Dean woke up feeling rather suffocated and hot. The reason for that being that he had his face pressed into his pillow and four heavy blankets were on top of him. "Was it really that damn cold last night?" Dean thought to himself. He probably just wasn't used to sleeping alone.

He began sniffing the air for the familiar aroma of Lucy's coffee. The scent of the room was dull and smelled faintly of oranges...nothing else.

"Damn you and your ankle, Lucy!" He groaned as he pulled himself out of the bed. "I'll just get a coke," Dean stumbled across the room until he heard a snorting sound. "Sammy?"

When Dean looked across the bedroom, he realized it was not his brother, but Kat, who had made herself a hammock out of a thick, flannel bed sheet that was suspended across the doorway with heavy-duty hooks.

Dean let out a surprised laugh. "Oh, Kat!" She rolled over in her sleep and an ominous creaking sound emitted from the hooks. "Should I wake her up?" Dean grinned wickedly and scooped Kat up in his arms.

Kat clutched at her pillow, hugging it desperately to her chest. She let out a rather annoyed groan at being picked up and moved but otherwise she did not stir.

"Oh come on!" Dean twirled her around. "Nobody is that hard of a sleeper!"

Kat shook her head and tried to turn over. "Five more minutes..." She mumbled into her pillow.

"You've gotta be kidding me!" Dean threw her up in the air and caught her expertly in his arms.

Kat jolted awake, startled. She looked up and upon noticing Dean's wicked grin, hit him over the head with her pillow.

"Ouch!" Dean exclaimed sarcastically. "The evil pillow of death!"

"Dean!" Kat said, wriggling about in his arms. "Let me down!"

Dean held her in a death grip and adopted a deep, Transylvanian accent. "You are mine, my dear! I vill never let you go! I vant to suck your blood!" He put his teeth precariously close to her neck.

Kat wriggled around harder, laughing.

Dean loosened his grip and she fell on the floor with a thud. "Oops,"

Kat righted herself within a moment, still clutching at her pillow. She jumped back onto her hammock, lying back on the hammock and pulling her bandana over her eyes. She had yet to change clothes from what she was wearing the other day.

"Kitty-Kat!" Dean lightly poked her in the head. "Wake up for Dean!"

"I am awake, I'm just resting." Kat said, arms wrapping around her pillow.

"I'm serious..." Dean continued poking her. "UP, Cap'n Feline,"

Kat smacked him with the pillow again. "I'll be up in a moment. Give me a second."

Dean put his hands behind his back. "One Mississippi..."

Kat laughed. "You're silly." She said, sitting up. She stretched her arms up, and then out, and then stretched her legs out. Then, the hammock creaked loudly, making Kat glare up at the hooks. Before she could speak the hooks came loose and the hammock fell the good six feet to the floor.

Dean gazed down at the crumpled pile of sheets and hooks. "Sturdy..." He rolled his eyes. "Would you like your Rebound boy to buy you a hammock?"

Kat lifted a hand from the rubble. It gestured rudely, and weakly, before falling onto the ground. Kat had more than just sheets and heavy hooks in that hammock - she was experienced enough with making them and attaching them to wood and knew she'd have to line the hammock with heavy, suffocating blankets to keep the sheets from ripping. Said blankets were currently piled around her form thickly with the heavy hooks weighing them down.

"Hey! Have some manners!" Dean laughed as he took her hand and pulled her out of the heap of sheets and hooks.

"When you're buried in a deadly pile of hammock, manners are the last thing on your mind." Kat said, heaving a heavy breath and leaning on Dean.

"Meow-Mix," Dean began. "Manners are never on your mind."

"What the hell is Meo-Mix?"

"Meow-Mix," Dean corrected. "It's a brand of cat food...food that is specially made for cats,"

"Well, don't call me that. Ever again." Kat said, pouting.

"Whatever you say, Fancy-Feast," Dean chuckled. "That's another brand of Kat food. K-A-T."

"Whatever. No more cat jokes." Kat spat, face drawn in a annoyed pout.

"Lemme' give you a nickname, alright?" Dean looked at her pout and made a mental note to ask Sam to give her "pouting lessons". "I think I have kind of a right to it. You should've know that if you call yourself "Kat", you're gonna get some kitty jokes."

