Sorry this has been so long coming! This part of the story is proving a bit harder to write than I expected. I hope you enjoy it, and I'm going to really try to get another part out this weekend to make up for the long time between postings.
Kate looked down at her watch, and seeing it had passed 5 PM, she realized she should probably be thinking about heading home if she was going to follow her usual routine. She didn't want to disturb Dean who didn't seem the least bit tired. A full day's work followed by the shotgun lesson had left her feeling rather worn out, especially since she hadn't slept that well the night before. She was going to be hard pressed to even find the energy to cook herself dinner. She hated to do it, but right now fast food was sounding really good. Even if all the calories would go right to her hips.
Sam had wrapped things up, and she watched as he disassembled his weapon and cleaned it. She didn't like the idea of slipping away without saying good-bye to Dean, but at the very least she could say good-bye to Sam and ask him to pass a message to his brother. Kate approached him cautiously, her hands thrust deep within the pockets of her pants. His ear protection was lying on the small counter in front of him, so she knew he would be able to hear her.
"Hey Sam, I really need to get going. Can you tell Dean "thanks" from me? If he thinks I need another lesson, I can meet you guys here tomorrow. He should just give me a call tomorrow while I'm at work."
Sam whipped around to face Kate who looked like she was ready to bolt. Her shorter strands of hair had come loose from her ponytail, and framed her face with curls. He imagined she probably wanted nothing more than dinner and a hot shower, and here his brother was, rather rudely ignoring her.
"Kate, don't you go anywhere," he said, indicating she shouldn't run off, and he decided to take the risk of interrupting Dean.
He sauntered over softly, but any noise he made was easily muffled by the sounds of gunfire. Just as Dean was about to pop in another clip, Sam moved the protection covering his left ear, and shouted, "Dean, your girlfriend's about to leave," knowing his use of the word "girlfriend" would rankle his bother. Sam didn't often get the chance to screw with Dean, so when he got his opportunities, he took them.
Dean shot his brother a dirty look, but truthfully he was glad for interruption. He'd simply lost track of the time, and didn't want Kate to take off without at least making plans for tomorrow. He quickly removed the clip from his weapon and checked the chamber to make sure it was clear before handing it to Sam to take care of.
"Kate, I'm sorry I got kinda caught up in things," he apologized.
"Yeah, I noticed," she quickly replied. "But it's OK really. Watching you was a good thing. I learned a lot just doing that."
"You did good, Kate. Especially for newbie," he praised her, knowing that would keep her motivated. A quick check of his watch told him it wasn't that late. He was a bit surprised she had to run off. "Do you have to go?"
Kate could tell his query was sincere; clearly he had no idea when her day had started. "Dean, it's been a long day. I got to work at 4 AM, and I worked nearly twelve hours, and then I came here. Right now I just want dinner, a hot shower, and my bed. Preferably in that order," she concluded with a small smile.
He could see her point. He had not realized the hours that she put in at the bakery, and he chided himself for being so callous. He had been hoping that after their lesson they could hang out a bit. Dean was more than aware that he still had some apologizing to do.
"Hey, why don't we just grab something to eat together?" he suggested.
Kate tried to coolly assess what Dean had just said. It wasn't clear to her if he meant for her to join the Winchesters or if he meant just the two of them. "Dean, did you just ask me on a date?" she wondered aloud, astounded he'd even make the suggestion. She didn't know him that well, but she knew him well enough to know that Dean was not the kind of guy who went on dates. At least not conventional ones.
"I guess," he replied. "But if it will make you feel better I'll let you pay."
"I'll agree to that," Kate answered calmly, all the while her heart was hammering. She really wished she had more experience with this sort of thing because just she didn't want to come across that she was too eager or even desperate. "But I get to pick the place," she counteroffered.
"Done," he agreed, his eyes smiling even if he didn't dare do so with his lips.
Sam tried to watch their whole interaction like he was a disinterested observer. The two of them were like two animals circling each other trying to take each other's measure before pouncing. The ironic thing was that BOTH of them wanted to be the one pounced on, except neither would admit that. They had probably forgotten that he was in the same room as them. He couldn't resist interjecting, "So does this mean I get the Impala again for the night?"
