#bro!dean

“So, what? We got a lake monster on a binge?” Dean threw a pair of jeans to the large pile behind you.

“This whole lake monster theory—it just bugs me,” you cut in, mimicking your eldest brother’s actions. At this rate, you’d spend more time at the laundromat than working on the case.

“Why?” Dean asked. Sam continued to click through the articles on his screen.

“Loch Ness, Lake Champlain—there are literally hundreds of eyewitness accounts, but here, there’s almost nothing. Whatever is out there, no one’s living to talk about it,” you explained. Dean walked over to Sam, standing behind him and reading over his shoulder. He pointed at one of the articles.

“Bar. Christopher Bar. Where have I heard that name before?” he asked.

“Christopher Bar, the victim in May,” Sam mused, clicking around a bit to find the article he was looking for.

“Isn’t that Andrea’s last name?” you asked as he searched, making your way over to the table and leaning over Sam’s right shoulder. He pulled up the article he was looking for, and the three of you were met with a picture of Lucas. He was wrapped in a towel, and you could only assume it was his grandfather standing beside him.

“Huh. Christopher Bar was Andrea’s husband. Lucas’s father. Apparently, he took Lucas out swimming. Lucas was on a floating wooden platform when Chris drowned. Two hours before the kid got rescued,” Sam summarized. He clicked on the picture so it filled the screen, Lucas’s terrified face staring back at you.

“Maybe we have an eyewitness after all,” you said, moving away from the table and looking anywhere but the picture. Dean did the same, though his eyes were locked on the computer screen.

“No wonder that kid was so freaked out. Watching one of your parents die isn’t something you just get over.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Dean pulled up to the playground, and parked. He didn’t shut the car off, however, until he’d surveyed the area and spotted Andrea.

“Let’s go” was all he said before getting out of the car. He waited for you and Sam to get out before starting the walk over to where Andrea sat.

“Can we join you?” Sam asked once the three of you were in close proximity to her. Andrea looked up at the three of you and smiled.

“I’m here with my son,” she replied, glancing over at Lucas before turning back to you.

“Oh. Mind if I say ‘hi’?” Dean asked. Without waiting for a response, he turned away and walked towards Lucas. Andrea scoffed, smiling, and looked back at you and Sam.

“Tell your friend this whole “Jerry McGuire” thing’s not going to work on me,” she said.

“I don’t think that’s what this is about,” you answered, giving her a small, reassuring smile before looking back at Dean. Andrea mimicked your smile before turning her attention to Dean and her son. She rose from her seat and stood beside you on your left, Sam to your right. The three of you watched in an awkward silence for a moment, like parents only congregated to ensure their children’s safety. You decided to break the tense stillness.

“So, has Lucas always been so…reserved?” You asked, watching as Lucas almost refused to acknowledge Dean’s presence. A humorless laugh escaped Andrea’s lips, and she turned to face you.

“No, no. He used to be so talkative when he was younger. He shut down when his dad passed.”

“We’re sorry to hear that,” Sam interjected when Andrea paused. She sighed, crossing her arms. “I’ve taken him to therapists…done everything under the sun that I could, but still, Lucas hasn’t said a word. Not even to me. Not since his dad’s accident.”

“Yeah, we heard. Sorry,” said Dean as he went to stand beside her.

“What are the doctors saying?” Sam asked. Andrea sighed again, a sort of exasperated sigh that usually accompanied information relayed countless times.

“Oh, that it’s a kind of post-traumatic stress,” she replied. Something about her tone led you to believe she didn’t believe that herself.

“That can’t be easy for either of you,” you sympathized.

“We moved in with my dad. That helps a lot. It’s just…when I think about what Lucas went through—what he saw…” Andrea trailed off, focusing her gaze back on her son.

“Kids are strong. You’d be surprised what they can deal with,” Dean assured her.

“You know, he used to have such life. He was so hard to keep up with, to tell you the truth.” Her nostalgic smile was short-lived as her thoughts settled back in the present. “Now, he just sits there. Drawing those pictures, playing with those army men. I just wish—” She cut herself off when Lucas approached, bending slightly to greet the boy. “Hey, sweetie.” Lucas kept his eyes on the ground in front of him, but went to Dean’s side and held out a picture.

“Thanks.” Dean took the picture and looked down at it. “Thanks, Lucas.” He turned his head to look back at the younger boy, but he’d already set back toward the bench. Andrea watched him for a moment then looked back at Dean, mouth slightly agape.

~ ~ ~ ~

The door of your motel room swung open and Sam walked in, letting it shut itself.

“So, I think it’s safe to say we can rule out Nessie,” he announced. He looked to Dean, who sat at the end of the bed currently covered in clothes—clean clothes you’d just brought back from the laundromat.

“What do you mean?” Dean asked as Sam sat at the edge of the second bed.

“I just drove by the Carlton’s house,” he explained. “There was an ambulance there. Will Carlton is dead.”

“He drowned?” Dean asked in disbelief.

“Yep, in the sink.”

“What the hell? So, Y/N is right; this isn’t a creature. We’re dealing with something else,” said Dean.

“Yeah, but what?” you asked, dropping the shirt in your hands. Sam shook his head.

“I don’t know. A water wraith maybe? Some kind of demon? I mean, something that controls water…” Dean trailed off, and the three of you looked at each other, eyes widening with the revelation you seemed to come to simultaneously. “Water that comes from the same source.”

“The lake,” you continued your brother’s thoughts. “Which would explain why it’s upping the body count. The lake is draining. It’ll be dry in a few months. Whatever this thing is, whatever it wants, it’s running out of time.”

“And if it can get through the pipes, it can get to anyone almost anywhere,” Sam added.

“This is going to happen again soon.” Dean moved to sit at the table and began putting his shoes back on, ready to go after this thing. You grabbed your boots from their spot beside the bed.

“And we do know one other thing for sure,” Sam continued. “We know that this has got something to do with Bill Carlton.”

“Yeah. It took both his kids,” you said, pointing out the obvious in Sam’s statement as you tied your laces.

“And I’ve been asking around. Lucas’s dad, Chris—Bill Carlton’s godson,” Sam revealed.

“Let’s go pay Mr. Carlton a visit,” Dean decided, rising from his seat.

~ ~ ~ ~

As if he’d never moved from the last time the three of you visited his home, Bill Carlton sat on his dock, looking out at the water. His back was to the house, and he made no move to acknowledge your arrival at any point as the three of you walked over. His grief was obvious in his movements—or lack of, that is—but it was a whole other thing to see the despair on his face, the sorrow in his eyes when you approached the man.

“Mr. Carlton?” Sam asked. “We’d like to ask you a few questions, if you don’t mind.”

“We’re from the Department of-”

“I don’t care who you’re with,” Bill cut Dean off. “I’ve answered enough questions today.” His voice quivered as he spoke, always on the verge of tears. You stepped forward to speak with him.

“Your son said he saw something in that lake. What about you? You ever see anything out there?” Your voice was empathetic, but professional—you’d found it was enough to give you an air of authority, but comforting enough to allow you to gain the trust of your witness. Bill, however, remained silent, refusing to meet your gaze. “Mr. Carlton, Sophie’s drowning and Will’s death—we think there might be a connection. To you or your family.”

“My children are gone. It’s…it’s worse than dying.” Bill blinked away tears and finally turned to look up at you. The air fell still for a moment, punctuating his words. He turned away before he spoke again. “Go away…please.” Dean nudged you before nodding his head in the direction of the car. You wouldn’t get anywhere badgering him any further. Sam and Dean left the dock, but you stayed planted in your spot, pursing your lips.

“I’m sorry,” you said softly. Bill only looked down at the ground and shut his eyes. With that, you finally turned and followed your brothers back to the car.

“What do you think?” Sam asked once you were back at the car and out of Bill’s earshot.

“I think the poor guy’s been through hell. I also think he’s not telling us something.” Dean answered.

“So now what?” Sam asked, resting his arms on the hood of the car. You went to stand beside him, ready to get in, but Dean had stopped and was now looking up at the house.

“What is it?” you asked.

“Huh. Maybe Bill’s not the only one who knows something.” He pulled Lucas’s picture out of his jacket pocket and held it out in front of him. The drawing was identical to the house standing before you.

~ ~ ~ ~

“I’m sorry, but I don’t think it’s a good idea,” Andrea said, putting her hands on her hips.

“I just need to talk to him, just for a few minutes,” Dean pleaded.

“He won’t say anything. What good’s it gonna do?” Andrea asked him. Sam was the one to answer her.

“Andrea, we think more people might get hurt. We think something’s happening out there.”

“My husband, the others—they just drowned. That’s all.” Andrea shook her head, adamant in her beliefs. You sighed.

“If that’s what you really believe, then we’ll go,” you said. “But if you think there’s even a possibility that something else could be going on here, please let Dean talk to your son.” Andrea didn’t reply, and she cast her gaze downward. You could practically see the gears turning as she weighed the pros and cons of letting the three of you upstairs. Moments later, she looked back at the three of you and nodded.

“Alright.” She moved past you and walked up the stairs, motioning for the three of you to follow.  You stood against the wall once you’d all reached Lucas’s room, standing close enough to see what was going on, but far enough back to give Dean space to do his thing without an audience. He stepped into the room and knelt down on the floor beside Lucas.

