The Boys Are Back
The sound of a truck sent Sam shooting up from the comfort of his pillow. Katie shifted away from him, not paying attention to his heavy breathing and quick movement. Sam took deep breathes, trying to calm himself, but he knew he wouldn't be able to fall back to sleep tonight. The woman screaming at her window was burned into his retina. There was something familiar about this nightmare, something that he just couldn't put his finger on.
"Sam?" Katie asked, she looked up at him from her curled up position beside him. She figured he had another one of his nightmares, but if he wasn't going back to sleep, she knew she couldn't either. That was the only down side to sharing a bed with Sam he always woke her up too. "Another nightmare?"
"Yeah, don't worry about it. Go back to sleep." Sam said, lying back down himself. He thought at least faking sleep would help calm his nerves. Katie looked at him suspiciously, but turned away from him. She was exhausted, and she'd question him about it in the morning.
SsSsSsSs
Katie walked out of the bathroom rubbing a towel through her hair. She smiled, looking at the concentration of the boys in front of her. She took a seat on the bed closest to Dean. Sam was still drawing on the same hotel pad as he was when she left to take a shower. She knew it had to do with the nightmare he had last night, but she didn't want to bring that up yet.
"Alright, I've been cruising some websites. I think I've found a few candidates for our next gig. A fishing trawler found of the coast of Cali, it's crew vanished. And we've got some cattle mutilations in West Texas." Dean went down the list. He looked up, concerned that no one was listening to him. Katie's eyes connected with his, she smiled softly at him, then they both turned their gazes towards Sam. He was still busy drawing whatever it was he had all over the pad. "Hey!" Dean yelled trying to get his younger brother's attention. "Am I boring you with this hunting evil stuff?"
Sam looking up, his eyes met both Dean and Katie's, but he didn't focus on them. He just went back to his drawing. "No, I'm listening keep going." Sam said in almost a whisper. Katie raised an eyebrow, before Dean turned back to the computer screen.
"And here, a Sacramento man shot himself in the head." He turned away from the computer screen to look at Sam. "Three times." Dean held up three fingers, swiping them through the air, thinking that would bring Sam's attention back to the cases. "Any of these things blowing up your shirt pal?" Dean asked tired of the disinterest coming from his brother.
"Wait I've seen this before." Sam said, getting up from the bed. Katie and Dean followed him with their eyes.
"Seem what?" Katie asked. She was also getting tired of having Sam's head in so many places at once. She knew that these nightmares were really throwing him off. Sam pulled out John's journal, throwing it open on the bed.
"What are you doing?" Dean asked, but Sam started looking through the papers, finally pulling out an old photo of the Winchester family. Sam turned it so that the picture on the note pad matched up exactly with the tree in the photo.
"Dean, I know where we have to go next." Sam said turning towards his brother and Katie, both were waiting for some kind of explanation.
"Where?" Dean asked. Katie laid on her elbows on the bed. She knew this was going to become one of those discussions that she was safer out of.
"Back home, back to Kansas." Sam said, his breathing getting heavier. Katie's gaze went from his standing form to Dean. The look on his face was one of pure confusion.
After shaking his head with a small laugh, Dean added, "Okay random where did that come from?"
"Alright, this photo was taken in front of our old house right? The house where mom died?" Sam asked lying the photo in front of Dean. Katie lifted up, turning so that she could see too.
"Yeah," Dean said, no sure where this was going.
"It didn't burn down, right. Not completely, they rebuilt it right?" Sam continued. Dean didn't want to hear all of this. He hated thinking about that night, about their mom.
"I guess so yeah, what the hell are you talking about?" Sam took a cautious seat opposite Dean.
"Okay this is going to sound crazy, but the family living in our old house, I think they might be in danger." Sam finished. Katie stared at him. She could tell that there was still something he was telling them, but she wasn't going to pry.
