Kate sat at the table bouncing her legs. She had chewed through the ends of her fingernails and was working on the sides.
Bobby passed her a sack of apples and a peeling knife. "Here. Peel these. You're not going to have any skin left on your hands if you keep that up."
Kate huffed but took the knife. "Why isn't he awake yet?"
"It isn't that late and he had an eventful night." Bobby said for the fifth time that morning.
Kate looked at the clock. Dean never slept in. "What if he got a concussion?"
Bobby tossed his dishtowel down and sat down in front of her. "Dean is fine. That hunt chilled him out and I promise this is the best sleep he has gotten in weeks."
"Someone should check on him." Kate said, ignoring Bobby's reassurance.
He reached over and put a hand on top of hers. "Leave him alone. Let him sleep."
Sam entered the kitchen and leaned over Kate's chair, stealing an apple. "He is fine. I just checked on him when I grabbed my clothes."
Kate, temporarily content, returned to her job of peeling apples.
Bobby put a knife down in front of Sam and told him to chop. "Don't eat them all."
With that job done, Bobby instructed Kate on how to cook the apples, adding butter and cinnamon. The kitchen soon smelt like a candle had been light.
"I have never had these before." Kate said, looking into the pot at the simmering apples.
Sam licked his lips. "Dean's favorite way to eat apples, smothered in butter and sugar."
Bobby pulled biscuits out of the oven and sat them on the counter to cool. He smacked Sam's hand away when he went to reach for one. "You can wait."
Sam pulled a face but resigned himself to waiting for Dean to wake up.
Kate did fork one of the apples and hold it over her shoulder, covertly, for him to grab.
Bobby pretended he didn't see. "Give him a minute. As soon as the smell hits the door he will roll out of bed."
Sam picked up a cutting board and dramatically fanned the steam from the apples toward the hallway.
Bobby removed the apples and placed a skillet of bacon in their place. He looked around at Sam setting the table and Kate washing up the dishes they had used. They made a good team.
A thunk was heard from upstairs and then a bleary Dean appeared in the doorway. He hadn't bothered to straighten his hair or clothes and looked a bit like a toddler who had fallen asleep in a car seat and woken up at home.
"Told you." Bobby said, pointing his fork at Sam.
Kate hugged Dean. "How do you feel?"
Dean hugged her back. "Hungry." His lip was still cracked swollen but he looked fine otherwise. The other scrapes and bruises were minor. For someone that had been thrown through a wall, he looked alright.
Bobby sat the bacon down on the table while Sam made mugs of coffee. "Alright, dig in."
Dean grabbed a biscuit and sliced it open. He poured apples on top of the open halves and leaned forward to soak in the warm cinnamon scent.
Kate copied him, assuming he knew the best way to eat them. One bite and Kate decided that cooked apples were indeed the best way to eat apples.
The kitchen was quiet as they focused on eating. Dean finally had his fill and sat back to stretch. "Thanks Bobby. I haven't had those in a while."
Bobby smirked. "I knew they'd get you out of bed before Kate, here, had a breakdown."
Kate scrunched her face. "I wasn't having a breakdown. It is called concerned."
Dean laughed. "Nothing to be concerned about. Ain't the first time I've been thrown through a wall by Casper."
Kate was not nearly as amused as the guys seemed to be. However, she was pleased with the lightheartedness radiating from Dean. "If it is so much fun, maybe next time we can go with you."
Dean made a face. "I don't know about that."
#########
With Alrek secured inside the box in John's truck, they made their way north, toward South Dakota.
John had returned from the basement, jaw twitching and knuckles busted.
Brian didn't ask.
Alrek would be imprisoned close enough that they could check in on the warding periodically but far enough away that no one would snoop around the crypt. Brian felt the weight lifting off his back ever so slightly. The demon who had been breathing down his neck was now helpless. For years, everything had been 'as soon as I catch this guy.' or 'as soon as it is safe.' He could see the light at the end of the tunnel and would finally have time to just be with Katie. Each week that passed by, deepened the pit in his stomach. A lot could happen in a year. However, a lot could also not happen and waiting until his time ran short, to tell Kate would be more damaging. Hunters had a habit of dying young but having an exact date made the thought harder to process.
