You Better Run : Volume I

by Crazywriter226

Kate has never asked for anything in her life, and she surely has never asked to be thrown into a world where things really went bump in the night. She'll have to trust the grumpy Bobby Singer, the troubled Sam Winchester and the annoying Dean Winchester to help her find her way back home, but also to survive in this new world(OC from an AU where the show doesn't exist)Slow Dean/OC

22. Chapter 22

This chapter is inspired by the episode 'The Rapture' (4x20).

A sincere thank-you for 'IgotZapped' for being such an amazing beta-reader and friend.

Please enjoy this rather long chapter my darlings :)

---

Two days and a half later.

Calm.

There was no better way to describe the aura, the scenery, and the way Dean felt in this moment. Sitting at the end of a pier, Dean was doing one of the things he used to do with Bobby once in a while when he was a kid. It was one of his favourite activities, and yet he hadn't really found an opprotunity to pick the hobby back up when he had grown up.

There was absolutely no better way to achieve peace of mind than to do some fishing.

A feminine laugh echoed from the left causing Dean to turn his head over there. Squinting his eyes to try to see what it was in spite of the bright sun, he saw a silhouette diving into the water of the wide lake.

"We need to talk," Castiel's rough voice surprised Dean.

The hunter let out a small groan, and turned his head to look up behind his right shoulder, "I'm dreaming, aren't I?"

"Of course. How would you explain the fact Sam and Bobby were fishing with you moments ago, and Bobby looked ten years younger?" Castiel replied, his eyebrows frowned as he looked a bit agitated. Dean frowned as he scanned the angel face. "Anyways, it's not safe here. Someplace more private."

"More private? We're inside my head," Dean told him.

"Exactly," Castiel replied, "Otherwise, Kate wouldn't be swimming towards you, completly nude."

"What?" Dean exclaimed as he turned his head quickly over the silhouette swimming under the water, and getting closer and closer to the pier. "It's not good here. Someone could be listening."

"Cas," Dean said as he sensed the panic in the angel's voice. He looked up at him. "What's wrong?"

"I have to tell you something important. It's also about Kate. Meet me here. Tonight," Castiel ordered as he handed him a piece of paper. "Go now."

Dean looked up, only to find Castiel already gone from the pier. The hunter frowned in confusion, when another fit of melodious feminine laugh echoed.

"So, going or staying?" Kate's soft voice said and when Dean turned his head to look at the woman he knew, was right next to the pier, everything disappeared.

Dean jolted awake, flailing a little bit after half-laying and half-sitting on a chair. The dirty-blonde hunter woke up to the sound of beeping machines replacing the calm of his dream. His tired green eyes landing on the woman laying on the blue and white bed of the hospital.

Completely unconscious, Kaitlin was connected to a couple of machines that kept track of her bodily functions, and it had been like that for two days now; since the attack of the two demons back at Bobby's. She had lost a lot of blood after she stabbed herself and when the emergency services announced they'd be there in fifteen minutes, Dean had decided to drive her to the hospital himself. In no more than ten minutes, he and his brother had arrived in there and she had been immediately taken care of. The sight of an unconscious young woman draped in his arms, with her shirt completely red from her blood had urged the nurses towards them. And when the surgeons had taken her to a room in the ICU, they weren't allowed in due to some stupid rule. So they had waited. An hour and a half. Maybe two, until a doctor that looked very familiar to them had walked up to them with news on Kaitlin's condition. She had explained that one more minute and it would have probably been too late.

Sam had been clever enough to flash his FBI badge that was in his jeans pocket, in order to avoid any question about Kate's state, his brother's, and his own. Indeed, when the younger brother had been thrown through the broken open window by that demon, he had landed on shattering glass, earning himself some decent lacerations on one side of his face and on one side of his body too. As for Dean, he had a few harsh bruises here and there, but nothing that some ice couldn't take care of.

As for Matt and Rufus, they had woken up just a few seconds after Dean started carrying Kate to his car, and Sam had told them to take care of Bobby who was slowly coming around at that moment.

Not half an hour later, they had all been in the hospital, waiting impatiently and anxiously along with the two brothers. Learning that she was in a coma had been a violent shock to all of them. It was hard to think that it was just a couple of hours earlier that they had been planning on sending her back to her safe home.

"You should go home," a feminine voice said gently making Dean look up to see a young blonde walking in the room with a few things in her hands. He didn't say anything as he returned his green eyes towards the brunette while the nurse started to look at the things written on the machines' screen. "I'm pretty sure your girlfriend wouldn't mind if you went back home to rest a little bit."

Dean gazed up at her, and slightly scoffed at the 'girlfriend' word. He could almost imagine Kate glaring at him for this and asking him why people thought she was his girlfriend. He could almost imagine the way he would swear to her that he didn't say a word and that the hospital staff just thought so. He could almost imagine her squinting her eyes at him in a suspicious way at his answer.

Dean sighed at those thoughts before rubbing his hands over the scruff that grew over the two days without shaving. He opened his mouth to say something when he heard footsteps stopping at the door. Glancing over there, he saw Matt and Bobby. Bobby gave him a nod before they both walked out of his sight. Sighing again, Dean stood up and walked to the door, glancing at Kate twice before he walked completely out of her room.

"So?" Dean asked as he looked back and forth at the men.

"So, it ain't good," Bobby replied, shaking his head. "We checked everywhere. The crystal's gone."

"How can it be gone?" Dean frowned as he crossed his arms over his chest.

"It's not just that," Matt said causing Dean to look at his greyish blue-eyes. "The bones are cracked too. Just enough to make them junk. We can't use them for the spell anymore."

"Demons?" Dean asked as he glanced at Bobby who did a 'tsk' sound while shaking his head.

"I doubt so," he replied, "Must be the same thing that destroyed my devil-traps."

"Which are all fixed now, by the way," Matt added causing Dean to raise his eyebrows in surprise.

"What?"

"Yeah, we just found that what destroyed them two days ago, came back to fix them while we were in here," Bobby explained.

"That makes no sense," Dean frowned.

"You tell me," Bobby scoffed before continuing, "Rufus feels so bad for not have been wearing his anti-possession pendant that he's thinking of getting a tattoo like Sam and yourself."

"That's actually one of the things I'm planning on doing once she wakes up," Matt announced, as Dean looked at him, his green orbs eyeing him up and down before he turned his whole attention back to the old man.

"You seen Sam?" Dean asked.

"Here," Sam replied as he appeared out of nowhere, a cup of coffee in one hand.

"We gotta go," Dean told him.

"Go where?" Sam asked as he approached them, his brow wrinkled in puzzlement.

"I'll tell you once we're on the road," Dean replied as he went back in the room to grab his stuff that Bobby had brought him when he had understood that he wasn't going to leave the hospital on his own.

"So, now you wanna go? You got a case or what? Cause I-" Sam started to say as he followed Dean in the room where the nurse was starting to gather her stuff and walked out, without forgetting to send them both a polite smile. "I thought you wanted to keep an eye on her until she wakes up?"

"Yeah, but she's got her bracelet back around her wrist and Bobby made a full protection in this room, so I'm pretty sure she's gonna be okay for a couple of hours," Dean replied as he grabbed his duffle bag and tossed it over one shoulder before grabbing his jacket in one hand.

"She's had her bracelet back from her first day here, and the protections have been here for this long too. And still, you insisted on staying here until now," Sam replied. "Dean, what's wrong?"

"I think Cas knows something about Kate," Dean replied as he looked at his little brother. "And, I think he's in trouble."

---

Later that day, as the sun had gone down to let the moon rise, Dean and Sam arrived at the warehouse where they were supposed to meet Castiel, just a few hours away from South Dakota. The elder hunter had been a bit anxious on the road when he had realized how they had taken quite a long time to get to this location Castiel had given him instead of just rushing towards it right after his dream.

As he and Sam walked through the warehouse, holding flashlights in their hands, he couldn't help thinking that something bad had happened to the angel in a trench-coat. For some reason, it saddened him a bit. Because even though Castiel was one of those winged douchebags he had met so far, he knew for sure that Castiel was very different from all the others. Not only had Castiel shown some sympathy and genuine desire to help Sam and Dean, he had also shown how he truly wanted to protect and save the humans. Moreover, he had shown sincere remorse after what had happened with Alastair. Besides, he had helped save his brother from Lilith's claws back at the Red Motel. Oh, and he had pulled Dean out of Hell; that was definitely one big bonus to top it all for Dean.

"Well, what did he say, Dean?" Sam asked as he glanced at his brother. "What was so important?"

"If I knew, would I be here?" Dean replied, frowning a bit.

"You said it was about Katie."

"No, I said he had something to say and he also had something to say about her. Whatever that was," Dean replied as they turned to their right before ascending a set of stairs. "That seemed to trouble him a lot…" Dean trailed off when his gaze took on the state of the warehouse. "What the hell?"

"It looks like a bomb went off," Sam remarked as he scanned the destroyed and demolished area.

"There was a fight here," Dean stated as they kept on walking.

"Between who?" Sam thought out loud, his brow furrowed before his brother stopped walking and raised his flashlight, the beam of light landing on a symbol painted in blood on the wall. A very familiar symbol that they didn't even know that Kate knew and had used it against one peculiar angel a few months ago.

"Check it out. Look familiar?" Dean said glancing at his brother.

"Yeah, it does."

"Anna used something like that to wisk the angels back to the cornfield."

"So, what? Cas was fighting angels?" Sam said, his voice full of confusion and misunderstanding of the situation.

"I don't know," his older brother replied, not sure at all himself. All of sudden, he noticed a familiar figure laying on the ground in the rubble, a few feet away. "Sam," Dean said making Sam follow his gaze before they went over the rubble. "Cas? Cas… Hey, Cas?"

"What's…?" Castiel came around. His face was the pure representation of confusion. "What's…? What's going on?"

"Just take it easy. Take it easy," Dean told him as he reached his arms out in case Castiel would drop on the ground.

"Oh. No," Castiel said in a voice that sounded very weird to the two brothers standing in front of him. It missed its roughness, seriousness and that peculiar pinch of something that made it obvious it wasn't a human talking.

"Cas, you okay?" Sam asked, worried as he analysed the blue-eyed face.

"Ugh. Castiel. I'm not Castiel. It's me."

"Who's 'me'?" Sam asked, confused as Dean's eyebrows frowned as he never looked away from the angel's face.

"Jimmy. My name's Jimmy."

"Where the hell is Castiel?" Dean asked, completely taken aback and worried by that revelation the trench-coated guy just made.

"He's gone."

---

Same day, around 8 pm.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Sioux Falls Hospital.

"I'm sorry, but only family can get-"

"I'm her family you idjit," Bobby cut off the new nurse who had just arrived ten minutes ago and was standing in front of him in an obvious way to keep out of the room Bobby was trying to get in. "Why the hell do you think I've been hanging around here?"

"Paul," a black-haired woman in a starched white coat interrupted as she walked in the hallway. She was the doctor who had done Kate' surgery a couple of days and she had come as soon as possible when she had heard that Kate had just come around from her coma. "Let this man be."

"Oh, um, sorry, Doctor Parks… I, well…" The young nurse trailed off as he walked away, glancing at Bobby who made two large steps towards Kate's room.

"Mister Singer, wait," Doctor Parks firmly said causing the hunter to stop abruptly as he looked at her. His eyebrows were frowned emphasizing the impatience that was filling him at the moment and was covering his features. Indeed, Kate had come around from her coma ten minutes ago and no one had let him get in the room to see her, and this was frustrating him quite a bit. The doctor walked towards the door, her steps and her posture almost calm and elegant as a couple of nurses passed them by and looked at them. Under one arm, she carried a rather large red first aid-kit which caught the nurses' attention even though they didn't say a word. Glancing at Bobby with her green eyes, Doctor Parks said to him in almost a whisper, "Eleven minutes."

He gave her a subtle nod of the head which she took as a cue to go ahead. She pushed the door open and walked in, her steps more rapid than earlier but still holding a bit of elegance. Bobby quickly followed her in, but he stopped in track when his old blue eyes spotted Kate half sitting on her bed -awake. Her brown hair was cascading in curls and waves over one shoulder as a nurse was checking her blood pressure. Her face was a bit worn out and Bobby didn't except it to look any other way since she's been in a coma for a couple of days because of all the blood she had lost. He still couldn't believe she had done such a risky move on herself; but still for some reason, he could believe that she would do something like that.

