Title: Calls Me Home

Summary: A journey through seven 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: I would just like to say that the timeline is so screwed up at some points. It's almost mind boggling.

Chapter Thirteen

She snuggled into her side of the bed yawning softly. The blonde hunter was trying to stay asleep, but for some unknown reason her body wanted her to wake up. Ruby groaned quietly as her blue eyes fluttered open adjusting to the darkness. That was when she saw it. Sam was sitting up in his bed. Before she could say anything, he got up turning the light on and shook Dean waking him up.

"We have to go." It was all Sam said as he went into the bathroom getting dressed.

Ruby watched him as he walked back out and packed his things. "Go where? Sam, it's the middle of the night. What are you talking about?"

"We have to go now." He grabbed his bag walking out to the Impala.

"Did I miss something?" Dean asked in confusion as he scratched his head getting up.

She shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe he had another vision. It wouldn't be the first time he had one in his sleep."

"Yeah. Yeah alright." He sighed and they moved quickly getting ready to leave.

The two of them put their bags in the car and got in. Dean drove off driving in the direction Sam told him to though sharing a brief glance with Ruby. She watched in concern as Sam called a police department in Michigan. Not that it surprised her that he would remember vivid details like a license plate number. Him having visions was all still pretty surreal to her. Though they tried to assure him that what he had was simply a nightmare, the license plate unfortunately checked out and they were then on their way to Saginaw, Michigan. The plate was on a car that belonged to a man named Jim Miller. By the time they reached his house, it was too late. The authorities were already there and someone on a stretcher was being zipped into a body bag. Sam was visibly upset while Dean and Ruby shared a look of concern. Glancing away, she noticed the small crowd that had formed and slowly walked over.

She bit her lip surveying the scene. "Oh my gosh, what happened?"

"Suicide. Can you believe it? Such a shame." A woman beside her spoke softly.

"Did you know them?" Sam spoke up appearing on the other side of the victim.

"He always seemed so.. normal, you know? We saw him in church every Sunday at St Augustines. You never really know what's going on with a person behind closed doors, you know." She noted looking surprised.

Ruby nodded her head sympathetically. "I guess not. Have they released any other details?"

"Well not officially, but word going around is that he was found in the garage locked inside his car with the engine running. It just happened about an hour or two ago. That poor family of his. I can't even imagine what they must be going through." The woman frowned shaking her head in disbelief.

Hearing a cry, the hunters glanced over seeing a woman standing on the front step of the house crying while leaning against a middle aged man. A younger man stood behind them looking distraught. Sam grimaced walking away back toward the Impala. Ruby and Dean followed him.

"I just don't get it. Why would I get this vision if there was no way that I could stop him from dying? It makes no sense." Sam sighed leaning against the car.

"I don't know, man. We got here as fast as we could. There was no way we could have gotten here any faster." Dean assured him.

"So what do you think killed him?" He stood a bit straighter looking at them.

Ruby looked at him confused. "What makes you think it was anything other than a suicide?"

"Because I watched it happen. I'm telling you, Jim Miller was murdered by something. I saw it trap him in the garage." He sighed running his fingers through his hair.

"What was it? What did you see? Spirit? Poltergeist? Demon? What?" Dean looked at his brother.

"I don't know! I don't know what the hell is happening or why I'm having these dreams." Sam got worked up.

Ruby reached out rubbing his shoulder gently. "Hey, it's alright. We'll figure it all out. We always do. You're not going through this alone, Sam."

"Thanks. What?" He looked at her gratefully before noticing the way Dean was looking at him.

"Uh, nothing. I'm just worried about you man." Dean admitted then sighed. "Come on, we'll start on this in the morning. We'll talk to the family and check out the house."

The blonde looked over at Dean in surprise. "You saw how devastated they are. I highly doubt they'll want to talk to anyone."

"Yeah, you're probably right, but I think I know who they will talk to." He smirked getting into the Impala.

"This is a new low even for us." Sam grimaced adjusting the collar of the priest outfit that he was wearing.

They were posing as junior priests from St Augustine's while Ruby was in a simple black suit with glasses on. The middle aged man from the night before answered the door letting them inside. They gave their condolences for his loss only for him to get upset.

"You want to pitch your whole "Lord has a plan" thing? Fine. Go ahead. Just not to me. My brother is dead."

The woman from last night appeared just then. "Roger please!"

He excused himself and they moved into the living room. The three of them sat down extending their condolences to the woman as well.

She shook her head. "I'm sorry about him. My brother in law has just been so upset since Jim died. The support of the church means so much right now."

