A/N: I couldn't stay away. This is my fifth story, and I can't believe that I've made it this far. This story has really become a way for me to escape my hectic life and I couldn't just let it go, not yet any ways. So for those who were wanting me to move forward... your wish is my command.
Here's the first chapter of my new story, 'Three Ring Circus.' ENJOY!
Katie sat on the patio chair she placed strategically on her balcony. She looked up to the stars and it didn't do it for anymore. The once calming feeling she had sitting underneath those tiny lights was gone and was replaced with emptiness.
It had been almost a year since she seen her husband. Actually that was a lie. She went to see him on his birthday. Well more like spy on him from a far. He spent his birthday with Lisa and a bunch of other people she didn't recognize, but she saw something she never thought she'd see. He laughed and he joked and he didn't have a care in the world. That's when she knew that she made the right decision. That's when she knew he was happy. A part of her was happy for him, while the other part of her just felt numb.
Sometimes she missed him so much that it would get too hard to breathe. Sometimes his favorite song plays on the radio and she finds herself just bawling. There were times when she's walking down the street and she hears an engine roaring just like the impala but it never is…it never is.
There is a knock on her door that snaps her out of her daze. This time a night it, could only be one person. The one person who knows she's not asleep. She walks to the door and opens a small smile coming to her face.
"You do know the polite thing to do is to call before showing up at a person's place" she said looking over to her brother in law. She still hadn't figured out how he was even back, but a couple of months ago he appeared outside her door, much like now. What she did know was that there was something different about him. Something she believed deep down she knew.
"We're Winchesters" Sam said. "Since when do we do what's polite?" she shook her head as she moved aside to let him in. "Plus I knew you were awake" he threw his bag on the couch.
"Yeah well me and sleep aren't seeing eye to eye at the moment" Katie replied.
"You know that's not healthy" Sam said taking off his jacket. "You need sleep, I'm surprised you aren't falling over dead right now"
"Oh, the perks of being the big guy's vessel" Katie sighed taking a seat on the recliner across from Sam who took a seat on the couch.
"Anything?" Sam asked and she shook her head.
"Nope, I still don't remember anything from when he was driving" Katie sighed. "And trust me I've tried, but I guess when he doesn't want to remember something you don't"
"You mean like Dean?" Sam asked and Katie turned away from him. "How much longer are you going to do this?"
"Do what Sam?" Katie asked. "I'm not doing anything." She stood to her feet. "Dean is happy and that's all I care about"
"You know that isn't true" Sam said and Katie turned to him. "That life- it's not his and I'm pretty sure he knows it"
"You've seen him" Katie said. "He's going to little league games, and he's hanging out with friends" she shook her head as she walked over to look out the window. "He has the life neither one of us could give him"
"Maybe that's because it's the life he's not supposed to have" Sam said. "He's a hunter, always has and always will be" Sam stood to his feet. "He's your husband and that hasn't changed " Katie turned to him.
"Sam what are you doing here, I thought you were blowing stuff up with your new family" Katie said and Sam scoffed.
"Look I know they're a bit brash-"
"Sam they tried to kill me, literally five seconds after you introduced me to them" Katie replied. "They're more than just brash"
"Maybe they're a little old fashioned" Sam said. "A good witch is a term they're not used to hearing"
"Well I've met hunters like that and I choose to stay away from them" Katie replied walking into the kitchen.
"Hey, we were hunters like that once" Sam said following behind her. "And you wouldn't leave us the hell alone" Katie laughed as she turned to him.
"Yeah well maybe I saw something in you two I didn't see in the others" Katie replied before grabbing an apple from the fruit bowl on her kitchen table.
"And what's that?" Sam asked.
"I'll tell you when you're a little older kid" Katie said smiling before taking a bite from her apple.
"I hate when you call me kid" Sam said going over to the refrigerator. "You're only a couple of years older than me"
"Yeah, well I've acquired a lot of wisdom in those few years kid" Katie said before giving him a pat on the back.
"You mean like how to burn a hot pocket in the microwave?" Sam asked and Katie glared at him.
"Shut up geek boy" Katie replied before turning around and heading to her room.
"Nice comeback!" he called after her. "That was very wise of you!"
