A loud grunt was heard from the living room followed by shuffling. Dean appeared in the doorway squinting his eyes. "Coffee."
Bobby poured him a cup and handed it over.
Dean rubbed the kinks from his neck and plopped down in a chair beside John. He made a mental note not to sleep on the couch again.
"Rough night?" John asked with a smirk.
Dean held his hand up and pointed to his mug. He held it up to his face and sipped the steaming liquid, letting it wake his brain up. He remembered watching a movie and then woke up to the sun coming up.
"Did she have any issues last night?" Brian asked.
Dean shook his head. "Didn't hear a peep from her after she fell asleep." He felt the coffee hitting his blood stream and stretched. "Breakfast?"
John smacked the back of his head.
Dean jerked away and rubbed his head. "Breakfast please?" He said, side eyeing John.
Bobby chuckled. "Are you hung over?"
Dean groaned and sipped his coffee. "Without the booze."
Bobby rambled around the kitchen and whipped up breakfast for the lot. As he suspected, the smell of bacon woke Sam and Kate up and they soon heard more shuffling.
Sam looked about like Dean did.
Kate was bright eyed and bushy tailed. She ran and hugged her dad around the neck and kissed his cheek. She skipped over to Bobby and offered to help him with breakfast.
Brian watched as Kate and Bobby worked as a team. It obviously wasn't the first time she had helped him. He handed her a knife to cut fruit and she handled it like a seasoned pro. Brian felt guilty for how much he had missed. He hadn't taken the time to teach her more than the minimum and seeing how capable she was made his heart ache.
Kate's mood stayed upbeat as she chattered through breakfast and helping clean up. She ran up the stairs to start her chores and stopped at the top to sigh deeply. Her shoulders slumped and her face fell.
"You know you don't have to hide that you are sad." Sam said from behind her.
She spun around and gave him a shaky smile. "I'm okay."
Sam sat down next to the wall and motioned for her to do the same. "You can only keep up the charade so long before it crashes down."
Kate pulled her knees to her. "I have to stay strong. Me being emotional doesn't help."
"All of this is scary and unfair. You are allowed to be angry, sad, hurt, scared or anything else you might feel. Pretending you aren't only hurts you. It would be pretty weird if you were totally okay after hearing news like that." Sam said gently.
Kate let a tear slip. "I am all of those things. I hate this."
"I know. So, stop hiding it."
"After.. when... when my dad is gone, Bobby said I could live here." She said quietly.
"Of course. I think Bobby would kid nap you if you tried to live anywhere else." He said with a small smile.
Kate rolled her eyes. "I just don't want to be in the way."
"You aren't. I used to feel like that too sometimes."
Kate pressed her head back against the wall and blinked the tears away. "I'm scared."
He grabbed her hand and squeezed it in his. "You aren't alone."
They sat quietly for a while until Kate steadied herself.
"Just so you know, Dean is pretty worried about you. I know from experience that in times like this, he is a total pushover. So, if you have anything you want from him, now is the time to ask." Sam said with a smirk.
Kate giggled quietly. "Think he'd let me drive baby on the road?"
Sam cringed. "Okay, anything but that."
Kate drummed her fingers on the floor and thought. Baby was off the table but there was a really cool looking gun she wanted to get her hands on. She also wanted to know what was in that yellow house and while she didn't get her hopes up, she was determined to convince him anyway.
"Everything okay up here?" John asked from the middle of the stairs.
Kate wiped her eyes. "Yes. Sam was just helping me."
He walked into Sam and Dean's room and grabbed his journal. "Okay. You two come back downstairs when you're ready."
Sam helped Kate finish up her chores and walked back down to find the others.
John had his journal laid out on the table and Dean was reading the notes he had made. There were reports of vampire like killings nearby and John suspected there was a nest in one of the abandoned buildings in the area. He turned and looked at Kate. "I need to borrow the boys for a few hours." He said with a wink.
Kate felt uneasy. She didn't want them to go anywhere. It wasn't that she didn't want to be alone with Brian, but that with Sam and Dean gone, she couldn't avoid thinking about the deal. "Okay." She said quietly and sat down beside Dean.
"They'll be back before you know it. We just need to take care of this during the daytime." John said softly.
Kate looked up at Brian and sighed when he nodded his head in agreeance. "Just hurry back. I want to shoot Dean's gun he just got."
Dean raised a brow. "I never said you could."
She turned and looked at him with sad puppy eyes. "I just thought that you'd maybe let me since I'll be gone in a few days."
Dean sat forward and put a hand on her back. "Oh, yeah, of course, yeah. I'll take you out to practice when we get back."
John hid a smirk with his hand. She was playing him like a fiddle and judging by the glance she shot Sam, he had a suspicion as to where she got the idea. "We may even be back by lunch time."
Kate shrugged her shoulders and listened as they discussed the details of the hunt. She was fascinated with John's ability to lay out a game plan. He thought of every angle and possible issue. She felt a bit better knowing the plan. She didn't think John would take Sam and Dean into a hunt without being confident that they would remain safe. This was Sam's first big hunt and she was excited for him. "When can I go on hunts like that?" She asked no one in particular.
