Kate doodled in her journal. Her visions were getting stronger but less disorienting. She wrote down and drew what she saw but didn't actively push into the visions. Two weeks had flown by and she was uncomfortably aware of the passage of time. Sam and Dean checked in with her frequently and she updated everyone whenever she thought of something new. The slip of paper with the address and phone number to the yellow house was still tucked into her stuffed animal, but she fought the urge to make that call.
Sam was enjoying working with his dad and brother. He had been on more hunts in two weeks than he had in an entire year. He fought well beside Dean and it felt good to have his back .
"Dad, I can just go with you. I'll be quiet." Kate whined.
"Some days you can go to work with me but not every day. Besides, being around people your age will be good for you." Brian reasoned.
Kate hadn't given much thought to Brian working. She knew he would need to find a job but she wanted to spend every minute she could with him. She hadn't been around many kids and wasn't sure she was going to like them.
Brian knocked on the door of a large white house. He could hear laughter and kids screaming inside.
A woman answered the door and smiled brightly. "You must be Katie." She said, with her hand outstretched for Kate to shake.
Kate merely nodded her head.
The woman waved them into the house and whistled.
Three children ran into the entry way.
She introduced them as Ryan, Hannah and Austin. "Cameron and Sara are out right now but you will meet them later."
Kate blinked, overwhelmed. With a nudge from her dad, she said. "I'm Kate." She found that Hannah and Ryan were her age.
"Thank you for letting us stop by. She has never been left with a sitter before." Brian said.
Kate bit her tongue. If they had stayed near Bobby she wouldn't need a sitter.
Kate reluctantly followed Hannah as she showed her the house and backyard. The yard had play equipment and a treehouse. They even had a pool. She wasn't thrilled with having to meet new people but the yard gave her hope.
"Maybe you will be in my class." Hannah said.
Kate blinked at her. "Uh, yeah, school." She had never gone to an actually school and she was trying not to think about it too much. She was initially excited but was beginning to get anxious.
An hour later, Brian called Kate back inside. "How would you feel about staying here next week, on Tuesday?"
Kate shrugged her shoulders. The kids were nice and she had actually lost track of time. "That would be okay."
The woman, Mandy, smiled warmly. "It's a date then."
Kate was quiet on the way back to the cabin.
Brian frowned. He didn't want to spend time away from her but she needed some socialization and he needed to work.
They ate lunch and Kate began to get tired. She had played outside for an hour and her nose and cheeks were turning pink from a mild sunburn.
Brian told her to rest for a bit while he took care of some things.
She laid down on the couch and turned the tv on.
#########
Dean leaned on baby's hood and waited for the order. They were on another case and John had went ahead to formulate a plan.
John walked back to the car and briefed Sam and Dean. The house in front of them appeared to have two separate spirits. John had a good idea of who the ghosts were and decided to salt and burn the bodies first.
Dean got back in the car and watched as John paused at the opened door. He tilted his head and scratched at his ear again.
The high pitched buzzing sound was back and John had an idea as to why. He turned and walked to a nearby tree and broke off a limb. The buzzing immediately stopped.
Dean raised a brow. "What was that?"
John shut the door and pinched the bridge of his nose. "Kate."
Sam hid a grin. That was the first time, since the werewolves that Kate had been in John's head. He had tried to read Dean a few times but couldn't quite get it right.
With the bodies taken care of, the house showed no sign of ghosts. The case was quick and easy.
At the motel room, Sam fell back onto his bed. Although he was happy to be included in the hunts, they did wear on him after a while. He pulled out his phone and announced that he was going to check in on Kate.
John grabbed Dean's keys, to grab food, and grumbled. "Tell her to stay out of my head." as he walked out.
Dean blew air through his nose. He would talk to her about it but he was still slightly amused to see how quickly she rattled John.
Kate woke up when her phone rang. She rubbed her eyes. "Hello?" She perked up when she heard Sam's voice. They chatted and she told him about Mandy's house.
Sam encouraged her to enjoy the opportunity. "Dean wants to say hi." he said as he handed over the phone.
"Hey, kiddo." Dean said.
"Hi!" She answered.
"Dad says to stay out of his head." Dean added.
Kate was silent. She wasn't sure if that had been just a dream or not. "Huh?"
Dean smirked. "Were you not in his head earlier?"
More silence.
"You aren't in trouble." He chuckled. "Just stay out of his head."
