Title: Calls Me Home

Summary: A journey through fifteen seasons of Supernatural through the eyes of two Winchesters and a Singer.

Characters: Dean Winchester, Sam Winchester, Ruby Singer, Bobby Singer, John Winchester, and a whole ton of others.

Disclaimer: Everything you see here belongs to Eric Kripke and Co. The title belongs to the song "Calls Me Home" by Shannon LaBrie.

Author's Note:

Chapter Thirty Three

Ruby frowned looking over their next hunt. "So she robbed the store that she worked in and then the cops found her dead at home of apparent suicide? I mean, maybe the guilt got to her."

"Maybe, but they didn't find any sign of what she stole. She wasn't even wearing the same outfit."

"It's called hiding the evidence, Sam." Dean shook his head.

"See I thought that too, but then I found this. Milwaukee National Trust back was hit about a month ago. Same deal. Guy that worked there robbed it and when the cops went to search his home, they found him dead of an apparent suicide." Sam revealed to them.

Her blue eyes widened at that. "Okay either that is a really freaky coincidence or something else is going on."

"I couldn't find any connection between the two of them aside from the M.O., but maybe it's just not as obvious." He continued.

"Alright let's check out the jewelry store and then look into what happened at the bank." Dean decided moving to go change.

It wasn't long before the two brothers were changed into suits disguised as FBI agents. Ruby walked out of the bathroom with her long golden locks hidden beneath a dark wig. She wore a dark charcoal hued pantsuit, black heels, and a pair of thin framed glasses. Dean turned and froze staring at her. She smiled blushing slightly at him.

"You look..."

Ruby shrugged her shoulders laughing slightly. "It's something people haven't seen a million times."

"Alright then. Let's get moving." Dean smiled at her and led the way out to the Impala.

It was early evening when they arrived at the jewelry store. They were due to close for the night in about a half hour though how they were even still open so soon after the burglary was anyone's guess. The three hunters introduced themselves as FBI agents and got down to business. Sam and Ruby were talking with the manager of the store while Dean was talking to Frannie, one of the store's employees. She was an attractive young woman and it annoyed Ruby to see her flirting with Dean.

"How well did I know her? Well Helena was our head buyer. She.. she was like family. She even said so at the annual holiday party. Helena always said we were the only family that she had." The manager recalled sadly.

Ruby gave him a sympathetic look. "So you'd probably know her well enough to know how she usually acts, right? Was there anything out of the ordinary in her behavior in the days leading up to the robbery?"

"Right and no, not that I can recall. The day of the robbery was her day off. Actually wait there was one peculiar thing. She worked the day before the robbery and it was almost as if she were taking inventory of where everything was located. I thought that was odd because it wasn't like she didn't know where everything was in the store." He pointed out.

"Can you walk us through the actual robbery again?"

"I.. sure. We closed up like we normally do and said goodnight to our security guard, Edgar. He usually had the overnight shift. Helena cleared out all of our displays and the safe. Edgar caught her in the act of emptying the safe. He's known her for years just like most of us have and he didn't know what to do. So he called me at home. She got his gun and.. and.. shot him in the face. I heard him die over the phone." The manager frowned shaking his head clearly upset.

"Did she say anything after that? Any idea what her motive might have been?" Sam looked at him.

"No. She just hung up the phone. Motive? What motive? It just doesn't make sense. She went through all that just to go home and... I just don't get it."

She nodded her head. "We're trying to make sense of it all too. Uh, why don't you finish up with the manager here? I'm going to go see what our other agent found out."

"So what's it like being an FBI agent?" Frannie batted her eyes at Dean as she leaned over the counter.

"Ah well it's dangerous and there's secrets we've got to keep. Oh god, the secrets. But mostly it's lonely." Dean told her only to jump slightly when he felt Ruby beside him.

Her blue eyes narrowed slightly at the two. "I don't quite see how that is relevant to the investigation, agent, but alright."

"Oh hi. I'm Frannie. Hey nice necklace you've got there." She gestured to the necklace Ruby was wearing.

