Chapter 2

Dean's first priority after going back to the motel was getting Sam patched up. Alison went to her own room and got into the shower to get the dingy warehouse stink off of her. The water pressure was abysmal but it got the job done.

She went back to the boys' room and knocked on the door. Without waiting for a reply, she pushed the door open to see Dean wrapping Sam's ribs. The younger Winchester clearly thought it was unnecessary if his facial expression was anything to go by, but he let Dean do it anyway. Sam knew better to argue with Dean in his 'mother-hen' mode.

"You okay?"

"I'm fine." Sam could see the guilt in her eyes. If only she had followed orders, Sam wouldn't have bruised ribs.

"Really, I'm good. I've had worse. It's part of the job. We screw up and we learn. Don't be too hard on yourself. Now you know better for next time."

It surprised her that Sam could read her so well after just three days. She remembered their first interaction. She had stopped for a quick bite at a diner when they walked in and sat beside her on the breakfast bar. At first, she had ignored them, going back to studying the case she was in town for. That didn't last long though, as pieces of their conversation caught her attention quite quickly.

"Do you guys always talk about cases this loudly in the middle of a diner where anyone could easily overhear you?" she had asked them, still looking through her notes, "cause that does not seem like a smart thing to do."

She had finally looked up and saw them staring at her in disbelief.

"Excuse me?" The shorter one, which she would later learn was Dean, had said.

"You are hunters. Discussing a case as weird as this one out in public. Loudly. I wasn't even trying to eavesdrop. Like I said – not smart."

"You're a hunter? You're like 12!" Dean had exclaimed. He had obviously been exaggerating. For one, she was 15, not 12; and two, Dean was still under the impression that she was over 17 at least. She couldn't blame him. She didn't look like an average 15-year-old and she had never bothered to correct him anyway.

They had gone on to argue over who would work on the case, and when neither party backed down, Sam had suggested they just all work together. The rest had been history.

She was jerked out of her thoughts when she registered what Sam had said.

"Wait, next time?"

Not happening. She liked the Winchesters and yes, they were not bad as far as hunting partners went. But there was a reason she hunted alone. She didn't like people in her space. She knew that as soon as they figured out that she was a 15-year-old orphan, they would ship her off somewhere, 'for her own good'. It had happened way too many times before for her to trust anyone, no matter how nice they seemed. She had been put into foster care three times on the behest of 'concerned adults' before. The homes were so bad that she preferred the streets and ran away the first chance she got. She had been on her own since she was 11 and had practically raised herself even before that. She didn't need anyone to tell her what was best for her.

"Sorry boys, I prefer to hunt alone. Don't get your hopes up for another team-up anytime soon," she said before Sam could open his mouth again.

Dean's jaw ticked but she could see him forcing the tension out, in hopes of reasoning with her. He knew that telling her what to do wouldn't work, he had noticed that she had problems with authority.

"Look, we have this friend. She's a sheriff and she's got two other girls living with her who are either hunters or aware of the life. If you want –"

Dean knew that they had messed up. Alison's face grew hard as she listened to Sam talk about Jody and the girls. Yes, they had called her and asked her if she would be willing to take in another stray but Jody had warned them that Alison didn't sound like someone who wanted a normal life. Claire had wanted to hunt but she had also wanted a family. Alex had wanted to get out of the life. Both of them had wanted to be there.

He could see that they were losing her. He didn't understand why he felt so strongly about helping her, but he panicked at the thought of her hunting alone out there. So, he blurted out the first thing that came to his mind – "You could hunt with us!"

Sam paused mid-sentence, looking at his brother incredulously. That was not what they had agreed on. While his brother clearly felt more strongly about helping her, Sam himself had grown quite fond of Alison and wanted her to be safe. But he also knew that they had too much on their plate to add her into the mix. She's just be in more danger anyway. They were in the middle of dealing with the darkness – there was no way bringing Alison into their life would end well. After the way they lost Charlie, Dean should have been the first one to realize that.

Alison's face dropped the hard stare it was featuring only to be replaced by a look of surprise. Hunting with the Winchesters was something aspiring hunters dreamed off. They were the big leagues, where the real action was. She'd heard rumours about their dalliances with angels and prophets and monsters from purgatory. So, of course she was surprised when they offered her a chance to play with the big boys. But she knew she couldn't take them up on it. Specially since Sam didn't seem too enthusiastic about it either. Which stung – but she understood.

"As tempting as that sounds, I'm good. You guys probably have a lot to deal with anyway if Sam's face is any indication. I don't want to be a problem. I'll get out of your hair and maybe we can team up again if you happen to be on the same case as me." Alison didn't want to get close to people. They just ended up abandoning you sooner or later.

Sam backtracked guiltily, assuring her that they wanted her with them. He didn't want her in danger but he didn't want her to feel unwanted either. There was just something about her that made both brothers want to protect her.

"You won't be," Dean said firmly. "You're clearly a good hunter. You figured out the case before us and you were right. You could use some tactical training and work on your combat a little bit. From where I'm standing, you don't have anyone to teach you either. We can help –"

"You're telling me you have time to take in a rookie hunter in the middle of dealing with your apocalypse of the year?" she scoffed, raising an eyebrow at Dean.

Sam remained silent, a spectator to the back and forth between his brother and Alison. He wanted her to come with them. He just didn't want her to end up dead like every other person they cared about.

Dean switched tactics when enticing her with training didn't work.

"What about living arrangements? We have a pretty sweet set up in Kansas. It's like a bat cave. You'd like it there."

"I manage just fine in motels," she fibbed just a little bit. Even with fake IDs and fake credit cards, she sometimes had a hard time convincing motels to give her a room. She'd spent more nights in the cold streets than she cared to admit, but it was all just a part of being a hunter and she accepted that. Even the rooms she did get were dingy at best, but she didn't want their charity.

"Look kid, I know how it works. You can't lie to me." She looked away at that.

"What about family? You have anyone we can at-least get you back to?" Dean had just about admitted defeat at this point. Even Sam looked dejected and he hadn't even exactly wanted her with them in the first place.

At his statement, she jerked, her whole body flinching at the mention of family. The reaction didn't go unnoticed by either brother.

"Alison? You alright?" Sam asked when she didn't say anything for a minute.

"No. No family." She ignored Sam. "I never knew my father, all my mother said about him was that he was a hunter too. I always assumed he died on the job."

She was fidgeting with her rings. She did that when she was nervous or uncomfortable, they'd learned.

"What about your mother?" Sam dared to ask softly.

"Dead." Alison's voice was hard which surprised Sam. In the time they'd spent together, she had never seemed cold, but she did right now.

"Killed by a werewolf when I was 11," she continued in that same emotionless voice, "I've been on my own ever since."

She didn't ever share anything about her life with other hunters and the fact that she told them this perplexed her, but she couldn't ignore Sam's puppy dog eyes.

"I'm sorry kiddo," Sam said, empathy practically oozing from his voice, "We know what it's like losing a mother young. It doesn't get easier."

"What was her name?" Sam said after a brief pause.

She was silent for a long time. She hadn't said her name out loud in almost 5 years.

"Sandra." She finally said softly, the tiniest hint of emotion in her voice. "Sandra Williams."

Dean froze.

He knew that name.