When her brown eyes shifted from the nurse to the doorway, they sparkled with a genuine happiness and excitement that crashed over the paleness of her face.

"Bobby!" She exclaimed in her raspy but happy voice, causing a warm smile to spread on his face. But the old man didn't even have time to reply as the doctor approached her.

"Kate Singer, I'm Doctor Beth Parks. I'm the one who did your surgery a couple of days ago," she told her and Kate turned her head to her.

Kate's eyes studied Doctor Parks' face, and she quickly understood that Doctor Beth Parks was one of those women in their fifties who dedicated their whole life to their job, and possibly had a great happy family background but still didn't pass that much time with them because of the work. Besides, she had one of those faces which looked like a face you could trust. Her olive-skinned face was painted with a few wrinkles around her eyes and her lips, and there was a few grey strands in her dark black hair pulled up in a strict and perfect bun. However none of these things were the giveaways for this doctor's age and dedication on her work, it was the stern yet careful tone of her voice and the straight posture of her back. It showed the real professionalism, but also the desire to do her job right, the need to prove herself to each patient she faced.

"How are you feeling?" Doctor Parks asked Kate pulling her out of her short reverie.

"Um, not that bad," Kate replied with a little smile as she looked at Doctor Parks. "But, could I have some water?"

"Yes, of course." The Doctor nodded to Bobby, who approached her on the bed side where no one was standing and gave her a little paper cup full of the precious liquid.

"Blood pressure?" Doctor Parks asked the nurse who showed her the results displaying on the measuring device. "Mmh. Very good for someone who just came around from coma," Doctor Parks said as she looked down at Kate who gave a small smile not knowing what to reply. "You can all leave. I want a few minutes with the patient and her uncle," Doctor Parks told the intern and the two nurses who simply nodded.

"It's good to see you awake, kiddo," Bobby told Kate gently as he put his hand on top of hers and squeezed it, to which Kate responded with a warm smile.

When they all walked out and the door closed, Doctor Parks turned to look at Bobby.

"Nine minutes left, Bobby."

"What?" Kate asked, her voice still a bit raspy even with the water.

"Alright," Bobby said and his voice wasn't gentle anymore; it was professional, succinct. He pulled his hand away from Kate, and grabbed the brown jacket that was resting on one of the chairs just one foot away from her bed and a back bag. He put the bag on his back while quickly returning at her sides. "Katie, c'mon," he told the young brunette as he helped her sit up completely, and then slide her arms in the jacket' sleeves. "How many ya think?"

"Seven or eight at most," Doctor Parks replied as Kate looked back and forth at them, completely confused. "Wing B, C and D of the hospital stink sulphur. I have crossed two earlier, they're stuck in one of the offices, but I don't think they know it is my fault. Although I do think they know she's awake."

"Wait, are you talking about demons?" Kate asked, her eyebrows frowned as Bobby helped her out of the bed.

"Yeah, we gotta get out of here quickly," he replied. "Beth has cleared us a way, but we only got a few minutes before the charm breaks off and the demons come rushing to ya," Bobby said to Kate as she stood up on her bare feet, the over-sized jacket that Bobby had put on her dropping in the process which permitted to cover the exposed skin of her back that the hospital grown gave.

"I don't get it, how they-" Kate started when Doctor Parks cut her off.

"Questions for later, if you don't mind," she walked to the door as Bobby helped Kate walking. When Kate saw the doctor's expression, she understood she had to hurry up, so biting on her bottom lip, she forced herself into making bigger steps.

"Alright, good. Ya can do it," Bobby encouraged her, holding her in order to give her as much support and help as she walked. It made sense that after a couple of days without moving her legs at all, she would have a bit of a rough start. But, she was doing very well and Bobby couldn't be more proud to see all the efforts and strength she was putting on. Like always.

"Less than eight minutes, Bobby," the olive-skinned doctor said as they were now by her sides. He glanced up at her as she opened the door and let Bobby and Kate walk out before she did too.

Bobby turned to the right, heading towards the wing A of the hospital and Doctor Parks quickly walked ahead of them in order to show them the rest of the way to take. When they arrived at the extremity of the hallway, Doctor Parks turned left and so did they. Her black heels were clicking quickly and rhythmically on the white floor, and Kate's brown eyes were focusing on them as she and Bobby tried to keep on with her quick path.

"Doctor Parks-" An intern who walked out of a room called.

"Not now," Doctor Parks cut him off without even looking at him as she kept walking. Bobby glanced at the intern who frowned as he looked at them, certainly wondering why an old man and a young woman with no shoes were doing, following this doctor, with such rush. "Six minutes left, Bobby. Hurry up!" The doctor said as she quickened her path and got inside one of the elevators which doors luckily opened right when Doctor Parks walked in front of it.

When Kate and Bobby stepped inside the empty elevator, the doctor slid a white card on a black square that was near all the buttons, a beeping sound echoed and then she pressed one button leading them immediately to the first floor without having the elevator stopping at every floor.

Stepping out of the elevator, Doctor Parks turned to the left, Bobby and Kate following her so quickly that Kate was actually starting to feel her legs tire out. They walked by a few people without any issues,when a trolley wheeled out of a room stopping the doctor and the two following, abruptly. The three of them turned their heads to the doorway where a young woman in scrubs was standing, looking strangely at the trio as she fixed her eyes on the doctor.

"What-" Doctor Parks started when the nurse's eyes flicked pitch black. "Let's go," she said firmly, pushing the trolley away to keep on walking in the quite wide hallway.

Flicking black eyes to the girl next to the Doctor prompted Bobby to hold Kate closer to him. "You can't run forever, we're gonna find you," the nurse said without moving an inch, black eyes glued to Kate, as she and Bobby started to walk even quicker, almost running behind the doctor. Kate frowned as she glanced at the demon again, wondering why she seemed to be blocked by some invisible door.

"Hurry up," Doctor Parks said as she pushed one heavy door open above which the sign 'exit' flashed. "The charm I used is going to break in just three minutes!"

They arrived outside the building where there was a little bit of rain and Kate's eyes immediately fell on the tall dark-haired hunter, Matt, who walked towards them. He was wearing a simple black hoodie, dark blue jeans with a few of holes and his old big brownish boots that gave him a few more inches. He was holding an umbrella over his head, and when he approached them, he swiftly opened another umbrella with his other hand.

"You're late," he told Bobby as he gave the old man the second umbrella so he could hold it above himself and Kate.

"Still two minutes and forty five seconds, but you're lucky. We had a run-in with one on our way here," Doctor Parks told Matt as she looked down at her watch, not showing any annoyance of getting wet by cold raindrops. Kate looked up at Matt, a bit desperate to make some eye contact with him, but his blue eyes were intently staring at the doctor's face.

"Which room?" He asked in a very serious tone.

"Fifth on your left, first floor." Doctor Parks replied causing him to go to the door they had just came out of.

"Where is he going?" Kate asked in a weak voice as she looked up at Bobby, with slightly frowned eyebrows.

"He's gonna get us some answers," Bobby replied, his old and wise blue eyes glued to the young hunter who opened that backdoor and disappeared inside the building while still holding his umbrella above his head.

Once inside, Matt walked with hard and determined footsteps, ignoring completely the funny looks people sent him for holding an opened umbrella above his head while being inside. He walked by one room, two, three, four and then five. He smoothly stopped, turned his dark-haired head and looked at the blonde nurse standing at the doorway. His blue eyes studied her in no more than two seconds, from her round blonde face with brown eyes to her not so slim body surrounded on both sides by her arms hanging unnaturally and causing his attention to stop at her fists which were as clenched as the muscles of her face in an expression of frustration.

"Christio?" He said and she flinched as she looked up at him and her eyes were filed with a complete black color. He smirked as he looked down at the thin line separating the hallway from the room that demon possessing a nurse was. Thanks to the spell that Beth had put on, this demon was stuck behind an invisible door. "You better back away if you don't want me to start an exorcism on you."

She scoffed, "Hunter? Really? Because I-"

"In two minutes, you'll be able to get out of this room," he cut her off, showing his lack of interest in listening to her worthless words, as he plunged one hand in one pocket. "But, in two minutes you'll also be showered in holy water while an exorcism will be echoed from all those speakers in the building."

"What?"

"If you collaborate, I'll be nice enough to give you this umbrella and to destroy the speaker in that room," he told her earning another scoff from her as she eyed him up and down.

"Why would I trust a hunter?"

"Because that's the only option you've got here," he told her. "I mean, you're stuck in the only room with no windows or any other way out, except this one in front of you. And, I've got this friend of mine who's gonna kill all of the demons in this building in two minutes… Well, more like in one minute now actually," he feigned an apologetic grimace and even though the demon knew not to trust a hunter, she started to feel panic and hesitation rose inside of her. None of this went unnoticed by Matt who decided then to speed her up just enough to make her crack and accept the deal, "Tick tock, tick tock, tick-"

"Umbrella first," she blurted out, reaching her hand out to him as his lips curved into a tiny smirk. He walked into the room while she took a few steps back while still holding her hand out for the umbrella. He handed her the umbrella and she quickly held it above her. She looked at him as he closed the door and locked it, "Why are you closing this door?"

"The speakers," he simply said before looking up to the ceiling and finding one speaker in a corner. He dragged a chair quickly, jumped on it and took out the knife that was in his pocket. He cut off the wires, tapped two fingers on the item glued to the infrastructure and made a little noise of appreciation when he was sure that the speaker wasn't working anymore.

All of sudden, the emergency water poured out in the entire room, as it did in the rest of the building. Getting all the visitors, patients, nurses, interns and doctors coldly wet while the demons were getting burned. Fortunately, holy water never left any marks on the skin of the vessels and only burned the demoniac being that was possessing the human.

Matt turned his head, and squinted his eyes as water dropped on his forehead and reached his eyelids. He fixed at the demon who tried to peek her hand out, certainly to see if it really was holy water but an invisible wall stopped her finger. She frowned as she tried again, and then she looked up at Matt as he jumped off that chair and walked right in front of her.

"Sorry, I had to warn you that there's a devil trap drawn in transparent paint on the inside of that umbrella," he told her and she groaned.

"You asshole!" She said and then she started to cough and he realized that she could hear the exorcism echoing through the speakers in the hallway. However, soon enough the noise of general panic coming from the hallway drown down the voice of Rufus Turner chanting the exorcism.

"Oh come on, I could have let you take that nice shower if I really were an asshole," he replied to her as he glanced up at the water that was still dripping.

"What do you want?" She gritted through her teeth as he was now looking down at his fingers playing with the sharp and shiny blade of his knife.

"I want you to tell me how many of you are after the girl. Why and what for. I want to know absolutely everything," he told her, his tone as stern and terrifying as the hard look he gave her as he raised his head slowly.

---

Sioux Falls Hospital's parking lot.

Sitting in the backseat of Doctor Parks' familial car with Bobby, while the doctor was sitting right behind the stirring wheel with her green eyes glued to the hospital, Kate couldn't believe that it was almost spring and yet, it didn't feel that way at all.

"You getting any warmer?" Bobby asked Kate gently as he rubbed his hands up and down her jacket clad arms while the car's heater was on. Wearing a simple hospital gown, even underneath a heavy jacket, definitely wasn't very useful against the cold and rainy weather of that day of March.

"Yeah, thanks," Kate replied in a whisper, her hands tightly pressed in between her legs, in order to keep them warm too. She threw a glance at the hospital through one of the car's window, wondering what was happening back in there exactly.

"The charm should wear off in about one minute," Doctor Parks stated causing Kate to turn her head to her.

"What is that charm and wh-what happened back there?" Kate asked causing the woman to look at her through her review mirror before shifting her gaze towards Bobby, still through the review mirror.

"Demons are after ya, Kate. Right when Sam and Dean left, we found out that there were demons in the building," he told her as he looked up at the woman sitting upfront. "Beth was married to a hunter a few years ago, and the second she smelled sulphur in a few rooms, she warned me. Well, then it's all Matt. He came up with this plan to get ya out of there before the demons got their freakin' hands on you."

