A/N: Thank you everyone who is reading. I hope you like it. I am more than willing to accept any constructive criticism. On another note, I found out I won a contest at my school for the best creative writing piece. It wasn't fanfiction though and I'd much rather prefer to write about the Winchesters. I hope everyone is doing well.

It was dark when they arrived in Manning, Colorado. They pulled up in front of Daniel Elkins' cabin. Sam had read a newspaper article that the Daniel was mauled to death in his home, but the name also rang a bell for Dean. His Dad had mentioned him in his journal, so they knew there had to be some significance to Elkins and his death. Sam glanced into the backseat to find Brinley sound asleep. She was covered with her dog blanket and her head was resting against the window on a pillow they took from the motel.

"She's out," Sam commented. "And she looks so peaceful."

"Good, we'll leave her here. We shouldn't be long," Dean replied. They exited the impala as quietly as they could. Dean held a flashlight while Sam picked the lock to the door of the cabin. After several seconds, the door opened.

"Looks like the maid didn't come today," Dean commented as he looked around with the flashlight.

"Hey, there's salt over here. Right beside the door," Sam said as Dean began flipping through Elkins' journal on a desk in the corner of the room.

"You mean protection against demon salt, or 'oops I spilled the popcorn' salt?" Dean questioned.

"It's clearly a ring. You think this guy Elkins was a player?" Sam questioned.

"Definitely," Dean replied.

"That looks a hell of a lot like Dad's," Sam commented as he appeared behind Dean.

"Yep, except this dates back to the 60s," Dean replied. They headed into the other room and shone their flashlights around the destruction, including up at the hole in the roof.

"Whatever attacked him, it looks like there was more than one," Sam commented.

"Looks like he put up a hell of a fight too," Dean replied.

"Yeah," Sam agreed. They continued to look around the room. Dean crouched down to get a closer look at the floor. "You got something?" Sam questioned.

"I dunno. Some scratches on the floor," Dean replied.

"Death throes maybe?" Sam questioned.

"Yeah, maybe," Dean replied. He grabbed a page from a notebook, and placed it over the marks and rubbed a pencil lead over it to get an outline. "Or maybe a message," he commented. Dean peeled up the paper, which had a lot of blood on the back, and rubbings of characters, and he handed the paper to Sam. "Look familiar?" he questioned.

"Three letters, six digits. The location and combination of a post office box. It's a mail drop," Sam said.

"Just the way Dad does it," Dean replied. "We'd better get back to the kid." They headed back to the car to find Brinley still passed out in the backseat. She woke when the engine roared to a start.

"Where are we?" she grumbled.

"Just one more stop, and then we'll find a motel for the night," Sam replied as he turned in his seat to face her. "Everything ok?"

"Just tired," she replied. Dean pulled into the back parking lot of the local post office.

"I'll go in," Dean stated as he opened his door and hopped out.

"But it's closed?" Brinley questioned.

"This is one of those times when we have to break the rules to help someone," Sam explained.

"Oh….right," Brinley replied, still annoyed by the fact that they could do whatever they wanted. Dean was back within a few minutes with a letter in his hand. He jumped in and showed it to Sam, and they both exchanged confused looks.

"J.W.," Sam read. "You think? John Winchester?"

"I don't know. Should we open it?" Dean questioned. Suddenly there was a knock on Dean's window. Brinley screamed, and both boys jumped. They looked toward the window to find their Dad smiling at them.

"Dad?" Dean questioned. Brinley was speechless as John climbed into the backseat next to her and she couldn't take her eyes off of him. He looked different than she had expected, taller and more handsome. She suddenly wanted to know everything about him and how he knew her mother. Her Mom would always change the subject when she asked about him. She always referred to him as "some salesman" that spent a few weeks in her hometown, and that she never spoke to him again after he had left.

"Hi boys," he greeted, and then he turned toward his daughter. "And you must be Brinley?" he questioned.

"Uh…yeah," she replied shyly.

"It's nice to finally meet you," he said.

"It's nice to meet you too," she replied. She found herself overwhelmed with emotions and tears filled her eyes. She had always dreamed of the day she would meet her Dad and it was finally happening, and she had no idea what to say to him.

"I'm sorry I couldn't come to you sooner," he said apologetically, "But I'm sure your brothers have taken good care of you.'

"Dad, what are you doing here? Are you all right?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, I'm ok. I read the news about Daniel, I got here as fast as I could. I saw you two at his place," John replied. His response hit Brinley hard. He was checking on his friend, not her, and she couldn't understand why a father wouldn't want to see his children. She found herself feeling angry and betrayed instead of feeling eager to get to know him.

