's messing up my formatting *scowl*
Baptism of Fire
By: Beccatdemon13
©2011
Disclaimer: I don't own anyone except for Aiden and Hailey Winchester as well as anyone you don't immediately recognize. Please don't sue. You'd only be getting a hell of a lot of textbooks. And I mean a lot of textbooks. It's insane how many textbooks a history major gets. Like nine or ten per class. Most of which are hundreds of pages. I mean I can go on and on and on about how many books I…oh, right, the story! On we go…
Synopsis: There are some things in this world so frightening that we pretend they don't exist. The stuff of nightmares. We tell ourselves they don't exist. But, the truth is they're out there. And closer than we fear.
Author's Note: Meet the prequel to Scream, Aim, Fire. What can I say my muse likes Hailey, and Aiden, and the sibling dynamic? Then I started thinking about their childhood and adding more John into things. I don't know how long this will be, but obviously cannon is disregarded (for the most part). Also, you don't really need to read Scream, Aim, Fire to understand this story.
Chapter One: How Things Were
Families were a strange thing each one was different and complex in it's own way. People were normally bound by their family's history and loyalty. The Campbell family was no exception. They were a close tightknit clan that knew each member inside and out. That kind of familiarity…trust was necessary in their family business.
If only it was something simple, like owning a restaurant, or a small Mom & Pop type shop. No, the specialty of the Campbell family was hunting. It wasn't hunting Bambi or any other woodland creature. Hunting was a phrase that the Campbell family, among others used when they were talking about the act of killing, tracking, and neutralizing Supernatural beings.
The Campbell family was very well one of the most well known hunting families that the United States had to offer. They hunted the supernatural, the stuff the very fabric of people's nightmares were made of, for generations. It was something that the entire family was trained to do, and they did it well.
Samuel Campbell was one of the leading members of the family. Since his own father, Edward had passed away; he was the eldest, which meant he was the one who called the shots. He had set up his primary base of operations in the small town of Lawrence, Kansas. It was almost right smack in the middle of the United States, making it easy to travel anywhere they were needed. The Campbell's that had preceded Samuel had been a nomadic bunch, more likely to be on the move than in a primary residence. However, his wife, Deanna had been adamant about having a home. When his daughters, Beatrix, Theresa, and Mary had been born, he knew that he had made the right decision.
His daughters were trained just like he and his own brothers and sisters had been. Deanna Campbell, nee Whitman, another hunting family had joined forces with her husband teaching their daughters the necessary tools of the trade That included knowledge of Latin, for exorcisms, hand to hand combat, to protect oneself, and other physical training because one needed to be physically fit to do this job. Their oldest daughters, Beatrix and Theresa took to the craft easily, enjoying their first few hunts. The youngest, Mary was different, which wasn't necessarily a bad thing.
Unlike her older sisters and all of the relatives that had proceeded her, it was obvious that little Mary Campbell yearned for something more than hunting things that went bump in the night. She was quick study with everything a hunter should know, taking to Latin a lot easier than Beatrix or Theresa had. Mary's mind was quick, which was a very good thing, but she was always thinking, analyzing, wanting something more than what she had. She was exactly like her Father in that regard. When she was young it brought them closer, once she hit adolescence it was one of the things that drove them apart.
Mary thought she'd be trapped in the family business, at least until she met John Winchester. She was eighteen years old, fresh out of high school. John was on leave, having joined the marines a few months shy of his own graduation. They had clicked right away and the romance didn't fizzle when John left to go fight in Vietnam. When John had been honorably discharged, Mary had been home waiting. It had been almost a year since they had seen one another last, but it was like a day hadn't gone by. By the middle of 1973 they were engaged, set to be married.
Their engagement hit a rocky point when Deanna and Samuel Campbell were murdered by a demon. A demon that had possessed John, who broke the latter's neck in order for Mary to make a deal. Deals with demon's was never a good idea, but Mary was desperate. Her parents were dead, her sister's had been gone for a few years now, having left Kansas and started their own families. Although, both Theresa and Beatrix were still active in hunting. Wedding arrangements stopped so that the three sisters could grieve and plan for the funerals. The entire Campbell clan had made the trip to Lawrence and while it was a somber affair, it had been nice for the whole family to be in one place. It went without saying that Mary's family was a large one, easily hitting fifty members, maybe more.
