A/N: I thought I mentioned it in the last chapter, but I didn't. This story is based on one of my favorite songs, Aerosmith's "Janie's Got a Gun".

This chapter and the next one is Janie telling her story to Sam and Dean. Eventually, they will get to where they're going and investigate the death of Janie's parents.

Chapter Two

"Thanks, AJ."

Janie hung up the phone, feeling numb and empty inside. She couldn't allow herself to feel the entirety of her loss yet. She couldn't let in the fear, the anger, the rage, the hurt yet. If she did, she was afraid it would kill her. Sam and Dean were waiting patiently on an explanation. She knew she'd thrown them what Dean would have called "one hell of a curveball", but she couldn't help it. They had to understand the whole story.

"What's going on?" Sam asked.

"Um…Apparently when my dad didn't show up to work yesterday, or my mom, or my sister to school, a friend of my dad's went to check on them this morning. He found my mom first, then dad, and he looked around for Sabrina but couldn't find her."

"Do the police know anything?" Dean asked from the driver's seat.

"Just, um…" Janie fought back a sob, and Sam handed her a water bottle from the front seat.

"Take your time. It's a long drive. We've got time."

"Sam, they had only been dead for six hours when they were found." Janie said.

"What? I thought you said they didn't go anywhere yesterday." Dean asked.

"They didn't." Janie said. "Which means that while I was off fighting those vampires I could have been saving them…"

"Janie, you can't do that." Sam reminded her gently. "This isn't your fault."

"Yeah I really believe that." Janie said sourly.

"Why don't you tell us your story?" Dean asked.

Janie nodded. "Okay." She shifted a bit in her seat, wondering where to start. She decided to explain the background, then get into the main part of what they really wanted to know. "My mom and dad, my real mom and dad, they were childhood sweethearts. They met when they were in the first grade and got married the second they graduated high school."

"Wow. Just like the movies, huh?" Sam asked.

"Yeah." Janie said. "Everything was great, at least until I was eleven."

"What happened when you were eleven?"

"They started fighting. A lot. I'd ask my mom what was going on, but she wouldn't tell me anything. Just told me that mommy and daddy loved me and that she'd make everything okay." Janie explained. "I never got to find out what she meant."

"Why not?"

Janie swallowed. "She killed herself two days before my twelfth birthday."

Sam and Dean did what Janie called their "creepy read each other's minds even when you don't know it thing", but she was too caught up in her own story to notice this time.

"After she died, my dad shut down for a few days. I took care of mom's funeral and all that."

"At twelve?" Sam asked.

Janie nodded. "Yeah. I thought that, maybe, maybe he'd snap out of it. And he did. Just not like I thought."

"What do you mean?" Dean asked, absolutely sure he didn't want to know.

"When we got back from mom's funeral, it finally hit me that mom was gone. I'd been trying to stay strong for Dad for days, and I just couldn't do it anymore. I started crying and I couldn't stop."

"That's normal. The shock was wearing off." Sam said.

"Yeah, well, that's the first time it happened."

"First time what happened?" Dean asked.

"He said I was being selfish. That mom was gone and I had no right to cry like that about her. He slapped me in the face a few times and told me that if I kept it up, he'd give me something to cry about."

"Son of a bitch." Dean said under his breath.

"Janie, I'm…"

"Don't say you're sorry, Sam, please. It was a long time ago, it wasn't your fault, and that's not why I told you. I told you so I could explain where your dad comes into the story." Janie said.

Sam nodded; he more than understood the need for not taking pity from anyone.

"So, anyway, things pretty much got worse from that point on. Four years later, I met your dad for the first time…"

Janie walked the route to school, wondering again if she should just walk into the river and end it all. She passed by the diner that her mother had owned for ten years before she died and looked inside. The place was still up and running, but it just didn't hold the same appeal of home that it had before. Janie stopped and looked in the window, and for a brief moment she saw her mother behind the counter, wiping it down, smiling and laughing with customers. Around the corner Janie, at maybe four or five years old, came around the corner and ran into and threw her arms around her mother's legs.

A truck pulled up to the diner and a man got out. Janie knew he was a stranger. The town was small and pretty much everyone knew Janie. They may not like her very much, but they knew her. She didn't know what drew her to the stranger, but she stared and watched him. He turned, saw her staring at him, and waved and smiled. Yep, definitely a stranger, Janie thought, waving back at him.

"JANIE!"

Janie jumped a foot in the air, then saw her father's battered, broken down car that everyone in town knew.

"Get your ass to school! Now! Before I whip you so hard you never stop feeling it!"

Janie swallowed and started shaking, her default reaction to her father's presence. "S…sorry, daddy."

"Go. Now."

"Yes, sir." Janie said, running quickly to get to school.

