I'm still alive! I'm so so sorry about the year and something long wait, but I've had more than an insane amount of things happen in that time and writing just couldn't have a priority. But I'm back! And I'm so excited to get back into this story, it has been in my head the whole time.

I won't delay any more, on with the chapter!

Disclaimer: Yeah, we already know this part.

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The struggles of the increasingly weak seem to amuse most dark spirits for some reason. Does it make them feel stronger? Or perhaps they feel more in control of their situation? It's not really something Dean was concerned with at the moment. He was more concerned with the pissed-off hick ghost currently smiling in his direction, boot still firmly pressing on the teenage girl's neck, and hand slowly reaching to his side. A gleaming knife rattled on the opposite wall before flying into his waiting hand.

Damn, wouldn't that be a sweet skill to have right now. Dean groaned in his head, eyeing the ghost wearily as he fought the pain in his body to stand.

Greeley smirked with satisfaction as Dean struggled. To a hunter, there was never so much of a thrill as there was when they still had fight left. Meanwhile Kate had lost all energy as she gasped for what little air she could under the impossible weight of this man. With a strong kick to the ribs, Greeley shoved Kate out of his way as he stalked over to Dean, knife hovering menacingly.

She rolled away, coughing and spluttering, sucking in air greedily as her chest burned. Weakly pushing herself off the floor, her eyes widened at the sight of her brother (even if he wouldn't admit it) in such evident danger. Her hands shook as she searched all over for some weapon to help her. Her heart pounded in her ears as she lay her eyes on her gun. Inwardly cheering, she dove for it, black dots briefly dancing in front of her eyes as her body attempted to adjust to the oxygen flooding it. She shook her head desperately to clear it, lifting the small gun to eye level, shaking with the effort of aiming…

But all of a sudden, Greeley began groaning and gasping in pain. He pulled himself off of Dean, attempting to stand and shake off whatever was plaguing him, but to no avail. Kate and Dean cringed, knowing what would happen, while Molly panted and screamed in terror. Soon he was screaming bloody murder, his entire being becoming engulfed in light and fire, before disappearing forever into the unknown.

Everyone was silent for a while, just processing what had just happened and giving bruises some time to throb before standing. Kate closed her eyes and took a deep breath.

Sorry Mr. Greeley. But at least now, you can be with your wife again.

After her quiet good bye, she stepped over to Molly and untied her wrists. She seemed shaken, but unharmed, so Dean was next. He groaned as he attempted to stand himself up. Kate smiled sympathetically.

"Need a hand?" She asked, stretching her hand to him. He looked at her warily, reminding himself that he still hadn't made up his mind about her. But finally, he sighed and took it. Her smile brightened as she lifted him to his feet. He dusted himself off, and rolled his shoulders before cracking his neck.

"Man, for an old ghost, he had some spring in his punch." He noted.

"Are you ok?" She asked looking him over quickly. "That looked like it really hurt…" He shrugged.

"Nah, I'm fine." He looked at Kate, his gaze briefly flickering to the marks on her neck. Before anything else could be said, Sam came running in.

"Hey, everybody alright?" He searched the room, locking eyes with his brother, who nodded.

"Yeah, we're all ok." He answered. Sam hesitated a minute, eyes searching his brother's body and face for signs he may be lying, before sighing in relief when he deemed it the truth. He smiled at Kate and Molly.

"Alright, let's get out of here." He took Molly by the arm and lead her outside. Kate turned to follow, but Dean held her back.

"Hey." He said quietly. She turned to him, a little nervous, but raising an eyebrow. He cleared his throat. "Uh, you ok?"

Kate was caught off guard by the question. What did he care? If he thought she was some creature or something, then why even ask? Unless…

She smiled. "Yeah, I'm fine, thanks." He stared for a second at her neck, which she was sure was red and marked, but hopefully not bruised too much.

"I think we have a little ice in the car. Make sure to put it on that when we get back." He gave his order before walking past her to the doorway. Kate smiled happily and merely accepted her confusion before following him silently outside.

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"Oh baby, it's been a long night." Dean sighed as he pat the beautiful car lightly. He slid into the driver's seat as though it were a part of him, like a puzzle coming together with an audible click that made it seem just right. It was comforting to Kate for some reason, even though she knew the next part of the hunt would probably be the most difficult.

Sam and Molly walked side by side, quiet and agitated for their own reasons. Kate was sure Sam was just as concerned about the next phase of the plan as she was, which also helped to comfort her s little. But she knew why Molly was upset as well.

"Come on, let's get you out of here." Sam mumbled. His soft voice was soothing, and Kate found herself relaxing into the back seat of the Impala.

