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 & 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 Six

It wasn't too long after the last case that the Winchesters brought Ruby back home to South Dakota. A thin layer of sparkling white snow seemingly covered everything as the Impala pulled into the Singer Salvage Yard. Ruby was the first one out of the car and she couldn't help doing a playful little twirl as the snow flurries continued to fall around them. The holiday season always did bring out the kid in her. She stopped twirling, however, when she saw her father walk out and she ran over to hug him. He returned the hug happily and then gestured for the boys to come inside. Bobby knew that Dean was fully capable of driving the Impala, but that didn't mean he was actually going to let the boys drive back out in this chaotic weather. So with that in mind, the Winchesters stayed the night enjoying a home-cooked meal with the Singers. It was after dinner that Ruby had insisted on doing the dishes herself so her dad could just relax. What she hadn't counted on was Dean volunteering to help her.

"So why didn't you tell me that you had kept up with Sammy while he was at Stanford?" Dean asked glancing over at the beautiful blonde beside him as he dried the dishes and put them away.

Ruby sighed and shook her head slightly as her blue eyed gaze remained focused on the glass she was currently washing, "I tried to, at first, but every time I brought up Sam, you kind of got upset. He always asked about you though. He wanted me to look out for you. Make sure John wasn't pushing you too hard."

He nodded his head smiling faintly before continuing to dry the dishes. An awkward silence fell upon the pair until Dean finally chose to speak up again.

"Listen, Ruby, uh, about that kiss..." He began as he scratched the back of his head while searching for the right words to say.

The blonde turned to look at him eyeing the elder Winchester brother curiously, "What about it?"

"Look, I'm not going to lie. I enjoyed it. I just don't want you getting your hopes up or anything. My main priority right now is helping Sam find Dad so we can finally gank the son of a bitch that killed Mom and Jess. I just..I can't afford any distractions." He admitted with a heavy sigh.

Ruby listened intently before shaking her head, "Dean, I get it. I'd stop at nothing to find my dad too."

"Yeah, you're right. Anyway, It's getting late. I should probably check on Sam and try to get some sleep." Dean nodded and gave her a brief hug before walking out of the kitchen to check on his brother.

The boys left not too long after breakfast the following day while Ruby had opted to stay home with her father. She kept in the touch with the boys though mostly speaking with Sam more often than not. The Singers had a rather low key Christmas filled with egg nog, Christmas specials, and a crackling fire within the fireplace. They exchanged gifts as well. A necklace, a blank journal, and a new pair of boots for her. New clothes, Some books he had been wanting, and an engraved flask for him. When New Year's rolled around, Bobby had gone off on a hunt with Rufus and Ruby was left to man the phones. Ruby kept busy during January with various hunts, manning the phones, and just helping her dad. When January 24th arrived, Ruby bit her lip before sending a simple Happy Birthday text to Dean. He replied with a simple thanks. Things continued on for the Winchesters and Ruby the same way for about the next month. Then one day around the end of February, Dean was at a gas station filling the Impala's tank while Sam was still sitting in the passenger's seat looking focused as he messed with his cell phone.

"We'll probably hit Tucumcari by lunch then head south. That should leave us at Bisbee by midnight." Dean announced looking at Sam who remained quietly focused on his phone, "Sam wears women's underwear."

"I've been listening, you ass. I'm just busy." The younger Winchester finally responded not taking his eyes off of his phone as he scrolled down.

"Busy doing what, Sam?"

"Reading emails"

"Emails from who?"

"From my friends at Stanford."

"You still keep in touch with your college buddies? You got to be kidding me! What do you say to them about what you've been doing?" Dean asked looking at his brother incredulously.

"Just that I needed some time off after Jess so I'm on a road trip with my big brother." Sam shrugged his shoulders, "I know it's not exactly the truth, but what else can I do?"

"Look, I know it sucks, but in a job like this, you can't get close to people, period."

"Like you and Ruby?" He teased before frowning at his phone, "God..."

"Shut up. That's different. Wait, what's wrong?" Dean shook his head before noticing the frown.

"It's this girl, Rebecca Warren, one of those friends of mine. She sent me an email. I went to school with both her and her brother Zack. Apparently he's been charged with murder. She says that he didn't do it, but it sounds like the cops have a pretty good case. They believe he killed his girlfriend." Sam responded ignoring Dean's question of if she was hot.

"Dude, what kind of people are you hanging out with?"

"No, I know Zack, he's no killer." Sam shook his head as he closed his email, "They live in St. Louis. We're going."