“Hey, Lucas. Remember me?” It was silent for a moment as he looked down at two of Lucas’s pictures. “You know, I, uh…I wanted to thank you for that last drawing. But the thing is, I need your help again.” Dean pulled the picture of the Carlton house out of his pocket and set it down in front of Lucas. “How did you know to draw this? Did you know something bad was gonna happen? Maybe you could nod yes or no for me. You’re scared.” Dean nodded. “It’s okay. I understand. See, when I was your age, I saw something real bad happen to my mom, and I was scared, too. I didn’t feel like talking, just like you. But, see, my mom, I know she wanted me to be brave. I think about that everyday. And I do my best to be brave. And maybe your dad wants you to be brave, too.” You quickly wiped a tear from your eye. The three of you had always had a bond, having lost your mothers to demons at such young ages, but Dean was the only one with real, concrete memories of Mary. Having been two when your own mother passed, you had a vague recollection of her, but nothing as real as what Dean had.

Suddenly, Angela’s eyes widened and her mouth fell open again. You looked back into the room to see what you had missed. Lucas was looking up at Dean, meeting his eyes. He grabbed another picture and held it out to your brother. Dean looked down at it then smiled at the boy. “Thanks, Lucas.”

~ ~ ~ ~

You sat in the back of the car, leaning forward and looking over Sam’s shoulder at the picture he held in his hands. Dean sped down the street, headed back towards the motel.

“Andrea said the kid never drew like that ’til his dad died,” Dean said.

“There are cases. Going through a traumatic experience could make certain people more sensitive to premonitions, psychic tendencies—” Sam relayed some Supernatural Psychology 101, but was cut off by Dean.

“Whatever’s out there, what if Lucas is tapping into it somehow?” He asked. Sam started to respond, but Dean continued his thought. “I mean, it’s only a matter of time before somebody else drowns. So if you got a better lead, please.”

“Alright,” Sam relented. “We got another house to find.”

“The only problem is, there’s about a thousand yellow two-stories in this county alone,” Dean complained. You reached forward and took the picture from Sam, moving it so Dean could better see it.

“See this church?” You asked, pointing to the building in the foreground. “Bet there’s less than a thousand of those around here.”

“Oh, kid thinks she’s so smart,” Dean mocked. You smirked.

“Only ‘cause I am,” you responded triumphantly, sitting back in your seat and setting the picture down next to you. Sam chuckled at the two of you before looking at Dean, shifting the mood of the car when he began to speak.

“You know, uh, what you said about mom—you never told me that before.” Dean kept his eyes on the road ahead.

“It’s no big deal,” he replied, voice monotone. He looked over at Sam when the younger brother refused to look away and grimaced. “Oh, god, we’re not gonna have to hug or anything, are we?” Sam smiled but shook his head, finally turning away from Dean. The two of them remained silent, though, and you decided to break the tension.

“Aw, look at college boy, all in touch with his feelings,” you teased, reaching forward to push on Sam’s shoulder. “You’re turning it into a real chick-flick in here.” You sat back and smiled when your brothers started laughing; your job was done.

~ ~ ~ ~

It had taken a little over half an hour to find the location from Lucas’s drawing, but your assertion had been correct and the three of you had found the white church and, subsequently, the yellow house with relative ease. You had opted to stay in the car this time, letting Sam and Dean go investigate this part of the puzzle. You didn’t have a good feeling about what they were going to find, and after your encounter with Bill, you thought it best to stay back, lest you start getting emotional. Sam and Dean were back in the car within twenty minutes and as always, were quick to fill you in on their discoveries.

“Okay, this little boy, Peter Sweeney, vanishes, and this is all connected to Bill Carlton somehow,” you summarized, looking between the two of them.

“Yeah, Bill sure as hell seems to be hiding something, huh?” Dean nodded, eyes on the road in front of him as he drove down the street, on his way back to the Carlton house.

“And Bill—the people he loves—they’re all getting punished,” Sam continued.

“So what if Bill did something to Peter?” Dean asked, connecting the dots in front of you.

“What if Bill killed him?” Sam specified.

“Peter’s spirit would be furious,” you said. “It’d want revenge. I mean, it’s possible.”

You were back at Bill’s house minutes later. The three of you got out and looked to the dock, only to find it empty.

“Mr. Carlton!” Sam called, looking around. Dean looked back to the water and spotted Bill in the boat, going out into the water.

“Hey, check it out,” he said, getting you and Sam to follow his gaze. The three of you ran down the beach and onto the dock, calling after Bill.

“Turn the boat around! Come back here!” you yelled, your brothers calling out similarly. Bill only looked back at you before turning his head and speeding up. Seconds later the boat shot out of the water, flying back towards the dock. You jumped back at the sudden explosion of water. The boat landed upside down on top of Bill and, almost instantly, both disappeared under the water.

~ ~ ~ ~

SPN rewrite taglist: @mrsfortune1306 @marvelous-glims @headsup-i-am-very-bad-at-writing

------

Dean shook your arm, not violently by any means, but harder than you would've liked. You mumbled an incoherent complaint before rubbing your eyes and sitting up in the seat.

"We in Jericho yet?" You looked around outside, trying to make sense of the buildings in the darkness.

"Come on," Dean replied as he stepped out of the car and shut his door. You grumbled but obeyed, following him over to one of the buildings. You narrowed your eyes as he surveyed the fire escape on the side.

"Dean, what the hell do you think you're doing? Dad wouldn’t be in a place like this. I'm not breaking in without cause," you whispered, crossing your arms over your chest.

"We have cause. It's because I said we are. Just trust me." With that, he grabbed onto the rungs of the bottom balcony and hoisted himself up. You rolled your eyes but followed suit, silently trailing after your brother up four flights of stairs before he stopped at one of the windows.

"What are you doing leaving this open? Didn't you learn anything?" You heard him mutter as he slid his hands into the opening and slowly raised the window. Once he had it open, he swung one leg inside, then the other, poking his head out to look at you once he was in. "Coming?"

"If you tell me where the hell we are once I'm in," you replied, mimicking your brother's actions and entering the apartment. Rather than answer you, Dean began walking through the space, looking around at all that adorned the shelves and walls. You followed suit, eager for an answer. Just as you'd stopped to get a better look at one of the photos on the wall, a hand came at you from behind, grabbing your arm and flipping you onto the ground. The action knocked the wind out of you. As you stood and tried to catch your breath, the stranger began to fight with Dean. Within seconds, however, Dean had him pinned to the ground.

"Whoa. Easy, tiger." Dean flashed a smile down at the man.

"Dean? You scared the crap outta me," Sam scoffed incredulously. You narrowed your eyes. What the hell were you doing here?

"That's 'cause you're out of practice." Dean was still grinning. That is, he was until Sam flipped the duo seemingly effortlessly and had Dean pinned to the ground. Dean chuckled in response. "Or not."

After the initial shock of being in the same room as your older brother for the first time in four years began to wear off and you’d found your voice, you crossed the room and stood over the two of them, arms crossed.

“You two finished?”

“Get off me.” Dean pushed Sam off of him. As Dean fixed his jacket, Sam took a few steps back, eyes never leaving you and Dean.

“Dean, Y/N. What the hell are you doing here?” You looked to Dean, eager to hear his response.

“Well, I was looking for a beer,” Dean answered with a smirk. Sam opened his mouth, but before he could speak, the light flicked on. The three of you looked over to the doorway to find a blonde woman watching you.

“Jess. Dean, Y/N. This is my girlfriend, Jessica.” Sam looked at both groups—his two worlds colliding—nervous after making the introductions.

Jess looked at him, eyes wide in surprise. “Wait, your brother and sister?” Dean smiled and gestured to her shirt.

“I love the Smurfs.” He began to walk over to her. “You know, I gotta tell you, you are completely out of my brother’s league.” You rolled your eyes.

“Just let me put something on.” Jess started to turn away, but Dean piped up almost immediately.

“No, no. No, I wouldn’t dream of it, seriously.” You grabbed your brother’s arm and pulled him away from the girl, hitting the back of his head when he was close enough. He cast a quick glare at you before turning back to Jess.

“Anyway, we got to borrow your boyfriend here, talk about some private family business. But nice meeting you.” Sam looked to Jess as Dean spoke, then quickly crossed the room to stand at her side.

“No. Whatever you want to say, you can say it in front of her.”

“Okay. Dad hasn’t been home in a few days,” Dean replied. Sam rolled his eyes at his brother’s words.

“So he’s working overtime on a “Miller Time” shift. He’ll stumble back in sooner or later.”

Dean looked down at the ground for a moment before turning back to Sam.

“Dad’s on a hunting trip. And he hasn’t been home in a few days.”

--------

You and Dean stood in the living room while Sam was in the bedroom changing. Dean continued to peruse the pictures on the walls, avoiding your glare. Finally, you spoke up.

“What the hell are we doing here, Dean? He left, and we don’t need his help finding Dad.”

“If that thing has Dad, we’re going to need all the help we can get. Like it or not, we need Sam.”

“Yeah, the old Sam. But college boy? Who’s to say he’s not going to walk us out to the car just to tell us not to come back? We don’t need him. Dean, Dad could be in danger. Every minute we’re here trying to convince someone who won’t be convinced is time we’re not helping him,” you said, eyes darting over towards the closed bedroom door in case Sam walked out.

