Title: Calls Me Home
Summary: A journey through fifteen seasons of Supernatural through the eyes of two Winchesters and a Singer.
Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Ruby Singer, Bobby Singer, John Winchester, and a whole ton of others.
Disclaimer: Everything you see here belongs to Eric Kripke and Co. The title belongs to the song "Calls Me Home" by Shannon LaBrie.
Author's Note:
Chapter Forty Eight
It had been almost three months since Sam had killed Casey and the priest. The Winchesters and the Singers had gone back to Bobby's home in South Dakota. Dean took his time repairing Baby's windshield and giving her a tune up. The Winchesters and Ruby tried to stay low key once they returned to hunting. Unfortunately, it was only recently that tensions began to rise between the brothers again.
Ruby sighed pinching the bridge of her nose in frustration. "Sam, I want to save Dean as much as you do, but I'm not going to risk losing both of you to do that."
"I'm glad the Colt is fixed, but we're not using it on the Crossroads Demon. End of story. Now tell us again about the case." Dean spoke firmly then changed the subject.
"Fine. Three brothers were attacked at a construction site in Maple Springs, New York. Only one survived. Paper reported a psychotic killer rips apart victims with a brute-like ferocity." Sam sighed reading aloud to them.
"Any mention of his four inch claws or razor sharp teeth? Animal eyes?" The older Winchester asked.
"No, but the lunar cycle is just about right. If it is a werewolf, the moon is full this Friday and then it isn't full again for another month." He pointed out.
"Two days. No sweat." Dean continued driving.
Ruby shook her head at them. "I looked into the town and there haven't been any other attacks like that in Maple Springs, New York in the past few months or years. If it is a werewolf, they could be new to town."
The three hunters entered the hospital a short time later wearing suits. They went to the nurses station flashing their badges. It didn't take them long to get the patient's room number. They walked into the room only to find a chubby man covered in bandages and scrapes. He gave them a curious look only to relax when he saw their badges.
"We're from the County Sheriff's office. Detective Page, Detective Plant, and..." Dean started only to get cut off by Ruby.
The blonde gave the injured man a sympathetic smile. "Dr. Isley. I'm a grief counselor. We're so sorry for your loss."
"Thank you. I'm Kyle. I was expecting you guys. One of you is the sketch artist, right?" Kyle looked at them expectantly.
"Right. Of course. The sketch artist is right here." Dean clasped Sam's shoulder with his hand.
Ruby nodded her head at him. "Can you tell us a bit about what happened?"
"I already told the cops, but I suppose my head is a bit clearer now. My brothers and I have a construction company. We build houses. We were at our current construction site the other night having our usual disagreement over building materials. We heard a growl and one of my brothers went to get the truck. He was attacked and I hid behind a stack of cinderblocks watching helplessly as my other brother was attacked too. Then I was attacked." He recalled with a frown.
"Did you see who attacked you guys? Did he have sharp teeth or nails? Or a weapon? Animal eyes?" Dean asked as he took notes.
"What? No! It wasn't an animal. We were attacked by a man. He was just a man. I only survived because he suddenly stopped attacking me. He had this blank look in his eyes then he ran off." Kyle explained.
"Okay and did he have any noticeable features?" Sam asked as he drew a sketch.
"He had dark hair. Around six foot tall, I think. Maybe blue eyes. It was dark that night. Oh! He had a tattoo on his forearm. It was that thing that chases Roadrunner around in the cartoons." He described to them.
"Wile E. Coyote!" Dean exclaimed with a smile.
"Yes that's the one!"
A man wearing a white lab coat walked into the room. "Kyle?"
"Dr. Garrison." He nodded at the man.
The doctor smiled softly at him. "How are you holding up?"
"Alright considering." Kyle admitted.
"You're Kyle's doctor?" Dean asked him.
Dr. Garrison nodded his head giving Dean a curious look. "Yes."
"Mind if I ask you a few questions?" The older Winchester sibling showed him his badge.