By the end of the year, Mary and John were married; they still called Lawrence home. They bought a medium sized house, one that would easily fit any and all children the young couple planned to have. A few years later, Mary became pregnant with her first child, a boy. Dean Michael Winchester was born January 24, 1979. It had been an easy decision for both of them to name the child after his grandmother.
In 1983, Mary once again gave birth to a little boy. Samuel Scott Winchester was born May 2, 1983. Just like his older brother, Sam was named after Mary's father. In 1986, the Winchesters welcomed another son: Aiden Riley Winchester. And last but not least was Hailey Jade Winchester, born December 21, 1989.
Mary had the little family she always wanted. With the birth of Dean, Mary had left the hunting world behind for good. She wanted safe, if not for herself than for her budding family. Especially for her children, she refused to allow them to lose any of the innocence they had. Dean, Sam, and Aiden were the best sons she could ever hope to have. The three got along well, and Dean was the perfect big brother. He taught them how to play tee-ball and they walked together to and from the local elementary school.
When Hailey was born, not much changed. The Winchester house became slightly more noisy, although, Hailey was a quiet baby. Despite only being a few weeks old, she seemed to be assessing the world around her with calculating eyes. Sometimes Mary caught her just staring at her or her brothers, as if trying to figure them out, down to the smallest detail.
The day of January 13, 1990 started off as any other day. John left to go work in the mechanic shop he shared with his best friend, Mike. While Mary got her three boys ready for school. She made sure they were dressed, had a decent breakfast, and that they had their lunches and their book bags were packed.
"Come on, boys!" Mary called.
"Coming!" Dean called.
Mary knelt down to help Aiden tie his shoes. She then grabbed Hailey out of her playpen, cradling the young girl as she followed her sons out the front door.
"Remember that you have baseball after school today, Dean," Mary reminded. "You have soccer, Sam."
"Yes, mom," The two said, stopping in their hurried movements to kiss their mother on the cheek.
"And Aiden you have a play date," Mary smiled. "So Timmy's mom will pick you both up after school. Remember to do your homework before you start playing."
"Okay, mommy," Aiden said.
Mary walked them to the gate then stood there, watching as the three walked down the street talking and laughing. Dean was in the fourth grade, while Sam was in first, and Aiden was in an accelerated Pre-K program. Most of the time, Mary would swing around the elementary school around 11 to pick her children up and let them have a nice lunch at home, since that was normally the end of Aiden's school day. But, on days where Aiden had a play date, she let Sam and Dean stay at the school and eat with their friends.
Once her children had turned down the next block, Mary walked herself and Hailey back inside. Just as she shut the door, the phone began to ring. She placed Hailey back in her playpen as she ran to get the phone.
"Hello," She said in the receiver, expecting the traditional call from John, saying that he just saw the boys walk by the garage and that they had gotten to school in time. As the three had been known to dawdle or get distracted.
"Mary."
"Trix?" Mary gasped.
"Hi, little sister," Beatrix greeted with a chuckle. "You sound surprised."
"We haven't spoken in months," Mary pointed out, her eyes taking in her surroundings. As if she expected someone to just pop out of nowhere. "I think the last time we talked you called me a naïve little brat."
"Just calling it like I see it," Beatrix responded.
"There a point to this conversation?" Mary asked tightly. She'd heard quite enough lectures about how one never stopped being a hunter. Ever.
"What've you been doing with yourself?" Beatrix asked.
"Raising four children," Mary grinned. "It's tiring but I love them all to death."
"Dean's ten years old now, right?"
"Yeah."
"Woo, time certainly does fly," Beatrix laughed.
"Yeah," Mary replied. "We're good, Trixie."
"Just because you're living in normal-land that doesn't mean you're not paying attention, right?" Beatrix asked.
"Trix…"
"Mary, this isn't shit you fuck around with," Beatrix growled. "I don't think ghosts and demons are just going to stop because you pretend they don't exist."
"I'm paying attention," Mary huffed.
"Something doesn't feel right," Beatrix whispered.
"What's new in the hunting world?" Mary asked, curiously.
"Tim Harvelle is dead," Beatrix announced. "Our numbers are shrinking, Mar, something's coming. Something bad."
"How's Riley doing?" Mary whispered, her eyes beginning to fill with tears. "Are Ellen and Jo okay?"
"The family's dealing," Beatrix said. "William and Ellen got married a while back. Their daughter, Jo is two years younger than Sam."
"I've seen pictures," Mary smiled. "She's gorgeous."