"Why would you think that?" Dean was starting to worry. This was sounding crazier by the minute. He didn't know what to think.
"Um…just, erm…look just," Sam didn't know what he was going to tell Dean. He honestly didn't think his brother would believe him. "You just gotta trust on this, okay." Sam finished, walking away.
"Okay, whoa whoa, trust you?" Dean said getting up and following his brother over to the bed where he started to pack. Katie didn't know what she should be doing. Everything was just really confusing. "Come on man, that's weak. You gotta give me a little bit more than that."
"I can't really explain it is all." Sam said pausing in his packing.
"Well, tough.. I'm not going anywhere until you do." Dean said starting to get really upset about this whole situation.
Sam stopped what he was doing. Taking a deep breath. "I have these nightmares."
"I've noticed." Dean said, not seeing the relevance. Katie snaked her hand around his wrist, giving his a glance. She wanted him to stay calm, all they needed was another Winchester showdown.
"Well sometimes they come true." Sam finished. Katie looked up at Dean. She didn't know what to say, and it seemed neither did Dean.
"Come again?" Katie finally asked. It was obvious that Dean wasn't going to say anything anytime soon.
"I dreamt about Jessica's death for days before it happened."
"Sam, people have weird dreams." Katie said, pulling Dean down onto the bed next to her. "I'm sure it's just a coincidence."
"No, I dreamt about the blood dripping, her on the ceiling, the fire, everything. I didn't do anything about it because I didn't believe it. And now I'm dreaming about that tree, our house, and about some woman inside screaming for help. I mean that's where it all started, man. It has to mean something right?"
"I don't know." Dean finally said, looking back at the photo in his hands. Katie ran a hand up and done his back unconsciously.
"What do you mean you don't know?" Sam asked as he took a seat across from the two. "This woman might be in danger. I mean, this might even be the thing that killed Mom and Jessica."
"Alright, would you just slow down." Dean pulled away from Katie, and got off the bed. This was starting to be too much for him. "I mean, first you tell me you've got the shining, and then you tell me I've got to go back home. Especially when…" Katie could see the pain in his eyes. She knew what he was talking about, and knew how hard this was for him.
"When what?" Sam had never seen his brother so upset. He didn't know what was going on, but he knew it had something to do with their old house.
"When I swore to myself that I'd never go back there." Dean finished, he tried to focus on anything besides the two people in the room with him. He turned around, if there was anything that he was going to control in this conversation, then it was going to be his emotions. He wasn't going to let Sam see the tears that were threatening to fall from his eye.
"Look, Dean, we have to check his out." Sam said trying to get his brother to do the right thing. A woman was in trouble and they were the only ones that could help her.
Dean turned around slowly. "I know we do." Katie gazed up at Dean. She didn't know what to do. This was the first real hunt that got them close to their past, and wasn't sure if she belonged on this one. But she knew she had to be there for them. Especially Dean.
SsSsSsSs
The drive to Lawrence was tense and awkward. Katie sat in her usual spot in the back flipping through the pages of her dad's journal. She needed something to occupy her time, because the boys weren't saying a word.
Finally when Dean pulled the Impala to a stop across the street from their house, Katie was in awe. It was even cuter than in the pictures she'd seen. The thought of Sam and Dean living in an actual house was such a stretch for her. Sometimes she even doubted their existence before she came into their life. She couldn't imagine how hard it would be to be back in the house that your mother died in. She knew this case was going to be hard for them all.
"You going to be alright, man?" Sam asked as he watched his brother look out towards the house.
"Let me get back to you on that." Dean said causally, glancing at Sam and then Katie in the rearview mirror. Sam got out of the car, Dean slowly following him. Katie took her time. She didn't even know if they wanted her to come with them. But Dean wrapped a reassuring arm around her waist and walked with her, following Sam up to the door. "You know, I'm going to need you on this one." Dean whispered, causing Katie to smile. It was nice to know that he needed her with him.