He relaxed a little. "Not at all. Right this way."
Ruby smiled softly at the injured man. "I think we have everything that we need. Thank you. We're sorry again for your loss."
"You're not going to counsel me?" Kyle gave her a confused look.
"Uh, she's more of a support for the police." Sam piped up.
She gave him a sympathetic smile again. "Everyone grieves differently. I think your brothers would be proud of how remarkably strong you are being right now. It wouldn't hurt looking into grief counseling once you're out of here though."
"Alright. Thank you." He smiled softly at her.
"So what did the Doc have to say about Kyle's brothers?" Sam asked a short while later as the three hunters walked through town.
"Not much. They were D.O.A. at the scene. He did give me the low down on the coroner's report though." Dean explained.
"Let me guess, their hearts were missing."
"Nope, but chunks of their kidneys, lungs, and intestines were missing." He continued.
Ruby wrinkled her nose at that. "Well that's gross and clearly not a werewolf then."
"So what the hell are we dealing with then?' Dean asked with a frustrated sigh.
"Demon? Attacker could have been possessed." Sam suggested.
"What demon would stop halfway through an attack?" He looked at his brother skeptically.
"Well, uh, it could've... yeah I got nothing." The younger Winchester shrugged.
The blonde huntress shook her head. "We'll figure it out. We always do."
It wasn't long before the three of them found themselves back at the hospital. This time the victim was a drugged young woman who was hysterical after the death of her boyfriend.
The woman appeared distressed as the doctor and nurses tried to calm her down. "No! I.. I need to make arrangements."
Dr. Garrison gave her a sympathetic look. "You'll have plenty of time to make those. The police are still conducting their investigation. For now, you need to relax and let your body heal."
"What happened?" Dean asked softly.
He gestured toward the woman. "Julie and her boyfriend were the victims of a horrible attack after being drugged. He and the attacker didn't make it."
Julie swallowed hard and looked at them. "We were hiking in the woods. He wouldn't stop eating. We got lost. I told him we should go back, but then we found this house. There was a pie on the window sill. A little old lady lived there. She seemed so sweet, but I couldn't shake the feeling that we shouldn't be there."
"It's okay. Take your time." Sam assured her.
She nodded her head taking a breath. "We went inside. She offered us food. I only ate a little bit. He.. He was woozy and the old lady went psycho! She grabbed a knife and just kept stabbing her. I wasn't as woozy. I tried to stop her and smacked her head hard against the stove. She stopped moving and I ran to the phone."
Ruby squeezed her hand gently. "We're sorry that you had to go through that ordeal."
Julie softened a little. "Yeah me too. There was also that little girl. She was standing outside looking in through the window. Long dark hair, pale skin, red ribbon in her hair."
Dr. Garrison looked at them. "The other officers did a canvas and didn't find a little girl. No signs of a kid being in that house either. The lab is running tests now. Hopefully the toxicology report tells us exactly what drug was in Julie's system."
"I think we have all we need for now then. Thank you." Sam smiled sympathetically at them.
The three hunters left the hospital and made their way over to the scene of the crime. The readings on Dean's EMF meter were off the charts at the house especially around the window. There was something oddly familiar about the latest attack, but Ruby couldn't figure out what.
"Hansel and Gretel." Sam blurted out as if reading her mind.
Her blue eyes widened at him. "That's it! I knew it was familiar."
"Something you want to share with the class?" Dean looked at them.
"Hansel and Gretel. It's a fairy tale. Brother and sister get lost in the woods. They find a house made of sweets. Old lady invites them in only to be a witch instead. They kill her by shoving her into the oven. That's the sanitized version anyway. A lot of these fairy tales have darker origins." The younger Winchester explained.
Ruby nodded her head in agreement. "The first case with the three brothers could be the Three Little Pigs. They were all chubby. They had all the same building materials as in the story. The attacks were even wolf like."
"So a dead kid's spirit is re enacting fairytales using innocent people." The older Winchester pieced it together.