Kate relaxed. "It wasn't exactly on purpose." She didn't have great control of where she went but had gotten better at pulling herself back. John had snapped her right back to the cabin. "I miss you guys."
"We miss you too, kid." Dean agreed.
############
Kate watched as Brian's car pulled away. Her heart sunk and her stomach twisted. She didn't know Mandy like she did Bobby and Mandy didn't know about demons and monsters. She was sure her dad had discretely warded the outside of the house.
Mandy put a gentle hand on her shoulder. "I know this is probably a little scary but you can make yourself at home here."
Hannah grabbed her arm and ran to the back yard. "We got a puppy!"
Kate dropped to her knees and let the fluffy white dog jump on her. "It is so cute." She wasn't expecting a dog to be there but it definitely sweetened the deal. Kate's first day went smoothly and she was surprised when her dad picked her up. She was having fun and didn't realize so much time had passed. She talked excitedly about the puppy and the fun things she had done.
Brian smiled as she spoke. He had felt guilty for leaving her somewhere but seeing her grin made the guilt melt away.
They settled into a comfortable routine and July arrived sooner than either expected.
Kate stood on her bed with the phone to her ear. She had never gotten to celebrate the fourth of July and Sam and Dean had promised to visit. She was excited. She wanted to shoot off fireworks. She had only seen them from far away but Dean loved to blow things up and promised to supply enough fireworks to satisfy her curiosity.
In the early morning hours of July 4th, Kate woke up to the roar of the impala pulling up to the cabin. She darted down the stairs and had the door open before they managed to get out of the car. It had been weeks since she saw them and although they talked frequently, it wasn't the same.
Sam stumbled as he caught Kate midair. He was excited to see her as well. They had been bouncing around from motel to motel. He was starting to miss being at Bobby's.
Dean hugged Kate as well. He was happy to see that she was thriving.
"Show me." Kate said.
Dean grinned and opened the trunk of the impala. He had...procured a variety of festive explosives. Three years prior, he and Sam had set off a bunch of fireworks in a field and set it on fire on accident. That was one of his favorite memories, even if John had lost his mind because of it.
That night, Sam and Dean sat up their own fireworks display. They were having a bit of a war with another house, supposedly a half mile or so away, taking turns setting off something more grand than the other just had. Kate watched, wide eyed, as the sky erupted in lights and colors. Dean walked her over to one and lit a small stick. He told her to keep her hand steady and to run as soon as the fuse was lit. She watched the fuse crackle and lost her breath when Dean grabbed her and ran. He fell to the ground a few yards away and she rolled to watch the entire sky fill with brilliant light.
After the fireworks were spent, they roasted marshmallows over a campfire.
Brian was quiet and reserved. He rarely saw Kate so enamored. The look on her face as the lights hit the sky, made him wonder if she had a future as a pyromaniac. She had been thrilled to spend time with him but he didn't get to see her light up the way that she did with Sam and Dean around. It was to be expected. He was her dad and wasn't nearly as fun. It just made him regret not taking more time to do the fun things.
Dean looked at Sam and Kate and felt happy. Sam had the same childish wonder plastered on his face as he did last time they got ahold of fireworks. The only difference this time was they didn't have to sneak around, and there was a second set of awestruck eyes. He made eye contact with Brian and offered a weak smile. He could see the emotions play across Brian's face.
Somewhere after midnight, they finally got Kate calm enough to go to sleep.
Dean walked out to the impala to grab their things. He leaned on the door and closed his eyes, soaking in the smell of gunpowder and grilled food. It was an odd combination but it was one that brought him pure joy. The night was warm and pleasant. He double checked that baby's doors were locked and turned to go back to the cabin. He paused and looked around him. For the past few weeks, he got a periodic feeling that he was being watched. He had no evidence, although he looked for it. Once inside, he triple checked the salt lines and called it a night.
############
Kate was used to spending time at Mandy's house. She didn't mind when her dad left for work, although the year was slipping by sickeningly fast. She kept a mental note on how much longer they had. Having friends helped her to not focus so much on the lore and demons. She had stuck to the rules and didn't investigate things unless she told one of the others first.
"You can go with us, Katie!" Hannah exclaimed.
"Where?" Kate hadn't been listening to the first half of the conversation.
"The lake!"
