Kate kept her head down and tried to explain the events that led to her run through the woods. No matter how she phrased things, it just looked bad. She tried her best to think of how to tell the story in a way that resulted in some kind of understanding.
"It started last year?" Dean asked, urging her to finish the sentence.
Kate nodded. "I think in November or December." She looked up to judge how they were taking that news. "I really tried not to look into ways to help but my dad is going to die. All of you would lay down your life in a heartbeat."
"Continue." John said.
"We called the number that goes to the yellow house." She stumbled over her words.
"We?" Dean butted in.
Kate felt her life fading away. "Hannah and I."
John put a hand on Dean's shoulder and gave him a look. "You and Hannah called the house. Then what? How did you get the number?"
Kate hugged a throw pillow to her chest. "I got it from the phonebook."
"What phone book?" Bobby asked, squinting his eyes.
"Yours." Katie grimaced. "A while back I wrote it down."
Bobby shook his head. "How far back is a while back?"
"I don't remember. I didn't plan on using it. Hannah talked me into calling the number one day."
"You mean you let her talk you into it." John added.
Kate sighed. "Yes. I'm scared for my dad and I caved."
John rolled his hand for her to continue.
"A woman answered and was really nice. Hannah gave her a story and she said we could call back any time we wanted to." Kate said.
"That didn't sound suspicious?" Dean asked.
Kate rolled her eyes. "God, Dean, it would be easier if I could finish a sentence." She squeaked when he stood up.
John motioned for him to sit back down. "Watch it."
Kate sat up straight. "I'm sorry. Yes, it seemed weird but I didn't call back. My visions came back and I talked to her that way. Her name is Hellen." She told them a bit about what Hellen had told her and the spell she had gotten. "I didn't summon a demon."
John raised a brow. "Was this witchcraft you were messing with?"
Kate slumped back. "Well, Dean keeps telling me I'm a witch."
Dean glared at her.
Her joke wasn't as funny to them as it was to her. "Yes but light witchcraft, not dark stuff. Its totally safe."
John sighed and rubbed his temples. "How would you know for sure that it is safe?"
"Well I'm still alive." Kate said lightly.
"Do I need to go cut another switch?" John asked.
Kate gulped and shook her head wildly. "I did a lot of research. It took me months to get things set up and make sure what she was telling me was true."
"How did you manage to keep that amount of information off everyone's radar?" Dean asked.
Kate let a tear drop and hung her head. "I didn't. Sam caught me."
John looked at Sam. "Son."
Kate shook her head. "He doesn't remember."
Sam shrugged his shoulders in confusion.
"This is why I wanted to wait on the adoption stuff. I don't want you to sign stuff and be stuck with me."
Sam leaned forward. "What do you mean?"
"You are going to be really mad at me and I'm okay going somewhere else." Kate said.
"Just spit it out." John said.
Kate hid her face in her hands and mumbled.
"You compelled me?!" Sam nearly yelled.
Kate snapped her head up. Sam never yelled.
He turned to Dean. "That's why I had no clue what you were talking about earlier."
Kate wiped her eyes.
"How did you learn you could do that?" Dean asked.
Kate chewed on her fingers. "Hellen."
"You just said she gave you some information." Bobby said.
"She showed me things I could do. Just a few things." Kate added.
John growled and waved his hand. "Is that everything up to tonight?"
Kate grimaced again. "Kind of."
John gave her a look.
"There are fine details but that is the synopsis." Kate said sadly.
"How did you get out of the house?" John asked.
Kate looked at Sam and Dean and sniffled. "I told you to stay asleep."
Dean narrowed his eyes. "Is that the only time you have done that?"
Kate shook her head. "No. I really needed this to go right and please understand that I had no choice."
Dean put his hand up. "What were the other times?"
Kate looked in Sam's eyes. "I only asked you to forget about stuff when you asked too many questions. I asked you to stay asleep. That's it. I swear."
Dean snapped his fingers. "What about me?"
Kate scooted the chair closer to the wall. "I did it other times."
Dean glared at her again.
"It doesn't really matter when. I am telling you the truth." Kate tried.
"What did you do?" Dean demanded.
Kate's breath caught in her chest. "You helped me get some things."
Dean stood up. "Keep talking."
Kate shook her head. She knew he was going to hate her. "You took me to a shop to get some things I needed and... and.. you took me to Hellen's house."
Dean was stunned. He turned his back and walked toward Bobby's study. He needed to control his anger. "I didn't take you anywhere! I didn't have a choice because you thought it was alright to do some kind of mind control shit and mess with my head."
