Here it is boys and girls, the very last chapter of this story.
Chapter 19
It seemed like an hour before the boys showed up. John stood over by one of the windows and Katie sat at the table watching her father. Her back was to the door so she nearly jumped out of her skin when she heard Dean yell. "Hey!" She turned to look at her brothers and then back to John. John had turned around and was standing there with a big smile on his face.
"Dad" Dean said.
"Hey boys." John said to his sons.
She watched John and Dean walk toward each other. A variety of emotions flashed across their faces. A split second later, father and son were in each other's arms. Katie looked over to Sam, who had stayed back by the door. She could see the hint of fear on her younger brother's face when he looked over at her.
Katie stood up and walked to the center of the room where her older brother and father stood. Sam seemed to get a little courage from her and followed her lead. The two youngest Winchesters reached John and Dean just as the two older Winchesters let go of each other. Katie was a little scared of what would happen next as John and Sam stood face to face for the first time in four years. She could tell by the look on his face that Sam felt the same way.
"Hi, Sam." John said to his youngest.
"Hey, dad." Sam almost whispered.
Katie moved to stand at Dean's right as her older brother started to speak.
"Dad, it was a trap. I didn't know, I'm sorry."
"It's alright. I thought it might've been." John replied.
"Were you there?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, I got there just in time to see the girl take the swan dive. She was the bad guy right?"
"Yes, sir." replied Sam and Dean together.
"Good." John said, "It doesn't surprise me. It's tried to stop me before."
"The Demon has?" Sam asked.
"It knows I'm close." John answered, "It knows I'm gonna kill it. Not just exorcise it and send it back to hell, but actually kill it."
"How?" Dean asked.
"I'm working on that." John said
"Let us come with you, we can help." Sam said urgently.
"No, Sam." John whispered, "Not yet. Try to understand. This demon is a scary son of a bitch. I don't want you caught in the crossfire. I don't want you hurt."
"Dad, you don't have to worry about us." Sam was starting to sound a little desperate.
"Of course I do. I'm your father." John said a little sadly.
Katie looked at each of the Winchester men. She couldn't believe how good it actually felt to see them all together for the first time in years. It was even better that she was actually standing there with them as part of the family, instead of an outsider like the few other times before when she and her brothers were still kids.
"Sammy uh," John started, "last time we were together we had one hell of a fight."
"Yes, sir" Sam said.
John looked down at the floor and then nodded before he spoke again.
"It's good to see ya again. It's been a long time."
"Too long." Sam said. There were tears welling up in her little brother's eyes.
After a few seconds of silence, John and Sam stepped closer and hugged each other. Katie looked over to Dean again and then squeezed her older brother's hand. She was a little surprised when he squeezed hers back and then didn't let go. She knew he didn't want this moment to end. Katie looked down at the floor as a thought crossed her mind. There was one person missing; Laura should've been here for this.
Dean must've known what she was thinking cause her squeezed her hand again. She looked up at him and then at her father and younger brother who were watching her intently. They all looked as if they were waiting for her to say something. She was about to do exactly that when there was a strange roar. A second later, John went flying across the room and bounced off the cabinets of the kitchenette. He slumped down to the floor as something hit Sam and knocked her younger brother to the floor as well. She heard Dean scream "NO!" just as she felt something hit her in the back that sent her flying in the same direction as Sam. She hit the wall right above her younger brother and heard something snap as she was knocked out cold. She came too just in time to hear Sam tell everyone to shut their eyes. She looked over to him and he was holding up a flare.
"These things are shadow demons, so let's light them up." Sam called out.
A few seconds after Sam ignited the flare, Katie heard several things scream out in pain. The smoke from the flare made it hard to breath and she could hear the others coughing as much as she was. Sam came over to her and helped her up, then he half carried her as they headed for the door.
"Dean, John where are you?" Katie called out.
"We're right behind you." Dean answered.
The four of them ran out of the building, as fast as they could manage with Sam holding Katie up and Dean helping John. They made it to the Impala and Katie leaned against it, holding her right arm close to her because her hand was now broken to go along with the broken wrist she already had. She watched Sam throw the duffel bag he had been carrying into the back seat.
"Alright come on," Sam gasped out, "we don't have much time. As soon as the flare's out, they'll be back."
"No, wait, wait." Dean said, "Sam wait."
Katie locked eyes with her older brother and then nodded. She knew what he was gonna say. She watched him take a couple deep breaths before looking over to John.
"Dad, you can't come with us." Dean said.
"What?" Sam said, "What are you talking about?"
"But you boys are beat all to hell." John said to his oldest.
"We'll be alright." Dean said.
"I'll take care of the boys John, just get the hell out of here." Katie gasped out.
"Dean," Sam said, his anger rising a bit, "we should stick together. We'll go after this demon together."
"Sam, listen to me." Dean said loudly, "We almost got dad killed in there. Don't you understand? They're not gonna stop. They're gonna try again. They're gonna use us to get to him. I mean, Meg was right. Dad's vulnerable when he's with us. He-he's stronger without us around."
Sam turned to John as Katie walked around them all to stand next to Dean again.
"Dad," Sam said, as he grabbed John's shoulder, "no. After everything, after all the time we spent looking for you. Please, I-I gotta be a part of this fight."
"Sammy, this fight is just starting." John said as he grabbed Sam's wrist, "and we are all gonna have a part to play. For now, you gotta trust me son. Ok, you gotta let me go."
"John just go. I'll make sure the boys are ok." Katie said.
Dean turned to look at Katie and then shook his head.
"Katie, no. You go with him."
"No way, big brother." Katie said, "I'm not leaving you like this."
"GO!" Dean yelled, "Dad needs you more than we do right now. They don't know about you. You're the only one that can keep him safe."
Katie looked at both of her brothers and then to her father, who was standing by his truck with the driver's side door open. She just nodded her head and then ran over to the passenger side of the truck and opened the door. John got into the truck and started the engine, but before she got in she called out to Dean.
"Hey, Dean."
"Yeah." he replied.
"I'll call you in a couple days."
A smile lit up Dean's face for a second.
"Not unless I call you first."
Katie smiled back at him and then got into John's truck and closed the door. She turned around and stared at her brothers out the back window as she and John drove off into the night. When she couldn't see them anymore, she turned back around and let out a long sigh.
"They're gonna be alright, Katie girl." John said reassuringly.
"I know." Katie said quietly, "I just wish we didn't have to split up like this again."
"Me too, but for now it's the only way."
"You know I'm gonna have a lot of explaining to do the next time I talk to them."
"Yeah, but they'll understand."
"Dean won't. I've never lied to him in my life until I hooked up with you in Lawrence."
"I'm willing to bet he knew you were with me all along. You two can practically read each other's minds. Everything will be ok."
"I hope you're right."
Katie turned her back to the window and curled up to get some sleep before it was her turn to drive. Just as she dozed off, she realized that John was right. Everything would be ok, eventually.
A/N Ok all, I really, REALLY need you honest opinions of this chapter. The next story in this series is going to go through "Dead Man's Blood" to the end of "Everbody Loves a Clown" and be written pretty much the same as this chapter. I wanna add my OC to those eppies, but change as little of what happened in them as possible. Thanks to everyone who has followed this and a big THANKYOU to eveyone who has reviewed. My biggest thanks go to SciFiNutTX for fixing my mistakes and laceym for putting up with my insanity on a daily basis. LOVES YOU GUYS!!! I hope to have the next story posted very very soon. The tite of it is "The Last Reunion" so watch for that sometime after Monday.