Long, Long Way From Home

Bobby Singer, [Dean Winchester, OC], Sam Winchester

Disclaimer: Kripke and his entourage own Supernatural and subsequent world. I only play in it. I own OC and new plot additives.

Prequel: Hells Bells

Christine Elliott grew up in Sioux Falls, South Dakota like any other midwestern American kid. Her parents, Karen and James worked government jobs, her Dad was an FBI agent, and Mom worked at the local police department. The biggest difference was the day their neighbor she fondly referred to as "Uncle" Bobby Singer (she stayed with him a lot because of her parents day jobs) sat her down and told her that her father had been killed while catching a serial killer. Her mother was beside herself with grief, especially since the serial killer had sent letters and flowers to the house prior to his capture and incarceration. Karen didn't recover after her husbands death and was taken off the police force entirely. She continued to spiral, and eventually ended up being admitted to the local sanitarium.

Christine went to stay with Uncle Bobby as he was listed as next of kin for the girl in the event of her parent's absence. Bobby Singer wasn't surprised the girl was so calm. She accepted the news with a brief nod and a few tears, but no outbursts or heartbreaking displays of grief. All she said in her trembly nine year old voice was, "They caught the son of a bitch. That's what really matters." Bobby didn't have the heart to tell her that the serial killer was really a man who had been possessed by a demon. That was why her mother had gone insane. James lost his life, and the demon was sent back to hell via Rufus and Bobby. Karen was convinced that the demon would come back for them one day.

James and Karen Elliott were hunters but they wanted to keep Christine innocent as long as possible. Their day jobs were actually real, though their knowledge of the supernatural proved to be quite the complement. Bobby used discretion in what books he allowed the girl to read and leaf through during her stays at his house. He posed as a college professor, to account for the mountain of books. He also told her he consulted for the government on bizarre cases, keeping up the ruse by linking himself to her parents. It also helped to explain the various phone lines and phone calls he received on a daily basis. He always said he'd never have kids. Life sure has a funny way of proving you wrong.

Chapter One: A Well Respected Man

Hushed heated voices roused Christine Elliott from her warm bed. Rubbing her bleary eyes, she padded across the well worn floor boards of her bedroom. The door sat slightly ajar, a single beam of light piercing the darkness as she wrapped her fingers around the knob and slowly pulled it open. The wall sconces, set to a ghostly dim cast shadows up and down the heavily papered walls. Silently she made her way down the hall to the top of the stairs. The voices were still intelligible, but she could distinctly hear it was Uncle Bobby and Dean Winchester exchanging words. Five years had passed since her father's death and her mother's breakdown. Five years, along with her previous sporadic stays, allowed her to navigate the staircase with cat like grace.

Muted light spilled over from the slightly open kitchen door into the freezing foyer. Christine halted at the bottom of the staircase, her breath coming in small puffs before her as the sound of a fist slamming down on the eat-in kitchen's table reached her ears. Finally she could make out words.

"Dammit Dean!" Uncle Bobby exclaimed in an exasperated whisper.

"What?" Dean whispered back incredulously.

"Christine is innocent! You can't tell her nothing." Uncle Bobby sounded like he did when she caught him impersonating an FBI agent on the phone last week.

Christine inched closer to the door. "Sam knows, why can't she?" Dean protested. She imagined him crossing his arms, legs spread apart, chin lifting in defiance.

"You know why Dean." Bobby sounded tired. She glanced up at the cuckoo clock hung by the stairs. She had basically begged Uncle Bobby to buy it at a local garage sale last summer. 3:00AM. Mr. Winchester must have been called away in the middle of the night again.

"Christine is smart, she can shoot straight, and she fights-" Christine could feel her chest swell with pride. She was an excellent shot.