Ruby touched the charm on the necklace that once belong to her mother. "Thank you. I got it from my mom."

"Was she psychic?"

Her face looked alarmed at that. "Excuse me?"

"Sorry. I just.. I've seen the necklace before. Or one like it, at least. This fortune teller at a carnival was wearing it. I asked her about it, but all she really said was that it protected her from evil." Frannie shrugged her shoulders.

The two hunters shared a look before Ruby laughed slightly. "She was probably just trying to make herself appear more legit. My mom bought this at a flea market."

"But back to the case at hand. So what else do you know about Helena?" Dean turned his attention toward Frannie again.

"The poor girl killed herself. At least that's what the cops said. She just dropped a hair dryer in the bath and fried herself. I mean, the cops would know right?"

"Yeah they would. Well thanks Frannie. I think that's all we need." He smiled at her.

"Are you sure about that? Because I've got more, you know. If you wanted to interview me sometime. In private?"

Ruby cleared her throat rolling her eyes at the girl. "That's highly inappropriate, Miss. Try to solicit one of my agents again and I'll have you put in cuffs."

Frannie's face paled as Dean led Ruby out of the store. Sam met up with them a few moments later outside. The three hunters compared notes and were in agreement that something strange was definitely going on. Then Ruby filled Sam in on what Frannie said about her necklace.

"Well it would explain why you were immune to Andy's powers." Sam offered her reassuringly.

She shrugged her shoulders. "Yeah I suppose it would."

"She also got jealous and threatened to have Franny arrested." Dean chuckled at the thought.

Ruby's eyes widened and she gasped slightly. "I was not jealous! You were the one flirting when you were supposed to be questioning her."

"I was softening her up. I know how to do my job." He scoffed slightly.

"Let's just go look into the bank robbery now." Sam shook his head at them slightly amused.

"Five.. this is it." Sam gestured toward the house.

"So tell me about this bank job again." Dean stopped the car and got out.

"Same M.O., never in a million years would have done this type. Teller robs the place and they find him at home later on dead of an apparent suicide. Guy we're seeing now was the security guard on duty that night. He was beat unconscious by the teller." Sam filled them in.

Ruby furrowed her brows at the new information. "Well there's a major discrepancy between the two robberies right there. The first security guard was beaten and the second one was killed."

"Ronald Resnick?" Sam knocked on the screen door and then a bright floodlight flicked on blinding the three hunters making them shield their eyes. "Mr. Resnick?"

"Son of a bitch." Dean swore beneath his breath.

A man warily approached the door eyeing them with suspicion. "Yes?"

"FBI, Mr. Resnick."

He gave them an unsure look. "Let me see some badges."

The three of them held up their badges pressing them against the screen. "We just want to ask you a few questions."

Ronald sighed still looking a bit unsure. "I already talked to the police though."

Ruby softened toward him. "Yes we're aware, Mr. Resnick, but new information came up in the case which has given us the need to meet with you for further questioning."

He thought about it for a minute then let them in. "Ronald. You can call me Ronald."

"Okay Ronald." Dean nodded his head.

Ronald led them over to his living room. "So you've read my statement? You've come to hear what I've got to say?"

"Yes of course." Sam assured him.

He nodded moving to sit down. "None of the cops ever called me back. They didn't believe me after I told them what really happened. Juan Morales never robbed the Milwaukee National Trust, okay? You see, Juan and I were friends. I'd let him back into the bank during my night shifts and we'd play cards."

"So that's how he got in that night. You let him in." Sam nodded his head.

Ronald frowned at him. "Yeah I did, but that thing I let in wasn't Juan. I mean, it looked like Juan. It had his face and everything. It was too perfect though. It was like a Juan doll or something."

"A Juan doll?"

He grabbed a file handing it to Sam. "This isn't the only time this has happened either. The same exact thing happened in a jewelry store downtown. The cops and you guys... you just won't see it. The same thing did both of these robberies."

Ruby peered at the file then looked at him. "This is pretty impressive detective work. We believe you, Ronald, but we still have a few questions. Did Juan know Helena?"

