Kat sat in the Impala. Previously that morning they had received a text message containing coordinates to Rockford, Illinois. They concluded the message was from John as there had been a case involving a cop shooting his wife before turning the gun on himself after responding to a call at the Roosevelt Asylum. Such asylum has been highlighted in John's journal. After heated debate between the brothers it was decided that John wanted them to work this case. Dean obviously won. Sam and Dean had gone into the local bar to gather some extra information on the case. Dean appeared at the door; the plan was going accordingly. Dean would pretend to be a reporter and harass the officer and Sam would tell him to have some respect and throw him out. In turn lulling the officer into a false sense of security ergo telling Sam everything they needed to know.
"Hey, miss me?" Dean joined her in the car.
"Of course, I assume everything's running smoothly?" Kat shifted in the driver seat to face Dean.
"Yeah the ass kiss-ery stage is in progress" He put his hands behind his head and relaxed into the seat. Kat shifted over to rest her head on his chest. He put his arms around her. "You tired babe?"
"Yeah, a little" She snuggled closer to him. He smiled. He loved it how they could just lie there together. Forget all his troubles and responsibilities. Nothing else mattered except her. He wasn't the first person to feel this way about her.
"Katie, Katie sweetie" Jack gently shook her awake. She was lying on his chest on his couch. The plan was to watch some scary movies but Jack protested, he insisted on something happier.
"That's how good the movie was" Kat yawned and stretched.
"Come on it's getting late I'll walk you home" He kissed her and rested his head on top of hers.
" Trying to get rid of me?" She began kissing his neck, he against his better instincts tilted his head back allowing her better access. She continued upwards until she reached his ear, playfully she began to nibble on it causing him to moan. She giggled.
"I love you" He cupped her face in his hands.
"I love you too" They heard the front door open and they immediately sat up. Jack stood up and moved in front of her and took a defensive stance.
"Jack!" Jack's father came through the door. His arm was pouring with blood.
"Dad!" Jack ran over to him. Kat stared at the deep red liquid falling onto the cream carpet. The smell and sight was too much for her. She fainted.
Her eyes opened and she was lying on her own bed. She sat up and walked over to the phone. She dialled Jack's number. No answer. She walked down the stairs running her hands down the banister.
"Baby are you ok?" Her father came over and gave her a hug. He kissed her forehead.
"Yeah, I just saw the blood and I, I passed out"
"His arm was cut up pretty bad, he fell on some shattered glass on his way home from work"
"He fell on some glass?" Kat didn't buy it.
"It was dark he lost his footing and he fell" He walked into the kitchen.
"Yeah right" She said it more to herself than to him.
"Want a cup of tea?"
"Yes please"
Sam got into the car.
"So, Walter Kelly was a good cop. Head of his class, even-keeled. He had a bright future ahead of him." Kat sat up and she and Dean turned to face Sam in the backseat.
"What about at home?" Dean ran his hand up and down Kat's back. He stroked the bare flesh that her black rolling stone shirt exposed. She shivered at his touch; she always blamed it on his cold hands. He didn't have cold hands.
"He and his wife had a few fights, like everybody, but it was mostly smooth sailing. They were even talking about having kids" Kat leaned into Dean.
"All right, so, either Kelly had some deep-seated crazy way to bust out, or somethin' else did it to him" Dean wrapped his arm around Kat. She rested her head on his shoulder.
"Right. What'd Gunderson tell you about the asylum?" Sam smiled at Kat's question.
"A lot"
They approached the south wing of the Roosevelt asylum where the cops had chased the kids a few nights ago. Chains hung from the doors.
"Looks like the doors are usually chained. Could have been chained up for years" Sam held the flash light on the door handle.
"Yeah, to keep people out – or to keep something in" Kat pushed the door and it swung open. They exchanged curious glances. Dean carried his home made EMF detector as they began to search the various hallways.
" Let me know if you see any dead people, Haley Joel" Dean mocked Sam and Kat couldn't help but laugh.
