Lena Grace Carter had auditioned for Supernatural on a whim.

Well, maybe not a whim — her agent had been asked by Kim Manners himself to send her the script with the kind of urgency that could not be ignored.

It was a new show. A horror-thriller with a cult following potential, X-Files potential, heartthrobs in the lead roles, monsters, demons, family angst, the whole nine yards.

Lena had hung up the jacket for good. So she thought. After her recurring guest appearance in the X-Files as Kitty Matthew's, was canceled due to the shows abrupt ending. David and Gillian were pissed. But Lena was glad to have had a good run.

And it was a really good run.

Truthfully, Lena did not have any plans for acting after the X-Files wrapped. And while she figured it would have been at least another three years, she didn't complain when it was canceled shorter than anyone expected.

The ratings were dying, it was the same old thing, over and over and over. Fans wanted something fresh, something new. Aliens had been the hit thing since the nineteen thirties, and Lena couldn't blame them for jumping ship.

Hell, even Lena nearly bailed after another season of pining between Mulder and Scully aired, with no definite outcome if msr would ever actually come into fruition.

Lena was content with her acting career. She had seen most there was to see for early 2000s cinema, and was quite satisfied with the idea of keeping her life on the down low, and settling back into her former simplistic living, with a mound of cash to save for a nice dream property somewhere out of Appalachia.

She was content on staying put. But her agent, Cordelia Lewis, had other ideas. Though, most of those ideas came straight from Kim Matthews himself, as a ploy to get his favorite blonde X-Files star back in the limelight.

"Recurring guest star," Cordelia had rattled off over the phone. Jet lag evident in her tone, despite the professionalism she tried so hard to upkeep. "She’s a hunter, crosses paths with the Winchesters, or something, I'll have to read again. Becomes central in their search for the boys' father." Lena hummed along, eggs cooking in the skillet as she padded barefoot around the kitchen, phone pressed against her right shoulder and ear as Cordelia continued to rifle off tidbits of persuasion. "Lena, Lena, You could be a mainstay, something big if the show catches fire. And shes literally you! Like, she's an Appalachian!"

"A Kentuckian?" Lena questions.

"No, no, a Tennessean!"

"Cordelia, you know I can't go against the Wildcats —"

"Screw the Wildcats! This is bigger than the 'Cats Lena."

Lena didn't have to fake the scoff that escaped past her lips.

"Then why don't you audition?"

"Because Kim asked for you specifically. He even asked for half the things for Layla to be changed for you Lenny."

"Oh."

Oh, was right.

Lena had been in the industry long enough to know that casting directors saw hundreds of hopefuls.

Getting attached to a role was dangerous. But with the discovered knowledge that Kim Manners had gotten Kripke to specifically change things to fit her, well, changed a whole lot.

Kim had always had a soft spot for her. He was the one that was her true potential, the first to give her her big break. The least she could do was to amuse him for all his troubles.

Plus, the running time would be, what? Three, maybe five years at most? She could do that. Five years was nothing. Her role at Kitty Williams was a blip in time. And that was two and a half years of her life. Two years that felt like a weekend more than half of the time.

Except when it would get cold and rainy. Which, living in the literal rainforest that was British Columbia, was nearly every single day.

During the two and a half years of filming, Lena had rented a home out in Williams lake and drove or alternated flying the five hours it took to get to Vancouver. Not that she minded, gas was usually covered by some act of God, and the drive was scenic enough not to get tired of.

Williams Lake was nice, forested and full of wildlife. It reminded her of Appalachia, mildly. But the more she looked, the more displaced and out of sorts she felt.

She moved back to Kentucky after her contract for the X-Files was over, and had settled back into her little holler, tucked away in the foothills of the mountains.

She kept her photos but tossed the rental contract. She wouldn't be going back. Lena was content that the Canadian aspect of her life was finished. The only good thing she had to say about it was seeing moose and the mountains. Besides that it was fairly ick.

The discovery of bagged milk had ruined any good thing she could have thought to say.

Auditions were closing in.

Lena had read the script cover to cover, and then again, to try and shake the feeling — to find something to turn her off. But the more she read, the more she saw what she liked, the more she connected, and the more she slipped into Eric Kripke's little world.

There was something about Layla Grace Kenner had made Lena sit up and wonder, for the first time in a long time, if she would regret passing it up. She was always firm on the idea that if something leaves, it's not meant to stay.

No matter how hard Lena ran, Layla wouldn't shake.

To Lena, she wasn't just any character; she was her. Kim had made sure to make that evident in nearly every aspect of her character. She wasn't a super nerd, but she wasn't daft. Layla didn’t need Sam and Dean to protect her, she was resourceful — she could hold her own and maybe even teach them a thing or two. But her vulnerability, the sense that she had her own demons to battle, made her vulnerable.

Kim knew how much Lena valued family and he played his hand just right.

Lena and Layka both had the same number of siblings, down to the dotted 'I's and crossed 'T's. The both shared a middle name and the same first initial. They were both Appalachians and scorpios — double scorpios — and loved anything to do with Buffalo.

It was scary, it was weird, it was almost supernatural — but it was the way of Kim Manners, and it was an offer Lena could not seem to throw over her shoulder no matter how much she rattled the shaker. The salt just wouldn't come out.

Two months later, Lena walked into the audition room prepared, delivered her lines with confidence, and didn’t let herself overthink it. She is Layla Grace. Kim had said so, Cordelia had said so, hell, even Kripke was smitten with the idea of Lena Carter on cast.

She hadn't met the lead males, 'the boys' as they were referred as. But she imagined they were in a similar position as she was on the last minute addition, on the fence.

Lena read opposite the casting director, feeling the words take shape in a way that felt natural, effortless, like she had spoken then a thousand times before. Though, she supposed she had. The mold was set. It was off to the races. And when she noticed the subtle nods and exchanged glances behind the table, she knew. It was just like her audition for the X-Files four years prior.

They didn't need any more convincing and Lena didn't either.

A week later, Cordelia called.

"Pack your bags Corncracker, You’re flying to Vancouver." Again.

Lena sighed, wishing she would have kept the rental information for the place in Williams Lake.

She liked Williams Lake.

But she liked Appalachia better.