Disclaimer: I do not own Smallville or Supernatural. So don't sue me.

So, this idea popped into my head after finishing an exam, and I decided to write it down. Hope you enjoy it.

--

"Chloe! Run! Don't look back! RUN!"

Those had been her father's last words before her mother began to scream and the smell of charred skin rose in the air. Chloe didn't know how far she'd run or for how long, but she'd run out of the house while her father fought those things that couldn't be human, and she'd never stopped, never looked back.

A couple of nights later, she sat crouched behind some trashcans in a dark alley, shivering, dirty and hungry, and desperately thirsty. Fear ate at her from the inside as she huddled in the darkest of the shadows, fearing that the next sound was that of those…those things that'd come for her.

She knew it was her fault somehow that this nightmare was happening. Hadn't the creatures said that they'd been sent to retrieve her? Somehow, she'd been naughty, and her parents had been--were--her parents--they--.

She closed her eyes tightly and cried as the sounds of her parents' screams echoed in her head, reminding her of the reason she hadn't been able to sleep since she'd ran out of the backdoor of their house and never looked back. Somehow she'd managed to get away from the creatures; she'd hidden and continued to hide.

They wouldn't find her.

Men laughed drunkenly as they left the building in front of the alley in which she hid, and Chloe huddled deeper in herself, wishing her mommy and daddy were there with her. She was only eight, she—she didn't know what to do, where to go. She knew she had an uncle somewhere, but she'd never met him or his daughters, and she didn't even know in what city he lived.

Suddenly something jerked her from where she was hiding and Chloe screamed as she looked into the black-filled eyes of a woman who sneered at her.

"There you are little princess." The woman's grip on her arm turned painful as Chloe cried and screamed, trying to get out of her grip. "We've been searching for you."

"No. No!" Chloe screamed, tugging desperately. "SOMEONE HELP ME!"

"There's no one to help you." The woman taunted, her nails growing rapidly and piercing the skin of Chloe's arms, blood rising rapidly to the surface from the wounds as the young child screamed in pain. "Mommy and daddy won't be helping you. Now stop being such a pain in the ass!"

"Let her go."

Chloe and the woman with the soulless black eyes turned and saw a man who hadn't been there before moment's ago. He blended in the shadows, aiming a gun at the woman, looking dark and dangerous.

"John Winchester." The woman sneered. "You know that that won't kill me."

"No, but it'll hurt as hell as give me enough time to exorcise your ass and send you back to hell." The man spoke evenly, gun aimed at the woman, whose grip on Chloe tightened as he said that, causing Chloe to cry out in pain.

"Johnny John…" The woman recovered after a moment's hesitation. "Do you really want to mess with this? You don't want him angry with you instead of how amused he is." Her sneer reappeared. "Look at what he did that pretty little wife of yours and that was nothing personal."

The man tensed immediately, and yet his gun never wavered. "Who are you working for? Who killed my Mary? And what does he want with that little child?"

"Now, if I told you, that'd ruin the surprise." The woman announced smugly.

"Tell me or I'll kill you!"

"No you won't." She responded calmly. "You won't kill me because the pathetic little human is still in here, and you wouldn't hurt an innocent, would you, John?" Her features turned disgusted. "That's why you humans are so pathetic. You're compassion make you all so weak."

The sound of gunfire echoed sharply through the alley, and Chloe screamed when the woman was thrown back, losing her grip on her.

From where she'd been thrown against the wall from the shot, the woman's eyes widened. "You shot me!"

Chloe ran towards the man and hid behind him, crying as he began chanting something in a language she'd never heard before. The child collapsed to the ground in a terrified huddle as the woman began to scream and jerk and twist in unimaginable—inhuman ways while screeching like something from her worst nightmares.

Suddenly the woman threw her head back, mouth wide open, and a pillar of blackness shot from her mouth in a seemingly unending trail. And then the black cloud left her body completely, circling the fallen woman's unconscious body before disappearing completely.

Only when the darkness had disappeared did the man turn to Chloe, going to his knees and placing his hands on her shaking shoulders. "Are you okay? What wanted you? What happened?"