"If you say so." Katie said, causing Dean to squeeze her playfully. She put her arm around him, and they finally stepped up onto the porch next to Sam. Katie slowly let her smile fade, and focused on the door. Dean felt her stiffen, and let go of her, his head shaking subtly in disappointment. He was the one on the verge of a mental breakdown, and Katie was worried about upsetting Sam.
"Yes?" A woman asked as she pulled the door open slightly. Sam gazed at her, not believing this was the same woman from his dream. He didn't know what to say to her.
"Sorry to bother you, ma'ma. We're from the federal…" Dean began, but was cut off early by Sam.
"I'm Sam Winchester, and this is my brother Dean, and that's our friend Katie." Sam introduced them. "We use to live here. You know, we were just driving around, and we were wondering if we could come see the old place."
Jenny looked at them almost confused for a few seconds, then remembered something. "Winchester," She repeated. "Yeah, that's so funny. You know, I think I found some of your old photos the other night."
"You did?" Dean asked amazed that there were still things that belonged to them in the house. Katie had to admit she was a little excited. She loved seeing their old photos that John showed her when she was younger.
Jenny did another once over on the three before moving further into the house, pulling the door with her, "Ok, yeah come on in." She said, Sam following her into the house eagerly, Dean on the other hand was still uncomfortable. Katie trailed behind Dean. She watched as he took in the house, almost as if he'd never seen it before. She carefully placed a hand in his, and stepped in front of him.
As they came closer to the kitchen, a faint chant of 'Juice, Juice' rang through the house. It was safe to say it came from a young child, and sure enough once in the kitchen a little boy was jumping in his play pen. "That's Richy. He's kind of a juice junky." Jenny explained, as she went over to the refrigerator, pulling a latch to open it. "But hey, at least he won't get scurvy." Jenny said with a little hint of a baby's voice as she handed her son a juice cup. She walked back over to where the three still stood in front of a table, which was occupied by a young girl coloring. "Sari, this is Sam and Dean. They use to live here." Jenny introduced her daughter.
"Hi," Sari smiled, seeming a little shy. Katie smiled back, she hated to think about the fact that these nice people were in any kind of danger.
"Hey, Sari." Sam said, Dean just waving at her, again stiff and uncomfortable. Katie squeezed his hand a little for reassurance, at least he was trying.
"So you just moved in?" Dean asked Jenny.
"Yeah, from Wichita." She said, looking up from her daughter.
"You got family here, or…" Dean let his sentence hang, he didn't want to pry, but he needed the conversation to continue. Katie could see Jenny become a little sad. It was obvious that she didn't want to talk about her past.
"No I just, um, needed a fresh start, that's all." Jenny paused inhaling to collect herself again. "So a new town, new job. I mean as soon as I find one. New house," Jenny smiled stiffly, taking her daughter's plate to the sink.
"So, how're you liking it so far?" Sam asked. This seemed to make Jenny seem a little more comfortable.
"Well," Jenny turned to face them again. "All due respect to your childhood home, I mean you must have a lot of happy memories here. But this place has its issues." Jenny finished.
"What do you mean?" Sam asked, sounding genuinely concerned.
"Well, its just getting old. I mean, like the wiring you know? We've got flickering lights almost hourly." Jenny said. Dean smiled, but didn't really want to think much of it, he needed more than that.
"That's too bad, what else?"
"Well the sinks backed up, there are rats in the basement, I'm sorry I don't mean to complain." Jenny apologized. Katie took in everything she had said. It was beginning to look like every sign of a haunting.
"No," Dean reassured her, this was what he needed to hear. "Have you seen the rats or just heard the scratching?"
"It's just the scratching, actually."
"Mom," Sari's call drew everyone's attention to her. "Ask them if it was here when they lived here?" Jenny almost looked embarrassed by her daughter's question.
"What, Sari?" Katie asked.
"The thing in my closet." She said, Jenny kneeled down in front of her.
