Chapter Text
Yes, I have several stories in progress and a novel that needs editing, but technically this isn't a new story I've had it in the works longer than some of the stories I've already posted I just lost my files on it until the other day.
Hope you guys enjoy it
[22 years ago]
{Nebraska}
Bobby and Rufus had just finished a hunt, when they heard the commotion. Rushing around the corner they found a child no older than four surrounded by demons Rufus starts to chant as Bobby pulls out a hip flask of holy water splashing it out at the closest demons, edging closer until he is able to grab the little girl by the arm hauling her into his arms, clutching her close he retreats on swift feet rushing down the road to his truck, Rufus hot on his heals still banishing the demons between pants of breath.
Rufus takes the child as Bobby drives, they don't stop until they reach the towns border
"What do we do."
"We can't take her back." Rufus says in a final tone. "Those demons know where she is. But the most important question." Rufus says bouncing the little girl on his knee, "What is your name honey?"
The little girl looks at him tilting her head from side to side.
"Can she even talk."
"She what 4/5 she should be talking."
"How would I know? I don't know nothing about children."
"You should read up cause this little one is going home with you until we can get this sorted out."
[present day]
{Stanford University}
Sarah leans against Fiancés car waiting for him to reappear with his brother, though knowing Dean it wouldn't be a pleasant reunion. Seeing them come around the corner she calls out.
"Hey Sammy."
For a moment he just stares at her. "You're here,"
She pulls the taller man into a fierce hug whispering into his shoulder how much they had missed him.
"I promise, I told him not to break in, he doesn't listen to me."
"I can here you." Dean calls opening the trunk.
Ignoring him Sam says, "You're still hunting."
"Much to my dad's displeasure, he'd rather me stick to research and running the phones."
"I wish my dad had given me a choice." Sam sighs sadly.
"So what, then. You go off live some normal apple pie life? Is that it."
"Dean." Sarah snaps.
"Not normal. Safe." Sam argues.
"So that's why you ran away?" Dean asks turning away.
"DEAN."
"I was just going to college. It was dad who said if I was gonna go I should stay gone. And that's what I'm doing."
"Yeah, well, dads in real trouble right now. If he's not dead already."
Sarah moves around Sam to rest a hand on Dean's shoulder he leans into her hand excepting her strength. "Sammy, I need your help on this. I can't," He doesn't say the words, they both know what he can't say. He doesn't have the strength to find their dad alone, he needs his people with him.
Sam looks back at the house, heaving a sigh he asks his brother what their father had been hunting.
Dean turns back to the trunk pulling open the spare compartment using a shotgun to prop it open, to reveal an arsenal. He begins to dig through it muttering to himself.
Catching his attention Sam questions why he didn't go with their father.
"We were working a case of our own. In New Orleans, voodoo." Sarah answers for him.
"Bobby and Dad let you two hunt unsupervised."
"We are 26, dude." Dean exclaims pulling some papers out of a folder. Handing over them to Sam he begins to explain, "A rash of missing men in Jericho, California. Ten over the past twenty years."
"All men, all the same five-mile stretch of road." Sarah pipes up.
"It started happening more and more, so dad went to go dig around. That was about three weeks ago. I hadn't heard from him since, which is bad enough." Dean stops to grab a tape recorder. "Then I get this voicemail yesterday." He presses play. The recording is staticky, the signal clearly breaking up.
The boys hear their fathers voice warning them that something big was coming, that they were all in danger. Dean stops the recording. "So Sarah slowed down the message."
Sarah shushes him and explains herself. "I ran it through a gold wave, took out the hiss and this is what I got."
Dean presses play again, rather than John they can hear a woman's voice 'I can never go home.'
Sam repeats her words. As dean drops the recorder in the trunk, unhooking the shotgun to close the trunk. He takes a step towards his brother looking him in the eye for the first time since the conversation began.
"You know, in almost two years I've never asked you for a thing." Sam looks back towards the house one last time before agreeing to go with them if they make it back by first thing Monday. He turns to go back to his apartment.
"What's first thing Monday?"
"I have this..." Sam pausing looking between the two willing them to understand him. "I have an interview." He finally admits more confidently.