"And a pro," Beatrix grinned. "You should see what that little girl can do with a knife."
"She's four," Mary gasped.
"She might be four but she's smart," Beatrix shrugged. "They don't leave her alone with weapons of course. But, she throws them at a dartboard. Bulls-eyes every time."
"I don't even know what to say," Mary confessed.
"Just promise me you'll be careful," Beatrix suggested. "And call Tess sometime, huh?"
"I will," Mary whispered.
"And visit the roadhouse sometime," Beatrix ordered. "Ellen misses her best friend."
The call disconnected shortly thereafter leaving a bitter taste in Mary's mouth. Leaving the life she had been born into behind hadn't been easy. She missed her sister's and nieces and nephews. She also missed her best friends."
Even though she was now a Winchester, she remembered everything she had been taught. The Campbell family wasn't the only hunting family out there. There was the Harvelle and the Whitman families. They had almost as many members as the Campbell's had, and were just as good. Ellen Harvelle was one of Mary's best friends. They had both been through a lot together. They had been to each other's weddings, had been there for the birth of their child, or children in Mary's case. But, their once tight relationship had become fractured when Mary left the hunting world behind for good.
Mary let out a small sigh as her mind wandered to her sisters and their own families. Sure, new generation had met one another but the Campbell-Winchester brood weren't the type to meet often. Certain holidays were alternated between both sides of the family but there was still space between the three Campbell sister's. After Tess had nearly outted Mary's secret the space had turned icy. Now they often went to Hilary, John's older sisters for all the holidays.
Still even though the three sisters were angry with one another, they would never stop caring. Mary worried about both Trixie and Tess, because the two still hunted. And like all Hunters they had gotten hurt. Often enough that some of Mary's blonde hair had begun to gray. Mary hated having the house mostly to herself. With John at work, her boys at school, and Hailey sleeping in her play-pen, Mary's mind wandered a lot more than she would've liked. The monotonous chores of laundry, cooking, and cleaning barely distracted her from her thoughts.
She had just finished straightening up when a jeep pulled up to the front of the house. Sam and Dean leapt out of the car and raced up the stairs, barely stopping to thank Ms. Johnson for the ride home.
"Hi, Mom!" Sam and Dean chorused as they ran into the room.
"Hey, boys," Mary laughed. "How was practice?"
"It was good, Mom," Dean said. "Coach said that my pitching's improved. I'm starting at the next game!"
"That's great, Dean-o," Mary praised.
"And, Sammy got bumped to forward," Dean announced, grinning at Mary.
"Well, look at my two all-stars," Mary smiled. "How about ice cream later to celebrate?"
"Score!" Dean whooped, high fiving his little brother.
"Go on and do you homework boys," Mary prodded. "Milk and cookies are waiting on the kitchen table."
Both boys smiled widely taking the time to greet Mary properly with a kiss on the cheek before walking into the kitchen. Two hours later Mary left tomato sauce on the stove to simmer as she gathered her bag and car keys.
"Dean, can you watch the tomato sauce?" Mary requested. "And watch your sister for me, okay? I gotta pick up Aiden from the Braun's."
"Okay, Mom," Dean agreed.
"Thank you, sweetheart," Mary called on her way outside.
Because the garage was so close to the Winchester's home, John frequently chose to walk to work, that way Mary would have the car if she had to run any errands. At one time, Mary had been irritated that John had chosen to get a 1967 Chevy Impala instead of the nice van she had her eye on, but now she loved the car almost as much as John and the boys did.
By the time Mary was on the way home with Aiden in tow, John had beat her home. She walked into the house to find the table set, and plates already laid out. She walked over to her husband and kissed him firmly on the lips before casting her children a stern look when they made disgusted noises as the display. Mary scooped up Hailey and brought the play-pen into the kitchen so that the entire family would be together.
Dinner was a nice and quiet affair with both Sam and Dean bragging about their new positions and how they were both starting in the upcoming games. John responded with pride, quick to dole out praises, not to leave out Aiden, who had been the first child in his first grade class to read a book without assistance.
"Can we watch TV?" Sam asked.
"Have you finished your homework?" Mary questioned, giving John a dish to dry.
It was the normal evening routine for the family. Mary would wash and John would dry. The kids would watch TV, only after they promised that all their homework was done. It was the childhood and normalcy that Mary had always wanted for her own childhood. She was glad she was able to give it to her own children. If this had been a true Campbell house there would be training after dinner and then straight to bed, because you didn't want to do much of anything after the training sessions that Samuel set up.