"Look, Sam, I'm sorry about your buddy, but this doesn't sound like our kind of problem." He said as he got back into the Impala after he was done filling the car's tank with gas.

"They're my friends. It is our problem."

"St. Louis is four hours behind us, Sam." Dean sighed exchanging a look with his brother before driving off, "Call Ruby. I have a feeling that we're going to need her on this one."

After picking Ruby up along the way, the boys arrived in front of the address that Rebecca Warren had given to Sam. It was a nice place in a nice neighborhood. The three of them approached the front door and Sam knocked. It was a few moments later that the door swung open revealing a pretty blonde. Dean and Ruby watched as the blond greeted Sam. Once the pair pulled away from the hug, Dean stepped forward introducing himself as he extended his hand toward Rebecca. The older blonde had to resist the urge to roll her eyes as she and Sam watched the pair shake hands.

"Oh and this is Ruby, Dean's girlfriend." Sam spoke up before Ruby could introduce herself and watched as the two blondes shook hands.

Dean and Ruby both glared at the back of Sam's head as the three of them followed Rebecca into the house. It was the elder Winchester that shut the front door behind them and complimented Rebecca on the nice place. She explained that it belonged to her parents and that she was just staying there for the long weekend when everything happened so she had decided to take the semester off instead.

"Where are your folks?" Sam asked as they followed her into the kitchen.

Rebecca turned to look at them offering drinks before sighing softly, "They live in Paris for half the year, but they are on their way home for the trial."

"No, thanks. Oh, well that's good that they are heading back then. So tell us what happened." Sam spoke up keeping his focus on his friend.

The blonde gave sodas to Dean and Ruby before sighing again, "Zack went home and found his girlfriend Emily tied to a chair. She was bloody and beaten up to the point that she wasn't breathing so naturally he called 911. The police..they showed up and arrested him. He couldn't of killed Emily though unless he was in two places at one time. There's a security tape from across the street that shows Zack arriving at home at ten thirty. Emily's death was said to of occurred just after that, but I swear..he was here with me having a few beers until after midnight."

"You know, maybe we could see the crime scene. Zack's house." The younger Winchester suggested softly.

A confused Rebecca eyed him curiously, "Why? I mean, no offense, but what could you do?"

"Well, me, not much, but Dean here is a cop."

"Uh, a detective actually. In Bisbee, Arizona. I'm off duty now, of course." Dean laughed slightly in an attempt to not show that the cover made him a bit uncomfortable.

She shook her head sighing softly, "You guys, it's really nice of you to offer, but I just don't know."

"Bec, look, we know Zack didn't do this. Now we just have to find a way to prove that he's innocent." Sam looked at her imploringly.

Rebecca gave in after a moment and smiled softly, "Alright, let me go get the keys."

"Oh yeah, man, you're a real straight shooter with your friends." Dean spoke once the blonde had disappeared down the hall to get her keys.

"Look, Zack and Becky need our help."

"I just don't think this is our kind of problem."

Ruby shrugged as she chose to put her two cents in, "Two places at once? We've looked into less, Dean."

"Bec, you want to wait outside?" Sam asked wanting to spare his friend from being even more upset.

Rebecca shook her head as she ducked under the police tape entering her brother's house, "No, I want to help."

"Alright, well tell us what the police said." Sam glanced around the place before looking at her.

She teared up a bit as she thought back, "There was no sign of a forced entry so Emily must of let her attacker in. The lawyers..they are already talking about plea bargains. Oh, god."

Ruby bit her lip before looking at the other blonde, "Look, if your brother didn't do this, obviously someone else did. Any idea who would want to hurt Emily or get your brother in trouble?"

The blonde shook her head before remembering something. There had been a robbery about a week before the murder. Someone had broken in and stole some of Zack's clothes. The police didn't think it was anything considering that they were close to downtown. As Sam and Ruby looked around the place, Dean walked back over toward the open front door noticing the neighbor's dog barking loudly. After talking to Rebecca a bit about the dog, Dean walked off to find Sam who was in the hallway looking at a framed picture of himself, Rebecca, and Zack.

"So the neighbor's dog went psycho right around the time that Zack's girlfriend was killed." Dean spoke up looking at the picture as well for a moment.

"Animals can have a sharp sense of the paranormal. So you think maybe this is our problem?"

"No, probably not, but we should get a look at that security tape just to make sure." Dean remarked turning as Rebecca approached them along with Ruby.

The blonde hunter looked over at the other blonde sympathetically, "So about that security footage, think maybe your lawyer could get a hold of that tape? Dean here is out of his jurisdiction."

