Chapter Four – Like Spinning Plates
Thank you so much for everyone who reviewed the last chapter you keep me going :). Anyway I think this chapter may be a bit boring as quite a lot of it's dialogue but everyone likes family moments. Next chapter however will have a bit of action as the episode it's set during is on my ever-growing list of Supernatural favourite episodes, I must have at least twenty now. I am going to France tomorrow so sadly I will not be able to update for maybe ten days at the earliest, as I can't write on Space Mountain, I don't have spell check. I have made this chapter longer though to make up for it, but it's probably just as long as the others, I have a habit of babbling when I write. Once again I would really appreciate it if anyone could review this chapter, thank you so so much for reading and reviewing and I really hope you enjoy chapter four. By the way, the season finale was one of the best two hours I've seen on TV, Cas was amazing!
Kate found herself immersed in the radiant blue light again. She was dreaming. She slowly opened her eyes and observed the ocean of light that surrounded her, her arms outstretched trying to touch the velvety blue mist. At least she wasn't falling this time. After she had opened her eyes she seemed to rise above the depths of the ocean and peacefully float amongst the radiance. She was calm. After all, now she wasn't spiralling backwards into a dark chasm the light seemed tranquil, it was her friend.
Kate was about to close her eyes and enjoy the peaceful, comforting glow when she felt something tug sharply on her shirt. She thought she might have caught the material on something, but there was nothing to catch her shirt on. Kate pulled her shirt towards her trying to shake off whatever had attached itself to her clothing. The thing pulled back harder. She shook her torso violently desperately trying to make the thing let go. Instead, it pulled her fragile, insubstantial body down into the depths of the ocean, descending faster and faster into the deep abyss which she had previously managed to rise above. She tried to scream, but the glowing light overcame her voice once more. Her fingers tried to claw and fight herself free from her attacker but she failed and surrendered to the force which was dragging her down into the depths.
Kate woke up screaming. Immediately she felt cold, wet material against her forehead wiping away the sweat which was a result of her curious yet frightening dream. She leaned back against the wooden headboard, and looked up to see a hulking figure, his face encased in shadow beneath a floppy tangle of hair.
"Sam," Kate murmured, suddenly feeling reassured by the sight of her brother.
"Hey Kate," Sam said softly, placing the wet towel in a bowl on the bedside table. Kate felt his hand reach over and cup her face in the darkness, his thumb pacing her cheekbone. "How are you feeling?" he asked.
"I've been better," Kate complained, sitting up as Sam passed her a glass of water.
"Can I ask what happened?" inquired Sam relaxing in a chair by Kate's bed.
"I would tell you but I have no idea. I woke up and heard voices in the kitchen and thinking it was Dean I went downstairs," she explained devouring the glass of water. Her throat was dry. She didn't know how long she had been out.
"Was it Dean?" asked Sam, feeling like he was interrogating his sister.
"Well...yeah, but there was someone with him, Castiel," said Kate quietly looking down at the floor, she felt like it was her fault for intruding on their conversation.
"The angel?" said Sam confused.
"How many Castiels do you know Sam?" Kate sniggered.
"I see you're feeling better," Sam sighed, feeling self-conscious after his sister's comment. "Anyway, what about Castiel? What did he do?"
"I don't really think he did anything. I just looked at him and then my head felt like it was about to split. Then the pain got worse and worse until he disappeared. Then I blacked out. I don't remember anything after that," said Kate trying not to flinch when she spoke his name. She hated herself for wincing whenever she thought about the angel, after all he was a soldier of God, but the pain she felt when she was near him cancelled out his mystery.
"Hmm..." said Sam trying to understand what his sister had told him.
"You have no idea do you?" asked Kate just as confused as her brother on the topic of the unfathomable angel.
"No, but Bobby might," Sam mumbled, hoping that Bobby really did know what was going on as he hated seeing his sister in pain, and terrified.
"Where's Dean" Kate inquired as her eyes adjusted to the darkness.
"He went out whilst you were sleeping. He said he was going to get you something to eat," said Sam monotonously, suggesting the idea that Dean had repeated the explanation many times so his brother didn't forget.
Kate had been restricted to her bed after her ordeal with the angel. She had desperately tried to convince Sam and Dean to let her join them on a hunt for a man who was gradually declining into cannibalism in Carthage, Missouri but her brothers agreed to confine her in Bobby's house until she was fully recovered. Kate was similar to Dean when it came to lounging around the house, as she felt like she wasn't serving a purpose, which made her irritable. What made the feeling worse for Kate was that she felt fine and perfectly capable of taking down a Rugaru, even though a Wendigo had left her close to death a few years ago. However, she had grown stronger since then.
She stepped out of bed and over to her bedroom window to see what Bobby was doing at this hour. He was working on a Chevrolet Caprice. Since the interruption of the angels, Bobby rarely found time to work in his salvage yard and had taken the position of investigator, finding out as much background information as he can about the celestial beings. When she was awake, Kate usually participated in Bobby's study sessions as she found nothing else to occupy her around the house whilst her brother's were away and she wanted to know more about the angels, more about him. She was terrified yet mesmerised whenever her thoughts drifted towards him. He was incredibly powerful but he was different from everything supernatural she had ever confronted, he was graceful, intelligent.
