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: This chapter marks the beginning of Season two. Pretty excited to get started.

Chapter Twenty Three

Dean was stoic pouring all of his grief into restoring the Impala back to its former glory. Sam had dove headfirst into John's research hoping to find a lead that would take them to the demon. Not that they had a way to get rid of him now that the Colt was missing. Ruby still felt guilty for not telling them what she had seen their father doing. Despite the circumstances, Bobby actually enjoyed having a full house again. Hearing a familiar voice, Ruby hid behind a wall listening as Sam played a voicemail message from John's old cell phone. She peeked around the corner watching Sam debate with himself for a few moments before he ultimately headed outside where Dean was still hard at work on the Impala.

"Alright so we find the demon and then what? Oh right. We don't have the gun or any clue where it might be so we can't kill the damn thing anyway. Face it, Sammy, we've got a whole lot of nothing." Dean could be heard clearly as Ruby slowly approached the area where he was working on the car.

"Yeah, but we have this. I found it on Dad's phone. He's had this voicemail saved for a while." Sam countered holding up the phone and then played the message for his brother to hear.

"John, hey, it's Ellen. Haven't heard from you in a while. Anyway I think I might be able to help you with that case you're still working on. Call me or better yet come by the Roadhouse."

"Ellen? Who's Ellen? Dad never mentioned an Ellen." He appeared confused as he glanced up at Sam.

"Ellen Harvelle. He didn't mention her in the journal either. Had to do a little digging to find her. Got an address for that Roadhouse she mentioned."

"I don't know, Sammy. Even if she could help, we still don't have the Colt." Dean sighed running his fingers through his hair.

"I still think it's worth checking out. It's what Dad would want." Sam frowned.

"Since when do you care what dad would want?"

"Since he died. I spent a good portion of my life fighting with him and being angry with the man. Too little too late, I know, but it's the least I can do now." Sam sighed.

"Fine. Alright. We'll go check it out. Maybe Bobby will have a car we can borrow."

Ruby frowned watching them. "You sure that's a good idea? Neither of you are in the right mind to be going out there right now."

"It'll be fine. We're okay. It's not like we're going off on a hunt." Dean assured her.

She rolled her eyes at him. "You are the farthest thing from okay. Ellen can't help you find the Colt because... I know where it is."

"Ruby, what are you talking about?" Sam's eyes softened toward her.

"Yeah Ruby. Why don't you fill in the rest of the class?" A surprised Dean spoke in a somewhat harsh tone.

The blonde bit her lip folding her arms across her chest. "More like who has it, I should say. I was walking down the hall in the hospital on my way back to Dean's room when I saw John walking through the halls very cautiously like he didn't want to get caught."

"You saw him? Where did he go? Why didn't you tell us?" The older Winchester eyed her incredulously.

Ruby scoffed at him. "Because you were unconscious and Sam was in no condition to fight! Look, I followed John out of curiosity. He went down into the basement and.. he summoned the demon. I was pissed thinking he was going to kill the demon while you .. you were dying. So I slipped back to your room unnoticed."

"But you were wrong. He got the demon to heal Dean. So he traded the Colt and his soul for Dean." Sam realized out loud.

"Well that's great. The Colt is probably destroyed by now." Dean scoffed shaking his head.

The blonde smiled weakly at him. "Actually I don't think that's the case. John was smart. He wouldn't have handed over the Colt until he knew that you were okay. If the Colt were destroyed, there would have been a sign of that somewhere in that hospital room where he was found, but there wasn't."

"Yeah well you should have stopped him. You should have let me die!" He yelled out at her.

Ruby frowned at him. "A parent is not supposed to outlive their child. I highly doubt I could have actually stopped him, Dean."

"Then what good are you?" He snapped and walked away from them.

"Hey, you know he didn't mean it, right?" Sam assured her once his brother was out of earshot.

She just nodded her head giving Sam a slight smile. "Yeah I know. Better get going before he gets himself into trouble."