"Kat is my nickname. My full name is Captain Kathreen Karol Sparrow, but Kat is easier to say." Kat said, leaning on Dean a little less. "And sorry if I'm acting a little mean. Getting tangled up in a evil hammock before you can wake up really puts a damper on the spirits."

"You're not bein' mean," Dean gave her a reassuring hug. "I'm prob'ly the one who's bein' nasty. Lucy usually makes coffee now...the best freaking coffee in the world," Dean sighed. "But now she's hurt herself...literally."

"Never had the stuff." Kat said. "Hell, if I drink anything in the morning I get cheers. My crew doesn't think I eat enough, neither does Norrington."

Dean looked at Kat's small frame and rather flat chest.

"Hmm...I'm not gonna press you too much...but yeah...you're a little on the scrawny size, Kit-Kat,"

"Because I'm never hungry." Kat muttered, pressing her head sleepily into Dean's shoulder and side.

"So..." Dean coughed, considering changing the subject. "Are you feeling any better? I mean after...you know..."

"Mmhhhmm," Kat mumbled into Dean's warm shirt.

"So you don't wanna take it back?" Dean's voice was serious. "You hate the man?"

"Ever so slightly. He's hard to completely hate, but I've gotten pretty far on the subject."

"You sure you're not tryin' to make him jealous?" Dean pressed further.

"Not anymore." Kat wrapped her arms around Dean, pressing him close.

"Anymore?" Dean faked a surprised voice. "So you were using me as a rebound...or better yet...something to dangle in front of Norrie so you could go 'Ha Ha! I found a better guy and I don't need you!'"

"You practically did the same with me in front of Lucy." Kat accused.

"Lucy?!" Dean's face flushed. "I have never had feelings for Lucy. She's like an insane sister," Dean clenched his teeth and tried to act natural.

"Don't fake it, its ok." Kat said, looking up at him. "I don't mind. I have three men... scratch that, two men, in my own little harem."

"Nice," Dean whistled. "But I'm into more of the "one-night stand" thing, I'll admit," Dean held up his hands and kept up the act. "But I swear...I'm not into cuckoo-girls."

"One night stand my foot. You're still here, so it's proof you're lying."

"Excuse me, m'lady," Dean went into an "aristocratic" bow, almost tripping over his feet. "But this is where I live...for the time being."

"And you can't bow to save your life. Even I know how to bow properly, at least." Kat joked, giving Dean a very refined bow with a straight face. Midway through, she collapsed into fits of laughter.

"A girl knows how to bow better than I do," Dean chuckled. "My masculinity has been slandered."

"As has my femininity." Kat added with a giggle.

Dean looked her up and down mischievously. "Nah...it's still there."

"You sure it's not yours blocking your vision?" Kat said with a laugh. "I am certainly not feminine."

"Femininity is not how you act...it's who you are," Dean grinned. "And you know that I'm quite masculine." Dean then squealed like a girl and held up a finger. "Ahh! Oh...my...gosh! I broke a nail!" His voice resembled Paris Hilton's.

"Ok, Mr. Poet, say something like that again. It's kinda sexy." Kat asked.

Dean pretended to misinterpret her request. "O-M-G! I like soooo need a perm!"

"No, you silly. The smart sounding stuff." Kat said, pressing up next to him.

"If you want smart-talk, go to Sammy," Dean chuckled. "But I can still humor you. What kind of smart stuff do you want me to say?"

"It doesn't have to be smart, just sound smart. You know what I mean."

Dean thought for a moment. "A moment on the lips is a lifetime on the hips."

Kat laughed. "Not with me, anyway!"

"I didn't say to take the advice!" Dean squeezed her side. "That's something Lucy always says when I eat two boxes of Ho-Hos."

"What are those?" Kat asked, curious.

"Long chocolate cakes with chocolate icing and whipped cream in the middle...very unhealthy," Dean explained.

Kat smiled, taking his hand in hers. "They sound good, though."

"Lordy, Kit-Kat," Dean remarked. "You could use some Ho-Hos...but remember, darlin'...you are what you eat."

Kat looked at him, not getting the obvious joke."Well if that's true I'm made of fish, salt, and biscuits." She said, walking over and rifling through the hammock rubble with her toe. She shivered slightly and walked back over to Dean's side, pressing close to him and wrapping his arm around her waist.

