Notes: This chapter took longer than expected for a few reasons. After much tweaking, editing, and overall back and forth on how things should go, I'm not entirely happy with it either. But it turned out the way it has and hopefully it makes sense. So if anyone out there has been waiting for a new chapter then here it is.

Dean's phone rang as he was grabbing their bags out of his car. He looked at the time. It was late but he still answered the call without a thought, hoping for a split second it would bring good news instead of the oppposite which usually came through at this time of night. "Hello?"

"Hello, Mr. Winchester. Sorry to be calling this late, but this is Spence Andersen. You called my firm earlier to inquire about Manda Chambers," a man's deep voice said in his ear.

Dean leaned against the back of the Impala, bracing himself for whatever this conversation might hold. He hadn't expected the call back to come through at this time, and hoped it wasn't all bad. "The time's not a problem, Mr. Andersen. Thanks for getting back to me."

"Yes, about that… before we discuss anything to do with Miss Chambers, do you mind if I ask you a question, Mr. Winchester? Just to confirm you are who you say you are, and for certain precautions regarding my client."

"Call me Dean. And sure, I'm game," he replied, keeping his curiosity close to the vest. This guy was playing it strictly professional right out of the gate and sounded ready to shut this down anytime he wanted to. That wasn't happening, not when he had his own questions to ask.

"Great, now, uh…" the voice of Mr. Andersen trailed off as there was the sound of papers being shuffled. "What song did you put on the first time Miss Chambers let you drive her car?"

That's my girl. You left something because he wouldn't have that question for no reason at all. Dean smirked to himself. He'd obviously made some sort of list, and maybe a way for him to get some information on her if he needed it, because that was a question only he would know the answer to. No one else had been with them in her car that morning. He knew exactly what song he'd thrown on as somewhat of a joke and to tease her when she'd let him drive her Chevelle. "Feel Like Makin' Love by Bad Company," he uttered with a small grin on his face as he gave himself a mental high five.

"Super subtle with your feelings that morning, Winchester," Mr. Andersen laughed a little as he replied. "Sorry, her instructions were to say that so you would know she left them. Your number and that answer both matched, so we can talk. Now what exactly is the reason for this call, Mr… sorry, Dean?"

You loved it, Chambers, and you weren't so subtle yourself. Dean couldn't help but chortle a little. "Mr. Andersen, you obviously know about the Chambers family's odd career choice, and probably about what I do, right?"

"Yes…" There was a long pause, and a deep sigh. "I know about the things that go bump in the night. The Chambers family helped mine nearly three decades ago. And yes, I'm well aware of who you are and that you're in the same line of work as Manda."

That meant either her parents or grandparents had helped the Andersens at some point. So there was a history between both families, and he had just slipped and called her Manda not Miss Chambers which meant she had to be more than just a client. "Good. Now, if you don't mind me asking, have you spoken to Manda lately?"

"Not since around her birthday, I believe it was, since we usually go over the usual business we need to around that time. So it's been a number of weeks, but that's not exactly unusual. Why are you asking? Is there a problem?" Mr. Andersen's tone turned curious.

Dean was quiet for a minute just for the effect it would have. "I'm asking because she appears to be missing, hiding, or the job's finally done her in. And I'm well aware you have a way to confirm if she's dead, or that you might even have a way to get a hold of her right now." His voice had turned a little hard and serious as he kicked his feet at the ground and stared up at the sky. He hoped he was playing the right cards because he really had no other ones left.

"Well, Miss Chambers listed you as the first person to contact should that issue arise, but I cannot confirm that any more than you probably can right now, Mr. Winchester," Mr. Andersen's voice became no nonsense, was stern even. "So why don't you start by telling me why you believe something's happened to her?"