His brother's question made Dean realize that perhaps he had not thought his plan through as well as he thought he had. He didn't want to give his baby up again, especially considering the make-out opportunities it afforded. But he also couldn't leave Sam stranded without a ride, and he doubted Kate would hand her keys to a guy she barely knew. And if he told Sam he could have the car for the night, it implied that he expected to spend the night. At this point, that was more than a little bit presumptuous.
Reluctantly, Dean replied, "I'll call you if I need a ride later, Sam. Just don't wander too far from your phone."
"Sure, Dean," Sam answered nodding that he understood, although he was pretty certain his phone would stay silent that night. He bid Kate a quick good-bye, and told her he trusted her to not take Dean to a place he'd get food poisoning, which earned him a laugh. From her response it seemed that she was willing to forgive them both. If she and Dean had any chance of a future together, Sam had a feeling that her ability forgive would be sorely tested. He drove off, hoping for the best for the two of them.
The moment Dean took a seat in the front seat on the passenger's side of the car, Kate was forced to suppress a giggle because it was immediately apparent how out of his element he was. He looked around her car as though he almost expected it to bite him. She turned the key, and immediately the car began to beep, indicating something was wrong. She looked over at Dean, who was looking a bit shell shocked that he was actually sitting in a compact car, and realized the reason for the noise. He'd forgotten his seat belt.
"Buckle up, Dean or my car won't shut up," she informed him, and he quickly grabbed the belt and strapped himself in. The whining mercifully ceased to both their intense reliefs.
"Sorry about that," she apologized with a slight shrug. "It's a safety thing." Out of habit, she reached over to turn on the radio, and immediately the sound of electronic dance music filled the car. She had left the radio tuned to her favorite top 40 station, and Dean looked like he could not believe what he was hearing.
He reached for dial, only to have his hand slapped away.
"Driver picks the music," Kate said. "I thought everyone knew that."
Chagrined, he pulled his hand back and leaned back into the seat, adjusting it to his liking. At least her car had plenty of leg room in the front. He never would have thought it to look at it though. Sam had to be laughing his ass off knowing that he was stuck in a car that embodied almost everything he hated about newer cars. The only way it could be worse was if it was a Volkswagen Bug.
"You like this stuff?" he asked, gesturing towards the radio.
"Yeah, it's fun to listen to."
"But what about the other night? I thought you liked GOOD music," he said with a slight sneer.
Kate turned toward Dean as she prepared to back out. Looking past him to get a better view behind her she replied with mock sincerity, "I didn't know it was impossible to like both. I'll have to take that under advisement."
There was no way he could possibly win this argument, so he resolved to just put up with it until they got where she was taking them. As they pulled out of the parking lot, she took pity on him and told him he could change the station to whatever he liked. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him brighten up right away, and he soon found what he was looking for. The iconic groove of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love" poured through the speakers.
"Now, THAT's music!" Dean exclaimed, unable to resist air drumming along. Dean seemed so darned happy, Kate couldn't resist smiling as well. It was like he didn't have a care in the world. She was well aware that was far from the case, but it was good to see him let his metaphorical hair down.
As the song drew to a close, Dean inquired, "So where are we headed?"
"You'll see," came Kate's enigmatic reply, keeping her eyes steadily focused on the road in front of her. If she looked at him, it might be impossible to keep him in suspense.
Their destination wasn't far off, and within a few minutes they were pulling into a familiar looking parking lot. It looked a bit different in the daylight, the red neon sign barely visible. The cars were also few and far between. Dean didn't even think this place served food.
Seeing his confused expression, Kate chimed in, "Dean, things can change in nearly five years. I promise the food's good. And I can guarantee they have good desserts."
With that assurance, Dean felt much better, but it did feel weird to be back at Lucky's. From the moment they entered the place, Dean noted the changes. The décor had been updated, but it was still rustic. The pool tables were now in the back instead of out front, leaving space for the tables. The bar was in the same place though, and it looked like the same guy was behind it.