She'd just cried and cried, and she only vaguely remembered him calling the ambulance to help the unconscious woman before spiriting them out of the alley and to a dingy little old motel and asking her the same questions over and over again.

Two boys had been inside of the motel, one reading a book and the other cleaning a rifle. Both had shot up when John, presumably their father, burst into the room with Chloe, and she'd ignored them, going numb all over and hugging herself, silent.

For days she didn't move from the bed they'd let her stay on or eat anything, although, when the youngest son offered her water she drank. John would leave every night, and sometimes the eldest boy, 15-year-old Dean, would go along with him.

12-year-old Sam didn't seem to mind staying behind during the nights and 'keeping an eye' on her. Unlike John and Dean, Sam didn't seem to mind the fact that she didn't speak, didn't acknowledge their questions, and he just spoke to her, told her how he understood the pain she was going through, and that Dean was only acting the way he was because he was a jerk and didn't want to admit that he was worried too.

Sam told her about how their mother had been killed as well, it'd happened when he was 6 months old, and it'd happened in his bedroom. They didn't know what had killed their mother, but it was what had made them Hunters. He was the one who'd told her one night that they knew what'd happened to her parents, and that the funeral would be in the next day.

Sam also said that it wasn't safe out there for Chloe--that something was looking for her, possibly the same thing that'd killed his mother.

And Chloe had cried. How had she been so naughty that something so evil wanted to hurt her?

When Sam wasn't talking to her, he read to her from his books, and after the fifth day, Dean started talking to her. Well, truth be told, he started ordering her after the fifth day, ordering her to eat, telling her that if she didn't eat something he'd force the sandwich down her throat.

The way he'd looked at her had been so threatening that Chloe had realized that he wasn't bluffing, and when he sat down next to her and gave her half of the sandwich, she'd reached for it and nodded her thanks, eating for the first time since she'd left her house.

The moment she'd taken her first bite, Dean had given her a large smile, and ordered 'Sammy' to bring her some milk. From that day on Dean made sure he bullied her into eating, and many nights John left him behind and somehow the boys spent the time talking to her, urging her to speak, to say a word.

The first sound she'd made since being found by the Winchesters--other than the sound of crying--was a giggle. Dean and Sam had been arguing about something very silly, and Chloe hadn't even realized she'd giggled until they'd both looked and her and grinned--the fight immediately forgotten.

From that time on the brothers would get into mock-fights regularly, and Chloe knew that they were doing it to make her smile.

The first words she said were "I had a nightmare."

It'd been two months since John Winchester had saved her and brought her to live with him and the boys. She didn't even know why they'd taken her along with them when they'd left the week later, but they had, and she'd become a part of the family, traveling with them as they journeyed across America to hunt things she'd always believed were myths.

They never let her become involved in anything dangerous, and usually when the men were out on hunts either Dean or Sam would be left with her at whatever motel they'd be staying at to keep her safe, but she was a part of their family.

John had called her an 'honorary Winchester', and she'd taken to thinking of him as a father as well, so when he told her that she'd felt fuzzy and warm inside.

The night she spoke the first time they'd been in a horrible motel room, and she'd been sleeping on one of the twin beds, with John on the other and the boys sleeping on a blow-up mattress on the ground by their feet.

She'd been dreaming of her parents, of those black-eyed people, and she'd awoken in a silent scream, heart-pounding and terrified. Immediately she'd hurried out of the bed and gone to where the boys were, shaking Sam's shoulder.

"Chloe?" Sam whispered, rubbing at his eyes, his voice waking up Dean, who shot up as if ready to fight.

Dean, realizing that there was no evil upon them, turned to her and frowned. "What is it Chlo? Are you okay? Do you need something?"

And that's when she'd spoken. "I had a nightmare."

The boys' eyes had opened wide, and when she wouldn't say another word they didn't press. Dean had only raised up the sheet they'd been wrapping with and the boys had somehow made space between them on the blow up mattress for the frightened eight-year-old.

"You can go to sleep now." Sam had whispered once they were curled protectively around her. "You're safe now."

