A/N: To LexieLou-the reason this story probably looks familiar is that, in a way, I've written it before. I wrote another story a few months ago called Janie's Got a Gun. In that story, Janie is hunting with Sam and Dean and tells them the story of how she met her father (I don't want to say much else in case anyone hasn't read that story). So Janie does eventually hunt with Sam and Dean, just not with John. This one is simply the actual story of what happened to Janie, instead of Janie just retelling it. Hope that makes sense.

As for the Weechester story-I still haven't decided where I stand on that one. I like the last chapter I put up as a last chapter, but I might put up another one later when I get more time. I guess I did write this story pretty fast. I finished it in just under two weeks. But I was trying to finish before school started tomorrow (actually, later on today as it's very early in the morning here). I am still planning to write, but with work and now my school schedule, I'm going to have more of a time crunch than usual.

I hope everyone's staying safe and staying healthy!

John couldn't remember the last time he'd spent the day just…travelling. It was almost a ten-hour drive to Jack and Marissa's. While John could've easily handled that on his own, Janie was struggling with the confined space of the car, so John found himself stopping every thirty to forty-five minutes.

The day turned out to be more fun than he could ever have imagined. Janie opened up, bit by bit. There was a playground across the street from one of the diners where they stopped. John had noticed Janie looking as she ate her meal, and he finally laughed.

"You want to go play, don't you?"

Janie grinned sheepishly. "You don't mind?"

"You haven't had much fun for a while, have you?" John asked. Janie shook her head, and John sighed. "Finish eating, then you got a half hour."

For forty-five minutes afterwards, Janie seemed more like a five-year-old than a fifteen-year-old. She laughed and played, and while John was happy to see her better, regret started to rear its ugly head. Visions of a small Sam and Dean floated by. Dean being completely silent for months after Mary's death while John focused on learning to hunt the thing that killed her. Sam begging him more often than John cared to remember to just play with him or spend time with him or let him be a kid. He wondered how different things would've been if he'd spent more time thinking about spending time with Dean and Sam the same way he was spending time with Janie now.

As the day went on, Janie became quiet again. They were in the final stretch of the trip, and John found himself dreading dropping her off. The truck rumbled along, the landscape blurring together in one long streak of green. Janie's head rested against the truck window, her mind not allowing her to think of anything but the last few days. Despite the fun they'd had that day, the man in the driver's seat was virtually a stranger to her. She'd never even heard of John Milton a week earlier, and she was fairly certain that wasn't his real name. But she didn't care. He'd rescued her, pulled her out of the hell she'd been in for the last four years.

"You're quiet."

Janie jumped, and her heart started racing.

"Sorry. Didn't mean to scare you."

"It's okay." Janie said quietly. "I'm just not used to anyone talking nicely to me anymore."

John frowned. "I guess you're not, are you? That's all about to change." He noticed she was shaking. "Are you okay?"

"Yeah."

"No you're not. You're shaking." John said. "You're safe now, honey."

"'m not scared." Janie murmured. "Cold."

Of course she's cold, you idiot, John thought to himself. They had left her house with nothing but the clothes on her back and a couple of photographs of her mother that Janie wanted. John slowed down a little and pointed to the floorboard in front of Janie.

"See that duffel bag right there? Open the top flap."

Janie, curious about what he was doing but not used to questioning anything, listened.

"There's some warm shirts in there. Pick one out and put it on."

"I don't want to take your clothes…" Janie protested.

"You'll freeze if you don't." John said. "Go ahead, sweetie. It's okay."

Janie picked one up she liked right away. It was bright green, her favorite color. It was way too big, fitting over more like a blanket than a shirt. She instantly relaxed, but only for a moment. The warmth only allowed her to think even more about the last week. John picked up on what her mind wandering meant right away.

"You want to talk?"

Janie shrugged. "What do I say?"

"How about how you're feeling?"

"Hurt. Scared. Embarrassed." Janie said.

"Embarrassed? Why?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Janie asked.

"Listen to me." John said. "None of this, none of it, is your fault. It is only the fault of that son of a bitch that called himself your father."

"But he is my father." Janie said.

John pulled the truck over to the side of the road, and Janie couldn't help but back up against the door as much as she could. She knew in her head he wouldn't hurt her, but years of experience had taught her to be cautious. John, aware of how anxious she was, didn't move any closer towards her, but he didn't move away either.

"Sweetheart, look. I can't convince you it wasn't your fault. But think about this. Your mother loved you so much that she came back from the grave to make sure that he couldn't hurt you anymore. To her, you were everything. If you start to doubt yourself, or you start to feel scared or alone, just think about that."

"Do you think she's still watching out for me?" Janie asked. "Even though it's over?"

