Title: The Legend of Catherine's Shack

Author: Razorbackgal0225

Rating: PG-13--A little language, maybe a little somethin' somethin' later on

Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters, cars or situations from Supernatural, but I sure wish I did. Anything you recognize doesn't belong to me. The stuff you've never heard of comes from my imagination.

Author's Note: As a further disclaimer, anything having to do with the supernatural elements of this story is completely and utterly made up. I know nothing about ghosts, witches, spells or anything else. And….thanks so much for the reviews! I'm trying hard to answer them individually, but if I missed you, I appreciate anyone that takes time out to read this and leave me note. They are like Halloween candy to my soul!!!

Chapter 9

Sam was a little worried. They had gone up against a lot of stuff in their time, but not anything like this. He had never even heard of such a thing; a witch that was a ghost or a ghost that was a witch, whichever it was. He had been researching for a couple of hours now and hadn't found a single case that resembled this. He had flipped through their dad's journal before dinner and hadn't spotted the symbol on any of the pages. Now he was hitting all the usual websites, hoping to find anything that would help them. While he knew how to get rid of a spirit, the witch angle put a different spin on this, and he wanted to make sure they were approaching it the right way.

"Need any help?" Katie's question startled Sam out of his reverie. She pulled a chair over to the desk Sam had temporarily commandeered and sat next to him. "I'm an excellent page turner," she added with a teasing grin.

Sam smiled in return. He realized he had been doing that a lot since they had arrived. Katie and her family had a good affect on both him and his brother. It was nice to not worry about keeping their cover story straight around people. They could actually discuss their work and their problems in the house and not have to be concerned about anyone hearing something they shouldn't. Even with the uncertainty of this case, Sam hadn't felt this relaxed since before his dad died. "Well," he answered, "I don't think you'd be real interested in this stuff. It's pretty boring."

Katie shook her head. "This happened the last time, and I don't think it's fair. Dean's in there teaching Lilly classic rock, and you're stuck researching." She held out her hand. "So, consider me the hired help. Give me something to read."

When she didn't retract her hand, Sam laughed. "Okay, you asked for it." He reached over to a pile of dusty textbooks. He gave one to Katie, and then pulled up the picture he had downloaded to his computer for her inspection. "We're looking for this symbol. It was carved all over what we think was Catherine's room in her parents' house. I know I've seen it before, but I can't remember where. And I haven't been able to find it yet."

Katie nodded. "Meaning of the symbol. Gotcha." She opened the book, reading the title out loud as she did. "Sigils and Mythology of the Other Side. Wow, I bet you didn't pick this up at Barnes and Noble."

"It's amazing what you can find if you know where to look. Our friend Bobby gave us most of these a few months ago," he responded, going back to searching the website.

Katie flipped a few pages, skimming for anything that resembled what Sam had shown her. After a few minutes of silence, she was unable to keep her curiosity under wraps. She asked, "So you said a friend gave you this book. Does that mean he knows what ya'll do?"

"Yeah, he's a hunter too. He knew our dad he's been helping us out occasionally," Sam said rather absently as he scrolled down the page.

"There's more of you?" Katie questioned, sounding slightly shocked. When Sam threw her a confused look, she rephrased. "I mean, there are more hunters like ya'll around?"

Again, Sam felt relief at not having to lie about his and Dean's situation. "There are others, yes. More than we knew about, as it turns out. Our dad wasn't exactly forthcoming with loads of information."

Katie read a little bit more before speaking again. "If I'm being too nosey, you can tell me to shut up. I promise I won't be offended."

Sam smiled at her. "You're fine Katie. I don't mind."

Her next comment was much hesitant than the previous had been. "Dean said something last night about you having nightmares. Is that true?" She waited silently for his response.

Sam's eyes widened for a second. He was surprised that his brother had revealed as much information as he had about their family. He also didn't know how much more he wanted to share with Katie. It wasn't that he didn't trust her; but they had been burned before, if they believed Gordon. But he remembered Amanda mentioning Katie's nightmares after being kidnapped and realized why she was asking. He decided that talking about his problems wouldn't cause any more and might even help her. So he answered, "Yeah, I do have nightmares. But they aren't exactly typical; they sometimes end up coming true."

She tilted her head thoughtfully, then propped her chin on her palm, search for the symbol momentarily forgotten. "Seriously, your dreams have come true before?" her voice was a little more excited than it should have been. When Sam shook his head slightly, she added, "Oh, I guess that's not exactly a good thing."

"Not exactly," he said quietly. "Hence the term nightmare," he added, but giving her a little smile as he did.

She smiled back, blushing a little as she did. "I'm sorry. I'm still not used to all this ghost and spirit stuff. You probably think I'm a little off."

At this, Sam laughed out loud. "Are you kidding? Dean and I are practically the poster boys for weird."

"It's just," she continued, "I think it's amazing what ya'll are doing. I mean, you've basically given up normal lives to hunt down evil and save other people. There's no way I'd be brave enough to do what ya'll do. It's heroic." She bit her bottom lip and glanced back down at her book. "Sorry. Didn't mean to get all mushy and girly on you."

