DISCLAIMER: I do not own Supernatural. This story and all chapters therein are an independent work for entertainment purposes only. Enjoy!

Chapter 1

Kentucky: March 26, 1990

The air was quiet as the sun rose over the Kentucky countryside. Quiet save for the throaty rumble of the 1967 Chevy Impala speeding down the highway. It was early enough where the Impala was one of the few cars out on the road.

John Winchester looked about the world outside his vehicle and marveled at the sight. Glorious green fields stretched as far as the eye could see, interrupted only by rolling hills, the only sign that they had left behind the Appalachian Mountains.

In John's opinion, the only blemish on the gorgeous view was the fences that marked off the boundary between the highway and the horse farms. It was beautiful and he wished his wife Mary was alive to see it.

John choked back the tears that were threatening to spill from his eyes and he looked in his rearview mirror to see his sleeping sons. The boys used their bags as pillows and were nestled under a big blanket John kept in the car.

His oldest son, Dean, was already stirring from sleep but his youngest son, Sam, was still asleep, blissfully unaware of the coming day. John then reached back and shook Dean's leg.

"Dean, wake up! You gotta see this!" he said, trying not to be too loud and wake Sam. Dean jumped in his seat and rubbed his eyes.

"Is everything ok, Dad?" the younger Winchester asked, thinking they were under attack. Dean was eleven and was already learning to be aware of the dangers his father faced.

"Yeah Dean, we're fine. I just wanted you to take a look outside."

Dean pressed his face against the window and looked out to the rolling hills. At one point he even saw a horse galloping along one of the fences.

"Wow. Where are we? It's so green here and look at all the horses! Do cowboys live here?" he breathed in awe. Dean was getting older but he still retained some of his childlike wonder.

John knew it would be difficult to hold onto that with the lives they led but for now, he wanted his son to enjoy the moment and be a regular kid.

"We're in northern Kentucky, Dean. I've got a friend here that we're going to visit."

"Do they have a farm? Is this for work? Can we ride horses? How long are we staying?" Dean rapidly fired off questions, his excitement building. John chuckled as he pulled his car off onto US-27N toward the town of Paris.

"Relax, Dean. You'll see when we get there." he replied warmly. Dean smiled and immediately began to wake up his brother.

About thirty minutes later, they pulled off the highway and onto a town road. Sam was now fully awake and eagerly awaiting their arrival at this new place.

"How much longer, Dean?" Sam whispered.

"I don't know, Sammy. Just be patient." his older brother replied as he pushed back Sam's wavy, brown hair from his eyes.

Not long after, they pulled up to a tan house with brown trim and a large front porch. On one end was a porch swing and at the other end was a small table with two rocking chairs on either end of it.

Behind the house were two large barns, separated by segmented fields, dotted with grazing horses.

Back at the front of the house, Sam and Dean noticed a woman digging and next to her were flats of flowers. John followed the driveway until he was next to the house.

The woman looked up from her work and smiled when she recognized the car. She waved and began to head toward them. Dean noticed that she had a slight limp in her right leg.

John quickly parked the car and got out to open the passenger door for his sons. Once they were out, he led them to meet the woman.

She was about average height, by Dean's estimation, and slender. Her skin had a dark tan from working out in the sun and her brown eyes had crow's feet at the edges but were warm and kind as she looked at the Winchesters. Her dark brown hair was pulled back for working and her clothes were smudged with dirt from working in her garden.

"Why John Winchester, I was wondering when you were going to come visit me." she said happily and gave him a big smile. Dean noticed that her voice was pleasant and it had a slight southern twang to it.

"Hello, Sally." John replied and gave her a hug. She returned the hug and then looked to the boys.

"And who are these fine young gentlemen?"

Sam fidgeted shyly but Dean stood tall and held his hand out to her.

"I'm Dean Winchester and this is my brother Sam."

"Well hello, Dean. It's nice to meet you. I'm Sally Philips. I'm a friend of your daddy's." she chuckled and shook Dean's hand. "And hello to you, Sam."

Sam slowly looked up and gave a small smile.

"Hello, Miss Philips." he said quietly.

"Oh honey, you can call me Sally." she said and shook his hand then looked back to his father, "John, they are precious. How old are they?"

"Dean is eleven and Sam will be seven in May."

"That's gotta be tough with the work you do." she replied.

"We manage." John replied simply.

Sally's smile was replaced by a serious look and she nodded in understanding.

"Well c'mon inside. You can meet my little girl. She's about Sam's age, just a touch older. We can all have breakfast together."

Both boys perked up at the mention of food and they quickly followed the two adults inside.

When they entered they found themselves in a small foyer with a coat rack and a mat to place dirty shoes. There was an office to the right and a large living room to the left with big couches and a brick fireplace. Ahead of them was a wooden staircase leading to the second level of the house. To the side of the staircase was a hallway leading to the kitchen, dining room, and an exit to the back porch.

As the Winchesters got settled, Sally went to the stairs.

"Lucy, come on down! We've got company!" she shouted.

"Coming, Momma!" a small voice called back.

Soon they heard quick footsteps and were then joined by a little girl in a light blue nightgown with bare feet.

