(So yes, this is the episode 'Home,' but I will not drag out the story with it. Expect chapter 10 to be a continuation and after that it'll clear up. I have switched up a few of the facts to make it a little more different.

Once again thank you to Souless666, I love hearing from you. And I agree, Sam did a few regrettable things when he had his abilities. Had his brother been a little more supportive, and a little more open to Sam using his powers, but for good things then maybe there wouldn't have been so many problems.)

Chapter Nine

They took the Impala. It was only fitting. That November they'd driven away from the home in it, now if they had to return why not in the same car. Dean was the same, sitting in the passenger seat while his dad took point at the wheel. Dean's jaw remained fixed and no words came out, just like that night. John remained quiet himself, only glancing at his son every now and again trying to find words, but disregarding them once they came. And Sam, well Sam was the only difference. That night the 6 month old wouldn't stop crying. Sam sat in the back quiet, now focused on the trees going by his window.

About four hours into the drive Sam finally was the one to break the silence. "After the fire, what happened?"

John turned away from the road to glance in the rear view mirror for a second. He caught his boy's hazel eyes. "We uh, went to go stay with a friend. We stayed with Mike, I worked with him before- before the fire. I honestly don't remember much about the stay." Because he was stone cold drunk. He'd let his four-year-old slip into silence, and tend to his youngest. He'd slipped into a similar depression that his youngest had once he'd lost his loved one.

Dean squirmed in his seat. Sam had cried, a lot. He'd pleaded repeatedly for his father to move and help him with Sammy. Then when his father didn't acknowledge him he'd shut away his words, saving them only for Sammy. He remembered waking up to Sammy's loud cry and curling up in the crib with him. Sam would go to sleep instantly once he'd felt his brother next to him. Then Miss Julie would come over and try and take Sammy away. "Go outside and play." She'd tell the 4-year-old again and again. But Dean would hold Sam tighter and retreat away from them, only coming out when Sam was hungry. Dean looked down at his floor boards. "It was uneventful, nothing to remember."

John's hands tightened on the wheel. "I'm sorry, son." He'd said that a lot to Sam recently, except now it was directed towards Dean. He waited until Dean brought his head up and made a face. "Let me say this and we can end the moment, okay." He waited for Dean's soft amused snort before continuing. "I put a heavy load on you that day. I know you love Sam, and Sam before you misunderstand; you have never been a burden. But I should have been there for the both of you. You shouldn't have turned into the father; I should have been your father."

"You've been forgiven already." Dean gave his father a soft look. "We don't hate you for anything."

"I know, it's just. I never actually said those words to you. I am proud though. Everything I put you through and you still raised Sam to be a great kid." John cleared his throat. "Can you check where we are on the map, Ace?"

They all knew he didn't need directions, but once again the sentimental mood had turned things awkward. John was determined to fix that.

Dean unfolded the section of map he needed. "We're about four hours out, there is about two left. No turns for a while."

"Thanks." John stated his mask of indifference firmly back in place.

Sam glanced between the two men, and sighed. He settled into the cushions, crossed his arms and twisted his body so his head lay against the cold glass. It would be a long drive, and very clearly his brother and father weren't up for having a conversation. They hadn't even realized that the radio was off. Sam nudged his head against the glass and prepared himself for a long wait.

He shut his eyes against the glare of an on-coming car.

Then he wasn't in the car. He was standing at the front of a house. The home was simple enough. Two stories, with cream colored siding and a few steps leading up to the front door. A gnarly looking tree sat in the front yard and cast a disturbing shadow across the front of the house. He glanced around confused. How did he get here? Last he remembered he'd been riding in his brother's car.

Movement in one of the windows caught is attention. A woman was banging on the center window on the second floor. She looked straight at him as she pounded on the pane. Sam stood stunned. Was she trying to tell him to leave? Was he on her property and she didn't want him there? His answer came when she spun around fearfully and looked behind her before her face turned back to him, eyes wider.

Okay not mad at him. She was scared. He made a move to rush into the home but Dean gripped his shoulder. "Sam."

Sam shook off the shoulder the best he could. She was in danger. "Sammy." His brother sounded irritated now.

"Sam!"

A hand smacked into Sam's cheek and Sam jerked out of his awkward sleeping position only to smack his head against the window. "Shit." Sam cursed sharply feeling blood pool in his mouth after biting down on his tongue. "What?"

Dean looked a little gleefully at Sam. "We're stopped at a gas station now, but we should be at Missouri's in a little. Dad want's you awake and ready."

Sam rubbed at his face and shifted in his seat. He opened the car door to spit out the blood. Half out of the car Sam groaned. "I was out of it that long?"

"Dude, you were sawing logs." Dean smirked.