After talking to Bobby, the Winchesters headed out to the Roadhouse in what Dean bitterly referred to as a soccer mom van. Sam wasn't sure if Bobby was telling the truth about the van being the only spare running vehicle that the older man had or if it were his way of getting back at Dean for yelling at his daughter. They pulled up to the building parking the van and got out. The front door was locked so they lock picked their way inside. It was a somewhat spacious bar on the inside. The boys split up oblivious to the fact that a midnight blue 1968 Ford Mustang pulled up beside the van. Dean was walking around scoping out the inside of the bar when he suddenly froze feeling something hard pressing against the center of his back.

"Oh god, please let that be a rifle." Dean held his hands up.

"No, I'm just real happy to see you. Don't move." The young blonde stood behind him keeping the gun trained on his back.

"Not moving, copy that. You should know that when you put a rifle on someone that you don't want to put it right against their back because it makes it real easy.." He fluidly turned around grabbing the rifle and cocking it. "..to do that."

In response, she punched him in the face taking the rifle back as he doubled over in pain. He called out for help from Sam who was in his own trouble as he walked out from the back with his hands up. An older woman had her handgun pointed at his head.

"Wait. Sam? Dean? Winchester?" The older women looked at them curiously.

"Yeah." The brothers spoke simultaneously.

"Son of a bitch." She shook her head chuckling softly.

"Mom, you know these guys?" The younger of the two women asked looking over at her.

"Yeah, I think these are John Winchester's boys." She lowered her gun laughing a bit more. "I'm Ellen and this is my daughter Jo."

The front door opened catching their attention only for them all to relax when they saw it was Ruby who grinned softly at the two women. "Aunt Ellen! Jo! I'm so sorry about these guys. I should have called ahead."

"Oh don't you worry your pretty little head over that. It is so good to see you, sweetheart. Look at you. How's the old man?" Ellen greeted her with a hug.

Ruby laughed lightly and returned the hug. "It's good to see you too. Oh dad is good. Same as always. Hey Jo."

"Hey Ruby." Jo nodded at the older blonde.

"You're not going to hit me again, are you?" Dean said to Jo as Ellen handed him a small towel filled with ice. "Thanks."

"Don't tempt me." Jo smirked at him.

"So Ellen, you called our dad. Said you could help. Help with what?" Dean asked turning his attention back to her mother as he pressed the towel covered ice against his bruised face.

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

"What, was there an article in the Demon Hunters Quarterly that I missed? I mean, who are you? How do you know about all of this?" He looked at her in disbelief.

Ruby scoffed at him. "She runs a bar that hunters just happen to frequent."

"Including your dad a long time ago. John was like family once." Ellen added then smiled softly at Ruby. "And of course the Singers."

"How come he never mentioned you then?"

"You'd have to ask him that." She shrugged her shoulders.

"So why exactly do we need your help?" Dean asked only to earn a glare from Ruby.

"Hey, don't do me any favors. 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.." Ellen trailed off in realization. "He didn't send you. He's alright, isn't he?"

Ruby bit her lip slightly. "Uh no, he isn't. The demon just got him before he got it."

"Oh I'm so sorry."

"If you can help, we could use all the help we can get." Sam softened toward the older woman.

"Well we can't, but Ash will. He's a genius." Ellen paused looking behind them at the man passed out on the bar. "Ash!"

Ash stumbled awake and awkwardly smoothed out his clothes when he saw the blonde. "Well hi there, Miss Ruby."

She laughed slightly at the skinny man with the mullet. "Hi Ash."

"This guy? He's no genius. He's a Lynyrd Skynyrd roadie." Dean scoffed at him.

"Just give him a chance." Jo smiled slightly.

"Alright, fine. This stuff is about a year's worth of our dad's work so, uh, let's see what you can make of it." Dean handed a brown folder to him.

Ash skimmed through the papers in the folder letting out a low whistle. "C'mon, this crap ain't real. There ain't nobody that can track a demon like this."

"Our dad could." Sam responded proudly.

He shook his head at the notes. "There are non-parametrics, statistical overviews, correlations, and prospects. I mean... damn! They're signs. Omens. If you can track them then you can track this demon. You know, like crop failures, electrical storms, you ever been struck by lightning? It ain't fun."