"No, baby. There's nothing in their closets. Right?" Jenny turned to the three. The boys shared a look of worry, and Katie knew they were thinking the same thing she was.
"Right. No of course not." Sam said, reassuring the young girl.
"She had a nightmare the other night." Jenny explained, but this seemed to upset Sari. She went from looking at her mother to the three visitors in front of her.
"I wasn't dreaming. It came out of my closet, and it was one fire." Sari finished. Sam and Dean shared on last glance before excusing themselves from the house.
"Did you hear that, a figure on fire." Sam started. He and Dean were walking briskly from the house. Katie was trailing behind them, giving them some space.
"And that woman, Jenny. That's the woman from your dreams?" Dean asked making sure that this was exactly what Sam had been talking about earlier.
"Yeah, and you hear what she was talking about? Scratching, flickering lights, both signs of a malevolent spirit." Sam continued.
"Yeah, I'm just freaked out that your weirdo visions are coming true." Dean admitted. Katie nodded her head slightly at his statement. That was the biggest shocker from today's events.
"Well forget about that for a minute." Sam told his brother as they crossed the street back to the Impala. "The thing in the house, do you think it's the thing that killed mom and Jessica?"
"I don't know." Dean said, slightly loosing is cool. He was trying hard to stay calm about everything, but this was a lot to digest in such a short time.
"Well has it come back or has it been here the whole time?" Sam asked another question, this time Dean knew he wasn't going to be able to stay calm.
"Or maybe it's something else entirely, Sam, we don't know yet." Dean said stopping just before the car.
"Well those people are in danger, Dean. We need to get them out of that house." Sam pleaded with his brother. Katie could tell that Sam's intentions were good, but she also knew that Dean wasn't going to be able to take many more of his questions.
"And we will." Dean said trying his best to make sure his brother knew that he was on his side.
"No, I mean now." Sam said. That was the last thing Katie was going to let slide passed.
"And how are we going to do that, huh? Do you have a story she's going to believe?" Katie asked him. She needed him to get his head out of his nightmare and move into the present. He wasn't thinking clearly.
"Then what are we suppose to do?" Sam asked. Katie stared at him, then turned to Dean. Shifting her glance from one brother to the other. She knew she had to get them as far away from this house as she could just to clear their heads. She had to get them to act as if this was like any other hunt.
SsSsSsSs
The three stood outside the Impala at a local gas station. Dean leaning against the trunk, Sam leaning against the passenger side door, and Katie in between them. It was the only place that Katie thought would seem familiar, yet isolated. It was like any other gas station they'd been too, and that made it the perfect place to think through everything. "We just gotta chill out, that's all." Katie looked from one brother to the other. "You know, if this was any other kind of job what would we do?" Sam let out a deep calming breath, and moved closer to where Dean was standing, Katie following him.
"We'd try to figure out what we're dealing with. We'd dig into the history of the house." He finished, looking at his brother. Katie knew that this was going to be hard, but she needed them level-headed. It wasn't going to be easy, but they needed to pretend this was just another case.
"Exactly," Dean finally chimed in. "Except this time we already know what happened." Dean said standing up, Katie could tell that he was trying his best to not let this affect him. Katie sat on the hood, smiling at Dean sympathetically.
"Yeah, but how much do we know? I mean, how much do you actually remember?" Sam wanted to know. He was just a baby when it happened, and Dean was not older than five. It might seem like they knew a lot, but did they really?
"About that night you mean?" Dean asked.
"Yeah," Sam answered taking a seat next to Katie.
"Not much. I remember the fire. The heat. Then I carried you out the front door." Dean finished.
"You did?" Sam asked, surprised at what his brother was telling him.
"Yeah," Dean said, then looked over to where Sam was sitting, "What you never knew that?"
"No," Sam said simply. He realized now that he did owe Dean a little more than what he's given him in the past.
