Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.
Kate splashed her face with water for the third time.
The cold drops of water dripped down on her creamy white face, slightly erasing the thin line of black eye-liner she had done this morning, simply out of routine, before passing by her cheeks that were back their full shape and colour, and ending their little trip on her chin and jaw; a few drops continuing on the soft skin of her throat while some dropped onto the sink.
She shut her eyes tightly and let out a long, heavy breath.
After having to hear the explanation of Matt's discovery a second time, an overwhelming feeling had filled her and she had felt the need to refresh herself. Still, she wasn't sure if it was because she had to hear this whole recounting all over again, if it was because Bobby and Matt had emphasised the fact that this was what she had kept secret from them all, or maybe it was because of the way Sam spoke barely ten short words while his older brother, quiet as a mute, avoided her gaze during the whole time.
Shutting off the tap, the brunette leaned her hands on the edge of the sink and looked at her reflection in the mirror right above it. She wasn't sure why she was feeling so anxious and miserable. She just felt that way, and she hated it. It was as if her stomach was tying itself in knots, and convincing it to stop was nothing short of futile. God, she hated this!
"What do I do?" She asked to herself as she looked at her reflection. Her hands were gripping the edge of the sink so tightly that her knuckles turned as white as the very clean white ceramic of the sink itself.
She hadn't prepared herself to leave this universe so soon. Because that was what was going to happen tonight, right? Wouldn't Zachariah have already interfered if he didn't want her to leave? Besides, this Opener of the Way was a god, so he ought to be more powerful than an angel. So, maybe Zachariah can't do anything against this entity. Then again, maybe Zachariah had finally decided to let her go away tonight because he had realized that he didn't need her anymore. Thus, she wouldn't have to draw all the sigils Ruby had taught her to create an angel-proof area in the house for what they were going to do tonight.
Still, all of that didn't make her feel any better. She still didn't feel ready for what was going to happen. Even though she had been in this universe for almost six months, trying to find a way back to her own universe, she hadn't prepared herself to go. But, she didn't need to get prepared for something like that. All she had to do was go for it. After all, she hadn't been prepared when she had been pulled away from her universe into this one. It was not a question of being ready. No.
It was more than that. She could feel it in her bones.
Maybe, it was a choice. But, why would she need to make a choice? There wasn't supposed to be any choice to make. Besides, she was terrible at making choices. She had always been so indecisive and it wasn't going to take half a year in some other universe to change that. But, that wasn't the matter right now. Her thoughts were so confused and so entangled together right now, that it only increased her anxiety.
There was no choice to make. All that was supposed to be was the right thing to do. No choice to make. She shouldn't feel that miserable and that anxious, simply because she was going to do the right thing. She knew she was making the right decision.
She didn't belong in here. She had to go back to her universe.
It was the right thing to do, there wasn't any doubt about it.
This knowledge still didn't stop Kate from worrying. 'What will happen to them now? Who will take care of them now?'
"No," Kate shook her head, reached out for the tap once again and turned it on again before splashing water on her face.
One splash.
A second splash.
A third splash.
And, then she stopped.
Her hands slid down her face as her brown eyes filled with an expression of confusion and loss. Her eyes focused on her reflection once again as the same question that never left her since the first time it appeared in her mind, surfaced back.
Who will take care of him?
"No. No, no, no," she told herself as she shut the tap violently before pushing her hair back with her two hands. She gripped the base of her hair in between her fingers, her eyes shutting as tightly as the grip of her fingers.
"Kate, they need you."
Even what her cousin Alina had said in her dream was going against her. It wasn't fair. It wasn't her duty to take care of these people. It wasn't her duty to be there for them. She shouldn't feel this guilty for going back to her own universe. She shouldn't feel any guilty for doing the right thing!
She had to go back to her own universe.
And, the fact that Zachariah hadn't come to stop her, meant only one thing. He knew she had to do this and he let her do this.
She had to go back.
It was the right thing to do.
She had to go back home.
But, then, why did she feel like it was a big mistake?
When Kate returned in the living room, Bobby and Matt were both gathered around the coffee table talking and eating, although she did notice that Bobby wasn't eating his food as eagerly as Matt was. One hand nursing his bottle of beer, the other flat on his lap, and his eyes focused on the young man sitting across of him, Bobby seemed a bit out of character since he heard that a way to send Kate back home had finally been found. The thing was that Bobby had developed a very profound and sincere respect and affection for the young woman. She reminded him of his long-gone wife with her enthusiasm, positivity and her organisation skills. But it was her gentleness and caring that reminded him the most of the woman he had never stopped loving even after her death.
"Still not sleeping, Bobby?" Kate had asked that night after it had been officially accepted by Bobby that she had to be trained to fight against whatever creature she would come across.
"Oh, Kate… Yeah, I… I got some work to finish," he had replied from his desk where he had been sitting at, a glass full of strong whisky in one hand while the other flipped a book closed. "I thought you were tired? What are you doing still up?"
"I couldn't sleep... After what happened this afternoon, I just… I couldn't sleep," she had admitted, wrapping her arms around her as she had made a few steps until she had been standing in front of his desk. "I'm sorry, Bobby."
"What for?"
"I should have listened to you and went downtown while you were taking care of that demon… If I would have done that, he wouldn't have brought up your wife. I'm sorry," she had told him in such a sincerely regretful voice as her brown eyes looked at him softly.
"If you would have done what I told ya, I would have been dead by now," he had told her, putting his glass down as a memory of what happened with that demon had crossed his mind back then.
"You're slightly exaggerating."
"I'm not exaggerating."
"I did say 'slightly' exaggerating," she had replied succeeding to make him crack a smile. After a moment of silence, he had looked up at her, his eyes full of sadness.
"You can still back off, you know?"
"Bobby, we've already talked about this…"
"I know, but I don't want you to do somethin' that might kill you."
"Aren't you the one that told me that knowing how to fight is the only way to help me survive in this world?"
"I blame Pamela for making me say this."
"She's right and you know that, Bobby," she had replied which caused him to nod. "Look, I'm not doing this for fun. I'm doing this because I've got no choice, and you know that. I can't stay here, and wait for a miracle to happen and to send me back to my universe."
"I know… I'm just worried. I don't want anythin' to happen to ya, kiddo… I don't want all of this to start all over again. I-" He had said before cutting himself to take a long breath. "You remind me of Karen. My wife. She didn't have brown hair or brown eyes like you, but she had the same golden heart. You're like the daughter we could have had… She wanted kids… That's the one thing I never gave her while I would have given her the world… She was everything to me. She made me believe in humanity. She made me believe that good and happy things could happen. She was everythin'… And I killed her. I killed her 'cause she was possessed by a demon."
"Why didn't you exorcise her instead?" Kate had asked in a whisper full of gentleness. And when Bobby had looked up into her brown eyes, he had noticed the tears that had formed in there.
"I… I didn't know anythin' about demons back then… I didn't know anything about this world," he had admitted. And, slowly he had frowned his eyes as he had realized. "I suppose that says it all, huh? If you know about those creatures and how to fight them, you'll live."
