"Kat, is that you?"
"John? Are you hurt?" Her voice was filled with anger rather than concern she knew what his little disappearing act had done to the boys.
"I'm fine" He reassured her.
"We've been looking for you everywhere. We didn't know where you were, if you were okay" Her voice became louder as she became increasingly angry.
"Kat, I'm all right. What about you and the boys?" Dean began to wake next to her.
"We're fine. Where are you?" Dean sat up.
"Sorry, kiddo, I can't tell you that" He sounded sorry that he couldn't reveal his location but Kat was not going to give him any sympathy.
"What? Why not?!" She woke Sam up.
"Is that Dad?"Kat turned speaker phone on and placed it onto the bedside table.
"Dad?" The boys announced their selves.
"Look, I know this is hard for you to understand. You're just gonna have to trust me on this"
"You're after it, aren't you? The thing that killed Marry" Kat questioned him.
"Yeah. It's a demon" John's words shocked the boys.
"A demon? You know for sure?" Kat had contacts that specialised in demons and but had very little experience in dealing with them herself.
"I do Kat. Listen, Sammy, I, uh…I also know what happened to your girlfriend. I'm so sorry. I would've done anything to protect you from that"
"You know where it is?" Sam sounded hopeful.
"Yeah, I think I'm finally closing in on it" Kat opened her mouth to question him further; demons are incredibly difficult to deal with.
"Let us help" Sam cut her off.
"You can't. You can't be any part of it" His tone was filled with authority and it was clear he his decision was final.
"Why not?" Was the general response from the room.
"Listen, that's why I'm calling, you and your brother, you gotta stop looking for me. Alright, now, I need you to write down these names"
"Names? What names, Dad. Talk to me, tell me what's going on" Sam pleaded. Kat frowned.
"Look, we don't have time for this. This is bigger than you think, they're everywhere. Even us talking right now, it's not safe"
"No. Alright? No way" Sam began to get angry.
"Give me the phone" Dean stood up.
"I have given you an order. Now, you stop following me, and you do your job. You understand me? Now, take down these names" Dean grabbed the phone from Sam and turned it off of speaker.
"Dad, it's me. Where are you? ... Yes, sir. … Uh, yeah, I got a pen. What are their names?" Kat and Sam exchanged frustrated and disappointed looks.
The three of them sat in the Impala. Kat sat In the back twisting her chocolate hair around her slim finger, complete with blood red fingernails and a silver ring. Sam and Dean were discussing their father's orders.
"Three different couples. All went missing, they're all from different towns, different states.
Washington, New York, Colorado. Each couple took a road trip cross-country. None of them arrived at their destination, and none of them were ever heard from again"
"Well, it's a big country, Dean. They could've disappeared anywhere" Sam was obviously against the idea of this hunt.
"Yeah, could've. But each one's route took 'em to the same part of Indiana. Always on the second week of April. One year after another after another" Dean ignored the tension. Kat was on team Sam but after hearing that demons were involved she had jumped ships.
"This is the second week of April" Kat's voice was flat; she wasn't interested in another family dispute.
"Yep" Dean chose to let her attitude slip he didn't want another fight with her.
"So, John is sending us to Indiana to go hunting for something before another couple vanishes?"
" Yahtzee. Can you imagine putting together a pattern like this? All the different obits Dad had to go through? The man's a master" Sam pulled over to the side of the road and turned the engine off. "What are you doing?" Dean turned to Sam.
"We're not going to Indiana" Sam look into the mirror to view Kat's verdict on the situation. He could tell by the way she spoke to John that she knew more about demons than they did. She was staring out of the window; it was clear that her mind was on other things.
"We're not?" Dean was never going to disobey his father's orders but Kat knew Sam would give it a shot anyway.
"No. We're going to California. Dad called from a payphone. Sacramento area code"
"Sammy" Kat began but he already had his mind made up.
"Dean, if this demon killed Mom and Jess, and Dad's closing in, we've gotta be there. We've gotta help"
"John doesn't want our help" Kat still sounded bored and uninterested.
"I don't care" Sam was shocked, he expected her to side with him.
"He's given us an order" Dean turned to Kat.
"I don't care. We don't always have to do what he says" He said firmly.
"Sam, Dad is asking us to work jobs, to save lives, it's important" Kat nodded at Dean, she smiled weakly he knew there was something up but he wasn't going to bring it up now.
"Alright, I understand, believe me, I understand. But I'm talking one week here, man, to get answers. To get revenge" Kat sighed. Revenge was a word she had heard too many times.
"Alright, look, I know how you feel" Dean was cut off by Sam's harsh words.
"Do you? How old were you when Mom died? Four? Jess died six months ago. How the hell would you know how I feel?"
"Dad said it wasn't safe. For any of us. I mean, he obviously knows something that we don't, so if he says to stay away, we stay away"
"I don't understand the blind faith you have in the man. I mean, it's like you don't even question him"
"Yeah, it's called being a good son!" That was the last straw Sam got out of the car. Kat sighed. Dean got out and watched as he began unloading his things from the trunk. "You're a selfish bastard, you know that? You just do whatever you want. Don't care what anybody thinks" Kat got out of the car.