Sam was a little surprised. Traveling from town to town, chasing down demons and ghosts had become such a big part of his every day life that he took it for granted. Even when he had left for Stanford, all the lessons his father had drilled into him since childhood had stayed with him. So much so that he had hidden weapons in his and Jessica's house, just in case something attacked. It was strange to hear how their job appeared to other people, especially in such glowing terms. He realized that Katie was probably waiting for a response, but he didn't really know what to say.

"Thanks. It's nice to hear that every once and awhile, instead of 'you must be crazy' or 'get the hell out of our house'."

She laughed. "Well, I said that the last time, so I'm trying something new."

The pair sat in silence for several minutes, only the sounds of turning pages, clicking mouse buttons and keyboard tapping breaking the quiet. Katie had drawn her feet up underneath her and worked her way through most of her text, when she suddenly frowned.

"Hey, Sam, can I see that symbol again?" she asked.

"Sure," he clicked over to the saved picture. "Did you find it?"

Katie looked back and forth between the book and the computer a couple of times before saying, "I think so. What do you think?" she handed the book back to Sam.

Sam studied it for a minute. "Looks like it. It says it's an amplifier symbol."

"Does that mean what it sounds like? It made whatever powers she had stronger?"

"Yeah. It would concentrate her power as well, if she was trying to do something big."

"Like a magnifying glass," Katie stated. Sam nodded.

"Exactly. And I know there was something about amplifier symbols in Dad's journal." His long arm reached over the top of the computer and snagged the leather bound book from the table. Having looked through it so many times, he pretty much had it memorized. He quickly flipped to the correct page, skimming the information he found there. "Oh shit," he said under his breath when he had finished.

"What?" Katie asked nervously. "I'm guessing that wasn't a good 'Oh shit,' was it?"

"This just got a lot more complicated," he sat John's journal back down and pulled out his cell phone. "Could you do me a favor and go get Dean?" he asked as he clicked through his phone book.

"Sure," she answered, unfolding herself from her chair. She walked out of the study and down the hall to the living room. She was greeted by a singing Lilly and a dancing Amanda. Alex and Dean were sitting on the couch, feet tapping and heads nodding to the Cream song playing on the stereo. Lilly waved at Katie as she bounced around her mom, which caused Dean to glance in her direction. She gestured for him, and he immediately got up and followed her.

"Sam needs you," she said, when he was close enough.

"Did you find something?" he asked, as they headed back to the study and Sam.

"Yeah, we found the symbol. It was in one of the books that Bobby gave ya'll. It's an amplifier. Sam also found something in your dad's journal about it. Whatever it was, Sam cussed, asked for you and grabbed his phone," she summarized.

"An amplifier?" Dean repeated, stunned. "I thought those were just a myth." They re-entered the room, where Sam was talking on the phone.

"Anything else?" Sam said. He nodded at Dean as they walked in. "Okay, Bobby, if you find anything, let us know. Thanks." He flipped his phone shut and turned to face his brother and Katie.

"What's up? Did Bobby know anything more about the symbol?" Dean asked.

"Nothing good. Amplifier symbols were used by witches to strengthen any spells they were working on. Specifically cloaking spells," Sam answered, his tone making it obvious this was very bad news. Katie stood by and listened to the two men.

"Cloaking?" Dean responded, disbelievingly. "You can't be serious. We've never run across any evidence that it's possible to hide a person in plain sight. It's an urban legend."

"Dean, if Catherine was delving this deep into the dark magic even going so far as to finding an amplifier, there's no telling how strong her spirit is. It definitely explains why no one can find these couples. Her ghost is cloaking them," Sam added, his words coming faster as he took hold of his theory.

Dean snorted. "Whatever, I'll believe it when I see someone appear in front of me when they weren't there before."

"Wait a minute," Katie interrupted. "You mean Catherine is hiding this people? How is that possible?"

Sam turned to Katie and offered an explanation. "If cloaking is real, she could be altering the scenery and hiding the couples. Could even be somewhere in plain sight. Probably somewhere near the shack."

Katie frowned at his answer. "If that's true, how will we find them?"

Dean shot a look at her when she said 'we.' Katie pointedly ignored him and turned her attention back to Sam. "Well," he said, "I called Bobby. He's trying to find a ritual to take away her powers. Which we'll need anyway, to make sure that she's not controlling Sandra when we find them."

"So, what now?" Katie asked.

Dean glanced outside. "Since it's getting dark, and we don't have the right ritual, we really can't do anything now." He paused for a moment then directed his next comment to Sam. "First thing tomorrow morning, we need to find Catherine's grave." Katie opened her mouth to add something, but he cut her off. "And by we, I mean me and Sam."

Katie's teeth clicked shut and she clenched her jaw. Refusing to meet Dean's gaze, she turned her head. Sam stifled a chuckle, knowing this was about to get ugly. Suddenly feeling like a third wheel and not wanting to be in the middle of whatever was about to go down, he said, "I guess there's not much more we can do here. I know we don't have a power stripping ritual anywhere in this stuff." He pocketed his cell phone, "I'm gonna grab a shower." He quickly exited the room; glad to not be involved in this fight.