She hadn't said anything, but Bobby had known that if she had been able to give a proper answer without letting those tears escape her eyes, it would have been the right one to his last words. Opening his book which had appeared to actually be one of his journals, he had pulled out a picture before standing up and walking towards Kate.
"This is Karen," he had said handing her the picture. She had looked down at it, a sharp outtake of breath leaving her lips as she had smiled when seeing the beautiful blonde-haired and blue-eyed woman sitting right next to a younger Bobby, one hand intertwined with one of Bobby's. "And, if I had known anything about demons back then, if I had saved her and we would have ended up knowing about all this fucked-up world, there's one thing I would have asked her not to do… And, this is one thing I'm gonna ask you not to do," he had told her as she had looked up to meet his eyes. "Don't let this world change you. Don't let this world destroy who you are. Don't."
"I won't," she had said with a gentle smile. "Besides, I don't think I'll be here for that long to let this happen."
"Oh, don't say this. An old man like me could always use some good company. And what better company than a stubborn girl who cooks amazing pasta while humming like my wife used to," he had replied, smiling kindly at her.
Matt bumped his knee on the coffee table as he grabbed a napkin, pulling Bobby out of that memory. The old man frowned as he looked at the young man who said something that made him realize he had to start to reply to the young hunter.
"And, um," Bobby said before clearing his throat by coughing, "He mentioned them in his book?"
Kate was still in the doorway, watching them in silence. She couldn't help but notice how the old man's voice sounded a bit lower than usual and there was this peculiar tone that made his voice sound as if it had lost its energy.
"Yeah, he mentioned all kind of werewolves. And, he's really accurate. I'm pretty sure the guy was a hunter but his grandson never knew," Matt replied as he took a large bite of his sandwich and continued, his mouth full, "I tried checking out all the information he gave in his second book about those entities and parallel worlds, and the guy's really good- Hey you're not joining us?" He asked as he noticed the brunette standing there, still a bit lost in her thoughts.
"Mmh? Um, yeah," she replied, bringing her hands up to rub her arms nervously, as she approached them. She threw a glance at the kitchen and noticed that the two inseparable brothers weren't there as she had thought they would. "Where are Sam and Dean?"
"Dean went to check something in his car when you went to the bathroom, and uh, Sam went to get him, I think," Matt replied as he looked at Bobby for some kind of confirmation. However, Bobby didn't react at all. He just stared at the young brunette who gave a little nod at Matt before making her way to the couch, and then he returned his gaze to Matt even though his thoughts were revolving around Kate and how very soon he wasn't going to have her around anymore.
As Kate sat down on the couch, Matt settled a sandwich wrapped in thin paper in front of her. She stared down at the sandwich for a few seconds as Matt kept on telling Bobby about the things he had read in David Ackers' book about werewolves. Her brown eyes shifted to her right where Bobby's sandwich stayed untouched, still wrapped in its white parchment. Raising her head slowly, her brown eyes landed on the old hunter's face. His reddish brown beard, the thin faded scar under his left eye, his blue eyes looking at Matt without really looking at him, and then his usual old blue cap on the top of his head.
When Bobby turned his blue eyes towards her, she tried to give him a smile but her lips didn't budge the slightest.
Not even able to give the man she grew a genuine affection for and admired so much, a little smile.
And, she hated it.
As Sam walked towards the Impala, he realized how warm the day was compared to the other earlier days of March. A bright sun was shining through the few clouds up in the blue sky, and the air was fresh without being too much nor too little. The beautiful weather didn't match with the mood of that day. It seemed too bright and joyful, while it shouldn't be. Indeed, even though he knew that he should be happy for Kate to going back home, he had not only sensed the thick tension that this announcement had created in the whole house, but he had also felt as if they were facing a great loss, not unlike the sudden death of a loved one. Now that they were used to her presence, now that they had all accepted her fully into their little, tight and messy family, she was going to leave them for good. And as much as Sam had felt a profound sadness to this news, he opted to set his feelings aside as someone else seemed to have been hurt by this even more.
"Dean?" Sam called out in a rather quiet voice as he approached his brother who was standing in front of the opened trunk of the Impala. The bright sunlight had turned Dean's eyes a brilliant gold, very different from the bright green they usually were. As Sam stepped closer to his brother, he saw the armful of manilla folders, haphazardly labled and with edges of the precious papers within sticking out over the sides.
Chuck's manuscripts.
As Dean turned to look towards his little brother, his features were hard, but Sam knew better than to believe the expression Dean was giving him. He knew that Dean was as good as he was to put on a mask and pretend to feel something else than what he was actually feeling. "Um, what are you doing?" He asked his older brother.
"I'm damn sure that if we had kept those manuscripts about her, we would have known what to expect today," Dean just told him as he shook vigorously the pages in his hands.
"Wouldn't have changed a thing," Sam replied as he let his eyes travel up and down his brother, trying to analyse him and to understand exactly what was wrong about his brother. This was why even though he knew that Dean wasn't okay, he asked him the question, "Dean, you okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" Dean scoffed as he threw the pages back on the open bag containing a few 'Supernatural' books and other pages of manuscripts given by that prophet of God.
"I dunno," Sam shrugged, "You've been kinda quiet back there."
"What? Was I supposed to be a chatterbox?" Dean asked, his voice full of sarcasm as he raised his eyebrows at Sam.
"No, that's not what I meant," Sam shook his head as he took one step towards his brother, "But still. I mean, you're almost acting like…"
"Like what?" Dean asked bitterly.
"Like you don't want her to go back to her home," Sam finished, his eyes looking straight into his brother's very green eyes. When Dean stayed quiet and shifted his gaze away, Sam continued, "I mean, you haven't even said one word to her, and now you're here looking at the manuscripts," Sam gestured with one hand towards the truck, "And wishing you hadn't let her go with the ones about her so that you could have known that she was going to leave today. I-I don't know man, but to me it's like you're not happy she's going back home."
"Sam, no, c'mon," Dean shook his head as he threw his arms in the air. "I'm thrilled that she's going back. Believe me. I've been waitin' for the day she'd go back to her safe universe with no monsters, no Hell, no Heaven… No messed-up hunters," Dean added the last part so lowly that Sam wasn't sure he had heard him right.
"Then why didn't you show that back in there?" Sam asked him, even though he hadn't shown any true enthusiasm about her soon-to-be departure, neither. "Look, Dean. I know it's hard to let her go after all this time, but it's the right thing to do, you know? We did our job. We kept her safe. And, now we gotta let her go. That was what we were supposed to do in the first place."
Dean stared at him for a long moment. The words of his little brother were true and he knew that, but for some reason they also formed a strange pain within him. Dean didn't know how to explain that painful sensation. All he knew was that he shouldn't feel this hurt, this ache. Not at all. Especially since he knew that this day was coming a long time ago. He had even tried to get ready for her departure more than once in the past. He had tried not to get too accustomed to her presence in their lives. He had tried to push her away more than once, because he was convinced that he didn't deserve a girl like her to be there for him, and because he knew. He knew that she would be gone someday, one way or another.
