A/N: Who's ready for an Ana centric chapter? Or to figure out what in the world she's doing in Nebraska? I really hope you all like the new twist I'm putting in! Let me know what you think. :)
Happygoddess2003: It makes me so happy that you know that song. I love Styx and they seem like a very underrated band to me, had to give them some love. I'm glad you thought it was a good point to insert that hunt, I felt like the boys needed to be doing something other than sitting around. I'm really glad you enjoyed it, I always love hearing from you. :)
It had taken about a month to reconstruct the building. The contractor she had hired kept asking if she was sure that she didn't want it to look more advanced, more modern, but Ana was set on the idea that the building needed to be made an exact replica of the one that stood in the same place years before. Though there were some things that just weren't able to be made the exact way. She had made sure that the bar was slightly upgraded, that the kitchen was beyond the requirements of meeting the health food code, and even though it was all made from dark wood the building, along with its inside furnishings, didn't bear the marks of time as the first had. That was all alright though, in enough time the place would be filled with hunters again and they would all leave their own mark on the place.
The rebuild had drained what was left of her college savings account, but Ana didn't care. This was something she felt had to be done, this place was needed in the world and she'd made it her mission to keep the memory of the previous owners alive through the life of the place. Her first step in that task was having the sign that would light but the night made, exactly like the first and she smiled as she looked up at the words. Harvelle Roadhouse. Ellen and Jo would be so damn proud to see that sign light up again if they had been there, Ana knew that for sure. The second and third tasks of that mission were both hard and emotional. Ana had made her way to Bobby's in search of the last photo taken with the mother and daughter in it, which had been difficult, but she didn't stop until she had found it. The last thing she did was go into the nearest city to have a plaque made, which she now held against her chest as she looked up at the building, it would be the last thing to go up on the wall before she would declare the place ready for business. Holding the framed piece of metal out in front of her, she read the words with a sad smile on her lips.
In Loving Memory of
Bill, Ellen, and Jo Harvelle
Taking in a deep breath Ana moved toward the door, ready to hang this on the wall behind the bar next to the picture from Bobby's, then everything would be ready. Then the Roadhouse would be open, a haven for hunters once again. It would take a while before business began to pick up, she knew that it would take some time for word to spread around to hunters that the place had been reconstructed and was open. She had a few hunters other than her family programmed into her phone, she could give them a call over the bar's phone and let them know that she'd heard the Roadhouse was open. Hunters talked, word would probably get around quickly.
Digging her cell phone out of her pocket she opened up her contacts and looked for the two names she was searching for. There was another she could call, but she wouldn't risk Garth letting her family know she had called him. The first number she dialed went straight to voicemail, which wasn't anything new, the hunter on the other end rarely answered his phone. "Hey Zack, it's Ana. Heard that someone had the old Harvelle Roadhouse up and running again, was just wondering if you'd heard anything about it. I know you won't call me back, but if you hear anything let me know." She hung up the phone, staring at her cell phone again. The service had been turned off right after she left her family and she had removed the chip that could track it, she wasn't chancing being found. The only reason she still had the device was for emergency phone numbers that she didn't have memorized and the mass amount of pictures saved to it. Sighing she found the next number and dialed it, glad that she'd met hunters who were closer to her than they were with her father and uncle. Neither of the Winchesters even knew she had met these hunters so they probably hadn't been informed of her sudden disappearance.
Again all she received was a voicemail, hunters didn't answer numbers they didn't know, she hadn't expected anything different. "Khloe, it's your favorite Winchester. Look, I heard down the line that someone had reopened the Harvelle Roadhouse and was wondering if you had heard anything? Give me a call back at this number if you do. Thanks." Hanging up Ana knew that in enough time word would get around and hunters would once again find a place of comfort here, she only had to have a little patience.
A little patience turned into a week and a half of it. Which gave Ana time to get a sever case of cabin fever. She'd cleaned the place, which wasn't really needed since it had just been built and no one had been inside since the building crew left other than her. She organized and reorganized the stock of liquor, moved the pictures around on the walls until she was sure she was happy with the placement, and had made sure that each of the rooms open for hunters who needed a place to crash had a bed with clean sheets. Everyday she would turn the open sign on, every night the words Harvelle Roadhouse lit up the darkness, and at about two in the morning she would turn everything off.