"What a job interview? Skip it." Dean says flippantly leaning against the car. Sarah leans over to smack his arm.
"What interview Sammy."
"It's a law school interview, it's my whole future on a plate."
"Law school?" Dean smirks. Sarah shoves Dean telling him to wait in the car.
"Come on Sammy, I'll help you pack."
{in the apartment}
"You know he really missed you." At the look of disbelief Sam sends her she keeps talking. "You know what your brother is like, your father trained him to show no emotions, keep his head on the hunt at all times. He might not say it out loud, but he was terrified for you being out here all on your own. Do you know how many nights I had to stop him driving out here just to check up on you?"
"You're lying."
"He's your big brother Sammy."
"Sammy?" Jessica is standing in the doorway looking between the two. She was thrown by this woman in her house using a pet name on her boyfriend.
"Jess this is Sarah." The woman in question gives a little wave, trying to ease the tension. "We grew up together, she's made the terrible life choice of dating my brother."
"You don't know do you?"
"Know what?" Sam asks looking down at the woman at his side. "You two didn't break up did you."
"What no, dummy, he asked me to marry him," She raises her hand to show off her ring, Sam recognises it as his mother's. "Now that I think about it, he asked me the night you left. We came back to celebrate, and you were gone. Your dad was so mad we just went to my place and crashed." She sits down on the small couch Jessica joining her telling what a lovely ring it is to counteract the awkward silence the last comment achieved. Sam walks into the bedroom leaving the woman on the couch.
As he packs his overnight bag he shouts, "How is Bobby?"
"Not talking to you dad for sure, not sure what happened but my dad won't even bring up yours in passing. I'm just lucky he loves you boys like his own or me and dean might not still be together."
Sam shouts asking Jess where some of his things are, with a furious huff she is up storming into the room. Sarah can hear them arguing, and quickly gets up to wait in the hall.
Sam is shocked to find her outside, "You two seemed like you needed privacy."
"Thanks but we're good." He nods towards the stairs.
{CENTENNIAL HIGHWAY}
When they get to the bridge, Sarah curses, "Must have been another one," The bridge is swarming with officers and police cars. Dean grins pulling over, reaching into the glovebox. Pulling out a box full of ID's. He finds the federal marshal one showing it to Sarah,
"Got it." She pulls her own box out from under the seat.
Sam looks between the two, "You can't be serious even for you guys this is illegal."
"Let's go Sammy, burning daylight." Dean says getting out of the car.
The three of them walk into the crime scene like they belong there.
Dean takes the lead Sarah stays a few steps back observing. "You fellas had another one like this just last month, didn't you?"
The deputy looks at the three of them, "Can I help you?"
Deann flashes his badge "Federal Marshals."
"You three are a little young for marshals, aren't you?"
Dean laughs "Thanks, that's awfully kind of you."
"Gentlemen, remember always Identify yourselves first. It is their right to know who is wondering onto their crime scene." The deputy looks at Sarah.
Dean sends her a scathing look, "Our boss. Making sure we are following correct procedure. You get into a pissing contest with local law enforcements once." He jokes.
"She looks younger than you."
Dean leans forwards to whisper "She is, she's just that good."
Once the pleasantries were over, they begin to talk about the case. Very quickly they realise the locals have nothing, not even a working theory.
"Well, that is exactly the kind of crack police work I'd expect out of you guys." Dean snarks.
Sarah steps forwards hitting Dean on the back of the head with her book. "That's enough out of you, this is why you need a babysitter." She dismisses them both, choosing to stay on the scene, to speak with the sheriff and feds that had just arrived.
{Library}
Sarah meets the boys at the library, by time she had gotten there they had already found an article on Constance Welch.
"Suicide on Centennial". dated April 25, 1981.
A local woman's drowning death was ruled a suicide, the county Sheriff's Department said earlier today. Constance Welch, 24, of 4636 Breckenridge Road, leapt off Sylvania Bridge, at mile 33 of Centennial Highway, and subsequently drowned last night.