Rebecca nodded her head, "I already have the tape. I just didn't want to say anything in front of the cop. I stole it off of the lawyer's desk. I just had to see it for myself."

As the four of them leave the house, a man looking identical to Zack was sitting across the street from a different house not too far away watching an Asian man saying goodbye to his wife. As the Asian man drives off and his wife heads back inside, Zack's lookalike smiled wickedly as his eyes glinted silver for a moment. Back at Zack and Rebecca's parents' home, the Winchesters and Ruby watched the tape with Rebecca noting the tape shows Zack arriving at his home just after ten. Rebecca confirmed that the time of death was ten thirty and that the lawyer had a video expert check out the tape only to prove that it was authentic meaning it wasn't tampered with at all. Noticing something, Sam has Rebecca head to the kitchen to get him a drink. He waited until she was out of sight before speaking up.

"Check this out." Sam remarked rewinding the tape to a moment where Zack looks in the camera and his eyes are silver.

"It could be a camera flare." He responded with a slight shrug.

Ruby eyed the image for a moment before looking over at Dean skeptically, "I've never seen a camera flare like that."

"Some cultures believe a photograph can capture a glimpse into the soul." Sam spoke up looking at the pair.

The blonde nodded her head, "Right. Hey, remember the dog that was freaking out? Maybe he saw this thing. Maybe we're dealing with some kind of dark double of Zack's. It looks like him, but it isn't him. Like a doppelganger or something."

"That would explain how he was two places at once." The younger Winchester agreed as he stopped the tape turning it off.

Ruby had never really been a morning person yet the next day she was up at five thirty in the morning with the Winchesters. She was sipping on coffee trying to pay attention as Sam and Dean spoke once they arrived at the crime scene again. Sam had noted that the videotape showed the killer going in, but never going out. She followed them around outside the building until Sam found a blood smear on a telephone pole. It was the end of the trail though as there was nothing else showing which direction the killer could of possibly went. Just then, an ambulance with its sirens blaring drove past them and the trio exchange a look. They walked over blending in with the small crowd as an Asian man is seen in handcuffs being put into the back of a police car.

"What happened?" Dean asked observing the scene in front of them.

"He tried to kill his wife. Tied her up and beat her. The poor thing." A woman commented looking on in disbelief, "He was the nicest guy. I used to see him go off to work in the mornings. He'd wave and say hello."

They watched the man get taken away and once everything had calmed down a bit, Sam along with Ruby began looking around the outside of the building where the Asian man lived with his wife. They didn't seem to find anything and were soon joined by Dean who seemed to agree that it was there problem after all as he spoke to a patrolman who told him that the suspect claimed he was driving home from a business trip when his wife was attacked. It was yet again another story of a suspect being two places at once.

"Shapeshifter? Something that can make itself look like anyone?" Sam suggested looking at both of them.

Ruby brushed her hair away from her face and nodded, "There is lore in practically every culture of the world about shapeshifters. Men who can turn into animals or other men."

"Right. Skinwalkers, Werewolves." Sam nodded.

"Two attacks within blocks of each other? I'm guessing there's a shapeshifter in the neighborhood." Dean commented glancing around before looking at them again.

"Let me ask you this, in all of the shifter lore, can any of them fly?" Sam asked only to see both of them shake their heads no, "I picked up a trail here. Someone ran out the back of this building and headed off this way."

"Just like at Zack's house."

"Yeah and just like at Zack's house, the trail abruptly ends. It's as if this thing just disappeared." The younger Winchester threw his hands up in the hair in slight frustration.

"Well there is another way to go. Down." Dean suggested causing all three of them to glance down at a nearby manhole cover.

Ruby's bright blue eyes widened before she visibly grimaced, "I am not going down into a sewer."

Before she could protest further, Sam looked at her and she gave in. The blonde never could say no to those puppy dog eyes. She followed them down the manhole into the sewer and held a flashlight as they started to walk through the sewer. It was Dean that spotted the pile of blood and skin which the sight of caused Ruby to cover her mouth as the boys bent down to examine the find. Dean deduced that the shifter possibly sheds its skin when it changes shape. Sam and Ruby agreed that it was a sick thought before the three of them headed back up the manhole. At the Impala, Dean opens the trunk and starts pulling out weapons.

"Well, one thing I learned from Dad is that no matter what kind of shapeshifter it is, there is only one sure way to kill it." Dean spoke as he loaded a gun.

"Silver bullet to the heart."