But, truth be told, despite of himself, Dean had grown a strong attachment to the young woman. A strong and almost unhealthy attachment. Not only did he like having her around because she brought them something that was lacking in their rough and hard lives of hunters, but he also felt like he needed her. And, it wasn't just about her bringing him some kind of peace or comfort in his life or the way she brightened their dark lives. No, it was something else; something he couldn't point a finger at.
Something that made her different from all the other people they had met on the road.
Something that made it hard for him to let her go.
But, Sam was right. They had to let her go.
It wasn't long after Sam came back in the living room, that Dean joined them too. His green eyes had almost naturally and instinctively fallen on Kate's soft face. She was looking up at Sam who told her something that made her lips curled into a tiny smile full of gentleness but the sparkle of weakness in her brown eyes betrayed the expression she was trying to give. This caused confusion within Dean who wondered why she wouldn't be fully happy and excited today; after all she was going back home.
Bobby was gathering the food laying on the coffee table in one bag, as Matt turned his blue eyes towards Dean. He addressed something to Dean, but that latter hunter didn't hear a word from him, as his green eyes were glued to Kate who was nursing a beer in one hand while Sam sat down next to her on the couch and grabbed a beer silently.
"Hey Dean, Matt asked ya if you wanna eat?" Bobby said bringing Dean's eyes and attention towards him.
"What? No, no. I'm not hungry," Dean simply replied. When he returned his gaze towards the brunette, his eyes immediately locked with hers. Even then, there was a softness and tenderness in her chocolate brown gaze, that he hadn't had the chance to meet that much in his life until she crashed into their lives.
The ringing of Bobby's cell phone made them both break eye contact as they turned their eyes towards the old man.
"Let me take care of this," Kate told Bobby as she grabbed the bag from his hands and continued what he was doing while he picked up his phone. She pulled all of the food in the bag and stood up with the bag in one hand and her beer in the other, and made her way to the kitchen.
Dean's eyes didn't follow her to the kitchen, they stayed glued to the spot of the couch she had just left. The emptiness of it reflecting the soon emptiness that was going to draw back into their lives.
Swallowing down this thought, Dean went over the table and touched one of the beers left from the pack the young blue-eyed hunter had brought with him earlier. Noticing they were cold enough, he grabbed one and opened it, his eyes flickering towards Bobby who was giving some information about a peculiar case. He couldn't help but wonder if that was a seal, and right when he wanted to ask Sam, he remembered Matt's presence. He couldn't talk about seals in front of that hunter who certainly didn't know a thing about the seals. He frowned his eyebrows for a second and brought his beer to his mouth, as he wondered if Kate ever mentioned the seals to this hunter. After all, they had spent a lot of time together.
"So, that Opener of the Way," Sam said all of sudden as he glanced at Kate who was still busying herself in the kitchen by putting the sandwiches out of their wrappers and on one plate. "You're sure he won't turn out to be like the Cleaner?"
"Yeaaah," Matt let out thoughtfully before he met Sam's eyes. "I'm pretty sure he's a righteous entity, but, I suppose we still gotta take our precautions," Matt said as he pulled out things from his bag that he put down on the coffee table. Two sheets of folded paper, a tiny bag of herbs and two long bones. "Which is why I've brought this," Matt continued as he pulled out a jar of blood and put it down.
"What's that?" Sam asked. "Lamb's blood?"
"Nope. A virgin's blood."
"What?" Sam and Dean asked in sync.
"Don't worry, I didn't kill a virgin to get this blood. I just happen to know one who gave it to me willingly when I told her it was for a case," he replied and Sam turned his head to Dean, his brow furrowed.
"And, what's that supposed to do?" Dean asked Matt, after shaking his head slightly and shifting his eyes towards him.
"It's an offering. Along with one of those bones," Matt said pointing at the bones. "If anything wrong happens, it can make the Opener of the Way go without causing any troubles."
"I hope we won't have to use," Bobby said, putting his cell phone on his desk before walking over the three men.
"Yeah, so do I," Matt replied as he looked up at the old man whose gaze went to the kitchen area. Looking down at the few items he had just pulled out of his bag, the noise of Kate's socked-feet approaching them caused him to speak his thought out loud, "So, maybe I should explain to you guys how exactly we're going to proceed? And then, we can start settle everything, huh?"
After Matt explained how the summoning was going to happen with a finality that caused the tension in the air to heighten a bit more, Kate had found the need to say that the success of the summoning didn't mean that the Opener of the Way was going to accept her request to send her back home, to which Dean had said something that had surprised her a bit. He hadn't replied to her directly, but he had said clearly that there was no reason for this entity to wanting to decline her request. Matt had then explained that the moment he'd see Kate, he'd have the urge to rearrange everything anyway, by replacing her in the universe she's supposed to be in. This had only given the young woman more knots in her stomach and she decided to stand up and go upstairs, announcing that she needed to take a shower before they started to settle everything.
Closing and locking the bathroom door behind her, Kate let out a long sigh as she held new clothes and her toilet bag against her chest. She went over the sink and put her stuff on it before turning on the water. She didn't lose time in taking her clothes off and then she brought her long brown hair up and tied them in a messy bun on the top of her head as she stared at the water flowing. She took the clothes that were laying on the sink and put them on as quickly as she had taken off the ones she was wearing not one minute ago. She opened her toilet bag and took a deep breath as she looked down at the notebook and the piece of chalk in between the normal toilet items.
Taking the notebook and the piece of chalk, she turned the pages quickly, her teeth biting on her bottom lip with anxiety and impatience. When she found the right page, she read the few words she had written, remembering that she wasn't supposed to draw until the very last moment.
She put the notebook down on the sink and went over the door as she started drawing all the sigils to make this bathroom angel proof. She continued drawing the other sigils on all the walls, making sure not to draw the last one.
When she finished, she looked at all the sigils and then turned to look at the water still running and giving the four men downstairs the impression that she truly was taking her shower.
Holding the piece of chalk in her right hand against one wall, she took a deep breath and closed her eyes.
"Castiel, this is me. This is Kate. I need your help and I need this to stay in between you and I. Please, come to me," she prayed in a whisper, squeezing her eyes shut. "Please, Cas."
After a few seconds of silent prayer, Kate heard the flickering of wings followed by the rough voice of the trench-coated angel.
"Kate?"
She turned her head to look at his very confused face and then she quickly returned her attention to the wall and drew the last sigil.
"Kate… What?" He said as he stumbled back, one hand reaching the edge of the sink. "Why are you trapping me here?"
"I'm not trapping you, Castiel," she told him as she walked towards him, her hands holding his arms to help him steady as his blue eyes travelled all around the tiny room designed with the angel-proof sigils. "I'm sorry but this is the only way I found to contact you without any angel interrupting us. You okay?"
"I'm okay… I just feel as if my energy is slowly being pulled out of me."
"I'm sorry, Cas. I just… I need your help."
He looked at her, his black eyebrows frowning as his blue eyes seemed to penetrate her brown eyes, "How can I help you?"
