Chapter One
Dean sat on the musty hotel couch while his nineteen year old little sister stitched up his shoulder, he grunted and sipped from a bottle of whiskey.
"Jay, of you had been paying more attention this wouldn't have happened. I don't know what's wrong with you lately, but whatever it is you need to get over it!" John yelled and stormed out. Jay held back tears and continued helping her brother.
"Don't listen to dad, he is still upset about Sam."
"So am I, but I'm not acting like a dick." She said under her breath.
"Jay, he is still our father and he deserves respect." Dean scolded her.
"I'm not sure 'deserves' is the right word, 'demands' on the other hand fits perfectly." She huffed as she finished stitching.
"Do you want to leave too? Cause you sure as hell act like you'd rather be anywhere but here." Dean barked.
"Sometimes I do, sometimes I wonder what it would be like to live a normal life, one that isn't filled with monsters, pain, and loss." She cried.
"Then go, there is nothing stopping you, I'm sure as hell not." Dean snapped and put his shirt back on.
"Screw you, I hope you and the neglectful alcoholic are happy together!" Jay yelled and stormed out. She grabbed her duffled out of the trunk of the impala as Dean stepped outside.
"You're gonna regret this, if you leave now, dad isn't going to welcome you back." Dean told her.
"I wouldn't expect him to."
"Why do you have to be such a pain in the ass?" He questioned. "At least take some money so you can eat and find a place to sleep." He said and pulled out his wallet.
"I have cards."
"That dad can trace." Dean reminded her and held a wad of cash out towards her. She took it reluctantly.
"Thanks Dean."
"Try not to get yourself killed short stuff." Dean hugged her and kissed the top of her head.
Jay got picked up by a nice blonde man in a old, beat up pickup truck. He told her his name was Clint and he asked her where she was headed.
"I'm not really sure, I just have to get away from here." She sighed and looked out the window.
"Well, if you're looking for work and a safe place to stay, I could use a farm hand." He offered.
"That would be great, but I don't really have any experience working on a farm." She confessed.
"That's fine, my wife and I can show you the ropes."
Clint took Jay to his house and introduced her to his family. Laura, his wife, was glad to have another helping hand while she was pregnant. The first few weeks went well, Jay worked hard and she was soon accepted as part of the Barton family
One afternoon Clint and Jay were working on the tractor when her phone rang. Clint picked it up and looked at the caller ID.
"Someone named Dean is calling you." He told her. She put down the wrench she was holding and he handed her the phone.
"Hey Dean, is everything ok?" She asked nervously.
"What? Does the world have to be ending for me to call my baby sister?" He questioned.
"No, I just thought you might be mad." She sighed.
"I wouldn't have given you money if I was mad at you. I just wanted to check on you."
"I'm doing good, I got a job as a farm hand." She told him. "So is dad still mad?" She wondered.
"He isn't happy… but he'll come around just give him some time. No matter what he loves you and I love you too. Keep your chin up kid." Dean said.
"Dean get off the phone and come help me!" Jay heard John in the background.
"I gotta go, I'll call you later." Dean hung up, Jay sighed and stuffed the phone into her back pocket.
"Family problems?" Clint asked.
"Yeah, my dad is still pissed at me for leaving, but I couldn't stay any longer. I just want to live my life, even if that means disappointing my family." She confessed.
"Well as a dad myself, I can tell you that no matter how much you screw up or how much your dad screws up, he'll always love you." Clint reassured her.
"Yeah, I sure hope so." She huffed.
"So what's your family like? You never talk about them." He probed. Jay knew the rules, they weren't supposed to talk about hunting, but that didn't ne she couldn't talk about the more normal aspects of their life.
"Well my dad is kind of a hard ass, he's an ex marine, but he is a good guy and he did the best he could. I have two older brothers, Sam and Dean. Sam is bookworm, he got s full ride to Stanford. Dean and I have always been really close, he was kinda like a best friend and a second father to me, until Sam left and then I decided I had to leave too." She explained.
"Where was your mom in all this?" Clint wondered.
"Well my mom ran off after I was born… she was a truckstop whore that scammed my dad out of 500 bucks and dropped me off at his doorstep nine months later. Sam and Dean are my half brothers. I never knew their mom; she died, but I heard she was nice." She answered. "Sorry, I hardly know you and I'm telling you my whole life story." She apologized.
"You don't have to be sorry, I think we're friends by now, besides you can't keep all this bottled up." He gave her a soft smile and she smiled back.
"Lunch is ready." Laura said from just outside the barn. The two followed her back into the house where the kids were working on schoolwork. Laura had an odd look on her face as she told the kids to leave the room.
"Is something the matter hon?" Clint asked as he wrapped his arm around her waist.
"I was cleaning up Jay's room and I found this under her bed." She pointed to the counter, there sat a jar of holy water with the crucifix still inside and her sawed off double barrel shotgun. Clint looked at the curious objects and back at Jay with an eyebrow raised. Anxiety started to rise inside of Jay, she didn't want to lose this job, this family. She knew as soon as she brought up the things she had seen, they'd send her packing… or maybe to the loony bin.
"This is going to sound nuts, but I can explain. I'm very superstitious, having this stuff makes me feel safe." She told them, feeling a bit silly even though she knew what was really out there in the dark.
"I found books too, occult stuff." Laura said worriedly.
"I swear I'm not some crazy, radical occultist. I've just seen somethings, things that are hard to explain, I understand if this makes you uncomfortable." Jay sighed, feeling more like a freak than ever before. Clint picked up the gun and the jar and handed them to her.
"Keep the gun put up and out of reach, don't mention your extracurricular reading in front of the kids." Clint ordered, but there was no anger or disgust in his voice.
"You're not going to call the men in white coats?" Jay questioned with a snort.
"Kid, everyone is scared of something. Plus I've seen things too." He assured her.
"He slept with a bible by the bed for a month one time." Laura said, her demeanor softening some.
That night after dinner they all went to sleep, Jay got up around midnight to get a drink and she heard rustling coming from the living room. She thought it might be one of the kids.
"It is late, we should all be in bed." She said before she noticed an adult, female silhouette standing in front of the window. It definitely wasn't Laura. The figure lunged at her and knocked her to the floor. Jay flipped the intruder over and punched her hard in the face. The woman kneed Jay in the side and scrambled on top of her. The light flicked on and they both directed their attention to Clint.
"Natasha, get off of my farm hand." Jay looked up at the redhead that was sitting on her chest. Natasha stood up and offered Jay her hand. Jay could feel a bruise forming on her side and Natasha's face was starting to swell.
"Whoa, Jay got you good. Losing your edge Nat?" Clint chuckled.
"I could still kick your ass." The redhead laughed.
"Jay this is a friend of mine, Nat this is my farm hand, Jay."
"Nice to meet you kid, you pack one hell of a punch."