"Can you track it or not?" The younger Winchester sighed.

Ash pondered the question for a moment before answering. "With this? I think so, but it'll take time. Give me, uh, fifty one hours."

"I, uh, dig the haircut." Dean called out as Ash stood up to leave.

He smirked gesturing to his signature mullet. "All business up front, party in the back."

Ruby sighed inwardly watching Jo flirt with Dean who followed the younger blonde across the bar. She rolled her eyes turning her attention to Sam and Ellen who were discussing a folder that had been behind the bar. Dean sat by the window focusing on the younger blonde.

"How did you and Ellen get into all of this anyway?" He gestured around curiously.

"My dad was a hunter. He, uh, passed away." Jo shrugged her shoulders.

"I'm sorry to hear that."

"I was just a kid. It was a long time ago. Sorry to hear about your dad." She moved to sit down across from him.

"Yeah. So I guess I've got fifty one hours to kill. Maybe tonight we should..." Dean trailed off glancing over at Ruby. "You know what? Never mind."

"What?" Jo looked at him in confusion.

"Uh, nothing. Just wrong place, wrong time."

Before Jo could respond, Ruby's voice could be heard yelling. "Yeah well I said it's my hunt, Sam. Deal with it."

"What's going on?" Dean asked as he approached them.

"Few murders not far from here that Ellen heard about. Looks to me like a possible hunt. Told her we'd check it out, but Ruby said she'd do it herself." Sam explained only for the woman in question to scoff.

Ruby folded her arms across her chest. "Like either of you are in the right frame of mind to be hunting right now."

"Bobby would kill us if we let you go hunt by yourself." Dean sighed looking at her.

She looked at him frowning slightly. "Fine. We'll do the hunt together. Let's go."

It was raining when the three of them left the Roadhouse. Dean was impressed when he saw her car. She got in driving off with the boys following her in the minivan. Sam called her phone and the call was put on speaker on both sides. He had the research open on his lap as the three of them went over the details of the case.

"A killer clown? Seriously?" Dean laughed in disbelief.

"Seriously. Killed the parents and left the daughter unharmed. Ripped the parents to pieces, actually." Sam confirmed reading the report in front of him.

"And how do we know that we're not just dealing with some psycho carnie in a clown suit?"

Ruby took a right hand turn before speaking up. "Cops have no viable leads and all of the employees have alibis as they were all packing up the carnival at the time. The little girl in question said she saw a clown vanish into thin air. They say it's trauma, of course, but it's the only real lead we've got so far."

"Well I know what Sam's thinking. Why did it have to be clowns?" Dean teased as he followed Ruby's car down the road.

"Oh give me a break, Dean." He rolled his eyes.

"Didn't think I'd remember, did you? I mean, come on, you still bust out crying whenever you see Ronald McDonald on the television." Dean laughed.

"At least I'm not afraid of flying."

"Planes crash!"

"And apparently clowns kill!"

She shook her head interrupting them. "Boys, relax. Any chance these murders have happened before?"

"Actually, yeah, according to the file, it last happened in 1981. The Bunker Brothers Circus. Same M.O. It happened three times in three different locales." Sam responded thankful for her playing peacemaker.

"It's odd. If it were a spirit, it would usually be bound to a specific locale. You know, a house or a town." Dean pointed out.

Ruby bit her lip in thought. "Cursed object, maybe? Carnival gets new owners which give it a new name. Could explain how it moves from carnival to carnival."

"Great. Paranormal scavenger hunt." Sam sighed.

"Well it was your idea to take this case. You were so quick to take this job. I would have thought you'd be hell bent on finding the demon."

"I am. I just.. I don't know. I just think this job.. it's what Dad would have wanted us to do." Sam admitted softly.

"What Dad would have wanted?"

"Yeah so?"

"Nothing." Dean focused on the road ahead of them.

