Sam and Dean are gone on another hunt. I'm currently stuck at the bunker, awaiting Castiel, who is hopefully bearing good news with his hopefully soon arrival.

The boys left yesterday. They went to Oklahoma, and if I'm being honest, it took a lot for me to let Dean go. I never pegged myself as the clingy type until now.

Finally, without a knock or forewarning, Cas pops into the foyer, where I'm sitting.

"Hello, Mallory," he greets me in his gravelly voice.

"Hey Cas," I reply, "would it be possible for you to do that less...suddenly?"

"Sorry if I alarmed you, Dean has the same problem," Cas speculates. I nod, redness creeping up my neck. Dean and I haven't officially announced ourselves, but we both know that Sam and Cas are aware.

"Did you need something?" I ask.

"Yes. Well, you need something. And I have it."

I laugh. "Alright, show me what you've got."

Cas sits down across from me and folds his hands on the table. "I tracked down the most qualified surrogate in place of your mother. Did you know you have a sister?" He hands me a photo.

"A sister?" My jaw drops. She looks exactly like the photo I saw of my mom, once. I never saw it again, but I committed it to my memory. "Uh, I - a sister? Like, blood relative?"

"Half sister anyway," he patches his statement.

"That's completely different," I sigh. "Go on."

"She's your mother's daughter, but not your father's," he explains. "She's your best bet for having your mother's DNA. I've tracked her down, but haven't approached her yet. I thought you might want to accompany me."

I nod. "O-okay, yeah, I'd like to. When?"

"Now, if you're up for it."

"Okay."

Cas walks to me and gives me a quick warning to not move, then out of nowhere, we're on a sidewalk, in front of a house.

"Maybe a little more explanation before you zap people places?" I recommend. He shrugs.

"This is your sister's house. She's home alone. Her husband and son are shopping."

"Husband and son?" I ask. My heart hurts for a moment. I don't want to mess up a family by interfering. Dean said that this life has a way of doing that. Castiel nods, and starts toward the steps. My chest constricts from nerves.

I follow in his steps as he knocks on the door. Anxious, I tap my foot while we wait. Then, the door swings open. I could've sworn it was my mom if she wasn't dead. My sister smiles.

"Can I help you two?" She asks.

"Jaclyn, my name is Steve, this is my friend, Mallory. We've got a few questions for you, if you don't mind." Castiel talks smoothly.

"Of course," she permits. She steps onto the porch and shuts the door. "What can I do?"

"Your mother was Annie Thornton, correct?" Cas asks.

"Yeah...what is this for?" Jaclyn becomes noticeably uncomfortable.

"Mallory is Annie's daughter, your half sister," he says bluntly.

"C-...Steve," I warn. "A little forward." I address my sister. "My name is Mallory. We have different fathers. Maybe we should step inside."

She agrees, and we move inside. Once we're all comfortable, the questions begin.

"I don't understand, you look nothing like mom," Jaclyn says.

"And you look exactly like her," I shrug. "Blonde hair, green eyes. Even your face structure is exact. My dad had some very dark and severe traits, and I took those from him." I motion to myself, with my dark hair, brown eyes, and sharp face bones.

"So who is he?" She questions. "It's hard to believe that mom would have another kid and not even tell me. I haven't even heard from her in years. She ran off and never made contact again."

I frown. "I'm so sorry. As far as I know, mom passed away delivering me. As for my father, you don't want to know. It's a long and confusing story."

Jaclyn soaks the information up, biting her lips and furrowing her brows in thought. "I've got time."

"Yes, well, I don't," I reply. "I'm sorry. When I do have the time, I'll explain."

"So why are you here again?" She asks, her tone lacking the patience it once had.

Cas and I look at each other. After all this, we forgot to come up with a lie as to why I needed my sister's blood. However, I improvise.

"I'm sick," I lie. She tilts her head, looking even more confused. "I was born with a rare disease in my blood. I need a blood transfusion, but it has to be from a close relative. Mom was our first option, but she's not a viable candidate. That led us to you."

"So where's the doctor in all of this? I mean, wouldn't they have called me instead of this? How do I know you're legit, and not some psychopath? In fact, I don't trust either of you. You need to leave."

"Jaclyn, please," I plead with her.

"I don't know either of you, and I don't trust whatever this is."

Panicked, I look at Cas. He shakes his head and makes a quick move toward Jaclyn. Before she can fight him off, he places two fingers to the side of her head. A light shines in her eyes as they both stand still. After a few seconds, he removes his fingers.

"There, now you know everything you need to know about this," he says.

"Cas?! That was not the solution!"

"What the hell was that?" Jaclyn worries, becoming suspicious of Cas and I.

"You know," Cas explains coolly. "You know that I'm an angel now. I can do things like that. And you know what we're up against right now."

"So you're telling me -"

"Angels exist, demons exist, reapers are real and so are the monsters under your bed, yes," Cas cuts her off rudely.

Jaclyn looks appalled. For the first time in a few minutes, she looks at me. I feel nervous, almost scared, under her gaze. I'm afraid of her judgement.

"I'll save the rest of my questions," she says. "Listen. I'll help you, but you keep me and my family away from all of this when we're done, understand? I won't have you corrupting my son with all of this crazy shit."

I nod. "That's fine, this is all I need you for."

"Okay," she agrees. Jaclyn sits down and holds her arm out for Cas. "Take what you need."

Ten minutes later, Cas has obtained what he needs. An awkward and tense silence falls between the three of us.

"Jaclyn, thank you," I say. I put as much sincerity as I can gather into those three words. "I know this is a lot, but I really appreciate it."

"I hope you find what you're looking for, and I hope you hold up your end of the agreement. I'm serious. Bring this near my son or my husband and there's going to be a problem."

I nod, understanding her terms. Cas and I leave with that.

"Now what?" I ask as soon as we return to the bunker.

"Well, now I separate the DNA from the samples and we get started," he shrugs. "The sooner, the better.

A pit forms in my stomach; I don't want to do this without Dean here. He helps with my nerves a lot.

"Give me a second?" I request. Cas nods.

I call Dean on the old phone that Sam gave to me. It rings a few times before he picks up. I explain everything that just happened, and that Castiel wants to start the process now.

"No," Dean rejects. "You two stay put until me and Sam are back there. There's no telling what could happen and Cas is going into this just as blindly as you are."

"When will you be back?"

"Tomorrow morning. When I get there, we can do this."

"We? It's just me, Dean," I laugh.

"Whatever," he mumbles. "See you tomorrow."

"Yeah."

I hang up and find Cas where I left him. He's working with the samples — he's got two vials in front of him, and he's gripping the syringes in a strange way. A soft, white glow radiates from his hands, and the two vials begin to fill with two different substances. One dark, almost black, and the other a bright purple color. When he's finished with all the samples, he addresses me.

"Are you ready?"

I grimace. "Dean says we should wait till he gets back tomorrow."

Cas nods. "I'll put these in the ingredients cooler."

I frown slightly. We have essentially a fridge for ingredients? Weird.

"You should try to rest. Tomorrow will be a big day for you. We don't know what we're getting into, and it would be best if you were in good condition," Cas advises.

"Yeah, okay, I'll go lie down. Thank you, Cas. Goodnight."