~12~ Every Story Has A Beginning

We were all a little slow at getting moving the next day. Whether it was the late night or the somber mood from the previous evening, I couldn't say. Personally, I couldn't get certain thoughts out of my head. Namely all the coincidences we'd encountered. The car with the weapons, the cell phones in the glove box, 'Dean', all the real locations. I had been thinking on and off about it all throughout the trip, but last night at Harvelle's? That really hit me hard. They were real people that died in a horrible way. If all these locations and side stories were true, who says Sam and Dean aren't real too?

We stopped at an all you can eat buffet on our way out of town for what ended up being more of a brunch. Charlie blew us all away with her apparent hollow leg. For such a thin person, she could really pack it away! I couldn't keep my thoughts to myself, though, and they spilled over while we were eating.

"Guys. I just have to get this out of my head. You're all going to think I'm nuts, and that's fine, but I can't keep this bottled up any longer."

"Dee, what's up?" Sammi asked.

"And we already think you're nuts, it's why we're here with you!" El added with a grin.

"Bitch." I said.

"Jerk." She answered in kind.

"Anyway, I just can't stop thinking of all the coincidences along this trip. Starting with the car and what's in it's trunk." The girls all looked around at each other, some nodding their heads. They knew exactly where I was going with this.

"The weapons, fake ID's, the phones in the glove box." Cat said.

"The fact that a psycho named Dean owns it and really, really wants it back?" El added. I nodded my head.

"Then all the things on our trip. Like the diner with Doris and the Mystery Spot. Some guy really did go missing there." I said.

"That freaky gate thing at that cemetery." Charlie added with an almost noticeable chill.

"Then Harvelle's..." I left it hang there. There was so much about Harvelle's that was freaking me out. "Not only did the Roadhouse actually exist, but so did Ellen."

"So did Ash, or at least, Dr. Badass." El added with a half smile.

"And it really did burn down." Sammi added.

"The gun, picture, cash..." Charlie said around a french fry.

"...and the salt." I added quietly. We all just sat there staring off into our own minds. You could almost see the gears working in each of our heads. "I just...it just seems all too real. Does that make any sense? I mean, when I planned this trip, I seriously never thought we'd find anything other than, maybe, the Mystery Spot."

"Carver just used-" Cat began.

"-places he'd been to. Yeah, I know. We've batted that idea around before, but I can't help think that that is just too neat an answer. It's one thing to write a story against a familiar backdrop, such as the city you live in, since you can confidently write the location. But all these side stories and places? Not to mention actual people? There's just too much! Okay that's all I wanted to-"

"Wait. Are you saying you are beginning to think that Dean and Sam might be real too?" El asked, almost shocked.

"Umm..." I didn't want to say it out loud, it sounded too crazy then.

"You are!" She exclaimed.

"I guess, I'm not saying they are real, but I'm beginning to at least consider the possibility that they might be. And in all honesty...would it be so bad if they were?" I looked around the table at each of them in turn. Sammi had a thoughtful look on her face, like she may actually be considering my words. Cat was nodding her head and smiling. I had a funny feeling she'd be on board with any crazy idea I threw out there.

"Wait!" Charlie said. "If the guys are real...then wouldn't that presume, then, that all the things they hunt would also be real?"

"Yeah. Not sure I like the idea of all those nasties running around out there." El said.

"That would also mean that the world almost came to a horrible end not too long ago." Sammi added, somberly. We all just stopped short at that comment and stared hard at Sammi. "What? If what you're saying is true, then not that long ago Sam really threw himself, and Lucifer, into the pit, saving us all from the Apocalypse."

We all drifted off into our own thoughts after that comment. Once we got back out to the car, Cat broke the silence. "So, where to now? What's our next stop?"

"We are headed to the beginning of the story...Kansas." I answered.

"Yes! I want to get a reading from Missouri!" Charlie squealed.

"Ah...what if Missouri is a made up character?" I asked.

"Seriously, Dee? They have all been real so far." Cat said.

"Good point and I'd love to meet her!" I grinned.

"I want to see the family home." El said. I looked over at her and smiled.

"Me too." Sammi piped up from the backseat.

"I also have one other stop out that way but it needs to wait until dark." I said.

"Ooo, creepy!" Cat said.

"Can't wait! Let's go!" Charlie said, practically hopping in her seat.

It was only a little over five hours to get to Lawrence. We stopped just inside town to gas up and then popped into a fast food joint for a bite to eat and to decide what to do next. "Okay guys, I have two different houses that could be considered the family home." I said, pulling up a map on my kindle. Everyone leaned in to get a look at it.

"Yes. There appears to be some debate over the actual location on the message boards." Sammi said.

"Actual location? Guys, I can only assume this has to be a made up place." El said. "I can understand Carver being to a diner or Roadhouse, but we're talking an actual house."

"Probably true." I answered. "But worth looking at anyway, right?" There are eager nods and I point out the two spots on the map. "We can drive by each and if we want we can take some pictures."

"Or Charlie can just invite herself in..." Cat said with a smile.

"Oh yeah! I want to see the nursery, damn it!" Charlie said, grinning.

"Great. Listen, I'm okay with trying to get inside with some crazy story or something, but no more B and E, okay?" El said, rolling her eyes.

"Agreed. I'm too young to go to jail." Sammi added.

"If we go to jail, bitch, I got your back! But, no more breaking and entering...for now." Charlie said. She took her finger and crossed her heart in promise.

"How about we get checked into a motel, first, and then go wandering around town?" Cat offered.