Ruby smiled sympathetically at her. "Of course. This is Father Frehley and Father Simmons. The church's newest junior priests. I'm the grief counselor, Miss Ford."

"Again, we're truly sorry for your loss." Sam spoke gently to the grieving widow.

The blonde looked at her. "From what we've been told, your family frequents the church every Sunday and your husband was a good man. Had he been showing any signs of being depressed lately?"

The widow sniffled a bit. "No, not at all. Nothing like that. We had our ups and downs like every couple. We were very happy for the most part though. I.. I just don't understand... how Jim could do something like this?"

"I'm so sorry that you had to find him like that." Dean nodded his head lightly.

She shook her head gesturing behind her. "Um no, actually, it was our son Max who was the one that found him."

Ruby glanced behind the woman spotting the young man sitting in the dining room. "Do you mind if I go talk to him?"

Mrs. Miller wiped her eyes and then nodded her head. "Please do. Thank you."

The blonde stood up squeezing the widow's shoulder gently before walking into the dining room. "Hey there, I'm Ruby. I'm so sorry about your dad."

"Yeah thanks. I'm Max." The young man shrugged seemingly snapping out of his daze.

Ruby sat down across from him. "So what was your dad like?"

"Just a normal dad, I guess."

She nodded her head. "Are you visiting or do you live at home right now?"

"Oh I live at home right now. Trying to save up for college, but it's hard, you know?" Max shrugged his shoulders.

The blonde smiled slightly. "Yeah I know. My little brother went to Stanford. I know how expensive tuition can be. So what happened when you found your dad?"

"Well I was asleep and then I woke up. I heard the car running so I guess that was what woke me up. I.. I don't know why he did it. He never seemed like he was even considering it."

Ruby nodded again and patted his hand comfortingly. "I know it's difficult to lose a parent especially when you don't have all the answers. If you need anything, don't hesitate to let us know."

While she had been talking to Max, Dean excused himself to the bathroom and subtly checked around the house instead. He unfortunately found nothing in his search that showed any signs that a supernatural presence had been in or around the Miller home. It wasn't long afterward that the three of them left and went back to the motel to change back into their regular clothes. Then they dove back into the case wanting to be thorough for Sam's sake. The three hunters reconvened back at the motel again going over what they found and didn't find.

Ruby sat down on one of the beds sighing a bit. "Well we've got not a damn thing. There's no reports of anything bad happening in the Miller house since it was built."

"What about the land?" Dean glanced up at them as he cleaned his guns.

"No graveyards, battle fields, tribal lands, or any other kind of atrocity on or near the property." He sighed flopping down beside Ruby.

"Well like I told you guys, I searched that place up and down. No sulfer scent or cold spots. Nothing." The older Winchester shrugged.

The blonde looked at the guys. "The widow mention anything weird happening?"

"If there was something there, they would have noticed. I used the thermal scanner and there was nothing." Dean added.

Ruby shook her head. "There has to be something. His visions were right about Jessica and were right about your old house. Clearly they were right about Jim Miller too. We must be missing something."

"Maybe she's right. Maybe it has nothing to do with the house. What if it's connected to Jim Miller in another way?" Sam offered rubbing his temples and grabbing at his head.

"Sammy, what's wrong with you?" Dean looked at him clearly concerned.

"Ahh! My head!" He cried out clearly in pain.

Dean and Ruby were immediately surrounding him both appearing equally concerned. They hated seeing in any kind of pain. After a few minutes, Sam visibly began to relax a bit and then let go of his head taking a deep breath. They were still concerned for him though they gave him a little space.

"It's happening again. Whatever it is that killed Jim is going to kill his brother next." Sam spoke ominously. "I was right. It's not the house because I saw Roger get killed in a different house."

Ruby sighed. "Alright, Dean will get the address. You lay down and relax for a few minutes."

"But.."

"No buts. She's right. I got this. Just take it easy for a few minutes." Dean instructed his brother and then grabbed his phone moving to get Roger Miller's address.

Sam reluctantly laid back and tried to relax. Ruby just stayed near him in case he needed anything though she tried her best not to hover. He sighed and turned to look at her.

"I'm scared, Rubes. The nightmares were one thing, but I've never had visions..saw things.. whatever.. when I was awake. These visions are getting more intense and painful too." He frowned at her.

Ruby reached out grabbing his hand squeezing it reassuringly. "Sam, it's going to be alright. You'll be okay. We deal with this stuff every day. This is just another thing, you know?"

"No, it's different this time. Not us. It's never been in the family like this, Ruby. Doesn't this freak you out?"