"You idjit!" Uncle Bobby exclaimed, barely catching himself to control his volume. Christine reached the door in time to see the older man swat at the younger one's head. "What did I tell you-"

Dean rolled his eyes, stepping just out of reach and slumped against the counter. "You told me not to teach her to shoot or fight but-"

"But nothing boy." Uncle Bobby placed a hand on Dean's shoulder, shaking him slightly, "We are honoring her folks wishes. The supernatural world isn't a place for that sweet innocent girl, she's just a child for Christ's sake."

"I'm almost fifteen!" A cry came from behind the kitchen door towards the stairs. Christine hardly realized it was her own voice save for Dean's smirk now revealed by Uncle Bobby swinging the door open to see her standing in the foyer. Dean pushed off the counter, coming towards Uncle Bobby and the doorway.

"Christine!" Bobby exclaimed, no longer worried about his volume. "I thought you were in bed hours ago."

"Guess I'm not," She quipped with a smile for Dean who rewarded her with a wink. "I think if little Sammy knows, I should know. What's the big deal?" She asked as Dean came to stand beside her.

"Yeah, What's the big deal?" That's Dean, always coming to her defense. The two of them could get into an insane amount of trouble in an insanely short amount of time.

Bobby eyed Dean and the way he was standing a little to close to the girl for his liking. "Dean, bed." Dean started to protest, "Now." Dean dropped his gaze to the floor and shuffled by Christine, mumbling a 'goodnight' through his clenched teeth. Christine knew he would be waiting for her when she got upstairs.

"Balls!" Bobby exclaimed under his breath. He wasn't going to be able to weasel his way out of this one. For a few years now Sam had known the truth of what killed his mother and what his father did. It was only a matter of time before Sam figured out that Christine's father died as a result of demon attack. Bobby motioned for Christine to sit down at the kitchen table, obviously this was going to be a longer conversation then he had planned to have with Dean. With careful ease Bobby set a kettle to boil on the stove and disappeared through the doorway to the library. Christine slumped into a chair facing the window over the sink. She could hear him shuffling through some papers and a few heavy thuds indicated he was moving the heavy tombs on the oversized desk. After a few minutes, he returned, setting what looked like an extremely dusty shoe box on the table. Before he could speak, the kettle began to whistle quietly on the stove. He moved to the stove, and prepared tea in some old tin camp mugs, taking a quick sniff of each mug to make sure they were whiskey free.

Five Years ago

A blood curling scream rang out in the darkness. Christine's eyes flew open, and she threw back the covers. "Mom?" She called out, reaching the upstairs railing. No response. Christine continued down the staircase, stopping at the bottom to listen. Another scream broke the eery silence, this time Christine recognized the strangled sound. Rounding the corner, she found her mother lying on the kitchen floor clutching a bouquet of flowers in one hand and the phone in her other. "Christine!" Her mother choked out past her sobs. "You're father, he's…he's in trouble! Oh God!" Christine felt frozen to her spot on the linoleum. Her mother's hysteria grew, she wasn't sure what to do. Suddenly a knock sounded on the front door-

Christine jumped in her chair when Bobby sat the mugs down on table, she had faded into remembering the night her father died. "Sorry," She said, fidgeting in her seat, wrapping her hands around the mug for warmth.

Bobby didn't sit, instead he opened the box and pulled out a leather bound book. He stared down at it for a minute. Then with a heavy sigh, set it on the table and slid it over to her. He settled in the chair next to her, and waited for her to speak or open the journal. She took a gulp of tea, wincing as the hot liquid traveled down her throat and set the steaming mug aside. She let out the breath she hadn't realized she was holding, and picked up the heavy volume in her hands. Emblazoned on the black cover in silver were the words, "The Family Business." Christine looked sideways at Bobby and squared her shoulders. She had this sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. All those fairytales and myths she loved to read were about to become all too real.

Bobby's hand covered hers as he spoke, "Your father wanted you to have this when you were old enough to handle what's inside." Christine gulped. Bobby released her hand and continued. "I've always told ya your parents were heroes kid. It's time you really knew why."

Christine opened the book and found the first page contained a letter from her father. It was addressed to her!

