Kate decided to make her way to the bathroom after John left the room. Her face was sticky and cool water would feel refreshing on her skin. She looked at her face in the mirror and frowned. She splashed her face and pulled her hair back in a pony tail. Her head pulsed with a dull ache. She stood on the edge of the tub to check the damage from John. She was surprised to see that she was just incredibly red. A knock on the bathroom door startled her and nearly made her fall.

"Are you okay?" Sam asked, as she opened the door.

She hugged him, glad that the ordeal was over. "I'm okay."

"What did he do?" Sam asked, searching her face to make sure she was, indeed, okay.

Kate rolled her eyes and walked into the bedroom. "Isn't that obvious?"

Dean wrapped her in a hug as soon as she walked through the door.

"Guys, I'm okay." She said, wriggling out of his arms. She fell face first on Sam's bed and put his pillow over her head.

Dean poked her leg until she moved the pillow. "Was he too hard on you?"

Kate groaned and gave them cliff notes of what happened.

"Wait, he only got you with that thing three times?" Dean said, raising a brow.

Kate shot him a dirty look. "It hurt!"

"Do you have welts?" He asked.

"No." She said.

He patted her leg and let himself relax. "You got lucky."

"Lucky?! I friggen hurt." She grumbled.

He didn't doubt that she would be feeling it for a while, but he had been worried John would be too harsh. "Kid, he would have whipped me with a friggen belt."

Kate smirked. "I'm too young for that."

"What?" Sam said.

"I thought he was going to but he said I was too young for that."

Dean snorted. "Oh you have him wrapped right around your finger, don't you?"

Sam sat down on his bed and laid on his back. He had been suffocated by worry and finally got a chance to take a deep breath.

Kate assured Dean that she hadn't gotten lucky and was certain she nearly died. She mentioned the note John wrote and screeched when Dean grabbed it from the trash.

Dean read it and laughed. He held it above his head and grabbed a pencil.

"What is it?" Sam asked.

Dean held the paper out of Kate's reach and wrote his own note. "You aren't throwing this away." He said with a grin.

Kate jumped to pull the paper away.

Dean tossed it to Sam to read. Sam chuckled and kept it away from her. "Dad wrote this?"

Kate rolled her eyes and tried to grab the paper. "He thought it was funny."

"It is hilarious." Dean said.

Kate jerked the paper out of Sam's hand and read Dean's note. "I hate you so much." She said jokingly.

"That is going in with the rest of them." Dean said in reference to the napkin, rock and other things she had used to document her adventures.

"I'm so glad you find my suffering amusing." Kate said as she hit him in the stomach.

He sat down on his bed. "I am sorry that you are hurting and that you have had to go through so much. I'm not downplaying what happened."

Kate smiled. "I would be sad if you weren't a bit of a jerk."

Dean gasped in mock outrage. "Me?"

If Dean was teasing her, it meant that things truly were okay. She sat back on Sam's bed and squeaked before quickly standing up.

Dean chuckled. "What's wrong?"

She scrunched her face and threw Sam's pillow at him. "I'm going to tell your dad that you are being mean to me."

He grinned. "Oh no, I'm so scared."

Sam whispered something in Kate's ear.

She giggled and ran down the stairs.

Dean took off after her and slid on socked feet into the living room.

John was sitting in an arm chair sipping a cup of coffee. "Everything okay there, Dean?"

Kate was standing beside John with a mischievous look on her face.

"What'cha doin' Kate?" Dean asked, stepping closer to her.

"Just talking." She smirked.

"Worried about something, Dean?" John asked with a twinkle in his eye.

Dean stepped back and sat down on the couch. "You two sure buddied back up quick." Dean knew he hadn't actually hurt her feelings.

Kate scoffed. "I don't know what you mean."

"Dad, I don't think you spanked her hard enough." He said with a smirk.

John chuckled. "Kate, if you want to grab a stick I'll let you whack him with it."

Kate giggled. "Nah, I prefer payback to be when you least expect it."

"Payback? Hey, I was cheering you up." Dean said, covering his face as a pillow flew across the living room.

Brian leaned against the door facing and sipped his own coffee. He watched the exchange and smiled. She bounced back fast. He trusted John but was worried how Kate would react. He was frustrated with being injured and felt like he was letting Kate down. He needed her to get back on track so that she would remain safe once they left Bobby's.

Kate saw him and ran to him.

Dean threw the pillow behind his head to tag him on the way out.

She screeched with the pillow hit her but wrapped her arms gently around her dad's waist.

He rubbed her back.