“You don’t think I know that? Y/N, we’ve got our best chance at finding Dad if we’re together. I’m not fighting about this.” You crossed your arms but remained silent. Sam emerged from the bedroom shortly after.

“Let’s go outside,” he stated, looking between you and Dean. Dean nodded and walked to the front door, leading the two of you out of the apartment.

“You know, you guys can’t just break in in the middle of the night and expect me to hit the road with you,” Sam chastised as he followed Dean down the stairs.

“You’re not hearing me, Sammy. Dad’s missing. We need you to help us find him.”

“You remember the poltergeist in Amherst or the devil’s gates in Clifton? He was missing then, too. He’s always missing, and he’s always fine.” Sam stopped at the bottom of the stairs as Dean turned back to look at him, leaving you stuck behind him.

“Not for this long. Now, are you gonna come with us or not?”

“I’m not.”

“Why not?”

“I swore I was done hunting for good,” Sam stated. At this, you pushed past Sam to stand beside Dean.

“Come on,” Dean scoffed. ”It wasn’t easy, but it wasn’t that bad.” He started walking toward the building’s exit, you and Sam on his trail.

“Yeah? When I told Dad I was scared of the thing in my closet, he gave me a .45.” You looked up at your older brother.

“What was he supposed to do?” you questioned.

“I was nine years old. He was supposed to say, ‘don’t be afraid of the dark.’”

“‘Don’t be afraid of the dark?’” Dean was incredulous. “What, are you kidding me? Of course you should be afraid. You know what’s out there.”

“Yeah, I know. Still—the way we grew up after Mom was killed, and Dad’s obsession to find the thing that killed her, but we still haven’t found the damn thing. So we kill everything we can find.”

“Save a lot of people doing it, too. What, are we supposed to sit back and knowingly let innocent people die just because we haven’t found that one thing?” You couldn’t keep from lashing out, anger clear in your voice. Did he really think every life they saved and every monster they destroyed was negated because you’d yet to find Yellow Eyes?

“No. I just…” Sam sighed and looked at Dean. “You think Mom would have wanted this for us?” You stormed outside and over to the car, Dean close behind you. Sam followed you both, continuing his questions. “The weapon training and melting the silver into bullets? Man, we were raised like warriors.”

“So, what are you gonna do? Are you just gonna live some normal, apple-pie life? Is that it?” Dean looked back at his younger brother.

“No, not normal,” Sam replied. “Safe.”

“And that’s why you ran away. That’s why you abandoned your family,” you shot back.

“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.”

“That didn’t mean you had to leave Dean and me in the dust.” Your voice was softer with this, less angry and more sorrowful. Almost as if you didn’t want that heard. Sam opened his mouth to reply, but Dean spoke first.

“Dad’s in real trouble right now, if he’s not dead already. I can feel it. We can’t do this alone.”

“Yes, you can,” Sam countered before you could.

“Yeah. Well, I don’t want to.” Dean broke eye contact with Sam and looked down at the ground. Sam was silent for a minute before letting out a long sigh.

“What was he hunting?” Dean looked to you and you begrudgingly went into the backseat of the car, grabbing your backpack.

“It’s going to take me a minute to find everything,” you warned, mentally chastising yourself for throwing the papers in your bag so haphazardly before you left. The details of the demon you’d been pursuing and the information you’d helped John find before he left were intermingled in your bag. You made quick work of unshuffling the two cases.

“So when Dad left, why didn’t you guys go with him?” Sam asked Dean. Dean shrugged.

“The kid and I were working our own gigs down in New Orleans,” he replied, leaning back against the trunk of the car.

“Dad let you go on a hunting trip by yourself?” Sam chuckled.

“I’m 26, dude.”

“Finally,” you tossed your bag back into the car and stepped closer to your brothers. “Alright, so, Dad was checking out this two-lane blacktop just outside Jericho, California. About a month ago, this guy—“ you handed one of the papers to Sam. “—they found his car, but he’d vanished. Completely M.I.A.”

“So maybe he was kidnapped,” Sam theorized, looking down at the paper. You scoffed and began handing him the rest of the papers one by one while Dean opened the trunk and began rooting around.

“Yeah, well, here’s another one in April. Another one in December ’04, ’03, ’98, ’92—10 of ‘em over the past 20 years—all men, all same 5-mile stretch of road,” you finished your explanation and looked to Dean. He finally found what he was looking for and continued the run-through.

“It started happening more and more, so Dad went to go dig around. That was about three weeks ago. We hadn’t heard from him since, which is bad enough, and then I got this voicemail yesterday.” Dean hit play on the tape player and held it out for Sam to hear.

“You know there’s EVP on that?” Sam asked once the recording had stopped.

“Not bad, Sammy. Kind of like riding a bike, isn’t it?” You rolled your eyes and took the tape player from Dean.

“I slowed it down and ran it through a GoldWave, took out the hiss, and this is what I got.” You hit play and let the EVP play through.

“Never go home,” Sam repeated once the recording had finished. You handed Dean the player, and he stuck it back in the trunk before closing it up and turning back to Sam.

“You know, in almost two years, I’ve never bothered you, never asked you for a thing.” Sam sighed and looked at the apartment building before looking back at you and Dean.

“Alright, I’ll go. I’ll help you find him, but I have to get back first thing Monday. Just wait here.” He turned away and started to head back into the apartment building. You furrowed your brow.

“What’s first thing Monday?” you called after him. Sam stopped and turned back to look at you.

“I have an interview.” He seemed uneasy telling you even that.

“What, a job interview?” Dean asked. “Skip it.”

“It’s a law school interview, and it’s my whole future on a plate.” Sam straightened up a bit at this reveal, proud of his plans.

“Law school?” Dean questioned.

“So, we got a deal or not?”

………..

Bobby let out a sharp breath, told the hunter he’d call him back, and ran to the door. Instinctively, he grabbed one of his knives on the way. He pulled the door open in enough time to catch a sleeping Y/N as Julia fell to the ground. She was dragged back by an invisible force, almost inhuman screams coming from her as the hound tore into her. Bobby ran Y/N into the living room and set her on the couch before running to his gun collection. He grabbed one loaded with iron bullets and went back to the front door, but the hound was gone. Julia’s lifeless body was sprawled out on the ground. Bobby quietly shut the door and made his way over to her, always looking around to ensure he was alone. He knelt down beside Julia and looked down at her, sighing. What had she gotten herself into?

———————————————

“Oh, damn it,” Bobby cursed, shaking his hand to relieve some of the pain on his now burnt finger. He turned the stove off and quickly poured the eggs onto a plate. Y/N was content in the living room, watching cartoons. When she’d woken up, Bobby had slipped some holy water into her drink, just to make sure. Bobby didn’t think there’d be any adverse reaction. He’d never heard of a crossroad demon going after anyone except the one they’d made their deal with. But, demons were tricky, and he had to be safe.

Y/N hadn’t asked about her mother’s whereabouts, to Bobby’s relief. He didn’t know how he could explain it to her. He didn’t know what he was going to do; he couldn’t take care of this girl. Julia’d asked him and Karen long before Y/N to be the guardians in her will when she was pregnant for her first child. Julia miscarried during that pregnancy, and Karen had died before Julia was pregnant with Y/N, but Bobby still agreed to be named guardian. He’d never thought it would come to this. She was young and healthy, so he’d always thought Julia was over-preparing. After last night, he’d come to realize it wasn’t a “just-in-case.” She was planning for the inevitable. Truthfully, the only experience he’d had with kids Y/N’s age were the few times John Winchester brought his sons along. As he carried the plate into the living room and set it down in front of the little one, he had the idea.

———————————————

“Bobby, I’ve got my hands full with the two I already got.” John shook his head, looking over at four-year-old Sam and 8-year-old Dean playing with the girl.

“Even out on the road, you and those boys would be givin’ her a better life than I could. Keep her away from whatever killed her mama if it’s decided to stick around the area.” Bobby sighed before continuing, dropping his voice low. “Look, I...I don’t know the first thing about raising a kid.” John hadn’t looked away from the kids. Of course, he could sympathize with the situation, but could he really take in another mouth to feed?

“I’ll send ya money each month,” Bobby added after a silent moment. John ran his hand down his face, letting out a long sigh.

“Alright. Where’s her stuff?”

———————————————

John thought he’d regret the decision to take Y/N in as soon as he’d pulled off Bobby’s lot. But, she just happily babbled as she tried to keep up with Sam and Dean’s conversation before falling asleep in her seat. She almost never whined and went along with every move and every new school with a smile. She loved the adventure this life gave her. If anything, she felt bad for the kids they met in each town. They were sentenced to living normal, mundane lives. She got to be a hero.

Y/N learned about the supernatural when she was six, the same time Sam did. She wasn’t supposed to, but she’d always been good at faking sleep. She handled it well enough, aside from the occasional nightmare. When she was eight, she learned the truth about her lineage and her mother. That was when she decided to immerse herself in the hunting world as much as she could. She’d ask John all about the hunts he’d been on and read every book she could get her hands on. Bobby often gifted her books when they’d stop at his house. She researched every creature ever hunted, whether they were thought to have been hunted to extinction or not. By the time she was 12, she was John and Dean’s first call when on a hunt. It was around that time that she learned how to drive, just in case they needed her. She learned how to hunt, but didn’t actually go on her first hunt until Sam left for Stanford. Y/N always saw herself taking on a role like Bobby when she left for school. When Sam left, she dropped out of school and earned her GED like Dean had. She didn’t want to stick everyone with searching for a school to enroll her in for another two years.