Katie lay in her bed and closed her eyes trying to will herself to go to sleep, but it was no use. She spent the rest of the night looking up to the ceiling counting the tiles. Her alarm clock went off, which also made he shake head. She didn't know whether it was the fact that she actually had an alarm clock, since she hadn't actually needed on to wake up or maybe it was the fact that she never failed to turn it on. She got out of bed and walked into her living room and as expected her brother in law was already gone. It had become sort of a routine, he'd show up crash on the couch and then leave. Each time she would have the feeling that something was different about him. Something she probably would know if her hard drive wasn't wiped clean.
She showered and got dress and stared at herself in the mirror. Her now wavy hair longer than before rested on her back. She sometimes found herself staring at herself as if she didn't recognize the person staring back at her. Sometimes she didn't. Sometimes she felt she didn't know who she was without him.
"Why are you staring at me?" Dean asked looking over at Katie.
"It's just-" Katie shook her head. "I was wondering"
"What?" Dean asked.
"If you saw this Siren or whatever, what would she look like?" Katie asked.
"She would look like you" Dean said smiling over at her.
"Bull" Katie replied. "Just tell what does your dream girl look like?"
"You really want to know?" Dean asked and Katie nodded a yes. "Ok follow me" Dean stood up and Katie followed him into the bathroom. Dean brought Katie in front of the mirror and brought his chin to her shoulder and bringing his hands to rest on her stomach. "There she is, my dream girl"
"That's all I'm getting Casanova?" Katie asked.
"That's all there is" Dean replied.
Katie felt her phone fibrate and she looked over to see it sitting on the table near her bed. She walked over and answered it.
"What it do, G-Man?"
"What?" Gibbs asked. "Don't call me that"
"Chill out, I was just testing it out" Katie said. "I'm still trying to figure out what to call you"
"And my name never made it to the list?" Gibbs asked.
"Well there ain't no way I will ever call you Leroy or Jethro" Katie said. "And Gibbs is something people at work call you"
"You know you could always just call me dad" Gibbs replied and Katie was silent for a moment. "Or not"
"It's not like that, It's just-"
"You already have a dad" Gibbs said.
"I hope that doesn't hurt your feelings or anything" Katie replied.
"No, I understand" Gibbs replied.
The line went silent.
"Oh, how about big poppa G" Katie said.
"I don't think so" Gibbs laughed. "So what are you doing today?"
"I'm going to go see Sheila" Katie said.
"How's she holding up?" Gibbs asked.
"She's getting there" Katie replied. "It's actually a lot harder than I thought"
"Well I do know a thing or two" Gibbs said. "I could always help"
"Gibbs you're a very busy man" Katie said. "I'm not going to pull you away from your life just to help me out with mine"
"Maybe I want to help you" Gibbs said. "You spent your whole life helping other people, maybe it's time to let someone help you"
The line went silent again.
"How about LJ Gizzle?" Katie asked and she heard him laugh.
"That's gonna be a no" Gibbs replied. "So how'd you sleep last night?"
"Oh, Like a baby" She lied.
"You know being a federal agent, I can tell when you're lying even over the phone" Gibbs said.
"Well I'm fine" Katie replied. "I don't see why it's such a big deal"
"Because you're not sleeping" Gibbs snapped. "That's sort of a big deal, you should go see a doctor"
"You know you're starting to sound like Elizabeth" Katie said.
"Well she's a smart woman" Gibbs replied. "And why doesn't she get some weird nick name"
"I tried but she shut down quick" Katie replied. "Can you believe she wouldn't let me call her Lizzy Lizard, I mean that's cute, isn't it"
"It's something" Gibbs said. "Look I have to go, I'll take to you later"
"Alright Jet" Katie said.
"You know that one wasn't that bad" Gibbs said.
"Really?" Katie asked. "Well then Jet it is"
"Talk to you later" he said before hanging up. Katie hung up the phone, stuffing it in her pocket before grabbing her bag.
"Hey!" She looked up to see Bobby and smiled. "You might want to give someone warning before you just pop into their living room"
"C'mon, I'm just trying to keep you on your toes old man" Katie said sitting her bag on the table. "What have you been up to?"
"Nothing much, trying to figure how that brother in law of your made it out of hell" Bobby said.
"Well someone pulled him out" Katie said and Bobby looked over to her. "Well someone had to, because I doubt he climbed out of that cage"
"Well I don't know" Bobby said. "What are you doing here anyways?"