"Matt found a way to send me back to my universe. And I-I don't know if it's the right thing to do," she told him, still holding his rather strong arms. She looked up at his face, "I mean, Zachariah surely knows what's happening right now and he hasn't done anything to stop me… Why?"
"Those patterns… They prevent the angels from coming here and from hearing us?"
"Yeah, they can't hear us, see us or anything," she nodded at him. He pulled himself up causing her to drop her hands away.
"Then you need to know that you have to go. Many things are happening in Heaven right now, and I would like to tell you that it keeps Zachariah distracted enough not to know what you are doing right now, but that would be a lie."
"So he knows," she said and he gave her a simple nod. "Then, why isn't he stopping me?"
"He is observed at the moment. Like a lot of us. If he dares compromising your return to your safe universe, an archangel will destroy him," Castiel told her and she frowned. "This archangel is against the idea of using you as a substitute."
"A substitute? What for?"
"I'm not sure. All I know is that he doesn't want to use you as the weapon Zachariah thinks you can be for Heaven," Castiel replied before he felt dizzy and leaned against the sink again.
"So I have to go because of this?" She asked him and he frowned as he looked at her intensively.
"You don't want to go, do you?"
"I… I don't know what I want to do. I know I shouldn't feel this way, I know I shouldn't feel torn. But I do. I just do, Castiel," she confessed, her brown eyes looking at him desperately. "I feel like if I'm making a mistake, even though I know it's the right thing to do. I'm lost, Castiel… Help me."
"It's too late anyway, Kate. You have to go back because once Zachariah isn't be watched anymore, he will come back to you. And he will make you regret trying to leave this world in spite of his order."
"What about you? What will happen once I get those sigils off?" She asked him as she looked at his face which was turning paler by the minute.
"I will get my full energy back. And… And, I will probably be asked a few questions about where I was and what I told you."
"Castiel… Oh my God, I didn't realize that it was going to bring you troubles-"
"My mission is to help the lost souls. No matter from which universe they are," he cut her off as he looked into her eyes. "If I have to pay at a certain level for doing that, then I will accept it all gladly."
"They're going to torture you again, aren't they?" She asked as tears started to roll down her cheeks.
"Like I said, I will accept it all, gladly," he told her and she bit her lips together as she looked a wall. She walked to there and rubbed her forearm on one sigil, erasing it with her warm skin.
"I'm so sorry Cas," she cried as she turned around to see that the angel wasn't there anymore.
Sam was helping Bobby move his desk the whole way back to the wall while Matt was kneeling on the floor drawing a quite big pattern with a piece of chalk, and Dean was taking the swirled up carpets into the hallway. Once they had heard the shower stop running and Kate walking out of the bathroom before getting in her bedroom, they had all decided to start settling the living room. It was a quiet work as they tried to get as much space as possible in Bobby's living room for the summoning that was going to take place there tonight.
When the curly-haired woman walked downstairs, she was wearing the pair of dark blue tight denim and the black long-sleeved shirt that she had bought on her first shopping trip in this universe. She was also wearing a pair of shoes, and not any shoes. She was wearing her converse shoes she landed in this universe with. She was also holding one of her notebooks in one arm against her chest, as if holding it to dear life even though she knew she was going to give it and giving it meant only one thing. She was going to leave for good. This thought pinched her heart painfully. After all the crying she had done once Castiel left the bathroom, she had hoped for this unexplainable sadness to go away. While checking on the mirror that her face wasn't too puffy from all the crying, she had tried to reason herself for the thousandth time that she was doing what was the right thing.
Lost in her thoughts, Kate didn't notice Dean right away as he was putting all the carpets in one corner of the hallway, not far away from the front door. That was when he turned around and made one step that they noticed each other. When their eyes met, she slowly stopped on the third step of the staircase as he stood still. Their eyes were locked for a handful of seconds, before their legs restarted to work; both of them walking towards each other.
Stopping at the end of the staircase, just a foot away from her, Dean brought one hand up in a sort of waving way, "I," He started before clearing his throat as he realized how weirdly weak and broken his voice sounded. "I didn't got the chance to say… Congrats." Kate looked at him for a moment, not really sure of what to say. Seeing as she didn't say a word, Dean continued, a weak smile on his lips as he looked away. "It must feel good to know you're going back home."
"Yeah," was the only thing that she found herself strong enough to say, and still it left her lips in a weak breath.
"Kaitlin I-" He started to say right when she started to say "Dean I-"
"Um, sorry," she said shaking her head, a little shy smile on her lips. "Go ahead."
"No, no. Go ahead. What were you gonna say?"
"I," she started, her brown eyes looking all over his freckled face while his green eyes were traveling all over her face too. She couldn't help the tiny smile that formed on her lips as the tiny faded and almost invisible scars scattered on his face reminded her of how brave, strong and good of a man he was. Tilting her head a little bit to the side, she whispered to him. "I wanted to thank you… For everything you've done."
"I haven't done much," he confessed in a little voice, his eyes shifting away. It hurt Kate when he said that, because she knew that he truly believed his own words.
"Believe me, you've done so much, Dean," she told him, before approaching him as he stood still. "Actually, I think you've done too much. But who can stop you, huh?" She whispered to him. He looked at her, his features expressing confusion. She put her free hand on one of his shoulders, and leaned towards him before doing something that no one had ever done to him, except maybe one person.
His mother had done this to him.
Or so he thought. He wasn't very sure if that was something that truly had happened or it was a creation of his own imagination trying to fill in the gaps of a long gone mother that he wished had never gone away.
Kate rested her lips on his forehead for three long seconds, making sure to put as much comfort, tenderness and respect in that kiss as possible.
Dean felt all of that comfort, tenderness and respect. He accepted it, and wished it never ended. But in the same time, he wished it never started.
Because, now he hated even more the fact that she was going to go away. Even though, he knew he should know better. Even though, he knew people always ended up leaving him. He had no control over this. And, he hated it.
Matt made his way to the hallway right when Kate pulled away from the kiss she was giving on Dean's forehead. He looked at them, quietly, for a few seconds. He didn't need more to finally understand why Kate had acted so weird and so unenthusiastic of going back home. Besides, she wasn't the only one who had acted so dreadfully unenthusiastic by the announcement of that summoning spell which was going to help her leave.
Standing at the doorway, the man wearing all black clothes from his boots and jeans to his black t-shirt, felt suddenly like a mortician. He had come here, dressed all in black, to announce them that it was all done; Kate was going to go back to her universe and all that would be left of her was going to be some clothes, items and memories. It wasn't as if he had expected everyone to celebrate Kate's departure, but he had thought they'd be more cheerful and happy. After all, that was all they wanted to do from day one. They wanted to send her back to her safe and normal universe. But, then why were they all so not happy for her?
Because he was. He was truly and deeply happy for her. Even though, he was sad to see her go, he knew for sure that it was for the best. He knew there was nothing better for a good and innocent person like her but to leave this awful and dangerous universe. And this was making him happy to know that someone like her was going to be okay and was going to live a good life. Because she deserved it.