Christine,

If I am not with you when you are reading this, I am sorry I can't teach you about this life myself. Bobby Singer is a great man. He will keep you safe and he will teach you all you need to know.

Your mother and I belong to a group of people called Hunters. We hunt and kill supernatural creatures. This includes vampires, werewolves, and yes, even demons. If we find a supernatural creature who is coexisting with humans and not harming them in any way, we "tag" them and check in from time to time. Most of the time the creatures need to be handled right then and there.

This journal contains "cases" that I have been on, sometimes your mother would join me or Bobby would join as well. There's a whole underground network of hunters out there. Most locations are found via GPS coordinates. Its old fashioned, but reliable. You'll find us hunters are extremely old school. I'm sure new tech can help, but things like rock salt filled shot gun shells, holy water and spray paint are basic necessity. This book is only a drop in the bucket when it comes to all the lore and knowledge of the supernatural.

If this is too much for you, I understand. The idea that monsters are real is extremely ludicrous, although I assure you, very true. You do not have to join the life Christine. You have a choice. You can continue to live a normal life, or you can join the fight to protect our family and honor your mother and I and your grandparents before us. Hunting is really a family affair, at least for us Elliotts. I hope you choose to join the family legacy.

I'm proud of you, whatever you choose Chris.

Always,

Dad

Bobby took a sip of his tea with a grimace and watch the young girls green eyes well up with tears. Quickly brushing them away she closed the book and met his eyes with her watery ones. "Thank you for keeping this safe for me Uncle Bobby. I need to go over this when I'm not so tired. I'll see you in the morning." Christine's voice was even and sterile. He could tell she was holding back a floodgate of tears. Not wanting to embarrass her, he nodded.

"Sure thing sweetie." He rose from the table as she did, "I'll be here." As he finished his sentence Christine launched herself at the man and he enveloped her in his arms. She pulled back and he looked at her for a moment ruffling her curly blonde hair, "Idjit." He whispered with a grin. Christine gave a small smile, and smoothing her hair back in place, she disappeared up the staircase. Bobby picked up his mug from the table and with a sigh headed toward his book collection. He had studying to do.

Dean Winchester knew exactly what Christine was going through. He settled himself on the top step, just out of view of the kitchen door. Finding out monsters were real was overwhelming enough. Then to find out that your parents fight evil like some unsung superheroes was almost laughable. The new reality of it all was really hard to understand. He could hear Bobby shuffling around for something in the den, probably Mr. Elliott's journal, every hunter kept one. He heard the tea kettle begin to whistle, Christine was going to be down there for awhile. He got to his feet as quietly as he could, then continued down the hall to Christine's room. He wanted to be there for her when she returned. Bobby was always calling them the dynamic duo or saying they were like 'two peas in a pod'.

Christine's room was always so clean. It smelled of fresh linen and sunshine, just like her pretty curly blonde hair had when we leaned close to her a few moments ago. Dean liked that everything seemed to have its place, though she never got too upset at him for moving her little angel statuettes or picking up her books and leafing through them. He settled himself on her full size bed, back against the wall, elbows resting on his knees. He tipped his head back against wall just to rest his eyes. Sometimes he dreamed he had a room just like the one, where everything had its own place.

"Dean," Christine whispered after she had shut her door quietly, but loud enough for Bobby to hear she was in bed. She moved toward to her desk and switched on her lamp. Dean had passed out sitting upright in her bed. Looks like the Winchester boys had driven a long way tonight to get to Sioux Falls.

"I'm awake," Dean mumbled, trying to not seemed as startled as he felt. He rubbed his eyes and straightened a bit, patting the vacant space beside him. Still clutching her father's journal, Christine slipped off her fuzzy cheetah print slippers and climbed into bed. Dean's eyes opened and took in the sight of her. She looked very tired, then again, maybe she was just mirroring his own facade. Her green eyes swam with tears, and her lip trembled a little bit. She opened her mouth to speak, but tears just ran down her face instead. He opened his arms to her, and she buried her face into his chest. Silent sobs wracked her body and his shirt became wet with hot tears. The journal slid out from her grasp and lay open on the bed as she wrapped her arms around his neck. Dean wasn't sure how long they stayed that way, he only knew that he had this fierce need to hold and protect her.