"That's right." Dean smirked handing a gun to Sam whose cell phone rang at that moment.

It was Rebecca that was calling Sam. She had apparently told her lawyer about them looking at the crime scene and discovered through the lawyer that Dean wasn't a detective after all. Before Sam could explain, she said goodbye and hung up. He shook his head following Dean and Ruby back down into the sewer. Sam led the way through the sewer with Ruby behind him and Dean behind her. It was Dean who spotted the pile of skin and blood on the pipe by Sam's head as the younger Winchester walked by.

"Oh gross." Sam grimaced as he saw it as well before turning to look at Dean only to see the shifter behind his brother, "Dean, it's the shifter! Look out!"

As Dean turned toward the shifter, the monster in question hit Dean and took off running. Sam stopped to check on Dean, but his brother insisted that Sam go after the shifter. Ruby helped Dean up and they followed the shifter back above ground onto the streets. The trio split up to look for the monster only for Sam to end up back at the Impala. It wasn't long afterward that Dean approached him.

"Where's Ruby?" Sam asked as he cocked the gun that was in his hands.

"Oh, uh, she went back around to Rebecca's just in case." Dean said eyeing the weapons filled trunk.

"You're not my brother." He pointed his loaded gun right at Dean's face.

"Whoa, Sammy, watch that thing. Of course I'm your brother."

Sam remained unconvinced, though, and asked Dean a question about their father that only the Winchesters would know. Dean answered the question correctly and Sam lowered the gun. It was when Sam took his eyes off of Dean that he was knocked out proving that this Dean was really the shifter posing as Dean. The younger Winchester came to a little while later only to find that he was tied to a wooden post. The shapeshifter walked over and backhanded Sam across the face.

"Where is he? Where's Dean?" Sam groaned as he glared at the creature before him.

"I wouldn't worry about him if I were you. Man, I thought I came from a messed up background." The creature taunted the younger Winchester.

"Where is my brother?"

"You left and he..I..had to stay behind with Dad. You don't think I had dreams of my own? But no, I had to stay to help Dad." The creature continued to taunt him.

"Where is my brother?" Sam asked again glaring at the creature.

"I am your brother. Deep down, I'm just jealous. You could have a life. You have friends. Me? I know I'm a freak. Sooner or later, everyone's going to leave me."

"What are you talking about?"

"You left. Hell, I did everything that Dad asked and even he left. Left me with your sorry ass. But, still, this job has its perks. You meet the nicest people. Like little Becky. You know, Dean would bang her if he had the chance. Let's see what happens." The creature smiled and placed a sheet over Sam's head.

At Rebecca's house, the creature knocked on the door. A blonde walked over and opened the door except it wasn't the blonde that he was hoping for. It was Ruby. She let him in without hesitation and then glanced behind him curiously.

"What?"

The blonde shook her head and then looked at him, "Where's Sam?"

"He, uh, feels bad about lying to the girl. He's out by the car psyching himself up to come in here. Where is she anyway?" The creature asked as she shut the door.

Ruby nodded sighing softly, "I explained everything to her. She was hesitant to believe me at first, but I eventually got through to her. She's upstairs."

In a building somewhere in town, Sam had managed to knock the sheet off of his head. He was focused on trying to loosen the ropes that were wrapped around his wrists. Coughing was heard and Sam glanced over seeing Dean.

"That better be you, Sam, and not that freak of nature." Dean called out earning a laugh from Sam.

"Yeah, it's me. He went to Rebecca's looking like you." He informed his brother as they both worked to undo the ropes that were around their wrists.

"Well he's not stupid. He picked the handsome one."

Back at Rebecca's, the shifter felt confident that he had been able to lure Ruby into a false sense of security. Rebecca had come back downstairs and Ruby was forced to watch as 'Dean' flirted with her. Until the blonde freaked out at something that he had whispered to her which made Ruby realize that they weren't dealing with Dean after all. Ruby immediately went on the defensive stepping in between them. With the shifter distracted with fighting Ruby, Rebecca had grabbed the phone to dial 911. That, however, caught the shifter's attention and he shoved Ruby at a wall knocking her out before smacking the phone away from Rebecca. He tied her wrists together with the telephone cord before moving back to Ruby tying her up as well. Picking the blonde huntress up, he placed her in a closet and shut the door. He then grabbed Rebecca and brought her upstairs. The shifter tied her to a chair and pulled out a knife. He was about to attack when a crash was heard from somewhere in the house. Rebecca screamed and the shifter placed his hand over her mouth while pressing the knife against her throat. As a S.W.A.T. team moved through the house, the shifter moved across the hall into another room shutting the door behind him. He looked around only to spot a pair of doors that led out onto a balcony. As he opened them, the S.W.A.T. team burst in yelling at him to drop the knife. Instead, the shifter threw the knife at one of the men and they began to shoot at him. He kicked one of the guys and then ran out onto the balcony jumping off.