When Matt coughed lightly, he interrupted the little moment between Kate and Dean. They both turned their gaze towards him and he looked down for a moment as Dean walked to the living room without saying a word. He didn't cough on purpose but still when Dean walked by him, he knew the dirty-blonde hunter thought so.
"I'm sorry, I didn't wanna interrupt," he said as he walked towards the brunette who rose her eyebrows.
"You didn't interrupt anything," she replied. He let his blue eyes scan her face for a moment, before he frowned.
"You okay?"
"Why wouldn't I be?" She gave as a reply and Matt frowned as he looked away.
"I gotta talk to you," he told her, "It's about that research from Lawrence in 1983."
Standing at the porch, Kate's fingers were grasped tightly around her notebook as Matt finished telling her what he had found out when researching. Her face was scrunched in a deep frown as her brown eyes were glued to the Impala a few feet away.
"So, let me get this straight. You think that Mary Winchester went to the Lawrence Memorial Hospital on that night of Halloween back in 1983, and managed to fight and convince the Cleaner to let those fifteen come out of coma?" She asked him, turning her head towards him.
"The records I found tell me that Mary Winchester was not only seen there that night, but she also recieved medical attention later that night, which means she may have been hurt after fighting a creature. And, with all we know, I'm 100% sure that creature was the Cleaner. Besides, you're the one who told me she used to be a hunter," he replied, shrugging his shoulders.
"Yeah, Sam told me this like a month before I even told you," she nodded but then shook her head as she continued, "But, that doesn't make sense. According to what Dean told Sam, she stopped hunting right after her parents died and it was years before Dean even was born."
"How did Dean even know?"
"Well, he travelled in time," she replied, tilting her head a bit as his blue eyes grew big and round. "Long story short, he had to witness a couple of things about his parents. And, he also made his father buy that car which he loves so much because it was his father's car… Wibbly wobbly timey wimey thing…"
"What?" He asked and she couldn't help the little laugh that escaped her lips. He watched her as she shook her head, her lips still curled into a genuine smile as she brought one hand up and ran it in her hair.
"Doctor Who… Little croissants in the morning… Gummy bears and marshmallows while watching reruns or even studying for a stupid exam," Kate said, her voice full of nostalgia and wistfulness. "Staying up all night to read and stay in bed every Sunday mornings... Bills to pay and an apartment in Paris in which I have to return and pay even more bills to keep it…""
"Yeah, the joy of going back to your responsibilities," he told her, his tone gently teasing. She glanced up at him before returning her brown gaze to the shiny black classic car. "You're not regretting this, are you?"
"What does it change that Mary Winchester was there that night of '83?" She asked, ignoring his question which he took notice of but didn't comment on.
"She died a couple of days later-" He started.
"I know. But it has nothing to do with the Cleaner," she cut him off as her eyebrows frowned. "A demon killed her."
"Yeah, I heard about this," he nodded. "When I did my research and I found that Mary Winchester was in that hospital that same night, I just kinda dug onto her story and I found out that she got killed in a house fire. And, then I found out the truth. The yellow-eyed demon…" He trailed off, his blue eyes looking over the many cars decorating the horizon.
"Are you going to tell them? About that night in 1983?" She asked him.
"No. I don't even have enough information to give them," he replied, his eyes still glued far away when Kate looked up at him. "The reason why I'm sure the Cleaner was there and she met him is that because when she died, a couple of hunters from the family side of her father, traced all the information about the week before she died and they found out proofs that the Cleaner was in that hospital that night."
"But, that doesn't explain why the Cleaner has a vendetta against me," she said and he dropped his gaze to meet hers. "I mean, I told you back in Maine that when Pamela and I met him, he made me understand that I had taken something from him that night. Not Mary Winchester, but me."
"I'm sorry. That's all I found out so far. From what I know, she was blonde and you're not, so I don't know how to explain why he thought that was you."
The brown-haired woman nodded as she turned her head towards the screen door, "I don't know if I am."
"If you are what?"
"If I'm regretting going back," she replied, her eyes glued to the screen door as she felt unable to look him in the eyes.
"What? C'mon, Kate, you're not serious. Doctor Who, gummy bears and all those stuff that you like so much, they're on that other side."
"And they're here too," she told him turning her eyes to him. "I mean, except from the fact that Lovecraft hasn't written fiction but reality in this world and that creatures from Buffy the Slayer Vampires and the movie Constantine are real here, there's not much difference."
"Yeah, except you're dead here," he told her. His tone was a bit sharp and dry and it froze Kate for a second as she watched him.
"My father is dead back there," she said back, completely emotionless.
"That's not about this Kate-" He started but she cut him off.
"That's exactly about this, Matt!" She frowned as she took a step back. "I've never asked to be thrown into this world. I-I've never asked anything in my whole life. Never. I think I've been through quite a lot, and I've sucked it up. But, here, I am in a world where I'm… Useful. And, here I do things that matter and even though I've been through a lot of ups and downs, I feel good here. And I feel like I bring some good, too," she confessed to him, her eyes tearing up a bit as she tried her best not to cry. "I may not exist in this world, but back there, my father is gone, Matt… There's no one and nothing waiting for me there."
"It's not about who is waiting for you back there…"
"I know," she nodded, her eyes shifting away. "It's about me doing the right thing. And, going back there, it is the right thing."
"It's not what I meant to say," he told her as he walked towards her, "As sad as it is to know you're leaving us, your place is not here. You deserve to have a safe and normal life," he put his hands on her shoulders gently. "I could have been selfish, you know? I could have said there was no way to send you back. But, as strong as this was itching me, I knew I couldn't keep you here. And, I'm pretty sure that's the way those three men back in there, feel too," he gave her a gentle smile. "So, no, it's not about who's waiting for you back there. And, I don't think it's about you doing the right thing. It's about you going back home. Safe and sound."
When Kate and Matt returned into the house, Sam and Dean were standing at the kitchen doorway, looking at the drawn pattern as they talked about it. Sam was doing most of the conversation as he held the book with the summoning spell in one hand and pointed at some spots of the pattern drawn on the wooden floor with his other hand. As for Bobby, he was finishing putting a box with some swirled-up map on one corner of his living room.
"You two finished making out?" The old man said as he sent a look towards Kate and Matt who stopped in the middle of the hallway. At this comment, the two brothers looked over them; Dean's eyes focusing on the woman's creamy face and he couldn't help the little smile when he saw her roll her eyes.
"We-" Matt started when the growling of a car engine echoed from outside. Kate turned her head to the front door before looking at the four men whose facial expressions could mirror her confusion.
"Must be Rufus," Sam announced and Bobby frowned as he looked down at his watch. It wasn't even five in the afternoon while Rufus was supposed to arrive at six pm.
"He's early," he muttered as the doorbell rang, followed by a few knocks of impatience. Kate turned around ready to go open the front door when Bobby stopped her by putting a hand on her shoulder.
Kate walked to Bobby's desk, put her notebook down and grabbed the bottle of water that she had put there when Sam and she came back from their supply run earlier. She unscrewed the cap and turned around, her brown eyes meeting Sam's hazel eyes that seemed a bit greener today. Her lips curled into a gentle smile to which he responded, before she drank from the bottle and he returned his gaze down to the book in his hand.