"When you're 40." Dean answered.
She scrunched her face. "You always say stuff like that." Hunting was scary but it is what all the people she loved did. She just assumed she would follow in their foot steps.
Brian bit his lip. He didn't want that life for her. He wanted her to go to school and lead a normal life. He wouldn't be around to make sure she went down a different path and that was one of his regrets.
Kate looked at the diagram John had drawn. "You're going to need snacks."
John chuckled. "Snacks?"
"Yeah. Water and snacks. You don't know for sure how long you will be waiting and it is always good to have water on hand. You have a first aid kit but water is essential too." She said as she gathered the items she thought they needed.
John smirked and looked at Dean.
Dean shrugged his shoulders. "She has a point."
"Alright, water and snacks it is." John said, grabbing a bag for Kate.
She thought for a moment. "Did you charge your phone last night?" She said, looking at Dean.
Dean pulled out his phone. He hadn't. He grabbed his charger and plugged the phone in.
Satisfied, she sat back down.
"I wasn't aware you were a pro at this." John said.
"I'm not. Dean gets grumpy when he is hungry and needs his phone so I know everyone is okay."
"She has a point." John said, smirking at a rather offended Dean.
"You can't ever just be nice." Dean said, ruffling Kate's hair.
She smiled and hugged him. "Nope."
John and Dean went outside to check supplies and Sam and Bobby made sure the weapons were good to go.
Kate sat across from Brian and chewed her fingers.
Brian felt painfully, like an outsider. "You remind me of your mom."
"Really?" Kate asked.
"Yeah. She was tiny but fierce. She didn't put up with crap from anyone but would give the shirt off her back to someone in need." He smiled sadly.
Kate had heard stories about her mom but Brian mainly avoided talking about her. "Can we talk about her?"
Brian frowned. He hadn't told her much about Ruth due to his own selfishness. "You look a lot like her, except her hair was auburn. She loved any kind of animal. She would find injured birds and nurse them back to health. She hated anything chocolate."
"What? I love chocolate." Kate said.
Brian smiled. "She liked butterscotch. She wore colorful clothes, even if they didn't match. She said black and gray were too sad. When she was pregnant with you, she would sing to you. She knew you were a girl before you were born and had your name picked out from the time she was your age."
Kate listened intently. "What did she sing?"
Brian thought about it. It had been a decade ago and his memories were fading. He hummed a few notes, trying to remember the song.
Kate hummed the song she had been humming for weeks. She had known it all her life.
Brian looked blankly at her. "That is it."
Kate looked confused. "It pops in my head when I'm sad or bored. I hum it all the time. What is it called?"
"It is a song she made up." He said, letting the notes roll through his head.
Kate's eyes teared up. "Maybe I remember from being a baby." Maybe her mom sent her the song in a vision and she could find a way to talk to her. She listened as Brian told her stories of her mother. Most of the family photos had burned in the fire but Brian kept one in his wallet. The photo was faded and worn but Kate could see the features she had gotten from Ruth.
Dean cleared his throat. "We are headed out, kiddo."
Kate walked with him out to John's truck. "Come back in one piece, okay?" She said, giving Sam and Dean a hug.
"Always do." Dean said, tugging on her hair.
Kate smacked his hand away and turned to John. "You too." She said, giving him a quick hug.
John smiled. "I'll return them in good shape."
Kate nodded. "I'll hold you to it."
The truck sputtered and backed away from the house.
Kate waved sadly and kept her expression neutral. John was a legend in the hunting world and Sam and Dean were more than capable of taking out a nest of vampires. She still worried as they pulled away. She walked back on the porch, to Brian. At least she wouldn't have to worry about her dad going on hunts for an entire year. They sat on the porch swing and Kate fretted over a pressing question.
"What's on your mind?" Brian asked, seeing her chew her fingers again.
Kate held her breath and let it out slowly. "Dad, what are hellhounds?"
##########
John parked the truck in a wooded area a safe distance from the nest. They needed the element of surprise and with luck, the nest would be sleeping when they attacked.
Sam looked at the map and got his bearings. The plan was for Sam and Dean to go one way and John to go the other. They would hit the house on opposite sides and work toward the middle. His heart was racing. He was nervous and excited. He didn't want to screw up.
Dean put his hand on Sam's shoulder. "We've got this."
John checked the weapons one more time. "You two ready?"
Sam nodded his head. "Yes, sir."
They split up and made their way quietly through the woods. The closer to the house they got, the more quiet they had to be. Dean took a page from Kate's book and moved silently across the leaves and fallen twigs. With the house in sight, he and Sam approached and waited for the signal.
John snuck up to a window and peaked inside. He could see at least 4 vamps. The research suggested that there would be two more in the house. He pulled out his phone and sent Dean a message. He waited for a reply back. He turned the doorknob and the door opened. It creaked, causing one of the vamps to shift. The four in the front room were asleep. Hearing the back door squeak, he made quick work of separating the first vamp's head from his body.
