe me, I don't like it, but's it's gotta be the kid."

I looked at Dean with a frown, hating that the logic behind his argument would be hard to go against. That pit in my stomach grew. I hated the idea of using Michael as bait.