She resented Sam for leaving. While she respected his desire for a normal life, she just couldn’t get over how he left. His abandonment of his family hurt Y/N most. Yes, he and John had really had it out, but he left her and Dean in the dust, too, refusing to acknowledge them. She’d written him letters in the beginning, but they all went unanswered. She’d even left her phone numbers in every letter, but he never called. After a year, she finally gave up. If he didn’t want anything to do with her, she wouldn’t waste her energy any further.

At that point, she dived even further into the hunting world. She even snuck off on a few occasions for some quick and easy hunts on her own. She started looking closer into her mom’s death, too. Of course, she knew her mom was responsible for making the deal in the first place, but Y/N needed to know why. She needed to know who, too. If she could find out who, she could exorcise them and keep them from taking a loved one away from someone else.

———————————————

Four years after Sam left, a 20-year-old Y/N and Dean were in New Orleans working two different hunts. Dean thought she was working another simple case while he worked his own. No one knew she was going after demons on her own while they looked for Yellow Eyes. She was about to leave for the crossroad when Dean burst into the motel room. He had his phone to his ear but quickly lowered it, ending the call with a swear.

“What’s up?” Y/N asked, covering the papers on the table in front of her before Dean could see.

“Dad still isn’t answering,” he answered. Y/N’s stomach dropped. John had been gone this long before—hell, this wasn’t even his longest hunt to date—but he’d always answer his phone or get back to his kids. For him to go this long...something was wrong.

Y/N packed her belongings into her backpack side-by-side with Dean.

“He was in Jericho, right?” Y/N asked, trying to estimate how long it would take the duo to reach the town. Dean grunted “mmhmm” in response and led her out to the Impala. Y/N got in the front after throwing her bag in the backseat and grabbed the map from the glovebox. Dean started the car and sped out of the parking lot into the night.

Hailey took Ben’s hand and the two sat back on the log they’d been occupying earlier, comforting him as they did: “It’s okay. We’ll be alright. I promise.” The wendigo ran past the circle and she screamed. You jumped back, and Roy stepped closer, gun drawn.

“It’s here.” He took a shot at the brush, then turned and shot at another spot. The wendigo howled. “I hit it!” Roy jumped over the symbols and ran into the woods.

“Roy, no! Roy!” Dean called after him, trying to stop him. He looked back at Hailey and Ben. “Don’t move!” With that, he led you and Sam after Roy.

“It’s over here! It’s in the tree!” A voice called out. Suddenly, everything was silent. The two of you stopped and looked around, but Roy was gone.

~ ~ ~ ~

The woods were silent for the rest of the night. Sam found a spot against a tree stump to keep watch hours ago, and he’d yet to move. You and Dean were up at the campsite with Hailey and Ben, ensuring their safety.

“I don’t…I mean, these types of things aren’t supposed to be real,” Hailey said. Dean moved from his place beside one of the tents and sat beside her.

“I wish I could tell you different,” he sighed.

“How do we know it’s not out there watching us?” She asked, looking to Dean.

“We don’t,” you replied, keeping your eyes out on the woods. You glanced over in time to see Dean shoot you a look before he turned back to Hailey.

“But, we’re safe for now,” Dean reassured her. You rolled your eyes and went back to being the lookout. Hailey nodded then spoke again, her voice a bit softer.

“How do you know about this stuff?” Dean looked away for a moment before answering.

“It kind of runs in the family.” Before Hailey could ask another question, Dean stood up and Sam walked over, breathing heavily..

“Hey. So, we’ve got half a chance in the daylight. And I, for one, want to kill this evil son of a bitch,” Sam said. You turned around to look at him.

“You know I’m in,” you replied, stepping away from your post and closer to the group.

~ ~ ~ ~

As Dean readied the supplies you needed, you and Sam stood with Haley and Ben, getting them prepared for what they were about to face. You held out the journal, open to the page on wendigos, and gave them the basic summary.

“Wendigo is a Cree Native American word. It means ‘evil that devours,’” you shut the journal. “They’re hundreds of years old. Each one was once a man, sometimes a Native American, or other times a frontiersman or a miner or hunter.”

“How’s a man turn into one of these things?” Hailey asked.

“It’s always the same. During some harsh winter, a guy finds himself starving, cut off from supplies or help. He becomes a cannibal to survive, eating other members of his tribe or camp,” you answered.

“Like the Donner party,” Ben spoke up. Sam nodded.

“That’s right. Cultures all over the world believe that eating human flesh gives a person certain abilities—speed, strength, immortality,” he explained. Dean, finished with the weapons, stood and walked over.

“If you eat enough of it, over the years, you become this less-than-human thing. You’re always hungry,” Dean continued Sam’s thought.

“So, if that’s true, how can Tommy still be alive?” Hailey asked. You shook your head.

“You’re not gonna like it,” you warned her. She pressed on, demanding an answer. You sighed but spoke again. “More than anything, a wendigo knows how to last long winters without food. It hibernates for years at a time. When it’s awake, it, uh…” you trailed off and looked to your brothers, silently asking them to give her the news. Dean continued for you.

“It keeps its victims alive. It stores them so it can feed whenever it wants. If your brother’s alive, it’s keeping him somewhere dark, quiet, and safe. And we gotta track it back there.” You went to the bag of supplies as Hailey asked her next question.

“And then how do we stop it?”

“Well, guns are useless. So are knives,” Dean replied.

“Basically,” you cut in, holding up a rag, lighter, and some lighter fuel. “We gotta torch the sucker.

~ ~ ~ ~

The five of you made your way through the woods. Claw marks were spotted on the trees awhile back, and you used them as your guide to the wendigo’s lair. Suddenly, Sam stopped and called you and Dean over, looking up at all the claw marks in the trees. He pointed upwards, and you looked around to see the claw marks on every single tree, circling where the five of you stood.

“You know, I was thinking. Those claw marks, so clear and distinct,” Sam chuckled humorlessly.

“They were almost too easy to follow,” you finished his thought, voice barely audible. As if on cue, the wendigo ran past, back and forth around the area. You looked around, trying to get an idea of where it could be when Hailey screamed. You turned around in time to see Roy’s body fall on the ground. Hailey fell to the ground when she jumped out the way. Sam ran to her aid, and you went to Roy, putting your hand to his neck to feel for a pulse. You looked up at Dean immediately after, shaking your head. “His neck’s broken.”

“Okay, run, run!” Dean grabbed your arm and pulled you up while Sam helped Hailey. “Go, go, go, go, go!” The five of you rushed out of the area. Dean and Hailey ran ahead, but Ben tripped and fell to the ground. You and Sam stayed back to help him up. The three of you chased after Dean and Hailey, trying to cover the lost ground. Hailey screamed. You ran faster. Sam stopped at the bottom of a small hill when Ben called out for Hailey. You watched Sam bend down and pick something up off the ground; The top of Dean’s Molotov Cocktail. Your eyes widened and you looked around the area.

“Dean!”

~ ~ ~ ~

“If it keeps its victims alive, why would it kill Roy?” Ben asked, walking through the woods at Sam’s side. You led them a few feet ahead, searching for a clue.

“Honestly? I think because Roy shot at it, he pissed it off,” Sam replied. You stopped and nervously fixed your hair before closing your eyes and throwing your head back. Sam pursed his lips then walked over to you, putting a hand on your shoulder.

“Hey, Y/N, we’re going to find him,” he assured. You quickly turned away from him and wiped your eyes, shaking your head.

“I know, I know. I just…” you sighed. “We can’t lose him, Sam. He’s all I got.”

“I’m right here, Y/N. I’m not going anywhere.” You scoffed at Sam’s words.

“Yeah, I’ve heard that before. Sam, what’s keeping you here if Dean’s gone. He’s the one who convinced you to come. He’s the one that’s been able to talk you down. Besides, as soon as we find Dad and we get whatever killed Jess, you’re leaving, right? Right?” You shook your head again. “We have to find Dean.” Sam opened his mouth to reply, but Ben spoke up first.

“Hey, they went this way!” He called out, holding up an M&M. You went over to him, Sam right behind you. He took the M&M from Ben and chuckled.

“It’s better than breadcrumbs.” He chuckled again. You quickly began following the trail of candies, Ben and Sam on your trail again.

~ ~ ~ ~

Sam silently moved through the brush. Ben followed behind him, and you made up the rear, watching out for anything on your trail. Sam stopped at the entrance to the mine and looked through the opening in the old wooden fence. He looked back at you and shrugged before ducking under the top of the fence and slipping inside. You let Ben go in before you, made one last visual sweep of the woods, and went inside. Sam led both of you through the tunnels. He signaled for you to get against the wall then reached out and pushed Ben against the wall, covering his mouth when the wendigo walked out of the mine. One the coast was clear, Sam moved away from the wall and down to where the wendigo had emerged from.

You continued down the path for a few minutes, suddenly stopping when the wood began to creak. You looked back at Sam just as the wood cracked and the ground gave out beneath you. It was a short fall, but it still took you a minute to recover. Ben jumped away from a skull an inch in front of him, and Sam was soon at his side to calm him. While he did, you sat up and looked around. You turned your head to the right and gasped at the sight of Dean and Hailey hanging from the ceiling by their arms. You ran over to Dean.