"Yeah, you never happy, are ya?" Rufus' voice echoed from the hallway before he and Bobby walked into the living room.
Seeing the big and complicated pattern drawn on the wooden floor, Rufus stopped in track as Bobby kept on walking. The black hunter whistled, clearly impressed, as his eyes travelled all the details of the pattern. The different and several symbols drawn within the circle of two feet radius looked very precise and very complicated to redo. Glancing up at Matt who was walking over the couch to grab a bowl full of ingredients which was settled on, Rufus quickly shifted his brown eyes towards Kate who put the bottle of water down on the desk.
"All of this for one girl. You gotta know you're special for them if they rush around like mad men just for you."
"I'm pretty sure they were already mad men before I even got here," she said with a light chuckle as she put locks of her hair behind her ears and walked over the hunter. Dean watched all of her moves, which didn't get unnoticed by his younger brother. "It's good to see you, Rufus."
"Good to see ya too," he replied as she gave him a hug and he patted her back. His eyes travelled to the two Winchester brothers as he pulled apart. "Good to see you two, too. It's been a while."
"Been busy. You know how the job can get," Dean said as Kate stepped back, making sure to not step on the lines traced with a simple chalk.
"I hear ya," Rufus nodded at Dean who made way towards Rufus to give him a hello hug, closely followed by his younger brother.
"So, you brought everything?" Matt asked Rufus as Kate approached Bobby who was leaning against his desk, one hand rubbing his beard, thoughtfully.
"You okay?" She asked him. He turned his old blue eyes towards her, a sincere expression of surprise painted sparkling in there. Dropping his hand down, he nodded. She glanced down at his desk and noticed her notebook. Knowing that it was now or never, she grabbed it and coughed before handing it to him. "For you."
He frowned as he looked down at the notebook in between her tiny hands, and then looked up at her face, "Your notebook?"
"Technically, it was yours. I just filled it with a few scribbles," she replied as she pushed the notebook towards him.
Neither Bobby nor Kate noticed that Dean was watching them while Matt and Sam were explaining to Rufus how the whole summoning spell was going to take place. They were in their little bubble and Dean quickly looked away as he felt that watching them was going to jab their bubble which would eventually just destroy their little moment together, and he was well aware of how much the old man needed that last moment with that impossible girl.
Opening the notebook, Bobby's eyes slid down the alphabetical tabs before he turned the first page. The confusion on his face slowly faded away as he continued on turning the pages and realized what that notebook was filled with. Looking up at her, she gave him a soft smile before looking down at the notebook in his hands.
"It's a sort of personal encyclopedia. It's in the alphabetical order of the name of the creatures. I wrote down how to identify them, um, their origins and how to get rid of them," she explained as his eyes were glued to her face, completely astonished by what she had done. "I thought it could be useful. Especially after those few times when I saw you looking in a dozen of books for a creature that you had already taken care of," she gave a soft chuckle and looked up at him. Her gaze met his, and she was immediately stroke by the genuine affection and pride that were filling his eyes as he never looked away. "I'm sorry, it's not complete. It was a gift that I thought I'd have time to finish so it could be better before I-" She stopped herself and looked down. "It was supposed to be a goodbye gift."
'There's that and the little gift she's making you for when she'll go back to her universe,' Pamela had told him when they had sent Dean into Kate's memory lane.
"That's… That's the damn best thing you could ever give me," he told her as he coughed to hold back the tears that were starting to form. She looked up at him, a grin appearing on her lips. It was something that seemed to be missing for quite a long time while it had actually happened not even twenty-four hours ago. She had smiled, grinned and laughed the last day when Sam and Dean got here after so long no seeing.
"I've got a few others upstairs, but that'd be pretty cool if you didn't pay them any attention until I'm not here," she told him. He slightly frowned but nodded and she didn't wait for him to put the book away or anything as she threw her arms up and wrapped them around him to squeeze him in a tight hug.
This time, Bobby noticed the others' eyes looking at them, but he didn't say anything. He didn't even roll his eyes. He simply wrapped his arms around the brunette and hugged her back, dropping his gaze down to the pattern that was going to take away the one girl that gave him the same feeling as the Winchester brothers.
The feeling of being what he could never be.
The feeling of being a father.
"Alright," Matt said as he took one step back and looked at the preparation he just completed with the final ingredients Rufus had brought with him.
"That's it?" Sam asked him and the young blue-eyed hunter nodded while still staring at the bowl on the kitchen table.
"That's it. All we'll have to do then, is to burn the crystal while Kate will say invocation. And that will be all," Matt replied, grabbing the bowl before walking around Sam and Kate who were standing in the kitchen with him. He went to the living room and announced to the three other men in the living room how they were going to proceed now.
Kate let out a long breath as her brown eyes were glued to the table.
"You okay?" Sam asked her as he looked down at her. For some reason as he looked at her he thought that she looked tinier and more vulnerable than ever.
"No," she admitted in a whisper. "I'm… I'm scared."
"Hey, you don't have to be scared," he told her in a reassuring tone, as he turned around completely so he could face her. Putting his large hands on her shoulders, he bent down a little bit so he wouldn't be too tall for her as he tried to catch her full attention. "We'll be with you the whole time. We're gonna make sure you're sent back to your universe during the right era, and above all else, we're gonna make sure you're sent back there, safe and sound."
"You're gonna be okay, Kaitlin," Dean's voice suddenly said from the doorway. She turned her face and looked at the elder brother. "We won't let anything bad happen to you."
Standing in the middle of the living room, Kate could feel her heart beating faster than ever as she looked down at the shoes she had put on. The same pair of converse she had crashed into this world with. She tried to reason with herself, by repeating again and again that she was doing the right thing, and that the fact that Zachariah hadn't come to stop her was the only proof that he knew she was doing the right thing and let her do. Maybe, it was even the proof that Dean had finally decided to accept his destiny whatever it truly an exactly was, and the angels didn't need her anymore. However, this last thought wasn't helping Kate to feel any better. Thus, she tried to focus on the fact that she was going back to where she came from. Where she truly belonged and there was nothing more right and better to do. Besides, Castiel had warned her that she had to go as long as Zachariah was under supervision like many other angels.
"Kate," Bobby's voice interrupted her messy and stressful thoughts. She turned her brown head towards him. "Maybe, you should take your bracelet off? So that your true identity can be seen by that Yog-Sothoth thing?"
"Oh," she said looking down at the bracelet. "Yeah, sure. You're right," she nodded her head as she reached for her bracelet. Her hands were shaking so much that she was having trouble unhooking the clasp around her wrist, which the tallest man in the room noticed.
Sam made big steps towards her, quickly arriving right in front of her, "Here, let me help." Looking up at the tall young man whose face was painted all over with a quiet kindness, she gave a slight nod as she pulled her hand towards him. His large hands hovered around her tiny wrist as his long and rough fingers worked the clasp. Realizing how shaky her hand was, she clenched her fist and brought her other hand around it, trying to steady her hand. Sam glanced up at her face when she did that before returning his attention on the bracelet. "Here you go," he gently said as he put the bracelet off.