"I have no doubt." John said.

Janie was silent for a moment, then asked, "This couple you're taking me to? They know…everything?"

"Jack and Marissa are friends of mine. They've always wanted to adopt an older kid. They were both foster kids their whole childhoods, and want to help make a better life for other kids in the same boat. They're good people, and they'll take care of you." John said.

"What about…?"

"They'll help you decide what to do about that." He said.

Janie sighed. "You're sons are lucky."

John laughed. "Can I tell them you said that?"

"You should call your youngest. Let him know you still care about him. It…hurts not to hear it." Janie said. "I would've taken all the beatings, all the...everything, if he'd just told me one time that he loved me. And meant it."

"I promise I'll think about it." John said. "You ready to get back on the road?"

"Sure." Janie said. "You want your shirt back when we get there?"

"No. You keep it." John said. "Let's go."

"Hey, since you pretty much know everything about me now, will you answer something for me?" Janie asked.

"Sure. What is it?"

"What's your name? Your real name?" Janie asked.

John smiled. "Winchester. John Winchester."

"Well, thank you, John Winchester."

"For what?"

"Giving me my life back." Janie said.

John smiled. "You know, I don't get thanked a lot with this job. But you're very welcome, honey. Now let's get to where we're going."

"Look, I know you've got a lot of things to do, and you probably want to get back to your son, but…" Janie sighed and looked down, still afraid to be asking for anything.

"Whatever it is, just ask. I can't promise I'll say yes, but I won't be upset you asked."

"Will you stay for a day or two? Please? Don't just drop me off and leave?"

"I'll stay for at least a day."

"Thanks." Janie looked out onto the road. "How much farther do we have?"

"About two hours if we don't stop. Are you good to go?"

Janie nodded. "Yeah. I'll be okay."

"That you will be. That I can promise you." John said. "You know, Sam used to play a game in the car. You want to try it to pass the time?"

The two hours passed quickly, and by the time the truck came to a stop, Janie was close to falling asleep. Her nerves caused her to swallow hard to avoid throwing up. She jumped when she felt someone take her hand, but it was only John.

"It's gonna be okay."

"You promise?"

"Promise. Come on."

As Janie stepped out of the car, the couple that John had brought her to stepped out of the house. They were a nice enough looking couple. The husband looked to be a little younger than John, with black hair mixed with some gray. He walked quickly but with a bit of a limp. Next to him, his wife came out wearing an apron caked in flour and wiping her hands. She was waving them over with a big smile that, Janie was surprised to find, immediately set her at ease. The wife had a calming presence that reminded Janie of her mother.

"Hi, you guys!"

"Hi, Marissa. How are you?" John asked.

"I'm good, you old coot. How are you?" Marissa asked as she hugged John and kissed his cheek.

"I'm good too. Jack?"

"It's good to see you, John. Who's this?"

"This is Janie. Janie, this is Jack and Marissa."

"Hi." Janie said quietly.

"Hi, sweetheart. Look, I wasn't sure what you liked to eat, so I made, well, a little bit of everything."

"That's an understatement. I think she cooked the whole grocery store." Jack joked.

"John told us you didn't have a lot of clothes or things like that with you." Marissa said. "There's some pajamas on the bed in the bedroom for you, and a summer dress I keep in the closet. You can sleep with that tonight, and tomorrow we'll go shopping. Get you some clothes you like. How's that sound?"

Janie was fighting back tears again, this time from gratitude. "You don't have to do all that."

"But if you'll let me, I'd like to." Marissa said.

Janie nodded. "Thank you."

"Come on. I'll show you where your room is."

As Marissa led a nervous Janie away, Jack and John stood outside. When Marissa closed the front door, Jack asked,

"So that's the kid you were telling us about?"

"Yeah." John said. "She's pretty messed up. She'll need a lot of help."

"That's what we're here for." Jack said. He laughed and told John, "I swear, it's like Marissa's been nesting. She cleaned from the time you called last night until three o'clock this morning, then again from seven to noon. She's been cooking ever since."

"Janie needs that." John said. "That bastard of a father…"

"We'll help her, John." Jack promised. "We'll give her what he didn't."

"Thanks, Jack." The front door opened and Marissa walked back out alone. "Well, I promised her I'd stay a day, so I'll go grab me a room and be back…"

"You absolutely will not, John Winchester. You're staying here and if you argue with me about it, I'll tie you up and make you stay another night."

John chuckled. "Yes, ma'am."

"Janie's washing up. You two go do the same."

"You're bossy, you know that?" Jack smirked.

"You love me anyway. Now get inside."