John kept his eyes on the road but could feel the weight Brian was being crushed under. A motto he had learned during his time in the Corps was to 'embrace the suck.' Life was going to suck at times, a lot of the times, but you just had to embrace it and push through. He had instilled that into his boys and admitted that at times he forgot that they were still young and were individuals with their own thoughts and feelings. He knew they would be okay with out him one day but the thought of them getting hurt felt like knives piercing his heart.
#######
Dean had taken off to shower and Sam was in their room looking through his books. Bobby had went outside to do some stuff and Kate stood in the middle of the living room, unsure what to do with her time. She walked into Bobby's study and looked around, reminding herself to stay far away from any and all cursed objects. She ran her fingers along the spines of the old books, reading titles. Bobby had quite the collection of lore. On a shelf above her head, just out of her reach was another row of books. Something about that row peaked her interest and she reasoned with herself that the books were not cursed and it would be okay for her to look at them. She pulled a chair over and stood on it, reading the spines of the books. Her fingers stopped on a thick book bound in weathered suede. She had seen Bobby reading the book several times and it was always sat back in it's place. That confirmed her suspicion that the book wasn't cursed. She sat down in the chair and cracked the book open. She wasn't looking for anything specific and just leafed through the thin pages. She stopped on a page with symbols. She recognized the demon summoning sigil that her dad had copied into his journal. Her heart froze in fear. She flipped the page, trying to move away from sigils and landed on a page written in a language she didn't know. She felt herself being pulled into a dark and dangerous place. Her skin crawled and her hair stood on end. Words jumped out at her and she held them in her mind to ask Sam about later. She quickly shut the book and placed it back on the shelf. She pushed the chair back into it's normal spot and quickly left the study. She darted up the stairs, headed to her room and ran right into an immovable wall.
"Hey, kiddo slow down." Dean said, grabbing her shoulders.
She squeaked out an apology and tried to dart back by him.
He gently put his arm around her shoulder and steered her toward the room he shared with Sam. "Yeah, I don't think so. You look like you have seen a ghost."
She didn't fight him. She was frightened and hanging out in their room would help calm her down. She sat down on Sam's bed and looked around wildly. She reminded herself to steady her breath and wrapped her necklace in her hand.
Sam sat up and rubbed her back. "What happened?"
Dean shrugged his shoulders. "Don't know. Walked out of the bathroom and nearly got tackled by this one."
Kate fought back tears that threatened to spill down her cheeks. She felt silly. The book had stricken her with fear and anxiety, yet she didn't even know what it said. She felt as though she was back in the forest of her first dream and could feel the walls tightening around her.
Sam and Dean talked between themselves, giving Kate time to calm down. Sam stood up to look at a message that Dean had gotten from their dad.
Kate rocked herself lightly, humming to herself inside her head. She was at Bobby's, she was safe. She had both Sam and Dean in the room, she was safe. She wasn't in a forest being chased, she was safe. She repeated the mantra over and over to herself before being startled by Dean's loud voice.
"Kate! What are you doing?" He nearly yelled, grabbing her arm.
She startled and tried to pull her arm away and crawl farther on to the bed. She couldn't quite process the look on his face or why he was upset with her.
He pulled her back toward him and placed her in his lap, pinning her arms down.
She watched in a blur as Sam left the room and came back with the first aid kit. She watched him grab things out of the box and followed his hands down to her leg. Her eyes found the ceiling and then everything went black.
Bobby made it up the steps in record time and stood in the doorway of the room, white faced. "What happened?"
Dean shifted so that Kate was laying on Sam's bed so he could stand up. He grabbed a pen and held it up. "She was acting weird so I made her come in here, but when I turned my back she grabbed this and did that." He said, pointing to a series of four shallow cuts that ran up her leg.
"Why in the hell would she do that?" Bobby said, walking over to Kate and putting his hand on her face.
Sam cleaned the wounds out and dabbed away the moisture. The cuts were more akin to scratches but looked painful. "She jumped when Dean turned around and didn't act like she knew what was going on, and then she passed out."
Bobby spoke gently to Kate. "Kate, honey, wake up."
Kate's breathing and heart rate were in an acceptable range but she didn't respond to Bobby's voice or touch.
Dean filled Bobby in on how she had been acting when she ran up the stairs. He was kicking himself for turning his back on her when she was clearly upset. He couldn't have known such a thing would happen had done the best he could.
With no sign of Kate waking up, they decided it would be best to take her down to the couch and have at least one of them keep an eye on her. Dean took first shift and didn't move from her side for an hour. Bobby was growing concerned about him as he flinched with every twitch her body made. She didn't seem to be in distress but Dean was wound tight.
