iris, supernatural [ 2 ]

080. monster in the woods

It's early morning and Sam is sitting in the kitchen, the only light coming from the hallway. Athena is on his lap, the girl still partly asleep as she still wakes up. She's become extra cuddly with Sam lately and is even still sleeping in her parents' bed since the whole Michael thing.

Sam and Larissa aren't sure why Athena has a sudden attachment to him, both assuming it's just a phase or something to do with her trauma.

"Morning, sunshine." Dean greets, walking in.

"Hey." Sam says.

"What you looking at? Porn? Sex tapes? Nip slips?" Dean asks.

"The internet is more than just naked people. You do know that, right?" Sam asks.

"Not my internet." Dean says.

"Also, what kind of person looks at any of that with their child in their lap?" Sam asks as Dean sits across from him.

"Very, very... very twisted people." Dean says.

"All right. Check this out." Sam says. "Ears." He tells Athena and she puts her hands over her ears. "So, this girl -- her body was found just outside Big Creek State Park in Iowa. Uh, covered in bite marks. The police are saying it's an animal attack."

"But...?" Dean urges.

"But I did some digging, and I found out that there weren't a lot of bodies, but a lot of people do go missing in that park. Look at this. Park ranger back in '06. A poacher in '98. And on and on and on. I mean, I've only gone back to 1943, and I've already found 54 missing people."

"Wow." Dean comments.

"Yeah." Sam mumbles.

"Yeah. Sounds like our kind of thing. You sure you're up for it? I mean, I know you wanted to take some time." Dean says.

"No, I-I'm-- I'm good. Honestly, I-I'm good." Sam says. He gently pulls Athena's hands away from her ears, it now safe for her to hear.

"All right. Well, let's hit it." Dean says.

"You got it. I'll grab Cas and tell Lissy." Sam says.

"Mm. He actually left." Dean informs.

"What?" Sam asks.

"Early this morning." Dean says.

"Why?" Sam asks.

"I don't know. Something about being cooped up in the bunker for a few weeks. We all need to stretch our legs. I get it." Dean says.

"All right. Uh, then, Jack." Sam says.

"Uh... I don't want Jack on this." Dean says.

"I thought you said Donatello gave him the all clear?" Sam asks.

"Yeah, he did. And I'm-I'm sure he's good. But... Jack's got his mojo back. His powers have gotten us in trouble in the past -- the security guard. So I just want to make sure that, you know, he's right before we put him back out there."

"Yeah. Yeah." Sam says. "So just us and Lissy."

"Sounds like a deal." Dean says.

"Do I go?" Athena asks.

"Yeah. Yeah, you're coming. You're just not going face to face with a monster." Sam says.

"I'm okay with that." Athena yawns. Sam kisses her on the head.

+++

They're at the police station and Sam is holding Athena.

"I'm sorry. I just don't really see how this is an FBI thing." Sheriff Romero says.