"The demons were waiting for you to wake up," Doctor Parks said from the driver seat on which she had turned in order to face the young brunette. She obviously wanted to develop the explanation to make it clearer for the young woman. "I was fortunate enough to over-hear a couple of them saying that once you were awake, they would just take you with them. I had then just enough time to prepare a special and very light incense to bless a path so that no demonic being can put one step on it," she continued and even though Kate was focused on what she was being explained, she couldn't help thinking that the tone of that woman was really strong, stern and very unlike what she thought a doctor should sound like.

"However, this charm could only last for an hour since I didn't have the exact ingredients that would make it last longer. I was expecting to do it again every hour until you came round. I have to say that I was taken off guard when you woke up suddenly. And, we had only a few minutes before the charm broke off-" Doctor Parks stopped abruptly when a strident alarm emitted rather loudly from the hospital. It caught the attention of the three of them in the car as they turned their heads towards the big and high white building that was the Sioux Falls Hospital. "It seems like Rufus was right in time."

"Rufus?" Kate asked, her eyebrows frowned in confusion.

"Yes," Doctor Parks replied as she squinted her eyes in order to have a better look at the hospital building. "Rufus was supposed to turn the water of the fire sprinkler system into holy water, and then to put on an automatic activation for its opening right when my charm was to pull off, so that he can recite the exorcism to get rid of all the demons all at once. By all at once, I mean by making it echo through all of the hospital's speakers."

"That's… That's brilliant," Kate said in a weak yet completely impressed voice.

"Matt said it was one of your idea," Bobby said as he glanced down at her. "That you saw it on a movie or something?"

"Uh?" Kate said, her pale face a bit scrunched in confusion before it hit her. "Oh yeah. I saw almost the same thing on 'Constantine'."

"'Constantine'?" Bobby asked.

"Yeah, the movie based on the comics," she replied and Bobby couldn't help the little chuckle that left his mouth. He liked how Kate could come up with brilliant ideas or could cause someone to have a brilliant idea because of simple and ordinary things such as watching it on television. It made the aspect of their dark and complicated life seem a bit brighter and more simple.

"Bobby," Doctor Parks said as she opened the red first-aid kit, displaying a containing that wasn't just medical objects, but also a couple of what looked like hex bags, along with a black marker and a tiny silver box. "The bracelet."

"Oh, right," Bobby exclaimed as he gently put his hands away from Kate's arms, and mentioned for her wrists. She looked back and forth at her hands and then at his face before bringing her hands up. "We gotta take your bracelet off," he told her as Doctor Parks leaned over and slid the hex bags in the jacket's pockets that Kate was wearing. "Those hex bags will still give you a protection against demon possession, though."

"But what about my… Um," Kate started as she glanced at Doctor Parks, unsure about if she could say out loud what the bracelet could do else, which was, of course, making her soul look ordinary and definitely not like coming from another universe.

"Your soul?" Doctor Parks said causing the young woman to shot her eyes at her with a very surprised expression. "Bobby told me about a month ago," she grabbed the pen, uncapped it and then pulled her hand out. "Give me your hand," she told Kate who turned her brown eyes to Bobby who gave her a nod to reassure her that she could trust Doctor Parks. Kate bit on her bottom lip as she hesitantly put one hand on the doctor's palm. "He asked me if I could find a way to help you since he knows I am pretty good with charms, spells and, well, witchcraft," Kate's eyes rounded a bit in another moment of surprise. She had believed Bobby to be against all kind of witchcraft. It had actually been one of the main reason why she hadn't told him anything about meeting Ruby in secret. And here she was finding out that he trusted a woman who just admitted to be good at everything revolving around witchcraft. "And, long story short, I found a nice pattern that will do the same job, if not better, than the rock in your bracelet." Doctor Parks turned Kate's wrist over, and brought her marker on Kate's forearm. She drew a perfect circle in which she added a few precise loops among other tiny symbols. "Actually, after studying it a little bit, I can say that it is a bit of a mix of protective symbols with other kind of symbols."

"Why can't I wear my bracelet anymore?" Kate asked, even though she had a hundred of other questions she was dying to ask and that sounded a bit more important in her head.

"The rock in it gives the possibility to the demons to locate you," Doctor Parks explained in a very calm and not stern voice anymore as she was thoroughly focused on what she was drawing.

"What?" Kate asked in a whisper, her brown eyes glancing up at the old bearded man at her sides.

"I didn't know, kiddo," Bobby said, shaking his head apologetically and regretfully.

"I found out about this very peculiar fact just this morning, so don't blame yourself Bobby," Doctor Parks said as she looked up at Bobby before returning her eyes to Kate's forearm, "All done."

Kate pulled her hand towards herself as Bobby took the bracelet off her other hand in one swift movement before handing it to Doctor Parks who put it in the silver box. Kate watched as Doctor Parks closed the box and looked up at Bobby with a rather grave look, and then she looked down at her forearm. The black pattern drawn on her skin, reminded her of a mix of symbols she had seen in a couple of books back at Bobby's, however there was no chance for her to remember any of them exactly right now. She was exhausted and puzzled by all the sudden and rapid events that had been occurring since she woke up less than half an hour ago. And, since the only thing that could remind her that she was in a coma for two days was the still dryness of her throat along with the emptiness of her stomach, she truly felt as if the stressful day at Bobby's when they were all trying to summon the Opener of Way, wasn't over yet. It had just extended into more days.

"What would be better, of course, is if you could have it as a tattoo," Doctor Parks said, pulling Kate out of her thoughts.

Right then, a loud thumping on the passenger window's car brought their attention to the door as it opened and no one than Rufus Turner got in.

"I hope it ain't leather, Doc. 'Cause I might just ruin it all now," he said as he sat down on the passenger seat at Doctor Parks' right. He was completely wet, from the top of his head to his shoes as he turned his head towards Kate and Bobby sitting on the backseat.

"Hey," Kate told him with a little smile.

"Hey kid," he told her in a gentle voice, his dark brown eyes looking down. He looked both ashamed and regretful, and Kate didn't need to take any guesses to know the reason why.

"So, how your big exorcism went?" Kate asked, trying to cheer him up a little bit. Although, the fact that her voice was a bit weak and raspy only made them all understand what she was trying to do, Bobby sent a look at Rufus to make him understand that he had to do some efforts too.

"It went well, of course, who do you think I am?" Rufus said causing Kate and Bobby to smile. "I ain't Bobby Singer, kid." Bobby's smile dropped as he rolled his eyes at Rufus' comment.

"Have you seen Matt on your way to here?" Doctor Parks asked as the parking lot was filling with people getting out of the hospital.

"Nope. Once I finished the exorcism, some security guy made me leave the building right away," Rufus explained as he started to shrug off his jacket. "Matt found a demon?"

"He is supposed to be with one, right now," Doctor Parks told him as she put the silver box in the first-aid kit and then closed it all. She put it in the space between the two up-front seats as Rufus asked another question.

"So, what do we do now?"

"I suggest you drive out of here before it gets too crowded and you can't move the car," Doctor Parks said as she handed her keys to Rufus.

"You're givin' us your car?" Bobby asked, surprised.

"I will have Matt drive me to your place so I can take it back, in one piece this time," she said, throwing a pointed look at Rufus and Bobby before continuing, "It will give me the opportunity to check on this young lady and make sure she takes her medication well and rests as much as she needs to," Doctor Parks said as she glanced at Kate whose eyebrows shot up on her forehead.

"So, you're a real doctor?"

"Of course, I am," Doctor Parks replied to Kate with a tiny amused smile.

"I thought… Since you do witchcraft and your husband is a hunter, that you were too, um…" Kate trailed off.

"A hunter?"

"Something like that, yeah," Kate nodded.

"My husband was a hunter before he got killed, indeed," Doctor Parks said in a much more stern voice and Kate pressed her lips together and swallowed as she realized she did a mistake by talking about the husband that she didn't know had passed away. "He taught me a couple of things to keep myself safe, but I also taught myself some protection spells and blessings, which are not really witchcraft, just traditional rituals from different cultures all around the world."

Kate looked at her, and realized that all this woman truly was doing then, was just practising different cultures in order to get as much protections as possible. That gave Kate some kind of strange hope that not everything had to be linked to dark magic or witchcraft in this universe.

As Doctor Parks opened her door and was ready to climb out of her car, she stopped, turning her green eyes towards Kate, "Oh, except for the hex bags. They are real works of witchcraft."

---

11:53 pm.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.

Sitting criss-crossed legs on the couch, the young brunette from another universe couldn't avert her brown gaze from the middle of the living room where thin traces of the big and complicated pattern drawn in chalk, were still visible. Her thoughts were rushing in every possible ways in her mind as questions tangled them all messily, making it impossible for her to find a way to form one question or one thought to say out loud to the people present in the house right then.

The events which occurred just a couple of days ago had caused the impossibility to summon the entity that was supposed to give her some answers and a certain possibility to give Kate the chance to go back to her original universe. However, it wasn't that particular thing that really bothered Kate.

What truly bothered her, was the sudden, violent and almost fatal demon attack that struck them. It had been all so quick, disorientating and terrifying for Kate. Sure, she had been on a couple of hunts with Matt, and even with the Winchesters. Nevertheless, she had been very aware of the possible danger they were going to cross path with. Matt had warned her to be on alert all along their hunts, whether it was while doing research back at the motel or while chasing after the creature. She had to be very careful to keep her eyes wide open on every detail that passed by her, and she had to always be ready to fight back or to run.

It was true that the hunts she had been on, had been rather easy, considering that most of them were ghost hunts in which she had been accompanied by another hunter, whether it was Matt or the Winchester brothers, and another one was a vampire hunt which she hadn't really been involved entirely since Matt had brought her back to their motel room, and then there was the siren hunt with Sam and Dean too. Sure, there had been a few encounters with demons but never once she was alone. And, there was that time with angels and demons all at once too, but then again she hadn't been on her own, and above all else she had always been prepared and on alert.

But this time, when her brown eyes had crossed Rufus' pitched black eyes, even though she hadn't been on her own, she had felt alone.

Alone and utterly helpless.

She didn't know why exactly, but she was pretty sure that seeing someone she cared about being possessed by a demon had destabilized her quite a lot. She hadn't even had enough time to react when black smoke had broken through the windows, only to get inside another person she cared about.

She could still feel how her instincts had taken control of her body, and her mouth had started chanting the exorcism on its own. Although her body had gone all in an automatic state of action, fighting back against those two men had been out of question. She didn't want to hurt them, because even though they hadn't been really themselves back then, she was certain that they could be saved from these demonic possessions in a harmless way.

"Here you go with a good cup of tea," Matt's voice announced, bringing Kate out of her thoughts as she shot her eyes to the young man who put the cup on the coffee table, right in front of her.

"Thanks," she whispered, sliding her hands out of the red and brown tartan rug she was wrapped in. She reached for the cup as Matt sat down next to her, his fingers wrapped around his own cup of tea. She brought her cup to her lips and blew on the warm liquid as he watched her profile with his eyes that seemed very grey with the dim lightning of the room.

"You took your pills?" He asked her and she gave a slight nod before taking a sip of the tea. It tasted as good as it smelled, a bit of mint and lemon in this hot black tea. "Beth said you shouldn't stay up too long. Maybe you should-"

"I've been out for a bit more than two days, I think I can stay up a bit late," she cut him off with a gentle voice as she put the cup down on the coffee table half covered with documents and books.

"Coma and actual rest is pretty different, you know?" He told her, putting his drink down as she turned her head to him. "I mean even though, you've already healed pretty well in a couple of days, you still got a good few stitches on your abdomen and you lost a lot of blood."

"I know, but I'm feeling really good, you know?"

"Yeah, I can see that. I mean, you look a bit less lost in your mind, and less haunted than you used to be."

"Haunted?"

"Yeah. You know, the more time we passed together and the more you looked tormented by something. Like if you were scared of something and you were trying your best to hide it," he told her and she frowned. "I mean, you spent days avoiding sleep, and there were those nights when you would scream like if you were being ripped open while you were just having a nightmare."

"Yeah, I-I don't really remember those," Kate mumbled before looking up at Matt who shrugged.