"Thanks," she replied, taking the bracelet inside of her palm. He rested one hand on her wrist as the other went to lay on her shoulder.
"It's gonna be okay," he reassured her. She took a deep breath and nodded before leaning up and wrapping her arms around him in a tight hug. He slid both of his hands on her back and rubbed gently.
"I'm gonna miss you," she blurted out as tears started to well in her eyes.
Matt, Rufus, Bobby and Dean all turned their heads towards the two when her voice broke out in a cry.
"I'm gonna miss you too, Katie," Sam told her as he took a deep breath of her natural perfume that smelled so much like vanilla. They both pulled apart at the same time and she looked up at him, sliding her arms away from him before she moved her gaze to Bobby who was giving her a gentle smile.
She walked towards the old man with a cap and hugged him even tighter than earlier, "It was nice having you here, kiddo." When he pulled away, he brought his two large, rough and old hands on her little face. He held her cheeks, his thumbs stroking her tears away as he gave her a smile worthy of what a father would give to his little girl.
"I'm gonna miss you all," she said as he pulled away. She took a few steps back, turning her brown head to look at everyone. "I never thought… I feel like all of this was just one crazy dream, you know?" She said as she let her eyes move from Sam, Rufus, Matt, Bobby before stopping on Dean. She licked her lips and looked down, "I feel like I'm gonna wake up to my old, ordinary, boring life," she continued as Matt approached her and hugged her. She hugged him back and then pulled away as he slid his hand down to grab the one hand of hers that wasn't tightly clenched around the bracelet. "And, this will all be a dream. Like, maybe it was just a dream created by my brain so I would get over it all. Get over my father's death. Get over my mother hating on me. Get over my stupid boyfriend cheating on me with my friend. Get over getting fired from a job I didn't even like. Get over stressing out in Paris… Get over it all."
"It was not a dream, Katie," Sam said gently as he looked at her with eyes full of sadness. "And, I think that is what is gonna hurt us the most. Knowing it was all real, but it didn't last," Kate shifted her eyes towards Dean whose gaze was glued to the floor as he was standing near the doorway of the kitchen.
"You're gonna take care of each other, right? All of you," she said looking at everyone before settling her gaze on Dean. "And, you're gonna fight, huh? And, you're gonna be fine. 'Cause whether you believe it or not, you're good men, and..." Dean's head slowly rose at her last words and he looked at her. "And, you're not alone."
Slowly taking her hand away from Matt, Kate dropped the bracelet on the coffee table as she walked towards Dean.
"Oh my!" Rufus exclaimed all of sudden causing Kate to stop and to look at him just like everyone else. "Now, I understand why they want you to stay here so bad," he said as he fixed at Kate who frowned. "You're so pretty," he said confusing everyone. When his cell phone rang once, his lips turned into a wicked grin that no one ever saw on him, "Oh, I think it's time for the show to begin. And, it seems like you're the star since you're the one shining so much," Rufus said, his eyes turning suddenly pitch black.
No one even had the time to react when thick black smoke broke through the windows of the whole first floor, shattered glass from the windows exploding violently and loudly, and taking them all off guard.
Twirling in the air, the black smoke quickly disappeared from the air as it got into one person.
Kate turned her head towards Matt whose eyes were filled with blackness making her gasp before she quickly started to say the exorcism that she had learned by heart months ago. He back-slapped her sharply causing her to stumble back. At the same moment, the demon possessing Rufus threw both of his hands in the air, throwing Bobby on the wall right next to his couch, Sam on the couch and Dean on the counter of the kitchen.
"Do we really have to bring her to him? I mean, look at her, she's wow!" The demon possessing Matt said as he held Kate against his body. One of his hand holding both of her wrists together forcefully on her back while his other hand was clasped on her mouth preventing her from exorcizing them while she tried to break free from his hold.
Sam stood up, his hand held up as he didn't lose time to use his psychic power to exorcize Matt who started to lose his grip around Kate. She quickly walked away, but the demon in Rufus was quick too. He grabbed Kate by the hair and dragged her to him as she yelped in pain.
The yelp of Kate caused Bobby to stand back up in one swift moment as he grabbed a little bottle of holy water, unscrewed it and splashed it over Rufus who groaned in pain and tossed Kate on the wall in anger. She was helped back up by the green-eyed hunter who had just come back into the living room.
Rufus punched Bobby, before making a flipping wave with his hand towards Sam whose nose was bleeding from the deep and difficult concentration he was giving on his psychic exorcism. The tall hunter was thrown through the already broken window and landed in the backyard. Kate looked over the window, panic and concern for the younger Winchester rising in her as she felt Dean let go of her. She turned her attention to him and saw him take Ruby's knife out of his boot as he walked towards Matt, a hard, cold and full of determination expression on his face.
"Dean, no!" She shouted at him which made him look at her. The demon possessing Matt took advantage of the distraction to punch Dean on the face, harshly before grabbing him by the collar of his red shirt and tossing him away on Bobby's desk. Turning his head towards Kate, he gave her a wicked smile as he walked towards Kate who whispered her exorcism, her brown eyes fixed on his face.
"Exorcizamus te omnis immundus spi-spiritus," she was stuttering, completely shocked to see her friends, possessed by demons. "Omnis satani-nica potestas omnis incursio infernalis…" the demon facing Kate was now coughing which drew Bobby's attention for a couple of seconds.
Rufus pushed Bobby away with his full demonic force causing the old man to fall unconscious when he bumped against a wall as Matt fell on the floor successfully exorcized. When Kate lifted her head, her eyes immediately met the black ones of Rufus.
"Exorcizamus te-" She started before he flipped his hand, an invisible and strong force throwing her on the coffee table which broke with the force of the landing.
She groaned as she looked over Rufus and then at Ruby's knife on the floor where the pattern drawn in chalk was half erased from all the stepping on. Holding it in one hand, she looked up at Rufus, swallowed down and tried to stand up. Rufus smirked at her, looking back and forth at her face and at the knife before he screamed and black smoke left his body. Her eyes widened when she saw the black smoke twirling towards her.
"God," she let out in a breath before the smoke made its way in between her lips and disappeared within her. The passage of the black smoke from Rufus' body to Kate's was witnessed by Dean who had just come around from his short loss of consciousness.
Climbing off the desk, Dean clenched his jaw as he looked down at Kate who looked up at him before standing up, "Oh Dean, you're okay? I've had a hard time exorcizing those two demons, but-"
"Don't talk," he interrupted her, his voice rough and hard, as he stopped right in front of her, his fists clenched. "Give me the knife, bitch."
"I'm sorry, what?"
"You heard me," he told her through gritted teeth. "If you don't want me to send you back Hell, you better get out of her right now."
