After the call with Crowley, I was determined to figure out who I was, determined to withdraw less and be a part of the world again. I put myself back together, bit by bit. I hadn't realized how much of it was scattered and disarrayed until I actually sat down and looked at the mess I was inside.

Getting wheels helped. I didn't actually have a car, I tended to just, well… Show up wherever I wanted to be, or run with Karma. Getting an actual ride would help me blend in, as well as give me something to focus on. So I went to a junkyard, and got what probably indicates that I'm going through a mid-life crisis in my 20's.

I got a motorcycle.

Used. Cheap. Barely functioning. The body was surprisingly well intact, though. I just needed to fix her up.

It wasn't much different than fixing up the Impala, on the days that I would help Dean with maintenance (I kind of forced him to teach me by bugging him enough until he finally conceded). Different pieces and sizes, yeah, but the basic premise was the same. After a few weeks I had a decent ride, a forged motorcycle license, and a helmet (per Mrs. Tran's request). There wasn't space for Karma to ride in it, but she didn't really need to. I still wasn't certain as to the physics of how she travelled, but if I ever just teleported somewhere, Karma would come. If she wasn't there and I wanted her to be there, I just said her name and she showed up, usually right by my feet.

She was a good dog.

Once I had everything fixed up, I went out on a case. I had my laptop still, and set it to run a few programs in the background when it could. Possible Lucifer sightings in case he showed back up. Info on the Winchesters, what they were up to and how things were going. Different possible cases, sorting them in to different files based on the creature probability and the likeliness of it actually being a case.

I had all of that set up, and didn't chase down that ghost case a few hours away until Mrs. Tran practically shoved me out the door.

"Either go to the gym and stay in practice," she said. "Or go do a case. You're finishing your homework faster than normal, and spending half the day afterwards on that damn computer of yours just reading and looking. You need to go out and actually do things, Kylie!" She shook her head, handing me a brown sack. There was food. "You can't be afraid of running in to the Winchesters forever."

So I went out. I accepted the food graciously, and went to take the case. I knew a few different ways to get rid of ghosts, now, without having to run the whole salt-and-burn routine.

One hex bag and a few words later, what could've very easily been a pissy poltergeist turned in to a new soul for the Veil. It was pretty empty now, after all. Time to re-fill.

I hit up a nearby café afterwards. I'd already torn through the food from Mrs. Tran on the way here. Karma was beside me as I sat down in a seat at the bar. I didn't summon her. I think she kind of just wanted to see if I could sneak her any food.

A waitress came by shortly to ask what I wanted. "Hot tea and…" I thought for a moment. "What's today's special?"

"The lunch special is a club sandwich," she answered. "With fries and a bit of coleslaw, dear."

"I think I might pass on that." I said, thinking for a minute. "Any chance I can get a cheeseburger and a regular hamburger, plain and dry?" I thought for one more second. "With fries?"

"No problem, sweetie." She jotted down my order and disappeared to call it out.

"You'll have to tell me if the burgers are any good." A new voice said from beside me. I turned my head to see a blonde woman, with short hair and a green jacket.

"No problem!" I agreed.

"Who's the second burger for?" I took a glance down at Karma.

"Just my dog back at home." I answered off-handedly. "I know it's bad, but she's been a good girl." Karma, upon hearing this, circled the stool for a minute before resuming her post at my side.

"What breed?"

"I'm honestly not quite certain." True enough. I didn't know if hellhounds came in different breeds or not. "She's only a puppy, but she's pretty huge."

"I honestly don't know dog breeds that well, so I probably wouldn't know even if you told me." The woman let out a small laugh. "My husband always wanted one, though. A family dog, you know?"

"What made you decide against it?" I asked. I could see her flinch, and I realized I made a mistake.

"He…" She took a shaky breath. "He died."

"I'm sorry for your loss." I said solemnly. She shook her head.

"It happened a long time ago." She said. I looked at her for a second, curious.

"I'm sorry to ask," I prefaced. "But… You look a little young to have been married a long time."

"It's a long story." Was all the woman replied. I nodded. I understood that.

"I'm sorry for prying, then."

"No, it's alright." She told me. "I'm kind of just… Trying to come to terms with everything, you know?" She let out a small smile. "My name is Mary, by the way."

"Diana." I said, the lie coming easily. Realizing that afterwards, I corrected myself. "But my friends call my Kylie."

"It's nice to meet you, Diana." She offered a hand, and I shook it confidently.

Then she pulled out a book, turning her full attention to it. Wait, scratch that. It wasn't a book. It was more like a huge journal, obviously handwritten.

The thing is, though, I recognized it. I've been around Dean and Sam enough to recognize their father's journal, and knew that they wouldn't let it out of the hands of family.

Her name was Mary...

This was Mary Winchester, Sam and Dean's mom.

"Um… Ma'am…" I wasn't certain what else to say, but I had to say something. "I know you're probably going through a lot right now, but don't let this push away the people close to you." She regarded me evenly, letting my say my piece. "You probably have people who are waiting for you back at home, who are worried about you and want to make sure you're ok." I shook my head, turning to the waitress as she returned to set my food and glass down in front of me. "I'm sorry for prying or intruding, but I recognize the look on your face, and I really hope that things get better for you."

"Thank you." She returned to the journal, and I focused my attention on the food in front of me.

"Who did you hurt?" She asked after a little bit. I looked over, confused. "You said it's a look you recognize and understand, which means that you've probably done something similar to what I'm doing right now. So who did you hurt?"

"I…" I thought for a moment. Did she know about me? Had she been told anything about me? "My family died when I was young, and I kind of bounced around for a while until I found a new group of people that I could kind of consider family. Those are the people I had to leave."

"You should go back and visit them." She said. "I bet that they would like to see you again."

"You should do the same." I replied with a small smile. She nodded.

"I will." She promised. "I'm actually on my way to a funeral right now. One last lose end to take care of before I do."

"Ah. Who for?"

"Asa Fox."

I recognized that name. Big hunter in Canada, I think? Definitely a hunter in general, though, and a well-known one.

"I'm sorry for your losses, then." I said. "It sounds like you've got a bit of a difficult road ahead."

"I'm trying to figure it out." She said. "It just takes time, I guess."

"Yeah." I nodded. "The burger is good, by the way."

"I hope your dog likes it."

"I bet she will." I saw Karma wag her tail a little bit at that.