"Completely." Dean yawned in agreement, tugging some of the sheet away from Sam. "We'll protect you."

Chloe'd smiled and nodded, falling asleep immediately, nightmare forgotten.

--

They continued to travel and hunt for years, and while Chloe was never allowed to participate actively in the hunts, she'd spent her time at whatever motel honing her computer skills, and soon she was able to help them with the research, which helped because she could work around the clock while the men hunted and rested.

It wasn't until she was 12 that she was finally allowed to participate in a hunt…even if it was only reconnaissance…

"You know, you're going to get a girl knocked-up one of these days, and John is gonna kick your ass." Chloe announced as she served the boys breakfast that morning. They'd bought some things from the grocery shop the night before and she was making her specialty, tomato and slice turkey sandwiches—which was a hit amongst the Winchesters, most probably because all the men were too lazy to make their own sandwiches.

19-year-old Dean spat out his cup of water and pounded his chest as he choked slightly, looking at her with wide-eyed horror. "What the hell do you know about getting knocked up?" There was slight pink in his cheeks as he sputtered. "What are you? Ten?"

"I'm twelve and you know it." Chloe sniffed, handing an amused, 16-year-old Sam his sandwich before turning her complete attention on Dean Winchester. "Don't think I don't know about the birds and the bees. Or that I don't know what's going on between you and these floozies you hook up with."

Dean still looked horribly embarrassed with the whole situation, and yet he looked bothered as well. "Who the hell have you been talking to, missy? How do you know about fucking?"

"Dean Winchester, you watch your mouth!" Chloe snapped, raising her finger warningly at him.

And as he did with only Chloe, and John, Dean immediately obeyed the order.

Sam was so amused it should be illegal. Then again, he suddenly frowned and looked at the young blonde with annoyance. "How do you know about all those stuff, Chlo? Who have you been talking to?"

"Yeah." Dean leaned forwards on the counter of the studio apartment John had rented, since this new 'job' seemed to promise that they'd be spending a while here. "Chlo, I don't like that someone's been filling your head with things you shouldn't be knowing. And how the he--how do you know about me and the uh, the," he looked away and scratched the back of his neck. "How do you know about that?"

Chloe frowned at the boys, her hands on her hips. "Oh, so you can go and sleep with any skirt that passes in front of you, and Sammy can trade kisses with that library-girl, but I can't get some action now and again?"

And both boys had bristled immediately at that, demanding names and promising death certificates, which only served to piss the 12-year-old more. She hadn't meant that she had experience, she didn't, she was only 12 for God's sake, but she'd said it because of their attitude towards her.

They could flirt and talk about girls all they wanted to, but whenever any guy around her age so much as looked in her direction, they dropped the skirt-chasing and adopted the 'possessive-older-brother' routine that really was annoying.

Especially since it wasn't only with guys either. They didn't trust or like anyone else around her, and so she didn't even have a chance of making friends with girls her age.

Dean and Sam swore that they were only protecting her.

Chloe called it them being possessive jerks.

"That's it!" She growled, throwing her hands into the air and coming out from around the counter, revealing that she was wearing a pretty pink dress the boys had never seen before. "Now, excuse me, but I have places to be, people to investigate, and questions to answer."

"Wait--what?" Dean asked, standing immediately. "Where do you think you're going, Goldilocks?"

"Church." She announced, going to the door, the boys after her.

"Why?" Sam asked, curiously and a bit suspiciously. "You've never wanted to go to church before."

She turned and looked at the brunette with a raised eyebrow. "I'm not going to attend, you bozo, I'm on the clock."

"On the--?" And suddenly Dean's eyes widened as he realized what she was saying. "Oh hell no! You stay away from that church Chloe! Dad would kill you if he knew that you're getting yourself mixed up in our hunt!"

"Oh really?" Chloe sneered, feeling a little vindictive. "Then why did he rent this dress for me then?"

Sam went stiff as a board. "He did what?"

"No. No." Dean shook his head vigorously. "Dad would never--!"