"Dean, sweetie leave it" Dean chuckled.
"No, I'm serious, you've gotta be careful, all right? Ghosts are attracted to that whole ESP thing you've got goin' on"
"I told you, it's not ESP. I just have strange vibes sometimes, weird dreams"
"Yeah, whatever. Don't ask, don't tell"
"You said yourself Kat had excellent intuition"
"Yeah but she's not claiming to see dead people"
"Dean enough, you getting a reading or not?" Kat didn't like this place and wanted to leave it as soon as possible.
"Nope. Of course, it doesn't mean nobody's home" Dean smiled at her. She couldn't stay angry at him.
"Spirits can appear during certain hours of the day" Sam continued.
"And the freaks come out at night" Kat looked around at the derelict building.
"Yeah" Sam continued.
"Hey, Sam, who do you think is a hotter psychic – Patricia Arquette, Jennifer Love Hewitt, or you?" Kat hit Dean as he began to laugh hysterically.
"Stop it" She attempted to be serious but watching him laugh made her want to laugh too.
They entered another room in the south wing. On several tables stood jars preserving body parts. Several other tools used in the asylum were scattered around the room.
"Electroshock, lobotomies – they did some twisted stuff to these people." Kat shivered as she observed her surroundings.
"Kind of like my man, Jack in Cuckoo's Nest" Dean grinned wickedly, Sam rolled his eyes. Dean's smile faded.
"So, what do you think? Ghosts are possessing people?" Dean questioned them both.
"Maybe. Or maybe it's more like Amityville or the Smurl haunting" Kat moved closer to the boy's she didn't like this place.
"Yeah, spirits drivin' 'em insane. Kind of like my man Jack in The Shining" Sam still didn't lighten up. Always so serious.
"Dean…when are we gonna talk about it?" Sam stopped and turned to face Dean.
"Talk about what?" He looked over to Kat.
"About the fact that Dad's not here" Sam sounded like a teenage girl when he used that tone.
"Oh, uh, let's see, never" Dean walked past him. Kat stayed where she was. Not getting involved was the plan and it had worked so far.
" I'm being serious, man" She pretended she wasn't listening and began to examine random objects around the room.
"So am I, Sam. Look, he sent us here, he obviously wants us here. We'll just have to pick up the search later" Kat noticed a plaque on the wall.
"It doesn't matter what he wants" Sam began to get increasingly angry.
"See, that attitude right there? That is why I always get the extra cookie" Dean smirked.
"Dad could be in trouble. We should be looking for him. We deserve some answers, Dean, I mean, this is our family we're talkin' about"
"I understand that, Sam. But he's given us an order" Kat sighed another reason she disliked John.
"So, what? We've got to always follow Dad's orders?" Kat was cheering Sam on in her mind.
" Of course we do" Sam gave him an annoyed look, but they continued to look around regardless of the spat.
"Hey guy's" Kat pointed to her discovery "Chief of Staff. Sanford Ellicott, M.D. Sanford Ellicott. Looks like we need to find out if something happened in the south wing. She handed the plaque to Dean and left the room. The boy's exchanged confused glances.
Kat and Dean sat in the Impala outside the Creekview medical centre, Sam had an appointment with a psychiatrist; A doctor James Ellicott. Kat sat in the passenger seat, she was quiet and this was unusual for her.
"What's a matter?" Dean couldn't take it anymore.
"Nothing" She didn't even turn to face him.
"Kat, baby what's wrong? And don't say nothing. I know you. Something's wrong"
"It's nothing ... it's, I ... I don't like it when you guy's fight ok!" Dean was shocked by her answer he expected it to be period pains.
"What?"
"You guys are family and Sam's your little brother"
"And what are you getting at?"
"He's upset, he's going through a rough patch I just think you should be a bit more considerate"
"So I'm in the wrong?" He sounded hurt.
"No sweetie I didn't mean it like that I just, - he wants answers and revenge. He isn't going to move on until he gets them" She sighed.