John put his arm out to stop Dean. "We aren't going to get the full story if you kill her before she is done talking."
Dean walked back around and sat on the couch.
"That one, you can deal with." John said to the side of Dean's face.
Dean bounced his leg. Oh, he would be dealing with it alright.
Kate cried openly.
"Was it just those two?" John asked.
Kate shook her head. "I helped my dad sleep but I swear on my life that I have never done it to you or Bobby."
Bobby threw up his hands. "Great, that makes it so much better."
Kate tried to calm her breathing. "I had to be far away from the warding or the spell wouldn't work. So I walked across the road into the woods and did it."
Bobby blew air from his nose. "That warding is there to keep you safe."
Kate paused to think. How much could she tell them about the spell? If she was honest about the second part of the plan, would they work with her?
"What kind of spell did you do?" John prompted.
Kate blinked. "It is hard to explain."
John shook his head. "You felt confident enough to do it, by yourself, in the middle of the night, when no one knew where you were. So, you are confident enough to explain it."
Kate whimpered. "It sounds bad. Uh, it is a soul binding spell."
John stood up quickly. "That isn't light witchcraft!"
Kate shrunk in the chair. "It is lighter than other things."
John looked at Sam and tilted his head toward the door.
Sam got up and did what he knew he was being asked to do. He broke off a limb from a tree and sat down on the steps to think. He was crushed that she had compelled him. He was hurt and angry.
Dean scooted to the other side of the couch, closer to Kate. "What was the spell?"
Kate chewed her fingers. "The paper is in my bag."
Dean got up and grabbed her back, dumping it out on the table. He sifted through the stuff and found a piece of paper. He read it and passed it to John and Bobby. "How did you get your hands on that."
Kate groaned. "A friend gave it to me."
"A friend? What friend?" Dean pushed.
Kate steadied her breath. "Maren."
Dean paused. "Maren Wilkinson?"
Kate nodded.
Dean crouched down in front of her. "How do you know about her?"
Kate wriggled, trying to become one with the chair. "You guys had a... fling."
Dean growled. "You know that how?"
Kate shook her head. "Just whip me already."
"How do you know about Maren?" Dean pushed harder. He did have a fling with Maren when he was 18. She was a beautiful young witch that he fell hard for. "Did you read me?"
Kate choked. "I just needed to know if you knew any witches."
Dean sat back on the floor. "You just keep digging that hole deeper."
Kate sobbed. "I know. I told you that you would want me to go away."
"How did you convince her to help?" Dean pried.
Kate sniffled. "I told her you needed the spell."
Dean stared blankly at her.
"I needed to do this. I had to. This had to happen for me to save my dad." Kate pleaded.
Sam walked back in and handed the switch to John.
Kate gulped. "You already whipped me with one of those."
John sat it on the coffee table. "You are going to finish the story. You are not going to sugar coat it and you will not leave anything out."
"If I tell you, I'm afraid you will stop the plan and it will all be for nothing." Kate said through tears.
"If this is something that might actually help him, we will help you do it as long as you are safe." John said.
Kate sighed heavily. "I basically summoned a soul and caught it. It is held in my crystal and isn't in any pain or anything." She took off the one on her neck and peeled the real one off of her side.
"You weren't planning on showing us the crystal?" Sam asked.
Kate shook her head. "If you caught me and tried to put a stop to it, I'd still have the real thing." She held the crystal up as it glowed blue. "I did the spell and this blue light showed up and floated down into the fire. When the flames died down, this was what was left."
John held his hand out for the crystal. "How is this going to help?"
Kate started crying and shaking.
Dean picked her up and sat her in his lap. He could be mad at her and calm her down at the same time.
"I can't save my dad's life. I can save his soul though. When the time comes, his soul will go in the crystal with that one. You know how you told me I could talk a hellhound out of collecting a soul?"
Dean paused. "I guess I did say that."
"Well, I can't talk them out of it but I can confuse them. Having both of the souls together will make it impossible to track just my dad's. They wont be able to take him to hell." Kate said.
"Who does that soul belong to?" John asked.
"I don't know." Kate said honestly. "It just needed to be the soul of a good person who was okay with being used."
"How do you know that is the soul of a good person?"
Kate sucked air through her teeth. "If it was a bad person it would have blown up."
Everyone collectively groaned.
John didn't even know how to respond. "So you have the soul, what now?"
"Hellen gave me the spell to use for taking my dad's."
"Why is this, Hellen, helping you?" Bobby asked.
Kate shifted and grabbed Dean's arm. She didn't want him to start swatting. "We made a deal."