That afternoon had been like all of the rest. Ana slept until about one, woke up and showered, left her long hair to dry and dressed in comfortable jeans, a black tank top, and a long sleeved plaid shirt that she left unbuttoned. Making her way downstairs, she flipped the breaker that turned on the open sign and the sensor that would light up the bigger sign when night settled in before heading into the kitchen to make coffee. She watched as the pot slowly filled, sliding the empty coffee cup that waited to be filled back and forth on the metal prep table that the coffee maker sat on. The sound of a bell ringing out in the bar made her jump. That was the bell above the door, someone was in the bar.
"Hello?" a male voice called out, carrying to Ana through the window at the end of the kitchen.
"One moment!" She called back, moving toward the one of many shelves she kept a gun waiting on. Grabbing the pistol, she tucked it in the back of her jeans, using her loose plaid shirt to cover it. There was no telling who the person was on the other side of the wall and even with hunters, she wasn't taking any risks. Calming herself, she pushed through the swinging door, eyes scanning the room quickly until they landed on the man sitting at her bar. "What can I do for you?" she questioned with a smile. It was clear in the guarded look of his brown eyes that the man before her had seen some things in his life and that paired with the baggy jacket he wore that would hide weapons gave her all the information she needed. She had gotten her first hunter through the door.
"Bottle of beer?" He questioned, his eye studying her the way hers had studied him moments before.
Ana nodded, "I think I can do that." Turning she moved toward one of the two tall fridges that housed bottled drinks. Grabbing a beer, she grabbed a bottle opener, popped the top and then slid it across the bar to the man.
Inclining his head in thanks, the man brought the bottle to his lips and took a long drink of the liquid inside. He watched as the woman moved around the bar, her hands adjusting bottles and other things along the way. "I take it you're the one who opened this place back up?" He questioned, having not seen or heard another person in the building.
"Yep." She answered, turning to look at him. "Thought it had been long enough, someone needed to do it."
"You know the Harvelle's?" He questioned, having noticed the plaque and the picture that were at the back of the bar above the cash register. Though he couldn't be certain, he swore that the Winchesters and Singer were in that picture with the Harvelle women.
Ana sighed and shook her head, "Not personally, but they were like extended family. Wanted to keep their memory alive in this place."
"Looks to me like you're doing a good job of it." he offered, extending his hand out to her, "My name is Logan."
"Ana, nice to meet you Logan." She gave him a friendly smile as she shook his hand.
"Ana?" He questioned, pausing as he glanced back to the picture at the back of the bar before looking back at the brown haired woman in front of him. "As in Ana Winchester?" Logan had never had the pleasure of meeting any of the Winchesters, but word had spread quickly through the hunter circles about Dean's daughter. He'd heard it from Garth, which was where he got most of his leads on new cases, but Garth had said that the girl he'd met had a fire in her almost as bright as her red hair. Women were known for dyeing their hair though, this could easily be the same Ana.
Ana raised an eyebrow before letting out a convincing chuckle, "Ana Hoyt. I hadn't heard that there was another Winchester around."
Logan nodded, "Yeah, Dean's long lost daughter or something like that. My mistake on that by the way, just assumed with the whole Harvelle's being like family and the picture on the back wall."
"Oh yeah!" Ana smiled and turned toward the picture, "The guys cleaning out the rubble from the first building found that buried under some stuff. It's a miracle it survived." she explained, the week and a half without customers had given her time to make up any story she'd need to explain things like this.
His brow furrowed, that didn't seem likely, but he wasn't about to push the subject since it was really none of his business. "So, you a hunter then?"
Looking back at Logan, Ana shrugged, "Gave it a go there for a while, I'm not too bad at it, but I'd also like to stay out of the front line of the business. I think I've found my calling in this place by keeping a safe place for other hunters to come to, for information, a place to relax, or a place to sleep."