Deputy J. Pierce told reporters that, hours before her death, Ms. Welch logged a call with 911 emergency services. In a panicked tone, Ms. Welch described how she found her two young children, 5 and 6, in the bathtub, after leaving them alone for several [minutes]. She reported that their complex-[...]
What happened to my children was a terrible accident. And it must have been too much for my wife. Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn't bear it," said husband Joseph Welch. "Now I ask that you all please respect my privacy during this trying time."
At the time of the children's death and Ms. Welch's subsequent suicide, Mr. Welch was at the Frontier auto salvage yard, where he works the graveyard shift as associate manager.
"Connie might have been quiet, but she was the sweetest, most caring girl I ever knew," said Deanna Kripke, a neighbour. "She just doted on those children."
"So we have a name, and a suicide spot where men are disappearing."
"You have a theory." Dean laughs nudging her shoulder.
"I shall share it when you tell me what the girlfriend said." she replies wrapping her arms around his neck.
"Nothing helpful." Sam interjects looking between the two. Shocked at the open display of affection, he rarely saw them so much as hold hands when they were younger.
"You gonna share now."
"Woman commits suicide, after murdering her children."
"It was an accident." Sam argues pointing to the page.
"So says the grieving husband."
"Why'd you say that with air quotes." Dean asks with a smile; his girl was rarely wrong.
"Hear me out, husband cheats, wife finds out in a fit of rage she kills their children. Unable to cope with what she's done she kills herself. And becomes." She pauses for dramatic effect.
"Just tell us already."
"A woman in white."
"That would explain the missing men, she couldn't punish her husband in life, so she punishes others in death." Dean finished for her.
"Exactly."
Sam watches the two of them working together, wondering why Dean had asked him to come along. He doesn't belong here with them. They are their own little unit now; they don't need him. They had never needed him, he always slowed them down even when they were children.
"What are you thinking so hard about." Dean questions.
"Just thinking about the past, you two are still attached at the hip."
"Yeah, except we don't have you to do our research, and tell us when we are so very wrong about things." Dean Laughs
"We were a good team."
Sam just hummed.
{SYLVANIA BRIDGE}
They wat till night fall to go explore the bridge. Almost as soon as they get there the boys start to argue. Honestly Sarah had been waiting for it to happen since they got to Sam's. Dean was Torn up when Sam left, and it didn't help that his father blamed him. This argument was two years in the making and it wasn't going to be pretty. Sarah turns and walks to the other end of the bridge deciding to stay out of it. Talking to herself as she goes. 'The cars end up here the bodies don't end up in the water, so do the men even make it here or is this the end spot, maybe it's the house. No she can't go home it has to be the bridge. Where the hell do the bodies go, how can a ghost make so many bodies disappear.' Pulling out her phone, she is just about to call her father when she hears the Impala engine, spinning around she's expecting to see Dean driving away in anger. Instead she sees Dean and Sam together staring at the car. It all happens so fast, Sarah screams as she sees them go over the side of the bridge. Unable to do anything until the car stops dead.
She lets out a sigh of relief when she sees Sam pulling himself back over the edge. She waits holding her breath, stomach sinking as Sam wildly looks around.
"DEAN! DEAN!" She screams, rushing to the edge. Below, a filthy and annoyed Dean crawls out of the water, onto the mud, panting. "Oh my god, are you alright?" Sarah yells rushing towards the bank.
Uncaring of the grime and smell Sarah is tucked under Deans arm as they reappear on the bridge. Sarah stays tucked into his side as he checks over the car for damages.
"We should get cleaned up and maybe book a motel or something the three of us cant sleep in the car."
The boys agree the Sarah's suggestion.
{motel}
The moment they found out their father stayed in this motel Sam rushed off to search his room. Dean turns to Sarah, "Go. I'm just gonna take a nap. Let me know what you find." She ghosts her knuckles over his cheek. Leaning down he pressed his forehead to her shoulder. Turning slightly to kiss her cheek.
"I'll come join you soon, I'm exhausted too."