"I'm not going anywhere," Molly replied firmly. "until you tell me what happened to my husband." Her tone was strong, but her voice was soft and gave away just how bone tired she was. Kate felt her heart clench at the sound and looked up at Sam. He seemed at war with himself, and she understood completely. Molly was traumatized, shaken, and grieving. It was time, and none of them were ready.

"All this time, I've been looking for him. And you knew that Greeley killed him, didn't you?" She asked. She wasn't really asking, so much as stating what she knew to be a fact. Sam looked away, chewing on his lip.

"He's dead." Her voice broke. And so did Sam.

"No Molly." He whispered. "David's alive."

"What?" She asked, a slight smile coming to her lips. "You sure?" Sam closed his eyes and smiled as he nodded.

It was almost cruel how her eyes shone in happiness and elation at his words, and Kate wasn't quite sure she could take it. Her heart hurt so much to see it that she had to look away when her eyes began burning.

"We'll take you to him, come on." He gestured her into the back seat. It was unbearable for him to do this, you could hear it in his voice. But Molly was too overjoyed by the news to even notice the guilty, sad, and tense atmosphere. She didn't need to be told twice, sliding in next to Kate and gracing her with a big smile. Kate tried her best to smile back, reaching over and giving her hand an encouraging squeeze.

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The Impala rolled up to the curb, engine making a strange noise caught between a click and s roar, one that seemed to be entirely unique to this car. Just outside sat a magnificent house, lit up and welcoming, with a gorgeous yard and big tree just out front. Everything about it screamed 'family'.

"He's in that house." Sam pointed to Molly. "Right there." At first, she seemed too excited to care, searching for any sign of her husband, before it dawned on her.

"I don't understand." She said slowly. The brothers looked at each other for a second. Kate decided she couldn't stand it anymore and practically jumped out of the car, everyone else following suit a second later.

Molly jogged up to the brightly lit window. Inside was a set of beautiful wooden cabinets in a kitchen with some granite countertops she thought she'd probably change given the chance. But what really caught her attention, was a tall man with dark hair and a light bathrobe on pouring coffee. Recognition overcame her, and it only made her mind fly with questions and clues that just couldn't make the connection.

"That's not… It can't be…"

The three others in the psrty all shared a look, one that conveyed not only how awkward and tense the whole thing was, but another message that just needed to be said.

Not it.

"What's happening…" She gasped, as another woman came in next to the man in the kitchen. Her lips touched his and that was all Molly needed before whipping around to the siblings.

"Who is that?"

"That's David's wife." Sam finally stepped up, brushing his rain-soaked hair out of his eyes. "I'm sorry Molly."

Molly kept turning her head back and forth between Sam and the window, as though she expected the vision to change. She waited for David to come running out, laughing about what a horrible joke this was, or for the others to disappear and to wake up in the car with him, still on the road. Anything but this.

"15 years ago, you and your husband hit Jonah Greeley with your car." Kate began, clearing her throat before the tears could overflow. "David survived." Molly shook her head.

"What are you saying?" She demanded, her whole pallor turning a pale blue in the light. Kate closed her eyes and swallowed hard.

"She's saying that there isn't just one spirit haunting highway 41, there are two." Dean stepped in and explained. "Jonah Greeley, and you."

"The past 15 years, one night a year, you've been appearing on that highway." Sam continued.

"No, that's not possible." She gasped. "It was our anniversary, February 22nd..."

"1992." Sam finished.

"Molly, it's 2007." Dean continued. Molly gazed at him, tears brimming her eyes as understanding finally creeped in. Kate looked at her elder brother, not sure what to expect, but just a little surprised to see him swallow a little and avert his eyes in guilt or sadness.

FLASH

"Alright, tell me about highway 41." Dean ordered nonchalantly as he steered his baby forward.

"12 accidents over 15 years, 5 of them fatal, all happening on the same night." Sam reported expertly as he looked over his map and news articles. Dean nodded appreciatively.

"So what are we looking at, interstate dead zone? Phantom hitchhiker? What?"

"Not quite. I mean, year after year, witnesses said that the same thing made them crash: a woman appearing in the middle of the road, being chased by a man, covered in blood."

"Could it be two ghosts then?" Kate asked from the back seat. Sam and Dean looked at each other and shrugged.

FLASH

The library records room was packed with shelves upon shelves of reading material, but an old projector was the focus of three young hunters. Kate sat between her brothers and slowly scanned the screen for information as her steady hand guided the strip. Newspaper articles streamed across her eyes, until finally she caught a headline worth reading.

'Tragic Accident Kills 2 on Highway

"This must be it." She pointed to the boys.

FLASH

A man in his forties sits agitated on his couch as two men and a young woman sit across from him, his hands wringing and eyes betraying his grief.

"And where is Molly buried?" Dean asked.