"You got boarding? Because I just wrapped up this nasty vamp hunt a few towns over and could use a place to crash." He spoke, taking another drink of the beer.
Ana studied him a minute, noticing the exhausted look in his eyes and the slump of his body at her bar. "Of course. All of the rooms are open and since you're my first visitor you can take your pick. Upstairs is off limits though." she warned, having made the top floor into her own apartment.
Only nodding in response, Logan set his empty bottle on the bar top and stood up. "Run me a tab for the room and the beer? Probably won't be the last before I head out of here."
"You got it." She assured him, watching as he walked toward the hallway the led toward the back part of the building where the spare rooms where. Once he was out of her sight, she moved back into the kitchen to make that cup of coffee.
Logan walked down the hall and turned into a room that stood in the same spot the room he had stayed there the last time he'd been to the place. That was eight years ago, he'd been sixteen at the time and on the road alone. Ellen and Jo had been too kind to him, not expecting him to pay for anything, even giving him a part time job bussing tables to make a little money. He had left shortly before the place had been burned down and had almost ignored the rumor flying around that someone had rebuilt the place and opened it back up. Behind the privacy of the closed bedroom door, he pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and made a call to the person who he'd heard it from. "Hey, it's me. The rumor is true, I'm in the building now." he paused listening to the man on the other end, "Yeah, a woman by the name of Ana. Said she'd hunted for a while, but gave up the game to do this." Another pause, thankfully he was used to only getting a few words in when talking to the other hunter. "No, it's not the Winchester girl. Yes, Garth, I'm sure." He sighed as the man went over the description of the woman again. Garth had been in touch with every hunter he knew in hopes that someone would spot Ana Winchester and be able to give him a lead so he could pass it along to the Winchester men. "Yeah, I know, red hair, green eyes. This woman is a brunette with blue eyes, Garth, it's not the Ana you're looking for. Sorry man, wish I had better news. Just let the other's know that the Roadhouse is up and running, a way station for hunters once again." With that he ended the call and fell back on the bed, ready for some much needed rest.
-A-
It seemed that after Logan's appearance everyone heard about the truth behind the rumor, two short hours passed before two more hunters walked through her door. Ana had been sitting at the bar looking through a book full of spells she had been working on reading before anything with the Council and the rogue witches had happened, she'd been making a lot of headway on it and now that she'd had the time she continued where she left of. Looking up from the pages in front of her at the sound of the bell, she was met by the sight of two men, one holding most of the weight of the other as they shuffled through the door. Both men were covered in blood and different wounds, but the one in worse shape had a large patch of red stained across his stomach. "What happened?" she exclaimed, jumping off of the stool and hurrying toward the men.
"Freaking pair of Vetala." The man carrying his comrade explained, grunting under the weight of his partner.
Ana shook her head, of course on her first day of hunters through the door someone had to come in and test her control. She refused to use her power, but she also refused to let a hunter die who didn't deserve to. "Follow me." she instructed, leading the pair toward the back of the building. She'd left the first room empty of a bed, placing only a couple of cots and cabinets full of medical supplies. There had been no doubt in her mind that she would get the injured hunter from time to time, but this was a lot sooner than she'd thought it would happen. Opening the door, she signaled for the man to set his partner on a cot and moved to grab a bunch of supplies. "Did either of you get bit?" she questioned, moving over toward the cot.
"Almost, but Rick attacked before they could, which was how he ended up like this. One of them threw him through a window and he landed on a piece of glass." The man explained, watching as the younger woman moved around.
