So you get two in one day ^_^ I just want to say thanks to everyone who reviews. They do mean a lot to me, and knowing that you guys don't hate me for my irregular posting means a lot. Wel... Enjoy. This chapter is a little bit of a tear-jerker.
"Great," Kitty huffed as she walked back into the house and down a hall. "Now, we're stuck in Sam's creepy childhood memory."
"Thanks, Kitty," Sam sighed, a smile sneaking across his lips. "Makes me feel so happy on the inside." While the Kitty and Sam had exchanged the friendly banter, Dean had started searching the house, and Sam couldn't help but ask, "What are you doing?"
"Looking for a road," was all Dean replied as he pulled open a closet door.
Kitty glanced sideways at Sam before she stepped closer to Dean, who had managed to turn on a light in the closet. "And since when were there tunnels or highways… Under stairs?"
With a smirk, Dean glanced back at Kitty and said, "This is heaven I mean, or memories are coming true, Cas is on TV. Finding a road in a closet would be pretty much the most normal thing to happen to us today."
Kitty watched as Dean turned around and crouched down, picking up a blue Hot Wheels car. "I really don't think we have time for that, Dean," she sighed as he flipped it through his hands.
"I used to have one of these…" he said distantly. "When I was a kid." With that, Dean placed the car down on a track, picked up a remote, and the car started to run its track.
The change was barely noticeable. One moment, the three hunters were standing in a cramped closet, and the next they were in an open bedroom. The bedroom had light blue walls, and was definitely decorated for a child. "Not mine," Kitty said as she looked around the room. "We never lived in a house."
Dean nodded and stood up from the crouch position, he was no longer wearing his leather jacket, and Sam was back in his normal hunting clothing. Kitty looked out of place in her camisole and jeans, but it was her normal style minus the fitted jacket. "So…" Dean said, breaking the silence. "Kinda trippy, right?"
"Yeah," Sam agreed, and then a smile formed across his face. "More trippy. Um, apparently, you 'wuv hugs'." He gestured at Dean's shirt, then looked back at Kitty, who was trying her hardest not to laugh.
Dean pulled the flannel button-up shirt closed and casted a glare at Kitty and Sam. "Shut up," but Sam and Kitty continued to laugh. "Wait a minute…" Dean's cautious voice stopped the laughter. "I know where we are."
"And where is that?" Kitty asked, laughter still trying to escape.
Dean turned and stared straight into Sam's eyes. "We're home."
"Dean," called a voice from behind a partially opened door. It wasn't Castiel's, but light and definitely that of a woman's. Slowly, the door creaked open, and a blonde woman in a white dress opened the door. "Hey, Dean. You hungry?"
The boys couldn't do anything but stare, while Kitty looked at the two of them. "Who's she?" she asked, quietly, almost afraid to get an answer.
"Our mom," Dean replied, his gaze never leaving the woman in the doorway.
Mary placed a glace of milk next to a sandwich that sat in front of Dean, casting a loving smile down at him. "You want the crust cut off?" she asked him, a smile never leaving her face.
"Yeah," Dean smiled back. "I'd love that."
Mary quickly went to work at cutting off the crust pieces, while Sam and Kitty leaned against the wall in the dining room. "Mom?" Sam called out, but Mary didn't even look up.
"Oh, god," Kitty whispered, her heart slightly breaking. She knew how Sam felt, for she didn't have any memories of her mother, but she never wanted to experience what he was going through right now.
"I guess this isn't your memory, Sam," Dean said. "Sorry."
Mary continued to finish cutting up Dean's sandwich, but something was pulling in her chest, and she couldn't stand there anymore and she walked out into the living room.
Spread out on the table was a photo album, the pictures beginning just before Dean was born. Kitty started flipping through the pictures, and quickly became absorbed in guess what the photos were memories of.
"What are you looking at?" Dean startled Kitty as he placed his hand on her shoulder and leaned over the couch to see the album.
