"Okay, Magpie. You got all your stuff?"

"Ready, Daddy!"

Maggie came out of her room with her backpack around her shoulders and her unicorn in her arms. She walked up to her daddy and smiled, and he picked up his car keys. He had a coffee cup in one hand and a pink lunch box in the other, which he handed to Maggie before picking up his own from the kitchen table. Maggie started to head to the car, but was stopped by Daddy before going out there.

"Hey, kiddo. Hang on a second."

Maggie turned and looked up at Daddy, who bent down and smiled sadly.

"I'm sorry I have to work again. I'm trying to hire someone so you and me can spend some more time together."

"It's okay, Daddy." Maggie said. "I like going to work with you."

"You do?"

"Yeah. Everybody's real nice." Maggie said.

"I'm glad you like it. You're not bored there?"

"No."

"Okay. Come on, let's go."

"Daddy? Can I pick what we have for dinner?" Maggie asked.

"We'll see."

Maggie started to groan. She hated when Daddy said we'll see. It usually meant no. But she had the rest of the ride to the store to try and convince him, so she wasn't too worried. Maggie made her way out to the car, got in the front seat, and waited.

But Daddy was nowhere to be seen.

Maggie figured at first that he'd forgotten something in the house and had gone back inside. She talked to Rain for a minute before she started to get worried. Maggie knew she wasn't supposed to, but she hit the horn on the car, hoping it would make Daddy come out. He didn't, and the sun started to go down. Maggie cried like she never had before. She somehow knew that Daddy was gone, he wasn't coming back, and she was all alone. A loud sound, one that hurt her ears and made her scream, went off nearby…

Maggie scrambled up in her bed, the covers around her in a tangled mess. She was sweating, panting, her heart racing inside her. It took a moment to figure out where the absolute terror inside her was coming from, but once she remembered, she did something she'd done a million times before.

Deep breath in.

Deep breath out.

It's all over and it's not your fault.

Rinse and repeat as much as necessary.

Maggie rolled out of bed, her heart slowly going back to normal. She grabbed her pill bottle next to the bed, took one out, and dry swallowed it. The pill burned as it went down, but it brought her back to reality. No matter how often she repeated this cycle, it seemed to become less effective each and every day. It amazed Maggie how much something that had happened to her years earlier, something she could barely remember, could affect her into her adult life.

Maggie desperately wanted the memory of that night to come back. The only thing she could remember clearly about it had come to her in her dream. That noise. The noise that she knew, from personal experience now, had been the sound of nine millimeter going off six times. The rest of that night, she only knew from what she'd read about in the papers and what she had been told.

Her father's murderer had never been caught.

She knew that people from her hometown blamed her for that. Even though she was barely in the second grade when it happened, she had been the only one to see the killer's face. But the terror of that night had driven the face from her memory, and whoever had pulled that trigger had gotten away. She knew in her head that the fault didn't lie with her, but she wished she could convince her heart of that.

Maggie walked into the bathroom just adjacent to her room. She could hear steps pitter pattering in the kitchen and could smell coffee brewing. She knew it was Sam awake and was grateful for it. Dean was a grouch in the morning and tended to rub her nerves the wrong way. Sam was peaceful, willing to talk if she needed but willing to leave her alone if that was what she needed too.

This morning, Maggie wasn't exactly sure what she needed.

"Hey, Sam."

Sam, who was looking through at his laptop and sipping a coffee cup, looked up and smiled. "Hey."

"Any luck finding a case?"

"How'd you know that's what I was doing?"

Maggie smiled as she poured her coffee cup. "You have a certain look about you."

"Well, you're right. And I think I found one."

"Yeah? Let's hear it."

"Hear what?"

Maggie looked up in surprise at Dean. He came into the kitchen fully dressed. "Did you just get back?"

"Maybe." Dean grinned.

"Never mind. Don't wanna know." Maggie said, taking her first sip of her coffee. "Sam found us a case."

"What's going on?"

"Guy in Wyoming. He was working the late-night shift as a security guard when he ran into someone in the hallway. That someone beat him up, put him in the hospital."

"Okay. Sounds like a break-in." Dean commented.

"The guy that beat him up, he claims, is someone who died over twenty years ago."

Maggie's heart slammed hard against the side of her chest. "What's his name?"

"What?"

"The break-in victim, Sam. What's his name?"

"Nicholas Jamison." Sam said.

The blood drained from Maggie's face. "Oh no."

"Maggie? What is it?"

"It's a ghost." Maggie said. "He was hurt by a ghost."

"Okay. How are you so sure?" Sam asked.

"And why do you look like you've seen a ghost yourself?" Dean asked.

Maggie swallowed hard. She had thought that this day was coming for years. The nightmares were becoming more vivid and lasting longer each time. She had gone from having them once in a while to a few times a week to nightly. She'd wondered if it was her father trying to reach out to her somehow, but in her waking hours she just tried to ignore it. Ignoring it apparently wasn't working.

"Maggie? Talk to us. What's going on?"

Maggie sighed. She'd told Sam and Dean the bare bones of her background, leaving out all of the grisly details. She gathered her emotional strength and told them the story she hadn't told anyone in nearly twenty years. Sam and Dean were left in shock as she slowly got the stories out, and neither of them seemed to know what to say. Sam was the first to break the uncomfortable silence.

"You were there? You saw the whole thing?"

"Yeah. But I don't remember it. Nothing from the time the guy walked in the store to the time that my uncle Nick, the guy that got hurt, woke me up later that night screaming from a nightmare."

"Any theories why your dad might be showing up now? After two decades?" Dean asked.

Maggie shrugged. "They never caught the guy. Maybe it's revenge? I don't know, Dean. I was only seven, I don't remember a whole lot from that time."

"What about why he would attack this Nick guy?"