"I'm sorry, dad." She said sadly.

He lifted her chin. "Clean slate. I love you, bug."

"I love you too, daddy." She said and hugged him a bit tighter. "How is your cut?"

"Sore, but not as bad as it was." He said with a small smile.

"Go sit down, I will get you some more meds and a drink." She said.

He patted her head and sat down in the other arm chair.

"Does anyone else want anything?" She yelled from the kitchen.

"A fifth of jack!" Dean yelled back, followed by a grunt. "I mean a root beer."

Sam came down the stairs. "Want some help?" He offered.

Kate grinned, she had an idea.

Sam handed John a cold beer and took the pills from Kate's elbow to shake some out for Brian. She handed Dean his root beer and sat on her knees in the floor between John and her dad.

Sam grabbed the two lemonades and handed Kate hers before sitting down on the other end of the couch.

John and Brian started talking about what was needed for the cabin.

John stopped mid sentence and looked over at Dean. Dean's face was turning red and his eyes were watering. "Uh, son, everything okay?"

Dean swallowed. "Yep. Great. Everything is great." He tried to act like the drink wasn't phasing him.

John looked over at Sam who was turning red as well, but from trying not to laugh. Kate sipped her drink and tried to keep it together.

Dean took another sip and coughed. He calmly stood up and walked to the kitchen. He turned the sink on and gulped at the water.

Kate and Sam lost their battle with composer and cracked up.

Dean returned, taking deep breaths and schooling his features.

"When you least expect it." Kate said casually as she sipped her drink.

"Nope." Dean said, spinning around and returning to the sink.

"What did you guys put in that?" John asked, amusedly.

"A tiny bit of hot sauce." Kate answered.

"It wasn't a tiny bit! She is trying to kill me." Dean dramatically claimed.

John snorted.

"Kate, you shouldn't do that." Brian chided.

Dean stepped back into the room, eating a popsicle. "Hey, Kate. You should come over here, I just want to talk."

Kate shook her head and scooted behind John's chair. "Nuh uh, you started it."

"You can't stay over there forever." He teased.

"See, I told you he was being mean to me." Kate said to John.

Dean sat on the couch and grabbed Sam in a chokehold. "He helped you. You better come out or I'm putting my sock in his mouth."

Sam tried to get out of the choke hold. "You are NOT."

Kate leaped to Sam's rescue and tried to pry Dean's arms away from him.

Dean reached for Kate's hand and she took off running around the couch.

He leaned over the back and grabbed the pillow he had thrown and whacked her across the but with it.

She screeched and stomped her foot. "Dean! That was mean!"

"You poisoned me!"

Bobby touched Kate's back as he scooted around her. "If you are going to kill each other, do it outside."

Sam laughed and dodged a slap from Dean. "What? It is nice not being the one that gets tormented."

John shook his head. "You two call a truce, we have stuff to talk about."

############

The week flew by and Kate was a little sad to leave.

Sam and Dean took her out to the impala and showed her two sets of initials carved into the wooden package tray. "Does your dad know about this?" She questioned

"He does." Dean said and handed her a knife. "Your turn."

"Dean, this is car means a lot to your family." She felt like she didn't have the right.

"Yeah, and you are family." He stated warmly.

She felt tears welling in her eyes. She carefully carved a K.O. beside the S.W. and D.W. She hugged both of them as tight as she could. She couldn't find words to explain the way she felt.

"Don't cry." Dean said, hugging her back. He turned her around and walked back to Bobby's porch.

Brian's car was packed with things for the cabin. John's truck held the larger items.

"Are you riding with the boys?" Brian asked Kate.

"Can I?" She asked excitedly.

Bobby waved as the caravan left the drive way. His house felt deafeningly quiet. He glanced at the list John had handed him and turned back to his study to get to work.

Kate chattered happily from the backseat.

Dean followed behind John and Brian for a while before turning off the interstate.

"Where are we going?" Kate asked.

"Taking a pit stop." Dean said, hiding a smile.

"Wait, do they know?"

Dean glanced at Kate. "Yes, they know Do you honestly think I'd just change plans without okaying it?"

Kate grinned. "No. I was just checking. What are we doing?"

Sam turned around. "It is a surprise."

Kate squealed excitedly.

Dean stopped in front of a strip mall and opened Kate's door for her to get out.

She followed them curiously through a set of doors. She looked along the walls of the store at the variety of electronics.

Dean talked to an associate while Sam waited beside Kate. He walked over to a display of phones and the associate pointed out one that would work for their needs.

Kate's eyes got wide and she screeched excitedly.

