Hello everyone! I hope the wait wasn't too long.


Chapter 7: Teach Me How To Fight

Haven

Sioux Falls, South Dakota, USA

April of 1987

The afternoon that Dean and Haven started their Spring Break, they were informed by John to pack up their things, because they were going to go stay with someone called "Bobby".

Haven was surprised by Dean's grin and happy exclamation of, "We're gonna see Uncle Bobby!" as he bounced off to the bedroom and she followed.

As they stuffed their things away, Haven asked, "What's so special about Bobby?"

"Uncle Bobby is the best! Last time we went, he took me camping and showed me how to shoot birds and deer and things! He lets me look at the cars and help him fix them, and he plays catch, too! He's like, the wisest guy ever," Dean quickly informed her.

Haven very much doubted that, but decided not to say so. Dean would just get upset with her, and she kind of liked getting along with him now. A bit.

Many hours later, the car- an Impala, Dean had told her when she asked- pulled up to a house. All around, there were a bunch of old cars that looked broken.

"What does he need so many cars for?" Haven whispered to Dean beside her.

"It's a scrap yard. He works on 'em. He might let you help, too, if you ask," Dean replied, smiling widely and kicking his legs. Haven frowned at all the broken cars. It didn't look like he did a very good job of fixing them.

John parked the car and they assembled just outside of it as a man walked out of the front door of the house. He wore a flannel shirt and a cap. He looked gruff, at least until Dean ran up to him and he smiled, kneeling down to catch Dean in a hug. They held tight for a few seconds before the man, probably Bobby, let go and ruffled Dean's hair. He clapped hands with John next, and gave Sammy a hug too.

When he turned to her, Haven took a step back, worried he might think about hugging her, too. "Don't touch me. Or I'll kick you."

He looked at her. She wondered if maybe she'd offended him. Not that she cared.

"Haven." John's voice was low. A warning growl. She really didn't care. Really.

"I won't," Mr. Bobby replied, not seeming mad at all for some reason (was he hiding it?), before turning to John. "Are we just gonna stand here, or are we going to get everything inside?"

They were not just gonna stand there. They quickly unloaded the car, Sammy trying to help too but mostly getting in the way even if no one said that. They carried the things up the steps of the front porch and then inside.

Her first impression of the house was that there were a lot of books. Mostly big, old books. She looked at them curiously. She liked books, except that she hadn't been allowed to borrow any books from the library for a while because Dudley ripped them up when he caught her with them too many times. She'd borrowed a few of the ones Dudley had but never read, too. The nice thing about the new school, besides the lack of Dudley, was that she could read books in the library again and check them out to take back with her to read.

Maybe she could sneakily borrow some of these books, too. Though most of them looked too big for her. Bigger books were usually hard to read. The words were big and weird.

There was one extra bedroom, for Haven, Dean, and Sammy to share. The bed looked big enough to fit them all. Sammy didn't seem like he would mind sharing. Dean… well, if she had to, she could fight him for it. Floor wasn't very comfortable in her experience. At least, the floor in the hotel with the Dursleys hadn't been.

Once the stuff was put away, there was food to eat. It looked like Mr. Bobby had already made it, otherwise she would offer to help. She sat quietly at the table, focusing on the food and sneaking away a roll into her pocket while the adults and Dean talked and talked. The two adults talked about people she didn't know and about Business. Mr. Bobby asked Dean about school, and games, and he eagerly answered his questions with wild stories.

The conversation turned to her just as she finished hiding the roll.

"So. You're Haven, aren't ya?" Mr. Bobby asked her. He was staring at her. She couldn't tell how bad that was.

"Yes…?" The question didn't make sense. Of course she was Haven. Unless… did he know her old name? Alexandria? Did he know that somehow?

He nodded at her. "Nice to meet you. I'm Bobby Singer. Don't bother with any Mr. Singer business, got it?" He paused, but she didn't know what to say, so she kept silent and he kept on after he realized she wasn't saying anything, "What do you like to do, Haven? Any shows you like, or toys?"

She blinked at him. It sounded like questions Pastor Jim liked to ask, only she didn't really have many more answers now than she did then. And it might be a trap anyway. To make sure she wasn't happy here at all. Or to get the things but then hand them to Dean, while looking at her like he was daring her to get mad.

Haven shrugged, and took another spoonful of the stew.

"We play catch together a lot. She likes that. I think," Dean offered, "And she plays with Sammy all the time. She watches my shows with me sometimes, too. Also she reads a lot, like you."

Haven glared at him, but he was too busy smiling and ignoring her being angry at him. Now Mr. Bobby would watch her for borrowing any books and wouldn't let her. She'd have to be even more careful about it.

Everyone was distracted a few moments later by Sammy spilling his milk everywhere, so there weren't any more questions. During dinner, at least.


Haven was smart, when it mattered. Not in the way that some of the kids at school were- the ones who got gold stars and became teachers pets- but in her own way. Her way was more useful, anyway.

She could tell that John and Dean were Up To Something. She was pretty sure Mr. Bobby was in on it. Sammy wasn't, though. No one would tell someone that little anything important that needed to be kept secret.