"That's what you really think?" Sam sounded hurt.
"Yes, it is" Kat was shocked at Dean's words.
"Well, then this selfish bastard is going to California" He put on his backpack and started to walk away.
"Sammy please" Kat ran after him. "Sam please, don't go"
"Come on, you're not serious!" Dean shouted from behind them.
"I am serious!" He shouted to Dean and turned to Kat. "Thank you" He leaned down and gave her a hug.
"For what?" She looked up at him.
"Everything, me and you were the same. You don't understand how much you helped me over the past months"
"Sweetie please, demons are very very dangerous"
"I need to do this, for Jess for my own peace of mind" He placed his hands on her shoulder.
"Revenge is not the answer trust me" She pleaded with him.
"It might not be, but that's something I have to find out on my own"
"I'm coming with you" She turned to collect her things.
"No, no he needs you" He gestured to Dean with his head.
"Ok but promise me one thing, if you need anything you call me, I don't care what time it is"
"I promise"
"I'm gonna miss you sweetie" She hugged him.
"I'm gonna miss you too" He kissed her head.
"It's the middle of the night! Hey, I'm taking off, I will leave your ass, you hear me?" Dean shouted over to Sam.
"That's what I want you to do" He turned to him: they stared at each other for a few seconds.
"Goodbye, Sam" He closed the trunk and got in the car. Kat smiled at Sam and returned to the car. She slammed the door shut to emphasise her anger at what he had just done to his brother.
After arriving at Burkesville, Indiana and receiving directions from the local gas station Kat and Dean found themselves in an orchard. The EMF meter was beeping frantically as they progressed. They were still in silence from the Sam incident. Kat noticed a scarecrow; she shivered. Dean noticed her reaction. He looked up at it.
"That is fugly"
"Dean it has a sickle in its hand. What kinda freak puts a weapon in a scarecrows hand?"
"You're ... scared of scarecrows?" Dean laughed.
"No, maybe ... a little ... yes! Ok I'm terrified of them ok?" Kat folded her arms.
"Aww little kittykat scared of the big bad scarecrow?" He mocked her in a voice that you would talk to a baby in. He kissed her forehead. "Don't worry baby I'll protect you"
"It's not me you should be worrying about"
"He'll be fine he's a big boy" Before Kat could complain Dean noticed a tattoo on the scarecrows arm. It was a perfect match for that of the one located on the arm of Vince, one of the people who had previously disappeared. "Babe take a look at that" Kat hesitated but moved a little closer to the scarecrow. Just as she reached it Dean grabbed her around the waist.
"BOO!!!" He shouted, Kat screamed.
"Dean that's not funny!" She pushed him away and sat on a nearby tree stump in sulk mode.
"No, no you're right ... it's not funny, it's hilarious" He could no longer hold his laughter in.
"Dean!" She frowned.
"Oh baby I'm sorry" He opened his arms but she turned away again.
"No your mean" She was playing with him. Attempting to hold in her laughter.
"But you love me"
"Yeah ... sometimes. Let's get out of here" Kat stood up, Dean outstretched his hand. She took it and they walked back to the car.
They returned to town. Dean pulled over to the gas station to talk to the owner's niece about the town. Kat's phone began to ring.
"Sammy" She got out of the passenger side and walked over to a nearby wooden bench.
"Hey Kat" He sounded tired but relieved to hear a familiar voice.
"How are you?" She smiled at the sound of his voice.
"I'm fine, I'm just waiting for a bus to Sacramento with a girl called Meg, were both heading to California; family troubles"
"Sam please come back" She pleaded.
"Kat you of all people should understand what I have to do"
" ... I never found the vampire that killed my family" Saying It out loud killed her but she wasn't going to admit defeat.
"What?" Sam was shocked. After the pain and suffering he had experiences over the past six months he could not understand how she could just abandon her hunt.
"The trail went cold just after I meet your brother"
"You gave up the hunt ... for Dean?"
"Well I guess I decided that I'd rather be with people who need me than be on my own living for revenge"
"Well then you are a lot stronger than I am"
"..."
"Kat I gotta go I'll call you later"
"Ok, try not to miss me too much"
"I'll try but I'm making no promises" They both laughed and Sam hung up. Kat looked over to the cafe that Dean was coming out of escorted by the sheriff.
"Great" he got into the Impala and was escorted down the street by the sheriff. Kat waited on the bench for the phone call she would no doubt receive after the sheriff had been convinced that he was out of town. She stood up and walked over to the cafe. She took a seat next to the window and placed her phone on the table. She stared out the window but the call never came. It began to get dark and still no call from Dean. Worry and concern filled Kat but she continued to drink her tea and eat her all day breakfast. The owner had told her that it was on the house and provided her with the towns signature dish; an apple pie. She had finally had enough and stood up and then it all went black.
"Kat, Kat babe come on wake up!" Dean gently shook her awake.
"Dean?" Her vision was slowly returning from its blurry state.
"Kitkat we got trouble?" He helped her sit up.
"You mean more than usual?" She clutched her head.