Ronald looked at her in confusion for a moment then relaxed. "Uh, yeah, but not like personally. They weren't friends. Helena was the head buyer at that jewelry store. She had a personal account at that bank as well as a business account for the store. So she was at the bank at least once a week."

"So what do you think it was that you let into the bank?" Dean asked him.

He picked up a magazine with a Cyberman on it. "Chinese have been working on them for years. Russians too. Part man, part machine. But.. but the kind that can change itself to look like other people. Like the Terminator."

"Like the one in T2" Dean smirked.

Ronald pointed at him. "Exactly! So not really just a robot. More like a.. a.. mandroid!"

"A mandroid?" Sam eyed him doubtfully.

Ruby smiled slightly. "I can see where you're coming from, Ronald, but what makes you think it's a mandroid besides the fact that they look too perfect?"

He grabbed a video tape putting it into the player. "I made copies before the police confiscated them. Here! Right here! See? He's got the laser eyes."

The three hunters shared a look.

Ronald shook his head. "The cops said it was a camera flare. That's no damn camera flare. They say I'm a post-trauma case. So what? Bank goes and fires me. It don't matter! This thing is still out there, you know? The law won't hunt this thing down and well, I'll hunt it myself. It kills the real person and makes it look like suicide. Then it sorta morphs into the person and cases their job for a while until it knows the take is fat. Then it finds its opening. These robberies are all grouped together. The mandroid is probably holed up underground charging its uh.. mandroid batteries."

Dean looked impressed while Ruby thought it over. "You've been very helpful, Ronald."

"But you see there is no such thing as mandroids. It really was just a camera flare. Your friend Juan really did rob that bank and attack you." Sam spoke calmly to the man.

He made a face and pointed toward the door angrily. "Get out of my house! Now!"

Ruby was grateful to be out of her disguise and back into regular clothes. They knew exactly what they were dealing with on this hunt though and she didn't like it one bit. She saw Sam moving to watch the tape again and looked away not wanting to deal with it right now. It was Dean that chuckled though.

"I can't believe you pulled that with him. All it's classified so we have to remand the tapes you copied." Dean chuckled again.

"Yeah so? What are you, pissed at me now?" His brows raised at him.

"Nah. It's just a little creepy how good of a Fed you are. We could have thrown the guy a bone though. He did most of the leg work."

"Mandroid?" Sam chuckled.

"Except for the mandroid part, yeah. He's not that different than us and people think we're crazy." He shrugged.

"Yeah except he's not a hunter. That thing would tear him apart. He's safer in the dark.. and alive." Sam sighed.

Ruby just shook her head as the tape played. "I don't like this. At all. Remember what happened the last time we dealt with a shifter? It turned into Dean and.. and.."

"Hey shh. It's alright. It wasn't really me, okay? I'm right here. I'm alive. I'm okay." Dean assured her taking the blonde into his arms comfortingly.

She sighed inhaling his scent for a moment as she relaxed in his arms. "I know. I just.. I didn't like seeing you like that even if it really wasn't you."

"This time we know better. It'll be fine, Ruby." Sam assured her with a smile.

"Exactly." Dean pressed a kiss to her head. "Now we just have to figure out where this thing is striking next."

Ruby smiled slightly then pulled away from him. "Alright. Well from what we know from the previous shifter case, they like to hole up underground in the sewer. All the robberies have been connected so far too, right?"

"Yeah." He nodded his head as Dean traced a map and then traced over the sewer line.

"And the robberies would have lined up with the sewer line layout. Check this out. There's one more bank that sits along that sewer line." Dean pointed out to them.

The blonde checked out the traced maps then nodded her head. "Alright so what's the plan?"

"Well we know the shifter is going to hit that bank soon, but we don't know what it looks like at the moment. We'll need to see it on camera to see its eyes and know it's the shifter." Sam pointed out.

"We can disguise ourselves as techs from the security system company. Just tell them that there might be a glitch and we need to check it out to be sure."

Ruby sat down at the edge of the bed. "That could very well work except I don't think they'll buy that a glitch requires three techs to fix."