"What kind of deal?" John demanded.
"Well, a soul for a soul." Kate answered.
John paced back and forth. "You sold your damn soul?"
Kate shook her head. "No! She isn't a good person. She is working with the yellow eye man."
Dean turned her to face him. "She is a bad person and you are trusting her to help you?"
Kate tried to wriggle out of his arms. "I didn't know at first."
"How long have you known that she was not good?" Sam asked.
"A few weeks. No a few months." She squeaked when Dean shifted herself. "Wait! I have more info."
Dean narrowed his eyes.
"She needs the power of a soul for a spell she is working on. It is dark. I have seen bits and pieces of what she has done, by getting in her head. I am supposed to give her the crystal. She said that the souls wouldn't be harmed and they would just burn up."
"You are going to give some evil lady your dad's soul?" John asked in a low voice.
Kate's eyes flew open. "No, of course not. I'm going to give her the demon in the box."
Bobby rested his elbows on his knees. "Why would you do that?"
Kate smiled. "The spell she wants to do requires the power of a soul. The crystal will have two. She wont know the difference until she has already done the spell. The base is pretty much the same as the one I did. The demon was a bad person."
They all stared at her until Dean connected the dots. "It will blow up in her face."
"Kate, you are talking about killing someone or seriously hurting them." Bobby said in shock.
Kate grimaced. "She is very very old. She does a spell every few decades and it gives her more years. She collects souls and eats them."
John was stunned. "You are playing a very dangerous game."
Kate shrugged. "That is why I kept it all a secret."
John met her eyes.
Kate put her head down. "No one could find a way to help and I did."
"You don't know for sure if any of this will work." Dean said.
"I can show you everything. I can walk you through it. This will work." Kate pleaded.
"Have you told us everything about what you have done so far?" John asked.
Kate nodded her head.
John rubbed his face. "When will your dad wake up?"
Kate frowned. "I don't know. He will wake up naturally. I think the suggestion is stronger if someone is drunk."
John leaned over and said something to Bobby.
Bobby nodded his head.
John sat down and looked at Kate. "We have a lot to think about and I'd like to revisit this in the morning. You need some sleep, and honestly we do too. If there is anything you are hiding or lying about, you have immunity tonight. If you tell us tomorrow morning, we wont hold it against you. However, if you choose to keep it a secret after that immunity is up." He said, picking up the switch. "Am I understood?"
Kate squeaked. "Yes, sir."
John dismissed her from the room and she ran up the stairs.
Sam sat on the couch and stared at his feet. He was still processing all of it.
"Boys, are you good to go to bed too?" John asked.
Dean stood up. "Yes sir. Can't let her escape again." He patted Sam's shoulder and tilted his head toward the stairs.
Sam stopped at the bathroom and splashed his face with water. Sure, he was mad, but more than anything he felt the fear coming off of her.
Dean laid down on his bed. "We aren't getting rid of you."
Kate rolled over. "You are just going to kill me."
Dean smiled. "Now, that is a possibility." He reached down and ruffled her hair. He was mad. No, he was pissed but that didn't override his desire to keep her around.
Sam crawled into his bed and looked down at Kate. He didn't say anything but offered her a weak smile and a nod.
Kate hated herself. She wasn't sure they would ever trust her again.
John saw the light to the bedroom turn off and went to the kitchen for a drink.
Bobby walked in behind him. "Just when I think I understand her, she throws me a curve ball."
John nodded. "She is smart."
Bobby snorted. "I don't think that is what I would call her."
John leaned back against the counter as he sipped his drink. "She and another 10 year old tracked down spells that I have never heard of. She kept it all from us and managed to devise a plan that may actually save his soul. Then, she figured out Hellen's motives and has a backup plan to get rid of her."
Bobby thought about it. "I would be impressed if I wasn't so mad."
John chuckled. "That is her standard."
Bobby nodded in agreement. She just had to push buttons in a way that made it difficult to know how to respond. "I guess we better sleep on it."
John sat the empty glass in the sink and clapped Bobby on the back as he went to the living room. He laid down on the couch and rested his tired muscles. He had been up for two days and needed to knock out. He smiled and shook his head. Mary was a fiery handful as a kid and although sweet and gentle, she had the confidence to stare down the devil himself. Dean was such an easy toddler and Sam was a good baby. Mary joked that they needed a daughter to liven up the place. He placed his arm over his eyes. Where ever Mary was, she was probably laughing her ass off.
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Sorry for cliffhangers. Let me know if I gloss over a topic that you were left wondering about.