-

She’s out grocery shopping one Saturday near the end of 2007. She grabs for a box of crackers on the top shelf and knocks loose a couple others. They fall towards her head, but a large, tanned hand grabs them out of the air.

“Thank you,” she says, dropping her chosen box in her cart before looking at the man with a smile.

He’s young and tall and broad, with the most beautiful smile and kindest green eyes she’s ever seen.

“No problem,” he says, voice soft. “Have a nice day, ma’am.”

His face is familiar, so familiar, and she watches as he walks off. He meets up with another man at the end of the aisle—and she only sees his profile(gorgeous), but it’s familiar, too.

She shrugs and finishes shopping.

-

It hits her that night as she tucks Danielle into bed.

Holy fucking shit.

She just met Sam Winchester. Was twenty feet from Dean Winchester.

She should tell Victor, she knows she should. They’re dangerous, criminals, and so close to home, so close to her daughters…

Have a nice day, ma’am.

She knows depraved men. As a social worker, she’s seen every evil humanity can conjure. She kisses Dani’s forehead and quietly wishes her baby girl goodnight. The Winchesters’ file reads like a textbook for insanity, but she met the man. He was worn-out and weary, but no killer.

She makes sure Lindsay’s in bed before meeting Victor in the den. He has a rare night off and he’s combing through his Winchester notes.

She should tell him. She doesn’t.

-

She comes home for lunch one Tuesday in early 2008 to Dean Winchester in her kitchen.

“What the fuck are you doin’ in my house?” she demands, regretting sharply that she’d told Victor no guns where the girls can find them.

He holds out his hands placatingly. “I’m not gonna hurt you,” he says, voice soft and low. “I just needed to get a feel for Hendrickson.”

She’s scrambling in her purse for her cell when he moves, and his grip is iron on her wrist, his other hand covering her mouth.

Even through her hyperventilating, she can tell he goes out of his way to be gentle. It helps her calm down. “You weren’t supposed to be home until three,” he mutters. “Fuck, I’m so fucking fucked.”

He deposits her on the couch and kneels over her, still covering her mouth. “I’m gonna let go of you, okay? But don’t scream.” She nods and he slowly moves back, eyes wary. He looks like a trapped animal.

“Why haven’t you killed me?” She keeps her voice soothing, in the tone she uses on Dani.

He flinches and starts to say, “I don’t kill wo—” before cutting himself off.

She stares at him. “Victor’s file says differently.”

That gets a chuckle and he says bitterly, “I’ll bet it does.”

His phone rings, some rock music. He answers, “Yeah?” and is silent for a moment. Then, “Okay, see you there.”

He sheepishly meets her gaze. “I’m really sorry, Mrs. Hendrickson,” he tells her. “You weren’t supposed to come home.”

Dean Winchester takes off for the back door and is gone before she blinks. Her hand automatically reaches for her cell, to call Victor or the cops or her mama—but she pauses.

A killer, according to Victor, was just in her home and had her at his mercy. A man who’d tortured, raped, and killed women was careful to not hurt her.

She should call Victor. Tell him that his obsession, the reason they haven’t even had a real conversation in months, had been in their house.

She’s lost her appetite, so she goes back to work.

-

A week later and she’s out walking Doc, Lindsay’s mutt. Some guard-dog he’d turned out to be, welcoming Dean Winchester into his territory. Her cell rings and she answers, “Hendrickson.”

“Why didn’t you turn him in?”

It’s been three months since she heard that quiet, soft voice, but she recognizes it. “Sam Winchester,” she breathes, heart stopping.

“If you’d told your husband, he wouldn’t stop ‘til Dean was dead.” Sam pauses. “So, why?”

She takes a moment to gather her thoughts, and Doc pulls her along. She finally settles on, “He didn’t hurt me.”

Sam’s silent for a moment and she listens to him breathe. He says, “Thank you, ma’am. We won’t bother you again.”

-

She, Victor, and the girls are on a camping trip in June of 2009. Victor and Lindsay go fishing; Victor doesn’t come back.

She vows to move Heaven and Hell, if need be, to find her husband, and she finally meets a man named Bobby Singer who tells her he knows someone who can help.

Lindsay and Dani are with Victor’s parents and Doc. She has everything invested in this quest. They’d almost been a family again. She and Victor were on the mend.

She has to get him back.

Dean and Sam Winchester walk through Bobby’s door, and she laughs.