What if it took place pre-series and Karen was a ghost instead of a zombie?

Sam's 13, Dean's 17

"Come on, boys," John said. "Bobby needs help on a hunt."

"But, dad, I have a soccer tournament this weekend," Sam whined.

"People are dying and you want to play soccer? Get your butt in the car," John retorted.

Sam grumbled, but got in the car. Dean rolled his eyes. It was going to be a long drive.

SSS

"Glad you could make it," Bobby said, coming out to greet them. He noticed Sam's surly expression. He felt bad for the kid. Dean, too. This was no life for a child. He often wondered what the hell John was thinking.

"How you doing, Sam?" Bobby asked.

"Fine," Sam mumbled, looking down at the ground.

"Be polite, Sam," John said.

"It's OK," Bobby said. Sam was usually the most polite kid he'd ever met, but the stress of hunting and always moving was clearly getting to him.

"What's the hunt?" Dean asked, to get the attention off Sam, before John totally went off on him.

"Werewolf," Bobby answered.

"Awesome," Dean said. He loved hunting werewolves. He wasn't sure why and it wasn't a common hunt, but he loved it.

"Dean, try not to be too happy about people dying so that you can hunt a werewolf," John admonished.

"Sorry, sir," Dean said.

"Sam coming?" Bobby asked.

"No. He's not ready for a werewolf hunt," John said. Werewolves were fast, strong and had claws. With one swipe of a claw, one could end Sam's life, or with one well-placed bite, change Sam into one of them. As annoying as Sam was, John would never do anything to put him at risk.

Dean felt bad that Sam was going to miss out on the were hunt. Sam didn't get to go on many of the bigger hunts that Dean had gotten to go on when he was his age. He didn't know if it was because Sam didn't train as hard, or if it was just that dad was more protective of Sammy.

Sam didn't mind that he didn't have to go on hunts. He hated hunting. He didn't care what it was. He was glad that people were saved when they hunted, but he wasn't glad that it seemed to be their responsibility. All he wanted to do was live in the same town, make friends, go to school, and have a career that didn't involve weaponry.

The three older hunters took off and Sam trudged into the house. He tried to turn on the TV but it was broken. Great, there wasn't a lot else to do at Uncle Bobby's. Unless you were Dean or Dad, then you could work on cars. He headed up to the attic. Maybe there was something interesting up there. He found a box called Karen's stuff. He wondered who Karen was. He just stared at the box. He was curious, but didn't know if he should open it or not. Bobby had never mentioned anyone named Karen. Maybe it was left from a former owner of the house.

SSS

Karen had been roaming around this house for 20 years. Nobody could see her or hear her. It was so frustrating. She had lived the last few days of her life with something inside her. She could feel it. It was evil. She screamed inside her own body when it had tried to kill Bobby. Bobby had stabbed her several times and this thing in her had kept coming at him. She felt the pain of the stabs, but as long as that evil entity was in her body, her spirit didn't seem able to escape it.

For three days after Bobby had stabbed her, the demon had kept Bobby captive in the house. Apparently, Bobby had had an old friend who had become a priest. A Jim Murphy. This priest exorcised lots of demons, but somehow managed to hide from them. This demon was trying to find out his whereabouts. On the third day, Jim had coincidentally shown up. He took the demon by surprise and exorcised it. The same moment that the demon finally left her body, so did Karen's spirits. She had been roaming through this house ever since.

She watched as Jim explained to Bobby what had happened. Bobby had been distraught that he had killed her. She wanted to take him in her arms and tell him it was alright. It wasn't his fault. She watched as he decided to go out and hunt all these creatures. She worried about him every time he left the house. She had tried to follow him several times, but she could never get past the door.

When John Winchester had shown up with his two children, she had been instantly enchanted. Especially by the little one. He was about two years old at the time. She wanted to hold him. She cried when she realized that these little ones did not have a mother. She wanted nothing more to be solid so she could be their mother.

Now, she watched as Sam looked at her box of things. She knew that if the box was open, she would be able to manifest herself. She didn't know how she knew, she just knew. Sam opened the box.

"Thank you," she said.

Sam whipped around startled.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"I'm your new mother."