"And I'm the bad guy because?" He raised his eyebrow at her.
"You're not the bad guy sweetie, you're just scared because you don't understand" She wished she had kept her mouth shut.
"I don't understand! Yeah cause I didn't lose my mother either!"
"NO! Don't twist my words" Her beautiful features twisted into anger.
"Ok then what do I not understand?" He shrugged.
"He has not only lost his mother, he's lost the love of his life. Plus he's going through some ... issues with his ... visions-" She struggled to chose her words carefully as to not start Dean off again.
"There not visions!" Too late.
"Oh yeah right, I forgot you know everything" She turned to look out the window.
"It was a coincidence ok! Nothing more ... and what do you mean I know everything?" He had never had a row with her before and he wasn't ready for it.
"Have you even talked to him about it?" She returned her voice to its normal melodically tone and folded her arms.
"I ... yeah of course I have" He knew that he hadn't.
"No I mean without the jokes and the sarcasm" She raised her eyebrows at him; she knew he was lying.
"You're lecturing me about sarcasm?" He returned her facial expression.
"See your doing it again" She gestured to him.
"What?" He sounded defensive.
"You're avoiding the situation by brushing it aside with a joke. Sweetie I know you do that because it's what you had to do. You have been responsible for Sam for most of his life and I know how much you love him, I do too; he's a great guy. You just need to show him how much you care and help him because the longer he focuses on revenge the more of himself he's going to lose" She knew from personal experience of the way John was that he was consumed by revenge and she didn't want Sam or Dean to become their father. Before Dean could respond Sam opened the back door and got in.
"South wing, that's where they housed the real hard cases; the psychotics, the criminally insane. One night in '64, they rioted, attacked staff, attacked each other"
"So the patients took over the asylum?" Kat turned to face Sam and ignore Dean.
"Apparently" He nodded and looked over to Dean, he could tell something was wrong between them.
"Any deaths?" She continued.
"Some patients, some staff. I guess it was pretty gory. Some of the bodies were never even recovered, including our Chief of Staff, Ellicott"
"never recovered" sounds ominous" Kat continued to stare out the window.
"Cops scoured every inch of the place, but I guess the patients must have…stuffed the bodies somewhere hidden" Sam looked over to Dean.
"Oh, that's grim" Dean didn't sound very interested.
"Yeah. So, they transferred all the surviving patients and shut down the hospital for good"
"All right, so, to sum it up, we've got a bunch of violent deaths and a bunch of unrecovered bodies.
"Which could mean a bunch of angry spirits" Kat finished his sentence. "Oh, good times. Let's check out the hospital tonight" They pulled away in silence.
"Let's split up" Kat stood in front of the two teenagers that they had discovered hiding in the abandoned asylum. It had revealed that the patients were not trying to hurt anyone but simply warn them about something.
"I don't think that's a good idea" Sam looked over to Dean; him and Kat were still giving one another the silent treatment.
"Sam I'm a big girl. I'll look after these guys you go find us a way out" Kat cocked the shotgun. The boys left and Kat stood in a defensive position in front of the kids, with the shotgun ready at the first sign of danger. After a long period of silence and not one single sign of a vengeful spirit Kat's phone rang.
"Dean?" Her tone was that of a child who had been told off buy their parents.
"Babe, it's me. I see it. It's comin' at me" He sounded worried and panicked.
"Dean! Where are you sweetie?" Kat forgot that she was mad at him.
"I'm in the basement. Hurry please"
" I'm on my way" She turned to face the teenagers. "Can either of you handle a shotgun?"
"What? No!" Gavin began to panic.
"I can. My dad took me skeet shooting a couple times" His girlfriend smiled at Kat.
"All right sweetie, here. it's loaded with rock salt. Now, it might not kill a spirit, but it'll repel it. So if you see something, shoot" She nodded and Kat began to sprint to the basement. By the time she arrived the sound of Sam and Dean arguing filled the otherwise empty hall.
