Thanks for the reviews :)

A reminder that this is a non-canon story...characters and seasons events may be jumbled around...characters who never knew one another might know each other here...characters may be dead or were killed in a different way other than what occurred in canon AND some characters may be alive to the surprise of readers and characters. Now, does that pique your interest or what? Never know who might show up along the way.

Bobby might be a little OOC in this chapter.

I see this story taking place while the brothers are still younger...like season 2ish but again, any character from season 1 to 15 is fair game in my story.

Non-canon and alternate universe stories are so much fun and allow for more creativity.

Enjoy the ride!

Peace and plenty of chocolate,

Claire

Mac felt a gentle hand caress his back as he was pulled fully to consciousness. It had been the fourth night that he'd awakened hearing his little girl crying out for him. It was slowly driving him to the brink of insanity.

"Mac? Are you okay?"

Mac sat up and swung his feet to the floor, resting his elbows on his upper thighs and his head in his sweaty palms. Was he okay? What exactly was he doing and what the hell kind of father was he? Ditching his helpless little girl into the hands of strangers while he does…does what exactly? What was he doing? His head felt so fuzzy. He couldn't seem to think straight anymore.

"Mac?"

Mac sat up and pivoted so he could see the concerned look on the face of his bedmate, a fellow hunter named Jenna. Someone equally obsessed with finding the same Jargeru who killed her husband and son. What was he doing hooking up with her? He wasn't thinking straight. Adding more emotional ties to his already full docket was insane. He worked better alone.

"Yeah, I'm good, Jen. Go back to sleep. Sorry to wake you."

The beautiful brunette sat up and switched on the light beside the bed they shared. "Dreaming about your daughter again?"

Mac sat back, leaning against the bookshelf at the head of the bed. "Same dream every friggen night."

"No sign of the Jargeru?"

"No, I wish."

"Then what?"

"I told you before, Jenna. Jorie is crying and reaching out to me but I can't go to her."

"Do you think the Jargeru got her?"

Mac felt the colour drain from his face. "God, no! I'd know if he had her. Just like when Rebekah was taken. It's not like that." His voice cracked when he spoke his wife's name. Not even Jorie knew the truth about her mother's death. Mac never spoke about it. Thankfully, Jorie had been too young to remember.

Jenna reached out to touch Mac but he jerked away like he'd been touched by hot coal. She recoiled and pulled the blankets up to cover herself.

Mac relented and sighed, pulling the woman he'd grown so fond of the last few weeks into his arms. "I'm sorry, Jenna.

Jenna melted into his embrace and stroked a hand over his bare chest lovingly. "You said she was in good hands, Mac. What are you worried about?"

Mac inched down in the bed until his head touched the pillow pulling Jenna in close to his side. She willingly snuggled into his warmth. "I dunno."

Jenna flipped to her side and looked into his dark brown eyes while twirling a piece of his chest hair in her finger. "John Winchester is a legend. Any hunter worth his salt knows that John can be trusted."

"It's not a matter of trust, Jen."

"Then what? You called his sons; they showed up like you said they would and they have Jorie. Case closed."

Mac heaved a sigh acknowledging that Jenna was right. He'd done his due diligence to keep his Jorie safe. The less she knew about things, the safer she would be. If the Jargeru got him, Jorie would still be safe. The Winchester's wouldn't let anything happen to his little girl.

"Why won't he return my calls, Jenna? I've left him numerous messages."

Jenna sat up suddenly and was on her feet crossing the room.

Mac sat up. "Where are you going?"

Jenna turned and smiled. "Going to make some coffee. You obviously aren't going to sleep anymore tonight so let's get back to work. The sooner we kill that Jargeru, the sooner you can get back to your daughter."

XXxxXXxxXX

Jorie fingered the paper in her hand and then clutched it tightly in her fist. Her heart pounded in her chest making her feel like she might throw up. Waiting until Sam had fallen asleep again had taken longer than she thought possible, but as soon as his breathing evened out, she'd managed to sneak into the bathroom and secure the door. Dean had taken off, as he often did when he couldn't sleep. She knew she wasn't going to escape them this time. Sam and Dean had made sure to barricade the bathroom window. Dean had actually hammered a piece of wood across it. He wasn't taking any chances that she'd sneak out when he was asleep. Jorie stood on the toilet lid and yanked on it anyway. Tears of frustration welled in her eyes. She was being held prisoner when all she wanted to do was find her dad. And as much as she wanted to trust them she couldn't. What if her dad never came back? Then what? It wasn't like they were going to keep her.