Its not until Dean is rolling out of bed the next morning that Sarah realises that he came back at all. He leans down kissing her forehead. "Go back to sleep, I'm just gonna head out to get some food, I'll wake you when I get back." He says as he leaves. Reappearing he adds, "Sammy is next-door if you need him,"
"Why would I need him?" He barely hears the question she mumbles into the pillow. Laughing he closes the door behind him. Her eyes hadn't been closed more than five minutes when her door was being slammed open.
Startled she shoots up, pulling a gun from under her pillow levelling it at the officers in the doorway.
"Drop the weapon." She growls at the demands but complies. What else can she do? Though she is mad that they don't let her change out of Dean's shirt and the boy shorts she was wearing for bed before she is hauled off to the police station. She sees Dean being escorted into a room across from her own, choosing to stay silent until the sheriff arrives.
"Your friend is being uncooperative, are you gonna be any better."
She looks at the sheriff and smiles, rattling off a phone number. "Excuse me."
She says it again. At the dumbfounded looks she offers to write it down. "You'll want to speak to my supervisor right."
"Give it a rest girly, the gig is up."
"Call the number."
The sheriff nods to one of the men in the room, they leave only to return with a phone. Taking the phone off the hook, he angles it for her to dial the number.
It rings so long Sarah fears he won't answer, then they'd really be screwed.
"This is the deputy direct of homeland security how can I help."
The officers in the room are frozen. "Hey sir, it's me, safe to say our cover has been blown. Dean is in the room across the hall."
"Put the sheriff on." Her father snaps.
"He's here, on speaker, I'm handcuffed to a table in one of deans shirts and my underwear."
"I didn't realise we didn't let people dress before they were arrested these day. And on what charges are you holding my agents. No let me guess, you can't find your own head up your arse and that's our fault."
"Technically sir, we."
"Technically what?"
"There have been a string of missing cases going back twenty years and another went missing the other day, me and dean we just had to go investigate."
"Of course you did that's what you do, you find missing people. But I stand by this if you have jeopardised their undercover case I will have your badge sheriff, this collar is 2 years in the making. Let my agents go."
"But they."
"I don't care, if they are investigating your case off the clock. I have them searching for a fugitive. Gods help you if he saw them getting arrested and blew this deal. Let them go and have them dropped back at their motel in an unmarked car. Now."
"Yes sir." Was all the sheriff could say.
As soon as Dean sees Sarah he is pissed "Seriously." He's at her side in a second shaking of his jacket wrapping it around her glaring at the officers around them.
"I have been instructed to see you both to your motel without blowing your cover."
{motel}
The first thing Dean does when they get back to the motel is call Sam as Sarah changes. Dean puts him on speaker as he tells them what the husband had said. Sarah bragging that she was right as always. Sam cuts Sarah of to explain she is buried behind her old house, he doesn't understand why their dad hadn't destroyed the corpse yet. Dean breaks the news to Sam what he had learnt at the station "Dad's not in Jericho anymore, I have his journal."
"He doesn't go anywhere without it." Sam argues.
"Well he did this time, left us a message. The same old ex-marine crap, when he wants to let us know where he's going."
"Coordinates?" Both Sarah and Sam ask.
"I don't understand what could be so important that your dad would skip out in the middle of a job? What the hell is going on?" Sarah questioned.
Before they could discuss it further, they hear the impala skid. Both shout Sam's name, no response.
"I need you." Dean starts.
"Yeah, yeah, you need me to hotwire a car."
It takes less then 5 minutes for them to be racing down the road, Dean is driving towards the bridge when Sarah yells for him to stop. He turns to her wide eyed.
"She asks them to take her home. We need to be heading to her house." Dean spins the car around flooring the gas. Not even questioning her hunch, she's never wrong. She'd never risk Sam's life on a guess. They both know she doesn't have time to explain how she knows.
They jump out of the car when they see the impala sat still with the engine running. The ghost is on top of Sam digging her fingers into his chest. Dean raises his gun at the car window and shoots. The ghost glares at him and vanishes. Each time she reappears Dean shoots until she disappears again. Sam pulls himself up, shifting the car into drive.
"I'm taking you home." He drive forwards, smashing through the side of the house. Dean and Sarah hurry through the wreckage to the side of the car.