It was eight hours of hell for Janie, just like it was every other day. The taunts stayed the same. Look at her. Sad little Janie Foster. With her crazy father Leon. And the worst one of all to Janie, he killed her mother. Janie didn't want to believe it, but with the way her father's attitude had turned towards her, she feared it could be true. Janie opened the door and closed it right away. She started to head up to her room when she heard it.

"Janie."

Janie jumped again and turned around. What was her father doing home? He didn't usually get home until after dinner. Would Janie be in trouble for being late? It was 3:45 and she was supposed to be home "not one minute past 3:30 or it'll be hard for you to sit for a month." But all those thoughts were chased from her head when she realized that they weren't alone.

"Hi."

"Hi there." The man said.

Janie realized where she'd seen him before. "I saw you at the diner this morning."

"That's right." He said with a smile. "I'm John."

"Janie."

"Janie. Don't you have homework?" Leon asked.

Her father's stern tone brought Janie's attempt at normal conversation to a screeching halt. "No sir. I did it all during study period."

"Then get up to your room. You're still grounded."

Janie's heart dropped. She wasn't grounded, at least that he'd told her. He was trying to be nice for the company and not draw suspicion to them.

"Yes, sir."

"Actually, Mr. Foster, you mind if I ask Janie some questions? The same ones I asked you?" John asked.

Janie could tell he wanted to say no, but Leon nodded his consent.

"Okay, thanks. Janie, have you noticed anything weird going on lately?"

"Weird? Like what?" She asked.

"Like lights flickering? Cold spots anywhere? Do you feel like someone's maybe watching you?"

"No." Janie said. "Not that I remember."

"Okay. Well, listen, I'm staying at the Fox Motel, room 337. If you do think of anything, will you call me? You can call me anytime, day or night."

"I'll call." Janie said.

"Alright. I'll get out of your hair now. It was nice to meet you both."

"Nice to meet you too." Janie said.

Janie smiled as John went out the door. He was the first person in a long while to show her any kindness. Even though it was just a smile and a slight conversation, it was enough. When the door closed and the truck drove away, Janie turned and started to head to her room like her father had said. Before she got a few inches, she was knocked to the floor by the back of her father's open hand. Her father may have been a slow, clumsy drunk, but he moved fast when he wanted to hit her.

"You should be ashamed of yourself. Flirting with a man older than me."

"Daddy, please, I didn't." Janie said, hand to her cheek to try and rub away the pain.

"Get up to your room. Now. Do not come out until I tell you you can." Leon said.

"Can I please eat something fir…"

In a flash, Leon had pulled Janie up from the floor, held her around the waist, and was spanking her hard and fast. It didn't take long to get her to the point of crying and begging.

"Daddy, please, I'm sorry…"

"Get to your room. Now." Leon said again, still swatting. "I tell you one more time and you won't leave that room for a week. Understand?"

"Yes, sir! Daddy, please, please stop!"

Leon finally let her go, but Janie knew better than to think it was over.

"Go. I'll be up soon."

"Yes, sir." Janie somehow managed to get out.

Still crying, Janie ran to her room and threw herself on her bed. She knew what it meant when Leon said he'd be up soon. It only meant one of two things, one bad and one worse. She only hoped for a few minutes break before he made his choice. She pulled out from under pillow a photograph she kept there. It was of her, her mother, and her father on her fourth birthday. Her mother was trying to wipe her face with a wet rag, as it was covered in birthday cake. Her father was holding her, and helping her avoid her mother. They were all laughing, even though her mother was pretending to be annoyed.

"Mommy, I need you back. I can't do this anymore. Please help me."

I'm here, Janie. It's almost over. Mommy's here.

The voice was so weak that Janie didn't dare hope it was real. She didn't dare hope that the hand she felt rubbing her back was real either. All too soon, her bedroom door opened. Janie thought about trying to pretend to be asleep, but she doubted it would do any good. Leon stood there, folded belt in his hand.

"Get up."

"He…" Sam shook his head, unable to wrap his head around Leon's cruelty. "He beat you with a belt? Because he thought you were flirting with Dad?"

"Yeah." Janie said. "He did."

Dean, who was pulling into a diner, stopped the car and turned to Janie. "You don't have to tell us anymore if you don't want to. I'm sorry we kinda pressured you into it."

"No. No, it's okay. I want you guys to know. It's better than spending the whole ride wondering what happened." Janie said. "Or where Sabrina is."

"Okay. I'm going to get some food. I know you're gonna say you're not hungry, but I'll get you a burger. Save it for later if you want, but you need to eat."

Janie nodded. "Thanks, Dean."

Dean reached out towards Janie and took her hand. "We got you, kiddo. You believe me, don't you?"

Janie squeezed Dean's hand, her appreciation for them temporarily overriding her despair. "Yeah. I know, Dean. I know."