"Its all real." She whispered into his neck. Dean took a deep breath and swallowed hard. He needed to focus on how emotional she was, not how aware he was of her closeness. He thought of how he would always find her in Bobby's den bent over some dusty book. She at least had been exposed to the lore, even if she didn't think it was real at the time.

"Yep." Dean chuckled, "Big Foot's a hoax," he grinned, earning a glare from Christine, "But, yeah. Demons, vampires, ghosts, they are all the real deal."

Christine straightened briefly to place her father's journal on her night stand. Then she settled back against Dean. His fingers played absently in her hair. She hummed in approval. "You taught me to shoot and fight because you knew it was all real." Suddenly she whipped around to face him, "How long have you known?"

Dean stared down into her wide eyes. He smoothed a few strands behind her ear, suddenly feeling the weight of what he was about to share with her. "I was four. My mom died in a nursery fire and we moved around a lot after that. My Dad took up this mantle of finding the son of a bitch that killed my mom." He took a deep breath and focused on the light of the lamp beyond her head, "I remember my mom used to cut the crusts off my PB&J. I tried to act all tough, but she would do it for me anyway." He met her gaze again, "I don't know why I just told you that." He scoffed with a smirk.

"I'm glad you did." Christine whispered, "It helps me understand you, and how this world, even though full of real monsters, isn't that different from the one I've known." She barked a laugh, "I feel like I'm going insane. This can't be happening!'

Dean smiled a knowing smile. This was why he wanted to be there for her. He remembered wondering if his Dad really had just gone insane after his mom died in their house fire. He was mostly convinced by his father's conviction and his unwavering orders to protect Sammy at all cost. "What can I do to prove this is really happening?" He asked with a shy smile. He knew what he wanted to do. He wanted to kiss her. That would be a nice memory to lighten up the darkness she had just discovered.

Christine's eyes widened at his question and a blush crept up her cheeks. "Uh, well." She stammered, "Y-you could stay here until I fall asleep. I don't want to be alone right now." She thought Dean was dangerously attractive, but she knew she wasn't pretty enough for him. She saw the way he looked at Melissa, one of her classmates who lived just down the street. It didn't stop her from thinking what it would be like for him to look at her that way though.

Dean shrugged it off, "Of course." He slid off the bed so she could pull back the covers. Christine settled herself in bed while Dean tucked up the covers around her. Before he could stop himself, he leaned down and placed a soft kiss at her temple. Then he settled next to her, propped up against the headboard, letting her curl up next to him. His fingers found themselves in her soft hair again as he listened to her breathing slowly even out. He told himself he would just stay long enough to make sure she was asleep, that was a great plan until sleep came swiftly for him too.

from the author's desk

Hello dear readers! Thank you so much for joining me on the journey of my first Supernatural fan fiction. First things first, the title, "Long, Long Way From Home" is based on the fantastical Foreigner track by the same namesake. The first minute of the song is absolute magic. I believe the tone, the lyrics and delivery embody Dean Winchester perfectly.

Hells Bells - AC/DC - I chose this song for the guitar riff alone. The lyrics do complement the scenario nicely, but the mood the guitar sets is what I'm going for.

A Well Respected Man - The Kinks - This song always makes me think of my father. I believe this song embodies how Christine views her father until she reads the journal. We'll have to see how that changes in the chapters to come.

Thanks for coming along for the ride. Now let's fast forward ten years to "Devils Trap" where Bobby makes his first appearance in our beloved fandom.

Below is a link to my playlist for this work, just take out the space for the link to work.

xoxo

Lumora The White

playlist link : www. youtube .com/watch?v=eedm15ZEaEg&index=1&list=PLwUIPc_Oc20HPKbPgabVia_s-8WEeD2Vy