A/N Filling in some back story for Pauline and more from Dean and co.

Remembrance

Three months earlier.

Pauline sorted her hair in the bathroom mirror and took a deep breath.

She could do this.

This was the job that she'd been looking for and what she was about to do might jeopardise her position at Jordan Air Conditioning but she couldn't stay quiet. It wasn't right. They knew and yet they were doing nothing. "Ok kid, let's do this." She smiled at her reflection and turned to the door.

"Pauline Woods from Jordan AC to see James Daye." She fiddled with the ring on her finger, twisting it as she waited for the receptionist to call through her boss.

"He'll see you now, it's the second door on the right, if you just knock and go in." The receptionist smiled briefly and then turned back to her computer, instantly dismissing her.

"Thanks." Pauline picked up her briefcase, shrugged her handbag further up onto her shoulder and then headed for the indicated door.

James Daye wasn't what she had expected, younger and handsome in his own way, his smile quick and easy as he stood to shake her hand and then directed her into one of the seats in front of his desk. "How can I help you Miss Woods?"

She got straight to the point. "I'm worried about one of the alterations to the plans for the refurbishment of the mall. I believe that it could jeopardise the structural integrity of the structure by reducing the load bearing columns. That added to the additional weight of the new air conditioning units that we're installing on the roof could have grave consequences for the long term safety of the mall. I know that you're overseeing the project and that you're a local man, I hoped that bringing this to your attention that you could hold off on the last of the permissions until we're sure that safety isn't being compromised for the sake of getting the place back up and running."

"Miss Woods I can assure you that every I is being dotted and every T crossed in this restructure. The mall is of extreme importance to the local economy here."

She held back the sigh. "Mr Daye, with all due respect, I know what I'm talking about here. I'm a structural engineer and an architect, plus I feel that I'm the only one from the two companies involved here that is looking at the bigger picture. If it were only the alterations taking place then the structure would be fine, as it would if only the air conditioning units were getting installed. It's the combination of the two that has me worried. There are already stress fractures in some of the load bearing walls."

Daye's eyes were unreadable as he studied her. "So what exactly is the problem that you think Anderson Kyle, your own firm and my office appear to have missed?" He leant forward, the blank look being replaced by a carefully schooled look of worry that set her senses on edge. Once again she wondered if she was doing the right thing, if she shouldn't have taken this above even his head. Swallowing her fears she opened her briefcase and pulled out the plans.

-----

Dean

He woke with a start as the icy hand touched his arm, opening his eyes and staring into the ones of the spirit that lay facing him. "You were dreaming, I was scared that you'd hurt your leg."

"I was?" Try as he might he couldn't bring any thoughts of what he was dreaming about to mind although there was a feeling of loneliness that he couldn't shake, it rested on him like the hand of a friend and maybe he thought that's just what it was, his only companion in the last few months. Me and my shadow. Somehow the thought made him smile. Maybe I'm going crazy too.

"Who's Sam?" Pauline rested her head back down on her arm, never breaking eye contact with him.

"My brother."

"You were calling for him. Do you think he'll come? Do you think he'll find us? Save us?" Her hand that still rested on his arm tightened a little and then she let go, brushing at his face gently before she rested it under her head too.

Lady you're dead? Remember? We talked about this already. The thoughts never made it passed his lips, his mind choosing not to prod his already, not quite all there companion. "I don't know, but I've got a friend that's looking for us, he'll come."

"You sound sure."

"I am." That's of course unless he's under here too. He pushed that thought right away. No giving up hope Winchester, that's an order. She watched as he chuckled softly. Yeah, you look at me like I'm the crazy one lady.

He busied himself for a spell, eating some of the sandwich, taking a drink and a painkiller and all the time she watched him. Quietly observing.

Her stared was off putting so he tried to strike up some conversation, pulling his jacket closer over him as a shiver of cold ran through him. Now is not the time to get sick Winchester.

"So, you knew that something was wrong with the building then? Did you know that it was going to fall down?"

She thought for a moment. "I think I did, at least I remember being worried for all the people who would be in here."