"He's not getting anywhere in his investigation, Dean." Chloe rolled her eyes at him. "Everyone at that church is suspicious of him, and frankly, they don't like you and Sam after you two got into a fight with one of the alter boys. But me? I'm just a new, cute little girl in a pretty pink dress."

"Chloe, I don't want you doing this." Sam stepped in front of her. "It's dangerous. I don't--."

"I'm going to talk to dad." And with that, Dean stormed away to where his father was sleeping.

"Well, I'm off." Chloe announced, walking around Sam and opening the door only to be stopped from leaving by his hand on her arm. She sighed and turned to the brunette. "Sam. I'm just going to kick your shin if you don't let me do this."

His eyes narrowed. "I don't care. You're not going. It's dangerous."

"Please?" She whispered. She didn't really want to kick him, but she would if he continued this way.

"Chloe, you could get hurt." Sam whispered back at her.

Chloe sighed and closed her eyes, readying to kick that shin.

"Let her go."

The two turned to see John and Dean Winchester standing behind them. Dean looked like he was about to explode from repressed anger and John just looked annoyed.

"No, dad." Sam shook his head. "I'm not about to let Chloe go to that church alone! People are disappearing from there and being found mutilated like they're some sort of demon sacrifice! It's too risky!"

"She's going to be fine. All the victims were people who'd been attending the church for years." John argued with his youngest son. "Now let her go."

Sam glared defiantly at his father.

Chloe took the opportunity to pull her arm from his hold and was out of the apartment in seconds. She'd gone to church and while she was nervous she'd had half of the church in love with her by the end of service. She'd even gotten invited to the pastor's house later that evening for a 'youth fellowship'.

She'd gone despite Dean's and Sam's explosive arguments against her participation, and had learnt a lot of valuable information from Steve--the pastor's thirteen-year-old son who was utterly infatuated with her. She hadn't realized his feelings until they'd gone for a walk, and he'd kissed her--and Dean and Sam had come rushing out from where they'd been spying to beat the crap out of Steve for 'taking advantage' of her.

Really…it'd been a nice kiss!

Chloe had managed to stop them before they could touch Steve, and with the information she'd gathered John had managed to realize that the Head Elder was summoning a demon to keep the church filled with people and not let anyone ever want to leave—or in other words the congregation had been under some sort of dependency spell. But to keep the demon doing his bidding the Elder had had to sacrifice a 'pious' person every four years.

John managed to kill the demon and set free the multitude who'd been entranced into going to the church.

With that job over, the Winchester and Chloe moved onto the next hunt, and the girl had slowly been introduced into the true hunts, despite the boys' loud displeasure.

And Chloe fell in love with the job.

--

Chloe was sixteen when Sam left to go to Stanford. The twenty-year-old and his father had had a horrible argument the night before when John found out what his son's plans were, and while Dean and Chloe had tried to intervene, John had told Sam that if he left he wasn't ever to come back--and Sam had packed his bags and left that very night.

It'd been a horrible night. John had stormed out to go to some bar, and Chloe had broken down crying. Dean'd stayed behind, comforting her, and soon enough, he was crying as well and they were comforting each other. Dean and her had gotten closer that night, both having 'lost' someone they'd loved deeply…Sam.

After Sammy left, Chloe was fully introduced into the hunting job, killing her first monster when it'd tried to eat Dean. To celebrate her joining them, John bought a gun for her, a gun of her very own, and while most girls her age would have preferred something else, Chloe had never been happier in her life.

She also kept into contact with Sam by phone, and during his first year at Stanford Chloe would leave Dean and John for weeks to spend time with the lone Winchester in his apartment, catching up with him and letting him know how things with his brother and father were.

John slowly began to do his own hunts, and the day he sent Chloe and Dean off on their first hunt without him had been a proud day for them. They discovered that they were an amazing team, and with Chloe doing the research and Dean charming any other information from the willing and utterly loose women that always seemed to be around the bend--they were unstoppable.

During the beginning of the second year of Sammy's stay in Stanford Chloe stopped visiting him, and the phone calls grew less frequent. And the reason had a name.

Jessica.