"Sam, put the gun down" Dean's voice sounded worried and slightly amused.
"Is that an order?" Sam's was harsh with a hint of boredom.
" No, it's more of a friendly request" Kat moved closer to the door from which the argument was coming from.
"'Cause I'm gettin' pretty tired of takin' your orders" She knew there was no way that she could enter without being noticed.
"I knew it. Ellicott did somethin' to you, didn't he? Where's Kat?" A school girl smile flashed across Kat's face. No matter how mad he was at her, he could never stop caring about her.
" For once in your life, just shut your mouth!" Sam's rage was apparent and it frightened Kat.
"If you've hurt her I swear -"
"Shut up!"
" What are you gonna do, Sam? The gun's filled with rock salt. Not gonna kill me" The sound of a gun shoot startled Kat.
"No. But it'll hurt like hell" Sam sounded smug.
"Sam! We gotta burn Ellicott's bones, and all this'll be over. You'll be back to normal" Dean's voice was filled with pain.
I amnormal. I'm just tellin' the truth for the first time. I mean, why are we even here? Because you're following Dad's orders like a good little soldier? 'Cause you always do what he says without question? Are you that desperate for his approval? And the worst part is you dragged Kat into it too. She can't stand the man but for some bizarre reason she goes along with it for you. A beautiful girl like that she deserves a better life, a normal life we all do"
"This isn't you talking, Sam"
"That's the difference between you and me and her. We have minds of our own. Were not pathetic like you"
"So what are you gonna do, huh? You gonna kill me? What about Kat?" His tone implied that he knew Sam didn't have it in him to kill anyone.
"You know what? I am sick of doing what you tell me to do. We're no closer to finding Dad today than we were six months ago and you're the only one who can't see it" Sam became increasingly angry.
"Well, then, here. Let me make it easier for you. Go on. Take it. Real bullets are gonna work a hell of a lot better than rock salt. Take it!" Kat began to panic but could not find the opportune moment to interject. She assumed Dean had handed Sam a real gun. "You hate me that much? You think you could kill your own brother? Then go ahead. Pull the trigger" "Do it! ... Man, I'm not gonna give you a loaded pistol ... Sorry, Sammy" Kat kicked the door down; Sam was lying on the floor unconscious. Kat ran straight into Dean's arms.
"Oh my god I was so worried about you" She wrapped her arms around him as he kissed her forehead.
"I'm sorry" He pulled away and looked down at her. They smiled at one another.
"Me too" He pulled her closer and kissed the top of her head. Dean Winchester apologising; it must be love.
"I'm gonna go head back to the kids, will you be ok?" She knelt down to check if Sam was ok, a few bruises but nothing serious. She picked up the shotgun.
"Yeah go ahead I'll finish up here and meet you back at the exit"
"Ok" She ran back out of the door and began to return to the kids. She reached the corner. "Guy's it's me Kat don't shoot"
"Hey" They both sounded relieved that she was back.
"Can I ask you a question?" The young girl caught Kat off guard, she didn't expect them to be making small talk in this situation.
"Err ... sure"
"How did you ... get in to all this?"
"It's the family business"
"So those guys are your family?"
"Yeah sort of were not related but ... you know what it's a very long and weird story"
"Right say no more" The lights began to flicker followed by a scream of pain; Dean.
"Stay here!" Kat shouted back to them as she bolted down the corridor. She returned to the basement in time to witness Dr. Ellicott burning into a pile of ash on top of Dean. Sam stirred and sat up clutching his head.
"You're not gonna try to kill me, are you?" Dean sat up and brushed the remains of the doctor off of him.
"No" Sam looked confused and dazed; Dean and Kat exchanged smiles.
"Good cause that would be awkward" Kat ruffled his hair.
Kat lay in her rightful place in Dean's arms. They had checked into a motel room for some much needed rest. Dean's phone began to ring. Kat stirred and Dean remained still. She looked over to Sam; he was fast asleep. Kat sat up and answered the phone.
"Kat?"
"John!"