AN: I do not own Supernatural, or any of the characters except the ones I created out of my own mind. This chapter is light on language, action, and other things but I'm rating the overall story M just to cover all bases.

Rambling On

Prologue

"I still can't believe you left me, mom." For what had to be the fourth day in a row Bethany had been curled up on her surrogate aunt's couch staring at a picture of her and her mother. It had been less than a week since her mother had finally given in to the cancer spreading through her body, and only five days since Bethany had salted and burned her corpse. If she was honest with herself, Bethany didn't know how she was going to move on from here. Her mother hadn't been little Sally homemaker, but she had been Bethany's best friend and her whole world. What was someone supposed to do when their whole world was taken away?

"Are you still sitting on that couch?" Bethany raised her head slowly as her mother's best friend entered the room. She managed something that resembled a smile before she looked back down at the picture and remained silent for a moment.

"I just can't imagine a world without her, Aunt Lisa. What am I going to do now? I mean, she was the best hunter I've ever seen. How is it fair that she spent her life saving people and then die from something that people beat every day?" While she had been speaking her aunt had settled on the couch beside her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder.

A single tear made its way down Bethany's face and Lisa reached up to wipe it away gently. Losing her best friend had been hard, but watching Bethany lose her mother had been even harder. Since she had never had a child of her own she had jumped at the chance when Renee asked her to help raise Bethany. She had known there was a great possibility that every time Renee went out on a hunt that they would never see her again and she had accepted the fact that she would have to be the one to hold Bethany's hand through her mother's death. But neither one of them had ever expected for it to hit both of them so hard, or simultaneously. Lisa brushed a light kiss across her surrogate niece's forehead and then pushed her large frame up off the couch. "Bethy, you know your momma loved you more than anything in this world. And the last thing she would want to see is you sitting on this couch wallowing. So, from this point on…no more wallowing. Now, I'm going to the store to get a few things and you're going upstairs to take a shower." When her niece didn't respond she used two fingers to tip Bethany's chin up until their eyes met. "Bethany Renee Wesson, I swear to God, if you are still sitting on that couch when I get back from the store I'll take a switch to you."

For the first time since her mother had died Bethany felt an actual smile spread across her face. She nodded a bit and then sighed. "Ok, Aunt Li. I promise I'll only wallow for a few more minutes before taking a shower." Chuckling a bit Lisa shook her head and finally headed out the door. Once she was alone Bethany brushed her fingers across her mother's face in the picture. "'I'll always miss you mom." She wanted to say more but she couldn't find the words. Instead she just sighed again, tucked the photo back into the journal on the coffee table and forced herself to head upstairs and into the shower.

Over the next few days Bethany forced herself to go through her usual routine. She helped her aunt around the house, practiced her tarot readings, and did research on various different evil baddies that she felt she didn't know enough about yet. Finally, when a month had passed she finally felt as if she could breathe without tears being caught in her throat. At a month and a half she found herself actually laughing at her aunt's jokes again. And when two months had passed Bethany knew she was ready to do the last thing her mother had asked her to.

"Bethy, dinner's ready. Wash your hands and get your butt down here." Bethany smiled at herself in the mirror and chuckled. She would miss the day to day with her aunt, but she knew that there was always evil waiting out there and she had promised her mother not to give up. Glancing down she touched the envelope on her dresser and sighed slightly. She had also promised to deliver this letter before hunting anything, though why her mother wanted her to deliver a letter to a hunter she had never heard of she had no idea, but a promise was a promise. "Bethany Wesson, don't make me come up there after you!"

Laughter was evident in her voice when she called down the stairs, "I'm on my way Aunt Li." She shook her head, picked up the envelope, and ducked into the bathroom to wash her hands. The smell of her aunt's lasagna wafted through the house and for once Bethany was definitely hungry.

Bethany's determination to make it all the way through dinner before asking her aunt about the letter failed her, and about halfway through her plate of lasagna she heard herself saying the words she'd been fighting against in her head. "Aunt Lisa, who is Bobby Singer?"

Lisa almost choked on her lasagna and stared in surprise at her niece. That was most definitely not a name she had expected to ever hear come out of Bethany's mouth. As far as she knew Renee had cut all ties with Singer and hadn't looked back. Apparently what she had known was wrong. Eyeing Bethany thoughtfully Lisa took another bite of her lasagna and then set her fork down. "He's a hunter in South Dakota. Specializes in demons if my memory is correct. Why do you ask?"

Instead of answering her Bethany reached into her pocket and pulled out the letter. Placing it on the table she pushed it towards her aunt and waited until Lisa had picked it up. "The last thing mom said to me was that I would find a letter inside her favorite letter jacket which I needed to hand deliver. Oh, and not just deliver. No, she wanted me to make sure I stayed and made sure this Singer guy actually read the letter. I mean…why do I need to drive all the way from Ohio for something that can just get mailed?" Sighing a bit she set down her fork and ran her fingers through her hair sending the copper curls dancing around her shoulders. "I guess what I'm saying is, do you really think I should deliver this letter in person? Or can I just drop it in the mail and go on with my life?"

For a minute or two Lisa just stared at the letter and then she smiled softly at her niece before handing the letter back. "I think you should do what your mother wanted, Bethy. We may not have always understood why she did the things she did, but she always had a reason. So you should ride this one out, I think." Then, as if it was settled, Lisa picked up her fork and went back to eating her lasagna.

