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 Fourteen

The past few hunts had been a struggle for them in various ways. They seemed to be coping as well as they could be, at least. Ruby and Dean weren't sure what to make of Sam's newfound telekinetic ability. It frightened them, but they weren't about to treat him any differently either. For his part, Sam promised not to use it. Not that he knew how to control it anyway. So they focused on finding a new case which led them to Hibbing, Minnesota. It was a missing persons case. A man named Alvin Jenkins had gone missing and a twelve year old boy had reported seeing him being pulled beneath a parked car in a nearby parking lot. They weren't really sure if it was really their kind of case, but it was worth looking into at the very least. Interviewing the kid and his mother only left them feeling even more unsure. The kid had been up late watching the Godzilla vs Mothra movie when he looked out the window and saw Alvin get pulled under the car. He even said that he had heard what sounded like a whiny growl. Still, it wasn't enough to truly go on. It was Dean's idea to hit up a local bar after they were done interviewing the kid. So the three hunters changed out of their official clothes and back into regular outfits. Ruby and Sam were still in research mode while Dean ordered them food along with drinks.

"I think we need to just relax and have a little fun for a night. We could always look into this case further in the morning." The older Winchester sibling suggested taking a seat at the table with them.

"Dean, this town was marked in Dad's journal. See? Right here. Possible hunting grounds of a phantom attacker." Sam pointed out gesturing to a page in the journal.

"Why would he do that?" Dean studied the page in the journal.

Ruby shrugged her shoulders taking a sip of her drink. "Lot of local folklore about a dark figure that comes out at night grabbing people and then vanishing. This county has more missing people per capita than anywhere else in Minnesota."

"This is weird." He scratched the back of his neck.

"I saw a motel about five miles back. We can get some sleep and start asking around in the morning." The younger Winchester started gathering their things.

She finished her food and nodded her head in agreement. "He's right. We should get an early start."

"You guys really know how to have fun, huh?" Dean sighed grabbing his coat. "Alright, I have to take a leak. Meet you outside."

They parted ways with him walking toward the bathrooms while Ruby and Sam walked out of the bar. The two of them approached the Impala and Sam placed the journal on top of the trunk. Ruby hopped up sitting on the trunk beside the journal. She was about to say something when they both heard a sound. Sam knelt down peering under the car only for a cat to dart out. He shook his head chuckling softly as he got to his feet. It wasn't too long after when his green eyes widened at the feel of hands wrapping around his ankles. The blonde hunter reached out grabbing his hands though she wasn't strong enough to pull him back alone.

"Run.. back inside.. and get.. Dean." Sam struggled to get out staring up at her.

Ruby shook her head refusing to leave his side. "No. I'm not leaving you, Sam."

She fell off the trunk still holding onto him. Ruby pulled the best that she could only to find herself getting yanked beneath the car as well. A whining growl filled the air just then and everything went black for them. Dean strolled out of the bar a few moments later making a beeline for the Impala. His brother and Ruby were gone. At first, he wondered if they had wandered back inside, but then he saw the journal sitting on the car. That was when he knew something was wrong. Sam never would have left the journal out in the open on its own like that. He glanced around for any signs of them. Something shiny on the pavement caught his eye. Dean knelt down and picked up the necklace that had been discarded on the ground. It was one he recognized instantly. The silver one that was always around Ruby's neck. He frowned placing it in his pocket for safe keeping. Seeing a group of people, he walked over urgently.

"Hey, sorry to bother you. See that car over there? Shiny black Impala? Did you happen to see two people over there? A guy in his early twenties about this high with shaggy brown hair. He was with this breathtakingly beautiful blonde woman." He interrupted describing them only to frown when the group said they hadn't seen them.

Dean looked around again and that was when he saw the surveillance camera.

Ruby groaned sitting up rubbing her eyes a bit. "Ugh. Where am I?"

"Ruby? Thank god you're alright. Uh, I don't know where we are though." Sam called out gripping the bars of his cage as he looked over at hers.

"Somewhere in the country. Middle of nowhere." A male voice spoke up catching their attention.