"And, well, you know Dad's story as well as I do. Mom was…" Katie shared a look with Sam. They had both heard the story many times, it was still heard for them to hear, and obviously hard to tell, by the stammering of Dean's voice. "Was on the ceiling. And whatever put her there was long gone by the time Dad found her."
"And John never had a theory on what did it?" Katie asked.
"If he did, he kept it to himself." Dean said, talking a seat next to Katie. "God knows we asked him enough times."
"Okay," Sam said, taking the business approach to the situation. "So if we're going to figure out what's going on know, we have to figure out what happened back then, and see if it's the same thing."
"Yeah," Dean said, not even looking at his brother. Katie could tell that he had gone into his own thoughts. Slowly he was pulling himself out of them and back into reality. "Talk to Dad's friends, neighbors, people who were around at the time."
"Does this feel like just another job to you?" Sam asked, causing Katie to give them both a sympathetic glance. She tried, and that was all she really could do.
"I'll be right back." Dean said moving away from the car. "I gotta go to the bathroom." Katie watched him leave, while Sam just stared at the spot where his brother once stood. She didn't know what to do. This was the first case that had hit the boys close to home, and she didn't know where she stood in it all. This was before her, and a part of her thought that she would be better out of it, but the look on Sam and Dean's faces when they saw their house again, told her that they were going to need an unbiased opinion in the end.
"I wish our Dad was here." Sam said simply. Her didn't really say it to Katie, or to anyone in particular, he just had to get it out. He wanted his father to be here to help them through this, tell them what to do even. It would just make things easier.
"We'll do fine without him." Katie reassured him, placing a gentle hand on top of his. He looked over at her with a small, sad smile. Leaning over she gave him a light hug, glancing over his shoulder to where Dean had disappeared.
Dean glanced over his shoulder quickly, making sure Sam and Katie were still at the car. He turned the corner with one last glace, seeing Katie move closer to Sam, giving him a hug. He wished it was him she was comforting. His cell phone was pulled out of his pocket, and his fingers flew over the numbers. He knew that he'd get the voice mail, and the all too familiar message rang through his ears. "This is John Winchester. If this is an emergency, call my son Dean at 866-907-3235."
"Dad," Dean started, throwing another glance over his shoulder. "I know I've left you messages before. I don't even know if you get them. But I'm with Sam, and we're in Lawrence, and there's something in our old house. I don't know if it's the same thing that killed Mom or not…" Dean stopped for a moment, trying to push back the tears that were threatening to come.
Katie knew something was up with Dean, she slowly pulled away from Sam. "I'll be right back okay." Katie said softly, moving in the same direction Dean had gone.
"But, I don't know what to do. So whatever you're doing, if you could just get here. Please, I need your help, Dad." Dean shut his phone, staring down at the dirty cement below his feet. He wanted to be strong for Sam, but he couldn't do this. Not by himself.
Katie watched Dean stand there. It killed her every time Dean had to leave his father a message, when all she had to do was call at night and speak with him. It didn't seem right, or fair. But it was what John wanted, and there was no arguing with that. "Hey," Katie said casually, trying to make it look like she just walked over. "You okay?"
Dean turned, hoping she couldn't tell what a mess he was turning into. "Yeah, you ready to go?" He said while moving back to the car. Katie knew better than that though. She stepped in front of him, their eyes locking. He didn't need to say anything. They had been together long enough to know what the other was thinking without words. She moved closer to him, wrapping her arms around him. Standing slightly on her toes, Katie placed her chin in the crook of his neck.
"You know he's a jerk for not being here. But you boys got the next best thing." Katie whispered, giving him a small peck on the cheek. Dean pulled his head back slightly to look at her, their faces said nothing thrilling, but their eyes were on fire. Katie moved closer slowly, maybe just a quick kiss would hold off the urge she had had since they left New Orleans nearly three months ago.
