Sioux Falls
March 20th
2006
He had been tracking the bastard for years now. He had long since stopped caring for his own life, witness protection be damned. What was the point of having the skills he had if he couldn't use them to avenge her... and the children. Oh the boys, how he wanted to go up to the and pull them into a crushing hug.
He had thought himself cried out years ago, but now tears fell down his cheeks as he watched his hurting children smiling. They had found happiness, and he knew he should be happy, hell he was happy for them.
He couldn't focus on that now though. Not if he ever wanted the chance to be reunited with his children. Still... they looked so much older, the thought of missing out on their childhood ripped a hole through his tattered heart.
A car pulls up just ahead of his boys, and he immediately dried his tears up as anger filled his veins with cold ice. That bastard would pay. It had taken a while but finally he was here.
"I found you." John Winchester grips the steering wheel tightly, eyes narrowed on the man in the car. "And now I'm going to put a bullet through the middle of your frucking head."
All these years of hell had finally paid off.
~~~~~
Lawrence, Kansas
4 years earlier
John had known that when he had become a police officer that he would be in danger on the job. What he had never guessed was that those dangers would also exist in his day-to-day life.
It had been a particularly hard day on the force, a double homicide only a few streets away from their home had everyone on their toes. The killer had escaped, and they had spent the last 10 hours working on catching him but he had just been too good at covering his tracks.
"I've been telling you John, we need to move, I don't want the kids growing up in this neighborhood." Mary wrapped her arms around herself, peering nervously out into their dark backyard. "What if that had been us?"
John was tired, emotionally wrung out from dealing with emotion witnesses and yeah, he was guilty that they had to live in this place. But they still had to pay off a few more bills before moving was a financially smart idea.
"We'll be okay Mar, I promise." John kisses his wife's forehead. "How about I take a shower and then we watch a movie together?"
Mary nods, her eyes still on the backyard.
"He's not out there, okay? He'll be laying low for a while now."
After his shower, John looked in on the boys on his way downstairs. They looked so peaceful... well Sammy did with his half open mouth drooling onto his Spider man pillowcase. His hair sticking in all direction.
"Dean, buddy, why are you still awake?"
Dean, ever the terrible actor, squeezed his eyes shut harder, as if that would make him look more asleep.
"Dean?"
Dean opens his eyes, looking guiltily up at his father. "Sorry daddy, I can't sleep."
John smiles, sitting on the edge of the small bed. "What's up kiddo?"
Dean shrugs, picking at his batman sheets. "I dunno."
John ruffles his hair. "Well, how about you keep trying, and tomorrow we can play catch out back."
Dean lights up, "Really?"
John felt bad, he had barely been around for Dean this past week. Work had just been so busy and now with the homicide case... but no, he would make time for his son. "Really, now get some sleep." He kisses Dean's forehead. "Night bud."
"Night da." Dean settled back down, smiling in the dim light.
John would regret a lot of things later on, but one of the things he regretted most of all was not spending enough time with his sons.
Mary wasn't in the lounge when he got down there, he supposed she had gone to get a blanket. The TV was already on, a bowl of popcorn waiting for them. Extra buttery of course. He smiles, shaking his head as he grabbed a handful.
He thought about going around, checking the windows and doors were locked - just in case - when he heard the distinct sound of the creaky back door shutting, followed by footsteps. He frowns, surely Mary hadn't gone out into the dark yard alone?
"Mar, I already told you we're okay, you didn't have to go outside and check."
There was no reply, and he turns to glance into the dark kitchen. "Mar-"
The dark figure standing behind him was certainly not Mary. "Ho-" his shout was cut off, the figure slammed something into the side of his head.
The pain was excruciating. John collapsed to the ground, feeling as if his head had split open. He could feel the ground under his cheek turning wet with his blood. Still, he doesn't move, doesn't let himself gasp for breath as the pain squeezes the air from his lungs. Because he could feel the attacker standing over him, ready to finish him off.
Thank god for those years he did in the Marines.
