It had been two weeks since the disaster at the Morton House and Kate was waiting for Dean to blow up.
He knew she didn't want to go to college but they had never talked about it since he found out and he still wanted her to go. It was going to be a fight and she was bracing herself for when he would walk through the door of the motel room. Sebastian had gone back to his dad yesterday so she was alone with Sam. He gave her a knowing look at her pacing.
"He won't be that mad." Sam said.
She groaned, "Thats what I'm afraid of, I'd rather he be mad than disappointed."
Sam didn't say anything.
Dean came through the door with a bag of take out food. He didn't say a word and avoided Kate's eyes. He laid the food out and San and Kate came over to eat with him. Dinner was eaten in a tense silence.
Kate sat down her empty bowl slowly and glanced almost shyly at Dean who was staring at her. She looked down guiltily.
"Your not going." Dean said quietly. It was morea statement than a question.
She answered in a small voice. "No."
He sighed and looked at his hands, "is there anything I can say to make you change your mind?"
She looked up in surprise. "No." Kate answered honestly.
He looked at her sadly, "ok then."
She wanted to cry at his resignation, "It's not that I don't want to go, Dean. I do."
"Then what is it?" He asked fearing that he already knew the answer.
She hesitated and looked at Sam for support. "I'm not missing any minute of the time you have left."
Dean swallowed heavily and replied, his voice husky. "I'm sorry."
A tear slid down her cheek and she wiped it away hastily, "Don't be."
She stood up and came around the table to hug him tightly.
After a moment he brushed her off, "okay, okay. No more chick flick moments."
That night they laid out newspapers and opened up the laptop to search for a case. It was two am and Kate was asleep in her chair before Sam put together a couple of deaths into a case. He nodded at Dean, "Demonic possession."
Dean glanced at his sleeping sister, "How many?"
Sam checked the list in his hand, "I think It's one demon but its killed eight people in the last six months and made it look like suicide."
Dean sighed heavily, "Get some sleep Sam."
Sam rose tiredly from his chair and went into the bedroom where he dumped himself onto the bed.
Dean looked at his hands until Sam was out of the room and then raised his eyes to Kate. Her eyes were moving under her eyelids and he knew she was probably dreaming. He felt guilty that because he was going to Hell she was skipping out on a good education.
He only hoped that next year she could go to school. He would be gone at the end of December, that would give her more than six months to get over his death. But that wasn't going to happen. She had been broken up for most of the year after dad and died. And she was much closer to Dean than John. She would take his death hard. She would have Sam to lean on and Sam would have her. A Winchesters biggest weakness is family, and their family was dying off fast. First it was mom, then Dad now him.
As much as he wanted to keep Sam and Kate safe he knew they would never lead normal lives. Sam had demon blood and Kate had angel. But the hunting instinct was deeper than that, having been ingrained in them from a young age. They lived for the thrill of the hunt. They rejoiced for those they saved and mourned for the ones they couldn't. It was a hard life, but it was their life.
He gathered his sister in his arms and carried her to the bed and pulled the covers up to her neck. She smiled in her sleep and it made Dean want to laugh.
He stared at the ceiling, he couldn't sleep. Ugh, he thought and pulled the covers over his head. Next thing he knew he was asleep.
"Are we there yet?" Kate asked impatiently from the back seat at about 6 pm.
"No." Dean sighed tiredly.
She tapped her fingers on the glass. "Well can I drive then?" She asked hopefully.
Sam laughed, "Like Dean would let you drive his car."
She smacked the back of his head, "Hey I'v driven it before."
Sam turned his head around to look at her. "Yeah when it was still Dad's"
She scowled and Dean pulled over. He opened the door and pulled the seat forward to let her out. She grinned and hoped out. Dean crawled in the backseat. Sam sputtered indignantly, "So you let her drive but not me?"
Dean shrugged. "Yup sasquatch."
Sam glared at his older brother and Dean stuck his tongue out tauntingly. "Children." Katie rolled her eyes and pulled out onto the road.
"Be nice to my car." Dean warned seriously.
She just shook her head in exasperation.
Dean was dozing in the back seat a half hour later.
Katie glanced at Sam thoughtfully, "I was thinking.."
Sam looked up at the sound of her voice "That I need to get a seraph blade."
"How?" He asked, curious.
She looked over at him, "Take a knife and use my stele on it, piece of cake."
He raised his eyebrows thoughtfully. "Ok We'll try it when we get a motel room. Could come in useful on this job."
"When are we stopping?" She asked him tiredly.
Sam checked the map and glanced at an upcoming sign. "We've got about an hour to the town we're staying the night in."
"You have got to be kidding me." Dean cut in from the backseat startling his siblings who did not realize he was awake.
"Don't do that." Katie said weakly.
He chuckled in amusement and leaned forward so he was between Sam and Kate. "What was that about using your stele?" Dean asked innocently.
She frowned at him then smiled, "I'm going to draw some runes on a knife so we can use them to kill demons."
"That could e useful." He admitted grudgingly. it wasn't that he didn't like that she was a Shadowhunter, it just scared him. He didn't want anything else to happen to her and he feared that the runes and all the glowing weapons would draw unwanted attention to her.
SHe gave him as look as if to say 'duh'. Dean started shifting in his seat and she sighed heavily. "You want your car back don't you?" She asked as Sam laughed.
"Well, yeah." He said with an antsy tone.
She pulled over on the shoulder of the highway and threw the car into park. She got out of the car and Dean was crawling out of the backseat before she could hold up the seat for him. She gave him an exasperated look. He reached out to muss her hair and she dodged it neatly with a grin. He put his hand on her head as she slid in the backseat.
Dean settled into his seat with a satisfied grin and adjusted the mirrors. Katie yawned, "I haven't driven for that long since..." She frowned trying to remember then she winced, "Since Dad used to let me drive."
Sam glanced at Dean who had a wistful expression on his face.
Katie knew she was pushing it, talking about dad but she couldn't help it. "I wish he were still here."
Dean's mouth closed into a hard line but she continued with a thoughtful expression. "Although he would have probably shipped me off in box to Knoxville by now."
Against his will Dean cracked a smile in agreement. Sam laughed at the truthfulness of the statement.
Sam looked thoughtful, "I wonder how he would have reacted to the angel blood revelation."
She frowned wondering what John's reaction would have been. Hell she didn't know wether he'd be pissed or accepting. She did know that he still would have loved her no matter what. She would always be his baby girl.
Dean slowed down and turned around sharply to look her in the eye. "He never would have cared. He always loved you." He said in a firm voice. "Never think anything else."
She smiled slightly at her brother. "I know, Dean. I know."
He turned back around slowly and stepped on the gas.
Dean pulled into town and up to a family run motel. He got out of the car leaned against the side. Sam got out and Dean said "Your turn."
Everytime they had to get a motel room the would alternate who had to go pay for the rooms, not that they actually paid for them. When you had the kind of job they did you never got paid. So credit card scams had become a necessity of life. They paid for Katie's house by getting cash back from everything they bought. But all the scams were worth it, they loved their lives even though they lost so much.