"Called that one right then. So you tried to warn them? Let them know that there was a problem? Your boss? The planners?"

"I did?" Pauline didn't look sure. Then her face brightened. " I did! At least I think I did." She frowned and tilted her head at him again.

Definitely one short of a six pack. Dean pushed on. "Who did you tell Pauline? Can you remember for me? Please?"

The silence was longer this time. "I…I ….." Her hand rubbed at her forehead. "His name was Daye." The smile was bright that broke across her face. "His name was James Daye, he was the planning guy. I told him. I warned him." Her voice rose and she glared across at Dean. "He knew. It was him that told me to go there. It was him."

Dean felt a little fear creep up his spine as his ghostly companion became a tad too agitated for his liking. Holding out a placating hand he spoke quietly to her. "Tell me what you remember Pauline."

-----

Three months ago

"See these alterations that have been put in place for the new fire regulations, these shutters for the escalators at the rear and front of the mall?"

James leant in closer. "Yes. They are there to comply with the most recent regulations, they close in the event of a fire an stop the spread to another floor."

Pauline bit back the 'I know what they are' that was hangin from her lips. "Well to install them the contractors have reduced, on the advise of Anderson Kyle, these columns, here, here and here." She pointed at the plans and watched as he raised his head and looked at her bemusedly.

"And?"

"And?" She shook her head. "And, these are the supporting columns for the floors above. AND, they have reduced all of them, all the way up through all the floors." She paused.

"I'm not seeing the problem here. The architects have clearly factored in the weight of the floors above and decided that it is still within regulations. They wouldn't have done it otherwise."

Pauline wondered why no one could see what she could. "Maybe they did, but what they haven't done is factor in the weight of the new units that we were installing on the roof, the math doesn't work, add these into the equations and you have a potential disaster on your hands." She stared him right in the eye. "Maybe not today, maybe not tomorrow or next month or hell even next year….but this mall is going to collapse. It is a death trap. It is an accident waiting to happen. It is going to claim the lives of everyone in it if you don't do something now. It is going to come for them when they least expect it."

"Very dramatic Miss Woods." He sat back in his chair and rested his hands on the arms watching the intense look on the woman in front of him. "Ok, let's say there is a problem. How do we fix it?"

"Extra columns. It'll cut some of the retail spaces sure, but it will safe guard all the others." She sat patiently as he studied her again before he spoke.

"I'll call a meeting. We'll get all the parties to the restructuring down to the building and you can show me these fractures and we can discuss what we do and where we go from there."

A triumphant little smile crossed her face. "Thank you."

"If you leave your contact number with my secretary then I'll call you when we have everything set up."

"I will and thank you again."

He smiled until the door closed and then he reached for the phone. "We've got a problem.....No, one of the workers at Jordan found a flaw in your plans…….how the hell should I know…..I told her we'd met to discuss it…..yeah I'll call her." He put the phone down and rested his head on the desk, a small groan escaping him. "What the hell have I got myself into?"

-----

Bobby steered John's truck into the side of the road and checked his phone again. "God, now I know how you felt son, constantly wanting to check for that call that you can't help feelin' ain't ever gonna come. Don't even know if you've still got the damn thing on you." He pocketed the phone and slipped from the truck, rounding the side of the Bank that was on the corner of the street and then walking down between the tents that had been put up for the men helping with the rescue to rest and eat in.

Turning the final corner he headed over to where he knew that he was going to find John and shook his head when he found the man he was looking for, dripping in sweat with a look of grim determination on his face. "Why in damnation can't you just show him how much he's means to you when he's standing right in front of ya?" That's when his eyes caught the second figure that was now working next to his father. Both men's shirts were soaked with their exertions, lifting blocks of concrete and cement between them that seemed far too big for them to have actually managed it and passing them off to the poor unfortunates that weren't graced with as much muscle strength or incentive as the driven Winchester men. He watched as they worked in silence, both seeming to instinctively know where the other needed them to be, and when, in order to manage to prise the lumps of wrecked mall from the slowly decreasing pile.