For a minute Bethany stared at her aunt and then she just nodded. "Ok, I guess I'm leaving in the morning." And just like that it was settled. Whether it was really a good idea or not, tomorrow she would set out to deliver the letter and then she would move on with her life.

Shortly after dawn and with her beloved Charger packed with her most important belongings Bethany was finally prepared to hit the road. It was a long drive from Columbus, Ohio to Sioux Falls, South Dakota and for the first time she would be alone on her journey. A few tears and several painful moments later she actually got the nerve to turn the key in the ignition and back the car out of her aunt's driveway. If this was the way that her life was going to be, then she just needed to grow up and accept it. There was no bringing her mom back and burying her head in the sand wasn't an option, so this was what she had. Miles and miles of lonely road ahead of her and years of memories behind her.

A little over nine hours and almost six hundred miles later Bethany finally pulled in to a little motel somewhere in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. She was over halfway to her destination but she just couldn't keep her eyes open any longer. Driving really was more exhausting when you were alone. Of course, the constant replay of memories in her mind didn't help any. Having to remind herself not to cry every five minutes was depressing as well as draining. Tomorrow, she told herself, tomorrow she would deliver the letter. Then she could go back to hunting, and maybe find some form of happiness again.

Bethany stared at her mother's picture while she was snuggled under the covers trying to find sleep that wouldn't come. "Why am I even doing this, mom? What's so important that I had to deliver this myself? Why couldn't you just tell me what's in the letter?" Suddenly realizing that she was talking to herself Bethany sighed and put her mother's picture on the nightstand before turning out the light. Asking questions of a dead woman would never get her the answers she wanted.

The next morning Bethany allowed herself to sleep in a bit, and then she showered and dressed with care. For some reason it was important to her to present a good impression to this Bobby Singer. She told herself that wasn't ridiculous, after all her mother had thought he was important enough for her to drive cross country and deliver a letter, so making sure she looked good was tiny in comparison.

Pausing before she picked up her bag Bethany gave herself one last look in the mirror. She had applied a little eyeliner and some lip gloss for the first time in months and just looking at herself made her smile a bit. Slowly her eyes traveled down and she took in the sight of her chaotic copper curls dangling around her shoulders, the way her favorite black t-shirt hugged her body giving a glimpse of tanned flesh around her midsection when she moved a certain way. Finally letting her eyes roam down to the dark blue jeans that hugged her hips tightly and the comfortable black leather boots with their inch heel that made her feel more confident for some reason she nodded. Giving herself the final seal of approval she slung her bag over her shoulder and sauntered out of the room.

Just before five in the afternoon Bethany pulled up in front of Singer Auto Self Service Salvage Yard and paused before pulling through the gate. Once she crossed that threshold there was no going back. Her eyes wandered over the sign at least twelve times before she finally put her car back into drive and made her way through the lines of cars until she spotted a house and pulled up in front of it. Taking a deep breath she finally put her car in park and turned it off. This was it. There was no turning back now.

Dean had been wandering back from the kitchen with a beer when he spotted the car driving towards the house. For a moment he just stood and stared at the gorgeous silver charger gleaming in the afternoon sun. Being a lover of all things muscle car he couldn't help but appreciate the beauty that was right in front of him. As he watched the car finally stop he turned his head and said to no one in particular, "Looks like we've got company." When he looked back he almost choked on the swig of beer he had taken. "Check that, looks like we've got exceptionally hot company." The girl unfolding herself from the car was definitely smoking, at least in his book, and he definitely wanted to be the first to meet her.

As she was making her way towards the door Bethany was only slightly surprised to see it open before she got there. The man who lounged against the doorway wore a slightly cocky grin and she had to fight the urge to return it. Giving him the once over as she moved towards the door she quickly came to the conclusion that this was not Bobby Singer. Her suspicions were confirmed almost as soon as he opened his mouth. "Hey there, sweetheart. What can I do you for?"

Bethany rolled her eyes but steeled herself for what she knew was going to be a rough encounter. Stopping at the bottom of the stairs leading up to the doorway she stared at him before shaking her head. "Unless your name is Bobby Singer, nothing."

Dean frowned slightly and studied her a bit more closely. "How do you know Bobby?"

"I don't."

"Then why…" Bethany pulled the letter out of her pocket and cut him off before he could finish.

"I've got a letter for him. I'm not a demon, or a shape shifter, or anything else you are suddenly considering. I'm just a glorified post woman, and right now you're standing between me and finishing my job." She sighed a bit and shook her head. "Look, just tell me if Bobby Singer still lives here or not, because I don't have all day."

For a few minutes Dean just stared and then he nodded. "He lives here, but if you think you're getting through this door on your word alone then you've got another thing coming, sweetheart."

Her eyes flicked over him one more time before she shrugged. "Bring on the tests then, fly boy. I really do have better things to do with my life."

The chuckle that escaped Dean surprised even him as he studied her one more time and then flicked his eyes to her car. "Nice wheels." Then without another word he turned and headed into the house just waiting for her to follow.

AN: Thus ends the prologue. This idea has been kicking around in my head for about a year and I finally just had to throw it out there and see what came back. I know this chapter is light on the Winchester boys, but I had to set up my OC and this was the best way to do it. I promise much more Winchestery goodness in chapters to come. Please read and review.