Sam made a sandwich with one slice of turkey, one slice of ham, cheese, and sour cream and onion chips crumbled inside. The chips were a hidden touch that he and Kate had discovered weeks ago. He sat it in front of her and put a pot on the stove to warm up milk for the hot chocolate. He had watched Dean make lunches and snacks for the better part of his life and it seemed fitting that the responsibility would shift. He felt a pang of guilt for not appreciating his brother's efforts until recent years.
"Sam, when do you get headaches?" Kate asked timidly.
He leaned back against the counter. "I guess it is random. Some come when I am stressed or sick but the bad ones hit out of nowhere."
Kate picked at her sandwich. She had something on her mind but didn't have the words to describe it.
Sam saw that she was uncomfortable so he continued to talk, hoping that would coax her out of her shell. "Light really bothers me when I get a bad one. Sound is bad too but I can handle that. It is like the more my head hurts, the sharper my senses get, so sometimes the smell of something will be strong enough to make me queasy, when normally it doesn't. If normal medicine doesn't help, that drink I gave you does."
The stuff had worked. Her head was sore but she didn't want to cry. "Do you have weird dreams?"
"Sure, Kate. Everyone has weird dreams. People will dream that all their teeth fall out or they went to school without pants." He said, handing her a mug.
She stared at the mug. She couldn't forget the dream she had. It had felt so real. How could she talk about it though? She was going to wind up in a looney bin, she thought.
Sam sat down across from her and watched her. She still had something on her mind. "How about you tell me what is on your mind. I wont make fun of you. Chances are I have had similar things happen."
She took a breath. She trusted Sam. "I have had bad dreams before. I had a dream about getting attacked by vampires but when the girl vampire bit me, it didn't hurt."
Sam nodded his head.
"This one felt different Sam. I could feel the cuts and bruises and claws." Her eyes welled up, remembering it.
"Maybe it felt more real because of how bad your head hurt." Sam suggested.
"Maybe. It was really scary."
The two sat in companionable silence as she finished her sandwich. Kate was absentmindedly scratching her ankle. Sam noticed and asked her what wrong, as she had nearly broken the skin.
She looked down. "I don't know. It just kind of stings."
Sam sat down beside her and lifted her foot. He went to unclasp the anklet but they both got zapped. "Whoa. That is some crazy static electricity." Kate yelped.
Sam pulled his hands back slightly and could feel heat radiating from her ankle. "Ha. Yeah, static." The shock was stronger than any static electricity he had ever felt. "Bobby, Dean. Uh can you come down here."
Bobby and Dean entered the kitchen. "What is going on, Sam?" Bobby asked.
He motioned to Kate's ankle. "The bracelet is making her skin irritated."
Dean shrugged his shoulders. "Okay, so take it off."
"Well. I can't." Sam replied.
"What do you mean you can't?" Dean asked, walking closer to them.
Sam gave Kate a smirk and she nodded her head back at him. He stood up and placed her foot down on the chair he was in. "Give it a try."
Dean rolled his eyes and knelt down to remove the bracelet. "Son of a bitch!" He exclaimed, jerking his hand back and shaking the sting from his finger tips. "Well, that is new."
Kate bent forward to rub the sting from her skin and the guys traded an array of glances and gestures, having a silent conversation over her head. "Is someone going to loop me in? Just because I can't hear you doesn't mean I can't see shadows."
"I regret training you." Dean stated in a teasing tone.
"Sam, you said that thing is supposed to protect her, but from what?" Bobby asked, looking more closely at the pendant.
"Dad didn't say." Sam answered.
"Missouri has a necklace like this." Kate added.
"How do you know?" Dean asked.
She sighed. "I remembered it this morning."
'Balls.' Bobby thought to himself. "I'll get her on the phone."
She picked up right away. "Hi there Bobby. I figured one of you boys would call back."
"You do have a way of doing that. We have a few new things to run by you." Bobby always got flustered with Missouri and he stumbled with his words.
"What kind of things?" She asked.
"My bracelet shocks people!" Katie exclaimed.
"Oh dear, you must be Katie. I have been looking forward to talking to you." Said Missouri enthusiastically.
"Kate's head seems to be feeling better but she's thrown us for a loop today. Katie, tell Missouri about that dream." Bobby said.
Kate retold the story exactly as she had before. Her heartbeat raced and her palms got clammy as she stepped back into the nightmare.
Missouri listened intently and asked questions throughout. "I have a theory but I don't know how much to say."
"Just say it. She is going to dig until she finds out anyway." Dean said, nudging Kate's arm.
"Well, it sounds like Miss Kate had a vision." Missouri stated bluntly.
"Ah great now she's psychic?" Dean sounded exasperated.
Missouri chuckled. "Not necessarily Dean. I would need time to chat with Katie before I could make that sort of claim."
"Can I move stuff with my mind?!" Katie squeaked.
"Slow down there, sweetie. Visions can mean a whole lot of different things." Missouri said with a smile.
"So if I had a vision, was I seeing the future?" Katie asked, her voice breaking. She felt scared and started shaking. Did that mean ghost dogs were real?
Missouri reassured her that visions come in different forms. Some are glimpses at the future but others are one's mind subconsciously searching for something. Some are a version of the future but do not mean that version is reality. "Don't let that scare you too much. Think of it as a bad dream but instead of watching a movie, you are an actress in a play."
"What about the bracelet?" Sam asked.
"It protects the wearer from negative forces and ill wishes. It probably overcharged during her dream and sees you boys as a threat. Mine grows hot in the presence of certain forces." Missouri answered.