"We tend to forget nightmares after some time, I suppose," he said.

"Yeah, I suppose. But, I'm feeling really good right now. I mean, it hurt like hell to stab myself but honestly I thought I would face the after surgery pain would be bigger than what I got now."

"Mmh… Must be the painkillers," he told her with a corner smile, attempting to get her to smile back. However, the result was different as a slight settled on her face.

"Matt, what did that demon tell you back in the hospital?"

The young man in his green sweatshirt and black sweatpants sighed as he ran a hand through his dark hair that were a bit longer than Dean's, but not as long as Sam's. He sighed, shifting on the couch, "Bobby said better not to talk about it until you're rested 'cause otherwise you'll worry too much."

"Matt," she said pointedly as she tilted her head in order to meet his grey eyes. "Not telling me is only making me even more worried, and you know that."

"Kate," he sighed as he met her brown eyes. Sighing once again, he continued, "I really shouldn't tell you..." She gave him a very pointed look and he tried to look away again so she decided to move her head and even to lean towards the coffee table so she could force him to look at her, the movement caused a slight pain to appear at her wound, so she repositioned herself in a less painful position. However, the young woman kept her brown eyes glued to his face. "Alright, stop." He sighed heavily as he held his hands up in the air in surrender. He hated when someone stared at him too long the way she did, and that was something she learned about him on the first training days he gave her.

"A few demons, all very bottom-end, have apparently been hired to kidnap you. Two were assigned to get you from here," he told her as he looked into her eyes and saw immediate focus she held on every words he was telling her. "The first one found Rufus when he was miles away and wasn't wearing his anti-possession pendant. So, he immediately possessed him, of course. This is the reason why Rufus got here earlier than planned."

"So Rufus was possessed all along?" Kate asked in a little voice and he gave one simple nod. "But, how did he get in here? I mean a couple of weeks ago, Bobby improved the protections of his house and put on a few devil traps almost everywhere making it impossible for a demon to get in here."

"Yeah, well that's something we haven't told you yet either, actually," he told her and she urged him with her gaze. "All those new demon protections he had all over his house, we found them damaged after the attack. Not much. But enough to welcome any demon in here. Although, the weird thing is that the protections in the basement or even upstairs, they were all completely fine… And, when Bobby and I came back here yesterday, all of the protections weren't destroyed anymore."

"What?" She asked, her upper body leaning back as she looked at him with surprise.

"Weird, huh? Could have thought that we imagined it all," he told her as he laced his fingers together. "So, yeah, when I questioned that demon back at the hospital, she told me that a few demons had been hired to kidnap you, but they have absolutely no idea why. They've been hired by a higher creature, a demon apparently. And he never told them why, he just promised to give them the possibility to be the ones breaking one of the most important seals. Long story short, this particular seal was one the seals you had given us the coordinates of, so I understood that it needed ten demons. And well, she kinda gave away that they were eight demons back in the hospital, and you got rid of two here the other days, you do the math," he gave her a kind smile as he rose his eyebrows and unlaced his fingers.

"We suppose that no other demon have the mission to kidnap you. But to make sure you're safe, we increased the protection around the house and on you," he took one of her forearms and she let him do as she looked at his fingers turning over her right forearm only to point with his other hand at the pattern drawn on her skin. "This will be a very high protection, just like that rock in your bracelet."

"But, it won't help them locate me, unlike the rock," she continued for him and he gave her a smile as he looked up at her face.

"Exactly. But, you still gotta keep the hex bags on you, until we've got enough time to do what the Winchesters did, tomorrow maybe…" he trailed off as he pulled his hands away from her and grabbed his cup of tea.

"What do you mean by 'what the Winchesters did'?"

"Tattoos," he exclaimed before drinking a long sip of tea. "That's a really brilliant idea. I don't know why I didn't think about it sooner. I mean, those little bracelet charms and stuff with a demon trap drawn on it are good, but you take it off for the time of a shower like Rufus did, and boom you're a fuckin' demon's bitch!"

"Language!" Bobby's voice said loudly and suddenly, causing Matt and Kate to snap their heads at the doorway leading to the staircase. There stood the cap-headed Bobby, his arms crossed over his chest as a scowl was painted all over his face.

"Um, Rufus' done with the car?" Matt asked as Bobby's eyes never ceased glaring at him.

"Yeah, that's why he's standin' right next to me," Bobby replied sarcastically making Kate look down.

"Alright, er, maybe I should go, see if he needs any help," Matt announced hesitantly as Kate kept her head down, staring at the pattern on her forearm skin as if it was the most interesting thing in the world all of sudden.

Matt stood up and was quickly out of the room, and not even three seconds later Kate heard the front door opening and closing. She bit on her bottom lip, trying her best not to look up at the old man that she knew was going to be mad at her for making Matt tell her all the things that Bobby had clearly said he would tell her later.

For a moment, Kate thought that if she succeeded on pretending not to see that he was still standing here, he would simply go away and leave her alone. This was one of the method she used to do when she was around a child. She would pretend not to see the grown-ups who scowled her. But, this method had never succeeded with anyone she knew in her whole life and there was absolutely no chance it was going to work with someone like Bobby Singer. Nevertheless, when she heard his footsteps getting closer and then stopping a couple of feet away from her, she didn't raise her brown head immediately, and she even mentally cursed at herself for pulling her hair up in a bun. For once, a curtain of messy curls would have been pretty useful.

"If you keep your head that way for too long, you'll get a cramp," he said as she heard the squealing sound of him leaning against his wooden desk.

Slowly raising her head up, Kate looked at him with wide brown eyes as she freed her lips from her upper teeth's hold. He rose his eyebrows as he watched her putting up an innocent air, his arms still folded against his chest as he crossed his legs and waited for her to talk.

"I can wait for hours," he told her.

"I know," she stated and he rolled his eyes.

"Why do you always have to be so stubborn?" He asked in a sigh.

"That wasn't being stubborn-"

"Yeah, I know, that was being an idjit of smartass," he said to her and she frowned. He didn't call her 'idjit' as much as he called others by this name, and for some reason it had always made her feel a little bit more special for him. But, right now, in the spark of a second, she realized that it was being called 'idjit' by Bobby that made you special for him. This thought caused her lips to curl into a tiny smile that the old man noticed. "What are you smilin' at, you idjit? I'm scowling at you for being so stubborn and always trying to do what I tell you not to, and you smile?"

"I'm sorry, it's just," she pressed her lips together to stop smiling. She shook her head as he watched her. She looked up at him, seriousness written on her soft features. "Look, Bobby, I'm sorry I didn't listen to you and I persuaded Matt on telling me those things. I am. But, I couldn't wait for you to decide when you think I'm ready to listen to those explanations. I mean, come on, you know I deserve to know and making me wait is the best way to slowly drive me crazy," she told him and he sniggered as his body lost some of the tension that it seemed to carry lately.

"I suppose you're right, huh?"

"Your suppositions are always good," she told him and rolled his eyes, a light chuckle leaving his mouth as he shook his head.

"What did he tell ya exactly?" He asked her with more seriousness.

"Well," she started, bringing one of her hands up to put a very thin lock of hair behind one of her ears. "He didn't have time to tell me much. But, um, he told me that the demon back at the hospital admitted to him that ten demons had been, uh, hired to kidnap me and to give me to a higher demon apparently," she told the old man who watched her with full attention. "He told me that the demon protections of the first floor were all damaged while the others were intact. And then they were all /back to normal."

"Yeah," Bobby sighed as he walked towards the couch and took a seat right next to her as she followed him with her eyes, understanding very well that there was more bugging the old man. "All of the first floor's protections were so slightly damaged," he told her as he raised one hand up and brought his forefinger and thumb together, leaving a very thin space between the tips. "A very thin and precise line of scratched off painting on each. So thin, that it was almost impossible to notice at first look. But still big enough to ruin the protections. And, then when we got back here, they were all back to normal. Like if nothing had even happened to the traps."

"How can a demon even do that?" She asked and he shrugged, his eyebrows still frowned as he looked at the wooden floor. "If we're being logic, a demon wouldn't be able to touch it, right?"

"If we're being logic," he repeated with a nod. "Except if that demon's got some mojo… But that's not what's important."

"What is then?" She asked and he turned his head, his blue eyes meeting her confused brown eyes.

"When we came back in here after your surgery, we found the two 500 years old bones both cracked, just a little bit but…"

"But enough to make them useless," she finished for him and he nodded.

"And, the crystal… The crystal's gone too," he declared and her eyes widened a bit in shock.

"How can it be gone?"

"How can the bones be cracked? How can the demon protections be all damaged on the first floor and the others not? And how can it be that they're all perfectly fine when we come back the next day?" He exclaimed as he stood up and threw his arms in the air. "I don't have a freakin' clue! But, I know something and that's all I need to know."

"What is that?" She asked him as he slid his hands in his old and holed jeans pockets.

"Whatever destroyed the protections and then fixed them, knew exactly what was happening in this house, when it was happening and in which room it was happening. Whatever that demon was, it was aimin' for one thing."

"Me," Kate said in a little voice and Bobby gave her a little nod.

"Seems like something doesn't you to go back home, kiddo."

---

Around two in the morning.

At a roadway motel's parking lot.

Jimmy Novak, the vessel of the angel that had pulled Dean out of Hell, was in their motel room, waiting for them to come back after their private little conversation next to their car. The few last days had been quite stressful and eventful, and for Dean it looked as if there was no slowing down.

"So, what do we do?" Sam asked Dean as they were both standing in front of the motel they were staying at.

Dean frowned as he looked at his little brother, "What do you mean? The guy's got a family. We buy him a bus ticket, send him home."

"I don't know about that," Sam replied, tilting his head in an expression of uncertainty with his brother's idea. "Dean, he's the only lead we got."

"He doesn't know anything," Dean replied as he glanced at the door of their motel room, where Jimmy Novak was waiting for them.

"Are you one hundred percent sure about that?"

"You think he's lying? What, you wanna go Guantanamo on the guy?" Dean asked Sam, surprised by the way his brother was reacting even though it wasn't the first time. Thinking about it, Dean realized that Sam was acting and reacting a bit out of character lately.

"Dean, maybe he doesn't even know what he knows," Sam explained, hoping it was going to make him understand, but also to convince him.

"Huh?"

"I say, at least we get him to Bobby's. Maybe all he needs is hypnosis or a psychic. Or hell, maybe Cas will just drop back into him," Sam suggested.

"After what happened at Bobby's the other day? I don't think that's a good idea, man," Dean replied.

"Dean, back there that was angel-on-angel violence. Now, I don't know what's going on, but it's big. And we can't just let the only lead we got just skip out," Sam told him causing Dean to shake his head. "What?"

"You remember when our job was helping people? Like, getting them back to their families?"

"Yeah, that's actually something you didn't look happy doing when it was Katie," Sam shot at his brother, taking him aback.

"What?" Dean exclaimed, his eyebrows frowned, "Wait, you're saying it's my fault, the attack?"

"C'mon Dean," Sam sighed. "You know that's not what I'm saying. Look, nevermind that, okay? I'm just being realistic here, man."

"About what? Me not showing my enthusiasm on sending back Kate or about you wanting to get that man to get information out of him?"

"What? No-" Sam exclaimed before stopping himself. "You think I don't want to help him? Look, like I said I'm just being realistic. I mean, hell, we're doing him a favor."

"How?"

"Dean, if we want to question the guy, you can damn well bet the demons do, too," Sam explained. "Bobby said the anti-demons protection were fixed, right? We can bring Cas- Jimmy in Bobby's basement? It'd be safer than letting him out there."

Dean sighed in defeat when Sam's cell phone rang. He looked at his brother's face and then down at the phone he pulled out from his jacket's pocket. The name of Bobby flashed on the screen which Dean noticed before he turned his head to look at the motel room's window. Because of the light being switched on inside their motel room, he could distinctly see the silhouette of Jimmy Novak through the curtains, as the man kept on pacing back and forth in the room.

"Speaking about the devil," Sam said as he answered Bobby's call.

"Not nice to say this to a girl who just came around from coma," the voice of Kate said on the other line. Although, it was slightly weak and raspy, Sam could recognize it easily after all the many calls they had done in the past few months. Plus, from all the calls he had received from her, the informative ones, the helpful ones, the random ones, the joking ones; this one had to be the one he had been waiting for the most.