Jorie slipped to the floor and pulled her cell phone out of her hoodie pocket. She'd managed to hide it from Sam and Dean which seemed like a feat in itself. While Dean didn't always pay attention to details concerning her, Sam did. Sam was acutely aware of everything concerning her, like how much she ate, how much she slept and annoying things like that. Dean seemed less preoccupied with that. Jorie opened the paper and dialled the number again like she'd done since she found it. Each time she listened as the phone rang and no one answered. Her dad never told her what to if that emergency contact wouldn't answer. What was going to happen to her now? What if her dad was searching for her like she was searching for him? Would they ever find each other? She needed to get back to their car. Her dad would look for there first.

"John Winchester's phone."

Jorie froze. She'd gotten so used to no one answering that she forgot what she was supposed to say when someone did answer. And did he just say John Winchester? What the heck? How many Winchester's were there anyway? Was he related to Sam and Dean?

"Hello? Is someone there?" the gruff voice said again.

"Ummm," she said, scrambling for the paper that had fallen on the floor.

"Who is this?" the voice demanded.

Jorie cleared her throat. "Um, is John there?"

"Who wants to know?"

Tears burned in Jorie's eyes. The voice sounded brusque, not unfriendly as much as no-nonsense, reminding her a lot of someone else she knew. "I, uh…I'm supposed to tell him something." Jorie puffed out her cheeks not knowing what else to do. "Uh, so like uh, do the numbers, uh 563 732 8913 mean anything to you?"

There was silence on the other end of the line. It was so quiet in fact that Jorie began to think that maybe the person on the other end had hung up.

"Are you still there?" she asked, timidly.

"Yeah, yeah I'm here."

Jorie's heart thumped a little harder in her chest. "Um, yeah, so like is John there?"

"No, kid, he's not. Hate to be the bearer of bad news and all but John died a few years ago."

Jorie froze, her heart nearly stopping in her chest. Tears sprang to her eyes and overflowed down her cheeks. The tears released a torrent of loud sobs that convulsed her entire body.

"Jorie, are you okay?" Sam's voice broke through the silence of the bathroom as he knocked gently on the door.

"Go away!" she cried between sobs, covering the phone with her hand.

"Hey, kid, calm down," the voice on the phone pleaded, sounding less gruff and more sympathetic.

Jorie didn't know what to do. Her father said to trust whoever used the password but no one had used it. Now this 'John Winchester?' she was supposed to call to give her the password was dead. What was she supposed to do now?

"I don't know what to do," she sobbed into the phone. "And you're not giving me the password like my daddy said you would."

"Jorie?" Sam's knock was more persistent now. "What's wrong? Who are you talking to?"

"Password?"

"Yeah. I say the numbers 563 732 8913 and you say the password." Jorie sniffled and attempted to calm down more.

"Hang on, kid. Let me get something…don't hang up on me, ya hear."

Jorie nodded and choked back more tears. She heard the phone drop on the other end.

At the same time, she heard Sam on the other side of the door jimmying the lock. A locked bathroom door wasn't going to keep him out much longer but Jorie no longer cared. The number her dad gave her was useless. John, whoever he was, was dead. She had no idea what to do now and it felt like the walls were closing in on her.

The door opened and Sam stood towering above her, his hair dishevelled and black circles under his concerned eyes. He took in the scene and crouched to her level.

"Where did you get the cell phone?"

"Go away." She didn't want to talk to Sam. "Who is John Winchester?" She yelled at Sam. Okay, so maybe she did want to talk to him. Ugh. She was confused.

"Kid? You still there?" said the gruff voice on the other end.

"Yeah, I'm here," she said.

"Who are you talking to, Jorie?" Sam asked, concern written on his face. "Why are you asking about John Winchester?" Confusion flashed across Sam's face.

"ATARGUS. Is that the word you're looking for?"