"Yeah possibly. I think it's time to do some research." Sam agreed.
After leaving the house in the woods, they went back into town and did some research. It turned out to not be as easy as they thought since they found that there was no death matching the spirit that Julie had seen in the town's history. There weren't even any other deadly attacks that fit the fairy tale theme either besides the two that had already occurred.
"All I know is that I'm not kissing any frog." Dean remarked a short time later as they spotted a frog while they walked through town.
Ruby shook her head at him playfully then grew serious again. "Okay so we know she wasn't reported dead. What if she was never found?"
"There were no reports of any missing children matching her description either." Sam pointed out as they walked by a house with a pumpkin on the front step.
"Well maybe we're going about this all wrong. What if she isn't dead? Maybe she is just near death." The older Winchester suggested.
The sound of someone crying for help suddenly caught their attention. Sam and Dean rushed into the house to investigate. Something else caught Ruby's attention though. While the boys found a teenage girl chained up inside, Ruby wandered into the house next door. They freed the teenage girl then Dean spotted the spirit of the young girl. He followed her outside only for her to hand him an apple. Before he could question it, she vanished.
Nothing appeared unusual as Ruby walked into the house next door. Then she saw it. A spinning wheel sat in the corner. She couldn't explain why she was drawn to it. Common sense told her to stay away, but her body kept walking toward it. She sat down and started to use the spinning wheel. It was only moments later that she pricked her finger. She gasped looking at her injured fingertip. Drowsiness suddenly began to overcome her and she passed out falling to the ground.
"So teenage girl locked up by her evil stepmother. That's Cinderella." Sam pointed out as they left the girl's house.
"Yeah. The spirit didn't say anything. Just gave me this apple." He held up the red apple.
"Snow White. Maybe the kid we're looking for is in a coma or something. Hey, where's Ruby?" The younger Winchester realized then glanced around.
"I don't know. She was with us when we were heading inside. Huh. That door next door wasn't open before." Dean recalled walking quickly over to the house next door.
"Oh my god! Ruby!" Sam called out rushing over to her unconscious body.
"She's sleeping." He sighed in relief when he felt her strong steady pulse.
"Sleeping beauty." The younger Winchester realized.
"Yeah she sure is."
"No, It's Sleeping Beauty. The princess pricks her finger on the poisoned spindle and is cursed to stay asleep until she is awoken by true love's kiss." Sam explained.
"Oh. What if I'm not her true love?" Dean hesitated.
"Then we have to hope that ending what this little girl is doing will negate this. Just man up and kiss her, Dean. There's no way you're not her true love." Sam assured him.
Dean let out a shaky breath then leaned in kissing Ruby softly. He pulled back and they waited with bated breath. Ruby's eyes fluttered open a few moments later and she gasped softly. A pang of guilt struck him at the realization that he was her true love. She was confused for a few moments and then noticed the spindle.
Ruby sat up slowly and groaned. "Sleeping Beauty huh? I tried to stop, but there was no controlling it."
"We're just glad you're okay, Ruby." Sam assured her.
"Why don't we get you checked out just to be sure?" Dean scooped her up into his arms carrying her out of the home.
Ruby sighed resting her head against his shoulder. "Okay."
While Ruby got checked over, Sam did some more research. He grew frustrated at not being able to find anything so he decided to walk over to the nearest nursing station and asked the nurse himself.
"Well no, we don't, but there is Callie. She's Doctor Garrison's daughter. Sweet young thing. It's such a shame what happened to her. I think she is one of our longest patient stays we've had." The nurse admitted to him.
It didn't take Sam long after that to find Callie's room. Sure enough, the doctor was sitting in the room reading a Grimm's fairytale book to his comatose daughter who was now in her teenage years. The doctor saw Sam and abruptly stopped reading.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to interrupt." Sam apologized.
The doctor nodded his head. "It's alright. I was just reading to my daughter."
"Oh I'm.. sorry. Is she part of all the weird cases going on lately?" He asked.