"Katie!" He exclaimed happily surprised. Dean quickly spun his head towards his brother. "When did you come round?"

"A few hours ago," she replied. "Bobby was gonna call tomorrow to tell you, but I thought I'd give you a ring first."

"Well, it's good to hear your voice. How are you doing?"

"You can have my word that I will never stab myself again. That hurt like a bitch, not like in the movies at all… Although, I got plenty of really good painkillers, so no complain for now" she replied with a weak laugh.

"Store some for us then, we might need a few in the future," he jokingly told her.

"Already done. Anyway, how are you? And Dean?"

"Good, good. We're good. To be honest, we were more worried about you," he told her and when he heard her lightly sigh, he knew her lips had curled into a smile too.

"Which is why you went on a hunt, instead of staying here, at my bedside," she joked.

"It's kind of a long story," Sam replied as he glanced at his brother, noticing how he was fixing at him like a little kid who wanted desperately to talk on the phone. Sam cleared his throat before continuing, "Um, I'll let you talk with Dean for a bit if you're not too tired?"

"Oh, yeah, that'd be... That'd be nice," she replied and Sam held back the scoff that wanted to leave his throat as he not only heard the obvious change of tone in Kate's voice, but also the way his older brother's face seemed to enlighten a little bit.

"Alright, and um, don't stay up all night, Katie," he told her.

"Yeah, I know. Thanks, Sam and stay safe."

Sam handed his phone to Dean who took it, almost too slowly for someone whose face showed a bit of eagerness to talk to the young woman on the other end of the line. His green eyes looked at the item in his hand, and then brought it up against his ear.

"Dean?"

"Hey sleeping beauty," he answered making Kate chuckle on the other line, as Sam looked down at his shoes.

"Sleeping beauty, mmh… Isn't it the second time you had the possibility to give me a wake up kiss?" She asked and Dean couldn't help the light chuckle that escaped him, causing his younger brother to look up at him with raised eyebrows of surprise.

"Yeah, well," Dean said as he took a few steps back towards his car. Sam stayed on his spot, not wanting to leave his brother with his cell phone, but also not wanting to disturb the private bubble that his brother obviously wanted to have while talking to Kate. "Just same reason than last time. I didn't think you'd like it if I did it without your consent," Dean finished as he was now standing right next to his driver's door.

"And just like last time: good point," Kate replied and Dean was sure that she nodded too. "So, um, when will you be back?"

"Uh, I don't really know," he threw a glance at Sam before his eyes travelled to the motel room's window where he could still see Jimmy Novak pacing up and down. "We're kinda in a tricky situation right now."

"What do you mean? You're okay, right?" She asked, her voice filled with a concern that Dean couldn't help but like, but yet in the same time he disliked it. He didn't like making people worried, but he liked knowing that some people cared enough to be worried about him and his brother. Truth be told, those feelings were a bit more intensified when it came down to Kate, and he couldn't even deny this to himself anymore.

"For now, yeah," he told her as he slipped his free hand in his pocket. "Castiel… Um, he kinda left his vessel."

"He what?" She exclaimed on the other end of the line.

"Look, it's nothing to worry about. Sam and I are working on it," He quickly told her.

"How are you even working on this? Are y- Wait. You said he left his vessel? So does that mean the man he was, um, possessing, is back in full control of his body?"

"Kinda, yeah. His name is Jimmy Novak."

"Are you bringing him here soon?"

"What for?" He asked her with a frown.

"Well, he was possessed by an angel, Dean. He might know a lot of things and I don't think I'm wrong when I say that information is not only power in this case, it's also troubles," she replied and Dean turned to look at Sam who looked back at him with a questioning expression. He hated how true she and his brother were about this. He wanted to believe that they could save this innocent and send him back to his family. Do something good and right, like they're supposed to.

'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.'

Even though he knew the many reasons why Sam's reaction to sending Kate's back home was different from his reaction to sending Castiel's vessel back home, Dean couldn't help but feel as if it was all unfair. He wished that Sam had given him the same speech about Jimmy when he had talked about Kate. He wished that Sam had told him they couldn't send Kate back. However, deep down, as he was now hearing Kate's voice, a bit raspy and weak, but still as soft as ever, Dean realized something. As much as he wished Kate could stay in their universe, he also wished to keep her as safe as possible. He didn't want to hear that weakness in her voice anymore, and the only way to make sure of that was to stop being so selfish and to send her back to her normal and safe universe.

"You understand that this is the best thing to do, right, Dean?" Kate said on the other end of the line, pulling his attention back to her.

"Yeah, yeah, I know," he replied, giving his back to his little brother again. "Sam and I will bring him to Bobby's basement tomorrow," he stopped for a short second before clearing his throat with a cough and continuing, "What about you?"

"What do you mean, what about me?"

After a few seconds of silence in which Dean hesitated on how to formulate his question, he let out in his most casual tone, "What are you gonna do?"

"Well, for now, I'm gonna rest," she replied with a very light chuckle. "And, um, I supposed you were talking about going back to my universe?" She said and as he didn't say anything, she continued. "I don't really know… Um, a few important things are missing so it's kinda delaying everything…"

"Oh," he just said even though he knew that she was mainly talking about the Jadeite crystal.

"I'll have to go back to listening to the last two tapes that Pamela recorded and well I'll have a few things to read too, I suppose" she told him and he frowned.

"Not gonna summon that Yog thing anymore?"

"No. Not for now, at least. I called Chuck to see if he knew something, but all he said was that it was like if something doesn't want me to go back there, for some unknown reason. So, yeah you're gonna have to bear me for a few more days," she joked, a very light chuckle giving more life to her words.

"Oh, it's alright. I'll just have to stick on the road longer and avoid Bobby's house as much as possible," he joked back causing a light and soft laugh to irrupt from her, reaching his ear through the cell phone and causing Dean's lips to curve into a tiny smile. He didn't think that possible, not with all of the things happening lately. Still, he wasn't surprised when he felt his lips stretch into a smile, because she had that power on him. Actually, he had noticed that she had this power on everyone he saw her with. "Alright, it's pretty late, you better go get some shut eye, Kaitlin."

"Right," she replied and Dean frowned, thinking he had heard some disappointment in her tone. "I'm standing in my room, actually. And, um, yeah, the pills are starting to take their toll on me."

"Yeah," he said as he looked down at his boots.

"Yeah… Well, um, try to get some sleep too, Dean," she replied and Dean's lips curled into a corner smile.

"Yeah."

---

Ascending the stairs to get out of the metro Odéon, a light summer breeze embraced the young brunette in her simple white t-shirt, bright blue jeans and converse shoes. She was carrying a strapping bag on one shoulder to which one of her hands was almost clung onto, while she reached her other hand out for the man giving people free newspapers at the exit of the metro. Giving him a soft polite smile as she grabbed the newspaper, she turned to her right and continued walking down the Boulevard Saint Germain while swirling the newspaper up. The sun was bright, almost too bright, so she reached to the pair of sunglasses on top of her head and stopped when she realized they weren't there while it was an old habit of her to wear them on top of her wild curly head.

Her confusion was interrupted by another weird thing that froze her in spot. The Boulevard was completely desert. It was one of the most crowded place in Paris during the summer, and still, now it was empty as ever. There wasn't even one single pigeon. Spinning around, she realized that the man who gave her the newspaper was gone too. In a slight fit of panic, she started to walk towards one direction. In a matter of a few seconds, her steps turned into quicker steps as she started to run.

She ran as fast as possible, her right hand holding the swirled up newspaper while the other was clinging to the strapping of her bag as if her life depended on this very gesture. She kept on running, and soon enough she found herself at the Place Saint Michel, not very far away from the metro Odéon, but still at some distance that couldn't be crossed in only a couple of minutes.

She stopped herself in the middle of the road as her brown eyes spotted a tall man in a grey costume standing in front of the famous fountain of Saint Michel. He was too far away for her to even make out his face. All she could make out was that he wasn't facing her as he was staring up at the statues of Saint Michel fighting with Lucifer.

It hit her suddenly that the whole scenery was too weird to be real. She was in a dream.

She looked around her, trying to take on as much as possible. There wasn't one single car on the middle of the road, but a few were parked along the pathways. There wasn't one single person to be seen except that man, but a few bags, jackets, caps and other personal objects were laying on some tables and chairs of a few cafés' terraces. Even the air smelled a bit bizarre which only piled up to make the atmosphere seem even more odd, and even off.

It was definitely a dream. A seemingly calm and serene dream, and yet something felt strangely too wrong.

She wasn't sure if talking to the only person there, was a good idea, but she still went with that idea. Making one step forward, she quickly took a couple of steps back as the man appeared right in front of her.

He laughed when he saw her reaction, "Calm down, Kate. I'm not going to bite you."

"Wh-who are you?" She asked, her eyes as big and round as saucers.

"Oh right," he said with a little nod. "The last time we talked you were in a deep coma… It was just a few days ago, but you wouldn't remind my little visit, of course. That day I took off all the memories of me from you," he replied causing her to be even more puzzled, but it also caused her to feel a bit suspicious of that man. She felt as if she couldn't trust him at all. Taking a subtle step back, she never looked away from him as he continued talking, "Because with you trying to summon that entity I told you not to, and with everything that is happening in Heaven lately, I couldn't have you wandering around with everything you know. Besides, I had to make sure to stack all the odds in my favour."

"What? I don't understand," she shook her head. He sighed before bringing one hand up and snapping his fingers.

The instant the snap of his fingers echoed all over the desert Place Saint Michel, the brunette was struck by a wave of flashing images and sensations. The intensity of those memories flowing back into her weakened her body so much that her knees gave in and she dropped on the dark grey ground. Her hands letting go of the newspaper and the strapping bag as they immediately took hold of her hair. She tightly held onto the roots of her hair, almost pulling them out of her crane. But then, it all stopped as abruptly as it had started.

She looked up at the man, her eyes full of tears and of a sincere hatred that she never thought she would ever feel towards anyone in her whole life until she met that so-called angel.

"Zachariah," she gritted through her teeth.

"Kate," he smiled at her. She lowered her head as she tried to catch her breath back. "So you remember?" He crouched right in front of her, took the newspaper lying next to her and sighed as he stood up. "Of course, you remember what we discussed the last time. Of course, you remember that I'm the one who brought you round when you were in that coma. And you must remember that I'm the reason why the healing of your stabbing is already half done."

"What I remember the most, is that you are in a very bad position upstairs," she replied, raising her head to look at him with a smirk. The angel scoffed as he looked down at her.

"I could crush you like the little bug that you are," he told her and she nodded as she stood up.

"Yeah, but you won't," she told him once she was back on her feet. "Because you and I know that if you lay one single finger on me, you'll get a lot of troubles from that archangel who is watching you very closely."

"You think?" He replied as he took one step towards her. "I'm not as watched as I was a few days ago otherwise I wouldn't be here. And in no time, I won't be watched anymore because I'm gaining back my full authority in Heaven. And, once it's completely done, you will regret having such a smart mouth," he told her before unrolling the newspaper in his hands as he took a few steps away from her. "You know, Kate, I was truly thinking we would become close friends when we first met. You and I, working together, to make this place a better place before sending you back to your universe with the possibility of saving your beloved father. And then… Then, you disappointed me," he looked at her.

"I'm sorry I believe in doing the right things," she spat at him and he tapped his palate with his tongue.

"No. You don't believe in doing the right things. You believe in doing what you think is right and good and useful for yourself. You are a selfish person. But you like to think otherwise and to make people think otherwise, so you convince yourself that you are fighting for the right things. While you are truly not," he told her as she watched him in silence.

"The recent example is Castiel," he continued and her face showed a bit of confusion. "What? You didn't figure it out yet? The reason his vessel is wandering around lately, it's because you made Castiel betray the angels when you asked him to help you. What is really good with Heaven being so alert with all of the angels lately, is that they found out Castiel gave out important and confidential information that he moreover got from the fallen angel Anna, and also from over-hearing a few conversation upstairs. And, then he was even going to tell his precious Dean Winchester a couple of things that this one should not know until the right time."

