Disclaimer: I own nothing but the plot. All the characters are owned by the respective owners (even though they abuse them).
Please keep in mind English is not my first language!
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As Bella let herself in to her old home, John took his boys to the motel to meet Bobby.
He couldn't take his mind of the grocery store girl. He noticed the dissapointment in her eyes when she saw his wedding ring.
He thought about taking the ring off many times but he never had an urge like today. When he saw her looking at his left hand he wanted to tear the ring off, finger and all.
'What the hell is going on?' John thought.
He couldn't believe he had a hard on for a fully dressed woman he hasn't even touched. That hasn't happened to him since he was fourteen and even then the woman next door was wearing a bikini only.
He made himself forget about her while giving the boys to Bobby with a promise to talk about the case after John had a nap, he was barely standing.
That didn't stop the girl from coming in to John's dreams.
His hands running down a small back too a rounded buttocks. Her smell so familliar, the feeling of her in his arms so right, her moans igniting his blood. The way her ams wraped around his shoulders and slided in his hair. Her lips dancing with his, her body moving with his.
'Isabelle'
John woke abruply.
He had a name.
It was a dream John had many times before. They started years ago, when he joined the army. Back then he thought it was just a dream, a fantasy girl. Now he knew better, today he met the same woman that starred in his dreams for more than ten yers.
He never saw the face of the dream girl until today but he heard her voice, the same voice the grocery girl had. The dream girl smelled of strawberries and he distinctly remembered a whiff of strawberries earlier today.
Now if he could just find out her name.
»John?« Bobby noticed something wrong with him the moment he stepped in the hotel room next door where Bobby, Sam and Dean were while John was sleeping.
John shaked his head, he didn't want to talk about his dreams, or the girl in them.
»The case?« John answered with a question of his own.
He sneaked a sandwich from Bobby's plate and grabed a beer.
Bobby nodded and swalowed his sandwich.
»Charlie said it started after he renovated his house. He lived there for more than twenty years, nothin' strange goin' on until a month or so ago. Then it started slowly, like creaking floors, flickering lights simple things like that. He said he was pissed at the contractors thinkin' they didn't do their job right. But last week he saw a man, a transparent man tellin' him to get out.«
»Charlie's scared that it'll hurt him. But two nights ago he called me that it's urgent, his daughter's coming home soon and it was getting violent, the thing tried to stab him. He said it was different when it was just him. But he doesn't want to tell his daughter, he thinks she'll have him committed«
John nodded his head, he knew how that felt.
It was different when it was just you in danger, when your children are involved it's scarrier. And if you don't see it, you don't believe it. Charlies daughter could very well have him in a nuthouse.
»So, what? We go investigate?« John asked Bobby. »Or what?«
»No.« Bobby replied. »It only happens at night. So we wait until night fall.«
As she was cooking dinner for her father Bella had the man from the store flash repeatedly.
It was getting hard for her to concentrate, she even cut her finger once. So she did what she always did to take her mind off things, she put in her I- pod.
It was already getting dark out, Bella was stil dancing while cooking and Charlie was on his way home from work.
Bella has noticed the lights flicker a few times but she paid it no mind, thinking something went wrong with the electricity whilst renovating.
Chills ran down her body and she felt eyes on her.
Bella turned with a smile, she thought her dad came home and she wanted to greet him. Her smile froze when she saw no one there.
Bella frowned confusedly, she was sure someone was there. Pulling her headphones out she called.
»Dad!« When no answer came she walked to the stairs and yelled up.
»Dad? You home?« Nothing.
Bella shruged, it was just her imagination then.
She turned to go back to the kitchen and her blood froze and she screamed a second later. There, right in front of her was a man.
A man Bella never saw before, a man who looked evil and most of it all dead.
There was a dead man standing there, she couldn't stop screaming. The pale, see through man was standing there in a brown business suit all bloody with what looked like a butcher knife.
He swung the knife toward Bella, but luckily her survival instincts kicked in and she moved out of the way.
Charlie ran in at the same moment the apparition attacked the second time.
Her dad jumped in front of Bella and got the full blow of the ghost knife in his stomach.
»Run, Bells.« He gasped and fell on the floor.
»Dad!« Bella stood in shock where her father lay dead.
John and Bobby saw Charlie run in the house, they called his name but Charlie didn't hear them.
They followed him.
John eneterd the house at the same time as Charlie went down telling his daughter to run.
Research pointed out that Michael Robinson, the man they believed haunted the Swan home was creamated. So there must be something in the house that holds him here.
Michael Robinson lost everything in the Great Depression, he came home one night slaughtered his wife and child, then killed himself.