She shook her head sighing again. "How could you possibly know that? How well do you know both sides of your family? Yeah exactly, that's what I thought. Yeah, it freaks me out because I hate the idea of you being in pain and having no way to stop it. We will figure it out though. Maybe John knows something. He found out it was a demon that killed your mom and Jess. Who knows what else he knows that he hasn't told you guys yet?"

Before he could respond, Dean returned with Roger Miller's address. He lived in an apartment not too far away. They drove over and were relieved to see that Roger was still alive. He had just arrived home from a trip to the grocery store. Unfortunately he seemed to not have any interest in speaking with them. They followed him upstairs to his apartment trying their best to get through to him that he was potentially in danger. Roger simply refused to listen though. The sound of a window sliding shut followed by a wet slickish sound caught their attention. They peered over the railing to see Roger's head in the garden then glanced up only to see his blood covered kitchen window. Ruby covered her mouth muffling a scream. Dean pulled out a rag wiping their fingerprints off the railings of the staircase that they were on. He then climbed in through a different window and searched the apartment.

"Well I'm telling you guys, there was nothing in there. No signs either just like the Miller house." Dean confirmed as they drove away a short time later from the apartment complex.

"But I saw something. It was like a dark shape. Something was stalking Roger." Sam frowned trying to make sense of it all.

"Whatever it was, are we sure it's not connected to their house?" He shrugged.

Ruby shook her head. "If it were, why would it kill Roger somewhere completely different instead of killing him when he was actually at the house? I think we should look into the family connection."

"You thinking vengeful spirit? It wouldn't be the first time one has latched itself onto a family. Sometimes they follow them for years." Dean explained focusing on the road ahead.

"Banshees, Angiak. Maybe the Miller brothers got in over their heads. Something curse worthy, you know?" Sam added. "Now the thing is out for revenge. Hey, you guys think Max is in danger?"

The blonde shrugged her shoulders as she sat in the back seat. "We should probably figure it out if he is. I'll go do some research into the family's background. You guys go talk to the Millers again."

While they talked to the Millers, Max specifically since Mrs. Miller was resting, Ruby busied herself with looking into the Millers background. There was nothing too unusual that stood out from what little information that she could find. It was frustrating. She felt like the answer was staring her right in the face. The blonde just hadn't quite put two and two together yet. Meeting back up with the Winchesters, they compared notes.

"Well we talked to Max. They used to live across town next door to Roger. He sounded scared when he was talking about his old house." Sam filled her in on what they knew.

Ruby nodded her head thinking it over. "Yeah I found that out too. Even got the location of the neighborhood. Already went over there. Met a guy who lived on the block for almost twenty years now."

"What he have to say?" Dean sat up straighter looking at her curiously.

She tucked her hair behind her ear. "That Jim Miller was a mean drunk. He used to hear him yelling and throwing things from clear across the street. Said that he used to beat Max. Left bruises on the kid and broke his arm at least twice, that he knows of. Real messed up situation."

"It happened regularly?" The younger Winchester raised his brow at her.

Ruby frowned nodding her head. "He said it was an every day occurrence and that Roger even took a swing at Max sometimes. Here's where it gets a little interesting. Mrs. Miller is not his mom. She's his stepmother who did nothing to protect him. The neighbor said he called the cops like seven or eight times. Never did any good though."

"Wait, what happened to his mom?" Dean looked at her in surprise.

The blonde shrugged her shoulders. "Not completely sure. Guy said he thought she died in some kind of accident. Maybe it's her spirit. Well no because if that were the case, she would have killed them a while ago."

"So... they probably moved across town to let the heat die down after all the times the cops were called. Ugh." He winced and grabbed at his head again.

Dean held his brother's arms while Ruby rubbed the taller Winchester's back comfortingly while he suffered through another vision. When he settled down again, he blinked and glanced around annoyed with himself that he hadn't figured it out sooner.

"It's Max. He.. He's the one that's doing it. Everything I've been seeing. It's him." He revealed as Dean let go of him.

Ruby furrowed her brows at him. "Are you sure? How could he be doing it?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. I saw him. I.. I don't know how. Kind of like telekinesis." He struggled to explain.

"What, so he's a psychic?" Dean looked confused.

"He was there this whole time and I didn't realize it. I wasn't connecting to the Millers, I was connecting to Max. I don't get why though. Maybe because we're so alike?"

"The dude is nothing like you, Sam." He narrowed his eyes at his brother.

"Well we both apparently have psychic abilities. We both uh..." Sam started to say only to get interrupted by Dean.