The following night, Janie was standing next to John's truck as he prepared to leave. She said nothing as he threw his duffel bag into the back. He walked around and stood next to her, waiting in silence for a few seconds as they both hesitated to speak first.

"I gotta go, kiddo."

"I know." Janie said.

"Hey. You'll be okay. You like Jack and Marissa, don't you?"

"Yeah. I do. It's just a lot to get used to after so long."

"So long of what?" John asked.

"Of nobody really caring about me."

John smiled. "You'll be just fine. It's okay to say no, but will you give me a hug?"

"Only if you promise two things."

"What two things?"

"One, you'll call, and two, you'll come visit."

"I can definitely promise the first. I'll try on the second." John said. "That's the best I can do."

"That'll work."

"Now where's my…?"

Before he could finish his question, Janie grabbed John in a fierce hug. John was caught off guard. After being virtually alone for so many months, and not a very affectionate man to begin with, he'd almost forgotten what it felt like to be hugged. Janie was the first to let go, and she held out something to him. It was the shirt she'd wrapped herself up in the night before.

"I told you to keep that. I meant it."

Janie nodded, and waved as he pulled out of the driveway. A part of him regretted leaving her, but he knew if he went back and let her come with him, he'd feel as if his job had never been completed. Checking the rearview mirror, he found Janie turning back and walking inside her new home.

Six Months Later

The letter had been a surprise, but a pleasant one. He had no idea how Janie had found him, but he hoped what she had to say was only good news.

John had called Janie only once in the six months since he'd last seen her. The hunt for Mary's killer had ramped up immediately after that, so his time had become even more restricted than usual. But two weeks after dropping Janie off, he'd made a visit to the state prison nearest her house and found what he was looking for.

Leon Foster was serving a life sentence with no possibility of parole for the murder of his daughter. Through a small bribe to the guard at the prison gate, John had showed up to visit claiming to be Leon's 'brother', found out the name of Leon's bunkmate, and slipped him a note containing all the details of Leon had done to Janie. He'd called Janie that night, assuring her she was now 'completely safe' and that 'that bastard can't ever hurt anyone again'.

John ripped open the letter and finally read it.

Hey John.

I don't know what exactly you've been doing, but I hope you're staying safe and out of trouble (as much as you can, at least). I know you told me not to do it, but I wanted to thank you again for pulling me out of there.

You never had a little girl, so let me tell you something about us. Some of us dream of a knight in shining armor to come save us when we're in trouble. When my mom first died, I thought my dad would eventually go back to normal. When he didn't, I started dreaming again that someone would come and save me. I started rereading all my fairy tale books and wishing that someone like that would come and help me. Well, one did. I know you told me that you don't get thanked a lot on this job. Whenever you have a bad day, just think about that. That no matter where you are, what you're doing, or how bad a time you might be having, you're my knight.

The first few days I was here, Mom made me rest a lot (yes, I'm calling her and Jack Mom and Dad now). After about a week, we started to talk. I really didn't want to go to school in a new town while I was pregnant, so I decided to study to get my GED and start some community college courses while I figure out what I want to do. Right now, I'm still getting used to being able to do almost what I want. It's a weird feeling, but it's a good one.

It took me a long time to decide what to do about the baby. I kept asking Mom and Dad what they thought I should do, but they wouldn't give me a definite answer. I was helping Mom clean out her bedroom closet one day, and I found some old sonograms. She told me she'd had a miscarriage and, in all likelihood, she can't have kids anymore. I thought about it for another couple days and I finally asked her and Dad if they wanted to adopt my baby. They told me they'd do it, but it had to be because I wanted it and not because I felt sorry for them or pressured to do it.

I think I did the right thing. Even though she (and yes, it's a girl) came from that sick monster, I still love her. I feel her kicking inside me and I want to take care of her. I really do. But I'm fifteen. I want a life of some kind before I start having kids of my own. And I'm afraid that if I raise this baby, I'll put my past on her and blame her for everything Leon did to me. Like Leon blamed me when Mommy died. I can't do that to her. She deserves better. So she'll know me as her sister and Mom and Dad as her Mommy and Daddy.

I did the right thing, right?

I'll let you go. I hope you're safe and that you called your youngest sometime like I said.

Yours always,

Janie

John folded the letter and stuck it inside his pocket. He was surprised when something else fell out of the envelope. It was a wallet sized photo of Janie, with Jack and Marissa. She had something that John hadn't seen too much when he'd first met her-a smile. A real, genuine smile. Despite any regret for never having taking Janie with him, he knew that he'd done the right thing.

"You did the right thing, sweetheart."

He stuck the photo in his wallet, behind a worn picture of Sam and Dean and Mary, before heading off and away from Jericho, California.