"Aiden, bed time," John ordered around eight thirty.
True to form Aiden tried to wheedle another half-hour out of his father and was unsuccessful. Together, Mary, John, Aiden, and Hailey walked upstairs. John helped Aiden through his night routine of PJs and brushing his teeth as Mary got Hailey ready. Already the little girl was yawning, her slightly too big blue eyes at half mast.
"Say goodnight to your sister," John whispered as Mary set her in the crib.
"Night Hay," Aiden said, kissing her on the forehead.
"Good night, Hailey," Mary grinned giving her baby girl a kiss.
"Night sweetheart," John said, placing a warm hand on his daughter's chest.
Hailey cooed at all of them before yawning widely. Mary and John then walked to Aiden's room to read him a story and tuck him in. They rejoined their older two children a half hour later. The four watched TV for a short time before it was time for Dean and Sam to go to bed. After a hug and kiss for each boy, the two walked upstairs quietly.
"I'm going to head upstairs, sweetheart," Mary announced when a war documentary came on. "Long day."
"I'll be up soon," John replied giving his wife a deeper kiss. He smiled as she walked upstairs.
Mary quickly peaked into each one of her children's room to make sure everything was okay before climbing into bed. It was in the middle of the night when Mary startled awake. She heard Hailey crying through the baby monitor and yawned. Today was John's night, but he wasn't in bed with her, his side was cold. Shrugging Mary trudged down the hallway and opened the nursery door. She found John standing over the crib, guess he had beat her here after all.
"John?" Mary whispered. "She hungry?"
The response she got was, "Shhh."
"Okay," Mary replied.
She turned around and realized the hallway light was flickering. Her hackles rose as she walked to the light and tapped it, when it stopped she let go of the breathe she hadn't realized she was holding. Mary turned to go back to the master bedroom and saw light and movement coming from downstairs. Without fully realizing it, she was already half way down the stairs. John had fallen asleep to the movie, leaving the television on. If he was down here then…
"Hailey!" Mary exclaimed rushing back upstairs and into the nursery once more.
The figure turned around and sneered at her.
"It's you," Mary growled.
She moved to lunge when an invisible force slammed her against the wall. Air whooshed out of her lungs as she struggled to get to her feet, get to Hailey.
"Long time, no see, Mary," The figure growled. "You're interfering."
"You son of a bitch!" Mary hissed.
Mary fought tooth and nail as she was dragged up the wall until she was directly above Hailey's crib. The girl was looking at her as Mary gasped. Suddenly white-hot pain was searing through her abdomen as she growled and hissed. The pain was excruciating and she couldn't help but scream.
John ran into the room seconds later to find it empty, except for Hailey. His brows are pitched low in confusion, sure that he had heard his wife screaming. His own heart beat loudly in his ears as the unused adrenaline moves through his veins. Must've been one realistic nightmare, the marine thought to himself. Lord knows that it's happened enough over the years. He hears Hailey coo from the bed as he walked over to make sure his daughter was okay. John's palm smoothens over Hailey's fine blonde hairs, a smile tugging at the rugged man's lips. He's just about to turn away, head to bed when a small, bright red spot landed near Hailey's head. When he moved to touch it another red spot, then another landed on his hand. John frowned glancing up at the ceiling, what he saw froze him to the spot.
Mary Winchester hung over their daughter's bed. There was a large cut across her stomach, her mouth was frozen in a scream, eyes wide in horror. She was shockingly pale, dead.
"Mary!" John screamed. "No! Mary!"
Ice replaced adrenaline in John's veins, freezing him to the spot, forcing him to look up at his wife. Her own features frozen in agony. If only he had been a few minutes faster, he might've been able to do something. The only thing that unfroze John from his place was Hailey's startled cries as fire suddenly burst out from behind Mary's body. He tore his eyes away from Mary lunging towards the crib and grabbing Hailey out of it and running into the hallway. John nearly ran into Dean, who was flanked by Aiden and Sammy.
"Dad, what's going…"
"Dean, take them outside as fast as you can, don't look back," John ordered, cutting off his son's question. He shoved the fussing girl into his arms. "Now, Dean, go!"