“Dean, come on,” you softly pleaded, shaking your brother. Ben ran to Hailey and tried to wake her up. Dean’s eyes shot open and you let out a sigh of relief. “Hey, you okay.” He grunted in response. Sam went to Ben and helped him get Hailey down while you helped Dean. Once the pair were seated on the ground, Dean began groaning in pain. You looked at him, eyes slightly widened with fear.

“You sure you’re alright?” He brushed you off with a wave of his hand.

“Yeah, yeah. Where is it?” His voice was strained, but he was doing everything in his power to fake his well-being.

“It’s gone for now,” Sam answered him. With Ben’s help, Hailey stood up and walked over to Tommy.

“Tommy.” She grabbed his face, but gasped and jumped back when Tommy’s eyes opened and he took a breath in. She turned back to Sam. “Get him down.” While Sam helped her, you and Dean began digging through the backpacks beside you. Dean looked to you and smiled after a minute of digging, pulling out a gun. You smiled and pulled out one of your own.

“Hey, check it out,” Dean called over to Sam, standing up and holding his gun up.

“Flare guns,” Sam smiled. “Those’ll work.”

~ ~ ~ ~

Armed with a flare gun each, Sam and Dean led your group towards the entrance of the mine. Like before, you took up the rear, ensuring there were no attacks from behind. You kept your flare gun ready, finger centimeters from the trigger. Dean and Sam stopped when the wendigo began growling. Sam held his gun out in front of him.

“Looks like someone’s home for supper,” Dean commented.

“We’ll never outrun it,” Hailey said, looking at Dean as she struggled to keep Tommy up, even with Ben’s help. Dean glanced back at her then looked between you and Sam.

“You thinking what I’m thinking?”

“Yeah.” You nodded. Sam looked back at him.

“Yeah, I think so.”

“Alright, listen to me,” Dean instructed the three siblings. “Stay with Sam. He’s gonna get you out of here.”

“What are you going to do?” Hailey asked. Dean only winked in response before walking down the tunnel.

“It’s chow time, you freakin’ bastard!” He called out. You looked at Sam, nodded, then followed after Dean.

“Yeah, that’s right! Bring it on, baby!” You yelled once you were a few feet away from everyone else. Dean waited until you were behind him before he began running.

“We taste good!” Dean yelled. You were hot on his trail, stopping once to look around when you didn’t hear any sign of the wendigo.

“You want some white meat, bitch? We’re right here!” You looked around once more then ran after Dean. The two of you continued through the tunnels, yelling out for the creature. You kept an eye on Dean as you ran, watching as he held his arm against his stomach, almost refusing to move it.

Sam screamed and shot his gun towards the entrance of the tunnel. You turned and ran towards the area, willing your legs to move faster than they ever had. You and Dean reached the area as the wendigo closed in on Sam and the three siblings. It threw its head back and roared, giving you and Dean enough time to aim your guns.

“Hey!” Dean called out. The wendigo turned and the two of you shot your guns, hitting it in two separate spots. It lit up from the inside out and fell to the ground. Once it was dead, Dean looked over at Sam and smiled. “Not bad, huh?”

~ ~ ~ ~

You and Sam led Ben over to where Hailey and Dean stood once Ben finished giving his statement to the officer. Hailey turned to look at Ben.

“Let’s go,” she said. She turned back to Dean then leaned in and kissed his cheek. “I hope you find your father. Thanks, Sam. You, too, Y/N.” Hailey smiled at you and Sam before putting her arm around Ben and leading him over to the ambulance Tommy was in. You leaned against the car on one side of Dean, Sam mimicking your actions on the other side.

“Man, I hate camping,” you said, shaking your head.

“Me, too,” Dean and Sam agreed simultaneously. Dean pursed his lips and looked down at the ground for a moment before looking over at Sam.

“You know we’re gonna find Dad, right?” He asked. Sam sighed.

“Yeah, I know. But in the meantime…I’m driving.” Sam held his hands out for the keys, but Dean stayed silent. Finally, he tossed him the set and walked around the car to the passenger’s side.

“Oh, that is so not fair!” you complained as Sam got in the car.

“You crashed her into a house,” Dean replied, sliding into the passenger seat. You groaned and got in the backseat.