Dean felt like he was being scolded, but that wasn't about to stop him. He'd push for whatever he could get out of this guy. "Because all her numbers have been disconnected, any activity on them for the last year has been scrubbed, too. Nobody else has heard from her in the last two months either. I'm even at her house right now to see if she's been by, and she's not here. She won't reply to an email, and there is no other way to get a hold of her. And I'm good, Mr. Andersen, so frigging good at this job that I'd find you even if you were hiding in the last pit of Hell, but it's like Manda's just vanished. Now I called you because she told me that you'd be the one to know something. You can see if she's accessed her trust, you know what aliases she uses, and she once told me you'd know if she had been found dead somewhere for whatever system you have in place. So, are you gonna help me out here or not, Spence?" His tone said he wasn't really asking, but he knew he sounded sincere, and his worry had leaked through.

Spence Andersen was tapping a pen on a pad of paper. Dean could hear it along with the silence on the other end of the phone then. The man was thinking of what to say, or at least what he could say whether out of loyalty or instructions.

"From what I can tell about you, Dean, we can speak frankly. Am I right? Also in thinking that you care for Manda?"

"By all means, and that's right."

"What you've told me is somewhat worrisome, and I'll need to check things out for myself. Now listen, I'm not the first Andersen to handle the Chambers family trust and other legal matters, but I can tell you this much, if Manda's disappeared on her own then you won't find her. Even if I have access to all those things, it won't help either of us find her. Not until she wants to be found, because that's what she was taught. Her grandfather once went so far underground it took two years for my father to find him. Do you understand what I'm getting at here?"

Dean rubbed a hand over his face. He knew he was getting a run around, and maybe it was just because that was the usual tactic when it came to how this guy usually dealt with anything concerning her. But his gut said Mr. Andersen knew something he just wasn't saying. "Loud and clear, she's a needle in a haystack and I shouldn't waste my time looking. So I don't know what Manda told you about me, but let me tell you this much..."

The older man's voice cut him off. "She told me enough. Many months ago, after nearly dying, Manda finally came to me in regards on what to do in the event of her death since she has no family left. This included wanting me to notify you if and when that happens, and to give you something she's left you. You're the only person she's done this for. While she never said as much, the way she spoke highly of you at the time led me to believe you are or were romantically involved."

Eyes widening at this revelation, Dean drew in a deep breath. "Something like that… wait a sec, are you saying she's not dead?"

"You called me first. That's reason enough to believe Manda's still alive. Now I care about her as well, she's not just a client, but a family friend. I'll look into what you've said, but please remember that even though her instructions allow me to speak with you, I still can't tell you much." Mr. Andersen paused briefly. "Reviewing what I have on hand pertaining to her trust, there was activity about a month ago when she accessed a usual amount. None of her aliases or her name have raised a flag anywhere, and I've not been contacted by anyone yet which is a good sign she's probably just gone off the grid. I'm sure you've done it yourself once or twice."

"Yeah… But is there anything else? Anything that seems unusual? Or might explain why?"

"No, just the normal motel charges and a hospital bill."

Dean stood up straight, wondering what had happened. If it'd been the crazy job she'd last been known to be on or something else. "How many weeks ago was that?"

There was a pause, and a sound of a keyboard being tapped over the phone. "Around three."

Dean knew then it was a different job and could only wonder how hurt she'd been and why she'd disappeared after that. "Don't suppose you'd tell me what she was treated for or at least where that was?"

"Couldn't say even if I knew. And I wouldn't out of respect for Miss Chambers. Now is that all?" The tone of voice was slightly irritated and all business again.

"No… can I at least know what Manda's leaving me?" Dean knew he was pushing his luck here, but it was just another thing to be curious over. Not that he actually wanted whatever it was, not if it meant she was dead.

Chucking warmly, Spence knew exactly what to say. "I can see why she likes you, but what she's left you isn't a matter for us to discuss yet. Let's hope it isn't one we soon have to either. Goodnight, Mr. Winchester. I'll call you if that problem arises."

Hearing a click in his ear, Dean wasn't sure what had just happened. Spence Andersen was also good at his job, and even if he'd gotten some answers out of the man, he'd still gotten a run around. All he knew now was that Manda wasn't dead, just missing for some unknown reason. Something had made her run, and he just hoped it wasn't as bad as his gut was telling him it probably was.