Dean didn't question it, he turned grabbing Sam's hand, who had picked up Aiden and rushed down the stairs and out the front door. John had gone back to try and save Mary, but he was too late, his wife was gone, murdered in a second. Seeing no other choice he followed the path his children had taken moments before leading them far away from the house as the window to the nursery exploded.
The next few days were dark, bleak. None of his children spoke. Not even Sam, or Aiden both of whom could talk to a brick wall for hours. Mary Winchester's death had hit them all hard. Now his children were motherless, John himself was drowning in his own grief. He barely remembered to call Mary's sisters. John's best friend, Mike and his wife Luann helped them out the best they could.
Luann made sure they had food, Mike took care of the garage. He also called the children out of school, under the circumstances, no one argued against it. Everything the Winchester's owned had gone up in flames, demolishing the house from the inside. John couldn't talk about that night, no one believed what he told them.
Mary on the ceiling might not be believable, but it was the truth. The fire marshal had said that an electrical short had caused the fire. And it was the stress and grief of what had happened that made John imagine that he saw Mary on the ceiling.
"John," Luann called, walking into the guest room. "Trixie and Tess are here to see you."
John rose to his feet, apprehensive. The few meetings he had with Trix and Tess were awkward to say to least. They made their displeasure known. Although, he wasn't exactly sure why they didn't approve. He often caught the three sisters having whispered disagreements that cut off when he walked into the room. Then there was something Tess had said during one holiday meal, something about a Poltergeist. To this day, he didn't understand why Mary had gotten so upset, or why Tess looked smug.
"John," Trixie greeted.
"Hello, Trixie," John sighed.
What he really wanted to say was, what the hell are you both doing here? He considers the moment to praise his self-control that he didn't. The tall, lithe blonde woman was as all business as the day he met her. The only clue that the sister's were struggling as much as he was their red-rimmed eyes.
"The funeral's on Wednesday," Tess announced. The words coming out choked and breathless. As though it had physically pained her to say the words.
"Okay," John shrugged.
"Are you going?" Trixie questioned, her blue eyes narrowing, like Mary's eyes…Hailey's. Jesus this was difficult.
"There's nothing to bury," John growled, brusquely.
"It's for closure," Tess said.
"Closure?" John repeated. "My wife's dead. My children lost their mother. There's no closure for that."
"You're not the only one who lost someone that night, John," Trixie warned. "She was our baby sister."
"Yeah, and y'all were so close you barely saw each other once a year," John scoffed.
The two women flinched as though John had struck them, he himself was aware of the low blow but he couldn't bring himself to care.
"You're a bastard, Winchester," Tess hissed. "If it weren't for you she'd probably be alive instead she just had to pretend with you."
"Excuse me?" John demanded.
"You heard me," Tess snarled. "This is your fault!"
"Tess!" Trixie reprimanded. "John, listen, we all might've had our differences but we know how much you loved Mary and how much those kids loved her too. We're sorry for your loss and it would mean a lot to our family if you came. It might do you some good."
The two turned to go when John thought about the whispered conversations, the poltergeist debacle, and what Tess had just said about how Mary was pretending. Pretending about what? If she didn't love him then why did she have four children with him?
"Wait!" John called following the sister's out the front door. No one had believed what he had seen was real but they might. It was worth a shot.
"What is it?" Tess asked.
"The night Mary died," John whispered, coughed then rallied himself. "The night she died, I saw her. She was pinned to the ceiling above Hailey's crib. Her stomach was ripped open."
"Pinned to the ceiling?" Trixie repeated, shooting Tess a perplexed glance.
"Yes, like there was something keeping her there," John explained.
"Shit," Tess mumbled.
"You believe me?" John gasped.
"Yes, we do," Trixie said. "This changes things."
"You really wanna know what happened that night, there's one person you need to talk to," Tess explained. "Her name's Missouri Moseley."
"The psychic?" John scoffed.
"No one likes a skeptic, Winchester," Trixie retorted. "You having trouble getting people to believe you? She will and she'll tell you everything you want to know and more."
Missouri Moseley did exactly what Trixie had told him she would. That and more, the older black woman, opening up a world that John hadn't even known existed. There was once a time where he thought psychics were full of shit, but she simply knew too much information to be a fake.
A demon had killed his Mary, stolen his children's childhood, and had taken the idea of normalcy away. On June 21, 1990, the lives of the Winchester family had been changed irreparably. It would send Mary Winchester's family down a path that she had fought all her life to get away from.
Sometimes fate was cruel like that.