"She-She wasn't..." David explained, his voice breaking with the emotion. He looked down, and Kate reached over and gently laid her hand on his shoulder, smiling kindly.

"It's alright, sir." She comforted as best she could. He returned her smile and took a deep breath.

"She wasn't buried anywhere. She was cremated."

Dean, Sam and Kate walked down the steps of the house and out onto the street.

"Well, so much for burning her bones!" Dean moaned in frustration.

"Yeah, but then what's keeping her here?" Sam asked thoughtfully. Kate paused for a moment.

"Wait, the autopsy said she hit her head, right?" She asked. Sam stopped and nodded.

"Yeah, cause of death was trauma when she hit it against the steering wheel."

"Well then isn't it possible she left blood, hair, whatever in the car or even on the glass that shattered all over the place? That DNA could be enough to trap her, and link her to her site of death." Kate explained. Dean nodded, before running a hand through his hair.

"Great, so all we have to do is find the strand of hair, drop of blood, or piece of glass from 15 years ago in the middle of nowhere. No problem." He stalked towards the car.

FLASH

It all seemed to sink in to Molly just then.

"And Greeley?" She asked, swallowing heavily and on the verge of tears.

"Each year he punishes somebody for his death." Sam began. "Uh, chasing them, torturing them, and each year… that someone is you."

"But I don't remember any of it." She cried softly.

"Because you couldn't see the truth, Molly." He replied just as softly.

"So that's why he wouldn't let me off the highway… because I… I killed him." It was too much. Her tears spilled over, and with them so did Kate's. Sam wrapped an arm around his little sister, never taking his eyes off the distressed woman in front of him. Kate instinctively leaned into Sam's strong, warm body as she shivered with cold and sadness. Molly was not taking this well, and honestly, how could she? She found out she is dead, her husband remarried, and she killed someone all in a 2 minute span. Her mind was reeling, anyone could see that.

"Here." Dean stepped forward and put his arm around Molly, guiding her farther down the walkway to the steps. "Look like you're going to fall over." Molly shook her head as she sat down.

"What does it matter if I do? I'm dead." Dean bit his lip and stepped back next to his siblings, averting his eyes. Molly clasped her hands in front of her, staring at the ground as the sun began to rise.

"Why not tell me when you first saw me?" She asked. "Why wait until now?"

"Would you have believed us?" Kate laughed a little through her tears. It seemed like a ridiculous idea to her, why would Molly think otherwise? Molly glared at her.

"And you needed me for bait." She spit angrily. Kate winced and looked to the ground. Dean frowned and looked back at Molly, ready to jump in should the spirit turn angry on Kate or Sam.

"Well, we needed you." He explained. Molly locked eyes with him, glaring and then gradually softening.

"David." She whispered, turning toward the house,

"Molly, we brought you here so you could move on." Sam stated, firmly but kindly. Molly shook her head vigorously.

"No, I have to tell him." She whispered, looking fixedly at the window. Dean sighed.

"Tell him what?" Sam asked incredulously. "That you love him? That you're sorry?" He chuckled. "Molly, he already knows that. Look, if you want to go in there, we're not going to stop you."

"No, but it'll sure as hell freak him out." Dean stated. "For life."

Molly turned her head back and forth between her companions, tears leaking unabashedly from her blue eyes. Her cheeks were puffy from the wind, and Kate absently wondered if that was how they looked that freezing night.

"David's already said his good-byes, Molly." Sam continued. "Now it's you're turn."

"This is your unfinished business." Kate said quietly. Molly looked at her silently, contemplating their earlier conversation in Greeley's home. Now she was glad Kate felt the way she did about ghosts, and understood her explanation better than she ever could. She sighed and wiped away a stray tear.

"What am I supposed to do?" She asked. Sam squared his shoulders, thinking for a second.

"Just… let go." He answered. "Of David, of everything." She visibly choked on her tears, stifling a sob.

"We think you'll move on." He added, hoping to comfort the poor ghost.

"But you don't know." She replied steadily. Sam swallowed.

"Nō. But Molly, you don't belong here. Haven't you suffered long enough?" He stopped and let her catch her breath as sobs escaped. Kate released her brother and pushed forward to take Molly in for a tight embrace. Molly sobbed a few more times into Kate's shoulder before pulling away with a tight and watery smile. Kate took both if her freezing hands in her own.

"It's time, Molly." She said gently. "Its time to go."

Molly looked at Kate, unsure of what to do. She knew she had to move on, but she had no idea what would happen from there. But as she looked into Dean and Sam's faces, she knew they were right. This was the only way to end everything.

And as she walked into the bright lights of the rising sun, Kate watched Molly smile at the unknown, and knew she'd be just fine.

