A/N: This chapter delves a little more into Janie's abuse at the hands of her father. It is darker than the first two chapters, and Janie makes a disturbing revelation to both John in the flashback and Sam and Dean at the end. If this topic disturbs/offends you, do not read ahead.

The next chapter starts the part of the story where Sam, Dean, and Janie investigate the murder of her adoptive parents.

Chapter Three

They had been in the car for exactly two hours, with another three to go by Janie's estimation. With the way Dean was driving, Janie thought with slight amusement, that could go down to two. She had eaten the burger Dean had gotten for her, surprised at how hungry she actually was, but it had immediately come back up when AJ called back to say that they were combing the town for Sabrina with no luck. Sam had held her hair back for her, then handed her a water bottle when she had finally calmed down.

"You good?" he asked quietly.

Janie nodded. "As good as I can be."

"You ready to get back on the road?" Dean asked.

"Yeah."

"Why don't I get in the back with you?" Sam asked.

"Would you?" Janie asked, rubbing a hand through her hair. "Please?"

"Sure."

They rode in virtual silence another few minutes, Sam insisting on Janie drinking the rest of the water bottle before she got back to her story. Janie ended up leaning against Sam's side as Dean drove, and Sam was once again reminded of how young she was. Dean finally broke the silence.

"Who's AJ?"

"What?" Janie asked.

"AJ. The guy that keeps calling. Who is he?"

"Oh. He was the first friend I really made when I moved in with Jack and Marissa." Janie said. "I think he had a little bit of a crush on me."

"Had? Or has?" Sam asked.

"I think it went away when I left home."

"You want to keep going?" Sam asked. "What happened next?"

Janie sighed. "I found your dad the next day…"

Janie sat in the café, in the far corner away from the windows. She hadn't told her father that school was out, and prayed that no one else had either. When she wasn't in school, Janie was expected to stay home and clean the house from top to bottom. She was only allowed two half-hour breaks on those days to eat and rest. Janie squirmed in the seat, hoping that no one would notice. Or that someone would. Even eighteen hours later, the pain was still there. When Leon punished her, he did a thorough job each time. Mercy was a foreign concept to him.

"Hi, there."

Janie jumped and looked up to see John looking down at her. "Hi."

"Can I join you?"

"Sure." Janie said. "I actually came to talk to you."

"You did?"

"Yeah. Are you busy?" Janie asked.

"I was just about to have some lunch. You want to join me?"

Janie nodded. "Yes, please."

As John sat, he noticed that Janie wasn't really looking him in the eye. Every time he got close to her, she would pull away. He also noticed her squirming. He'd thought about her the night before. She was far too quiet, too shy, and too timid for his liking. He opened a menu, and Janie made a casual observation.

"I can tell you're not from this town."

John chuckled. "How's that?"

"'Cause you actually like me."

The matter of fact way she said it made the smile drop off John's face immediately. "What does that mean, Janie?"

Janie realized that she'd gotten too comfortable with this stranger and shook her head. "Nothing. Never mind."

Not wanting to push her away, John decided to let it go. "You said you wanted to talk to me?"

"Yeah. I, um, I didn't exactly tell you the truth yesterday."

"About what?" John asked, even though he already knew.

"You asked if I'd seen anything weird."

"Have you?" John asked.

Janie took a deep breath. "Yes. But I'm afraid to tell you."

"Why?"

"You won't believe me." Janie said.

"Try me."

Tears pooled in Janie's eyes. "I think it's my mom."

"Whoa, whoa. Here." John pulled a handkerchief out of his pocket and handed it to her. "Why do you think it's your mom?"

"I think she's trying to protect me."

"Protect you from what, sweetheart?" John asked. When Janie nodded her head furiously, John realized what she was trying not to tell him. He lowered his voice to avoid embarrassing her. "Is your father hurting you?"

"No." Janie said much too quickly to be believed. "No, we just…we fight sometimes."

"Janie, if your father is hurting you, I can help you get out of here. Get away from him and someplace safe."

"He's not hurting me!" Janie said again, a little too loudly.

"Okay, okay, fine." John said. "Then why do you think it's your mother?"

"I've been…hearing her. When I'm in my room crying after my dad and I fight. I'll feel her sometimes, too. Rubbing my back to make me feel better, putting her arm around me."