Jorie's heart rate sped up. "Spell it." Maybe this guy was the right guy. How else would he know the right word to say?

"Geez, kid. A.T.A.R.G.U.S. Are we good now?"

More tears spilled out down her cheeks.

"Jorie, is it your father?" Sam reached for the cell phone fisted tightly in her sweaty hand. Jorie spun herself away from Sam placing her back to him. Sam leaned in closer to see if he could hear the conversation.

"Can you help me find my daddy?" Jorie was desperate now. Sam and Dean hadn't found her father. She was losing hope.

"Jorie, give me the phone." Sam insisted this time, his voice firmer than Jorie had heard from Sam up to this moment.

"Kid, is that Sam Winchester's voice I hear?" the voice asked her, obvious bewilderment in the tone.

Jorie was confused. How did this stranger know Sam?

At this point, Sam managed to wrestle the cell phone from Jorie's grasp and press it to his ear. "Who is this?" he asked.

Jorie took this moment to scramble to her feet. If Sam was going to talk on her phone and Dean was still gone, now was her chance to make a run for it again. If she managed to get out the front door, her street smarts would take over and Sam wouldn't find her in the darkness.

"Damn it," muttered Sam, also scrambling to his feet while still keeping the phone pressed against his ear.

"Sam?"

"Bobby?"

"Sam, what in Sam Hill is going on? Who's the kid and why is she calling your dad's old phone?"

Sam rushed out the door to see Jorie yank the door open and run into the wall that was Dean Winchester. Sam heaved a sigh of relief when Dean hauled the squirming, screeching 10-year-old back into the hotel room.

"What the hell is going on?" Dean demanded to know.

Sam puffed out his cheeks in relief and pulled the phone away from his ear long enough to put it on speakerphone. Sam held up a finger as Dean opened his mouth to speak again. Jorie continued to struggle to free herself but it was no use. Dean held onto her tightly.

"Bobby, her name is Jorie. She's Mac Spencer's daughter and it's a long story."

"Bobby?" Dean mouthed in Sam's direction. Sam shrugged not having any answers. "Did you call him?" Dean mouthed again with a look of dread on his face. Sam shook his head and shrugged again.

"Mac Spencer? As in Marjorie's boy?"

"Yeah, Bobby. One and the same. I'm sorry, we should have called you."

"Damn straight you should have. What in tarnation were you and Dean thinking leaving me out of the loop on this?"

Jorie screeched louder as Dean struggled to hold onto her while frowning in Sam's direction. Sam lifted his hands in helplessness. He didn't have any answers to the silent questions Dean was asking.

"For lands sakes, Sam, can't you two calm that child down? She's deafening me, and I ain't even in the same damned room."

Dean handed off Jorie to Sam and grabbed the phone, taking it into the bathroom once more.

Sam wrapped his arms around Jorie to put her in a bear hug to calm her but it was like trying to hug a slippery eel and octopus together. She was flailing around and screaming so loudly, he could hardly hear himself think. Great, as usual, Dean left him with the 'easy' job. Albeit, dealing with Bobby wouldn't be a walk in the park either.

Sam set her feet to the floor and grasped her forearms tightly. "Stop screaming and listen to me."

Jorie crumpled at the knees and Sam barely caught her before she sunk to the floor. He grabbed her again, hauled her to her feet and gave her a firm shake. "Stop that."

Jorie stopped and stared at him fearfully as tears cascaded down her cheeks.

Sam puffed out his cheeks. What would his dad do if he were here? Sam didn't actually know the answer to that. John Winchester had been a no-nonsense kind of man. He wouldn't have tolerated belligerence from any kid, his or anybody else's. But this was different. Jorie wasn't misbehaving. She was frightened. None of this was her fault. She never asked to be left behind by her father. Just like Sam hadn't asked to be left behind by his. Sam shook away those emotions. They always crept in when he felt vulnerable.

"I want my daddy," Jorie managed to hiccup out through her sobs.

Sam's face softened. "I know, sweetheart."

Sam lifted her into his arms once again and this time she accepted his comfort and clung onto his neck. Sam carried her to the closest chair and sat down. Jorie hung limply against him and that's where Dean found them when he walked out.

"She alright?"

