Authors note: I have mulled this over for a few days. I place some things in the story so it is relevant later on (Like Dean saying she could talk a hell hound out of collecting a soul.) Of course, this is all fiction but this is my baby. I really give thought to my characters and how I want them portrayed. Alas, I cannot give an ultra clear view of what is in my own head. Misconception: John left welts on her. Not in my head he didn't. For me, he chose a switch because there is no force behind it. It stings and what marks it leaves fade within an hour or two. The belt is something that Sam and Dean fear, so I didn't want to put that on her. It does come up later. Again, I know it is fiction but I tried to add enough backstory to make John look like less of an asshole (compared to the show and other stories.) Throwing ones self down the stairs is a tongue in cheek thing. Like considering running instead of making a public speech. Anxiety is kicking my butt so bear with me.
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Bobby, Dean and John chatted quietly while they waited for Kate to come back down.
Sam mainly listened and gave his view point on a few things. He felt out of his depth.
"Are you okay with that, son?" Bobby asked.
Dean rubbed his temples. "I don't know if I'd ever be 'okay' with it but I agree."
Sam stepped into the hallway. "Thinking about throwing yourself down the stairs?" He asked, looking up at Kate who had paused at the top step.
She tilted her head and blushed. "Can you read me now?"
Sam smirked. "No. I've just thought about it a few times myself." He walked up and grabbed her hand. "You'd eventually recover and be in trouble for that on top of everything else."
Kate scrunched her face. "Yeah, that sounds about right."
Sam gave her a squeeze. "No death squads, promise." He said lightly.
Kate rolled her eyes.
Sam put his hand on her head. "You are going to be okay."
Kate frowned. He had a weird definition of okay.
"Is your dad sleeping?" Bobby asked.
Kate walked to a chair and sat down. "Yes. He is dreaming about my mom." She said sadly.
"That was kind of you." Bobby said with a small smile.
Kate looked down at her hands.
John drummed his fingers. After a minute or two he cleared his throat. "I think I should just be blunt and lay it out for you."
Kate looked up and nodded that she agreed.
"It is great that you found a way to help your dad. Honestly, I'm amazed that you managed to. You are ten. That being said, you are only ten. The way you got the information is the problem. You used the boys without their consent. You lied and hid things when you knew that you should have told someone. Don't even get me started on how many times you put your life in danger. You will be making a call to Hannah's mother and explaining to her what you got Hannah into." John said.
Kate shifted nervously but couldn't disagree with any of the observations.
"After all of this, we will listen if you have new information. We will work with you on your idea. All of us need to be able to trust you and right now we don't. I think that about covers it." John added.
Kate didn't speak.
"Do you have anything you want to add?" Bobby asked.
Kate shrugged. "No, I know what I did was wrong and my other argument was convincing you to listen to me. You will, so I don't have anything to add."
"Okay then." John said as he stood up.
Kate shrunk in her chair.
Bobby went down stairs and Sam all but ran out the front door.
Kate looked up at John to see him nod at Dean.
Dean placed a hand on her back. "Come on, let's go."
Kate forced herself to walk.
John walked down the hallway and out the way Sam went.
Kate froze.
Dean nudged her back. "Upstairs, come on."
Kate spun around. "I thought-"
Dean got down on her level. "Sam is a wimp and most of what you did revolved around the two of us. Sure, you lied to everyone but you played mind games with Sam and I. You used me, Kate."
Kate whimpered. "I'm sorry. I'm really sorry." John spanking her would be hard but Dean was another story. He was her friend. Seeing him disappointed hurt so much more. She wasn't emotionally prepared for this outcome.
Dean put his hands on each of her shoulders. "Don't make this harder than it needs to be." He stood up and motioned for her to walk.
She walked toward her doom, forcing her feet to move.
Dean walked into the room behind her and shut the door.
"Dean, you don't have to." Kate tried.
He smirked. "You aren't going to change my mind."
Kate licked her lips. "No, I mean YOU don't have to."
Dean sat down and looked at her.
"I mean, you are like a brother to me. You're my best friend." Kate said weakly.
Dean tilted his head. "That doesn't change anything."
Kate groaned. "It does though."
Dean popped his knuckles. "I have told you I have been through this with Sam. Not many times but enough."
Kate shifted.
"You are afraid that I will look at you differently?" Dean guessed.
Kate nodded.
He sighed and put an elbow on his knee. "You are like my bratty little sister. Eventually, when things settle down, my dad is going to hit the road hunting again. You'll stay here with Bobby at times but you are also going to tag along with Sam and me sometimes. Ideally you are going to spend a lot of your time with us. This is the way it is going to be. I prefer to be the fun older brother but when you mess up, I'm going to tag you for it."
Kate slumped. "I don't like it."
Dean chuckled. "And you think I do?"
Kate shook her head.
"Are you done?" Dean asked.
Kate sighed heavily. "I would like to remind you how small of a person I am."
Dean smirked and shook his head. He grabbed her arm and stood her between his knees. "Do you fully understand?"