Every day since they had arrived, John would take Dean somewhere after breakfast, just the two of them. At first it seemed normal. They just went out into the yard where all the cars were to teach Dean how to shoot. She could hear the loud noise from inside where she played with Sammy. But they kept doing it, or things like it. Even if she didn't expect or want attention, John normally spent time with Sammy, too, which made sense because he was small and cute. Every day they went out somewhere else. Even if they stayed at the house, they went to the library and closed the door.

Haven sat on the couch but couldn't help but glance towards the library. She wanted to know what they were doing. It could be something big.

"So you like reading, do ya?"

She looked at Mr. Bobby as he spoke and tried not to look guilty. She nodded, because he already knew since Dean had told him.

"Well, I don't have any books you could read on your own, but I think I have a few I could help you through. Let me see…" Mr. Bobby went around looking while she sat still as she could to wait.

"Why do you think he wants to help?" Haven asked Sammy quietly. He looked up from his toys when she spoke and blinked at her with his big eyes. "He doesn't know me."

"Dunno. Hold this?" Sammy held up a piece of paper he'd scribbled over. She took it and looked at it. Just a lot of colors. He seemed to like to scribble colors on paper, though. Sometimes he made little shapes, too. She didn't know what she needed to hold the paper for, but carefully kept it in her lap. She made sure not to bend any of the corners or anything like that, even if the scribbles weren't anything special.

It didn't take too long for Mr. Bobby to come back. He was carrying a book, smaller than the rest of the ones here but bigger than any she had ever read.

"May I sit?" Mr. Bobby asked, pointing to the space next to her. She scooted over to make room. It wasn't like she could say no. He was just being polite. It was his house, though, so he got to sit wherever.

Haven looked at the cover when he sat down. She got the first word, 'The', but the second one…

"What's a…" She frowned and began to sound it out like in school, "h- o- b-"

"A Hobbit?" Mr. Bobby said as he opened the book. He said it more quickly than she did. "The book'll tell ya… Let's see… Chapter 1: An Unexpected Party… In a hole in the ground, there lived a hobbit..."

The longer Mr. Bobby went on telling her about the hobbit named Bilbo Baggins in his house under the Hill, the closer she found herself sitting by him, until she was looking at the pages and trying to catch the words with him. He helpfully slowed down and traced where he was with a finger, so she could try to keep up, and explained some of the longer words without her even asking. Which was nice, because she knew better than to interrupt to ask.

It was so nice that it made her forget to think about what John and Dean were up to until dinner came again. It was when they were sitting at the table, seeing Dean looking so tired and John looking so pleased, that she remembered. He would ruffle Dean's hair, and they would smile at each other, probably about the secret they shared that she wasn't being told.

She wanted to find out what was going on. The question was, how? It seemed that Mr. Bobby was watching her and keeping her away from what they were doing. They weren't always staying in the same place, either. Maybe she could ask Sammy to provide a distraction just long enough for her to peek, when they stayed at the house and yard? There was also every chance Sammy would tell on her, not out of meanness but just because he didn't get secrets yet. He was still a bit little for that.


Sammy didn't seem to really know what she meant by distraction. She couldn't be too upset with him for that, though. He was nice. He didn't play tricks like she had to.

She kept trying to find ways to figure it out all day, and was quite frustrated by the end of it, even if Mr. Bobby had read more about the Hobbit to her. It was at the end of the way, though, when a chance fell right into her lap.

It was night time, after dinner. Sammy was already put to bed and she and Dean wouldn't be far behind. Dean and John had come back inside sweating. They must have done something to cause it, so whatever the secret was, it involved work. Like gardening in summer, only it wasn't summer. It was just April, and still chilly most days. Dean had gone to take a shower as soon as they were done, but John waited a while.

But he left the door to the room he was sleeping in open.

Maybe there was something in there. Either way, Haven wouldn't know until she looked.

She snuck in, looking around and wondering what a clue might look like. She doubted it would be obvious like in Dudley's video games. John didn't seem to have a lot of things, anyway. That was good for her. The less time she was in here, the less likely it was she'd be caught and get in Big Trouble.

Haven tried the dresser first. She found clothes, mostly, but weapons, too. That was normal, though. John carried around a lot of weapons. She kept looking, careful not to disturb things too much. She didn't want John to come in here and see that someone had been looking. He'd know it was her, then.

She kept looking through clothes, belongings, and other such things. No clues.

At least, not until she got to the nightstand. Inside, there was a journal of some sort, with added pages and such making it look messy. Haven looked at it curiously. The handwriting was messy, and there were plenty of words she didn't know at all. It had sketches and pictures, too. She frowned at one of them. It looked quite scary.

It seemed a lot like something the Dursleys would scream about. Magic and satanic things. Whatever satanic meant. There were pictures of missing people, of maps with dots on them, all sorts of things. Parts of it were like a diary, talking about Dean and Sam (she had asked a teacher how to spell their names in class).

Most of it she couldn't get, but she flipped through, finding what little she could understand. Then she saw her own name.