Grabbing a large packet of gauze, she threw it to the less injured man. "Slow the bleeding." she commanded, before grabbing a few more things in the large clear bin she'd been throwing things in. Moving toward the bed, she looked down at the man, Rick, who looked like he was about to lose consciousness. "You gotta stay awake for me, Rick." she told him, knowing the dangers of anyone succumbing to the darkness of blood loss. Looking to the man sitting across from her she calmed herself before speaking again, "I'm going to have to stitch him up fast. If the cut is too deep we're going to run into some problems, if he starts to fight against me I need you to hold him down." she instructed. The other man nodded, eyes meeting hers for a moment before focusing back on his friend. Ana quickly prepped the needle and stitching thread, before grabbing a bottle of rubbing alcohol that she'd need to clean the wound with. "Move your hands." she instructed, grabbing a folded piece of gauze herself ready to pour the liquid. The other man moved his hands and Ana moved quickly, pulling Rick's shirt up in one swift move before pouring the alcohol along the wide gash. Wincing at the sight of the size of the wound, Ana took a long look to make sure the glass hadn't injured any of the man's organs before grabbing the needle and setting to work.
"Ana?" A voice came from the door that she recognized as Logan's. "Woah, what the hell happened to you two?" he questioned, comprehending what the young woman was doing once he walked further into the room. The sound of the talking and thudding of Ana moving through her supplies had woken him up.
The other man looked up from his friend and toward the younger man who'd walked into the room. Pausing a moment, he squinted his eyes, "Logan? Is that you?"
Logan paused and studied the other man, "Jerry? That means this is Rick, right?" he barely remembered the two mens' names. They had met at the Roadhouse the last time Logan had been there and he knew both men were on Garth's list of hunters, the list that he sent information and cases to. It wasn't chance that all three of them were near to the rebuilt Roadhouse.
"Will you two shut up?" Ana snapped, not pausing as she continued to stitch the wound, trying very hard not to gag at the sight before her. Stitching had always been her father's job, he'd had much more practice at it than she had. The conversation stopped and she was glad for it, her focus regrouping entirely on what she was doing. A few moments later she was done and tying a knot in the thread. With a sigh, she cut the excess with scissors and placed two fingers on Rick's wrist, feeling for a pulse while slightly sending out her magic to make sure she'd got the bleeding to stop in time. "He'll be alright, that muscle is going to take a while to heal properly." she informed the other man, Jerry, before standing up and moving to clean the mess that had been made.
"Thank you, Ana?" he spoke her name in question, looking at the girl as the name Will had spoken registered in his head. "Ana Winchester?"
Shaking her head, Ana bit back a swear, this was going to be harder than she hoped it would. Apparently her family had gotten the word out far and wide that she'd been missing, "Nope. Hoyt." she answered, not looking at Jerry as she grabbed the last of the bloodied gauze and stood to throw it away. "What's up with this Winchester anyway? Second time in the same day I've been asked by hunters if I'm her." she questioned, glancing over her shoulder to look at Logan and Jerry.
"Everyone's on the lookout for her. One day she just up and disappeared, her dad and uncle have been going nuts trying to find her. Got every hunter they know telling every hunter they know to look out for her." Jerry answered, studying the girl a moment before looking over at Logan. "It seems the same word got out about you opening up this place. Garth sent us on that hunt for the Vetala."
Logan raised an eyebrow, "Vetala? I just cleaned out a small vamp nest about two hundred miles west of here."
"We came from about a half hour north. Hoping that the rumor was true and this place would still be able to help a hunter out like it used to." Jerry explained, "Thanks for that, by the way. We weren't planning on having this much trouble with it, we didn't have the supplies to fix this up." he aimed the last part at Ana.
She nodded as she washed her hand in the large sink she'd had installed in the room, "No problem. Part of the reason I opened the place back up." she assured him. Grabbing a towel to dry her hands, she turned back around to look at the men, "Want me to take a look at your wounds too?"
Jerry shook his head, "It's all superficial stuff, I'll be fine." he assured her, "I'll take you up on a room if you've got one though."
"Other than Logan there's no one else staying here, take one of the open ones. I'll keep an eye on Rick, but I'm almost certain he just needs to sleep through some of the healing." She assured him with a soft smile. This is why she'd opened the Roadhouse up again, hunters were always getting hurt, always needing information, always in need of a safe place to come to if they would ever need to hide.
"I'm staying down the hall further, there's a room right across the hall you can take." Logan explained, moving out of the way as Jerry stood up and moved toward the door. He and Ana watched as the tired man made his way out of the room. "Well, I'm going to go back to sleep, if you need help with anything just holler."
