Chapter two

Amber stirred to the fragrance of coffee being brewed. She stretched, feeling something stir a little in her hair, which was draped wildly over her pillow. Sleepily, she reached up, only to feel a small tongue lick her fingers. Amber giggled, and sat up carefully. She smiled down at the little puff ball that was now looking up at her, and wagging his tail. "Morning, Wicket."

The small puppy almost seemed to smile, which Amber always thought the tea cup Shih Tzu could do. Amber stretched, before getting up and putting Wicket on the floor and making her way down the stairs. As she walked down the stairs, she looked at the pictures that haphazardly lined the walls. They told the story of three children who practically grew up in this house, along with the story of a man and his late wife.

Amber loved being back in Bobby Singer's house, she felt safe and protected here. Maybe because it had been here that she had been nursed back to health after her father shot her and left her for dead on the side of the road. Or it could be because of all the warding and protective sigils that Bobby had all over the house. He always wanted to make sure that everyone in the house was safe from the things that they all hunted.

Bobby was sitting on the couch when Amber reached the bottom of the stairs. She smiled and went over to hug him. "Morning, Bobby." She said, hugging him.

"Mornin, Ber. You sleep alright?"

She nodded, "Sure did, woke up with Wicket in my hair though. I swear that dog is crazy."

Bobby laughed, and looked down at the little dog that was his company when the kids go out on a hunt. "He is crazy, but he's a good dog." He looked back at her, "Are you hungry? Food is in the kitchen, coffee is almost ready."

"Yum, food sounds awesome right now. So does coffee." Amber stood, looking around, "Where are the boys?"

"They went out this morning to get some things for the hunt that ya'll are leaving for today. I'm thinking it's a vampire nest. But Dean thinks it might be something else," Bobby shook his head, "Course, no one will know what it is until you get there and hunt the damn thing down."

Amber nodded, heading into the kitchen and making a plate for herself. She looked around and noticed the disarray and messiness that claimed the kitchen. She would have to clean up before they left for the hunt. "You know," she called from the kitchen, "I had the strangest dream. Sam and I were married, and we lived in Stanford, I think. I don't think that we hunted either."

Bobby looked back up at her as she came back in the room and rested against the doorframe, eating. "Sounds like you were wondering what would happen if you had a normal life. I've had a few of those."

She nodded again, frowning slightly. "It felt real though, not like my other dreams. It was strange to say the least."

Sure, Amber wondered all the time about what would have happened if she and Sam had been able to have a normal life, without all the monster hunts and all the tragedy that had happened in their lives. She had always wished that they had a normal life, and that they didn't have to be worried about the things that might come and kill them. But, Amber knew that things like that didn't happen to them.

"But, I have to say that it was nice."

The boys still hadn't returned by lunch time, and Amber had already thrown together her bag and Sam's. She knew that Dean liked to pack his own clothes. "Bobby, I'm going to go and lay down." She was nursing a major headache and wanted to get it to go away before they left for the hunt. She left Wicket downstairs with Bobby, and made her way up the stairs to her room. She laid down, hugging one of her pillows and burying her head into the covers. As she began to dose off, her mind wondered to the dream that she had the night before. Everything had felt too real, and there was something about it that made it keep coming back to the front of her mind. She just couldn't put her finger on it. Sighing, she tried pushing the thoughts away and finally managed to fall asleep.

She wasn't sure how long she had been asleep when she finally began to wake up, but as she became conscious, Amber could hear a phone conversation. She knew one voice was Sam's, but the volume on the phone wasn't loud enough for her to figure out who it was on the other end. Not that she really cared, it wasn't her business. So, Amber rolled over and barrowed down into the covers, trying to fall back asleep. A moment later, Amber was startled when she felt a weight fall on to the bed, then felt it crawl towards her. Confused, Amber peeked out of the covers and came face to face with the light blue eyes of a 6 year old.

"Morning, Mama."