Disclaimer: I don't own Supernatural

Title: Adjusting
Summary: Season 1 AU. Sister!fic. Addison 'Addie' Winchester left hunting the second she turned eighteen and never looked back once she'd found her 'apple pie' life. But that's gone now - long gone. One night, her brothers show up on her front step asking for her help to find their missing father, and looking for an escape from what her life has become, she goes with them...but can she handle going back to a life she swore she was done with so long ago?
Genre: Angst/Family
Rating: T
Pairings: None
Spoilers: Anything from 1x02: Wendigo - 1.22: Devil's Trap is fair game.

Note: I couldn't get this idea out of my head. Thus, it became fic.

Prologue:

Seattle, Washington

"Mama!"

"Take your brothers outside as fast as you can. Don't look back! Now Addie - Go!"

She was pushing Dean in front of her and holding Sam protectively to her chest as the they tore down the steps and out the front door.

Addie groaned and rolled over in her sleep, clutching Brielle's stuffed pink bear tighter to her chest, brow furrowing as the dream changed.

"Addie I'll get her. It's okay."

"Okay." Addie rolled back over in bed and threw her pillow over her head.

A strangled yell jerked her out of the doze she'd fallen into. She nearly fell out of the bed, tangled in her bed sheets as she tried to run toward her daughter's nursery. She was halfway down the hall when she heard Jason yelling. It wasn't long before she heard Brielle screaming in her crib and Jason yelling and she made it to the doorway -

Oh God.

Jason was on the ceiling.

Her fiance was on the fucking ceiling.

The nursery was on fire.

"Brielle!" she screamed over the roar of the flames. "Brielle!"

Addie woke up screaming. It took her a few minutes before she realized that it had been a dream, but that didn't stop the fact that it had once been all too real.

She wouldn't forget that night - how could she? Her fiance and her six month old daughter were gone because of what had happened.

Addie glanced at her alarm clock and swore silently: 11:30 a.m. She'd overslept. Fantastic. Ray was going to evicerate her for being late. She yawned, got up and showered before changing from her pjs to her Wal-Mart uniform. She stared at herself in the mirror for a moment as she quickly pulled long black locks up into a bun at the top of her head.

Green eyes stared back at her tiredly, dark circles evident under them. She rubbed her pale face and sighed before splashing water on it. It didn't help much; she hadn't gotten much sleep since the funeral. Why bother trying to look

As she was making her way to the kitchen to grab a couple of granola bars, a familiar voice stopped her.

"Nice place, sis."

She wheeled around to see her younger brothers, Dean and Sam Winchester parked on the couch.

Son of a bitch.

Addie wasn't sure how long she stood there in the living room, staring dumbly at her brothers. Eventually, she managed to find her voice.

"What the hell are you two doing here?" she asked hoarsely.

Sam glanced at Dean, then at Addie.

"How've - How've you been?" he asked.

She stared at him incredulously. "Shitty. You didn't answer my question." When met with silence, she scoffed. "Figures. I'm late for work. Later."

"Addie -" She froze for just a second when she noted the pleading note in Dean's voice. "Can we just talk? Please?"

She ran a hand through her hair and sighed, knowing she'd never get rid of them easily...and part of her didn't want to anyway, at least, deep down.

"Okay."

"So...this is that apple pie life, huh?"

"Not so much." Addie looked at her hands. "Not anymore, anyway."

Dean had been looking at a set of photographs on the mantle over the fireplace. Addie's throat constricted as he picked up a photo of her and Jason, taken back when she'd been around six months pregnant.

"You've been holdin' out on us, sis. Who's the lucky guy? Not to mention that niece or nephew you never told us about?"

Fuck. How could Addie tell them what had happened? How could she divulge how similar it had been to their mother's death?

"J-Jason," her voice cracked. "My fiance. And uh...its niece. Brielle." she blinked back tears and wrapped her arms around herself, trying to keep her composure. "Do uh...do you guys want a beer or something?"

She didn't like the way they looked at her, but any excuse to get out of the room at that point was fucking awesome. When they both nodded, she bolted for the kitchen.

"Add?" she heard Sam say softly as she fumbled with the bottles, her hands shaking so badly it was a wonder she hadn't dropped them. "Everything okay?"

Addie struggled not to cry and steadied her hands as she opened the beer bottles. "'M fine. Take those in the living room."

"Addie -"

"Go." she gave him a light shove and attempted to smile. "I'll be there in a sec, okay?"

He looked at her skeptically, but nodded and silently made his way back to the living room. Addie grabbed her cell and quickly called work, spinning a quick lie that she'd come down ill and wouldn't be able to make it in.

Then she went back into the living room. Sam wordlessly passed her one beer.