The blonde frowned taking in her surroundings. "Wait, are you Alvin Jenkins? I'm Ruby and that's Sam. We were looking for you."

"That I am. Hah, piss poor rescue attempt if you ask me." He scoffed.

"No, my brother Dean is still out there. He'll find us." Sam assured him with a hopeful tone of voice.

"Like I said, middle of nowhere. Your brother won't find us. No one will."

She shared a look with Sam before biting her lip. "Have you seen who took us? What do they look like?"

"Sure have. Come in here once a day to give me food. See for yourself." Alvin gestured as the door to the building they were being held in opened.

Two figures walked in just then. One went to the pole in the middle of the room which had a panel of buttons on top. He unlocked it opening the panel. The other went over to Alvin's cage kicking it making him scurry back in fear. His cage opened and one of them set a plate of food down inside of it. They shut the cage locking it again and locked the panel before leaving the building again. Sam and Ruby looked at each other in shock. Their captors were just humans.

"Look, I can't sit here while they are out there possibly hurt or worse. That kid is my responsibility and she... I swore I would never let anything happen to either of them. They're coming back. I'm bringing them back." Dean pleaded with the Deputy who wanted him to just sit there and fill out missing persons reports for them.

"Alright, fine. You can go with me over to the County Works department, but I'm in charge. I make the rules. I go in and you stay outside out of trouble." Kathleen Hudak relented knowing she would have done the same thing back when her brother first went missing.

"I can do that. Thank you."

The ride to the County Works department was quiet. Dean sat down on a bench while the Deputy went inside. He still had no idea who had taken Sam and Ruby nor did he know exactly which creature they were dealing with at the moment. It frustrated him to no end. Kathleen returned with printouts in her hand.

"So Greg, I think we got something." She handed him the printouts referencing the fake name he had given her earlier. "These cams take images every three seconds as part of the Amber Alert program. These right here were all taken around the time that your cousin and your friend went missing."

"This isn't really what I'm looking for." Dean muttered looking through the images.

"Just wait. Right there." Deputy Hudak pointed at the image of a beat up rusty looking truck. "This was taken right after they left the bar. Now look at the back end of that truck."

"Plates are brand new. They must be stolen." He noted looking at the next image which was a close up of the plate.

Before either could say anything else, a beat up old van drove by. Its engine emitting an all too familiar sound.

"Hear that engine? Kind of a whining growl, huh?" Dean stared hard as the van kept driving.

"Yeah sure." The deputy agreed.

"Son of a bitch. I'll be damned." Dean whispered to himself.

A wire connected to the panel stretched out from it to the point where it was dangling down above the cages. Most specifically, it was above Sam's cage. He noticed and started to tug on it gently. It was mostly quiet as the three of them sat in their cages. A click was heard and the door to Alvin's cage swung open. He chuckled and moved toward it.

"Well that was too easy. You should probably stay in there." Sam advised getting that sinking feeling that Alvin was in even more danger outside of the cage.

"Don't worry. Look, I'm going to get out of here and send help for you two." Alvin ensured him leaving the cage.

"Jenkins, I'm serious. It's a trap."

"Relax, it'll be fine. Bye, Sammy." He waved and walked out of the building.

His cage door slammed shut a few moments later. Frustrated, Sam tugged on the wire harder only to knock it down. He picked up the piece that fell into his cage. It was a bracket. Ruby's cage door opened and they shared a look. She quickly left the cage shutting the door behind her. The blonde moved over to his cage grasping the bars as she looked at him.

"Ruby.. don't.."

She smiled softly at him. "Sam, I'll be fine. I promise. I'm going to go find Dean and then we'll get you out of here, okay?"

"Ugh, alright, fine. Just be careful." He frowned touching her hand.

Ruby nodded her head in agreement and let go of the cage standing up. She crept over to the main door of the building opening it slightly then peeked out. The blonde disappeared from his view a few moments later and he sighed. Up the road from them, Dean and Deputy Kathleen Hudak pulled to a stop.

"The next traffic cam is fifty miles ahead of here and the pickup didn't pass it."