His plan was to wait until the attacker turned away, and then take him down. But the pain was just so, so bad and he wasn't sure how much longer he could cling to the receding feeling of consciousness.
No matter how stubborn he was, John couldn't keep his mind from being overtaken by the darkness.
~~~~
The house was dark still when John came to. His head felt like it was being squeezed in a vice and the blood under his cheek was only just drying. So he hadn't been out long. Groaning, he tries to move but the sound of footsteps has him frozen again.
"Oi you brats, get back here!"
John gasps, trying to make his unresponsive limbs move. His boys... they were in trouble. It took so much effort to even move an inch. The sound of a door slamming against the wall had him moving a bit faster as the parental drive to protect his children.
On his feet, the world around John was hazy and full of double vision. Nausea rose in his stomach as he stumbles towards the man that was chasing his children out onto the street. Growling, and pushing the pain to the side, John grabs his handgun. Firing blindly into the darkness, John is satisfied to hear the attacker grunting in pain, his steps faltering.
Slumping against the door frame, John watches the attacker as he clutched at his side. Then, obviously deciding the chase wasn't worth him dying, the man stumbles off his children get to escape safely. His legs gave out under him and John closes his eyes and waits for help.
Eventually, someone must have called the authorities because John woke up to find himself being loaded onto an ambulance. Then he went under again. But not before he asked after his kids.
"They haven't been found yet sir, but the feds on onto it."
The feds, jeez. This was more serious than he had thought.
The next thing he was consciously aware of was some feds talking to the doctor.
"My boys, are they okay?" John croaks, pushing himself upright.
The taller of the two feds looks down on him, a sympathetic look in his eyes. "Well hey there, welcome back to the world of the living."
"My boys?"
"Safe, our guys had the police pick them up some some person's front yard, thought they'd trust their dad's co-workers more than us."
"Can I see them?" John forces himself up into a sitting position, wincing at the woozy ache in his head.
The feds exchange a look. "Well sir, you see, we think that this was a targeted attack."
John frowns. "Targeted?"
"You were the lead investigator in the double homicide, no? Well, our suspect seems hell bent on killing you, so we're going to have to put you in witness protection, for your own sake-"
"Oh hell no, I want to see my boys."
"Look John, I get it, believe me I'm a father too, but you're only going to put them in danger so please, just let us do our job."
John falters, all he wanted to do was protect his children. "What do they think happened?"
"The cops are still working on it, your little one, Samuel, hasn't spoken a word since the attack and all we've gotten from Dean is that they saw your wife being... well I'm sorry to be the bringer of bad news but your wife is dead.
Oh Mary... John's heart shatters. And his poor boys had to watch... "Will the boys be okay?"
"Of course."
John recognized a scripted line when he heard one. It was in that moment that he knew that he would never stop until that asshole was found and killed.
It took him weeks to recover from his injuries, the doctors told him he was lucky he was to not have suffered brain damage. He would forever bear a scar on the side of his head and a weakened eye that would be blurrier than the right. He would also nurse the need to avenge his wife. Without her, he felt empty. The only thing that kept him going was his boys, little Sammy and Dean.
From there, he waited until the feds tried putting him into witness protection.
"I want to be a part of the manhunt." John glared at the two feds. "And don't you dare try telling me no."
They hesitate, but the taller one nods. "Fine, but this is an inside job 'kay? As far as everyone else knows, you're in Florida under witness protection." He steps forward, handing John some papers. "You're lucky we need someone with your... skills, here's your new identity, Joel."
So John become Joel, a mechanic from Florida who was traveling for work. And he would spend the next four years trying to hunt down the man who ruined his life... who murdered his wife.
John would check in on the boys all the time, watching them grow, watching them hurt. It killed him, but at least he knew they were safe with him watching over them from a distance.
He also kept a photo of Mary in his pocket. His sweet, innocent Mary who didn't deserve this. He would avenge her, her death and the boy's suffering.
The killer may have once been the hunter, but John was determined to make him the hunted.