Sam finally woke up and was more alert than he had been in days. His throat was dry.

Dean was right there when he opened his eyes. "Welcome back."

Sam put an arm over his eyes. "Water."

Dean brought him a glass and helped him sit up. "How are you feeling?"

Sam raised a brow. "Do you really need to ask?"

"Compared to a week ago?" Dean reworded his question.

Sam hissed. "I think better. Although, a week ago I couldn't really feel anything."

John entered the room when he heard Sam's voice. He got on one knee so he was level with Sam. "Glad to hear you talking again, Sam." He grabbed pillows and propped them behind Sam's back so he could sit up a little.

Sam had to admit that his ribs weren't aching nearly as bad as they were the day before. "Where is Kate?"

"I'll go get her." Dean said as he ran up the stairs.

Kate bounded down the stairs in three steps. "Sam!"

Sam smiled.

John put his hand out to prevent her from jumping on the bed.

Kate stopped and sat down on the bed. "How are you feeling?"

Sam grunted when he chuckled. "Why does everyone keep asking me that?"

John patted his leg. "You scared us pretty bad."

Honestly, Sam had been scared pretty bad.

John gave them a chance to relax and chat for a while before brining Sam more meds. "Son, I'm not going to push you too hard but Kate filled us in on what happened at the hospital and I would like you to fill in the gaps."

Sam eyed him wearily. John Winchester was known for pushing people too hard. "I don't really know what happened."

"Any detail could help us, Sam." John said.

Kate told him what she had told them.

Sam thought for a few minutes. "That is all of it, dad."

"What did the man say to you?" John asked.

Sam tried to remember. When he had whispered it, the monitors were beeping and Sam's head was reeling. "I don't know."

John patted his leg again and stood up. "Okay, son. When you remember, tell me."

Dean watched John leave the room. He was subdued and more understanding than normal.

Kate reached her hand out to take Sam's hand.

Dean smacked her hand away.

"Ow, Dean." She said with a glare.

He glared back at her.

Sam looked back and forth between the two.

Kate crossed her arms and looked away from Dean.

"What did I miss?" Sam asked.

Dean cleared his throat.

Kate smacked him.

"I know about the pain thing." Dean blurted out.

"Dean shut up!" Kate growled.

Sam blinked. "I'm surprised you told him."

Kate rolled her eyes. "He didn't give me much choice but the secret is out so you can just be quiet now, Dean."

Dean grabbed her hand before she could smack him again. "I'm not loving the attitude you've got going on."

Kate jerked her hand a way. "You have a big mouth."

"Kid, if you hit me again I'm going to bust your butt." Dean replied.

Kate stopped and looked at him. "That isn't fair."

"Doesn't have to be. Don't hit me."

"So, you know about her being able to draw pain away?" Sam interjected.

Dean gave Kate a pointed look. "Yes, I do. I'm not going to rat her out but she is going to stop doing it."

Sam tilted his head.

Kate glared at Dean.

"I'm not going to force you to tell him but I think you should." Dean stated.

"Tell me what?" Sam asked.

Kate contemplated stomping Dean's foot but took the threat seriously. "It isn't a big deal."

"That is your answer to everything. Now, it can stay between the three of us for now but Sam has a right to know." Dean added.

Kate sighed. "When I pull the pain from you, it doesn't just disappear."

"What happens?" Sam pushed.

"It goes to me."

Sam furrowed his brows. "What do you mean it goes to you?"

Kate sighed again. "I took the pain from you and it went to me."

"You mean you felt what you took from me?" Sam said, finally catching up.

Kate just nodded her head.

Sam put his hand on his head. "Kate. You should have told me."

Kate shrugged. "You wouldn't have let me help you."

"Exactly."

"It isn't a big deal." Kate tried.

Sam looked at her. "I can deal with the pain. You don't need to take on my pain."

Kate was frustrated. "What if I'm healing you."

"I would rather not be healed if it is causing you pain." Sam said, looking in her eyes.

Kate frowned. "I don't regret it and you can't make me."

Sam grinned. "I am thankful you knocked the edge off. I do feel better now than this morning. I'm honestly okay now and I don't want you to take any more."

Kate was okay with that. "Unless your dad whips you again?"

Sam blushed. "Let's not talk about that."

Dean popped his knuckles. "I think that this is something you do need to tell your dad."

"If I do, then yours will be mad at you for keeping it a secret." Kate countered.

Dean smirked. "I've only known since this morning."

Sam averted his eyes.

"You are mean." Kate said, glaring at Dean.

Dean put a hand on her knee. "I'm not mean. They are going to figure out sooner rather than later. However, I am in solidarity with keeping the other day a secret."

Kate stood up and hugged him. "Thanks. That would be hard to explain."