Castiel had never intended to harm the girl that seemed to appear when the Winchesters were concerned. He had never heard of a third Winchester, his superiors had never mentioned her. Maybe she wasn't important to them. The angel was perched on a large, jagged boulder at the edge of Bobby's salvage yard, out of sight. The cold rock didn't seem to affect him. He wanted to apologize to her, but he was scared of hurting her again. His need to be forgiven scared him, as he had never had a thought of his own his entire long and lonely existence. There was a change coming over the angel. The constant interaction with the Winchesters was whittling down his strong exterior piece by piece. He was starting to feel emotion. Sympathy, anger and regret were descending upon him and he didn't mind. He wanted to feel something.
After seeing the events that occurred in Bobby's kitchen, the image of the girl's convulsing and violent screaming never escaped his controlled mind. He wished there was a way to approach her without harming her, he just wanted to talk to her. Well, try to, he never saw himself having a conversation with a human. After all, angels were supposed to be superior to the human race, and interaction was kept to a minimum, usually only when the angels wanted something.
He didn't know why the girl couldn't deal with his presence but he wanted to know more about her. However, Castiel couldn't even approach her in her condition, he would only hurt her again. Instead, he had passed several days edging closer to Bobby's house, judging how close he could be to her without harming her. Until he knew what she was, he couldn't help her, and for some reason Castiel wanted to help her badly.
Kate heard Bobby's front door grind open downstairs, and two pairs of clunking boots drag along the wooden floor. It was her brothers. Kate bounded down the staircase and rushed to greet them, standing on her toes as she wrapped her arms around Sam's neck.
"You're both okay," she said breathing a sigh of relief.
"Kate, we've been doing this a while you know," Sam choked, his sister's arms constricting his neck.
"Yeah but you didn't have me," Kate smirked releasing her hold around Sam and moved towards Dean. There was something about him that was different. His face was cast in a look of deception. "What happened?" asked Kate studying her brothers facial expressions.
"Travis is dead," mumbled Dean shuffling his feet. He was hiding something from her.
"Travis?" Kate exclaimed whilst trying to remember who the man was. Then realisation struck her, as her face washed with sorrow. He was her father's friend who had given her sweets when she was a child, ironically as a reward for seeking out a nest of vampires through a friend from school. Normal children got rewarded for washing the car or mowing the lawn. It must have been ten years since she last saw his face. "Oh, Travis," she sighed.
"Rugaru got to him first," Dean murmured casting a look of frustration at the floor. Maybe Travis' death was contributing to the cloud which was descending upon the two brothers, but there was something more, something eating away at Dean's tough shell and Kate was determined to find out the cause of her brother's discontent. However, she would have to wait until Dean was on his own as she was certain that the towering figure that was Sam didn't seem to be aiding Dean's ability to confess.
"Hey boys! You're back in one piece!" declared Bobby patting Dean on the back.
"Who rattled your cage," said Dean, grinning at his attempt at sarcasm.
"Why does everyone think we're gonna come back in a coffin?" asked Sam, confused over his family's supposed lack of faith in him.
"Cause you didn't have this one with ya," said Bobby placing his arm around Kate's shoulders and pulling her closer to him. She seemed to crumple under his strength and contradict Bobby's statement, but she sniggered anyway, grateful for an opportunity to laugh at her brothers for once. "She's saved your asses countless times now, and you both know it," Bobby continued shaking Kate back and forth in his arm with enthusiasm. Kate knew it wasn't true, and it was probably the other way around but Bobby was trying to comfort her and she was appreciative of his attempt. She had been feeling down recently after her last encounter with the angel and was enlightened by Bobby's support.
"Really?" questioned Dean, puzzled over Bobby's statement as his sister hadn't saved him much due to her lack of strength.
"Yeah we'd be lost without her," Sam proclaimed, punching his oblivious brother in the arm as he watched Dean's comment destroy her self-confidence. He knew that she felt useless lounging around Bobby's house, and Dean's thoughtless barbs were not helping. After all, it wasn't her fault that she was cooped up in South Dakota. Bobby saw the look of disappointment on Kate's face and decided to step forward and break the ice which was frosting over the brothers' welcome.
"I'll get us a beer," said Bobby releasing his grip from around Kate's shoulders, ambling over to the refrigerator.
A few hours passed and Kate found herself alone with her older brother. Bobby had retired to his room and Sam had fallen asleep on the couch opposite them. He didn't seem as strong as he slept, his chest gradually rising and falling to a slow and lazy rhythm. Kate saw the chance to strike as her younger brother had the habit of being virtually unconscious when he fell asleep.