"Yeah that could be a bit too suspicious. So we'll go on ahead first and when it's the right time, we'll text you. Then you'll come in and say you want to talk to one of the financial guys. That will get you out of the bank lobby at least without raising any suspicion." The younger Winchester suggested to her.

She thought it over then nodded her head. "I can work with that. Thanks Sam."

After getting disguises that Ruby wasn't going to question how they did it, the three of them headed over to the City Bank of Milwaukee. She was appalled that they weren't taking their guns in which Dean seemed to agree with, but Sam assured her that it would be okay. Before they could head toward the bank, Ruby leaned up pressing a kiss to Dean's lips.

She smiled as she pulled back from him. "Be safe in there, Winchester."

"Just for you." He winked and walked away with Sam.

"Well there haven't been any flags that have gone up around here." The guard said as he led the brothers through the main hall a few minutes after they entered the bank.

"Oh no, well, this is actually a glitch in the overall grid. We just wanted to make sure the branch monitors are still working properly." Dean informed him.

"Well better to be safe than sorry." The guard shrugged his shoulders.

"That's the plan."

The guard led them to an observation room where there were several TV monitors showing security footage. He returned to his post after that and the Winchesters studied the footage. After a while, more people started to enter the bank so Dean sent Ruby a text telling her to come in. The blonde entered the bank looking around a bit before finding the sign in sheet. She signed it with a fake name then accidentally dropped the pen. As she bent over to pick it up, Dean zoomed the camera in on her ass.

"I don't know, Dean. Maybe we jumped the gun on this. Maybe the thing isn't even here." Sam pointed out then rolled his eyes. "Dean, we're supposed to be looking for the shifter."

"I'm getting there." He smirked.

"Seriously?" He paused when the woman stood back up straight revealing that it was Ruby all along which made him chuckle. "You're hopeless."

Her name was called and she followed the financial advisor to his office. "I'm glad you could see me on such short notice."

"Oh we gladly take walk ins too, Ms. Ford. So what brings you in today?" The advisor sat back down at his desk.

Ruby smiled as she sat down in one of the chairs that were in front of the desk. "Well my daddy's business is a bit slow lately. He's a mechanic, but he does a bit of salvaging cars and fixing them up on the side. Anyways I'm in my last year of college here in Milwaukee at the University of Wisconsin. Academic scholarship, thankfully, so I don't have to worry about student loans. But to make a long story short, I was thinking about maybe staying in town after graduation. I was planning on opening a business, but I'm not sure that I could afford to buy a business property while also buying a home."

"We'd have to look into your financials first, but there should be a few options to consider depending on what type of business you are planning to open. Let me just consult with my colleague for a second." He stood back up and left the office.

"Wait a minute." Dean watched a middle aged man enter the bank and the man's eyes flared as he turned toward the camera. "Hello, freak."

"Got him." Sam moved for the door.

"Sam!" He stood though didn't move as he looked at another monitor watching helplessly as a familiar face chained the doors shut. "Hello, Ronald."

"Well that's not good." He frowned.

"Okay we need to find Ruby." Dean followed Sam out of the room and down the hall.

They checked a few of the offices before finding the one that she was in. "Did you find him?"

"Yeah, but we've got another problem. Ronald's here. He chained the doors shut and he's got a rifle." Sam filled her in as Dean moved around her toward the windows.

Ruby frowned. "Well that's not good. Now what do we do?"

"You're leaving." Dean unlocked one of the windows lifting it up.

Her blue eyes widened at him. "Dean, I'm a hunter. This is what I do."

"Yeah well I can't lose you because Ronald's running around with a rifle trying to gank a mandroid." He admitted then pulled her into a kiss.

Ruby melted into the kiss and then sighed softly. "I don't like this one bit, but alright fine. Just be careful, you two. I will destroy this place if one hair is harmed on either of you two."

"We'll be fine." Sam assured her.