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The car was once again silent as the highway stretched on before them. Kate leaned back against the worn leather seat, trying not to move as much as possible. Sam was riding shotgun, one of his long legs resting against the door while he balanced a map and a few newspapers on his lap. Dean drummed his fingers absently against the steering wheel, his mind racing but beginning to calm as he focused himself on driving, and the little issue in the back.

Glancing in the rear view, he watched Kate as she lay completely still against the seat, not even turning her head to watch the trees go by as she had the last few times she was in there. After so many years of taking care of Sammy, it was nothing to pick up on people's little habits. Judging by the way her face microscopically tightened anytime her head moved, her neck was still bothering her. He supposed that was to be expected, since she spent a solid minute being crushed by a ghostly boot, and was strangled just a few minutes before that by the same ghost.

Son of a bitch.

"Kate." He grunted. She jumped, a little startled at the sound of his voice calling her.

"Y-Yeah?" She replied timidly. Sam watched his brother out of the corner of his eye, ready to make a move if he said something stupid. Dean sighed.

"I put an ice pack in the mini cooler. Should be right beneath your seat." She bent carefully and reached under to pull out the little red box, cool to the touch. Opening it up, she pulled out the freezing blue package from between the two bottles of beer, and handed it up to the center console.

"Do you want me to wrap it up, or hold it for you while you drive?" She asked, concerned. He must have gotten hit harder than she thought, how stupid of her not to notice. Dean rolled his eyes exasperatedly.

"I want you to put it on your neck." He explained gently, raising an eyebrow. She blushed in embarrassment.

"Right, duh. Um. Thanks." She smiled happily at him, he pretended not to notice, but watched in the mirror as she gently wrapped it around the sore spots, instantly relaxing at the numbing sensation, and biting back a sigh of relief. He smiled a small smile, but would deny it to the end if you ever accused him of it.

Before long, Kate was out cold against the window, the ice pack resting precariously against her back and slightly on the nape of her neck. Sam looked over his shoulder at her. It was amazing to him that he went from baby brother everyone had to look out for, to older brother carefully watching someone else in such a short time. It was a little nerve wracking, to be honest. He'd always had Dean to take care of him, but now it was his job and it freaked him out a little bit. Things tend to get dangerous very quickly as a hunter, and especially as a Winchester, and now they were dragging a third into it?

As his thoughts ran wild, he noticed the ice pack, and carefully adjusted it so as to not wake his sleeping sister. She squirmed a little at the cold, so he instantly out his hand on her hand, as though to remind her that it was ok, he was a warm presence. Of course, he didn't know he was saying this, he just moved, knew what needed to be done.

Dean watched the exchange with a growing sense of pride in his little brother. He knew it was tough for them to grow up only really relying on each other, but seeing Sam use his old tricks on their younger sister made him realize how much those meant to Sam, and that only made him feel better.

Yes, he knew it was time to face facts. There was no denying it anymore. Kate is a Winchester, and his baby sister. Well, half. But it counted nonetheless. He had been ruthless with her the past few days, but every moment she was proving to be more and more like John, and showing him that she is exactly what she says she is. It was hard for Dean to accept what had happened, but he supposed it was almost the same as the way he was out on the road, except minus the two kids and dead wife.

But that didn't matter now. What mattered now was deciding what to do.

"So, how far to Sioux Falls?" Dean asked quietly. Sam's heart sank.

"Does it matter? We're not going."

"Come on, Sam…"

"No, don't do that." He snapped. "When are you going to accept that Dad wasn't perfect? He made mistakes, and this one was huge. But this time, it's given us family, and her a real chance at one."

"A real chance?" Dean interrupted. "Sam, I am trying to give her a chance, by having Bobby find a safe, normal place for her. On the road with us is too dangerous and you know that."

"I think it's her decision." Sam retaliated. "Look, she has been searching for Dad for years, because he abandoned her. To come back to us. We owe her the chance to know us, to know Dad the best way we can show her. It's the least we can do."

Dean opened his mouth to argue, but had trouble coming up with something to say. Sam had a point.

"Besides, you know it'll be just as dangerous for her anywhere else now that the word is out. If anything, she is safest with us." That did it, and Sam knew it.

"Yeah, yeah, fine. Alright, she stays. But if things get squirrelly, we bring her to Bobby so we can handle it. Deal?"

"Deal."

"… Bitch."

"Jerk."

And in the backseat, a small smile graced Kate's lips. She was home.

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Alright! New chapter is done! Ok, now before anyone says anything, I am aware of the time line issues. I am going to change Kate's birth year to 1990 to accommodate, so that should fix it. Hopefully these nine pages have satisfied you until my next chapter!

Thank you so so so so so much for your patience, and for all those who have viewed, reviewed, followed and favorite! It means so much to me, and I can't wait to show you what I have planned!

Until next time!