"A lot of us feel like we hear and see people we love that have died." John said.

"My mom died over three years ago. And I haven't just been feeling her."

"You've seen her?"

"Yes. In my room last night. I was crying and I saw her." Janie said. "She was kneeling next to my bed, wiping my face and telling me I was going to be okay."

John's heart, hardened by years of hunting ghosts like this, cracked and almost shattered at the way this poor child was so obviously hurting and in distress. He had assumed that the ghost was malevolent, but maybe it was there to comfort and soothe Janie.

"She was a ghost, wasn't she?"

John nodded. "Yeah, sweetie, she was."

"I didn't think ghosts were real."

"They are." John said. "In fact, that's what I do. I hunt ghosts."

Janie looked up at him, alarmed, but before she could say anything, the front door to the diner opened. Her furious father was storming towards her at the table. He grabbed Janie's arm and whispered softly under his breath.

"Get your ass in the car. Now."

"There's no need for that, Mr. Foster. Janie and I were just having a little chat…"

"You stay the hell away from my daughter and out of this!" Leon said to John just as viciously. "Janie lied to me about school today, she knows the punishment for that."

"John, please, please don't make this worse…"

"I said, GET YOUR ASS IN MY CAR RIGHT NOW!" Leon turned and swatted Janie once, but the embarrassment of being in a public place made the swat sting a hundred times worse.

John, as hard as it was, respected her request and left it alone. He heard Janie begging her father to just let her walk, but Leon dragged her to the car and threw her roughly into the passenger's seat. John fought the urge to follow them, run the car off the road, rescue Janie and shoot the bastard in the head. He made up his mind that no matter what happened, he would be leaving that town with her.

Sam and Dean were speechless, Sam especially. Janie had never talked much about her family, and now it was apparent to both of them the reason why. Dean kept thinking to himself that he was glad he hunted monsters, because some people were too crazy for him to deal with. Sam kept wondering how she was still halfway sane.

"Please tell me Dad eventually killed him."

"Killed who?" Janie asked.

"That shmuck of a sperm donor for you."

For the first time, Janie laughed. "He found a better idea."

"What do you mean?"

"My story's almost done. Just bear with me."

John took his coffee cup and threw it across the room. It had been three hours, and he'd yet to come up with a plan to help Janie or get the ghost. A furious knock at his door shook him out of his thoughts. He answered it with a hand on his gun, only to find a crying, bloody Janie there waiting for him.

"Help me."

"Come on." John helped her inside and sat her on the bed. "What happened to you?"

But Janie was crying too hard to be coherent, so John tended to her wounds and helped her calm down first. Her nose wasn't broken, but someone (bastard sperm donor, John thought) had punched her hard enough it was swollen. There was a handprint on her cheek, and she was getting a black eye. She was still squirming on the bed like earlier at the diner, but it was much worse this time. She exhausted herself crying, and John finally went out and got her a large glass of ice water. She drank it greedily, and another disturbing thought came to John.

"Janie, have you had anything to eat or drink today?"

Janie shook her head and looked away, as if she was ashamed to admit it.

John handed her what was left of the sandwich he'd gotten at the deli across the street. "You like turkey?"

"Yes." Janie said, looking down at the floor, as if she was ashamed.

"Eat that. All of it. After you eat, take these." John pulled two pain pills out of a bottle in his bag. "Don't take them before you eat or it'll make you sick. Okay?"

"Why are you helping me? You don't even know me." Janie asked as she took the sandwich from him.

"Because you're in pain. Janie, no one deserves this. No one. It isn't your fault, and I will keep you safe. Do you trust me?"

Janie didn't know why, but she did trust him. "I trust you."

"Okay. Eat. I'm going to the deli across the street to get you something to drink. What do you like?"

Janie feared making a request, after years of feeling lucky to even be fed enough. But this would be the final test as to whether John was really there to help her, or if he had any sort of hidden agenda. "Iced tea. Lots of ice."

"You got it." He said with a warm but sad smile. "I'm locking the door behind me, and I'm leaving this with you." John put his gun on the floor beside her. "I'll only be a few minutes, but if anyone other than me comes to that door, you don't open it. If they get in, you don't hesitate to shoot."