Sam looked at Dean and didn't know what to say. Jorie hadn't spoken since she'd stopped crying. Her even breathing suggested she might have fallen asleep. Sam put a hand on the back of her head and caressed her hair. He didn't feel equipped to comfort a distraught kid considering he wasn't that far from still being one himself.

"I'm okay," Jorie suddenly said and pulled away from Sam with a loud sniffle.

Dean crossed the room and pulled a chair in front of her as she turned around to face him. Dean scrubbed a hand over his face before looking her in the eye.

"Been holding out on us, huh?"

Jorie nodded and wiped her nose with the back of her hand.

"What did Bobby say?" asked Sam, shuffling Jorie's weight a little on his lap and resting his arms around her waist.

Dean scoffed. "More like what didn't he say. We should have called him, Sammy."

Sam winced. If Dean was regretting something, it wasn't a good sign.

"Who's Bobby?" Jorie asked, scrubbing at her eyes and taking a deep shuddering breath.

"The person you called. I guess you could say he's our uncle." Sam exchanged a look with Dean.

"Wait. Your uncle? Is John Winchester your uncle too?"

"No, Jorie. John Winchester was our father."

It was all starting to make sense now. Sam and Dean knew her dad. They'd said her grandma used to chase her dad with a broom until their dad caught him. John Winchester must be the man her father wanted her to stay with. In other words, she was already where her dad wanted her to be. She didn't know if she should be relieved about that or not.

"Are there any other secrets you're keeping from us?" Dean asked, narrowing his eyes at her.

Jorie chewed her lip. There wasn't anything else. All she'd wanted to do was escape and find her dad. That number had been her last hope of escape but it turned out she was stuck. Her dad wanted her with the Winchesters and here she was. She looked into Dean's eyes and shook her head.

"Good." He ran a hand through his hair and shook his head with a chuckle. "You managed to singlehandedly get Sam and me in enough hot water to boil a lobster, kid."

"He's that pissed?" asked Sam, fidgeting in the chair.

Dean scoffed. "Oh yeah."

"Terrific," muttered Sam.

'Yeah, terrific," said Dean, standing up and grabbing his jacket. "Well, pack your stuff kiddies. Time for a road trip to Sioux Falls."

XXxXXxXX

Turned out that Dean wasn't kidding about Bobby. Once they arrived at the house, after Jorie was served a giant size glass of milk and cookies and told to stay put, Bobby grabbed both brothers by the scruffs of the neck and dragged them outside. Then, all she heard for the next hour was the older man's crotchety voice scolding and yelling.

When Jorie finished her snack, she slid from her chair in the kitchen, brushed cookie crumbs from her lap and decided to explore her new surroundings. Her eyes were wide as she roamed around the ramshackle house. Dust and cobwebs lingered in every corner and on every fixture she could see. The place was dark and dingy, yet somehow it also felt homey and welcoming. Pictures of Bobby and the brothers adored the walls, the brothers at various ages, some with other people in them as well. She sat on the sofa in the next room and surveyed the large space. At the head of the room sat a large desk covered in old books and behind said desk stood a massive bookshelf brimming with old yellowed and tattered books. She jumped when something warm rested on her lap.

Looking down, a big old dog looked up at her with his dark brown eyes. "Oh, uh, hi, dog, you scared me. What's your name?"

"His name is Rumsfeld," said a gruff voice as the man belonging to it entered the room.

Jorie looked up to see Bobby walk in, followed by two very sheepish-looking Winchester brothers.

"Will he bite?"

"Only Rottweiler I know that acts like a damned cocker spaniel," muttered Bobby as he walked behind his desk and sat down. He took his dirty ball cap off and smacked it on the desk irritably while running a hand through his long salt and pepper hair. "Don't worry, he ain't the biting sort."

"Bobby, just let us explain…" Sam interjected, his face drained of all colour.

"Don't Bobby me. Damn it, Samuel, I have one rule…one cotton-picking rule and both you numbskulls know it. I made a promise to your daddy that I'd take care of you two idjits, and Mac was like a son to John."

"We didn't…" Dean started to say.

"Don't you dare lie to me, boy. Mackenzie asked for your help, did he not?" The burly old man stood up and pounded his fist on the desk. "You should have called me!" Bobby's voice roared across the room making both brothers flinch.