“It was one time!” you shot back. Sam smiled and revved the engine before speeding off out of the parking lot.

~~~~~

SPN rewrite taglist: @mrsfortune1306 @marvelous-glims

“Hunting ain’t exactly a pro-ball career,” Dean replied, vocalizing your thoughts.

“Besides, all we do is apply. Not our fault they send us cards,” you added. Sam scoffed, shaking his head.

“Yeah, and what names did you write on the application this time?” Sam continued his line of questioning while Dean walked around and got back in the car.

“Uh…Bert Aframian and his kids Hector and Bertha. Scored three cards out of the deal,” Dean smirked. Sam shook his head again.

“Sounds about right.” He dropped the tapes he was holding into the box. “I swear, man. You gotta update your cassette tape collection.”

“Why?” Dean asked, furrowing his brow.

“Well, for one, their cassette-tapes. And two—“ Sam began going through the tapes again while you and Dean looked on. “Black Sabbath, Motorhead, Metallica? It’s the greatest hits of mullet rock.” Dean grabbed the third tape from Sam’s hand and took it out of the case.

“House rules, Sammy. Driver picks the music, shotgun shuts his cakehole.” With that, Dean slid the tape into the car’s radio and turned the car on.

“You know, Sammy is a chubby 12-year-old. It’s Sam, okay?”

“Sorry, I can’t hear you. The music’s too loud.” Dean revved the engine before pulling out of the parking lot, speeding down the road towards Jericho.

————————

Apart from the music playing the speakers and Sam’s phone calls, the three of you rode in silence. You’d finished your book a few miles back and were trying to catch up on some last-minute sleep before you entered the town and began your work.

“Alright, so, there’s no one matching Dad at the hospital or morgue. So that’s something, I guess.” Sam informed you and Dean after hanging up the phone. Dean slowed as he approached the bridge riddled with police cars.

“Check it out,” he said, forcing you to open your eyes and sit up to see out the windshield. You went into your bag, grabbing your fake badge while Dean pulled the car over and parked it. He went into the glove box and got his own then turned back to you, holding his hand out.

“What?” You narrowed your eyes at him.

“Sam’s coming with on this one. Let him use yours.” Dean waved his fingers in a “hand it over” motion. Was he serious? Less than a day in, and he was already letting Sam take over your spot. The way things were done for four years now were being thrown out the window.

“No way, dude. Besides, how’s he supposed to get past ‘em when it’s got my picture on it?” Sam looked between the two of you, unsure if speaking up would do him any good with either of you.

“You know they never look that close at those things. Come on.” You narrowed your eyes but relinquished the badge to Dean.

“We’ll let you know what we find out,” Dean assured, handing Sam the badge. “Let’s go.”

“You better,” you warned, sitting back in your seat and crossing your arms as Sam and Dean got out of the car and made their way over to the officers. Of course, you knew that having Sam along meant you’d be sitting out a few interrogations. Hell, you’d be fine with sitting back and letting the two of them go ahead if you were given the option. But, that was the problem. There was no option this time around, no asking your opinion. You were used to Dean calling the shots, but he at least talked to you beforehand. And he’d never kept anything like this from you. You let out a long sigh and grabbed the case papers and notes. Might as well give them another read while you were stuck waiting.

——————

“I’ll bet you that’s her.” Dean pointed ahead at the girl with a stack of flyers in her bag while walking down the street, you and Sam in tow. You put your hand out to stop them and moved in front of them. They’d told you all about the cop’s daughter dating the latest vic on your way into town, and you’d be damned if they conned you out of another questioning.

“This I can do.” You spun on your heel and walked over to Amy. “Hey, Amy, right?” The girl looked at you suspiciously but nodded.

“Yeah.”

“Troy told me about you. I’m his cousin. I’m Y/N.” Your response didn’t seem to lower her suspicion much.

“He never mentioned you to me,” she replied, continuing to walk forward. You chuckled, matching her pace.

“Well, that’s Troy, I guess. I’m not really around much. I live up in Modesto. But, uh, we’re looking for him, too.” You gestured back at Sam and Dean. “The guys back there are my brothers, Dean and Sam, and we’re asking around.” You were interrupted by another girl running up to Amy.

“Hey, you alright?” She asked Amy, looking you up and down once before turning back to her friend.

“Yeah,” Amy nodded, looking down. You cleared your throat and waved your brothers over.

“You mind if we ask you a couple questions?”

——————

You were, uncomfortably, squeezed in the booth between Sam and the wall, Dean on Sam’s other side. Amy and Rachel were sat across from you, Amy relaying everything she knew from the last time she’d heard from Troy.

“I was on the phone with Troy. He was driving home. He said he would call me right back, and he never did.”

“He didn’t say anything strange or out of the ordinary?” Sam asked. Amy shook her head.

“No, nothing I can remember.” Dean leaned forward and looked between the two of them, and you took the opportunity to nudge Sam with your elbow, finally getting a little more space on the cramped seat.

“Alright, here’s the deal, ladies. The way Troy disappeared—something’s not right. So, if you’ve heard anything…” He trailed off. The girls shifted in their seats, turning to look at each other.

“What is it?” you asked. Rachel spoke up.

“Well, it’s just…I mean, with all these guys going missing, people talk.”

“What do they talk about?” You, Sam, and Dean asked in unison. Rachel took a minute to answer, seemingly unsure of how to explain herself. She played with her hands nervously, fidgeting through the tale.

“It’s kind of this local legend. This one girl, she got murdered out on Centennial, like, decades ago. Well, supposedly, she’s still out there. She hitchhikes, and whoever picks her up…well, they disappear forever.” Dean looked to you and Sam knowingly, earning a nod back from both of you.

———————

Dean began searching on the library’s computer, you seated on his left and Sam looking on from behind. He typed “Female Murder Hitchhiking” before searching, yielding zero results. He removed “Hitchhiking” and typed “Centennial Highway” before searching again. And again, he was met with zero results.

“Let me try,” you said, reaching for the mouse. Dean slapped your hand away.

“I got it.” He started typing again, but you pushed his chair away from the computer and moved yours in front of it. “Dude.” Dean hit your arm then moved his chair next to yours. “You’re such a control freak.”

“So, angry spirits are born out of violent deaths, right?” You started, ignoring his complaint. Sam leaned forward with a “yeah,” signaling for you to continue.

“Well, maybe it’s not murder.” You deleted the “murder” from Dean’s search and replaced it with “suicide.” The page took a minute to load, but you were met with a single result.

“Alright,” you said, clicking on the article. “This was 1981.”

“Constance Welch, 24 years old, jumps off Sylvania Bridge, drowns in the river,” Sam read over your shoulder.

“Does it say why she did it?” Dean asked.

“Yeah. An hour before they found her, she calls 911. Her two little kids are in the bathtub. She leaves them alone for a minute, and when she comes back, they aren’t breathing. Both die,” you summarized as you scrolled through the article.

“‘‘Our babies were gone, and Constance just couldn’t bear it,’ said husband, Joseph Welch,’” Sam read as you went the next page. Dean moved closer, looking at the large picture taking up the screen.

“That bridge look familiar to you?”

———————

“So this is where Constance took the swan dive,” Dean commented once you’d reached the spot on the bridge. He looked over the railing at the water below.

“So, you think Dad would have been here?” Sam asked, looking first at the rushing. water then at Dean.

“He’s chasing the same story, and we’re chasing him,” you replied, moving away from the railing and walking further down the bridge. Dean followed suit, matching your pace easily.

“Okay, so now what?” He asked again, trailing behind the two of you.

“Now we keep digging ’til we find him. It might take a while.” Exasperation was clear in Dean’s voice. Sam was getting impatient, all too eager to leave you and Dean in the dust once again in order to go back to his life. He wasn’t afraid to let it be known, either.

“Dean, I told you I’ve got to get back by—“

“Monday,” Dean interrupted him, turning around to face him. “Right. The interview. Yeah, I forgot… You’re really serious about this, aren’t you? You think you’re just gonna become some lawyer, marry your girl?”

“Maybe. Why not?” Sam was annoyed. You crossed your arms and stepped closer to him.

“Does Jessica know the truth about you? I mean, does she know about the things you’ve done?”

“No, and she’s not ever going to know,” Sam answered, mimicking your actions and taking a step closer.

“Well, that’s healthy,” you shot back. Dean stepped between you two but kept his eyes locked with Sam’s.

“You can pretend all you want, Sammy, but sooner or later, you’re going to have to face up to who you really are.” Dean turned away and started walking down the bridge again, you right behind him. Sam paused for a moment then followed.

“And who is that?”

“One of us.” Dean continued walking, not turning back to face the younger Winchester. Sam sped up and stood in front of the two of you, blocking your path.

“No, I’m not like you. This is not going to be my life.”

“No, you’re absolutely right, Sam. You’re not like us. Walking away is one thing. but we never would have turned our backs on the family as quickly and as easily as you did,” you were seething. “Regardless, you have a responsibility. We all do.”

“To Dad and his crusade? If it weren’t for pictures, I wouldn’t even know what my Mom looked like.”

“At least you had pictures! You get to know what she looked like and know what she was like. You think I don’t know how shitty it is to lose your Mom and not remember a thing about her? The only thing I know about my mom is how she died.  Finding the thing that took her away…you really can’t see how important that is? You’re really just going to throw away all the work that’s been done because we haven’t found that thing?” Tears began to fill your eyes, but you quickly blinked them away. You weren’t about to cry in front of him.

“What difference would it make? Even if we do find the thing that killed her, she’s gone, and she’s not coming back.” At Sam’s words, Dean grabbed the collar of his jacket and shoved him up against the side of the bridge. He was silent for a minute—eyes boring into Sam’s—before he spoke.

“Don’t talk about her like that.” Dean’s voice was quiet but intense. You’d only heard him use that tone a handful of times. He lowered his hands, but he and Sam continued to glare at each other. You looked down the bridge, body tensing when you saw the figure.

“Dean, Sam.” The two followed your gaze down the bridge and watched as Constance turned to look at you before jumping. You all ran to the spot and looked down.

“Where’d she go?” Sam asked.

“I don’t know,” you responded, continuing to look around until you heard the Impala’s engine roar to life. You all turned to look at the car, her headlights illuminating the dark bridge.

“What the—“ Dean was cut off.

“Who’s driving your car?” Sam questioned. None of your eyes left the Impala. Dean grabbed the keys from his pocket and held them up. A second later, the tires squealed as the car launched forward, heading towards you. You ran down the bridge on Sam and Dean’s tails. As the car got closer, the three of you turned toward the side of the bridge and jumped, sending yourself flying over the side and into the water below.

Sam pulled himself up to a sitting position on the bridge and looked down at the water.

“Dean!” He called out, looking around. Dean crawled out of the water, laying on his back. “Dean, are you alright?”

“I’m super,” Dean called back, weakly raising his arm to give a thumbs-up. Sam let out a sigh of relief but was soon hit with another wave of panic.