"Go for a run." Bobby said.
"No, Bobby. I have to stay here. She may wake up and be upset that I'm gone." Dean said, fear flashing in his eyes.
"Sam and I can watch her. If she wakes up we will call." He said, putting his hand on Dean's shoulder, making it clear that he wasn't asking.
Dean begrudgingly left her side and went outside for a run. Running helped him think more clearly and he knew Bobby had his best interests in mind but he wanted to be right by Kate's side when she woke up.
Sam took Dean's spot and watched her much in the same way that Dean had. Bobby stayed in the room for a little while and then had to answer the phone. Sam racked his brain for an explanation. He looked at the scratches, feeling as though, while not deliberate, the placement seemed almost purposeful. Seeing the oblivious look on her face before she passed out, Sam didn't think she had knowingly hurt herself. He placed his hand on her chest to gauge her heart rate. Her heart was beating quickly but was strong and regular. He scooted down toward her foot and looked at her ankle. If she was having some kind of episode, her bracelet would be reactive. He hovered his hand over the bracelet and could feel heat radiating from it. He got an idea and clasped his hand around her ankle. His entire body tingled from the shock but he didn't let go. Strobe light-like images flashed before his eyes. He saw tall trees and branches that whipped around with the wind. He saw dark clouds thick with rain. He heard a scream and turned, feeling his blood pool into his feet. He ripped his hand away from her and quickly lifted her from the couch and ran upstairs. He turned the shower on cold and sat on the floor of the tub holding her in his lap. Her eyes flew open and she flailed trying to escape the cold water.
Bobby swung the door open. He was rendered speechless again. He pulled Kate from the water and wrapped her in a towel. She was shivering and sputtering.
Dean breached the doorway just as Sam crawled out of the frigid water and shut the tap off.
Kate sobbed into Bobby's shirt and held on for dear life.
Sam was gasping for air and managed to croak out. "Give me a minute."
"Give you a minute? Sam, what do you mean give you a damn minute?" Dean fumed.
Sam walked by him and grabbed dry clothes from his dresser. "I mean give me a minute!" He yelled, throwing his wet shirt in Dean's face.
Dean walked out of the room and into Kate's, grabbing her a dry shirt as well. He helped her ease it over her head and towel dried her hair. "Are you alright, bug?"
Kate looked dazed but shook her head. When Sam walked back into the room, she made eye contact and then started crying again.
"You've had your minute, so talk." Bobby demanded.
Sam sat down in the floor beside Bobby and Kate and searched for the right words. "I just got a feeling that something was wrong."
"Yeah, no kidding, she carved up her own leg." Dean said, still fuming.
"Dean, man just shut up." Sam snapped back. "The charm on her ankle got hot, and I remembered what Missouri said. I grabbed it and then saw it." He said, face pale.
"Saw what, Sam?" Bobby asked.
"Just... it." He said, making a clawing motion and pointing to her leg. He barely made it to the trash can before throwing up.
Bobby picked Katie up and took her to her room. He pulled out dry bottoms and turned his back while she finished getting dressed. "Don't be mad at Sam." She said faintly.
"I'm not mad at him, Kate. I just don't know what is going on." Bobby said, wiping drops of water from her face.
Sam hugged her as tight as he could and didn't let go until she tapped his back, requesting oxygen.
"You saw it? The marks on her leg?" Dean asked, needing clarification.
Kate nodded her head. "I had another vision. It grabbed my leg and Sam showed up and then I woke up in the shower."
Dean pieced it together and held out his hand to Sam, pulling him into a hug. "You went into her dream and saved her?"
"Something like that." Sam said. He wasn't entirely sure what had happened either but knew Kate needed to snap out of it immediately. The cold water was the only thing he could think of.
Bobby wrapped a blanket around Kate's shoulders and helped her walk down the stairs to the kitchen. He put water on to boil for warm tea and turned back to face the table. "What is 'it' that you saw?" He asked Sam and Kate together.
Sam shook his head, still feeling faint.
Kate laid her head down on the table and mumbled something.
Dean sat beside her. "What was that? We couldn't hear you."
She sat up, swallowed the cotton in her mouth and looked Dean in the eye and whispered. "Canis."
##################
authors note. "Canis" is the latin word for hound, but fear not, the story isn't going to get THAT dark.