They dropped off a sleeping, exhausted Alyssa at the Roadhouse before they headed over to crash at a motel. By the next morning, they were on the road again. Alyssa didn't hear from them for several weeks, which she was beginning to think was a pretty regular thing. Except that, not too long after her final shift she got a phone call.

"Aly?"

She froze at the use of her old nickname, at the fact that it was Sam who was talking to her right now. "Sam?"

"Alyssa!" The sheer happiness in his voice was surprising, as was the slur in his voice. A sure sign that Sam Winchester was absolutely drunk. Which meant that this was probably the worst time to be talking to him.

"Yeah Sam?" she asked quietly. A part of her wanted to hear what he had to say, to listen to his words and be there for him. But she also wanted to hang up the phone on him and refuse to talk until he was sober.

"I just wanted to talk. I miss you –we were best friends. What happened to us?"

She was quiet for a long moment, listening to the sound of his breathing, the awkward fidgeting and scuffling of his feet when he shifted. "This… isn't the time to have this conversation, Sam."

"I just- don't hang up –please Aly, I-I miss you."

She sighed slightly, fighting the smile that tugged at her lips. "Yeah Sam, I miss you too."

"Would you… just talk to me? Please?"

"Fine," she sighed, caving in to his plea as he probably had expected. Despite the exhaustion trying to lull her day after a long day of work, and the fact that tomorrow would be another long day, she stayed up with him almost the whole night listening to him until finally his mumbles turned into snores. Alyssa smiled shyly.

Chapter Four, Famous Last Words

Dean woke up with a gasp, groaning as his eyes tried to focus. That was one hell of a dream. He tried to move, pain flaring through his body. How long had he been hanging here? He inhaled sharply, the pain helping him wake up more clearly. The Djinn! Memories of his attack swam past his eyes and he looked around, recognizing that he was trapped in the same run-down building as before. His breath caught as he looked at the woman hanging beside him –her chin was resting on her chest, matted red hair concealing her face. He frowned blearily; tugging at the rope experimentally, pain ripping through his arms. In his dreamland, Kat had been showing up everywhere. There was no way, but a small part of him knew that the odds weren't looking great.

"Dean!" Sam hissed, hurrying over to him a silver knife in his hands. He went to work on the rope immediately, sawing at it. He managed a weak smile, his attention on the woman next to him.

Sam pulled a needle from his neck, tossing it aside as he continued to cut at the rope. Dean saw the Djinn before his younger brother, he called out a warning but Sam wasn't fast enough and the Djinn grabbed him, forcing him to drop the knife. Dean shifted, feeling the rope give a little and with a few more tugs it gave way and he fell to his feet. Pain lanced up his arms the second he tried to move them, pins and needles biting into his hands and feet viciously.

It was over quickly as they killed the Djinn and Dean had to brace himself against the grimy floor as the room spun around him. "I-is she okay?"

Sam moved over, releasing the woman and gently lowering her to the floor as he checked on her pulse. At Sam's gasp, Dean was struggling back onto his feet and hoping that she wasn't dead. Because whoever she was, she had gotten him out of that place. He froze, seeing Sam looking up at him as he looked down at the woman he'd just been living with. At the woman who had rejected him, left him without so much as a goodbye. Katherine Calloway.

"She needs a hospital," Sam offered quietly as he felt her pulse. "I think she's lost a lot of blood Dean."

"Fine," he said stiffly.

"And you might as well get checked out while we're there Dean," Sam advised as he pulled his cell phone out, calling the emergency number.

"And what exactly are we going to say?" Dean wondered, sitting down heavily. The room was still spinning but at least not to the same degree as it had been minutes ago.

They had a story worked out by the time the emergency workers arrived, but the questions about their condition were primarily reserved for Sam seeing as he was the only uninjured one. They had agreed to say that Sam was at the motel, when Dean was mugged outside and he chased after the man who had mugged him, he'd passed out and woken in this factory. Sam had gone searching for him, using the GPS in his phone to find him and then they called for an ambulance. Dean was unable to provide them with a description of the imaginary man under the pretence of his wounds affecting him. And the next day when they came by to ask again, it was too late and Dean could barely remember anything as it all happened so fast. But thankfully the police didn't recognize their names or faces and their aliases slid by with no one the wiser.

Katherine didn't wake up until Dean was released, which was only the second day. Sam had left to go and get coffee, leaving Dean sitting on the chair beside her bed. They couldn't afford to spend anymore time in this town, but neither of the brothers were exactly willing to leave her. Sam had bought her a small bouquet of white hyacinths from the nearby flower shop, and they weren't really doing much to bring any cheer back into the room. Dean huffed out a sigh, leaning back in his chair, missing the low groan that she uttered but immediately noticing when she stirred under the blankets. Her brows furrowed and she shifted again, pushing the blanks down to her waist as she blinked blearily, wincing against the bright lights.

He watched as the panic set in, as she jerked upright and looked around the hospital room, clearly having just realized where she was. A slight smile tugged at Dean's lips as he watched her lean back, perhaps a bit dazed by her return to reality. For a moment, he wondered what she saw in her world and if she would have rather stayed there but then he reminded himself of who she was. He cleared his throat, bringing her attention to him immediately, as though she hadn't already noticed him.

She cleared her throat, "Hey Dean."

"Hey Kat," he said, his tone flat.

"Can we… let's not do this right now Dean," she sighed, laying back.

"Yeah, sure, whatever."