Dean manages to pull Sam out of the car before Constance reappears, ignoring the hunters at first she pick up a photograph of herself and her children. Finally she looks away from the picture, glaring at them as it falls to the ground.
The lights in the house flicker, Sarah and the boys can see the fear in Constance's eyes as she looks around. Water begins to pour down the staircase, she flashes over. At the top of the stairs silhouetted in darkness they see them. The boy and girl from the photograph, hands clasped they speak in chorus.
"You've come home to us, mommy." Constance looks at them distraught, suddenly they are behind her. They embrace her tightly as she screams, her image flickering. In a surge of energy, still screaming Constance and the two children melt into a puddle in the floor. The group look around the room, cautiously moving towards the space the mother and children had disappeared.
Finally Sarah breaks the silence "Well that was disturbing."
"So this is where she drowned her kids."
"It's why she could never go home." Sam agrees.
"She was too scared to face them." Sarah sighs. "Such a tragic story."
"You found her weak spot. Nice work, Sammy." Dean congratulates his brother slapping him on the chest where he's been injured and walks away. Sam laughs through the pain.
"Yeah, I wish I could say the same for you. What were you thinking shooting Casper in the face, you freak?"
Dean flips him off looking over his car. "I'll tell you something else. If you screwed up my car." He threatens twisting around to look at Sam. "I'll kill you." Sam and Sarah laugh.
[HIGHWAY]
Sam was relegated to the back seat, It was weird for him to sit back and observe his brother this way, Sarah and Dean seemed so at home in the impala. Sarah curled up half asleep in the passenger seat, dean holding her hand as he drives. AC=DC playing in the background.
Sam has his fathers journal open on his knee, staring at the note their father left them.
'Dean 35-111.' with a map open on the seat next to him, using a ruler and flashlight to find the coordinates, finally he finds it.
"Okay, here's where dad went. It's called Blackwater Ridge, Colorado."
"Sounds charming, how far?" Dean says quietly, eyes flickering to Sarah, he's sure she's finally fallen asleep.
"Blackwater Ridge is about 600 miles away." Sarah murmurs without lifting her head.
"Hey, if we shag ass, we could make it by morning."
Sam looks at both people in the front of the car, hesitating he can't speak.
Sarah raises their joint hands shaking it gently, "Dean. Morning is Monday."
"I," Dean glances at the road. "You're not coming with us." Dean finishes.
"The interviews in like, ten hours, I gotta be there." Dean nods, disappointed. Sarah squeezes his had as he turns back to the road.
"I'll take you home." Dean says as the car falls into silence.
[Apartment]
It's still night when they reach Sam's apartment building. Dean is still frowning as they pull up. Sam gets out and leans over to look though the window. Asking them to call him once they had found his father. Sam pats the car door twice turning away.
Dean leans into Sarah's space one arm going over the back of her seat to shout Sam back.
"We made a hell of a team back then."
"Yeah." Sam agrees turning and walking to the door.
Sarah taps Deans cheek with a smile, "And what was I chopped liver?"
Dean turns his face inches from hers. "No, you were the best part." He punctuates his words with a gentle kiss. She shoves him a way with a breathless smile. Dean had always been more tactile when they were alone as if he were afraid people would see his love as a weakness.
"Don't we have somewhere to be." She manages to get out between heaved breaths.
He falls back into his seat with a laugh. Restarting the car they drive off. They don't get far when a thump startles them. Sam had forgotten his phone on the back seat, Dean groans as Sarah reaches around to grab it.
As they are pulling back up at Sam's apartment they see it fire licking at the bedroom window. Dean jumps out of the car snapping at Sarah to stay and call the fire brigade.
{After the fire}
The street was in chaos, firefighters, and police everywhere. Sarah is trying to coax Sam into the car, Dean helplessly looks between the trunk of the car and his brother loading a shotgun, his face set in a desperate mask of anger. Dean doesn't know how to help, his mind trapped in the past remembering the day his mother burned. Sarah moves to his side resting a hand on his back, silently offering him her strength.
Sam finally tosses the shotgun back into the trunk, slamming it closed.
So what do you guys think
let me know
T