Sam pulled his eyes away from them. He didn't know what he was thinking. Katie had always been Dean's girl, but there was always a 'what if' in the back of his mind. He hated to admit it, but the feelings he had when he was seventeen rushed back in a quick wave of jealousy and rage. Why wasn't he good enough? Sam would never be able to ask Katie that, but it was a nagging question all the same.
SsSsSsSs
Sam, Dean, and Katie started their investigation at Guenther's repair shop. It was owned by one of John's closest friends from before the fire, and seemed to be the best place to start looking for answers.
"So you and John Winchester, you use to own this garage together?" Dean asked as the three followed Mr. Guenther out of the offices.
"Yeah we use to." Mr. Guenther answered turning to look at them. "A long time ago. It must be twenty years since John disappeared. So why are the cops interested all of a sudden?"
"We're reopening some of our unsolved cases, and the Winchester disappearance is one of them." Dean told the man.
"Well what do you want to know about John?" Mr. Guenther asked, ready to help anyway he could. Katie was amazed to see someone who was actually a friend of John's, usually he didn't keep many friends. John was a guy that got under your skin after a week or so. Not many people liked that about him.
"Whatever you remember," Katie said stepping in. "You know whatever sticks out in your mind."
"Well, he was a stubborn bastard, I remember that." He said with a smile. "And whatever the game he hated to loose, you know. It was the whole Marine thing. But he sure loved Mary, and he doted on those kids." Katie couldn't help the small smile that spread across her face. It was like hearing all of John's best qualities, and not caring about his faults.
"But that was before the fire?" Sam asked, looking at his brother quickly.
"That's right." Mr. Guenther nodded.
"He ever talk about that night?" Katie asked.
"No, not at first. I think he was in shock." Katie noticed his eyes sadden at the thought of it.
"Yeah," Dean cut in. "But eventually? What did he say about it?"
"He wasn't thinking straight, he said…" They noticed his uneasiness on the subject, and Katie glanced at both the boys. "He said something caused that fire and killed Mary."
"He ever say what did it?" Dean asked hoping there was something they could look into.
"Nothing did it. It was an accident, an electrical short in the ceiling or walls or something. I begged him to get some help, but…"
"But what?" Dean asked trying his hardest to get something out of this guy.
"He just got worse and worse."
"How?" Katie asked in a gentler tone than Dean had used before. She could tell he was beginning to get frustrated.
"Oh, he started reading these strange old books. He started going to see this palm reader in town."
"Palm reader? Do you have a name?" Dean asked, glad that they actually got something useful.
"No," Mr. Guenther said. They could tell by his tone that he wasn't interested in talking to them anymore. And Katie couldn't blame him, the questions were getting weirder, and Dean was beginning to loose his temper. Sam and Katie were the only two still holding it together it seemed.
SsSsSsSs
Katie and Dean were leaning against the Impala while Sam flipped through a phone book. They were trying to find the palm reader, hoping it would lead them to the answers they needed.
"All right," Sam said flipping another page. "So there are a few psychics and palm readers in town. There's someone named El Divino. There's the mysterious Mr. Fortensky." Sam said with a big smile. Katie laughed with him, but Dean just stayed straight faced. "Missouri Mosley. Some dude named…"
"Wait, wait," Dean said stopping his brother. "Missouri Mosley?"
"What?" Sam asked, he didn't know what had made this name stick out.
"That's a psychic?" Dean asked.
"Yeah, yeah I guess." Sam asked confused.
"Dad's journal." Dean said moving around to open the car door. He pulled the journal out of his bag. Katie gave Sam a confused look, then turned to Dean. "Here, look at this." Sam did as he was told. "First page, first sentence." Dean said showing the page to his brother.
"'I went to Missouri, and I learned the truth.'" Sam read aloud. Finally understanding what his brother was getting at.
"I always thought he meant the state." Dean told them with a small shrug and a smile. Finally they were getting somewhere.