"It must have pulled off somewhere, but I don't see any other roads around here." He frowned looking around.

"Well it's not uncommon for a lot of these properties out here to have their own private roads." The Deputy explained and frowned when new information appeared on her screen.

"Great."

"So Gregory, I ran your badge number as it is routine when working a case with State police. It's for accounting purposes and what not." She turned the computer to face him so he could see the picture of the real officer, a heavyset African American man.

"I, uh, lost weight and um, got that Michael Jackson skin disease." Dean chuckled nervously.

"I'm afraid that I'm going to have to take you in. Please step out of the car."

"Alright, look, I'll cooperate. If you want to arrest me, that's fine, but please let me find them first." He pleaded with her.

"How do I even know that they're really missing?" She looked at him in disbelief.

"Look me in the eyes and tell me that I'm lying. It's my job to keep them safe and I'm afraid that if we don't find them fast..." His voice cracked. "They're my family."

"I'm sorry. I have no choice but to take you in." Kathleen paused as a picture attached to her visor of her and her brother caught her eye. "After we find Sam and Ruby."

"Why?"

"Because my brother Riley disappeared about three years ago just like them. We searched, but found nothing. I know what it's like to feel responsible for someone and for them to.. nevermind. Come on. Let's keep at it." She turned the car around driving back slowly.

In the woods, Alvin Jenkins was running for his life. He didn't see the thin wire stretched out up ahead and tripped falling to the ground with a thud. He groaned rolling over onto his back and his eyes widened in fear as the two figures approached him. He couldn't get a way as they began to stab him repeatedly with knives. Sam could hear his screams and shut his eyes cringing.

As they regrouped, Dean pointed out a side road. It was the first they had come across in miles. They agreed to check it out, but Kathleen wasn't keen on having Dean accompany her. They got out of the car and she signed giving in.

"You promise to let me handle it and not get involved?" She raised her eyebrows at him.

"Yeah I promise."

"Shake on it." Kathleen held her hand out to him.

"Fine." Dean took her hand only for her to handcuff him to the car door. "Oh come on. You're going to need my help."

"I'll be fine. I can manage." The deputy assured him moving toward the side road.

Not having a paperclip, Dean looked around for something to get him out of the cuffs. He noticed the car antenna and stretched out just barely grabbing it. Unscrewing it, he took the antenna and began to unlock the handcuffs. At the same time, the two men that had killed Alvin slowly drove up to the main road in their beat up old pick up truck and spotted the police car chuckling. By the time they reached it, the cuffs were dangling from the door and Dean was gone. He kept the road in sight as he moved through the woods hidden within the cover of the trees. A blur of blonde caught his attention the further he got from the main road. The sound of her voice saying his name was like music to his ears.

"Ruby?"

She sighed in relief and threw her arms around him hugging the older Winchester tightly. "You're a sight for sore eyes. Sam's okay. We need to go get him."

"As are you. Okay Rubes, slow down. Breathe. It's alright. I need to know exactly what is going on." He hugged her back savoring it for a moment before getting down to business.

Ruby took a deep breath pulling away from Dean shaking a little. "They're humans. The bastards are just human. They pulled Sam under the car and I wouldn't let him go so they pulled him too. They kept us in this building in cages. Alvin was there. They.. they let him go and they killed him. I couldn't.. I couldn't save him."

"Hey, it's okay. Yeah it sucks, but we can't save everyone, Ruby. You were outnumbered. Now we may not have been able to save Alvin, but we can still save Sam." He assured her.

She nodded composing herself. "I know. You're right. Listen, I know the way back to where they have Sam. I'll take you there."

"Alright, let's go get Sam and then help Deputy Hudak with these sons of bitches." As much as he wanted her to run the other way, Dean knew there was no use.

It was only when she led him back to the building that Ruby realized that they had been kept in a barn. Dean opened the door entering the building first with Ruby close behind him. He looked around in disgust only to sigh in relief when he spotted Sam.

"Sammy! Are you hurt?"

"No. Oh thank god you're both okay." Sam relaxed a bit.

Ruby smiled at him. "I told you I'd be back with Dean."