Sam shushed her. "If you keep doing that someone is going to think we are trying to kidnap you."

"I'm getting a phone?!" She said, ignoring Sam's hushing.

Dean turned to pay for the phone and put his arm around her. "Yes, and I cleared it with your dad. This way you can call us or Bobby anytime that you want to."

Kate was bubbling with excitement.

Dean took the bag from the cashier and they left the store. He knelt down to her level and looked in her eyes. "This will be for emergencies and for calling me, Sam, Bobby or our dad."

Kate frowned. "And snake?"

Dean smirked and ruffled her hair. "Yeah, it has that too."

She squeaked and wrapped her arms around his neck. "Thank you!"

They stopped for coffee and a smoothie for Kate. By the time they made it to the cabin, most of the big stuff was already inside.

Kate looked around at the small interior. It was cozy and simple. "Where do I sleep?"

Brian pointed to a door on the left side of the living room. She opened the door and smiled when she saw her things had been placed neatly on the shelf beside the bed. She picked up the figurine she had gotten on her road trip with the boys. The rock was next to it. Her dad had picked up some new books and she picked them up to examine them.

Dean walked into the room. "Looks nice in here."

Kate smiled and fell back on her bed. She patted the bed beside her and Sam sat down as well.

Dean walked around the room in thought. "I think it is missing one thing." He said with a crooked grin.

She sat up. "What?"

He went to the kitchen in search of a thumb tack and returned with a crumbled slip of paper.

"No!" Kate screeched and tried to grab it from him.

Dean laughed and held it above his head. He attached the paper to the wall just above her reach.

"Mr. John! Dean is being a bully." Kate yelled.

John walked in and smirked. "I don't know, kid. I think it is a good reminder."

Kate jumped, trying to rip the paper down. "That is seared into my brain without the dumb paper."

Dean grabbed her and held her upside down. "Nope. It stays there. Think of it as proof you are part of the family."

She giggled "You let me carve my initials. That is proof enough."

Dean covered her mouth. "That is a secret."

John raised a brow and shook his head.

The team spent a few hours drawing warding and placing salt lines all around the cabin. The walls already had warding but it was always best to make sure that it was all still intact.

Dean and Kate walked around the perimeter and checked the warding on the trees. "This will be just like Bobby's house. Don't leave the tree line without your dad with you."

Kate nodded her head. "I wont."

Sam drug the tire around to a sturdy tree and threw the rope over a branch.

Kate dove into it and let her feet dangle.

He grabbed the side and spun her.

She watched as the ground spiraled in front of her eyes. When the swing stopped she tried to stand up and nearly hit the ground before Dean caught her. She giggled and laid down on the ground on her back. "Is this what it feels like to be drunk?"

Dean laid down beside her, looking up at the clouds. "Uh, kind of. You just don't think about that, okay?"

She sat up. "Wait, you have gotten drunk before?"

Dean blushed. "Possibly."

Sam laughed. "And got his ass handed to him for it."

Dean threw a clump of dirt at Sam. "Yeah, yeah. Let's not talk about that."

Dean was a bit of a hero to Kate. She found it shocking and kind of amusing when she learned about the stupid stuff he had done when he was younger. "Is that why your dad is so strict?"

Dean looked at her. "Uh, he was always strict."

Sam chuckled. "Dean has just done enough idiotic things that dad automatically knows things now."

"Hey! You have done stupid stuff too. Stuff that I never would have done." Dean shot back.

Kate laughed. "I will have to figure out something new. That's how it works, right?"

Dean laughed heartily. "Oh, dad likes a challenge."

Kate had no intention of being on John's bad side again. She liked the John that she could convince to be on her side when Dean was teasing her. "Maybe I am just smarter than both of you."

"I hope so, kid." Dean said.

They watched the clouds float overhead for a while and talked.

John walked outside to say his goodbyes to Kate. He had to get back to Bobby's to help him with something. "Sam and Dean are going to stay the night and then head back."

Kate hugged him. "Thank you."

"No problem." He said warmly.

The kids returned to the cabin and helped Brian square everything away.

They watched movies after dinner and relaxed.

#############

John pulled back onto the main road and punched Bobby's number into his phone. "Bobby, what's the news?"

Bobby had researched the house. It belonged to a widow. It had been lived in by the same family for decades. Nothing about the house seemed off from the outside or according to the papers. "I did go over there and walk around the outside." Bobby said, holding a small vial in his hands. "and you'll never guess what I found."

"What?" John asked, although he already had a sinking feeling.

"Sulfur."