They had mostly stayed around the house or played at one of the neighbors' houses. She wasn't sure if her dad would let her go to the lake. "I don't think my dad will let me."
"Oh, nonsense. We go all the time. It is right down the road. There is a beach where the water is shallow until you get way out in the middle. It is totally safe." Hannah said.
Kate gave in and agreed to walk with them. If it wasn't safe, Mandy wouldn't let them go. It would just be Hannah and Ryan, so she didn't see the issue. All three could swim and take care of themselves.
They walked down a trail that led to the water's edge. The water glistened in the sun light.
Kate grabbed a rock and skipped it across the surface of the water.
"Whoa! That was a good one." Ryan said.
Kate blushed.
"I can never get mine to skip that many times. Where did you learn that?"
"My br-friend taught me how." She caught herself before she said brother out loud. She did think of Dean as her brother but that was only in her head.
They played in the water for a while before Ryan grew bored. "Let's go hiking."
Hannah rolled her eyes. "Can't we just relax? Those woods are spooky anyway."
Ryan took off into the dense trees.
"I guess we are going hiking." Hannah said, throwing her hands up.
Kate froze where she stood. The woods did look spooky and she knew that her dad wouldn't want her to be in such an area without an adult. However, if something was in the woods, Hannah and Ryan wouldn't know what to look for, so she had no choice but to follow them. She had her phone on her and checked that it had service and full battery.
"Ryan, wait. You aren't even paying attention to where you're going." Hannah whined.
"Doesn't matter. The woods aren't that deep." Ryan called back.
Kate was on high alert. "I think we should head back."
"Don't be a baby." Ryan taunted.
They walked deeper into the patch of trees until Kate stopped walking. "We really need to leave."
Ryan turned around. "Relax. I know what I'm doing."
Kate's mind raced. "I have a bad feeling. We need to go."
Ryan mimicked her. "Are you afraid of bears or something, gosh."
Kate stomped her foot and leveled Ryan with her meanest look. "I'm not afraid of bears. Trust me. We need to go, now."
Hannah tilted her head. "What's wrong?" She had never seen Kate get mad or even speak defensively.
Kate swallowed. She didn't want to explain but needed to get Ryan to take her seriously. "What do you hear?"
Ryan threw his head back, annoyed. "Nothing."
"Exactly. There should be birds singing and squirrels running around." Kate said, with her arms crossed.
Ryan rolled his eyes. "So you want to go back because there are no squirrels?"
Kate wanted to go back because the hairs on her arms were on end and she had a sinking feeling in the pit of her stomach. Dean had taught her how to pay attention to her surroundings, and she had been picking up odd cues, the deeper they walked. "It could be nothing, or it could be an animal that scared all the little ones away. Either way, I'm walking back to the road. I would rather there be nothing and me overreact than there be something and us not be able to defend ourselves."
Ryan gave in and stomped back toward the lake.
"Where do you learn all this stuff?" Hannah asked.
Kate shrugged. She couldn't say that she had been trained as a hunter since she was a toddler. "My friend is really into survival stuff." She looked around and got her bearings. "Ryan! You are going the wrong way."
"I found a cave!" Ryan exclaimed.
Kate took off running. "Don't go in!"
Ryan waited until Kate got to the top of the hill and then ducked inside.
Kate heard a scream and her blood ran cold. "Ryan?"
He scrambled out of the cave, white faced.
"What is it?"
He shook his head and merely pointed.
Kate bit her lip and ducked inside the small cave. When Ryan ran in, he had tripped over a body. Kate sucked in a breath of air and covered her mouth. She crouched down and looked at the man. He was shockingly pale. Kate felt the man's wrist. There was no pulse. His body was in good condition, so he couldn't have died too long ago. She calmed her mind and focused. They needed to call the body in.
Hannah gagged when she saw the body. "What happened to him? Why are you so close?"
Kate realized that her reaction to the body seemed really off. "I thought maybe he was just hurt and not dead." She closed the man's eyes and scooted back away from the body. Her change in position let sunlight illuminate the body in a different way. She stood quickly and walked from the cave. "He isn't alive. We need to go. We will call the police." She grabbed Hannah's hand and ordered Ryan to walk with her. They needed to leave the woods as soon as possible. She used the horror of finding a body to encourage the other two to keep up with her fast pace.
Hannah and Ryan were rightfully freaked out. Once they were back on the street, Hannah called her mom. She tearfully explained what had happened.