"I'm here to see Sheila" Katie replied and Bobby just rolled his eyes.
"I still can't believe you named that damn car" Bobby said walking over to sit behind his desk. "I don't even know why you bother, you've been working on it for months, and it's time for you to admit you have no idea what you're doing"
"Hey, that's not true" Katie said. "My pop taught me a lot about cars, it's just I have so many spells and random information in my head I just can't remember" she sighed. "This would be so much easier if-"
"If what?" Bobby asked. "If Dean were here?" Katie just shook her head. "I still don't understand why you let him go off without any memory of you"
"Look, I didn't come here for this" Katie said.
"Tough. Don't you get it?" Bobby snapped. "You have to tell him, he deserves to know"
"I can't!" Katie yelled "It's too late. It's over" she sighed. "He's has a life and a real family, one that makes him happy, and one that doesn't include me" she took off her jacket and tossed it on the couch.
"If you believe that than you really are an idjit!" Bobby said and Katie just shook her head.
"You know where I'll be" she stormed out the front door. She walked until she appeared in front of Sheila. Her parts were scattered all over the place. Katie just shook her head before reaching inside the car for the book she sat on the driver's seat. "Building Cars for dummies" she muttered as she brought the book with her under the hood.
Katie had been loosening a screw when her mind wandered somewhere it wasn't supposed to wander. Some place she wished it didn't.
So who, taught you about fixing cars?" Dean asked.
"My…a friend" Katie lied. The subject of her grandfather, was still a sore topic, one she wasn't ready to talk about.
"When did you plan on fixing her up?" Dean asked. "I mean maybe I can help" Katie turned her head to look at him. "What I'm just saying, in case you mess something up, I can be there to help"
"Why thank you Dean" Katie said laughing before turning back to look up at the sky. "I don't know, now it's just a pipe dream. My life is too much of a circus to be able to just fix up this car"
"I know what you mean" Dean said. Katie turned and looked at the side of Dean's face, and that's when she knew. She didn't want to know but she did. Why her knees felt week whenever he smiled at her. Why she got butterflies, hell butterflies in her stomach whenever he said her name.
"Damn" Katie said to herself before turning back to look up at the stars. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath, before opening her eyes again. "So, Dean let me ask you something"
"Uh oh" Dean said and Katie just glared at him. "What is it?"
"Where do you see yourself in the next ten years?" Katie asked.
"Wow, you really went deep on me there" Dean replied. "Hell I don't know, I have enough trouble planning for tomorrow, what about you?"
"Me, I see myself still doing what I'm doing today" Katie sighed. "Which is really sad"
"Well you won't be alone" Dean replied. And Katie looked over at him. "I'll always have your back"
She wiped the sweat from her forehead when Bobby walked over to her.
"You plan on working on this car all night?" he asked. She stood up and finally noticed that sun had indeed gone down. She looked over at him. "Still not sleeping huh?"
"It's no big deal" Katie said wiping her hands.
"Well go get cleaned up, I got dinner" Bobby replied. Katie followed the old hunter into the house. After getting cleaned up and changed she headed down stairs to the kitchen.
"I don't think I remember the last time you cooked for me" Katie said taking a seat at the dining table with Bobby. "What's the special occasion?"
"No occasion" Bobby replied. "Just thought it would be nice to just have a normal dinner for once" Katie smiled before digging in and fixing her plate. She took a bite of her mashed potatoes than looked over to Bobby who was just watching her.
"You're not eating?" Katie asked before taking a sip of her water.
"No, I'm not really that hungry" Bobby said and Katie dropped her glass on the table. It didn't break but it did fall over spilling the water off the side of the table. Katie's throats began to itch. She looked over to Bobby.
"You son of a bitch" She said. "You drugged me" Katie stood to her feet but soon lost balance. Bobby was up and helping her before she could fall. "I can't… I can't believe you"
"You haven't slept in months" Bobby said. "You may not see it, but I'm sure it's effecting you" he laid her down on the couch. "I'm just nipping this in the bud before it bites us all in the ass"
"I'm so-" Katie's eyes started to get heavy. "Kick your ass, when I wake up" she yawned and finally let the darkness take over.