"I won't." Janie said.

"I'll be back."

When she finally had a full stomach, Janie explained, "He dragged me from the diner and back to the house."

"Your father?"

"Yeah. He dragged me down the basement. I thought he was going to whip me again."

"Again? Is that why you were squirming so bad at the diner?"

Janie nodded. "Yeah. But he didn't. He just told me he was gonna leave me down there until tomorrow."

"Lock you in the basement? Has he done that before?"

"A couple times. He'll leave me down there for a day or two to 'think' about things." Janie said.

"So what happened? Obviously he didn't leave you alone for long."

"He got a phone call. A couple days ago, the nurse at school made him take me to the ER. I'd passed out twice. They ran blood tests and everything, and…" Janie swallowed, and tears threatened to fall again.

"What is it, Janie?"

"I can't say it." Janie said.

"Janie, come on. I promise, whatever it is, I won't abandon you."

Janie looked up, and the pure shame in her face made John wish he could grab her up and hold her until she recognized that she deserved someone to love and care for her. But what she said would have knocked John off his feet if he'd been standing.

"I'm pregnant."

"Oh, Janie." John said. "Honey, it's okay."

"No, it isn't."

"Honey, all of us make mistakes. Believe me, I've made a ton of them…" When she looked away, a frightening puzzle piece clicked into place. "Janie…"

"He doesn't just hit me." Janie whispered.

Silence fell over the car again. Dean was gripping the steering wheel so hard his knuckles were white. Sam found himself holding Janie tight, as if he could take the pain and all the bad stuff away from her.

"You're really telling me Dad didn't kill that son of a bitch?" Dean asked from the front seat.

"Patience, Dean."

"Janie, look at me." John said, firmly but not unkindly.

Janie looked up at him, wondering why he hadn't thrown her out yet.

"Janie, this is not on you. It's on your father and your father alone. But he won't be a problem after tonight."

"What does that mean?" Janie asked.

"I need you to trust me. Do you?" John asked. Janie nodded, and John said, "Okay. I'm gonna take some blood from you."

"Blood?" Janie asked.

"Blood. Everything will make sense later on. Just trust me."

"What did he need the blood for?" Sam asked.

Janie just smiled, and continued her story.

John took as much blood from Janie as was safe. He was preparing to leave, and had decided to make sure Janie understood what he had to do before he left.

"Janie? How did you get away from your dad?"

"I, um, grabbed a piece of wood that was on the floor and hit him with it as hard as I could. He kept saying he should kill me, and I was afraid he really would." Janie said.

"Okay. You did good. Very good." John assured her. "Listen, I'm going to your house now. When I'm done there, I'm coming to get you and we're leaving. Is there anything you want me to get from your house?"

"Just a photo of my mom. I don't care which one." Janie said.

"Nothing else? No clothes, no books?"

"I don't care about anything else." Janie said. "Just that photo."

"You got it." John said. "Honey, you're exhausted. Lay down and get some sleep. I'll be back."

"John? Are you gonna send my mom away?"

"Yes. I know you don't want me to, but she can't stay around, sweetie."

"Please don't. She's all I've got left." Janie begged.

John sighed. "I swear to you, I will keep you safe. I know it's probably hard for you to trust anyone, but just trust me. I'll make it okay for you."

A tear fell down Janie's cheek. "That's what mommy said. That she'd make it okay."

John smiled and wiped the tear away before it fell all the way down. "Maybe that's why I'm here." Finally, Janie smiled. "Get some sleep, sweetheart."

"Thirty miles to go." Dean announced from the front seat.

"Perfect." Janie said.

Janie was surprised, but she fell straight to sleep. She woke up several hours later, as John opened the hotel room door. She had slept straight through the night, but felt just as tired as the night before.

"Is it done?" she asked.

"Almost." John said. He placed his bag on the table and sat next to her. "Your father's been arrested."

"What? You went to the police?" Janie exclaimed. "I didn't want anyone to know."

"Sweetie, calm down." John said. "I didn't go to the police. I made your dad go to the police."

"What?"

"Here." John said. "Turn the TV on."

"Police are baffled this morning as a local man, Leon Foster, came into the department late last night and confessed to the murder of his fifteen-year-old daughter Janie. Further complicating the case is the absence of a body of the teenager, yet the presence of her blood all over the basement of the house. Further information on our 6:00 broadcast."