“Dean. where’s Y/N?” Sam asked. He didn’t see her in the water or on the shore.

“She’s up there with you.” Dean’s eyes were shut. He hadn’t seen you hit the water as he had, so surely you were safe, right?

“No, she isn’t.” At that, Dean shot up and looked around, calling your name. He was about to jump back into the water to find you when you finally crawled onto the shore and laid down, groaning. You’d hit the water hard, and every inch of you was muddy and sore. You finally opened your eyes to see Sam looking down from above.

“Aw, man. What the hell?” Why’d he get to walk out of this mud-free? Sam started laughing and climbed the rest of the way up onto the bridge while Dean helped you to your feet.

———————-

“Car alright?” Sam asked as Dean looked around under the hood. You finished wiping your face with a spare towel from the trunk and walked to the front of the car. Dean shut the hood and sat down.

“Yeah, whatever she did to it, it seems alright now. That Constance chick—what a bitch!” He yelled. You offered him a second towel and leaned on the car beside him.

“Well, she doesn’t want us digging around, that’s for sure,” you said, wringing the towel in your hands. Sam sat on the other side of Dean.

“So, where’s the trail go from here, geniuses?” Dean threw his hands up in the air in response to Sam’s question.

“Ditto,” you sighed. The three of you sat in the silence of the night before Sam turned to the two of you.

“You guys smell like a toilet.” You narrowed your eyes and threw the soiled towel at him, hitting him in the side of the face. Dean chuckled and finally started using his towel to clean his face off.

——————-

Dean put the card on the book of the motel clerk standing before him. “One room, please.”

The clerk looked back and forth between Dean and the card a few times before speaking up.

“You guys having a reunion or something?” You furrowed your brow and looked at the clerk.

“What do you mean?

“Another guy, Bert Aframian. He came in and bought out a room for the whole month.” You looked at Sam and Dean then got the room number from the clerk. Dean hastily led the three of you down the row of rooms until he found the right one. Dean and you stood watch for Sam as he got to work picking the lock. He was in the room in just under a minute. He stepped inside then turned, reaching out and pulling you and Dean inside behind him.

SPN rewrite taglist: @mrsfortune1306 @marvelous-glims

“Wanna drive for a while?” Dean looked to his younger brother. Sam chuckled in response, shocked.

“Dean, in your whole life, you’ve never once asked me that.”

“Yeah, me neither,” you agreed, leaning forward and resting your arms on the seat in front of you.

“Just thought you might want to. Never mind,” Dean replied to Sam. “And, Y/N, you’re never driving Baby again after what happened.”

“God, you crash a car into a house one time,” you replied, sitting back in your seat. This seemed to lighten the mood enough to take Sam out of his head.

“Look, guys, you’re worried about me. I get it and thank you, but I’m perfectly okay.” Dean only hummed in response. Quick to change the subject, Sam spoke again, grabbing the map as he did: “Alright, where are we?”

“We are just outside of Grand Junction,” Dean replied. Sam looked over the map for a few minutes before taking a deep breath.

“You know what? Maybe we shouldn’t have left Stanford so soon,” he mused. Dean shut his eyes for a moment, and you leaned forward again to look at Sam.

“Sam, we dug around there for a week. We came up with nothing. If you want to find the thing that killed Jessica-”

“Gotta find Dad first,” he interrupted, finishing your thought.

“Dad disappearing, and this thing showing up again after twenty years? It’s no coincidence. Dad’ll have answers. He’ll know what to do,” Dean reminded Sam. The same words he’d used to convince Sam to leave Stanford in the first place. Sam tried to change the subject again.

“It’s weird, man. These coordinates he left us, this Black Water Ridge…” Sam trailed off, looking at the map again.

“What about it?” Dean asked, glancing over at the map.

“There’s nothing there. It’s just woods.” Sam lowered the map and looked out the windshield, confusion clear on his face. “Why’s he sending us to the middle of nowhere?”

——————-

You looked around the ranger station with Dean while the three of you waited for the ranger. Sam was at the terrain model of the woods, looking at the entirety of the area.

“So, Black Water Ridge is pretty remote. It’s cut off by these canyons here—rough terrain, dense forest, abandoned silver and gold mines all over the place,” he explained to you and Dean. His words fell on deaf ears, however, as you and Dean were too preoccupied with looking at the pictures on the wall.

“Dude, check out the size of this friggin’ bear,” Dean called the two of you over. You walked over with Sam and shrugged when you saw the bear.

“…and a dozen or more grizzlies in the area,” Sam concluded his summary of the area.

“I’ve seen bigger than that. I fought a werewolf twice that size a few months ago before I met back up with you and Dad in Des Moines. I could take that thing on no problem,” you scoffed. Dean smiled proudly, but Sam furrowed his brow. He knew how invested you were in this life, how much you’d always been, but he couldn’t help feeling a bit overprotective of his kid sister. You’d been out facing monstrous werewolves three times your size without any help during his absence?

“It’s no nature hike, that’s for sure,” he said, shaking his head. The three of you were interrupted by the ranger’s entrance.

“You three aren’t planning to go out near Black Water Ridge, by any chance?” he asked. The three of you turned to face him.

“Oh, no, sir. We’re environmental-study majors from U.C. Boulder. Just working on a paper,” Sam answered. Dean fist-bumped the air.

“Recycle, man,” he added.

“Bull. You’re friends with that Hailey girl, right?” The Ranger moved to stand behind his desk. You stepped out from behind Sam and Dean, nodding.

“Yes. Yes, we are, Ranger…Wilkinson,” you answered, leaning in slightly to make out the name on his badge. He set his coffee mug down.

“Well, I will tell you exactly what I told her. Her brother filled out a backcountry permit saying he wouldn’t be back from Black Water until the 24th. So, it’s not exactly a missing persons now, is it?” Dean shook his head. “Tell that girl to quit worrying. I’m sure her brother’s just fine,” Ranger Wilkinson finished, stepping away from his desk again.

“We will,” Dean stated with a nod. “Well, that Hailey girl’s quite a pistol, huh?” He chuckled.

“That is putting it lightly,” the ranger replied with a shake of his head.

“Actually, you know what would help is if I could show her a copy of that backcountry permit. You know, so she could see her brother’s return date,” Dean suggested. Ranger Wilkinson looked down for a moment then nodded.

——-

“Yeah!” Dean laughed victoriously as he led you and Sam to the back of the car.

“What? Are you cruising to hookup or something?” you asked. Dean looked to you.

“What do you mean?”

“The coordinates point to Black Water Ridge. So, what are we waiting for?”

“She’s right, Dean,” Sam agreed. “Let’s just go find Dad. I mean, why even talk to this girl?”

“I don’t know. Maybe we should know what we’re walking into before we actually walk into it,” Dean shot back defensively. He looked between you and Sam and shook his head.

“What?” Sam asked, clearly annoyed at this point.

“Since when are you two all ‘shoot first, ask questions later?’ anyway?”

“Since now,” Sam quipped, getting into the car with a slam of the door. Dean turned to you before you could follow suit.

“You know, you’re the one who said we were friends with this girl. Now you’re mad it got us some information?”

“Yeah, the wrong information. How was I supposed to know that girl wasn’t a victim going in?” you sighed. “If Dad’s here in those woods, he could fill us in on what we need to know. Making all these other stops, interviewing people Dad probably already got to…it’s just more time spent not looking for him.” With that, you slid into the backseat before Dean could answer.

———-

You opted out of going to the girl’s house, choosing instead to stay back and do some more research of your own. If you weren’t going right into the woods, you might as well look further into all this while you could. Besides, Hailey didn’t need two strangers at her door during all this, let alone three. However, this left you up to analyzing the video Dean and Sam collected while at her house. You met back up with Dean and Sam at a local dive-bar to share your findings.

“So, Black Water Ridge doesn’t get a lot of traffic. Local campers mostly, but, still, this past April, two hikers went missing out there. They were never found,” you recanted, searching through the papers on the table before you.

“Any before that?” Dean asked.

“Yeah.” You finally found the old newspaper you’d printed and laid it on the table in front of your brothers. While they read, you got the laptop from the bag and turned it on. “In 1982, eight different people all vanished in the same year. Authorities said it was a grizzly attack. And, again, in 1959, and before that in 1936. Every 23 years, just like clockwork.

“Okay, watch this. Here’s the cincher. I downloaded the video Sam sent over. Watch this.” You spun the laptop to face them. “Here’s the clincher.  I downloaded the video Sam sent me. Watch this.” You pressed a key, playing a few frames of the footage. Sam and Dean leaned in closer to the laptop.

“Do it again,” Dean said. You complied, rewinding the tape then playing those three frames again.

“That’s three frames. It’s a fraction of a second. Whatever that thing is, it can move.” Sam’s eyes stayed locked on the screen as he spoke, reaching forward to play the clips once more. Dean hit Sam’s arm triumphantly.

“I told you something weird was going on here,” he said. You shook your head, shutting the laptop.

“Yeah, I got one more thing. In’59, one camper survived the supposed grizzly attack. Just a kid—barely crawled out of the woods alive.” You passed your last paper across the table for them to look over. Dean grabbed it first, and Sam looked on over his shoulder.

“Is there a name?” Dean asked.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

SPN rewrite taglist: @mrsfortune1306 @marvelous-glims

“You guys got room for three more?” Dean asked, shutting the door and leading you and Sam over to Hailey.

“Wait, you want to come with us?” Hailey asked, raising an eyebrow.

“Who are these guys?” the guide asked, eyeing the three of you suspiciously.

“Apparently this is all the park service could muster up,” Hailey replied, glancing back over her shoulder to look at him.

“You’re rangers?” Disbelief was clear in the guide’s voice.

“That’s right,” Dean shot back. Sam began to head into the woods, ignoring the conversation. You glanced up at Dean then followed Sam. It didn’t matter whether they believed your cover or not, you just needed to get into the woods and find John.

“And you’re hiking out in biker boots and jeans?” Hailey questioned, looking Dean up and down.

“Well, sweetheart, I don’t do shorts,” Dean smirked, following your lead. The guide stopped him.

“Oh, you think this is funny? It’s dangerous backcountry out there. Her brother might be hurt.” You rolled your eyes and turned back to look at him. If only he knew everything the three of you had seen. Sam stopped and followed suit as Dean spoke up.

“Believe me, I know how dangerous it can be. We just want to help them find their brother. That’s all.” Dean began walking up the trail with you and Sam and, finally, Hailey, Ben, and the guide followed.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“So, Roy, you said you did a little hunting,” Dean said as the six of you walked further into the woods. You looked around the area, trying to find anything that would give you a clue as to where John was.

“Yeah, more than a little,” was all Roy gave in response, a hint of irritation lacing the words.

“Uh-huh. What kind of furry critters do you hunt?”

“Mostly buck. Sometimes bear.”

“Tell me, uh, Bambi or Yogi ever hunt you back?” Dean asked, stepping ahead of Roy. You chuckled lightly at Dean’s words, but the mood quickly shifted as Roy grabbed the back of Dean’s jacket and pulled him back. You balled your hands into fists, ready to fight. Dean looked to Roy. “Whatcha doing, Roy?”