"Just pictures. Haven't gotten to when you were born yet," she laughed as she picked up the album and held it closer to her. "This picture, though… It's weirdly familiar…"
The picture was that of Mary and John smiling and leaning against the Impala as it was parked on the side of a road, the sun setting behind them. Something about it seemed familiar, and it wasn't until Kitty felt the change in her sitting posture that she realized that the scene had changed again.
She was now sitting on the curb at a gas station, looking at the sun set where the image of Mary and John and the Impala should have been. Except the Chevelle sat there instead. "Where are we now?" Sam asked as he spun in a slow circle.
The boys were back in their normal attire, but Kitty was in a white sundress and had a pair of white flip-flops on, and her hair was pulled into a loose braid. "We're in Detroit," she whispered as she stood up and walked across the road, where a taller figure was talking on a payphone.
"Don't worry, Dad," said the voice as the shadowed figure leaned against the payphone. "I called a tow truck, and I promise Kit won't get kidnapped."
Kitty was thirteen when the car stopped working, but it was better because after Case got off of the payphone, she walked over to where the three hunters were standing and wrapped an arm around Kitty's shoulder. "There," she smiled. "Dad isn't worried, and now we can watch the sun set. Perfect, right?"
Taking a shaky breath, Kitty replied, "Just perfect." A tear ran down her cheek as she watched her older sister look beyond radiant in the sunlight. This was how she wanted to remember her sister forever.
"Great," Case smiled as she pulled Kitty into a tight hug. "I'll be right back. Gonna get something to munch on. Stay in the car." The last part was a demand, and shortly, Case was sprinting back across the street and disappearing into the gas station's store.
"Kitty…" Dean's cautious voice was followed by his hand grasping her shoulder, and once the contact was made, she quickly spun into it and hugged Dean as tightly as she could. He didn't need to say anything, and all he did was held her back, which was just what she needed.
Finally, Kitty pulled away and whipped at her eyes. "Okay," she sighed. "Let's go."
It wasn't long before Sam found the next marker: a postcard that said 'Route 66.' "I've seen this somewhere before," he said, pointing to the postcard that was tapped to the payphone.
"Where?" Dean asked, and it wasn't long before the three were in small, cabin-like house. The wall was covered with postcards, and everyone was back in normal clothes. "Where are we?"
A smile flickered on Sam's face. "No way." As the words left his mouth, an older golden retriever ran into the room. "Bones!" Hey, c'mere!"
Kitty looked quizzically at Dean, then asked, "When did you guys have a dog?"
"We didn't," he replied back as he stepped toward Sam. "Bones?"
"Yeah," Sam said as he stood up and walked over to an old couch. "Bones was my dog."
"Your… your dog?"
"Yeah," Sam replied as he pulled out a slice of pizza from a pizza box, causing Kitty to have to stifle a gag.
Dean, on the other hand, looked everything but happy. "Is this Flagstaff?"
"Yeah," Sam answered, as he happily petted the dog.
A disgusted look crossed Dean's face. "This is a good memory for you?" he asked as he glanced around the room.
"Yeah," Sam replied. "I mean, I was on my own for two weeks. I lived on Funyuns and Mr. Pibb."
"Wow," Dean sighed as he shook his head, walking to the far side of the room.
Sam looked at Dean, then looked at Kitty. "What's up with him?" Sam asked.
Kitty sighed heavily. "Dean was watching you when you ran away. He looked everywhere, and even called me in to help look for you… We thought you were dead… Then your Dad came home, and let's just say he was more than willing to kill him."
The expression on Sam's face dropped. "Dean, Look, I'm sorry. I never thought about it like that."
"Forget it," his older brother replied. "Let's roll." Dean stomped out of the room, and Kitty followed hot on his heels.
Before she stepped out of the door, though, she glanced back at Sam giving the dog a treat. "Sam," she said, and he brought his gaze back up. "I don't know what's going to happen after we find Joshua, but promise me that, whatever happens here… You try to keep all of those feelings here, okay?" Kitty didn't wait for Sam to answer before she crossed over the threshold and out the door.
Anytime I write about Case, it makes me a lttle bit teary-eyed :'(