"What did you do to Castiel?"

"Me? Nothing. To be honest, I was simply rewarded for telling on him with a couple of other angels, which is slowly putting me back to my high position," he replied in a casual tone. "And well, I don't really like spreading rumours. But I heard they are currently reminding Castiel of who he is. They are… How to put it? Mmh…" he said, pretending to look for the right word. "Oh right! They are motivating him." His lips curled into a sick and wicked grin that made Kate shiver. "And, this is the result of your selfishness, Kaitlin Anderson."

"You bastard," she let out in a whisper as she shook her head. "What kind of angel are you?!"

"I'm an angel who is trying to do his job that you think is okay to ruin!"

"All I'm trying to do is going back to my universe! In which way is it ruining your fucking job?!" She shouted at him.

"You should know your importance by now! Do you really think I would waste my time over a parasite like you if I was certain to get the sword for Michael?" He told her and she frowned. "This sword," he said as he pointed at the statue of Saint Michel holding a sword while standing above the triumphed over the famous fallen angel that was Lucifer, "Is important and if something happens to it, if it doesn't want to work or if it breaks," he said as the sword exploded and Kate watched with big eyes.

"I will need another weapon," he said as he turned his back to her and brought the newspaper up as it changed into a play card. "A much more powerful weapon to save this world." Kate looked down at the play card in his hand, and saw the drawing of a Joker on it. "You play this card – you become this card when we need you and everything will end happily ever after. You do this, you go back home. You don't, and next time I will send you more than a few demons to kidnap you, and I'll make sure all of your fellow companions become the true definition of collateral damage."

"You… You're the one who let those demons at Bobby's and in the hospital."

"I hired the right demon to get other demons to take care of you. With an archangel watching all of my moves, I couldn't really come down there myself to stop you from summoning the Opener of the Way. All I could do was to take care of the demon traps and then they did all of the job," he told her as she watched him with shock. "And, then I came back to rearrange those demon traps. I can't have you in danger while I need you," he said as he slid the Joker card inside the pocket on the front of his grey suit jacket. "Don't worry, you won't have other demons on your tail now."

"You…" She didn't know what to say. She felt as if it was too much information all at once. Too much and too terrifying information all at once. It was at this right moment that she realized how very far he could go to get what he wanted.

"I ensured your stay until I know I don't need you anymore, like cracking the bones just enough to make them useless for your spell," he said as she brought one hand up to rub her forehead, still trying to swallow the fact that angels turned out to be worse than demons. "Be sure that once everything's done, I will be the first one to do everything to send you far away from here," he continued as she dropped her hand. "Anyway, everything will make sense for you in the future. All you have to do is trust me. And, well, stay motivated. There's no reason not to be. Besides, even if you gather everything you need to summon the Opener of the Way, you'll still need one thing that is very rare on Earth," he said as he slid his hand in his pants pocket. "Especially since I destroyed all the other ones existing earlier." He pulled his hand out and opened his palm to show her a green crystal. The green crystal that had disappeared back at Bobby's. "This is the very last Jadeite crystal of this world. I'll keep it with me for now, just to make sure you understand what's at stake, aside from torturing the ones you care about in this universe."

"Why don't you tell me what am I exactly for you? For Heaven?" She asked him as she tore her eyes away from the crystal that could help her go back to a place where she never faced any threats and danger as big the ones here. She looked straight into his eyes with a fury that made her tear up.

"You already know enough," he told her before he frowned and looked up at the bright sky that had started to turn grey. He looked down at his watch, "Oh, it's time for me to go, which means time to wipe all of these memories away from you again, before letting you slip into another dream."

"No!" Kate shouted as she took a step back and rose her hands up. "Let me remember all of this!"

"You think I'm stupid? If I do this, you will find a way to play it all against me again," he told her. "Besides, you are less melodramatic without all of those memories."

"Why don't you just take my memories completely away and do what you told me once then? You know, restart everything with me and make me believe that you are a good angel, huh? Wouldn't that be easier for you?"

"It would take too much time and energy. And, I am pretty sure that your stubbornness will find a way to make you still suspicious of me," he sighed before taking one step towards her, his eyes looking straight into hers. "But, you know what? I will let you wake up with one single memory this time. The memory that you have to – no – that you must focus on researching on how to get back home or how to help with the Apocalypse, or whatever. But, you must not try to get back to your universe yet. It's too soon and too dangerous."

"You're gonna manipulate me into thinking that way," she whispered as she looked at him, one tear slowly streaming down her cheek.

"Yeah, I'm going to give it a try," he grinned wickedly at her before snapping his fingers.

---

One day later.

Dean was driving down the road with Sam sitting in his usual passenger seat. The whole car was filled with silence as the elder brother was focusing on finding Jimmy Novak before demons got their hands on him. Indeed, the previous night, Castiel's vessel disappeared in the middle of the night whereas Sam was supposed to watch after him as Dean was catching up on some really needed sleep. Right now, focusing on this task permitted Dean to not only make sure that they'd get to him in time, but also to lower down his other thoughts that didn't give him any peace.

His thoughts were varied and too numerous. Thoughts about what he was supposedly destined to do. Thoughts about the breaking seals. Thoughts about his brother and his odd behaviour lately. Thoughts about the unexpected attack at Bobby's. Thoughts about where the Jadeite crystal might have gone. Thoughts about Kate still stuck with them until they got another crystal and other sacred bones aged of at least 500 years old. Thoughts about why Castiel seemed very anxious in his dream.

And, of course, the usual and never ending thoughts about Hell and what he had done down there. These thoughts would never stop hunting him, he knew that. They were always creeping in the back of his head, waiting for the right moment to resurface completely whether while asleep or while doing the simplest thing like eating or listening to music.

Hell…

Forty years of Hell…

Dean clenched his jaw, and gripped his steering wheel tighter as he shook his head a bit, earning himself a confused gaze from his younger brother sitting beside him. He had to try to refocus his mind on finding Jimmy Novak.

Jimmy Novak was certainly at his home right now. With his loved ones who had been waiting for his return just as much as he had been waiting for returning to them. Just like Kate should have.

Dean shook his head once again. He wasn't supposed to let his wander around anything else but the task at hands.

Jimmy Novak.

Finding Jimmy Novak.

"Hey, guys," a feminine voice suddenly said, startling the two brothers.

"Aah!" Dean jerked the steering wheel causing the Impala to swerve. "Jeez," Dean said as he got his car back under control. His green eyes glancing on the backseat to look at the red-haired woman who had caused this little panic.

"Smooth," she said.

"You ever try calling ahead, Anna?" Dean told the fallen angel as Sam looked at her.

"I like the element of surprise," she replied with a light shrug. Dean sighed before glancing at her again, his lips curling into a tiny smirk as he remembered the night they had shared together months ago.

"Well, you look terrific," he told her, his tone slightly flirtatious.

"Um, yeah, not the most appropriate time, Dean," Anna replied making Dean tilt his head as Sam slightly rolled his eyes at his brother. It wasn't really the time to flirt, but it was in Dean's habits and he really couldn't help it. "You let Jimmy get away?

"Talk to ginormo here," Dean said nodding his head to Sam who sighed.

"Sam," Anna said slowly as she looked at him very intensively. Her eyes studying the profile of the younger Winchester with a bit of concern. "You seem different."

"Me?" Sam scoffed as he put his hand up in his hair. "I don't know. Heh. A haircut?"

"That's not what I'm talking about," she said giving him a meaningful look as he looked at her. He swallowed and looked away. She turned her attention back to Dean. "So, what'd Jimmy tell you? He remember anything?"

"Why? What's going on?" Dean asked.

"It's Cas. He got sent back home. Well, more like dragged back," she explained.

"To heaven? That's not a good thing?" The older hunter asked.

"No. That's a very bad thing. Painfully, awfully bad," she replied. "He must have seriously pissed someone off."

"Cas said he had something to tell me. Something important," Dean told her.

"What?"

"I don't know. He had something to tell me about Kate too," Dean said and Anna froze as she stared at him.

"Does Jimmy know?" She asked after a few seconds of silence.

"I don't think so," Dean replied.

"You don't think so? Whatever it is, it's huge. If he wanted to tell you something about Kate, that means he knows exactly why she's here too."

"What?" Sam and Dean exclaimed at the same time.

"Wait, do-do you know why she's here?" Dean asked, his eyebrows frowned as he glanced back and forth at her reflection in the mirror and at the road ahead of them.

"Heaven is facing a delicate time," she said, ignoring his question. "Some angels don't agree with others on some important events to happen. If Castiel wanted to tell you something, that means he wanted to warn you. You must find out what exactly he wanted to warn you about."

"That's why we're going after Jimmy," Sam told her.

"That's why you shouldn't have let him go in the first place," she replied with bitterness as she looked at him with a stern look. "He's probably dead already."

---

Same day. Afternoon.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.

It had been almost seven minutes that Kate was in the same position, doing all that she was told. It wasn't too bad, but Kate didn't really enjoy having to sit upright with only a bra on as a person watched her uncovered body very carefully, even when it was a woman doing so. Her fingers were nervously playing with the blue tank top that was at her left and her brown eyes were focused on the ceiling as the cold fingertips of Doctor Parks gave little pressures on the stitched wound.

"Again, take a long breath in," Doctor Parks said in a whisper and Kate obliged. Breathing through her nostrils to fill her lungs with oxygen pulling her rib cage both upward and outward in the process. "And, slowly breathe out," she said as she gave a harder pressure on the wound causing Kate to flinch a little bit as she breathed out. "Alright, I think that's enough. You can put your clothes back on."

"Thanks," Kate replied as she quickly put on her tank top while Doctor Parks leaned back on the chair she was sitting on right in front of the bed on which Kate was sitting.

"I still don't understand," Doctor Parks said more to herself than to Kate, as she pinched the bridge of her nose. However it still caught the young brunette's attention.

"What? What don't you understand?" She asked as she grabbed her dark blue long-sleeved t-shirt and started putting it on.

"Your wound," she replied as she shifted her green eyes to Kate's face. "It shouldn't be this healed after only a few days. It should take much more time."

"Bobby told me that's what you said yesterday too," Kate told her as she pulled her t-shirt down on her stomach and then rested her hands on her lap, her tongue licking her lips before she bit on the bottom lip.

"Yes. And, he explained to me that it was the first time this sort of half-miracle happened with you," Doctor Parks replied as she grabbed the blood pressure meter that was on the bed and she started to put it back in its handbag. "So, it has nothing to do with the fact that you are not from this universe."

"What do you think it is then?"

"Well, to be honest with you, I have absolutely no idea," Doctor Parks replied, raising her eyebrows as she shrugged her shoulders. Kate's eyes moved from the doctor's straight black hair with a few grey strands to her purple shirt and then to her long fingers zipping the blood-pressure meter handbag. She noticed that she was wearing a silver ring on her left hand, right on the ring-finger and she couldn't help wonder if she had remarried or if she had just kept on wearing the ring of her passed-away husband. "Did you face any trouble with your immune defence system?"

"Um, not that I can think of," Kate replied, her eyebrows frowned in puzzlement.

"You didn't catch any cold? Maybe a sore throat? Or a sinusitis?"

"No," Kate replied shaking her head. "Well, I kinda caught the beginning of what looked like a cold once, I think. But it was gone as soon as it came."

"What do you mean?"

"Um, I just sneezed a lot, that's it," Kate shrugged. "Nothing too big. It was done after one day."

"No allergies? New or old?"

"New or old?" Kate repeated in confusion.

"Yes. Allergies that you had back in your wold or possible allergies that you developed here," Doctor Parks explained.

"Oh. Well, no. No new, no old," Kate replied with a little smile as Doctor Parks looked at her with a more thoughtful expression than before. "Is that bad?"

"I think-" Doctor Parks started when a knock on the door interrupted them. Glancing down at Kate as if to make sure that she had finished putting her clothes back on, she moved her head towards the door and called out, "Come on in."

The door was immediately pushed open and the young blue-eyed hunter appeared as he walked up to Kate with a brown paper bag as he announced, "Just doing a quick delivery."

He handed the brown bag to Kate as Doctor Parks' eyes looked at it with a bit of curiosity before shifting her green gaze to Matt who was already turning around and making big steps towards the door.