"Jesus Christ, Kat...I love the PDA and all," Dean chuckled as he held her closer. "But you're a little needy for physical contact."

"More than a little." Kat said, hugging him around the middle and pressing her face into his shirt. 'He smells so nice...' She thought. 'Smells like home...'

"I'm kinda that way too...but...I mean...I've gotta keep hidin' behind a masculine façade."

"No one is as bad as I am." Kat said into his shirt.

"Hmm...well...this one girl I met in Vegas..." Dean coughed. "Umm...yeah..."

"Still not as bad." Kat muttered. "It's not just with you it's with anyone... I just... need contact. I need contact like people need food."

"I feel so special and loved," Dean rolled his eyes.

Kat hugged him around the middle. "I need it."

"A little like dear old Lucy if you ask me," Dean mumbled.

Kat backed up a step. "Well if you don't like it then fine. I stay away from you then." She said, hiding the hurt in her voice, though it still showed through in her eyes. She knew this was a mental problem for her and she knew she would have to get over it, but it was manageable enough just by living with people who were close to her. Her crew didn't care if she stood close to them while watching the sunset; in fact, they were perfectly aware of the problem, but they told no one. Kat's need for physical contact, no matter how meager, was something she could not rid herself of. It was as important to her as sleep meds are to an insomniac. She would break down and cry if she didn't have something; she'd die from her loneliness.

"Kat!" Dean grabbed her and kissed her lovingly on the lips.

When he finally pulled away he said, "I'm sorry...I didn't mean it like that...you know I didn't."

"I-I know... It's just... This is a real problem I've had for a while and I don't want it to be compared to Lucy's insanity like they're the same thing! I don't crave love or affection, I just need to know I'm not alone." Kat said, pressing up against him. "It's almost habitual, I've had it for so long. I do it without thinking; my mind knows I need it and takes the steps without consulting me first..."

"Oh," Dean was feeling rotten. "Listen...I'm really sorry. I didn't know it was an actual problem. God...I can be so insensitive sometimes." Dean put a palm on his forehead.

"S'ok." Kat muttered. "Just don't leave."

Dean did his signature "what the hell?" look. "Maybe you might have a problem or somethin'...like...a mental disease or phobia..."

"Monophobia," Sam strutted into the room.

"Were you spyin' on us?" Dean interrogated.

"For a few minutes," Sam admitted. "And...Kat has Monophobia."

"Momo-folia?" Dean scratched his head.

"Monophobia," Sam sighed. "The fear of being alone,"

"What the hell?" Kat asked, confused. "I don't fear being alone, I just... don't like it. That's all."

"Okay then...Sammy and I need to go run some errands, then." Dean smirked.

"And leave me with Captain Proper and his sidekick Ms. Insanity?" Kat asked, fear in her eyes.

"Yep," Dean hid the triumphant look in his eyes as he headed out the door, pulling Sam along with him. "Adios!"

Kat watched him go, the fear growing in her eyes. She watched the door close, and stayed silent for a long moment. Then, she started her pacing. She paced back and forth from one wall to another, talking to herself.

"Ok, they'll be back soon." She said to herself. After a moment, she decided she needed something to amuse herself and began to reconstruct the remnants of her hammock. After ten minutes, she had it together again, and sturdier too. Then she sat down on it and waited. She got back up and paced, and then sat back down. Forty minutes had elapsed. Kat picked up her pillow, and lay down with it. After a minute or so, she started sobbing into the pillow, back shaking with overpowering sobs.

"Dammit!"

"Kat!" Dean rushed back inside the apartment and hurried over to her side, holding her tightly in his arms.

Kat grabbed Dean roughly around the waste, crying full force. "I-I-I though you l-l-left!"

"Goddamnit, Kat! We didn't think you'd last so long!" Dean kissed her repeatedly and forcefully. "I thought you could tell I was joking! Damn my jokes! I'm so sorry!" Dean squeezed her tighter.

"I-I tried to s-s-stay calm b-b-bec-because I t-thought you l-l-left and weren't g-g-gonna be b-b-back for a w-w-while." Kat managed to choke out between sobs.