Shaking his head then, he picked up Sam's bag and his own before he went back inside hoping there was at least some clue as to where she'd gone to be found.

[ - ]

Looking across at Spence as he ended the call with Dean from the other side of his home office desk, Manda sighed deeply. She hadn't known who else to turn to for help but the lawyer and family friend who now managed the trust her grandfather had set up years ago. He could be trusted to handle many things, and he had come through for her many times over the years since her parents had died, and he'd done it again just as she'd known he would. She had known Dean would call him once realizing she had disappeared. "Thanks for doing that."

"Anything you need within reason, you know the deal…" Spence's voice broke off as he looked at her. Her arm was in a sling, her face was lightly bruised and cut, and she seemed unusually anxious. He hadn't known what was wrong when she'd called him a week ago, but he hadn't hesitated to act and just sorted out having her and her car brought out to his house when she asked for a place to lay low for a few days. When he'd seen her it made sense – she'd taken a hell of a beating and something awful had happened, but Manda wasn't saying much about it or what was still wrong. "Though, it seems to me this Dean won't give up until he finds you. I tried, but he's persistent. Wasn't keen on the run around. I liked him for that."

Chuckling a little, Manda nodded. She'd heard it. Heard the way Dean had pushed. "He's a good pain in the ass, and he'll keep looking for me. But this is for the best right now. Don't be surprised if Bobby Singer calls you next. You'll need to warn him off too, and he will throw more at you than Dean did. He knew my parents well."

Pondering what the best advice to give was, the older man poured himself a shot from a bottle on his desk and leaned back in his chair. "Not a problem, I knew them well myself. It was me they trusted to look after your interests or to come to if you needed help once they were gone. I'm still doing that. Which is why you shouldn't be alone right now, hon. Not like this. Take some more time to heal at least. Nobody knows you're here but us."

"I won't be alone," she muttered softly. "And I'll heal on the road, this is nothing."

Cocking his head a little, Spence wasn't sure what she meant. "Where are you going to go?"

Manda just smirked. She had a plan, but she wasn't giving out the details. "My granddad showed me some places once. My parents showed me some others."

Chuckling deeply, Spence smirked back at her. "Those sound like nice places."

She stood up and walked to look out the window, her eyes scanning outside in the dark for any threat that may have managed to track her here. "They beat the alternative…"

"What happened, Manda?" he asked point blank. "All the vile things you deal with, stuff you've seen no one would believe, how you were raised, and I've never seen you this… worried."

Wish I was just worried, she thought, her hand absently touched her stomach for a brief second before she caught herself doing it and stopped. She wouldn't start showing for at least another month or two, but no one could know about her pregnancy just yet. Willing to protect her unborn child at all costs now, the longer she kept it hidden, the safer she and her baby would be."I'm just on edge. There's too much going on and the less you know about it, the better off you'll be," her tone held a slight warning to it.

"That bad?"

No. A couple demons tried killing me, angels have started poking around in my dreams nightly, there's an Apocalypse going on, and I'm just a pawn carrying some heavy leverage to be used to make sure the main event of that Apocalypse happens once those angels know I'm pregnant. Nearly lost my kid for what those demons did to me, and I stupidly think I've got a shot at surviving… oh, then there's the matter of telling Dean the news. "Worse," Manda answered, not wanting to say what she'd been thinking or admitting to what was actually going on as she turned around and looked at him seriously. "So, I need to go, and it might be awhile this time, Spence. But when it's okay for me to surface there's a conversation we need to have about some changes that'll need to be made to everything…"

[ - ]

"Sammy, hope you found the hard stuff," Dean called out. "I need a drink."

Hearing his brother finally come back in, Sam was sipping on the cup of coffee he'd made while he waited, curiously glancing once again at what had been left out on the kitchen table. "Uh, Dean…"

"What?" Dean answered, coming into the kitchen.

"What are these?" Sam asked pointing at two pictures on the table next to a bottle of expensive whiskey that had a note under it. "And it looks like Manda knew you'd be here sometime."