"How'd you get out of the cuffs?" Kathleen spoke up from the cage that Ruby had been.

"Oh I know a trick or two." He looked at the locks on their cages. "Well those are going to be a bitch to unlock."

The blonde gestured to the panel on the pole in the middle of the room. "This appears to be some kind of automatic control panel for the cages."

"Have you seen them?" Dean walked over looking at the panel and pressing the buttons.

"Yeah. They're just people." He sighed.

"And they got the jump on you? Must be getting a little rusty there, kiddo." He continued examining the thing.

"See anything else out there?" Sam watched them.

Ruby nodded her head. "Lots of woods. There's a house that's kind of worn down. Oh, uh, there's also about a dozen or so junked cars hidden out back."

"Did you guys happen to see a black Mustang out there? About ten years old?" The Deputy spoke up curiously.

"Uh yeah, we did. Your brother's?" Dean looked over and saw her nod sadly. "I'm sorry."

The blonde looked at the panel and saw the keyhole. "It needs a key. One of them probably has it on them or hanging somewhere."

"We better go find it then." Dean nodded at her.

"Hey, guys! Be careful." Sam gave them a look and then watched as they left the building.

The pair of hunters agreed that their best bet was the worn out house and they crept over slipping inside. Dean handed her his gun before they split up. He went upstairs while she stayed downstairs. He was disturbed by what he saw. Pictures of them with human corpses. Windchimes made out of bones. It was all so wrong. He spotted a tray of keys and moved to pick it up only to stop when he saw the jar of teeth. The creaking sound of the door caught his attention. He turned around only to see a little girl standing there with a knife.

"It's okay. I'm not going to hurt you." He assured her.

"Daddy!" The little girl stabbed Dean's coat pinning him to the wall.

Hearing the scream, Ruby went on alert moving toward the stairs, but staying hidden. Three men entered the room upstairs. One clearly older than the other two. Dean removed the knife and the blonde hunter downstairs could hear the sounds of a struggle coming from above. She cringed hearing the thud and then oldest of the three men ordering one of them to get a rope. She was outnumbered and she hated that she had no way to help Dean. Ruby crept up the stairs using the furniture as cover while moving past the group in the living room. She ducked into the kitchen unseen and stayed near the door listening as the two younger men wanted to hunt Dean.

"Wait, that's what this is about? You yahoos hunt people?" Dean looked at them in disbelief.

"You ever killed before?" Pa Bender, the eldest of the family, asked him.

"That depends what you mean." He chuckled slightly.

"I hunted all my life. Just like my father and his before him. Mostly animals. Even got a cougar once. The best hunt is human. Oh there is nothing like it. Holding their life in your hands and seeing the fear in their eyes just before they go dark. Makes you feel so powerful and alive." Pa smirked.

"You're sick." Dean eyed him in disgust.

"Hey, we make it fair by giving them a weapon. We give em a fighting chance. Family tradition. Only one or two a year to keep suspicion down. Never enough to get the law's attention. We ain't ever been that sloppy."

"Don't sell yourself short. You're plenty sloppy." Dean scoffed at him.

"Only reason I don't let my boys hunt you down is because there's something I need to know from you." Pa walked over to the fireplace and grabbed a hot poker. "Tell me, any other cops going to come looking for you?"

"Oh eat me. Wait no no, you actually might."

Ruby watched in horror as one of the younger men held Dean's head in place. Pa pressed the poker against Dean's shirt making him cry out in pain. He lifted it to Dean's eye taunting him. She was horrified at the actions and that he wanted Dean to choose who in the cages was the next to be hunted. The blonde frowned when he chose Sam, but she felt that he knew what he was doing.

"Shoot him in the cage." Pa instructed as one of the guys headed out with a rifle. "And when you're done with the boy, kill the bitch too."

The man went downstairs and out of the house. Ruby watched carefully over Dean who looked scared as Pa began rambling about needing to clean the place up before more cops came sniffing around. The sound of a gunshot pierced the air and she froze. After a few moments, another shot wasn't heard and that told her all she needed to know. Dean struggled against the ropes swearing to kill them all if they hurt Sam.