Janie flicked the TV off. "He confessed to killing me?"

"He did." John said. "I thought about doing it myself, but I figured spending the rest of his life in prison would give him a dose of his own medicine."

"So it's over?"

"It's over." John assured her.

"Where am I gonna go?"

"I called a couple that I've known for a long time. They know the truth about the supernatural, and they've been looking to adopt an older kid for a long time. They're really excited to meet you." John said.

"Can I go with you instead?"

John hesitated, but answered honestly. "If it were safe for you, I'd take you with me in a heartbeat. But I'm a pretty lousy dad, sweetie."

"You can't be as bad as mine."

"True." John conceded. "But hunting's not a life for someone who wasn't born or pushed into it. I've already pushed my youngest away from me, and my oldest is barely getting by. I don't want to go for a third strike."

"Do you…do you trust them?" Janie asked.

"Yes, I do." John said. "Kiddo, they wouldn't hurt you. All they want is to help you."

"If I'm dead, how can they adopt me?"

"You let me and Jack worry about that." John said.

"Jack?"

"Jack and Marissa. They'll be your foster parents." John said.

"I haven't been part of a family for a long time."

"Just because she's gone, doesn't mean that your mother's still not in your family." John explained. "Speaking of…" John ran a hand over his face, still surprised he was going to do this. "Janie, the reason your mother appeared all those times was because you called her."

Janie nodded. "I figured."

"So I want you to call her again. So you can say goodbye."

"You didn't get rid of her?" Janie asked.

"Not yet. Normally I wouldn't have hesitated. But you need this. So just call her. Talk to her, then we'll help her move on. Okay?"

Janie nodded. "Mommy? I need you."

A woman appeared in the room. It was the first time John had seen her close up. She was a beautiful woman, with long, curly, flowing jet black hair. She wore a white t-shirt and jeans with a pink long sleeve sweater on the top of it. John guessed it was the outfit she'd died in. She ignored John and stared at Janie, a warm smile on her face.

"Mommy? You have to go now, don't you?"

"Yes, I do." Her mother walked in front of Janie and kneeled down, placing a hand on her cheek. "You're safe now, baby. Go with John."

Janie was crying again, and grabbed her mom's arm with one hand and placed the other on her stomach. "I'm sorry."

"Shh. You have nothing to be sorry for. I told you mommy would make it okay, didn't I?"

"Yeah. You did." Janie said. "I love you, mommy."

"I love you too. Goodbye, sweetheart. Go have peace now. You deserve it." She turned to John. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." John said. "Do you need me to help you move on?"

"No. I'll go now. You can handle it from here."

With that, Janie's mother finally left. John was afraid she'd break down again, but she didn't. She took the photo in her hands and walked towards the door.

"I'm hungry. Can we go eat now?"

"You bet we can. Let's go."

"And from there, he took me to my adoptive parents." Janie said. "After a while, I started calling Jack and Marissa mom and dad. I got my GED. They tried to talk me into going to college, but I had a hard time with a normal life. So I ran, eventually met Bobby Singer, and when he realized I wasn't going to give up hunting, he trained me."

"What did your parents think about that?"

"They weren't thrilled about it, but they told me I'd always have a place to come home to. And I did. They never once turned me away." Janie said.

"We're here, kiddo." Dean said. He turned around and said. "You ready?"

Janie sighed. "No. But I don't really have a choice. I need to go see if they've found Sabrina."

"I've been meaning to ask about that. What's gonna happen with Sabrina?" Sam asked.

"I don't know."

"You know, if you wanted to take her, me and Sam would help you find a place." Dean said. "It'd be a lot better than foster care."

"No. I'm not taking care of Sabrina." Janie said.

"Why not? She's your little sister. Would you rather her end up with a stranger?" Dean asked.

"Yeah, actually, I would." Janie said, getting slightly defensive. "I'm not taking care of her, Dean. Not because I don't care about her, but because I do. I'll stay until she's found a home, but I won't take her permanently."

"Why?" Dean asked, looking to Sam. He couldn't fathom why she would rather leave Sabrina than keep them together.

"Because she's not just my little sister, Dean." Janie said. "She's also my daughter."