Suddenly elevator music filled her ears. She opened her eyes but everything seemed blurry. It was as if she was there, but not there at the same time. She looked around, she was indeed in an elevator. Is that the thong song playing? The door pulled open and she stepped off.
"I was wondering when you were going to show up" She turned at the voice and looked over to see Death staring back at her. "We have much to talk about"
Katie sits up from the couch. She blinks the sleep away from her eyes as she looks around Bobby's living room… Bobby's very bright living room. She pauses when she hears voices.
"If you're here, something's wrong." She heard Bobby say, but to whom?
"Bobby, this is Lisa and Ben." Wait, that was Dean's voice. Without thinking Katie jumped to her feet.
"Hi." Katie heard and looked over. She remembered the woman's voice. Katie eased over to grab her shoes, but ended up knocking a couple of books to the floor.
"Someone here?" Dean asked and Katie panicked.
"No, no one but me" Bobby replied. "It's nice to meet you two" he moved aside to let them in. "Maybe you want to go upstairs. TV's broken, but there's plenty of Reader's Digest" the man said as they walked up the stairs. "Just don't touch the décor, okay?" Lisa looked back to him confused. "Assume it's all loaded" she just nods before going up the stairs.
"So..." Dean says looking at the old hunter.
"Hey, Bobby." Sam says.
"What the hell is Sam doing here?" Katie thought. "She was going to kill him" She reached forward and picked up her shoes.
"Sam." Bobby replied.
"You knew?" Dean said walking past Bobby into the house. "You knew Sam was alive." Bobby watched as he headed for the living room.
"Dean wait" Bobby walked behind the man, only to find his couch empty.
"What?" Dean said. "Did you know!"
"Yeah." Bobby replied. He glimpsed out the window and spotted her staring back at him.
"How long?" Dean asked and Bobby brought his attention back.
"Look –" Bobby said.
"How long?!" Dean yelled.
"All year." Bobby replied.
"Oh, you got to be kidding me." Dean said shaking his head. He turned around and Katie ducked under the window.
"And I'd do it again." Bobby replied and Dean turned back to him.
"Why?!" Dean asked.
"Because you got out Dean!" Bobby snapped. "Something not a lot of us get to do, but you did" he shook his head. "It may not be the life I thought you'd have but it's a damn fine one anyway"
"Do you have any clue what walking away meant for me?" Dean asked.
"Yeah - a woman and a kid and not getting your guts ripped out at age 30." Bobby snapped. "That's what it meant."
"That woman and that kid" Dean said shaking his head. "I don't know how or why I ended up outside their door." He looked back up to Bobby. "I don't even know why they took me in. I drank too much. I had nightmares. I looked everywhere. I collected hundreds of books. I spent half my time trying to find anything to bust you out." He looked up to the ceiling. " and I spent the other half trying to figure out-" He stopped himself. That was the part of this past year that to this day he didn't understand. The part where he was just searching for something, anything. He couldn't explain why something felt like it was missing.
"What?" Bobby said.
"Nothing" Dean muttered turning back to Sam. "A whole year! You couldn't put me out of my misery?"
"Look you were given a chance to be happy" Bobby said. "I'm not sure if it really worked, but you were out"
"Do I look out to you?" Dean asked. They heard footsteps and Dean went to check it out.
Sam looked down to see a familiar jacket lying on the couch and a bag sitting over on the table. He looked over to Bobby who nodded his head to the window. Sam looked over and saw Katie standing there glaring at him. Sam quickly made his way to the door.
"Where you going?" Dean asked and Sam turned to see his brother and Lisa talking.
"Just gonna get some air" Sam said. "I'll be out here when you're ready" Dean nodded and watched as his brother walked out the door. Sam walked around to the window but didn't see Katie. He looked around before continuing to walk when he felt someone grab and pull him.
"What the hell did you do!" Katie snapped, but quietly.
"Look I couldn't just sit back and do nothing" Sam said. "Dean was attacked" This got Katie's attention.
"By what?" she asked.
"A couple of Djinns" Sam replied. "I was watching him when it happened" he looked around to see if anyone was coming. "That's why we're here. He's leaving Lisa and Ben here for their safety"
"This was not supposed to happen" Katie said shaking her head.
"Katie there's something I think you should know" Sam said but Katie wasn't listening.
