A/N- Ok, first of all, I own very little. Certainly not the rights to any characters or stories from ANY television show. The original characters however are mine.

Secondly, this is not a self insertion fic. I simply felt like there weren't enough female characters in the world of the show that live very long and thought I would add one. I hope to explore the universe of the show with several of the supporting characters and Sam and Dean making appearances from time to time. This story starts roughly a year before the show.

Thirdly, I hope this is enjoyed. Suggestions for story ideas and thoughts on what could be improved are always welcome.

Finally, but most importantly, thank you for reading.

Prologue-

Danielle Elkins was pretty damn sure she was about to die. She was out of salt and she cursed as she ran down the hallway of the stupid house she was in, shoving the kids in front of her. They got to the kitchen and she slammed the door behind them, "Look for salt!"

The ten year old made it as far as the counter and stopped there, holding the hand of the younger girl, their eyes wide with terror. Dani moved past them and started opening cabinet doors in her fruitless search for salt. She found a shaker of Mrs. Dash and threw it to the ground in frustration.

The little girl's whimpers drew her attention and she grasped the handle of the heavy cast iron skillet that was sitting on the stove as she spun around. She was satisfied to see the spook smoke out of existence and kept her eyes peeled as she herded the children towards the back door, her hands held out in front of her gripping the pan by the handle like a baseball bat.

She turned to look out at the frantic faces of the parents of the two children she was trying to keep alive and gestured at them to move back. Once they finally did she swung the pan high in an arch as hard as she could and brought it down on the window in the door, that action had no effect whatsoever on the glass, but the shock of the impact did reverberate through her and she an insane memory of an old looney-tunes cartoon flash through her mind before she turned to face the ghost again, her arms feeling limp like wet noodles.

The ghost stood in front of her and twisted it's head grotesquely before lunging towards her and the two children that were huddled behind her. She closed her eyes and had the brief thought that she really wasn't ready to die when the thing let out an unearthly howl and she opened one eye to see it seem to burn from the inside out before popping out of existence.

Dani sat heavily down against the wall and looked on dazedly as the door finally opened and the horrified parents clutched their children and each other in relief. She smiled weakly as they thanked her and let the pan slip from her fingers. That had been an unbelievably close call.

When her phone rang it took a moment for her to register that that was what it was, she pulled it out of her pocket and saw Caleb's name on the caller id. "Hey. Cutting it a little close there weren't we?"

Caleb's voice was concerned as he answered. "Everyone make it through? Had a hell of a time getting that damn mausoleum opened. Might have been a better idea to switch places. You have more finesse with a lock than I do."

Dani got slowly to her feet and looked over at the still shaken family. "Well. I'm not dead and that's nice." She sighed heavily and leaned against the wall. "You coming to pick me up?"

"I'm on my way."

As Dani hung up her phone the father stood up and reached out to grasp her hand. "I am so sorry that I thought you were crazy." He took a deep breath and looked back down at his family. "Thank you for saving our girls."

"It's really fine. I think most people would have that reaction to the situation." Dani ran a hand through her hair and wondered what had happened to her hair tie. She dropped her hand and shoved both of them deep into her pockets. "You guys should be ok now. My uh, my ride is on his way."

"Please, is there anything we can do for you? Money?" The man reached for his wallet and Dani held out a hand to stop him.

"It's ok. That isn't why we do this. We're just happy you all are all right." She smiled down at the kids and then nodded at the door. "I think I left some stuff in your yard." She started to head out and then stopped and turned back. "And seriously, get some salt. Mrs. Dash might be good for your blood pressure, but it won't help if you run into something like this again."

"Salt. Right." He watched in somewhat of a daze as she left the house and a set of headlights pulled into their driveway.

Dani smiled over at Caleb as she climbed into the passenger seat. He pulled away from the house and headed for her truck. "I appreciate the assist Caleb. Very happy to not be dead."

Caleb chuckled and shook his head. "Well. Your mother would haunt me to my grave if I let you die on a simple ghost hunt."

They rode on in silence for a while before Caleb spoke again, "So where are you off to after this? Got another job lined up?"

"No. I'm heading to Omaha. Need to see my mom." Dani started digging through her bag for her keys as they drew closer to where she had parked the camper.

"And how is she doing?" Caleb kept his eyes on the road to give Dani time to answer his question without him observing her.

Dani chewed on her lip for a moment and then shook her head. "About the same." She drew a deep breath and stared out the window. "I should have gotten there sooner."

"You know better than that Danielle." Caleb looked at her out of the corner of his eye and stopped speaking at her slightly sullen shrug. He pulled up next to her truck and watched as she opened the door and slid out, "You keep in touch now."

She smiled up at him, "You too. Thanks again."

After he had pulled away Dani climbed into her own truck and started it. She rolled her shoulders and stretched her neck before putting it in gear and starting down the road. She decided to drive until she was too tired to go on before stopping to rest. She was still wired from the adrenaline and hoped she'd make it most of the way.