We all agreed to that plan, finished our dinners and hit the road. We found a place called the Virginia Inn Motel. It was classic Winchester cheese. Even the name was hilarious...a motel trying to be an inn. We got settled into our rooms and Charlie took the wheel for our excursion around town.

The first house was a two story, light yellow number on a cul de sac. None of us felt like it was anything special. Not that we would know. I mean, we were looking for the fictional home of fictional characters...how the hell would we know if we found it, especially if it didn't exist! Sammi snapped a picture for good measure and we headed in search of the other address.

The second house was a light blue, two story home. It had a partial porch on the front. We sat in the car across the street looking at it. "This is it." Cat quietly said.

"What? How could you know?" Charlie asked.

"Yeah, that and this house is blue. Wasn't it described in the Home book as light green?" El added.

"It just is. See?" Cat pointed to the front right corner of the yard.

"What are we looking at?" I asked.

"Oh my god, I think she's right." Sammi said in a hushed tone and brought her hand up to her mouth.

We all turned and looked closer at the house and the yard. "I guess I'm not seeing it?" Charlie said.

"The stump, Charlie, the stump!" Cat said, pointing again. There at the right corner of the house was the stump of what looked like had been a large tree. "Remember? In the book, Sam has a vision and he recognizes the family home because of the huge twisted tree in the front yard?"

I looked again, now seeing the stump she was referring to. "Just because there is a stump in the yard doesn't mean-" I started.

"Who cares! Let's go!" Charlie said and was climbing out of the car.

"Oh fuck. Here we go again." El sighed and climbed out of the car after her.

"Someone quick come up with a story!" I whispered to Cat and Sammi as we got out after them.

As the five of us approached the door, Sammi maneuvered to the front and rang the doorbell. Thank God for Sammi's cool head. We wait only a minute before a teenaged girl answers the door. "Yes?" she says.

"Hi, um, I know this is going to sound strange, but my friends and I are on a road trip in memory of my grandmother. She just passed and we are visiting places that meant a lot to her. I know it sounds weird, but she raised me when my parents passed in a car accident and well...she spent a good chunk of her life in this house. Would it be okay if we came in and just saw the place again? I visited her quite a few times before my parents, um..." Sammi rattled it all off without a hitch. I was impressed. So, to add to her story, I put a reassuring arm around Sammi's shoulders and gave her a squeeze.

"Um yeah, sure. MOM! Come on in." She held the door wide for us and stepped back, allowing us entry into the house. A blonde woman came in and the girl briefly told her what we wanted.

She held out her hand for a shake. "Hi. Jenny. Of course you can come in. You wouldn't be the first." She ended with a slight chuckle and shook all our hands. We introduced ourselves. "I think it's great, what you're doing for Samantha, here." She said as she led us into the house. Our eyes grew huge as we walked in and looked around, trying to envision the flaming spirit of Mary Winchester banishing the evil poltergeist from her family home.

As we came into the kitchen, keeping up appearances, Sammi said "Oh, Grandma and I used to sit at the kitchen table and play Uno for hours." El patted her on the back. I would have laughed at our antics if Sammi hadn't been selling it so well. She looked all around the kitchen, eyes pausing on the sink. "Would it be okay to see upstairs? Whenever I visited, I always had my own room up there." Sammi asked.

Jenny patted her on the arm. "Of course." As she led us up stairs, Jenny kept up the small talk. "So, was your grandmother born here or..."

"Oh, no. She and her family moved in here when her sons were just little. Grandpa passed away when the kids were still in high school and she just couldn't leave the place. When my parents, her son, died, she finally moved out east to take care of me." Good Lord, I don't know where Sammi was coming up with all this stuff, but it was gold!

We got to the top of the stairs and Sammi went straight for the front corner room. What would have been Sammy's nursery. "This is where I always stayed when I was here." Sammi said with fake remembered fondness in her voice. We all piled into the room which was covered in posters of guys on dirt bikes flying through the air.

"Was it haunted when you were here?" A voice piped up from the corner. We all turned and saw a young boy walking out of a large walk in closet carrying a dirty clothes hamper.

"Ritchie, what have I told you about that? Now take your laundry downstairs, please." The boy made a face and then left the room. "Sorry about that. Boys and their imaginations." Jenny almost sounded nervous.

"No harm and for the record, it was not haunted." Sammi said with a reassuring smile.

I noticed that while Sammi was chatting up Jenny, Charlie and Cat were sneaking pictures on their phones. We got a brief tour of the rest of the upstairs and a peek into the backyard all accompanied by fond remembrances from Sammi. We were thanking Jenny for her kindness and were walking down the sidewalk when Jenny called out after us. "You father's name wasn't Winchester, was it?"

We all stopped dead in our tracks and slowly turned around. "What? No, um, I mean..." Sammi stuttered.

"My apologies. I can see it wasn't. Never mind. You girls enjoy the rest of your trip and my sympathies, Samantha." Jenny said and pulled back into the house and closed the door. We all just stared at each other, gob smacked.

We went back to the car, got in, and just sat there. We were too stunned to even speak. Finally El broke the silence. "You guys caught their names right?"

"I don't think the girl ever said her name, but, yeah." I answered.

"Same names as were given in the Home book. Jenny is the name of the woman who was living in the house when Sam and Dean went to save them from a poltergeist and the spirit of Mary saves the day. Her kids names were Ritchie and...umm..." El trailed off, trying to remember the daughter's name.

"Sari." Charlie quietly said. Again we all fell into silence. Charlie eventually gave one last look out the window, started up the car and took us back to the motel trying to be an inn.