Sam didn't mention the improvement in mood. He didn't want the mood to change any. He took note of the darkened sky instead and frowned. "She's still awake?"

"Woman reads freaking minds." Dean handed his brother a water bottle to wash out any remaining blood. "She called dad when we crossed into town. Knew we were here before we even did."

That was a lie. Sam could see the look of humor on his brother's face but read past that to see a strange combination of shock and sadness. The second they made it into Lawrence his father and brother had known, even without the sign. Sam himself wasn't as sensitive about his mother's death (not that he didn't care). His father and brother had lived through it though, and any time they had driven into Kansas itself he'd see the tenseness of his family's shoulders. Driving into the very city, that must have been hell.

xxxOOOxxx

Missouri's home was a strange combination. On the one hand it was so feminine. Flowers at the table at the entrance, then she had delicate colors painted on the walls. She had paintings on the walls and they were an odd mixture of feminine colors and images of the occult. Wherever she'd found the paintings Sam figured it wasn't in some Home and Garden magazine. Her living room was where she took in customers wasn't any different. Sweet and feminine, a few pieces of bone china sitting in a display case, along with artifacts Sam recognized to have Voodoo and Witchcraft background. Sam wondered just what Missouri was into.

Once seated on the very soft cream colored love chairs Missouri offered them warm beverages.

"Missouri…" John stated a little irritated.

"Okay fine." Missouri gripped. She ignored John and went straight for the tray on the table containing a three mugs and a pot of coffee. She poured out a cup, put some sugar and cream in, enough in fact that Sam liked, and handed Sam the mug. She put the warm cup in front of Sam and looked at him. "Sam should have some caffeine though. It helps with the headaches after a vision."

Sam stilled. A vision. When did he? Realization hit him. The dream in the car wasn't a dream it was another vision. He figured the headache he'd been sporting since was due to the sharp bang he'd received after his brother startled him. "So what I saw-?"

"A vision." She intently put the coffee in his hands and nudged his arm a little. "Drink, it'll help."

"Sam you had…you had a vision?" Dean repositioned himself in his seat so that he could give his brother a sharp glare. "What the hell did you see?"

Sam rolled his eyes, and regretted it when it pulsed more pain. "They don't always feel like visions. I didn't realize that it was a vision until Missouri told me. How did you know anyways?"

"Oh honey, I've had enough of them to know the signs. And no, I don't know what you saw. Was it about the children?"

Sam took a sip. It was the right amount of heat; the right amount of sugar and milk. He didn't question how she knew; he'd stopped questioning Missouri's ability to know everything he needed or wanted before he did a long time ago. "It was a house. It had this weird twisted dead tree in front of it. A woman was inside. She was scared."

"Was she blond?" Missouri asked.

"Uh, yeah…she was." Sam frowned. "How did you know?"

John and Dean looked expectantly at the woman, and she sighed. "Because what you probably just saw was your home, Sam. Not in Sioux Falls, but where the fire happened those years ago. The woman is probably the woman that I've called you to help."

"Why us?" Sam questioned. "You clearly have enough knowledge to take care of this yourself."

"This spirit, poltergeist, inside your old home he isn't nice. I don't have the experience for something that. He's going to get angry very quickly. Besides, it's your old home." She fixed the Winchesters with a firm glance. "Dealing with whatever is inside will give you some closure. Not the kind you want, but you might get something out of it."

John scowled and rubbed and hand across his face. "Could you be more cryptic?!"

"I imagine I could Johnathan Jeffrey Winchester." John snapped his mouth shut at the mention of his full name. Dean was going to use that against him for a long time, but then Missouri knew that. "Besides, I am not in charge of what information choses to expose itself. Sometimes I don't get facts sometime I get more questions, and place you can find the answers."

"Can you at least answer why our home?" Dean leaned forward and went for some coffee himself. After he poured it he kicked himself once he saw Missouri's wide grin. That's why she had the extra cup out, because she knew that he would want it.

"Once your mother was attacked by the demon, it left a mark on the home. The attack was very dark and it left a kind of festering wound that attracts other darkness. Since I knew that it was a place that was marked, I've been watching it. A woman moved in about two weeks ago with her two kids, she's sweet. Went through an awful divorce, and has no other family to help. Poor thing didn't know when she moved in that there was an occupant already."

John nodded. "I get it, we are here to help, and we will. I gotta know though, does the mother know? Are we going to have to sneak in or has she asked for your help?"

Missouri considered his question. "She hasn't asked for help, she doesn't know what the thing is, she just knows that something weird is going on. If it continues through someone may get hurt. She and her babies are too sweet to get caught in the crossfire."

The Winchesters regarded their options. FBI wouldn't be so bad to portray, or they could be exterminators, or electricians. Offer a great deal and the woman pounce on it. After all poltergeists caused all kinds of problems with flickering lights, and scratching sounds. They even messed with the plumbing.