Knowing that there were no remains to burn, John made a homemade torch to burn down the house.
Bella coudn't believe her father was lying on the floor dead. He just jumped infront of her.
»DAD!« she scremed yet again as she felt an arm wrap around her waist at the same time as a bottle with a burning cloth fall down by her dad's corpse.
The burning was instant and intense. Bella could feel the heat of the fire on her face when she was being pulled outside.
»No, dad!« Bella cried when John had her standing otside.
Bella desperately wanted to go back inside and help her father. Reason told her that her dad was dead and there was no way she could help him. But her heart didn't want to believe it.
»Shhhh.« A soothing voice said. »You can't help him now. He died so you can live, you need to respect his sacrifice.«
She turned her head in to a muscular chest and strong arms wraped around her. She embraced the man and cryed in to his shirt soaking it.
John stood there holding Bella avoiding Bobby's bewildered gaze. He had never comforted anyone like this. There were rare moments of gentleness shared with his boys but never to other people, people outside the family.
Even the women he slept with haven't seen this side of him. What was it about this one woman that brought such feelings out in him.
She was human, he was sure of it. So what was it then?
Bella was still holding on to John for dear life when the fire departmant and the police came.
»Bella.« Charlie's deputy Mark approached the small group. »We need to ask some questions.«
»Can't you see, she's not capable of answering your questions?« John tried to protect Bella plus they haven't thought up a story for the police yet. They can't come out and say the ghost did it.
»Alright then, lets start with you.« Mark smirked.
Bella's hand tightened in John's shirt, then she let go and turned toward Mark, even she didn't know who the men were. But she knew they saved her, so she needs to help them now.
John stood behind her, he didn't want to move and he wanted to hear what she'll say to the cops.
»Ask away Mark.« Bella said her gaze glued to the burning house, she wondered what was in the burning bottle. Maybe the wood burned so badly or was it something else, either way the fire men had little luck to extinguish the house.
» We could start with the obvious.« Mark said and pointed to the house. »How did this start?«
»Well.« Bella was thinking fast.
»I was cooking, you know for dad. Because I haven't seen him in so long and he usualy just eats at the Diner or has some junk food.« Bella was rambling on. »And I was listening to my I-pod.« She pointed to the headphones.
»So I don't know how he got in.« She took a deep breath. »When I turned he just stood there. A man with a torch of somekind.« Bella shook her head. »I've never seen him before."
»I screamed.« Bella's voice shook. »Then dad flew in and stood in front of me.«
Tears started to pour down Bella's face again.
John was amazed how well she was lying, he noticed some small signs of lying but he doubted the cops did.
»Dad, he collapsed.« Bella uttered. »I didn't know why then but I saw a bloody knife in the mans hand when dad fell.«
»He.« Bella snifled and let out a sob. »He told me to run.«
Just then the roof collapsed and with it so did Bella's legs, John caught her in the nick of time.
»Oh god.« Bella gasped. »Dad.«
Mark took pity on the girl he knew since she was seventeen. He knew Bella had nothing with this, she wasn't capable of murder, especialy her own father.
»Bella.« He said with the most gentle voice he could manage. »Can you describe the man who did this?«
Bella had John's arm that was around her waist in a death grip.
»I don't know.« She made like she was thinking it through, but in reality she already knew what she'll say.
»He was dressed in black. Black pants, I think they were jeans but I'm not sure. Um, a black leather jacket. He had long blond hair and blue eyes, I think.« She was well aware that she's describing James but that was a sure way they won't put someone inocent to jail. And she knew Vicky wouldn't mind.
Mark nodded and put away his notepad.
»I'm sorry for your loss.« Then he looked at John and Bobby. »And who are you?«
»They are with me.« Bella quickly said. »He was my date to the weding.«
She jerked her thumb toward John, she didn't know his name so she hoped Mark won't ask.
Thankfully Mark accepted that answer, he nodded and left. All three let out a sigh of reliefe.
»What will I do now?« Bella asked more herself than anyone else. »I have nothing left.«
And it was mostly true. Sure she had Vicky, but Vicky was a nomad and that kind of life held no appeal to Bella. And yes she still had Renee, but Bella and Renee haven't spoke since Phill got a divorce and Renee wanted Bella to come live with her. Bella was twenty then, she had her own life and didn't want to take care of her mother anymore. Renee didn't take it well.
»You'll come with me.« John said before he even thought it through.
'What the hell did I just say?' And he honestly felt a pain in his chest when he imagined leaving Bella here alone.
Bella's head whiped to him, so did Bobby's.
»I am?« Bella asked.
Thank you for reading!