"Max is a monster. He's already killed two people and since you had a vision, I'm guessing he's gunning for a third." Dean huffed.

"Yeah, his stepmom."

Ruby scoffed shoving Dean's shoulder lightly. "He's not a monster. He's a victim. After everything he went through, can you blame him for going Carrie on his abusers?"

"No, of course not, but that doesn't justify murdering his family." He countered heading out to the Impala.

She rolled her eyes at him. "It doesn't justify him being abused either."

"Max is no different from anything else we've hunted, alright? We have to end him." Dean ordered driving toward the Miller home.

Ruby gasped kicking the back of the driver's seat hard. "Screw you! We're not killing him."

"Dean, he's a human. We can talk to him. Try to get through. It doesn't have to be violent. Just follow our lead, alright?" Sam interjected calmly.

"Fine, but I'm not letting anybody else get hurt." He relented pulling up to the Miller home.

They burst into the home just as Sam's vision had begun to play out. She let the boys talk and they seemingly convinced Max to step outside to talk to him. It was all going smoothly until they turned around and Max saw the butt of the gun sticking out from the back of Dean's jeans. Ruby swore at Dean inwardly as all hell started to break loose. Mrs. Miller was suddenly flung backward hitting her head against the kitchen counter falling unconscious. Dean pulled his gun out, but Max pulled it away with his powers.

"Look, we just want to talk." Sam spoke calmly as they held their hands up.

"Yeah, right. That's why you brought this." Max gestured to the gun in his hand.

"That was a mistake and so was lying about who we were. No more lying. Just please, hear me out." He continued.

"About what?" Max kept the gun pointed at them.

"Max, I saw you do it. I saw you kill your dad and uncle before it happened. I'm having visions, Max. About you." Sam admitted cautiously.

"What? No.. No, you're crazy."

Sam then detailed the vision that he had to Max who stared at him wide eyed.

"No one can help me." Max cried.

Ruby softened toward him. "Well we want to try. Let Dean and your stepmother go. You, Sam, and I can just talk."

"Uh no. No way." Dean disagreed refusing to leave them.

The chandelier above them began to rattle.

"Nobody leaves this house!" Max yelled out.

"Nobody has to, alright? They'll just.. go upstairs." Sam suggested.

"I'm not leaving you guys alone with him." Dean insisted.

Ruby continued looking at Max. "Yes you are, Dean. Listen, Max, you're in charge here. Alright, we all know that. None of us are going to make you do anything you don't want to do. We just want to talk to you. Five minutes is all we ask."

"Five minutes?" Max considered this as the chandelier stopped shaking and he glanced back at his stepmother. "Alright. Go."

Dean carried Mrs. Miller upstairs while Ruby and Sam sat down with Max in the living room. Sam tried to get through to Max first. The young man stood up lifting his shirt revealing a mass of bruises along his chest and side. It all began to make sense. Jim Miller had beat his son again except this time Max had a way to fight back. Her heart broke for the kid.

"He blamed me for everything. His job, his life, and even for my mom's death." Max frowned.

"Why would he blame you for your mom's death?"

"She died in my nursery while I was asleep in my crib. As if somehow that makes it my fault." He rolled her eyes.

Ruby and Sam shared a look of shock. "Your mother died in your nursery?"

"Uh yeah, from what I've heard, there was a fire. Dad would get drunk and ramble on like she died in some insane way. He said.. He said she was burned alive while pinned to the ceiling. How crazy is that?" Max shook his head at the thought.

"It's not that crazy. Listen, what your dad said about what happened to your mom, he was telling the truth. The same thing happened to my mom in my nursery while I was in my crib. My dad saw the same thing." Sam assured him.

"Your dad must have been drunk as hell too."

"No, Max. It's the same thing. The same thing killed our mothers." Sam confirmed for him.

The wheels in Ruby's head began to turn. "Wait, that must be why you're suddenly getting visions during the day and why they've been so damn intense. You guys must be connected. Max, your abilities. They started around six or seven months ago out of the blue, didn't they?"

"How could you know that?" He looked at her in disbelief.

"Because that's when my visions started. Yours seem to already be more advanced than mine. Still, it's got to mean something right? We were chosen for something." Sam revealed to him.

"For what?"

"I.. We don't know. The important thing is that we're hunting for your mother's killer. We can find answers that will help us both, but you have to let us go, Max. You have to let your stepmother go as well." He encouraged the younger man.

"No, I can't. The nightmares. I just want them to stop. I'm terrified all the time. I'm so sick of being scared. I just want this to be over!" Max cried.