The rain had slowed to a stop giving way to sunshine by the time they arrived at the Cooper Carnival. It was Dean that pointed out the detectives who were speaking to some of the carnies. He went over to learn any information he could as to what was going on. A three foot tall woman dressed as clown walked by Sam and Ruby. It was clear as day that the clowns were making Sam nervous. Ruby squeezed his arm gently in a silent assurance that it would be alright. He flashed her a thankful look as Dean approached them.

"More murders?"

"Two more last night. They were ripped to shreds and they had a little boy with them." Dean nodded filling them in.

"Who fingered a clown." Sam added.

They both gave him weird looks only for Ruby to laugh slightly. "Phrasing, Sam."

"Oh geez." Sam shook his head looking mortified.

"Yeah a clown who apparently vanished into thin air." Dean confirmed.

"Guys, looking for a cursed object around here is going to be like looking for a needle in a haystack." The younger Winchester pointed out.

Ruby shrugged her shoulders at that. "It's bound to give off EMF so we'll just have to scan for it."

"Oh great. That's nice and... inconspicuous."

"I guess we'll just have to blend in." Dean gestured to the help wanted sign he had just spotted.

She laughed lightly at that. "Go for it. I'll just walk around like I'm attending the carnival and see if I notice anything."

Sam and Dean walked into Mr. Cooper's office. There were two empty chairs in front of his desk. One was a regular chair and the other was a colorful chair with a clown face on it. Dean smirked taking a seat in the regular chair leaving an uncomfortable Sam to sit down on the clown one. He resisted the urge to roll his eyes at his brother instead opting to focus on the task at hand.

Mr. Cooper chuckled softly gesturing to them. "You boys picked a hell of a time to join up."

"What do you mean?" Sam asked with faux obliviousness.

He sighed shaking his head. "Couple of murders. Few folks got themselves killed. Cops always sniff around here first. You boys ever work the circuit before?"

"Uh, yes sir. Last year through Texas and Arkansas." The younger Winchester covered smoothly.

The older man eyed them skeptically. "Oh yeah? Doing what? Ride jockies? Butcher? ANS men?"

"Yeah. Little bit of everything. I guess." He nodded with Dean agreeing.

Mr. Cooper snorted at them. "You boys have never worked a show in your lives before, have you?"

"No, sir, but we really need the work. Oh and uh, Sam here's got a thing for the bearded lady."

He gestured toward an old photograph. "You see this photo? That's my daddy."

"You look just like him."

Cooper shrugged his shoulders. "He was in the business. Ran a freakshow until they were outlawed. Apparently displaying the deformed wasn't dignified. You see, this place, it's a refuge for outcasts. Always has been. For folks that don't fit in anywhere else. But you two? You should go to school. Find a couple of girls and have two point five kids. Live regular."

"Sir, with all due respect, we don't want to go to school and we don't want regular. We want this." Sam leaned forward eyes serious speaking up before Dean could.

They left the office a short time later with new jobs and split up putting on their red Cooper Carnival work jackets. Sam was walking around picking up trash while subtly scanning the areas with his EMF detector. The funhouse got his attention and he walked in scanning it as well. Across the carnival, Dean was putting trash into a dumpster when his cell phone rang.

"Hello?"

"Hey, man."

"What's the matter? You sound like you just saw a clown." Dean snorted at him.

"Very funny. Skeleton actually."

"Like a real genuine human skeleton?" He asked in surprise.

"Yeah in the funhouse. Listen, I was thinking. What if we're going about this all wrong? What if the spirit isn't attached to a cursed object? What if it's attached to its own remains?" Sam suggested.

"Did the bones give off EMF?"

"Well no but.." Sam trailed off.

"We should check it out anyway. I'll head over to you now." Dean ended the call only for his arm to get grabbed by the blind knife thrower.

"What are you doing here, kid?"

"I'm, uh, just sweeping." Dean shrugged as the man let him go.

"Bull. You were talking about skeletons and what's EMF?"

"Dude, your blind man hearing is out of control." Dean looked at him in shock.

"We're a tight knit group. We don't like outsiders and take care of our own problems."

"We got a problem?"

"You tell me. You're the one talking about human bones." He pointed out to the elder Winchester.