Sam gave her an encouraging nod.

Kate walked into the kitchen with Dean behind her. "There is one more thing I probably should have told you earlier."

Brian looked at her. "And what is that?"

Kate looked up at Dean for help. "Maybe I should just show you."

"I don't think he's going to let you smash his hand." Dean said.

Brian cocked an eyebrow.

John turned in his seat and looked at Dean.

Kate felt like a freak show. "You keep cracking your neck, does it hurt?"

John shrugged. "It is sore."

Kate side stepped over to him. "Um, can I put my hand on you?"

"Are you going to try to read me again?"

Kate blushed. "No sir."

John nodded his head.

She placed her hand on the back of his neck for a few seconds before stepping away.

"What did she do?" Brian asked.

John looked suspiciously at Kate. "Yes, what did you just do?"

"Does your neck still hurt?" Dean asked.

John tilted his head. "No."

"Tada." Kate said sheepishly.

"You can heal people now?" John asked.

"No, not exactly." Kate started but froze.

"She pulls the pain into her own body." Dean offered.

Brian was stunned. "How long have you known about this?"

Kate turned a deeper shade of red. "Since this morning."

"How did you find out about it?"

"Sammy was in a ton of pain and I just wanted to help him. I wanted to make him feel better so I tried it." She looked down at her shoes.

Brian sat back in his chair.

John spoke up. "Why are you acting like you robbed a bank, then?"

Kate didn't answer so Dean did. "Because when she does it, she pulls the pain into herself. That means what ever she takes, she feels."

It caught up with Brian and John at the same time.

"So you are feeling the pain from my neck right now?" John clarified.

Kate nodded her head.

"Katie, why would you hide that?" Brian asked.

"I didn't want you to know and not let me help Sam." She answered honestly.

"Is this how you got Sam to rest?"

She nodded her head again.

"She took the edge off and it was enough to get him to relax." Dean added.

John thought for a minute. "I am guessing that wasn't a headache coming on earlier." He squinted his eyes at Dean.

"Uh, no sir." Kate answered.

"And you knew about this?" He asked Dean.

Dean held up his hands. "Listen, I gave her some time to come to grips with it before making her spill the beans."

"Is there anything else you can do?" Brian asked.

Kate shrugged. "I don't know."

He sat back again. "Please stop trying to hide things. It is best that I know what is going on. I'm not mad at you. I think you did a really nice thing for Sam. That doesn't mean I want you running around siphoning pain from people. I'd like to talk to Missouri and see if she knows anything about this new... ability."

Kate hugged him around the neck. "Thanks dad."

John and Dean walked out of the kitchen. "She knew about it before this morning didn't she?" John asked.

Dean grimaced. "I didn't."

"Son, that isn't what I asked you."

Dean sighed. "She has tried it once before."

John rubbed a hand over his face. "Sam, did you know about it before today?"

Sam's eyes got wide. "I'd like to point out that I have several broken ribs."

John shook his head. "You two are going to be the death of me."

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

Monday morning, Kate went back to school. Mandy picked her up at the cabin and drove them to school.

Hannah was cheerful. She handed Kate a bracelet that matched hers. "Mine says best and yours says friends."

Kate grinned. "I love it."

Ryan sneered. "You are both dorks."

They ignored him and chatted happily the whole way to school.

They walked side by side to their classroom and sat next to each other. Kate loved having a friend like Hannah. At recess, they made daisy chains for their hair. There were so many things that Kate had never heard of before. Hannah was her gateway to being a normal kid. One of the 5th grade boys was notorious for picking on the younger kids. Kate wanted to smack him silly. He was held back a year and was bigger than any of the other kids on the playground. Kate stayed off his radar for the first few weeks of school but that day he decided he wanted fresh meat. He made a few cracks about her dad and one about her mom.

Kate stood up, toe to toe with him. "Go pick on someone your own size."

The boy laughed in her face but walked away.

The following weeks held a few run ins with the bully but nothing notable.

However, one day Kate found herself sitting in her principal's office. Her dad had left her with Mandy over night and wouldn't be back until the next morning. She considered her options and dialed Dean's number.

Dean answered the unknown number. "Winchester, how can I help you?"

"Hey, um, where are you right now?"

"Kate? I'm about 40 minutes away from you. Why?" Dean asked.

"I need someone to come to my school." She answered quietly.

"What is wrong? Where is your dad? Kate?" Dean spit out.

"My dad is still on his... trip. Oh, hold on. My principal wants to talk to you."

"Hi Mr. Winchester. I have Kate here in my office and I need a guardian to come down here. No, she is okay. The other student not so much." He talked to Dean for a few minutes before hanging up.

Kate shifted in her seat. "Is he coming?"

