Disclaimer: I still don't own any of this. I'll keep you updated, though.
Chapter 2
Katie was asleep across the backseat, almost completely stretched out. Her head rested against the seat and a book across her chest. A Supernatural book, actually, given to her by Castiel and Dean to "catch up." Dean had the music turned down and was enjoying the silence. Katie was always asking questions and wanting to talk about demons during the day. She had even annoyed Castiel enough to make him give her the books by Chuck and to leave for a few days. But he came back with news.
"Holy shit, Cas," Dean whispered furiously after Castiel appeared.
"I am sorry to startle you, but I have news for you. Katie will remain asleep," Castiel said, glancing in the backseat.
Dean glanced in the rearview mirror to see Katie's glasses askew on her sleeping face. "What is it?"
"The Bible lied about Mary being a virgin when she gave birth to Jesus," Castiel said.
"So Katie isn't…" Dean started.
"No, Katie is the Modern Mary." Castiel shook his head. "Mary was a virgin when Gabriel came to her and told her of her destiny. Mary was given a choice to either give birth to the son of the light or dark. God or Lucifer."
"And she chose God," Dean stated.
"She did. God would choose the angel or pious man to father her child, Lucifer would choose the demon or sinner, or Mary would choose whomever and which ever side. She allowed God to choose for her because her husband, Joseph, was a sinner. God chose an angel to father her child," Castiel explained.
"So Katie has to choose to give up her free will to either God or Lucifer, or choose the side and guy she wants?" Dean asked.
"Correct. Her friend, Joseph, was a demon, so he is not a candidate for Good. Also, he is dead," Castiel said.
"Okay, so we just have to get her to choose Good," Dean said.
"We can't 'get' her to choose a side, Dean, that would not be her free will. But we can surely guide her," Castiel said.
"Why was this kept out of the Bible, anyways?" Dean asked. "It seems to me like a Good beats Evil story."
"To keep holy and righteous values instilled in the human race," Castiel said. "Mary was portrayed as virgin throughout the birth of Jesus to disguise the fact that Joseph was not the father. The men who wrote the Bible did not want a story of infidelity committed by a woman gracing the pages."
"It figures," Dean said.
Dean and Castiel shared a thoughtful glance. "So there's no chance that I could seduce her and get her to have a baby for the Good guys, is there?" Dean asked.
Castiel almost laughed. "No, Dean, there isn't a chance in Hell that baby would be the Modern Jesus."
"What about-?" Dean started to ask but Katie stirred in the back seat. He narrowed his eyes at Cas. "I wasn't done talking to you."
"I know," Castiel said and looked out the window.
"Um, can we stop for like a minute?" Katie asked meekly from the back seat.
"You can not possibly have to piss again!" Dean yelled.
"Excuse me, but if I'm such a fucking burden on you, why don't you just let me go home?" Katie yelled back. Then she said "Hi, Cas," much nicer. He never yelled at her or said anything mean.
"Hello, Katie."
Dean growled deep in his throat. "Fine, but you're going on the side of the road!" He pulled off the highway and parked. Katie hopped out of the car and ran out to the woods that stretched along the highway.
"When should we tell her?" Dean asked Castiel.
"When there's no other choice," Castiel replied.
"She's not going to let us keep her away from her family and home much longer without reason and especially without getting her a change of clothes. She's wearing my clothes, Cas," Dean said the last part agitatedly.
"I will get her clothing," Castiel said before disappearing.
Katie came back to the car and sat in the passenger seat and Dean put the car into drive. "Where'd Cas go?" she asked.
"To get you some clothes," Dean replied.
"Oh, good! Your clothes smell like boy," she said as she buckled her seat belt over the baggy, grey t-shirt that made her look even smaller.
Katie continued to read and occasionally make comments and ask Dean about the books and the stories she was reading. A few hours later Castiel met them at a diner while they were eating lunch. He sat at their table next to Katie who offered him French fries. He turned them down, giving them a look of disgust. "Your belongings are in the car. I stopped at your home and gathered clothing and received all of the belongings you had at the bridge where we met."
"Thanks, Cas!" Katie grinned.
The waitress came to the table and asked Castiel if he wanted to order, he declined. But Dean asked if they had a copy of the day's newspaper. When the newspaper is set in front of Dean, Katie reads the headline upside down from across the table.