"Do you believe in ghosts?"

"What?"

"My brother and I... we're writing a book about them." Dean quickly covered making up a story and thankfully that was enough as the blind man walked away from him after a bit more discussion.

Heading in the direction of the funhouse, Dean stopped near it when he saw Ruby standing still. She was frozen as she stared at a family of three. A mother, a father, and their little blonde haired girl. Ruby touched her necklace clearly lost in thought. He gently grasped her elbow snapping Ruby out of her thoughts. She smiled slightly mouthing that she was okay and he let go of her walking toward the funhouse where Sam was waiting outside.

"What took you guys so long?"

"Long story." Dean and Ruby responded simultaneously.

"Mommy, look, a clown!" A little girl's voice rang out and they looked over to see her pointing at something.

"What clown?" Her mother responded glancing around.

They looked to where the little girl was pointing, but nothing was there. The three of them shared a look. Ruby had left first subtly tracking the family around the carnival. She blended in with the crowd leaving after them. It wasn't hard following them home though she almost lost them a few times. She kept herself and her car out of site as she kept an eye on the house letting the boys know via text where it was located. It was dark out by the time they pulled up in the minivan.

"I can't believe you told him about the homicidal phantom clown." Sam scoffed at his brother.

"I told him an urban legend about a homicidal phantom clown. Never said it was real." He pulled out his gun and cocked it only for his brother to push it back down out of sight.

"Keep that down!"

Ruby shook her head as she relaxed in her car. "So get this, I went to the fortune teller's booth. Madame Zora."

"Did she tell you your fortune?" Dean quipped.

She rolled her eyes though they couldn't see her. "Yes, but besides that, I learned that before Mr. Cooper owned Cooper Carnival, he worked for Bunker Brothers. He was their lot manager."

"So you think whatever the spirit's attached to, Cooper just brought it with him?" Sam questioned aloud.

"Something like that. I can't believe we keep talking about clowns." Dean rolled his eyes and sighed.

It was late when a light turned on inside of the house. Sam shook Dean awake and sent a quick text to Ruby letting her know. The door opened and they watched as the little girl let the clown inside. The Winchesters went up to the house with guns drawn and crept inside. They could hear the girl talking to the clown. She mentioned her parents were upstairs. Before she could take the clown upstairs, Sam grabbed the girl pulling her away from the clown. Dean shot at the clown who was knocked back. He shot again. The commotion had the parents running down the stairs and the clown dove out the window turning invisible. The boys froze as the parents freaked out. Sam let go of the girl ensuring she was okay before they ran out as well.

"They shot my clown!" The little girl frowned hugging her parents.

They jumped in the minivan taking off. Ruby waited a few minutes before following them. It was daytime when Dean pulled the van off to the side of the road. They put their bags in Ruby's car and removed all the identifying marks from the van. Dean even took the plates as well. They got into her car and she drove off.

"...and then we ran out of there." Sam finished explaining to her.

"Yeah and where the hell were you?" Dean narrowed his eyes at the blonde.

She rolled her eyes at him. "I was outside watching your back. When I heard the parents yelling at you, I ran back to my car. What? No sense in all three of us going down. Someone has to catch this homicidal clown."

"Well one thing's for sure. We're not dealing with a spirit. I mean, that rock salt hit something hard." He pointed out with a sigh.

"So a person or maybe a creature that can make itself invisible?" Sam suggested with a shrug.

"Yeah and dresses up as a clown for kicks? Did it say anything in dad's journal?"

"Nope." He pulled out his phone.

"Who are you calling?"

"Maybe Ellen or that guy Ash'll know something. Hey, you think, uh, you think Dad and Ellen ever had a thing?" Sam asked glancing over at his brother.

Ruby let out a laugh. "I can assure you that Aunt Ellen didn't have a thing with your dad. She once told my dad that she wouldn't touch John Winchester with a ten foot pole."

"So then why didn't he tell us about her?" The taller of the Winchesters glanced over at her.

She shrugged her shoulders. "I don't know. Maybe they had a falling out. Seems to me like John didn't tell you about a lot of things."