"He was supposed to be out of this life, and it just won't let him" Katie said. "Look I'll go ahead and handle the Djinns"
"Katie wait" Sam said grabbing her arm. "You said since you've been back your powers have been out of whack. You could go and get yourself killed"
"Sam, there are demons threatening my husband's happiness" Katie said yanking from his grasp. "I'm going" Before he could say anything she was gone.
"Damnit" Sam said before walking back around the corner and back into the house. Sam walked back into the house to see Lisa and Dean still talking. He eased back into the living room over to Bobby.
"Well" Bobby whispered.
"She's gone" Sam said. "The moment I told her about the djinns she was off the find them"
"That damn girl" Bobby muttered. "You two need to go before she goes and gets herself killed" Sam nodded before walking over to the door.
"Dean, you're ready?" Sam asked and Dean nodded glancing back at Lisa. She smiled before watching him turn and leave with his brother.
Lisa walked down the stairs to find Bobby standing in the living room. He looked up when he heard her come in.
"Uh, hey is everything alright?" Bobby asked. Lisa just nodded before freeze when she looked over the man's shoulder. He followed her glance to a picture of Dean, Sam and Katie.
"I know her" Lisa said walking over and picking up the picture. "Well not her name, but this is the woman who showed up at my front door talking about Dean" she looked back up to Bobby. "He said he didn't know her"
"That's because he doesn't" Bobby said and Lisa looked at him with confusion. "Damnit." He muttered.
Katie appeared outside the house. The beautiful house that now belonged to Dean and his new family. She shook the thoughts away before taking a step up the walkway when she felt someone wrapping an arm around her neck.
"Oh, it's you" the man said in Katie's ear. She knew who it was.
"You don't sound too happy to see me Christian" Katie said trying to pull at the man's arm from her neck. "And here I thought we were family"
"Yeah, my family doesn't include some evil witch" Christian said tightening his arm around her neck.
"Well since you put it that way" Katie said before elbowing the man in the stomach. His grasp loosened enough for her to break free. She turned and kicked him in the chest, knocking him to the ground.
"That's enough" She looked up and rolled her eyes at the man.
"Samuel" Katie greeted as the man as he and the rest of her merry men and women of Campbell's walked over. "I mean grandpap, or papa, oh I know Big Poppa S"
"Katherine" Samuel Campbell said unamused. The fact that no one around her trusted her, wasn't much of a surprise. "What are you doing here?"
"Well I heard that there were a bunch of Djinns here, so I said what the hell" Katie replied folding her arms over her chest. "Didn't know it would turn into a family reunion"
"It was nice of you to drop by but we got this" Mark Campbell said stepping in Katie face. "So you can just skip along and go mix some potions, witch"
"How about you run along and go make out with your sister cousin, you back water hick" Katie snapped.
"Will you two keep your voices down" Samuel snapped. "Katherine it was nice of you to offer, but Mark is right, we are more than capable of putting these Djinns down so you can go"
"Aw grandpa you may be running your group of Campbell's here, but I am a Winchester and I take orders from no one" Katie said. "So if you'll excuse me" Katie turned around before feeling a burning pain in her back. That's the last thing she remembers before everything went black.
"And you said bringing my Taser would be overkill" Gwen Campbell said looking over to her husband.
Katie stands in the elevator as the music jingles through her ears.
"Seriously is that the thong song?" she thinks. The doors pull open and she takes a step out.
"I was wondering when you were going to show up" She turned at the voice and looked over to see Death staring back at her. "We have much to talk about"
"You were always such a drama queen" She said.
"And you were always such a naive school boy who believed in everyone" Death replied. "Now it has found a way to bite you in the-"
"Watch it" she said. "You may tell people how you came before me, but we both know the truth" she took a step toward him. "You will respect me" Death just nodded. "Good, now how bad is it?"
"You don't want to know"
Katie's eyes blinked open, but her body was still. She couldn't move her arms and legs. Those damn hillbillies' duck taped her arms and legs and her mouth. Katie closed her eyes and hoped this worked.
Binds that bind me, bind me no more
Release me now, make me free as I was before
Katie sighed in relief as the tape disintegrated. She'd never said a spell inside her head before, but at least now she knew it worked. Katie opened the door to the van and stepped out. She was out longer than she thought as she looked up to see the moon and stars. She heard a crash at the house next door and quickly made her way over. She looked in the window to see the djinn toss Dean into a table. Without hesitation Katie flicks her wrist sending the door flying open.