"'Two Girls Dead in Mysterious Sorority Hazing Accident,'" Katie read. "No way! Can I see that?"
Dean made a face and shoved the paper to her then looked at Castiel as if to say "get her the fuck out of my life."
Katie read the articled quickly. "These girls were in a graveyard as a hazing ritual for a local college sorority and were seemingly crushed by something. But they can't figure out what crushed them. Seriously? This sounds supernatural enough for us to handle!"
"Us?" Castiel and Dean asked in unison.
"Or," she said, stretching the 'r,' "You two can figure it out and I can be the getaway driver."
"You're not touching my car," Dean said, pointing at her with a French fry.
"Whatever, I'll be the lookout," Katie said with an eye roll.
"It may be worth our time," Castiel said to Dean.
"I'm not a hunter anymore," Dean said, looking at Castiel. They held each other's gaze for moments as they silently communicated.
"Dean, it has been four months. I understand you are grieving, but now it is time to get back to hunting. You are meant to hunt," Castiel said.
Dean shook his head and looked down at his plate.
"You're going to get rusty," Katie added.
Dean seemed to explode. "Argh! Fine! I'll do the job if it gets me away from you! With your world's tiniest bladder and your constant need to talk and talk and talk! God, you've been driving me absolutely insane!"
"Dean, never get a girlfriend," Katie said loudly and slowly, leaning across the table to get in his face. Dean's hands balled into fists and Castiel pulled Katie back into her seat by the back of her shirt. "Jerk," Katie said to Dean.
"Bit-" Dean started to say, but stopped. He was instantly depressed again.
"Everybody is staring," Castiel observed casually.
"Let them stare, I don't care!" Dean exclaimed angrily.
"Oh my god, if I wanted to be around all this emo-dark-past shit, I would have gotten myself kidnapped by My Chemical Romance," Katie groaned.
Dean kicked her shins under the table. She cried out "Ow!" and kicked him back.
"Dean, Katie, if we're going to solve this case, we need to get moving now," Castiel said, clearly annoyed by their behavior.
They left the diner without anymore fighting and headed to the police department to get information. Dean and Castiel used fake ID's as FBI agents while Katie was forced to wait in the car. The police had the basic information of the girls' names, autopsy reports, and dates of their sorority hazing activities. Nothing gave them a lead and the tapes of the other sorority girls' questionings were no help. Each girl had the same story, legitimate alibies, and great remorse for the accident.
Katie was allowed to go with Dean and Castiel as they talked to the boss of one of the girls at another local diner, where they were given free pie, and the boss of the second girl at a bar, where they were given free booze. The evening was unsuccessful thus far concerning the case, as the girls' bosses hardly knew anything about them.
"Now, I remember why I love hunting so much," Dean chuckled after a few free beers with his tummy filled with pie.
"This happens everywhere you go?" Katie asked, sipping her own beer. Two college age girls walked by and smiled seductively at Dean and Castiel. Katie and Dean followed them with their eyes, Castiel seemingly didn't notice.
"Pretty much," Dean said appreciatively.
"There's no time for this," Castiel said agitatedly. "We need to solve this case and move on."
"Okay, then let's go. Let's go to the graveyard where the girls died," Katie said, standing up from her barstool.
"Might as well," Dean said.
"I'm coming with you or I tell the next person we see that you kidnapped me," Katie said as they parked at the graveyard.
Dean turned a smoldering look on her before Castiel reluctantly agreed with her.
"Please, do not become injured," Castiel urged her. "And stay back. It would be very dangerous if any demons saw and recognized you."
"Will do," Katie said but she wasn't really listening. Adrenaline was already pumping through her veins at the thought of seeing another demon.
"This doesn't seem like demon activity, Cas. This is something different," Dean said as they loaded up on weapons. "What do you think we're up against?"
"A spirit haunting a stone statue," Castiel replied.
"How do you know?" Dean asked.
"The young women were dared to be out here all night by their so-called sisters because of a legend that the statue of a woman comes to life and crushes them," Castiel said.
"And how do you know that?" Dean asked, as he returned a knife for salt.
"My source is irrelevant," Castiel said. "It's the truth."
Dean closed the trunk and handed Katie a bag of salt. "If anything gets too weird, or any demons show up, put this in a circle around you."