He looked up from the glasses he was cleaning, and gave Kate a friendly wave. She waved right back, and the man came out from behind the bar to greet them.
"Hey there, Kate. It's been too long since you've been here for something other than business," he said warmly to her before he trained his eyes on Dean. The man peered at him from over his half-spectacles, and soon enough Dean saw his eyes spark with memory. He turned back toward Kate and continued, "So he finally came back."
"Henry, leave the poor guy alone," she replied. "His name is Dean Winchester, and we're here for dinner," she concluded firmly, almost daring the bartender to say something. He grumbled a bit under his breath, but he showed them to a table nonetheless, and seemingly evaporated just as quickly, returning to his post behind the bar.
"If I didn't know better, I'd swear that guy was your dad," said Dean, keeping his voice low so he couldn't overhear them.
"Henry?" she replied, wrinkling her brow and quirking the corners of her mouth. "He's just been here forever, and knows pretty much everyone in town at this point. He sees me all the time making deliveries. He's just being overly concerned for my welfare."
"Any reason why he'd do that?" Dean asked seriously. When he saw Kate blanch slightly, it was obvious there was a story there, but he wasn't going to push it.
Kate really did not want to have a conversation about this right now. This supposed to be a date, and she did not want to spend it going over things she'd rather keep in the past. She tried to make light of it, saying that he didn't want anything to happen to his dessert supplier, but she was pretty sure Dean did not buy that explanation.
Their waitress materialized soon enough and dropped off menus and took their drink orders. She got her usual, seltzer with lemon, and Dean got a beer. "No martini?" he kidded her.
"Not on a school night, Dean," she returned, starting to relax again. It was surprisingly easy to do with Dean, which was not how she usually felt around men. Most of her first dates had actually been pretty disastrous, with the guys usually making it clear they didn't find her attractive and that there would be no second date.
There wasn't much in the way of conversation as they both checked out the menu. Dean briefly asked what was good, and she had given the very infuriating reply of "everything". But other than that the two of them pondered the menus in silence. Since it was still early and a Monday night, they virtually had the place to themselves aside from a couple of regulars hunkered over by the bar. Their beverages arrived quickly and efficiently, and then the waitress posed the dreaded question: what did they want?
As a guy, Dean had no idea how fraught with panic that question could make a woman on a date. She knew he probably couldn't care less what she ate, but women always imagined that men analyzed their choices. The familiar rules echoed in her head: no pasta with red sauce, nothing with too much garlic, nothing too fattening. She didn't want to order a salad either; it was such a typical "girly" choice, and it practically screamed "I'm watching my weight".
To stall for time, Kate said, "You can go first," her eyes still wracking the menu like she had no idea what to order.
Dean saw Kate's wrinkled brow and wondered why the hell she was having such a hard time making a choice. After all, she had picked the place! Going with his usual, he ordered a bacon cheeseburger with fries. That was usually always a safe thing to order.
Kate's ears pricked up when she heard Dean's order. It actually sounded really delicious, and she knew that Lucky's did make a great burger. She just rarely indulged in one. In fact she couldn't remember the last time she'd had one.
"I'll have the same," she stated. And if she was going to have a burger, she might as well really indulge. "But I'd like onion rings instead of fries. Is that OK?" she asked.
The waitress nodded, indicating it wasn't an issue, and then she took off for the kitchen to put the order in, leaving the couple alone.
Now came the hard part. Making cute conversation had never been easy for Kate, and she didn't think Dean would be one to engage in it anyway. Although they had been as physically close as two people could get, she really knew quite little about him. She wanted to know more, but also she wanted to respect his privacy. There were certainly areas of her personal life she considered off limits.
She was relieved when Dean got the ball rolling. "So how exactly did you end up opening a bakery? It's like your life just took a big left turn from where it was going," he asked, very much interested in what she had to say for herself. From what he'd seen, he would have thought she would have wanted to get as far away from this place as possible.