Kate slowed down and let the others walk ahead of her. She pulled out her phone and dialed Dean's number.
"Hey, Kate." Dean said, warmly.
"We have a problem." Kate said darkly. She had blocked the view of the body from Ryan and Hannah but as she was getting up to leave, she saw, on the man's neck, a distinct set of fang marks and the body was devoid of blood.
#########
Mandy ran from the house and made it to the kids within two minutes. She was shaking. She had already called the police and they were on their way.
Ryan and Hannah both started crying, although Ryan tried to hide it. The realization was sinking in, that they had seen an actual dead person.
Kate watched the exchange and then winced. Ryan's leg was bleeding. She walked over and pointed it out.
Mandy blanched.
Kate sighed and pulled a water bottle from her bag. She sat down on the ground and poured water over his leg. "That looks pretty deep." She said, in reference to a cut that ran across the top of Ryan's knee. He had likely cut it when he tripped over the body. She pulled her extra shirt from her bag and used her teeth to create a hole in the fabric. She ripped it into a ragged strip. She pulled a clean pair of socks out and folded one in half, placing it over the laceration, and wrapping the strip around it to hold it in place. "There, that should hold." She said, before standing up. She ran water over her hands and dried them on her shorts. She looked up and froze.
Mandy, Ryan and Hannah were all looking at her.
Mandy had panicked at the amount of blood pouring from his leg and didn't even think to wrap it. "Uh, thanks, sweetie. I should have been the one to do that."
Kate made a mental note to reign in her skills. She couldn't afford questions. "It is no big deal."
"Her friend teaches her survival stuff." Hannah piped up.
Mandy tilted her head, brows furrowed. She started to ask questions but the sound of sirens wailing caught her attention.
A team went into the woods in search of the cave. A police woman stayed behind and started getting information.
Kate sat on the sidewalk and let Ryan do the talking. She didn't want to say the wrong thing and raise questions about herself. Luckily, little girl sitting on the ground, staring off into the distance, after seeing a body, didn't seem out of place. She wasn't freaked out by the body itself but about what she was certain was responsible. Had the vampire still been around? Were they being watched? Is that why there were no birds? She took deep breaths and forced herself to remain calm. Her phone buzzed. It was a message from Dean that simply said. "on our way." She groaned and rested her head on her knees. She still needed to call her dad. Her first thought was to bring in hunters incase the vampire threat was real. Brian wasn't supposed to be hunting and she didn't want him to take the case. She pulled out her phone and dialed his number. He wasn't going to be happy with how they found the body.
Brian showed up and pushed his way through crime scene tape and police officers. He saw Kate and swooped down to his knees as she ran to him. He held Kate and rubbed the back of her head. He expected tears but she seemed oddly calm.
"Dad, there is something I need to tell you." Kate said quietly.
Brian braced himself. "What?"
She told him about the body and what she had found.
"Katelyn, why were you close enough to the body, that you would be able to see what killed him?" Brian asked firmly.
She hung her head and explained that she had tried to stop Ryan from going into the woods. She told him that she felt off and tried to get them to turn back. She mentioned the lack of bird song. Then she told him about Ryan running ahead and then screaming when he entered the cave.
"Why did you go into the cave?"
Kate swallowed. "He just pointed and looked scared. I was right there and the guy was not in the actual cave, he was in the opening. I thought he may still be alive." She said sadly.
Brian hugged her to him. "We will talk about it later."
Tears welled in her eyes.
Brian brushed them away. "You have been doing really well. I believe you when you say that you tried to get them to stop. I'm not angry with you." He was worried though. If she was right and a vampire had killed the man, that meant that one was running around, way too close to home. There had been no reports to suggest that the thing had been around long. What were the chances that a vampire would settle in, so close to where they were?
"I called Dean." Kate mumbled.
Brian raised a brow. "When?"
She blushed. "Um, when we got back to the sidewalk."
He looked at the sky and rubbed his neck. "You didn't think to call me first, before bothering them?"
She scrunched her face. "I wasn't bothering them. They kill vampires."
"Yes, but you don't know for sure that it was a vampire." Brian added.
Kate chewed on her fingernails. "Dad, I'm sure."
Brian wasn't going to argue with her about vampires, with a dozen police officers so close by.
The team that went into the woods, walked out, hours later, carrying a body bag on a stretcher.
