~Ariel's point of view~

Today we got back our dad's body from the morgue. Dean and Bobby set up a funeral pyre. They had also wrapped up Dad's body. I had offered to help several times with the little things, but they told me no one because I still have a cast on both my arm and leg, and two because Bobby thinks I shouldn't have to handle my father's dead body. Sam during the whole ordeal was off to the back silent. He seemed broken up, and tormented. Before night falls Bobby leaves and heads back offering his apologizes for our loss.

When after the sun sets we set our dad's body on fire. After a while the only light comes from the wrapped, burning body. We all simply stare at the flames. I'm in my wheelchair beside Dean while Sam is behind us. After several moments of quietness Sam speaks.

"Before he.. before, did he say anything to you? About anything,"

"No, nothing," Dean replies looking forward not bothering to look towards Sam or I.

'He's lying,' I think.

'I know, Airy,' I hear a response back. After the funeral we go back to Bobby's. Dean had to carry me to the truck, while Sam carried the wheel chair. I feel like I'm more of a pain than anything else, now a day's. I can't do anything for myself except eat, sleep, potty, and cat bathe myself. Thankfully we haven't gone on any hunts as Dean has been too busy fixing the Impala. I am due soon to get my cast off my leg and get a brace on it. My arm still has a lot more healing to do.

~1 Week after the funeral~

We have been staying at Bobby's my leg and arm casts came off this morning and by god I'm super excited. I haven't talked to Castiel since my coma, but I have a small feeling he had something to do with my accelerated healing. Bobby has been my ride to and from the town physician to get my check-ups. We told him that I had broken it months ago and that I just needed to check the healing process. I go up to my room and see Dean in the yard. He is underneath his car working on it, only his legs sticking out. It is little more than a rusted frame, but it looks considerably less crunched than last week. Sam approaches him. I shake my head knowing that this can end one of two ways. I go lay in my bed and decide not to intervene and just relax and enjoy the day.

I start to doze off when the boys come into my room. Guess I will rest later.

"I was checking Dad's voicemails, I found a message its four months old. It sounds like a hunt, Dean agreed to come, think you'll come to. You know to celebrate the fact you can do things again," Sam questions.

"Is it really a hunt," I ask.

"It sounds like it, come on let's get going Ariel, we have work that needs to be done," Dean tells me with a smile.

We had borrowed a beat-up, poorly maintained minivan from Bobby. Bobby was following another case and refused to let us use the truck. I made the best of the van and enjoyed the back and sat in the back with Sam's laptop and a good book. 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'.

Dean pulls up to a dive bar called the Roadhouse Saloon.

"This is humiliating. I feel like a friggin' soccer mom," Dean complains as we get out the van.

"It's the only car Bobby had running," I explain smirking. We start looking around.

"Hello? Anybody here," Sam yells out.

'This place seems familiar' I think over to Sam.

'We've never been here' he thinks back.

'Never said we've. I meant me. I've been here,' I think back.

"Hey. You bring the, uh," Dean starts.

"Of course," Sam tells him. As he tosses something to Dean, who catches it. We open the door and go inside. The saloon is quiet except for a fly buzzing. A light bulb blows out. They go to the back and see a man passed out on the bar.

"Hey, buddy," Sam starts, "I'm guessing that isn't Ellen".

"Yeah," Dean states.

Sam goes into a back room, looking around. I stick around with the guy on the pool table. Dean goes down the steps, then pauses. I turn around see Dean with a gun at the base of his back. I quickly grab my gun and point it at the blonde girl holding the gun at my brother.

"Oh god, please let that be a rifle," I heard him beg. The gun cocks.

"No, I'm just real happy to see you. Don't move," she states.

I start move from my hiding spot. Dean shakes his head telling me to stay hidden.

"Not moving, copy that. You know, you should know something, miss. When you put a rifle on someone, you don't want to put it right against their back. Because it makes it real easy to do," I hear him say before he turns fluidly, grabbing the rifle and cocking it, "That".

The girl then punches him in the face and takes back the rifle. I chuckle as quietly as my brother doubles over, clutching his nose.

"Sam! Need some help in here," Dean mutters, "I can't see, I can't even see". I slowly come out of my hiding spot pointing the gun at the blonde woman from behind keeping quiet.

The back door opens to reveal my twin, both hands on his head. He enters slowly.

"Sorry, Dean, I can't right now. I'm a... little tied up," Sam states. He nods his head, indicating to an older brunette, who is behind him with a handgun pointed at his head.

"Ellen," I question. The blonde doesn't move. 'smart girl'

"Airel? Sam? Dean? Winchester," she questions.

"Yeah," my two brothers state. 'Now, who are the twins'.

"Son of a bitch," she states.

"Mom, you know these guys," the blonde questions.