The house erupted in chaos as the vampires scrambled to their feet and lunged. The second vamp fell, quickly followed by the third at Dean's hand. The fourth pushed John against a wall and had his fangs inches from John's neck. John managed to shove the vamp off of him and get a good swing at the vamps neck. The head hit the floor and John saw Sam and Dean fighting off two additional vamps. With all six fallen, Dean took a step toward John.
From a dark room, a seventh vampire lunged and pinned Dean.
John tried to attack but the vampire snarled. "Take another step and he dies." He said, drawing a finger across Dean's cheek.
Dean locked terrified eyes with John.
"Just let him go." John growled.
"Why would I do that when we could have so much fun." The vamp hissed and dragged a sharp claw from Dean's chin to his collar bone.
Dean grimaced as the skin broke.
John reached for his blade. "You get away from him you son of a bitch."
The vamp cackled and showed his fangs. "I just can't pass up a meal." He pulled Dean's head to the side and went in to take a bite out of Dean's neck.
John yelled and lunged at the vamp but within a blink of an eye, the vamp's head hit the ground and a wide eyed Sam stood on the other side of Dean, breathing heavily.
John caught Dean as he fell forward. "You're okay."
Sam stood, frozen in his place. Dean was covered in blood and he wasn't sure if he had been too late.
John pushed Dean back and looked at the wound on his neck. "Did he bite you?"
Dean shook his head and reached for Sam. "You saved my ass."
Sam dropped and wrapped his arms around Dean's neck. "He didn't see me."
John clapped Sam on the back. "You did good son."
Dean wiped at his neck, feeling the sting from the scratch. "How'd you know you weren't going to chop my head off as well." He teased.
Sam rolled his eyes. "Oh, come on. Getting your head cut off is a better way to go than being a juice box."
Dean shoved his brother. "You might be right. Thanks little brother, but I'm the one that's supposed to be saving your ass."
John shook his head. He knew Dean had been terrified and was grateful for Sam but he used humor to cover it. "Sammy. You did good. I think you are ready to be a more permanent asset to the team."
Sam grinned and then grimaced when he looked at Dean and then at John and himself. Dean was soaked with blood but he and John weren't much better off. He wiped his face on his shirt and chuckled. None of it was their blood and that suited him. "Dean, man, you look like crap."
Dean felt the blood drying on is face. "Thanks bitch."
"Jerk." Sam mumbled and wiped his blade on his pants.
They buried the bodies and covered their tracks in the house.
Dean was leaning against John's truck, trying to wipe the dried blood from his face and neck. He had gotten a look at himself in the window and looked like he had taken a bath in it.
Sam handed him a bottle of water.
"I'm good." Dean said, pushing the water away.
Sam rolled his eyes and poured it over Dean's head.
The water was cold and stole Dean's breath away. "Oh, you little shit." He said and took off after Sam. He grabbed Sam's shirt and pulled it off of him, using it to dry his face.
John sat on the tailgate and watched them. The two young men who had helped him wipe out a nest of vampires, had transformed right back into two young boys chasing each other.
"Hey, look, your face is clean!" Sam said, blocking a kick from Dean.
Dean looked in the window. "Hmm, much better." He said, tossing Sam's shirt back.
"Gross, dude." Sam said, picking the shirt up with two fingers.
Dean grabbed another bottle and chugged it. "Guess Kate was right."
John snorted. "Seems so."
###########
Brian stared at Kate and swallowed hard. He hadn't planned on telling her about hellhounds. That was a detail that she could live without knowing. Hellhounds had plagued his own dreams and chilled his blood.
"Dad. I need to know." Kate pressed.
"You don't Katie. You really don't." He stumbled over his words.
Kate huffed. "I have had visions of one chasing me so me knowing what it is, isn't going to change anything."
Brian covered his face with his hands and slowly drug them down, wiping the weariness from his features. "Kate. You are a kid. You don't need to know everything."
Kate jumped off the swing and set him with a scowl. "Tell me. I'll just find out for myself if you don't."
Brian stopped the swing and stood up to his full height. "You will lose the tone."
Kate lost her bravado and shrunk. "I'm sorry, Dad. I am just worried." She had gotten ahead of herself and had forgotten how intimidating her dad could be.
Brian sighed and sat back down. "You are going to get that attitude in check, now."
"Yes, sir." Kate said and sat down as well.
"Hellhounds are hounds from hell. Some lore states that they are sent out to collect the souls of those who made deals." He said slowly.
Kate turned white. "So one will come for you?"
Brian nodded his head. "I don't know for sure but it is possible."
"Will it come for me too? Is that why I had a vision? Am I going to hell?" She said, beginning to cry.
"Katie. No. I don't know why you had that vision but you are not going to hell. They aren't coming for you. I promise. This is why I didn't want to tell you." He said, pulling her to his chest.
Kate shook uncontrollably. The vision was horrifying and she had been so scared. She didn't want her dad to feel the way she had in the vision. She felt her stomach turning at the thought that it would happen for real. Her dad was a good person and didn't deserve to go to hell. She cried in his arms and wracked her brain for ideas. Hellhounds couldn't hurt him if she hurt them first.