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BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS. OCTOBER 30, 2005
Mallory nibbled at the end of her pen as she looked at the screen of her computer monitor, black glasses slipping down her freckled nose as the light from her computer screen reflected in the lens. It was pouring rain outside, causing the already cool, autumn weather to drop another five degrees at least. Not that she was complaining. She enjoyed the cool weather. It was, however, the day before Halloween, which she despised. She had enough scary things in her life without having a holiday where tiny children dressed up as little gremlins and goblins added to it. Especially when she worked with said tiny children all day trying to help them heal their trauma even when they're costumes were fueling hers. But she doesn't have time to unpack all of that. She was there for them, not the other way around.
She looked up when a knock on her door came from the other side and she lowered her pen to her desk. "Come in."
The wooden door swung open and her receptionist, Sandy, stood in the doorway looking mildly annoyed. Though, that was nothing new to Mallory. "You know I love you but if I have to play messenger all week until you get the intercom fixed, I'd like a raise. Please and thank you."
The brunette rolled her eyes. "What's up, Sandy?"
"Your brother's here."
Mallory's head snapped up from her desk. "What? Which one?"
"He didn't say, he just asked me to tell you he's here. He says it's urgent."
The eldest Winchester removed her glasses with a sigh and pinched the bridge of her nose. "It's always urgent, isn't it?" she muttered. "Send him in, please."
The blonde woman nodded before turning on her heel and shutting the door behind her. Mallory finished up what she was doing on the computer, looking up when the door opened once more to reveal Dean standing in her doorway.
The younger Winchester grinned at her in all his glory when he entered her office. "Hey, sis."
"Hi," Mallory replied as she got to her feet, smoothing her hands over her sweater and slacks as she rounded her desk. "You could have called and let me know you were coming."
"Where's the fun in that?" he shrugged.
"Well, none for you, I suppose. But you know how I feel about surprises." The brunette cocked her head.
"I know how you feel about everything."
That earned Dean a smack on the side of his head before the older woman pulled him into a hug, squeezing him tightly and letting the tension leak from her slightly. It was always a relief when she got to hold her baby brothers and know they were safe in one piece.
"It's good to see you," she murmured, leaning onto her toes to peck his temple.
"You too." Dean murmured, giving her a squeeze as she pulled back from him.
"So, what's wrong?"
Dean frowned. "Something has to be wrong for me to come see my sister?"
"Usually, yeah." Mallory arched an eyebrow. "Sandy said you told her it was urgent."
"Eh, yeah. Kind of." Dean sighed, rubbing the back of his neck. "Dad's on a case. He hasn't been home in about a week."
Mallory blinked, glancing away and then back at her brother as though expecting more. "And?"
Dean's brow furrowed. "What do you mean 'and'?" he demanded. "Did you hear me? Dad's on a hunting trip. And he hasn't been home in a few days."
"Okay," Mallory said, lifting her eyebrows. "Am I supposed to do something about that?"
Dean blinked. "Am I speaking swahili?"
Mallory huffed. "Dean, it's Dad. This is hardly the first time he's been overdue on a hunt."
The younger of the two shook his head. "You're not hearing me, Mal. Dad is missing."
"Uh huh. And do you remember the poltergeist in Amherst? Or the Devil's Gates in Clifton? He was missing then, too. He's always missing, and he's always fine."
"Not this time," Dean insisted. "He's been gone for too long. I need your help finding him." he lifted his eyebrows. "I'm going to Palo Alto from here to get Sam."
"Jesus, Dean, don't drag him into this. He's in school."
"He can't skip a few days?"
The elder sighed, dropping her head into her palm. "Okay. I know you think everyone in our family is just as willing to drop everything and go as you and Dad are but we're not. In case you forgot, Sam and I are done. We got out and we have lives now."
Dean rolled his eyes. "Come on. It wasn't easy, but it wasn't that bad."
"'Not that bad'?" Mallory's eyebrows shot up. "Do you remember when Sam was nine and he told Dad he was scared of the thing in his closet? He gave him a fucking forty five."
Dean shrugged. "What was he supposed to do?"
"He was nine! He was supposed to be a sane person and tell him to not be afraid of the dark."
"Are you kidding me?" Dean sputtered. "Of course he should be afraid of the dark! You know what's out there."
"I'm aware." Mallory sighed. "But come on, Dean, think about it. The way we grew up after Mom was killed? Dad's fucking obsession with finding the thing that killed her? I mean, Jesus, Dean, it's been twenty two years and we haven't found it yet. So, what do we do? We kill everything we can find."
"Yeah. And we save a lot of people doing it too." Dean pointed out.
Mallory huffed a sigh through her nose. "Is this seriously what you think Mama would have wanted for us?" she murmured quietly. "Because I know for a fact it's not."
Dean rolled his eyes and shook his head. "I don't wanna hear this."
"Yeah, well, you're gonna because you need to." Mallory snapped her little brother into silence. "Weapon training? Melting silver into bullets? We were raised like warriors, Dean."
"So what, Mal? You're gonna stay here, live some normal, apple pie life?"
"No, Dean. Not normal. Safe."
Dean nodded and looked away. "Yeah. And that's why you ran away."
"Shut up," Mallory spat. "I did not run away, I took control of my life. Dad was the one who told Sam and I if we were gonna go, we should stay gone. So, guess what? We are."
Dean sighed, chewing his lower lip. "Yeah, well, Dad's in real trouble right now. If he's not dead already. I can feel it."
Mallory paused at that. She didn't particularly like her father...but she did love him. She was mad at him, sure, but she didn't want to see him gone.
"I can't do this alone, Mal." Dean broke through her quiet thinking.
"Oh, please. Yes, you can."
The younger one paused. "Well, I don't want to." he admitted quietly as he looked down. "Come on, Mal. Please?"
The older Wincheser watched her brother for a long moment before a long sigh left her. "What was he hunting?"