She kissed Dean again then reluctantly pulled away. The blonde climbed out of the window glancing back at them for a moment then ran off. Dean shut the window sighing as he locked it. As they went to confront Ronald, Ruby slipped into the group of bystanders outside of the bank unnoticed. The cops were there which she knew was a bad sign especially seeing as how there was already a warrant out for Dean's arrest. The sight of the S.W.A.T. van wasn't helping matters either. The sound of a gunshot seemingly echoed making her flinch. A second one rang out not long after and she flinched again. Since Ronald didn't like Sam, Dean was the one that tried to talk him down. It didn't exactly work as everyone except for Ronald and Dean got put into the bank's vault.

"Okay look you were right. There is something else, but it's not a mandroid. It's a shapeshifter." Dean admitted to him.

Ruby watched as a detective showed up and a few moments later the bank went dark which she knew wasn't good. "Oh no."

Ronald smirked adjusting the rifle in his hands as Dean grabbed a silver letter opener. "I knew it."

"Yeah you did some real good work." He found a second letter opener holding it for Sam.

They found a few more people including the guard from earlier. Dean took his handgun and helped Ronald lead the group to the vault. They were put in while Sam was let out of the vault. He handed Sam a letter opener and Sam left the vault open so that the hostages could get some air. Then the guard seemed to be having trouble breathing.

"Help him! I think he's having a heart attack." One of the hostages yelled out.

Ronald babbled on the phone to the hostage negotiator then dropped the phone. "No. No one is leaving."

"We can't just let him die." One of the other hostages cried.

It was Dean that found the dead body of the man that was currently helping the guard. They agreed to help the guard then Dean got the shifter to come towards him. The shifter attacked him then took off running. Dean gave chase, but lost him in the darkness. Sam took the phone alerting the cops to the guard's situation. Ronald followed Dean crossing in front of the window. Before either could stop him, a S.W. A. T. sniper took the shot shooting him through the chest. Dean ducked staying out of the sniper's line of sight and checked Ronald's pulse. He was dead.

"What do we do now? The cops are out there and you're wanted for arrest. They'll storm in here, we'll get arrested, and the shifter will get away scot free." Sam spoke in a hushed whisper.

"I know. One thing at a time. We need to get the guard some help and then gank this shifter."

Ruby froze knowing the sniper had taken a shot. She hated that she had no contact with the Winchesters at the moment. One of the doors to the bank opened and there was Dean handing the guard over to the paramedics. The blonde sighed in relief to see that he was okay. He quickly went back inside shutting the door behind him. There was a flurry of activity. The guard was attended to and taken to the hospital. Then a black sedan along with several black SUVs pulled up onto the scene. A really bad feeling gnawed at Ruby. Sam continued looking for the shifter while Dean shut the hostages back into the vault. The phone rang again and Dean sighed moving to answer it.

"Yeah?"

"Hello this is Special Agent Victor Henriksen with the FBI." The bald headed dark skinned FBI agent introduced himself over the phone.

"Nice to meet you, but I'm not really in the mood for negotiating so..." Dean trailed off as the FBI agent cut him off.

"Good because neither am I. It's my job to bring you in. Alive is a bonus, but not necessary."

"Whoa alright that's kind of harsh for a Federal Agent, don't you think?" He huffed.

"Well you're not the typical suspect are you, Dean?" Victor smirked. "I want you and Sam out here unarmed. Or we come in. And yes, of course I know about Sam. The Bonnie to your Clyde."

"Yeah well alright, that part's true. How'd you even know we were here?"

"Go screw yourself. That's how I knew you were here. It's my job to know where you are. I've been looking for you for weeks now. I know about the murder in St. Louis and about your little disappearing act in Baltimore. I know about the desecrations and thefts. I know about your dad." He admitted.

"You don't know anything about my dad." Dean grew defensive.

"Ex-military. Wife died in a fire. Raised his kids on the road in cheap motel rooms. Real paramilitary backwoods type. I just can't get a handle on what type of whacko he was."

"You've got no right to talk about my dad like that. He was a real hero."

