Ahhhhh, it's so refreshing to start a new page after I've been stuck on the last chapter of Female Influence for so long. This is the second instalment of the story, Hide and Seek.
Hide and Seek is all about the search for Kate. Where will they find her, how will she react? All is revealed as to why Kate left so suddenly after the accident. Does she want to be found?
You have to remember that John Winchester would be 55-60 now.
Also that Kate adopted a little girl. (crowd goes 'awwwwwww') her name's Elle and she's 3. she's from an orphanage in England and Kate became her legal guardian when Elle was only a few months old.
Chapter 1: The battle is not won yet.
Dean rapped on the door of the small white cottage. After 2 months of research he was sure this was his sister's house. A shadow moved towards the door, disfigured by the dimpled glass panes that separated Dean and the possible truth. The door opened and a lady stood there. She was slightly shorter than Dean and had long fiery red hair tied back loosely by a purple rubber band.
"can I help you?" she asked and Dean held up a detectives badge, "do you know where I could find a Kate Winchester?" he stated and the lady stepped back, "I think she was the girl that lived here before my husband and I. Hold on and I'll just check" she moved away from the door and the name Jack echoed though the small building. After a while a man accompanied the lady to the door.
"I'm sorry but we don't know a Kate Winchester. Is there anything else you need to know?" he asked sternly and Dean shook his head. "very good" the man said and closed the door in Dean's face. "the people here are such bitches!" Dean exclaimed under his breath as he got into Sam's car. Sam had allowed him to borrow it for the weekend but it was obvious that he would get it back early.
The other side of that door.
"thanks for saving my neck, Jack" Kate exclaimed and flopped down onto the couch. Jack wasn't her husband, he was her best friend. They'd lived together as housemates for about a month; with work and everything that had been happening she wasn't ready to face Dean just yet. "who was that anyway?" Jack asked and Kate flipped in between channels on the TV, "that, was my brother." Jack sat down next to her,
"I never knew you had a brother!' he exclaimed and Kate held two fingers up, "two" she said simply. Jack looked confused, "two what?" Kate let her hand drop to the couch, "two. I have two brothers. Dean's my age and Sammy would be about 26 now" Jack paced the length of the sofa behind her, "why didn't you invite him in?"
Kate stood up abruptly, "we haven't had the best history. Did you notice that really obvious limp he had? I caused that 4 years ago!" Jack grabbed her arm softly, "sit down and tell me about it" Kate shook her head. "please?" he asked nicely and she pulled away, "no, Jack! I need to go visit a few people. Can you look after Elle for me?" she shrugged a jacket on and grabbed her handbag.
"ok then. I'll see you later?" he called after her and she waved her hand in a dismissive manner without looking at him. She jumped into the car and made her way to Lawrence, the next town. She reached it in under an hour and she knocked sharply on a large wooden door. A plump black woman stood in front of her now. "Kate, I've been waiting for you" she stated warmly and Kate broke down as soon as she had shut the door.
"Dean came to my house this afternoon" she managed to spurt out between sobs and Missouri enveloped her in a hug. "I know, honey. I know." She murmured into Kate's hair, "let it all out". Kate sat down on the low couch, "I had to lie and get my best friend to pose as my husband and… it scared me with how much regret I'm feeling" Missouri sat down next to her, "you know there's only one person who can truly help. Why don't you go see him?"
Kat nodded, "I should. Can I come by tonight and maybe stay here?" she asked and Missouri hugged her again, "you are always welcome here Kate, you know that! Now go talk to him and I guarantee that you'll feel better soon enough" Kate snatched up her bag and got into the car once again.
Wallace Rodgers' Memorial Hospice residents didn't consider themselves terminally ill; just that they had limited time before they kicked the bucket. John Winchester was one of them. Kate's chiffon skirt billowed through the hallways of this fine institute until she came face to face with her father's door. The room was brightly lit and made it seem like 12 in the afternoon, not 8 at night.
The darkness didn't seem to be able to creep in and Kate thought her father liked it better this way. nothing much to worry about now, just the future. She opened the door quietly but John's hearing was still sharp. His head whipped around so fast that Kate thought it might detach and keep on spinning. "Katie" he said softly and Kate ran into his open arms.
"Daddy, I've missed you so much! Has Sammy been to see you yet?" she asked and sat on the edge of the bed next to the man she had idolised for so long. Her father shook his head, "no. Dean came to visit a few weeks ago but he didn't stay long. Couldn't stand to see his dad like this, eh?" he said quietly and Kate patted his arm,
"you know that whatever happens to you; I won't stop coming to see you, ok?" she said and he clasped her hand, "I know that." He changed the subject, "so how's my little girl?" he asked and Kate smiled again, "just dandy. It's really helping now that Jack's moved in with me." She stopped as her father started chuckling, "Dandy. You sound like your mother!" he sighed.
"Dad" she started and her father murmured a reply, "you promised me that when this was all over you'd tell me about mum. What was she like?" her father stared at the wall in front of him, "she was a lot like you. She doted on her 3 children like they were royalty but strict when she needed to be. Her favourite time of the day was morning; getting up and seeing that we had all survived another night of our lives."
He told her lots of stories, wonderful stories. The one about when she had gone ice skating and almost lost Dean and Kate in the early months of her pregnancy. Another about losing Kate under a pile of cereal boxes during a trip to the supermarket. Then the one about complications during Sam's birth and the number of names that Mary had called John while pushing fiercely.
Kate stayed silent for the whole time, listening to her father laugh, some thing he hadn't done much in the last 26 years. She missed the fun they had before mum died. Kate couldn't understand why her dad had admitted himself 2 years ago. He claimed he was getting old but she knew he was tired of the life he had lived and just wanted to shut himself away from it. That's when they discovered the cancer for the first time.
He wasn't ready to leave them yet and he still had a battle to conquer. That battle was to get all of his children together again. He could understand the fact that Kate was scared but as Winchesters they were taught to forgive and forget almost automatically. John needed a plan, and fast.
"Kate?" he asked and looked over at her. Kate's eyelids were drooping, "yeah?" she replied sleepily. "I need you to do something for me" Kate's eyes widened, "what is it?" she asked and sat up. "I need you to see Dean for me"
she stood up, "absolutely not! That's one thing I won't do! You expect me to just waltz in and say 'hey brother, I'm back in your life'?" John nodded, 'that was the general plan. I'll let Sammy know about it and then you can work something out" Kate shook her head angrily, "I wont do it!" she exclaimed and John raised the volume of his voice, "Kate, I am dying and there are 2 things I want. One is to see my wife alive again and the other is to see my children on speaking terms!"
he put his hand to his chest and huge rasping coughs come out. Kate sat next to him and got him to lean forward, hitting and rubbing his back softly until the coughing subsided. He continued, "I know I can't get the first one but if only I could see you all together again; it'd really make my life complete. Please Kate, do it for me"
the last 6 words struck a nerve and Kate felt tears prick in her eyes. Her father was dying and she would do anything to make him happy. "I'll do it for you, Dad. And for mum"
so there we have it! John Winchester is dying. Dying from lung cancer that's spread to his liver, kidneys and bowel. Let's just say he doesn't have a hell of a lot of time left. Please review, you know it gets me pumped. I love the name Wallace Rodgers Memorial Hospice. It's mine so back off! You can't use it unless you ask nicely…