The office was dark as Sydney approached. Funny, Mike had only hollered through the kitchen not five minutes earlier. Where could he have gone?

Sydney pressed her hand against the door as she turned the knob.

"Mike? You…" her words were cut off as a hand latched to her throat. Sydney clawed desperately at the material around her shoulders as she gasped for breath.

Sydney sat up quickly and threw her hands up to her neck. With a shuddering breath, she reminded herself it was just a dream. She moved her leg over to the right to hop out of the bed, and was met with a soft thud and pain radiating up her toe. She squinted in the dark, suddenly remembering where she was; the basement of a cabin.

"Stupid wall," Sydney muttered to herself. She awkwardly pushed herself off the mattress lying on the dusty ground. The floorboards above her creaked with movement and she heard deep voices. Sydney grabbed a sweatshirt and an old pair of jeans out of her duffle and threw it over a green tank top before heading upstairs.

"I'm just saying, there has to be a reason they went after her," Sam's voice carried through the room. "I wouldn't think..."

"Morning," Bobby announced quickly as Sydney appeared.

"I don't care that you're talking about me, I know just as much as you do." With a glance around the room, Sydney saw that all of them were gathered in the kitchen. Dean and Sam were both hidden behind laptops at the table and Bobby was leaning against the kitchen sink.

"You mind if we pick your brain?"

As Sydney sat down, she eyed the older-man's steaming blue mug.

"Only if I get coffee first." The boys all chuckled, and Bobby moved to pour a glass for her.

"So what did you say you did?" Sam questioned. Sydney wrapped her hands around the chipped mug, relishing in the warmth.

"I'm an assistant manager at Biggersons." Sydney took a sip and noticed that while Sam was watching her talk, Dean had turned his attention to the computer and began typing. "I've been working there for three years now."

"And nothing odd ever stood out to you?"

"No…?"

"No big search results," Dean announced, his eyes still on the screen. "Unless dumbledork over here can find something I can't." At this, he looked over at Sam with a gleam in his eye.

Sam smirked and shook his head, a wave of brown hair falling in front of his face. Sydney took another sip of her coffee, glancing between the brothers.

"What did your boss say to you?" Sam continued.

"Well, after he asked me to come into his office, he choked the living shit out of me…" Sydney paused, the memory fresh in her mind thanks to her dream this morning. She swallowed and continued, "But he didn't get to say much to me. I got knocked out after the bookshelf fell and when I woke up Sheriff Mills was on her way in."

Dean opened his mouth with a follow-up question, but Sydney's back pocket buzzed and she jumped. Pulling the phone out, she saw the number of her mother.

"Sorry, need to take this," Sydney opened the door to the cabin as she pressed answer. "Mom, I…"

"Sydney!" Her mother's voice was shrill. Sydney felt her heart stop. "Please, you have to…"

There was a crackle as the rest of her mother's plea was cut short. The line went dead.

"Mom!"

As Sydney pulled the phone away from her ear, she felt a strong body behind her.

"What happened?" Dean's voice asked quickly.

"My mom, she…" Sydney was still staring at her phone, suddenly noticing how her body was shaking. Dean reached from behind her to gently pluck the phone from her hand.

"Sam, let's go." Dean ordered. He pocketed the phone and gently moved around Sydney to stand in front of her, keeping a hand on her shoulder. "Are you okay to get us to her house?"

Sydney nodded mutely. Sam burst around them, one arm in his jacket, and tossed car keys to dean. Dean put his hand gently on Sydney's shoulder blade and guided her to a tan two-door car parked around the corner by some bushes.

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With a swift kick, Dean entered Sydney's childhood home. He moved forward, gun drawn, and Sam copied his movements, a long knife in his hand. Sydney watched them disappear from her seat in the back of the mustang. When Sam had turned to check on her, she had barely been able to meet his eyes. She couldn't imagine going into that house and seeing what she tried so hard to forget the last few months.

It seemed like ages before Sydney saw movement again. Sam leaned out the front door then waved his hand. Sydney met his eyes but couldn't make herself move. The tall hunter exited the house and came over to the car.

"She's okay, a little banged up."

