One Month Later…
To everything changed after that would be an understatement.
Christine was gone killed by the very thing Don made every effort to keep away from his family. The boys were sad confused and lost without their mom. Don was lost never having had to take care of the kids on his own and to top it all off there was Lena.
He had seen her disappear into thin air with demon yet somehow she appeared without a scratch on her in the same blanket and bassinet she had been found in months earlier.
Nothing that had happened that night was normal but that was what troubled him the most. Unfortunately his grief had him looking for answers at the bottom of a whiskey bottle. Multiple whiskey bottles.
After a month of him waking up every morning after passing out on his little brother's couch Don woke up to someone pouring a glass of water oh his face.
He immediately jumped up grasping for his knife but instead picked up one of Noah's toys.
"Wha! Robbie what the hell?" He growled.
"Oh good you're up." Don's brother said grinning sarcastically as he held Lena in his arms. "We need to talk."
"Seriously?" Don said.
"Yes." He said. "Don I get losing Chris was hard and the way it happened…"
"You don't know anything!' Don growled.
"A yellow eyed demon killed her. You did your best to keep work away from home it is not your fault but what's done is done and your kids need you." Rob said.
"Where are the boys?" Don said realizing for the first time that they weren't there.
"School." Robbie said. "They go Monday through Friday from eight to three."
"Thanks." Don said.
"Mhmm." Lena reaching for Don but Don ignored her and took another swig from his whiskey bottle.
"It's not her fault." Rob said.
"I never said it was." Don said.
"You have to get it together man. The kids lost everything. You're all they've got." Rob said.
"And I've got nothing." Don said. "I've been hunting my entire life. Everything I knew everything I did and it wasn't enough."
"That thing was beyond anything Dad ever faced." Rob said. "I mean how often do you even come across a demon?"
"I should have been more careful. It probably followed me back." Don said.
"And he went after the baby?" he said. "It doesn't make any sense."
"Nothing makes sense. He took her and then just left her in the front yard in her basinet." He said looking at the baby who was biting Rob's tie.
"So what do we do because this isn't helping anyone." Rob said.
"You're not part of we." Don said.
"Don." Rob said.
"This isn't your problem." He said.
"Who's couch have you been passing out on for the past month? Who's been taking the kids to school, changing all the diapers, keeping you from drinking yourself to death?" Rob said.
"You know what I mean. You're not a hunter. You handle the business, I handle the monsters." Don said.
"The heir, spare and mare?" Rob said. "It was supposed to be you wearing the suit not me."
"I hate wearing a monkey suit and I don't have the brains for it but you do. If I had to do it all over again I wouldn't change a damn thing. I'm the oldest, it's my job to keep you safe." Don said.
"We're not kids anymore Don." Rob said.
"You're still my kid brother." He said. "But you're right. I can't keep doing this. I need answers about what that thing wanted with Lena."
"Who could possibly want to hurt this little angel?" Rob said blowing a raspberry on Lena's cheek making her laugh.
"It's not a who it's a what." Don said. "I'm going to find that thing, and I'm going kill that asshole."
"What about the kids?" Rob asked.
"We were younger than them when Dad started teaching us." Don said. "He came after us once, chances are he'll be back. They need to know how to protect themselves."
And that's exactly what he did.
That's how two years later while trying to track down the yellow eyed demon Don ended up in Lawrence, Kansas.
November 5th, 1983-
Three days after the demon had killed Mary Winchester Don arrived in Lawrence with his three kids. He had decided to train them and that meant they were all in. He had been tracking the demon for close to two years now and it was the first time he had gotten as close as he had. He had found the omens in the news and missed the demon by weeks or even months but he had made it there within days.
He did some digging as he posed as an insurance investigator when he heard about how John Winchester and his boys had barely made it out alive and how the fire fighters could figure out how the fire had started.
One look through the remains of the house and he found traces of sulpher but he needed to be sure.
Which is how he ended up tracking down John at the local park.
His son Dean was sitting sadly on the swing after his father and snapped at him for asking about Mary again.
"Boys go play for a bit." Don said. "That boy looks like he could use a friend."
"He's a little kid." Xander complained.
"Xander." Don said with a sharp look.