Kate let tears drop down her face. "Mine is hot, does that mean I'm in danger? Bobby's house is warded. Am I still safe?" She said in between gasps for air.
"Breathe Kate. Deep breaths. You are having a panic attack." Came Dean's voice through her fog of panic.
"Kate. Listen, sweetie. That vision was powerful. It is like a firecracker going off. The initial blast is big and easy to see, but the smoke sticks around for a bit. It doesn't mean anything is there with you now. Your charm is just doing it's job. You remembering me broke down a wall. That is why the charm wasn't active before." Missouri said in a soothing voice, trying to comfort the girl. "I'll show you a cool trick." She held her own pendant and closed her eyes.
Kate smiled. "It tingles."
"These pendants are connected in a way. I can share feelings with you that way, that I wouldn't be able to if you weren't wearing it. So if you are scared or sad, just hold it and I'll know you need a phone call." Missouri still had questions as to why the girl had received the gift of visions but would be calling John and Brian next. "You are going to be just fine. We still have a lot to figure out but you are the safest kid I know right now. You can relax."
Kate did feel safe. If something made it through the perimeter warding, it would run right into a house full of hunters. The vision scared her but maybe it wasn't a glimpse into the future. If her brain was searching for something, she was sure it was ghost dogs. "Thank you, Missouri. I feel a lot better."
They ended the call with Missouri and Sam dove into the books. Bobby made a few calls and Dean stayed with Katie.
"You are a pretty brave kid." Dean said
Katie looked up. "I don't feel brave. I was really scared and ran."
Dean smiled and pointed at his slightly puffy cheek. "You may have ran in the dream but you fought back on this side. I grabbed your shoulders and you punched me."
She grimaced. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to."
"It's alright, kid. I am just glad you are okay."
She was in deep thought for a few minutes. In the dream she had panicked and didn't know where she was. She ran blindly and had nothing to protect herself. In reality, she had her knife and was always at Bobby's house on paths she knew well. All of these things helped tether her to reality. However, she never wanted to feel helpless again. "Can you show me some more self defense stuff? In my dream I ran until I tripped, then I couldn't do anything to fight back."
Dean was leery of training since she was still shaken but figured he would indulge her. "Sure, but I'm not letting you punch me again." He said with a smile.
Kate smiled back. "Don't tempt me."
#############
Sam lost track of what he was reading. He thought about his conversation with Kate. When Sam got migraines, he often times had dreams as well. He had vivid dreams that he could explore sometimes. He had a recurring dream when he was Kate's age that became more detailed each night. His dream had been a memory. One night he had the dream and realized that it was a dream.
He and Dean had been left in a motel room for a few days. Sam had gotten sick of the room when Dean was out getting food. He left and walked down the street. There were houses on both sides and a park with a water fountain in the middle. He sat down on a bench and enjoyed the view. Dean had gotten to the room and found Sam's scribbled note. 'going to the park'. An elderly lady approached Sam and asked why he as alone. Sam chatted happily with the nice woman until he felt a hand on his wrist, yanking him off the bench. He had argued with Dean and fought him as Dean ran, dragging Sam behind him. Dean caught his side on a tree branch in the struggle but didn't stop running until they made it to the room and slammed the door behind them. Dean scrambled to fix the salt lines and catch his breath. Sam hadn't realized the woman was possessed until Dean moved the shade's out of the way to show Sam that they had been followed and her eyes were solid black.
That was one of their first arguments and Dean's first cut that required stitches. Dean was only 11 so he couldn't go to the ER so they packed the wound and used duct tape to secure it. Sam had horrible guilt over the incident and often relived the event when he fell asleep. The dream got more realistic over time and that is when he realized he could change things in the dream. He chose a different path, stayed in the room, went with Dean and no matter what, Dean always wound up slamming the door and tending to his wounded side.
A few other times, he had dreams in which he could pick things up and feel things. He never told Dean or his dad because he feared they would make fun of him or think he was crazy. The conversation with Kate and Missouri raised numerous questions about himself.
Bobby looked over at a rather distraught Sam as he walked into the room. "You okay over there, son?"
Sam jumped, he had not heard Bobby approach. "Yeah, totally good. Why?"
Bobby raised a brow. "Well for one you just jumped a foot in the air when I spoke to you and two you have been on the same page for quite a while and look like someone kicked your dog."
Sam rubbed his face. His thoughts were racing and he couldn't make sense of anything. "Bobby, I think I need to tell you something."
Bobby sat down beside him and listened as Sam spoke.
"So you think you have had visions like Kate's?" Bobby finally said when Sam took a breath.
Sam shrugged. "I don't know, Bobby. I just know that I started connecting dots when Missouri was explaining things to Kate."
Bobby took a deep breath and scratched the back of his head. "I think we all need to sit down and have a long talk, Brian and John included. More questions are being raised than answers and you and Kate sure do have a lot in common."
Both of their moms had died in a nursery fire caused by a demon and they both had some kind of power that showed itself during dreams. Sam had questions for John. His dad was cryptic and he was certain he knew some things he hadn't shared.
Bobby pulled out his phone and sent a coded message to John. He put the phone back in his pocket and put his elbows on the table. Weeks ago he had felt too old to handle the chaos of a kid with the chaos of Sam and Dean. He was worried about her being hyper and having to manage typical kid stuff. He had done fine and found that it wasn't that much extra work. However, as he sat looking at Sam he felt himself age. Of all the things he was too old for, this mess for sure took the cake.