Her doctor came in at that moment and interviewed Kat, using her special little flashlight to make sure that she was seeing everything clearly. After a few more quick little tests, the doctor announced that she was going to be okay and she could be released whenever she wanted to. But, unsurprisingly, the doctor told her to take it easy and reminded her that the police would be contacting her to find out what had happened to her. Dean watched as Kat played it off lightly, saying that she didn't really remember much and that she just wanted to go home. Her eyes strayed to his every now and then, the pale green as familiar as ever. When the police officer finally left, leaving them alone, a heavy silence settled between them.

It had been almost two years since they'd last seen each other and Dean had been doing his best to forget about her. But there was still a pang when he met her gaze and was reminded how he had woken up alone, her empty words filling the silence of his mind. If there was anything he could ever take back, it would be those three words that night.

"So you took care of the Djinn?" she asked, not looking at him. As though it made a difference.

"Yeah, Sam and I did."

"Sam?" She looked over at him in surprise. "Wasn't he…?"

"It's been a long time Kat," he reminded her, not meeting her gaze. "Yes, he was in Stanford but he isn't now. And I don't think you have a right to really ask about that."

"Jesus Dean," she snapped, her green eyes flashing. "I'm his friend too. Or what, am I supposed to stop caring –"

"Oh sweetheart, pretty sure you stopped caring when you walked out that door."

She shot him a glower, one that would have sent many other men fleeing. Kat wasn't someone you messed with, unless your name was Dean Winchester and you had a bone to pick. Which he did, with this specific hunter.

"Oh would you take your head out of your ass for five fucking seconds Winchester!" she snapped, shooting him a dark glower. "Gah –men!"

"Well hey, no sweat off my back to save your life," he growled bitterly before leaving the room.

Sam was standing just outside, holding a two cups of coffee. Wordlessly he offered one to Dean, who took grabbed it and took off down the stairs and out to the Impala. Whether or not Sam would be coming was unimportant, he just needed a place to cool off for a bit.

Kat scowled, a torrent of emotions battering at her as Dean stormed out of the room. He had every damn reason to be pissed at her, but that didn't mean she was going to take it easily. A part of her wished that she could go back to that night and choose to do it differently, yet here she was, still suffering those well-deserved consequences. She groaned softly, glaring at the wall across from her. Dean had been the one to save her, to get her to the hospital –of course he had. And rather than try and make things up with, she just wound up picking a fight. A heavy weight settled on her shoulders and she looked at the blue sheets spread over her lap. The sooner she got out of here the better.

Sam entered the room cautiously and she glanced over at him, managing a small smile. He sure as hell looked a lot different but nearly five years could do that to a person. She hadn't seen the younger Winchester since before he'd left for Stanford. And she knew that it wasn't her right to ask why he'd left –Dean had been right about that, as much as she was reluctant to actually acknowledge that fact. He was taller than Dean now. A more genuine smile played across her lips as she had to look up at his face.

"Wow, you sure grew up!" She laughed lightly. She could still remember a time when she was looking down at him.

"I think you just got smaller," he replied with a cheeky grin as she sat down in Dean's vacated seat.

"I would hit you right now if I could," she said, mock primly, a grin on her face nonetheless. Times had certainly changed.

When they were younger, Kat's mother used to team up with John Winchester and it wasn't uncommon for Kat to spend time with them. She went on her first hunt with Dean when they were both sixteen, which is when their relationship had started, but looking back Kat knew that it was never a real relationship. Kat had never actually been in a relationship with a man before, never committed and didn't really want to either. And then she had gone to see Dean, finally escaping the controlling grasp of her mother and Dean was the only person on her mind. They had spent plenty of time together, but at twenty-two she had been terrified to hear those three words. It was definitely not the smartest thing she'd ever done, considering she missed her best friend. She missed the sex too, but it was mostly Dean that she missed.

"What happened to you guys?" Sam asked quietly.

"I screwed up," she admitted with a heavy sigh. "That's all."

"And you can't tell him that?"

Kat sat back up, fixing him with a glare. "Yeah maybe if he was interested in listening to me Sam!" It was a lot easier to say that she understood where Dean was coming, and to be nice when he wasn't around. It had been almost two years since she last saw him and she hardly knew how to react, aside from trying to deal with his apparent hatred towards her. It was mostly his wounded ego and shattered feelings that were speaking right now, but it still hurt.

"What happened?"

Kat shot him a look, "If you don't know, then there's a good reason it for it Sam. You might as well just go back to Dean; I'm fine to leave on my own."

"Did you ever think I might have been interested for different reasons Kat? You're practically my sister; I kinda wanted to catch up with you."

She cringed at his words. "Sorry." She exhaled softly, "This just isn't the time Sam."

"Okay, well… whenever the time comes? You have our numbers. I put them in your cell already."

She blinked, staring at him in surprise. "Thanks…"

Sam got up, "Let us, or at least me, know if anything happens okay?"

"Sorry Sam," she repeated as he left with a sad wave.

"Bye Kitty," he murmured softly. The pang that accompanied her nickname was nearly unbearable.

Once he was gone, she took a shuddery breath. She hadn't really expected to run into Dean ever again, and especially not Sam. Sam, who had gotten away, was tucked nice and safe in Stanford and making a real life for himself. What had happened? And god, seeing Dean right after… right after that? Kat didn't know how she could even fix everything but she knew that she wanted to. Because no matter what had happened between them, Dean was someone special to her. Those years ago she had made the biggest mistake in her life, and she wanted to right it.

She exhaled softly; glad that she had left the dream world the Djinn had created for her. It had been a surprise to wake up; when she thought she would rather stay in that happy place forever. A world where she was with Dean, where her mother wasn't a bitch and where she had retired from hunting. It was a world where she had Dean, where she got what she'd always wanted without screwing everything up. But now wasn't the time to worry about those things. Now was the time to get back out hunting and figure out if she could even earn Dean's forgiveness.