Roy let go of Dean’s jacket then reached down and grabbed a stick off the ground. You and Hailey jumped when he reached the stick out and set off the bear trap directly in front of Dean. Roy dropped the stick and looked back to Dean.

“You should watch where you’re going stepping…Ranger.” With that, he pressed on, walking further down the trail. Dean chuckled and turned back to you, Sam, Hailey, and Ben.

“It’s a bear trap.” He continued on after Roy, the four of you following. Hailey rushed forward to match his pace.

“You didn’t pack any provisions. You guys are carrying a duffel bag. You’re not rangers, so who the hell are you?” Hailey grabbed Dean’s arm, forcing him to turn back and face her. Dean looked to you and Sam as Ben walked ahead. You looked up to Sam then back at Dean and nodded. She should know the truth now before things turned ugly. Sam nodded as well then nudged you.

“C’mon, Y/N,” he prodded, gesturing for you to go ahead. You shook your head and mimicked his gesture.

“No way am I almost breaking an ankle again because of you. You first.” Sam shook his head but stepped forward and began following after Ben, you on his trail. Dean began talking with Hailey.

“Y’know, it’s not my fault you didn’t watch where you were going,” Sam teased as the two of you walked together. You rolled your eyes and looked up at him, unable to keep the smile off your face.

“It’s kind of hard to watch where you’re going when you’re five and your brother is chasing after you with a handful of worms,” you retorted, shuddering as you thought back to that day. John was having Dean do some target practice, which left you and Sam to occupy yourselves. The then seven-year-old Sam had dug up about fifteen worms and tried to stick one down the back of your shirt when you weren’t paying attention. You caught him at the last second and ran, starting a chase through the trees, screams and giggles filling the air. You turned back to see how close Sam was, missing the hole in the ground in front of you. Your foot slipped in and you were on the ground before you even knew what happened.

“Munchkin! You want some M&M’s?” Dean called out from behind you, pulling you out of your thoughts with the nickname he’d saddled you with since childhood. You turned around to face him. He and Hailey had begun walking again, and he was holding up the bag of candy.

“Call me that again and I’ll make sure you end up in the next bear trap,” you replied, arms crossed. “But, yes, please!”

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“This is it—Black Water Ridge,” Roy said, stopping when he reached the small clearing.

“What coordinates are we at?” Sam asked, moving past him and looking around. Roy got his GPS out of his jacket.

“35 and minus 111,” he read off the screen. Dean walked over to Sam, putting his hand on your shoulder and pulling you with him.

“You hear that?” he asked, voice lowered.

“Yeah,” Sam replied, staring straight ahead into the next group of trees.

“Not even crickets,” you added, looking around the area. Roy put his GPS back in his jacket.

“I’m gonna go take a look around.” Sam quickly looked at him.

“You shouldn’t go off by yourself,” he warned, turning back to look at that same spot he’d been staring at before. Roy chuckled mockingly.

“That’s sweet. Don’t worry about me.” He readied his gun and pushed past the three of you to walk deeper into the woods. Dean watched him for a moment then looked to the rest of the group.

“Alright. Everyone stays together. Let’s go,” he instructed, following Roy’s trail.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

“Hailey! Over here!” Roy called out, sending all five of you running to his location. He’d found the campsite. The tent was torn to shreds and belongings were thrown all over the site; blood was everywhere.

“Oh my god,” said Hailey.

“Looks like a grizzly,” Roy commented. You began walking the scene, taking in each rip in the tent, and track on the ground. Hailey began calling Tommy’s name, and Sam was quick to run over and quiet her. You noticed Dean walk away from the site, following something but continued looking for some kind of clues where you were. You were inspecting the tears in the tent when Dean called for you and Sam.

“The bodies were dragged from the campsite. But here, the tracks just vanish. It’s weird,” Dean informed the two of you once you’d reached him and knelt down beside him to see the tracks’ end.

“I’ll tell you what. It’s no skinwalker or black dog,” Dean said, standing. He looked around for a moment before walking back to the campground. You looked to Sam momentarily before following Dean. He was beside Hailey, comforting her as she held Tommy’s broken phone in her hands. Suddenly, a voice screamed for help. The five of you ran towards the sounds, Dean and Roy with their weapons drawn. You stopped at a ledge and spread out.

“It seemed like it was coming from around here, didn’t it?” Hailey asked. You continued looking out into the woods, narrowing your eyes.

“Everyone back to camp,” you said suddenly, turning and leading the group back.

“Our packs!” Hailey threw her hands up in the air upon seeing everything was gone.

“So much for my GPS and satellite phone,” Roy grumbled.

“What the hell’s going on?” Hailey asked.

“It’s smart. It wants to cut us off so we can’t call for help,” you said, shaking your head.

“You mean someone. Some nutjob out there just stole all our gear,” Roy thought he corrected. You rolled your eyes and went over to Sam and Dean as he spoke.

“I need to speak with you…in private.” Before either could respond, you walked off, away from the campsite. Once you were a reasonable distance away from Hailey, Roy, and Ben, you stopped.

“Okay. Let me see Dad’s journal.” Dean handed it to you, and you quickly found the page you needed. “Alright. Check that out.” You turned the book so they could see. Dean took one look at the page then looked at you.

“Oh, come on. Wendigos are in the Minnesota woods or Northern Michigan. I’ve never even heard of one this far west,” he scoffed.

“Think about it, Dean. The speed, the way it can mimic a human voice.”

“The claws,” Sam added. Dean looked between the two of you then sighed.

“Great. Well, then, this is useless,” he said, holding up his gun. You shut the journal and handed it back to him.

“We gotta get these people to safety.” Sam’s urgency was clear in his tone and the way in which he turned away from you and Dean and went back to the campsite. Dean shared a look with you before following your brother.

“Alright, listen up. It’s time to go. Things have gotten more complicated,” Sam directed as he walked onto the site.

“What?” Hailey asked, pressing for more information.

“Don’t worry. Whatever’s out there, I think I can handle it,” Roy spoke. The arrogance in his voice made your hands ball into fists. Had you met him under any other circumstance, you’d have decked him three hours ago.

“It’s not me I’m worried about. If you shoot this thing, you’re just gonna make it mad. We have to leave. Now.”

“One, you’re talking nonsense. Two, you’re in no position to give anybody orders,” Roy shot back at Sam.

“Relax,” Dean said, looking at Roy.

“We never should have let you come out here in the first place, alright? I’m trying to protect you,” Sam warned Roy.  Roy moved closer to him, growing angrier.

“You protect me? I was hunting these woods when your mommy was still kissing you good night!”

“Yeah? It’s a damn-near-perfect hunter. It’s smarter than you. And it’s gonna hunt you down and eat you alive unless we get your stupid, sorry ass out of here.” Sam’s voice was condescending as he looked down on Roy. Roy laughed in his face and hit Sam’s arm.

“You know you’re crazy, right?”

“Yeah? You ever a wen-“ Sam was cut off when Dean shoved him away from Roy. You moved with Dean, standing between Roy and Sam to avoid either of them letting the situation escalate even further.

“Roy, Roy! Stop. Stop it! Everybody just stop.” Hailey looked around the group then let her eyes fall on Sam. “Look, Tommy might still be alive. And I’m not leaving here without him.”

“It’s getting late,” you said after a moment of silence. “This thing is a good hunter in the day, but an unbelievable hunter at night. We’ll never beat it. Not in the dark.”

“We need to settle in and protect ourselves,” Dean continued.

~ ~ ~ ~ ~

You were on the ground, helping Dean draw the symbols in the dirt. Hailey and Ben watched on from their spot in front of the fire. You glanced over to Sam for what was probably the fiftieth time. He’d isolated himself on a log a few feet away ages ago and was yet to move.

“Once more time. That’s…”

“Anasazi symbols. It’s for protection. The wendigo can’t cross over them,” you answered Hailey, keeping your head down. Roy laughed. Once you’d finished your last symbol, you stood and tossed your stick in his direction, narrowly missing the man…accidentally, of course. You mouthed ‘sorry,’ and turned away before he could see your smirk.

“Nobody likes a skeptic, Roy,” Dean said. He finished drawing the symbol then stood, dusting the dirt off his pants. “Y/N.” He gestured in Sam’s direction once you looked over at him. You nodded and followed him over, taking a seat on one side of Sam while Dean sat on the other. “You wanna tell me what’s going on in that freaky head of yours?”

“Dean…” Sam began.

“No, you’re not fine,” Dean cut him off. “You’re like a powder keg. That’s not like you. I’m supposed to be the belligerent one, remember?” Sam’s eyes never left the spot in front of him, his mind seemingly racing.

“Dad’s not here,” Sam finally spoke, his voice soft. “I mean, that much we know for sure, right? He would have left us a message, a sign, right?”

“He’s right, Dean. I don’t think Dad’s ever been to Lost Creek,” you agreed, looking down at the ground. What was with all this secrecy with your father? He’d never left this long without at least letting you and Dean know where he was, what he was doing. You couldn’t help but wonder if you were following the trail of something you weren’t prepared to face. Sam shook his head and looked at Dean.

“We need to get these people back to town, and let’s hit the road. Go find Dad.” He threw the small stick he’d been drawing in the dirt with down on the ground. “I mean, why are we still here?” Dean moved to kneel in front of him but looked between the two of you, John’s journal in his hands. He held it out in front of him and placed one hand on top of it.

“This is why. This book. This is Dad’s single most valuable possession. Everything he knows about every evil thing is in here. And he’s passed it on to us. I think he wants us to pick up where he left off. You know, saving people, hunting things…the family business.” You sighed and rubbed your face with your hands, keeping yourself from tearing up.

“That makes no sense. Why…why doesn’t he just call us? Why doesn’t he tell us what he wants, tell us where he is?” You asked. Dean sighed and shook his head.

“I don’t know. But the way I see it, Dad’s given us a job to do, and I intend to do it.”

“Dean…no. I gotta find Dad. I gotta find Jessica’s killer. It’s the only thing I can think about,” Sam spoke. His voice was even softer than before, barely audible and quivering. He blinked away the tears in his eyes, but more came. You pursed your lips and put your hand on shoulder in an attempt to silently comfort him. Dean looked at Sam and nodded.

“Okay, alright. Sam, we’ll find them. I promise. Listen to me. You’ve got to prepare yourself. I mean, this search could take a while. And all this anger, you can’t keep it burning over the long haul. It’s going to kill you. You gotta have patience, man.”

“How do you do it?” Sam asked with a sad, half-hearted chuckle. “How does Dad do it?”

“Well, for one, them.” Dean looked over to Hailey and Ben. “ I mean, I figure our family’s so screwed to hell, maybe we can help some others. It makes things a little bit more bearable.” He paused for a moment, looking away from Sam. He was silent, pensive. “And I’ll tell you what else helps. Killing as many evil sons of bitches as I possibly can.” The three of you shared small, sad smiles, but the moment was quickly interrupted by that same voice calling out from deep in the woods.

“Help me!”

~ ~ ~ ~

SPN rewrite taglist: @mrsfortune1306 @marvelous-glims