I met a little girl named Haven. She's about Dean's age. I found her on the street. Her clothes were second-hand and she was half-starved and exhausted. She'd been running away from a fae that was after her. She didn't say what happened to her family, but it seems like the fae killed them all and she was the only one to survive.

I don't know why it went for her family. It even left the Fae's Mark on her.

After that, there was a clip printed out and pasted onto the page about what a Fae's Mark was. She couldn't read most of it. It seemed bad though.

How did he know she had one, though? Wouldn't she know?

Her family might have been Hunters.

Uncle Vernon never hunted anything in his life, but Haven saw no reason to tell John that. Haven flipped forward through more about the fae. She felt happy when she read the part where he killed it.

Haven needs somewhere to go. Even with the fae gone, she's going to attract monsters to her for the rest of her life. There aren't many options for her. I'm going to keep her. She gets along with the boys. When the time is right, I can teach her to protect herself. Until then, on the move is safest for her.

A beacon for monsters can be useful, too. She puts the boys in danger, so I'll have to start teaching Dean to protect them. However, if my guesses are right about Sam, we already had that danger. Dean already knows about monsters. No sense in keeping him untrained.

She flipped through a few more pages with notes on monsters and stuff in what might have been another language. She wasn't sure though. They could have just been squiggles, too.

We're going to stay with B while I start Dean's training.

Haven stopped, carefully sounding out the last word. Training? She'd seen the word on that other page, she thought. So John was showing Dean how to fight monsters like that thing- fae- that had been after her? She pouted and returned the journal to the nightstand. Why did he get to learn while she didn't? She liked Mr. Bobby's book, but he was teaching Dean to fight and get strong. She wanted to be able to fight! Then nothing would be able to scare her, ever. She could be like a superhero on the telly. No one would pick on her then, either. Dean was only a year older. If he got to learn, she wanted to learn.

She'd just have to get him to teach her, too. The book said he was going to anyway.

Haven waited impatiently for John outside the room he was using. It felt like forever when he walked by. He stopped when he caught sight of her.

"Haven? What is it?"

"You're teaching Dean to fight things. Teach me, too," Haven said, looking straight up at him. She was gonna insist. He was gonna do it anyway.

"How did you…" John sighed and rubbed his face. "You're a bit young."

Haven argued, "So? The thing, the, er, fae? It was gonna kill me anyway. So teach me. You're gonna do it later anyways."

She watched him as he thought about it. His face went through a few emotions. She was nearly tapping her foot when she saw his face relax in that defeated sort of way that meant he'd give in.

"Alright. I'll start teaching you the basics with Dean," he agreed. "Go get ready for bed. You'll need sleep."

She grinned and nodded, before dashing downstairs. When she found Dean, she proudly informed him, "I'm gonna be taught with you now."

"You're- what? What do you mean? But you're little," Dean protested.

"Nu-uh! I'm not that little! I figured out what you are doing and I wanna learn, too. He said I could, so there."

Dean looked a bit confused. "Oh… alright, then. But it's not really that fun, you know."

She shrugged. She didn't care. It would make her strong and then monsters wouldn't scare her and people wouldn't hurt her. She wasn't going to be weak anymore.

Haven thought that was the end to the discussion, but later, when they were both laying down on the couches to sleep, she heard Dean ask in a soft whisper, "Why do you wanna train so bad?"

She rolled over to look at him. She couldn't see him well in the dark, but she thought he was looking at her.

"I wanna be strong, like superheroes," she admitted at last.

"... Dad's a superhero, you know." At her disbelieving noise, he added, "No, he really is! He saved you from something, right? He does that all the time. He hunts things no one believes in and saves lives all the time. He's so cool. I'm gonna be like him when I'm older. I'm going to be a Hunter, and protect Sammy, and everyone else."

Haven thought about that for a few moments, rolling over to look at the ceiling. "Hunters are like real life superheroes?"

"Yeah. Uncle Bobby is one, too," Dean answered.

"Then… we'll both be Hunters. I'm going to be the strongest ever," Haven decided. John had said he'd protect her and kill the fae, and he had. She wanted to be able to do that herself. She bet no one at school would ever pick on John. Dudley wouldn't dare chase him around.

"We can hunt and protect everyone together, then. Superheroes have sidekicks, right? You can be mine," Dean said. She could hear the teasing in his voice, but somehow it wasn't mean. Not like Dudley.

"You're the sidekick."

"Yeah, right."

"I said I'd be the strongest ever, and the strongest ever isn't the sidekick. So there."

"I'm older than you, though."

"So?"

"So I'm stronger than you."

"Nu-uh." Well. Actually, he was. "You won't be soon. You'll see."

"... We could always make Sammy the sidekick," Dean offered after a moment of silence.

Haven considered that. Sammy would be a cute sidekick, but she'd be worried about the bad guys hurting him. "Maybe. Who says I wanna hunt with you, anyway?"

"It would be fun, and we both wanna look after Sammy, so why not? You can watch my back, I can watch yours, ya know? Dad sometimes needs help on hunts. Not most of the time, because he's the best Hunter ever, but even the best need help."

"Well I won't need it."

"Maybe not, but it might be nice?"

"... Maybe."


Thank you for your time.