"Okay." Xander said taking Noah with him.
Don on the other hand decided to try and see what he could get out of John who was sitting on the bench trying to figure out what was wrong with his crying six month old.
Lena on the other hand was knocked out in her stroller.
"Sam come on…" John said desperate to get the baby settled.
"Seems like he's teething." Don said taking a seat. "Maybe hungry?"
"He just ate." John said.
"Did you burp him?" Don said and John gave him a look.
"Burp him?" John asked.
"Trust me, do it after every feeding or else he'll get colic and you'll never sleep." Don said sitting down. John gave him a curious look but seeing Lena sound asleep in her stroller gave him the impression that maybe this guy might know what he was talking about. So John picked up Sam and did what he said.
Within a minute Sam had let out some gas and while he was still a bit fussy he had stopped crying.
"Well what do you know." John said. "Thanks."
"No problem. I've got a lot of practice under my belt." Don said.
"I can see that." John said forcing a smile as he glanced at Lena.
"Her and the two over there." Don said nodding over to the swing where Noah was showing Dean how to move on the swing without anyone pushing him while Xander just watched.
"That's my son Dean." John said offering his hand. "John Winchester."
"Don Stark." Don said shaking the man's hand.
"I'm not really good at this." John said. "Taking care of the kids… My wife was normally the one that did this."
"I know the feeling. My wife Chris died two years ago." Don said.
"I'm sorry." John said.
"She died in a fire." Don said and John tensed. "She was pinned on the ceiling of Lena's nursery and the thing that killed her and set my house of fire had yellow eyes."
"Who the hell are you?" John said.
"I'm someone that knows what that look in your eyes is. It's the look people get when they realize that the things that go bump in the night aren't just made up stories. They're real." Don said.
"You're crazy." John said.
"Maybe I am but if you decide you want to hear the crazy guy out, we're staying at the inn off Main Street. We'll be here until the end of the week." Don said getting up. "Xander, Noah, we're leaving.
"Aw dad…" Noah whined.
"Now." Don said. Xander immediately walked back to his father's side. Noah lagged a bit behind but when Xander called back to him he rushed to catch up to his brother.
Early the Next Morning…
Don woke up early the next morning to his kids turning on the TV and Xander pouring his younger siblings milk and cereal for breakfast.
He got up and joined them making himself some coffee and trying to make sure Lena actually ate instead of try to wear her breakfast.
He was about to take his first sip when there was a knock at his door.
"Dad?" Noah asked.
"Finish your cereal." Don said getting up but not before taking out his gun. He looked through the peephole and saw John with his kids. He put his gun down and opened the door. "Right on time."
"What was it?" John said. "The thing that killed Mary and your wife."
Don was about to say something when he saw Dean.
"Let's talk inside." Don said letting them in. once the kids were settled watching some movie he told John everything he knew about the demon and then about other things he hunted, how he had been tracking the demon for the past two years and how he had found him.
"This is actually your job? Hunting monsters?" John said.
"It's the life I was born into. My dad taught me, his dad taught him and so on. I'm going to find that asshole and I'm going to take him out." Don said.
"Where do we start?" John said.
"What?" Don said.
"You're not the only one that wants revenge." John said.
"This life isn't for everyone." Don said.
"Maybe but my life is over. I can't stop thinking about it, I see her on that ceiling every night and I can't change that but I'll sure as hell sleep better at night if I manage to put one between that's thing's eyes." John said. "Teach me how to do the job."
"I can't." Don said.
"Fine then I'll figure it out on my own." John said.
"No idiot, I kind of have my hands full teaching my three kids." Don said. "And if you try to do this on your own you'll get yourself killed and then what'll happen to your kids?"
"You have kids and hunt." John said.
"My dad started training me when I started to walk. I know what I'm doing." Don said taking a pen and paper from a notepad that was lying around. "You don't. If you really want to do this, there's an old hunting friend of mine, Daniel Elkins. Haven't spoken to him in years, he's a bit of a shut in but he has been known to help out new hunters now and again. He can teach you."
"Thank you." John said taking the paper.
"Don't thank me yet." Don said. "Just do me a favor. If you find that thing before me, don't miss."
"I won't." John said.