The Winchesters had finally gotten untied and out of the building. They were walking through town and Dean got increasingly worried as he kept trying Ruby's phone only to get no answer. That is until they stopped in front of a store window that had numerous TVs in it all showing the same thing. A wanted poster for Dean. They listened to the news report before cutting through the alley.

"They said attempted murder so that means both girls are okay." Sam spoke hoping to reassure them both.

"Well that's good. Now can we find this bastard so I can kick the holy hell out of him?" Dean asked grimacing as he walked through a puddle.

"We have no weapons. He stole the ones we had." Sam paused as they both were thinking, "The car?"

"I'm betting he drove over to Rebecca's."

"Well the news did say he fled on foot."

The boys walked to Rebecca's house and sure enough, the Impala was parked on the side of the house. Unfortunately, at that moment, a police car pulled up beside the Impala. A few yards away is another police car. They moved back to a fence staying out of sight. Dean reluctantly went over the fence by himself letting Sam stay behind to hold the cops off. Once the coast was clear, Dean returned to the Impala and retrieved some weapons from the trunk. He then headed down into the sewer and looked around. He found various piles of skin and blood which leads him to believe that he's on the right track. Then he spots a figure covered with a sheet. He pulls the sheet off only to find a frightened Rebecca.

Sam had already been cleared by the cops and was sitting in Rebecca's house talking to her. She replaces his empty beer bottle with a new one while asking how he planned on stopping the shifter.

"Silver bullet to the heart."

Rebecca responded that he was crazy and then smacked him over the head with the empty beer bottle rendering Sam unconscious. A glint of silver could be seen in her eyes revealing that she was the shifter and not really Rebecca. When Sam regained consciousness, the shifter had already returned to Dean's form. He finished tying Sam's hands and feet before grabbing a knife examining it.

"What are you going to do to me?" Sam asked looking over at the shifter.

"Oh I'm not going to do anything. Dean will."

Back in the sewer, Dean got Rebecca untied and helped her up. She explained that she had been walking home and something hit her over the head. That she wound up there in the sewer just in time to see the shifter turn into her. He managed to calm her down a bit and looked her over.

"Can you walk?" He looked at the blonde who nodded in response, "Good. We've got to hurry. Sam went to see you."

Rebecca nodded again as they made their way out of the sewer, "Wait, that girl you were with, Ruby? She was at the house. She..She tried to protect me from it, but it managed to knock her out. It put her in a closet."

That alone made Dean's heart sank and he moved toward Rebecca's house even faster. Inside the house, a tied up Sam was now in the living room forced to watch as the shifter carried Ruby out of the closet. The shifter tied her up as well and poured himself a drink. Grabbing the knife from the kitchen, he stuck it into the edge of a pool table that was there and took a sip of his drink. Quick thinking Sam lifted his long legs and kicked the shifter knocking it to the ground. He got up moving his hands up and down over the knife's blade until the ropes broke apart. He quickly untied his feet as well and grabbed the knife. As the shifter and Sam fought, Ruby worked on trying to undo the ropes around her wrists. The shifter and Sam fought around the living room with the creature getting the best of Sam at first. The blonde jumped when she felt a pair of hands by her wrists only to relax when she saw that it was Rebecca. As she undid the ropes for Ruby, Dean aimed his gun at the shifter and shot the creature in the heart once Sam was safely out of the way. He made sure the thing was dead before taking his necklace back. The sight of a dead body that looked just like Dean shook Ruby and Sam to the core. The boys, however, were relieved that Ruby was okay. Though they left soon after, the three of them returned once the police had finished investigating and taken the dead body away. They helped Rebecca fix up the living room and then said their goodbyes before leaving.

"Rebecca's meeting with the lawyer, but it looks like the case against Zack will be dropped in light of new evidence showing that the now deceased Dean Winchester was the killer all along." Sam announced as they drove away from the town.

"You know, I gotta say...I'm sorry that I'm going to miss it."

"Miss what?" Sam glanced over at Dean with a mixed expression of confusion and curiosity.

"How many chances am I gonna have to see my own funeral?" He remarked as they smiled at each other while Ruby simply shook her head staring out the window.