Sam had begun another life, a life in which hunting and another woman really didn't have a part, and Chloe wasn't about to ruin things for him. Plus, she was jealous just the same way she was jealous of any woman Dean got with. Just like the Winchester brothers considered her 'theirs', she considered them 'hers', and it was hard for her t admit to herself that Sam had found someone else to confide in…

Still, she was genuinely happy for him because whenever they did speak on the phone, he seemed happy and in love, and Chloe couldn't ask for anything else than for Sam and Dean to be happy—she didn't want anything else.

And anyway, she'd never act on the crushes she harbored for the brothers, whatever had killed her parents—killed their mother—it was still out there, and it might still be after her. Who said it wouldn't find her one day and kill all those near her again?

It'd kill Sam and Dean…and John…

She'd tried running away when she turned seventeen to keep that from happening. She'd gone to San Diego and during her first day working as a waitress in some shitty little dinner Dean had appeared and dragged her away kicking and screaming.

They'd had a heated argument in the motel room she'd been using, and for the second time since she'd known him, Dean cried. Well, it wasn't a tender moment since he was shouting at her and shaking her violently at the same time, calling her an idiot, but it was still a touching moment nonetheless. Dean didn't cry unless he was torn inside, and to realize that he cared that much for her--that the thought of her gone hurt him that much--she promised never to try and leave again.

They'd gone back the next day and she'd remained by his side faithfully. John kept giving them more and more jobs together, and soon the threesome became mostly a twosome, with John disappearing for weeks on end during hunts, while Chloe and Dean worked on their own hunts.

They fought a lot. Chloe didn't like the time Dean spent with his nightly conquests and Dean didn't like it when she suddenly decided to stop nagging him about it and find conquests of her own.

But all in all, they were happy.

Until, of course, almost a year later.

--

"I'm worried, Chlo." Dean whispered as they sat on the edge of his motel bed, looking at the phone.

"I'm sure he's fine." The blonde whispered back, rubbing his back soothingly. She liked it when Dean did that, when he let down his guard with her like he didn't with anyone else, and showed her his vulnerable side. "He's disappeared before."

"Yeah, but he always calls." Dean announced, turning to look at her. "Even if it's just to make sure that I'm behaving."

Chloe grinned at that, before suddenly sighing. "You're right. John hasn't called in almost a month. He's never done that before."

"Never more than two weeks without a short phone call." Dean nodded before tensing. "Have you talked to Sammy lately?"

She blinked, wondering about the change in subject. "Yeah. Last week actually. He called me, said he missed me."

"He still wants you to come visit so that you can meet Jess?" Dean asked, looking at his phone emotionlessly.

"Yeah…I—I told him that we've been busy and I can't get away." Which was technically the truth. Of course, she hadn't told Sam that they were only one state over and could easily make a detour while heading towards their next destination to see him, if only for a couple of minutes. "I don't want to meet her."

Dean smiled sadly. "I don't think I blame you, I think I resent her as well. Maybe—maybe if they hadn't gotten together Sammy would have come back to us."

"I don't know, Dean, Sammy really loves his life now." Chloe leaned into Dean, closing her eyes. "We're going to have to tell him, you know? About John's disappearance. He deserves to know that we're looking for his missing father."

"He should be with us looking for him, Chloe, not living the life and keeping us his dirty little secret!" Dean snapped, and then sighed. "Sorry, Chlo, you're the only family I got right now and I--."

"That's okay Dean, I miss him too." Chloe whispered, pressing her forehead against his cheek.

"I think—I think we should go see Sammy on our way to Jericho." Dean suddenly said. "He should come with us. It's his father too."

"I don't know, Dean." Chloe pulled away and looked at him. "When Sam and I spoke he said he had an important meeting Monday."

"It can't be more important than finding his own father."

"It's a meeting for a law school." She whispered.

"No school is more important than our dad." Dean persisted. "And Sammy will realize that." He nodded to himself. "Okay then, Goldilocks, get your cute butt up and off of this bed. We're going to Stanford."

Chloe sighed and looked up at the ceiling. Why did she have a bad feeling about this?

--

…and the series picks up from where this left off…

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