"Why didn't you come in Dad?" Sam questioned.

"You know why. Because I had to make sure you weren't followed...by anyone or anything. Nice job of covering your tracks by the way," he replied with a sigh. "I have a room here in town at the Mountaintop Motel, let's go there and talk, and I can get to know Brinley." He turned toward her and smiled. Brinley looked away quickly.

"Yeah, good idea," Dean agreed.

"So Brinley, what do you think of your brothers?" John asked as they made the short trip to the motel. Sam smiled to himself and wondered if she would go off about them like she said she would.

"They're fine," she replied coldly. Her response surprised her brothers and they exchanged glances. They knew it wasn't like her to hold anything back. Dean pulled into the motel parking lot next to John's truck.

"Why don't you see if you can get room number 5, it's next to mine and there's a connecting door," John said. "Brinley can stay in my room tonight."

"Ok," Dean replied as he hopped out and headed to the office. Meanwhile Sam and Brinley headed to the trunk to unload, while John went to his truck to grab a few thingshe had left.

"Why are you so quiet?" Sam asked as he gave his sister a little nudge. "It's not like you. I thought you had a lot to tell him about us...you know, how we're bad role models and all," he joked.

"I changed my mind," she replied in a serious tone. Sam was confused by her sudden personality change. "I know he didn't come here for me. He came to check on his friend. Just proves that I'm nothing to him." She grabbed her bag and threw it over her shoulder. "Can I stay in the same room with you and Dean? I don't want to stay with him."

"Brinley," Sam sighed. He was about to respond when they were interrupted by Dean.

"Room #5," he announced as he dangled the key in front of them. They headed into the room and Brinley threw her bag onto one of the beds. "Your next door kiddo," Dean commented. There was a knock on their connecting door and Sam opened it to find John on the other side.

"This is great, all of us together," John remarked. He looked toward Brinley who had already claimed her bed. "Hey Brinny, you're in my room," he said. Brinley's eyes widened with surprise. She was shocked that he knew her nickname and angry that he had used it. Her Mom had called her Brinny all the time, but as far as Brinley was concerned, the nickname had died with her.

"Only my Mom can call me that…..don't ever call me that again," she snapped rudely. "And I want to stay with Sam and Dean." Sam and Dean were speechless as they both looked toward their Dad. They were used to her abruptness, but they weren't sure how it would fly with John Winchester. John stepped into their room and cover ground quickly to get to her.

"Dad, I'll stay with you, I have a lot to tell you anyway," Dean intervened. John seemed oblivious to Dean, and stepped in front of his daughter. Brinley glared up at him, and found him to be a lot more intimidating than Sam or Dean, but she wasn't about to back down. She crossed her arms tightly against her chest. "Dad, come on, it's been a long day," Dean said as he stepped between them. "Let's get a good night's sleep, and we can talk tomorrow." Dean didn't want to see Brinley's relationship with their Dad ruined on the first day, and he felt the need to be protective of her because he knew their Dad just didn't understand her yet.

"Dean, step aside," John ordered. Dean sighed, and obeyed his Dad. He threw a worried glance in Sam's direction.

John was known for the respect he demanded from his children. He wanted to lay into her, but when he looked into her eyes, his demeanor softened. He had no idea what the child had been through or what she was told about him, and he surely didn't want to frighten her. Not yet anyway. He sighed before responding. "Listen, I know you're probably angry with me and hell, you have every right to be but….I suggest you never speak to me like that again because it will not end well," John stated sternly to Brinley. "Understood?" Sam and Dean looked on and waited worriedly for her response, hoping she would reel her attitude in. Brinley sighed and decided it would be best to choose her words wisely because John didn't seem like the type to play around.

"Yes," she replied reluctantly with a pout. Both Sam and Dean breathed a sigh of relief.

"Good," John replied, "I'm disappointed, but you can stay with Sam tonight if you want. If you feel like talking, you know where to find me." Brinley felt conflicted. She wanted to be angry with him, but she also wanted to get to know him.

"I..uh..I guess I can stay with you," she replied with hesitation.

"I'm happy to hear that," John replied with a smile as he ruffled the hair on top of her head. "You can go get ready for bed. I just need to talk to your brothers for a few minutes."

"Ok," Brinley replied as she grabbed her bag and headed into the other room.

"She seems like a feisty one," John commented once she was out of the room. "Does she talk to you boys like that?"

"Afraid so," Dean replied.

"But she's getting better," Sam added. "We laid out some ground rules."

"I had to set her straight this morning after she was caught stealing at the mall," Dean mentioned. "I think she may reconsider ever doing it again."

"Stealing?!" John questioned angrily. "She's lucky I wasn't here."