As soon as the words hit Sydney's ears, she rammed her hand into the passenger seat to fold it down and grabbed at the door handle. Sam jumped out of the way as she scrambled out of the car and across the front walk.

"Mom?"

Dean stuck his head out of the archway into the living room.

"Sydney?" Her mom's voice echoed.

Sydney's foot slipped as she lost traction on a puddle. She sped forward and turned the corner, running into her mother's arms.

"Oh, honey," her mother's arms splayed over her head and back. Sydney could feel a tear fall down her cheek. Somewhere behind them, Sam re-entered the room.

"You check the rest of the house?" Sam asked his brother.

"Nothing. Hey," this was louder, directed at the two women, " let's go find a place to eat and avoid any other visitors stopping by."

Keeping an arm around each other, Sydney and her mom made their way back to the front door. This time, Sydney took in the pictures that were crooked along the walls and the blood that streamed along the floor. Whatever had happened, it seemed that Sydney was lucky to have found her mom alive.

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Sam maneuvered the mustang through some very narrow back streets to get them all into town. Sydney squeezed her mother's hand, thankful that they had somehow managed to get into Billings in a matter of a few hours. Mental note, if you needed to get anywhere, Dean was the guy you wanted to have driving.

They stopped at a small diner and took seats in a booth near the back, even though at almost 1pm it was pretty quiet. Dean and Sam sat to the outside, and a swell of comfort fell over Sydney at the safety these two men provided.

"Mom, what happened?" Sydney finally asked after the waitress took their order.

"I came home from work and the place was just…too quiet, there was something off. I went to leave, but two men were inside. I ran upstairs to call you, but they caught me and tied me up in the living room."

"What did they want?" Sam asked gently.

"Sydney," the woman answered, catching her daughter's eye from across the table. "They kept trying to get me to tell them where you were."

Dean, who was sitting next to Sydney, turned his head to watch her.

"Don't give me that look! I don't know what is going on!" Sydney let out as quietly as she could, and she saw Dean turn the corner of his lip up into a smirk.

"Sweetie," her mother started, but the waitress returned with their food. She handed out the salad for Sam, chicken sandwiches for the two women, and a burger for Dean. She made extra sure that her chest leaned down into Dean's vision and her hair swung to briefly brush Dean's shoulder. Sydney caught Sam look down and shake his head with a smile. She expected Dean to react with eye contact, maybe a big smile, but instead he opened the top of his burger to adjust the toppings and reached for the ketchup. The waitress walked away in a huff.

When Dean lifted his burger to his mouth, he caught the surprised eyes of his brother.

"What?" Dean asked.

"Nothing," Sam went back to picking at his salad, and Sydney couldn't determine if there was pride or concern in the younger brother.

"Sweetie," her mother continued, "I've been quiet since these men helped me and seem to be watching over you, but what happened? Why are they with you? And, they look an awful lot like…"

"We aren't the Winchesters," Sam cut in quickly. Sydney, who had just taken a full bite of sandwich, was about to give Sam a look when Dean placed his hand gently on her knee and gave a quick shake of his head in her peripheral. He would explain later. "Get that all the time."

"I suppose that makes sense," her mother's voice faltered as she looked once again between the two men. "Can't be two other psychos just like them running around! That would be silly."

Sydney briefly realized her mother was referring to the attacks in different banks and diners on the west coast the week before. She chewed on the inside of her lip, keeping her thoughts to herself. Jodi had said she was taking her to the Winchesters, and there was no mistaking their faces. Something weird was going on.

Sydney filled her mother in on her manager's attack, avoiding the creature aspect so as not to cause more concern.

"He just attacked you out of nowhere? Does it have anything to do with your promotion?"

Sydney froze with her mouth open, the cogs in her braining turning. Sam and Dean watched her carefully.

"What promotion?" Dean finally asked.

"Mike was asked to help manage our store specifically, but he has been the Regional Manager for the last six years, watching over a bunch of different stores. I was in training to potentially take over his job or manage another region."

There was no response to Sydney's statement. Sam and Dean seemed to be speaking telepathically and Sydney wondered once again what could possibly be going on.