Kate nodded. "The end result was good but my way of getting there wasn't."
"That about covers it." Dean said. He paused. "You have pants on, right?"
Kate rolled her eyes. "Yes."
"Don't look at me like that, I have no problem swatting your behind but I don't want to see it. I'm not a creep." He said.
Kate snickered. "Well aren't you a gentleman."
Dean smirked and patted her hip. "Enough chit chat."
Kate gave him puppy eyes.
He raised a brow and flicked his eyes to his leg.
Kate looked at him awkwardly. "Um, the other times you had your foot on a tire."
Dean shook his head. "Common sense kid. Come on." He pulled her arm down and situated her. He loathed the situation and needed to get going before he lost his nerve.
Kate groaned when he put his other leg over hers. "Your dad does that."
Dean blew air out of his nose. "Where do you think I learned it from?" He pulled the tail of the shirt up to her lower back. He mentally steeled himself. "Ready?"
"No." Kate squeaked as the first swat landed.
Dean didn't say anything as he swatted. He waited for her to start getting uncomfortable before pausing. "Why did you compel me?"
Kate groaned. "I didn't think you would agree to help me."
He drummed his fingers on her back. "Did you give either of us a chance to listen to you before wiping memories or did you just assume?"
Kate thought for a moment "Well, technically. Owe seriously?" She yelped when he smacked her thigh.
"No technicalities, I'm all ears." He said.
"This would be so much easier if you let me up." Kate whined.
"Nope, sorry kid. Talk or I start swatting again."
"Sam knew something was up and interrogated me. I panicked and yelled to forget about it or something like that and the first time I didn't mean to do it. I didn't even know I could do that." She answered honestly.
"Did it cross your mind that he may not be comfortable with that?"
"Yes." Kate said sadly.
"You just decided to keep doing it anyway?"
Kate shifted. "Also yes."
He swatted her a few more times. "So, you realized you could make Sam forget things. How did you arrive at the idea that it would be okay to have me unwillingly drive you around?"
Kate didn't speak at first but blurted out, "I knew you would be mad and I needed the help. I knew you would keep me from going to the house and you'd tell the others and my whole plan would fall apart." when she felt his hand raise.
Dean thought for a moment. "I might have helped you if I knew what was going on. You have been told to stop digging for this exact reason. What if what you erased also erased important information about another hunt? What if there are side effects to you compelling me? Did you consider any of that?"
"No. I'm really sorry."
Dean sighed heavily. "You keep saying that."
"I mean it though, I felt horrible the whole time. I didn't mean to upset you or Sam. I'm really really sorry."
He gave her another round of firm swats. "That is for playing mind games."
Kate tried to wiggle away. She did feel bad but her self preservation instincts were on high alert.
"You aren't going anywhere." Dean said, putting his hand on her upper back.
She sniffled and wiped at her eyes. His disappointment hurt far worse than the swats.
Dean bit into his lip. He wanted to let her up and to hug the stuffing out of her but she was on a dangerous path of self destruction. He wouldn't be doing her any favors if he went easy on her. "How long were you lying to us?"
"Months." Kate choked out.
"How do you think we feel, how do you think I feel about that?"
Kate sobbed. "Hurt. You don't trust me anymore."
"Yeah, Kate, I am hurt. I think I have been pretty fair and understanding. I can't wrap my head around how you could lie through your teeth, for so long, to ME." Dean said sadly.
"I really needed to save my dad."
Dean sighed again. "I know, Kate. It was a bad judgment call and I do think you realize that."
"I do, I promise." Kate mumbled.
He landed a dozen swats. "I should start over just for the lying bit but what we truly need to talk about is how many times you put yourself in danger."
Kate renewed her attempt to get off of his lap. "I understand. I made bad choices. I wont do it again."
Dean chuckled. "Kid, those aren't just bad choices. Stop fighting." He said with a sharp swat.
Kate gave up and buried her face in a pillow.
"You are important. The thought of you getting hurt in anyway makes my blood run cold. I can't explain to you just how upset I am that you would be so careless with your life."
Kate looked back at him, he looked sincere.
"The rest of it I can kind of understand to a point. Not this. You are young. Even as an adult, I wouldn't mess with any of that stuff without proper training and back up. Witchcraft is a slippery slope. Maren and I called it quits because she hexed me. If she held any kind of grudge, she could easily give you false information meant to harm instead of help. I don't know where you got some of the stuff you collected but I assume from shady people. What if Hellen decided to turn on you and trapped you in a vision or hurt you somehow that way? What if you hadn't realized that she had ulterior motives? Then, on top of the rest of the risky stuff, you run off, past warding.. alone... on a full moon... into the woods... to play Russian roulette with souls. What were the chances that you managed to capture a good soul?"
Kate let his words sink in. She felt terrible. She hadn't cared how dangerous it was.
Dean tapped her leg. "What were the chances... with the souls?"
Kate groaned. "I don't know."
"Nope. Those spells come at a cost. I want to know, what did you do to assure that the soul you caught wouldn't blow up in your face."