"Dean handled it fine. And it's not what you think….we have a lot to fill you in on," Sam said. "Brinley has some issues." Sam's comment made Dean think about his sister's issues and realized she was unsupervised.

"Dad, you don't have anything sharp laying around in your room, do you?" Dean questioned worriedly.

"Yeah, a few knives and my razor," John replied, confused by the question. Sam wasted no time and hurried into the other room. "Dean, what is going on?" he demanded.

"Brinley cuts herself when she's upset," Dean replied. "We need to keep anything sharp out of her reach."

"Cuts herself?!" John questioned with concern to his voice. He couldn't believe what he was hearing.

"Brinley, open the door please," they heard Sam saying from the other room. Dean and John hurried to John's room to find Sam picking the lock with a paperclip he kept in his pocket.

"Come on kid, open the door!" Dean called out. Moments later Sam was able to pop the lock and he pushed the door open. Brinley sat on the edge of the bathtub with tears falling from her eyes. Her hands were folded in her lap and blood started to soak through the right sleeve of her pink hoodie. John's razor sat on the edge of the bathtub next to her. Sam wasted no time and rushed inside. He lifted her into his arms and hugged her tightly. Brinley latched onto him tightly and rested her head on his shoulder. He carried her out of the bathroom and into the motel room as John and Dean looked on. John had to bite his tongue, and waited and watched as his boys handled it.

"It's ok," Sam said gently. He set her down on one of the beds. "Let me take a look," he said gently. For the first time in his life, John was speechless as he looked on. He couldn't help but feel guilty that he could've been the cause of this behavior. Sam pushed up her sleeve while Dean went to find the first aid kit. It wasn't as bad as her last cut but Sam wanted to make sure he got it cleaned and bandaged so it wouldn't get infected. John was surprised to see several scars already on her arm, and it angered him.

"I'm sorry," she said quietly as she looked down into her lap. She felt embarrassed and ashamed especially with her Dad looking on. Dean came back with the first aid kit and pulled out the supplies for Sam. As John looked on, he had finally had enough of the way they were coddling her.

"I'll take over," John stated, "You boys can wait in the other room." Sam and Dean exchanged glances and hesitated to leave their sister.

"Dad?" Sam questioned worriedly.

"It's ok Sam…..I just want to talk to her," John replied. Sam nodded in response, and he and Dean left the room. John sat down next to Brinley and took her arm gently and examined it. "Looks like this isn't the first time," he commented as he cleaned it with an antiseptic wipe. "When did you start doing this?" Brinley was silent. She was worried what he might think of her if she told him the truth, but then remembered Dean telling her that families never lie to one another.

"When my mom died," she replied quietly.

"That must've been terrible for you," he commented. "I'm sorry. Your Mom was a really good person and I know she loved you very much." Brinley felt tears fill her eyes. John put ointment on her cut and covered it with a band aid. "What you're doing to yourself is very dangerous. You could get an infection. I know your Mom wouldn't want to see you harming yourself." Brinley shrugged her shoulders dismissively.

"I don't really want to talk about this right now," she replied uncomfortably. "I'm really tired." She stood up, but John gently grabbed her other arm and stopped her in front of him. She looked down into his eyes worriedly.

"I'm not done," he stated firmly, catching her off guard. "The cutting is going to stop. Your brothers may have been more understanding about it, but I won't be. You don't touch anything that doesn't belong to you without permission including knives, razors, and anything else that could harm you. Do I make myself clear?" Brinley pulled her arm from his grip and attempted to walk away from him. John stopped her again and turned her to face him. "When I ask you a question, I want an answer. Do you I make myself clear?" he asked again with more firmness to his voice.

"Uh…yeah!" she snapped. John took a deep breath. He wasn't used to dealing with girls, and it was a whole new ball game for him. He wanted to make it clear to her though that he wasn't going to allow her to disrespect him or her brothers anymore.

"Try that again with a yes sir," he demanded. Brinley felt her face flush red. She wasn't sure if it was embarrassment or anger, or both. She hesitated with a response and didn't know why it was so hard for her to say the words "yes sir". John waited patiently and hoped she didn't decide to take it a step further. She started to cross her arms against her chest, but he stopped her. "We can do this all night," he commented firmly.

"Fine," she huffed, "Yes sir." She attempted to walk away again, but he stopped her. "Uh…what now?" she questioned.

"Let's get something clear right now, I will not allow you to disrespect me or your brothers anymore," he stated firmly. "Now try it again without the attitude." Brinley felt humiliated and tears began to fall from her eyes.

"Yes sir," she said quietly. John nodded his head in approval and released her arm. At that moment, she wished she had never met her Dad.