"Seems to me that he had a falling out with just about everybody." Sam paused noticing Dean's reaction. "Well don't get all maudlin on us now."

"What?"

"I mean this strong silent thing of yours. It's crap."

"Oh god." Dean rolled his eyes.

Ruby gripped the steering wheel a little tighter. "Everyone grieves differently, Sam. Give him a break."

"I don't care how he deals with this, but.. you have to deal with it, man. Listen, I'm your brother. I just want to make sure you're okay."

"Dude, I'm okay. I'm okay, okay? I swear, the next person that asks if I'm okay, I'm going to start throwing punches. These are your issues. Quit dumping them on me!" Dean snapped.

"What are you talking about?"

"Your sudden obedience you have with Dad. Like oh what would Dad want me to do? Sam, you've spent your entire life going against what Dad would want you to do. I mean, hell, you picked a fight with him the last time you ever saw him. Now that he's dead, now you want to make it right? It doesn't work that way. I'm sorry, Sam. It's too little too late." He pointed out.

"Why are you saying this to me?" Sam frowned.

"Because I want you to be honest with yourself about this. I'm dealing with dad's death. Are you?"

"I..I'm going to call Ellen." Sam swallowed visibly upset.

Ruby sighed as she continued to drive only to stop when they reached a diner. She knew it had been a while since they had all last had something to eat. Parking the car, she walked inside with Dean while Sam spoke to Ellen on the phone. They sat in a booth near the back and it wasn't long before Sam rejoined them. The waitress took their orders then walked away to put them in.

"Rakshasa. That's Ellen's best guess. It's a race of ancient Hindu creatures that appear in human form. They feed on human flesh and can make themselves invisible. They also cannot enter a home without being invited." Sam filled them in keeping his voice low.

"So that's why they dress as clowns. The kids will see them as friendly and let them in. Why don't they attack the kids though?"

"No idea. Not enough meat on the bones, I guess." Sam shrugged his shoulders.

"Anything else?"

"Yeah, apparently Rakshasas live in squalor. They sleep on a bed of dead insects." Sam pointed out.

Ruby wrinkled her nose at them. "Okay great, but we're about to eat."

"They also have to feed a few times every twenty or thirty years. Slow metabolism, I guess." He shrugged.

"Makes sense. Carnival today. The Bunker Brothers in 81. Hey, who do we know that worked both shows?"

"Mr. Cooper." Sam and Ruby replied simultaneously.

"Ellen say how to kill the rakshasha?"

"Legend says a dagger made of pure brass." Sam nodded as their food arrived.

"I think I know exactly where to get one of those."

Ruby shook her head popping a fry into her mouth. "Let's at least make sure it's Cooper before we go stabbing an innocent man."

"Alright, she has a point. I'll go round up the blade. Sammy can check if Cooper's got bed bugs. Ruby can distract Cooper if he shows up."

She laughed lightly. "Oh sure. Let me be possible rakshasa bait."

"I wouldn't let anything happen to you, Ruby." Sam assured her with a slight smile.

They returned to the carnival that night. Dean made a beeline for the blind man's trailer while Sam picked the lock of Cooper's trailer. Ruby kept an eye out for Mr. Cooper while Sam sliced the mattress. There were no signs of bugs. He frowned covering the mattress back up. Locking the door, he shut it behind them and they stepped away from the trailer only to find a shotgun pointed at their faces.

"Uh, Mr. Cooper. Hi." Sam stammered pushing Ruby a bit behind him.

He held the gun pointing it at them steadily. "What were you doing near my trailer?"

Thinking quick, Ruby leaned against Sam giggling softly like she were tipsy. "He was bragging at the bar that he worked at the carnival. We were supposed to hook up, but the trailer is locked. Silly boy must have forgotten which trailer was his."

"Yeah, uh, sorry sir. I was just trying to impress her. Honest." He draped his arm around her waist.

Cooper scoffed lowering his gun a bit. "Get out of here. You're fired."