"Ben don't!" she heard Dean yelling from the ground.
"Hey bitch!" Katie yelled and the djinn looked up to see a very angry witch headed her way. With a flick of her arm Katie sent the demon flying. She leaned forward picking up Dean's knife and stabbing the demon. "You better hope your boyfriend is already dead" Katie let the demon drop to the floor before turning and walking over to see if Dean was alright.
His eyes were closed and Katie straddled Dean's waist before bringing her head to his chest. His heart was still beating.
"Dean" Katie whispered. "Can you hear me" he didn't budge. She tried shaking him a bit but he still didn't wake up. She had one idea but it was a bit of a long shot. Katie closed her eyes before bending forward and bringing her lips to Dean. She felt him open his eyes and she pulled away. "You're alright, you're gonna be ok" Dean blinked his eyes.
"Who-?" Dean said as Katie looked up and saw Sam walk through the door. He looked at her for a moment before she just disappeared.
The next morning Katie watches as Sam leaves the house. Dean's house. She waits till he's in his car before popping in.
"Is he ok?" Katie asked startling Sam a bit.
"Yeah, he's fine" Sam replied.
"Does he remember anything?" she asked looking over to her brother in law.
"You mean like the woman swooping in and saving his life?" Sam asked and Katie just glared at him. "No, if he does he probably thinks it's because of the hallucination"
"Good" Katie sighed turning to look out the window.
"Good?" Sam asked. "How is that good?" he shook his head. "You're his wife and you love him and even though he can't remember you, he loves you too"
"Sam-"
"No" Sam interrupted. "Look there's something you should know about what Dean's been doing this whole time"
"Sam I really don't want to hear it" Katie said. "I don't want hear about my husband better life that doesn't include me"
"Katie, it's not what you think" Sam said and She looked over to him.
"What are you talking about?" Katie asked.
"Katie, Dean doesn't live in that house with Lisa and Ben" Sam said and she looked at him confused. "He has an apartment maybe a couple of blocks away"
"I don't understand" Katie said. "I saw him, they were like a family"
"No, they were like friends" Sam replied. "They're not together" Katie looked back out the window. "He said it didn't seem right, that for some reason he couldn't bring himself to be with her" The ride grows silent. "This proves it" Katie turns to him. "He still loves you and he's not as happy as you thought"
"This proves nothing" Katie said. "So he and Lisa aren't together, he's still has a chance for a life" she shook her head. "He still has a chance for the life he deserves"
"You know you keep saying that" Sam says. "Why can't the life he deserves, involve you or this life, the one you and I both no he can't run away from"
"It can't" Katie said. "He deserves better" she turned to look at him. "He deserves better than me" she stares back out the window. "Someone who can give him children" Sam glances over to her. "Someone who doesn't have every evil being on the planet hunting her down"
"What?" Sam said but before he could ask her anything she was gone.
Katie appeared in the elevator. The elevator she did remember. She heard the familiar ding and walk out onto the dim lit office.
"Burning the midnight oil Dinozzo?" Tony looked up and smiled at the familiar face.
"You know me Kitty, I do my best work after hours" Tony replied. "You looking for the boss?"
"Yeah" Katie replied.
"You just missed him" Tony said. He looked up into her eyes and they were sad. He'd seemed them before, especially so in the past year, but at this moment she looked completely devastated. "Everything alright, Katie?"
"Hey" she said with a small smile. "You just called me Katie" he stared at her seriously. "Don't do that, you'll scare me"
"Well you're scaring me right now" Tony said standing from behind his desk. "What's wrong?" Katie turned around and leaned on the agent's desk. He came next to her and wrapped an arm around her shoulder. She leaned her head on his shoulder and did something Anthony Dinozzo thought he'd never see. She cried. Not just cried she, but she wept. And it seemed whatever she was holding in this whole time was just coming out. "It's ok, let it out"
"I-" she said through the tears. "I don't know what to do Tony" she lifted her head and looked over to him. "What do I do?"
"I don't know Kitty" Tony sighed. She just dropped her head back onto his shoulder and continued crying.
A/N: So there you have it. I wonder what happened to Katie in her missing year. I guess we'll find out.
NEXT CHAPTER: Katie sees someone who's not supposed to see her.