Dean and Ellen

Dean Winchester and Ellen Harvelle have a working relationship and also a friendship. She is very motherly, protective, and loyal towards Dean and his brother, Sam.

Background
"John was like family once"- Ellen to Dean

Ellen and her husband were once very close friends with Dean's father, John. However, once her husband was killed because of a mistake John made on a hunt together, John couldn't bring himself to look Ellen in the eye anymore. Ellen says that she forgave John for what happened to Bill, but she didn't know if he ever forgave himself. They had not spoken for a very long time before his death, but she did leave a message on his cell phone offering to help with the Demon, which is how Dean found her.

Season 2
"Well Dean they say you can't protect your family forever. Well I say screw that"- Ellen to Dean

In "Everybody Loves a Clown", after hearing the message she left on John's phone, Sam and Dean decide to track now Ellen. They break in to the Roadhouse, only to be held at gunpoint by Ellen and her daughter, Jo. Ellen immediatly lowers her gun when she realizes who they are, introduces herself, and explains how she knew their father. She is very sad to hear that John has died. Dean is initially very hostile towards Ellen but she does not seem offended. She has Ash set up a Demon- tracking system for the boys and gives them a case that she was saving for a friend. After the case, she tells Sam and Dean that their dad would be proud, and offers them to stay at the Roadhouse, to which Dean declines, because he still has to finish the Impala.

In "Bloodlust", after Sam phones Ellen about Gordon Walker, Dean says that they barely know her and that he takes Gordon's word over hers.

Sam and Dean go to the Roadhouse again in "Simon Said" to have Ash help them track down one of the Special Children. After the case, Dean gets a call from Ellen telling them to return to the Roadhouse. She asks them to tell her about their last case. Dean initially does not want her to know but she convinces them saying "...the best we got is us, together. No secrets or half-truths here." After learning the truth about the Special Children, she has Jo break out the whiskey.

Ellen and Dean's relationship is strained in "No Exit". Sam and Dean walk into the Roadhouse to witness a fight between Ellen and Jo about Jo hunting. Jo shows them the research she has done and Ellen tells them they should take the case, which they do. Against Ellen's wishes, Jo sneaks away and folows them. When Ellen calls to see if Jo is with them, Dean lies to her on Jo's request, which he feels bad about. However, she finds out from Ash where Jo really is and calls Dean again, furious that she lied to him. When she finds out Jo has been kidnapped by a ghost, she get's on the first plane out. After Sam and Dean save Jo, they all ride back in the Impala together. Ellen doesn't say a word and turns off the radio when Dean turns it on. When they get back to the Roadhouse, Dean apologizes to Ellen and leaves. Ellen the reveals to Jo that John is the reason her dad died.

When Sam leaves Dean in "Hunted", Dean phones Ellen asking if she has seen him, which she hasn't. However, Sam does eventually come to the Roadhouse to track down the other Special Children and Ellen reveals that Jo left to continue hunting, but she doesn't blame the boys. Even though she tells Sam that she won't, she phones Dean to tell him where Sam is.

Dean phones Ellen again in "Born Under A Bad Sign" to see if she has seen Sam, but she hasn't this time.

In "All Hell Breaks Loose - Part 2" Ellen interupts a conversation between Dean and Bobby in the salvage yard and hugs Dean. She reveals that when demons burned down the Roadhouse she was out buying pretzels, but Ash and everyone else inside had died. She tells them that she got Ash's reseach out of the safe, and they all discover the Devil's Gate in Wyomig. At the gate, Jake Talley has Ellen put her gun to her head, but Dean and Bobby pull it up before she shoots, while Sam kills Jake. Ellen and Bobby are the ones who close the Devil's Gate. Afterwards, she tells Sam and Dean that although the Yellow-Eyed-Demon was dead, a lot more demons got out threw the gate.