Castiel, Dean, and Katie headed towards the taped off crime scene. "It will come at midnight, if the legend is correct," Castiel said as they reached the statue, which was within the closed off area. Dean was sitting next to the statue, Katie across from him against another gravestone, and Castiel standing just outside the crime scene, when midnight sounded from the large clock tower at the center of the graveyard.
"It's go time," Katie said, looking around for any signs of activity. Her heart was beating fast as the last bell chimed. She was looking in Castiel's directions when she heard a stone grinding sound and then Dean swearing.
"Oh, fuck!" he cried out as the statue he was next to reached down and grabbed him. Katie and Castiel rushed forwards with salt. Throwing salt and making a circle around it didn't do anything and the statue was gripping Dean around the ribs tighter and tighter. He struggled to get loose but to no avail. Dean was able to groan out a part of an incantation before he couldn't breathe anymore.
Katie took the rock salt shot gun that Dean had brought and shot at the statue. Even with more force, the salt had no effect. They seemed to be out of options.
The statue's eyes glowed red and the stone ground as it moved. "Cas, what do we do?" Katie asked, panicked.
Castiel only glanced at her before he said the incantation that Dean couldn't finish. There was a horrible howling sound and swirling dust as the spirit in the statue was exorcised. Dean crumpled to the ground and tried to wrap his arms around his ribs but could lift his arms after the statue returned to its carved position. He groaned.
"Is it gone? We need to get you to a hospital," Katie said, looking back at the car.
"Yes, it's gone. I exorcised it," Castiel said before kneeling next to Dean and placing his hand on Dean's ribs and healing him.
Dean sat up and tested his mobility. "Thanks, Cas."
"Are you alright?" Katie asked as Dean stood up. She tenderly felt at his ribs to see if they were broken.
"Yeah, Cas used his angel mojo to fix me up," Dean reassured her as they made sure they picked up all of their weapons before leaving. He patted her head "Nice shot back there. If it hadn't been a statue, you would have killed it for sure."
"I've had lots of practice at arcades," Katie said nonchalantly.
"So, how long have you two been together?" Katie asked as they got back into the Impala.
"I don't understand your question," Castiel said, his head slightly cocked to the side. Dean looked blankly at her.
"How long have you two been dating?" Katie rephrased.
"What?" Dean exclaimed looking at her like she was insane.
"Oh, I'm sorry! I figured you two were together because of the way you're always looking at each other and communicating almost completely nonverbally. And that angel mojo healing back there! After we met you didn't heal the cut on my throat from Joe," Katie explained, exposing her still visible cut.
"We're so not dating," Dean said forcefully.
"I thought you were just hiding it from me." Katie shrugged.
They stopped at a motel for the night and Dean and Katie played Rock-Paper-Scissors for the first shower. Katie lost and while Dean was in the bathroom, she asked Castiel if she could call her family. "I'm sure they're looking for me," she said.
"They were," he replied.
"What?" she asked, sitting on the edge of her bed. "Did you talk to them?"
"No, I left them a letter saying that you needed time to sort through your life and make new decisions on your own. I made sure it said that you were happy and that you'd see them later. I signed your name," Castiel said.
"You WHAT?" Katie screamed, standing up and pacing. "Castiel, I can't believe you did that! You can't just do that to someone's life! You can't waltz in and screw everything up and think that it's okay!"
"I did it to keep them safe. If they do not know what you know or where you are at or who you are with, the safer they will remain," Castiel yelled back, getting angry with Katie for the first time. It took her aback and she stepped away from him. His deep voice when angry was terrifying to her/
"You should have told me!" she said and stopped pacing.
"I am sorry," Castiel said. "It was for the best." He looked like a guilty puppy, his blue eyes wide and angelic.
Katie was silent for a few moments before asking softly with her arms crossed over her chest "Are you sure they'll be safe?"
"They're as safe as I can make them," he replied, his voice as calm and powerful as an ocean iceberg.
"Well, thanks," Katie said and sat on the edge of the bed again. Her shoulders slouched inwards and her head hung.
"You are welcome," Castiel said, placing a hand on her sagging shoulders.
"I want to go home," she said quietly, sounding like a child. Her lower lip jutted out as she fought back tears. She took off her glasses and fiercely rubbed at her eyes.
"You can not go home," Castiel said just as quietly.
"Will I ever get to go home?" she asked and sniffed.
"There is a possibility you may one day," he replied. "But not now. You are needed."
Castiel disappeared before Katie could ask how she, of all people, was needed.