"Yeah, you could say that. If you'd asked me at the end of high school what I expected to be doing with my life in my thirties, this certainly wasn't it," she reflected. "I was supposed to be making big money on the commodities exchange in Chicago or maybe even on Wall Street in New York. And yet here I am, a baker, with very little in the way of regrets."
It wasn't hard to picture her with shorter, more stylish haircut, rocking a power suit. "So what the hell happened?"
Kate thought about it for a second, and simply stated, "Life happened." Dean clearly was looking for more of an explanation than that so she went on, "I needed a summer job after my first year of college, and my mom told me that Morton Vinyl was looking for interns. Normally they hired kids in their junior of senior years, but she thought I might have a shot because I was pretty well known around town for being super brainy."
She went on, telling him how thrilled she had been at landing the job for the summer. It turned out to be great learning experience, and she came back the next couple of years because she had genuinely liked it. During her final year in college, she'd gotten job offers from a few places including Morton Vinyl. In the end, she picked Morton's because her mom reminded her that she could save a lot of money by living at home. It had been a good, safe choice, and she figured after a couple of years she could go back to school to get a master's degree in finance or go somewhere else.
As it turned out, she had grown to embrace her very safe, and in many ways unchallenging job, feeling it was all she deserved. When she saw Dean's perplexed look, she explained, "I gained a lot of weight in college, Dean. I was never thin to begin with, and I was really socially awkward. People thought I was a hick, and weren't afraid to call me that to my face. After a while, I just stopped trying to fit in and stayed in my dorm room eating Cheez-Its."
Genuinely embarrassed about how she looked, she hadn't wanted to venture away from home; assuming she'd be judged harshly based on her appearance. At least in Clearwater, she'd grown up with the people, and she had never been popular here to begin with. Things started to change though, about a year or so before she met Dean. Sick of being alone, and figuring the clock was ticking if she was ever going to get a boyfriend, she started watching what she ate, and working out a bit. It wasn't anything crazy, but the extra pounds from college came off, along with a bit extra, making her smaller than she'd been since middle school.
"That was when I discovered how much living in a small town really sucks," she said, frowning at the memory. "People pretty much had a set picture of me, so it didn't really matter I looked different. I would always be the smart chubby chick who everyone thought was a huge nerd in high school. Throw in my mom being the town librarian, and I pretty much had no shot at meeting anyone."
Dean could see how that could happen. He'd grown up in a lot of small towns, and he and Sam had always been labeled wherever they had gone. He had been the bad kid who always got into trouble while Sam had been the nerdy new kid. On some level he could understand it, after all he still had a hard time treating Sam like he was a grown man who could take care of himself. But Kate was an objectively attractive woman, how could they be so blind? It was their loss.
"How'd you get into baking though? That's where I really get lost. I can totally picture you behind a desk ordering people around, but baking cookies pretty much 180 degrees from that."
"I can see how that doesn't make much sense. But once again, it all goes back to my mom," she admitted.
"She must have been a good baker," Dean quite understandably assumed, only to be greeted by Kate's laughter.
"Far from it," she said with a smile. "My mom HATED to bake. When she did it, it was always using a mix. I knew kids at school whose moms all made stuff from scratch, and I asked my mom why she didn't." Looking back on it, Kate was lucky her mom hadn't hit the roof. Her mom worked hard enough as it was to provide for them. The last thing she needed to do in her spare time was to make cupcakes. "She told me she didn't like how fussy it was, but if I wanted to try it she would bring me a cookbook back from the library. Things just took off from there."
The next day Kate had copied out recipes that looked interesting, and one by one would try them out. Like any beginner, she had her share of disasters, but she learned from them, and didn't let them frustrate her. She quickly learned how to tell a good recipe from a bad one, and slowly but surely she began to master basic baking skills. When she successfully made a traditional buttercream frosting from scratch, she had been amazed at how much tastier it was from what up until then she thought buttercream frosting tasted like. It completely reversed her opinion of frosting overnight.
She started bringing in her treats to school when her mom insisted that the two of them couldn't eat everything she was making. She contributed to bake sales, and sometimes she just brought things into homeroom. Kids may not have wanted to be her friend or even hang out with her, but they were more than happy to scarf down free goodies. Her mom realized Kate's hobby wasn't going anywhere, and eventually she bought her a Kitchen-Aid mixer as a birthday gift, and to this day she considered it her favorite present.