"Yeah a Vanir" He helped her to her feet and propped her up. They were in a small dark space.
"A Van- what-ey-what?" She was still a little drowsy from whatever was in that apple pie.
"A Pagan god" He brushed her hair out of her pale face.
"So, a god possesses the scarecrow..." Her words were slurred and her tone was that of a drunk.
"And the scarecrow takes its sacrifice and then for another year, the crops won't wilt, and disease won't spread" Dean moved her over to the corner of the room.
"So that explains the whole stepford wife vibe" Her head was beginning to clear.
"Yeah" She moved to sit on a pile of logs and pondered their predicament.
"So how do we kill It?" She tied her curly hair into a messy ponytail.
"This particular Vanir takes its energy from a sacred tree?" He sounded like a professor.
"A sacred tree? What is this Harry Potter?"
"Yeah well we gotta do something cause I think we're its next meal"
"Great ... it had to be a scarecrow didn't it?" She stood up without stumbling and stretched her limbs. She knew that she had left all her weapons in the Impala so if push came to shove she would have to use one of her many martial art skills.
"Yeah well I know what tree it is we're looking for" Dean walked over to the wooden door and examined it for the hundredth time.
"Well aren't you organised? ... But baby, sweetie, angel there's one problem ... were stuck in here with crazy pagan worshipers ready to serve us on a platter to a fudged up scarecrow!"
"It's not my fault!" He was caught off guard by her outburst.
"I know, I know I'm sorry it's just ... scarecrows" She shivered and sat back down on the logs. The cellar door opened and the four elders of the town stood looking down at them. They exchanged a nervous glance and were escorted out of the cellar and into the orchard where they were tied to two adjacent trees.
"How many people have you killed, Sheriff? How much blood is on your hands?" Dean began to provoke them.
"We don't kill them" Was his short, cold response.
"No, but you sure cover up after. I mean, how many cars have you hidden, clothes have you buried? I'm sure Emily would be proud" Kat's tone was vicious. They four of them walked away in silence.
"I hope your apple pie is freakin' worth it!" Dean shouted as he began to tug at the ropes.
"So, what's the plan?" Kat questioned him.
"I'm workin' on it" Kat sighed at his response. Hours had past and it had begun to get increasingly darker.
"We are so screwed" Kat sighed. "All these years I expected it to be a vampire, a
Worthy foe but noooo. The Kat the most feared vampire hunter in England is going to be eaten by a scarecrow" She half heartedly smiled.
"I'm workin' on it. Can you see?" The fear in Dean's voice was not reassuring.
" What?" Kat sounded defeated.
"Is he moving yet?" Dean was facing the opposite direction to wear they had earlier seen the scarecrow.
"I can't see" A shadow caught Kat's eyes over by the trees. "Oh my God!" Sam came out from behind the trees.
"Dean? Kat?"
" Oh! Oh, I take everything back I said. I'm so happy to see you. Come on" Dean's tone was filled with joy as Sam began to untie his ropes.
"How'd you get here sweetie?"
" I, uh—I stole a car"
"Haha! That's my boy! And keep an eye on that scarecrow. He could come alive any minute" Dean stood up and Sam began to untie Kat's ropes.
"What scarecrow?" Kat and Dean look over to see that the scarecrow's post was empty. Kat's face filled with terror and they all began to run for the exit.
"Alright, now, this sacred tree you're talking about?" Sam continued to run side by side with Dean.
"It's the source of its power" Kat shouted back to him.
"So let's find it and burn it" He shouted to her as she was far in front of the both of them.
"Nah, in the morning. Let's just shag ass before Leather Face catches up" Deans plan was short lived as they reached a clearing that the elders and a few other townspeople were waiting for them in.
"This way" They turned around but they were blocked in all directions.
"Let us go" Kat's words were more of an order than a request.
"It'll be over quickly, I promise"
"Yeah well you can stick your promises where the sun doesn't shine" She smirked at the old man. All of a sudden, the scarecrow stuck his sickle through Harley's stomach. Stacy screamed and was then herself captured by the scarecrow, too. The two of them were dragged away by the scarecrow as the rest of the townspeople flee in terror.
Kat sat in the Impala waiting for the boys who had gone to torch the tree. She had, had enough of killer scarecrows to last her a lifetime. They boys appeared from behind the trees and got into the car.
"So, can I drop you off somewhere?" Dean used the rear-view mirror to question Sam.
No, I think you're stuck with me" Kat smiled.
"What made you change your mind?" She turned to look at him.
"I didn't. I still wanna find Dad" He looked over to Dean "And you're still a pain in the ass" Dean nodded." But, Jess and Mom—they're both gone. Dad is God knows where. You, me and Kat. We're all that's left. So, if we're gonna see this through, we're gonna do it together"
"Hold me, Sam. That was beautiful" They laugh at Dean's comment.
"You should be kissing my ass, you were dead meat, dude" Sam shoved him from the backseat.
"Yeah, right. I had a plan; I'd have gotten us out"
"Oh yeah?" Kat smirked.
"Yeah" He winked at her.
"Whatever you say sweetie"