She was slightly taller than Sam and had hair that was a golden, honey color and was down to the middle of her back. She had cream colored skin, petite nose, and a tiny cupid's bow mouth. However, the most startling feature about her was her eyes.

They were an unnaturally bright blue, almost cerulean color. Sam was caught by those eyes and something else that he couldn't put his finger on. It was like she had this calming aura about her.

Sam was so moved by her appearance that he soon had tears running down his face.

"Sammy, you ok?" Dean asked, a little confused by his brother's reaction.

Sam shook his head as if coming out of a reverie and wiped his face. "Yeah I'm ok."

Lucy looked at him curiously for a moment then followed her mother into the kitchen.

After breakfast, Lucy pulled the boys outside to look at the horses while John and Sally stayed inside to talk.

"How's the hunting going, John?" Sally asked as she poured them both more coffee.

"Well enough. Still haven't caught that damn demon yet."

"You will. Demons are tricky buggers though. It's gonna take time." she reassured him.

"Yeah." John sighed and took a healthy swallow of coffee. "What about you, Sally? How's "retired" life? I didn't know you had a kid."

"Ha! It's good. Don't have to worry about the horses trying to rip out your innards. As for Lucy, technically she's not mine. She's my sister's. Emma died giving birth to her."

"I'm sorry. Where's her father?"

Sally shrugged and took a sip of her coffee, "Don't know. He vanished after Emma became pregnant. He said it wasn't safe for him to stay and then he was gone."

"Was he human?"

If Sally had been any other person she would have laughed at the absurd question. Unfortunately, she and John had seen too much in their line of work where that question was actually quite reasonable.

"Don't know. Never was around to test him. I don't think he was a monster though. The things Lucy can do, it doesn't feel evil."

"What do you mean 'the things she can do'? What can she do, Sally?" John asked, slightly alarmed.

Before Sally could respond, loud splatters could be heard from the front of the house. They were followed by the sounds of breaking glass.

Outside, Sam, Dean, and Lucy ran from the closest barn to the front of the house. A group of boys around Dean's age were throwing eggs and empty glass bottles against the house.

One of the boys then spotted Lucy and sneered at her.

"Look! There's the freak! Get her!" he shouted.

Lucy looked apologetically to the Winchesters, "You two should get inside. They don't want you."

"What did you do?" Dean asked, not understanding.

"It's not what I did, but what I am." she answered cryptically. Dean was still confused and a little unnerved by her tone. She sounded more like an adult than a little kid.

The group advanced on them but the Winchesters did not leave. Sam squeezed Lucy's hand and gave her a smile.

"We're not leaving you. You're our friend now." he said. Dean nodded in agreement, inwardly proud of his little brother.

The trio faced the group, ready for anything. Suddenly one of the other boys threw a rock at Lucy. Without thinking, Sam pushed her out of harm's way.

"Hey you kids! Get out of here!" Dean looked and saw his dad and Sally coming down the porch. The little gang was startled by the adults and fled on their bicycles.

"It's going to be ok, Sammy. Dad's coming" Dean said, glad for the appearance of the adults. He looked back to his brother and then froze. Lucy was crying over Sam, who lay on the ground, blood trickling from his head. The rock intended for Lucy had hit Sam in her stead.

"I'm sorry, Dean!" she cried, "It's my fault!"

Dean quickly took off his flannel shirt and pressed it to Sam's head. With his other hand he supported Sam's neck just like his dad had showed him. Lucy wiped her tears away and her face suddenly became stern.

"Dean, Sam saved me and now I need to save him." she said seriously. Once again, Dean was unnerved by how old she sounded.

"What do you mean? Dad and Sally can help him."

"No, I have to do this. I'm responsible."

With that, Lucy moved closer to Sam and took off the blood-soaked shirt from his head. She then closed her eyes and placed her hands on the wound.

Dean looked on in amazement as a soft white light emanated from beneath her hands. A few minutes later the light was gone. Lucy then took her hands away from Sam's head and the wound was healed.

A few yards away, two men, invisible to the trio, watched the scene unfold. One man was young and had rich, black skin and close-cropped hair and was dressed in a well-tailored suit and dress shoes. The other man was also black but was older with weathered skin and graying hair. He was dressed in cargo pants, a worn flannel shirt, and work boots.

"What are you doing here, Uriel?" the older man asked.

"That child is a threat. She should not be allowed to live." the younger replied.

"That is not your decision to make." the older man answered calmly.

"She should not have been allowed to be born! Her kind are a danger, a ticking time bomb! She cannot live, Joshua!" Uriel shouted angrily. Still Joshua remained calm and only smiled.

"This one is special. He has seen it and says that one day she will be needed. We must leave her be."

Uriel snorted in disgust and faced Joshua. "What do you know, Gardener?" he spat venomously, "I am the specialist and I say that she must be dealt with immediately."

Joshua was still calm but his face became serious, almost angry.

"Do not threaten me, 'Specialist'" he replied as if that title had no meaning, "I know what He wants and He wants you to leave that little girl alone. She is special. If you do not, I will mete out His punishment."

With that, Joshua vanished and Uriel was left alone. The lone angel was not happy with this decision but he would do as Joshua commanded. He would not interfere, but he would keep a very close eye on this strange girl.