"What?" Looking at the pictures Sam was pointing at then, Dean smirked. He noticed the bottle, and grabbed it to look at the label. "Whoa, Chambers, you can spoil me anytime you want."

"Every Bacall needs a Bogart… thanks for being mine that weekend, handsome. Enjoy the whiskey if I'm not around. See you soon." Sam read out loud from the note, and then eyed Dean questioningly. "When did you…?"

See you soon? When were you here? Going to get a glass out of the cupboard he somewhat remembered them being in, Dean just held in his grin at the message she'd left and shrugged. "Told you I saw her when you went off on your own," he answered casually.

"Yeah, but what are these pictures from?"

Dean poured himself a double shot and then walked back over to the table with both the glass and the bottle. He stood next to Sam, set the bottle down and picked up one of the pictures of him and Manda dressed up like they were in the 1930s or '40s. He was wearing a well cut dark grey suit and white collar shirt with a slightly tilted fedora while Manda was wearing an angled hat, a well fitted knee length black skirt with a slightly unbuttoned silk blouse and a strand of pearls, the two of them had linked arms and both had their own mischievous grin and a glint in their eyes. He took a sip of whiskey as he just looked at it for a few more seconds, remembering the moment and her, and then set it down again. "We worked a short case. I told you that."

"No, you didn't," Sam uttered, a hint of disbelief on his face. Then amusement took over as he watched Dean glance over both pictures again. "You made it sound like the two of you were holed up in bed in a hotel somewhere. So what was this job?"

Dean scratched his scalp, looking a little sheepish because that had happened too. There would be no admitting to holing up for a day before and after that job and how much he'd enjoyed it, so he scoffed. "Come on, we're both professionals. Manda and I can work a job and have fun at the same time. You might want to try it sometime." Dean gave his brother a wide grin. "But, uh, yeah, there was this old Hollywood mystery weekend train ride that Manda heard about."

"And you wanted to dress the part like usual?" Sam raised an eyebrow, knowing how much Dean loved to get into character when it was called for it.

"Hey, we had to. Look at us. I look friggin' amazing, dashing even," he paused with a slight smirk. "And Manda's all sexy femme fatale there." Dean whistled, taking another sip of his drink.

Sam rolled his eyes. "Back to the case, and the next picture…"

Dean looked again at the picture, remembering again how good they'd been together on that case. "So we played it like any good leading couple back then. We were the stars of that weekend, Sam. Even won this leading man and leading lady award they had, too."

The look Sam gave Dean said to get on with the actual story. "Yeah, yeah… so what happened?"

"There's this three day murder mystery weekend that happens four times a year, and each time the train went out one guest never came back from that ride. They just disappeared before the train came back with all the other guests and staff. Manda was looking into it when I saw her. It was coming up in two days, so she booked us as guests instead of staff figuring we could stop whatever was going on and also solve the mystery. She believed there was phantom car that was part of the train filled with spirits because they were using some actual old ass train for this."

"That still doesn't explain the other picture," Sam said, as nodded towards it on the table.

In the picture, Dean stood with one arm wrapped around Manda as she stood sort of on an angle pressed against him. They were dressed in the style of old Hollywood glamour. Manda had her hair curled and pinned in a style that fit the time frame, and was wearing a typical starlet of the era dress in red that sat almost off her shoulders with low cut in the front, showing off all her curves for the way it clung to her and black gloves that went up to her elbows. The make-up she had on made her features pop. Dean was wearing probably the best black suit he'd ever put on with a bow tie, his face completely shaved clean, not even a hint of stubble. His hair had been combed to one side somewhat slick, and there was another fedora in his hand at Manda's waist.
Sam had to admit they made a striking pair. And dressed the way they were they looked right out of a movie, or as if they were on at a movie premier or party back in the glamour days of Hollywood but he wasn't about to admit he thought so.