Katie was still avoiding eye contact the older Winchester when Sam left the room. Part of her knew why Dean was so insistent that she and her family shouldn't get involved, but the other part of her, the part that had been kidnapped and forced to face the existence of flat-out evil, would not allow herself to sit idly by and do nothing. After having been thrust into a life-and-death situation, she had to help. Now all she had to do was convince Dean that she shouldn't be left out. And from the set of his jaw when she finally did look at him, it wasn't going to be easy.

Dean could see in her eyes that Katie was about to start arguing with him again. Before he could formulate his response, she grabbed his wrist and took off towards the back door. He followed behind her silently, confused as to where they were going and why. She flipped on the porch light as she opened the door and walked them outside. Once they were both through the door and it was shut again, she began.

"Okay," she said, taking a deep breath. "I know that you don't want me helping you look because you're worried I could get hurt. I understand that." She saw that Dean was about to finish. "But Dean, I really think Alex and I can help, especially with the whole mystery grave location. Catherine only goes after couples, so we should be safe."

"Katie," Dean answered as calmly as he could. "We don't know what's going to happen out there. And with this whole amplifier thing, Catherine could be a lot more powerful than we originally thought. If someone is out there tramping through the woods, she could freak and go after them."

She nodded. "I thought about that, after Sam mentioned it earlier. If that was the case, and she would attack anyone in the woods, wouldn't the search-and-rescue teams have been in danger as well? And we haven't heard anything about any of them being hurt." The expression on Dean's face when she said that caused her to rush into her next point. "I'm not trying to argue with you, I promise. But after what happened before," Katie's voiced broke off a little.

Dean recognized that sound; she had made when she broke down after she had been kidnapped. Instinctively he reached out and put a hand on her shoulder. She turned to face him and he saw that her eyes had welled up, but she wasn't crying. She took a deep breath and continued. "After the whole Myers thing, I was terrified. I didn't want to be by myself; I didn't sleep; I was scared to leave the house, the whole nine yards. Dean, I can't go back to that. And if I help with this, I think it will go a long way to getting me back on track." She blinked a couple of times, ridding her eyes of tears. "Can you understand that?" she asked quietly.

Instead of answering her in words, Dean took her by the arm. He pulled gently and she took two shuffling steps towards him. He put his arms around her, drawing her into a hug. She laid her head on his chest and snuggled into his embrace. He propped his chin on top of her head and finally answered her. "I know Katie. I'm sorry darlin'," he murmured into her hair. "I'm sorry the whole thing happened."

"Don't be," came her response. "I don't necessarily understand it, but there's a reason why I'm supposed to know these thing exist. So there's no need to be sorry." She leaned away and looked up at him. "Besides, if Jacob hadn't shown up in Commerce, I would have never met ya'll." She returned to her comfortable resting place.

"Look where that got you," he snorted. "Kidnapped and threatened."

She slapped his arm playfully. "Don't say that. That's the good part of all this. That and I'm learning to be brave."

"You're brave," he answered, trying to lighten the moment. "You're out here in the dark with a wanted felon."

Katie giggled a little and rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

As it had before, the tension between the two changed. Katie suddenly remembered whose arms were around her and whose chest she was leaning against. The butterflies that had calmed over the last couple hours took up flight again and her heart started to pound. She wasn't the only one affected.

"I'm a dangerous man sweetheart," Dean answered, his normally deep voice an octave lower than normal. "There's no telling what I'll do." The hand that was resting on her back slowly moved up to her neck. Even though he knew he shouldn't, he couldn't seem to stop his next move. He tangled his fingers in her hair and tugged gently, tilting her head back. Her brown eyes that had been teary moments before were filled with something completely different now. He dipped his head, closing the gap between them.

"I guess I'd better be careful," she whispered right before his lips brushed the corner of her mouth. She sighed softly; a sound Dean took as a positive response. This time he kissed her for real, lips moving confidently over hers.

Katie couldn't believe this was happening. She had pushed all the feelings Dean evoked in her to the back burner for so long that it was a shock that this had happened so quickly. Then she stopped thinking when Dean's lips coaxed hers open and his tongue swept into her mouth. In two seconds, the sweet gentle kiss turned hot and intense. Katie ran her hands through his hair, as he pulled her body flush with his. Just as Dean's hands began to move downward, they were interrupted by a darling, but unwelcome voice.

"Aunt Katie, Momma wants to talk to you!" Lilly shouted from inside the house. Reluctantly, Katie broke off their kiss. Dean groaned his disapproval, still holding her.

"I love that girl, but her timing is lousy," she said softly. Dean chuckled and gave her a quick, scorching kiss. She smiled at him, stepped away and walked to the door.

"Hey," he said before she went in, "we will continue this later." Her answering blush made him equal parts proud and expectant. She reentered the house, leaving him on the porch alone. He spun around slowly and stared out into the now dark woods, shaking his head at himself as he did. He had not intended for this to happen, but now that it had, he didn't necessarily want it to stop. He liked Katie and could like her a lot more if he allowed it. One thing at a time Dean, he thought. First trap the witch and save the civilians. He grinned. Then the hero would get to kiss the girl.