"They call you, 'Mary Joe'?" Dean asked as they rode to the church.
"Just Father, occasionally Sister will. The kids just call me Mary," she said, looking out the window of the impala.
"MJ," Dean laughed a little, "like Spiderman."
Mary ignored his comment, "Can we get my car? It's parked in front of the house."
"Your hand is completely bandaged, how do you expect to drive?" Sam asked. He looked in the rearview mirror to see her face drop, "But I can get it if you need it that badly."
"Dad's journal and all my hunting stuff is in there."
"So? It'll be fine," Dean said.
"With a demon coming after me?"
"Right, let's go check the car," he agreed, pulling toward her street.
"It looks awful," Mary said, seeing the destroyed house for the first time since the fire. Dean pulled the impala to a stop and Mary stepped out to look at it.
"Was anything saved?" she asked.
"Not sure, no one has gone in but the firemen," Sam said, joining her outside the car.
"I wanna go in," Mary decided, walking toward the house.
"You don't know if it's dafe."
"When has that ever stopped me?"
"Mary?" a voice called, "Mary!" the voice belonged to the mother of the boy Dean had killed, "It's so good to see you're out of the hospital!"
"Yeah, it's good to be back," she smiled as she was pulled in for a hug.
"I've got something for you," the woman said, "come on, it's at the house."
"Oh, uh... you met Sam and Dean, didn't you?"
"I saw them speak with you after Church. What are you doing back in town, detectives?"
"Well, ma'am-" Dean began, only to be interrupted by Mary.
"They're my older brothers."
"What?" the woman asked in surprise as they walked toward her house.
"We found out a little while ago," Mary explained.
"Well, congratulations," she said, leading them to her front porch, "the firemen managed to save a few things from the fire. No one else has come to look at the house, so they've just been sitting here."
"Thank you," Mary said, shuffling through the box holding old pictures and toys.
"There's another thing," Jake's mother smiled, disappearing into the house. She reappeared moments later with another box.
Mary opened it and pulled out a mass of fabric, "My leather jacket!"
"The inside lining was destroyed, so I replaced it. I know how important it's always been to you."
"Whoa... is that?" Sam began.
"One of Dad's leather jackets," Dean answered, recognizing it as one of his father's favorites.
"Thank you so much," Mary gave the woman another hug.
"You're welcome. Give the others my best," she smiled as they left.
Sam carried the box for Mary as they walked back toward her car. She unlocked the trunk and tossed the box inside.
"Ready to go?" Dean finally asked.
"Yeah," she shrugged.
"You still want me to take the car?" Sam asked.
"Uh, yeah. Just bring it over to the church," she decided, tossing him the keys.
"Alright, you ride with Dean. I'll meet you guys there."
Mary and Dean climbed into the impala to drive to the church. Dean looked over at Mary a few times during the drive, his eyes fell immediately to her burns.
"Why would you run into a burning building?" he asked, feeling sorry for the pain she must have been in.
"If Sam was helpless and alone in a burning building you'd run back in to save him, wouldn't you?" Dean was quiet, "It's the same reason for me. I care about those kids. They're the closest thing to family I've ever had," she explained. Dean didn't know how to respond. She was right. He knew exactly why she ran in.
"If you really want to keep them safe," he began, "you need to come with me and Sam."
Mary remained silent.
"I know it'll be hard, but we'll take you somewhere safe where no one can hurt you."
"You're not even giving me a choice, are you?" she muttered.
Dean looked at her and then he thought of himself. He knew that at her age if he had been asked to leave his family, he would've chosen to risk staying with them.
"No," he looked back at the road. Mary's jaw clenched. Whether it was to stop herself from telling Dean off or crying, she didn't know. She was upset. The kids at the home were more like siblings then Sam and Dean would ever be, and now she would have to say goodbye. The strange feeling in her gut returned. Something was keeping her from talking again. A warmth overcame her, telling her things would work out. She was reluctant to believe it.
They pulled up to a small building connected to the church that Mary and the rest of the children would stay in.
"Let me get your door," Dean said, seeing her injured hand was on the door side.
"I'm fine," she retorted using her free hand to open the door and pull herself up. Sam pulled up in Mary's car as she was walking toward the building.
"We'll leave in about two days. Our place is out of state, so it'll be a long drive," Dean tried. Mary ignored him and kept walking.
"You got her to agree?" Sam asked once she was our of earshot.
"She was reluctant," Dean shrugged, going back to the impala.
"Can you agree not to start something, Dean?" Sam asked as he followed him.
"Excuse me?"
"I know you're not thrilled with the idea of a little sister, but, Dean, this is a big change for her. And it was your idea in the first place."
"Yeah, okay."
"Dean, she's leaving the only family she's ever really know."
"I got it, Sam," he said. He had made the choice. Dean knew that Mary needed to come with them, even if he didn't want her to.
~I'm so sorry it's been so long since I've posted! Things got crazy over the holidays. As always, reviews are welcome, and I won't take so long posting the next part this time! Promise!~