"Thank you, Matt, you're a savior!" Kate told him.

"First and last time, Kate. Remember that," he said as he walked out with a pink flush on his cheeks, closing the door behind him.

When Kate turned her face towards Doctor Parks, she was met by a curious and confused look from her, "He brought me tampons," Kate said with a little tilt of her head and a smile.

Doctor Parks' lips turned into an amused smile as she nodded, "You're on your period?"

"Oh no," Kate replied as she put the bag away. "It starts in about a week, but I wanted to make sure I have some tampons here, since I accidentally managed to drop the full package that I had in the toilet the other day. And since, I'm pretty lazy, I thought I could rush him to buy me some before he leaves for a hunt or something."

"Is your period regular or you are on the pill?" Doctor Parks asked after a few seconds of silence.

"Um, I'm not on the pill. I just have the chance to have quite a very regular period."

"And, no change in that matter neither? Still as abundant as it used to be?"

"Well, it never was really abundant actually."

"Mmh. Any particular reason? I mean, is it Oligomenorrhea? Or another condition?"

"N-no, I don't think so," Kate stuttered as she started to feel a bit worried. "You think this is serious?"

"No, no," Doctor Parks said shaking her head as she continued in a reassuring tone, "Don't worry. I'm just trying to see if we missed anything about you and your health. The fact that you are from another universe gives a one hundred possibility that your body is very different from ours."

"You think I'm a sort of mutant?" Kate asked, her eyebrows frowned. "Because on the first night I was here, Castiel talked to Dean and he told him that I was completely human so-"

"So, Bobby should have started by telling me this," Doctor Parks cut her off, with a little smile before it suddenly dropped, "Castiel is that angel who took Pamela's eyes, right?"

"You knew Pamela?" Kate asked, unintentionally ignoring Doctor Parks' question.

"Yes," Doctor Parks nodded her head. "She was a friend of my husband, and I… I took care of her when she came with her eyes burned out," she shook her head and huffed, "What kind of world is it in which angels do those kind of things to people?"

"He didn't do it on purpose," Kate whispered and Doctor Parks returned her gaze in Kate's eyes. A few seconds of silence settled in the room before Doctor Parks stood up and put the blood pressure meter cuff inside of her briefcase that was resting on Kate's bed.

"You have always been so lucky when it comes to your health?" She asked as she gathered her things in her briefcase.

Kate turned her face towards the woman, "What do you mean?"

"You have spent almost half of a year in this place and you have never come down with anything. Was it the case back in your universe too?"

"Um… Well, I'm…" Kate didn't know what to say. She hadn't realized how weird it was that she hadn't even caught a cold ever since she crashed in here while she used to have at least one headache per month back in her universe. Sometimes, it needed just to be brought up by someone to make her realize the little things that mattered and shouldn't be forgotten. Somehow, this reminded her of Pamela's recordings and the way she said that every detail was important and had to be studied in order to answer the big questions.

"Think about it. And, write down how many times you have come down with something in these past six months, and in the six months before you got here," Doctor Parks said as she closed her briefcase and pulled it up to carry it.

"You think something is happening to me?" Kate asked as she stood up making her curls bounce in the air.

"No, I don't think anything wrong is happening to you," Doctor Parks replied as she walked towards the door and Kate followed her. She stopped at the door, her hand on the door handle and turned around, "But, I do believe that the reason you have been feeling so well in this universe may be linked to your wound being already half healed. That, or… Or something has healed your wound a little bit."

"But, Bobby told you that the other times I just recovered normally," Kate told her.

"Yes, indeed. But, like I told you, you are not from this universe, the chances for your body to be different from ours, are astronomicaly high. And, this is certainly not something to neglect even though no harm has been done so far," she told her before she opened the door.

"Yeah," Kate replied in a little voice.

"Don't worry about it. Like I said it's just something to not neglect, that's it. Besides, you have other things to worry about now, I heard you are going to get your tattoos today."

"Right," Kate gave a polite smile before she shrugged as they walked down the hallway towards the staircase leading to the first floor. "But, it's okay. I'm not really worrying about getting a tattoo."

"Of course, you don't since you already have one on your hip," Doctor Parks said as Kate glanced up at her as they walked down the stairs.

"You saw it when I was on your operating table?"

"Actually, no. I noticed back in the room when you took your undressed," Doctor Parks replied as they finally arrived down the stairs. "It's a pretty one. You are an ocean lover?"

"Um, not particularly," Kate replied as she slid her hands in her pants pockets. "That's just something that my father used to say about the ocean and the waves washing things away."

"Well, this time, the tattoos you will get are going to save your life."

Kate couldn't help the little huff sound that she did as she looked down. Little did Doctor Parks know how those little black waves tattooed on her hip had saved her life.

---

Same day. Late afternoon.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota.

Tattoo shop.

Walking in the tattoo shop, Kate couldn't help but let her eyes wander all over the designs hung on the walls. From big, complicated and colourful tattoos to tiny, simple and black tattoos, the number of various tattoos designs displayed on every single wall was amazing and captivating Kate while Matt was talking with the owner of the shop.

The young brown head woman could remember the day she got her first tattoo as clearly as the argument that occurred earlier at Bobby's when Doctor Parks came by to check on her and then realized that Rufus managed to break one of the tires of her car and had replaced it with one that looked too differently.

Kate was still a teenager when she got her first tattoo. It was a month after she got the stitches off of her hip; the stitches that she had needed after some students had gathered together in High School to 'have fun' with her. For a long time, it was one of the most traumatizing moment of her life. She had done a lot of nightmares about that day, even after she got out of the hospital and was calmly recovering at her father's. That day had been one big turning point in her life. It had been the exact moment she had seen how cruel the world could be. How seemingly innocent teenagers or kids could be so cruel with others and just for fun.

Those students, she could still remember them very clearly. Even when she was in France, miles away from them, she could remember clearly the words they had said and the things they had done that day just as much as she could remember all of the things they used to say and do on every other day. And now that she was a whole universe away, someone would have thought that there's hope to forget about but the truth is that distance doesn't really help forgetting. Sure, it wasn't constantly on her mind, but it was still there, buried deeply but still managing to get out once in a while.

Those students had beaten her very badly that day. But, knowing Karate and how to defend wasn't really helpful back then. They had caught her by surprise and she hadn't been in top form for many reasons that a teenager could have. But it was mainly the fact that they had been too many on her.

For a long time, she had tried to find an excuse for what they did or what other bullies did to other kids, but it had always been in vain and all that she could remember at the end was the way some of them repeated that 'they just wanted to have fun'. Bullying was their concept of fun. Making someone's life hell was their concept of fun. And this had shocked Kate even more than what they actually did to her. She had had lots of sleepless nights because of this very thought, and those sleepless nights only confirmed to her the cruelty that even children could be filled with.

She could easily recall the piercing laughter that echoed from the one that had pulled out a knife then. And how he had started sliding the sharp blade up and down her shirt while the others held her arms back, trying to keep their laughs low in case some adult would pass by. One of the girls had put her pink bandana in Kate's mouth, preventing her from making any noise. And, then everything had just increased into a level that Kate hadn't even thought they would dare do. A couple of students in the group had started to feel her up and this time she had kicked her feet as hard as possible at them. The unwanted touches had unleashed a strong reaction of Kate who gave her everything to fight back against those students. Her arms pulling away from the strong hold, her head shaking as she tried to scream through the bandana and her legs kicking everywhere in the hope to hurt one of them. Her sudden but legitimate bustle caused panic within the group of students but mainly it was the one with the knife who panicked the most. In one movement, intentional or not, the blade traced a long line on her hip before the knife plunged a few inches and he pulled his hand away from it.

Blood instantly covered her jeans and started to color the white floor. The assholes had run away at the speed of light, acting even more like the cowards they had always been.

During her recovery, memories of that day wouldn't leave her alone. Even when she was at her father's house, where she always felt safe, was becoming infested with her twisted memories. Anything could trigger a panic attack, sending her over the edge into her own personal hell. Getting in her shower or changing her clothes always gave her brown eyes the opportunity to see that scar over her hip, and reminded herself of her own weakness, her own inability to protect even herself. That one ugly mark shot her confidence even lower than it already was and it told her every day of what she endured. It reminded her of every detail of that terrible day every time her eyes fell on it. For a long time, she had even believed that the scar was mocking her. She had confessed to her father all of this, and she had said how haunted she was by that day.

And he had listened to her. Sincerely and attentively listened to the words she said and the way she said them. He had always been a very good listener and also a very kind man.

One of the days he had surprised her the most was when he had brought her to a tattoo shop. She had been confused and amazed by her father at the same time. She was pretty sure that fathers weren't supposed to introduce their daughters to tattoos, especially with a father as conservative as hers. But he had brought her there and he had told her that they could hide the scar. He had explained to her that it would still be there, but she wouldn't have to see it that much. And with time it would help her move on from all of that.

And, he had been right.

It had helped her more than she could have ever imagined to have a tattoo over a scar that mocked her everytime she saw it. She couldn't even see it anymore unless she truly focused on it. Sure, the memories of that day were still there, but the tattoo had helped her move on. It helped her put the memories away and make them a part of the past. The tattoo had helped her turn the page and start a brand new chapter of her life. The tattoo had helped her wash away all that this scar was. Always reminding her that just like the waves of an ocean could wash away something drawn on the sand, it can also give her a fresh new start.

"Kate, you coming?" Matt asked from the doorway where he was standing. She turned her head to look at him and nodded.

She followed him through a tight hallway leading them to a room in the back shop where a red-haired woman with tattoos covering her entire arms was standing right next to a black leather chair. She looked around her forties, with her round face and her glasses on the top of her nose but the way she chewed her bubble-gum gave her a fairly younger air. She had a high ponytail with a couple of strands falling down around her face. Looking up, she gave Kate a kind smile as she brought up the paper that Matt had given her earlier. It was a paper with two drawings on it. One was the anti-possession tattoo, and the other was the one already drawn by a marker on her forearm; the one that Doctor Parks had made for her and that Kate had promised herself to do some researches on.

"The two for you?" The woman asked, her voice a bit hoarse.

"Yes," Kate nodded softly.

"And the boyfriend will get just that pentagram?" The woman asked pointing at the anti-possession drawing.

"Definitely not her boyfriend, but yeah," Matt scoffed with his hands buried in his black hoodie and Kate looked up at him with shot up eyebrows.

"Alright, who wants ta start?" The woman asked as she put down the paper and grabbed a pair of gloves from the table next to her where a lot of other items were displayed.

"The 'not girlfriend' will start," Kate announced as she gave Matt a grin causing Matt to roll his eyes. She knew far too well that he wanted to be the first one for a few reasons that hadn't sounded too important for Kate.

"Alright. Where do you want them?" The woman smiled as she brought up the needle that was going to draw painfully on Kate's skin. Kate's eyes got a bit round as they landed on the needle. It looked much more terrifying than in her memories.

"Um…" She started as she stood one foot away from the chair. "What are the less sensitive parts that you can suggest?"

"Well, if you want them somewhere like that, I think you'd like your 'not boyfriend' to leave the room," the woman chuckled.

---

Same day. Late night.

Somewhere in the middle of a motorway.

"What the hell happened back there?" Dean exclaimed even though Jimmy was sleeping on the backseat of the Impala as Dean was driving under the pouring rain after they saved Jimmy and his family from a demon attack and got his wife and his daughter to stay away from him.

"What?" Sam asked, a little less loudly than his older brother.

"You practically fainted trying to gank a demon," Dean told him.

"Okay, I didn't faint. I got a little dizzy," Sam replied in defence, looking away.

"Well, you can call it whatever you want. Point is, you used to be strong enough to kill Alastair. But four days ago, you couldn't even kill a couple of lame demons back at Bobby's. And it's like it's getting worse, I mean, man, you couldn't even kill a stunt-demon number three tonight!"

"What do you want me to say about it, Dean?"

"Well for starters, what's going on with your mojo? I mean, it's yo-yoing all over the place," Dean told him as he threw a glance at him. "I'm not trying to pick a fight here, okay? I just – you're scaring me, man."

"I'm scaring myself," Sam admitted causing Dean to look at him with a bit more of concern about his little brother than about his mojo.