"You wanna tell us what happened?" Dean asked hesitantly after a while, breaking the awkward silence that hung over the siblings.

Addie shook her head as she sank down on the sofa inbetween the two men. Sam's hand slid gently over her shoulder.

"Addie?"

Silence. Dean looked at Sam questioningly, but then Addie spoke:

"It was just like that night," she whispered.

"What night, Ad?" Dean asked. "You gotta help us out a little here, alright?"

"Mom," she whispered brokenly, and the color drained from Dean's face as he realized what she meant. Sam's grip on her shoulder tightened. "She woke up crying and - Jason said he'd get her. I must've dozed off or something, but the next thing I knew I was awake and I -" a tear rolled down her cheek. "When I got there, he was on the ceiling, and Brielle was screaming and I - I couldn't get to her. Oh God...I couldn't..." Unable to speak anymore, she disolved into tears, the beer bottle in her hands slipping from her grip and falling to the floor where it spilled its contents onto the normally clean white carpet.

Sam pulled her into his arms and held her tightly while Dean cleaned up the mess. By the time he came back, Addie was already wiping her eyes and blowing her nose on a tissue offered by Sam. He wondered vaguely if she was covering the way she used to when they were kids.

When her boyfriend Scott had dumped her during her freshman year, he'd caught her crying several times when she thought neither he nor Sam were watching. She would put on her 'game face' and act like nothing had happened, fixing her make up before researching whatever case their father was on.

"Sorry," she was muttering thickly. "It happened less than a month ago. I'm...I haven't totally gotten myself together yet."

"It's okay." Sam said softly. "I...I lost my girlfriend a couple of weeks ago."

Her hand found his and squeezed gently. "I'm so sorry, Sammy."

"Thanks." he paused. "and it's Sam."

She rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

"...so how far d'you think to Grand Junction from here?"

"Less than a day, probably. You want to ask her or do you want me to do it?"

"Why would I even bother?"

Dean stared at his brother in confusion. "What d'you mean?"

Sam shifted his weight uncomfortably. Addie had gone to get herself a new beer - he suspected she wanted to avoid talking about everything and he didn't blame her.

"She left to get away from the life - away from him." he said in a low voice. "Do you think she'd come back to find him?"

Dean frowned. "We need help, alright? What's better than having her with us?"

" Dad is missing." Dean growled. "She needs a distraction - she needs to do fucking something -"

"This isn't about Dad." Sam stared at him hard. "Is it?"

"What? Of course it is!"

"No it's not -"

"Bull."

"Sam -"

"No, he's right." Both men turned to see Addie walking back into the living room. She looked way more composed, and was staring at Dean coldly. "What the hell is your problem?"

He shrugged.

"Don't have one."

"Don't lie to me." she retorted, her tone deadly. Sam winced, reminded all too well of the fights she and Dean had gotten in when they were kids. "What stick jammed itself forty feet deep in your ass?"

"You left." he snarled.

"Yeah. I did." she spit out. "And?"

"That's it. You fucking left us!" he yelled, his voice echoing slightly in the large room. "You didn't call, you didn't write - fuck, did you even know Sam got into Stanford?!"

"Dean -"

"Eleven years, Add! Eleven years! You could've called me - you could've called Sam!"

"Dean -"

"Eleven years, Add! Eleven years! You could have called me - you could have called Sam!"

"Why the hell would I do that, D?" she asked, the volume of her voice rising quickly. "So Dad could drag me back kicking and screaming? I didn't want to be a hunter!"

"Dad is missing!" he snapped.

Addie's eyes widened. "Wait - what?"

"On a hunt," Sam said quickly, before his brother could respond; he was just making things worse. "Last time Dean heard from him was almost a month ago."

"We tracked him to Grand Junction, Colorado," Dean told her, now much calmer. "We were gonna head there after Sam's girlfriend - but Dad's journal -"

"You've got Dad's journal?" she said in surprise.

"Yeah." Dean hesitated. "It's how we found you. I guess he's been keeping tabs on you for a while."

Addie let out a strangled noise, somewhere between a snarl and a scream. "How -?"

"Credit card, W-2s...you name it, he probably got his hands on it." Sam shrugged. "Look...just come with us - you can leave any time you want. I'm not gonna stop you and neither is Dean...but we could really use your help, Addison."

She bit her lip, trying to force back all the angry thoughts she was having over their father tracking her. The man was her father, and she didn't blame him for wanting the thing that killed their mother dead, but the way he'd gone about the whole revenge thing was just wrong...

But she couldn't live with herself if he was hurt or close to dead and she didn't do anything to help Sam and Dean find him.

"Fine," she said after a long silence had passed. "I'm in."

So what do you guys think? Constructive criticism is welcome. No flames please.