"Lee!" Pa called for him and frowned when his son still didn't respond. "Jared, you come with me. Missy, you watch him now."

Ruby watched the men leave listening for the sound of the door. She waited a few more minutes and then crept back into the living room. Sneaking up behind the girl, Ruby placed her hand over her mouth dragging her backward. She shoved her into a closet slamming the door shut locking it. Sighing in relief, the blonde picked up the knife and went back over to Dean freeing him from the ropes. She frowned at the sight of the blood trailing down the side of his face. Ruby helped him to his feet making sure he was okay to walk and then they headed downstairs. The two of them walked out of the house only to freeze when another gunshot was heard. She sighed in relief a moment later when Sam walked toward them looking relatively unscathed. Ruby hugged him tightly and then stepped aside letting the brothers reunite.

"Where's the little girl?" Kathleen glanced around as she approached them.

Ruby bit her lip gesturing inside. "I locked her in a closet."

"And the rest of her family?" Dean asked looking at the Deputy and at Sam.

"The brothers are tied up. Pa's dead. He attacked me and I shot him in self defense." She explained gesturing toward the barn.

"Right. Think maybe we could get a ride back into town?" He wasn't quite sure if he believed her, but he wasn't about to question it.

"Get to walking. Don't let the squad cars see you." Kathleen pointed toward the dirt road that led out to the main highway.

The blonde hunter just nodded her head grabbing Sam and Dean's arms walking toward the dirt road. They managed to get back to the main road unseen. Dean pointed them in the right direction back toward town and they continued walking along the side of the road. At some point, Sam carried Ruby piggyback the last half of the way into town. They reached the car and he set her down on her feet. They drove a few towns over stopping at the first motel that they saw. She went to the front office and returned to them with keys to two rooms. Handing a key to Sam, she shrugged her shoulders explaining that the motel only had rooms with one queen sized bed in them. They went their separate ways. Sam showered in his room while Ruby showered in her and Dean's room. Dean took his turn when she was done. Ruby then sat Dean down and took care of the small cut that he had on his head. It really wasn't as bad as it looked so it didn't take that long for her to patch him up. She cleaned up afterward and frowned as her fingertips brushed against her bare neck.

"Missing something?"

Ruby nodded sadly and sighed. "My necklace. Dad gave it to me for my sixteenth birthday. It belonged to my mother."

"It was on the ground next to the Impala." Dean held it up. "May I?"

Her blue eyes lit up at the sight of it. "I.. Thank you. Yes, of course."

Turning her back to him, she pushed her hair forward over her shoulder exposing her neck to him. Dean draped the necklace around her neck and clasped it shut. She turned back around to face him pressing a kiss to his cheek smiling softly. It was then that she remembered that it wasn't only his head that got injured. She lifted his shirt which only made him smirk playfully at her.

Ruby rolled her eyes at him. "Shirt off, Winchester."

"Shouldn't you take me to dinner first?"

She couldn't help laughing softly at that. "I just want to make sure the burn isn't too bad.'

"Oh right." He grasped the hem of his shirt pulling the fabric up and over his head.

Her breath hitched in her throat at the sight for a moment then she snapped out of it focusing on what she was doing. There was a pinkish splotch on his skin and she reached out touching it gently. He winced which only made her pull back her hands as if they had been burnt themselves. She grabbed some cream for it placing a gentle kiss against his skin before putting a small amount on the spot. Her fingertips gently rubbed the ointment into his slightly burnt skin. When she was done, she put the tube of ointment away and washed her hands. Drying them, she walked back over to Dean observing his skin again. She wasn't a doctor, but she didn't think it was worth a visit to the hospital though she made a mental note to keep an eye on it anyway.

"Um.."

Ruby just smiled shaking her head slightly. "You can put your shirt back on, Winchester."

Dean smiled grasping her face within his hands gently as he leaned in kissing her softly on the lips. Against her better judgment, she returned the kiss. It grew passionate as all of the pent up frustrations and emotions the two had toward each other finally boiled over.