They thought long and hard that evening in their motel room, getting little to no sleep. It was a combination of stress over the thought of returning home and figuring out how to prevent another tragedy from occurring. When the sun had come up and was sitting high in the sky they got in the car armed with badges as inspectors. Dean and John hesitated so Sam took charge and knocked. Before the mother made it to the door John gathered his own courage and went towards the front door. Only once the door had been opened and the mother peered around the door, the badges slipped out of Sam's mind.

"I am so sorry to bother you, this used to be our old home, and we just wanted to take a quick look around the place." Sam nudged his stunned father.

John gave his son a little of a glare, before turning to smile at the woman. "Yeah, uh…we were just driving by and realized how close we were to the old place."

The woman pursed her lips and studied the boys until she made it to John. Recognition crossed her face. "What are your names?"

"Winchester ma'am." John practically drawled. "John, and my boys Dean and Sam."

"Yes, I uh, found a box of your pictures in the basement just last night." She considered the men again before she opened the door. "I can grab it."

John stilled. Pictures? He hadn't taken much away from the fire. All pictures he had leftover in his journal now came from friends who had felt sorry for him and returned all the framed Christmas photos they'd sent off with letters during the holidays. "I hadn't realized we had left anything behind."

She pushed the door wide and allowed them in. "Oh, it's in a very thick metal box. Very sturdy. Found it in the basement."

That made sense. The container was something that Mary's parents had. She'd recalled it being taken with her whenever they would travel, later they stuck pictures in it. His heart nearly dropped with the recollection. He'd found a bullet shell on the bottom of the box. When he'd asked she'd passed it off as a left over from a hunt. An angry burst fought to come out but john fought it back. Sure at the time he was easily duped, but he should have seen the signs afterwards. His wife was a hunter well before he was. He collected himself before he scared the woman.

She led them through the front hall and to the kitchen, all the while John and Dean kept glancing at all the changes that had been made. Not in layout. No they both could find the kitchen perfectly well in the dark. But pictures on the walls were different. Furniture had a much more modern and mixed style where her daughter was sitting at the table doing what the Winchester's assumed was homework, and a little boy was bouncing in a playpen off in the corner of the large kitchen.

"That's my little daughter Sairie, and my son Ritchie. He is a-" She paused and went to the fridge as the little boy started chanting repeatedly an unintelligible word. Sam figured the mom knew just what he was saying because she smiled and nodded at the boy. "-juice junkie." Now that he thought about it, it did sound like juice.

The mother slipped the latch back on the fridge, and John wondered just how protective parents were now. Years ago he'd let his son sit in the front seat of the Impala, no seat belt, no car seat, and he only got in trouble if Mary noticed. Now you couldn't leave the home without effectively locking your kid in some armed car seat. He guessed fridges were the next thing to child proof.

The little boy stopped jumping around once he was given a small juice box. Dean recalled his little brother being a big ball of energy like that too. The mother smiled down at her son and rubbed his head affectionately.

"These men, used to live in our home Sairie." Jenny said excitedly.

The little girl who had almost sullenly been doing her homework was now putting her head up and her eyes questioned the men instantly. "You lived here before? Did you like it?"

"Sairie." Her mother stated in a warning tone.

"No it's okay." Sam said quietly. He almost sensed her distress. "Homes change. If you have something to say…"

Jenny hastily tried to avoid the subject. "She thinks that there is something in the closet." She leaned down over her daughter and gave her a sharp kiss and rubbed at her unruly pony tail. "Which I check every night and there has been nothing yet, but we block it off with a chair and nothing has come out yet."

"No, mommy." Sairie tugged urgently at her mother's arm. "It moves the chair. It comes out."

Jenny tried not to be unsupportive but John could sense the parent getting irritated at her daughter. "Sairie. It's just a nightmare. Besides I'm sure they don't need to hear all the awful things about the house."

"No it's okay." John added hastily. "I mean, the home over time changes shifts."

"Oh, I know." Jenny gave a loud outburst and shrunk back a little once she realized what she had done. "I mean, no offense to your home. You probably have such great memories here, but I'm sure there are rat's in the basement. And it's- it's just getting old. Like the wiring. We've got flickering lights almost hourly. And the sinks backed up." She paused, and ran a shaking, stressed hand through her already messy hair. "I'm so sorry this isn't something you probably care about or want to hear."

Dean shook his head. "Oh no. Not a problem at all. In fact, I have some experience with wiring. I can take a look at anything you need."

"Oh, could you." Jenny burst out again. "I mean, my dad was great with engines and all things handy, but unfortunately I never picked up on that, and after the poor plumber there isn't going to be another person willing to look at the place."