"Yeah sure sounds like it. Oh and there's also the girl. I don't know who she is, but I know she helped you out of Baltimore. I will find her, Dean. That is unless you want to surrender." Victor taunted him.

"I don't know what you're talking about. There is no girl." His blood ran cold at the thought of Ruby in trouble.

"Sure you don't. You have one hour to make a decision or we come in there fully automatic." He hung up the phone and talked to his fellow agents. "Suit up. Five minutes and we go in."

"Shouldn't we give them a showing of good faith? They already let one hostage go." One of the agents relayed to him.

"No. Not at all. You don't know these men. They are highly dangerous."

Ruby could only watch in horror as the S.W.A.T. team crept into the building. With everyone distracted by that, she slipped away quickly heading toward the parking garage where the Impala was parked. Dean found another dead body inside and relayed that information to Sam. The shifter was now Sherry, one of the tellers from the bank. They led her over to where they believed the real Sherry was laying dead with a slit throat. To their surprise, the Sherry they held fainted at the sight.

"Well it could be a trick." Dean offered unsure of what to do.

The shifter's eyes opened and it grabbed Dean. The real Sherry came to from her fainting spell and screamed. Sam took her into his arms comforting her while Dean fought with the shifter. He pulled her away from the fight getting her a safe distance only to freeze when a few of the S.W.A.T. guys held her at gun point.

"FREEZE! HANDS UP! DON'T MOVE!"

"Please! Don't shoot! I work here. I.. I just work here. Please. Just get me out of here." Sherry cried clearly terrified.

They cleared Sherry out escorting her from the building. Two of them continued further only to see Sam. They gave him the same commands, but instead of complying, he attacked them singlehandedly knocking them out cold. He dragged them over to a closet when an idea began to form in his head. Dean fought with shifter Sherry who was getting in several good hits. He managed to slam the shifter against the wall and they struggled like that for a few moments. Then he drove the silver blade straight into her chest. She cried out then groaned as she slid to the floor dead. Panting, Dean turned to see a unformed S.W.A.T. officer standing there. He relaxed though when he realized it was his brother.

Ruby hesitated before sliding the key into the ignition turning the Impala on. "Come on, come on, get out of there."

Two S.W.A.T. men left the building and Agent Henriksen walked in a few moments later flanked by other officers. As he walked through the bank with determination, the officers cleared the bank not finding any sign of Sam and Dean. An officer came up to the agent informing him that the building was clear and that the Winchesters weren't there.

"You tear this place apart. The ducts, the ceiling, the furnace, everything!" Victor yelled.

"Sir, I don't think that will be necessary." The officer led him to a broom closet where two officers were stripped down to their underwear handcuffed back to back.

Victor scoffed in frustration knowing the Winchesters had slipped away yet again. Outside in the parking garage, the two men decked out in S.W.A.T. gear approached the car. Ruby grew defensive until they pulled off their masks. She sighed in relief seeing that they were okay. Ruby quickly hugged them then took her spot in the backseat. They sat up front panting and catching their breaths for a few moments.

"We are so screwed." Dean frowned.

They got as far away from Milwaukee as they could opting to lay low in Sioux Falls for a little bit. Bobby was mad that they had gotten themselves into so much trouble, but was also grateful that they had mostly kept Ruby out of it. Dean couldn't really shake the agent's words though. He couldn't risk Ruby getting caught or worse. The blonde was too stubborn to stay home and away from them though.

"But he said..."

Ruby smiled softly and curled up against him. "I know what he said. You already told me. But Dean, he has no real evidence. The detective from Baltimore isn't going to rat me out."

"I know that, but I'd rather you stay unknown to him altogether, okay? At least the media only saw my face. I can figure out a way to say lowkey." Dean sighed trying to relax.

She pressed a kiss to his cheek then rested her head against him. "He was bluffing. He only mentioned bits and pieces. Never mentioned Sam going off to college or even your dad dying. He knew just enough to get under your skin. You can't let him."

"I'm trying not to, but it's hard." He admitted with a sigh.

Ruby relaxed trying not to worry about it too much. "Look, we're going to figure it out, okay? We always figure it out."