"There was a party to after the mystery was solved, and that was some night," Dean said with a grin. He could remember the fun they'd had with it. "Even you gotta admit Manda's a freakin' knockout in that, Sammy. Girl was a total Marilyn that night. Smoking hot, and, bro, she was packing a salt gun in that dress. Later, I, um… reached for hers, not mine when there was this spirit coming at us…" He smirked again with a knowing look at his brother.

"Dude…" Sam shook his head, wishing his brother would focus. But they must have had a good time, because he could see that glint in Dean's eyes. "Okay, Manda might look like a starlet from the era, but you look… well, goofy."

Dean smacked Sam in the arm. Then he picked up both pictures and went to put them on the refrigerator door with magnets so she'd know he'd been here if she showed up sometime herself. "Shut up. I look sharp, and so freakin' handsome you wouldn't believe the women I was fending off before we ducked out to find the phantom car."

Sam stifled the laugh. He wasn't so sure that's how it had gone as Dean tended to exaggerate most of the time. "So Manda's theory was right, it was a phantom train car then?"

Nodding, Dean turned around. "That car was right out of a time warp with a bunch of poor saps that had gotten on but never made it to their stops. When we were done we were covered in ectoplasm and dust a mile from where the train stopped for the night. Missed winning the prize for solving the mystery, but I still got a prize at the end of the night."

Listening to how his brother described it and seeing the look on his face, Sam just rolled his eyes at the remark. "So at least we know Manda was here sometime after that and before we saw her at Bobby's."

"Lack of dust on everything says maybe just after that. So, uh…" he trailed off for a second unsure how to just say what he had to, "Manda's not dead, Sammy. Guy in charge of her trust called when I was outside."

Sam looked at Dean oddly. He had wondered what had taken him so long to grab their bags. "And what did he say?"

"Wouldn't say much. But he did say that about three weeks ago she was still in action. Motel charge, hospital bill…"

"So after the last known job she was on. He at least give you a location? Or tell you why she needed a hospital?"

"Wouldn't say squat on either. Guy's about as tight lipped as a priest in a confessional on some things and has the tongue of a salesman on others. Gave me one hell of a run around even though he knew who I was and was allowed to talk to me. He probably knows more than he's saying but he's not about to give her up. Said Manda's probably just gone off the grid on her own by the sounds of it."

Thinking about what he had just heard, Sam didn't know what to make of it. Going off the grid meant there was trouble, at least for them it always had. So something was obviously going on. "What do you think?"

Dean finished the rest of his drink as he thought it over. "That she had to hide. Something happened, probably on the worse end of bad." That was all he was sure of now. That whatever had happened to her was beyond bad and she had no other choice but to just drop off the grid completely.

Seeing the way his brother just sort of shifted in mood again, Sam knew he had to ease some of Dean's worry, and that they still had things to do here. "Come on, Dean… we'll run her through the usual online searches again while we go through the house, find the hiding spots, and see if there's any clue as to where she is or why this place is warded."

"Yeah, okay… just leave Manda's panty drawer to me, Sammy," Dean joked, not quite feeling it even if he meant it. Sam wasn't getting to go through anything in her room at all actually. "You get awkward around that stuff."

Okay, you knew it wasn't going to be some simple for Dean to find anything out here. But at least now he knows something, nothing he can really work with though. I wasn't sure that having the call between him and the lawyer in charge of her trust was right, but that's where it went.
Sam got to learn a little more about Dean seeing Manda without him, which seemed fitting for them and chances are it would not have been mentioned by Dean, right? He'd have kept it to himself, much like he did in the first chapter where he just admitted then that he'd seen her when the brothers weren't hunting together briefly.
Now you know Manda had to have a little help from someone. Hopefully this all made sense. And you know more is going on that she's not saying, but you also have learned that she's still pregnant and now she's hiding. Maybe she should have been feeling a little more terrible about what she's doing to Dean, but we'll get there eventually.
Trying to keep everything on track with writing what was only outlined to add up to the chapters fully written just in need of some editing. Will try to get another one up soon.
Sorry if this one was lacking something else. Would be great to know what anyone reading thinks... any readers out there? Hating it, loving it, curious about what happens next?