"What's going on with you two?" inquired Kate staring at Dean's look of disgust as he glanced at his sleeping brother. "And don't tell me that it's because Travis died on the hunt cause I know that's a lie, God rest his soul," she continued, baffled at her plea to God to save the poor man's soul. She had never even considered the existence of the entity before, but after their consistent encounters with one of his supposed soldiers, the evidence seemed to unravel in front of her and she couldn't be as close-minded as she used to be when it came to heaven.
"He's lying to me. To us. Something's changed in him Kate. Ever since I got out of the pit he's been...different," explained Dean placing his head in his hands. The weight of worry which plagued his mind was too much for him. He didn't need betrayal right now. He felt his sister's hand materialize on his shoulder, comforting him instantly.
"Dean," she whispered attempting to console her older brother whose mind seemed to be hassled by anxiety. "Everyone deals with death in different ways, whatever Sammy's done whilst you were downstairs could be down to grief." She knew that whatever her younger brother had done to agitate Dean was bad, as he never took any of Sam's actions into account, they were brothers and that's all that mattered.
"He's dancing with a demon Kate. I've seen him exorcise one with his mind, send them back to hell with a flick of his wrist. What is that about? How is he able to do that? What have you done Sammy?" Dean cried as he released his mind from the constriction of trepidation. He looked up at his sister, tears flowing from his hazel eyes, presenting his vulnerability to Kate which was his family.
"I don't know Dean, but Sam is strong, he can free himself from whatever that demonic bitch has on him. You know he can Dean," Kate murmured throwing her arms around her brother's neck. She was disappointed herself in Sam and felt a wave of frustration overcome her as the full force of deception flowed into her mind. However, Dean needed her right now and she was going to do whatever it took to console him, she could cry when she was on her own.
"I hope so. I hope Sammy's still in there," said Dean burying his face into Kate's shoulder. He always felt reassured when she was around. He was amazed at her emotional strength, her ability to comfort him even though Sam was her brother too fascinated him, she was probably breaking under the weight of deceit too.
"Everything will be alright," she whispered. "We're family, we can climb this demon ridden mountain together, Dean," Kate smile pulling away from her brother.
"Thank you Kate," said Dean placing his cold, somewhat dead hand on his sister's face. "I really would be lost without you."
"I know," Kate giggled, her hands trembling as she tried to quell the emotions that were wreaking havoc in her mind.
"I'm gonna get another beer, do you want another...what the hell are you drinking?" asked Dean picking up his sister's glass and smelling it, pulling his face away rapidly with repulsion. Kate's resentment of alcohol always confused Dean as he couldn't imagine calming down after slaying the supernatural without a beer.
"It's called pomegranate juice," said Kate laughing as she watched her brother's face glaze over in confusion. He really didn't know any fruits other than apple and orange, and that was only because every unsuspecting diner they entered seemed to try and sell Dean a glass of nutrition, thinking he ate like his siblings. "And no I'm okay thanks, I'm gonna hit the hay," said Kate yawning and moving towards the door.
"Thank God, cause I think I'd puke if I had to smell a whole carton of that crap," Dean complained still analysing the glass of red liquid which sat on the table like it was something supernatural itself.
"Night Dean," Kate mumbled raising her hand in a small wave.
"Night short-ass," Dean smirked.
"You're a jerk!" Kate called from the staircase.
"Kate?"
"Yes, Dean?" Kate questioned the darkness, standing at the top of the staircase.
"Thanks. You really helped me out there," Dean murmured feeling shy. He wasn't the best when it came to thanking people, he didn't practice enough.
"It's okay Dean. Now please let me sleep," Kate giggled entering her room. Dean heard the slam of Kate's bedroom door upstairs. Her absence only made the anxiety amplify. Now he was alone with Sam, and he was uncertain that his younger brother could save himself from the demon's control, before it was too late.
Kate slumped against her bedroom door as it closed. She was alone. Tears started to darken her pale blue carpet as her frail body collapsed under the weight of deceit which hung heavy on her mind. She didn't know if her younger brother could pull through this, it was too much. Exorcising with his mind? She didn't even believe it was possible but her sibling appeared to be living proof. She felt betrayed. Everything her father built seemed to crumble in her slight fingers. Everything the Winchesters stood for seemed to wither in front of her eyes. She felt like it was her fault. If she had been more persuasive when it came to making Sam stay with her and Bobby he would have never met that demon, and everything would be alright.
"Damn it!" Kate growled feeling like she had let herself down. It was her fault and she didn't know if she could put things right again. She was supposed to protect her younger brother and she had failed. Kate wanted someone to comfort her for once. She wanted John. After all, she was a 'daddy's girl'. But he was gone. Her and her brothers had burned his body over two years ago. She felt alone. She pulled her knees to her chest and rested her heavy mind on them, hoping the foetal position would defend her against the depression that was crawling towards her preparing to eat her alive. She was alone. Her eyes were overflowing with warm tears and her body was shaking. She was so distraught over he brother's deception that she didn't notice the trench coat clad figure which was standing in the trees on the other side of her bedroom window, shielded by shadows which engulfed his somewhat slender frame. She wasn't alone.