A shout went up from another corner of the fallen structure and Bobby turned to look as all work on the site stopped, the rescuers waiting to see if this one that had been found had been saved by their efforts or if a moment of silence would be needed to pay a small mark of respect. The silence that was already in air tugging at Bobby, chilled him. He could almost feel death waiting to see if it could ride off with another soul tonight. So lost was he in his musings that he didn't hear John until the other man rested a hand on his shoulder, causing Bobby to jump like a scalded cat. Placing a hand on his heart he glared at his friend but they didn't speak, neither wanting to be the person to breach the quiet that blanketed everything.

A second shout rang out and they watched as the stretcher with a black body bag on it was raised over to where the only men working on the site stood.

"Why are the cops moving in?" John's question sounded too loud in the quiet. They watched as police moved up over towards the little band of fire-fighters and EMT's that were huddled around the site of the latest grim discovery.

It struck Bobby then. He took in the remains of the mall, judging where the men were, realising who and what they were looking at. "It's her. They've found her."

They started forward together, Bobby trail blazing through the wreckage, skirting the worst, knowing that John and Sam were scrambling through after him. They played follow the leader all the way over to the edge of the area and then Bobby moved on alone, pulling his badge from his inside pocket and flashing it at the worker that tried to block his way. By the time he got that far there was already one of the officers starting to tape off the scene, the yellow roll bright in the fading light of the day.

"What did you find?"

The young officer looked up from his task. "You are?"

"Special Agent Clapton." It wasn't only Dean and his family that could do rock alias he thought as he flashed the badge at the young man and smiled grimly.

"You guys are all over this place. Do you know something we don't?"

"I know that you should have been a cop long enough to know not to ask that question and answer mine." His glare caused the young boy to break eye contact and look down.

"Sorry sir." There was an edge to the 'sir' that remind Bobby of Dean when his father had pissed him off, it made him fight to keep the smile off his face. "Found a body."

"That's novel. It's a damned collapse, of course you found a body. What else?"

"Hands were bound and it appears to have been in some kinda box. Look you really should be talking to the Sheriff on this….he's over there. I just got sent away to tape the scene."

"I'll wait until they get her out." Bobby turned to walk back to John but the cop's voice stopped him.

"Hey, how'd you know it was a female?"

Bobby turned, grinned at the guy and shrugged. "Lucky guess."

He knew the cop was watching him as he walked away but he resisted the urge to turn, instead he picked up his pace and manoeuvred over to where John and Sam were standing.

"Well?" John wiped his hands absently on his shirt.

"It's her. I was kinda hoping that they wouldn't find her so quick."

John frowned. "Why?"

"Why? Well now it's a damned crime scene and the guys that did this now need to cover their tracks more than ever. I can't help thinking that things are gonna get messy. Might help in one way though."

"Enlighten me."

"Well there's gonna be that many cops crawling over this that I doubt they'll notice another one or two that shouldn't be here."

John smiled at him properly for the first time since he'd got there. "I like your thinking Mr Singer. Now." He turned to Sam. "Think we should get back to work." When Sam didn't make a move to follow him John stopped. "What is it Sam?"

"Don't you think that we should salt and burn her?"

The two elder hunters exchanged looks. "Why?" It was Bobby that asked.

"What if she's with Dean? Do you think that she could be? Do you think that she'd hurt him. I mean he's a hunter and she's….not exactly a vengeful spirit but she isn't exactly a happy one either." Sam looked at his two companions.

John didn't like the thought of her being with his son one little bit but there wasn't a lot that they could do about that right at this minute. He said as much. "Let's get back to the digging and Bobby can see if he can find out more of what's happened here and maybe where they'll take the body." Casting a glance Bobby's way he acknowledged his friend's small nod of agreement and they split up, John and Sam back to their chain gang and Bobby back over to the 'crime scene', carefully skirting the younger cop that now had dropped the tape and was manfully chasing it down the small incline at the rear of the mall.

The young man's antics brought a welcome chuckle to his throat as he walk up to question the man that could only be the Sheriff. "You just can't get the staff these days."