~Chapter 3~

Home Sweet Home

Laura's body worked diligently. She carried empty and full glasses back and forth, counted change and smiled brightly at customers. But her mind was busy hunting spirits, demons and various other monsters. She was grateful that the bar was busy that night because any time she found herself idle her hands would start to shake and a scream would build up in her throat and try to force its way out. One hunt was not enough to scratch the itch. Deep down she knew it wouldn't be but it still sucked to know for sure. So what was she supposed to do now?

She considered some new options: She could call up Sam and Dean and ask if she could hunt with them for a little while, she could call her uncle Bobby, apologize for ignoring his calls for the past year and a half or she could find a few local jobs and work alone. The last option made the most sense – she could work cases inbetween her hours at the bar which meant she could maintain a stable income and she could stay at home most of the time if she didn't work any jobs outside the state. But Laura had never hunted alone before so that option was also the scariest one. She considered herself to be independent, strong and resourceful but she always had the luxury of knowing someone was there to back her up during a hunt. Not to mention, she was long out of practice (not counting that one Tulpa thing), so if she was ever going to fly solo, now was not the time to start.

But if she went with either of the other two options she would have to quit her job and leave what had become her hometown. Sure, she never truly fit in, and it wasn't like she was building a career but still... The last two times she had reinvented her life it hadn't been exactly easy to adjust. As she took off her apron and got ready to drive home in her piece-of-crap truck Bobby had given her for her 16th birthday she came to a (sort of) decision. There was no way she was calling up the Winchesters. It wasn't her place to do that, Texas had been a one time thing, and she was sure they didn't want a girl hanging around them 24/7. Also, spending all her time around the elder of the Winchester brothers would be an especially bad idea. She told herself that everything between them was in the past and was long dead, but she remembered that little pang of jealousy she felt when he was checking out their waitress at breakfast one morning, and that little pang of ughnn she felt whenever he smiled at her. So maybe she did still feel something for him...

But could she really go back to Bobby? After refusing to ever hunt again, after pitching such a fit about moving out straight after her high school graduation? She hadn't seen him in almost six years and she hadn't even spoken to him in the past year and a half after she cut him off for no good reason. Yes, Laura Singer had really been a bitch to her uncle who had, after all, sacrificed so much for her. He took her in when no one else would, he gave her a home, became a father figure for her and taught her everything she knew about hunting, cars and hell, life in general.

Laura pulled into her driveway and bit her lip, trying to repress the ball of guilt that had curled up in her stomach. She went inside and found the bottle of Jack Daniel's she kept in her kitchen she mixed it with some with coke and ice and sat down to watch a crappy sitcom marathon. She had too much to think about and couldn't sleep so it wasn't long before the night became a blur of laugh tracks, JD and coke, JD from the bottle as the night progressed, and eventually infomercials. She woke up in her armchair to the sound of another fucking laugh track, to a different sitcom this time and the smell of alcohol on her breath. She had drank half the bottle. What the fuck? she thought. Did I just get drunk alone and sit up watching bad TV all night? She got up to turn off the TV and put the bottle away. She eyed the bags she still hadn't unpacked in the corner of the room. All of her practical clothes were in them – jeans, plain shirts, a jacket and an extra pair of boots – and some weapons – a few knives, handguns, one shotgun and whatever ammunition she had. Everything she needed as a hunter.

It was funny, she had a closet full of nice clothes, high heels and accessories and a whole house full of other stuff – throw pillows, flowers, vintage furniture (no real antiques obviously) – but everything from her old life fit neatly into an old duffel bag and a backpack. And that was when she made up her mind. Bon Temps was full of luxuries – friends, weddings, baby showers, normality – but it lacked what she really needed – family, danger and a sense of purpose. She brought her bags upstairs and packed them full for the much longer journey she was about to embark on. She took one last look at her house before locking up and starting her journey home.

Laura arrived at Bobby's the next day around lunch time. She had to give herself a few minutes before getting out of her pickup and walking up to the front door. She cursed herself for not calling first but maybe the face to face reunion was a better idea as she had convinced herself on the way – this way Bobby would just be happy to see her, alive and would forget to yell at her for not calling. Yeah, because Bobby was always in a good mood. Her fingers were tapping out a wild beat on her thighs while she waited by the front door. She raised a fist and knocked quickly three times before she could change her mind. There's still time to run away... she thought just before he opened the door. "Laura?"

"Hey, what's up?" she asked casually.

"Where the hell have you been?" Hell hath no fury like a Singer scorned.

"Louisiana. But you already knew that. Oh and Texas for a little while, on a hunt. So yeah, that's the kind really, why I'm here I mean, I want to start hunting again. I quit my job and basically ran away so I was wondering if I could stay here for a while and help you out?" she babbled.

Bobby furrowed his brow as he processed everything she had just said, wondering how women seemed to be able to speak faster than men. Probably because they always had more to say. "You know you're always welcome here."

Laura took a deep breath and nodded. "Thank you."

Laura left her bags upstairs in her old bedroom before heading to the kitchen where Bobby had a cold beer waiting for her. "Thanks," she muttered as she picked it up.

"So why are you here? Slow it down this time, if you don't mind."

"Um, I met up with Sam and Dean a couple weeks ago-"

"Winchester?"

She nodded. "It was crazy, seeing them again after all these years and it got me all nostalgic. I wanted to hunt again but at first I thought it was just because you know how when you start thinking about the past you seem to forget all the bad crap and just remember the good? But they let me help them out with their next hunt and I loved it, I felt like I was doing what I'm meant to do. So when I went back to my 'normal' life afterward I realized that I couldn't stand it." She smiled and leaned back against the counter top.

Bobby didn't look so relaxed. "Laura, you got out. Do you realize how many hunters wish they could be normal? And you had the chance. Do you really want to do this or are you just gonna help me out for a month before you change your mind and go skipping back to Stepford?"

"I have to do this Bobby. I wanted to be normal but I don't think I physically can be. I used to be good at this and I just want to feel like I'm actually making a difference again, like I'm doing something more important than serving drinks! I'm an adult and I can make my own decisions – I'm hunting again whether you like it or not so all you get a say in is if I can work with you."

He nodded. "All right then. Let's get to work."

Laura soon realized that helping Bobby wouldn't be like it used to be. He seemed to be working less jobs of his own and spending more time stuck in his house answering phones. Cops would call and he'd pretend to be FBI to cover for some hunter who roused suspicion, hunters would call for help – some asking Bobby to come out and work a job with them, others just looking for information because they were too dumb or lazy to do any research themselves – and others would call to ask for refuge for themselves or their children. They saw some action (a vengeful spirit haunting one of their neighbors, a vampire nest in Montana that a lone hunter needed help taking down) but not as much as Laura would have liked. But staying with Bobby had its perks. It was comfortable – the likes of the Winchesters were constantly on the road, moving from motel to motel so it was a luxury to stay in one place for so long, to have a home.

Laura was just getting settled in, even starting to consider finding herself a day job at the local diner or something. That was when the Winchester brothers showed up on their doorstep.

AN: Sorry this chapter is a little shorter than the others (and uneventful). The next chapter takes place during the season finale of the first season and it's going to be very dramatic and exciting... ;) I can't wait for this story to really kick off! Thanks to everyone who added me or 'Somewhere I Belong' to their alerts / favorites and special thanks to the few people who took the time to review. I'd love to get some feedback from the rest of you, it's lovely to hear people's opinions on the story and it motivates me to write more too.

See you next week, thanks for reading! x