Kate looked at him, an expression of confusion on her face for a few seconds before her lips curled into a large grin and she started to laugh. "You're really good, Dean," she took a few steps back as she flickered her eyes black. "So, what if I give you this knife back, huh? Are you going to stab me with it? Is is that knife that can kill my kind or is it just an ordinary one? Any ways, you wouldn't dare stabbing me, especially with me wearing such a pretty meat-suit," she smiled at him. "It's so comfortable in here. Much more than in any other meat-suits. But, I feel like there's a possibility for so much more… Mmh, but, there's so much inhibitions in here," she said before tracing the knife up her body as Dean made one step towards her. "Tsk, tsk. One more step and I will break all her bones from the inside," the demon said dryly as she continued tracing the thin blade on her chest, slowly going up and down.
"What do you even want from her?"
"What I want? I didn't want a thing from her until she took that bracelet off. We were just doing the job we were hired for. But, now that I'm in her, I'm not gonna let go of her, pretty boy," she replied and right when she was going to throw the knife at Dean, she felt paralyzed on spot. Groaning, she turned her face to see Sam Winchester standing right in front of the open backdoor in the kitchen, cuts on his face, as he held his hand up in her direction. "Really?" She started to cough and shake, but it wasn't intense.
Sam was weak and Dean had no idea why, but when Kate stopped shaking and started laughing frenetically, the older Winchester stopped wondering why as he went over her to grab the knife from her.
Sensing him, the demon spun around and pointed the knife at the middle of her chest, "You move back right now if you don't want me to do something you'll regret!"
Dean clenched his jaw in frustration as Sam looked at them, feeling completely useless and almost guilty for what was happening.
"What-" Kate started to say as she frowned and looked down at the knife that was getting closer and closer to get through her skin. Dean glanced at Sam thinking he was the one doing some kind of psychic telekinesis but he realized it wasn't him when the demon spoke up. "You bitch! Stop it or you'll kill yourself too!"
"Kaitlin, no-" Dean said, his green eyes looking at the knife with deep worry.
"You bi-" She started to scream when the blade disappeared in Kate's abdomen and then her whole body flickered with some gold light indicating the death of the demon.
Groaning, Kate pulled the knife out, letting it drop on the floor before her brown eyes looked over at Dean and she felt her knees give up on her weight.
"Kaitlin!" Dean exclaimed as he was in not even a second by her sides, his arms wrapping around her and holding her as she dropped on the floor. "Hey, hey. I'm here, I got you," he told her as he was kneeling on the floor and she was on him.
"Katie!" Sam shouted as he approached them. He bent down and pulled her shaky hands away. Dean's looked down at them and he was horrified to see them completely red from all the blood that was leaving her body. Sam gulped as he glanced at Dean before taking his flannel off and putting it over her bleeding wound. "It's okay, you're gonna be okay," Sam reassured Kate when he looked at her face getting paler and paler as her bottom lip quivered.
"Bo-Bobby, he-he's-"
"I'm gonna check on him, but he's okay, Katie. We're all okay," he told her and she gave a weak nod as he looked at Dean. "You put pressure on it."
Dean didn't need to get told twice as he reached around her body and pressured his left palm on the wound covered with his brother's flannel, and he felt Kate's entire body shaking against him. "Call 911, Sam!"
"I am!" Sam shouted back as he was dialling that number while walking towards Bobby to check on his pulse. As he looked for the old man's pulse, he looked over at Rufus and Matt, and was relieved to see their chests moving up and down, a clear sign of them being still alive.
"De-Dean," Kate said in a little broken voice.
"Shhh, Kate, don't talk," Dean told her gently, hoping to make her keep as much energy as possible.
"I-I prefer when… When you-you call me… Kaitlin," she told him and he gave a light chuckle as he looked down at her face.
"Yeah, so do I," he replied and then frowned when he saw her closing her eyes. "Hey, no, no, no! Keep your eyes open, Kaitlin! It's an order!" He shouted at her, the hand that was not pressuring on her wound, tightening its grip around her arm.
"Kaitlin!"
Author's note:
Just a tiny cliffhanger since that chapter was a bit shorter than what it was supposed to be. Hope you enjoyed it still :)
I wanna say a big and sincere thank you to my beta-reader, 'Ijustgotzapped' ! She did such a great and quick job on editing this chapter! She had so much happening at the same time, but she still sacrified a little of her time to check this out. So thanks to her you have this update today instead of days later!
Erica: Thanks for reading my story and for leaving a review. Hope you enjoyed this little update :)
Isabella Poulous: Thank you for your review! You made me smile when you said you 'fangirled', but let me tell you that I have the same reaction when I read a review haha! And I hope I made it clear for you about the scars ;)
Happymeami1: Thank you for your review, Amrita! So nice of you to say all of this, and I truly hope you're gonna keep on enjoying my story even though my updates tend to get less frequent than they used to be… Besides, cool to know that I've got my story appreciated almost 'internationally' héhé :3
Bjq: Thank you dear! Hope you found this short chapter good too :)
Rubyrose: Thank you for reviewing, I hope you liked this update :)
Wolfenergy17 : You. Are. The. Best ! I was so happy, excited and honoured to have such a long and nice review like yours. Thank you so much darling! You have not only made all of my days until my fifties, you have also made me realize why I love sharing this story so much! Writing and posting a story in some website, no matter which one, and receiving feedback like yours showed me that this kind of sharing is truly beautiful. Thank you again :). As for when everyone will know why Kate has lied to their faces, I can assure you that you're gonna love how it's gonna turn out. I've already written this passage and I can't wait to post it; unfortunately it's not gonna come out yet, since a lot of other things are gonna happen in between, but it's only gonna make it better when it comes ;). Kate going back to her universe or staying is a really tricky and delicate situation that I'm trying to handle as good as possible. In a realistic point of view, it is almost impossible for a normal person (whether coming from a world where the show doesn't exist like Kate, or from our world) to wish to stay in such a dangerous and frightening world as Sam and Dean's (even though a lot of things or persons can be pretty convincing arguments :p). Most of us are attached to our little ordinary lives even though we would like to live at least one hell of an adventure; we have our family, friends, lovers and our routines that just mean a lot to us. Thus, it is very hard to make it look very realistic when Kate hesitates about going back to her universe. To be honest, it's one of the main reasons why I wrote this character as a character who has almost nothing she wants to go back to (Her dear father is dead, her mother and she don't get along at all, her boyfriend cheated on her with her only true friend, she's got a rough past,…). In the Supernatural universe, she's found people who care about her and she cares about them too. So, a character like Kate who found herself in a place where she feels more at home than in her actual home, ought to act so hesitant on going back even though she knows it's the right and rational thing to do. But, like you said, even though she doesn't really have anyone that she misses that much back in her universe, some people are certainly missing her there, and this will be brought up on upcoming chapters by the way ;). Oh and, you're right! A story where Sammy gets the girl is a great idea! I will try to come up with one. And, really if you are going to read it, I might even just write it for you in thanks for your awesomeness :D Maybe I should have written you a PM wolfenergy17, but I thought it'd be great for the other readers to read all of that, since there's a few explanations about the story. Once again thank you very much for your long review and I hope to read more from you :)
Much love to all of you and a big thank you for those who constantly support me by reviewing, following and favouring. But also for those who are too shy or too lazy to do any of these, but still read my story ;)
A.