Ready to ask Sam what he meant exactly by those words, Dean found himself getting cut off by the ringing of Sam's cellphone. Quickly taking his cell phone up against his ear after noticing that he didn't know the calling-in number, Sam frowned as he answered.

"Hello? . . . Who is this?"

After a few seconds in which Dean looked back and forth at Sam and at the road, Sam turned on his seat, holding his phone out to Jimmy. "Hey!" He exclaimed waking up the sleeping man, "It's your wife."

Jimmy frowned a bit as he sat straight on the backseat and took the phone from the younger Winchester, "Amelia?" He asked as Sam observed him for a second before turning around, and putting his attention back on the empty rainy road ahead of them. Then, Jimmy said the three words that pulled the two brothers full attention onto him in one quick second, "Oh, my God."

---

Meanwhile,

Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Sioux Falls Hospital.

Kate walked out of the hospital, in which Matt had dropped Kate who had to check on something with Doctor Parks. Her brown and curly head was lowered as her eyes were glued to the paper in between her fingers. Doctor Parks had given her the results of the few analysis she had done on the blood sample that were left in the hospital since her coma.

Apparently, the results confirmed Castiel's affirmation that Kate's whole organism was the same than the humans of this universe. There wasn't anything 'mutant' about her DNA and this sent a real wave of relief in the young brunette. Therefore, except for her soul, she wasn't as different as Doctor Parks thought she was. Although, it still was a bit weird that she hadn't come down with anything ever since her arrival in this universe. She wondered if she had some kind of supernatural immune defence system that was keeping her this healthy or maybe she was just that lucky.

"Kate!" A familiar voice called. "Kate!" The voice repeated causing Kate to spin on herself, only to see Doctor Parks running out of the hospital's front doors towards her.

"Doctor Parks? What's going on?"

"Bobby called," Doctor Parks said as she finally approached the young woman. "He asked me to keep you at my place until he says so."

"What? Why?" Kate asked, frowning her eyebrows.

"Emergency of last minute. He didn't tell me much, but he asked me if I could let you sleep at my place, for, well.. For your safety," Doctor Parks explained.

"Sure, I guess. But, what is wrong with Bobby, I don't get it. I mean, he already sent Matt to some hunt right after we finished the tattoos and now he's sending me to your place, without even calling me?" Kate said, feeling really unsure and confused with the whole situation. She could feel in her guts that something wasn't right and it was slowly rising some concern inside of her.

"You don't have to worry," Doctor Parks replied. "I am going to grab my things so we can go right away, and you can call him meanwhile, okay?"

"Yeah. Sure," Kate nodded as Doctor Parks turned around and returned inside of the building. Kate took out her cell phone from her leather jacket pocket, and immediately dialled Bobby's number. After two rings, the old man picked up. "Bobby, what's going on? Why do you want me out of the house tonight? Is something wrong up? What-"

"Hey, hey! Give me one freakin' second to answer, will ya?" He cut her off and she bit on her bottom lip as she heard him sigh on the other end of the line. "I suppose Beth got you in time before you grabbed a taxi back to here, huh? Look, everything's alright. I just need to make sure you ain't here for a couple of days, maybe more. I'll bring your stuff at Beth's tomorrow morning. I guess tonight you can borrow some stuff from Beth-"

"Wait. Are you tossing me out? Did I do something-" She started but he cut her off.

"What? No, you idjit! I'm not tossing you out," he replied in a tone that gave away the rolling of eyes that he had just done. "I just need the house empty for a moment."

"Why? - Wait, are you bringing some secret girlfriend or-"

"I ain't bringing some secret girlfriend, Kate," he grumpily cut her off. "Look, it's very serious and I'm afraid it's maybe not safe for you if you're here, so I really need ya to stay at Beth's tonight, you hear me?"

"But-"

"Just for once, kiddo, please don't be stubborn or too curious and just say yes. Please," he said in an almost tired tone which only worried Kate more.

"Sure," she whispered after a short moment of silence.

"Alright, I'll call ya later," he said before abruptly hanging up on her.

Standing with her phone still hanging at her ear, Kate was completely frozen in confusion after that phone call. She was lost and didn't understand why Bobby was so mysterious and so eager to keep her away from his place. But most of all she was worried sick and the way he had talked to her only left her mind to play every terrible scenario possible for what might be happening at Bobby's or even to Bobby at the moment.

---

A few minutes later,

In the middle of nowhere on the motorway.

It was a very late night, and the rain colliding on the roof of the car was the only thing making noise in the very quiet road, and the even quieter inside of the car. Dean was driving through the rain, without needing to focus his mind on one thought. Indeed, his whole mind was already deeply and utterly focused on what he had just witnessed hours before they drove Jimmy Novak's wife and daughter back to their house.

He couldn't wash off the image of his brother sucking the blood of that demon on the ground, like a freaking animal. Despite the uncountable numbers of terrible things he had seen in his whole life, this one was the most terrible and disturbing. It even exceeded some things he had seen in Hell. The fact that it was his brother drinking that demon blood and not some kind of creature, was the reason why it topped the god-awful list.

Noticing the silent treatment that his older brother was giving him, Sam sighed, "Alright, let's hear it."

"What?" Dean just asked, his eyes glued to the road.

"Drop the bomb, man. You saw what I did. Come on, stop the car, take a swing," Sam told him, frustrated to see his brother so calm while he knew for sure that his brother's reaction should have been a complete explosion of anger.

"I'm not gonna take a swing," Dean said, his voice somehow calm and tired.

"Then scream, chew me out," Sam said to him. It was definitely worse for him to see his brother reacting so passively. It was unlike Dean, but still at the same time it was very Dean like; burying his emotions deep inside instead of letting them out. But, Sam didn't like when Dean did that. He preferred his brother yelling at him and kicking his ass instead of staying quiet and let it all eat him from the inside.

"I'm not mad, Sam," Dean replied with the same tired and calm voice.

"Come on. You're not mad?" Sam said to him.

"Nope."

"Right. Look, at least let me explain myself."

"Don't."

"At least, Kate and Chuck let me explain-" Sam started before Dean cut him, spinning his head to the left.

"Kate and Chuck? You tellin' me they knew?" Dean asked, and this time his voice was a bit less calm.

"Well, yeah. Chuck writes books about us, he had to know about this-"

"Yeah, I know," Dean cut him off, frustration starting to rise in him. "But, what about Kate?"

"Ah, um, it's uh," Sam looked at Dean before looking away. "Ruby told her."

"Ruby?" Dean asked, turning his face to look at his brother.

"Yeah, they, um, they met a while ago," Sam replied and Dean scoffed as he turned his eyes back to the road. "Look, I didn't encourage Kate on meeting Ruby or anything, okay? They met once and it was a quick meeting."

"It was long enough for Ruby to tell her what you've been hiding me," Dean replied making Sam sigh. "You know what? I don't care that Kate knew or that you're drinking demon blood for that matter."

"You don't care?" Sam asked, not believing his brother.

Dean stayed quiet for a few seconds, before sighing. "What do you even want me to say, Sam? That I'm disappointed? Yeah, I am. But, mostly, I'm just tired, man. I'm done. I am just done," Dean admitted and Sam clenched his jaw as he looked down at his lap.

Suddenly, his cellphone rang. Sam sighed as he took it out of his jacket and answered the call.

"Hey Bobby."

"Hey, you and your brother better shag ass to my place ASAP," Bobby said on the other end of the line, causing Sam to frown in worry.

"Is everything alright with Kate?" Sam asked making Dean glance at him.

"As far as I know yeah. Matt's with Rufus and Kate's at Beth's for the moment. But, there's something else here."

"What? What's wrong?"

"The Apocalypse, genius," Bobby replied in a snap. "Now get your asses over here," he finished before hanging up on Sam who frowned as he put his phone away.

"What'd he say?" Dean asked, his eyes on the road.

"Nothing. Um, he just told me that Matt's with Rufus, Kate's with Beth, and that we better get to his place. ASAP."

---

A few hours later.

Sioux Falls, South Dakota. At Bobby Singer's.

When Sam and Dean arrived at Bobby's, the old man was already waiting for them at his porch. When the two brothers got out of the Impala, Bobby quickly told them to follow him. Sam threw a glance at his brother, but Dean didn't look at him at all as he walked behind him. Sam frowned as they got into the house, followed Bobby down the hallway towards the door leading them to the basement.

"What is it, Bobby?" Sam asked as he was right behind the cap-headed man.

"It's complicated," Bobby replied as they walked downstairs and they approached the door to the panic room. "But, thanks for shaking a tail."

"Yeah, you got it," Dean told him as Sam went to open the door.

Once the door was open, Bobby looked at Sam, "Go on inside. I wanna show you something." Oblivious to what was happening, Sam walked into the panic room while the two other men hung back.

"Alright. So, uh, what's the big demon problem?" Sam asked, his hazel eyes looking everywhere in the empty panic room.

"You are," Bobby replied. "This is for your own good."

And with that, Dean and Bobby closed and locked the door in one rapid movement as Sam watched them, completely dumbfounded.

He walked to the barred window, as confusion started to get smashed away by panic inside of him. "Guys? Hey, hey. What?"

Bobby closed the window and latched it, only causing Sam to become more anxious about the whole situation.

"This isn't funny. Guys! Hey! Guys?!"

---

Author's note:

I know, I know, I am a very mean writer who doesn't keep her promises and makes you wait and wait and wait… But really, I am so sorry, but the truth is that life is going crazy lately for me! University isn't giving me any break at all this semester with all their assignments, essays,... Besides, I have to take care of other things (apartment, important appointments,…). It's so insanely too much that I don't even have enough free time to watch a TV show or to read a book! I know it's sad, and believe me I wish so bad it could be different… But anyway, I'm rambling and that's not what this author's not is here for – or is it?

The reason why this chapter is only updated over two weeks later, is because I wasn't very happy with it… So, I re-wrote it a couple of times (Not gonna lie, definitely more for some parts )on the very little free time that I had (or while having lunch or dinner, and even sometimes while trying to study…) and I've begged my muse to help me make it as plausible as possible, but she was being a bit of a b*tch to be honest with you. So yeah, here you go. I am quite happy with it (mostly because of some peculiar parts and because of the introduction of my new OC!) but what I really want now is to know what you guys thought of it!

Did you enjoy it? What was your favourite part? You least favourite? What did you think of Doctor Beth Parks? What about Zachariah still finding ways to be this asshole of an angel? Please tell me, I really want – need – to know!

And I wanted to thank 'IgotZapped' once again because not only did she correct all of my misspellings, typos and other grammatical mistakes that I make, but she also wrote the whole paragraphs about the scar and the tattoo and the way it affected Kate. She found the words that I couldn't find with an easiness that is truly astounding!

On another side, one of my friends who reads almost all of my writings, told me that I did quite a lot of 'popular references' clearly and explicitly or by making a character making the reference in sorta subtle way. For instance, a few chapters earlier when Kate told Sam that she was unable to take decisions and did that comparison with a baby, well, that was a hidden reference for 'The Office US' (The character Michael Scott, played by Steve Carell, had said something funny about a baby being president and I kinda watched that episode a few days before writing that chapter). And sometimes, I mention 'Buffy the Vampire Slayer' (or 'Buffy contre les vampires' like it is called in French; which means 'Buffy against the vampires' for those who don't speak French and are too lazy to check it out on a translation website or app :p) and Doctor Who, etc. And well, I am aware that I do that. I am just influenced by those things that I like *cough* freakinglove * cough* and enjoy. So yeah, if you've noticed it too, it's normal, it's just the way I roll and I hope it doesn't bother you because you might have a lot more of references coming.

Alright, I'm gonna stop rambling and just say what I wanted to say for days now: 100 reviews ! 100 little messages full of your opinions and your sweet encouragement that simply make me smile and smile and smiiiiile until I get jaw cramps!

Thank you very, very, very much! I wish I could just give you all a big hug because really that's all I wanna do when I see you've taken some of your time to write to me :)

And of course, thanks for the following and the favouring too !

You guys are the best and I hope you know that!

I will answer to each of your reviews on the next chapter ;)

Take care of you and keep on being so awesome,

A.