"Shit! Shit! Fucking shit!" Dean cursed loudly. "Sammy really is out shopping...I made him get more Ho-Hos. I was just waitin' by the door...amusing myself with a game of Pacman on my cell." Dean hugged her tighter. "I'm such a prick...I'm so sorry!"

Kat didn't reply, but just hugged him tighter.

"Hey...it's gonna' be alright," Dean whispered soothingly. "Calm down...you're safe...I'm here."

The door opened slightly and Norrington stuck his head in. He saw Kat and cursed softly to himself. "What did you do to her?" He asked, entering the room and shutting the door quietly. He walked over and put his hand on Kat's back, and immediately she shoved him off.

"Go away." She muttered, but she had no heart in her words and Norrington stayed.

"I didn't do..." Dean paused. "I didn't mean it," He tried to imitate Sam's puppy dog eyes. "Damn...Sam needs to give me lessons,"

"Norrington, leave him alone and go away." Kat said, angry.

"Yeah," Dean impersonated a thug. "Get outta our joint, fool!"

Norrington didn't budge. "You do this to her again and I will personally see to it that you die a slow and painful death." He said, before storming out.

"Oh no you don't, fuck-tard!" Dean yelled at him. "Get your ass back here right now!" Dean paused. "Unless you're a coward!"

"Dean, leave him alone." Kat muttered. "He's doing this out of habitual reaction, nothing more."

"I don't care!" Dean snapped. "He's been a spike up my ass ever since he pulled his nasty self out of the ground! I'm gonna let him have it!"

Kat looked up at Dean with slightly hurt eyes. Her arms closed tighter around his middle, as though in warning. "Don't."

"Whatever," Dean muttered. "Thought I might be doin' you a favor...and Lucy too." He made sure to make the part about Lucy sound like an afterthought.

"No favors, then." Kat said lightly.

"You're pathetic," Dean pushed her away. "Just get over him already."

Kat looked at him, the hurt in her eyes mixing with something akin to anger. "I am, dammit. I just don't want him dead because of me."

"Dead? Dead?! Jesus, Kat! You think I'd kill the man?!" Dean let out a fake, dry laugh.

"Not on purpose, anyway." Kat said. "These things just happen."

"I was just gonna give him a talk!" Dean got defensive. "What kind of guy do you think I am?"

"I'm not saying it's your fault, I'm just saying those things happen to me."

Dean threw up his hands in frustration. "Fine!"

"Why are you mad at me?" Kat asked, blinking back tears.

"I can't kill him!" Dean finally blurted out. "The first time meeting each other...he stabbed me in the stomach with his effing sword and I didn't die! I shot him in his little sissy heart...three times! And he didn't fucking die! I can't hurt your precious little man-whore even if I wanted to!"

"He's not my man-whore!" Kat cried. "Stop acting like I still love him! I don't! I'm just trying to protect the last link I have left to home!"

"You wanna go home? Hell! Sammy and I can go to Bobby and he can get you home! Is that what you want?"

"Yes, but I don't want to leave you, either!"

Dean's facial features softened. "Look...I think I'm a little pissy right now since I haven't had any coffee...I'm sorry...you shouldn't've listened to a word I've said. I most likely didn't mean any of it," Dean sighed and rubbed his temples. "Caffeine withdrawal headache."

"So... you aren't mad at me?"

Dean moaned in agony. "Wait till the damn pain subsides."

Kat sat down on the hammock, sad.

Dean sighed with relief. "Okay...it's over," Dean gave Kat a meltingly warm smile. "Sammy'll be comin back with some canned double-shot lattes. I'll be good then."

Kat smiled back softly. "S'ok."

"Hey, Dean!" Sam opened up the door with two bags of groceries slung over each of his arms. "I've got all the..."

Dean hustled over to Sam, snatched a grocery bag from Sam, and pulled out a long, thin can of double-shot espresso. He flipped open the little tab and guzzled down the whole entire can.

"Desperate, aren't you?" Kat quirked her eyebrows at him.

Dean let out a satisfied "Ahhh..." And he snatched another can and chugged it down.

"I think that's a yes," Sam chuckled.

"He was so mean when he didn't have any..."

Dean gurgled something incoherent as he swallowed down a third can.

"He sure is a jackass when he has caffeine withdrawal," Sam peered over at Dean. "A bigger one, anyways."