"Yeah, I think these are John Winchester's boys. Ariel here is his daughter. I've meet her a couple of times in person," Ellen lowers the gun, laughing, "Hey, I'm Ellen. This is my daughter Jo".

Jo and I also lower our guns, and Dean smiles at Jo.

"Hey," Jo tells my oldest brother.

"You're not gonna hit me again, are you," he questions her. I chuckle at him.

"Oh, please do, it was nice to see someone other than me hitting him," I tell her with a smile.

After a while the boys and I sit at the bar and Ellen hands Dean a small towel filled with ice.

"Here you go," she tells him.

"Thanks. You called our dad, said you could help. Help with what," Dean questions.

"Well, the demon, of course. I heard he was closing in on it," Ellen tells us.

"What, was there an article in the Demon Hunters Quarterly that I missed? I mean, who, who are you? How do you know about all this," Dean questions her?

"Hey, I just run a saloon. But hunters have been known to pass through now and again. Including your dad, a long time ago. John was like family once. Ariel is still family. Speaking of, little girl why haven't I gotten a call from you in the last year," Ellen tells him before turning over to me.

"Well, uh, you see, I've been with the boys. Dad had disappeared, and I didn't even talk to any of my friends. But I should have called you. I am well aware. I'm so sorry, and I promise not to do it again," I tell her looking at her with wide eyes and slight fear.

"You better young lady, or I swear to god I will hunt you down and bring you back here where you will stay until you are old and gray," she threatens me. I shake my head eyes still wide.

"Okay? How come he never mentioned you before," Dean questions her.

"You'd have to ask him that," Ellen tells him. I look over at Sam feeling a lingering of sadness.

"So why exactly do we need your help," Dean questions.

"Hey, don't do me any favors. Look, if you don't want my help, fine. Don't let the door smack your ass on the way out. But John wouldn't have sent you if," She stops, realizing then looking over at me, "He didn't send you.

Dean looks down, then back at Sam and me.

"He's all right, isn't he," she questions still looking at me.

"No. No, he isn't. It was the demon, we think. It, um, it just got him before he got it, I guess," Sam tells her saying me from having to speak.

"I'm so sorry," she tells us.

"It's okay. We're all right," Dean tells her looking over at me.

"Really? I know how close you and your dad were,"

"Really, lady, I'm fine," he tells her.

"So look, if you can help, we could use all the help we can get," Sam tells her.

"Well, we can't. But Ash will," she tells us.

"Who's Ash," Sam questions.

"Ash," Ellen screams out. The man passed out on the bar jerks awake and sits up, flailing.

"What? It closin' time," he questions.

"That's Ash," she tells us pointing at him.

"Mm-hmm. He's a genius," Jo states.

A brown folder is slapped down on the bar; Sam, Ash, and I are sitting, Dean standing behind them. Jo is on the other side of the bar pouring glasses of water.


"You've gotta be kidding me, this guy's no genius. He's a Lynyrd Skynyrd roadie," Dean states.

"I like you," Ash tells him

"Thanks," he tells her.


"Just give him a chance," Jo tells him.

Dean sits and opens the folder.

"All right. This stuff's about a year's worth of our dad's work, so uh, let's see what you make of it," Dean states him.

Ash pulls out the papers and starts rifling through them. He shakes his head.

"Come on. This crap ain't real. There ain't nobody can track a demon like this," Ash states.

"Our dad could," I tell him

"There are non-parametrics, statistical overviews, prospects and correlations, I mean.. damn! They're signs. Omens. Uh, if you can track 'em, you can track this demon. You know, like crop failures, electrical storms... You ever been struck by lightening? It ain't fun," he tells us.

"Can you track it or not," Sam asks.

"Yeah, with this, I think so. But it's gonna take time, uh, give me... fifty one hours," Ash tell us before he gets up to leave.

"Hey, man," Dean yells out.

"Yeah" ash replies.

"I, uh, I dig the haircut," he tells him.

"All business up front, party in the back," he responds with a smirk looking over at me.

As he leaves, Jo walks by, flirting a little with Dean. He checks her out tiredly, then gets up to follow her. Sam sees something behind the bar and points it out to me.

"Hey, Ellen, what is that," he questions.

"It's a police scanner. We keep tabs on things, we," she tells him.


"No, no, no, no, the, um, the folder," he asks.

"Uh, I was gonna give this to a friend of mine. But take a look, if you want," she tells him.

She takes a folder from the wall and places it in front of same. It has some newspaper clippings attached to the front, and on the front, in red marker:

COUPLE MURDERED
CHILD LEFT ALIVE
MEDFORD, WISC.

Sam and I read over the clipping and call out for Dean he walks over.

"A few murders, not far from here, that Ellen caught wind of. Looks to me like there might be a hunt," Sam tells him.


"Yeah. So," he questions.

"So, I told her we'd check it out," I tell Dean.