"Nick blamed himself for what happened. Maybe that has something to do it." Maggie explained.

"Look, we can call someone to take this case." Sam offered. "Or Dean and me can take it and you sit it out."

"Yeah. We get it if you do." Dean said.

Maggie did want to. She wanted to stay as far away from Beaufort, Wyoming as she could. What little memories she had of it only brought her pain and sleepless nights. And the idea of seeing her father? Possibly hearing his voice? Maggie didn't know if she'd be able to bear it. But she also knew that if she went with Sam and Dean, they could get the case solved much faster.

And maybe, she thought, the nightmares would stop too.

"No. I'll go."

"Mags…"

Maggie knew Dean didn't mean anything by the nickname. He'd called her that many times before. But it brought back a flashback that caused her to visibly shake. Sitting against the wall in the meat locker, shaking and crying, before being gently coaxed out by her uncle.

"Mags, come on, baby. Let's go."

"Dean, I'm going. Give me ten minutes and I'll be ready."

Maggie didn't give Dean the time to argue. She turned and left, walking to her room and trying to stop shaking. Her memory had been completely blocked for close to twenty years, and she prayed it wasn't about to come back. She wanted the blankness in her mind surrounding the events of that night to stay there. A knock at her door brought her back to reality.

"Maggie? It's Sam. Can I come in?"

"Yeah, Sam. Come on in."

Sam walked inside, alarmed by Maggie's appearance. "Hey, come on. Sit down."

"I'm fine, Sam."

"No, you're not. Sit down and talk to me. Please." Sam begged.

Maggie sat on the edge of her bed and took a breath. It had been a long time since she felt true fear. The tears she'd been fighting back spilled out, and she instinctively leaned into Sam. Sam held her for a few minutes, trying to hide his surprise. When Maggie had first come into his and Dean's lives, nearly five years earlier, she'd been a stone wall. She'd worked with Sam and Dean on a case but kept a healthy distance from the two of them. She was friendly enough, but took time to warm up to them. Eventually, she'd come to them needing a place to stay and had just never left.

The one thing she hadn't done yet? Hug either of them. She shook hands with them, high fived them after a hunt gone right, but a hug? Never.

When Maggie had calmed down enough to talk, she reached over to her nightstand and took a handful of tissues. Blowing her nose, she smiled and laughed nervously.

"Sorry."

"Don't be." Sam said. "But please tell me what's up with you."

"It's like…I've had this black spot on my life all this time. And I'm so scared to go poking at it."

"You don't have to."

"I know. I know you and Dean would do this for me. But I need to, Sam. I need to confront this."

"You have nightmares about it, don't you?"

Maggie nodded. "It used to just be once in a while, but now it's almost every night."

"Why didn't you come to me?"

"I didn't know what to say." Maggie said.

Sam nodded. "Okay. Well, take your time. Me and Dean can leave whenever you're ready."

"I'll be out soon."

Sam went out to pack his own bag, and Maggie gathered her thoughts. She packed her bag and walked out to the Impala for the half-day trip to Wyoming. Sam attempted to keep her distracted, but they had to talk about the hunt, leading Maggie to more flashbacks. These flashbacks weren't as intense as the one in the bunker, but they were still strong. Her fear was coming true. Her memories were coming back. As they passed the Wyoming state border, only an hour from their destination, Maggie thought about the last time she'd been in Beaufort.

The CPS lady stood at her car, the back door opened and waiting patiently for Maggie to come and join her. Maggie had her backpack with her, watching as uncle Nick packed her suitcase in the backseat of the car. Uncle Nick said something to the CPS lady, who nodded and smiled then got into the driver's seat. He walked over to Maggie and kneeled in front of her.

"Alright, Mags. Time to go, kiddo."

"Why do I have to go?" Maggie asked. "Why can't I stay with grandma? Or you?"

"We talked about this, babe." Uncle Nick said. "Your grandma's too sick to take care of you. And I work too much."

"Daddy worked a lot too. Please, uncle Nick, I'll be good, don't send me away."

Uncle Nick swallowed hard and Maggie could tell he was trying hard not to cry. "If it was up to me, baby, you could stay. But maybe a fresh start would be good for you."

"Cause of all the people being mean to me? About what happened to daddy?"

Uncle Nick nodded. "Yeah."

"You'll still talk to me, right?"

"Of course. Of course I will. Just promise me you'll try your best to be happy. Can you do that for me?"

"I'll try." Maggie said. "I love you, uncle Nick."

"Oh, I love you too, babe. Come here."

Maggie shared a hug with him, and all too soon it was time for her to get in the car. Uncle Nick walked her over and buckled her into her booster seat. Before she left, Maggie had a thought. She looked at Rain and handed him over to her uncle.

"Here, uncle Nick."

"You're giving him to me?"

"Yeah."

"You sure? You don't want to take him with you?"

"No. You'll be all by yourself. You keep him." Maggie said. "And tell grandma I love her, please."

"I will, babe."

With one more hug and one more kiss, the CPS lady drove away. Maggie looked out the back window at her uncle until he was out of sight, then sat back in her seat and cried all the way to her new home.

Dean parked the Impala in front of the local hospital in Beaufort. Both of them turned back to her to ask her how she wanted to proceed, but Maggie was already walking out of the car and towards the front door. Sam and Dean followed her all the way to the admissions desk, where Maggie had stopped again.

"You want us to go with you?" Sam asked quietly.

"Yeah. Just give me a minute."

Five minutes later, after taking the elevator up to the fifth floor, Maggie found the door. N. Jamison. She grabbed the door handle and walked inside to find a face she hadn't seen or heard from in years. Nick looked up at her and his face fell in shock.

"Mags?"

Maggie smiled. "Hey, uncle Nick. Long time."