"Plumber?" Sam questioned. "What happened with the plumber?"

Jenny got uncomfortable again. "I hired him, and I don't know what happened. I left the room, and he must have started the disposal system." She ran a hand through her hair, and watched as the men flinched at the implication. "I feel really bad for the guy I do, but we just moved and everything I had went into the home. There's really nobody to help, and I just can't afford to take this to court. Besides, I wasn't in the room. It was just a- a freak accident I guess." She trailed off. "If you don't want to-"

"No, no problem at all. Like you said freak accident." Dean dismissed it outwardly, but Sam could see his big brother's gears turning.

All of the men had their thoughts turning towards the case. Everything she said lead to a clear sign that there was something in the house, and it wanted to hurt people. It had already hurt someone. It wasn't the mother or her children, but it was still someone who ended up in the hospital none the less.

John and Dean started following the woman as she lead them down into the basement. She seemed to recall Sam wasn't joining them. He waved her to go on and joined Sairie at the table. Sam smiled at her and put all the trust and emotion he could in his eyes. It seemed to work because she continued on and didn't question Sam. The kid had been good at gaining peoples trust. John wished half the time he could bring his son with him just to get people off his back.

Sam leaned down and glanced at the girl's paper. "You need any help?" He watched the girl firmly shake her head. Her face was a full on pout, Sam figured he'd made more than a few of those faces at his family whenever he wasn't heard. "You know this one time, I was at a motel with my dad and my brother-"

Sairie wasn't over her pout and didn't look up.

"They left to- to go get food." Well to hunt, but that wasn't the kid's business. "Before that I had heard something strange coming from the room over. I told my dad that it was something scary, and he didn't believe me."

"I'm not making this up dad. I heard something." Sam insisted firmly. His hair was still in a messy mop, and it bounced as he spoke with urgency. "Besides the man took that woman in there two days ago and none of them have come out yet."

Dean zipped up the bag he'd stuffed full of bags. "Why are you spying on the people next door, besides they're probably having sex."

"Yes it's the normal sounds, but they stopped some time ago and no one has still left. Something weird is going on. Seriously."

John scowled and looked over at Dean. The face clearly read irritation at the mention of the word, and Sam knew Dean would get an earful when they were driving to the hunt. "Sam, we have an actual hunt to do, we don't have time for a wild goose chase." His father shoved Dean out the door and slammed the door behind him, leaving Sam alone in the creepy motel room.

Sairie was now paying attention.

"And I knew that something was up. That whatever was going on in the room wasn't good." Sam patted to his head. "I didn't know here." He then patted his chest. "I knew here. My gut was saying that something was wrong, but because I was so small and I was the little brother, I was just overreacting."

"What did you do?" Sairie asked.

"Well I went over into the room."

It had been an hour since the man had left. The man had not bothered checking out of the room and returning the key. He'd only rushed out the door locking it behind him and went straight to his car. When the car was long gone Sam had slipped out of his own room and went next door. Sam pulled out his lock pick set that his brother had given him for Christmas and started picking at the lock on the door

"And?"

The naked woman was staring off at the ceiling with dull eyes, her face had dried tear tracks along her cheek. Sam was young still, but he knew what a dead body looked like when he saw it. The poor woman was tied to the bed using a combination of zip ties and rope, and gagged using something pink and lacey.

Sam later realized it had been her own underwear. "I found someone. She was- hurt. And I called my dad to help." John had been furious that Sam even looked, but when he'd seen the woman, his own gaze softened. Sam knew that he regretted not checking himself, then maybe his boy wouldn't have seen this horrible sight. "They apologized. They were sorry they didn't listen to me."

Sairie tapped her pencil on the table and bit at her lip. "Sometimes adults don't pay attention."

"I know." Sam said softly. "But adults, especially your parents, do care. They just don't want to think about you seeing bad things."

"It's real you know." She said firmly. "The thing in my closet."

"I believe you." Sam nodded solemnly. "What is it?"

She bit at her lip and considered Sam before continuing. "It's a person. It's shaped like a person, but it's on fire."

That threw Sam off. On fire? The thing that killed their mother was a confirmed demon, why was there something in there that was on fire? "Does it hurt you?"

"No, it comes out of my closet and stands at my door." Sairie shook. "I don't know why. I tried asking it and it ignored me."

Sam put on a smile. "Well Sairie, my family and I, we help people with things like this."

"You stop monsters?"

"Yes." Sam kept his tone light. "I'll tell my dad and brother what you just told me, and we'll figure out what it is, and why it's trying to scare you. Just in the meantime, keep away from it. If it looks like it's coming over to hurt you go to your mom's room and say you had a nightmare."

Sairie nodded her eyes wide.

(As before if you liked it then please leave a comment. And for those who celebrate it, Happy Easter!)