"Actually," Ana spoke, stopping him before he could leave, "would you do me a favor and give Garth a call? See if he's sent any more hunters out this way?"
He paused and studied her a moment, "When he called to give me the heads up on the vamp case he commented on the amount of action that had been happening around here. It all started up about a month ago."
"Right around the time I had the contractors come and start to rebuild here." She muttered, wondering if it was all connected, but why would monsters be coming closer to a place they knew a bunch of hunters would start to frequent. None of this sat right with Ana, "Strange, I guess I'll make sure everything's ready in case I get anymore visitors." she told him with a small smile, "Go get some more sleep, hopefully I won't have anymore half dead hunters coming through the door and you all can get some rest."
Logan nodded and covered his mouth as he yawned before pushing the same hand through the blonde hair atop his head. He gave her a slight wave then left the room, not ready to function normally unless he absolutely had to.
Ana finished cleaning up the supplies and stopped to clean Rick's stitches before placing a clean bandage over it. Checking on his pulse one more time, she left him to rest and moved back toward the bar space. Moving back to the seat she had been in when Jerry had basically dragged Rick through the door she continued to read her book, wondering how soon she should expect to have more hunters through her door.
-A-
It turned out that Garth had sent eleven hunters out total to take care of jobs that were oddly close to the new Roadhouse and as night settled in all but one of them were sitting at Ana's bar, Rick was still sleeping off the blood loss. Ana was grabbing a couple of beers out of the fridge, happy that there were people here, even if it was under odd circumstances. As she walked back toward the pair that the beers were for, she tuned back into the conversation the hunters were having. "Something weird has to be going down for so many monsters to be around this area. I took out a nest of vamps, Jerry and Rick took down two Vetala, now you're saying that there was a Rugaru three towns over?" Logan asked an older man sitting two chairs away from him.
"Couple of them." The man answered, looking at the woman who sat between himself and Logan. She was the only other female in the bar other than the woman who had opened the place back up, "What'd you say that Garth sent you to, Jackie?"
The woman, Jackie, sighed and finished off the whiskey that was in her glass. "Freaking Siren. I hate the bitches, but Garth had you all out on the other hunts. Said the Winchesters were caught up in their own hunt for the girl and I was the only other hunter he could call."
Ana had been listening to the conversation while she cleaned, served drinks, and made sure her first customers were taken care of, but she paused to listen to the woman. "So we've got a handful of creatures not far from here, but did any of you get something smaller on the food chain? Spirits? Poltergeists?" The remaining hunters all shook their heads. "What about anything bigger? Demons? Angels?" Again they shook their heads. "So what is drawing all of these creatures here?"
"Do you think it could have anything to do with you rebuilding here?" Jerry spoke up, looking over the top of his beer bottle. "Some sort of plot to wipe out the hunters that come here or something?" he suggested.
Ana shrugged, "There's no telling what's going on. At least the ones that have been around are taken care of thanks to you all. Maybe it was just a fluke and there won't be anymore."
Logan cocked an eyebrow at the bartender, "Do you really think that's going to happen?"
"No." She scoffed, "I've never been that lucky, but a girl can dream." she turned to grab the bottle of Jim Beam to refill Jackie's glass. "On a happier note any creature that comes here has a deathwish, I have this place so stoked on weapons that it just wouldn't be fair."
-A-
The next day most of the hunters that had been there the night before had left, including Jerry and Rick, the latter man had woken up that morning in pain, but feeling fine otherwise. The only two remaining were Jackie and Logan, both hunters claiming to be waiting on news of a hunt they could take on before leaving. Either way Ana didn't care, it was nice to have some company and she knew it wouldn't be long before both hunters were off on the next case.
The whole day was easy. The trio talked about cases they'd been on, people they'd met, odds they had beaten; most of Ana's stories were only half true. By the time night rolled around they were on their fourth round of pool and there was no sign that anyone else would be coming through the Roadhouse door that night. There were hunters all over the country, it wouldn't be long before someone else made their way through that door.