"Or something like that, anyway. Glad he's not like that all the time or I'd scream."

"I've been screaming for twenty-four years," Sam muttered. Dean threw a can at his head. "Ow, Dean!" Sam rubbed the area Dean had hit. "That hurt!"

"Cry me a little river, Princess," Dean finished the fifth can. "Done!"

"Princess? Isn't that Lucy's nickname?"

Dean paused for a minute. "Let the caffeine kick in a little longer before you bring up her, Kit-Kat," Dean sighed. "Well...Sammy was just bein' girly."

"Isn't he always?" Kat teased.

Sam pouted. "I am not girly!"

Kat grinned. "Says who?"

Sam mumbled a curse. "Me,"

"Noooo..."Kat mocked."I never thought of that..."

Dean tousled his brother's silky, dark mop of hair. "At least he's a pretty girl!"

"Cut it out, Dean!" Sam shoved his older sibling's hand away. "I'm not a girl,"

"Not from the waist down." Kat said.

"Hrmph," Sam scowled.

"It's not too bad. People think I'm a guy." Kat said, wrapping an arm around Sam.

Sam blushed from embarrassment. He wasn't used to girls touching him in affectionate ways...except for Lucy...and Jessica.

"You don't..." Sam coughed. "Look like a guy, I mean."

"I used too."

Dean had a broad grin on his face. "Caffeine has kicked in...I'm practically chipper now."

Sam sighed. "You shouldn't've had so much espresso." Sam rubbed his temples. "Bring on the hyper Dean."

"Hyper Dean, Manly Kat and Girly Sam... We're quite a trio."

"Don't forget Bossy James and Crazy Luce," Dean quipped.

"We are a pretty messed up family." Kat pointed out.

"Hmm...I'm Papa Bear," Dean snickered. "Kat's Mama Bear, Lucy is Sister Bear, and Norrie is Annoying Mother-In-Law Bear."

"What about me?" Sam's lower lip poked out slightly.

"Baby Bear," Dean slapped him on the back.

"How'd the bears get into this?" Kat asked.

"Good lord! Please don't tell me you haven't heard of Goldilocks!" Dean clutched his heart melodramatically in horror.

"Nope." Kat shrugged. "Never."

"Damn it!" Dean cursed. "Sam? You gotta fairytale book?"

"No," Sam glared. "Why the hell would I have a fairytale book." Dean gave him a look. "Actually, Dean...I think Lucy has one."

"Seriously, guys, it's. I don't need to know it."

"Shut up," Dean chuckled. "It's gonna be storytime with Uncle Dean."

"I hate listening to stories." Kat half-spat.

Dean imitated Sam's pout. "Why not? I'm a good story-teller!"

"Unless they're about something that really happened to someone who I know goes on fun adventures and stuff, I think they're boring." Kat leaned back on her hammock and pulled her bandana over her eyes.

"I'm serious...this story is good...and I'll do the alternate ending," Dean grinned evilly.

"Alternate ending?" Sam raised his eyebrows.

"Yeah," Dean nodded. "The ending where Goldilocks becomes Bear-chow."

"No." Kat protested, sulking. "Tell me something about adventure or supernatural stuffs."

Sam and Dean looked at each other, sharing a look of mutual, brotherly understanding.

"You sure you're interested?" Sam finally asked.

"I mean...Goldilocks is a lot more...lighthearted," Dean pointed out.

"I'm 23. Kid stories are not for me." Kat muttered.

"I'm 28...and I like kid stories. Especially "Green Eggs and Ham"..." Dean chuckled. "I do not like Green eggs and ham! I do not like them Sam-I-Am!"

"You may be 28...but you have the maturity of a nine year old." Sam mumbled.

"I have to have the maturity of a 23 year old." Kat said.

"Ahem! We have just as much crap to deal with as you do!" Dean laughed. "I just have more fun with it. Go immaturity!"

"You sure?" Kat raised an eyebrow. "You killed anyone lately?"

"Yeppers! Two hellhounds a few nights ago!" Dean bragged.

"I mean humans, people." Kat's voice had adopted a serious tone.

"Several, baby," Dean cracked his knuckles. "But only the rotten ones."

"Mmmhmm. Whatever you say, Deanie-baby." And Kat kissed Dean on the cheek.