He nodded his head. "Go get your backpack so you can work on school work and meet me back in here."

Kate had never been in trouble at school before and she was nervous as hell. At least with Dean picking her up, she could explain her side of things. He had gotten in plenty of fights and could be on her side once her dad found out.

30 minutes later the secretary cracked the door. "Mr. Milton, Mr. Winchester is here to speak to you."

Kate turned her head, excited to see Dean. Her face fell when she saw the other, scarier Winchester. "Where is Dean?"

"In the car." John said evenly.

She sunk down in her seat, hoping to melt into the wall.

Mr. Milton shook his hand. He did the normal introductions and started in on Kate being a good kid and him being surprised by the violent outburst.

Kate kept her eyes down although she could feel John's burning the side of her face.

"What kind of violent outburst?" John asked.

"She got into a fight with another student." Milton replied.

"Is that true Katelyn?" John asked her.

She didn't look at him but mumbled "Yes."

John cleared his throat.

"I mean, Yes sir."

"We do not tolerate fighting here, Mr. Winchester." Milton continued. "The other child went to the clinic for a suspected broken nose."

John snapped his fingers and pointed to a spot beside him on the floor. "Talk."

Kate walked over and wrung her hands. "There is a kid who has been picking on the younger kids. I have ignored him for weeks but today he pulled up Hannah's dress so I told him to leave her alone. I told him if he didn't leave us alone, I would punch him. Well, he didn't and I did." She licked her lips. "Well, he didn't like that very much. He grabbed my shirt and I may have kicked him."

John put up a hand. "You may have kicked him?"

Kate shifted. "I kicked him."

John sighed heavily. "Continue."

Kate pleaded with her eyes but saw no sympathy in John's eyes. "I did a few other things but it was probably the elbow to the face that broke his nose."

John flicked his hand toward the chair as a silent order for her to sit back down.

"As you can see Mr. Winchester, this was quite the outburst. I had no idea she was so aggressive." Milton stated.

John was quiet for a few minutes. "Is everything she said true?"

Milton nodded. "As far as I know."

"Kate, has he done the dress thing before?"

Kate squeaked. "Yes sir."

"How old is this boy?"

"He is supposed to be in sixth grade." Kate answered

John slapped his hands down on his knees. "So, let me get this straight. You have a boy running around lifting girls' dresses?"

Milton furrowed his brows. "Well, we have had a few reports but you know how boys are."

John stood up to his full height. "No. That is not just how boys are. It shouldn't take a NINE year old GIRL knocking the shit out of the kid to get anything done. You should have put a stop to it the first time you heard about it." John bellowed.

Milton stood up as well. "She injured another student."

"She was standing up for herself and the kid is damn lucky he got away with a broken nose. A boy that age should know better than that. Little pervert." John was fuming. "What do you need from me?"

Milton was stunned. "She is suspended for three days."

John put his hands on Milton's desk. "No she isn't. She is coming with me today but will be back in her seat tomorrow. What he did was border line sexual assault and she will not be suspended for preventing him from going further."

Milton just blinked. "Now, Mr. Winchester, calm down. It is school policy."

John shook his head. "You let a future rapist run around picking on little girls. Screw the policy. I know a decent lawyer or two." John said, looking Milton in the eyes.

Milton shut his mouth. "Alright, you may return tomorrow morning but there will be no more fights. You are on probation here."

Kate nodded her head. "Yes sir. No more fights, got it."

John tilted his head, signaling for her to go to the door. "Glad we are on the same page." He said before opening the door and shooing Kate out.

Dean watched in the rear view mirror as Kate ran toward the impala. John was stalking after her. Dean could tell he was incredibly pissed. Dean was going to handle it but John had over heard the conversation and took over.

Kate swung the door open and dove into the back seat.

John got in the passenger seat and told Dean to drive.

Dean left the school but waited at the end of the road. "Where dad?"

John looked back at Kate. "Ice cream."

Dean flinched from the shock. "Ice cream?"

"Yes, Dean. Drive."

Dean pulled up outside the local parlor and turned the ignition off. "Okay, I have to ask. What is this?"

John reached back and patted Kate on the leg. "She broke a kid's nose."

Dean whipped his head around. "And we are getting ice cream?"

"The kid was an older boy who liked pulling up girls' dresses." John stated.

Understanding dawned on Dean's face. He reached back and fist bumped Kate. "That's my girl."

Kate was slightly confused. "So... I'm not in trouble?"

"Don't use your training on another kid, and no more fights at school." John said calmly. "But, if he touches you again, knock him out."

John got out of the car and waved his hand impatiently at the two looking at him blankly.

Dean shrugged and helped Kate out of the car. "Witch." He whispered.

Kate giggled. "Maybe I am?"