Ruby softened toward him. "Max, your dad and uncle are dead. No one is going to hurt you anymore. I know it's hard to believe, but it's true. Killing your stepmother won't make anything better. It'll make you just as bad as them. You don't have to do this."

"I'm sorry."

Before they realized what was happening, Sam and Ruby were flung backward into a hall closet. The door slammed shut in their faces and they could hear something sliding in front of the door. Ruby tried to open the door, but it wouldn't budge. Sam tried as well with the same result. They pleaded with Max to let them out, but got no response in return. Max headed upstairs where his stepmom was being tended to by Dean as she was bleeding from her forehead. He walked into the room they were in and Dean rose walking toward him. Max flung him across the room making him collide with a wall. In the closet downstairs, Ruby was concerned as Sam seemed to be having another vision. He came out of it completely panicked and yelling. The heavy bookcase that Max had positioned in front of the closet door slid out of the way. They froze in shock and then Sam reached out pushing at the door with his hand. It swung open. They shared a look before Sam took off running upstairs. Ruby followed only to freeze when she saw Max pointing Dean's gun at Dean. Sam pleaded with him that this wasn't the way. That it wouldn't fix anything.

Ruby calmed herself a bit. "Max, he's right. We can get you help. There's counselors that trained in helping with this kind of trauma."

"You're right." Max relaxed a little and smiled at them.

Sam smiled back, but it quickly faded away as Max turned around. The gun swung around pointing toward Max. Before they could stop him, the gun went off killing him instantly. They could only look on in horror as his body collapsed onto the floor. Mrs. Miller called the cops soon after and as emergency services took care of Max's body, she was questioned. As were the three hunters.

She was still in shock as she spoke to the officers. "He attacked me. Max threatened me with a gun. He didn't.. he didn't mean it. We've all just been through so much, you know?"

"And these three?" The cop gestured to the three hunters.

Mrs. Miller sniffled a bit. "Family.. friends. They had stopped by to give their condolences when it happened. The boys tried to stop him."

"Do you know where Max acquired the gun from?"

The hunters shared a look as Mrs. Miller shook her head crying. "No. I don't know. He just.. showed up with it and.. and.."

"It's alright, Mrs. Miller." The cop assured her. "We'll give you three a call if we have any further questions."

She sobbed. "I've lost everyone."

"Thank you, officer." Dean nodded and stood up.

Ruby hugged the older woman comfortingly. "I'm so sorry."

The boys went outside while she helped Mrs. Miller calm down. Once the older woman assured her that she was alright, Ruby left the house. She was quiet as she listened to the Winchesters talk. Dean drove them back to the motel and they began to pack their things to leave.

"I still don't get it, you know? This demon that we're after. Why would it kill Mom, Jessica, and Max's mother? What does it want?" Sam spoke up as he finished packing.

Ruby shrugged pulling her hair back into a ponytail. "It's a demon. It's evil. Just wants to cause chaos and suffering."

"What if it was after us? You know, Max and I."

"Sam, if it had wanted you, it would have taken you that night in the nursery. This isn't your fault. it isn't about you." Dean assured him.

"Then what is it about?"

The blonde shook her head placing her bag in the car. "It's about finding the damn thing that did this to your family, Sam. You're going to find it and you're going to kill it. That's it."

"Ruby, you know there's more to that." Sam pressed on giving her a look.

"What are you talking about?" Dean looked at them curiously.

"When Max had gone upstairs, it was after he had thrown Ruby and I into a closet. He blocked the door with a heavy bookcase. I.. I moved it." He admitted.

"Huh. Alright so you're stronger than we gave you credit for." The older Winchester sibling shrugged his shoulders.

Ruby bit her lip. "No, Dean. He moved it. Like Max."

"Oh. Right." He paused for a long moment and then grabbed a spoon. "Bend this."

"I can't just turn it on and off, Dean." Sam rolled his eyes.

"Then how'd you do it?" He asked.

The blonde sighed. "I'm pretty sure he didn't mean to do it. He had a vision and when he came out of it, he just panicked. Then the thing slid away and we were freed. It was like a freak adrenaline thing or something."

"Well I'm sure it won't happen again." Dean walked out to the Impala.

"So you're not worried that I could turn into Max or something?"

"Nope. No way. You know why?" His eyebrows raised at Sam. "You've got one advantage that Max didn't have."

"Dad? Cause Dad's not here, Dean."

"No. Me." Dean smirked at him. "As long as I'm around, nothing bad is going to happen to you."

Ruby ruffled Sam's hair playfully. "As long as I'm around too, Sam. We're not going to let anything bad happen to you."