Without another word, the two of them walked away. Dean was over in the blind man's trailer looking for a brass knife. The blind man tapped his cane against his trunk telling Dean to look inside. He knelt down opening it only to find a red clown wig. Standing up, he looked at the blind man in shock. The cane fell to the ground as the man pulled off his glasses revealing normal looking eyes. They then grew cloudy again as his face began to melt. He waved then his face disappeared cheshire cat style with his eyes glowing as they were the last thing Dean saw. The older Winchester ran to the door of the trailer struggling to open it. A knife flew by his head embedding itself into the door making Dean jump. Another one hit the door a little higher. Before a third could be thrown toward him, Dean managed to get the door open and stumbled outside.

"Hey. So Cooper thinks I'm drunk and trying to get in Ruby's pants. He's not the rakshasa though."

"Yeah, I figured that out. It's the blind guy. He's around here somewhere. Went invisible. Wait, you were trying to do what?" He looked at Sam in shock.

Ruby shook her head smiling softly at Dean. "It was a cover story. Had to think quick on our feet. Did you get the brass knife?"

"No. I couldn't find one. I have an idea though." Dean led them over to the funhouse.

The three hunters walked inside of the funhouse. The door slammed shut behind them. They walked through the maze of the funhouse stopping when they reached the section where there were brass pipes with steam coming out of them. A knife came out of nowhere pinning Dean's arm to the wall through the sleeve of his shirt. Another knife did the same to his other arm. Sam went to grab one of the pipes only to burn his hand. He quickly pulled his hand away grabbing a rag from his pocket and then loosened the pipe. A few seconds later, Ruby turned up the steam filling the area around them with it. That was when they noticed how close the rakshasa was to her. Sam pulled her out of its way and stabbed the invisible figure with the brass pipe. It froze as blood poured out around the pipe. Moments later the pipe fell to the ground on top of a pile of clothes. Ruby ran over to Dean pulling the knives out freeing him from the wall. They agreed the rakshasa was dead and cleaned up any trace of the death. The three of them then quietly left the funhouse and the carnival altogether making a beeline for Ruby's car.

It was a quiet drive back to the Roadhouse for the hunters. The boys had a beer while Ruby told Ellen that they had finished the hunt. Ash talked to the boys assuring them that he would let them know if any signs of the demon popped up as he agreed to continue tracking it. He then left them alone and it wasn't long before Jo walked over. She gave Sam a look and he got up moving to go talk to Ellen. Ruby raised an eyebrow at him then noticed the younger blonde talking to Dean which only made her frown.

"So..." Jo trailed off looking at Dean.

"Look, normally I'd be hitting on you so fast your head would spin, but these days..."

"Wrong place, wrong time?" She subtly pointed over at her mom.

"Something like that. Wrong blonde. I'm kind of seeing Ruby. It's.. complicated." Dean admitted glancing over at the woman in question who wasn't even looking his way at that moment.

It was at that moment that Ruby yawned and Ellen smiled softly. "I have a couple of rooms available if you guys want to stay a night or two."

"Thanks Ellen. Maybe another time. I've got something I have to finish." Dean nodded at her as he stood up.

They said their goodbyes with Ruby promising to visit them again soon. When they arrived back at Bobby's, Ruby went to fill in her dad while Dean went straight back to fixing up the Impala. Sam hesitated a bit before following his brother. He paced around watching as he worked on the beloved car.

"You were right. I'm not... the last time I talked to dad.. I did pick a fight. I still feel guilty about that. I'm sorry that I spent most of my life fighting with him and being angry at him. For all I know, he died thinking I hate him. I just.. I miss him, man. You're right. What I'm doing now is too little too late. I'm not alright, but neither are you." Sam admitted tearing up. "I'll let you get back to work."

Sam walked away leaving Dean alone with the broken down Impala. Dean was silent for a moment then he picked up a crowbar smashing the window of a nearby car. Then he smashed the trunk of the Impala repeatedly before slumping down. Tearing up, he stared off in the direction that Sam had gone. Unseen, Ruby frowned feeling her heart break for both of the Winchesters. She didn't know how, but she would try her best to help them heal.