Ryan and Hannah had completed their battery of questions and were released to go home. Mandy thanked Kate for the first aide expertise and said that he would go get checked out at the clinic.
Kate shrugged it off as no big deal.
"What was that about?" Brian asked.
Kate told him about the deep cut and how she had cleaned it and made the makeshift bandage. "It isn't like I stitched him up or anything."
Brian snorted. "Most nine year old's wouldn't think to MacGyver a bandage, so Ms. Mandy was probably taken off guard."
"Well, I have a lot of practice." Kate said. She didn't mean it maliciously, it was just an observation.
Brian felt the stab. Hannah and Ryan had both been in tears, pale faced, talking about the situation. Kate was calm and collected. She was not a typical kid, because she had been forced to grow up too soon. He watched her answer questions, putting on a fake layer of fear. She teared up and acted sick to her stomach. She stumbled over her words and avoided the police woman's eyes. He had no doubt that she was rattled but she turned it off as soon as she was given the go-ahead to go home. "You have become quite the actress."
Kate buckled her seatbelt. "Apparently not freaking out raises more questions." She said ruefully.
By the time they made it back to the cabin, the impala was already sitting outside.
Kate jumped out of the car and ran to the door of the impala.
Dean saw her and opened his door. He hugged her tightly and rested his chin on her head. When he had gotten the call, his heart skipped several beats.
It was just Sam and Dean, as John had been on a hunt, in the opposite direction.
Kate jumped in the shower to wash the lake water, and mud away. The hot water melted her defenses and gave way to delayed panic. The ordeal was horrifying and knowing that something supernatural was responsible, made her that much more afraid. Her mind raced with a thousand questions and possibilities. What if she hadn't followed them? What if the vampire was still around? What if they had been attacked and no one knew where they were? She jumped when she heard a knock on the bathroom door.
"Are you okay?" Sam asked.
Kate shut off the water and dried off. "Give me a minute." She dressed and then opened the door and melted into Sam's hug.
He hummed her song until she calmed down. "Deep breaths. You are okay now."
She regained her composure. "Are they mad?"
Sam was lost for a moment. "Oh, uh. I don't know. I don't think they are happy."
She hung her head and walked into the dining room.
Brian wrapped her in another hug and then grabbed her a glass of water.
"I messed up again, didn't I?" She said weakly.
"There are things you could have done better but I wouldn't exactly say messed up." Brian answered.
She looked at him, not totally believing that he wasn't mad.
"Your dad told me what happened. He said that the other kids took off. You did just about what I would have done." Dean reassured her.
"You shouldn't have gone down there in the first place but I think you know that. What is important is that you are home, safe." Brian added.
She let tears fall. She had been trying really hard to follow the rules. "What are we going to do about the vampire?"
Dean smirked. "WE are not going to do anything. YOU are going to let us handle it. If it was actually a vampire attack, we will find the thing and get rid of it."
Kate huffed. "There was a vampire attack, not if."
"We will do some digging and will update you. It could just be a normal animal. Vampires usually don't leave people in the open like that."
Kate chewed on her nails. She got an idea and grabbed Sam's hand and looked into his eyes.
Sam felt like an electric fence had zapped him. He held his head as a brief shot of pain wracked his brain. He rubbed his eyes and then sat up straight. "I vote vampire too."
Dean cocked his head sideways.
"I showed him." Kate said smugly.
"Do you sit around and practice this stuff or just wing it and hope it goes well?" Dean asked.
She frowned. "Sorry, Sam."
Sam put a hand on her shoulder. "All good."
Brian and Dean both made calls to local offices and Sam dug through a pile of newspapers.
Kate grabbed her journal and started to draw aimlessly. An hour passed and none of the guys had found any leads. Kate's head was starting to hurt. She sat down her pencil and wandered over to the sofa. She just needed a short nap.
Sam, Dean, and Brian shifted to the kitchen to give her some peace and quiet.
"What if there is no vampire?" Dean whispered.
"The wound on the guy did look vampy." Sam countered.
Brian rubbed his beard. He looked over at Kate's open journal and furrowed his brows. He turned it around and pulled it closer to himself. He stared at her last drawing and tried to channel his thoughts.
"What is it?" Dean asked.
Brian shook his head. "My co-worker."
Dean waited for him to continue. "What about him?"
Brian turned the journal toward Dean and grabbed a bottle of beer from the fridge. "She's never met him."