He set the book down. "No, not at all. Callie got sick when she was young. My wife, her stepmother, told me and we brought her in. Callie lapsed into a coma and she's been here ever since. Have you made any progress with your case?"
"Uh, yeah, we have. Actually, we believe that they might all be connected. If you don't mind me asking, what made Callie sick?"
Dr. Garrison gave him a confused look. "It was an accidental poisoning. She ingested some household cleaner."
"Is there any chance that your wife may have made her ingest that?" He asked raising his eyebrows.
The doctor scoffed pushing him out of the room. "That is absurd. Stay away from my daughter. Go before I call security."
Sam didn't have to be told twice. He headed back downstairs only to run into Dean and Ruby. They assured him that Ruby was alright. Before he could fill them in on Callie, an elderly woman was rushed into the hospital on a stretcher. Sam quickly filled his brother and Ruby in on Callie. It was a short while later when the elderly woman was declared dead.
"Her next of kin is a granddaughter." The nurse filled them in.
"Do you have an address on file? We'll break the news and make sure she's safe." Dean asked.
"Yes, officer. Here it is." She jotted down the address and handed it to her.
He thanked her and the three hunters walked away. It was Sam who grasped Dean's arm getting his attention.
"Wait, the story he was reading to her. It was Little Red Riding Hood." He realized.
"Alright, you guys go see if you can stop her. I have to go hunt the big bad wolf. Huh, there's a sentence I never thought I'd say." Dean remarked and kissed Ruby's head before rushing off.
She smiled and followed Sam up to Callie's room. Dr. Garrison wasn't pleased to see them. He tried to shut the door in their faces, but Sam pushed his way in. Ruby followed listening to Sam try to convince the doctor.
She sighed and shook her head. "Just humor us for a moment, Doctor. What story did you read before Little Red?"
Dr. Garrison huffed at them. "I read Sleeping Beauty. Why?"
"We were walking through town when we heard a teenage girl screaming for help. So we ran in and found her chained up. We freed her and she said her stepmother did it." Sam explained.
Ruby looked at the doctor. "While they were helping her, I was drawn into the house next door. I couldn't stop it. There was this spindle sitting there and all I wanted was to touch it. Well I did and it pricked my finger. I fell asleep and stayed asleep until I was woken by a kiss."
He looked at them in disbelief. "No. That just has to be a coincidence. I want you out of here now."
"Just listen to us. Please. What do all of the victims have in common besides the fairytales? You. They come to this hospital where you and your colleagues treat them. Callie just wants you to listen to her." Sam pleaded with him.
"Hi Daddy." The little girl appeared before them while her older body lay in the hospital bed.
Dr. Garrison looked at her in shock. "Callie? Is that really you?"
"Yes. I'm sorry about what happened. I never meant to hurt anyone. I was just trying to get your attention." She admitted.
He sighed softly at her. "It's okay. I'm sorry I wasn't listening before, but I'm listening now."
"Okay. It wasn't an accident. She made me drink the bleach then acted like she didn't know what happened." Callie revealed to her father.
Dr. Garrison looked shocked at that. "Oh god. I am so sorry."
"It's okay, Daddy, but it's time. I love you. You have to let me go."
He frowned at that. "I love you too, Callie."
"Goodbye." She smiled softly then disappeared.
Doctor Garrison walked over to his daughter pressing a kiss to her head. As he turned off the machines keeping her alive, Dean was across town fighting with the wolf. He got the upper hand and was about to stab him with a knitting needle when the wolf turned back into a very confused man who had no idea what was going on.
"This town's going to need a whole lot of therapy. The guy and Little Red are okay though." Dean remarked.
"Yeah for sure. At least now Callie is at peace." Sam nodded his head.
"You know that doctor was onto something. It's not healthy to hold onto someone or something like that. You need to let go." He walked out to the Impala getting in.
"That's rich coming from you." Sam scoffed getting into the Impala.
"Yeah well I'm learning from my mistakes." Dean shrugged starting the car.