Rumsfeld growled and barked in response making Jorie jump. She scratched behind his ear and he wiggled in closer to her with a whimper, licking her face and laying his head back down on her lap.

"Dang blasted dog," muttered Bobby. "What kinda watchdog are ya?" Bobby tossed a pillow at the dog and he popped his head up with a whine. "Yeah, I'm talking to you, Rumsfeld. Get your scrawny butt outside and earn your keep." The dog snuffed and sneezed then laid his head back down on Jorie's lap with a contented sigh.

Bobby sat down with a huff, grabbed a nearby bottle of liquor and poured himself a drink. Jorie looked at Sam who had thrown himself in a nearby chair, staring at the floor forlornly. The whole scene was disconcerting and a little unbelievable. The two men who seemed bigger than life to her had been reduced to a couple of kids in front of this man. The room remained deathly quiet for a long time with Sam and Dean stealing looks at Bobby and Bobby mumbling and grumbling under his breath.

"Sam and Dean didn't know I had their dad's number…" Jorie finally got up the courage to say.

Bobby took another swig of his drink and gritted his teeth but looked at her in response. His ire seemed to deflate a little as he seemed to consider Jorie's words. Then he turned a scowl on the two Winchester brothers once more.

"We were handling it, Bobby," Dean said, clearing his throat and approaching the large desk where the grouchy man sat. "And the plain truth of the matter is there isn't much to go on. We've skimmed Dad's journal front and back and he didn't mention anything about the Jargeru."

Bobby growled under his breath and spun around in his chair, grabbing several books off the shelf behind him. He rose to his feet and dropped the larger of the two books onto the desk stirring up a cloud of dust. Jorie felt her nose tickle as the dust came in her direction. She wrinkled her nose to stifle a sneeze. Rumsfeld sneezed instead.

"Bless you," she said to the animal.

"If you had called me like you're supposed, you two knuckleheads would have had all you needed to know."

Sam stood to his feet and approached the desk at the same time as Dean did. "Wait. What? You've heard of it? That's impossible. I called some of the most seasoned hunters I know and no one heard of it."

"But you didn't call me," continued Bobby. "You can call me if you get carded or arrested but you can't call me for this?"

"I ganked a 500 hundred-year-old Alpha vamp and he scarcely knew of it," added Dean, Bobby's words not seeming to be heard as he spun the book around and opened it.

Bobby slapped his hand down on the book very nearly catching Dean's hand in the process. Bobby gave the brothers a hard look before opening the desk drawer in front of him and tossing a Swiss Army knife on top of the book.

"The next one of you to speak before I'm finished cuts his own switch."

Dean took several steps back and gaped in disbelief at the elder man in front of him. Sam froze in front of the desk

"Any questions?"

"No, sir," the brothers said in unison.

"Good, now sit down and listen for once in your dang lives."

Sam and Dean obeyed, returning to sit on the chairs near the front entrance to the room.

Bobby opened the book and held it up. "Is that what you saw when you rescued Jorie?'

Jorie's eyes grew big when she saw the picture of the Jargeru on the pages of the old dusty book Bobby held. Despite herself, she was on her feet and standing directly in front of the desk, gaping at the picture.

"That's it! That's the same creature that attacked my daddy."

"Yeah, that's it," confirmed Dean softly.

Bobby nodded and looked down at Jorie, a compassionate expression flooding his face. "C'mere, Jorie."

Jorie rounded the desk as Bobby sat down and he pulled her onto his lap. "How long has your dad been searching for that creature?"

"I can't remember him not looking for it." Jorie shrugged, chewing her lower lip and thinking about her dad's ramped-up obsession over the past year or so. Her father's obsessions felt normal to her because it was all she knew.

"Does the book say how it gets out of dreams?" Sam suddenly said, not being able to help himself. Knowing there was a book about it, he was itching to read it for himself.

"Someone took African Dream root and unleashed it," Bobby said before he reached forward to snatch the knife from his desk and whipped in Sam's direction. Sam caught it, suddenly red-faced.

"Consider that your last warning." Bobby shook his head in annoyance. "Had you two Einstein's asked me in the first place, you'd know everything by now."