"So you learned how to bake just from cookbooks?" replied a slightly astonished Dean. "No lessons or anything?"
"I watched cooking shows too," Kate admitted. "But mostly I learned from doing. I'm just lucky I'm good at something I love."
There was a time when Dean could have said the same thing about being a hunter. There was no doubt he was good at his job. However, he'd ceased to love it long ago. Sure, there were time he found some measure of pride in stopping the Apocalypse and the leviathans, but he'd lost so much in the process. He had not truly gotten any satisfaction from being a hunter since Sam had died in his arms after being stabbed in the back. That moment had changed everything for him, and his life had largely been a downward spiral from there with few moments of peace or happiness to speak of.
Before he could engage Kate in conversation again, their food arrived, and it smelled fantastic. The waitress was well prepared, bringing along ketchup, and what looked like a little cup of mayonnaise, which she placed next to Kate's plate.
"Oh my goodness, thank you!" she gushed, thrilled that she had not even had to ask for it. Hopefully Dean would not be too weirded out that she liked ketchup AND mayo on her burger.
"No problem," the young woman replied, and then she left them to their meals.
Dean noted that Kate cut her burger in two to make eating it slightly less messy; but he was glad to see she took a big first bite. She quickly followed that up with a bite of one of the onion rings. She clearly was not the kind of woman who picked at her food. But for some reason, she seemed very interested in how he was eating his fries.
"You want one?" he offered, figuring that was what she wanted.
Oh Christ, he had caught her staring at him again! It had always been one of her personal pet peeves when guys would squeeze ketchup all over their fries and then eat them. "No thanks, Dean. I have plenty on my own plate."
"Then why the fascination with my fries?"
Seeing there was no other choice but to admit to Dean yet another of her quirks she quickly fessed up. "I just wanted to see if you eat them the right way, that's all. You're a dunker, like me."
"So let me get this straight, you don't think that pop music is terrible, but you do think there's a right way to eat French fries?" Dean asked, genuinely amused.
"Dean, I am well aware that I am not exactly normal. There's a reason I've never gone on many dates."
"If it makes you feel better, neither have I," he casually threw out, however Dean now understood their circumstances had been slightly different. He hadn't needed or wanted to date.
Unable to control her curiosity any longer she asked him, "Have you ever had a girlfriend, Dean?" When he didn't answer right away she backed off. "Forget I even asked. You don't have to answer that. It's not really any of my business."
Feeling embarrassed for being so completely tactless, she stared down at her plate, hoping he'd just say SOMETHING to end the awkward silence. Instead, Dean reached across the small table and quirked her chin up, forcing her to look him in the eyes.
"I did, once. We lived together for almost a year," speaking about something Dean had barely even discussed with his own brother. Kate deserved to know that he wasn't exactly the same man she had met four years prior. That Dean had never been with a woman for more than a couple of weeks. If she was able to reveal uncomfortable things about herself, he should be able to do the same. He admired her ability to make herself vulnerable to him.
"And then I had to go back to hunting, and it was over."
Kate did her best to take the news in stride and not over react, although it was difficult not to. The fact that Dean had been with a woman for year was proof he was capable of commitment, and he pretty much admitted that it was his job that came between them.
"Then why go back, Dean? Why go back to something that took you away from a person you cared about? I don't understand why you couldn't just continue living a normal, less dangerous life."
So there it was. The question he had dreaded her asking. It wasn't something he particularly wanted to discuss with her, at least not yet. They really didn't know each other well enough for him to get into everything that happened to his mom, his dad, and Sam. However, it did occur to him that perhaps the best way to approach her question was to ask one of his own.
"Would you be able to just walk away from what you do?" he asked, and seeing her shake her head in the negative, he continued. "I did, and I came to realize the life I had with Lisa was a fraud. It wasn't me. I'm not a mechanic; I'm a hunter. And I will be until the day it kills me for good."