Kate chewed her fingers. "If you perform the spell on hallowed ground or somewhere you know a spirit is, and you know who the spirit is, it is easier to pull a specific soul, like my dad's."
"You weren't on hallowed ground." Dean said.
Kate shook her head. She shifted, wanting dearly to be out of range. "On a full moon, spirits get restless. I chose the lighter of the two ways you can do things. I wanted whoever's soul it was, to be willing to be caught." She paused to gather words. "There was no warding so all the bad spirits rushed through like water. It is like a magnet I guess but there are good ones too and the blue light tells you that the soul is good."
"Hold on, are you saying that you attracted all of that to yourself and just happened to get real damn lucky that there was something good there?"
"Well, when you put it like that." Kate said ruefully.
Dean snapped his fingers. "Hand."
Kate stiffened. "What?"
"Give me your hand." Dean said a bit more firmly.
Kate whimpered. "Please don't pin my arm."
Dean rolled his eyes. "I'm not going to. I'm going to hold your hand."
Kate was confused.
"I'm about to light your butt up and I don't want you reaching back, but I get how much all of this sucks so you can squeeze my hand if you want."
Kate slowly reached her hand back. She felt him pull her arm and place his hand over hers. She gave his hand an awkward squeeze. "This is weird."
Dean laughed. "Would you prefer I pin your arm or give you extra when you throw your hand back?"
"No!" Kate said.
Dean squeezed her hand once and returned to the task at hand. He felt bad for her and wanted to get it over with. He had only ever given her a few swats at a time and it was hard to steel himself. He had a soft spot. However, he thought about how easily she could have been lost to them and renewed his focus.
Kate quickly found solace in being able to squeeze his hand. She let herself break down and cry freely. She would be forgiven and might still get to save her dad. She felt horrible for having hurt them and knew that Dean would consider it a clean slate. She just had to make it through the barrage of swats. "Dean! I get it, I'm sorry. I promise I'll never ever ever do this again."
Dean gave her the last round of much harder swats and stopped. He rubbed her back and forced himself not to cry as well. His hand was on fire. He shook his hand and ran it down the side of his leg. He looked at the back of her thigh and frowned. He hadn't spanked her too hard and she wouldn't have lasting marks but she was going to feel it for a while. He patted her side.
She didn't get up right away.
Dean gently pulled her shoulder and enveloped her in a hug once she was standing. He let her cry and rub her face on his flannel. "It's okay kid."
Kate wrapped her arms around his neck and let herself cry until she couldn't anymore.
Dean used the tail of his flannel to wipe her face. "It is all over. You are good."
Kate sniffled. "It is all over?"
Dean tilted his head. "I mean if you want me to tack on a few extras I can."
Kate shook her head and scrunched her nose. "No thanks."
"Dad did leave that switch downstairs, I can hop down there and grab that."
Kate shoved his shoulder. "Why are you so mean?"
He hugged her again. "I'm just picking on you. I think I got my point across."
Kate nodded. "Message received. Why does he use that thing?"
Dean raised a brow. "Is that not self explanatory?"
Kate groaned. "It hurts."
Dean rubbed his neck. "But it is quick."
Kate stepped back.
Dean smirked. "A few swats and done. Dad doesn't like to prolong a punishment and prefers to make his point as efficiently as possible."
"And you prefer to drag out the torture?" Kate asked.
Dean snorted. "I prefer when you do what you are told and do not give me reason to have to be the bad guy."
Kate hugged him. "You aren't a bad guy."
Dean rubbed her back and let her finish calming down. "Do you want to go have that 'part two of the plan' talk now or take a nap first?"
Kate wiped her face. "I think I need a minute."
He tilted her chin up. "Are you good?"
Kate furrowed her brows. "That is a silly question."
Dean gave her a crooked smile. "I'm asking if you are going to be calm enough to sleep or do I need to stick around and make sure you don't try to escape out the window again."
Kate stomped her foot.
Dean ruffled her hair and walked to his dresser. He pulled out one of his band t shirts and threw it to her. "Here, that one is gross." He said, pointing to the one she had wiped her face with.
"I thought you said I couldn't steal anymore." She said, holding the new shirt up to her face.
Dean squinted. "I changed my mind, and it is called borrowing as long as I get it back."
Kate hugged him. "Thanks Dean."
He blushed. "Yeah, no problem kid." He turned his back so she could swap shirts. "You can take my bed instead of the floor, for now."
Kate cleared her throat, signaling that he could turn back around. "Trying to butter me up?"
Dean smirked. "No, I just get to be the older brother again. You know, the cool, totally awesome one."
Kate giggled. "I like this you better than the other you."
Dean covered her with his blankets. "And I like this you better than the other you." He brushed hair from her face and shut off the light. He rubbed his hand against his jeans and walked down the stairs. He poured himself a drink and sorted his thoughts. He grabbed Kate's journal and flipped through the pages. He wasn't going to blister her backside and then go back on his promise to help her complete the plan. He didn't care how many rules she had broken. He sat his glass down. Not everything was black and white.